A Fox in the Works It's Not My Time to Go By Fox Cutter 1: Alpha 05/19/2000: I rubbed the back of my head as I read over another book about what exactly a Natural could do. I had read over some of them when I had first discovered my powers, but I didn't really pay that much attention to them. I was fifteen at the time and wasn't interested in what I couldn't do, just what I could. Most of the rest I had learned from my friends and companions. It was just luck that I had never used my power to the extent needed to drain my reserves. I guess I was just naturally conservative about such things where Samantha was a bit more... enthusiastic. She had told me that early on she had run out of power after spending a day running through folds. I had never done anything quite like that myself. So, it was right there in the books, in the parts that I had skipped in the past. The logical thing to do was to read over everything to make sure I wasn't missing anything else. There wasn't anything major that jumped out at me, but I did learn that my flashbacks were far more intense than they should have been. It shouldn't have been like I was in the world myself, but more like a dream. I suspect that came from my level of control. I was curled up on the couch with Rhea at my feet. My book was settled down in my lap as I flipped through the pages. I dropped one hand down to tease over the back of the lioness neck and she responded by sniffing a bit and pulling away. I guess she wasn't in the mood to be petted. I was still planning to get Oriana on all fours, but it would have to wait until we were done with this fold and wherever it led. I hoped it would take us to Ms. Orange and Mr. Pink, so we could end it. "Fox," Samantha said as she walked into the living room. Lifting my head I looked up at her. "Samantha, have you ever had a flashback?" I asked her, snapping the book closed in my lap. A puzzled look crossed over her face as she came to a stop. My hope was that she wanted to talk to me about what I had seen when we were linked. I knew I wanted to talk to her about it, but she still wanted to hide it. Talking about it to her was all about telling me that it wasn't important enough to talk about. I wanted to learn exactly what had happened, so I felt that putting her on an off footing would help. "A few, but they aren't very fun," she said, sounding a bit confused. "I get them every now and then myself, though sometimes they have been hijacked," I said, thinking back to the time when Ruhk had decided to talk to me during one of mine. Samantha finally continued on her way and sat down on the couch next to me. Rhea moved slightly to give her some leg room but didn't seem interested in anything else. "How can a flashback be hijacked?" I shrugged a bit, "By an evil god," I said offhand. She pulled back, her cloth tail flicking slightly at this. "Are you serious?" "I am." The woman shook her head and sighed. "You have a higher class of enemies than I ever had." "Was it one of your enemies that gave you your tail?" I asked, reaching out to touch the cloth. "I wish. It was my choice at the time," she said, then frowned as she pulled away from me. "Damn it!" Grabbing her tail with just a bit more strength I motioned for her to sit down. "I think it's time you told me what was going on. After what I saw when we were linked I want to know." She rolled her eyes but stayed on the couch. "What makes you think you are even entitled to know?" I frowned at that. It was a good question for her to ask; hell it was even the right question. I had no right to know about this part of her past and how she had become wired to have a tail. I just wanted to know, and from what I had seen when we were linked it was more than just her tail. "Because I've been transformed in the past, and I know what it's like to deal with the after effects of such a change. I don't think anyone you know could say the same thing, not even Mallory. I feel like I should know because I've been there, and I can help you if you need help," I said, trying to keep the words alive, but they fell flat as I spoke them. She sighed and shook her head. "I'm not going to tell you that, Fox." I placed a hand on her shoulder, expecting her to pull away, but she didn't. "I wish you would. I'm your friend; I want to help you and I think you might need help in this case, simply because no one else can help," I said. Samantha glared at me and shook her head. "I don't need your help." Shaking my head I sighed and pulled my hand away from her. "Maybe not, but I'm still offering it. How much of a change was it? Was it just a tail or were you completely changed?" She looked at me for another moment then turned her head away. "I'm not going to tell you," she said. I watched her for a few moment moments before letting out a sigh. "At least you had a choice in the matter. That's more than I had." I stood up and stepped over Rhea, heading in the general direction of the kitchen. <> the lioness said as she climbed up to her feet and started after me. I glanced over my shoulder as we left the room. Samantha was still sitting on the couch, her head hanging down slightly and her tail folded over her lap. I stepped out of the doorway and pressed my back against the wall, hoping to hear something. Rhea looked up at me, but didn't say anything at all. She just tucked herself next to me against the wall and sat on her haunches. She turned her head up and perked up her ears. <> My only answer was a quick shake of my head. The lioness flicked her ears back and nodded as well. <> I nodded. I wanted to reply, but didn't want to speak for fear of Samantha hearing me. I really thought that she would not tell me. It was a secret she had been keeping for some time now, and I doubted our little trip together would make any difference. I still worried about how it had happened to her, even if it was her choice. Something must have either gone wrong, or the spell wasn't removed correctly. Maybe it wasn't my place to know, but I felt she should tell someone. Maybe I could slip her the information for Dr. Starker, not that I had that right. It had to have been magic, and Ken understood that and might even be able to make the tail real if she wanted it to be. Rhea, Ravindar and I walked back through the house, heading towards my office. I didn't have anything I wanted to do in there. I was just killing time. I was hoping that Samantha would call me back with a change of heart, but it