A/N: Hey there my readers I am back with another chapter. I'm glad to see a good amount of people interested in reading this and I truly hope you enjoy. But there is one thing that I find lacking, the lack of reviews. Come on! I know some people want to do it out there and it doesn't bother me if it is a bad review, I just want to read some sort of feedback. Hit me with your best shot! Also I recommend reading this while listening to some fast paced beaty music, it is just a suggestion. Lastly this chapter will be like small nitpicks of different side characters that you probably won't hear of again.
The bullets seemed to be non-stop. 30 bodies dropped to the floor, their life force taken from them by the bullet holes planted firmly in their foreheads. The Rangers who were fast enough to crouch behind the wall for protection felt a mix of emotions. Some stared at the lifeless eyes of the dead and felt fear course through them. Others wanted to exert the new found anger and what was better than avenging their comrades.
Though they were angry it still didn't give them the ability to fire back. For some reason they sat there behind cover and shook. The fact that men and women from the same race as them were able to commit these atrocities chilled them to the core.
"FIRE!" the voice was somehow able to break through the oncoming torrent of bullets. Every Ranger on the wall looked down to the origin of the voice, their Commanding Officer. "YOU WILL RETURN FIRE NOW! AVENGE THE FALLEN!" the Captain had the look of pure hatred in her eyes along with a tint of red.
One Female Ranger in particular was knocked out of her complete shock. With a startled glance down she looked at the body next to her. A young man who looked no older than 17. His pure snow white hair was soiled by his own blood as his rifle lay in his limp hand. She had seen this boy around the base a few times. Always sporting a smile and laughing with his friends, that laugh was one that could lighten up an entire room. Then there was his eyes. They were amazing, the colors of the lightest purple she had ever seen.
Now they were reduced to mere orbs filled with nothing. The color was drained from them along with the love he held. Shakily, she reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the picture he held closely. His wife and three boys. The tears that were forming in her eyes blocked her ability to see the picture clearly, but the smiles were evident.
For centuries blood had not been spilled in these lands, not by anything other than a few Yeti scratches. The female Ranger slowly placed the picture on the boy's chest. A noise started to emit from the back of her throat. It started low but gradually increased until she was full on screaming into the air. She had the attention of everyone on the wall and in the courtyard.
"AVENGE THE FALLEN!" she repeated the Captain's words and aimed over the cover opening fire. Everyone stared at her and the anger she was portraying seemed to be flowing off her body. Others felt the anger and with yells they screamed, "AVENGE THE FALLEN!"
The Master smirked, "The real battle has officially begun". He grabbed the ice glass that was sitting on the armrest of his chair and took a long gulp. The fruit taste of his favorite wine made him feel content as he sat in his throne watching the battle. The rest of the Rangers on the wall were returning fire and a decent amount of his forces were being injured or killed. It didn't matter to him.
"I am famished, bring me a snack". One of his attendees bowed to her master and rummaged through the bag he had given her. She pulled out a small cluster of juicy delicious grapes and smiled, the Master would love this.
She returned with a bow and offered the grapes to him. The Master smiled, "Grapes. You always know what I desire." He took the grapes from her and with his free hand started to pet her blue hair, earning a moan of pleasure from the young servant. "You will be rewarded for your services after our victory". She smiled and bowed.
The Master ate his grapes and enjoyed watching his favorite pastime. One Ranger in particular caught his attention. She was firing rapidly and successfully hitting her targets. The Master looked more closely and saw the fire in her eyes, like she was trying to avenge a close friend of some kind. If she kept up her fighting then there was no telling how many of his men would be killed before her sure demise. Why not deal with this now?
With a sigh of annoyance he placed his snack on his armrest. The Master un-holstered his sidearm and opened fire. The shot as always made its mark right in the left eye socket. Re-holstering his sidearm he felt as though the battle was in fact going on for too long and that was surprising.
The Master placed another grape in his mouth, enjoying the sweet taste before reaching for the watch in his pocket. It read '11 minutes: 41 seconds'. The Master had to give outpost 81 some serious props, they had shattered outpost 77's destruction time of 8 minutes flat. Normally he would be ecstatic to see some new set time records but he was a little tired. Destroying two outposts was tough work even if it only lasted about 6 to 8 minutes.
He still had so much to do later. Please himself and his servants then figure out what to do with the bodies. Then of course he had to figure out some defensive strategies with the Generals of his prestigious armies, not to mention some patrolling routes for supplies. The Master was just a busy man.
