FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Have a good day sir!" Mai waved to an elderly owl as she left the doors of the library. He waved back as the doors closed behind her. She let out a satisfied sigh as she made her way over to Yasu, who had been waiting patiently at a nearby bench.

"So how'd it go?" the lynx asked curiously.

"I think I have a chance," Mai answered, taking a seat next to him, "He said he'd give me a call, so I'd say it's a step forward."

The day after the attack, the two of them met up with each other again. As Mai showed Yasu around the city and pointed out many of the different hang out areas, Yasu helped Mai with looking through newspapers and stores to find any newly opened up opportunities. He sometimes even helped out with making a good first impression.

"My feet are killing me though," said Mai, bending over and massaging them, "How long have we been walking for?"

"About an hour or so," Yasu replied.

"Feels longer..." Mai sat back up, stretching her back slightly. "How come you're not tired?"

Yasu smiled. "I travel a lot by foot, so I'm kinda used to walking for a long time already."

"Tch, lucky," she settled down in her seat, "but anyways, thanks for helping out so far. I only know one other guy that would do that, but he's stuck with his work today."

"Ah, I see," Yasu replied, pulling a newspaper out of his bag, "Alright, let's see where else."

"Can we rest for a bit?" Mai asked him, "I feel like my feet are gonna fall of if we keep going."

The lynx-morph chuckled. "Alright, I guess we can take a break." He opened up the paper and flipped through the pages. "I'll just...look for our next stop...real quick..." Mai smiled.

"You amaze me," she commented, causing Yasu to look up from the paper, "There's some sort of monster running around and creating those 'Yummy' things, and yet your main concern right now is helping me find a job."

Yasu smirked. "I have the time." Mai rolled her eyes and chuffed. "Besides, I'm technically looking right now."

"I don't think stopping at a store every ten minutes qualifies for a proper search." The pair laughed. "Seriously though, why go through such lengths for me? I know you said that you like helping people, but I didn't realize you wanted to help me this much. Were you bullied that badly?"

Yasu let out a sigh, and turned away from her. "It was...pretty bad."

Mai bit her lip. "Oh, that bad huh?"

Yasu nodded. "Tends to happen when you're the only lynx in the family, let alone the neighborhood..."

"Oh..." Mai turned away, "so it was that kind of bad..." The lynx-morph nodded again. "Sorry for bringing that up..."

"It's fine," Yasu replied, "I honestly don't mind talking about it."

"Really?" Mai asked, receiving a nod from the other morph, "Okay...well, why'd everyone pick on you? Is there something wrong about being a lynx?"

Yasu shook his head. "It was only like that because most people there were of the same species. I was adopted into my family, but not everyone was happy about that." He smiled, and turned back to her. "Still though, made me a better person for it, so I can't complain."

Mai snorted, shaking her head. "You really are unbelievable." Yasu blushed, scratching the back of his head as he turned away from her again. "I wish I could say that I can relate, but I never went through anything like that. I just never caught a lucky break is all." She propped her head against a paw. "My parents weren't able to raise enough money for me to go to college, which put me at a disadvantage for finding a good n' stable job. My friend is actually in a similar situation." She smirked. "We actually met each other working at the same place. We found out about each others' stories, and things just picked up from there."

Yasu smiled. "That's nice. Is your friend nice?"

Mai nodded enthusiastically. "He is. He's a bit like you actually, though he's a bit more shy and quiet than you." Her ears flattened against her skull. "Though...he does have this...one problem." Yasu tilted his head. "He's...got this...really bad addiction..."

Yasu looked to her in concern. "...Addiction?" Mai stared down at her lap, twiddling her thumbs.

***

"Hit me..." The card dealer nodded, and tossed him a card from the top of the deck. An Ace. "Hit me..." Another card. A 4. He was at 13 now. "Hit me..." Another. A 5. "Stand..." The dealer went through his cards. A 9. A Jack. That made 26. Bust. The dealer slid him three chips. The dragon took one of them and placed it in the middle of the table. "Deal..." This time, a Queen and an 8, and the dealer with a 9. "Hit me..." The dealer drew a card for him. A 4. Bust. The dealer took the chip and placed it back with the rest. The dragon took a single chip from his small pile. "Deal..."

Aleis stood alone with the dealer at his table, the others around him not wishing to be near the strange dragon. He was acting very...odd. His eyes were sunken in, and void of any sign of emotion. He spoke in a low, almost dead monotone voice. His wings and tail hung from his body, almost seeming like he had lost support of them. His body was rigid, the only things moving being his eyes, hands, and mouth. Yet, out of all of this, what was strangest about him were the long, gray bandages taped around his snout, leading down his neck, and snaking down his arms.

With a bit of unease, the dealer tossed him his cards. A 4 and an Ace. The dealer; a Jack. "Hit me..." said Aleis. The card was tossed. A 6. Blackjack. The dealer slid a chip next to Aleis' placed one. He took it, leaving the original chip there. "Deal..." The dragon received uneasy looks from the other tables. He didn't care. To him, they weren't there. They never were. It was just him, the cards, the chips, and the dealer. He was given his cards. A Jack and an 8. The dealer with 9. "Stand..." The dealer drew his cards. A 3, and another, and a Jack. Bust. The dealer took several of Aleis' chips, replacing them with a differently colored one.

"Sir?" the dealer began, "Maybe you should...rest for a bit..." Aleis didn't reply for a moment. He snatched the new chip, and replaced it with one from his pile.

"...Deal..."

The dealer looked around. "There's a couch over there. You can...nap there if you want..." Aleis' head slowly rose. His eyes widened slightly as he glared at the dealer.

"Deal."

The dealer gulped. "Right..." With a shake of his head, he tossed him his cards. Aleis looked down at his cards. A King and a 4. The dealer; a 5.

"Hit me..." He received his card. An Ace. "Hit me..." A 3. "Hit me..." A 7. Bust. The dealer took his chip, removing the cards from the table. Aleis grabbed a handful from his pile, and slammed it down in the center of the table. "Deal..."

"...Sir," the dealer began hesitantly, "I...really think you should take a bre-"

Aleis slammed his fist on the table, causing everyone nearby to jump. "DEAL." The dealer stared at him in fear. Gathering his wits, he dealt him his cards. A 10 and a 9. The dealer with a 7. "Stand..." The dealer drew his cards. 7, then a King. Bust. The dealer shook his head, taking the chips and replacing them with three others of a different color. Aleis left them there, and slid the rest of his chips to the center of the table. "Deal." The dealer looked to him in concern. Aleis looked up at him, making him withdraw slightly. "DEAL."

"R...right away sir..." He dealt the cards, noticing a few other players at nearby tables watching them. Aleis took his cards. 8, then a Jack. Dealer; 8. Aleis stared down at his cards in silence. More nearby players looked over to his direction, noticing exactly how much he was putting on the line. The dragon's head slowly rose.

"Hit..."

The dealer caught his breath. He looked down at his chips, then back to the dragon. "Are you...sure sir?"

