FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

CHAPTER ONE: Undaunted Change

In the near future where everything is different, things have gotten somewhat better than they were 200 years ago. It is the year 2212, in the month of June. Things were quiet in this city, the tall buildings, and the flashing neon lights. The main mode of transport was these one manned hover vehicles, able to adjust to the size of the rider and they could compact into the size of a small case. In this particular area there were three of these vehicles flying through the air, two in the rear and one in the front. This was no ordinary coincidence; the lone rider was being chased! As he sped through the air the two riders behind started to fire on him, their weapons fired out brightly colored rounds of light, these weapons were standard laser blasters, easy to find if you knew where to look.

The rider turned to look at them risking his life to get away with his package; through his dark tinted helmet he could see them, Felines it seemed by the build and shape of their bodies. Behind the visor he glared his challenge at them, his white fangs bared at their figures. Speeding up he suddenly nosed towards the ground from hundreds of feet in the air. He looked back to see them following him still, he grinned and continued his descent. At the last possible moment he pulled upwards regaining his horizontal level. The duo weren't so lucky, they hit the ground with an ear splitting crunch of metal and plastic. The solo rider looked back at the wreckage, swished his fluffy tail once and snorted then sped off into the night satisfied he lost his pursuers.

As he pulled into the abandoned Warehouse he saw what he was hoping to; it was a red envelope with a package. He retrieved it and sped off once again. He sped through the city of New Chronos. The city had been rebuilt twice due to bombings and natural quakes. Due to such things security in the city was tight, real tight, he was lucky enough to be able to speed through it undaunted especially at night. He reached his destination, another abandoned Warehouse. He pulled into it and stopped at the center of the large building, it was empty, devoid of all life save the lone rider. He pulled out a remote and pressed a button, the floor sprang into life. Lines of light escaped from it as it opened up into a lift going underground. From above you could hardly tell the difference from another old Warehouses floor and this one. As the lift lowered quite swiftly down he began to undo his helmet. As he entered an underground bunker a voice greeted him.

*Welcome back Aeon.*

"Thank you computer, is there any more news?"

*Please call me by my designated label.*

"Alright sorry, is there any more news A.S.C.O.M.?"

*No there have not been any more reports while you were out. There is no possible way we can continue our actions any further without being discovered.*

"I know and please don't remind me."

*Alright I will no longer remind you of it.*

"Thank you."

Aeon pulled off his helmet, revealing his features. He was a mixed breed of Wolf and Husky. His eyes bluish silver and his fur were a blackish gray color with hints of pure white and a darker jet black color. As he speaks his voice is firm, kind, intelligent and above all dominant over anything and everything around him, having just enough cold and rough harshness in it and just enough kind, caring sweetness to it. The voice that replies is also intelligent, metallic and technologically advanced.

"I want you to remain online and observe all possible leads to the stolen technology!"

*Yes Aeon, I will do this diligently.*

"Thank you again A.S.C.O.M."

*You're welcome Aeon. I will remain vigilant, please do get some rest, my sensors indicate you are fatigued, you must regain your strength!*

"I understand A.S.C.O.M. you are one of the greatest computers I've ever had the pleasure of being able to work with."

*Now you're just playing with me aren't you?*

"No I'm not playing, I mean it. Without you the city would have been demolished a third time and we'd never be able to rebuild it again."

*You are correct! I am aware that it was my security programs that managed to prevent the explosives from detonating in the city. I have done many searches for possible masterminds behind it but nothing has come up so far Aeon, perhaps it is my programs, they must be defective.*

"What?! No your programs are just fine! I'll do a diagnosis for you. Activate the H.U.D."

*Yes Aeon, please do be very careful.*

"I'll try my best A.S.C.O.M. I promise!"

As the H.U.D. (Heads Up Display) appears beside Aeon, he steps into the middle of it, it rises off the floor about a foot and a half, lines that resemble circuitry on a mother board appear on the floor, they glow a bluish white color. He places his paws on the holographic panels, opening up the menu that holds all of the programs for the super computer A.S.C.O.M. As he looks through it all he notices that a program is missing.

"A.S.C.O.M. do you know that you're missing a program?"

*No Aeon I do not know that, what program am I missing?*

"It seems to be your advanced performance enhancement program, it's the one that boosts every action you perform to the best it can possibly be."

*I do not have any record of having such a program, do you think that we could find it somehow? Perhaps you can get it from one of those Tech dealers.*

"That would be risky, good tech is hard to come by around these areas and Furs won't be too happy to part with something like this."

*But we must acquire it, if we are to succeed in our life's mission we must be able to find the culprit!*

"I KNOW! It's not something I can forget about, what is the status of my Hover bike?"

*Minimal damage, laser rounds have pierce the rear brake flap and the emergency chute is torn, other than that I am sensing it is low on energy, you must recharge it soon.*

"Thank you A.S.C.O.M. I'm very grateful. I'll go and rest a little bit then I'll head out to see if I can track down that program!"

*Understood, I will prepare your bed for you and I will have an energy shake ready for when you wake.*

"Thanks and is there any possible way I could call you something other than A.S.C.O.M.?"

*What is wrong with my designated label?*

"I don't know, I just feel like calling you something other than that, how about I call you Al? It sounds better and it's much shorter."

*Agreed, it is better. I will allow it. Thank you Aeon, I will also upgrade your tech suit with your new gear you acquired.*

"Please do Al; I'd like that very much!"

*Understood.*

Aeon lowered himself to the floor and the H.U.D. disappeared, he walked towards a door and it split into five parts and opened sliding inside the wall. He walked through and the door closed. As ht took of his tech suit it gave a faint glow and the seams of the suit glowed blue, the seams split and the suit retracted into a small sphere, the sphere hovered in place then was snatched by a robotic arm, the arm was just being controlled by Al who would be upgrading its capabilities. Aeon stepped into the automated shower, the scanner swept over his furry naked body scanning his internal temperature so as to adjust the temperature of the water to be pleasant and not painful.

Aeon steps into the shower and gives a long and loud sigh. His eyes closed and ears held back against his head, relaxing as the warm water pours over him. He wondered if he would ever see any of his family ever again. They had been gone for years now, left without taking him with them. He thought why they had treated him differently than his siblings, he was the oldest of course and after they had him they decided to adopt instead of having them naturally. Why had they done that to him? Why was he so different?

He thought of these things for a little bit longer then realized he was tired. He walked out of the shower and stood on a panel in the same room, suddenly six red rings pop out of the floor and hover in the air surrounding Aeon. They glow bright and warm turning the water on Aeon's body into steam and the steam into dry air. It leaves just enough moisture on his body for him to avoid drying out. He walks out of the shower room to his room.

He lays on the retractable plush king sized bed and sleeps, he dreams of how his life was up to the point of being deserted. After about ten hours it is morning in the city, he awakes and sits up stretching. He immediately falls forward to the floor, he quickly caught himself and held his body above the floor with his paws, he started to do push ups keeping his body fit was what it took to be able to get around this city easily without being detected. After a thousand of the push ups he started to do a thousand sit ups, after he was done with that he showered down again and dried off quickly. He walked out and took the energy shake that Al made for him.

After he finished he stood on an upgrade platform and Al started the upgrade program.

*Time for suit upgrade!*

The small sphere shot out from the floor and hovered in front of Aeon, it then began to morph into his suit all around him, it settled on him and several parts of it grew bigger to allow plugs and several other things to be plugged into it. The suit was being upgraded with an improved life support system and an energy reservoir. His suit started to glow a dim blue then it settled to being a solid black color. The upgrades had been installed and were ready to be activated. Aeon looked at his right wrist, a small hologram pad popped up and displayed his suit's function all neatly aligned into categories, Offensive, Defensive, Stealth, Life Support, and Emergency Reservoir. The Life Support and Emergency Reservoir categories flashed brighter then dimmer, he raised his left paw and tapped the Life Support category. It displayed the new upgrade. Selecting it he switched it to activate when needed, he did the same with the other upgrade.

"Thank you Al, I'll need to know of any reports lately."

*There have been no news reports yet Aeon.*

"Strange, there's always something. Have you seen those packages I acquired last night?"

*The packages are on your hover bike.*

"Thanks Al."

