FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The ride, unfortunately, only lasted ten minutes: somehow, Cherry was unsurprised that the wolf had driven up to the clichéd Lover's Lane, and here they sat in the sports car, on a cliff that overlooked a city... and Cherry honestly couldn't see what was so spectacular about this side of town. It was like a carpet of lights beneath her... but they were right next to a lamppost with a broken light, sitting on a crappy lookout point with a chain link fence guarding a power station on the other side of the road behind them, and she was curled horribly close to Lone, who had an arm around her neck... and then he turned his gaze to look into her eyes, smiling as he asked in a voice that sounded dreamy and - worse - like he had somehow managed to sober up a bit for this event: "Beautiful, right?"

"Very." Cherry agreed halfheartedly... but no sooner did she say the word then Lone was on her. The wolf pushed his body forwards, and she felt his flabby, furry stomach rubbing against hers as one of his hands groped at a breast with a terrible lack of finesse, fingers digging into the cloth as she felt his hips buck lightly against hip, and there was that hard tent in his pants again that he seemed so goddamn proud of, pushing against her as his mouth gaped open and moved up towards her in a horrible kiss...

But she met him willingly, wrapping an arm around his neck and bringing a hand down to rub slowly through his fur, wincing inwardly at the greasy feel of it and the flecks of food she felt under her fingers. He all but moaned into her mouth as they kissed, his tongue pushing her muzzle and rolling around slowly, and she could taste the terrible mixture of food and it almost made her want to gag...

This would be her punishment... and she had a terrible feeling it was only the beginning, as Lone pushed closer against her, and then grunted, arms straining as he tried to lift her: carefully, she moved with him, letting him think he was pulling her into his lap as he grinned and bucked his hips against her, pulling back from the kiss with a quiet pant to gaze up at her hungrily, one hand squeezing a breast as the other settled on her hip and he asked in a roughened voice: "You like that big thing, Cherry? You wanna see it?"

"Oh yes... of course... you feel so huge, Lone..." Cherry responded, half-lidding her eyes and hating her own words, as the wolf's face filled with a grinning glee. She reached down to squeeze his crotch gently, and he groaned quietly and bucked forwards against her, grinding his hard shaft against her hand through the restraining fabric of his pants and boxers, and then he leaned up to kiss her again.

Their muzzles met, their lips worked together, Cherry barely able to restrain herself from either pulling back or dominating him, feeling his tongue swirl with hers as she pushed his shirt down with one hand and slid her other gently down under his waistband, wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible: she knew the wolf would have next-to-no endurance, but it was still taking too long in her eyes as his hands moved from her body to fumble at the clasp that held her top on, the lupine grunting and growling lightly into the kiss before it broke so he could lean a bit past her and then manage to pop the clasp, letting her top fall free and revealing her full, large breasts.

The lupine stared at them hungrily, moving his hands to fondle them slowly and lovingly, licking his muzzle slowly before he leaned forwards and settled his jaws on one: Cherry automatically wrapped an arm around his head and let out a bit of a sharp breath as he bit one of her nipples in what he thought was probably a gentle, pleasurable way. She quickly moved her hand to swiftly snap his fly open, but then the wolf pulled back and looked up at her, drooling a bit but grinning and shaking his head before he leaned forwards to drag his tongue hungrily over his other breast, reaching quickly down with one hand to seize hers as the other first threw her top into the passenger seat, then moved to grasp a breast roughly as he panted quietly: "No... no, you get naked first bitch... get naked first, then you get to see my big cock..."

The female Drakkaren had to fight from simply breaking the wolf's neck, instead forcing a smile and a soft: "You got it," before standing up as best she could and undoing her own fly, slowly sliding her pants and panties down her hips and to her knees, the wolf leaning back in the chair, drool falling into his ruff as he grinned widely at her, eyeing her body with a deep lust. Then, as she slowly stepped up to one foot and then pulled her jeans off, kicking them aside - thank Gods she hadn't worn the motorcycle boots today, just the tight, low-heel combat ones - the wolf bucked forwards and grabbed her hips, yanking her down into his lap and making her give a grunt of surprise that the wolf obviously took for pleasure, as he pushed her firmly back against the steering wheel. The horn gave a loud beep, and then the wolf was on her, drooling and slavering as he licked at her neck, then dropped his muzzle onto one of her breasts again, his fingers digging into her hips as he suckled on one of her breasts and twisted his head from side to side, letting out quiet grunts as Cherry winced and wrapped an arm around his neck, stroking his chest with the other.

Then he sat quickly back, panting quietly already as he reached down for his pants and jerked them down a bit, revealing tented, spotted boxers... and then he grinned at Cherry as she forced an awed smile in return, growling: "Here it is... and after you get a good look, I expect you to jump on it, bitch... on this full foot of wolf meat..."

With that, he yanked his boxers down, causing his pinkish, wolven shaft and small, furry testicles... and the first thing Cherry noticed about it was that it wasn't a foot. If she had to guess, she'd say nine inches... and she'd be dead on. The military had taught her how to accurately measure even units, after all... and the only thing impressive about the wolf's penis was the fact that it looked like his rotund knot was a bit bigger than normal, but that was all. She managed a gasp of surprise, though, and then she forced a moan as she reached down and gripped it with one hand. Already, it was radiating a throbbing heat, and the wolf groaned and arched his back, thrusting into her hand as she said in an amazed voice: "Ooh... ooh, I just got to have that in me, I can't wait!"

With that, Cherry pushed herself forwards and dropped herself on the wolf's penis, guiding it into her and pushing to the knot with a single firm movement. Lone whined loudly in pleasure, his ears laying back and his eyes bulging at the feel of the female's tight vagina clutching at his hard shaft, and then he began to thrust rapidly as Cherry bounced up and down, the female painting an expression of ecstasy on her features, her hands grasping her breasts and flexing the lips of her sex against the wolf's hot penis... but the pleasure he gave her was miniscule compared even to her own masturbations, as she felt him already pounding up into her, his hands squeezing into her hips.

Lone, on the other hand, had an expression of ecstasy on his features, rocking his hips firmly and thrusting powerfully up into her body again and again as he arched his back and let out a loud moan. His flabby stomach bounced a bit as Cherry worked herself in time as best she could, feeling the wolf's knot pounding at her entrance before Lone managed to moan: "Oh God, baby, you're so good... let's take it up another level, I just can't hold back, you're so... sexy!"

With that, Lone grunted and jerked down as hard as he could while thrusting upwards: Cherry, had she wanted to, could have easily resisted, but instead gave the wolf what he wanted and dropped firmly, forcing herself to cry out as if in the deepest of bliss and bucking her hips hard down against him, causing the lupine to moan lustily again as his thick knot shoved its way into the female's tight vagina. Despite how tight she was already his shaft, however, Cherry was also used to much larger things being suddenly forced into her body... and so the knot caused her a brief spark of pleasure at best that almost made it to excitement, but then the wolf had started what he probably thought was a rapid, powerful thrusting into her body but barely amounted to little more than shaking his body.

The lupine was already panting harshly as he did his best to thrust upwards: the bliss he was causing himself, however, was amazing, and thus he simply assumed that Cherry, too, must be having the best time of her life. He was too stupid to recognize the female had stopped trying, instead only moving slowly back against his rapid thrusts and gripping his shoulders, no longer even bothering to try to make her body more appealing as she faked moans and sharp, fast sounds of pleasure with a look on her face that was half-grin and half-exasperated.

Lone continued to ram himself upwards again and again, feeling his stiff cock becoming all the more hard, all the more powerful, and then he suddenly arched his back and released what to him was a howl of bliss, and what sounded to Cherry like a squeak of exaltation as he suddenly bucked up into her firmly again and again, his penis twitching and firing a pitiful stream of wolf seed into her: it was followed up by two more short loads, but then those quickly petered out and he was left panting, falling flat back against the seat with Cherry still in his lap, his eyes sliding closed as he revelled in the ecstasy he had felt. His body heaved with pants, and his fur was soaked with sweat as he gazed up at Cherry hungrily for a few moments before reaching a hand slowly up. It shook a bit as she looked back down at him with what he thought was love and admiration, and then he whispered one word: "Mine."

