FSE

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formerly SoFurry search engine

(A story for faye.)

Slowly a figure rose from a bed in the small house. The shapely curves hidden below the sheet revealed the figure to be that of a woman, and the streamlined curves of her face and ears revealing her to be a cat, with fur white as the snow. The cat, a lynx, spread her arms to the sky and stretched as she sat up. Letting the sheet fall from her body and reveal her naked form to the world. The sun shone through the paper walls of the house. Casting shadows over the ground. Rising to her feet the lynx made her way to the door and pushed it to the side letting the cool air from the mountains above blow [past her and into the house. She looked onward toward the mountains that glowed pink in the morning light. The high-hanging clouds white and puffy but few and far between there would be no rain today.

She pulled a robe off of a hook on the wall and pulled it on, wrapping it around her body and keeping it closed with one hand. She gingerly stepped out onto the cold stone path as she closed the door behind her and made her way down the path toward the stream. Once there she shed her robe and laid it on a rock before stepping into the cold water. She grimaced and shivered at the first touch of the almost freezing liquid but she pressed on, making her way to the deeper middle of the stream until she was almost breast deep in the water. Slowly she brought her paws up along her body, Dragging her claws through her fur the swift current of the mountain stream carrying away whatever unwanted dirt particles that clung to her otherwise perfectly white fur.

Suddenly the sound of approaching footsteps caught her ears. She snapped her head towards the sound quickly, the form of a running dog catching her eye, an anthro collie. The young collie looked around for a few moments before continuing up the path to her home. He stopped and banged on the door a few times, calling franticly, "Faye sama! Faye sama!"

The lynx rolled her eyes and cupped her paws around her muzzle "I'm in the stream!" she shouted up the hill toward the collie. The dog snapped in her direction and started running down the hill, still shouting to her. Faye began wading towards the shore quickly, coming out of the water onto the shore just as the collie reached her. The young boy stopped dead in his tracks, gazing in almost awe as the naked lynx walked past him to grab her robe and draw it onto herself again. She turned around, her paws still holding the kimono by the hems and using it to rub herself dry "well? What is it child?" she asked, a tiny smile coming to her face at the sight of the shocked dog.

The collie shook his head to get his eyes off the lynx and cast his glance down toward the ground. He pointed up over the hill, past her house toward the sea "the Americans are here..." he said quietly, almost as if he was apologizing after being scolded. "Jerome sama asked me to come get you..."

Faye's face fell in a look of shock, and then stretched back into a gaunt look of someone in control. "Go tell Jerome that I will be with him shortly. GO!" she growled spinning the boy around by his shoulders and shoving him in the direction he had come from. The dog took his lead and ran up the hill in a frantic pace, almost tripping on a few uneven stones on the path as he went. Faye quickly climbed the hill to her house. She made her way inside and growled loudly as she drew the front door open to look outside, there, on the horizon, sat an entire fleet of American ships, like some terrible monolith of war.

Faye growled again and stripped herself of her robe with a flourish. She used a towel to dry herself the rest of the way off and pulled on another kimono. She pulled the sash tight and grabbed a katana, one of several, off of a nearby stand. She shoved the katana into the side off her sash and set off down the hill again, this time in the direction of the sea.

Walking quickly Faye reached the shore of the town. She pushed her way through a large group of people who stood there looking at the warships that stood off shore, so much bigger looking than they had from her home in the mountains. She spotted a group of soldiers and their commander. A large looking German shepherd named Jerome. One paw on the hilt of her katana Faye approached him. "Jerome, you asked to see me?"

Jerome turned to the cat, the scowl on his face only broken by the long, jagged scar on it. "I asked to see the village leader. Not some woman. Why did the child bring me you?"

Faye smiled and gripped the handle of her katana tighter at her hip. "I AM the village leader. The man you look for was my father. And he hasn't returned from YOUR war. We are a fishing village. We have no coal, no metals, why do you choose to endanger my village, my people?" she snarled the last word. "My people will not be made soldiers either. You have already taken all the young men from our village and they have not yet come back, those that do come back? They hobble through our gates, crippled for life." She cast an arm in the direction of a young boy who walked with the aid of a tall stick, his leg severed from below the knee.

The Shepard frowned in dismay. "Your puny village came into this by no fault of I or my men. The Americans chose to land on this beach of their own accord. If you are so against being involved in the fighting then I suggest you and your people take what you can and leave before the Americans start shelling us, and this is only SOME of the American fleet. But rest assured, they won't be taking this beach." He smiled and turned once again to the table next to him. Leaning over it and surveying the map to work on the defensive positions.

Faye scoffed at him and turned away herself, making her way away from the shore and back towards her home. Suddenly a group of villagers gathered around her. Calling for her to tell her what Jerome had said. Faye raised a paw and the villagers instantly quieted. She checked around quickly to make sure none of the soldiers were near before she turned back to the villagers. "Jerome sama said that the Americans are planning to take the beach-"suddenly the villagers rose again, questions bombarding her with questions from all sides. She raised her paw again "SILENCE...he said that the Americans would not take the beach....but I'm not so sure...never the less, I've...WE Have worked too hard to let this place get destroyed in a war that's no longer worth fighting. We're not about to just ack up and move when the going gets tough. This village has survived monsoons, tidal waves and earthquakes. We can survive this."

The villagers nodded soberly and began to move away, going back about their daily business. Another villager came up next to Faye, a badger about her age by the name of Ricky. "faye." He said placing one long clawed paw on her shoulder "what do you think we should do then?" he gave her a sad frown, but held a trusting look in his golden eyes.

She smiled "I think the best thing to do would be to meet away from..." she turned around and looked back at Jerome. "...prying eyes. Meet me and anyone you can find to help us back at my home" she grinned wider at him and he nodded in return. Faye patted his shoulder before heading back to her home. There would be much planning for her to make...

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Late that night there came a knocking at Faye's door. She smiled widely and stood up from her kneeling position on the floor. She crossed the room quickly and drew the door back and smiled at the small group of furs, Ricky included, and quickly ushered them inside the house. The group settled themselves one by one in a small circle centered on a small coffee table. Faye picked up a small kettle on the table and poured a gracious helping of sake into a cup and proceeded to pass a cup to each of the guests with a smile. "Welcome gentlemen. So glad you could join me, I'm also happy to see that you take such an interest in the safety of my village." She said as she seated herself.

A stoat much older than the rest of the group smiled at her as she sat "Faye. I know your father would be proud if he could see how seriously you're taking the safety of the village. I'm sure he'll be quite pleased with how well you've taken care of all of us when...when he comes back from the war." The stoat said as he caught the faint hint of sadness in Faye's eyes.

