Alistair's Diary

15th of Lemasa, Year 25 AF

Susie left for her trip today to the Highlands, ready to learn more about the art styles they have up there and take ideas from the beautiful mountains they have.  I wish I could go, but the library needs me more than ever for a new collection we have coming from the Highlands, ironically enough.  I managed to finish my map for her at least so if anything a part of me's still with her when she goes.  A day or two without her is the most I can do, but a week really hurts.  I love her so much, Susie's just the most perfect lemming I've ever known!

She smiles like the sun in the summer, her hair is like springtime fields and her drawings are just so much better than mine in every way!  She's helped me a lot with my perspective, not that I don't love drawing maps but she told me that it's always good to try new things even if you do them badly, because then you learn from new mistakes and fix them down the line.  Susie's the smartest artist I know, a smartist!

        "Nnnnngh no that's stupid," he muttered scribbling out the word, "I mean she's the only artist I know, should I really call her the smartest?  But then why not, she IS the smartest, why can't I call her that ugh, why can't it be next week already?!"

Alistair slumped back in his bed, his head hitting against the wall as he felt his body slump with renewed apathy at everything.  He closed his diary slipping it back under his pillow before dragging himself out of his room with a heaving sigh.

        "You alright Ali?" James asked from the kitchen area of the main room.

        "Uhh."  He shrugged indifferent with a deeper voice.

        "It's only a week," he smirked stirring a pot of meaty broth, "break that down into six days it's hardly anything."

        "I knoooow," he whinged rearing his head to the ceiling, "but it's already been too looong!"

        "Don't you have any books left to read?"

        "I read 'em all."

        "Well I'm out of ideas, sorry."  James shrugged before sipping some of the stew with distaste.  "I thought you were working at the papersmith today?"

        "It's closed," shrugged Alistair leaning against the door frame, "mister Strolem caught some fever, no work today."

        "Oh dear I hope he's alright.  If it's any consolation I miss Chanoch dearly."

        "Yeah but you can just go to him anytime," argued his brother.

        "I have my duties that take me away from him for months, that's longer than a week."

        "Ugh," Alistair almost slumped into a chair, "you have to deal with that as a scribe all the time?"

        "Yes, months at a time I travel back and forth."

        "Why months when you can go anytime?"

        "Because," James grabbed a pepper grinder and started twisting above the soup, "research takes time and normally when I travel to new realms I must allow a reasonable amount of time to study the new place, something you cannot do in a week."

        "I guess...at least father's coming back, maybe he's got some good stuff."

        "He always does.  How are you enjoying the papersmith business?"

        "It's alright," Ali shrugged leaning back on his seat, "slow and boring but I get free paper scraps for stuff so-"

        "I would not mind a few scraps myself for a little practice," James stirred the last of the stew with a gentle slip and nodded, "that's dinner ready at least, now uh, since you're not busy could you help me clean up the house?"

        "Hhhhh okayyyy."

Alistair had gone through a growth spurt since the last time he had seen him, the young page now in his mid-teens with a few spots freckling the upper part of his snout with eyes more heavy than usual.  They were bright and inquisitive still but an added fatigue had come to his pubescence despite his top-knotted hair keeping a childish look as he lumbered around the house cleaning half-heartedly, scrubbing down the furniture whilst James recovered the floor in fresh bark chippings to prevent weeds growing into the house.  At James' request, Alistair also cleaned up in his parents' room where a single bed laid with two walls full of knick-knacks and various gifts from each other, as well as the ribbons they wove during their wedding ceremony now preserved within a frame.  Alistair briefly wondered if him and Susie would ever share a bed and feeling more lonely for the fact he was the only member of his family to not have slept in another's bed.

The spartan accommodations of their family home made things easier as they had everything cleaned up within 40 minutes, deciding to move towards the outside and cut grass around the border of the house, along with pulling weeds that scratched at their fingers and raked their forearms beneath a cloudy day.  James was more useful with his blade unsheathed from his umbrella, slicing through the rushes whilst his brother used a small sickle.

        "Is your umbrella looking different?" he asked.

        "Yes I added a new clasp," James showed off the two "handles" he unclicked from each other, "holding the brolly with one hand and the sword in the other for that extra leverage."

        "Wow that looks cool!  But, why?"

        "Just for added grip, makes future battles far easier when it's harder for someone to knock the shield out of my grip."

        "Has that happened?!"

        "Not often but," James shrugged hacking another swathe of grass, "better safe than sorry."

        "Mmmm I guess..." Alistair stared up at the oppressive clouds, "ugh this sky's the worst."

        "Is that why you're so irritable?" asked James.

        "M-maybe...I dunno-"

        "It's fine," he suppressed a chuckle, "I was like that at your age."

        "You're not THAT old," scoffed his little brother ripping a root out in clumps.

        "Plenty older than you," he poked his sibling's topknot, "have you had any ideas about your future occupation?"

        "Not really...I mean I really wanna be a scribe, like you but I dunno how to even start?"

        "Well did you ask how?"

        "I-i tried," muttered Ali rubbing his neck, "but they said I'd be a lot better being a cartographer but I don't wanna JUST be that, I wanna do more!"

        "I agree," said James patting his shoulder, "do you truly want to be a scribe?"

        "Y-yeah, I still do!"

        "Alright.  I'll tutor you then, I'll show you what I know and see how things go."

        "R-really?!  You'd do that?"

        "Of course you're my brother Ali!  I won't even need master Durai to show you what I already know, just as a trial period whilst I am here."

        "YEAH, th-thanks James!"

He hugged him tightly with a wide splitting grin as his brother hugged him back, kissing his head as they finished up the rest of the weeding.  James gathered up the plants to bring back into the house and put in a curing basket for later usage, whilst Alistair settled himself back in his bed and felt his body compress with exhaustion.  The sky remained ever-clouded from outside his window as he stared beyond the desk of figurines that sat between him and his brother's beds, his side of the room covered in pictures whilst James' side had pages of scribblings stuck to the wall showing old notes of scribe tutorage.  Alistair had tried to read them in the past but struggled to grasp even the basics for how disjointed they were in his brother's early start.  James soon joined him as he slumped on his bed for a brief rest.

        "Mmmmmnnnngh...let me tell you, there is never a bed as good as your own."

        "Really?" muttered Alistair blinking up at him.

        "Absolutely."

        "Not even being in Chanoch's bed?"

        "W-well...it's a very close second to my own."

        "Wouldn't it be great if you could bring him to our house?" the youth bounced up with a grin.

        "Oh I would love to," James smiled looking up to the ceiling, "it's a shame we cannot bring others back with us, much as I understand the reason."

        "What about mister Durai?"

        "He came by himself, if you happen to find our village then I suppose we have to welcome you."

        "What about if someone bad came by themselves?"

        "That is why we must make precautions."  James rolled over to meet his brother's gaze.  "We must learn to stand on our own two feet, we cannot rely on saviours to come guide us in future so if the time comes for us to defend ourselves-"

        "We fight then?" asked Alistair sitting up.

        "If we have to.  We have enough tribes with various strengths to overcome each other's weaknesses."

        "How many monsters have you fought?"

        "Too many."  He pulled his knees up against himself.  "I know we have our fun with swordplay but I do genuinely hope we never have to fight to protect our home."

        "Mmmm..."

He said nothing, deciding instead fo take a nap until around 20 minutes after that they heard the door open at the front.

        "Hellooooo?" their mother's voice came floating through.  "James, Alistair?"

