FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

A new morning, a new day: everyone in their respective places, and the skies are dark with clouds that threaten rain once more, but all the weather forecasters say none will fall: the weatherman predicts snow in hell, however, so no one knows what's going to happen, really.

The Godkillers all haven't slept yet: they all get their naps when they get back into town, which most of them are heading back towards right now. A few, like Tank, have stopped for a quick breakfast, but then they'll once more be heading back with the soldiers they've managed to interest with hints of money, power, and fame... not to mention their own little city to terrorize and rule. They still had a good seven hours to get back into town, though... and no one was in much of a rush, everyone confident and feeling good. Only Felicity and Mika bore feelings of foreboding, as they sat silently together, backs pressed tight together and both of them running random call-ins off their laptops.

Zerrex sits quietly on the roof of his house, looking at the rising sun and rubbing at the multitude of small cuts he's sustained during training: most of them are healing rapidly, however, and the reptile smiles faintly at his unnatural recovery ability, as he examines one scarred hand quietly. Then he shakes his head and laughs quietly as he hears the wooden ladder falling over and Tinman giving a strangled yelp, and he stands and heads over to the edge of the roof, calling easily: "Don't hurt yourself, Tinny. I was just about to come inside, anyway."

Cherry and Lone are both asleep, both naked: Lone, however, due to his somewhat unstable pills, has had a wet dream. In the morning, he will be terrified when he wakes up holding a pillow with his head against it, knowing that he was dreaming about a certain powerful, muscular male and about a variety of things they'd done together, all of them nasty and sexual and things he wished he never thought about, but for some reason always did... but thankfully, his chattering and whining is unheard by Cherry, who has already made her way idly to the bathroom to shower and is downstairs by the time Lone wakes up, reading a book as she eats a simple breakfast of toast and eggs.

Finally, there is Requiem and Cindy: Requiem is asleep somewhere on the second floor, driven away by Cindy. The female grins a bit to herself... then she gets back to work, resuming what she's been doing all night, despite the fact Requiem hasn't fed her on account of her constant yelling at him. However, she didn't want him to see just how far she'd managed to get... and now she's determined to finish the job before Requiem wakes up.

Although it doesn't look like a good day, there's no rain predicted. Clear skies for the pleasant morning, but maybe the cloud will return by the time the chaos promised by tonight's events ensue.

The female Drakkaren closed her eyes as she concentrated her body, put her energy into her muscles and ignored the bleeding gashes on her arms: she'd managed to tear herself damned good on the supposed-to-be-smooth chains, from constantly wearing her scales against them... but goddammit, she was so close! She paused, then glanced worriedly upwards again. The fact that she could see easily in the light filtering through the windows, despite the fact she could also see clouds toiling by through the one window that was positioned perfectly so she could look out into the world... well, it wasn't good. Soon, Requiem would be waking up, if he wasn't already... and she knew the Dragokkaren might not take kindly to what she'd managed to do so far.

Overnight, she'd put all her energy into straining the chains... and she could feel that some of the links were broken and others were starting to give away. It was a good sign... but even better was the fact that the top and bottom sections were pulling a lot harder against her body when she leaned forwards. She thought that she had torn a sizeable dent into the back of the wooden pillar... and now she took a deep breath before snarling and straining forwards again, her muscles bulging, her pretty features contorting in a weightlifter's snarl that was vaguely reminiscent of Cherry's glare.

She'd managed to get her legs under herself to push off the post with, to give herself more force... but even as she shoved forwards, it felt like she was going nowhere... and the female sighed before blinking as one of the chains snapped and fell to the ground like a dead serpent. Suddenly, the entire, overstressed length of chain around her shuddered and loosened slightly, and the female grunted as she fell forwards, her limp body caught by the chains once more on a painful angle before she threw herself backwards... and she was unable to repress a caw of victory, throwing her tired arms up as the chains fell around her.

Then she winced and covered her muzzle quickly before forcing herself to stand, wincing at the ache in her legs and wobbling a bit on her feet, feeling almost numb from the waist down as the tube in her vagina slid free and fell to the ground: she winced a bit at the feeling of it coming out of her, then she reached down and rubbed slowly at her crotch, mumbling to herself as she staggered forwards over the lengths of chain. Then she fell heavily, grunting and sending up a puff of dust before glaring down at her pants and panties. She'd gotten so used to them being pushed down that she'd forgotten entirely about the rest of their implications... and she bad-temperedly reached down and jerked them up before staring as she heard a slow clapping from above.

Requiem stood shirtless on the semi-collapsed catwalk, looking down at her with a slight smile, his blue eyes gleaming in the light. Then he hopped down from the second floor with all the ease of a normal person descending a set of stairs, landing neatly on his toes, legs bending slightly before he walked forwards, crossing his arms and looking down at her mildly. She looked back up as she forced herself to stand, coughing and looking up at him almost sheepishly as she swayed a bit on her feet, but then he gently nudged her backwards by the shoulder, sitting her down on a bench and saying mildly: "I didn't think you could do it. I'm impressed. What do you want for breakfast?"

"Um." Cindy's mind blanked for a few moments as she sat back against the wooden table, rubbing idly at her legs as she watched the giant wander over to the cooler in nothing but his jeans, and then she frowned a bit as her eyes settled on two large scars that ran down his back - the only major scars she could see on his entire body. "Hey, what's wrong with your back?"

The Dragokkaren straightened suddenly, then he turned around with a visible wince: one hand slowly moved to rub at the center of his back however, the other straying down to rest on his hip as he looked at her uncomfortably. It was the first time Cindy had seen the behemoth actually surprised by something... and the sudden vulnerability of the giant was both reassuring and unsettling. Mentally, she chastised herself, then leaned forwards and smiled, saying quickly in an embarrassed voice: "Oh, I'm sorry! I don't mean to pry... and... I'm sorry about last night too, yelling at you all night and stuff. I just..."

"I understand. Simple trick, get the captor out of the room." Requiem responded absently, as he rubbed slowly over the ridge of his skull, then he coughed a bit as he turned back towards the cooler: careful not to turn his whole back to her though, she saw. "There should be cereal in one of the dry food bags... how about that?"

Cindy nodded slowly, eyes roving over the muscular giant as she realized the oddity about the Dragokkaren she'd never picked up before: he had no wings. Generally Dragokkaren were winged creatures... that and their muscular bulk and size were what separated them from the more lithe Drakkaren, like herself. She thought she knew what those scars were now, thinking about it... and she felt deep sympathy for the giant suddenly, as she gazed at him with a new softness. It was getting harder and harder to think of him as her captor, with how politely and gently he treated her... instead, it was almost like she was visiting some odd family relative for training as much as to get to know each other.

"Cereal sounds great." She said finally, then she smiled a bit and stood, walking over to the bags where Requiem kept the dry foods as the Dragokkaren sorted through the cooler. He only glanced at her a moment before looking back down, then he finally found the carton of milk he'd stored and took it out, putting it down on the metal table as Cindy picked up the no-name brand of cereal and frowned a bit at it. "Hey. Why did you get this crap?"

"Because it's not crap, like everything else on the shelves... although I'm sure you prefer the marshmellow pirate flakes or whatever the hell's popular these days." Requiem responded mildly, as he sat down across from her and picked up one of the bowls he'd left nearby. Last night, the behemoth had finally gone through his luggage and apparently sorted everything, and now it was all neatly divided into a scheme that almost made Cindy smile: clothes, suitcases, cleaning supplies and other crap on the wooden tables, and he did almost all his eating and food preparation on the metal table. He also kept a small hotplate, and all the plates and utensils and such on it as well, and the female had to wonder just what Requiem's house must look like. She didn't think it would be all that entertaining to live in... probably a monk's cell for a room and some sparse furnishings all around, with a kitchen full of health foods and the entire basement some horribly-scary gym...

