Grey Heroism- Chapter 1: Flight
I based these stories off of the City of Heroes universe in terms of settings and the like- all CoH-related terms, heroes/villains/characters, locations, events and the like are theirs. Except for the two protagonists. I decided to use CoH as the setting for a few reasons- 1. There's a severe lack of superhero-themed furry media in the fandom. 2. Unlike Marvel and DC, very little, if anything, needs to be retconned, and the world itself is open enough that this doesn't become an issue. 3. I like grey morality in stories, and I wanted to see how well I could write an adult fiction with two characters that are lost trying to find the right thing to do- CoX's Going Rogue expansion provides the perfect setting for this. More of the setting will be explained in the 2nd chapter- for now, let me know what you think of this submission.
Flight
Kings Row hadn't had a reputation for being safe since the Great Depression, but for all the seediness and violence in the streets and alleys, it was something one could be accustomed to- as long as people could stay indoors. Every few minutes, the crack of a firearm would sound, followed by a series of gunfire following it, before dying down. Occasionally, a scream would ring out, before being abruptly ended. All of this would come from the alleys and the streets. On the rooftops, all this could be heard, sometimes seen, even in the broad daylight. The sun didn't stop crime from happening. The only comfort for today was that it was quiet- as quiet as Kings Row could be, at least. Other than that, the cruel chill of late autumn moving into winter reminded the sector's inhabitants that even with the sun out, there were entities and elements intent on making them uncomfortable- particularly the civilians. That's why Saffron Rush was here, really. To provide a little warmth, for a change. He stood on the corner of a rooftop, clearly visible to all those who happened to look up. He was rather hard to miss, dressed in a white outfit with gold wing trims running down the side of his legs and arms, with a finely crafted piece of armor covering his upper torso, a gold emblem of a fierce wildcat set in the middle of the chest. His fur was a moderate saffron color, unusual for a cougar, and he sported medium-length hair, a deep dark brown that almost seemed black, nearly matching his eyes, which were focused on the holographic projection emitting from his left gauntlet. "PPD has recieved word Doc Quantum has developed--" "--ostfire is leading another group of vigilante trolls against Crey, we need a meta to handl--" "--have confirmed the Tsoo have a collection of pages from the Malleus M--" "--ogue known as Crossclaw has lead a group of Clockwork in a heist at Talos Island, meta needed to respond to situation immediately." "... Crossclaw..." At that name, Saffron Rush's ears perked up, stood a little straighter as his fur reacted, fluffing ever so slightly. The surrounding climate was markedly more bitter, if only because he was at a point higher than street-level, and his exposed position made it no less comfortable as mild winds swept across Kings Row, spreading a deep cold air into every alley and unopened window, seeking out all manner of bodies still caught on the streets, be they civilians or criminals. Yet it wasn't this bitter chill that caused the cougar to react as he had- Saffron had come into this world meeting it head on, adjusting to the climate quickly with a slightly thicker pelt. The bitter cold did nothing to slow the voices on the police radio, which continued squawking, still giving coordination and situational reports on the goings on of Paragon City- the glowing holograph provided no warmth, instead listing key areas on the display in a cold, logical fashion, in the same way Saffron had known it since he arrived in the city little more than 6 months prior. Today would be different. "... Why are you here, Eli?" For a few moments, the cougar did nothing, staring into space as images, sounds and feelings rushed through his head- memories that felt as if they came from long ago. Not all of them were happy, and what made them worse was that some were. As the last image left his mind, he blinked, coming back into reality the way a waking man would shake himself awake in the morning. His face impassive, he pressed a switch on his gauntlet, the holographic display flickering for a moment before fizzing out, the voices in his earpiece cut off by a burst of loud static before the PPD broadband finally went dead. A few moments passed, and the earpiece beeped softly as the channel changed, the cougar taking a deep breath to calm himself before speaking. "This is Saffron Rush, reporting in. I'm en route to Talos Island to counter Crossclaw and the Clockwork. I should be there in 5 minutes. Keep sending me situational reports until I get there. Tell any other metas to back off." He narrowed his eyes as he strode forward a few steps, crouched low, his muscles tightening as he felt energy build in his calves- he pushed his feet against the ground, a sense of weightlessness filling him as that energy released, propelling the young hero through the air with a massive bound, causing him to easily clear over several buildings. Civilians on the ground caught his shadow, looking up in time to see a gold-furred figure soaring through the air in a graceful arc, as Saffron headed towards the city's transportation system. "This one is mine."