FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Promise

After about an hour of lying in bed and staring at the ceiling, Trey finally forced himself to get out of bed. But the image of Jojo sobbing back home, all by himself, stayed in his mind.

"Gotta get my mind off of this. I need to follow the same advice I gave Jojo," He thought as he made his way to the bathroom to shower. However, the shower did nothing to change his mood. If anything, his inability to physically be there for Jojo only made him more upset.

"Good morning, Trey," Hanbei greeted as Trey walked out of the bathroom. "Are you alright? You look a little out of it, this morning."

"Wha...oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just didn't get much sleep last night." Trey lied remembering his promise to Jojo.

"...I see. Well, I was going to go down to the pool and swim a few laps. Would you like to join me?" Hanbei offered.

"No thanks, I think I'm going to head back to the arcade for a bit." Trey replied, taking an apple from the bowl on the counter. He walked out the door without another word and made his way to the elevator.

Once outside, Trey took a large bite out of his apple and made his way to the arcade in a zombie-like trance. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake off the sound of Jojo crying, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he got and the angrier he got, the more he just wanted to go off on someone.

He then crossed the street to the arcade and started walking to the front door, but then heard the sounds of struggle in the nearby alleyway.

"I said give me the cash you stole, you little shit!"

"Ow, that hurt!"

"What was that?" Trey thought as he made his way around the side of the arcade.

He walked around the side of the building into a little alleyway. He saw the Scraggy, Shuyin, from yesterday, gripping one of the Dracomon boys by his shirt collar with the other trying to pull him off.

"I told you! We didn't take your money!" The twin in Shuyin's grip pleaded.

"Don't give me that shit, I saw you take it!" Shuyin yelled pushing the other twin off of him.

"Shut it...Talk about noise."

"What...oh, it's you. Get out of here, this don't concern you!" Shuyin threatened, dropping the dragon on the ground, giving his full attention to Trey.

"You mind telling me what you're doing with those two?" Trey asked, taking another bite from his apple.

"These two little assholes stole some cash from my wallet yesterday! Now, they sayin' they don't have it!" Shuyin glared down at the twins.

"Because we DON'T!" They pleaded.

"Oh, just shut up, already..." Trey groaned, reaching into his wallet and tossing Shuyin a couple of bills. "Here, just take this and leave them alone."

"Whatever," Shuyin said, snatching the wad of cash out of the air. "You little shits try anything like that again? You won't have this mutt around to get you off the hook, next time..."

Shuyin was about to make his exit, when the Gaomon shouted at him.

"Motherfucker, did I say I was done with you, yet!?" Trey snapped.

"Oh, really?" Shuyin said turning around. "And what else-?"

He was cut off by Trey's hand going for his throat and lifting him a few inches off the ground.

"...You didn't let me finish explaining the cost of my generosity!" Trey stated as an oddly calm grin crept up on his face. "You...and that big mouth of yours. It pissed me off yesterday, and it's doing it again today! And I'm in no mood for your shit, right now."

There was nothing else Shuyin could do but struggle within Trey's tightening grip as the canine continued.

"Now, listen closely, because I dislike repeating myself to dimwitted ignoramuses such as yourself. If I ever, and I do mean EVER see you bothering these two again? For ANY stupid reason your little brain can come up with?" He pulled Shuyin in close and whispered lowly so the twins couldn't hear.

Shuyin's thrashing about stopped quickly as the color drained from his body, perpetuated when Trey crushed the apple core in his hand for emphasis to his threat. Trey gently dropped Shuyin on the ground and took a step back. Shuyin just stood there quivering slightly.

"Well?" Trey asked calmly. "Isn't there something you'd like to say?"

Shuyin quickly snapped out of his fear-induced stupor and turned his attention to the twins. "Look...sorry for any trouble I've caused you, I won't do it ever again!"

He then bolted out of the alley, leaving Trey and the twins in relative silence as they got back to their feet.

"...What did you say to him?" One of them asked.

"Nothing you need to worry about!" Trey smiled. "All you need to know is that if he has an ounce of intelligence in him? He won't dare bother you again."

"Well, thank you, mister!" The other twin said cheerfully.

"Name's Trey, and I'm glad to help. What're your names?" Trey asked.

The two smiled to each other.

"I'm Billy." The one on the left said.

"And I'm Jimmy." Said the one on the right.

"And we're the Double Draco twins!" They finished in unison, ending in a pose that mirrored one another.

Trey blinked once...then twice, and finally started bursting out laughing.

"What's so funny?!" Jimmy asked.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He said trying and failing to stop laughing. "That was just the most adorable thing I've seen and heard in my life."

Both twins looked to each other with a matching grin on their faces.

