Gold Demona
Chapter XXVIII
Moving On...
(Mac)
(A few nights later...)(January, 2111 A.D.)
The entire apartment was in a bustle. For the past few nights, we had all been busy in preparation of our departure. After Silverbolt had told us of his encounter with Blackarachnia, we knew the time was upon us to leave as soon as we were able. Everyone else had just finished packing everything they intended on taking with them. It was only a matter of waiting for me to finish preparing the lab for transport.
Almost all of my equipment had been shut off and powered down. I had just begun to power down the cloaker machine when the computer began to beep at me. I picked up the call, and Mr. Piccolo appeared on the screen.
"Aye, what is it, Piccolo," I greeted, rather annoyed at the sudden hindrance.
"And what sort of greeting is that, I would like to know, ah?" he asked with a rather stern expression on his face.
"We're in a wee bit of a pinch at the moment," I answered, "We've brought ourselves into a position where we need to evacuate."
"And when were you planning on telling this to the rest of us, huh?" said a young female voice as the screen split into five and Fio appeared on one of the screens. On the other three were Jake, Bernard, and Bianca.
"I was not aware that this was a conference call," I said.
"I figured this was something to be discussed with the entire group, luv," Jake said.
"Aye, Jake," I replied, "But I charged you with telling everyone my situation. This call is going to slow everything down. We've already fallen behind as it is."
"So it's true then?" Bernard asked, "You've been caught?"
"I'm afraid so," I said, "And the sooner we disappear from sight, the better the chances for our survival."
"So you're to head to Volgograd Prime then?" Piccolo asked.
"Aye," I answered and then paused. "That's the plan."
"We wish you zhe best of luck, dahling," Bianca said.
"Especially given the weird circumstances in the media," Bernard added.
"What's this now?" I asked.
"Eh?" Piccolo replied, "We've all noticed a strange change in the media as of late. You have not?"
"Piccolo, you of all people know that I don't watch television," I said.
"No, but your friends do," he reminded, "If they noticed it, they would have surely passed it on to you."
"Get to the point, then," I urged, "I don't have all night."
"Well here's the thing, luv," Jake said, "In the past few months we've noticed a sudden stop in all news stories pertaining to gargoyle slaughters."
"There haven't been any reported killings on the television, the newspapers, or even the tabloids," Bernard added, "There isn't even mention of the WORD 'gargoyle' anywhere in the media."
"That is odd," I remarked.
"What's even stranger," Piccolo continued, "Is that all of us have still been finding gargoyles on the scanners. Now more than ever we're finding whole living clans, now more often than lone survivors."
"Especially most recently," Fio added.
This peaked my interest.
"So they've stopped killing clans," I concluded, "But why?"
"Zhat is what we were hoping you could tell us, dahling," Bianca replied, "As relieved as I am zhat we're finding fewer and fewer deaths, I am worried zhat zhis is zhe beginning of somezhing far worse to come."
"Aye, that it could," I replied.
"It's almost as if their focus has been placed somewhere else," Piccolo said.
"Like on us?" Bernard replied, a nervous tone growing in his voice.
"Don't start with that, Berno," Jake said, "I've got a bit of good news to cheer us all up."
"Any bit of good news is helpful at this point," I said, "What is it?"
"Heya!" I heard the familiar gritted voice of Inspector Zenigata as he shoved his way into view beside Jake.
"Inspector," I greeted, "Have ya found what you've sought?"
"You bet I have!" he replied as he held up a computer disk for us to see. "Right here!"
"Where'd you go around finding a data disk?" Fio asked, "It's not like they just hand them out to the tourists at the Prime Capital Building."
"It's the funniest thing," he replied, "All this time, I've searched in vain at the Capital Building. On all the floors that are accessible to the public, they didn't have ANYTHING that was any kind of useful. It's been frustratin', lemme tell ya. But just last night, I bump into this chick on the way back home from the building and she just hands me this disk. Of course, at first, I suspected something fishy about it. So I tested it in a private computer not connected to any network, and it actually did have everything I needed to plead my case. This right here's the ticket to our freedom!"
