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I'm Only Human Pt.6

John opened his eyes and saw nothing but fire. He panicked as he jumped to his feet and saw the fire all around him. 'Wait a second.' He thought. "Oh not this shit again." He groaned aloud as he remembered the last time he encountered a situation like this, but unlike last time, where he had to walk a path, the fire lifted and he saw he was already the dojo that he meet Bure-do and Shashu in.

"I honestly didn't believe Shashu or Bure-do when they told us that you had visited." A strangely familiar voice said.

John whipped around to see two robed figures again, but both of these figures were not the same that had been here last time. They were new to him.

"We are not as new to you as you think John. You just don't remember us yet." The second figures raspy voice said to John.

John's eyes grew wide when the figure spoke. "Wait! How the hel--"

"Yes I can read your mind John. And to try to refresh your memory my name is Mahou." The figure said and then motined to the other next to him. "And he is Kobushi. We both helped train you just like Bure-Do and Shashu." Mahou explained.

John shook himself out of the stupor. He honestly not sure why anything surprised him anymore given everything he had seen recently. "Right so then I guess your names also mean something as well. If Bure-Do was blade and Shashu was shooter, then what do your names mean?" John asked.

"It looks like you are still perceptive as always John." Kobushi said. "My name means fist. I am master of hand to hand combat."

"And mine means magic." The second figure said.

"Wait magic? I know how to use magic?" John asked. A look of childish excitement spread on his face.

Mahou grunted. "Unfortunately no, while I did teach you what you needed to know in order to control magic, you were never able to use magic. We never understood why but we believe that with time you would finally be able to use it, though it seems time was not on our side for once as you disappeared before you could use it."

"Well that sucks. I sure could use that now." John said. He was visibly deflated from that statement. "So what know? Are you guys going to unlock my 'hidden potential' or are we just here to chit-chat?"

Both of the figures chuckled. "Even if we could do such things there would be no point." Kobushi said. They both saw the confused look on John's face. "All of us trained you to the best of our abilities. When you went through the portal it seems that you cannot remember your training here, but that doesn't mean the knowledge isn't still there. My guess is that when you need it your training in any area will eventually return." Kobushi explained

"From what I've seen you have already gained back your proficiency with firearms, though that is to be expected as you mastered that faster than any else. I assume that when you need to pick up a sword or fight hand to hand those abilities will come back as well. But for now there is nothing we can do about it." Mahou finished.

"What do you mean as you've seen? I thought you guys couldn't control portals so how could have you seen anything?" John asked

"Just because we do not control the portals doesn't mean that you are lost to us. You're physical body still exist somewhere. Usually we would be able to locate you with ease, but this time we were not able to until after you had already visited us."

John held up his hand stopping Mahou before he could start a new sentence. "Wait physical body? Are you saying that I'm dreaming right now?" John asked. If this was a dream that would certainly clear up a few things.

"No John, as much as you may wish it to be this is not a dream." Kobushi started.

"You are here not in physical but in spirit which is just as real as your body. That also happens to be the reason why we do not know when you arrive here because it is not your physical body that appears but rather you're spiritual which we cannot keep track of once it leaves your body. You just happen to appear near us." Mahou explained.

"So right now I'm still on my way to Therum?" John asked rubbing his temples. Over the past few days he has had a lot to process and it seems that even his spirit was getting a headache.

"Indeed. I believe those who visit other dimensions do not perceive that world beyond a few features. In this case I believe all you can see is the dojo with the rest of our world consumed by fire correct?" Mahou asked.

John slowly nodded his head. "I can assure you John that our dimension is not a fire ridden space. It is like any other world." Mahou said with a chuckle.

"You know you guys keep answering my questions but the answers give way to more questions." John said.

"Yes well anything that is worth pursuing is not easy to obtain. If we could we would answer all of your questions, but our time together grows short." Kobushi said, the last words were in a serious tone.

"Wait before I go can you answer one more question." John asked desperately.

Both figures looked at each other before nodding heads "We believe so but be fast." Kobushi warned.

"You have called this place your dimension. Does that mean I have been thrown into another dimension filled with anthros?"

John heard Mahou grunt again. "That answer is beyond our knowledge. The portals are not just gateways to other dimensions but they travel across space and time as well. So the world you are in now could be in another dimension or maybe in your dimension but on the other side of the universe. You could even be on your planet in a different dimension. There are many possibilities but we can only guess as to where you are, and it is impossible to be certian. I'm sorry I cannot give you more than that"

However rather than being disappointed a small smile crept across Johns face. "Don't be sorry. That's actually what I was hoping to hear. Now I'm sure that the planet I'm on isn't my home, and that gives me hope that I will see them again someday." As soon as John said that his vision started to black out and he felt like he was starting to fall, and very soon after that darkness consumed him.

**************************************************************

John's eyes slowly opened. 'Just like last time. Like a dream.' He thought. He was propped up against the back of a wagon. It wasn't exactly the most comfortable thing in the world but it's not like he had much of an option.

He slowly got onto his knees and took a look around. The scenery was much like that around Saraph. Rainforest like growth with a path carved out of the jungle. Looking up to the front he saw the two anthro's driving this wagon. One was the fox Keith out of his armor, dressed in casual clothes. The other was an anthro raccoon, who owned the wagon and was providing the transportation. "It's about time you woke up." Keith said annoyed turning around to look at John. "We will be at Therum very soon. In just a few minutes we will be getting the food so get comfortable."

John nodded his head in acknowledgement. Obviously John couldn't waltz past the front gates of Therum. If the whole incident at Saraph was any indication then he had no doubt that if he was found then the guards would be all over him. If this assassination was gonna be a success it he would have to remain out of sight. As far as infiltrating the city the plan was simple. Every day wagons of food were shipped in to local vendors to sell. The raccoon lived in Therum but was born and raised in Saraph so he was more than happy to volunteer to sneak John in when he heard what was at stake. Once John was buried in the food they would enter the city and leave him and Keith at a house where they would meet up with some insiders to go over the plan for the assassination. After that John would lay low and move around only at night when he could sneak around easier, besides the darkness would make it easier to take care of anyone who saw him.

John looked past the driver and fox and noticed that they were about to go up hill looked fairly steep, but judging by the calm look on both anthro's faces John figured this wasn't steep enough to cause concern. Still, he gripped the sides of the wagon as they started to ascend. He heard the oxen as their breathing became heavier, and he heard the sound of their hooves hitting the ground slow due to the added strain. John couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the beasts. They were work animals here just like they were on Earth long ago, though here because of the absence of feral horses they seemed to pick up that extra burden as well. Though oxen werent the only species that did not have the good fortune to evolve like into anthro's, as John had come to find out. Pigs and cows were among the unfortunate species that did not make the evolutionary cut as well as a few other animals. Furthermore just like on Earth, they were used as a food source for the predatory anthros. 'They just can't catch a break.' John thought amused.

John felt the wagon start to level out as they crested the hill. John peaked over the side of the side of the cart to see if he could see the city. John almost sat back down from the shock of what he saw. "Holy shit." He barely squeaked out as he looked over the city. It was massive.

The fox looked back at John and grinned as he saw the awestricken expression on Johns face. "What's wrong. Never seen a city the size of Therum before? Not many have. In fact your reaction is typical of most that see it for the first time. It is home to tens of thousands." Keith stated.

John pulled his head out of the clouds to respond to the fox. "I've never seen a city this size built like this." He said still a bit dazed at the sight.

The fox only gave him a puzzled look before he scowled and turned back around. "Sometimes human, you say things that make no sense." The fox said gruffly.

John didn't even respond to the comment, he only continued looking at the city. Saraph had one wall surrounding the city and some houses that were built on the outside of the wall. Therum had that same concept in mind except for a few things, like instead of one massive wall there were two of them. One ran around the whole city including the outer city which looked like it was more of a residential area. The second wall surrounded a "downtown" area that looked like it housed more important buildings that helped run the city. From this distance it looked like most of the inner city was made of stone structures, while the outer city seemed to be made out of other building material though John couldn't tell exactly what from this distance. John didn't even think in his wildest dreams that people who were living in medieval times could make cities this large. Then again man didn't have magic back in the day and by modern standards this city was small by comparison, but the thought that this was built this large without heavy lifting equipment or any other modern devices spoke to the abilities of the anthros.

A slight glimmer in distance got John's attention to a large lake out in the distance. He could not tell how big it was as there were various hills blocking his view, but it in was probably used to help water crops and keep the population from dying of thirst so it had to be considerable in size, though he wondered how they would access the water. He didn't see anything like aqueducts around. Either they walked out to get their water or maybe the river ran underground allowing easy access.

As they reached the bottom of the hill they turned off on another path that led deeper into the woods cutting off John's view of the city. "We are picking up the shipment at a little shack here. Right now we are just getting the food and going, there will be no time for introductions here." The fox said.

