FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

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With a loud thud, Cat planted her paws on the Major's desk while Mary, Michael, Alan and Jack were standing behind her with the same firm, confused disbelief on their faces.

"What the hell is going on...!?"

The Major just sat there blankly; he wasn't prepared for this. The event too, shocked him and was baffled on what just, didn't seem to be true, had happened there in front of him as well as everyone else.

The Major was leaning back in his chair with elbows leaning on the arm rests as his large, sharp-clawed digits mimed each other as they tapped together rhythmically. He didn't seem to be listening at first.

"Well!?" she blurted out, her tail elegantly but hastily curling as it wagged in anxiety. Mary tried to pull Cat back a bit, but as her paw reached Cat's shoulder, she just tugged away from Mary. The Major calmly lowered his paws and stood up from his chair, placing his paws behind his back.

"I don't know, Ms. Andrews. I've never encountered anything like this before. No one has before. We're bringing in teams of experts to investigate the matter as soon as possible..."

Cat seemed to lay off a bit, her sharp gaze turning more into a curious one as she usually was.

"What type of experts?" she queried, her arms rising into a low fold at her stomach level as her ears perked with curiosity.

The Major looked down at first, but seemed he needed to oblige them to a certain extent. He raised his head and said it with a very obvious hint of disbelief,

"Paranormal..." he grumbled. The five in front of him stirred uneasily themselves from hearing this, looking from one to another questioningly.

"You mean... as in, ghosts...?" Alan asked, stepping forward a step with his own arms folded; disbelief pouring out from his posture as he stood there.

The Major just looked at them sternly, starting to slowly pace back and forth on the other side of the desk, his gaze slowly wandering to the pile of papers on his desk.

After a short period of waiting for some sort of answer, they huddled together. Murmuring was rumbling from the five again. Soon after, all of them emerged from the huddle that was going on before Cat turned to face the Major with an even sharper and piercing stare than the last.

"What about Dante?" she hissed. The Major brought up his gaze again as he stopped pacing.

"What about him?" he uttered coolly; the signature hint of danger present in his tone.

Cat's frown deepened in annoyance as her tailed curled slightly and twitched.

"About him on the field! If you didn't notice, he was tearing those things apart! What the hell have you been doing to him?!" she hissed very firmly this time, her neck-fur rising slightly. Mary and the gang all nodded and stared back at him intently. It was at that question, that the Major's stomach dropped and his composure seemed to wither slightly.

They had no idea what was going on with Dante; no authority as a matter of fact. It was of utmost importance that what they were doing should have been kept secret.

This was going to be difficult to cover up being as the entire training facility saw everything. It was hard enough having to allow Dante to roam about the facility; even if it was for his own psychological sake. They couldn't risk him breaking down as much as he could already. He needed stability; they needed him to be stable.

"I'm sorry...I have no authorisation to give you intelligence on why he's here. You have no authorisation. I suggest we leave this matter immediately, Ms. Andrews." he rumbled once more; his tone of voice becoming a little more dangerous as he finished saying her name.

"Now if you'll excuse me..." he began, as he started to pace around to the side of his desk, he was interrupted by the enraged feline.

"This isn't...!"

"Is that all, private!?" the Major growled out, his tail beginning to twitch, teeth bared and his mane rising.

"Ignoring the fact that you interrupted me while I was dealing with my superiors and this whole mess, I suggest that you leave now while I'm restrained enough with dealing about this incident. Now get out of my sight before I deem it necessary to start issuing court-martials." he growled loudly, spinning around forcefully with his back turned to them all.

They all seemed quite stunned, especially Cat who had actually stepped back into the group while shaking slightly. Without a sound except for the door closing shut gently, the Major hung his head with a loud, deep sigh as even more technicalities began emerging due to realisation.

*******

John watched onwards, tired and drained; his little 'roo-friend being attended to by a few doctors as they were finishing bandaging and stitching him up.

He himself had received a fair amount of stitches across his slashed chest along with Nick and Josh. They took the doctors advice to stay in their own beds but, John wanted to make sure that Dante was OK.

He shakily held onto a crutch while his bandaged chest was covered in a few partial blood-stains as he stared into the operating room.

"Ahem...I thought I told you to stay in bed?", a low, annoyed, female voice called out to him, startling John a little as he was in a slight daze. He took his time turning around as footsteps echoed down the hallway, getting louder as the fur got closer.

"Honestly! You officers...you follow every single order but a doctor's order...hmph!" she sighed, gripping John by the arm firmly and immediately started to drag his stumbling form back to his ward as he resisted.

