How Opposites Attract

[Harusame]

He face was twisted in disgust as she lay down on the trunk of the tree. Her hand pinched the nasal bridge as she shook her head, trying to get the image and smell out of her head. Down below, Sukmeov's men had stopped walking. It seemed this was a good thing. But, they were all taking bathroom breaks, letting waste at the same tree in numbers.

Her mind was fuzzy as she tried to recall how she had got here. It wasn't anything special, simply knowing where she has stepped so that she could return later. Her mind simply fuzzed at every attempt, the smell of brown chunks wafting towards her. She went on to cover her nose with a free arm, and it worked for a while before the smell sinked through and she shook her head again.

"Nnnnnnngh, ahhhh ... I' came ou' Ralph!" The man under her triumphed. Saffira softly bumped her head on the tree trunk.

"Does it have chunks in it? Are they red?"

"Yeh, just like you said!"

So dudes enjoy talking about crap like this? Inwardly she was disappointed. Even if these people had taken Kuffu, this was one of her first times actually listening to what guys say. And it wasn't any fun at all. The things they talked about: crap, others mothers, money and who would look hotter as a girl.

Disappointed, she couldn't help watching any longer, appalled at their behaviour. Swinging herself back onto her huge branch, leaving her not able to see the group anymore, she quietly and heartedly took a whiff of fresh air and sighed.

Where the hell do these people come from? Her eyes rolled as she heard the pooping man call to ralph again. "Holy! They look like bird eggs!" Smacking herself, she sat and thought about how this was going to work.

Fira was thoroughly sure Anthony would take care of Sukmeov the idiot, but Kuffu was what she cared about. She couldn't walk into their ... 'camp' (which she didn't even like from up there) and tell them to hand over the cheetah. Sure they wouldn't kill her, but that was the least of what she worried about at the moment.

But in the middle of her thought process, one of the men voiced a opinion: "What if we tied the little bugger somewhere secluded? We could ransom some money out of those twerps! I understand we're supposed to be marines and all, but who cares! Cash is also important!"

It seemed before the dudes had wanted to deal with this issue in a clean, marine like way (this wasn't marine like at all, honestly) so they didn't seem completely bad. Jeinali found herself leaning in closer as his opinion was voiced. After a moment of silence, one of the men, probably the leader of the group, agreed. "Why not? Ransom sounds cool." Everyone murmured their agreement and they all trotted off into the woods, followed by a retarded kid pulling up his pants and saying "I haven't finished yet!"

Immediately, she sprang on her feet and jumped over to the next tree. Dammniiiit She scolded.

[Deleted]

SPOILER: Click to show

Sorry...got really lazy on this post

Off in the far reaches of the Marine B4 Base were two adversaries. One was down on his knees with the other laughing boisterously at his victim.

Resting desperately upon his knees while laboriously breathing to control his panic, Wallace glared up at S.A.L with a pained grimace. Despite all the years of training he had gone through with a Captain father, Anthony had never received a bullet wound in his entire life, especially not one shot point-blank into the chest. Sukmeov must have had enormous luck to hit the Anguished Marine in such a vulnerable area, a mistake that would cost the idiot his life if Anthony managed to survive. But that was the problem. How the hell was he going to survive here? The two of them were off in the middle of nowhere and by the time anyone would find them, the Dying Marine would be long gone. It seemed hopeless. And it was pointless for him to struggle until he realized just who he had been fighting for.

Ergh...Damn...Saffira, I just hope you're okay... His thoughts began to falter as the drops of life dripped from the scarlet aperture upon his front. After a minute, Wallace was losing his grip on his control as his heavy breathing slowly developed into rapid, panicked gasps for air. Sukmeov took this as an occasion to torture the bastard who caused him to lose face during the scuffle earlier. The Cheating Douchebag slowly walked over to Anthony with the pistol still aimed at between the eyes of the blonde enemy. “Hehehe, say good night…Boyfriend.”

Boyfriend… Anthony’s breathing started to return to normal as his fists clenched up in anger. Sukmeov stopped in front of the feet of his foe and decided to go with something cheesy to say before executing this blonde annoyance. “Y’know, for someone who hangs out with cat girls…You sure are a little bitch, Wallace.” S’A.L brought up his gun into the center of Anthony’s head and placed his finger on the trigger. At the same time, the son of the Captain prepared himself for the attack by ‘rooting’ himself into the ground by tightening his grip in the dirt. After this was accomplished, the blonde kicker flicked his body to the side and swept his leg across Sukmeov’s face, causing the slow idiot to drop his gun as well as drop to the floor in pain. The bullet wound remained to be horribly intense but was reduced after that little boost of anger triggered from Sukmeov’s comment. After all, the dumbass was right about one thing. Wallace was a boyfriend. Was...