Aleis' eyes locked with the dealer's. "...Hit..." Slowly looking away from the dragon, the dealer slowly drew out his card. He stared at it for a moment, and shook his head. Regretfully, he placed the card at the center of the table. More players leaned over to see the result.

A 5.

Bust.

"I'm...sorry sir," the dealer said, taking the pile of chips away, "but you are out of chips to wager with..." Aleis stared at the dealer with cold eyes. Blood drained from his face as the dragon's eyes locked with his. Suddenly, he turned around, with the eyes of nearby players following him. He stalked over to the barred register, pulled out several bills, and slammed them onto the counter. "More..." he demanded. The cashier looked over to his previous dealer, who gestured a slicing motion over his throat. The cashier's eyes returned to the bandaged dragon.

"Sorry sir," he said through the microphone, "but I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave." After sliding the bills back to the dragon, and clicked a button at the bottom of the table. Soon after, two large guards approached Aleis.

"More," Aleis demanded, "I. Want. More." The cashier snapped, and pointed for the door. The two guards nodded, and grabbed Aleis by the shoulders. Growling, Aleis' wings suddenly shot outwards, knocking the guards back with surprising force. Aleis took a threatening step forward, slamming his fist on the counter. "MORE."

The two guards scrambled to their feet, rushing at the dragon. Without so much as moving his head, Aleis whipped out his arms, grabbing their heads and stopping them in their tracks. The two guards struggled, unable to pull away from the bandaged dragon's grip. Before they could do much else, Aleis pulled them in before pushing them back hard, sending them flying towards the building walls.

Several screams sounded out as everyone began evacuating the building, wanting to have nothing to do with the deranged reptile. Even the employees made a dash for the exit. The only ones who stayed were the two guards, Aleis himself, and the cashier.

Aleis reached out and gripped one of the bars of the register. Suddenly, a light flashed out around his arms and neck, as more of those strange bandages snaked out over his muzzle, arms and neck. He gripped the opposite bar with his other hand, before pulling at them, bending them and stretching them away, leaving an opening in the "cage." The cashier scrambled back in fear, moving as far away from the dragon as he could in his small space.

"MORE." Aleis demanded, lashing out at the cashier through the opening with his claws. "More, MORE, MORE!!!" He lashed out again and again, prompting screams of terror to escape the cashier. "I WANT TO GAMBLE MORE!!!" More bandages whipped out and taped themselves to Aleis' body, covering him up further. "Let me gamble more! I WANT MORE!!!"

Off to the back of the room, a white furred tiger-morph watched from a distance, silently sipping his drink with an amused smile across his muzzle.

***

"Thank you very much ma'am," Mai called out with a happy tone, "I'll be waiting for that call."

"It won't be long dear, I promise!" the lady called back as Mai left, closing the door behind her. Squealing to herself quietly, she rushed over to where Yasu was waiting."

"So?" he asked.

"Freakin rocked it!" she exclaimed, earning a high-five from the lynx-morph, "She said she'll call me once she has a schedule written out!"

"Nice," said Yasu, "Is the pay good at all?"

"It's not bad," Mai replied, "It's definitely a step forward, I'll say that much." She squealed excitedly. "I'm so friggin ecstatic right now!"

"You should be," Yasu commented, putting his hands on his hips, "landing a job is a pretty big deal."

"Honestly though, I can't thank you enough. I wouldn't have even found this job if it weren't for you." Yasu blushed, turning away and scratching the back of his head. "Come on, let's go celebrate. I think I saw a food cart from the guy I got fired by." She pulled him along, walking a bit faster now, with a wide smile spread across her muzzle. Yasu couldn't help but smile as well, seeing her so much happier than she was the other day.

"Try to keep up will ya!" Mai teased with an amused tone, "I might end up dragging you across the floor!"

"Alright, alright," Yasu chimed back, "just don't get lost in my...dust..." Yasu began to slow, eventually bringing them to a stop. Mai turned to face him.

"What?" she asked in concern, "What's wrong?" Yasu pointed somewhere. Following his finger, Mai saw a large crowd formed a couple of blocks away. Her heart sank. "...Oh no..." Yasu turned to her.

"What?"

"That's the gambling parlor I told you about," Mai said grimly, "the one my friend always goes to..." Yasu looked back towards the large crowd. Many of the people there appeared rather shaken up. One of them, who appeared to be part of the staff, judging from his uniform, was speaking with a police officer.

"Yasu?" Mai said nervously, making him turn back to her, "You...you don't think..." Yasu's ears flattened. Mai's happy expression was long gone, replaced by that of fear and concern. The lynx looked back towards the crowd.

"I don't want to believe," he replied, "but...I have to make sure."

"I'm going too," Mai stated, "just so I know it's not him." Yasu turned back to her. Somehow, he knew there would be no convincing her otherwise. Nodding to each other, the two of them made a break for the parlor.

It didn't take very long to reach the parlor, and soon enough, they too were amongst the crowd. Some people were dressed rather fancily, while others dressed more casually than the rest. There was a low murmur amongst them all, no doubt discussing whatever was going on inside.

"Excuse me sir," Yasu asked the staff member, tapping his shoulder, "may I ask what's going on?"

"Hold on kid," the man said to the lynx, turning his attention back to the other uniformed man, "Yeah, the guy in there that attacked one of our employees."

Mai's heart beat faster. No, no no no no no, please don't say...

"Can you describe the attacker for me please?" The officer asked him. Yasu held Mai's hand as they listened.

"Well for one, he's a dragon," Mai's heart nearly stopped, "His scales are black, white down the middle, n' he's got three fin-things coming out of his head." Mai put a hand over her muzzle, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. He had just perfectly described Aleis. She squeezed Yasu's hand tightly, trying to contain herself. "From what I've been told, he comes here a lot. He's crazy strong though, he tossed aside our security guards like they were made of plastic."

"Was there anything suspicious about him before he attacked?" asked the officer, writing notes down on a notepad.

"He seemed pretty out of it," the employee answered, "He didn't speak more than one or two words at a time."

"Anything else?"

"Well, I think I remember seeing these weird bandages all over him." Yasu's heart skipped a beat, and Mai nearly broke down.

"Alright, thanks," said the officer, before motioning for two others to enter the building, "my guys'll take things from here. Rest assured that he'll be taken dow-" He was cut off as the two officers suddenly came crashing out of the parlor through the tinted window, and onto the floor. Standing near the window...was Aleis.

_No..._Mai thought despairingly, watching him move away from the window and out of sight. Several screams sounded out, before the crowd began to disperse, creating a chaos of people running around. Taking this chance, Yasu dashed past the officer and the employee, Mai following close behind.

***

"GIVE ME MORE!" Aleis demanded, now back at the cashier and lashing out at him, "I WANT MORE!!!"

"J-just get away from me you freak!!!" the cashier screamed in terror, pressing himself to the corner of his small room. Aleis roared out in rage, clawing at the table and leaving claw marks on the metal table. The cashier screamed out in fear, covering his eyes and ears as he cowered.

