Before this chapter begins, you must be warned. There is a sex scene within this chapter, and if you don't like that, then when it says to skip, you might want to skip.

Chapter 11: Explanations

1½ Days Until Prologue

Jack's POV

When I woke up, I realized that I didn't have a single dream about Rapture. That's a first in I don't know how long. As I got up from my fetal position, I noticed that my muscles were incredibly stiff, no doubt from the way I was sleeping. As I was stretching, I looked up though a grate and see that it was sometime in the afternoon, at least 6:30.

I then remember what I came down here to do in the first place. I brace myself, only just now realizing that I didn't even have my freaking wrench with me. Looks like I'll have to fight bare fisted. I turn the corner, prepared to face the Splicer... only to find nobody there. No cats, no Splicer, and definitely no trace of where they went. "Dammit!" I shouted to myself.

The Splicer must've moved while I was asleep! I feel like such an idiot! Now how the Hell am I going to track them! What am I saying, none of that matters now! I will find them, and I will save them. The only question is how. I look down at the floor, hoping to get some sort of inspiration. Then I see it. A trail of intermixed pink and gray fur. I smirked to myself. They were shedding. Of course they would be, cats (anthropomorphic or otherwise) shed all the fucking time. I roll my neck to get the last of the kinks out before I start to follow the trail.

Topside, On the Road

General POV

"So, cell phones are used to destroy brain cells so that the people who really control the government can rule over us easier?", Schwartzen-Cop repeated to Ternaldo, disbelieving.

"Ish a total conspiracy! It was planned out by the Templars and Organization XIII to take over the world and harness the power of the Reapers.", Ternaldo explained.

Pantsman rolled his eyes and shook his head. Honestly, sometimes video games could do more harm than good to a person, especially people who were as impressionable as Ternaldo. He would've stopped paying attention long ago, but this was the only form of entertainment he had.

Looking out the window, Pantsman saw that the landscape was moving rather quickly past them. At first, he was worried that somewhere along the line they might get rammed into by a huge semi, but then he realized an important detail: he was riding with Schwartzen-Cop. You might think that this would be a great cause for discomfort, but Schwartzen-Cop had a talent for making things get out of his way, and cars were not excluded. Plus, when he thought about it, they were making great time. Traffic, signs, and signals were thoroughly ignored, the insane cop's immunity being very handy. They would be saving Leo and Aeris before they knew it.

As soon as Pantsman broke out of this thought process, he realized that the car had become silent. This was only because he was alone in the car. Once again looking out the window, he noticed that they had stopped at a gas station. Understandable, as they were going at breakneck speeds that even a cheetah would blush at. Sighing, he leaned back into the seat, interlacing his fingers behind his head. He was about to close his eyes and rest when Schwartzen-Cop opened the driver's side door and stepped inside. What followed was an awkward silence, which was also masked with annoyance and relative dislike. Pantsman spoke first, "Look, I know you don't like me, and you know I don't like you."

"Yeah, what's your point?", Schwartzen-Cop asked.

Pantsman sighed, "Well, I guess since we'll be working together we may as well make some kind of agreement. Like, no insulting me or my friends."

The cop shrugged, "Sure, anything to get those two back quicker."

Pantsman had had enough of this, "Okay, stop that."

"Stop what?"

"Stop acting like you like them. You hate them. Why are you doing this?"

Schwartzen-Cop looked away, "I told you. I don't what the thought of an unconsummated relationship on my mind."

"Yeah, right.", Pantsman scoffed, "And I save people because I don't want their deaths to haunt me... wait."

Schwartzen-Cop ignored Pantsman's backfired retort, "It just doesn't seem right to me that when two people love each other that they don't actually get invested and fall in love, and get married, and all that other good stuff."

Pantsman recovered from his failed attempt at a retort and said, "Yeah, but why? Why do you want to do that?"

Oddly enough, the usually hyperactive and misanthropic cop sighed. Not a defeated one, rather a sad one. He looked at Pantsman and said, "Alright, I'll tell you, but you will not tell anyone else."