"I just came to check on the little guy..." he fumbled, the female lioness putting up a strong fight as she tugged at his arm. She sighed out heavily, letting go of his arm while frowning, planting her paws on her sides.

"I'm very sure that the doctor and his team can handle that! Now...come...Oh...?!" she beckoned, tugging a few times more before she was slightly surprised as the doors behind John burst open and a few startled yells filled the hallway as the team almost crashed into John.

Behind them was Dante, heavily bandaged up and hooked into IVs and monitors which the operating staff was wheeling along carefully with the bed.

John hopped to the side quickly; though hit the wall with a soft thud as he struggled to keep himself upright; his broken ankle was annoyingly unstable. The annoyed nurse rushed over to keep him steady while the very annoyed doctor harshly hissed,

"This hallway is supposed to be clear at all times! Not a gathering for everyone to stare! Nurse, I thought I told you to make sure the patients stayed in the ward! I really think some furs take the word 'operating theatre' a bit too literally...!" he growled, the canine's tail twitching furiously, his rounded spectacles trailing off his nose before he pushed them back into position again.

"I'm very sorry doctor..." she bowed her head slightly, though not showing any signs of regret.

"I thought I could put my trust in the patients...especially with this so called officer we have here...!" she frowned once again, her gaze moving back to John who was trying his best to over-look Dante.

The doctor let out a loud, frustrated sigh before taking hold of the IV stand he was carrying with him.

"Whatever the case, please, escort him back to the ward immediately. We're taking this patient to the Intensive Care unit. Please join me at the IC unit as soon as you can once you've escorted Sergeant Major Madsen back to the ward. I need to show you what procedures you and Ms. Thomas have to follow to take care of young Oakbrook here. And make sure that this time, he doesn't decide to wander..." he ordered her firmly yet calmly, starting to wheel the IV along with him as his team behind him followed suit.

"...even if you have to tie him down.", the canine called out once more, echoing down the hallway as the team took a right turning.

"But...!?" John fumbled once more, this time continually stumbling and gripping onto the nurse's shoulder that clearly had much more leverage as she dragged him by the scruff of the neck.

"Oh-no! You heard the doctor, you're coming with me. And if you don't stay put this time, I'll lock you in the room!" she hissed firmly, as if she was talking to a misbehaving child while she dragged him off.

*******

Two weeks later, John, Josh and Nick were still in the ward, though up and about against the nurse's orders. Gathered around John's bed, a pile of cards lay in the middle, John sitting on the bed while Nick and Josh were lounging on their chairs.

Their food trays were placed next to them, John and Josh's quite packed while Nick's was almost clean.

"Hmm...OK...I call yours with some grapes...and...I'll raise you with half my meat-loaf..." the fox said, peering from over the top of his cards quite dubiously. He smirked back and forth to Nick and John, both plotting their own little wager.

"Oh man..." Nick sighed. "I only got my ice-cream left...could you let that count?" he asked, hoping for a chance to come back.

"Hmm...I guess you could. You'd have to make that an all in. I'll at least let you maybe win some of your food back." Josh chuckled smugly.

"Ha! Not if I can help it!" John smirked. "Go ahead, Nick." he laughed, nodding his head towards the small pile of food that had accumulated in the middle of them. Nick did it, with quite a reluctant and beaten expression over his face. John laughed once more, before picking up his whole tray, a smug smile on his face as he placed it in the centre of the group.

"All-in."

Josh soon had his expression of success change as John called his bet. Looking from the pile of food in the middle, back up to John who was smirking very widely; Josh eyed him intently, tail twitching a little as he tried to spot any sign.

"Hmm...man...tough call." Josh exclaimed, eyeing his own pile that he had accumulated.

"I guess I'm just gonna have to do this..." the fox smirked, shifting his own packed tray onto the bed, an even wider smile on his muzzle before mimicking the words "All...in..." quite confidently.

"OK ladies...show your cards."

First of all, Nick threw his down on the bed with a defeated look already present on his face.

"Not bad, Nick...not bad for a beginner..." Josh laughed. "Three fives. Three-of-a-kind. Hehe...John?" he chuckled, smirking over at the 'roo who was laughing himself.

"Nice dealing, Nick...hehe. Read 'em and weep!" John yelled, throwing down his cards to reveal a four and a six.

"Oooh! Nice John; very nice. A straight." Josh laughed, looking at Nick who buried his muzzle in his paws as he had lost his entire lunch.

"Hehe! Thank you! Thank you!" John laughed, holding his paws up in success to an invisible audience before reaching over to wrap them around the pile of food. He was shortly stopped by Josh's paw planting firmly on his chest.

