Generator Rex Generations

by dragonsroar

A bold new world is blossoming with the advent of cybernetic technologies. But the lines between man and machine will be blurred and new characters take the stage and shape the future.

3. Rocky Relationship

Generator Rex Generations

Episode 3

"Rocky Relationship"

Tucked away in the south-east corner of china, a shining city of lights illuminated the night sky. Known as the "Pearl of the Orient" the super populated city of Hong Kong was a beacon of human culture and activity. But even the brightest of cities had their shadows, shadows that hid even darker intentions. And it was up to an unlikely duo to shine a little light on the city's dank underbelly.

"Not a bad place, at least from up here." Replied Carmen Wright, the android teenage weapon.

"Everything looks better from on high. Don't be fooled by initial circumstances." Said that of Jungle Cat, the Evo feline of teeth and claws.

"That's why I said, "At least from up here."" Replied Carmen, a tone of indignation in her voice, "I know that humans like to bury their dirty business."

"And it's our job to unearth it. That's why we're here."

"I know that. Don't need to point it out." Groused Carmen.

"No need to get upset. I was simply reiterating our mission."

"More like you were talking down to me."

"I wasn't. Must you take things so hastily? You're so defensive."

"I just don't like to be treated like I don't understand the situation." Carmen interjected, "I might not have all my systems up and running but I'm still a sophisticated combat android. I was designed for situations like this."

"And apparently with a hot temperament as well."

"It's called being strong-minded." She growled.

"More like thin-skinned." He said.

Carmen's growl deepened though Jungle Cat stood unimpressed. Eventually she took a long sigh to calm herself. There was no point in getting into an argument with her furry companion. They were teammates today and she had to at least try to get along with him.

Still…

"You know, if your teeth were as sharp as your tongue you might have actually beaten me before." She said, with a smug smile following when she saw him grimace.

Her defeat of him still irked him, something she knew full well, which is why she tended to bring it up from time to time. And since Jungle Cat was not one to make excuses he never argued the issue, even if it grated on his nerves.

"Anyway, let's head down there and see what we can unearth." Replied Carmen.

"Remember we must be inconspicuous. We cannot let out enemies catch wind that we are of Providence or we might lose their trail."

"I'll be just fine. It won't be a problem for me to fit in with the humans." Replied Carmen, "You on the other hand are an oversize throw rug with an attitude. I don't think you'll blend into the crowd."

"I don't plan on being in the crowd." He said, stepping to the edge alongside Carmen, "We both have our separate roles in this mission and I know which is mine. I hope you know yours."

"I told you I don't need reminding. I'll be fine. Trust me."

"Trust is something that's earned." He said, "And you have yet to achieve that."

"… likewise."

A sharp look was shared between the two but naught a word was spoken. There was no need. Their feelings were perfectly portrayed between them. In time though they eventually broke eye contact and leapt down from the rafters an into the streets to disappear into the night life.

Meanwhile back at Providence…

"Are you sure it was a good idea to send them on such a sensitive mission their first time together?" asked Holiday to the projection of White Knight on a large view screen, "They haven't had much time to get to know one another after all."

"We don't have the luxury of waiting around until they become "besties"." Replied Knight, "Things didn't immediately get back to normal after the fall of Black Knight's reign. As we've learned from the secret vault at the research facility, Black Knight has stockpiled a lot of armaments and special items; Black Pawns, mechanical monstrosities and the like. Our base in Hong Kong was particular packed and recently it's been ransacked."

"Black Knight?"

"No… or at least we're not sure. A lot of the thefts happened during the time before Carmen's release, when Black Knight was in hiding. And while it's possible that these thefts are connected, personally Black Knight couldn't have been involved. The time-line doesn't match."

"That could also mean that these thefts are not connected to Black Knight at all, and instead there being a third party."

"I don't want to think that a highly secured military facility like ours could be so easily broken into, but things were chaotic following Black Knight's defeat a month ago so I can't rule it out either." Replied White Knight, "Because of that sending those two to investigate was the best choice. Jungle Cat is a skilled infiltration expert and while Carmen is pretty much the exact opposite of that, her ability to hack into computer systems makes her invaluable to rooting out the cause of these high-tech thefts."

"I suppose so. I just hope they don't run into problems as they try to feel one another out." Holiday mentioned.

"They'll have to sort things out as they go. Hopefully the information they've acquired from the Hong Kong base can smooth things over as they try to get to the bottom of things over there." Replied Knight, "Furthermore, there is much more going on than just our own problems. There is a mystery behind Carmen that an unknown party is playing at."

"Our so called "Puppet Master"." Replied Holiday.

"Exactly. As such we need to make sure we know exactly what's going on with Carmen at all times."

"Is that why you paired her up with Jungle Cat? To have someone to keep an eye on her?"

"… I think it's safe to assume that the attack of the Land Spartan was not meant to destroy the original Carmen, but to drag the gynoid out into battle. And my best guess, it was to see if her abilities had been unlocked or not. As such someone is out there, beyond Black Knight, trying to get their hands on the gynoid. And if whoever this is has the power to hack a powerful android like the Land Spartan, right under its manufacturer's nose, then it stands to reason that similar attacks can happen." Knight explained, "Right now Carmen is too valuable a piece to be taken off the board, so she needs to be kept watch until we can secure the Omni Nanite research; we have to take all precautions."

"But you'll never gain her trust that way." Holiday interjected.

"That's not my job. That's yours."

Holiday's look was stern, but she didn't argue it. Instead…

"I will gain Carmen's trust. But in my own way. Regardless of how you'd prefer." She replied.

"… as long as the result is us acquiring that data you can go about this any way you want."

"You know sometimes I just wished you'd be more honest with your…" began Holiday, though she was cut off when the view screen went dark, "… I suppose that'll take a while then." She sighed before moving to another view screen.

The screen flicked for a moment before another familiar face popped up on it; the face of Caesar Salazar.

"Caesar, I'm glad I could reach you." She said.

"Of course, Holiday, and I'm glad that I can be of help to you." He said.

"Have you the items I requested?"

"It took some time but I managed to piece together most of the equipment you'll need for your experiment with the CA4-6M-09N."

"More like a surgery. And her name is Carmen." Replied Holiday.

"Sorry. I tend to refer to A.I. units as simple objects, despite several instances of them evolving beyond that." He said, "As such I am surprised you only asked for my aid with the physical tools for your… investigation."

"How so?"

"Wright was a veritable genius when it came to A.I. construction. Even I don't understand it at the same level as he did. Still, I am more than capable of traversing digitized storage. In fact, I don't doubt I could navigate the complex circuits of Carmen to…"

"I know what you're getting at Caesar and I won't be needing your help on that."

"I see. Though if you're concerned about this "deal" you made with Carmen we could always attempt a download when she's unaware. It wouldn't be hard to shut her down, only temporarily, to explore her mental state and find the data."

"I don't doubt that you could pull something like that off Caesar. But this is more than just "acquiring data". Carmen is a unique lifeform and needs to be treated like that. There is a reason all your previous attempts haven't panned out the way your wanted."

"… I suppose that even if one understands the logistics behind an A.I. construct that doesn't mean you'll understand how they'll interact with the world around them. Too many unknowable variables."

"It's a bit more than that, but regardless let's just try this my way."

"Very well… I will assist you anyway I can, but you will take the lead on this."

"Thank you."

"One question however? What are you expecting of this… relationship?" he asked.

Holiday fell silent for a time as she tried to answer his inquiry. Eventually she spoke up and explained to him…

"I doubt I'll… connect with Carmen the same way her father did. And I doubt that Carmen will do the same for everyone else. And I would be lying to myself if I said I was doing this all solely for her sake. My intellectual curiosity it peaked by Carmen's "humanity" so to speak. But because it's peaked is the reason why I want things to proceed carefully." She said, "I want to see Carmen evolve. And I believe that she has the capacity to do so. But things can only evolve if they are given free rein in their environment. Carmen has the right to live… but whether she has the ability to do so is the question. And as a scientist nothing excites me more than to test that."

"And if she should fail to do so?"

"That's why I'm giving her the best environment to thrive. So that she has the best chance to succeed."

"I must say I'm… a little surprised by that. Such open candor."

"We're only human Caesar. Even for the brightest among us."

"I suppose that's true." He replied, "I've always felt that I should live above such a notion precisely because I wish to learn the mysteries of the universe. But maybe the best way to learn more about the world that we live in is to be more in tune with its complexities." He replied then gave a short chuckle, "Now you've got me intrigue with your little experiment. As such I'll make sure only to supply you with the best tools I can create to help with Carmen's awakening."

"Thank you, Caesar." She replied, "But as a word of warning, don't mention it like that around her. Carmen is strong-minded and she also has a temper."

"Indeed." He said before the screen faded to black.

"He's right about one thing. She could fail." Holiday murmured to herself, "Even in the most optimal conditions there's not a 100% guarantee that things will work out well. There are too many unknowable variables. And anything could set off a negative reaction. But… that's what makes it fun. I want to see Carmen succeed. For herself, for me, and maybe even… for the world. So, all I can do is give the best I can for her and hope things work out well."

---

Regardless of what Holiday's end game was, she first and foremost wanted to help Carmen as much as she could. But for now the only one that could help Carmen was herself, considering now she was by herself as she traversed the city streets of Hong Kong. She wasn't lost in any way, considering that she could read every street sign and billboard with her universal translator. No, she was scouting about, trying to blend in while also trying to get information on the things going on in the city.

After having recently visited the Providence base of Hong Kong Carmen had been informed by the agents working there that someone had made off with several weapons, vehicles, and equipment from the base during the time that Providence was reestablishing itself. Without the Consortium to back the bills Providence needed a new stream of revenue to keep it afloat. Fortunately, many world governments had seen Providence as a necessary deterrent against extraordinary threats, even if Evo didn't rule the landscape like they once had. The world was evolving and so was its criminals. So, the world's defenses had to evolve as well. As such many world governments either helped to fund Providence themselves or forced the companies that were once a part of the Consortium to continue to supply Providence with whatever it needed. So, while there was a significant change on how Providence operated the change wasn't so significant that it drastically changed Providence itself. More so Providence would have to answer more… specific calls by the various governments that supported it.

As such when parts of Providence were being ransacked by an unknown force the organization had to deal with it in a manner beyond their own personal stakes. This was also a matter for the government of China who now backed the branch of Providence in Hong Kong.

