Chapter 10

What could it Hurt?

Author's note: I'd like to take a moment before we kick off with the latest chapter in our tale. Thanks to my new beta IgnorantOne, and his brilliant ideas, I've been able to bring you chapters 9 and 10 of our story. I wanted to take this moment to give him the credit he deserves, thank you IgnorantOne for your ideas and inspiration.

-Tex

The rain came down like a tidal wave. It was a dark, dreary, end of the world kind of rain. A kind of rain that could only be described as if a sharp axe head had slashed open the sky and it was spilling out every ounce of water it held. It was a depressing sight, but he didn't feel it in the least. Dorian Booker loosened his grip on the steering wheel of his car and relaxed his shoulders as the bones settled into their sockets a bit more comfortably.

He sighed, his lips turned up in a light smile. Tonight was incredible, it was perfect. Perfect, everyone always says there's no such thing as perfect, but that was the only word out there to describe this night without taking hours upon hours to explain just how special it felt. The windshield wipers were working overtime, swiping to and fro against the glossy face of the glass, but failed to make the road that much more visible. He decided he would never get home in this torrent, not in one piece at least.

Glancing around, he found the inviting glow of a neon sign that coaxed him to park in the lot. Glancing out of the driver side window, he identified this place to be a bar, a rather shabby looking bar, but a bar none the less. Dorian smirked as he turned off the engine and sat in his car, staring out at the glowing sign. Maybe a few drinks would be ok. He wanted to celebrate the night off with a good brew or two while the rain died down, what could it hurt?

Stepping out of the car's protective shelter, he flipped up the collar of his coat and covered his head as he dashed for the door. Stepping into the dark, brick laden walls of the drinking establishment, Dorian shook his coat to shake off the loose droplets of rain and glanced around as he took a seat at the bar table. Tapping his fingers on the table, the bartender slowly turned around as she continued polishing a glass with a white rag. "Hey, how ya doing," Dorian smiled, "got anything good in this place?" The barkeep, a middle aged Shepard cracked her knuckles and leaned a bit closer to the feline.

"What are you in the mood for, sir?" Her voice was about as accommodating as her expression, mildly angered

"Hmm, well...how bout a beer," Dorian said as he continued to keep the smile on his face.

"All we got is Amber Crystal. Everything else is the hard stuff."

"What a surprise, that's my brand," the ocelot pointed a finger at the Shepard while forming his paw like a gun with his thumb pointing strait up. "Give me an Amber Crystal, please." The dog grunted as she pulled down on the handle next to her and placed the empty beer mug under the nozzle. An amber liquid poured into the glass and it slid towards Dorian's paw. "Thanks miss," he lifted up the glass and took a gulp of the drink.

Licking his lips as he pulled away, he set the glass down and sighed. "Not bad, whoever makes this should sell it out to the public."

The rain continued spattering against the hull of the mustang as the water slid off the smooth metal surface. A soft click sounds, muffled by the torrent of falling rain as the trunk from the mustang slowly lifts open. A pair of glowing blue eyes could be seen in the shadows of the trunk as a darkened form crawls out of the back of the car. Popping open an umbrella, Mr. Blue closes the trunk behind him and sniffs the rain drenched air about him. His nose twitched to the scent of his prey and he casually walked towards the bar entrance that was behind him.

Closing the umbrella, Blue panned his gaze about the bar until the ice blue eyes locked onto a familiar looking feline. Smirking, he slowly walked by the ocelot and took a seat near him. "Stoli martini, two olives, please," the malamute held up two fingers as he requested the extra olive. The bright eyed dog made the Shepard glance away for a moment, and then began mixing his drink.

"Sure thing, handsome, coming right up," Dorian glanced to his left as he raised his glass again at the dog that sat next to him. His coat rested on his shoulders as he refused to slip his arms through the sleeves and simply let it drape over him. He was also dressed in a rigid blue sweater and a pair of black dress pants with a silver buckled black leather belt. As the drink was presented to him, he smiled and winked one of his intense blue eyes at the barmaid who smiled and quickly turned back to polishing beer mugs. "Thank you, Josie."

The barmaid glanced down at her name tag that was pinned to her shirt and blushed slightly. Blue merely grinned and took a sip of his drink. After setting the glass down, the malamute turned around and addressed the ocelot sitting next to him. "Quite a storm we're having tonight." Dorian glanced to his left and chuckled. "No doubt, haven't seen it this bad for a long time."