wasn't her voice that called my name. "Fox," Oriana said, coming up to us. I looked back at my wife and smiled. "What is it?" "You look disappointed," she said. "A little. I was hoping Samantha would talk to me. I'm trying to get some information from her." Oria nodded, her tail flicking back slightly. "You're not going to get it. Come on, Natasha is waiting in the kitchen. We have to get going." "I suppose so," I said and turned around, walking back towards the living room. Samantha met us on the way, coming out of the kitchen. "Mallory came in a few minutes ago. He's waiting in your room," my wife said. The human perked up as a smile crossed over her face. "Thank you," she said, and then moved past us, the tip of her tail flicking in excitement. My wife smiled a bit and ran a paw through her hair. "She is in love." I chuckled. "I believe she is, and it's very strong." As I spoke I reached around and pulled my wife to my side. We pressed up closely for a moment and shared a deep kiss, our tongues teasing against each other as our bodyguards looked away. Oriana was the one that pulled away after a few moments. She placed her paws on my chest and stroked her thumbs over my shirt. "I would love to tease you more, but we have things to do." <> Rhea said. My wife looked down at my sometimes sister. "And why are you going?" <> she said with some force and a small head butt against Oria's legs. She glared down at the lioness and growled. "I'm not going to walk away from this," she said. I sighed and shook my head. "You two work it out. I want one of you along with me, and both of you are lethal in your own way. Just don't get into a shouting match, okay?" They both looked at me in annoyance and shook their respective heads. I just smiled at them both and turned around, heading back to the kitchen. Natasha was sitting at the kitchen table and looking uncomfortable about being there. The moment she saw me she stood up and rolled her shoulders a bit. "Fox, are you ready?" I shook my head and settled down at the table. "My wives are still arguing about which one is going to come with me. It won't take that much longer to decide. Once it's been done I'll pick up my gun and we can find out where this fold leads." She sighed and shook her head. "I wish your personal life didn't intrude on this situation. It seems to come up often judging by your files." I shrugged my shoulders. "It's something that happens. I can't really do anything about it." "I still suggest that you try," she said, sitting down herself and crossing her legs. I relaxed back in my chair, not really having anything to say as we waited for Oriana or Rhea to show up to help. In the end I wasn't all that surprised to see my wife walk into the kitchen. She came up to me and placed my gun on the table, along with a spare clip. "You'll need these," she said. "Thank you," I said, standing up and kissing her on the cheek. She returned the kiss and teased a hand down my back to squeeze my rear. "Are you ready to go?" "I'm not going with you this time, Rhea is," she said. I was surprised by this, and I guess she could see it on my face. "Rhea made a good point. If both of us get hurt there is no one to take care of the children. So it makes sense that one of us should stay behind." It was a perfectly reasonable thing to say, and attitude to take, but it still surprised me. "Are you sure?" "No, but Rhea can watch your back as well as I can. People have a tendency to underestimate her. Just don't get hurt," she said, placing her paws on my shoulders and smiling at me. I returned her smile. "I'll try." I leaned in and kissed her full on the lips, my arm slipping down to hold her again. She kissed back for a few moments before we broke the kiss and hugged tighter. She pressed her muzzle against the side of my head and I leaned forward to whisper into her ear. "I want some fun tonight." She burst into a fit of giggles and pushed me away. "You're a very silly man," she declared. "Of course. Why else did you marry me?" I teased. Oriana just shook her head and turned away, her tail swinging in a low arch over her legs in a way that was solely meant to tease me. "Hurry back," she said over her shoulder then slipped out of the room. "God, I love that woman," I said with a soft growl as she vanished around a corner. Natasha shook her head and tisked her tongue slightly. I ran my hands over my head then picked up my gun, taking a moment to feed my belt though the holster and slip it into position. "Samantha, Mallory, Rhea. I think it's time we did our jobs," I called out. Samantha and Mallory came down the hallway, a knowing smile on each of their faces. She had composed herself a bit more after our conversation and her tail was flicking in anticipation. A moment later Rhea came down the hall herself, walking on all fours and with her collar held in her teeth. I bent down and took the collar from her, wrapping it around her neck. She laid her ears back at this, finding it rightfully distasteful. Judging from the look on Natasha's face she wasn't keen on it herself. "This is Rhea?" "Yes it is," I replied. She bent down to look at the lioness, a look of curiosity on her face. "Why is she wearing the collar?" <> Rhea replied with an annoyed tone. "But you're clearly not." I shrugged. "The lack of thumbs seems to be an issue. I've been working on the problem but no one seems willing to take reasonability for fixing it. Like all bureaucracies, it's easier just to pass the buck." Natasha nodded and stood up. "I see. Well, I'm sure that a solution can be found. She is clearly sentient, and as should be treated as such." Mallory chuckled at this but did not say anything. I smiled at the group and nodded my head. "Let's get going," I told them. Then the group of us started down towards the fold room. I keyed in the code and the six of us all walked inside. Samantha and I walked up to the fold. I could feel it pull at me, almost eager. "Do you think this fold will go anywhere?" I asked her. She shrugged her shoulders. "I hope so. I would be pissed if we went through all of this for just a dead end." I nodded my head and then reached out with my power, grabbing the fold and forcing it open. It flared to life in front of us, the light of it swirling around the center point. Samantha went first, followed by Mallory and Rhea. I followed right after with Ravindar on my heels, and Natasha took up the rear. We all had our guns out and ready to use; we didn't want