The officers wavered in the wake of Azad's declaration for the officers to drop their weapons

Then an officer, no older than twenty, who looked and sounded Mexican-American, began to speak up.

"I am a Pied Piper officer!" he yelled, "I am a protector of the peace, I shall not fear nor hide from might nor malice, I AM A PIED PIPER OFFICER!"

The other Pied Piper officers listened to their comrade, they raised their rifles and renewed their resolve. Together they yelled out in military-like fashion the same chant:

"I am a protector of the peace, I shall not fear nor hide from might nor malice, I AM A PIED PIPER OFFICER!"

They opened fire.

The only sliver of control I still had over my monstrous were-fox-frog self was that I needed to protect Xandra. I crouched low, focusing on creating more bone-armor over myself, to the degree that I couldn't move much at all due to the sheer volume of bone covering me.

Bullets rained down on me, chipping away at the bone.

I focused on creating more bone-armor to replace the sections which had been blasted away.

Had Xandra not been on the ground behind me, clinging to life, then I was sure I would have charged ahead and slaughtered the Peepers.

But even the beast part of me which had taken over seemed to prioritize Xandra's safety over bloodlust. And for that at least I was grateful.

The sound of hissing steam rose at the far end of the corridor. The Pied Piper officers fired their rifles at Azad, who was half-hidden amongst the rush of steam pouring out from his body. The bullets which reached him, and would have hit, were made inert from the steam pressure working against each bullet.

The clips of the officer's guns ran out. They began to reload.

The steam let out by Azad stopped and he sprang forward.

First he took out the Pied Piper officer nearest him with a clean kick to the side of the head, knocking the Peeper out cold or worse.

Then, using another burst of steam, Azad shot further down the corridor.

Azad cried out and sent a single kick into the chest of an officer who went skidding on his back down the corridor.

A punch from Azad hit another officer in the chin. The punched officer was lifted off his feet from the force of the punch, and lost several teeth which went skittering on the red ground in the process, before the officer landed hard on his back.

The officers further down the corridor ceased firing at me and turned their attention to Azad.

More bullets were fired, and in return more high-pressure steam burst out from Azad's skin which had turned bright pink.

Sunburned, I thought, remembering back to the treadmill torment Tiffany and I and so many others had endured.

When we had reached that sunburnt look it had meant we had pushed our bodies to the absolute brink, to the point any normal person would have been dead.

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Several officers cried out from the pain of the steam cooking their skin. They turned away, dropping their guns; giving Azad easy openings to kick and punch, rendering yet more of the officers defeated; though far from dead they groaned and moaned in pain on the ground.

Azad continued along the corridor, stopping only to land another heavy kick or punch. After each deftly landed blow he spiraled onwards like a firework.

Until, at last, he brought his hands together and slammed down hard on the head of the last standing Pied Piper officer. The officer's helmet took the brunt of the blow, yet even so the officer fell face-first against the ground. Azad hoisted the officer up and tossed him aside, leaving the officer to gasp and sputter, though sitting-upright against the corridor wall.

Azad breathed heavily. His lean muscled body seemed to writhe, as if each muscle were tensing and untensing.

"Can you revert back to normal?" said Azad, fixing his attention on me.

I wanted to respond. To say anything. If only to beg for Azad to flee. Fighting Pied Piper officers was one thing, but fighting the beast I had become was another entirely.

"Run," I choked out, my voice a mixture of beastly screech and grumble.

"A hero never backs down when others are in need," said Azad.

He cracked his knuckles.

"You've lost control," he said, "Do you think you can get back to yourself?"

I began to unfurl from the ground. Huge slabs of bone-armor fell away from me like a second-skin, revealing fresher, smaller pieces of armor that replaced those removed.

I rose higher until the top of my head brushed the doorway frame. A towering beast of muscle, fur, and bone. What small openings in the bone were available were glowing hot.

"Can't. Stop," I choked out, "Leave. Now."

"It's okay," said Azad, smirking, "I'll help you out."

"GO!" I roared.

The bloodlust which gripped my body was too much to control. I moved with scary speed given my size, stomping down on the nearest officer's leg, snapping it at the knee. The officer, already in pain, shrieked in agony from the break.

Instinctually the beast in me swiped for the shrieking officer's head. It would be a clean blow, perhaps I would even take his entire head off in a single swipe.

DOOM!

Azad had moved quickly.

He held back my arm with both of his.

He looked over his shoulder to the handful of fallen Pied Piper officers who were still conscious, though on the ground and in pain.

"Take your comrade and go!" Azad yelled, "I'll hold him off!"

The Pied Piper officers did as they were told this time. With a great deal of effort they got themselves up from the ground. Several ran straight out of the corridor, taking other injured officers with them, and two remained behind to take their fallen comrade whose leg I had just snapped. The officer whimpered and cried out from the pain as they hoisted him down the corridor and out of sight.

I swiped at Azad and he deftly leapt back, dodging the attack. His trainers skidded on the blood-caked floor and then he righted himself into a fighting stance. He had one hand raised, his index and middle finger raised and joined together, his ring finger and pinkie finger lowered.

A very cool fighting pose, I thought.

The beast in me wasn't impressed however.

The beast in me continued with the attack.

Swipe!

Swipe!

Swipe!

I advanced with each swing of my arms, the claws slicing through the air. But Azad remained poised, ducking and weaving to avoid being clawed to pieces.

"Forgive me," said Azad, "But I have to go all out if I'm going to help you."

Azad then put his closed fists to his hips and yelled out, "TENSION, times two!"

The muscles in his body bulged all over. He grew taller, going from about five foot seven, to five foot nine. His already pink skin seemed to glisten all the more. Azad's face in particular showed several more veins bulging from the pressure he was putting his body under.

More steam rose from his body. But, ever so faintly, there was a vague sense of coldness coming from Azad.

He breathed out a mouthful of steam.

"Let's go!" said Azad, and he jumped at me.

The power with which he kicked off was greater even than when I had done so in my elastic, coiled form, muscled-up legs included.

I felt his fist connect with the bone-armor covering my torso. The bone broke beneath the force of the punch. I felt Azad's knuckles against my furred stomach.

I let out a shriek, though not from pain, because his fist hadn't driven deep enough to land a blow which would wound. I swiped for Azad again and he jumped backwards out of reach.

"Got through the armour!" he said, victoriously, "Let's go, again!"

And again he leapt towards me.

Was he intending to hit the same place twice?

The beast in me wasn't going to let him win so easily.