What's going to happen now that I've escaped…?

Where can I go? Or, more importantly, where can I run?

I… I need to get as far away from there as possible. I don't think Ash will be too happy the next time we meet.

If we do meet. God, I hope I didn't actually, you know, KILL the little guy. I just wanted to escape, that's all…

But still…


So a horse walks into a bar. The bartender orders him to leave. When the horse asks why, the bartender says "You look like an ass."

Wolf couldn't help but smile as he thought of that one. It didn't last. It was drizzling lightly outside, but he didn't bring an umbrella or anything when he left to go to the bar; he just wore a blue sweater and some torn jeans, with a small blaster clearly holstered on his side. Leon and Panther asked if he wanted any help. He refused. It didn't seem like anything about the bar was suspicious according to some additional research done by the General- at least, nothing on the surface…

A few people walked by him, staring as they went. Ah, the perks of being a celebrity. One young girl even took a picture. Go figure.

Truth be told, this entire mission was looking a bit… Strange in Wolf's mind; but he knew everyone else in there was thinking the same things he was. At least, he knew Leon was. He never could be sure about the others. First off, it was strange that nobody saw the pup get snatched, but cameras in nearby stores show people walking by, but none of them claim to have been in that area that day. Also, their alibis are airtight; despite the camera footage, they were seen at other parts of the city when it was filmed, which leads to the obvious:

The videos are fake. All right, but then who are the people in the camera and why would someone take the time to replace all of the camera footage? And more importantly, how did they do it?

…Too many questions there. All right, then there's another matter, a bit more stressful.

The abduction seemed to follow the exact same pattern as the one with Fox's death.

Fox needed a drink. Bill needed a drink. Someone offered to come with them. They refused.

No cameras recorded anything weird, and nobody said they saw it happen- it was all too perfect. Then again, he couldn't rule out coincidence. It's not like these incidents are unheard of in the Lylat System…

…And the fact that both Fox and Bill were high profile figures in the military. One was going to be a general (but why'd however kidnap him do it before he actually became general?) and one was, undoubtedly, the most famous mercenary in the entire Lylat system. Perfect targets.

But not easy ones. How did they get overpowered? Hell, despite Wolf's obvious size advantage, even he couldn't win in a fistfight with Fox...

"Stop. Stop this now, before it's too late." He muttered sarcastically. Meh. It's not like death was anything new for Wolf; maybe it's just that Fox's was so unexpected. Whatever the case though, his mind usually wandered in that direction whenever he was bored, like he was now. But sometimes, it'd wander into a different direction.

"Hey Wolf…"

"…Yeah Krystal? What is it?"

"…"

"Krystal? You still there?"

Lost in thought, Wolf nearly walked right past the bar. It wasn't until he walked another block when he noticed. "Shit…"

Doubling back, Wolf found the raggedy place and scoffed at the decrepit wooden design. Who would ever want to come in here?

'My Last Drink'?

The name of the bar, in this situation, was uncomfortably ironic for Wolf. He ignored it though, heading inside. The handle on the door was a dull brass, and when Wolf opened the door, it creaked ominously. Another uncomfortable thing to think about.

As soon as he opened it, a blast of hot air greeted him, to his irritation. For God's sakes, it was still summer; a little rain like this didn't afford to break out the heater. Dipshits. It was so hot, he considered taking off the sweater and going shirtless.

Something's not right here…

Where is everybody? It's getting dark… What… WHAT THE HELL?!

A sudden stench permeated Wolf's delicate nose, making him gag and vomit a bit. He toppled over onto his knees, covering his nose with his hands and coughing uncontrollably. It was like someone had smacked him in the face with a skunk, but worse, because it had been sitting in this vile heat. Where was it coming from? After a few moments, Wolf began to get used to the smell… He even recognized it.

Dead bodies. Bleh… But the smell of dead bodies could only mean one thing: a corpse. And by the way Wolf nearly tore his nose off, it was absolutely ripe. Where was it?

Wolf drew his blaster and clicked the safety to 'off'. This wasn't the time to take chances. Darting around, scanning carefully, he ran back and forth between the wooden tables to find the body; it wasn't in this room. Unfortunately, it looked like he'd have to use his nose. Ugh.

"Where oh where…" Wolf whispered, sniffing the air, despite how much it burned his nose. "…That way."

Wolf jumped over the bar, starting to feel himself sweat like a pig. He moved to a door behind the bar, following the scent, until it lead him across a hallway to some rickety stairs. That's when he stopped to reach into his pocket and take out a cell phone. Dialing quickly, he left a message for Krystal, and kept it short.

He talked in a ghostly whisper, "I'm at the bar- someone's dead. Call you back later." Wolf quietly closed the phone, hanging up.

Tip-toe, tip-toe, up the wooden stairs. Spiders moved out of the way as he went, not wanting to get crushed; this place must've been abandoned for a long while.