"Care for a cigarette," the dog said as he slid out a small cardboard box with the top opened up. Dorian glanced down at the white sticks and shook his head.

"No thank you, I don't smoke."

"Ah, well mind if I..."

"Oh, go ahead, its fine." Flipping open a silver colored lighter, the dog burned the tip of his cigarette and took a pull before letting the cloud of smoke slither out of his mouth. Blue looked back at the feline and noticed his rather joyous expression. "Rarely do I ever see anyone so happy during a storm quite like this. Care to explain, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Hmm, oh," Dorian caught himself smiling as he was daydreaming, "It's just that tonight couldn't have been more perfect."

"You don't say?"

"Yep," the ocelot said as he took another gulp of his drink. "I just happened to be on my way back from having a wonderful time with a very lovely woman." Blue leaned a bit closer as he took another sip from his martini.

"Really, quite the lucky man you are. How was she?" Dorian stammered for a bit as he coughed from his drink sliding down his throat as he drew back.

"No, no, it wasn't like that. I just came back from taking her out on a date, our first together actually."

"Ah, my mistake, please continue. Who is this wondrous woman of yours?"

"Who is she? She's the goddess, living proof that angels exist in this world of ours." He sighed as he finished off the last of his drink and frowned as he looked down inside the empty glass. The malamute reached into his coat and withdrew a few euros.

"Here, let me pay for this one." Taking the mug, he passed it to Dorian who raised his glass and nodded in the dog's direction.

"Thanks pal."

"Think nothing of it, helping you is about as equal as helping myself." The dog smirked in knowing as he watched the feline gulp down the liquid once more before returning to his story.

"Now, I'm not one to kiss and tell, but it's hard not to share about this," he shrugged his shoulders and smirked a little. "Her name's Carmelita, probably the most beautiful creature you could ever lay eyes on."

"She's that gorgeous?"

"That and more, bud. I tell you...when we kissed...it was like...I can't even describe it."

"Come now, you have to give me something to work with here." As the feline was about to speak, there was a crash behind the two animals and Dorian glanced behind him to see that a waitress had dropped a glass onto the floor. A few grunts and some laughter ensued from the rougher looking bar goers. Blue smiled, the perfect time. Slipping out two small pills, he dropped them into the glass of the feline's mug and they dissolved almost instantly with no hint of them ever being there.

Dorian slowly turned back and shook his head with a light smile on his face. "Poor, lady has to deal with those drunken buffoons all day."

"I can understand her situation," Blue said truthfully, he was dealing with a steadily drunken buffoon himself. Watching in amusement as Dorian drank the last of his mug; Blue finished his martini and continued conversing with the feline. "So, about this girl, what is her full name? Do you know?"

"Oh sure," Dorian said in a giddy sounding voice. "She's Carmelita Montoya Fox, one of the best Inspectors of Interpol I've ever seen. She's been breaking records and setting the standards for cops since she first got the job. I've only known her for about a month or so, but she's incredible at what she does." This was proving so easy that it almost hurt.

The feline naturally couldn't stop talking, and with that little added sodium pentothal he just ingested, this would be quite simple. Blue continued to listen. "We've been partners for the whole month; she thinks I was a bumbling idiot until I saved her life from some crazy maniac with silver teeth. Women, I tell you they are something else sometimes, but I don't care, everyone thinks I'm a bumbling idiot, hell, I think I even talk too much."

"Really, I haven't the slightest clue from where you could get that idea." Blue continued to listen as he jotted down notes on the little notepad in his paws from under the folds of his coat. A long tendril of smoke wafted off the tip of the cigarette that he held in his lips. "My, how rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Indigo, Indigo Blue," Blue held out a paw and clasped together with Dorian's in a handshake.

"Dorian Booker, nice to meet ya. Indigo, that's a funny name, Indigo."

"It's a shade of blue."

"Hehe, so your name's Blue, Blue?" The malamute rolled his eyes and blew two geysers of smoke from his nostrils as he sighed.

"This Carmelita woman, she sounds incredible from what you tell me."

"Ah yeah, she is. We kissed earlier this night and it was the best thing I've ever experienced. No other woman had ever given me a kiss like that."

"You know, I've had quite a few good ones myself."

"Yeah, well don't leave me in the dark, what happened?"

