{"sf1_id":1341712,"sf2_id":"q1xg7a9n","title":"Acid Rain","author":"STRONG","words":62118,"posted_at":"2018-06-12T04:57:43.000Z","tags":["Blowjob","Chubby","Cyberpunk","Heart shaped pupils","Human","M/F","Neet","Opossum","Sci-Fi","Sex","Shortstack","Vaginal","Violence","Violence (Not In Yiff)"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1341712-acid-rain","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/q1xg7a9n","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/73/0d/730d68a7-24e2-4512-8400-4116e58cc873","description":"In the distant future, Humans and Anthros have elevated themselves to new heights using Cybernetics and augmentations.  \nNull can't though due to a rare medical condition  \nHe must make his way through life","content":"Chapter 1: Rain over me\n\n\\\u003eNight light from neon signs pour through your window\n\n\\\u003eThe city never sleeps after all, so you guess you couldn't either\n\n\\\u003eIkuinen; the Eternal City, full of wonder and a good life for all who lived there\n\n\\\u003eAs long as you had Augmentations that is\n\n\\\u003eThe year is 4036, Robots and Augmentations have pushed humanity farther than ever thought possible\n\n\\\u003eHuman Animal hybrids walked the streets too\n\n\\\u003eAnthropomorphics , Anthros for short\n\n\\\u003eAll of them, humans and anthros pushed further by augmentations\n\n\\\u003eYou had no Augmentations, couldn't have them actually\n\n\\\u003eSomehow you dug up the genetic lottery and won the inability to have them\n\n\\\u003eSomething about your nervous system couldn't communicate with them right\n\n\\\u003eYou were , literally, the only person without augmentations\n\n\\\u003eEvery job out there needed them or Highly recommended them\n\n\\\u003eThe most mundane jobs were filled by robots, so no go for work there\n\n\\\u003eEven if you were able to get into a school for anything no one would hire you\n\n\\\u003eWhy hire a basic human for a job when they can hire an Augmented human?\n\n\\\u003eThey were stronger, smarter, could go longer without breaks\n\n\\\u003eAnd you? you just couldn't compete\n\n\\\u003eSo you decided to do the only job that you could\n\n\\\u003eBounty hunting\n\n\\\u003eNo boss, no one to hire you or fire you\n\n\\\u003eJust you and your gun\n\n\\\u003eYou sit up in your bed, and rub the sleep from your eyes\n\n\\\u003eNot like you sleep at night anyway, most of your bounties move around a this time\n\n\\\u003eyour feet hit the cold floor and you stand up\n\n\\\u003eYawning, you walk to your desk, your computer filtering thousands of bounties and showing holograms of each one\n\n\\\u003eThis city was riddled with crime and people placed bounties on each other for anything\n\n\\\u003eYou didn't care why\n\n\\\u003eNo room to care\n\n\\\u003eThey paid your bills and kept you fed\n\n\\\u003eThe biggest advantage you had at bounty hunting was speed\n\n\\\u003eAugmentations often times made people heavy and slow\n\n\\\u003eAnd those that boosted speed couldn't go for long without resting\n\n\\\u003eYou sit down and watch the bounties scroll by\n\n\\\u003eMost aren't worth the time\n\n\\\u003e300 credits? Not enough to even bother, your rent alone was 1200 credits\n\n\\\u003eYou pick up your gun and turn it over in your hands, inspecting it for any blemishes\n\n\\\u003eCleanliness is next to godliness\n\n\\\u003eYou click the chamber release and swing it open\n\n\\\u003eThe \"Old fashioned\", you called it Rose\n\n\\\u003eA powerful Hand cannon based off the .44 Magnum Smith and Wesson Model 29 revolver\n\n\\\u003eThe advantage was you could rotate the chambers to fire lethal, non lethal, or whatever else you loaded\n\n\\\u003eGuns no longer needed to be loaded with ammo anymore\n\n\\\u003eThe science behind it is confusing but they are able to make their own bullets basically\n\n\\\u003eYou rotate the chambers then swing them back into place, locking them in\n\n\\\u003eYour eyes go back to the holograms of various people\n\n\\\u003eSo who's lucky day is it?\n\n\\\u003eYou settle on a Anthro weasel with a eye augmentation someone wants dead\n\n\\\u003eThey have a reason listed but you don't care\n\n\\\u003eWhy would you? he's a paycheck\n\n\\\u003eYou scan the info, it says he frequents a bar near the port\n\n\\\u003eThe port huh? boats were a thing of luxury\n\n\\\u003eWhat was once a bustling sea port became a slum, old cargo tankers became mini cities of their own, with each cargo container becoming someone's home\n\n\\\u003eWouldn't take long to get there, provided Gabriel was sober enough\n\n\\\u003eYou push a few buttons on your phone and his hologram pops up\n\n\\\u003eHis face reminded you of a piece of steel forged to look like a man\n\n\\\u003eThose grey eyes always did put you off guard and today was no exception\n\n\\\u003e\"We got an easy mark today, stupid weasel someone wants dead\"\n\n\\\u003eHe smiles and nods, and responds with the same calm voice as always\n\n\\\u003e\"I'll be there shortly, find some other marks so we can get a big payday, I wanna take the fox on a date\"\n\n\\\u003eYou smile\n\n\\\u003eA few extra bodies means nothing but more money\n\n\\\u003e\"Yea I'll search through the bounties for anyone close, see you in a bit\"\n\n\\\u003eHis hologram winks at you\n\n\\\u003e\"Attaboy, see you in a sec\"\n\n\\\u003eThe feed buzzes quickly with Bounties in the area\n\n\\\u003eHumans, anthros, robots, didn't matter\n\n\\\u003eYou find a few that are in the port and should be easy picking for you and Gabriel\n\n\\\u003eA shirt, your old man's bomber jacket and jeans are all you need before you're ready\n\n\\\u003eThe belt and holster for your gun are the finishing touch\n\n\\\u003eYou head downstairs and find Gabriel waiting\n\n\\\u003e\"Lets go Null, these fuckers aint gonna kill themselves\"\n\n\\\u003eNull\n\n\\\u003eThe Nickname the bounties and other bounty hunters gave you on account of your \"missing\" augmentations\n\n\\\u003eYou smile and jump into the Speeder, which is just a glorified hover car\n\n\\\u003eThe corporations didn't want to call them hovercars, said it was unoriginal\n\n\\\u003eAs if speeder was any better\n\n\\\u003e\"We got a few idiots that frequent the bar we're going to,you go inside and I'll stay out this time?\"\n\n\\\u003eGabriel smiles\n\n\\\u003e\"I get the fun part eh?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou know he means that literally\n\n\\\u003eHe was more at home rushing in than you were\n\n\\\u003eHis left arm was replaced with a heavy duty mechanical Augment, useful for blocking shots, bashing faces and the occasional grappling\n\n\\\u003eYou had offered to pay for a newer model of the Augmentation but he said he liked the old fashioned look\n\n\\\u003eprobably why you both got along, old school is best school\n\n\\\u003e\"How long till we get to the ports?\" you asked as you rotate the chamber of Rose to lethal\n\n\\\u003eThe client didn't want the weasel alive, and you weren't going to argue\n\n\\\u003e\"About 15 minutes, you gonna be alright?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm always alright\"\n\n\\\u003eThe world shifts past you\n\n\\\u003eNeon signs, stores, people, the city\n\n\\\u003eConstant fog plagues it, along with almost constant rain\n\n\\\u003eSomething about keeping the city safe from fires, after all one cigarette would could burn it all down\n\n\\\u003eEverything was built up on top if itself, then then built up again\n\n\\\u003eIf anyone wanted to escape the bright lights good luck to them, the city covered the entire planet at this point\n\n\\\u003eOverpopulation, no longer needing farmland, and corporations forcing their way into the government meant expansion \u0026nbsp;was needed\n\n\\\u003eAnd so everything was stacked on top of each other like a bad game of Jenga\n\n\\\u003e\"We're here, get your game face on Null\"\n\n\\\u003eBefore you is a small rundown bar\n\n\\\u003eA flickering neon sign reads \"Cloud 9\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Just like we said earlier\" Gabe says as he unholsters his Gun\n\n\\\u003eIt always reminded you of an angry brick\n\n\\\u003eMade to look like the Colt handguns of old, but bigger to accommodate his Left arm\n\n\\\u003e\"I'll get the runners\" you say with cold confidence\n\n\\\u003eHe nods and runs inside\n\n\\\u003eDoesn't take long before you hear yelling\n\n\\\u003eThen shots being fired\n\n\\\u003eYou know Gabriel is ok, that man has died more time than a person should\n\n\\\u003ePeople; humans and anthros start fleeing the bar\n\n\\\u003eYou keep an eye out for your mark\n\n\\\u003eThere he is, a anthro weasel with his left eye replaced.\n\n\\\u003eYou level your gun at him and shoot\n\n\\\u003eThe bullet tears through his chest, spraying blood onto the ground\n\n\\\u003e\"Wha?\" is all he can mutter out before he collapses\n\n\\\u003ehe's crawling away from you\n\n\\\u003eThe strength of desperation is all that is keeping him going\n\n\\\u003eYour pull out your HoloPhone and snap a picture of him\n\n\\\u003eNeed proof it was him after all\n\n\\\u003eHis back is against a wall, he faces you, raising a paw to you as if to somehow stop you\n\n\\\u003e\"Please no, dont! mercy! I have a fa-\"\n\n\\\u003eYou level your gun and put a bullet in his head, spraying blood and brain matter\n\n\\\u003eBegging doesn't get them anywhere\n\n\\\u003eGabriel emerges from the bar with a proud look\n\n\\\u003e\"We bagged a few small bounties here besides this 'un\"\n\n\\\u003eHe kicks the corpse of the weasel\n\n\\\u003eYou smile and take a picture of the body for proof he's dead\n\n\\\u003eBoth of you were getting paid a good chunk of change for this\n\n\\\u003eA thought drifts through your head as you upload the pictures to the bounty net\n\n\\\u003eYou never even learned the weasels name\n\n\\\u003eBut then again it didn't matter\n\n\\\u003ePaychecks don't need names\n\nChapter 2 Midnight city\n\n\\\u003eYour phone dings as the city zooms past you, water streaking past on the closed windows\n\n\\\u003e\"We just got paid, 20k creds, 10 to each of our accounts\"\n\n\\\u003eGabriel smiles at that\n\n\\\u003e\"Nice i can definitely take Fox out for a nice dinner with that\"\n\n\\\u003eHe drives through the city using his left hand to drive\n\n\\\u003eHis right hand is picking at a new dent in his Mechanical arm\n\n\\\u003eNothing to worry about though it's just superficial\n\n\\\u003e\"What are you gonna do Now? Go hunting more?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou nod\n\n\\\u003e\"Yea I wanna get that Kenada Mk 7 Hoverbike, I can't always rely on you for rides, besides the guy said he can mod it so I can drive it\"\n\n\\\u003eSpeeders and bikes needed a specific implant to be driven, had to do with accountability and driving records\n\n\\\u003eThey tried to put one in you, but it shorted your nervous system and stopped your heart\n\n\\\u003eYou were lucky to walk away from that\n\n\\\u003eSo you couldn't drive a speeder or most bikes\n\n\\\u003eYou were lucky to find one that didn't require the implant but it was costly\n\n\\\u003e\"Alright Null, I'll see you later\"\n\n\\\u003eHe's pulled up in front of your apartment\n\n\\\u003e\"Peace out buddy, say hi to the Wife for me\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Can do, peace out\"\n\n\\\u003eYou head upstairs and go to grab your gear\n\n\\\u003e\\\u003eA scanner, it scanned peoples faces and told you if they had a bounty on them\n\n\\\u003eA shock knife, a retractable knife that held a powerful charge, it was great for shorting peoples augments\n\n\\\u003eVarious sized ElectroMag cuffs\n\n\\\u003eYou hook the scanner to your arm and tighten it down with straps\n\n\\\u003eOther bounty hunters usually had this stuff implanted into them\n\n\\\u003eThey had it easy, they could usually out muscle their prey\n\n\\\u003eYou had to rely on more sneaky stuff when Gabriel wasn't with you\n\n\\\u003eA few short taps on the screen of the scanner told you it was ready to go\n\n\\\u003eYou head out and pop the collar of your jacket to protect your neck from cold rain drops\n\n\\\u003eWhere to go first? The red light district usually end up with good results\n\n\\\u003eHeh even people on the run wanted to get their dicks wet\n\n\\\u003eSpeeders zoom past as you walk down the sidewalks\n\n\\\u003eThe fog and neon lights blur each other and moss covers most flat surfaces\n\n\\\u003ePlants grew freely out of almost every crack in the cement, and ivy snaked its way up the buildings\n\n\\\u003eThe never ending rain meant that plants were constantly growing\n\n\\\u003eYou suppose its good for the air having so many plants growing everywhere\n\n\\\u003eIt's only about a 20 minute walk to the district\n\n\\\u003eThe red Chinese lamps float above the streets that are filled with shops selling Various Augmentations and sex toys for sale\n\n\\\u003eEven though its 1 am the street are crowded and you can hear people yelling about their wares over the dull roar of speeders in the adjacent streets\n\n\\\u003e\"Need a bigger cock? come get one!\"\"want your partner to have both a pussy and a dick? we can do that!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou disregard them all, you had things to do and knew where to start\n\n\\\u003eOne of the brothels \"The Lucky Cat\"\n\n\\\u003eIt even had a neon sign with one of those Japanese money cats\n\n\\\u003eYou push open the door and hear a electric ding from somewhere\n\n\\\u003eAn Anthro bobcat with absurdly large breasts pushes through a beaded doorway and smiles at you\n\n\\\u003e\"Ah Anon, good to see you, finally going to take up my offers for some relaxation?~\"\n\n\\\u003eHer voice is smoother than silk\n\n\\\u003e\"Not today Missy, deflate your rack, it looks weird when you make them that big. Mind if I hook up to your chip reader? We can do our usual deal\"\n\n\\\u003eEveryone, except you, had a chip in their body, usually in the hand or paw, that was used to pay for things, like a credit card inside their body\n\n\\\u003eMost businesses don't have a reader except at the checkout but brothels like this had it at the door\n\n\\\u003eMissy lets out a short 'Hmph' and you hear her breasts starting to go down in size\n\n\\\u003e\"Yes yes, our usual deal, 30-70\"\n\n\\\u003eThe scanner on your arm links up to the chip reader\n\n\\\u003eNothing too big but there is one that would net you a 7.5k credits after dividing it with Missy\n\n\\\u003ea Human, looks to be absurdly overweight and have skeletal Augments to support it all\n\n\\\u003eOf course you'll deal with the small fry too, might as well while you're here\n\n\\\u003e\"Alright Missy, there are a few guys here, I'll start cleaning up, and save the big guy for last, don't want to leave you with a dead body\"\n\n\\\u003eMissy smiles \"Right, just chuck the small fry into that closet and then we'll get the cops here when you're done\"\n\n\\\u003eYou point out the various small fry wanted alive by clients to Missy\n\n\\\u003eShe gives you a list of rooms that pings up on your scanner screen\n\n\\\u003eTime to clean up the vermin before they scatter\n\n\\\u003eYou go through the building, room to room, shock Knife drawn, Stunning and cuffing the various bounties\n\n\\\u003eSome of them were balls deep in a whore when you found them\n\n\\\u003eLike you said everyone wants to get their dick wet\n\n\\\u003eIn the end you have 3 humans and an Anthro stout cuffed and unconscious\n\n\\\u003eYou snap pictures of each and upload them to the bounty network informing the clients to come get them\n\n\\\u003eNow you just had to wait for the big guy\n\n\\\u003eMissy has other plans though\n\n\\\u003e\"Just go get him Honey, the cops will get rid of the body for me~\"\n\n\\\u003eShe presses against you\n\n\\\u003e\"Maybe after you'll want to blow off some steam\"\n\n\\\u003eOddly enough you're used to this treatment\n\n\\\u003eLadies either thought you were a freak for not being augmented or they were infatuated by you being so different\n\n\\\u003eMost were the former though\n\n\\\u003e\"Maybe\" is all you say before you head up the stairs\n\n\\\u003eHe's in the bathhouse section on the top floor, must be a high roller\n\n\\\u003eDoesn't matter to you\n\n\\\u003ePistol drawn you make your way into the room he's in\n\n\\\u003eThere are several Humans and anthros with him all washing and wiping him as he sat in a large pool with lily pads floating on the surface\n\n\\\u003eYou knew some of them, a few were \"traps\" and some were just petite girls\n\n\\\u003eUgh he's one of those people\n\n\\\u003eAnd he's fatter than you thought, disgusting\n\n\\\u003eYou clear your throat to announce your presence\n\n\\\u003eDidn't want anyone else getting hurt after all\n\n\\\u003e\"Girls out\" You say, motioning to the door with your gun\n\n\\\u003eThey scamper out in a panic\n\n\\\u003eThe fat man looks at you amused\n\n\\\u003e\"So you are here to kill me eh, do you know who I am?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"I don't care\"\n\n\\\u003eYou raise your gun\n\n\\\u003eHe raises a glass to you\n\n\\\u003e\"You will regret that boy, my peo-\"\n\nBLAM\n\n\\\u003eYou pull the trigger, cutting off his words\n\n\\\u003eYou don't care who is- was, or what he had to say\n\n\\\u003eThe gunshot echos slightly off the tiled walls and floor\n\n\\\u003eSeems you aimed a little low because the bullet went through his throat\n\n\\\u003eOh well, easier for you to take a picture to ID him if his face is in one piece\n\n\\\u003eYou snap a picture and upload it to the Bounty network claiming the bounty\n\n\\\u003eGood money for you\n\n\\\u003eYou head back downstairs and see Missy waiting\n\n\\\u003e\"All done?\" she purrs as she eyes you \u0026nbsp;hungrily\n\n\\\u003e\"Yea cya around\"\n\n\\\u003eyou leave without a second thought, you don't care about her nor will you ever, but she helps you get paid\n\n\\\u003eThe rest of the night goes slower, only netting 2 more small fry bounties\n\n\\\u003eNot as profitable as you had hoped but that fat man's bounty was good\n\n\\\u003eThe rain is only a slight sprinkle as the sun starts to rise, light peeking through openings in the clouds\n\n\\\u003eYou left the district nine thousand credits richer\n\n\\\u003eMight as well get a drink to celebrate\n\n\\\u003eYour favorite bar is only 2 miles from your place\n\n\\\u003eThe neon sign above the door flickers\n\n\\\u003e'Pandora'\n\n\\\u003eYou head in and go to the bar, a robot made to look like a Female canine greets you presently\n\n\\\u003e\"Hey Null, how your night going\"\n\n\\\u003eHer voice is sounds a bit computerized and synthetic when she speaks\n\n\\\u003e\"It's going ok K3lly, how business?\"\n\n\\\u003eShe shrugs\n\n\\\u003e\"Business is business Hun, want your usual?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou nod\n\n\\\u003eShe mixes you a rum and coke and sets it on a coaster in front of you\n\n\\\u003e\"Call me if you need anything\"\n\n\\\u003eYou sit and drink slowly\n\n\\\u003eA few people enter and steer clear of you\n\n\\\u003eA sigh comes from deep within your chest\n\n\\\u003eSome people avoided you like you were a Leper\n\n\\\u003eEveryone has some Augment visible on them, changed hair, skin, you name it\n\n\\\u003eAnd then there was you\n\n\\\u003eYou sit thinking about what Augments you would have if you could\n\n\\\u003eThose Arms always looked cool..\n\n\\\u003eOr maybe the legs?\n\n\\\u003eSo many choices, How do people decide?\n\n\\\u003eYour thoughts are broken by a Loud voice\n\n\\\u003e\"Is tha thje broken bounty hyunetr i've heard abouft? The fyreak with no augments?\"\n\n\\\u003eA very drunk Anthro Lion is stumbling to you, his glow bright yellow from augments\n\n\\\u003e\"Yea thats me\"\n\n\\\u003eHe leans against the bar next to you, holding his cup of booze\n\n\\\u003e\"I- I Igotta ask you mran mow ydo byou do iat? How can yoeu even get by?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"I just do what I have to\"\n\n\\\u003ehe hangs on every word\n\n\\\u003e\"Thas Crazy\"\n\n\\\u003eLuckily you're rescued from the lion by his very embarrassed looking friends\n\n\\\u003eBut that soured your mood worse than before\n\n\\\u003eYou pull you phone out and pay for your drink, since you don't have that implant you have to do it other ways\n\n\\\u003eThe walk home is quick and you can't help but feel annoyed still\n\n\\\u003eYou get to your apartment and set down your gear\n\n\\\u003e\"Darken\"\n\n\\\u003eThe windows go opaque black\n\n\\\u003eYour apartment is just a one bedroom place\n\n\\\u003eNot the best but not the worst\n\n\\\u003eIt was home\n\n\\\u003eYou go get into bed and quickly fall asleep\n\n\\\u003eTomorrow will be a new day\n\nChapter 3: Broken\n\n\\\u003eThe sounds of heavy rain hitting your windows and thunder stirs you from your sleep\n\n\\\u003eSitting up and stretching with a loud yawn, a hazy thought drifted through your mind\n\n\\\u003eThe rain is louder than usual, each drop hitting your windows like heavy bullets and blurring the neon signs that peeked through\n\n\\\u003eIf you could claim one benefit to your life, it would be the rain\n\n\\\u003eToday however, it's just as shitty for you as it is for everyone else\n\n\\\u003ePeople who use more 'outward' Augs don't do much out in the rain\n\n\\\u003eMostly due to a fun mixture of rust and the cold, with a healthy mix of 'soaked as hell' being the major reasons for any sane person\n\n\\\u003eSo people with Augs like Gabriel never really get around to doing anything\n\n\\\u003eIf there's no one outside, then there's no one to shoot\n\n\\\u003eAs far as your wallet is concerned, today is going to be terrible\n\n\\\u003eSo you don't know what to do today\n\n\\\u003eStepping out of your bed and planting your feet on the cold wooden floor, you shuffle along to your computer\n\n\\\u003eIt still works away at filtering useful bounties, ones you hope will be worth your time\n\n\\\u003eUnsurprisingly, a big fat 0 was displayed on the feed\n\n\\\u003eYawning again, you head towards your kitchen\n\n\\\u003eSome hot food may help fix your cold feet that you refuse to wear socks for right now\n\n\\\u003eYour food synth shudders awake after a few drowsy jabs, and soon you have a plate of (chemically accurate) eggs, melted cheese, and bacon\n\n\\\u003eIt looked like some weird mixture of the box people are used too, a microwave, and a calculator wired to the side\n\n\\\u003eCustom made just for you, and wifi enabled to boot\n\n\\\u003eTaking the hot plate to your desk you eat silently\n\n\\\u003eYou slow down the process of the filters to watch the steady stream of faces and prices tags that appear\n\n\\\u003eOnce again it tells you that, yes, people really do hate each other\n\n\\\u003eYou look at the various reasons, finding a health mix of\n\n\\\u003e\"Slept with girlfriend - beat up only,\" to\n\n\\\u003e\"Stalking me - Intimidate,\" and one of them being\n\n\\\u003e\"Owes me a blowjob - force payment\"\n\n\\\u003eYou generally steered clear of stupid feuds, but maybe becoming an instigator would bring repeated business\n\n\\\u003eA ding from your phone\n\n\\\u003eIt's Gabriel\n\n\\\u003eWith a click, his hologram appears\n\n\\\u003e\"Hey man, going hunting today?\" the small semi transparent Gabriel says\n\n\\\u003eYou look out the window at the rain that's currently slamming into the glass\n\n\\\u003e\"Don't know, are you gonna drive?\"\n\n\\\u003eHe shakes his head at you\n\n\\\u003e\"Nope, can't be out in this rain. Not looking to paint my Augs rust. Cold from the metal hurts my bones, too\"\n\n\\\u003eYou sigh, all thoughts of money making flying out the window\n\n\\\u003eHe continues\n\n\\\u003e\"What are you plans then? You never do anything buddy, go meet some lady and have a good time\"\n\n\\\u003eYou frown in response\n\n\\\u003eHe always tries to tell you to go do things, things that usually require Augs to enjoy\n\n\\\u003e\"You know that ladies usually avoid me, right? And I can't even get anywhere today\"\n\n\\\u003eHe isn't buying it\n\n\\\u003e\"Stop being a little bitch about a bit of water, and- oh no. No, stop\"\n\n\\\u003eYou were halfway to cutting the line, but a small non threatening holographic finger jabbed at you stops you\n\n\\\u003e\"Me? I have an excuse. You? Just stay under the overhangs\"\n\n\\\u003eHe won't let up, he's too stubborn to let you wallow in your house all day\n\n\\\u003e\"Fine, I'll go out and try, but you owe me,\" you mumble past the hand that's trying to rub away the growing headache between your eyes\n\n\\\u003e\"I don't owe you shit for making you go do something other than work. And next time you answer your phone, put a shirt on or something\"\n\n\\\u003eThe hand does nothing for you\n\n\\\u003e\"Now go have fun\"\n\n\\\u003eWith a click, his hologram winks out\n\n\\\u003eYou give another sigh, accepting your fate for the day\n\n\\\u003eYou knew he would check if your left your apartment, call your landlord or something to see if you stuck around\n\n\\\u003ePsycho\n\n\\\u003eMight as well get it over with\n\n\\\u003e\"Time,\" you say\n\n\\\u003e\"11:42 PM,\" a computerized voice answers, you aren't usually awake during the day\n\n\\\u003eAfter finishing your meal, you start your usual routine\n\n\\\u003ePiss, shower, get dressed\n\n\\\u003eHaving finished all three you go about getting your civilian kit ready\n\n\\\u003eYou don't need your usual gear, but you're still not going anywhere without Rose\n\n\\\u003eBetter to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it\n\n\\\u003eWith everything you need on hand, you trudge out of your apartment and into the rain\n\n\\\u003eLuckily, it's not as bad as it looked from the inside, but the streets were still flooding slightly\n\n\\\u003eToo much trash must have blocked up the drains again\n\n\\\u003eAt least the sidewalks were raised so all the water stays in the street\n\n\\\u003eThe plants must be having a field day\n\n\\\u003eYou walk quickly down the streets, if only to get out of the rain\n\n\\\u003eThere is a nightclub nearby that you know of, and you think you might have a good time there\n\n\\\u003eDoubtful, though\n\n\\\u003eWhen you turn around a corner you're there, and you look up through the rain and fog to see it's sign shimmering through the haze\n\n\\\u003e'Lonely hearts'\n\n\\\u003eThe name hits close to home, that's for sure\n\n\\\u003eIt isn't subtle at all, being a huge, multi floored building decked out with flashing colored lights\n\n\\\u003eYou walk across the empty street and up the stairs to the entrance\n\n\\\u003eBefore you get close, you're stopped by a very grumpy looking anthro Rhino\n\n\\\u003eHe's at least 8 feet tall and has his horn replaced by a longer one made of a metal of some kind\n\n\\\u003e\"Where's your chip human, let me scan you in\"\n\n\\\u003eHe doesn't even look at you, considering playing on his oversized phone to be part of the job\n\n\\\u003eYou shrug\n\n\\\u003e\"Don't have a chip. Can't have one\"\n\n\\\u003eHe snaps to you, looking over your face and body with a confused stare before it dawns on him\n\n\\\u003e\"YOOO! You're THAT Human? OH SHIT!\" He ducks his head inside the building, \"YO BARNEY\"\n\n\\\u003e\"..what!\" you barely hear from inside\n\n\\\u003e\"IT'S THAT FREAKY HUMAN!\"\n\n\\\u003eBefore long a very angry looking Dingo walks out with both of his eyes glowing red from some type of scanner implant\n\n\\\u003e\"WHAT RUFUS! What in the fuck are you yelling about!?\"\n\n\\\u003e'Rufus' points at you with a stumpy finger\n\n\\\u003e\"Scan him man! He's broken\"\n\n\\\u003eBarney's ears perk up at that\n\n\\\u003e\"The Broken?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou can feel his eyes scanning you from the slight warming sensation\n\n\\\u003e\"Holy shit,\" he blinks back the glow intensity, \"I thought he wasn't real\"\n\n\\\u003eYou're used to this from how almost every place requiring you to get scanned to get in like this\n\n\\\u003eEven the cops have been called on you for not having an ID Chip implanted, and how every time you had to show the HoloNote from your doctor stating it would literally kill you\n\n\\\u003e\"Look guys, can I just come in?\"\n\n\\\u003eGreat start to 'Having fun'\n\n\\\u003e\"Yeah yeah sorry dude, you're just so weird to see,\" Rufus says, opening the door for you\n\n\\\u003eWith a sigh you walk in\n\n\\\u003eWeird\n\n\\\u003eThat's how you've always been described\n\n\\\u003eEven in school, the other kids avoided you like the plague, as if you would infect them with your disorder\n\n\\\u003eGrowing up past that wasn't any better, people were just polite about it by then\n\n\\\u003eYou do your best to push it down, but the flashing lights blinding you temporarily aren't doing much to help\n\n\\\u003eLoud electronic music and the stench of alcohol waft through the air\n\n\\\u003eA loud crowd stands around, and you wade through them easily\n\n\\\u003eThe people that notice you move out of your way, almost immediately\n\n\\\u003eYou part them like a shark would through a school of fish\n\n\\\u003eSame as always, they look at you like you're a smallpox blanket\n\n\\\u003eEven robots avoided you\n\n\\\u003eMob mentality is a bitch\n\n\\\u003eStill not having any fun, you think the next floor may yield better results\n\n\\\u003e...But upon arrival, each floor is exactly the same, with the crowds parting like the red sea\n\n\\\u003eLeaning against the bar at the top floor, you stare out into the crowd\n\n\\\u003eYou catch the sideways glances at you; some in confusion, some in pity\n\n\\\u003eGabriel never understood, and never could either\n\n\\\u003eYou told him this is what happens when you go out alone\n\n\\\u003eAnd once again you are simply proven right\n\n\\\u003eYou still hang out for a while, passing the time by checking your phone periodically for possible bounties in the area\n\n\\\u003eMostly, you do it to look normal as maybe if they see you're just another human they'll get accustomed to you\n\n\\\u003eAt least, you hope they will\n\n\\\u003eBut there is always a 2 foot buffer zone between you and everyone else\n\n\\\u003eAdding another sigh to your day you look to your left at a group of anthro feline girls all chatting\n\n\\\u003eSo, fuck it. Why not! Let's try to talk to them\n\n\\\u003eYou walk up to them and talk to one on the outside of the group\n\n\\\u003eShe's a large Lioness with flaming red hair, wires streaking through it that ended with various plugs\n\n\\\u003eProbably to jack on with\n\n\\\u003e\"Hey there, my name is Anon, mind if I buy you a drink?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou put on your best inviting smile\n\n\\\u003eShe still jumps slightly, as if she didn't expect anyone new to talk to her\n\n\\\u003e\"Uh, sure, why n-,\" her words stop when she looks at you, and you're treated with another look down\n\n\\\u003eYou feel your smile slide off your face, knowing full well what comes next\n\n\\\u003e\"Oh god you're that freak aren't you?! Get away from me!\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Whoa hey! Calm down, I'm just a guy,\" you say, raising your hands\n\n\\\u003eBy this point her friends have noticed you too, and you panic slightly\n\n\\\u003eBacking away you turn from them before they can throw anymore insults your way\n\n\\\u003eYeah\n\n\\\u003eGabriel was right\n\n\\\u003eGoing to have fun was a great idea\n\n\\\u003eYou are sitting at a stool in front of a spicy Ramen shop underneath an overhang, and listening to the rain while an anthro Shiba Inu \\\u003eprepares your food\n\n\\\u003eWhat were even thinking in that club, actually going and talking to someone\n\n\\\u003e\"Here is food Sir,\" he tries his best to speak to you, and sets down a bowl of steaming Ramen before you\n\n\\\u003e\"Arigatou gozaimasu,\" you mumble in the little Japanese you know\n\n\\\u003eThe dog smiles\n\n\\\u003e\"Dou itashimashite,\" he says with a little bow\n\n\\\u003eAt least you can claim to know how to be polite in a few languages\n\n\\\u003eYou grab some chopsticks, and try in vain to get them to work\n\n\\\u003eHow the hell did 2 sticks win out over everything else as eating utensils?\n\n\\\u003eYou can barely grab anything with them\n\n\\\u003eNo wonder those moonmen are tiny\n\n\\\u003eThe Shibe dog is giggling from behind the counter at your terrible attempts to feed yourself\n\n\\\u003eYou're frustrated, breaking the disposable chopsticks in half and throwing them into the street\n\n\\\u003eWith a bit of satisfaction you watch them float down the drain\n\n\\\u003eFuck you sticks, you twiggy pricks\n\n\\\u003eIn defeat you grab a fork and being slurping up your meal, the noodles and broth warming your insights slightly\n\n\\\u003eYou also browse your phone to help pass the time, looking at more and more bounties that you happen to see\n\n\\\u003eComplete garbage is all you find, with nothing really catching your eye until one is just a picture\n\n\\\u003eA box\n\n\\\u003eThe description saying for someone to grab it from a dead drop and to deliver it to an address\n\n\\\u003eYou aren't a delivery boy, and you're about to pass it up\n\n\\\u003eThe payout makes you stop\n\n\\\u003e3000 credits for a box?!\n\n\\\u003eToo good to pass up\n\n\\\u003eA few taps and you can see this client is particularly nitpicky\n\n\\\u003e\"Get the box, contract this number after for more instructions\"\n\n\\\u003eFuck this cloak and dagger BS, but money is money\n\n\\\u003eFinishing off your food and paying it to the still cackling dog, you head off towards the dead drop\n\n\\\u003eWhatever is in it, it must be pretty expensive and worth a lot to the client if they're willing to pay 3000 for it\n\n\\\u003eMaybe you could grab it and sell it yourself? It might be an experimental Augment, or something\n\n\\\u003eNot one you could use, but something your contacts will pay you for\n\n\\\u003eA large cold raindrop lands on your neck\n\n\\\u003eWith an involuntary shiver, you pull your cloak up a little bit more\n\n\\\u003eThe drop isn't far, almost 30 minutes by foot, but it still causes your mind to wander towards getting that Hoverbike the whole time \\\u003eyou walk\n\n\\\u003eFinally being able to drive places...\n\n\\\u003eA thing most people take for granted, but step after step you make your way towards the box and ultimately your bike\n\n\\\u003eWhen you reach the dead drop location, you look around\n\n\\\u003eThe description of the box was a small plastic box taped with red Biohazard tape on top of it\n\n\\\u003eAccurate, as your digging through actual waste\n\n\\\u003eYou find it, eventually, under wet garbage\n\n\\\u003eYou're also soaked to the bone at this point, and when you pull it out a banana peel comes with\n\n\\\u003eGross\n\n\\\u003e\"It's for the credits, it's for the credits,\" you internalize your mantra as you try in vain to clean the box\n\n\\\u003eWhatever shit is covering it you don't want touching you or your stuff\n\n\\\u003e\"Dial the client,\" you call out to your phone while you hold the package away from you\n\n\\\u003eIt pings a few times, and a masked voice answers\n\n\\\u003eNo holograms either\n\n\\\u003e\"Do you have the package?\" asked a warped voice\n\n\\\u003e\"Yeah yeah, I got it,\" you say, trying to shake the whatever goop off it, \"I'll bring it right over. What do you want me to do with it \\\u003ewhen I get there?\"\n\n\\\u003eThe voice seems excited\n\n\\\u003e\"Good! Good.. Bring it to the address mentioned before in the bounty, and I'll meet you inside the building\"\n\n\\\u003eThat doesn't sound suspicious at all\n\n\\\u003e\"How will you know I'm there?\"\n\n\\\u003eA short laugh answers\n\n\\\u003e\"I'll know,\" says the voice, hanging up after\n\n\\\u003eRight.\n\n\\\u003eYou set the box down and draw Rose, checking the cylinders\n\n\\\u003eCycling through, you set it to non-lethal\n\n\\\u003eIf this is a trap, they may have a bounty\n\n\\\u003eNo use killing the money if a client wants them alive\n\n\\\u003eYou pick up the box(carefully,) and you head to the address specified\n\n\\\u003eIt's about an hour walk, at least\n\n\\\u003eHaving been deemed clean enough, you have it tucked under your left arm, with your right hand resting on Rose\n\n\\\u003eIt's a walk through rain filled streets and occasionally grabby plants that hide very well in the near blinding fog\n\n\\\u003eSpending a little more time than you thought it would be, you finally make it to an abandoned part of the city\n\n\\\u003eThe lots here were built too cheaply, and too high, with most of them having started to cave into themselves\n\n\\\u003eInstead of trying to fix it, the area was deemed unusable and left the husks to rot in the rain\n\n\\\u003eThe building you are standing in front of isn't faring much better\n\n\\\u003eA run down townhouse, with more than 8 stories built on top of it and all of them riddled with weeds or plants sprouting from every \\\u003ecrack\n\n\\\u003eYou enter, taking a few steps into the empty hallway to meet...\n\n\\\u003eNo one\n\n\\\u003eThe client isn't here\n\n\\\u003eFuck getting ambushed, you look around and draw Rose\n\n\\\u003eYou set the box down on a swollen, waterlogged table and start to patrol the room\n\n\\\u003eThe minutes tick by while you carefully go from room to room\n\n\\\u003eWhere was Gabriel when you need him?!\n\n\\\u003eIf a bullet, the government, or fried chicken doesn't get you, the stress definitely will\n\n\\\u003eThe client said they would know you're here\n\n\\\u003eThe fact that no one did meant either they were going to kill you, or somehow got themselves done in\n\n\\\u003eThere is only one room left, and the old door is slightly open\n\n\\\u003eYou kick it open, pointing the barrel from corner to corner\n\n\\\u003eStill nothing\n\n\\\u003eYou can't even look at the upper floors as the staircase back in the entrance was missing most of its bottom half\n\n\\\u003eThe only thing you see that's different are the bookcases filled with rotted books\n\n\\\u003eYou sigh\n\n\\\u003eWhat a waste of time\n\n\\\u003eYou start thinking about your previous plan of selling that box on the black market\n\n\\\u003eTurning to leave, you stop, looking over your shoulder at something that caught your eye\n\n\\\u003eA small, minute flicker of light squeezes past some of the books\n\n\\\u003eBut when you fully turn around to look at it more, it's gone\n\n\\\u003eIf you're eyes aren't lying, your gut is certainly agreeing with them\n\n\\\u003eSomething is up with that bookcase\n\n\\\u003eYou holster your gun and inspect the bookcase, looking up and down it from a distance and inspecting the floor to its side\n\n\\\u003eDrag marks? Gouges in the wood from it swinging outwards?\n\n\\\u003eWell fuck, here comes Scooby Doo and the gang taught you to always investigate trap bookcases\n\n\\\u003eYou grip on the side and pull with all your might\n\n\\\u003eGod, what you wouldn't give for arm mods to outright rip the damn thing off its hinges\n\n\\\u003eEventually it gives and you're able to pull it open enough to slip through\n\n\\\u003eA stairwell awaits you, with dim lights overhead and faint music playing just ahead\n\n\\\u003eDo you proceed? Y/N?\n\n\\\u003eFUCK YES\n\n\\\u003eThe hell kind of question is that even?\n\n\\\u003eYou slide through, and when you have room again your pistol is drawn and ready\n\n\\\u003eAs you walk down you hear some voices, all of them speaking rapidly in a language you don't understand\n\n\\\u003eIs that Japanese?\n\n\\\u003eWhatever, it doesn't stop you from pressing your back to the wall at the bottom of the stairwell\n\n\\\u003eYou check your gun one last time\n\n\\\u003eStill on stun\n\n\\\u003eYou take a deep breath, and you round the corner\n\n\\\u003eThe house is definitely bigger on the inside\n\n\\\u003eOr at least the basement is\n\n\\\u003eYou're standing in a large room that's lit by the light of computer monitors\n\n\\\u003eThey all line the walls on the other side of the room\n\n\\\u003eTo your left is what appears to be a military grade scanning system, and to your right is a shit ton of posters you don't recognize\n\n\\\u003eA large chair faces away from you, looking towards a triple monitor setup, and each of them is filled with cartoons in different languages and others browsing news sites\n\n\\\u003e\\\u003eA snippet catches your eye in particular\n\n\\\u003e\"Yesterday Nicolas Belacov was found dead in a tub at the Lucky Cat Brothel. Belacov is the cousin of Andrew Belacov, leader of the Mafia ring known as 'The Sailors,' who are reported to reside on the HMS Northstar\"\n\n\\\u003eYour work is in full display on it, with a very fat and a very dead man front and center\n\n\\\u003eYou step forwards to get a closer look, but something crunches beneath your foot\n\n\\\u003eA food wrapper?\n\n\\\u003eSwearing, you ready your gun as the chair swings around\n\n\\\u003eFucks sake, if this isn't the perfect super villain reveal you don't know what is\n\n\\\u003eInstead of a suave man with some kind of facial scar, a dirty old cat on his lap and a smooth 'I've been expecting you' line, you're instead greeted by a very short opossum girl\n\n\\\u003eShe has blue Aug'd up eyes similar to the bouncers at the Lonely Shit's pub save for her pupils that are fully black and set in the shape of stars\n\n\\\u003eHaving blue hair as well, and shaved on one side with the other neatly folded over, she's almost out of her chair with how fast she spun around\n\n\\\u003e\\\u003e\"What the?!\" she yells out\n\n\\\u003eYou raise your gun in response\n\n\\\u003e\"What the fuck!? Who are you and where is my buyer!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou notice her pupils turn into little exclamation marks\n\n\\\u003e\"You're the bounty hunter?! What?! Why didn't my network pick you up!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou step forward, training the gun on her body with her pupils bouncing slightly and her arms in the air\n\n\\\u003eThe closer you get, the further she shrinks into the mesh backing\n\n\\\u003e\"I-i'm not armed.. Please don't hurt me\"\n\n\\\u003eYou stop, lower Rose, and look at her\n\n\\\u003e\"What is going on? I was told to meet a client here and that they would meet me. Instead, I find a run down shack and a fucking basement bunker\"\n\n\\\u003eShe slowly slides off her chair, arms still raised and walks to the scanner\n\n\\\u003e\"My probes should have found you the moment you entered the area! If it found your ID I would have met you upstairs! You shouldn't have found my bunker!\"\n\n\\\u003ewut\n\n\\\u003e\"Probes? I didn't see any probes\"\n\n\\\u003eShe looks at you, her pupils becoming stars again\n\n\\\u003e\"That's because they're hidden! I have scanner probes hidden all over this neighborhood!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou don't look at her eyes anymore, as this short opossum lady has both of her hands bunched up into tiny fists\n\n\\\u003e\"Did. You. Break them!\"\n\n\\\u003eA whole system of probes, scanners and relays to let her know everyone in the area?\n\n\\\u003eThat is some next level paranoid\n\n\\\u003eYou try to pinch away the oncoming headache with your hand slapped to your forehead\n\n\\\u003e\"No. I didn't break them. I don't have any implants. You can't trace me with those,\" you say between sighs\n\n\\\u003eHer overly expressive pupils morph into question marks while she looks you over\n\n\\\u003eYou've officially seen it all now, with 'literally for real very-much-alive furry emoji\" making the top\n\n\\\u003eShe must be terrible at poker\n\n\\\u003e\"You're the broken bounty hunter? i thought you were a myth\"\n\n\\\u003eHere we go...\n\n\\\u003eBroken, like something is wrong with you\n\n\\\u003e\"My name is Anon, for starters, but most people call me Null,\" you say, lightly patting Rose\n\n\\\u003eHer eyes have upgraded to shooting stars now\n\n\\\u003e\"Traceless? Like a ghost?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou can feel the gears grinding away from here\n\n\\\u003e\"Useful to me. Maybe he can...\"\n\n\\\u003eShe snaps back up\n\n\\\u003e\"But where's the package?!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou shrug\n\n\\\u003e\"Upstairs, I couldn't carry it while I checked rooms\n\n\\\u003eWrong answer, red exclamation points detected\n\n\\\u003e\"You fool! Go get it immediately!\" She barks at you\n\n\\\u003eFeeling like a super villain with a terrible sense of self preservation having just yelled at you, you rush upstairs to grab the box\n\n\\\u003eRelaxing at the sight of it still being there, you don't exactly rush back with it in hand\n\n\\\u003e\"Here it is,\" you say, putting it into her grabby paws\n\n\\\u003eShe caresses it, with a disturbing sense of care being put on it\n\n\\\u003e\"Uh, what's in it anyways? An Aug? Weapons?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou look around the room full of high tech junk and painfully thinly cartoon men posters\n\n\\\u003e\"A dil-\"\n\n\\\u003eHer eyes light up even more, her star pupils going full supernova\n\n\\\u003e\"Better! Follow me!\" She scurries off to a side room and you hurry along to follow her\n\n\\\u003eWhen you enter, a light turns on and you have to blink it away\n\n\\\u003eToo bright, too fast!\n\n\\\u003eAfter your eyes adjust you see toys\n\n\\\u003eLots and lots of toys lining shelves\n\n\\\u003edublewut\n\n\\\u003eShe's in the center of the room looking around in satisfaction\n\n\\\u003eDo you even want to know?\n\n\\\u003eWell\n\n\\\u003eA little, yeah\n\n\\\u003e\"Toys?\" you ask\n\n\\\u003eYou blink twice, a third time for good measure, and now it's your turn to slowly back up\n\n\\\u003e\"THEY ARE NOT TOYS. COLLECTIBLES!\"\n\n\\\u003eSure, sure, whatever you say\n\n\\\u003eYou verbalize it with a shrug\n\n\\\u003e\"Ooook, and what does this box have to do wi-\"\n\n\\\u003eYou stop yourself\n\n\\\u003eThere's no fucking way this box could possibly be\n\n\\\u003eNo, really? 3000 credits\n\n\\\u003eFor a damn toy?\n\n\\\u003eCalling it a collectible doesn't make any better\n\n\\\u003eEyeing it once more, she sets it down carefully on a table\n\n\\\u003eShe then proceeds to hungrily rip the shit out of it, tearing tape off and plastic and tossing both aside\n\n\\\u003eAt the end of the carnage a plastic model of a robot stands tall on the table\n\n\\\u003e\"IT'S REALLY IT!\"\n\n\\\u003eThe opossum's starry eyes rotate quickly as she looks the toy over, with her elbows resting on the edge of the table\n\n\\\u003eAt this point, you can really get a look at her, now that she isn't shifting between fear or seething with rage\n\n\\\u003eVery, very small, 4 foot tall's worth of rage\n\n\\\u003eShe's chubby, to put it lightly, with a lot of her weight on breasts the size of grapefruits and an ass wider than an old school xbox\n\n\\\u003eCute in any other situation\n\n\\\u003eHer eyes focus back on you\n\n\\\u003e\"You're untraceable! You're perfect! You're just what I need!\"\n\n\\\u003eShe covers ground with every sentence, with you taken a back at every word\n\n\\\u003eHer basement walls feel nice this time of year\n\n\\\u003e\"I, uh, wha?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"These are collectibles! Worth hundreds of thousands of credits! People always search for me and father helps keep me hidden! But with you! With you, no one would know who picked up what!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou stare at the oppossum that currently vibrates against you\n\n\\\u003eYou don't have much choice with how you're currently stuck in place\n\n\\\u003e\"What do you even mean?!\"\n\n\\\u003eShe smiles eagerly\n\n\\\u003e\"My name is Star Dismond!\"\n\n\\\u003eOk, not my question at all\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm a collector!\"\n\n\\\u003eYeah, I got that much\n\n\\\u003e\"Whenever a rare item is a dead dropped like this, it's a free for all among us collector's! All the others have hidden scanners to see who has what!\"\n\n\\\u003e\"And I'm guessing you want me to-\"\n\n\\\u003eYes!\" she's on her toes now, \"You're untraceable, and I can use that! You can get the drops and steal the other's stuff\"\n\n\\\u003eYou place both hands on her shoulders and pry her off\n\n\\\u003eIt's only when you do did she realize that she was clingy\n\n\\\u003eAs much as you admittedly didn't mind the contact, there was a different reason why you did\n\n\\\u003eYou know that name, Dismond\n\n\\\u003eHead of a crime syndicate that rules over a few parts of the city\n\n\\\u003eIt definitely explains why she's hidden and how she can afford all this\n\n\\\u003eShe still looks at you with hunger in her eyes and the stars spinning furiously in them\n\n\\\u003eShe walks up to you, looking you over again\n\n\\\u003e\"What do you say Anon? Want to work for me?\"\n\n\\\u003eShe looks so eager\n\n\\\u003eYou sigh\n\n\\\u003eA job is a job\n\n\\\u003e\"Fine, I'll fetch your toys for you\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Collectibles!\" she shouts again\n\n\\\u003eYou shrug, again\n\n\\\u003eIgnoring it, she continues\n\n\\\u003e\"And good thing you accepted, otherwise father would probably have you killed, no one knows about this bunker besides the people father trusts\"\n\n\\\u003eYou're suddenly much happier you accepted, and she puts out a paw\n\n\\\u003eYour hand was hovering over rose halfway through her speech\n\n\\\u003eYou slowly move it to grasp her own\n\n\\\u003e\"I'll even call you my partner. I can give you intel from here! What do you say, partner?