#i think we've seen all of these before but why not pull the HQs since they're being released

[discluded]

Part 1 - Kinn and Porsche

New Hidden Message trailer clean/HQs via boss.fie @ IG

[matt-bellamys-left-nipple]

Why they shut Mount Starling National Park.

I'll probably be shot for this, but fuck it. It's been 12 years since the National Park Service shut down Mount Starling. Nobody knew why. One day, it was open for the public, and one day it was shut. The whole area around it was fenced up, and signs were posted. I remember the day everything changed like it was yesterday.

"What the hell happened? Aren't these always supposed to be open?" Nate, my boyfriend, asked.

"Beats me." I replied, pulling my rucksack and camping gear from the Jeep.

"Wonder if something happened." He pondered. "Maybe some poor bastard fell into an unmarked cave or something." He mused.

"Well, we've got more than just Starling to explore today anyways." I said, trying to change the subject.

We moved on, skirting the fences around Starling until we reached the south face. Here, the fences were gone.

"Woah, the fence is totally torn up over here!" Nate shouted, clearly curious as to what was happening.

"God, what the hell could do that?" I asked, shocked.

"No idea. I hope it wasn't bigfoot!" He joked.

"We've been together for 6 years and your jokes still fail to make me laugh" I said, a smile forming on my face.

"Oh hush. C'mon, I grew up around here. I miiiight know a way up to the best spot on the mountain." He suggested, a scheme forming in his head.

"Wouldn't that be... You know... Trespassing?" I asked, suddenly worried.

"Nah. They'll never find us." He said.

We trudged up the mountain, occasionally seeing fallen trees and empty burrows. It was clear that something happened here, we just didn't know what.

"Now's probably the right time to tell you about some history on this mountain" Nate said. "There's an old legend around it. Apparently, some ghost, or demon, or alien, or something lives in this area. Nobody's seen it, nobody's survived it. The native Americans of the area called it the 'Dark One'. They avoided this place at all costs." He explained.

"Oh sure." I retorted sarcastically.

Suddenly, all around us, we heard a noise. It was an artificial, sharp ring.

"What the hell was that?" I asked concerned. The noise came back. A computerized voice began speaking through hidden loudspeakers.

"Attention. Attention. This area is protected by the United States National Guard in conjunction with the National Park Service. Any further attempt at hiking may be met with arrest or use of force. Turn back now." The monotone, emotionless voice ordered.

"Uhh, Adam?" Nate said, turning over to look at me, his face one of fear.

"I have no idea." I replied.

"I think it's best if we leave." He said, concerned.

"Good idea." I replied.

Suddenly, a woman in a tattered National Park Service uniform ran up to us, an empty rifle in one hand and a bloodstained hat in another.

"You two need to leave. It's starting to wake up." They said, panting.

"What's waking up?" I asked.

"It's *him* that's waking up." The ranger responded.

"Explain?" Nate inquired.

"Later. My shots bought us maybe fifteen minutes. We need to go, now!" The ranger shouted, gesturing towards her weapon.

A thunderous roar emanated from the distance. It didn't sound like anything I've heard before.

"Oh god, he's awake." The Ranger said, shuddering. "Come on, we need to get out of here. The bunker's right down the trail!"

We ran fast, desperately trying to outrun whatever horror we imagined would be chasing us. We came across a rusted hatch. The ranger tried to open it, but failed. The door wouldn't budge.

"No no no! Fuck! It's jammed!" She shouted, slamming on the door in sheer desperation.

"Alright. New plan. Get as far from the mountain as possible." She said, slamming her rifle butt into the ground.

"Sounds good to me." Nate whimpered, terrified.

"Alright. I've got a Jeep that can seat six. It's at the base of the mountain. If we can make it, we should be fine." I said, unveiling my plan.

"Good idea. I already reported to HQ, and the containment team is on the way." The Ranger said.

"Containment team?" I asked.

"Yeah. We've known about this since World War Two, when artillery training first stirred this beast." She explained.

"What kind of beast are we talking?" Nate asked.

"God, it's so hard to describe. It's like a bear meets a skinwalker, with a dash of lovecraftian elements." The Ranger replied.

"Jesus. That's like something out of a movie." I replied, filled with dread.

We continued our journey to the car, passing a destroyed firewatch tower. Inside was the faint silhouette of what appeared to be a man. Written on the window, in what I assume to be blood, was a single, chilling sentence, "it's rumbling."

"Miguel! Are you alive in there?" The Ranger shouted, both curious and terrified. There was no response.

Suddenly, as if the whole mountain had come alive, a violent shaking gripped us. We fell to the ground, desperately trying to steady ourselves. A thunderous roar once again leapt from the mountain, rumbling in our chests, except this time: it was louder. Much louder.

