FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Key terminology:

Anthro: Short for Anthropomorphic, meaning something that is not human, but that has human characteristics. In this case, an anthro is an animal that walks on two legs, speaks, and acts like a human, while still maintaining their more typical animal characteristics such as fur, claws, a muzzle instead of a mouth, and exceptional hearing and sense of smell.

Bingo Fuel: An aeronautical term meaning that the aircraft's fuel level has reached the minimum amount of fuel required for a comfortable and safe return to base. Aircraft can fly and fight past bingo fuel in combat situations, but at considerable peril.

***

Alan stepped out of his apartment into the crisp, early spring morning, taking a deep breath. As he exhaled, plumes of mist escaped from his wolfish mouth and nostrils. Shaking his head at the unseasonable cold, he turned around and locked his door. The wolf/fox hybrid was dressed in a long sleeved, green T-shirt, and khaki cargo pants, with a hole cut in back to allow his tail to swing freely behind him.

As he finished locking his door, he checked the handle, briefly. It was unlikely that anyone would try to boost anything around here. It was a nice neighborhood, with good people who all knew each other. The second a stranger started hanging around, word would go out, and whoever it was would be watched. He trusted his neighbors, but still, it was better to be safe.

Pocketing his key ring, Alan turned and walked toward the stairs leading to the street. As he did, he passed the apartment where Alexis stayed, and he slowed, listening as he passed. He could hear bacon and eggs frying. The delicious, powerful aroma was somehow able to make it through the closed door, only to waft through the chilled air and make Alan's mouth water. He stopped for a moment, breathing deeply. He didn't usually make breakfast at his home, preferring to wait until he got to work and took the morning batch of pastries out of the oven. Occasionally, one or two of the pastries were just a little overcooked, due to the age of the oven, and he would devour whatever was not fit for display hungrily.

Taking one last whiff, he was about to move on, when a familiar, commanding voice drifted through the door.

"Alan, I can feel you standing out there, and I can practically hear your stomach growling. Get in here and have something to eat!"

Alan grinned wolfishly. Alexis was something of a stern motherly figure in his life, and, like any mother, she had a sixth sense when it came to hungry boys.

"The door's open, Alan, so hurry up." She called impatiently, as though to make sure he didn't wander away.

Taking a breath, he opened the door, and got a full blast in the face of the delicious, heady aromas that lay thick in the air. Bacon, eggs over-easy, and toast with blackberry jam were prepared, and Alexis had already laid out a spot for him.

"You knew I was coming, didn't you!" Alan exclaimed.

"Alan, if I didn't force you to eat in the mornings, you wouldn't eat at all." Alexis told him bluntly.

The grey wolfess walked over from where she stood by the stove, and began to place steaming pieces of bacon and eggs on his plate. Sitting down at the table, Alan smiled inwardly. 'She probably got up at 4:30 to make all this...' He thought with disbelief. He wasn't sure why he was surprised. Alexis had changed a lot since the bad old days, but military habits die hard. Rising early was probably second nature to Alexis by now; though she was definitely on the road to becoming much more of a mother to him, and less of a compatriot in arms.

"You know, Alexis, I usually eat a pastry or two when I get to the Café. You didn't have to do all this." He tried one last time.

"Alan!" she said in a stern tone, "You need to take better care of yourself! A pastry in the morning is fine, but you've got to be conscious of your diet! If you aren't careful-" She said, reaching up with a pointed toe to poke his stomach, hard, under the table "-You may just develop a little bit of extra weight. And what would Amy think about that? Not to mention you'll go soft."

Alan scowled as he blushed bright pink under his coat of white.

"That won't happen. Not on my life. I go to the gym every day! Lexi, just look at this!" He said, standing and rolling back his sleeve to flex his biceps. Alexis looked only mildly impressed, but she nodded anyway. "Do these look like the muscles of someone who's going soft?" He asked with pride.

"Tell me, O' humble one," Alexis said in tones that suggested whole volumes of sarcasm, "Just what are you trying to prove to yourself by going to that filthy, smelly gym to sweat and grunt till you stink anyways? You think it takes the place of combat training?"

