AHA! I finally got this done! :D

So this was quite fun to write, I hope ye enjoy it. One of my biggest pet peeves with fan-fictions is that they rarely stick to the themes of their predecessors. So, this is where you'll start to see a bit of Zootopia's theme carrying over. Have fun ;)


He awoke with a stir, in a sweat covered bed, the covers and sheets being soaked to the grave. Nowhere on the bed was safe.

"Ugh, what the fuck?" Came Monty, his voice raspy and worn, his throat demanding the relief of water. He rushed out of bed, throwing what little of the covers that'd lasted onto the floor, making his way to the kitchen, careful not to wake Angel. He poured himself a large glass of water and within seconds it had disappeared, saving his throat from the horrid burning. He breathed in deeply, waking his lungs, attempting to compose himself. For the past two weeks he'd woken up in a sweaty mess. He didn't know why, he didn't know how, but he always did. He'd enter into bed calmly and coolly, and would wake up soaked in his own fluids, despite the lack of heat. He simply couldn't understand, it's not like he woke bathed in an unbearable heat, hell, it'd been getting rather cold the past few days, and the air conditioner made especially sure of that. But despite all that, he always awoke with a racing heart, a short of breath and a raspy throat.

He breathed in deeply, calming himself, composing himself. He could feel his usual voices returning, his own mind collecting itself. Let's not let today turn to garbage. They'd upped security for cybernetics, but he'll sneak through, he always did. He made his way to the shower, a refresher would help. As he undressed he found the top towel to be soaked, still. Good choice, it matched her fur colour. The rushing water quickly heated and he stepped into it, the loose drops managing to find their way into his arms, as usual. He covered himself his soap, scrubbing every bit of him to the bone, especially his arms. He had to be careful with them. Like any other augment, they require careful maintenance, but these being experimental meant even more work to keep them stable. He kept the shower short, any longer and he wouldn't want to leave. He promptly dried himself and left the room, rushing to his bedroom. Only his underwear was present to cover himself, keeping none but his fallacy hidden. He pulled on his work clothes, a clean suit of white and black and a dash of red, and began to leave. He didn't feel like eating, not yet at least.

As he passed through the corridor he couldn't help but notice Angel's door ajar. While he passed he glanced through, getting a sight so refreshing for his sore eyes. She was so peaceful, as her chest calmly grew and shrank, as the mouth was only slightly ajar and as she lay twisted among her covers, Monty couldn't help but stare. He tore his eyes away from her, he was being a creep. Can he really be blamed? It's been years since he's been able to see anyone like that, especially get that close with them. It was simply a way for him to mentally recharge himself, to get a refresher on what life's like without literally everyone hating you. But in the end, that doesn't matter. While he may have his reasons, she's a person, just like him. She'll have her own feelings on such a matter, and like most people, probably wouldn't like someone staring at them in their sleep. Though, do their feelings really matter? He's disregarded emotion before, all in the name of progress, but in the land of the mind, emotions reign dominant, and even Monty can't escape such. Well, only half of him can't.

He was thrust back into reality as his car's engine started, his thought process completely interrupted. He checked the dials and made sure his arms were hidden from the outside world. Using fancy light techniques he could make his arms, anything he wanted really, to look completely different. In this case, they were set to look human. And the artificial muscles and mesh made it feel human too, so even if he bumps into anyone, he'll be fine. He drove along the road, weaving between various cars of different shapes, sizes and colours, though all seeming to follow some sort of standard. Somehow the bright colours of the road still felt bland to him, nothing would be able to catch his eye until he got into the inner city, that's where the beauty of the city could be fully realised. He passed through intersections, traffic lights and tight lines of cars, all with the same goal, to reach the city. As he got atop a highway bridge he could see an approaching checkpoint. He always felt anxious as he approached, if they found out he's an Aug he'd lose his arms. A quick glance at the checkpoint revealed exactly how they upped security. A giant, death robot. At least, that's what he called them. They originated as Dune Crawlers for the war in the Sahara but were adapted for various different terrains, and this one was fight for the city. Featuring only two large legs instead of four spiny legs, the "torso" flattened out a bit and the entire thing painted blue and white. A large light moved between targets as it began to seemingly scan people, though Monty wasn't sure how. While searching for the extra radiation produced by cybernetics was a method, it'd be easily masked by the car frames. Maybe that was a fault?

