AN: And here I was thinkin' that nobody read Outlaw Star fanfiction anymore. Thanks to those of you who have left a review. As some of you already know, reviews are important. If you like this fic so far, let me know by leaving a review. If you think that all I've managed to put together was a piece of fecal matter on a stick, well........*sigh* I guess you could let me know. Be gentle, though......


In some ways, Jim looked perfectly serene. Both arms were splayed out to his side; his eyes closed, head gently cocked to one side and his mouth slightly agape. If it wasn't for the thin trails of blood that made their way out of his nostril and scalp across his face, he'd have the appearance of somebody who was simply taking a nap. Yet Aisha was well aware of the blood, and The Creators only knew how many internal injuries the boy had suffered. What was perhaps most disturbing to Aisha was that Jim's PDA was on the ground with the screen cracked a few feet away from them. If Jim were alive and well, she knew the boy would be doting over his busted digital assistant and griping about the cost of a replacement. But some things could never be replaced....


Aisha gently laid her right palm across Jim's forehead and began whispering a sincere and heartfelt prayer in the High C'tarl dialect so that the boy's soul would safely arrive into the afterlife. She followed that up with an oath that wasn't found in any passage from the Ancient Texts of C'tarl.


"May you find serenity in the next world, Jim. I'm so sorry that I failed to protect you. I can only promise that you will be avenged very soon" the boisterous cat-girl solemnly whispered. Vengeance wouldn't bring her young friend back, but it was all she could do at this point.


"So young- what a pity...." the tall pirate said to Aisha in a mocking tone as he almost casually sauntered up to the Ctarl Ctarl. Aisha was still kneeling over the Jim's broken, lifeless body. "Are you his pet or something?"

**

Gene and Suzuka were watching events unfold from a distance. They were able to pick up some conversation between Jim and Aisha, but they didn't know exactly what was being said from their position. Xin Chu also blocked their view, as he turned away from the red-haired Outlaw and Twilight Suzuka to confront the beast-girl and the boy- if he was still alive. It didn't look good. Gene knew his young partner was a tough kid- he had to be to last so long in this line of work- but that attack wasn't something Jim couldn't just walk away from.


The red-haired outlaw had discarded his shotgun- which had been damaged in the tall pirate's initial attack- and Caster for one of his daggers and was ready to charge Xin Chu when he felt a slender arm across his chest. It was Suzuka- she hadn't taken her eyes off of where Jim lay, yet she reached out to block Gene's forward progress.


"I know what you're considering, Gene, but that may do more harm than good." she cautioned.


**
It took Aisha a moment to acknowledge Xin Chu's presence. Her best friend had just died a lingering death in her arms, and somebody had to pay. Aisha was in no mood for words of any kind. Upon hearing the pirate's goading, she found herself brought back to her present reality and in the mood for swift, bloody retribution. She said nothing and simply clenched her fangs as her feral, beast self- the one she held in check for the benefit of the Terrans she traveled with- began to take over completely. The fabric on her uniform began to stretch and tear as her muscles started to flex.

"All I hear are the words of a dead man." Aisha almost whispered.


Xin Chu could've benefitted from some hindsight himself. An imposing figure such as himself was used to his victims either attempting to flee or cowering in terror. However, had Xin Chu known the kind of vengeful fury he would be facing in Aisha Clan Clan, he would've either fled or began conjuring up a potent Tao-spell. Instead of continuing his assault on the Outlaws who had clearly misjudged him, he chose to gloat over killing a young boy. He was simply glad that he had reduced the number of his attackers. However, if he thought taking out Jim would break the others' will to fight, he was mistaken. Gene was more than willing to avenge his partner's untimely demise, and after what happened to her family at the hands of the Kei pirates, Twilight Suzuka wouldn't hesitate to send another one of the child-murdering bastards to Hell. Based on her reaction to the injuries Jim sustained, the pirate also greatly underestimated Aisha's formidable ability as a warrior. He mistook Aisha's concern for Jim as a sign of physical weakness. This ill-advised conclusion of Xin Chu's was based more on Aisha's gender than her species. For Xin Chu, that flawed analysis would prove *VERY* costly.


Aisha's uniform practically exploded and the big pirate found himself facing a growling white tiger nearly twice the size of the petite cat-girl he was standing over a moment ago. It was likely she could've defeated Xin Chu in her semi-normal state, but Aisha saw absolutely no reason to hold back now. The provoked Ctarl Ctarl was in her beast form and ready to let the Terran pirate in front of her taste every ounce of her revenge.