"They're just as much mad at losing their "toys" as Providence itself is." Muttered Carmen as she weaved through the crowd, "And I'm on a glorified scavenger hunt to find them all."

Compounding the fact was that she couldn't get help from the agents stationed at the base. If the people of Hong Kong saw Providence Agents running around essentially trying to find their stolen equipment it would make the organization look bad. This was especially bad at a time that people were only just recovering from Black Knight's attempted global coup. Until Providence could fully gain the people's trust back they couldn't receive too much bad press.

"So now I have to run around by myself and solve this so that Providence can keep face."

Truth be told she wasn't by herself, even though she walked the streets of her lonesome. She couldn't tell exactly where, but she had a pretty good feeling that someone was following her. Then again, she also had a pretty good idea as to who that someone was.

"I have to admit, that Jungle Cat is good at playing hide-and-seek. My sensors can't tell where he is at all." She thought, "Although if I had my full spectrum of sensory functions operational I probably could find him easy."

But since that was something beyond her reach for now she would have to rely on her regular old senses and crack intuitive skills.

"And now… I'm completely lost." She muttered.

… well, even though she could read the streets signs and speak the language Carmen was still in an unfamiliar city with nobody to really guide her. That and she had to be subtle with her questioning. She couldn't come right out and ask "Hey! Have you seen a bunch of stolen Providence equipment laying around?"

The most information the Providence agents at the base had given her was that there had been a rise in gang related activity as of late. Normally this wouldn't even be a blip on Providence's radar. The local governments dealt with crime. But one of the gangs that had risen to power had come out of thin air and had risen to power unnaturally fast. As corrupt as any one city could be this dark influence was just too abnormal. The only way that could happen is if it had a huge advantage.

"The swell in gang activity happened just a week or so after Black Knight fell, around the time that most of the Providence equipment went missing. So, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to conclude that these gangs either had a hand in the thefts of Providence's tech or are being supplied it." She thought.

It might not have taken a rocket scientist to figure it out, but one wouldn't be able to figure out how Carmen was going to find these gangs that allegedly were using the stolen tech. She tried asking several passersby about information on the gangs, but they either didn't know much more than Carmen did or didn't want to tell.

"I guess if these gangs are as much of a growing threat as they appear than I can't expect people to come right out and say anything on it. Too scared." Carmen thought, "At least as long as I ask the normal folk. Guess I'm going to have to get down and dirty if I want answers."

To get those answers Carmen trekked through the seediest part of town, a place known well for criminal activity. And it didn't take Carmen long to run into some of that activity. As she was walking pass an alley way she could sight of several men bursting out of nearby side door, money and trinkets shoved into oversized bags. A smirk lined her features and she raced off into the alleyway after them.

She trailed them for a time until they noticed her behind them, the group skidding to a halt further in.

"Hey boys, fancy meeting you here tonight. You wouldn't have happened to filch any of that, did you?" Carmen asked in an upbeat tone, "Because you know that's against the law if you did."

The group shared a quick look before pulling out various means of bodily harm; chains, bats, knifes, brass knuckles and the like.

"Oh… and you've got a few weapons to boot. You sure are prepared scum." She said in a sing-song tone, "Okay, so who wants to go first? I'll give you a free shot."

A brass-knuckle wearing crook growled at the snarky reply and rushed Carmen, fist pulled back to crack her jaw. And he landed the blow well enough, knocking Carmen's head back with a 'crack'. Although the only thing that 'cracked' was the crook's knuckle, even with the brass-knuckle over it. He stumbled back, crying out in pain while the recipient of the punch, Carmen, looked no worst for wear.

"You didn't hurt your hand, did you?" asked Carmen as she recovered from the blow, "Oh well, I'll just have to make sure the rest of you is pummeled to match." She said, looking unfazed.

Growls rose up from the group before they rushed her, with the chain wielding crook whipping around his weapon like a cattle roper. He let the metal fly, where it spun around Carmen's arm, holding it fast. She was then assailed by a bat wielding crook who came down on her hard and fast. However, his attack was stopped cold when Carmen brought her arm up, blocking the hit.

Kicking forward she booted her bat-wielding foe away then drew her attention to the chain around her arm. She gave a mighty tug, nearly pulling the assailant off his feet, the burglar stumbling toward the gynoid. A metal fist soon came flying toward him, with Carmen scoring a heavy hit across his jaw. The bat-wielder had soon recovered and attempted to charge her but with a whip of the chain still on her arm Carmen caught him in the chest, knocking him back once more. But coming in quick from the side came the knife handler, thrusting forward with all his strength to Carmen's mid-section.

What he got for his actions was a snapped blade, a surprised face at his weapon's breaking, and a fist to the nose. She then turned to her first assailant, who was still gripping his hand in agony.

"Now then buddy. I'd like to ask you a few questions." She replied, grabbing him by his shirt and bringing him in close, "You part of any of these gangs running around the city?"

The crook's reply was a flustered mess of pained grunts and nonsensical ramblings as he was still trying to wrap his head around everything that was happening. Carmen however was impatient and gave him a good shake.

"I don't have all night buddy! I know this city's been buzzing with you crooks as of late and I want to know who're the ringleaders!" She said, shaking him once more, "Now who do you work for and where can I find him!?"

Her deeper interrogation had the man panicked and incoherent, which only proved to annoy Carmen. It also proved to distract Carmen as she never noticed the bat wielding crook slowly maneuver himself behind her. And when he was close enough he brought the bat down hard, aiming to take her head clean off. But a shadow intervened as he brought the bat down, said bat caught mere inches from Carmen.

Carmen was quick to turn around to see her attacker and her defender, the latter being Jungle Cat himself who held the former's weapon tightly in paw.

"Bad move." He said, before releasing a feral growled and tearing the bat from hands of the burglar.

And with no weapon to protect himself with the burglar was defenseless at the coming backhand swipe that knocked him into a nearby wall, where he slumped down cold.

"Are you okay?" Jungle Cat asked.

"I'm fine." She replied, "But don't expect a thank you."

"I wasn't. But I did save you."

"Please. The only thing that would have happened is that his bat would have broken on the back of my head and he would have made me angry."

"Not all that hard to do."

"Funny. Look, what are you doing here anyway?"

"I'm your partner. It's my job to look after you, especially when you're not paying attention."

"I have this well in hand." She said, throwing her interrogee to the ground as she stood up to glare up at the large Evo, "So you can go back to whatever you were doing before you decided to butt in to my investigation."

"Investigation? Looks more like you were yelling and barking. And getting nowhere with it I might add."

"Well don't add. And at least I'm doing something productive instead of slinking around in the shadows."

"I do not slink. I stalk."

"You creep is more like it."

The furry Evo rolled his eyes at the jab, "Look, we have more important things to do then argue. So, let's just get on with it."

"Then what's your big plan on getting information?"

"Wait a moment. You'll see."

"We don't have time for your hair-brained ideas. We need results. And we need them fast." Came Carmen, giving the Evo a snort of indifference.

"We will get results once we figure out where the headquarters of one of these gangs are." He said.

"Don't you think that's what I've been trying to do? And I would have eventually shook the information out of this guy."

"What guy?" he said.

Perplexed Carmen looked about, taking quick note that the man she had been interrogating was nowhere to be found.

"He's gone!"

"Obviously."

Carmen gave him a sneer at that, "You distracted me!"

"You're the one that lost focus."

"No, the only thing lost is our source of information! Now what are we supposed to do, huh!?"

"Follow me." He said.

"What!? What are you talking about!? Hey!" she called out as Jungle Cat plodded away.

She was quick to follow, but her irritation was evident in her voice, "Don't just ignore me like that! What is up with you!? And where are you going!?"

"Please be quiet."

"Don't tell me to be quiet!" she growled, "You pop out of nowhere, let my catch get away, and then demand that I follow you who knows where! So, I won't be quiet! I want an explanation!"

"You will get one once we finish following him." Came Jungle Cat, prompting a surprised look from Carmen.

A couple of blocks down the street she spied her catch, the burglar jumping atop a small motorcycle and revving the engine.

"Now hurry before we really lose him."

Carmen gave a firm nod as she and Jungle Cat took to hot pursuit of the escaping burglar.

The duo took to the roofs to avoid the ever-frantic eye of the thief while he stumbled through the winding alleyways of the city. Fortunately, even without all her systems activated Carmen was a superb gymnast and could leap across the city rooftops with relative ease.

She careened around a long pipe, sailed over billboards, and slid down railings in a madcap parkour run across the roofs. She was practically flying as she flipped and twisted through the city's upper levels.

Her skills though didn't hold a candle to the animalistic stylings of Jungle Cat who soared pass her with an air of predatory skill. Digging his dagger-like claws into the side of a building he slid down a narrow space between them then leaping up as he swung across a fire escape and across to another roof. He moved with such a primal purpose it almost looked like he was on the hunt rather than just following some wayward robber.

"You have this look in your eye like you're gonna eat that poor fool." Came Carmen, "You miss dinner?"

"I'm just focused." He said, grunting at her, "Besides, human tastes terrible."

"… that would imply you've tasted human before?" she asked.

He didn't reply to her directly, but something about the look in his eye made her wonder.

"You know you never explained why we are even chasing him down like a rat anyway?" she asked, "Let's just grab him up and shake loose the info we need."

"He's just a small fish, but we can use him as bait for the bigger catch." Replied Jungle Cat, "It's easier to let him lead us to his boss then try and interrogate him for the information."

"Well you could have just said that then instead of barking at me to get a move on."

"Don't have time to point out every little thing."

"No, you just think you can order people around because of this overinflated "lone wolf" thing you've got going on."

"One, I'm more a cat, hence the name, and two… you shouldn't throw stones in a glass house."

Carmen gave him a glare at that little crack, "Well you shouldn't…" she began.

"Quiet! Look!" he called, interrupting her.

Although annoyed she followed his call to peer down and spy the burglar parking alongside a large building, a night club from the looks of it. There was a long line to get in, but the robber pushed his way pass the crowd up to the bouncer. The burglar swiped a card of sorts and the bouncer seemed to know who he was right away and let him in without a problem.

"Now what?" asked Carmen, "I doubt we'll be able to keep up the stealthy approach in a place like this." She said, "Even though I can pass as human I don't think they'll let me in, and you… well I think a big hairy monster is going to draw some stares to say the least."

