Chapter 24: Storming Shishigumi Manor! A Sacrifice Is Made!


The three of them ran up and saw five lions guarding the entrance. "You two hang back, I'll handle these guys," Alex told them. The wolf ran up and opened the gates to the mansion, before charging forwards towards the gang of lions. Three of the lions rushed to intercept him, while the other two lions stayed back and drew their guns.

Alex grabbed his taser and his gun from his belt, both of his paws now holding weapons. He fired a bullet into the shoulder of the lion on the left, the bullet piercing through his flesh and ricocheting off of the wall. Alex had calculated the angle of the shot so that the bullet's trajectory would bounce off of the wall and drive itself into the lion on the right.

The lion on the right yelped in pain as he felt the bullet sink itself into his knee, causing him to stumble and fall. Alex then clipped his gun back onto his belt, before focusing on the third lion who had been in the center.

Alex lunged forward, tackling the third lion and catching him off guard. Alex delivered a devastating punch to the lion's face, pushing him backwards slightly. The cop quickly followed his punch by kicking the lion in the balls, forcing his enemy to the ground. Now for the coup de grace. Alex used his taser, the wires shooting out from it and embedding in the lion's fur before delivering several hundred volts of electricity through the poor fellow's system.

Alex felt something whiz by his forehead, knowing that the other two lions had begun shooting at him. He ducked and crouched as he ran for cover, keeping his arms as close to his body as possible and keeping his head low as to minimize his unprotected body areas. Legosi and Louis took things from there.

Legosi fired a shot at one of the lion shooters, but missed; the gray wolf had no training in operating ranged weapons whatsoever. Louis, however, was extremely adept at hitting his targets. Oguma had allowed him to take classes in both archery and sharpshooting, and the deer let his aim hold true as he shot the lion that Legosi had missed in the thigh.

Alex was about to try and fire a shot off at the last of the lions who had been assigned to guard the entrance when suddenly, a crossbow bolt flew through the air and embedded itself in the last lion's gun paw. The wolf glanced in the direction of where the projectile had come from, and grinned when he saw Gouhin running towards him, Legosi and Louis following behind him.

"I got Agata's message! You three, get in there and find the girl! I'll cuff these assholes and take 'em to the slammer so they can get treatment for their wounds and then get arrested!" Gouhin shouted. Alex gave the panda a paws up as Legosi and Louis reached him.

"You first, Legosi. She's YOUR girlfriend," Alex said. Louis frowned; he was going to have to talk to Haru about what her relationship with Legosi really was when this whole ordeal was over with.

Legosi ran forward, tearing through the halls. Alex and Louis followed him until they reached a point where the hallway split into two. "Alex! Take the left side, I'll go down the right!" Legosi howled. Alex nodded and sprinted through the corridor, Louis right behind.

"Shouldn't you be helping Legosi?" Alex asked the deer as they dashed through the labyrinth-like passageways of the mansion.

"My instincts are telling me that Legosi can take care of himself, and that you might need some backup," Louis cooly replied. Alex chuckled in response. "What? What's so funny?" Louis demanded.

"You really do have the spirit of a cop, Louis. Your instincts don't have an ounce of fear in them, and you're already trusting them. You'll make a great officer if you choose to be one," Alex told him.

The two of them slowed down as they saw a closed door on the side of the hallway. They slowed down, halting their movements and slowly stepping across the floor. The innate abilities of Louis's species proved advantageous.

In this world, deer were valued for their stealthy abilities. They were able to feel the floor around them, and step exactly where there was little to no chance of the floor creaking underneath an animal's weight. With enough training and strength, a deer could also shed their antlers or snap them off and turn them into deadly weapons that could stab through an animal if they wished.

"Well, I was born and raised where fear was abundant. Every day that I was living in that meathouse, as livestock, I was afraid that I would die. I didn't tell you this at the school, but Oguma gave me a test on the day he adopted me. He gave me a knife and sent me into a room full of meat-starved predators. I nearly ended everything there, almost slit my own throat. At that point in my life, I would rather die than allow myself to be eaten alive," Louis explained, as he led the way, stepping carefully across the floor.

Alex mimicked the deer's movements, stepping exactly where the deer's foot had been. There was a stairway to the side of them, but they ignored it as they approached the door. "You've grown since then, Louis. Both physically and mentally," Alex said. Louis nodded his head in agreement.

"Ever since then, I've been less and less afraid of the world around me. Nowadays, I don't think I'm afraid of anything," Louis responded. They were now close enough to open the door.

Alex slowly turned the doorknob and pushed the door open, freezing when the door made a loud CREAAAAAAAAK. Eight lions turned their heads towards the source of the noise, and were astounded to see a deer and a white wolf in police body armor. They pulled their guns out and began to aim, with Alex and Louis diving towards the walls and hugging them.