"So, do you guys live around here or something?" Trey asked knowing full well what their living condition must be like.

"Uh, yeah. We live in the area..." Billy answered shyly.

"Speaking of which, we're late Billy! We'd better get going!" Jimmy added.

"Okay..." Billy said rather glumly.

"Are your parents waiting for you?" Trey asked.

"Um, yeah." Jimmy stuttered. "We were supposed to meet them at the store, but that Shuyin guy jumped us.

"Okay, well I won't keep you two, then!" Trey smiled.

"Thanks again!" The two replied cheerfully in unison, before running out of the alley.

Trey smiled as the two ran off. He didn't know how quite to explain it, but seeing the kids smile? It just made him feel better. It was moments like this that he truly surprised himself with how he had changed. After all, time used to be that he wouldn't have stuck his neck out for anyone, much less two random kids he met on the street.

He went into the arcade, and blindly played several different games over the course of an hour, before getting bored and heading back to the hotel. Between the gaming and the repeat encounter with the twins, Trey was much calmer as he made his way back up to their suite.

"Those two...I owe it to them for this." He snickered to himself on the elevator.

He stepped off the elevator and almost bumped right into Hanbei who was getting on.

"You are looking much better now, how was the arcade?" He asked.

"It was fun, lot of different games there to play. Definitely keeps you busy!" Trey smiled back.

"Quite." Hanbei replied, offering a small smile of his own. "I was about to go and do some shopping. You are certainly welcome to come along, if you want."

"Sure, I got nothin' better to do." Trey shrugged as they both got on to the elevator.

The two engaged in minor conversation as the made their way to Downtown Kowloon. Since arriving in Hong Kong, the two hadn't seen much of each other, since Hanbei and Gai had almost always been off on "other business".

After about twenty minutes of walking, the two reached the bustling shopping district and began going to different stores, picking up things Hanbei had on his list.

"Any particular reason you bought several more pairs of sleepwear?" Trey asked, looking at Hanbei's bag as they walked out of the clothing store.

"Because, if you may recall, the AIRLINE lost the suitcase that contained a number of my clothes, including my nightwear," Hanbei stated, gazing into the window of another store. "This will mark first and LAST time I follow Gaisei's advice to trust personal belongings in the hands of inept public workers and the sticky-fingered deviants that make up the masses. This is why I usually travel light, so I do not have to worry about keeping track of 'too many bags'."

"Oh, yeah," Trey shrugged. "Forgot about that. Anyway, to change the subject...you think we can grab something to eat soon? I'm starving."

"Certainly." Hanbei chuckled. "I have only two more items I need to purchase. We can get something afterwards."

Hanbei set down his bag and began looking over some formal wear. Trey, on the other hand, had walked a little further into the store and was looking at the more casual clothing they had on display. About eight minutes later, Trey made his way back over to Hanbei, holding a new Brown fall jacket he had purchased.

"Nice choice." Hanbei commented.

"Thanks, I thought it looked cool, and figured I'd need it anyways with Fall right around the corner. Mind if I put it in your bag?" He asked.

"Go right ahead." Hanbei replied, intensely examining a gray suit.

"Thanks." Trey said kneeling down. "Huh?"

"What is it?" Hanbei asked turning to the Gaomon.

"Where's your bag?" Trey questioned. "'Cause I don't see it..."

True to his word, the bag that had contained the sleepwear Hanbei had purchased was now missing.

"...Like clockwork." Hanbei smirked, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his cellphone.

"What do you mean?" Trey asked, standing back up.

"You see..." Hanbei replied, as he fired up an app on his cell that Trey had never seen before. "Kowloon's shopping district is one of the best in Hong Kong. However, petty theft is still very much an issue. Usually perpetuated by groups of kids under 21."

"...So, in other words, we got robbed!" Trey replied putting a hand to his forehead in disbelief. "Great. Just great! Well, at least they didn't steal anything valuable, right?"

"They certainly did not. However, it is the 'principle of the thing', as they say. And I think it is time those children are taught a lesson in 'manners'. When I am done? They may very well wish it were the cops that caught them, instead..." The wartortle chuckled.

Hanbei began to walk out of the store, with Trey coming up behind.

"...Mind telling me what that is?" Trey asked.

"My phone is an 'Unlocked' model, which I further 'Jailbroke' for my purposes. This is a tracking program app designed by one of my allies back in Japan," The wartortle replied. "After the incident at the airport, I made sure to place a few small tracking devices in each of our bags, and take a few for whatever I carry on my person, just in case incidents like this occurred. What you see on my phone screen now? Most of the 'blips' represent the bags, safe and sound at the hotel. These two right here, represent you and me. While that other one on the move, going deeper downtown? There is our culprit."