Faye steeled herself again and returned the smile, although less powerful now, to her face. "Thank you bill-san, now then, I've thought about this long and hard. But we all know that this war is a lost cause. We've lost the only thing between us and the Americans. Hiroshima Island, with that island under their control now there planning a full scale takeover of the Japanese mainland, and that means bad news for the village." She pulled out a map from under the coffee table and spread it out on the available space. She drew one long finger across the space near the shore of the village. "This is where the Americans have anchored there ships. And I think I have a plan......"

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The crashing waves slowly gave way to the progress of the small wooden boat that floated out across the water toward the steel behemoths that seemed to float on the water effortlessly, yet the dark black waves that roiled from beneath there undersides groaned toward the shore with unstoppable power. Faye frowned and rowed harder along with Ricky who straddled the front of the boat dangerously. "What if they just start shooting at us when they spot us?" the badger growled as they crashed against another wave.

Faye's frown turned into a slight smirk as she erected a tattered looking American flag on a small pole. "That's why we have the flag that bill-san gave us from his time on the trading vessel." She said as she rocked forward when the boat rode down the back of another wave.

Ricky rolled his eyes as they finally stopped rowing, close enough now to their destination at the port side of one of the smaller boats of the fleet. "Well if the Americans don't kill us....the waves will." He said as suddenly a huge spotlight snapped upon them, the beam of light waving back and forth across the water in a desperate attempt to keep its bright hold on them. Faye shielded her eyes with one paw and held the pole with the flag on it as high as she could. There was much shouting as the dark silhouettes of furs rushed to the guardrail and eventually became useable as more lights flashed upon them. A loud voice called over the ship's loudspeaker as a hook was thrown from the ship. The dark rope twirling through the air as the hook landed in the water behind the boat.

Rick turned to Faye as the loudspeaker continued to blare at them in an unknown language to hi. Faye however had learned English from her father who had also sailed on a trading vessel. "They want us to attach the hook to the boat so they can pull us in." Faye said as she fished into the water and grabbed the rope before she reeled in the hook. She passed the hook to rick who hung it on the front of the boat and soon enough they began to feel themselves being pulled toward the warship. "Do or die now rick." Faye said with a smile regardless of their current position.

Soon the small wooden vessel was banging away at the side of the warships hull and another hook was lowered down. Faye secured this one to the back of the boat and they were pulled snugly up against the hull. There was a loud clanking as a rope and wood ladder was unfurled and thrown over the side, the very bottom of the ladder slapping against the bottom of the rowboat. "I'll go." Faye said after a moment of them staring at each other. Faye grabbed onto the ladder with steely determination as she began to ascend the side of the ship. As she came over the side she was greeted with no less than ten rifles equipped with bayonets pointed straight at her. The bayonets came within a few inches of her throat as they slowly moved her away from the side of the boat. A soldier stepping through the ring of weapons behind her to secure her hands behind her back with a set of shackles. Faye watched a wide eyed Ricky climb over the side of the ship. The male badger receiving a much rougher treatment as he was pushed to the deck and searched before being similarly bound.

Bright lights from flashlights shone on the captive's faces as they were pushed off of the deck of the ship and down into the bowels of the ship. They were led quickly through a series of hallways much too quickly for either Faye or Ricky to memorize. Then the duo where shoved into chairs, each of them placed back to back and there shackles undone for just a moment to secure them to the chairs. Faye strained against the shackles for just a moment, testing there strength before falling back against the chair with a sigh.

The sound of more boots along the hallway hit her ears before a large gray furred figure stepped into the dimly lit metallic walled room. He motioned for the soldiers to stand down and they withdrew their weapons to their sides but the safeties never came on. "We got a couple o' japs here sir." a Scottish voice said as the figure stepped into the light some more. His felines face revealing him to be a lynx, though not of the same breed as Faye. He bent forward to look Ricky in the eyes. A steely glare the only bit of emotion in them "what was your plan? Coming towards us with an American flag on your boat?" he growled loudly.

The badger smiled at him and jerked his head over his shoulder back at Faye. "She's the one in charge, ask her." Ricky said with a smirk.

The male lynx turned to Faye, a bit of a surprised look on his face. Quickly that look turned back into the regular gauntness and he made his way around and in front of her, adopting much the same stance as he had with Ricky. "I'll ask again. What did you hope to accomplish?"

Faye smirked, but it was a bit obvious she was not in a complete state of self-assuredness. "I lead the village off of the beach you plan to attack. I come here looking to get some assurance that our home will not be harmed when you attack." Faye blinked up at him, the other lynx's face showing a bit of surprise again.

"A female leader, betraying her country for the sake of her village, what happened to your honor Jap?" said the Scottish voice again, coming from a large muscular setter in the corner.

Faye and the other lynx both growled at the dog. "Shut it private. I think we just made our first alliance in the land of the rising sun..." growled the male.

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Faye pushed her long pianist finger down on the map again, sweeping it along a ridge on the beach. "This is where they have the brunt of the heavy guns. They have some of...those...here...and here." She said pointing to some pictures of some heavy Japanese artillery and back at their positions on the map. Malchia, the male lynx from earlier as he called himself, nodded to a goat standing next to him and recorded the coordinates of the guns.

Mal stood off next to the table, arms crossed over his head as they surveyed the map. They had released the prisoners about an our ago, and after some intense negotiation Malchia had agreed to convince the fleet to land off to the side of the village and hopefully minimize the civilian casualties in exchange for the cooperation of Faye and her small rebel force. "Ok, all this information seems accurate..." mal said, looking at a different map that had marked targets of interest.

Faye stood up straight and stretched with a groan. "Well? What more do you need? Can we go now?" she said nodding her head at Ricky who sat off to the side in the corner, still looking more than a bit nervous.

Malchia nodded and gestured for two guards to flank the pair as they followed Malchia out the door and into the long steel hallway. They climbed a set of stairs and back out onto the deck of the ship, eliciting stares from the entire crew. "All the info seems accurate, like I said. However we're going to need some direct information on this." He said with a smile, taking a pistol from a soldier standing near the rail and sliding it into the back of his pants.

Faye blinked at him as he took the pistol, a worried look overtaking her and only dispersing after he slid it away again. "You're going to come to shore with us?" she said, surprised as he gripped the railing and gestured for them to climb down the ladder again. Ricky shrugged and went over the railing, disappearing down into the boat below with the clanking of the rope ladder.

Mal nodded and gestured again. "Yep, we've got plenty of time to do this before daybreak. So let's get going." He said watching Faye grudgingly make her way into the boat and he himself climbed in after her.

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Faye opened the door to her home and poked her head inside, looking around slowly, her feline eyes quickly adjusted to the dark innards of the room and she made her way inside, carefully skirting around the table and tea set which had been left there from the nights earlier meeting. Mal followed her in doing the same sort of thing to check for any sort of threat. "this house is small for the village leader." He commented dryly.

