I have a double update for yall now! was able to get my laptop out to where i was and complete and wrote these to chapters for you, and i am finally getting to the meat of the story. things will be a good bit more exciting from here on!

Bradley let out a small sigh as he walked with Hawkins, his mind utterly bored. Over the past two weeks, he had tried several times to get Will to talk to him about anything not work related, but it was a total failure so far. No matter how he tried or what he asked, he never got more than a redirect of the conversation, if not just straight up silence.

"So, I got word this morning about that Cerinian Kit we picked up?" He glanced at his partner as he spoke, but Hawkins made no move to respond, his eyes scanning the market square they were moving through. "Oh come on, more silence?! You gotta loosen up a little!"

"No, I really don't need to." He responded very plainly and curtly, almost callused in a way.

"Finally, he says something! Do you wanna know what happened to the kit?" he threw his arms up toward the sky as he spoke.

"If it will get you to shut up." He more or less grumbled that out, adjusting the plates he was wearing.

"She got given to a foster family already. Is with another Cerinian who lost his parents. So she's in a good spot for now. And seriously, what do you have against being friendly?" he brought them to a stop near the small fountain in the center of the market, his hands dropping to his hips.

"I don't have anything against being friendly, I just don't want to be." Hawkins glared back at him.

"Why not? This job will drive ya nuts if you don't talk with your fellow officers."

"I'll be fine." He curtly responded, his eyes beginning to wander again.

"If you say so dude." Bradley shrugged and let out a small sigh, wanting to sit down for a moment but also knowing it wouldn't be professional to do so. "Jeez, my feet are killing me!"

Hawkins merely grunted at him, still not looking at him. Suddenly, a song blared out of his pocket, one with human words that Bradley had no comprehension of. Hawkins on the other hand, visibly froze, his eyes widening as his face seemed to sag before Bradley's eyes. "Mira…" his voice was nearly silent, the whispered name making Bradley raise an eyebrow at him.

"You going to answer that dude?"

Hawkins snapped out of his frozen state after Bradley spoke, scrambling to pull the phone from his pocket. He seemed to stare at the screen for a moment, gulping once before he tapped the screen.

Before he could speak though, a bright silvery-blue lance of light ripped between the pair, a whizzing crack assaulting Bradley's ears. Both he and Hawkins dropped to the ground at the same time, Hawkins's literally dropping his phone the instant the plasma bolt had crossed their vision.

Mira's breath came in ragged gasps as she slowed to a stop, a beep causing her music to stop for a moment, letting her know she just completed her two-mile run to mark the end of her work out for the day. She pulled her phone from her pocket, using the fitness app to double check her times and it's GPS to see just where she was now. Not that she really needed it, given she was at one of the parks near her apartment. Surprisingly, despite the low-income area she lived in, this park had yet to be converted into a refugee camp, one of the few in the city. As such, it had an overflow of people at it, all wanting to spend the day a little closer to nature than their normal city lives allowed. She quickly looked for the closest water fountain, forcing her aching muscles toward it the moment she saw it. Most of her body hurt, having started the day with a serious of excruciatingly slow push ups, pull ups, crunches, and squats, making sure each rep lasted well over thirty seconds. She had barely been able to reach half the number she was used to doing, her run time for two miles after the exercise nearly doubled from when she and Will did the same exercise on earth.

Not surprising though, I haven't been doing anything lately. She reached the water fountain with that though, pressing the button to summon forth water. As she drank the cool liquid, she instinctively listened to the conversations around her. All of them were the typical mundane conversations, talking about the sharp rises in grocery prices, school work, jokes, things she was used to hearing from people merely relaxing in a park.

She released the button for the fountain, the water falling away as she sucked in air for breaths, stretching in place to try and alleviate her aching muscles.

I really hope he's alright… she still remembered the brief encounter she had with Will two weeks ago, and the awkward phone call she had with Fox later to confirm that it really had been Will she saw that day. Every time she thought about that, it caused her chest to ache and burn, hating herself for the pain she could only imagine her actions had caused him by now.

I should call him. Talk to him about it. Maybe he'll understand? She let out a small and quiet sigh with that thought, somehow feeling ultimately guilty about the whole affair. She knew that she really hadn't done anything wrong in the past few months, but no matter how much her mind thought that, she couldn't help the feeling of guilt she had.