"This has gone on long enough. Tell General Jin to use our close quarter troops to distract the Rangers on the wall. Then bring in the gate destroyers. As soon as those gates are down I want everyone to pour in through the entrance. Understood?"
One of the Masters bodyguards bowed and ran for the front lines. Seeking to relay his Masters orders. Now all the Master had to do was wait and watch. He looked down at the servant who gave him the grapes. "You may sit on my lap if you desire".
Her face lit up with a smile, "Yes Master I would very much like that" she bowed and then stood to her feet. She slowly lowered herself onto his lap and gently sat back into his warm chest. He started to pet her head like before and he was able to notice some jealous stares come from his other servants. The Master laughed, he loved being him.
(Scene Break)
The Rangers continued their fire. Dozens of their enemies fell from their onslaught but for every dozen, one Ranger would fall. The Captain watched from the courtyard below. She was busy setting up the close quarter fighters but the smell of gunpowder and blood filled the air and made it toxic to smell and breathe in.
Why was this happening in the first place? Snow people never attacked one another and in general they were a peaceful race. These people attacked and killed like it meant nothing at all, they would take a life of an innocent person. Taking them away from their families without a second thought. They were monsters.
The Captain didn't want to fight. There had to be another way to end this peacefully before more lives were lost. Maybe if they surrendered and wished to talk with the man in charge they would be able to make something happen, something that didn't involve any of this.
"They're climbing the wall!" The Captain came out of her trance. One of the troops in the enemies' army landed on top of the wall. She felt intimidated by the armor and then it happened, something she would not forget. The troop, who was in their monster form, their ice claws showing. Jumped forward and sent its right claw through the chest of one of her beloved Rangers. The world seemed to slow down instantly and the Captain heard the death screams of the Ranger as his body was hoisted into the air, the claw going deeper through the Rangers body.
At that moment the Captain knew it would do no good to talk. The world returned to normal speed as two Rangers from the wall noticed what happened and turned their weapons on the murderer. They opened fire hitting the enemy troop 6 times in the chest and 4 times in the stomach. This time the enemy troop screamed before plummeting back over the outside of the wall.
In an instant dozens more of the enemies' troops in their monster forms jumped onto the top of the wall. "SWORDS, SWORDS, SWORDS!"
Half of the Rangers on the wall dropped their rifles to the ground and drew flesh parrying swords. Even though they had the ability to transform into their monster forms, the Rangers that were stationed on the wall were a lot weaker in their true forms. So to keep the weaker ones useful they were more thoroughly trained to use the rifle.
Unfortunately there were bound to be moments when they needed to fight close quarters, which is when they were trained to use these blades. They were as sharp and durable as the ice claws of their subordinates trained in their monster forms.
Their training was brutal, they all strived to be just as good. But the training they endeared was intended to never be used against other snow people. Yetis were more predictable with their swipes. So the Captain was not as shocked when she saw about 25 percent of what was left of the Rangers on the wall drop to the floor after only a few exchanges. She looked to her close quarter Rangers
"Squads A through D get your asses up there and bolster the wall!"
"Yes Ma'am!"
(Scene Break)
One Ranger red shirt felt pressure on his sword as the enemy trooper pushed their claw forward, intending for the weapon to pierce his head. He shoved his sword forward knocking the trooper off balance and with a follow up attack stabbed his sword forward and through his opponent's chest, piercing his heart. A splash of blood landed on his nose as the creature yelled out in pain and defeat before the Ranger pulled his blade out.
This shit was insane! He was only a Ranger for a week and now this was happening. When his parents had told him that it was a great honor to join the Rangers, he thoroughly agreed with them. It also helped that he knew it might be a good chance to find a mate and if that didn't light a fire under his ass then nothing would.
So here he was. Instead of finding a girl he was sword fighting with one that wanted to decapitate him. Lucky for him though he was in the zone. Block left, block right, down, up and attack. His sword claimed another as he swiped downward across the chest, going right through the armor.
Looking around for another victim was when for the first time this new Ranger private felt seriously scared. About 30 seconds ago there were 8 other Rangers around him fighting, full of rage and life. Now they laid on the ice, their bodies rage gone along with their life. The 8 opponents of his comrade's battles were now staring at him with the thirst of blood and their thirst was not quite quenched.
