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Julius emerged from the old, abandoned subway via a public staircase that was surrounded by crumbled buildings and other debris. Almost twenty years ago, a powerful bomb had exploded, causing extensive damage to the nearby towers which collapsed and caved in the local subway system beneath the streets. Though the area had long ago been cleared of victims, the mayor's office never found time to organise proper cleanup of the area and so it was left in ruin. Now all but forgotten, Julius found a sort of sanctuary there and was able to train without fear of innocent bystanders getting in the way.

With a slow and steady pace, the dark blue tiger left the ruined city blocks behind him and made his way towards the city limits. The subway was not the only place Julius had that he could retreat to. But up above, the city's guardian was being watched. Silhouetted by the pale moonlight, a lone, lithe figure stood on a high rooftop, carefully watching Julius as he made his way through the city streets. With no more sound than what was made just watching, the figure vanished, only to reappear atop another building nearby. As though he were stalking his prey, Isaac teleported from rooftop to rooftop, seemingly waiting for the right moment to strike. But the cheetah's purpose was only to watch, and so that was all he did, remaining out of the tiger's sight.

A few weeks earlier.

Sistra pulled away from her brother the moment they materialised and frantically scrambled to her feet. Whirling around in anger, the female cheetah bellowed at her sibling, letting loose all her fury.

"What the fucking hell was that?!" she shouted, "I could have been killed! Just take your sweet fucking time next time, alright?!"

Enraged by her brother's late intervention, Sistra balled her fist and drove it into the side of Isaac's face. The male cheetah made no attempt to dodge or deflect his sister's blow. Though he stood by his decision to wait before acting, Isaac understood Sistra's frustration and allowed her to vent, accepting whatever punishment his kin felt like delivering.

But the punch was weak, feeble and pathetic by Arkon standards. Isaac barely blinked as his sister's fist struck his cheekbone. Surprised by the lack of force, Isaac stared at Sistra in confusion.

"What was that?" Isaac remarked.

Sistra stumbled back a step, staring in disbelief at her hand. She had put her full force into the swing but her strength was now not even a quarter of its former glory. Fear suddenly began to sweep over the female cheetah as she wildly grasped at the air, trying to find something to grab hold of. The polished floor of the ballroom the twins had teleported into seemed to lurch to one side as Sistra finally collapsed. Isaac watched in confusion as his sister struggled to grasp what had just happened to her.

As her vision steadied and the hall stopped spinning, Sistra dragged herself up and knelt on the floor. Holding out her hands before her, she scrunched them up into fists and then opened them again, flexing her fingers and testing her new limitations. Next, the female cheetah seemed to grasp an invisible handle. Her eyes widened with horror as her efforts to conjure a weapon failed again and again.

"I... I can't make anything," Sistra's voice cracked. "My wings... he, he took my wings..."

Sistra turned and shouted at her brother.

"HE TOOK MY FUCKING WINGS!!!"

Tears streaked the fur on the female's face as she leapt to her feet and charged at her twin. Swearing and shouting incoherently, Sistra beat on her brother's chest wildly while Isaac avoided her gaze.

"Enough!" a calm but dominating voice demanded from the shadows.

While Sistra's tantrum subsided and she slumped against her brother, Isaac looked towards the source of the voice and responded.

"It seems we have a problem," Isaac reported.

"It does indeed," Carrick agreed, stepped out of the shadows that blanketed the edges of the ornate hall. "Tell me what happened."

"As expected, Julius came to the aid of the hostages," Isaac explained calmly, ignoring his sister's sobbing. "Sistra managed to hold him at a distance, for a time, but Julius made an unexpected move and forced her into close quarters combat. After gaining the upper hand, Julius took Sistra by the wrist at which point she appeared unable to react. But, before Julius could deliver another blow, I intervened and returned here, now."

"And now I am no more than any of the other trash on this stupid rock!" Sistra interrupted, turning her anger on Carrick. Ready for a fight, Sistra ran across the hall, charging wildly at the head of the city's organised crime ring. But the attack was cut short when Carrick drew a long-sword from the scabbard at his side. Without hesitation or remorse, he held it up and out, the blade flat and pointed with a steady hand at his would-be attacker's throat. Sistra skidded to a halt and eyed the tip of the sharp blade just inches away. Both contempt and fear filled the cheetah as her gaze moved down the shiny steel and focused menacingly on its wielder.

