Friday 9:02 PM - Crystal Mansion Jewelry Store - Lobby.
The female dragon's singular beady eye studied the silver-furred vixen, impatiently fidgeting as she readied to pounce. "It's been a year, hasn't it? Yet it feels so recent." She hissed, chittering subtly as her dark forked tongue slid in and out of her maw.
"Still not long enough to forget your mug, Cyclops." Raira quipped, subtly looking for avenues for escape. "That is what they're calling you now, right? Cyclops?" She mocked, snickering under her mask as her eyes finally landed on the exit through the haze blanketing the bombed-out store.
Though she had her fists raised, Raira the Silver fox had doubts facing the bruiser of a dragon before her. At 5'5, the fox wasn't that much smaller than Deshi, more accurately an Asian water monitor lizard, but she also knew pound for pound that Deshi was built tougher than her in almost every way. Even as a female, the heavily veiled reptile had hard scales and a muscular physique as well as a healing factor. Pair that with the lizard's family order's infamous corrosive venom and one would have the ideal body perfect for that blasted Sea Glass philosophy that she heard the Dokugumi preached about all the time in the slums.
The odds were stacked. Even her larger Inari sister, Loba the Wox, would not envy being in this position right now. Escape was a definite priority. All though, the glistening of the many jewels and baubles littered amongst the shattered glass and broken wooden furniture made the greedy fox start to reconsider. Raira was a thief through and through after all and it pained her to leave such a score behind. Also, her clan's welfare was riding high on this heist and Lùn had only been able to carry out a fraction of the original projected haul. If she could just buy some time...
The fox's hesitancy was not lost on the dragon, who took the opportunity to pounce at the fox, swinging savagely with razor-sharp talons that tore right into the plastic viewport of the fox's mask. Raira only came hair's breadth away from her eye being impaled. Bouncing out of the way, nearly backing into a damaged table, the fox jerked her head to the side, allowing the mask to rip free from her head. The dragon flicked her slender forked tongue again and laughed at the fox, holding the skewered mask on her finger like a trophy.
"Now that I've gotten a practice swing in, let's pick up where we left off?" The one-eyed reptile taunted flicking the mask away and slowly advancing on the candid through the wreckage. "I believe I was 'strangling you to death' while you were gouging out my eye trying to 'blind' me. Isn't that right?"
Raira's snout wrinkled as she raised her claws in defense. "You got a good memory, Deshi-san. Looks like I got a head start though." She joked.
"Which means it's my turn!" The heavy reptile screeched as she bounded at the smaller canid, slender elongated claws outstretched ready to grab at the vixen. She just missed the tips of her dagger-like ears as the fox ducked and rolled.
Raira bounced back up and retaliated with a left hook, but the cycloptic reptile was quick, grabbing Raira fast by the arm and smashing her other scaly fist right into the fox's cheek. Raira's head violently jerked to the side, nearly going all the way around, and the fox found herself stumbling a few paces before her faculties semi returned. As her eyes focused she found herself flattened by an uppercut that sent her flying. The fox soared through the air and landed hard on top of one of the jewelry tables. Her backpack broke her fall and cushioned her landing as she slid over the side. Shaking off the cobwebs, the gray and black vixen picked herself up and got mad. She wasn't escaping this place so easily, but all the same dealing with this thorn in her side wouldn't be a bad thing.
Just then the reptile leaped atop the table beside her and pounced, but Raira was ready, slugging the dragon in the jaw mid-jump, knocking the varanid to the floor. Deshi quickly rallied and picked herself up, however, the scrappy fox was waiting. The Silver vixen slammed and overhead left hook down onto the Dokugumi's skull then came back up with a devastating right hand that knocked her opponent's head skyward and knocked the monitor lizard's veil off, completely revealing her scarred disfigured form. Necrotic tissue lined the edge of the empty scaley socket and it almost made Raira wish the tan-toned dragon's face had remained partially covered.
