Chapter 14

The crowd froze.

A head from a massive monster then dropped from the sky, landing just behind the stage of Ubet. The level dragon threat that was called out seconds ago, and ended just as fast. No one could move, not even Amai mask as he looked up and saw it.

Landing rather delicately on the ground, was the massive, monstrous beast that is Garou when he fully turns. Standing in between the part of his hair was Melee!

"They're alive…" Amai whispered.

Suddenly, Melee jumped from where she stood, she came to the earth not before turning the monster head to paste in her wake! A mere jump shattered the skull and sent gore all over the streets. She emerged from it and with a quick wave of her hand, she esper lifted the gore off her body and tossed it to the side in an uncaring matter.

"I do hope for your sake Ubet, that the family merely wants justice… not revenge" came the voice of Bofoi.

The people scattered.

Ubet's legions know not to mess with someone like Melee, or Garou who was lingering behind her at the ready. "You… SON OF A BITCH!" Melee shouted. "HOW DARE YOU COME AFTER MY FAMILY, SHOOT MY CHILDREN AND ATTACK US FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR OWN GODDAMN IMAGE! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF!" she roared.

Ubet froze in fear, his face drained of color as he even went as far as soiling himself.

She was pissed off to say the least, Amai even noticed the surges of power coming off her arms and legs, just like when Boros powers up! Every step she took, the pavement caved in. The ground shook as she began to make her way closer to the men who tried to kill her family.

She continued to inch closer to the crooked man, Fink trembled, Ozul tried to pull a gun but found his aim shaky. "Put that damn thing away, it won't do you any good and I'll take your arm with it!" she warned.

"I would do what she says, she will take your arm. And no one here is going to stop her from doing it," warned Knuckle.

The gun dropped.

"How… just… how! I saw it, I saw the whole thing! You were shot in the heart, he was shot between the eyes…"

Boros snickered. "I told you, I designed those bullets, they were never meant to kill. They were a powerful sedative that I tested on myself. It was enough to take me out for a week, and it did the same with them. It took a while longer due to the stress their bodies were under. But rest assured, every member you had shot, is alive and well"

Ubet was in disbelief, so was Amai for that matter. "Sweet…" Peering up, he saw Melee smiling towards him. "Thank you,"

"We have much to talk about after this…" Amai said.

Melee then turned her sights back to Ubet, who was now hiding behind Fink and Ozul. Yet before she could get any closer, military personal were surrounding them.

Ubet was relieved as he rushed out to the closest tank. "TAKE YOUR SHOT!" he shouted.

However, Lt. Cane came out of the tank hatch, Commander Ozul then looked pale. "COMMANDER! FRONT AND CENTER!"

He refused to move until Street grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and threw him out before Cane.

Despite the old man's age, he was rather energetic as he came out of the tank and tore this man a new one! There were other men who came about and began to arrest Ubet and Fink for their actions. From there, Garou shrunk back down to size and took a deep breath. "Well… that was rather anticlimactic…" he muttered. "We're out for nearly two months and that's our big debut?"

"I think your entrance was rather good" said Amai as he turned back to his former glory. "Although I wish I didn't have to get shot…" but then he froze. "Boros… why didn't you tell us they were okay?!" Amai demanded.

"I have to have some fun too, besides, better way to keep the secret alive. The less people who know the better." He explained. "I do have to apologize to the family though. I was trying to call mother about the bullets but couldn't get to her in time."

"The thing is, how the hell did you know this was going to happen? Why were the Brawlers… like Genos?" Garou demanded.

"Oh God, it feels good to emote again!" cheered Knuckle. "You have any idea how board I was sounding like an automated message?!"

Boros snickered aloud. "There is much to explain, but for the moment, perhaps it is best that we go over the cities and ensure the threats are dealt with…"

"They are." Amai said as he looked to his phone. "13 threats called and dealt with in a matter of five minutes… God I missed these simple times…" he said with a sigh.

"We better go back to the Association then and check up on everyone." Melee suggested. "Damn, I wanted to at least punch one of those asshole…" she muttered.

"Then you would be arrested for murder sis…" Street snickered. "Let's go back, besides, we got to work on your house!"