John nodded and lay back down on his back though almost immediately he wished he had something soft to lie on. He would have used his duffle bag but the thought of falling to sleep on bullets and explosives wasn't very appealing to him at the moment. It wasn't long before the wagon stopped. John closed his eyes while they stopped. He figured he had some time before they started throwing whatever it was they were in. He heard the fox get off the wagon and he expected to hear some talking before they started loading but the thud of something landing right next to him. He looked right next to him and saw what looked like a few green leaves. It took him a second to realize that it was corn. 'Damn he wasn't kidding about this just being a quick stop. It might be a little painful to.' John thought. Soon a shadow passed over him and he looked up from the corn next to him and saw the source of the shadow. What he saw brought terror to him. Hovering above him was enough corn to fill the wagon poised to drop neatly in the wagon all at once. "No, no, no, NO, NO, NOOOO!!!!" John yelled out but too late as all the corn came crashing down on him at once. He rolled up into the fetal position with his head covered but the rest of him took quite the beating. John opened his eyes to see nothing but green corn leaves around him. His body ached from the beating and John had to fight to move. To say he was pissed now was an understatement. "YOU MOTHERFU--

Keith heard a muffled yelling coming from the cart and grinned. He could not make out the words but he figured it wasn't anything nice. The fox would have had a good laugh about it but they weren't here for fun and games. Keith turned to the dragon behind him. "So when are you going to be able to meet us."

"I won't be until late evening after I am off duty." The dragon responded.

"But everything is in place then?"

"Yes, the ambassador has yet to arrive but everything will be ready for when he does."

"Good. We will be waiting for you in the safe house." Keith said as he walked to the wagon. The dragon nodded and began walking through the jungle disappearing quickly in the growth. Keith climbed in and turned to the drive. "Let's get moving." He could still hear the human rambling on about something but as soon as the cart lurched forward he became quite.

John was still pissed but he stopped his insults. He did his best to make himself comfortable in the corn tomb. 'Well looks like I got nothing to do but wait.'

**************************************************************

They had passed into the city after without a guard so much as giving them a second look, which thinking about it did make sense to John. After all, the city probably didn't feel threatened, and they were the big dogs around here so they probably felt comfortable and safe here. 'We'll see how long that feeling last.' John thought as he crawled up towards the top of the pile of corn. He decided it was time to see what the city was like and finally, after a lot of effort, he was able to get in a position that he could see the outside out of. He made a hole big enough that he could see out of hopefully without anyone seeing him. John was surprised a little by what he saw. It was still mourning and the city was already awake. There were plenty of anthro's walking around wearing different styles and colors of clothes, though to say that there was a clash of cultures would be an understatement. 'Well maybe not clash of cultures, more like clash of time periods.' John figured. Yes there were tunics and robes like he had seen but there was also a large amount of shirts, pants, shorts, and even skirts. The anthros fashion was one of many things that John was confused about in this world. While he could understand that these people developed on a different plain then humans he could except that they would have different styles of clothes, but they not only had different styles but different styles from two different time periods from Earth. 'This is so damn strange.' John thought as he looked at the different styles. Many of the shirts and things were plain though. He didn't see anything advertising the local beer company or any funny tees and even the pants seemed to be made from the materials that they had as he had yet to see any denim. 'Guess there are just some things that only come with technology.' John thought. He also realized that there wasn't much leather around either. Though he felt that some of the anthro's being non-predatory might have a small problem with wearing dead animal skin on them. They also didn't wear shoes which made sense, as paws and hooves were probably more durable then human feet, and besides. The only footwear he had seen were boots on soldiers and guards.

His head started to hurt from all of this talk about clothing so he shifted his thoughts from the people to the buildings of the city. Many of the buildings were a couple stories high and tightly grouped together with allies leading to different streets. The buildings seemed to be inconsistent in what they were made out of as well. You would see a few wooden shops and houses before all of the sudden it changed to buildings made from bricks, and even a few stone buildings. As they went along John's attention was focused on an upcoming building. It was made with brick and the front of the building didn't have doors but rather open archways. 'No doors? Must be a public space.' John thought and as they drew closer he noticed that the anthro's leaving seemed to be damp. Now John really wanted to see what it was he was looking at. Finally the wagon was lined up in a way that John could see inside. The first thing he saw was that it was steamy, but not enough that he couldn't see what was happening inside. He could see a couple of pools of water, each looked like they had varying amount of steam coming off of them. Almost like each was heated to a different temperature. He could see different naked anthro's go in and out of the pools. It also looked like some of them where scratching their scales or fur. John's eyes grew wide as he gasped at the realization what he was looking into. It was a bath house. A public bath house. Before John could get another look at the place they were already passing it cutting off his view. 'But there weren't any aqueducts or anything like that, and I don't see water pouring into the pools from up high.' John thought about what he just saw. If they had bath houses like this then they had to have running water somewhere that he couldn't see which meant that they more than likely had some kind of pipe system in place. 'I think I seriously underestimated their abilities.' John thought, stunned that they may be more advance then he had given them credit for.

**************************************************************

"So when are they gonna be here?" John asked. He was currently sitting in a basement that they were supposed to meet the "others" in. It wasn't long after the bath house that they arrived at their destination; a small little building that was about two stories tall. It seemed like a personal house as it had furnishing like someone was living here, but the house was empty when they got here. John had assumed it was kind of a safe house for agents of Saraph. They had gotten here in the morning and it was already dark out. He had nothing to do except wait, sleep, and sit with his thumb up his ass. Now he was stuck here in this basement until those anthros got here. The basement wasn't anything special. Just some brick walls with dim lighting and a small table in the middle with a couple chairs around it. It was like you would picture it in a movie when a secret meeting went down. John sat on a chair in the corner, his black hoodie in combination with the low light made him somewhat difficult to see if you weren't paying attention.

"You're kind aren't very patient are they?" The fox asked, smirking.

John grumbled at the statement. "No, some of us have the patients to match a freaking rock, but when you drop half a ton of corn on a guy then you better damn well at least make it on time to make up for it." John said scratching the back of his neck. He reached around and felt something in his hood. He grabbed it and pulled it in front of him and was filled with anger. It was a corn leaf. John yelled in frustration as he tossed the leaf with a good amount of force but the leaf only floated gently to his feet, almost like it was mocking him. "I swear to God I'll never eat another piece of corn again." John said, his voice seething with anger. He wondered how the hell that leaf had stayed in his hood all day without his knowing.

The fox was doing everything in his power to keep from laughing when the sound of the door opening caught his attention. John heard this too and instinctually went for his M4 leaning on the wall next to him. "There here." The fox said simply and took his place at the table. Out from the stairway came two anthro's. The lead was a dragon, with green scales and red eyes, followed by a squirrel, with chestnut fur. Both anthro's wore grey armor. The squirrel's armor was what you'd expect from regular plate armor, but the dragon's armor was a little more decorated. The shoulders were broader that curved into points and his tail piece ended in a blade.

The dragon looked at Keith and slightly bowed his head. "My apologies for the delay but a new development may jeopardize the mission."

"A new development?" Keith asked.

The dragon nodded with a concerned look on his face. The squirrel moved past the dragon and brought a map out and unfolded it from the table. "This is where the ambassador was supposed to be staying," the dragon said as he pointed to something on the map. "We had everything perfectly set for the assassination but now we learned that one of the officials that is attending the meeting has pulled some strings and the ambassador will be allowed to stay in the heart of the city."

John had been sitting unnoticed by either anthro. Even though John could not see the map he assumed that any important buildings would be found towards the middle of the city behind the protection of the inner walls. It would also be safe to assume that the buildings would be heavily defended...day or night.

"What?" The fox cried out in distress. "This is not good news; there is no way that we will be able to get to the ambassador now, at least not in one piece." Keith said.

"So what do we do? Should we abandon the mission?" The squirrel asked.

"No. This has to be done. Every life in Saraph depends on us being able to kill the ambassador...even if that means that we must lay down our lives."

As they argued John was thinking about what they would have to do to pull this off. If by some miracle they did manage to kill the ambassador the real problem would be getting out. He didn't really feel like dying after he spent so much time staying alive. 'If we got caught I wonder if they would burn me like some unholy beast or drown me...probably burn. They probably don't want a rotting corpse in their water...that's it'

"No...maybe not." John spoke out finally. Both the dragon and squirrel whipped around to see this new figure they had missed. John got up and slowly walked into the light pulling his hood down as the light illuminated him showing the anthro's just what he was. Under more normal circumstances he might have enjoyed the shocked look on the anthro's faces when they saw this furless, snout less, tailless creature; however nothing with this pressing matter at hand he ignored their shocked faces as he focused on the map. There was a building circled and crossed out which probably represented the place the ambassador was supposed to stay before. Another red circle was around a different building practically in the middle of the inner city. It was almost as if the city spawned outwards from that one building.

"What is it? This creature--"The dragon asked in a mixture of fear and shocked.

John held up his hand to cut off the dragon. "Names John, and I'm the one who's supposed to be the one to carry out this assassination" John could sense the unease of both anthro's, not like he could blame them. "But before we get into a more in depth about me show me where this meeting is taking place." There was silence for a few moments before John looked up and saw both anthro's just staring at him. "Hey!" He raised his voice and snapped his fingers in front of them.

Both anthro's finally snapped out of their stupor and the squirrel spoke up. "It is taking place in the Senate complex itself. The ambassador will never leave the complex until the meeting is over, and by then it will be too late."