With more room to maneuver, Raira began to adopt a better stance, rushing back in like a brawler before faking with a feint on the dragon's blindspot, hammering the monitor lizard hard with a right hook to the side that nearly made the dragon's lone eye bulge as she sucked in air and keeled over. Twisting her body to answer her, the pissed-off varanid swung on the fox, but swifter canid tilted and danced around the reptile's attacks. Venomous spittle flew from the stunned dragon's mouth as the vixen laid in more strikes and the floor began to smoke as each stray droplet began to eat away at the rug's fabric. Eventually, the fox knocked the dragon off balance with a final wheel kick that really flung a large volume of bile from the lizard's mouth. The acidic saliva landed on the wall and ate through the drywall and ruined one of the hung decorative pictures.
The dragon's body jerked violently as the fox continued to lay in a fierce offense, but all the same, Deshi still remained on her feet. She was just too tough. She was still the bigger animal after all, and Raira knew she would be difficult to put away. She doubled her efforts accordingly, brutally pummeling the dragon, hurling haymakers and hard knees to the body and head.
"That's... ergh... better!" The dragon managed to cough out, as she managed to throw loose clawed strikes at the agile vixen thief deftly shuffled around the lizard trying to retaliate. "That's a lot better! Maybe you can keep up with the surf this time!" The dragon croaked.
This odd candidness bugged Raira, but it was how the Komodo Dragons in the Dokugumi fought. They weathered punishment as a testament to their hardy nature and believed it made them stronger. They also dished it back double-fold. Something she soon found out as the dragon suddenly tailwhipped her hard, sending her careening over the display table islands and crashing hard in the middle of the aisles. The fox thief found her head swimming as she got back up to her feet with a soft groan and a sense of dizziness. Her fists were starting to sting and feel raw from striking the dragon's hard scales and that fall hurt like hell.
Just then her ears perked up as she felt a change in the air pressure, she looked up just in time to see the murderous reptile flipping through the air like a wheel and bringing their heavy tail down to bear on her. Shocked, the fox dove to the side, barely avoiding getting flattened. The dragon squealed loudly at the fox as she landed with a loud thoom, blowing the residual smoke everywhere, keeping up the offense, and pounced at the fox with a right-handed slap. The dragon's claws scraped the fox's cheek and carved three slant jagged lines in her flesh.
Raira made a shrill yell as she instinctively tried to cover the wound, costing her time to counter which Deshi took advantage of with a hard jab to the face that smushed the canid's snout. Raira stumbled back and fell to a knee, covering her tender nose, red wetness in her gloved hands. Her fingers soon found the ragged and damp flesh where the claws had dug in. The fox was no stranger to battle damage or scars; it was common in the Inarigumi for a female to be scarred for punishment, but those were usually shallow cuts or lines in the flesh. This... this was a wound. She'd have these on her face for life.
"Aw... foo! I missed your eye again!" The cocky reptile cheekily taunted as she licked the fox's blood from her talons like a raspberry jam, admiring her handiwork. "It's a start, but how about Raira the Scarred?" She hissed, stroking her muzzle. She clicked her tongue in disdain. "No, that's too easy. Help me out here...what do you want your nickname to be? You know for your legend... after I return to my clan with your pelt?!"
"I don't know, but you for sure got a better name than Cyclops in the works you prehistoric bitch!" The fox snarled, muscles tensing up as her snout's tablecloth effect wrinkled even more up her face, revealing her canines and fangs. Escape could wait. This injustice required action. The grinning dragon answered her defiant declaration with a sadistic cackle and beckoned the fox to attack.
In the back office.
The Dokugumi leader scowled as the balding orange-furred simian held him at gunpoint.
With all the chaos erupting in the lobby, it had been relatively easy for the elderly ape to spring his own trap on the mad lizard. One didn't stay in his business for long without preparing for a few contingencies like thugs for which Genkou had a spare Browning Hi-power, fully loaded. The reptile had tried to strong-arm the wrong ape.
"Now listen here, you scalebag bastard, if you are going to be unreasonable, then I'm going to have to take the right steps to make this right," Genkou said as he aimed the Komodo.
"As will I, mammal." The dragon threatened, calmly. "I see humoring you was a mistake. I'll correct that and eliminate you as well."