"I'll find a way to get inside." He replied.

"Good luck with that." She said, looking about the building for a time, "Although" she began, realizing something, "There might be a way to get inside that doesn't draw attention." She said as a thought struck her, "This time you follow my lead."

In doing so the duo slinked around toward the back until they came to a large service entrance. As they walked up to the large entrance Carmen's attention was pulled to a smaller one, an employee entrance, specifically the door handle itself.

"Glad my hunch was on point." She said.

"What do you mean?" asked Jungle Cat.

"This place is pretty swanky and big, and looking at how the bouncer was letting people in with that key card I wondered if the other doors were similar, and sure enough…" she said, pointing to the door handle, "Electronic Lock." She said, showing the keypad lock on the door.

"Don't you need a passcode for that?"

Carmen gave her hairy companion a snort, "Who needs a passcode when you can do this?" she said, her finger tips opening to reveal several small wires with USB ending points.

The wires snaked their way around the keypad, finding small openings in the side and top, slipping in to interface with the inner workings of the keypad. Once hooked up lines of code flashed across her HUD command which quickly translated to an opening sequence. From there a signal was sent back to her hands which promptly broke the passcode, with a green-lit beep to signify entry.

"And done." Came Carmen as the door swung open.

"Good work." Replied Jungle Cat.

"Well it's about time you recognize my abilities and…" she began, but Jungle Cat had already sauntered pass her and into the building, half ignoring her self-praise, "Hey, wait a second!" she called after as she followed.

It didn't take long for the sounds of music to catch their ears as they slowly moved through the back of the building, where eventually the duo came across a door that connected to the bathroom area.

"Like I said, I think I can blend in from here. But you… well…"

"Don't worry too much about me. I won't let anyone spot me. You on the other hand see if you can follow up on our lead by finding out where that thief is."

"Sure. Time to get my groove on."

"Don't get distracted."

"You don't have to remind me." She said with an overt eyeroll, "My head's in the game."

He gave something of an understanding snort before hefting himself up the nearby wall. In little time he had disappeared into the rafters, leaving Carmen to push her way through and into the crowd of clubbers.

The place was in the swing of things, the dance floor was alight with passion as bodies grinded to the heavy beat of the music. And while Carmen's head was "in the game" as she put it, she couldn't help herself as she let the music take her.

Her body swayed as she moved through the congregation of dancers, moving with the blinding lights and pumping sounds.

"Just because this is a mission doesn't mean I can't have a little fun." Came Carmen as she got into a dance off with a group of people, "Can't make it too obvious I'm looking for someone or I might blow my cover." She convinced herself.

However, a less than convinced Jungle Cat was watching her from up above in the rafters, the Evo shaking his head, distraught at her actions.

"I teenager is a teenager I suppose." He muttered.

Still he wasn't too upset at her considering he wasn't in much better shape. The lights and music distracted him as well; enhanced animal senses didn't mesh well with dull loud noise and bright flashing lights. He couldn't even make anyone out on the dance floor or around the club from up above. To him there was just a sea of bodies all moving about in a chaotic wave. Jungle Cat didn't have a clue where their would-be robber was.

"Have no choice but to hope she can spot him in all this mess."

And he wouldn't be wrong to think that things were going south with how Carmen had seemed to blend into the undulating wave of dancing bodies, becoming another face in the crowd. Although to be fair to Carmen, Jungle Cat was only slightly right. Momentarily letting herself go Carmen soon ended up in a group swing, the lot of them dancing in rhythm to the hype music pounding overhead.

Even so one of the many features hidden away in Carmen's systems were a voice recognition feature as well as facial scans. Systems which worked autonomous to her direction. So, while her mood was in the dance, her mind was on the mission. Every sway of her head lead to a detailed sweep of the room while she systematically weeded out all her non-targets.

The music's tempo began to increase, and Carmen's fluid motions went right along with it. With a nimble body betraying her mechanical nature she swerved with the beat and dropped it down low. Her hips swayed like the sea and her behind rolled like the waves; her fluid motions a marvel to behold. So much in so that the clubbers around her gave her a wide berth to let her swing loose, the lot of them seemingly mesmerized by her swank routine.

Unfortunately becoming the center of attention on the dance floor had a negative consequence, since just as her systems locked onto the familiar mug of her target, her target was pointing in her direction… with several suit-wearing mooks around him.

With a nod the suits began to push through the crowd, eliciting cries of surprise and agitation. As such Carmen's dance was unfortunately cut short as the dance floor was invaded by less than musically inclined individuals.

"Hey guys… guess you're the security in this joint, huh?" she said with a wide smile, still gyrating to the music somewhat, "Kicking place you got here."

She got grumbles and glares for her effort at small talk.

"Okay, so I might have snuck in. But did you see the way I had this place jumping? Can't you forgive a girl for bending the rules a bit?"

As she tried to reason with them her sensors picked up offensive weaponry. Unlike the crooks from before these guys were packing heat.

"Come on now, no need to flash the hardware. I'm sure we can work this out peacefully." She said with a nervous chuckle, "I mean, there are still people around and everything."

Her chuckling was cut short however when a pistol was presented to her face, the barrel long and unforgiving as she stared down its length.

"Okay, okay. Fine. I'll leave. A girl knows when she's unwanted." She said, taking a quick twirl on the heel to face the club's front doors, "Still…" she began in a sing-song voice, "I would just like to know… is that you're boss?" she said, pointing to someone on the second floor of the club in a private booth, "Because if it is I would love to talk to him."

She heard the click of the guns behind her and oddly enough… smirked. Then showing some surprising speed, she whipped about in a blur and hooked her hand over the suited thug's wrist. As such his gun was already pointed high when he pulled the trigger, completely missing her and fortunately his boss… who slowly turned back to stare at the hole in the wall of the bullet that just missed him.

"Some security. You're supposed to protect your employer and here you go shooting at him. Tsk, for shame." She said against the struggling opponent as she easily kept him at bay.

The other thugs soon had their sights on Carmen, but she whipped her captive around and hooked her around his neck, using him as a human shield. The gunshot had the club goers spreading wide from the center in one motion. But the real panic didn't set in until something large dropped down from above. Two of the guards never saw it coming until they where toppled by the heavy form of Jungle Cat.

"Way to be subtle." He muttered, as the panicked guards all pointed their guns at him.

"Big bad is up there. He's the big fish, ain't he?" replied Carmen, "I'd say my ploy paid off."

"That was planned?"

"For the most part." She said, "We just have to get out hands a little dirty."

"Well, not like I wasn't expecting a fight." He said.

"How do you want to do this?" she asked, waving her captive around to-and-fro to keep the others at bay.

"We've got our catch in sight, but let's snap up the smaller ones first before we take a bite out of the big one."

"I hope you're continuing that fish metaphor and don't mean that literally." Came Carmen.

Once again, he didn't reply… but he did smirk slightly. Then with a snap of his claw he swatted out, catching one of the guards in the chin, the hit sending him flying. That's when chaos broke loose.

Bullets rang free, but fortunately they never met any targets as Jungle Cat tore into his opponents. Carmen's body shield was quickly discarded as she flung him across the room to topple over a table, drinks and all. She gave a self-satisfied smile as he slumped down to unconsciousness but turned quickly on a dime when she sensed something. Just as a shot rang out Carmen's arm shot up, deflecting the bullet harmlessly away. This left the shooter slack jaw for a half-second; a half-second too long as Carmen's metal fist zeroed in on his face, cracking his jaw.

But she wasn't the only one with animated senses as Jungle Cat weaved through the club with such instinctive movements he was all but a blur to the less than adept guards. His claws struck out, tearing through their forces despite their ballistic might. Slammed into the ground, thrown over tables, bowled over by a furry mass of muscle, the thugs didn't stand a chance. One guard was hit so hard with a rising blow that he cartwheeled through the air in a haphazard flight that ended with him slamming face first into a support pillar.

And from up above the club's owner watched with stilted breath as his security force was torn apart by an Evo and a strange girl. He then locked eyes with Carmen, the girl giving him a glare in return, and that's when the fear truly took hold of him and he backed away.

"He's making a run for it!" she said, kneeing a guard in gut, whereas he slumped to his knees in defeat, "Can't let him get out the back!"

She heard a grunt from Jungle Cat and saw him standing a few feet away, his claws crossed out in front of him. Carmen got his meaning almost immediately and broke out into a flat run. Just reaching him she leapt up and into his open palms and despite her impressive weight Jungle Cat was able to launch her up to the second floor where she broke through the dividing glass and into the booth.

She was immediately assailed with gunfire, twin guards bearing semi-automatics upon her. But the low-caliber bullets did little more than irritate her as they pinged off her metal shell harmlessly. Running through the hail of bullets she drove home a powerful uppercut into the gun-toting goon on her left, blacking him out in an instant. His partner in crime was dealt a similar defeat as a solid kick toppled him over in breathless gasp.

Then with a quick turn Carmen leveled a sharp look at the boss before slowly stalking over to him. Spying toward the ground the boss noticed the discarded gun of his defeated men and immediately scrambled for it, managing to get it into his grip after a little fumbling. Carmen stopped her advance to watch the man point the gun shakily at her with finger on the trigger.

"It'll just be a waste of ammo." She said, "Heck, it'll probably just bounce off and hit you."

He was far too far gone in his fear to hear her, instead squeezing the trigger and letting the bullets fly. Aside from putting an arm up to shield her face Carmen hardly paid the shots mind, the shots fruitlessly bouncing off her. Terrified he continued to unload onto her until several impotent clicks could be heard, the gun having run dry.

Without options he pulled his arm back to fling the useless thing at her, though she simply rolled her eyes at his antics, "Oh no, a gun without ammo, my only weakness." She drawled out.

With a snort she grabbed him by his shirt collar and pulled him close, practically lifting him off his feet in the process.

"P-Please don't hurt me!"

"I won't… if you answer my questions." She said.

Back on ground level Jungle Cat mopped up the rest of the security detail, even as they unloaded on him. Severe backhands sent them across the room, vicious claw swipes smacked them into dazed spins, and double fisted slams smashed them down into the ground with brutal efficiency. In the end the suit wearing mooks were left sprawled out across the ruined club.

"Have fun?" he heard from up above.

Carmen waved down to him, with the club's owner in her other hand. She then leapt down with the owner in tow, the latter squealing as they touched down.