A few shots were fired off, and unfortunately, one of the bullets grazed Alex's left leg, cleanly exiting it without embedding itself in the flesh or bone. That was Alex's preferred outcome, second only to not getting shot at all.

Now under fire, Alex reached into his belt and pulled out a small, orb-like object. "I'm gonna throw this in there, and then we make a break for the stairs, okay?!" Alex suggested. "Got it!" Louis confirmed, smiling in understanding. The wolf tossed the orb into the room with the eight lions and made a mad dash for the stairs, him and Louis ascending them like their lives depended on it (which they likely did). A flash of light could be seen coming from the room as well as a green gas.

The wolf and deer then took refuge in one of the upstairs bathrooms, with Louis grabbing a towel and putting pressure on Alex's bullet wound. "What the heck was that orb you threw?" Louis asked curiously.

"My sister Blossom's invention. It's a combination of a flash bang and a gas bomb. The gas is her farts and skunk spray mixed in with several chemicals; the end result of the bomb incapacitates animals for varying amounts of time. The amount of time depends on the species," Alex explained.

"How long do you think it'll keep those lions out?" Louis worriedly wondered.

"Twenty minutes for the smell to dissipate, another fifteen for their eyesight to fully return. Unless they're stupid, they aren't gonna try to use their guns while their eyesight is still recovering from the flash of light," Alex told him. They simply sat in silence for the next twenty minutes, unsure of what to say but also afraid that further conversation would alert their enemies to their position.


Meanwhile, Haru was being threatened by the chief lion. She had just stripped off her clothes, and was afraid. She knew she was going to die. Her whole life, she had lived with the knowledge that she could be eaten by a hungry predator at any time. But suddenly, a new emotion rose up from within her soul. It was the overwhelming desire to keep on living.

Haru realized that no one was probably going to come and save her. She would have to save herself. Since the chief lion had undressed her, she didn't have the pen that the black Congo lion had given her, leaving her defenseless.

She made a mad dash for the door, trying to open the doorknob. However, something - or someone - was keeping the door from being opened. Haru ducked as she sensed something flying towards her. Two knives embedded themselves in the doorway.

This was her chance! She grabbed the knife handle and pulled with all her might, nearly falling over when she managed to get the knife free from the wood. She quickly turned around to face the chief of the Shishigumi, her paws trembling as she held the knife. "I won't go down without a fight, you bastard! You'll never get to taste my humility!" Haru yelled, before rushing forward.

The bunny darted forward, dodging a claw swipe from the crime boss and plunging the knife into his upper thigh. The chief lion kicked her and sent her flying backwards, before pulling the knife out and giving Haru a murderous look. "I didn't want to have a violent meal, but you've left me no choice! For that attack, I will inflict upon you the worst death a predator can do to a prey: eating you piece by piece!" The chief lion roared, before pouncing on Haru.


Legosi saw two lions standing protectively in front of a large set of doors. He could smell Haru's scent, she had to be in there! He raced forward, grabbing the two lions by their manes and slamming their heads together. He then raked his claws across their backs for good measure.

The wolf then tried the doorknob, but it wouldn't turn. He saw a passcode panel on the wall next to the right door. He didn't have time to guess a passcode! And the lions who might have that information were now unconscious. Legosi decided that he would have to make his own entrance to the room. The wolf began slamming his fists into the wooden doors, pummeling it with all of his might. He didn't dare fire his gun, afraid that the bullet might somehow hit Haru.

Legosi then backed up a little, before charging down the hall and bursting through the door. Both the chief lion and Haru turned to look at the wolf who had just broken the door. "LEGOSI!", Haru cried out joyfully. The chief lion got up and began to run towards Legosi. The wolf struck the chief lion, pounding his fist into the Shishigumi leader's snout.

The cracking of bone was heard. The chief lion screamed in pain, and Legosi followed this attack up with a fierce flurry of brutal blows, causing the lion to collapse on the ground. "You saved me, Legosi!", Haru sobbed. Tears were in her eyes now, and she was crying as her adrenaline left her body.

Legosi saw the bed and grabbed the blanket off of the top of it, wrapping Haru in it. He picked up the bunny and started running down the hallways back to the entrance of the mansion, hoping that Alex and Louis were all right.


Alex and Louis then heard movement coming from the stairs, heavy footsteps ascending them. A shadow passed by the door, and when it had passed, Alex opened the door. He saw blood drops in a path to the balcony. Alex rushed forward, ignoring the pain from his still-injured leg.

The blood had stained his pant leg a dark bluish-purple. The wolf had always been a quick healer, much quicker than other wolves; his adoptive mother, who was a scientist and doctor, attributed this rapid healing factor to specific genes only found in albino wolves.