"Well," Blue said as he took one last pull on his cigarette and crushed it into an ashtray. "I never was one for serious relationships, and all these girls ever talked about were children and marriage. But this one lady I met, she was the one for me, almost as if God crafted her just for me."

"Well, c'mon, what's her name?"

"Her name is Scarlet, the only woman who was ever good enough for me. We met a few years ago, during that time I was in the...missing persons business. There she was, a new recruit fresh off the streets and looking to prove herself, partnering up with me so I could

show her the ropes. She showed me quite a few things herself." Blue smirked and licked his lips at the past memories that flashed before him.

"Well," said Booker, "I'm happy for ya, found the one person you've been looking for."

"Thank you," Blue glanced at the barkeep and gestured her towards them. "Excuse me, Josie, my friend and I would like to have a shot of whisky, please." Booker quirked an eyebrow as a bottle of dark liquid was passed to the dog along with two shot glasses. Pouring both glasses full of the alcohol, he passed one to the feline and he raised it to him. "To our women," he said as he slammed back the drink and sighed as he clicked the glass onto the table.

Booker took the drink and looked down at the small bubbles that drifted up to the top of the dark brown drink. "To a great night," he said as he slammed it back as well. Filling their glasses again, Blue took another shot as did Booker. Though Blue appeared completely unfazed by the alcohols effects, Dorian was beginning to show hints of weakness. "So," Blue said, "how about we get you home."

"Hehe, sure...'hic' ah but I can't drive...not like...this." Booker attempted to stand as he leaned against the bar table. He was quite the lightweight. Blue thought that the feline must not drink very often; this will only sweeten the plot for him. Steadying the wobbling ocelot, Blue led him out of the door and to his car.

"Here, I'll drive. I walked here so no need to worry about leaving my car behind." Booker reached into his pocket and dropped his keys into the malamute's paw and he helped him into the passenger seat. "So, where is your home?"

"No, wait," Blue glanced at Dorian as he stifled a belch by cupping his paws over his muzzle. "The rain's too harsh out there. You'll get into an accident for sure. Take me to Carmelita's. She'll probably let me crash at her place."

"Very well, oh and one last thing," Blue pulled out his notepad once more and rested the tip of his dark blue pen against the pale yellow paper. "Does Miss Fox have any security systems or anything that we should be worried about?"

"Hmm," Dorian thought as he brought a paw to his chin. "She's got a forty-five automatic stuffed under her mattress, other then that, I think we won't have to worry about any buckets of water falling on us when we open the door, hehehe." Dorian gave a loud hiccup as he lurched forward. Blue started up the engine and automatically, the windshield wipers began their routine from swiping back and forth against the glass. Shifting back the gear, Blue glanced behind him as he backed up and drove out of the lot.

"So, where is her apartment?" Blue glanced at the inebriated ocelot who lazily stared out the window. He looked back at the dog and thought once more.

"Oh, umm, yeah, keep going down this road and make a left. Then, uh...her apartment building is to the left after a few blocks."

"Good, we should be there momentarily," Blue caught himself smiling as the muscles in his cheeks pulled and stretched along with his curving lips. Glancing out the window, he turned the wheel abruptly as Dorian pointed at the building where Carmelita made residence. Blue parked into an empty spot in the lat and stepped out of the car. Opening the passenger door, before he pulled out Dorian, Blue opened the glove box and shifted around a few loose papers before his paw curled around something cold and hard. Pulling out the polished metal twenty-two caliber revolver, he flicked his wrist and snapped open the cylinder.

Seeing six bullets loaded into each hole, Blue's smile only widened as he placed the pistol into his coat pocket and grasped Dorian by the collar of his coat. "Come on, lightweight. Let's go see that girl of yours." Grunting as he helped the staggering feline to his feet, they slowly made their way to the door as Blue gently smacked the side of Dorian's face a few times. "What is her room number?"

"Huh, oh," Dorian slurred, "Numbers, um, three O three."

"Thank you," Blue stated as he punched in the number on the small keyboard and waited for a voice on the other side of the speaker to respond.

"Hello," said a feminine voice. "Who is this?"

"Hello, Carmelita Fox is it?" Blue hefted Dorian so that he stood up a bit straighter.

"Yes, this is she."

"Well, Miss Fox, my name is Mr. Blue. I have someone with me who you surely know from how he has been talking about you all night." Dorian's head lifted as he focused on the voice from the intercom.

