FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

New to the story? If so, please read the previous parts first! At this point, you REALLY should... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~CHAPTER 13~~~

"Damn it, Jensen, hand me the pliers, we have to get this chest plate off him... Shit, are we gonna need a friggin' chainsaw too!?"

"It's cracked, so we can just peel it away... It's not even very thick, but it's REALLY dense. Heh, this probably saved his life from the impact, but it'll kill him if we can't get it off..."

"Just shut up and peel back that that jagged piece on your right."

My entire body feels like it's been through a meat grinder, and these guys ripping my armor off isn't helping...

I couldn't tell where I was, but I knew I was lying on my back and was surrounded by at least three people, two of which had to be doctors. The other one was just breathing in a quiet, yet panicked way. I didn't have the strength to open my eyes, and everything I could hear was slightly blurred, so I couldn't identify my potential saviors at all.

The only thing I could do was replay what just happened over and over in my head. No matter how much I wanted to shut my brain off and slip into unconsciousness, all I could see in my mind's eye was the blank expression on Cali's new face. And every time I saw the pieces of her helmet fall away and reveal that face, I could feel my heart beating less and less. I wasn't overjoyed that she's alive, nor was I horrified that she's been one of our new enemies all this time. Emotionally, I was drawing a perfect blank. But the shock that caused that perfect blank was killing me, along with whatever other injuries I took.

I'm fading. FAST.

...She's alive.....

BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP

"Macy, get the paddles, he's going into arrest! We've got enough room to zap him now, drop those pliers and help me here!"

"Move over, I've got them already! Charging.... One, two , three CLEAR!"

BUZZ!

I didn't even feel the electricity. This really must be the end...

...She's alive.....

"Do it again! Charge it to a higher level this time!"

"Hang on.... CLEAR!"

BUZZ!!

...She's alive.....

The beeping got louder and faster.

"This isn't working... I don't think we can save him, Miss Briggs."

...She... Wait, what?

"Well then, stop being green and give him the biggest zap you can! Just do SOMETHING! I... I can't LOSE him!"

That voice... It was the one that's been silent all this time. I should've figured it was Kyla, which means I must be inside the safehouse. I could feel her frantically grabbing my shoulders, trying to shake me awake. She must've been leaning over me, because I could also feel her teardrops hitting my face. It's actually kind of funny; now the tables have turned, and she's _the one going hysterical when faced with the possibility of losing _me.

But this isn't the time for a laugh. I wish I could just open an eye to let her know I'm still here, but I can't.

"All right, this is the highest it can go before it makes his heart explode" I heard the male doctor say. "If this doesn't fix him, nothing will. Charging...."

I felt Kyla's lips touch mine in a soft kiss. "Please Greg.... You're stronger than this..."

"Get off him, I've got the charge at full! This is it... One, two, three CLEAR!"

BUZZ!!!

WHOAH! Okay, I felt that one...

Involuntarily, my eyes snapped wide open and I jolted upright, panting heavily. I could see how surprised the two doctors looked, since they probably weren't expecting a reaction like this. But Kyla wasn't surprised at the sight of me being awake. She was in pure bliss.

"Greg! You're okay!"

I turned to her, but quickly realized that even though the defibrillation may have saved my life, I still had no energy left. My head was getting lighter and my breaths were getting shorter with every second. I slowly reached out to touch her, but already started to feel myself blacking out. Falling back into the bed, all I could see was her joy quickly turning back into panic as I slipped into unconsciousness.

"Greg? Greg! GREEEEEEG!!!"