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou take her soft paw into your hand and shake\n\n\\\u003e\"Alright, partner\"\n\n\\\u003eYou hope you don't regret this\n\nCHapter 4: at the end of the day\n\n\\\u003eYou check your savings account on your phone as you trudge home through the rain\n\n\\\u003eThe walk back isn't so depressing as before though\n\n\\\u003eWith that 3,000nd from Star for delivering that toy to her, you now sit at a comfortable 35k\n\n\\\u003eYou're going to blow most of it, now\n\n\\\u003eIt's enough for the Keneda Hoverbike you've been saving up for\n\n\\\u003eWith that purchase under your belt, you also have enough savings to survive for about 2 months without getting pay\n\n\\\u003eYou've gotten lucky these past few days\n\n\\\u003eFirst, there was the Weasel who wasn't all that hard to track\n\n\\\u003eThe second was basically boiling himself in a pool, fat and ready and ripe for the taking\n\n\\\u003e...Ew\n\n\\\u003eYou shake those thoughts away, giving a final shudder not from the rain and dip under an awning, and fiddle for your phone\n\n\\\u003ePulling up the sellers details, you punch in the number and give them a call\n\n\\\u003eA few rings later, and a hologram of an anthro Racoon pops up\n\n\\\u003e\"What up, you finish that bike mod for me? I can come pick it up now\"\n\n\\\u003eHis eyes unfocused for a second\n\n\\\u003e\"You the weird guy who needs the bike modded?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Yeah, is it ready?\"\n\n\\\u003eHe looks off 'screen' for a moment, then comes back into focus, saying \"Yeah it's ready. It's 27k now, though\"\n\n\\\u003eYou pull your phone closer to you\n\n\\\u003e\"Wha- twen- Seriously? You told me 24k last week!\"\n\n\\\u003eHe has the nerve to smirk at you, \"it was harder to mod than I thought\"\n\n\\\u003eYou wanted to call out the trash panda's skills with a wrench, but he had your bike, and by extension you, by the balls here\n\n\\\u003eYou sigh\n\n\\\u003eNo one else even offered to try modding a speeder or hoverbike for you\n\n\\\u003eThe only reason this one was even able to get swapped is because it was built in someone's garage, and not from a factory line\n\n\\\u003eYou step back into the rain and start walking again\n\n\\\u003e\"Fine, can I come get it today\"\n\n\\\u003eHe looks off again\n\n\\\u003e\"Yeah, that's fine. How long till you get here?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou swipe him away and pull up maps, and route to the garage\n\n\\\u003e'1HR 23M'\n\n\\\u003e\"Uh, you're on the other side of the red light district? So an hour or 2?\"\n\n\\\u003eIt wiped the smirk off his trashy muzzle, looking displeased at having to wait\n\n\\\u003eNot like he can't be bothered with the rain\n\n\\\u003e\"Ugh fine yeah, can't go out in this rain anyways\"\n\n\\\u003e/sigh\n\n\\\u003e\"Great,\" you say, and hang up on him\n\n\\\u003eWhat started as an awful day just got a little better\n\n\\\u003eGot a client and gonna get your bike\n\n\\\u003eAs such, you move quicker through the streets, avoiding getting splashed by passing speeders and the occasional (well covered) bike\n\n\\\u003eThe quiet of the rain doesn't last all that long with your phone ringing this time\n\n\\\u003eOpening it up, it's Gabriel\n\n\\\u003eThumbing the accept without having to stop Gabriel now spawns on it\n\n\\\u003e\"Hey null, did you go out and have fun?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou grimace\n\n\\\u003e\"I went out but I didn't have 'fun',\" you hunch over in your stride having left the cover of a roof by the street, \"Everyone at that club avoided me like the plague. I told you this always happens when I go out alone\"\n\n\\\u003eYou hear him face palm, and glancing down he leaves it there for a few moments\n\n\\\u003eAfter dragging his hand off he looks back at you\n\n\\\u003e\"Have you tried talking to people?\"\n\n\\\u003eThe hand wave was unnecessary\n\n\\\u003eYou give him a big thumbs up\n\n\\\u003e\"Yeah, I did try and got called a freak for it,\" you say dryly\n\n\\\u003eHe visibly deflates at that, looking a bit disheartened\n\n\\\u003eBut you know both of you aren't surprised by it\n\n\\\u003eYou can't fault the man for trying though, especially since he's the one that got you started on bounty hunting, taking you under his wing so to speak\n\n\\\u003e\"Look,\" you start up, and grabbing his attention again,\" I met a girl though\"\n\n\\\u003eHe lightens up a bit with a smile\n\n\\\u003e\"Did you now? I thought you got called, er, a rarity\"\n\n\\\u003eYou wave that aside not wanting to think about it\n\n\\\u003e\"No, no, I met her when I was doing a bounty\"\n\n\\\u003eBack to neutral he goes\n\n\\\u003e\"I thought you learned better after what happened in Cydonia,\" he says with a low voice\n\n\\\u003eYou grip your left side as he does\n\n\\\u003e\"I did... Nothing like that will happen again, this is different. She was the client, wants me to help her get-\"\n\n\\\u003eYou don't want to admit you're gathering toys for her\n\n\\\u003e\"- some valuable items\"\n\n\\\u003eIgnoring your slip, either for your benefit or his, he crosses his arms over his chest\n\n\\\u003e\"That's not meeting a girl Anon\"\n\n\\\u003eYou frown\n\n\\\u003e\"That's getting a job\"\n\n\\\u003eDouble frown\n\n\\\u003e\"Closest I've gotten to meeting a girl that will talk to me besides Missy, and she just wants my money\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Fine, but stay alert, I don't need my partner getting killed for some 'valuable items'\"\n\n\\\u003eYou nod, \"I'll be careful\"\n\n\\\u003eHe just shrugs back\n\n\\\u003e\"Alright, then see ya\"\n\n\\\u003eHis hologram winks out and you stuff your phone back into your pocket\n\n\\\u003eYou learned, all right\n\n\\\u003eIt's a lesson you will never forget...\n\n\\\u003eIt takes about an hour and a half to reach the garage where the bike is being kept\n\n\\\u003eWhen you reach the open garage, Mark, the seller waves from inside with his cybernetic paws\n\n\\\u003e\"I would walk out and greet you, buuut,\" he spins one of them in it's socket\n\n\\\u003eYou nod, hoping to cut the bullshit between you and your bike, and make your way inside\n\n\\\u003eThere it is, the Keneda MK7 Hoverbike\n\n\\\u003eHe at least had the decency of having it front and center\n\n\\\u003eBright red, looking like the nose and cockpit of an ancient F-17 and with a full canopy to protect you from the rain\n\n\\\u003eTo call it a bike was a bit of a misnomer though, it was more of a one man car\n\n\\\u003eIt got the 'bike' name from it being a lifted by dual hoverpads instead of the traditional 4\n\n\\\u003eIt had an upright seat and everything\n\n\\\u003e\"Oh, she's pretty,\" you say as you walk over to it, running a hand down it's side\n\n\\\u003e\"Yea she's a beaut,\" Mark smiles\n\n\\\u003eHe walks over and points to the dashboard\n\n\\\u003e\"Normally it would start when a person with the right ID Chip gets in, but I rigged this one to start via your fingerprints. Bastard of a part to find, but go ahead and let it scan you in\"\n\n\\\u003eYou get a quick ding as you press your finger to the small button on its face\n\n\\\u003e\"It's all set for you now, so how about them credits\"\n\n\\\u003eYou pull out your phone and tap a few buttons\n\n\\\u003eHis right eye goes blue\n\n\\\u003eMust be connected to his accounts\n\n\\\u003e\"Got it, 27k Credits,\" he blinks his eyes a few times, and holds out a paw\n\n\\\u003e\"Good working with you Anon\"\n\n\\\u003eYou smile and shake it\n\n\\\u003e\"Thanks\"\n\n\\\u003eWith that you get into the Hoverbike and pull the canopy down\n\nIt's a nice fit, giving you enough leg room to stretch your legs a little if you needed\n\n\\\u003eYou push on the same button as before, and soon it's roaring like a T-rex\n\n\\\u003eNice\n\n\\\u003eYou give one final wave to Mark and you're off\n\n\\\u003eBlasting out from the garage and out into the street, you can't help but marvel at the speed\n\n\\\u003eSo this is freedom\n\n\\\u003eRain streaks by as you race down the sideroads, taking sharp corners and doing your damnedest to float past every puddle you find\n\n\\\u003eWhat would have taken you an hour to get home takes close to around 10 minutes\n\n\\\u003eOh god, this opens up a whole new world for you, you can widen the search parameters of your computer\n\n\\\u003eYou can make so much more money, and with it a place somewhere out of these slums\n\n\\\u003eBut for now it's back to your apartment for you\n\n\\\u003eYou park your bike into a service elevator just to the side of your complex, having to fiddle with the keys a bit to get the thing to work with your phone instead\n\n\\\u003eA few swears, some furious typing, and a kick for good measure, your bike zips down and becomes the landlord's problem for reckless damages\n\n\\\u003eYou think, anyways\n\n\\\u003eWalking up the steps and going up a few more inside, you're upstairs, and you enter your apartment\n\n\\\u003eHome seems a lot less constricting now\n\n\\\u003eIt's more of a base than an anchor kind of feeling\n\n\\\u003eYou idly reset your computer's search width when suddenly your phone goes off again\n\n\\\u003eIt's Star this time\n\n\\\u003eYou answer, and almost throw the thing into the nearest wall from the overblown view of her face\n\n\\\u003eShe's too close to her hololens\n\n\\\u003e\"HELLLOO ANON! IT's me, Star!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou're pretty sure you got that already\n\n\\\u003eYou rub the bridge of your nose, and look up at the giant blue star\n\n\\\u003e\"Hi star, you're too close to the Hololens. All I see is a warped image of your face\"\n\n\\\u003eShe smiles, probably\n\n\\\u003e\"It's OK! So! I got some stuff ordered so I can help you when I send you out to get my Gunplas!\"\n\n\\\u003e...What?\n\n\\\u003e\"Can you come by tomorrow? Plus, I might have something for you to grab!\"\n\n\\\u003eSorting the new word into the /trash/ bin, you rub one of your eyes and look back to her\n\n\\\u003eHer enthusiasm is tiring, to say the least\n\n\\\u003e\"Alright Star, I'll be there\"\n\n\\\u003eYawning halfway through, you ask \"N at what time?\"\n\n\\\u003eShe smiles with her star pupils spinning widely\n\n\\\u003e\"How about 3 AM? It's obvious you don't sleep at night!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou slowly nod\n\n\\\u003e\"Sure, but remember: nothing too heavy, I can only carry so much\"\n\n\\\u003eAs you talk you take Rose out of her holster and set her on the table\n\n\\\u003eIf you were a weaker man, her rapidly spinning up eyes could kill a man\n\n\\\u003eSeizures are no joke, especially when your body can't ping for help\n\n\\\u003e\"I only get the best, don't worry Anon!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou're very worried, and you frown to show it\n\n\\\u003e\"Look Star, Usually I just go with my basic gear. What else do you have, and why do you think I'll need it?\"\n\n\\\u003eHer Holo is 80% grinning teeth\n\n\\\u003e\"You'll see!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou rub your face from the tiredness beginning to set in\n\n\\\u003eYou spent a lot of the day walking around and being ordered around by a pint sized Opossum\n\n\\\u003eIt's almost enough to make you forget about Cydonia and the Lonely Heart\n\n\\\u003eYour hand rubs your side absentmindedly as you think about both in the privacy of your own dulled mind\n\n\\\u003eYou're fairly confident you've suppressed and beaten down this shitty feeling before, but now it's doubling down and clawing to come back out\n\n\\\u003eSomething is pulling it along, something you don't understand\n\n\\\u003eIt's not happiness, you currently aren't being paid right now\n\n\\\u003eIt's a something that coldly burns your heart with longing, a longing you don't want\n\n\\\u003eBut it's there, whispering to you\n\n\\\u003e\"It's ok\"\n\n\\\u003eFuck off, you crush it like a hydraulic press\n\n\\\u003eNo room, no time, no reason for it\n\n\\\u003eNothing for anything other than your pay\n\n\\\u003eYou had a hand to your forehead for awhile now, and slowly dragging it off you look just above it at your new untapped source of income\n\n\\\u003e\"I'll see you tomorrow then,\" you say to the overly excited Hologram\n\n\\\u003eShe smiles, still spinning her emotions away through her eyes\n\n\\\u003eAt least, you won't have to guess with her\n\n\\\u003e\"Yeah, I'll see ya!\"\n\n\\\u003eAnd then, she disappears\n\n\\\u003eFuck, what a weird day\n\n\\\u003eYou strip to your underwear and get into bed, not having bothered with eating and only wasting time on the barest necessities\n\n\\\u003eThe rain still hasn't let up, but it's there to fill the noise in your mind flooding with thoughts as you lay there in bed\n\n\\\u003eYour ceiling is looking particularly nice tonight\n\n\\\u003eIt's a nice, different change of pace\n\n\\\u003eAn interesting concept surfaces in your head, one that you didn't think could ever exist\n\n\\\u003eYou're different, and that's what Star must have liked\n\n\\\u003eNot like Missy and the other tramps\n\n\\\u003eShe saw use in you\n\n\\\u003eNot what was on you\n\n\\\u003eWhat a stupid concept\n\n\\\u003eWhy do you not immediately hate it\n\n\\\u003eYou almost laugh at the thought that she's different in how naive she might be\n\n\\\u003eCompletely fine with a total stranger in a bunker that's decked out with cameras and hidden away\n\n\\\u003ePeople must not have beaten it in her yet\n\n\\\u003eDespite it all you can't shoot every thought\n\n\\\u003eTo leave a small door open, for the one chance its genuine\n\n\\\u003eYour mind tells you to put up the walls\n\n\\\u003eYour heart says to leave it open for those who are worthy\n\n\\\u003eYou kindly ask both to shut the fuck up, your ammo being\n\n\\\u003e\"It'll be the same as last time,\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Nothing will come of it besides credits, so be ready\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Accept you are worse than nothing to them\"\n\n\\\u003eAnd yet, you're still alive\n\n\\\u003eWith multiple, supposedly god like beings put in the grave by your unmodded hands\n\n\\\u003eIt doesn't stop the taunts of everyone you ever knew grasp at you\n\n\\\u003eEven Gabriel, with his \"Go out and meet someone\"\n\n\\\u003eIf only he knew how those words cut into you\n\n\\\u003eYou try to fall asleep, tossing and turning from the fighting inside you\n\n\\\u003eMisses of real life and dreamstate tormenting you while the minutes ticked by\n\n\\\u003eWith one last tired appeal, you eventually fall asleep\n\n\\\u003eIt will be better, it must be\n\n\\\u003eStick to it\n\n\\\u003eDo what you can, no more\n\n\\\u003eYou'll always have to do more\n\n\\\u003eIt's your life, dammit\n\n\\\u003eYour restless dreams hold schemes, scenarios, plans and strategies you will never use\n\n\\\u003eBetter to have them than not, right?\n\n\\\u003eYou never know when the time where you needed them most comes back to torment you again\n\n\\\u003eGod. Damn. Toy collecting\n\nChapter 5: Stranger\n\n\\\u003eYou wake up after a nice deep sleep\n\n\\\u003eThat's...surprisingly rare\n\n\\\u003eUsually the neon lights or the consistent rain wakes you\n\n\\\u003eGranted, you were tired from walking so much yesterday\n\n\\\u003eYou suppose it doesn't matter now though, as your stomach is having a fit at the fact that all you had was ramen\n\n\\\u003eTime to remedy that\n\n\\\u003eYou get up and stretch, your back popping feeling extra satisfying this morning\n\n\\\u003eTaking a few steps into the kitchen and half blindly fingering your food synth, a steak and cheese omelette(one of your favorites) is slapped onto a plate\n\n\\\u003eA casual glance over the counter at your computer shows that there's a lot more activity going through the feeds\n\n\\\u003eWith your updated distance specs, it's pulling in a lot more bounties now\n\n\\\u003eFood in hand you sit down and click to the bounty network itself\n\n\\\u003eAs much as you wanted too, there isn't any hunting today\n\n\\\u003eYou have to meet Star and see what she wanted\n\n\\\u003eDistracting yourself a bit you decide to look up news on the fat man again\n\n\\\u003eNicolas Belacov, the whale that he was, had a nice fat 7.5k cred bounty just for being family to the Head of The Sailors\n\n\\\u003eYou still don't regret putting a bullet in him knowing full well that they would never be able to find you\n\n\\\u003eEven through the anonymous bounty network, you've kept your accounts unnamed, with no address either\n\n\\\u003eSurprisingly easy to fool the system when you legitimately have no way to be tracked\n\n\\\u003eThough being a family man, you know that those specific bounties often had friends or family seeking reprisals\n\n\\\u003eBut your unwanted stealth field still works, the best thing to have as a bounty hunter\n\n\\\u003eAs you scroll the news you see a lot of recent stores on the whale himself\n\n\\\u003eHe was a typical sexual deviant, enjoying hurting petite girls and those guys that look like girls\n\n\\\u003e'Traps'\n\n\\\u003eEgh, not your thing, but some people liked them\n\n\\\u003eThere are a lot of pictures of his work, showing multiple images of poor Anthros and Humans looking mutilated and scarred\n\n\\\u003eYou did the world a favor for once\n\n\\\u003eThat man was a monster, and you know monsters\n\n\\\u003eStill not finished with your food and just as bored as ever, you then decide to browse around NikoNeko, pulling up videos of feral cats attacking inanimate objects and generally acting like shits\n\n\\\u003eOverall, a pretty solid use of your time\n\n\\\u003eMaybe you can get a pet cat yourself with your new job\n\n\\\u003eBut that's enough of that\n\n\\\u003eYou've finished eating, and now it's time to get ready\n\n\\\u003ePiss, shower, shave, get dressed\n\n\\\u003eA common morning routine that ends with you putting on your usual gear\n\n\\\u003eYour leather bomber jacket, a shock knife, a scanner, and a few sets of electromag cuffs\n\n\\\u003eAnd Rose, which you make extra sure is fully charged and ready\n\n\\\u003e\"Time,\" you mumble\n\n\\\u003e\"2:34 AM,\" it sounds a little off towards the end, adding yet another possible expense to your list of things to buy\n\n\\\u003eYou slept in late\n\n\\\u003eThat's just as rare as having an uninterrupted one as well\n\n\\\u003eBut luckily you have your bike now!\n\n\\\u003eNo more hour plus long walks for you anymore\n\n\\\u003eYou grab your phone and head out the door\n\n\\\u003eYou're standing in front of the service elevator, and you're pretty sure it's kill count rivals that of your own\n\n\\\u003eThankfully it's much more agreeable this time in bringing up your Hoverbike, and it's successfully avoided needing a few kicks from your steel toed boots\n\n\\\u003eFor now\n\n\\\u003ePretty soon, your bike is brought up and pulled out, with you getting in it soon after\n\n\\\u003e'Your hoverbike'\n\n\\\u003eIt's still weird to say\n\n\\\u003eYou've never had anything like this, nothing so big or substantial\n\n\\\u003eEven renting your apartment was done via a robot who took your payments regardless\n\n\\\u003eWith a quick jab of your thumb she's started up and raring to go at your command\n\n\\\u003eIs this what having a girlfriend is like? Not that you know of, anyways\n\n\\\u003eSmirking the thought away you pull out into the street and notice that the rain is at a minimum today\n\n\\\u003e'Still bad for business,' you think to yourself\n\n\\\u003eYou hope that whatever Star wants, it'l at least take up all of your day\n\n\\\u003eIt's not the water that's the issue for people, its the magnetic storms that come after\n\n\\\u003eOn particularly bad days the air itself could fry someone's back alley garbage, and so in an effort to prevent it they shut off the more exposed Augs, which just so happens to include the ID implants\n\n\\\u003eFry one of those, and it's a straight shock to your head\n\n\\\u003eYour body will be fine, but your bike?\n\n\\\u003eNope! Nope, suppress it, today is going to be a good day\n\n\\\u003eProbably\n\n\\\u003eYou have free range of the place on somewhat common days such as this regardless\n\n\\\u003eSmall victory, which is all you really need at this point\n\n\\\u003eYou quietly drive down the roads towards Star's 'address' before you give her a call\n\n\\\u003eYou had to fight with it for a few rings before giving up and parking closeby\n\n\\\u003eAfter a few minutes of fiddling, a call gets through and a thankfully normal looking holo of Star appears like it should be\n\n\\\u003e\"HIIIIII ANON! Whats UP?!\"\n\n\\\u003eStill need to fix the volume\n\n\\\u003eBut you can't help but smile\n\n\\\u003e\"Hi Star, I'm here with my bike this time. Should I park in the street or what?\"\n\n\\\u003eShe does a silly little dance, her signature features spinning wildly with excitement\n\n\\\u003e\"Come around the back! There's a kinda faded red square! Park there!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou look around you for a few moments and on spotting an alleyway, you get back in and slowly drive past the walls\n\n\\\u003eThere is a tiny lot back here, and after a quick search you find an almost scraped-off red square on the ground\n\n\\\u003eDialing Star once more, you sit your bike over the square, feeling slightly annoyed that you have to fight with your phone again\n\n\\\u003eHer happiness overcomes it though\n\n\\\u003e\"You there?! One sec!\"\n\n\\\u003eNo kidding\n\n\\\u003eWithin said second you feel the ground rumble beneath you as a hidden door opens in the side of one of the ruins\n\n\\\u003eShe has a fucking hidden door\n\n\\\u003eWho needs that level of security?\n\n\\\u003eRiding down the ramp into the bunker basement, you can't help but think about it\n\n\\\u003eShe outright threatened your silence, then went back to an overly giddy teenager\n\n\\\u003eCrime boss kids are suppose to be snooty, stupid hard asses, not rabid toy collectors\n\n\\\u003eYou couldn't find anything on her when you went home, but the little things start to validate her\n\n\\\u003eAnd yet there she is, waiting next to an open door and happily waving towards you\n\n\\\u003e\"HEEELLLOOOOOO ANON!\"\n\n\\\u003eNot that this was a bad thing, of course\n\n\\\u003eShe leaps onto your side with a hug when you aren't even halfway off your bike\n\n\\\u003eWhat the fuck\n\n\\\u003e\"Why are you hugging me?\" you sputter, \"you barely know me!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou try to use an arm to wedge her off\n\n\\\u003e\"Get off!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou tried, anyways\n\n\\\u003eShe's stronger than she looks\n\n\\\u003e\"OOOOOH, I'm SO EXCITED ANON! COME ON!\"\n\n\\\u003eShe finally lets go and drags you along by your hand\n\n\\\u003eYou immediately drop her enthusiasm back to tiring\n\n\\\u003e\"I got some really cool stuff we can use to get my Gunplas!\"\n\n\\\u003eBy we she means you\n\n\\\u003eThis girl can't find subtle in the dictionary while trying to stealth her way out of a paper bag\n\n\\\u003eShe leads you rather forcefully into the main room you stumbled upon before, where monitors lined every wall\n\n\\\u003eA table you hadn't noticed before is placed center of the room, and covered with a few things on it\n\n\\\u003eThere's a thing you can't recognize set next to a weird looking helmet and a Scanner like the one on your arm on top of it\n\n\\\u003e\"Look look I got you this cool helmet! I can talk to you through it and see what you see! It'll be like I'm Sayla Mass and you're Amuro Ray!\"\n\n\\\u003eWhat does that even mean?!\n\n\\\u003eYou grab the helmet that's been shoved in your face and look at it\n\n\\\u003eIt has glowing green eyes, and what looks like a yellow boomerang attached to the front of it\n\n\\\u003eIt clashes terribly with your outfit\n\n\\\u003e\"Ok, I like the helmet, but...\" you grab at the yellow bent banana bit, \"this boomerang thing needs to go,\" it gives after a few good tugs, having been glued on apparently\n\n\\\u003eNow it looks like a normal helmet, with the weird attached distraction now fully removed\n\n\\\u003eYou look at Star and see her pupils have become little teardrops\n\n\\\u003eHuh, interesting\n\n\\\u003e\"That was a replica of the Gsm1/24 Msz-006 Z Gundam Head!\" she sniffled, \"and you pulled off the most defining part...\" her voice trails off while she looks at the boomerang you tossed aside\n\n\\\u003eIt's a neat helmet, but you weren't hired for neat\n\n\\\u003eYou set the helmet down and put your hands on her shoulders and look into her still teary eyes\n\n\\\u003eDammit, she made them bigger\n\n\\\u003e\"You hired me to be untraceable, to be a ghost. I don't need flashy parts, and if you want to monitor what I'm doing, fine, but basic is always easier for me\"\n\n\\\u003eYou look back at the glowing green eyed and gas mask atrocity sitting on the table, that, admittedly the second part being potentially useful\n\n\\\u003eLooking back she still seems a bit down, her eyes back on the ripped off part\n\n\\\u003e\"So,\" you say, glancing back at the table, \"what else is all this?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou pick up the gauntlet and hold it up next to your own, \"what else is all this? I already have a scanner\"\n\n\\\u003eIt gets her out of her funk, and her tail grabs one of the things and pulls it to her\n\n\\\u003e\"That scanner is an upgraded version of yours! And this,\" she clicks something on the handle, \"is a fusion sword!\"\n\n\\\u003eYeah, yeah it was\n\n\\\u003eIt's certainly flashy, and almost flaming in a straight line of fire\n\n\\\u003eYou assume your best annoyed, confused frown\n\n\\\u003eIt's not that you disliked the idea of having a fusion sword, but they were too noticeable\n\n\\\u003e\"No, I'll wear the helmet, but no fusion swords,\" she starts to pout again, \"I can't get too close to anyone augmented with that, and I definitely won't win in any close combat\"\n\n\\\u003eShe waves it dangerously close to your face with her stomping\n\n\\\u003e\"But it's so cool! You can be just like the RX-78!\"\n\n\\\u003eAnother, hopefully accidental, swing\n\n\\\u003e\"Fine! I'll take it,\" and you do, grabbing it from her and flicking it off for both of your sakes\n\n\\\u003e\"I doubt I'll use it though,\" you say as you hook it to your belt\n\n\\\u003eLike a switch she's brightened up again\n\n\\\u003e\"YAY!\" she finishes her mood swing with another hug\n\n\\\u003eYou're a bit faster this time, holding up a hand to stop her\n\n\\\u003eAs cute as she is, you barely know her\n\n\\\u003e\"Quit it with hugs, and what am I getting for you\"\n\n\\\u003eShe grabs your outstretched hand and pulls you to her computer connected her largest monitors\n\n\\\u003e\"You're grabbing me a Nu Gundam Ver.Ka Titanium Finish Gunpla!\"\n\n\\\u003eDon't ask, don't question it, smile and nod\n\n\\\u003eEven with her pointing to one of the pictures of a toy robot, it still doesn't help\n\n\\\u003e\"There's a guy who has one but refuses to sell! I want it and you're gonna go get it!\"\n\n\\\u003eWell, that's pretty easy now that you think about it\n\n\\\u003e\"Ok, where is he and I'll go get your toy\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Collectible! I'm sending the info to your helmet now!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou grab the helmet and put it on\n\n\\\u003eSeconds later, you can start to see pretty clearly as the HUD boots up\n\n\\\u003eIs this what having augmented vision is like?\n\n\\\u003eIt even has nightvision and enemy tracking\n\n\\\u003e\"Star how did-\"\n\n\\\u003e'??????????????'\n\n\\\u003e\"What.\"\n\n\\\u003eThe progress bar finished loading, and the the damn thing decided to yell at you too\n\n\\\u003eTurning to her, you see her pupils are spinning wildly\n\n\\\u003e\"OH MY GOSH YOU LOOK SO COOL! Kinda like Spike Speigel with a helmet, or like Jacket from Hotline Miami!\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Uh, thanks, I guess\"\n\n\\\u003eYou cough\n\n\\\u003e\"Now then, let's get this over with\"\n\n\\\u003eBefore she can spring any more gadgets on you, you head to your bike and get in\n\n\\\u003eWhen the canopy closes, a static image of a way-to-close scrunched opossum face fills the top right portion of your helmet\n\n\\\u003e\"Helllloooo Anon! Can you hear me?\"\n\n\\\u003eIt comes through clear enough\n\n\\\u003e\"Yes star, I can hear you. Now where am I going? I thought you said you were sending the info\"\n\n\\\u003eYou hear a few clicks\n\n\\\u003e\"Whoops, sorry! Here it is\"\n\n\\\u003eShe's replaced with a basic grid map, and a route at the bottom of your vision starts to appear on the ground\n\n\\\u003eShaking off the nonsense and cracking your neck, you turn on your bike and gun it up the ramp\n\n\\\u003e\"This guy won't just give you the Gunpla Anon, you might have to fight for it\"\n\n\\\u003e\"I figured, I'll be fine,\" you say, weaving through the traffic\n\n\\\u003eIn the brief time you can, you look up at the sky and see the clouds have turned an eerie blue color\n\n\\\u003eThose storms came as a side effect of the weather control, something about too much static would build up in the clouds and eventually need to be released\n\n\\\u003eThey only last about an hour though\n\n\\\u003eThinking little of it your bike roars through the streets, neon lights zoom past and meld into your windshield as you drive\n\n\\\u003eYou still can't believe the simple fact you can go anywhere, and do so much more now\n\n\\\u003e\"Hey Anon! Whatcha thinking about? Talk with me, you're so quiet\"\n\n\\\u003eAnnoying, cute, both at the same time, you can't decide\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm thinking about how to not get killed. If this guy has any combat Augs I'll need to either sneak up on him or I'll have to shoot him. Can't go toe to toe with most people\"\n\n\\\u003eThe storm is starting to crackle in the skies above you, and even a portion of your HUD starts to short out\n\n\\\u003ePerfect\n\n\\\u003eHe wouldn't know you were coming\n\n\\\u003eAnother, louder crackle causes you to look up into the roiling angry blue clouds\n\n\\\u003e\"Wow! The city is beautiful! I don't leave my basement though, too dangerous!\"\n\n\\\u003eToo dangerous?\n\n\\\u003e\"What do you mean 'too dangerous?' I'm out here and I don't have any augs at all\"\n\n\\\u003eShe's quiet for a moment\n\n\\\u003e\"My dad has a lot of enemies. He told me it was safer to live hidden so people wouldn't use me to get to him\"\n\n\\\u003eSilence\n\n\\\u003e\"S'why not many people know about it,\" more silence\n\n\\\u003e\"Because it's safe,\" she finishes quietly\n\n\\\u003eThe both of you don't say anything for awhile, knowing full well she's looking out at the road as you do\n\n\\\u003eBut soon enough she's back\n\n\\\u003e\"B-but I also enjoy it! Don't get me wrong I love just being able to do what I want all day!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou're waiting at a stop light with only a few cars on either side\n\n\\\u003e\"It's just, sometimes I get lonely, but...I have you now! You aren't one of my dad's henchmen and you're cool!\"\n\n\\\u003eCool\n\n\\\u003eSure, you can live with that\n\n\\\u003eHer excitement ramps up again the further you drive, spending the rest of the time of your ride with her asking things about you\n\n\\\u003eAnd although you don't ask, she tells you about herself\n\n\\\u003eShe's 25, enjoys playing video games and assembling her toys\n\n\\\u003eGrew up not leaving her father's house and was moved to her basement so she could be 'Independent'\n\n\\\u003eSounds like Daddy got rid of her so she wouldn't get in the way\n\n\\\u003eYou actually feel a bit bad for her\n\n\\\u003eBut she was happy about living down there, fiddling with her imports, toys, and whatever, so why should you care\n\n\\\u003eCredits is credits\n\n\\\u003eAnd your time suddenly got a lot more profitable\n\n\\\u003e\"Alright Star, I need you to be quiet for a bit,\" you say, pulling into a much cleaner apartment complex\n\n\\\u003eSince you're close, you park your bike a few blocks away\n\n\\\u003eNo reason to let the mark hear you over the storm\n\n\\\u003e\"But I wanna keep talking to yo\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Star! Be quiet and let me work, I need to hear everything going on\"\n\n\\\u003e\"O-ok, Anon\"\n\n\\\u003eHer and the map winks out after that\n\n\\\u003eWalking quickly, you follow the route cached route to the building\n\n\\\u003eIt's tall, somewhat on the high end, and your HUD tells you he's on the top floor\n\n\\\u003eOf course he is\n\n\\\u003eIt also just had to be 90 floors up, too\n\n\\\u003eAfter spotting no one in the lobby, you make your way to the door\n\n\\\u003eAs expected it beeps, with a little light glowing red to the side\n\n\\\u003eIt's nothing a little applied electrodynamics can't handle\n\n\\\u003eYou slice the shit out of it with your shock knife\n\n\\\u003eA few healthy pries on the door craves itself as well, and you've got a semi busted, but partially open doorway you can walk through\n\n\\\u003eThe elevator itself doesn't seem to fight you, but it does take awhile to convince it of the ghost that's trying to get on\n\n\\\u003eHitting the button for the top floor, you unholster Rose and cycle the cylinders until it sets to stun\n\n\\\u003eThe guy is definitely going to be home, and probly asleep\n\n\\\u003eBetter safe than sorry, too\n\n\\\u003eTucking your hand into your coat, you use your free one to open the doors and step out into a hallway\n\n\\\u003eThe rows of doors are thankfully silent after that minute of mindnumbingly bad elevator music\n\n\\\u003eNow...which door was it?\n\n\\\u003eYour route has disappeared by this point, and your only clue in the form of a note is the room 9008\n\n\\\u003eThankfully, it isn't long\n\n\\\u003eThe apartments must have a penthouse floor, as from the size of the outside you thought around 30 could fit here\n\n\\\u003eThe sperged on settling with 10 at the least\n\n\\\u003eOn your third attempt at picking a hallway, you eventually find the door\n\n\\\u003eA quick inspection of the door handle shows it's locked\n\n\\\u003eObviously, it would be\n\n\\\u003eIt's almost borderline retarded at how easy it is to bypass security with a little bit of boost juice, courtesy of your knife\n\n\\\u003eWith a clean wedge in the door frame and the handle, you up the voltage and leave it there\n\n\\\u003eIt quickly starts to smoke, the electricity overloading the lock and eventually giving you access\n\n\\\u003eOpening the door, your knife quietly fell onto the plush carpet, fully dead from usage\n\n\\\u003eAnother thing added to the list, it seems, of garbage you need to replace\n\n\\\u003eWell, so far, so good\n\n\\\u003eYou go through your mantra, which is a lot more useful than some people'd think\n\n\\\u003eBreathe, stay quiet and stay smart\n\n\\\u003ePushing the door open, you step into the apartment\n\n\\\u003eIt's completely and utterly trashed\n\n\\\u003eFood wrappers, soda bottles, and other questionable garbage litter the floor\n\n\\\u003eYeah, SOMEHOW, it's even worse than Star's basement\n\n\\\u003eYou carefully walk further in, trying harder to not have a repeat like before\n\n\\\u003eWhere is that toy Star wants?\n\n\\\u003eScanning the room only revealed the usual suspects you'd find in a living room, just with an extra dose of plastic wrappings and used tissue\n\n\\\u003eStill, it's fairly large, with a huge sliding glass door leading to the balcony\n\n\\\u003eA tiny hallway leads to a few doors from what you can see, and assuming the last one is the bedroom, you walk over to it\n\n\\\u003eOpening it shows!\n\n\\\u003eA fucking broom closet, with an added washer/dryer combo tucked away into the corner\n\n\\\u003eClosing the door, you go to the right one\n\n\\\u003eIt isn't the bedroom either, but rather, a very large bathroom\n\n\\\u003eThe tub is the size of your kitchenette almost\n\n\\\u003eSighing, you close that door as well, and focus your attention on the last one\n\n\\\u003eIt's always the last one\n\n\\\u003eBeing incredibly dark, the helmet's night vision turns on automatically\n\n\\\u003eEverything quickly comes into focus, revealing a small bedroom\n\n\\\u003eLike Star's room, it's lined wall to wall with toys, junk, and the occasional sword\n\n\\\u003eSword?\n\n\\\u003eYour eyes glaze over from the stupidity\n\n\\\u003eThe fact that you still have a job to do easily brings you back\n\n\\\u003e\"Star, which one is it,\" you whisper as you slide into the room and close the door behind you\n\n\\\u003e\"Uhh, it looks like this,\" said Star's empty box that changed to show an image of a box\n\n\\\u003eYou begin to search for it, noting that at least this room is cleaner than the main one\n\n\\\u003eA noise behind you sets you on edge, and you're thankful to find that sudden bright lights don't blind you through your helmet\n\n\\\u003eYou spin around and see a Human with a cybernetic arm, a dirty waif-beater top mixed with some sort of animal print sweat pants and the biggest, dumbest smile you've ever had the displeasure to see\n\n\\\u003eWhy is it always the trashy ones\n\n\\\u003e\"Haha! I knew one of these days someone would come!\" he points his human head to your belt\n\n\\\u003e\"I see you have a fusion sword! Draw it so we may duel\"\n\n\\\u003eHe flicks his metallic wrist, causing his hand to fold in and a blade to project through the socket\n\n\\\u003e\"I have trained for this day for years! I have studied the sword so that I ca-\"\n\n\\\u003eA quick shot to the chest and he falls like a ton of bricks, his fusion sword extinguishing halfway down\n\n\\\u003eWell, now you don't need to worry about being quiet anymore\n\n\\\u003eYou give him a quick test kick, just to be sure, and continue your searching soon after\n\n\\\u003e\"Hey Anon, why didn't you use the fusion sword I gave you? I bet you could beat him\"\n\n\\\u003eYou continue looking as you answer\n\n\\\u003e\"Why fight him? I could get killed, and it's easier to just stun the fucker\"\n\n\\\u003e\"But that's not fair, if someone challenges you with a sword you're suppose to duel with them, right?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou laugh a bit\n\n\\\u003e\"This isn't one of your shows Star, this is real life and it isn't about being fair. It's about getting out of it alive\"\n\n\\\u003eShe hums through comms for awhile\n\n\\\u003e\"Gun beats sword, Star,\" you deadpan\n\n\\\u003e\"...Not if he can cut the bullets it's not,\" she mumbles, eventually sounding satisfied after a few minutes of searching\n\n\\\u003eBut\n\n\\\u003eTalk about so many fucking boxes though\n\n\\\u003eYou've been at it for awhile, and you damn near jump from the screech in your ear\n\n\\\u003e\"OH! OH! GO BACK! THAT ONE!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou reel back\n\n\\\u003e\"OW what the fuck Star, don't yell!\" you yell\n\n\\\u003e\"Sorry sorry! Look to your right!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou do\n\n\\\u003e\"There! Grab it grab it!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou grab the box and look at it, taking in all the features of every face and corner, and even into the small plastic window inside\n\n\\\u003eIt doesn't look impressive at all\n\n\\\u003e\"Oh my gosh! He didn't put it together! YAY! Now I get too! Come on back Anon! I'm gonna grab my tools!\"\n\n\\\u003eA mile a minute with her\n\n\\\u003eYou hear her almost fall out of her chair, with the sounds of pawed feet scraping away soon after\n\n\\\u003eTaking one last look at the box, and then the room, your eyes fall on a model that's bigger than the other and looks like it can light up\n\n\\\u003eBigger is better right?\n\n\\\u003eYou grab it too\n\n\\\u003eMaybe you can get a bonus for it from Star\n\n\\\u003eLeaving the apartment was easier than entering\n\n\\\u003eAutomated security floats on past you while you move through the hallway\n\n\\\u003eSpinning past their floating circular bodies, you give them a wave and continue your walk to the elevator\n\n\\\u003eIn no time at all you're back on your bike and heading towards Star\n\n\\\u003e\"Hey Anon!\"\n\n\\\u003eSpeaking of\n\n\\\u003e\"I registered your bike in my bunker's computer! The door will open automatically for you now!\"\n\n\\\u003eOh, that's actually nice\n\n\\\u003eThe ride to the bunker is fast with most of the streets clear from the average Joe risking his Augs in his car\n\n\\\u003eIt's almost over too soon by the time you're driving down the ramp to see Star bouncing happily waiting for you\n\n\\\u003eIf she bounced anymore violently her tits would pop right out of that tank top\n\n\\\u003eShe may say she's 25, but with her height...\n\n\\\u003eNo time to continue that thought process, the opossum in question is glued back to your sides once more\n\n\\\u003eYou can at least confirm that her, 'assets', don't seem to be fake, at least\n\n\\\u003eNow if only you can drown out the yelling\n\n\\\u003e\"Oh my gosh oh my gosh gimme gimme gimme!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou've been holding both boxes above your head while you struggled to enter the bunker\n\n\\\u003eFinally reaching the table inside, her pupils become little hearts as she holds the smaller one in front of her\n\n\\\u003e\"Yessssss,\" she outright hissed, \"I've wanted this for SOOOOO long!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou forgot about her plastic dungeon due to her dashing into a side room, leaving you stranded and standing there\n\n\\\u003eWell, better see what the fuss is about\n\n\\\u003eAnd get paid\n\n\\\u003eAnd to take off the helmet, too\n\n\\\u003eLeaving it behind with the larger box in hand, you follower he deeper into the bunker\n\n\\\u003e\"Hey Star, you still need to pay me!\" you call out\n\n\\\u003eYou aren't surprised you were totally ignored\n\n\\\u003eShe's already in her toy room with all the parts spread out and an assortment of tools nearby\n\n\\\u003eTime for plan B\n\n\\\u003e\"Is this thing worth anything?\" you hold out the larger box\n\n\\\u003e\"HM? Is what worth anythinggGGGGG?!\" Her eyes fall on the encased robot you had in your hands\n\n\\\u003e\"OH EM GEE ANON! That's a Perfect Grade, Nu Gundam with LEDs! It's SUPER rare! I didn't know he had this!\"\n\n\\\u003eScore\n\n\\\u003eAlso, what\n\n\\\u003e\"It's a what?\" you say, setting it on the table\n\n\\\u003e\"NuGandamu wa sho dakede wanai Anon! It's super rare and valuable! 1/60th scale model!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou rub the bridge of your nose\n\n\\\u003e\"What, Star? I don't speak Japanese or nerd\"\n\n\\\u003eShe huffs at you and clicks a switch that makes the model light up\n\n\\\u003e\"This Nu Gundam isn't just for show!\"\n\n\\\u003eWhat does that even mean!\n\n\\\u003eWhatever\n\n\\\u003e\"Alright Star, I'm glad you got your to-'collectors'(\"collectibles!\"), yeah, that, but can you pay me? I'll then get out of your hair and let you play with them in peace\"\n\n\\\u003eShe stops staring at the model you gave her and looks at you, her tail swishing about behind her\n\n\\\u003e\"Uh..Why don't you stay and help? Y'know, uh, to keep me company? I would leave to hear about some of your bounties\"\n\n\\\u003eIs this girl serious? You don't have any plans but it came across as odd that she would want you to stay\n\n\\\u003e\"What? You just met me, and technically it hasn't even been a day. All you know is that I'm just some guy who wandered into your basement\"\n\n\\\u003eShe looks you over\n\n\\\u003e\"But you're so interesting! An unaugmented Human! And a bounty hunter at that! You're so cool!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou don't know what to think as you scratch your head\n\n\\\u003eOpening an eye, you see her blue eyes are beaming up at yours, and she smiles broadly\n\n\\\u003eJust normal, circular orbs stare back at yours\n\n\\\u003e\"Come on! Stay for some food at least!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou suppose it won't kill you to eat for free\n\n\\\u003eBut still\n\n\\\u003eYou relent, accepting that more of your time will be eaten up by this confusing...\n\n\\\u003eYou don't even bother to finish it\n\n\\\u003e\"Alright Star, but you better have some great food\"\n\n\\\u003eShe bounces happily and rushes past you\n\n\\\u003e\"Come on! I can make us some sushi and green tea!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou sigh\n\n\\\u003eIt's just for credits, right?\n\n\\\u003eRight...\n\nChapter 6: Brother\n\n\\\u003eIt's been 2 days since you 'hung out' with Star\n\n\\\u003eBy that you really mean she talked at you about her...collectibles nonstop\n\n\\\u003eBut you have to admire her passion for what she loves\n\n\\\u003eFor now you're in Gabriel's duo speeder flying away after a very successful hunt\n\n\\\u003eThe two of you had managed to track down another family member of the Sailor's boss\n\n\\\u003eHis brother actually\n\n\\\u003eTook a bit of snooping, and a fair bit of extortion from some of Gabriel's contacts, and more than a couple called in favors to get to him, but it was worth it\n\n\\\u003eYou found the dude in a sauna getting whipped by some polar bears\n\n\\\u003eFor the second, possibly third time in your life you wished Draino, a powerful memory removal agent, was legal again\n\n\\\u003eThe hell kind of combination is money and weird ass fetishes with these people\n\n\\\u003eSettling with a light forehead massage to beat the memories away, your phone dinging causes you to check it\n\n\\\u003eIt's a message, saying that you've successfully been paid 20k\n\n\\\u003eTo your surprise, the payee isn't anonymous, but rather the jarringly initialed J.D reads across the screen\n\n\\\u003eJust J.D, and nothing more\n\n\\\u003eIt doesn't take you long to connect the first thing that comes to mind with the name\n\n\\\u003e\"Jonathan Dismond\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Did you say something?\" Gabriel still has his eyes on the road\n\n\\\u003e\"Erh, yeah, that we just got paid,\" you cover up\n\n\\\u003eStar's father, and head of a huge crime syndicate, personally payed you today\n\n\\\u003eThat, or someone similar\n\n\\\u003eYou hope it's someone similar\n\n\\\u003e\"Yo Null, quit spacing out! How much?\"\n\n\\\u003eA heavy hand falls on your shoulder shaking you out of it\n\n\\\u003e\"Right, yeah, we got paid big time, that guy had a 40k bounty on him\"\n\n\\\u003eGabriel nods, one hand cupping his chin and both of his eyes NOT focusing on the road\n\n\\\u003e\"Hell of a payday, 20k for each of us\"\n\n\\\u003eYou still question him every time he goes down an even split, with half of your attention keeping the wheel steady\n\n\\\u003e\"Shouldn't you get 30k? You're the one that tracked him down and shit\"\n\n\\\u003eHe shakes his head, smiling wide and shooing you off the wheel\n\n\\\u003e\"Nah, we're partners. Fair split. Besides, you're the one who was able to get to him without getting snagged\"\n\n\\\u003eHe had a point\n\n\\\u003eIt took a lot of effort to sneak around their more personal security features, but for the most part they only pinged for something that wasn't there\n\n\\\u003eShrugging, you lean back into your seat\n\n\\\u003e\"The Belacov's must be pissed,\" he continues, \"First: someone kills one of their cousins and gets away with it, and now, his brother just ate it too. They're gonna be trying to track us down, that's for sure\"\n\n\\\u003eYou smile a bit\n\n\\\u003e\"What? I tell you we're gonna get hunted, and all you do is sit there like a smug bitch?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou humor him with a grin\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm the one who killed the cousin\"\n\n\\\u003eGabriel's eyebrows raise, and even he cracks one too\n\n\\\u003e\"When I was on my Date with Fox, huh?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Yeah man, he's fatter in person than in the pictures\"\n\n\\\u003eYour cupped hands don't do him justice, and looking through them you see your apartment zoom on past\n\n\\\u003eAlright, what's he up to\n\n\\\u003e\"Speaking of Fox, she and I have news for you, but she wanted to tell you in person\"\n\n\\\u003eAlright, but did you really feel the need to drive past my house\n\n\\\u003e\"You aren't going to try and hook me up with one of her cousins, right? Again? That girl's crazy and tried to stab me when I didn't wanna fuck her\"\n\n\\\u003eHis sudden laughter shakes his arms just enough to almost float right off the road, you grab the steering wheel to keep going straight\n\n\\\u003eYou barely registered what is typically considered normal to you\n\n\\\u003e\"We didn't know she was in heat, sorry\"\n\n\\\u003eDeadpanned staring, and a few blinks for good measure, you casually take your hand off the wheel again\n\n\\\u003eThey totally knew she was, and were just trying to get you laid\n\n\\\u003e\"Yeah sure you didn't, it's not like Fox was in hers at the same time either\"\n\n\\\u003eHe smiles wider\n\n\\\u003e\"Yeah, that was an awesome week for me! We fucked on like, every flat surface in the house\n\n\\\u003eYou coldly look away at him and focus on the street ahead of you\n\n\\\u003eYou liked eating at his mahogany table\n\n\\\u003eLiked\n\n\\\u003e\"Gross, but sure, fine. Didn't need to know that.\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Yeah not sorry, but we did clean up afterwards though,\" he laughs again\n\n\\\u003eIt's hard to keep an awkward silence with the man, and before long he slows the speeder down and parks in front of his apartment\n\n\\\u003eYou both get out with him leading it away to a service elevator, and you watch in awe that he didn't even need to watch his arms\n\n\\\u003eThe lucky bastard has you by your shoulders and is eagerly leading you up the steps\n\n\\\u003e\"Come on, she's making those weird noodles you get every time we go out to eat\"\n\n\\\u003e\"It's called Ramen!