"Hold it...I haven't shown mine yet." Josh smirked, now flipping his cards over, one on top of the other and placing them neatly onto the bed. He placed a digit on top of the nine that covered the lower card, before sliding it over to reveal a six in the same suit as the nine he had, and the five, seven and eight that was down on the five cards that they all had to use.

John's jaw dropped slightly, looking back at Josh who was smirking wildly.

"Straight Flush! Kiss my ass!" Josh yelled, starting to pile food onto both trays that were placed on the bed.

"Damn, Josh...that was one lucky draw..." John grumbled, eyeing the pile of food that was disappearing quickly onto the bed next to his as the fox claimed his winnings.

"Ah well. Better luck next time, hehe!" he chuckled, scooping the last of the food onto the second tray. As he picked it up and turned to place it on his bed, the doors suddenly burst open. The nurse who had dragged John back to the ward came storming in, opening curtains to an unused section and began to wheel out the spare bed that was placed there.

She soon spotted them all gathered there, though became much angrier as she spotted the pile of food that was in Josh's paws and on his bed. Even worse; the pile of playing cards lying on the bed in front of the three furs.

"What's this?! Out of your beds'...AGAIN! And worse! You're gambling! This is disgraceful! You aren't going to be setting a good example for the boy with you going as low as this!" she yelled, point at the pile of food that lie in Josh's paws. She soon began to march quickly up to them, Josh stumbling and trying to dump the evidence anywhere, which ended up half over the floor while the other half landed on the bed.

"Oooh! Look at this mess! You clean it up, this instant! I don't care if you have to lick it up off the floor! We're moving Mr. Oakbrook up to here and everything better be neat and tidy by the time he's here! I'm not getting into even more trouble because of you three!" she hissed loudly, her gaze looking like it could cut through steel.

Josh just laughed a little, but soon stopped and looked at her wide eyed with fear in his face as she gripped him by the scruff of his neck.

"NOW!" she yelled, her nose pressed right up to his before letting go and storming off out the double doors once more.

"Hehe. You know, I really think she's on the verge of killing you. You've pissed her off way too much." Nick laughed, getting up and moving to his bed.

"Well...who would have thought that replacing her pain-killers with laxatives would have been so bad? She's got the hots for me really. She seems to give a lot of attention to me" Josh laughed, sitting down on his own bed, right next to John's.

"Hey guys! She said that they're moving Dante into here soon!" John yipped a little. It took a while to actually sink in with the little scene that went on but, they all soon realised it afterwards.

"Awesome! The little guys fighting fit! Poor guy though..." Josh sighed a little, staring into nothing for a little while. He soon snapped out of his little trance and began scrambling about, picking up the mound of food off of the floor.

"Quick! Guys! Help me pick this stuff up off the floor. They'd probably move us somewhere else...I'm already on bad terms with them all as it is..." he grimaced a little, snatching at bits and pieces of food lying on John's bed and floor. The other two just sat and watched him for a little before he realised they weren't budging.

"Come on! Help me!" he yelped a little, staring at them blankly. Nick and John both smirked at each other, soon lying back on their beds in the lounge position.

"Oh...no, can't do that." Nick exclaimed, chuckling a little.

"Yeah, you won it fair and square; your responsibility." John laughed, smirking at Josh playfully.

"Guys!" the fox whined, scrambling about even more, snatching at everything in sight, dumping it into his grip while some tumbled back onto the floor. They both sat there for a little, laughing at Josh's attempts before getting up to help him afterwards.

*******

After an amazing scene of seeing Josh dumping half of the food which had landed onto the floor down the toilet; blocking it, and then having to unblock it with a fork as it almost overflowed, the three of them managed to make a decent scene of the ward while also calling Cat and Mary to them after the announcement.

"Hehe! Man...I would have loved to have seen that Nurse catch you in the act of dumping food down that toilet. I wouldn't be surprised if she forced your head down it and tried eating the stuff..." Mary giggled, only wishing for her brother to have had the misfortune of being caught. Josh just groaned as he leaned over the sink, still scrubbing his paws after over an hour.

"Yeah; well...better than to leave it lying in a bed-pan like John suggested. I'd already tried that stunt with some other food I had before which almost made me puke. She only held herself back from tipping it over my head because the doctor walked through the door," he grumbled, finally deciding that after the hour long scrubbing that his hands might be sanitary enough for his liking.

"Well, I just think that you shouldn't have been busting her balls...uh...so to speak," Nick blurted out, scratching his head a little.

"Hehe. I can't help it. We're both each other's nemesis. I shall prevail in breaking her!" the fox yelled, striking a pose as he punched at the air. He paused there just for a little then blurted, "Oh man...can you imagine her with balls...?"