"Do not forget your place," Carrick said to her, his tone seeming to beg Sistra to take another step forward.

"It seems apparent that Julius' wings permit him to strip another Arkon of theirs," Isaac continued, once more ignoring his sibling's actions. "Based on my observation, I would appear that he requires physical contact in order to accomplish this, however."

"That is troublesome indeed," Carrick stated, still holding his sword at the ready should Sistra decide to test his authority once more. "I want you to find Julius, Isaac. Do not draw him out, this time. Find him yourself and observe him. See if he is capable of using the wings he has stripped from other Arkons. If he is able to do so, he could become quite the little threat to Dante's efforts."

"As you wish." Isaac tilted his head respectfully to Carrick.

"As for you, Sistra. Be thankful that you are only wingless and not dead."

With a single, swift and precise motion, the blade was withdrawn and sheathed once more. Unconcerned with Sistra's rage, Carrick turned on the ball of his foot and made his way back to the shadows, appearing again for only a brief moment in the illuminated doorway beyond them. As the crime lord disappeared into the hallway, one final comment wafted into the ballroom.

"When you're done wallowing in self pity, see me in my office. I still have work you can do."

When Carrick was finally gone, Isaac strode across the large hall, brushing past his kin without so much as a glance or a word. Left alone in the shadowy hall, Sistra fell to her knees and began crying once more.

---

Mercedes sat up attentively when the door to the small room she was left in opened. Isaac entered and turned on the light but paid no heed to her presence. He acted as though she was not there, but the human girl knelt on the bed and waited patiently should he turn his attention toward her. To Isaac, she was little more than a toy, an object worthy only of existing for his amusement.

In obedient silence, Mercedes watched as the cheetah undressed and opened a draw to remove clean clothes. She carefully studied the subtle contours of his athletic form. It had been barely an hour since this beast had publicly ravaged her on a table as though he owned her. But in that time, Mercedes had come to respect and desire him, wanting only to be his thing of pleasure.

Isaac had sensed something in the girl the moment he laid eyes on her. He saw it in her eyes that she was different from everyone else. Though she cooperated with the demands given, she did not do so out of fear. Isaac saw defiance in the human girl. And not the typical, petty rebellious type he'd seen in many human teens. Her defiance was of a higher calibre, of independence. She had a strong will of her own and a respect for true strength, the kind that bore complete independence from the surrounding establishment of society.

For this reason alone, Isaac had decided to test her. He wanted to see what she would do when presented with that kind of strength. And when her will did not waver under his touch, she impressed and amused him.

But as Isaac stood behind her in the bank, closely admiring her figure, he realised there was another side to this girl, a wild side. The subtle scent of sex that stained her fingertips betrayed this secret. She was a beast, primal in nature. Her choice of attire was an outward projection of her readiness to fuck. But her independent mind and sexual liberties conflicted. Despite her declaration of sexual readiness, she was still pure. Surely she had been propositioned many times by males equally ready to fuck like the beasts they pretended not to be. Had none of them been fitting of her standards? No. This girl's respect for strength was too great. She would not permit another to partake of her body if they did not have the will to take it; real strength, not the false kind projected by the use of greater numbers, threats or money.

This amused Isaac even more. It made him want her for his own. But if he had tried to simply take her with him, she might very well have objected, forcefully. He needed to break her first, show her the strength she desired to see and take what he wanted, and then let her come to him of her own free will. It would not have been as sweet a victory any other way.

"I thought I told you to stay on the bed," Isaac finally asked. His tone was not angry, rather, it was inquisitive and curious.

"I needed a new shirt," Mercedes explained to Isaac's back.

Naked and holding a clean pair of pants and shirt draped over one arm, the cheetah turned to face the human teenager. She was kneeling on the bed wearing nothing but a white shirt that was three sizes too big. She had the front open so that her figure could be fully seen and her knees parted slightly. When Isaac looked at her, she met his gaze with her own, showing that same independent will, but compliance to her master. She was his and his alone.