[Harusame]

Stupid fat asses ...

Some people would think Saffira's thoughts were unfair. That these men did deserve another chance, to prove themselves. That in the long run, they could become great marines. Possibly help her in a time of need, where she would forget what they did.

But she wasn't talking about them taking Kuffu. The thing making her blood boil, causing her such annoyance, was their pace. It had been at least fifteen minutes, and they had only walked about a half and a quarter of a mile. Their delay was caused by sudden 'uptakes' from the man who had been pooping. The dumb little twit kept screaming for the the group to wait right before he'd jump behind a tree, screaming out at Ralph all over again. And there was also Kuffu, who kept awakening and coming back, before getting a syringe poked into his butt again, giving him that daze yet again. There had been quite a few attacks on the men, who had faces showing annoyance. They groaned and trotted on as they made their way, trying to find a safe place and secluded place to hide the drunken beast.

The Purple Haired Marine had been following through the trees, hopping about and witnessing their problems. It was odd, she had never ever felt this pissed off in her life. It wasn't just that they had taken Kuffu, but something else bothered her. How the hell were these the people who had been behind Sukmeov, bothering her all this time? Peanuts for brains would best describe the intellect she got from stalking them. Every time Mr. Poo poo decided to take another 'go', she would feel something boil up into her face then subside as she calmed down. But every time it happened, the feeling got worse and worse.

And here he went again.

"Wait up guys!" He flailed his arms and jumped behind another tree, a zip was heard and it started again.

Fira sat crossed legged on her tree and watched as the leader face palmed through the leaves of the tree. "If you take, one more crap Yezin, I will beat the rest out of you personally!" She could see his usual calm face flame up. And honestly, she couldn't agree more. How many times did this Yezin have to go? It was all that Ralphs fault, who had given him that 'thing.' After a while, Yezin came out sighing again yet still having that slight irritant look of constipation on his face.

The Cheetah Girl got up as she continued to follow, breathing heavily from anger. Oh what she would do to swoop down and just kick that guy in the face. Saffira usually never had this impulse, but then again had never been this annoyed. The small idea of her brother getting hurt had made her more aggressive, and she couldn't help it. What was she to do?

Then Yezin asked something, this time not to wait for him to do his business. "Why does Sukmeov hate that girl so much Tommro?" The Twerp had addressed it to the leader, who seemed to be named Tommro. Tom stopped in his tracks and turned around, showing a face of wisdom and understanding. "You haven't been here very long have you? Well, it has to do with his dad. And it has to do with that girls coat ... long story." Saffira now stopped as she heard her coat being mentioned. Why the hell did Sukmeov care about her coat? How could that be such a good reason to attack poor animal? And what right did it give him to bother her so much? Her eyes focused on the crowd as she realized Tommro was about to talk.

[Deleted]

"You can't win..."

Out of sheer shock and surprise, Anthony abruptly jerked his whole body to face Sukmeov. Regardless of the victory attained moments ago, the incredulous Marine simply placed himself in denial at the sight of S.A.L struggling to keep his broken body up. Apparently the damage dealt by Wallace's kick only managed a brief period of rest for the wounded foes. It also seemed that the energy spent from the last attack drained Tony of nearly all his strength. In other words, he was losing time. "Just shut the hell up." Blatant, but it certainly got the work done; Sukmeov fell facedown onto the floor.

While he gripped the maroon stain blemished upon his once perfectly white jacket, Wallace remembered the true objective of the chase. Saffira was out there, somewhere, looking for her little brother. But there was a key component to supply to the thought process: Sukmeov's goons. It isn't like S.A.L suddenly became a hero and demanded his men to stay back. No, that couldn't have been further from the truth. This coward knew full well how to split apart two obviously powerful allies and was surprisingly adept at provoking the typically indifferent blonde. If Anthony's assumption was correct, then there was also the possibility of Saffira being held captive by all of Suk's men. Well, if that was the case, then he had to do something about it.