Everyone shouted out with disgust though laughing at the randomness of Josh's conversations. He had a habit of coming up with weird questions.

"Oh Josh! You sick-o!" Cat yelled, though giggling along with the rest of the group while Josh smirked at them all.

"What? Hey, blame Nick! He provoked that one!" he laughed, smirking at Nick who was laughing at himself with everyone.

Josh could make an angel seem like a demon.

The laughing was soon halted though; the double doors at the end of the ward bumping open as a bed with its occupant sleeping silently came wheeling through. Various tubes and devices were attached to him, some of the nurses and the doctor wheeling IVs, beeping and buzzing machinery along with them.

They all ignored the group of furs gathered around Nick and John's beds as they positioned the bed in an empty space in the ward. After wheeling the machinery in, one of the nurses closed the curtains around the area shut, gentle mumbling and clicking sounds emanating from the area as they attached and secured things.

"Hey...I thought we were gonna see..." Mary whispered, though was soon interrupted as the doctor appeared from out of the curtains, almost falling over as he tripped over a loose wire. Everyone smirked a little, though brought themselves to stop as the doctor walked over to them. Josh was the only one to continue smirking and asked him,

"Hey Doc...enjoy the trip?" The doctor wasn't amused as he glared at Josh through his spectacles, more than enough to make the fox back off.

"Damn...obviously weren't long enough..." he murmured into Nick's ear as he sat back down. Nick gave a soft grunt at the joke as the doctor composed himself a little.

"Now...I just want to say that you should be quiet and careful. He's still quite disorientated and weak. He's sleeping right now. We gave him a sedative to help him. He's had a number of restless nights so we gave him a break. Not sure when he'll be back around about but, he's doing OK. And like I said, just be careful and take care not to cause any excitement or noise because he's in a lot of pain at the moment."

The dog gave a soft sigh as he scribbled a signature on a note-board he had in his paws, adjusted his spectacles and then walked over to the bed as the curtains were drawn open. The doctor attached the note-board to the bottom of the bed while all his staff left through the double doors just before he did.

Everyone just seemed a little too weary to head over to the bed where Dante slept silently, glancing around at each other for someone to make the first move. By coincidence, everyone all got up at the same time soon after, all heading over to Dante's bed where they either just knelt by the side of him and leaned on his bed or grabbed a nearby chair on the way.

"Man...look at the little guy..." Nick sighed, leaning forward on his chair while planting himself up with folded arms at the bottom of the bed.

Dante's forehead was wrapped firmly in bandages. Cuts and bruises ran down his arms and even his tail had a nip or two. Though, the distinct dashing of blood which ran diagonally down his bandaged chest was clearly visible, as well as a heavily bandaged stomach which was stained rather darkly with crimson too.

They all sat silently around Dante, Cat and Mary both had a paw reaching out to stroke gently at the little roo's paws. They had to take care in avoiding the needles that were fed into the backhand of his paws, both of them leading to two separate IVs that were placed around the back of his bedside.

Cat gaze was transfixed on Dante's rising and falling chest as if she seemed to be in another world, her paw stroking Dante's idly as he took in slow, deep breathes in his seemingly peaceful sleep. He looked peaceful enough, though that slight awkwardness that was present on his face from the forced slumber he had to endure.

Josh clearly had no care in the world as he leaned on a heart monitor which was beeping in a set rhythm. He was resisting the temptation to press buttons. Taking in a silent, deep breath, he blurted out,

"Well...anybody gonna say anything?"

Everyone but Cat looked up to Josh; all their gazes just telling him to shut the hell up for once.

"Hmm...tough crowd..." he yawned a little, trying to look casual as he took heed of the glares. John and Mary's eyes met, Mary's staring back at him with a condemning look that showed she might be blaming him for the scene in front of them.

John knew that look, seeing it every other time before everyone tried arguing with him again to let them in on what's been happening. He just ignored it and turned back to staring at the little 'roo in front of him, almost trying to will him to come around to cease the tense atmosphere.

"Do you think he's dreaming?" Cat said abruptly, almost as if awaking from her own slumber as she snapped out of her day dream.

"Well..." some of the group murmured, contemplating on the question.

"What made you come out with that?" Josh asked as he yawned again.

"Well...he just looks...peaceful." Cat said as she seemed as if she was going to drift into another day dreaming state.

"If a disgruntled look on your face which seems like you're constipated is actually indicating that you're at rest, then I don't see why I replaced that nurse's painkillers with laxative?" Josh joked again, smirking down at Cat.