        "HERE!" cried the older brother leaping off his bed.  "Stew's bubbling away!"

        "Oh thank you James, also for cleaning the house!"

        "Alistair helped too, made things a lot easier he's just having a nap."

        "Hmhmhmhm, I remember you slept a lot too in your teenage years," she waggled a finger under his nose.

        "W-well I did a lot of work," he rocked his feet bashfully, "studying taxes the mind and I put everything I could into it!"

        "And I'm very proud of you.  Both of you."  She smooched him on the cheek.  "Dinner will be ready when your father is done with his meeting."

        "Meeting, with what?"

        "At chief Arino's house, there was quite a bit of palaver over there, had some important news from the Highlands!"

        "Really?"  James rubbed his chin.  "I wonder if master Durai is there too, if father of all lemmings has to tell the chief something-"

        "Oh James come now you need to-"

        "No no please let me just check-"

        "Hhhhh alright then."  She swept her arms in defeat.  "Just don't bother them too much."

        "I won't!"

Heading out towards the chieftain's house James crossed through the village square as other lemmings went back and forth nearing the end of their working day as shops began to close and doors locked with windows revealing candlelight in soft glows like lanterns throughout the village.  The sky darkened with the fading of the sun as James waved off his neighbours with well wishes before reaching the modest abode where two voices came from within.  James was about to open the door until a phrase stopped him in his tracks.

        "Wide.  Dark."

        "Th-they said that?!" gasped chief Arino.

        "Mmm," his father mumbled, "wide, dark, a-after, many."

        "After many...what, days, months, years?"

        "Olds, o-olds um, longest."

        "So, years?"

James slinked to the window to see his father flexing his fingers awkwardly, the elder sitting himself on the bed with his old umbrella clasped between his hands.

        "This is...well, did they give us a timeframe, or something to work with?"

        "Mmm," Harold shook his head, "wide, dark, olds and olds."

        "But it is at least MANY, years right?"

        "Mmm," he grimaced and lifted up his ten fingers to gesture four times.

        "Wh-what?!"  The chief clutched his heart.  ...o-only forty years?"

        "Mmm."

        "Th-this is...this is terrible."  The elder hunched forwards with a deep sigh.  "I mean, we always knew this was coming but I thought we had more time than this."

        "Plan, boat?"

        "Yes I will form a meeting with the other chiefs so as to build one and establish it in a safe place.  The talisman always knew this it seems."

        "When, leave?" Harold crossed his arms.

        "First I have to confer with the chieftains then we shall prepare for our exodus-"

        "Wh-what?!"  James opened the door suddenly with a fright to both the elder lemmings.  "A-an exodus?!"

        "JAMES!" Harold stepped up as his son closed the door behind.  "Home!"

        "You cannot just plan an exodus, w-we have homes, we can't just leave-"

        "James have you been listening to all of this?"  Chief Arino shook his head.  "I expected better from our greatest scribe to not be snooping around like a thief."

        "I-i was NOT snooping, I only wanted to know why my father had to speak with you!"

        "That is none of your business-"

        "You just said I was the greatest scribe yet you won't involve me in something I can help with?!"

        "Not!" Harold barked pointing a finger at him.  "Not, all you, wide dark hurt all."

        "I KNOW THAT!" he shouted stomping his foot.  "You think I just care about the glory, NO I am trying to find the means to save our people!"

        "Save, all, reason?!  Wide dark, come, all, leave!"

        "But why do we have to leave?!  Why can't we just stay here, what if the Great Darkness comes for us again at our new home, are we just going to spend our lives running away forever?!"

        "If it saves our people," said the chief standing up with shaking legs, "The safety of our tribe is more important than anything, more than our homes and the land we live in."

        "Do you want our tribe to become vagrants!?" James clenched his fists.  "We are better than that chief Arino, you know we are, what happened to the heroic leader who led us through the dark?!"

        "Enough!"  He raised his worn umbrella with a cold look.  "Don't...you DARE accuse me of cowardice you little whelp."

        "I am NOT a little whelp!"

        "Not!"  His father grabbed at his son's arm with a tight squeeze.  "Know, more than you.  Shut, leave, home."

        "Are you just going to let this happen?!" James gritted his teeth.  "You have someone, you have TWO great scribes who have been searching for a solution to banish the Great Darkness, and now you refuse to let us solve it!"

        "None, shut, wide dark."

        "How do you know nothing can stop it?!  Have any of you even TRIED to come up with a solution to fight it?!"

        "No, stupid."

        "YOU'RE STUPID, BOTH OF YOU ARE NOTHING BUT COWARDS-NNNGH!"

James felt his father's fist on his face, stumbling back hard against the wall with a slump and a bloody nose.

        "S-STOP, STOP THIS!" Arino swept his brolly between them.  "This is NOT how we settle things on this isle."

        "Wh-why...does that matter to you?" James stood up clutching the wall behind him.  "Not as if we're going to be on this island long enough the way you see it."

        "I am trying to be patient with you James, but you insist on this madness."

        "What is so maddening about...guh," he snorted back a few drops of red, "t-trying to protect our homeland?"

        "Because it is suicide to fight against the Great Darkness."

        "YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT IT IS!"

        "Exactly, and are you willing to endanger our entire race for something you cannot comprehend?!"

        "I would rather die than be forced to an exodus."  James brushed his snout with his sleeve and stepped out from the house.  "Dinner is ready when you return home, father."

He closed the door with the barest restraint to slam it shut, trudging back to his home as his fists shook with eyes tightening to swallow his fury as best he could.  He stopped in the midst of the village as he flexed his fingers, wanting to unleash something, anything just to force his rage into a single motion before he saw his brother coming up to find him.

        "JAMES, James u-uhh is father here-"

        "He's with the elder," he said through his teeth, "he will come when he is done speaking."

        "H-hey, are you alright?  Your nose is bleeding-"

        "I fell."

        "But...d-do you need som-"

        "I said I fell, Alistair."  He glared with venomous sting.  "I'm tired, I need some rest before dinner."

        "O-okay."

Watching his brother march off with stiffening steps, the young lemming rubbed his arm nervously and followed him back to their bedroom, where James did not move even once from his bed except to eat.  Nobody said a word, too angry or frightened to ask as the clouds thickened over the Lemming Isle.

Third Energy Research - Subject Fourteen Preparation

21-06-2044

Recorded by Dr. Andrea Dixon

As part of their induction into our research team, the reploids managed to perform their tasks on Meridian-5 perfectly.  Thankfully for them the current anomaly registered very minor, around 15 TEFs which while should hopefully mean that any new presence should be easy to handle, it also means they will be difficult to track.  Our recent expanded radar communique has so far not detected any signals from newcomers.  We are also currently developing an "energy well", an idea hit upon by James the Lemming and his master Haytham Durai whilst studying our research.

By setting up a vacuum-principled machine on Meridian-5, we hope to negate all energy output from the moon base's gate so as to prevent it interfering with our own Third Energy Gate and hopefully open a portal back to our home era.  Our only problem now is gathering enough materials to build it and making sure it can withstand such a tremendous energy surge whilst only being able to fully test it once a year.  It will be difficult and immensely time-consuming but we have no other options available, even a slim chance is better than nothing at this rate.

        "Now remember," said Oddclaw standing upon the beach, "no biting, no clawing, no marking inside the mountain, no taking anyone's food without asking."

        "Right," the children nodded.

        "The hairless are our friends so please respect them.  But if any of them are mean to you, tell me or your mother."

