Gargoyle effect

"I'm an idiot," Johnny muttered hiding from the Tarkatans in an abandoned stone temple somewhere in the Outworld. While the rest of defenders battled Shao Kahn's forces on Earth, Jax and Johnny Cage went with a small Special Forces squad to rescue Sonya from Shang Tsung's clutches, but the saviours didn’t expect with how all the emperor’s soldiers usually are preoccupied there would be enough tarkatans among the sorcerer’s retinue to nullify such a daring sortie. “I'm sorry Sonya, I fu…” Before Johnny had time to swear, the eyes of grotesque statues sticking out from the walls of the corridor behind him started to gradually light up. Still trying to recover from the battle, he looks down at the endless corridor and speaks into the void: “Seems like an invitation, doesn’t it?” After a short echo, he smirks. “Silence is a sign of agreement.” He heard the approach of a detachment of Tarkatans and hastily moved inland. The further he walked, the fewer statues there were and the darker the corridor became. "Damn, maybe I can still turn back?" But his thought was interrupted by a faint light at the end of the corridor. “Light at the end of the ass, ha!” Johnny quickened his pace and came into a small room littered with rubble and broken statues. At the end was an altar in the form of a winged monster, bowed in prayer. There were bones and a scroll under it, the altar itself and the setting sun shone a little in front of it. He heard soft footsteps and a familiar growl coming from where he came in. Johnny ran towards the altar to hide behind it. When he stepped into the lighted part of the room, the eyes of the praying monster lit up and Johnny fell to the floor screaming. His vision became blurred, his whole body was pierced by a burning pain and before he finally lost consciousness, the last thought in his head was that he was about to be devoured by tarkatans…   Johnny didn't remember how long he had been knocked out or how he actually got out of the temple, but he knew for sure that he was walking through the Outworld forest towards the Special Forces camp. It was already clearly night and, despite still blurred vision, light of the local moon was enough for him not to crash into the objects around. Johnny held the navigator in his numb hand occasionally checking direction. He understood that he was going exactly to the goal, but he still had a feeling that something was wrong. He felt an extra load behind, his legs and back continued to hurt badly, and metallic taste of blood was felt in the mouth. Johnny heard the conversations of his companions and realized that he was almost at the camp, where he could take a break and talk about his findings. But when he approached, the sentry screamed in fright, grabbed his gun and started shooting at him. In the blink of an eye, several more soldiers appeared and opened fire. In surprise, Johnny ran to the side and hid behind a tree, believing that someone dangerous was behind him, yet they didn’t seize the fire. "What the hell, it's me!" Johnny called out into the darkness, but was frightened by his growling and lower voice, "Gotta get down…” He was running back to the strange temple as fast as ever. He didn’t know other places, he had to find answers why his own people attacked him, not listening to him and what happened to his voice. "What's wrong with my legs!?" Johnny stumbled and buried his nose in the ground. His heart was pounding, and not from fast running. Trying to get up, he leaned on four-fingered clawed hands. When trying to sit down, he felt that something was interfering from behind and felt a long tail. In a panic, he touched his face. "It feels like a suede bag, but at least I'm handsome," Johnny chuckled nervously until his fingers rose higher. “But anyway, what the hell… What… horns? Nooo!” He was frightened by his own loud roar, the surrounding birds and other flying animals were alarmed and flew out of their nests. In the distance, conversations were quietly heard: “Major, the creature is still out there somewhere. “We need to move, who knows how many of these freaks are here ... “Damn, Jax, I know you're jealous of me, but this is kinda too much…” Johnny cursed softly and tried to stand up. Gathering all his courage, he looked down again at his three-toed paws instead of legs, bone spurs sticking out under his knees. He folded his arms across his chest and felt the same spurs under his elbows. “I’m an action movie actor, not another trash horror monster,” Johnny sighed in disappointment and tried to calm down, “Okay, now is not the time to go crazy, Sonya still loves me and not for my appearance. Hopefully. And later we'll come up with something. After