The ape was just about ready to pull the trigger when suddenly the door burst open.
"Genkou-sama!"
Gin, the security dog rushed into the room, brandishing a 12-gauge pump action. He leveled the weapon on the Dokugumi and belligerently barked out orders for him not to move. The Komodo already had his hands held up as he faced the Inu. He visibly showed more concern for the shotgun than he had for the ape's pistol. The dog found his compliance odd but didn't question it. His immediate concern next was the welfare of his boss. Gin's ears depressed slightly when he saw that the orangutan was also armed and holding the dragon at gunpoint.
This wasn't good, the dog thought. The heist plan had been put in motion, he had hoped that his boss would be unarmed so he could at least smooth over his role in all of this or well if they got out of this alive. He didn't want anyone to get hurt. The pistol complicated things.
"Gin-san?" The simian asked, surprised to see him, a nervous smile spread on his muzzle. "I take it you handled the ruffians upfront? Good work." He congratulated. "What was that explosion?"
"Um..." The dog gulped, flustered. He hadn't thought this far, "Y-yes sir."
"Gin?"
"So... he's not in on it then, huh?" The dragon suddenly spoke, inflecting a false sense of shock into his voice. A slick smile formed on his leathery lips as gave the ape a friendly look. "Are you going to snuff him out?"
"Quiet!" The orangutan immediately shouted, jabbing the pistol at the reptile. The bastard was more crafty than he gave him credit. He was trying to sow seeds of doubt, in the loyal dog's mind.
"Be quiet about what... partner?" The dragon asked.
"I'm warning you! Shut up!" Genkou warned. "Utter one more word and I'll put one right between your eyes, monster!"
Gar almost snickered at the thought of being called a monster by the mammal.
"What does he mean by a partner?" The silvery-blue dog asked. "Genkou-sama?
The ape growled under his breath at the dog's probing. "It's nothing Gin-san, he's just talking nonsense. He's just trying to confuse you! Don't listen to this murderer's lies!"
Gin's tail shot straight up as gave the ape a side-eye glance. Why didn't Genkou just shoot the lizard bastard and be done with it, he had him dead to rights. And what did the lizard mean by business earlier? Now that he thought more about it, the Dokugumi didn't seem too concerned with robbing the store and the incident seemed more like... an attack. Indeed, they hadn't taken any of the merchandise were more interested in the bodies. The canine's blood boiled, and he found himself starting to growl just recalling the grisly and senseless murder of his co-workers. He had never planned to harm his associates with his heist, but this bastard still standing in front of them had no such qualms. Why was Genkou allowing this despicable cretin to continue to draw breath? WHY?!
It just didn't add up, unless...
"...You planned this didn't you?" Gin finally asked the orange-furred ape aloud, turning his head to look him in the eye. He wanted him to answer truthfully. Genkou fell silent. His big round lips were sealed tight as he continued to train his weapon on the Komodo.
"Gin, this is not the time for crazy accusations here. This fiend is just spouting deceptive lies, trying to weasel out of justice."
"Then why haven't you shot him?" Gin quickly asked.
"I- I was going to before you showed up." The ape quickly reasoned. Gin's snout tablecloth wrinkled as he swiftly brought the shotgun to bear on the ape.
"You planned this." He sharply accused. "Didn't you?"
The ape began to panic. "Gin... what are you doing son?" He asked, eyes darting back towards the dog and the dragon. "Point it at him, not me."
"Did you plan this? Answer me or I'll blow you away!" Gin shouted, jabbing the shotgun in the ape's direction. One trigger pull and the ape would be sprayed by hot pellets. Gin was becoming incensed by the second, sure he had planned to be implicit in illegal activity as well, but at the very least he planned to minimize any casualties outside of a bruise here or broken eardrum. Nothing involving these savages.
"Gin-san, calm down." The Ape ordered trying to de-escalate the situation.
"ANSWER ME!" Gin yelled, jabbing the shotgun again.
"YES!" The orange-furred ape shouted having enough. "I planned for these hoodlums to burn this place down!"