--Meanwhile, at Talos Island Bank-- If the Clockwork had any souls or sense of fear, they might have felt intimidated by Crossclaw's stare, his cold blue eyes watching them closely as they worked and rattled, sounding like they were moments away from falling apart, although Eli knew better than that. He'd once seen these things on display at an auction house in Praetoria, described as primitive and childish, fit only to be a toy. He smirked, remembering the day he'd proven the Cole Administration both wrong and right- they were hardly dangerous to one such as him, but they would likely stand up to any Clockwork from his own dimension quite solidly. And in any case, they were perfectly suitable for the task at hand- nevertheless, Eli did not trust the Clockwork in Primal Earth anymore than he did the ones in Praetoria, and thus kept his eyes open as they worked. He would not be caught off guard, as he had in the past. He ran a paw through his raven-colored hair, not overly nervous, but cautious. It bugged him that he would have to be working with these things all the same, knowing they'd likely have some surveillance system in place that could likely be used against him. He'd have rather done this alone, but knew that it would likely have been tougher and slower, and he was only comfortable with the former- not to mention he was not the one who planned this in the first place. But as the seconds ticked by he began to wonder if it was even a sound plan to begin with. His eyes darted towards the exit for a moment, keeping it in in should he require a quick escape. Paragon City was filled with heroes looking to make a name for themselves, and as much as Eli was interested in testing their strength, it was not a part of his current duties. He had already easily subdued the security, which had taken little more than a pair of fast paws and heels to the head. He'd been very careful to make sure they would not be permanently injured, however- he was not interested in being charged with murder. Still, knowing the Clockwork, he wasn't all too sure they wouldn't finish the job cleanly and thus made it very clear when they had followed a few minutes later to not fire on anybody. He only wished the civilians weren't so stupid as to stay were they were. He had ordered them out of the bank nearly 10 minutes ago, and very few of them had left, most of them too scared to do anything but cower in fear. He glanced up at a clock mounted on an archway- he wasn't sure what the response time would be for any hero, but he wasn't comfortable being here this long. He shifted his gaze back to the clockwork, which had been working on removing the vault door by focusing a stream of lasers at one point. "C'mon, you fucking windups, we gotta move. What's your estimate before we can get in, grab everything and beat it the hell out of here?" One of the clockwork responded in a laughably tinny, electronic voice. "2 minutes until breach, 3 minutes to collect the required funds. Patience, Crossclaw." Eli scoffed. "'Patience' my ass. We've been here long enough. Do what you can to speed it up, somebody should have turned up by now, if they aren't already." He glanced back at the exit- it was one of only two alternate exits, the other one being closest to the bathrooms in the building. The disadvantage was clear- it was at the opposite end of a long hallway, one that Eli was not comfortable standing in. Many things could happen in the time it took to cross it, and there was no way he could see the entrance to the building from where he was standing. He hoped he wasn't imagining the sound of the double doors opening- even his heightened senses couldn't provide assurance that this was what he heard- but he knew the Clockwork weren't going too go into overdrive and split the damn thing open before they'd estimated it. He growled softly, snarling at the Clockwork workers. "Keep at it, I'm going to run up to the entrance and make sure nobody shows up. Let me know when you've got the shit ready to move." Not bothering to hear a response, he started running for the entrance. Any other person would have been hit by it, he realized later- it would only take a person with extremely fast reflexes to avoid the shock of golden energy that he had seen out of the corner of his eye, followed by the open palm that directed the attack. The snow leopard's stance changed from that of the forward-leaning position he'd been using to jog forward- he swung his right foot up and out, bending his left leg and leaning back, seeing all this action in slow-motion. The burst of energy missed his nose by an inch or so as he started to fall backwards, his paws reaching back and setting onto the floor- he kicked his left foot up and out, scoring a hit on the wrist of the attacker as he flipped back, landing firmly