FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

I coughed up a storm when I finally came to, gasping for breath as if I was devoid of oxygen for a good while. I slowly sat up and tried to look around as my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. I seemed to be in a building of some sort. It looked a bit run down, with cracks along the walls and flooring. The paint on the said walls looked like it was peeling off, too. I looked over myself, noticing I had a shirt on again. It felt slightly used and looked quite wrinkly. It was a simple white undershirt, but it was something. I stood up and brushed myself off, noticing I didn't have my gun on me. I thought for a moment that it might have been left in the crumbling building. I just sighed and shrugged, figuring I could just get a new gun. Less modifications, but it didn't matter if I could completely master this gun altering ability Bane had showed me.

I cracked my neck and stretched before walking toward the doorway quietly. I didn't know who or what had brought me to this building, but I sure as hell wasn't going to be friendly to them unless I knew they were harmless. I found a pipe lying against the wall and grabbed it as I moved slowly. I peeked around several corners before sighing as I still didn't see anyone. I relaxed and tried to evaluate my surroundings again, trying to grasp why I was pulled into this building.

"Hey, Boss Man, you're up!" I heard a familiar and slightly irritating voice chime behind me.

It caused me to jump and nearly swing the pipe in that direction.

"Holy hell, Juno, don't do that!" I said, stopping myself just in time.

Juno did jump back and ducked, as if expecting me to swing it fully. When I didn't, she smiled as she stood back up straight. Instead of saying anything, she just ran up to me and locked me into a painfully tight hug.

"That's from Tay," she said, letting out a giggle as she squeezed me.

I let out a groan as I pried her off of me.

"Thanks, but I prefer breathing," I said, looking around. "Where are Tay and the others? Since you're here, I'm assuming they're all safe."

"They're in the room at the end of the hall," she said. "They made her do a horrible thing." She looked down now and sighed.

"I know, as I told Tay, Jagger forced me to watch it," I said. "That bastard's dead now, fortunately. Unfortunately, his lab soon crumbled with him."

"It crumbled?" she asked, blinking. "Oh, at least you got out safe, Boss Man! Let me hear a woohoo!" She jumped around and screamed the phrase at the top of her lungs.

When I didn't comply, she gave me the biggest pouting face and I covered my face with my palm.

"Woohoo," I grumbled.

"I didn't hear that," she said as she still gave me that pouting look.

"Woohoo!" I said, louder.

"Yay, you said it!" she cheered, once again trapping me in an air tight hug.

"You two done?" a voice belonging to Jazz asked from the doorway. She was still dressed in the clothing I saw her in back at the hotel in Jaden. "We need to think up a plan of some sort quick. Plus Lane here needs to console Tay since she's isolated herself in one of the other rooms."

"Yeah, we're done," I said, heading down the hall and past Jazz. I looked around as I walked, trying to figure out where the group had gone and how far out we were from Jaden or Tonoko.

I did find Tay curled up in a room, sitting in a corner by herself. Her clothes were dirty as if she had been laying on the ground for a while.

"Tay," I said, though blinked at how quickly she uncurled and jumped up before she wrapped me in a hug that felt like Juno's. "Easy now, Tay. I'm here." I squeezed her gently, gently running my hand through her hair as I pet the top of her head.

"I-It was... terrible, Lane," Tay said, clearly through still sobbing and gasping for air from crying so much.

I just nodded and kissed her forehead before sitting down with pulling her into my lap. I couldn't say much to her other than it will be okay. Tay was hysterical and kept mentioning how Rolio would never forgive her. I had to keep her still and tried to calm her down but I couldn't keep her clam. I bit my lower lip and lifted her chin and gulped before kissing her on the lips like she had done earlier to me. I looked at her as I held the kiss and watched her stare at me in surprise. The kiss soon broke and we just stared at each other in silence before I felt her pull my collar to tug me forward and we kissed again, but this time her tongue invaded my mouth and began to dance around with my own.

Her arms wrapped around me in a gentle hug as the kiss continued as it seemed to calm her down significantly. Once we pulled back from each other again, she held the hug as she took something from the ground behind me and then wrapped it around my neck. She still let out small sniffles here and there, but she smiled slightly as she reached down and held up what she had put around my neck. It was a necklace with her name on it

"I made these in Jaden when you were out," she said softly as she pulled her shirt down enough to reveal wearing one with my name on it. "It's to symbolize that we're both close to each other, no matter what happens. The kiss... just proved that it would work. It's kind of a mind trick and puts mine at ease at least."

"I love it," I said softly, rubbing her head gently again. "Now, can I see the woman that saved my life from that hitman again? I loved her laugh, her cocky attitude at times and especially all her reporter experience making her knowledgable."

She let out a cute laugh and held onto my arm as she nodded and leaned against me.

"Glad to see she's finally happy again," Jazz said as she entered the room. "Though we don't have much time. Toro's saying he's picking up signals from Cryptic Guard that are comin' to either demolish this place or the Crimson Gavel coming here to finish us off. Either way, we need to move and fast."

"We could just move out of sight and ready an ambush for an armored car if it's the Cryptic Guard," I said. "We don't have much of a choice unless you, Torro, Tran and Juno all prefer to walk in the desert like I tried to do."

"You have a point," Tran said, groaning as Juno for some reason was riding piggyback on him.

"Juno, what are you doing?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Tran promised me a piggyback ride if I was quiet until you woke up, which I was!" Juno giggled.

"Right," I said, shaking my head. "Well, it's our only option if we want a ride out of here."

"If it is, then only a few of us will make it out," Toro said from the other room before entering as well. "I can see a Cryptic Guard convoy already headed this way. There's quite a few vehicles, but they'll have this entire place surrounded soon. As unfortunate as it may be, we need them to detect bodies inside in order for them to be distracted enough so Lane and Tay can get out of here."

"What?" I asked, standing up. "I'm not letting anyone stay here and get blown up."

"Not your decision," he said. "Jazz and I made up our minds. We're staying in order to let you two get away."

"Why only us?" I asked, grabbing his collar. "Why are you being so foolish to throw away your lives?"

"Our lives were gone the moment we rebelled," Toro said. "We're prepared to die, Lane. Especially since we saw your combat skill and power. You can do this without us."

"I'm staying with my besties," Juno said, smiling. "Maybe we can find a way to survive the blast and meet up later, but Vinchi and Bortelli are all the stands in the Gavel before it crumbles and you gotta go kick their butts, Boss Man! Tran even said I was right for once!"

"You guys are insane," I said, though blinked when Tay took my hand and pulled me away.

"They're serious," Tay said softly. "Don't protest. I tried to and they wouldn't budge. Just accept it and follow orders. Like it or not, Lane, you're not in command right now. They made up their minds."

I sighed and nodded, looking back at Toro.

"Alright, fine," I said. "If you have made up your minds, I can't do anything to change them. How long do you think we have before they launch a bomb to decimate the place?"

"Perhaps two minutes," Toro said as he ran back to the window. "Get moving to an exit to the North now, Lane. You and Tay should be able to highjack a vehicle there. They're already arriving and surrounding the building."

I nodded and took Tay's hand before running down the hall with her and kicked open a door before letting her ahead of me and then we both descended down the stairs. Once we got to the ground floor, we headed toward the emergency exit. Luckily the power wasn't on and the alarm was shot, so it wouldn't be noticed. I opened the door and peeked outside before noticing a nearby Hoover Jeep. I looked back at Tay and nodded.

"The Hoover Jeep over there," I said. "Has bulletproof armor and weaponry. It means we can take out a few of these guys and not worry about being hit ourselves. I owe it to them to do that."

Tay nodded at that and held onto my arm a bit tighter.

"I agree," she said. "I'll drive and you shoot, okay?"