Then, smiling, he let his head fall back and his hand drop to give her thigh a last squeeze. Cherry, on the other hand, only continued to look at him with something that was beyond irritation now... with something that was almost anger, as his cock throbbed lightly inside of her. She reached forwards and grabbed the wolf's ruff, not caring what the penalty would be for knocking his teeth out for daring to do all these things that she realized now were only meant to claim her, to make her his property instead of just acting as a free, friendly fuck... but his head rolled bonelessly forwards and he gave a snort that turned into a loud snore. She stared for a few moments, then dropped him and cursed under her breath before forcefully extracting herself, the wolf's knot making a thick plop as she pulled free. A bit of wetness trailed down the inside of one thigh, but she merely used the lupine's hand to wipe at it with disgust: he had barely gotten her hot, let alone excited her at all.

Then she picked up her clothes and quickly dressed before stepping out of the lupine's sports car. She paused, looking at his mostly-clothed form and his penis as it retreated slowly into his sheath, then she cursed quietly to herself again before turning towards the cliff of the lookout and sighing. She glanced down it, then shrugged before simply jumping and starting to skid down, keeping her balance easily as her mind struggled with the best way to approach Zerrex about what she'd done and learned.

It took Cherry an hour and a half to walk home, despite the fact she'd cut at least forty minutes off with her shortcut down the rock face that had taken her right back down from the outskirts and into western Apple Villa. Now she glanced back and forth as she approached the house, rubbing at her head slowly before blinking as she heard a loud crash from around the back.

Quickly, she ran forwards and pressed against the wall, checking around the corner of the building before silently moving in, keeping low and down before she peered around the edge of the wall... and blinked at the sight of Zerrex standing in the middle of the yard, several spotlights that he and Tinny had gotten from somewhere illuminating the field. They'd also picked up what looked like several large washing and drying machines... and Tinny was squatting, panting hard, before he looked up at Zerrex and said in a miserable voice: "I can't do this anymore, Boss... the strain's killing me."

Zerrex looked at Tinman with a mixture of sympathy and disappointment: not in the badger, but instead that whatever he'd been doing had to end so early. But he nodded and then paused, glancing over his shoulder as Cherry stepped out from where she was hiding in the shadows and no longer bothering to conceal herself. She grinned lamely, feeling an embarrassed blush rise in her features as she reached up a hand to rub the back of her head, finally saying bluntly: "Hi. I fucked Lone but got some good information and I missed you."

"Huh." Zerrex looked at her mildly, then he paused and glanced over his shoulder at Tinman, who had straightened up and was now squeezing one ear nervously. "Can you do me a favor and put on some coffee?"

"Sure!" Tinny leapt at the chance to get away from the conversation, running inside and almost falling flat, arms pinwheeling before he straightened and instead pranced through the open door into the kitchen. He closed it quickly behind him, leaving Cherry and Zerrex standing in the backyard with the spotlight shining around them, illuminating the sweat, blood and body of the tall male clearly... and leaving Cherry standing back a bit from the light in the shadows, as she slowly continued to rub the back of her head, looking down shamefully.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Zerrex took a slow breath, then he sat down cross-legged in the grass and asked quietly: "What happened?"

Cherry took it as an invitation, and so she walked forwards and sat down herself in front of Zerrex, leaning back as she smiled faintly at him, looking down and spending most of her time staring at his broad chest. She relayed the events of that night to him in as best detail as she could... apologized for her behavior again and again as the reptile watched her silently... then finally looked up and said quietly: "I won't blame you if you're mad or you want to hit me or anything. I won't dodge, promise."

The tall male softened a bit as he looked at her, then he shook his head and instead stood. Cherry looked up after him, feeling sorrow claw at her heart as she thought he was leaving her... but then he reached a hand down and said mildly: "If I got mad at you every time you slept with an enemy of mine, I would have beaten you to a pulp years ago."

"Fuck you." Cherry replied immediately, but she smiled and took his hand, letting him heft her up to her feet as she rested against his side, wrapping an arm tight around him as they approached the door.

Zerrex paused for a moment before opening it, however, then he glanced down at her and said mildly, as he reached for the handle: "I want you to keep up your game with Lone."

"What?" Cherry stared at the reptile with something like horror, as he pushed open the door, and then she let go of him and smacked his back firmly as he walked into the kitchen, stalking after him and glaring up at him as Tinny watched them apprehensively: the fact that Cherry was acting furious was usually a good sign, though. It was only when Zerrex was mad that things seemed to be going bad in their relationship. "That fucker is disgusting! And I thought you and all your honor shit was against shit like that!"

The Drakkaren shrugged, glancing at the female with slight amusement dancing in his eyes, then he smiled and took a cup of coffee from Tinny when the badger poured him a mug and offered it. "Thanks. And well... sort of. But you make a good spy, and right now I can't keep an eye on Lone..." he stopped, then turned serious as he looked at Cherry. "Besides. The Godkillers worry me a bit."

The muscular female took a cup of coffee from Tinman as he cocked his head curiously, and she glanced at him as she dropped her own exaggerated anger, becoming solemn as she too thought of the implications. She paused for a moment however to look at the badger and said mildly: "Lone told the Godkillers about Requiem, but Felicity didn't seem pleased... she seemed angry or shocked, by all accounts. Now they're up to something and Lone's apparently staying in contact with them about whatever it is."

"Oh. That's not good." Tinman blinked and rubbed his head, holding his own coffee mug in two hands - one of the things about Zerrex's home was that everything inside it was custom made for his great stature, making the medium-sized badger look a bit like a hobbit in the homes of the big people. "So Miss Cherry is going to do the usual spy thing while me and you train, Zerrex?"

Cherry made a face, but then she took a long sip of her coffee and sighed as Zerrex tilted his head and glanced at her. "Yeah, I guess I am. You're not allowed to get pissed at me for fucking that piece of shit, though... it's painful enough as it is."

The tall reptile snorted and shrugged, looking mildly amused as he held his coffee between his hands and enjoyed the gentle heat radiating from the mug. "Whatever you need to do is your business. Just don't go scaring him with your muscles."

The female Drakkaren grinned a bit now, tilting her head as she glanced from Tinman to Zerrex with a sly look. "Well, about that, actually..."

The next day, the sun rose on a rainy day in Baskin's Grove: nothing more than a mild shower compared to the storms that the town sometimes got, but it still had a wide range of effects on the players in the current secret triangle of war that was going on behind the scenes of the peaceful-looking town.

Zerrex sighed as he looked out the window, muttering under his breath and rubbing at his naked chest slowly: Cherry was still asleep in bed, naked and curled up. For once, she hadn't wanted sex... she said the wolf made her feel dirty and she didn't want to pass any diseases on to her husband before his big day. So now he stood in his boxers, feeling a bit uneasy about the coming events, before heading quietly back to his room. Tinny was still asleep in the couch, the badger dressed in a ridiculous set of plaid pajamas and a nightcap with a red bobble on the end... the tall Drakkaren never would have believed such a horrendous sleepwear outfit existed, had he not seen it himself. He figured he'd wake Cherry, and they could do a workout instead of the training he'd hoped to do this morning... he knew that Tinny wouldn't be able to concentrate as well in these conditions, and it would be stupid to push the badger too hard with all the help he was giving so willingly.