"Does everything have to be a joke with you, Josh!?" Mary yelled at her brother, giving him a condemning look that was worse than she gave John. Josh gave a sudden condemning glare back at his sister which seemed to shatter her own into little pieces before standing up.

"Oh! For FUCK SAKE! All I'm trying to do is make things less tense between us all. There's both you and Cat trying to bite John's head off with every conversation we try and have or some motherly talk on growing up from you lately! You aren't Mom! Stop trying to be like her! Why can't you just stop thinking of yourselves for once and maybe we should stop the childish bickering over nothing! If you haven't noticed, one of our friends is gonna be needing our support when he wakes up; and I don't think he'd like to find that everyone is arguing!"

Josh gave a loud, exaggerated, frustrated yell before he stormed up to the double doors and yelled,

"FUCK!" as he kicked the doors open hard and stormed out of the room.

His words hit home. Not just to Mary, but everyone else too. It was probably the most mature advice Josh had ever given them. Though, he usually just intended to force bad advice upon them anyway.

Each one of them either sighed or took deep breathes as if the atmosphere had gotten so tense that it was thick with tension, making it hard to breath. Mary had just buried her head in her paws a little; the others just let their gazes' stray to anywhere but at each other.

It was only until the little 'roo in front of them, started to stir in the bed slightly and give a slight grunt that everyone looked at him and then at each other. It seemed a little disappointing that he stopped and seemed to remain asleep, so they took up their staring positions.

"Guys?" Dante suddenly said weakly with a dazed look. Everyone soon glanced back at Dante; their faces' bursting into smiles. Having no clue at all from the recent argument that went on; but probably was awoken by it, he gave them an innocently plain look as he lifted up a paw to cough.

After putting his paw back down and resting back onto the thick, bulky pillows behind him, he blinked his eyes which had a heavily glazed look as they took more notice.

"Hey..." Cat said with a smile on her muzzle, her paw reaching out to stroke at his paw again. "...how're you feeling?" she purred to him innocently. Dante's glazed look was accompanied by a dazed, out of sync blink, followed by a big yawn.

"Uh...sleepy..." he mumbled.

"Yeah...the doctor said you've had a few restless nights..." Mary intervened.

"No, no...it's not that..." he said, almost beginning to slur his words.

"I...think it's the morphine they gave me..." he mumbled again, staggering a little with his words as if he were about to loose consciousness again.

All he did for a while was stare down the bed at his feet covered in the sheets as he wiggled his toes, head leant forward with his eyes agape to try and resist the urge to fall asleep while his view of his blanketed feet slipped too easily in and out of focus.

After snapping out of his own little trance which the morphine was clearly inducing, he picked his head up as if it weighed a ton and asked sleepily,

"Thoowherethosh?" as he yawned widely.

"Eh...sorry...uh, where's Josh?"

Everyone looked around to each other before Mary said quickly,

"He's outside. He needed some fresh air. Being stuck in this ward for two weeks isn't a good thing," she said as she gave a little sigh. Dante could only give a nod in response as he yawned widely again; then let his head fall back down into the dazed position once more.

"Uh...what about Michael, Alan and Jack?" he suddenly blurted out.

"They've been transferred. We won't be seeing much of them again..." John said, feeling the need to oblige the little 'roo who seemed as if he didn't know who the hell he was and what was happening. What were they thinking about giving him morphine for?

"Oh...that...sucks..." Dante said with a little difficulty in trying to enunciate the words before the double doors burst open suddenly again.

"Guys...I'm sorry...I don't know what got into me...I-Dante?!" Josh queried as he came in through the doors with a planned apology still fresh in his mind.

Everyone turned to Josh, even Dante managed to lift his head up through the numbness of his body and give a warm, friendly smile which seemed a little strained as he didn't have full control over himself.

"Hey...buddy..." the fox said with a slightly uneasy look on his face as he saw the oddness of the little roo's apparent greeting smile.

"What's up with him?" Josh whispered to anyone who was in earshot other than Dante.

"Morphine...this is what they apparently used to sedate him." Nick said informatively, feeling a bit left out from the quite odd conversation.

"Wow...must have been bad for them to use that stuff...it's working though..." he smirked a little, looking back to Dante who had once again resumed the glazed staring at his wiggling toes.

"Hehe...I can't feel 'em," he laughed groggily. They all couldn't help but smile and chuckle a little at the sight of the little 'roo, who was obviously high as a kite.

"Oh my...hehe...how could they give him that...?" Cat whined playfully with a little giggle and she gave Dante's head a patronising pet; the little 'roo once again giving his odd, innocent smile with the look that he was starting to loose track of what was really going on around him completely.

"Come on guys, maybe we should let him be for now. I don't think we could get much of a conversation going with him literally floating on cloud nine..." she giggled as she got up to her feet.