"Alright well is the meeting happening in the very heart of the complex or is the room going to be closer to the walls, or maybe a window." The dragon spoke up this time. "I believe the meeting will be taking place on a room on the south wall of the building" he said pointing to a side of the building on the map.

John's mind was working with a plan. "Alright, when it gets a little later can you guys sneak me closer to so I can see this room? I don't have to see the inside but the outside. We'll work out where we go from there."

"What are you thinking human?" Keith asked skeptical as to where this conversation was going.

"If they are by a window it should be easy enough to take him out, however exiting the city will be harder to do..." John trailed the sentence off.

"You would be caught for sure. Not only would you have the whole city bearing down on you but if anyone saw you there would be no way they would forget seeing such an unusual creature." The dragon said.

"Well I never said that we would be walking out in plain sight." John replied. This got everyone's attention as to just what the human was cooking up. "When we were entering Therum I saw a bath house. That means that this city has running water correct."

"Yes. The river runs under the city and we have built points that allow the citizens access to the water." The dragon responded.

"So I assume then there is a tunnel system under the city that allows new water to flow in and the used water to continue on its way."

"Correct."

"Where does the water go after it has been used? Does it go into a river above ground or does it filter back into the ground."

"The water goes into an underground river that goes some ways before it disappears into the ground." The squirrel answered.

"But the water naturally flowed to other towns before Therum was built so when the city was built the creators allowed these flows to remain unhindered, there are various caverns around the city that the water flows out of on its natural course." The dragon added quickly finally catching on to what the human was thinking.

"Alright now for the really important question. Can this water system be accessed from inside the city? Or do you have to go outside the city to get to the tunnels?" "There are various points around Therum that allow access to the underground areas." The squirrel answered.

"Well then gentlemen we have our exit." John said. "We use the underground tunnels to safely exit the city, and as long as no one follows us down we should be relatively safe"

"It's risky. From what I remember the underground tunnels are a labyrinth in order to prevent easy entrance into the city. Filled with dead ends and traps, there are only a few paths that are safe to take." Keith said.

"Well we really don't have a choice do we? You" John said pointing to the dragon. "Can you get someone to mark a safe pass for us or maybe give us a map marking a safe path through tunnels?"

The dragon thought before the squirrel spoke up. "I know these tunnels well. I will be able to find a safe path through the tunnels, all you need to do is let me know where you wish to enter the tunnels from.

"Good." John turned to the dragon. "Later tonight, when the streets are emptier can you help me sneak over to the complex? I want to get a look at the room were the meeting will take place"

"Yes." The dragon said pointing to the map where. "There are guards under my command at this entrance so it should be relatively easy to enter the inner city."

"Good, then we have our plan now we wait." John said as he returned back to his corner no longer board as his mind busied itself with the task ahead.

**************************************************************

During the day the streets a bustling hub of commerce, with little room to walk around without brushing up against others, but in the dead of night few walked. The dark alleyways and corridors looked like they invited only the worst scum the city had to offer, and John was perfectly fine with that. In the darkness two figures darted in and out of the dark corners of the city, doing their best to remain unseen. One of these figures was a dragon, clad in armor, who moved silently even with all of the metal on his body. The other was a being not from that world and looked to be heavily laden with a large bag around his back. John was perfectly comfortable sneaking around everywhere. It was something he had grown accustom to during his stay in this world. 'Same old same old' John thought as he watched as the wall dividing the inner and outer city became closer and closer. As they bolted from through the city John could already feel the weight of the duffle bag weighing on him. He wasn't tired but having 40+ pounds of crap on you while trying to stay stealthy wasn't exactly rejuvenating either.

They had been moving for about ten minutes when they finally to a hole in the wall with a few windows in the wall. John figured that he guard houses here were actually built into the wall as the windows had light shining through them and every now and then John could hear voices of those inside them. Both figures pressed themselves against the wall, around the corner was the guardhouse.

The dragon, whose name was Roy as John had found out, turned towards him. "I will go in and distract them. While I do that you should be able to sneak past unnoticed but stay close to the wall and sneak under the window so that they will not see you if they look out. Wait for me somewhere close on the other side of the wall." He whispered.

John nodded and waited as the dragon turned the corner and a few seconds later he heard a door open and close. He pressed himself against the wall and slowly peeked around the corner. It didn't take long for John to hear a conversation start up. He waited a few more seconds before crouching around the corner and slowly progressing past the door and crawling on his belly under the window. Finally he reached the other side and quickly bolted for the nearest ally he could find. He body was tense as he waited for the dragon to appear again and his M1911 was in his hand. John didn't want to kill anyone but if it came down them or the mission there was going to be no choice. Finally John saw a figure emerge from the guardhouse. It looked like the dragon but he didn't know who was in that guardhouse so he stayed hidden until he knew it was Roy. "John, are you hear?" He heard the figure say in a loud whisper.

John emerged from his hiding place and holstered his weapon. "You know for this being a very important place you guys sure do a crap job guarding it." John criticized

To John's surprise the dragon only nodded in agreement. "True, but in the very long history of this city no invader, assassin, or any evildoer has seen the inside of the Senate building. In fact the last time an assassin made it past the entrance to the inner city was over a hundred years ago."

"Damn, I guess I can see how they might have gotten a little lazy. Though well I guess I really shouldn't complain. It only makes my job easier." John said as they continued to walk. John looked around as they continued along their way and though it was night he could already see a huge difference between the outer and inner city. While the outer city was constructed out of many different materials, wood, brick, and some stone, this part of this city was nowhere near as divers. In the inner city all he could see was stone. All of these buildings from housing to businesses were all made from stone. "Hey Roy" John whispered.

"What?"

"Why are all the building in the inner city made of stone? I mean I understand that buildings government buildings would be made of stone but why the rest of the buildings. Even simple shops are freaking made of it." John asked

"Well to put it simply if you live or do business in the inner city you are doing well for yourself. Not to say that those who live outside do not have money, but the inner city is known for being where the rich live. Plus I think the politicians would throw a fit if all of a sudden a wooden or brick building was built. It would be an eyesore in this stone garden and it gives this part of the city a sense of professionalism." The dragon answered. "Are cities were you are from built differently?"

"Oh you have no idea. For one we don't build wall around our cities anymore." John answered

John saw the dragon quickly snap his head around looking at John in surprise. "What? No walls? How does your kind survive invading armies?" He asked shocked.

"Well now days we a wall would be nothing more than an inconvenience to an invading army. There are plenty of ways of getting past walls so it wouldn't really be wise to spend so much money on something that will contribute little to the actual defense of the city. That kind of money would be better spent on other kinds of defenses." John said. He thought about how easy it would be to get past these walls with a modern military force. Helicopters and paratroopers would easily get past the walls, or you could just go with good old fashion bombing the living hell out of the city.

The dragon's eyes were still wide as he looked at the human. "If what you're telling me is true that means that your kind must be very powerful indeed to be able to pass fortified positions with that much ease." The dragon said with a bit of a shudder.

"Yeah well you could say it's like a whole nother world where I'm from." John said with a smile.

Finally after ducking in and out of ally's they finally came across what they were looking for. Before them was a large building made of none other than stone. It was artfully decorated with statues and other carvings running up and down the sides of the walls. John was sure in the day this was quite a spectacle to look at because even at night John could see that the sine of white marble on the corners of the building and on the statues as well. The building was enclosed by a cobblestone road that broke off into four main roads running north, south, east, and west. Also the building was in the center of other important looking buildings as well. As John quickly inspected those buildings, they reminded him of old Greek buildings with stone pillars and arches. "That building in the middle is the seat of the government in Therum. And I believe... yes there" The dragon said pointing to a window that had a small amount of light coming out of it. It was on the third story about two windows from the right side edge. "That is the room that will house the meeting."

John looked at the room. It was too high off the ground to try and climb up to. He looked up on the roof and noticed dark shapes moving around the rooftops. They looked like guards but their armor was dark. "Are those guards on the rooftops?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Well that's just great. I thought you said everyone got lazy because no one has been able to even pierce the inner walls."

"Yes well that is true for the wall, but those are an elite guard force called the Black Shields. They stay ever vigilant as they patrol the inner city."

"The Black Shields? Kind of a stupid name" John commented.

"Say what you want about them but they are very good at what they do. There one charge is to make sure that no harm comes to any member of the Senate. If I remember correctly if the find that you failed your duty to protect the Senate the punishment is death." Roy explained.

"Fuck those are some cruel standards."

"Yes I hear the training to enter their ranks is brutal as well." Roy said.

John pressed himself closer into the shadows as he watched the figures moved. 'Now is defiantly not the time to get spotted' he thought. He slowly peaked around the corner and looked around him to see if there was someplace far enough that he could shoot the ambassador without being to close so he could escape, but everywhere he looked there was a building blocking any shot. The only way he could think of doing this was busting in the front door guns blazing. "Great. Looks like I'm gonna have to get my hands dirty."

Roy shot him a look. "You can't seriously think that you're going to muscle your way in there? You would never make it past the front door before the guards made you out."

"Well it's not like there is much of a choice. Besides I'm tougher then I look. I can handle taking a few guards on."