The Inu's heart sank hearing those words. "But why? D-did the others really have to die?" Gin asked, the canine's jaw slacked as he grew more and more despondent.
"I didn't want this, Gin. You have to believe me. I swear I didn't want this senseless bloodshed. It was this monster I swear. I-I just-"
"Heh Heh Heh Heh!" The varanid began to snicker. Both of the mammals cocked their heads curiously at the varanid.
"Don't be so modes-" *BOW!*
The lizard dropped to the floor unceremoniously with a loud thud as Genkou stood breathing behind his desk, still tea-cupping the smoking pistol.
"I warned you to be quiet!" The ape yelled furiously at the corpse before swiftly aiming his gun at the surprised canine. "Gin-san, I'm sorry for what happened, b-but this was something I felt I needed to do." The aging animal confessed. "This place was a money pit! I would have gone under in a few months and have laid you guys off probably before then. I-I...I just made a foolish mistake of setting up in this unprofitable side of town and now... now I don't even make enough to afford a better location even if I sold my wares on clearance. I needed to collect the insurance money and I didn't want to leave it to chance that they'd discover it was intentional...so I hired these monsters."
"But..." The dog was beside himself, listening to all this. "But the others?"
"Another foolish decision, Yes! I regret it! I swear." The ape pleaded. "I didn't plan for those boys to die, Gin. I swear I didn't. It just couldn't be helped!"
"Don't give me that crap!" Gin barked back at him, jabbing the shotgun at the simian with reckless abandon. "Those men are dead now! Because of you!"
The orangutan kept his pistol drawn on the agitated Akita. "Gin...put the gun down."
The Inu kept the barrel of the shotgun leveled on his boss, the dog's growling had evolved into vicious snarling. Every fiber of his being told him to fire. it would be the right thing to do.
"Gin-san... Gin put the gun down! We can talk this over." He repeated. Gin could see the sweat trickling down the ape's forehead. Finally, his nerve broke and a flash of rage came upon the ape and he spouted at the dog. "PUT THE GUN DOWN!"
"A-alright." Gin said softly, lowering his dart-shaped ears submissively.
"When this is over, I'll see to it that their families will be well taken care of." The ape said, waving the Hi-power around. Gin's tail stood up alert. He studied his boss closely as he gripped the forestock tightly. "We'll come up...w-with something to explain this.
The way he had said that also made Gin's left ear twitch. He heard that tone before and recognized the hand language. Specifically, this was the exact tone Genkou spoke with every time he lied. Also, whenever Genkou said something he meant his hands remained still, but whenever he told the lies his hands would become animated. Gin even recalled earlier before the shooting started. Gin felt a massive sense of ominous Déjà vu that screamed at his senses. The hair on his neck stood up and every fiber of his being told him it wasn't safe. In that stretched-out moment, Gin knew he couldn't trust the ape and he was in danger. He fell to the floor, just as the ape pulled the trigger. *BOW!*
Gin squinted and aimed, firing back just as he landed on the floor, shredding the desk and striking the ape with a buffet of tiny lead pellets that perforated his chest. The ape had a horrified look on his face as he slumped back into his chair. His breathing was labored, each breath he drew followed by wheezing.
"You...shot...augh" The ape violently coughed up a clump of blood on his desk. His voice became squeaky. "How'd you know?" The ape asked, feebly putting his pistol down on the table, not having the strength to turn it on his killer.
Gin racked the pump and kept the weapon trained on his former boss as he approached to disarm him. "Canines are good at picking up deception once you lie to them a few times." He said jerking the pistol out of the wounded animal's hand. "It's just that same spiel you always gave me about support. When you said you'd help out, but didn't. Like when my father passed away or when you told me you would give me a raise to support my mother. You've lied so many times; I can tell 80% of the time by now." Gin said, still catching his breath, his canines still exposed.
"Canine intuition? Ugh... ergh of course" The ape tried to wipe away the blood bubbling in his mouth as if he had to make himself presentable. "Guess that's what I get for being such a shitty boss. This was one hell of a Meteor holiday." He muttered. "That is certain."