"Shit. It's moving. We need to move. Now!" The Ranger shouted, suddenly fully alert. We ran like hell down the mountain, ripping open our knees as we fell. By the time we reached the car, the creature was fully awake. This quadrupedal mass of fur, teeth, tentacles, much larger than any living thing on our planet. An attack helicopter roared low overhead, launching a barrage of rockets at the beast. The creature simply shrugged it off. We leapt into the car, and I floored the gas. The roar of the beast echoing in my mind.

"You built a national park around *THAT?* I shouted.

"Yeah." The Ranger replied, traumatized. "We've been studying it for 60 years. We noticed it stirring, so we closed the mountain. Who knows what might've happened if that thing rose with the park at full guest load." She answered.

"God, thousands would've died" I said.

Nate was nearly catatonic at this point. He'd barely said a word since we left. Rightfully so.

"Pull over, I know a bunker. It'll protect us from the contingency plan." She ordered.

"Contingency plan?" I asked, worried.

"Yeah. A B-2 with a B-83 warhead. That's our Connie." The Ranger explained.

"You're going to nuke it?" I asked incredulously.

"Yup. What else could we do? It's tougher than a battleship." She replied. Once again, the computerized voice rang out. Except this time, it was followed by sirens, "T-Minus One minute to Contingency Plan activation. Please proceed to the nearest shelter. If one is unavailable, make peace with your God. Good luck. May god bless you, and god bless these United States of America."

"Let's go. The plane should be here soon." The Ranger ordered. We scanned for other survivors and found none. The computer voice rang out again, for the last time, " Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four..."

We closed the hatch, desperately hoping it would hold. A deafening roar rocked the bunker, and a screech of agony, growing quieter, followed.

"Holy shit." Nate stated, utterly dumbfounded.

"And now, we wait." The ranger said.

"For?" I asked.

"The fallout to settle." She said.

The explosion at Starling was chalked up to the mountain actually being a volcano, which had just erupted. Under threat of death, all witnesses were hushed up. After 12 years, I've finally given up. Nate and I agreed that it was better to die revealing the truth than to live a life of lies. This may be my last post. Take care, everyone.

"

[urlocalfrogmammy]

i’m scared of telling you how i feel—richard winters

inspired by

y/n is infatuated with dick. dick is infatuated with you. the only two people clueless enough not to see it is the both of you. nix is sick of it, and decides to give you a push

god bless richard winters. warnings: my love for gingers rlly pulling thru. word count 1.7k

'HQ' at bastogne was really just a tent like structure with a few foxholes and a stove. you left your foxhole, the early morning fog shrouding you as you padded over. you were met with lewis nixon and richard winters, and you saluted, greeting the men. "i want you to go with captain winters. he's doing a patrol of the line, collecting some reconnaissance will be your job." having captain nixon as your boss had many benefits, and being able to see his best friend, dick winters, was the best one. how you mooned over him. the all american solider, always the gentleman of the room. you'd first bonded at the new years party at aldbourne. it had been a relatively quiet night, yet the both of you seemed to be the only sober ones there. you’d known each other beforehand, vaguely, due to nix. but that night was when your crush began to grow. and jesus, it never stopped.

the man in question was attempting to shave his stubble, ever the stickler for rules, and was failing miserably. in your moment of distraction nixon grasped your bare hands. "where are your gloves?"

"i'm lending them to doc, sir." he pulled you towards the stove and you started to warm your hands over it, feeling the warmth tingle and smiling. "you look like your struggling there dick.” nixon smirked at him.

“yeah. yeah i am, you want a job?”

“no. not me, you can’t trust me with a razor.” he nodded in your direction, “lieutenant y/n however, she’d be an excellent candidate.” both you and winters flushed. nixon nudged you to sit down next to dick and handed you a razor. “get to work, lieutenant.”

"you don't have to—"

"it's ok, sir. i don't mind." you gently held his chin in your hand and slid the razor down the shaving cream he'd lathered on his face. dick looked at you, watching the tip of your tongue slipping from between your lips in concentration and wondering what your lips would feel like against his. he was never one to be unprofessional like nix, but god he would break every rule in the book for you. "where are we patrolling sir?" you interrupted his thoughts.

"just down the line, looking for breaks, checking on the men, that kind of thing."

you smiled at him, cleaning the razor in the tin of water. "you care about the men a lot, don't you sir."

"yeah, i do. especially when i can see them struggling." he aimed the statement at you, he'd heard your crying at night. averting your gaze with a soft smile, he took your hand gently. "you'd tell me if you needed help wouldn't you?"

"yes sir." your voice was quiet and sincere. "now let's get this finished."

you shaved the rest of dick's face in silence, with just the gentle sound of the razor grating against the stubble. you lifted the edges of the towel around from his shoulders and used them to wipe excess shaving cream off his face, and suddenly remembered that he was your superior. dropping the towel like it had burned you, you mumbled an apology. "that wasn't my... i shouldn't have done that."