She laughed a bit to herself as she took a bowl and filled it with the plain cereal, and Requiem glanced at her oddly before she smiled up at him and asked: "I was just thinking... where do you live?"

"My car." Requiem shrugged, and Cindy blinked a bit, tilting her head. Requiem smiled at her, apparently amused by her expression. "I've been travelling for years... I own the Narrius Estate, but... I haven't lived there since brother died. The doors are sealed until someone wants it, and everything inside is covered in plastic and dust..." he paused at the female's expression, shrugging. "It's not bad. Every now and then I'd stop and get an apartment when the trail went cold, and for a while I lived in a small flat while I researched the military unit Zerrex joined. I suppose you think I lived in some plain, boring home."

"No, no, not at all!" Cherry rose her hands immediately, blinking and looking flustered, but the giant only gave her one of his mild, small smiles and an entertained expression as she quickly coughed and turned her gaze down to her cereal, trying to hide her blush by shoveling food into her mouth. But she couldn't help but stare back up at the Dragokkaren at his next words, surprised.

"I kept a garden in the back, grew various herbs. Had a nice rock fountain and a little pond, and I kept some unevolved animals there... I suppose the term people are using nowadays is feral though, right?" He paused, then added mildly: "Kitchen with all the works so I could cook good, healthy food, a plain den with a nice leather couch and entertainment system so I could relax, bedroom with a nice bed and a lot of books and magazines. No workout area, though I would have direly loved one... but it was fun to go to the gym and amuse myself with the toy weights there."

"Herbs? Like pot?" Cindy tilted her head, looking confused, and Requiem snorted laughter, dropping his spoon into his cereal as she blushed again and asked sharply: "What?"

"No. Like lavender. Chamomile. Other less popular ones like buchu and agrimony... mostly herbs with healing properties." A pause as the Dragokkaren idly swirled his milk and cereal, then he took a spoonful and sipped it, showing off a breeding and etiquette that his massive bulk didn't suggest. "No pot, I fear. Although I think your father isn't into things like that, either."

"He sees the value of letting the 'ignorant masses' toy with the stuff, in his words... but no, he's not into using that kind of stuff himself." Cindy responded slowly, then the two ate in silence for a while before Cindy finally picked up the bowl and loudly slurped the rest of the milk and cereal inside down, putting it down and grinning a bit at the Dragokkaren.

The giant looked at her mildly, then he shook his head and continued to slowly eat his own bowl, still only half-done. He paused, eyes flicking up to Cindy as he realized she was still watching him, then he put his spoon down and cleared his throat before finally saying softly: "I used to have wings, when I was a child... my brother, however, was born with only a weak, useless pair... they were removed after a year or so, because he wasn't able to control them and they were stunted, worthless and damaged, and only caused him pain. He decided when I was about seven that if he was wingless, than I should be too, and he cut them off."

"Oh." Cindy said in a small voice, glancing down and quietly tapping her claws against the tabletop, feeling a deep pity for the giant in front of her. It was odd, feeling this kind of sympathy and sorrow for someone who was holding her captive, using her as a hostage to make her father strain and fight all the harder for her return... but it was still there, and she was pretty sure it wasn't the result of any psychosis or syndrome, either. "I'm sorry to hear that..." A pause, and a glance up and a faint smile at the giant, who tilted his head. "But I um. Was actually just curious as to what you were going to do with me."

Now it was Requiem's turn to blink, then he coughed. "Oh. My apologies." Another awkward pause, as he regarded her mildly, then he shrugged slowly. "You suggested a lead, yourself... I can attach a chain to your collar and then to the pole. It'll be more trust-based than anything, since you obviously have the strength to snap whatever I bother putting around you..." He paused, then glanced down at her scraped arms before looking back up at her and laughing quietly. "Do you have a problem with that?"

Cindy frowned a bit... but then she shook her head slowly and instead smiled, sighing nonetheless. She was well aware, however, that the graceful giant could easily catch up to her, no matter how fast she ran or how often she tried to escape... and she wasn't stupid enough to think that Requiem would continue to treat her so kindly if she continued to be a problem. They had a mutual respect between them right now... but she didn't want to test how far that - and being of his blood - would take her before he simply knocked her the hell out or dislocated her arms or something like that. "No... I guess that sounds fair then. Just give me enough room to stretch out, huh? And I promise not to cause too much trouble or snap the chains or anything like that."

"Alright. I'll trust you then... do me a favor and gather a length of chain, long as you please. I'll put the lead on once I finish breakfast." Requiem said calmly, then he returned to his cereal. Cindy bristled a bit at his request, but then she paused and forced herself instead to think about it calmly, realizing it was more meant as a gift than an insult. Sure, she was preparing her own bonds, which was sorta like being told to build a cage before someone shoved you in it... but at least she could choose the make a nice, comfy, pillow-strewn cage made of bamboo instead of being thrown into a three-by-three steel box.

She got up, carefully putting her bowl aside with the other dirty dishes and wondering idly how the giant planned to take care of them, before she headed over to the chain she'd snapped and carefully pulling the two sections free from around the scarred wooden pillar. Then she made a face, examining both before going with the shorter length... it would give her enough slack to walk comfortably around the sawmill's interior, but wouldn't leave so much that she'd end up tripping over her own coils or that Requiem would be able to get his foot caught in the length, which could lead to very painful consequences for her.

Then she winced, standing and walking slowly around the sawmill in a circle, keeping her eyes on the ground as she rubbed at her legs slowly, trying to get the pins and needles out of them: as she walked, she noticed a few interesting things, like paintmarks designating where some of the machines had been, and what looked like a sealed trapdoor. She smiled a bit to herself as she rubbed the back of her head, standing over this, and then she heard Requiem stand up and walk over to pick up the chain.

She turned to face him, watching as the giant wrapped one end of the chain around the pole, then he easily snapped the last link with only a flick of his wrist, making Cindy stare as he bent it into a hook, then used that to latch tight onto one of the links, forming a tight loop around the log as he sealed the hook-end shut around it: now there was a bent, eight-shaped link holding the chain shut in a loop. Then the giant picked up the other end, bending the already-broken link down so it stayed firmly attached to the end of the chain instead of dangling loosely, holding the other hooked end out and motioning idly for Cindy to approach.

The female Drakkaren did so, wincing, and Requiem slipped the chain around her neck, keeping it tight but not to the point where it would bother her, and then hooking it and closing it off as he had around the pole, leaving Cindy with a neat chain collar just above her spiked one. She reached up and nudged at it lightly, the links jingling gently, then she glanced up at Requiem and sighed a bit. "So. At least I don't have to stick a tube up my nether regions to pee, huh?"

"Quite." Requiem replied mildly, then he paused and headed over for his luggage, but again she noticed he was careful to avoid turning so his back was to her, instead almost sidestepping towards the table, then easily plucking a plain white dress shirt out of the mess of clothing. "I'm going to head into town, pick up some things and some more food. You can do as you like, but don't take off the collar and please don't make a mess of my stuff while I'm gone."

"I hate you." Cindy said morbidly, and Requiem smiled over his shoulder at her, looking entertained as he quickly slipped his shirt on and dexterously did the buttons up. Then he turned and headed towards the door, leaving through it, and Cindy rolled her eyes as she heard him lock it from the other side, but complimented his cautiousness nonetheless. Then she began to walk once more, inspecting the floor of the windmill curiously and wondering idly why the hell they'd set up a sawmill inside of here anyway: but it passed the time, and Cindy felt she had far too much of that on her hands. Maybe when the giant got back, she'd ask him to pick her up some paper and pens when he was in town next... couldn't hurt to keep a record of her little misadventure, right?

Felicity gazed quietly out the window: it was noon, now, and people had started arriving back and checking in, giving estimates of how many people they had picked up and what their 'profession' and specialty was. So far, they had a gaggle of bikers, a good amount of gangster wannabes, and a few actual mercenaries and others who could prove extremely valuable in a brawl... but she didn't like the fact that every time she heard about another addition to her army, it only added to the sinking feeling in her gut. Mika too looked more pessimistic than pleased with the numbers of people they were getting... and he had always been the brightest of them, even before he'd started pumping morphine into his system.