on his feet in a combat ready position, paws raised and prepared to defend himself. He snarled at his attacker, stopping short when he saw who it was. Saffron stood relaxed, rubbing his wrist, his soft gaze looking over the snow leopard critically. "Months ago, you could have been caught easily by my attacks. You've gotten quicker- but not smarter, it seems." He paused for a moment, watching Eli carefully as he stepped back, clearly startled by this meeting. "What are you doing here, Eli? You're not supposed to be in Primal Earth. You would have been registered by the PPD if you came here, and I check every day to make sure you didn't follow me." Eli paused, looking over the cougar- he didn't remember Saffron looking the way he did. "Kajex... I didn't think I'd see you." "Bullshit. You knew I had orders from Provost Marchand to attempt negotiations here. You knew because I told the Resistance I was going to." He paused. "Besides, I doubt Emperor Cole would have allowed my status as a 'traitor' go without informing the TPN to report on its Most Wanted segment. So I don't want to hear excuses about how you never expected me to be here." Eli growled. "So what if I knew? Doesn't mean I came here for you." He straightened up. "You gave up on me, Kaj, remember?" Kaj sighed. "No. I didn't. But you think I did because that's what you wanted to hear." He glared at Eli. "We're not arguing this here. I'm not going to do the cliché 'you stand no chance, evildoer' crap that some heroes think is standard. You know I have to bring you in for this- we can make this easy. I can help you." At that, Eli dropped back into his combat ready stance, glaring back at Kaj with his fists at the ready. "Fuck you, buddy. You had 6 months to do it, you missed your window of opportunity. You want to help me now, you can stay the fuck out of my way. Or do I need to thrash you first before you get it into you that I don't want nor need your assistance?" Before Kaj could answer, Eli had already reacted, hopping forward and bringing his foot up towards Kaj's temple with blinding speed, the cougar blocking the blow and dropping into a defensive stance immediately after, his paws glowing with an arcane energy as they began to charge up. He lunged forward, swinging at the Eli's midsection, failing to connect when Eli blocked the blow, countering with a backhand. Eli winced slightly as each shockwave of energy still managed to rattle him, starting to use his kicks to keep his distance away. Kaj managed to catch one kick, holding onto the leopard's leg and bringing his right paw down on his knee, striking the joint with extra force from his energy burst, sending Eli's senses reeling as the pain jolted up his spine, snarling in pain as he jumped with his other leg, kicking hard into Kaj's chest armor with enough force to get him to let go, as Eli stumbled to the floor and staggered away from the winded cougar, who had slammed into the opposite wall and was now struggling to get back up. Eli let out a shrill whistle, motioning to the Clockwork. "Give me a hand with this asshole, we gotta make it out of here!" Several Sprocket designs responded, moving away from the yet-unopened vault hatch and clanking up to Kaj, firing all manner of electrical equipment at him. Kaj covered his face as jolts of electricity slammed into him, giving Eli enough cover to make it to the vault door, which had just opened. He looked back to Kajex as the cougar fended off the attack, rolling behind archways to avoid the Clockwork electric assault, jumping out from cover when they stopped, recharging their energy. Before they could fire again, Kajex was already on top of one of them, spearing his energy-coated fist through the nearest Clockwork's torso, tearing it apart with a single blow as he moved to the next one, swinging both his fists around knock it into a wall, severely damaging the device long enough for him to finish it off by slamming an open palm against its head and crushing it against the steel wall. Another Clockwork managed to open fire, firing a bolt at Kaj that deflected from his shoulder guard and causing the cougar to growl irritably as he moved to the next. Eli didn't stay to watch, though he did hear the sound of crunching metal seconds later, as he started filling an empty briefcase with the vault's legal documents, keeping an eye on the door. He glanced briefly at one of the larger Clockwork designs, an Assembler Prince. "You- go keep him busy. We just need a few minutes to get this sorted out." The Assembler Prince design bowed slightly in acknowledgment, abandoning his prior duties and lumbering towards Saffron, firing a single bolt of electricity. Kajex noticed this attack too late, having been busy tearing apart another Sprocket, but now paid close attention to the fact that he was rooted to the spot, secured in place and unable to move in the electric cage that held him in position. He struggled against the bonds of energy futilely, unable to do anything as the Assembler strode several paces towards him, standing high enough to nearly scrape the ceiling above, bringing his metal fist back a ways before