I chuckled and nodded. I then dashed outside and behind a guard before grabbing him by the neck and snapping it immediately. I didn't feel any remorse from it as I loathed the Cryptic Guard and was happy to lessen their number. When a second one came around the corner, I took the former guard's gun and blasted the second one in the face with it. I then opened the driver side door and watched Tay hurry inside before slamming it shut. I then hopped into the back seat and found a large weapons cache in the back before opening up the sunroof and grabbed a grenade launcher.

"Okay, here goes," I grumbled, closing my eyes as I began to focus and channel Bane through me.

My fur turned a bright white again rather quickly as my hair grayed. I held the grenade launcher and began to transform it into a devastating Plasma RPG. As Tay sped away from the building, I watched as the exits, including the one we took, were blocked off completely before watching a missile come down on the abandoned building. I tried to fire my RPG at it, but it failed to do anything as it landed on the building with a controlled blast heading upward. I hit the top of the roof to signal for Tay to turn around and she did so immediately as I readied my weapon.

"You bastards killed my team, made my best friend betray me and took my life away for fifteen years!" I shouted, aiming at a pack of guards. "Now, it's my turn! For Juno, Tran, Jazz and Toro!"

I fired four shots of the RPG at the pack, each one hitting them dead in the center. It sent the other guards from afar scrambling as they got into their other vehicle and began to chase us down. I just grinned and aimed the RPG again; firing at any of them came close to us.

"Head toward Tonoko, Tay!" I called out before firing again. "Vinchi and Bortelli won't leave their safe havens. We have to bring the fight to them."

"Way ahead of you!" Tay called back. "According to this GPS, Tonoko's only five minutes away. Get rid of anyone on our tail!"

"Got it!" I called back before hearing my Communicator go off. I reached down and pulled it out of my pocket and opened it.

"Lane!" Bernie said, sounding a bit frightened.

"Whoa, Bernie, where are you?" I blinked. "I didn't see you in the building."

"What building?" he asked. "Minnie and I got lost before hearing an explosion. We managed to snag a ride before realizing you were blowing these things up. Guess we went the right way but nearly died 'cause we didn't realize that you were the one firing that... uh... RPG? Well, anyway, we're closing in on you, so don't shoot us. Once we're at your side, then fire away behind us."

"Alright, good to hear that you're okay," I said, sighing. "I can't say the same for the other four. They're all dead."

"Tell me when we get back to Tonoko," Bernie said. "Minnie's okay, too, if you want to tell Tay."

"Alright," I said before hanging up. "Bernie and Minnie are alright, Tay. They got lost and found the Cryptic Guard blockade after the explosion. That's them now coming up to us."

"Good to hear!" Tay called back as I fired at more Cryptic Guard patrols once Bernie and Minnie were beside us.

It wasn't much longer until we arrived at Tonoko City, with a trail of debris behind us in the desert as I had probably destroyed twenty or thirty cars. I pulled myself back into the jeep before close the sunroof. Since we were in official Cryptic Guard vehicles, we got past the entrance into Tonoko pretty easily. Tay decided to drive me to her apartment, which Minnie followed. It made sense as the Crimson Gavel didn't know where she lived nor had they done a body check in the ruins of the building. I sighed to myself as I looked out of the window, feeling responsible for their deaths, even Rolio's. Though I did also remember what Juno said. They might survive if they found a way, so there was a very small ray of hope.

We soon arrived at Tay's apartment and both Bernie and Tay parked in the back parking lot so the vehicles weren't easily spotted. Finding a tarp in each trunk, we tossed both tarps over both jeeps. I felt Tay take my hand as she lead me to the apartment complex while Bernie and Minnie followed. A soft blush covered my cheeks once we got to the door and Tay kissed me again as she backed into the door and pulled me in.

"Ooh, things are gonna get steamy," Minnie giggled to Bernie softly. "Come on, my apartment's right next door. Let's not interrupt the lovebirds."

Bernie chuckled and took Minnie's hand.

"After today's events, that's the best suggestion ever," he said before heading into Minnie's apartment.

I was turning redder as Tay had deepened the kiss into a much more passionate one. I'm not quite sure what had her so riled up, nor was I actually prepared for what was about to happen. Was it because I was avenging our friends? Was it because she enjoys my style of fighting? Or is it just being near me? I didn't have much time to ponder before she pushed me onto my back on the bed in her room. She still held the kiss and our tongues danced with each other as I felt my clothing being undone and slid off, along with her own.

I couldn't stop turning red, as I didn't think I'd ever see Tay nude apart from when she spent the night and took a shower. I mean, yes, she's one beautiful woman, but still she could do a lot better than me. The kiss did finally break as we both needed air.

My memory gets pretty hazy after that kiss, but from what I could remember is that she pouted a lot when I kept being shy.

The next couple of days were pretty similar to that night. Tay and I were closer than ever and for the first time, I could declare that I had an actual girlfriend. That came with its benefits, such as three nights in a row doing that in bed. It was now the third day since getting back to Tonoko and I was surprised that no one's come by yet to try and decimate the apartments.

I was using Tay's laptop as she finished up a shower, purposely walking into the living room with her towel open.

"You really have no shame now, do you?" I asked, still trying not to look.

"Considering we're in a relationship, no," Tay giggled, closing her towel now. "Come on, you can't tell me that this isn't cheering you up. That kiss was what I needed and I wanted to cheer you up, too."

"Yeah, I know," I said. "I'm looking up the news reports online to see if there's any way to ambush Bortelli or Vinchi. I suspect Bortelli might be an easier target."

"Why's that?" she asked, walking behind me to get an outfit.

"Well, when I met Vinchi, I felt something different about him," I said. "Like he was carrying more energy than Bortelli. A lot more."

"Oh?" she asked, hopping down beside me on the couch once she was dressed.

I looked her over and raised an eyebrow in curiosity. She was now dressed in a low cut t-shirt that seemed to purposely show off some cleavage and she was in a jean skirt, while also wearing spiked bands on her wrists. Her hair was tied back into a ponytail and she had large black boots on as well.

"You, in a skirt?" I asked, chuckling. "That's something new, too."

"Can't a girl dress nice even if we have to kick some Gavel ass?" she asked. "Come on, Lane. Because of the team, you and I as well as Bernie and Minnie got a definite shot at taking down the Gavel. Juno definitely wouldn't want you to mope about."

"Ain't that the truth," Bernie said, waving from the doorway after knocking. "It was open. Minnie said you was lookin' for a lead into finding where Bortelli is. We can hit up Jack in his tavern for information like that."

"Jack?" I asked, then blinked as I was surprised I had forgotten about him. "Oh, Jack. I suppose I can try. I mean, I did regular deliveries for him even in the Crimson Gavel for a year. I wonder if he noticed I went missing for a little while."

"Maybe, but he usually don't question nothin' when he knows you're involved with a crowd like them," he shrugged.

"Do you wanna tag along, Tay?" I asked. "I mean, apart from Bernie and Minnie, you're the only backup I have now. I may get some leads from Jack I need to investigate. So it'd be nice to have some help."

"Hey!" Bernie pouted. "What about me, Laney boy? I mean, come on, I'm pretty damn good with a spikey bat!"

"Alright, fine, you come," I said.

"I'll stay here and continue the online search," Tay said. "Minnie can come over with her computer, too. More people searching, the better."

I nodded and grabbed a clean white t-shirt to pull over my upper body. I then grabbed my brown trench coat and headed outside with Bernie following me.

"So I heard yous two are an item now," Bernie said as we walked to one of the jeeps. "How's it feel to have a woman of your own, Laney boy?"

"Not that different," I said, opening the driver's side door. "I'm still thinking about the others. I'm sure we could have all gotten out of that 'trap' alive. The Crimson Gavel probably alerted them to our presence, hence why a huge blockade arrived."

"Yeah, well, they said there wasn't anything you could do," he said. "Some mumbo jumbo about a heat signature tracker. Though wouldn't they notice you and Tay gone?"

"Not really since we timed it less than a minute of impact from the launched missile," I said. "They assumed the rest of the team was in there, though I'm certain the Baron doesn't believe I'm dead at least." I placed a pair of sunglasses on as I pointed to a nearby poster as we drove out of the parking lot.