She shook her head slowly, then glanced at the coyote: he was busily typing away on his laptop, making faces and muttering under his breath, trying to use the radios he'd assigned everyone to bring up their location on a map of the area around Baskin's Grove. He'd been working his ass off all night, and hadn't needled himself more than once... it made her feel strangely proud of him, and all she really wanted to do at this moment was walk up and give him a tight hug and thank you. But Tank had pulled up a minute or two ago, and she didn't want a repeat of what had happened yesterday.

Strangely enough, the badger didn't put in appearance... at least, not until around two o'clock, when Felicity watched the last of the Godkillers and the others who had agreed to help out pull into the parking lot outside and climb out of their cars, heading into the building. Mika glanced up at her, and she nodded to him with an encouraging smile, walking over and silently reaching down to squeeze his shoulder.

Mika reached up and gave her hand a brief squeeze in return, then he reached up to tap his headset, pressing a button on the keyboard and clearing his throat before saying calmly: "Everyone, assemble in the common room. We'll be collecting the last of the status reports there, and then we'll give an estimation of our current army's size and capabilities. Again, everyone, please assemble in the common room."

Then he released the button and sighed, pushing his headset down around his neck and smiling faintly up at Felicity: the vixen smiled back, then she reached down and gently patted him on the cheek, saying softly: "I'll take it from here. You can go home, get some rest."

"Nah... I'll stick it through a few more minutes. Then I can go and get my rockets off in private and sleep in a closet or something." Mika replied with a faint smile, and Felicity snorted softly, shaking her head before the coyote reached up and squeezed her shoulder, standing shakily. She reached out, grasping his own shoulders, and then she felt a strange urge that she never had before... but lately, she and Mika seemed to have gotten to know each other on a whole different level. She paused, looked down quietly, then glanced back up and smiled a bit.

"You... you can use my room. I'd... like to just... talk to you about something." She said finally, her eyes roving downwards. Mika tilted his head, and she knew he was looking at her with concern, but she gently nudged him aside and strode past, giving a smile over her shoulder and saying quickly: "Hey, come on! We can't get there too late."

"Worked for Hitler." Mika replied with a smile of his own, and Felicity let out an offended huff before they shared a bit of a laugh, the canid unplugging his laptop and quickly following her as he closed the lid and tucked it under his arm, at the same time snagging his attaché case. They quickly made their way to the appointed location, then allowed the last dregs of the gang to straggle their way into the common room ahead of them before following in. Mika sat down in one of the open chairs with a grunt, glancing at the painting of Zerrex, before he looked at Felicity, who was looking at her idol with a faint smile.

Tank, of course, was already scowling angrily, and he looked damn miserable: it was a nice thing to see. The badger obviously hadn't gotten his beauty sleep... but moreover, was covered in grease. Mika sincerely hoped his piece-of-shit car had broken down for good this time... anything that made Tank unhappy generally made the coyote happy, after all.

Then he popped open his laptop, moving quickly to the working list they had: he'd listed the names of all the members, then a head count of the people they'd brought in, and special notes on who they'd enlisted and if they could do anything fancy. There were still eight people who hadn't bothered to report in, however, and Tank was among that number... he'd probably been too busy working on his stupid car and hadn't wanted to be seen by Felicity looking like crap, but now he couldn't avoid it. Mika hid a grin as he swayed a bit on the seat, bringing one of his legs up and sitting on it as he looked at the badger with entertainment: despite all his own failings, it looked like the stupid junkie drug addict could still handle staying up all night better than the muscle-headed badger.

He quickly turned his attention to Felicity, though, when the vixen announced clearly: "Although still missing reports from eight people here, we've already got an amazing amount of people at our disposal. But before I go on, I'd like to hear an estimate of how many people were recruited by those who haven't yet reported in." At this, she paused and turned her eyes on Tank.

The badger looked back at her sulkily, then he snorted and shrugged before finally saying clearly: "Twenty-three."

Felicity blinked at this, and there were cheers around the room as he settled himself a bit more deeply into his usual chair, now looking more proud of himself. Then she nodded and smiled as she glanced at Mika, who gave a shrug... but the disbelief in his eyes as he typed in the number was a clear enough answer for her. "That's good to hear, Tank, thank you. Now, what about everyone else?"

None of the others were so grand or numerous, and the badger looked smug as he rested back in his chair, wiping grease idly along one arm of the wooden furnishing before crossing his own. Then, when the others had finished, Felicity turned a curious gaze to Mika, and the coyote looked up with a smile, saying clearly: "We have an estimated one hundred and forty-eight people at our disposal, including us."

There were cheers from around the room at this, and Felicity beamed visibly, clasping her hands together: at most she'd only expected around a hundred. But even if Tank was lying entirely about how many people he'd found and most of the others had overestimated one or two, they would still have at least that number ready for battle... and so she smiled around at them all, then said warmly: "Alright everyone. I won't bore you with the plan now, since I know you must all be goddamn tired from your road trip... so please, go get some rest and then we'll all meet at the park tonight, and don't forget to bring your friends. We'll all go over the plan there and get ready to take this city back, for the Boss."

"For the Boss." came the crowd's murmur in response, and Felicity felt an odd chill roll through her body as the others began to filter out. She didn't like the look that people were giving her or the picture of Zerrex, and she also didn't like the fact that Tank didn't bother to hit on her or say anything as he too left, except to grin at her in a rather evil way... it made her wonder just what the hell was happening. But then she shook her head and turned to Mika, watching him shut down his laptop and pick that up with his attaché case.

He smiled at her... but he too looked uneasy. "I'm sure they were just tired and everything... I mean, they all seemed really enthusiastic about the army we've raised and stuff."

"Yeah... but come on. Let's go up to my room." Felicity said quietly, glancing down, then she looked back up and smiled a bit. "You shared a secret with me. I'd like... to share mine with you."

"Okay, Felicity... I'm... thank you." The coyote said softly, and the love and compassion she saw in his eyes let her know she was doing the right thing in finally opening up to someone about her scars and her past.

Tank, however, was extremely displeased to see Mika and Felicity going into the vixen's room together... and he felt even angrier when, after half an hour of him sitting silently in the room across the hall and peering through the half-open door, there was still nothing. He thought he'd heard something earlier, but he didn't think that Felicity would cheat on him with that stupid drug addict... but...

"His morphine... he could drug her and rape her." He muttered angrily, then he paused and frowned, looking up. "Wait... he... uses needles for the morphine, right. And..." The badger blinked a bit, then he grinned slowly as he hurried out of the room he'd been hiding in, instead heading quickly down the hall and then into a small, neat storage room with a large, locked glass case sitting in one corner. He approached this, then peered through at the various vials and bottles inside, mumbling under his breath before ripping the thankfully not-locked glass doors open and grabbing one of the bottles. Although with that stupid junkie around, we really should get to lockin' it... he thought bitterly, closing the doors again and then looking down at the bottle.

It was the kind that you needed a syringe to get anything out of... mainly because the only thing that this stuff was supposed to go into was the tranquilizer darts that could be loaded into one of the shotguns they had in the armory. He grinned a bit, bouncing it slowly in his hand before leaving and slamming the door to the storage room behind himself, walking back to his room. A few drops of this in a water-diluted tranq generally knocked even the biggest rich asshole flat on his ass... he figured pushing a needle of the stuff into Felicity would keep her kayoed for the night. Then, that just left Mika to deal with... but he knew exactly what he wanted to do with that numb fuck, for doing whatever he was doing to his girl.

