FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Welcome back, my lovely reader~

Being a writer is my dream job but it has full-time hours and doesn't pay the bills. I want to keep writing these stories for everyone to enjoy and your support on Ko-Fi helps make that happen. I also appreciate non-financial support like faving, voting, and following me here or on BlueSky. Thank you so much for your continued support! Please enjoy the episode.

And with that out of the way…

Episode 8

Rogue Saber

The thick wooden doors slammed open with a well-placed booted kick. It had taken only a few swings of the massive war-ax to bust the sturdy iron lock that had been holding it in place. As the iron banded doors swung wide to let light flood into the keep, the figure of a towering deer loomed in the doorway.

He had large sweeping antlers that sported various charms or war painting spatters, looking sharp and easily able to gore if needed. His frame was powerful with large broad shoulders with bulging muscular legs and arms. The buck was shirtless but wore a fur-trimmed leather kilt and sturdy boots. The fur on his body had several gashed scars that showed pink flesh through the deep brown fur.

His eyes were so blue they nearly glowed as he scanned over the entrance to the keep, a snarl on his scarred muzzle as he kept his massive war-ax shouldered. As expected, within moments of busting the door open, he had company as a large winged griffin leaped from one of the spires in the keep, screeching as it dove upon him.

“Heh… wouldn’t be any fun if I didn’t get company, yeah?” He shouted out in a confident voice, shifting the ax into both of his paws. The griffin slammed into the cobbled stone floor, bits of stone and dirt scattering from the massive talons that had torn through the stone like paper, but the buck was nowhere to be seen.

“Slow!” He roared out, already to the beast's side, his massive ax moving with an unreal speed as if a weapon a fraction of its size. There was a flashing gleam of steel on feathered flesh, blood spraying over the deer’s chest before the beast screeched in a death cry and collapsed to the ground.

“Tch… weakling.” The buck shouldered his ax before making his way into the keep proper, ascending a spiraling stairwell that led down into the depths of the structure before finally coming upon the hidden library he was looking for.

Once in the library, a small glowing fairy seemed to just shimmer into reality as it called out in a high-pitched titter of a voice, “Syntax error, please refine the search query.”

“Oh, what the fraggin’ hell…” The buck slammed the ax blade down into the stone, paw resting on the shaft of the weapon as he nodded to himself.

The fairie’s light shuddered before it zipped off into the library to search, then a voice called out into his ear, “Turbo, we got problems, these drek for brains got deeper pockets than we figured!”

“How about you elaborate on the ‘problems’ portion of that statement,” The deer ground the words out in a hiss of a voice.

“This op is backed by Fujin, or at least one of the directors it seems. I just had the whole grid go live with activity, we’ve got- Oh drek…”

He sucked in a breath through his teeth, seeing the pixie, which was just a persona avatar of the search diagnostic program pouring over the files in the current nodes archives. “What are you drekin’ about now?”

“We gotta withdraw, Turbo, your intrusion attempt was detected and your meat position is compromised, you need to jack out!”

“I’ve almost got the damn data and if my position was compromised I’d have noticed the security trigger, the ICE I knocked out threw no such alarms!” The deer hissed out and watched his little fairy icon flying through the bookshelves that were just constructs to suit the visual spectrum of the web.

Silence followed and a quick query search showed the rigger’s position was already lost, no doubt having hauled tail out of the zone. He swallowed hard and then lifted his ears as the fairy called out, “File secure!”

“Fat lot of good it’ll do me if I can’t get out of here…” The deer hissed out as he downloaded the file and quickly retreated back to the entrance of the node. He didn’t walk up the stairs or across the stone tiles, just a quick recall program that made his avatar pass through the floors, walls, and other visual spectrums to the entrance of the ‘keep’.

Log out? Y/N

Y

…

Reality flooded back into being as the medieval setting was washed away by the grimy rockcrete wall at the side of a nearby building, an access terminal point blinking with a red light. A small paw ran through the sweat-soaked locks of golden blonde and purple hair, the soft brown eyes of the deer focusing as she let out a winded huff. As she was jacking out she felt the ICE from the node suddenly intensify, having to struggle to dump her connection, feeling like she’d run a marathon. That was Black ICE, an outfit like this shouldn’t have had access to something of that caliber.

The small doe felt the world stop spinning and yanked the cable out of the terminal that had been attached to her data jack near the back of her neck on her spinal column. She preferred wireless work, but had to get up close and personal to get to this site, only a block from the location.

Her ride out was gone, having been abandoned. She’d have to just blend in and try to make her way out amongst the denizens of the sprawl. Gripping her cyber-deck, she spun around to shoulder it and find a way out when she saw a massive towering wolf looming over her with an assault rifle trained on her chest.

“Ah uhm…” She stammered out, her ears perking in panic.

“Hey, you’re not a bad-looking bitch for a cyber jockey, might be able to put your tail to use before we frag you!” The wolf declared with a clearly hungry grin on his muzzle. The doe widened her eyes, her paw twitching to go for her sidearm, but with unreal speed from the larger wolf’s wired reflexes, the stock of the rifle slammed into her head as her vision clouded to black, not even feeling it when she hit the dirty street under her hooves.

—*—

“Let me ask you a question before I offer you this job, Tanto,” Jane folded her paws on the table as she gave the kitsune an annoyed gaze.

“Of course Ms. Jane,” Sen frowned as he stiffened. She still wasn’t thrilled with how things had gone down over his eye and Dog, but she couldn’t deny he was more versatile now, especially since the blade of his focus was now complete. Almost the moment the blade had been etched with runes and attached to the tsuka his family’s spirit had blessed him with, things changed.

Dog’s presence had been a sort of haze, a fuzzy shadow in his mind when he wasn’t in the astral, but once their focus was complete, she could be felt in all her glory. Her voice was crystal clear in his mind as if she were next to him in the meat, and he could perceive her fully with his eyes, or eye as it were. It had only been a few weeks since he had the old one removed, but it’d still be at least one more before his new one would be usable, so he kept a patch over it.

His bond strengthening with Dog had other ramifications as well. She could speak more clearly to others near him, and when he snuggled at night with Angel, the shiba was keen to bask in their love. She kept saying she was priming Angel’s spirit for the astral and wanted them together in it eventually, but it’d take time since Angel had a lot more chrome than Sen did.

“Will your partner have an issue if I ask you and Angel to brutally murder a small gang of BTL producers?” She asked simply.

“Eh? I get better than life simulation chips are bad news, but why would you care about that, Ms. Jane?” Angel asked curiously, Dog already giving a shocked bark in Sen’s head over the idea of it.