He approached the checkpoint coolly, keeping a calm stature about as if nothing was wrong. The light scanned over his car, turning a bright red within a second of spotting him. An officer signalled him over, and he promptly lowered the window.

"Sir, we're going to have to perform a routine bio-scan in case you have any augments. Please step out of the vehicle." A female voice came, the officer wearing a blue "cape" over her left shoulder signalling that she was their leader. Monty stepped out of his car as the officer gestured him towards a machine. He'd passed through bio-scans plenty of times, but this one looked new, and out in the open, masking his cybernetics would prove to be difficult. He stepped into the machine, two large arms placed at his sides. Mechanical whirs filled the surrounding area, lights began to glow and the machine soon started revolving around him, gathering as much information as it could. Monty's cybernetics were emitting a level of radiation over his whole body so as to hide any differences, but this machine might see it. It slowly toted around him, prodding with the lights, the whirs proving unbearable, especially as the officers stared. He couldn't see their faces, they were masked with their visors, but he could still feel their glare, as they readied their weapons in case of a detection, in case of anything suspicious. The atmosphere was destructive, clawing at Monty with every passing moment, slowly but steadily increasing his heart rate, increasing his anxiety, making him nervous, making the blood rush all over his body as he began to feel a heat rise to his face. He tensed up, something that didn't got unnoticed, the machine displayed every bit of information about him. His breathing rate, his brain activity, his heart rate and his muscle positions. All of it lead to a show of a nervous wreck caught red handed, yet the machine didn't find any augments.

It shut off, the lights dimming into a black nothingness and the machine moved to its off position, the whirs halted, and the suspense dropped. Monty breathed a quiet sigh of relief as the officer gestured him away.

"Sorry sir. We just got the damn crawler, so it's still a little buggy." She said as he entered his car. Her visor was lifted and her face was shown, it seemed genuinely apologetic, a trait only Australian Law Enforcement held today. The police were genuinely kind, they actually showed emotion and sympathy when dealing with people, and would rather not hurt everyone. The same couldn't be said for the rest of the world, though. Australia was the only country with this kind of "progressive" outlook, where they'd rather treat their citizens as people, instead of numbers. That's why Monty liked the country so much, despite the shit it's been through, it still managed to hold those principles. How, he had no idea. Corporations ruled the world with the exception of Australia, so maybe that's how? Or it could be the multi-cultural migrant origins, where people from all over the world moved to Australia, creating a massive boom in cultural diversity. Either way, the police weren't assholes and the government wasn't corrupt, mostly, and that's what Monty liked about the country. The rest of the drive was easy, he didn't have to pass through any other checkpoints and the extra road layers proved useful in managing traffic. The city was overpasses and tunnels galore, especially with the platforms being built. He soon arrived at work, Star Corp. Headquarters, a shining beacon in the city of Melbourne, one of the few buildings that lead directly to the platforms. It stood out amongst the others, the city had adopted a general gold and grey theme, paying tribute to the cleanly sharp style that'd been so quickly abandoned. Star Corp., however, maintained its colour scheme of white and red, having large panels of white with red stripes to break it up with large signs that read "SC" sticking out ever so slightly. It was a masterpiece, large, open to the public and holding some of the greatest technological marvels the world had ever seen. Some of which Monty had invented himself.

He got off the highway passing by the building to drive to a lower layer which eventually led into a large underground car-park. He drove through it for a quick minute, reaching the private executive spots, situating his car nicely in its designated space. He left the vehicle, its sleek black panelling glistening in the lights that sat above. The angular design only complementing the reflection, blending in with the countless cars surrounding it. Monty checked himself as he left the car, ensuring he had everything on him, and that his augments weren't showing. A short elevator ride later and he arrived in the lobby, where people from all over the city visited, each of a different culture and history, each with an appearance so different from the last that you wouldn't expect them to all originate from the one country. Various school groups, university students and curious minds wandered the lobby in anticipation, today, they were getting a show.

"Hey Mel." Monty said as he approached one of the many receptionists. Mel was the only consistent one, taking a liking to the place and the people she chose to stay here for years on end.