"Look I...I'm sorry...I'm sorry I-I had to do that." Gin apologized, finally lowering the shotgun. This wasn't at all what he planned.
"I'm sorry too, Gin. But from my point of view, you knew too much..." The ape said. "I really didn't want tonight to go this way...I swear it. I was a fool. A greedy...fool. I gambled with our lives. For what? Money? Something...I could have made it on my own given time.* A fit of wet coughs interrupted him. "Oh, God. Perhaps this is... divine punishment. If you believe in such things." His speech was becoming slurred as blood began filling his lungs and dripping from his mouth.
Gin felt guilty himself, he felt it was the time to reveal his true intentions. "Well since we're being honest...I too have a secret... I was going to rob you tonight."
Genkou slumped further into his chair and blood dripped from his mouth. A cough was all he could manage. If he was angered by Gin's apparent treachery, he didn't seem to have the strength to display it.
"I... I uh... agree to organize a heist on you. My accomplices, two foxes, were going to rob you tonight, I would have just stuck everyone up, have skipped town. No one was going to get hurt. This... this wasn't what I wanted at all."
"Ha... *Cough* Well, I guess I'm glad *Cough cough* I did shoot at you then..." The ape trailed off with a smile, before finally passing out, going into shock. Gin just stared at him until his chest slowly stopped expanding, not sure what to do next.
Back in the lobby.
Raira shouted like a warrior princess as she quickly upped her tempo with another solid right hook, the lizard's ribs followed closely by a vicious left. The fox then grabbed hold of the cyclops' head and rammed her knee into her chin then slugged the lizard in the snout, a devastating combo, but it had nowhere near the desired effect.
The reptile practically ate everything she hurled into her and promptly counter-punched the fox right back in the jaw, before sweeping low and whipping her tail right into the silver fox's stomach, flinging her against the display island behind her. As she sank to the floor, she glimpsed the dark figure approaching that had to be Deshi. Thinking quickly, she kicked at the dragon's shins. The dragon instinctively hopped back, but the sly vixen had anticipated this. Taking advantage, Raira scrambled down the aisle towards the door. Deshi took off after her in pursuit, nearly catching the fox by her brush of a tail, only for the pearl fox to pull a fast one.
Instead of trying to make it out of the door, Raira instead juked right as Deshi closed in and tucked into a roll right under the lizard's clutches. The Komodo instantly pivoted, trying to catch her slippery opponent, but in her haste slid and fell on the loose mess of shattered glass on the floor giving Raira the time to gather herself. Just as the cyclops reptile had gotten up on one knee, she received a kick right into the side of her thick neck. The dragon let out a shrill shriek as the air was expelled from her throat. The force of the kick jerked the Komodo's head back so hard, it caused her to spray more of the venomous saliva clean from her mouth.
Wobbly and disoriented, the dragon made another effort to stand, only for Raira to rush in screaming. The silver fox wound back and delivered a stunning uppercut that left the reptile open for a devastating heel kick right to the chin.
Seeing stars, Deshi initially staggered drunkenly before going limp, dead on her feet. Her heavy body crashed down hard into one of the round glass/wooden display tables by the door. The varanid easily broke the table in two and all of the contents buried her like a mudslide.
"Maybe next time Cyclops." The vixen declared out of breath, desperately shaking any saliva she might have gotten from her mouth off of her gloves before she could feel a burning sensation. Raira had put every ounce into that and felt content that she put the prehistory bitch away. Her thigh ached like a bitch, but it was worth it. Deshi wasn't getting back up as far as she was concerned.
She looked around to the wrecked store, which looked like ground-zero, and decided she needed to get out of here, pronto. First, she'd get her loot, and then she'd check on the idiot that called himself her contact. He probably was in the back. She looked in the back for her contact, the grey-furred dog rent-a-cop. That fucking idiot, she grumbled to herself as she started to stuff her backpack with whatever valuables she could grab. She could have used that shotgun with Deshi.
"Gee!" She cried out. "Gee!" She shouted louder. "Dog boy! Last call for Gee!"
No answer.
