Chapter 27: Need a Hero

January 31, 2024 8:56 AM

Samantha started to, slowly, sit up as the sniffing keep up in the distance. Her head began to pound in pain and her vision blurred slightly, but she fought through it knowing that staying put was a death sentence. Finally, she managed to sit completely up and her vision started to clear. Off to her side, she saw William move over to Jenkins. He lifted him up and put the unconscious man over his shoulder. He motioned for Samantha to come on and Samantha took a deep breath as she got ready for this.

Samantha had to fight off another wave of pain and dizziness as she got to her own feet, barely managing to stay up. William offered her a hand, but Samantha waved it away. It was bad enough the older man was having to carry around Jenkins, she didn't need to make him have to lead her along as well. She rubbed her head to try and soothe to pain and dizziness as William gave her a worried look. The rubbing helped, but didn't get rid of the pain completely. She was just going to have to deal with it for now as the sniffing was getting worryingly close.

William motioned for her to follow as he, slowly and quietly, began to move to the side. Samantha was a bit confused as to why they were not just moving away until she noticed the direction of the wind. Of course, William was trying to get them down wind to make it harder for the catmonster to smell them. If it lost their scent then it would lose them and they could slip away much easier. Samantha followed after him, doing her best to stay low and quiet. Her dizziness wasn't helping, but she managed all the same.

The sniffing got a bit louder, but began to get less frequent as they moved downwind of the catmonster. William moved them around a small ridge and down into a valley as the sniffing seemed to start to dim. Samantha moved to join him, but stopped when something he had said popped back into his head.

"Do you, honestly, think either Sanders or Jacob would leave you out here to die? Or Pyrrha for that matter?"

Pyrrha...could that sniffing be her? If it was, then they were running from the salvation, but if it wasn't...  She had to find out, so she, slowly, moved up the ridge that lined the valley. If William disapproved, he never voiced it and Samantha climbed up in, mostly, silence. Thankfully, despite the dull dizziness still plaguing her, she managed to make it up without making any overly loud noises. She laid down on the ground and crawled up the lip of the ridge. However, she stopped a few feet from it as the top of the catmonster came into view.

She didn't get a good look at its face, but didn't need to as she saw its red hair. Dammit, Pyrrha had blonde hair which meant this couldn't be her. She supposed she shouldn't be surprised, but it was disheartening all the same. Thankfully, William's plan looked to have worked as the catmonster started to move away from them, only stopping every so often to sniff. Samantha let out a small sigh of relief as she started back down the ridge.

By the time she reached the bottom, the sniffing had become nearly inaudible. William was bent over Jenkins and looked to be checked his bandages. He looked up at Samantha and gave her a soft smile.

"The catmonster moved off. And it wasn't Pyrrha," Samantha whispered, still worried about speaking too loud just in case the catmonster decided to come back. William nodded, but didn't look disheartened, or surprised, by the news.

"I didn't think it would be. I doubt they would have Pyrrha sneaking around if they were trying to find us. Quite the opposite, I would think they would be trying to cause noise to get our attention," William said as he adjusted a few of Jenkins bandages. Samantha hadn't thought of that, though she should have. Dammit, this headache was making hard to think, but at least it seemed to be dimming. Most of her dizziness was gone, so there was that.

"Right. So what do we do now?" Samantha asked, rubbing her head to try and get the last of the pain to go away. William sighed to himself and looked back to where they had come from with a frown. He shook his head and turned the other direction.

"We need to keep moving, for now. The wind is keeping the catmonster from smelling us, for now, but it might shift and give us away again. And we might not be so lucky the next time it comes. Best we put some distance between us and it," William said as he started to lift Jenkins back up. Samantha helped him and, rather than put him onto William's shoulder, draped his arms over both their shoulders and carried him together. She wasn't going to let William carry him by himself again and William didn't voice an objection. With Jenkins ready to move, they headed off and away from where they had been, and where the catmonster had gone.

They travelled for a few minutes, having to stop to adjust Jenkins more than once, and made their way through the winding valley they had gone into. As they went, bits of old concrete and other crumbling signs of civilization began to appear in the muke. Most was heavily buried in the soil or plant life, but was still visible in a few places. Samantha realized that they were in an old drainage channel that had been nearly eaten away by time, not exactly the best place to be. Thankfully, the sky was mostly clear and the chance of a rain flood washing them away was rather low.

Despite the low risk of drowning, they still needed to find a way out. The channell gave them good cover and keep their scent sorta pinned in, but if they were found they had nowhere to go or hide. And, with Jenkins, they couldn't just climb up the steep sides. Thankfully, they found a slope where a small mudslide had made a more gradual angle up that they could get Jenkins up. Coming out of the channel, they exited out into a sea of barren, winter, forest and nothing at all that looked familiar.

"I think we are lost," Samantha said as she adjusted Jenkins a bit. William only chuckled at that and shook his head.

"You might be, but I think I know where we are in relation to our old campsite, one of the advantages of being a scout. Still, I need to get a better view to be sure. There is a hill over there that should give me a good view," William said as he pointed to a nearby hill. Samantha nodded, ignoring the jab, and they started toward the hill. The short walk to it was uneventful and they stopped at the base of it to set Jenkins down.

"Alright, do you mind staying with Jenkins while I take a look around?" William asked as he looked up at the hill, as if judging what route to take.

"No, I don't mind. Just be careful," Samantha said, unable to keep some worry from getting into her voice. William gave her an understanding smile and nodded before starting up the hill.

Now alone with the unconscious Jenkins, Samantha checked his bandages and did her best to clean them of the muck that had got on them. She used a bit of her own clothing to replace the ones that had been soiled by blood or other gunk. Thankfully, the stump of his ripped off leg didn't look to have reopened and his color was about the same. He didn't look to be getting worse, but this trip definitely wasn't helping him get better either.

Samantha had just started to sit back when William came rushing back down the hill. Samantha got up as William ran to Jenkins and lifted him up onto his shoulder. Samantha was going to ask what was wrong, but William beat her to it.

"No time to talk, we need to-" he was interrupted as a loud rumbling came from the other side of the hill, followed closely by a sniff. Shit, the catmonster had followed them! Samantha let WIlliam carry Jenkins as they took off away from the hill. Samantha glanced back and saw the catmonster's ears started to come over the hill. She rolled into cover behind a tree as William slid into a small ditch. Samantha risked a glance out and her heart fell as she noticed something about the catmonster. It didn't have red fur, it had brown. Dammit, it wasn't' the same catmonster, it was a completely different one!

The catmonster's hand came up and landed on the top of the hill. It lifted itself up a bit on the hill, which was more like a large bump to it, and started to scan the area. It sniffed the air as its ears twitched a bit. Samantha drew back as its eyes moved toward her and hoped the wind was blowing their scent away.

The catmonster gave a soft meow before hopping off the hill. Samantha peeked out again and saw the catmonster heading off to their right. It hadn't caught their scent, but was still far too close for comfort. Samantha tried to gulp down her fear before turning to William. William motioned for her to follow as he lead them to their left, back toward their camp site. Samantha followed without a word, they were too close to risk even talking.

The two of them had gone a few feet when William brought them to a halt. Samantha wasn't sure what it was till she noticed it through the naked tree branches. Red...red fur, oh no... The red catmonster HAD followed them and now was coming right at them. William cursed as he was about to lead them off another direction, but stopped as the wind suddenly shifted. Samantha felt it too and her heart nearly stopped in panic. No...they were UPWIND of the catmonster now!

Almost immediately, it started to sniff like mad and the bit of red began to surge toward them. William swore as he motioned for her to hide and Samantha did as she was told. She ducked behind a small tree as William dived into a small, rather barren bush. As he did, though, he let out a loud yell that nearly caused Samantha to scream in surprise. She turned to him in utter shock and wanted to demand to know what that was about. She didn't get the chance, however, as the catmonster's movement went from nearly silent to all too loud. The booming sounds of it rushing toward them and the slight quakes from the impacts caused her to press herself as tight as she could onto the tree. She tried to reach for a weapon, but realized all of them were gone. Dammit, she couldn't even go down fighting like this!

The rumbling and shaking reached its peak and came to a sudden halt. Samantha didn't dare turn to look as she knew what was behind the tree. The catmonster, looming above them on all fours, slowly looking for her meal. She heard it sniff and knew there was no chance it hadn't got their scent. She closed her eyes and cursed her luck as she wished and prayed for someone to come save her. Jacob...where are you?!

She opened her eyes and regretted it immediately as she saw a huge nose beginning to peek around the edge of the tree. It moved further and further out before making a horribly loud sniff. Samantha had to fight not to scream as it paused for a second. She begged whoever that it withdrew, that it somehow had not smelled her. Her begging fell on deaf ears, however, as it shifted toward her. As it did, the catmonster's huge eye swung around as well. Its vertical slit pupil came to rest right on Samantha. She stared into that eye of doom, frozen in terror and horror. Part of her screamed to run or to fight, but the other part of her knew it was pointless. There was no escape now and fighting without weapons was beyond pointless. No, all she could was face death with some dignity.