"it's alright y/n. i think we've known each other long enough now." he gave you a smile, and you ducked your head, tucking a stray hair behind your ear. the snow suddenly became fascinating, and you could feel the heat rising to your cheeks as he stared at you. “shall we get going with that patrol, lieutenant?”

“sounds good sir.”

you were freezing. freezing cold. so was dick, you could tell by the way he clung to himself. you resisted the urge to shudder, instead letting out shuddery breaths and chattering your teeth. "they'll hear you from across the line y/n."

"sorry, sir."

"it's not y—"

you both heard it. an unmistakable rustle in the bushes. both you and dick grabbed and aimed your rifles, it was like second nature now. your blood thumped in your ears, and your heart thumped in your chest. there was a rustle again and you called out: “who’s there?” no reply. suddenly you heard the click of a gun and you pulled the trigger of your rifle, no thought and no hesitation. there were two thuds. one was the body of whoever you’d just shot. the other was the dull thud of your rifle landing on the snow. dick ran over to see what had been shot, his rifle still up and ready to shoot. you scuttled behind him.

the german was dead. you'd killed him instantly. in a way it made you grateful, that he hadn't suffered the way you'd seen some men suffer. "i killed him." the words tumbled out your mouth, your hands trembled and your breaths started to get shorter. dick took your wobbling hands in his. "you did what you needed to do to save us." you looked down to try and conceal the tears that had spilled over, and were now trickling down your face, but the captain gently lifted your chin up. the butterflies in your stomach were doing cartwheels at this point, as dick’s fingers brushed your tears away. “let’s go back. nix can do this.”

“but—”

“that’s an order lieutenant.” he said it ever so gently, it didn’t feel like an order. it felt like a plea.

back at HQ, dick hurried you to sit by the stove and you complied, though the shakes that wracked your body weren't from the cold. "what happened to her?" nixon asked, offering you a flask of alcohol that you took with juddering hands, thanking him quietly. "she shot a german."

"isn't that what she's trained to do—"

"it could have been anyone captain nixon."

"but it wasn't. you saved us y/n. two seconds later and we'd be on our way to an aid station." you sipped the whiskey in nixon's flask. "thought you didn't drink?"

"i don't, sir."

dick stood up and told lewis he wanted him on the patrol instead. "be careful nix."

"i will." he slung his rifle over his shoulder. “oh and dick? tell her, i’m sick of waiting.” smirking, he sauntered off.

"tell me...what?"

"he's just... you know what he's like." dick smiled and you smiled back, though your heart was heavy with disappointment. the redhead took a seat next to you and began to warm his hands too. "cold here, huh?"

you dissolved into giggles at this wholly obvious statement. dick quirked a smile at you and you couldn't stop, until the laughing became crying and you found your body wracked with sobs.

dick was on you as soon as he saw you break. an arm round your shoulder and a hand in yours, he rocked you side to side and shushed you gently. "it's stupid."

"no, no y/n it's not." it broke his heart as he felt you cling to his sleeve. repressing a smile as you tucked your head into the crook of his neck, dick tentatively ran his fingers through the matted hair of your ponytail. you seemed to enjoy the gesture, so he continued until you settled down. he felt a loss of warmth as you sat up. wiping your eyes, you mumbled an apology to the captain. "it's alright y/n. go get some sleep."

"captain winters?" it was late, but you found yourself hounded by images of the man you'd shot that afternoon. you could have tried nixon, but you knew as well as anyone he was a heavy sleeper when he was drunk. richard pulled the cloth covering his foxhole over and popped his head out. "i can't sleep." realising how stupid you were, you backed away. "sorry, i don't know why i woke you—"

"would you like to... talk?"

"i er... yeah. yeah."

"come on then." he held out a hand to help you into his foxhole. sitting side by side, dick slipped his hand into yours. "you okay?"

"yeah..." you leaned back into the wall of his foxhole. "i just have... a lot on my mind."

"about this afternoon?" his thumb began to trace circles on the back of your hand.

"yeah... not just that though. sir i—" you cut yourself off. the words you wanted to say were so right in every way, except you weren’t allowed to be in love in the army. you heavily exhaled. “you can tell me anything y/n, you know that.”

“i know dick, it’s just—”

“you called me dick.”

“oh... i’m sorry sir i—”

“i like it.” he gave you that smile that melted you and you felt relief flood you.

with that reassuring statement, you shakily admitted: "i'm scared of telling you how i feel. it's wrong, it's all wrong." dick's hand slipped out of yours and he turned away from you. "say it now. i can’t see you. makes it easier."

"does it?"

"yeah." you could hear the smile in his voice. you took three deep, steady breaths.

"i'm in love with you." dick didn't say anything, he just turned around and looked at you with those icy eyes you'd become so infatuated with. "really?" you nodded.

"ever since aldbourne."

dick grinned and leaned over to you. "can i?"

