08 Come Together, Right now

Story by Kalt on SoFurry

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Chronicles of Cold Winter - Chapter 8

I hope you guys like. Any and all feedback is welcomed and appreciated.


Kalt heard a booming voice, pulling him awake. "WHY DID YOU BRING HIM HERE?" The voice was angry and seemed to convey an enormous presence.

"Father, he's in danger. Someone has started a war of the gods and they have dragged him into it. I will NOT sit by and watch as..."

"YES! YOU WILL!"

Kalt's eyes opened a little, his vision very blurry, the images in front of him shifting and flowing as if he was watching them through a barrier of water.

"HE IS NOT OF THIS REALM. HE DOES NOT BELONG HERE."

"FATHER! He's my son."

"Only because you could not keep your paws off that bitch whilst you were hunting the hellfiend."

He could only see colors and wavy outlines, but there seemed to be two large polar bears dressed in armor arguing and focusing on the white dog. As much as he tried, he couldn't focus on them or anything else clearly. He tried to move, but it felt like he was trying to move through mud.

"She was not a bitch! She was the female I loved." He paused and looked to the ground as if searching for something. "There was something different about her."

"An Earth female in love with another male and a nature witch born of that world. Neither a worthy consort to the Prince of Asga.... wait." The big bear looked directly at Kalt. He stepped back and sat down in a large golden chair, his voice softened. "He's waking up. He cannot yet be allowed to know about us or his heritage. Take him back."

"You're asking me to send my son, your grandson, back into war the likes of which his world has not seen in millennia, Father."

"It is regrettable and I hope he fares well. I have watched his life and his battles. His acts are noble. One day he may be worthy, but as of yet not ready to know that we exist. Send him back. NOW!"

"Yes, Father." The standing bear was angry, but he knew when to obey. He picked up Kalt in one arm and picked up an axed hammer with the other. He left the large room.

The sun was bright. It hurt Kalt's eyes. He felt dizzy from being carried as the world around him began to spin and seemed to fall away from him. He tried to bury his face into the bear's fur, but it seems to shine just as bright as the sun. His ears echoed with snaps and crackles of electricity before those were drowned out by the rush of wind. He instinctively tried to flatten them, but they flared open from the rushing air. As he tried to look around again, he saw the ground coming at him fast. He closed his eyes tight waiting for impact.

"Forgive me, my son, for leaving you in this war. The choice is not mine. But have faith in yourself and your friends." Thunder cracked all around.

Kalt opened his eyes, they cleared fast and his dizziness faded as he lay on the ground. The sun was shining through the trees. He sat up and looked around. He could hear the tide hitting the beach and could smell the air, but he didn't know where he was. His ears stood high and twisted around for more familiar sounds. He was greeted by the chirping of feral birds. Nothing more. Using his paws to steady himself as he stood, something pressed on his wrists. Looking down at them he saw his leather cuffs had been replaced with metal ones. Both were gun metal in color, the left one was emblazoned with an insignia.

He had never seen the insignia before. It looked like a blue snowball with a blue lightning bolt outlined in white. The cuffs were continuous, nonbreaking. With a little effort, they could be slipped off over his paws. They were comfortable and there was something about them that he liked.

The sound of a military jeep starting up close by broke him from his examination of the cuffs. He looked through the trees more carefully than before and saw the jeep pulling away from the beach and onto the road. Stepping closer to the tree line, he could see better down the beach. He recognized the crashed jet. There seemed no way to get there unseen if he chose to go investigate, and he could see nine people in military uniforms walking around cleaning up the crash site.

The jet had been damaged from the crash, but from how clean cut most of the pieces were, most of it had been disassembled for removal. There would be no way that any survivors would still be here. They would have been taken to a medical facility or prison depending on their status on Gentry's roster. Kalt knew that he would have to get word to the others to let them know he was safe.

He remembered how he left the group at the safe house. He should not have been so brash and kept his anger in check. It could have cost not only Davy's life, but the others as well. He vowed to himself to try and not let his emotions get the better of him in the future. It was just always so difficult for him when he felt he needed to protect those he cared for. But that was in the past and he needed to focus on now.

