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Chapter Nine

"Allies and Enemies"

By

Furry Sith Lord

I was leaving class after it ended and I strolled on the campus towards the lunch area. I was holding my shoes stuffed with my socks in them and ignoring the looks the other students gave me. Most of the students kept their shoes and socks on the whole time they were on campus.

I was used to how students in my day and age behaved regarding footwear and it seemed so strange that our parents were different than we are. I had little time to dwell on the other student reactions as I suddenly felt as if someone was following me.

I turned quickly and saw Justin slithering behind me trying to not keep pace. I guessed he was trying to dissociate himself from me because of the way he gets picked on and he must have thought I would get picked on too. Then again my white fur may cause him trouble later on if they thought we were friends.

"Time to build up his rep," I said as I quickly spun around and faced him with a scowl on my face. He looked at me shocked as he saw my reaction. I rushed forward and pushed him against a trash can next to us.

"What do you think you are doing? Snake boy." I shouted so that it would draw everyone's attention. "Justin, yell at me to leave you alone and call me a big bully." I whispered and I saw his eyes register understanding.

"Leave me alone, you big bully!!!" Justin screamed and I saw the others around us watching with smiles on their faces. Something about a bully picking on a little guy always seems to make the crowd enjoy the show.

"Stick your tongue at me again and I'll bite it off." I shouted as I heard a few chuckles. "Justin, push me off you and threaten to bite me or something." I whispered. Justin twisted his snake body and used his tail to push me off of him. He wasn't very strong so I had to fake knocking him backwards and I tripped and fell on my butt. I looked at Justin and gave a slight nod to encourage him. He seemed to take the hint and shouted out so that the crowd could hear him.

"Touch me again and I'll give you a thrashing, you rare white fur monstracity." He said but I could see the look in his eyes and he was worried that he had crossed the line. I scampered away as the crowd chuckled then continued on their way as if nothing had happened.

Justin came nervously slithering over to the building I hid behind and he was breathing heavily.

"What was all that about?" He asked as he took deep breaths.

"Just making sure some of the other species give you some respect." I replied.

"You're... you're not mad about what I said are you?" he asked shyly.

"You were awesome and I couldn't have done it any better." I said as I gave his nose a boop. He blushed slightly but it was nice to see him content. "So why were you following me?"

"I've been thinking non stop about the stuff we've been discussing. I've been looking into what other scientists say and I've found some interesting things." He hissed excitedly.

"Like?" I asked.

"It has been theorized, but it cannot be tested at this time, that a nuclear fusion reaction can cause an object to be vaporized and then turned back to its original form."

"Wait, back to its original form! How?" I asked.

"Well... I'd have to go into the long boring scientific explanation and it has never been tried because of the dangers of nuclear fusion. The thing that really interested me was the fact that as I mentioned, nuclear fusion occurs on the sun all the time, and a bolt of lightning has the same power as the sun." He said.

"So you're thinking that a bolt of lightning could break apart and object and somehow restore it back?" I asked as he nodded.

"I can do more research but I thought that might help you with your book." Justin said.

"Justin I could kiss you," I said as I kissed the top of his head and released him. He seemed startled as he stuck his tongue out briefly then centered himself.

"Feel better," he replied dryly as he used his tail to adjust his clothing I had bunched up on him.

"You've helped me in so many ways. The research you have come up with brings me a step closer to solving the mystery." I exclaimed.

"What mystery?" He asked and my hand

"If I tell you the truth, do you promise to never tell another living species?" I asked. I wanted to keep my secret hidden but because of all the help he's given me I felt it would be better for him to know the truth.

"Tell me the truth? As in you haven't been honest with me?" He asked skeptically. The look on his face was showing that I had lost his trust and my ears lowered.

"The truth is difficult to believe. I need you to bear with me because what I'm telling you is the truth, it's not a tale or a story I've made up. OK?" I asked and he just scrutinized me with his tongue occasionally poking out as he tasted the air.

"OK." he said after an uncomfortable silence.

"Recently, my father died and my dad received a letter in the mail from my dead grandfather. It told him that our family has been taking care of a machine that can produce a limitless source of energy. The trouble is that it is too dangerous to turn it off and the creator of it had died before it was completed.