to take any chances. The fold connected to a rather plain-looking living room of a plain-looking house. I looked around a bit as I closed the fold, not sure where we were. <> Rhea said from her spot near the window. I nodded and looked around the room. Everything was nice and tidy. A blanket was kicked under one table and I could see plate a of something on the table itself. "Hello?" I called out. Natasha walked over to the plate and gave it a closer took. "We need to search this place, and fast," Samantha said, then started down the hallway towards the back of the house. Mallory walked to the front door, finding it unlocked. He pulled it open and stepped outside, moving quickly around the edge of the house. Rhea followed him but circled the house in the opposite direction. I started into the kitchen with Natasha following a short distance behind me. There wasn't anyone around, or any sign that someone had been close by. There was a coffee pot in the sink, but it was empty. There were three doors in the kitchen. One led outside, while the other two had less obvious destinations. I took one door and Natasha took the other. I only found a pantry that was more empty than stocked. A few cans of soup and some prepackage meals, but nothing of any note. I looked back to see what Natasha had found, but she had vanished behind the other door. I glanced up at my bodyguard then shrugged a bit. I didn't want her getting hurt, so it would be for the best for me to see where she had gone. Looking through the doorway I found a set of stairs leading down to a basement. "Natasha?" I called out. She peeked back up the stairway and waved her hand a bit. "I'll look around down here. There are only a couple of rooms." I frowned a bit and sighed. "Not by yourself," I said, but was brought up short by the sound of gunfire echoing through the house. I pulled back from the door, my gun held tightly in my hand as I ran out of the kitchen and looked around the house. I saw Samantha standing at the end of the hall next to a closed door. She had ducked down slightly with her hand over her head. A moment later she unloaded a few rounds into the door in front of her. Running down the hallway I slid to a stop close to her, keeping my head down. "What's going on?" I asked. She glanced at me, her tail flicking in annoyance. "Two men--they were hiding in the master bathroom and opened fired the moment I came in." I nodded and glanced up at Ravindar. He looked back at me and nodded his head. Leaning back he kicked at the damaged door, sending it swinging back into the room. I could see the two men, ducking down behind the bed. Both were human and one was holding a gun over the top of the bed. He fired off a few wild shots that didn't come near us. Samantha and I both returned fire. She went high, trying to hit any part of them that peeked over the top of the bed, I shot at the bed, hoping a few rounds would hit our attackers through the padding and springs. "I'm with the CSC. If you stop now you'll be under arrest," I called out. It was lame, but I wanted to at least try to give them a chance to surrender. One of the men glanced up and fired at us again. This time the bullets pegged into the wall over our head, sending drywall dust down over the three of us. Samantha let out a small growl, threw herself onto her belly and began to slowly crawl around the bed. I started covering her, shooting a few rounds over the top of the bed, hoping to distract them so they couldn't see my friend. Ravindar was doing the same. We fell into a steady rhythm, I would fire a few rounds, and then he would shoot his. By the time I had to swap clips Samantha was nearing the corner of the bed. She was just starting to edge around it to fire at the two men when the wall behind them started to glow, then burst into flames. The heat rushed over the room forcing all of us to duck as the wall collapsed down into ash. Mallory was standing on the other side with a look of anger on his face. The two men looked up at the new doorway. With them distracted for the moment, I lunged forward over the bed, tackling one of the men. At the same time Samantha lunged forward and forced the other man down to the floor. The man under me started to struggle so I spun my gun around in my hand and smacked the butt of my gun against the side of his temple. He let out a pained gasp, his eyes rolling back in his head as he went slack jawed for a moment. "You're under arrest," I snapped and pulled the gun from his hand, throwing it to Ravindar. He caught it, pulled out the clip, and cleared the round from the chamber. Samantha followed the same course, but used her telekinetic power to pull the weapon free. I looked down at the man then back to Ravindar. "I don't suppose you have a way to bind these guys?" I asked. He rolled his eyes and pulled out a few large zip ties. I took one from him and forced the man onto his back. I gathered his hands together and closed the zip tie around them. A second zip tie went between his hands, separating the first tie into two cuffs and preventing him from pulling free. Once my guy was firmly bound I turned to Samantha. She had her man done up so tightly that his wrists were turning pink where the plastic cut into them. "You might want to loosen those up just a bit, we don't want him to lose his hands," I said. She gave me a look and shook her head. Standing up I stepped over the man I had taken down and looked up at Mallory, then at the hole he had blasted in the wall. "How the hell did you do that?" I asked. He raised one of his three fingered hands and flexed them, showing off the gems that were on each digit. "It is a contained plasma burst with a neutralizing force field. It burns as long as I wish it to," he said. I snickered softly. "What a wonderful toy." "I still want one," Samantha said, searching through the man's pockets. Natasha ran down the hallway, looking into the room and through the hole into the backyard. Rhea was now sitting behind Mallory with a look of amusement on her face. "Fox, you had better come with me," the gray-skinned woman said, then turned and ran back down the hallway. I looked back at my friends and then followed after Natasha. She ran through the house, the kitchen, then down the stairs at full speed. I rushed after her, holding tightly onto the railing as I tried to both keep up with her and not to fall on my face. She vas jumping three steps at a time, not even bothering with the railing, . At