"I WANT TO GAMBLEMO-" Suddenly, Aleis felt arms wrap around his midsection. Whipping his head around to look, he saw Yasu behind him, trying to pull him away.

"You need to calm down!" Yasu exclaimed, pulling as hard as he could, "You're going to hurt someone badly if you don't!"

Aleis roared out. "I WANT MORE!" He whipped his tail out, hitting Yasu away and launching him onto a nearby table, making it break and collapse in on itself.

"Yasu!" Mai exclaimed, rushing over to his side, having watched from afar, "Are you alright?!"

"Yeah," Yasu said weakly, staggering back to his feet, "But you need to stay back, this is dangerous!"

"I am NOT going!" she shot back, "He's my friend! I'm not leaving with him like this!"

"Dammit Mai," Yasu growled, "This isn't a matter of choice! Get out of here now!"

"And I didn't make a request!" Mai barked back, "I'm staying! That's that!" Yasu growled; he didn't have time to argue. He had to get the dragon away from the cashier.

"Fine, just stay there!" At that, Yasu charged again, approaching from the side and attempting to tackle. Aleis caught him coming from the corner from his eye, and whipped his wing out, repelling Yasu and making him slam into the wall behind him. He grunted in pain as he fell to the floor.

"Aleis, snap out of it!" Mai begged him, her voice trembling, "This isn't like you! Come back to me! Please!" The dragon ignored her, and went back to slashing at the cashier. "Aleis! Please!!!"

Yasu staggered back to his feet, crying out and charging forward again. Aleis held him by the shoulder with his free arm, but Yasu pushed forward with all of his might. "Listen to her Aleis!" he shouted at the dragon, "She's your friend! You need to stop!" Aleis growled out, tiring of the lynx. Suddenly, in a horrifying spectacle, a strange mummy-like creature emerged from the dragon's body, the same gray bandages around Aleis' body wrapped around it as well. The creature swatted Yasu away, making him fall to the floor hard several meters away.

Yasu grimaced as he staggered back to his feet, gripping the shoulder that he had landed on when he fell. Again, Mai came to his side. "Yasu, can't you do something?!" The mummy-creature slinked back into Aleis' body, and he went on to lashing out at the cashier, this time stretching the bars further apart with newfound strength. Yasu growled to himself.

"I'm sorry, but my hands are tied," he replied, "As long as that thing is still inside of him, I can't do anything without harming Aleis in the process." Mai whimpered, looking at the bandaged and lost dragon. She felt so utterly helpless and useless. She wanted to help. She wanted to get her friend back.

She wanted Aleis back.

"HaaAAAHHH!" Yasu cried out as he charged again. Aleis easily repelled him with a simple flap of his wing, knocking him back to the ground once more.

I need to get him out of here, Yasu thought to himself, staggering back to his feet once again, but how? He looked around the area. He thought about what Aleis' desire was.

Gambling.

An idea suddenly came to Yasu. He looked around again, spying a pile of chips, and a deck of cards. He dashed forward, running past a confused Mai. He slid to a stop, and grabbed the deck and a handful of chips with his hands. He ran back, and tossed several chips at Aleis. "Hey!"

Aleis whipped his head towards the lynx, becoming rather cross at his constant pestering. His eyes came across the chips in Yasu's hand, then the cards. Aleis immediately moved away from the cashier, and towards Yasu.

Bingo."You want more right?!" he shouted at Aleis, backing away slowly as he stalked towards him, "You wanna play? Then let's play!" Aleis growled, and started for him. Yasu immediately turned away. "Mai! Run for it!" The two of them broke into a run for the back door, with Aleis following close behind.

In the far side of the room, the white furred tiger-morph chuffed, and tossed his drink aside, having gone unnoticed during all of the commotion. "Always getting in the way..." He stood up, lazily kicking aside a broken table leg. "I suppose it's time that I took action." His eyes glowed briefly. He leaned back a bit, before dashing forward. He was gone in an instant.

***

With the crowd gone and the officers out of the way, getting back to the park was an easy task. Soon enough, they found themselves back at where they were during the first fight. Once again, the place was clear of anyone else. Mai quickly hid herself where she had before, and stood watch.

Yasu slid to a stop, rolling out of the way of Aleis' charge. The lynx stood straight, chips and cards still in hand. "Come on Aleis!" he exclaimed, "I know you're still in there! You need to fight this!"

Aleis roared out. "DEAL!!!" He lunged forward, swiping at his head. Yasu narrowly avoided, jumping to the side.

"I don't want to hurt you Aleis!" Yasu continued, "I can help you if you stop! Please come back to us! For your sake! For Mai's!"

"DEAL!!!" Aleis demanded, taking several threatening steps forward. He suddenly froze, and his eyes began to glow. He cried out in pain as the bandages began to wrap around him more and more, covering his entire body. A bright light flashed out from him, before fading away. Mai caught her breath as the light faded to reveal what stood in his place.

Now standing where Aleis once stood was what appeared to be a sharply dressed Calico cat-morph. However, its face seemed twisted and plastered on, its muzzle shaped in a permanent grin. Atop its head, it wore a tall top hat. On its right eye was a monocle, with a string at the side leading up beneath the hat. Lither than the first one, this Yummy wore what appeared to be a sleek, black tuxedo. The wings that Aleis possessed were now gone, and his tail had been replaced with a more feline one. Its paws were comically large, almost appearing fake, and it held the type of cane one would have for an occasion the cat appeared to be dressed for. As it stood there, its head jerked randomly, much like a monster would in a horror film.

"Nya-ha-ha!" the fully formed Yummy exclaimed, speaking in a shrill voice, "So you wish to play, Nya? Then how bout we use m-Nya-my cards instead?" It thrust its free arm out, causing razor sharp cards to shoot out of its paw. Yasu jumped out of the way, avoiding them as they burst into flames upon hitting the ground. "Nya-ha-ha-Nya!!!"

Yasu rolled to a kneel, standing up slowly. "That's fine, but I'm dealing!" He whistled out, and the mechanical hawk shot through the air, dropping his bag at his feet. It wheeled around towards the Yummy, swooping at it and stalling for time. Yasu quickly pulled out his device and folder, taking the correct medals out before tossing it into the air. The metal bird wheeled around back, catching the folder and flying upwards. Yasu took the three-slotted device and placed it at his midsection, causing his belt to form once again. He took his medals and slotted them in, red, yellow, and green.

In one smooth motion, Yasu snatched up his scanner with his right, and clicked the front of his belt to a slanted position with his left. He shot his arm forward, sweeping the scanner across the belt, and crossed his left arm across his chest. Three tones chimed out as the scanner swept across the medals. "HENSHIN!!!"

~O~ Taka! ToRA! BattA! ~O~

~O~ Ta-To-Ba, TaToBa TA-TO-Ba! ~O~

The medal barrier closed in on him, fading away to reveal Yasu's armored form once again. "Hah!" Yasu lashed out, taking on his tiger-like battle stance.