all, what do we need Raiden for … He took a few steps forward and almost didn’t turn his legs from the lack of contact of the heel with the ground. "Poor ladies in heels… And where am I going at all?" He was brought out of his thoughts by a sharp braking and the feeling of prickly branches in unfamiliar places. — What… Wings? Juhu, ah! Gently freeing himself, Johnny studied the new huge limbs with interest for several minutes. He slightly squeezed the base of the “palm” of the wing with his hand, moved his hooked thumb and gradually squeezed all three webbed fingers, already imagining how he would cut through the sky. “Okay, time to stop, I gotta go!” He took out his navigator again and figured out how to find previous waypoint.   When approaching an open clearing, the smell of blood hit the nose, and then he saw torn bodies of tarkatans laying around. Nausea rolled up to the throat from the sight of entrails lying in the grass, crushed heads, torn body parts and the squelching of the ground wet with blood under feet. There were distinct claw marks on them. “I wouldn’t like to meet the one who did it…” Inside, the statues along the corridor still had their eyes burning. In the light, Johnny could make out the walls, which were covered with drawings of winged monsters. He looked down at his hands, in the light he could see dried blood and green skin above the elbow. Along with another bout of nausea, he began to get it. In the room with the altar stood a middle-aged man with his back to the aisle. He turned at the sound of footsteps and after seeing Johnny, got into a fighting stance. “Uh, calm down man, I’m not going to fight you, I just want to know what the hell is this and how to turn everything back.” Johnny said, pointing first at the altar, then at himself. "So you're the idiot who messed up the ritual." The man bowed. “Perhaps I should thank you, I could have been in your place. My name is Shujinko, I am a modest traveller from the Earthrealm, in search of any help in my travels, I found information about magic, thanks to which one can become stronger than hundreds of men. “Yeah, but there’s no word about body horror,” Johnny gently rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying not to accidentally gouge out his eyes, “okay, okay ... There was somewhere about how to remove it all, there is a princess waiting for me in the castle, and she is not Fiona to be saved by the green bastard”. “It’s not human magic, it can’t just be removed, and I almost didn’t understand anything from what you said.” Shujinko turned his back on him, took the scroll and unfolded it. “But you can try to read everything yourself.” “Um, it’s all in Chinese. Wait a minute.” Johnny took out his phone and after a few minutes of torment, he was able to take a picture so that he could make out the text. “What is this sorcery?” Shujinko was shocked. “Sorcery? Dude, you have been at home for a long time, now in the Earthly Kingdom everyone has these. Never mind, better tell me, do you know where Shang Tsung could dig in with his critters?” “What did he do to you?” “He kidnapped my girlfriend and I don't know what he was going to do with her.” “There is a fort nearby leading to secret tunnels, try to start from there. From a height you can immediately see against the backdrop of trees.” “From a height? Are you kidding me, these things are with me for an hour or so, I don't have time to learn to fly!” “His signal got stronger, I hope we’ll find Cage alive.” Outside, voices and footsteps of two commandos were heard, Johnny rushing back and forth in a panic. “What is it, the Tarkatans are back?” Shujinko reached for the scabbard. “Worse, my friends. They didn't recognize me and they want to kill me! Ahh!” He ran for the exit, but they were already halfway down the corridor. “The signal is moving, he's alive!” They quickened their pace and Johnny ran back. Out of fear, he took a running jump onto the wall and climbed up to the skylight. Shujinko continued to stare dumbfounded at this, even when the soldiers ran up and began to ask what was happening here.   