He frowned as he entered his room, then he shook his head before walking over to a picture he had on the wall of himself and Felicity, standing in the park together. He paused a moment, then carefully removed it and reached down to gently pull out the gauze he'd stuffed into a hole, to act as a sound muffler. Then he lowered his eye to the perfectly-round cut he'd made in the wall: it stretched all the way through the wall and into Felicity's room. The vixen had never noticed the hole, thankfully, and had never covered it up by accident with anything either... it was the perfect little peephole. Usually, he only used it when he was worried about his girl... but sure, on occasion it had been nice to try and get a look at her changing. She was so goddamn careful about that even when she was alone, though, and he'd never seen much more than her back, which frustrated the hell out of him.

But... shit! She was naked now... and curled up on Mika's lap, and it looked like she was... doing something to him, rocking against him, and Mika was holding her close and rocking with her. Tank pulled violently away from the peephole, then he shoved the cotton cork back in before letting out a loud yell of fury and picking up the picture of himself and Felicity and throwing it to the floor, shattering the glass and smashing the frame. Then he turned quickly back to the hole, ripping the cotton out and glaring through, growling under his breath and almost panting and snorting with the fury he felt bubbling through his body.

Thankfully, they didn't hear his ruckus... and for the next while, Tank watched them talking, unable to hear through the thick walls but watching as Mika eventually helped his girl - his girl, Tank's girl, not Mika's! - back into her clothes, then they lay down together on the little bed and curled up like children, going to sleep. Tank, however, didn't see children. Tank saw an unfaithful bitch he'd have to teach a lesson when this was all over and a fucking horny drug addict who had possibly poisoned and raped his beautiful, lovely Ellie. But he bided his time, managing to wait a bit longer before finally picking up the bottle of knockout serum, leaving his room and then heading over to Felicity's.

Unsurprisingly, the door was locked... but Tank had a trick to deal with that. He reached into his pocket, muttering under his breath, then pulled out a clone of the master key for the building that Felicity carried with her at all times. He used this to unlock the door, then he opened it as quietly and carefully as possible before moving carefully inside, heading to the junkie's attaché case: he was unsurprised to see that it was open, and that one of the needles was sitting out on top, empty. The badger glared at this, then he snatched it up and carefully filled the needle about a quarter of the way full: normally, the diluted tranqs knocked a victim out for a good twenty minutes, so he figured this would keep Felicity out until morning.

Without bothering to use any grace or subtlety, the badger walked up beside the bed, then swung the needle on a vicious downwards arc, plunging it into the vixen's hip and depressing the plunger at the same time. Felicity let out a shriek of pain and surprise, her eyes snapping open for a moment... but before she could even turn to look at Tank, her body slumped, and she fought to stay conscious as Tank jerked the needle out, grumbling to himself and throwing the needle away as one of the vixen's hands fumbled at her slightly-bleeding leg. Then she twitched a bit before letting out a sigh and falling into a deep sleep, even as Mika began to sluggishly wake up, mumbling: "Felicity? You okay?"

"She's fine, you fucking junkie." Tank rumbled, and Mika's eyes snapped open, registering the badger only a moment before a hard punch from the muscular male slammed into his face, snapping his cheekbone and knocking him back into the drugged female with a loud cry of pain. Then Tank snagged one of Mika's legs and dragged him off the bed, grinning at the loud, pained thump the coyote made before continuing to pull the stunned canid easily over the ground, jerking him out the door and then turning with a grunt, smacking Mika's head off the doorframe before sending him skidding on his back into the wall.

The coyote let out a cry of pain, then his eyes bulged as Tank slammed a foot into his stomach. His arms wrapped tight around his gut as he moaned, but the groggy sound of pain turned to a loud shriek of agony as Tank put his hands against the wall, leaning forwards and slamming his foot firmly into the coyote's open jaws, sending up a fine spray of blood and several fragments of broken tooth.

Mika writhed on the ground, tears rolling down his face and clutching at his mouth, then Tank grabbed his collar and hefted him easily into the air, slamming him back into the wall as the coyote looked at him with agonized eyes. The badger grinned viciously, leaning in close, and then he slammed his head hard forwards into Mika's face, sending out another spray of blood from his ravaged muzzle and nose, making him cry out again in pain. The coyote looked down the hall, and through the haze of pain he saw a door slam... and despite the agony roiling in his body, he realized no one was coming to help him.

Then Tank threw him to the ground and started kicking him again, yelling angrily. Mika screamed in pain with each hard blow, rocking on the ground, feeling his ribs snap under the heavy, steel-toed combat boots of the muscular badger, unable to make out anything but the words "junkie," "scum," "Ellie," and "fucker" strewn seeming at random through the unintelligible growling and snarling. Tank was all but foaming at the mouth, and the weakened, surprised coyote could do nothing to defend himself as the muscular badger kept slamming his foot into his body again and again.

Finally, he stopped, stepping back and panting hard, looking down at the bloody, beaten drug addict on the floor in front of him with disgust. Then the badger seized on a new idea, and he turned and entered Felicity's room again, leaving Mika sobbing, in complete agony. A moment later, however, the coyote stared up at the badger as he dangled his attaché case over his head, and he moaned, shaking his head slowly and managing through a mouthful of blood and splintered teeth: "Please Tank... no..."

"You're right. No more." The badger replied, eyes burning with a horrible, sadistic glee as he opened the case. He removed a vial of morphine, and basked in the way that the canid stared at it before he suddenly turned and whipped it hard at the wall. He laughed as Mika literally screamed, reaching a hand up as if to magically stop the vial in midair, and the sound of it shattering and the liquid inside splattering across the ground brought nothing but happiness to Tank... almost as much as the sound of Mika breaking down into sobs and begging did.

He didn't bother to listen: instead, he simply threw the rest of the attaché case down the hall, shattering the rest of the glass and laughing as Mika screamed again, the sound of the coyote's pain mixing with the tinkling of broken glass a beautiful symphony to the badger's ears. Tank paused only a moment to make sure that all the bottles of morphine were broken, then he snorted and looked down at the coyote with disgust and amusement, landing a firm kick to his side and sending Mika sprawling as he tried to crawl to his feet, the coyote looking up at him with hate... but also fear and a pain so deep that it almost made Tank feel sorry for the stupid little drug addict. "Don't cry. You just gotta go cold turkey now, motherfucker. Be good for you, really...

"Now hey." Tank dropped to a squat, smiling, and Mika cringed back from him: it was definitely a good start, in the badger's humble opinion. "I hope you remember the lessons we learned today. Stay away from my girl. In fact, don't you even come back here... unless I give the okay, got it? I want you to clean up all this broken glass, too... I don't want anyone gettin' hurt, after all." A pause, then the muscular male stood and stretched, grinning violently down at Mika before he purposefully stepped on him as he walked past, making the coyote cry out again in pain as he headed for Felicity's room, closing the door and locking it once more before turning and standing in his own doorway.

He paused, back to the coyote, then he glanced over his shoulder and said softly: "And you know what I'll do to you and yours if you so much as breathe a word of this to anyone. Now clean up that mess and get the fuck out of my building, and stay the fuck away from my girl. Don't call her, I'll call you, when we actually need you again, you piece of shit. And by the way... if there's but one speck of glass not cleaned up off that hall, I'm gonna come to your house, break all your windows, and make you lick it off the floor. Got it?"

The coyote only stared at him for a moment, sobbing quietly... but then he nodded and Tank grinned slowly before stepping into his room and closing the door, letting out a sigh of relief as he looked over his posters and possessions. Now to take a nap and get ready for his big debut tonight... he had one hell of a story to tell, after all.

Cherry frowned a bit as she finished pulling on the black gloves that came with her red dress, smoothing it idly out before sighing and wincing a bit as she poked one of her breasts gently through the fabric. On the bright side, she had her combat boots on and some extra clothes beneath, just in case things got nasty... she definitely had no intention of doing any kind of work in this dress unless she had to. Not because it was hideous... but merely because it would be impossible to do next to anything in these stupid clothes, precog or not.