With Sukmeov taken care of the objective now seemed a lot easier. The bullet wound, not so much. Even after what felt like a good ten or so minutes, the bleeding continued at the same rate at which it had started. So far the situation didn't present much hope for Anthony especially when considering his location, a empty lifeless field somewhere on the island, wasn't close enough for the dying marine to survive his walk to the medical station. In spite of this, there lied a lingering desire within Wallace's heart, a desire to rescue the girl who became the first friend he ever had since his fiancee. And besides, he couldn't die here. What the hell would his father say if his son died in a generic simulation zone? -Tch. Damn it, old man. Heh, you're the only person I know who could ever make me sweat from the other side of the seas... A cool breath of air blew across the dry field, slightly rejuvenating the marine as he looked toward the sky. So I guess I can't let you down now, right? As he grew a smile, Anthony loosened the tight grip on his chest. After observing the flow of crimson water and the dried blood on his hand, he guessed that the hard part was finally over. Though there did exist the case of another red leak, the desire in Tony's heart was certain. He had to save Saffira (and Kufu) by any means necessary.

A faint moaning startled the recovered marine who had started deducing where his enemies would be. Sukmeov began to recover from his unconscious state but remained weak as usual. The loser's eyes were still closed and his overall condition suggested that there wouldn't be any walking for at least another hour or so. Anthony chuckled to himself, "I know I can kick pretty hard, but damn you're weak." He walked over to the virtually lifeless body and searched to find anything to aid in his search for the goons. What he got instead were two awesome tools: a lighter and a pack of cigarettes. "Oh hell yeah! Even if Sukmeov had nothing to use for the rescue, these two fine-ass necessities would be of great value to the blonde sloth. After he was done with Sukmeov, Anthony used the "corpse's" coat to wash off the blood on both his hands and clothes. It was the right thing to do anyways.

With the lighter in one pocket and the cigar in his mouth, Anthony confidently stood in the middle of the simulation zone, finally ready to kick some ass.

[Harusame]

(I'm going to timeskip and explain the story later.)

Saffira had heard the, and sat their shocked. The information she had just heard, she simply couldn't believe. The reason Sukmeov had been bothering her. It wasn't a simple thing of not having family or anything. It was something else, and she couldn't really fathom how it could have happened. Why would he go after her .. because of that?

Fira found herself for a second, after being confused, enraged. It gave no right for S.A.L to have bothered her. To have taken her brother. To have done anything. It was simply a personal matter that was selfish and unbold. Her fists balled and she found herself thinking of thoughts of murdering the little bastard. Or at least getting her hands on his neck, so she could strangle him for a while.

But her thought process was cut off as she slipped from her spot, in her blind rage, screamed, and landed in front of Sukmeov's men. Slowly, with wide eyes looking in their direction, she got up. Tommro turned, shocked, as he saw her. It seemed that her sudden appearance had hit him hard. And it was quiet a second before he spoke. "Did you hear what I-" She didn't want to answer, but it seemed her face said it all and his eyes widened more. It seemed he couldn't believe he had accidentally given away him bosses secret, the greatest pride. Why it had all started. He turned, enraged and pointed behind Saffira. Men began to walk around to block her path from the back and front. The Cheetah Girl looked back and forward, what had she gotten herself into too?

"Henry! Give that damned creature the serem one more time. And give me the stimulant drug." They all looked shock, and stood there a second before Tommro screamed one more time. After a second, he and Kuffu had been injected. Saffira stood there and watched as Tommro clenched his fists, and stood there waiting for the effects of the drugs to take effect. He stood their, flexing his muscles, standing tall and ...

He collapsed. Saffira at first, was confused, but soon heard the menacing grunts from her brother. The men who had been tying him up, and keeping him guard began to back away. The Kuffu that stood there, at first had his eyes closed calmy, before she saw them open. His small circled black pupils turned into slits and he roared. "Henry you idiot!"Screamed one guy, before Kuffu lunged and everyone began to run. Even Fira did. Her cheetah brother looked blood-thirsty, and she realized if she stood by him any longer, he would probably take a chunk out of her. It was a funny look, her running and screaming with her enemies as they made their way back. In no time, they were storming out of the trees and she saw Anthony close by. Still running, she screamed, "They gave Kuffu a drug! He;s gone wild!"

[Deleted]

Where have the times gone? To what dimension had his love departed to? Or his father? His mother? The old days passed smoothly like the flow of a river and he missed his chance to enjoy them. As he stood there on the simulation field, a nostalgic wave overcame him. The once fascinating lullaby told by his father every night, Old Man River, that Old Man River. He must know somethin' but don't say nothin. He just keeps rollin', he keeps on rollin' along. He don't plant taters, he don't plant cotton. And then that plants are soon forgotten. But Old Man River, he just keep rollin' along... Time sure does fly, doesn't it? Anthony tried to hold back a festival of tears from leaking through his blue-grey eyes as he reminisced for a good while. Despite the cool, confident stance he had adopted just moments before, Anthony simply couldn't refuse remembering the "good" times of his life, especially after S.A.L placed him in a near-death experience. Who wouldn't indulge in at least a single recollection before their death? Apparently, even the smoking marine with his hardass attitude could display some sense of sentiment.

