The bridge across to the island had been heavily fortified with hundreds of old cars stacked atop each other and bound together by street lights. Despite being stacked into formidable looking piles twenty feet high and ten thick, a massive wooly rhino was slamming a crater in the wall with help of a full sized tyrannosaurus with teeth like serrated sabers. One that looked rather familiar, as if someone had taken a certain thug I'd encountered earlier this very same day and let an edgy teen redesign him. They weren't alone as a half dozen smaller animals behind the pair cheered them on.

  On the crumbling walls were a pair of smaller simians trying to fight the pair off using what looked like improvised pikes that were woefully ineffective against the two meaty giants. Behind them a cross between a pill bug, a centipede the size of a train car, and a gorilla with ten foot long arms seemed to be trying to force the wall back into shape. Despite their valiant attempts I could see they were quickly losing ground to their attackers, and they seemed to lack any form of a fall back position, if that wall fell those four would be slaughtered unless they had some real surprises.

  Lowering my head, I turned to the others, "The island on the lake is being attacked by what I'm pretty sure is those Tango gangsters I fought earlier. Looks like at least a couple of them have evolved. I intend to intervene, can I count on you three to back me up?"

  "Absolutely," Rumi snorted, her hooves tearing a hole in the road as she pawed at it.

  "I," Shaniqua looked nervous and uncertain before conviction and anger seemed to suddenly overtake her. She flexed her paws, extending wickedly curved three inch long claws from each of her paws and nodding, "Yes you can."

  "No," Saul whimpered, "I'm sorry! I just, I can't face them! I'm not a fighter and these aren't animals or plants, they're people!"

  "I'd argue that fact," I gave the cowering aardvark pressing himself into the ground a dismissive glance, "Sadly things over there seem dire so such philosophical debates will have to wait until later." I turned to Rumi and Shaniqua, "I'm going to be launching myself over there in about thirty seconds, you two get over there as quickly as you can while still being fairly fresh. I'll try to buy time for you to arrive."

  They both nodded and began to sprint down the road at the shocking speeds of a massively powerful horse and a titanic rabbit. Turning to eye the distance across the lake from my current location, it looked to be comparable to the distance I'd accidentally launched myself earlier today, maybe a little shorter. So unless I wanted to waste stamina on correctional lunges, I should probably aim at a steeper launch angle, and probably aim a bit west of them as well considering the kinds of impacts the skill made when super charged to this level. I was looking to save people, not accidentally take out the bridge as collateral.

  Who knew not taking that trigonometry class would come to bite me in the ass? I thought as I picked a launch trajectory via a bit of Kentucky Windage hoping it would land me close to my mental target. I reached for the system and the token sitting in there. I had been hoping to save it until my head was feeling a bit clearer to have a good think on which trait to use it on, but going into this without every advantage I could get was a mistake. No hoarding items and tokens until I 'needed' it, I wouldn't get to reload this if I blew it.

  Running an eye down my traits, I considered, which would be the best for me here? Grappling Strike, Constrict, Tremorsense, and Large would all be invaluable in the fight, but which would be the most valuable? Well, if I used it on my size I'd likely get even more massive which certainly had its use in combat, but it would likely make me even slower and more cumbersome than I already was. Not to mention the increase of food requirements which was already proving to be a bit of an issue even at my current size. Grappling Strike and constrict both had the same boon and issue, it would make me better at focusing down single targets, but I was looking at large numbers. Tremorsense was then looking to be the best choice, both for battlefield utility and long term usage.

  –Would you like to redeem your Token?–

  –Use Trait Improvement Token on Tremorsense E?–

  –Tremorsense: E → D–

  As soon as the various chimes, drums, and other various noises the system seemed to love making with every forced pop up and menu faded I noticed a marked difference with my tremorsense. Where before I only seemed to pick up on larger vibrations, now I was able to notice the nervous trembling of Saul, I could almost swear I was feeling the hammering of his heart from twenty feet away. Even Rumi's distant hoofsteps were noticeable like bells ringing in the middle distance. This would be very useful in the upcoming fight.

  And that's thirty.

