Rez let go of Tameen's hand and pounced at the guards beating his sister. His normally calm blue eyes had become that of pure rage and savagery.

The guards didn't notice him running at them, as their backs were turned toward him. He took advantage of this and leaped onto the back of the closest guard, reaching around to the front of his throat and driving his sharp nails into their flesh.

The guard choked on his own blood that began to pool in their mouth, and they could only wheeze as Rez's nails severed his windpipe. It was only moments between the stab and them collapsing.

Of course Rez had been noticed due to his actions. His blood soaked hands clenched and ready to deal out damage.

He stood and stared, waiting for one of the two remaining guards to make a move.

One of the guards pulled out a metal baton that was strapped to their utility belts and lifted it up above their head, stepping forward to bring the rod down on Rez's skull. But before he could land his blow, two loud cracks pierced Rez's ears, and the two guards fell down. He watched for a moment and noticed red stains growing in size around their chests. But his attention was quickly drawn back to the situation as he looked to where the noise came from.

Two soldiers in the different armour had shot the two guards and were approaching, but they lowered their weapons when they got close. One of them crouched down and extended their hand towards Rez, who looked apprehensive about them. Tameen walked over and hid behind Rez, her large ears folded downward over her eyes.

Before Rez made any decision, he turned to Riza, who was bruised and bloody from their beating and knelt down, shaking her shoulder gently.

"Riza? Riza, wake up, please. It's me, Rez" his voice cracked with a mixture of sadness at seeing her like this, and excitement, as this would be the first time in forever that he had seen her.

He kept shaking her, but eventually she mumbled, and her crimson red eyes fluttered open. Her dry lips parted as she looked up to him and uttered out "Rez? You've gotten... So big" she mumbled, before passing out.

This of course panicked Rez, but the two soldiers looked over, with one speaking with a female voice "It's okay, we can get you all out of here, and you'll be safe. Come with us and we'll get her to a doctor"

Rez had to pause and think about it. They were outside, and free. Did he go with these new strangers and risk getting himself and the others in a similar situation, or run to the horizon with them. He thought about it, but Riza was far too big for him to carry, and Tameen didn't look strong enough to help either.

He swallowed, and looked to the two soldiers "You promise it's safe?" he exhaled "I can't go through this place again. None of us can" his eyes began to water, at the memories of things that happened down there.

The soldiers nodded, and the female spoke "We promise. We're the good guys. But we need to go before reinforcements show up"

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Rez nodded and watched as the silent soldier picked up Riza and put her over their shoulder. He winced at the blood on her face, but looked to Tameen and held her hand as they followed the two soldiers through the crumbling ruins of the facilities upper level. The orange sky visible through holes in the ceiling, and shattered windows revealing a lush forest outside.

Gunfire continued to rage below and somewhere above, but as they slalomed between burning wreckage and chunks of concrete, a ship came into view as they stepped outside and onto the grass and dirt of the forest.

Rez looked down at the long grass, his bare feet tickled slightly at it, and he realised just how long it had been since he had seen the outside world.

But he didn't stop moving.

The ship in front of them was a large machine. Easily two stories tall and two buses long.

It was very industrial and angular, with four large thrusters on its side. Two on the front and two around the back. A large ramp was opened at the rear of the ship with other soldiers waiting.

The two that the kids were following led them to a quiet area in the ship, behind a door with a few steps down into a little alcove with seats and a window looking down at the ground. One of the soldiers left, whilst the female sat outside the door and made sure they were okay, she looked to them and waved gently "She'll be fine. There's a doctor where we're going, but she isn't hurt badly"

Rez looked to her, then to Riza as he reached out and stroked her new ears, which twitched in response. He reflected on what they had done to them, and had to ask himself why. But he wouldn't get an answer for a long time.

The ship remained on the ground for a few more minutes, as soldiers ran out of the building with more kids with animal features. The three of them watched as flashes came from the building's windows, and moments after it all began to crumble and collapse in on itself, falling into the earth and being buried under itself.

They watched it fall, and looked at one another, but were startled when a loud whirring sound reached their new, sensitive ears.

The ship's thrusters had been switched on and they were beginning to slowly lift off the ground. Rez and Tameen held hands and watched as the ground got further and further away, before they were speeding off into the sky. They watched with awe as the flat ground they were on began to curve and shrink, before they burst through the thick orange clouds of the planet and blasted off into the inky blackness of space. They were on Venus from the looks of it, which surprised Rez a fair bit, as he would have had to travel past Earth to get to Venus.

He sat back against his chair and looked up at the ceiling light. This one didn't flicker, or buzz. It was a stable source of light. And even though the room wasn't built for comfort, it was leagues above his dirty cell underground. He instinctively began to stroke Tameen's head, who seemed to enjoy the attention. She laid her head on his lap, and the two simply waited for them to arrive to wherever they were going.

Their destination was Jupiter, and it was there where they would all find a new family.