The world went black.

~~~

"Greg? Wake uuuuuup, Greeeeeeeeeeg..."

As I slowly came to, I realized that this time I was lying face down on a much more comfortable bed than the safehouse one. That doesn't say much as to where I am now, since I couldn't hear any machines beeping either. But I could hear someone trying to wake me up and feel that person rubbing my shoulders.

Kyla?

The person chuckled. "Come on sleepyhead, rise and shine. We've got a few things to talk about, you and I."

Wait... I can hear it clearly now. That's not Kyla's voice. It's...!

I gasped and immediately flipped myself over and sat up in the bed, but found myself staring right into a new, yet familiar face.

"Great, you're finally awake! Now, how about that talk?"

It was Cali. But not the one I knew and fell in love with. It was the new, OGD hybrid Cali that nearly killed me. She looked exactly the same as she did before our fight, armor and all, but minus the helmet. However, her expression was one of pure love and warmth. Not completely blank like before.

Startled, I yelled out and fell back onto the bed. She just giggled at my reaction, then crawled onto the bed to pull me up. But I wasn't taking any chances. I tried to push her away, but stopped at the last minute when I got a good look at my hands.

What... what is this!?

They were... completely normal. As in not-hybrid normal. As in human.

I looked down and saw that my chest was normal again as well. So was the rest of my body, upon looking under the sheets. Cali smiled and pulled out a mirror that seemed to come out of nowhere, and held it up to my face.

Dear God... My old face... My normal, human, good-looking old face... The guy in the mirror looked just as surprised as I was.

Still smiling, Cali stood up and walked over to the dresser on the opposite side of the room and put the mirror on it. While she did that, I took a second to take in my surroundings, and quickly realized where I was. It was my bedroom. Not the one at the destroyed HAC base, the one inside the house I spent my entire life living in before the world changed forever. Turning back to me, Cali took a second to admire my confusion.

"It's nice seeing everything as it used to be, isn't it Greg? Your old house, your old body, and your old girlfriend--" She paused after that last word. "Oh, right, you're still not used to this" she said while gesturing towards herself. "Well, don't worry. I can fix that." She snapped her fingers, and all at once, the fur on her face and the armor on her body fell off, leaving her as naked as the day she was born, but also human again. She fixed her long red hair and brushed a few smaller leopard hairs off her face. "This better?"

Despite everything I've been through with Kyla so far, it was hard to not be aroused by Cali's amazing body. After all this time I could still picture her perfectly in my head, but seeing her again in person was a completely different story. So busty and curvy... But I tried not to notice.

"Can... Can you please put something on?" was all I could say while trying to avert my eyes.

She seemed genuinely hurt to hear that, but only sighed and snapped her fingers once again. This time, a black bathrobe appeared, covering her up enough for me to be able to think straight while looking at her. "And here I thought you loved seeing me wearing only what nature gave me... How much have you changed in this last year, Greg? Rather, how much have you changed in this last few days?"

I struggled to find my voice. "No, it's just that.... I mean, I.... You.... Look, why don't you tell me just what the HELL is going on here first. Am I dead? Drugged? Or am I dreaming right now?"

Cali's smile slowly returned. "Of course you're dreaming, you big dummy. That last defibrillation did the trick, but you're still unconscious right now. Think of me as a fragment of your mind. The fragment that represents everything important that's happened to you recently. I look, sound, and act like her, but I'm really you."

"Okaaaay" I said slowly. "Then would you kindly let me wake up? If you say you're only a figment of my imagination, then I don't wanna talk to you. I just want to think right now."