Lone snorted awake, flailing madly as he felt himself drowning, finally jerking forwards and coughing water all over the steering wheel: the sudden movement, however, caused what felt like iron bands to snap shut over his head and a horrible lurch of his stomach, and then he was vomiting up what felt like everything he had felt last night, covering his pants, and the plastic floormat in the leg well with chunky puke that still reeked like alcohol. The smell of it caused the wolf to vomit again, and this time he sprayed a fine amount onto the steering wheel and dribbled it all over his flabby stomach and sheath. He moaned in pain and gargled, spitting a sizeable chunk of something horrible-tasting past the door, then he leaned over the edge and threw up a final time, spewing congealed, semi-digested food down the side of his expensive car. He began to cry hard as the rain that had woken him up began to come down a bit harder, the hangover of all hangovers causing agony to rip through his mind as he tried to think of where he was, what he was doing... but the realization he was in public shocked him to his senses enough that he fumbled for the ignition of his car. Tears, snot, puke and saliva dripped from his maw and nostrils as he started up his vehicle, trying to ignore the smell and sight of yellowing, half-eaten food on his steering wheel... then he realized he could feel air around his sheath and he reached down, trying to jerk his pants and boxers up... only to feel his own mushy vomit squelching into his testicles, making him howl in misery and descend into wracking sobs as he fell forwards against his steering wheel and felt pain rip through his body and aching head, the rain falling from the sky only adding insult to his injury.

Cindy woke up to the gentle sound and smiled faintly as she looked up: she'd always loved the rain. Her chains jingled, and she glanced down at the tube that was coming from her vagina and going to the urine bottle, making sure it wasn't too full before simply letting her bladder go and watching the yellow liquid spilling down the tube and towards the container. She couldn't see Requiem anywhere, but that was alright... he gave her water on a regular basis and gave her nutrition drinks, holding up whatever bottle while he read and letting her take them through a straw. No matter how long she took, his arm never seemed to get tired as he sat cross-legged by her... and she hated to admit it, but she had come to sort of enjoy his company, despite the fact she was being held captive. But he was polite, charming in his own way, and he never did anything that was remotely abusive... other than the chains. Cindy, however, grinned a bit to herself as she flexed her body against her bonds and closed her eyes, listening to the beautiful sound of the rain on the windmill. She thought that she'd be able to take care of the goddamn chains soon enough, maybe even tomorrow...

Requiem stood silently on the third floor, staring up at the open hatch in the roof, the rain pouring in. His silk shirt was soaked through, showing off the powerful build of his body and the ruby scales over his chest as it clung to him, transparent: he only continued to stare up at the dark clouds above, however, and the rain that fell from the sky. Like his nephew, he too hated the rain... but only because it made him think of a poor, homeless child sitting on a street corner, made fun of because he was freakishly bigger than all the other kids his age but too gentle, too quiet to ever lay a finger on them... once, a passing monk had almost taken him in, but he'd refused quietly and instead smiled, saying that he was waiting for his brother to show up... and he remembered one day when Narrius had come down the street in the rain, all he had seen had been a sharkish grin of horrible, sharp fang teeth, and burning ruby eyes approaching through the steam floating up from the hot city streets... and how he had been so goddamn terrified...

Felicity sat in her room in what had once been called Exile Village, looking out the window and quietly playing with a tattered top hat. She was naked, and the light cast from the lamp on her bedtable played strangely over the scars on her body, making them look almost appealing or vanish entirely as she shifted a bit on her bed. Then she slowly put the top hat reverently back where she kept it in the shelf beneath her table, before walking over to her dresser and pulling on her clothes silently. She was the earliest riser of the Godkillers... but today, she'd have to make sure to phone Mika so he could send out a simple text message to every cell phone and every email account owned by all the people who would be willing to help the Godkillers out in achieving the goals they had set before them. She glanced out the window again quietly, then smiled a bit and looked up at the sky, reflecting on the fact that rain meant new life and growth... she thought it was an omen of good times to come.

Then she slowly stretched, dressed once more in her combat boots, black jeans, and a black blouse over a black belly shirt that would cover up most of her scars even if she somehow lost the long-sleeved chemise. The vixen glanced back and forth, then rubbed at her arm slowly as she stepped through the door and wandered down the hall towards the staircase.

She paused at the top of the stairs, gently touching the banister and gazing at the plain tile floor below, frowning slightly as she heard a creep and bend. Then she quickly ducked and turned around with a grin as Tank cursed, missing his grab for her before watching with entertainment as Felicity laughed and ran down the stairs, calling gently up to him: "What are you doing up so early? And it seems that it's kinda screwed up your usual style."

"Shut up." Tank replied good-naturedly, then the badger wandered down the stairs, stretching slowly and rubbing at his muscular chest as he stood before the vixen, smiling down at her. She smiled back, then she blushed a bit as he reached up and gently stroked her face with the back of his fingers, sidling a bit closer to her than she was comfortable with. "So, you got plans for today, Ellie?"

The vixen shrugged as she stepped back and turned away, heading for the kitchens: Tank immediately followed, putting his hands in his pockets and letting his eyes rove over her: as they passed a mirror, she caught his leering reflection, and she couldn't help feeling both flattered and a bit saddened. She'd made the mistake of getting romantically involved with the badger, but he hadn't been able to take either her idolization of the Boss or the fact that she wanted to go slow in the relationship. After too many nights of him trying to pull her shirt off, she had finally said stop and made it clear they would have to remain friends and nothing more... but that didn't stop Tank from still continuing to try to get as close to her as he could, and generally getting jealous of everyone she so much as smiled at.

"I think I know what I want us to do... after we're all gathered, I have a little prep speech I wanna go through and tell everyone the plan. Once that's done, I figure we should get used to each other so no one freaks out in the middle of anything, if there's a battle or something." The fox said reasonably, as she pushed through the door and into the kitchen, closely followed by the masculine badger. She felt him loom over her, almost grinding against her as she stopped near the counter, and she closed her eyes with the faintest of smiles: it was a bit of a bitter look, however. "Personal space, Tank."

The badger nodded and gave some gruff sound of apology, backing up maybe a step away. She glanced over her shoulder and nodded to him, then let her eyes travel over him for a moment before she turned her attention back to putting on coffee and making some toast for herself. It was kinda sad, really... Tank had done everything to get her back. And since her room was covered in posters of the Boss, renders of him that had been done by local artists, and all other sorts of Boss-related crap, Tank had apparently come to the conclusion that she loved guys who had big muscles... which is why he had buffed up so much recently and tried to look so tough, even going to the lengths of stealing a minigun with some friends from a military convoy outside of town... what he'd nicknamed Blackbarrel, probably his own personal take on the giant sword that had apparently been wielded by the Boss during the Judgment three years ago.

She had to admit, it was kind of touching, kind of pitiable, and kind of pathetic... no matter how hard Tank tried, he just... turned out not to be her kind of guy. He didn't have the same level of power as her idol, and he also lacked that calm composure that she'd always seen the Boss as having, which was another bit of her attraction to him... and from the savagery that Tank had often shown in both mocking the rich and attacking people they classed as 'wrongdoers' or 'prey,' she thought he lacked the weird sense of honor everyone from Comfort Town knew the Boss had as well.

But Tank tried so damn hard... and she knew how much he hated the Boss, which is why she did respect him for pulling through this with her and supporting her plans. He had been upset at first, but eventually he'd come around... and now, after sleeping on it, he seemed to be in a fairly jovial mood again, which she thought was a good step forwards.

Tank, however, hadn't exactly gotten over what Felicity - who he still saw as his girlfriend, his lover, his mate and altogether his - had in mind: she wanted to save the Boss, which he thought was ridiculous. After all, with the Boss out of the way, the Godkillers could destroy Lone and take over the city, driving out all the rich pricks and making it a real civilization for the working class, taking care of their own like the Boss had taken care of Comfort Town for so long, before he'd gotten lazy and let slobs like Lone rule and idiots like that waste of space Elliot down at the bar build Apple Villa-style businesses right smack-dab in Comfort Town territory. But Felicity wanted to get an army and stand up to someone even tougher than the Boss... and Tank was pretty sure that even if the Boss was rusty and lazy, he could still wipe the floor with any ten people he wanted in a fight. Someone who apparently owned him would likely annihilate their entire army... which is why he'd developed a plan to instead turn the tables on the Boss. Sure, Felicity would be upset that her idol died... but she'd get over it. And maybe she'd finally realize that he was the best guy out there for her, not some stupid musclehead lizard that she'd met once and who probably didn't know her from anyone else who'd suffered on the streets of Comfort Town.