“I uh… think that might be a bit much, Ms. Jane…” Sen said respectfully with a clear apology in his tone.

“What if I told you they were a gang of rapists and murderers that specialized in making snuff-themed BTL’s? Would that motivate your little spirit girlfriend more?” Jane showed her teeth in a calculated grin.

Both the dogs before her sprang their ears up at that. BTL’s could record the sensations of the actors wearing them when they were made. So any sensations or feelings the actor was having during it were able to be shared with anyone who slotted the chip into their neural interface. This made the homemade trid-porn industry really take off in the early days, where as dedicated trid-porn actors quickly became obsolete, as you couldn’t fake the sensations and emotions.

Likewise, if someone slotted a BTL from an underground producer like that, they’d get to experience all the fear and terror of the victim forced to wear one. On the other paw, they could also experience it from the other side of things, getting to be in the shoes of the rapist and murderer.

“I can see your tails shuddering, guess I hit a nerve?” Jane asked coolly.

“M-ma’am… I’m happy to put a stop to something like that, but why are you getting involved?” Sen asked, already knowing Dog wouldn’t have issues dispensing justice against drek like that.

“Can I not want to do a good deed, Tanto?” Jane asked with a condescending tone.

All three dogs frowned at her, even if she could only see two of them doing it. She gave a roll of her eyes and sipped her drink. “I don’t approve of such things, and this group is starting to get a little too brazen, also it’s happening in my zone of control. I don’t need serial killers operating in my turf harassing the redlight district when we’ve got girls just trying to make a living.”

“So it makes you look weak,” Sen said dryly.

“Smart dog. I had a rigger I used to work with come in earlier, yowling and pleading with me to shut them down, something about losing a few friends to them a few hours ago. Told him he owed me some work for it, but I’d see what I could do.”

“Drek like that deserves the worst, I’m happy to put a stop to it,” Sen growled as he made a fist. Dog cooed her approval at his chivalrous stance.

“You’re hot when you’re getting all hyped up on justice, sugar!” Angel barked out and put a paw on his artificial hip. “Count me in, Ms. Jane. This kind of drek doesn’t sit well with me either. Some of my favorite informants are pros.”

“Good dogs. Also, Fujin is involved with them,” Jane said coolly.

“There it is…” Sen sighed.

“Well, more specifically, one of their higher-up execs is involved. A real sicko that wants to get his kicks, but doesn’t want to risk raping and killing his own victims. These boys are just the middleman who makes the BTLs for him while also selling copies on the side.”

“Are we geeking the suit too?” Angel asked.

“Nah, well not yet anyway. I wouldn’t mind having a plant in Fujin, and if we can get info linking this back to him, I can tighten my grip on that corp through the sicko.” Jame mused as she finished off her drink.

“While letting him just find a new outlet for his sick fantasy?” Sen growled out distastefully.

“You’ve been at this for over a month now, Tanto. The shadows are dirty and vile. You go on a crusade hunting down every murderer and rapist out there, you’ll never get any sleep. Be thankful you’re getting to do some good,” Jane snarled with annoyance in her voice.

She rolled her eyes as she saw both her dogs not happy with the words before following up, “Once I’ve got him in my grip I’ll make sure he keeps those wiles to himself, how’s that? Once he’s outlived his usefulness I’ll even see all the evidence gets dumped to his superiors so they can go through their corporate justice system to save face. Better?”

“It’s something I guess…” Dog muttered into Sen’s mind, still not happy with it. She was clinging to him like she usually did, her arms thrown around his neck, just floating there as if suspended in water. He could feel her presence and see her there with his eye, but obviously, she didn’t have any kind of actual weight upon him.

—*—

As always the information Jane provided was scarily accurate and invaluable, allowing the canines a deployment close to the targets without so much legwork. Sen checked over the gun in his paws a final time, more so as without the aug-eye he had to fall back on training than a readout.

“Got you as close as I could without the obvious drek, nail ‘em to the wall, will ya?” Wheels gave the pair a thumbs up and a dry smirk, “These bastards don’t have honor even among thieves, no mercy!”

“So ka, Wheels!” Sen grinned enough his fangs showed, nodding to Angel who slid open the door for the pair to step out, no sooner did he close it with a fist-bang after their ride was already withdrawing from the district.

“You seem more eager now that we’re here, sugar. If I didn’t know better I’d say even excited?” The golden retriever cocked a brow as they started down the street, both in civilian attire with tactical suits beneath, just the usual segmented armor and strapped small arms.

“You could say that, yeah. It sounds like drek to most, but I was taught growing up, experiencing visions or dreams was sacred.” Sen shrugged and shook his head, as if it sounded more ridiculous out loud, but Angel nudged him to continue with that damn smile and wagging tail.

“What these people are doing, it’s a perversion of the astral to me, to Dog. Trapping experiences and forcing them, those emotions to be replayed however many fragging times!” Sen snarled as their boots lightly echoed off the rockcrete sidewalk.

“You’ve really been taking this to heart, huh? Learning, erm, re-learning all this spirituality from your new friends?” Angel smiled, understanding and curiosity in his voice.

“Of course, it’s like.. Moon and Dog are a second chance at the life I walked away from, only they’re on this path with me too. I want to make it the best of both!” The fox clenched his fists at his sides.

“We’re gonna shut this down, sugar. Don’t you worry about that.” Angel gave a confident grin while he fished out a small device, “These guys are expecting two dogs wantin’ some of their drek for sale, so for now we gotta stow our emotions.”

“Affirmative,” Sen growled to himself as the pair walked down an alleyway that soon opened up into an area of the barrens, at least where they joined the more industrial district. This was where the truly desperate, bad-off, and twisted resided, by choice or not.

“This is our credstick, Jane set up a real gem this time.” Angel had a rare sinister glint in those soft eyes, thumbing a panel Sen couldn’t see now without an aug-eye, “once they verify the scrip, it’ll upload a trace through their comms. We’ll bag this place, and get a trail to all the other paws they’ve shaken.”

“Woah, that’s wiz! Ms. Jane really meant all that, huh?” The kitsune seemed more at ease knowing that watchful gaze had seen to likely every detail of the operation.

“No drek, sugar. She takes these matters to heart, now get ready and follow my lead.” The retriever barked with a wag of his tail, only to make Sen blink as Angel almost instantly seemed to sag. The dog tugged up a faded black hood, stuffing his paws into the center pocket with a drooping tail.

Sen took the hint, quickly giving a few quick tears to his own coverall, then shoving a paw into each cargo pants pocket. The two canines lost their stride in exchange for varied, more sluggish steps like some of those wandering about them did, adopting the wary yet semi-defeated look they witnessed.