the bottom of the stairs she turned to the left and went through an open door, stopping on the other side. I followed after her, coming to a stop and looking around the room. It was a simple room with plain walls and a cement floor. At the center was a table that had someone strapped to it. There was a sheet over the top of it with stains of blood on the fabric, some fresh but most of it dry. The face of the person was uncovered, and in the darkness it took me a moment to recognize the face. "Jadith," I said under my breath, rushing over to her side. I touched the side of her neck, feeling a faint pulse and the soft sound of her breathing. Her face didn't look that bad, other than the lines of blood from her eyes that showed she had been using her healing powers. Lifting the sheet up, I frowned when I saw that the rest of her wasn't in as good as shape. I looked back at Natasha. "Get help, now." "Already on the way," she replied. "Good," I said, looking past her to see Ravindar in the doorway, looking rather concerned. I turned back to look at Jadith, reaching under the sheet to hold onto her hand. She shifted a bit, squeezing slightly but not opening her eyes. I couldn't tell if she was awake or not, but I was glad that she was alive. 2: Omega The suns were starting to set by the time we all got out of the hospital. I had insisted on going with Jadith, as had Rhea. Naturally Ravindar had come alone with me as he could do nothing else. Samantha and Mallory had gone back to the OZG offices with Natasha. Jadith was recovering, but had been hurt pretty badly. I guess the two men we had captured were trying to get information out of her the old fashioned way. She had healed a lot of the damage they had done, but that hadn't exactly stopped them. I leaned up against the wall of the hospital and ran my hands over my head. <> Rhea told me, taking a seat at my side. "Physically, yes, but the rest will take time," Ravindar said. "You have no idea what kind of pain that could cause," he added. I snickered softly, looking down at my left hand and flexing the fingers. I hadn't been tortured like Jadith, but I'd had my fair share of persuasion in the past. Once it had resulted in the loss of my left hand. That was also when I had discovered my allergy to the regen drugs. I had a prosthetic hand for a few years. One of such high quality that you couldn't even tell it was fake. My real hand had come back when I had been cursed, a rather nice side effect of what was, on the whole, a bad situation. From the look on Rhea's face, I could tell that she was thinking the exact same thing. I reached down and stroked the course fur between her ears. She leaned up and nuzzled at my fingers and smiled a bit. "We need to get back to the OZG," I said. Ravindar nodded and looked around the street. "We should head for the closest fold," he said. I nodded and felt around for one, finding it about a block away. I started walking down the street towards it, glad that folds were so common on Prid. It made getting around a heck of a lot easier. We hurried along towards it. I opened the fold with a wave of my hand and we walked into the fold room at the OZG. There were a few moments of pause before I was able to close the fold behind us. The fold room was austere, with heavy steel walls and an even heavier door. A small guard enclosure stood next to the door with an armed guard inside. He looked at me for a moment as I pulled out my wallet and flashed him my CSC ID. The guard looked at it for a moment then nodded, keying in something that opened the large door. I had been through the room often enough in the past few days that I thought I wouldn't have to show my ID, but that was never the case. We walked out of the fold room and into the OZG proper, winding our way through the hallways to the meeting room we had been using. Mallory was waiting inside, but there wasn't any sign of anyone else. "Hello Mallory," I said. He looked up at me, his jaw flexing into a smile. "Hello, Fox. How is your friend?" <> Rhea answered. The alien smiled a bit and lifted his head. "I am glad that you discovered her when you did. It is a good thing that she is still alive." "Alive, but still unconscious. It will be days before she can tell us anything that happened to her," I said, sitting down next him. He nodded and tapped his fingers on the table. "Where is Samantha?" I asked. "She is in the restroom," he replied. I snickered softly and leaned back into my chair. He smiled back in his strange way and nodded his long neck. We settled down in silence for a few moments. I wasn't sure exactly what to say. I liked Mallory. He seemed like a nice guy, but he was more Samantha's friend than my own. I guess that was a bit odd, having one of my friends bring along their own friend on an adventure. It seemed a bit out of place in many respects. I guessed I couldn't always be the big hero with everyone taking their cue from my own actions. Sometimes I was just a normal guy in over my head. A short time later Samantha came back into the room, her tail flicking quickly behind her. Natasha was a few steps behind her and carrying yet another file in her hands. She looked at me as she walked up to the table, sitting down with a relaxed smile on her face. "I have good news and bad news." "Oh?" I asked. She flicked the file open and spread out a few pages. "We found a functioning computer in the house and were able to pull information off of it, including the plans for the ripple entrapment devices as well as a more complete list of tests and off world locations." "Fantastic. I have a friend who would love to get his hands on those plans. He has the clearance for it. He serves on an explorer ship," I said, rubbing my hands slightly. "Well that is the good news, but there is bad news as well. We found hair samples on the keyboard that were typed as a female tiger. We suspect it's Ms. Orange," Natasha said, pushing forward another page. I took it from her and looked over the text, not finding anything different from what she had told me. I dropped the page and pushed it back to her. "So, can we find a match with this, maybe find out who she really is?" "We're working on it," she replied. "Did you find anything else?" I asked. "Nothing too interesting-- some addresses but nothing new. There were a few notes in some miscellaneous files, but nothing we could make any sense of," she replied, pushing a couple more pages to me. I picked them up and