Johnny tried to catch his breath and realize what he had just done. Shujinko went out with everyone else and you could hear him trying to take a break. "I'm sorry dude, but you're more likely to get away from them alive." When they were far enough away, Johnny began to think about how to get off, but it was too scary. “Well, since I'm still here…”   He took a deep breath, spread his wings and jumped. The first flight was short-lived and the admiration for freedom ended with a meeting with a tree. He caught on a branch and tried to look around, in the distance he could see the old fort. “It may not be possible to fly, but at least I can jump from branch to branch?” Johnny jumped towards a nearby tree on a thick branch, but missed and flew into the trunk. Instead of falling, he instinctively clutched his claws and remembered that he could climb. He climbed as high as the branches could support his weight and saw the fuss of the Tarkatans below. “Okay, it wasn't…” Johnny tried to fly again and was able to reach his destination without incident, only slightly slamming his face against a stone wall. He clung to the stone in fear and heard the sounds of shots, Jax and his squad were on the way and they took the main blow. Behind the wall, in addition to the clatter and roar of the Tarkatans, he could hear the barely perceptible word “ass” in such a familiar and beloved voice. "Bingo," Johnny smiled and crawled over to the hole in the wall that doubled as a window. He jumped in and was able to quickly throw a couple of patrolling Tarkatans down. Leaning back, he heard a vile hissing voice: “The Emperor ordered to hurry up, s-s-stop wasting time flirting and s-s-swearing at her.” With an angry roar, Johnny slammed his fist against the wall and the stone block moved. He pushed harder and made a hole. Three Tarkatans on the other side were not happy about this and instead of fighting they preferred to run away. He suddenly felt a strange desire to catch up and kill them, but quickly drove away these thoughts, Sonya's life is much more important. Having widened the passage and made a new one in the next wall, he came across a metal door guarded by two Tarkatans. Those who fled earlier arrived and, catching their breath, began to growl something on their own became alert. One of them pointed at Johnny and growled as they drew their blades and prepared to fight. The middle one lunged forward, ready to impale the intruder, but Johnny dodged and landed an uppercut with such force that it pierced the Tarkatan's chest. Frightened, he pulled his bloody hand out of his body and recovered for a few seconds, shock replaced by confidence in his newfound strength. The other two moved slowly forward, there was too little room to go around, they could not attack at once with four of them. Standing in a combat stance, Johnny unconsciously slapped his tail on the floor and the tarkatans hesitated for a moment, he felt their fear and smiled slyly. When the distance was as short as possible, he growled at them. A moment's hesitation was enough for Johnny to grab one Tarkatan's arm, tear it off with a sharp jerk, and plunge the blade into the chest of another. When two more corpses were on the floor, he resolutely approached the remaining opponents, ignoring the crunch of bones and flesh under him. They just pressed against the wall with their hands out in front of them, but Johnny had no trouble pressing them into the stone with a couple of precise blows.He grabbed their heads and squeezed, crackling and squelching filling the narrow passage before the rumble of lifeless bodies. Horror began to beat in the corner of consciousness and the thought: “What the hell are you doing?” But now there was no time for soul-searching.  “Okay, that was cool. I am cool!” Johnny gleefully shook off the remnants of brains from his hands and felt a slight pain in his side. He lifted the vest and saw a small incision. The blade went tangentially and left a puncture in the wing membrane coming from the back. He only now noticed this wound and that the wings tore his clothes. “Damn, my flying qualities weren’t there anyway! And Sonya will kill me for spoiling my uniform… Sonya!”  Johnny pounded the door with his shoulder, leaving dents with each blow until the hinges were ripped off. He flew into the passage, did not notice the stairs and rolled down, knocking down the rising tarkatans. A couple of minutes after landing, he staggered to his feet and tried to recover until he heard a yell from the depths of the dark tunnel: “Put your paws away, you, old piece of buffalo vomit!” Johnny ran with all his might, no longer allowing himself to linger. Without realizing it, he moved to all fours. After a few turns, the arguing sounded clearer. “Mas-s-ster, can I cut her throat open?” "Don't touch her, Saizoth, for Sindel's resurrection the sacrifice must be intact." “Sacrifice your ass. Oh yes, you can’t!” He tried to figure out how to stop, but got confused, slipped on his stomach past the right room and flew headfirst into the wall, leaving a noticeable crack. After a moment of fog in front of him, he dusted himself off and crept up to the only door from which light streamed, until someone invisible hit him in the face. Slightly staggering, he began to peer into the