"Hey, boss ma'am," he chuckled, "I had a good time tonight, did you like it?"

"Dorian, Dorian is that you? You sound drunk."

"Oh c'mon, I'm f-fine." The sounds of his words didn't reassure her. Hearing a buzz from the entrance, Blue glanced to his left and then listened in on the voice from the other line.

"I opened the door for you. My room is three O three."

"Thank you, Miss Fox," Blue spoke into the intercom. "We'll be up momentarily." Taking his finger off the intercom, he hefted the feline and helped him into the elevator where they rode it up to the third floor. Blue glanced down to find Dorian humming the melody from the elevator's speaker system as they rose up to their destination. A ding sounded as the doors parted and Blue took a left down the hallway until the tow animals found the room with the numbers "303" nailed into the door.

Knocking three times on the wood barrier, Blue could hear soft footsteps from the other side as the door was pulled open. A very attractive vixen with red and orange fur greeted him and Dorian. Carmelita Fox stood in the doorway, dressed in a white robe that hugged her shapely figure quite well. Blue couldn't help but glance down at the slight exposed area of Carmelita's chest. "Ahem," the dog cleared his throat, "Sorry to bother you, Miss Fox."

She folded her arms in front of her and glanced down at Booker. He lazily hung his head and he began to snore. She rolled her eyes and gestured for the two to enter. "Here, get him up on the couch." Taking his feet, she helped Blue lift the limp body onto the sofa as Carmelita took off his coat and shoes. "He shouldn't be much trouble now," she chided, "Sorry you had to deal with this, he normally doesn't drink this much as far as I know."

"No need, I'm partially to blame," Blue held up a paw as if to defend Booker's situation. "We both met at the bar and he began talking about the great night he had with you tonight." Carmelita glanced at the sleeping ocelot for a moment, and then looked back towards the malamute.

"I see,"

"It was nothing too personal. He just told me that he thought it was a great date the two of you had together. He spoke very highly of you. You should feel very flattered by his words."

"I'm not susceptible to flattery," she stated matter-of-factly, "Do you need anything while you're here?"

"Just a towel to dry off, if it isn't too much trouble," he smiled in a friendly manner. Carmelita glanced over her shoulder and pointed to the bathroom. Blue gave a nod and passed through the door into the next room. On his way, he took a detour from the bathroom and made his way towards the bedroom of Miss Fox's apartment. Sniffing about, he shoved his arm in-between the mattresses and clasped a nickel platted forty-five automatic pistol.

Pulling back the bridge, he detached it from the handle and slipped out the cartridge from under the handle and tossed the weapon away. With that taken care of, he headed for the bathroom. Blue stopped as he caught something from the corner of his eye, being the rather devious one that he was, he was surprised he didn't catch this sooner, a pair of thin panties sat by the pillow on the bed. The sight caused the malamute to grin and flash a row of teeth.

"Come now, turtledove, we don't want to keep Saint Peter waiting for your arrival." Scarlet Crimson slid her velvet tongue against the blade of her knife as she twirled it in her paw and grasped it with the tip pointing down. Sly thought for a moment and swallowed his pride for what he was about to do. Slamming his knee into Scarlet's shin, she staggered from the blow and gasped as Sly grasped her wrist and twisted it, causing her to drop the knife. Coming to stand behind her, he held both of her paws behind her back and reached down for her shirt.

Slipping the fabric back onto her, he buttoned the red shirt up to her neckline and pinned her up against the wall, taking care not to injure her by pushing against her chest. "Oh, I think he would be just fine if I stayed here just a little longer."

"A good trick, love, if only you moved that quickly and fierce a few moments ago," With her bare feet, she clasped the knife handle in-between her toes and lifted her leg to swipe at the raccoon's torso. A long slash through the front of Sly's sweater marred him as he jumped back. "You think you've won just because you had me up against the wall? Oh honey, I've been pinned down so many times, I could break out of a headlock in my sleep."

"Come on, Scarlet. You and I both know that you've only broken out of maybe half of all the times you were pinned down." Her gaze began to match her fur, a killer red fire burned in her irises as she quickly swiped at Sly with her knife. The raccoon leaned back as he supported his weight with his paws and feet. Then, leaning farther back, he lifted his feet off the ground and stood on his paws as his feet caught Scarlet under the chin.