swinging the massive arm around. It slammed into Kajex with enough force to simulate a hit-and-run from a compact vehicle, shattering the electric cage in a shower of sparks as the kinetic force of the blow sent him flying down the hall and into the opposite wall, leaving an imprint of his back and sending a huge spike of pain into the cougar's body, making him cry out as he slammed into the stone surface behind him, falling to the floor. Kaj struggled to his knees, looking up to see the Assembler approaching. "No way in hell... these things couldn't kill me in Praetoria, they're not going to do it here..." He shuddered, still suffering from shocks of pain, but determined to keep going. He shook himself, clearing his head and getting to his feet just in time to jump away from the Clockwork's next blow, which deepened the dent Kaj's body had left in the wall. It stalled for a moment as it struggled to pull itself away, not quick enough to avoid the cougar's counterattack, as he fired a wide bolt of kinetic energy from his paws which caught the Assembler in the chest, sending the monstrous golem flying and crashing into a desk in a connecting room. The cougar turned back to the hallway, noticing that the Clockwork and Eli had not left yet, but returned his attention to the Assembler as it fired a bolt of electricity from its prone position, missing by a wide margin. As Kaj focused his attention on the Assembler, Eli continued working, looking around for account numbers and passwords, pocketing rare documents that would surely fetch an incredible price on the black market, and other things he could identify as valuable. His eyes fell upon a cool blue gem in the back of one of the safe deposit boxes that had been left on the floor. He blinked, not noticing its presence before this point, scooping up the gem in his paw. It had been a cold day outside, and it was still a bit cool in the vault, but Eli thought he might as well have been holding an ice cube, as cold as this jewel seemed- it was cut in the shape of a teardrop. It didn't affect him much- he had spent a portion of his life training in extremely cold environments- but it still intrigued him enough that he pocketed the gem before returning to his mission, realizing he didn't have much time before Kajex finished the Assembler off. Strong though they may be, Eli was not one to underestimate his enemies. Particularly ones he knew on an intimate level. He hefted the sack of loot over his shoulder, sighing as he shook his head- far apart from just remembering an experience from long ago, he felt very much like he was fulfilling the cliché of the bank robber- he was very glad he was wearing his combat suit as opposed to a black mask with a striped black-and-white shirt. He motioned to the two remaining Assembler's, who had finished loading their own goods. "Alright, we're done here. I want all the remaining sprockets to keep Saffron Rush busy while the three of us break for the exit. You know where to go from there, don't wait up for me. Move!" He waited for the Sprockets to hobble out into the hallway, converging on Kajex, while Eli staggered towards the exit, favoring his injured leg. Kajex was standing over the massive Assembler's chassis, looking back in time to see the Sprockets approach him, with Eli trying to shuffle behind them. He growled, turning his attention back to the fallen Clockwork, crushing the Assembler's head with a single blow, turning in place just in time to see one of the Sprockets lunge at him, catching the cougar in the midsection and sending them flailing off the deactivated Assembler's frame. Kaj kicked the device off of him, striking it in the leg, but yelped as two more slammed their electrically-charged fists into his back, causing him to stagger for a moment, long enough for another to make the fatal mistake of shocking Kaj's tail. There was no pain. Just fury, as the cougar glared at the foolish device, bringing his fist around, not even bothering to charge it with energy as he punched through it's head. The other Sprockets stepped back, noticing a difference in the cougar's stance, but before they could modify their strategy, he formed a ball of golden light between his paws, rolling the sphere around as it grew in size for a few moments before forcing the ball into the floor. A blind man might have mistaken the resulting sound for an approaching thunderstorm followed by rain, if the rain itself hadn't sounded like thousands of shards of glass raining onto the ground outside. The force of the explosion shattered the non-bulletproof glass of the bank's windows, picture frames and bathroom mirrors, causing an explosion of noise that could be heard clearly outside of the bank itself. The blast sent the surrounding Sprockets flailing through the air, bashing them against the ceiling before crashing to the ground, rendering most of them severely damaged, while others remained motionless. Huffing with barely contained anger, he glanced back at the exit, noticing Eli was not there. Cursing himself for the distraction, Kajex bolted to the exit, throwing himself into the chilly air outside.