She shook her head mockingly. "Tsk tsk tsk. Wrong answer, Greg. Mentally, you're so down under that I'm the _only_one who can wake you up. And for the record, talking to me is exactly the same as thinking to yourself. If anything, just humor us, okay?"

I thought it over for a second. "Fine. But don't make this any weirder for me than it already is. Please."

"I won't" Cali said while crossing her heart.

At least my mind isn't as much of a dick as I used to be...

She took a seat next to me on the bed. "Let's get the obvious stuff out of the way first" she continued. "You fought and lost to me. The REAL me. And now I'm apparently fighting for OGD. But when you saw my face, you just froze up, and even now, you still don't know what to think about the whole situation. Are you at least happy to see me alive?"

"I... I don't know. I mean, how are you even alive at all? You died from shock and blood loss over a year ago."

Cali shrugged. "I have no idea. How can I? I only know what you know, remember?"

"Right, right" I quickly corrected myself with. "Well, either those doctors lied to me, or it was a clone I fought. But it doesn't matter _what _she is, she's still Cali Greenlaw somewhere in there. I can't..."

"What? You can't kill her? Or you _won't _kill her?"

"Won't" I replied. "I almost did, and I would've been horrified if I found out it was you I killed."

"Oh, that goes without saying" Cali sarcastically replied. "But the past is the past. What's important now is how you're going to handle this little problem of ours. Because even though I already know what you know, I can tell you've figured out exactly _why _I'm trying to kill you at all."

I sighed deeply. She was right; I did have a theory, but it wasn't a pleasant one.

"You're right. We both know I've seen and read my fair share of sci-fi stuff before, so I'd assume that OGD is mind controlling you--dammit, her. The emptiness in her eyes is probably there because she's not in touch with reality at all. I know is seems like a stupid fantasy plot twist, but in this world, stuff like that _can _exist with no more laws to regulate research and development. It's just like fucking Rapture..."

"And there lies the problem, sweetie." Her smile was back, but I was starting to get sick of it. "If I am being brainwashed, then there's a chance I can be snapped out of it. And if I am, then you know exactly what the biggest problem of all would be."

I didn't want to say it, but we both knew it anyway. "You're going to have to choose between me, your long-lost love that's been thrown back into your life, or the new girl you've brushed off until only recently, but wasted no time getting to know. Tell me, Greg, do you _really _love her?"

Now I REALLY want to wake up. This isn't something I want to talk about with anyone, even if it's a copy of myself. Because now my inner voice is apparently returning to full-on dick mode.

"Why would you ask me that when you already know the answer? I DO love Kyla! She comforted me in my grief and gave my life meaning again. And I know she loves me just as much!"

Cali wasn't fazed. "But do you still love me, Greg? Enough to drop Kyla and take me back with open arms if I'm suddenly cured?"

"I.... I...."

I couldn't think of anything to say. It's true that if this happened a week ago, then I wouldn't have wasted any time taking Cali back if I could. And it was also true that I'd been with her for over two years, and been with Kyla for only a few days. I couldn't ignore everything Cali and I shared together over that time. On the other hand, there's no guarantee that Cali can be saved from OGD at all. If not myself, than someone else might end up killing her and making the decision for me. But me continuing to grieve over her would give Kyla the wrong idea.

I have no idea what to do.

Sensing my inner turmoil, Cali stood up and walked over to the window near my bed, staring outside discontentedly.

"All right Greg, I can see I'm getting nowhere with you, so I'm going to wrap this up. You know what you have to do and what decisions you have to make, so I'll leave you to them. The next time you see me, it'll probably actually be_her_."

She turned to face me, and extended her hand so it was in line with my head.

"Wake up, Greg."

Faster than I could react, she shot a flaming ball of napalm right at my face.