The dragon scowled. "It will not be a few guards. Once they discover that you intend to attack someone in the very heart of the city they will assume you are here to kill a member of the Senate and then every guard in the city will be here."

"So then I'll kill whoever I need to. I know its suicide but it has to be done. I mean take a look around. There isn't even a good place to--" John stopped mid-sentence as he noticed something he didn't see before. "What is that?" he said pointing to a small tower that was outside the inner city. He could see that it was some sort of bell tower, why it stood so high was anyone's guess but it was high enough that maybe, just maybe he could have an unobstructed view of the window.

The dragon looked in the direction John was pointing at, taking a few seconds to figure out what it is that he was looking. "That...that would be the bell tower to the temple of the water goddess Anahita, the temple has been unused for quite some time and if I believe that coven doesn't even worship in this city anymore." Roy explained.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's get over there and check it out." John said, hope once again returning to this suicide mission.

"What for? It's on the other side of the wall?" Roy asked. He was totally confused on what John could be thinking.

"Just hurry up" he said as they both started their ally dash back to the wall. They got back to the wall in good time but the guardhouse was at a different entrance.

"You think you can distract them again." John asked.

"I'd rather not risk it. There may be a higher ranking officer in there then me, and I would rather not cause any complications." He said.

John sighed heavily. "Shit. Alright we'll just have to sneak past." John said as they both snuck around the corner and slowly made their way pressed against the wall. It was slow going as they snuck past, but John could hear the guards inside talking amongst themselves so he had hope that they would be able to sneak past without a problem. They were just about to pass the door to the guardhouse when that hope was dashed with a soft click. John's heart stopped as the door opened and a figure stepped out, well more like stumbled out. The male deer anthro that emerged from the doorway had a flask in his hand as he shouted something unintelligible back through the door. John was frozen hoping that the anthro wouldn't see him. 'Christ it's a deer not a freaking t-rex of course he'll see us.' As the buck closed the door he looked right at where John and Roy were crouched. He just looked at them in his drunken stupor before finally going off to the outer city. John just looked at the buck as it walked off. 'What the fuck? How the hell did he not see us?' John looked back at Roy and soon the confusion on his face was replaced with concern. The dragon had a purple glow around his hand that he was holding up palm out towards John. The dragon looked strained as the glow sucked the energy out of him. The dragon waved at John telling him to move on and he did move as quickly as he could around the corner. They both got around the corner and into the safety of the shadows before the glow around Roy's hand disappeared. As soon as it did Roy gasped and fell down, breathing heavily.

"Hey what the hell was that? He didn't even notice us?" John asked.

The dragon took his time to gather his breath before answering. "I...I cast a spell that made us invisible." He said.

"Wait you can do magic? What the hell man why didn't you tell me that earlier? We could have used that earlier."

"No. No we could not have used that earlier. Yes I can use magic, all dragons can but not every dragon puts the time that is needed into mastering it. I am one such dragon so even though I can use magic I do not have a the endurance to keep up spells for long periods of time, and only true masters of magic can use invisibility for more than a few minutes. We are lucky that I was able to hold out as long as I was." The dragon answered breathing heavily. He waited a couple of minutes in silence to catch his breath before he tried to push himself up but he his arms gave out and he fell back down. He was about to try again when John extended his hand. The dragon looked at it for a second, then at John, and grabbed his hand. John helped the dragon to his feet; he still seemed a bit unstable so he helped hold the dragon up.

The dragon still looked surprised by the act before he smiled. "You know you aren't like what Keith said you would be."

John was confused for a moment before he thought about it. "Yeah well our first meeting didn't exactly go very smoothly." He chuckled.

"He seemed to think that you are not to be trusted and that you were just looking for a chance to stab us in the back. He told us about what happened during the feast. About how you appeared and what you did." The dragon continued.

"Yeah I figured as much. Don't worry about it. I'm here to do a job and it will get done one way or another." John said before grinning. "Besides if I wanted you dead I could have easily killed you already." John's tone was playful and the dragon only smiled at the mock threat. John once again focused on the task. "So where is this temple?"

**************************************************************

The temple wasn't as large as what John was expecting. For having such a large bell the building itself looked like it would hold only a few hundred people. The outside was brick that was cracked in numerous places. Some bricks had chunks missing from them making John question his own decision based on the amount of decay of the building. The wooden rooftop was also very decayed with large holes dotting the roof, showing the support beams which looked like rotting as well. If anything this building should have been knocked by know and it looked like it would give out soon. 'It only needs to last a couple more days' John thought as he opened the door, which was also starting to rot, and looked inside. A sudden light filled the room as John turned to see Roy holding two torches. John took the torch with a nod of thanks and took in the surroundings. The first thing that caught his eyes was the marble floors. They were cracked and chipped and covered in a layer of grime from lack of care. The walls were bare and the windows boarded. Every there were spots on the walls where the brickwork outside was showing and looking up he could see the complete skeleton structure of the support beams. There were a number of pews as well that were, like the rest of the structure, decayed. Many had broken legs and a few were broken in half. They all faced the center that looked like some kind of alter were a sermon was given but now it was just an empty space except for the few pieces roof and a beam lying there. However, John's eyes soon discarded the decaying mess for what was behind the alter. It was a great statue probably 15 feet tall. It was made with white and blue marble and unlike the rest of the building the entire stature was in pristine condition. The blue marble was used to make a blue dragoness, with only her head and hands showing, while the robe she wore was made of the white marble. In one of her hands was an ore that was blue, but it looked like it was glass and inside there was some kind of blue gas that gave of a slight glow. Not bright enough to light the room but it gave the feeling that the statue had power.

"That is the water goddess Anahita." Roy said. "As you figured this city has been blessed with a rather abundant supply of water and some of the people attribute it to this goddess. It is not a very large religion but it did have a few wealthy followers."

"Did? What happened? This place looks like it's been abandon for years, except for the statue." John asked.

"No one really knows why, but one day they just left. One day they were here and the next they were all gone. The city has been trying to knock it down for years but in order to do that the temple would have to be completely abandoned."

"Umm...I don't think it gets any more abandon than this."

"It is except for one thing. Someone is still taking care of that statue. It has neither a scratch nor a speck or dirt on it meaning that someone is taking care of it, even if the rest of this place isn't receiving the same treatment."

"Right, well then I guess we should just call ourselves lucky." John said as he looked around some more. In front of the stature was a gold lined trench that ran around bottom of the statue and then behind it to probably be drained. The trench ran over to the wall where glass panes shot up to the ceiling. John guessed that water would flow down from the ceiling and around the statue which for decoration. After all she was a water goddess. Also there were about six places in the walls where tubes with mounted on decorated golden plates stuck from the wall and next to these tubes were levers. "No...not levers, pumps." John said aloud.

"What did you say?" Roy turned and looked at where the human was looking.

"Those pipes coming out of the wall are water pumps, and right next to the statue I bet there was water that came down into the little moat and then drained back into the tunnles." John explained, the excitement rising in his voice.

"Right well this is to temple of the water goddess so it would only be natural to assume that there was a lot of water." Roy said matter-of-factly.

John didn't pay attention to the dragons comment and only continued with his train of thought. "That means that this place is hooked up to the main water flow, and if there is some access point in this temple that leads to the tunnels-" John trailed off looking at Roy. "Roy, look around and see if you can an access point to the underground tunnels."

The dragon was still confused, even if there was an entrance point to the underground it wouldn't matter. There were a dozen different entrances closer to the government building that would be better than running back here, but before he could question him John had already started moving off towards another door. "Wait, where are you going?"

"I'm going to check the tower, just look for an access point and I'll be back down in a bit." John commanded. He heard the dragon grumble something but he couldn't hear him as he was already past the door. The tower was what you'd expect, just a long silo with a spiral staircase running up the side, though to Johns relief the decay of the tower was nowhere near as bad as the rest of the temple. John tentatively stepped on the first step and winced when he heard the stair groan and even crack as he put his other foot on the step. After a couple of seconds he started to slightly bounce on the stair and though it groaned in protest the stair held firm. John slowly made his way up the stair case, quickly testing each step before he put his full weight on them. The minutes passed like hours as John slowly crawled up the stairs as he broke into a cold sweat. Each step he went the likely hood of surviving a fall became less and less. Finally John saw the ceiling and a trapdoor. He let out a small sigh of relief knowing that he was almost out of danger.

He opened the door and looked into the room. In looked like a bell tower as there was a huge beam running along the top of the room that looked like it supported a heavy object. It was also very clean. John had expected a ton of bird crap everywhere but the open parts of the tower were boarded up and the roof of the tower was complete with no holes in it meaning that it stayed bird free. Which was fine with John as the idea of lying on bird poop did not raise his hopes. John pulled himself onto the surprisingly stable floor and tried to imagine the city in his head. He walked over to one of the boarded openings and grabbed the edge of the board and started to pull on it. To John's surprise it started to wiggle and John could feel the nails starting to come free. He pulled more was rewarded with the sound of nails ripping out of wood as the board came free.

