ʟᴀᴅʏ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ʟʏᴄᴀɴs : ᴋᴀʀʟ ʜᴇɪꜱᴇɴʙᴇʀɢ

ꜰᴀʀ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴇᴀꜱʏ

It's been some time since Sophia had actually been in the village. Usually, she would go simply between their meeting spot, her shack, and occasionally the stronghold, normally traveling via the tunnels. But she navigated the the roads like it was nothing. Even in its current state, she knew exactly where she was at every twist and turn. She was moving quickly, and she would glance over her shoulder every now and again to make sure Chris was staying with her. It wasn't surprising to see that he was.

As the pair ran, a plane flew overhead and her eyes followed it until it came to a stop, hovering in the air.

Her brows furrowed and she shouted to Chris, "Who is that?"

"BSAA," he growled, answering her immediately. She could picture the scowl he wore on his face as he said it.

"Old friends of yours?" Sophia assumed by his reaction.

He scoffed, "You could say that." He then talked into his radio, "Canine, I wanna know what the hell BSAA is doing here. Find out what you can."

It occurred to Sophia that a lot more people knew about their little situation here than she thought. Well, she guessed it wasn't very little anymore, "God, what a nightmare this." A seventy-year long nightmare if she was being honest.

Sophia slowed down her run once she reached the town square, Chris pausing right behind her. The vines, or tentacles, whatever you wanted to call them right in front of them now.

Her eyes widened at the sight. She knew they were large, but I don't think she comprehended how large the really were. Seconds later, a BSAA helicopter approaches the roots, and her expression switches to fear, "What the hell are they doing?!"

"Christ," Chris mumbles in shock as one of them latches onto the machinery. The helicopter pulls back in attempt to break free, which it succeeds, but not fully. Chris was able to predict what was going to happen next and acted quickly, "Sophia, watch out!" He takes the young woman into his arms, pulling her close to his chest and turns so his back his against the explosion, protecting her from the impact.

Sophia tucks her face down into her shoulder as the blast encircles them in hot wind and the ground shakes beneath their feet. She decided that because of the act, BSAA were a bunch of idiots.

Once everything had settled, Chris released his hold on Sophia and she turned around. "You okay?" He asked.

She nodded, a little breathless, "Yeah. Are you?"

And Chris did the same, "Yeah." His finger came to his ear suddenly and Sophia figured a member of his team was talking to him, "Yeah, we're alright. Lobo..." he whipped around to face the large entity and pulled out his marker device, "we've reached the the target. I'm gonna start marking it now." A laser beams out and Chris centers it in the middle of all the activity. 

There wasn't much Sophia could do, so she stood idly next to the man, her eyes observing their surroundings. She noticed a few of the lycans encroaching, but that to her wasn't a problem. However, the Hound-Wolf squad didn't know that.

"Boss, you got some hostiles approaching from behind..."

It didn't register for Chris until it was too late, "Umber Eyes, no!"

Sophia, who didn't hear what Chris did was confused by his sudden outburst. It clicked when a gunshot rang through and a lycans wail met her ears.

"Damn," she cursed under breath, listening to the collective screeches that came from every direction.

"Hold your fire!" The man screamed into his communicator, then talked lowly, yet firmly to the red-eyed woman, "Sophia?"

She visibly gulped as the creatures stalked toward them. Their killer looks locking onto Chris and even herself. She could keep them tam up to a certain degree, but sometimes the animal inside breaks free. And well, these animals were pissed, and there was no way they were going to listen to anything she had to say, "Sorry, Chris." 

He sighed roughly, understanding what she was implying, "I bet you're wishing you took that gun right about now," he remarked as he slid her behind his back. 

A humorless chuckle brushed passed her lips; it was bold of him to assume she wasn't strong enough to hold them off. Granted, not all of them, but a few at time she could handle. Although, it wasn't just the lycans she was worried about. 

"Honestly, Captain. We might have a bigger problem than them." 

"What do you mean?" The man questioned, some underlying fear in his tone. And, as if it was a scripted, the all familiar roar of the large wolf beast boomed. The ground shook as his feet landed roughly. The two slowly turned around until they came face to face with Urias, looming over them, his oversized hammer in hand. "I was starting to think that this was going a little too well," Chris told the woman and a hint of a smile played on her lips. 

The beast stuck his head out and unhinged his jaw, releasing a monstrous roar right in their faces. A mix of the stench and the noise level making them wince, Sophia felt an object being slipped into her hand. She looked down, seeing the Chris had secured the marker device in her palm. Her head snapped up, brows knitted together silently questioning the man, "I'm gonna distract him. You need to keep that laser on the target long enough for Lobo to get the coordinates. Got it?" 

She didn't have enough time to answer as he was backhanded by Urias and flew halfway across the square, landing on his side, "Chris!" 

He clutched onto his stomach, "The target," he wheezed after having the wind knocked out of him. 

Sophia nodded profusely and began mumbling to herself, "Right, right...right." She held the marker tight in her grip and moved around Urias, whose eyes were solely on Chris. Lucky her. 

She raised her arm and pressed the little button on the side aiming it for the center of the roots. All the while, Chris is fighting off Urias, the lycans, and communicating with his squad. He even made time to praise Sophia for, she'll admit, the little amount of work she was doing, "Doing good, Soph! Just hold it a bit longer!" 

Gunfire started to ensue from the trees and higher up in the mountaintops, the HoundWolf Squad now contributing to the extinction of her lycans. Something she was going to have to come to terms with if they were going to be blowing the village to pieces anyway. It made her sad to think about but, it was for the best. 

 "Lobo? You got the coords yet?" She heard Chris yell over the all the commotion, holding her stance. A few seconds passed, "Copy! Sophia, he got em! Step back!" 

She listened the mans orders and stumbled backward, watching the air strike rain down onto the roots. For a moment, they continued to wave and squirm in the air and Sophia worried that the missiles weren't enough to destroy it. But, they began dwindling and eventually fell. 

"That's a hit!" Chris shouted, enthusiasm in his tone. 

Sophia pumped her fist close to her chest in celebration, "Yes!" 

However, the fight wasn't over yet. 

  

A/N: I see a friendship blooming :)