He guessed that the road would be blocked off and watched to keep civilians far from the crash site. His choices were simple. Stay here in the trees until dark and hope he could slip away unnoticed or try to slip out now at a greater risk of being seen. Another battle between him and these soldiers wouldn't help anyone right now. However, with the rest of the jet needing to be removed, it will be hours into the night at least before the soldiers will be gone. He decided to move to the other side of the trees to check the roadside.

As expected, there were soldiers stationed in half block increments to wave onlookers away and keep them from taking pictures. Civilian traffic was moving fast, but slow for a highway and it was backed up slightly, probably from the onlookers. The tree line didn't go very far, but staying in the trees for as long as possible would be the best. He couldn't wait for them to be finished and move out. He had to leave now. The end of the trees opened up into a field. The last soldier stood a good 300 feet away. There was no doubt he'd be seen once he left the woods. He sighed. It seemed that there was no other way. He was going to have to fight. Standing tall, he casually walked out.

From behind him, he heard someone yell alerting the soldier in front of him to his presence. Spinning around, she brought her gun up fast, taking aim at Kalt. "Stop where you are!" He didn't stop. "Put your paws on your head and drop to the ground."

He looked back to the other soldiers all running towards him. Slowly he raised his paws, though not all the way to his head. The feeling of his fur standing on end was familiar to him. Holding his paws directly out in front of him, a bold of electricity shot out from each of them striking the tip of the gun the female was holding. The gun hit the ground half a second before she did, her body still convulsing from the shock.

A gun fired.

Kalt somersaulted forward, sparks snapping all round him. He couldn't see it, but he could hear the bullet fly by close above him. A stream of blue electricity flowed from his body towards the oncoming soldiers. They halted their advance, too scared to get too close. The one that shot first fired again as Kalt righted himself to his footpaws again. The electricity solidified into a curved wall of ice trapping the bullet and deflecting the others that followed. Peering through the wall Kalt could see the movements of the others. It was only translucent, but he could see the moving blobs around him. The wall increased in size covering him in a dome.

He couldn't tell how many were there or how many were shooting, but his dome was taking a beating. Kalt had to keep his power flowing or his shield would falter fast under the gun fire. Crouching down, he looked around and watched as they surrounded him. He was feeling the strain of the continuous power flow. He could keep making wall after wall for hours, but maintaining them was something else under this barrage. He had to make a break for it, but he needed all of them in close enough.

Hoping they were all where he wanted them, he summoned up as much power he still could, feeling it build up inside of him as he curled himself into a ball as much as he could. His brow furrowed, his teeth gritted against each other, his eyes shut tight. The ice shield around him thickened inward becoming opaque. Feeling the full charge inside, he jumped up, spun around and stretched out his arms and legs, large bolts of electricity erupting from every part of his body hitting the ice causing it to crack.

Chunks of the dome shot out in all directions as it exploded with immense force. When Kalt looked around, all the soldiers were on the ground dazed but not out. He took off running towards the city as they tried to shake off the blast. It wouldn't be long before they were in their jeeps chasing him, but he had to see how far he could go before he had to fight again. It was not his intention to kill any of them and he hoped they wouldn't force him to do so.

As he ran he saw a large drainage sewer. It was too small for him to run through, but he crawl through. Looking back, he could see one of the jeeps coming down the road at him. He dove into the sewer, crawling in about ten feet. He turned back to the entrance. Summing up a little more power his fur surged with light. Sparks flew out of his paw again striking the sewer entrance and filling it in with ice. He kept this up until this ice block was at least six feet thick. He slumped to the side of the tunnel.

Kalt breathed heavy from the overuse of his power and the running. The air was foul causing him to dry heave. He had no food in his belly to throw up and the amount of power usage had strained him over the past couple days. It was all starting to take its toll on him and he could greatly feel it. He needed to rest and eat to regain some strength. He looked at his arm. The hole where the bullet had hit him last night at the airport was still filled in with ice on the front and back, and pushing on the outside of the wound he could feel it was filled with a lot of blood. It was his guess that he needed medical attention soon as well. He was not in good shape, but he needed to keep moving.

It was too dark for him to see ahead of him. He took a deep breath. Held in the putrid air as best he could. He let it go and surged a little to illuminate the way. His only hope now was that this sewer diverged in different directions soon and he could try to outguess his pursuers. It was still dark, but he could see a few feet in front of him now. This low level use of his power wouldn't normally be a problem, but in his state he could tell it was going to be a slight strain on him. He had to move fast.