His determination gone the young Ranger turned and ran. He ran as fast as he could and turned around to see the troopers chasing him. He passed other battles and quickly just blocked a few stray attacks that were sent his way and continued his retreat, hoping to find some help.
There was a crowd of close quarter fights and with a few pushes he broke through. There were screams as more of his fellow Rangers were killed. "Private get down!"
He barely heard the order and thanks to some eddicate classes before joining the Rangers he listened to his superiors command. He dropped to the floor and immediately shots sounded off and he could hear the sounds of impact followed by more screams. If he got out of this alive screams would be a hot topic in his nightmares.
The shots died down and the Private looked up at his saviors. 5 rangers had one knee on the ground in the front while 5 other Rangers were standing above them. The barrels of their rifles were smoking.
The private nodded and rolled onto his back looking at the 11 dead enemy troopers, their bodies riddled with GSW's. The Private grabbed his sword and was going to thank his fellow Rangers when there were multiple screams and they were close by.
15 more enemy troops jumped onto the top of the wall. "Shit. This is not looking good".
They ran forward at the group of Rangers that killed their friends, intent on cutting their bodies up into tiny pieces. The Private stood and pointed his sword forward ready for a fight.
"We'll take it from here!" The Private watched as friendlies jumped into the troops charging path, they were in their monster forms. The group of Rangers watched as their allies tore through the enemy using their special abilities that they trained to use for years.
When the small encounter was over the Private walked forward. "Thank you for saving us". He noticed all of the 10 people standing in front of him smiled. "Don't worry about a thing Private, it's our duty to help each other". One of the female Rangers said with a slight blush clearly shown on her face.
The Private also blushed and turned to the left slightly, trying to hide it from the other Rangers.
"Sorry to break up your little flirt chat". The Private felt his face grow even hotter and the girl Ranger had to turn away from her friends to hide the color change in her cheeks. "But we have to defend the gate".
"Right" everyone said in unison.
"CLEAR THE WALL!"
The Private looked to the middle of the defense and watched Rangers trying to get off the wall. Some pushed their friends out of the way while others tried to just up and run from the middle of their sword fight.
The Private along with his little group looked out into the sea of enemies, trying to find the reason why there was such a big rush to get off the wall. Then just like that they found out why. "It can't be…"
5 loud explosions filled the air as the armaments made contact with the front gate. The gate completely shattered and sent hundreds of pieces into the air. The part of the wall on top of the gate followed suite as dozens of both Rangers and enemy troopers flew into the morning sky from detonation. Either being killed by the explosion, the debris or the fall.
A large hole was made right in the middle of outpost 81 and nothing could stop the Master. "Send everyone in. Kill them all except for 1, bring that Ranger to me so I can finally send my message to our enemy."
The General relayed his Master's orders to the army and with a bonsai charge they rushed forward into the opening.
The Captain stared dumbstruck at the mass amount of enemy forces that were rushing forward towards their breach of defense. She looked around at the 100 close quarter Rangers and knew they weren't going to last long. "It's all over…"
The Enemy breached the opening and just like the outposts before it, outpost 81 fell to the iron war fist of the Master.
(Scene Break)
The room was quiet. Not a single person in the room wanted to break the silence. Captain Nori stood with her hands behind her back and her cold hard gaze was on the person sitting a few feet in front of her.
The Snow Priestess finished reading over the piece of parchment once again. "I see where you are concerned Captain. Now you're sure that outposts 75, 77 and 81 have been taken over by these so called Rebels?"
"Yes your highness" Captain Nori once again bowed her respects, "I sent my most trusted scouts and they have confirmed these accusations."
The Snow Priestess re-read the parchment again, "That is very interesting".
Captain Nori felt her small amount of patience begin to fade. She had told the beloved Snow Priestess of these horrifying acts and so far after 20 minutes of this meeting those were the only words exchanged between the two. The other 19 minutes were consisted of reading the parchment over and over again.
Hoping to speed things up Captain Nori cleared her throat, getting the attention of the Snow Priestess. "I'm sorry your highness but under these circumstances I believe that we should-"
"I already know what you desire Captain." The Snow Priestess stood from her throne and picked up her staff, anger radiating off of her. "I know that you want me to enact a law that was banned by the first ever Snow Priestess over 5 centuries ago".