Alan sat back down and picked up his fork, scooping up a piece of egg and swallowing it whole before responding.

"No, it's not that, Alexis... I have to stay strong. You of all people know why I have to.... Because if anything were to ever happen, and I needed to protect you or Amy, or anyone else for that matter, I would need to be strong. I would have to be able to do whatever I had to in order to keep you safe. I would never forgive myself if I were not able to do that."

Alexis looked into his eyes for a long moment, before nodding solemnly, and they finished eating in silence. Having finished his meal, Alan picked up the glass of orange juice and drained it, before standing up.

"Thank you Alexis, this was worth the trouble I'm probably going to get in for being late." Alexis nodded, and waved him towards the door, picking up her plate.

"Take care of yourself today Alan." She said in a tone that was only mildly sarcastic.

Startled, Alan paused for a moment, surprised. She sounded as though she meant it, but she was trying to sound nonchalant about it. Finally, Alan grinned, and nodded as he left the little apartment.

"See you this afternoon, Alexis!" he called on his way down the stairs. Alexis poked her head out just long enough to say "See you then!" before closing the door. Alan chuckled quietly to himself. 'Alexis,' He thought, 'you have changed much more than you would care to admit...'

As he passed the entrance to the parking lot, he failed to notice the white repair van parked across the street, as well as the man in dark clothes watching him from the driver's seat. After all... This was a nice neighborhood, and nothing ever happened that didn't have plenty of warning... He even failed to notice that, as he passed, the man in the van took a photo of him with his phone. The man checked it briefly, ensuring it was clear enough to identify, before sending it to a restricted number. The caption read simply:

"Target sighted."

***

30 Minutes Later...

"One hundred and ninety-five.... One hundred and ninety-six.... One hundred and ninety-seven...." Alexis counted steadily, having hardly broken a sweat.

She hung upside down from a rack bolted to her ceiling in the living room, doing sit-ups. A routine part of her daily workout regimen, she was only warming up. This was nothing. A knock came at the door. Alexis froze, mid-crunch.

"Alan? Is that you?" She called out, frowning. Alan had left for work about half an hour ago, but he may have returned. Did he forget something?

"Amy?" she tried, but there was no reply.

The knock came a second time. Then, suddenly, the handle started to turn. Alexis' eyes widened, and she flung herself out of the rack and came down hard on her feet, a shoulder to the door. Reaching down into the fake potted plant beside the door, she pulled out a gun, checking the magazine before she racked the slide. The sound of the slide was loud enough to be heard on the other side of the door, and Alexis cursed under her breath.

'This is gonna have to be fast. No time for mistakes' she thought to herself. She gripped the handle tightly, preparing to fling open the door and start shooting. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, counting slowly. 'One... two... th-'

Her thoughts were interrupted when a strong voice said a single phrase.

"Apocalypse... Code: GREEN."

Alexis' eyes flickered open, and she gasped, her body going rigid. She felt as though a ton of bricks had just hit her in the chest. Apocalypse... the code word for the worst thing that could happen to the resistance... All her old comrades... Code: GREEN... Affirmation of that code... The resistance had been crushed. But... how?!

Taking a step back, Alexis flung open the door, weapon leveled. A small group of assorted anthros stood outside, looking grave. The one in front was a fox, with blacked out fur. Perma-dye... Alexis realized. Anthropomorphic members of the Special Forces for the Resistance always had fur dyed completely black, with the exception of the squad leaders, who were required to have colors added to their coats to enable the team to identify them on the battlefield.

"Who are you?" Alexis said, her voice ragged with shock.

The fox simply looked at her, gravely.

"May we come in?" He asked, quietly.

Lowering the gun, slowly, Alexis nodded and stepped aside. The small group filed into the apartment, and Alexis shut the door, checking the hallway briefly to make sure there were no unwanted visitors.

Once they were all inside, Alexis was able to see that it was not just the fox who was Special Forces... They all were. With the exception of one. In the center of the group, there stood a tiger, his orange fur with black and white stripes looking horribly out of place surrounded by the grey walls of the apartment. She took the entire group in at a single glance. A black ops team, and a pilot. The way the tiger stood, casually relaxed, with his bare feet seeming to feel at home on the carpeted floor; that was the only thing he could be.