Leaning forward he rested on his paws and knees. Crawling as fast as he could he went deeper into the tunnel, not knowing what to expect up ahead or which direction he really was going in relation to the city. It didn't matter. All that mattered was that he eluded the soldiers until he could get to some safety.

Crawling for a couple hours through different turns back and forth, Kalt had no idea which direction he was going now and his power was fading. He could see what he was looking for up ahead. A junction of different tunnels. When he felt the last bit of power in him give way he fell on the bottom of the sewer, the water and muck there matting into his fur under his clothes, the junction just feet away from him. His vision swirled.

Slosh. Slosh. Slosh.

Kalt's ears heard something moving ahead of him. Looking in that direction he was assaulted by a wave of cold air and bright orange light hitting his eyes.

All went black.

"Any thoughts?"

"Sorry, Sir. None. I don't have any idea what has happened to them." Misty looked at Tag, her head lowered.

He rubbed her shoulder in a non-characteristic manner, but he knew she needed him to be more compassionate and less her commanding officer. "It's ok. I didn't expect you to be able to see that far. It was just a shot."

Lifting her head she tried to smile at him. "Thank you, Sir."

Tag sighed. He was worried about the others. No word from anyone for over sixteen hours. Anything could have happened. He told them to go radio silent, but he didn't expect Dakota to follow that order. But it was a safe bet they found Davy and Kalt and were at the safe house now. If they used any phone to call, they would be tracked for sure. He was glad they didn't want to tip their location, but he was frustrated he didn't know for sure. He stood and walked over to the sink of their hotel room. Turning on the water, he wet his paws and wiped his face.

Misty stood in the doorway and looked at him. "You really care for him don't you."

He didn't answer, grabbing the towel to wipe his face dry.

"For all that aloof façade you put forth to maintain discipline, you really care for him." She tried not to grin at him, but it showed through.

Pulling the towel away he looked her in the eyes. If she wanted, she could just read his thoughts anyway, and she probably already had anyway. He nodded. "I care for all my troops."

"Not like him. He's special."

Tag frowned a bit. "This whole group is special to me. You know that." Replacing the towel on the bar he stared at it. "Dack is like my brother. Dakota is someone I can count on. Davy is a great soldier, yes, but I can trust him more than any other soldier. If he hadn't requested the transfer, I'd have promoted him in my organization already." He turned to look at her. His usually gruff voice softened a little, "You are a gem. Out of everyone I've ever worked with, you are the one I can trust the most and I would be lost without you, Misty."

She smiled and shyly looked at the floor.

Sighing again, he looked in the mirror at their reflections. "Then there is Kalt. He's impulsive, brash, and comes across as argumentative even when he tries desperately not to. He's super loyal and super loving. Everything about him is on the extreme. There is no gray about him. It's either one side or the other."

"He is all that, Sir." Placing her paw on his shoulder this time, "You don't owe his mother anything. He was born after you both were divorced and you had moved on. You said so yourself." She pulled her paw back as he stiffened. "And he is a grown fur."

One tear fell from his eye and he quickly wiped it away. "I know. You don't have to remind me." He sat in the armchair. "But I never remarried because I couldn't get over Helena. And he is all I have to connect me to her now." He smiled at Misty. "Besides. Over the past few years, I have grown rather fond of the white mongrel." They both smiled. "Ok...", he stood, "...we've both rested and cleaned up and most of the public businesses in the Omar should be closing soon. Let's go and see what we can find."

Hot flashes fell on Kalt waking him up. Opening his eyes he saw the other white fur standing in the middle of the large room. Kalt jumped up, grabbing the blanket he was covered with. He ran to the fur throwing the blanket on him and patting him down. "It's ok. I'll get the fire out, don't worry. You'll be fine."

The white fox rolled away from Kalt and out of the blanket. The fire was gone and he had no signs of being burned. He crouched on the ground looking up at the dog standing in front of him, his ears laid back.

"I'm sorry." Kalt was confused. "I thought you were on fire." He scratched his headfur. "I must have been seeing things."

Standing up, he smiled. "It's ok. You startled me." He walked up extending his paw. "I'm Valdreg. Val for short."

Kalt shook the offered paw. "Kalt." His breathing returning to normal.