"Oh...but I just got back in here...stay for a bit..." Josh whined.

"Nah...we'd best be off anyway...the drill sergeant don't know we've actually skipped training for the past two hours anyway...best be getting back..." Mary said with urgency.

Everyone who was permitted to leave; left gratefully, hoping that they wouldn't have to deal with the drill sergeant anytime soon, though were soon doing push-ups with just the full moon as a night light until midnight...

*******

For two days after, they still found Dante on the verge of passing out from his regular doses of morphine.

On the third day, John, Josh and Nick were released from the ward. Though still not fully healed, they were mainly released just a little earlier due to the disturbance they caused by playing pranks on any nurse or doctor that was unfortunate to cross their paths'.

They were mainly regretting the early release not only because of the pranks they were playing, but the teasing of their sedated friend who was in no fit form to have a decent concept of what was happening to him.

Many a time, they played the "got your nose" game and were successful at fooling the helpless little 'roo on several occasions.

"Oh! Josh! That's just damn cruel!" Mary hissed at him, grabbing the fox by the scruff and giving him a slap across the top of his head, making his ears jolt with a sharp pain.

"OW! Hey!" he yelped a little, only to grip his sister's nose and squeeze it while saying,

"Got your nose!" Mary didn't take kindly to this at all, yet seemed a little helpless as Josh tugged at it while she tried to free herself.

It was only three days later; everyone was eating in the cafeteria when a fully healthy Dante shuffled in on edge who was followed by a team of analysts lead by the Major and Dr. Thomas.

The large crowd was definitely attracting attention, but the knowledge of the little 'roo still needing another month before fully recovering had quickly spread.

Seeing Dante casually wandering in fit and healthy gave everyone a shock, but it seemed like square one again for Dante as he shyly shuffled in, ducking his head down to try and avoid the stares once more like his first days at the training facility.

The Major soon took hold of one of Dante's shoulders and directed him to an empty, secluded table where it was soon occupied by the herd of analysts that followed suit; Dante's gaze quickly flashing to where he'd spotted his own little herd he'd usually associate with before splaying his ears and quickly taking a seat that was facing a wall.

Dr. Thomas was quietly whispering with the Major before looking to Dante, who returned her almost silent words with an indecisively small shrug of his shoulders. She gave a nod of acknowledgement and soon strutted calmly to the line where everyone was queuing for food.

The group of analysts who had accompanied them were fiercely scribbling away at their boards. Most of them on their fifth pages' as they jotted down various observations they were clearly intent on annotating, their faces showing utter astonishment at Dante who sat before them.

Who wouldn't after being in such a state for so long only to cut your expected recovery date by almost a month? Even that estimation was apparently being very hopeful by the doctors. Yet, there he was...

The Major was muttering to the 'roo who had his ears at attention but seemed to just stare blankly at the table as if he was getting dazed by stares that were focused on him, his head still ducked as if it would help dodge the incoming fire of ominously bewildered gazing.

Dante only picked up his head with minimum effort to answer a simple yes or no with slight nodding as he was fired with one almost every question or two by the analysts who seemed to relish them, as half hearted as they were.

Cat and the now dwindled group, were chattering quietly amongst themselves on an end of one of the tables, glancing back and forth from one another and from Dante and back.

"Look at him...who does he think he is...?!" Mary hissed silently, her own gaze transfixed on the Major.

"Uh...our superior? Duh!" Josh retorted, though was feeling just as annoyed as his sister was, and soon cradling his shin as Mary kicked him hard in the leg under the table.

"I know that! You know what I mean!" she huffed, crossing her arms as she got even more annoyed from her sarcastic sibling's answer.

They were just discussing where John had disappeared to. It wasn't like him to avoid them. It had happened as soon as they were discharged from the ward; he was pulled aside for an immediate debriefing which was highly classified, by the look of intent that was on the officer's face. Ever since then, they hadn't heard from or even spotted him in the facility.

It was almost as much of a shock when John came strutting through the doors himself, his four friends looking almost betrayed as he completely ignored them and sat down on Dante's other flank, though almost miming Dante in his tactics of avoidance of the staring.

The Major and John both exchanged some short words over Dante's shoulders as he was still ducking down and John immediately got back up to join the line for food, directly behind Dr. Thomas. As soon as they met, they began silently talking away themselves, giving a hearty effort to blocking out stares that were being directed towards them.

Dante's head finally perked up after what seemed like an eternity, turning his head to gaze at the Major and seemingly mouth words, as if breathless.