He can hate himself later for hurting a woman, right now he just wanted to survive the night. Diving for the coat on the floor, Sly clutched the pole of his cane that was hidden within the folds of the fabric. Flipping it up, he stopped the blow of the knife from driving into his neck and he pushed Scarlet back and out of the narrow alleyway. Now he had more room to maneuver, but so did she, and she was prone to wide swipes with her blade. Glancing down, Sly saw that her legs were parted and her foot turned slightly as she lunged for him.

Watching her movements, he was able to counter effectively, only for him to be caught off guard as she tossed the knife towards the raccoon. The blade sailed after him as he leaned out of the way, leaving himself open for a moment as Scarlet rushed after him and slammed her knee into his stomach and lifted her leg skyward, bringing it down like an executioner's axe to flatten the raccoon to the floor. "Keep your eyes open, love," the vixen chided, "Your lady friend wouldn't like it if your body was swollen and covered in bruises now would she?"

She lifted her leg up and brought it down again, only for Sly to cross his forearms and block the blow as he flipped himself back onto his feet. Hooking his cane onto her knee, he tugged and forced her leg to bend and make her stagger. He then knocked the blunt side of the hook against her ankle, causing her to yelp in pain as both feet lost stability and she tumbled to the floor. Lifting her up, Sly brought his cane to her neck and wrapped his arms around it to keep her pinned. "Enough," he panted over the roar of the rain. "You have to stop this."

"No! You have to die! I want you to die, Cooper!" She struggled and kicked, only for the raccoon to place his feet in front of hers and locked her legs into place. Scarlet gagged as the pole of the cane pushed against her throat with a little more force and she finally stopped thrashing. "Oh, just kill me, I don't care anymore," she said in a sorrowful tone. She sounded as if she were choking back tears as Sly took the cane away from her neck and simply held her arms from behind her.

"No one is going to die, not tonight. Let me just help you, ok?" Sly's grip loosened from the vixen and he allowed her to turn and face him.

"I was supposed to kill you, it was my job. If I don't then I'll...they'll kill me! I don't know what to do, please, help me!" She clutched Sly's chest and dug her fingers into his sweater. Sly clutched her wrists gently and pulled her off of him.

"It'll be ok, we'll get you help, I promise."

"Oh Sly, thank you, thank you, you're such a sweet man." She rested her head against his chest for a moment and pulled her wrists from his paws. "Sweet, but stupid," Clutching the raccoon's throat, she coiled her fingers around his esophagus and made him gag. Forcing him onto the floor, Sly tensed his neck and tried to breathe as he pushed against the vixen's face to tear her off him. His eyes grew big, was it the end?

It couldn't be, not with what he had to do. Not with so much unfinished business that needed to be taken care of. No air to breathe, his lungs aching for just an ounce as a white light appeared, was he really dying? No, no it wasn't the glow of the after life, the glow of a car's headlights! Scarlet looked up and stared towards her left as the car came closer to the two animals in the road.

Taking this time, Sly slammed his knee into Scarlet's side and broke away from her grip. Jumping away from her, she ran after him to evade the car that rushed towards her. Sly's eyes grew big as he watched her form lurch and a sickening thud echoed through his ears. He looked away and climbed up the side of a building, clutching the loose bricks that stuck out slightly and cramming his fingers into the gaps of stone until he stood atop the roof. The car gave a banshee scream as the breaks halted the vehicle.

The drive opened his door and jumped out quickly, glancing at the front of his car to see the bumper crushed, yet there was no body, not even a spot of blood. Sly watched through his binoc-u-com for any sign of Scarlet, only for a blur of movement to catch out of the corner of his eye. His brown eyes landed on a red clad vixen, clutching her arm as she stared up at him with the fiery red glow in her eyes. Sly stared back down at her from the edge of the rooftop and watched as she walked back towards the cover of the shadows, melting into the darkness and out of sight. Sly continued to look for a moment as the rain slapped against him, yet he didn't move.

Staggering away, he clutched his torso as he grunted and slowly made his way back to the hideout. Glancing back over his shoulder, he looked to the sea of lights from the rooftop that was grayed and groggy from the clouds and the rain. "Scarlet," he said into the roaring wind and rain, "I'm sorry I couldn't helpyou...you poor, sad creature."