started riffling through them, trying to see if there was anything interesting. There were some notes about meetings, a few names, and a string of numbers. I flipped back through them and returned back to the numbers. I dropped the rest of the pages, pushing them over to Samantha as I read them over again. They looked familiar, not like I knew the numbers, but there was something about the pattern of them. It finally clicked after a few moments as it came together. "It's a room number in the Marble Hall. One of the residential levels I think," I said. Natasha's head shot up and she looked at me rather intently with her black eyes. "Are you sure?" she asked. "I'm relatively sure. I used to live there, or at least I had a teleport curtain set up there." She stood up and folded her arms behind her back. "If they have a place in the Marble Hall, all of our security could be compromised." Samantha stood up and rolled her shoulders back, her tail flicking in excitement. "We had better get going," she said, pulling out her gun and checking the clip. I nodded and did the same. I had most of a full clip but it was also the only clip I had. I put the gun back into place and stood back up. "I don't know a fold close to the address, but we should be able to find one." Natasha nodded and took the note from me, walking to the terminal and starting to type at the keyboard. While she did that I walked over to stand next to Samantha and Mallory. "Fuck," Natasha said a moment later. I snapped my head around to look at the gray skinned woman. "What is it?" I asked, hurrying to her side. "You're right. It is an apartment in the Marble Hall, one marked as high security," she said. Samantha stood up and walked over it us. "Who's apartment?" I pushed Natasha out of the way and looked down at the display on the terminal. I frowned as I saw the information. "Bastion's," I said Mallory lifted his head slightly and joined up as the terminal, crowding it even more. "Bastion, as in Bastion Harries? Isn't he Prid's representative to the Consortium?" "The one in the same. It seems like our Ms. Orange was interested in him," I said. He clenched his three fingered fist tightly, the gems of his weapon catching the light. "Then we have no time to lose. If he is in danger we must do all that we can to aid him." Natasha shook her head, shooing us all away from the terminal. She was trying to keep her composure, but looked a little bit flustered. "There are jurisdictional issues. The OZG lacks authority in the Marble Hall." I frowned at this then shook my head. "Maybe the OZG does, but not the CSC. My authority should be able to get us in," I said, not leaving the terminal, instead punching the fold address into my portal control. "Let's get going." Trusting that my friends would be following after me I turned and walked out of the meeting room. I passed Natasha, who looked a bit unsure as to what she should do and ended up staying in the room by herself. We hurried through the building and back to the fold, keying it open with a quick touch of my portal controller. We found ourselves in another security room. This one was fully automated, both for accessing the Hall and for the security measures, which looked rather lethal. Cameras were watching us closely as I walked to the access panel on the door. I pulled out my ID and ran it through the system. It took a few moments for the system to process my information before the door buzzed and slid open. The five of us started down the hallway, moving fast but not quite running. As we moved, I debated on how to handle the situation. It wasn't a strong lead, the note could have been weeks old and they had a few hours head start, but we still had to be sure. Bastion was important enough to checkup on. I just had to accept that we might be too late to do any good. I decided that for the moment it would be best to try and act casual about things. I didn't want to just kick the door down if there wasn't anything going on. So, when we finally came to the door, I just knocked on it and took a step back to wait. Ravindar and Rhea flanked my sides while Mallory and Samantha stood behind us. My bodyguard reached out and placed his paw over the peephole on the door. A few moments passed before the door opened and a face looked out. It wasn't Bastion, or any other avian for the matter. In this case it was a tiger, a tigress to be exact. To be even more exact, it was Ms. Orange herself. From the look on her face she recognized me at the same moment. She tried to close the door on us, but I leaned back and kicked it as hard as possible, slamming it into her face. She stumbled back from the door, looking stunned. Blood was running from her nose. There was a gun in her hand, but she was holding it poorly. I hit it with the back of my own hand, knocking it free from her fingers. My other hand came up and hit her square on the chin, making her jaw close with a snap and sending her falling to the floor. Ravindar pushed past me into the room, firing two rounds into the far wall. I glanced over my shoulder and saw another person in the room, this time a human male who was also armed. He looked at us with a frown and dropped his gun onto the carpet. Shaking my head a bit, I fell down onto Ms. Orange, pinning her to the ground before she got her wits about her. I looked around the room, trying to see if there was anyone else waiting for us. The front room was large, larger than my first apartment on Prid. There were doorways in each of the other walls, with a staircase running up the wall opposite the front door. "Search the house, make sure no one else is here, and try to find Bastion," I ordered. "Got it," Samantha said, going towards the doorway on the left. Mallory went in the other direction while Rhea rushed up the stairs, her tail flying behind her. I looked up at Ravindar then back to the one doorway no one had taken. "Give me the ties. I'll get these two tied up. You check that door," I said, pointing at the empty hallway. The white tiger shook his head. "That will not be a good idea. This situation increases the need for me to do my job. We'll get these two tied up and join the rest of search," he told me, pulling the ties out of his pocket and offering them to me. "I guess it can wait a minute," I said, taking the ties and rolling Ms. Orange over onto her back. I pulled her wrists together, wrapping the tie around them. Ravindar was quicker than I was; by the time I had the first tie