Passing a few makeshift stands and shops in the downtrodden area, the one decent building was the clear outlet and source of credits changing paws. The pair shuffled up to the front where two males stood on alert, twin pitbulls that had been eyeing them since coming into view.

“That’s close enough.” One called out with a paw held up, the other going to an earpiece, “state your name and business.”

“Renz, we already made a call, man. We’re expected.” Angel spoke with a kind of accent that made Sen internally double-take, surprised the retriever could change his speaking pattern and tone to sound so street-born.

“Like we’ve never heard that before, let’s see your ‘credentials’. Renz.” The first pitbull snorted, allowing his twin to hold out a large open paw, both dressed in rather sharp suits for such a starving area.

“Sure man, chill.” Angel huffed, searching himself a moment as if he didn’t already know where the credstick was, finally producing it to drop into the impatient paw of the bouncer.

“If this is a screamer, you’re both dead, and no one’ll think twice around here.” The second muscle-bound dog growled, withdrawing a slender reader and slotting their payment.

“Tch, we ain’t lookin’ to cause any static man. You give all your customers this much drek?” Angel huffed with a shrug while Sen kept quiet, looking about the area like a bored, irritated friend just along for the potential high.

“Scum like you? Always.” The first dog scowled, “half of your asses can’t pay for a damn bath, let alone afford the fine merchandise in there.”

A few seconds went by before a soft chime confirmed not only a valid credstik, but one well-connected made the twin dogs blink, stiffen up and clear their throats.

“Hmph, guess you’re not such street drek, enjoy yourselves.” The first said as both stepped aside, letting the kitsune and retriever step toward a set of auto-doors that hissed open then swiftly shut behind them.

Within was a different story, with cool-lit panels of smooth plasteel from floor to ceiling, clearly showing where the credits flowed. Ms. Jane had given them extensive detailing of the personnel they’d be meeting, so the pair expected an interior to match the surrounding hub, but instead met refined materials almost matching their benefactor’s club.

“Alright, the appointment says Unit H-3, that way five doors, then a right. Should be easy to find, especially with our sense of smell.” Sen stated quietly, giving a grin as the fox meant their extrasensory boost thanks to Dog, his snout already twitching in curious repulsion at the myriad of scents in the building.

“Don’t think so, nature-boy. I’m going for the meet-up, you scope out the rest.” Angel shook his head curtly, seeming rather serious and heckled inside such a place.

“Uh, alright then, tap me on comms if you get into trouble.” Sen blinked but gave an understanding nod, partly feeling the obedience training to a more experienced officer, but seeing the kind-hearted dog tense gave an air of no-nonsense for once.

“Watch your tails, who knows what’s in here.” Angel gave a more familiar smile, then turned off to wander down the hallway toward their primary goal.

“He’s right, but I can’t sense any astral threats at least. Far too much butchery in a place like this…” Dog growled, sounding almost ill at the kind operations, jobs, and experiences that transpired behind closed doors.

“No kidding, let’s see if we can bring back more info for the task-mistress.” Sen sighed, wandering down the central hall as it went past various archways for a few open-air spaces. Inside each were all kinds, some motionless while jacked into whatever BTL they’d forked over for, others clustered at some of the bartops that gave Sen a judging glance.

In one of the back rooms, one far less well-lit housed a variety of what Sen knew militarily as ‘undesirables’: deck or chipheads too far gone, used-up subjects who’d been fried or overstimulated in ways Sen couldn’t begin to imagine.

“They seem hollow, even ones without chrome, like their spirit is burnt out almost,” Dog whispered with a frown, looking across some visible faces, seeing almost lifeless expressions of face and eyes among most.

“Probably are, the mind is just a meat PC after all, can only take so much.” The two-tails nodded with a bitter tone, “Hopefully Angel hits this thing off right, get our package so we can slot and run.”

Sen narrowed his working eye when movement to his left caught it, making him glance toward a doorway at the end of the hallway that hadn’t appeared to be there before. When no one came out of the elevator-looking space within, the fox padded inside and looked over a small panel of buttons.

“Hm, seems someone expects us for real, or we’ve got some help already.” The fox said under his breath, Dog nodding as they both hoped it was the infectious program Ms. Jane had them plant and was already at work, giving them underlying access to the facility.

“Huh, that’s funny…” Sen remarked before pressing the basement-level floor of the numbered keypad.

“What could possibly amuse you here, or do I want to know?” Dog asked in slight worry before looking where he pointed at the missing digit ‘4’ on the panel.

“Owner must be superstitious, the number four can sound like the same word for Death in the spiritual areas I grew up in. Wonder if they’re a kitsune, or just a paranoid arse.” Sen shrugged as the lift silently closed its doors and slipped downward into the lower levels.

A brief moment later the doors hissed open to let Sen out into a sprawling lounge with strobe lighting and music playing. Several embedded couch-type indentions were in the floor, with a pole mounted onto a smooth obsidian-black table in each center.

“It reeks in here, so many chemicals lingering and mixed in the air…” Dog whined, with Sen nodding with a frown to himself with his own sense of smell heightened because of their bond.

“Yeah, worse than a damn chop-shop in here.” The kitsune agreed, mostly grateful it wasn’t happy hour and a full-house at the moment, letting him look about the place unfettered.

—*—

Angel took his own time scoping out the interior, wandering with a purpose the security feeds didn’t realize, just ignoring the next potential or returning addict among their halls. Several doors were surprisingly left open, either out of careless eagerness or the ‘show’ being over.

It made his stomach roil, heart clench going by some of the sights: victims of ranging species and body types were passed out, or trying to gather and clean themselves up after Gods only knew what kind of depravity.

“Hey, you lost or what?” Came a voice from an open doorway, a female cheetah with a towel about her neck, panting with a sheen of sweat across herself, “Haven’t seen you before, so where you headed?”

“Waiting on an appointment, was just curious about where I’m spending, y’know?” The retriever gave a shrug after turning in place to face the slender, tall cat.

“Well, we don’t care for that, no free drek. I don’t care how much you’re suckling from a corporate teat and blowing in here, now buzz.” The spotted feline growled, a muffled groan behind her in the room sounded like a male not just exhausted but in pain.

“Like I told the doorman, I ain’t here to cause static, I read you.” Angel kept his head low, submissive to the aggressive cheetah, but on his backtrack glanced underneath his hoodie into the room. Another cheetah lay half off a disheveled bed, holding an ice pack to his groin while trying to reach for a cup of water.