"I'm not done with you yet!" she let an audible scream out as that was harshly whispered into her ear, so close that she felt the warmth and humidity of the speaker's breath. Though she couldn't place where from, she most certainly knew the voice, all of her training and experience kicking her body into overdrive, slipping around the water fountain and off the path as she spun on the spot.

The figure behind her was one she could never forget, the tall, heavily built midnight black lupine cackling, his hands in the pockets of his grey and black dappled cargo pants. He had on a black T-shirt, a faded logo on the front that was totally unrecognizable. The only spot of color on the man were his brilliant red eyes, something about them not quite looking right. Having seen him for the first time ever in the daylight, she had to guess that neither one of his eyes were natural.

"You still frighten like a little Kitten I see! I'm glad I ran into you today, but I don't have the time to play with you! Nor is this the place! See you later, Bitch!" his harsh and cruel voice was laced with an insane mirth that only made her heart race even faster. He had turned and begun to walk his own way as he spoke, casually waving back at her as though he was saying bye to a friend.

Her hand was hovering by her thigh, even though she had no blaster on her right now. If she did, even with all of the by-standers nearby, she would have shot him on the spot.

I need to run… Now! Her feet took over from her mind, taking off from the park as fast as her feet could carry her. Most of the bystanders gave her startled expressions at best, not one understanding, or likely even hearing the exchange after her scream. Some even seemed as amused as he had. She barely noticed them though, racing through the city streets with no capacity to even know where she was going, running out through traffic several times. Somehow, she managed to not be hit, not one of the near misses even changing her state of mind as she continued to wildly run through the city.

The adrenaline coursing through her body finally began to slow, memories and thoughts drifting to her mind as she slowed to a stop in an alley way, much like the one she had been in just a few months ago. Without warning, or intending to, she slipped into the memory of that night, unaware of her surroundings.

"Hey bitch!" a harsh voice stopped Mira in her tracks, her left ear registering the sound behind her more than her right.

On instinct alone, she reached for her blaster, stepping forward to try and keep it away from who ever had spoken while she cleared it from the holster. Simultaneously, she was spinning on the spot, freezing when she saw the weapon loosely leveled on her forehead, mere feet away. A small tendril of vapor slowly poured from the barrel, showing the weapon as having been recently used.

"I wouldn't recommend it. You aren't as quick on the draw or accurate as that boyfriend of yours. Draw that, and you are never seeing him again." The midnight black lupine grinned at her, all of his pearly white fangs showing as he slipped of the crate he was on. He looked almost maniacally happy, his red eyes locked to her like those of a predator locked on it's prey.

"Pull the weapon from your holster, set it on the ground, and kick it behind you." This time, his voice was not the amused and bored tone he had been speaking with, now harsh, angry, and demanding in ways she could never find words to describe.

She did exactly as she was instructed, gently setting the weapon on the concrete with her free hand raised. As soon as she was standing again, she kicked the weapon behind her. "The hell do you want Midnight, and why haven't you just shot me?"

"Now where's the fun in that? Shooting someone in the back is pretty cowardly, don't you think? Besides, I'm not being paid to do that. I'm just here to give you a present is all!" as he spoke, he used his free hand to grab something from his belt, over top his black bodysuit that was helping him be hard to see in the dark alleyway. Once he had whatever object was on his belt, he lightly tossed it at her feet, her eyes naturally following the objects path. It was a small plastic syringe, filled with a purple fluid that seemed to glow slightly.

"Inject yourself. Now." He used the same authoritative voice as he had before, the weapon still locked on her forehead.

"Go fuck yourself!" she let her eyes return to him as she glared at him.

"That was not a polite response, but I guess it's what I should have expected." His thumb operated something on his pistol, just before a white bolt ripped from it. Searing pain ripped across her body as her limbs all contracted at once, leaving her collapsed and twitching on the ground, but oddly still conscious.

"Hmph, been awhile since I used this one's stun setting. Forgot that it doesn't actually knock people out." He spoke casually as his weapon whined slightly, likely the weapon being set back to it's lethal settings before it slipped into the man's holster. He calmly closed the gap between them as he scooped the syringe off the ground before standing over her, her body straddled under him.