\" you shout out, with a certain opossum suddenly coming to mind\n\n\\\u003eYou clear your throat\n\n\\\u003e\"And I do not get them every time, only when we go to the noodle shop that YOU always pick\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Riiiiight, I got there because the waitress is always hitting on you\"\n\n\\\u003e\"I-\"\n\n\\\u003eNo, you aren't going to willingly dig your own grave in telling him that Shiba Inu was a dude\n\n\\\u003eOr, maybe he knew that\n\n\\\u003e...\n\n\\\u003eYou drop it, just as he does with his hands no longer pushing you into the elevator\n\n\\\u003e\"'She's' just being polite and 'she's' one of my neighbors. They aren't hitting on me\"\n\n\\\u003eThe elevators slowly start to ascend after he lets it get a read on one of his implants\n\n\\\u003e\"Dude, you're oblivious,\" he says to you\n\n\\\u003eSure thing pal\n\n\\\u003e\"And you can't tell if a perp has a fusion blade in his arm or not\"\n\n\\\u003eThis is how most of your conversations went with Gabriel, banter back and forth about stupid shit\n\n\\\u003eThat, and a lot of insult based humor\n\n\\\u003eThe elevator dings at 200 floors up with a pretty good view of the city\n\n\\\u003eYou're always a little jealous when you stop by his place\n\n\\\u003eEspecially at night, where the neon lights practically sparkle like gems down below, and you can barely hear the speeders\n\n\\\u003eSomeone left a window open on the public balcony, and you can feel the wind billow past you carrying a bit of fog\n\n\\\u003e\"Come on man, let's not keep Fox waiting\"\n\n\\\u003eYou pull yourself away from your previous spot of staring through the glass, and follow him inside to his apartment\n\n\\\u003e\"Hey love! I'm home! Null's here with me like you asked,\" he calls out after shucking off his coat\n\n\\\u003eYou smell garlic and soy sauce waft out of the kitchen as you step inside behind him\n\n\\\u003e\"One sec, I'm coming!\" you hear her voice from the same place\n\n\\\u003eIt isn't long until a strikingly gorgeous Jaguar Cheetah anthro walks out from around the corner\n\n\\\u003e\"Anon! I haven't seen you in weeks! Come here!\"\n\n\\\u003eIt isn't fair at how all anthros are inherently faster than you\n\n\\\u003eYou don't complain about the hug though\n\n\\\u003e\"Hi Fox, It's good to see you\"\n\n\\\u003eEveryone didn't believe Gabriel when he showed off pictures of her, but everyone did say she was a 'Fox' and it just kinda stuck\n\n\\\u003eThey aren't a bright bunch either, but she likes it well enough\n\n\\\u003eBreaking from the hug, she moves back to Gabriel and gives him the similar treatment\n\n\\\u003e\"We scored big today Babe, this'll be great for savings\"\n\n\\\u003eSavings? The man had a bit of a spending habit, but you knew he had some cash kept away\n\n\\\u003eYou never felt the need to pry past that, as odd as it was coming from him\n\n\\\u003eBreaking off from him as well, she lightly grips his metallic left arm, pulling it off and sneaking in a quick kiss\n\n\\\u003eKnowing the job, you let them have their moment, busying yourself by removing your own gear\n\n\\\u003e\"Thanks love,\" he says\n\n\\\u003e...Their relationship always filled you with a bit of envy however\n\n\\\u003eIf you ever got the same, you secretly hoped it could be like theirs, with no drama whatsoever\n\n\\\u003eLike the king of his castle, he walks off to plop onto the living room couch, with you just about finishing unhooking your various tools\n\n\\\u003e\"Here, I'll take that and hang it up,\" you say to her, reaching for the detached augment\n\n\\\u003e\"Such a gentleman,\" she delicately hands it to you with that same pleasant smile she gives everyone\n\n\\\u003eYou catch Gabriel rolling his eyes at that\n\n\\\u003eYou walk over to the main hallway and open the door to one of the three bedrooms\n\n\\\u003eThis one you knew, as it was Gabriel's workshop where he worked on his guns and stored his equipment\n\n\\\u003eThere are gun parts scattered all around on his workbench, where an unusual looking rifle that you haven't seen before laid half finished on it\n\n\\\u003eLocating the wall mount for his left arm, you set the limb into place, and quietly walk back out the door\n\n\\\u003e\"Null! Food's ready, so move it!\"\n\n\\\u003eBefore heading back down the hallway, you take out your phone\n\n\\\u003eYou're slightly confused at the lack of consistent texts Star would typically shoot your way\n\n\\\u003eYou don't have a signal on the cheap thing\n\n\\\u003eStill messing with it, you walk out to the living room where Gabriel still sits and Fox leaning against the countertop\n\n\\\u003e\"Hey Fox?\" you look up at her, \"can you do that thing with your tail? I got no signal and need to see if Star needs me tomorrow\"\n\n\\\u003eShe casually lifts her tail a little, and does an odd flicking movement\n\n\\\u003eIt's weighty from the massive hub built into it, with transceivers outright welded to the bone\n\n\\\u003eShe ALWAYS has Wifi, but...\n\n\\\u003eWith how she described it at first\n\n\\\u003eIt's one of the few things you're thankful for\n\n\\\u003e\"Ooo, who's Star? Finally get a girlfriend?\"\n\n\\\u003eShe's being coy with you, if that outstretched paw has anything to say about it\n\n\\\u003eYou save face, frowning slightly and holding the phone up\n\n\\\u003e\"Actually, she's a client. You'll see in a second\"\n\n\\\u003eYou pull up her contact info and push the call button\n\n\\\u003eAlmost immediately she picks it up in her usual manner\n\n\\\u003e\"HEEELLLOOOO ANONNNN! What's up!? Wanna learn more about Gundams?\"\n\n\\\u003eEven her holographic self can't help but bounce excitedly with every word\n\n\\\u003eYou expected as much, with how Fox giggles behind her and how even Gabriel is looking your way\n\n\\\u003e\"First of all, No, and, are you wearing the same shirt from the other day?\"\n\n\\\u003eShe looks at her shirt\n\n\\\u003e\"Oh, yeah, I've been busy putting that Gunpla together! It's fine, one sec!\"\n\n\\\u003eShe starts pulling it off\n\n\\\u003e\"Whoa whoa whoa! Wait until I'm OFF the phone to change!\"\n\n\\\u003eLuckily she stops before totally exposing herself\n\n\\\u003e\"Hfuh?\" she didn't put it back down, per say\n\n\\\u003e\"Oh right, sorry! Did you need something?\" she finally puts it back down\n\n\\\u003eYou assume the standard fingers to the bridge of your nose position\n\n\\\u003e\"Just.. do you need me tomorrow? If not, I'm going hunting\"\n\n\\\u003eShe's staring off to space\n\n\\\u003eAt least, you think she is, with how hard it is to see the comets in her eyes from how crappy the projector quality is\n\n\\\u003e\"Uh, yea I Have something I want you to grab!\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Alright, I'll see you then,\" you turn around from Fox and Gabriel, pulling in her holo close\n\n\\\u003e\"And change your clothes and shower, by the way,\" you mumblehiss at her\n\n\\\u003eYou know she wasn't wearing a bra either from how obvious it was with her waving goodbye\n\n\\\u003e\"Ok Anon! See you then\"\n\n\\\u003eShe flickers off, and turning around you look back up at Fox and a now standing Gabriel right next to her\n\n\\\u003eBoth of them look like champion shit eaters as they beam at you\n\n\\\u003eIt doesn't last long, with both of them bursting out into laughter\n\n\\\u003e\"THAT's your client?\" Gabriel get's between breaths, \"the one who wants 'valuable' items? She's a doof!\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Aww but she's so cute Anon! She must really like you!\" her own laughter starting to die down, she politely shoos Gabriel away\n\n\\\u003eYour hands will just have to do, again, to smash out the forming headache from everything so far\n\n\\\u003e\"She only posted a bounty on the network, I answered it, and she hired me because I can't be tracked. She thinks I'm 'So cool or something'\"\n\n\\\u003eOh\n\n\\\u003eWell, too late to take that last part back with how they just stand there, smiling at you\n\n\\\u003eYour killjoy frown fights valiantly back\n\n\\\u003e\"She's totally into you,\" Fox says\n\n\\\u003e\"No, she isn't. She isn't for, reasons that I shouldn't say. And if she is, I'm not dealing with anything like that after Cydonia\"\n\n\\\u003eYou close your phone and pocket it\n\n\\\u003e\"She is a client, and that's all\"\n\n\\\u003eHer smile fades, and Gabriel just looks to the side\n\n\\\u003e\"Right, sorry Anon, we shouldn't push it\"\n\n\\\u003eYou shake your head despite the ache, saying \"No, sorry for being an ass about it. Let's just eat, and you can tell me whatever it was that you wanted to tell me\"\n\n\\\u003eThankfully, Gabriel takes charge by throwing his arm around Fox before the silence got any worse, and topped it off by pulling Fox into a one armed kiss\n\n\\\u003eYou grab a few bowls from their cabinets and start filling them with broth and noodles while Fox sets the table, and as Gabriel fishes for beer\n\n\\\u003e\"Want one Null?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Yeah, you don't have that one I like do you? Voodoo something?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou hear bottles clink together from the fridge\n\n\\\u003e\"I got them, we've been planning this\"\n\n\\\u003ePlanning for what?\n\n\\\u003eMust be based around whatever Fox wants to tell you\n\n\\\u003eGiving a quick thanks, you carry the two bowls to the table and grab the last one as Gabriel attempts to open the beers with one hand\n\n\\\u003eFox comes to his rescue before the man hurts himself again\n\n\\\u003eEnjoying the show, you sit down at the table and wait for them to join in as well\n\n\\\u003eIt's very hard to resist digging in from the steam and smells coming off the food\n\n\\\u003eShe always did enjoy using real ingredients instead of a food synth, and you can taste the difference every time\n\n\\\u003eShe even has a small garden on their balcony for fresh herbs too\n\n\\\u003eThey sit down, and you all begin to eat, with you being a bit more eager than most\n\n\\\u003e\"Yo Anon! Manners man! At least try to not act like you were raised in a barn,\" Gabriel chides your noodle slurping antics\n\n\\\u003e\"Sorry, it's just so good! You out did yourself Fox\"\n\n\\\u003eYou grab your beer and take a sip out of it\n\n\\\u003e\"Oh, always the flatterer Anon, it was nothing\"\n\n\\\u003eShe doesn't seem to mind with how calmly she eats with you trying your hardest to not shove it away, with Gabriel doing the same\n\n\\\u003eAfter some time, you all finish eating but stay seated around the dining room table\n\n\\\u003eWith the two of you going through the beers rather quickly, Fox kept to water throughout the meal\n\n\\\u003eBut now it was time to ask why your freeloading self was here\n\n\\\u003e\"So, what did you wanna talk to me about?\" you ask them both, sitting back in your chair and sipping your beer\n\n\\\u003eImmediately, both of them show visible excitement with Fox grabbing Gabriel's hand in her paw and looking at him with a smile\n\n\\\u003e\"You tell him, Babe\"\n\n\\\u003eGiving a nod and turning to you, he takes a few moments to find his words\n\n\\\u003eHe's looking a bit flushed from all the beers he's had over you\n\n\\\u003e\"Anon...\" he starts\n\n\\\u003eFuck, he's sing your real name\n\n\\\u003eIt must be something awful\n\n\\\u003e\"Anon, Fox is pregnant, and we want you to be the godfather\"\n\n\\\u003eYou choke on your beer and cough violently\n\n\\\u003e\"Huh? Wha? Preg- I, godfather?!\" you sputter out\n\n\\\u003eYou know they had been trying for a very long time, with the odds even higher against them than most\n\n\\\u003eEveryone would agree with you saying that Fox's beauty had a certain exotic charm to her\n\n\\\u003eBut the less than 1% chance of success was a very high wall to climb, for the both of them\n\n\\\u003e...And the only way to make it work successfully, was a very, very expensive thing to do\n\n\\\u003e\"Yes Anon, it's finally happening,\" he's slow in saying it, and taking another, deeper drink, he continues\n\n\\\u003e\"Do you accept?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou stare dumbstruck at them both\n\n\\\u003e\"Uhhh yes, YES! Of course I'll be the godfather to your kid! Holy shit you two, congratulations!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou nervously attempt to smooth your hair back, suddenly feeling more conscious about your appearance as you sit up straight as well\n\n\\\u003e\"Is this what you meant by 'Savings?' Holy shit, a cub!\"\n\n\\\u003eIt's impossible to NOT be happy for them, they'll make great parents\n\n\\\u003eFox is absolutely radiant about your thoughts on the matter\n\n\\\u003e\"Do you know anything about it?\" you start again, \"Is it gonna be a Jaguar? A Cheetah? A hybrid or a human? I don't know how this stuff works!\"\n\n\\\u003eGabriel beams at Fox as he answers, saying \"Too early to tell, but when we find out you'll be the first to know\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Plus Anon, you have a...unique perspective of the world. You could teach the baby so much,\" Fox says as she rubs her still flat tummy\n\n\\\u003eUnique perspective\n\n\\\u003eFox always did have a way of making you feel better about your affliction\n\n\\\u003eThe evening is spent talking about work, the baby, and life\n\n\\\u003eIt's incredibly pleasant to do with how things were going to get so much better for them\n\n\\\u003eWith Gabriel proceeding to drink himself under the table after dropping the news, it was Fox who drops you off at your apartment as the sun began to rise\n\n\\\u003eYou wave at her(and a nearly passed out Gabriel) as they drive off\n\n\\\u003eAn odd mix of a light buzz and possible hope, maybe joy, fizzles around while you watch them disappear down the street\n\n\\\u003eBut it's a lie if you said that..\n\n\\\u003eWell, on some level...\n\n\\\u003eNo, they deserve this\n\n\\\u003eYou refuse to poison it\n\n\\\u003eYou hold it back as you step inside to your tiny, cold apartment where a worn computer sluggishly spins through bounties\n\n\\\u003eYour AI doesn't even finish it's sentence, corrupting half way through, and you remember that your penny pinching meant those beers you've just had would be your last for quite some time\n\n\\\u003eSitting at your desk, you watch the names tick by\n\n\\\u003eThe one and only job people will give you\n\n\\\u003eTo keep the one place something would rent to you\n\n\\\u003eGabriel and Fox, they have the perfect life\n\n\\\u003eAnd now they are trust you with everything\n\n\\\u003eSome small part of you trusts them back that they won't make you raise their child for them\n\n\\\u003eWhat a strange concept that is\n\n\\\u003eIf that ever were to happen, you'd have to worry about two mouths to feed, with one of them unable to help keep the two of you afloat\n\n\\\u003eIdeally, a group would work the best\n\n\\\u003eSomeone to share the burden in that sense\n\n\\\u003eFor once, your mind is blank\n\n\\\u003eIt's quiet stripping down and showering, and even more so with the rain splashing against your window\n\n\\\u003eLaying in your bed, the outside world softly feels like the best and only lullaby you've ever heard\n\n\\\u003eA single quiet whisper fully takes you under, making you dead to the outside world\n\n\\\u003e'She's totally into you'\n\n\\\u003eWhat if she's right?\n\n\\\u003eWhat if, well...\n\n\\\u003eWouldn't that be something\n\nChapter 7: What's up\n\n\\\u003eYou're speeding down the streets out to the slums towards Star's bunker, with neon signs streaking past in an unreadable glow\n\n\\\u003eYou aren't in a hurry of course, but you enjoyed the thrill of the speed wherever you go\n\n\\\u003eAfter a life of walking everywhere, your like a damn man in a wheelchair suddenly able to run again\n\n\\\u003eAnd sometimes flipping off cops as he streaks past them naked\n\n\\\u003eAny excuse to drive is a good one to you\n\n\\\u003eToday's being an unknown mission, or something else that Star hasn't told you about yet\n\n\\\u003eYou wonder how many nerds you're going to have to duel will occur in your current occupation\n\n\\\u003eShit, you may get lucky and have one try to stop you with a card game on motorcycles\n\n\\\u003eAt least you'd get a kick out of it\n\n\\\u003eIt would actually make every time she sent you out worth it honestly\n\n\\\u003eYour daydreams of booksmart lads eating pavement swiftly take you to the garage, and before you knew it you're at the bunker door\n\n\\\u003eYou're still waiting\n\n\\\u003eIt still hasn't opened yet\n\n\\\u003eWhich could only mean something was absolutely fucky\n\n\\\u003eYou swear, if that service elevator spread its disease to automated doors, too...\n\n\\\u003eTaking the logical approach to solving the problem, you take out your phone and dial in Star's number\n\n\\\u003eAs expected, she immediately picks up\n\n\\\u003eAnd once again, as expected, your ears suffer immensely\n\n\\\u003e\"HELLLOOOO ANON!\" you really do your best to keep the holo as far away from you as possible\n\n\\\u003e\"Where are you? I thought you'd be here by now!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou flip the phone around, giving you a blue view of her backside while you outright show her the still closed door\n\n\\\u003e\"I am. Your door isn't opening though\"\n\n\\\u003eThe two of you have a bit of an awkward moment when you turn the phone around while she does the same, leaving the both of you facing the wrong way\n\n\\\u003eShe isn't even phased, but she still has glowing question marks bobbing in her eyes\n\n\\\u003e\"It's not? That could mean the servos are on the fritz again,\" she puts a claw on her chin, rocking back and forth on her feet\n\n\\\u003e\"Usually it's only open like once a month, so it might be overworked. Lemme see\"\n\n\\\u003eShe zips off screen, and a few moments later the door begins to open, just at a slower than usual rate\n\n\\\u003eYou hesitantly drive down the ramp, half expecting the thing to slam back down on you, and when you look back down to your spot you see a very eager Star waiting for you, just as bouncy as ever\n\n\\\u003e\"HELLLOOOO ANON!\"\n\n\\\u003eEven though you expected it, you still didn't expect it\n\n\\\u003eShe latches onto your side as soon as you get halfway out of your bike\n\n\\\u003eAgain\n\n\\\u003e\"WHOA STAR WAIT I'M GONNA-\"\n\n\\\u003eShe tackled the wind out of you, knocking you off balance and onto the floor with her laying on top of you\n\n\\\u003e\"Oooo! Just like Sochi Heim and Loran Cehack!\" Star croons at you, her name's sake pupils spinning madly\n\n\\\u003eAt least someone's happy in your current world of pain\n\n\\\u003eBlinking, coughing, and trying to get air, you put both hands on her shoulders and starts to pry her off\n\n\\\u003e\"What. The. FUCK! Get off me Star!\"\n\n\\\u003eShe stops moving in your grip, looking shocked and clambering off of you\n\n\\\u003eShe only makes it when you let go\n\n\\\u003e\"I really can't afford a doc right now,\" you hiss through clenched teeth and shakily stand up\n\n\\\u003eRubbing the back of your head, you eye the crouching opossum\n\n\\\u003e\"And what the fuck is a Sochie,\" you mumble\n\n\\\u003e\"Oh uh... Sorry, Anon... I, didn't mean to make you fall\"\n\n\\\u003eYou only start to rub your back in response, eventually saying \"It's fine\"\n\n\\\u003eNot really\n\n\\\u003e\"Just wait until I get out of my bike before you decided to latch onto me\"\n\n\\\u003eYou've given up trying to stop her from doing it at this point\n\n\\\u003eShe wouldn't stop anyways\n\n\\\u003eFuriously nodding and no doubt forgetting, she walks back into the bunker with you following close behind\n\n\\\u003eYour head can't handle another yelling call of your name should you ever be more than a room apart\n\n\\\u003e\"So, what am I grabbing today Star?\"\n\n\\\u003eShe's practically skipping as she leads you to her screens\n\n\\\u003e100 to 0 and back again, you swear it's one or the other at this point\n\n\\\u003eShe mashes a few keys on the keyboard in the center, and the monitor just above it flashes with the image of another human robot thing\n\n\\\u003e\"This!\" she cups the image in both open paws, \"A RX-78-2 Model from the 35th year anniversary of Gundam!\"\n\n\\\u003eWell, that's not too bad at all\n\n\\\u003e\"It's 5 feet tall, too!\"\n\n\\\u003eGod dammit\n\n\\\u003eHer joyful face screws up into a frown, and she's almost growling from whatever she's thinking about next\n\n\\\u003eA picture of some rat dude standing next to the Gundam suddenly appearing must be the source of her funk\n\n\\\u003e\"It's cool! But the guy who has it keeps saying he's just gonna melt it so no one else can ever own it!\"\n\n\\\u003eThere are fiery pupils for added effect\n\n\\\u003e\"He can't destroy such a work of art!\"\n\n\\\u003eClenched little fits join her external pout bout with her usual cheery self\n\n\\\u003e\"I won't be able to forget this hatred even if I die and get reborn a million times over!\"\n\n\\\u003eTo top it all, she's stomping around angrily, moving in tight little circles\n\n\\\u003eIt's not scary at all\n\n\\\u003eIt's cute as fuck\n\n\\\u003eBut you still can't let this go on, not with how she's yet to talk about the reward money or job yet\n\n\\\u003e\"Star, calm down. I'll go get your toy before he breaks it\"\n\n\\\u003eYou freeze her in place with your hand on her head rubbing between her ears softly\n\n\\\u003e\"COLLECTIwha? Oooooh, rub the ears Anon, that feels gooooood\"\n\n\\\u003eThe anger pudge seemingly starts to melt under your magic fingers, with your biggest hint being her now heart shaped eyes\n\n\\\u003eHuh, neat\n\n\\\u003eAs long as it keeps her quiet and focused, you still rub her head softly before gently moving to one of her large fuzzy ears\n\n\\\u003eYour other hand snaps to Rose from the feeling of wire wrapping your leg\n\n\\\u003eYou're glad you didn't fire in your brief moment of stupidity, having forgotten that she has a prehensile tail\n\n\\\u003eOne that's currently snaking its way up your pant leg\n\n\\\u003eYou feel both your hands suddenly touching something soft and a little bit scratchy, and pressure on both of your wrists with Star having moved both to her head\n\n\\\u003eA quick flex of your additional fingers and a glance down at her, you see she's practically drooling, and the hearts in her eyes are rapidly fluttering\n\n\\\u003e\"Ooooo thas good\"\n\n\\\u003eYou choke back a laugh\n\n\\\u003eShe's like a cat that decided to not be a tumor today\n\n\\\u003eDamn things always hated being pet\n\n\\\u003eYou're reminded of the real world with a weight falling into you\n\n\\\u003eShe's lost her balance halfway through the rubbing, and you have to physically catch her body\n\n\\\u003eJust as planned\n\n\\\u003eNow all you have to do is wait for her to reboot again\n\n\\\u003e\"Ohh wow Anon, you have some maaagic fingers,\" she moans when she eventually regains her senses\n\n\\\u003eShe stands up on her own when you let her go\n\n\\\u003eYeah, no kidding\n\n\\\u003eYou put both hands in your pockets, saying \"All I did was rub your ears and head\"\n\n\\\u003eIt must of been her first time\n\n\\\u003e\"But they're so soft and they feel nice!\"\n\n\\\u003eRight.\n\n\\\u003e\"Yeah, sure. Anyways, I'll get going now to grab your big toy, ok?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Collect-\"\n\n\\\u003eAnd onto your head goes the helmet\n\n\\\u003e\"????????????????\"\n\n\\\u003eYou're leaning against the door frame with a palm firmly planted on the visor\n\n\\\u003ePeeling it off, a yellow banana V comes with it\n\n\\\u003eDammit Star\n\n\\\u003eYou grumble as you walk out to your bike, swiftly going through the motions to turn it on and jet the hell out of there\n\n\\\u003eWith a quick spin, your shooting up the ramp\n\n\\\u003e\"Star.\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Yes, Anon?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"How long has it been now.\"\n\n\\\u003e\"About five minutes, Anon. Why?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Well, between your door almost crushing my bike, and how it still isn't open yet, I'm pretty sure I'm right in saying you won't be getting that toy any time soon.\"\n\n\\\u003eShe doesn't correct you\n\n\\\u003eInstead, she runs out to look at the doorway\n\n\\\u003eTurning around, she looks to your hidden face\n\n\\\u003e\"Ohhh nooo! The servo must've given out!\"\n\n\\\u003eNo\n\n\\\u003eShit\n\n\\\u003e\"Let me call my dad! He'll get it fixed!\" she says scampering past you, leaving you staring at the door once more\n\n\\\u003eIt's as fun as watching paint melt\n\n\\\u003eSighing, you let go of the break and lazily ride the bike down the ramp, stopping just before the back hits a wall\n\n\\\u003eGreat, now you're stuck here with a now violently, overly clingy Opossum who will probably talk your ears off about shit you don't understand\n\n\\\u003eTugging the helmet off you turn off your bike and trudge back to the bunker door, and closing it behind you soon after\n\n\\\u003eAs you round the corner you see Star holding her phone with a crystal clear holo of a man wearing a suit and tie\n\n\\\u003eIt looks pretty well kept, and his hair combed to the side fits it well\n\n\\\u003eHe is absolutely terrifying\n\n\\\u003e\"What is it Star, you know I'm very busy,\" he says, not even directly looking to her\n\n\\\u003e\"Uh, Hi Da! I, well, I need you to send someone to fix the 'door.' The outside one. It's busted and my friend needs to leave\"\n\n\\\u003eHe stops whatever it is he was doing, frowning as his head snaps right to the camera\n\n\\\u003e\"Friend? What friend\"\n\n\\\u003eStar's ears fold back slightly\n\n\\\u003e\"He's the guy I hired to go get my collectibles\"\n\n\\\u003eHis holo looks off into the distance for a moment, pointing and saying something while muted before finally looking back\n\n\\\u003e\"Ah yes, the bounty hunter you told me about,\" he goes back to looking at papers on his desk, never stopping, \"someone will be over there shortly\"\n\n\\\u003eHe takes the papers, and in one swift motion he gathers them all together\n\n\\\u003eSlamming their bottoms on top of his desk, his eyes now focus directly on you\n\n\\\u003e\"Star, may I speak to the bounty hunter, please?\"\n\n\\\u003eHer head spins to find you with slight panic in her eyes\n\n\\\u003e\"Ssssure Da, one sec\"\n\n\\\u003eYou step forward to take her phone from her\n\n\\\u003eShe numbly hands it over, and you do your best to feel the same\n\n\\\u003eYou don't doubt he has data and pictures of you\n\n\\\u003eBut the man himself now knows your face\n\n\\\u003e\"So you're the bounty hunter? I assume in your profession, you must have an adequate idea about discretion\"\n\n\\\u003eHis expression is neutral\n\n\\\u003eYou match it back\n\n\\\u003e\"I would advise you to keep that bunker a secret, but I think you already know that by now, don't you Anon\"\n\n\\\u003eThe beginnings of a frown crack through your face\n\n\\\u003eYou don't take threats lightly\n\n\\\u003eDoesn't matter where it comes from\n\n\\\u003e\"I know discretion... And I would advise you not to sign your name on bounties against rival syndicates from now on\"\n\n\\\u003eHe only smirks\n\n\\\u003e\"Good advice\"\n\n\\\u003eAnd then his hologram winks out\n\n\\\u003eLooking back up, you glance towards Star who's currently standing a few feet away from you\n\n\\\u003eHer eyes are wide and looking you up and down while seemingly stuck mid back-step\n\n\\\u003eShe puts her other foot down with her jaws hanging open\n\n\\\u003e\"You know my dad is the head of the Dismond syndicate right, Anon? Aren't you scared to talk to him like that?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou shrug\n\n\\\u003e\"Why would I be scared? He can't find me anyways\"\n\n\\\u003eshitshitshitIknow\n\n\\\u003eShe, however...\n\n\\\u003eShe's blatantly awestruck\n\n\\\u003eHer eyes are working tripletime with how literally starstruck she looks right now\n\n\\\u003e\"You're so COOOL!\" She squeals at you\n\n\\\u003eWith another sigh, you run your fingers through your hair\n\n\\\u003e\"Well Star, now that that's over, it looks like I'm stuck here for a while, unless you want me to leave through that bookcase\"\n\n\\\u003eShe's on your arm and pulling you along into her main room, running a train of nonsense through her mouth\n\n\\\u003e\"No no no we can watch all 10 Gundam movies! and maybe even G-Savior!\"\n\n\\\u003eplease no\n\n\\\u003eThe souls of your shoes grind away across the flooring, and soon you're somewhat flying into a chair she managed to drag with her\n\n\\\u003eShe quickly follows suit, doing a running jump, falling short just a foot in front of you, and climbing into your lap just as fast before you can even get up\n\n\\\u003eYou truly, honestly, 100% don't know\n\n\\\u003eIf she actually realizes she's bouncing excitedly on top of your groin\n\n\\\u003e\"Computer! Play Mobile Suit Gundam !\"\n\n\\\u003e\"\\*Hai, ichido ni shirei-kan!\\*\"\n\n\\\u003eOh god please help, how can you escape this prison\n\n\\\u003e...\n\n\\\u003eThis soft, plush comfy prison...\n\n\\\u003eMaybe give it a chance...\n\n\\\u003eNo, you real-\n\n\\\u003e\"This is one of my favorites Anon!\"\n\n\\\u003eShe leans back into you, and even when seated your head is still a good foot above hers\n\n\\\u003eIt's the perfect distance to have the top of her own outright rubbing against the bottom of your neck, with her two little ears cupping the sides of your cheeks\n\n\\\u003eShe's got a smile stuck at her face, and beaming it up to you\n\n\\\u003e...\n\n\\\u003e..\n\n\\\u003eAnd when the movie starts, she's leaning forward and giddily bouncing once again\n\n\\\u003e.................\n\n\\\u003eNO BONER, NO\n\n\\\u003eBAD.\n\n\\\u003eYou sit there, almost comically tense with your ass against a nice comfy chair and another one sitting right on you\n\n\\\u003eThe movie just drones on and on, with Star mouthing every line that gets spoken\n\n\\\u003e...Fuck it, you're secure with yourself enough to admit it's cute in a way\n\n\\\u003eThat it's STILL cute\n\n\\\u003eIn a way\n\n\\\u003e\"Uh hey Anon? I have a question\n\n\\\u003eYou blink and look down at her\n\n\\\u003e\"What's up Star?\"\n\n\\\u003eLittle question marks float around his dimly lit blue orbs\n\n\\\u003e\"Why don't you have any Augments? And why don't more people remove theirs like you?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou clench your jaw, and your fingers dig into the fabric of the chair\n\n\\\u003e\"I didn't remove my implants. I never had them.\"\n\n\\\u003eThe questions marks aren't there anymore, having been replaced by two solid black circles that no longer move\n\n\\\u003e\"I can't have them,\" you keep talking, your gaze having moved to the wall straight ahead\n\n\\\u003e\"I can't have one. Fucks with my nervous system\"\n\n\\\u003eShe's silent, only perking up when she starts to ask again\n\n\\\u003e\"What do you mean Anon? I thought everyone has them\"\n\n\\\u003e\"It would literally kill me Star. It's the same with Augments\"\n\n\\\u003eHer eyes are wide at your answer, and with the movie all but ignored she still finds the courage to keep going\n\n\\\u003e\"But, why don't more people just remove the implant?\" she says, seemingly unsure of her own words\n\n\\\u003e\"I mean, you're nearly untraceable!\" she's quick to add on to the end\n\n\\\u003e\"Because the ID implant itself is set into the bone. You can't just cut it out. Not having the implant is both illegal on so many levels, and a huge pain to live without\"\n\n\\\u003eYou do your best to accept your own depressingly sound logic\n\n\\\u003eLeaning back into the chair only helps a little bit\n\n\\\u003e\"I had to have my bike custom made so I could drive it, elevators don't even know I'm in them, and the implant that's used to pay for stuff, I have to use this instead\"\n\n\\\u003eYou hold up your scuffed, worn phone\n\n\\\u003e\"Even it's custom made for me so I can actually pay for anything. It's more hassle than it's worth, and I can't even get a real job\"\n\n\\\u003eYou did it\n\n\\\u003eYou've managed to make Star achieve a perfectly neutral look\n\n\\\u003eHer smile deflated with every word, and her eyes never bothered to change\n\n\\\u003eBut she tries her hardest to get it back\n\n\\\u003e\"What do you mean 'real job' Anon? You're a cool bounty hunter, like Spike Speigel!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou half rub, half scratch your head while you take a slow deep breath\n\n\\\u003e\"Didn't want to be a bounty hunter. Can't get a job anywhere because I'm not as good as every other person out there, either. I wanted to be a BioMechanic, but I just can't compete with people who have libraries in their head, scanners in their eye, or fingers varied enough to weld. I do what I do because a guy has to eat\"\n\n\\\u003eShe shifts slightly on your lap, still silently staring up at you\n\n\\\u003e\"Is it really that hard out there Anon?\" she quietly asks, looking at where her own ID implant is\n\n\\\u003eYou follow her gaze to it too\n\n\\\u003e\"Most people think I'm a freak, and just as many even say it to my face. Even you called me the broken bounty hunter:\n\n\\\u003eShe frowns\n\n\\\u003e\"I thought you weren't real... just, an urban myth that stalked the net\"\n\n\\\u003eShe fidgets with her paws, swaying lightly from side to side and looking at nothing in general\n\n\\\u003eYour back suddenly gets pressed further into the chair, with her own firmly brushing against your chest\n\n\\\u003eThe crook of your neck is still the perfect height, something she takes full advantage of\n\n\\\u003e\"But here you are, the only person to find my home\"\n\n\\\u003eYou knew she couldn't stay that way for long from how her smile quickly forms as she looks back up at you\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm glad you did though\"\n\n\\\u003eYou frown slightly more\n\n\\\u003e\"It was an accident, and I'm honestly not someone you want around\"\n\n\\\u003eShe only snuggles further into your lap, saying \"Why do you say that Anon?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou point to one of the outer monitors where the fat man and the brother standing prominently among multiple other faces, their names never learned or forgotten, as you didn't really care\n\n\\\u003e\"I killed both of those men, plus countless more who I don't even know the names of\"\n\n\\\u003eShe gawks up at you\n\n\\\u003e\"Really? You killed those two? Did you know who they were?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou nod\n\n\\\u003e\"In a way. I knew one was connected to The Sailors, and the fat man was just unlucky to meet me\"\n\n\\\u003eYou see her giddy smile barely contained by a few teeth biting her lips\n\n\\\u003eThose damn spinning stars are back and her tiny fists assist in her unconscious lap dance\n\n\\\u003e\"Seee! You ARE cool! Just like Jacket!\"\n\n\\\u003eTo your mixed relief/dismay, she settles back down again\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm glad you're my friend,\" she happily sighs leaning back into once more\n\n\\\u003eFriend?\n\n\\\u003eYou weren't friends\n\n\\\u003eThe dictionary doesn't define Friends as those who lapdance each other\n\n\\\u003eOr throws them to the ground\n\n\\\u003eTackles them with a hug\n\n\\\u003e..Shows them their hobbies\n\n\\\u003eNo, you barely knew her and she barely knows you\n\n\\\u003eHow could anyone think you were friends after barely talking to each other?\n\n\\\u003e\"We aren't friends Star, you're my employer. That's all\"\n\n\\\u003eShe smirks, and you feel her tail wrap around your arm\n\n\\\u003e\"I think we're more than that. Here you are stuck with me, and anything could happen\"\n\n\\\u003eHer smile is as effective as a cold man's poker face\n\n\\\u003eSeriously, does she even know what she says or does half the time\n\n\\\u003e\"Nothing will happen,\" you deadpan\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm just waiting for your door to get fixed so I can either go get your toy or go home\"\n\n\\\u003e\"B-but we're watching movies together! It's just like a date!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou almost groan out about her need to correct you\n\n\\\u003e\"This isn't a date, this is me killing time,\" you say instead\n\n\\\u003eHer pupils morph into little teardrops, with weird solid black lines on either side of the bottoms of her eyes\n\n\\\u003e\"T-this is how it works in the movies and my shows!\"\n\n\\\u003eA sigh works just as well\n\n\\\u003e\"This is real life Star, just shush and watch your movie\"\n\n\\\u003e\"O-ok Anon,\" she turns her head to face the movie again, sitting straight up in your lap\n\n\\\u003e\"But you can rub my ears more if you want,\" she whispers\n\n\\\u003e\"...please...\"\n\n\\\u003eYou close your eyes, keeping them there for a few seconds\n\n\\\u003eIt's a brief respite from sad small women and giant flashy robots\n\n\\\u003eWhen a light, warm pressure once again presses into you, you don't stop a hand make its way to the source, and slightly rub the fuzzy tall hills sticking out from her hair\n\n\\\u003eNothing intimate about this\n\n\\\u003eNothing romantic, either\n\n\\\u003eAnd even though she's never left your lap, it's just you helping your employer de-stress after a simple call with her father\n\n\\\u003eThat's all it is\n\n\\\u003eJust. That.\n\n\\\u003eNothing more.....\n\nChapter 8: Sharper Knives\n\n\\\u003eThe past few days after being stuck underground have been rather relaxing\n\n\\\u003eAnd that's terrible\n\n\\\u003eThe only time you could pretend standing around aimlessly or staring at the computer to be relaxing meant no bounties to run\n\n\\\u003eNot even Star pestered you over some random thing she needed you to stun someone for\n\n\\\u003eNo random calls or texting, either\n\n\\\u003eAnd although you'll admit to not absolutely hating sitting around, immobile, doing nothing, and with someone constantly sitting on your lap...\n\n\\\u003eGoing forward, you can't do anything like that again\n\n\\\u003eBounty or client, it's best to stay professional\n\n\\\u003eYou've learned this lesson before\n\n\\\u003eSo once again you attempt to scrounge around for a bounty more worth your time\n\n\\\u003eGabriel had insisted on looking for higher paying offers, and you were happy to oblige\n\n\\\u003eNow if only you can find one\n\n\\\u003eIt's a bit hard with your two, maybe three contacts you trust\n\n\\\u003eThat number is fine on it's own, but when you're trying to jump the rewards three times over, you start finding literally no one offering\n\n\\\u003eBut those were just personal ones\n\n\\\u003eA lot of the local brothel owners like you, saying that you were always professional in dealing with their 'Ladies of the Night'\n\n\\\u003eAs such you gave many of them your contact info, in case they ever needed any 'Cleaning up' done\n\n\\\u003eIt's where most of your earnings came from\n\n\\\u003eJust about all of them are happy to give you a heads up for any potential target that visits as they would get paid ahead of time from the thug in question to keep them silent\n\n\\\u003eAll you had to do was walk up, shoot, and split with 70% of the bounty to your name\n\n\\\u003eEasy money\n\n\\\u003eNow if only this shit computer did the same\n\n\\\u003eTaking a bite out of a sandwich is the most stimulating thing you've done over the past few hours\n\n\\\u003eYou're just waiting for anything to happen\n\n\\\u003eYou already know what you'll find as you check your phone, but you still see a 0 on the messages\n\n\\\u003eBefore you left your temporary bunker hole, Star mentioned she hadn't found anything for you to snag yet\n\n\\\u003eShe must still be looking around, which is a bit odd since you had a hit almost every day by now, with most of them being easy dead drop theft\n\n\\\u003eThe other thing she mentioned was that you should come back over anyways\n\n\\\u003eJust in case\n\n\\\u003eBut you had opted to stay at home anyways\n\n\\\u003eFor both your's and her's sake, and as cute as she is\n\n\\\u003eAs annoying as she is\n\n\\\u003e...Fuck, you're bored\n\n\\\u003eAnd no, Star isn't the solution to it\n\n\\\u003eShe's a client, that's all\n\n\\\u003eSo that's-erh, what\n\n\\\u003eYou aren't sure how you made it to the kitchen, standing there slack jawed with an open beer can in your hands\n\n\\\u003eIt's even worse when you see that it's half an hour later, too\n\n\\\u003eYou'll worry about the flooring later when you spill some upon hearing your phone ring\n\n\\\u003eYou pick it up, and a hologram of a normally sized(breasts wise) Missy looking a little agitated\n\n\\\u003eStill, she never calls out of nowhere\n\n\\\u003e\"Hey Missy what's up. Got any news for me?\"\n\n\\\u003eShe's rigid in her slow wave at you, and her words are the same\n\n\\\u003e\"H-hey Anon, there's a big, BIG score here.. Come get them, will you?\"\n\n\\\u003eHer voice wasn't sultry\n\n\\\u003eShe's not hitting on you like always, and her tone was flat and monotone\n\n\\\u003e\"Oooook,\" you aren't sure what the bobcat is trying to pull, \"try to keep them there till I get there\"\n\n\\\u003eShe frowns, saying \"They'll be here, be ready,\" faster than before\n\n\\\u003eHer hologram winks out after\n\n\\\u003eOK, something is fucky and you immediately don't like it\n\n\\\u003eSo you do the only sensible thing to do\n\n\\\u003eDial up Gabriel as added muscle\n\n\\\u003eAfter a few rings he picks up\n\n\\\u003e\"Sup man, find us anything?\"\n\n\\\u003eHis cheery smile sours into a straight line when he sees the look on your face\n\n\\\u003e\"Maybe, maybe... Missy from the Lucky Cat called and said there was a big score, but something was up with how she spoke to me. I'm pretty sure it's not good over there\"\n\n\\\u003eHis holo is already walking around and quickly getting gear and clothes thrown on it, with Gabe himself breaking into a sprint soon after\n\n\\\u003e\"Who would try that?\" he gets out between breaths, \"They would be fucking with the Concordant and Lysander! Either they think she can't hurt them, or they have a death wish\"\n\n\\\u003eYou nod as best you can while you throw on your own gear\n\n\\\u003eWith nothing more needing to be said, you hang up the call and focus on jumping down the steps all the way down to the main floor\n\n\\\u003eEach one you pass bringing you closer and closer to the other uncomfortable feeling about this op\n\n\\\u003eGabriel wasn't lying about their suicidal plan\n\n\\\u003eYes, Missy knows you well, but she wouldn't sell you out\n\n\\\u003eNot to the very people who's good graces you only just barely want to have\n\n\\\u003eLysander, whatever the fuck he/she is, ran the red light district you frequent for most of your jobs\n\n\\\u003eNever even met them, with all of your dealings through associates basically telling you to overlook any offers on their people\n\n\\\u003eA lot of large, well paying ones too\n\n\\\u003eYou really don't want to end up on a third crime syndicate's watchlist\n\n\\\u003eNot letting that get to you, you accepted the offer on the spot regardless what happened next\n\n\\\u003eThere aren't a lot of legal hunters working that zone, and a potential threat scratched off was a great investment at the time\n\n\\\u003eRight now, you really hope it stays that way\n\n\\\u003eWhen you power walk out of the apartment and away from the service elevator, you do your best to blend in just enough but still move as quick as possible\n\n\\\u003eYou didn't bring your bike out of storage\n\n\\\u003eToo loud, didn't want them to hear you coming, and Missy's is close enough anyways\n\n\\\u003eYou've prepared for the worst as well, eventually putting on the helmet Star gave you and linking it to your phone\n\n\\\u003eShe said it was bulletproof after all\n\n\\\u003e\"?????????????????????????????????????!\" God dammit you thought you had Star pull that chip out\n\n\\\u003eThere aren't a lot of people walking around this area, but you keep one hand on Rose hidden beneath your jacket\n\n\\\u003eThe crowds start to thin even more the closer you get, and 10 minutes into your walk your phone gets a call from an unknown person\n\n\\\u003eRolling out your phone you see a hologram of a petite mouse girl\n\n\\\u003eYou're pretty sure she was one of the who had been with the fat cousin Sailor man\n\n\\\u003eShe looks almost surprised that the call even went through, and you can see her hiding behind a plant\n\n\\\u003e\"A-anon? Is that you?\" came her whispered voice through the helmet\n\n\\\u003eYou start to pick up the pace, almost running a few seconds after\n\n\\\u003e\"Yeah, it's me, what's going on\"\n\n\\\u003eShe shivers, sinking lower into a crouch and pulling her phone closer\n\n\\\u003e\"Men came, they grabbed Missy and made her call you,\" she looks around before staring wide eyed at you\n\n\\\u003e\"It's a trap!\"\n\n\\\u003e\"I figured. How many are there?\"\n\n\\\u003eOnce again she takes a look, and even you hear a loud crash from upstairs, causing the mouse to cringe even more into the floor behind the pot\n\n\\\u003e\"Idon'tknowAnonI'mscared\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Calm down, keep quiet and stay hidden\"\n\n\\\u003eShe can't decide who to back away from, but when she settles on you being the lesser immediate threat, you continue\n\n\\\u003e\"Is the back door open? And did you contact Lysander?\"\n\n\\\u003eLooking left, you both hear some voices getting louder, but muted coming through your helmet\n\n\\\u003e\"The back is open, and we were able to send them a message,\" she whispers, sitting back down out of sight\n\n\\\u003e\"But we don't know what's going on with them now!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou're frowning under your helmet\n\n\\\u003eThis is a stupid idea on so many parts\n\n\\\u003eYou could get killed by whoever is holding up the place, or Lysander's men could do it for them if they came in guns blazing\n\n\\\u003eYou skid to a halt on the sidewalk\n\n\\\u003eMissy has deep connections with the people who run the place\n\n\\\u003eThey can easily respond faster than you can\n\n\\\u003eSo why are you running ragged down the road to beat them too it?\n\n\\\u003eYou don't know if you would get paid for this\n\n\\\u003eNot with all the property damage that sounds like is going on\n\n\\\u003eYou aren't immortal either, and you don't feel like being shot today\n\n\\\u003eWould you really risk it all on them?\n\n\\\u003e\"Anon, please!\"\n\n\\\u003e\"...Sorry, there was a lot of traffic.\"\n\n\\\u003eBefore she can ask what you mean, you cut her off\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm still coming. Stay down, and stay out of the way. I'll be there shortly\"\n\n\\\u003eYou hang up, cursing the seconds you wasted just a minute ago\n\n\\\u003eStill running, you dial up Gabriel\n\n\\\u003eImmediately you hear the background roar of his car, and you see his incredulous look on his face\n\n\\\u003e\"Jesus Null, what are you wearing\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Shut up! We got a problem, my hunch was right. It's a hit, but I don't know why, and I sure as hell don't know why there own aren't already there. I don't know the exact details, but you still have that grapple feature on your arm, right?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"That and then some\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Good, prep it and use it the moment you get to the front\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Sure. Be there in like, 15. You gonna wait?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou shake your head\n\n\\\u003e\"No, I'll start it, with you getting to the roof and clearing the way down\"\n\n\\\u003eHe takes his eyes off the road to focus on you\n\n\\\u003e\"Alright Anon, don't get killed\"\n\n\\\u003eYou hang up on him too\n\n\\\u003eYou do your best to keep quiet with your ragged breathing by the hidden back door of the brothel\n\n\\\u003eWith Rose in your right hand and your newly charged shock knife in the left, and channeling your inner Norman Bates, you take a few last gasps of air\n\n\\\u003eBreathe, shut up, stealth is your ally\n\n\\\u003e'Will do, me'\n\n\\\u003eThe door is unlocked from easy it creaks open from the force of your boot\n\n\\\u003eBringing your shoulder to see through the cracks, you open it even more to catch as much as you can\n\n\\\u003eTo your surprise you see a few of the girls huddled together under a table hastily covered in towels\n\n\\\u003e\"What are you doing? Get out of here!\" you urgently whisper to them\n\n\\\u003e\"But what about Missy?\" one of the three whispers back\n\n\\\u003e\"I'll handle it, now go!\"\n\n\\\u003eIn their mad dash to escape, one of them yelps out after hitting her head on the table\n\n\\\u003eNow, it's a bad idea\n\n\\\u003eA bad idea in every sense of the world from the sound of footsteps running along the floors\n\n\\\u003e\"Mmmmf, Anon, where are you?\"\n\n\\\u003eTo your horror a sleepy Star just hijacked your comms\n\n\\\u003eTime for immediate damage control, now!\n\n\\\u003eMaking your way down an empty corridor with both weapons raised, you whisper through clenched teeth at Star\n\n\\\u003e\"Star, I need you to be quiet, I need you to not watch this. Can you do this for me?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou can't see her but you know what's coming next\n\n\\\u003e\"Whattttt? Why? What's going on?!\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Shut it!