Johnson landed right in front of the swarm of Unclean who were terrorizing the city. They weren't particularly well-trained, but their sheer numbers and rage made them dangerous. They set buildings on fire, and everyone they came across had to either swear fealty to the idea of equality and the destruction of the class system or die. They carried whatever weapons they could find: guns, swords, spears, pitchforks. They even slaughtered the cattle who walked the street.
Johnson held out his wing-hand and declared "by the authority of the World Government, I order you to stop!"
The army didn't listen, and continued their rampage.
"Government dog!"
"Equality or death!"
"You don't scare us, bird-man!"
Johnson lowered his hand and pondered for a moment. "These people are mostly angry civilians… I shouldn't use lethal force, but I will if I have to."
The Unclean army drew closer and closer, destroying everything in their path. Johnson reached into his backpack and pulled out two circular discs with wheels attached and set them on the ground. After winding the keys in the discs, they moved on their own into the mob of Unclean, where they promptly exploded.
The blast took out a good dozen people, who went flying in different directions (not in pieces, thankfully), but the Unclean army pressed forward.
Johnson was starting to sweat through his feathers.
"This is your last warning!" he shouted at them. They didn't care, and continued to burn and murder.
"Kill him!" the leader at the front of the pack shouted, raising his pitchfork. "Kill the government dog! Make an example of him!"
"Oh man… I probably should have gotten some troops to come with me… but they can't fly like I can. Dammit! I need to protect the civilians from these… other civilians!"
Johnson pulled out several more of the mobile bombs and sent them along the ground. They reached into the crowd and exploded, but the Unclean were undeterred.
He extended his wing arms and started flapping like crazy. "OSTRICH GALE!" he called.
Razor sharp gusts of wind shot from his wings, and cut down the front lines of the army. But still, they were undeterred, and they kept rushing forward with intent to kill Lieutenant Johnson.
"Should have listened to Franco…" Johnson thought as the army of Unclean drew closer.
He transformed fully into his ostrich form and took off into the city at top speed. As he ran through the streets, he witnessed the carnage wrought by the rebel army: corpses of both longlegs and cattle, burning buildings (some of which were completely razed), and graffiti bearing the letters MW, as well as the gear and wrench. He ducked for cover in the slums, where he ran into Andy and the doctor, holding Roxanne and Puerco, respectively.
Andy was shocked. "What's an ostrich doing here?!"
Johnson assumed his human form.
"Oh, it's just a Marine," said Andy.
He paused for a second, then remembered he, Roxanne, and Puerco all had bounties.
"Wait, what's a Marine doing here?!"
"I'm here to put a stop to this war!" Johnson exclaimed, huffing and puffing.
"And yet you're hiding with us, because…?" Andy asked.
"Because my brigade is here to catch someone named Shaska the Greedy and her organization, Worldwide Smoke."
Johnson then recognized the trio from their wanted posters.
"Wait a sec, you guys are from Worldwide Smoke!" he said, still catching his breath.
Andy tried to take off, but the doctor didn't follow.
"Doc, come on! We gotta find another hiding spot!"
"I'm not sure about how much I want to help you and subsequently get charged for aiding and abetting criminals."
"Relax, guys," said Johnson. "I can't speak for the rest of my guys, but my main concern is stopping innocent people from being slaughtered."
He thought for a moment.
"Granted, if Shaska's here, innocent people might get slaughtered anyway. In any case, you three are worth less than a million and a half combined, so I'm not particularly worried about you."
Roxanne started to stir in Andy's arms, and slowly woke up. As she yawned, she took notice of her husband… and Johnson. She bolted out of Andy's arms.
"Andy! What's a Marine doing here?!"
"Relax, Roxie, he said he's not going to catch us."
Puerco then woke up, and the scene repeated.
"About my bill…" said the doctor. "I really don't want to get caught up with the Marines."
"Ugh, fine," Andy said, producing all the money he had on him.