Bernie examined it and blinked, noticing the wanted poster was of me, though when I had shorter hair than now so it was more of my soldier look. I could easily get away with just glasses on before someone that recognized more than my face would find me.

"Boy, that's a big reward," he said. "Good thing that was an outdated picture of you."

I chuckled and drove down the road, heading toward Jack's Tavern. I yawned gently as I had trouble sleeping despite Tay trying her hardest to keep me happy. I admired her spirits and tried to make it seem like it was working, but in reality it was barely doing a thing to my mood. I still felt horrible for Rolio dying and Jagger forcing Tay to commit the act, I felt horrible leaving that building with Tay as the rest of my team as nuked by a controlled missile launch. Strangely enough, it was the first time I had seen the missiles being used. It must have meant that the Baron was fed up with waiting on the Gavel to exterminate me, so he'd try to quickly do it myself. Bad news for him though. He nuked my friends, not me. My left hand on the wheel gripped it a bit harder as I held back an outburst of anger toward the Baron at a level that I didn't even know I could achieve. He'd have to wait though as I still had to deal with Bortelli and Vinchi before the Crimson Gavel was eradicated from Mortion.

We arrived at Jack's Tavern about half an hour before the late lunch rush. Getting out of the car, I grabbed a laser pistol from the glove compartment and tucked it under my trench coat. I wasn't going to be without a weapon just in case as I was back in Tonoko, a place where the Gavel or even the Guard could ambush me. We walked inside and I looked around as Bernie walked up to the bar.

"Oh, barkeep!" he called out. "Two drinks! For me? I'll have...uh... a Sizzlin' Bodaren Punch Out!"

I rolled my eyes and walked up to the bar myself, looking around for Jack. I did spot him going into his office and walked toward it while leaving Bernie with his drink.

"Oh, you're goin' over there," I heard him say. "More for me then!" It was less than a moment later that I heard him gulping down the drink he ordered.

I knocked on the door to Jack's office and waited for him to speak.

"Come in," he said. "This about another interview for the delivery boy job?"

"No, not exactly," I said, walking into the room now.

"Holy hell, Lane?" Jack blinked, chuckling. He proceeded to get out of his chair and walked over to me to shake my hand. "Where have you been? You just didn't show up, though shortly after you disappeared some Crimson Gavel goons did come by asking about you. Somethin' goin' on?"

"You mean to tell me you don't know for once, Jack?" I asked, chuckling. "That's awfully strange considering your knowledge and advice I've gotten before. They're looking for me because one of the Dons set me up fot embezzling from their protection racket. I'm not quite sure why, but I did take a few photos with my Communicator when I found Jagger's lab and wondered if you could take a look at them for me."

"That's cute, boy," he chuckled. "But I ain't no super genius about conspiracies. I'll give it a shot though."

I handed him my Communicator and played a slide show of the images it had taken when I moved about in Jagger's office. I didn't realize it had taken pictures until a day ago and when I did look at the images, I could still read the writing on some of the pages clearly.

"Hmm... It's like chicken scratch to me," he said. "What do these pages say?"

"Jagger rambling on about some female like she was a demigod," I said. "Then mentioning two races. The Ryjy and Donjy. It goes on to mention that they believe they found a Donjy in the Cryptic Guard. The problem with this is that I don't know what the hell either of those things are apart from the Ryjy being a race that transforms into monsters when threatened with the use of Nether Energy."

"Donjy and Ryjy?" he asked, thinking as he handed me the Communicator back. "Well, there's folklore about those races as far as I can recall."

"Folklore is better than nothing," I shrugged.

"I guess it is in your case," he chuckled. "Well, from what I remember being told by my adoptive mother is that the Ryjy were an 'evil' race of beings. Evil as in shooting a bunny in the head just because they don't like it. Anyway... They had to retreat into the Nether Realm when species like yours began to invade the planet. Invade is their term, not mine. Still, they were beings of pure Nether Energy and could harness it to hurt others or help them. It really depended on the Ryjy wieldin' the power. I believe Donjy started showing up when some Ryjys abandoned their native culture and began to mate with normal species. Essentially, Donjys are a half breed if they existed. There's one variation of the Donjys though. In the folklore, my mother told me of another race known as the Archi. Some Ryjy ran off and mated with the Archi, creating a more pure hybrid race. These Donjys are less hostile than the half mortal ones. Of course, naturally less hostile doesn't mean they can't fight, but that's all I know."

"Well, maybe this folklore is more of a half truth," I chuckled. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you what I saw with the two Dons within Jaden."

"Try me," he said, sitting down behind his desk. "Take a seat, boy."

I sat down across from Jack and began to recap the events of what had happened and how I was trying to make a move on Bortelli and Vinchi now.

"Mighty fine turn of events for an organization that thought they were untouchable," he said. "Though I've seen Vinchi and Bortelli's handy work. They ain't that easy compared to what you told me about this Morta and Jagger in Jaden."

"I'll have to find that out for myself once I track down Bortelli," I said, leaning back in the chair.

"Bortelli before Vinchi, eh?" he asked. "Got a suspicion on Vinchi?"

"I do," I said. "I have a hunch he might be the true head of the organization. A man like him doesn't get to be as 'suave' as he thinks he is and gets everything he wants, even for his idiotic son, without having some sort of evil demeanor."

"So basically you see him as a businessman of sorts, huh?" he asked, letting out a soft chuckle.

"I guess you could say that," I said. "It also doesn't help that I actually paid attention and noticed a lot of people answering to him, including Bortelli. I plan on finding out what the hell this organization is doing before I finish them off."

"Well, even though I can't justify your actions myself, I'm sure you do believe you have a good reason," he said. "Though you do look troubled."

"This whole ordeal is going to haunt me for a while," I said, sighing. "I've never killed anyone until the Crimson Gavel began to try and kill me. Sprock, Morta, Jagger, his henchmen like Vice and Rupert. All of Morta's goons. I'm just afraid it might get out of hand and I'd become reckless."

"Reckless killing and survival instincts are two different things, my friend," he said. "You only fought back in order to survive. I know you, boy. You'd never kill unless it had to be done. It doesn't make it completely right, but it eases the conscious if you know you had little to no choice."

"I guess," I said, shrugging. "Though I'm more determined to stay alive since someone from the Gavel alerted the Cryptic Guard and the tried to nuke the hideout my team had brought me to. They sent one of the newly developed controlled nuclear missiles at it. According to Toro, we didn't have enough time to get everyone out and they still scanned for heat signatures so they could fire. He, Jazz and the rest of my team - Juno and Tran - all stayed behind to let Tay and I escape. We did find out Bernie and Minnie had gotten lost and that pretty much saved their lives."

"Oh lord," he said, sounding very surprised. "I'm very sorry, Lane. Honestly, I can try to do anything in my power to assist you, boy. I don't like the Baron nor do I really like the asshats in the Gavel. I can show ya somethin' most people don't get to see."

"It better not be you taking your pants off," I joked.

"Why would I do that?" he asked. "Well, unless you were curious of a Kreemer's anatomy, I suppose."

"No, no," I blinked. "It was a joke. Purely a joke, Jack."

"Right," he said, getting out of his chair and walked toward the back of his office. He pulled something down behind his bookshelf and it caused the wall to his right to shift and open up like a sliding door. It revealed a stairwell leading downward into what I assumed was a basement.

I got out of my chair and followed him slowly. I looked around as we descended the staircase, wondering what surprises were in store for me. It wasn't a long walk down the steps but the room I saw was quite intimidating. It was filled completely with a large arsenal of weapons. A few custom models along with perhaps the Cryptic Guard's quality in weaponry. I looked around in awe as I now knew perhaps the most profitable arms dealer in Tonoko.

"So... this is your side job?" I asked, looking back at Jack.

"In a way, yes," he chuckled. "It was my first job, rather. If anything's the side job, it's the bar. I've been an arms dealer since perhaps your father was in elementary school."