"A leader does not need to separate the authority one holds over the village with mere possessions. His, or her, skill and wisdom will show that well enough." She said back opening a small closet and pulling out items of clothing, throwing them back at the male in a lump. Mal allowed one long robe to unfurl before him and he blinked at it in confusion. "You have to wear that. You stick out like a sore thumb in those clothes." Faye said, upturning her snout and smiling at him.

"But....this is like a dress..." mal said, Looking at her with a frown.

"It's a ROBE." She said "and if my father could were one then so can you. I'm not getting caught leading an American through the town." She said turning away from him. "Don't worry, I won't look." She said with a sly grin he couldn't see. She turned away, but her ears couldn't help but rotate toward the sound of rustling clothes, and finally her resolve broke, and she turned to look over her shoulder. The male had his back turned to her, probably for the same reason she had turned. Faye carefully observed the chiseled body of her fellow lynx; the powerful muscles that rippled just visibly below the thick coat of gray and black dappled fur coat, making the lynx look so much less powerful than she knew he must be. She blushed heatedly and turned away when she noticed him turning.

He turned; adjusting the sash that held closed the robe he wore. "Alright, let's do this." He growled sullenly, obviously none-too pleased with the events of his mission so far. Faye opened the door and they made their way down the hill, through one of the darker parts of the small village and into and unprotected wood grove overlooking the multiple batteries below. Made to shoot there deadly charges at the beach when the army landed there. Mal looked out on the scene, soldiers moved back and forth along the hill, piling the ammo ever higher.

Faye looked over at mal, "so...you think your armies can handle this?" she said, motioning to the well-fortified area.

Mal nodded briskly and turned, slipping back into the forest behind them "Yeah. This'll be nothing compared to how badly they were dug in before, or marchin' through Kuwait." He growled making his way through the forest.

"You were a prisoner in Kuwait?" Faye asked, surprised that a prisoner would still be fighting.

"yeah." He said, checking around them momentarily. "But I managed to escape early on and ran into a friendly villager who took me- AAH!" mal shouted as a soldier burst forth from behind a tree, his bayonet angled at his chest. Mal sidestepped but the bayonet caught his robe, yanking him down and sending him sprawling to the ground. The soldier, a wolf, tore the bayonet free from the robe and angled it at him again, but Faye drew her katana and slapped the barrel of the gun, sending he bayonet harmlessly into the ground a few inches away from malchia's chest. Faye stepped up beside him and bashed him in the face with the hilt of her blade. The soldier oof'd and stumbled backwards before recovering from the blow and charging Faye instead. Faye assumed a defensive stance and knocked the barrel off course again. But this time she stepped to the side of the soldier and flicked her wrist as she made an upward cutting motion, slicing the blade through the soldiers neck and sending a spray of blood through the forest, spattering the leaves and ground as the wolf stumbled forwards and fell to the ground, twitching before laying still.

Faye froze in place for a moment, the blood from the kill dripping down her blade and onto her paws. Suddenly she bolted into a defensive position again and looked around, the only sounds where her ragged breathing and mal climbing to his feet. "Faye....are you ok? You saved my life!" he said, standing up and inspecting the dead soldier.

Faye slowly let her fighting stance drop and she sheathed the blade, a crestfallen look on her bloodstained face. "Is....is he dead." She said, the moment of the kill playing over and over in her mind. She looked down at her paws, at the rivulets of blood that had run unto them from the blade.

Mal picked up the soldiers fallen rifle and firmly lodged the bayonet into the soldier's chest, giving it a twist before pulling it out. "Now he is for sure. Thanks again Faye...." He said as he twisted the rifle in his paws. "You ok?" he asked again.

Faye slowly moved to the side and slumped down against a tree. She went to hold her head in her paws but she stopped when she saw the blood again, and simply stared out into the forest. "I've...never killed someone before...and especially not one of my countrymen." She said quietly, ignoring mal as he knelt next to her and placed a paw on her shoulder, squeezing lightly.

"You did what you had to do, uh...." He stopped. Not able to think of anything to say to her. He of course remembered staring down at the face of his own first confirmed kill, and his sergeant had given him a stern pep talk but he didn't think a gruff army sergeant's advice would apply very well to Faye. "Look, you got to get back on your feet, Daylights cumin' up." He said. Daylight was still a ways off, but he needed a way to get her moving lest they get discovered.

"I need to get the blood off..." Faye said quietly. "There's a stream we can follow to my home. That way." She said pointing off into the forest. Mal nodded and helped her to her feet. He took the lead, borrowed rifle in firm paws as they combed their way through the dense forest. The dew soaked grass making their bare feet fur wet and cold. Soon they reached a small clearing, Faye's house visible at the top of the hill as a dark, misshapen silhouette in the natural clearing. Faye hurried past him to the stream and knelt in front of it. Meticulously cleaning her fur long after the blood was washed from it. Finally she relented; her stare still lingered on her paws however. "Here's the smell of blood still....all the perfumes of Arabia could not sweeten this little hand..."

Mal blinked and turned around from looking out at the forest. "Was that...Shakespeare?" he asked, surprised someone from japan would know of him.

Faye nodded and stood up. "Yes. Macbeth. A man who was friends with my father brought an entire collection of Shakespeare over here from America. It's how I practiced my English." She said, standing and going over to lean against him, the warmth from his body heating her shaken core.

"I love Shakespeare. I played Romeo in my school play. I was reading hamlet before I got deployed to the war. I hope I get the chance to finish the book if...when I get home." He said, brushing the wet hair from her face and giving her a tiny bump in the direction of her home. "c'mon, let's get under cover." He said.

Soon they arrived in her home and Faye smiled at him. "Wait one moment." She said, closing the door behind him and moving to a small chest in the corner. After a few moments of scrounging and searching she lifted a book from the chest and went back to him. "My copy of hamlet, I don't like it as much as Romeo and Juliet, so you can borrow it." She said passing the book to him.

Mal smiled and inspected the book. It was just large enough to fit inside his army jacket breast pocket. The same size as the bible the soldiers were given. "Thank you Faye. I won't let anything happen to it." He said, smiling at her.

She hugged him lightly. "You can keep the robe; by the way, it has your germs on it." She punched him lightly on the shoulder. Mal changed quickly, the same events conspiring as they had previously. Mal bundled up the robe she had left him and smiled before bowing to her.

"I think I can make my way to the boat from here Faye. Thank you. I, my troops, America, and your village appreciate your help." Faye smiled and bowed back, they hugged again and Faye watched him run back down the hill. Off to the boat where Ricky and two soldiers from Mal's troop would be waiting to send him back to the fleet... as Faye closed the door she picked up the rifle he had left here. She inspected it and quickly figured how it worked after watching her father handle his and clean it several times and a smile came across her face, the almost evil glint of an idea flashing in her red eyes.