The doctor counted it up, and was soon on his way.
"Well, now what?" Puerco asked, holding his bandaged stomach.
"Well, I can't believe I'm asking wanted criminals this, but will you help me stop those invaders?"
Johnson asked.
"We… can't fight," Roxanne said. "We took out an assassin, but that was mostly dumb luck."
"Crap," Johnson replied.
It was then that four of them bore witness to the mountain in the distance being sliced in two, then being casually tossed aside like it was nothing, followed by a colossal splash that rang out through the city.
"That can't be good," said Puerco.
"We should… we should go look for Shaska. She'll be able to help," said Andy. "And I doubt she'd let herself get caught by an ostrich."
Johnson wasn't amused.
—-
Samudra somberly walked through the halls of the palace. He knew he had to rush to fend off the invading Unclean army, but his brother's horrible words laid heavy on his mind.
He crossed paths with Princip.
"Good afternoon, prince," Princip said casually.
"So… you beat Schwarz?"
"It was a cakewalk."
"And you're not going to attack me too?"
Princip brandished his sheathed sword. "I have my orders to take out just the crown prince. What I want to know is why you're not trying to stop me."
"My brother has made it very clear he wants nothing to do with me. So, do what you will," Samudra said, walking away.
Samudra picked up his pace when it clicked that Schwarz was probably dying or even dead. He entered the foyer and found Schwarz lying face-down in a pool of blood.
"Schwarz!" Samudra called out. He ran over and picked up Schwarz's body. He found a heartbeat.
"Good, he is still alive. Just barely, though."
Samudra slung Schwarz over his shoulder and left. "Let's go find Puerco!"
As he left the palace, he witnessed the mountain being sliced in half and everything that followed.
"That can't be good," he said.
—
Lulupo and Ren happened to bump into each other at an intersection on their way to meet up with Shaska again. They were both carrying the assassins they had defeated (both were still unconscious).
"Ren, darling, are you alright?" Lulupo asked. "You look like you've gotten into a bit of a scrape there. Here, let me carry him."
Lulupo extended his hair and grabbed Kandar's unconscious body.
"He barely touched me," said Ren, rubbing her ear. "You, on th'other hand, 're covered in blood!"
"Oh, don't worry about it, darling. It's nothing I haven't handled before," he replied with a wink.
A battalion of the Unclean army stormed down the street in their direction, preceded by longlegs running screaming. Uncleans were recruited into the army on the spot, only making the force larger.
"Oh dear…" said Lulupo as the army charged at them.
"Ya feel lahk fahtin' an entahr army?" Ren asked, pulling out a grenade.
"Tell you the truth, darling, I don't…" he replied, clutching his bruised stomach.
"Me neither!" Ren shouted as she chucked the grenade and ran. As Lulupo followed her, the grenade exploded and smoke filled the street. The army briefly stopped to cough until the smoke cleared.
"What's your plan, Ren, darling?"
"We gotta stop this, somehow, but Worldwahd Smoke ain't enough to stop an entahr army! There's only lahk fahve or six of us that can even faht!"
"Right! Maybe Miss Shaska will know what to do," Lulupo said.
"We don't really got any other options," Ren replied. "But where is she even?"
"I don't know, darling… I guess our best bet is to go to the palace and rendezvous with the prince. Maybe she'll be there too!"
As they ran toward the palace, they witnessed the mountain being sliced in half, and had to stop and stare.
"That can't be good," said Ren.
—-
Zinnia walked toward the palace after beating Ubitsa into unconsciousness. In the distance were people running screaming toward the palace, looking for any sort of sanctuary from the hordes of Unclean who were tearing the city apart. They were stopped at the gates to the palace by guards.
"SANCTUARY!" cried a young woman holding a crying baby. "Please! Give us sanctuary! There's-"
The guards pushed her away, declaring that the palace had to be kept locked down.
Zinnia, however, didn't hear this, and was transfixed by the Unclean army drawing closer and closer. Ruth hissed in her ear, and Zinnia began to run toward the palace.