Pantsman raised an eyebrow, surprised by how easily he was able to get his answers. Schwartzen-Cop then began to tell his story, "When I first started working in the TPD, I was a completely different person. I was lax, I was careless. I was barely involved in my work, and when I actually was, it was only because I didn't want to get fired. Then I got this partner. She was a pretty, nice young girl. I guess that was what drew me to her. Anyway, we were on a job near the docks. We got a tip that someone might be coming to steal a shipment of some sort of cargo to sell on the black market. We saw someone enter the warehouse, and we went inside to investigate. I told her to stay in the car, but she didn't listen. You can probably tell where this is going, right?", Pantsman nodded, "Well, to spare you the gory details, turned out the guy was packing heat and he wasn't afraid to shoot. I overpowered him right after he... got her. And do you know what cargo we were protecting?", Pantsman shook his head, "It was a shipment of video games. Not only that, but the game that was being shipped was fucking Chronicles of Riddick. She lost her life trying to protect a worthless game. To this day it pisses me off. Not only that, but I had finally asked her to dinner that night too. Is that salt on the wound or what?"

Pantsman was surprised that Schwartzen-Cop was actually being this open with him, especially considering that just a few minutes ago they still hated each others guts. Pantsman just had to ask, "Why are you telling me this? You hate me."

Schwartzen-Cop smiled in an unamused way, "I'll be honest, I haven't exactly been what you would call sane after that incident. I became severally bipolar and schizophrenic. The only reason I'm not in a padded cell is because of my dad. He has really powerful connections, and he wants me to stay on the force. Right now I'm in one of my better moods, so I'm being a bit more accepting of you and your friends."

Pantsman looked out the window for a while, then said, "Look, Schwartzen-Cop. We've had our differences before, but that doesn't mean we can't work together. You spilled your guts to me, so I feel that this is appropriate.", he turned to Schwartzen-Cop and outstretched his hand, "Truce?"

Schwartzen-Cop looked at the hand and smirked. He grabbed it and shook, "Truce."

After this, it wasn't long before Ternaldo and Krug showed up, both of them carrying various snack foods and soft drinks. After the tank had been filled and the cop car pulled out of the station, Ternaldo said, "So, where was I? Oh yesh, the cell phone conspiracy!"

"We don't want to hear it!", was the simultaneous reply from the front seats.

They would stop a few more times along the way, but none compared to what had happened at the first station. Enemies turned to friends, and a new partnership that would last for many years was formed. Yet, this is another story. We must go back to the main story.

1 Day Until Prologue

Underground

Jack had followed the trail at a quick pace, trying his best to catch up with the Splicer. It helped that it was starting to turn to day once more, the soft lights shining through the grates a testament to this fact.

The after following the trail of fur for nearly a half a day, Jack was starting to get tired, yet he could care less about that. He needed to destroy the abomination that had kidnapped two innocent people, and possibly the person that had brought the Splicer here. They both needed to die. There was no other option. Maybe if it weren't for that place, it would all be different. Maybe if Rapture didn't exist...

What would've happened if Rapture didn't exist? He certainly wouldn't be around, he was created there. His daughters would all belong to different people. Andrew Ryan could've helped to destroy the "parasites" that plagued our world via politics. Fontaine could be running a crime ring somewhere in New York. Tenenbaum might be working in some genetics lab in Germany. The Splicer he was chasing right now could've been a productive member of society. All in all, life would've been much better had Rapture never existed. Jack shook his head of those thoughts. It was no use thinking like that, Rapture did, and still does, exist, and no amount of thought would change that.

He had only just made this realization when he realized that the fur trail had stopped and that there was artificial light in the sewer. He looked up, which was a little had to do considering that he had been following a trail of fur on the ground for over a day, and noticed an electric lamp. Jack immediately went up to the lamp and examined it. It was hanging off of a hook, and said hook had a space under it. No doubt about it, this was where the Splicer went.

Jack's POV

I take a step back from the wall, certain that this was where the Splicer I was chasing was beyond. With a stoic look on my face, I tare open the seam of my sweater and grabbed a relatively small box out of it. After carefully undoing the lid, I look inside. A large hypodermic needle with a red viscous liquid resided in the box, alongside it other hypos, except the color blue. The blue hypos are labeled, "EVE", while the red one has the label, "INCINERATE!", with a picture of a lit match. I take the large needle labeled, "INCINERATE!" and place the box on the ground gingerly before looking back at the needle in my right hand.

God, it's been so damn long since I used these things. I can only imagine how bad the kickback will be when I actually inject the stuff, because the last time that happened I was almost gutted by Splicers and stomped on by a Big Daddy. I'm a little worried by how this'll turn out, but I need to kill that Splicer and save those cats. I stare at the hypo for a while and take a deep breath. I position the needle above my left wrist and bit my lower lip to stifle any sound I might make, just in case someone could hear me from behind the wall.