        "What if they hurt uth?" asked Oddtooth.

        "Then you can hurt them, but NO killing, they are not prey."

        "Why not?" Skyfang chirped cocking her head.  "Aren't they warmbloods too?"

        "They are," said Moonclaw dipping her head, "but they are different warmbloods, they saved your father and protected him.  It was because of them that him and I met, and how you were born to us."

        "I-is Stonetree there at the Shiny Mountain?" Seaclaw rubbed his feet in the dirt.

        "Yes he is, I am sure he will be happy to see you."

On the northeast shores of the Hunter's Nest, five raptors waited for a Ducky to arrive on a clear cool day whilst they watched the ocean lap across the sands pleasantly so.  Seaclaw sat closest to the water letting the tide tickle his feet with a giggle, whilst Oddtooth and Skyfang chased each other's tails briefly in a test of agility to see who was fastest in avoiding the other.  As they waited Oddclaw sat down beside his son whilst Moonclaw joined in chasing the feral duo.

        "I love the sea," said the boy grinning at the horizon, "how big you think it is?"

        "The flyers tell me it goes forever," said Oddclaw, "as far as the sun and the moon go when they sink beneath."

        "So, does the moon an' the sun go to sleep in the sea?"

        "Hmhmhm, no, no the sun and moon are very high above us in the sky, but they are moving all the time.  The moon is moving around our home, and our home is moving around the sun."

        "Reaaaally?"  Seaclaw looked down at the sand and scooped some up.  "But, I don' feel it moving."

        "Well, do you think the fish can feel the sea move above their heads?"

        "U-uhhh...I-i dunno."

        "Well the same with us," said the father rubbing his son's head, "so the earth moves around the sun, the moon moves around us."

        "But, the sun is movin'," he pointed at the blinding orb without looking.

        "Only because we are.  Here let me show you, imagine you are the earth, and I am the sun, yes?"

        "Okay."

        "Lie down and roll yourself across the sand."

Seaclaw gladly did so, laying himself on his back then rolling somewhat away from his father up the shore until he was a small disance.

        "Now, have I moved?!" he cried to him.

        "Uhhh, n-no?"

        "But I am farther away now, yes?!"

        "Y-yeah?"

        "That is how our home moves around the sun, this ENTIRE land and also the sea roll around the sun which never moves at all."

        "Woooow..." he crawled back to his father's side laying his head across his lap, "how you know all this?"

        "The hairless showed me," said Oddclaw nodding, "they can show you too if you want."

        "O-okay!  ...daaad."

        "Yeeees?"

        "How'd you meet the hairless?"

        "Well...I fell into the sea," he tightened his throat with a nervous cough, "I fell when I was hunting something, I was young and um...foolish, your grandmother was very worried about me.  I was very fortunate to be alive, but the hairless found me on their shore and healed me."

        "You swam alllll the way there?!" Seaclaw gasped turning his head to the sea.

        "No I did not swim...I am not sure how I managed, I think they said I was holding some bark tightly to keep me from drowning."

        "Bark can float?"

        "Yes, somehow!  OH, there they are, children gather up and stand back!"

        "Come on come on move away!"

Moonclaw ushered them back up to the grass where they watched a small white orb race towards them from the sea.  A shimmering ball that resembled a tiny sun that the children gasped in awe upon its landing, the sands scattering beneath its smooth body as the sound of hydraulics heaved with a wheezing gasp to show the door opening downwards into a ramp.

        "Wooooow," the children muttered.

        "Looks like a big egg!" giggled Skyfang.

        "Helloooooo!" Jane waved from inside the egg wearing a backpack on herself.  "Ready for your big trip to our base?!"

        "YEAH YEAH LET'S GO!"

        "H-HEY don't push!" Seaclaw shouted as his sister ran in first.

        "Skyfang behave," warned their mother, "it can carry all of us but if you do not behave we will leave you behind."

        "I don't care!" she cackled sitting down on a chair like a dog.  "Howsit fly?!"

        "Using air with hydraulics," said Jane sitting beside her, "through a system of aerial circulation we managed to develop a system of-"

        "SO how do you kill anything when you got no claws?!"

        "Wh-what?!"

        "I'd like to know too," said Oddtooth stepping on, "how do you hunt without any clawth?"

        "Well we have fire, that tends to kill things rather easy."

        "That all you have?"

        "No we have...different weapons," she sat down as everyone else did, "ones that we build and we're not born with, but if worst comes to worst we have our fists."

        "But you got stoneclaws!" Seaclaw pointed at her metal fist.  "Do other hairless have that too?"

        "No, see I...lost my hand," she blushed rubbing fingers across the steel knuckles, "a monster chopped it straight off and well I had a new one built."

        "I'm sorry."  He patted her knee.

        "Oh no it's fine, my new hand's a lot better anyway!"

The Ducky started to rumble and slowly take off into the air, causing the children to shriek and giggle from the odd motions around them whilst Moonclaw sat on the floor and Oddclaw in a seat next to her.

        "How do you make new clawth out of thtone?" asked Oddtooth leaning over.

        "Well," Jane twisted her fingers, "we first sculpt it to the right shape, then we put all these wires inside that move energy through it like blood runs through you.  We just substitute blood for a different liquid to make it move and it just fits onto our body with nerve endings connected from the hand to our brain."

        "Ohhhh."

        "Wh-whut does that mean?" asked Seaclaw bashfully.

        "They put water in a thtone to make it move, then they put vineth into your body tho you can move your clawth."

        "Ooooooh!  So, if I lost my claws, you could make new ones fer me Warmvoice?"

        "We could yes," she smiled patting his shoulder, "hopefully that won't happen-"

        "What if I lose my legs!?" shouted Skyfang bumping against her seat.

        "We can make you new legs as well, one of our friends at the base actually has metal legs."

        "REALLY?!  Wow I wanna see him!"

        "You will meet all our friends," said Oddclaw looking back to her, "just remember what I told you."

        "I knoooow."

        "How old are you?" asked the youngest brother.

        "Fifty-two," Jane rubbed her head, "most of us are hitting our middle-age at the base."

        "How long do the hairless live for?" asked Moonclaw.

        "Uhhh, normally around seventy-five years, but we can live up to a hundred years."

        "Really?!  ...I was not expecting that, I know I am quite old myself but-"

        "Oh nonsense you're perfectly fine look you have three perfect children!"

        "Do you have children Warmvoice?" the boy asked kicking his legs gently.

        "No, no I never did."

        "What about family?" Skyfang leaned sniffing her face.  "Are they at the mountain?"

        "No I um...my family are gone."

        "Did they leave?"

        "They're...just gone, I mean I think they're gone, it's been many years so it's most likely, I've accepted that, a lot better than my original family were-"

        "Wait, what do you mean?" asked Oddclaw.

        "U-UHH that's enough questions for now I think we're almost ready!"

She slapped her knees nervously as they soon landed upon the northern beach just outside the T.E.A.R. base.  The raptors hopped out with excitable shrieks at the grand shining mountain that since Oddclaw's last visit had expanded considerably, mostly for the large radio antenna that now jutted above the base with conical shapes dotted around its pointed spire.  A few rooms had been added in turn with a fortified security fence of added mesh all around them.

        "Not taking us into the han-ner?" asked Oddie in English.

        "Just to acclimatise your children to the place," said Jane walking out beside him, "that reminds me could you get Seaclaw for a moment?"

        "Seaclaw, over here!"