Isaac took a few steps forward and stood in front of the bed. As he looked down at her, his eyes lingering over her exposed curves, arousal once more stirred within him. In response to his slowly hardening member, Mercedes parted her legs some more, showing complete submission.

But Isaac had work to do.

"There's a bathroom down the hall and a kitchen downstairs," Isaac said as he started pulling on his shirt, ignoring Mercedes' presentation. "You'd do well to keep out of the way and not interact with anyone else. If you are approached, my name is Isaac."

Mercedes just nodded as she watched the cheetah finally pull on his pants and stuff his shaft inside them. Without another word, Isaac headed for the turn, turned out the light and began closing the door once more.

Present.

Not far from the city limits, about a ten minute drive down the coastal road, an old lighthouse stood on a small hill. Once used to by the captains of trade ships to find their way, the tall structure now stood in disrepair and served as host to an infrequently visited lookout. As the first rays of predawn light began to creep over the horizon, Julius reached the lookout. He stood by the wooden fence and looked out at the city that lay before him, seeming to sit in patient silence like an obedient child.

Alone and surrounded by fresh air, Julius reflected on the past week. He'd taken a much more aggressive stance toward protecting the city, believing that he was fighting against Carrick's attempts. But something Harrison said gnawed at the tiger's mind. Or, was it the detective's tone? Julius couldn't place his finger on it, but something about the recent conversation with his old friend didn't sit right with Julius; made him second guess his decision. Was he really acting in the best interests of the people he was trying to protect? Or was he simply lashing out at the organised criminal element that had bested him.

"Why do you do it?"

Julius started at the sound of another voice and stood upright, turning to face the voice's owner.

"Where did you come from?" Julius growled at the familiar white wolf.

"Nowhere of importance," Life replied, idly disregarding the tiger's inquiry.

As Life leaned against the fence, his back to the city, Julius relaxed and returned his gaze to the city's landscape that sprawled before the lookout.

"Do what?" Julius asked.

"Protect them," Life said.

"Why not?" Julius glanced at the wolf in tattered clothes.

When Life did not respond, Julius sighed and continued.

"If I have the strength to protect those who need protecting, why shouldn't I? If I stand idly by while unwarranted harm comes to those who cannot fight back, and I have the strength to stop it, how am I any better than those who inflict the harm?"

"But why them?" Life turned to face the city, crossing his arms and leaning on the fence. "Why this city?"

"What difference does it make?" Julius asked. "Even I have my limits. I cannot protect everyone from every possible wrongful act. On the grand scale of all existence, my actions will likely have no effect on anything. But here, now, I can affect those whom I can reach. Each and every person I aid is affected greatly by my actions. And even some I do not aid directly fall under the umbrella of my protection, through the influence of my presence and deeds nearby."

"Yet you despair," Life observed, "Circumstances have shifted and though you may not realise it, you are at war with yourself."

Julius turned his gaze away from the wolf, away from the city.

"The crim lord, Carrick, attempts to turn the city against me," Julius explained, "His man has infiltrated a position of authority and turned my actions up-side-down. I thought that this was an attempt to influence an increase of criminal activity. In response, I acted aggressively, trying to counter Carrick's attempts. But I fear I may have only been acting in ire."

"It is hard to tell where the line lies in times of war," Life said, "When a foe stands against you, and you know that foe means no good, then you cannot let that foe simply push you aside. But when striking back against that foe, you must take care to notice who the foe truly is. Some foes cast shadows, Julius. And those shadows can cloud the mind and its judgement. Do not feel swayed in your resolve to protect the city from those who would do it harm. But remember that this world and its people have laws of their own, some very different from those you know from home. Judgement is not yours to deal."

Julius closed his eyes and let the wolf's words sink in. He had acted rashly, doing what he believed was just. But it was not his place to do so.

"Thank you, Life," Julius said, looking up at the white wolf.

But Life was gone. As though the wolf had never been there, Julius was once again alone. Sighing, the tiger turned his gaze on the city again. But as he watched in silence, movement caught his attention.

There appeared to be a lone bird moving from tower top to tower top. But it was barely 3am; no birds were awake. And Julius knew of no bird on Earth as big as this one. No. It was not a bird. It was something else.