It's an amazing device it draws in a small amount of energy then these energy amplifiers make the charge stronger. The machine can siphon off the power it needs so that it's self-sustaining. I have no idea what happens to the unused portions that it generates. There was a note carved into the machine that said 'String Theory, it will make sense later." I explained.

"OK, I'm with you so far." Justin said and his expression softened a bit.

"In the letter, my grandfather said that I was very smart and that he wanted my dad to have me look at the machine. He thought maybe I could find a way to turn it off. Not really knowing anything about it my dad takes me with him to see it.

While I was checking out the machine a bolt of lightning from the machine struck me and I woke up in front of my house on my grandfather's lawn. Apparently, the bolt had somehow sent me back in time to when my parents were just a little bit older than me. My grandfather is still alive... and I have no idea how to return to my own time."

"So you're a time traveler? Are you making fun of me? I open my heart and tell you I like the Quantinium Leaps TV show and so you make this up to tease me?" Justin said as his voice cracked a bit. I could see he was getting really upset as he thought I was teasing him.

"No I'm not making fun of you! Remember I needed your help because I want to find a way back to my own home. My grandfather said in his note that a fur named Eastwood was the creator of the machine."

"So you made the machine?" Justin asked as he seemed to be trying to puzzle the whole thing out.

"Yes. When I first arrived I mad trouble remembering everything and accidentally said my name is Eastwood. It's not, my real name is Tyger Panthera-T and right now you and my grandfather are the only ones that know what really happened to me." I said and he used his tail to adjust his glasses.

"And you built this machine?" he asked.

"Not yet, but it seems I'm gonna."

"But you're gonna die before it's complete?" Justin asked as his eyes softened.

"I've talked about that with my grandfather and we're not sure if I actually die. There is a chance that I get sent home and everyone is just told that I die. Right now it's hard to know for certain."

"But aren't you worried you might change the time stream?" Justin asked as his expression changed to one of worry.

"IF time can be changed. The question of whether time is fluid or fixed is still unknown." I replied.

"Can you show me how this machine works? That is... if you still want my help." He said shyly as he lowered his gaze.

"Absolutely, I..." I immediately stopped as Leggo came running past us. We both turned to look at him as he was holding a pair of white briefs in his paws and he was waving them like they were a flag.

"Leggo! Give me those back or so help me!!!!" Jon said as he ran after Leggo in only his fur with a small towel he used to cover his penis as he chased his friend. I watched them dumbfounded that my dad would do something like that. Then it occured to me why my father always accuses him of acting like a puppy.

"That was random," Justin said as he adjusted his glasses again. "At least it wasn't me."

"I expect this plan to be better than the last one." Roni said as he used one of his claws to pick his teeth. "Otherwise I'll be eating venison stew tonight." He said as he glared at Lou. Lou was unphased by the remark as he watched Eastwood talking to a garter snake student. They were pressed up next to a building talking to each other.

Leggo ran past them as the yellow labrador friend of his chased after Leggo to get his underwear back. It just reminded him how much he hated that wolf. Leggo was always up to no good and fooling around when there were more important things to take care of.

Lou saw Eastwood put his arm around the snake's shoulders and they were walking off together. He felt a pang of jealousy, though he would never call it that. He refused to sink to anyone of that level. He hated how friendly they seemed with each other. He watched as Tyger staged the fight with that snake to make the snake more popular for beating up a rare white fur. It was so obvious but had Lou staged it it would have been better planned and looked more realistic.

"Please, you need me and you know it. So far all your little plans have fallen apart as soon as they start. My plans have so far been running like clockwork. I already tried to enlighten you that these early plans are mere test schemes to probe at his strengths and weaknesses. The data I'm collecting is invaluable.

What you should be interested in knowing is that I've already found his weakness! With that knowledge I can bring him to his knees. The ironic thing is that he was the one that taught me how to beat him when he tried schooling me in chess." Lou replied snuggly.

"Who cares about chess? How will that beat him?" Roni asked and Lou shook his head.

"Did you bring the catnip?" Lou barked and Roni sneered as he removed a small bag from his pocket. He appeared to have difficultly turning it over to Lou and this made Lou smirk because he had just learned another weakness of this big dumb cat.

"That's from my personal stash so it better not go to waste." Roni said but Lou ignored him as he collected a few clover plants on the lawn. He collected three clovers and took two of them and added the catnip to it. He wanted to gag as he smelled the foul plant and always wondered why felines liked it so much. The smell alone made him want to vomit.