"Nya, should I ask you to Hit me? NYAHAHAHAHA!" It charged forward, raising its cane to its side.

"Be my GUEST!" Yasu cried out, dashing forward and meeting the challenge. The Yummy swung at him with its cane from its right. Yasu parried using the braces along his left arm. He quickly thrust out his other arm, lights flashing and drawing out the claws from his right. He slashed across to his left, slicing at the feline Yummy and sending medals flying from its body. Quickly following up, Yasu drew out the claws from his left arm and slashed across to his right, striking the Yummy and sending him to stagger backwards. Yasu smirked under his helmet, taking a battle stance. Good thing these work on this guy.

The Yummy recollected itself, before thrusting its free paw out, and launching more cards at the armored feline. Yasu staggered as they impacted his chest, his tough armor being his saving grace from being impaled by them. Yasu shielded himself with his arms as he was bombarded with card after card.

"Graahh, hey!" Yasu looked up to his mechanical hawk, "Toss me Eel!" Maneuvering around, the hawk picked out a blue medal from the folder and tossed it to Yasu. Light trailed down Yasu's legs before he jumped high into the air, catching the medal and landing a good distance away from the Yummy. He swapped the new medal with the tiger one, before grabbing up his scanner from his side and sweeping it across the belt.

~O~ Taka! UnAgi! BattA! ~O~

He was shielded by the Yummy's attacks as the barrier of medals formed around him. Once they closed in on him, his arm gauntlets had changed. Like before, the center chest plate design had changed as well. In place of the tiger was an eel design, blue in color. His new shoulder-pads were blue as well, and the cloth around Yasu's arms now had white, diamond shaped designs trailing down to his wrists. Hanging off of the shoulder-pads and connecting to his hands were what appeared to be white, thick wires.

Yasu took hold of them before pulling them out, disconnecting them from his shoulder-pads. As soon as he did, they elongated, forming large whips for him to use. And use them he did. Circling his arms around, he used his new whips to knock away some of the cards that flew towards him, and flicked his wrists, cracking the whips and knocking the Yummy back, stunning it momentarily. He circled his arms, crossing them over each other, lassoing them around and around as electricity began to charge at the ends, before whipping his arms forward, cracking his whips again and allowing an electrical current to escape them. The force of the hit sent the Yummy flying back before landing on its back.

Taking his chance, Yasu grabbed the tiger medal out of his case and switched it back in, sweeping his scanner across.

~O~ Taka! ToRA! BattA! ~O~

~O~ Ta-To-Ba, TaToBa TA-TO-Ba! ~O~

Yasu rushed forward, drawing his claws out again as the Yummy stood back on its feet. Using the built up momentum, Yasu jumped forward in a jump kick, striking it straight in the face. It staggered back as Yasu landed on his feet. He lunged forward with his claws, only for the Yummy to parry with its cane, following up by twirling its wrist to strike Yasu in the chest with a swift swing up to its left. Backing up and recovering, Yasu leaned away from another swing, lunging forward again. The Yummy twirled around, avoiding the lunge and parrying his arm away, before following up with another strike to his chest. Yasu fell back from the surprising force of the strike, doing his best to recover and regain balance. The Yummy didn't leave him the chance, twirling around again and delivering a hard strike to Yasu's chest, knocking him back and sending him flying, landing on the ground several meters away.

"Urrghhh, he's too fast for me to fight like this," Yasu groaned, standing back up. He looked towards his hawk. "Toss me Cheetah!" It followed orders, swooping down and dropping off the medal. He caught it, and switched it out with the grasshopper medal before sweeping his scanner across.

~O~ Taka! ToRA! CHEE-TAH! ~O~

The medal barrier closed in on him, changing his legs back to the cheetah design. With amped up speed, Yasu dashed forward, and slashed at the Yummy with his left. However, it anticipated this, and parried with its cane before twirling around and striking Yasu in the gut as he ran by. Yasu doubled over, tripping over himself and rolling to the ground. He groaned as he got back up to his feet. He growled and dashed forward in a second try. Again, the Yummy predicted his movements, parrying and delivering yet another blow to his midsection. He fell to the ground again, having more difficulty getting back to his feet.

Dammit,_he thought to himself as he struggled to rise, _my legs are faster, but my arms are still just as slow. The thing can still predict my movements. I need to change fighting styles... He glanced at his bag; there was something inside he still had yet to use. He looked up to his hawk again. "Grab me my sword!" The metallic bird wheeled around, dropping the folder next to the bag, before circling around and grabbing the bag itself, grabbing the contents inside and dropping the empty piece of cloth to the side. In its small talons held a single edged blade, with its colors similar to Yasu's belt, and a slot in the back of it. It maneuvered in the air, aiming for Yasu.

"Nya-Nya-Nope!" the Yummy declared, thrusting its free paw out and shooting a cluster of cards at the mechanical bird. The cards landed their targets, slicing up the defenseless droid and shooting it out of the air. With its grip lost from the blade, it fell from the sky, stabbing into the ground a few meters away from where Mai was hiding. "Ny-Oh look, I broke your little bird thing, NYAHAHAHAHA!" Yasu's eyes flicked from the blade, to the Yummy, then back to the blade. Not wasting time, he dashed forward, making a break for the sword. The Yummy saw this coming, and launched a barrage of cards a few meters ahead of him, making him quite literally run into its attack.

Yasu fell to the ground with a hard thud, landing on his shoulder. The Yummy danced around in amusement, laughing maniacally. "NYAHAHAHAHA! Ny-no running down the FALLS, NYAHAHAHAHA!!!" Yasu groaned as he staggered back to his feet, partly from the pain but mainly from how horrendously irritating this Yummy was getting.

"RrraAAAHHHH!!!" Yasu roared out as he rushed forward again. However, nothing changed, as the Yummy continued to out-predict him and counter his every attempt of attack.

"Nya-HAH!" it cried out in a shrill voice as it swung hard, knocking Yasu up and back into the air, landing several meters away. Yasu struggled to rise, only to collapse under his own weight. The giggling mess of a Yummy skipped towards him, before striking him again with his cane, hitting his sides and making him roll over. Yasu cried out in pain as the Yummy struck his side again and again, rolling him over and over. Mai bit her lip as she watched. She could tell the battle was turning away from Yasu's favor. She glanced back at the sword, which was still planted into the ground.

She hesitated; she knew what she wanted to do, but wasn't sure if it was what she should do. She glanced back at Yasu and the Yummy, seeing him being beaten again and again. She shook her head. No hesitating now. This time, I'm saving the hero. Coming out of her hiding spot, Mai rushed over to the implanted blade, reaching for it and grabbing onto the handle. She pulled at it with as much strength as she could muster. It gave away soon after, and she nearly fell over from the weight. Fuckin...how the hell did that little bird thing pick it up so easily? She heaved it over her shoulders, holding onto it tightly as she charged forward, letting out her own battle cry as she did so.