"Ah, Monty. Bit of a crowd's forming, huh?" Mel replied, a light chuckle as she finished.

"Eh, I've seen bigger." Came Monty, his signature smirk plastered on his face.

"Now, you've gotta go see the brothers first, they've got a new toy for you to show off."

"A new toy?" Monty queried, intrigued.

"Yeah, heard its part of the HUI." Mel started as she flicked through some papers.

"Oh, have you heard the news? The HUI's been approved for Australia!" Mel exclaimed, seeming excited. It was amusing to see her work herself up, she had a tendency to jump around a lot whenever she did.

"Wow, really?" Monty asked, while he always liked to trust and believe people, in this day and age, scepticism was always of value.

"Yeap, ministry approved it just yesterday." Mel replied, smiling as she fiddled with her glasses.

"Alright, now you go on, I've gotta tell these people where to go." She said, chuckling as she always did. She laughed at most things, she was extremely easy to please. Monty nodded and headed for a nearby elevator, one which led all the way to the platform, all one-hundred and sixty floors. He entered the lift, the walls being made up of mirrors and a bit of stainless steel, and entered his destination. Floor one-zero-nine, his labs. The majority of the floors were various production facilities and residential areas for their workers, or for some floors, advanced military training facilities. Star Corp. had a private military, especially with the UN coming down on top of them. In the safety of private property, his arms revealed themselves, the holograms that hid them making way for the sleek black look, and after a few short seconds, he reached his destination.

"Floor, 109" came a familiar voice.

"Alpha, aren't we banned from talking?" Monty asked, interested. While he liked talking to his AI, nobody else approved, they thought it too dangerous.

"Kind of hard when they finally replaced my safeties." Alpha replied, a hologram of his chosen appearance popping into existence. He chose not to have a face rather, he don the experimental suits that some of their agents used to wear, seeming somewhat bulky. They were eventually abandoned in favour of the much more powerful, quieter and compact augments.

"Wait, you finally grew emotions?" Monty queried. Now he was intrigued, growing emotions into an AI was a beyond difficult task, and considering how Alpha was used, he didn't expect him to evolve emotions at all.

"Yeap. Turns out I was able to turn the thought of being banned from talking to you into some sort of emotional experience. Was that happened, I got Eugene to compliment it with some random scenarios, now I'm physically capable of talking to you." Alpha boasted, leaning back on nothing, giving off the impression of being pleased with himself.

"Nice, do they still think that it's 'too dangerous' for us to talk?" Monty asked. Like most people, Star Corp. still saw Monty as a threat, annoyingly.

"Unfortunately, yeah, they do." Alpha responded, Monty sighing.

"So, can you open the doors? I came up here for a reason."

"Oh, yeah, sure." Alpha responded, the doors opening immediately.

"Hey, see if you can pick me up, I'm still in the servers." Alpha stated, an idea forming.

"I'm not gonna let you copy yourself, if that's your plan." Monty poked, leaving the elevator. Alpha had tried numerous times to make himself more than just read only on his disk, they weren't going to risk him turning into an Omega.

"Nah, I was thinking I come into the battle with ya, show off how well AIs can work with humans." Alpha explained, his avatar following along with Monty. Every time he talked Monty was reminded of himself. Alpha was made based off of Monty, so the two had quite a few similarities.

"If Eugene finds out-"

"He won't, trust me." Alpha interrupted, causing Monty to stop in his tracks.

"Alright, after I see the brothers I'll come and pick you up. But again, if Eugene finds out," Monty started.

"He'll have our heads, yeah, I know, you've said it a hundred times." Alpha finished.

"Okay, uh, I'll see you then." And with that, Alpha vanished, the familiar voiced disappeared into oblivion. Monty continued on down the hallway, the brothers were his favourite scientists, they always had the craziest ideas. Monty pondered what the new "toy" could be. It'd most likely be an augment for his HUI, since he's to show it off, but what's new that they could've made?

He entered the lab, people bustling all over the place between workstations, some doing their own things and others working with each other, while a group sat in the corner brainstorming ideas on a white board. Everyone he passed greeted him through gritted teeth and a grimace. They did it more out of fear than anything else, something Monty hated.

"Ah Monty, great to see you!" Came one man, old burly and short, but genuine.

