Sasha couldn't take her eyes off the fire.
Was this a dream? Had she fallen asleep? No matter how much she tried to rationalize what she saw, no answer came to mind. Someone was walking through the flames of her melting hideout. A figure devoid of a single ounce of fur or hair save the brown atop their head. She squinted at the creature. She’d almost mistaken their clothes for wings, but soon realized it was simply a cloak draped across their shoulders.
What is that? An ali-
She’d barely finished the thought before a shrill siren broke through the dead air.
“GAH!”
Her hands fell over her ears, fur barely muffling the piercing shriek. But she wasn’t alone. Her denmates all jumped up screaming and crying out.
“Oww!”
“My ears!”
“Auuugh!”
Sasha bit down, her head shoving under the pillow. Just when she thought her ears would tear, the noise fell away. For a few seconds, she couldn't hear a thing through all the ringing in the air. It was like the shriek of the damned. Even the kid that slept with earplugs was writhing in pain like everyone else. Sasha came out from under her pillow. A click sounded above.
“Students of South Island: District 3!”
Her fur bristled at the booming voice.
“Congratulations! Your graduation has been moved effective immediately! You will all be graduating tonight!”
Her gaze narrowed at the window. With each word, she saw the head of the flaming figure move. Is he talking to us? As if in response, the figure’s next words came.
“Let your gods hear you! This world will be fuel for the legionnaires!”
Her tail twitched. Gods? What- Her attention snapped from the flaming man.
“AEEEEIGH!”
Her eyes grew ten sizes when she found who screamed.
In front of one of her denmates, there was a stretch of pulsating violet light.
It hovered in the air, dripping like a faucet. But it was what came out that made every hair on Sasha’s arm stand on end. A viscous substance. More akin to a blob of white than anything remotely sentient. But the way it moved. The way it crawled from the opening on its slender limbs. The way its frame twitched, glowing spheres running between Sasha’s denmates before landing on the one closest. A young squirrel.
It didn’t hesitate. Appendages flew forward, scrapping wood and slamming the ground. Sasha winced at the impact, somehow managing to stay on her feet.
“Sasha.”
She looked back with a smile, one arm still holding the table she’d grabbed as a shield. The kid was lucky. Sasha always slept close to the lamp for easy reading. If she hadn’t grabbed the nightstand when she did…
“You alright?” Sasha asked.
“I-I think so,” the kid said. He peeked around her. “What is that thing? What’s going on? I don’t-”
“If you can talk, you can run.” Her gaze rose to her other denmates. “Same goes for everyone! Get a move on! Now!”
The other students, even a few closer to her age, seemed to snap at once from a collective trance. A growl from her sent them scrambling for the door. The squirrel lingered, but he eventually followed the rest, much to her relief. They would make it out, at least.
The nightstand broke into pieces.
Cripes. I really am a stupid panther, huh?
The white creature twitched in Sasha’s direction. She raised her broken stick of a weapon, half-debating her chances to win. Her heart sank when another ball of white revealed itself. They came like the undead, crawling from the purple mass one after the other, their tendrils digging into the ground. First, there were only two. Then four. By the fifth, Sasha had edged her way to the door. She turned to sprint when she saw an eighth.
“Stupid panther!” she shouted as tendrils shot out behind her.
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The small corridors of the hall filled with white, Sasha scrambling past every painting and potted plant. She stopped just long enough to grab the grandfather clock, pulling it down to try to gain a few seconds. They broke it in one.
“Screw off!” she screamed to no response.
Whatever they were, they didn’t talk. They didn't growl. They didn’t make so much as a chatter. The only sound came from the scrapping of their appendages. Sasha picked up the pace when she spotted the door, slamming it open to no sense of relief. Her fur bristled.
The skies above had become clouded with purple masses, white creatures steadily spilling out one after another. And then there were the screams. Too many to pinpoint, but they came from every direction. She could hear people running, glass shattering, fires burning. Even from the alley she emerged she could smell student’s blood on the wind. Among other things. What kind of sick graduation is this? She snapped to attention as the door behind her came crashing down, the white creatures flooding after her.