  Electricity crackled as I focused on my myoelectric mutagen, feeling the heady strength filling me even as I shifted my Focus to Leap, launching myself high into the air like a cruise missile from a ship. A nervous yet excited laugh burst free from my throat as I rocketed hundreds of feet up into the sky over the lake. I could remind myself as often as I liked that I would withstand this landing without issue, but decades of absolute terror of heights was a hard habit to break. The mix of excitement, anger, and fear swirled around my migraine addled mind mixing into an absolutely bizarre emotional state that could perhaps be described as terrified bloodlust. I'm pretty sure my wild eyed smile as I fell back towards Earth like a meteor was horrifying to behold.

  My Kentucky windage put me shockingly close to the target, a bit closer than I wanted actually. I slammed into a hopefully empty house a street away from the bridge with enough force to not only completely reduce it to splinters and gravel but topple its neighboring buildings. My impact dug a deep crater into the ground that shattered streets and home foundations as debris was thrown skywards with a roar akin to a low flying jet.

  Despite being completely surrounded in blinding dust and drifting drywall, I had a near perfect image of not only the current battlefield, but also everything within a mile of me. I could clearly 'see' all forty eight of the people hiding on their fortified island, Bones and his five friends confusion as they were pelted by shrapnel, Rumi and Shaniqua stumbling as the shock of my impact reach them, and an odd stork wearing a bandana that took off as I landed. More than that, I could see how their bodies fit together and even spot some potential weak points to exploit if needed.

  The sudden stop, the big boom, the information overload, and emotional cocktail all mixed together to make me the most punch drunk I'd ever been before.

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  "WOO!" I guffawed in the shocked silence, "Hi diddly ho neighborinos! Who's down to dance!" Slithering out of the billowing dust I gave my shocked audience a toothy grin, "Bones! That you? Looks like someone started eating their veggies!" I cackled wildly as my blood thrummed with what felt like pounds of adrenaline, "You looking to get to strike three!?"

  The giant dinosaur seemed frozen, I couldn't exactly figure out what the expression was supposed to be with how unfocused my eyes were and my inability to keep my mind on track. None of the smaller combatants on either side looked like they had any intention of drawing my attention, but it would have been funny if they tried. The hairy rhino with a horn that looked to be about eight feet long seemed like he was willing to try me though, how fun!

  "This ain't involve you chico," The rhino said, turning to fully face me, his horn lowered and pointed my way, "You might find yourself turned into boots if you keep being such a tonto del culo! Joder!"

  His words provoked a low chuckle that quickly spilled into an evil laugh as my head rolled drunkenly about before refocusing on the man, "Vete a la mierda ya little prick! I'm allowed ta poke my nose in on disputes between neighbors as an honorable third party." I rotated my body to let my thick carapace face the rhino and tapped my chin against it. "Why don't you back up that talk if you're so confident? You're only on strike one at the moment, you can take a swing for free before I find out if I can skip a rhino." I cackled again at the mental image that popped into my head.

  The rhino grit his teeth and kicked dirt as his dinosaur friend hurried over to him, hissing, "Half-Breed, tranquilo, hombre. Este es el tipo y parece mucho más loco que la última vez. Démosle un respiro y probemos más tarde. No querrás terminar como Spider, ?no?"

  "?Este chico blanco se está meando sobre nosotros, Bones!" the rhino man snarled "?Está tratando a Tango Blast como si fuera una mierda! ?No voy a dejar que se salga con la suya!"

  The rhino tore free of his friend and charged me horn down. I just smiled at him and kicked off a Focused Bunker Down.

  –You have taken 78 Impact Damage–

  I found myself genuinely surprised as the horn slammed into me so hard that for the first time since discovering the anchoring ability of the skill I was forced to move while using it. The blow felt like a kick from a horse, making my breath catch and smile take on a feral glee as a fresh wave of adrenaline hit me like a bolt from the blue. The energy of the impact didn't leave me either, swimming up and down my body like a frightened fish looking for a way out. It was oddly almost pleasant in a way.

  As for the rhino himself, his massive horn splintered as it carved a sizeable chip in my tungsten armor in a spray of ivory and blood. He cried out in pain as his own momentum carried him forward into my side and sent him flipping up and over. He landed in my coils on his back like a baby sleeping in my lap, blind to the world, with agony carved onto his every feature.

  I threw my head back, laughing at the absurdity of our position. I opened my mouth to taunt the self crippled gangster only to catch the heavy vibrations of a charging T-rex.