Every Black Ops team had a pilot with clearance for access to mission details assigned to them. It ensured that missions labeled TOP SECRET had no middle man. That no-one who was not a regular part of the team was exposed to classified information. It made the teams efficient, but it also meant that Black Ops teams were sort of like wild cards. Unpredictable, and with almost unlimited ways to do what had to be done.

Alexis took a deep breath, trying to calm her elevated heart-rate.

"What ha-" She stopped for a moment, shocked at how rough her voice sounded. 'Why am I this shook up? I should be cold, emotionless...' She thought. Perhaps the easy life was getting to her after all. "What happened? Tell me everything."

She addressed the entire group, but the tiger shuffled his feet uncomfortably, looking as though he wished to speak. The fox turned and nodded, giving permission. Alexis made a mental note. The fox was in command here.

"We were en route, returning from a successful mission." The tiger began, "No-one but the director himself knew we were gone... I was at the controls, preparing to hail the tower to get clearance for landing... We were at high altitude, in order to make it less likely for us to be spotted from the ground. There was absolutely no way for anybody to know we were up there... Below us, we suddenly heard loud detonations, and enormous sound-waves began to bombard the jet. I dipped the wings so I could see what was happening on the ground...

"Five great stealth bombers were blanketing the entire citadel in fire. The tower put out a call to scramble all aircraft to begin evacuation, but then, suddenly, the radio went dead. They bombed the airfield, ma'am. Took it out in an instant. We managed to stay hidden, and we stayed up in the air until morning trying to get a response from someone on the ground, but nothing came. Finally, we were bingo fuel, and I had to call it. We needed to leave if we were to make it to any of the outlying refueling stations before coming up empty." The tiger finished, and stood to attention, staring at the wall behind her.

"So... that's it then. The entire resistance, destroyed in a single evening?" Alexis asked, shaking her head to clear the fog that stopped her from believing it.

The fox responded with authority, "We still believe that there are other teams who were out on missions, but we have no way of contacting them, and no idea where they are. If they followed protocol, they have probably gone underground to await instruction." Alexis paused upon hearing this, and then rounded on the fox, a ferocity in her eyes,

"And why aren't you following protocol soldier?" She demanded in her best authoritative voice.

The fox didn't even flinch, staring into her eyes without blinking.

"We aren't under the same umbrella of pre-issued orders and protocol that comes into effect when the worst happens. We were the Resistance's ultimate secret. Our entire team is equipped with abilities that are highly classified, and only three people outside the office of the director knew who we were.

"Our very existence was kept secret, and so, if anything were to happen, nobody would know to contact us if we went underground. Instead, in the instance that 'Apocalypse' becomes reality, we were to regroup, make a plan of action, and act. This is part one of our plan. We were to locate and contact the two most legendary members of the old resistance, back when it was still mainly a fighting unit, and ask them for help. Our commander should have finished convincing Alan by now. He should be joining us shortly."

Alexis huffed, "I hope he's ready for the fight of his life. Alan won't want anything to do with this..." The fox frowned, looking concerned.

"For all our sakes, let us pray that everything goes smoothly."

***

Twenty minutes earlier...

Jade walked alongside her commanding officer, feeling irritated.

"What do you mean you're going to talk to him alone?!" She said in a tone that suggested far more fury than she actually felt. Zel didn't slow down, keeping up his brisk pace, trying to stay warm. "

"I mean I'm going to walk in, sit down, order a cup of hot cocoa, and talk to him alone." He said, "I need you to keep watch on the outside. I'm still not ruling out the possibility that someone informed on the Resistance. If that someone knew about us, we would be targeted next. And since I have a tracker in my arm, it would be fairly easy to simply wait for a time to ambush us. As the fastest, and most skilled free-runner in our team, I would need you to be able to get to the rest of the team and warn them if something unexpected were to happen."