She tried and tried to move, to fight him, but no matter how hard she willed her limbs to move, her body only continued to convulse randomly, each convulsion as painful as the blast had been. The only thing she managed to make was a dull whine, likely not making it past the immediate vicinity.

No no no no nooo! I can't just sit here! I have to fight him! That was her only comprehensible thought as he crouched over her, removing the protective sleeve from the needle.

"You know, I figured this would go down like this. Scream extra loud for me, will you? I'm told this stuff hurts like you wouldn't believe!" he jammed the needle into her arm before shoving the plunger down. For a moment, there was cool relief from the convulsing pain, but that moment was short lived. Everywhere the sensation spread to, felt like every single type of pain imaginable had been unleashed on it and magnified by ten, from burning, tearing ,stabbing sensations, to cold numbness and that awful pins and needles feeling, all intensified as it began to spread rapidly through her body. If she could have right now, she would have let loose with an ear-piercing screech at that moment, but all that came from her convulsing body was a dull whimper.

"Hmm. Pathetic." His unamused, almost annoyed words were the last thing she was aware of, the sensations utterly overwhelming her mind.

Mira fell against the closest wall, gasping for breath as her entire body shook to the point that she could barely stand. Searing pain radiated through her legs from her mad sprint until she let her self sit on the ground. With in seconds, a deep and impenetrable chill ran through her body, numbing her senses save the ones of pain from her legs. Moisture soaked every inch of her fur as she tried to regain any semblance of composure. She could not though, knowing that, no matter how far she ran, he could likely easily find her. And even if she was armed, he could overpower her. He had done so before.

I need help… I can't do this alone! She barely managed to get her phone free from it's pouch on her arm, struggling with inputting the passcode as the salt filled sweat pouring out of her body kept messing with the touch screen. Once she had her dialer open, she froze though.

I can't call the cops… they can't do anything… Fox is crippled, Bill is on the mainland now, Krystal has to take care of Fox… there's no one I can… I have to call Will… there's no one else that could help me now! She quickly changed apps over to her contact list, scrolling until she found his. Her finger hovered over it though, hesitant to even open it.

But… with all I've done to him… would he even help me? She gulped, trying to force her doubts aside and clicked the contact. Immediately, it dialed the number, the phone vibrating slightly each time it rang, signaling the call reaching his phone.

Come on Will! Pick up, please! She nearly dropped the phone, her fur so thoroughly soaked that it made her hands slick, the cold clammy feeling to her body making her grip weak. Finally, the rings stopped, Mira getting a moment of audio before she heard the pitched crack of a plasma weapon, recognizable as a human weapon from sound alone, just before a sudden electronic crack, the line falling dead.

Plasma bolts ripped by over my head, audibly exploding into the fountain and sending steam into the air. People all around the market square were screaming as they ran from the weapons fire, at least two dozen being shot by stray shots just with in my narrow field of view.

"Bradley, watch left!" I shouted that at him while I rolled over, weapon aimed off the right of the fountain as pedestrians continued to clear from the area. Judging by the muzzle reports, there were several various makes and models of human and Cornerian plasma weapons being fired at us right now, sending a deadly light show of colors through the air. The heat of all the shots was super heating the air around us, making it feel like we were in an over temp sauna.

"This… I… you know, I used to play paintball as a kid? Yeah… good times…. Till.. well, Garrett lost an eye when someone over gassed their marker. It… it was disgusting…" Bradley's voice stuttered out of the canine as he shakily pulled his carbine from his back, tentatively aiming it around the fountain we were pressed up against.

"Bradley, this isn't the time!" I wanted to give him more than just a glancing glare, but it was all I could afford to do.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry, I just, well, ya know, chatter, when I'm nervous, I guess scared too!" he shouted that back.

A canine came into view, trying to hunker behind carts, a Chinese plasma pistol in hand. I didn't hesitate for a moment, aiming my pistol at his exposed head and firing. My old human pistol bucked in my hand, it's silvery blue bolt ripping clean through the canine's head, dropping him in an instant.