The level of abuse and degradation within the place gave Angel a sick, angry feeling he wasn’t used to having. It was one thing to get your kicks, but within safe boundaries and mutual understanding, not in some underworld where one is given a label or price.

The retriever double-checked the unit label, giving a fingerpress to a pad to alert the occupants someone was waiting outside. What went from a silent and expectedly scented corridor instantly washed Angel with a small crew of growling, order-barking, and various musks that made his fur crawl.

“Drek, finally, you were almost late!” A large wolf answered the sliding door, “Tch, where’s the other one, supposed to be two of you drek-heads.” He peered out into the hall with a sniff, “I can smell him, a fox.”

“Dude needed to piss, his loss, yeah?” Angel shrugged in his hoodie, looking up at the scrutinizing male with suppressed disgust, the two meeting eyes in an unspoken contest before the golden broke it off in a false concession.

“Yeah, whatever. Counts against his time, so hurry up or I’ll strike yours too.” The wolf growled and stepped aside just enough for Angel to step into the space. It was a private studio with a wealth of differing tech, all for perverse use from cameras to improvised set pieces.

“Swag. Where do you want me at?” Angel shuffled inside, eyes peering over everything beneath the shadowed rim of his hood to gather surroundings, only for his heart to freeze spotting the figure sprawled onto a disheveled bed toward the back corner.

“Wait your turn dreckhead, we haven’t even recorded drek yet, so the physical stuff is ours.” The wolf barked, padding over to where another male stood half-dressed, a jackal that was rubbing one of his paw knuckles. “Don’t worry though, your tag gets you front-row seats, nothing less for such a free spender, heh!”

“Tch, this one’s already broken, won’t make a damn sound even when you beat it.” The jackal mused with a disappointed smirk.

“Just gotta know what buttons to smash, Carrion. She’ll make some music when I’m done with her, heh…” The wolf licked his chops, brushing past Angel impatiently.

The doe on the bed had clearly been abused on several levels, clothing torn up to show markings or smudged paw prints on her slender form. She trembled and kept her eyes closed, head turned away from the room as yet another male apparently came to torment her.

“Like you’d know how to legit please a woman, Carno. Not a real one, anyway.” The jackal scoffed, stretching his well-built arms about, fur displaying several scars.

“Frag off, you’ve had plenty of time with the bitch, not my fault you couldn’t get your kicks before I got back. Spend less time tenderizing the meat before you shove your cock in it, eh?” Carno smirked, kneeling on the edge of the large bed with a growl, “Right, you little thorn in my boss’ side? Thought you were hot drek in wonderland, huh Tinkerbell?”

Angel remained quiet, watching the two in a study of posture, room layout, and any visible weapons as they hungrily moved in on the terrified doe. Either they were arrogant enough to believe any chiphead wandering in wasn’t even a slight threat or overestimated their own prowess dealing with just anyone.

Carno grabbed the doe by the jaw, jerking her to look at him, her brown eyes looking fearful, tears rolling down her cheek fur. They darted to the retriever squatting there, a pleading look in them even as the wolf shoved her back down and wrenched his cargo pants open. “Time to make a star out of you, bitch!”

‘Tanto, things are about to get hot, so I hope you’re still frosty.’ Angel relayed to him on their secure synaptic network.

‘Angel, I’m still looking for-’

‘I’m not gonna sit here and watch these fucks fraggin’ rape this girl, frag the mission integrity!’

‘Got it, sod the rest, get her out of there, I’ll see you at the EZ!’

The wolf ripped the doe’s shirt the rest of the way open, her perky breasts spilling out, spots along them that were a little darker than her fur but clearly sporting bruises from the jackal’s attention earlier.

“Oh you’re a cute little bitch, this’ll be fun!” The wolf tugged his fully slid-free length out as he loomed over the smaller girl.

“My thoughts exactly!” Carno heard the unfamiliar voice scream out but didn’t have time to look up as a large serrated knife sunk right into his collar before raking across his throat, a spray of blood gushing out as Carrion screamed out before producing a small caliber handgun from his pants.

He didn’t even have time to sight it before a heavy slug from Angel’s much larger gun painted his brains on the wall behind him. The jackal crumpled to the ground in a silent heap as the wolf gurgled and gasped for air through his cut throat.

Angel snarled and leveled his gun at the wolf’s head, seeing the fear in his eyes, then he pulled it back and holstered it in a sheath that slid out of his chrome hip. “Sorry, this Angel isn’t one of mercy, not for drek like you, enjoy those last moments!”

The doe blinked at him wide-eyed as he loomed over her; the wolf’s blood spattered over her muzzle and chest before the retriever shoved his paw out. “Come on, we need to slot and run!”

She bit her lower lip and timidly grasped his paw as he hefted her up, her legs throbbing with ache as she wobbled to stand, feeling light-headed before she fell forward onto his chest. “Hey, can you walk?” Angel called out in a whisper into her ear.

“Y-yes, I think so… my deck… I can’t leave without my deck…” She gave a controlled huff before stepping back, trying to pull her torn shirt back into place to save some modesty.

Angel jerked his gaze around the room as he shrugged off his jacket. “I don’t see it, doll and we can’t be hanging around!” He barked as he tossed her the jacket.

Turbo fumbled to slide it on, looking more like a trench coat than a bomber jacket on her small body as she zipped it up. “I- I have to have that deck, I can’t afford to replace it! It’s got all my programs and-”

“Drek! F-Fine, any idea where it was stashed?” Angel snarled as his ears perked.

‘Hoi! You might want to move your tails, I don’t think they liked you geeking their actors!’ Sen called out in the secure line.

“Uh… I- I want to say it might be in the storage room across the hall, I recall seeing them put my stuff there before that jackal started using me as a punching bag,” Turbo said timidly.

“Fine, but if it’s not there, we’re ghosting, I’ll buy you another damn deck!” Angel barked out as he grabbed her smaller paw and started pulling her along.

“No cover, asshole!” One of the security goons roared out as the kitsune sprinted through the hall straight into a trio of guards, one of them aiming a Roomsweeper point-blank at him.

“Think so?” Sen barked out with a wide grin as he brought his own heavy pistol to bear, his namesake sword in his off-paw right as the Roomsweeper clapped out sending a cone of flechette rounds right into the fox’s proximity.

He felt Dog’s energy blast forth, the buckshot from the heavy blast hitting an invisible screen that sent most of it back nearly at the same velocity it came from into the trio. The heavy armor they wore absorbed most of the rounds but still left them yelling out as it peppered them, giving Sen enough time to fire one shot straight between the eyes of the guard that held the Roomsweeper, two more slugs landing home in the chests of the other two, the armor taking most of the blow but the powerful kick of the gun handily sending them staggering back.