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Faye's ears perked at the crack of rifles and she looked up to see a large group of villagers fire another volley of shots down the makeshift target range. She looked now across the table at Jerome; the bulky German Shepard watched the villager's fire and nodded. Earlier today Faye had offered Jerome the services of the villagers. She had convinced them that the only way to protect the village was to fight for it. So using some spare rifles that the army had available Jerome armed the villagers and had those that could fight on a crash course in marksmanship by the middle of the day. Jerome shielded his eyes fro the sun as he left the tiny observation post and walked past each of the vilagers who in turn presented there rifle to him. "They'll do." Jerome said, making a motion with his paw and bringing the next group of would be soldiers forward to try their paws at hitting the makeshift targets.

Faye smiled at him as they walked away from the targets as the drill sergeant began to ring off a list of orders. The trainees following them until the staccato sound of rifles going off could be heard. "so....whats your plan for them?" she asked turning back for a moment to watch the wooden targets once again get peppered with varying degrees of accuracy.

Jerome stepped back into the shaded observation post and sat down in his chair again, looking at the map before him. "as was our deal your "troops"" he said making finger quotes in the air with his paws. "will be placed behind our lines, and will remain so. In the case that a retreat is called, they will stand their ground until the true army has made it to the secondary defensive line." He said, leaning back in his chair, picking up a canteen off the table and taking a long drink.

Faye smiled at him. "well let's hope it doesn't come to having a retreat called, eh, general?" she said, a wry smirk on her face.

The canine glared, "it won't" he said simply. 'I would rather let my troops die on the front then seek refuge behind your lower class filth." He sneered, taking another long drink again. Faye could smell the alcohol in the canteen and on his breath. The strain of too many battles lost, too many dead comrades were easily visible on his scar divided face. Faye simply shrugged, and walked away, her features blurring from the sight of the general in his heat waved vision.

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Malchia sat in a hammock, slowly swinging back and forth in time with the rocking of the ship. He looked up at the assembly of soldiers in front of him and smiled, all the regiment leaders that would take part in the initial strike force were there, getting briefed on the attack plan. Mal looked back down at the book in his lap, the copy of hamlet that Faye had given him lay there, almost halfway read through. He smiled and pulled in back up to his face, passing the time until the general arrived for the briefing.

The general himself entered at this very moment a somewhat short and stocky pit-bull. His white fur shone with a polished sheen as he entered the room, polished leather boots slapping the floor as he walked in. the entire room rose and saluted him. He saluted them and urged them to sit back down "gentleman please we have a lot to discuss" he said with a smile as he took up a wooden pointer and began to explain the battle plan.

Malchia listened attentively all the way through and when the general was finally finished and asked for questions, there were none, the occupants of the room had already studied this through and through, all that is except for Malchia, who looked about the room sheepishly before raising his paw. The general saw this and nodded at him, the entire room turning to stare at him as he paused for a moment before speaking. "Uh sir? What about the female informant? We promised her protection...they'll know they've been betrayed..." he said, blinking in confusion. "the general smiled at him and looked about the room, as though someone would show the same amount of concern that he was showing.

"uh...son? What informant would that be?" the general said, cocking his head in classic canine style.

Malchia blinked, aghast at this. "the informant that supplied all the information on the attack! The location of the batteries, the triple A!" he said, looking at the faces of his comrades, waiting for someone to back him up.

The general smiled again, "son all this information is military reconnaissance Intel. Gathered personally by us...there was no informant. "Son why don't you step outside with me for a moment?" the pit said, jerking his head at the door. Malchia looked from one face to the other as he stood up and crossed the room to the general and then out the door.

Once they were outside the general put a paw on Malchia's shoulder and squeezed lightly. "son, I don't know if you got the memo but the government wants the whole "informant" thing under wraps. How do you think it would look if the invasion was made out to be successful thanks to a japs info? Not only that, but a girl jap no less! I'm sure she'll be fine, and if she's not. We don't have to worry about her." The general smiled reassuringly.

Malchia however almost turned pale. "Sir! You can't do that! She's going to save thousands of lives!"

The general growled and squeezed his shoulder almost painfully. "No...expert military reconnaissance is what's saving the lives....am I clear soldier?" he released his grip on Mal.

Mal didn't flinch at the squeeze and saluted the pit bull. "Yes sir. I understand sir." He said a lie present in his voice.

The general nodded. "Good" he said, turning back to the door and opening it, walking back in he began to question the soldiers again on the plans.

Malchia returned to his hammock and picked up the book before holding it to his chest tightly. "I'm gonna get this book back to you Faye....I promise." He looked up at the blackboard that had the battle plans all wrote out, and if you got a good look at him you could almost see the gears churning in his head.

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The morning of the invasion, a man would think that there would be utter chaos on this day. But no. there was almost none to be found. For every soldier had already gone through the motions of this day over and over again, they had written or were writing the final letters to their families, prepared their gear and belongings. All were content that this may be their final day on earth, and somehow they were ok with that. Malchia himself sat on the side of the guardrail, looking out at the beach that would soon be covered with red blood, but was now shrouded by a grey and white mist, as though god were keeping them from seeing the battlefield so that neither side could learn it. He growled and raised his Thompson rifle back into his lap, checking the clip to make sure it didn't jiggle to badly, the chamber, going over the motions again and again until someone tapped him on the shoulder. Mal turned to look at the face of his friend. The Irish setter blinked at his steely gaze. "Uh sir....it's time to go..." he said.

Malchia smiled at him and patted him on the shoulder. "Tell me Shawn....if you're an Irish setter....why are you Scottish?" he smiled, his grin going from ear to tufted ear.

The setter growled at him, his fists balling up and his curly furred ears going redder than they already where. "Ya blimey.....ya....let's just go!" he growled again, stalking off to the rope netting that they would climb down to the landing craft in. Malchia smiled and followed. As they reached the rope cargo nets strung over the side of the ship they blinked down at the drop. On false step could send anyone plummeting into the water, they could get stuck between the ships and get crushed, they could drown, they could fall onto the deck of the troop transport below them and crush a skull. But they must avoid all this while clinging to an unstable cargo net. Malchia shrugged at the setter and swung his leg over the side, then the other soon after, slowly making his way down the net and into the transport below, the canine soon followed suit and they waited on the deck until everyone was on board, soon enough the transport was able to chug away from the ship with its load of thirty six, and waited off to the side with its brethren. They would be the first assault, and they would have the highest casualties.

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Faye blinked into the hazy, fog reduced distance at the large shadow bests that took the form of ships. She sat on top of the hill near her house, encased in a blanket inside a tiny line of dug out trench. She clutched the cold material of the wood and iron semi-auto rifle to her chest, and quickly adjusted the katana at her his into a more comfortable position. She turned to Ricky who sat off to the side of her and whispered to him, there was no need for them to whisper, but the tension had turned people's nerves from steel to water. "Ricky....do you see the fleet moving in?" she asked, trying to spot the tiny dots of black that floated around in the water, like ducklings floating around there mother.