But unfortunately, tantamount to the old man, all that pleasure flowed down the river as several 'fellow' marines emerged from the woods nearby. Immediately, Anthony switched from his nonchalant stance to a battle form to finally settle this anticipated smackdown. With both hands in his pockets and a relatively fresh cigarette in his mouth, Anthony stood there watiting for the prey to approach. Except...they didn't. For a moment, nothing made sense. Because after Wallace assumed a quick glance over the 'Marines,' he realized that they were all in panic and distress, as if a terror of colossal proportions had ascended from the depths of the underworld. Who were they running from? It wasn't like some 'scorned woman' was wreaking havoc across the woo- Wait a minute. His eyes widened as a familiar purple haired female ran out of the forest along with the enemies.

"Saffira!" Whew, she was safe. Huh, I guess she chased them out. Heh, you go girl. A infinitesimal smirk appeared over Anthony's face as the relieving sight of his friend soothed his bullet wound and worry. That is, until he heard the words that came out of her mouth. "They gave Kuffu a drug! He's gone wild!" A pause. A long and deep pause came over the white coat marine; his smile vanished as an unbelievable rage overwhelmed him. It was one thing for someone to insult you. And it's another for them to kidnap your brother. But causing harm to the only living being you can call family? Did it matter if Kuffu was Saffira's? No. What mattered weren't the details, but the situation. The line has been crossed and the iron curtain had to fall; there were no more chances and there was no escape. With his teeth grinding, fists tightening, and rage increasing, Anthony knew that only one method could alleviate the fury he felt. A final breath from the addictive twig and he pushed his conscience aside to pull off something he hadn't done in years.

The gust of gray escaped through the calcium crevices as the cigarette descended, dead on to the ground. And with that, the blond sloth lowered his head, as if in prayer, to prepare himself for the hell that was to come. A brief silence. A deathly silence. Wallace released the pockets' hold upon his flesh gauntlets.

[Harusame]

Saffira watched as her new friend took out his hands from his pockets. She also now noticed the body of S.A.L laying there, and her heart beat like someone was punching her. In all the things she felt and saw, all that she could think was she was having an adrenaline rush. For a moment, everything slowed down to her. She felt an aura of seriousness issue from her partner as he prepared for something. The Cheetah Girl noticed the enraged and vibe of S.A.L's men as they noticed their leader And Kuffu, her brother was thundering behind them like a wild animal on the hunt. Saffira was in the middle of it all. What was she supposed to do? How was she supposed to react? The thundering in her chest didn't help her thought process and she felt an air of lightness from her.

Her eyes closed and at that moment of slowness, she thought about it. They had fed Kuffu a drug, something they were about to give to the guy back there. If the drug had done what it did to Kuffu, then what would it have done tot he man? She shuddered as she imagined Tommro with a bulking figure apprehending her like a wild animal. What would he have done, being more intellectual than Kuffu? For all she knew, she wouldn't have made it back to the simulation zone. But The Purple Haired Girl was missing something. Her mind was drifting off. What had she missed ... the one thing she needed ...

And antidote. For something as strong as that to be put in a human being, how could their not be an antidote? It was the only explanation. Of all these people, one of them had it. For a moment, she racked her brains on who would have it. And she decided almost immediately, Tommro had to have it. It would be logical for him to have it at a safe distance with himself. Then if anything got out of hand, he could use it.

The Cheetah girl giggled. She had never thought so hard before. It seemed spending time as a marine has seriously gotten her thinking hard in situations like these. It was a whole new experience. But her giggle stopped as she looked at the seriousness of the situation ahead and started looking around for Tommro in their blitz. Her eyes darted left and right and she then noticed him in the front of them. Dashing, she caught up behind him and shouldered him to the ground. Looking up at Anthony she shouted at him. "Take care of them! I think they have an antidote!" Then she looked down at Tommro and to her astonishment, he had already held up the little bottle to her. "I don't want to die!"

[Deleted]

This is what I've been training for. This is why Dad made me go through all that shit!

