FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Truth be told, i finished this three days before but i've been slightly busy and my connection is being funky.

This was originally two different chapters but they were short so no they live as one. Adventure two will start after this, and I'm giving something a try. On a side note: I'd like to thank all my readers for staying with the story so far. You all gave me the confidence to continue on.

Chapter 8: To Honor his life & The Zaga Saga.

Ian and Terror were back in Commander Faust's office. The room was in its natural cluttered condition. It was two days after they returned. Ian felt nervous. He felt that how he performed would not reach standards. He also felt that one of theirs dying on his hands would count badly toward him. He looked to Terror, who remained beside the picture of a human. The dragon stared at him for a long moment. Ian figured the dragon had been watching him the entire time. The dragon did something Ian didn't expect; He flashed a grin. The sharp, neat, rows of white teeth that beat Gore's made Ian visibly shudder. Ian wondered if Terror did indeed eat humans. Faust had remained by the window overlooking the sports and training fields. He had done so the entire time, even before Ian and Terror entered. That was what really set Ian on edge, he figured the Commander to be too upset with him to hold eye contact. 'Will he attack me?' He wondered. He remembered how fast Faust disarmed Terror and knew he didn't stand a chance against the eagle. Ian sat on the hot seat for at least another twenty minutes. The suspense was more painful than what Faust probably had planned. Ian began to shift in his seat; He couldn't stand to be in the chair any longer. He would say something to at least speed up the fate. "Co-"Ian started. "I heard what happened." Commander Faust spoke. He was his normal focused self. He calmly waited for the moment Ian would speak. "I take full re-" "I'm not done talking." Faust calmly stated. Ian had started to lean forward when he spoke but now he was rigid and straight in the chair. "Senisis saved your life, and lost his own. You now bear his death." "I know." Ian replied softly. "We haven't lost a member in a year, and on your first mission, we lost someone. Because of you. He is dead now. Do you understand what it means for someone to die? Do you understand what it means for a person's life and dreams to be cut short?" "I..." Ian started, and then he really thought about it. "I don't know." "None of us will have a firm grasp on that until we're on our deathbeds, facing the end." Faust finally turned and faced Ian. "What did it mean to you?" "What?" "What did it mean to you?" Faust repeated. "His life, and his choice to save you at the cost of his life." Ian opened his mouth and closed it. He was growing nervous because Faust had started to slowly make his way to the human. Each sound his foot made was like the fearful heartbeat in Ian's chest. His heart felt like it stopped with the steps when the eagle stood over Ian's seat. The commander looked down at Ian and waited for the recruit to answer. "I didn't really know him." Ian stated. "That is not what I asked." Faust growled. Ian's words caught in his throat. He felt like crying a bit. His mind went back to Gore carrying the mouse. How Senisis laughed and smiled. His mind quickly shifted to when Senisis coughed blood on him. "I think... I think he enjoyed living. "Ian sighed, he had no idea how to express it. "I think he valued his live and I should live on for him. He died to save my life. It is-it's..." Ian lost his nerve when Faust's face turned directly to him. He gulped down his fear and continued. "It's my responsibility to live for him- and everyone who died around me." Ian stood up. He was a more than a head smaller than Faust but held equal eye contact. Faust stared at him for a long time. Ian held his ground on it. "I loved him." Faust stated. "I felt for him like I have for no other. I harbor no ill feelings toward you but, are you prepared to face dislike toward you from fellow members here?" Faust asked. Ian could feel the commander's hot breath on the top of his head. "It's either that or shamefully leav- Wait. You're saying I can stay?" Ian asked. He was relieved that the commander would allow him to stay "We have another who lives today due to another's sacrifice. I just hope they could learn what you feel." "I have a request." Ian nervously asked as Faust started to walk away, his steps seemed lighter. He turned and faced the human. "What is it?" "If it's fine with you, I would like to go out and explore more. There's so much I want to see." "Sure-." Faust shrugged, seeing no problem with it. "No!" Terror protested. "You might get teamed with people you're unfamiliar with; most members wait a while between missions." Faust sat at his desk, searching for something. He completely ignored Terror's outburst. Ian nodded. "That's fine sir." Terror's glare burned into the Commander's skull. He seemed to take no notice of it. "You don't mind waiting a few days? I suspect you at least want to attend his funeral. "I wouldn't miss it if my life depended on it. "Good. Good. Aha!" Faust pulled a paper from his desk. "When you go out, bring this to shali." He leaned over his desk and handed Ian a folder he put the paper in.

