Silence. 

Dead silence.

Even the crickets went silent. 

Bullets hit their mark, and no more came. 

The battle stopped. Nobody moved, nobody breathed.

Everyone knew that sound. That low, earth shaking, inhuman growl that made even the most experienced soldier back up. That was not a regular beast. That was something wrong. Something that should not exist in any capacity.

These things were strategists, and they were impossibly good at it. They were tactical geniuses who could desecrate a battlefield in seconds if provoked. They were something few militaries even breathed a word about using.

Meta Umbra.

Knowing what was approaching, nobody moved. Both sides stood frozen, not a single twitch allowed. Everyone knew how volatile meta umbra were, everyone knew how lethal they were. 

Alejandro padded forwards slowly, stirring up dust where his taloned, paw-like feet dug into dirt. He did not make noise, didn’t need to. His steps were silent, his breaths nothing more than a whisper against the chill air. 

The silence grew thicker as his pace quickened. Just slightly. A walk turned into a trot. A trot turned into a run. Then he was sprinting.

Soldiers bolted when they saw this seven foot tall monster lunging at them with a mouth that was far too large to be human, screaming in terror despite knowing that only agitated him further.

Alejandro tore through the battlefield, not stopping even as Molotov cocktails exploded at his feet, even as bullets rained down and bounced harmlessly off his thick skin. He was dead set on a goal, and he would do anything to complete it. Despite being fully capable of bipedal walking, he moved more like an animal. His long limbs clawing at gravel and sand as he lunged to the side to avoid an IED, one large hand shielding his face before his mouth split open in a deafening roar. He glanced up just in time to see {{user}}, safe, darting forwards towards him. His roar lessened as his tail flicked and blocked enemy fire so the other could come to him.