The Yummy's ears perked up from under its hat, stopping in its actions. It turned to Mai's direction as she ran towards it. It drew its free paw back, preparing to strike. Acting fast, Yasu raised himself up from his laying position with his left before slashing upwards at the Yummy's back with his right. The Yummy stumbled forward from the surprise attack, giving Mai enough time to slash down the Yummy's center with all of her might, knocking it back and making it trip over Yasu. The armored lynx-morph staggered back to his feet with the help of Mai, the both of them backing away from the stunned Yummy. Yasu looked to Mai.

"Thanks," he said to her, "I guess I owe you now. But seriously, you shouldn't have put yourself in danger like that."

"Oh come on," Mai chimed, "like I'm gonna pass up the opportunity to help a superhero pound a pussy!"

"................................." Yasu stared at her.

"Uhhh....." Mai's ears flattened, "Right...goingbackhere'syourswordGOTEAM." She shoved the blade into Yasu's hands before running off in the opposite direction. Yasu shook his head as he withdrew his claws, causing them to form the braces of his gauntlets again. As Mai ran back, she passed by the medal holder the mechanical falcon had dropped. She slid to a stop and scooped it up before returning to her hiding spot.

"NyyyyAARGH!!!" The Yummy slammed its paws on the ground as it finally recovered, standing back up and leaning on its cane, "Nyow you've got me all....Nnnnnnyyyyagrovated!!!" Yasu twirled around his blade before bracing the broad side of it against his left forearm, taking a battle stance.

After going through a quick tantrum attack, the Yummy charged forward, swinging at Yasu from its left. Yasu quickly parried, bouncing the Yummy's cane back before following up with a downwards slash to his left. The Yummy staggered back as medals spilled out from its body. With its cane still raised up, it swung down at Yasu to its right. Yasu parried again, twisting his wrist and following up with an upwards slash to his left. As the Yummy stepped back, Yasu followed up again, circling his arm around and slashing down to his left.

"NNYYEOWW!" the Yummy cried out as it was knocked back, Cell medals flying from its body. Taking the opportunity, Yasu took the grasshopper medal out of the cylinder case and switched it back in. He took his scanner out and swept it across.

~O~ Taka! ToRA! BattA! ~O~

~O~ Ta-To-Ba, TaToBa TA-TO-Ba! ~O~

With that out of the way, Yasu knelt down, picking up three Cell medals that had fallen from the Yummy. Holding his blade with his right, and the medals in his left, Yasu loaded the Cell medals into his blade, each of them showing through a small window at the flat side of the blade. Switching the sword to his left hand, Yasu grabbed up his scanner from his side. However, instead of sweeping it across his belt, Yasu raised his sword out in front of him, and swept the scanner over the flat side of his blade.

~O~ Triple SCANNING CHARGE!!! ~O~

The blade began to charge up with energy as it absorbed the Cell medals. He braced his left forearm against his right, holding the blade out to his right. He raised his arm up, and swung hard at the Yummy. "SEIY-Argh!" A white blur dashed by, and something parried his blade off to the side. The attack was re-directed, sending a dimensional slash far off from the Yummy, and cutting a nearby tree in half. Yasu was bent down to the side. A white furred paw held his arm in place. Yasu looked up, meeting the bright amber eyes of a white-tiger morph.

"Sorry," the feline said, holding his arm in a tight, vice-like grip, "but I've about had it with you destroying my Yummies." Yasu and Mai stared at the male in shock. Before Yasu could react, the tiger-morph tossed Yasu's arm away and kicked his torso with surprising force. Yasu fell to the ground, rolling several meters away. He staggered back to his feet, only managing to get to his knees.

"Kazari?" Yasu began, panting between words, "it...was you?"

"Are you really surprised?" the tiger snapped, folding his arms across his chest, "I thought you of all people would recognize my Yummies by now." He sighed in a bored manner, putting a single finger to his chin.

"Kazari," Yasu continued, "please...don't do this... I don't want to fight you either!"

Yasu...knows this guy? Mai thought to herself, still trying to figure out what had just happened.

"Tch, still going on about that?" said Kazari, rolling his eyes, "I thought you would have gotten over that by now."

"I WANT TO HELP YOU, DAMMIT!!!" Yasu shouted at him, clenching his fists tightly, "Why can't you see that?!"

"BECAUSE I'M TOO BUSY WATCHING YOU DESTROY MY MEANS OF SURVIVAL!" Kazari growled back, "But...whatever...I suppose it doesn't matter. I'll still kill you all the same." He smirked, before a bright light flashed out. Suddenly, the tiger's body dispersed into a cloud of Cell medals, before condensing and forming a completely different being.

An anthro tiger still stood before them, but certainly not a normal one. Most, if not all natural flesh on Kazari was replaced with leather and metal. His head appeared to be encased in a metal helmet that vaguely resembled a lion's head. The top half of it was pure black, while the bottom and jaw portions of the helmet were in silver. Piercing red eyes were embedded at the front, and cord-like dreadlocks spilled out from the back and the sides. His torso was covered in a black metal, with small spikes sticking out from everywhere. His midsection and thighs were left uncovered, save for tiger skin and leather cloth running down his sides. He wore metal shin guards, which also had spikes sticking out, much like his torso armor. Finally, at his forearms, he wore large, metal gauntlets with short but sharp claws sticking out along the "knuckles."

That guy...was a Greed? Mai thought to herself in shock.

"Now," Kazari began, leaning his head against his index finger through the opening of the gauntlet, "how about we continue?" He dashed forward, batting away Yasu's sword and slashing at his chest. Sparks were sent flying as Yasu was knocked back. Kazari continued his assault, moving forward and slashing away at Yasu. The armored lynx-morph was knocked to his back by a powerful swipe, stunning him momentarily. He rolled over with effort, staggering back to his feet.

"I...I don't want to fight you Kazari," Yasu declared, backing away slowly, "but it looks like you're not leaving me with any choice..." Yasu thrust his arms out, light traveling down his arms and his braces flipping over and forming his claws. He took a battle stance, right arm close to his chest, and left out to his front. Kazari chuffed.

"When have I ever?" Yasu charged forward, leading with a slash to his left. Kazari parried with his gauntlet, following up with a forward strike to Yasu's chest. Yasu staggered back a step. Using his right, he knocked Kazari's arm away before circling his arm around and making an upwards slash. Kazari stumbled back, medals flying from his body. Turning on his heels, Yasu delivered a firm front kick to Kazari's chest, knocking him back several feet.

"Hah!" Yasu exclaimed, taking a battle stance. Kazari clutched his chest as he recovered, taking a similar battle stance. The two of them began to circle around each other, like two animals fighting to become the alpha.

Kazari was the first to make his move, lunging forward with his right. Yasu parried with his left, and followed up with a slash from his right. Kazari parried with his left, countering with an upwards slash from his right. Yasu parried again with his left, before circling his arms around and slashing across to his left with both arms. Kazari blocked with his left, following up with a slash from his right. Yasu blocked using the claws on both of his arms, circling their arms around and swinging Kazari's arm away to the right, before using the momentum to spin around and spin kick him to the right.

