Authors note: Thankyou everyone who has reviewed my story and kept me going. And I especially thank Eiji and Melissa for putting up with this crappy story and staying with it all this time. The story isn't over though, but I just wanted to say thankyou. And now…

Chapter 8

Jowy was running, he had never run this fast in his life but the tone in Riou's voice told him something was wrong. He ran through the back alleys he had come to know so well in the chinatown district of Highland city, making his way quickly towards his apartment. Without bothering with the intercom, he fumbled in his pockets for the keys and ran up the short flight of stairs to his apartment, opening the door quickly. He saw Riou standing there, a look of desperation and terror on his face.

"Riou? What is it?" He asked, panting on the door step

"Nanami. She's gone." He said quietly, however his face was a mask of panic and dread. Jowy looked confused, brushing strands of platinum blonde hair out of his thin face.

"What?"

"I tried to call her on my way home but she didn't answer, when I got back the place was trashed and she's gone. So is Pilika." These words stabbed at Jowy's heart, his face froze with the same expression his tanned, dark haired friend had on his face.

"What… But she's just a little girl, what could they want with her?" He said, sitting down slowly. Riou massaged his face with his hands, he had always been a quick thinker and even now he had overcome stunned dread and was formulating a plan or answer, Jowy was more emotional and took the news harder, his eyes wide with terror. He turned to Riou, expecting some kind of answer from his level headed friend.

"They need her." He said, scratching his smooth chin "Jillia wants her." He said "She was like a daughter to her, she want's her back." He said, turning to Jowy. He became angry at these words

"No! Jillia wouldn't put Pilika's life at risk!" He said standing up, he was a little taller than his friend, though his arms were thin and his skin pale and a little sickly looking, Riou didn't look at all intimidated, he stared Jowy in the face

"She's a Blight Jowy and as far as I'm concerned they're all murdering fuckers." This set Jowy over the edge, he leaped forwards and attempted to punch Riou, who nimbly ducked and planted a punch of his own on his friends jaw, stunning him, the young man then tackled him to the floor, trying to pin him down as the blonde attempted to beat him up.

"Take that back dammit!" He shouted as his friend pinned him to the floor, Jowy tried to wrestle him off, he was able to get and arm free and pushed his friend off, going for his Bo staff, he leaped to his feet, clutching the pole-arm expertly, a thin trickle of blood running down his chin where Riou had just hit him.

"Jowy, c'mon we have more important stuff to do." Said the dark skinned teen, getting to his feet "We shouldn't be fighting each other." Jowy was outraged by what he had just heard, but knew his friend was right, he lowered his staff. "Besides, my grandfather told us not to use our martial arts on each other." Jowy nodded.

"Look, I'm just a little messed up you know, I mean we barely escaped with our lives." He said, Riou looked sympathetically at him, Jowy had been separated from someone he loved during their escape from the Mafia.

Riou and Jowy had been two of the Highland Mafia's most promising operatives. Riou had joined so that he could support his adoptive sister Nanami and Jowy had joined to support a young girl who's family had been killed by the Mafia called Pilika. All had went well until two events made things go horribly wrong. Firstly Riou found out he had a serious aversion to killing, and his obstinate refusal to kill caused him to have to run from his angry superiors. Jowy meanwhile had fallen in love with Luca Blight's sister Jillia, he had caught them in bed together and Jowy had had to leap from a window in order to escape. They were now on the run, living in utter terror of being caught for the last three months, their friendship seriously frayed thanks to this.

Riou then saw something from his window, out of the corner of his eye he saw a young man with blonde hair and wearing a jacket and grubby jeans run out of one of the abandoned buildings across the street. He looked left, then right, then ran down an alley laughing with mad triumph. Jowy heard the laughter.

"What was that?" He asked

"Um, just some mad dude." Said Riou

"So what are we gonna do?" Asked Jowy quickly afterwards.

"We can't get them back alone." Said Riou "We need help." But who would help them? He thought to himself, hopelessly.

"We could contact Tir! He said if we're ever in trouble to contact him, he'll help us out." Said Jowy happily, Riou then felt a little relief spread over him, Tir was a vigilante from the city of Gregminister, he had gotten rid of the Barbarossa Rugner crime wave. Riou went quickly to the phone and rang the number Tir had given him three years ago, surely enough a voice answered, it was evidently young but wary sounding.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Tir, it's me. Riou." There was a pause.