* You're welcome Aeon. *

Aeon walked over to his hover bike, it wasn't anything very big or heavy looking, and it was mostly flat with a wide frame but not too wide. It hovered above the ground and in the air using eight small jets of unknown origin he had obtained from a client once before a long time ago. He opened the first package, the one the duo tried to obtain from him the previous night; it was a large amount of upgrades for his suit, some of them adding more categories to the list than there ever could possibly be. The upgrades were of military origin and some of them were of unknown origin. Weapon materialization upgrade, assorted ammunition upgrade and so on, the list of the upgrades seemed to go on forever. Aeon opened the envelope with the second package it read,

'To the current bearer of this technology, you must know the dangers of it before you know anything of it first. This technology uses seismic and several other kinds of energy to cancel out various effects on whatever or whoever is using the technology, one misstep could cost the user their life and the cities life as well, to prevent this technology from falling into the wrong hands I have split it up into several parts, if you manage to obtain the parts and reassemble the tech you will hold the key of the cities survival in your paws! This technology could either be used to save or destroy the city of New Chronos, it is with deep sadness I must part with it, I hoped to use it to save the city but I may not live long enough to do so, thank you and I hope you are one of the good ones who hold a part of my greatest invention.'

"Al! I need you to analyze this piece of tech."

*Certainly Aeon, what is it?*

"It might just be what I've been looking for all these years! Finally I may have found what I need to save my home!"

*Then let's hope for the best Aeon.*

"Yes, this might just be what we need to finally change the fate of the city."

Aeon placed the piece of tech on a scanner; it rose into the air about three inches off of the plate where it lies. It was enveloped in a bright red light as several green laser beams roved over its surface.

*Aeon, this particular piece of technology seems to be an energy class device. It uses several kinds of energy to protect whatever it is equipped to. If you could find the others then we could equip it to the cities main frame and this could protect the entire city from any more unwanted destruction!*

"Exactly what I thought is there any way you can track the rest of the components down?"

*I am unsure of this Aeon, I will try to scan the city for any trace of the remaining components.*

"Thank you Al, I owe you a lot, let's upgrade my suit with these, they'll come in handy."

*Aeon, those upgrades are quite numerous; it will be a bit longer to upgrade your suit with these once they're installed. I estimate about ten minutes for the suit to fully upgrade.*

"It doesn't matter, I need them and I'll even test them out tonight on my run okay?"

*Alright Aeon, you seem determined to do this, step on the upgrade platform again Aeon.*

"Yes Al, I have my chance and I'm taking it!"

Aeon stood on the platform again, his suit enlarged on certain areas to allow the cables to connect and interface with Al's programming, he stood there for ten whole minutes, not exhausted at all more determined than exhausted indeed. Aeon looked at his wrist as the small holographic screen popped up; there were seven new categories, Anti-Grav, Energy Siphon, Vision Enhancement, Tracking, Super, Burst and Recon were the new categories added to the list.

"How long till night fall Al?"

*Exactly seven hours and forty nine minutes Aeon!*

"Good, I'll need you to repair my hover bike and I'll be back soon, have you seen the hover board around?"

*Yes Aeon I have, it is in compact mode and it is on the shelf to your right.*

"Thanks Al much appreciated."

Aeon grabbed the small case which was his board and pressed the button on his wrist, it opened up and flattened to the size of what they would have called a Snow Board two hundred years ago. He mounted it and magnetic pads held his feet to the board, as he slipped his helmet on it immediately strapped itself to his head, his suit changed it's thickness in certain areas adding protection should he crash or wipe out. He sped out into a secret tunnel, it opened up to an empty alley in the city, he sped out into the air weaving and flying in between larger hover craft and other boarders and riders. He made his way to the capitol, the center of the city.

CHAPTER TWO: Forgotten Mysteries

As the day passed, several other furs were at work. Four furs walk to a station, two of them were big, and the other two were small and medium in height. Aione looked about the station carefully, he had been given a mission to find the remaining pieces of the same tech Aeon was after. Aione was one of many genetically altered mutant hybrids, him being Wolf, Husky and Bengal Tiger. It added to his powerful build and stamina that feline agility and speed from his Bengal Tiger part combined with the natural dominance of his Wolf and Husky sides made him a very dangerous guy to be dealing with.

Sherivon was the other large one, being a fully grown Badger, Wolverine and Lion mutant hybrid with stunning Aqua Blue eyes. He was broad and muscular, his fur was shaggy on his chest somewhat but smooth on other places, it seemed to range from a smoky coal black to a dark grayish black with the stripes on his head being a grayish color instead of white. His tail was long and fluffy like a normal Badger's was though it was longer due to his Lion side. His head had a very small sort of mane, maybe it was bigger and he had trimmed it down a bit.

The other two were oddly different than Aione and Sherivon. The one of medium height was Olbeck, another mutant hybrid. He was a Rabbit mixed with two other species, part Meerkat, and Prairie Dog. You can tell just by the combination he was meant for either running and evading, or digging into places.

The last of them being the smallest was Warivin a half Mouse half Porcupine half Bat mutant hybrid. An incredibly weird combo for the poor little guy, though he wasn't blind as the saying goes but it doesn't seem to apply to him since he isn't just a Bat.

"Split up, we'll cover more ground that way. Sherivon you take the south route, Olbeck you take the East, Warivin you take the West. I'll take the North route. Meet back here if you find anything and don't forget to use your powers if you have to. Only IF you have to use them understood?"

Olbeck's voice sounded out first, it was stern and serious but it still had a hint of frivolity in it. "If we find anything we'll contact each other and meet back here as we planned. I heard there's a fur out in the city that usually just goes on package runs and deliveries but I heard he's also a tech freak who collects all kinds of tech and upgrades. What do we do if we run into him?"

"If you run into him and he tries to take that piece of tech stop him, don't hurt him too much or kill him just get it before he can!"

"Alright sure no problem bud! We'll get it before him no problem bud!" That was Warivin, a high pitched and energetic kind of guy; he sometimes talked way too fast or way too deep in a corny little accent.

"Then let's get moving! We have our orders so let's carry them out!" Ahh good ole Sherivon, always blunt and to the point, his voice deep and gruff, completely respectable, it even carried an extremely wise tone in it, something about it made it feel safe to be around him.

They split up, walking in the directions to their respective destinations. Aione seemed to be calm, too calm. He thought to himself of many things while he searched closely for that piece of tech. 'A tech freak that collects tons of rare and uncommon technology huh? Heard of him before, though many who have told the stories say he's a really good fighter too! I should keep my eyes and ears alert, who knows, it may be fun to fight against him.'

A loud clanking noise is heard, a few metal bars have fallen through a hole in the ceiling of the tunnel. Aione's eyes turn to slits as he slowly moves closer to it. Something was digging through the ceiling, something wild, and something alive! Aione allowed his claws to slowly creep out a little bit farther his eyes seemed to glow. As the beast came into view Aione realized it wasn't something normal, no not like the so many other furs in the city. This one was wild and mad, it must have been one of those illegal experiments that escaped from the city lab when it was massacred for the second time, and they always tried to trap them all but failed, even after they rebuilt the city.

Aione leapt up and slashed the wild fur's body, it screeched loud and sharp falling to the ground in a heap, it struggled to get on all fours, arching up its back trying to make itself look bigger than Aione. Aione on the other hand just roared out his challenge already a fair amount bigger than the wild beast. The creature charged at Aione grazing him. Aione clenched his fangs in pain then quickly spun around slashing the fur's right arm and side. Aione kept his eyes on the fur not daring to make a move that would undoubtedly bring the end of his life. The fur leapt at him again this time a little bit clumsier. Aione ducked under the fur and shoved both paws with claws fully extended into its stomach. The fur screeched loud and painfully, flopping around as Aione threw it against the wall closest to him. It writhed and screeched out slowly dying as Aione had pierced its heart. The fur went silent its body limp and cold it had finally given in to its injuries.

Aione straightened up wiping the blood off his claws with an old rag he kept on him for these purposes and stared into the hole. His curiosity was aroused; he wanted to know what was so important to the wild fur. Aione jumped up and caught the side of the hole with his outstretched paw, quickly using his other one to grab hold of the opposite side he pulled himself up so he could see what was inside. As he looked about his eyes glowed slightly as the hole was nearly pitch black. Inside the hole was nothing more than scraps of cloth and random junk other than a package which had been torn up. Aione quickly grabbed the package and fell from the hole. As he removed the rest of the packing paper from around it someone tapped his shoulder.

Aione turned his head to look at the fur standing behind him; he was tall dressed in an all black suit wearing a helmet which was canine in appearance. A hover board was beside him humming lightly as it was still on. Aione turned around gripping the package tightly, he stared at the fur and his mind raced. 'Could this be the tech collector, is this really him? Why would a random fur want to talk to me for? He can't be on our side that's for sure; if he's after these tech pieces then he can't be trusted.'