He left Roni and made his way to the cafeteria, where he saw Eastwood and that snake walking towards. He rehearsed the lines in his head of what he was going to say in order to get Eastwood to eat these. He wanted to see the reaction and wondered if this would add to his growing list of what to do to get rid of Eastwood.

When he neared the cafeteria he saw Leggo was on the ground lying on his back laughing as the golden retriever was in only his fur on top of him. The dog war trying to grab a pair of white briefs out of Leggo's paw. He kept his paw out of reach so the dog had no chance of grabbing them.

"Come'on just give them back already," the dog whined.

"If you want them then just take them already." Leggo laughed as his friend tried but to no avail. Leggo suddenly stopped and looked embarrassed as he saw Lou glaring at him. This gave Jon the chance and he was able to grab his underwear from the wolf and he quickly put them on.

"Jerk," he muttered to Leggo as he walked away angry. Leggo had his ears lowered as he saw Lou.

"Is that how you treat your only friend? Acting like a... puppy for everyone to see? Bullying the only fur that actually likes you."

"It's not like that," Leggo replied.

"Oh? Then what is it like?" Lou asked skeptically.

"We're just playing. I'm gonna go for a shower and he's gonna steal my boxers and it's my turn to chase him." Leggo said and he smiled with a wolfish grin.

"Boxers?!" Lou said, startled. He was surprised that the wolf wore those because he didn't fit the criteria for wearing those other than his large size.

"I don't like briefs, they're too tight on my junk. At least boxers are comfortable; it's almost like going commando. I'd go commando if I could but my grandpa always threatens to put me on a leash and take me for a walk, like a doggie, if I do that."

"Well if you plan to prance around in only your fur then I'll leave you to it. Somewhere where I don't have to watch you make a fool of yourself." Lou grumbled.

"Would that be so bad? I mean having a little fun and enjoying yourself for once. Haven't you ever wanted to just run free?! No rules. No restrictions. Just you and you can howl at the moon even if it is not full?" Leggo asked.

"I don't howl!"

"Then I'll take you out some night and we can howl together. Gives you a chance to get to know me better." Leggo said innocently as he looked at Lou, his eyes shining with friendship.

"Why would I want to do that?" Lou said as he felt his resolve fading again.

"Because everyone needs a friend, even a deer like you." Leggo said as he casually walked away and Lou looked down at his feet. "Think about it." Leggo shouted back. Lou shook his head and continued because he had other things to worry about.

We sat in the back of the cafeteria away from everyone else so that we could talk without being disturbed. There were a good number of species sitting at their own tables and talking as they occasionally took a bite. With all the noise it made it easy to talk among ourselves without others bothering us.

Justin sat across from me as I drew a rough sketch of what the machine looked like. He stared with interest as I explained everything I knew about it. I wished I had Lyon's drawing skills because his artwork is amazing while mine is basically just circles and lines.

"This looks friendly," Lou remarked as he approached our table. Justin and myself looked at him in a startled manner because it was shocking that he was addressing us. Usually species like us were considered beneath him and he said little when grandfather took us out to eat the other night.

All things considered, I love my father dearly but sometimes the stick up his ass gets in the way. More so since he doesn't know that I will one day become his son when he meets my brother and myself. It seems odd that he can be difficult with us, as his children, but now I see how he treats others that are not family.

Justin looked like he wanted to slither under the table and hide. Not that I would blame him because Lou was intimidating in his own way but I've known him long enough that I know it's just to hide the real him. My father is more caring and vulnerable than he lets on but because of his position he cannot afford to show weakness.

"You know, just doing what us brain types do." I remarked with a grin. He seemed unphased by what I said but decided to counter anyway.

"Doesn't look like you are looking at pornography."

"We'll we're nerds," Justin bristled up as I said the word and I could see he was highly offended. "Science is our porn." I saw Lou watching him, carefully, as if studying him to see his reaction. He completely ignored me, which I found annoying.

"I should be going," Justin muttered and Lou silenced him by pounding his hoof on the table.

"Please don't leave on my account. What I have to say won't take long." Justin obeyed and sat back down but he turned his face away to avoid looking at Lou. Lou sat next to me and took some clovers out of his pockets. He took out and handed two in one of his pockets to me and two in another.