empty corridor, but the next blow to the stomach and hooking was not long in coming. He plopped down and could see a slight movement of air. Reptile swung his leg, but Johnny managed to grab him by the ankle and knock him to the floor. He pinned down his opponent with a spur and prepared to smear his head when the lizard spat in Johnny's face. He jerked to the side, but acid hit his cheek and wing membrane. From the burning, Johnny eased the pressure and Reptile was able to jump out and hide in the shadows. "What a pity we can't spend more time together, dear." The sorcerer's voice cut through the air along with the hum of the spell being prepared. Rage clouded Johnny's mind and he kicked the door with a roar, Shang Tsung had to stop. He threw a burst of fire skulls at Cage, but they were blocked by powerful wings. Johnny kicked Shang with a shadow kick and threw him across the room with a wild crunch of old bones and stone wall. Reptile jumped on his back, but he grabbed the lizard by the hand and threw it towards the sorcerer, who, coughing up blood, had already prepared a teleportation spell and they disappeared in a whirlwind of souls before they could suffer even more seriously.  Johnny began to recover from anger and panting heavily, focused on the purpose of his journey. The faint light of ritual candles, like a halo, surrounded Sonya Blade, chained to the wall and with her legs tied. Her face showed no fear, but Johnny smells him and hears his heartbeat. He slowly moved closer to free her, but for the first time in his life he didn't know what to say. Her feet were half a meter above the floor and she was still a little shorter than her savior. He approached her and reached for the shackles, turning the burned side of his face towards her. "Baby, don't be nervous... “Don’t…don’t be nervous?! Sonya held her breath. “What kind of ugly bastard are you…?” Johnny with a psycho pulled the chain and the fragments of the links fell on the stone. He managed to grab it and press it to him, with his free hand he reached for the next chain and just as easily tore it off. He hugged her and in a low, slightly trembling voice asked: "Sonya, don’t be like that. It's me, Johnny." He exhaled heavily and set her down on the floor. “Look closely. Have I really changed that much? There must have been something left.” He took off one of the candles and handed it to Sonya, she raised the candle above her and began to peer. A familiar jawline, a loving gaze… horns, brow ridges, and acid burn from cheekbone to lower jaw. She dropped the candle in shock, hot wax splattering Johnny's legs. He growled sharply at the sudden pain, but Sonya didn't even flinch. “Fuck ... What ... How ...” “I'll tell you everything later. Let's get out of here first, tarkatans are not a problem for me, but our friends there were not happy with me.” Johnny tore the ropes on Sonya's legs with his claws and broke the shackles on his arms. At the place where the sorcerer disappeared, a portal opened from which several Oni emerged. "Demons aren't a problem for you, either?" Sonya snapped. “Let's see.” Johnny took a fighting stance and spread his wings. The demon rushed at him and immediately flew back into the portal after a powerful uppercut to the armored chest. “All right, these guys are stronger.” Johnny rubbed his wrist disappointedly. The next demon wanted to jump on him, but flew off to the side from a shot of pink energy. “It doesn't matter; it was still impressive.” Sonya tightened the straps on her wrist-plates containing the blasters her captors had left nearby. More Oni were emerging from the portal, and from the corridor came the sound of stomping and growth striving towards them. “Time for a tactical retreat.” “Agree.” He knocked down several demons with a shadow kick and they ran deep into the tunnels, away from the advancing tarkatans. They turned back and saw the demonic hounds chasing them. The smell of acid hit his nose, and a green light was visible ahead. They did not have time to slow down before the cliff and slid down. Johnny managed to grab onto the stone with his claws and catch Sonya by the arm. He pulled her to him, hugged her and covered her with a wing. Before, he could have been kicked in the balls for this, but now, as they hung over an acidic chasm and only their newfound prehensile claws separated them from death, she tightened her grip on his neck. Following them, with a wild howl and roar, several hounds and soldiers of the Tarkatans, who were running ahead, flew down. Hissing and an even more desperate scream filled the gorge and in a few moments there was only a blood stain on the surface of the acid. Other demons and tarkatans watched