"Uh, you might need this back." Val offered the blanket back to Kalt.

In that moment, Kalt realized that he was standing there naked wearing only the new metal cuffs and a bandage on his arm. He took the blanket and wrapped it around himself. "Where is my unif... er... my clothes."

"They were dirty so I washed them. They are drying now." The red in Val's cheeks shined through a little. "I hope you don't mind. I thought you'd rest better clean." He looked at Kalt's arm. "Did you get stabbed with an icicle?" Kalt felt the bandage on his arm. It felt professional. His arm was sore, but at least it was clean. "When I found you, I didn't see it at first until all the blood started flowing out. There was a lot. I looked at it and it was filled with chunks of frozen blood."

Kalt nodded. "Thanks. You did a great job."

"Thanks." Val smiled, his ears stood straight up in pride. The black tips of his ears drew Kalt's attention.

Kalt returned to where he was when he woke. An old, torn couch. He sat down and studied his surroundings as Val straightened some things up. It was a very large, round room, and seemed to be made of concrete. There were three doorways leading off in different directions to darker areas. Off to the right was a spiral staircase that lead up beyond where he could see from his vantage point. But the floor. The floor was strange. It was flat, also of concrete. But there were designs painted on it. Symbols that Kalt had never seen before, drawn in a circle.

He studied the fox as well. He seemed to be about five nine, and was chubby. His tail had a grey stripe, a white stripe, then ended in grey. The dog found the fox very cute. He watched his tail wag and sway as he moved around. He even noticed the cute butt and slightly chubby belly the fox had. Kalt's sheath pulled back a little as the tip of his cock peaked out. He was glad the blanket would hide it. He tried to think of other things to get his mind off of how sexy the fox was.

"I'm curious..." Val looked away from Kalt as he spoke, moving things around trying to look casual. "... do your cuffs always vibrate like that?"

"What?"

Val turned around. "Your cuffs. Do they always vibrate?"

"I don't know what you mean?"

"I tried to take them off when I took your clothes. They vibrated. Felt alive."

Looking at them, Kalt considered what he meant, "I'm sure it was your imagination."

"Oh. I wondered if they were attached to your elemental control."

Kalt's ears shot straight up and his eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

Val held up his paws. One ignited into flame and the other one frosted over. "You have control over an element. I can feel it."

Signing heavy, Kalt didn't know what to say. It was clear that Val had power and that he had helped Kalt. Finally, "Honestly, I don't know." He looked at the cuffs. "I'm not even sure where I got them. As far as I know, they don't have anything to do with what I can do."

The fox smiled at the dog, his paws returned to normal as he lowered them. "What can you do though?"

Kalt grinned as he pulled the blanket down from around his shoulders and chest. His fur stood on end sparking in the air and the entire room dropped in temperature. The demonstration ended just as fast as it started, he could feel that he still needed some time to rest his abilities for them to get back to full strength. Trying to show confidence in his powers, he grinned slyly. "How's that?"

"That was sexy, pup." Realizing what he said, Val's ears and tail lowered as the blush returned to his cheeks. "Uh, I mean, that was cool."

Kalt smiled and tried not to laugh. "It's fine. How soon until my clothes are ready?"

"Let me check." Val left the room through a door for a moment before coming back carrying a robe. The scent of dryer lint filled the air as he returned. "About another fifteen minutes." He motioned to the next door. I have some food in the kitchen if you are hungry. I'm sure you are after losing so much blood." He handed the robe to Kalt.

"Ok. I could use a little food." He took the robe. "Thanks."

"Come on." He flipped his paw, motioning for Kalt to follow him as he turned to go.

Dropping the blanket to the couch, he quickly put the robe on. It was short, but would cover him. Following Val, he entered a small kitchen. A small refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, sink, and some cabinets.

Val had the fridge open and he was pulling out some sliced meat and fresh veggies. "There is some bread in the first cabinet." He pointed to the one he meant.

Opening the cabinet, Kalt saw it was fully stocked with canned soups, vegetables, and spices. A couple loaves of sliced bread lay on the bottom shelf. He pulled one loaf out, handing it to the fox.

"Would you want one or two sandwiches?"

"One."