"Really now?" I asked. "Was that a time estimate?"

"In a way, yes, but in actuality, it's also true," he said.

"Wait, you knew my father?" I asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Mmhm," he nodded. "As a mentor of sorts, really. He was quite the troublemaker though. Perhaps that's how he got into your mother's arms, heh. But that's for another time. You do sound like you need help, Lane. I'm happy to assist, you know. Especially with the amount of jobs you've done for me until you went on the run again."

"Yeah and when the Crimson Gavel's eradicated, I do have questions," I said. "About my parents, that is. Maybe some for you, too."

"In due time, my boy," he chuckled. "Anyway... Take a look around. The weapons range from a simplistic laser pistol fitted with a silencer and no reduction in damage to a Krazite-plated Mini Gun complete with a tank of liquid Recklor that can be formed into fast armor piercing bullets. Virtually, the supply seems limit less as you know it regenerates but that gives it a five minute cool down timer every time you fire two hundred rounds."

"Recklor, huh?" I asked. "Is that the stuff that's found toward the mountains, outside of Mortion?"

"Yep," he said. "Hot to the touch. Mistaken for molten lava a lot of the time because of the similarities in texture and color. It doesn't harden though. That's why it pierces targets, you know. Even the best body armor can't keep several bullets from penetrating it."

"Good to know," I said. "Though a mini gun seems to be a little too big for right now. Is there a way to fit some Recklor ammo into a smaller weapon like my pistol?"

"There is," he said. "A heavily modified SMG, a sub machine gun." He held up the gun and then handed it to me. "I've also equipped a silencer to it. Gives you a stealth option if you choose it. It's easily removable though if that's not your style."

"Good," I said. "I might need a couple more guns. Two for Minnie and Tay and one for Bernie."

"The drunk?" he asked. "Well, he has been clean since he began to actually have something to do, so I guess giving him a weapon isn't a death sentence. He's small so I suggest a light weight pistol with an alteration. This one should do. Fires out powerful bullets, but hardly requires a reload. Large mag size but the bullets can't easily pierce armor unless they were fired constantly."

"That's fine," I said, taking the gun. I then took two more SMG's for Minnie and Tay before loading all of the weapons with full ammunition.

"Take that pack off my rack and fill it with an arsenal soldiers wish they would have," Jack said. "It's made from the wool of a Blarasi Sheep. Strongest wool you'd find. It can hold up to perhaps three hundred pounds. Best of all, a gun like my mini gun fits and won't be noticeably heavy."

I chuckled and grabbed the pack from the shelf and began to load weapons into it. I made sure I had enough ammunition and placed Tay's, Bernie's and Minnie's weapons into it as well.

"Alright, that should be it," I said, standing up. "I have to go scout around for a bit."

"I'll put you into my Communicator so I can contact you," Jack said. "It'll automatically put me in yours, but you knew that. Remember, Lane, you're Jason's kid. That man did everything for you and your mother. Now it's your turn and it's my turn to watch after you. Go get 'em, kid."

"Alright, Jack," I said, nodding. I headed up the stairs though I peeked through the door and blinked, quickly shutting it when I spotted men with rifles down the hall and at the bar. "Shit."

"What's the matter?" he asked from the bottom of the steps as I had hurried back to the stairwell and closed the secret door.

"I believe the Crimson Gavel were tipped off that I came in here," I said. "I guess I can't lay low very easily and I can't start a firefight here with all those innocent people. Plus it's your place of business."

"Well, this place did need a way in so buyers didn't enter the bar," he said. "There's a door to the northwest side of the room. Here, take these keys and some body armor. It's a spare vest. These keys are to my sports car. It's a 900 Series MTX Hover-Racer."

"Is there anything you don't have?" I asked, chuckling.

"A bathroom," he said. "Snacks, a kitchen... uh... a wife..."

"Forget I asked," I said as I took my trench coat off to put the armor on. When I put it back on, I carried the pack to the door as Jack was still listing things.

I shook my head and ran to the car, finding it in near mint condition. I opened the door and tossed the pack inside I dropped into the driver's seat and turned the keys in the ignition. I then stepped on the accelerator and sped out of the alley. Clearly, the men with rifles heard it as I saw them in the back mirror scurrying to their own cars. I let out a soft chuckle and turned a corner sharply before speeding down the freeway. I heard them soon coming for me and I swerved through traffic enough to avoid any collisions of my own. Unfortunately, I couldn't just expect the men to be as careful as I was being.

The pursuing cars were closing in on me already as I continued down the freeway. Looking out of my left rear view mirror, I could tell that civilians weren't an issue after a few minutes as it seemed this chase was during the low part of traffic during the day. I grabbed my SMG that I had in my holster and rolled down the window. I fired back at the closest car behind me, shooting out the front tires, It began to swerve out of control as I didn't account for them to try and continue chasing after me. I blinked and watched from the mirror as they spun out and began to tumble. They soon burst into flames for seemingly no reason to me and I quickly looked ahead of me.

"That did not go according to plan," I said, still noticing that the other car was still in hot pursuit of me.

I let out a grumble as I slowed down a bit so they would end up riding beside me. I looked out of the window at a man leaning out trying to aim his weapon.

"You sure you just don't want to talk, buddy?" I called out.

The man just pointed his gun at me and I sped up, making him miss his shot.

"Guess not!" I called out, hitting the brakes before letting the car speed past me.

Once they hit their breaks and began to turn around, I floored it and rammed into the side of the vehicle. My car went under it, causing it to fly into the air and begin to flip before crash landing back onto the bridge. I looked back and chuckled as the damage didn't seem to be too bad.

"Well, at least you didn't..." I began before watching the car suddenly catch fire and explode behind me. "Well, that's unfortunate..."

I sighed and shook my head before getting off the next exit and parking in a small alley. I looked at my Communicator and tried to contact Jack.

"I assume this means you're safe," Jack said. "Unless you needed a beer or a weapon delivered, I suppose."

"I'm fine," I said. "I got rid of the men on my tail. Just thought I'd let you know and the fact your car is intact as well."

"Well, that's good to know," he said. "Remember to be careful, Lane."

I nodded and hung up before driving back toward Tay's apartment.

"Guns?" Tay asked, looking over the SMG as I had handed one to her. "I guess it makes sense given the situation we're in, but Minnie's never fired one before."

"That's why Bernie will take her out to practice," I said. "While they do that, we can go and scout the area for Bortelli's whereabouts. We're bound to run into someone."

"Didn't you just say you were chased by some of his men?" she asked.

"I can't be sure on that," I said. "All I know for certain is that they wanted to kill me. For all we know, it could have been Vinchi's men, not Bortelli's."

I stood up and grabbed my trench coat before heading out the door. I heard Tay hurry behind me and we both got into Jack's car.

"Fancy sports car," Tay giggled. "I bet you had fun driving this."

"A little," I said. "So, tell me about the data you and Minnie gathered."

"Oh, right," she said, thinking. "We found a paper trail of dirty money in the Downtown district. We can start there. Wherever Bortelli is, Vinchi isn't probably far off."

"To Downtown then," I said, pulling out of the parking lot.

We ran into a bit of traffic, so it took us a little longer than I liked to get to Downtown. I scouted the area as I drove, looking for potential stores that could be part of the Crimson Gavel's racket as well as for any suspicious types that looked like they'd know a thing or two. I did notice a small store on the corner that barely had customers going in or out of it despite the time of day being a 'lunch rush' of sorts. I parked the car in the adjacent parking lot and climbed out of the car.

"You can come with me if you'd like," I said, looking at Tay. "Or you can stay in the car. I'm preferential to the latter."

"I'd like to actually help, not sit here," Tay said as she got out of the car. "After all, you did give me a gun."

I chuckled and walked across the street, ignoring some obscenities from a driver that wanted to speed down the street and was forced to stop. I grabbed the door handle and opened it before peeking inside only to find no one there.