"You have something of mine and I would like it back. I am grateful that you retrieved it from that mutant freak! I'd like to reward you if you return the package to me."

"Who are you? Why is this package so important and how did that mutant fur get a hold of it?"

"I'm sorry but you have no authority to ask me questions! I need that package back right now! I'm late enough as it is!"

"You want this?" Aione held up the package. "Come and get it then!"

"You just made the wrong choice buddy! I'll give you one more chance, either hand over the package or I'll have to take it from you!"

"Oh did I? Nah I think I'll take it, can't trust someone if you can't see their face! The package is mine end of story so get lost before I have to make you.........where'd he go?"

The fur clad in black had disappeared from Aione's sight; suddenly Aione doubled over in pain as a colossal piece of concrete hit him in his stomach. The package fell from his grip and the fur had snatched it up. Now he was visible again, having used a cloaking upgrade to get the drop on the mutant hybrid.

"I told you to give it up and now you made me take it from you. I'm sorry to have had to resort to such dirty tricks but I don't have time to waste on this delivery! I'll still reward you though. Five thousand Georans shall be your reward, spend them wisely!"

"Who are you? Who are you really? The lone rider, the tech collector, who are you?"

"My name is Aeon, and I'm the only one keeping this city from falling apart at the seams! This package was for a client! Would you have kept it I wouldn't have been able to get paid and the client would have died without it! It's a medical device to keep ones blood levels normal, the client doesn't have much time and I'm not interested in losing a client!"

Aeon jumped on his hover board and sped off out of the tunnel. He flew out of sight in mere seconds. Aione stood up holding a paw to his stomach, carefully he pressed slightly in, and an ominous cracking sound was heard.

"Yeah that's broken! His name's Aeon huh? He said he was trying to keep the city from falling apart. Then he can't be one of the pompous idiots responsible for its destruction twice now. I got to inform the others."

Aione pulled out a small rectangular device and pressed a button; it quickly opened up and contorted into a single headset with an optic for his eyes. He pressed one of the side buttons and spoke in a clear voice.

"Communications online, call Sherivon."

The device responded immediately dialing the number assigned to Sherivon. A few seconds passed as he waited in silence then a click was heard, then the sound of breathing, then came Sherivon's voice.

"Aione, are you there? Are you alright Aione?"

"Yeah I'm here, ran into a wild mutated fur and also got my tail whipped by the lone rider! His name's Aeon! He's not an enemy, I had a package he was supposed to deliver to a client, and he would have died had I kept it so Aeon took it by force."

"You should be more careful, what of the wild mutant?"

"Dead, I killed it, he got me but it's just a graze, I think some of my ribs are broken. I can't ne moving around a lot if that's correct!"

"Alright, don't move! We'll come and get you, there was no luck on my search, and Olbeck has already reached the end of his tunnel and found nothing!"

"What about Warivin?"

"He has yet to report in, I think he's goofing off as usual."

"Okay, have Olbeck go check on Warivin, you come and get me!"

"Understood Aione, I'll be there as quick as I can!"

"Thank you; you're my best friend Sherivon!"

"I know, best friends need to stick together no matter what, I'll be there shortly so don't move around too much!"

"Got it, thanks for the help Sherivon, you really come through for a guy when he needs it."

"Ha-ha don't I always come to the rescue?"

A click was heard and the call was dropped, Aione removed the device from where it rested on his head and pressed the same button he did earlier. The device turned back into its original shape and Aione stowed it in his pocket. Suddenly a loud rumbling was heard and the ground, walls and ceiling started to shake violently. Aione's eyes widened his mind racing. 'What an earthquake, no that's not an earthquake, that's an explosion! Damn it! What do I do? Can't move around too much or it'll kill me!' Aione kept himself vigilant trying to stay out of harms way, being in a tunnel while either an explosion or earthquake was going on was very dangerous indeed!

Rubble fell all around Aione narrowly missing him by mere inches, he carefully and painfully evaded and dodged the falling debris as it came down, soon the shaking and rumbling had stopped and not a sound could be heard other than some poor helpless furs who had been caught by a piece of debris or trapped under a pile of it. Aione looked around, the wall nearby had collapsed and there was something shiny glinting in the rubble. Aione moved slowly towards it, it was a silver case; it must have been hidden in the wall by someone. He picked it up and inspected it; it had a simple clasp on three places. One on the left, middle, and right part of the case, whoever this belonged to had been very serious about keeping whatever was inside safe.

Soon Sherivon arrived, he helped Aione up from where he was resting and helped carry him out of the tunnel. Aione being exhausted and injured nearly collapsed as soon as they got out of the tunnel. Sherivon gently and carefully helped Aione sit on a bench, he then called Olbeck and Warivin, and luckily they were unharmed. Aione kept a firm grip on the silver case not wanting to let it out of his sight. He had a feeling, a feeling like he was right. He thought the case contained what they had been searching for.

Olbeck and Warivin joined them and returned to their base, it was a bit too shabby for it to be a military base. It didn't have any soldiers around; instead it had a ton of drones patrolling the entire area. Aione was led inside by Sherivon and Olbeck followed closely behind them carrying the case for Aione. They walked through several corridors and hallways finally reaching a door with a big red cross on it. They entered the room and Sherivon helped Aione into a tank, Aione removed the small device from his pocket, and the rag too, dropping them into a small basket, he sat down and Sherivon hooked up and oxygen mask and a strange headpiece to Aione. He pressed a button on the tank which closed immediately, Sherivon walked over to a computer and placed an ID card on the scanner, and it scanned the card and displayed a holographic panel and screen. Sherivon typed in the patient's name: Aione Barillius Crossheart.

The tank began filling itself with a bluish fluid; it enveloped Aione's body as it rose higher and higher till the entire tank was full. A light inside the tank switched on and several lasers swept over his body, the lasers, upon contact with damaged tissues or bones mends them slowly but surely ensuring a much faster recovery than it would have been on nothing but painkillers and other sorts of medicines. Aione slowly closed his eyes, resting his body as it healed, Sherivon monitored his brain waves, and making sure he was alright. Olbeck held the case up to Sherivon who then took it and opened it, the contents was a couple pieces of the tech Aeon was after. Whoever hid it must have found another piece and kept them together.

"You sure Aione will be alright?"

"I'm sure; if anyone can pull through after an injury like that it's him alright!"

"Good, I'd hate to lose a friend, already lost two as it is."

"Don't bring that up please Olbeck. It's painful to remember what happened!"

"I'm sorry but you know Tael and Rorx would have wanted us to talk about them. It's just something I can't help doing."

"I know! Tael was my brother! He was a little different after the genetic mutation process, he wasn't the same but he was still my brother! Why he chose to be turned into that I will never know! Part Badger, part Bear, part Skunk, didn't make any sense at all to me!"

"Yeah he did choose an awkward combo. Rorx was part Chameleon, part Crocodile, and part Anaconda right?"

"Yeah remember when he would fool around and pretend one of us was prey to him? He freaked me out so badly once I accidentally knocked him across the room! He used to tell the funniest jokes too!"

"Yeah tell me about it! Remember his favorite joke?"

"The one about the curios Vixen and the Willow Tree? Or was it something else?"

"Yeah that's the one, it didn't make any sense at first but when you hear it a few times and think about it enough it starts to make sense doesn't it?"

"Yep, I miss them both! I heard Aione had a brother! He doesn't remember it clearly though, he said before he was changed he was already a hybrid, a Husky Wolf hybrid."

"A Wolsky? Am I right?"

"Yeah you're right, he said he had two brothers, one was lost and the other died, too bad though, would have liked to have met him."

"Yeah well you know what happens to things the get lost in this city don't ya?"

"They're never seen again, in the same condition or even alive!"

"Yep, exactly right! Scary isn't it?"

"Very scary, trust me."

"Hm how much longer till he wakes up?"

"About an hour or two, go get Warivin to keep an eye on hi vitals we can go shower off and freshen up a bit."

"Alright, let's go."

Sherivon and Olbeck stood up and left, carrying the case with him Sherivon looked back to Aione with eyes filled with understanding and sadness. He turned back and left the room making sure Warivin knew what he was doing, he walked down the hall a little farther, passing exactly four other doors he entered the fifth door to his room and hid the case, he then went to the shower room and took a nice cool shower.