And it was dark inside, for whatever reason; so dark, in fact, that Wolf had turn on the thermal sensor in his artificial eye. Half the colors of the rainbow seemed to pop up, with no recognizable shape to them. Who forgot to pay the electric bill?

…Creeeeeeaaaaak….

…EEEEEeeeeeeeeeeek…

…Reeeeeeeeeeek…

Stupid wooden design; every step he took in his boots made a very loud creaking sound, to the point where it echoed off the walls. If there was an enemy, they'd hear him a mile away. Thankfully, the trip up the stairs didn't last long, so there wasn't much of a chance for anyone to ambush him. Revolving around the corners with his blaster leading him, Wolf soon found the source of the odor coming from a closed door in front of him.

"It's locked… But not for long." Wolf point the gun squarely at the hinges of the door and fired, bang bang bang, melting the only thing holding the door there. Then he moved out of the way and let it fall towards his previous position.

Oh… Oh God… The stench was worse now, if that was even possible. Wolf had to cover his nose to prevent himself from passing out… Wait, dead bodies don't have that affect… Or do they? Maybe this guy just didn't shower for a week or two before he died.

Wolf got out a cloth from his back pocket and shielded his nose, to peek inside. Lying a few feet from the door was the body.

It was a cougar, male, in his early 30s or late 20s. Well-built, from what Wolf could see. His head was bashed in, with brain matter and blood leaking onto his head. An eye and an ear were missing, and a big fragment of the skull was visible on the floor. Nasty way to go. Probably didn't even see it coming.

Becoming dizzy, Wolf retreated a few meters away, panting and salivating from all the heat. He gulped down the frog in his throat and got out his cell phone again. "Why hasn't she called back yet…"

Wolf glanced around, when he picked something up on his thermal sensor; there was someone else here, in this creepy old place, with him… In the same room as the body. Were they dead too? Why didn't Wolf see them before?

Wolf cautiously drew his blaster and moved back to the room. Peeking in, he held is nose in one hand and his blaster in the other, gripping them both tightly. Looking into the room, now that he concentrated, the entire room looked… Bouncy. Like rubber, only a bit more firm. It looked like a bounce house.

Wolf looked to the left of the room, scanning carefully, then, in the right side of the room, he saw someone lying on the ground. Wolf moved closer to the person, stepping over the cougar.

Closer and closer, one step at a time.

Now Wolf could almost see it's face. He could tell it was male…

Wolf used his foot to move the person's face into view. Was he dead? Wolf leaned down to check. No, he was alive. His pulse was rapid, too- like this guy had run a marathon.

"Hey, anyone there?" Wolf inquired, almost tasting the bad smells here. The guy didn't respond, so Wolf sighed and picked him up, fireman-style.

I'm sure the General will love to talk to you…

Wolf dragged him out of the room, down the stairs, and into the hallway, far away from that smell. Looking down, he saw a puddle had followed him when he went up there. Oh yeah. It was still raining- and he was still wet… Wolf reached in his pocket and got the cell phone again, texting a message to Leon. This time, the response was immediate. Leon wanted to know what was going on.

Come to the bar and bring reinforcements. There's a dead guy over here too, so call the police or whoever.

Leon answered back, replying that he'd do so; then Wolf texted him another message, asking him where the others were. "Panther and Leon are investigating who might've kidnapped the dog, and Krystal and Slippy are interviewing everyone who passed by in the security footage. All right then…"

Get here as soon as possible.

Wolf closed the cell phone, breathing softly. About a minute later, the guy next to him moaned and started to move. Wolf put a hand on his shoulder and shook it lightly. "Hey. Time to get up, you're late for school."

The man coughed and sat up, groaning and holding his head. "Very funny…"

"Yeah? Well it'll be even funnier when you're in the military holding cell."

"What're you talking about?"

Wolf sighed, remembering how much he hated people who were 'slow on the uptake'. "You're under arrest for the kidnapping of Bill H. Grey, and I guess for suspicion of committing the murder of Frank Harrison."

"…Kidnapping?" The man asked. His eyes suddenly grew wider. "Murder?! Frankie… He's dead?"

Wolf nodded and got out a pair of electromagnetic handcuffs, slipping them over the semi-conscious man's wrists. No resistance was made.

"…You're Wolf O'Donnell."

"Mm-hmm."

"So, when did the military neuter you? Recently?" The man gave Wolf a sly look, which was returned with a glare. "I'm just asking."

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Wolf growled, ready to smack this guy.

"Who, me?" His beak contorted into a mocking smile. "My name's Agent. Pleasure to meet you."


Mentally, the avian was screaming. He had seen what Andrew had done to him; it was more than a little color dye and a change of clothes. More importantly though, he knew what they were planning to do with him. But how could he warn anyone like this? Even Krystal probably couldn't recognize him… But he knew that soon, people would be looking for him. It'd been a few days since he was last seen, and with what happened to Fox, and more recently Bill, they wouldn't take chances.

…But if nobody figured out what happened to him soon, people would start to die. That was certain.