\" you hiss, waiting for her before continuing\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm in a hostage situation at a brothel with people who want me dead. You don't want to see this\"\n\n\\\u003eShe's quiet, with the sound of rapidly typing keys playing in the background\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm linking this feed to my father, he works with the Concordate\"\n\n\\\u003eThat almost sounded like a serious tone\n\n\\\u003eYou guess she does have a non bubbly, off mode\n\n\\\u003eSaying nothing in return, you exit the corridor through a hidden door built into the walls of a well kept office\n\n\\\u003eIt's Missy's, which you only recognize from the beaded door she usually greets you through\n\n\\\u003eYou don't hear anyone in here though\n\n\\\u003eIt doesn't stop your search, with you slowly crawling along to the sounds from the street masking your foot falls\n\n\\\u003ePeeking outside the office you see two men at the entrance\n\n\\\u003eOne of them physically the size of one, and looking like it too\n\n\\\u003eThe grizzly dwarfs the ratty man beside him\n\n\\\u003e\"-we just standing here man? It's just some stupid bounty hunter,\" the human gripes\n\n\\\u003eThe bear was tapping away at an oversized pad, but even you felt his eye roll from here while he shoved it back into a pocket\n\n\\\u003e\"We're supposed to act like, wait, you already know you dipshit!\"\n\n\\\u003eHis punch may have looked playful, but it was good enough to knock the man a good couple feet away\n\n\\\u003eWith closed eyes he was laughing loudly, only pausing when he didn't hear the human's back\n\n\\\u003eDead men can't talk, you came to realize a long time ago\n\n\\\u003eWith the human one's upper spine currently impaled on your knife, the bear found out that it's true\n\n\\\u003eThat fat and fur wasn't just for show, he outright launches himself at you, with your only saving throw being a few bullets back scattering wildly\n\n\\\u003eAnd to hell with honor, you kicked his friend's corpse right back at the fucker\n\n\\\u003eColliding mid air with the rag doll, the both of them tumble to the floor\n\n\\\u003eA few hits set to stun slows him down a bit, but you still dive to the right to barely miss the flying brown bullet again\n\n\\\u003eHe's roaring nonstop\n\n\\\u003e\"Why! Don't! Bullets! Work! Dammit!\" you may as well scream back, putting one into any brown patches you see\n\n\\\u003eYou weren't expecting a literal tank on this raid, but you were burning charges pretty fast\n\n\\\u003eHe's spilling a lot of blood on the floor, but it isn't enough, and the heavy slamming of your shoulders into the hard floor from dodging isn't really helping either\n\n\\\u003eIf a normal person had a gun, he would use the gun\n\n\\\u003eEven in the face of a ragemonster\n\n\\\u003eToday however, the gun just doesn't seem into it right now\n\n\\\u003eSo instead, you go with retarded\n\n\\\u003e\"Alright, fucking fine! You wanna go, sure!\" you hold up your fists\n\n\\\u003eIt's enough to get him to stop jumping at you, and shakily getting back up on two feet he clenches his own\n\n\\\u003eYour head would be a grape in one of those\n\n\\\u003eYou still continue\n\n\\\u003e\"Yeah, that's right! You already killed the stealth part, so let's go asshole!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou charge, screaming\n\n\\\u003eHe wobbly rushes forward roaring once more\n\n\\\u003eBut seriously, fuck honor\n\n\\\u003eYou pull out your goddamn fusion sword instead, knowing full well you wouldn't even trust plastic knives with Star, let alone a heated butter knife such as this\n\n\\\u003eNot being a big guy sometimes has its advantages\n\n\\\u003eIn your case, being able to duck so low that the bear has to do yoga to reach you is one of them\n\n\\\u003eYou turn his roars into howls with your sword cutting down from his shoulder before resting in the side of his stomach\n\n\\\u003eThe smell isn't even remotely pleasant\n\n\\\u003eHe just stares at you, speechless with big, bugged out eyes\n\n\\\u003eA well placed shot pops one of them, and the mountain of meat collapses\n\n\\\u003eSword beats fist\n\n\\\u003eWho knew?\n\n\\\u003eYou take the time to twist your shock knife into the necks of both syndicate members\n\n\\\u003eNo need to fight cyborg zombies, if mods and augs ever get that far\n\n\\\u003eThat bear must of had something in his legs to have been able to jump like that\n\n\\\u003eThe human went down to fast to see, and you honestly didn't care\n\n\\\u003eWhat did raise your interest was your helmet's HUD scanning down the faces of the bodies\n\n\\\u003eJust as fast, a cool 4K announces it's in holding after it's done\n\n\\\u003eGuess you are getting paid\n\n\\\u003eThe only thing you could of cared for was the pad that bear had while you rifled through their stuff\n\n\\\u003eSmashed\n\n\\\u003eDepressing, but not unexpected\n\n\\\u003eAt least you got your sword back, and a couple phones for no real reason\n\n\\\u003eHonestly, you don't know who you just killed or what they represented\n\n\\\u003eThe scanners never told you anything\n\n\\\u003eBut with these people being your bread and butter, you don't quite believe that was all of them\n\n\\\u003eIf it was all they had for the ground floor, then whoever lead this attack must be cowering upstairs\n\n\\\u003eAttacking at all already established their smarts\n\n\\\u003eYou're doing the world a service at this point\n\n\\\u003eEven after all that noise you still make the effort to slowly walk around, checking each room down both sides on the ground floor, finding nothing in all of them\n\n\\\u003eIt leaves you one option\n\n\\\u003eThe bathhouse upstairs\n\n\\\u003eAnd if you find one more fat man deep frying himself again, you aren't what you'd do\n\n\\\u003eThe best you can do right now is make your way on up, having to pass the corpses once again\n\n\\\u003eYou think the bear was talking about acting, or something\n\n\\\u003eTo just wait for you to walk up, cheery eyed and a smile with your face before no doubt beating the shit out of you, and to take you along for a ride\n\n\\\u003eStar's father doesn't work this zone, and those definitely weren't Concordate\n\n\\\u003eSailors must've gotten brave then\n\n\\\u003eIn, or out\n\n\\\u003eThat is all they can do through this one door you stand before, gun and knife once again at the ready\n\n\\\u003eWithout Gabriel, you're out of options\n\n\\\u003eDo you wait for backup?\n\n\\\u003eIf he was true to his word, 15 minutes for waiting on him with would add a lot more to this mess\n\n\\\u003eBut, speak the name a few times and you're bound to get something back\n\n\\\u003eSomething in the form of a garbled comm link\n\n\\\u003e\"-ull, on the oof....see through the .......ght into the bath house. Si. ..n, one has that bobcat\"\n\n\\\u003eWell damn, talk about great timing on terrible WiFi\n\n\\\u003e\"Can you get their attention? Maybe take a couple out?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"What, is that ...?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Sure. Ready?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Eedy!\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Great. Don't die\"\n\n\\\u003eAs the words leave your mouth, you duck to the floor at the sound of gunfire blowing out past the walls\n\n\\\u003eNot one to miss out on the fun, you're scrambling to your feet as more bullets tear through the decorated paper thin drywall\n\n\\\u003eBursting through the door you quickly access the situation\n\n\\\u003eAn anthro ferret lays in a pool of blood, and the flash of a tail suggests others just outside of Gabriel's sight\n\n\\\u003eAnother quick duck from a stray round your way ruins the rest of your scanning\n\n\\\u003eGabe might not be able to see them, but you definitely can\n\n\\\u003eRunning behind the pillars you open fire, filling the room with more lead\n\n\\\u003eA round guns one down easily, but the other two still stand\n\nTaking cover behind a fracturing pillar, a voice cuts through the noise\n\n\\\u003eRisking a glance, you see a man in white doing just the same, with a crooked grin while he glares at you\n\n\\\u003e\"So you came Bounty Hunter! What a surprise!\"\n\n\\\u003eStill behind the pillar, uses his free arm to grab at something behind him\n\n\\\u003eMissy is pulled right beside him\n\n\\\u003e\"But a wonderful one at that!\" he laughs, pulling her into his side and wrapping his arm around her\n\n\\\u003e\"You see Bounty Hunter, you killed my brother in this very room!\"\n\n\\\u003eMissy gives a gives a pained coughing whine from the man's arm starting to squeeze at her neck\n\n\\\u003e\"One for one is fair enough, right? Haha! I'd go for more, but I'm a busy man! So without furth-\"\n\n\\\u003eA gunshot resounds behind you\n\n\\\u003eBoth of the remaining ferrets make a mad dash to the exit, shooting wildly at where you still hide\n\n\\\u003eA few more bullets change sides, and a high pitched scream yells out\n\n\\\u003eIt's the perfect time to sprint\n\n\\\u003eWhen you round the corner, Rose's raised gun barrel is the last thing he ever sees\n\n\\\u003eThree dead ferrets, some dogs, a few humans, and a huge bear\n\n\\\u003eOn the living team, an overall healthy Missy without a single visible scratch\n\n\\\u003eOverall a small crew run by a guy who watched way too many Bond films\n\n\\\u003eThey can't be serious\n\n\\\u003eYou refuse\n\n\\\u003eYou refuse to believe an organisation reportedly large and a real issue ends in a brothel by a man who drinks too much, and the other a vanilla walking meat bag\n\n\\\u003eBut there he is\n\n\\\u003eThe idiot who forgot Gabriel was up there when he went to make his speech at you\n\n\\\u003eIn the end, not your problem\n\n\\\u003eYou sigh, and begin turning over the bodies with each of them having a bounty other than the 'boss'\n\n\\\u003e'It's overall a decent haul,' you say to yourself while you pocket any odd things that you find\n\n\\\u003eMore charges for Rose are always appreciated\n\n\\\u003eAt the sound of footsteps from the door close behind you, you immediately turn and raise Rose\n\n\\\u003eA voice calls out from somewhere nearby\n\n\\\u003e\"Calm down there Anon, it's Lysander and her men\"\n\n\\\u003eHer?\n\n\\\u003eTerrible parents if she was a he with a name like that\n\n\\\u003e\"Anon Lysander's men are on their way\" Star's voice comes through your Comms\n\n\\\u003e\"Yeeeah, good to know Star\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Wait, are they already here?!\"\n\n\\\u003e\"I assume you are Anon. A moment of your time, please?\"\n\n\\\u003eA refined third voice cuts through, but from the outside of your helmet\n\n\\\u003eMen pour through the doorway before a large saber-tooth cat, who is at least 2 feet taller than you walks through the crowd\n\n\\\u003eDespite her size, the crowd parts for her like water, and each of her steps appear carefully measured\n\n\\\u003eIt takes a few moments of staring before you nod at her\n\n\\\u003e\"You came here to help my people, and have shielded even more from harm\"\n\n\\\u003eAn arm motions to Missy, with one of the men acting as shoulder support for her\n\n\\\u003eWhen you look back, she smiles showing her large teeth\n\n\\\u003e\"In the future should you need something, do not hesitate to ask. And we in kind, will expect the same help on our endeavors\"\n\n\\\u003eYou nod again at her\n\n\\\u003e\"From here on, consider yourself a friend to the Concordate\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Just happy to help. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to upload these kills to the bounty network\"\n\n\\\u003eMore teeth\n\n\\\u003e\"But of course dear Anon. You will be useful to us, I can already tell\"\n\n\\\u003eAnd with that, like drones the men snap to attention and begin gathering the bodies, leading them out one after another\n\n\\\u003eYour back is turned to her, but there's an almost crushing weight in what you know is a casual look from her\n\n\\\u003eIt's all she's ever given you in the past three minutes you were rooted to the spot\n\n\\\u003eGuess you made their list after all\n\n\\\u003eA little creepy at how they even took the bear, but there you were, standing in what was once the main foyer but was now covered in blood and torn fabric\n\n\\\u003e\"Can I talk now Anon?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou jump\n\n\\\u003eRight, Star was watching and listening to the whole thing\n\n\\\u003eSpeaking of...\n\n\\\u003e\"Hey, Star? Good job getting a link to Lysander, though, forgive me if I don't come to your bunker tomorrow\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Huh?! No no no! I need you, please! I'll pay triple what I usually pay you!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou sigh\n\n\\\u003eStun a nerd, pick up a toy\n\n\\\u003eHow hard could that be?\n\n\\\u003e\"Alright Star, I'll see you tomorrow\"\n\n\\\u003eThere is one more group of drones who carefully push a cart past you\n\n\\\u003eWith a bored glance, you see it was the man who claimed he was the boss\n\n\\\u003eLooking away, you have to spin around to check out the dead man again\n\n\\\u003eYou thought you saw a quick glint of light from him\n\n\\\u003eBut you can't go over to check\n\n\\\u003eOne managed to zip up the body bag fully, and were already on their way to join the mob carrying similar prize bags\n\n\\\u003eYou're tired\n\n\\\u003eLike you don't want to be alive kind of tired\n\n\\\u003eThough upon seeing Gabriel, you wave him over to you, talking to him through your helmet as he does\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm going home, same split as usual?\"\n\n\\\u003eA nod and a thumbs up is your answer\n\n\\\u003e\"Yeah, same split. See you around brother,\" he clarified\n\n\\\u003eUnclasping the helmet and taking it off, you give him a nod right back\n\n\\\u003eNothing more was needed, the both of you knowing full well that the job was a resounding success, and the credits worth the effort\n\n\\\u003eAs you leave, you feel a bit accomplished, like you did something good\n\n\\\u003eYou can order good delivery tonight\n\n\\\u003eYou're getting triple from your client tomorrow\n\n\\\u003eAnd you somehow managed to not piss off the largest woman you've ever seen\n\n\\\u003eBut those lost few seconds, feeling like minutes hours or days ago\n\n\\\u003eHad you spent a few more, a small part of you doesn't know what you would choose\n\n\\\u003eIgnorant at the fact that you forgot to ask for a ride, you slowly walk down the streets towards home\n\n\\\u003eEverything feels like mixing together the further and farther you go, and when you reach your apartment door, turn the key and shuffle on in, you can agree one one simple thing\n\n\\\u003eIt's (probably) not half bad\n\n\\\u003eNot everyday you get to play the hero\n\nChapter 9: Let Me out\n\n\\\u003eYou wake up\n\n\\\u003eNothing really special about it, but important enough to do to have another fun filled day\n\n\\\u003eThe soft patter of rain sounds extra nice to your ears, and you're rubbing the sleep out of your eyes while you sit up in your bed\n\n\\\u003eYou last about a minute with the inner cheery monologue\n\n\\\u003eYesterday was a shitshow and a half\n\n\\\u003eThe only lucky thing about it was the lack of survivors to give the full details to their boss\n\n\\\u003eAs the tally goes, you've killed two of the Belacov's family members with Gabriel at a respectable one\n\n\\\u003eIt wasn't even out of malice either\n\n\\\u003eYou just wanted a typical payday, and one of them just so happened to be the target\n\n\\\u003eOh well\n\n\\\u003eIt's not going to stop you from making a quick plate of eggs n' bacon\n\n\\\u003eBut that requires you to actually get out of bed\n\n\\\u003eFloor still feels pretty cold as usual\n\n\\\u003eYour kitchenette still isn't a biohazard either\n\n\\\u003eAnd amazingly, your computer buzzes away, idly sitting by to the sounds of paste being remolded into 'food'\n\n\\\u003eNo hunting today, or at least in the more real sense\n\n\\\u003eThat fat digital check from yesterday will cover a few missed ones pretty well\n\n\\\u003eToday, your hunting(probably) for Star's weird obsession with eastern multicolor fighting robots\n\n\\\u003eYou sigh into your coffee mug while you drain your mind away\n\n\\\u003eGotta have room for the eventual information overload\n\n\\\u003eYou're idly wondering if Star will own up to her triple payment comment yesterday\n\n\\\u003eShe already pays quite a bit as is\n\n\\\u003eEach toy you brought her netted you anywhere from 4 to 7k\n\n\\\u003eBasically, you make fucking bank from stealing plastic from manchildren\n\n\\\u003eMaybe you can start looking for a new apartment soon\n\n\\\u003eFirst or second floor, a nice balcony with an overhang, and a great set of stairs\n\n\\\u003eThat'd be something\n\n\\\u003eBonus points for a gutted out elevator that only takes a few button presses to work\n\n\\\u003eYou daydream about having a nice grill that doesn't talk back to you while you finish your food and clean up the dishes\n\n\\\u003eThe dumb plates go into an even dumber dishwasher, and you take some time to keep the kitchen clean\n\n\\\u003eDon't want bugs in your walls or rats running around after breaking in through the window\n\n\\\u003eSuiting up with your usual gear, you idly snag the helmet and put it on your head\n\n\\\u003eYou've oddly taken a liking to it\n\n\\\u003eIt's pretty handy, too\n\n\\\u003eBuilt in targeting computer, night vision, facial recognition, and a firmware update showing up front and center\n\n\\\u003e\"Sure,\" you say while you head down the stairwell\n\n\\\u003eEverything darkens but the progress bar, and it's not until you reach your bike does it finish\n\n\\\u003e\"??????????????????????????????\"\n\n\\\u003eGod dammit\n\n\\\u003eGrumbling, you hop on and go about terrorizing the streets again\n\n\\\u003eThe more time you waste, the less green you make\n\n\\\u003eAnd you don't wanna make Star wait, after all\n\n\\\u003eThe ride through the city is peaceful today\n\n\\\u003eIt's early, the fog never leaving as it whips past your canopy\n\n\\\u003eJust dark enough for you to catch the neon lights that jut up and down on your side\n\n\\\u003eNot that they were hard to miss, the sun barely crept through the clouds, so the lights are always on\n\n\\\u003eAnd from above, it looks amazing\n\n\\\u003eEspecially from the view that you had from Gabriel's apartment, where you could look down on the city with it's gleaming jewels shining back\n\n\\\u003eThe memory fights with your first or second floor requirement\n\n\\\u003eIt's a quiet drive to Star's hidden door, and once your inside you don't see her around\n\n\\\u003eOdd\n\n\\\u003eIt's just as jarring NOT being tackled\n\n\\\u003eYou get out of your bike and take off your helmet\n\n\\\u003eGiving one last glance around you go through the entrance and head into the bunker itself\n\n\\\u003eWhen you walk into the main room you take a step back\n\n\\\u003eThe monitors lining the walls were all on and showing different bits of the hostage crisis at the Lucky Cat\n\n\\\u003eA clip of you finishing off the bear through his neck? Right there\n\n\\\u003eAnother one bagging a weasel who stood there? Got that, too\n\n\\\u003eThere is even a clip of Lysander speaking to you in her low, calm voice\n\n\\\u003eWhat the fuck\n\n\\\u003e\"Star?\"\n\n\\\u003eChrist, you didn't think she'd record all of this\n\n\\\u003eBut knowing her\n\n\\\u003eYeah, actually, this isn't surprising at all\n\n\\\u003eStill...\n\n\\\u003eShe's hiding behind her oversized chair\n\n\\\u003eYou only know about it when swivels around in it, with a huge smile and typical little hearts\n\n\\\u003eIt takes a few spins for the chair to slow down before she actually faces you entirely\n\n\\\u003e\"ANON! I've been SO worried! I thought you were gonna die yesterday!\"\n\n\\\u003eHer stubby feet scrape the floor, and a flinging arm sends the chair spinning again\n\n\\\u003e\"But look at all this! You were amazing!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou instinctively lower yourself into a crouched stance\n\n\\\u003eA nonplussed human holding an aggressively handy opossum would make for a great smissmas card\n\n\\\u003eIt helps to be prepared, after all\n\n\\\u003e\"You're so cool Anon!\"\n\n\\\u003eAlright, maybe you allow yourself a smile for the day\n\n\\\u003e\"Thanks Star, but I wasn't doing it to be cool\"\n\n\\\u003eYou're still holding her while she looks up at you with a doofy grin and animated eyes beating wildly\n\n\\\u003e\"I know! But it's still cool that you were able to remain calm like that!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou start to feel a cord snake it's way around your leg\n\n\\\u003eAnd down goes the girl\n\n\\\u003eShe lands on her footpaws which she immediately tries pushing her up on her toes to your eye level\n\n\\\u003eHer tail gives it another go as she does\n\n\\\u003eDeciding to ignore it for now, you start throwing out the big questions\n\n\\\u003e\"Anyway, what do you need me to grab Star? Better not be another 5 foot toy, could barely get that thing into my bike\"\n\n\\\u003eShe falls back down to the flats of her paws, with a sheepish grin starting\n\n\\\u003e\"Er, wellll... I... don't have anything for you to grab\"\n\n\\\u003eYou blink\n\n\\\u003eShe's got both of her eyes screwed shut\n\n\\\u003e\"I just wanted to spend time with you.. if, that's ok\"\n\n\\\u003eEr\n\n\\\u003e\"I'll still pay you!\" she blurts out in the end with both eyes snapping open\n\n\\\u003eShe even has her paws interlocked in front of her\n\n\\\u003e\"Please?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"...Anon?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou should be pissed that she lied, and angry that she dragged you here\n\n\\\u003eInstead, you're just plain mad she feels this lonely\n\n\\\u003eAnd maybe because you owe her for helping yesterday\n\n\\\u003eYou run your fingers through your hair and sigh\n\n\\\u003e\"Alright Star, but you don't need to pay me for this\"\n\n\\\u003eHer eyes morph into question marks\n\n\\\u003e\"...And go shower, and get dressed too\"\n\n\\\u003e!?\n\n\\\u003e\"Huh? Why? I'm already dressed!\"\n\n\\\u003eYeah, technically\n\n\\\u003eIf you consider raggedy shorts and a few sizes too small stained T-shirt with a stretched out robot face on it to be clothes\n\n\\\u003e\"The hell you are, if we're going to hang out, we're going out to grab some food. No way am I letting you leave like that\"\n\n\\\u003e!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\n\n\\\u003eHer eyes are wide with panic, and her normally blue orbs are covered in streams of red exclamation marks\n\n\\\u003e\"What! No no no no! It's not safe out there!\"\n\n\\\u003eShe's waving her paws in front of her face and slowly backing away from you\n\n\\\u003eYou smile\n\n\\\u003e\"Unsafe? You'll be with me, and I can do all this,\" you nod to the screens on repeat\n\n\\\u003e\"I don't know Anon! I'm scared of leaving the bunker! I'm safe here...\"\n\n\\\u003eShe fidgets with her paws\n\n\\\u003e\"Come on Star, you've got me,\" you say, walking to her\n\n\\\u003e\"Now, would you like to join me for lunch?\"\n\n\\\u003eLike a switch with this girl, rebounding back into her giddy grin and shooting stars\n\n\\\u003eShe blitz past you to a hallway, shouting \"I'll be right back! And no peeking!\"\n\n\\\u003eMaking a move to sit down in her chair, the only one in the room, a loud \"unless you reaaallllly wanna!\" catcall from around the corner leaves your ass frozen in mid air\n\n\\\u003eLooking around, and not finding Star streaking across the room, you commit to your previous plan of sitting, and do so\n\n\\\u003eIt's pretty soft\n\n\\\u003eYou still let a sigh escape and you pull out your phone to kill some time on\n\n\\\u003eAlready feeling the potential stress, it's immediately apparent that you shouldn't have said that\n\n\\\u003eEvery bone in your body is screaming 'NO'\n\n\\\u003eBut fuck it, you've already committed to it\n\n\\\u003eSo your going to make this the best god damn taco truck run she's ever had\n\n\\\u003e'She's totally into you'\n\n\\\u003eYeah we'll see about that, Fox\n\n\\\u003eYou've been sitting in the chair for awhile now, mentally wrestling, kicking, and grappling with yourself\n\n\\\u003eArguments for and against, pros and cons to everything\n\n\\\u003eYou're still going to do it\n\n\\\u003eIt's just that the rest of you is trying it's best to piss you off right now\n\n\\\u003e\"ANNOOON! How do I look?\"\n\n\\\u003eStanding up from her chair and turning around, you see Star running down the hallway towards you\n\n\\\u003eShe must've been storing all of her Anon's Morning Tackle supermeter with how hard it is for her to stay in place\n\n\\\u003eShe's wearing regular jeans without any holes or stains, a different t-shirt with another robot on it, and a brownish jacket similar to your bomber one\n\n\\\u003eAnd some weird fluffy boots to boot\n\n\\\u003e\"You look fine, Star\"\n\n\\\u003eNope\n\n\\\u003eStill not wearing a bra it seems\n\n\\\u003eShe's resorted to bouncing in place at this point\n\n\\\u003e\"Do you like the jacket though? It's an Ma-1 Flight jacket from Mobile Suit Gundam\"\n\n\\\u003eYou take a closer look at it\n\n\\\u003eYour unmodded, human eyes deduce that it still looks like a normal jacket\n\n\\\u003e\"Uhh, it looks great, I guess. Ready to go?\"\n\n\\\u003eShe stops in place\n\n\\\u003e\"Are you sure we should leave? I mean, we ca-\"\n\n\\\u003eYou shake your head\n\n\\\u003e\"If you want me to stay this is the one condition to it\"\n\n\\\u003eClearly she hasn't been outside much\n\n\\\u003eEspecially with how far back her ears fold down with her head tucking into her own jacket\n\n\\\u003e\"mmm.. ok, Anon\"\n\n\\\u003eAs an investment for to your future, you're going to fix this, and holding out your hand you start on it now\n\n\\\u003e\"Do you trust me Star?\"\n\n\\\u003eShe looks up at you and nods furiously\n\n\\\u003e\"Yes! Yes I do Anon!\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Then take my hand and let's go\"\n\n\\\u003eShe slowly shuffles forwards and puts her paw into your outstretched hand\n\n\\\u003e\"I can show you the world, you let me\"\n\n\\\u003eMaking good on that promise with a star-struct Star in hand, you lead her to your bike and get in\n\n\\\u003e\"You're gonna need to sit in my lap while I drive, ok?\"\n\n\\\u003eGetting a two person seat mod is expensive\n\n\\\u003eYou don't have the money to afford it\n\n\\\u003eIt also looks stupid\n\n\\\u003ePeople who have it are stupid\n\n\\\u003eThose are all perfectly valid reasons as to why you don't have one\n\n\\\u003eBut you should probably give Star a helping hand, the bike is a bit too tall for her\n\n\\\u003eWith a little bit of effort, she clambers into the bike and plops herself down on top of your lap\n\n\\\u003e\"Er, Star, you need to scoot forward a bit..\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Ok Anon!\"\n\n\\\u003eWith how she drags herself down to the seat just in front of you...\n\n\\\u003eYou decide that now is a great time to lower the canopy, and reaching above your head you bring it down and secure it in place\n\n\\\u003eA quick jab with your thumb and the bikes roaring and ready to go\n\n\\\u003e\"Ready Star?\"\n\n\\\u003eShe makes herself comfortable snuggling back into you\n\n\\\u003e\"Mhmm\"\n\n\\\u003eYou punch it\n\n\\\u003eYou're fairly certain it's the fastest you ever made it to the main road\n\n\\\u003e\"WHOA WHOA FAST ANON SLOW DOWN FAST TOO FAST\"\n\n\\\u003eYour grinning as you zig zag through traffic, and you know you're doing it right from the feeling of Star's claws digging into your thighs\n\n\\\u003eIt's just enough to blur the lights into water around you while the both of you floor it down the river\n\n\\\u003eStar's eyes are wide\n\n\\\u003eLittle exclamation points are bouncing around where her pupils are\n\n\\\u003eYou've sat there with her for awhile now, parked next to the sidewalk\n\n\\\u003e\"Do you wanna get off this wild ride?\"\n\n\\\u003eWith a huge grin, the mission was a huge success\n\n\\\u003e\"THAT. WAS. AWESOME! Let's do it again!\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Sure\"\n\n\\\u003eYou punch it, again\n\n\\\u003eBut this time you head to the Megaway, a giant collection of citywide highways\n\n\\\u003eStar is cheering loudly while you weave through traffic\n\n\\\u003eGiant floating billboards tell you were to go, and your destination was closing in\n\n\\\u003eYou don't stay on for long, and soon you zip off the Megaway into a section of the city called \"Yakoto Station\"\n\n\\\u003eIt looks like the china towns of old, but owned by the Concordat\n\n\\\u003e\"What are we doing here Anon?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou can almost taste it as you maneuver through the streets\n\n\\\u003e\"Getting sushi, but real sushi! Not like your food synth stuff\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Hey! My stuff is good!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou shake your head, \"just wait till you try the real thing\"\n\n\\\u003eFinding a parking spot isn't hard, as after all it's early\n\n\\\u003eDoesn't really matter though, this place caters to the odd hour crowd, and is paid exceptionally well for doing so\n\n\\\u003eWhen you stop, you push open the canopy and lift Star out of the bike\n\n\\\u003eYou aren't even halfway getting her out and she's already latching to you\n\n\\\u003e\"Star, what have I said about-\"\n\n\\\u003eYou stop and look down at her\n\n\\\u003eShe has her claws and tail onto your side, looking around quickly and terrified\n\n\\\u003eShuffling awkwardly out of your bike, you pet her head gently to reassure her\n\n\\\u003eAnd to help deal with the pain\n\n\\\u003e\"Hey, it's ok, I'm here remember?\"\n\n\\\u003eShe's wide up when she looks at you\n\n\\\u003e\"Promise it's ok?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou give her another tactical scratch behind the ears\n\n\\\u003e\"It's ok, you're ok, trust me\"\n\n\\\u003eYou use both hands to gingerly peel her off\n\n\\\u003eGiving one final \"ok,\" she relents, and you're no longer being stabbed\n\n\\\u003eYou have to outright drag her across the floor and into the building, and when she notices other people she does her best to stand ramrod still\n\n\\\u003eAn amused Tsushima Leopard cat Anthro is this morning's waitress\n\n\\\u003eShe thankfully diffuses the situation with a smile\n\n\\\u003e\"Irashimase! Table for two?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou look down at Star\n\n\\\u003eShe's slowly starting to hyperventilate\n\n\\\u003e\"Yes please, preferably towards the back facing the door\n\n\\\u003eBeing used to odd seating requests, she gives a professional smile and a short bow\n\n\\\u003e\"Yes, of course Anon! We have your usual table free\"\n\n\\\u003eIt isn't far while she leads you and Star to the requested table all the way in the back\n\n\\\u003eYou sit with your back to the wall and invite Star to sit besides you\n\n\\\u003e\"Easier for us to watch the door if both of us are facing it,\" you tell her\n\n\\\u003e\"Is it always like this Anon?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"For people in my profession, yes. And for people in your unique situation, doubly yes\"\n\n\\\u003eYou look down at Star\n\n\\\u003eShe surprises you that even here, she still can't decide how she feels at any particular time\n\n\\\u003eShe's eager and 'animated' as she looks back\n\n\\\u003e\"And they know you here? How? I thought you were untraceable!\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Still gotta eat,\" you smirk behind the menu, \"I sometimes go get food with my partner when we go on hunts\"\n\n\\\u003e\"The guy on the roof from yesterday?! He's your partner?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou put the menu down, expressionless when you look back to Star\n\n\\\u003eShe has both fists up close to her face, and you see a few fangs poke out over her lips\n\n\\\u003e\"Yes\"\n\n\\\u003eShe's giving the seat a good ride, and all thoughts of being outside have seemingly disappeared from her mind\n\n\\\u003e\"If you're good you'll meet him one day\"\n\n\\\u003eYou see a waitress stop by a small Momonga Anthro, and after serving him she takes the time to head your way again\n\n\\\u003e\"Hi Anon! What can we get you today? And for once it's not with Gabe today\"\n\n\\\u003eYou pull up the menu closer to your face\n\n\\\u003eYou aren't a mooch in the slightest\n\n\\\u003e\"Nah Yuki, just showing my friend a place for some good food. Just give me the usual eh?\"\n\n\\\u003eShe scurries off leaving both you and Star alone once more\n\n\\\u003e\"It's so busy, is it like this all the time?\"\n\n\\\u003eThere's only five or so other full tables, but that same energy is given to every one of them\n\n\\\u003e\"The city never sleeps, it's always time for someone to do something. Something always needs fixing, people always need something, so it's always busy when the lights stay on\"\n\n\\\u003eShe's looking over the crowds even more intensely now\n\n\\\u003e\"We have it easier than most ina way Star. If you look out there to the real world, most people spend their lives working for a dream that isn't theirs\"\n\n\\\u003eYou poke her shoulder, and with the same finger point to a man walking the streets while the sun begins to rise for the day\n\n\\\u003e\"That man probably works his ass off for his boss, only to be told 'good job, keep it up,' and he'll probably keep doing that until he dies\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Bounty hunters, you, me and Gabe all live outside the norm. It's pretty dangerous, but also freeing in a way\"\n\n\\\u003eShe's quiet, slow in scanning the various people starting to come out the woodwork\n\n\\\u003eThe more she takes in every new sight, the closer she gets to leaning on your side\n\n\\\u003e\"Yeah, free to do what we want,\" she whispers\n\n\\\u003eShe's made herself quite comfortable\n\n\\\u003eYou're going to commit to this, it hasn't changed\n\n\\\u003eBut you don't know if you've already went and jumped\n\n\\\u003eShe is still your client\n\n\\\u003eAnd you should stop this now and keep it just that\n\n\\\u003eSame as before, the only cure is to repress it as far as it can go, with the magic key being\n\n\\\u003e'You know how it'll end'\n\n\\\u003eYou hide your sour mood until the waitress comes back with the food...\n\n\\\u003eA colorful array of salmon, eel, squid, octopus, and sail-fin sushi lays before you\n\n\\\u003eIn your haste to order the usual, you forgot that Star is, at the best, a third of Gabriel, size wise\n\n\\\u003eThe two of you would usually be pretty starved, and half the time it would only tide you over for a few hours at most\n\n\\\u003eIt doesn't bother Star in the slightest\n\n\\\u003e\"Ooo Anon, it looks so good!\"\n\n\\\u003eWide eyed as ever, she grabs a saucer and a large bottle of soy sauce\n\n\\\u003eShe then mixes a large chunk of wasabi into the sauce and goes to grab a piece\n\n\\\u003eNot on your watch!\n\n\\\u003e\"Whoa whoa whoa Star, what are you doing?\"\n\n\\\u003eShe blinks at you, confusion extremely apparent\n\n\\\u003e\"Eating sushi?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou frown at the mixed abomination and set it aside\n\n\\\u003e\"I thought you would know that it's frowned upon to mix soy sauce and wasabi,\" you say as you set a saucer of soy sauce in front of you both, and a small plate of wasabi behind it\n\n\\\u003e\"Now come on, let's enjoy\"\n\n\\\u003eYou reach over the spread at a set of cups full of water, and a noticeable lack of booze\n\n\\\u003e\"Do you want some sake? I can't drink any, but you can\"\n\n\\\u003eIt's always Gabriel that orders it\n\n\\\u003e\"OO yes I want it! I haven't had any before\"\n\n\\\u003eWhen the waitress makes her rounds, you call her over and order a small bottle\n\n\\\u003eYour order placed, you grab a pick of sushi with your fingers\n\n\\\u003e\"Hey! What happened to respectful! Sushi is not finger food!\"\n\n\\\u003eOh you sweet summer child\n\n\\\u003e\"For someone who loves Japanese shows, you sure don't know much about the culture. It's perfectly acceptable to eat it with your fingers\"\n\n\\\u003eThree dots, a question mark, and finally a bright pink exclamation point\n\n\\\u003eAll the in the span of a second\n\n\\\u003e\"It is?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou nod, \"yep, no dig in this place has the best\"\n\n\\\u003eShe still uses her chopsticks instead of her fingers to grab a piece\n\n\\\u003eRight\n\n\\\u003eFurred pads versus human skin\n\n\\\u003eOops\n\n\\\u003eShe pops it right in, and she almost drops her chopsticks on the floor\n\n\\\u003e\"Omigosh! This is great!\" she tries to do a silly little dance in her chair with a palm stuck to her cheek\n\n\\\u003e\"Told ya,\" you hold back a laugh\n\n\\\u003e\\*Snrk\\*\n\n\\\u003eIt's harder to keep back when she does it a second time\n\n\\\u003eYou're pretty certain Star could make true the elusive foodgasm at this point\n\n\\\u003eIt was when Star was in full squirm mode did the waitress walk up with a small bottle in hand, even more amused than before\n\n\\\u003eShe gives you a wink before placing the Wake Sake down, and as she leaves you pour a cup for Star\n\n\\\u003eYou have to poke her pudge to open her eyes, and in the brief moment of both of your surprise, you cover it up with the sake cup in hand\n\n\\\u003eShe's careful as she grabs it, no doubt unused to holding actual ceramic in a high end dive like this\n\n\\\u003e\"Why is it warm?\" she eventually asks\n\n\\\u003e\"It's traditionally served warm,\" and it's why you can't stand it\n\n\\\u003eHer face screws up in disgust, either from the alcohol itself or a huge invisible lemon\n\n\\\u003eA little tongue poking out was entirely unnecessary, and it's a bit of a detriment to your health\n\n\\\u003e\"Blech! That tastes weird\"\n\n\\\u003eNo kidding\n\n\\\u003e\"Want more?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"YES!\"\n\n\\\u003eShe scoots the bottle closer to her, and before long she almost chugs it down cup after cup\n\n\\\u003eThe meal itself goes by quickly as well, and soon you and Star are talking about proper etiquette\n\n\\\u003eAt the end, the waitress comes by and you hand her your phone to pay, with Star a bit distant and looking confused\n\n\\\u003e\"I can pay Anon, do you want me to?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou wink at her\n\n\\\u003eShe sways a bit back\n\n\\\u003e\"Now making you pay wouldn't be very gentlemanly, would it?\"\n\n\\\u003eLittle hearts lazily start to form\n\n\\\u003e\"No it wouldn't Anon..Thank you\"\n\n\\\u003eYou crack a smile, a real one for today, and take your phone back from the waitress\n\n\\\u003eShe gives another bow, and leaves\n\n\\\u003e\"Now then, let's get you home,\" you say as you stand and hold out a hand to Star\n\n\\\u003eShe takes it, and still by the hand you lead her out to your bike\n\n\\\u003eYou first get into it, and help Star climb in a bit more carefully, and as soon as she does your lap becomes her seat\n\n\\\u003e\"See? I told you nothing bad would happen as long as I'm here\"\n\n\\\u003eYou rub the top of her head before starting your bike\n\n\\\u003e\"Mhm! You did, thank you Anon\"\n\n\\\u003eA living seatbelt wraps it's way around your waist, with a small content sigh from Star\n\n\\\u003eIf she's going to be sitting on you proper, it's the least you can do\n\n\\\u003eAnd feeling her plush back against your chest, you punch it(a tad bit slower) and rocket forward back into the streets\n\n\\\u003e\"WHEEE! This is fun Anon!\" Cheers Star as you zig zag through traffic\n\n\\\u003eYeah\n\n\\\u003eJust like when you got your bike\n\n\\\u003eIt really is pretty damn fun\n\n\\\u003eYou'd be lying in saying that you're 100% okay with this\n\n\\\u003eStar's emotions are like a revolving door to you\n\n\\\u003eIn a way, you feel that you can relate\n\n\\\u003eEvery time you're with her, you think it gets more manageable\n\n\\\u003eHer almost incessant, grating happiness wears away at your doubts, better than any therapists you can't afford\n\n\\\u003eAnd it's not at all related to how much she's bouncing excitedly on your legs and into your chest\n\n\\\u003e\"Faster!,\" \"Go that way!\" and \"Do that again!\" rewards you with a different one every time\n\n\\\u003eIt takes a while before you get back to her bunker, and slowly drive down the ramp\n\n\\\u003eYou park, push open the canopy before helping her out of the bike\n\n\\\u003eHer shirt hiked up as you grabbed her waist to put her on the floor\n\n\\\u003eYou really do think she showered before\n\n\\\u003eYou don't remember her being this soft\n\n\\\u003eWith her planted on the floor and you not having moved yourself, she already has her jacket off\n\n\\\u003eDefinitely a shirt one size smaller than the last, with how strained that robot man looks\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm gonna change into something more comfy! Then let's watch a movie! I'll even let you pick this timeeee!\"\n\n\\\u003eShe's already around the corner, never bothering to find out your answer\n\n\\\u003eIt's not really immediate\n\n\\\u003eAre you going to indulge her further?\n\n\\\u003eYou're certainly grateful for her calling in backup, and(regretfully? thankfully?) getting you in contact with Lysander\n\n\\\u003eYou shake your head and sink further into the seat\n\n\\\u003eThe fuck else are you going to do? Stare at your dying computer, rub one off and watch cat videos?\n\n\\\u003eAlthough, you wouldn't mind doing one or two of those things right now...\n\n\\\u003eFocus!\n\n\\\u003eFocus on the fact that if you stay, your morning's mental training will be going into overdrive\n\n\\\u003eUnless you can somehow divert her away from watching something that wasn't Gundam related\n\n\\\u003e'Try to have a good time'\n\n\\\u003eWell, you did that already, eating with her and getting her out of the bunker for what was probably the first time since she moved here\n\n\\\u003eIn the precious seconds of quiet, you sigh and accept doing two of those things on the list\n\n\\\u003eYour computer hasn't found anything\n\n\\\u003eAnd that clip of a Maine Coon cat jumping at the sight of a plush white tiger helped calm down your overworked thoughts a bit\n\n\\\u003e\"Ready!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou snap your head back up, seeing Star poking her head out the door\n\n\\\u003e\"Let's pick a movie!\"\n\n\\\u003eGetting out, she's already dashed back to the basement, and when you enter the main room itself she's tapping away at her keyboard\n\n\\\u003eWalking up, you swing her chair around and see her wearing meshed shorts and an even MORE i'll-fitting tank\n\n\\\u003eThe robot on it is beyond warped\n\n\\\u003eShe hops off, motions you to sit in it, and when your ass hits the top her own comes flying in, still bouncing and full of energy\n\n\\\u003e\"WAIT! Wait wait wait! Hold on!\"\n\n\\\u003eAnd off your lap she goes\n\n\\\u003eYou idly spin the chair around to see her dash down a hallway\n\n\\\u003eJust as fast, she's back with a bundle of clothes in her arms\n\n\\\u003e\"If we're gonna do this, we're gonna do it right!\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Those gotta go, Anon,\" she points to your jeans\n\n\\\u003eGood lord, she was entirely blunt as she said that\n\n\\\u003eThe evidence against her innocence is always flipping back and forth, and while you hope for one side, you damn well know how all encompassing 'Anime' is\n\n\\\u003eKnowing your client is key for a successful relationship\n\n\\\u003eDraino needs to be re-legalized\n\n\\\u003eSomehow, you're already holding the pile\n\n\\\u003e\"Well, try it!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou look down at them, and then at her\n\n\\\u003e\"Star\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Cmoncmoncmon!\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Star, I will, alright? But...either you need to go or I do\"\n\n\\\u003eShe lays off standing on her tip toes and tiny eager fist pumps\n\n\\\u003e\"Oh. Y-yeah, right, that uh,\" her head is twisting around\n\n\\\u003e\"Yeauhh DOWN THAT HALL FIRST DOOR TO THE LEFT!\"\n\n\\\u003eHer chest is rapidly rising from how quickly she's breathing\n\n\\\u003e\"Sure.\"\n\n\\\u003eYou don't normally go down this hallway, mostly out of respect for Star's privacy\n\n\\\u003eThere are a few doors in it, but sticking with your guns you do as she says and enter the first one you see\n\n\\\u003eIt's...pretty empty, with just a table and a chair next to it, with a few shelves of unfinished or poorly painted collectibles\n\n\\\u003eYou thought you would find some deep dark secret, but the only thing different about the room was the stale smell of dried paint and open cans of it\n\n\\\u003eYou quickly take your jeans off and hang them over the back of the chair\n\n\\\u003eYou then unfold the bundle after\n\n\\\u003eIt's a shirt wrapped in a pair of sweat pants\n\n\\\u003eOn it is a Gundam you only know as a Gundam from that marathon of movies you watched just a few days ago\n\n\\\u003eThe pants though...\n\n\\\u003eThe base is a solid black, which is fine, except\n\n\\\u003eThey're covered in yellow, red cheeked grinning emoji's only offset by pictures of corgis\n\n\\\u003eYou still put it on though\n\n\\\u003eAnd holy fuck they're comfortable\n\n\\\u003eThe shirt fits you like a glove, too\n\n\\\u003eLeaving your clothes draped over the chair, you close the door and head back to the main room\n\n\\\u003eStar isn't anywhere to be found, so you decide to sit back down in her chair\n\n\\\u003eYou should REALLY find out where she got this at some point\n\n\\\u003e\"OK NOW I'M READY\"\n\n\\\u003eYou spin around seeing Star sprint across the carpet\n\n\\\u003eOooh no\n\n\\\u003eShe oofs the wind right out of you, firmly planted on your lap from a flying leap, and when you regain your breath to shout she cuts you off instead\n\n\\\u003e\"What kinda movies DO you like anyways?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou stop, pause, and shrug all at once\n\n\\\u003eYou don't really go out to see them\n\n\\\u003e\"Uh, just gimme a movie with action..or something,\" you mumble out\n\n\\\u003e\"OH OH I KNOW!\"\n\n\\\u003eShe moves her cursor through some folders, and it eventually rests on 'Cowboy Bebop: The Movie'\n\n\\\u003e\"The main character reminds me of you!\"\n\n\\\u003eShe sways side to side in your lap to the sound of soft Jazz music playing from the movie\n\n\\\u003eShe ups it to little dances when the song gets louder\n\n\\\u003e\"This is great Anon! It's also one of my favorites\"\n\n\\\u003eWhy aren't you surprised\n\n\\\u003eWhen your lungs start working again and your abused lower body accepts the much more heavier one crushing it, even you start to feel like you're enjoying the movie, with your own smile forming on your lips to match the gigantic one Star must have\n\n\\\u003eOver the course of the movie Star snuggled closer into your lap, and with every fidget you feel you absentmindedly rub the base of her ears, trying to focus on the movie\n\n\\\u003eThe both of you slip further and further back into the chair and your chest respectively the longer the movie plays\n\n\\\u003e\"See what I mean Anon!\" she yellwhispers, \"Spike is like you kinda!\"\n\n\\\u003eThe man she points at is almost always walking hunched over, smoking a cigarette and seems to always find some way to annoy the people he's always with\n\n\\\u003eGreat\n\n\\\u003eSo that's how she views you\n\n\\\u003e\"Hey, Anon?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou glance down\n\n\\\u003e\"HmmmMMM?!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou feel her press her lips against yours\n\n\\\u003eNope! Time out!\n\n\\\u003eBoth your hands wrap around her waist, and you pull her off with the faint taste of sake in your mouth\n\n\\\u003e\"Star, what the hell!?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou said it a bit more loudly than you liked, with her eyes widening as she scurries off of you\n\n\\\u003e\"What? What's wrong Anon? Where are you-\"\n\n\\\u003eYou've already gotten up and left\n\n\\\u003eYou're pacing circles around your bike, barefoot and still in the clothes Star gave you\n\n\\\u003eShe kissed you\n\n\\\u003eLiterally stole one from you\n\n\\\u003eWhat the fuck do you do now?\n\n\\\u003eStomping around like an idiot won't help, so you can at least stop doing that\n\n\\\u003eAnother helpful tip would be to call Gabriel\n\n\\\u003eYou're sure he or Fox can settle this\n\n\\\u003eStanding still with your phone out, you ring him up, and after a few go by he answers\n\n\\\u003e\"Null? What's up buddy? Thought you were working for Star today\"\n\n\\\u003eYou go back to pacing\n\n\\\u003e\"She tricked me and asked me to hang out with her, so I am. Was. She didn't have anything to look for but that's not important\"\n\n\\\u003eHis eyes look you up and down, with most of it spent on your face\n\n\\\u003e\"Are you pacing? What's wrong?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou stop again\n\n\\\u003e\"She kissed, so I panicked and left\"\n\n\\\u003eHis mouth falls open\n\n\\\u003e\"You- Anon, you thrice damned childish FUCKWAD. She likes YOU, and you run off after she does THAT?!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou see Fox jump into view, too\n\n\\\u003e\"Anon! You go right back in there and apologize! NOW!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou shrink back from the verbal onslaught\n\n\\\u003eYou hear Gabriel mutter a string of swears under his breath\n\n\\\u003e\"Ok, ok, I'm just...\"\n\n\\\u003eFox's face softens and fills with concern\n\n\\\u003e\"This isn't going to be the same as then Anon, trust us\"\n\n\\\u003e\"You're damn right it isn't!