Trey was almost stupefied, seeing a bit of Hanbei's customized setup. "That's rather...diligent of you. Wait, there's one on me, too?! When did you-!?"

Hanbei smiled as he continued. "And with this, we will be able to track down them down. Or perhaps just the bag once they realize what it contains."

They began walking out of the shopping district, Hanbei's eyes never dawdling from the phone's screen for long. After about ten minutes of walking, they started to enter a much seedier part of the city. Trey was a little cautious as they continued to track down the bag, but remained calm at the fact that the wartortle was at ease, himself.

Suddenly, the tracker disappeared off the onscreen display. This wasn't good.

"Hm. They are more attentive than I anticipated." Hanbei started. "The 'bug' has been squashed."

"So, what now?" Trey asked.

"Not to worry." Hanbei reassured. "They are within a few blocks of us. Stay close to me. Ideally, you should have no need to utilize what Gaisei gave you."

Without another word, Trey reached into his pocket and pulled out his brass knuckles.

"Heh," the sea turtle smirked. "Like I said, this person is merely a petty thief. You should not need them."

"I know, but just in case, right? Let's do this..." Trey said, pocketing his "gift".

The duo ways down the street in hopes of tracking down the thief. Trey's hand never left his pocket in case he needed to react quickly and defend himself.

They later passed by what appeared to be an abandoned bar. He hadn't seen anything yet, and Hanbei's eyes apparently hadn't seen anything either. They were about to turn around the corner, when the wartortle held him back and flushed him against the wall. Then, a commotion was heard around the side of the building.

"...That's it? THIS IS ALL THAT YOU TWO LITTLE BASTARDS ARE GOOD FOR NOW!?!" A loud voice roared from the alleyway.

Trey peered around Hanbei as best he could. He saw a large Tyrannomon towering over Billy and Jimmy, both of them looking a little beat up.

"I'm sorry!" Billy pleaded. "He looked like he was loaded! I thought he'd have more valuable stuff on him!"

Lying between them was Hanbei's bag, its contents now strewn all over the dirty ground. The large Tyrannomon picked it up and chucked it at Billy's face.

"This isn't worth SHIT! Only thing of value was this tracking he had in here! YOU IDIOTS COULD HAVE LED THE POLICE RIGHT TO ME!" He yelled, this time smacking Billy across the face. The blow was hard enough that Billy was knocked to the ground, and blood trickled down his jaw.

"Leave him alone!" Jimmy shouted, acting to defend his younger sibling. He ran up to his much larger adversary, and began rapidly flailing his arms, smacking at the Tyrannomon who was clearly unfazed by this. In response, the sizable Saurian reached into his pocket and pulled out a gun that he pistol-whipped Jimmy with, rendering him dazed.

"Jimmy!" Billy yelled, rushing over to help his brother.

"Ya know? In this type of business, I can't afford to make many mistakes." The Tyrannomon started, training the gun on the twins. "Perhaps it's time I took care of two of them right now...what do you say, eh?"

Without even thinking, Trey whipped out his brass and ran away from his and Hanbei's hiding place, sucker punching the Tyrannomon in the face and knocking him over.

"Trey?!" The twins yelled out in unison, completely shocked.

"Get up! We're leaving right now! Hurry!" Trey said, kneeling down to help Jimmy up. But he soon froze when he heard the gun click at the back of his head.

"Well well well, what do we have here?"

Trey's eyes peered slowly behind him to see the Tyrannomon smiling down at him with the gun trained on his forehead. His cheeked had a nasty gash from where he had slugged him and was bleeding profusely.

"No more fast moves, mutt. Hands where I can see 'em!" The Tyrannomon laughed, looking down at the twins. "Maybe you two little shits aren't as worthless as I thought, after all! It looks like you've made a friend! And a wealthy one at that, judging by his designer clothes!"

Trey stayed still. A wrong move here could endanger his own life, or the boys'. He looked to the corner where Hanbei was, but couldn't see him any longer.

"...What's he waiting for!?" Trey screamed in his mind.

"Tell you what." The red saurian continued. "Strip down and leave everything of value you have here, and I'll let you go."

"W-what about them?" Trey replied nervously.

"What about them? They're just street rats. Nobody'll miss 'em. I'd be doing them and the city a favor by getting rid of them."

"Trey, just do what he says!" Billy yelped. "Just save yourself!"

Trey refused to move from in front of the boys. Instead, he turned around held his arms out to show that he was willing to protect them with his life.

The Tyrannomon roared with laughter. "How noble, kid. But...this is your last warning. Drop your shit and get lost!"