From a dynamic view, the whole scene could have been portrayed brilliantly through a Den Den Mushi. B4's simulation zone, riddled with trenches and craters, served as the oppurtune battle field for this final match: the Infinitesimal Richards against Saffira 'the Cheetah' Jeinali and Anthony 'Smoke Yawn' Wallace. Exhilarating couldn't even describe it! Finally, this blond sloth could demonstrate the true strength of a Marine soldier. It was finally time to kick some- "Gah!" A sudden and nascent pain grew rapidly within the shattered tomb of his ribcage. From nowhere, this agonizing sensation surged up to his brain and embedded its anguish into his nerves. Did that punk Sukmeov really succeed in incapacitating the son of Frank Wallace? Well, if the smoker was searching for answers, he'd find it lodged deep within the leaking crevice of scarlet life which hindered his every movement for the time being.

I'm gonna...agh...kill that piece of...ergh!

[/i] At this point, Wallace found himself with a knee on the ground, helpless before the furious avengers who were quickly reducing their distance from him. It was only a matter of time before they reached his location and issued a fine beating. "I got my fists out for nothing? Damn it!" Even in that desperate stance, Anthony managed to utter out a few graceful words of regret. No, regret would be the wrong word for it. Perhaps incredulity, for he simply could not believe that dramatic build had been for nothing. All this fighting and struggle had been for what? To get shot in the chest and die as a Seaman Recruit? If that were to happen, his old man himself would drag Anthony’s spirit from the depths of hell just for a thrashing. While it was true the dying marine had a habit of laziness, the one sure thing (or person) that could motivate him to the fullest was Frank effin’ Wallace. And quite ‘frankly’ that was all the more reason for Tony to get off his lazy ass…and start getting into business. Mustering all the willpower present in his body, the bleeding son slowly got off his knee to face the enemies who had finally arrived to the kill zone. Off in the distance, Saffira cried out. Unfortunately, the announcement didn't reach his ears but the overall atmosphere made it obvious. As they all slowly approached, one by one, Anthony thought back to the past once again.

Mom..Dad...Pepper...Hold on. I'll be coming.
"Get out of my way, bastard!!"
"Right after I kick this ass in the Richard!"

For the first time in a long time, the righteous fist of Anthony Wallace made its mark smashed into the skull of a helpless weakling. "What the...hell?..." The goon's eyes rolled to the back of his head, revealing sick white, as he fainted from the single punch. Strangely, these guys kept running even after witnessing that brutal knockout; at this point, Anthony began to assume they harbored some deep fear from the 'Smoke Yawn's' prowess. But hey, if they ran away that was their problem. "Where are you running off to? I thought you wanted a war, b*tches!"[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[Harusame]

Saffira grasped the bottle and got up, making sure to kick Tommro before facing the cheetah. The bottle clenched tightly in her hand, probably the most important thing to her at the moment. This was the one thing that decided if Kuffu was going to get well, or get meat. And this time, it wasn't deer. This time there were fifty delicious looking people right in front of the Cheetah. She had to get the antidote into his body for the sake of everyone.

As she turned to the bushes, she was shocked to notice that the spotted beast wasn't even running. He was simply growling as he slowly prowled the ground, as if waiting for the right prey to be close enough to him. The Cheetah girls mind finally realized, how could a cheetah, one of the fastest animals, have not caught any of them? And her eyes widened as sweat began to develop. She gulped and clenched the little bottle tighter, he hands beginning to sweat. He wasn't even trying to run. He was toying with them. It seemed that the antidote hadn't made Kuffu lose the intelligence he had, but unlocked his wild side. He wasn't the little cheetah she had grown up with, he was just a predator. Bound to hunting his prey until he was satisfied. And right now, as his growl began to thunder boisterously and his legs bent, Jeinali could see he was just about to get started. His eyes met hers and it was final, she was the target.

His swishing tail and piercing eyes bit into hers and she almost chocked on air as she grasped for it and gulped hard. One wrong move and it was over. But he would be pouncing, he would come after her. Her eyes drifted over her brother and for a moment, she felt a pang of sadness. An image of a happy bounding cheetah replaced the beast in front of her, the real Kuffu. And for a moment, she almost felt like she was back there. But unfortunately that moment of reflection was broken as that image was replaced with the roar and leap of The Diseased Beast, soaring towards her.