\" Gabriel is back in focus\n\n\\\u003e\"Anon, you need to man the fuck up and stop pissing all over your future\"\n\n\\\u003eYou nod, and hang up\n\n\\\u003eYour numb in your acceptance of their advice, and you head back into the bunker\n\n\\\u003eYou don't expect her to be there\n\n\\\u003eShe isn't, with the movie still playing in the background\n\n\\\u003e\"Star?\"\n\n\\\u003eNo answer\n\n\\\u003eYou head down the hallway you never walked down before\n\n\\\u003eYour hunch is right, the door at the end of it is slightly ajar, and the closer you get you start hearing muffled voices from inside\n\n\\\u003e\"Star?\" You call out again, and step inside\n\n\\\u003eA muted, sobbing hiccup answers\n\n\\\u003e\"A-anon \\*hic\\* what d-did I do wrong?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou sigh\n\n\\\u003eNot at her, not at the room, or even the events of the day\n\n\\\u003eYou sigh at your own stupid horseshit\n\n\\\u003eIt comes from the sight of the sobbing opossum that's curled up tightly on her bed\n\n\\\u003ePosters similar to the collectibles room line the walls, with modest furniture covering the rest\n\n\\\u003eYou sit next to her, unsure what to do\n\n\\\u003eSo you default to moving your hand, only pausing just inches away from her head\n\n\\\u003e\"Look, Star, you didn't do anything wrong. I just-\"\n\n\\\u003eYou don't know how to phrase it\n\n\\\u003eLike a switch\n\n\\\u003eOnly duller than before\n\n\\\u003eSoft hair and fur presses into your hand, and you instinctively move to gently rub in kind, with the sounds of crying devolved into quiet hiccups\n\n\\\u003eYou struggle to find your words\n\n\\\u003e\"I've been hurt badly before..and, not in the way you might think\"\n\n\\\u003eThere's a pause in the air, only broken by another slight sniffle escaping a pillow hugged to her chest\n\n\\\u003e\"I forgot how to handle it back there...\"\n\n\\\u003eYou hear the covers shift behind you, and turning around, you see Star did the same, and eventually she sits up to look at you, wiping a few stray tears from her muzzle\n\n\\\u003eYou pull back your hand while she does\n\n\\\u003e\"What do you mean Anon?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou close your eyes\n\n\\\u003e...And open them to find Star even closer\n\n\\\u003eSo you take a deep breath, let it out with a sigh, and move your hand to the side of your shirt\n\n\\\u003e\"It isn't pretty, but, I mean it like this\"\n\n\\\u003eYou lift the side, revealing a scar\n\n\\\u003eIt's as if a chunk of your body went missing, only to be replaced with foam and hastily stretched skin to cover it\n\n\\\u003eHer eyes go wide with her paws to her mouth, as she traces the subtle red flesh from your pelvis to your ribs and to the side of your navel\n\n\\\u003e\"Oh my god Anon! What happened?\"\n\n\\\u003eShe gets closer, and places one of her paws on it\n\n\\\u003eYou don't stop her\n\n\\\u003e\"It's a long story\"\n\n\\\u003eHer normal, small dotted eyes look into yours\n\n\\\u003e\"Trust me Anon, I'm not going anywhere\"\n\n\\\u003eYou cover yourself once more\n\n\\\u003e\"It happened in a place called Cydonia...\"\n\nChapter 10: Until There Is No End\n\n\\\u003eYou are Anon\n\n\\\u003eFinally 18 years old and a Brand new legal bounty hunter\n\n\\\u003eSure you've done some small bounties but now was time for big game\n\n\\\u003eOn one of you latest hunts another hunter named calling himself Gabriel noticed you picking through small time bounties, looking for something that could get you a meal for the night\n\n\\\u003eYou don't know why he did it but he said you should partner up with him\n\n\\\u003eWas it pity? Did he see potential? You don't know or care right now\n\n\\\u003eYou actually had credits for once!\n\n\\\u003eHe showed you how to track down the big bounties\n\n\\\u003eHis speeder drove up to your usual street corner and you climb in\n\n\\\u003e\"You live around here Anon? Dangerous neighborhood\"\n\n\\\u003eYou shrink down into the chair\n\n\\\u003e\"I live in that alley over there actually Sir\"\n\n\\\u003eYou point to an alley where you had a tent and a box set up to sleep in and stay dry\n\n\\\u003eThe pity on his face hurts\n\n\\\u003e\"Just call me Gabriel, none of the sir shit, and Jesus kid, don't you have anyone out there?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou shake your head\n\n\\\u003e\"I haven't seen my parents since I was 8, they took me shopping for new clothes and just left me\"\n\n\\\u003eGabriel curses angrily under his breath\n\n\\\u003eHe's not much older than you but he acts like he's seen much more than anyone should have\n\n\\\u003eLike he's Han Solo and you're Luke Skywalker\n\n\\\u003e\"Anyway Gabriel whats the mark! I was able to buy a gun from our last bounty!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou hold up a weathered Magnum, which he grabs and inspects with one hand while driving\n\n\\\u003e\"It's not pretty but it'll shoot straight Anon, you found a rose in a field of weeds that's for sure\"\n\n\\\u003eYou smile\n\n\\\u003eBounty hunting wasn't the first choice you had for a job, but you could help so many people!\n\n\\\u003eAnd get paid for it!\n\n\\\u003eYou look down at your \"phone\", it's more a bunch of thrown away pieces of electronic cobbled together\n\n\\\u003e50 credits in your account\n\n\\\u003eLooks like you get to eat tonight after all and have some to spare\n\n\\\u003e\"Today you're hunting on your own Anon, I found a \"take Alive\" bounty for you, easy 1000 credits, I got a heavy mark that I can handle but you need to refine your skills\"\n\n\\\u003eYou frown\n\n\\\u003e\"How can I capture someone? Everyone is bigger than me and stronger than me\"\n\n\\\u003eHe reaches behind his seat and fishes around for something before dropping a hilt in your lap\n\n\\\u003e\"That's a shock Knife, Sneak up on them, give em a quick shock with it and it'll shut down their augs and probably knock em out\"\n\n\\\u003eYou smile\n\n\\\u003e\"Then I cuff em right?\"\n\n\\\u003eHe nods \"Yea anon, here's who you're after\"\n\n\\\u003eA few button presses on his phone and you get a flickering image on your screen\n\n\\\u003eA golden haired Puma, name: Rachel Winston, Height 6'3 Augments unknown\n\n\\\u003eWanted for possible homicide\n\n\\\u003e\"You think you can handle her?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou nod\n\n\\\u003e\"I can\"\n\n\\\u003eHe smiles \"Good I'm counting on you, after this I think my wife would wanna meet my new partner\"\n\n\\\u003eThe speeder stops \"This is your stop, She's known to frequent this bar, lay low and call me when you get her\"\n\n\\\u003eYou get out and Gabriel speeds away\n\n\\\u003e1000 Credits! More than you've ever had\n\n\\\u003eYou look up at the Neon sign\n\n\\\u003e\"Nights in Cydonia\"\n\n\\\u003eYou head inside and stick to the shadows\n\n\\\u003eNo automated greeting system could find or see you\n\n\\\u003eThe patrons and barkeep were too busy to notice or care about you\n\n\\\u003eSo you slink to a corner and wait\n\n\\\u003eAfter about an hour or so of waiting your mark enters and sits down\n\n\\\u003eOne of her arms it totally replaced, a hand instead of a paw with long fingers looked odd on the puma\n\n\\\u003eStay calm, stay out of the way\n\n\\\u003eYou knew what you were best at, same as always, hide they can't find you\n\n\\\u003eShe drinks a few drinks and laughs a bit before getting up and heading off\n\n\\\u003eWell what would have been a little while was actually a few hours of you just staying hidden\n\n\\\u003eYou stalk through the crowd , unseen and uncared for\n\n\\\u003eNothing to worry about you guess\n\n\\\u003eShe gets up and yells loudly \"Put it on my Tab\" before walking outside\n\n\\\u003eShe'll never pay that tab off\n\n\\\u003eYou follow her out of the bar barely seen by anyone\n\n\\\u003eDrawing your shock knife you press the blade into her cybernetic arm\n\n\\\u003e\"WHAAAAAAA-\"\n\n\\\u003eShe screams as you shock her then she collapses\n\n\\\u003eScore!\n\n\\\u003eYou do a stupid dance then pull out your cuffs and lock them on her\n\n\\\u003eDialing up Gabriel gets no answer, through\n\n\\\u003eHe must be busy dealing with his mark, no big deal\n\n\\\u003eSo you drag the Puma underneath an overhang and find a dry spot to sit down\n\n\\\u003eBefore long she stirs\n\n\\\u003e\"Hmmm? Wha? Wha happened why am I cuffed\"\n\n\\\u003eYou sit a fiddle with your phone trying to get some type of Wifi to alert the bounty network\n\n\\\u003e\"You have a bounty on you, I shocked you and we're waiting for my ride\"\n\n\\\u003eThe puma sits up and eyes you\n\n\\\u003e\"Pfft! You!? A bounty hunter?! You're just a kid!\" She smiles smugly\n\n\\\u003eYou smile\n\n\\\u003e\"I still caught you, didn't I?\"\n\n\\\u003eThe smug look slides off her face\n\n\\\u003e\"Huh, you did, didn't you? You must be quite good at this then\"\n\n\\\u003eHer eyes continue looking you over\n\n\\\u003e\"You're unaugmented? How exotic~\"\n\n\\\u003eYour ears perk up\n\n\\\u003e\"Huh?\"\n\n\\\u003eShe smiles at you and scoots a bit closer\n\n\\\u003e\"You're the first person I've ever seen without an augment and you just happen to catch me, I like that\"\n\n\\\u003eYou frown and push her away with your foot\n\n\\\u003e\"Yea well it sucks\" You say as you try again with your phone\n\n\\\u003e\"I can't get any implants, I'm called a freak, I live in a fucking box because no one wants to deal with an untraceable human\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Untraceable huh? I also like that, so what's my bounty worth? 2k?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou frown \"I wish, someone wants to pay 1k for you though\"\n\n\\\u003e\"What if I told you we could make more together? You're a useful kid, and judging from that phone, you can also build stuff\"\n\n\\\u003eShe slides up closer to you\n\n\\\u003e\"Plus I like you already. You've proven your good at what you do, and are resourceful enough to get by on your own\"\n\n\\\u003eShe continues until she's sat next to you, still cuffed behind her back\n\n\\\u003e\"I can even give you a place to live, with me that is, I just love how exotic you are~\"\n\n\\\u003eShe licks the side of your face with a long raspy tongue\n\n\\\u003e\"Ooo I wonder what a human like you could do to me, only relying on your own raw stamina and none of those overcompensating bullshits\"\n\n\\\u003eYou gawk at her\n\n\\\u003eShe seriously doesn't think you're a freak!\n\n\\\u003eThere is a first time for everything you suppose\n\n\\\u003eWhy did she have to be wanted for possible murder though\n\n\\\u003e\"You're wanted for possible murder though, I can't just stop, besides my partner is on the way\"\n\n\\\u003eshe smiles\n\n\\\u003e\"I didn't murder anyone, my ex was abusive and one day I stood up to him, now I'm being hunted\"\n\n\\\u003eYou frown\n\n\\\u003e\"That may be but still I need to take you in\"\n\n\\\u003eShe pouts at you and rubs her side against you\n\n\\\u003e\"If I'm going to trust you to live with me and show me your assets, you need to trust me too\"\n\n\\\u003eShe slides even closer and licks your face again\n\n\\\u003e\"Plus if you uncuff me I can give you a little preview of things to come\" she says in a sultry voice\n\n\\\u003e\"You're the perfect man for me kid, smart, resourceful , and handsome to boot, let me show you what I can do\"\n\n\\\u003eShe opens her mouth and lets her long tongue roll out\n\n\\\u003eYour mind is in a tizzy\n\n\\\u003eShe thinks you're sexy too!\n\n\\\u003eA quick movement and she's in front of you arms still cuffed behind her back, looking up at you hungrily\n\n\\\u003e\"Ooo while I do enjoy good role playing I would rather just see what your packing besides that rusty gun\"\n\n\\\u003eShe rubs her muzzle on your thigh\n\n\\\u003e\\\u003e\"Ooooo a manly scent too~\"\n\n\\\u003eThis is the first time any girl has ever shown you attention beyond calling you a freak\n\n\\\u003e\"O-okay Rachel, I'll trust you, but after I uncuff you we go to the station and explain everything so no one else hunts you deal?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Mmmyes deal\" she purrs seductively\n\n\\\u003eYou pull out your handcuff key as she turns away from you\n\n\\\u003eAs you unlock her paw and cybernetic hand she rubs her wrist gently\n\n\\\u003e\"Thank you for trusting me kid\"\n\n\\\u003eShe turns to you, rubbing her paw and hand down your chest\n\n\\\u003e\"Now let me give you something\"\n\n\\\u003eFWOOM\n\n\\\u003eYou shudder and look down, the smell of burnt flesh permeates the air\n\n\\\u003eHer hand has changed into a plasma spitter\n\n\\\u003eAnd a gaping hole is where your side should be\n\n\\\u003e\"I-wha?\"\n\n\\\u003eShe smiles at you\n\n\\\u003e\"Sorry kid but I'm not ready for prison, and besides, I think killing you might be doing you a favor\"\n\n\\\u003eYou fall over, gasping for air as pain sears through your body\n\n\\\u003eStay awake breathe, you don't want to die\n\n\\\u003eOne last attempt\n\n\\\u003eYou push a button on your phone\n\n\\\u003ePick up Gabriel please\n\n\\\u003e\"Hey Anon whats u-\"\n\n\\\u003e\"H-help\" you gasp out with the last of your strength\n\n\\\u003eYou hear him yelling as the world spins and goes black\n\n\\\u003eBeeping sounds fill the air, you feel odd, like you're floating\n\n\\\u003eYou open your eyes slowly\n\n\\\u003e\"Am..am I dead?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou look around, the sound of heart monitors beeping fill the air\n\n\\\u003e\"Not yet Man, but you almost were\"\n\n\\\u003eYou look over and see Gabriel sitting in a chair next to you, an anthro something sitting with him\n\n\\\u003e\"What happened?\" you say woozily\n\n\\\u003e\"I found you passed out after you called me, most of your internal organ have been regenerated and you've been comatose for a week\"\n\n\\\u003eyou attempt to sit up but your body refuses\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm sorry Gabriel. I-i let her talk to me and- and she told me how cool I was for not having augs and-\n\n\\\u003e\"no I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left you, we're partners, I wanted to let you learn but got greedy myself\"\n\n\\\u003eyou look him over and see genuine concern and regret in his eyes\n\n\\\u003e\"I need to leave, I can't afford all this, they can't track me. I'll dis-\" You attempt to get up\n\n\\\u003eThe Anthro pushes you back down\n\n\\\u003e\"We've got you covered Null, Gabriel told me about your..situation, how you survived all alone for so long is amazing\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Null?\"\n\n\\\u003eGabriel smiles\n\n\\\u003e\"Nickname Fox gave you, because you're Null and void to most electronics, the paramedics could barely even believe you were there and freaked out because they couldn't use their fancy technology to monitor your heartbeat\"\n\n\\\u003eYou laugh painfully\n\n\\\u003e\"Null huh I like it, by the way, Hi Fox, I'm Anon\"\n\n\\\u003eYou attempt to raise your hand to shake her paw but it won't listen\n\n\\\u003eGoddamit\n\n\\\u003e\"Hi Anon, I'm Jamiee But everyone calls me Fox, you can too\"\n\n\\\u003eYou nod weakly\n\n\\\u003e\"Also Null i have a get well soon gift for you\"\n\n\\\u003eGabriel digs around in his bag before pulling out a shiny Magnum\n\n\\\u003eYou gawk at it\n\n\\\u003e\"I can't accept that, you've given me too much\"\n\n\\\u003eHe smiles\n\n\\\u003e\"It's the gun you bought, I just cleaned it up and refitted a few worn parts, you really did get a good one\"\n\n\\\u003eYou smile \"What was it you said about it? Something about weeds\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Hhm? Oh that it was a rose in a field of weeds\"\n\n\\\u003e\"That's what it is then; Rose\"\n\n\\\u003eGabriel nods\n\n\\\u003e\"good name\"\n\n\\\u003eA thought hits you\n\n\\\u003e\"What happened to Rachel, er, the Mark?\"\n\n\\\u003eGabriel grimaces\n\n\\\u003eFox answers though \"Gabriel caught her a few days ago, Alive, she had a few broken ribs, a shattered elbow and a concussion but she was alive\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Her arm was worth more than she was, but it felt dam good to beat her with it\" He Grumbles\n\n\\\u003eYou laugh painfully\n\n\\\u003e\"Thanks guys\"\n\n\\\u003eStar sits besides you, paw still on your scar as you look down at the floor\n\n\\\u003e\"She played every one of my insecurities, everything I had never heard from anyone\"\n\n\\\u003eShe looks at you unsure of what to say\n\n\\\u003e\"Then what happened?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Gabriel and fox let me stay with them until I was fully recovered, then helped me find a place to live when I was able to hunt again\"\n\n\\\u003eyou frown\n\n\\\u003e\"I can never repay them for that, they took care of me when I should have died that day\"\n\n\\\u003eYou shake your head at your own stupidity that day and the anger you feel for being a burden on them\n\n\\\u003eStar is a bit oblivious to your feelings though\n\n\\\u003e\"Your parents abandoned you? And you still end up like this?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou frown unsure of what that means\n\n\\\u003e\"What\"\n\n\\\u003eShe waves her paws in front of her, eyes wide as exclamation marks\n\n\\\u003e\"I mean you didn't turn to crime! you stayed a good person!\"\n\n\\\u003eAh\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm not a good person, I've killed plenty of people, I just do what I have to\"\n\n\\\u003eHer long tail wraps around your waist\n\n\\\u003e\"I think you're a good person\"\n\n\\\u003eYou smile at her for once\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm sorry Star, I shouldn't have acted like I did\"\n\n\\\u003eShe bounces a bit closer to you\n\n\\\u003e\"It's ok Anon\"\n\n\\\u003eYou shake your head at her, looking down at the floor\n\n\\\u003e\"No it isn't, you're a good person and I shouldn't have acted like that, you're cute , you're funny and I like spending time with you but I'm just so....me\"\n\n\\\u003eShe scooches a bit closer\n\n\\\u003e\"We can take it slow if you like Anon\"\n\n\\\u003eYou look at her brilliant blue eyes and wrap your arms around her, pulling her close\n\n\\\u003e\"Ok Star, Slow, now why don't we finish our movie?\"\n\n\\\u003eShe nods into your chest\n\n\\\u003e\"Ok Anon\"\n\n\\\u003eShe pulls back from you slightly and looks up at you\n\n\\\u003e\"Oh And Star?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou put your forefinger under her chin and guide her mouth you yours\n\n\\\u003eHer eyes explode into exclamation marks\n\n\\\u003e\"You're a really great girl to have my first kiss with\"\n\n\\\u003eHer eyes morph into little hearts as her paws reach the sides on her face\n\n\\\u003e\"Oooo Anon! you're the best\"\n\n\\\u003eYou shake your head and extend a hand\n\n\\\u003e\"Lets go finish that movie\"\n\n\\\u003eHer paw meets your hand\n\n\\\u003e\"OK anon lets go\"\n\nChapter 11: Whatever it takes\n\n\\\u003eYou awake to the slight buzzing of your phone\n\n\\\u003eWhy do you feel heavier than usual\n\n\\\u003eAnd much warmer than usual\n\n\\\u003eThe twitching of little ears on either side of your face remind you why\n\n\\\u003eYou had fallen asleep after watching you don't know how many movies with star\n\n\\\u003eShe is still in your lap, leaned back against you, a blanket wrapped around you both\n\n\\\u003eA little bit of fishing around and you're able to get your phone out\n\n\\\u003eQuickly clicking the Answer button causes Gabriel's Hologram to appear\n\n\\\u003eHe doesn't say anything at first but studies the situation\n\n\\\u003e\"Morning Null, glad to see you took our advice, I would say let's go hunting but it looks like your busy\"\n\n\\\u003eStar yawns\n\n\\\u003e\"No no He can go, I don't wanna have you guys lose credits because of me\"\n\n\\\u003eShe slides off you and stretches as she walks to her kitchen\n\n\\\u003e\"What's the mark?\"\n\n\\\u003eGabriel Scratches his chin with a frown\n\n\\\u003e\"Not one of our usual Marks, Lysander got a hold of me asking us to handle this, said you're too hard to find\"\n\n\\\u003eYou yawn and stretch, huh not even she could find you, That's something\n\n\\\u003e\"Alright so we go shoot some guys easy\" you croak out, feeling your back pop satisfyingly\n\n\\\u003e\"Not so easy, she wants them alive and both have heavy combat Augs\"\n\n\\\u003eYou curse to yourself\n\n\\\u003eOf course she wants them alive\n\n\\\u003eStar brings you a cup of Coffee earning her a quick ear rub\n\n\\\u003e\"Ooo Wait! Is That Gabriel!? HI GABRIEL!\"\n\n\\\u003eStar waves excitedly to his hologram\n\n\\\u003eHe seems genuinely shocked at her aggressive friendliness\n\n\\\u003e\"Uhh, Hi Star, hope our boy Null wasn't too big of a dick to you yesterday\"\n\n\\\u003eshe smiles wide\n\n\\\u003e\"Nah he was great!, thank you for saving him though!\"\n\n\\\u003eHe smiles\n\n\\\u003e\"So you told her about Cydonia eh?\"\n\n\\\u003eStar shakes her head, vigorously\n\n\\\u003e\"Mhm and he even showed me his scar!\"\n\n\\\u003eGabriel smiles, \"I'm glad for you both, but can I get back to business with Null, little Lady?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Oh! OH! sorry!\" she says as she scoots off\n\n\\\u003e\"Is she always this excitable? You sure found an energetic one\"\n\n\\\u003eYou smile as you sip your coffee\n\n\\\u003e\"Yea, she is, anyway what's the mark\"\n\n\\\u003eHe sighs, \"Two marks actually, she wants to use them as an example I guess; Where are you I'll come get you\"\n\n\\\u003eyou lean close to the receiver\n\n\\\u003e\"I can't tell you where I am right now, I'll tell ya later though\"\n\n\\\u003ehe raises his eyebrows\n\n\\\u003e\"Hmmm? alright then, get over to my place then, I think Fox has some leftovers for you anyway\"\n\n\\\u003eSweet! Leftovers! No seriously her food was just that good\n\n\\\u003e\"Alright I'll see you in a bit\"\n\n\\\u003eYou hang up and look around\n\n\\\u003eLooks like you're skipping breakfast\n\n\\\u003e\"Star?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou wander through the bunker to find her in her Toy room, well she called it her collection room but its toys\n\n\\\u003eYou can't help but smile\n\n\\\u003e\"I'll be back later if that's ok?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Ok Anon, we can try to play a video game together!\" she says Cheerfully\n\n\\\u003eYou give her a quick kiss and head into the other room to change\n\n\\\u003eGear is all ready, Rose is set to stun, and you have your shock knife ready to rock and roll\n\n\\\u003eYou leave and head to your bike\n\n\\\u003eA quick double check pat down of yourself to make sure you have everything and you're ready\n\n\\\u003eYou hope in and start her up, then hit the road\n\n\\\u003eTraffic isn't terrible as you drive through the back roads\n\n\\\u003eYou knew this Cities back alleys and tunnels like the back of your hand,\n\n\\\u003eYou grew up on them after all\n\n\\\u003eAfter about 30 minutes you pull in front of Gabriel's apartment, helmet tucked under your arm\n\n\\\u003eYou give him a quick \"yo I'm here\" call and before long he's stepping out of the elevator\n\n\\\u003e\"Leftovers, Lets go\"\n\n\\\u003eHe chucks a plastic box with some bits of food in it to you before getting into his speeder\n\n\\\u003eYou open the box revealing steak; \"Sweet\" you say as you get in and start to eat it with your fingers\n\n\\\u003e\"Seriously dude? No manners at all?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou shrug \"What its good and I'm hungry\"\n\n\\\u003eHe shakes his head \"Fuckin weird eating cold steak with your fingers\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Whatever, whats the mark?\" you say between mouthfuls\n\n\\\u003eHe taps a few button on his arm scanner and your scanner beeps and shows 2 faces\n\n\\\u003eAn Anthro Reindeer and an anthro fox\n\n\\\u003e\"Lysander didn't go into details, just said they got handsy with some of the girls and wants them alive\"\n\n\\\u003eYou scan through the details\n\n\\\u003eThe reindeer has some sort of blinder Aug welded to his horns and skull, pretty shoddy job, probably done in a back alley Surgery center\n\n\\\u003eThe fox has heavy duty fusion claws built into his arms, which are totally cybernetic\n\n\\\u003e\"They work in tandem eh? The reindeer blinds and the Fox goes in for the kill\"\n\n\\\u003eGabriel frowns and nods\n\n\\\u003e\"Yea, aside from Lysander wanting them a few other groups want them dead\"\n\n\\\u003eYou frown now, \"Would we make more killing them?\"\n\n\\\u003eGabriel shakes his head\n\n\\\u003e\"Lysander offered to pay her 5k for each , the bounties wants 6k for them dead but it's better not to piss her off\"\n\n\\\u003eNumbers float around in your head\n\n\\\u003e\"You're probably right, no use pissing her off\"\n\n\\\u003eHe nods\n\n\\\u003e\\\u003e\"Yea, we're headed to the ports again, onto the Megafauna\"\n\n\\\u003eYou frown at that, the Megafauna was once the crown jewel of cargo tankers\n\n\\\u003e3 miles long and half a mile wide it could carry more cargo than any other ship before\n\n\\\u003eNow it was a decrepit ruin, cargo containers turned into homes\n\n\\\u003eThe inside of the ship was kept in semi good condition for the sake of power\n\n\\\u003eYou know that it was easy to get lost, or to plan an ambush\n\n\\\u003eOf course there was no way they could know you were coming to set up an ambush\n\n\\\u003eYou steel yourself and double check your gear\n\n\\\u003eEverything is set, best plan to do is just shoot them and stun them\n\n\\\u003eDonning your helmet you wait for the usual as it boots up\n\n\\\u003e\"?????????????????????\"\n\n\\\u003eYea there it is\n\n\\\u003eYou sit back and watch the city fly by\n\n\\\u003e\"Why do you wear that thing Null?\" Gabriel says knocking on your helmet with a fist\n\n\\\u003eYou push his knocking fist away\n\n\\\u003e\"It was a gift from Star, plus it has night vision, facial recognition, tracking and a gas mask built in. Everything I can't put into my eyes\"\n\n\\\u003eHe looks it over once more\n\n\\\u003e\"That's a pretty nice gift, She seems like a nice girl, although a bit doofy\"\n\n\\\u003eYou nod\n\n\\\u003e\"Yea she's a little awkward, but she means well and I guess we're a thing now\"\n\n\\\u003eGabriel smiles\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm glad for you, and you even showed her your scar\"\n\n\\\u003e\"I had to explain why I left after she kissed me,so I told her about Cydonia and you saving me\"\n\n\\\u003eYou look out the window at the neon lights flowing by\n\n\\\u003eThe ports are near, both of you stay silent for a bit\n\n\\\u003eMental preparation,\n\n\\\u003eTo you it means that you retreat inside yourself and go over everything\n\n\\\u003eOne blinds, the other gets in close\n\n\\\u003eYou wonder how the fox deals with the blinders\n\n\\\u003eNo time to think about how now\n\n\\\u003eYou click a few buttons on your scanner\n\n\\\u003e\"Do we have their ID implant data? if so I can follow them with my helmet\"\n\n\\\u003eGabriel taps a few buttons on his scanner and you get the 2 ID tags\n\n\\\u003eA quick link to your helmet and you're ready; the Helmet showing you an arrow to their last scanned position\n\n\\\u003eGabriel parks and you both jump out\n\n\\\u003eBetter to keep your guns holstered, having them drawn would only cause problems\n\n\\\u003eyou walk up the gangplank and look down into the black water below, a few luminescent lights dance just below the surface\n\n\\\u003eUgh, you don\"t wanna think about what creatures lurk in those overly polluted waters\n\n\\\u003eThe ship may be anchored and hasn't gone into open waters in decades, maybe centuries; but the whole ship sways side to side with the water\n\n\\\u003eYou guess you haven't gotten your sea legs\n\n\\\u003eIt takes a bit of getting used to for both of you\n\n\\\u003eGabriel has a little more trouble than you just because of the weight distribution from his heavier left arm\n\n\\\u003eYou look around letting your helmet scan the area\n\n\\\u003e\"They must be below deck somewhere, Their ID implants show they were last scanned down there\"\n\n\\\u003eLuckily there are signs directing you to the nearest hatch, rusted open permanently from years of disuse\n\n\\\u003eYou peer down and look around\n\n\\\u003eSeeing nothing you climb down the ladder and wait for Gabriel\n\n\\\u003e\"Anything on them yet Null?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Nothing, lets just head to their last location and ask around\"\n\n\\\u003eHe nods and you both head down the cramped hallways\n\n\\\u003eThese tankers weren't made for comfort, just efficiency\n\n\\\u003eAs such most of the bigger Anthros couldn't fit below deck, you're sure that even the reindeer has a hard time getting through\n\n\\\u003eYou might be able to use that as an advantage\n\n\\\u003eThe HUD on your helmet says they are about 100 meters ahead of you and slightly to your left as you head towards the stern of the ship\n\n\\\u003e\"Pssst Anon what are you doing\"\n\n\\\u003eGreat, Star has joined the conversation\n\n\\\u003e\"Hunting star, quiet, we need to hear everything\"\n\n\\\u003eYou hear a slight 'Hmph' from her but she relents\n\n\\\u003eSuddenly you helmet Pings loudly\n\n\\\u003eYour first thought is that Star fucked with something but instead the the marks\n\n\\\u003ethey just got scanned somewhere\n\n\\\u003eyou helmet calculates for a moment before showing they are directly beneath you\n\n\\\u003e\"Gabriel, they're one deck below us, luckily still together\"\n\n\\\u003e\"They know they work better together\"\n\n\\\u003eYou nod and locate another hatch to go further down\n\n\\\u003eA quick slide down the ladder and you're 20 meters from them at least that's what your Helmet says\n\n\\\u003eDrawing rose you double check that its set to stun\n\n\\\u003e\"Clear\"\n\n\\\u003eGabriel lands next to you and draws his Gun\n\n\\\u003eYou take point, following the route set by your helmet\n\n\\\u003e5 meters, only a wall separates you\n\n\\\u003eYou have your back to the wall as you slide along it before peeking around a corner\n\n\\\u003eYour greeted by a bar of sorts, just a open area with what appears to be a bar made of cardboard pressed together\n\n\\\u003eA single arcade machine sits in a corner where the 2 marks are hitting buttons trying to beat whatever it was\n\n\\\u003e\"Battletoads\" huh? never heard of it\n\n\\\u003eYou motion to Gabriel where they are and you round the corner silently\n\n\\\u003eSneaky, silently, that's it\n\n\\\u003e\"Can Interest you two fellas in a drink?\"\n\n\\\u003eA bartender, an anthro Monkey of some sort, looks at you with a lazy eye and a robotic one, she must have been outside your field of view\n\n\\\u003eThis is why you don't like monkeys\n\n\\\u003eTo your Horror this also attracts the attention of the Marks\n\n\\\u003e\"Fuck, hunters! Blind em Rudolph!\"\n\n\\\u003eHis Antlers glos red and Flash brightly just as Gabriel shoots him\n\n\\\u003e\"Fuck I cant See null!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou can but barely, the helmet must have some type of vision protection\n\n\\\u003eBut you lost view of the fox\n\n\\\u003e\"IN FRONT OF YOU ANON!\" Shouts Star\n\n\\\u003eYou jump backwards and feel the fusion claws rip into your chest\n\n\\\u003eBut you can see him\n\n\\\u003eBarely\n\n\\\u003eIt's enough though\n\n\\\u003eYou swing rose and slam pistol whip the fucker\n\n\\\u003eHe collapses into a heap\n\n\\\u003eJust to be certain, you fire \u0026nbsp;a few stun rounds into him\n\n\\\u003eBetter safe than sorry right\n\n\\\u003e\"You alright Null?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou look down and see your shirt shredded and stained with blood\n\n\\\u003eThe slashes are painful but not life threatening\n\n\\\u003e\"I'll be fine, you got any one those heal pads\"\n\n\\\u003eHe shakes his head \"Not with me, they're in the speeder, you gonna be ok?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou wince as you touch one\n\n\\\u003eCauterized from the heat but about a centimeter deep\n\n\\\u003e\"I'll be ok, looks worse than it feels\"\n\n\\\u003eProbably\n\n\\\u003eMaybe\n\n\\\u003eYou cuff the fox and Gabriel cuffs the reindeer\n\n\\\u003eIt takes a long time for you and Gabriel to get the two out of the ship, The sun is already rising\n\n\\\u003eMainly using Gabriel's hoist to pull them up through the various hatches\n\n\\\u003eWhen you finally make it back to the speeder you're out of breath, pain weighing you down\n\n\\\u003eeven though the slashes were burned shut they reopened in a few places, blood streamed down your shirt\n\n\\\u003eyou dump the fox into the trunk after disconnecting the wires to his arms\n\n\\\u003ethe reindeer is thrown into the backseat, with a triple layer of bags over his head and antlers\n\n\\\u003e\"alright Null, let's look at those slashes\"\n\n\\\u003eyou nod and take off your helmet, jacket and what remains of your shirt\n\n\\\u003e4 long gouges across your chest, if you hadn't just back in time he would have split you from your left shoulder to your right hip\n\n\\\u003ethe cool rain does little to sooth the searing pain\n\n\\\u003e\"Here's a heal pad, its heal up those gouges but it'll probably leave a scar\"\n\n\\\u003eyou nod and he presses the pad to your chest\n\n\\\u003ethis part always sucks though\n\n\\\u003e\"Ready?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"just do it\"\n\n\\\u003eHe activates it with the push of a button\n\n\\\u003ethe pain you feel over the wounds in immense causing you to double over and vomit\n\n\\\u003ethe body isn't made to heal quickly, it can, but it hurts\n\n\\\u003ea Lot\n\n\\\u003eafter a few moments it subsides\n\n\\\u003eYou're left breathless and shivering from the pain and cold rain\n\n\\\u003egrabbing the pad, you yank it off quickly and inspect your chest\n\n\\\u003e 4 slashes across your left pec, about 12 inches long are visible\n\n\\\u003eYou don whats left of your shirt, you jacket and your helmet ones more\n\n\\\u003e\"You ok?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Yea yea I'm fine, lets deliver these guys to Lysander and get paid\"\n\n\\\u003e\"That's what I like to hear\"\n\n\\\u003eThe ride goes quickly, you might have actually fallen asleep at one point though\n\n\\\u003eWhat wakes you is the muffled screaming from the trunk of the speeder\n\n\\\u003eGabriel smiles\n\n\\\u003e\"heh Lysander's probably going to make him scream worse\"\n\n\\\u003eThe Concordat Headquarters is actually one of the few spots left with grass and a lawn\n\n\\\u003eVery expensive and very Showy, and they know it\n\n\\\u003eThe Concordat holds control over every red light district in the city, and since the city covers the entire planet they make quite a bit of revenue\n\n\\\u003eProbably why they don't mind paying you so much\n\n\\\u003eAs the speeder nears the gate they open automatically\n\n\\\u003e\"What the? They took control of the speeder\" Gabriel says looking surprised, his hands hovering over the wheel\n\n\\\u003e\"We have been expecting you both, relax and we will handle everything\" A refined voice comes through the radio\n\n\\\u003espooky\n\n\\\u003eThe speeder drives and parks in front of the large mansion sitting on top of a hill covered in grass\n\n\\\u003eYou step out and look at the lawn\n\n\\\u003eIt's different seeing it in a lawn not between bricks\n\n\\\u003e\"If you please, this way Master Anon, Master Gabriel\"\n\n\\\u003eA tall Anthro giraffe bows low to you and motions for you to follow him\n\n\\\u003eGroups of men grab up the struggling fox and reindeer behind you as you leave\n\n\\\u003eFollowing the Giraffe to the mansion is difficult for you, he's easily 10 feet tall and his legs are your height\n\n\\\u003eYou're basically running to keep up with him\n\n\\\u003eHe leads you through the mansion and into a back garden\n\n\\\u003eLysander sits in a gazebo, reading an actual paper book while drinking what you assume is Tea\n\n\\\u003eA large pond bubbles next to the gazebo, with what appear to be fish just below the surface\n\n\\\u003e\"Ah Gabriel and Anon, you have done very very well\"\n\n\\\u003eShe stands and walks over to you both with serene grace, her long purple gown flowing in the wind\n\n\\\u003e\"You got them both alive and only one of you was injured\" she says glancing at your torn shirt with a satisfied smile\n\n\\\u003e\"I am very glad you passed this test\"\n\n\\\u003eWhat?\n\n\\\u003eThe Struggling reindeer and fox are brought before her\n\n\\\u003e\"Stop Struggling and KNEEL\"\n\n\\\u003eLysander looms over them a frown gracing her face\n\n\\\u003e\"You two were supposed to be our allies, and I am so SO disappointed in you\"\n\n\\\u003eShe walks around them, her paws gently rub their heads and shoulders\n\n\\\u003e\"When I found out that you were selling our secrets to the Sailors, I was so so hurt\"\n\n\\\u003eHearing those words hurt you, and they weren't even directed towards you\n\n\\\u003eJust the way she spoke was enough to drive fear into the heart of any man\n\n\\\u003eThe calm cold tone of her voice faintly covering up the malice behind it\n\n\\\u003eYou can see both of the Anthros shivering\n\n\\\u003e\"W-we're Sorr-\" the fox begins to sputter out\n\n\\\u003e\"I DID NOT ASK YOU TO SPEAK WHELP\" She roars at him\n\n\\\u003eShe grabs what you had assumed was a Light post and lifts it revealing it as a Large Gravity hammer\n\n\\\u003e\"You both have failed and betrayed me, and not only that you hurt our friends here\"\n\n\\\u003eShe motions to you and Gabriel\n\n\\\u003eThe shivering is audible as the foxes metal arms clink\n\n\\\u003e\"I am merciful, to a certain point\"\n\n\\\u003eshe still glides around them, before settling behind them\n\n\\\u003e\"But I must say, goodbye Bingle, your sins are one too many\"\n\n\\\u003eWith a fierce yet graceful overheard swing of the hammer she crushes the fox into the ground with a sickening crunch\n\n\\\u003eShe then jumps on the reindeer and begins yanking on his antlers\n\n\\\u003eHe struggles in vain, even if he wasn't cuffed it wouldn't have made a difference\n\n\\\u003eher footpaw in his neck, she grips his antler and heaves\n\n\\\u003eThey rip out of his head, spraying blood on the cement and grass\n\n\\\u003eHe screams and twitches underneath her mighty footpaw\n\n\\\u003eShe stand over him until he stops screaming and descends into pained whimpers\n\n\\\u003e\"Nigel please Uncuff Rudolph for me\"\n\n\\\u003ea short Mole anthro with thick glasses waddles up and uncuffs him\n\n\\\u003eLysander steps off and away from him, allowing him to stand, albeit shakily\n\n\\\u003e\"You may live Rudolph, but you are to warn others; Do not Cross Lysander or the Concordat\"\n\n\\\u003eShe hands him the torn out antlers\n\n\\\u003e\"now then. Get. Out\"\n\n\\\u003ehe shakily stumbles to the mansion\n\n\\\u003e\"Make sure he doesn't bleed on anything\" Lysander instructs the giraffe\n\n\\\u003e\"Yes of course Madam\" He says with a bow\n\n\\\u003eLysander picks up the gravity hammer and sets in down where it was, disguised as a light post\n\n\\\u003eShe then gently pushes the foxes corpse into the pond with her footpaw, careful not to get any blood on her fur\n\n\\\u003eSome type of carnivorous fish Must reside in the pond because the second it hits the water its torn apart\n\n\\\u003eShe turns to you and Gabriel\n\n\\\u003e\"So sorry you had to see that, now as I was saying, you passed the test\"\n\n\\\u003eShe smiles, her large sabre like teeth glinting\n\n\\\u003e\"I placed the bounties for them dead before I asked you tow to get them alive, I wanted to see if you would do as you were asked and you did not disappoint\"\n\n\\\u003eShe motions behind you and several groups of men appear holding a new shirt for you and a few odd looking instruments\n\n\\\u003e\"You will receive my blessing to work with the concordat and more specifically me, Gabriel you will receive an implant \u0026nbsp;hidden in your back Augment; it will show those who know to look for it you are one of my Personal hunters\"\n\n\\\u003eShe turns to you\n\n\\\u003e\"And you, Anon, my Unaugmented friend, is there a reason you do not have augments if you do not mind me asking?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou smile\n\n\\\u003eRemain polite\n\n\\\u003e\"Of course uh Madam, I cannot have any, they short circuit my nervous system and would kill me\"\n\n\\\u003eShe nods\n\n\\\u003e\"Ah of course, either way I have prepared something for you, it may be a bit dated but it will mark your skin with ink\"\n\n\\\u003eShe smiles and stand between the two of you\n\n\\\u003e\"Do you both accept becoming my part of my personal hunters?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou look at Gabriel who nods\n\n\\\u003e\\\u003e\"We accept\" he says\n\n\\\u003e\"Splendid\"\n\n\\\u003eWith that your jacket is pulled off you and your torn shirt stripped and thrown away\n\n\\\u003eYou hear whirring and machine of some sort is pressed to your left shoulder\n\n\\\u003eA few moments of pain and it pulls away\n\n\\\u003eyou inspect the area\n\n\\\u003ea Green fist inside a Black \"C\"\n\n\\\u003eyou see Gabriel with his shirt off as well, the large scar running down his back is visible to everyone\n\n\\\u003ehe hates when people see it\n\n\\\u003e\"this may hurt a bit Gabriel\" Lysander cooes, rubbing a paw gently up the scar\n\n\\\u003e\"Just do it\" he grunts\n\n\\\u003eShe nods and a needle pokes through his skin into his back\n\n\\\u003eYou see his teeth clench from the pain\n\n\\\u003eIt passes after a few moments though\n\n\\\u003eOne of the men hands you a new shirt and you slip it on\n\n\\\u003e\"Thank you both, I will only call upon you when we need discretion and please do keep our relationship secret\"\n\n\\\u003eShe smiles and returns to her gazebo\n\n\\\u003e\"You may go\"\n\n\\\u003eAnd with that you turn and leave\n\n\\\u003eYou're lead through the mansion once again and escorted to Gabriel's speeder\n\n\\\u003e\"We took the pleasure of cleaning your speeder inside and out, you will regain control of it once you leave the gates\" the giraffe anthro says\n\n\\\u003e\"Uhh thanks\"\n\n\\\u003eYou get in the speeder and Gabriel gets in after\n\n\\\u003eThe speeder starts and takes you out of the gate\n\n\\\u003eOnce Gabriel has control and has driven a short way you slump down\n\n\\\u003e\"Holy shit dude\" you groan\n\n\\\u003e\"I know man I know, what the fuck did we just get into\"\n\n\\\u003eYou both ride in silence until the speeder pulls into his apartment parking area\n\n\\\u003eGetting out you sigh and roll your shoulders before looking at him\n\n\\\u003e\"Peace man, I think they stole your food container by the way\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Fuck that was Fox's, I'll see ya\"\n\n\\\u003eYou go to your Bike and get in, donning your helmet once again\n\n\\\u003e\\\u003eIt shows a route and you call to your phone\n\n\\\u003e\"Contact Star\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Ohmygosh Anon! Where are you? Are you ok? What happened?\n\n\\\u003e\"I'll tell you when I get to the bunker, I had a long day and have a few things to show you\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Ok Anon hurry!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou punch it and zoom through the city neon lights flashing by\n\n\\\u003eBefore long you get to the bunker and ride in\n\n\\\u003eAs you park you see Star bouncing happily\n\n\\\u003e\"HELLOOO ANONN!\"\n\n\\\u003eyou clamber out and Star grips your side happily\n\n\\\u003e\"Hi Star\"\n\n\\\u003eyou peel of the helmet, your Jacket and your shirt\n\n\\\u003eStars eyes fall on the new scars on your chest and the Concordat Symbol on your left shoulder\n\n\\\u003e\"The fox got you Anon? I wasn't fast enough warning you was I?\"\n\n\\\u003eShe looks down at the floor, her paws bunched together\n\n\\\u003eYou pick her up and pull her into a hug\n\n\\\u003e\"If you hadn't warned me I would have gotten hurt much worse, you did great. Thank you Star\"\n\n\\\u003eHer eyes turn to little hearts as her arms wrap around you\n\n\\\u003e\"You're welcome Anon!\"\n\n\\\u003eyou set her down and saunter to the chair and plop down\n\n\\\u003eStar scoots into your lap\n\n\\\u003e\"You ok Anon?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Tired, hungry, and I watched Lysander crush a fox with a gravity hammer\"\n\n\\\u003eHer eyes go wide\n\n\\\u003e\"Wow! That's really cool!\"\n\n\\\u003eIt wasn't\n\n\\\u003eYou shake your head and rub her ears gently\n\n\\\u003e\"Do you mind whipping up something for us to eat Star, I'm gonna shower\"\n\n\\\u003eShe smiles \"Ok Anon!I'm gonna make the Korean barbeque\"\n\n\\\u003eYou hug her and give her a kiss\n\n\\\u003e\"Thanks Star\"\n\n\\\u003eShe slides off you and you head to the shower\n\n\\\u003eWhat a day\n\n\\\u003eYou climb into the shower and relax\n\n\\\u003eWorking for the Concordat huh? more specifically Lysander\n\n\\\u003eCould be worse\n\n\\\u003eCleaning yourself quickly you find a towel and head into the side room where some PJ pants wait for you\n\n\\\u003eNo underwear though\n\n\\\u003eGuess you're going commando\n\n\\\u003eYou put them on and head back out to Star\n\n\\\u003etrue to her word she made Bulgogi\n\n\\\u003e\"Thanks Star, you're the best\"\n\n\\\u003eHer little pupils spin wildly\n\n\\\u003e\"You're welcome anon!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou sit down the her chair in front of all her monitors and she climbs into your lap\n\n\\\u003eQuietly enjoying the feel of Star's shirt and fur on your chest, you eat and reflect on the day , while Star watches on of her shows\n\n\\\u003eA Personal Hunter to the head of the Concordat\n\n\\\u003eNot how you envisioned the day going\n\n\\\u003eBut not bad\n\n\\\u003eYou sit with star for a while as she watches her show and explains it to you\n\n\\\u003e\"Victory Gundam is the Darkest in the series!, the main character's mother get her head chopped of and he carries it around\"\n\n\\\u003eAll of my what\n\n\\\u003eYou sit quietly and let her explain all about the Show\n\n\\\u003eBut you can't shake the sleepiness from your eyes as your head starts to sink\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm heading to bed Star, you can join me for snuggles if you want\"\n\n\\\u003eHer eyes morph to little hearts\n\n\\\u003e\"Of course Anon!\" she takes your hand and you both walk to the bedroom\n\n\\\u003eYou lay down and she snuggling into you, pressing her ass into you\n\n\\\u003e\"Mmm best big spoon\"\n\n\\\u003eYou smile and put your arm around her\n\n\\\u003e\"Goodnight Star\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Goodnight Anon\"\n\n\\\u003eYou drift off to sleep with star in your arms, hoping tomorrow will be a little less stressful\n\nChapter 12: She's my Collar\n\n\\\u003eNearly a month has passed since you and Gabriel became Personal hunters to Lysander\n\n\\\u003eThe hunts she sent you on were pretty standard\n\n\\\u003eAlthough she wanted all of them alive\n\n\\\u003eHer wrath was shown to each unfortunate soul who tried to betray her or stand up to her\n\n\\\u003eBut she paid well\n\n\\\u003eVERY well\n\n\\\u003eWhat would normally get you 3k, she paid 9k\n\n\\\u003eWhen you asked she simply tutted at you\n\n\\\u003e\"So modest Null, I pay you not only for your services, but for your continued loyalty\"\n\n\\\u003eAlthough she scared you, she was always nice to you\n\n\\\u003eYou're glad she liked you enough to keep you around\n\n\\\u003eThings with Star had been going well too\n\n\\\u003eCollecting her toys on the side made you a lot of extra cash\n\n\\\u003eYou never had known what it was like to have a girlfriend\n\n\\\u003eBesides a bit more physical contact everything was the same\n\n\\\u003eShe still pounced on you every time you came to the bunker, Still talked your ear off about stuff you didn't understand\n\n\\\u003eAnd you still scratched her ears while you watched movies together\n\n\\\u003eHer second bedroom became a sort of workshop for you to clean your gear after each time she sent you out\n\n\\\u003eYou had actually taught her how to clean a gun\n\n\\\u003eShe had no interest in firing them which was a bit of a relief for you\n\n\\\u003eAfter all you were no teacher, you learned from trial and error as well as Gabriel's mentor-ship\n\n\\\u003eGetting her out of the bunker was becoming a regular thing too\n\n\\\u003eOnly little outings where you went to eat something together\n\n\\\u003eOnce you got dragged to a toy store where she bought every single Gunpla they had\n\n\\\u003eTHAT was a fun ride back to the bunker, toys crammed everywhere\n\n\\\u003eToday was a special day though\n\n\\\u003eGabriel and Fox had invited you and her over for a meal\n\n\\\u003eNot one to ever deny yourself Fox's cooking you accepted immediately\n\n\\\u003eConvincing Star was a bit harder but she relented after offering to play her Gundam game with her when you got back\n\n\\\u003eYou sit in her bunker as she gets ready\n\n\\\u003eWearing jeans, a regular shirt and your leather bomber jacket, you knew this wasn't a super special occasion\n\n\\\u003eStar however is in her bedroom looking over every piece of clothing she owned\n\n\\\u003e\"ANONNNN I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO WEARRR!\" you her her sadly call out to you\n\n\\\u003eYou sigh and stand and head to the bedroom\n\n\\\u003ePushing the door open you discover Star laying face down in a pile of her clothes\n\n\\\u003e\"Just wear whatever Star\"\n\n\\\u003eShe flails her arms and legs wildly while her tail whips around\n\n\\\u003e\"NOOOOO! I wanna make a good impression\" she yells into the pile\n\n\\\u003eYou shake you head and walk to her before picking her up, your hands under her arms\n\n\\\u003eShe droops her head as you carry her to the bed and set her down\n\n\\\u003e\"Fine, I'll pick then, how about that?