I push the needle into my wrist and feel a jolt go up my right arm, as well as a slight pain in my left wrist. I hesitantly push the plunger and ever-so slowly, the Plasmid gets injected into my system. For a second, I didn't feel anything. Then the pain. Dear God, the pain. My vision starts to waver as I stare at my left arm. It felt as though it were being doused in napalm, put into a furnace, then stabbed several times by white-hot knives. My flesh looked like it was burning off, charring and becoming black. Red lines were going through my veins, and it felt as though my blood was replaced with fire. And my body didn't like that.

I give off a muffled scream, desperately trying to find a way to make the pain go away. I immediately notice the sewer channel next to me. It didn't even cross my mind that it was the most disgusting thing I could do right now, all I could think about was making the pain stop. I jump into the channel, but as I do, I black out from the pain.

10 Months Ago

Jack was sitting in his easy chair, reading a rather large book, looking content. He was home alone, and enjoying every minute that the silence bought him. Looking up from his book, he glanced around his study, taking in all the objects that had been encased behind glass panes in display cases the went around the wall. Guns of all kinds were shown in the cases, from a Webley Mk IV pistol, to a large crossbow.

Going back to his book, Jack was about ready to read once more when the telephone started to ring. Jack put the book down and reached for the phone, all the while saying, "It never fails, right when I just get back to reading."

He picked up the receiver and and asked, "May I ask who's calling?"

"Is this Jack Ryan?", replied the heavily accented German woman on the other end.

"Yes, who is this?", Jack replied cautiously, not recognizing the voice on the other end.

"It's me Jack, Brigid Tenenbaum."

Jack stiffened, now realizing who was calling him, and replied in a somewhat irritated fashion, "Dr. Tenenbaum. What are calling me for?"

Tenenbaum sighed. It was no secret that Jack held her in some contempt, after all, she did mentally condition him, along several little girls, and had a direct hand in ruining the lives of many people. She wasn't bitter about his feelings toward her, but it was still slightly annoying. She continued to talk, "There is something important I need to tell you about."

"Well, what is it?", Jack asked, this time slightly kinder.

Tenenbaum sighed once more, "Jack, he's back. Dr. Suchong is back."

The Lab

General POV

Leo and Aeris awoke with a groan, their deep slumber finally vision was blurry at first, but as it cleared up, it became more and more apparent that this was not Aeris's bedroom. They were in a blank room, no furnishings, no paint, just a large cement square with only a single florescent light-bulb to light the entire room, a door that was more than likely locked, and a vent high above them to let in air. As their senses returned to normal, the door unlocked and in walked a short Asian man with thick, black-rimmed glasses and greasy black hair, which looked to be receding. He had a menacing smirk on his face, and despite his short stature, he still managed to be intimidating toward the two confused cats.

Aeris was the first to speak. Her voice was groggy, but it still conveyed a tone of confusion and slight fear, "Who are you? What do you want from us?"

The man grinned and chuckled slightly, amused by the question he had just been asked, "Funny. That has been the forth time I've been asked that question.", He walked closer to them, the hard soles of his shoes making a horribly loud noise with each step. He stared directly at her, a wicked smile on his face, "My name is Dr. Yi Suchong, and all I ask of you is your... cooperation in an experiment I'm conducting."

At the name, 'Yi Suchong,', Leo immediately perked up, recognizing the name, "Wait, wait, wait, you're Dr. Suchong? As in Rapture's Best and Brightest, Dr. Suchong?"

He turned to Leo, smirked, and bowed mockingly, "In the flesh. I was wondering if any of my subjects would make the connection."

Something clicked in Aeris's mind. She too recognized the name the man gave her, and she knew that what he said made no sense. For one thing, he was supposed to be dead, but that paled in comparison to the next fact. He was a video game character. He wasn't supposed to exist. Just as she was about to say something to this effect, Suchong cut her off, "Yes, I can tell you know where I come from as well, and as such you must be doubting my existence. Let me assure you, I am quite real, as is everything that your silly little game tells you of Rapture."

It just didn't add up. Sure, Caspar made some sense, it was the End of Time after all, the end of the multiverses. This was impossible. As Leo and Aeris tried to wrap their minds around this (Aeris more so than Leo), Suchong spoke once more, "No doubt you are confused. I'll tell you why I'm here then."