  "?Quieres hacerme sombra, blanquito? ?Te mostraré lo que pasa cuando te pones al frente en Tango Blast!" Bones shouted as he charged. He then let loose a belly deep roar that made my smile all the more wild as I let him make his charge and blunted it with a fully focused Bunker Down.

  –You have taken 49 Crushing Damage–

  Massive boney jaws slammed shut on my throat with a hollow crack and thud of impacted metal. I grunted as I felt the force of the attack merge with the energy swimming through my body, making the resulting mass all the more lively and eager to escape. Bones didn't halt his attack, planting a foot on my coils and yanking, clearly trying to tear me in half even as he continued to worry at my hide like a dog with a rope. Even his dazed friend tried to help him, kicking ineffectually at my throat and slamming his shattered and bleeding horn into the thinner scales of my belly.

  –You have taken 8 Impact Damage–

  –You have taken 3 Impact Damage–

  –You have taken 12 Tearing Damage–

  I cackled happily under the assault, trying to pull my head free and hearing Bones grunt as my razor edged scales tore at his mouth but refused to let go. Even when I kicked on my myoelectric mutagen and started tugging the man around like he was simply a troublesome dog fighting his leash, he refused to let go of my throat. He simply lifted his other foot off the ground and started raking his claws along my belly, producing a horrific noise as he struggled to leave surface damage on the dense metal.

  –You have taken 6 Tearing Damage–

  –You have taken 9 Tearing Damage–

  –Hugo Nguy?n is Stunned–

  "Hey Bones," I smiled, my eye rolling to meet his own gaze as I smiled up at him, "Strike Three!"

  I Focused on my Prehensile Tail, curling the massive tungsten blade into an oversized mallet and swinging it up towards the man's jaw. As with so many of my non-ability based movements these days, it had a lot of wind up, and moved with deceptive quickness. Not to mention an absolutely horrific amount of power once it got moving.

  I could clearly see that Bones saw the attack coming and was trying to move out of the way to dodge it. Perhaps he was struggling with the same sluggish movement I was struggling with, forcing multiple tons of body to fight against its own inertia. Perhaps he was struggling to move thanks to the electricity I was pumping through him, making his own muscles slow to respond and fight him every step of the way.

  Either way the blow caught him right on what would have been the condyle if he was human.

  I'd aimed there for two reasons. The most obvious one was that if anything was to make him let go of me, breaking his jaw right there would probably do it. Second was the fact that, even as punch drunk and lost in battle frenzy as I was, I really didn't want to kill him. My tremorsense was showing me clearly that area was probably the strongest part of his skull, further armored by massive spring trap muscles, I felt confident that at worst he'd get a couple broken bones and a concussion.

  Unfortunately, I had forgotten about the second part of Bunker Down and the massive pool of energy in me looking for a way out. When my tail hit that pile of built up energy found an escape and exploded like a bomb.

  With how hopped up on adrenaline I was, the blow seemed to take seconds to play out. I got to watch as the entirety of the man's skull collapsed like it was made of paper-maché or cloth. Fangs flew free, spinning through the air and splashing through the various fluids that were rapidly fleeing the man's head. One eye disappeared under the mess of crumpling flesh and bone, the other flew off into the middle distance with most of Bone's jaw. The rest of his head twisted around and popped free in such a way to go flying off behind the man's body, spraying various fluids as it spun like a demented frisbee. Then arterial blood jetted into my face and thankfully blocked off my vision of the rest of the grisly scene. It did nothing to block off the image tremorsense was feeding me of the man's heavy body flopping onto the ground where it tried to carry out the half completed movements of Bone's final moment.

  –You have slain George Cruz–

  –Gained 800xp!–

  "Huh?"

  Joe - The main character of the story. Currently a giant metal snake with a massive sword at the end of his tail. Seems to have gathered an eclectic scattering of skills from expecting civilization to fall, if perhaps not in this fashion. Is currently shamefully nude.

  Damian - A former pot head working warehouses in the middle of trying to go straight and clean himself up when he was turned into a four foot tall velociraptor with bug eyes and cat ears. Hails from Mississippi and has a wife and kids out there. One of the first people encountered in the new world and has recently evolved into a beyond black stealth based evolution. Is wearing an oversized T-shirt an bowie knife.