She flinched and rolled to the side, her heart punching her insides and the bottle feeling as if it was pulsing now. Saffira's body lay on the ground for a second and she felt a stiffness and a fear envelop it. She didn't want to get up, she didn't want to fight him. But as he landed, skidding to a halt and looked at her, all of that disappeared. Pushing herself up with adrenaline coursing through her body, she stood on the ground and ran, as fast as she had ever run before. The breathing and thundering of Kuffu leading behind her. I'm gonna make it, I'm gonna- One second it simply felt like someone touched her shoulder, but as her head corked around, the whole weight of the cheetah met her and she collapsed, The Creature pinning her to the ground and baring its teeth as it roared in her face. The stench wasn't a bother at the moment as his bloodthirsty eyes bore into The Girl who had raised him. Saffira trembled and felt as if her heart had faltered. This was the end? That was it? ... the bottle ... The little vial was still clenched in her hand, acknowledged in her 'heavy' state. It was right there, but how would she do it?

[Deleted]

"What is your deal!?"
"Vengeance!"
"You just killed Sukmeov!"
"He's still alive, idiot!"
"Who are you calling an idiot?"
"Certainly not your mom!"
"I'll kill you!"

Only seconds passed since the first strike had been blown. Yet even with one down, as well as S.A.L, the furious enemy Marines posed no threat for Wallace. Sure the odds were completely stacked against him, what with the dozen members of Suk's gang surrounding him one by one. But if you had been trained and conditioned your whole life for this kind of battle, worry wouldn’t even hit your top ten thoughts. Adrenaline rushing, blood pumping, sweat dripping, the battle crazy blonde rushed each foe with a reluctant question driven with anger.

"What did you do to her brother?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You poisoned him didn't you!?"

A sudden shout from behind caught Anthony off guard and caused him to loosen the grip he had on the collar of a Richard. A pair of men came running toward him, both unarmed. "Guys...come on." Tony twitched his torso to the right as the two unsuccessfully kicked into the empty air beside their target. With a satisfied grin, the smoker raised his leg for a swift sweep across their cheeks when suddenly, the sound of a bullet whizzed past him. He turned for a second to realize S.A.L had been faking his condition as the prick was standing, bruised and injured, with his pistol in hand. The foes had a personal universe in which hatred locked in each other's eyes and time stopped. "I'm coming for you again..." Looking back was a mistake though as it bought enough time for the other Richards to begin a relentless assault.

"Sukmeov! You bast-!" The exclamation was shut down by a pile of marines all crushing Wallace's body with their weight. The dense, heavy, and somewhat smelly pile of excrement was slowly depriving him of air and blood with the bullet wound still leaking, albeit at a lesser degree than before. The crushed marine was beginning to lose this fight and he knew it. If something didn't happen sooner, there would be no way to win this completely unfair battle. Now to think...Wait a minute. What was this wooden box in his shirt pocket? With a strained decline of his neck, Wallace saw it: the pack of cigarettes he liberated from Sukmeov! The solution!

His heavy hand scrapped painfully across the coarse dirt ground and made its way to smoke yawn's shirt pocket. Wallace grabbed a single stick of joy along with a lighter and let the magic happen.

"Hey! Are you smoking?"
"Gah! You're the murderer here!"
"Ergh, oh my god!"

At an instant the group reluctantly dissipated but surrounded him one by one with each and every Richard covering his mouth. The fumes may have hazardous effects later on but honestly, Anthony really never felt the consequences while these guys sure did. A recovered smirk decorated his worn face and a new burst of energy filled his body. It was time to end this. A deadly glare shot out at Sukmeov who gave an equally murderous glance back at Wallace. It was most definitely time to end this once and for all.

S.A.L gestured for his men to stand back and Anthony enforced his order by uppercutting away any intruders of this one-on-one battle. The two stood face to face as anticipation gloomed over the atmosphere of the simulation field. Each Richard watched and waited for a strike. And finally it happened; Anthony sprinted toward Sukmeov at full speed disregarding the egregoius firearm present in the traitor's hands. A bullet passed and barely missed its mark as it cut through Tony's left cheek. Suk tried to reload but was too late; Wallace reached a foot away from his adversary and swung his fist as quickly as possible. The solid gauntlet made its way toward the helpless man and just as the knuckles made contact with skin...

"Enough!!"