Looking at the opening he saw exactly what he wanted to. This window looked over the inner city and he could clearly see the Senate building. The building was bigger compared to the buildings around it, and at this distance he could faintly see the glow of the window. He unslung the heavy duffle bag as and put it on the ground, sighing in relief to have the weight finally off him. 'That fucker was really starting to dig in.' he thought as he rubbed his shoulder the bag was strapped to. He stopped when he heard a noise coming from behind him.It sounded like something flapping and then something landing on the stairs. He looked over to the trap door and found Roy climbing up into the room. 'I wish I had freaking wings, would have made the climb up here a hell of a lot easier.'

"There is an access point that you can use to get into the tunnels in the basement but I hardly see why that matters." Roy reported

"Good, that means that we still have a chance."

"What do you mean? We've spent valuable time getting here when we could have already come up with a plan on how to get into the Senate building by now." He huffed.

John only smiled at the cluelessness of the dragon. "We are not going to risk life and limb to kill the ambassador." John said as he bent over and undid the knot on the top of the bag. The dragon looked at him, curious to what he was doing.

"So are you just going to let this go on and possibly put all of Saraph in danger?" Roy asked suspiciously.

John said nothing as he pulled out a large black case and opened it. "Now where did you get such a ridiculous notion?" he asked as started to pick up parts in the case. "Just because we will not be in the room with him, doesn't mean that he isn't going home in a body bag." John answered with a smile as he set upon his work.

**************************************************************

It was daylight now as John looked through the scope of the AS50. The building where the meeting was being held jumped at John as the powerful scope magnified the distance. Next to John were a quill, ink, and parchment that he found around the abandon temple. On the parchment was what looked like random math but to John it was his only concern. He needed to get every little detail right as possible before the shot. It was bad enough he would have to calculate some variables on the fly, so he was doing all he could right now to lessen his load later. John was still scribbling down on the parchment when he heard the sound of the stairs creaking as someone was walking up. John quickly drew his pistol and kept the sights trained at the trapdoor, waiting for whatever to pop up. John's finger rested on the trigger as the stairs got louder, and finally the trapdoor swung open revealing a familiar fox. John sighed as he put the pistol away as the fox just glared at him.

"Expecting trouble?" the fox asked.

John just returned to his work adding more numbers to the parchment. "Can't be too careful, surrounded in a hostile environment it's better to not be found." John answered as he started to double check his numbers again. 'This would be so much easier if I had the proper equipment.' He thought as he looked back through the scope observing until something plopped right down in front of the scope. John just looked up at the grinning fox with an annoyed look before grabbing the parchment. Unfolding it John smiled as well. "Well it looks like our squirrel friend came through for us." He said as he looked at a map of the complex underground tunnel system. On the map were various markings that showed dead ends, traps, entrances, exits, and various other odds and ends; but the only thing that mattered to John were the circled X marking the location of the temple and the red line that zigzagged through the tunnels, showing their escape route.

"So you never told Roy why we are so far away from the target, and I have to say I don't completely understand either." The fox said. "I figured you were going to use your weapons but why carry around this big thing. It seems like you could use the smaller weapons to do the job without needlessly burdening yourself." The way he said this made it sound like he had thought of something John had not.

John just sighed as he looked over the map trying to get familiar with the general escape route. "Keith, don't try and understand what you can't comprehend." John said nonchalantly.

Keith barred his teeth and growled at the insult. "Can't comprehend? Well then enlighten me oh wise one." He growled.

John pulled himself in a seating position. "Certainly my apprentice. My weapons aren't too terribly complicated. I think the best comparison for you to understand would be a crossbow. So what happens when you fire a crossbow?" John asked in a teaching voice.

The fox was still growling at the way John was treating him, but he decided to answer the question. "The bolt flies out and hits something."

"Ok what happens when you fire the crossbow out in an open field at nothing?"

"The bolt will fire and hit nothing."

"No I'm pretty sure it does his something" John said patting the floor.

"Yes it will eventually hit the ground, what's your point?"

"Exactly" John said ignoring the fox's question. He took out his pistol, this action cause the fox to flinch causing John to smile. "Now this pistol, or any of my weapons for that matter, isn't too far off from a crossbow. They both shoot projectiles that will eventually hit the ground if once they fly far enough. The difference is that my weapons use a different process to launch said projectile, which we will not be going into at this time...or ever. Anyways, though this process gives this pistol more range then a crossbow it is still ineffective after a certain point. My M4 is rated to hit targets at farther ranges but just like a crossbow bolt, it will eventually hit a point where it is brought to the ground. That's why I need this behemoth. This is an AS50 sniper rifle. It was made for power at range, and range is what we need." John explained.

Though the crossbow analogy did help Keith but he still didn't fully understand. John felt good about putting the fox in his place as he went back to work. It was then Keith noticed the parchment with what looked like to him random numbers and even letters. "What does all this mean?" Keith wondered aloud as he reached down to pick up the parchment but was stopped as John placed his hand over it.

"What did I just tell you Keith about asking questions?" John asked.

Keith once again growled at John. Keith did not trust this human the fact that he was writing down things which Keith couldn't read only made the human less trustworthy in his eyes. "Just what are you hiding that you have to write in code? You're not planning anything are you?"

John sighed heavily. "Seriously? I probably couldn't even go to the bathroom without you thinking I was trying to run away." John answered and though he wasn't looking at the fox he felt the fox's death glare on him. "Shooting a target from this far out isn't as easy as point and shoot. The farther you are there are different variables that you have to account for. One of those being the drop of the projectile like in the crossbow example of just a few seconds ago, but that is just one of the variables. Wind, heat, gyroscopic drift, even the freaking rotation of the planet must be taken into account if the distance is long enough. If any of these factors is miscalculated then the one shot you get will miss. And I really don't think I'm gonna get more than one shot at this, so all of this stuff here is to help me trying to figure out exactly where to point the big gun so I can hit who I want to dead instead of the guy right next to him." John finished with a huff and went about his work. The fox stood there in shock. Half from the outburst John had and the other half trying to figure out what in the hell he just said.

Finally John broke the silence. "Did you already check to see if this route was accurate?" John asked.

The fox shook his head and looked back at the human before he registered what was said. Instantly his scowl returned. "Yes, Simon was kind enough to bring me along the path. We started at the exit and he guided me to the temple entrance." The fox said as he walked to the trapdoor again. He didn't feel like spending more time with the human. He need time to think.

"Before you go" John stared. The fox looked back at John as he reached over his side and pulled two different black boxes from his bag and set them in front of him. One was plane black but Keith could see what looked like a gold cylinder with a copper top coming from the top. The other had a red strip that ran around its base and he could see the copper from this box as well but unlike the other which was gold and copper, this one had a white and green tip as well. "How bad would it be if any of the others in that room got hurt or killed?" John asked with a slightly innocent tone.

"Well considering that we aren't supposed to be caught I would say it doesn't matter, however, the council seemed very clear that they only want the ambassador dead and him alone." Keith said emphasizing the last part.

"Alright, one shot and only one kill. Got it." John said as he took the plain black magazine and put it into the weapon. He didn't pull the charging handle yet as he didn't want to risk the chance of him firing off a round too early. He took the quill and wrote CHARGE WEAPON on the paper, circling it a couple of times so he wouldn't forget when the time came. He looked at the red stripe magazine and put was about to put it in the bag when he stopped and set it next to the weapon. 'Just for when shit hits the fan' John thought as he once again went back to his work before him.

**************************************************************

Night had once again fallen in Therum, and try as he might John still couldn't sleep. He looked out of the small hole in the bell tower and starred at the target area. He had done what he could as far as shot calculation. And though he lacked the equipment to be completely sure he was right, John still felt confident about the shot, and in his ability to compensate for some still unknown variables. No it wasn't the shot that was keeping him up. He was thinking about what he was going to do after this assassination was done. John remembered thinking back in the jail cell that Saraph was his new home, but how the hell would live there. It was a society that was primitive by his standards, and that was just the start of the problem. As of now very few of the anthro's new John was even in the city. Apparently the Pyrros and the guards had done a good job of dragging his ass to jail without too many seeing him. If the people of Saraph were to see him waltzing about who knows what they'd do? Cearra had told him that he had made quite a name for himself after the incident. People were terrified of some furless, scale less, monster roaming around the woods ready to kill. If he just started walking around the city the best case scenario would be everyone cowering in fear. Worst case, well he would probably get to see just how well some of them could use their claws and teeth. That thought made John shiver.

John sat up, knowing that he wasn't going to get sleep anytime soon. Figuring he just needed to get his mind off the subject he began to get his stuff ready for exfil. He started taking stuff and rearranging things in his bag. His hand started to grip his M4 before he stopped. It wasn't a very good idea for him to try and carry two weapons as well as his duffle bag and while he could break down the AS50 it would take time to do that, and after the shot because he wanted to be out of there in as little time possible. So it looked like he would have to lug around that great behemoth for a while. Finally John felt that he had what he needed out of the bags and opened the trap door. He reached out tentatively for the side rail as he stepped down. He would have used the night vision but he didn't have replacements batteries and he figured he would need them down in the sewers so he just went down nice and slow. On the plus side he had been up and down the steps enough times now that he felt more comfortable about the integrity of the stairs, thought that still did little to help his death grip on the railing. Not like it would matter much. If he fell the railing would most likely give way too, but still the psychological comfort was still there.