"What about the house?" Garou demanded…

#

Garou froze.

After dealing with the monsters, he wanted to go back home to see what remained of it. Yet, just as Street said, the house was torn down and nothing remained but an empty lot. He sighed to it all, even a tear was shed. He raised his family here after all!

Not to mention the effort he and Melee put into making a small tea house into a home, the additions they added on so there was room for everyone… the celebrations and tears shared within those walls. "Shit…" he muttered as he cleared his tears away. "Never thought I would have felt so strongly about planks of wood and solid bricks…"

"Garou!"

He turned and smiled to his old master.

Bang was abrupt and too fast to be stopped as his arms wrapped around Garou in a heartfelt hug. He didn't resist, however he was hesitant to return the hug back, yet did so anyways. When he pulled away, Bang smiled warmly. "I should have know it would take more than that to put you down…" he laughed. Only to pause as he sighed aloud to the empty lot. "I'm so sorry…" he said.

"Well, I guess Alley will be busy for a few days…" he said offhandedly. "Sorry to scare you, I didn't even know about this plan until I woke up!"

Bang waved it off. "Boros was hinting towards various things, but wouldn't outright claim you were all alive. Perhaps he did so just to ensure that no one tried to go looking for you… I'm happy to see you are alive and well."

Garou smirked. "You're probably one of the few who feel that way."

Bang laughed aloud.

He stopped his snickering and went oddly silent. Garou was caught off guard by it, normally his former sensei would give him the third degree for what happened. Disappearing for a month or so without a word. Yet as he turned to his teacher, he saw tears streaming down his face. "I thought you were really gone…" he whispered. "I saw that bullet hit you and Melee. The moment I saw her struck first, I thought I would have lost you for good…"

"Old man…" Garou muttered.

"Seriously, then all your children fell… I… I didn't know what I was going to do next. I have never been this angry before…"

His tone shifted to a darker meaning. Garou picked up on it right away. Would Bang have lashed out in anger for what transpired?

"But, when I returned to the Association, I saw the six there with your newborns… a part of you still lived on in them. I calmed down and was willing to adopt the twins if need be. But Titan… I must say, that young man has stepped up in so many ways… the twins were taken care of, and he even tended to Alley's twins too!"

He nodded, Garou smirked at the thought of Titan with the infants. But then again, Titan had always said he wanted to be a father. This would have been his best trial run at it!

"Amai also told me about what happened in the bunker… The others did too, None of them fought, but Titan did… and he slaughtered everyone related to 106 without mercy. He became more like Amai from what Tempest said."

"Amai can be heartless when it comes to taking out…"

"He turned, Garou." Bang said.

This caught him off guard. "He what?"

"He turned into Amai's true form. However, he didn't turn completely. According to his siblings, he got the spiked skin on his arms and his back, his face hardly distorted except his eyes got rather large. His teeth turned to fanged and he grew. His siblings were terrified of him since he slaughtered the clones without hesitation or mercy…"

Garou soaked it all in. Titan is a sweetheart by nature. However, when someone comes after or threatens his family. He will make certain that threat no longer exists, by any means necessary. It's the part of him that is very much like his biological father.

"He didn't harm anyone innocent, although he scared his siblings with his ability… I knew he was strong, I just didn't realize how powerful he was." Garou said offhandedly.

Bang nodded in agreement. "So, what will you do now?" he asked.

"Rebuild, we always rebuild, and make the house bigger and stronger than it was before. I just don't know how the world will take the family now. They went for nearly two months believing we were dead… so many people were harmed and killed in our absence…"

"Yes, but that isn't your doing."

"We weren't there!" Garou protested.

Bang nodded. "You wouldn't have been there either way if they had succeeded in killing you all." He said rather bluntly. "You were also recovering. I don't think many would hold it against you."

Garou however didn't feel the same way. After all, people he cares about could have been the ones killed. "I'm going to head back to the Association." He said aloud.

Bang nodded. "I'll see you there."

Garou took off, however as he peered down, he saw a massive hole where the house should have been. "Tch, Ubet better pay for this!" he muttered.