Alex got to the balcony room in a hurry, leaving Louis behind as he sprinted after who he assumed to be the chief lion. When he got to the balcony, he saw the chief lion aiming a gun at Legosi, who was carrying Haru out of the mansion. "FREEZE! Put your paws in the air, asshole! You're under arrest!" Alex shouted.

The chief lion whirled around and shot Alex. Alex realized that this lion hadn't become the boss of the criminal gang for nothing- he had been able to analyze Alex and estimate where he had been previously shot from the blood stain on his pant leg. Alex howled in agony as he toppled over, groaning from the intensifying pain. Worse, this time the bullet had embedded itself in his flesh! He'd need surgery soon if he didn't want to lose that leg.

Louis's pace quickened when he heard the gunshot. He ran in and saw the chief lion advancing on Alex, aiming the gun at his head. The deer reacted instantly, the shooting training that he had received during his sharpshooting class kicking into high gear.

The deer drew his gun and shot the lion in the chest. "EAT LEAD, MOTHERFUCKER! I WON'T LET YOU HURT ANY MORE OF MY FRIENDS!" Louis shrieked, pure hatred seething from his voice. The lion fell to the ground, gasping as he was bleeding out.

The deer then walked up to the lion, plunging his shoe into the bullet wound where he had shot the lion in the chest, stomping on his heart. "See you in hell, you bastard!" Louis yelled. Louis then put his gun to the chief lion's forehead, and pulled the trigger, blowing his brains out. Louis then unloaded the rest of his bullets into the lion's corpse.

Alex groaned and grunted as he raised his back up from the ground, looking at Louis. "You… you saved my life, Louis," Alex panted. Louis extended his arm and helped Alex back up to his feet. Alex groaned and stumbled, having trouble standing up.

"It was nothing," Louis said. "I'm really grateful for that. However, I must advise you to get a grip on that anger of yours. You went a little overboard with unloading that entire round of ammunition into that lion, even though he was already dead," Alex explained.

"Really? How could you tell he was dead?" Louis then asked. Alex gave him a funny look.

"You only need two shots to absolutely make sure that you've killed someone. One shot in the chest and one shot in the head. The chest shot will take out either the heart or one of the lung sacs, while the head shot should take care of the brain," Alex clarified. Louis nodded his head in understanding. They then heard footsteps coming towards them. The gunshots must have alerted the other lions to their location. "Shit, we gotta get out of here!" Alex muttered.

Alex searched for a potential escape route. However, the only one he could see was to jump off of the balcony. And Louis's legs wouldn't be able to make that fall without getting seriously injured, sprained, or broken. The deer was out of ammo and Alex wasn't sure how well he'd be able to aim in his current condition. "Alex, go! You can make that jump!" Louis urged. This shocked Alex. Louis was suggesting that he go without him?!

"No! I'm not leaving you behind, Louis!" Alex declared.

"It'll be fine, Alex! I'm not worth dying over!" Louis told him.

"YES YOU ARE! I'm not going to desert you, Louis! You're my friend, and you've got a bright, shining future ahead of you as the next Beastar!" Alex argued. Louis's eyes narrowed. One way or another, he would make sure that Alex came out of this ordeal alive.

The deer charged at Alex with all his strength, pushing him to the balcony's edge and throwing him off of the railing. Alex did a double flip and roll in midair, managing to land on his uninjured leg. "LOUIIIIIIIIISSSSSSS!" Alex screamed. The wolf streaked back towards the manor's entrance, but a paw grabbed him by his body armor and began to haul him off. Alex smelled the scent of a familiar panda. "Gouhin! LET ME GO!" Alex cried out.

"No! You need treatment!" Gouhin told him.

"But Louis is still in there! I can't leave him behind!" Alex countered, struggling and flailing his limbs around as he tried to break free from Gouhin's grasp. "You aren't any good to your friends if you're dead! Agata's on his way and he's going to try and buy you more time to rescue your deer. Agata says he should be able to stall for at least half a day," Gouhin told him.

Alex knew that the bear was right, and his body went limp as he was carried off by Gouhin to his clinic. The wolf stared back at Louis, who looked at him with a sad expression. "I promise, Louis. I'm coming back for you. And if you're not alive by the time I get back here, I'll kill every last one of these bitches," Alex promised, tears streaming down his face as Gouhin carried him off to the clinic to get his wounds treated.


Gouhin takes Alex back to his clinic and patches our wolf cop hero up. With Gouhin keeping Alex from going back to the Shishigumi, Alex must place his trust in Agata. Then, Alex races off to find Legosi, tracking him and Haru via their watches. His search leads him to a hotel, and he finds the two of them about to do something risky! You'll have to wait for the next chapter of BEASTARS: The Divergent Variable to find out!

Chapter 25: Alex Rests and Recuperates! The Steaming Hotel Of Love and Passion!