He stepped back and straightened his tie in an attempt to look casual. It still didn't change the fact that the two fear-stricken cats had just noticed that his lab coat was stained with blood. A lot of blood. Suchong grinned as he began to explain, "Many years ago, as you may know, I was working on the bond between a Little Sister and a Big Daddy. After smacking a Little Sister, it triggered the bond in a nearby Big Daddy and I was killed. It should've ended there. However, someone had taken an interest in my work before I began developing the Protection Bond. They were impressed with my work on Plasmids such as Enrage and my expertise in mental conditioning."

He started to pace around the room as he recollected his story, "The only problem was, I was dead and on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. However, my employer had certain... abilities, which allowed me to return to life and get back on land. Ever since, I've been making him a weapon, and you two are the last subjects."

Aeris finally got over the fact that she was talking with someone that didn't exist, but that didn't mean that he still shouldn't exist, so she asked in a hard voice to mask her worry, "That still doesn't explain why you're here when you should be in a video game."

He nodded, "Yes, that is a valid point. However, it can be cleared up rather quickly. I too, thought it odd that a game would be made about Rapture, so I did some investigating. Turns out that most of the development team that made the game had parents that lived in Rapture and escaped. Their stories fueled their children's minds and they created a fairly accurate representation of Rapture. It helped that Jack Ryan was a friend of Creative Director's family, giving them an even better understanding of the place."

Leo had then realized something, "Jack Ryan? I met a guy on my flight to Ottawa named Jack Ryan..."

"Yes,", Suchong confirmed, "Jack Ryan, the player character, decided to spend the rest of his days in mainland Canada, somewhere that was quite a distance to the Atlantic."

Now that Leo thought about it, he really should've guessed who Jack Ryan was right away. Five daughters, all of whom were adopted, saying that they were hard to raise at first, not to mention the appearance of a veteran. It all made sense, except for one point, "Wait, he said one of his daughters was getting married. The game took place in 1960. She would be fifty years old."

Aeris and Suchong looked at him oddly. Aeris temporarily forgot where they were and said, "Seriously, Leo? You don't think that older people can get married?"

"He said she was the last to be!", Leo defended

"Yeah, but sometimes people are late bloomers! It may take a while.", Aeris retorted.

Leo still wouldn't give up, "That's not the point! I'm just saying that being fifty plus years old isn't exactly prime marriage material to most people."

Aeris was about to reply, but Suchong chose this moment to intervene, "Much as I would like to hear you argue, I have a tight schedule to keep. Seeing as how I'm in a generous mood, I will answer one more question."

Aeris was the one that took him up on his offer, "Alright. You said we were the last test subjects. Were there any more?"

Suchong smirked wickedly, "Why yes, eight in fact. All of them humans and all of them kidnapped by my assistant. You may know him, he goes by the name, "Turncoat Slasher" on the surface. It is a surprisingly easy way to get rid of the bodies."

"B-B-B-Bodies?", Leo stuttered, fear slowly taking over.

Suchong nodded, "Indeed. This is an experiment after all. There are going to be a few casualties."

Aeris kept her straight face despite her fear and said, "So the chances of us surviving are-"

She was cut off by Suchong, "Slim at best.", he smiled once more, "Well, that's all the time I have. I'll see you in the morning."

And with that, Suchong left the room, the door shut, and Leo and Aeris were alone once more.

12 Hours Until Prologue

"I'm hungry.", Leo complained.

"I know.", said Aeris, slightly irritated.

"I'm thirsty.", Leo continued.

"I know.", Aeris said, slightly more annoyed.

"I'm bored.", Leo whined.

"I know.", Aeris growled, anger slowly replacing annoyance.

"I'm cramped", Leo added.

"I Know.", Aeris said, on the brink of a meltdown.

"I'm tired.", Leo stated.

At this point, Aeris lost it, "GODDAMMIT LEO! I FUCKING KNOW ABOUT EVERY SINGLE COMPLAINT YOU HAVE! NOW WILL YOU PLEASE SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

Leo recoiled, surprised by her reaction. Granted, it was slightly expected, but she seemed to be on edge recently, and for good reason too. She rubbed her forehead, "Sorry. Its this whole thing. We've been stuck in this box for I don't know how long, and it isn't healthy."

Leo nodded, "Its okay. The only reason I was complaining was because it kept from thinking about... y'know."

She nodded solemnly, "Yeah. I know."

There was silence for a while. The air was tense, no doubt because of the prospect of imminent death hung in air like some sort of bad perfume. The only thing they could do was sit around and wait for the inevitable. Not only that, but despite the fact that their demise was coming quite soon, they were downright bored. They actually half hoped that Suchong would come and get them so that something would actually happen.