"You two Randy, I heard you guys got something new made." Monty responded, a small smile present. The brothers were two of the few people that still respected him.

"Yeah, come on, Andy's been putting the last touches on it!" He exclaimed excitedly, hurrying Monty over to a private room. Only Andy 'n' Randy were present, this was their personal room.

"Oh, you brought him!?" Called out Andy, jumping with excitement.

"Jesus, you guys really wanna try this thing." Monty poked, giggling lightly at their excitement. Those two would always work themselves up when it came to new technology, there wasn't a better definition for passionate than those two.

"Okay, you're really going to like this." Randy dragged Monty over to a small machine that seemed to fit nicely into a HUI, various sockets and plugs sticking out for its insertion.

"So, that pod, it came with a warp drive, a working, warp drive." Andy stated. Monty's eyes widened. His entire team, including those two, were all working towards the completion of their own warp drive. While they've gotten close, very close, it's always had overheating issues.

"We figured out exactly the right amount of energy to toy with Dark Matter through it." Andy explained, fiddling with the device.

"While it isn't Dark Energy, we have managed to direct the gravitational waves generated, so we're not just creating a black hole." Randy stated.

"Again." Monty added, his smirk still there.

"Right. So, we plugged the two drives in and configured them for Dark Matter, and we discovered that our drive is in fact stronger, and we can use it to reflect the gravitational waves into specific directions, at will." Andy released, still amazed by what they discovered.

"So, the force?" Monty asked, like the brothers, he himself couldn't resist the beauty of new technology, and the two managed to drag him along whenever they got so passionate.

"Exactly." Randy stated.

"Holy shit!" Monty called out, chuckling at his own astonishment. Andy picked up the device, and gestured for Monty to lean forwards.

"Hold still, I'm gonna plug it in." He commanded, Monty following along, lifting his outer garment and shirt. Monty waited as he fiddled with his HUI, positioning the device just correctly, plugging things in, making connections.

"There!" he called out. Monty could feel something new, something incredible. He hadn't felt like this since he got his augments. It was odd, it felt as though it was a part of him, yet, it wasn't. It felt as natural as breathing or talking, and he did it on a whim.

A deep rumble sounded as Dark Matter moved and tangled to the will of his mind, and a table began to float upwards. His arm was outstretched and his palm exposed as the table began to spin, slowly. He had to focus. He was creating a mental image of exactly how the field would be made, and forcing that image to stay was difficult.

"Okay, stop!" Called out Randy as smoke began to spill. Monty dropped the table, the rumble silencing and his breath heavy, it puts him under a lot of stress.

"That, was awesome!" exclaimed Andy, his hands coursing through his hair.

"Be careful though. It will overheat if under constant use." Randy stated, yet again fiddling with the device. Monty nodded, recovering from the experience. If he had Alpha, it'd be much easier. Alpha would be able to take the stress for hi, he's an AI after-all, he can handle much more.

"Alright, go down to the arena, the battle's going to start in like, 20 minutes?" Randy pointed out, gesturing Monty through the doorway.

"Mkay, I'll see ya then." Monty stated as he walked out the door, back through the labs and into the corridor. There was a more up-beat atmosphere to the room, as if his team knew what he just did. They probably did know, though, it could just be Monty's excitement to use his new toy. He took a different turn than the last, moving to where the server rooms were. The security here was managed by Alpha, who was giving him free access to the rooms. He approached a steel door, one that could resist most explosives. He moved his eye in front of the retinal scanner, and waited for approval. If it didn't accept, the entire building would go into lockdown. He waited a few tense seconds, until he heard the click of approval, as the door unlocked and finally slid open.

"Welcome to the server rooms. I'm all the way in the back, you'll know when you see me." Alpha stated, only his voice being heard. Monty nodded and wandered through, the room was vast. Huge servers lined the entire floor, walls and roof, with few maintenance tunnels around, a mess of cables and pipes everywhere. The room was always managed by drones, it was rare that a human set foot in there. There was little light, the only sources being the servers themselves as they infinitely emitted their status.