        "Y-yeah?!"  The boy rushed up whilst Moonclaw handled the other two.

        "I have something for you," Jane started slipping off her backpack, "see, because you and your father have bodies similar to ours, you have to follow an extra rule."

        "Whuhh?"

        "Could you put this on for me?"

She offered a small pair of blue elastic shorts to the young boy as he looked at them curiously.  His father demonstrated with his own pair of shorts that Jane gave him as he slipped them up his legs.

        "Wwwwwhyyyyy?" asked Seaclaw earnestly.

        "The hairless are embarrassed by our cocks," said his father.

        "O-ODDCLAW!"

        "What it is true!"

        "N-no it's not!"

        "Then why do only me and my son have to wear these when his brother and sister and mother do not have to?"

        "...fine, you know what yes we find it very uncomfortable to have your penises flopping around when your other family have them internal."

        "Thank you.  So yes, let us not embarrass them with silly things alright Seaclaw?"

        "Okay!"  He slipped on his shorts and snapped the waistband against his belly.  "Hehee, feels warm!"

        "Oh that's good," she bowed with a sigh, "I wanted to make sure you were comfortable."

        "Mmhmm, feels like daddy's holding me."

        "Awwwww."  Jane clutched her heart with a soft simpering from her pursed lips.  "God you are precious, alright let's catch up with your family."

        "I wanna bite it!" cried Skyfang.

        "NO!" shouted Moonclaw.  "NO biting I told you!"

        "But we're not IN the mountain yet!"

        "Until we return home you are not to bite anyone!"

        "That wasn't what you said!"

        "You're right," nodded Oddtooth, "mother didn't thay 'no biting' until we got IN the mountain."

        "Oddtooth please do not encourage your sister," said the father coming up behind, "we are here to respect our friends, not to be idiots."

        "Okayyyyy."

        "SO," Jane Addison walked past opening the doors to the main entrance, "welcome to the Third Energy Anomaly Research Base, or T.E.A.R. as we call it, you know me as Jane."

        "Hiiii Warmvoice!" squeaked the children all at once.

        "Now, I only ask that you don't wander off, follow your parents or me always since there are some very dangerous rooms where there's fire and lots of other things that can hurt you."

        "Whyyyy?" asked Oddtooth cocking his head.

        "So we find better ways to protect ourselves."

        "With more...fire?"

        "Basically!  Now, come with me."

Heading into the reception area where the entrance guards waved them by with a smile and a nod, the raptors looked around themselves with a growing fascination for the sounds and smells that came flooding to their senses.  Humans traipsed back and forth beside machines that rolled on wheels with strange horned heads and pointed beaks, the scents of sharp-oiled lubricants and oxidised steel creating a mix of noxious stench that made the children wrinkle their noses as they wandered through the halls.

        "Smells weiiiird," muttered Skyfang.

        "It does," nodded Moonclaw, "what IS that smell?"

        "The hairless make their own stones," said Oddclaw beside them, "stronger stones to protect themselves."

        "I would think stone itself is strong enough, I lived in a mountain so I would know."

        "Oh you lived in a mountain?" Jane turned her head back to her.

        "Yes, the Death Nest."

        "Really?!  Just over there?!"

        "Yes, not anymore."

        "Mmm fair enough, so!"  She clapped her hands stopping outside one door.  "Here are our break rooms, this is where we come to relax and where you'll be spending most of the time at our base."

The door opened with her card as she showed off the rec rooms where tables sat with cupboards full of board games on one side, whilst televisions and players sat on the other side ready to be used.

        "This is called a television," Jane clicked it on with a movie she had ready, "humans create stories that we then put onto DVDs, that we like to sit down and watch."

        "Stories inside stones?" scoffed Skyfang shaking her head.  "Why not just TELL the stories?"

        "Because it has visuals and its own sound!"

        "Kinda noithy," demurred Oddtooth poking his snout at the screen, "why put it in a thtone anyway?"

        "It's just how we do things."

        "I like it," muttered Seaclaw staring at a cartoon elephant flap his giant ears, "lotta stuff moving a-and silly sounds!"

        "Pffft that'th why you're the little brother," his brother teased nipping his head.

        "Now I have someone to show you if you'll follow me this way."

Jane turned off the TV and headed to the next room where the sounds of a guitar and a voice singing could be heard in unison, a place where instruments had been set up on various hooks and stands with a few chairs formed in a semi-circle.

        "You've got me over the moon, and that's no jest, we're miiiles above the rest, look in your eyes and I know we'll be fine, so let's shoot for the stars and make this love really shiiiine!"

        "STONETREEEE!"

Two creatures were currently playing, one of whom the children immediately recognised as Seaclaw rushed forwards to hug the lizardman's leg.  Chanoch smiled and rubbed the boy's head as he looked up towards his musical partner, the blonde wolf who was rather taken aback by the small horde that swarmed the room as she stepped back.

        "Woah woah woah what the hell's this?!"

        "Sorry, sorry!" Jane held up her hand as the children swarmed the lizardman.  "Didn't realise you were practicing!"

        "OH, hey uhhh raptor guy!" Amy pointed to Oddclaw who waved at her.  "Haven't seen you in like...well, since we first arrived how are ya doing?!"

        "I am good!" said Oddclaw smiling as he shook her hand.  "How are you?  Is everything alright?"

        "Yeah I mean besides almost getting mauled by all these li'l guys, they your kids?"

        "They are, this is Oddtooth, Seaclaw and Skyfang and this is my mate Moonclaw."

        "Hi there!"  The wolf bowed respectfully.  "Nice to meet you, I'm Amy!"

        "She says it is good to meet-"

        "Uhhh ya don't need to translate, I got the update already," Amy tapped her head, "Dro-...Stonevoice gave me the dual-lingo program for it along with everyone else to share."

        "That is good," said Moonclaw purring with a bow, "I am The One Who Claws at the Moon, I apologise if my children disturbed you."

        "No no is all good, we were just jamming right Chanoch?"

        "Yes," he muttered picking up Seaclaw onto his lap, "we are practicing to build a band."

        "Really?" gasped Jane.  "That's fantastic, who else is going to be in it!?"

        "James for guitar, Ribose for drums."

        "Ribose can play drums?!"

        "Yes," he nodded ruffling the boy's head whilst the other two raptors nipped at his shoulders.  "We asked for people who can play, he offered."

        "Where is James actually I haven't seen him around."

        "At his home," Chanoch plucked a string, "mister Durai was here briefly, said there was an emergency."

        "What's THAT?!" Skyfang bumped her head against the guitar.

        "It is how I make music."  He strummed a gentle note as they chirred with intrigue.

        "Thoundth weird," muttered Oddtooth sniffing at the neck.

        "Looks like really long bones," Skyfang started licking the strings, "taste weird too-A-AGHKH!"

        "Th-thkyfang!"

        "YERGHHK, NNGHKH!"

The raptor's tongue suddenly twisted up between the strings as she frantically tried to pull herself away, before Chanoch placed a hand upon her head to keep her still.

        "Stop.  You make it worse.  Seaclaw, help your sister."

        "Okays!"

Her little brother leaned forwards and carefully grabbed the tip of her tongue before uncurling it from between the strings.

        "BLEH!"  She pulled off with a hissing spit.  "Th-thanks."

        "Heeheehee!" the boy giggled cupping his face.  "R-remember when you got yer tongue stuck in a tree?"

        "SH-shut uuuuup!"