Lone, on the other hand, was whining as he shifted from paw-to-paw, complaining about everything from the dress shoes he wore to the fact that she'd forced him to put on a little something extra beneath his tuxedo. The lupine was looking into a mirror with disgust, brushing at the sleeves of his black suit and muttering about the servants not doing a good enough job cleaning it, then he turned to her and held her arms out, asking uncertainly: "How do I look?"

It was probably the first time since... well... ever... that Lone had asked her a question for her honest opinion, without suggesting an answer first... hell, without even being an asshole, but actually giving room for the idea that he wasn't perfect. She gave the slightest of smiles as she looked him over, idly taking in the black dress pants, black jacket that had a rose in the lapel - and the stupid golden pocketwatch in an inside pocket, which he kept checking every five minutes - and the plain, red silk dress shirt beneath. Around his neck hung a silver sword on a plain silver necklace, as well as a bow tie... and his ears were adorned now with golden earrings instead of his usual silver. As well, he had a ridiculous amount of rings on either hand... at least one for each finger, varying between platinum and gold, some inset with gemstones and others not. Finally, he had that ridiculous anklet on, and his belt had the Wulfe crest for an oversized buckle... but all the same, with his gut held in by all the crap he was wearing, he looked somewhat charming.

"You look fine." she said softly, finding it odd she didn't have the heart to tell him he looked like a walking ad for rape and theft with all the jewelry... but she figured he wouldn't fit in with everyone else, who likely would be covered in fancy little accessories of their own. Personally, she'd always stuck with the idea that decorating yourself with bits of metal was like advertising that you were a rich target for robbery... but then again, she wasn't a very girly-girl.

Lone smiled at her thankfully, then he rubbed the back of his head: it caused his suit jacket to sway open a bit, and Cherry tilted her head, adding mildly: "But if I were you, I'd lose the gun."

"No!" Lone blurted immediately, looking shocked as he reached under the outer layer of clothing and clutched the gigantic revolver he had resting in a built-in holster in his suit jacket: it was like he thought he was some secret agent. "This is my favorite gun! And everyone else is going to be armed, just in case something bad happens..."

Cherry hid a frown as the wolf's voice dropped steadily off through his sentence, until it was simply a mumble. She thought of suggesting a different gun, but finally decided against it, figuring Lone would whine and bitch. Still, she thought it was ridiculous that if the wolf had to bring a gun, he had to bring the hugest one possible.

It was an eight-shot, rectangular-barreled revolver that was probably some weird custom caliber, made of black metal with gold edgings and accessories. The handle was made of walnut or some other carefully-crafted and hand-painted wood, with a customized grip and filed-down trigger guard. Cherry also thought that if Lone actually did manage to fire it, the recoil would probably knock him off his feet: it had to be at least .50 caliber. But it would make a good backup weapon, if her own gun - which was duct-taped to her inner thigh with a spare clip, and was going to bug the hell out of her all night - ran out of ammo in some confrontation.

Lone didn't know she'd snagged a plain 15mm, however... fortunately, he was stupid enough to think that she would just happily following along with the wolf's "chores" earlier today, which had been to help him pack his gun collection into metal cases filled with form-fitting foam custom designed for each and every gun, and then loading those cases into huge wooden crates... which had then been carried outside by servants into a variety of moving trucks to be taken 'somewhere,' in the wolf's words. She thought she had a pretty good idea of where they'd be going, nonetheless, though... after all, the Apple Ball was tonight, and whatever surprises it held.

She had to admit, though, the wolf's illegal gun collection had been impressive. The entire basement had been converted into almost a warehouse, and Lone had bought tons of different handguns from various companies, of different makes and models, and quite a few of them with the serial number filed off. Moreover, he had some very nice rifles and automatic weaponry... but Lone had bragged cheerfully as they'd worked on taking the guns from their various lockers and display cases that he had some much nicer custom weapons in his 'real' little collector's room... and that he might show her if she decided to treat him good tonight.

The wolf had grinned suggestively at this, apparently still enthralled with himself and how well he'd done last night: Cherry, on the other hand, had barely been able to smile back at the idea of being covered in watery wolf semen again, and had instead gone quickly back to packing and wondering idly how she could sneak through the security door at the end of the room without Lone knowing. Then she'd finally decided that if she was forced to blow her cover tonight, she'd just drag Lone back downstairs with her and make him open the door through rigorous torture.

She smiled slightly at this thought, as Lone headed to the door, then followed him out: it was seven, about an hour after they'd eaten supper and still too early to head to the ball, but the wolf had mentioned earlier with a cheerful smile that he had another surprise for her. And thankfully, tonight she'd been spared his eating habits... he'd eventually complained that he was hungry, and she'd easily told him that she would pack up the rest of the guns while he ate, and that she was still full from lunch - somewhat true, but her meal had been cut short by the wolf waking up and coming downstairs naked, while yelling for his servants to go clean up the mess on his bed.

The day had been busy, but not detailed: the monotonous, simple work after a morning of resting on the couch downstairs and reading, however, had been amazingly healing, and she felt she had the strength to go through with tonight's tasks, no matter how painful it would be. She smiled, thinking wistfully of Zerrex and promising herself she'd make sure to not harass him too much about sex when they got together again... but also that she'd treat this more professionally than she had been, and wouldn't force him to fuck her until he was done with his training. She could respect him that much, at least... and she didn't want to end up being like Lone, some irritating, clingy blob that just screwed up his concentration instead of being any good.

Cherry glanced back and forth as they headed towards the door, then she frowned a bit at Lone as he yelled at various servants just for the hell of it, probably reveling in his own power like the sick little mini-tyrant he was. Then they were leaving out the front door, and she made a slight face at the black stretch limousine that was waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs, noting immediately that it had the Wulfe crest on each door... and even engraved on the goddamn hubcaps. Fuck. You're asking for someone to take you out with a rocket launcher...

She carefully made her way down the stairs, hating how she had to daintily hold up her dress... and making a face at the fact that Lone all but skipped towards the limo, grinning like an idiot as the chauffeur jumped out and opened the door for him. He leapt in without even a glance at the uniformed male, but Cherry smiled and nodded her thanks before stepping inside, wincing as she slid into the comfy interior and carefully let her dress fall around her legs, sliding away from the door as it closed. Immediately, Lone pressed back against her and smiled up at her, licking his muzzle hungrily and vying for a kiss... but Cherry quickly faked a cough as she slid away, and Lone looked after her with disappointment. It was quickly lost, however, as he instead faced the front and pointed at a television unit mounted on the ceiling, bouncing a bit on the seat like a child. "Hey! It's my show again! Damn, but I bet tonight'll be a blast!"

"Me too." Cherry said softly, rubbing at her hips as she glanced out the one-way window, before facing forwards again and looking out the bulletproof glass shield between them and the driver instead of at the television. She felt anxious and nervous, and she only ever felt this way when about to go on a dangerous mission, or if something very bad was about to happen... perhaps, in a way, it was her precog kicking in, or just some psychic runoff. She winced slightly, then clasped her hands together and breathed quietly, idly playing with her wedding band through one of the long, black gloves she wore: it helped her focus and to soothe her worried thoughts. It was ironic that Lone didn't notice it anymore... or maybe he'd just convinced himself that he'd given the ring to her. Then again, it could also be that he thought it was just a sign of her showing off her wealth, like everyone else did in the Apple Villa quarters.

After a few minutes, the limo came to a half, and the driver climbed out, once more opening the door for them and letting them out of the vehicle. Cherry winced as she immediately recognize the store Lone had brought her to: an old Apple Villa business called Dana's, which specialized in shitty jewelry sold at insanely-high prices. It was still on one of the main streets, and every time she and Zerrex had passed it, she'd mentioned wanting to blow it up: Zerrex, on the other hand, had always muttered it would be a waste of good C4, and that all the shiny - and mostly fake - jewelry melting in a fire might cause some sort of biohazard. So they'd left it alone, since it also didn't really seem to be hurting anyone.