  Matilda - An old widower married to a military husband who use to be an army nurse who was living alone when she was turned into three foot long fluffy moth that spit spider silk. A long time local who has expressed a hatred of feeling helpless and was found by Damian. Has doubled in size from her evolution and now summons miniature versions of herself. Currently wearing a long striped scarf.

  Jerry - An assumed middle manager type who has offered very little about himself and is often referred to as Gerry by Joe. Has been turned into an ice age armadillo called a Glyptodon and is wearing sweat bands around his ankles and a sock over his tail. Has recently evolved into a heavily armored version of himself and frequently questions or back talks Joe.

  Rumi- A young woman going to school to be an architect while living with her large family who was transformed into a massively muscled horse who fled her home searching for her missing family. Has recently evolved into an even more muscular bicorn thinking it was basically a unicorn and been informed otherwise. Currently wearing a tube top around her neck.

  Kyli - A shy and withdrawn librarian who doesn't talk much unless prompted. Also fled her home in a panic when she was turned into a gecko the size of a car and only stopped when she investigated the smell of fire. Has recently evolved into a horned lizard the size of a tow truck and possesses a very useful ability to generate powerful flashes of light. Currently wearing a cloak borrowed from Joe, though it's starting to get a bit small for her.

  Nolan - A man who use to work as security at Wrangler Stadium and lived with his girlfriend in a cheap apartment complex who was turned into an odd mix of a bumble bee and a japanese murder hornet. Has recently evolved into something that looks like a living hornet's nest and focuses on summons in combat. Currently wearing a jacket tied around his neck.

  Rafael - A rather withdrawn man who has offered very little of himself who arrived with Omar. Is currently a man-sized harpy eagle wearing an oversized tank top. His evolution has resulted in his plumage taking on a rather leafy texture.

  William - A college student who was going to school on a football scholarship with a minor in chemistry who was living near Omar when the event happened turning him into a two headed wolf. Each head seems to contain a separate and independent brain, but so far they seem to be getting along with each other fairly well. Has not shown any obvious changes from his evolution and is currently wearing a leather coat.

  Omar - An old friend of Joe's who is a second generation Salvadorian and was living with his family while working on his marketing degree when he was turned into a sasquatch while at work. Currently Joe's top pick as leader for the group, though he doesn't seem to share Joe's confidence in his ability. Is currently wearing a high vis vest and is currently the only member to wield weapons.

  Jack - A professional gunsmith and hobbyist blacksmith who was living in cheap apartments before getting turned into a giant yellow jacket. Has spent points to give himself a much more human body and expressed frustration at being left behind to work his profession. Currently shamefully naked.

  Shaniqua - A former mother of unclear profession who was living in a cheap apartment when she was turned into a man-sized six legged rabbit. Has since evolved into a four armed rabbit-centaur wearing a sweater who focuses on high speed attacks. She has not spoken to Joe much so much about her remains a mystery.

  Michelle - A friendly and peppy woman of who Joe knows little about. She was turned into an emu with powerful kicks and has since evolved into a larger more dangerous emo with teeth and wing claws. Currently wearing a legwarmer after her second one was destroyed trying to free Joe from the rainbow evolution goo.

  Jeremy - The son of a minor cattle baron who was living in the city for some reason when he was turned into a hyena with a rather corrosive bite. Has recently evolved into something that looks similar to his old form but is apparently raising the dead now. Is currently wearing a ball cap.

  Daphne - A small mysterious bat woman who was caught sneaking around the stadium who claims to have suffered frequent harrowing attacks before stumbling across the stadium crew. She has recently been accused of being a member of the Foritos branch of the Tango Blast gang.

  Dustin Lerburg - A well spoken English professor who has been turned into a deer with chime-esque antlers. He claimed to have been conscripted unwillingly by Tango Blast with other and accused Daphne of being a member.

  Saul - A former hippy and solar panel salesman who has been turned into an aardvark. He was captured and enslaved by Tango Blast but freed by Joe's intervention. Joe has a very low opinion of the man as they disagree on many policies.

  Anthony - A young doctor in training turned vet after the stress of working with people became to much for him. Is now a small chicken with a serpentine tail who was recently freed from slavery by Joe.

  Warsame? - A goat who does not appear to speak English or any other language known by the group. Appears to be very dumb.

  George 'Bones' Cruz - A member of the gang Tango Blast Foritos that had become a towering T-Rex. Now just a cooling corpse.