"Ok. But come back for more if you want, pup." Val opened the bread, pulling out four slices. He built them both ham sandwiches with cheese, lettuce, and tomato. He handed one to Kalt on a plate then looked him in the eye. "Oh. I should have asked. Do you eat veggies?"

Kalt smiled at him as he took the plate, "I do, yes. Probably not as often as I should." He chuckled before he bit into the sandwich. It was good. "mmmm, where did you get this ham?"

"A farmer's market. I don't like to eat prey furs and I don't trust national chains."

Nodding, Kalt understood what he meant. A lot of national chains were always suspect on the meat they used. The Federal Fur Food Administration tried it's best to ensure that all meat sold in the world was from feral livestock, but once in a while you would hear about a speakeasy that enslaved prey furs as livestock. It had been almost two centuries since that was considered acceptable. The seventh and last world war ended all forms of slavery and finally established the one successful world government finally uniting the different species. Recorded history shows it to be the first world government that really worked. However, some historical records recently found point to the idea that the humans had a working world government, but when the apes started world war three and won, all human government was destroyed.

"... and they say that if it wasn't for the humans none of us would be here. They experimented on the apes, that made them smarter and aggressive. Then the ape, Dr. Zaius, experimented on the rest of the ferals to create slaves and that just created us furs."

Kalt nodded as he put his plate down. "I remember studying that in school. Though, I thought it was more of a myth that humans ever existed and the apes were the start of everything."

"Maybe. Just depends on what religion you are I guess."

Kalt nodded. "What religion are you, Val?"

"Not sure. My own I guess."

"That's cool."

"I guess." A buzzer sounded . "Your clothes are dry, pup." Val walked past Kalt to the laundry area, Kalt followed. He reached into the dryer to feel the clothes. "They are dry." He pulled them out onto the dryer. "If you want, you can change in here." He left Kalt alone and closed the door behind him as he left.

Kalt smiled as the door closed. He liked the fox. He was good at judging other furs usually. Val seemed to be friendly and trustworthy. He put on his underwear, tank top, pants, then socks. He picked up the robe to give it back to Val before he opened the door. He heard the second voice. Leaning his ear on the door, he listened.

"Hi babe." The new voice was male. "How was your day? Do anything special?"

"Just practicing my craft as always. And I made a new friend. He's in the laundry room."

"A new friend? Foxy, you know you are supposed to wait for me before you play with others."

"No, El. A friend. Not a playmate. I'm not even sure he's gay."

"Why is he in the laundry room?"

"It's a long story. I'll tell you later." Val's voice was getting closer to the door. "Kalt, are you ok?"

Opening the door, Kalt tried to look normal. "Everything is fine."

Val smiled. The polar bear stood in the middle of the room behind Val looking in their direction. "Kalt, this is my mate, El." Turning around he addressed the bear. "This is Kalt."

The big bear stepped up to shake Kalt's paw. "Nice to meet you." His grin was wide. "Val said you both just met today."

Kalt nodded. "We did. But I think I'm going to need to get going."

El's smile faded. "Oh. Ok." He turned and walked in to the kitchen.

Val's ears flattened slowly and his smile faded a little. "Why do you have to leave so soon?"

"I have to get back to what I was doing before and I need to get ahold of some friends."

"You can use our phone if you want."

Considering the offer for a moment, Kalt realized using their phone would implicate them if the call was traced by Gentry or any of the authorities that were sure to be looking for him. "Thanks, but that's ok. It's very nice of you."

"You can use it. It's no trouble."

Smiling wide the big dog looked into the fox's eyes. "You're really sweet. But you've done enough for me. Thank you very much." He rubbed the fox's cheek and lowered his voice. "I mean that. You're really sweet. But I don't think you need the trouble knowing me might bring."

"You're not going to be any trouble, pup. I can tell. You're a nice fur."

"Maybe, but trouble seems to follow me and once in a while it catches me." The big dog sighed. "That's how I got into the sewers to begin with."

"I figured. I'm not stupid." He looked at the desk a few feet away. The current newspaper was on top. "I read the paper. Besides, trouble follows me once in a while, too."

"Val!" El stood in the doorway to the kitchen.

"It's ok, El. He knows what I can do." He looked back at Kalt. "I know what Gentry is all about. That's why I'm down here and not in a normal apartment." He sighed and sat down in the chair at the desk. "He found out about me a few years ago and came after me. I heard the reports. It sounds like something he would do."