"yeah." it was one breathy word. dick's kiss was soft and gentle, filled with a caring kind of passion that you hadn't felt before. he cupped your cheek, gently stroking your hair back as you deepened the kiss. pulling away, smiling, dick placed his forehead on yours. “was it worth getting over your fear?”

“yes. a hundred times yes!” you squealed as he leaned down and captured your lips once again, feeling nothing more than pure joy in that moment.

the next morning you and dick woke up late. slipping out of his foxhole, you were greeted with the bright morning sun reflected onto the white snow, and lewis nixon looking smugger than ever. “did he tell you?”

“i told him.”

“damn.” he sipped his coffee. “what did you get up to in there?”

“nothing that would interest you nix!” dick called out, emerging from his foxhole and slapping his helmet onto his head. the captain wiggled his thick eyebrows at you and winked. you could feel yourself blush, but you opted to shake your head at him in mock disappointment. you were too happy to be embarrassed.

[pyrten]

DAZAI OSAMU : QUICK CHARACTER STUDY

(At 3 AM in the morning and that's why it's messy, all over the place and generally, shit.)

Majority of the characters in BSD are morally grey, Dazai included. I'm unable to categorise characters into good or evil, which is what makes BSD really nice to watch.  

Majority of the instances, whenever I have an opinion on someone like Dazai, it's mainly based on their actions. I'll make an exception for his case because I believe he speaks the truth sometimes. 

It's seriously difficult to believe what someone like him says. His weapon is his intellect and his tongue. He could say this and do that instead. Obviously he isn't good at combat, but he could say something and have you on the hook.

He's cunning, sly and in general: a liar (sometimes). As for psychological manipulation… well, it's not something to be looked down upon since it's in our everyday lives.

DARK ERA

He has a more serious aura and was far more suicidal compared to ADA Dazai. He barely flinched when a bullet grazed his cheek. 

I won't even sugarcoat the fact that Dazai is an asshole. 

The way he treated Akutagawa is wrong. The training may have made him resilient, but his mental health isn't in an okay shape. In the end, he even upped and left him without an explanation (although, I think Akutagawa has an idea of why he left).  

Remember when he fired at the GSS captain? If I didn't count wrong, it was 13 shots (my dude over here desecrating a corpse). 

(I couldn't find the GIF of him shooting the corpse, so this is as close as I can get)

He does poke fun at Chuuya, and you can perhaps say that he does some good (but we've only seen a single good deed so far…).

He recognized that Chuuya was being manipulated by the Sheep and in his own way gave him a push. There was the part* when Shirase was talking and it zoomed in on Dazai, who had a wary, analyzing look on him. 

It's clear that the Sheep is quite dependent on him. They believe that Chuuya will be there to save them whenever they fuck up (ex. crossing the river to steal booze, when they know it's near the PM HQ, in result, getting a few of their members captured). They came looking for him to put it simply, beat up and save their comrades, which points towards the fact that they are using him for his ability. 

Shirase also said:

"People who hold more cards than others have a responsibility. Fulfill your responsibility as the one with the trump card called an ability."*

Which again, further points towards the fact that they are using him for his ability and somewhat guilt tripping him. 

Dazai later adds his own input.

"Amusing. You guys are truly amusing. He's by far the strongest among you, but he's like a sheep being stared down by wolves." 

Called out. 

It then changes to show Chuuya's face. Honestly he looks on guard, and I think he knows what they're trying to do, but it's a can of worms he would rather not open, y' know?  

Dazai then later says once more when Shirase is trying to convince Chuuya to kick the PM's ass.

"Give it a rest. He has the freedom to choose how he uses his ability. Even a child would understand that. There's no argument." 

And as a final attempt to convince Chuuya, he pulls the old guilt trip card, which Dazai and Chuuya ignore. 

"Don't forget, Chuuya! The Sheep who took you in when you had no identity and nowhere to go! 

When all of this is happening, Dazai knew Chuuya was being manipulated, and he also watered the seed of doubt with his actions, and in the end the Sheep turned their backs on Chuuya, which led to Chuuya joining the Port Mafia. 

I can say this was a small good deed, pulling Chuuya out, but the choice was Chuuya's and he just gave a push. 

ARMED DETECTIVE AGENCY

Dazai isn't a naturally kind and virtuous person, but he's trying, for Oda (oh boy).

The way he handled Kyoka's situation wasn't all rainbows and confetti. 

I have a feeling he's trying to look at the bigger picture, to save people (perhaps because he blames himself for Oda's death, but I'll set that aside temporarily due to the time), but his methods aren't... nice. Atsushi has gotten hurt multiple times, Akutagawa too. In some ways, I suppose I can understand some things are unavoidable, but still. 

Compared to how he treated Akutagawa, he's far better with Atsushi. He's treating him the way Oda treated him. 