Despite Zerrex's high and mighty attitude, Tank thought that the reptile was just sticking his nose into business where it didn't belong: sure, he was grateful that the lizard had taken down Reinhold and the corrupt municipal government that'd run Baskin's Grove and fed all the money from Comfort Town into their pathetic rich guy's Eden of Apple Villa... but in Reinhold's place he'd set up a moron who he doubted could tie his own shoes, which was probably why he danced around in his bare paws all the time. And Lone was like a parasite... he was worse than Reinhold, and hell, he'd caused the Judgment three years ago. No one wanted to see something like that happen again... it had cost too many lives, and hurt too many people, especially in Comfort Town. The savage beatings from the police, the vigilante rich who kept a rifle on you even while their friends kicked your ass... no one changed, and he was damn sure that Lone hadn't, either. Plus Zerrex... he just didn't trust this Boss character, especially with how he'd relaxed as of late, been more tolerant and not cracking down so hard on the rich people. Like the fucking General Manager of the Golden Garden, that rich restaurant on the Apple Villa side of the bridge... he'd seen that black-suited timberwolf strutting through Comfort Town like he'd owned the place. He had no right to be here, any more than Elliot should have been allowed to convert his tavern into some high-standing, fancy-ass bar. But he guessed that the Boss was as susceptible to bribes and flattery as any other corporate warrior or so-called 'hero' and 'visionary...' it just proved the lizard was scum after all, despite whatever Felicity might say.

And with the things he'd done to people? With his past? He didn't want someone like that anywhere near the kids he expected to have one day. Maybe adopted, but more likely Felicity and him would do that new donor thing... they did something fancy in a lab, put a badger egg instead of a fox egg inside of her, fertilized it with his sperm, and then she gave birth to some nice badger kids if the egg wasn't rejected by her body... had some shit with needles and weekly checkups to provide the right hormones or steroids or something so her body could handle the different species, but he'd heard lots of people had done it these days and they were even getting some new technologies developed so that cross-species parenting could be done even easier... but no matter how his kids came about, he didn't want some freak of nature who liked violence running his city, where he planned to raise his kids.

Then again... it was a horrible thought, but maybe Felicity was into that sorta thing, raw force and all that. But as he watched her lovingly, he shook his head a bit and decided that had to be wrong. He didn't understand how she could see Zerrex in the light she did, but he guessed that females were just weird... and so he stuck his hands in his pocket, stepping back to rest against the counter as he looked at her and smiled. She looked back, then smiled a bit in return as she pulled the lever for the toaster, the bread disappearing into it as she glanced quickly away.

Tank would let her give her pretty speech today, after Mika gathered all the guys together... but then he'd make sure to spread the word that they were going to crush the Boss, not whoever the Boss was fighting. Mika was already in on it... it hadn't taken much more than holding the dumb shit's needles out of reach until he'd cracked and begged for his drugs, promising to do all the stuff that the badger had demanded. It was kinda pathetic what had happened to the poor kid, ever since his stint in the hospital from his own Humvee falling on him while he was tuning up the engine and crushing his ribs, but he guessed that was just life.

The badger's plan was fairly basic when it came right down to it: obviously, this Requiem dude would have to leave his base of operations - Felicity said it was the old Sanderson Windmill on the edge of the industrial section of town - to go and fight Zerrex, and he would likely leave Cindy behind. Once he left, they could go inside, nab Zerrex's precious daughter, then wait for the outcome of the fight. If Requiem won, they'd let him have Cindy or whatever he wanted, so long as he went on his merry way and didn't try to take over town, which meant they'd have to use the forces they'd gathered to kill the bastard. Cherry, Zerrex's 'wife' - even though the slut fucked everyone in town, mostly the well-off people - probably would go after Cindy if Requiem left with her... if not, they'd just use Cindy as a bargaining chip to force them both to leave town forever, along with that Tinman weirdo and that sack of shit Elliot. Then they'd kill Lone, and victory would be theirs.

The other scenario was that the Boss proved himself infallible again and killed Requiem... but Tank thought that even if this happened, they could use Cindy as a bargaining chip again and force Zerrex to leave town, or to walk into a trap where they could kill him and the rest of his fucked-up family and friends. The badger thought he'd planned out both circumstances pretty damn well... the only problem he faced now was making sure that Felicity didn't know and stayed out of the whole mess.

It would be easier said then done, since she could be a pushy bitch when she wanted to, like all the times he'd tried to make love to her and she'd refused. Since she planned to give some other rally speech when everyone came back together, she was pretty sure that he could knock her out with some sleeping drugs and give it for her and satisfy her afterwards about it, so long as he made sure that everyone knew that the downfall of the Boss was supposed to be a secret and remain a 'big surprise' for Felicity... but the harder part would be feeding her the fake day for the duel and making sure she didn't interfere with him nabbing Cindy. He'd have to work hard to keep her out of this mess... but he figured that she admit how much she cared about him if he managed to prove just how superior he really was to Zerrex, and it's not like she'd leave him for a corpse even if she did find out the truth afterwards. In truth, the fact that she might leave him had never occurred to the badger at all... he was secure in his delusion of love as he watched Felicity with an almost hungry look.

The vixen, of course, had no clue what was going on... but she did have her worries that Tank was going to do something stupid, because that was what the badger tended to do. It wasn't that she minded the fact he was physical or violent or protective... the Boss was too, although he had good reason for all those traits and always made them seem like beautiful things, even when he was punishing someone with his fists brutally. Tank, however, often lacked reason and instead let feelings that were one-sided and facts that didn't exist cloud his judgment, which just led to trouble. That and the fact that he thought she would never abandon him, just because they were both formerly members of Exile Village and they'd dated for about two months... but quite a few times, she'd honestly thought about leaving the Godkillers... but worried what would happen. Sometimes she almost felt like a mother who was looking after her children... and she knew that thought would infuriate Tank, which just made her want to say it all the more.

She managed to avoid blurting it out, though, and instead focused on breakfast: soon enough, other people would filter down, and they all stood around the kitchen in their black quasi-uniforms, drinking coffee and eating food, talking about the rain and weather and other unimportant things... acting like the good, normal people they were, and not the freak gang members they all painted themselves to be. Smiles and compliments were traded over how they looked this morning, all the usual boring stuff that everyone told everyone else... but finally, Mika came in, trembling a bit from withdrawal and wincing at a look that Tank gave him, the coyote shaking his head briefly as he said in a voice that was more than slightly discontent: "Rain's not letting up outside. Been like this since five this morning."

Felicity glanced up at the clock mounted on the wall: it was ten now, and she glanced at Mika curiously. The canid smiled in return, the stains that the morphine abuse had left on his body disappearing for a moment, then he nodded to her, already knowing what she was about to ask. "They'll be here around eleven, like you requested. We'll meet in the common room, and then everyone'll hopefully be ready to help out and stuff. But with what you want them to do... I'm not too sure everyone'll be excited about it."

Tank frowned at the coyote, but this time Mika only looked back sourly: the coyote was well aware that Tank disliked him for two reasons... one being the fact he was a drug addict - although he knew this fact, had accepted it, made peace with it, but felt no immediate urge to get help for it - and two being that Felicity trusted him more than she trusted Tank... which wasn't saying much, since Tank didn't realize that the vixen he'd convinced himself he was in love with didn't trust him more than she could throw him. Without using her powers, he added silently. As it stood, Tank also didn't know this neat little factoid... and both of them thought it was best it remained that way.