Finally he hit the ground and walked out of the tower and towards the large statue. He didn't see it when they came in but behind the statue was a door that led to a basement where the plumbing that once made this place flow with water was. It was here that there was a kind of manhole on one of the walls that you could use to gain access to the sewers. John once again had to hand it to there anthro's. They were a bit more advanced then he thought they were. Having running water and plumbing wasn't something you would expect from a medieval style city, but here it was, with an intricate sewer system and he had even been told that the richer parts had private bathing areas in the houses. No, these anthro's were like a mix of medieval and ancient Romans, and modern civilization. They actually had an affinity for personal hygiene, while most did not get a chance to bath everyday they apparently did make it a point to keep clean.

'Must be the fur.' John thought as he opened the door and descended down another flight of stairs. These ones were made of stone so John didn't have to worry about them breaking. He reached the bottom and looked around the empty room. It was actually quite empty for how big it was. The worshipers must have taken anything of value out once they left because all John could see were pipes that ran here and there to provide water everywhere. At the far end of the room, about where the temple entrance was on the floor above was the golden dome with a hand wheel that lead to the sewers. John walked over to it and gently set his stuff down. It was all ready to go. All he would need to do was pick it up and jump into the tunnels.

"And just where do you think you're going" John nearly jumped out of his skin as he heard the fox behind him. He turned around to see Keith behind him, hand on the sword on his hip. John could hear the hate in the fox's voice.

The situation was delicate and John knew it, but he decided to play it cool. "Jeez, do you get off on creeping on me?" John said chuckling as he turned around to his bag, pretending to check the cords. Even in though the situation was tense John still couldn't help but poke fun at the fox's paranoia. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"It looks like you're trying to leave with the job unfinished. I knew we couldn't trust you" At those last words John heard the fox pull the sword from the sheath. This situation was escalating out of control fast.

"Jesus, you really are that paranoid aren't you?" John asked as he turned around to face the fox, he leaned against the wall. The fox was halfway across the room, more than enough time to put a bullet in his head if things kept going south. "Use your head, if I was trying to escape then where is the giant ass gun that I had upstairs? I would kind of need that to escape." John asked, trying to be the voice of reason.

"You could just be getting rid of the burden of carrying it. Or maybe you're leaving it here for someone to pick up." The fox accused.

"Right because I would just willingly give a great machine of death to a primitive culture," John could see the fox's body tense even more. 'Ok not getting any better' "Giving anyone in this world that knowledge, that power, would less than irresponsible. I would be signing the death warrants of everyone who they killed with that power. Even if I hated everyone in Saraph I would never give their enemies, or anyone for that matter, the power to commit genocide." The fox loosened a bit, thinking over what he just said. "So what with you?" John asked, he was trying to keep the fox on his feet and not thinking about some way to twist John's words.

The surprise in Keith's face was apparent. He wasn't expecting to answer questions. "What do you mean?" "Why do you hate me so much? We are about to assassinate an important political figure. Usually team unity is important and here you are looking for a reason to stab me in the back."

John saw the fire again in his eyes. "My problem you is that the council trusted you too fast. You attacked us unprovoked; you incapacitated a royal guard and used your weapon to break my arm. Those actions alone should have been your death. And then when you saved Cearra everyone just decided to turn a blind eye to you. It's like they forgot what you did, and what you might be here to do. For all we know you were trying to kill the council and when you failed at that you tried to befriend us to get closer."

"Oh not this shit again. Are you freaking stupid?! You sound like that damn gryphon. Think for second before you talk. If I did want to harm you I could have done it already. If I wanted the council dead on that day I would have had no problem accomplishing that task." John was mad, but he did his best to keep his voice down. The last thing they needed was for someone to see what all the commotion was. Again the fox looked conflicted. "Also, do you really think that I would be allowed within visual distance of Drachma? From what I hear I probably wouldn't fare so well there. Look at me. I would be considered a freak that they would probably want to expunge from the world." The fox relaxed his stance as he looked down towards the ground. John started to walk towards the fox. The situation seemed to be diffused as the fox had not jumped to attack him yet. When he got next to the fox he stopped. "Look. I know what happened at the feast... it wasn't what should have happened." The fox only looked at the human, stunned at his words. "I shouldn't have attacked anyone, but I did. I was scared and confused and I had no idea what the hell was happening. I was literally ripped from my own home and brought here, and when I saw all of you I freaked out." Finally John stared directly into the fox's eyes and saw any trace of fire was extinguished. "But that doesn't matter right now. Right now we are in a city that is about to become a hornets nest in the morning, and you're gonna have to put a little trust in me. It's not easy to ask for blind trust, but we gotta start somewhere." John said as he walked past the anthro and up the stairs.

He had hit the main floor when he once again heard the sound of a sword against the scabbard. As John headed back up the stairs to his snipers perch he stopped for a moment. The fox had such a deep distrust in John that he had nearly tried to kill him over a misunderstanding. And while this little episode may not have completely taken away the fox's doubt about John, at least it was a start. As John made his way to his sleeping spot he found that he was exhausted. He hit the ground and started to drift in and out. One battle had just ended, however, another was about to begin.

**************************************************************

It was probably somewhere near 8 o'clock in the morning, and the city was just starting to wake for the new day. The vendors were starting to open up in the city, ready for another day of selling their product. Or at least that was the outer city. The inner city had already been a bustling hub of commerce as the important buildings started to open. And sitting over all of their heads unnoticed was a being with the power to end lives with one squeeze of the finger. Luckily for the people of Therum this all powerful being was fixed on one point. One small room that was well over 1,300 yards from the bell tower. John had done all he could to this point in terms of calculation. Now this shot came down to skill and luck. The feeling was familiar to John and he had a good idea why. 'If I make this I'm gonna have to thank Shashu the next time I see him.' John thought as he waited for the meeting to start. Next to him Keith stood pacing. Both had not spoken about the events of the night which was good because they were only focused on the task at hand then. "Let's go over this again, the second I take the shot you are going down to the tunnels. I'll be a few seconds behind you, I have to make sure the shot connects and I have to lug this thing down there. Make sure those torches are ready because we're gonna want to hit the ground running and we'll need to see where we're going to do that."

The fox only nodded as he continued his pacing. John looked back through his scope and smiled as he saw movement. "It's starting." John said. The anthro stopped his pacing and fell down on his stomach, hopping to see something.

John watched as various species shuffled through the door. They all wore robes that were green with blue outlines, but John didn't pay attention to much detail besides that. There were twelve in all and they all sat down. John looked at each of the figures, if the color robes were any indication then all the anthro's in the room were all from Therum. 'Where was the target?' No sooner had he thought that did a dragon walk in. His scales were a navy blue, and his fangs were clearly visible as he flashed a toothy smile. His robes were black and red, with smaller details but at this distance he couldn't make out the detail besides the fact they were gold. He walked to the head of the table which was the chair closest to the window with the back to the window. The dragon was standing and gesturing, John could only assume that he was greeting all of the others there at the meeting. John moved his finger over the trigger. He would have to wait for the dragon to stop moving a bit before he could shoot.

Small beads of sweat fell down John's face as a feeling grew in him. It wasn't anxiety or nervousness, but rather excitement. Excitement that here he was, after all that had happened he had his prey in his sights. He was about to take the life of his enemy and he had no regrets. After almost failing this mission before it even started he finally got to see his target, and the smug look of superiority, confidence, and most of all malice was all John needed to know that this was one life that was worth killing. And John was more than happy to do it in the best way he thought he knew how. The thought of what the round would do to his body was enough to make him giddy. 'Maybe I should talk to someone' John thought as the excitement grew. Finally the dragon sat down and John prepared to take the shot. He looked at the parchment to the circle word as he reached to the charging handles pulling it back. The round slide into the chamber with a satisfying click, and he looked down the scope of the rifle. He looked at the various flags around the city, and they were dead. John made a few final adjustments to his aim and started to slow his breathing.

'Inhale...Exhale...Inhale...Exhale...' John thought as slowly he felt his pulse slow. He was ready. He breathed in, slowly let it out, and then fired.

John had told Keith to cover his ears before he took the shot but even with his ears covered Keith still felt dazed by the thunderous roar of the mighty .50 BMG round. He looked at around and noticed that there was a large amount of dust that had suddenly been kicked into the air. The effect left him slightly dazed but he soon Keith regained his senses and got up running for the exit.

The bullet left the barrel of the gun as it traveled at supersonic speeds toward the target. Even with all of the dust kicked up John could still see the bullet as it made its way to the target. John watched the bullet fly over the wall of the inner city, and over the buildings as the oversized bullet seemed to lazily drift onto the course that John had intended it to go. John could only hope that his aim was on because there was no telling what damage that bullet would do when it hit. John smiled just before the bullet hit the glass as he watched the scene unfold quickly before him. The bullet had entered the in the dragons upper back smashing through the spine, with the bullet continuing downwards hitting the heart virtually exploding it in the body. John new the dragon had died instantly. A huge gaping hole exploded suddenly from the chest of the dragon. Blood, and bone fragments were sprayed over everyone in the room, and with it happening so fast that they didn't even know what was happening. The bullet itself when and traveled through the door of the room, flying through it as well as another door before imbedding itself in the wall in the second room.