Atsushi has a completely different mindset compared to Akutagawa. He's a selfless person, he fights injustice. If Dazai tried to treat him the way he treated Akutagawa, I can confirm that isn't gonna turn out good. 

Besides, he's trying to become a better person. That, and he owes Akutagawa an apology.

From this part onwards, these are all flash thoughts that I wrote quickly because I'm falling asleep by the minute.

FLASH THOUGHT #1 :

Now that's over with… I don't particularly have anything to add on. So I'm going to move onto… uh, how do I word this, facade?

I said above that his weapon is his intellect. It's clear that whatever he has on can be fake, or real. Y'know that goofy, playful Dazai we all know. 

He's probably able to control his every movement and actions. Like, I cannot imagine Dazai doing something ACCIDENTALLY. Imagine that, someone who can control his own heartbeat, doing something accidentally (unintentionally, he never meant to do it, yeah that would be surprising).

But then again he's human… despite being a strategic and tactical genius… so yes, him doing something on accident would be interesting to watch.

Now if he miscalculated or like mistaken, uh, like that time, with the hiker, BSD Season 3. Then, yes that's understandable. 

FLASH THOUGHT #2:

Mk… facade and accidents are covered… uh… I'll talk about the power he had when he was 14, Dark Era Dazai.

… He had enough sway in the mafia since he was 14 (correct me if I'm wrong). He was allowed to be the sole witness of the Boss's final wish. SOLE WITNESS. A young boy at the age of 14 was allowed to be the sole witness. 

He was considered to be the youngest executive in the Port Mafia. If so, then why didn't the other executives (during the reign of the Old Boss) fight over the choice to be the witness of the Boss's death other than Mori. Perhaps the Old Boss didn't have executives, but that's unlikely.  

Now, that's something.  

FLASH THOUGHT #3:

Talking about suicide… I think Dazai doesn't want to die, but he does. He's failed so many suicide attempts, some of them being sabotaged, but what about the others. 

Since Dazai didn't have anyone around his age constantly (save for Oda and Ango, but several years later… perhaps when he was 16, seeing how Oda and Dazai knew each other during the Dragon's Head Rush), he only had victories of his missions and such to comfort his loneliness.  

I think that it's practically ingrained in him. 

Dying means winning and losing. Your life is finished. 

If that's the case, dying would mean he lost (but won). It's conflicting and confusing as hell, I know ;-; . I'm trying to explain my thoughts the best I can - . 

When Chuuya came around, his loneliness was, um, calmed, a little. 

Oda died and gave him a reason to live.

I think he still feels a little lonely though.

That's the end. I'll be out like a light in about 3 mins so I'll just, drop a GIF and go before I start pressing anything on accident.

Yep, okay, bye bye.

oh, I forgot the hashtags, um .

Hashtags added.

Good night. :D

[alexboehm55144]

Alex Final Wars 2: Dark Alex, Chapter 19 - The Second Battle of Zootopia

After a long hiatus, Alex Final Wars is back! Why was it gone for so long? I was waiting for some awesome chapter artwork from Starwishermidnight! (https://www.deviantart.com/starwishermidnight)

Pretty cool huh?! I hope everyone enjoys that picture, and enjoys this action packed chapter! Lets jump into the fray with Heroes!

00000000000

The city of Zootopia occupied a key location on the US west coast, and it would certainly be a prime target for any force seeking to deal damage against the country. It was no wonder then that the Chinese had devoted a large number of mammalpower and resources to the city's capture. Although the city had the ZIA and ZPD for defense, it still relied on the US military.

Enroute back to Zootopia, the team had prepared to forcibly evict the Chinese out of the city. This was an all-paws-on-deck mission. Everyone had been given a combat role and an operational area that they would work in. Even Haida and Retsuko has been tasked with providing combat support over the radio. While they were glad to finally be doing more, the state of Zootopia still had the pair worried. Fabienne was also joining a Heroes team heading towards ZNN, where she would help some of her colleagues evacuate. She had been surprisingly calm, probably because she was an experienced reporter and had been in her fair share of war zones. The Typhoon was alive with activity as warriors frantically raced around the ship, preparing for battle.

There were sightings of Kion's Dark counterpart, but his location was unknown. US marines were already on site, defending the city. Multiple Heroes teams would join the US forces in a counteroffensive to push the enemy back.

Chinese ships occupied the bay, while fires burned all over the city, creating massive plumes of smoke. Chinese jets streaked across the skies, strafing machine-gun fire on any target they saw.

The Typhoon set down in a US controlled area, as everyone prepared to enter the fray.

"We've failed." Jack said, gathering up his gear. His ears were droopy and he was not preparing himself with the same determined spirit that he'd had in other missions. "Our job as ZIA agents was to keep Zootopia safe, and now the Chinese are attacking the city. We've failed at our foremost objective."

Skye nodded, and her face gave away the fact that she was also feeling the same burden of guilt that Jack felt.