Suddenly, a loud crash blasted through the area, nearly knocking Samantha off her feet. The eye turned toward the noise, but only had time to widen as it was thrown backwards and away from Samantha. Samantha stared at the, now empty, space the eye had been in and barely registered another, even more powerful rumbling that shook the area. She glanced up and just caught the after image of a catmonster-sized form leaping forward after the red-haired catmonster. Samantha braced as another huge earthquake shook the area and her brain, slowly, recovered from her shock. Another catmonster... that meant... PYRRHA!

Samantha glanced around the tree she had been hiding behind, joy and relief washing over her. However, the feeling faded as confusion set in. The red-haired catmonster wasn't being attacked by Pyrrha, it was being attacked by the brown-haired catmonster from before. What in the? She didn't have time to ponder this strange turn of events, however, as William rushed up to her.

"We got our distraction, let's get out of here before they decide a winner!" he yelled as he pulled her after him. He took off in a full run away from the fight and Samantha shook of her confusion and joined him. Still, she couldn't help but ask the question that was demanding an answer.

"How did you know they would fight?" she asked, glancing back to see the two catmonsters still rolling around in a ball of fury. William glanced back and gave her a slight smile.

"Did you notice that the brown one didn't have a collar? That means it's a feral. Society-trained catmonsters won't fight over food, but a feral sure as hell will. So I tried to get its attention and hoped it got over her before the red one made a meal of us. Kinda of a long shot, but whatever works, right?" William said as he smirked at her. Not for the first time, Samantha was impressed by William's quick-thinking. He had just saved their asses with that move. Or, at least, had bought them time.

As if to remind her she was still in danger, the two catmonster's broke off their rolling grapple and the brown one retreated back toward them. Its huge feet smashed past them, thankfully missing them, and sent both of them reeling to the ground. Samantha looked up and saw its huge stomach looming over them as it hissed in rage at its opponent. They both stayed on the ground as it, slowly, began to pace away from them, still hissing and growling at the other. Luckily, it was so focused on its opponent that it never noticed them. As soon as it was a few feet away, they both got back to their feet and took off.

They rushed through the area as fast as they could, though fallen limbs and other things shaken loose started to slow them down. Behind them, the catmonster's hisses and growls only increased along with the earthquakes of their steps. Despite carrying Jenkins, William began to pull ahead as he nearly plowed through the brush.

"Hurry w- LOOKOUT!" William yelled as he glanced back toward her. Samantha turned back to see the brown catmonster being pushed back right toward them. Its huge foot raised up and started to come down, aimed almost exactly for them. Samantha yelled in effort as she threw herself to the side. She tucked herself into a ball just as the foot came crashing down, barely getting her legs out of the way. Bits of dirt, rock, and tree went flying everywhere and Samantha felt a number impacts strike her arms. The sonic force blasted her ears into numbness and she had to fight not to have her breath sucked out. She landed on the ground and rolled away, injured but alive.

Samantha opened her eyes and looked up only to freeze in terror. The catmonster's hand was right above her and looked poised to come down right on her. She tried to scramble up, but the loose dirt and rocks caused her feet to slip. She stared up in terror as the hand started down. Suddenly, two hands grabbed her back and pulled her away from the palm. Samantha tucked her body into a thin line as the hand smashed down next to her, her body barely fitting between the ring and pinkie finger The impact sent both her and whoever had saved her flying back a few feet and turned the world silent.

Samantha groaned as noise began to, slowly, come back. The fighting was much quieter now and Samantha was fairly sure they had moved away from her and her savior. She glanced back and saw Susan picking herself up and trying to shake the effects of the impact off.

"Susan...I have never been so glad to see you. Thanks," Samantha said in relief as she shook her head and got to her feet. Anyone else she might have hugged, but she knew Susan wasn't the touchy-feely type and would just find it annoying. Susan nodded to her and looked to say something, but another loud crash drowned her voice out. Instead, she just waved for Samantha to follow and took off away from the fight. Samantha followed her, glancing back every so often to make sure the fight was staying away from them.

Susan lead the way toward a large hill in the distance. However, the catmonster's fight had torn up large parts of the ground and toppled a great many trees, slowing their progress. After a few minutes of picking their way through the trees, Samantha caught a bit of movement off to their side. A wave of relief came over her as she saw William making his way to the hill along with two others. One was a women she thought was Christa, she had the usual camouflage clothing and equipment of a scout, while the other looked somewhat like Jenkins. She figured that had to be his brother William had mentioned, doubly so considering he was carrying Jenkins now.

"William, over here!" Samantha said as she waved to them. William glanced over and waved back before motioned the other two to follow him. Susan adjusted their course so they would meet up up ahead. They joined together a few minutes later, but didn't stop to catch up. The fight was still raging behind them and had moved far too close more than once. Instead, they keep going as they talked.

"Glad to see you are still alive, Samantha. I was worried we had lost you there for a second," William said with a smile. Samantha returned the smile as she looked over their group.

"You too, William. Is this everyone who is still alive? I thought you said there were more," Samantha asked, realizing they should have two other people here. Susan glanced back to answer.

"We left the others on that hill up ahead. There was no need for everyone to risk their lives to get you three out," Susan answered with her usual stern tone. While it sounded kinda harsh, Samantha agreed with Susan. No need to put more peo-

A massive crash followed by a quake shook Samantha out of her thoughts. Samantha barely managed to keep her feet as the ground heaved like a wave. Jenkins' brother was not so lucky and tumbled forward, angling himself to make sure he took the brunt of the fall. The brother cried in pain as he landed badly on his arm, but bit it back rather quickly. William moved over and started to help him up as Christa gave a worried gasp. Samantha turned and looked in awe as the brown catmonster's back loomed above them. And then started to move toward them. Oh God... it was falling backwards!!

"RUN!" Susan yelled as she snatched up Jenkins herself and took off. William helped the brother up and both took off after her, the brother clutching his broken arm. Samantha and Christa joined them as the group ran as fast as they could. Unfortunately, they were right smack in the middle of where the back would fall, making any direction just as long as another. Worse, the catmonster was starting to fall faster as it began to lean further and further back toward them. Samantha pushed her legs as hard as she could as she scrambled over the fallen trees and uneven ground. Susan began to fall behind  thanks to having to carry Jenkins, but his brother rushed back to help her, despite his broken arm. Still, as the back began to blot out the sun and become ever larger, it looked like it wouldn't matter how slow or fast they went. They were nowhere near safety and the back was already halfway to them.

Closer and closer the back descended and still they were scale yards away from safety. They were not going to make it, there was no way they could cover the distance in time. Samantha swore and keep running until another massive quake knocked her to the ground. She curled into a ball, knowing this was the end....and nothing happened. Samantha peeked out and looked up. Her breath caught in her mouth as she saw the huge form of the catmonster's back only a few scale feet above them. It was so close she could see the off color patches of fur and other small imperfections. Ahead of her, a massive sea of brown hair covered the forest and had turned it into a virtual jungle. Samantha was dumbstruke by what had happened till she looked to the side. Through the dead trees, she could just barely make out the shape of something large on the ground. Was that..yes it was the catmonster's elbows. It had caught itself before it had hit the ground, saving them by mere inches.

Samantha nearly collapsed at their luck as the catmonster's huge back began to move away. It shifted back onto all fours and hissed as it went back on the offensive. Samantha looked around for the others and saw them, slowly, getting up as well. Jenkin's brother let out a huge sigh of relief while William's shook his head. Even Susan looked shook up and had to give Jenkins' to William to carry. The only one who seemed unstunned by their narrow escape was Christa.

"Come on, we need to hurry unless we want to test our luck again," Christa said as she took off running again. Samantha tried to emulate her example and forget just how close she had come to death... again. Despite her best efforts, she could feel her hands shaking a bit and she was sure a good bit of her color was gone. She wasn't sure how many more brushes with death she could take today. Thankfully, the catfight moved away again and stayed away as they approached the huge hill.

Once they were a few scale yards from the hill's base, the other two survivors moved down to meet them. Odd, there should be three.... Before she could ask where the third one was, Susan spoke up and interrupted her thoughts.

"We need to get out of here ASAP. Forget trying to use the hill, let's just get as far from the fight as possible," Susan said as she looked over them. William and Christa nodded their agreement as did one of the other two from their squad. However, the last one stared ahead as her mouth fell open. Samantha turned to see what she was looking at, along with everyone else, and felt her heart fall into her feet as yet, another catmonster appeared over the trees.