"Strange," I said, looking around cautiously.

I didn't step inside as it seemed to be too obvious of a trap if it even was one. I closed the door and then went about my business, pretending to window shop until I noticed a few people going into the empty store. I was curious now as perhaps they were just getting back from a lunch break. I went back to the door and opened it, stepping inside. Now that the lights were on, the store looked less suspicious as I noticed it was a sewing store called Thread and Needles. I waved and smiled at several older women in the store who looked at me when I walked in.

"Hello there," I greeted. "Is your manager about, if I may ask?"

"She's in the back room," one Lunga woman said. "Just take a left down that hall and knock on the door."

"Thanks," I said, nodding.

Once I arrived at the door, I knocked on it. In a flash, the door opened and an older Festo woman glared back at me.

"Yes, what is it?" she asked, crossing her four arms.

"Well, I don't mean to intrude, ma'am," I said. "But I'm looking for a specific person. I was told you may or may not be able to tell me where they might be since you knew most people in this district."

"Oh, someone told you that?" she asked. "I guess you got lied to, pal. I don't know who you'd be looking for."

"Just hear me out," I said. "Does the name Robert Bortelli ring a bell?"

She blinked in surprise before she looked like she was thinking. "It does ring a bell," she said, moving a bit awkwardly before revealing she had grabbed a Shock Gun from behind the door. "What do you want with our Boss?"

I blinked, not expecting that, and slowly backed away. I then heard the clicking noises of several other guns and looked to my left, noticing two Plasma Rifles and a SMG pointed at me by all of the employees in the store.

"I just want to talk with him," I said. "No harm done to him, trust me."

"Why don't I believe you?" the woman asked before yanking my glasses off. "It's him, girls! Fire!" She dove back into her office, slamming the door shut.

I grumbled and ducked behind a large sewing press as I heard the women fire blindly, hoping to hit me. I could tell they had little to know training with a weapon, but that didn't make it any less dangerous. If anything, it made it more dangerous. My Communicator went off and I quickly answered it.

"Lane, what's going on in there?" Tay asked. "The door's locked now and I can't see inside. I thought I heard gunfire."

"You did," I said. "Old women supplied with weapons. Definitely a shady place. The manager called Bortelli their boss, so we're on the right track."

"Oh, at least that's good," she said. "Stay alive, Lane. I'll look around for more information."

"You do that," I said. "Once the situation's under control here, I'll interrogate the manager."

"Okay, Shudo out!" she said, then ended the call.

I placed it back into my pocket and looked back. I did notice one of the older women had disappeared and I began to look around. I finally found a small shadow to my right and as soon as she peeked around the corner, I slammed my elbow into the side of her head effectively knocking her out.

"Sorry, Miss, but I'm not against hurting old prunes like you if you're willing to kill me," I said, picking up her Plasma Rifle. I may have had a more powerful SMG in my pocket, but this would be less lethal than it if I used it to interrogate.

Now that there was one less woman firing, I was able to stand up and run to a new position with bullets flying in every direction except for mine. I didn't plan on shooting them or killing them for that matter. To me, this seemed like some sort of cruel joke. When I heard at least one of them reloading, I jumped up and ran to the nearest one and clicked them in the back of the head with the butt of my rifle. I quickly ducked back down when the remaining women began to fire freely again.

"Two down, three to go, then the manager," I mumbled to myself.

I heard the scuffling of their feet after a few moments. They were trying to change their positions. I got up and ran to a new one myself, only to be grabbed by one of them and they tried to aim their weapon at me. I just kicked them in the shin before hitting them with the butt of my rifle and successfully knocking them out. I ducked down so the next two didn't have a clear shot.

"Move in on my mark," I heard one say.

I noticed the shadows rapidly closing in on me before my arms were grabbed and the Lunga woman slammed her fist into the side of my head, causing me to drop my rifle.

"Not so tough now," she laughed. "Come on, finish him off."

"This is cute," I said, hiding a groan since the punch did hurt. I stepped on both of their left feet, causing them to yell out before grabbing their guns and using them to strike the sides of their heads and knocking them out with one blow. "Don't try techniques you never learned." I picked up the Plasma Rifle and headed toward the manager's office.

The door was locked and I just kicked it in with a large amount of force. I approached the woman behind her desk and grabbed her by the collar and shoved my rifle into her stomach.

"Are you done trying to kill me just because I want to talk to Bortelli?" I asked.

"Usually people want to do more than just talk with the Boss," she said, groaning a bit as I was jabbing her in the stomach.

"Just tell me where he is." I said. "I'll let you go and your workers are only knocked out, not dead"

"Fine," she said. "He's at the Miles Mall. Happy?"

"Very," I said, placing her down in a chair before grabbing the Shock Gun. I opened the window and tossed it out into a dumpster along with the Plasma Rifle so she couldn't easily retrieve it back.

I then left the store after unlocking the door. I looked around for Tay, wondering if she found anything of value. I walked over to my car and leaned against it as I put my sunglasses back on. I grumbled as they felt a bit crooked from the woman's snatch earlier. I did hear footsteps to my right after a short while.

"I didn't find anything very productive, though I got us some pretzels," Tay said as she approached me.

"I did find out that Bortelli was seen near the Miles Mall," I said, taking a pretzel and began to eat it.

"That's about a mile from here," she said. "Finish your pretzel and then let's go! Can't chase after him with an empty stomach, right?"

"I guess," I shrugged. "I just want to get him and Vinchi out of the picture so I can focus on the Baron and his army."

"I know," she said. "Especially for what he launched at our friends, but you have to be patient, you know. Otherwise you'll get yourself killed."

"I'm aware of that concept," I said. "Thanks for the reminder though." I finished my pretzel and got into the car.

Tay followed my lead and got in as well. I started up the car and headed toward the Miles Mall.

The trip wasn't that long, though it felt like it took forever due to traffic. I parked across the street from the mall so I'd have a getaway vehicle location just in case. I got out with Tay following behind me. Once inside, I looked around for any suspicious characters.

"I can scout ahead if you want," Tay said, holding her SMG close to herself.

"I rather be the one out in front," I said. "Less chance of you taking a bullet, in my opinion."

"You don't have to be overprotective," she said. "I did practice a bit with some of the weapons we had at our hotel."

"Alright, fine," I said. "You go on ahead while I check out this section."

"On it!" she nodded, running ahead of me now.

"Don't make yourself look so obvious..." I grumbled.

Looking around, I noticed a group of people walking by an electronics store every so often. It was one of the "advanced technology" shops that showcased the latest breakthroughs. I entered the store, eyeing some of the customers while appearing to look at products that may or may not have looked interesting. It was noticeable that a couple of employees looked at me and talked to one another. Soon one of them walked up to me.

"May I help you with anything?" he asked. He was a slender Festo, barely shorter than I was. He was clearly trying to make it sound like he was helping a customer.

"Ah yes, you could," I said. "Do you have any of these Hyper Humidifiers in stock at the store?"

"I believe we do," he said. "If you would, please follow me to the back."

I nodded and followed him from a small distance. Once we got to a sign reading "Staff Only", I watched his left arm move as he had grabbed something. It then swung around, attempting to hit me in the side of the head with an unplugged waffle iron. I managed to block it with my arm and kicked at his right leg, causing him to stumble, letting me grab the waffle iron and toss it away. I twisted his arm behind his back and then slammed him against the wall, where no customers could see him or myself.

"I knew you looked shady," I said. "Where's your friend that you were talking to? Going to warn Bortelli? You have henchman written all over you, especially with that stupid move."

"I haven't gone anywhere," a voice said from behind me, causing me to blink.

I tried to quickly turn around before the discarded waffle iron slammed into my skull, knocking me back and into the wall. I was grabbed the worker's associate as he hit me again with it, causing my nose to bleed. He smacked my left cheek, then my right cheek with it, eventually causing my mouth to bleed. I laid still as he stopped to catch his breath.