All was silent. All were frozen. All saw in awe as the Instructor of B4, former Vice Admiral Kamida Shusuke, tightly gripped the arm of Anthony Wallace. Oh...my god.[/i][/size]

[Harusame]

Seconds ... That was how close she was to the end. Mere seconds of life that she tried her hardest to hold onto. And she found herself for the first time actually thinking of her life. Being raised by cheetahs, Hades, everything about her simply flashed like a torch into her mind. And after all that time, training, watching over her little brother, this was it. To be pinned and eaten by the one she had raised. Of any way to die, this path was chosen for her, and she hated it. Saffira tried to accept the fact, but she didn't want this, she didn't want to die. And it proved itself as she tried furiously to squirm out of Kuffu's pin. And for the first time in the Cheetah Girls life, she was screaming in actual mortal fear. Her throat was sore and her eyes bulged as The Beast atop her opened his jaws. Pointy yellow knives ready to dance into her head and feed on the sweetness of her blood. The vial, Anthony, everything, was forgotten. There was no resent or repentance of how she had lived. She just wanted to live. One last time she looked at the face of her diseased brother, and then closed her eyes. The last thing to play in her mind couldn't be her brother, especially like this. And a rush of air filled her face as she realized the fangs were coming. Fira's heart trembled and she tried to shy away from death, but it advanced like a blade.

"Enough!"

The Vice Admirals voice boomed as if he was speaking into a den den mushi. For The Girl under the tiger she had no idea of what was going on with Anthony. In fact, she didn't believe she was alive for a second. But the loud boom of Kamida's voice was followed by the clicking of rifles, and the violent winds she had felt as Kuffu's draw dropped ceased. Instead, the vibration of a growl reverberated into the Trembling Mess under The Cheetah. Slowly, The Young Recruits eyes opened to be met with The same Beast who was now slowly backing away from Saffira. Her heart still beating a mile a minute, she laboriously used her arms to support herself upwards. When she was in a sitting position, she looked around to be met by a abundance of marines holding rifles towards her brother. Immediately she realized she was saved, she wasn't going to die. But almost as soon as she thought of her well being, she realized the force was ready to shoot Kuffu. Desperately, she scrambled feverishly too her feet and raised her hand to the men who clutched their rifles so vigorously.

"Wait!" The tension of the area subsided slightly as the men looked at her confused, but no one made any movements. Saffira turned to The Retreating Feline, giving him a look of pity and sadness. She had just remembered the vial clenched in her hand, but she still didn't have a way to give it to him. For a moment, it was simply an awkward scene of a girl facing a cheetah. Then in a instant, she realized it wouldn't be too hard to feed it to a predator. And without a word, she simply tossed the little bottle at Kuffu. As she predicted, he leaped and crunched the glass in a simply chomp. She had to tighten her fist and scream for the men to stop once more for they tensed as he leaped. But once he had taken the medicine and landed, he was in his same position. Growling viciously and glaring at everyone. Then, his eyes slowly began to come into focus, his muscles slowly decreased, and the venom shrouding his face dispersed. Within a moment, the Beast of Hell fell to the ground unconscious and out of harm. Of himself and others. As if on cue, some of the men ran up and kneeled down to the creature as they began to lift him into the air.

Saffira fell back on her butt and shook from head to toe. He was going to be okay. He was going to live. One of the men came up to her and handed her a towel. Without a word or a thought of what happened, he simply smiled and patted her shoulder as he left. Taking the towel she wiped her face and got back to her feet. Slowly she made her way towards the Vice Admiral. It seemed even though Kuffu had survived, she might not. She looked ahead at the figure of Vice Admiral Kamida and felt her heart falter again. This was some deep shit.

[Deleted]

F*ck. F*ck. F*ck. This is not good. No no no. This can't be happening. No no no. Please please please. Let this be a dream, let this be a dream, let this be a-

"Kid, are you okay?"

A terrified Anthony cautiously looked up from his chest to meet the face of a concerned Ensign who had just loaned the panicked marine a lit cigarette after Instructor Shusuke settled the chaos. Currently, a makeshift medical team huddled up around him to tend the bullet wound which had just ceased bleeding. While the Richards were safely apprehended a safe distance away from the two 'saviors' of B4, Wallace sat back and watched a group of doctors and nurses quickly patch up the tiny red fisure in the near center of his chest. Even with all this serenity and peace, it was still hard for the blonde sloth to imagine that hours prior, he had been enjoying the taste of a cigarette while lazily dodging cannon fire, ignorant of that purple haired diamond in the rough...Wait a second. Oh god, where's Saffira!? Within half a second, Anthony' heart rate skyrocketed as he flailed around in search of his feline comrade.