The catmonster had long black hair and a collar wrapped around her neck. She was, practically, right on top of them and she looked down at them in hungry anticipation. There was no doubt she had seen them as he slit pupils went to each of them in turn. Her tongue licked her lips as the group began to inch away, unsure if to make a break for it or not. The short pause was broken as Susan whipped out a launcher, Samantha's launcher.

"RUN!" she yelled before firing the rocket up at the catmonster.  The catmonster's eyes snapped toward the rocket before her whole body shifted out of the rocket's path. The rocket flew past the catmonster before exploding, harmlessly, in the air. Despite the miss, the rest of the group took off running as fast as they could.  Samantha wanted to stay and fight too, but Susan had her launcher and she had no other weapons. She, along with everyone else, took off from the catmonster as Susan tried to reload. The catmonster leaned forward to try and snatch up Susan, but the guy from their old scout group turned to fire his rifle. He pumped a few rounds into the catmonster's hand and it hissed in fury before pulling it back, a bit of blood leaking out of it.

Susan managed to reload thanks to the bought time and started to raise up the launcher. However, the catmonster's hands flashed out again, going much faster than before, and snatched both her and the man up before either could do anything. Samantha slowed as she watched the catmonster start to bring them toward its head.

"NO! SUSAN!" Samantha yelled as she looked around, frantically, for something to use as a weapon. However, there was nothing by rocks and sticks here and the others hadn't slowed at all. They and their weapons were too far to do anything now. With nothing else at hand, she snatched up a rock and tried to throw it at the catmonster, but the monster didn't even notice the rock hit. Instead, it licked its lips one last time before opening its mouth. The man began to cry out for help, but Susan remained silent as the catmonster drew them closer. Samantha cursed her own weakness as she started to turn to run, but stopped as a loud WHOOMP came from the distance.

Samantha turned back just in time to see the catmonster's head, literally, blast apart. A huge block of metal smashed into its head with such force that it was, utterly, pulverized. Bits of bone, flesh, and blood went flying everywhere and covered Susan and the man, a bit even got on Samantha. The catmonster's arms flopped down to its side, still holding Susan and the man, before its headless torso collapsed forward. It smashed into the ground only a foot away from Samantha and she had to shield her face from the dust, dirt, and rocks it kicked up.

Bewildered by what had just happened, Samantha turned in the direction the noise had come from while waving the debris away. Samantha's face light up with relieve and joy as the unmistakable form of Pyrrha appeared over a hill. The air-cannon on her back was still smoking from firing and she let out a loud meow of triumph. Samantha couldn't help but cheer as Pyrrha started down the hill and toward the brawl still raging.

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Jacob cursed to himself as he made his way up Pyrrha's hair. Gerard might have agreed to help, but his conditions made it almost like he hadn't. Convince Pyrrha to help, fuck how was he supposed to do that?

Ignoring the fact it was an animal that only understood a few command words, she still hated him and he hated her right back. No matter how useful she might be, she was still the catmonster that had eaten his friends and gotten him a damn black mark that didn't look to ever be going away. Nothing would get him to forget that. As for her, it didn't take a genius to see the animosity she had toward him. Granted he HAD shot her as soon as they had meet and he tended to wear his hate of her on his sleeve, but she deserved it after what she had done to him! Despite all that, though, he still needed her if he was going to find and rescue Samantha. Which made the fact he had no idea how to get her to WANT to help him all the more infuriating.

Jacob swore out loud as he neared the top of Pyrrha's head. Fuck, was he going to have to apologize to her? Would she even know what an apology was? Hell, would she even understand what he wanted? Fucking Gerard, Jacob had no doubt he had let him try knowing full well what a lost cause this was. Lost cause or not, though, Jacob was not giving up. He WOULD save Samantha even if it meant teaching Pyrrha to understand him and having to beg for forgiveness once he did.

Pyrrha's vine-like hair lay in front of Jacob as he reached the top of her head. He pushed his way through the blonde "foliage" and summoned up his determination. As he neared her ears Marketa came into view. She looked to be having a bit of trouble figuring out how to stay centered on Pyrrha's swaying head. Jacob didn't have that problem as Sanders had taught him how to manage. Marketa glanced back and got a surprised look on her face when she saw him.

"Jacob? What are you doing up here? Get down before I get Gerard up her to drag you down," Marketa said, her tone shifting from confused to annoyed. Jacob didn't have time to bring her up to speed so he gave her the short version.

"Gerard let me come up here so I can talk to Pyrrha. If you don't believe me, you can go ask him yourself," Jacob said, not caring if she believed him or not. She was barely managing to stay on Pyrrha's head and was in no position to stop him from doing what he wanted. Which brought him back to his original problem... What WAS he going to do?

Marketa glared at him, but looked to have come to the same conclusion Jacob had. She stayed where she was and keep hanging on as Jacob held on with one hand and rubbed his head with the other. Dammit, come on, he had to have SOME kind of idea on how to do this? But his brain just refused to come up with anything. Fuck, every second he wasted was another that Samantha had to survive out there. Oh screw this, he liked the direct approach better anyway! With his mind made up, Jacob moved to the closest of Pyrrha's ears. He grabbed onto it to steady himself, feeling it twitch at his touch, and leaned in to talk into it.

"Pyrrha, we need to talk," Jacob said, making sure not to be too loud, he was talking right into her ear after all. The ear twitched again and Pyrrha's rhythmic steps faltered for a second. However, she recovered quickly and keep right on going wherever she was going. However, she didn't respond at all. Fucking catmonster...

"Pyrrha, this is important. Uhh...listen, stop, fuck do something other that ignoring me!" Jacob said, not realizing his voice was getting a bit louder. This time, the ear didn't twitch and Pyrrha didn't falter. However, she did respond but only with a low hiss. Ugh this damn thing was pissing him off!

"Don't you fucking hiss at me, dammit! Look, I need your help and so doe-" Jacob didn't get to finish as Pyrrha let out a much louder hiss, drowning his voice out. Jacob tightened his grip on Pyrrha's ear as his anger started to rise. Fuck this fucking monster! It was wasting his damn time and, most importantly, Samantha's!!

"Jacob, now might be a good time to quit while you are still alive," Marketa said from behind Jacob. Jacob shot an angry glance back at her and saw she had a worried look on. He ignored her, though, and her warning. Pyrrha was GOING to help him goddammit!!

"LISTEN YOU OVERGROWN FUR BALL! SAMANTHA-" Jacob yelled into the ear, but was again interrupted, though not by a hiss this time. Instead, Pyrrha let out a cry of pain as her ear clamped down, thankfully not on Jacob's hand. The catmonster came to a dead stop and whined in pain for a second before letting out a furious, ear-splitting hiss. Oh shit...

"JACOB, LOOK OUT!" Marketa yelled, drawing Jacob's attention to his side. Pyrrha's hand came racing up and opened wide as it moved toward her ear. Jacob cursed then dived away from Pyrrha's ear, barely managing to clear the reach of the huge hand. He scrambled back to his feet as the hand closed around the area where Jacob had just been. However, Pyrrha had two hands and the other came up as well. Jacob swore under his breath as it started to come toward him. He tried to run, but his foot got caught in some of the hair, sending him face planting into Pyrrha's skull.

"OWW FUCK!" he yelled as the impact sent a spike of pain through his head. For a split second, Jacob forgot he had been running and only cared about the pain blasting his skull. Fuck that had HURT! By the time he remembered what he had been doing, it was already too late. Jacob felt two large slabs of flesh push into his legs on either side, pinning them both. He swore as he snapped out of the pain and looked down to see two of Pyrrha's fingers holding onto his legs. He tried to pull them free, but his strength was nothing compared to the catmonster's. He yelled in fear and anger as she pulled him from her head, his hands slipping off her hair, and into the air. Down below, Marketa was screaming at Pyrrha to stop and was trying to get her weapon out. Pyrrha, however, ignored her as she lowered Jacob down to be eye level with her.

Pyrrha's huge, angry, upside down eyes glared at him in fury as she let out another hiss, nearly deafening him. Jacob cursed in fury and panic as Pyrrha's mouth started to hover far too close for comfort. Dammit, no, this was NOT how he wanted to go. Eaten by a damn catmonster that was SUPPOSED to be their ally. Worse, he would doom Samantha to death too! No no FUCK NO, he would NOT let that happen! He might be dead, but he would be damned to hell before he let Samantha die because of him, or at all!

"You want to eat me, fine, but dammit you better go save Samantha! YOU HEAR ME?! GO SAVE SAMANTHA!!" Jacob yelled, partly to Pyrrha and partly to Marketa. He just had to hope Marketa was the type to question her superiors. However, it wasn't her reaction that got his attention, it was Pyrrha's.