"Wow, could you have been any more vicious?" Carmen asked as she scanned the area of the defeated bodies, "You slaughtered these guys…" she said, though as her scans deepened she noticed something, "Actually… you didn't?" she questioned when she picked up life-signs from the defeated gangsters.

"Normally I wouldn't care one way or another about the lives of these scum… however I took great pains to not end their retched lives since death causes too much attention and we're on a stealth mission." He said, as he scratched at his arm.

In doing so he pulled something from his flesh and fur, a small dented piece of metal; a bullet that had lodged into his arm during the fight.

"You're hurt."

"It's nothing." He said, "Barely broke skin. I might not have a metal body, but my hide offers me some protection."

"You should still be more careful, you're not invulnerable."

"Same could be said of you." He replied, "But don't worry about me, I'll be fine. More importantly, what have you learned from him?"

"Plenty." She replied, bringing her captive to the forefront, "Now why don't you tell my pal here what you told me?"

The owner looked to the side, surveying the damage to his club and to his men and grimaced, though that grimace turned to a gasp as Jungle Cat growled down at him.

"Despite his act my friend here is impatient, so stop stalling." Came Carmen, "Tell him about this new wave of crime that's popped up or we'll both find out whether or not he has a taste for people."

"… it's a, new gang." He said, "All of them wear masks so I don't know who they are, but they swept in and have taken over a lot of territory from the others." The owner said, "They fight so well it's almost like they're machines. It won't be long before they take the entire underworld for themselves."

"Anything else?" asked Jungle Cat.

Carmen gave her captive a good shake to get him talking, "Their leader is… an old crime boss that once had his way with Hong Kong. After he was taken down by Providence all the other gangs tried to stake their claim, but now he's back and stronger than ever."

"Who is this old crime boss?"

"An Evo named… Quarry."

"Quarry?" pondered Carmen.

"I've heard about this Evo. Some sort of mineral based one and an old enemy of Rex's."

"I thought all the Evo were back to normal?" asked Carmen.

"I'm still here." Replied Jungle Cat, "It's probably safe to say that Evo with special circumstances weren't reverted during Rex's Cure Event."

"And let me guess, with so little competition now this Quarry guy decided to make a comeback?"

"That and he might try to seek revenge after Rex pulverized him. We'll need to see for ourselves." Jungle Cat said, "Now then, where is Quarry?"

"The warehouse districts." He said, "He's set up shop in one of the closed down ones, although I'm not sure which."

"Not exactly helpful."

"It's more than we had." Replied Jungle Cat, "Now let's get going. We don't have time to waste."

"What about him?" came Carmen.

"Leave him to the police."

"Okay then." She said, then with a grunt she hefted the club owner up and through the air where he crash-landed into the DJ's corner, toppling the equipment atop of him.

"Too bad about the club. It was jumping, aside from all the bouncing around we did." Replied Carmen as they left.

"I'm not much of a dancer." Replied Jungle Cat, "Besides music nowadays is just… lacking."

"How old are you grandpa?"

"Old enough."

In time the police arrived at the scene and while the owner had tried to explain that some weird girl and an Evo had trashed his club, the commotion, as well as the subsequent search, had uncovered some… less than legal paraphernalia stashed away in the back room.

"I think he's going to have a hard time talking his way out of a jail sentence." Came Carmen as she and Jungle Cat watched everything from their perch atop a nearby building.

"Yes."

"But hey, when I noticed all that junk in the back after we snuck in it wasn't hard to figure a way to pin him. He might not be who we're looking for, but we still need to stick it to the criminal underbelly."

"Come. We don't have time to waste for you to pat yourself on the back."

Carmen rolled her eyes, "Way to ruin my good vibes." She groused.

But despite a deflating of her ego Carmen hurried alongside Jungle Cat as they once again moved across the city roofscape. In their hurried travel though, Carmen began to ponder just what their true enemy had in store for them.

"So, you say this Quarry Evo and Rex have some history?" she asked.

"I don't know the details but, from what I was told, during Rex's younger years he was affiliated with Quarry's gang." grunted Jungle Cat.

"Rex was a gangbanger?" came a surprised Carmen, "Sure, he might think he's a bad boy and everything, but he doesn't seem like the type to run with the wrong crowd."

"Nobody is without a darkness, especially in our pasts. Even Rex allowed a time for his more avaricious nature to take root."

"And what dark secrets are you hiding?" she asked, to which Jungle Cat gave her a sharp glare, "Hey, you opened the door. Don't be surprised if someone decides to try and walk through." She said unperturbed.

"No more talking. We should focus on our mission."

"If you can't take the heat stay out of the kitchen." She said to her ally who stayed silent in response.

---

Carmen and Jungle Cat's trek took them to the city's warehouse district, an area littered with storage buildings.

"So how do we find Quarry in this?" Carmen asked.

"I doubt a criminal would use a warehouse out in the open where anyone could see. Let's head over to the old section." Jungle Cat replied.

At his behest the two moved a more rundown area of the warehouse district where mostly decrepit buildings stood, like eyesores amongst the landscape. Then to Jungle Cat's snout he whiffed at the air and caught a scent.

"I smell… gasoline, recently burned from vehicles." He said.

"Are you a cat or a dog?" came Carmen, to which Jungle Cat simply rolled his eyes, "And how's that supposed to help us?"

"Think about it. What reason would any vehicle have driving through an area like this unless it had a purpose?" he posed to her.

Getting his meaning behind that she gave him a nod of recognition, allowing him the opportunity to use his snout to track the discharge of muffler exhaust.

The two weaved in and about several buildings, following the winding trail of fumes until they came across an approached sight. Sandwiched between several large warehouses was a much smaller one, hidden away from the general lay of the land.

And as they grew closer, sounds accompanied the scent of exhaust, the sound of an engine. Looking down they saw a truck pulling up to the back end of the warehouse where several men in all black guided it to a loading bay. The men in black that loaded the materials from building to vehicle were quite familiar as the spying duo noticed.

"Black Pawns?" breathed Carmen as she and Jungle Cat peered off the side of a nearby building across the way, "Does this mean that Black Knight and this Quarry guy are in cahoots?"

"Maybe, but before we make a scene let's try to make our way inside to be sure."

To that the duo leapt from roof to roof in a clockwise manner; systematically making their way across the area toward the large warehouse. They kept low on their approach, just keeping out of sight and earshot of the methodical Black Pawns.

Touching down on the roof of the eastern side of the warehouse the duo stalked over to a door obscured by the shadows. The door had a similar electric lock from the one earlier and with a little finagling on Carmen's part she was able to open it in no time, allowing them access.

They were in and up to the upper levels in little time, spying the activity of the Black Pawns below as they moved about. In their trek toward the center of the warehouse they found the largest congregation of Black Pawns and in the middle a suited figure that stood in height far above the robotic soldiers. He wore a large bowler that leaned slightly crooked atop his head as well as a black suit and tie with black leather gator shoes. The Evo Quarry looked to be in good standing, he was in one piece as opposed to previously being in pieces.

He seemed to be busy watching television, specifically a news report of the recent going-ons in the city. He spied a headline across the scene stating that a strange Evo and girl had attacked a club in downtown, their attack exposing some illegalities of the club.

"Heh, guess some Evo are still running around eh?" he pondered in a deep voice, "Was this just a random blip or is someone else deciding to try and muscle in on my takeover?" he wondered.

"So that's Quarry huh?" came Carmen in hushed tones from atop her perch in the up levels of the warehouse, "Talk about a brickhouse. But it's nothing we can't handle. So, let's take them down."

"Against that many? We need to call in reinforcements. Alert Providence of Quarry's location and let them take it from there." Came Jungle Cat.

"We handled those thugs back there just fine."

"Those were mere humans and if you haven't noticed these are not."

"Neither are we… and that just means we don't have to hold back." Came Carmen, "Then again if you're scared to get into a real fight…"

"It's nothing about being scared. You think yourself invincible simply because they don't possess the weaponry to pierce your armor, but overreliance on your resilience will be your downfall."

"And what, we just sit here twiddling our thumbs while we wait for Providence to show up?" came Carmen, "They couldn't even find these guys and you expect them to be able to handle them? By the time they get here Quarry will be long gone. But we have a shot at taking him down."

"A shot is what I'm worried about."

"So, you are scared."

"I told you…" he began, but then something perked his senses and he lunged forward, tackling Carmen in the process.

"Hey! What are you…!" she cried out, but was silenced when a string of bullets raced across the spot she and Jungle Cat had just been in.

"Perfect…" growled Jungle Cat, letting loose a feral roar before he lunged up and at his attacker.

A Black Pawn with an assault rifle trained its gun upon the hairy beast but Jungle Cat kept just out of its sights, then with a claw strike faster than a blink Jungle Cat swung out, knocking the gun from the android's hands before backhanding it. The android was knocked into the side railing before being mauled by the feral Evo. With a spastic shout the machine went dead as Jungle Cat tore into it's frame. However, by the time he had finished it off the other Black Pawns began to congregate around them, with Quarry staring up at the two intruders with his cycloptic eyesight.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" he pondered, narrowing his gaze upon them, "An Evo… and some girl?" he wondered, his attention being brought back to the news report, "I wonder…"

While he speculated, his enforcement of Black Pawns swarmed the two, a variety of weapons in their robotic hands, all with the aim of taking the duo down.

"I hope you're happy?" growled Jungle Cat as he rose from the defeat robot.

"Well, I would rather have gotten the drop of them, but I can work from this." Was Carmen's reply as she rushed forward into the coming line of Black Pawns.

Her first instinct was to bring her arms up and rush through the coming fusillade. Bullets pinged off her armor as she dashed forward before she lunged and grabbed at the arm and neck of the first Black Pawn she encountered. Leveraging her weight, she threw its balance off and shoved it into the oncoming enemies, grabbing hold of its rifle in the scuffle.

Taking aim, she pulled the trigger and scored a few vital hits on the first gaggle of Black Pawns before being forced on the run again as the others came at her. From both sides came sword wielding Black Pawns who swung out with their sharpened blades. Carmen dodged the first strike but was forced to block the second with her outstretched arm, a move that forced her to a knee.