"Hi Riou." Said Tir a little quietly

"Tir, we need your help, we-" However Tir cut him off

"Listen, I'm in town, why don't we meet up." His voice sounded a little urgent "I'll come over to your place in an hour." He then quickly hung up.

"What did he say?" Asked Jowy, puzzled as to why Riou hadn't told him their dilemma

"He said he's meet us here in an hour." Said Riou, puzzled. Jowy shrugged and they sat down, impatiently waiting for their friend.

The door at the top of the cellar was smashed off its hinges, a chair flying into the small dilapidated office, the guard shouted, alarmed and went for his gun but before he could fire he was knocked across the floor by a fist, he looked up in time to see a handsome, blonde young man wearing a grubby red hooded jumper and jeans, his for lashed out, and the guard felt incredible pain in his crotch area, with a mad laugh the prisoner ran at great speed from the building.

The guard groaned and lapsed into fitful unconsciousness.

Camus ran out the building laughing manically, unfortunately the guard had been snorting some crack at the time, as Camus barged through the door he had got a nostril full of it and was now experiencing the effects. He ran into the street, looked round so wildly he almost dislocated his neck and ran into another street as fast he could. In order to escape the pixies.

An hour later Riou heard a knock at the door, he walked over and opened it cautiously, standing there was a thin young man of about nineteen or twenty, with him was an incredibly tall man with wavy blonde hair that went over one eye, on his cheek was a cross shaped scar, he looked a little too surly as he walked into the apartment, following the young man closely. The young man was Tir McDohl, he hadn't changed much since he had thwarted the Barbarossa Rugner crime wave three years ago, he was tall for someone of his age and thin, his thick brown hair was obscured by a bandana over his head. He nodded to Riou and Jowy and sat down, the blonde haired man standing rigid next to him.

"You both remember Gremio?" He asked them, Riou and Jowy nodded "So, whats the problem." His voice had none of the urgency that it had on the phone an hour ago, in fact he looked a little bored.

"Well." Riou piped up "Nanami and a little girl called Pilika have been captured by the Highland Mafia."

"Your still on the run 'cause that idiot couldn't keep his fucking dick in his pants?" Tir sniggered, nodding his head at Jowy, who's face flushed. Riou felt anger rush through him, Tir had always been a dickhead.

"Yes." He said, his voice shaking slightly

"So what do you want me to do about it?" He asked "I don't have any power in the neighbourhood, you know that."

"We just needed someone's help." Said Riou "Someone who's done this before."

"Look, Riou, I can't stay here too long, I'm on the run too remember. But listen, here are a few numbers of people that might take you in and help you in this town." He passes Riou a few pieces of paper with numbers on them. "That one right there." He said, pointing to one of the numbers "Belongs to Viktor, great guy. He'll help you for sure." Riou nodded his thanks and was about to say something when he was interrupted by a loud bang, and one of the windows smashed. Tir's face went white

"Fuck! They know I'm here!" He shouted, there was another shot and Gremio threw him bodily to the floor, covering him with his body, Tir stuck his head out of the tangle of arms and legs "Is there a back entrance!?" He shouted

"You'll have to go out of the fire exit!" said Jowy, on the floor himself, at this Tir leaped up, followed by Gremio and ran, pushing Riou to the floor to the fire exit. "We don't have time to get out that way!" Shouted Jowy over the gunshots

"C'mon!" Shouted Riou and the two made their way towards one of the windows, jumping down onto a dumpster, some of the excrement broke their fall.

Riou was the first to get up, the sounds of the gunshots were dying down, he walked over to the wall and peeked over, at the front of the building were three men, shooting up at the floor they had been on, he turned to Jowy and gestured for him to follow. Silently they walked around the corner opposite and to relative safety, not bothered whether Tir had escaped or not.

"I don't remember him being such a fucker." Said Riou, panting for breath

"Well, its been three years." Said Jowy, clutching his ankle, which had been hurt in the fall. "SO what do we do now?" He asked, straightening up.

"There's not much we can do." Said Riou grimly. He noticed the paper scrunched up in his hand, the one with Viktor's number on it.

"I say we find this Viktor fella'." Said Riou, Jowy nodded in agreement and the two walked quickly out the alley.