Lone led her quickly to the door and pushed through, ignoring the closed sign: Cherry followed, wincing at the warmth of what she swore could be platinum, and then stepping into a sparkling world of gemstones, precious metals, trinkets and accessories. She glanced back and forth, stepping cautiously over the red oak hardwood beneath her and onto a carpet weaved of what was likely the finest silks, laced with golden tassels... then paused to make sure it didn't have a price tag on it before returning to looking around the empty store, as Lone called in a singsong voice: "Dana! Where are you?"

Cherry looked up from examining a case full of brooches and rings, blinking and looking skywards as the chandelier above their head rattled, then she turned to look behind the glass counter as a rotund skunk emerged. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at the female Drakkaren with a wide grin that showed off perfect, sparkling teeth, and she felt herself repulsed as she looked at Dana for the first time: a medium-height, obese skunk with dyed-mauve-black fur, and clad in a purple, sparkling dress that was far too tight on her body, every finger sparkling with a ring that had an oversized gemstone on it and a necklace of opals and diamonds around her neck. Her large tail was fluffed up and combed out behind her, a large, golden clasp with a massive diamond on the end of it, and upon her head was a fluffy purple cap with a feather made from gold sticking out of it. Rubies dangled from her ears as she tilted her head to look at Lone, saying in a voice that Cherry now recognized from over the phone: "My, darling! She is a beautiful one, especially in such a gorgeous dress! We'll have to dress her up pretty!"

The skunk walked quickly towards the counter, then reached down and pulled out a red box as Lone quickly bounced up, grinning widely as he slid an arm around her waist. Cherry resisted the urge to smash the wolf's skull in with her elbow, instead smiling and clasping her hands tightly in front of her waist as she looked down at the box, then faked a gasp as Dana flicked it open and looked back and forth expectantly. "Those are marvelous!"

Inside was a pair of silver bracelets, horseshoe-shaped and designed to sit on the wrists more than hold them, and patterned with delicate gold designs all along the edge and outside body. Looking closer, she could also see they were dotted with sapphires and emeralds, and she had to hold back a sound of disgust as Dana reached out and motioned for one of her arms, saying impatiently: "Well darling, then let's see how they fit."

"Oh, of course!" Cherry smiled and faked a blush as she held up her hands, feeling more like she was about to be handcuffed than gifted with pretty jewelry: she winced as Dana almost shoved them on, leaving them resting firmly on her wrists, and she looked at them as if admiring the design. In reality, however, she was simply mourning the fact they were probably on too tightly for her to be able to 'accidently' drop them.

Then Dana produced another box, and Cherry faked another gasp of amazement as Lone grinned widely, gazing down at a silver locket roughly the size of the wolf's pocketwatch, and inscribed with the Wulfe crest and set on a gold chain: hanging just above it, dangling across its own little chain that glittered with gemstones, was a silver sword. Cherry looked up with a warm smile at Dana, who looked pleased at this reaction... but in reality the female was giving the skunk a closer look over, and she was unsurprised to see that she too wore a silver sword under her necklace of gemstones. "It's so beautiful!"

"And even better." Dana reached down, then popped open the locket: Cherry found herself staring again, and fortunately both Lone and Dana took this for a stare of amazement and adoration instead of the shock that it actually was. "Yes, isn't it wonderful?"

On one side was embossed the profile of a Drakkaren's head, and on the other, a wolf's, both of them facing each other... and with "Cherry" and "Lone" over their respective species. Worst of all, there was a heart around each capital letter, and the female Drakkaren had to quickly work to calm herself down to halt herself from killing Lone... this time, however, possibly seriously. Worst of all was the feeling of humiliation, as Dana closed the locket, then gently lifted it by the chain and turned it around, undoing the clasp and saying warmly: "Here, I'll put it around your neck, and our good Mayor can do up the clasp behind your neck... and please, let me be the first to congratulate you two! You make such a beautiful couple, really."

"Thank you." Cherry forced herself to smile, looking up at Dana, then glancing quickly back down and trying to keep her hands from clenching into fists, as the skunk leaned forwards with a grunt and tossed the end of the long necklace around her shoulders: Lone quickly moved behind her, taking the ends and then doing up the clasp as he ground his crotch against her at the same time, and she could hear him give a quiet grunt before he slid back, letting an arm loop tight around her waist as he grinned up at her.

"Anything for you, babe." he said comfortably, as he moved a hand to teasingly squeeze one of her buttocks, making Cherry want to pulverize him as she finally regained some semblance of control, trying now instead to ignore the locket that was hanging just against the slopes of her breasts and would likely draw all sorts of unwanted attention to her cleavage.

Then the two were talking money, and Cherry took the time to slide backwards and close her eyes, once more trying to refocus on her objective and using all of her inner focus to maintain her self-control. Later she could punish Lone as hard as she wanted, sure... but for now, she had to keep the fucking bastard alive, no matter what he was telling everyone else or what he did to her. But later... there would definitely be a reckoning for all the shit that Lone was pulling. Maybe he wasn't aware of the fact that the only other person who had given her a locket was Zerrex, and that she had passed it - her most valuable keepsake - on to Cindy... but that didn't really matter at this point. Right now, she just wanted to mash his face in for being a bastard in general.

Within a few minutes, however, she and Lone were leaving the store, and she forced herself to smile and wave at the dumb, bejeweled bitch behind the counter as Dana tittered and headed back into her office. As they headed back to their limo, Cherry saw that another had pulled up behind them, this one painted gold instead of black, and she felt a disgusted smile breech her muzzle even as she slipped into her own, after Lone. The wolf noticed her look, however, but his only reaction was a bit of a grin as he nodded and said idly: "Disgusting bitch, isn't she?"

You're one to talk... Cherry thought venomously, but she only smiled in return before tilting her head back a bit as Lone leaned up towards her, reaching up to squeeze a breast firmly through her shirt. She withheld a wince, then the wolf grinned as he made kissy-sounds, saying cheerfully: "Come on. Give your daddy some sugar for giving you such nice little gifts, baby..."

"Oh, of course..." Cherry responded evenly, giving a strained smile. She leaned down as the wolf fondled her breast slowly through her dress, and their lips met, jaws working for a few moments as she felt the wolf's tongue invade her muzzle clumsily, drawing over her front teeth before delving back towards her throat: she pulled back, breaing the kiss, but took the time to nip the wolf's tongue painfully, making him yip and jerk away, grabbing at his mouth as he stared at her, and the female Drakkaren smiled sweetly, clasping her hands in front of her bosom as Lone kept his hands over his muzzle. "Oops. Sorry."

"Right..." Lone said shortly, then he shrugged before settling against her, wrinkling his suit a bit more as he clung to her like a small child, occasionally rubbing her thigh or groping at her breasts. The rest of the ride was spent like that, with the wolf staring at the television as the limo headed out of town, and Cherry glanced uneasily behind them every so often, not liking how dark the sky was already or the fact she could see more than one limousine following behind them. When rich people gathered so obviously, it always meant trouble... and she had learned that was especially true of Baskin's Grove, from what Zerrex has told her and the small bits of Apple Villa she had seen and fought against.

Then they were pulling slowly up to an abandoned-looking warehouse... except there was bright light shining out from every window of the massive warehouse, as they pulled through a plain gate. She watched as several plain limousines unloaded their cargo of two or three passengers, then slowly continued along a rutted stone path between the building and a chainlink fence before turning and presumably heading to wait around back, or perhaps just driving off into the night to arrive again at some appointed time. By the doors stood uniformed, bulky bouncers in red vests and black pants, but as they drove up, she could see neither was armed... making them useless, despite their intimidating size.