"Don't say that." Toothdee said. "It's not your fault. You did all you could."

"There's no way you could have known this was gonna happen. Blame the people attacking the city, don't blame yourself." Nick said, putting his paw on his friend's shoulder.

"But now that we're here, we can make a difference." Judy said, maintaining the steadfast determination that she had since childhood.

A determined look came across Skye's face as she realized her allies were correct. The best way for her to serve Zootopia now, was stopping the Chinese invasion. "Your right, let's do this." The arctic fox clicked the safety off on her rifle.

After gathering up gear, weapons, and ammo, the heroes assembled in the hangar bay where vehicles had been prepared and fueled. Capitan Boehm cleared his throat and tried to rouse everyone's spirits, even though he was nervous. Dialogue was not his forte, but his friends could use a rousing speech, so he would at least try.

"Zootopia needs our help!"

There were whoops and yells from the warriors in the room. Each of them was eager to get out in the fray and give the Chinese a firm kick in the pants.

"We are incredible warriors, we can do this! We can beat them back!"

There was another round of cheers and the excitement in the room was palpable.

"Are you ready to get out there in the fray?!"

Everyone let out a battle cry and raised a fist or a weapon.

"Heroes, form up!"

Each individual team hopped in a truck or Jeep, and Alex opened the doors to the Typhoon's garage, letting the teams race out, going past US soldiers and heading to their predetermined areas.

Nick and Judy headed to ZPD HQ, while Skye and Jack made haste to the ZIA HQ.

Alex, Kion, and Jasiri were in a Humvee; driving to meet hostile forces head on. As Alex maneuvered the vehicle through abandoned cars and rubble, they passed by some civilians trying to get to safety. The captain went as fast as he could, swerving through the streets, narrowly avoiding obstacles.

"Whoa! Careful dude!" Kion said, holding onto his seat and watching a downed lamppost narrowly miss the vehicle. "Your gonna kill us before we can even get to the Chinese!"

"What? Do you want to drive?"

"Ugh, just don't send us careening off a cliff." Kion begrudgingly said.

"You know, between you and me, that speech went a lot better than I expected."

"You did great, I've never seen a group of people so eager to enter into combat."

"I am not good with words; it took me a moment to work up my courage."

"Ha! Bullets aren't a problem, but words are?" Kion laughed.

"You keep that to yourself." Alex jested.

The team reached a US tank on a main road, along with a group of US Marines that were taking cover behind concrete debris. A squad of Chinese soldiers was engaging the Marines and pinning them down, while the tank tried its best to beat the enemy back.

Hopping out of the Humvee, the team engaged the Chinese, downing a few before being noticed.

"Heroes?!" A US Marine yelled, clearly surprised.

Kion cut down 2 Chinese soldiers, while Jasiri gunned down 2 more with her pistols. The last few soldiers fell back, and disappeared from view behind a large pile of rubble that was blocking the road.

"We weren't expecting elite forces." One of the Marines said.

"What's the situation?" Captain Boehm said, wanting to get a grip on things and chase the Chinese out of the city.

"We're getting ready to push back, but the Chinese are still hitting us hard."

Suddenly a rocket streaked down from one of the nearby buildings and hit the US tank that was nearby. The vehicle exploded in a ball of fire, killing the crew inside.

"Take cover!" Kion said, prompting Heroes and the Marines to hide in a small shop off to the side of the road.

"Alright, you stay here and push forward with the other US forces once they arrive." Alex said to the Marines as he checked his ammo. "We'll act as the tip of the spear and make things easier for the main force."

"Roger that, good luck sir." A Marine said.

This was the job of Heroes. As elite forces, it was their duty to help their allies however best they could. The team headed into the back of the shop, and found a door with a staircase behind it. They began to make their way up, heading towards the location where the Chinese rocket had come from.

It was difficult to find a route through the tight and dark corridors of the building, but eventually the team reached another door, and they heard a foreign language on the other side.

The captain smiled and chuckled a bit. He loved it when a situation presented itself that allowed him or his allies get the drop on an enemy. Alex counted down. "3... 2... 1... Go!"

The trio burst through the door and immediately engaged the group of Chinese soldiers in the room. The rocket trooper that destroyed the tank was quickly gunned down in a hail of bullets, along with all the other hostiles. One soldier had been thrown back onto the floor when the opening door hit him, making him easy for Kion to dispatch with his blade.

"Hell yeah! That was awesome!" Alex said "Keep it up!"

Taking a look at their surroundings, the team picked another hallway and began to move down through it. In the close confines, Alex and Kion were cutting down many enemy soldiers with swords, while Jasiri kept laying down supporting fire with her pistols.

"We should get back to the street; those US soldiers need us." The hyena said, killing a bunch of hostile soldiers by performing a flourishing attack, in which she twirled and fired shots all around her, hitting anyone in the area.