The catmonster had been beyond furious at him and looked on the verge of squashing or eating him right then and there. But at the mention of Samantha, her rage looked to falter a bit. Did she understand him, or did she just understand who Samantha was? Fuck, it didn't matter, either way might let him get her to understand. As long as she went after Samantha, she could do whatever with him.

"That's right, do what you want with me! Eat me, squish me, I don't care just as long as you go get Samantha! I know you don't like me and I sure as hell don't like you, but Samantha has always treated you good. So go save her, dammit!" Jacob yelled as Pyrrha stared at him. The catmonster tilted her head to the side and looked confused by what he was saying. Fucking dammit, just when he thought he was getting somewhere... Where was Sanders when he needed him?!

"Stupid cat... Samantha! Danger! Help! Samantha needs help! They left her and she needs help! Your help!" Jacob yelled, trying a different tactic. This one looked to work better as the anger in Pyrrha's eyes softened. Her eyes moved away from Jacob and... it almost looked like she was trying to think.  Her eyes got an odd look to them and her mouth opened to say something, but closed as she suddenly cringed as if in pain. Oh for the love of... the stupid thing had given itself a HEADACHE?! Ugh he didn't have time for this, doubly so with all the blood going into his head.

"DAMMIT STOP WASTING TIME! SAMANTHA IS OUT THERE WITH THE SOCIETY, FERALS, MARAUDERS, AND FUCK KNOWS WHAT ELSE! SHE NEEDS YOUR HELP OR SHE IS GOING TO DIE! ARE YOU GOING TO LET THE ONLY PERSON IN THE PHOENIXES WHO THINKS OF YOU AS A PERSON TO DIE?! ARE YOU GOING TO ABANDON HER?!" Jacob yelled as loud as he could, trying one last time to get Pyrrha to understand, or at least get Marketa or someone else to continue on to save her. Pyrrha's eyes opened, slightly, as she looked at Jacob. For a second, she just stared at him, not moving. Then, suddenly, her eyes snapped open. Her mouth opened slightly as if in surprise and she glanced around as if confused. Her eyes came back to Jacob and rested there for a second.

"Samantha...Little lady..." she said, in a far more coherent tone than she ever had before. Jacob was thoroughly confused by that, but didn't have time to wonder what was going on. Her hand shoot back to her head and placed Jacob down onto it. No sooner had she dropped him, did she whirl around and take off at close to a full on sprint. Jacob had to grab hold quickly not to get shaken off.

As his mind tried to figure out what had just happened, he glance up at the sun and noticed the direction they were headed. East...back toward where their first camp had been. Jacob couldn't help but smile as he realized where Pyrrha was going. Shit he had actually done it.

"What the hell is going on? What did you do?" Marketa asked as she hung on for dear life. Jacob glanced over to her and gave her a big smile.

"We are going to save Samantha, that is what," Jacob said as he picked himself up and started toward Pyrrha's ear again. Before he could reach it, however, he heard a familiar laugh coming from behind him. He turned to see Gerard, slowly, making his way toward him. Jacob's good cheer died away at seeing him again. Marketa tried to come to attention, but Gerard just waved her off.

"Haha, well I can't fault you for being a coward. Still, I think it would have been better for all of us if you had gotten yourself eaten. Could have forgot this stupidity and keep on task," Gerard said with a slight smile. Despite his polite look, his words were anything but. Jacob felt his hands clenching together, but keep himself reigned in. Saving Samantha came before punching that smile off.

"But you weren't and I am a man of my word. We'll do what we can to save your pussy. To show I mean it, here," Gerard said before tossing a launcher to Jacob. Jacob's anger flashed red, but died down as the launcher came toward him. He caught it and was a bit confused why Gerard would give him one when he had his own.

"I had it loaded with two of my special missiles. They'll give whatever they hit a nice warm bath of fire. Make sure you don't waste them, I only got a few of them," Gerard said with something close to a genuine smile. Jacob was more than a bit surprised by this, but tried to keep his surprise hidden.

"Oh...thanks," Jacob said as he slung it onto his back. Gerard nodded before turning back to Marketa.

"Marketa, I'm going to need you to help get the platform ready for combat. Head on down and leave Jacob to deal with Pyrrha. He seems to have a knack for it," Gerard said as he gave Jacob an odd look. Jacob wasn't sure if it was respect or annoyance. Either way, Marketa didn't need to be asked twice and started toward the back of Pyrrha's head as fast as she could manage. Gerard waited till she was out of earshot to turn back to Jacob. His smile faded to turn into a stern and serious glare.

"Don't forget there are other people on this catmonster. You get more people killed than necessary trying to save your damn pussy and I'll slow roast you till you are good and tender then leave you for a feral. Get me?" Gerard said as he glared at Jacob. Jacob's fury came back in full at the pussy comment and he glared back at Gerard in fury.

"Samantha is NOT just pussy to me, you fucking ass!" Jacob yelled back at Gerard. To his surprise, Pyrrha hissed as if to add emphasis to Jacob's words. Gerard raised an eyebrow at that before shaking his head.

"I don't care what she is, she is still just one person. If you get more people killed than you saved, then you don't deserve to lead anyone or anything. Remember that," Gerard said before whirling and retreating back. Jacob glared at him as he watched him go. Samantha was worth far more than one person to him! Even if Samantha would disagree...and be upset if...

Jacob looked down and sighed before turning back forward. Despite how much he was starting to hate Gerard, he couldn't deny there was some truth to his words. But he wouldn't let that stop him. He was going to save Samantha and...and he would do it without losing anyone!

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Jacob couldn't help but pump his arm in satisfaction as Henderson's shot hit dead on. The catmonster's head was blown apart and the two survivors it had picked up were safe. This far away, Jacob had no idea who the two were, but it didn't matter so long as they were still alive.

"Let's get down there," Jacob said to Pyrrha as he braced against her ear. Pyrrha didn't give an answer, but started down the hill all the same. She took it slow and looked as if she was making sure she didn't step on anyone by accident. Jacob was a bit surprised by that, but was glad for her extra precaution. However, the noise of the cannon looked to have gotten the attention of the other two catmonsters.

The brown-haired catmonster glanced over toward them, taking its eyes off the red-haired one for a split second. That second was long enough, however, as the red one smashed its fist into the brown ones head. The brown one stumbled back, reeling from the blow, while the red one broke off and began to charge them. Jacob cursed as he knew the air cannon would not be ready to fire just yet.

"Pyrrha, left!" Jacob yelled, making sure not to do it right into Pyrrha's ear. Pyrrha turned to the charging catmonster before whipping her body around to face the charge head-on. Jacob knelt down and braced himself as the catmonster barreled into them. Pyrrha held her ground against the catmonster's assault and the two began to claw, hiss, and grapple with one another. Jacob held on as best as he could, a tiny passenger in a fight of monsters. He was tossed about like a doll and only caught the briefest of glimpses of the fight. It didn't look to be going well for Pyrrha, from what little he could see. Before he could wonder why, a sudden shadow caught his eye.  He looked up and swore as he saw the other catmonster's claw coming right at him. He rolled to the side and, barely, managed to get out of way, thanks in part of Pyrrha moving her head as well. As the claw racked across Pyrrha's head, Jacob got why she was losing.

Pyrrha couldn't fight as wild and crazed as her opponent. She had to keep on all fours and keep the other one away from her back. The red-haired catmonster, however, had no such problems and was leaping up, grabbing onto her, and doing everything it could to win. Pyrrha was fighting with a handicap and the other catmonster was using it against her. If this keep up...

Pyrrha cried in pain as she retreated a bit from her opponent, having taken a nasty cut to her face. The other catmonster, however, had no intention of letting up its assault and knelt down to pounce. Jacob growled in fury before deciding it was time to even the odds.

He took out his own launcher and brought it up to his shoulder. He waited for the catmonster to launch itself forward before firing the launcher, aiming straight for the catmonster's face. In mid-pounce, there was no way the catmonster could dodge the rocket and it slammed into her cheek, just below her right eye. Blood, flesh, and other gore went flying out from the explosion and the catmonster cried in pain. It wasn't near enough to bring the catmonster done, but it was enough to make a distraction.

Pyrrha let out something like a roar as she smacked the catmonster's claws, now simply flailing madly, out of the way before lunging toward her throat. The catmonster cry turning into a gurgle as Pyrrha bit down into her throat. Jacob heard Pyrrha chew the throat a few times before ripping out a large chunk of it. Blood went flying out from the wound and splattered a bit on Jacob, though he ignored it. The catmonster gurgled a few more times as it seemed confused and scared by what had happened. It started to stumble and waver before flopping to the ground, dead. Jacob only smiled in satisfaction at another monster dead and didn't even feel at all sick at hearing Pyrrha swallow the chunk she had ripped off. She healed by eating, so why not eat the enemy? No less than they deserved considering what it would have done to any of them.