"Jeez, Kenny, I don't think Bortelli wanted him dead," the Festo said to his friend, who appeared to be a Jibodi like Juno. He was a bit more muscular than the Festo, but not too intimidating.

"Whatever, if he's dead, then he ain't a problem no more," Kenny shrugged, tossing the waffle iron into the back. "Bortelli wants the kid. He's gonna get him. Alive or dead. He never specified."

"Fine, but if he comes after us next, I'm telling him the truth," the Festo said.

They had turned their backs to talk, assuming it was safe to do so. They were very ignorant to do so. I forced myself to stay silent as I slowly stood back up before using both of my fists to jab them in the back and quickly caught them by their hair before they stumbled forward. I then used their hair as a pully to slam them into each other's head, effectively injuring them. I let go and watched them fall onto the ground, but in this sizeable store, I knew only two employees wouldn't be enough as Bortelli knew an entire lab, a crazed scientist, and his mutants couldn't hold me.

"All personnel to the back of the store," I heard Bortelli's voice chime over the intercom.

The lights shut off and it was pitch black, along with the steel bars coming down to seal off the mall exit. There didn't seem to be any notice outside as the bars on the outside were covered by a black sheet, making sure no light got inside.

"Looks like you got yourself trapped," Bane chimed into my head. "I can lend you a hand if you admit I'm an improved version of you, you know."

"What?" I asked, wiping my bloody mouth clean. "You aren't. You're a loud mouthed obnoxious asshole. Who, I might had, has very perverted thoughts about Tay. I can see them, you know."

"I know," he chuckled. "That's what fun about being me."

"Keep your ego in your own pants and help me get out of here," I said.

"Fine, fine," he said. "You never play along. Party pooper."

I shook my head and began to concentrate, channeling Bane's power through me. I began to glow and my fur and hair changed colors, emitting enough light so I could see all around my position, but not very far. It was enough though to notice a fat Lunga was running toward me. I ducked under his punch before slamming my fist into his side and causing him to stumble and kicked him into a large pile of television boxes. I looked to my right side, seeing two figures running toward me. I grabbed one's arm while kicking the other. I then tossed the one in my grip toward the same pile of boxes. However, the one that I kicked seemed to quickly recover before I felt a hard strike into my back. I let out a groan of pain, stumbling forward. An elbow slammed into the back of my head, causing me to fall onto my knees before I was uppercut by another figure. Blood dripped onto the floor as my arms were held back by the figure behind me.

The figure in front of me slammed his fists into each of my cheeks, one after another. I let out a low growl before yelling out and breaking the grip on the figure behind me and slamming my right fist into their crotch. I then speared the one in front of me, knocking them onto their back. I laid a hard punch to the side of their head to knock them out, then repeated the same punch to the one behind me.

"Oh, staff members, if none of you subdue him or kill him, you will not be getting paid. The one to subdue him will get a promotion; the one that kills him gets 200% of their normal weekly paycheck added to their current one," Bortelli said over the intercom.

Once he was finished, I heard quite a few more all directions. The amount of money he offered seemed to peak all of their interests in capturing me.

"I'm not interested in fighting these people!" I called out. "Bortelli, quit hiding you fat coward!" I ducked under a couple of free swing punches.

I growled as my hands glew and I watched more come after me. I clapped them together, sending a rather impressive shockwave toward them and knocking them all into displays and the walls. It did surprise me as I just tried to see if I had anything melee wise when it came to using Bane's power.

"Don't like a little gauntlet, Mr. Silverbane?" Bortelli asked over the intercom. "I know what you are and we don't take kindly to your type of being. Do us both a favor and just die already. It'll be easier. If you can even get to Vinchi, you'd wish you were dead anyway."

I only continued to growl as I ran toward the metal gate. My hands glew again before I punched into it hard. The structure gave away and crumbled before me. As I stepped outside, there were men armed with heavy military weaponry stationed in spots normally snipers would be in. I jumped out of the way of a sudden downpour of bullets, landing behind a nearby food vendor cart.

"Do your men have a death wish?" I called out. "They do since you graciously evacuated the building so innocents didn't get hurt."

"I'm not like Jagger, Mr. Silverbane," he said. "I have a conscious. Unless I feel like everyone's a liability in the mall, I choose to not cause mass genocide."

I looked around as I heard men call out to move in on me, acting as if they were part of a military squad. I fumbled through my trench coat's pocket and found the SMG. I stood up from my cover and unloaded it into the men coming down the stairwell. They were quickly killed as the bullets were red hot and moving at twice a normal bullet's speed, hence the armor penetration.

I hopped over a bench and laid my back against the wall as I heard more men coming. I slammed the butt of my SMG in the back of the head of the first man before shooting the others down cold. I then grabbed the man I had knocked onto the ground and picked him up.

"You better tell me where Bortelli is," I said, shoving my SMG into his stomach.

"Or what?" the man groaned. "You'll kill me anyway."

"Tell me or we'll find out how far your guts can fly in this mall," I threatened.

"Okay, okay," he said. "Bortelli... is..." I blinked when a bullet suddenly zoomed through his skull and he slid down the wall, motionless and lifeless.

"Dammit, who did that?" I asked as I stood up.

I turned around and blinked, noticing Yuno had arrived on the balcony above me.

"Yuno, get out of here!" I called out. "If it was you that took the shot, then definitely get out of here."

"Aw, are you mad?" Yuno asked in a tone I hadn't heard before from her.

"What?" I asked, blinking.

"I did that intentionally, you idiot," she said. "Knowing all the answers isn't fun. Unfortunately, our fun comes to an end here, Lane. You're a terrorist level threat to the Baron and his military. I'm approved by him and my commanding officer to get rid of you."

"What!?" I repeated, but this time out of true shock. "What the hell are you saying, Yuno? That you're completely willing to erase the past?"

"There was no past, Lane," she said. "You best be prepared to die. I don't want a one sided fight." She then fired at me with her own SMG.

I watched as the bullets pierced through the vendor and the wall as if they were made of paper and this was only one gun. I had seen her dual wielding at Jagger's lab. Was she holding back then? Was she really not underneath Jagger's control?

"So is this a bad time to say I knew this would happen?" Bane asked, making me angry again.

"You did?" I asked. "And you didn't think to tell me?"

"You never asked," he said.

"Well, fill me in now," I said. "Late is better than never."

"Alright, alright," he said. "She's been 'activated'."

"What the hell does that mean?" I asked.

"Apparently I have to go into detail," he said. "I overheard Jagger discussing something with his bosses while you were out cold. They mentioned the Baron had a daughter; a forced birth resulted from experimenting on his wife. She was born as a weapon and 'programmed' as one. Once she had become activated, her memories were wiped clean and she would become completely loyal to him. They were trying to track her so they could take her out themselves, but she always disappeared."

"That can't be true," I said. "She appeared before Jagger and he didn't take the opportunity to kill her."

"Because he was hoping she'd kill you, but it seems like she purposely held back judging from the Swiss cheese wall and cart over there," he said.

"There has to be a catch to this," I grumbled.

"Listen to me, Lane, do not get emotionally involved now," he snapped. "The Yuno you befriended and had a thing for never truly existed. She was never a true person to begin with. She was born as a weapon and now she will die as one. You have to do this or she'll kill you. Now who will kill the Baron if you're dead?"

I took a moment to try and assess Bane's explanation, which was rudely interrupted by a strong punch to the left side of my head and causing me to fall on the ground.

"Too easy," Yuno said, stepping on my left arm before aiming her SMG at me. "You're not going to be missed, Lane."

"Yuno..." I said to myself before closing my eyes. I bit my lower lip and used my other free arm to reach a potted plant before tossing it at her with the best of my ability.

It struck her arm, causing her weapon to fire toward a mirror and it caused the laser bullet to bounce off and back toward her. This forced her to jump out of the way and allowed me to get up. I pulled out my own SMG before hearing her yell and run toward me. I blocked the melee hit this time, then countered it with my own. I upper cut her straight into the chin and caused her to stumble backward and need to hold onto a cart.