"What… what are we doing!? There's… damn, this looks like that fireworks show last year, just… deadlier."

Damn it, will he shut up for thirty seconds! The fire lessoned up for a moment, most of the plaza now clear of civilians, those left being people injured by the unknown assailants fire, or were hunkering behind and under whatever stalls and stands they could to hide.

"We-We need to help the civilians, their… that's… fuck I hate blood!"

"Damn it Bradley, calm down, when I tell you, dive into the fountain and start firing back. While you are in there, call central and tell them we are under fire, got me!?" I shouted that over my shoulder, hearing his carbine fire several times.

"O-Okay!"

"Now!" I screamed as I propped myself up, one handed firing my weapon at every flash and figure holding a weapon I saw. The sudden return fire sent the varied people ducking behind cars and stalls. The lapse in fire from the untrained fighters gave Bradley a chance to leap into the fountain. With an empty weapon, I leapt to my feet, running from the fountain and toward the stalls on the right, trying to get as close to the buildings edging the market as I could, Bradley putting surprisingly accurate fire out of the fountain, at least one of the assailants hit by his shots. As soon as I was close enough, I slid behind the closest stall, dropping the empty magazine from my weapon and loading another.

One mag down, three more. Gotta make them count… from where I was hidden now, I gingerly peaked out, realizing that the opponents were still all firing at the fountain at the center of the square, and didn't seem to have any idea I had moved yet. He quickly counted up the enemies they were up against, reaching at least seven. Three were on the street, hunkered down behind cars and a heavily painted orange van. At least one of them had a beat up and dirt covered M32, currently loading another magazine into the heavy rifle. As I watched, another one stepped out of the van, a belt fed squad automatic weapon in his hand, a full two hundred round box already loaded and ready.

Damn it, where the hell did they get a fucking SAW!? The saw gunner quickly disappeared around the back of the van, reappearing near it's hood where he set the bipod on the hood before he began firing a stream of fire at the fountain, cutting Bradley's fire off completely.

"Central, Ten-Seventy-Eight, Ten-Seventy-Eight, myself and Hawkins are under fire, I say again, we are under fire! We need TRT here now!" My radio buzzed to life on my shoulder, cursing as it drew one of the perps attention to me. I ducked down just as several plasma blasts ripped into the stand, slowly chewing it apart.

Fuck, I need a bigger gun… I aimed under the stand I was at, firing two rounds along the ground level into the foot of the SAW gunner. I could hear the weapon stop firing, the feline operating it howling in pain.

"Bradley, I need you to get their attention again, I need to move!" I shouted that into my radio, not caring that we were still on the squad net.

"I'll try! Fuck, fuck fuck fuck fuck!" moments after his voice was on the radio, he started firing again, aiming for any not shooting at him, in his position in the fountain, he had a small advantage in firing, able to fire over the low walls of the fountain better than they could fire in.

As soon as he started firing, I ran out from cover, not firing to save my own ammo. Before I had made it ten steps, I was diving for the concrete. Several plasma bolts ripped through the air I had been about to occupy a moment before, slamming into the buildings and stands around us instead. After only a second or so, I had scrambled back to my feet, running already. In the small space we were in, I was able to cross it very quickly, despite the volume of fire as I continued my short sprints from cover to cover, the enemy getting more frantic as I got closer, focusing less on Bradley. The moment they would start to though, he would put plasma bolts past them, at least one being hit.

The front of the Van was quickly only twenty feet or so from me, the feline still lying on the ground clutching his foot as he continued to yowl in pain. As I watched, a canine moved to scoop the SAW up, stomping on his compatriot to do so. He never got the chance to bring the weapon to bear though as I fired a pair of shots into his chest before sprinting to the front of the van. As I arrived, I fired two more shots, into each of the screaming people's heads with out a second thought. With them dispatched, I holstered my pistol and claimed the SAW for myself, my left hand on the bipod and pressing it forward to brace the weapon for standing shooting as I brought the weapon to my shoulder. As soon as I had the sights in my vision, I stepped out from the back of the van, unleashing several accurate bursts of fire, each tearing through the cover the thugs were using them and dropping them. None of them got a chance to respond to the sudden and precise fire, nothing like the wild spraying the previous user of the weapon had.