Eli looked back briefly from his perch on the hill behind the bank, just in time to see Kaj burst from the exit door. He was no more that 200 paces away, and Eli had no time to duck out of sight before Kajex spotted him, immediately giving chase. The only piece of comfort Eli was able to conjure was that at the very least, Kaj was no faster than Eli was on foot, and that comfort was dulled when Eli considered he was still encumbered with loot and injured from the cougar's blow to the leg. He counted his blessings, though, knowing Kaj as probably too proud to ask for PPD backup, and this hope spurred him to move faster, ducking into an alley with the cougar in hot pursuit. The lunch rush had begun, meaning Eli's avenue of escape would be limited to being out of public sight as he was chased down a long stretch of back-alleys. He glanced behind him in time to see a dart of golden energy slash through the air, impacting against a wall next to him, prompting him to keep his head down, the shock of seeing the bolt nearly making him stumble and allowing a few precious seconds for Kajex to catch up. He looked around anxiously, trying to figure out where the Assembler's had gotten to, cursing himself for not having studied the city more in-depth, still moving swiftly through the alleys. He glanced up, spotting a fire-escape, and with a strong heave tossed the bag of loot up onto the first landing, freeing up both his paws and allowing him to grab ahold of the side railing, swinging himself up with the skill of an acrobat and landing firmly next to the sack, which he picked back up. He glanced up just in time to see Kajex hurtle towards the fire escape, landing on the siderail in front of him. With no hesitation, Eli took advantage of Kaj's inability to defend himself, kicking the cougar once in the side as he tried to move onto the landing, then another in the chest to throw him off balance, nearly causing him to fall- at the last moment, he managed to catch the edge of the landing, pulling himself up- but by this point, Eli was already on the 3rd landing, trying to reach the 5th. He stopped abruptly as he noticed the the 5th ended 2 floors shy of the roof, looking around for a moment before kicking in the window next to him and leaping into the apartment, just as the cougar reached the 4th one. A scream rang out as Eli burst into the well-heated room, a nude human woman covering herself up as Eli sped past her, hardly caring enough at the moment to pay attention to her. He ran from the room down a hallway leading to the apartment's door, just as he heard the scream again, indicating Kajex had just entered the building as well. Things seemed to move in a blur as Eli swung open the door and slammed it behind him, hissing in pain as the injury in his leg started to slow him down, causing him to hobble hurriedly down the hallway, breaking past a door that led to the roof access. If he could reach the top, find out where he was, he thought he could jump across the roofs till he was low enough to land on the streets. He groaned as the pain in his knee shot up his leg, making him pause for a moment- he suppressed the pain when he heard Kajex enter the stairway below him, huffing as he climbed up the last flight of stairs, bursting through the door and entering the chilly open air once more, frantically looking around to see where he was, spotting the docks to the west and making a break for the roof edge. He didn't get far. A heavy weight slammed into his back and pulled him down into the roof's coarse surface, making Eli cry out as the jolt caused him to trip and land on his leg in an awkward position, an agonizingly searing pain now stuck in his thigh like a red-hot dart. He whimpered slightly, writhing in place a little as Kajex rolled him onto his back, pinning him down to the roof. "Dammit Eli, why the fuck didn't you stop?!" Kajex roared, the fur on the back of his neck raising in clear agitation. "Do you realize how much longer you'll be put away here for resisting arrest?! This wasn't worth it!" He grit his teeth, clearly troubled. "God dammit, Eli... what the hell are you even doing here?" Eli opened his eyes, having shut them to try to block out the pain in his leg, feeling weak. It had to be broken. "Cole... I need to help the Resistance, Kaj..."