Some time after Sherivon emerges from his room; he walks to the healing chamber and relieves Warivin. He stares at Aione still in the tank his wounds almost completely healed. He sits down next to the holographic panel and waits patiently. The alarm bleeps out loudly to alert Sherivon that Aione is done, he types out release codes into the panel shutting off the tank and starting the draining sequence, as the fluid disappears a quick jet of pure filtered water flows from the top of the tank rinsing any trace of the fluid from the tank's inside and on the patient below. Sherivon helps his friend out of the tank, Aione's eyes snap open and he stretches obvious relief is seen on his face.

"Ahh, damn, that was too long to bear any longer! It takes a lot longer for bones to heal than skin!"

"I know I'm glad you're alright Aione. Tell me do you remember what your brother's name was?"

"No I don't sorry; he's most likely dead after all these years of being lost in the city."

"That's too bad, even though I am a telepath that doesn't mean I can help unless of course you have some vague memory of him!"

"It's alright, I know you feel sorry for me, you lost your brother as did I. You think he's still alive don't you?"

"I have my beliefs yes, I'm just getting a weird feeling from you. Like you know something I don't, if you know anything you would tell me right?"

"Yes of course I would, even if I didn't what's to stop you from reading my mind?"

"You know my rules! I don't read your minds! I keep to myself and only do what I have to do!"

"Alright, let's go grab some grub why don't we? Pretty hungry after fighting and healing for so long, it takes a lot out of you!"

"Yeah sure does, alright let's go out to eat though, we'll need to be careful though! The city is a dangerous place after dark!"

"Yeah no kidding, Olbeck, Warivin get dressed and get ready to go out!"

"Yes Aione, I'll get dressed immediately."

"Sure, whatever you say buddy!"

Aione, Sherivon, Olbeck and Warivin departed from their headquarters, dressed in common clothes many furs in the city wore out in public. They walked through the streets looking around for any good restaurants that were open for business. Aione held the five thousand Georans in his pocket, which was enough to feed him and his three friends for months going out or not. He thought of the lone rider named Aeon, he tried to picture that face behind the helmet, he only wished he could have gotten a better look at him, actually get to see his face.

"Aione, you alright, you seem to be distracted!"

"Oh? It's nothing, I'm fine really, hey anyone up for some Chinese?"

"Yeah! Sure buddy sure! I want some I really do!"

"Warivin calm down! You're making a scene!"

"Olbeck can you please whap him a good one across the ears?"

"I certainly can!" Olbeck swung and cuffed Warivin's ears none too gently.

The four friends walked into a Chinese restaurant and sat down, a short way away from them Aeon sat there enjoying his food oblivious to Aione's presence. He carried on enjoying every last bit of his food, once he finished he stood up, grabbed his helmet, walked past Aione and his friends to the counter and paid for his meal, he then walked outside and placed his helmet back on activating his hover board and stepping onto it he sped off into the brightly lit city.

CHAPTER THREE: Fateful bonds

Aeon was having a tough time, looking for the other parts of that tech was next to impossible in such a big city. He felt unsure he would even succeed in his mission. He sped off to the warehouse and descended to the bunker beneath it. He shut off his board and had it compact itself back to its original shape.

"Al, is there any news?"

*Yes Aeon, there is news about that explosion earlier today, seems somebody blew up an entire building.*

"What kind of building was it?"

*A scientific research building!*

"WHAT?! ANOTHER ONE?"

*Yes Aeon, it is shocking isn't it?*

"Of course it is! They probably did it to prevent another escape of wild mutants!"

*That seems to be the most logical conclusion unless of course there was an accident.*

"That was no accident! The gas pipes and energy chutes were switched on to full, nobody does that in the city, believe me. After the first time, they stopped that indefinitely!"

*Aeon, you seem to know a great deal of this.*

"I do, here search this." Aeon pops in a data disk and sits on his newly repaired bike listening and watching the reports from years ago.As soon as it had finished Al seemed to be unresponsive. Aeon, knowing that the most powerful super computer in the city (which had so many functions and programs even an emotion program) had possibly been shocked into silence wasn't very surprised.

*I am sorry Aeon that was horrific beyond any usual analysis.*

"I know it's exactly how I feel about it."

*Shall we begin another search for the tech?*

"No, I'm going to put that as an additional priority instead of the main priority for now, I'll continue with my work and deliveries and if I come across the tech then that's a good thing."

*I understand Aeon. I have developed a new program upgrade for your suit, it will allow you to adapt to several kinds of environments. I hope you enjoy the test run Aeon.*

"You can count on it Al. Let's install it."

*Yes Aeon, if you would step on the upgrade platform I will begin.*

Aeon did as he was bid, standing there motion less, something was different this time, a single cable plugged into the back of his suit, installing the program instead of the usual upgrades this one would allow his suit to change in order to adapt to any environment even high altitudes. Aeon closed his eyes and breathed deeply, relaxing his body and mind. Concentrating on nothing but peace he stood there motionless; he opened his eyes and looked at the holographic screen.

*Suit has been updated with the new program Aeon*

"Good, is the test course still being repaired or is it finished already?"

*It is still being repaired unfortunately. Aeon, I have an incoming message for you.*

"Patch me through."

*Yes Aeon.*

Al displayed a holographic screen and Aeon activated his headset, putting it on as he stared at the screen. There was a bleep and the screen showed a huge Lion in military uniform, his mane had been shaved to look like it was a traditional buzz cut from the old days, he had a short beard and mustache attached to each other by two slim lines of hair on both sides of his mouth, he spoke his voice deep and thunderous.

"AEON!!! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?!"

"Uh sorry but could you please clarify on that, there are a few things I might have done which you would be mad at me for."

"YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! YOU FIGHTING GENETIC MUTANT FURS JUST TO GET A PACKAGE?!"

"It was a delivery, the client needed it bad, I ran into a wild mutant fur who stole it from me and I pursued it to find that big guy had it. I asked him to give it back nicely but he wouldn't listen!"

"IT DOESN'T MATTER! Look, I know it's hard for you. Your parents are gone and so is your family, by the way I did some more digging into your past, your parents had you and another, you have a twin!"

"WHOA ARE YOU SERIOUS?"

"Yes I am serious! You think I'd lie to you about that?"

"No sir, so what other reason brings the mighty Sergeant Pride to contact me other than to yell at me hm?"

"You're way too observant at times Aeon, I have a mission for you. You and I are going out on an infiltration mission in the city, you had better be prepared, hope you got those upgrades I sent you."

"No sorry I didn't, I've kept a weary eye out for it but no military packages have shown up."

"Can your computer upgrade your suit if I sent the upgrade data to you now via Synk instead of the upgrade program devices?"

"Yes Al can certainly do that!"

"Al?! You named your computer Al?"

"Yeah, it's shorter than his original designation and easier to say too."

"Alright I'll transmit the upgrade data via Synk right now."

*Obtaining upgrade data.*

"Thanks and Henry? Could you try to find my twin, please?"

Sergeant Pride sighs and nods then signs off closing communications with Aeon, the upgrade data has been acquired and is being installed into the suit. Aeon checks the list, it has been upgraded as well, and resulting from the upgrade it is now a grid instead of categories. It has symbols to mark the types of upgrades that can be used, in addition to this it is now possible to use multiple upgrades at the same time via a program called power merge. Aeon was curios, he tapped one upgrade with a finger and dragged it over to a slot, and he did the same with another upgrade and placed it right next to the last one. The result was a plasma rifle, it wasn't a normal option for use and the Power Merge had worked perfectly.

"Nice, looks like he was right after all, Al where am I supposed to meet Sergeant Pride?"

*At the city square.*

"Thank you Al, I'll be taking the bike this time."

*Please do be careful Aeon, you and I are partners!*

"I know that Al, I'll be careful."

Aeon jumped on his bike and placed his helmet on, he looked at the holographic screen and selected a couple upgrades for use in case of an emergency and sped off, out of his secret headquarters. He zoomed into the night sky; the stars visible only from out of the city, the bright lights from the buildings were so abundant that it blocked the view of the beautiful night sky. Aeon sped through the air, heading towards the city square hoping to be able to complete this dangerous mission that he was assigned.