"Val! Don't get involved!" El walked over to him, putting his paws on the fox's shoulders. "We are doing good right now. We don't want to rock this."

"He's right, Val. You don't want to get involved." Kalt looked at El. "Listen to him."

Val sighed. He picked up a pen and wrote something down on a piece of paper before he handed it to Kalt. "Call me if you need anything, pup."

Slowly, Kalt took the paper and put it in his pocket. "Ok. I'll call if I need to. Thank you."

"I'll show you the safe way out of here." Val stood up and gave his mate a big hug and kiss. "Just a bit and I'll be back to you, El." He walked to the staircase.

"I'm sorry we didn't have any time to talk, El."

"Good luck." He turned and walked back to the kitchen. "Be careful, Val."

Kalt followed Val up the stairs. At the top there was a large metal door, sealed by rotating lever lock. Turning the wheel in the middle of the door, the lock clicked open around the door. He opened the door. It looked dark outside. "We are behind Aslan University. This is the park behind the main building. At most, you may run into some teens playing around."

"Thanks again, Val. You're awesome."

"Anytime, pup. Remember to call if you need anything." Val stepped up on his toes a little and gave Kalt a kiss on the cheek.

Kalt's muzzle opened as his paw covered the kiss. He leaned down to give Val a kiss on his lips. He pulled back and smiled. Val's entire body blushed and heat radiated from it. "And yes. I'm gay." He stepped out the door away from the heat. "I'll give you a call sometime. Maybe we can hang out or something, Foxy."

"I'd love that, pup."

Kalt smiled before running cautiously into the trees.

"Gentry's main location is the Omar building. Forty floors total. The top ten floors are used for his special projects. They are mostly genetic experimentations. The middle floors are other companies that he ultimately owns, most of which are high end insurance companies. The bottom floors are filled with restaurants and stores for the public." Ghosty handed some blueprints to the others. "The lower half of the building is normal but formidable. The upper levels have advanced security systems. More advanced than I've ever seen."

"But ya can disable it or somethin'. Right?" Dakota studied the blueprints closely.

"I should be able to." Ghosty looked at his computer. "I won't be able to do it from here. I need a local connection for that."

"What about the top three floors?" Davy's forehead furrowed. "I don't see any security at all."

"That's what worries me to." Dack nodded.

"I can't get much definite information on those floors. Just that they are above top secret. I can tell they have their own generators and their own mainframe. If I'm seeing it all right, it's set up mostly as refrigeration units."

"Any idea what for?" Dakota leaned in to the blueprints to read the fine printed notes on the side.

"Not that I can tell." Ghosty sighed, feeling both accomplished and deficient at the same time. "For all I know, it could be sides of feral beef."

"Ah doubt that."

Davy paced the room once. "So what's the plan?"

Standing up, Dack put a paw on Dakota's shoulder. "We could just ring up Tag and see where they are."

"Ah won't give away their location. Or ours." Dack pulled away to stand and look at them all. "If we follow thu plan, we need ta git ourselves ta the safe house."

Davy waved his paw. "Wait. Ghosty?"

"Ya?"

"Am I seeing this right? The security system is tied in to the traffic cameras around the area as ell.

"Yup. They watch around the building for two full blocks." Ghosty stared at the bunny.

Davy sighed, "I don't know what Tag and Misty will be able to accomplish. Gentry will probably have them arrested as they get to the building. Unless you guys know of some stealth technology Tag uses I'm not aware of." He looked straight at Ghosty. "Cub, can you find out if Tag or Misty has been arrested or anything yet?"

Ghosty nodded and sat down at his computer to search.

"We have no idea if Gentry is in the building, Davy." Dack tried to keep his cool at his frustration over everything. "They may be able to slip through if he isn't, but only if they don't recognize them."

Spinning around in the chair, Ghosty cleared his throat, "Uh, the cameras have an advanced image recognition software. If it sees them, they will be identified no matter if they guards know or not."

"Can you change that?" Davy smiled slightly.

"I can, but to do anything to the system at all, I have to be local. I can't do it remotely through the net." Ghosty pointed to his computers. "And I'll need a mobile computer at least as powerful as this."

"Thu computer is no problem. I have...", Dakota paused for dramatic effect, "... The Van." Ghosty smiled.