        "It wath your fault," snorted Oddtooth scratching her cheek, "mother told you to thtop doing that!"

        "Shut UUUP!" she butted him hard to knock him down as Oddclaw grabbed her neck.

        "Children do not fight.  Come on, you can all play with Stonetree after we are done exploring."

        "Awwww."  Seaclaw hopped off his lap with a sad little limp along with his siblings.

        "We can play soon," the lizardman hugged each of them before they left him, "but for now go follow Jane, enjoy yourselves."

        "Okayyyys."

Not satisfied but accepting it regardless, the children slinked off as Amy waved cheerily to them.

        "You guys gonna come to the show we're gonna have set up soon?"

        "Sadly no," said Oddclaw, "we are only here to show the children the home of our friends, then we shall return home."

        "Awww alrighty, no worries it's great to see ya."

        "I didn't know you could sing," said Jane smirking with a finger to her chin.

        "Yeah I mean I used to practice at charity events back in my old job," she shrugged, "people just liked my voice and I just rolled with it, why not pick it up again?  Chanoch heard me singing and asked like 'hey you wanna join our band' and I said sure it'd be fun!"

        "Well that's lovely, can't wait to hear it!"

        "When James comes back," said the guitarist, "I have to practice with Ribose later."

        "Alright well good luck then!  Now," Jane turned back to the hall and led the raptors out.  "Let me show you the medical lab and our friend with the special legs."

        "YEAH, YEAH!" squeaked Skyfang hopping in place.  "Show me the stone legs I wanna see!"

The parents shook their heads and followed on behind Addison whilst keeping the reins on their children from rushing off ahead, the guards and badniks rumbling on by with a wave and a curtsy until they reached the medical bay where the smells intensified to a burning degree.  The raptors scrunched up their noses even harder with snorts of distaste at the hot ashen scent that trembled through the air, whilst Moonclaw seemed to relish it with an odd nostalgic whim in her eyes.

        "Here is where we heal ourselves," explained Addison, "we make special liquids to fix problems inside our bodies, also to make new arms and legs if we break them."

        "Just like these bad boys," said Kevin stepping out behind a lab desk, "hola dinomigos, nice to see you guys here at last."

        "Morning Kev, just showing them around hope you don't-"

        "LEGS!"  Skyfang shrieked and rushed towards him immediate.  "WOW, STONE LEGS!"

        "Ahahaha yeah," he smirked stretching them out for her to sniff, "she told you about that huh?"

        "Woooooow."

She licked across the stainless steel and plastic joints, numming gently to find an unusual flavour that she disliked but still intrigued her all the same.  Oddtooth came up in turn sniffing over his limbs whilst Seaclaw walked up in front of him.

        "Wha happen to your legs?"

        "I had a building fall on me," said Izquierda whilst the raptors tapped and nipped his legs, "it sucked but I survived."

        "Ohhh.  I'm sorry.  I really like your legs."

        "Yeah and it doesn't hurt when you keep biting them so go nuts, you'll only hurt your teeth."

        "Children please," their mother snarled, "honestly must I tell you again?"

        "B-but LOOK!" shrieked Oddtooth gesturing wildly with his head.  "THTONE LEGTH!"

        "It's fiiiine," the scientist smirked waving his hands, "they can't hurt me even if they wanted to, hey you kids wanna see some cool fire tricks?"

        "YEAH!" squealed the children.

        "Nooooo!" whined the mother.

        "Only if you keep them far away," said the father sternly.

        "No problem," Kevin rubbed his hands, "alrighty so what colour you want to see fire turn into?"

        "What?" Oddtooth scoffed.  "That'th a thilly thing to thay."

        "Ohhh?  Pick a colour, any colour."

        "Uhhhh...leaf!"

        "Alrighty."

Kevin cracked his knuckles and turned on a naked flame that was kept within an aerated jar.  Carefully filtering in gas from another tube he fed into the burner's pipe, the burning amber tongue slowly diffusing to become a pale lurid green that shone like the eyes of Oddtooth and Skyfang, glimmering with awe at the sight with a gentle wonder on their lips.

        "How...h-how did you DO that?!" muttered Moonclaw stepping closer.

        "I'm a wizard," Kevin shrugged with the widest grin, "nothing to it."

        "C-can you turn fire into water?!" squeaked Seaclaw.

        "Nnnnno, but I CAN turn water into fire is that good enough?"

        "OOOH yeah yeah, I wanna see!"

The chemist gladly demonstrated his mastery over the elements much to the glee and shock of the children who watched him prognosticate, as water turned to fire and their breaths became solid when he had them breathe into a beaker before turning it to dry ice.  Moonclaw could not help but be amazed in turn as her expression mirrored that of her children, whilst Oddclaw chuckled to himself until Kevin was done showing off.

        "Alright that was amazing," tittered Moonclaw whipping her tail frantically, "h-how anyone can turn our breaths into stone is beyond me!"

        "Wiiiizard," the medic grinned stepping back to his desk, "anyways I got work so uh you kids have fun."

        "What are you working on?" asked Oddclaw rubbing his eye.

        "Just some raw medical treatments, Amy offered some of her chemicals for me to process and synthesize whenever she ain't around."

        "Ohhh yes," Jane nodded with a wry smirk, "how are you and Amy doing?"

        "Uhh, fine?  We're just working in the lab together-"

        "Ohoh I'm sure you are."

        "Jane come on, that's Jeremy's thing not you."

        "Guess he rubbed off on me," she winked with a titter as he rolled his eyes, "bet you'll be watching her at the concert?"

        "WELL I have a lot of work to do and I'm sure you got other stuff to see soooooooooooo g'bye!"

Practically shoving them out the door he waved them off as the raptors walked with Jane up towards the kitchen where the smell of food already excited the little ones.

        "And here is where we make our food!"

        "OOOOH FOOD!"

        "AH-AH, remember what we said!" Oddclaw blocked the door in front.  "No eating others' food without asking!"

        "But I'm hungryyyyy!" whinged his daughter.

        "Can we have food pleathe?" the older son looked up to Jane.

        "You may, thank you Oddtooth," she bowed to him, "I'll just get you some special meat."

She walked in as they caught a glimpse of the steamy kitchen beyond where scents smothered the air with a collection of meat, vegetables and other smells they couldn't quite discern but were all delicious nonetheless.  Their mouths salivated with licking lips as the parents looked to each other.

        "This is going well," said Oddclaw nudging his wife.

        "I suppose it is," she chirped nibbling at his cheek, "I admit I was worried about having them here but you are right, it is good for them to learn new things."

        "Even if we know the hairless will not be around forever."

        "Will you miss them?"  She turned her head fully to him.  "You must have thought of that before."

        "I have, yes."  He rubbed his neck with a tender sigh.  "They will leave one day, and we shall say goodbye to them.  I will miss them, but I know they want to return home and I will not stop them from trying."

        "I only wish their coldfire stopped bringing in more starbeasts.  Other than that I do like them, especially because they annoy your mother so much."

        "Not THAT much," Oddclaw tittered with a nervous smirk.

        "No but enough to make me happy," Moonclaw chirred sweetly to lick his face.

        "Heeere we are!" Jane reappeared with five steaks on top of each other.  "One for each of you."

        "YAAAY!"

The children cried happily as they wolfed it down instantly in the middle of the hall, the two anthros taking the warm cooked meat in their hands whilst the other three ate off the floor in thick tearing shreds to leave juicy stains where the meat had once been.  Devoured within seconds they purred greedily looking up at her.