closed he had the other man trussed up. <> Rhea called, her voice so loud that it echoed through my mind. Without thinking I dropped the second tie and started up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Ravindar followed behind me. I didn't think he heard Rhea's cry, but he wasn't going to leave me alone. There was a long hallway at the top of the stairs. I could see Rhea standing by the last door, her tail flicking in agitation. She was pawing at the carpet, her claws digging into the fabric. I came up behind her, slowing down as I came to the door. It was only partly closed and I could see something moving behind the door. Rhea moved out of my way and I leaned forward, peeking through the gap. I could just make out Bastion's, his colorful feathers making him easy to spot. There was another man sitting a short distance away. He wasn't a human and I couldn't tell what species he was. I moved out of the way and motioned for Ravindar to take a look. He bent down and glanced through the doorway then quickly pulled away. "I'll go first and take out the guard. He is armed with just a pistol so it will be an easy shot. You follow right after me and shoot anyone else in the room. Got it?" he said in a whisper. "Got it," I replied. He nodded and stood up, holding his gun firmly in his paw. I lined up behind him, quickly checking my gun to make sure there was a round in the chamber. I have my bodyguard a short nod, and he nodded in return. Without a word Ravindar shoved the door open with his shoulder. The guard, a raccoon, let out a yelp and lifted his gun. The white tiger was faster, shooting him squarely through the heart. The raccoon fell back to his chair as I came into the room, coming up short when I saw Bastion. He was tied up fairly well, his wrists and legs bound as he sat on the bed, and a gag wrapped around his beak. He looked at me with wide eyes, and I wouldn't blame him for that as there was a gun pointed at his head. Holding the gun, and with a smirk on his face, was Clark himself. The man smiled at me, and clicked his tongue. "Mr. Cutter. Why am I not surprised that you would be here? Now you will do exactly as I tell you, or I will kill him," he paused for a moment, his eyes looking with mine. I held my place, unsure of what I should do. I relaxed my grip slightly but not by much. I wasn't sure how I was going to deal with him. Clark glared at me then shrugged his shoulders. "Fuck it, you won't do what I'll say anyway," he said, and squeezed the trigger. Rhea was the one who saved the day. While Clark was paying attention to me she jumped up and dug her claws into Bastion's pants. She pulled back just before the gun fired, pulling him halfway off the bed and sending his head falling back. The bullet whisked through the feathers on his head and hit the wall. I fired my gun at the same moment. My aim wasn't like Ravindar's and hit Clark in the belly. Ravindar's own shot was much better, hitting him squarely in the chest. The human looked stunned by this and stumbled back, crumpling to the floor. "That wasn't exactly the stare down I had expected. I thought he would at least monologue," I said, putting my gun away. "What the hell?" Samantha asked from behind us. I glanced back at the doorway, finding Samantha taking up most of it with Mallory behind her. "Help me untie Bastion. Mallory, call for help," I ordered. He turned away as Samantha and I bent down, working at the bindings around the bird. The moment I had the gag off he let out a gasp and sputtered out. "Alexandria, where is Alexandria?" "Who is Alexandria?" I asked. "The tigress! She's the one who tied me up!" he snapped at me. I shrugged. "Tied up downstairs," I said, much to Bastion's relief as I worked free the binds around his wrists. "I take it you know her?" "She's a lawyer with the provisional government. She said she had to talk with me about the newest revisions of the new governing documents. It was dumb for me to tell her to come here," he explained as he rubbed his wrists with a look of distaste on his flexible beak. "Um... She's not down there," Samantha said. I looked up at her. "What?" "She's not downstairs. The other guy you tied up is still there, but she's gone." My eyes went wide for a moment before I shook my head. "Go down there; see if you can catch her. Hopefully she hasn't gotten very far." Samantha nodded and rushed back out of the doorways and down the hall. "Are you okay?" I asked Bastion as I pulled off the last of his bindings. "I'm a little sore, and I think I have a few cuts on my legs," he said, bending down to touch the holes that Rhea had left in his pants. The lioness laid her ears back at this, but he just reached up and placed a hand on top of her head. "I think it was worth the cost. Thank you, I do believe you saved my life." <> she told him in a pleased voice. He chuckled a bit and nodded his head. "Yes, I should be just fine." "I didn't find her," Samantha said, panting as she came back through the door. "But we have help," she said, pointing to the police officer right behind her. I pulled out my CSC ID and handed it to the office. He looked at it for a few moments, then down to the two bodies on the floor. From the look on his face it was pretty clear that it was going to be a long night. * * * 5/22/2000: Bastion looked up as I walked into his office, with Rhea following at my side. Ravindar was in his normal position a few feet behind me and as composed as ever. I settled down in a chair across the desk from him and folding my hands in my lap. Rhea sat on her haunches next to me. "Fox, Rhea, I'm glad you could come," the avian said as he set his pen down and pushed away a few files. I smiled slightly. "I think it's more than reasonable. I'm just glad that you are doing well." "There were a few stitches on my legs, but that will heal," the avian replied as a smile ran over his flexible beak. I nodded but said nothing else and we all lapsed into silence for a few moments. Finally Bastion picked up a PADD from his desk and switched it on. "I've read your report on this whole 'Bad Wolf' incident. I'm surprised about the depth that it reached. There have been a dozen more arrests throughout Prid's provisional government. Many of them had some sort of connection to the HammerHeads. We will have to run through all known or suspected members and reevaluate their security risks." "At least Clark is dead. I just expected him to be more trouble than that," I said as