"Agreed," Captain Boehm said, slicing a PLA trooper with his sword, and quickly followed up with 2 chi blasts to the heads of enemy troops.

"There's a stairwell over here!" Kion said, charging at a heavy weapons soldier and ramming his sword through his adversary.

Not wanting to leave the US soldiers on the street without friendly support, the group moved down the stairwell. They heard a commotion from the bottom of the building and looked down the center of the stairwell shaft. They saw a large group of enemy soldiers sprinting up the stairs from the bottom.

Kion took out a grenade and looked to his friends with a questioning expression. They instantly knew what he was thinking.

"We're gonna have to time this right." Jasiri said, as her and Alex took out grenades. The trio pulled the grenade pins and cooked them in their hands for a few seconds, before dropping them down the center of the stairwell.

Right as the grenades fell by the soldiers, they exploded, killing the Chinese troopers. The team were able to proceed down the stairs uninterrupted. They passed one trooper who, despite being critically wounded by the grenades, was still alive. The captain took pity and put him out of his misery, as he would have otherwise slowly died from his wounds. Even though the soldier was his enemy, Alex was still kind enough to show him mercy.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, the team was finally able to get to the street. The sky was hazy with smoke, and the setting sun caused an orange tint across the entire city. Rubble was strewn about the entire area, and the sounds of combat filled the air.

"There!" Kion said, pointing towards a group of PLA soldiers. The team engaged the hostile forces, while some civilians nearby fled for their lives.

Alex noticed a young cheetah, probably only 5 or 6 years old, standing in the middle of the ruined street, looking around. She clutched a stuffed cheetah in her paws, and while she looked scared, she wasn't crying or screaming.

Overcome with fear and determination, Alex charged forward towards the lost cheetah, cutting in half a PLA soldier with his sword as he ran. Kion and Jasiri provided cover fire, presumably also having seen the young cheetah and feared for the girl's life.

Reaching the young girl, Alex quickly pulled her to safety as his allies kept them covered.

"I'm gonna get you out of here, sweetie." Alex said, trying to sound soft and caring. "Do you think you can run?"

"Y-yes." The young girl said as she quickly nodded, her eyes wide. Jasiri reloaded and gave Alex a nod of confirmation that they were ready to provide suppressing fire.

"Ok, you be brave for me." The captain and the cheetah sprinted out of cover, and managed to get into an alleyway where they bumped into a group of ZPD SWAT.

"This young girl lost her parents, she needs to be escorted out of here." Alex said to the team leader.

"On it, sir!" The officer responded before speaking into his radio.

"You were very brave today." Boehm said, crouching down to the girl's height, as well as taking out a ration bar, and giving it to her. "These fine mammals are gonna get you back to your parents. What's your name?"

"F-F-Fuli" the young girl said, trembling. "F-Fuli D-Duma."

The captain stood up and gestured to himself. "Alex Boehm." He said, before running off to assist his friends.

As more US Marines, ZPD officers, and ZIA agents entered the area, the trio of heroes continued battling the PLA soldiers. Alex and Jasiri gunned down any enemy soldier they laid eyes on, while Kion deflected incoming bullets with his sword. Though they were outnumbered by enemy soldiers, they showed no fear, as they knew the Chinese were clearly outmatched.

The last soldier fell to Jasiri's shots, and the hyena blew the gun smoke off the ends of her pistols, before triumphantly stating "They weren't expecting elite forces!"

A truck of enemy soldiers pulled up, but was obliterated by machine gun fire from an approaching US armored vehicle. A ZIA agent ran up to give a report to the Heroes team.

"The Chinese forward base is just ahead!" The agent reported. "Thats where the Chinese fleet is deploying forces and coordinating the assault."

"Then that's our target. Let's go kick them out of Zootopia!" Jasiri yelled, rallying friendly forces, before they moved forwards towards the Chinese base. The large group of infantry was accompanied by light and heavy armored vehicles, and a few aircraft in support.

Three PLA soldiers, using grenade launcher turrets, engaged the US force, causing the marines to run for cover.

"I'll get the right turret." Captain Boehm said.

"Jasiri, you get the middle one, I'll get the left one!" Kion said, charging forward with his head down.

Bullets whizzed over his head and struck the rubble he was taking cover behind. He had to roll and move as fast as he could to avoid being hit. The lion managed to reach the turret and stab the operator with his sword, before turning it on another hostile.

Jasiri and Alex also had similar luck with their targets, enabling their allies to continue pressing forward. This assault was going smoothly, and Heroes were easily pushing back the attacking force. They were driven by the singular desire to stop the assault on their glorious city.

A Chinese helicopter moved in and opened fire, forcing Jasiri and Alex to engage it with their firearms. Kion used one of the commandeered turrets to engage the aircraft. Bullets struck the canopy and engines, cracking the glass and soon caused smoke to pour from the engines. After sustaining enough damage, the aircraft fell back, having trouble controlling its movement.