Carmelita placed her paws on her hips and shook her head for what had to be the hundredth time. She watched as the slumbering Booker snored as his chest rose and fell with his breathing. The funny looking grin he held on his lips made it difficult to stay mad at him for too long, Carmelita always knew he would be a funny drunk. Turning back, she headed for the door to her room. As she reached for the handle, the door opened up and out stepped the malamute that accompanied Dorian when he arrived.

She lightly gasped in surprise as he stood directly in front of her, his face drawn up in a grin. "Mr. Blue, you startled me." Seeing as he simply looked at her and didn't reply made her uneasy. "Move please," she stated in an annoyed tone. His irises moved downward for a moment, causing her to glance down and see just why he was acting the way he did.

The silvery glint of the small revolver held in his paw made her gaze widen as the barrel pointed directly towards her. "Now, Miss Fox, I believe you know where the situation has gone from here," his smile widened as each word slid off his tongue. "Sit." Carmelita did as commanded. "Good girl."

"So, you another hired gun," she sighed. "Or are you just another idiot to disturb me in the middle of the night?"

"Now Miss Fox," Blue said as he clicked back the hammer of the gun. "Such talk will be the death of you. You must be a daddy's girl when you were growing up. Did your father teach you to talk in such a way?" The furrowing of Carmelita's brows was the only response to his question. "Now I'm not one to leave a question unanswered, I just hate mysteries. I am Indigo Blue, hired by a man of very high standings in the organized crime department to kill you, Dorian Booker, and my associate has probably finished with a certain master thief that I am sure has been causing you and your fellow police officers quite a bit of trouble."

Carmelita's eyes grew wide at the small remark concerning who could only be Sly Cooper. Her ears twitched to his voice as he continued to elaborate. "Thanks to your friend here," he gestured towards Dorian on the couch. His head lying near Carmelita's left leg as he snored. "I've been able to find your apartment, disable any chance of you to retaliate, oh speaking of which, the gun in your bedroom will no longer play a part in this I'm afraid. And I was lucky enough to get both of you in the same place, I swear I should buy a lottery ticket tonight with all the luck I've been having. The police will find you the next day. Performing the autopsy, they'll find traces of mental stimulating drugs and alcohol in Dorian's system. It will be as if I never even existed, they'll even match the bullets to the good constable's firearm. "

"Would you please stop," Carmelita's voice caused him to blink a few times as he stopped chuckling. "You're beginning to sound like every bad guy in every movie ever made. You know, villain's biggest flaw is when they can easily kill their foes, yet they waste time flapping their gums while the hero devises a plan of escape or something happens and distracts the villain, giving the hero time to retaliate."

"My, quite the infuriating little wretch aren't you? Very well, since you wish for me to end your life," he raised the gun towards her forehead and slowly began to depress the trigger. A sudden beeping from his pocket caught his attention as he glanced down and pulled out his cell phone. A new text message icon flashed on the screen and he glanced at Carmelita, keeping the gun trained on her as he read the message. His eyes grew and his brows rose as he read the message.

The automated messaging system that informed him and Miss Crimson of their situation caused the message to be delivered automatically. The words claimed that Scarlet had been severely injured and that she needed immediate assistance. Flipping the phone shut, he glanced back up to see a fist coming straight for his face. Rearing back from the punch, Carmelita grabbed for the gun and grappled with the dog for control of the situation. "Told you, dumbass, villain's greatest flaw is not killing their foe when they had the perfect chance."

"Bitch, you'll pay dearly," his words were stifled by another punch to his muzzle. The malamute's expertise wasn't in physical combat; the fact that he was a male fighting against a female at least gave him a little bit of an advantage over Carmelita for his higher level of strength. Carmelita however has taken down hundreds of men twice this dog's size in her career. Bringing her knee to slam against the dog's flank, Blue grunted and staggered to the bruising of his ribs. Wrenching the gun from his paw, Carmelita swung her heel to catch Blue in the face.

"You like that, pretty boy," she snapped as she hopped on the tips of her toes in a fighting stance. "Not so tough without a gun in your paw are you?"

"Oh you'll find I'm quite capable without it." Blue pulled out a small handheld device in his paw and quickly depressed the trigger. The oddly shaped device sprayed a thick smoke like substance into the vixen's face and caused her to gag and cough as she slammed her eyes shut. Blue moved out of the gun's sights and laughed as he circled around the vixen. "You have just been drugged with a very powerful panic inducing hallucinogen," he chuckled.

