Chapter 8: Destined Rivals Reunite

Ferral bolted out the entrance to the facility, leaving Dr. Atlas behind. “Wait….” He huffed, “Hold…..on…..” Ferral looked back, looking at Atlas’s struggle. He rolled his eyes, turning around and going back for him. Ferral put his arms behind, “Hurry, hop on.” Dr. Atlas jumped on Ferral’s back, and the two went off. Atlas almost falling off due to the speed at which Ferral ran.

As Ferral raced back to the village, Dr. Atlas noticed something following them from the brush. It was getting closer and closer. It was big and fast. “Mr. Ferral, look out!” He alerted, Ferral looking at his left, but didn’t have enough time to react before being slammed into. Being launched to the side, the two fell over a small cliff. They fell into a creek, hitting the rocks at the bottom. Ferral burst up from the water, furiously looking up. Dr. Atlas breached his head, flailing his arms in the air. “HELP! I’M DROWNING! I CAN’T SWIM!” Ferral looked down, “The water’s only five feet deep. Just stand up!” He barked. Dr. Atlas stopped flailing and set his feet on the floor of the creek. “Hey, it’s only five feet deep!” “NO, really?!” Dr. Atlas nodded his head before Ferral smacked the back of it. “Get out of the water, idiot!” The two walked back onto the land.

Ferral looked back up, trying to find their attacker. A foot stomped on the edge of the cliff, a woman giving a large grin, looking down at the duo. “It’s about damn time! I’ve been waiting, Ferral!” The woman boasted. Her skin was a golden brown and was muscular. Bandages wrapped around chest and forearms. She wore torn blue jeans, rips and holes littered from her thighs to the end of the legs. Her hair was short and messy, orange-brown with black stripes. The woman’s fur color matched her hair, with lion ears on her head and a tiger tail.

Dr. Atlas looked at the woman, then at Ferral. Ferral lifted his right hand and pointed at her, “I don’t know you!” He responded. The woman looked at him, annoyed after that response, jumped down from the cliff, and landed on a large rock in the creek. “Don’t bullshit yourself, idiot. I know you know who I am.” Dr. Atlas walked over to Ferral, “Do you actually know this woman?” He asked. Ferral didn’t respond for a minute. “Just a ghost from my past.” He said. The woman scoffed, “Oh, I’m alive, Ferral. Scars and all.” She pointed at the four large slash marks that ran from her abs up to her chest. “That day you didn’t kill me. Why?” “You didn’t seem worth the effort.” “Or maybe you just couldn’t bring yourself to do it.” “It’s irrelevant now. I’ve got more important things to take care of. I don’t have to indulge in your worthless squabbles, Leona.”

“Leona?” Dr. Atlas questioned, “I’ve heard that name in some of the old videos. Isn’t she a friend of yours?” Ferral leered at Leona, “No. Everyone from my past is dead.” Ferral burst forward, directly at Leona, thrusting his right claw at her. She dodged the attack, throwing a punch of her own. Ferral used his other hand to grab her fist and threw her to the side.

She slid in the water. The two stared each other down while Dr. Atlas looked on in awe at the speed of their small scuffle. “Are you really going to waste my time?” Ferral sighed. “I’ve waited for this for a long, Ferral. You’re not getting away again.” The two got into their fighting stances, their eyes completely locked on the other. “Atlas!” Ferral called out, “Try to stall those fools from getting close to the village!” “R-Right!” He responded.

Ferral and Leona charged at each other. They clashed punches, Ferral throwing a few attacks that Leona blocked and dodged. Then retaliated with her own. Ferral grabbed both her fists and kneed her in the stomach, dropping his left elbow against the back of her neck. Leona swept his legs; as he fell, Ferral landed on his right hand and launched himself back. He got back up and was met with Leona throwing a flurry of punches. He blocked each one, but was being pushed back. He lowered his hands, swaying his head to avoid the attacks and socked Leona square in the face. She was sent flying back, hitting the cliff wall.

Ferral bolted at Leona, going for a slash with his claws. He swiped down, Leona barely able to dodge. Ferral’s claws digging through the rock. “Seems you’ve gotten a little better.” Ferral mocked. “You’d be surprised how a near-death experience can motivate you.” Leona retorted. Ferral cracked both sides of his neck, “Guess I’ll have to stop holding back.” Ferral’s hair and fur grew a little, crimson red painted the tips; yellow swirled and mixed with the red of his irises. He blitzed Leona, grabbing her head and slamming it against the rocks. An assault of continuous punches impacted Leona’s body. Her blood splattered onto the cliff and into the water. She growled, catching both of Ferral’s fists, shocking him. She raised her head, slamming it against Ferral’s. Letting go of his hands, she raised her fists, landing two powerful punches against his face. He fell into the water.

As he got up, Ferral wiped the blood from his mouth. He looked up at Leona, noticing the purple that swirled and filled her irises. She chukcled, “You’re not the only one with that power anymore, Ferral.” The orange-brown of her fur turned to a blazing red, the tips a pure white. The irises of her eyes became a lavender, and unlike Ferral’s, which resembled a flame, Leona’s had what appeared to be a sunflower design. She grinned proudly….

“C’mon, Ferral. Let’s fight at full power.”