"I think I can find a way to get everyone good with the idea." Felicity replied with a bit of a smile. She couldn't pretend she wasn't excited about this whole thing: it would be one hell of a surprise to let the gang in on, after all. Of course, little did she know that Tank had been listening in to her and Mika's conversation over the phone, and he'd already spread the details out to most of the others in the Godkillers.

So it was an hour of anxiety only for her and Mika, as they and the rest of the gang eventually gravitated down to the common room: as always, Tank had to repress a disgusted look at the full-size picture of the Boss that sat on one wall in a golden frame, with the motto: "Achieve Likeness" beneath it. To him, two words weren't a motto... a motto was something like... "To Serve and Protect," or "In God we Trust." It wasn't two stupid words that could mean anything and nothing all at the same time. But he supposed it was hard to make the entire gang associate something like "Liberty and Equality for All" with a monster as sinister as the Boss. To Tank, a good motto that would go under that portrait was "Remember What We Are Trying To Avoid Becoming."

The badger took his usual place: a high-backed wooden chair that put his back to the picture of Zerrex. He hated looking at that painting... hated the way the art was done, hated the quality of the work, hated the fact that he was always half-naked and in that picture bore that stupid sword of his, like he was a fucking knight or something. This was the modern world... not some idiot's anime or medieval times. Now, people did all their fighting with guns, not stupid swords... and any moron with a sword was easily taken down by even the weakest of people with a gun, because that just made common sense: you couldn't chop your way through a bullet, after all.

In time, the people Mika had contacted filtered in: twenty, twenty-five people, most of them males, all of them wearing a black headband or wristband to show their allegiance with the Godkillers. They really weren't as popular as everyone seemed to think... but they did have quite a following in town, and these were the most trusted of them, the ones who would do anything to get even temporary status in the gang. Felicity smiled as she sat back on the table, motioning for them to sit: once everyone was seated in a circle around her, she turned and looked up at the picture of the Boss with shining eyes, almost seeming to pray for a moment before she turned to face the majority, hands clasped in front of herself.

"Everyone!" The vixen's voice was surprisingly loud, and it instantly got the attention of even the most rowdy in the room. She opened her arms, looking around at them all, then she smiled warmly. "Thanks for joining me here today... as Mika undoubtedly told those of you who aren't already in the Godkillers, we're in need of some help from our... our reserve forces.

"To make things simple: the Boss needs help, and I want to give it to him. We've found out that he's got a hell of a fight ahead of him, dealing with this motherfucker named Requiem... and this cheating bastard took his daughter. All of you know what it's like to suffer under the hands of the richer, the more 'powerful' in society... and now someone who thinks he's tough just because he can kidnap a little girl and sucker punch a real hero, a real hardass in the face after he takes him by surprise, has come into our town and caused trouble for our people!"

As Felicity spoke, her voice rose in strength, her passion flowed through her being and gave her words true power as she rose a fist, her eyes glinting dangerously as she looked around at them all, features set and teeth grit. Her raw emotion affected everyone in the room, some nodding, some merely looking disgusted, but all of them listening close as the fox continued bravely: "Three years ago, the Boss saved all of our lives. No one in this room, whether you like him or not, can deny that. He brought down Apple Villa, drove Reinhold away, and turned a cruel tyrant into a puppet. He breathed life into Comfort Town, and reunited Baskin's Grove and made it whole again! Now he needs our help... and we're going to give it to him. Since this Requiem bastard dares trample into our territory and uses cheap tactics like ambush and kidnap... we're going to march his ass right out of town and take Cindy Narrius back!

"I won't hold you to this... and if you want, you can leave right now. What I'm asking might be too much for some of you to stomach..." And at this, the vixen's voice filled with contempt, even anger as she continued to speak. "The weaklings. The maggots. The cowards who think that the Boss can take care of himself, and that he doesn't deserve a hand, and that we should look after our own hides first. The fucking pathetic losers who think that taking a trip out of town for a day or so to go and find people who can help us, to bolster the numbers I know we'll find in town with other soldiers and hotshots and gangs and mercenaries that the Godkillers have associations with... is too hard, because they'll miss their mommies and it'll cost them too much money.

"Well, think about this." The vixen's voice was almost raw with passion, cutting into the hearts of those who would have tried to slink out of the job and making the others who had already committed themselves to this job smile bitterly with disgust. "Think about what the Boss... our savior... is going through. He's lost his daughter, and he thinks he's stuck out on his own, taking care of a town that's turned its back on him and left him to suffer when he's done nothing but bend over backwards for us and everyone else in this place. It's costing him more than money... and you won't spend a dime anyway, since it'll all be on Godkiller funds. It's costing him his sanity, I bet. It's costing him bits and pieces of his soul, and until this point all we've done is sit on our asses and let him take care of us.

"Now it's time for us to help him out. To show that we give a damn, and that we want to help." Felicity finished, reaching up to wipe at her eyes: tears had spilled down her speaks, and many of the others were looking at the ground or swallowing their own tears back. "So... I guess, who the fuck here is with me?"

The roar of approval was deafening, and it made Tank shift uncomfortably. The vixen's words had even touched him and made him feel a bit queasy about his own actions... but he was nonetheless determined to make sure that he got rid of the Boss, and that everyone saw things from his point of view. He frowned as he looked down... but he thought that he could still turn things his way, before glancing back up at Felicity but mostly ignoring her now as she went over her plan: it was pretty basic shit, anyway. Everyone would leave at two... they would spend twelve hours on the road, going as far as they could and recruiting and bringing back as many people as they could manage to find... and then they were all supposed to be back in town by two of the next day. They would help all the people they'd brought back with them find a place to stay... the slums, a friend's, an abandoned building, a hotel, whatever... then, at midnight, everyone would meet in the park next to the creek that separated Comfort Town from Apple Villa, the one where the Boss had apparently sat and contemplated life the day before he'd simply blown Apple Villa to shit. They'd finalize the plans there and take a head count, then start readying themselves to attack the windmill and take down Requiem once they learned enough about him. Felicity herself was going to stay back in town with Mika to act as a relay point, in case anyone ran into trouble and to set up places ahead of time for people to stay at.

But Tank noticed that Felicity extolled the Boss more and more as she spoke... and that a few people looked uncomfortable or were becoming fidgety with her party lines. It really was almost like she'd been given certain lines to say and had been ordered to make the huge, scary Drakkaren seem like some tragic friend than anything else, as he wracked his brain for some solution to his problem... and Tank blinked as his head snapped up, grinning to himself slowly at the brilliant idea he'd just stumbled upon.

And, as luck would have it - or maybe it was fate, telling him he was on the right track, had a great idea, and should run with it - Felicity's voice suddenly broke, and she rubbed at her eyes and coughed a bit before glancing around at them all with a faint smile. "Well, I've gone on long enough now... you've all got the idea, I guess. I want us to... to make sure that we do this right. If you'll all excuse me... I need a glass of water."

"Yeah, I'll come with you." Mika said immediately, standing and brushing himself off. His trembles had worsened a bit, and Tank thought it was pretty obvious that all the coyote really wanted was another hit of morphine... but it made it even easier. Now he didn't have to deal with golden boy either... because although he had his sworn promise that he would help out and not say anything, Tank didn't trust the word of a drug addict that was out of his mind with need for a shot. The other issue was that he didn't know how far Mika's shame over just how much he was shooting up would cover up, either... loyalty to Felicity might win out in the end if he found out too much about Tank's plans, or just the fact that Mika would obviously not be thrilled with what he was about to tell the others about his future wife.

As the two left, others began to get up as well... but Tank stood and cleared his throat, as the door closed with a quiet snick. The others in the room looked up at him, and Tank smiled sadly around at them all, holding out his arms and saying in a sympathetic voice: "So... did everyone hear how she talked about the Boss?"