"Please understand my motives your highness but we have thousands of heavily armed and extremely dangerous persons not just sitting on our borders, they are attacking Ranger outposts. Killing everyone inside and then taking it for themselves." The angry expression of the Snow Priestess seemed to be calming little by little. Captain Nori knew that she was against any sort of violence. "I don't have enough Rangers to do anything at all. If we don't do something soon then before we know it our village will be attacked and most likely destroyed."
Upon hearing the possible destruction of the village the Snow Priestess sat back down in her throne. This law was banned for a reason and if things went wrong then the existence of the snow people could be in serious trouble. Then if she didn't enact the law it could just end up destroying the village.
She made up her mind. "Alright Captain. I give you the right to re-enact the law. I will always believe in the Ranger core and your judgment but I have one objection that I wish you will respect."
"Of course your highness".
"Good then".
(Scene Break)
The Aono family sat at the dinner table. It seemed Mizore and her daughter Ayaka were the only ones eating tonight. Ayaka never ever had a problem eating and tonight was no different from the others. On the other side of the table Mizore was meekly picking around her rice balls. She took a quick look at her bedroom door.
When she returned home with Tsukune he immediately went into their room and locked the door. He said that he wanted to be alone for a little while and Mizore had no objections. At first she thought he was only going to be in there for a minutes but that quickly turned into 10 hours and now the sun was starting to set over the village.
"Mommy?" Mizore broke eye contact with her door and turned her focus to her beautiful daughter. "What is wrong with daddy? Is he sad?"
"I don't know Ayaka. Your daddy just needs a little time and then I'm sure he will be back out here with us." Mizore didn't like to lie to her daughter but she didn't see the reason to tell her why her daddy was locked in the bedroom.
Then like magic the doorknob to the bedroom twisted open. Both Mizore and Ayaka stood from their seats and watched as Tsukune came walking out. He changed his clothes and was now wearing a plain white t-shirt with navy blue jeans.
"Daddy!" Ayaka yelled out and jumped off her chair running towards her favorite person in the world. Mizore looked more closely at Tsukune and noticed that something was off about him. His eyes were a little glassy and he was kind of trudging instead of walking. Still, Tsukune picked his daughter up off the ground and gave her a warming hug.
"Man I wish I could be like you Ayaka, you get to stay in your PJ's all day." Ayaka started to laugh and so did Tsukune.
Ayaka pulled her head off of her father's shoulder and looked at him seriously. "Me and Mommy were worried about you Daddy. Are you ok?"
Tsukune shifted his gaze over to his wife, "I'm sorry for worrying you and mommy. I'm fine now, so how about you go ahead and finish your dinner". Seeing as though everything was back to normal Ayaka agreed with her dad and he sat her back down on the table.
He watched her eat for a few seconds before he felt a hand on his shoulder. Tsukune faced his wife, "Hey" he said.
"Hey" Mizore replied not really knowing what to say. But she had to say something, "Are you feeling better now?"
Tsukune didn't answer right away and when he did it was a quick 'Yep'. Mizore faked a smile, 'Liar' she thought to herself. Tsukune was always a terrible liar, something that always worked in her favor. He would take too long to answer then he would look down and to the left whenever he said the lie. It didn't technically count as lying to your wife's face since he never looked into her eyes when he lied.
She decided it would be better to call him out on his lie later on tonight.
A knock on the door broke their small conversation as everyone looked towards the door. Tsukune walked forward to answer it. Mizore for some reason felt as though she should answer it along with him. "Stay seated Ayaka". Her daughter listened and continued to chow down.
Tsukune opened the door as Mizore stopped next to him. A female Ranger stood there. Wearing the blue top along with the blue combat pants. Her tan boots of course had snow covering them and her tan half cape on the right side of her back was slightly torn from much use. She also had a very cold glare as she looked back and forth between Tsukune and Mizore. "I'm sorry to interrupt your dinner but I'm looking for Aono Tsukune."
"That would be me" Tsukune answered confidently, expecting that maybe another Ranger was injured. If there was he would not lose this one.
"Alright, Along with the law as part of this village you are to protect your homeland. You are being drafted to the Ranger core and will train in Camp Currahee effective immediately. You have 5 minutes to pack essentials and come with me".
A/N: End of Chapter three. Chapter four will be the reaction to the re-enactment of the mandatory draft and the introduction of Tsukune's training. I really hope people know the Camp Currahee reference and like I said in the beginning go ahead and review.