The badger looked at Faye, a sullen expression on his face. "I don't see them moving yet....but there sure are a lot of them boarded now...probably in the next hour or so." He shrugged.

Faye sneezed lightly, wiping her muzzle with the back of her paw. "I don't know what's worse, all the time I have to mull over the battle....or the actual fighting itself."

Ricky chuckled and reached over to pat her shoulder "don't worry, you'll find out soon enough."

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The troop transport bobbed and shook along the waves as they approached the shore, they were not yet close enough to the shore for the Japanese to fire on, knowing it better to wait for the right moment then waste all their shells. Malchia looked across the water at the nearest troop transport, over at Shawn the setter, he waved at the canine to get his attention and he waved back before turning and waving to the troops next to him in turn. Malchia turned on his heel and walked down the small break in the line of soldiers to the pilot of the ship, he leveled his Thompson straight at the pilots head "soldier, I'm commandeering this vehicle on official army business, your to pilot the ship where I want from now on. Got it?"

The soldier looked at the lynx as though he was crazy "what the hell are you talking about, were going with the rest of the fleet!"

Malchia shook his head. "change of plans, it'd be a shame if a weapon misfired and killed our pilot." He said with a serious look.

Another soldier stepped up behind malchia and raised his rifle, pushing the cold metal of his rifle muzzle into the back of his head under his helmet. "Sir, you need to stand down right now!" malchia growled and let go of his Thompson with one paw to draw his pistol and point it over his shoulder, not even looking back at the soldier.

"I suggest you stand down yourself." He growled, in one simple motion malchia spun quickly and pistol whipped the soldier in the head, the blow was enough to knock him sideways and to the ground, another soldier on Malchia's side quickly tapped the downed on in the back of the head with his rifle butt, silencing him for awhile. Malchia turned back to the pilot, his Thompson once again aimed at his head. "Ready to cooperate now?" malchia asked with a quirked eyebrow. The soldier nodded fearfully. "Good, now steer us for that shoreline." Malchia pointed to a shoreline far to the left of the actual landing point.

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By the time Malchia's hijacked boat and its two twins landed at the beachhead the battle at the true landing site was already underway, they could hear the high whine followed by the thunderous crash of the shells slamming to the earth, no doubt tearing the soldiers on it to shreds of meat. Malchia was the first one out of the transport and into the water, being unmolested by the defending army so far they were able to land without any enemy opposition, Malchia ushered the troops out of the transports and onto the beach where he took point as they charged off into the jungle. "I'm coming Faye." He whispered as they hit the forest floor, tearing in the direction of the villagers outpost.

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Faye meanwhile was watching as the first of the Japanese troops came running back toward the secondary lines, as they listened to the guns they began to hear the gradual decline of Japanese guns on the beach, no longer did the smaller cannons pound the beachhead as they had at the beginning of the day, the Americans had a foothold now. Faye blinked as the first large group of soldiers came rushing towards the hill, behind the village lay the secondary defensive line, which was currently almost uninhabited except for the artillery crews. Faye breathed heavily as she placed her rifle on the sandbags in front of her and aimed down the poorly made iron sights, she focused on her targets chest, tried to forget his face, and pulled the trigger. It was the first shot any of the villagers fired. Blood sprayed from the soldier's chest like a gory fountain for a brief second as he stumbled forward, dropping his rifle as his body went into a short seizure before collapsing to the ground in an unmoving heap. Half a second later the other villagers followed suit, almost every one of them hitting there mark as they emptied their rifles into the area before them. At first the retreating men thought they were being attacked from behind and ran faster toward the line of trenches on the hill, a few of them even making it to the road going right up the middle of the position before being cut down by gunfire. Finally a few of the wood be slaughtered realized that the killing was coming not from the Americans who weren't even behind them, but from their own ex-allies! Warning there brothers they managed to stop and take cover as the battle temporarily ceased, one side reloading, and the other in complete shock, unable to react. Finally there was a return volley from the soldiers that managed to down a few of the rebels before both sides descended into a madhouse of cross fire. Faye watched as the head of the man opposite Ricky became dotted with several holes before he fell to the side and rolled down the hill, Ricky leaned out of the trench to grab him by the leg, dragging his emaciated body back to check it before carefully placing it in front of him for added protection. Faye herself ducked back down as she noticed the earth beside her being torn up like a road tiller was on it and she ducked as the tracers from a machine gun slammed into the dirt in front of and behind her before continuing across the line of trench. She cursed and popped out of cover, quickly following the line of tracers back to the source and silencing the gun for a moment before another soldier leaped to the position of the gunner who had been shooting moments before. She watched as more reinforcements, or in this case retreaters came over the hill again, Faye looked up at the rest of the trenches above her, realizing they were not going to last much longer.

Suddenly there came a cry from Faye's left, and out of the bushes came Malchia's men, springing into existence like ghosts. They formed a short line and laid down a solid wall of lead in the direction of the enemy soldiers whilst the rest of their comrades moved for the trenches. One of Faye's soldiers raised the cry, heaving his rifle into the air and screaming loudly, the rest of the warriors followed suit and soon the barrage of fire was slowed to a trickle from the enemy side. Malchia himself made his way down the rows of trenches, carefully avoiding the occasional enemy bullet until he managed to jump down next to Faye in her trench. "Hey there!" he said with a smile, laying down next to her and unleashing a small barrage of fire from his Thompson on the enemy. "I told ya I'd be here!" he rolled onto his side and pulled out several clips of ammo, laying them in front of him for later use, as well as several grenades.

Faye smiled as she popped off a volley of shots at a group of enemies coming once again over the hill, adding to the already large pile of bodies centered there. "I didn't doubt you Malchia. Thank you!" she yelled over the din of battle, her fur stained brown from the somewhat muddy trench, no longer the almost princess like robe dressed figure she had been. Instead she wore a male's outfit, her dirty hair tied up in a ponytail. A few shots sprinkled the area around them and they both ducked down some more. Suddenly they felt the ground rumble beneath their feet and from over the hill seemed to raise a beast made of steel in front of them. It belched diesel fuels with every earth shaking movement, the bodies of those below it crunched and liquidated beneath its treads. This was one of the Great War machines of Nazi Germany, a tiger tank, baring both the rising sun flag and the iconic swastika of its home country as it moved steadily towards them, bullets bouncing off its thick hide with metallic dings. Much to the utter horror of the defenders the beast was flanked on either side by two type-95 tanks, and on either one of those was another tiger. Behind and in front of them people began to run, scattering over the hill behind them. Over the heads of Malchia and Faye roared a missile fired from an American troop, the rocket ending the short rampage of the first tiger tank in a blast of flame and sound. One of the 95's silenced the area the missile came from with a blast of its main cannon. Malchia swore and grabbed Faye by the arm, they were defenseless out here and Faye needed no further incentive to run up the hill behind their comrades, the ground behind them tearing up with machine gun fire and tank rounds.