"I was told these are your favorites and thought you might like to share them with me." he ate two in front of me then offered me the two from his other pocket. They looked like he had picked them from the ground outside because the coloring was light and not as rich as the ones he grows in his special garden.

I got a whiff of them as he pushed them close to my face and the samell turned me off instantly. There was something odd about the smell that I found I didn't like for some reason. My head started swimming and my vision blurred and I wanted to stand but my legs got weak.

"Are you OK?" Justin asked me and I shook my head.

"Here sit down," Lou replied but I had not realized that I had risen, or tried to, from my seat.

"Wanna go see first aid?" Justin asked and he was talking but the words just did not make sense anymore. I understood what he was saying but somehow I just felt too funny to care.

"I love you father, I just never get the chance to tell you enough how much I love you." I said and chuckled a few times as they stared at me. I felt like my head was underwater yet somehow I was able to breathe. I leaned back and Lou grabbed me and held me from falling over.

"Is he high?" Justin asked... or at least I thought he asked as his words were becoming harder to focus on. I think I fell asleep; but it's hard to remember exactly what happened.

Lou made a couple of campus police officers carry Eastwood into his dorm room. He was still fast asleep from the catnip. They tossed him on the bed and stepped out as his roommates watched.

"Thank you officers," Lou remarked. They grunted acknowledgement and left without saying a word. When they first arrived they asked a series of questions and they found one of the clovers that was laced with catnip. It was determined that someone was pranking Eastwood and they let the matter drop.

Justin kept quiet about Lou being the one to give him the clovers and merely remarked that Eastwood was saying he had a sick tummy and wanted some grass to eat. Hre was avoiding Lou but had earned Lou's respect for not calling him out on it in front of the officers. Lou had expected he would but the little snake surprised him. He definitely was no fool and knew how things worked.

"I admire your discretion." Lou said to Justin after they were alone. Justin juszt shrugged before answering.

"I'm no fool! I have enough species picking on me that I don't need you doing it too." he replied softly.

"What are your majors here?" Lou asked.

"Science mostly. I want to be an inventor to make life easier for species. Maybe one day I'll create a ship that can fly us to the moon!"

"We already have that," Lou said without much interest.

"Yes... but what if it could be made better? What if we could fly past the moon to one of the other planets out there?!" Justin replied as his eyes began to shine with hope and enthusiasm.

"My father told me about a new invention he heard of. It's a portable telephone that fits and can be used in your car!" Lou smiled as he saw the astounded look on Justin's face. "Seems unheard of right? Can you imagine if we made phones for all species to use whenever they wanted. If you got hurt and needed help you could use your portable phone to send an ambulance to where you are." Lou remarked.

"That would be amazing! Think of the benefits! I dunno even know where to begin on what a great idea it is." Justin said and he used his tail to take out a notebook and started making notes.

"My father makes weapons and it causes tension because there are times when weapons are needed and times when they are not. I keep urging him to take the company in a different direction, but he won't listen to me. I want to make lives better, not destroy them.

The reason I tell you this is that he wants me to have a summer job. He originally thought I'd run around the mail room being everyone's slave but I was able to convince him to let me run my own department so he can test my leadership skills. I would like you, if you are willing, to join my team and see what we can come up with." Lou explained carefully and Justin listened with interest.

"Will Eastwood be working with us?"

"I don't know, maybe if he gets clean of his drug problem then, yes." Lou said and Justin's face suddenly had a scowl on it.

"I just covered your tail! The least you could do is not lie to me! I won't work for a liar!" Justin said indignantly.

"You've proven yourself a team player. I apologize and should have known better." Lou replied.

"I'm really not the one you owe an apology to. Apologize to Eastwood and I'll join your team. You owe him that much.... If you have honor." Jusdtin said as he began to slither silently away. His words stung Lou because he was, for the first time, starting to see how dishonest he's been. If he wanted to change the family company's reputation then he needed to be someone responsible enough to be trusted by others. His honor needs to be his reputation but so far he has ruined that.

"Your terms... are acceptable. If I uphold my end will you do the same?" Lou asked knowingly.

"Of course but again only if Eastwood joins us." Justin said and Lou nodded to him and walked away. Justin paused to check on Eastwood then he left to leave the white tiger to sleep.

To Be Continued...