However, the fight was not finished yet. With the red-haired catmonster dead, the brown one began to move to attack. Pyrrha was still hurt, though, and Jacob didn't have time to reload his rocket. Of course, they did have another way to deal with it.

"Pyrrha, let the cannon take it!" Jacob yelled and Pyrrha seemed to understand. She shifted her back around to give Henderson a clear shot and the satisfying WHOOMP of the gun sounded soon after. Just like the first one, its head was blown apart and its charge turned into a skid along the ground. It never even got close to Pyrrha, even with the short skid. Jacob laughed as three catmonster now laid dead around them and without a single loss of life. He heard a cheer of success going up from the platform and wished he could have seen Gerard's face at his success. Fucker would have to eat his words now.

Pyrrha, however, didn't join the cheer. Instead, she went straight to sniffing the air. She moved back toward where the first catmonster had been and seemed to focus on a large hill that was nearly as tall as she was, on all fours anyway. As Pyrrha drew closer, Jacob managed to make out a few figures starting to come out of various hiding places. One, in particular, drew his eye and sent his spirit soaring to new heights.

"SAMANTHA!!" Jacob yelled as he moved to the edge of Pyrrha's head, making sure to keep one hand on a bit of hair. Samantha, slowly, came out of the woods looking beyond shocked to see Jacob. He supposed that was fair, he never would have thought he would come riding to the rescue on Pyrrha either.

"Jacob...Pyrrha? ....JACOB!" Samantha yelled as she rushed forward. Pyrrha moved forward and let Samantha hug her before giving his lover a few loving licks. Samantha just laughed at the loving on as the rest of the survivors came out. Jacob, however, didn't pay them any mind as he moved to the side of Pyrrha's head to slide down to the ground. He grabbed a long bit of hair and turned to go down.

His descent was stopped dead, however, as two forms started to move over a ridge a few yards away. No...not now...not them... His heart fell like a rock as he heard the cheer from the platform die away as they noticed the same thing. Two massive forms appeared in the distance, moving straight toward them. Giantesses...and they were staring dead at them. Dammit no no NO!!!

"SAMANTHA, GET BACK AND HIDE!" Jacob yelled as he rushed back to the top of Pyrrha's head. He saw the other survivors look over and see the approaching giantesses as their footsteps began to become audible. William rushed forward and pulled Samantha away and back into the woods. She looked to try and say something, but her voice was drowned out by the giantess'. Dammit, of all the damn times!

"Well, well, look what we found. I told you not plodding around and making noise would let us find something good. And boy did we," the one with blonde hair said. She was tall, even for a giantess, and had a rather average frame. A large smile spread over her face as Pyrrha turned to face them, her back arching up a bit.

"I'll admit it was a good idea, doubly so with this catch. See that cannon on the back? That is definitely Resistance made. Which means..." the other, brown-haired one said as a smile spread on her face. She was a good bit shorter than the other, but looked a bit tougher and stronger. Thankfully, both were only wearing scouting equipment and not full on combat stuff. It was a small, small mercy...

"Which means that is the catgirl that took down Patrol 2 and help Sanders escape. We kill it and we'll be a shoo in for a promotion," the blonde one said as she began to move toward them a little quicker. The other nodded as she followed.

"Better still, we'll get to rub that fact we killed Sanders is Aviel's face. Show Little Miss. Big Shot," the brown-haired one said as they both began to laugh again. Jacob swore under his breath as he watched them close in. Pyrrha was fast, but there was no way she could outrun two giantesses. And with Samantha and the others still trapped here, running wasn't an option anyway. Worst of all, though, the air cannon only had one shot left. After that, it would take it two to three minutes for it to build up enough air pressure to fire again. They didn't even have half a minute, much less two, before the giantesses closed on them.  AND they couldn't fight here cause a misstep by a giantess or Pyrrha could kill Samantha and the rest too! FUCK!

Jacob only had a few seconds to think to try and come up with a plan. He had never been a planning guy, though, and couldn't see any plan that would work. Running might get one of the giantesses to follow, but if the other stayed... They couldn't fight here and trying to lure them away might not work...so...

"Pyrrha, charge them!" Jacob said, not really expecting that to work. To his surprise, however, Pyrrha launched herself forward and started to do just that. Jacob had to catch himself to not be blown back by the sudden wind, but was glad Pyrrha understood. If they couldn't fight here and couldn't lure them away, they would have to bring the fight to them. It was dangerous, fuck more like suicidal, but there was no other choice. Better to go down fighting than be chased down and slaughtered. Dammit, was he going to prove Gerard right?

The giantesses looked  surprised at Pyrrha's sudden charge at them. They glanced between each other and laughed before the brown-haired one moved up to intercept them. She smiled down at them with a smug look before getting into a fighting stance. Shit, Jacob had hoped they would underestimate Pyrrha, but that looked unlikely now. Of course, they did know Pyrrha had killed a giantess before so he guessed he shouldn't be surprised.

Jacob held on as Pyrrha began to close in on the giantess. The giantess smug looked turned into a smirk as her foot started to shift back a bit. Jacob swore as he realized she was planning on kicking them. If that landed, Pyrrha might very well be down for the count. And if she landed on her back...

"Pyrrha, watch her le-" Jacob started to say before he was interrupted.

"Know, not taking Little Lady," Pyrrha whispered, just loud enough for Jacob to hear. His eyes widened at her answering him, and it near perfect english too!, but the approaching foot demanded more attention. That could wait till after this fight. The giantess reared back her foot and, still, Pyrrha charged on, heading right for it. Jacob grabbed on tight as the massive foot came flying toward them with enough force to blast apart a scale mountain.

As it neared, Pyrrha started to shift to the side and Jacob had to grab on tighter. The foot came rushing forward and Pyrrha shifted her body just enough to let it go sailing by, missing them by less than two inches. Before either him or the giantess could process the miss, Pyrrha changed course and lunged toward the giantess' other leg. She raised her right claw and sliced into the calf of the giantess, ripping the heavy boot and the flesh beneath it. She then jammed her left claw into the holes she had made to spear the innards of the calf.

The giantess screamed in agony as her leg buckled, her calf muscles completely ruined. Pyrrha leap back to avoid the falling giantess, now crippled and out of the fight. However, no one had a chance to celebrate as the booms of the other giantess' footsteps came from behind them. Pyrrha tried to whirl around to face the other giantess, but wasn't quick enough. The giantess' foot came rushing toward them and hit square into Pyrrha's side. Pyrrha cried out in pain as the kick sent her reeling to the side. The sudden movement nearly throw Jacob off, but he held on despite the screaming pain in his hands. Thankfully, the other giantess' kick was nowhere near as strong as the first's.

Pyrrha skidded to a halt a foot or two away from the giantess. She looked to have to resist the urge to double over in pain, but recovered quickly nonetheless.  The giantess started toward them again, already looking to be going for another, stronger, kick.

"Pyrrha, retreat! We need some distance!"  Jacob yelled to Pyrrha as he struggled to keep his grip. His hands were in agony from the cramping and hair burn. Pyrrha did as Jacob said and spun around to retreat from the giantess. She had gotten, maybe, two steps when she came to a sudden dead stop.

"Got you," the giantess said in a triumphant tone. Before Jacob could see what had happened, Pyrrha let out an ear-shattering cry of pain that deafened Jacob. He started to raise his hands to his ears, but stopped as Pyrrha began to thrash around like she was possessed. It was all Jacob could do to hang on she whipped herself in every direction she could. Jacob screamed in terror and agony as he felt the last of his strength starting to fade. Fuck she was going to throw him off!

"PYRRHA STOP! YOU ARE GOING TO SHAKE US OFF!!!!" Jacob yelled as loud as he could as he felt his grip becoming looser and looser. Just as his grip nearly failed, Pyrrha stopped her crazed thrashing. Jacob held on, despite the sudden halt, for a few heartbeats before letting go. He swore as he tried to rub the pain out of his hands, but stopped when he noticed they were moving. He glanced back and saw the giantess glowering down at them, her hand wrapped around Pyrrha's tail. The giantess began to stand up and started to pull Pyrrha up along with her. Jacob felt Pyrrha cringe and could hear her trying to stifle a cry of pain, but still she didn't move. Holy shit, was...was she suffering through the pain to keep them safe? No, that couldn't be it...could it?

"Not so feisty when I got your tail, huh? Normally, a catgirl would be going batshit insane from someone grabbing its tail, but not you. Too scared you might hurt those little rebels? Pathetic," the giantess said as she started to lift Pyrrha off the ground. Pyrrha tried to hiss back, but it came out more like a whine. Shit she WAS trying to keep them safe! That wasn't what a mindless animal did...or come rushing to help her friend...or purposefully fight with a handicap... Oh fuck...Jacob felt a realization start to wash over him, a realization he had known but refused to acknowledge. No time for that now, though, he needed to help Pyrrha!