        "That was GOOOOD!" beamed Seaclaw rubbing his tummy.

        "YEAH!" cried Skyfang hopping back and forth.  "Tastes different to meat back home!"

        "Well we cook it over some fire and add a few things," said Jane shrugging, "just to you know, spice it up a bit."

        "It was delicious!" Moonclaw chirred.  "I forgot how well you hairless prepare your meat."

        "U-uhhh, mother?" Oddtooth started to twitch his tail.  "I-i have to mark."

        "Oh, alright I will take you outside, do you mind Jane?"

        "No no you know the way," she waved him off, "see you over at the library when you're done."

        "Thank you, come along Oddtooth."

The mother and son navigated their way back to the outside in a short matter of minutes, guided by the scents of the sea as they soon re-emerged with a trusting look given between guards who had kept on the translation collars as part of their standard uniform in recent days.  They found a quiet spot for Oddtooth to do his business out of the way of humans to find them as Moonclaw kept watch.

        "Mother?"

        "Yes dear?"

        "Why are father and Theaclaw different?"

        "What do you mean?"

        "Well," he shook his tail finishing the last of his business, "they look like the hairlethh do."

        "Do not say such things!" she snapped jutting her head at him.  "Many creatures resemble others, remember the smalltooths, they look just like us but are different."

        "Tho...why are you upthet?"

        "What?!"

        "If it doeth not mean anything, why are you upthet when I thaid they look like the hairlethh?"

        "W-well..."  She nervously tapped her foot with a tender purr in her throat.  "I just do not want you to see your brother or father different from the rest of us."

        "But they are," said Oddtooth cocking his head, "it'th obviouth they are."

        "But that is not important."

        "I know."

        "Which is why I want you to-...oh, really?"

        "Um, yeah, I know it'th not important, they're thtill my family."  He stepped closer with a nervous sound trickling from his lips.  "I jutht wanted to know why they're different."

        "Oh.  Well if you only want to ask I suppose that is alright."  She sighed untensing her tail.  "Your grandfather, Oddclaw's father was a starbeast.  He was not from this land and he had the same body as that of your brother and him."

        "Whaaah?"  He gasped with eyes widened.  "G-grandfather wath a thtarbeatht?!"

        "Yes.  I told you before that he saved our tribe from a terrible greatbeast, but after that he just disappeared, back to the stars."

        "But why?"

        "No one knows," she looked up to the clouds with him, "he spoke like the hairless did but he was not one of the hairless himself.  I never met him, nor did your father, I only heard of this through your grandmother."

        "Oh."  The child turned his head to the sea.  "Tho, ith that why father never thaid anything about him?"

        "Yes."  His mother growled softly looking back to him.  "Your father heard so many stories about your grandfather when growing up that he is tired of hearing them.  Especially since his father never stayed to raise his family, like he has raised you."

        "Right."  Oddtooth bowed his head.  "I wouldn't like hearing about my father if he ran away and never came back."

        "Exactly."  She nuzzled her old grey face against his soft brown cheek.  "Your father loves all his family, but he loves you and your brother and sister more than anything.  He knows that him and Seaclaw are different, but he does not want to be seen as that, nor your brother."

        "Becauthe he doeth not want to be like...grandfather?"

        "Yes...hmhmhmhm."  She licked across his face.  "Come, let us return and please do not speak of this to your father or siblings."

        "O-okay," he chirped proudly, "I won't.  Thank you, for telling me mother."

        "You are a clever child, I trust you not to say anything."

They headed back inside following the scent of their family towards the gymnasium, a long wandering through the halls amidst human guards and researchers with varying degrees of anxiety in their scents.  The badniks and reploids had subtly different scents, vastly overwhelmed by the oxidised steel cloying their nostrils as mammoths stomped beside gators and moletanks with dragonflies and hornets hovering past before they reached the grand exercise hall.  The closer they got however, the more raucous the sounds became of a crowd gathering as the two raptors pushed through the doors.

        "I swear I didn't lose it-"

        "I'm not saying you did bu-"

        "NO ONE can get into my room it has to be-"

        "You lost your keycard before-"

        "ONCE, JUST ONCE, THIS TIME IT'S NOT MY FAULT!"

A small mixture of humans and synthetics were clustered in the centre of the gym where Thomas Brightman stood at the front of them trying to raise his hands and calm the crowd of dissenters.  Oddclaw was easy to spot along with Seaclaw on his shoulders and Skyfang beside him.

        "What is happening?" she asked her husband.

        "There is a thief," he muttered, "someone is taking things from all around the mountain and no one knows who."

        "Wh-what, a thief?!"

        "Everyone!"  Thomas barked to send a lull through the audience.  "Alright, let's go over the facts.  As of this morning around 6:37AM, we've had a string of thefts from personal quarters, mostly small jewellery and a few weapons."

        "Ah've dune a list of everyone 'ere," said Holt stepping up beside him with clipboard in hand, "everyone who wuz up on duties since early mornin' ahll be quizzin' so ah want nobody to leave thuh base until we all get this sorted."

        "So far no one has left the base today," said the major-general folding hands, "meaning our thief is still on point, so I want everyone to keep alert."

        "Oddie, cummere a sec."

The raptor slinked through the crowd dispersing over to Jeremy.

        "Alrigh' dab, how's thuh fam?"

        "We are well thank you," he nodded, "you are hunting for the thief?"

        "Pretty much," he scratched his hair, "wuz wondering if ah could ask yer help on this since you got better senses than ah do."

        "Of course, how can I help?!"

        "Could you come with me an' sniff out our thief?"

        "...I have a better plan.  Children?"

He looked over towards his family with a creeping grin to which Moonclaw nodded in response to.  The children gasped with a growing excitement as their father leaned forwards with his widest smile.

        "Do you want to hunt a thief?"

        "YEAAAAH!" they cried resounding.  "WE WANNA HUNT!"

        "Alright then here is our plan!  Remember, we are not killing the thief, we only have to catch them."

        "OKAY!"

        "Can we bite 'em?!" cried Skyfang licking her lips.

        "Leeeet's just see how we go," said Jeremy patting their heads, "we just wanna catch 'em an' thassit, but if you lot 'elp us out we'll be able to catch 'em much faster."

        "I agree," said Moonclaw standing proudly to her full height, "we work together and the thief has no chance of escape!"

        "Nice, alrighty then let's get on with it, we'll start with thuh most recent theft."

The raptors followed Holt down to the residential areas, the feeling of tension through the air as they met with the most recent victim standing outside his door, the name T. Takamoto embossed upon its front.

        "Alrigh' Tim?"

        "Hey man," he shook Holt's hand, "need to check the room?"

        "Yup, so uhhh you're missing two rings?"

        "Yes, my uh...my wife and I, I kept both of them, I just really want them back."

        "Righ', well ah got sum 'elpers with me to sniff out thuh thief."

        "O-oh..." he stared towards the feral family with a gentle wave.  "Uhhh hey."

        "Hello," said Oddclaw in English with a bow, "do not worry, my children will behave themselves."

        "Yeah just uhm, sniff but don't touch alright?"

        "Remember children," he turned to the trio, "only pick up scents, nothing else."

        "Okayyyy."

        "Anything that does not smell like the hairless, tell me."

They entered the room, before realising it was rather small for a whole family of raptors as Oddclaw decided to take Skyfang in first with Holt following up as he scoured the room for any traces left behind.  The soldier checked through the drawer where the rings had been kept, whilst the raptors dragged their noses across every surface.