With a soft nod, he got up out of his chair and made his way over to where his friends were; his best friends; friends he could never turn his back on. As he made his way over, their faces lit up, which made him, look even grimmer.

"Hi...guys..." he muttered softly, the words almost paining him as he strained to speak to them. At first, they were not even sure he had actually recovered as he stood there, almost as if he was about to collapse from pain in front of them.

"Hey...you wanna sit-?" Cat murred softly but, was cut-off by his sudden continuation.

"I...I-I...just want to let you know, you've given me a lot of support..." he stuttered, a single tear suddenly streamed from his right eye and dropped on his boot, the splashing as it impacted was almost like someone hammered on one of the tables as it was deathly silent in the room.

"...and I want to thank you. Thanks for... for being there..." he said again, a lot calmer than the first part of the sentence as if the tear had shed away some of the regret and sadness that was clearly paining him, his gaze suddenly glazing over as he tried to prepare himself for the brunt of the finale.

"I've got to leave now. I don't know if I'll be back. I'm sorry..." he breathed softly, as if it were the easiest part of the news he had to give his friends, his face blank from expression, except the single tear trail that dashed his cheek.

"Dante...what-?" Josh had started up, but he was also stopped by Dante instantly.

"Don't...ask. I can't and won't put you in any trouble. This is bigger than you...bigger than me..."

He did not acknowledge any of the lost expressions that all four of them gave him; barely noticing that Dr. Thomas had strode up to him with a tray full of food before he turned to her, light headedly. He gazed blankly at the food, then up to her face before turning away and walking straight through the doors that led out of the hall.

Everyone at the table Dante was sitting on suddenly got up, the Major motioning Dr. Thomas to follow and bring the food.

She looked back at John who had just left the line himself and she motioned her head for him to follow also. They all seemed to ignore the four furs sitting in front of them, no one caring to humour them to the reasons why these events were unfolding.

Only John gave a small glance to his friends. They looked lost and completely confused, Cat giving John a desperate look as if pleading him to tell them anything, but John just gave a simple shake of his head with a look that said, "Please...don't go there...", and even he turned on the spot and followed on with Dr. Thomas.

The cafeteria doors opening and slowly squeaking their way closed once again, signifying their time had come to a painful, messy close.

*******

It was only a few hours later that Dante's quarters was packed and ready for him to be transferred. To where, he didn't know and, really didn't want to know. The whole incident in the cafeteria as subtle as it was, really raked at him as there was so little he could say and so much he wanted to say.

He had to just up and leave without saying a proper farewell to the friends that had comforted him after such a hard time in his life. No one would be accompanying him that he knew. It was going to be like starting all over again.

He sat there on his striped bunk, resting his elbows on his knees as he gazed out of the window, his mind buzzing with the question of whether this was really happening or if it was just all a bad dream he needed to wake up from. He felt so stupid, hating himself for getting so close to anyone. He knew he shouldn't have.

His internal feud was soon interrupted when there was a careful knock on the door which was wide open, the owner of the paw revealing it to be John. A sight for sore, tear soaked eyes.

"Hey..." he muttered softly, looking at Dante awkwardly as he stepped in, seating himself next to his smaller counter-part. Dante just looked down at the floor, hardly giving any sign that he'd acknowledged John's entrance.

"...hey..." he said after short period of awkward silence, his eyes darting to various cracks in the floor as if he could find any clues to help him pull through this last encounter of his.

"You know, you've made quite an impact on all of us here. In more ways than you can imagine." John began. Dante just looked sideways at John, yet kept facing the floor before returning to his search.

"I know it's hard. I've had to move on myself, many times. Having to leave friends go and make new ones. You won't believe how many times I've had to." John trailed off, his own mind wandering over his own memories of solitude and regret. Dante took a small, pained gulp as if to swallow his urges to burst out in tears.

"But...the important thing is to always remember them. Remember the good times and not on the terms you parted. That'll just bring you more pain. They all...we...I will always remember you. I'd hope you'd do the same thing for all of us." He stammered for a moment, trying to be as careful as he could for Dante. He didn't want to make anything worse.

"Here..."

John got up off the bed, walking up to the door and took hold of something hidden behind the doorway.

It was wrapped in a black, shiny bag that seemed excessively long. It crinkled loudly as he shuffled over to Dante, the contents seeming to be long and slender as John held it firmly in his paw. He sat back down next to Dante and slid it sideways into his lap.

Dante took his time, closed his eyes before looking down at the mystery gift that lay in his lap. Another gulp suggesting he needed to swallow down a whole lot more emotions before they burst from him, a slightly distressed sigh escaping his muzzle afterwards.

"Go on..." John encouraged, hoping his friend would accept it. He eagerly awaited Dante to at least take a peek.