~~~

I opened my eyes again. I was back in the same hospital-esque room as before, and hopefully back to reality. I looked around and saw that I was hooked up to several machines, all of which were beeping and flashing at random intervals. The room I was in was small enough for only a few people, but I was all alone in here. No doctors or Kyla in sight. The clock above the door to my left told me that it's been roughly twelve hours since the attack actually began, though I had no idea how long I'd been out.

I sat up and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. My hands, head, and everything else were still the way they've been for the last year; not human.

_Hooray, I'm 'normal' again... _

I held my head in my hands, miserable as ever. Sometimes, I used to wish the scientists had just fucked up and turned me into a regular hyena instead of what I am now. They would've released me out into the ruined world, and I wouldn't have had the capacity to realize how miserable I was. Win win. All I'd do is eat, run, and sleep. And now, for the first time in a while, that yearning is back.

But while I was wrapped up in that thought, the door opened and the female doctor from before walked in. She saw that I was awake and turned to talk to someone in the other room that I couldn't see. But it was still no surprise who she was talking to. The doctor moved out of the way, and Kyla slowly walked in, followed by Harry. I actually wasn't expecting him, but it was nice to see a concerned friend right now.

"You feelin' better, man?" he said. "These guys said they almost lost you, but you were just knocked out for a while. Welcome back to Hell on Earth, my friend."

I turned to Kyla, unsure of what I was even going to say to her at this point. The fact that my dead girlfriend is now a powerful enemy is bad enough, but me not wanting to fight and kill her might rub Kyla the wrong way. And if Cali_could _be saved, well... I didn't want to think about that anymore.

However, she didn't say anything and just sat next to me on the bed, hugging me close. I wrapped my arms around her, bringing us even closer together. Regardless of what 'Cali' is making me think, I still love Kyla with all my heart and soul. That won't ever change.

"Kyla..."

"Now I know how torn up you were earlier this week, Greg. I never thought I'd cause you all that pain, I just... just..."

She started sobbing, tightening her grip around me and staining my chest bandages with her tears. I calmly shushed her while rocking back and forth to try and soothe her. Harry awkwardly stared at us, probably trying to decide if he should leave or not. I made the decision for him. "Don't worry, Harry. Stay with us for a few. I need someone to fill me in on the fight. Is it still going on out there?"

He sighed a breath of relief. "Uh, well, not really, for the most part. By the time everyone noticed you were gone, we had pretty much crippled OGD's toughest troops. Some of them pussied out and ran off, others we were able to capture for another round of interrogation. None of them were really cooperative at first, but Francis and Ross were able to 'persuade' most of them to squeal one way or another. But for the most part, we've won, Greg. We're still crippled over here ourselves, but we're not out of the picture yet. And thankfully, there's no third wave coming."

I took a moment to process that information. "Okay, that's good. REALLY good. But what was the price of victory, Harry? How many did we lose?"

"Not as many as we thought" Harry answered. "More dead than wounded, but I don't think we could've treated too many people at once anyway. It sucks, I know, but it's true."

"Did we lose anyone important?" I asked.

Harry looked unhappy to answer that question. "Well, we didn't lose any team leaders, but uh, Brent's not looking too good right now."

I knew there would be someone familiar that took a hit. "I only just met that guy... Is he gonna recover?"

"He tried to protect one of his teammates, but took a shot to the throat and a few shots to his arm. Some OGD's were actually carrying guns, if you can believe that. He _will _get better, but it's unlikely he'll ever talk again with that throat injury. And worse, his damaged arm means his superpowers might not work right anymore either. Poor guy..."

I took a moment to let that sink in. "Anyone else we know? I mean, you don't look harmed at all, Harry. I'm glad, though."

He chuckled at that. "Thanks, man. I always knew you cared. But no, everyone else we know is just fine. Maybe some cuts and bruises, but nothing serious. This whole thing was another classic 'you have a lot of guys, but we're the better fighters' fight. Like the 300 Spartans against the Persian army of warriors and monsters."

Rather than correct Harry on how _300 _wasn't an accurate description of the Battle of Thermopylae in the slightest, I decided to change the subject.

"How did you guys even find me in the first place? I was all the way in the arena when everyone else was outside."

"You can thank _her _for that one" Harry replied while pointing to Kyla, who by this point had finally let me go and was sitting on the side of the bed, drying her eyes. "While we were fighting, she rerouted the feed from the security cameras to the safehouse so everyone inside could watch the battle. She saw you chase the napalm guy - or I should say _girl _- into the arena, and watched your little one-on-one match go wrong. And, well, the rest is self-explanatory."

I turned to Kyla. "You saved my life by doing that, you know. I didn't know you were good with computers, either."

She blushed. "I was kind of a techno-geek before the zombie outbreak. Almost got expelled from high school for hacking the network, just because I was bored. And to sneak a bunch of porn onto my horrible English teacher's account."