The surviving members of the force quickly gathered around well away from the hill. The stopped momentarily to rest up, checking weapons and wounds alike. Malchia stood atop a felled tree, one paw raised and drawing everyone's attention. He smiled at them all. "Good job everyone that ought to make it a bit easier for our boys to mop up the japs. That, and we got what we came for." He smiled down at Faye and her friends who nodded at him in return. Suddenly Malchia looked up, his nose twitching; he could smell it, the dark, thick scent of burning green wood. Off in the distance he saw it, the flicker of flames, and a mass forest fire in the shape of one long column that was obviously advancing toward them. "Shit!" he growled as he leapt to the ground and quickly rallied everyone into movement, taking off through the trees. Years of studying military tactics made it obvious to Malchia that it was a flush fire. A fire made in one long column that forced the occupants of the forest out of the safety of the trees. Malchia looked to Faye as they ran along, slowly jogging up beside her. "How the hell did they find us?" he asked. The soldiers must have had enough time to make up a second defensive line and then light the fire.

Faye shrugged and continued to run, a slight wheezing sound coming from her. "The general must have gotten wind of our little plot; he really wants to kill us now I guess." She stopped dead. Another fire was advancing toward them from the opposite direction; this one much closer than the other, suddenly all hell broke loose. Most of Faye's men scattered, they were not trained soldiers and their resolve had broken. Malchia quickly ordered some of his men to tail the larger groups of rebels. Leaving them alone save for the Irish setter, Ricky, and mal and Faye themselves, watching the last of their force flee to safety, If they found it at all. Faye turned to mal as the others did, Looking at him for some sort of plan, as they still had a mission to complete.

Malchia nodded to each of them. "We came here to save you Faye, that's what we're going to do." Hey took off along the forest, following the footsteps of the rebels and soldiers, the crackling of the forest fire in their ears and the smoke wafting about their head as they did so. Suddenly Malchia called for a stop, it was not the cracking of the fire they heard, but that of rifles in the forest. Ahead of them they saw it, the advancing shape of a large group of soldiers, the dead forms of their former comrades littered the ground like fallen tree branches. The flush fire had worked just like it should. The rebels and soldiers had fled right into a solid wall of opposition. The group turned, too late. They had been seen by a soldier and everyone was on them now. Shots rang out right and left, Ricky's chest exploded in a gush of red gore, he had been furthest to the left and he fell to the ground in a pool of his own blood, dead before he hit the ground. Shawn fell next, receiving much the same fate as Ricky. Malchia himself dropped then, escaping with a single gunshot to the leg, Faye went unscathed, managing to drop to the ground and avoid the guns. Malchia crawled forward desperately, throwing himself over the still form of Shawn as the soldiers advanced. Shawn managed to raise his head a tiny bit, the setter watched as they dragged the begging, pleading blood soaked lynx away from him. "No! NO!" Malchia screamed, dragging himself once again toward the body of the dying setter, only to be pulled away again by a soldier. One of the japs raised his rifle, pointing it straight at the head of the downed setter.

"NO!" Faye shouted raising her own paws, the soldiers noticed she was uninjured and two of them quickly held her down.

One of the soldiers waved a paw at his comrade with the rifle "ah let him live, for now, Brian. He'll be dead soon anyway. Why waste a bullet?' the soldier nodded and settled for kicking the downed setter in the thigh. Shawn didn't even whimper. He noticed Malchia scrambling for his weapon and kicked him in the gut with a smile. "Stupid American!" he laughed and motioned for Faye to be brought to her feet. "General said to take her alive if possible. Let's go. Leave these two to burn." He smiled and walked away, two of the soldiers dragging a struggling Faye with them.

Malchia watched them go before resuming his struggle to crawl toward his friend on hands and knees, the bullet having struck him below his knee. He flopped down next the setter, looking into his eyes which seemed to be slowly draining of color. Slowly the lips moved, and he spoke, every few words broken by the setter while he coughed up ungodly amounts of blood. "Mal...You...you gotta go after em...they took...t-they took 'er! Took what we came for! Y-you can't let 'er go...." a light whimper came from him, the whimper of a kicked dog.

Malchia let out a small moan, not of pain, but of having to watch his friend die. He gently reached out and wiped away some of the blood on the canines mouth with his sleeve. "Don't talk like that Shawn....I'm gonna get you patched up!" he said, removing his jacket quickly and laying it on top of the setters chest. He broke out a few morphine shots, jamming them into the canine's leg with fumbling fingers. The relief on the dying man's face was evident as he let himself sink further into the ground. Slowly his face drained of color, the radiant red fur turning an almost sickly looking orange. Malchia began to sob quietly, tears spilling onto his friend's chest. He rested all his weight on the wounds but soon the blood was running from the sides of the jacket, spilling to the ground in large rivulets. Soon his breathing stalled, his eyes glazed over and all was still. The only sounds in the forest was the constant crackling of the trees as the flames approached. Malchia slowly stood up and wiped away the tears as he looked down at the body of his friend. He closed his eyes with another whimper and pushed the memories they shared out of his mind. When he looked back down the two bodies where nothing more than that, just bodies, he'd seen hundreds since the start of the war. Slowly he stooped down to cover the upper body of Shawn with his blood-soaked jacket, picking up his rifle as he stood. The lynx turned and limped quickly away along the bloody ground, the forest seemed almost dyed red from the blood of those that ran into the soldiers before them.

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Faye growled as she was dragged through the forest, held up between the steel-strong arms of the two Japanese soldiers that flanked her on either side. "Let me go you bastards!" she shouted as she was dragged from the forest and down the hill to an enemy encampment. She grunted as she was tossed to the ground at the feet of a group of soldiers. They grabbed her again and quickly tied her wrists together with a length of course rope that immediately started to rub her wrists raw.

"aaahhh, Faye, how nice of you to join us." Said the smiling Jerome as he stood over her. "Comfortable?" he asked sarcastically.

Faye smiled cruelly and spat on his feet. "If you really wanted to make me comfortable you'd die so I can stand on your corpse."

Jerome growled and slapped her across the face with a mighty swing, the hit sending her reeling back and causing her to see stars. "You'll hold your tongue when I'm about to behead you.....just like your father did."

Faye growled up at him loudly. "th-....that's not true!" she said.

"Isn't it?" Jerome said with a smile, leaning forward to look her in the eyes. "It's a shame really. He was such a good soldier, but so defiant, always talking like a defeatist and refusing to follow orders. The weakling couldn't even execute the Chinese woman we captured. If he had just listened he might still be alive. What a shame."

"I'll kill you!" Faye growled. "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

Jerome growled in return and stood up straight to deliver a vicious kick to her jaw. "Like I said, you'll hold your tongue when you don't have a head." He growled and went toward one of the jeeps in the field and climbed inside the vehicle. The soldiers behind him dragging the stunned Faye along with them.