Kajex stared at him for a moment, shaking his head. "Which part? The Crusaders? Did they put you up to this? I told you not to fuck around with them, they're working against everything the Resistance is fighting for. What the fuck is a bank heist in Primal going to accomplish, Eli? This is half the reason the people here don't trust us- we can't convince them when Praetorians pull this shit off." He paused, wanting to say more and pushing his paws harder against the smaller feline's shoulder, but relented as he saw Eli grimace in pain. "Dammit... I wanted to make this easy on you..." Eli's breathing started to stabilize as he focused, glaring at Kajex. "Fuck that. I'm doing what I think is right. That I had to join up with the Clockwork is... a miscalculation. What do you care, anyway? I'm not going to live up to your ideals, I might as well follow mine." He hissed slightly, partly in defiance, but mostly in response to his leg starting to throb with pain. Kajex noticed this, but refused to let the snow leopard up, staring down at him. "6 months and you haven't changed your goddamned tune. You're hopeless. I had hoped maybe leaving you behind would have provoked you to take responsibility for your actions, maybe make a positive change in your life. Not everybody gets the opportunity to become such skilled martial artists like you, not in Praetoria. I thought taking martial arts as a kid was supposed to teach you respect, honor and the value of hard work. Are they wrong?" Eli laughed, in spite of the situation, groaning slightly as his leg cramped up. "No... it teaches you how to kill a man with your bare hands, under the false notion that you should be polite to him before you do it. It's not like I had a fucking choice in the matter, Kajex- you don't get to become inheritor of all martial arts texts in existence just by asking the right people to be your parent. Are you trying to insult my folks now, Kaj?" "You know I wasn't--" "I know you weren't, no," he said, cutting off the cougar. "No, they taught me integrity, doing what makes the most sense to us based on our experiences, no matter how hard it seems. Not that useless bullshit that those charlatans teach 9 year olds, with their colored belts and their board-and-brick-breaking bullshit. I got taught the real deal." "And now you're using it to fuck up other people, robbing banks and blowing up buildings." "Fuck you! I already told you I didn't plan that!" Kaj glared at him. "Yeah? That's not what I'd heard. I heard that you were trying to get back at Cole and organized the entire scheme yourself." "Yeah? Well fuck whoever told you that, and then fuck you for believing them. You used to be my best friend, Kaj, what the hell got into you being so high-and-mighty that you think what I'm doing is wrong?!" Kajex bursted at that comment. "I'M NOT THE ONE KILLING KIDS WITH MY ACTIONS, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"Eli glared back at Kajex. "Fine. Call me a child-killer if it makes you feel better, justifies your hatred towards me." Kajex took a deep breath to steady himself- this feline could be remarkably stubborn. "You just... don't fucking get it. You're not absorbing a thing I'm saying to you, you just hear what you want to hear." Eli snorted. "Whatever you say, but don't think for a moment you haven't been doing the same thing. You go on about how we Praetorians need to search for the truth, and you already go off the handle with your assumptions. I'm immediately at fault for children getting killed because I was part of a plot consisting of many people, is that it?" "If you have a better way to explain it..." "I do. In case you've forgotten, Cole's close to invading Primal Earth. You don't want it anymore than I do. But you've taken to crossing over into Primal Earth just to dick around and get your smug ass into pictures with civilians and politicians, hoping that it's going to invoke some bullshit alliance between two adjacent universes that hate each other enough to want to destroy each other. Then you fly off the fucking handle when people like me start taking steps against Cole in the only way that'll matter." Kajex narrowed his eyes. "By what? Becoming a terrorist?" Eli stared back at him. " No. By being the hero you claimed I couldn't be." The cougar grit his teeth irritably, unable to believe what he was hearing. "What the hell about this is heroic in the slightest? This isn't a fucking game, Eli! Right now, there are 2 Clockwork Assemblers out there that have the ability to do harm to a lot of people and property, and they're out there because you used them to help knock off a bank! Even if the ends were positive in the way you're claiming it would be, this doesn't justify it! You're not making things easier for Praetoria or Primal Earth by stirring up this kind of commotion, you're just raising the animosity higher and justifying people's irrational fears, justifying their desire to blow the other dimension to kingdom come." "What do you want me to do, Kajex? I can't go back to Praetoria after what happened in Imperial City. Not anymore- you made sure that I can't go back home by pointing me out as the prime suspect, without even hearing me out!" "You admitted--" "To helping the Crusaders with their plot. This is what I mean when I say that I'm not the only one who doesn't want to hear everything I'm being told- and you being such a huge advocate of searching for the truth..." There was a silence between them for a few minutes during which Kajex realized the snow leopard was right about not being