Kazari fell forward from the blow, stopping his fall with his arms and quickly getting back up. However, Yasu was more than prepared, turning on his heels and delivering a strong roundhouse kick from his right. Kazari countered by doing the same, causing both of them to be knocked away from each other and onto their backs. Both of them scrambled back to their feet, taking defensive stances and circling each other again.

"I swear to you Kazari," Yasu went on, "I'm going to save the both of you. Count on it." Kazari didn't reply, only continuing to circle around him. "I'm GOING to find a way for you to survive without Cell medals, or at the very least, without using people to create them."

"Just shut up and FIGHT!" Kazari growled out, thrusting his arms out to his sides. Suddenly, his dreadlocks began to move. They stretched out of his head, elongating and forming long tendrils that moved about. They lashed out at Yasu, making him shield himself with his arms. Every strike made him step back, each striking harder than the last.

"I SWEAR KAZARI!" Yasu shouted, finding his footing as he stopped and stood his ground. He whipped his head towards Mai's direction. "Pass me the mantis medal!" Mai jumped at his sudden call. She quickly opened up the medal folder, finding and picking out the green mantis medal. She stood up, and chucked it higher into the air than she had intended. A light trailed down Yasu's legs, before he jumped up high, catching the medal. After landing and slashing away some of the tendrils, Yasu switched the tiger medal with the new one, and swept his scanner across his belt, the medal barrier shielding him from attacks.

~O~ Taka! KAmakiri! BattA! ~O~

The barrier closed in on him, and once again, his gauntlets had changed. The center design of his chest plate now held the insignia of a praying mantis, and his gauntlets had changed from yellow to green. His claw braces gone, long blades ran along the bottom of his gauntlets. Yasu drew them out, holding the blades underhandedly, and slashed out at the tendrils, cutting them to pieces.

"Grah!" Kazari cried out in pain, withdrawing his tendrils as they returned to their original size. Kazari hissed at Yasu, taking a defensive stance.

"Nnnnnyyyow I'm back," a shrill voice suddenly spoke up. The Yummy, having recovered from Yasu's earlier onslaught, came to Kazari's side. "Nnyow you've got TWICE the trouble!" Roaring out, Kazari rushed forward and lead their charge. Yasu took a defensive stance as they fast approached. He took one step forward, leaning away from a swipe and striking Kazari's midsection with his right blade, then another step forward to slash at the Yummy's with his left as it came forward.

They both staggered briefly as medals spilled out from their bodies, before turning in unison and lunging at Yasu. The lynx-morph's legs glowed before he jumped up, back flipping over the pair and landing several meters away. As soon as his feet hit the floor, Yasu propelled himself forward with a powerful jump and slashed the both of them across their torsos. Yasu slid to a kneel as medals spilled from their bodies.

Standing straight, Yasu turned towards them. "Kazari, stop this. We don't need to fight anymore."

Kazari growled, struggling to his feet. "I refuse to stop. Not until you're out of my way!"

"I just want you to stop hurting people is all!" Yasu shouted, "Can't you see what you're doing is hurting others?!"

Kazari chuffed, bracing himself against an arm. "What I am doing?" He shook his head, pointing towards the Yummy. "No, all of this is because of him."

"Nnyyooww my sides," said the Yummy, propping itself against its cane.

"Don't you see?" Kazari went on, "This is all because of his greed! His intense desire to gamble drove him to this! HE is in fact the one responsible, NOT me!" The armored Greed rose to his feet. "Besides, no one has truly been hurt at all!"

"He's been hurt!!" Yasu shouted back, pointing towards the Yummy, "You've forced him to do things he would probably never do!"

"Now you're the one who's wrong," Kazari snapped, "That morph is only doing what he desires most, and that is to gamble to his heart's content!"

"You're wrong!" Mai suddenly shouted out. All eyes fell upon her as she moved out of the bushes.

"Mai, get back!" Yasu shouted as she slowly approached them.

"No!" she shouted back, shaking her head, "I'm going to make sure he knows the truth!" She glared at Kazari as she slowly approached. "Aleis never wanted to gamble in the first place! The only reason he ever started was because he needed the money!" Kazari watched her carefully as she got closer.

"Mai! I'm serious! Get back!" Yasu shouted, clenching the handles of his blades tighter.

"Then one time," she went on, ignoring the lynx-morph, "he got lucky, and earned a lot." She laughed slightly, a single tear trailing down her cheek. "He was so excited that he bet it all again. But he ended up losing it all in a single game." She began to break down, stopping her approach as tears flooded out of her eyes. "Then he came up to me, and swore that he'd win it all back, just like he had the first time..." She then fully broke down, falling to her knees and stuffing her face in her paws. "Ohhh Aleis...I'm sorry..." Kazari's head lowered, looking off to the side.

"Tch, whatever," he commented, flicking his wrist, "It's not like he's the only one with problems." He whipped his head towards Yasu, and the lynx quickly got into a defensive position. "I'm simply trying to survive, and yet you're getting in my way!"

"I'm trying to help you!" Yasu slashed at the air angrily.

"HELP ME?!" Kazari growled, "That's the STUPIDEST thing I've heard from you yet! You're here trying to destroy my means of survival, and you claim that you're HELPING me?!"

Yasu's gaze drifted downwards, his stance faltering slightly. "It's true...I _do_want to help you." His arms lowered more as he went on. "You're just trying to survive is all... No one deserves to just die away like that..." Kazari began to falter in his stance as well, but soon fixed himself. "After all...everyone deserves to have a chance at life..." Yasu's head shot up, fixing his gaze on Kazari. "However, I can't just stand by and watch you harming others in the process!"

Kazari growled, shaking his head and gripping it in his paws. "Just shut up. Just SHUT up. Shut up, shut up shut up Shut Up SHUT UP!!!"

Yasu thrust his arm out, pointing at Kazari. "I've said it before and I'll say it again; I'm going to save you both!"

"ONLY ONE OF US CAN BE SAVED!!!" Kazari roared out, charging forward.

"I'LL PROVE YOU WRONG!!!" Yasu charged as well, letting out a battle cry as he did so.

"RRAAHHH!!!" Kazari slashed out with his right, as did Yasu. Both of them were struck hard in their torsos. The stumbled as they both slowed to a stop. They stood there for a moment, none of them moving from where they stood. Suddenly, Yasu toppled forward, and fell to his knees.

"YASU!" Mai cried out in fear, still knelt down on the ground.

Kazari staggered slightly, but stood his ground. He chuckled weakly, and dragged himself to turn around. "Now I can finally finish this..." He dragged one foot after the other, slowly nearing the weakened lynx. Mai scrambled to her feet, looking around for Yasu's sword. She spotted it planted into the ground, and ran for it. Once she reached it, she tried to pry it out, but to no avail. She desperately tried to pull harder, bending down and pushing with her legs. She whipped her head back to Yasu, with Kazari nearing more and more.