There were a few hesitant nods, and a few curious looks... but the muscular badger kept his focus on his words, carefully choosing them as he continued to speak in the same gentle tone: "You know, she always had this thing for Zerrex... it was... I hate to say it, since she's my girlfriend and all, but it was really pitiful. And you know what? One day... well, she sent a letter to him. And he agreed to meet her, and she was so damn happy..." He paused, glancing at the other Godkillers... but the five other former members of Exile Village had long ago become more interested in getting along with conflict than arguing any points, so they all simply smiled and nodded, as if remembering as well. It helped that they were probably all scared of him... "But... well...

"They met, and I admit I was worried. We all know about the past that the Boss has, after all." He gestured with his arms as he spoke, others nodding and frowning, looking unsure of themselves. A few didn't seem exactly won over, but then the badger sighed and placed a miserable look on his face as he continued his story quietly: "Well, he took her out back of that damn bar, Elliot's... and he raped her again and again and again." He paused to see the effect it had: most of it was shock, but a few people looked more disbelieving than horrified. So quickly, he wiped at his eyes and continued to speak in what he hoped was a heartbroken voice: "But the worst part is that he just crushed her spirit, taunted her and broke her, made her think it was all she'd ever wanted and shit... and that's why she is the way she is. She's terrified of the Boss, you have to understand that... she doesn't admire Zerrex, she's just been turned into a puppet by him, and it breaks my heart...

"Do you really think that someone as strong as he is would ever need our help? Do you really think that Felicity, darling that she is, would want to sacrifice us to some freakshow who apparently only has a beef with Zerrex, then wants to get out of town? No... she wouldn't." He looked down at this, shaking his head slowly. "Zerrex told her and put her up to this... and she's terrified of anyone finding out, because he'll rape her again... but this time he'll kill her. We've all seen the pictures on the news... the things he does to females, it's horrible and unnatural."

And now he was winning them over, he could feel that in the air... so he dropped back on the desk and let his head fall in his hands, sighing. "So she can't find out this but... but like she said. We have to look out for each other... so please... I'm begging you. Let's do what Felicity says... gather up all these people... but make sure that the person we go after isn't this Requiem character, but Zerrex. From what I've heard, Requiem didn't surprise attack Zerrex either... the bastard attacked him. And... we all know he's in cahoots with Lone and giving favors out to everyone... I don't want to see that going on anymore in my hometown.

"Please. Let's find the strength to unite... we have to keep it a secret from Felicity, so that she doesn't let it slip to Mika or Zerrex... because Mika's working for Zerrex, so all of you know." He looked back and forth, nodding slowly. "You see the kid, hooked like he is on morphine? Well, Zerrex's drug ban was still in place, last time I checked... there's only one person who could get hard drugs in this town, and I hear morphine makes cocaine look like sugar. Zerrex is the one supplying him... it just crushes me inside to see that kid suffering like that. So we gotta do this secret-like... and I'm trusting you all not to tell. Just to gather the forces, and then I'll take it from there. Tell them we need help wiping out one badass motherfucker... and that if they do, the pay'll be beautiful for everyone, 'cause I hear Zerrex has a fortune that I feel is only right in being returned to us, the people who's blood he's spilled to get that money."

"Hear, hear." said a voice quietly in the back, and others murmured in assent. Tank let himself look up with the faintest of hopeful smiles, swallowing and keeping his hands over his muzzle... but inside he was grinning at what he'd managed to accomplish with just a little bit of work and effort. Looking around the room, he saw nothing but sympathy and anger... and it let him know that he had everyone on his side, all ready to fight to finally crush the former Boss of Baskin's Grove. Sorry, Felicity... but sometimes you gotta do... what you gotta do...

Cindy mumbled under her breath as she rocked slowly back and forth against the chains: thankfully, Requiem spent most of his time ignoring her and reading. Today he was sitting at his metal table and was even faced away from her, and she didn't think her luck could get much better than that: it let her continue her slow testing of the chain's durability.

She knew that she couldn't burst this chain as she had the others: too many rows, too tightly linked, too well-adjusted against her body. But she could wear it down... and so yesterday she had started a regiment of flexing and relaxing, flexing and relaxing, pushing her body forwards against the links, then dropping back. At first, it didn't seem like she was doing anything at all... but now she thought she was digging just a little bit further through the dirt, and she was pretty sure she was gradually weakening the chains. She had just never before been forced to do it with this heavy a restraint on her body...

Her father had taught her to endure, to keep pushing on even when it seemed impossible... and everyone knew that even water droplets could eventually tear a hole through stone, if they kept hitting the same place. Cindy, of course, didn't really have years... but what the female Drakkaren did have was the endurance she'd learned from her father and the strength to tear through at least one or two rows of tight chain wrapped around her body.

Finally, she dropped back against the wooden pillar, panting quietly and glancing at Requiem: she had no doubt that he knew what she was up to, but so long as he was turned away, he didn't know how far she'd worked through the chain so far. She'd felt some of the links weakening from her constant straining against them, and now she grit her teeth as she forced herself to sit up, keeping her eyes locked on the Dragokkaren's back. She was at least two inches away from the wooden pillar now than she'd been before... which mean that she was either tearing the chains into the wood with her straining, or the metal links were starting to bend and give away. It helped that now she'd be able to draw back and get more distance between her and the chains... it meant her initial throw of herself at them would jerk them all that much harder.

"You're not going to get out of there." Requiem said mildly, not bothering to look up from his book, while proving her right about her guess that he knew exactly what she was doing. He paused for a moment, then added mildly as he closed the paperback and put it down on the clean metal table. "Although I do applaud your attempts. But unless you plan to rip either through the pillar or rip all the chains off with some feat of strength, I don't think you can get yourself free."

"Well, I have nothing else to do." Cindy replied with a bit of a smile, and then she grunted and threw herself hard against the chains, figuring there was no point in being shy about what she was doing anymore: it caused the entire length to jingle and rattle, and she swore she felt something give as the Dragokkaren blinked and tilted his head. She panted a bit as she dropped back against the wood pillar, then looked up at him with a bit of a grin. "What? Think I'm just going to give up?"

The tall Dragokkaren laughed quietly, then he smiled a bit in return and shook his head slowly. "Of course you aren't... Zerrex taught you well, I see. But after all, you truly are-"

"My father's daughter." Cindy finished firmly, and she nodded to the reptile before letting out a low whistle and closing her eyes, relaxing back against the wooden pillar. "But I think I'll give it a rest for now... this gets pretty damn tiring, pretty damn fast."

The Dragokkaren nodded a bit, then he stood and walked over to her, kneeling and reaching up to lightly jerk the top row of chains down, inspecting her body. They young female blinked and shrank back, but then the giant shrugged and straightened, glancing over her again. "Just making sure you don't have any cuts or abrasions from the chain."

"Nah, I'm alright." Cindy smiled a bit, then she laughed quietly and gave him a faintly-entertained look. "You know, you're not like any other captor I've ever had."

Requiem snorted at this as he headed back to the metal table, not bothering to respond as he once more picked up his novel and began to read. Cindy looked at him with an expression that was almost entertained affection, then she rolled her shoulders and let out a sigh before glancing down at the chains and murmuring to herself: "Well, back to work."

Felicity gazed out the window with a bit of a frown as she saw Tank rallying the other members of the Godkillers and the twenty-some others that had come: she rubbed the back of her head slowly as she stood in the second floor library, surrounded by the familiar books and shelves that filled this room, before she turned and sighed a bit, the beams of light filtering in through the window surrounding her with a flickering golden aura, as she watched Mika lowering a needle towards his arm. "I hate watching you do that."