I leaned back in my chair. Ravindar spoke up from behind my back. "He was, for you. You need to spend more time training." I gave my bodyguard a sharp look, though tempered with a smile. Bastion chuckled and nodded his head. "Either way he is dead, and that is something we are sure about this time. It's still regrettable that Alexandria managed to escape. From the information Natasha provided me, it seems that she was probably his second-hand man. I do wish you had more information on this Mr. Pink." "So do I. Natasha seems to thinks he doesn't exist, at least not anymore. The only evidence that he ever existed is what Marn gave us, but all the records we recovered showed that Clark was the one in charge. She thinks it might have been Jenner, at least some of his plans. I'm pretty sure that he is dead, you don't survive being dropping down an elevator shaft," I said. He clicked his beak slightly but he nodded his head. "I would like to be sure about this, though. If the leader of this little group got away, it would be bad for everyone," he said. "Natasha is sure. I'm not, but I trust her. She wouldn't have her job if Jadith didn't believe in her." Bastion nodded his head again and made a couple of notes. "Have you seen her? She's recovering well." I nodded. "I stopped by the other day, but she was asleep. She should be out of the hospital in a few more days, then I guess she's going back home for a month," I said in a quiet voice. I had gotten a chance to talk with her a couple of days before. She was doing okay, at least physically, but I didn't think her mind was altogether healed. I guess they had hurt her pretty badly to find out what we knew. "I hope she finds what she needs," he said softly. "Me, too. Is there anything else?" I asked. Bastion set his pen back down and gave me a smile that worried me a little bit. "The scandal that this will cause is going to reach fairly high in the Provisional Government. There are already pending announcements of resignations. There is going to be quite the opportunity in the future and I already have some plans for it." "Plans that don't involve me," I said in a sharp voice. "I've done my part for king and country and I'm already too involved with the Consortium. I am not going to do it again." His smile faltered for a moment but came back right way. "Yes, of course, without you. I wouldn't dream of asking you to get involved again," he said with a wave of his wing- hand. "Of course," I replied in a sarcastic tone. "Now, if there is nothing else, I have things I need to do," I said, starting to rise from my chair. Bastion stood up and shook his head. "Oh, there is one more thing that I need to address, but it doesn't involve you," he said, walking around the desk and bending down in front of Rhea. "It involves you." My sometimes twin sister pulled back a bit, her ears lying down in her fur. <> He nodded his head and reached out to touch the edge of her collar. "If I may?" She nodded, her tail flicking slowly as she lifted her head. She wasn't sure what was going on. "Your aid has put my name on the lips of everyone in the government, and I was able to pull a few strings because of it." As he spoke he reached around and unhooked her collar, pulling it off her neck. Rhea watched him for moment, her head tilted slightly to the side then let out a soft gasp. <> Bastion nodded and stood up, picking up a folder from his desk. Opening the folder he bent back down and showed them to her. "These documents declare you a sentient being, though with special circumstances. Although this isn't everything that needs to be done, it is enough. It also lists Fox and Oriana as your human aids, not keepers, just helpers." The lioness lifted her head and flicked her ears to the side. <> She emphasized the words by softly head butting him on the legs. "We'll get the details worked out, but the basics are in place. It was the least I could do," he said in a way that made me suspect there was much more to it than that, but I wasn't in the mood to try and find out the rest of the story. Rhea leaned in closer trying to read the paperwork. "You will need to sign the document. My guess is that you can't use a pen, but we made sure there is enough room for you to do whatever you can," he said, turning the page around to show the back of it. There were a few lines of text, but the majority of it was blank. I leaned down to look at the paperwork myself, then back down to the lioness. She looked back at me, and then glanced down at her paws. <> "DNA is a valid form of identification," Ravindar said with a small chuckle. Bastion looked up with a bit of surprised. "You mean blood?" There was a touch of horror in his feathered face. Rhea chuffed in amusement. She then leaned forward and licked the page with her large tongue. The avian pulled the page back in surprised and looked down at the wet smear on the paper with wide eyes. "I guess saliva does has DNA in it..." he said, a little bit baffled. Letting out a laugh I plucked the page from him and a pen from his desk. I outline the place where the lioness had licked and made a note about how it was done. I then signed my name on the line provided for the witness. Bastion took the page from me and held it between two fingers. "Well then, I guess that resolves that. I'll file this with the proper authorities. Congratulations." The lioness blushed a bit and flicked her ears back. <> The avian stood up and leaned against his desk. "It was the least I could do. I am sorry, but I think our time is over, I have many more appointments today. I'm a popular man." I stood up, grabbing Rhea's collar and tucked it into my pocket. "Then I guess we won't be bothering you anymore," I said, as together the three of us walked out of his office Rhea was nearly prancing down the hallway, her tail flicking like she was trying to dance. I laughed softly at this and reached down to tease the tip of her tail. It was a nice change from the last few days and visiting both of my friends in the hospital, though Sora wouldn't be out of the regen tank for another three weeks. I decided to put it all out of my mind for the moment, and just share in Rhea's joy. * * * Alexandria relaxed back into the booth, the low light of the bar masked her face and her bruises, but it wouldn't last forever. She took another sip of her drink, setting the glass down as someone slid into the booth. Her paw went to her gun, fumbling for it before she realized that it