The catbird and I hit the ground like a sack of dumbells, and it hurts like hell. But even as pain and pressure wrack me, I can only think of one thing.

"Oh, shit. Pinky!" Please be okay. Please.

I sit up and check the inside of my jacket. He's still in there, curled up into a ball, shivering. I touch him here and there, feeling for damage. He doesn't complain, and there's no blood. He's shaken, but not stirred.

He's okay. He's okay. Thank fuck I landed on my back.

I stand up, and I see the catbird a couple yards away laying next to a smashed up tree. He's not moving.

Keeping an eye out for limp dicks, I go over to him. I have to find the others, but it would be fucked up to leave him behind if he's still alive.

I kneel down and look him over. His chest and face are a bloody mess, and his mouth and eyes are wide open.

My throat tightens. "Shit. I'm sorry big fella. I'll kill a few of those fuckers for you."

In the corner of my eye, I see a quick flash of pinkish light through the trees. A few cracks echo though the trees.

I haul ass toward it. "Hold on, Pinky. We gotta go get Zazel!"

Pinky bleets weaking as I run, but he doesn't panic or struggle. He's staying as close to my body as he can, quivering like mad.

I can't blame him. Poor little guy must have been scared out of his mind when we took that fall.

Weaving through the woods, I try to find Zazel and the others, but even with the distant pale glow of the tower filtering through the trees, it's a little too dark to see clearly. I'm tempted to call out, but I don't want give myself away to the Limp Dicks.

But it doesn't matter.

The air zips, and I'm hit in the back by what feels like a hail of ice picks. Crack after crack after crack sounds out in the darkness.

I dip behind the biggest tree I can find, covering Pinky with my arms and holding him close as I do.

My core flares. Heat floods my veins and burns through my muscles, and I feel all that heat and power welling up inside me, building like a pressure gauge about to pop off.

Don't you dare come out, asshole!

My core is thrumming so hard it's gonna burst out of my ribcage.

Pinky kicks me.

It's not much, but it's enough. Stay focused. Make sure the others are safe, get the Dice, and then fuck 'em up.

I take a quick glance around the tree. Nothing.

Fuckers must be using nightvision or some-

The tree splinters as more bullets rip past me. Bark and wood chips explode everywhere, and some of them hit me in the face.

"Shit!" I duck back down, and Pinky bleets and starts squirming

I pet him and try to calm him down. "Shhh! Shhh. It's alright, man. It's alright."

I rub his side a little and he calms down, and my core starts to cool down a bit. The rage is subsiding.

I'm still in control. I'm still here. But I gotta get Zazel.

I blitz and book it as fast as I can in the direction of the pink light I saw earlier. I keep my head down, and I don't look back. I take a couple more bullets - in the legs this time - but as far as getting shot goes, it's not bad. It feels like they're not even breaking the skin.

I get pretty good momentum and the forest gets thicker. It gets harder and harder to see what's in front of me, but it's also harder for the Limp Dicks to shoot me, so I'll take it.

I keep my head low and run. Branches and brambles scratch my duds and face. But I keep running. Faster and faster.

Zazel's gotta be close by. She needs me. I can't let her down.

Then I see something that makes me stop in my tracks. A big furry mass laying crumpled and still on the ground - Zazel's catbird.

I look around, core pulsing. "Zazel? Zazel!"

I check the other side of the catbird's body. I see two smoldering piles of ash, glowing with dim pink embers.

My breathing quickens. "Yo, Zazel!"

"Quiet, fool!" The voice sounds muffled.

"Zazel!? Where are you!?"

"Right here!" she whispers harshly.

I follow her voice, but I still can't see her.

The catbird's corpse shifts slightly, and I see Zazel crawl out from under its thick fur. She's covered in its blood, and her expression is a mix of irritation, anger, and relief.

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She's okay, but she doesn't look okay.

I rush over to her. "Are you hurt?" I ask her, pulling back and looking at her. She's covered in scratches and bruises, but she doesn't look seriously wounded.

"Me? Of course, I'm okay! You need to learn to be more subtle, Brisket!" Her eyes are sharp with annoyance, but there's a little smile on her face. She's relieved.

"Sorry. I was worried about you."

She turns away. "Enough blabbering. We need to rendezvous with the others immediately."

"That's my line." I push my shades. "Do you know where they are?"

"I can sense Nature's mana. She's fairly close, but-"

Bullets whiz all around us. The catbird's body eats a couple and I take another in the back.

"Agh!" I flinch and suck in air. "Shit! We gotta move!"

"Wait a minute, what are you-"

I lunge over, scoop up Zazel, and book it.

"What do you think I am? I'm not-"

"Stop squawking and tell me where Del is!"

"To the right, fool!"

As I tear through the woods yet again. I try to keep my back to the gunfire to use it as a shield to protect Zazel and Pinky. Zazel's weight doesn't slow me down, but it's hard to move swiftly and make sure her body is protected.

I take a quick glance behind us to make sure we aren't being followed. I can't see anything, but I know that doesn't mean jackshit. These guys are like ninjas with machine guns. They're probably right on our heels. I keep hauling ass.

As I blitz though trees and hop over logs, the woods thin out again.

"We're almost there! She's close, egg!"

I notice a strange, familiar buzz fading in. Something mechanical that rips and screams into the air.

The hell is that? It kind of sounds like...

The sound gets louder and louder, and starts to crop up in every direction.

There's a white glow. I twist my head around, and see headlights.

"ATVs!" I hiss. "Shit!"

