Bestial Planet

Chapter 23: Gridt your Teeth

"Dude, you hear that?"

"Hear what? I don..."

Panzer stopped talking as he noticed metal banging against metal and what sounded like a minigun. He took off instantly and ran as fast as he could back to Section 6 with an agility and speed unknown to panthers in the old world. Catty followed behind as closely as she could but Nik was having trouble keeping up all together with his shorter legs. As Panzer got closer he felt a shockwave, followed instantly by the sound of an explosion. He slammed his paws against the ground harder, increasing his stride. He was practically a battering ram.

As he cleared the tree line he saw a massive mech suit that didn't look like any of the Androids' Guardians. He corrected his course and continued barreling forward at full speed. He wasn't sure if his plan would work but he wouldn't crack his skull open... right?

His head makes contact with the suit's leg, denting it and making it fall over. Tumbling off to the side he and the mech struggle to regain their bearings. He shook his head and as his vision cleared, he could see the pilot of the mech. She looked reptilian and not at all pleased with his attack. The mech's non-weaponized limb bent backwards in an attempt to right itself as it's pilot aired her irritation.

"Who the hell are you? Stay out of my way!"

She raised the minigun-arm and loosed a volley of rounds at him. The low hum of the weapon was terrifying to everyone around except Panzer. He glared at the woman in the mech and as the bullets ricocheted off his fur he growled. The pilot stops firing, waiting for the dust to clear and reveal the corpse of the irritating human. The mech's off-limb pushed against the ground and stumbled as it was still attempting to regain it's balance; a flashing yellow symbol appears on her display.

Slowly, Panzer's silhouette peeks through the cloud of dust, disappointing the pilot. Before Panzer could see the mech clearly he took off towards it again. He lept up and slammed his claws onto the mech's cockpit as hard as he could. The flashing yellow symbol on the cockpit turned red as the mech fell over again. He glared directly into the eyes of the Reptilian woman and it finally clicked.

"Halgred." He said out-loud.

"My name's Gridt and you aren't as soft and squishy as you look."

She rolled over and tossed Panzer off. He sailed through the air and landed not-so gracefully. Gridt practically jumped up this time, stomping towards Panzer and swung her empty arm. An energy blade appeared out of the hand just in front of him, giving Panzer almost no time to dodge. A clumsy roll saves him as the blade sinks into the ground shaving off a few hairs in the process.

"If you've got armour hide I'll just have to cut you open."

Panzer got back to his feet and as the minigun arm rushed at him he lept onto it and vaulted behind the mech. He threw his body at it again, causing it to fall to its knees. Gridt yelled in annoyance as she bent the mech arm backwards and grabbed Panzer by the tail.

'Cut it out!'

She whipped him up and slammed him into the ground without letting go. Panzer tried to use his armour to absorb the impact but the strain on his tail hurt just as much if not more. She slammed him into the ground again and; Panzer finally let out a pained roar. He hit the ground so hard he bounced and swore he felt a few bones break. Gridt lifted him again, swung him over her head and slammed him into the ground once more. The pain was unbearable and he could feel his tail starting to tear. He struggled to get free but it was of no use. Gridt held him in front of her and smiled.

"Aww looks like your tail can't hold up as well as I thought."

She fixed her grip on his tail and flicked him as hard as she could. It finally tore free from his body and he sailed through a wall of a nearby building. As Gridt turned around to start working on the air-lock again, the ground began to shake. A rhino crossed with a horse was stampeding towards the mech and knocked it over again. The ground continued shaking and started to split apart beneath Gridt, making the act of regaining balance more than a chore. Gridt looked to her side and something invisible crashed against her cockpit, causing a crack and sending her back to the ground.