        "This thuh box it wuz in?" Holt asked Tim.

        "Yeah," he peeked his head in nervously, "u-um, please be careful."

        "No worries.  Seems lahk it hasn't been tampered with, lock hasn't been broken."

        "I-i'm the only one with the key and I have it on me at all times look."

He showed off his key wrapped around his neck that he kept underneath his shirt.  Jeremy checked over it and whistled Oddie to come over.

        "Yes?"

        "Sniff this fer me wouldya?"

The raptor breathed his nostrils across the copper key.

        "You smell anything chemical on it lahk soap or such?"

        "No," he shook his head, "smells just like his hands."

        "Righ' so it's not been replicated we can rule that out, meanin' it has to have been picked."

        "P-picked?!" gasped Tim clutching himself.  "I-i mean, why would anyone take my wedding rings?!"

        "Ah mean it's not lahk you can sell 'em anyplace," Holt put the box back in its drawer.

        "D-daddy!" Skyfang leapt onto the bed and reared her head up.  "Daddy I found it, I-i found a scent!"

        "Hey-ey w-watch the bed don't tear it up!" cried Tim.

Oddclaw gently stood onto the bed minding his claws as he looked up to the ceiling.  The air vent had a strange smell to it that neither of them recognised.

        "Jeremy where does this go?"

        "Thuh vents?" he scratched his head.  "All over thuh place dab, s'whut gets the air into our rooms."

        "Something came through here, I am sure of it."

        "I dunno WHAT that is," Skyfang gasped, "I dunno any beast that smells like that!"

        "Take us to the next room."  The two bounced off the bed with Skyfang stumbling against the wall.  "If I find another hole like this, we can try to find where the scent was strongest."

        "W-wait, ah thought Tim wuz thuh most recent," said Holt pointing to him.

        "This scent is from this morning.  The thief has been through here already, you only found there was a thief just now."

        "Ahhhh, good point, alrighty then thanks Tim."  He patted Takamoto's shoulder as they left the room.  "We'll get yer rings back don't you fret."

        "Please," he muttered wringing his fingers, "th-they're all I have left of-"

        "Ah know mate ah know."

They walked down to the next room where a researcher stood waiting, after Holt obtained a blueprint of the ventilation system from the maintenance crew.  After investigating twelve humans and six badniks' belongings, all of which had been small metallic pieces, the raptors sniffed out every vent in each living quarter with the family taking turns to retain the scent fresh in their memory, until finally reaching one room.

        "Yanno this is lahk Sherlock Holmes!" said Holt snickering.

        "Really?!" Oddclaw turned leaning against the wall.

        "Yeah lahk, you got you searching out a thief lahk yer Sherlock, ahm Watson, an' this lot of yers are lahk them Baker Street kids."

        "Huh...you are right!"

        "Wish ah had me a hat an' magnifyin' glass for ya."

        "I think my eyes are good enough."

        "Just sayin' ah think you'd look a gas wearin' nuthin' but a deerstalker hat."  The man winked as Moonclaw snorted behind him.

        "But it covers only my head," said Odd rubbing his scalp, "what would be the point?"

        "Ah dunno you'd look sexy is all."

        "I thought I always looked that to you."  He smooched the man's cheek before turning towards the vent above him.  "AH!  Here, the scent is strongest here, the thief is close!"

        "Alrigh' good work!  So uh, whut do we do?"

        "Hmmmm...the thief must be small enough to get through...which means..."

He turned towards his youngest son who looked curiously with a smirk.

        "Seaclaw, do you want to try and hunt the thief?"

        "I-in...there?" he pointed to the vent.

        "You are the smallest, do you think you can?"

        "U-um...I dunno dad, it looks really small."

        "It is up to you, I will not make you, we hunt this thief together and we shall find it one way or another."

        "...right."  The boy stiffened himself with a stern face and stepped up to him.  "I-i wanna do it."

        "Really?" his mother asked bending down.

        "Uh...n-no but...but we're hunting a thief, an' we gotta catch it."

        "If you wish."  She licked his head with a tender breath.  "Such a good child."

His father lifted him up after Holt unscrewed the vent covering, pushing the boy gently into the darkness and letting him crawl his way through.

        "Follow the scent!" cried Oddclaw from behind.  "We will follow you to the next hole!"

        "O-okayyyy!  Nnnnngh..."

Seaclaw gulped nervously.as he trundled into the depths of the ventilation system.  The sounds of rushing wind were a fearsome thing in the dark, howling abyss that amplified everything from his dragging knees to his tender breaths.  Sometimes his tail hit the back wall behind him to give him a fright and kept him frozen in place for a moment, clutching his lungs to dare not breathe until he felt it was safe.  The scent of the lawless thief came near when he reached a junction, sniffing both passages before making his way left and continued with braver speed in his quickening feet.  The further he went into the dark the stronger his resolve became with deep breaths, claws scrabbling less as he crept like a feline with slower pace and thickening nostrils.

Twenty minutes passed before he reached the end of the trail, an old storage room where some crates had been piled up and put away, the faint light coming from the door bringing shadows to the walls.  Seaclaw found the vent opening unlocked, slipping himself out to land on a crate and scale the mountain of boxes in search for the thief.  He made no sound as he crept like a ninja, stepping out his legs with cartoonish gait to sneak over to the door and find a scrap of paper between the boxes.  He scratched out something with his claws and rubbed his face on the paper before slipping it through the doorjamb.  Then he heard a thunk making him turn immediately with fists up and ready.

O-OH, it's here, he whimpered through his thoughts.  Alright...it's not big, it can't be big, it had to fit through the deep hole I-i can fight it.  I can fight it.  I'm a hunter!

Moving close towards the source he took his first steps, tightening his fists and testing his claws with tender wiggles whilst also looking for anything he could use for a weapon.  Another thunk came making him jump slightly, spinning in a circle as something scarpered round him and suddenly jumped for his back.

        "AIIIGH!"

He slammed his fist straight into a furry face as it threw him onto his back, feeling a weight on top of him that he immediately grabbed with one hand before frantically punching.

        "H-HEY, HEY calm DOWN you li'l runt!"

        "NNNGH, G-GET, OFF!"

        "I don't got time to deal with-BUZZ OFF!"

        "OWWWUH!"

The shadow bit his arm and went jumping towards the vent but Seaclaw quickly leapt for its tail and yanked it hard back.  The thief tried to kick him away but he held on tight, pulling harder with a fierce grip as the intruder hissed and turned itself round to try and bite him more.  The moment he saw the creature's face he slammed his fist straight into its eyes before it leapt past him in a charging rush and straight for the door that opened all of a sudden.

        "WH-WHUT THUH-"

        "THE THIEF!" cried Moonclaw.  "SEACLAW, are you alright?!"

        "Y-yeah I'm okay!" the boy staggered up into the light with scratches and bites.  "W-we gotta catch it!"

        "Right!"

The gang chased after the blur through the halls as guards tried to catch it in passing, but none seemed to be able to touch the phantom thief who weaved between their legs and kicked up against the walls to leap straight over their heads towards the hangar bay.

        "NICE TRY HUMANS!"

        "S-STOP, STOP THAT THING!"

        "WHOOPS, MADE YA LOOK!"

        "J-JESUS this thing's fast!"

        "Faster than you'll ever be-DHHHF!"

        "End of the line."