"What?" Zazel shouts. "What are you on about?"

The ATVs are coming in from every direction, and they're moving at us fast. The trees are thinning, and I can't see shit with the lights in my face. I can't tell which way to turn to avoid them. There's no place to go, and no place to run. No fucking place at all.

Except up.

As a bunch of them close in, I spring up with all of my might and jump over the incoming vehicles. I clear them, but barely. I hardly have time to land before another tries ram us.

"Damn these wretches!" growls Zazel. "They're herding us!"

I leap over another one. "Fuckin' dumbasses," I land and start running again, "why don't they just shoot us?" I leap again, catching even more air than than before. I land and blitz for a thick cluster of trees.

"You're going the wrong way!" Zazel squawks.

"Yeah, I know, but gotta get these dickheads off our asses!" I swerve between the trees and jump over a fallen log, and I can feel the engine's vibrations through the dirt. The headlights are bouncing all over the place. It's hard to tell exactly where they're coming from.

I keep zig-zagging and hope that they can't keep up with me.

The lights start fading, but I'm not taking any chances. I run as fast as I can, my heavy body barreling along like a two-legged tank. I need to put as much distance between us and those ATVs as possible.

Then I'm blinded by a wall of white lights.

"Ferdinand Lucas Gladwin!" The voice is magnified by some sort of PA system.

I skid to a halt. "The hell-"

"Do not be alarmed! We are the Liberation Society! We seek dialogue and cooperation!"

"What the fuck?"

I shield my eyes from the blinding light. Shit is bright even with my shades on.

"We have been sent to liberate this world from oppression and injustice. We seek to create a perfect, Liberated and Unified society free from the exploitative tyranny of the Warden! We offer our support and assistance to you and your friends, but action must be taken quickly and decisively!"

Zazel whispers to me. "First they try to crush us, and now they wish to parley?"

My core throbs hard. I've hear them run their mouths about oppression and injustice before, all while doing the same exact shit they claim to be fighting against. "I told you they're fucking psycho."

"Hmm. I'm not so sure."

"What?"

"Well, they might be insane, but I think they may have a goal beyond simple violence and conquest. They want something from us."

"Like what?"

"I'm not certain, but it seems as though-" Zazel is cut off by another loud voice.

"We need to act soon! Time is running out! We cannot delay any longer! We must have your support and cooperation if we are to bring the Warden down and free this world!"

"Eat my dick, you cultist fucks!" I'm starting to lose my grip on my rage. I need to get out of here. My power is boiling over, and I can't stop it.

I grab Zazel and throw her over my shoulder. "We gotta get outta here."

"Put me down, you absolute dolt! I want to ask them something!"

I ignore Zazel's shrill protesting and book it.

I need to calm the fuck down. If I pop off now, I might end up killing Zazel or Pinky. That can't happen.

I leap over the Limp Dicks, who shout more crazy cult shit, and I tear off through the woods.

I'm running blind. No idea where the fuck I'm going. All I'm focused on is keeping my core cool and finding Del.

"Wait, egg! She's close! Very close!"

I skid to a halt and look around. I see the Limp Dicks's lights. but no sign of Del or anyone else. "Well, I don't see nothin'!"

"She's here! There's no mistaking it."

As I search around, an odd sound fills the air. It sounds small, fast, and mechanical, like a swarm of big metal flies.

I look up, and dozens of purple LEDs are swarming around in the air. Then dozens more. Then hundreds.

They're coming from behind me, and I know what they are. Drones. A swarm of them.

"They're drones!" I shout to Zazel.

"Drones?"

I pull her head into my chest as I try to get the fuck out of Dodge. "Don't look at 'em! They can blind you!"

I can't see where I'm going, but if I keep moving, I might be able to get away from these things. Or so I think. These things are quick, and there are a shitload of them.

I catch a glimpse of the Limp Dicks in their bright white spotlights. They're standing in a tight line, and I can make out their silhouettes. They're wearing some kind of weird shiny armor or some shit.

I get a little closer, but then the drones start flying around in front of us, creating a shifting wall of blinding purple light.

I crouch down and turn away, doing my damnedest to shield Zazel and Pinky.

Then, the wall of drones all spin around, and their LEDs flare up in a burst of blinding light. Even with my shades on and eyes closed, the burst of light feels like looking at the sun.

"Shit! Zazel!"

"Stomph yhellng!" she says, practically smothered against my chest.

The Limp Dicks move in, spotlights trained on us. "Ferdinand Lucas Gladwin! Elemental of Chaos Zazel! We require your cooperation and compliance! Every moment we waste prolongs the enslavement and suffering of innumerable lives! We must act swiftly and decisively to achieve the liberation of this world!"

They're shouting their bullshit over the humming of the drones. My core begins to heat up. I feel it thumping in my chest and pulsing through my limbs. The anger is building. I can feel it. My hands are trembling. I'm losing control. If I give in to the rage, that'll be all she wrote.

I could wipe these fuckers out so fast, but Zazel and Pinky...

"Ferdinand Lucas Gladwin! We must insist that-"

My vision blurs, and a guttural growl escapes my lips. These fuckers have the nerve to play hero!? Heroes don't brainwash people and cut their nuts off!

I clench my fists, and it starts to get real fucking hot. But some heroes are liable to crack a few skulls now and then!

"Brisket!” Zazel hisses. “Control yourself!"

My body starts to move on its own, but after a couple of steps, something interrupts me: the sound of a catbird's roar.