was Richard Stanz. "Relax," the human said, setting his own glass down on the table. He looked out at the bar then back to her. "Mydisia is not the best place for you to hole up. The Consortium keeps an eye on it after the plague." The tigress nodded and let go of her gun, picking up her drink and hunching slightly over the table. "It's still a low priority, and all the other rendezvous location have been compromised. This was the safest place I could hole up in until someone arrived." He sighed and took a drink of his beer, wincing a bit as he tasted it. "I only came because I saw your face on the news. It's all over the Consortium, even where I was hiding. As soon as I saw that I ran, I knew that the safe house had been compromised. "If you came, you're probably the only one left," she said, finishing the last of her drink. The human licked his lips and nodded his head. "They must be cleaning up Prid. You know, if I saw your face on the news there are going to be others, even here. I grabbed this from the safe house before I ran," he said, taking a small vial from his pocket and slid it over the table to her. "What's this?" she asked, taking the vial and looking closely at it. "A nanite mix. It will recolor your fur, it should make it much harder for you to be identified. I suggest you cut your hair as well," he said, placing a pocket knife on the table. She looked at the vial then back at the pocket knife. With a sigh she snapped the top off and drank it down. It tasted bitter, with a bit of a metallic aftertaste, something like a filling. It was heavy in her belly, mixing with her drink and making her feel warm. Placing the vial back on the table she picked up the pocket knife and pulled it open. With her free paw she gathered up her hair and started cutting through it until the bundle fell away. She looked at it for a few moments, her mind thinking back to when she had decided to grow it out, soon after meeting Jenner for the first time. With a sigh she threw it down onto the dirty floor. Stanz smiled a bit as he took the pocket knife from her and put it away. "When this is done no one will be looking at your face," he said. "That's reassuring," she said, scratching the fur on the back of her neck. The human leaned forward and smiled a bit. "So, what are we going to do next? Go after Cutter and his friends?" She thought about it for a moment, waving over a passing waitress. The young woman took her empty glass and replaced it with a full one. The tigress took a large gulp of her drink and set it back down on the table. "I've been thinking about what we should do," she said. "I knew you would have a plan," he said. "We're not going to do a thing about them, or to them," she said. Stanz pulled back and gave her a look of surprise and horror. "What? If it wasn't for them everything would have worked without a hitch and Prid would have been ours, at least after the election. The tigress sighed and shook her head. "It's not as simple as that. I went to Bastion's home because he had access to the secure data network. I was able to pull up most of the information the OZG had on us. They wouldn't even have found us if it wasn't for Clark wanting revenge on the people who killed Jenner. Revenge was the problem, and more revenge will not help." He sighed and ran a hand over his head. "Then what are we suppose to do? The two of us can't exactly save the world alone." "Twice now the Hammerheads have tried to live up to Jenner's dreams, and twice we've failed. I think perhaps there is a better way, and force of arms might not be up to the task." "So we do nothing then?" he asked with some distaste. Alexandria smiled and shook her head. "Oh no, not nothing. There are many people who can use our skills, we can easily find employment," she said, looking down at her paw, the black parts of her fur were starting to become blue in color, standing out against the orange. The orange itself was changing color as well, starting to become purple. He thought for a moment, playing his glass between his hands. "I suppose so, but I dislike the idea of running away." "We do what we have to do," she replied, then stretched her arms out to look at her fur. "Are you sure about this? I look like a sign." The human chuckled and nodded his head. "Exactly! Normal people will notice your fur before they ever see your face. You stand out too much for you to be hiding. No one will suspect a thing." She gave him a sharp look and watched as the color of her fur finished changing, the light blue standing out on the dark purple background. "So the plan is that I'm so blindingly bright that no one can stand to look at me long enough to see who I am. I can see why that plan would work," she said. "Trust me, it will." The tigress sighed and shook out her hair--even that had changed color. She wondered if her eyes had changed as well. "I still don't think that standing out will keep me hidden, but you are the deep cover agent." Stanz nodded and finished his beer. "So, what sort of work are we looking for? I'm deep cover and you're logistics; we're not exactly a matched set." "True, but we have information that people will pay for. They never found your backdoor in the Defense system. Your gambit worked like a charm." The human shrugged. "I just gave them what they expected to find. They had no reason to look past that," he said with some pride. "There are a lot of people who would pay a lot of money to learn how to get a ship onto Prid undetected," Alexandria said with a smile. "Though we need to make sure it goes to the right people, preferably if they share our agenda." "I'll look around, but it will take time to find such a person. For now I know of a cult that could use some help. They're outside of Consortium space, so we can stay out of view." The tigress nodded and leaned back in her seat. "Give them a call and see what they will pay us," she said. "You're the boss, boss," he said as he slid out of the booth and walked out of the dark bar. Alexandria smirked a bit and crossed her arms. It would take some time to get back on her feet, but with some work she, and Stanz, would be comfortable again. In time what they knew would be very profitable for them both. ----- This story (AFiW #512) is copyright 2008 by Fox Cutter. Hardcopy reprints limited to one per person, all other rights reserved. This story may not be distributed for a fee except by permission of the author, and this copyright notice may not be removed.