from the ledge, Johnny clung to the rock as much as possible, hoping that they would not be noticed. A few minutes later they turned around and walked away from the cliff. Johnny continued to hold tightly to the stone for some time, for a moment it began to warm his soul that now he is a big and strong hero who can protect his love himself without anyone's help. “Seems far away.” Johnny whispered and got up. Sonya continued to hold on tightly to him until he straightened up. She took a deep breath and considered her next plan. “Through the old fort, I came across a staircase down.” "This path is definitely cut off for us.” “Why? They all probably think we died in acid.” “How many have you seen? Do you think they'll just pack up their belongings and quietly walk away from here?” ” Yes. Or do you have other options?” “I don’t even know…” Sonya thoughtfully rubbed her chin with an evil squint and pulled Johnny by the phalanx of the wing. “Maybe you’re using these damn things for their intended purpose!?” “I can’t, I didn’t have time to figure it out, I had to hurry to save your skinny ass!” From the echo, they both cringed and looked at each other, silently hoping that no one heard them. But the rumble from above made it clear that they were mistaken. Sonya began to quickly fumble through the numerous pockets of his vest. “Baby, I’m not sure if it’s time…” “You should have a navigator,” she took him by the breasts, Johnny's knees tightened in surprise and the difference in height. “Just dare to say that you forgot it or lost it. He silently pulled out a navigator from his pants pocket and handed it to Sonya. She quickly scanned the map, hoping to find a way out, or at least the nearest explored area. “Hurry, dear, I can hear them all running back.” “You will have to learn to fly very quickly, there is a chance that at the end of the gorge there will be an exit to the forest.” "And the chances that we'll just melt down below!" Johnny showed a small puncture in the wing. And I'm seriously injured. “We can try to fight if you like.” “Yes I want to! I'm more afraid of flying!” In a couple of moments, the only passage was filled with demons and tarkatans, ready for battle. Johnny's fighting spirit immediately subsided, he grabbed Sonya by the arm, threw it on his back and jumped down. Johnny flapped his wings in a panic, afraid to fall down, until he began to breathe heavily. “Stop fussing, you will only get tired faster! Sonya tried to calm him down.” “What are you suggesting, just open the wings and it will be what will be!?” “As an option?” He slowed his pace, but fear kept his muscles tense. And the tension only increased when the gorge began to narrow, and moonlight was already streaming from above. “Get high!” Sonya shouted directly into her ear. “I don't know how!” She shifted her weight back, after a moment of stun, Johnny took the hint and at the last moment they flew vertically upwards. The fresh, cool air blew pleasantly over them when they were finally above the surface. “It's done, baby! I don't know how, but we are alive!” "It's early, we're slowing down!" They started to fall down screaming. Johnny tried to level off and slow down, but the tight cluster of branches did it better. After the first blow, Sonya released her grip, flew a couple of meters and fell on her stomach on a thick branch, Johnny pushed his way down with his weight and flattened himself on the ground with a crash. “How are you there?” “Like at a resort.” He got up through the pain. “Where are you?” “Above you.” Johnny raised his head, Sonya had already begun to descend. "Wait, I'll get up and let you down." “No!” She answered a little more sharply and worriedly than usual. ”I myself, you could break something yourself.” By the time Sonya got down, Johnny was already leaning against a tree. She knelt down in front of him and began to ask him where it hurts. From her firm but careful touch, the pain faded into the background and a satisfied smile spread across his face. Johnny took her by the shoulders, pulled her to him and placed her next to him. “I'm fine. I've hit things a few times before on my way to you, it's not as bad as it looks. Let's take a break and move on.” Sonya smiled falsely, discomfort evident on her face. Johnny was lost in thought until he felt the gaze. “What? Johnny chuckled.” “Nothing, it’s just…your eyes glow a little, and in this darkness, they really…stand out.” “Are you saying I have beautiful eyes?” He laughed even harder at her surprise and Sonya slapped his leg. He caught her hand and squeezed gently. His hand was almost twice as big as hers and he realized how petite she was next to him. They sat in silence for several