As Pyrrha's hands dug into the earth to try and stop her from moving, and having little success, Jacob got an idea on how. It would require Henderson, or someone down on the platform, to connect the dots, but it was the only way out of this he saw. The few missiles they had would never be able to punch through the giantess' shields and the giantess would just avoid the cannon if it swung back toward her...at least if she noticed it.

"Pyrrha, the dirt! Pick up the dirt, and trees, and anything else you can grab and throw it back at that huge bitch!" Jacob yelled to her as he moved back to her ear. Pyrrha didn't answer, but her hands closed around the bits of earth she was being dragged across. She lobbed both globs backwards at the giantess. One missed completely, but the other splattered onto her chest.

"What the... EWWWW!! You asshole, that will take forever to get out!" the giantess yelled as she stopped pulling to try and brush off some of the dirt. It had bought them time, but Pyrrha needed to aim better if they were going to pull this off.

"Aim up a little more," Jacob instructed as Pyrrha grabbed two more globs and tossed them back. This time, both hit and one hit what Jacob wanted to hit, the giantess' face. The giantess stopped her brushing as she got a horrified and disgusted look from the dirt splattered onto her face.

"Oh my God, I am going to KILL YOU for-" her sentence was interrupted as Pyrrha sent another glob back to hit right on target too. The giantess began to curse and swear as she tried to fend off the dirt assault with her free hand. Most importantly, she stopping watching them as she turned away. Jacob looked back at the cannon and tried to will whoever was down there to get what he was doing. Come on, figure it out...

He pumped his arm in joy as he saw the cannon start to swing around toward the giantess. Jacob had Pyrrha keep up her assault until the cannon was pointed at the giantess' face.

"Pyrrha, stop," Jacob said into Pyrrha's ear and the catmonster did as she was told. The giantess was beyond furious now and screamed in rage as she whipped off the dirt that had hit her face. She looked at them with a face of pure rage and came face to barrel with the air-cannon. The cannon let out a huge WHOOMP as it sent the huge metal slug flying right at the giantess' face. While her shield was still working and caused the slug to ricochet away harmlessly, the giantess still reacted just like Jacob had planned. Even with a shield, seeing a metal slug flying right at your face at near supersonic speeds was startling, to say the least. The giantess reacted like any normal human and jerked back in fear. More importantly, her hand released Pyrrha's tail as she reeled back in shock.

Pyrrha's soft whimpers pulled a complete U-turn and became a furious roar. She whirled on the giantess and leap straight at her, claws extended to slice her throat apart. Jacob gripped her ear and smiled to himself seeing a giantess, for once, be the one to look death in the face. Pyrrha's claws extended out... and stopped inches from the giantess' throat. Jacob was thrown forward at the sudden stop, but managed to grab a bit of hair before he was thrown off Pyrrha's head. He laid there in stunned confusion as he looked at the giantess' massive face, now oh so close. Her panic look turned to one of relief as she stared at them.

"Too close, but not close enough for you," the giantess' booming voice said as her relief turned to triumph. Jacob looked around and realized what had happened. The giantess had reacted fast enough to snatch Pyrrha out of the air. She had both hands clamped down on Pyrrha and had stopped her before she could reach her throat. Dammit, no! They had been so close!

"Throwing dirt at me, crippling my friend, shooting a fucking cannon into my face! I was going to kill you quick, but now," the giantess said with a angry tone. He face twisted into a sick smile as Pyrrha began to cry in pain.

"Once I am done torturing your pet, I'll give you tinies to my friend and let her have her way with you. That should keep her entertained while she heals, right Marcie?" the giantess said as she glanced over to the other giantess. Marcie groaned in response, but managed a yeah through the groans.

Jacob laid there on Pyrrha's head as her cries started to increase. Dammit, NO! It was happening again, another mission he had lead was going to end with everyone dead! Gerard was going to be right about this being a fool's errand and he, Samantha, and everyone else would die or be made into slaves. And Pyrrha, poor Pyrrha was going to be tortured to death by this oversized bitch! He had hated her before, but now, after all this... Fucking hell NO! He would NOT let it end like this AGAIN!! He was NOT going to lose after coming this far!

Jacob looked around in frantic panic as he tried to see something, anything, he could use. The giantess' arms were too far away to reach and any missile he fired would just be absorbed by her shield. Dammit, if her damn shield wasn't still up he could have just shot her in her bitchass face. Or maybe blast her damn breasts just to add insu-...wait...

Jacob looked down at her chest. More specifically, the jacket she was wearing. It looked like it was made of wool or some other kind of big fluffy stuff. Big fluffy stuff that would burn... OF COURSE the rocket's Gerard had given him! If he could set her jacket on fire, she would be too worried about not being roasted alive to fight! But...shit her shield. The missile wouldn't hit because of the shield...unless... Jacob knew what he had to do. He wasn't going to lose anyone, but he didn't mind losing himself.

Grabbing up the launcher Gerard had given him, Jacob made sure it was loaded before setting his own aside. He smiled at the two loaded missiles and made sure to get a good grip on it. He rushed back a few feet on Pyrrha's head as the giantess glanced toward him. She laughed at his retreating form.

"Running away, little boy? Where do you think you have to go, anyway?" her booming voice said with an arrogant smile. Jacob shot her a look of pure hate as he stopped and got ready to do what had to be done. This bitch was going to burn both here and in the hell he was going to send her. A sudden, loud, cry from Pyrrha was his signal to start, she wasn't going to suffer anymore!

Jacob took off at full speed across Pyrrha's head. The giantess raised an eyebrow at him as he neared the edge of Pyrrha's head. With a yell of effort, Jacob leap off Pyrrha's head and into the empty air. He glanced back at Pyrrha and saw her look of pain turn into shock as he fell past her. The giantess, however, simply laughed.

" HAHAHA! Taking the easy way out? HAHA, guess you were not as dumb as I thought," the giantess said before going back to ignoring him. Stupid bitch was going to learn a lesson on not underestimating him! Jacob shifted himself a bit in mid-air and tried to start falling toward the giantess' chest. The brown cloth began to race up toward him and Jacob raised the launcher to his shoulder. He aimed it to the side he wasn't about to land on and waited to see the shimmer of him passing through the shield. He had to fight the urge to fire as the fabric came closer and closer, but he had to wait or this would be for nothing. He waited and waited till, finally, the shimmer passed by. He smiled as he launched the missile, the recoil spinning him a bit. The missile went flying toward the other side of the jacket before exploding on the fabric. Jacob wanted to watch the effects, but was forced to curl into a ball as the fabric came up to meet him. Thankfully, the jacket was as fluff as it looked and absorbed his fall. However, he was now buried in a crater made of fluff.

Suddenly, the giantess let out a scream of terror and started to shift around. Jacob swore as he fought to keep from being smothered in the jacket. Dammit he had to get out of here! He slung his launcher over his shoulder before trying to get a grip. However, the giantess' movements and the sheer amount of fluff made it hard to get anything close to a decent hold. Still, he refused to give up and, eventually, got a decent grip. He pulled himself out of the crater he had made and popped out to see what had happened.

Gerard's missile had worked perfectly. The volatile compound had set a good chunk of the jacket on fire and the all too-flammable cloth was letting it spread like wildfire. Jacob chuckled to himself as the giantess seemed to waver on whether to drop Pyrrha or put out the flames. As they started to spread toward her face, she made the choice Jacob knew she would. Hell, any sane person would have made it.

The giantess tossed Pyrrha away, sending her flying through the air. Pyrrha's eyes stayed locked on Jacob, but there was no way she could reach him now. Jacob, however, wasn't worried about himself. Rather, he was worried about them. Pyrrha, however, proved to be like a typical cat and landed on her feet and hands in a graceful landing, despite the distance she had been thrown. Jacob gave a thankful sigh before being bounced into the giantess' chest, knocking his thoughts around.

He cursed and swore as he was smacked into her breast again and again. He lost his grip with one of his hands, but managed to get it back before he slid back into the crater or off the side. FInally, the bouncing stopped and Jacob took a second to let the dizziness pass. He shook the last of it away before looking to see what had happened. It looked like the giantess had been trying to pat the fire out, but all she had managed to do was get her hands burned. He might have laughed if the fire wasn't getting worryingly close to him. Shit, maybe this wasn't such a good plan...

"Fuck this!" the giantess' ear-splitting voice said, causing Jacob to cringe in pain. He recovered from the sonic force just in time to feel the jacket shifting a bit. Jacob looked around and saw the giantess' arms going into her jacket. FUCK, he hadn't thought about her just taking off the damn thing! And Pyrrha was too far away to reach her before she managed to get it off. Dammit, this had all been a waste of damn time AND he was completely fucked. He might survive the fall thanks to the jacket, but it was highly likely to simply smother him to death afterwards. FUCK!