The other tried to follow up with a second sword strike but a pair of teeth into the shoulder squashed that idea, courtesy of Jungle Cat. It struggled futilely against its animal aggressor but was slowly put down as Jungle Cat dug into it's frame. The other Black Pawn pushed down harder, but Carmen was able to force it off when she fired a couple of shots at its feet, puncturing its soles and causing it to rear back. With a solid kick she managed to get back to her feet and finished the Black Pawn with a few more well-placed rounds.

Her victory was short lived as more Black Pawns came to replace the ones just defeated. It was a sight that Jungle Cat growled irate at and in feral fury he slashed out, his sharpened claws tearing through the oncoming androids with little resistance.

"Heh, and he was worried we wouldn't be able to handle them." Came Carmen, taking a moment to watch her partner in action.

But her attention was quickly pulled back to the situation at hand as bullets whizzed past her yet again. She returned fire, ending the functions of a few bots before rushing forward with a yell to tear into the assembled group.

Meanwhile on the bottom level Quarry watched the spectacle with a grimace and a groan.

"Can't waste too much time or too many of these bots with this nonsense." He said, cracking his mineral knuckles, "Haven't had much of a workout since I came back so this might be a good enough time as any to work out some kinks."

Tightly gripping his fists, the rock Evo charged into the fray, his pawns giving him a wide birth as he ran toward Carmen and Jungle Cat. The gynoid immediately unloaded on the walking rock pile but his resilient body protected him from the storm of bullets. With a wild cry he threw out his gravel fist, a move that had Carmen ducking low to avoid the blow. But Quarry proved more agile than his look might suggest as he stopped on a dime and swung out backwards, scoring a fast backhand that even blocked by Carmen had sent her reeling.

Quarry noticed though the oddity of her resilience as she stumbled back but put that thought on the backburner as his attention was grabbed by the feral roars of Jungle Cat. The Black Pawns fired upon him, but the agile hunter was able to stay just ahead of their sights and close the gap. There he proceeded to tear them apart with beastly brawn.

"Pathetic." He groused at the display, though his was quick to turn when he heard Carmen coming up behind him, throwing a well-placed punch to the good side of his head. However, it did little to stop him as she was quick to realize, "Even more pathetic." He groused again despite the fist in his face.

He then reached for her and flung her head over heels across the room before swinging around to a crate behind him.

"Time to break out the heavy ordinance." He said, grabbing at the crate.

With a few button presses, the tops off to crates opened to reveal high performance rocket launchers of Providence design. Already fully loaded it didn't take much time for Quarry to level the weapon at the Carmen and Jungle Cat while they were amid battling Black Pawns.

With a push of a trigger the rocket was sent flying, something that Carmen didn't notice until it was too late. Fortunately, she avoided a direct hit by leaping up, but the blast sent her on a screaming tumble through the air where she crashed bodily into a crate, demolishing it on impact.

Jungle Cat cried out at his teammate's predicament but could do nothing to help her as several Black Pawns leapt upon him to try and bring him down through sheer bulk. The clawed agent swung out with uncontrolled fury, but his assailants were many and were able to hold him back. More Black Pawns entered the fray, attempting to cleave him through with their black blades but in a flurry of movements Jungle Cat managed to wrench himself free of the gaggle of military machines. Cutting through the opposition the furry Evo made a beeline for a ladder, leaping up it for higher ground. However, the Black Pawns were right on his tail, many having already scaled the scaffolding to attack him from the higher position. With teeth bared he tore into his attackers, be it claw strikes that rip through their armor like tissue paper or a powerful maw that bit into them with feral ferocity.

Back on the ground level a moaning Carmen slowly righted herself and looked up at the battle going on overhead, but soon her attention was brought back down as she saw Quarry leveling his rocket launcher at the Evo above.

With a cry of "Jungle Cat! Look out!" she warned up to the Evo who was currently grappling with Black Pawn as Quarry lined up the sights of his launcher.

A second rocket zeroed in on him, enveloping him and the Black Pawn he was wrestling with in a mighty blast. The blast tore a hole in the ceiling, leaving nothing but broken machine parts and charred remains. A sharp gasp escaped the metal lips of Carmen at her partner's untimely fate but before she could rise to avenge him she was set upon by two Black Pawns that took hold of her and kept her to her knees. And no matter how mightily she struggled her strength wasn't enough to free herself from their clutches.

"Well that's the end of the fur ball." Came Quarry as he waltzed over to the subdued Carmen, "Now as for you… you're not an Evo, but your definitely not a human either… so what exactly are you?" he asked, taking it upon himself to inspect her closer.

His large hand wrapped around her face and brought her close despite her protest and as he examined her he noticed subtle things about her that had him reevaluating what she was.

"Hey… you're… you're like these fellows, a robot." He said, eyeing her incision lines and metal skin, "Although with a bit more attention to detail." He said, moving her head about to examine her.

"And you're a big walking pile of rocks in a monkey suit." Carmen snapped, "Not a look you can really pull by the way."

"Oh ho, and it has a mouth? I am impressed." He chortled, "You're already a lot more interesting than these bozos."

"Just give me a chance and I can really show you how different I am to these guys."

"You act almost like you're real."

"That's rich coming from the badly sculpted statue with an ego."

"You know, a bot like you I could use in my little operation." He said, "You've got skills at least."

"Sorry, not interested in getting involved in the dirty trade."

Quarry chuckled at that, "Good thing I don't need your permission. The fun thing about you robots is all I gotta do is override your systems and 'bam' instant obedience."

To which Carmen gave a snort, "Good luck with that Rocky, my systems are a bit more on the advanced side when compared to these clunkers. There're shades of difference that someone with rocks for brains could never hope to understand."

"Hmm… you might have a point. Besides with these guys I already had a way to control them. Still… even if I can't use you myself I'm sure there's someone who can… and is willing to pay top dollar to get their hands on you."

"Like I'd let you!" growled Carmen, her struggles intensifying against her captors.

However, try as she might the Black Pawns had a firm grip on her and her struggles only had Quarry laugh out further.

"I like that spunk of yours, but spunk I can't control is spunk I can do without. Better pack you up nice and tight until I can find a buyer." He said.

That brought a fright to Carmen's eyes as Quarry directed his pawns to drag her over to one of the many metal containers lying about the warehouse.

"You can't do this! Providence will know I'm gone and they be after you before you know it!" she barked, her struggles becoming more frantic by the second.

"Oh, you're of Providence, are you? Even better. Providence and I have had some run-ins in the past, especially with my old partner in crime Rex. You know him?"

"Yeah, I heard he turned you in fertilizer!" she growled.

"Oh, he did. I… went to pieces after our last little tussle. Thought for sure I'd spend the rest of my days as gravel, but then there was this bright light and before I knew it my body was reassembled. Didn't take me long to figure out Rex had done something crazy and cured all the Evo on the planet. I assumed whatever he did must have affected me too. Just not the way he would've thought."

"If you don't want the same treatment as before I suggest you let me go before I finish what Rex started!" she barked, kicking and screaming to break free.

"You don't get the position you're in, do you?" came Quarry, "I hold all the cards and I plan on keeping my deck loaded, especially now that I have a new one up my sleeve. That being you." He said as the pawns forced Carmen into one of the metal containers, "But don't worry you won't be put away for long. Got to sell you while you're still hot after all."

"No!" she cried, as Quarry pressed a button on the sides of the container.

"Box her up boys, but try not to scuff her too much. She'll lose too much value if there are any dings."

The Black Pawns pushed and pounded at Carmen, cramming her into the container despite her flailing and as her arms and legs were forced inside she continued to scream out in frantic defiance.

"You can't lock me in here! Not again! Please stop!" came her wails as the light above slowly faded away, leaving screams, cries, and whimpers as the darkness encapsulated her, "PLEASE!"

Her muffled cries could still be heard from within the container, but Quarry ignored them for more pressing matters.

"Even though I've been doing well here I think it's time to move to another city. If she really is with Providence, they could track her to me if I stay here for much longer." He thought, "Guess it's a good a time as any to take my leave. Alright boys, I want the rest of this packed and shipped out to the docks in under an hour. And clean up this mess!" he said, referring to the broken pieces of Black Pawns scattered about.

From weapons to miscellaneous items the Black Pawns loaded several trucks to the brim and in a systematic order drove out from the warehouse. In time there was scarcely anything left within the building, with the final piece, the container holding Carmen, being packed away in the last convoy. Quarry had long since left for his destination, leaving Carmen in the care of the Black Pawns. They had utterly ignored her pleas, though after some time her cries had fallen silent. She simply stared up at the darkness of her container, the trapped feeling enveloping her.

"Guess this is my fate." She muttered as she felt the container rumbling, guessing that she was on the move, "From one hand to another, like some commodity. And I actually thought I had a chance." She groused in wry manner, "Guess that's my fault for thinking I was anything more than a…" she began, though her self-deprecation was interrupted when she heard what she thought was a ruckus outside.

First there were shouts, muffled by her metal container. Then there were gunshots, the sharp sounds whizzing out wildly. The shooting soon intensified as the dull sounding bullet popping continued. The occasional 'thud' could be heard of something making impact with something else, but for a time all Carmen could hear was gunfire. Eventually though that subsided for a time, silence reigning until the moving of items could be heard. Then the unmistakable sound of someone messing with the locking panel on the container was heard. Carmen hadn't a clue what was going on, but if she had a chance to break out of the container she would gladly take it, regardless of the situation outside of it. With a balled fist she waited as the container hissed open, the sides sliding off and the world around her revealed once more.

And the moment she had room to move Carmen lashed out with fist tight, scoring a solid blow against the one who opened the container. Seeing her opportunity, she pushed for another hit but after getting a good look at her opponent she stayed her hand.

"Jungle Cat?" came an astonished gynoid at the fact that the person she just decked was none other than her hairy compatriot.

"Ow…" he murmured, holding his jaw at the spot Carmen had decked him, "You might not be all that strong, but you still have a decent right hook."

"But what are you…? I saw you die!" she cried out.

The hairy Evo grunted with indignation, "The only thing that 'died' was a badly constructed Black Pawn." He replied, and with that he recapped the moments leading up to his supposed demise.

After Carmen had been hurtled through the air due to a rocket explosion, Jungle Cat was next in line, though he had noticed the spiraling rocket in the nick of time and in a desperate move he leapt off the Black Pawn itself pushing it into the path of the rocket while gaining a bit of distance in the process. The result explosion still rocked him, with the blast catapulting him out of the building and across the way. He had crashed painfully into a nearby warehouse, tumbling through the window and crashing bodily into crates within. But he ultimately had avoided the worst fate.