"I know. I'm sorry... but I gotta." The coyote replied with the faintest of smiles, trying to still his trembles before looking down and wincing as he jabbed the needle in and depressed the plunger. His eyes slid closed, and he let out a soft breath after a few moments and removed the needle, putting it back in a small metal carrying case. Then he quickly untied the rubber tube from around his arm and flexed a few times, wincing a bit: but all through the operation, the ecstasy one expected to see an addict's features remained strangely absent. "We gonna get to work?"

"Yeah." Felicity only looked at him with a few moments more, though, quiet pity on her features. The coyote looked back, then he managed a smile as he rolled his sleeve down and closed his attaché case, pushing it aside and instead pulling his open laptop in front of him. He tapped in a few keys, then picked up a headset with fingers that trembled only a bit now, slipping it over his ears as Felicity walked over and sat down in the chair beside him, giving the white-faced coyote a gentle squeeze on the shoulder.

Mika smiled at her, then he tapped the headset and rapidly tapped in the codes on his laptop to access an old favorite of his: an orbiting satellite that was stationed somewhere in space above Baskin's Grove. It had all kinds of fancy little technological uses for relaying, hacking and signal transmission, and Mika was pretty sure that some of the old rich folks from Apple Villa had sent it up to act as their own private twenty-four hour global communication device. Once Mika had found out about it, however, it had become a prime tool for the Godkillers to use in order to intercept all the information from nearby towns that was floating around in the sky and send out their own illegal broadcasts when necessary.

"I'm gonna use the satellite to put a transmission out on the personal radios I programmed and that one wavelength we always use, so people can all get an earful of our plan... hopefully no one in the Baskin's Grove area will receive it, but the chances of any non-Godkillers getting the message are pretty damn slim." Mika said absently, as he hammered away at the keys and tossed occasional glances at Felicity. The vixen smiled a bit more, then she nodded before tilting her head as Mika opened his muzzle, then he closed it again.

For a few moments more he was silent, simply tapping orders into the computer and then choosing the pre-recorded message he wanted to broadcast in a loop for the next minute or so, then he straightened up and took off his headphones for a minute, looking at Felicity with a sigh. He reached out, taking one of her hands gently, and smiled at her faintly: she gazed back quietly, and instead of doing what so many people did now - which was quickly rip their hand away from the junkie's sweaty palms - she laced her fingers tight with one of his hands and asked him softly: "What is it, Mika?"

"Tank... Tank's planning something." Mika said finally, then he shook his head a bit. The details were fuzzy, because the badger had been threatening him and giving his commands while Mika was in a haze of need, holding his goddamn attaché case above his head... he'd just ended up curling in a corner and crying like a baby, nodding again and again in agreement to whatever he wanted. "I... can't remember the details, because I was... I needed to shoot up, and he kept me hanging for an hour or so while he... pretty much ranted. But I think it has something to do with Zerrex... trying to turn the tables on the Boss."

Felicity frowned and looked down, reaching her other hand up so that both of hers were tightly holding Mika's... and then she looked back up and tilted her head, asking gently: "Do you remember any of the details? It's okay if you don't... I... I can understand if you don't."

Mika was half-tempted to give what he knew would be a patented junkie response... mood swing, that she had no idea what he'd felt, cry and try to cover his ass and be a coward. But even most of the urge to do that was simply so he could just tease Felicity, make a joke out of what a loser he'd become... but he got the feeling she wouldn't appreciate it if he played the role of joker right now. So instead he smiled a bit and closed his eyes, nodding slowly as he squeezed her hands gently. "Something about how it was important to secure the Boss's daughter, no matter what else they did... but other than that... well... you know how he gets." He opened his eyes and looked at her with quiet sympathy.

"You shouldn't be lookin' at me like that." Felicity said gently, squeezing his hands and smiling a bit more, then she quietly leaned in and kissed Mika's cheek, making him smile and glance down with a pale rosy blush. "You're the one here who's got it hard."

"My own damn fault, probably." Mika glanced back up at her with a smile again, then he nodded and gave her hands another squeeze before turning to his computer again with a cough, putting his headset back on and leaning back in the wooden chair, hands behind his head as he glanced at her, softening. "But you gotta watch yourself around Tank, girl. He's just getting worse and worse."

"I know..." Felicity nodded back, frowning a bit as she looked down and hugged herself gently, thinking about how the badger's behavior had worsened lately. The way he nearly stalked her, his aggressiveness towards anyone who bore any sign of luxury or even wealth, and the way he'd sometimes rant on how some people were ruining the world - thinly disguising the fact he was obviously talking about the Boss.

Then she felt the coyote's hand lightly touch her face, and she smiled, closing her eyes and pressing her hand into his palm. Mika and her had always shared some affection... one could even say they loved each other. But they were like brother and sister, and neither wanted that to change for the world; sure, they'd probably make a great couple, but... it would also shift the dynamics of their relationship. And the friendship they had was far too pure to risk poisoning it in a bid for something better.

At the same time, though, pain wrenched her heart at what was happening to the coyote, and she opened her eyes, gazing softly into the coyote's affectionate ones, and was unsurprised to see the same deep sorrow mirrored in his as in hers. Before she could speak, though, a snarling voice said: "Get your hand off my girl, you fucking junkie."

Tank stood in the doorway, snarling angrily, the badger flexing his arms threateningly as his hands clenched into tight fists. Immediately, Felicity straightened, but Mika - who had once always been so terrified of Tank - only looked back at the much larger, much more dangerous male with something like disgust. "It's not exactly an insult when I admit I have a problem, Tank. And there's two other problems... one is that she isn't your girl, two is that you're here when you should be out of the city by now."

Felicity turned and stared at the coyote with something like amazement: was this really the same Mika that had almost broken down into tears when he and Tank had first met, the same Mika who had been beaten ruthlessly by Tank the one time he'd stood up to him and she hadn't been around, the same Mika that always bowed his head when Tank so much as looked at him? The contempt he looked at the badger radiated off him in waves, and his gaze was icy cold as Tank looked surprised... then the larger male slowly narrowed his eyes and stalked forwards before simply using an arm to send the various trinkets, books and the coyote's laptop and attaché case flying off the table with a hard swing, causing the headphone's around Mika's neck to pop out of place.

"Tank!" Felicity yelled angrily, standing immediately and slamming her hands on the table; but despite her fury and her own growing fear at the jealous rage of the badger, she admired the fact that Mika was still looking into Tank's eyes fearlessly: he hadn't so much as twitched at the badger's show of fury. The large male shot her a deathly look that almost made her quail, but she too stood her ground, feeling a strange security as Mika slowly shifted to rest back in the chair in a position that was almost relaxed, a bit of a smile even playing over his muzzle.

"Why don't you get lost?" he asked casually, and Tank's fists slammed down onto the table as he looked down at Mika furiously, cracking the wood as he leaned forwards, his eyes glaring down into the coyote's unflinching gaze with pure rage... and definite uncertainty.

"You and I should have a little talk." Tank said finally, in a voice that he forced to be calm as he slowly straightened, then he looked at the vixen with a dominating expression that hinted at the fact he was disappointed. "Just male to male, sweetheart."

"I'm not yours." Felicity said firmly, crossing her arms and snorting; the effect was that Tank looked somewhat hurt and disgusted, wincing a bit. "You have a job, Tank. I suggest you go do it."

For a few moments the badger stood, then he looked back at the coyote and his contempt and disgust returned as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his radio. "It's broken. I need mister rich drug addict here to get me a new one."

Mika continued to only look at the badger mildly, only needing to glance at the radio to see it was in fine condition: without bothering to speak, however, he stood and walked over to his laptop, then he picked it up and brushed it off - thankfully, it was still working, although the casing had been cracked and the monitor was fizzing slightly. He put it back on the desk, then tapped a few buttons. Before Tank could open his mouth, the badger already snarling at the fact he was apparently being ignored, the coyote dropped his finger down on the enter button and the radio in the badger's hand emitted a loud, blaring squeal, causing Tank to jump back and Felicity to snort laughter.