Cold-cocked into the hangar, the thief stumbled rolling across the steel floor where the roof was half-open and currently in repairs for its sticking lock mechanism, the badniks and reploids hanging against the underside to send sparks raining down to scatter across the small fleet of Duckies and the large Petrie that stood proudly amongst them.  In the light of the sun with nowhere to run, the thief slinked out into the open as Amy cracked her knuckles.  The fugitive was a strange purple feline with a pointed face that resembled a pink mask, gold rosettes covering its fur along with long yellow legs and a sickle-shaped tail with a satchel wrapped tightly round her waist.

        "That.  Hurt."  The creature cricked its neck.  "You're gonna pay for that."

        "You can growl at me all you want but you're bringing fleas into this place," the wolf stepped her foot back into a defensive stance, "I'm not gonna hurt you, much, I'm just gonna knock some sense into you for stealing everyone's stuff."

        "NOBODY bitchslaps the great Purrugia and gets away with it!  I'll forgive a little brat cuz he don't know any better, but not some tin-faced mutt!"

The leopard pounced towards Amy who immediately swerved with a hefty metal slap, non-lethal by her standards but to a creature of flesh was a stunning blow that knocked her aside into a rolling sprint.  She strafed around her quickly to make a lunging strike as the wolf ducked into a swift dodge to sweep her leg, the thief hopping over to ruthlessly slash Amy's chest with garish rose claws that raked her steel skin to a third of its depth.  Clutching herself in reflex the reploid spun out a kick to move her enemy back as Purrugia snickered cruelly, licking her lips with a prowling gait as she semi-circled round the metal nurse whilst the rest of the maintenance crew looked on trying to do their jobs whilst also watching the fight.  Jeremy locked the door despite Oddclaw's protests.

        "What are you doing?!"

        "Keepin' it from escapin'!"

        "Let us in to fight it!"

        "Naw naw we got it cornered now, you seen 'ow fast that fucker is?!"

        "I GOT THIS!" shouted Amy.  "Don't worry I can take this bitch!"

        "One way or another," snarled the thief, "I'm leaving this place with MY well-earned jewels and YOU CAN'T HAVE THEM!"

The cat dodged one way then the other to try and trip up the wolf, but she wasn't fooled enough as Amy made a feinting punch before suddenly switching hands to crack her fist into the feline's forehead.  The thief resisted the blow by pushing forwards and suddenly biting at her thigh to almost wrap herself round with feverish claws that scrabbled her steel flesh.

        "WHAT, you have nothing even WORTH stealing you stupid dog!"

        "GET, OFF!"

Amy suddenly twisted her torso whilst keeping her legs rooted, spinning her upper body like a centrifuge to throw Purrugia off and following with a wild fist that stretched beyond her reach like a serpent's bite.

        "GUH!  H-HEY!"

        "Ya like that?"  The wolf lengthened her arm showing its elastic strength.  "Yanno what I used to do to patients that got unruly?  Two words, talking straitjacket."

        "I'm not afraid of some two-bit junk heap, that's just more of you to CUT!"

The leopard charged with a sudden strafe as Amy swung her fist like a blunt whip, dodging under her arm to viciously headbutt her stomach as the reploid gasped and staggered to retract her arm back and try to hammer her fist upon Purrugia's head, knocking her down to the floor as she rolled away and slashed violently towards Amy's leg.  The lupine quickly leapt back just out of the raking claws' reach, scratches forming across her knee before she swung out both her fists with rapid elastic springs.  The leopard dodged both as they swung to a length of seven feet, whipping fast and only ever managing to hit Purrugia once with a dizzying smack across the head leaving her open for the wolf to tighten her armsprings and twist them round the thief's body.  She managed to squirm out of her grip like a fish, kicking free just before they closed and snickered at her opponent.

        "Oh, that's cute that you think you can trap ME, the master thief that has everything you ever wanted."

The cat started to strafe back and forth, slowly at first but then quickening her feet to dodge faster and faster until she became a blur of fuchsia.  The reploid snapped her arms back and made a taunting gesture to goad the thief towards her, who stopped with an aura around her that trailed beneath her feet.  The moment she moved she left behind a ghost of herself, tricking Amy to punch at the shade that left her wide open for a brutal slam as Purrugia raced past her vision and dead-punched her leg with a severe headbutt that made her stagger hard.

Throwing herself back the wolf quickly thrust her foot out to slamkick Purrugia in the head, planting her hands behind her back and tightening her arms to turn them into a pair of jacks to crank herself back upright.  She waited for the leopard to come running still in her speed mode as the wolf focused her vision on the moving target, clenching her actuators as they revved faster in waiting.  The thief still surprised her with a sudden fading swipe, tricking her to leap back before the feline raced immediately to behind her and horsekick her in the lower back sending her stumbling forwards.  She tripped and turned her body mid-fall with a jabbing thrust that glanced across her neck, a punch never intended to go direct as Purrugia grinned smugly.

        "Hah, typical, you can't even touch me like this, so I'll just take myyyyyuh, g-guh, what...wh-what...wh-what, m-my legs!"

She felt a sudden stiffness coursing through her muscles that slipped down her body to plant deadened weights in all four feet.  Her legs stumbled when she tried to run forwards, tripping against herself and staggering with one limb more inert than the others that soon would sleep.

        "Guess what else I can do," said Amy pulling back her hand with one finger opened up to show a long syringe.  "I got fourteen different kinds of tranqs, you ain't getting away this time."

        "Y-YOU-a-aaaaaAAGH!  NO!  NO, the great Purrugia shall NEVER be caught, not while all the golds and riches in the world still don't belong to ME!"

        "And they never WILL!"

A shadow cast itself across the hangar, the sky birthing a pair of wings as a flame-coloured body burned itself towards Purrugia with a single punch driving through her skull, knocking her completely across the room whilst another pair of claws pulled her satchel viciously from her body.  Before Amy could react, a small orb was hurled upon the thief to clack like a pebble, the ball opening up to encase Purrugia in a red laser light as she shrieked with fury.

        "N-NO, NOOOOOO I AM THE GREATEST THIEF, YOU CAN NEVER CATCH MEEEEEEE-"

Her body melted into the red gleam like a miasma the ball absorbed back in itself.  Clattering on the floor it frantically wiggled in desperation three times before the small button on its front clicked, then beeped.  The workers all stared agawp along with Amy at the strange newcomers as Holt opened the door and the raptors rushed in.

        "Wh-what?!" gasped Moonclaw.  "What, what happened to the thief!?"

        "Sh-she just GONE!" squeaked Seaclaw looking everywhere.  "L-like, like a-...a THING that goes gone!"

        "Sorry for the sudden entrance," said the newcomer picking up the ball, "had to grab the moment when it came to me."

        "Who are you?!" cried Oddclaw stepping towards her.  "Where did you come from?!"

        "Right, sorry, should introduce myself."

Turning to him was a human female wearing a black hoodie that she slipped the head off to reveal her medium-length black hair that ended in purple spikes.  But what caught their eye even more was the 6'5'' reptilian of pale amber body with long neck and cragged snout where underneath was a collar with a cracked bell dangling faintly.  Wings spread out either side of his body with a teal underside and a long tail behind him that ended with a roaring flame.  Holt was speechless, more than the others as he felt his knees become weak muttering beneath his tongue at the sight of the draconic beast.  Oddclaw had never seen him like this, slowly moving back to stay to his side as the woman stepped forwards with a badge she flipped out from her pocket.

        "Angela Middleton, Ryme City Police."