Thoughts were (surprisingly) running through Leo's mind as the minutes turned to hours. Eventually, his mind settled on a subject that he couldn't shake off. He decided to tell Aeris what he was thinking, "Hey Aeris?"

"Yeah?", she asked, looking up from a speck that she had found rather interesting a few moments before.

"Do you regret anything?", Leo asked, not missing a beat.

The question caught Aeris off guard. Since when would Leo ask something like that? Then she remembered that he matured into someone she could almost be proud to call a boyfriend. She thought about the question for a while and said, "A lot of things, I guess. I regret not being able to say goodbye to my family. I regret not beating all the games that I haven't beaten yet. I regret..."

"What?", Leo asked, curious.

"Its nothing.", Aeris said quickly, turning her head away from Leo, a blush on her white cheeks.

"You wouldn't say you regretted it if it wasn't nothing.", Leo argued, "Now what was it?"

Aeris sighed, "Alright. I regret... not getting into a serious relationship with you."

Leo was confused, "I thought that we were pretty serious about our relationship."

Aeris shook her head, "No Leo. I mean... really serious."

Leo then understood what she meant, "Oh... that kind of serious."

Again, there was silence, this time awkward. They sat on opposite sides of the room, Aeris once again focusing on her speck, and Leo drawing imaginary shapes on the floor. After a long time, Leo spoke once more, "It can still happen."

"What?", Aeris asked, not quite sure what he meant.

"We can still... you know, do it.", Leo said, somewhat bluntly.

Aeris was slightly taken aback by his suggestion, "Leo, I don't think that this is exactly the best place to be doing... that."

Leo shook his head, "Aeris, we're probably going to die in a few hours. Why not spend that time doing the one thing that we haven't done yet?"

Aeris sighed once more. Then, she looked up at Leo and grinned, one of her fangs poking out from her lip. Leo knew that grin all to well: it was the grin she gave when she was going to do something downright evil. She stood up and strutted over to him, trying to make herself as sexy as possible in her unflattering pajamas, messy hair, and the current situation. Leo looked positively shocked that she actually took him up on his proposal, but he wasn't usually one to complain.

You may want to skip ahead a little if you don't like the sexy time. If you don't like it and do read it, don't hate me, I gave you fair warning.

When she got to him she sat down next to him, grinning her trademark grin. She motioned to hug him, and as soon as her arms went around his body, their lips locked. Leo wasn't ready at first, but soon he got into it, also wrapping his arms around the one he loved and kissing her back with the equal amount of passion she was giving him.

The kiss soon became less of a kiss and more of a make-out session. Their rough tongues met and danced, causing a moan to be muttered by the both of them. This was bliss. Despite everything going on, it was still bliss.

When the kiss broke, both Leo and Aeris were breathing heavily, finally allowing oxygen into their lungs once more. They then started to take their clothes off when they caught their breath. There would be no time for foreplay, they didn't know whether Suchong would come and get them in twenty seconds or twenty hours. All there was time for was the actual act, something of which the both of them had minimal experience in. After taking off all their clothes, they took a moment to admire each other, in what was sure to probably be the first and last time.

Feeling slightly joking, Aeris swished her tail around and struck a rather... shall we say kinky pose. Immediately Leo was entranced, completely forgetting that they were in a large concrete box. As she did her pose, Aeris asked, "Sexy, no?"

All Leo could do was mutter gibberish and say nothing coherent. Aeris smiled, looked down, and shook her head, "I'll take that as a yes."

By this point, you could tell how much Leo was aroused just by looking at him. Not only was there a slight trickle of blood coming out his nose, but there was also the more apparent, and much better to look at (depending on who you are anyway) erection. From what she could tell, he wasn't that big, but then again, he wasn't that small either. "Ah, who cares,", she thought, "its my first time and I'm going to die soon. I can't be choosy."

Leo just looked at Aeris with a look of shock and slight stupidity. He had a goofy smile on his face, marred somewhat by his flowing blood. The blood flowing from his nose I mean. He may have seen many, many, naked cats before on the internet and in his dirty magazines, but this? Nothing beat the genuine article. "She's beautiful." he thought with absolute sincerity, "Her boobs are... wow. Her figure is... wow. Her... everything is just wow."