“Faster now, love!” Dog sang out musically as Sen felt her power rush into him, blurring forward with enhanced speed, his blade flashing before taking the throat of one of the remaining guards with his tanto, his Predator heavy pistol shoving to the forehead of the other as he yowled out.

“C’mon chummer! Please, I’m just doing a fraggin’ job!” The coyote threw his paws up.

“You’re just as guilty as the fuckers running this show! I don’t owe you shit!” Sen barked out with his sharp teeth showing before bringing the elbow of his chrome arm up, slamming it into the coyote’s temple as he collapsed against the kitsune.

“I would not have objected had you passed judgment, my love,” Dog cooed out as Sen shouldered the coyote in a fireman’s carry.

“Yeah yeah, let’s get going!” Sen barked as he started rushing down the hallway. As he passed the rooms with the various dregs of society, he shouted out to them, “You value your hides, best vacate, this place is about to go up, chumps!”

“Oh! Oh, here it is, fuckin’ wiz!” Turbo fumbled as she found the beat-up-looking cyberdeck, quickly shouldering the strap before fumbling through a bag and withdrawing a small handgun.

“You going to be okay to haul that and the gun?” Angel asked while slapping an explosive charge on the wall of the room.

“Y-yeah, I’ll be okay!” The doe held the gun up, her right eye showing a brief flash as the smartlink system kicked in, then she rushed over to the retriever, biting her lower lip as she waited for him to finish setting the explosives.

He turned around to see the small deer peering up at him in his jacket, her face specked with wolf-blood before she folded her perked ears and darted her gaze away. “Uh… what’s your name?”

“It’s Angel, you got a handle, babe?” He showed his wide grin, showing that gap where a canine was missing, his own cheeks spotted with a little blood as well.

She felt her heart throb as she shivered but clutched the deck to her chest. “Uhm… my handle on the job is, Turbo…”

“Good to meet you, Turbo, now let’s get the hell out of here!” He gave her a toothy grin as she showed her own bashful one and they ran back out into the hallway.

“Angel! Status!” Sen barked out into the com directly as he reached the exit of the makeshift ‘studio’ and dumped the unconscious guard on the rockcrete.

“Give me thirty seconds, sugar, I’ve got a pretty banged-up doe in tow, and she can only run so fast!” Angel responded.

“Doe?” Sen asked out loud to himself.

“Make it twenty or I’m leaving your tail behind! Carry her if you gotta! I’ve got a heatwave of about half a dozen Stars closing in fast on us!” Wheels’ voice shouted onto the secure line as the van peeled around the corner, to the extraction point.

“You heard him, Turbo, let’s move!” Angel grinned at the doe who was stumbling to keep up.

“Hear wha- Eep!” She squeaked out as the retriever ducked and grabbed her right up into an over-the-shoulder carry. “H-hey, put me down I can walk fine!” Turbo shouted out.

“We aren’t walking, babe, hold on tight, this leg does more than help me stand!” Angel gave her a grin and then sprang off it, the servos of the chrome whirring to life as he propelled off it, the leg letting him cover the space of three to four other steps before his meat one gracefully kicked off to continue the movement as he sprinted down the corridor.

Rushing out of the building the retriever had to dig his boots in to not come crashing into the open van before he jumped in, the deer giving a protesting gasp as she rolled off his shoulders and flopped into the corner with a groan.

“Eighteen seconds, not bad…” Wheels grumbled before the door slid shut on the side of the van right as several explosions rocked through the makeshift studio, distant sirens wailing in the distance.

“Woo! That was awesome!” Angel barked out as the adrenaline rush hit him, his synthetic tail blurring in a wag as he grinned over at Sen.

“It damn near was hosed, but we neutralized the facility at least. Still, Ms. Jane won’t be thrilled we didn’t get any more data,” Sen sighed and flopped down, Dog moving to him and giving his jaw a lap of her tongue, kissing her lover as he felt her soothing energies starting to heal the aches and bruises he got through the various skirmishes on the way out.

“It’ll be okay, sugar. More importantly, we shut it down anyway!” Angel barked out as he moved over to Sen on all fours, leaning in to peck the kitsune’s lips before flopping down next to him with a tired sigh.

“Uhm…” Both dogs turned to the timid voice as the deer called out to them.

“Geeze, you’re pretty tore up… Dog, can you give her some attention?” Sen asked, the deer looking oddly at him talking to himself.

“She’ll need to give me permission, she looks confused so you may need to explain.” Dog cooed out as she was already moving over to the deer sitting on the ground.

“Hey uh, you mind if Dog works on those wounds a bit? The spirit I mean, I’m sorta like a shaman in training,” Sen offered a smile to the deer.

“Magic?” Turbo looked around, as if she’d see the spirit in question, then frowned as she looked back at the two dogs. “Is it safe?”

“Of course! Dog is a spirit of protection, she’d never steer you wrong, Turbo! She’s hot too!” Angel barked out cheerfully.

“Ah… I guess it’s okay…” She whispered awkwardly, then gave a cute gasp as she instantly felt the spirit-shiba’s power start to wash over her.

“You poor thing… your soul aches with sadness…” Dog cooed in her motherly tone as she hugged the deer from behind and the bruises started to ease in their deep colors.

“So uh… you were saying?” Sen asked, giving the deer his full focus now that Dog was tending to her.

Turbo closed her brown eyes as if relishing in the bliss, taking several seconds before she finally opened her eyes and answered, “I pulled several files worth of data on them before they caught me. I could share it with you, depending on why you want it. But If you guys are just some rival start-up wanting to use it, frag off and just throw me out of the van right now, I’ll take my chances with the moving asphalt.”

Sen and Angel looked upon one another before Angel answered her, “We were there to shut those guys down because our boss wanted them to stop their horrible drek, but also wants info on them to make sure the ones that were funding them get what’s coming to them.”

“So, your Mr. Johnson is a good guy then? Tch… I find that hard to believe.” The doe folded her ears and clicked her tongue, seemingly shifting into her street-mode now that she was somewhat safe and not about to be raped.

“Our, Ms. Jane is not the nicest rabbit in the world, but she isn’t interested in letting that kind of operation go down,” Sen explained simply.

“A Jane… rabbit? Wait-” Turbo perked her ears and shook her head. “I only know of one Jane that’s a rabbit in this area…”

“Why don’t you just come talk to her, you have my word no harm will come to you, Turbo.” Angel pushed a paw to his chest as he met her eyes. The small deer swallowed hard as she looked into his bright green eyes and gave a small nod.