\"\n\n\\\u003eHer pupils are little teardrops as she looks at you\n\n\\\u003e\"Ok Anon just don't make me look silly\"\n\n\\\u003eYou begin digging through the pile of clothes, you already knew which shirt you wanted her to wear\n\n\\\u003eThere it is, a plain black Shirt, no logos or robot faces\n\n\\\u003e\"Here put this on\" you say as you hand the shirt to her\n\n\\\u003eShe looks at it for a second then to you\n\n\\\u003e\"Nothing fancier Anon? Are you sure\"\n\n\\\u003eYou gesture to what you're wearing\n\n\\\u003e\"I told you nothing fancy\"\n\n\\\u003eShe looks at you then the shirt for a second before nodding sharply\n\n\\\u003e\"OK!\" her usual energetic self pressing forth again\n\n\\\u003eYou turn away from her and start looking for her jeans that aren't torn to shit\n\n\\\u003e\"How do I look Anon?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou casually turn and feel your eyes go wide\n\n\\\u003eShe's sitting on her bed, looking at you with little hearts in her eyes, topless, her pink nipples poking through her grey fur\n\n\\\u003eA small grin covers her muzzle\n\n\\\u003eBrain.exe has crashed\n\n\\\u003eYou stare at her grapefruit sized orbs\n\n\\\u003e\"Do you like what you see Anon?\" She says as she cups her breasts with her paws lifting them up slightly\n\n\\\u003e\"Oh yes\" You say as you move closer to her\n\n\\\u003eKneeling in front of her at the edge of the bed lets you look her right in the eyes\n\n\\\u003eThe little hearts beat wildly\n\n\\\u003eYour hands snake there way up her sides, savoring the feeling of her fur and you kiss her gently\n\n\\\u003eRight as they are about to reach her glorious breasts she giggles and pushes you away with a footpaw\n\n\\\u003e\"If you're good at dinner I'll let you continue this\" She teases with a smirk\n\n\\\u003eGodammit\n\n\\\u003eYou frown and she wags a padded finger at you\n\n\\\u003e\"You're the one who wanted things slow\"\n\n\\\u003eDouble goddammit\n\n\\\u003e\"Alright you win this round Star, But no matter what it takes, I assure you that I will manage to bring this upon you\"\n\n\\\u003eYou hold up a clenched fist at her\n\n\\\u003eHer eyes light up and she bounces happily causing her large assets to jiggle furiously\n\n\\\u003e\"OH OH That's a quote Harry Ord! from Turn A Gundam! You're Learning! and what will you bring upon me?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou make grabby actions with your hands at her only to her her throw her discarded shirt at you\n\n\\\u003eDigging around her clothes pile rewards you with a bra, jeans socks and her jacket\n\n\\\u003eTossing them to her you smile\n\n\\\u003e\"I'll be out in the main room, we don't want to keep them waiting do we?\"\n\n\\\u003eShe smiles at you\n\n\\\u003e\"Nope! I can't wait to meet your friends!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou stroll out of the bedroom and into the main room\n\n\\\u003eSitting down at the computer you type away,finding any news outlets\n\n\\\u003eThe Sailors had retreated onto the HMS Northstar\n\n\\\u003eThe Concordat was expanding\n\n\\\u003eThe Dismond Syndicate was attempting to gain power within independently owned casinos\n\n\\\u003eMinor factions warred\n\n\\\u003eThe usual it seems\n\n\\\u003e\"Ready Anon?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou spin the chair to see her standing and twiddling her footpaws\n\n\\\u003e\"How do I look?\" she says with a smile,\n\n\\\u003e\"You look great\" You say as you stand and open your arms to her\n\n\\\u003eShe rushes into your arms and you give her a big hug\n\n\\\u003e\\\u003e\"Lets go! I can't wait to Meet Gabriel and the Fox!\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Just Fox\" You say as you lead her to your Bike\n\n\\\u003eYou climb in and help her up\n\n\\\u003eShe sits in your lap and grinds softly\n\n\\\u003e\"Watch the hands and the road Anon\"\n\n\\\u003eThe bunker door opens and you punch it up the ramp and into the streets\n\n\\\u003eNeon lights flash and rain streaks by as your bike hits the Megaway\n\n\\\u003egiant flying billboards show advertisements for pills, Augs, cars, you name it all fly by in a flash\n\n\\\u003e\"FASTER ANON FASTER!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou oblige and speed through traffic, listening to the plasma coils roar\n\n\\\u003eBut all good things must come to and end\n\n\\\u003eAt least for now\n\n\\\u003eYou maneuver off the megaway and into the side streets\n\n\\\u003eBefore long you're in front of Gabriel's apartment building\n\n\\\u003eStar gazes up at it, mouth open\n\n\\\u003e\"It's so tall!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou nod\n\n\\\u003e\"Yea, they get teller than this though, the real expensive ones reach above the clouds\"\n\n\\\u003eHer eyes light up\n\n\\\u003e\"Really?! Like you could see the sun and not have rain all the time?!?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"That's the idea I guess\"\n\n\\\u003eYou lead Star into the elevator and guide her arm to the implant scanner then press the 200th floor button\n\n\\\u003eShe looks at you confused\n\n\\\u003eYou move your arm in front of the scanner back and forth \"It doesn't even know I'm here\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Oh right\" she says looking at her footpaws\n\n\\\u003eYou place a finger under her chin and bring it up so you can look at her\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm used to this Star, you aren't and I'll do my best to help you\"\n\n\\\u003eHer starry pupils spin widely as she latches onto your side\n\n\\\u003e\"You're so cool Anon\"\n\n\\\u003eYou rub her ears calmly and smile\n\n\\\u003e\"So are you\"\n\n\\\u003eHer eyes turn to little hearts\n\n\\\u003eThe elevator stops, doors opening with a muffled ding\n\n\\\u003eYou lead Star to the right apartment and knock a few times\n\n\\\u003eOnly a few moments pass before Gabriel opens the door\n\n\\\u003e\"Hey Null, glad you could make it\"\n\n\\\u003eHe ushers you and Star in \"Babe, Null and Star are here!\" he calls out\n\n\\\u003e\"One sec! I'm still preparing the food!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou take the time to introduce Star to Gabriel properly\n\n\\\u003e\"Star, this is my partner Gabriel; He's the one who helped me become a better bounty hunter\"\n\n\\\u003eHe extends his right hand, the mechanical arm hung up in his workroom you suppose\n\n\\\u003eStar pushes past it and Hugs him tight\n\n\\\u003e\"OHMYGOSH! You're Just like Jet Black from Cowboy Bebop! I'm so happy to meet you!\"\n\n\\\u003eGabriel looks at you as she releases him from her death grip\n\n\\\u003e\"Uh, I don't know what that means Star\"\n\n\\\u003e\"It's a good thing, I'll tell you later\" you say as you take off your jacket and hang it up\n\n\\\u003eStar starts wandering into the apartment only To have you catch her by the collar of her jacket and pull her back\n\n\\\u003e\"Jacket Star\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Oh right!\" She squeaks hastily before squirming out of it\n\n\\\u003eYou take it and hang it up on the door hook, she still isn't used to going out so she often times wanders around in her soaking wet jacket\n\n\\\u003e\"Hi Null! Good to see you!\" Fox says as she emerges from the kitchen \"Where's the lucky lovely lady?\"\n\n\\\u003eStar has her eyes locked onto Fox, little shootings stars explode in them\n\n\\\u003e\"OMMYGOSH YOU'RE PRETTY!\"\n\n\\\u003eShe rushes fox only to be caught by you before she could do her usual pouncing hug\n\n\\\u003e\"Whoa whoa there Star, Pregnant remember?\"\n\n\\\u003eShe looks up at you with a pleading look\n\n\\\u003e\"Sorry Anon I'm just so excited to meet your friends!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou let her go and she walks slowly to fox then grabs her in a hug\n\n\\\u003e\"HI Fox! You're so nice and Anon has told me so much about you!\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Oh! So friendly! Hi Star it's so nice to meet you\" Fox says looking down at her with an unsure expression on her face before gently hugging back\n\n\\\u003eStar finally breaks the hug and sniffs the air\n\n\\\u003e\"Oooo Anon said you're a great cook! Whatever you're making smells so good!\"\n\n\\\u003eFox Smiles at her compliments\n\n\\\u003e\"Oh did he now? Well I'm making Fettuccine Alfredo and lobster tails, I hope you like seafood!\"\n\n\\\u003eStar does a little dance \"I LOVE seafood!\"\n\n\\\u003eFox looks to you\n\n\\\u003e\"Anon can I have your help setting the table? I'm sure Star has a lot of questions for Gabe\"\n\n\\\u003eYou smile and head into the kitchen\n\n\\\u003e\"She's not very good with people is she Anon?\" Fox says behind you as you grab plates\n\n\\\u003e\"Uh..No, no she isn't but that's not her fault\"\n\n\\\u003eYou frown slightly at the thought of her alone in that bunker for all those years\n\n\\\u003eYour eyes bore into the plates as you hold them\n\n\\\u003e\"What do you mean?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou look up at Fox\n\n\\\u003e\"Her Name is Star Dismond, She's the daughter of the head of the Dismond Syndicate\"\n\n\\\u003eHer eyes go wide at that\n\n\\\u003e\"He HAS a Daughter? I didn't know that he did\"\n\n\\\u003eyou nod\n\n\\\u003e\"She's lived in a underground bunker alone for years, I found her by accident and well.... here we are\"\n\n\\\u003eFox Stares at you, Letting the information sink in\n\n\\\u003e\"Dismond hid her away? Is that what you're saying Anon?\"\n\n\\\u003eyou nod silently and look over at Star and Gabriel, the latter of whom is showing her the mechanism of his left arm and how it fits into place\n\n\\\u003e\"He cares about her it seems but only enough to keep her from harm, I've spent the last month getting her to come out of that bunker but she has no idea how to act among people\"\n\n\\\u003eFox smiles\n\n\\\u003e\"You're perfect for each other!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou turn to look at her, confusion visible on your face\n\n\\\u003e\"Wha?\"\n\n\\\u003eShe gestures to you\n\n\\\u003e\"No offense but you're an outcast! Not by choice! You grew up seeing the WORST people can do\"\n\n\\\u003eThat makes you feel good\n\n\\\u003e\"And she's an Outcast by choice! Kinda! She knows nothing of the world! You help her see real life!\"\n\n\\\u003eFox looks at you with her bright red eyes\n\n\\\u003e\"And She'll help you see the world isn't all bad\"\n\n\\\u003eyou frown\n\n\\\u003e\"There's far more bad than good, if there wasn't I wouldn't have a job\"\n\n\\\u003eShe frowns at that a bit but rubs her tummy where a small bump has formed\n\n\\\u003e\"But this good outweighs the bad. for Gabriel and hopefully for you\"\n\n\\\u003eYou look at her stomach\n\n\\\u003eA baby, a cub from your best friends\n\n\\\u003eNo\n\n\\\u003eYour family\n\n\\\u003eShe's right it did outweigh a lot of the bad\n\n\\\u003eYou smile \"Maybe\"\n\n\\\u003eWith that you head to the table and begin setting the plates down as you hear Star Asking Gabriel about recent bounties and what he thought about your performance\n\n\\\u003eShe had watched most of them from your point of view\n\n\\\u003eYou can't help but smile as she sits Starry eyed as Gabriel tells of what you both did\n\n\\\u003eYou continue setting the table as fox prepares the food\n\n\\\u003eIn the end the spread Fox made is amazing, garlic bread with fresh garlic, lobster tails with white wine butter sauce, and fettuccine Alfredo\n\n\\\u003eYou sit at the table with Star next to you, holding her paw gently as Gabriel and Fox sat down with you\n\n\\\u003e\"OOO it all looks so good!\" Star says, her paws to the side of her Muzzle\n\n\\\u003eFox smiles \"Thank you Star\"\n\n\\\u003eShe serves you, Star and Gabriel a large lobster tail then motions for you all to dig in\n\n\\\u003eThe meal go quickly and silently, even Star doesn't talk because she's enjoying the food so much\n\n\\\u003eYou finish a bit before everyone else and wait silently, enjoying the company\n\n\\\u003eYour best friends; your family, and your girlfriend all in one place\n\n\\\u003e\"Oh gosh! I know Anon said you were all so nice but it's another thing seeing it! Gabriel your Wife is soo nice and beautiful! How did you meet? Was it as romantic as Anon and my meeting?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou had Rose ready to blow Star's head off when you first met her\n\n\\\u003eMaybe she had a different idea of how it went?\n\n\\\u003e\"Actually Star, when we met Fox Nearly killed me\" Gabriel Starts\n\n\\\u003eYou sit back, this is a good story but heavy to say the least\n\n\\\u003eStar Stares back and forth between them\n\n\\\u003e\"Ooo tell me!\"\n\n\\\u003eGabriel looks concerned\n\n\\\u003e\"Uh.. I don't know if this is dinnertime stuff\"\n\n\\\u003e\"If She knows about Null and Cydonia, she can know about us you big baby\" Fox Teases\n\n\\\u003eGabriel mumbles something you don't quite catch\n\n\\\u003e\"Fine!\"\n\n\\\u003eHe starts\n\n\\\u003e\"It was a stormy rainy night\"\n\n\\\u003eYou Are Gabriel, esteemed bounty hunter\n\n\\\u003eBut just because you're a bounty hunter doesn't mean you don't have morals\n\n\\\u003eYou had been tracking these marks for weeks\n\n\\\u003eReal shitbags, all of them\n\n\\\u003eSlavers, you had always thought a person's life was their own and this kind of stuff boiled your blood\n\n\\\u003eGun in hand you make your way through the building\n\n\\\u003eYour contact never let you down before why would he now?\n\n\\\u003eThe door in front of you says \"Auction house\"\n\n\\\u003eUgh\n\n\\\u003eA front for auctioning things like antiques, but you knew the real business was Auctioning exotic anthros\n\n\\\u003eYou hear the auctioneer calmly droning away taking various bids\n\n\\\u003ePerfect, they were all in one places\n\n\\\u003eSlowly, ever so slowly you push open the door\n\n\\\u003e5 marks, guarded by no less than 7 bodyguard total\n\n\\\u003eHuh no big deal; you grab a flashbang grenade attached to your belt and pull the pin\n\n\\\u003eYou roll it inside with enough force to get it to the center of the crowd\n\n\\\u003eYou turn away and hear the boom it creates\n\n\\\u003eTime's up let's do this\n\n\\\u003eTime almost seems to slow as you kick open the door\n\n\\\u003eEach man falls to your gunshots before they can even react\n\n\\\u003ePractice makes perfect\n\n\\\u003eIn the end it's just you and a poor Anthro\n\n\\\u003eShe's on the stage shivering and staring from you to the dead bodies\n\n\\\u003eYou can't tell what kind of anthro she is, some kind of big cat, you see black on her like a jaguar and cheetah spots around her limbs\n\n\\\u003eWhat was she?\n\n\\\u003e\"NOOOOO THEY'LL KILL ME FOR THIS\" She sobs as she crumples to the floor\n\n\\\u003eYou immediately rush to her side\n\n\\\u003e\"Hey, it's ok now, you can live your own life now\" You try to reassure her\n\n\\\u003eYou pull her to her feet by her arm\n\n\\\u003e\"No its not! They told me if I didn't behave they would kill me! I don't want to die!\"\n\n\\\u003eShe's hysterically pushing you , tears streaming down her face and muzzle\n\n\\\u003e\"They are gonna hunt me down, rape me until I can't think anymore and feed me to whatever lives in the port water\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Whoa there quit the pushing I can he-\" A hard shove pushes you out a window\n\n\\\u003eYou stare up in disbelief as the window falls away from you, The anthro covering her mouth in shock as you fall\n\n\\\u003eMore disbelief happens when you feel it\n\n\\\u003eSomething\n\n\\\u003ePain?\n\n\\\u003eNo, worse than that yet so much less\n\n\\\u003eYour back and legs don't hurt but your arms do\n\n\\\u003eYou look to your stomach and see a metal spire erupting from your body\n\n\\\u003eA light lazily flashes\n\n\\\u003eImpaled by a neon light.... What a way to go\n\n\\\u003eBe Fox\n\n\\\u003eYou just pushed the man who saved you from a life of slavery out a window\n\n\\\u003eLooking down you see his mangled body, a neon sign piercing \u0026nbsp;his stomach\n\n\\\u003eWhat have you done!?\n\n\\\u003eYou quickly scavenge a phone from one of the dead men in the room and call emergency services\n\n\\\u003e\\\u003e\"Whats your emergency?\" A robot answers lazily\n\n\\\u003e\"A man had been impaled at 658 Adipoise Street! He's fallen onto a neon sign!\" You cry\n\n\\\u003e\"Responders are on the way, please stay out of the way\" The robot drones\n\n\\\u003ePanicking, you go from body to body, wiring credits to your account\n\n\\\u003eYou did this to the man who saved you, you had to do something!\n\n\\\u003eThe screaming of the sirens tells you that the ambulance is arriving\n\n\\\u003ePolice and first responders\n\n\\\u003eYou avoid the police like the plague, carefully watching as they get the man off the sign\n\n\\\u003e\"Please I need to ride with him, I'm his friend!\" You beg the EMS robot\n\n\\\u003e\"Very well, do stay out of our way though\"\n\n\\\u003eYou sit in the corner as they drive monitoring his life signs that a just barely there\n\n\\\u003eHow could you have done this to him\n\n\\\u003eThe ambulance screams above the traffic\n\n\\\u003eBefore long it pulls into the hospital and the robots all rush out, pulling the stretcher along\n\n\\\u003e\"His spine is totally severed, and the vertebra that aren't severed might as well be gravel\"\n\n\\\u003eYou bring your paws to your face, you've ruined this man's life! You had to do something\n\n\\\u003eSpinal augments exist!\n\n\\\u003eYou walk to the nearest doctor fretting over him\n\n\\\u003e\"Is this enough for a heavy Duty spinal replacement?\" you ask him, poking at a phone you snatched off one of the bodies\n\n\\\u003eHis eyes go wide as he looks at the number\n\n\\\u003e\"That's more than enough, are you offering to pay for one for him?\" he says awestruck\n\n\\\u003e\"Yes, please save him and tell him I'm sorry when he wakes up\"\n\n\\\u003eYou pay with your implant and leave\n\n\\\u003eBetter to disappear into the night and never be seen again\n\n\\\u003eBe Gabriel\n\n\\\u003eYou wake up and groan but surprisingly don't feel pain\n\n\\\u003eThe last thing you remember was being pushed out a window\n\n\\\u003eAnd being impaled? No... That had to be a dream\n\n\\\u003eYou shift the hospital sheets off yourself and see a large scar on your stomach\n\n\\\u003e\"Huh?\" you gasp\n\n\\\u003eOh! You're awake! Doctor! Mr.Comstock is awake!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou hear a shuffling noise before an Anthro bear pushes through the door\n\n\\\u003e\"Finally awake! You had us worried for a little while there! You nearly died, actually; you were dead for a bit when we replaced your spine\"\n\n\\\u003eYou blink hard\n\n\\\u003eSpine replacement? dead?\n\n\\\u003e\"Huh? What happened? Spine replaced?\"\n\n\\\u003eThe bear nods\n\n\\\u003e\"Yep, your spine was dust when you came in but someone, a hybrid she looked like, offered to pay for a heavy duty spine augment for you\"\n\n\\\u003eYour mind flashes back the anthro pushing you out the window\n\n\\\u003eHer? She paid for it?\n\n\\\u003e\"Am I healthy enough to walk again? And wheres my left arm?\"\n\n\\\u003e\\\u003ethe bear walk to a closet and opens it, revealing your mechanical arm\n\n\\\u003e\"It's right here, and you're healthy enough yes, but try to take it slow and come back to us if there is a problem with it\"\n\n\\\u003eYou nod and gather your stuff quickly, snapping your arm back into place\n\n\\\u003eThere was only one thing to do now\n\n\\\u003eGo and find her\n\n\\\u003eIt's been weeks since you had your spine replaced\n\n\\\u003eYou had searched nonstop for the Anthro girl\n\n\\\u003eShe just disappeared, but you had contacts and lots of people to ask\n\n\\\u003eNow you knew she was nearby\n\n\\\u003eThe rain poured over you like bullets as you enter the alleyway\n\n\\\u003eThe alley she lived in apparently\n\n\\\u003eWalking down it you search until you see a black tail with cheetah spots near the end\n\n\\\u003eShe's in a large cardboard box a plastic sheet covering it, huddled in a small ball\n\n\\\u003eHer shivers are visible and she's wearing the same thing she had on when she pushed you out the window\n\n\\\u003eRed eyes full of fear are locked on you\n\n\\\u003e\"A-are you h-here to k-kill me?\"\n\n\\\u003eYour heart sinks\n\n\\\u003eShe's freezing out here, her fur matted and dirty\n\n\\\u003e\"No, I found you to thank you for saving me, but I guess I can return the favor already\"\n\n\\\u003eYou extend your hand to her\n\n\\\u003e\"Let's get you dry and warm ok?\"\n\n\\\u003eShe eyes you before taking your hand and trying to stand\n\n\\\u003eHer legs give out and you attempt to catch her but your left arm is so slow\n\n\\\u003eYou glance at it\n\n\\\u003eRust Patches cover it and every joint is rusted o the point of uselessness, you had neglected its maintenance while you searched through the rain\n\n\\\u003eSlowly it moved until it holds the Hybrid up\n\n\\\u003e\"T-thank you M-mister, I-I'm s-sorry I hurt you\"\n\n\\\u003e\"It's fine, call me Gabriel\" you say as you carry her to your speeder\n\n\\\u003eHer red eyes study you\n\n\\\u003e\"Call me Jamiee\"\n\n\\\u003eStar's eyes are little hearts as they finish the story\n\n\\\u003e\"Ohhhhh that's so cute and romantic!\" She squees, her paws to her cheeks\n\n\\\u003eFox and Gabriel beam at each other\n\n\\\u003eFox sits with her arms wrapped around his right arm\n\n\\\u003eYou smile, it is a good story\n\n\\\u003e\"And uh, how did you two meet?\" Gabriel says raising his eyebrows\n\n\\\u003eYou smile and Star bounces giddily\n\n\\\u003e\"He Broke into my bunker after I sent him on a bounty to get my collectibles!\"\n\n\\\u003eGabriel Blinks with Visible confusion\n\n\\\u003e\"What?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou smile\n\n\\\u003e\"She posted a dead drop to the bounty network, I found it and went to collect but her sensors couldn't pick me up\"\n\n\\\u003e\"So I cleared the meet up building and noticed a bookcase that had been moved and Voila! There she was living in a hidden bunker\"\n\n\\\u003eStar bounces happily\n\n\\\u003e\"And he's been my best friend ever since!\"\n\n\\\u003eNot what you would have called it but that's fine\n\n\\\u003eFox smiles\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm happy for you both, Star you seem to make Null much happier\"\n\n\\\u003eStars eyes become little hearts and she beams at you \"Awwww He makes me happy too!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou feel her tail snaking up your leg\n\n\\\u003eGabriel stands and stretches before starting to clear the table\n\n\\\u003eYou begin to help only to be shooed away by Fox\n\n\\\u003e\"You're a guest Null quit trying to help clean up\"\n\n\\\u003eStar looks at her with a smile\n\n\\\u003e\"He does it here too? He always tries to clean up my bunker when he's there\"\n\n\\\u003eFox laughs\n\n\\\u003e\"Yea every since he stopped living in the street he likes things clean\"\n\n\\\u003eYou frown \"Hey I just like my places tidy! and I'm allowed to help you clean after feeding us!\"\n\n\\\u003eFox pushes you out of the kitchen in onto the couch\n\n\\\u003e\"Star keep him out of the kitchen\"\n\n\\\u003eStar smiles a large doofy grin and scrambles over the back of the couch and into your lap\n\n\\\u003e\"GOT IT!\" She squeals happily \"You're Mine Mister!\"\n\n\\\u003eShe leans back into your chest and nuzzles your neck slightly\n\n\\\u003e\"You have great friends Anon\"\n\n\\\u003eYou put your arms around her and tickle her slightly\n\n\\\u003e\"Yea, and I'm glad you finally got to meet them\"\n\n\\\u003eShe rubs the side of your face with a paw\n\n\\\u003eYou smile into her neck and look over to the kitchen and see Gabriel and Fox peeking out at you both\n\n\\\u003e\"Yo quit staring!\"\n\n\\\u003eThey disappear back into the kitchen while you sit with Star\n\n\\\u003eHer long tail wraps around your waist\n\n\\\u003eThe little hearts in her eyes are adorable\n\n\\\u003e\"I think I Love you Anon\" She whispers to you\n\n\\\u003eYou smile and give her a kiss\n\n\\\u003e\"I think I love you too Star\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Awww you two are so cute together!\" You hear Fox swoon\n\n\\\u003eYou look at her \"Oi we're trying to have a moment, unless you need me to help clean the kitchen\"\n\n\\\u003eShe disappears into the kitchen once more\n\n\\\u003eYou nuzzle back into Stars neck as she gently grinds you\n\n\\\u003eEven if she sometimes talked about shit you didn't understand she was fun and energetic\n\n\\\u003eBefore long Gabriel and Fox come out of the kitchen\n\n\\\u003e\"Null I forgot to tell you, the Baby is gonna be a Cub and a girl\" Gabriel says as he sits down next to you and Star\n\n\\\u003eFox sits next to him \"And we decided to not to Augment her besides the standard ID implant, so she can have a better view of the world\"\n\n\\\u003eYou stare at them both \"You know it's gonna make her life hard\"\n\n\\\u003eThey smile and look to you\n\n\\\u003e\"Not when she has the best uncle to guide her, you can teach her so much about not having to rely on Augments\"\n\n\\\u003eStar beams up at you , starry eyes spinning\n\n\\\u003eYou run your fingers through your hair\n\n\\\u003e\"It's your choice, I'll help however I can\"\n\n\\\u003eThe rest of the time at their place is talking about the Cub and how the various check ups are going\n\n\\\u003eThe sun is already up by the time you leave\n\n\\\u003e\"I'll see you tomorrow Null we got a hunt from Lysander\" Gabriel says as he gives you a box of leftovers\n\n\\\u003eFuck yea leftovers\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm gonna want that box back\"\n\n\\\u003eIt's your box now, he just doesn't know it yet\n\n\\\u003eYou get into the elevator with star who scans her implant without you directing her\n\n\\\u003eThe elevator moved fast enough to make the ride down not to long, but slow enough for Star to snuggle into your arms\n\n\\\u003e\"I had a really good time Anon, I hope they invite us over more\"\n\n\\\u003eYou look down at star who is holding your hand\n\n\\\u003e\"We can invite them over\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Hmm I'll think about it, the bunker is supposed to be secret\"\n\n\\\u003eThe ride down ends and you lead Star to your bike and climb in\n\n\\\u003eWith a small bit of effort Star is in your lap again, her tail around your waist\n\n\\\u003e\"I think you deserve to continue hat we were about to start earlier\" she purrs up at you seductively\n\n\\\u003eshe grinds down into you hard\n\n\\\u003e\"That is if you think we've gone slow enough until now\"\n\n\\\u003eThere is no need for a second invitation\n\n\\\u003eYou Punch it and zoom to the bunker\n\n\\\u003eTonight's gonna be a night to remember is all you can think as Star gives you a lap dance as best she can\n\nChapter 13: So electric\n\n\\\u003eFuck the police\n\n\\\u003eYou have somewhere to be dammit\n\n\\\u003eThe place in question is Star's Bunker\n\n\\\u003eASAP\n\n\\\u003eYour bike is roaring through traffic, and you easily part the sea of Speeders seemingly trying to get out of the way\n\n\\\u003eYour unidentifiable body, piloting a just as ghostly bike kicks everyone around you away like the flying lump of metal you are\n\n\\\u003eFor their safety, of course\n\n\\\u003eThe flashing, neon lights fail to blind you\n\n\\\u003eBut when it comes to distractions, Star grinding against your lap almost makes you want to throw on autodrive\n\n\\\u003eAlmost\n\n\\\u003eYou still have to out drift some blue and red flashing lights you saw a minute ago\n\n\\\u003e\"MMM hurry Anon~\" the menace in question says, nuzzling up to you and bopping your chin\n\n\\\u003eYou floor it and blaze past everything, screaming 'Get to the bunker!' on repeat in your head\n\n\\\u003eAwhile ago, Star wrapped her tail securely around your waist\n\n\\\u003eAnd now, her paws are rubbing along your thighs\n\n\\\u003eBreathe\n\n\\\u003eFocus on the road\n\n\\\u003eNot the opossum girl currently giving you a lap dance\n\n\\\u003eAbove all, don't focus on the fact that she managed to slip her pants off\n\n\\\u003eAnd certainly not at how she managed to unzip yours, with her furred thighs rubbing against your straining erection\n\n\\\u003eJust focus on the road...\n\n\\\u003eTHE ROAD\n\n\\\u003eYou have to hand it to the police\n\n\\\u003eThey managed a respectable 10 seconds tailing you after that last red light\n\n\\\u003eStar's paw on your stick-shift outright launched you into warp speed\n\n\\\u003eYou're tapping the bars, outright digging into the leather by this point\n\n\\\u003eThe longer you make her wait, the harder she gets you to go\n\n\\\u003e\"Faster Anon~\"\n\n\\\u003e'I know, woman, I know!'\n\n\\\u003eYou can 'smell' her at this point\n\n\\\u003eIt's stronger the wetter your pants feel\n\n\\\u003eSoon your leg starts bouncing along with your tapping fingers, and every time you do, a little moan and a rub escapes her, with both of her thighs gripping harder at you\n\n\\\u003eYour bike is red lining, and the danger of flipping over and exploding is lost on her while she teases and explores you\n\n\\\u003eJust when you think it couldn't get any worse, she still somehow finds away\n\n\\\u003eYour world became a lot fluffier\n\n\\\u003eA little itchy, perhaps, but not a bad change\n\n\\\u003eYou almost spin out of control from the touch her paw around your now exposed head\n\n\\\u003e\"Ohhh, you're bigger than I imagined Anon,\" she cooes up to you\n\n\\\u003e\"Let's see what happens when I do...this!\"\n\n\\\u003eFrom one prison to another, she locks you down with her more than ample thighs, and moves herself up and down to the rhythm of your thumping leg\n\n\\\u003eIf she angled it just a little bit more...\n\n\\\u003eWith how her wetness seemingly inviting you in, you're more than certain that door will come flying off its hinges\n\n\\\u003eShe has different plans, slowing down to gentle rub you instead\n\n\\\u003eWhen did your goofy opossum become a tease?\n\n\\\u003eYou fragment your thoughts to keep focus on the road, one dedicated to lane splitting between two slow as hell speeders, and the other wondering that just maybe, maybe you could touch her too\n\n\\\u003eDo you dare risk it?\n\n\\\u003eYour left hand thinks so\n\n\\\u003eIt leaves the steering wheel and creeps up her outer thigh, before slowly dipping inwards when it reaches her plump sides\n\n\\\u003eTracing small circles gets a small giggle\n\n\\\u003e\"Ooo~ that tickles Anon!\"\n\n\\\u003eWell then\n\n\\\u003eYou weren't expecting that\n\n\\\u003eA few more rubs, a scratch with your nails, and a poke right on her fur just behind your wedged dick, and she's almost laughing uncontrollably\n\n\\\u003eYou tease her right back, with each gasp and laugh pushing your hand lower and lower\n\n\\\u003eYou're soaking wet by now, and your seat no doubt ruined, but you don't stop sliding down until you find what you were looking for\n\n\\\u003eShe stops all of her wonderfully, tortuous movements the moment a finger slips into her lips\n\n\\\u003eYour thumb gently rubbing the base of her clit has her shuddering ticklishly leaning back into your chest\n\n\\\u003eYeah, you're pretty certain that the seat, your pants and hers are in for a serious cleaning\n\n\\\u003eBut you don't even pull out before she's ready for more\n\n\\\u003e\"Ooooo, Yes Anon right there,\" she moans under your chin\n\n\\\u003eWith the first wave over, you slide another finger in and cause her legs to spread lazily\n\n\\\u003eYou barely register your turn that zips you off the Megaway, and by the time you hit the side streets you slip a third one in\n\n\\\u003eShe gasps as it slides in, knuckle by knuckle, and she melts in your lap when you curl it\n\n\\\u003eYour attention shifts when her run down house comes in sight, and when you stare at the bunker door, it knowing opens as slow as can be\n\n\\\u003eYour right hand shakily makes it's way to Rose when the bastard stops halfway for a few seconds\n\n\\\u003eBut sensing your threat, it shoots up away, and with no easy feat driving down one handed, your parked in your spot with a grin on your face\n\n\\\u003eThe bunker door, closed, and your canopy open\n\n\\\u003eIt's on\n\n\\\u003eYou bump both legs to rouse Star up, and she gets out with a whine when your fingers slide out\n\n\\\u003eYou rub your hand on your jacket, and step out with her, and as soon as your feet hit the floor she's on you in a jumping hug\n\n\\\u003eArms, legs, and a singular tail all do their best to strangle you\n\n\\\u003eCan't break tradition, after all\n\n\\\u003eYou kiss her as you hold her with her tongue fighting yours, and the poor inner door gets the boot while you carry her to her chair\n\n\\\u003eHovering over it she breaks the kiss to stare straight at you with blue fire in her eyes\n\n\\\u003e\"Anon, put me down and get rid of those clothes\"\n\n\\\u003eAs you wish\n\n\\\u003eShe squeaks when you drop her down into the chair, and when she see's you fighting with your jacket and shirt, she quickly joins in tearing off her shirt and bra\n\n\\\u003eYou're fairly certain that her pants lie somewhere in your Bike\n\n\\\u003eYours probably didn't even make it half way across the room\n\n\\\u003e\"Sit in the chair Anon, I wanna see you up close,\" she says, slipping out of her seat\n\n\\\u003eYou do as directed, and when you're comfortably sitting down she kneels right in front of you\n\n\\\u003eYou feel her wonderful orbs pressing against your thighs with all of her attention on stroking you senseless\n\n\\\u003e\"Just like the videos I watched online\"\n\n\\\u003eNo more teasing\n\n\\\u003eThe pure unfiltered sugar overloaded Star you know and tolerate(love) is back, and her starry eyes spin madly into yours while she licks you up and down gently\n\n\\\u003e\"Breathe Star!\" you had to pry her off\n\n\\\u003eShe was choking herself on you\n\n\\\u003e\"So...big!\" she says between pants, \"I don't know...if I can fit it all in me!\"\n\n\\\u003eShe takes a deep breath\n\n\\\u003eBurning, heart filled stars zero in on you after\n\n\\\u003e\"Doesn't mean I'm not gonna try\"\n\n\\\u003eNo longer in danger of passing out, she gives your shaft one last testing lick, before taking it into her mouth again\n\n\\\u003eThis time, instead of trying to choke you down, you feel her tongue coil around you as she starts bobbing her head\n\n\\\u003eYour fingers dig into the armrest as you feel her warm mouth calmly envelop you\n\n\\\u003e\"H-haha, like that Star,\" you gasp out\n\n\\\u003eShe pushes down to your base, and you buck into her after\n\n\\\u003e\"How are you so good at this?\" you say through clenched teeth\n\n\\\u003eShe pops your shaft out of her mouth with a faint cough\n\n\\\u003e\"I've been researching it on the internet!\"\n\n\\\u003eOf course she did\n\n\\\u003eYou can't look away from the little hearts display she has\n\n\\\u003e\"...Do you wanna try more stuff?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou nod, and she climbs up into the chair straddling you\n\n\\\u003eShe presses her large beautiful breasts against your chest, and still entranced, you rub your hands up her sides until they rest on those perfect orbs\n\n\\\u003eYou give a squeeze, a careful pinch and a playful pulling tease at her nipples\n\n\\\u003eYou don't really mind admitting that you've wanted to do this ever since you saw her\n\n\\\u003eAnd you don't think she minds while she moves against your swollen erections\n\n\\\u003e\"I want to feel it in me Anon,\" she says as one of her paws reaches back to rub your overly sensitive head\n\n\\\u003eYou nod, adding \"Ok Star, but slowly though\"\n\n\\\u003ePlacing your hands on her hips you gently lift her up and with her still rubbing paw she positions your member against her\n\n\\\u003e\"Ready?\"\n\n\\\u003eFor the love of god say yes\n\n\\\u003e\"Ready Anon!\" she says with little fluttering hearts\n\n\\\u003eYou smile\n\n\\\u003eShe's as energetic as ever when you start to lower her onto you\n\n\\\u003eCarefully, almost painfully so you feel yourself penetrate into her soft warm slit\n\n\\\u003eThe wonderful agony is back full force as you inch your way further into her tight folds\n\n\\\u003eYou ragdoll her, literally\n\n\\\u003eShe's slumped forwards right into your chest, and her eyes light up even more so into yours\n\n\\\u003e\"Oooooohh god Anon, you're, yessssss!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou lost her\n\n\\\u003eShe trails off nonsense the deeper you go\n\n\\\u003eAnd when you finally reach the hilt of your shaft she gasps loudly into your ear\n\n\\\u003e\"Sssoo deep inside me, I can feel it throbbing in me Anon\"\n\n\\\u003eEven without moving her you can feel her tight warmth pulsing with her heartbeat and clenching around you\n\n\\\u003eYou pull her into a kiss and grab handfuls of that wondrous ass, causing her to moan into your mouth\n\n\\\u003eShe pulls away, running her pas down your chest and looking at you with a sleepy grin\n\n\\\u003eIf your fingers were enough to set her off...\n\n\\\u003e\"Ready for this Star?\" you say, holding back a laugh and giving her ass another squeeze\n\n\\\u003eShe nods dreamily at you\n\n\\\u003eYou guide her movements with your hands, slowly lifting and bringing her back down onto you\n\n\\\u003eWith each movement she shifts around all while gaining speed\n\n\\\u003eSoon she was riding you like she would never feel this again\n\n\\\u003eHer tight walls clamped down with each downward motion, and soon you set a sloppy pace thrusting upwards to meet her increasingly hyper falls\n\n\\\u003eLoud PLAP noises cut through the noise of her pants every time your pelvis meets hers\n\n\\\u003eYou wonder what exactly she studied with how handsy she started to be\n\n\\\u003eNo longer placing her paws to your chest, she instead started grabbing her breasts and massages them while she rides you\n\n\\\u003eShe's absolutely wild when you start squeezing her ass and rubbing her thighs, her heart eyes beating faster and faster\n\n\\\u003e\"Mmm A-anon it's s-so g-good!\" she stammers, before cutting her moans off with her mouth on a nipple\n\n\\\u003eYou take the lead and thrust harder into her, and with your hands still holding her thighs you pull her down with you\n\n\\\u003eThe one eye she opens is filled with exploding hearts, but quickly clenched shut when you feel her clamp down from her whole body shuddering\n\n\\\u003eHer breast drops out of her mouth\n\n\\\u003e\"Ohhhh god A-anon keep gooiing I w-want you to f-fill me please~!\" she moans\n\n\\\u003eYou double your efforts\n\n\\\u003eShe can't even form words when you triple them next\n\n\\\u003eBut you still can\n\n\\\u003e\"S-star, I'm gonna cum!\"\n\n\\\u003eLike a light switch\n\n\\\u003e\"Do it Anon fill me up!\"\n\n\\\u003eHer paws dig into your shoulders, and her head brushing against yours\n\n\\\u003eYour world is nothing but blue starry eyes, and one final push sends you over the edge\n\n\\\u003eYou erupt, you explode, you don't care how it goes\n\n\\\u003eBut every pulse you give sinks you lower into the chair with your warm fuzzy Star weighing you down\n\n\\\u003eIt's the best blanket you can think of\n\n\\\u003e\"Holy fuck Star,\" you manage to gasp out\n\n\\\u003eShe dips a paw under her and rubs at her stomach\n\n\\\u003e\"It feels so warm Anon...\"\n\n\\\u003eShe has the most satisfied grin in the world that easily matches your own, and when you cup her sides to raise her off of you, you slip out with soft giggles from her\n\n\\\u003eYou get about three seconds of peace\n\n\\\u003eA new record, honestly\n\n\\\u003e\"That was so amazing Anon! We should have done this sooner!\"\n\n\\\u003eShe's bouncing excited on your lap while you try to sit back up in the chair\n\n\\\u003eNo longer killing your back, you wrap a strong arm around her and pull her into another kiss\n\n\\\u003e\"I love you Star\"\n\n\\\u003eSimple hearts return to her eyes\n\n\\\u003e\"I love you too Anon!\"\n\n\\\u003eAnd with that, she leaps off your lap, running down the room and into the hallway\n\n\\\u003eHaving forgotten, and seeminly remembering something she peaks her head around the corner\n\n\\\u003e\"Come on Anon! Get us some water and let's go again! I wanna try another position!\"\n\n\\\u003eWhy DIDN't you do this sooner?\n\n\\\u003e...Fuck if you know, you don't really remember\n\n\\\u003eYou smile back at her with a quick stretch and a pop, and when she disappears around the corner you head to the kitchen for some bottled water\n\n\\\u003eYou won't forget tonight though\n\n\\\u003eBecause you were right\n\n\\\u003eThis was a night to remember\n\nChapter 14: Bury Your Brother\n\n\\\u003eMonths have flown by in the blink of an eye\n\n\\\u003eMost of the days seemingly blurred together, day in and day out the same jobs were given\n\n\\\u003eDuring this time, it's safe to say that Concordat gained power, both political and body wise, and a rise in position partially because of you and Gabriel\n\n\\\u003eLysander sent you out on missions that got more and more dangerous, quickly escalating from capture to simply kill\n\n\\\u003eThe other factions simply couldn't handle you or Gabriel\n\n\\\u003eFor how do you fight a ghost in the system and a man that is already dead?\n\n\\\u003eIf people looked Gabriel up, they would find that he died years ago\n\n\\\u003eHe even has a death certificate, and nothing above a timid poor security guard recognized you\n\n\\\u003eAs per usual\n\n\\\u003eAnd recently, most of it was spent sneaking past security drones\n\n\\\u003eToo high end to retrofit, and most didn't want to shell out to mods\n\n\\\u003eBut in your part of the city, little changes here and there started to show\n\n\\\u003eThough most of your skills ended up being 'outright walking so close to them that they didn't even register you,' it never hurt to have a plan or three before every job you ran\n\n\\\u003eTo think you were told, and thought, that your inability to augment yourself was a detriment\n\n\\\u003eIn this one specific case, you're glad they were wrong\n\n\\\u003eThe other crime bosses were just unlucky Lysander found you first, and the result of their misfortune left a trail of bodies\n\n\\\u003eAbout all of them by you\n\n\\\u003eHigh rollers, corrupt politicians, or out spoken movement leaders\n\n\\\u003eDidn't matter\n\n\\\u003eSometimes it's hard to tell if you're a hitman or a bounty hunter now\n\n\\\u003eLysander paid so well, and she treated the both of you like kings\n\n\\\u003eEventually she even invited you to one of her fancy dinner parties\n\n\\\u003eHow could you refuse such a thing?\n\n\\\u003eHilariously, she requested you wear a mask\n\n\\\u003e...Not that you didn't do that already, but it was mostly to help keep your ghostly persona intact\n\n\\\u003eStar came through when it came to replacing your scuffed helmet, giving you a blank white mask with a black teardrop forming on one of the eyes\n\n\\\u003eA 'Mannequin's Mask,' she called it\n\n\\\u003eFucking weird is what you decided it was\n\n\\\u003eYou wore it anyways, and to your surprise you were the only one who did\n\n\\\u003eThe people there must not have cared so much about their public appearances\n\n\\\u003eWhen Lysander showed you off to them, most of the crowd were lower level crime lords themselves\n\n\\\u003e\"I have the perfect man for any job: untraceable, untraceable, and if you cross me...he will find you\"\n\n\\\u003eYou were now a threat\n\n\\\u003eA boogeyman to her 'allies' and enemies\n\n\\\u003eGabriel suffered the same treatment\n\n\\\u003eHe was a dead man turned alive to haunt the living\n\n\\\u003eYou loved the idea of it\n\n\\\u003eA zombie and a ghost teaming up to kill anything, and everything\n\n\\\u003eMale, female, human or anthro\n\n\\\u003eEven that didn't matter anymore\n\n\\\u003eAs unkillable as Lysander made you out to be, your clothes did little to hide the truth\n\n\\\u003eMore money, more danger, and every single job earned you a new bullet wound turned scar\n\n\\\u003eGabriel's even more so, with his arm looking more worn and dented each day\n\n\\\u003eThe funny part though?\n\n\\\u003e5k a hit\n\n\\\u003eUnder your contracts, she called it 'Hazard Pay'\n\n\\\u003eBut really, it was just to keep you from going to a new employer\n\n\\\u003eNot that you would\n\n\\\u003eShe still terrifies you\n\n\\\u003eAnd ultimately she was your only protection against everyone else\n\n\\\u003eOnline, they won't find you other than the random shitpost or hard entered phrase in some dead guy's database\n\n\\\u003eBut you heard through the bounty network, and from people who visited it\n\n\\\u003eThey wanted you now\n\n\\\u003eDead, preferably\n\n\\\u003eYeah, because having a guy who's average with a gun at best able to dance past security wearing cosplay is a threat\n\n\\\u003eYou still took the time to consider who would be after you though\n\n\\\u003eWhat was the weak link in this?\n\n\\\u003eMissy? Nah. She's protected by the concordat\n\n\\\u003eStar?\n\n\\\u003e...Really? No one even knew she existed\n\n\\\u003eMmm\n\n\\\u003eSomething kept bugging you though\n\n\\\u003eA small poking nail hammering into the back of your head\n\n\\\u003eNot important right now\n\n\\\u003eYou just arrived to your usual fix of Drain™ brand brain bleach, in the form of a spaztic, cute opossum chick\n\n\\\u003e\"Come on come on come on!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou're glad you don't have a removable arm right now\n\n\\\u003eStar is doing her best to remove it anyways by dragging you to the extra bedroom in her bunker\n\n\\\u003eThat she just so HAPPENS to neglect mentioning all those times before when she'd be your only source of a reliable headache\n\n\\\u003eShe has an arm on your wrist(welded by her freakish Anthro strength) and another pulling on your shirt\n\n\\\u003eOf course the door she took you too was covered by shirtless anime man #47, even more so was the inside pitch black and practically empty\n\n\\\u003eThe moment the both of you stepped inside, the door closed shut behind you and you felt Star take her paws off you\n\n\\\u003eYou're stumbling blindly a few steps because she was still going full sprint during all of it\n\n\\\u003e\"Star?\" you call out into the infinite\n\n\\\u003e\"One sec!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou were about to call out again, but you hissed through clenched teeth with both your hands blocking out a searing white light in your face\n\n\\\u003eSaying words you don't want Star's stubby ears to hear, you blinked back the glare to see Star standing next to the walls\n\n\\\u003eThe walls flashed a green grid before loading up a graphic of a starry night sky\n\n\\\u003eThe whole room was made up of screens\n\n\\\u003e\"Surprise!\" she yelled with both arms outstretched, \"when you move your character moves! Just like the trace suit systems of G Gundam!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou blink\n\n\\\u003eMostly to keep the laser tears back\n\n\\\u003e\"Ok\"\n\n\\\u003eYou still can't tell the difference between the series she talks about\n\n\\\u003eShe walks up to you looking mighty pleased about her secret torture room, and stands still looking like someone nailed her to a cross\n\n\\\u003e\"Stand like this so it can scan ya!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou mimic her T-Pose, and weird green light starts running over the both of you\n\n\\\u003eLike that, two poorly rendered models appear on either sides of the room\n\n\\\u003e\"Aaand were done!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou're scanned into the system\n\n\\\u003eHuh\n\n\\\u003eNormally for things like this you'd need an implant\n\n\\\u003eThe models fade away and a wall flashes into a menu\n\n\\\u003eStar waves her paw around, and a similar looking one follows\n\n\\\u003eWith a tap, she selects the start option\n\n\\\u003eWitchcraft\n\n\\\u003e\"What is this Star?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"It's a video game!\" she said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, \"We can face actual people in this too! It's just like your hunts, except it's virtual!\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Ooh! See?\" She's excitedly pointing at something on the screen\n\n\\\u003eStaring at Star with a confused look is a common activity you like to do\n\n\\\u003eThis time, you were so engaged in it that you had to do a double take at two distant stomping figures moving around\n\n\\\u003eYou lean forward to see what the hell you were looking at, and apparently that was the command to zoom in the 'game' as well\n\n\\\u003eOf course they would be giant robots\n\n\\\u003e\"Erh, do they see us as robots too?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Yep! We're gunna smash em!\"\n\n\\\u003eWell then, a bunch of nerds in video games had this kind of stuff apparently\n\n\\\u003eYou look at your two empty hands, with your tinman following suit\n\n\\\u003e\"Where's my gun? How do I shoot?\"\n\n\\\u003eStar's eyes are glued to the screen, but she still pretends to hold up a rifle\n\n\\\u003e\"Just hold your hands up like you're holding a gun\"\n\n\\\u003eOh right\n\n\\\u003eYou try it and a gun materializes in your hands\n\n\\\u003eA weird, oversized boxy gun, but a gun nonetheless\n\n\\\u003eTaking the initiative, you look down the sights of it\n\n\\\u003eNot bad\n\n\\\u003e'Sgot a dot sight\n\n\\\u003eYou crouch to the floor instinctively at the sound of a shot ricocheting near you\n\n\\\u003e\"Anon! Don't stand there in the open! Get in cover and shoot them!