Jade scowled, the expression marring her natural feline beauty. She was the only member of the team who didn't need any dye to make the pattern of her fur look the way it did. Black, with a dark grey star on her forehead, she had the ability to charm just about anyone with a smile. Her glowing purple eyes, however, had a ferocity to them that was emphasized by her sharp, pointed teeth and thin, white whiskers. Her natural grace, which nearly all felines possessed, was made bold by her compact, lean build and confident stride.

Zel smiled at her, trying to put her fears to rest. She was very much the little sister of the entire team. Despite the fact that she hid it with a fierce, fiery nature, she actually had a very endearing, sweet disposition once you got to know her. Zel would likely be the most devastated if she were to be lost. She was, quite literally, his only family from the old days. They had grown up together on the same street, trying to find enough food to make it through each day among the refuse that the restaurants would throw out. He kept the main reason he wanted her out of potential harm's way to himself, however. It wouldn't help if she knew the real reason, and as a commanding officer, he was expected to remain aloof from personal attachments anyway.

Jade turned her face away from Zel's, ignoring his smile, and refusing to give one in return. She hated being the one who got stuck with the duty of keeping watch.

"Zel, you promised me that I would get to have some real action when we started tracking down whoever did this." She turned and put the full force of her violet-blue eyes on him. "You promised." She said softly, looking up at him.

Zel stopped smiling, his expression hurt, and stared back at her quietly. It wouldn't matter how hard she stared. No one but Zel could last in a staring contest with her for very long; most people would fold and give in quite readily when she turned her face towards them and smiled... but not Zel. His penetrating green eyes seemed to be impervious to her charms, the result of being subject to them for years while they struggled to stay alive on the streets.

Finally relenting, Jade sighed. "I'll keep watch, Zel, you don't need to look so wounded... but while I'm out playing 'looky-loo' with passersby, you had better be in there ordering me a nice, steaming cup of Italian amaretto with a sugar and two doses of cream."

Zel smiled, and wrapped an arm around her. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather have two sugars my dear?" he asked, squeezing her slightly. She purred softly, hiding a smile of her own behind a hand.

"Just the one. I know we have money now, but that's still no excuse to go crazy with it." She said, placing a hand on his, before taking his arm off of her shoulder. "And besides that, as my commanding officer, you probably shouldn't be treating me in a way that would suggest a bond now should you?" She said with a smirk.

Zel laughed, and nodded. "You're right, it's just that, this street looks a lot like the street we used to play on. And I've always dreamed of going back there to show the world what became of the two of us..." Pausing for a moment to look around, Jade nodded, slightly.

"It does sort of look similar... Right over there!" She pointed, "That would be where old man Tony would sell hot dogs, and he would let us have any of the ones that had gone cold at the end of the lunch rush!"

Zel frowned, remembering. "He may have let you have them... you had that magic smile that everyone fell in love with. Me, I usually got yelled at."

Jade laughed, and threw her arms wide, in mock imitation of the old man. "I told you, you stupid wolf! No free samples!" She started laughing, her happiness echoing through the crisp morning air like the peal of silver bells.

The laughter didn't last long though, as reality settled in again. They both looked at each other, the seriousness of the moment weighing heavily upon them.

"Someday, Zel. We'll show them. Just wait and see." Jade said. Zel nodded and sighed. "We're here." He said, stopping.

Across the street was a café, the open sign flickering dimly in the early morning light. "Stay here, I shouldn't be long. Once he knows what's going on, I'm sure he will want to help in any way he can."

Jade watched him open the door, and step inside, a cold feeling settling in her chest. For a moment, it was almost enough to make her run in after him, and force him to let her stay no matter what it took. She shook her head, trying to think clearly. She had been given an order, and she needed to follow it. Taking one last look up and down the street, she stepped back into the shadows of a nearby alleyway. After all, it was just a café, and the pit of fear in her chest was just a feeling. Nothing more.

Not more than ten minutes later, she would look back on that decision, and hate herself for ignoring her instincts.

***

As Alan drew closer to the Café, he remembered that it was his day to open the Café solo. "Aww crap! I hope nobody has come by!" He said to himself, as he picked up the pace. He got to the door, and took out his key ring. Locating the key to the door, he opened it, and hit the switch to turn on the 'OPEN' sign in the window.