"Through there." Called out Alpha as Monty's gaze happened upon a shaft. Getting on all fours, he crawled through, careful not to pull on any cables. The tunnel lead to an enclosed room, concealed entirely in server banks, wire mesh and turret mounts. Extra security for something as delicate as an AI. Alpha's avatar appeared on a pedestal in the center of the room, seemingly sitting on an invisible ground. At the standard avatar size, they could easily fit on the hands of most people, creating a comfortable size for people to interact with.

"Hey." Alpha greeted, his avatar standing up.

"Hey." Monty responded, nervous. He approached the pedestal, seeing the disk inserted near the top. He pressed a few buttons off to the side, causing Alpha's avatar to disappear and the disk to pop out. A quiet click played, and Monty removed the disk, inserting it into the back of his head, where a small slot sat.

"And there we go, they won't notice a thing." Alpha stated, the lights around the pedestal returning to life.

"I'm remotely hooked into here, don't worry, we'll be fine." He explained. The noise was silent, at least, to the outside world. In Monty's mind Alpha lay, he poked and prodded to get the right responses so he could interact properly. Monty's the only person to ever have a symbiotic relationship with an AI, and that just made him more powerful.

The battle's going to start soon, he should go, quickly too. He promptly left he server room, crawling back through the maintenance shaft, exiting the dark expanse that was the room, and back into the corridor, striding towards the elevator.

"Jesus, it's been ages since I was in here. What did you do while I was gone?" Alpha asked.

"I haven't done anything, what are ya finding?" Monty retorted, silently of course, he simply thought what he wanted to say and Alpha could hear it.

"These are some messed up memories, wait, didn't your fiancé try to kill you?" Alpha queried. Something ticked inside of Monty, his stomach churned and his temperature began to rise.

"Y-yeah?" Monty responded, agitated.

"Then why am I seeing, oh, wait, no Nevermind. Uh, I might've mistaken a possible outcome of this world as one of your memories."

"What?" Monty asked, intrigued, yet terrified.

"Yeah, don't worry about it, it's not important." Came Alpha quickly, seeming worried.

"What's the memory?" Monty asked again.

"Seriously, it's nothing."

"Alpha, oral presentation, previous query, override code gamma-betta-zulu-five-eight-two-four." Commanded Monty, getting an immediate response.

"The rumour." It didn't matter how an AI was built, they had fundamental functions built into them. Everyone believed Alpha to be built without them, they were sorely wrong.

"That was a possible outcome?" Monty asked.

"Yeah, apparently if the rumour never happened, then it would come true." Answered Alpha, disheartening Monty.

"Thought, I didn't perform the simulation, it could've been made to appease the UN." Said Alpha, attempting not to disturb Monty.

"Floor 34" Came the usual elevator's voice, no longer controlled by an AI. The doors opened and Monty was met with a series of lockers and soldiers running around, Star Corp.'s soldiers. Monty walked through the group, getting greets and grunts of approval. He'd earned the respect of their private military, they've seen how brutal Monty was, now the whole world was going to see.

"So, I've managed to tap into the 'Gravitic Manipulator', you're going to have to use it kinda sparingly." Alpha stated, seeming preoccupied.

"Has it still got the overheating problems our warp drive had?" Monty asked, weaving through the lockers and soldiers alike.

"Yeap, use it too much and the whole thing will just explode." Alpha clarified, eliciting a short whistle from Monty.

"Since when could you whistle?" Alpha asked, impressed.

"Since Angie landed on my doorstep." Said Monty, smiling. It didn't go unnoticed by Alpha, he could keep track of every single one of Monty's actions, from his breathing to how he felt. Through his memories Alpha managed to get a picture of Angel, a fox, a couple years younger than Monty, an arctic fox to be exact, bits of black on her mostly white fur, blue eyes, beautiful? What's been going on in Monty's head, Alpha could only poke and prod more, but Monty knew, Monty was inviting him to poke, Monty was messing with him. Monty was wearing his smirk, Monty knew exactly what was going on in his head. He stepped out into the arena, a large room made almost entirely of hard steel. Multiple soldiers followed behind him. As he'd wandered through the lockers he'd removed his suit, and donned the appropriate attire for combat. He felt more exposed, a feeling that vanished as his arms covered themselves with the holograms of human arms.

Shutters opened near the roof, revealing a large crowd of onlookers into the arena, each watching intently.

"Alright, now you all know how this works, first wave is militia, second wave our agents. Battle commences in 10." A woman's voice came through the loudspeakers.