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou think that's what she said\n\n\\\u003eAround halfway or to the end of it she devolved into a warcry, and you're pretty sure you've never seen her fur rise like that\n\n\\\u003eYou can feel the fire in her eyes from here\n\n\\\u003eSnapping back to the screen ahead, you hear bullet fire trailing in the dirt and cement around you\n\n\\\u003eYou can assume what the green bars meant, and for whatever reason no one's bars were depleting\n\n\\\u003eSomehow when it comes to nerdshit, you aren't surprised\n\n\\\u003eAnd in this case, you don't need cover\n\n\\\u003eThe robots are walking slowly towards you, guns raised and flailing around\n\n\\\u003e...They really don't know how real gunfights work\n\n\\\u003eThe fact that one had two pistols gang banger style and the other one handing a rifle was proof of that\n\n\\\u003eMore ricochets, and something red and streaming as well\n\n\\\u003eBullets? Lasers? You don't know\n\n\\\u003eBut you know what to do\n\n\\\u003eAim down the sights, and fire\n\n\\\u003eSimple shit\n\n\\\u003eThough apparently, simple shit means you win\n\n\\\u003eIn no effort on your part both robots are dead on the ground\n\n\\\u003eStar is looking at you like you're some kind of god\n\n\\\u003e\"How did you do that?\" Her pin-pricked eyes asked\n\n\\\u003eReply: Confused stare\n\n\\\u003e\"Do what? I just aligned the sights and shot at them\"\n\n\\\u003eShe glances back at the robots\n\n\\\u003e\"But you did it so quickly! It usually takes me awhile!\"\n\n\\\u003eWell if you stopped bouncing...\n\n\\\u003e\"I just aim for the head,\" you say, shrugging\n\n\\\u003eShe must of updated her eyes are something, that explosion animation into stars was a new one\n\n\\\u003e\"Can we do a tournament then?! There's always a tournament of last man standing!\"\n\n\\\u003eShe latches onto you, hugging you tightly\n\n\\\u003e\"PLEEASSSEEE!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou relent to those big ol eyes\n\n\\\u003eYou smile, giving her a pat on the head saying \"Fine, let's do this\"\n\n\\\u003eShe bounces away to flick through some menus\n\n\\\u003eStill don't know how she does that but whatever, it's virtual reality\n\n\\\u003eBefore long the world around you melts away and rebuilds into a shinier giant cityscape\n\n\\\u003eThis time instead of killer robots, it's just people and anthros\n\n\\\u003e\"What's this Star? I thought we were playing a tournament\"\n\n\\\u003eShe grabs your arm, pulling the both of 'you' along\n\n\\\u003eThis is just the lobby! We'll all be put in different parts of the city and hunt eachother down!\n\n\\\u003eYou just go with it, and soon the world shifts again with you and Star forming in the middle of a street\n\n\\\u003e\"OK Anon! There are 48 other people here! We need to be the last team standing!\"\n\n\\\u003eSo it's actually a team based game around killing people? You might actually have found a new favorite hobby\n\n\\\u003eYou raise your hands up, forming another gun\n\n\\\u003e\"Stay close to me Star,\" you tell her and starting a glorious campaign of running down the streets and shooting everything in your path\n\n\\\u003eAfter an hour it's just you, a super sweaty Star and another team\n\n\\\u003eYou found them a little while ago hunkered down well inside a building\n\n\\\u003e\"Star do you think you can get in there from that alley while I keep them bu-\"\n\n\\\u003eYour phone goes off\n\n\\\u003e\"Anon! Don't answer that we gotta win!\"\n\n\\\u003eHer fire turns into an angry pout when you pull the phone out anyways\n\n\\\u003e\"If it's Lysander, then I can't...oh\"\n\n\\\u003eIt's Fox\n\n\\\u003eEven though you're close, she never calls you\n\n\\\u003e\"Anon?\" she's hiding behind a brick wall while your robot stares at an empty hand in the middle of the road\n\n\\\u003e\"Star it's Fox, I need to answer this\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Fox? Tell her I said hi!\"\n\n\\\u003eHer robot mimicked her wave to you\n\n\\\u003eYou nod and answer\n\n\\\u003eFox's hologram appears looking noticeably larger\n\n\\\u003e\"Fox whats u-\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Anon I need you to come to St. Aldrich Hospital\" she interrupts you\n\n\\\u003eYour mood shifts from fun to business\n\n\\\u003e\"What's going on and what do you need?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou see her holo reach out to grab something, and when she does she pulls it forward\n\n\\\u003eYou hear the sound of a lock clicking into place\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm hiding in the ladies room, there are men here looking for me! I don't know who they are but the nurse warned me to hide\"\n\n\\\u003eNow, it's not even that\n\n\\\u003eYou hide your frown from Star\n\n\\\u003e\"Stay put, I'll be there shortly, is Gabe there?\" you say curtly, heading for the door\n\n\\\u003eShe shakes her head\n\n\\\u003e\"He's on his way\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Ok. See you soon\"\n\n\\\u003eYou hang up and stand in front of the door\n\n\\\u003e\"Anon, what's going on?\"\n\n\\\u003eHer tone is replaced with nothing but worry\n\n\\\u003eYou stop yourself from turning around to face her\n\n\\\u003eYou smile\n\n\\\u003eIt's entirely fake, meant to replace the glare most see as their last\n\n\\\u003eFinally turning back around, you see Star nervously walking towards you with her paws up to her mouth\n\n\\\u003e\"I don't know Star, exit this game. I..have to go now\"\n\n\\\u003eShe hastily brings up the menu and the world fades back to reality\n\n\\\u003eThe door you were standing in front of is clearly seen, no longer covered by the night sky\n\n\\\u003eYou leave, and quickly walk to the other room\n\n\\\u003eJacket, belt, shock knife, fusion sword, Rose, and your helmet\n\n\\\u003eYou had Star paint your helmet black specifically\n\n\\\u003eLooked better than pure white\n\n\\\u003eYou put it under your arm after securing the rest of your gear and head out to the main room where Star is waiting for you\n\n\\\u003e\"Be safe Anon\"\n\n\\\u003eYou crack your smile a little larger, and you pull her into a kiss\n\n\\\u003e\"I'll be fine, and you're gonna monitor everything right?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"UH HUH!\" she nods furiously, \"I love watching you work\"\n\n\\\u003eYou give her a thumbs up while you put on the helmet and let it boot up\n\n\\\u003e\"??! ???????!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou've stopped trying to get it to stop yelling at you, and doing your best to ignore it you flip open a pouch on the side of your jacket arm\n\n\\\u003eWith a few taps on your arm scanner a route is brought up on the HUD of your helmet\n\n\\\u003e\"TESTING! Can you hear me!?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou wince slightly while you head to your bike, and when you climb in with the cover pull down only then do you drop your mask\n\n\\\u003eYou won't worry Star with that call\n\n\\\u003eNot with how similar it was to Missy\n\n\\\u003eYou tear down the streets with a satisfying roar coming out of your bike\n\n\\\u003eIt does little to drown out your increasingly nervous thoughts\n\n\\\u003eThoughts like 'who would want Fox? Why would they search for her?'\n\n\\\u003eThe answers came just as fast, and the result even more so\n\n\\\u003eThey mess with your family, they get a bullet to the head\n\n\\\u003eAs you weave through the streets a phone call connects to your helmet\n\n\\\u003eIt's Gabriel, and a small picture of him appears in the corner of your HUD\n\n\\\u003e\"You headed to the hospital Null?\"\n\n\\\u003eGabriel is two things: Serious when need be, or happy despite everything\n\n\\\u003eYou punch it even more when worry slips through his words\n\n\\\u003e\"Yeah,\" you grunt out as you slide past a speeder, \"who are these guys? Any ideas?\"\n\nHe's silent for a moment\n\n\\\u003e\"Must be Sailors. They found me, I don't know how but they found me\"\n\n\\\u003eYou grit your teeth\n\n\\\u003eYou must have let a few slip through\n\n\\\u003e\"Fox...they must have been searching your name and hers turned up. I told her not to take your last name\"\n\n\\\u003eYou hear him swear to himself\n\n\\\u003e\"Fuck all, and they probably just asked the hospital when her appointment was\"\n\n\\\u003eIt's your turn to swear as you swerve around a slow hauler\n\n\\\u003e\"Fucking lowlifes. Look, I'm almost there- do you want to meet up, or divide and conquer\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Divide. I'll take the front and head to Fox, you clear out anyone in your way\"\n\n\\\u003eYour route shifts slightly, no doubt Star's doing\n\n\\\u003e\"Got it, see you soon\"\n\n\\\u003e...Don't die,\" he says before hanging up\n\n\\\u003eYou retreat inside yourself to prepare for the upcoming fight\n\n\\\u003eMental checklists, scenarios, and battle plans roil through your mind\n\n\\\u003eYou take extra note of a small heal patch that you carry with you at all times now, neatly rolled up and attached to your belt\n\n\\\u003eChances are you'd need it at some point today\n\n\\\u003ePain was a given, hunts were hunts\n\n\\\u003eBut this is personal\n\n\\\u003eWith the hospital in view, you pull around behind it and into the parking lot of a different ward\n\n\\\u003eYou circle the lot for a service entrance, and after a few minutes of searching you park your bike and run towards it\n\n\\\u003eThere is an implant scanner welded to it\n\n\\\u003eYou opt for the even faster method of picking doors: drawing Rose, and shooting the handle off\n\n\\\u003eIt takes a few solid kicks to open the previously reinforced door\n\n\\\u003eNo longer barred, you head in and into the sterilized hallway, Rose still drawn and clearing the floor\n\n\\\u003eNot a one, save for a few surprised nurses\n\n\\\u003eSo it isn't a mob\n\n\\\u003eStar cuts into the silence of the hallways\n\n\\\u003e\"Anon, I've got comms with Gabe and Fox. Patching them into our call...now!\"\n\n\\\u003eGod damn Star would make a great comms officer\n\n\\\u003e\"Null ya there?\" Gabriel's voice comes through\n\n\\\u003e\"Yeah, just entered through the back. Just a few nurses here, I think I'm in the non emergency ward\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Good. Bring one of them to use the stairs, Fox is on the 15th floor.\"\n\n\\\u003eNo, fuck having cardio today\n\n\\\u003eYou grab a fox in nurse clothes and pull him along\n\n\\\u003eHe looked big, but he had the strength of a wet noodle\n\n\\\u003eAfter a bite to your arm, you slam his chest into the panel\n\n\\\u003e\"Sorry pal, going to be needing you today!\"\n\n\\\u003eNot sorry\n\n\\\u003eWith a satisfying \\*Ding\\* the elevator shoots up, and you push the fox to the side of the car\n\n\\\u003e\"Found a faster way. Do we have a body count?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Uh. I saw..at least six Null, but be careful, there are also other people here,\" Fox answered\n\n\\\u003eYou look at the twitchy black fox on the floor\n\n\\\u003e\"Sure.\"\n\n\\\u003eJust great, more to watch out for\n\n\\\u003eIdiots'l probably run into your path of bullets too\n\n\\\u003eYou rotate Rose to stun just for the sake of safety\n\n\\\u003eUsing your heavy ID, you open the doors once more and step out into the hallway\n\n\\\u003eHaving no longer served his use, you leave him there, and begin your second sweep\n\n\\\u003eYou hear a voice in your helmet\n\n\\\u003e\"Impressive, Anon! You must hate stairs more then I do!\" giggles Star\n\n\\\u003eLike you wouldn't believe\n\n\\\u003e\"Null, what's your status?\" Gabriel cut over Star's laughter\n\n\\\u003e\"15th Floor Ward Section B, you?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"...I won't ask, but same, A - and I've got eyes on two. They really don't want to blend in, both of them are wearing navy blue sailor colors\"\n\n\\\u003eGuess you pissed them off enough\n\n\\\u003e\"I'll head your way in a minute, I need to check this floor first\"\n\n\\\u003eYou go room to room with Rose held high, clearing each one and trying your hardest to not cause panic\n\n\\\u003ePeople running around and acting as a shield to those assholes would only make your job harder\n\n\\\u003eGabriel's voice cracks over comms again\n\n\\\u003e\"Alright those two are down Null. Fox, where are you?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm hiding in a stall in the ladies room. I, I don't know where though. Hurry babe, please!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou continue checking rooms as they speak, no need to stand around\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm heading to you love, stay calm\"\n\n\\\u003eHaving to kick yet another door down, this time being the women's bathroom on your end, you don't find Fox\n\n\\\u003eInstead, you find a patient screeching nonsense that you didn't have time to listen too\n\n\\\u003e\"Fox isn't in my area Gabriel\"\n\n\\\u003eYou hear gunshots over the line\n\n\\\u003e\"Got it..Null,\" he says between breaths\n\n\\\u003ePeeking around a corner, you see five Sailors at a nurse station\n\n\\\u003eOne of them is busy looking at something on one of the computers\n\n\\\u003eMoving closer, you overhear what one of them is saying\n\n\\\u003e\"...ght here! Comstock! She's suppose to be here!\" he slams a fist on a keyboard, before pointing in a random direction and yelling at the others, \"spread out and find her! You have those implant tracker Augs for a fucking reason!\"\n\n\\\u003eThe four that aren't at the computer nod and hurry off in different directions\n\n\\\u003e\"Anon all five of those guys are high level Sailor hitmen!\" Star calls out over comms, \"I have their faces pulled up from the bounty network\" she finished with a whisper\n\n\\\u003eYou see five small images appear at the bottom of your HUD as you head back behind the corner again\n\n\\\u003e\"You don't have to whisper Star,\" you quietly say\n\n\\\u003eYou kept your own voice low at the sound of footsteps from one of the men getting closer\n\n\\\u003eWith your back to a door, you open it as softly as you can, and you back your way into the room with your knife in hand\n\n\\\u003eYou wait\n\n\\\u003eHe's oblivious to your reflection in the small hanging mirrior\n\n\\\u003eBut what you see of him tells you a lot\n\n\\\u003eHe's strutting down the hallway's center, not even trying to hide himself or the gun that he's openly holding\n\n\\\u003eHe also has his attention focused on a wrist watch\n\n\\\u003eIf it's what you think it is...\n\n\\\u003eToo bad he can't see you\n\n\\\u003eSilence is your ally made stronger by his loud foot steps\n\n\\\u003eYou creep behind him, and when you're in range you leap forward, sinking your knife into his temple\n\n\\\u003eDead before he even knew it\n\n\\\u003e\"One down guys, but they have trackers,\" you say as you pull your knife out of his skull\n\n\\\u003e\"How many Null?\" asks Gabriel\n\n\\\u003e\"I saw four others, one is at the nurses station\"\n\n\\\u003eYou drag the body back into the room you were hiding in\n\n\\\u003eWhen you dropped it on the floor, you heard a gasp from behind you\n\n\\\u003eYou spin around with Rose drawn, and have it aimed squarely at the head of a huddled Anthro panda nurse\n\n\\\u003eShe's cowering under the table and lets out a small yelp when she sees you looking at her\n\n\\\u003eA scream is not what you need right now\n\n\\\u003e\"Shhhh, I'm not with them,\" you put away your weapons and put out your palms, \"but I am here to help. Do you know how many there are?\"\n\n\\\u003eShe blinks at you before stuttering out, \"uh, eight, I think. W-who are you and what are those men doing here?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou shake your head at her\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm no one, but those guys are Sailors looking for someone I care about. Have the authorities been called?\"\n\n\\\u003eShe shakes her own back at you\n\n\\\u003e\"One of them has..something sending nonsense through the lines! We haven't been able to reach anyone\"\n\n\\\u003eThat explains why you don't hear alarms going off, and no cops\n\n\\\u003e\"It isn't easy being this good,\" quipped Star\n\n\\\u003eDamn\n\n\\\u003e\"But Fox's weird tail thingy, uhh, helps\"\n\n\\\u003eThought so\n\n\\\u003eYou look back to the panda\n\n\\\u003e\"Stay here, we'll clean this mess up\"\n\n\\\u003eMoving back out of the room and to the corner, you see that same Sailor still at the computer\n\n\\\u003eHe's still typing away, but now he's on his phone to a holo you can't see\n\n\\\u003e\"Yes boss we're looking for her now. Yes, of course\"\n\n\\\u003eHe suddenly laughs\n\n\\\u003e\"You're right! Only a zombie would be this brainless\"\n\n\\\u003eHis laugh had you frozen mid crawl, but when he went back to kissing ass you took the time to keep moving towards him\n\n\\\u003eMid talk, you stab your knife into his neck while you cover his mouth with your other hand\n\n\\\u003eRose did a good job at keeping him silent while his phone dropped to the floor\n\n\\\u003eThe hologram didn't hang up, and the man it portrayed looked startled for a moment, but he calms down almost immediately\n\n\\\u003e\"So there you are. The 'ghost' I've been hearing about,\" it says\n\n\\\u003eYou pick it up and silently study the man\n\n\\\u003eHe is.. exceptionally average in every way\n\n\\\u003eShort hair in a buzzcut, and from what you can tell in a black suit and tie\n\n\\\u003eHe also visibly turns angry\n\n\\\u003e\"You killed my brother and my cousins, I'll ma-\"\n\n\\\u003eYou hang up and drop the phone\n\n\\\u003eYou stomp on it a few times for good measure\n\n\\\u003eWhy do they always feel the need to talk?\n\n\\\u003eBummer too, it was a nice phone model\n\n\\\u003eYou rotate the chamber of Rose to Lethal, having gotten up and seeing no one was clogging the halls\n\n\\\u003e\"Four down, a nurse told me there are eight of them in total\"\n\n\\\u003eYou hear gunshots down one of the halls\n\n\\\u003e\"Three left,\" Gabe calls out\n\n\\\u003eWell, no more quiet time\n\n\\\u003eYou head in the direction of the gunshots as fast and as quiet as you can\n\n\\\u003eWhen you start hearing more ring out and turning into a constant stream you start running\n\n\\\u003e\"Everything ok guys?!\" you yell over the mic\n\n\\\u003eYou recognize Gabriel's shots ping over the rest of them\n\n\\\u003e\"We're pinned Null, where the hell are you?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"On my way!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou turn a corner and find a sky bridge connecting the two sections together\n\n\\\u003eCeramic tile and walls on the bottom, and clear glass as a cage over the top\n\n\\\u003eBut what stands out the most is a Sailor at the end, hiding behind two locked doors\n\n\\\u003eYou break out into a sprint, unloading shots into the center of the door before slamming into it with your shoulder\n\n\\\u003eYou almost fall from the hit, but you recover just enough to find that same Sailor round a corner up ahead\n\n\\\u003eAlone in a long, straight hallway, you've little choice but to keep sprinting\n\n\\\u003eBut run you did, over that long, long bridge, and soon the door at the other end gets the same treatment as the first\n\n\\\u003eYour shoulder is on fire and Rose feels just as hot, but when you round another corner you slam into a Sailor accidentally, knocking you backwards\n\n\\\u003e\"What the fu-\"\n\n\\\u003eYour quick aim and a shot silences him\n\n\\\u003eBut you were off your mark by inches\n\n\\\u003eHe levels his head towards your scrambling form, and fires\n\n\\\u003ePain\n\n\\\u003eDarkness\n\n\\\u003eHorrible headache\n\n\\\u003eAll three tell you that somehow, you're still alive\n\n\\\u003eThe ringing in your ears and Star's fuzzy voice only confirms it\n\n\\\u003eBlinking hard a few times, the blurred image of a man's back above you tells you he must have assumed you're dead\n\n\\\u003eYou suppose the myths are true - you can't kill a ghost\n\n\\\u003eBut you can easily upgrade their headaches into a megaton migrane\n\n\\\u003eYour HUD is in shambles, a lot of the elements on screen phase out and distort rapidly\n\n\\\u003eYou raise your hand to your head, and feeling around you find a large dent in your helmet\n\n\\\u003eWell, good thing you wore it no matter how stupid Gabe said it looked\n\n\\\u003eWait...\n\n\\\u003e\"Null! NULL! ANON, ARE YOU OK?\" you hear Gabriel yelling\n\n\\\u003eBlinking back tears you raise your gun once more and shoot the man who downed you in the back\n\n\\\u003e\"Peachy,\" you croak\n\n\\\u003e\"Good, but I'm still pinned,\" he continues, and from the bullet fire you hear a few of them dent and bounce off his mechanical arm\n\n\\\u003eYou groan, and grab onto the wall to steady yourself\n\n\\\u003eKnife in hand, you shakily work your way down the hall where the gun fire is loudest\n\n\\\u003eAnd turning a corner, you see two men hiding behind a turned over bench, both of them firing wildly into a bathroom\n\n\\\u003e\"Cover me,\" you mumble\n\n\\\u003eYou sprint forward, with a knife in one hand and an empty Rose in the other\n\n\\\u003eOne of them grabs a metal stock and quickly unfolds it in front of him\n\n\\\u003e\"Should have used this sooner,\" he said, and sprayed down the wall with automatic fire\n\n\\\u003eA sharp scream yells out over the silence in the hallway, all previous gun fire having stopped\n\n\\\u003eA heavy thud impacts a wooden stall door, with look still secure and keeping it shut\n\n\\\u003eFox?\n\n\\\u003e\"Fox?!\" Gabriel screamed from inside the room\n\n\\\u003eA cold disbelief washes over you\n\n\\\u003eWhen you take another step it burns into rage\n\n\\\u003eNever stopping slamming one foot over the other, both leave the ground to only land as a kick to the back of one of the men's knees\n\n\\\u003eHe hits hard into his companion in the middle of a reload, and the one you're in top of, you stab over and over and over again\n\n\\\u003eOne final shot calls out through your yelling, and the back wall is painted with red\n\n\\\u003eThe other man simply fell to his knees, missing a large portion of his stomach\n\n\\\u003eYour knife still rests in the corpse of a Sailor, and a loud bang from inside snaps you out of your stabbing\n\n\\\u003e\"Anon! Fox is hit! Get someone! Anyone!\"\n\n\\\u003eYour eyes scan the hallway\n\n\\\u003eNot a soul was in sight, and without even thinking you sprint back to the only nurse that you knew\n\n\\\u003eYou jump over the rubble of the first door\n\n\\\u003eIn your running you glide over the second\n\n\\\u003eAnd when you reach that familiar hallway, the sounds of your incoherent yelling drew the face of the previously cowering panda woman\n\n\\\u003e\"Someones been shot, whatever jammer they had is down. HELP ME!\" you yell at her\n\n\\\u003eYou don't know how your body managed to bring that nurse back, or how she could place a call while trapped in your iron grip\n\n\\\u003eBut when you get back you find another nurse, this one being an Anthro wolf on a phone similar to the panda's\n\n\\\u003e\"We have multiple dead and wounded. Send ER doctors here immediately!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou leave the panda and the wolf to do their jobs as they did for yours\n\n\\\u003eStanding in front of the bathroom, you walk inside slowly\n\n\\\u003eIn the center floor sits Gabriel, hunched over holding fox in his arms and pressing gently on the gunshot wound just center of her body\n\n\\\u003e\"Stay with me baby stay with me!\" he sobs\n\n\\\u003e\"Doctors are on the way\"\n\n\\\u003eYou don't make it to him\n\n\\\u003e\"I'll handle the police Gabriel, you just...stay with Fox\" you numbly say before leaving\n\n\\\u003eThe police came and went\n\n\\\u003eThey took your story no questions asked after the nurses vouched for you\n\n\\\u003eYou handled it\n\n\\\u003eYou handled everything, so that Gabriel could focus on Fox and stay with her\n\n\\\u003eWith what little downtime you had, you claimed the bounties on each body, and after your grim task was finished you had the nurses look at your head\n\n\\\u003eThey gave you a painkiller for your head, and somehow the Panda slipped in her number on a piece of paper taped to the side\n\n\\\u003eStar protested loudly in your still ringing ears until she saw you toss it away\n\n\\\u003e\"I have you Star, don't worry,\" is all you say\n\n\\\u003eYou hoped that in some way, your own words would help you too\n\n\\\u003eBut you're worried\n\n\\\u003eWorried out of your damn mind\n\n\\\u003eAbout Fox and Gabriel\n\n\\\u003eAnd the Cub\n\n\\\u003eWhen there was one thing left to do, you asked where Fox was the second you could\n\n\\\u003e\"She is in surgery right now. Her husband is in the waiting room over there,\" a nurse tells you\n\n\\\u003eYou slowly walked to where you were told, and sitting alone in a chair is Gabriel looking worse than before\n\n\\\u003eHe's hunched over with his head in his hand\n\n\\\u003eHis left arm nowhere to be found\n\n\\\u003eYou choose your words carefully\n\n\\\u003e\"Gabriel, what's going on,\" you start to say as you take off your helmet and sit down\n\n\\\u003eYou give him time to answer, and in a voice of disbelief he finds what he wants to say\n\n\\\u003e\"She's having the bullet removed...but, they said it fracture and hit her liver, lungs, and part of her womb\"\n\n\\\u003eYour heart sinks low as he continued\n\n\\\u003e\"Even after they get the pieces out, she'll still be in critical condition...and they...they asked me if, if I had to choose..\"\n\n\\\u003eHis voice cracks, and his face falls further into his hand\n\n\\\u003e\"They asked me who I would want to live: Fox, or the Cub\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Gabe-\"\n\n\\\u003e\"I told them both! I don't care what it takes or how much it is! You can't ask a man that! I don't care how expensive it is, I'll give everything for her! For both of them! I emptied the accounts for the best treatments and care for her, but it still wasn't enough! They took my arm as collateral since I don't have enough, but there's more they can do that I just can't afford!\"\n\n\\\u003eHis head sinks further down, and you feel that there was more to be said\n\n\\\u003eIn his mind, Gabriel didn't hear you\n\n\\\u003eSo you waited even more\n\n\\\u003eAnd when he finally looked at you, he wore the same look that you're all too familiar with\n\n\\\u003eFor the very first time you saw what sadness looked like on his face\n\n\\\u003eTears are pouring down his cheeks from his grey eyes, pleading at you to finish some kind of plan\n\n\\\u003e\"They said at best it's a 50/50 chance either of them survive...And if they don't\"\n\n\\\u003eHe shoves his own gun into your hands\n\n\\\u003e\"Put a bullet in the back of my head\"\n\n\\\u003e\"No.\"\n\n\\\u003eYou rip the cartridge out of the chamber\n\n\\\u003e\"Fuck Null! If you don't then I-\"\n\n\\\u003eHe's on top of you, having leaped from his chair with his hand on your shoulder\n\n\\\u003eCold iron at the base of his chin gets him to stop\n\n\\\u003e\"I wont bury my brother.\"\n\n\\\u003eYou cycle it, and the noise pierces through the silence\n\n\\\u003e\"She's everything to me!\" He shouts at you\n\n\\\u003e\"...You want to quit that bad? That's it? You're done?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou slowly rise, bringing Gabriel up with you by the tip of your gun\n\n\\\u003e\"You treat me like family, knowing full well the hundreds of jobs we ran, the even payouts we get? And the first thing that comes to your god damn mind is a bullet in it?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou jab it up further, tilting his head back as he stands on shaking legs\n\n\\\u003e\"I don't care that you shit on everything I apparently am to you, but to give up on Fox like that, on the possibility of that\"\n\n\\\u003eYou kick the man back into his seat, gun still trained on him\n\n\\\u003e\"No, I have a better idea. I'll drain my accounts too, to the last credit\"\n\n\\\u003e\"...I already did that Null, it's still not enough,\" he whispers\n\n\\\u003eYou don't even flinch\n\n\\\u003eShe's your family too\n\n\\\u003e\"Then let's go and do more for her. I'm not going to let you sit here and lose her. Dammit Gabe, I know loss is hard, but-\"\n\n\\\u003eHis hand is fast, crushing your wrist\n\n\\\u003eYou drop Rose, unaware of when you did from the pain of his fist slamming into your face\n\n\\\u003eYou're knocked off your feet, crashing into the other waiting room chairs\n\n\\\u003e\"YOU DON'T KNOW LOSS, NULL\"\n\n\\\u003eCracking open an eye, you see him looking down at you breathing heavy with rage painted on his face\n\n\\\u003e\"Of course I know it, otherwise you wouldn't have found me living on the street Gabriel\"\n\n\\\u003eHis anger breaks away to pained sadness\n\n\\\u003eWith a hesitant hand, he offers it to you\n\n\\\u003eGrabbing Rose back in one hand you take it, and he helps you to your feet\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm sorry Null, I just can't lose her\"\n\n\\\u003eYou put a hand to your nose to wipe away the blood that started to trickle out\n\n\\\u003e\"Funny thing is, is that neither can I. Now if you aren't going to do anything but mope then I'll do something to fix this\"\n\n\\\u003eYou turn and start to walk away\n\n\\\u003e\"Null, what are you going to do? There isn't anything you CAN do!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou feel his hand fall on your shoulder\n\n\\\u003eYou only glance back at him\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm gonna do something stupid and dangerous, because I know she would do the same for me\"\n\n\\\u003eHe nods sadly\n\n\\\u003e\"Then I'm coming with you\"\n\n\\\u003eYou fully turn around to face him\n\n\\\u003e\"Well, you'll need this first\"\n\n\\\u003eYou toss him a long, plastic covered object which he catches\n\n\\\u003e\"...A shock knife?\" he asks\n\n\\\u003e\"It's no gun, but if you sneak up on someone, just give em a quick shock with it and it should shutdown their augs. Probably knock em out, too\"\n\n\\\u003eYou see a hint of a smile start to form on his face\n\nChapter 15: Silver and Glass\n\n\\\u003eThey would pay, they would all pay for what they had done to Fox\n\n\\\u003eAlthough Gabriel said he would come with you, you had things to do first, things best done alone\n\n\\\u003eThe Sailors, everyone of them would die\n\n\\\u003eAt least those at the top would\n\n\\\u003eThey all had bounties on the network, high paying, over 100k for Andrew Belacov, the head of the Sailors\n\n\\\u003eBut you didn't know where he was, that was the problem\n\n\\\u003eA problem you were going to solve\n\n\\\u003eYour Bike tore through the city as you drove back to Star's bunker\n\n\\\u003eShe had some information you needed first\n\n\\\u003eNeon signs blurred past as you wove through traffic like a needle through fabric\n\n\\\u003eBefore long you pull into the bunker and See an eager Star waiting for you\n\n\\\u003e\"HELLLOOO ANONN!\" she says in her usual fashion as she pounces on you\n\n\\\u003eYou catch her and hug her tight\n\n\\\u003e\"Hi Star, I have a few favors I need from you\"\n\n\\\u003eyou set her down and she looks up at you\n\n\\\u003e\"OK but first tell me what happened! How is fox?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou grimace as you reach into your bike and grab your damaged helmet\n\n\\\u003e\"She might not make it, Gabe and I pooled our money but its not enough\"\n\n\\\u003ePooled our money is a nice way to put it\n\n\\\u003e\"WHAT!? OH NOOOOO!\"\n\n\\\u003eStars eyes become tear drops\n\n\\\u003e\"That's why I need your help with something Star\"\n\n\\\u003eHer pupils turn to question marks\n\n\\\u003e\"What's that Anon? I can't convince Dad to pay for her stuff\"\n\n\\\u003eYou nod\n\n\\\u003e\"I know but I have a plan to handle the money\"\n\n\\\u003eYou walk into the main room with Star following you\n\n\\\u003e\"First off how fast can you get my helmet fixed? I still don't know where you got it\"\n\n\\\u003eShe bites her lip softly\n\n\\\u003e\"Errm 2 days! It wouldn't be the Gundam helmet though just the protective casing and internal wiring\"\n\n\\\u003eYou smile\n\n\\\u003e\"Perfect and lastly, I need to meet your father, face to face preferably\"\n\n\\\u003eShe freezes\n\n\\\u003e\"What? Why do you need to talk to my dad?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou run your fingers through your hair and sigh\n\n\\\u003e\"I just need to talk to him, he probably knows things I need to know\"\n\n\\\u003eShe looks at you with a small frown\n\n\\\u003e\"You aren't gonna kill him are you?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"NO I won't kill him Star, I just need to talk to him\"\n\n\\\u003eshe looks at you with uncertainty\n\n\\\u003e\"You sure?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou hold your hand out\n\n\\\u003e\"Do you trust me?\"\n\n\\\u003eShe takes your hand happily\n\n\\\u003e\"Yes! Ok I'll tell you Anon, but no funny business!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou smile and hug her \"Ok just a few questions for him, I promise\"\n\n\\\u003eThe questions you had for him were difficult, and borderline dangerous\n\n\\\u003eBut he would probably have the answers you needed\n\n\\\u003eStar of course knew where the Dismond syndicate was based\n\n\\\u003eAnd you were sure that they knew where Andrew Belacov was\n\n\\\u003eAs if the leader of The Sailors would remain on the HMS Northstar\n\n\\\u003eThe ship and mini-city was a front they operated from\n\n\\\u003eThe higher up people were somewhere else\n\n\\\u003eYou didn't know where though\n\n\\\u003eBut you could find out quickly\n\n\\\u003eYou knew Star's father kept details on people, from Belacov to Lysander, he had to have some idea\n\n\\\u003eJust an idea was enough for you to work with\n\n\\\u003e\"Ok Anon! I sent the address to your phone! His office is on the top floor!\"\n\n\\\u003eOf course it was\n\n\\\u003eYou look at the address, and its location on the map, an hour ride away in the business center of the City\n\n\\\u003eStar bounds to you and latches onto your side\n\n\\\u003e\"Anon! I'm glad you're safe! Please Please don't die!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou rubs her ears and smile\n\n\\\u003e\"I'll be fine besides I'm just going to talk to your father today\"\n\n\\\u003eShe smiles up at you\n\n\\\u003e\"Ok Anon, I'll call someone about the helmet! I know one of Dads guys can fix it up!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou give her a quick kiss and a pet on the ears before heading to your bike\n\n\\\u003eYou jump in and rev her up and punch it\n\n\\\u003eThe world blurs by as you head for the business district\n\n\\\u003eYou didn't really want to have to meet Star's father\n\n\\\u003eBut he had info you needed and that's what matters\n\n\\\u003eFor Fox and Gabriel you would demand information from Satan himself\n\n\\\u003eThen you would fucking Punch God for letting Fox get hurt\n\n\\\u003eYour mind races as you speed through traffic\n\n\\\u003eThoughts of Fox, Gabriel and the Cub\n\n\\\u003eNever before had you all faced an issue like this\n\n\\\u003eBut fuck the odds, you were going to do your fucking damnedest to stop this\n\n\\\u003eEven if you die trying\n\n\\\u003eThe world remembers people who act, even if in the end they lay broken and bleeding\n\n\\\u003eHistory proved that\n\n\\\u003ethe 300 Spartans marching to their death, General Custer and his last stand, the Alamo, all facing odds stacked against them and fighting regardless\n\n\\\u003eHeh almost a summary of your life\n\n\\\u003eUnaugmented, at every disadvantage yet still fighting\n\n\\\u003eStill killing\n\n\\\u003eYou sit in silence, missing your helmet and (almost) Missing Star's constant chatter\n\n\\\u003eThe ride takes a shorter time than you thought\n\n\\\u003eOr is it because you were so deep in thought?\n\n\\\u003eDoesn't matter\n\n\\\u003eYou pull around the back, get out and find a service entrance\n\n\\\u003eIt's always the same\n\n\\\u003eA loosely guarded back door that you could short out and enter\n\n\\\u003eYou draw your shock knife and jam it into the locking system\n\n\\\u003eIt's almost disappointing how poor security is here\n\n\\\u003eA quick zap and the door opens\n\n\\\u003eTo your surprise Security drones descend and scan the area\n\n\\\u003eThey just pass over you like you're nothing\n\n\\\u003eContinuously scanning and flying around, looking for the interloper\n\n\\\u003eThey even fly inside and scan in all directions\n\n\\\u003eYou simply walk past them, ignoring the buzzing drones\n\n\\\u003eThe new issue is getting to the top floor\n\n\\\u003eThis building had to have over 300 floors and there was no way you were taking the stairs\n\n\\\u003eAs you stroll through the ground floor you find the elevators easily enough, but there is still the issue of needing an implant\n\n\\\u003eBefore long your searching pays off and you find an Anthro gecko watching TV while taking a wrench to his cybernetic legs\n\n\\\u003e\"Sorry about this\" You say as you stun him with your shock knife\n\n\\\u003eYou attempt to throw him over your shoulder but with those metal legs he's to heavy\n\n\\\u003eFine he's getting dragged then\n\n\\\u003eDragging him quickly and silently to the elevator takes a bit of effort, because you had to drag him by those stupidly heavy legs\n\n\\\u003eIf you didn't they would make a scraping noise of the floor and you didn't want to attract unwanted attention\n\n\\\u003eAfter using his implant to start the elevator you set him in the corner for later\n\n\\\u003eYou would still need a way to get back down after all\n\n\\\u003eThe elevator ride itself takes about 5 minutes during which you think about Fox and Gabriel\n\n\\\u003eYou had to do this for them and you weren't going to let them down\n\n\\\u003eThe elevator dings and the door opens letting you out\n\n\\\u003eYou make your way to a nearby window and look out\n\n\\\u003e300 floors up and you're above the clouds, your view of the sky unfiltered for the first time\n\n\\\u003eStars twinkle above a sea of multi colored clouds, glowing faintly from the city below them\n\n\\\u003eA few other spires poke through the clouds like giant glowing obelisks\n\n\\\u003eBeautiful\n\n\\\u003eYou take a moment to appreciate it and steel yourself\n\n\\\u003eFinally pulling away you go through the floor, one massively long hallway with a large set of double doors made of some kind of wood\n\n\\\u003eAs you walk through the hall you hear the doors attempting to scan you, gently whirring heard from the scanners that sensed movement but found nothing\n\n\\\u003eNo doubt security drones and other nightmarish defensive frames were behind those doors\n\n\\\u003eThe large wooden double doors are in front of you,and with a hardly push you're able to open one\n\n\\\u003eInside is a large wooden desk, carved intricately with gold set into the wood\n\n\\\u003eAt the desk sat Star's father, Jonathan Dismond, his eyes glossy and a cable plugged into the back of his head\n\n\\\u003eA plug directly into the internet? no wonder he was so well informed and able to keep his syndicate so well organized\n\n\\\u003eYou clear your throat loudly to get his attention\n\n\\\u003eIt's almost robotic how he moved and pulled the plug from the back of his head\n\n\\\u003eHe blinks a few times before shaking his head then focusing his eyes on you\n\n\\\u003e\"Star's bounty hunter friend? Anon was it? Are you here to kill me?\"\n\n\\\u003eHis pale eyes are locked Rose\n\n\\\u003eYou sit down at the chair across from him\n\n\\\u003e\"Tempting but no. Not today anyway, today I need information\"\n\n\\\u003eHe raises his eyebrows\n\n\\\u003e\"What information? My business practices ar-\"\n\n\\\u003eYou raise a hand at him\n\n\\\u003e\"I don't care about your business, I need to know where Andrew Belacov is\"\n\n\\\u003eHe eyes you coldly\n\n\\\u003e\"Why would I tell you that, whats in it for me?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou roll your left sleeve up revealing the Tattoo from Lysander\n\n\\\u003e\"I work for Lysander, your ally, and if you tell me you have one less group to compete with\"\n\n\\\u003eHe eyes the mark on your shoulder before taping his desk causing a keyboard to appear\n\n\\\u003eA holoscreen appears and he taps a few keys silently as you sit across from him\n\n\\\u003e\"He has a skyscraper near the ports, disguised as a regular business called \"Think Tank\". the address is 442 Border street\"\n\n\\\u003eYou smile, you knew where that was\n\n\\\u003e\"Perfect, thank you Mr.Dismond\"\n\n\\\u003eHe frowns\n\n\\\u003e\"What makes you think you can even get to him? Every other man I've sent to assassinate him disappeared\"\n\n\\\u003eYou smile wider\n\n\\\u003e\"I made it here to you didn't I?\"\n\n\\\u003eHe looks you up and down as you stand up\n\n\\\u003e\"Hm I suppose you did\"\n\n\\\u003eYou walk to the door and push it open once more\n\n\\\u003e\"Oh and by the way I'm Fucking your daughter\"\n\n\\\u003eHe smiles a bit ,much to your surprise\n\n\\\u003e\"Well that saves me trying to find someone to impregnate her for grand kids\"\n\n\\\u003eYou would be shocked at his response from anyone else but he is the man who hid his daughter away\n\n\\\u003eWith that you leave, heading back to the elevator where the still unconscious gecko is\n\n\\\u003eAfter hitting the button for the ground floor you pull out your phone and Call Lysander\n\n\\\u003eHer Hologram appears after a few short rings\n\n\\\u003e\"Ah my dear friend Anon, what is troubling you?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Good evening Lysander, I'm going to be stopping by the mansion, I have something I need to discuss with you in person\"\n\n\\\u003eShe smiles\n\n\\\u003e\"No doubt after what happened at the hospital, I look forwards to your visit\"\n\n\\\u003eHer hologram winks out as she hangs up\n\n\\\u003eThe elevator dings and lets you out\n\n\\\u003eYou retrace your steps back to your bike, finding the security drones still buzzing around\n\n\\\u003eHeh stupid robots\n\n\\\u003eYou hop in your bike and get going\n\n\\\u003eThe ride to the mansion was quiet, at least voice wise\n\n\\\u003eYour bike roars as usual, although you do miss Stars non stop talking a little\n\n\\\u003eYou ride up to the mansion and get out of your bike and are greeted by Jeffery, the Giraffe Anthro butler\n\n\\\u003e\"How is it we could not control your bike?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Its custom built and doesn't have the the override built in\" you say as you get out\n\n\\\u003eYou push past him and into the mansion\n\n\\\u003eHe catches up with you easily though\n\n\\\u003eFucking trees for legs\n\n\\\u003e\"Madam Lysander is in the library\"\n\n\\\u003eYou head there silently, you knew the way around because of how often you did work for her\n\n\\\u003eThe scariest part about her was the weapons around the house disguised as everyday things\n\n\\\u003eyou recall one time when you met her in her living room where she had a fucking battleaxe disguised as a Guitar\n\n\\\u003eShe used it to split a man in half with ease\n\n\\\u003eAs you enter the library she greets you in her usual calm tone\n\n\\\u003e\"Ah Anon my favorite ghost, what did you need to discuss with me\"\n\n\\\u003eShe is laying on a couch having a portrait of herself painted by a nervous looking Mink\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm going to kill the Belacovs, ALL of them for what they did\"\n\n\\\u003eHer eyes light up as you say that and she stands\n\n\\\u003e\"That's a very bold claim Anon, do you even know where he is?\" She says as she strides over to you\n\n\\\u003e\"Yes, I want to know if you'll pay me for it\"\n\n\\\u003eYou look up at her as she stops in front you\n\n\\\u003e\"Anon, you are either the bravest Man I've met or the most foolish\"\n\n\\\u003eHer paws rub down your chest as she smiles, showing her very large fangs\n\n\\\u003e\"What would you do if I said I wouldn't pay you?\" she purrs\n\n\\\u003eYou frown, \"I would kill them anyway, they hurt my family\"\n\n\\\u003eHer smile widens\n\n\\\u003e\"How interesting, Vengeance is a beautiful thing for the right reason\"\n\n\\\u003eHer eyes are almost predatory as she looks you up and down\n\n\\\u003e\"Very Well Anon, I will pay you should you succeed, May I ask why you need money so badly?\n\n\\\u003e\"Gabriel's wife got shot, she's pregnant and we need money to give her the best treatment\"\n\n\\\u003eShe pulls you close to her\n\n\\\u003e\"Ah! How noble of you, do not fail me Anon, you're very useful to the Concordat\"\n\n\\\u003eShe runs a paw through your hair and Stares into your eyes while licking her lips\n\n\\\u003e\"And very useful to me\"\n\n\\\u003eOh god why\n\n\\\u003eYou wiggle away from her grasp\n\n\\\u003e\"Thank you Lysander, I need to prepare for this\" you say hastily as you back away towards the door\n\n\\\u003e\"Ah yes of course, do come back alive Anon\"\n\n\\\u003eYou make a Hasty retreat back to your bike\n\n\\\u003eRevving it slightly you speed off to Star's bunker\n\n\\\u003eYou call out to your phone \"Call Gabriel\"\n\n\\\u003eAfter a few moments He picks up but its voice only\n\n\\\u003e\"Whats up Null?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Lysanders gonna pay us to Kill Belacov as well we can claim it on the bounty network, How's fox?\n\n\\\u003e\"Shes still in surgery, I'll update you when I can\"\n\n\\\u003eYou frown slightly\n\n\\\u003e\"Alright, keep me informed. We handle this in 2 days when I get my helmet back\"\n\n\\\u003e\"We're gonna make them pay\" He growls\n\n\\\u003e\"Fuck yea we are, keep me informed, I'll see you tomorrow\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Cya\"\n\n\\\u003eHe hangs up and you sigh\n\n\\\u003eWhat a fucking day\n\n\\\u003eThe day should have been Video games, pizza, and sex with Star\n\n\\\u003eNot a day where you might lose one of your friends and get hit on by the most terrifying woman you've ever met\n\n\\\u003eThe sun is rising as you get to Star's bunker and drive down the ramp\n\n\\\u003e\"HELLLOOO ANONNN!\"\n\n\\\u003eStar launches herself onto you the second you're out of your bike\n\n\\\u003eYou catch her into a hug\n\n\\\u003eHer tail wraps around you as she nuzzles into your chest\n\n\\\u003e\"How's your head Anon? That Dent in your helmet was big!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou set her down and she skitters gently on her footpaws\n\n\\\u003e\"It's ok, those painkillers did the trick\"\n\n\\\u003eStars Fur poofs up and little flames replace her pupils\n\n\\\u003e\"That Hussy Panda! Try to steal my Anon away will you! I won't be able to forget this hatred even if I die and get reborn a million times over!\"\n\n\\\u003eShe's stomping around in a circle\n\n\\\u003eAs always its not intimidating in the slightest\n\n\\\u003eAnd you always have the perfect remedy\n\n\\\u003eYou crack your knuckles and start rubbing her ears gently and scratching her head\n\n\\\u003eHer stomping immediately ceases\n\n\\\u003e\"Oooo magic fingers Anonnn\" She says with hearts in her eyes\n\n\\\u003eYou smile and scoop her up\n\n\\\u003e\"Let's have some dinner and go to sleep ok Star?\"\n\n\\\u003eShe giggles and nuzzles into your chest\n\n\\\u003e\"Ok Anon I Love you\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Love you too\"\n\nChapter 16: Bullets\n\n\\\u003eThe time waiting for your helmet has been agony\n\n\\\u003eGranted it was less than 48 hours since Star had one of her fathers men take it to repair it but still it was agony\n\n\\\u003eYou And Gabriel took turns standing guard over Fox, who was in an induced coma\n\n\\\u003eRight now it wasn't your shift, you sat in your apartment half asleep\n\n\\\u003eYour head in your hands, you leaned forwards onto the table your computer sat on\n\n\\\u003eNormally you would stay with Star but right now you needed to be Alone\n\n\\\u003eSeeing Fox in that bed, unmoving with only a slow rhythmic beep from a heart monitor telling you she was alive\n\n\\\u003eIt killed you to see that\n\n\\\u003eIt killed you to know Gabriel saw it too\n\n\\\u003eSadness, Anger, disbelief all flowed through you, mixing and combining into a sickening numbness\n\n\\\u003eAs Much as you loved Star she didn't need to see this part of you\n\n\\\u003eYou drift between the waking world and dreams, your drooping head held aloft by your arms\n\n\\\u003eEach time you Snapped your eyes back open you hoped it was a dream you were waking from\n\n\\\u003eFox wasnt hurt, no of course she wasn't, she was at home tending to her little balcony garden\n\n\\\u003eBut reality hits you harder than a truck each time\n\n\\\u003eYou're snapped awake by the ringing of your phone\n\n\\\u003eYou pick up and a Hologram of Star Appears\n\n\\\u003eHer usual cheery self gone, it looks like she hasn't slept in a few days\n\n\\\u003e\"Hi Anon,How's Fox?\"\n\n\\\u003eHer words are half slurred and you watch her grab a cup of coffee\n\n\\\u003e\"Nothings changed, right now Gabriel is guarding her, she's still in the induced coma\"\n\n\\\u003eAs you talk she sips her coffee then makes a face of disgust\n\n\\\u003e\"Ugh I don't know how you drink this stuff Anon it tastes gross\"\n\n\\\u003eShe takes another sip of it and shudders slightly\n\n\\\u003e\"Blech\"\n\n\\\u003eYou frown\n\n\\\u003e\"Get some sleep Star, I'll call you if anything changes\"\n\n\\\u003eShe shakes her head at you\n\n\\\u003e\"No I need to know whats happening! Plus your helmet is here\"\n\n\\\u003eYou sit up Immediately\n\n\\\u003eThat was one things that was holding you And Gabriel Back,\n\n\\\u003eAs much as you could have gone without it, the HUD and gas mask were very helpful\n\n\\\u003e\"Ok I'll be there shortly, as well Gabriel will be coming too is that ok?