She, too, was stopped by the guards.
"Go away, foreigner," said the first guard.
"Sirs, I implore you to let these people in! There is-"
"Yes, we know," said the second guard. "But with the army predisposed, we have to keep the palace protected as best we can. And that includes not letting anyone in."
Zinnia stared at them for a moment. Then, she got an idea. "Sirs, I am acquainted with Prince Samudra. I am-"
"Samudra's been kicked out of the royal family," said the first guard.
"Leave," the second guard ordered.
As Zinnia turned around, she witnessed the mountain being sliced in half. She stood and stared as it was so easily thrown away. After a minute, Ruth hissed in her ear, and she finally said "that cannot be good."
—
Franco finally landed at the Shahar airport, and the Marines quickly filed off of the rukh birds. The Marines entered into formation, and the ensign ran forward and saluted.
"Captain Franco! What are your orders?"
Franco thought for a moment. Johnson's words crossed his mind.
"First division! I'll help you look for Shaska! Second and third divisions! Try to stop the advance of the rebel army! Save as many people as you can!"
The soldiers saluted and ran off into the city, and Franco equipped his sword and shield and followed them. He used his Shave technique to get to the front of the pack and serve as the vanguard.
He looked around and saw the damage inflicted by the Unclean army: the burning buildings, the corpses of people and the once sacred cattle, the MW graffiti. Despite being in the Marines for four years now and slowly climbing the ranks by fighting pirates and gangs, this was Franco's first time in an active warzone.
He came across a longleg struggling to his feet after being brutalized by the Unclean army.
"Sir! You're injured! Please, let me help!"
Franco helped the longleg to his feet, and the man replied with "thank the gods, the Marines are here! The Unclean have lost their minds!"
"I… the 'Unclean'?"
"Mr. Marine officer, there is no time to explain the politics and culture of the Panipuri Kingdom while Shahar burns and innocent people are being slaughtered! You have to help us!"
Franco paused and thought for a second, then turned to his troops.
"First division! New plan! Go join the second and third divisions and stop the invaders!"
The ensign ran forward and saluted. "Captain Franco! Sir! What about Shaska the Greedy?!"
"Leave her to me," Franco responded.
The ensign was shocked. "Sir! She's worth nearly two hundred million berries! Are you sure you can take her on al-"
"Follow my orders, ensign!"
The ensign saluted, and led the rest of the soldiers away. Franco turned back to the injured longleg and pulled out Shaska's wanted poster.
"Have you seen a woman who looks like this? She's about as tall as you are and chain smokes cigars."
The longleg was surprised. "I… I did see her, yes. She asked me for directions on how to get to the Kemuri Mart on Dhuaan Street. It's quite a ways away though," he said, pointing in the direction. "It's that way."
"Thank you, sir," Franco replied. "Please, try and hide somewhere."
Franco took off in the direction the longleg was pointing, using his Moon Walk to get better height so he could see better.
It was then that he witnessed the mountain being sliced in half and casually thrown away.
"That can't be good," Franco said.
—-
Shaska entered the Kemuri Mart, where she was greeted by three longleg Kemurchants pointing guns at her.
"Oh, it's the old CEO," said one of them dryly, puffing on his cigar.
"We got orders from corporate to bring you in if you ever set foot in a Kemuri Mart again," said the second.
"Your 'incident' in the Mazurka Kingdom was a PR disaster for the company, even after the board of directors kicked you out," said the third.
"Not like I was expecting a warm welcome anyway," Shaska replied, blowing smoke. "You guys really think you can take me?"
The Kemurchants didn't lower their guns.
"We think we can take you when you're all beat up like that," said the second, noting how she was covered in blood.
"Listen, I'm not here to shop, I'm here to get your help. I'm sure you all have heard the commotion outside? The literal class war that's going on?" Shaska said.
"Not our problem," said the first Kemurchant.