“A-alright… I guess I can trust you. I’d be raped and dead right now if it wasn’t for you, so I can afford you that at the least.” She sighed out and looked down over her deck, as if inspecting it for damage.

—*—

Jane was already speaking as the three of them walked up to her at the nightclub, “Well well, what have we here?” The rabbit-doe showed an amused grin, her right eye shifting to purple, already no doubt pulling whatever information she could on this newcomer.

“Ms. Jane, this is Turbo, we sprang her before they could uh… make a new show with her,” Sen explained politely.

“That… is a Raijin Emissary in your paws, now how did you get a hold of that I wonder…” Jane hummed with amusement as the deer clutched the deck to her chest with a frown before she stepped forward, both the guards behind her tensing slightly.

“Does that matter? Your runners said you’d want to meet me as I’ve possibly-” The doe’s ears perked and she showed a snarl as she stepped back.

There were a few awkward seconds of the two girls seemingly standing off in a blank stare-down, neither even blinking before Jane flourished a paw and giggled, “Not bad… how did you get caught?”

“Hmph, was that my interview just now? I got caught because I was too stubborn and my small team ditched me,” Turbo said flatly, looking annoyed already.

“I’m sorry, what just happened?” Sen asked.

“I’ve a feeling she tried to use an intrusion program to see if Turbo could keep up,” Angel said simply.

“Good dog,” Jane cooed with a grin, then refocused on the deer before her. “I’m no decker, but if I could backdoor your program, I’d have just brushed you off. You responded to that rather well, but are you looking for a new job or a payday? I’m not interested in getting involved with Yakuza.”

“Wait- You’re a yak?!” Angel barked out in surprise.

“Former yak, Angel,” Turbo said coolly before shifting her gaze back to Jane.

“Last I heard, when you’re with a family, you’re with them for keeps, Turbo. So is this just a payday for you or what?” Jane repeated herself as she sipped her synthol cocktail as three more were quickly placed before the trio, no doubt having been ordered upon their arrival.

“I just wanted to ruin the bastards for what they did to a friend of mine. She was a good girl that worked the red light district, I don’t think I need to go into more detail than that.” Turbo took a seat and scooped the drink right up, giving it a scrutinizing sniff before sipping it.

“And your family?” Jane tilted her head, purple eye fading back to green.

Turbo shrugged and met her eyes directly. “Yaks are just like any other crime group, when gangs fight, not all of them come out alive. My Oyabun and most of his retainers ended up being hamburger for the streets, so I took my deck and fragged off.”

“Not interested in rebuilding your family legacy or any of that honor-bound drek?” The rabbit asked with a smirk.

“I tried talking sense into them and they didn’t listen. There’s no one left to come after me, I’m basically a ronin at this point.” Turbo gave a casual shrug.

“Well then, as it happens to be, I do need some more cyber muscle on my team, are you interested?” Jane offered simply, both Sen and Angel looking shocked at her casual nature on the matter.

“I know you, I’ve heard how you operate. You only use elite runners. I’m just a street-decker with a decent deck, I’m sure you can find better. You can have the fraggin’ files now if you swear you’re not planning to start another chip studio up or something.”

Jane leaned back and grinned. “Are you finished?”

Turbo narrowed her eyes and clutched the deck to her chest. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Well, it took a few minutes, so I had to entertain you, but information is what I live and die by, deer.” Jane’s voice shifted into a melodic story-telling tone, “A Raijin security specialist that went rogue, you were part of their Thunder-Sabers cyber security squad. Cutthroats that used Black ICE to enforce their corporate master’s will.”

Turbo looked like she’d been slapped by that before snapping her teeth and glaring at the rabbit. “Are you making some kind of point?”

“I am. I need an elite decker and right now I’m using a street doc to fill the holes. You know my rep, you know I’m not some blood-thirsty doe, but I’ll geek whoever gets in my way. Not far removed from how yak’s work, no?”

“Tempting offer, but I’ll pass. How about you pay me something to keep my bills paid for a few months and we call it even. The bastards that killed my friend are dealt with, I-”

“You think that? What if I told you they were sponsored by someone much higher up the food chain?” Jane smirked as she saw the doe instantly perk her ears and show a snarl.

“Who?!” Turbo demanded with a glare.

“Someone I’ll deal with for you, so don’t worry your pretty head about that one. Contrary to popular belief, I’m also a fan of justice and comeuppance with those that deserve it.” Jane cradled her drink with a lazy hum, knowing it wouldn’t satisfy the deer.

“If I could, Ms. Jane?” Sen cleared his throat and then looked to the doe, “Second chances are hard to come by in this life, if at all. I can vouch for this place, for what that offer stands for.” The fox gave a smile, trying to cool off the situation some, “You think someone as good as Angel would work under anyone less?”

“Tch, anyone could say that, you all might be bought and paid for to tell me as much. Even if I didn’t believe half of what I’ve heard, half is enough to know those who refuse.” Turbo shook her head, seeming torn to the kitsune so he pushed once more.

“I didn’t say it was heaven, and it’s far from perfect.” Sen swallowed as a glare came his way from the rabbit swirling her drink, but he exhaled, “It’s better to make a deal with a devil you know, and this situation isn’t too far from mine. I was at death’s door too, heh.”

“Yes well, we’re going to have a talk after this about turning this operation into a charity case, you two.” The rabbit rolled those gleaming eyes with a sip from her drink before setting it down on the table, only to clasp her fingers together with a fixed look at the doe.

“I thought you smelled like a suit, you carry yourself like a corp samurai would.” Turbo looked to Sen in acknowledgement then shifted her gaze back to the rabbit. “Why should I?” The question sounded childish, almost defiant.

Jane cracked a grin then giggled before shaking her head. “Oh, you’re precious, I like you… How’s this sound… I’ll offer you steady credits, and more than that, I’ll offer you sanctuary. You’ll have null perspiration of worrying over Raijin ever finding you with me, and to sweeten the pot, when I find and settle things with the little corporate backer for Fujin that was orchestrating that whole project… I’ll let you pull the trigger.”

Turbo lifted her muzzle and rubbed it with her paw that wasn’t clutching her Emissary deck. “... My retainer fee is five thousand per month to keep me on your payroll.”

“I’ll give you seventy-five hundred and not a credit more,” Jane showed her teeth in a predatory grin.

“I didn’t-” Turbo lifted her ears before clicking her tongue, “Huh… so you are serious… Fine, seventy-five it is. So what’s this about sanctuary?”