"You'll find that soon you won't be able to believe your own eyes." Carmelita's vision was slightly blurry as she opened her eyes. The sound of Blue's voice sounded somewhat otherworldly as it echoed and felt as if it came from all directions in her intoxicated state. "Quite impressive, it targets the section of the brain that controls emotion. You might start to feel a little...scared."

As if on que, Carmelita's heart began to race as vision flashed before her eyes. They were very painful to witness. The walls around her began to melt and crack, the large tears in the wall were lined with teeth as they chomped and roared at her. "This is all a hallucination," she shouted, "Don't fall for it, Carmelita."

"Right, all a hallucination," hearing Blue's voice, she screamed as she saw a monstrosity clutch her by the throat and pin her against the wall. Indigo Blue stood there, the image of the once handsome dog was gone. Instead Carmelita saw a dog with glowing blue eyes, and no skin. The skin was completely gone, revealing the bulging pink and red masses of muscle tissue and a network of veins that pumped tar black blood through their transparent snake like bodies. A green acidic saliva dripped from his mouth as a slithering forked tongue wiggled around in his gapping, fang filled mouth.

"All a hallucination, just keep telling yourself that, Miss Fox," His chuckling was like the sound of nails scratching against chalk board. Carmelita glanced down at the revolver clutched in her paw; the gun looked relatively normal by her standards as she lifted it up and hurriedly fired a shot into the unholy monster's shoulder. Letting out a howling scream, Blue clutched his shoulder and drew back. Flashing a glowing blue from his eyes, he growled at Carmelita and made for the door, kicking it open and sprinting down the hallway. Carmelita slid against the wall as she crashed to the floor, breathing heavily as she closed her eyes to try and stop the torrent of painful images.

Feeling something touch her, she gasped and kicked. Then, hearing a voice that didn't belong to the beast she just fired at, she cracked open an eye. "Carmelita, are you ok?" Dorian Booker looked relatively normal, aside from the fact that his spots began sliding off his fur and pooling onto the floor. The fox lunged at Booker and wrapped her arms around his neck as she whimpered and coughed.

Dorian, feeling the after effects of the alcohol, grunted as his head slightly throbbed. Sitting Carmelita onto the couch, Dorian held the vixen in his arms as she hid her face in his embrace, afraid to witness what Dorian was mutating into. She simply had to wait for the drugs to work its way out of her system.

Stepping into the shadows of an alleyway, Indigo Blue clutched his shoulder as blood trickled from the hole. Hearing the shuffling of feet as the rain began to die down, he readied his gas sprayer and pressed himself against the wall as he inched closer. Jumping out into the open with his weapon ready, he froze as he saw Scarlet Crimson jump out in front of him with her knife drawn. Seeing who it was, they both sheathed their weapons and looked one another over. "I see you've had about as much success as I have this night, darling."

"And I see you neglected to button your pants, good god, Scarlet." The red vixen furrowed her brows and flattened her ears as she fidgeted with her pants.

"At least I wasn't stupid enough to get myself shot. You were monologing again weren't you? I've told you a thousand times to stop talking and simply kill the person you're meant to kill!" Blue sighed.

"Not this conversation again," he growled. "You failed about as much as I have, by the way you carry your arm I'd say you've broken it. Bravo, sweetheart, bravo."

"Enough," she snapped as she jabbed the tip of her knife into the hole of Blue's shoulder, flicking her wrist and popping out the bullet from the wound; the malamute hissed in pain. "You hot head! You always have to make a complete fool of yourself!"

"At least I don't bend over backwards for the first person I see!" Both animals stared at one another for a long time, each wearing an expression of pure hatred and anger. They both lunged for one another and they clutched each other with their uninjured arms as they roughly groped one another and locked lips. Their tongues dueled for a moment until they pulled away, both breathing hard as wisps of air blew out of their muzzles from the cold air. "Bastard," Scarlet cooed, "You know how much it turns me on when you use such a tone."

"And you know you're the loveliest vixen when you're angry," he sneered as he flashed his blue eyes at her. They both looked at one another for a moment, then, they both looked away in the opposite direction from where they faced their targets. Looking up and down one another again, they both smiled and chuckled simultaneously. The same thought came to their minds. "Darling..."

"Sweetheart..." Then, at the same time, they both whispered to one another as they brought their foreheads against one another; the fingers of their uninjured paws interlacing with one another. "Vengeance."