"Tell her to call it libertaion." Ian nodded. He noticed the folder was thick and it had his name on it. "This is my file?" Ian asked, opening it "Don't you dare." Faust growled in a voice so dark, Ian's head snapped up and he quickly closed the folder. "Just take it outside." Ian nodded and headed for the door. "One more favor Ian." Faust called the human. Ian stopped and turned. "Yes, commander?" "If you see Gore, try to cheer him up. He feel's responsible for everything that has happened, including your capture." Ian frowned. "He shouldn't think that. It wasn't in his hands." "You and I see that but he thinks too critically of himself. Show him he's still Gore." Ian's heart skipped a beat and the thought of being close to the gator. He didn't know why but he figured that speaking to him may unlock that answer.

When Ian stepped out of the office he sighed in relief. He felt as if a danger in his gut had passed. When Terror came out behind the human, he pushed Ian out of the way. "The hell is your problem!?" Ian yelled "You are still." Terror growled. His tail swung slowly from side to side as his nostrils flared and his mouth clouded in smoke. Small sparks began to erupt. The low crackle they made Ian visibly tense up and walk backward. Shali came from behind and wrapped a arm around the human while glaring at the dragon. Everyone in the commander's lobby watched what happened. They also watched as Terror glared down the scorpion but eventually walked away. "Bless your soul." A woman sitting at a chair reading something on a pad said. "C'mon Ian, Are you alright?" She asked, leading Ian to her desk spot beside Riles, who seemed to be deep into something. "I- I'm fine." Ian stated. "Why do you put up with him?" She asked. Ian shrugged. "I guess 'cause he's my partner." He simply replied. "You can request a transfer." Ian shrugged again, and handed her a folder. "Commander said something about Liberation?" Ian said. "Going on another mission already?" Shali asked, impressed. She took the folder and began to type away. "We're finally doing something about the grunts..." "Damn it!" Riles yelled. Then he flipped open his eye patch. Ian noticed the unnatural glossy looking eye "Stop cheating, Riley." Shali said, not looking up from her work. "C'mooon, c'moon." Riles wasn't paying attention. He was hacking feverishly at the keys. Shali sighed and went back to her work. "Oh-oh." Shali said. She leaned back from her screen. "Seems like an interesting mission. Oh, looks like Zaga will be in this one. He's an odd duck- No offence James." The duck in question huffed at the scorpion and walked away.

"Go left! Left you idiot!"

"Ignore Riley here. He's excitable, if you know what I mean."

"You calling me gay again? I ain't into that shit."

"Hmmm, The prince tells me otherwise. he tells me you had a hard on when Gore was carrying you."

"He saw that?- I mean no I didn't!" Riles slammed his keyboard and stormed off, averting the eyes of Shali.

"Alright, you're in." Shali said. "Two days after..." Her voice trailed off. "His..." She watch closely for Ian's reaction, she didn't want to upset him. "I'll do my best for him too." Ian declared. He knew she was talking about Seni.

After the meeting and the talk with Shali, the human was on his way down when he realized he failed to ask about that white mist that ended the life of Seni. The thought entered his mind and Ian felt a bit depressed. He looked around the third basement dorms for Junes. It wasn't until Ian had decided to research previous missions that he encountered the fox. Ian entered the library: The shelves were nearly full of mountains of books. Ian saw Junes on the second floor.

"Hey Junes!" Ian waved. The fox kept his eyes trained on the book. He didn't reply to Ian. "Hey I know you know what happened. Do you want to talk about it?" Junes readjusted the book and turned a page. He was clearly ignoring the human. "I'm sorry." Ian couldn't stand being ignored by his friend. Junes finally looked up. "Sorry?!" The usually timid fox yelled. "Do you think 'Sorry' will fix it?!" He slammed his book on the desk and stood up. His chair flew back and fell over. He leaned forward in Ian's face. "He was my partner! You killed him! I will never have my friend back and it's all because of you!" "Ju-" Junes slammed the book again. This time it cut Ian off and resounded throughout the Library. Everyone watched Ian and Junes as the fox left the library. Ian sighed and slumped in the chair closest to him. He covered his face with his hands and sighed _I know, I know. I have to get over this.'_He thought to himself. No reply still. Ian sighed. He knew sitting here, moping would get him nowhere. He stood up and looked around for books. After an hour his search had no result. He closed another book he skimmed through. He sighed and decided to try another source: Previous missions. He made his way through the glass doors. For some reason, this place was empty. It wasn't hard to find Azden's section: Only a huge sign and a mural indicated it. Ian set to reading. The previous adventures Fascinated Ian. He rapidly read through each report, savoring each detail of the man's story. Before Ian knew it Ian looked out the window and the moon was out. The hours had passed by without Ian noticing. Ian's stomach growled while he stood up.