"But you're still not invincible. You're hurt." Carmen replied, noting his scuffed and bruised appearance, "Look at you! It's a miracle your're even still standing! Still breathing for that matter!" she yelled, though she chalked that up to his animalistic resilience.

But Carmen still didn't like the sight of the Evo as his ragged form stood before her with heavy breath.

"As I told you earlier, though I am not metal my hide offers me enough protection to make up for it." He said, "I will survive these wounds."

But though he said this Carmen could see plainly that he looked haggard, patches of his body bruised and battered from his near-death experience.

"And you still came after me?" she posed, knowing that despite nearly being turned into smoldering paste he hadn't wasted a second in her rescue.

"Was I to leave you? You are my partner after all and it's my job to keep watch of you." He said in a matter-of-fact tone, "As long as I breathe I will do what I must to keep you safe. It is my duty, despite the hardship it brings."

"… only because White Knight ordered you too." She muttered.

"Should it matter?" he asked, "Orders or not I will not abandon you. As I said, we are partners. And partners are to watch over one another, no matter what."

"I see…" came her low reply.

"Now come. We can still catch up to the rest of the convoy before they noticed they are down a truck and…"

"Wait!" she called, "You can't seriously be thinking about going to fight them like this? You can barely stand."

"I told you I will survive my injuries."

"But you won't survive another go if you just rush in there like a wild animal. They'll tear you apart!"

"We haven't the time to debate this. The longer we wait the more time Quarry has to make his escape and he cannot be allowed to leave the city with so much of Providence's weaponry."

"Then let Providence handle it. You're in no shape to keep fighting!"

"By the time we get in touch with Providence Quarry will have made it out of port. We simply lack the time."

"No, you're just being stubborn! I got captured and you nearly got blown to bits. If we don't come up with some sort of plan, we'll be in no better position than we were before!" Carmen barked, "You think because you know everything you can do whatever you want. But if we're really partners then you need to listen! There's a better way of dealing with this and…" she began, but was cut off when Jungle Cat let out a hearty laugh, "Wha? What's so funny!?" she cried out.

"I, simply can't help but notice the inherent irony here." He snickered, "It's as if our roles have been reversed."

Carmen stood silent for a time at his laugh, but as she started to get his meaning behind it she too let out a giggle.

"Guess you have a point." She replied, her light chuckling turning into a low sigh, "Guess I'm a hypocrite." She murmured.

"Really now? Are you sure?" he asked.

Letting out another heavy sigh she let herself relax, "Look, ever since I was part of the Renegade Project I developed his inherent hate of taking orders. Ironic considering that was exactly what I was built for. But I attributed that more to the people giving the orders, not trust them, so I have this problem when someone tells me what to do. But… I can see that taking advice is a lot different than taking orders. And in you own way… that's what you were trying to do."

"Well to be fair I've never actually had a partner before so actually knowing how to give proper advice is beyond me." Came Jungle Cat, "I've never been a team-player even before my time as an Evo. Relationships haven't been my strong suit. Then never pan out well."

"Oh… is that the "darkness of the past" you were talking about?" Carmen questioned, "Were you some down-and-dirty scoundrel like Rex was?" she said, noting the sharp look he gave her in response, to which Carmen returned with equal vigor, "Like I said… you open that door and…"

"It's not like I was some sort of 'villain' or anything before my time. My past is not so black and white." He replied in interruption, "But I will admit I have regrets. Which is why I wish to remain an Evo. Should I return to human I'll have no choice but to face those regrets. And I'd rather not."

"You can't run away from your problems forever you know." Came Carmen, "You gotta deal with you past in the present if you want a future."

"I suppose that's true. But will you?" he replied, "Or will we continue to battle one another for dominance?"

"… Okay, you have a point." she replied, "You know what? Let's make a deal. I'll be more open to your… suggestions if you'll be more open about your regrets." Carmen proposed, "I won't say I'll become an obedient puppy, we are going to have some friction. But at the very least I can try to make less sparks."

"… I can, accept that." Replied Jungle Cat, with claw extended, "But let me ask, are you willing to trust in me completely?" he asked.

"Only if you're willing to follow my lead." Came Carmen, hand out.

"Then we have some work ahead of us." He said, taking her hand in paw and giving a good shake.

"Oh, this is going to be an interesting relationship." Came Carmen.

"First however we must get pass this Quarry problem before anything comes of it." Replied Jungle Cat, "And you are right, simply going in blindly will end badly for us."

"I have an idea." Replied Carmen, peering at the supplies within the truck, "But we'll have to set up on the move."

A curious Jungle Cat raised a furry eyebrow, "What do you have in mind?" he asked.

"They're too many of those pawns to take down one by one, so we'll take them all out at once, along with Quarry's entire operation." She said, "And looking at the stockpile we have here I think I have the perfect solution for that. But for now, let's get a move on."

---

Quarry's convoy of fenced goods parked within a shipyard beyond the prying eyes of the rest of the city. From there the Black Pawns began unloading the goods and delivering them to two a large cargo ship waiting in the docks. As the last of the trucks arrived the Black Pawns stationed as sentries flagged it in.

"What was the hold up?" one of them asked.

"One of the trucks was stopped by that Evo." Replied the driver, "Tried to make off with the cargo but it was weakened so managed to drive it off, so it is secure."

"All the cargo?"

"Affirmative. Confirm yourself."

With a nod the guards did just that, walking about to the back to open the back door. However, as the doors whined open…

"Oh, and boys… do watch out for the stowaway." Replied the driver.

The two Black Pawns never had a chance to question such an odd turn of phrase before two hairy paws lashed out and took them by the shoulders. With a swift yank the two robots were pulled inside the truck where they were viciously torn apart by its hairy inhabitant.

"I do love my voice synthesizer." Replied the driver, his voice slowly changing from monochrome man to that of the familiar Carmen, who took her mask off and peered back through the small window of the truck to Jungle Cat who was just finishing tearing into the Black Pawns, "Nice work." She said.

"We're inside now, but we're a long way from victory. Don't get cocky." He said.

"I won't. But don't you sound so pessimistic. This plan will only work if we're willing to take a risk."

"I understand." He said, "But do you really think your homemade bomb will work?" he asked, staring at the device that lay in the center of the truck.

It looked like a cobbled together set of wires and trigger switches connected to what appeared to be several dozen payloads of explosive ordnance. And it was jammed into the container Carmen had been in, a container packed to the brim.

"We can't stop Quarry ourselves, he has too many forces and he'll be long gone before Providence arrives, but if we can sink his ship then at the very least we can stop him from making off with his prize. That said I'll have to set this thing off deep in the ship to make sure it goes under."

"Which leaves me to make a distraction once you're inside."

"Not just that. You have to try and pin down as many Black Pawns as you can." Replied Carmen, "Every second will count, and I need as much time as I can to set this thing up. That's means you'll be in the line of fire for a while, so don't get obsessed with fighting. Just keep moving."

"You don't have to remind me. I don't plan on taking a second RPG to the face." He said, "But thanks for worrying over me."

"Oh, don't get a big head or anything. I just… rather not have to pick up the pieces."

"Same." He replied, "So be careful."

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." She said with slight annoyance, though that quickly subsided, "But thanks." She said to the inherent sincerity behind it.

He gave her a nod before turning to the container and pressing the button on the side. The container closed, concealing its bevy of explosives while Jungle Cat moved to exit the truck.

"I'll try to make as big a ruckus as I can for as long as I can." He said, "But know you'll most likely only have minutes to set up before things get out of hand."

"That's all I'll need. Just try not to get shot, or blown up, or worse. Can't exactly start off on a brand-new foot if said foot is blown from here to Beijing." She replied.

"Not like you would give me any rest in death anyway." He said, "I may as well stay alive."

With one more shared nod of understanding the two moved to carry out their plan, with Jungle Cat taking to the tops of nearby crates while Carmen reapplied her mask and drove the truck into the shipyard. Upon arrival to the loading station of the dock Carmen soon found herself within the large ensemble of Black Pawns.

"Geez Black Knight sure had a lot of these guys" pondered the gynoid as she pulled up alongside other trucks and proceeded to blend in by unpacking her "supplies".

In her Black Pawn guise Carmen found herself a rolling cart large enough for the container and placed it upon the cart, in turn wheeling the container up the nearby ramp onto the ship.

From his position hidden within the shadows atop some crates Jungle Cat watched the Black Pawn clad Carmen board the ship with the container. She moved carefully, but with purpose amongst the multiple armed Black Pawns that encompassed the boat. He had to give her credit, she managed to keep character despite having to interact with several Black Pawns, each probably asking for confirmation on the container's contents. And though he was too far away to hear, it appeared that Carmen was able to talk her way through these interactions without giving herself away.

"She can actually stay focused when she puts her mind to it." He thought, "I wonder if that's because of her machine nature or her own personality?" he pondered as she made it past another sentry and disappeared into the ship, "Doesn't matter much though. This is still risky regardless. Anything can go wrong and then we're done… but this is our only shot so I plan on taking it." He said, leaping up high.

From his back he bared a weapon strapped to him, a large caliber Vulcan cannon. Under normal circumstances a weapon like that would be far too unwieldy to use without bolting it down in place. But the strength and girth that Jungle Cat possessed was more than enough to hold it steady. Still this wasn't his usual operandi, but the situation demanded a new spin on things. Although, if he was being honest with himself he really didn't like this idea. It was only the two of them against who knew how many stationed Black Pawns. And both he and Carmen had their limits. As he thought about it he realized just how bad a situation they were in, and how easily it could have been avoided. Had he and Carmen come to an agreement of their respective differences a little earlier then they could have informed Providence and reinforcements might have been able to come in time to stop any escape attempt by Quarry.

"No matter. Worrying about "what-ifs" and "should-haves" is a waste of time." He mused as he aimed the massive weapon, "The situation is as it is and to pull through we simply must trust in one another. Anything less will spell our ends." He thought.

There was something else as well. For Jungle Cat he seemed… fond of the little gynoid despite her abrasive personality. Then again, he couldn't say his own personality was exactly soft in contrast. Still, he had never mentioned his past to anyone, and yet he had divulged some of it to Carmen, someone who hadn't been in Providence for very long. Jungle Cat wasn't sure what that meant or what it would entail divulging such secrets, but like Carmen said, the door was opened… and he was going to step through it.