The US force had now reached the Chinese base. Vehicles, soldiers, communications tech, and other equipment were set up throughout the area. Chinese landing hovercraft were assembled on the beach, and 2 amphibious assault ships floated in the bay nearby.

The Chinese soldiers began to take cover and open fire on the incoming enemies, with the PLA vehicles doing the same. Even the turrets on the hovercraft joined the engagement.

As Alex and the team pushed forward towards a communications center nearby, friendly rocket troopers fired at the enemy vehicles with explosives. A US tank also destroyed some of the turrets on the hovercraft.

The communications center was filled with large servers and small military laptops set up on tables. Wires ran along the floor, and cooling fans in the servers created a slight buzzing sound in the area.

"Pull any hard drives and data you can get; knowledge is power." Alex said, cutting down a Chinese soldier, "Any intel is useful. Once you get it, blast everything else into scrap."

Jasiri and Kion went to work, ripping out servers and transferring files from computers, while Alex kept them covered, shooting any enemy that tried to interfere with their operation.

After Heroes had all the data they needed, Jasiri blasted the communications equipment with her pistols. Kion moved to slice through a computer server with his sword, but Jasiri stopped him and recommended unplugging the device to avoid the fate of Dark Laval. After a few seconds the communications center had been reduced to smoldering equipment that could never be fixed.

Chinese vehicles were still active, and the team settled on those as their next targets, as they were the most dangerous. Kion knew he couldn't do much damage to vehicle armor with his sword, so he looked around in a Chinese weapon stash. A smug expression crossed the lion's face as he found a rocket launcher. He quickly turned it on a Chinese tank and turned the enemy vehicle into a flaming heap. Alex jumped onto an armored personnel carrier and managed to pry the top hatch open, before dropping in a grenade.

The Chinese attack helicopter returned and launched a volley of rockets, making Jasiri run for her life as explosions rocked the ground behind her.

"Jasiri!" Kion yelled, turning the rocket launcher on the aircraft, before firing and ripping through its armor. The vehicle spun out of control and crashed onto one of the hovercraft, destroying the still active turret.

"YEAH!" Kion gave a middle finger to the smoldering wreckage. He was very protective of his hyena.

Jasiri spotted a Chinese surface-to-air missile site and quickly alerted her teammates to its existence. After gunning and cutting down a few Chinese soldiers guarding the site, the team of heroes was able to get close, and place primed grenades onto the missile launcher. As the trio quickly got clear, the grenades exploded, destroying the launcher.

Two Chinese attack boats pulled up to the shore, but they continued moving forward onto the beach. As the vessels emerged from the water, it was revealed that they had 4 tracks on the underside, that allowed the vehicles to leave the water and move on land.

"Uh... what the hell are those things?" Kion said as Chinese troops disembarked the craft.

"Whatever it is, shoot it." Alex said, following his own words, as a turret on one of the amphibious vehicles opened fire. The captain would have loved to figure out more about the vehicles, as he loved new technology. But unfortunately the vehicles were shooting back at him.

An enemy heavy-arms trooper, carrying a grenade launcher, opened fire, blowing up a US vehicle and killing many US soldiers. Alex changed his target to the heavy trooper, attacking him with his sword. The captain managed to get a few good hits on the trooper before he could react. Once the trooper did react though, he blocked Alex's sword with his grenade launcher. The 2 combatants got into a weapon lock, before Alex used the blaster on his sword to kill the soldier by shooting him in the face.

Picking up the grenade launcher, the captain noticed one of the amphibious vehicles moving backwards into the water. There was probably a driver inside, or maybe it was autonomous. Directing the grenade launcher towards the vehicle, a couple shots managed to disable it.

"Man I would have loved to get a closer look at that thing!"

Jasiri and Kion had destroyed the turret on the second vehicle, and managed to do enough damage to disable the craft.

A United States B-1B Lancer bomber and its escort jets flew over the Chinese ships, the bomber dropping its payload and obliterating the vessels.

The Heroes team cheered and raised their weapons triumphantly as they watched the vessels burn. But this moment of victory was cut short when Judy's voice came through the radio, filled with worry.

"Hello? Can anyone hear me?"

"Oh hey, Officer Hopps." Kion said, feeling pleased with his work "We just took out a Chinese base."

"ZPD reports that the tide is turning in our favor, Kion, but we've also got a confirmed sighting of your counterpart. We're heading to investigate now."

"Do not engage! This guy is dangerous. I repeat, do not engage!" Alex said, hoping the rabbit listened to him. "We'll come there and assist you."

The trio turned away from the burning ships and headed back into the city. Their cheerful mood had changed to a drive to stop Kion's counterpart, as they did not want him to cause anymore chaos. Zootopia was not free just yet.

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Well, I hope everyone enjoyed this new chapter! Next week, Heroes goes after Kion's counterpart. Until next time!