Fire Fight!

"They're still inside!"

"What do we do?"

"Bring them out, he wants them alive!"

Felix felt a lump in his throat, coughing a bit with the smoke making the air stuffy. Reta looked nervous the way she held her homemade weapon, angling it down facing the door like that. Was it the fire spreading around them, or was it the awkward broom handle she was wielding? At least Na'Vi seemed ready for a brawl, she kept a thirsty look on her face with her eyes narrowed and focused. It almost spooked him, he was thankful not to be on the receiving end of a kitty's wrath.

He looked up to meet her once they began to pound on the back door. His back was pressed up on it, keeping it shut but knowing he was delaying it. With a wounded arm and being one man versus who knows how many were pushing outside, it would be in vain to reinforce that door. The smell of burning wood filled their nostrils, chocking them slightly with ash and smoke. He coughed out once more to clear his lungs, keeping his eyes on Na'Vi . She nodded once, do it.

He moved out of the way as the back door busted open.

"We're through!" One of them called out, charging in first with crossbow in hand. Reta gritted her teeth and moved away, taking cover behind the corner to avoid a possible arrow shot. No, he hadn't enough time to aim when Na'Vi sprinted on the wall and pounced on him to kick him into the wall hard, breaking the fragile wood work and leaving a hole through it. She hissed and jumped back several feet to keep away from the open door, with Felix being quick to kick it shut again. A bottleneck advantage was what they had in favor for playing homefield.

Another soldier kicked it back, charging in with several friends and their swords drawn. One of them saw Na'Vi and swung in the air in panic, crying out as the other two took notice and aimed their swords at her. "Remember, keep these one's alive!"

Reta spun around the corner to surprise him, landing a swift hit onto his exposed face. Guess he should have kept his helmet on. Felix felt his skin crawl, the impact sounded rough and he felt the damage go through him, feeling sorry for the poor man. Still, survival of the fittest. He was hidden behind the open back door, no weapon in hand to contribute, nothing but the element of surprise to assist him. As both soldiers charged to swing at Reta, Na'Vi rushed in and slid onto the ground floor, kicking their feet out for gravity to take over. She looked up and gasped as another one at the door aimed a strange looking thing at her.

BAM!

"What as that?" KuliKuli asked.

Janette pulled away the rug on the floor, tossing it into a clutter before fishing her necklace out. "I don't know, we can't think about that now."

Syri and Dimyri stared as she snapped her necklace off, revealing a tiny key attached to the silver chain before inserting it into the lock on the floor. She grunted hard, digging her nails into the handle and pulling with all of her might to open a large hatch.

"There, get in!"

"Quickly now, hurry!" Emyri gave her two daughters a boost, helping them jump through the dark hole. KuliKuli continued to look back, she could read the look of uncertainty in her. "Kuli."

"I... I know." She struggled to accept it, but forced herself to follow and jump in. Janette was next, looking up to help Emyri through before seeing the light go off.

"Hey!"

"You girls go on ahead! I'll tell the others to come in!" Emyri shouted through the other side.

"No damn it, we're supposed to go together!" Janette yelled back, with the Nekomata's beginning to panic.

"Mommy!" Dimyri cried out.

"Baby, Mommy is going to get the others this time. Don't wait for me, you're a big girl now. You're in charge, make Mommy proud."

"But-but Mom!" She coughed.

"No buts, now get yours moving missy!" Emyri hissed. "I will be back, we will be back! I promise!"

"Mom..." Janette held her arm.

"C'mon, we need to go. She wants to play hero, we're not helping if we stay. Can you walk?"

She sighed and shook her head yes.

"Good, now help me walk because I can't see a damn thing in this tunnel!"

Back on the other side of the hatch, Emyri felt her paws shaking as she looked up. What was she doing, she couldn't leave her babies again. But it felt wrong, running away like before. It was too familiar, she panicked and felt like the same mistake would be inevitable. "I need to be better, I can be better."

She coughed, feeling the thick of the smoke beginning to pollute her lungs. "Oh gosh, I need to hurry!"

"Na'Vi!" Felix shouted, kicking the soldier behind his knee and spinning his helmet around. Na'Vi was struggling on the floor, fighting with the net that was launched onto her. Her claws helped slash some of it away, with Reta being kept busy by the other two. Both soldiers glanced at each other before one of them raised his sword up, dashing forward. Her stick will be sliced if she attempted to block, and their metal plates would make her weapon useless. Only their exposed heads would work.