We all shared a laugh. But then Kyla quickly changed the subject herself with a quizzical look on her face. "What happened out there, Greg? You had her on her knees, beaten, and then you completely froze when you saw her face. Were you THAT surprised it was a girl all this time? Or did she do something to you?"

Can't tell Kyla... Won't tell Kyla...

"I have no idea" I answered. "Once I saw her eyes, I couldn't move anything. She must have done something to paralyze me, it's the only explanation." I turned to Harry. "Maybe that's why she was never took the helmet off during our fight in the city. The tiger hybrid did when I fought him."

Kyla was convinced. "That _does _seem likely, even in this messed up world. OGD's superpowers are different from most of ours. Whatever she did must've been a last resort thing."

Harry, however, didn't look convinced. He squinted his eyes and was staring at the floor. It was a look I knew all too well. He knows I'm lying about something.

Just at that moment, the female doctor stepped in and asked Kyla if she could help her with another injured hybrid. I didn't know Kyla had any medical experience either, but then again, today's been full of surprises. One more wouldn't make a difference.

Kyla stood up and walked to the door. "I'll be right back then, guys."

"Mind shutting the door behind you?" Harry casually asked. I could see where this was going... He knows something's up and wants to talk about it quietly.

"Yeah, sure Harrison" Kyla replied with a smile while closing the door behind her.

Harry waited a few seconds, then checked the window on the door to make sure she was walking away. He sat in the room's only chair, and took a second to compose himself.

"Greg, I need to ask you a question. An important one at that. But before I do, all I want to say is I'm not trying to pull your heartstrings or offend you in any way with this question on the off chance I'm wrong. Okay?"

I sighed. "Okay. Ask away."

Harry cleared his throat and continued. "Kyla showed me the camera footage of you fighting the OGD leopardess while she was helping out with other people's injuries and waiting for you to wake up. Just me, though, nobody else. Which meant that I was the only one who saw you mouth out a single word before you got blasted into the wall. That wall fell apart and nearly crushed you, so Kyla must've been so shocked that she completely forgot about the rest of the fight. But I didn't."

"Harry..."

"Let me finish" he interrupted with. "I don't know if I'm right or not, especially given the crazy circumstances, but I'm almost a hundred percent sure I know what that last word was."

I cradled my head in my hands again and moaned out loudly.

_He knows. _

"Greg.... Was that word 'Cali?'"

The dam burst. "Oh dear GOD, Harry, what am I gonna do!? I don't know how, I don't know why, but it WAS her! She... She's alive and one of THEM! They told me she died over a year ago! And now.... Now...."

I was trying not to sob as much Kyla was, but I couldn't stop my eyes from leaking.

Harry sat down next to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "Come on, man. Don't break down on me again. I wanted to be wrong, believe me. I acted normally around Kyla so I wouldn't tip her off that I was suspicious about something."

I barely managed to choke out the rest. "And the worst part is, I don't think she's even herself, Harry. She's been fucking brainwashed!" BRAINWASHED! Either we have to kill her, or---"

"Greg, whether that's true or not, right now you HAVE to face the facts. Your dead girlfriend is alive, she kicked your ass, and she's not gonna stop until..."

I broke out of my stupor after hearing those last few words and turned to Harry. We have another problem now...

"Harry, you said you saw a bunch of the OGD's retreat. You didn't see her there, did you? What did she do after she blasted me? Did she run out of the arena and back outside?"

"No, the camera was close enough to that wall that a piece of rubble from the blast knocked it off. Why do you---"

Harry's eyes went wide. He just got the message. "Oh shit... She's still here..."

~~~

Hoo, boy... This one would've been posted earlier if not for the 2.0 switch, but it's here now, so enjoy this AND the new SoFurry.com!

But for now, another round of Origins is on the way. I'll let you, the fans, decide which character should be next; Francis or Kyla. There will be two more after those, but I'm not saying who they are just yet. One of them might be obvious, but the other will be quite a surprise. I guarantee it.

Rate, Comment, and Subscribe!