"Zhat's wonderful, dahling!" Bianca replied.
"Yeah, that's great news," Fio added.
"And who was this lass that handed you this information, Inspector?" I asked. "Just out of curiosity."
"She didn't stick around long enough for me to catch any details," he said, "She was real fast. Snuck up on me out of nowhere, stuck the disk in my talons, and disappeared without sayin' a word. Only thing I could catch was that she was a woman."
"How peculiar," I said. "Well, it's good to know there's some light in all this mess. I hate to cut this short, but we're running late."
"Right-o, luv," Jake said as he shoved the Inspector away from view, "I'll see ya when I see ya then?"
"Aye," I said, "Although we may not be able to leave tonight, given this delay."
"Well, at any rate, we all wish you the best of luck, my dear," Piccolo replied.
"Yeah," Fio agreed, "Good luck, Mac."
"You'll need it," Bernard added.
"Bernard!" Bianca scolded.
"No, he's right," I replied, "We'll most certainly need it. All of us will."
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(Boober)
It had to have been the longest walk I ever had to that nightclub. I wasn't looking forward to quitting my job. Despite how much I complained about the danger, I liked my job. It was a strange irony that I was able to really be myself while wearing my disguise. I really didn't want to quit, but I couldn't just suddenly disappear without telling anyone where I was going.
I walked around the corner to where the club was. As I got there, I noticed a familiar and very large Japanese man standing in front of the door.
"Tohru?" I said to him as I walked up.
"Freddie-san," he greeted back with a cheerful smile on his face, "How is your evening?"
"It could be better," I replied and tried to look around him, "What's going on?"
"Rafiki-sama has decided to close the Upendi," he answered.
"What? Why?"
"He says it is time to move on," he answered. "Since you too will be leaving shortly with your clan."
"So he already knows?"
He nodded.
"Rafiki-sama also extends his sincerest apologies for not being able to properly say 'good-bye' to you. As we speak, he and the girls make preparations for the closing. He knew you would come tonight to announce your resignation, so I have been instructed to wait here for you."
"Well, this certainly makes me feel a little better about quitting," I said. "And it makes things a lot easier for me."
"That was the intention," he said, "It has been our intention from the very beginning to be of assistance to you and your clan."
"You've all helped me more than I could ever hope to repay," I replied, "Thank you. And if you could pass that to Rafiki, Luna, and Belldandy, that'd be great."
"Of course, Freddie-san," he said. "I will extend your gratitude to them when they've finished closing."
"And since I'm officially not working here anymore," I added with a laugh, "You don't have to call me Freddie anymore."
"Of course, Boober-san," he smiled. "I wish you and your clan a safe journey."
"Thank you," I replied and started to walk away, but then I paused for a moment and turned back to him, "There's just one thing that's always bugged me about you."
"And what is that, Boober-san?"
"You're bigger than any human I've ever seen in my life," I commented in a somewhat nervous tone, "How is that possible?"
He laughed for a few moments and then smiled at me.
"My mommy fed me very well," he said.
It sounded very strange to hear the word 'mommy' come out of such a large man with such a deep voice.
"I see," I replied.
"You should return to your clan, Boober-san. They will worry."
"Yes," I replied and continued walking. "Good-bye, Tohru."
"Farewell, Boober-san," he called back.
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(Jigen)
"I really wish you didn't insist on coming with me," I said. "I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you while we're out here."
"I can take care of myself," she said, "I'm not completely helpless."
"I didn't say you were," I replied, puffing another cloud of smoke from my cigarette.
I opened the door to the pawnshop and let her in, walking in behind her. Jeebs was at his usual place behind the counter.
"Jigen! Long time no see!" he greeted, "Finally got over your--"
"Don't have time for chitchat, Jeebs," I said as I pulled out my gun, "I need a box of your best ammo, preferably armor-piercing, and five times the supply of cigarettes."
"Woah woah, hold it! What's the emergency?"
"We're leaving," I answered, "And I'm expecting a fight along the way."