The limo stopped, and the driver climbed quickly out to open the door as Lone bounced in his seat, grinning like a child: when the driver opened the door, however, he quickly climbed out and attempted to look cultured and refined, adjusting his bowtie and waiting for Cherry to climb free before locking arms with her and approaching the door proudly. Both the tall bull and tiger stepped back, bowing to them politely and putting a hand on either swinging door, pushing them easily open, and Lone laughed a bit as he looked at Cherry cheerfully. "Good help is so rare but such a treat these days, isn't it?"

"Yes, of course." Cherry murmured, as they stepped through the doors and into the brightly-lit... ballroom. There was no other word for what the warehouse had been turned into, as she stared around it what was almost disbelief. Admittedly she had understood that none of the Apple Villa rich folk were very smart when it came to planning and design... but this total, horrible lack of security amazed even her.

All the walls were whitewashed, and the cement floor had been replaced with white marble tile: even the ceiling had been changed, painted the same bright white and lined with massive, hanging chandeliers made of silver and gold, hiding the enormous spotlights that lit the room as clearly as day. There was a red mattress rimmed with gold and framed with golden tassels, and another two guards stood inside the door... equally huge, but equally unarmed as their counterparts outside, along with a snobby-looking tiger wearing a tuxedo and a monocle, who smiled and checked them off a list with a massive quill as they entered. He stood at a wooden podium that had the Wulfe crest on it, of all things... and a massive book atop that was apparently filled with names. Cherry noted that this might be important to grab later, if she could remember... and if the security hazards weren't too high.

Glancing around, she could see that all the windows had been replaced, too. They were all placed almost ten feet up, which would normally be good... except they were also all at least ten feet wide and made of connecting squares of glass with wooden crossbars in between, standing almost fifty feet high: in other words, nearly reaching the ceiling. Even a small plane would have no trouble breaking through, if the pilot knew even the basics of trick flying... and the entire ballroom was open, except for the wooden tables placed on either side of the gigantic, at least one-hundred-and-fifty-foot-square room. These, she could see, were stacked high with food... and then there was a red carpet down the center of the area, leading to the top of the room, where a small, slightly-raised wooden platform sat in the middle, with a table to one side and what looked like a cluster of chairs to the other... and Cherry thought there was something on the table, but she couldn't make out what it was. What worried her more, however, was the massive thing standing on the platform that she also couldn't quite see.

Thankfully, Lone seemed about as anxious to see it as she was, hurrying down the mostly-empty ballroom towards it, the smaller wolf pacing fast enough that Cherry had to almost jog herself to keep up with the excited lupine. Her eyes settled on the thing on the platform as Lone began to mumble words like "marvelous," "awesome," and other such things under his breath, looking almost crazed with the gleam in his eyes, but it only confirmed Cherry's worst fears about what she could be running into tonight.

It was some kind of battle armor, from what she could see... a bipedal combat machine that looked like something out of a sci-fi comic and made her stomach twist uncomfortably. Sure, she and Zerrex had fought against tanks, armored vehicles, and super-soldiers before... but this thing looked like it was on a whole new level. That, and she definitely did not like the look of the one arm as they drew close to the small crowd of people standing around it.

The machine was covered in blue plate metal, likely some kind of steel-titanium alloy, and stood at almost double her height: she guessed it was ten, eleven feet tall. The legs were squat, made of basic joints, so it probably couldn't walk that fast... but the feet were square, with triangular "toes" stretching out from each side of the square to give it more stability. The legs were slightly-bowed as well, giving it more support, and attaching up into a body-slash-cockpit that was almost designed like the nose of a plane. It stretched outwards about five feet from the body itself, and since it was currently open Cherry could easily see the padded control chair inside and the variety of control panels and joysticks that would control the battle machine. These were safely recessed by steel walls, and it looked like the tinted-black glass shell could even be digitized, from the look of the odd machines attached to the driver's windows at every few points. Fortunately, the design would leave the driver somewhat vulnerable, but the trick would be getting a clean shot or two through the glass.

One arm came from a rounded shoulder joint, and possessed what looked like a fully-rotational elbow and a gigantic vise for a hand: the Drakkaren winced inwardly at what it could likely do to her body if it caught her. The other arm, though, was far scarier: instead of possessing a forearm, it had been replaced with what looked almost like a massive, rectangular cannon with a simple gear-joint that would allow it to aim up and down. Worse, however, was the fact that it had a long, almost-fan attached to the bottom of the orange-painted cannon that was doubtlessly some type of loading clip.

She knew what the orange-painted gun was, though... from the rectangular, plain design and the way it tapered to a cone at one end, opening on a rectangular black hole at the other and lined with what looked like wires and small generators, the only thing it could be was a railgun. Even she didn't like the idea of tangoing with a combat armor that could use magnetic force to fire a metal bar at enough velocity to shred the hardiest of tanks... especially without Tinny or Zerrex around.

The female glanced at Lone, who was grinning widely at the armor, his eyes alight... then he turned towards the small knot of people standing near the bottom of it, striding up to the back of the group and for once not bothering to glean attention: instead, both he and Cherry listened to the male who was currently speaking: a hardy-looking mouse that was wearing leather pants, a plain white shirt, and a dress jacket that was also made from leather. Sunglasses were balanced on his head, and the fur on his head had been spiked back and tinted gold: the rest of his fur was a tan brown. "It'll be able to take care of your little Boss problem, no sweat. Plus any Military Special Operations Armors like these can be continuously mass-produced, if you have the materials and the right factory equipment... and I can help set you up with that, if you show me over to one of the car factories in town. Hell, they usually have the right equipment, which is just one of the little tricks you gotta learn if you wanna be in this business..."

"Hear, hear." Lone said mildly, apparently already tired of listening, and several people turned to him: Cherry was unsurprised to see Madam Dandridge among them, as well as several of the other high-standing Apple Villites. Immediately, they all smiled and made a fuss over the wolf, and Lone basked in the attention he received as Mayor, shaking the hand of the weapons dealer.

"And what a lovely lady..." the mouse grinned at her, taking one of her hands and kissing it, apparently trying to be charming: Cherry barely managed to repress a shudder and smile instead, bowing her head towards the male as she felt Lone finally detach himself from her to wander over to the combat armor with several of his 'rich friends.'

"Why, thank you, sir." she said in as pleasant a voice as she could manage, then she glanced towards the towering combat armor and said in a voice she hoped would come across as properly awed. "And I really don't know that much about machines, but that certainly seems like quite an impressive piece of work."

As expected, the weapons dealer wasn't as easy as the rich people were to manipulate... but he soaked in the flattery all the same, crossing his arms and grinning a bit as he glanced over at the machine himself. "Oh, well, yes. It's quite a beaut... it'll serve you guys well, I'm hoping." He paused, then asked slyly: "So... what's Mayor Wulfe going to donate here today, huh? After all, I have quite a few bids going on." Another pause, then a slight grin as his eyes flickered over her: Cherry felt herself being sized up and once more delegated to the realm of sexual object as she felt the mouse's eyes settle on her large bust, and then he added: "But hey, it might be easy for someone of your immense beauty to... persuade me to take a lower bid, if you know what I mean."

"Well, why don't you show me around to the back and what else you have in stock?" Cherry replied with a slight smile, half-lidding her eyes teasingly and sliding her body a bit closer to the mouse: he grinned wider, and she suddenly found herself at peace with the idea that all rich people were wasps, sluts, or idiots... after all, it made infiltration so much easier. Then she let the mouse lead her away towards the heavy steel doors at the back of the ballroom, which were guarded by two more bulky but unarmed, uniformed servants.