minutes, there were no sounds around them, only a quiet growling breath. Sonya picked up the navigator that fell out when it fell, the screen cracked badly, but something else could be disassembled. “It’s rubbish, it’s up to our guys from here until the morning,” she sighed wearily and stood up. “Are you sure everything is fine?” “I will live,” Johnny smiled softly, got up and stretched himself. “Maybe we won’t have to go, I sort of figured out how to fly already.” Or at least not immediately fall. “And they will land, also with a passenger, you haven’t learned yet, so no.” With an insidious smile, he grabbed her hand, but immediately doubled over from the hellish pain below the waist. Sonya took him by the horn, pulled him up to her and in a quiet, threatening tone said: “I am grateful to you for all that you have done, but now it was superfluous. And do not think that with this ridiculous metamorphosis, everything is possible for you now. “I just want the best,” Johnny croaked, leaning against a tree and trying to straighten out. Eyes lit up on the trunk above his elbow. “I want to get to a quiet, safe place as soon as possible so I can talk about the shit that happened to me.” “Okay, maybe I got excited this time. How many times do I have to tell you not to touch me without permission.” She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned her back against the tree. Above her head, a grimace appeared on the trunk and opened her mouth. Johnny shouted in fright: "Get down!" and Sonya dodged a moment before the click of wooden jaws. They huddled together in the narrow path, a raspy roar and glowing eyes surrounding them from the darkness. “You know what, forget it.” Sonya sighed in defeat. “Come on, do what you were going to do.” Their feet slowly braided the roots “I don’t even know…” Johnny pursed his lips exaggeratedly and shifted from foot to foot so as not to get confused. - I don’t want to hit again and you hit me painfully, maybe I won’t be able to climb higher to take off ... She exhaled and after a second whispered softly: “I’m sorry…” “What did you say, I can’t hear you very well,” he crouched down and tapped his claw on his cheek. “Now is not the best…” Johnny just leaned closer, she grimaced and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “Like kissing a boot, anu abomination.” “I love you too, dear.” He sneered. “I would love to carry you in my arms, but I don’t want to crush you upon landing.   Johnny turned his back and crouched slightly, Sonya wrapped her arms around his neck. He jumped onto the nearest tree, trying not to get his foot in the open mouth and quickly climbed higher, squeezing between the branches. When there was enough space, he jumped spreading his wings. They slowly glided to their destination. Sonya felt that they were drifting away and how hard Johnny was breathing. “You really could break something, come down.” “No, I can handle it.” An old fort began to be seen to the side, and in front of it was a familiar clearing and a temple, which from a height looks more like a rocky mound. Johnny began to descend, the landing was hard and he drove several meters on his stomach, crashing headfirst into a stone wall. “Deducting points for landing, cadet.” Sonya sat next to him. “I'll be on top next time.” He continued to lay down and caught his breath. “How whining…” “Sorry again.” “No, I'm not talking about it.” Johnny exposed a puncture on the wing membrane, a weakly bleeding tear goes down from the hole, but in the darkness Sonya could not assess the severity of the injury. “It will hurt for a long time,” he got up and brushed himself off, she stood up after him. “And I still can’t bring you to our guys, you know.” “If so, then tell me what happened to you.” "Well then, we're already there." There were still torn tarkatans around, and Johnny hoped Sonya didn't see anything. The ground beneath my feet no longer squelched, but the smell is not going anywhere. “Well, stinks, was there a massacre?” “Uh-uh, yeah…” They slowly walked along the still lit corridor, and he briefly told what happened to him until the moment they met ... “Well, he's like "Run, dude, to your beauty, I'll deal with your homies myself" and I climbed up, into a large hole that led to the surface. He's all right, I'm sure.” …Omitting some details regarding his cowardice. They reached the hall with the altar. Everything remained intact from the moment Johnny escaped. “Oh, that man left this scroll,” he pointed towards the altar. “I took a picture of it just in case, we will show it to our Shaolin friends, let them read it. I will remember this beast for the rest of my life.” Sonya's gaze lingered on the altar for a