"Oh, don't tell me you went and got yourself caught?"
"I told you I don't have time to talk," I growled and pointed my gun at his head and pulled the hammer back, "Just get me what I asked."
"Jigen, what are you doing?" Gold asked with a worried tone in her voice.
"Hey, come on!" Jeebs chuckled nervously as he reached down and pulled out a large box of ammunition and several cases of cigarettes, "You don't wanna do this in front of your girlfriend, do ya? She seems like a really nice girl, and it'd probably--"
I pulled the trigger, shooting him square in the head, causing it to explode. He fell to the floor with a loud thud.
"Jigen!" Gold yelled. "Are you insane?!"
"Relax," I said as I put my gun away, "He'd not dead."
"What do you mean he's not dead?!" she yelled, "You made his whole head explode right off his neck!"
"Human heads don't explode like that when you shoot them, Gold," I explained, "Even with a magnum at close range. He's just being dramatic. He only fell down to add to the effect."
I leaned over the counter and looked down at him.
"Come on, Jeebs, get up," I said to the headless body below. "You're not fooling anybody. We need to finish this."
"Oh, all right," he squeaked as he lifted himself back up and a wad of flesh started to grow out from his neck.
Gold watched in disgust as the wad slowly formed itself into a head. Jeebs shook himself as he finished growing his head back.
"You didn't even bother bleeding this time," I commented. "I tell you what, that's real convincing."
"Blood's a pain in the ass to clean up," he said, "And by the way, asshole, that really stung. Thanks a lot."
"Yer welcome," I replied, "Now let's finish this so we can get out of here."
"What the hell?!" Gold replied.
"I'll explain later," I said as Jeebs opened the ammo box and pulled out one of the bullets.
"This here, my friend, is the good stuff," he said as he held it up with his thumb and index finger. "Armor-piercing, explodes on contact, messy stuff."
"This from the stash?" I asked as he handed it to me.
"Of course," he said. "So this is all you need? Ammo and cigarettes?"
"Yup," I said as I handed the bullet back to him, "Just business as usual."
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(Vaala)
I was ready to go. Everything was packed. My clothes, my hygiene products, my Super GameThing, my Oberon plushie. The only thing I had left to do was wait for everyone else.
Red and Silverbolt were waiting with me in the living room while Mac finished getting the lab ready. I looked at the big Masterview Laser TV that has served as our secret door for more than half a year.
"Too bad we can't take it with us," I thought.
Silverbolt sat on one of the stools by the kitchen bar counter, arms crossed and head hung in thought. Red was lying on the couch, shaking her foot in a rhythmic impatience. I was pacing around on the floor. All this waiting was driving us crazy.
"What the hell is taking so long?" Red growled. "We should've been long gone by now."
"It shouldn't be long now," Silverbolt replied. "Boober, Jigen, and Gold should be on their way back by now. As soon as they're back and Mac is finished with the lab, we'll go."
"Mac's almost ready," Markl announced as he and Krypto walked into the living room.
Krypto had finished with his bone only a few nights before, so he was back to his normal self. Markl already had his cloak up on both of them.
"She says she just needs to set up the--"
BOOM!
We all flinched for a moment. Then Mac walked into the living room carrying a small device in her talon. The same device she had with her when she first moved in.
"The lab's packed now?" I asked, pointing to the device.
"Aye, it's done," she said, putting it in her coat pocket. "We can leave when everyone else has returned from their errands."
"Let's hope they get here fast," I said, "Any later and we'll have to wait until tomorrow night to leave."
Then the door opened, and Boober stepped in from behind it.
"So how'd it go?" I asked.
"It was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be," he said.
"You didn't really wanna quit, did you?" I realized out loud.
"He was closing the nightclub anyway," he replied, "I would've been out of a job at any rate. So it really wouldn't have mattered."
"Well, that's convenient," Red said.
"So where are Gold and Jigen?" Boober asked.
"Jigen said he had to go get something at the pawn shop," I answered, "And Gold went with him. They left not long after you did, so they shouldn't be too much longer coming back."
