Chapter 1: 7 Years Later

“Push forward!” A man screamed to fellow soldiers. As they charged towards the humans, the gunfire intensified. “COVER!” Another man yelled, and they all shielded their heads with the armor on their forearms. Various avian experiments swooped down from above, picking off some of the human soldiers with their talons. Tanks fired up at the flying assailants, but they dodged effortlessly. As the ground soldiers continued their charge, some of the humans began to run off in terror. Bears, wolves, tigers, and even rhinos; multiple types of experiments began their attack, tearing through the humans’s army. Their specially-made armor was too thick for bullets to pierce, and they were too fast for the humans to get a good shot.

It was a one-sided massacre as it always had been whenever the humans tried to attack. “FALL BACK!” One of the human soldiers ordered, “BUT RELEASE THE JUGGERNAUGHT!” A large armored vehicle came barreling through the battlefield, stopping in front of the humans. The experiments came to a halt when they noticed the vehicle. A large front door at the front slammed open, letting a ten-foot-tall camouflaged mech come walking out. It was piloted by one soldier. The experiments took a few steps back, unsure of what to do about this new threat. Then, from the sky, a figure had begun falling toward the mech. The figure landed behind the mech, smashing the vehicle with her feet.

Once the dust had settled, the woman revealed herself. She was dark-skinned, with long, flowing black hair, a piercing emerald green left eye, but the right one was closed and had a large scar over it. Black panther ears atop her head, feline claws, and a long tail. She wore black samurai-like armor with green shoulder pads. “General Nia’s here!” The experiments cheered. The mech turned around to face the woman. She cracked her neck, and in a flash, lunged forward and socked the mech’s chest. It slid backward, then the pilot moved forward, throwing a punch that Nia easily dodged and jumped up and kicked the mech in the head. It stumbled for a moment, but went for another attack, this one faster than the first. She dodged it again and let out a flurry of attacks all around the mech’s body. Nia roared as she slammed her fist into its back, leaving a large dent. Once she stopped and jumped back for distance, the mech turned around, the pilot smirking.

Nia huffed, exhausted from her assault, and the pilot pressed a few buttons and shot forward, too fast for the tired general to react. He got a solid uppercut into the gut, cracking her armor and getting her launched back. Some of the other experiments caught her and laid her on the ground. “General! Are you alright!” One asked. She stumbled to get up, holding her stomach. “This thing’s way stronger than what we’ve seen before.” She groaned. The pilot and other soldiers behind him started to chuckle, then the mech blasted forward for another attack. “PROTECT THE GENERAL!” Someone yelled, and multiple experiments jumped in front of her. The mech raised its fist to backhand them away, but when it went for the swing, something burst through the crowd and smashed through the right side of the mech, leaving a huge cloud of dust. It happened in an instant; everyone stared in shock and confusion as the mech stumbled back. The pilot turned to see what had happened, and as the dust blew away, his face melted into panic seeing the blood-red armor.

It was smaller than the rest, only covering the man’s front and shoulders. Three claw marks had been made on the chestplate. He wore a black skin-tight shirt, black baggy pants with a blue belt wrapped around his waist. He wore black shoes with blue bands around his ankles. His pitch black hair with crimson tips went all the way down to the middle of his back, some of it covering his left eye. When the wind blew his hair, those two red and yellow fire-like eyes stared daggers. “C-Cheif.” A soldier said in awe. “You cockroaches are starting to get more crafty.” The Chief said, voice cold and filled with hate. “I guess even parasites can evolve, too, if you give them the time.” The pilot shook his nerves and gritted his teeth, “No thanks to you, you monster!” He shouted. He tried to go for an attack, but before the pilot could even move, the Chief burst straight through the mech, impaling the pilot’s chest. The two landed on the ground, “You should be grateful I even let ANY of you live.” The Chief ripped his hand out of the pilot, and his body hit the floor.

The destroyed mech fell over as the rest of the humans looked on in terror. “Chief Ferral! How did you know we were in danger?!” A soldier asked. “I was watching from afar,” Ferral responded, “Just in case.” He gave a smile, “It’s my job to protect you all, remember?” Each of them smiled in relief, then Ferral turned his sights on the rest of the humans, his callous expression returning. As he started walking toward the army, they started backing away in fear until eventually running off. He stopped walking and scoffed as they ran, waiting to turn around until they were completely out of sight. After that, Ferral walked back over to his people. He knelt in front of Nia, placing his hand on her shoulder. “Are you alright?” He asked softly. “You know I am,” She smirked, “Had him right where I wanted him. Then you had to steal all the glory.” He chuckled, “Sorry, just instincts.” The two got up, and a group of five medics came running toward them.

“Cheif! Chieftess!” A female and male medic called out. “We report about fifteen deaths and thirty injured!” “Not bad,” Ferral replied. “Keep combing through the field, there’s most likely more.” Nia added. “Right away, ma’am!” They all nodded. “Not bad, but could be better.” Ferral said, “We’ll have to go back to the village and work out a new strategy.” “Noooo, I’LL work on a new strategy,” Nia interjected, “YOU promised the kids that you’d help them train. And you’ve been putting that off for about two weeks.” Ferral chuckled, embarrassed, scratching the back of his head. “Oh yeah. Guess I’ve been too busy lately.” Nia scoffed, “Too busy getting distracted.” “Well, I’m sure we deterred the humans for a while, so we’ll have plenty of free time. Maybe we’ll take a family picnic.” Nia smiled, “The kids and I will hold you to it.” Ferral nodded, and the two started to rally the rest of the army and head back to the village.