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Yes! I have some things I can give you both\" Star replies with a little bit of her normal cheer\n\n\\\u003eYou smile at her and nod\n\n\\\u003e\"Ok I'll call Gabriel and be there shortly\"\n\n\\\u003eShe smiles and sips her coffee again\n\n\\\u003e\"Oh and Star?\"\n\n\\\u003e\\\u003e\"Hm? Yes Anon?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Love you\"\n\n\\\u003eHer eyes morph into little hearts\n\n\\\u003e\"Aww I love you too! Hurry to the bunker I miss you!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou nod\n\n\\\u003e\"Ok see you soon\"\n\n\\\u003eHer Hologram winks out and you call Gabriel\n\n\\\u003eHe picks up almost immediately\n\n\\\u003eHis face is sullen and there are bags under his eyes\n\n\\\u003e\"Is it time?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou nod\n\n\\\u003e\"We'll meet at Stars bunker, she has some stuff for us, I'll send you the address\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Got it, I'll wait for a couple of buddies to show up here then grab my weapons\"\n\n\\\u003eHe rubs his face\n\n\\\u003e\"See you later Null\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Yea\"\n\n\\\u003eHe hangs up and you grab your gear\n\n\\\u003eYou head out the door to the service elevator to get your bike\n\n\\\u003eAfter it doesn't respond right away you kick it with your steel toed boots leaving, a new dent in the side of it\n\n\\\u003eNow isn't the time for this bullshit\n\n\\\u003eAfter a few more solid kicks it finally brings your bike up\n\n\\\u003eYou get in and heads to Star's bunker\n\n\\\u003eThe world blurs around you as Muscle memory takes over\n\n\\\u003eYou aren't even thinking about anything as you drive down the ramp to the bunker\n\n\\\u003eIt's all a numb blur\n\n\\\u003eAfter talking to Star's father and Lysander you had nothing to occupy your thoughts besides Fox\n\n\\\u003eIn the days after, you had only slept once, and that was the day of, your body tired and your mind exhausted from everything you had done\n\n\\\u003eAnd even then your dreams kept you from getting any decent sleep\n\n\\\u003eFox screaming, her and Gabriel's half formed cub crying at you\n\n\\\u003eGabriel Laying dead next to you\n\n\\\u003eThey all plagued your dreams, keeping you from any kind of restful sleep\n\n\\\u003eEven now they haunted the back of your mind as you got out of your bike to a very tired looking Star\n\n\\\u003e\"Hey Anon\" She says with less than half of her usual enthusiasm\n\n\\\u003eShe still hugs your side as you get out of your bike though\n\n\\\u003e\"Hi Star\" you say as you rub her ears softly\n\n\\\u003eYou and her walk into the bunker together hand in paw\n\n\\\u003e\"Get some rest Anon, or at least try to\" Star says guiding you to the chair in front of her monitors\n\n\\\u003eYou sit in it and rub your face before Star climbs into your lap\n\n\\\u003e\"Let's get some rest Anon\"\n\n\\\u003eHer various shows about robots and evil empires flood your mind\n\n\\\u003eYou feel your eyes drooping\n\n\\\u003e\"Sleep Anon it's ok\" Star cooes to you\n\n\\\u003eYou feel yourself leave the waking world\n\n\\\u003eThe feeling of a furred pad on your cheek stirs you\n\n\\\u003eYour eyes open to reveal Star gently rubbing your face with a paw\n\n\\\u003e\"Huh wha happen?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"You passed out. guess you pushed yourself a little too far huh?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou rub your eyes and blink a few times\n\n\\\u003e\"How long was I out?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"About 6 hours, Gabriel is here, He's getting a nap too\"\n\n\\\u003eYou stand and stretch earning several satisfying pops from your back\n\n\\\u003e\"Did you get any sleep Star?\"\n\n\\\u003eShe nods vigourously \"Uh huh! I slept with you for a while! Plus I got lots of coffee and Caffeine pills!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou check the time on the computer which as been playing her Anime shows non-stop\n\n\\\u003eGuess that trick with white noise really does work\n\n\\\u003e\"I'll go get Gabriel, Anon you some coffee!\"\n\n\\\u003eShe rushes down the hall and into your workshop turned guest room\n\n\\\u003eYou walk to the kitchen and plus a few buttons on her Synthesizer\n\n\\\u003eIt makes a sputtering noise and hot coffee begins streaming out of it into a coffee pot\n\n\\\u003eAs you grab the coffee pot and a few mugs you hear Gabriel and Star come into the main room\n\n\\\u003eStar bounces excitedly\n\n\\\u003e\"Come over here Anon, I got you both some Stuff!\"\n\n\\\u003eShe guides you to a table by her wall of countless Anime posters\n\n\\\u003e\"Here's your Helmet Anon! its not Gundam anymore sorry! But it has all the same stuff Minus the cosmetics!\"\n\n\\\u003eShe hands you your new helmet, jet black with an opaque Visor so your face cant been seen\n\n\\\u003eIt reminds you of a Motorcycle helmet when except the visor covers the whole face\n\n\\\u003eYou turn it over in your hands, inspecting it before putting it on\n\n\\\u003eThe progress bar for it loading up moves quickly and with a small \\*Ding\\* it finishes\n\n\\\u003eHuh no more yelling, although you kinda miss it\n\n\\\u003e\"And this is for you Gabe!\"\n\n\\\u003eShe pushes a white helmet similar to yours into his hand\n\n\\\u003eHe looks at it and turns it over before putting it on\n\n\\\u003e\"After Null got shot in the face at the hospital I changed me mind on the Helmet thing\"\n\n\\\u003eHe hits your helmet with his fist\n\n\\\u003eYou wave his hand away \"Told you it was good\"\n\n\\\u003eHe turns from you and motions for you to follow him\n\n\\\u003e\"Come on, I got something for you too\"\n\n\\\u003eYou follow and hear Star follow you\n\n\\\u003eHe leads you to his speeder which is full of guns and explosives\n\n\\\u003eReaching into the passenger seat, he pulls out a rifle\n\n\\\u003eWires run along it from the barrel to the trigger as well a tubes filled with dully glowing plasma\n\n\\\u003e\"Star and I were getting tired of you getting shot, so I worked with her to get the parts to make this\"\n\n\\\u003eHe thrusts the rifle into your hands\n\n\\\u003eYou turn it over in your hands and look down the sights as he explains\n\n\\\u003e\"Alright so it has 3 modes of fire, first is a duel round burst that's silenced since I know your so fucking hung up on being sneaky, second mode fires a plasma bolt\"\n\n\\\u003eAs he talks you alight the sights getting the red dot perfect\n\n\\\u003e\"Third will fire a temporary force field that the plasma bolts can go through because they are tuned to its frequency\"\n\n\\\u003eYou look up at him\n\n\\\u003e\"How did you get a force field Manipulator? those things are crazy expensive\"\n\n\\\u003eHe points behind you\n\n\\\u003eYou turn to see Star at the ground while twiddling her footpaws in small circles\n\n\\\u003e\"I didn't like seeing you get hurt so much Anon! So I asked Gabe if there was anything I could do\"\n\n\\\u003eShe looks up at you\n\n\\\u003e\"Do you like it?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou set the rifle down and pull of your helmet before pulling her into a hug\n\n\\\u003e\"I love it, thank you Star\"\n\n\\\u003eHer eyes become little hearts and you pick her up and give her a quick kiss\n\n\\\u003e\"You're welcome Anon!\" She says as you break the kiss and set her down\n\n\\\u003e\"And thank you Gabe, I'll put it to good use\"\n\n\\\u003eHe nods\n\n\\\u003e\"I know you will\"\n\n\\\u003eHe reaches into the Speeder once more and pulls out a bandolier and tosses it to you\n\n\\\u003e\"A few extra charges for your rifle and tear gas Grenades\"\n\n\\\u003eYou catch it and peel off your jacket then throw it on\n\n\\\u003e\"I'll get a head Start there, Star when Null leaves connect our comms please\"\n\n\\\u003eShe does a mock salute \"You got it!\"\n\n\\\u003eHe gets into his Speeder and it starts up\n\n\\\u003eWithin seconds he's gone up the ramp and out of the bunker\n\n\\\u003eYou turn to Star and kneel down so you're about eye level with her\n\n\\\u003e\"Please come back ok Anon, I Love you\" She says as she wraps her arms around you and nuzzles into your neck\n\n\\\u003e\"I will Star, I'll be Ok, I Love you too\" you reassure her was your arms wrap around her\n\n\\\u003eShe looks at you with little tears forming in her eyes, both in pupils and from the corners of her eyes\n\n\\\u003e\"Please, PLEASE help Fox, She's so Nice and I want Her and the cub to be ok!\n\n\\\u003eYou wipe away the tears gracefully with a thumb\n\n\\\u003e\"I will Star, I'll get the money needed AND end it for those who want to hurt them\"\n\n\\\u003eYou stand up with her still in your arms and pull her into another deeper hug\n\n\\\u003e\"I love you Star\"\n\n\\\u003e\"I Love you too Anon\"\n\n\\\u003eHolding her this close; you didn't want it to end\n\n\\\u003eBut it had to, you had things to do\n\n\\\u003eAfter a few minutes of hugging in silence, you set her down, grab your helmet and rifle then get into your bike\n\n\\\u003eShe stands by the door into her bunker as you start it up and put the helmet back on\n\n\\\u003eYou give her a thumbs up and she waves\n\n\\\u003eThe bike roars and you punch it up the ramp after Gabriel\n\n\\\u003eAfter a few moments Star's voice filled the Comms\n\n\\\u003e\"Patching you and Gabriel in!\"\n\n\\\u003eA small click is heard\n\n\\\u003e\"Gabriel I'm on my way there, how do you wanna do this?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"I'll do a frontal assault or diversion or whatever you wanna call it, I got extra body armor on, you go in and do your sneaky shit\"\n\n\\\u003eyou swerve through traffic calmly but quickly\n\n\\\u003e\"How far are you from there Gabe?\"\n\n\\\u003eHe left a maybe 10 minutes before you\n\n\\\u003eYou were sure your bike was faster than his speeder but you hadn't caught up with him\n\n\\\u003ehe's silent for a few minutes\n\n\\\u003e\"Gabe?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm Starting this\" is all he says\n\n\\\u003eYou dodge a Hauler that's going far too slow\n\n\\\u003e\"Don't die\" is your response\n\n\\\u003eYou ride in silence and see the skyscraper\n\n\\\u003eThe front door and glass of the ground floor shattered, smoke poured from the openings\n\n\\\u003eGunshots and explosions are heard from within\n\n\\\u003eYou pull around the corner and get out of your bike\n\n\\\u003eDo you chance a peek at him?\n\n\\\u003eFuck yes you do\n\n\\\u003eYou round the corner and peek into the building and see him with guns hanging from him in a steep of rage and hate.\n\n\\\u003eyou're almost convinced of the rumors; watching Gabe operate solo\n\n\\\u003eSome kind of Angered spirit come back for revenge\n\n\\\u003eYour helmet locks onto his location as he rounds a corner showing a glowing outline of him, so you rush in behind him, rifle slung across your back\n\n\\\u003e\"I've got their comms! putting into your feed anon!\"\n\n\\\u003eyou listen for a moment to the disarray\n\n\\\u003eThey don't know what to do to stop him as he marches forward through the halls, unleashing a hail of bullets and destruction\n\n\\\u003ePropulsion wrath flies from his body, shells ripping through his coat and tearing it to shreds as he fights on like the shadow of death itself\n\n\\\u003eBullets that seem dead set on him miss every time they get to close, or only graze him\n\n\\\u003eFrom hellstorm he's unleashing with a heavy load on his mind, and missing his stronger arm... you aren't entirely sure If it's him or the reaper himself\n\n\\\u003eMaybe he really was some kind of war machine, and they finally snipped that last cord of humanity that was holding him back\n\n\\\u003eOr maybe he was just a broken man fighting onward with one thing in mind that made him unstoppable, which so many other men fought and died for\n\n\\\u003eHope\n\n\\\u003eYou had heard before that to truly defeat a man you have to take everything he cares about and destroy it\n\n\\\u003eBut that leaves behind a monster that is worse than any demon, he will be come horror itself\n\n\\\u003eIt all rang true as you watched him\n\n\\\u003eThis wasn't a diversion, it was a slaughter\n\n\\\u003eLike that time he was supposed to start shit in a bar by arm wrestling everyone inside\n\n\\\u003eHe just started collecting bounties on everyone who's shoulder he cracked open\n\n\\\u003eYou want to watch but you had a job to do yourself\n\n\\\u003eFind the elevator and find Andrew Balacov\n\n\\\u003eWalking back to the main lobby you find the elevators easily\n\n\\\u003eGabriel was nice enough to kill one in the elevators, just so you could use his implant\n\n\\\u003eYou push the up button to the top floor only to have it not respond\n\n\\\u003e\"Higher clearance needed, building is in Lockdown\" a robotic feminine voice says\n\n\\\u003eFuck\n\n\\\u003eYou click a lower floor and the doors close leaving behind the rampage of Gabriel\n\n\\\u003eTime to do this\n\n\\\u003e\"Star can I speak over their comms?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou hear Star scramble around\n\n\\\u003e\"S-sorry...What Anon, I was busy watching Gabe\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Can I talk through their comms\"\n\n\\\u003eYou hear clicking of a keyboard\n\n\\\u003e\"Erm yes! Just push the button on your scanner to jump into their channels\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Ok Star after I want you to kill their comms completely\"\n\n\\\u003eYou hear more clicks\n\n\\\u003e\"OK go ahead Anon I'm ready\"\n\n\\\u003eYou push the button on your scanner\n\n\\\u003e\"This is the ghost with a message for Belacov\"\n\n\\\u003eAll Voices on their comms stop, your calm voice cutting through the hysteria\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm coming for you\"\n\n\\\u003eyou click back and hear their entire comm system shut down\n\n\\\u003eTime to end this\n\nChapter 17: Humans Are Such Easy Prey\n\n\\\u003eThe elevator plays shitty music on repeat as it rises slowly\n\n\\\u003eGabriel was dealing with the small fry, everyone that was expendable\n\n\\\u003eYou got to deal with the higher ranks of this organization\n\n\\\u003eOf course you didn't mind, he got to rampage through and let his fury and rage unleash\n\n\\\u003eyou got to be cold and collected\n\n\\\u003eRemember what you have to do\n\n\\\u003eIt was their fault for undervaluing you, thinking your unaugmented body was a weakness\n\n\\\u003eThey thought it was their advantage, and you had thought so too for a while\n\n\\\u003eYou were nothing more than a basic human\n\n\\\u003eIt was time to show them and the world what Hell looked like when it wore the skin of a basic human\n\n\\\u003eNothing would stop you now\n\n\\\u003eYou had every disadvantage, every odd was against you\n\n\\\u003eIt always was and always had been and it didn't matter\n\n\\\u003eBut if they were waiting for you than this elevator could be your coffin\n\n\\\u003eYou unsling your rifle and double check it on the silent fire mode\n\n\\\u003eQuickly and quietly you shoot out the lights and then press your back to the button panel\n\n\\\u003eIf they were waiting they would fire wildly into the elevator\n\n\\\u003eThe wait kills you, not literally of course but it drives up your anxiety\n\n\\\u003ezeaiting for SOMETHING even if its the worst\n\n\\\u003eIt just needs to happen!\n\n\\\u003eA ding and the doors open\n\n\\\u003eNothing so far.... which is good\n\n\\\u003eYou peek around the door only to have it riddled with gunfire as soon as you pull your head inside\n\n\\\u003eFuck they have a full firing squad\n\n\\\u003eYou're pinned\n\n\\\u003eBut wait, you have tear gas grenades and a functioning gas mask\n\n\\\u003eYou smile under your helmet\n\n\\\u003eYear gas is a bitch to deal with if you don't have the right protection\n\n\\\u003eGrabbing a grenade you pull the pin and hold it, waiting for the gunfire to stop\n\n\\\u003eyou cant actually pill a grenade pin with your teeth like they always do in movies because they require over 10 lbs of pull force\n\n\\\u003eenough to pull out a tooth if you're stupid enough to try\n\n\\\u003eAs soon as the gunfire stops you toss the grenade and get back behind cover\n\n\\\u003eMore gunfire then coughing\n\n\\\u003eShowtime\n\n\\\u003eYou push out from behind cover and fire up a force field\n\n\\\u003eBetween coughs gunfire erupts from those who had lung and eye augments\n\n\\\u003eYou hear the bullets ricocheting against your shield\n\n\\\u003eYour helmet highlights them through the smoke and you begin firing Plasma bolts\n\n\\\u003eJust as Gabriel promised they phase though and hit their targets\n\n\\\u003eScreams, smoke and loose gunfire fill the air\n\n\\\u003eyou reload your rifle calmly as you stroll casually out of the elevator\n\n\\\u003eBodies, some torn apart by the plasma, some trying to crawl away\n\n\\\u003eYour helmet locks on to each one, 10k bounty here, 5k bounty there\n\n\\\u003eEvery bit counts\n\n\\\u003eHit men, Low ranking Lieutenants, all of them\n\n\\\u003eA meat shield to stop you from advancing\n\n\\\u003eTo you nothing more than bullet fodder\n\n\\\u003eBullet fodder with a dollar sign attached but bullet fodder none the less\n\n\\\u003eA sound behind you causes you to turn around only to feel a bullet rip through your thigh\n\n\\\u003eInstinctively you raise your rifle and fire\n\n\\\u003eThe offender, an Anthro wolf, has his chest vaporized\n\n\\\u003e\"ANON! Are you OK?!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou barely hear Star trough the comms\n\n\\\u003eAdrenaline and anger overpower everything else\n\n\\\u003eYou wince as you push the little bits of flesh back into the bullet wound and hobble to a corner\n\n\\\u003e\"I'll be fine, missed my major artery\" you say through gritted teeth\n\n\\\u003eThe small heal pad you carried with you wasn't just for show\n\n\\\u003eWrapping it around your thigh over the entry and exit wound, you brace yourself\n\n\\\u003eA thought from one of Star's shows that she made you watch\n\n\\\u003eOne about a certain Space bounty hunter she said you reminded her of\n\n\\\u003e\"I think it's time to blow this scene\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Get everybody and their stuff together\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Okay, three, two, one let's jam\"\n\n\\\u003eRight as the Sax hits in your mind you press the button activating the heal pad\n\n\\\u003eYour muscles tense and you clench your teeth resisting the need to scream\n\n\\\u003eGOD DAMMIT\n\n\\\u003eYou never would get used to that\n\n\\\u003eBut after it all fades you're ready to go again, anger filling you\n\n\\\u003eRifle drawn and moving room to room\n\n\\\u003eMost are empty\n\n\\\u003eSome aren't, you shoot them down and claim the bounties as you go\n\n\\\u003e5k, 1k , 3k, 400 credits\n\n\\\u003eThey had a tie to the Sailors, so they were nothing but dollar bills\n\n\\\u003eA few you met with resistance, shaky shots fired, small pings as bullets ricocheted or plasma burnt doorframes\n\n\\\u003eBut you are calm and collected as you clear each room with a silent burst\n\n\\\u003eYou needed to go higher though\n\n\\\u003eSomeone here had to have access to the high floors right?\n\n\\\u003e\"Star, whats my total so far for bounties?\"\n\n\\\u003eA few tapping sounds and clicking noises\n\n\\\u003e\"Uh 65K Anon! Is your leg ok?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou look down at it, your pants have a new bullet hole that shows a new scar on your thigh\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm fine, just a new scar\"\n\n\\\u003eStar is silent for a moment\n\n\\\u003e\"I don't like seeing you hurt Anon\" She whispers through the comms\n\n\\\u003eYou grimace\n\n\\\u003e\"I don't really like being hurt Star, but it's part of the job\"\n\n\\\u003eYour helmet dings and highlights a person of interest for you\n\n\\\u003eApparently it had been scanning for people with clearance to the higher floors\n\n\\\u003eGod dam this thing is awesome\n\n\\\u003eHe/she/it is on this floor , down a hallway and to the left\n\n\\\u003eYou smile as you walk slowly though\n\n\\\u003eNo need to rush\n\n\\\u003eBetween you and Gabriel downstairs this place was yours to control\n\n\\\u003eAll the usual defensive measures couldn't find you\n\n\\\u003eAnd you heard them all trying to scan implants for people with no clearance\n\n\\\u003eOn doors, on walls, in the elevator, a gentle whirring sound as the scanners tried to find your implant\n\n\\\u003eAll set to unleash a torrent of security robots and drones\n\n\\\u003eBut instead finding nothing to send them at\n\n\\\u003e404 does not exist\n\n\\\u003eYou walk slowly down the hallway checking each door\n\n\\\u003eNo need to get sloppy, its just as easy for someone to kill you if they got the drop on you\n\n\\\u003eWalking up to the door where your next target is, you gently grip the door handle but stop to think\n\n\\\u003eThis could be an ambush and you didn't feel like getting caught up in one\n\n\\\u003eThat thought alone makes you take a small step back\n\n\\\u003eDo you risk it?\n\n\\\u003eThats a dumb question of course not\n\n\\\u003eYou fire a temporary force field and reach over to the handle and push the door open\n\n\\\u003ewhat greets you is a man behind a desk, using it to steady a laser turret\n\n\\\u003e\"So this is the ghost? You aren't all that impressive, I heard you were supposed to be some monster\" he says as he unloads shot after shot into your shield\n\n\\\u003e\\\u003eyou fire a plasma shot through the shield into his turret causing it to backfire and explode, throwing the man into the back wall\n\n\\\u003eyou were glad to be wearing a helmet because the smell of flesh burning usually makes you sick\n\n\\\u003eIt has ever since Cydonia, that's why you usually used Kinetic rounds\n\n\\\u003eThe desk is splintered, the man hurt but alive\n\n\\\u003eFor now\n\n\\\u003eYou walk to him slowly rifle raised\n\n\\\u003eHis right arm is cybernetic, various blades and sharp tools sticking out of the sparking, broken limb\n\n\\\u003e\"W-wait! Don't kill me! I'm not Andrew, I'm just a-\"\n\n\\\u003e\"SHUT IT\"\n\n\\\u003eYou don't care enough to listen to his drivel, you just needed to know how much he was worth\n\n\\\u003e\"The bounty network has him listed for 70k Anon!, He's Andrew Belacov's half brother, Peter \"Butcher Pete\" Belacov\" Star hissed through the comms\n\n\\\u003eYou had heard of him before\n\n\\\u003eButcher Pete, the Sailors torturer, the man they called when they wanted information\n\n\\\u003eor to send a message, usually the message was body parts mailed bit by bit\n\n\\\u003e\"Wait i can pa-\" you fire two bursts into his chest cutting of his words\n\n\\\u003eYou don't care what he had to say, even if he wasn't your main target he would still die\n\n\\\u003eRidding the world of another monster just makes this all the better\n\n\\\u003eBut his implant would be useful to you to get to the higher floors\n\n\\\u003eWere you going to drag his body all that way though?\n\n\\\u003eNah\n\n\\\u003eYou sling your rifle across your back and draw your fusion sword\n\n\\\u003eGrabbing his left arm you cut it off at the elbow\n\n\\\u003eGross but a key is a key, even if it is an arm\n\n\\\u003eYou draw Rose, can't carry a rifle one handed and since you had to carry your new key\n\n\\\u003eWalking through the carnage you caused doesn't bother you, but since you were here might as well check the bathrooms too\n\n\\\u003eThat's where Fox had hid and you were sure not all of the sailors were brave enough to die\n\n\\\u003e\"Where are you going Anon? You should go the other way to the elevators\"\n\n\\\u003eYou continue through the hallways\n\n\\\u003e\"Checking every room and the bathrooms Star, How's Gabriel doing?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"He's uh, already cleared the bottom two floors and is still working his way up, they aren't even trying to stop him anymore they are just running\"\n\n\\\u003eRats abandoning ship huh? Let them live another day, you'll get them later\n\n\\\u003eYou find a bathroom and enter slowly\n\n\\\u003eListen, and stay quiet\n\n\\\u003eYou walk slowly from Stall to stall pushing the doors\n\n\\\u003eAs you reach the last one it bursts open and out jumps an Anthro monkey who starts swinging a knife at you wildly\n\n\\\u003e\"I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!\" He screeches as he flails at you\n\n\\\u003eYou jump back and dodge his stabs and slashes\n\n\\\u003eThere's no time to aim Rose! He's not giving you an opening\n\n\\\u003eFUCK IT\n\n\\\u003eYou swing Butcher Pete's Arm and belt the monkey across the face with it\n\n\\\u003eHe drops like a bag of potatos and lands face down on the tile\n\n\\\u003eKicking him over shows his face for your helmet to see and Star to pull up on the bounty network\n\n\\\u003e\"He's their hacker Anon! Eddie Pearsons! 20 k bounty!\" Star Informs you\n\n\\\u003e\"Dead or alive Star?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Uh either but I don't think you sh-\"\n\n\\\u003eYou shoot him in the chest twice\n\n\\\u003e\"Awww anon I was gonna say leave him alive\" Star said with a bit of remorse in her voice\n\n\\\u003e\"He was probably the one who found Fox, probably the one that they use to try and find me, and possibly you. I'm not willing to let him find us and I'm not here to capture anyone\"\n\n\\\u003eStar is silent for a moment as you walk to the elevators\n\n\\\u003e\"You really hate these guys don't you Anon\"\n\n\\\u003eyou press the arm to the implant scanner and push the button to the top floor\n\n\\\u003e\"I didn't before this, before they were just marks, paychecks, sure if i killed a bad person it was a perk but I didn't hunt them down out of hate\"\n\n\\\u003eThe elevator slowly rises\n\n\\\u003e\"They are the ones who made it personal, they hurt Fox\"\n\n\\\u003eThe elevator dings again and the doors open\n\n\\\u003eYou hear a gun cocking and dive to the side just as the bullets begin ripping through the back of the elevator\n\n\\\u003eFuck you got distracted!\n\n\\\u003eBut you were still prepared\n\n\\\u003eThis song and dance again? you holster Rose quickly and drop the arm\n\n\\\u003eYou pull out another tear gas grenade, pull the pin and toss it out\n\n\\\u003eAfter a moment the gunfire stops and loud coughing takes its place\n\n\\\u003eYou draw rose and pick the arm back up then peek around the door\n\n\\\u003eA large anthro is highlighted by your helmet, but the tear gas is so thick you cant see what type it is\n\n\\\u003eAnd he's too busy coughing to notice you\n\n\\\u003eYou reholster rose and draw your Fusion sword\n\n\\\u003eIf this guy is anything like that Bear from the Lucky Cat then Rose would just piss him off\n\n\\\u003eSlowly, you leave the elevator and creep through the thick gas\n\n\\\u003eAs he coughs you ignite your fusion sword\n\n\\\u003eAim for places that would drop him immediately\n\n\\\u003eHeart? He would die but too slowly\n\n\\\u003eSpine? Could paralyze him but still no\n\n\\\u003eFuck it Head it is\n\n\\\u003eAbandoning the silent approach you sprint and take a running leap onto the anthro's back\n\n\\\u003eYou then stab your Fusion sword straight into the back of his Head\n\n\\\u003eHe falls to his knees then face down sending you tumbling off him\n\n\\\u003eOuch\n\n\\\u003e\"You Ok Anon? That looked painful but youre SO COOL!\" Star Squees at you\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm fine\" you say as you stand up and dust yourself off\n\n\\\u003e\"Gabe, you done rampaging yet?\"\n\n\\\u003eyou hear panting and heavy footfalls through your speakers\n\n\\\u003e\"Yea...yea I'm good I'll wait for you down here, I gotta use a few heal pads\"\n\n\\\u003eAs the smoke and tear gas clears you get a glimpse of your would be killer\n\n\\\u003eA Rhino with a machine gun replacing his left hand\n\n\\\u003eNo bounty on him either\n\n\\\u003eAnnoying but unavoidable\n\n\\\u003eA long hallway is before you leading straight to a large set of double doors\n\n\\\u003eIt reminds you of Dismond's set up as you walk through the hall, scanners whirring trying to find you\n\n\\\u003eWhen you reach the doors you pull one open\n\n\\\u003eThere he is, Andrew Belacov sitting in his office behind a desk with a smirk\n\n\\\u003eA force field blocks the doorway,\n\n\\\u003eYou pull open the other door and look at the emitters\n\n\\\u003eHis voice snaps you out of your thoughts\n\n\\\u003e\"So the ghost came for me, I must say I'm surprised\"\n\n\\\u003ehe Stands and walks around the desk as he speaks\n\n\\\u003e\"You killed my cousins, you killed my brother! Di-\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Both of them\" you interrupt\n\n\\\u003e\"huh?\" he's now directly on the other side of the force field\n\n\\\u003eYou toss the arm casually into the force field where it sizzles to nothing\n\n\\\u003e\"I killed both your brothers\"\n\n\\\u003eYou can see him getting angry\n\n\\\u003e\"IS THIS A JOKE? DID YOU HONESTLY THINK YOU COULD KILL MY FAMILY AND GET AWAY WITH IT?\" he shouts\n\n\\\u003e\"Yea actually, now lets do this the easy way, lower the force field and die like a man\"\n\n\\\u003eHe frowns at you\n\n\\\u003e\"No I dont think I will, my bodyguard will be here soon and he'll take care of you once and for all\"\n\n\\\u003e\"You mean the rhino? He's dead\"\n\n\\\u003eHe looks like he's about to say something but you've had enough of this\n\n\\\u003eYou draw your fusion sword and stab the wall next to the force field emitter and drag it downwards\n\n\\\u003eHonestly you don't know why people don't just go for the power supply or the emitters of these things\n\n\\\u003eBelacov's eyes go wide as the force field flickers and fades leaving nothing between you and him\n\n\\\u003eHe turns to run but you draw Rose quickly, rotate the chamber to Stun and shoot him in the back\n\n\\\u003eThey always try to run and they always fail\n\n\\\u003e\"Anon I thought you weren't going to capture anyone?\" Star asks confusedly\n\n\\\u003eyou walk over and kick him once to make sure hes stunned before placing electromag cuffs onto him\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm not capturing him, this ones not mine to kill\"\n\n\\\u003eYou grab his leg and drag him across the floor to the elevator\n\n\\\u003e\"Gabriel I got him\" you call out into the comms\n\n\\\u003eYou hear his gruff laugh, \"Good going Null, I'm ready\"\n\n\\\u003eThe elevator dings and you're back in the Lobby, Gabriel sitting in a chair behind the greeting desk, the carnage from before still laying around\n\n\\\u003e\"Present for ya\" you say as you pass the leg to Gabreil\n\n\\\u003e\"Aw how thoughtful, you got any smelling salts?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou shake your head, \"Naw man\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Oh well guess I'll do this the old fashioned way\"\n\n\\\u003eAs Gabriel begins slapping the man to wake him up your phone buzzes\n\n\\\u003eYou pull it out of your pocket and see a bounty sent specifically to you\n\n\\\u003e\"Make it hurt\"\n\n\\\u003eSent from J.D\n\n\\\u003e\"Yo Gabe, I need you to fill this bounty out\" you say as you show him the screen\n\n\\\u003e\"I can do that\" He says with a wicked grin\n\n\\\u003eBelacov begins to regain his consciousness\n\n\\\u003eGabriel pulls off his helmet and sets it down before grabbing Belacov by the collar\n\n\\\u003e\"Star you don't need to see this\"\n\n\\\u003eHe drags a weakly struggling Belacov into a side room and shuts the door behind him\n\n\\\u003eYou know you didn't need to see it either as soon as the screams became Audible\n\n\\\u003eMultiple pings from your phone cause you to look down and see the Credits rolling in\n\n\\\u003eMore than 400k total between the actual bounties and Lysander\n\n\\\u003eAs you sat down and sighed you knew it would be alright\n\nChapter 18: Rhinestone Eyes\n\n\\\u003eWhen all was said and done you and Gabriel amassed over 700k Credits\n\n\\\u003eLysander paid you and Him handsomely, calling you her favorite soldiers\n\n\\\u003eYou didn't care what she called you as long as you got paid\n\n\\\u003eWhen finished up with checking over the bounties for your kills and Gabriel's the Cities authorities came\n\n\\\u003eThey were both amazed and astounded that two men could do so much damage\n\n\\\u003eOne of the police sergeants, an Anthro German Shepherd, who you had run into before simply sighed when he saw it was you and Gabriel\n\n\\\u003e\"You two again? How is it you're always in the middle of it when anything goes bad?\"\n\n\\\u003eTo that you simply shrugged\n\n\\\u003eGabriel left the scene to you after that taking 500k Credits to the hospital for Fox\n\n\\\u003eYou knew that would be more than enough, that even the most expensive treatments would be covered by that\n\n\\\u003ePlus with the extra credits you could probably stash a lot away for a rainy day\n\n\\\u003eBut all that was in the past now\n\n\\\u003eYour bike roared through traffic, a bright red blur cutting through the sea of speeders and haulers\n\n\\\u003eAs tired as you were, pure adrenaline kept you wired at this point\n\n\\\u003ePlus the nap you had prior kept you awake\n\n\\\u003eThe rain and neon lights blur by and lightning flashes in the distance\n\n\\\u003eYou almost can't believe what you had just down its still like your in a delirium\n\n\\\u003eTaking on a crime boss, killing him, and cutting the head off the Snake that was the sailors?\n\n\\\u003eNo that wasn't you, how could it have been you? it all seems like a dream\n\n\\\u003eStar snaps you out of your thoughts\n\n\\\u003e\"ANONNNNN I MISS YOU! COME HUG ME!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou smile under your helmet and pull off the megaway towards her bunker\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm almost there Star, But I have to grab something first ok babe?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou hear Star squee with excitement\n\n\\\u003e\"Awwww! You called me babe! You're so sweet Anon!\"\n\n\\\u003eIt's almost as if she hadn't just watched you working\n\n\\\u003eBut then again she was somewhat detached from the real world\n\n\\\u003eYou pulled into parking area of a store near the Megaway exit to grab a bottle of rum\n\n\\\u003eNothing like a drink after a job well done\n\n\\\u003eYou park your bike and get out of it before heading into the store\n\n\\\u003eInside is a robot designed to look like a lioness standing behind the counter waiting to ring you up\n\n\\\u003eLooking through the innovatory of alcohols you decide on an old brand, Kraken rum and get Star a small bottle of sake\n\n\\\u003eYou carry your drinks of choice to the robot, which rings you up quickly and give you a bag to hold the bottle\n\n\\\u003e\"Have a nice day\"\n\n\\\u003eAs you turn to leave you see a TV \u0026nbsp;hanging on a wall behind the counter showing the skyscraper you were just in on the news\n\n\\\u003eAn Anthro Rabbit is reporting the event\n\n\\\u003e\"Early this Morning 2 bounty hunters entered this building, Known as \"Thinktank\", which is now known to have been a front for The Sailors, dozens of the sailors higher ups are confirmed dead including the Head of them, Andrew Belacov and his half Brother Peter\"\n\n\\\u003eYou smile as you tear yourself away from the spectacle on the TV\n\n\\\u003eThe world and the city would never know you had done it, well a few people would\n\n\\\u003eLysander, Star, and few trusted comrades, they were the only ones who needed to know anyway\n\n\\\u003eBut none of that mattered\n\n\\\u003eWhat mattered was you got to help Fox\n\n\\\u003eYou get back into your bike and punch it back towards Stars bunker\n\n\\\u003eThe ride is quick as you zip through the back alleys\n\n\\\u003eBefore you even know it the door to Star's Bunker is opening in front of you\n\n\\\u003eAs usual Star is waiting for you at the bottom as you drive down and park, bouncing in excitement\n\n\\\u003e\"HII ANNONNN!\"\n\n\\\u003eShe's latched onto you as soon as you get out of your bike\n\n\\\u003e\"Hi Star, Let me get this off\"\n\n\\\u003eYou pull off your helmet and grab the bag of drinks\n\n\\\u003e\"Ooo what's that Anon?\"\n\n\\\u003eYou smile as you take her paw in your free hand and walk with her into the bunker\n\n\\\u003eShe's wearing an apron? when did she get an apron? WHY is she wearing an apron?!\n\n\\\u003e\"I got us a celebratory Drink, why do you have on an apron?\" You say as you shake the bag gently causing the bottles to clink together\n\n\\\u003eShe smiles and bounces happily\n\n\\\u003e\"Uhm! I wanted to cook like Fox does\"\n\n\\\u003eYou raise your eyebrows at her\n\n\\\u003e\"And?\"\n\n\\\u003eShe stops and twiddles her footpaws a little\n\n\\\u003e\"Uhhh I ordered Pizza!\"\n\n\\\u003eShe lets go of your hand and zips off to her kitchen, leaving you to take the bottles out of the bag\n\n\\\u003eWithin seconds she's back with 2 glasses and a bottle of Dr.Pepper™\n\n\\\u003eA Large pizza is on the table where she sets the glasses\n\n\\\u003e\"How do you order pizza and get it delivered\"\n\n\\\u003eShe bounces happily as she grabs a slice of the pepperoni pizza\n\n\\\u003e\"I pay online and have them leave it in the building upstairs! then I use the bookcase to grab it when they leave!\"\n\n\\\u003eSimple enough you guess\n\n\\\u003eYou smile as you pour the soda into a glass and take a quick sip\n\n\\\u003eMmmmm refreshing\n\n\\\u003eFilling the glasses about 3/5ths of the way with the delicious soda and the rest with Rum is the perfect mix\n\n\\\u003eYou grab your glass as Star grabs hers\n\n\\\u003e\"To Fox getting better\"\n\n\\\u003e\"To Fox getting better!\" Star Parrots back to you happily\n\n\\\u003eYou clink your glasses together and drink deep\n\n\\\u003eThat really takes the edge off\n\n\\\u003e\"While we're thinking about it let's Call Gabe\"\n\n\\\u003eStars nods vigorously as you pull out your phone and dial him in\n\n\\\u003eWithin seconds his hologram appears\n\n\\\u003e\"Whats up Null?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"We were just checking in on Fox, what's going on?\"\n\n\\\u003eA smile crosses his face for the first time in a while, a happy smile anyway\n\n\\\u003e\"They have her in a Regen chamber, they say She'll be fine within a day or so\"\n\n\\\u003eYou sigh in relief\n\n\\\u003e\"That's great! Now we just have to figure out where you and Fox can stay for a while\"\n\n\\\u003eStar tugs your jacket\n\n\\\u003e\"They can stay here! At least until they can get a new place or whatever! I got that spare bedroom!\"\n\n\\\u003eyou blink at Star a little at a loss for words\n\n\\\u003e\"You sure Star? I mean I'm not against it but what about your Dad?\"\n\n\\\u003eShe bounces happily\n\n\\\u003e\"Yea yea yea I'm Sure! I can handle dad! Besides you already told him we were in a relationship!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou run your fingers through your hair and look back to the hologram of Gabriel\n\n\\\u003e\"Sound good to you Gabe?\"\n\n\\\u003eHe nods, \"yea, I'll rent a hauler and shit to move our bed, can I store my gear at your apartment Null?\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Yea man, you're still keyed into the door, drop it off whenever\"\n\n\\\u003eHe smiles again\n\n\\\u003e\"Cool, I'll keep you in the know regarding Fox\"\n\n\\\u003eHis hologram winks out\n\n\\\u003eYou put an arm around Stars waist and pull her close\n\n\\\u003e\"I'm so happy Fox is gonna be Ok!\" Star says as she wraps her arms around you\n\n\\\u003e\"Me too Star, her and the cub\"\n\n\\\u003eYou set down your drink and pick her up in a hug\n\n\\\u003eShe smiles and you feel her long tail wrap around your leg\n\n\\\u003eAs you hold her close the stress of the day melts away\n\n\\\u003eEverything, from the bullet sized scar in your thigh, to the echoing screams of Belacov, melt away to the tiny Opossum in your arms\n\n\\\u003eYou smile you you hold her close, her starry eyes spinning softly flickering to hearts occasionally\n\n\\\u003eSnuggling her close, the lines of a song escape from your lips as you sing softly to her\n\n\\\u003e\"Wasn't shopping for a doll, least to say I thought Id'e, seen them all\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Then you took me by surprise\"\n\n\\\u003e\"Dreaming about those dreamy eyes\"\n\n\\\u003eYou pull her into a kiss then set her down\n\n\\\u003eshe buries her face in her paws and stamps her footpaws\n\n\\\u003e\"Awww Anon quit being to cute and cool! If I could blush I would be bright red!\"\n\n\\\u003eyou smile as she looks at you with little hearts in her eyes\n\n\\\u003e\"Hey you're the one who says I'm cool, gotta live up to it right?\"\n\n\\\u003eThe little hearts beat faster\n\n\\\u003e\"Mhmm! Anon you were so cool today! Look!\"\n\n\\\u003eShe points to her monitors all of which show different parts of your day\n\n\\\u003eThe Rhino getting sliced up, Butcher Pete getting thrown against a wall, Belacov being dragged off by Gabriel\n\n\\\u003eYou smile as you grab your drink and go slump into the chair\n\n\\\u003eStar immediately scrambles over in hops into your lap causing you to let out a short \"oof\"\n\n\\\u003eYou're used to it by now and scolding her about it would yield zero results\n\n\\\u003eLazily, you sip your drink and rub Star's ears as she types away searching for a new show to watch with you\n\n\\\u003e\"HHmmmm wanna watch this show?\" She says pointing to a man with another purple man behind him\n\n\\\u003eShe clicks a trailer for it and you watch a lot of punching and yelling\n\n\\\u003eWho names their son Jojo? and why is a man yelling Za warudo? What does that even mean?\n\n\\\u003eYou sigh and gulp down the rest of your drink\n\n\\\u003e\"Sure Star, whatever you want\"\n\n\\\u003eShe Squees happily and bounces in your lap as she clicks the first episode\n\n\\\u003eIt starts quickly and you continue rubbing Star's ears, while her tail wraps around your leg\n\n\\\u003eA few ear twitches cause you to look down at her\n\n\\\u003eYou're met by large blue eyes staring up at you along with a big toothy grin\n\n\\\u003e\"I love you Anon, you're the best!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou kiss her\n\n\\\u003e\"I love you too Star\"\n\n\\\u003eShe settles back into your chest with a content sigh\n\n\\\u003eThe show drones on as you slowly get more and more tired\n\n\\\u003eIt was a long day after all\n\n\\\u003e\"Lets go to bed Star, hopefully we can get some decent sleep\"\n\n\\\u003eYour words go unanswered\n\n\\\u003eLooking down you see that Star is already asleep and snoring gently\n\n\\\u003eGod damn she's cute\n\n\\\u003eYou gently scoop her into your arms and carry the sleeping opossum to the bedroom\n\n\\\u003eSilently, you set her in the bed, then strip and climb in next to her\n\n\\\u003eAlmost as if it's instinct, she sleepily nuzzles against you when you pull the covers up\n\n\\\u003eyou kiss her forehead and close your eyes\n\n\\\u003eAs you drift off to sleep you you know one thing\n\n\\\u003eEverything will be alright\n\nChapter 19 Exitlude\n\n\\\u003eMonths have flown by again\n\n\\\u003eFox and Gabriel lived in the bunker with Star for a few months, waiting for the ruckus you and Gabriel caused to die down\n\n\\\u003eFox had made a full recovery, the half a million credits accrued were enough to get her into a top of the line regen chamber\n\n\\\u003eThe cub was healthy and so was she\n\n\\\u003eLysander was extremely supportive to everything oddly enough\n\n\\\u003eShe said she viewed you and Gabriel as extremely good investments and that even the best items in an inventory needed to be shelved for a bit\n\n\\\u003eYou did bounties for Lysander as well as the network while Gabriel only took them on occasionally\n\n\\\u003eNothing too serious, not on par of what she was sending you into before\n\n\\\u003eQuick and easy kill a guy and be done with it\n\n\\\u003eGabriel only tagged along occasionally because Fox still needed frequent hospital visits\n\n\\\u003eHybrid Pregnancies are full of complications, Human and Hybrid pregnancies even more so\n\n\\\u003eSo he went with her to every doctor visit\n\n\\\u003eHe had gotten a bit more paranoid and protective of her\n\n\\\u003eYou can't blame him at all, how could you\n\n\\\u003eHe had almost lost the love of his life, and you nearly lost part of your family\n\n\\\u003eStill with Star's Support and hiding them in her bunker everything come out on top\n\n\\\u003eRight now you and Star Sat in their new Apartment, one under your non existent name\n\n\\\u003eNever can be too careful\n\n\\\u003eOddly enough Star was the one in the kitchen cooking\n\n\\\u003eDuring the downtime when you and Gabriel were out working for Lysander, Fox was teaching Star how to cook\n\n\\\u003eAs such she became a decent chef, not on Fox's level, but close enough\n\n\\\u003eYou stood in the kitchen helping Star as she cooked up some steaks and asparagus covered in garlic butter\n\n\\\u003eFox sat on a couch next to Gabriel with a very swollen tummy\n\n\\\u003eShe darted around you muttering to herself about this and that\n\n\\\u003eHow was something so small so fast\n\n\\\u003e\"Star\" you call to her as she rushes past you\n\n\\\u003eNo answer, more rushing from stove to climbing up a counter to grab spices\n\n\\\u003e\"STAR\" you catch the tiny blur in your arms before she can zip away\n\n\\\u003e\"Slow down babe! you're cooking fine, calm down it's ok\"\n\n\\\u003eShe struggles in vain to escape your arms\n\n\\\u003e\"It has to be perfect though! Fox wanted Steaks!\"\n\n\\\u003eYou let her go and watch her poke the steaks for the 5th time in 60 seconds\n\n\\\u003eMaybe it's better to let her cook\n\n\\\u003eYou leave the kitchen and plop down next to Fox on the couch\n\n\\\u003eOn the TV there is a different part of the city on the news\n\n\\\u003e\"The \"Holy Emperors\" are attempting to seize control of the ports after the fall of Andrew Belacov and the sailors at the hands of an unknown pair of bounty hunters\"\n\n\\\u003eThe TV shows a group of men clad in deep purple patrolling one of the Mini cities on an old cargo tanker\n\n\\\u003eWhatever, not your problem anymore\n\n\\\u003eYou look over and see Fox Nuzzled into Gabriel's chest and can't help but smile\n\n\\\u003eGod they were the perfect couple\n\n\\\u003eHe was willing to lay down his life for her and the cub\n\n\\\u003eBut then again so were you\n\n\\\u003eThe saying is \"Blood is thicker than water\" is actually incorrect and misquoted\n\n\\\u003eThe full saying is \"Blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb\"\n\n\\\u003eThe people you chose to be close to you are more important than family and this was a prime example of that\n\n\\\u003eyou had Star, your tiny hyperactive shut in Opossum\n\n\\\u003eFox, the closest thing you had to a sister\n\n\\\u003eAnd Gabriel, your brother, the one Human who treated you like you were actually something\n\n\\\u003eYou sat next to them, Gabriel with his real human hand resting on Fox's tummy\n\n\\\u003e\"Oh I felt a kick babe! Did you?\" Fox swooned\n\n\\\u003eYou could see him trying to hide a smile from you as he answered\n\n\\\u003e\"Yea I felt it Love, I'm glad she's growing up strong\"\n\n\\\u003eGod your heart couldn't take much more of this stuff\n\n\\\u003e\"Have you guys decided on a name for her yet?\" you ask\n\n\\\u003eThey had been very hush hush about it prior due to the uneasiness of Fox's pregnancy\n\n\\\u003eHopefully they were a little more willing to share\n\n\\\u003e\"We have Null\" Fox says with a coy smile\n\n\\\u003e\"AAANNNDDD?!\"\n\n\\\u003eStar is peeking out from the kitchen, her ears perked up to hear\n\n\\\u003e\"We decided on \"Hope\" for the Hope her uncle never gave up when I was injured\" says Fox beaming at you\n\n\\\u003eYou're at a loss for words\n\n\\\u003eHope?\n\n\\\u003eOne of the few things you had ever had when you were alive\n\n\\\u003eYet when it mattered most, when yours and their backs were against the walls\n\n\\\u003eYou shone through without fancy augments and implants\n\n\\\u003eJust a basic human showed the way\n\n\\\u003eMaybe Fox and Gabriel had a solid idea not letting their cub get augmented\n\n\\\u003eYou run your hand through your hair slowly, looking at them\n\n\\\u003e\"You're going to be a great uncle Anon, and Star will be a great Aunt\"\n\n\\\u003eYou look over to star who has her paws to her cheeks and is bouncing happily while looking at Fox\n\n\\\u003e\"OOOOOO! I'll try to be Fox! I Love you guys!\"\n\n\\\u003eHer eyes show wildly pulsing hearts before she darts back into the kitchen\n\n\\\u003e\"Food's almost ready! Anon Help me set the table!\"\n\n\\\u003eGoddammit you just sat down too\n\n\\\u003eBegrudgingly you pull yourself off the couch and head back into the kitchen to a very bouncy Star\n\n\\\u003eShe pounces onto you as soon as you enter the kitchen\n\n\\\u003e\"This is so nice Anon! I Love being able to cook for you and Gabe and Fox!\n\n\\\u003eYou hug her close and pick her up in a gentle twirl\n\n\\\u003eThe hearts in her eyes pulse quickly\n\n\\\u003e\"Your cooking has improved a lot Star, I'm happy you found another thing you like doing\"\n\n\\\u003eIt saved you from having to always get more Gunpla for her thats for sure\n\n\\\u003eA quick kiss and you set her down and start getting plates\n\n\\\u003eWhatever was coming, good or bad, you know that you could all handle it together\n\n~End Volume 1~","series":{"name":"Acid Rain","next":"https://sofurry.com/s/ve3RZqd1"}}