"We don't know how much further the pawn shop is from here than the nightclub," Silverbolt pointed out, "They may take a while."
"Not to mention it's out in the ghetto," I added.
"Uh-h-h-h-h," Boober shivered. "I suddenly got a very bad feeling."
"Oh, don't start with that," Red retorted, "Not now."
"No, something's wrong," he said, "I just know it."
Red rolled her eyes and growled in an exasperated sigh.
"If it will help you feel better, Boober," Silverbolt said, "I can go that way and make sure they make it back safely."
"You sure you wanna go alone?" I asked.
"I should be plenty enough help to escort them back," he said. "Hopefully, this feeling Boober is having is just paranoia."
"I really hope that's the case," Boober replied. "For all our sakes."
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(Jigen)
The moment we left the shop, I got a really bad feeling. Like we were being watched. Really closely, too. And a lot of times, when I'd get this kind of feeling, it was usually right. It had me looking over our shoulders every few steps we took, holding my box of ammo at ready in case I needed to start shooting.
"You've gotten really tense all of a sudden," Gold said.
"Something's watching us," I replied.
"Something like what?"
"Not sure," I answered, "But can tell it's close by."
A few more steps, and I stopped for a moment. I listened, and then—
"RUN!" I yelled and shoved Gold away from me so we split apart just as shots started firing where we were standing.
I pulled out my gun and fired to where the shots were coming from, but I didn't hit anything. The shooter had flown out of hiding and hovered down to the middle of the street.
It was a humanoid-shaped robot, made of a copper-colored metal. It had slanted, bright red, glowing eyes and jets attached to its back and feet.
"Statement:" it said, "Not bad for a meatbag. Had I been stationary, you would have certainly hit me, not that it would have done you any good."
He pointed his rifle at me, and I started running again just as he started firing. I fired two rounds at him, and he flew off to the side to dodge them, the bullets barely scraping his side.
"Damn, he's fast," I thought as I looked away for a second to see where Gold went while at the same time trying not to get shot.
She was standing in an alleyway watching us fight.
"Gold! Get out of here!" I yelled to her as I fired a couple more shots at the robot.
A moment later, I saw her run out of the alley, and so did the robot. He immediately turned his attention to her.
"Target sighted," it said, "Engaging pursuit."
"Oh no you don't!" I yelled and fired another round at it, this time I hit it in the head, which did nothing but make a loud dinging noise as it ricocheted away. "Dammit!"
I quickly emptied the shells and started pulling bullets out of the box.
"Statement:" it said as it pointed the rifle at Gold, "Time to die, Meatbag."
"NO!" I yelled as I finished reloading my gun and started shooting again.
I managed to land three shots in its shooting arm, but not before it managed to get some shots out.
"Argh!" it yelled as its arm and gun fell to the ground below.
Its eyes flared at me for a moment. I looked over to Gold, who was lying on her belly bleeding on the ground.
"Gold!" I yelled and started to run to her.
I could see her struggling to lift her head to look at me. She was covered in blood. I was halfway to her when I heard some shots behind me, and then my legs, tail, shoulder, and wing stung like hell as I lost my footing and collapsed.
With my good arm, which also happened to be holding my gun, I tried to drag myself further. I could see her. She was just a few yards in front of me. She had her talon up, reaching for me. Then I saw the robot land down beside her, with its rifle in its remaining arm. The robot put the end of the barrel on Gold's back and used it to push the bottom of her shirt up.
"Gold!" I groaned as kept dragging myself closer to her.
"Proclamation: Target confirmed, General! This is the meatbag the master seeks."
The robot then pointed the gun higher up on her back and fired into her upper torso.
"No..." I could only think as her head fell limp onto the concrete.
I struggled to get closer to her as the robot used its good arm to lift her lifeless body and carry her as it fired up its jets. It pointed its rifle right at me.
"Acclamation:" it said to me, "I must admit, meatbag, that you were a challenge for me. If you were an android, you may have been my equal. But now it is time for us to end this so I can deliver to my master the missing piece to his puzzle. Time to die."