Again, Trey refused to move. This rewarded him with him getting kicked in the stomach, and Trey's body buckled beneath him, crumpling to the ground. The Tyrannomon then wasted no time stomping on the prone canine's head.

Billy and Jimmy, with the gun still trained on them, were too scared to move.

"Deal with you two in a bit, "the Tyranno warned. "After I deal with your 'hero'!"

Stomp. Stomp. And another stomp. The pain was incredible, and Trey was soon fighting to stay conscious.

"You've got guts kid, I can respect that!" He chuckled before pointing the gun downward. "Too bad you blew your chance at living."

The next instant, he was tackled to the ground by a blue flash. Trey, through the grit and blood, looked over and saw Hanbei pinning the struggling Tyrannomon to the ground. The struggle was brief, and then there was an audible "crunching" sound. Both forms went still for a moment before Hanbei stood up, his hand shaking slightly.

"Trey...are you alright?" Hanbei's voice was devoid of emotion as he looking down at the still body at his feet.

"H-Hanbei...what did...did you do?" Trey replied weakly, as he got back to his feet.

"...What needed to be done." He answered. "And there is still more to be done. I see you are back on your feet. Take those two back to the hotel and tell Gaisei what happened. I will follow you all shortly."

"But..." Trey started.

"That was NOT up for discussion," Hanbei glared. It was the first time that Trey had seen the wartortle give him or any one such a look. He didn't contest the point any further.

Without another word, he turned around to check on the twins, both of which were in shock over what had just happened. He took a step towards them and looked down when his foot bumped something. The crunching sound he'd heard earlier was the sound of his headphones getting crushed when he was knocked over. He picked up the crushed remains, feeling...strange about not being able to wear them any longer.

He then gathered up the twins and they started making their way back to the hotel in silence. The walk took a little longer because of how beat up they were. An hour passed before they reached the hotel lobby and got onto the elevator.

It was after the doors shut and they began their ascent, Billy fell to the ground, in tears. Jimmy quickly knelt down beside his brother to comfort him. Trey stared down at the two brothers, with tears welling up in his own eyes. He crouched down and pulled them in to a tight hug.

"You're both safe now. I promise I won't let anyone hurt you." He whispered.

After they got off the elevator, they wiped the tears from their eyes, and they started walking down the hall to Trey's suite.

"Listen," Trey said when they go to the door. "Just let me talk, okay? You'll get your chance, but let me explain everything to my uncle first."

"Okay..." The twins said shyly.

Trey opened the door and saw Gai sitting at the table reading the newspaper. The moment he saw the three of them, he burst from the table and ran to the doorway.

"What the Hell happened to you?!" He panicked, checking Trey over. "Where's Hanbei...and who are these two?!"

"Guys, the bathroom is down the hall. Why don't you go clean yourselves up?" Trey said.

Without a word, the twins made their way out of the room leaving Gai alone with his battered nephew.

"I repeat: What happened?" He asked again.

Trey sat down his uncle and told him the whole story, about meeting the twins, and how he came to find them today, and how Hanbei took down the Tyrannomon in order to protect all three of them.

"He told me to take the twins back here and tell you everything. I'm guessing he didn't want us to see what he was going to do with the body afterward..." Trey finished.

Gai just sat there, looking at his nephew. Then pulled him close into a big hug.

"You'll have to forgive me," He began. "The Family warned us about a small-time boss named Zong Wu in the area. I didn't think it would be something we'd have to concern ourselves with, but apparently, that wasn't the case."

"Gai... what's going to happen to those two?" Trey asked. "We can't let them go back to living on the streets, not after what happened today..."

"And we certainly won't!" Gai smiled back. "I'll talk to Hanbei, we'll work something out. Now then, I'd like to have a word with those two, would you mind sending them out? You should get yourself cleaned up too. I'm hoping you don't have a concussion after all that!"

"Right, right...I'll be okay, though." Trey got up and walked towards the bathroom. He found both twins standing in the hall looking much cleaner.

"My uncle wants to talk with you." Trey smiled. "Don't worry, he's cool."

The young drakes exchanged looks at each other before quietly scurrying into the living room. Trey then made his way into the bathroom to clean him up. One look in the mirror and he was shocked to see a dried blood stain on his forehead. It must have been a cut made by one of Wu's foot talons as he was stomping on his head.

He filled up the sink with warm water and began to gently clean the dried blood from his face. Upon doing so he accidentally reopened the fresh wound on his forehead and it began to bleed slightly. He took off his bandanna and tied it into a head band around his forehead with a piece of toilet paper over the cut. He took a quick look in the mirror; happy with his bandage job, he went outside to rejoin his uncle and the twins.