“Oh, believe me, we’ve got just the place, even my confused kitsune over there that can’t make up his mind on what he wants to do with his life hasn’t visited yet!” Jane declared with a smug grin.

“Wait- Ma’am… Sen’s been on the payroll for over a month and you hadn’t, but you just met Turbo and you’re going to let her in on this?” Angel barked out obviously confused, even Sen looking one part shocked, another part irritated.

“You clearly thought she was worth the time and I’ve thoroughly dug through her past, I’ve no reason to deny her, but…” Jane shifted her piercing gaze back to the deer’s soft brown eyes. “You only work for me.”

“Hence the retainer fee, yes,” Turbo said flatly in a business-like tone.

“You’ve got my information, give me the data dump at your leisure, runner.” Jane sipped her cocktail then shifted her gaze to Sen. “As for you, Tanto, stick about, I want a proper debriefing over your side of things. Angel, Turbo, feel free to slot and run, you’ve got your pay.”

Turbo’s ears sprang up at the credits that hit her personal account, stammering out awkwardly, “T-thanks…”

“For the data, and your retainer fee, a bonus too for signing on,” Jane gave the deer a wink before shifting her gaze to the kitsune.

“Thanks ma’am!” Angel barked out happily and spun on his heel to trot off.

Turbo didn’t look convinced of everything, but nodded to Sen. “Nice to be working with you, Tanto, thanks again for the save.” The doe turned and perked her fluff of tail up inside the bomber jacket and dismissed herself.

She waited until the two left and then looked to Sen as she offered her paw. The samurai frowned but reached out with his meat paw, grasping the rabbit’s soft warm grip. Jane clicked her tongue as she seemed to look past Sen. “So, what do you think of the bitch?”

“Am I your magic eight ball or something, Jane?” Dog offered an exasperated huff, her paws on her hips.

“Yes, now spit it out,” The rabbit showed as playful a grin as she could muster to the spirit.

Dog rolled her eyes and threw her paws up dramatically. “My sources point to, she’s just fine, so stop worrying. She’s not got any kind of heavy negativity hanging on her but vengeance and sorrow.”

“Sorrow eh?” Jane cocked a brow.

“Well, you said it yourself, she’s a corporate runaway, and she lost her yak-family as well. Raijin has a strict loyalty structure, I don’t foresee her going rogue just for the hell of it, and then losing her new family as well. No wonder it’s twisted her spirit a bit.” Sen joined into the conversation, but of course, all of them were just staring at one another in the club, not orally talking.

“Whatever drove her from the Big-R is so wrapped up and locked tight, I’d have to pay a small fortune to find out. Maybe it wasn’t of her choosing and she had to run away. Whatever, did you see how she was looking at my Angel? You might have competition, my fox!” Jane showed a wicked grin as she took a moment to gossip.

“Fetch can chase whatever tail he wants, Ms. Jane, we aren’t exclusive or something and… we are fine!” Sen protested while furrowing his brows.

Jane pulled her paw away and leaned back, peaking her fingers as she looked over the kitsune, seemingly satisfied with the exchange. “Thank you for indulging me, Dog. You are a valuable asset to my Warren.”

Sen realized why she pulled away first to say that, as Dog gave a happy bark at being praised, she loved getting thanked and praised no matter who it was.

—*—

“Hey there,” Angel called out as he looked back at the doe approaching him from behind.

“Did you think I was coming to talk to you?” Turbo asked in a soft tone.

“I figured you’d at least be giving me back my jacket, but should we stop by a clothing store first?” Angel turned to her and put a paw on his hip, showing his gapped grin.

Turbo frowned and drooped her ears. “Ah, yeah that’d be wiz. Also, sorry about earlier, I kind of just shift into a different mode when I’m talking business or delving into cyberspace…”

“You don’t have to apologize to me, Turbo!” He barked out playfully and wagged his tail.

“Call me, Tarah when we’re not working, okay?” The doe gave him a timid look as she told him her name.

“Ah, okay Tarah, well, my name is actually Angel, so you can just keep calling me that!” He showed a grin and then lifted a paw. “Hey, come on, I know a local place where you can get some threads, they’ll even be able to custom-fit them!”

The doe gave him a nod and followed after him, some of the denizens of the street giving her less than reassuring looks given the jacket was barely coming down past her knees, showing plenty of leg with no bruises or cuts to speak of thanks to Dog’s healing.

“Uh… Thank you for earlier… I’ve never been in a situation where someone saved me like that… I’m still a little shell-shocked about the whole thing…” Tarah whispered as she walked next to him, the retriever’s presence seemingly keeping the eyes on her at bay.

“Of course! I can help get you squared away while my boyfriend is getting chewed out by the boss!” Angel barked out with a laugh.

“Oh, are you guys dating? I thought you might be when I saw you kiss him earlier,” Tarah said with an awkward smile.

“Yeah, he’s got a few side flings too though, he’s dating that spirit following him around too, Dog. He’s also seeing the team Shaman, but I’m not sure how serious they are!”

“Oh my, so you guys are uh… open?” She asked curiously.

“Yeah, we are.” Angel hummed as he led her to a small hole-in-the-wall location that specialized in fabricating synthetic clothing based on various fashion trends. This kind of place could digitally scan your frame and basically print you new clothes within minutes.

Once they got sorted, he was waiting outside when Tarah came trotting out in a full new wardrobe, snug tight legging hugging her hips with a form-fitting top that hugged her chest and midsection, showing her lean physique off, the top compressing slightly to hide the plump swells of her breasts to give her a more boyish look with her short hair.

“Oh, you look great, Tarah!” He barked out with a silly grin on his muzzle, keenly noting she still had his jacket on.

“Thanks, uh…” She fondled the zipper of the jacket before giving him a small grin. “Can I keep it on a little longer?”

“Sure you can, babe…” He gave her a suave grin and huffed as he put a paw on his hip. “Like smelling like me?”

Tarah cleared her throat and perked her ears, “Ah, uhm… it’s rude to have a girl make the first move, Angel…”

“Oh, is that right?” He perked his ears and then nodded. “Okay, well, don’t think you owe me for shit, babe. I saved you because I wanted to, not for the date I’m about to ask you out on.”

“Well, we can’t have the date unless you officially ask, but I’ll say yes in a heartbeat if you do,” Tarah gave him her own shy grin as she pushed her paw through the pink and blonde locks of her hair.

“Then let’s get going, I know a cute ramen joint that actually lets you sit down!” He barked out and hooked an arm with hers pulling her along.