Stepping around the counter and into the back, he was unsurprised to find Henry, -the Café Grocer and a good friend of Alan's- already there, unloading boxes onto the back step.

"Running a little late today are we, Alan?" Henry said with a sly grin.

Alan simply huffed in response, picking up a large sack filled with flour and heaving it onto the step to be carried inside.

"Don't worry your pretty little head, lad. I wouldn't tell anyone... Assuming you could manage to get me one of those little pastries... the ones with the chocolate filling? Eh?"

Alan grinned, "Henry, you're one sly fox. But I suppose, you got me there. If anybody found out I was late, I would probably get an hour nicked off of my paycheck. I'll see what I can do. Chocolate you say?" Henry nodded, a humorous expression on his face.

"Lad, you folded so quickly, I should think that a stout breeze would knock you over. Still, I can't complain much, now can I? Seeing as soon I'll be enjoying a nice, flaky pastry fresh from the oven." Henry chuckled to himself.

Just then, Alan's sensitive ears picked up a jingling noise from inside the shop.

"I'll be right back to help you with the rest of this, Henry. It sounds like I've got a customer to care for." Alan said.

Mounting the step, and making sure to step over the small boxes of eggs and bags of sugar as he did so, he stepped into the Café. Alan pulled his apron over his head and stepped to the counter.

"Good morning sir, how can I help you today?" He said as a startlingly black wolf with neon green markings shuffled towards a table. Once he was seated, the wolf looked back at Alan with a grin on his face and placed his order.

"One hazelnut hot chocolate and one chocolate pastry please." The wolf said, rubbing his hands together and stomping his feet.

As an anthro, it was socially acceptable to go out without clothes, since the thick fur that most Anthros possessed served as a layer that covered anything that would be considered indecent. Due to his job, Alan was not allowed that option, since humans also frequented the Café and appearing biased was not good for business. Add to that the drop in temperature that had occurred the past few days, and most Anthros would not dare walk out without some extra layering on.

And yet, this wolf certainly had the flashy fur patterns to have a reason to do just that. On his back was a stylized treble clef that ran from the nape of his neck to the base of his tail, and on his right thigh was some kind of Japanese Kanji. Both in a bright, neon green that was almost too much, yet, when added to the black fur surrounding it, was merely a tasteful accent. Not only that, but the tip of his tail, his elbows and knees, as well as coming away from his back along his sides in two curved lines were more accents of the same bright color. If anything could be considered a statement, this dye job was definitely one of them. Tasteful, yet bold. This wolf seemed to be in no short supply of money.

Shaking himself out of his reverie, Alan returned to the matter at hand, caring for the customer.

"Coming right up. You will have to excuse the wait for the Pastry though, since they still have to be made this morning. Your hot chocolate will be done in just a minute."

He reached over and turned on the steamer that would heat the milk, and returned to his observation of the wolf. It was also rather odd, Alan thought; most people who came in this early in the morning wanted coffee, and the stronger the better; but as Alan made the cocoa, the stranger watched him with piercing, almost glowing green eyes that carefully followed his every movement.

The honest truth was that Alan felt uncomfortable under his gaze... as though he was being scrutinized, in order to look into the intentions of every movement he made. The wolf seemed completely awake and alert, and there was something about his manner that made Alan uneasy. He somehow kept his eyes on both Alan's hands, and on his eyes simultaneously... he seemed... trained...

But that was ridiculous. Half chuckling to himself, Alan shook his head at the foolish notion. His old reflexes were still there, but they didn't always belong in this new world filled with peace. The world he had helped to forge from the fires of war and hell.

Finishing the final touches, Alan took two shakers, nutmeg and cinnamon, from behind the counter, and brought them to the wolf, setting the hot cocoa before him as well.

"Thank you very much." The wolf said, picking up the cinnamon in one hand, and a spoon in the other, before proceeding to garnish his drink.

He kept his eyes on Alan, but he seemed to be devoting his other senses to the rest of his surroundings. After finishing, and setting the cup down to cool, the stranger took a credit card from where it had been pressed against his wrist by his watch-band and handed it to Alan.