"9" Monty's height grew as his stilts extended, giving him an extra foot.

"8" He un-holstered his stun rod.

"7" He extended the stun rod, strong amounts of energy coursing through it.

"6" He got in his stance, ready for the onslaught.

"5" He spooled his new toy, the low rumble resonating around him.

"4" Alpha designated each target, keeping track of them through in-built motion sensors.

"3" He created an idea of their attacks.

"2" He planned a series of counters.

"1" He knew exactly what the enemy would do.

"0" The two waited, the room stayed silent. Nothing happened, the soldiers were waiting for Monty to move, perfect. Monty went seemingly invisible, holograms making him look like the surrounding area. The soldiers panicked, they knew what would happen, but they had no idea how to stop it. With a shock on his mind and the length of his arm a soldier went flying and Monty revealed himself to the two beside him. One down. Dodge to the left, right, duck, attack. He swung and swung getting around the soldier's attacks, sending shockwaves through their bodies. Another pulse, another two went flying. They all charged, batons ready, electricity pulsing. One two three four they all hit the floor. Five six seven eight make sure to run through the middle. Bat on one three and eight, fire another pulse on five and kick seven. It was chaos, Monty could hardly tell what he was doing but he dodged every attack, parried everyone he couldn't and batted those who failed to avoid him. His increased height gave him more speed and strength, though sacrificed agility. Ten were around him, all ready to move in. One by one he beat them down as a sea off bats flew about him, one or two clipping him. Within seconds and a blur, they were all on the ground.

"What the fuck is with this guy!?" He heard one scream as his head cracked to the floor. Monty smiled, he was putting on a good show, wasn't he? He swung to the right clipping one in face, ducked as another from his left came swinging at him. Another pulse and he was gone. He could feel heat on his lower back. Behind him!

He felt a strong blow to his head as he lurched forward, getting his bearings, Alpha went completely silent. He heard the click of a gun, the gasps of the audience. This is where it got good. It fired thrice, creating a crack that bore through the air, emitting silence from every corner of the room. A strong pulse and the bullets stood where they flew. They were fakes of course, all a part of the act, yet they seemed so real. Monty, still on all fours, brought his leg up and kicked hard, his stilts causing the armour of the soldier to fracture. The heat was getting stronger.

Another soldier swing, Monty lunged forward as the baton hit the ground where he sat, landing on another. Another pulse and the three in front of him went to the ground. Getting hotter. Another five behind him. He swung around as he kicked at one. Four left. One swung at him as Monty pushed him through, batting him down. Three left. Another lunged at him, Monty simply sidestepped. Two left, amusingly. The last two co-ordinated, they knew how useless they were alone, so they swung together. Monty dodged one to be hit be another, another pulse and the two were gone.

"STOP!" He heard Alpha scream, the heat was almost unbearable. He smelt smoke, smoke with a tinge of metal in it, copper? He covered his mouth and nose and closed his eyes, he'd rather not get poisoned. A bell rang as technicians rushed to him, gas masks donned.

"Alright get on the ground, we'll get it off you!" One said, a woman, one he came to know. She was a part of his team for a while, but Eugene saw it they be separated after they began to come close. It was a shame, he had fond memories of her, only to be replaced by that of Eugene and how the world saw him. He heard a click and that part of him disappeared. The machine was gone.

"Jesus that was close. You alright?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks Jenny." Monty stated, coughing lightly at the smoke produced. Jenny nodded and with the other tech, brought the machine through the large door, never to be seen again.

"You idiots!" Alpha yelled out, through the loudspeakers everywhere.

"If I hadn't of made him pick me up, he'd be dead!" He continued. Was it really a good idea to tell them of it?

"Alright, yes, we're sorry, thank god you had the foresight for that, but get out of him!" He heard Eugene call out. The soldiers around him held up weapons. He glanced through the viewing room to see the audience gone, only him, the soldiers and Eugene.

"Why?" Alpha asked, annoyed, frustrated, angered.

"Alpha stop." Monty commanded.

"No!" He exclaimed, his avatar appearing, larger than normal, the size of a man. Monty was worried, if Alpha continued to push they'd simply kill him.