John wished he could see the look of horror on the faces in the room but he didn't have time. He cleared the chamber of rounds before sliding out the magazine and slapping in the new magazine with a red stripe and charged the weapon. He quickly picked up the good discarded round and slammed it into the ejected magazine, and he also grabbed the spent round casing shoving both magazine and casing into a pocket. He then picked up the night vision goggles next to him and threw them on his head. Finally he heaved up the AS50 and started to rush down the stairs. He had never gone the stairs that fast but the adrenaline was coursing through him and personal safety was overlooked as he quickly made his way down the stairs in record time and flew down to the basement. He was only about fifteen seconds behind the fox but Keith had already opened the hatch to the sewers. John ran up to it and swooped down to pick up his bag he laid there the other night. John quickly jumped down the ladder, water splashing when he hit the ground, and looked back up to see the fox had already climbed onto the ladder and was closing the entrance to the tunnels. John once again looked down the tunnel and was about to put his night vision on when a light suddenly appeared right next to him. He whipped around and pointed the 50 at the entrance only to see it closed. He looked next to him to see Keith holding two torches chuckling at John's reaction. John slung his 50 and took one of the torches.

"Is the ambassador dead?" Keith asked as he pulled out the map Simon gave them.

"Oh yeah, dead doesn't even begin to cover what just happened." He replied thinking about the way the bullet tore through the dragon. "You lead" He said and the fox nodded as they began to walk down the dark tunnels. The tunnels for the most part where pretty much just flooded passageways, and every few turns they would stop to check the map, but for the most part they made good progress. It was strange, some points the tunnels were flowing with water but every now and then they would hit a dry stretch of tunnel. 'Must be for additional run off or something' John thought as they continued on their trek. After about fifteen minutes of walking they were once again on a dry spot.

"We are about three quarters of the way to the exit." Keith said looking back at John. The human was about to reply when suddenly a large crack sounded underneath Keith. They only looked at each other for a second with fear in their eyes before the floor gave way around Keith and it started to fall around John. Keith's scream was drowned out as he fell down the hole by the noise of the collapse, while John was lucky enough to jump backwards away from the collapsing ground. From wall to wall the floor fell out from under them as dust was kicked up preventing John from seeing the crater. Once the noise stopped John walked carefully into the dust until he reached the edge. The dust started to settle and John could see that the floor collapsed wall to wall. After a few more tense seconds John could see the bottom of the hole and saw the fox lying under debris.

"Keith can you hear me?" John yelled at the fox, who showed no signs of movement. Keith's legs were buried under debris as well as his whole left arm up to his shoulder. The hole was about 7 feet deep, and Keith wasn't getting out without help. John was about to throw off his stuff when he heard voices coming from deeper in the tunnels behind him. 'Oh no. How the hell are they so close to us already?' He thought. He looked back at the fox who was stirring.

**************************************************************

Keith opened his eyes confused. He looked up at John and wondered why he was staring at him; then he remembered the collapse. He tried to pick himself up but found that he was stuck to the ground. Looking around he could see he was trapped under debris. He was about to panic when he remembered John was with him. When he looked up at the human he was not reassured. The look of panic and fear in the human's eyes made Keith uneasy. Then he heard the voices. It sounded like someone was coming down towards them. Instantly he realized what was about to happen and looked up at John with pleading eyes. The human only looked at the fox, sorrow in his eyes, as he brought the torch to his face and blew it out letting the darkness claim both of them. The fox let out cry of anguish knowing that he had been abandon to his fate. 'I knew I couldn't trust him. He left me to die.' Keith howled in rage as he thought of the human's betrayal. And so this is how he was when five guards came up to the edge of the pit. The fox was too engrossed in his own thoughts to care about what one of them barked orders. Three of them dropped into the pit to dig out Keith. Once his arms were free they immediately tied them together and they did the same when his legs where free. Keith showed no emotion as they pulled him out of the hole. He was completely quite; he eyes were fixed in a stare but at nothing particular. All he could think about was the human had abandon him. They hauled him to the edge of the pit where the two above grabbed ahold of him and pulled him up. Setting him down against the wall the two began talking to him, though he didn't register any of what they said. But he did register pain, as one of the figures kicked him right in the stomach. That shook Keith out of his daze. He doubled over in pain and laid on the ground clutching, his stomach before a metal boot fell upon him again. Keith cried out at the beating he was taking, the raccoon was yelling at him but his mind wasn't registering anything besides the pain. Finally the raccoon stopped and stood as one of the guards in the pit barked orders. Keith opened his eyes and looked at the raccoon, right as his knee exploded.

**************************************************************

John looked back down at the fox. Just before he blew out the torch John could see the look of rage, and anguish flood Keith's eyes. He was sorry that he had to do this but he couldn't risk being caught. As the torch blew out John flipped his night vision down and the world was flooded with green. He quickly turned around to and ran around the nearest corner, he made one more turn and slowly peaked around the corner. He heard the fox's scream and it chilled him to his core. 'Just hang in there Keith' John thought as he saw 6 figures come around the corner. They were guards that much was for sure. They ran towards the screaming fox. But before they turned the corner one of them, a gryphon, said something John couldn't hear, and pointed in the direction John was in. A wolf nodded, drew his sword, and started to come towards John. 'Probably searching for anyone else' He thought as he slowly backed away from the corner and sank into a hole in the wall. He took off his night vision and drew his knife. He slowly saw the light from the wolf's torch become brighter and brighter. Finally the wolf appeared from around the corner. He crouched low looking at the ground, then he looked back down the tunnel searching for any signs of movement. Finally the wolf stood up and started to walk away. John acted as he picked up a rock and quickly popped out to toss it at the far wall. The rock struck the wall and the wolf reacted in a predicable fashion.

"Anyone there?" He called out as he started to go down the tunnel before the hole in the wall caught his eye. John waited patiently as he watched the light from the torch intensify as the wolf drew closer. Finally John saw a torch come through the hole followed by the wolf's snout. That was all he needed and before the wolf could even get his head fully into the hole John had grasped the wolf's maw and pulled him in. The wolf let out a suppressed cry before a blade was thrust into his throat. John pulled the blade out before bringing the blade down on the top of the wolf's head, killing it as it sliced into his brain. He quickly pulled the rest of the body into the hole and stepped out.

He brought his night vision down again and slowly started to make his way back to the collapsed part of the tunnel.

"So are you going to talk? Why are you down here?" John heard someone yell, followed by groans. John quickened his pace. When he finally got to the corner he saw the raccoon beating Keith. The fox's eyes where squeezed shut in pain. John quickly brought up his AS50. "There isn't anybody else down here. Help us out of here." John heard the voice inside the pit. This stopped the raccoon's assault, which looked over at the rabbit standing over the pit. John quickly lined up the shot and fired. John thought the last shot was loud but even with hearing protection the reverb made the shot sound almost unbearably loud. The shot flew true and struck the raccoon in the knee.

If this had been a regular .50 cal round then it probably would have shattered the leg of the raccoon and hit his other leg. However this magazine with the read strip contained the fearsome Raufoss mark 211 armor piercing round. The round easily tore through the thin armor on the raccoon's knee before it entered his knee. It got about halfway through before the explosive charge on the bullet blew, completely separating the knee from the body. A spray of copper shrapnel flew past through the armor of the raccoon's other knee, while the tungsten penetrator dart pierced right through the bone and tumbled out of the leg still traveling at a very fast speed. The now smashed dart hit the rabbit's right in the calf, once again smashing through the armor, but it did not have the force to penetrate the bone. Instead it collided with the it's leg bone and stopped, shattering the bone.

All of this happened before the loud crack of the rifle even reached their ears. The raccoon fell to the ground screaming in pain as he clutched his bloody stump where his leg, now lying right next to him, use to connect to his body. The rabbit also let out a pained scream as he fell into the hole with the others. John quickly walked over to the raccoon, and dragged his screaming form over to the pit, before he tossed him in as well. He looked down into the pit. The three others were trying to calm their comrades. In all there was a gryphon, a horse, a rabbit, a raccoon missing a leg, and another wolf. They all looked up a John in fear. He then noticed something odd. The gryphon was the only one out of the group that was wearing black armor. 'Well I guess that's how they found us so fast.' He thought as he looked at the 'elite' guard.

"What the hell are you!?" the gryphon screamed at John.

John ignored his question as he pulled the grenade he had from his pocket. "You know, you guys probably don't deserve to die. You guys are just doing your jobs. Whether you came down here to investigate the collapse, or if you are here because of what I've done, in the end you are just following order." John said as he saw all of their eyes grow wide. "But after seeing me I can't just let you walk away. I am sorry, but you've seen too much." John said as he backed away from the pit. He pulled the pin on the grenade and held it for a bit, letting the fuse burn down, before he tossed it into the pit. He covered his ears as the grenade when off, killing all of those in the pit. He walked back over and looked down the pit and saw body parts, guts, and a whole lot of blood. He felt sad for what he had just done but in the end he did what needed to be done. He only shook his head as he walked towards Keith.

"You came back for me?" The fox asked confused as the human cut his ties.

