The Venom

Devastation

       Tiger mounted his horse and Hasuto and Madison mounted theirs. "How do you plan to take down Reaper and Cobra?" Hasuto asked. "It's going to be difficult, but I'll try a sneak attack." Tiger said. "What would you have us do?" Hasuto asked. Tiger smirked for a moment, before looking at them both. "I'll find you when my mission is complete." Tiger said. "You're not going to do this by yourself." Madison said. "I said I am." Tiger said in affirmation. "Madison's right. We're better off working together. We've already lost a member of our group." Hasuto said. Tiger let out a sigh. "You know we're going to be hunting down leaders of two powerful clans? Not to mention each leader has similar abilities to me?" Tiger asked. Hasuto and Madison nodded. "Very well. However, you'll stay on guard. I'd hate for any of you to be harmed because of me." Tiger said. "I'll stick by you 'til the end." Madison said, with a smile. "There's no doubt that I'll see this mission through." Hasuto said. "Then let's be off. I want to catch them as they're cleaning out the remaining Insurrectionists." Tiger said, before they started their ride back to Pacifica. 

        Reaper and Cobra fought side by side, as the Insurrection continued their push to Pacifica. "We need to pushed them back." Reaper said. "There's too many to redirect our forces." Cobra said. "We've got more tricks to use." Reaper said. Cobra watched as Reaper went to his second transformation. Reaper's hellish wings sprouted from his back, and Reaper pulled his hood down. Reaper's head ignited with hellfire, and Reaper levitated into the air. Cobra watched as Reaper created a hall of hellfire, burning any Insurrectionists that touched the flames. Reaper pushed the wall, creating a shockwave of hellfire, scorching the immediate enemies, and knocked the rest down. The opportunity allowed for the two clans to push the Insurrection back. "Come on." Reaper said to Cobra. Cobra sighed, before making his transformation. Cobra took the form of a giant serpent. 

      Cobra spat a small stream of venom, burning a few other Insurrectionists. Cobra slithered forwards, knocking down several others with his tail, and bit down on two other swordsmen, before turning into his more powerful Evolved form. Cobra wielded his two swords, and was able to shoot venom out of the tips of his swords. Cobra and Reaper advanced forwards. Reaper incinerated a couple Insurrectionists with hellfire, before cutting several other swordsmen down. Cobra shot venom at a swordsman's face, and kicked the swordsman in the face, causing his head to split in half. Cobra slashed two other swordsmen across the throat with his swords, and stabbed another through the chest, before decapitating another. The Venom and the Skulls began to push the Insurrection back, pushing them further and further away. In time, the Insurrection began to retreat, and the Pacifica guardsmen staged themselves, creating a wall of guardsmen. 

     Tiger, Madison, and Hasuto returned to Pacifica, only to see the mass exodus continuing. Many buildings were destroyed, and bodies littered the streets. Debris, and abandoned carriages made navigation difficult, as well as the thick cloud of smoke overhead. "So much has happened in such little time." Madison said. "So many innocents dead by the hands of the Insurrection." Hasuto said. Tiger noticed a small child was trapped under debris, and Tiger dismounted his horse quickly. Tiger lifted the debris, and child crawled out. Tiger picked up the kid, and held him in his arms. "You alright? Where's you're family?" Tiger asked. The child pointed to two bodies that were on the ground. Tiger felt an odd feeling rush through his body. Tiger set the child down, and knelt down to him. "Leave the city for now. Leave through the southern entrance. Beyond the wall is a small tribe, full of people who can help you." Tiger said. The boy nodded, and Tiger motioned for him to leave.

       Tiger turned to his crew, and Hasuto looked at Tiger with a confused glance. "You want him to join the tribe that you were once part of?" Hasuto asked. "That tribe is more than just a gathering of people. It's a safe haven. When my parents were taken, I was rescued by one of the tribesmen. He taught me to survive on my own." Tiger said. "Point taken." Hasuto said. The group continued their ride through the city. Tiger saw Hayden bleeding out, with a sword through his stomach. Tiger quickly rushed over to him, and dismounted his horse. "Tiger. You're okay." Hayden said breathlessly. "You're certainly not. We need to get you to a doctor." Tiger said. Hayden grabbed onto Tiger's arm. "No. I don't need that." Hayden said, before his grip loosened. Tiger watched as Hayden died from his injuries. 

      Tiger stood up, and looked at the two bodies nearby. Jaguar laid face down from a stab through the stomach, and Max laid on his back from a cut to the throat. Three more swordsmen were nearby, and one of the swordsmen was missing their sword. "We should keep going." Hasuto said urgently. "Yeah, we should." Tiger said, before mounting his horse again. They rode down another road, where a building had collapsed, blocking their way. The group moved through the debris, making sure to not notice the collection of bodies they moved past. "This is all so surreal." Madison said. "In an hour, the Insurrection brought devastation to this beautiful city." Hasuto said. "All the more reason I laid waste to their boss." Tiger said. "From there, they'll surely break themselves down." Madison said. "Here's hoping." Hasuto said. 

     The group eventually reached the battlegrounds, where the wall was broken down. By now, the Pacifica guardsmen were holding their positions around the outside of the wall, and executing any remaining Insurrectionists in the area. Tiger looked around to see the Venom and Skulls were nowhere to be seen. Tiger heard shallow breathing to his left. Tiger looked to see Mary leaning against a wall, with blood running down her face. "Mary!" Tiger said out of shock, as he ran over to her. Hasuto and Madison joined them. "I thought you'd be dead." Madison said. Hasuto walked over to Mary, and she collapsed in his arms. "The pain. It's unbearable." Mary said, pointing to her leg. Hasuto looked to see shrapnel from a cannon blast was lodged in her leg. "Get us some biofoam!" Tiger yelled to one of the guardsmen. A guardsman reached into one of his pouches, and pulled out a small canister of biofoam, before handing it to Tiger.

      Tiger took the biofoam, and sat Mary down. Tiger grabbed the shrapnel, and Mary stifled her pained screams, as Tiger ripped it out of her leg. Madison quickly applied the biofoam, and the wound began rapidly healing. The wound closed, and Mary regained function of her leg, allowing her to walk again. Mary looked at Madison, Tiger, and Hasuto with a relieved look. "Thank you." Mary said. "I'm happy to see you alive." Hasuto said. "I can't fight... My bow..." Mary said, pointing to her bow. Mary's bow was broken and scorched from the blast. "We can get you another one." Tiger said. "It was my uncle's gift to me, and now he's dead and the bow's broken." Mary said, before a tear rolled down her cheek. Hasuto wiped the tear from her cheek. "No need to shed a tear now. There will be a time for grieving later. Something's come up." Hasuto said. "Like what?" Mary asked. "We're going to kill a couple of elder gods." Tiger said. "Fitting. But, I can't fight without a weapon." Mary said. "How's your sword skills?" Tiger asked. "Lackluster." Mary replied. Tiger noticed Madison had already left the group. "Where's Madison?" Tiger asked. Hasuto pointed to Madison, who was now carrying a bow and a quiver of arrows. "Here. This should hold you off until you get a proper bow. Took it off an Insurrectionist corpse. I'm sure he won't mind." Madison said with a smirk. Mary slipped on the quiver, and grabbed the bow. "Let's get going." Tiger said.