I could barely lift my arm, let alone aim my gun. I shut my eyes and waited for my fate. But all I could hear was a series of clicks. I looked up and noticed that the robot's rifle was jammed.
"Objurgation:" it growled and threw the rifle away, "Agh! Confounded meatbag weaponry. General?"
"I'll take care of it, HK," said a gritted voice from behind me, "You just worry about gettin' her to the boss."
"Agreement:" the robot replied and started flying away, "I'll let you handle this meatbag."
"Must be the guy who shot me," I thought as the robot flew away and out of sight, carrying Gold's body away with it. "Gold..."
Then a big combat boot appeared in front of me, and then in front of my face appeared a gun barrel that looked like it was coming out of the mouth of a snake.
"And now yer turn ta die," he said.
"Then kill me already," I said.
"Don't mind if I do."
I braced myself, and then I heard a loud noise that sounded like a cross between a lion's roar and a wolf's howl. The next thing I knew, a big gray blur passed by, and the guy with the snake gun was on the ground several feet away, throwing Silverbolt off of him.
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(Silverbolt)
He threw me aside, and I flipped over so I could land on my feet. Slowly, he rose to his feet, and I could see him more clearly. He wore a set of armor slightly similar to my own, but with a gold and turquoise color scheme. The gun he carried was a large full-automatic machine gun, decorated with a large cobra head over the barrel.
"It's you!" I said to him, recognizing the mask on his face. "The man from the nightclub!"
"That's Colonel Quickstrike to you," he said.
"We were talking about the same girl that night."
"What the hell you squawkin' about?!"
"You said that your girl left you for someone else," I replied, "This girl was Blackarachnia, wasn't it?"
He glared at me for a moment, and then his eyes flared in shock.
"YOU!" he yelled and began to spray bullets at me.
I ran on all fours dodging the rain of fire, zigzagging every which way to throw his aim off.
"You're the one that's been pesterin' her!" he yelled as he continued firing, "You're the monster done took 'er away from me!"
"You can't possibly mean that she left you for me!" I yelled back as I ran, "She tried to kill me!"
"Ha! If she was really TRYIN', she'da done it! She's a frickin assassin! Killin's her job! If she was really wantin' ta kill you, you'd be dead already!"
Finally, the firing stopped, but only because he ran out of ammunition. He attached that gun to his belt and pulled out another. It was a smaller gun with two barrels that forked apart, and were decorated to look like insect pincers. On the back of the gun was attached a small piece that curved upwards and forwards, serving as a third barrel.
"You met the cobra," he said as he pointed this new gun to me, "Now meet the scorpion."
He pulled the trigger, and a set of laser beams came from the barrels. I ran to get away from them, pulling out my two swords.
"Ha! Bringin' swords to a gunfight?" he mocked as he fired a few more rounds and I ran.
I kept running, and he kept shooting. One beam had almost hit me, but I instinctively blocked it with one of my swords, deflecting the beam away.
"Dammit, beast, just die!" he yelled as he continued firing.
I ran closer, blocking each shot with my swords. When I was finally close enough to hit him, I sliced through his gun and knocked it out of his hand. I then pushed him into the nearest wall, placing one sword at his neck and the other pointed at his shoulder.
He only glared at me as I pressed the blade on his throat, careful not to actually cut him.
"Whatcha waitin' for?" he growled. "Slice me up already."
"I don't want to kill you," I said, "Not unless I'm forced to."
"Pfeh," he snorted, "I didn't think you gargoyles were such pussies."
"If I let you go, will you leave?"
"Heh, sure. Yer the one with the power here."
Slowly I pulled my swords away and stepped backward. He rubbed his neck for a moment and turned to walk away. I turned to Jigen, who had been watching the fight from where he lay bleeding. He was still fully conscious, but he could barely hold himself up. I began to walk towards him.
"Behind you!" he yelled.
I whirled around and swung my sword just as Quickstrike ran up with a large knife in his hand. He managed to jab his knife into my shoulder as I drove my sword through the side of his armor just beside his arm. He collapsed a moment later, letting go of the knife still lodged in my shoulder. I pulled my sword out as he fell, dying as he landed on the pavement. I looked at my bloodstained sword and hung my head.