“Tsk.”
She kicked up a fallen plank of wood, brandishing it in like a bat.
“Come on!”
Tendrils shot out like a wave, her weapon smashing into bits on contact. It did little to slow them down.
The force of a truck slammed her back, her body flying through the alley and landing hard against brick. In her daze, she felt blood running down her face. D-did I just die? Her heartbeat, was the only response her body gave. Dangit. She tried to lift a finger, but nothing responded. C’mon. Nothing changed. Move! Even her tail laid still at her side.
The white creatures crept forward like spiders. She saw more crawling on the buildings. Spilling out from the sewers. An endless mob that she could hear tearing through her island. Her home. She bit her lip, ears twitching at all the screams around her. Was this really graduation? Was this what she'd been training for so long for?
"Cripes. Move, body. Move."
She looked at her side. It wasn’t much, but there was an overturned trash can close enough to reach. She bit back the pain, limbs screaming as she tried to grab it. The metal rattled under her weight, but she pushed her way up until she was back on two feet.
There. That wasn't so bad, was it?
A bitter smile crossed her lips. The white creatures were twitching and scrambling towards her. Too many for her to even attempt to run from.
Cripes. Guess the least I can do is make 'em work for it.
The smile fell, replaced with a row of fangs bared, claws extended at the ready even if she had to use the trash lid for support. There were worse ways to go out. Probably.
“Is this truly what you wish for, little feline?”
Sasha blinked.
The world shattered away, streets replaced with a haze of white and a bright light that shone in her eyes. She squinted against it, one paw rising.
“At this rate, you'll die. Is that what you want?”
The voice came from beyond the light, a figure appearing in front of her. Another furless creature, this time clad in a silken yellow dress, their hair long and white, a wide smile spread across their lips. Sasha couldn't help but stare as the light grew more tolerable. She was furless, but her presence was indescribable. She almost missed that the creature repeated her question. Or rather, she said it much more directly.
“Do you wish to die?” they asked.
That broke Sasha trance. What kind of stupid question was that? Her island was in ruins, her denmates were dying, and she wanted to know if she enjoyed the thought of being eaten by spider monsters? Sasha couldn't hide the hiss in her voice.
“Of course not! Why the heck would I wanna die like this? Are you insane?”
The figure’s smile grew. “Oh. A catty one. No pun intended. Okay, you may be useful to have around.”
Before Sasha could respond, there was another flash of light, even more intense than before. She winced against the warmth that rose from the spot. When the creature spoke again, their tone sounded almost playful.
“You’ll need one of these.”
Sasha opened her eyes.
Floating before her, there was a single item surrounded by an orb of light. It was long and metallic with a light blue sheen. She looked from it to the strange figure, who was suddenly waving.
“Don’t disappoint me now, No. 4.”
The world cracked again.
Sasha’s snapped to attention, the streets of her island appearing in front of her. She looked down at herself. She was on her feet, but the pain she’d felt earlier had vanished. As did the trash lid she’d been balancing on. In its place, she saw the strange blue weapon had materialized in her right hand. What? This thing, again? She raised it up to her face, the frame smooth and round like a cylinder. But it lacked any edges. Or accessories of any kind. A long metallic handle. No. The word came to her mind as if she’d known it all her life.
A staff. My...staff. My…God Tool.
A smile spread across her face. The white creatures, who had cornered her so eagerly, seemed to all narrow on the weapon she held. Out of caution or fear, she couldn’t tell. Not that it mattered. She brought the staff forward, her body acting on instinct, launching out. A clack followed a white creature exploding into a mist. She felt a giddy purr.
Oooooh.
The white creatures all looked at her, none reacting to the one she’d taken out by accident. In her haste, she’d landed in the center of their mass, a few moving away while the others crouched ready to strike. So this is a God Tool, huh? Her staff lowered in front of her, the fear she’d felt only a distant memory as she eyed the monsters.
“Alright then,” she said. "C'mon, invaders!'
They all descended at once.