"Ha...ha...ha...ha..." he laughed weakly. He raised an arm up, poised to strike and make the final blow. "And now...I...urrk..." He collapsed to his knees as Cell medals began to pour out from his chest. He clutched it tightly, trying to stop the flowing. "Aahhh, wh...why?" He looked up at Yasu and growled. "What...the hell did you do?"

Yasu slowly rose to his feet, and slowly turned around. Shoulders heaving, he raised his arm, and held something up. Kazari growled in anger and hatred.

It was a Core medal.

"You bastard," Kazari cursed, "You allowed yourself to be hit so that you could take another one from me!"

Yasu reached into the cylinder case at his side, pulling out the cheetah and tiger medals. "I told you before..." he began, swapping the tiger with the mantis, and the grasshopper with the cheetah, "I'm going to save you both..." He held up Kazari's medal; the insignia of a lion at the front. "Now...I will...with your power." He swapped it with the hawk medal, and grabbed his scanner.

"DAMN YOU TO HELL!!!" Kazari roared out, charging at Yasu. The lynx swept the scanner across the belt, forming the medal barrier and shielding himself from Kazari's charge. He stood straight as the medals circled around him.

~O~ LIOn! ToRA! CHEE-TAH! ~O~

The medals closed in on him, and a brilliant bright light flashed out. The triumphant roar of a lion sounded out.

~O~ LA-ta-RA-TA!La-to-_RAH-_TA! ~O~** **

"RrraaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Yasu roared out as the light burned brightly, singeing Kazari and forcing him to step back. "RAAHH!!!" He thrust his arms out as the light faded, revealing his new form.

The cheetah legs and tiger claw arms were back, forming an entire slate of yellow. However, the hawk on his head was no longer present, and neither was it at the top of his chest plate insignia. Taking its place, a lion head insignia sat at the top, creating a complete yellow insignia at the front of his chest plate. And his helmet, void of the red hawk design, was now colored gold, taking the shape of a lion's mane. The eyes had changed from green to bright blue, contrasting and standing out from within the gold of the mane.

His entire suit, as well as the three medals, was all yellow. A straight match. A perfect combo.

Drawing his claws, Yasu dashed forward at an impossibly fast speed, running past Kazari and running straight for the Yummy. "RAH!" Yasu roared out as he slashed at it, knocking it back and sending medals flying. The fancy cat staggered as it finally rose to its feet, and launched a barrage of cards his way. Now faster than before, and his reflexes improved, Yasu easily maneuvered away from them before coming at it and delivering another hard slash. The Yummy staggered and nearly collapsed, using its cane to keep balance. Yasu turned around and took a battle stance in front of the Calico. The feline Yummy growled, before swinging at him to its left. Yasu parried with his left claw, before countering by slashing at it with his right. He quickly followed up with a swing to the right using both claws, before following up again by circling his arms around and cross slashing it.

The Yummy staggered back as medals began spilling out from its body. Refusing to let up, Yasu dashed around at full speed, slashing at it from literally every direction. The force of every slash sent the Yummy flying backwards, only to be struck again from the opposite direction to repeat the process. The Calico was rendered helpless as it was knocked around like a pin ball. It was only until Yasu saw Aleis from within the creature did he finally stop. He dashed forward, and grabbed on to the unconscious dragon-morph.

Without using his super-speed, Yasu pulled Aleis out of the Yummy and dashed away from it. He panted heavily as he gently laid the dragon down. He checked to make sure he was alright. Thankfully, he was.

"Aleis!" Mai shouted, rushing over to his side. Yasu stepped back, gently removing his arms from the dragon as Mai took him in hers.

"He's alright," he assured her, "He's not hurt."

"Thank God," she gasped, hugging him against her chest tightly. She silently wept as Yasu stepped away from them.

"Now get to a safe place," he instructed, "I'm finishing this up." Mai nodded, slinging Aleis' arm around her back as she carefully dragged him away. The Yummy weakly stood back up as it recovered, medals still spilling from its body. Yasu snatched his scanner from his holster and swept it across his belt.

~O~ SCANNING CHARGE!!! ~O~

Suddenly, three rings formed around the Yummy. Crouching forward, Yasu charged and dashed forward, and became nothing but a yellow blur. He dashed through the ring at its right, delivering a powerful slash straight through its torso. He dashed through the ring at its left, delivering another slash to its legs. Finally, he dashed through the one at the front, roaring loudly enough to make the ground beneath them rumble, before lashing out with both arms and delivering a final, powerful cross slash through the Yummy's entire body, hacking it into pieces before it exploded into a pile of medals. Yasu slid to a stop, sliding through the cloud of medals and causing them to fly everywhere, spreading across the ground. He panted heavily as he allowed his arms to fall to his sides, his claws flipping back up and forming the braces of his gauntlets again.

With a satisfied sigh, the lynx-morph turned around, and made his way over to Kazari's side. The armored Greed was staring down at the ground still clutching his chest even though the medals had stopped flowing. He heard him approaching, but didn't bother to move. Even as Yasu stood next to him, Kazari still didn't move. Mai, having moved Aleis to a safer area, peeked out from behind the trees to observe what was going on.

"Well then?" he said to Yasu in a low voice, "Go on, finish me. Make things easier on me." Yasu shook his head, and knelt down to his level.

"Didn't I tell you?" he asked him, "I want to help you."

"By destroying my means of survival?" His head turned to his direction slightly. "You're practically killing me in that regard. Just hurry up and do it here."

Yasu shook his head again. "I won't. I already promised you; I'm going to find a way to save you." He placed a hand to his chest plate. "Need I remind you? You implanted a Yummy in me after all." Mai gasped, putting a paw over her muzzle. Kazari remained unmoving, refusing to make eye contact with the other armored feline. "After all of these years of me helping people, this Yummy of yours never formed. It simply stayed inside of me this entire time." Kazari growled, turning his head further away from the lynx-morph. "And because of that, I've been pushed to help everyone I've seen in need. It's helped me strive to become the person I am today. Yet...even now, the Yummy shows no signs of growth." He leaned in slightly. "Do you know why?"

Kazari growled, moving away and trying to stand, only to find that he couldn't. "It's because the one I truly wanted to help...was you."

"Stop." Kazari commanded, shooting a glare at Yasu. However, he went on, unphased by the armored Greed's empty threats.

"I wanted to help you because you seemed to cornered," Yasu went on, "You were slowly dying, and you could barely do anything about it." Kazari tore his gaze away from the lynx, folding his arms like a defiant child. Yasu shook his head, and walked away from the armored Greed. "Since I was never able to help you, the Yummy was never given the chance to grow. So it remained dormant, becoming nothing more than a little guest in my body." He placed his hands on his hips, looking off into the distance. "But you know, since this thing has been inside of me for so long...I think...I'm slowly gaining the ability...to produce Cell medals on my own."