"I'm sorry," I said as I sheathed both of my swords, though I had difficulty with one of them due to the knife in my shoulder.
I reached up and pulled it out. I turned back to Jigen, walked over to him, and knelt down beside him. Slowly he looked up at me, breathing fairly hard.
"We need to leave," I said, "They may send reinforcements."
"She's gone," he growled. "She's gone."
"We'll get her back, Jigen," I said as I began to help him up. "But we can't do that lying on the street."
"I watched her die, Silver," he growled, wincing as I lifted him up, "Killed by a frickin' robot."
"So what will you do?" I asked as I began to push us forward in a slow and dragging walk.
"I don't know yet," he answered as he then stopped our walk and looked back at Quickstrike, "Wait a second."
"What is it?"
"Bring me closer to him."
"Why do you want to get closer?"
"Just do it."
I turned us around and brought us closer to Quickstrike's body. He peered down at him, particularly at his back, part of which was exposed from under his armor. There was a strange mark at the base of his back. A tattoo of some kind of an elaborate design of curves and circles.
"Gold had that same mark on her back," Jigen said, "And so did that monster that attacked us at the mines."
"What do you think this means?" I asked.
"I have no idea," he replied, "But I bet I know who can figure it out."
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(Vaala)
We were all starting to worry. It'd been an hour since Silverbolt left to meet with Gold and Jigen, and none of them have come back yet. Boober anxiously paced the length of the living room behind the couch. Mac and Red sat on the couch, Markl on the floor with Krypto, and I sat on one of the stools at the bar counter.
"I don't like this," Boober said. "They should've all been back by now. Something terrible has happened. I just know it."
"Boober, shut up!" Red yelled, "Saying things like that doesn't help us any! And stop pacing! You're making me nervous!"
"I can't help it," he said, still pacing. "I just can't shake this awful feeling."
"We're all feeling it, lad," Mac replied, "This isn't easy for any of us."
"I don't suppose we'll be able to leave if they DO come back," Markl said.
"There's not enough time to get anywhere before the sun rises," I replied, "We'd have to stay here another night."
Krypto suddenly perked up and ran over to the door. Hopeful, we watched the door as it swung open, revealing Silverbolt with a very bloody Jigen hanging on his shoulder.
"Holy shit!" I yelled as everyone gathered around them.
"Back off!" Mac yelled as she shoved everyone away, "Give them room."
"Jigen!" Boober yelled, "What happened?"
"Where's Gold?" Markl asked.
Jigen's lips curled into a pained sneer as he hung his head and sobbed. Silverbolt looked up at us.
"She's gone," Silver answered, "They killed her and took her away. We barely made it back alive."
"Dead?" I replied, "No, that can't be right."
Jigen sobbed, though his face was straining with the physical pain he was probably feeling.
"Oh God, I knew it," Boober said as he turned away and leaned over on the counter.
"We don't have time," Silverbolt added, "We have to leave. Now. The Hunters are sure to be on their way here by now."
"Where the hell are we supposed to go?" Red asked, "There's not enough time for us to get anywhere before sunrise!"
"And Jigen's in no condition to travel," I added. "Physically or emotionally."
"Wait..." Boober said, "I think I know a place."
"You do?" I asked.
"Yes," he answered, more sure of himself, "Yes, I'm pretty sure we can still go there. If it's not too late, we can stay there for the day."
"What are you talking about?" Red asked. "Where is this place?"
"I'll show you," he said, "But we have to go quickly."
"Agreed," Silverbolt replied, "We must hurry."
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(Boober)
I knocked on the apartment door as everyone waited behind me.
"Luna!" I called as I banged on the door. "Luna, are you there?"
The door opened, and Luna stood behind it.
"Boober," she greeted, "What's wrong? You look terrible."
"I am really sorry about this, Luna," I said, "But my clan needs a place to stay. We were planning on leaving town tonight, but something happened, and now we don't have time to get anywhere tonight, and this was the only other place I could think of for us to go where we could be safe until the next sunset."