Sergeant Pride wasn't a coward, he didn't care how many furs were surrounding him, and all he cared about was his life and the lives of the billions of furs in the city. The leader of a street gang called the Scale Slashers was a big reptile indeed. Eight feet tall with dark green scales, his eyes were the color of green neon. His fangs were huge, several rows of these deadly spear heads all set in a grin. Huorgh was an Alligator, a big Alligator and he loved to intimidate and harass other weaker furs just for the thrill it gave him. Pride wasn't about to let no second rate street punk get the better of him, he feigned a left and jabbed with his right as Huorgh tried to land a punch on the Sergeant. Pride connected and sent Huorgh flying towards the crowd of reptiles all who were part of the Scale Slashers. Pride stood up straight, he cracked his neck and popped his knuckles a humorous expression on his face.

"Is that all you got? Is that really all you have punk? What a waste of my time. Get out of here and if I ever see you again, I'll make a pair of boots from your hide boy! MOVE IT!"

Huorgh and the rest of the reptiles scattered in all directions, just as they broke up their group Aeon came hovering down to the ground slowly shaking his head at the Sergeant.

"Here you go telling me not to fight and here you are beating up on the Slashers. What gives?"

"I've got more experience than you do boy, and I sure as hell have enough muscle to back it up too!"

"Alright I get it. So what are we doing now?"

"You see that building?" Sergeant Pride pointed to an unsuspecting building right across from where they were standing.

"Yes why? What's wrong with the building hm?"

"That's where we're going in; we're infiltrating that exact building! It's more than it looks inside kid, one of my spies infiltrated it a few months back, she's still in there too trouble is I haven't heard from her in weeks."

"So we're breaking in to see if your spy is alright?"

"Exactly, that is our mission; if we can we will also gather intelligence on whatever is going on in there."

"Sounds foolish and a waste of time to me, she's more than likely alright."

"Either you're with me or your against me Aeon, you are here on a mission. I hired you and you can either help out and get paid or step out and don't get paid!"

"Fine let's go then. You ready for some high tension, high speed fun?"

"Fun isn't in my vocabulary Aeon! Now let's go!"

"YES SIR!"

"THEN LET'S MOVE BOY!"

Aeon hopped off his bike and made it return to its compacted form then Aeon and Sergeant Pride sped off towards the building, they dodged between them and stopped in the alley, they looked back to make sure they weren't followed and turned back to the alley. Aeon pressed a button on his suit activating his Vision Enhancement Upgrade which also had an X-Ray function, a small visor appeared over his eyes and he scanned the building for weaknesses. He looks up to Pride and nods as he presses another button on his wrist selecting a Laser Beam Upgrade, several laser lenses appeared on the knuckles of his gloved paw, he carefully aimed at the right spot indicated on his visor and fired the laser, it cut through the building's side like a hot knife would cut through butter. Aeon slowly and carefully cuts a large wide hole in the building. He quickly slips inside and Pride follows, Aeon quickly heaves the side of the building back to where it had been cut.

"Alright we're in now what?"

"Conceal your self and find me a disguise, I'll need it if I'm going to move around unsuspected."

"Alright, I'll be back soon. I promise but stay hidden!" Aeon pressed a button on the screen; he immediately disappears and sneaks through the facility. He quickly finds a Janitors uniform and sneaks back trying hard not to be seen with it, miraculously he manages to get back to Pride and hands him the uniform.

"We'll need false IDs too you know?"

"Already got that covered! Your suit can change into a different look; make it change into an Engineer's uniform."

"How do I do that?"

"Just think of it and the suit will do the rest."

Aeon nods and closes his eyes, as he begins to concentrate the seams on the suit start to glow a faint green color; soon the suit has started to morph into an Engineer's uniform. As it finishes Aeon stands up straight and looks himself over, he now wore a black and light blue uniform with cargo pants and a button up long sleeved shirt with an ID card pinned on it.

"You can thank me for the card later; we need to move out now. You go around the facility and try to find out anything you possibly can."

"Yes sir you just do what you can without getting caught okay? Don't forget to wear a hat, the hair cut is a dead give away!"

"You're right, hm maybe I'll just try to lay low while we're here, not really fond of just any kind of hat I wear ya know?"

"You don't have a choice Pride! Hat on or we get out of here right now."

"Alright you drive a hard bargain!"

Aeon and Sergeant Pride split up, Aeon going to the East part of the building, Sergeant Pride going to the West. Aeon carefully made his way through the halls, passing several furs in white lab coats and others wearing blue and white uniforms. He passed by a door and heard something strange, it sounded like growling, coming from inside a closet. He carefully moved towards the door and opened it slowly; it was just a Scientist, a small kind of Rodent, possibly a mouse struggling to get a phial of liquid from a high shelf. The Scientist noticed Aeon's presence and turned his head slightly speaking to him in a frustratingly kind tone.

"Hey do you think you can reach that? I need it for my experiment!"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Just some plasma from a patient's blood sample we are always busy trying to research cures for many illnesses and diseases. Then there's that strange Dr. Splice who always seems to be lurking around when he's not down in the Restricted Labs. Such an odd and creepy fellow he is ya know?"

"No sorry I don't, never met him. I'm new here just started my job as an Engineer."

"Ah, that would explain why you're on the wrong floor. Your ID says your station is down near the Restricted Labs as maintenance and tech repair manager as well as an Engineer. Hm well I guess I can show you around."

"Thank you, I would be grateful. Oh and here's your plasma you were trying to reach."

"You're very welcome and I guess it'll make us even. Come on let me show you to the elevator."

"Heheh alright, nice facilities you've got here!"

"Thank you, we only use the most sophisticated tech around for our experiments, though when they break down it's a real pain! If you ever need any help just let me know okay?"

"You bet! I'll do just that, anyway is that the elevator?"

"Yep oh and there's Dr. Splice."

The Scientist points to a tall broad Weasel, his eyes dark and shifty as well as a little bit menacing. As if by instinct the Weasel turned around to look at the scientist and Aeon, his eyes seemed to burn right through Aeon's body. He felt a cold shiver run down his spine but made no reaction to it and just stared back innocently.

"Oh hello again Dr. Whrisk, I trust your experiments are doing well?"

"Yes they are Dr. Splice; I have with me a new employee who is stationed down near the Restricted Labs. This being his first day on the job and all ya know how it is."

"Hahah I sure do, I got lost three times on my first day here."

"Hey what was your name again?"

"I never said my name; you can call me Al though."

"Hm let me guess, short for Albert or Alberto?"

"Close enough, now where is my work station?"

"Oh how silly of me not to realize, you work in my lab now, you must be the new repair guy they hired. Makes sense now so come on I'll get you there."

Dr. Splice scanned his ID on the pad where the elevator was, it opened the doors and they walked inside. The elevator hummed gently as it descended to the Restricted Laboratories. Aeon could feel the fur on the back of his neck start to bristle slightly, just being in the elevator with the Weasel Scientist seemed to creep him out immensely. He just kept his cool and kept his eyes on the doors, the elevator was going down pretty far. Short time after the elevator doors slid open, revealing a long dimly lit corridor, the red and green lights seemed to be dying.

"Here we are, the Restricted Laboratories, though I would prefer to work up there down here is much more secure and quite too!"

"Hm it's kinda creepy down here but I don't mind."

"Alright, follow me, perhaps if you behave and we have no problems I'll show you my greatest experiment to date."

"Oh no you don't have to show me your experiment since it's none of my business; I'm just an Engineer not a Scientist."

"No, it's really no bother at all and besides you have the clearance to even be able to hear about them so why not show you? Come here I'll show you right now, oooh I'm so excited!"

Dr. Splice led Aeon down the corridor, he scanned his ID and the doors opened up revealing a fur in a large glass tank, it was horrific, monstrous even. Made of so many kinds of species altogether in one organism. There were many, details that belonged to several mammalian species that Aeon could hardly do anything but gasp in surprise.

"You see, we also create new kinds of furs, to live in the city as real ones would. Those who wish to be different or unique come to me and I do the rest. I even augment them to be super powered fighting machines sometimes. I make a ton of money off of it. Perhaps you'd like a demonstration?"

Aeon could not move, he stood there in shock helpless for whatever Dr. Splice was planning to do.

CHAPTER FOUR: Disgusted Mind

Pride was lost, unsure of where he was now in the facility and more than just a tad worried about Aeon and his spy. He continued walking around looking every where for his spy. He figured he'd had enough and hid behind a corner, as soon as a lone Scientist walked by he grabbed him and put him in a sleeper hold knocking him completely out. He took the Scientist's lab coat and changed into it, he took his ID and held his thumb on a hidden panel on the back of the card, his picture changed to match his position and he took off the hat. He walked into a bathroom and made sure nobody was around; he bent over a sink and washed his hair gel out of his buzz cut. He quickly dried it and took out a small pocket comb he neatly combed it to look normal so he wouldn't be suspected.