"No regrets." He said as the segmented barrel of his cannon began to whirl, unbeknownst to the Black Pawns.

From within the ship Carmen had just finished talking to yet another Black Pawn, though this one had been insistent about checking the contents of the container. Fortunately, just as she thought her cover was going to be blown the telltale sounds of automatic gunfire could be heard outside; Jungle Cat had started his distraction.

"Intruders!" came Carmen in the voice of a Black Pawn, "Must secure container. You head up to stop them and I'll join you shortly."

The Black Pawn gave her a quick nod before racing down the corridor. Once he was out of sight Carmen gave a sigh of relief at the near reveal.

"Saved by explosive automatic fire."

She didn't stay idle for long however, and quickly brought her payload deeper into the ship while she had the chance.

Back outside Jungle Cat's initial sweep of the area with this cannon had the Black Pawns scurrying about like roaches from his position on high. The first round had decimated many unfortunate droids who hadn't seen the deadly spray coming until it was too late. Meanwhile others were mowed down as they ran for cover or tried to retaliate.

Shell-casings spilled from the cannon in a never ending stream as Jungle Cat unloaded a platoon's worth of bullets, the flash of the high-powered muzzle illuminating his features against the backdrop of the night sky.

"Hmmm…" he murmured in apparent contemplation as he rained down fire and fury upon his foes, "I am starting to understand why Ha-ha enjoys this so much." He mentioned, his expression unchanged as he delivered divine retribution upon the amassed dark army.

Back in the ship, in the engine room, was Carmen, nestled in a slightly open spot near the main power source of the ship. She was currently fiddling with the open container, setting the fuse and making sure all connections were solid. Though considering how she had Jungle Cat cobble the thing together in such a short time she wasn't aiming for an exemplary technological wonder. She just needed a bomb that could reliably explode. For if the thing failed to go 'boom' her and Jungle Cat were finished.

"I just hope my little IED has the punch needed." She murmured, "Though we packed this baby with all the plastic explosives we could jam in there."

"Really now?" came a voice.

Turning on a heel Carmen came face-to-half-face with Quarry who was standing outside the door to the engine room.

"Now why would one of my little pawns be setting up a big bomb in the heart of my ship? Unless… it isn't one of my pawns."

Carmen, realizing the jig was up, decided to forgo her disguise; shedding her mask and voice synthetization.

"So, not only is that hair ball still kicking but you managed to get out of your pen."

"I don't like enclosed spaces." She said, her hand subtly moving over to try and arm her bomb whilst she bantered with her rocky adversary.

"Then you're gonna hate how I'm going to compact you." He said, his mitts clenched.

"Just my luck." She muttered, clenching her own fists as she rushed toward Quarry with a yell.

Jungle Cat was also beginning to feel the heat rise as the 'surprise' of his attack began to wane. For all their insufficiencies the Black Pawns were a solidified fighting force to be reckoned with once they got their bearings. And they eventually returned fire on their beastly attacker, who of which realized just how many Black Pawns Quarry had under his thrall.

They seemed to just pour in from all directions, each armed with a plethora of different weapons meant to cause him grievous amounts of harm. And though he spread his destructive fury upon them in time he started to feel overwhelmed, especially when he noticed the familiar sight of an RPG wielding pawn taking aim at him. Considering his earlier declaration about his face and explosions Jungle Cat leapt clear of his perch long before the Black Pawn could get a lock on him. Then as he sailed through the air he swept his cannon around toward his adversary, his "from the hip shot" bearing fruit as there were simply enough bullets to overwhelm the Black Pawn. The robot's explosive payload was nicked as well and ignited in a bright display that decimated the robot and a few others nearby.

But Jungle Cat had no time for self-praise as more bullets danced around him, forcing him on the move once more. He kept ahead of their pace just long enough to dive for cover behind another crate, letting the multitude of bullets shred the side of the crate as he took refuge. A gaggle of Black Pawns were quick to rush his position on either side of the crate, weapons cocked. And with stalwart intent they surrounded the crate in short order. However, they only came face-to-face with one another, for somehow Jungle Cat had escaped their sight. At least for the moment.

They were then gunned down as bullets rained from above; Jungle Cat had leapt up and dug his claws into a nearby crate, using it as leverage to keep him just out of the way of the approaching pawns. The others though soon discovered his little ruse and forced him on the move once more. And despite the heavy hardware in paw Jungle Cat showed some surprising dexterity as he ran and jumped across the shipyard, all the while unleashing his offensive assault of hot lead.

He sent several Black Pawns to the scrap heap with his torrent of bullets, however the sheer number soon overwhelmed him, especially with a sneak attack of a Black Pawn with blade drawn. It came at him just a little too quickly for him to aim the barrel, instead Jungle Cat was forced to block the oncoming blade with the cannon itself. And he did so well enough, even as the blade sunk into the assault weapon. Then with a growl Jungle Cat hooked his claws around the Black Pawn and pulled, heaving it across his shoulder whilst tearing into its frame, demolishing it.

But as the big Evo pulled his cannon to bear he took notice of its damage. The blade had completely cut into the barrel, thus making the weapon useless to wield. Grunting at the misfortune he tossed it away and instead raced forward into the thick of things with but claw and tooth as his weapons. The discarded weight let him move at a much faster pace and he used that regained mobility to cut a swath of destruction through the ranks of the Black Pawns.

Even so, it soon became apparent that Jungle Cat alone would not be able to stem the tide of Black Pawns as they slowly advanced and surrounded his position. But the defiant Evo refused to fall and continued his brutal onslaught despite the overwhelming numbers falling upon him.

And he was not the only one being overwhelmed, for Carmen had come to realize why Quarry was one of Rex's more formidable foes. She was smashed into the nearby metal wall by a well-placed punch then bounced off it with a pained groan. She was able to regain her footing but as she stared up at her adversary she could help but grimace.

"For a hunk of granite, you're pretty fast." She said.

"And you're pretty well made." Came Quarry, "Those others fall apart after a few good blows. You're definitely a cut above the rest."

"You haven't seen a fraction of what I can do."

"Then you better start before I'm forced to scrape you across these walls." He chuckled.

She let loose a shriek as she charged him, "I'll show you!" she yelled, rushing him once more.

With deft moves she dodged around a coming punch and retaliated with a blitzkrieg assault of her own, delivering punches in rapid succession to Quarry's midsection. An attack that threw him off balance… for a time.

However, despite her declaration she received similar repercussion as Quarry quickly recovered and came with an uppercut that rocked her jaw something fierce. The oversize slag pile then followed up with a second punch to the gut that sent her back toward the walls, to which her metal body resounded with a large 'clang' upon impact.

It was obvious to Carmen at that point that she was no match for her mineral-based foe. Sure, she could take a hit, but she couldn't deliver one. Not well enough to stop Quarry. And even with her bodily protection Quarry was liable to shake something loose with his punishing blows. She couldn't take too many more hits like that. And taking a quick glance toward the container Carmen also realized it wasn't quite armed yet. She still needed a couple more seconds, seconds she was sure Quarry wouldn't give her.

"Why don't you just be a good little bot and shut down already?" he asked as she stalked over to her, "You act like you've got a heart or something when all you are is a tinker toy with a few extra bells and whistles."

"Not having a heart is something you're use to." She grunted out, standing up once more, "I refuse to lay down like garbage! I am not a doll to put on display! My name is Carmen Wright, you walking pot hole! And I will never stop! The only way I'm going down is in pieces! So bring it!"

"Hmph… fine then." He snorted, a truly fed-up look appearing on the good side of his face, "If that's the way you want it then maybe I can still sell your parts off at a reasonable price when all's said and done!?" he said before getting back into the swing of things.

For a certain other Evo though swinging is what saved him from certain doom. Jungle Cat weaved about the construction equipment in the docks, leap to and fro as he avoid gun fire and explosive ordnance. In his primal gymnastics routine he cleaved through several Black Pawns, but he never stayed in a consistent fight less he be overwhelmed once more. Fortunately for him it appeared the the Black Pawns scattered about the docks had thinned out considerably. Unfortunately the Black Pawns streaming from the boat seemed never ending.

"The ship seems to be where they are originating from... but if that's the case then Carmen may well be overwhelmed before she can finish arming the bomb." he surmised as he ducked and rolled pass his assailants.

However, just getting over to the ship would be the real challenge. A full-frontal charge would end with him being gunned down like a feral dog.

"I need a means of subverting all that gunfire." he thought, then taking a look to the side he saw something that might help.

It was a truck parked nearby with the engine still humming! With a knowing smirk he leapt the distance toward it, kicking aside a Black Pawn that tried to stop him before tumbling into the driver's seat and slamming the door shut behind him. His was immediately assailed with gun fire but managed to get the truck moving and drove it pass, and over, the Black Pawn contingency that tried to mow him down. Jungle Cat kept his head low as bullets tore into the windows of the truck, shredding the vehicle as it race across the docks toward the ship. Several bullets punctured the truck's tires, causing the truck to lurch as it lost balance. That didn't stop Jungle Cat was pour on the gas, the axles of the truck sparking wildly as he vehemently drove the truck through several black pawns as he reached the end of the dock. Then just before the truck ran out of road Jungle Cat pulled himself out from the side, letting the truck skid the rest of the way off the dock. He leapt clear as the truck soared the few remaining feet before impacting the side of the ship, to which it shattered then plunged to the briny deep below.

For Jungle Cat he latched onto the side of the ship, using his sharp claws to dig deep as he tried to keep from joining the fate of the truck. He slide down for a moment, tearing into the hull but eventually found purchase and managed to come to a stop.

"Take him down!" he heard a Black Pawn command, he and others bringing their rifles to bear.

Wasting no time Jungle Cat scaled the side of the ship like beast possessed, just barely staying ahead of the fusillade dropped upon him. Several Black Pawns from upon the ship's deck aimed to stop him but just as one peered over a large claw reached out and took hold. Leveraging himself Jungle Cat pulled his body up and over while simultaneously fling the Black Pawn in paw off the edge, to which is splashed down below. He barely gave it a passing glance as his attention was quickly shifted to the Black Pawns aboard the ship, weapons ready, as well as the Black Pawns from back on the docks. They hurried swarmed up the path onto the ship and despite his savage assault Jungle Cat soon found himself once again surrounded.