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As Malchia reached the top of a hill that overlooked the field below them he saw the remaining soldiers climbing into vehicles, and there at the head of the procession was the white form of Faye, struggling as she was shoved inside a jeep. "Shit..." Malchia growled as he ducked behind the cover of a tree. Most of the search party from the forest had already left. But there at the bottom of the hill stood a few unmanned motorcycles...he just needed a way to get down to them...

Suddenly as though answering his prayers a small squad of P-51 mustangs flew over the tree line in front of him, circling around they strafed the area with machine gun fire, tearing several of the soldiers and vehicles below them to shreds. A troop transport truck and two jeeps where immolated instantly in a burst of fire. There burning fuselages crashing to the ground after being thrown up by explosions of red and orange flame, there melting skeletons sending long curling tendrils of thick black smoke toward the sky. This was Malchia's chance! Quickly he threw himself down the hill, rolling along until he came to a stop behind the motorcycles. The jeep containing Faye had already taken off at top sped along with several of its bodyguards. Malchia revved the motorcycle to life as he took off, only a few soldiers noticing his escape as they struggled to recover from the aerial attack.

The motorcycle was German made, originally built to drag along a sidecar. Without the added weight of the sidecar the cycle became a powerful beast able to easily outrun most other bikes of its kind. In the rear view mirrors he could see a few other bikes and jeeps after him, and slowly he saw the motorcade with Faye come into view, Malchia smiled and turned off of the road quickly, driving through the burning forest off to his right. One of the jeeps behind him crashed, having been sandwiched between two trees it had tried to fit through. Another motorcycle swerved up on his right! One fur driving and the other riding bitch, one paw wrapped around the driver's waist as he drew his pistol. Malchia growled and swerved sharply to the right, playing a deadly game of horizontal chicken with the other bike. The driver lost his nerve, slamming into a tree and sending man and machine flying! Malchia laughed, two motorcycles remained for him to swamp as he continued tearing through the forest, following some ancient path that the animals must have used. He heard the sound of tearing metal behind him, the scream of a man as another bike crashed and burned. The final survivor of the pursuit ground to a halt, Malchia just wasn't worth his life.

Malchia laughed again as he tore out of the forest, the road was driven right through the side of a ravine, and the bike bound lynx looking down on the procession of jeeps as they drove along at breakneck speed. The lynx smiled as he tore down the hill to the jeeps. He drove up next to the final jeep in the procession of three. He pulled a grenade from his belt, smiling at the confused passengers in the jeep as he popped the pin with his thumb and lobbed the grenade into the front window of the jeep.

The driver looked down at the grenade as it bounced into his lap, he screamed, letting go of the wheel as he fumbled for the deadly device between his legs. The jeep went off the road, turning over several times before exploding in a ball of flame.

Malchia smiled as he revved the bike again and caught up to the second jeep, swerving into position behind it to avoid machine gun fire from the now alert passengers. He saw the lights on the jeep flash red as the driver slammed the breaks and Malchia almost lost control as the jeep swerved to the right, before flying off the road and turning onto its side. One last jeep, that was all that stood between him and Faye. In said jeep, Faye sat nestled in the rear between two soldiers. The general himself riding shotgun in the front, he watched as the motorcade behind them was ripped to shreds and swore loudly at the pursuing lynx, leaning out the window and firing his pistol at the sidewinding motorcycle, the guards where distracted, now was her chance! Reaching over to the soldier to her left Faye drew his tonto knife from its sheath at his hip; she quickly cut her bonds before stabbing it into the soldier's throat, his crimson blood spilling out onto her paws like a waterfall. She grimaced and yanked the blade out with a loud sound, more blood spilling into the jeep as the soldier clutched at his throat in a futile effort to stall the flow of blood. She twisted around quickly, slamming the blade into the other soldier's throat in an almost exact recreation of her first strike.

The general saw Faye out of the corner of his eye "bitch!" he screamed, fumbling to aim his gun at her as he banged his arm against the seat and wall of the jeep. Faye growled and dove forward, but not at the general, she was diving at the driver. Grabbing the when in her paws she elbowed the drivers jaw and yanked it sharply to the right, steering the jeep off of the road where it caught the roots of a tree and flipped over, grinding along the round on its back like an overturned beetle made of screaming metal.

Malchia slowed his cycle and stopped near the side of the road, leaping off and running towards the jeep. As he approached, rifle raised and at the ready a shot rang out from the overturned vehicle, striking him in the shoulder and knocking him to the ground with a small cry.

The general laughed from inside the jeep and crawled out through a pool of blood, smoking type 26 revolver held in his paw and leveled at the downed Malchia. Malchia lay on the ground in a spreading pool of blood clutching his shoulder weakly in one paw. The general stood over him as he noticed the lynx beginning to pass out. "Foolish American, you should have known better than to chase after the girl, I'll deal with her after I've finished with you." He grinned, blood dripping down his face from the injuries he sustained during the crash. He took careful aim with the pistol.

Suddenly he jerked to the side as a katana swung down at him. It caught his pistol and knocked it to the ground leaving him momentarily defenseless against the onslaught of the furious Faye! She growled and struck him with a slash to the chest, the wound wasn't very deep but it went from shoulder to hip and sent him staggering backwards. Faye crouched near Malchia who was now passed out she quickly checked for a pulse and let out a soft sigh. Blood continued to flow in the downed lynx's veins.

Faye stood up and faced the general again as she assumed a fighting stance, katana held out in front of her and the urge to kill evident in her eyes. The general laughed "foolish girl! You think you can defeat me? Why don't you just lay down your sword and surrender? I'll make your beheading fast!" he shouted, dragging his own blade from its sheath.

Faye frowned and shook her head as the two began to walk in a circle around each other, the tips of their blades occasionally touching and sending an almost electric jolt through the bodies of the combatants. Suddenly Faye raised her sword and brought it down in a chopping motion, the general skittered back and lunged forward at her in response, sending them into another round of circling.

Suddenly the battle turned into a whirl of clanging metal and mortal grunts as steel hit steel and only occasionally flesh. The battle was a close one but it was obvious that the battle hardened general had the upper hand when it came to a true life and death battle, Faye rushed by him, attempting to cleave the canine horizontally in two and he easily sidestepped the attack and cut her across the back of her leg and sending her to the ground with a loud cry of pain.

The victorious general grinned as he kicked Faye's blade from her paw and sent it skittering across the ground with a metallic clatter. There was no gloating from him now as he raised the blade high above his head ad prepared for the final blow, blood streaming down his body from all the small cuts the crash and fight had left upon him. Suddenly a shot rang out from behind him and the general collapsed with a groan.

Malchia was lying on his stomach a few yards behind the general, smoking 45 caliber Pistol held in his good paw and pointing where the canine had stood moments before.