Ironically, despite their forwardness earlier, they were actually slightly reluctant to do the deed. Not that they didn't want to do it, God no, after 22 years it was about fucking time. Yet that was also the reason they didn't do it: they really didn't know how. Sure they knew the basic motions, put tab A into slot B and repeat until both are satisfied, but that was the extent of it. Of course, Leo's computer taught him a lot of things, but still, it wasn't like he could ever do that to Aeris. She'd kill him if he did any of those things he saw.

Eventually, Aeris said, "So... should I lie down or something?"

"Yeah.", Leo said, breath quickening.

So, Aeris did just that. She rested herself on the ground, waiting for Leo to join her. He did, and he did so wide-eyed, only now just wrapping his head around the fact that he was about to lose his virginity. While the front of his mind was just thinking of nothing besides the beautiful cat in front of him, the back of his mind was screaming, "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Aeris was thinking a little differently. Unlike Leo, who thought of sex as something of a joke, she felt that this was the most romantic thing one could do for another person. Sure, she knew that Leo wasn't the most romantic guy... okay, not romantic in the slightest, but she still hoped that one iota of his being felt the same way she did. As it turned out, he did. Yet it was miniscule compared to the aforementioned, "Woo."

He set himself above Aeris, ready to do the deed. He then asked, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Aeris groaned and rolled her eyes, "Leo, why would you ask that? We made out, we're both naked, I'm on the ground, and you're on top of me."

"Leo shifted a little, "I was just wondering is all."

"Yeah, because when you do that, it totally means something else. Just fuck me already you idiot.", Aeris said, using gratuitous amounts of biting sarcasm.

Though slightly offended, Leo obliged. Slowly, he lowered himself, and he felt her. It made them both moan in pleasure, and they wanted more. Then... if that make-out session was bliss, this was utter Nirvana. They would forever remember this night as the first night their love took form. To them, it was beautiful. In reality however, it was clunky. Hey, the first time is never the best time.

Leo and Aeris's moans were loud, the insurmountable amount of pleasure making them lose control of themselves. Leo's motions were way too large, and more then once, he actually slipped out. It got so bad that Aeris shouted, "Oh, for fuck's sake!", threw Leo to the ground and mounted him instead. Of course, she was just as unruly, but Leo didn't say a word; he didn't want Aeris to stop partway through only to leave him hanging.

Soon, they felt the mounting pressure of an orgasm. They could feel it getting greater and greater with each motion. Leo hugged Aeris as they neared their climax, wanting to be even closer to her, if that were even possible. She hugged Leo as well, scratching his back as she did so. Somehow, Leo didn't mind the pain that she was giving her, all his energy focusing instead on giving her as much pleasure as possible. Then, it hit for the both of them. Each screamed the others name in their sweet, sweet ecstasy.

Sexy Time ends here.

Aeris collapsed on top of Leo, her energy spent. Leo then rolled to his side, setting her on the ground. They just stared at each other, basking in the afterglow of their orgasm. Leo drew Aeris closer to himself, hugging her once more. He then whispered, "I love you, Aeris."

She smiled and muttered, "I love you too, Leo.", before going to sleep. Leo smiled as well, and also went to sleep. The fact that their death was coming quite soon never once crossed their minds.

Well, that that for this chapter. Actually, I was planning for it to be longer, but I didn't want to keep you guys waiting for me.

So yeah, the sex scene. I always wanted to do one of those. Granted, I want to do one with much, much more detail, but I'm was already toeing the T-rating this and Awkward.

Speaking of Awkward, that'll be the next story updated. In related news I'm sure many of you heard that FootPains has given up on writing Paying in Blood. This is relevant because I now have the rights to the story. However, don't expect that out anytime soon, I'm swamped enough as it is. Although, I plan to really start work when I finish at least one of my other projects.

On another topic altogether, this goes out to the missing authors *Cues Titanic Music*

DELTA2FOUR

MISTER FRAG112

INP Commander

FanFicwriter27

Crazygamer 2

PrototypeLova

TannerCain

Penblade the Bard

ridersjet

All of these authors have not updated anything for quite some time now. I can only hope that they are alright, and I mean this in all sincerity. Right now, I would make a joke about the FanFiction Police, but I need to know: are you still out there? Please, someone, contact us. Whether or not people consider your stories good or not, please come back. It is a shame to me to see an author stop writing.

Let;s end this Author's Note on a high note though. I encourage all those who think that you can write, to write. Sure, you may not be good at it now, but give it some time, you'll only get better.

So, I'll be seeing you guys.