Kazari's head shot up. He turned towards the armored lynx. "You...you realize that the only reason you're like this is because of the Yummy I implanted. If not for that, you wouldn't have wanted to help me out in the first place." Yasu didn't reply for a moment.

"That may be true," he began, "but...that doesn't change the fact that I still want to help people." He turned back to the armored Greed. "And that includes you." Kazari whipped his head away. "But...ironically...you're the one that's helped me in the long run." He slowly approached him again. "You've helped me achieve a level of care that I otherwise never would have had without you." He knelt down, picking up a handful of Cell medals off of the ground. "Now, I can't produce Cell medals just yet, but when I do, I'll finally be able to return the favor." He reached into his belt, and pulled the lion medal out of its slot. Adding it to the pile of Cell medals in his hand, Yasu took Kazari's paw, and placed the medals there, closing his paw for him. "Until then, you should hang on to these."

Kazari stared at the pile of medals for a moment, glancing up at the lynx-morph, before squeezing his paw as he reabsorbed them into his body. He let out a sigh of satisfaction as he felt a small void inside of him suddenly fill up. Bracing his arm against the ground, Kazari staggered to his feet, with Yasu helping him as well. Once he was up, Kazari pushed him away, folding his arms and looking off to the side.

"I want to help you Kazari," Yasu continued, "but, before I can do that, I need to gain your trust." He extended his paw out to him. "So...what do you say?" Kazari slowly turned to him. He stared down at his extended paw. He turned away briefly, not moving from his spot. Suddenly, his form dispersed into a cloud of medals, before he returned to the white tiger-morph form they had first seen him in. Hesitantly, the tiger took his extended paw, before suddenly moving in closer, embracing Yasu tightly and catching him off guard.

"I...I trust you..." Kazari said, tightening his hold around Yasu.

Yasu smiled underneath his helmet. "That's all I've wanted to hear." Off in the trees, Mai smiled to herself, the sight of the two previous enemies hugging it out warming her heart.

"Yes...I trust you," Kazari continued, "I trust you...to be a little fool."

"Huh?" Yasu felt a small click from his belt. Without warning, Kazari dispersed into a cloud of medals, before turning back into his armored Greed form. He stepped back, and struck Yasu in the chest, knocking him back and prompting a cry of pain. As Yasu hit the ground, the feline Greed cackled maniacally.

"You really ARE a fool," Kazari chimed, holding up the cheetah medal for Yasu to see, before clenching his fist around it and reabsorbing it into his body. "Now that I have this back, I'll be going now." He turned around, preparing to dash off.

"Wait!" Yasu cried out, reaching out with a hand. Kazari paused, "Kazari...I...I thought-"

"You thought what?" he cut him off, keeping his back turned to him, "That I'd learn to trust you?" He chuffed. "Just know this." He whipped his head around, turning to face Yasu. "The next time we meet will be our last. One way or another, one of us will be brought to an end." He turned away again.

"Kazari..." The armored Greed clenched his fist, refusing to turn back around.

"...Until then...goodbye..."

"KAZA-" He dashed off, away from sight. Yasu let out a defeated sigh, letting his arm drop to his side. He looked down at his belt, pulling out the yellow tiger medal from its slot. He brought it up to his face, staring at it for a moment.

Why then, he thought to himself, why then didn't you take this one back...?

_ _

***

"Aleis................? Aleis.......................... Aleis....................?" A soft voice echoed through the dragon's head. Slowly rousing from his sleep, Aleis opened his eyes. Once they were open, he was met with the sight of his dear friend looming over him. He glanced around and blushed, realizing that he was in Mai's arms.

"Are you alright Aleis?" she asked him in concern, gently petting his head.

"Y...yeah," he answered her, "I...I'm alright..." He closed his eyes, pressing his hand to his head as he tried to remember what had happened. Unfortunately, no memories could be brought up. "What...what happened to me? Where are we right now?"

"Shhhhh," she hushed him, placing her paw over his muzzle, "just don't worry about it. Everything will be fine now." Aleis let out a defeated sigh.

"Will it though?" he said to her, "I mean, my life has been going so far downhill recently. I'm still stuck gambling, even though I know how much you hate it." He clenched his eyes. "If I hadn't gotten so obsessed over that one time I got lucky...ugh..." Mai continued to pet his head gently.

"Don't worry about it," she said soothingly, "No matter what happens, I'm sure we'll make it through." She ran her hands over his eyelids. "Just go back to sleep. I'll treat you to something nice when you wake up." Unable to resist, the dragon slowly found himself drifting off to sleep. Smiling softly, she leaned over slightly, before pecking his cheek gently with a kiss. Gently placing his head on the ground, Mai got up and went over to Yasu's side, who was busy picking up all of the medals.

"I...seriously cannot thank you enough," she told him, making him pause in his work, "without you...I..." She shook her head and smiled. "Seriously, thank you."

Yasu smiled. "No thanks are necessary. I was just helping you out like I said."

Mai chuffed, rolling her eyes. "Oh, almost forgot." She reached into her pocket, before pulling out a damaged mechanical hawk. "I found it in the trees. It's pretty busted up, but it looks fixable to me." The hawk suddenly moved, stretching its only functioning wing as it looked around. Yasu smiled, and gently took it from her hand.

"Thanks. I'll be sure to remember this the next time I use her in a fight."

"Aw, that's cute; you see it as a her." Yasu chuckled, and went back to picking up medals. "So...what do you plan to do next?"

Yasu sighed, straightening and looking off to where Kazari had dashed off. "Well, I gotta go after him again. I gotta make sure that he doesn't spike up any more trouble." He turned back to Mai. "Still though, I kinda wish I could stay and help you two out."

"Don't worry about us, we'll be fine," she assured him, placing a paw on his shoulder, "Besides, you've helped us out already. We're gonna be okay, no lie."

Yasu smiled and nodded. "I'm sure of it." He knelt over, picking up the last few medals from the ground. "There. Haaaaaahhhhh, all done..." He went over to the large pile of medals he had formed, and dropped them there. "Now...where do I put these...?"

Mai chuckled, before she caught her breath in realization. "Oh, I almost forgot again!" She unhooked the bag around her shoulder, and handed it to him. "I actually got this for you. I was gonna give it to you, but with all of the commotion going on, I ended up forgetting." Yasu smiled, and gratefully took the bag from her hand.

"Thank you Mai," he said to her, bowing briefly, "I'll remember this too." Mai smiled, returning his bow. He looped the new bag around his shoulder, and got to filling the bag with medals. Once they were all put away, Yasu stood up and clapped his hands together. "All done! Now..." He turned towards the canine-morph, a sad expression across his face, "This is...goodbye...Mai..."

"Will I ever see you again?" Mai asked, tilting her head slightly.

"We might," he replied, turning away, "who knows? As life goes on, anything can happen."

"What should we do when you return then?!" She shouted as he got further and further away.

"Your pick!" he called back, waving at her as he walked away, "Anything goes!"

~OOO~