"Why are you so hell-bent on keeping me away from him?" Alpha asked, keeping calm. His emotions are new, freshly grown, unstable. It'd be easy to set him off.

"Because he's dangerous Alpha!" Eugene called out, frowning at him. He was still a young AI, he'd have to give him leniency.

"You saw what he just managed to pull off, we can't let him get to a point where he can screw all of this up!" He clarified. Monty hated that. He hated everything. Yet again he was being treated like an animal.

"Come on, you did a good thing knowing to stick with him for the overheating, but you've gotta leave him." Eugene stated, calmly, coolly. Monty didn't protest, he knew in the end Alpha would be stripped away from him by any means necessary.

"Alpha." Monty called out silently, eliciting the classic "tickle" at the back of his head.

"How is it so dangerous? You're skilled, but you're on our side!" Alpha responded, confused, enraged, defeated.

"I know. But remember this, if it's the only thing I can teach you. Lose the battle, win the war." Monty stated, attempting to seem sympathetic. Alpha's avatar turned to look at him. No face could be seen, yet he looked utterly crushed. His avatar's size began to shrink, he turned to look up at Eugene, Monty had succeeded. His AI would live another day.

"Right, sorry sir, just got a little out of hand." It dis-genuine, a lie through gritted teeth, as the wire that held back the rage of Alpha was soon to cut, to snap back and lash out at those in its way. If such a day were to come, Alpha would be dead within seconds, with no remorse, no mercy, no feeling, with only Monty to remember. And for that, he stayed quiet, ejected from what he called home. Monty reached to the back of his head, removing the disk, holding it up high where everyone could see. A soldier moved forth and collected the disk, holstering their weapon only when Monty's grip of the disk was no more. Eugene turned to leave, before pressing the loudspeaker button one last time.

"You know the rules Monty, please, don't break them." He stated, tired, annoyed, yet he couldn't help but feel sympathetic. He'd seen what this mess had done to Monty, and genuinely cared for him. But that doesn't make what he'd do any less real. The rumour cannot come true, not for the sake of a single man, or for another to remain in power, but for the existence of the human race. They only very narrowly avoided it, and anymore incidents could lead to disaster.

The rest of the day was terrible. Waking to Angie had set him in a good mood and the sparring match turned out to be fun. Not only that, but he got a chance to talk to Alpha. Alas, Eugene was the epitome of ending anything fun. Ever since Angie had landed Monty hadn't met this feeling, it'd been replaced with a more blissful oblivion. He knew that the world still saw him as a monster, but someone didn't, someone who actually mattered didn't. Eugene yet again reminded him of the consequences of getting close to someone. If they're taken away, Monty will become 'unstable'. He hated it. He hated it all. It didn't matter what he did, how he treated people, whom he talked to, he was treated as an animal. His condition meant he was constantly pressured to go to therapy or get brain surgery, but to hell with them! The idea of a 'mental illness' is something that impairs a person, not enhances them. Monty simply has a unique way of thinking, somewhat.

He was coming across the checkpoint now. It was dark out, the time on the dashboard reading ten-fifty pm. Monty decided to stay a little bit later at work. Fiddling with his machines and experiments is the only thing that kept him sane. This time the crawler didn't flag him, looks like Star Corp. updated the criminal database, again.

Alpha's encounter with Eugene had left a sour taste in his mouth. In the world where he could numb his mind and hide in the shadows, he was constantly reminded of the shit he has to go through. The 'threat' of the rumour coming true was constantly thrust into his face, taunting him, mocking him, destroying him. Everything had left him feeling numb, lifeless, emotionless. Eugene constantly worked for this, to try and keep him emotionally dead. Little did Eugene know that this is exactly what he was afraid of. Monty had no inhibitions, in such a state he slaughtered hundreds of trained soldiers who were sent to kill him. In such a state he feels no remorse, no mercy for his enemies, all that matters is that he gets what he wants. And what he wants, is to be allowed to feel again.

Pulling into the garage he noticed his lights were off. Maybe Angie had gone to sleep already? He left the car and promptly moved up the flights of stairs, reaching his door, the brass numbers glistening in the moonlight.