When Ian entered the Caf, it was empty aside from a single table full of people at the far end. Ian ignored it and got his food. He set his trey and most recent report on the table. He was a few year in and there were no reports of Terror or the mist yet. The most recent one mentioned pirates and he wanted to finish this part. Ian was reading while he slowly ate. His stomach protested demanding a faster pace. "YEEEEEEAH-HAA!" A wolf yelled entering the cafeteria. He threw his head back when he yelled it. The small amount of people staying there jumped. Ian failed to notice it at all.

The wolf was a mixed pattern of Tan and black fur, his parts of his outfit were equally tattered. His black baggy pants were missing a leg He had a shirt that only covered his right shoulder and bottom right half. That and the pants look tattered. His left shoulder had a pad. His hands were contained in open-fingered gloves, He had large emerald green eyes and a red bandana on.

The young wolf spotted Ian and yelled again. "Hell yeah bro!" The wolf quickly pulled out a seat next to Ian and punched the human on the shoulder. "This is the man here!" The wolf looked around as if the area was crowded. Ian was slightly ticked from the talk with Junes and being interrupted. "Who a-" "The name is Zaga, my man! You are looking at a rare specimen and the coolest recruit." He pounded his own chest while he said that. "Hold on there, though. You're cool too. I hear a lot about ya. You're teamed up with a baaad dude like Terror and you still walk. That shit is wild! I'm thinking Me and you could rule the roost." "What roost?" Ian asked, not catching on. "C'mon man! Even squares know about the Recruit's ball!" Ian offered a confined shrug. He was taken back on how Zaga pulled Ian close and gestured with his free hand."A battle of the newest members. Not a single mission goes out for Expert-Recruit teams like me and you a whole month before hand. The Newbies from Beta, Alpha, and even the Omega guys meet once a year and duke it out. I'm thinking you to be an unknown factor and it'll take us to the t-t-top Bro! I know we'll be huge! I fought last year's champion. Sheesh man. He was one tough customer. I don't think i even touched him. Maybe you know him. He lives here: Senisis?"

Ian's heart skipped a beat, he felt a slight pain in his chest and he froze for a moment.

"So what do you say?" Zaga asked. "Errr. I'm not much into fighting." Ian lied, in an attempt to brush the wolf off. "BS Man, I was there when you went wild on Terror. I was thinking: 'Whoa man! Check out those moves!' Then you were knocked out cold and I was like 'Awww.'" Zaga turned his and Ian's seats to face each other. Some of Ian's plate spilled but they both ignored it. "Promise me bro: When we're both pro, we'll run this show." "Errr... I-" "C'mon man! How about this, offer number two. We're goin' on the same mission, see. We'll work together, check each other out and we'll both decide from there, how's that bro?" _Sounds fair.'_Ian agreed to himself No reply.

"Y-yeah. Why not?" "Right-on! Man! We'll rape them like fire rapes wood!" "Rape who exactly? Isn't that a crime?" Zaga froze for a second. "It's just them, man. they." Ian decided to let it go. He smiled and extended his hand "Yeah-Ha!" Zaga said and pulled Ian up into a hug that Ian thought would break his back. The wolf was stronger than he looked. "Yeah, bro. Let's work up some early synergy and build on it. We'll do the mission with style and time to spare, right?" Ian smiled after the hug ended. He was caught up in Zaga's contagious mood now. "Yeah.Ha." Zaga frowned. "Dude. Not cool. That's my line." " I just wanted to try it..." "No biggie, bro. I'll have a new one soon enough." Zaga froze when they heard an explosion of sorts. "Haha, uh-oh." The wolf said. He backed away from Ian and started running backwards."Yeah, partners, right?" "Sure." "Yeah-Ha!" Zaga yelled running to the opposite exit of the caf. 'What was that about?' Ian asked himself. A full minute later the Cafeteria doors blew open again. This time an older husky came through. Normally, his neat semi-casual suit would have gave him a dignified look but the entire front of it was black with soot. His snout was white as freshly fallen snow. Ian saw the look in the man's emerald eyes and knew he was mad. "Excuse me." He spoke. He seemed calm enough. "You must be Ian, I'm Sabel." "It's nice to meet you." Ian gave a soft nod. "On normal conditions, I would agree but I'm a bit cross at the moment." The human put the story together. "Zaga, was it?" Ian asked. "Then you know of him." Ian nodded. "He was here not five minutes ago." He pointed down the room. "He ran that way." Sable gave a grin. It was very different from his normal look. It was twisted in a evil smile that hinted to dark thoughts in his mind. "Yes. Two birds with one stone." Sabel chuckled. He then bowed quickly. "Thank you Ian, We shall meet again soon." The husky casually walked after Zaga. He whistled abstractly as his hand busily worked, out of Ian's view. He could only hear clicking noises until the older gentlemen passes through the doors. Hope Zaga will be alright. Ian chuckled to himself, and continued to eat his cold food.