few moments, the moonlight giving it an ominous air. She turned to say something, but saw that Johnny was standing silently with a blank stare fixed somewhere in the distance. Sonya put her hand on his shoulder, he shuddered and smiled sadly. “What, this statue is as ugly as me?” “Not so much. Actually, I don't think you're so ugly.” Johnny walked away and turned away, in a calm atmosphere, the hopelessness and horror of what had happened began to devour him from the inside. He whispered in a trembling voice: “I don’t know how to proceed further. I'm afraid of myself. What will I say to my family? Will I really be left all alone, will I hide from everyone like some kind of animal. And if I lose my mind and start throwing myself at everything? I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me, especially you.”  They stood apart from each other for a while, until Sonya came up to him and hugged him. "This is the best thing I can do right now." She pulled his chin up and kissed him softly on the cheek. “I don't know how else to help you. Johnny closed his eyes, put his hand on her head, stroked her hair and they just stood there in silence. In the silence, thoughts swarmed through his mind, one problem solved, spawning a bunch of new ones.   No more filming, no more parties, and even those few fans will turn their backs on him. Forget about family and friends too. Everyone tried to kill him, for sure if it were not for the shackles, Sonya would have shot him without hesitation. It is all the more surprising that she simply tried to support, although before that he had often received ridicule, despite all his courtship before. It was almost impossible to achieve pity on her part, and this thought only depresses more. Through the skylight, one could see how the sky began to turn pink, it was getting light. The night flew by almost unnoticed. A tear glistened on Johnny's cheek, Sonya gently brushed it away with her knuckle. He smiled slightly at this gesture, pressed her closer to him and whispered: “I love you.” She did not have time to answer in any way, the bright light of a flashlight rushed at them and a click of a fuse was heard. “Get the paws off her, you bastard,” Jax spoke from the aisle with a machine gun pointed in their direction. “This time she was the first to approach me,” Johnny tried to sluggishly laugh it off, but still with great difficulty moved a few steps away from Sonya and raised his hands. “No, Jax, put down your weapon, it's just Cage!” There was a short burst of machine gun fire, and Johnny roared in pain. Blood oozed from his shoulder and wing, blind fury took the place of hopelessness. His eyes shone, he roared low and hunched over, preparing to attack. He dodged the next shots and quickly approached Jax. He managed to close himself with his metal arms, but the force of the blow was enough to break through the stone wall of the passage, throwing him out. Johnny hovered over him and raised his claws until he felt someone tug on his shot arm. Through the pain, without looking, he pressed the culprit with his elbow and heard Sonya's voice. “Cage, stop what the fuck are you doing!?” The smell of her fear and adrenaline hit her nose, through the veil he tried to understand what she was afraid of now? The pain began to sober up a little and the understanding came that the only danger here was only himself. Sonya pushed him away and rushed to where Jax lay. Johnny felt guilty and couldn't move. As Jax started to get up with a groan, he plucked up the courage to approach. His eyes widened, but Sonya tried to calm him down. “Hush, I tried to explain everything to you… “Yes, as always, you shoot first, then you figure it out,” Johnny smiled tightly and grabbed his shoulder. Sonya looked at him with sad reproach. “Okay, I hope you forgive me before I bleed.” Sonya gently made it clear to Jax that he didn’t even try to get up, how serious his injuries were even hard to imagine. Johnny sat down nearby, blood loss began to make itself felt as a rolling weakness. He did not hear what they were talking about, only felt how his body went numb, and his chest was squeezed not only from guilt. "I could kill them. I almost killed... Now I'm definitely left alone, well done, moron. And rightly so, if you are not able to control yourself. Drowsiness rolled in, he again felt comforting hugs, any pain, whether physical or moral, faded into the background. Sonya put her hands on his chest and back and tried to lift him up. Her touch hurt like an electric shock, and her worried speech was unintelligible. Forcefully, Johnny raised his head, the last thing he saw was the horror on her face and the first rays of the rising sun.