"Man this place is a freaking labyrinth! There's nothing here but countless halls and corridors. How am I supposed to find here in a place like this?" Pride walked out of the bathroom and continued down the corridor he bumped into a pair of Scientists who gasped at his size.

"Oh so very sorry, my mistake can you please forgive me? Not been myself lately with all the stress of my work and the fact a spy was discovered!"

Pride's eyes widened, he was about to yell at the Scientist then quickly stopped himself adopting a composed and mellow attitude. "Yeah sure it's no problem at all really, my fault and all is forgiven. I heard of this spy and I was told to take a look at her so where can I find her?" "It's not hard really; we're coming from the lab she's being held in. Just follow that hall and it's the fifth door to your left." "Thank you and again I'm sorry for running into you like that, I should have been more careful."

"It's alright really no problem."

Pride immediately began walking in the direction they indicated, he passed a door then three more. As he stood outside the fifth door he took a deep breath steeled his nerves and walked towards the door, it slid open to reveal a tank with a fur inside floating there with an oxygen mask and several tubes, hoses, plugs and wires plugged into her body. Pride's eyes welled up with tears, falling to his knees sobbing. In the tank was his spy but by looking at her it seemed she was much more than just an average spy to him. She was a Lioness, but now she looked different, very different.

Pride stood up to look at her, she was covered in a sort of wet suit in appearance to the material, but the arms, legs, stomach, and all four paws were bare with tubes sticking out of her body. He looked at her face though it still looked the same it was before, beautiful and flawless. Pride immediately looked around; he found the reports on her capture and the experimentation process. She had been spliced, infused with certain other species of furs DNA. 'It seems she is now a four part mutant, Lion, Cheetah, Jaguar and Weasel? That made absolutely no sense to include Weasel DNA into her if the first two were Feline' Thought Pride.

"I have to get you out of here! Before they kill you with these unnecessary experiments! I'm not going to let them near you again! I promise Vermillia, you're my one and only love!"

Pride immediately went to the control panel; he began to release her draining the fluid in the tank and ejecting the tubes, hoses, plugs and wires causing her to drop to the bottom of the tank with a thick but low thud! Quickly he opened the tank and grabbed her holding her in his arms he cradled her trying to wake her up, he slapped her face several times with his paw, trying to see if she was alive and alright. She gave a sudden gasp and lurched upward into Pride's chest holding on to him then she struggled trying to get away from him screaming out.

"NO! LET ME GO! LET ME GO! I DON'T WANT TO BE EXPERIMENTED ON! LET ME GO!"

"VERMILLIA, STOP PLEASE! IT'S ME! IT'S HENRY! VERMILLIA IT'S ME HENRY!"

Vermillia suddenly stopped and looked at Pride, staring into his eyes closely. Trying to make sure he wasn't lying, she gave a small smile and hugged him tightly. Sobbing into his chest, not letting him go as if her life depended on it, she looked up to him and smiled then she suddenly grabbed his face and pulled him in for a kiss, after they broke apart Pride helped her up and gets her some new clothes, another Scientists lab coat and some formal work clothes he looks away while she dresses and hums to himself. Vermillia looks at him and smiles glad to have her love back and her freedom so close she could practically snatch it from midair.

"We need to get out of here Pride! This place is insane! The whole medical thing is true but there are also illegal activities going on in this facility! That creepy Scientist, Dr. Splice is mad! He's completely deranged!"

"Alright, we need to find Aeon first!"

"You didn't? You didn't bring him along did you?!"

"Yes I did, he was the only one capable of succeeding."

"You mean the only one capable of getting you inside so you can find me then bail right?"

"No not what I meant at all! He's here to help me find you!"

"If we get out of here alive you are so dead! I take it you told him about his twin too right?"

"Yes just that he has a twin."

"You are so stupid you know that? You didn't tell him who his twin is did you?"

"No I haven't yet. He needs time before he knows the truth, behind everything. His family, his brother, his life from before, it's all too much for him to handle at one time!"

"Henry, he's just a kid! He's only nineteen!"

"He's old enough to be able to fend for himself but not to know of these things, not just yet anyway. It'll cause him too much pain to live any longer should he find out now."

"That doesn't give you a right to lie to him! You keep too many secrets Henry! If you continue it any longer you'll end up tearing yourself apart one of these days!"

"I know okay? Fine I'll tell him but if he does anything as a result of him knowing I'm going to have to take him down you know that don't you?"

"Yes I know I can sense he's ready to know can't you?"

"No I can't."

"Then you should at least try to learn! Now let's get out of here. We need to find Aeon before something bad happens!"

"Alright let's go. If anyone asks you're just my sister okay?"

"Sister?! Hmph! I don't think that's fair I mean I am your one and only aren't I?"

"Of course you are! I love you too much to risk losing you okay? I was lucky to even get in here thanks to Aeon! Let's get going now okay?"

"Alright this way, I know my way around the facilities thanks to the maps they give new workers!"

"Alright you lead I'll follow. But wait they didn't give me or Aeon any maps."

"That's because you broke in instead of walking in through the front door you idiot!"

"Oh sorry I didn't know it would be that easy."

"Maybe you should have figured it out, now if I remember right Aeon's suit has a special signal that can only be decoded by us right?"

"Yeah why do you ask?"

"Because, we're going to find him and get him out of here before anything bad happens to him or us got it? Give me your headset!"

"Okay I got it and here take it, I have an extra for you unless you don't want it!"

"On second thought give me the extra and I'll leave yours be."

"You got yourself a deal honey!"

"Hahah you're still a joker! Okay now we just scan for the frequency and hone in on the source then aha! I found him and he's in big trouble! He's in the Restricted Laboratories!"

"Is that bad?"

"Yes it's bad! Very bad for him! The Weasel Scientist, Dr. Splice did this to me. If he gets his creepy little paws on Aeon he'll be in big trouble!"

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's move it girl!"

Sergeant Pride and Vermillia raced through the halls and corridors, arriving to the exact spot where Pride and Aeon had infiltrated the facility. They stopped and checked Vermillia's map to make sure they were going in the right direction, resting their bodies for a brief moment they made their get away plans once they had Aeon safe and sound. They marked a route through several halls and passages marking the security systems throughout the entire facility. They made one final agreement giving each other a quick nod then they were off towards the Restricted Labs. They ran through a hall, winding with twists and turns as if it wanted to make them late.

Soon they arrived at the elevator but it would not allow them access, Pride held his ID card and changed it so he had access to any part of the building under lock-down or not. They walked into the elevator and waited as they began their descent. Pride started become irritated, it was a long way down and when he got worried he was one of the worst furs to be around. Vermillia rested a paw on his shoulder and smiled; Pride smiled back to her and slightly calmed himself. He stared at the doors for about four minutes then he finally snapped. Pride immediately took out his headset and switched it on, he put in on his ear then proceeded to activate Aeon's hidden camera function, and it was bad. Aeon was in trouble; he'd already been knocked out cold and was in the tank next to the Chimera's. Pride looked to Vermillia and shook his head, immediately she began to hack into the elevator's terminal.

"HOLD ON WE'RE GOING DOWN!"

The Elevator gave a loud metallic shriek then it plunged faster and frighteningly down. Pride held on to the bar tightly, Vermillia keeping a hold on the terminal door as if her life depended on it. Pride roared out to Vermillia, 'WE'VE GOT TO MAKE IT STOP OR WE'LL CRASH! VERMILLIA ACTIVATE THE BRAKES HURRY!' his voice was loud and panicked. Vermillia nodded and started to hack the terminal again, though unable to activate the brakes completely she was able to slow the elevator's descent equivalent to the speed it was going before. Pride and Vermillia slumped to the floor from the sudden change of speed, Pride looked at Vermillia, a frightened look in his eyes.

"Don't EVER do that again Vermillia!"

"I'm sorry Pride, didn't know that would happen I was just trying to make it go a little bit faster."

"That's all fine and dandy but we've got to move now! Aeon's going to be experimented on!"

"OH NO HE'S NOT!"

Vermillia checks their destination course and smiles as the doors open, she quickly closes the door to the terminal and stands up, she draws her stun gun and motions for Pride to follow. Pride draws his assault pistol and follows her closely; his eyes shine in the dim light as he searches every nook and cranny of the corridor for any hidden traps or unwanted surprises. They reached the door to the lab and nodded; they immediately busted into the lab and stunned Dr. Splice he gave a sharp YIPE before falling to the ground in a heap. Vermillia ran up to him and glared at him, her gold eyes piercing him to the very soul.