The day was bright and sunny, contrary to what the day contained. All available members of Beta, including Luke, Lyn, Ian, Gore, Faust, Junes, Sabel, Zaga, and at least a hundred others stood before an open grave within the cemetery some distance behind Beta grounds. Originally it was a park. An incident occurred where lives were lost and this soon became a cemetery. It became tradition that the fallen team members would be returned home, to be lain to rest. Another major event happened not too long ago, and many graves were fresh. Their headstones were new. Seni's grave was the newest of them all. It was the open grave before them: The fresh dirt and the open casket exposing the mouse's pale lifeless face. Commander Faust stood right before the grave, facing his fellow members of Beta. He was finishing a speech dedicated to the mouse who had fallen. Some were quiet, some crying, and various stages in between Ian felt very uncomfortable in the clothes they made for him. A dark suit and tire for this formal occasion. He wanted a bowtie but they told him they were all out. Despite how fidgety he felt, he ignored it for the sake of the young adult who had saved him. "He was fun-loving, Courageous... and a good friend." Faust paused. He seemed on the brink of tears. For himself, his members, and Seni, he held them back. "Always willing to lend a helping hand to others, He always offered a cheerful smile and a reason to move on." Faust took another long pause. He seemed to be struggling to tell something. "He was there for me as well." Faust changed his expression, He had a steely gaze, beyond that of his members. "When I took head here as commander, I was out of my league, and I still am. Seni was there and helped me through the hardest parts without a complaint. He..." He could hold the façade no longer and tears rolled down his face. He was a good man. He didn't know all of us but he treated us all good with kindness..."

After the speech there was a long moment of silence. Then they all got to line to pay their respects to their fallen friend. Ian was right behind Junes and tried to speak to the fox.

"Hey-" Ian started But Junes just gave him an open hand and walked away. I'll get a chance to talk to him someday... right? No answer. Ian looked ahead. and Saw the tip of Seni's nose. His mind flashed through different points of his short meeting with the mouse: The innocent smile when they first met, the laughter when he was on Gore's shoulders, His body on top of him, coughing blood in his face. Ian touched his face with the thought, it felt wet again. Ian didn't know how to cry for the mouse. He has yet to cry for his own brother. To Ian, however, they were both kin. They both made the same selfless sacrifice for him 'When was this' He asked himself. As if an answer, Ian's head began to throb. The angry pulses surged through his head, like a wall smashing into it. It was as if it hurt to think about his brother. The human groaned and doubled over. He head his head between his hands, and fought for the pain to stop. Gore was several people behind but cut through to help the human. "Are you okay?" The gator asked, holding Ian. "My... My head!" Ian managed to grunt. He took a step and nearly fell over. Gore caught him in his arms. He looked to Faust who nodded and Gore began to lead Ian away. "C'mon Ian." Gore escorted Ian far enough away from the others. Gore sat Ian down on a bench at the edge of the park. "This is my best chance to help.' Ian told himself. Ian pushed his pain away and jumped up." Gore didn't know what to do at first. Ian hugged him tight. "None of it was your fault." Ian said. "You couldn't control any of it." Gore recovered and returned the hug. "Thanks Ian." The gator said, He patted the human on the back. Then he held Ian at arm length. Ian got a good look at Gore: The suit looked more uncomfortable on Gore than it felt on the human. He seemed to be ready to bust out of the suit at any given minute. "As leader of that mission I was supposed to take the strengths of each member and make them work with each other, to take out weaknesses." "But there were so many things you had no control over. Being a leader means understanding that you can't have absolute control." Gore's face remained rigid on the subject. There was no convincing him otherwise. Ian's mind played with an idea. He did it once under odd conditions, why not do it this time? He couldn't deny the feelings he had for Gore. Gore was about to speak his part when the human forced him into a kiss. This time Gore was all-too-happy to receive the invading tongue. He pulled Ian close, and his hand travelled from Ian's shoulder slowly down to the small of Ian's back. His long flat tongue danced with Ian's and worked his way into the human's mouth. The pressure and pain Ian felt in his head had vanished as their tongues explored the new territory.

Soon, all too soon for the both of them, their lips slowly parted from each other "Mmmm" Gore savored Ian's flavor. "You're full of surprises, Ian. You could be a permanent." His hand met Ian's chin and gave Ian another small kiss." "A permanent what?" Ian asked. Gore winked, hugged the human again, and started to lead him back to the funeral "You'll figure it out." Ian's headache was replaced with a high feeling, almost like he could do anything. He didn't know how much he liked Gore, but he knew it was there. He sighed and allowed Gore to lead him back to Seni.

"I will never forget you."