But he would not be stayed, "Come! Bring it!" he roared, letting loose such a vicious roar that the heavens themselves seemed to shake.

Meanwhile... gynoid and rock Evo clashed with new resolve in the ship's engine room, and though Carmen's blows had little affect on Quarry she hammered them home nonetheless. Several punches glance off his chin, whereas he fought back with a swift haymaker. Carmen was quicker, dodging the blow to push back with an uppercut that did little but pop his chin back. The coming backhand he lashed out with was timely blocked by Carmen, and she used her momentum to get around to his back and snap her foot into the back of his knee. Even for Quarry the hit hurt enough to drop him, the mineral monster crying out in pain as he slumped over. Carmen then followed up with a punch across Quarry's brow. However, he shrugged the blow off and reached out, grabbing hold of Carmen's outstretched arm.

With a squeal she was yanked off her feet as Quarry rose to his full height, then slammed her down into the ground with a 'thunk'. A second flip slammed her into a nearby wall while a third had her sailing across the room until she fell just in front of the container. Letting out a grunt and with vision static Carmen crawled the last few inches over to the container and dutifully went to work trying to arm the explosives despite the creeping presence of Quarry coming up upon her.

"Just a few more seconds…" she murmured, trying desperately to connect one last relay circuit.

Her aim would be stymied though as Quarry reached out to finish the job. However, but mere inches from yanking her back his attention was grabbed as the sound of gunfire dully echoed through the ship halls. As the sound of gunfire intensified Quarry turned to the open door to see a cleaved Black Pawn fly pass. Another Black Pawn slowly backed into view, opening fire down the hallway. It was then suddenly impaled through the chest by a sharp paw, it's spastic twitches slowly dying down as it lost power.

The downed machine was thrown aside as a certain Jungle Cat made his presence known, a feral grimace on his furry face as she stared down Quarry standing over Carmen. Jungle Cat looked like he had been through the ringer and back, his body punctuated with gashes and legions. But he also looked mighty livid and seeing Quarry lord of Carmen the way he had only enraged him more.

"One warning, get away from her." Growled Jungle Cat, "Or I'll sharpen my claws on you."

The mineral mobster gave him a snort in response, "You'll make an excellent throw-rug after I'm through with you."

With matching growls, the two Evo clashed in a battle of claw and stone. In terms of raw strength, they were about equal as they came to grip one another in hand, but Quarry's harden exterior coupled with the weary Jungle Cat gave the rock boss the advantage. After a struggle in palm for a few moments Quarry managed to overwhelm his adversary and push Jungle Cat back, following up with a sharp haymaker across Jungle Cat's chin. The animal Evo though didn't let himself fall and with sharp movements of his own he countered with several slashes, tearing Quarry's suit as he cut into the gravely hide of the blocky enemy. The hits came a in a frenzied whirl of slashes, ending with a powerful blow that sent Quarry up and over into a nearby wall.

However, the ferocity of the assault didn't down Quarry as Jungle Cat would have like, "Do you know how hard it is to get suits in my size!" bellowed Quarry, as he lamented his now ruined attire.

With his avarice and ego bruised Quarry lashed out with a devastating blow to the solar plexus, doubling Jungle Cat over, which gave Quarry plenty of time to clasp his hands together and raise them high. With a fierce cry Quarry brought his arms down, slamming Jungle Cat into the floor, the creature commando yelping from the blow.

Then to finish Jungle Cat Quarry brought his foot to bear, hovering it above the furry fighter's head. But he was stopped from cracking Jungle Cat's head wide open when he heard a whistle from behind.

"Hey dirt clod!" he heard, turning to see an armed Carmen behind him, "A taste of what's to come."

She had loaded a grenade into the rifle head and wasted no time firing it. With a high-pitched whiz the grenade spiraled through the air, making the short trip over to Quarry and detonating across his hardened chest. Carmen covered her eyes as the explosion propelled Quarry across the room to slam headlong into some of the machinery of the engine block. The bedrock baddy's visions swam as he slunk down from the blow in defeat. This left Carmen to rush to the aid of Jungle Cat and quickly heave him up.

"We gotta go!" she said, hooking his furry arm around her shoulder and propping him up as she hurried to the room exit.

With some effort she managed to drug him through the corridors of the boat while their adversary slowly began to get his bearings. However, upon reaching topside the duo's escape was cut short as several armed pawns littered the ship's deck.

"It's over." One said, his rifle cocked and leveled on the two.

"Oh, it will be… in about 5… 4… 3…" Carmen replied, with the Black Pawn sporting a noticeable confusion.

Back in the engine room a weary Quarry slowly pulled himself up, only to hear a very distinct beeping. He looked across the room at a digital readout of a very vexing sight. A countdown on the container… and it had just reached "0".

Quarry's outraged yell was drowned out as the payload detonated.

The explosion that ripped through the ship's hull was so powerful that the ship practically folded in on itself. For the Black Pawns caught in the initial blast they were catapulted up and away as the force of the blast ripped them to pieces. As for the rest, the buckling ship caused them to stumble as it lurched to the side, along with Carmen and Jungle Cat. But unlike them she had already broken out into a run as the ship began to tip. Some of the more stalwart pawns tried their best to stop the retreating gynoid, but a secondary explosion from the ship's stolen goods forced it to sway sideways, throwing off their aim. As for Carmen she leapt across the sinking deck toward the railing with as much speed as she could muster whilst holding tight Jungle Cat.

With a little maneuvering and a leap of faith the two of them cleared the railing and sailed toward the dock. Carmen stumbled a bit, losing her partner in the process of landing, but other than a slight grunt of pain Jungle Cat was otherwise okay. With a sigh she peered over the side of the dock railing she had only just managed to clear, watching as the rest of the ship slowly gave way and sunk beneath the tides.

"Talk about cutting it close." She said with a sigh, "You okay?" she directed toward her furry companion.

"I'll live." He muttered.

"Good. Because I need you around to make sure to remind me to never do that again."

He snorted, "You won't listen."

"Probably. But you won't stop trying."

"Then we are at an impasse."

"No… a new path." She replied, "A shared one."

"Indeed." He murmured, then groaned in pain, "Although I am in no condition to walk it now."

"Then I think it's a good idea to call in Providence to pick us up." She replied.

---

In time the night made way for dawn as the once desolate pier was bustling with Providence agents, with a certain fussing Dr. Holiday berating Carmen and Jungle Cat for their haphazard actions.

"Carmen, at the rate you're going your systems will be in pieces by the time I unlock them!" Came the doctor in chastisement as she ran a quick scan of Carmen's body, "Just because you're armor held up well enough doesn't mean you can go around taking those kinds of hits! Quarry could have done some serious internal damage! I'm going to have to do a complete system scan when we get back to base!"

Carmen gave a contemplative look before she took a knuckle to her skull and rapped upon it a few times.

"Hmm… I believe everything's in order."

An exasperated sigh flowed from the doctor's lips at Carmen's blasé attitude while Carmen gave a small chuckle.

"You're going to have your work cut out for you doctor trying to make sure she stays in one piece." Came Jungle Cat, "She can be a stubborn one."

"You don't exactly have room to talk." The doctor mentioned, "Look at you!"

Currently Jungle Cat looked like a weird mummy costume hybrid, what with so many bandages draped across his furry hide.

"How did you even survive all that?" asked Carmen.

"Fortunately while strong collectively the Black Pawns aren't terribly bright. I fought many of them on the deck of the ships before making my way inside. That's when I found you." he said.

"You still practically took on an army." replied Holiday.

"Simply the consequences of performing my duty." He replied, "And I don't doubt that similar circumstances will befall me in the future of my partnership with her."

"We can always split up you know." Came Carmen.

"And what, leave you too your lonesome? No, I could never abandon you. Besides, who would look after you and make sure you don't blow yourself up?"

"Hey, I thought that bomb went off rather well." Came Carmen.

"It took out half the ship in the first blast." He retorted, "Had we been a second slower then we would have joined the fate of Quarry and his pawns."

"You know I was dragging your furry carcass through the ship. You weren't exactly conscious at the time. But I never got even so much as a thank you for pulling your butt from the fire."

"I assumed that was implied, but if it will make you feel better then… I thank you for saving my life, for it would have been forfeit otherwise." He said.

"… well, don't worry about it." She said after a short pause to reflect, "If it hadn't been for you I'd be sold in pieces off a cart right now. So, thanks for having my back."

"Thanks, aren't necessary. But I appreciate it all the same."

"Well, well. Here I was worried that you two might not get along. But it looks like you two hit it off despite the circumstances. Just wish you two didn't have to get yourselves half killed to do it." Came Holiday.

"Not like we planned for things to go down the way they did."

"I thought that was the plan?" came Jungle Cat, "You did come up with the idea of blowing the ship after all. Something you definitely excelled at."

"You're the one who put it together."

"At your instruction."

Carmen gave a low chuckle at that, "Okay, maybe I put a few too many explosives in that thing."

"You think?" murmured the Evo.

"Well what can I say, I don't like enclosed spaces." She said, "Wanted to make sure I got payback from Quarry for that."

Jungle Cat rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless.

"Speaking of the mineral mobster, have Providence found him in the wreckage?" Carmen asked.

"As far as we can tell, no." replied Holiday, "Most of the ship was decimated and we only managed to dredge up parts of Black Pawns."

"Maybe he's been blown to pieces?" came Carmen, "Would be good to be rid of him."

"He's been blown to pieces before." Jungle Cat mentioned, "Doesn't necessarily mean he didn't survive."

"Well, if we do run into that mook again I plan on having my systems operational. We'll see how he likes me at full power."

"After we get back to Providence I plan on doing just that." Came Holiday.

"So, you got what you need doc?" she asked, to which Carmen got a nod in recognition, "Nice."

"Although, that still won't mean much if you damage your internal components beforehand. So, in the meantime, I hope Jungle Cat can keep you from taking anymore unnecessary risks." Replied Holiday, "Though judging from his condition…"

"I'll do what I can, but I'm no miracle worker." He said, "Keeping an eye on this one is a full-time job. However, for taking this duty I have no regrets."

"No regrets huh?" She said, to which he gave her a good-natured head shake with a slight smile etched across her face, "… same."

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This took sometime to make, real life can be a pain when it wants to be, but I don't want to stop writing this. Still, it's not easy writing something you're comfortable with. But hopefully more chapters will come out quicker.