"Our problem getting there is going to be difficult if they recognize the van." Davy looked Dakota in the eyes.

"We need ta figure somethin' out now. Thu businesses there are 'bout ta close. It'll be thu perfect time."

Davy closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. "Ok, but how do we ensure they won't recognize the van?"

Ghosty smiled wider. "Leave that to me."

"You know I love you, Foxy." El looked away. "I don't want you doing this."

"I have to. You know that."

"No. You got out of there already. Why risk going back?" El's voice sounded angry, but Valdreg knew it was more fear and concern than anger.

"He's hurting other furs. Like he hurt me." Val wiped a tear from his eye. "I can't let that bitch of a cat do that anymore. Not to anyone else. I have to help somehow."

"You know I can't help you."

"I know. I wouldn't want you to try anyway." He leaned on the polar bear's back, wrapping his arms around as much as he could. "My big ole bear."

"Foxy...", his paws touch on Val's.

"It's ok, El." He managed to smile. "And think. If Gentry is brought down, we can have a life anywhere we want."

"I just don't want you hurt, Foxy."

"I can take care of myself. You know that."

El turned his back on Val and sat down at the computer desk to play a game. "Ok. Just let me know when you are back."

Val leaned down, giving El a kiss on his headfur. "I'll be back soon." He walked over to the other desk to pick up a small backpack. He flung it over one shoulder before he started up the staircase again.

"Hey, Foxy."

Val stopped. "Ya?"

"Bring me back a coffee from Bucks when you come back."

The fox sighed slightly and smiled. "Sure, babe. I will." He climbed up the stairs without looking back.

El turned to look as his fox disappeared up the stairs. His expression changed from non-concern to worry.

'Why am I drawn to this place? Why do I hate it so much', he thought to himself as the evening wind ruffled his fur, the white parts feeling electric and alive with the blue parts feeling cold. 'I've never been here before, yet, it feels like I have.' He looked up at the building from the rooftop across the street. Staring over the edge, he looked down to the street. 'It's familiar. I must have been here before. But when? Why?'

"Hey, whitey. You're not allowed to be up here." The voice hissed slightly. The reptile that spoke walked towards him. "This roof is off limits to unauthorized personnel. I'll need to see your pass."

Looking back he flipped a paw at the reptile, "Here's my pass." A large bolt of electricity erupted from his paw hitting the reptile and coating him in a solid block of ice. "Now be quiet so I can think." He studied the building. 'There's a door somewhere. I know there is. It's hidden, but I've been through it when I was here before.' He closed his eyes, trying to pull out his elusive memory of the building. 'Why are you hiding from me? It's like you don't want me to remember. Like you...' His eyes opened, his teeth ground together, "...like you... have been erased", the anger dripped from his voice like venom from the reptile's fangs. "No wonder I'm so angry." His tail wagged behind him as he thought about getting revenge. "I know what you did to me, Gentry. And I'm coming for you now. You're going to pay for what you have done to me."

The limo pulled up to the front of the building.

He watched it with growing interest. Moments later, he saw the ocelot get out of the back and go inside. A wide smile crept across his face, his fangs shining in the last bit of sunlight. 'Yes. Looks like fate is on my side after all. Tonight I take my revenge.' He turned to face the frozen reptile. "You see. He has taken everything from me. And now, I have no idea what is going on. I'm LOST AND I'M ALL ALONE BECAUSE OF HIM!" His fist drew back, glowing bright blue. It swung forward, hitting the frozen reptile in the gut, shattering him to large pieces. The satisfactory sigh came naturally and surprised him. "That felt better than I thought it would. I don't think I've ever done that before." He picked up the frozen head off the floor of the roof and talked to it. "But that is what I want to do to that fucker. To make him pay for everything he has done to me and my family. It's time I let all my pain out."

He looked at the fur on his arms and his paws. The glow was growing as his anger grew. The temperature dropped all around him. Ice formed on the rooftop, but he was instinctively able to keep his balance on it. His smile widened more, drool dripping out from the front edge of his muzzle. It froze just inches from his muzzle.

Opening the roof door, he made his way down the staircase of the building, every step and wall freezing behind him as he went. He couldn't remember when his power was this strong before, but he was happy it was. "Prepare yourself for death, Gentry. This kitty is coming to rip out your tongue."