"No guns?" she asked, putting hers away now. "Fine by me. This should be fun."

I blinked when she suddenly disappeared from my sight. I had to ut my SMG away as well as I tried to predict where she came from. I looked to my left and tried to block, only to be struck several times in quick succession in the back. I stumbled forward myself before one powerful blow knocked me forward several yards. I crashed into the center fountain and then landed in the water. I coughed up some of it as it got into my mouth, but I was still quick to stand back up.

"Need more of a beating?" she asked, disappearing again.

I coughed and groaned, not liking how efficient she was at hiding herself and her presence. She was, however, using the same tactic as before. Since she ended up behind me, I ended up moving to my right and blocking. However, I quickly turned to block the opposite direction, but let out a grunt as she made it through my block and knocked me hard in the chin, sending me into the air and onto the second floor, surprisingly.

"Haha, you suck at fighting in hand-to-hand!" she called out.

"Dammit, Lane, stop letting her best you," Bane said. "You cannot play defensively when her offense can break your defense tactics so easily."

"I can't hurt her," I said, getting back up slowly. "I only... punched her the other day because... I thought she was... not herself."

"Stop being a baby about it!" he snapped. "She never existed. You shouldn't care."

"That's easy for you to say," I said, wiping the blood from my lip again. "You didn't know her like I did. You may be a form of me, but you don't have the memories in a way I do. She was my best friend."

"That never existed," he said. "Hurry up and prepare yourself for another attack."

I only stood there, looking around for Yuno as she wasn't in my sight again. Before I knew it, she did land a good punch to my right cheek, then struck my left cheek with her other cheek. It went back and forth as she backed me up to a railing before using both fists at the same time to jab me in the stomach and send me over. I groaned and landed on top of another food vendor, smashing through glass and landing on vegetables.

"Get up, Lane!" Bane shouted in my head. "You can't let him win! You can't let him!"

I could hear Bane trying to take control, but part of me wouldn't let him. I was trying to force myself to accept Yuno's fate, but I couldn't. A tear came to my eye as I weakly forced myself to use my now badly bleeding arms to get onto my knees. I then got onto my feet, noticing my coat had been ripped in half and I was bleeding profusely. I stumbled and felt very dizzy. I could barely hold my arms and hands up to attempt another block. My forehead was also bleeding, causing my vision to become slightly more cloudy with a red tint. It made seeing her very difficult.

"Let me heal you, dammit," Bane said. "You're getting injured faster than I can work."

"Yuno..." I muttered. "Why... Why did he do... this... to you..."

I spat out blood when I felt a sharp jab to my stomach and groaned as I was upper cut before her fist came down on top of my head and sent me back down onto the ground.

"You're honestly pathetic," Yuno said. "How exactly my father thinks you're a threat is beyond me."

"Father..." I grumbled, coughing. I stayed still as she just stood over me now.

"All done already?" she asked. "That's pitiful. I knew you avoided sparring for a reason."

As I laid there and heard Yuno begin to charge up her gun, a flurry of visions flashed before me, but one stopped and it made me see the vision clearly. Tay. She needed me. It made me realize she might still be in the mall with this ruckus. I began to groan and mutter now.

"Tay... Tay... Where are you...?" I asked.

"Hmm?" Yuno blinked. "Still conscious, I see."

I groaned again, panting as I could barely move. I did, however, have enough strength to dodge the charged bullet. I used a ledge to help me up and pulled the remaining statue down, forcing Yuno to move and hide again. Then I dove down behind a stone bench, panting.

"Heal me, Bane," I said. "Do it, fast."

"Finally," Bane said. "What made you change your mind?"

"Not important... right now," I said, groaning. "Heal me enough so I can fight. I can't abandon her. Not here, not now."

"Fine, whatever," he said as I felt my wounds being healed now. It wasn't as fast as I liked this time, but it was still much faster than naturally healing.

I was soon able to move on my own again and was keeping myself upright without a need for support. I closed my eyes and concentrated. Yuno came after me with the same tactic again, but she'd always pull to the opposite side of where I would face. I just had to be quicker. When I heard her land, I punched in the direction but felt her quickly move behind me. I jumped slightly and grabbed her arm coming down on me.

"What?" she blinked. "Impossible. That was my most perfect technique."

"Not perfect enough." I said, looking at her as she tried to break my grip by applying he own force by attempting to push my arm back.

I broke the hold entirely, forcing her backward and landed my own powerful punch to her jawline. It sent her stumbling backward before I landed several punches in quick succession I felt horrible on this inside as I knocked her into the nearby wall. I raised an eyebrow when she just laughed and easily stood up, acting like none of the bruises or her newly bleeding left arm mattered. She didn't even use her hands to help herself up. She only used her legs and thrust her upper body forward, a long creepy grin across her face.

"Finally, you fight back," she said.

'What are you?" I asked, feeling an immense amount of energy suddenly emit from her as her eyes turned completely purple. "No more holding back then. Maki, slice and dice!"

"What is she doing?" I asked, covering my eyes with my arms as a bright purple light surrounded her.

"She's calling her weapon and fusing to it," Bane said. "It's called Empowerment."

"Is that why she's suddenly emitting more energy?" I asked.

"It is," he said. "I love how you didn't know this."

"Excuse me for not knowing the Baron's motivations for his own daughter," I said, looking around. I then headed back toward the stairwell and tried to hide from her field of view.

When the light dissipated, Yuno's fur was a darkened shade of its original color. She was now sporting a completely new outfit. She was in a pair of brown cargo shorts that had the Cryptic Guard logo printed on the right leg. They were short, only covering have of her shapely thighs. The holsters had slimmed down, meaning she no longer had a gun. Her shirt had become a bit tighter. While the collar had become lower cut and took on a v-shape, it also seemed to double as a form of reinforced armor. It was shining as the lights reflected off of it. She now had a large black marking going across her left cheek, along with a tattoo-like black marking on her right arm in the same of a swirl with the end of it was shaped like a lightning bolt. Her eyes were still purple and her hair had shortened a bit, appearing to be spike-like with her bangs while the back now barely went past the base of her neck. She also now dual wielded very large axes that appeared to be engulfed in flames, making the red star-like markings on the center of them glow brightly.

"Come out and play!" she yelled out, her voice having a deeper and grittier tone following her own.

The power she emitted made me shake. No one should have that much, especially a young woman. My guess was that one's form was controlled by that power, hence why her curvy nature had increased along with... another aspect. I blinked as I heard her smash into a store; completely obliterating a couple of support pillars and making the store on the ground floor and second floor crumble inward.

"That was powerful," I said quietly.

"Yes, it is, but stop observing," Bane said. "Get your act together or we're going to die by our hand."

"I can't fight her like this though." I said, rolling out of the way as an axe came crashing down on the stairs. I managed to slip out of her sight as her Empowered Form seemed to slow her movement and attack speed.

That wasn't a big advantage given the immense amount of damage she could now do. I ran to the second floor and ducked into a clothing store. I looked around and found a dressing room before hiding inside of it.

"What are you doing?" Bane asked. "Get back out there!"

"I need you to teach me how to reach an Empowered Form," I said.

"What?" he asked, seeming surprised. "We've never done it before. It could seriously injure one of us."

"We'll die if we don't try anyway," I said.

"Fine," he said. "Just concentrate like you usually do, but let your guard down."

I nodded and closed my eyes, trying to let my guard down completely. Soon enough, I felt Bane's energy flowing through me at a much faster rate and it felt much stronger.

"An Empowerment fuses the mortal vessel with their weapon, Lane," he said. "And that weapon takes on a physical form of that vessel."

"You are my weapon then," I said, staying calm.

"Yes, yes, you figured it out, points for you," he said. "Now, accepting this Empowerment puts us in unison for a short period of time. I'm not sure how much Yuno has used hers, but we only have a few minutes. You must concentrate and avoid taking a lethal blow."