able to return home. The fact was that even Kaj was stuck in Primal Earth. But as to why Eli was there.... "Then tell me the truth. Why are you here in Paragon City, doing this? Tell me what you think justifies this." He stared up at Kajex with his blue eyes, which Kajex noticed were beginning to water. "I didn't want to see you again, if that's what you're asking. Sure... I wanted to see you again... but not like this and certainly not right now. It's only chance that brought us here. I didn't forget what you told me back there." Kajex sighed. "I told you what you did was wrong, that expecting me to be impressed was foolish. I told you--" "That I couldn't be the person you wanted me to be." "That's not what I said, and certainly not true." "Then why am I here? I obviously fucked up again. What am I doing wrong in your eyes, Kajex? How can I fight Cole the right way?! How can I make sure he doesn't take away the people I love again, like he did with everyone else?!" Eli's tears were fully formed now, and rolling down the sides of his face as he lay on his back, unable to lift himself up, Kajex's paws still pinning him to the rooftop. "I don't want to lose you to him. I already lost you because of me, but I can't let him take you away from me..." Kajex's expression softened as Eli relaxed under the cougar's paws. "You haven't lost me, Eli. Cole can't do anything to me, or to you, while I'm here in Primal Earth. I've gotten stronger, as I'm sure you've noticed." He paused. "But doing this? I'm afraid I'm going to lose you. If not to Cole, then to Arachnos, or anybody willing to take advantage of you. I'm scared that even this world's legal system will sweep you away..." He pulled away slightly, his visage pleading to the snow leopard. "That's why I need you to stop fighting for now. I need you to come with me, try to explain what's happened here. I need you to trust me." Eli stared at him briefly before looking away. "When you can't even trust me? Maybe I can fix that by being honest. I'm not coming with you." "... You're probably going to run off, yeah. Wouldn't be the first time you've evaded capture." Eli nodded, then looked into Kajex's eyes. And fired three rounds into the cougar's stomach. Kajex toppled off to the side, groaning in pain as Eli got up shakily, grabbing onto Kajex and pulling him into him, the barrel of his revolver pressed against the cougar's chest. Kaj coughed, groaning as Eli forced him onto his feet, looking up to see Eli's tears still flowing, even in the bitter cold. "I meant what I said, Kajex, back then. I've always meant it. But Cole's taken everything short of my life, and I'm not going to let him take anything more. He's coming, whether I want him to or not, and I need to do what I can to stop him from coming. I can't come with you. I have to do this, I need to make sure nothing happens to you... I'm sorry..." With that, Eli pulled him in closer and kissed him deeply, purring sadly as he did so, his face angled upward as his lips locked with the slightly taller feline. He reached up to stroke the cougar's face gently... and was surprised to find him doing the same to him, actively kissing Eli back. Eli's insides churned as he looked into Kaj's eyes. He shivered, realizing they were no longer filled with anger, but sadness and concern. He couldn't stand the look in those eyes, and broke off the kiss, pressing the barrel against Kaj's chest, tears still flowing as he kept staring into Kaj's eyes. "... Still...?" The cougar did not move away. Instead, he nodded. "... Always." And Eli emptied the last three shots, the force of the bullets sending Kaj over the edge of the roof. Eli did not stay to see the cougar fall into the alley below, landing in a pile of refuse. As he scooped up the bag of loot, discarded the gun and limped away, the tears continued to streak down his face.
Just 6 more gunshots in Paragon City.
An hour passed, and Kajex still laid motionless. It had been a while since a misadventure such as this had ended with him on a bed, but the circumstances were less than ideal, and unlike back then, he was outside of an apartment and alone. The only fortunate detail that he could compare was that he was very much as alive as he had been back then- albeit in moderate pain. At least it was a comfy mattress. Even if it did smell like pot. But the damage to his pride at this point suggested he let it be and not report it for once. He groaned loudly, raising himself up from his prone position, the sum of all his bruises and wounds not nearly severe enough to bother him greatly as the damage to his reputation would be for this- and far less than how he was feeling emotionally. He rubbed at his armor, digging into one of the holes and pulling out a .357 slug, regarding it with some interest- Eli knew better than to use such a caliber on him. He knew full well that it would not have pierced the body armor. Why a skilled martial artist like Eli would even bother using such a weapon was beyond him, but he decided against questioning the logic- there had to be a reason. None of this bothered Kajex more than Eli's final words- a confirmation that Eli was adamant on his course of action. "Eli... what the hell have you gotten your ass into this time?" A dog barked in response. Kajex shook his head, climbing to his feet with a pained groan, steadying himself with a paw to the brick wall beside him. A wave of nausea passed, while the stars in his eyes faded away slowly, as he began limping out of the alley. It would be a long trip back to his apartment in Kings Row.