A thunderous crash shook the ground, crushing the dirt and rock under, creating a large crater underneath the creature that landed. Who was this creature?
My eyes shot open, and I jolted upright, dirt and dust rolling off my shoulders. My head whipped left and right, and up and down, and "what the hell??? were? what? who? huh? where am I?"
I was standing. My body reacted faster than my mind, putting my feet upright in an instant.
.
.
.
"?????"
Slowly, my eyes dragged upward. The sky above stretched wide, and it wasn't black. It wasn't speckled with stars. It was an actual sky, a world filled with air, painted orange, burning faintly under the warm glow of a star I didn't recognise.
I blinked once. Twice. "Ooooooh! right..." I looked down at the crater around me. "So I must've… fallen asleep. And crash-landed on this planet. Huh. Well, isn't that lucky?"
I put my hands on my hips and took a deep breath; even without the need to breathe, it still felt nice to do so.
I let my gaze wander outward.
The first thing I noticed was the grass. It stretched across the land, but the colour… it wasn't right. Faded, like someone had drained the green out with a sponge. The trees were worse, tall shapes hunched over themselves, bark cracked, leaves brittle and pale. Wilting.
I squatted down, pinched a blade of that weak grass between my fingers, and turned it over. "Huh. That's neat."
I straightened, dusting my hands off, and shrugged. "Guess plant life acts differently here. That's pretty cool." I gave the grass a flick and let it drift out of my fingers, fluttering back down like the weightless piece of foliage it was. A little breeze stirred the faded field, brushing past me in a way that felt almost too normal after everything else.
I stretched my arms overhead until my joints popped, and as I glanced down at my hands, I paused. My skin wasn't pink. It was just… normal. I blinked, tilting my head. "Oh. cool. I detransformed. That's good to know." I observed before going back to stretching, rolling my shoulders with satisfying results.
Then I clapped my hands together. "Welp!" I said, grinning to myself, "No point waiting, let's get exploring!" I excitedly exclaimed, as this was going to be my first planet exploration. Hope I find some cool life here!
With that, I hopped up out of the crater in a single bound, landing on the cracked earth outside. My boots crunched softly against the strange soil as I picked a direction at random. I set off into the wilted landscape at a casual jog.
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---
The room smelled faintly of smoke and ozone, every wall cracked with the scars of battle. Makeshift tables had been dragged in, covered with maps, half-burnt notes, and weapons stripped down for cleaning. At the far side of the room, a cat woman stood, pacing with her tail lashing like a whip behind her. Her voice rose with every word, frustration boiling under her growl.
"The distress signal was sent days ago! Days!" she snapped, hands slamming flat against the table hard enough to rattle the rifles stacked there. Her ears flicked back, her golden eyes sharp with frustration. "And still, still no one has come. No ships, no reinforcements, no response! nothing! And the invaders, gods. The invaders, those freaks, just sit there. Doing nothing! After massacring us all, they stay passive! Doesn't that bother you?"
Across from her, seated on a battered chair that groaned under her weight, the dog woman let out an annoyed wuff. She was broad-shouldered, fur mottled black, brown, and white, her gaze steady even as her companion paced like a caged animal. "Of course it bothers me," she said flatly, one ear twitching. "But what would you have us do? Run headlong into them again? We already know how that ends. Our only choice is to find some way—any way—to fight back."
The cat woman froze mid-step, whirling on her. "Fight back? With what?" she barked, eyes wide. "We don't even know what they want! We don't know how many there are, how strong they are, except-" her voice cracked with bitter anger, "-except that they can walk through our firepower like it's nothing! You call that a chance? Even with him and his family involving himself with weapon developments. We have not a single clue on them! What are they doing!? We don't know! All we know is that all the planet's biological life is suddenly dying now! We don't know where they are! We don't know how strong they are! And we have no chance at beating them! Fight back!? That's just suicide!"
For a moment, silence fell. The weight of her words hung in the air like a stone around both their necks. These weren't just officers anymore; before they were enemies, military leaders of the 2 dominant races. Now, they were the last authority their people had, pressed into command after their rulers were wiped out in the first assault. And neither of them had answers.
The heavy door banged open with a clang, and a younger dog soldier stumbled in, fur bristling and eyes wide. "Commander! Captain!" he shouted, breathless. "Our detectors just picked up something, no, someone! A massive power signature, opposite of where the invaders set up camp!"
Both women shot to their feet, their eyes meeting with the same stunned expression. Shock. Disbelief. And, just faintly, the smallest flicker of hope.
The young soldier's chest still heaved as he caught his breath, eyes darting between the two commanders.
"Do we know anything about them?" the cat woman asked sharply, arms folding tight across her chest, tail flicking behind her. "Do they look like they've responded to our distress calls?"
The soldier shook his head. "No responses, ma'am. Nothing came back from the signals. Whoever this is… they're not answering."
For a heartbeat, the room was silent again. Then the dog woman's muzzle pulled into a grin, sharp and sudden. She leaned forward, teeth flashing as she rumbled a short laugh. "Well, look at that. Seems like help finally did arrive, whether they answered or not."
The cat's ears pinned back. She snapped her gaze to her counterpart, eyes blazing. "Or," she bit out, "it's not help. What if it's more reinforcements for them? What if it's another raiding party? Or worse, some third force we've never seen before? You really think someone that strong just happened to show up right now, but not because of the distress call?"
(yes)
Her words landed heavily, her voice rising with every possibility. "We don't know what they want. We don't know if they're friend or foe. If we assume wrong, it could be the end for what's left of us."
The dog woman's grin faltered but didn't vanish entirely. She leaned back in her chair, arms crossing, her ears twitching as if she didn't want to admit the logic but couldn't argue it either. So she simply let out a growl.
Before either of them could speak again, the door burst open a second time. A smaller figure stumbled in, another soldier, but this time a young cat girl, her fur was standing on end with her tail puffed out in panic. "Commander!" she gasped, almost tripping over her own words. "The energy! It's moving! It's heading straight for our location!! And it has been for the past 5 solar times!"
Every eye in the room went wide. The two commanders froze, their gazes locking in unspoken realisation.
"...They're coming here?" the dog woman muttered, stunned.
The cat captain's claws flexed at her sides, her tone sharpened with urgency. "We can't wait to see what happens. We need to move! Now!"
The dog commander gave a curt nod, already grabbing her rifle from where it leaned against the wall. "Rally the soldiers, both sides. Doesn't matter if they're cat or dog. We meet this power head-on, together."
And for once, neither of them argued.
Within minutes, the commanders pushed out into the ruined streets, their boots crunching over cracked stone and scorched dirt. Soldiers from both races, cat and dog alike, fell in step behind them, their eyes wary but determined. Guns clicked, blades were drawn, and tension bristled through the air as the unlikely force gathered under the smoke-streaked, dull-hued sky.
They didn't know what they were facing, but they were all worried.
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---
"Oh wow! Look at that spider!" I shouted in glee, crouched low in a bush as my eyes locked on a massive, hairy thing with too many legs, just sitting there nibbling on some poor bug.
"Soo coooool!" I whispered, leaning in like I was watching some rare treasure, trying my best not to scare it off.
I grinned widely, chin in my hands, legs kicking behind me like a kid seeing fireworks for the first time. giggling. This was the best idea ever! Good job, me!
A/N pfft. heehhe. i hope you enjoyed the chapter, and i hope you enjoyed the new characters...
i also have something to say. i wonder who that person might be that is currently doing god knows what on this planet? hmmmm. i wonder who they are?
but anyway, comment if i did anything wrong, or comment what you enoyed.
see ya!