"I know," I said.

My body felt strange as the energy from my own body and Bane's were now intertwined with one another. I let out a soft grunt as the process hurt slightly. I began to cough and gasped as I looked down at my arms, noticing they were becoming a dark blue color, along with the markings on my arms becoming pure white. In the mirror, my hair remained white but seemed to have a glow to it now. I had my hands held out as objects began to form in them.

"Here comes our Empowered weapon," Bane said, sounding excited. "Finally, you can prove to me that you're worth being listened to."

When the objects finally formed, I was holding two large and razor sharp Katanas. I looked them over, noticing they emitted a blue glow like my hair did. They also resembled being made out of reinforced Krazite.

"Whoa," I said, looking back at the mirror.

I had realized that I had also gained some muscle tone in this form as I now looked like I frequently visited a gym.

"Ready to go end this or are you just going to stare at yourself, hoping you'd ask yourself out?" Bane asked.

"Shut up," I said. "I'm going to end this."

"Alright, fine, but you're on your own to figure out what else our Empowered form can do. I don't know myself, nor can we expect Yuno to only have great power with her weapons."

"Yeah, I know," I said, kicking down the door and running outside. "Yuno! Where are you?"

I blinked and stumbled when she seemed to easily leap from the ground floor to the second as soon as I called for her.

"Right here," she said. "What's the matter?" She sniffed the air for a moment. "Oh, good. I made you gain more power. You must really think I'm a threat after all. This should be much more fun."

Before I knew it, the axes came crashing down on me but I managed to block them both with my own Katanas. It was surprisingly a reflex from me. She slammed her axes against them and all I did was parry her. This went back and forther, I tried to slice at her, she'd parry. She'd try to cut my head off, I'd parry. After a few more minutes of that, however, she did jump back and yawn.

"You really need to learn when you need to die," she said, twirling her axes in her hands before slamming them into the ground.

I looked around, hearing a rumbling noise. I gulped and watched rupture lines heading toward all of the stores on this floor before two headed toward me. Before I could move, the lines erupted into fiery walls. They caused explosions inside some of the stores, while others were just caught on fire. I coughed and l looked around for a way out. I noticed that the wall didn't go very high so I decided to try the leap trick Yuno had done. I concentrated and jumped with all of my strength. It worked, as I went high above the flame wall and landed on the ground floor. Though the landing still hurt a bit. I looked back at the fire, wondering if she had noticed I had gotten out. I still looked around and then blinked when I noticed Tay hiding out near the entrance to the mall. She apparently hadn't been evacuated.

"Ooh, what's this?" Yuno asked, jumping down and grabbing Tay by the neck. "A young woman who stayed behind?"

"L-Let go of me," Tay said, groaning as she struggled to break free of the grip.

"No, no, you've seen too much," she said. "Your boyfriend up there is toast, little girl. Might as well join him."

I went wide-eyed as I watched her light her hand on fire even with her weapons tucked in their holsters.

"No, get away from her!" I yelled, which momentarily distracted Yuno.

Tay took advantage of that and kicked her in the stomach, which caused her to groan and drop her. Tay ran toward me and nodded when I ran past her at a lightning fast speed. I uppercut Yuno hard, sending her into the nearby wall and causing it to crack on impact.

"Oh, so she is your girlfriend," Yuno laughed, standing up easily again. "And you're still alive. Didn't I tell you that it was time to die?"

"You won't hurt her," I growled. "I will kill you myself, Yuno." I grabbed her by the throat myself this time and slammed her into the wall again.

She seemed to only laugh and didn't show any signs of pain. When I attempted to throw her again, she countered it this time by grabbing my arm and using her own strength to slam me into the wall now. I let out a groan of pain as I was already bleeding, unlike her - as she still had no scratches.

"You will die," she growled, grabbing my throat and applied an immense amount of pressure on it.

I coughed and gagged as I tried to break it before being slammed into the same spot. She did it again and again. The pain was becoming unbearable and even in this Empowered Form, I couldn't withstand much more. I watched her pull out one of her axes and lit It on fire before almost bringing it down on me. It was, however, caught in a wire from the second floor. I looked up despite my face being covered in scratches, thus bleeding, and I could make out Tay with a strong rope. She yanked the axe out of Yuno's hand and grabbed it, now wielding it herself.

"You little bitch!" Yuno snapped, slamming me into the wall one more time.

"Come and get me!" Tay said, deliberately taunting her by sticking her tongue out at her. She let out a frightened 'eep' noise when Yuno jumped to the second floor and began to chase after her.

I forced myself to stand and groaned, looking at my scars as they were already healing. I didn't know if the Empowerment gave me Bane's regenerative power or if he was doing it. Once I was healed enough, I jumped to the second floor myself and chased after Yuno. I wasn't going to let her kill Tay.

I heard Yuno swearing at Tay from a good distance, following their voices as I could hear Tay returning the nasty comments with her own. I tracked them down to a larger department store and found Yuno as she was still trying to get her axe back. I sliced at her left arm and then her right arm, watching them start to bleed.

"Oh, so you're alive," she said, not seeming bothered by the action I had performed. "Futile as always."

I went wide-eyed in shock as I saw the bleeding stop and the cuts rapidly heal themselves - faster and more efficient than my own.

"Regenerative healing," I said to myself.

"You seem surprised," she said. "Why is that? You have it too, I've noticed. Just because that little girl has my other axe doesn't mean I'm weaker now." She used her other axe to quickly swipe at me.

I blocked it with my Katana, but I wasn't quick enough to block her sudden punch into my gut. I groaned and then gasped as she uppercut me, causing me to fall backward.

"Still much weaker than me," she said. "You can't avoid my lethal blow forever, you know." She slammed the axe down and I barely managed to stop it in time.

"Power isn't everything," I said, slicing at her arm again.

She jumped away and immediately healed it back up. I stood up, putting my blades in a defensive position in front of me. She swung her axe again and it sliced at my right arm. I let out a pained yell as it stung like hell and was bleeding almost immediately. My regeneration wasn't nearly as fast as hers was as I had to hold it as I stood back up.

"Aw, no immediate heal?" she asked. "Pitiful."

Her second axe reformed in her open hand before she kicked me into the wall and then lifted them into the air, ready to strike me down with them.

"It's time to die for good," she said, swinging them down.

I closed my eyes for the impact, but I opened them as soon as I heard Yuno grunt out of frustration. Tay had gotten more rope and was holding the axes firmly as Yuno tried to break the grip.

"Lane, do it now!" she called out. "I can only... hold her for so long!"

I gulped softly and stared at the struggling Yuno for a moment before standing back up. I took one of my Katanas and closed my eyes, shoving it straight into her chest. Blood immediately ran down the sword as she gasped and coughed, dropping her axes as she began to gasp for air.

"Impossible..." she managed to say. "Father... said... I was invincible..."

"Nothing is," I said, pulling my sword out of her chest.

I watched her as she desperately tried to generate the wound, but nothing happened. Usually, the quickest way to kill a person is stabbing them in the heart or beheading them. I chose the former, hoping that it'd be a quick death. I was wrong. She looked up to me with the sad, innocent eyes of the Yuno I had grown up with and wanted to be close to. She grabbed the bottom of my shirt, continuing to cough and gasp as she tried to say something. I didn't budge, afraid it was a last attempt to kill me.

"Lane..." she choked out. "I'm... sorry..."

I blinked at that, staring down at her as she vomited a great deal of blood before falling onto the ground.

"For... this..." she said before her energy completely vanished.

"Yuno..." I said softly, kneeling down and checking her pulse.

She was dead. Tay ran over to me and saw my expression, quickly hugging me to her chest. I rested there, beginning to cry. Even if she hadn't existed, I still killed my best friend. Tay stayed quiet, just trying to calm me down by petting my head and just hugging me. It wasn't working though. I only had Tay now in terms of how close I was with anyone like Yuno and I was going to make sure no one took her from me.