Tony rapidly alternated his view from left to right, scanning the simulation zone for his partner in 'Justice.' The Ensign from earlier, a few of the Recruits from the food court, that damn Sukmeov, and the Instructor who had...GULP It had been quite a while since Wallace came close to defecating his undergarments out of sheer terror. It wasn't the position the man had, especially since he was retired, that scared Anthony. It was how he had stopped that punch from before. Only a few people had ever witnessed the wrath of his fists, a feat he displayed only once in his life. Yet they were his ultimate tools. The fact Instructor Shusuke could stop that momentous attack with such effortless speed and precision...It frightened him beyond comprehension.

The smoking recruit averted the sight of that man out of fear alone. I thought he was gonna kill me... He inhaled a whiff of the cigar to alleviate the stress and panic; it paled in comparison to the ones back home in Loguetown, but they were something. Looking up to the sky, he remembered the nostalgic feeling from earlier that gave him the boost to fight on. Now those reminiscient thoughts seemed to do nothing for him. Perhaps they occured on the spur of the moment? Figured though. There really wasn't anything great about his past except for...sigh.

A doctor tapped Anthony on the shoulder to inform him of the operation's completion. "Finally!" The blonde jumped out of the poorly constructed operating table and felt the harsh dry ground under his bare feet. With the wind blowing a gentle breeze, it appeared that peace finally did return to this damn place. Wallace looked over at the Richards and back at Sukmeov, that bastard. Although it was childish, he sneered at the fool who shot him; Wall cuffed his right wrist with his left hand and vice versa to convey imprisonment to the arrested jerk. All he received as a response were anger filled shouts and flails of rage. The smoker ended up laughing away to search for his partner. And hopefully, with a stare back at Shusuke, he would never have to meet that man again.

[Harusame]

Saffira watched as Sukmeov was cuffed and she almost felt happy. But the memory of Suk’s story returned to her senses and she frowned. Even if his reason had been quite dumb, she couldn’t help but feel responsible. It seemed he had been blamed for what happened. The Purple Haired Girl sighed as she looked around. What they had done in such a short set of hours was quite unreasonable. In fact, it was probably unheard of. And to think it was all to save a Cheetah. Even in the end, she knew they take him captive. But for the first time ever she felt at peace. For now, she wouldn’t have to deal with the Municipal Richards.

How wrong they were.

Next thing she knew, a shout came from commander Shusuke and the warm blanket that covered her heart was whisked away with a sharp cold breeze. ”Cuff them all!” At first she believed her ears had deceived her. None the less she was sadly mistaken as arms grabbed at her locking wrists together with a click of the iron chains. Immediately she was bought to the ground with a foot. The sound of clicking and dropping resonated as The Richards and even Anthony follows suit. There were shouts of protest but when The Commanders face shone from the shadows, all was silent. Fira felt her heart falter again and decided she wouldn’t argue or fight. She knew, as everyone else did from the look of his face, that they pissed him off.

He bought his wrists out and began to pull his sleeves as he walked up and spoke. His voice was cool and mature but a hint of venom made it menacing to the core. ”Marines.” He bought his hands behind him again. ”We serve for justice. For safety. We are a symbol of hopes and dreams.” The Man huffed in a huge breath before continuing. ”United. Disciplined. Peace Bringers. These, are of the many qualities shown by a true solider.’ Shusuke shook his head as his teeth began to grit and he now shouted. ”AND AS MARINES YOU DO THIS!!??” His hand stretched out as he gestured to them and the ruined state of the area.

As if a snake had bitten her, Saffira could almost feel his words on her heart. A spiritual sharp pain hit her chest and she realized; she had failed as a marine. Instead of going to the Commander, and doing the right thing she had blindly walked into a trap set by pride and anger. It wasn’t only about getting Kuffu. It was about seeing who would win in the end. How stupid she had acted. The evils of Lucifer had made the little sense they had disperse. How could they do all this on the Marine Base of all places? It wasn’t justice or getting what was rightly theirs. It was stupidity.

Shusuke dropped his arms back behind him and his face went back to an irritated state. ”One week you will all be cuffed to a wooden pole, in a circle together, outside. No food, no breaks, and a quarter drink of water once a day. And once that punishment has been settled, I will find something else. This is more than a little punishment. You have tainted the name of marines … DISMISSED!” With that Saffira heard shuffling as her and the rest of everyone was lifted and dragged off to their fate. It seemed only fair in this case. In fact, what they had gotten was even better than being taken away from the marines. It seemed Shusuke hadn’t given up on them. It was simply a challenge she had to face. The next seven days she and the rest would atone for their crimes. But it was all in true justice. And in that moment, she found herself almost laughing in dark humor. ”I guess this is what happens when opposite people attract."

END.