With the last one falling, the plaza still didn't fall silent. The injured civilians were still screaming, several of the carts and stands were on fire, bits of stone from the fountain was blasted virtually everywhere, some still falling from the sky like rain, blasted there by the plasma blasts.

"Clear?!" I called that toward Bradley, who poked his soaked head out of the fountain, his hat lost somewhere.

"I thin-" he didn't get to finish as several more silvery bolts ripped away from the building behind me, where the enemy had started near. Without a moment hesitation, I hunkered down behind the closest car and started pulsing bursts from the SAW until the fire from the window stopped, the high-powered rounds likely ripping through the buildings walls.

"NOBODY FUCKING MOVE!" someone shouting that drew my attention, whipping the SAW around to find one last primate near me, at one of the stalls in the market square. He had a vulpine woman by the throught, her brown fur and hair immediately reminding me of Mira in many ways, the woman's belly bulged out in a way that it was undeniable that she was pregnant. He harshly rammed the carbine in his hand against her head, snarling at me. Because of where he was at the edge of the plaza, neither me or Bradley had a clean shot on him.

"Let her go! Now!" I screamed that at him, furious that he would even think of harming an innocent woman, one with a child no less. It was already to the point that I barely noticed the edges of my vison blackening.

"Hah, no way in hell copper! You are going to let me get in that van, and leave, or I'm blowing this stupid girl's brains across this plaza, now out of my way!" he screamed that back at me.

"I will give you one more warning. Let. Her. Go." My grip tightened on the weapon I was holding, the only thing holding me back from unleashing it's fully automatic fury on the man being the woman he was holding.

"No-No, please don't h-"

"Shut up bitch, you think I'm not serious!? Here, let me demonstrate!" the primate suddenly shifted the carbine from the woman's skull, ramming it into the back of her shoulder and firing. The woman screamed, nearly dropping out of his grip as the point blank shot ripped clean through her, likely pulverizing the bones in her shoulder.

The last thing I remembered was squeezing the trigger on the SAW, only for a loud ka-chunk to announce the weapon as empty, or some other malfunction causing the weapon to stop working. In that instant, the man returned the weapon to the girl's head and fired, sending a bolt ripping seemingly through her head.

After that, I couldn't remember what I was doing, it was as though I was shoved to the back seat, pure anger taking over my body. The next thing I was aware of, I was overtop the primate, punching him over and over. My knuckles had ripped open from the repeated strikes, the primate's face mashed and broken, several of his teeth embedded into my fist. Someone was shaking me from the side, shouting in my ear without any comprehension of their words.

What am I doing!? I need to stop this! That thought managed to jerk me back into control of myself, my entire body trembling as the pain from my injuries started to register in my senses. I had a burn on my left arm, a minor graze at worst, but it was nothing but a huge searing pain. Both of my fists were stinging like I had dipped them in acid.

"Finally, he's out cold man!?" Bradley's hand was still on my shoulder from where he had been shaking me. Now that I was broken from my rage, I started looking around at the plaza, and the shear destruction caused by the short firefight. Dozens of people were still screaming, at least a dozen lying still, not including the bodies of the assailants. Ambulances and other officers were already on scene, at least three officers around myself and Bradley. "You good man? You were… going a little crazy there, now you look pale as a ghost?"

I hesitated in responding, gulping as I looked for the woman the primate had been holding hostage, freezing as I realized I could hear her screaming. Just feet from me, she was lying on the concrete, a paramedic keeping pressure on her shoulder wound. One of her ear's was missing, a visible line carved into her fur and hair along her head from the blaster shot, all charred and carbonized flesh. But she was clearly still alive, at least for the moment.

"I… I'm f-" I let out a shaky sigh, seeing the pool of blood around the vixen's shoulder, as well as what was leaking from her head wound. No matter how hard I tried to stop it, my mind kept imagining Mira in a similar, if not worse condition. The images sent shivering chills down my spine, my entire body shuddering.

"I need to g-get out of her-here…" I couldn't manage to say more, unable to tear my eyes away from the woman until I had been placed on a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance, the image of her battered body burned into my mind so clearly that it seemed like all I could see anymore.