"Baka...he's getting left." She said, quickly stuffing more jewelry. No sooner had she cleaned out a row's worth of gems, she heard a commotion behind her. A dark feeling came over her as she slowly turned.
A large whip-like tail flop about out of the debris and slap down hard against the remains of one of the display tables. The large figure of Deshi slowly rose from out of the heap of clutter no worse for wear. The varanid began scanning around until her singular beady right eye locked on to the fox thief, which put a sick sadistic looking smile on her face. She wasn't done, not by a long shot.
"Woo! That one hell of a wave Raira-chan!" Deshi hissed, wiping saliva and venom from her jaw. "I'm impressed. I'm so glad you improved enough to give me a real dust-up!"
"Aw, shit." The fox cursed, slowly backing away.
"It's going to make killing you so much sweeter. Like last time you needed your skulk of other weaklings to step in and pull me off of you. That was a bad showing, but that wave you hit me with? Choice, very choice. Woo!"
"Ugh...bad enough you can't stay down, now you have to drone on about that surfer garbage and sea glass crap. Shame your eye doesn't grow back with all that talk about healing." Raira mocked while stuffing a pricey-looking ruby necklace in her pants pocket. An angry guttural rattle was the dragon's response as she squared up for another go.
Raira was joking now, but she really didn't feel up to going another round with this creep. That was all she felt she could muster just putting her down for that long. She wouldn't last against Deshi.
The scaley horror began stalking towards, priming her claws, while the vixen began rapidly retreating towards the back of the store. She had to hide. She needed something. Then it came to her; she still hard her smoke grenades. She unclipped and armed one before tossing it at the advancing lizard's feet. The canister blanketed the room with red smoke, giving the silver fox opportunity to scurry out of sight. While the dragon searched for her in the red mist, the smoke's thick burning smell would mask her scent and keep a dense fog of war between the two. It was risky, but it kept the dragon just as off-balance as her. Deshi couldn't see or really smell her, but she could still hear her activity somewhat.
"Raira the Cowardly, I guess I'll call you that for now." She taunted as she continued desperately hunting.
Meanwhile in the back office.
Gin had made sure Genkou had passed on before saying a brief prayer out of respect for both him and his co-workers. Then reluctantly, he started ransacking his former boss's office. As much as looting the dead disgusted him, he needed to be sure he didn't miss anything if this job was going to be worth it.
"WHERE... IS... THE SKULL?" A gravelly voice croaked in front of him. Gin's head shot up, alert as he began to scan the room. It was the Komodo from before, leaning against the office safe with his hand over his wound.
"You're still alive?!" The Inu asked, eyes wide in amazement.
"Plate armor..." He said tapping his makeshift armor. "Besides... it will take more than one bullet to kill a Komodo. Where... is the skull?!" He asked.
"Skull?" Gin asked dumbfounded.
"There was a priceless artifact... being stored in this vault as payment, it was taken and I want to know where it is, I suspect you and your accomplices are responsible. So...where is it?"
The dog's normally fluffy tail began to spike with rage.
"So, you killed those people... over a jewel?!" The Inu asked exasperated as his snout began to wrinkle.
"No, they were sacrificed for a greater purpose. To send a message. For too long Komodo Dragons have been looked down upon because of our venom. Discriminated and told we don't belong in normal society. Our leader feels we should just be content and dwell in the depths of the Back-Alley Market. I disagree. As long as animals fear us, we should be the masters of our own image, one of our own choosing. We will give this society true reason to fear and respect our kind. This? This was, but the first step towards my goal."
"What?!" The dog asked, confused. "Then why do you need a skull?"
The dragon flicked his tongue out. "A tribute."
It didn't take long for the Akita to piece together what he meant by a tribute. "I think I get it; you are doing this behind your boss' back. So you need that fancy paperweight to explain yourself!"
The Komodo ignored the dog's statement and moved towards the door. "You waste my time."
Gin raised and leveled the 12-gauge on the dragon to stop his advance. "No, I don't think so." He said racking another shell and standing in front of the door.
The dragon kept approaching. "Move." He ordered unfazed.