"No! This can't be....." Xin Chu said as he began cautiously backing away from Aisha and Jim. He thought that the metamorphic abilities of the Ctarl Ctarl was a fairly tale mothers told their children if they weren't behaving- a sort of boogeyman. Even if it were true, there was always a way to kill them, he thought. Now he feared that the beast staring him down would come up with a thousand ways to kill him before he could think of anything to harm her.


The Aisha-tigress was expecting the behemoth of a pirate to continue his attack, but went after him the instant she sensed that he was now on the defensive. The pirate tried casting a spell. Ball lightning once again flew from each of his fingertips as the tigress closed in on him. Since she was so close, there was no missing for him. However, since Xin Chu had no time to properly recite the incantation the blue spheres lost much of their power and appeared to do little more than singe Aisha's white fur as they impacted and exploded. Unfazed, the beast-girl continued charging through the clouds of smoke at the retreating pirate and leapt up. On her hind-legs, Aisha in her beast form was roughly the same height as Xin Chu. He decided that if he was going down, he would go down swinging. With an unusual speed considering his size, Xin Chu was able to land three blows along the tigress' face and head in one second. Aisha hardly flinched and countered the tall pirate's blows to her head by slashing across his abdomen, nearly disemboweling him with the first swipe. He fell down, with the tigress on top of him. Aisha delivered another slash to the pirate's head before using the rest of him as a horizontal scratching post. Xin Chu's last moments were filled with an intense, white-hot agony as he could only scream out in pain and helplessly flail his arms at the Ctarl Ctarl tigress who was ripping him apart with her claws.


The Aisha-beast wasn't satisfied until hardly anything of Xin Chu remained . Roughly 3/4 of his head was intact and connected to what used to be the rest of him only by a single tendon. The former pirate looked as though he had literally been run through a shredder. The numerous widows and orphans of Xin Chu's victims could argue that it couldn't happen to a nicer person had they been there to witness his fate.


On the other hand, Suzuka looked concerned after witnessing the events unfolding. She knew that Ctarl Ctarl in it's beast form was the perfect killing machine- at times, so perfect that they couldn't distinguish friend from foe.

"Gene! Aisha may not be able to recognize us in her feral state. Get Jim out of here as quickly as you can." Suzuka cautioned.

The red-haired outlaw began to cautiously make his way to where Jim was laying, but stopped about halfway. He turned to Suzuka and asked "Can you think of anything that could stun her or slow her down if she goes after one of us?"

"Nothing at all."

Instead of attacking them, the Aisha-beast simply staggered away from the remains of the pirate. She appeared to be in pain, and it appeared that Xin Chu's Tao-spells or blows did more damage than either Gene or Suzuka initially thought. The tigress made her way to where Jim had fallen and began gently nuzzling him as though she was trying to gingerly wake him up. However, he still remained motionless. Understandably, Gene and the dark-haired assassin wouldn't have been so nervous if they hadn't seen for themselves what the beast-girl did to Xin Chu. She could've developed a taste for human blood all of a sudden. Suzuka held her bokken in an offensive stance, hoping that the beast wouldn't turn on them.


"I hope you can still recognize us, Aisha." she said quietly.

Rather than acknowledging Suzuka or Gene's presence, the tigress walked away from where Jim lay. Even in her beast form, Aisha's actions seemed motivated by sorrow. The two outlaws watched as she staggered behind a pile of old engine casings and disappeared from their sight. A few seconds later, the night air was filled with a loud roar that gradually changed into a mournful howling.

Gene and Suzuka made their way to where they saw the tigress stagger away. The beast was gone, replaced with the platinum-haired feline humanoid they were familiar with, now laying face down on the ground. Save for the bell and green scarf, Aisha was naked.


In her semi-conscious state, Aisha was aware of footfalls approaching. She figured it was

probably Gene and Suzu. Both of her hands and arms were covered in blood that had an unfamiliar scent. She was hoping it was the pirate's, since she had hardly any memory of her actions while in her feral state. The last thing Aisha remembered was holding onto Jimmy. He had stopped breathing. Or was it a bad dream? Her mind was still drifting in the twilight between her normal, biped form and her feral state. As she began to fade, she could've sworn she heard Gene yelling out frantically.

"There's still a pulse!"

**They couldn't be talking about me** Aisha thought to herself. The voices became even more distant as the blackness slipped over her. Before she faded completely, Aisha thought she heard Suzuka giving Gene instructions.

"Get him back to the ship, now. I'll stay behind and help her."

As much as she wanted to, she couldn't follow the conversation anymore. Aisha had completely blacked out.