"Remember me sum bag?"

"Y-you're that spy! What, how did you escape?"

"She had help you vile freak, what in the world are you doing to our friend?"

"Nothing really, just thought I'd genetically modify him, he's no longer just Wolf and Husky anymore oh no sire he's much more than that now!"

Vermillia grabbed Splice by his coat collar and snarled in his face. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM? WHAT DID YOU TURN HIM INTO?!"

"I made him part of every kind of canine species around Spy! He's much more efficient now since he has the best of every breed's abilities! He's stronger, faster, smarter, he can see farther and clearer in darkness and his sense of smell is off the charts now! I made a hero for this city and I'm going to make sure everyone knows it too!"

"YOU VILE LITTLE MONSTER! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE JUST DONE?! YOU'VE DEFILLED AN ALREADY PRESENT HERO YOU MORON! HE WAS FINE COMPLETELY PERFECT WITH THE WAY HE WAS! I CAN BARELY RECOGNIZE HIM DUE TO ALL THE CHANGES! HIS FUR IS DIFFERENT AND HIS BODY STRUCTURE ISN'T THE SAME! YOU KILLED A CLUELESS KID!"

"What?! Killed? Me? HA! I did no such thing as you can see he is still alive and breathing! I'll tell you this though, I could change his appearance back to normal but his new height and body build will stay the way it is!"

"FINE DO IT BEFORE I SHOOT TO KILL!"

Vermillia hauls Splice up by his collar and drags him to the holographic panels, he quickly begins to work again changing the fur color back to how it was, he checks the color of Aeon's eyes as well just to be on the safe side and changed their appearance and color back to the way they were. He breathes a sigh of relief and slumps to the floor, Vermillia snarls and stuns him a second time and proceeds to free Aeon.

There is a loud hiss as the tank begins to drain, the fluid levels immediately start to become lower and lower till it is empty, Vermillia starts the anti hazard rinse procedure making jets of water rinse of any and all of the fluid just in case Splice had done something to it, the water jets cleaned off Aeon of the fluid and the rest of the tanks inside as well. Vermillia began to release Aeon of the tubes and hoses he slumped to the bottom of the tank and Pride grabbed him after the tank opened, he pulled of the oxygen mask and removed the rest of the tubes. As Pride held him Vermillia grabbed his suit, it morphed back to its normal shape and appearance, Pride woke Aeon up with a single powerful smack to his face, Aeon jumped into consciousness.

"W-what happened?"

"Easy Aeon you're alright you were experimented on but you're still alright!"

"How? The last thing I remember was looking at that tank then nothing."

"It doesn't matter, get up and dry off! You've got to get dressed immediately! We're getting out of here right now!"

"Alright, pass me that towel. How are we going to get out of here? This place is huge and I don't think I'll be able to find our way back out the way we came in. Man I feel weird, and why am I taller? Where did these muscles come from?"

"It was all part of the experiment he put you through! You're now a part of every canine breed there is in the world!"

"Really, wow I fell great as if I can take down anything!"

"Yeah that's fine kid now get your suit on!"

"Alright, hey it just retracted into the sphere!"

"Let me see it, you need to do another scan of your body so it can conform to it again, such a hassle!"

Vermillia scanned Aeon's body structure, the sphere gave a feint blip and hovered in front of Aeon, it immediately covered Aeon's body and the new appearance was different. It glowed a brighter blue with the shoulders being blue the padding right above his Pecs and Abs were blue and the rest of his body save for his elbows, knees, paws and along his spine was black. His helmet was different too, as if every bit of it was different in some strange way, the suit stopped glowing and the helmet immediately materialized onto his head, it showed a new screen and more features than it had before.

"Whoa! This is so cool! It's different a lot different and it feels amazing! W-what did you do Vermillia?"

"I didn't do anything except conduct a scan for your body structure, the suit must have sensed the change in your genetics causing some sort of evolutionary upgrade feature to activate. It looks a lot better though, I like it."

"Come one let's get out of here!"

"But what about Splice?"

"Hm yes what about him? Should we shove him in a tank or should he stun him again and shove him in a closet?"

"I like the first one and I'll do the shoving!"

"No Pride, let's go with the second one! He'll be unable to get out of there for a little bit so come on!"

Aeon, Pride and Vermillia smiled and looked at Splice; he gave a small whimper before they stunned him yet again and shoved him into a utility closet. They exited the lab and made their way back up to the normal facilities; Aeon changed his suit's appearance back to the way it had been, disguising himself yet again. He was able to chart a path to where they had come in and made their way back to it, he shoved the slab out of the way and climbed out, pulling Pride out after and helping Vermillia out as well, they moved the slab back where it was and sealed it to prevent anyone ever finding out how they got in or out.

CHAPTER FIVE: A New Beginning

Aeon was great; no he was more than great he was ecstatic at the fact he had some of the greatest abilities all the canines in their species could provide. Returning to his hideout and greeted by Al who seemed somewhat confused at first but quickly found out about all that had happened understood immensely. Aeon and Vermillia thought it would be best to get used to their new selves and decided to hit the testing grounds. They ran, leaped, slid, and flipped over the obstacles and randomly assembled structures testing their newly improved endurance and stamina. Vermillia was able to bend and contort her body in ways much greater than she ever could have normally, thanks to the odd addition of Splice's DNA that is.

Aeon ran laps in, out and around the grounds testing his speed and sharp reflexes he never once missed a turn or crashed into a single object or structure, his newly improved self control allowed him to do many wonderful things now that he was a Genetically Altered Mutant Hybrid. Aeon stood up smiling, flexing his paws and arms checking every inch of his new body with a grin of satisfaction he turned and exited the grounds heading for the Shower Chamber to wash off and relax, passing through the main command room he saw Pride sitting on a command seat just looking at the folder and papers he had in his paws.

"Hey kid..."

"Yes Sergeant Pride?"

"Come here, it's about time I told you everything!"

"Alright what is it you wanted to tell me?"

"Your twin, your family, your parents, your past life..."

"What? Are you saying you knew all this time?"

"Yes I did, and I'm sorry. Your parents made me swear not to tell you until you were twenty one but you're ready now and I don't think the city can wait any longer."

"Alright please go on, tell me everything starting with my family!"

"Your family was important, they were the last descendants of a race of superb gifted hybrids, unnatural ones of course, and they could marry and have pups of their own unlike most natural ones. You and your twin are the last of that line, as you both had another brother but he died at an early age. It's sad really; he died before he could even start living his life."

"You're saying that I'm different? I'm special? Someone who is capable of doing things others can't?"

"Yes that's right, your kind was incredibly smart and they were the ones who built the city the first time as well as A.S.C.O.M. or should I say Autonomous-Sentient-Citywide-Observation-Machine. He was built to ensure the city's safety and well being as well as every inhabitant living in it! But things got bad, the most powerful residents turned on them and wiped out almost every single one of your kind! It raged for decades, wiping out every single one they could find save you and your twin who survived by using an emergency escape pod in your home designed if there was a severely devastating catastrophe. You were separated from each other and hidden away, I took care of you and raised you as my own and Vermillia did the same with your twin who you must know already. You fought him in the tunnels system!"

"Whoa! Hold on right there! You mean that big guy was I mean is my twin?"

"Yes he is, his name is Aione Barillious Crossheart, and you're Aeon Leonardo Crossheart! You are his twin and the eldest of you both. You will start to see more of him soon, I promise."

"You said that some of the inhabitants wiped out my kind?"

"Yes that was what destroyed the city the first time not some breakout of a scientific research facility! I bet the ones who are head of the place we infiltrated are the same exact ones who attacked your kind!"

"I have that feeling too; I will make them pay for wiping out my family! They are the monsters of the city and it's my job to rid it of them!"

"Good you remember your mission; would you like to know of your life in the past?"

"No I'm okay. I don't want to know, it's all in the past and it needs to stay that way."

"Alright then, your parents were Arthricus O'Reilly Crossheart and Isabella Jasmine Crossheart, both of them was head technological scientists dedicated to making the city a better place."

"I see now, they were Scientists just trying to help the city. I want to see my brother; I want to see Aione please."

"Alright, Vermillia if you would be so kind as to bring Aeon to Aione's hideout, it's about time for a new beginning in the city and as well as their relationship."

"Alright Pride but you and me are going to have a nice long talk soon and there will be absolutely no running away from it!"