Shaska was dumbfounded. "You're kidding, right? You don't need to be in business as long as I have to realize that thousands of people being slaughtered means fewer customers."
The Kemurchants didn't react.
"In other words, get off your lazy asses and put your bounty hunting skills to use to save the city!"
The third Kemurchant shot at her, but even in her injured state, she snatched the bullet out of the air with ease. He lowered his gun in shock.
"I'm guessing that corporate didn't tell you how tough I was," Shaska said.
She puffed on her cigar and blew some smoke, then cracked her knuckles.
"Alright, listen, you jerks, here's the deal: there's a whole bunch of Unclean raging through the city, killing anyone in sight who isn't also an Unclean. I'm trying to stop that so thousands of people don't die. I'm guessing you guys aren't Unclean yourselves. So, here's the plan: die to them, or die to me."
The third Kemurchant's eyes widened, but the other two weren't impressed. They shot at her, but once again, she snatched the bullets out of the air.
"We can do this all day, fellas."
The Kemurchants looked at each other, then ran deep into the store. They came back a few minutes later with ten more longleg Kemurchants, all armed to the teeth.
"Once again, I say, die to them, or die to me," Shaska said, unperturbed.
"We… we'll die to them. We'll try to save Shahar," said the manager.
"Excellent choice," Shaska replied, blowing smoke with a smile.
She left the Kemuri Mart, and the Kemurchants filed out after her, one by one. They were greeted by a horde of Unclean, weapons drawn. Shaska didn't react, and instead punched the air in front of them as hard as she could.
"Arabesque Brick Fist!"
The shockwave through the air's water vapor knocked the Unclean over, and as they scrambled to their feet, the Kemurchants rushed over to fight them.
As the Kemurchants battled the Unclean, the mountain overlooking Shahar was sliced in half and casually tossed into the sea. Shaska's eyes widened at the sight of this.
"That can't be good."
—-
Barabar soared over the Panipuri Kingdom on a giant rukh bird from his base in Baagee. From the cabin on the bird's back, he witnessed the mountain being sliced in two and thrown into the sea.
"Excellent… Mr. Balthasar is here. I hope my reactionary nephew is deceased now," he muttered.
He pulled out a gun and pointed it at the pilot. "Pick up the pace," he growled. "My benefactor is waiting. You will land in front of the royal palace."
The pilot was sweating profusely. "Yes, Prince Barabar, sir."
"The time for revolution is here. I shall secure my spot in Heaven, on Earth, and in the afterlife."
—
The red and gold clad soldiers marched over the bedrock where the mountain once stood, with Balthasar von Esens picking up the rear, and his sister right next to him, cheerfully skipping.
They soon stood at what was once the precipice overlooking Shahar, but as von Esens had forcefully removed the mountain, nothing stood there anymore. The force marched into the city, with von Esens taking note of the destruction.
"Sad. Ze masses have had zeir livelihoods and lives stripped away in ze pursuit of true equality. It iss a necessary sacrifice to make for Heaven."
He clasped his hands and bowed his head in prayer as he walked. "My Lord, please give zese departed souls proper judgment. May zey rest easy in your hands. Amen."
The group came to the town square a short ways from the palace, which was surrounded on one side by the Unclean army, on another by Marines fighting them. In the middle were citizens of Shahar, still fleeing for their lives.
Lulupo, Zinnia, Ren, Andy, Roxanne, Puerco, and Johnson all met in the town square with intent to force the palace gates open, but the arrival of the red-clad soldiers caught their attention. The fighting came to an abrupt stop when one of the Minus World soldiers blew a horn, drowning out the thoughts of the combatants. Everyone turned to face Balthasar von Esens.
"Friends! Dear lost sheep! Lend me your ears!" Von Esens proclaimed in his deep, booming voice. "Ze time for revolution has come! Und a new day vill dawn upon ze world! Rejoice! As your king has arrived!"
TO BE CONTINUED