Mika raised his finger from the button, then he looked at Tank mildly and said: "Mister rich drug addict thinks it's fine."

Tank looked at the radio, then he dropped it and raised a foot before slowly crushing it under the heel of his combat boot, causing it to give a short fizz and blare of static. Felicity snarled a bit, an eye twitching at the badger's show, then the large male repeated slowly: "I need the junkie to get me a new radio."

"If you want to beat me up, you should just say so." Mika replied disgustedly, as he stood up and then glanced at Felicity, shaking his head a bit as she opened her mouth. Then he returned his gaze to the powerful badger, smiling slightly. "But I guess some people will always be cowards, huh?"

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Tank cracked his knuckles threateningly, snarling angrily, but the coyote merely shrugged and walked around the table, brushing by him without so much as a second glance. The badger immediately turned and followed him out, leaving Felicity staring after the two males.

She rose a hand as they vanished around the door, then clenched it into a tight fist, feeling tears stinging at her eyes at what Mika was subjecting himself to, on top of everything else the coyote was suffering. Then she spun on the spot, letting out a short cry of fury as her other arm made a wide swinging motion: the doors of the library slammed shut violently, and the free-standing shelves rattled, the books around the room trembling and a few falling to the floor. Felicity panted quietly, glaring at the ground, then she dropped back in her chair and covered her face in her hands, clenching her eyes shut and fighting off the urge to cry.

In the hall outside, Tank paced quickly after Mika, who was loitering ahead at an easy pace with his hands in his pockets. The badger felt his fury growing again, once more blocking out the new nervousness he felt towards the coyote's strange behavior, and then he quickly walked up behind him and slammed a hand down on his shoulder, fingers digging into the junkie's weak frame easily as he glared down at him, unable to deny the relief he felt when Mika looked back at him with a wince. "I'm gonna teach you some respect, you stupid fucking drug addict. And I'm gonna give you a few good reasons about why you don't touch another guy's girl, especially with hands as filthy as yours-"

"Fuck you." Mika turned quickly, shrugging off the badger's hand and glaring back at him angrily: it surprised Tank enough that he reared back slightly, almost bringing up his muscular arms defensively as the small, emaciated form of the coyote rose a hand and pointed accusingly at him. "You know what? I might be scum, and I might be a fucking morphine junkie, but at least I recognize I have a fucking problem. You, on the other hand, think you're King Shit and are obsessed with the idea that Felicity's your queen. Well, guess what, pal? She doesn't like you, and you aren't makin' friends by beating up her friends, either."

"Ellie's my girl. No one else's." Tank rumbled in reply, then he reached out and easily shoved Mika stumbling, grinning a bit down at him as he tilted his head and advanced forwards, pushing him hard again and this time causing him to overbalance and land heavily on his rear. "You're just jealous, that's all. You've always dug on her, that's all. I see the way you look at her..."

Mika glared up at him, even as Tank rose a foot, and the badger hesitated at the look that the coyote was giving him, even though he was so obviously at disadvantage. For a few moments he could do nothing... then the canid snorted and said softly: "If I wanted Felicity, we'd be together right now, and we'd never be in this position, having this discussion. And Felicity doesn't belong to anyone. She's her own person, and you... at best... are a slobbering idiot. I've put up with you for her sake, but I won't tolerate you trying to walk all over her-"

The coyote began to stand, and Tank snarled before shoving his boot down into his chest, sending him sprawling with a grunt of pain. Then the badger lumbered forwards, before Mika could do anything, and slammed a boot hard forwards into the coyote's testicles, making him pale and writhe in agony on the ground, clutching at himself as Tank grinned slowly. The muscular badger crossed his arms, then spat on the coyote beneath him, looking at the tear-filled eyes of the agonized canine with contempt. "Not so tough now, are you, hotshot? Now you listen to me..." Tank slowly bent forwards, putting his hands on his knees as he looked down into Mika's eyes squarely. "Ellie is my girl. You were never good enough for her, could never have her. I'm going to make sure things go as planned, and if you so much as think of doing anything to go against me..." Tank stopped, then he looked down a moment, frowning in thought before glancing slowly up and saying quietly: "I'll kill your mommy, daddy, and sissy-poo, and you know I won't have any problem doin' it. And even the Boss won't be able to stop me, 'cause by then I'll have everyone in town and they'll all be ready and waiting to take that motherfucker out."

"No..." And there, finally, was the tone Tank wanted to hear in this shit junkie coyote's voice. Fear. Mika struggled to sit up, panting hard and shaking his head slowly as he whispered, looking up at the badger pleadingly: "Please. Okay. I get it... you can do anything you want to me, but leave them out of this..."

"Whatever." Tank said dismissively, waving a hand and straightening. Once he had control of the city, he had no intention of letting Mika get away... but he'd at least be fair and give him and every other rich folks family get out of town before he burned their homes to the ground. "I want you to just keep that in mind, Mika. Now fuck off and get me a radio. I'm going back to see Ellie."

He turned away, as Mika struggled to his feet... then he blinked as he heard pounding feet before snarling and staggering forwards as the coyote launched himself at his back, his arms wrapping tightly around his neck and choking him. He shook from side to side, clawing at the pitiful sticks of limb around his neck... but as he roared and staggered down the hall, shaking back and forth, he felt fear enter his heart as well and make him stupid.

Tank tripped over his own feet awkwardly and fell to the ground, slamming his head hard against the floor, and stars exploded in front of his eyes: his nose was throbbing, and his breaths were harsh and ragged - the idiot junkie on his back wasn't strong enough to actually strangle him, and he'd been knocked loose by the impact, but it still hurt like hell. Slowly, he managed to get his legs and arms under him, as Mika rolled off his back... then he let out a yelp as the coyote slammed both feet straight into his kidney, his eyes bulging with pain that consumed his entire side, one trembling arm wrapping around his midsection.

The worst part was, the goddamn coyote wasn't acting like a junkie out of those fucking crime shows or novels: he wasn't yelling or doing anything like that, and when Tank finally clawed at him, Mika was gone. A moment later, however, the coyote jumped on his back and knocked him flat on the floor with both feet, stomping him viciously to the ground and sending the badger flat with a grunt of agony. He spasmed violently, then rolled over and lashed out at the coyote with a foot - he was too slow, however, and Mika stumbled back out of the way before simply halting and glaring, his hands on his knees.

For a few moments, they faced each other like that, both of them panting hard, Tank bruised and - far worse - utterly humiliated. He knew he could make the junkie scream if he wanted to, return the damage a million times over... but even as he began to crawl slowly to his feet, Mika grinned and rasped: "Wouldn't it be great if Felicity caught the big bad Tank like this? The big, scary, muscular jock just got his ass handed to him by a stupid, geekboy junkie. What would everyone think?"

"You shut up!" Tank shouted angrily, pointing a finger at him, but wincing nonetheless as he forced himself to his feet. He swayed a bit on the spot, staggering, and then their eyes met. They glared at each other for a few moments, then Mika snorted and shook his head quickly, straightening.

"You don't need a radio, Tank. Now get out of here before you do something else stupid that we'll both regret later." The coyote walked forwards, brushing past the badger, who felt enough rage that he'd gladly snap the canid in half like a stick... but at the same time, humiliation and fear of being seen by Felicity kept him at bay. Then Mika stopped, and said quietly without turning around: "And you forget something, Tank. If you so much as touch my family, there's other people out there other than the Dragon of Comfort Town that would come after you. And maybe even the Boss can't kill an army on his own... but starting your stupid war too early might let him raise an army of soldiers himself."

Then he walked away, heading back to the library, and Tank was only able to stare after him, clenching his hands tight into fists before he finally spat and stalked angrily out towards his motorcycle, muttering under his breath: "Fucking junkie... who needs a fucking radio anyway... I'll get back at you later, you fucking piece of shit..."