Reluctantly, the smaller of the two slowly unfolded the bag as it had been wrapped around something that felt like a rather untidy stick. He didn't want to seem ungrateful, but he didn't want to make leaving harder than it already was.

"I knew how much you seemed to like them, so I bought you one. It was paired with another; the other is back at my quarters. They detach at the end of the handle. It's only decorative but the craftsmanship is fantastic quality. My one is decorated blue. I was going to give it to you sooner but..." John said softly but felt the need he should stop as Dante ducked his head down between his knees.

The exposed handle and hilt of a sword was protruding from out of the end of the bag. The end of the handle had a small metal piece attached firmly which was clearly the mechanism that John had mentioned that was used to attach the two together. It had a glistening red jewel embedded in the cap.

It glinted brightly as the sun from the small window caught it's golden sheen. The leather bound handle was sleek and fashioned a vibrant crimson colour. It led all the way to the hand guard which was golden just like the cap of the sword handle.

"I...I hope you like it...here..." John fumbled slightly at the handle as if disturbing anything within the radius of Dante might cause him to shatter, slowly bringing the glinting sword out from it's black encasing.

The scabbard was just as beautifully decorated as the hilt. The main body; decorated a crimson red with the etchings and markings all in gold. It was noticeable that the cap at the scabbard had two small red gems encased in the gold either side. Whether they were real or not was not apparent, but they glinted beautifully just the same as John lifted it into the rays of light shining through the window.

"I didn't want to get all touchy-feely..." he started, slowly removing the shining blade from it's scabbard, the silvery metal glaring just as furiously as the gold in the light. It's quality craftsmanship was confirmed even more as it rang out with a high pitched tone.

Just after the hand guard, words were etched into the blade above where the sharp bladed section should be. Being decorative, it was completely blunt, but had such a crafted quality that it looked all the same as lethal as it was beautiful.

The words read, "Friends; to the end."

"...but, I just wanted to make a little statement. I just wanted you to remember us by. If not the others; at least me." he finished, gently laying the slightly unsheathed blade back into Dante's lap.

"Really...there is no need to say thank you or anything. I really didn't want to make this harder than it already is for you. I just wanted to help comfort you. You've probably got a long way ahead of you..." he smiled sincerely before straightening his expression, lifting himself back off the bed and walking to the doorway.

"Bye..." he said quietly, not sure if his small friend had even heard him with his deathly silence he was giving. John softly sighed before swallowing awkwardly himself and walked up the echoing hallway and through some double doors.

*******

Dante was being jostled about in a bumpy, yet luxurious car. The road was very uneasy coming in as he remembered. He was sat in a seat by himself while his two new superiors were sat in deep conversation with each other. He hadn't long shaken paws with them all, as empty as the greetings were.

He was holding the samurai sword that his dearest friend had just given him only twenty minutes ago; it felt an awful lot longer than that. He'd read over the engraved words over and over, finding it all too hard to accept.

Both the males were wearing highly decorated uniforms, both of them obviously earning their keep; they were definitely much higher up than even the Major.

One was a grey-coloured dog, his fur seeming to wither slightly of his apparent age and was obviously hiding his balding head beneath the hat he was wearing, even if it was as part of the standards of his uniform. He had introduced himself as just simply Mr. White.

The other, Mr. Black, who was a jet black coloured stallion, was seemingly a lot younger though still bore the signs of a man filled with years of experience. It could simply have been that he took a lot of pride in his grooming. He had his hat to the side while he was carefully sipping away at a tonic he had poured himself, making sure not to spill it on his spotless uniform as the car made it's way along the turbulent path.

The two female occupants were less formally dressed, but more to an office standard. Obviously secretaries to the two uniformed males but just as neatly attired as their employers.

They were identical cats; obviously Siamese with their appearance. The only distinguishing feature that you could tell them apart from each other were their different gadgets and notepads clutched in their possessions as they chatted away with one another about family life, their bright blue eyes giving them a mysterious look about the pair.

Dante hadn't been introduced to them but had shaken paws with them both as he entered the vehicle, eerily having them both synchronise a small "hello" from one another at the same time before they went back to their paperwork.

The two men who were partnered opposite each other were discussing arrangements; for what, he didn't care. They all seemed so false in their greetings; formalities and standards made him so uneasy around them.

The cold, black, luxurious leather had warmed since he'd sat down during the time but, it felt like he just entered a dark, empty void just like he had in his dreams and the two new associates of his were now his new keepers, he felt.

He just hoped that his message that he gave to the Major before he left would reach John and the others. He didn't want to leave them behind with cold-hearted regret.