Chapter Six: Little Cobras in the Big City

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The Fury was not amused.

He stood on the steps of the stone building that loomed over them, arms crossed and fuming over a cigarette. "It's a library."

The Fear rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Well, I'm glad you said something. I could've sworn it was a bakery!"

He responded with a rather obscene hand gesture, and the mercenary winked.

"We're here to do some research. After all, we did have another mission to accomplish before you came around wavin' your fire stick," he smirked.

The Sorrow watched him. While, in the beginning, he'd found these moments of his friend's helpfulness towards him rare and surprising, he'd come to realize he'd grown quite dependant on them lately. And The Fear seemed to notice this as well, subconciously or otherwise, because he responded by being uncharacteristically sincere and compassionate.

Was it really uncharacteristic? He seemed quite at ease with himself. Which led the ghost to believe he'd misrepresented the dark-haired Cobra some time ago.

"See anythin' you like?" The Fear teased, bringing him out of his thoughts. He realized he'd been staring, and quickly looked away. The other didn't seem to mind in the slightest.

"I don't feel like hangin' around a library with you of all people," Fury ran his fingers along the pattern of red lines that marked his arms.

"If you've got any better ideas, please share," Fear shrugged. "I've got a long day of reading between the lines ahead, and believe me, if there's a better way to do it, I'd love to hear!"

He knew there was no arguing with the Spider Soldier on that point. He didn't even know why he was so adamant against the situation. He uttered a growl and a curse, going back down the few steps he'd taken. "I'll do things my own way. I'll meet you back at the house later."

Fear frowned watching him go, almost tempted to stop him. Instead he turned to The Sorror, who was watching him again. He offered a wide grin. "Well, I guess it's just you and me then."

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In reality, Fury had no clue what 'his way' of doing research actually was. He just didn't want to be near The Fear. He'd been acting strangely, since he'd started talking to The Sorrow. He wasn't actually sure what exactly it was that was bothering him, but he eventually decided the easiest course of action would be to give the other his space. Let him talk to his ghosts.

Besides, he had his own mystery to solve. And as much as he respected The Joy, he didn't really think she'd know much about this.

One thing he did find, however, was a nice, empty bar.

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"I think I've got something here," The Fear declared.

The Sorrow looked up from the paper he was reading. They were seated in a secluded corner of the library, where no one could see the pages of newspapers and books turn by themselves. He almost laughed, looking at the mercenary. His face was streaked in black smudges. Newsprint from his hands wherever he'd touched his face.

"What?" he asked, seeing Sorrow's amused expression.

He shook his head. "Nothing. What did you find?"

Fear unfolded the paper he'd scattered about the table, laying it down between the two of them. "It's not exactly and arrow pointing to Joy, but it may help..."

Sorrow skimmed over the story that was pointed out to him. "This doesn't have any relevence at all."

The orange-eyed man grinned. "In a roundabout way...it's this huge factory in the next city," he explained, seeing that Sorrow wasn't going to finish the article.

"So?"

"Bees...er...hornets."

It clicked into place once he said it. "So you think he's going to be there?"

He nodded. "It's a strong possibility. And he may have some information we could use."

"It's quite a long-shot..."

"it's better than sitting here," he pointed out, not phased by his friend's pessimism. "It's not too far away, so if I'm wrong, then we didn't waste too much time."

Sorrow shrugged. "I suppose it can't hurt to try."

He wrapped an arm around the other's smaller shoulders, grinning. "There's the spirit! Shall we find our angry friend?"

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The Fury decided it was in his best interest--and of those around him--to just head back to the house. People were starting to come in now, and he was starting to feel the effects of his drink. No sense in making trouble if he didn't need to. He'd save that for the things that seemed to be following them.

In the back of the house, he crawled in through the window they'd agreed to leave unlocked because of their lack of keys. He fought the urge to break one of the windows, just because Fear wasn't there to stop him. Instead he just made himself a sandwich and relaxed on the couch.

He didn't notice he'd fallen asleep until the sound of something falling to the floor brought him back. He sat bolt upright, looking for the source of the noise. At the bookshelf, books were hovering off the shelf, being opened and put aside by invisible hands.

"Bastard!" Fury yelled, jumping from the couch and slamming the unseen enemy against the shelf, pinning him.

He could feel the other struggle, but there was no way he ws going to escape. Not this time. The invisible man felt smaller than him, and he grabbed where he thought the thing's chest was, succeeding in wrapping his hand into a fist of thin fabric.

"You have put my through HELL..." he growled, leaning in dangerously close to what he assumed was an invisible face. "And now you're gonna learn a whole new definition of the word 'pain'..."

He pulled an arm back to deliver a particularly brutal punch when another pair of hands grabbed his arm tightly. He almost transferred the force of violence to this new enemy before looking over and locking eyes with The Fear.

"Drop him NOW," Fear ordered, tone deathly serious.

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They'd found Fury asleep on the couch when they returned to the house. Fear went to gather some supplies for their new direction, leaving Sorrow in the living room with the sleeping pyromaniac.

He wasn't really making much headway. The previous tennant's lack of tastes had left them with few things to pack. The place wasn't exactly brimming with the necessary equipment for a roadtrip. Not that Fear had taken many roadtrips, and even when he had, there hadn't been the option for packing beforehand.

So he was basically just tossing whatever he could find that he thought may come in handy into a backpack he found under the bed. The first-aid kit, almost empty after the other night. A few blankets off the bed. Some spare clothes. He was surprised to realize that his years of military training did not help him with this task.

Then he heard the scream.

It was short at first, a yelp of pain. He heard Fury yell something and then Sorrow start calling for him, panicked. Dropping the bag immediately, he sped out to the living room. Fury had Sorrow pinned against the bookcase, threatening him. Something in his chest dropped and he was furious. He gripped Fury's wrist, digging his nails into the brunette's arm.

"Drop him NOW."

Fury looked at him with a confused expression for a moment, before his eyes widened. "Oh shit!"

He released Sorrow quickly, who stood frozen in shock. Fear managed to make himself let go of Fury's arm, although the anger still flowed through him. "What the HELL do you think you're doing?!"

Fury shook his head. "I thought he was the invisible guy...Fuck, I didn't know!"

Fear moved to stand between him and Sorrow. "How about you try thinking before you start throwing punches next time, okay?"

His eyes narrowed. "What's with you? It was an accident. You don't have to take it so goddamn personal."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Fear snarled.

Sorrow put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. He didn't mean to, and I'm alright. Let's just get ready to go, okay?"

Fear and Fury stood where they were, either side refusing to give up and break the stare. Finally the fire-wielding Cobra turned away and went back to the couch. Fear returned to the bedroom, trying to calm down.

The Sorrow followed him. "Are you okay?"

He sat on the bed, running his hands over his face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be such a jerk."

Sorrow sat down beside him. "What happened?"

Fear shrugged, looking up at the ceiling. "I don't know. I just...when I thought of you getting hurt I kinda just snapped."

In opposition to his friend, the pale man kept his gaze trained on the floor. "Thank you."

He laughed dryly. "For what?"

Tucking a stray piece of hair behind his ear, The Sorrow smiled softly. "For trying so hard."

The mercenary finally looked at him, opening his mouth to say something, and then closing it, changing his mind. He smiled, a real one this time. "Probably better go apologize. We've got a trip ahead of us, and I'll probably wind up sitting next to him."

Sorrow laughed. Fear got up, leaving him to go talk to Fury.

He sighed. "What a particularly interesting mess we've gotten ourselves into this time..."