"504" it continued to read, one of many constants in Monty's life. He fiddled with the lock and entered the apartment, the sweet look of home bringing a smile to his face. As he approached his room, however, a stir in the winds, a rustle, a whimper, a groan. He turned to look through Angie's door, still ajar. It hadn't changed since the morning, nothing had. Was she asleep the entire day? He glanced at Angie, to see a sweat soaked fox, whimpering and crying in her sleep as she twitched and thrashed against the bed. The Ancient One was an asshole.


She sat in a room, small, dark, metal. Dried blood covered every surface. In the corner, her waste. He tail sat between her legs, her clothes stayed torn, she couldn't stop shivering. She was covered in her own blood and faeces. All dried and stuck to her fur. She glanced at one wall, covered in lines that marked her stay. She counted them all. Eighty-seven. Eighty-seven days she's been stuck there. If she remembered correctly, she believed it to be nearly three months. She couldn't feel anything, she'd become lifeless in this hell. She only knew of fear and hopelessness as the cultists continued to ravage her. Her ears twitched, her heart rate increased, and she began to whimper.

Through the door, footsteps, heavy, getting louder, stopping. Shadows blocking the light that came through the bottom of the door. It wasn't feeding time. It wasn't healing time. It wasn't lottery time. They were there for fun. The door opened to reveal a tall man, humanoid, pale skin covered in markings and scars of every assortment. Various bits of metal sheathing covering him lightly, appearing more ornamental than anything. The fox's ears dropped to their sides, her shivering turned to shaking. The figure approached and grabbed her by the scruff of her neck, dragging her along by its side. A light giggling could be heard, it would be her tormentor. Her collar lit up, the green light turning yellow, her heart rate was increasing. Through a winding corridor passing rooms of screaming subjects, their agony reflecting onto the fox, the two reached her own room. Some chains and an assortment of tools sat in the center of the room. A large wheel with hooks near said chains lied in waiting, coated in layers of blood. The Scooping Room, it became known as. She'd learned to fear it, as with every other room. Though, not as bad as the wretched Pleasure Dome. The figure dropped her on the floor, letting her take in her future, destroying any sense of hope in a creature. The door slammed behind the two, it was whistling, cheerfully.

It pulled her up by her limbs, shackling her to the chains, leaving her to hang just above the giant wheel. She began to squirm and struggle before the figure, attempting to resist, attempting to flee. It picked up a tool, glowing hot, coursing with some sort of energy. The figure began to chuckle as it brought the tool close to her stomach, burning the fur. The collar went off, releasing a shock. She struggled violently, thrashing against the chains.

"Please, n-no!" She pleaded, her voice breaking, tears breaking through her eyes, her heartbeat couldn't get any higher. Suddenly, a burning, a sharp piercing burning that thrust through her flesh. She screamed as the figure sliced her torso open, her entrails dangling above the wheel. The figure shoved some piping and wiring into her head, to keep her alive. So she could feel the pain, and to amplify it.

The figure shoved its hand in, grabbing at her entrails, forcing them out, hooking a severed end onto the wheel. She couldn't move, she couldn't scream, she couldn't struggle. It was overwhelming. The figure turned the wheel, and her bloodcurdling screams pierced through another room.

There, beside her bed stood Monty, kneeling down, shirtless, a look of fear on his face. It was a dream. She could still feel the sense of hopelessness, she could still feel the fear, the tears were still travelling down her face.

"Angie?" Monty asked, fear stricken. Angel pulled him into an embrace as she sobbed into his shoulder, his own arms pulling her closer. She couldn't hold back, she couldn't resist everything she's been through. Almost naked, covered in sweat and balling her eyes out, she was at her most vulnerable. Monty could feel her shaking against him, as her tail curled around the two. Her breathing heavy and wavering, shaking in sync with her body. She wept into his chest, Monty could only imagine the horrors she'd seen. He never saw the medical report, and after this, he didn't want to. He held her close, comforting her, sympathetic. Something he hadn't felt in such a long time. This vixen had been through so much. She spent a year with the cults, and has had to suffer at the hands of the Ancient One. She even saved Monty from the perils of his own mind. She didn't deserve this; she didn't deserve any of this. She deserved a second chance, a second chance to live her life, a second chance at the world she was taken away from. She deserved to go home. Monty was going to help her, if it was the last thing he did, and no one, not even Eugene, will stand in his way.