The general wheezed loudly, his paws weakly clutching at the bullet wound that had gone straight through him. "a-...American....you have...no honor..." he whispered, his words gargled by the blood filling his mouth.

Malchia pulled himself to his feet and glared down at the dying man "Just because I didn't play by your rules? That was for Shawn, Bastard." he sneered, spitting down on the writhing shepherd. He stepped over the soon to be corpse and went to Faye, lifting her from the ground and supporting her on his good shoulder. "We did it, Faye." He said panting heavily, the taste of victory sweet on his tongue.

Faye rested her head on his shoulder "yeah... I guess we did." She said with a smile. Suddenly her ears perked up as she turned down the road in the direction they had come from. The sound of many engines could be heard as a few troop transport trucks pulled up about 50 yards from the wreckage of the jeep. Soldiers jumped from the back of the trucks to the ground, forming a firing line around the two now trapped felines.

"Shit" Malchia growled, hobbling over to his fallen Thompson and scooping it up off the ground. The soldiers shouted to one another as they prepared to fire.

Suddenly the air filled with a low hum, the soldiers looked around as all of a sudden the ground exploded around them in a sea of sparks and thrown up dirt, the returning P-51 mustangs shredding the ground around the troops with fire from there machine guns. The wall of solid lead quickly advanced toward the two cowering lynx, stopping a few merciful yards short of their crouched figures before they stilled their guns and turned around to make another run. The soldiers remaining fled into the forest around them, some of them dragging wounded comrades by the legs and arms as they retreated, leaving the two felines alone, surrounded by a field of blood.

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One week later Malchia lay on the crisp white sheets of the field hospital bed, the battle had long since left the shores of japan and had moved inland leaving the American armies only a few days march into the Japanese capital. He opened his eyes and turned over, staring at the sleeping form of Faye as she almost blended into the bed around her. She grinned at him. "Stop staring at me, Mal." She said teasingly.

Malchia grinned and propped himself on an elbow, smiling at her. "I can't, the missions not over yet, you not safe until the wars over."

She laughed and reached over, pushing him lightly with a paw until he fell onto his back again. "What are you going to do? Tail me around the village like my shadow until it is?"

"The idea appeals to me." he noted.

Both the ears of the felines perked as they heard the sound of shoes coming down the lines of beds, not the soft, tip-toe nature of a nurse, but the well-kept clip-clop that only years upon years of military march created. The figure came to a stop in front of the two felines, sneering at them both as he pulled up a chair and sat down in it.

"Hello, general." Malchia said, not bothering with a salute.

The pit bull growled at him and leaned forward, turning his attention to Faye with an almost amused look on his face. "So, you must be the "informant" who supplied the information on the attack." He said, the coldness between the three not settling one bit.

Faye glared at him, cold and emotionless. "You must be the general who planned the attack. Military intelligence sure has come a long way, hasn't it general?" for the first time since she saw him a smirk crept across her face.

"That's what the public wants to hear." He said.

She frowned at him, pushing herself up in bed and sitting up straight. "Let me guess, you're here to keep me from talking so that you can make sure that you hailed as a hero back in America?"

"Can't pull the wool over your eyes girl" The pit said.

"Indeed. Well general, I can assure you that I have no intention of interfering with you and your plan." She frowned again. "I have everything I need. Right here." She said, looking over at Malchia with a smile.

The general looked back and forth between the two felines before scowling at them both and standing up. "Well that's just fine with me." he said, snapping a quick salute at Malchia and the rest of the soldiers before exiting the room, thanking a few of the wounded men along the way for their service to their country.

As soon as the general had left Malchia turned to look back at Faye, a huge grin splitting the length of his face before he began to laugh uncontrollably while pounding the sheets with his paws and laughing out loud. "What's so funny?" Faye asked, slightly alarmed by the other felines strange behavior.

Malchia kept laughing as he reached inside his shirt and dug around for a few moments before he pulled out a large tape deck, the film rolls inside continuing to spin until he pressed a button and stopped the machine. "I knew that asshole would come here, and I caught him in the act." He giggled almost childishly, pushing the rewind button and then playing the conversation over again for them both to hear.

Faye couldn't help but smile at him "You bastard."

"So what's gonna happen now Mal?" Faye asked him as she reached down and dug her hand into the sand of the beach, pulling from it a small pebble that she threw out into the ocean, the tiny black dot illuminated by the backdrop of setting sun.

"I sent the tape to my friend in London a few days ago; he works for a newspaper there. It should be all over the world in a few days' time." He grinned at her from his spot on a small rock, unable to support his weight on his injured leg for extended periods of time after only a few days out of the hospital. "The general has a reputation as a glory-hungry man. I'm sure that when everyone hears about this that he'll get what's coming to him, and so will you." He smiled and lifted the bottle of sake that he held in his paw to his mouth, taking a long swill of it.

Faye turned and frowned at him, "that's not what I meant Mal..." she said quietly, setting her beside the male on the rock and tugging her robe over her legs. She reached out and tosses a log onto the small fire they had built "I already said that I didn't need any of the glory, I don't want to be a war hero." She smiled softly and leaned against him as they watched the sun blur as it sank lower. "I meant...what are you gonna do? Are you going back to America soon?"

Malchia looked away for a few moments and frowned. "I'm not allowed to stay here much longer..." he said with more than a tinge of sadness. He looked out into the ocean, watching the sea swallow the sun in a concoction of orange's and reds and purple flares. The heat coming off the water keeping the both warm as the world around them got darker.

"There shipping you out huh?" she said after a little while. "What are you gonna do back in the states?"

He shrugged at her and sighed. "I don't know. Probably try and find a job or something, there's not much for me over there, that's why I joined the army."

She blinked and turned to look at him. "Well maybe there's something for you here?" she said with a small smile.

He turned to her, blinking a few times. "What do you mean?" he asked, looking into her red-tinted eyes.

"I mean you could stay here in the village with us, with me..." she smiled reaching down and clutching his paw in hers aster she had removed the bottle of sake from it.

Malchia smiled and laid his head onto her shoulder as he clutched her paw tightly in his. "I have my orders to go back to the states in a few days Faye..." he said slowly, as though he wanted to change something even as he said it.

"A few days huh?" Faye said quizzically, blinking out at the ocean, noticing for the first time that they were completely shrouded in darkness save for the fire. "Shit" she said "can we find our way back?"

Malchia grinned and reached for the bottle again "probably not." He said as he almost knocked the bottle over in the sand before catching it and lifting it to his mouth for a drink.

"Can I have some?" Faye asked.

The male was about to answer her but as soon as he pulled the sake away from his mouth, only a surprised grunting sound coming out as Faye caught his face in her paws and lifted his chin up to hers before pressing her lips to hers in a deep kiss. Malchia started to pull away at first, only managing to stop just before their lips lost contact before he grinned and pressed back into the kiss.

This went on, long into the night, and the two lynx lived happily ever after :P