"I never left" John said. "Well I did leave, but I didn't go more than a few corners so they wouldn't see me." John corrected himself smiling at the fox.

The fox starred dumbfounded at the human's playful attitude before he shook his head. "I guess I was wrong." Keith said as he took the hand John extended.

"Well I'm not gonna say I told you so. After all if were you I wouldn't have too much trust in me either." John said as he helped the fox up. "But I freakin told you so." John said as the fox shoved him playfully. John saw the fox wince in pain from the gesture. "Hey you okay." John asked.

"Yes, I'll be fine. I'll be able to walk out under my own power."

"Well that's good, but we still have one problem."

"Oh?"

"When you fell you had the map with you, and if it survived that it just got blown to hell." John said pointing at the hole.

The fox grinned as he looked at John. "That all?" The fox asked innocently. Now it was John who was confused.

Keith laughed at John's confusion. It was good to have the tables turned for once. "Like I said before Simon brought me on the route when he gave me the map, and we're close enough to the exit that this last part is simple because we are following the major water flow out to the exit." Keith explained.

"So we're not going to die down here."

"No we're not."

"Nice" John said as they both looked at the pit. 'Well this turned out to be more exciting than I expected.' He thought as they both looked for a way around the hole in the ground.

**************************************************************

They finally made it out of the tunnels and were back in the jungle again. John felt the fresh air hit him, not realizing just how dank it was in the tunnels. They walked for a little bit before they came out by a roadway. Waiting for them was the same raccoon who brought them to Therum. He looked over at them and smiled. "I was starting to think you weren't going to make it." He said pointing at the city. Both John and Keith looked back at the city and saw that the walls had many guards on it and even from this distance John could see that there was a very heavy security presence at all entrances.

He looked back at the raccoon. "What can I say? It was a helluva morning." He said smiling as he climbed in the back and Keith went into the front. 'Next stop, Saraph.' John thought was the cart started moving. 'And beyond.'

**************************************************************

The second they set foot in Saraph again John and Keith were whisked away to the council. As John stood in front of the council again he wondered if they would do what they said and let him go free.

"So it is done?" Krypt asked.

"Yes. I can confirm it. I saw the bullet tear through his body."

"Can you confirm this Keith?" Skeal asked Keith who was standing next to John in front of the council.

"No I cannot confirm the death." Keith replied.

"How can we trust the word of the creature? He may be lying to us all!" Skeal spat out, pointing to John.

Krypt only held out his paw to stop the gryphon from saying any more. "You were supposed to accompany John every step of the way. Why were you not there when the assassination took place?" Krypt asked. His tone serious but nowhere near as harsh as Skeal's.

"Sir I was there when the assassination took place. However the ambassador was moved to stay in the Senate building rather than in some tavern meaning that he would be staying in the same building where meeting was taking place. We could not get to him without risking our own lives, but John found a way to overcome that. I cannot confirm the death of the ambassador because John killed him from a bell tower in the outer city." Keith replied.The whole room gasped in surprise. Everyone on the council had been to Therum, and had been to the center building. They also knew of the great walls of Therum. "And after seeing the damage his weapon can inflict up close I have no doubt in my mind that the ambassador is dead.

"That's impossible. No weapon can shot that far. Not even a ballista could make that kind of distance." Skeal scoffed.

"Well my people have develop much deadlier equipment than you can ever dream of seeing in a hundred years." John said with little emotion.

"Why you --"

"He's telling the truth." A voice rang out cutting of the gryphon. Everyone turned to see Cearra standing behind Pyrros.

"What are you doing here?" Pyrros asked his daughter.

"She is here under my order Pyrros." Krypt stated. All eyes turned to him, demanding an explanation. "I think it would be better if she told you." The old wolf said with a smirk.

"I know he is telling the truth." She repeated again.

"Oh surly you can't believe such a ridiculous clam?" Skeal said.

"Yes I can." She said flatly. "You remember when I told you about how I tried to hold him still when he first appeared." Everyone except John nodded his head. "Well just before he escaped I left a memory in his mind."

Pyrros eyes grew wide as he realized what she was talking about. "You connected your mind to his didn't you?"

"Yes." She answered. Everyone was shocked to hear this. Something told John that "connecting your mind" had a bigger meaning than had initially led him to believe. "It isn't a full or even very powerful connection, but I can tell when he is lying and when he is telling the truth. The ambassador is dead, or at least John is convinced he is."

Everyone took in this information. Even Skeal realized that this left little doubt that John was telling the truth.

"He's dead. I saw the bullet tear through the dragon myself." John said.

Krypt only cocked his head at the statement. "Well then perhaps you should tell us exactly what happened."

And so John and Keith spent the better part of an hour explaining what exactly happened at Therum, though they skipped the part of the midnight confrontation. When it was done there was a silence. Finally Krypt spoke up. "Well John it seems that you have kept your end of the bargain, now it is time for ours." He said.

"I still don't think that we should let him go." Skeal voiced his dissent.

"Noted." Krypt said flatly before smiling at John. "You are free to go John."

John stood for a moment before he spoke. "Council, I would like to ask something of you."

Krypt, Pyrros, and Cearra were pretty sure they knew what he was about to ask, but the rest of the council only starred at him. "Oh, what would that be?" Krypt asked.

John shifted nervously as he thought about how to ask this question. "Well, as I have told you before that I come from a faraway land. Somewhere far different then here and as far as I know, I have no home here--"

"And you would like us to allow you to live here." Krypt finished for him.

"Yes. Like I said I really don't have a home here on this world, and I if I went out on my own I doubt that I could last very long."

"We had foreseen that you might ask this of us and don't worry, we will allow you to stay within Saraph." Pyrros said. John felt relieved knowing that he now had a place to stay. "In fact, you can take the guest room in our house." John's snapped a surprised look up at the dragon who was smiling. "It is the least I can do for you saving my daughter's life."

John was taken by surprise. Not only was he going to be able to stay in the city, but he was staying in with a family that was pretty much royalty. "Council, Pyrros, thank you for this." He said with a slight bow.

"Like Pyrros said it is the least we can do for what you've done for us." Krypt said.

"There's just one thing I want to know first." Cearra said. Everyone looked at her, wondering what she would ask. "You said right now that you didn't have a home on this world, and you have promised me answers to my questions, so what do you mean by this not being your world."

John gulped. 'I can't believe she picked up on that. Damn girl is perceptive as hell.' He thought. There was no way out of it this time. "Like I said I'm nearly a hundred percent sure that this world is not my world, and despite what you may think Cearra the stars would look pretty much the same anywhere on you are on the planet. You could be on the other side of the world and the night sky would be the same."

"So you are certain you are from another world?" Krypt questioned.

"Well that or another dimension or something like that. The point is I'm defiantly not from this planet." John stated.

"Well that is interesting news. I wish I could visit your world. Cearra told us that you said your planet was inhabited by talking monkeys as well. I would very much have liked to meet one." Krypt mused.

John only smiled at the comment. While he was always reluctant to get into the subject of humanity, he had no way out of it. "Well I think I may be able to help you with that one." John saw the confused look on their faces. "Just what do you think I am?" John asked.

This threw everyone off. "Technically speaking humans are basically highly evolved monkeys who decided to stand upright one day, and the rest is history." There wasn't a single jaw not on the ground in the room. And he still wasn't done yet. "Yes my people are the talking monkeys, though as you can see we are a tad bit different looking then what you might have imagined. And calling us monkeys is not considered a compliment." John was enjoying this looking at the faces of the anthro's. "And Keith, remember I told you how Therum was the biggest city I've seen that was built like in that way?" Keith could only nod. "Well it is nowhere near the biggest city I've seen. Hell the city I'm from is has about 100,000 people living in it." Now the eyes were bulging. John was enjoying this too much. "And that's still considered a small city. And that pales in comparison to the biggest city in my country is called New York City which is home to over 8 million people." John only smiled as he watched the faces of everyone in the room. He was honestly surprised that their heads hadn't exploded. He figured that he had done enough damage to their brains. Besides John felt the events of the last few days finally started to catch up to him as he yawned. When everyone saw him yawn it seemed to break them out of their stupor.

"Well it seems like things are starting to catch up to you John." Marth observed.

"Yeah no kidding, I've been going like a machine for the past couple of days."

"So it seems even you have your limits." Keith said.

John grinned at the fox. "Well what can I say? I'm only human." John said. He turned to Pyrros. "Sir if you please could show me to the room. I could really use the rest."

"Of course, we'll lead you to the room." The dragon said. Pyrros motioned for John to follow him and Cearra as they walked to the back of the room towards a pair of double doors. John stopped next to Pyrros as the doors opened. 'And beyond.' John thought as he followed the dragon past the doors.

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This was the longest chapter I have ever written and it will probably keep that title because it was a bitch to write. I never want to write this much again. As I worked on it I gave some serious thought into splitting it up into two parts but I decided against it. Anyways I hopped you enjoy this part as usual, and thanks to everyone who comment, favorite, and 5-star my stories. I know I don't usually respond to comments and that's probably something I should work on, but I feel it's important to let you guys know that it is always a pick me up to see that people enjoy my story. So thanks again.