She smiled at me and stepped aside, holding the door open.
"Come on in," she said and then looked past me to everyone else, "All of you."
I stepped inside, and everyone else reluctantly followed. I was fairly sure they didn't know what to think of this.
"Alright, keep it movin'!" Ruby barked as we all walked in, "Single file, everybody in! Hurry up! We don't have all night!"
"Are you TRYING to freak everybody out?" Nall asked, brow raised at Ruby as everyone gathered to gawk at the talking cats.
"Not one for keeping secrets, are you, Ruby?" I asked her.
"Nope," Nall answered.
"Oh, shut up," she replied.
"Alright, everyone's in," Luna announced, "Ruby, Nall."
"On it," Nall replied as he and Ruby both ran over to the front door and each sat to one side of it, looking like a pair of guardian statues.
"Good," Luna replied and went over to help Jigen, "Now let's get you to the couch."
"I'm still bleeding," Jigen said, "Sure you want me on it?"
"I can clean it up," she replied, "Don't worry about it. You just rest and relax."
"Thank you so much for this, Luna," I said, "You may have just saved our lives."
"We already told you, Boober," Luna replied as she helped Jigen onto the couch, "That's what we're here for."
"So who are you?" Vaala asked, "And how come your cats can talk?"
"And why is one of them pink?" Red asked.
"You mean Boober hasn't told you?" Luna replied with a surprised look on her face.
"You ask that as if you hadn't noticed the baffled expressions on our faces," Mac said.
"Well, I don't really blame him for not telling you," Luna replied, "Our secret's almost as important as yours."
"You're one of the third race, aren't you?" Markl asked, "All three of you are."
"Ya got that right!" Ruby called from her spot beside the door.
"You keep focused," Luna called back.
"Yeah yeah yeah, I know," Ruby replied.
"What are they doing?" I asked.
"Putting up an illusion and a barrier around the apartment," she answered, "They should be able to keep that up until tomorrow night. I promised to give them extra fish when this is done."
"So you knew we were coming?" I asked.
She nodded.
"I knew you would eventually need an alternate place to hide," she said, "So I had you come here on an errand so you'd know where to find me."
"I should've known," I chuckled.
"Wasn't there one more of you?" Luna asked.
We all just fell silent. I didn't want to really think about it just yet. I looked over to Jigen, lying on his back on the couch, looking away from everyone else. The sneer on his beak was an angry one.
"Jigen?" I asked. "Are you alright?"
"That robot's gonna die," he growled as his eyes started to glow, "I swear, when we get to the capital, I'm gonna track that thing down and blow it apart until there isn't even scrap to put it back together with. And after that, I'm going after the Prime Ruler."
"WHAT?!" we all exclaimed.
"You can't be serious!" Vaala yelled.
"The Prime Ruler sent that thing specifically to kill her," he said, "She was the target. After I destroy his robot, I'm going to kill HIM."
"Revenge isn't the answer, Jigen," Silverbolt said. "Assassinating the Prime Ruler is nearly impossible. It would be suicide to attempt it."
"Then I guess I'll be joining her when I get there," he said.
"If you're dead set on hunting the Prime Ruler, lad," Mac said, "You'll need a proper plan."
"You got one?" Jigen asked, turning his gaze at her.
"Not yet," she answered, "But I can make one when we get to the capital. I'll have my lab again by then, and we can go from there."
"Alright," he said and laid back down, "I'll wait till then. That bastard's gonna pay for what he did."
"Jigen, are you sure this is what you wanna do?" Vaala asked, "I'm pretty sure this is not what Gold would've wanted for you."
"She's dead, Vaala," he said, "She was the only person I've ever felt this deeply for, and she's gone. I can't think of anything else to do."
"You need to rest, Jigen," Silverbolt said, "We all need this time to fully take in what has happened tonight. Gold was a very important part of this clan, and she will be greatly missed by all of us. Let us move on and continue to work towards our goals so her death will not have been in vain."