Jacob looked down to see if he could climb down to her shirt or pants, but never got a good look. No sooner had he started to look down did he feel himself being lifted up. Fuck, she was already taking it off! Jacob held on as he started up the giantess' body. He glanced down and saw her breasts, now free of the jacket, below him. He considering trying to fall to them, but realized they might not be soft enough and, even if they were, the giantess would definitely notice him. That was no good and now he was too high to risk it! DAMMIT!

Part of the jacket began to go over the giantess' head as Jacob, frantically, searched for a way off. Shoulders? Too hard. Face? Noticed. Head? Also hard. Ha- HAIR!!!

The jacket began to lift off the giantesses head as Jacob realized his last chance. He rushed down to the bottom of the jacket, or rather slide, and stopped right at the edge of it. He looked around and smiled as he noticed what he was after. He grunted in effort before flinging himself from the jacket and toward a clump of hair hooked to it by static electricity. He had to bite back a scream as he grabbed on and got a nasty shock, but keep his grip nonetheless. The clump began to lower back down now that it had expended its charge and Jacob held on for dear life.

He swung down, zooming past the back of the giantess' neck and had to stifle a yell. The clump swung back and Jacob clamped down even tighter on the hair. The third swing was more manageable, though, and he managed to stop himself on the fourth pass. Catching his breath from his Tarzan imitation, Jacob looked up at the top of the giantess' head. It was not going to be a fun climb, but he didn't have much choice. The only thing below him was open air.

Jacob started up the hair as the giantess started to move again. He swore to himself as her movement began to cause the hair to swing, but keep moving anyway. Pyrrha and the rest were still fighting and he had to find a way to help them. A way that didn't involve him dying perverably. If he had brought his own launcher, he could have just shot her in the back of the neck. While he would have died in the explosion or the fall, the missile would have severed her spinal cord and put her down for good. However, the fire missiles he had were not built for that. He would give her one hell of a nasty burn, but that was about it. And since he couldn't see Pyrrha, he couldn't time it for a distraction. With that idea out, he keep on climbing.

He was nearing the top when a massive quake shook the giantess. He cursed as he nearly slipped, but managed to regain his grip before he fell. That had to be a stomp as he couldn't think of what else would have caused something like that. Dammit she was fighting Pyrrha again. If only there was something he could burn around here. Something the giantess couldn't just take off. Something attac-...

Jacob could have smacked himself for not thinking of this sooner. Of course her HAIR! That would burn AND she couldn't just get rid of it like her jacket. With the giantess distracted by her flaming hair, Pyrrha could come in for the killing blow. There was still the issue of him living, but his survival was secondary at this point. He had to save the others no matter what! Gerard was NOT going to be right dammit!

Jacob scrambled up the last bit and got up onto the giantess' head. He took off for the front of the giantess' head, remembering just how quick the flames had spread last time. The jungle-vine like hair slowed him, but Jacob forged on and tried to stay on top of the hair. Once he was about in the middle of her head, or what he guessed to be it, he turned around. He unslung the launcher and aimed it at the back of the giantess' head.

"Stupid cat, you can't keep dodging forever!" the giantess boomed out before Jacob could fire. He smirked to himself at the timing.

"She won't have to," he said before he sent the missile flying back toward its target. Jacob didn't watch to see the results. Instead, he just turned and took off as fast as he could for the front of the giantess. However, even without seeing it, he could tell the rocket had worked as the giantess suddenly cried out in pain. He watched her massive hands sweep past him to the back of her head before recoiling from it. Jacob glanced back and smiled as smoke began to rise from where the missile should have hit. The giantess' cry of pain became one of panic as her hands started to beat her head like mad.

The sudden quakes made running difficult and Jacob fell more than a few times. Still, he keep going as the smoke started to gain on him. He was about halfway there when another massive quake happened, sending him tripping over a bit of hair. He pulled himself out of the hair and back up to his feet as he wondered what that was. If that was... Jacob didn't waste any more time thinking as he took off at full speed. He rushed out of the jungle of hair and to the very edge of the giantess' forehead. Below him, he could see Pyrrha on the giantess, her legs wrapped around her. The giantess' arms started to move toward Pyrrha, but were too slow as Pyrrha's claws sliced into her throat. The giantess' cries of pain and fear turned to gags as her jugular was ripped apart by the claws.

Jacob knew there was only one chance of surviving this now. Without any hesitation, he leap from the giantess' head and started to plummet toward Pyrrha. He sucked in as big a lung full of air as he could before letting it all out.

"PYRRHA!" he yelled to her as he started to approach her faster and faster. For an all too long second, Jacob didn't think she had heard him. Then, suddenly, her ears twitched and her eyes moved from the giantess up to Jacob. Her eyes light up as she ripped her claw out of the giantess' throat. Jacob curled up as Pyrrha's hand raised up to catch him.

Jacob grunted as he landed in Pyrrha's hand, but felt Pyrrha starting to fall as well. He braced himself as best as he could before a very loud crash erupted outside. He slammed into a wall of flesh and gasped as his breath was knocked out of him. A good amount of pain came along with it, but not enough to warn of something broken. Considering how high he had fallen, he considered that a good outcome.

He laid there in Pyrrha's palm as he tried to regain his breath. Another, even louder, crash and quake hit as the giantess' corpse fell to the ground. Or at least that is what Jacob figured it was. Jacob smiled to himself as he realized they had won and might have laughed if he could have.

Pyrrha's fingers opened to reveal the Pyrrha staring down at him, a worried expression on her face. Jacob looked at her and gave a short wave to show he was OK, mostly. He didn't feel great, but he was still alive which was good enough. Pyrrha's worried look gave way to a happy smile. She leaned down and Jacob's eyes widened as her mouth moved toward him. He tried to scramble away, but was too slow as her tongue came out and licked him. Ugh...gross...

He tried to push her away, but that was about as effective as trying to push a tidal wave. Finally, Pyrrha relented and Jacob had to whip his face off thanks to all the slobber.

"Ugh. OK, I might think you are alright, now, but I will never think licking is. Don't do that again," Jacob told Pyrrha. Pyrrha, however, just sat him down on the ground rather than responding. Jacob climbed down and turned back to Pyrrha. He was about to ask her something, but Pyrrha simply turned and headed off away from him. Jacob watched in confusion as she vanished from sight.

"Really? REALLY? I finally start to like you and you leave me in the middle of NOWHERE?!?!" Jacob yelled after her before groaning as the pain from before came back. Yelling might not be such a good idea... He started to sit down, but stopped as movement caught his eye. He turned toward it and saw the one thing he wanted to see most.

"Jacob!" Samantha said as she came rushing out of the brush toward him, a huge smile on her face. Jacob turned and had to bite back a cry of pain as Samantha gave him a massive hug. He returned it as best as he could, but some part of him really hoped she would stop soon. Oww....

Behind Samantha: William, Susan, and five others came out to join them. All of them looked beyond relieved to see him, save for the one guy who was unconscious, but keep back to let Samantha get her time. Finally, Samantha let go and Jacob was able to stop holding back a cry of pain. Samantha looked up at him and looked about to kiss him when a noise distracted them.

"Wait...stay back...N-" the other giantess said before her voice was cut off. Jacob didn't need to see to know why. He wasn't so mad at Pyrrha leaving him now.

"That is it then, we won. Three catmonsters and two giantesses, that is quite a tally, Jacob," William said as he gave William an approving smile. Jacob tried to return it, but was too busy being surprised by the same smile on Susan.

"Indeed. I don't think Sanders or Darius could have done better," she said in a pleased voice. Jacob was taken more than a bit off guard by that. They were...praising him? Holy shit he NEVER got praised! And to be compared to those two... Jacob tried to keep his smile under control, but couldn't help but feel it spread. Samantha squeezed his hand a little as she gave him a proud smile.

"Uhh...thanks. I... I didn't manage it alone, though," Jacob said as his mind yelled at him to be humble. Heroes didn't let praise go to their head and, if Jacob wanted to be, he couldn't either. Still...he was getting PRAISED! It was like a 180 compared to what he normally got!

"You did for that taller giantess. She would have killed Pyrrha and all of us if you hadn't acted. That kill is all your's, as crazy as it was," another woman who looked to be a scout said. Both William and Susan nodded their agreement as Jacob found it harder and harder not to let his head swell. Samantha chuckled as Jacob felt a bit of blush beginning to form. Oh dammit, where is a distraction when you need one?

As if answering his call, the rhythmic rumbles of Pyrrha's footsteps began again. The group turned as the catmonster rose above the trees and stopped a few feet from them. As she did, the sounds of people yelling and cheering took the place of her footsteps. Up on the platform, Jacob could see people celebrating their win. A number were cheering at Jacob and yelling their own praises to him.