With that in mind, she pulled back and evaded to her left, lifting and meeting the butt end of her staff behind his head. The other one met with her, piercing his blade forward with a mighty yell. Reta winced and elbowed him back, breaking his nose and sending a numbing feeling through her arm. Felix meanwhile pulled the helmet off the previous soldier, using it like a weapon and slapping his face with it several times. May not have been a strong move, but he knew it would hurt him a bit. It was effective, but not enough to knock him down. He grit his teeth and took notice of the arrow head appearing through his attackers arm before gripping it and pulling hard.

"Aaah!" Felix dropped the helmet and pulled his fist back before throwing a punch at the soldiers face, knocking him away. He kicked the door shut to knock another soldier back out when he tried to engage, before spinning around and helping Na'Vi out of the net.

"Your arm!"

"Forget it, just help me help you!" He answered back, helping free her out. He could feel the wetness drip down his hand but did his best to ignore it. The fire creeping closer on them helped keep his mind off the pain. Na'Vi checked his arm before catching the door bust open again as another crossbow aimed at them. The soldier saw Felix's back and pulled the trigger, with Na'Vi pulling him away in time to slap the arrow out in mid air. It stung, she knew it hit her paw but didn't care.

Behind them, Reta spun the broom handle over her head before swinging it down, knocking a soldier down. Looking behind, she swung that same end back up to strike the soldier behind her, ricocheting him off the wall before he tumbled down. Looking down, she felt the side of her stomach and made out a large gash off one side, a pierce barely missing her insides and slicing under her ribs instead. There was blood, but she felt better knowing the sword didn't go through and only grazed her.

She saw Na'Vi swiping her claws at another man, striking and scarring his chest plate hard. His face showed nothing but fear and shock, he wasn't making any attempt to fight back. Eventually his back reached the door, with Felix landing a nice kick to break the door away with him following, knocking several more soldiers out the back.

"Back door broke!" He called out.

Na'Vi looked around to see Reta still standing. "I think it's time we follow the others!"

"Agreed! Let's go!" They ran through, tumbling and being careful to avert the fire around them. They had reached the kitchen when another door busted open and more soldiers charged in with swords drawn.

"Get the girls!"

"Why do I feel like the expendable one?" Felix asked, reaching for a wooden chair and throwing it at them, knocking a soldier off his feet with a grunt. Reta swung her handle like a bat, making a sound as it struck the helmet on one of them. He gripped his helmet with both hands, apparently the blow caused an earie vibration shock around his head, giving her time to swing at his leg. Na'Vi jumped up and for a second Felix had thought he saw her attached to the ceiling upside down before pouncing on another man, kicking him back. One of them tackled her down, pinning her onto the ground nearby the door as more soldiers joined in.

"Get off me!"

Felix grabbed a vase nearby and shattered it over the helmet of one of them, pulling him away. He stuck his hand in and pulled something away before swinging it down on them, realizing he grabbed a mace as the impact dented the armor. But more of them pushed there way inside the house, he counted three holding Na'Vi down and two more grabbing both of his arms. Reta grabbed another chair to swing it down on the clutter, but stepped back as a sixth soldier walked in aiming his crossbow at her.

"YYAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

He looked up in time to see a blur grip his helmet and throw him out the doorway, dropping his crossbow down. The soldiers holding Felix down kept their sight on him when two tails coiled around each of their necks, pulling them off him and knocking them onto the ground head first. She then jumped on top of the other three and went to work, swiping her paws down at each of them and simultaneously using her two tails to grip and bash their heads onto the floor hard.

"Yah! Yah! Yah-Yah-Yah-YAAAAAHHHHHH!" Emyri cried her lungs out, breathing hard as she stood atop three sleeping soldiers. Felix and Reta stared at her, with Na'Vi groaning beneath the three.

"Get. Them. Off of me." She mumbled, with all three of them pulling the soldiers away and helping her up.

Felix kept looking back at Emyri with wide eyes. "I didn't know you could do that."

"Well I need to protect my kids somehow." She panted back. "You're bleeding."

He nodded.

"Well, c'mon. I can show you where the others went."

"Good!" Reta shouted kicking at one of the dozed off men. "Let's go then!"

"Okay, follow me."