The door opened onto a plain, massive storeroom full of wooden crates and lit by hanging lamps: Cherry could also see several open steel shutters, where freighter trucks had been carefully backed into and their cargo unloaded. Then the mouse grabbed her arm and jerked her forwards, grinning to himself as he flicked his sunglasses up a bit higher, pulling her into the storeroom and unwittingly giving away every secret the warehouse had to offer as she let herself be pulled along with a feminine grunt, at the same time letting her eyes rove over the surroundings and the soldiers sitting near one stack of boxes at a table, playing poker under one the lights, laughing, and generally looking like untrained idiots. Some of them were even sitting back and lounging, reading newspapers and getting crumbs all over their uniforms as they ate food they'd likely stolen from the buffet tables outside: only one or two looked ready to work, or were doing something constructive like cleaning their guns... although from this group, it was love of the pretty guns and not of the unit that compelled them to do it.

In a single look, Cherry sized up that there were twenty soldiers in normal mercenary outfits: basic body armor that was more for stopping scrapes than bullets, all-black shock outfits, messy uniforms and scuffed combat boots, and most of them with mush masks - painful, irritating, but extremely useful shock-troop masks. They were made of a type of rubber than bonded to the body when slapped on, melding perfectly over the features and muzzles of any species: the only trick was making sure that you lined up your eyes with the eyeholes cut into the black latex substance. They also hurt like a bitch coming off... but better to take a bit of pain than to suffer the death penalty for being seen and identified by the enemy.

There were also five other soldiers that she saw, sitting by themselves as their apparent leader dragged her past some steel crates, to the cheers of the others as he waved a hand and Cherry forced herself to look uncertain, covering her face with one hand. The other soldiers looked better trained, although they too were relaxed and lounging around... these ones wore a different type of uniform though, some kind of more bulky body armor. They were playing their own game of cards in a corner behind some other boxes, but they were more reserved and calmer: if Cherry had to guess, she'd say they were drivers. And the fact there were five of them worried her.

Then she and the mouse were descending deeper into the catacombs of the warehouse behind the ballroom, the female Drakkaren wincing slightly as she glanced back and forth: however, then the mouse pulled her behind a wall of crates, apparently intending to head deeper with a ravenous grin on his features that suggested he didn't want anyone to hear her screaming, and Cherry decided they were far enough away to avoid playing any extra games.

Moving fast, she stepped firmly forwards up behind the mouse and slammed an elbow down into the junction of his shoulder and neck: the male let out a weak, surprised caw as his eyes bulged, but even the sound of his collarbone snapping was louder than the exclamation from his jaws. Then his eyes rolled up in the back of his head and he fell to his knees: before he could fall flat, however, Cherry reached down and grabbed the back of his neck, hefting his limp body and then reaching forwards to settle a hand on the side of his muzzle before twisting it to the side violently.

The hard, sudden movement snapped the mouse's neck, and Cherry let him fall to the ground before wiping her hands off. She then glanced around, but the wooden crates here were all firmly sealed, and she didn't want to make any extra noise by ripping one open... so instead, she decided to just leave the body alone: he'd led her deep enough into the catacombs of boxes that he'd be difficult to find, anyway.

Slowly, Cherry made her way forwards, retracing her steps through the maze, before blinking and straightening as she heard a loud, distinct bell chime. A few moments later, she could hear mutters and irritated grumbling as she pressed her back tight against the wooden crates behind her, ducking a bit, and then she heard footsteps approaching and a voice call: "Boss! The rich folks are callin'... you done yet?"

A pause, then the footsteps started forwards again before suddenly stopping, as another voice said in an amused voice: "Dude. Leave him be, he dragged one fine-ass bitch back there. And you don't want to interrupt Rodrigo when he's doin' the business, believe you me. He'll shoot you, pilot or not."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Makes me jealous that he gets the babes like that, though... fuckin' ass." responded the other voice, and then the footsteps walked away. Cherry released a sigh of relief, then she closed her eyes and counted slowly to one hundred before moving forwards again, stepping out of the maze of crates and back into the more-open area: thankfully, however, the drivers for the combat armors had all left, and the other mercenaries sounded like they were busy with their game behind the small stack of crates. It gave her enough leeway that she was able to relax slightly, and turn her attention to the only other thing of interest she'd detected in this area - the massive steel crates that lined the wall.

She approached these, glancing at the ten-by-ten cubes, then paused a moment, frowning as she reached out to finger a card reader on the side, with a small key panel below it. It meant that there was something heavy-duty inside... and then she saw the letters 'M.S.O.A.' emblazoned in black across one corner of the box, and she winced. Cherry stepped back, looking back and forth over the boxes, then whistled quietly to herself. "Shit. And..." A pause as she compared them, then she continued to murmur to herself. "All the barcodes are different and so are the reference numbers... these must all be different models." she paused again, then shook her head before making a bit of a face, then turning her attention slowly back towards the other end of the warehouse, where she'd just come from. "Well, let's make sure they can't get to their toys then, since I bet I know who has the cardkey."

Cherry quickly made her way back to the mouse's corpse, pausing to kneel by it and then doing a quick search: he had a handgun on him, but it was some stylish, low-caliber piece of shit... and, more importantly, he had several keycards on a ring and a cell phone. The female looked at this last for a few moments, then laughed faintly. "Well, he'll be irritated that I interrupted his training... but he'd kill me if I tried to tackle this alone, since they could still probably bang the crates open and take out those other armors if they really wanted to. And if that happens, I might actually need the cavalry."

She flicked the small phone open, then quickly dialed in Tinny's number and waited a few moments for the phone to connect, muttering about the reception in the warehouse. But a few moments later, there was one ring... then two... and then hallelujah. "Um. Hello?"

"Hey, Tinny." Cherry said softly, and Tinman gave a sound of delight: something she'd never tire of, she thought. But she kept herself serious, saying quickly: "I need to speak to Zerrex. It's extremely important."

The urgency in her voice apparently appealed to the badger's training, and he gave her a quick affirmative before she heard him jogging through the house: a few moments later, and her husband picked up the phone, making Cherry sigh in relief. Doing a solo mission was one thing... but when it came right down to it, taking chances on things that had bigger guns than you was just idiotic. "Cherry?"

"Zerrex... I need some backup here. And we might want to level this building, just in case, so bring some explosives, too." Cherry said quickly, glancing up at the roof and adding: "I'm on an unsecured line, by the way, so... make it quick. I'm going to try and take someone hostage outside to get them to shut down their operations, but they have war machines. Tanks on legs, pretty much. And the one that's currently active is armed with a railgun... the armament and design of the others is unknown, however, although I've hopefully stalled them from opening the boxes, if it comes to that."

"Alright. Just keep yourself alive, Cherry." Zerrex replied calmly, and she could hear him moving around as he asked in a curt voice: "Location?"

"Outside of town, past Apple Villa, highway... three-seventeen, I believe. It's the abandoned warehouse that's lit up like a birthday cake. Be careful, though, they'll see you coming."

"Not if I can help it. I'll get there as soon as I can. Over and out." Zerrex hung up the phone, and Cherry smiled a bit to herself before throwing the cell aside and stepping on it, crushing it under her combat boot and letting out a sigh. She closed her eyes for a few moments, then quickly stood and headed swiftly back towards the open area of the warehouse. She paused in the area with the metal crates, however, deciding she could still probably pull through this if she was careful... and she worked to make herself looked distraught before stumble-walking past the crates and the soldiers playing their games, heading quickly back towards the door and covering her face when she heard them yell and catcall her loudly, asking obscene questions in jeering voices.

Then she was at the door, and she shouldered her way through before grinning slightly as she walked past the guards, smoothing her dress out and striding into the ballroom with entertainment flickering in her eyes. Even she could play a good damsel if she wanted to... and everyone always seemed to buy that bit, no matter how old or clichéd it got. But she frowned slightly as she saw the four pilots assembled, one of them apparently attempting to explain the benefits of the Combat Armor in a shaky voice as he walked back and forth nervously along the platform, in front of the giant machine. Compared to the ballroom, the crowd of thirty or so people that was clustered in front of the platform - including the six at the front, which included Lone, Madam Dandridge, Dana, and the other three silver sword-wearing idiots - was completely ludicrous... but worse, it made it much harder to sneak into the group.