"That should cover the drink, as well as the pastry. Go ahead and take a five dollar tip as well." Startled out of his reverie, Alan grinned, and walked over to the register, preparing to ring up the charges.

Suddenly, interrupting the quiet conversation between the two, there came a half strangled shout from outside. Alan froze, and started to turn, just in time to catch a tranquilizer dart in the side of his neck. Caught by complete surprise, he staggered and fell. A man in a black strategic uniform stepped forward and caught him, seeming to materialize out of thin air.

"Target neutralized." The man said into a microphone at his wrist.

As he did this, an arrogant looking cat anthro with thick, white fur strolled into the room from the back entrance, and scanned the scene. Noticing the wolf, the cat smirked, and walked up to loom over him, as more men in black filed in through the back of the building.

Leaning down next to the Wolf's ear, the cat leered at the cup of hot chocolate that was being tightly gripped in the wolf's hand.

"I suggest that you just pretend you didn't see anything here today. It was merely bad luck that you were here at all, and I would hate to add a body to my list of things to dispose of today. It will be much simpler for the both of us. So, in the meantime, enjoy your beverage, and just sit and be a good boy." The cat straightened, and turned to walk away, twitching a hand, as he did, at the man who was supporting Alan's limp body. "Bring him. The van is out back."

Just then, a deep-throated growl began to rise from the wolf's throat, causing the cat to stop in his tracks, and the other men to shift on their feet uneasily. Fur bristling, the cat turned around slowly.

"Is there something you wish to say, pup?" He asked in a venomous tone, "If there is, spit it out. The aroma of the cheap coffee this place serves is making me sick."

The wolf slowly rose, cup in hand, and turned around to face the group.

"Put him down. Now." He said angrily. The cat scoffed, an expression of angered disbelief on his face.

"I think you are rather dense if you cannot see where things stand here. You do not order me mongrel!"

With that, the cat lashed out with a clawed hand, aiming for the wolf's face. Nimbly side-stepping the blow, the wolf hurled the steaming contents of his cup into the cat's eyes. The cat recoiled as the hot liquid made contact with his face, a sharp hiss of surprise and pain escaping his lips. Quickly grabbing the cat's wrist and slamming the palm of his other hand into the cat's extended elbow, the wolf coldly broke the cat's arm with a snap, causing the cat to scream in pain.

Moving with a lithe grace that seemed natural, the wolf calmly stepped aside as the cat reflexively tried to slash his leg open with a clawed foot. He moved behind the cat, and kicked the back of the cat's leg, bringing the cat to his knees. The cat lashed out with his other arm, flailing wildly, desperate to land a blow. Stepping sideways again, the wolf finally came around to the cat's other side; coldly finishing the combo with a hard palm slammed into the side of the cats head. Immediately, the cat's unfocused eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he crumpled to the floor. Silence filled the room.

The entire exchange had lasted less than a second, and the men in black looked at each other in shocked disbelief for a moment. The wolf, however, wasted no time springing into action. Grabbing the nearest man's arm and turning him, he used the man as a shield to catch the flurry of tranquilizers that came at him.

Yanking a pistol from the man's belt, he proceeded to shoot his attackers one by one, starting with the man holding Alan. The pistol was loaded with darts as well, and before long, he had downed eight of the men before the magazine came up empty. Hurling the now thoroughly unconscious man he had used as a shield at the last of his assailants, he stooped down and picked up Alan, before making a break for the door.

He almost made it too...

Two darts, fired in quick succession, found their mark in the wolf's neck, and he sank to one knee. An expression of anger came over his face, and he willed himself to turn around and see who had shot him. There, behind him, stood the cat, a pistol in one hand, the other clutched to his side at an awkward angle.

"You..." the cat growled in his throat, eyes ablaze, as more men in black rushed into the room from behind, "You will suffer more than you can imagine for what you did here today, mutt. I promise you that. You will know the meaning of pain before you die!"

The wolf could barely hear him, however... He was looking out the glass window; at the black cat who was watching from an alleyway, a question in her eyes. With his last vestiges of strength, the wolf shook his head. And that was all he managed to do before darkness enclosed his world.