"Holy shit that was awesome!"

"Jacob you crazy SOB!"

"We took down two giantesses, TWO OF THEM!!"

"Jacob!"

"We should save people more often!"

If Jacob had been surprised before, he was now awestruck at how quickly things had changed. They were cheering for HIM.

Pyrrha shifted a bit to get the platform a bit closer to them before laying down. Samantha squeezed Jacob's hand and said...something before heading toward Pyrrha's head. Jacob, however, was still in too much shock to really hear her. It wasn't until Gerard slid down one of the ladders and started toward Jacob with a massive smile on his face that his shock faded. In favor of annoyance.

"You crazy son of a bitch! HAHA! Jumping off Pyrrha so you could get past that giant bitch's shield and set her tits on fire, HAHAHA! I have never seen something so nuts. Hell, if it wasn't so amazing I would be pissed I hadn't thought of it myself!" Gerard said as he clapped Jacob on the back. Jacob tried to stammer out a response, and get Gerard off him, but didn't get the chance as Gerard turned to face the other survivors.

"William, Susan, and Christa, you three sure are tough SOBs. Let's get you bunch up on Pyrrha and your hurt friend into the barracks. A lot of shit has happened so I need to get you all caught up," Gerard said as he got a more serious tone and look. Jacob did his best not to glower at Gerard, but wasn't sure how well it was working. Oh sure, NOW he is concerned about them.

"That would be very welcome, Gerard. Thank you for coming for us," William said as he held his hand out as thanks. Jacob didn't even try to hide his annoyance as William assumed Gerard had come for them. That asshole had been all for leaving them, HE was the one who had come for them!! Gerard, though, waved the hand away before motioning to Jacob, his arm still around his shoulder.

"Shouldn't thank me. Jacob was the one who demanded we come look for you bunch. Was willing to fight me over it and get into a yelling match with Pyrrha. Want to thank someone, thank him," Gerard said as he patted Jacob on the shoulder again. William turned to Jacob, but didn't look all that surprised. Christa and Susan, on the other hand, looked beyond stunned by that news. Jacob was among them as he was sure Gerard would have taken credit for their rescue.

"In that case, thank you Jacob for fighting so hard to rescue us, even if it wasn't exactly us you were after," William paused as he gave Jacob a slight smirk, "Beggars can't be choosers, though, so I will take an unintended rescue just as readily." William shifted his hand to Jacob as his smirk turned into a smile. Jacob took it a bit numbly as William gave his arm a good shake. Woah...someone as experienced and skilled as William was praising him. Shit he was on the command staff which meant...meant a peer of his dad had THANKED him!

William released his hand and started off toward Pyrrha, giving Jacob's shoulder an appreciated pat. Susan followed him, but gave Jacob a nod of thanks and an actual look of respect. Jacob was so stunned by getting a look of respect from Susan, who had always looked at him as mere baggage before, that he didn't even see Christa and the others leave.

However, the survivor who had been carrying the man with the missing leg stopped in front of Jacob, snapping him out of his shock. His arm looked swollen and he was carrying the other man on the other shoulder, but didn't look all that bothered by the weight. The man looked at Jacob and seemed to be fighting back tears.

"If you guys...another day..." he paused as he looked away before taking a big breath, "My brother might not have made it another day out here. If he survives it will be all thanks to you. I don't care what rumors or other crap people say about you, you're a fucking hero as far as I am concerned. And you will be to my brother too. Thanks, Jacob," the man said before, quickly, turning away as he started to rub tears out of his eyes. Jacob turned to watch him and stared after him in stunned silence. A hero...he was a hero to someone...

"Not bad, Jacob. Saved the day and didn't lose a single person. Guess I got to eat my words, today. Still, don't go think they will all end this way. You got lucky, today. It won't last," Gerard said, snapping Jacob out of his stupor. Jacob turned to glare at him, but his glare faltered as Gerard looked at him with a sad, depressed look. Gerard sighed before he released Jacob's shoulder. He turned away and headed back toward the ladders. What the hell was that?

Jacob eyed Gerard's back as he left. He didn't know what he had been trying to do with that last remark, but if it was depress him it wasn't going to work. The cheering and celebrating made it easy enough to cheer himself up and after a win like that, who couldn't be happy? Three catmonsters and two giantesses with zero casualties on their side. He didn't think there had ever been a victory like that in the entire history of the Phoenixes. He WAS a hero and no one could debate it!

Suddenly feeling very much in the mood to celebrate, he looked around to see if he could spot Samantha. He saw her near Pyrrha's face and smiled to himself, he should have known. He started off toward her and looked forward to having a proper hero reward.

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Samantha smiled as she heard the people on the platform cheering for Jacob. He had, finally, got that black mark off himself and, even better, learned what a true hero did. He had risked himself to save them all and had managed to do just that. She couldn't help but feel nervous that he might try something like that again, and yet she was more than proud of him for doing it. It was dilemma that she was sure was going to plague her in the coming days, along with other matters...

A happy meow got her to shake her worries away, for now. She looked up and smiled at Pyrrha's huge face. Samantha rushed up to her and hugged herself into the catmonster's warm cheek. Pyrrha purred at the embrace and the two were silent for a few seconds. Finally, Samantha pulled away and looked up at Pyrrha's eyes.

"Thanks for coming for me, Pyrrha. I had, almost, given up hope," Samantha said before stroking her cheek. Pyrrha smiled at down at her and, softly, rubbed against her hand.

"Welcome," Pyrrha said in near perfect english, getting Samantha to stop her petting in surprise. Pyrrha turned back so she could see Samantha and got a worried look, like a kid that thought it had done something wrong. Samantha, though, just chuckled and went back to petting her.

"Looks like you are getting good at 'parroting'. I never thought you were really doing that, anyway," Samantha said, giving Pyrrha a big smile. Pyrrha's worried look faded to be replaced with her own big smile. The big catmonster nuzzled into Samantha and Samantha giggled a bit as Pyrrha began to purr even louder. She enjoyed the soft cheek and the warmth it excluded for a few secon-

"Tiny Lady."

Samantha jerked away from Pyrrha and nearly stumbled to the ground in shock. Pyrrha whipped around to her with a protective glare and scanned the area. After seeing nothing was around, Pyrrha looked down at Samantha in confusion. Samantha stared up at her as her mind was sent reeling and dancing around. That name...no one had called her that save...but she was dead! How could...why would?

"Samantha? What is it?" an equally familiar voice said. Samantha jerked back and saw Jacob looking at her with a worried face. Samantha stared at him for a second before looking back to Pyrrha.

"Did...did you hear that?" she asked as she looked between Pyrrha and Jacob. Jacob's confused look vanished to be replaced with a soft smile. He waved his hand as if to calm her down.

"Oh her saying welcome. Yeah she has been talking be-" he started to explain, but Samantha shook her head, angrily.

"NO, not that! Her calling me tiny lady!" Samantha yelled as she pointed toward Pyrrha. Pyrrha's ears lowered as she pointed toward her and got a worried look. Jacob's smile faded and went back to a confused frown.

"No, but I did hear her say that before. It was right before we started back to save all of you," Jacob said, still looking utterly lost. Samantha's panic lowered at the "no", but started to come back as Jacob keep explaining. She...she had said it before? But why? How did-

"Tiny Lady?" Pyrrha said in a worried tone, her ears still lowered. That time, there was no denying she had said it. Samantha turned to her in utter shock as her mouth slowly opened. No it...maybe..a better look... She backed away from Pyrrha a few steps to be able to look at her entire face. It...it was different, but...but it was still there. With the fur and the ears, and having never really taken her face all in, Samantha hadn't noticed it. But there was no mistaking it. No one else had EVER called her that... no one...and the similarities in their faces...

"Je....Jessica...what did they do to you?" Samantha asked as Pyrrha and Jacob's eyes shot wide open.

Resistance Rumors: Society prisoners,

Yeah, I've heard about that too. People say that, sometimes, the Society doesn't slaughter everyone. Sometimes those damn fairies come and snatch a few people up, or a giantess will stuff a few into their pockets. Doesn't happen often, but that rumor gets spread around enough that it makes you wonder. Wonder what the hell they do to those poor bastards.

Some think they use them as slave labor, toiling away somewhere in their base. Heard some say they just eat them, cook em up and have a human dish. Personally, I don't think, or want, to think that is true. Ewww. Still others think they do horrible experiments on them, changing them into abominations of science. Some guy down in the old parts of Atlanta once swore to me his wife who got taken came back, only she was a fairy. Course he was wearing his pants on his head and thought he could raise an army of ants to take back the city, so there is no telling what he saw.

Guess the best thing I can say is if it looks like you are getting captured, might want to make sure you got an extra bullet for yourself. Whatever the Society does it can't be pretty.