"Alright I understand."

*I see now Sergeant Pride, thank you for explaining that to Aeon and myself as well, you helped me recall who or what I am and what my true purpose is! I now know what I must do completely instead of a vague memory made of data now I understand. Aeon I am willing to serve both you and Aione to the fullest extent I possibly can! I am your loyally dedicated partner!*

"Thanks Al! I know I can count on you!"

"Well Aeon go get cleaned up and hurry back fully dressed and ready to leave, it's time you got to know your brother!"

"Yes Ma'am I understand completely."

Aeon stood and saluted Vermillia, he turned and walked to the Shower Chamber and did as he was told. Soon afterwards he emerged completely clean and smelled as fresh as a summer morning's mist. He acquired his suit which he made change to white with the lines and lights turning orange which was the color scheme for someone going to a formal event or going to a special meeting. He mounted his Hover Bike and nodded to Vermillia, she hopped on behind him and held on tight to his waist, he sped off and shot out of his hideout. They communicated through their headsets, Aeon wearing his helmet with the new functions that now was white with a tinted orange visor and Vermillia having to wear a normal helmet on top of the headset which made it slightly uncomfortable for her.

"We're going to a supposed abandoned Military Base! It's their secret hideout like yours residing under an old warehouse, it's on the other side of the city."

"No problem! We'll get there in a matter of minutes thanks to the new upgrades I installed to the bike."

"New Upgrades, what upgrades?"

"This one for example will make us go faster! Hold on tight!"

"Oh no, you're not actually going to use it here are you?"

"Not until after I make us go intangible so we don't hit anyone or anything!"

Aeon pushed a button on his suit; it activated the intangibility upgrade causing them to fade out of any solid object at a frequency undetectable by any kind of scanner or radar system around. He activated the speed upgrade which he dubbed the Hell Flyer and they shot off like a rocket, going faster than they could ever possibly have gone without it. Soon they were right in front of the Military Base which was thought to be abandoned.

Vermillia dismounted the bike and walked into the perimeter where the drones patrolled, they immediately spotted her and aimed their laser points at her, she stood stock still and held out a card, the drones scanned the card and shut down shortly after allowing free passage into the abandoned Military base. Aeon followed her from behind, leaving his helmet on. They descended into the base and were greeted by Sherivon and Warivin both of which were surprised to see their commanding officer after such a long period of absence.

"Commander Perdita what are you doing back? We haven't seen you for weeks!"

"Yeah what happened Commander? I wanna know please tell me! Tell me please!"

"All in due time my friend!"

"Awww please tell me bud, I wanna know now bud!

"Warivin please calm down, that's an order!"

"Yes sir uh ma'am, pardon my confusion of words."

"I accept your pardon. Now where is Aione?"

"He's in the training room right now, something about getting himself ready for another round with the lone rider."

"Oh is he now? He'll not have any longer to wait for it since I'm right here!"

"What? You are the lone rider? I heard you were smaller and skinnier too!"

"Yeah well things have changed."

"Come to think of it, Commander what happened to you? You look different than you were before!"

"We'll talk about it later Sherivon! Now let's go introduce you to Aione properly Aeon."

"I'd love that a lot Vermillia."

"I'm sorry but you must call me either Commander Perdita or ma'am, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Commander Perdita."

"Heheh that was a test, you may simply call me Commander."

"Yes Commander."

"This way Aeon time for you to meet your brother."

As they left Sherivon's jaw dropped open, unable to believe that Aeon, the lone rider was Aione's missing twin brother. He looked at Warivin who gave him a quizzical expression in return and merely shrugged and walked to his room. Sherivon followed Aeon and Vermillia, seeking answers to the questions he had. They arrived in the training room, Aione was ducking, punching, striking, bobbin, weaving, blocking and doing a great many of things against a sparing robot they had in the room, it's sleek build made it look like some kind of weak toy put together with metal pipes and a gourd shaped body, on closer inspection the sparing robot was actually using complex holograms to make it's build look like an actual being, oddly enough when struck the robot would move back like it was an actual living thing, the strikes didn't go through the holograms instead it hit like it was solid mass.

Aione noticed them and looked at them for a brief moment, without taking his eyes off of them he countered a blow from the robot and gave it a powerful kick sending it flying through the air into a small alcove where the robot's oddly shaped body fit perfectly. He dusted off his paws and grabbed a towel; he wiped away the sweat building up on his face and forehead he nodded to the Commander and Sherivon and looked at Aeon closely.

"Who is this?"

"Aione, remember when I said you weren't alone? That you had a twin brother somewhere in the city?"

"Yeah but I thought he was dead, is he alive or is he dead?"

"He's alive, very much alive; he's standing right next to me."

"Hello Aione, my name is Aeon; I'm your twin brother!" Aeon took off his helmet while he spoke, revealing his face which looked a lot like Aione's though without the tiger stripes.

"You-you're my twin?"

"Yes I am Aione; I'm also the one who handed your butt to you in the tunnel. I'm sorry but I didn't have time to talk it over, the client was dying."

"I know, I understand and I'm sorry."

"It's alright; it's finally great to find you Aione! I never knew I had a twin before the other day and I'm so happy to meet you!"

"I know, I feel the same, come here Aeon, give your little bro a big hug!"

"You bet little brother!"

Aeon and Aione hugged each other in a tight loving embrace, Aione was so happy to have his brother he even allowed a few tears to fall onto the floor in front of Sherivon and Vermillia, uncaring about his image or reputation at this wonderfully emotional moment in his life. Vermillia and Sherivon smiled then left the training room, leaving the two newly reunited brothers to catch up on their lives.

"So Aione tell me what's happened in your life up till our little run in."

"Well as far as I can remember by the age of ten I began training, fighting and all sorts of mixed martial arts. Judo, Karate, Tai boxing, kick boxing, wrestling, Tai Kwon Do, Kung Fu and good old fashioned Heavy Weight Boxing. Taking a few missions here and there or just passing whatever tests came my way from the Commander."

"Ah, me well it's hard to say, Sergeant Pride enrolled me into a Military School, one where you had to do drills every single class and even at lunch and breaks, he trained me himself and made sure I was always healthy and physically fit to perform complicated missions and just running tech deliveries and retrievals. It's a very stressful job but I love it!"

"Alright, I see what you've been through. You had it harder than me I bet with that school!"

"You don't know the half of it!"

"Yeah I bet I do now.....hey you want to grab a bite to eat?"

"Sure, what do you have in mind?"

"How about some delicious Hawaiian food? I know a great place in town that makes a mean tropical fruit salad!"

"Oooh sounds delicious! I'll be glad to join you!"

"Good I'll even invite the boys along. Oh and you wouldn't happen to have any mysterious tech would you?"

"Only a piece of a strange device, one that could possibly save the city and everyone living in it. Why do you ask?"

"Really? We have two pieces!"

"You do? Where?"

"Hold on come with me!"

Aione leads Aeon out of the training room and out to the lounge, everyone is there even the Commander who chats with Olbeck and Warivin. Aione walked to Sherivon and whispered in his ear, Sherivon nodded and whispered back to Aione who just nodded and walked to a hall motioning for Aeon to follow. He walked to Sherivon's room and retrieved the case from its hiding spot. He passed it to Aeon who opened it and smiled inspecting the pieces of the strange device.

"This is part of it alright! This is part of the device that could save the city of New Chronos!"

"There are more out there aren't there?"

"Yes how many I have no idea!"

"This is going to be a long and difficult hunt you know that?"

"Yeah I know, but Al is working on a device to track these down, if we bring these to him and he scans them he might be able to study them enough to fashion a tracker."

"That's good really good!"

"Come with me, I want you to see where I have been all this time."

"I'll follow you anywhere you go from now on Aeon, it's my job to help make sure you don't get killed!"

"I know let's go, you can invite your friends too!"

Aione smiled and walked back to the Lounge, he stood before everyone and smiled wider then announced they were going on a trip. They were a little reluctant since they had no way to get there other than walking, Aeon smiled and pulled out small metallic objects, each one the size of a beetle, he threw them in the air and pressed a button on his holographic panel they immediately sprang into life popping open and growing into one man hover bikes as big as Aeon's, enough for everyone. They all mounted their bikes and smiled liking their new modes for transportation and gave Aeon an approving smile. They all sped off following Aeon and Aione who shared the same hover bike for the sake of not wanting to be parted again. Aione smiled and hugged Aeon tightly to him, making sure he wouldn't fall off due to the incredibly fast speeds they were going.