“Ah! B-but you didn’t actually ask yet!” She stammered out, stumbling over her own boots before catching up to his pulling, her deck slung over her shoulder in a new bag that hid it from sight.

—*—

If Jane had ever truly wanted to display just how sprawling an empire she’d fought, carved, and created behind the scenes, it was now with Angel, Sen, and Tarah gathered before her. The rabbit wore a smug yet piercing expression as she looked them over.

“For you newbloods, what you’re about to see is the tip of the iceberg, but if you ever think of uttering a word of it for a credstik or favor? I’ll see to it you're erased in every way that matters: mind-wiped, spiritually neutered, and your body made into a nice, blank chrome puppet. Are we clear?”

Sen and Tarah swallowed with a glance at each other and the grinning Angel between them, whose tail refused any kind of restraint in wagging to already know what lay behind the elevator doors.

“Yes, ma’am.” The two newbies replied in close unison, causing the rabbit to smile.

“Good, now step into my parlor.” Jane cood as she turned away, the two smooth obsidian doors opening without a button or voice command, likely keyed to her and authorized personnel only the kitsune guessed, following inside for the small group to look about the surprisingly spacious cabin.

Jane faced the opposite wall as they began moving, the smooth material inside lit with soft shadow-limiting light, with several small ports that scanned over each for a myriad of security parameters.

“Anti-emitter LED…no personal cloaking in here…” Tarah muttered while peering at some of the narrow strips of lighting.

“Hmhm, very good, you do know your tech.” Jane said without looking back to the doe, who stiffened a bit realizing she’d nerded out loud, “That’s right, not even a shadow walks inside without me knowing.”

It felt like several moments went by only for the ‘walls’ to shimmer away to reveal what had to be the most immense structure Sen had ever seen, just underground. On it went in several directions from the central shaft, with connecting levels they could’ve stopped at that went on to gods only knew how many facilities, sectioned-off departments, or secure data-vaults.

Tarah pressed up against the screen-wall with wide eyed awe, rattling off state of the art equipment or work stations beneath her breath, the tech-savvy doe unable to hide the rapid flicking of her tail at the wealth of machinery.

“Impressed I take it?” Jane looked at the awe-struck Turbo, arms folded across her center while watching the ceaseless activity of her domain.

“Hate to admit it, but yeah…you’ve basically got your own arcology, this must’ve taken-” Tarah started but was interrupted by the boss bunny.

“A fortune of credits and bodies alike, yes. And not quite true Arcos, but close enough.” Jane mused, clearly savoring the flex of achievement before the descending group.

“There’s no way- I mean, to keep something this size secure, secret even?” Sen shook his head, rubbing the back of it with a paw as Angel gave a proud bark.

“Oh yes, there is, sugar! Haven’t you learned a thing yet by how Ms. Jane filters each team-member? Every detail has a reason and protocol to keep this place air-tight.” The retriever grinned as Jane gave him a knowing smile, “At any duct, door, or bay is a team of paw-chosen security that can handle whatever threat, even astral intruders!”

“Urf, that might explain why I don’t feel so good down here…” Dog draped herself across Sen’s shoulders with a soft whine, making Sen frown and look to the rabbit who waved it off before he could question it.

“She’ll get used to the dampeners built into the superstructure, as long as you two behave. See, I had a special web setup alongside the internal network, any hostile mojo-business means a nasty backlash.” Jane glanced from Sen to the approaching base floor below, her eyes reflecting the many thin lights moving along the shaftway.

They followed the rabbit out of and into the central hub, a vast hexagonal space laced with walkways, sub-enclosed offices, mono-personnel or material tubes, and light but carefully placed security installations.

“Well frag me, this is…so damn wiz!” Sen laughed out a bark of amazement, circling in place as Tarah nodded a few quick times, staying close to Angel with wide eyes.

“Speak for yourself, this place feels like a robotic tomb…” Dog whined.

“Ah, sorry lovely…this is just a quick tour, we’ll be out soon.” Sen comforted the adjusting spirit with a quiet, comforting tone.

“Anyway, this is my Warren.” Jane splayed both paws up and outward to gesture to the several storied space, more detail to take each time the fox and doe looked, “This is my life’s work, the reason your information is always so thorough, and the bane of many competitors. This is my, our, home, so use it wisely and remember…I own you and any memory of it, so keep your maws shut.”

Sen and Tarah gave a firm nod of understanding even as Jane gracefully strode away with a dismissive wave back at them, already getting a few approaching employees with data-slates and updates deemed worth her time.

“Well, I promised to show Turbo some of the high-end port domes we’ve got, lady needs to see where she’ll be taking names after all!” Angel barked with a grin, looping his arm with the doe’s to lead her off.

“Damn, Fetch.” Sen shook his head, chuckling at the pair happily wandering off only for his fur to bristle, “Oh right, sorry Dog! Let’s get you outta here, I’ll have to get Moon to watch you when I’m down here…”

“No! I’ll be fine, I will acclimate in time, our bond is just settling and time apart would be much worse than…this feeling.” Dog huffed and clung tighter about the two-tails shoulders, rumbling and focusing on his aura and scent over the static gnawing at her senses.

“Heh, you got it then, thanks for toughing it out for me.” Sen smiled at the effort his bond-mate would go to for his sake, looking about the under-empire his boss had forged with who knows how much blood, sweat, and tears.

“Of course! We’re all stronger together!” Dog barked matter-of-factly.

Next Episode:

A near-death experience is quite a catalyst to springboard a new romance, of course, you’ll fall into the white knight's arms, yes? Even if the knight did make you ask first. That knight’s touch that drives you wild though, brings out another side of you, and perhaps another side of him? A good dog you say? Hmm… Yes, I think this will do just fine!

Is it a test of my skill or a test of my faith? Of course, I’ll do it, I’m the best! Just remember you get what you pay for, bitch! In the shadows, credits talk and I’ll happily spoil my new prize with them, and happily flaunt it before you to boot!

The way you make me feel, it shatters my confidence and reinforces it all at once! I’d rip a mountain down for you but struggle to take a step without your direction. I don’t care, let come what may, this is a drug I’ll happily take so long as it comes from your paws! Call me your good fox one more time, please…

Episode Eight: I like What I like

---

If you enjoyed this, don’t forget to support me! It doesn’t have to be financial either, just share my stuff and get my name out there. Vote, Fave, Comment, offer feedback, anything. Thank you and as always, I’m nothing without your support.

If you enjoyed the tale, consider tossing a coin to your writer Ko-Fi.

Want to talk about my work with me or others who like it? I've got a discord for that!

If you enjoyed this and want to keep up with me, you can find me on BlueSky social!