"Are you not seeing that I'm holding you at gunpoint? This 12-gauge hits a hell of a lot harder than a 9mm."
The Komodo paused before cocking his head, looking down inspecting Gin's firearm. The dragon gave a sinister grin and a raspy snicker.
"That is Kainik's weapon," Gar noted. "That weapon is useless."
"Hmph, is that right?" Gin asked unconvinced. "You dragons are tough, but nothing some buckshot can't fix."
"What you fail to realize is that weapon you carry, its former owner loads birdshot shells. Effective for mammals, but not on us. So... you still feel confident? Mammal?" Gar informed him before sticking his hand in his mouth, which was dripping a dark viscous looking liquid likely his venom.
Gin had a brief moment of uncertainty, looking down at the weapon before looking back at the approaching dragon. "I'm just supposed to take you at your word on that then? The word of a Plague lizard?"
"Whether you believe is irrelevant, I will get past you, mutt," Gar said as he steadily advanced with his arms stretched wide, his hand slick in venom. "It'll hurt..." He touched his facial scars. "...but I've survived worse. So, go ahead. Fire! I'll have my jaws around your neck before you actually kill me." The Varanid echoed the dog's earlier threat to Deshi.
"I'll just have to take that chance." Gin said leveling the shotgun ready to fire as the vicious reptile let out a loud growl signaling his attack.
Back in the lobby
Loud muffled blasts rang out as Raira began finishing out the final table. Before she could look to investigate, she heard another noise this time a lot closer and it sounded like something above her. Her fur stood up in terror as she looked up to the ceiling, her eyes widened in terror as she made out what it could possibly be. It was the Cyclops above her! The dragon had somehow leaped and clambered across the ceiling to bypass the smoke.
"Oh shit!" Was all the vixen could exclaim in surprise as Deshi pounced down on her with a shrill screech.
The fox landed on her back hard and in an uncomfortable position at that. All the loot in her pack was poking through the fabric into the small of her back as Deshi weighed down on top of her savagely attempting to bite down with her venomous teeth, but Raira managed to get in a good swing right in the dragon's good eye that knocked her head off course. The fox returned the favor by biting into Deshi's neck, but her fangs and weak jaw strength barely even punctured the reptile's scales. At best she was just squeezing the lizard's throat really tight.
"Ooh, I didn't know you were such a rough lover Raira-chan!" The dragon teased as Raira tugged at her neck. Deshi even cackled, flaunting how ineffective the fox's bite was.
The dragon tiring of the inconvenience began pummeling her with some stinging punches to the ribs that made the fox let go and wince. "Raira the Punching Bag maybe? Hahahaha!" The cyclops reared up ready to lay more punches into Rai's face, but the fox raised her arms together in a guard to absorb most of the punishment.
Frustrated, the Komodo reached down and attempted to pry them open to get access to her face, but the fox yanked her arms to the side pulling the dragon down enough for the fox to simultaneously slam her own head up under the jaws of the dragon. This blow stunned Deshi long enough for Raira to shove her off and crawl back into the smoke. The blow also opened a cut on the silver fox's head, likely a scratch against one of the rougher scales.
"Don't you want to cuddle with me some more Raira-chan?" Deshi called out after her, hissing a sadistic giggle. "What's the matter? I thought you liked females!"
"You definitely aren't my type," Raira growled, grossed out as she propped herself against a display table to rest. "Now she's making it lewder..."
It was a brief respite as she could hear the giant monitor lizard stalking around. It wasn't long before she heard the footsteps approaching. She was getting closer. Raira spotted one of the wooden chairs for the guest and quickly armed herself with one. She could hear the dragon coming ever closer. Suddenly the reptilian snout punctured the fog of war and the fox readily swung the chair into her midsection. Deshi hooted a sharp grunt and was briefly staggered by this, but true to her species' strength she withstood the attack. It was merely an inconvenience for her.
Raira, not dropping a beat, swung the tattered chair again only for Deshi to readily grab it and savagely wrench it out of the fox's hands. The crafty fox however used this to her advantage and kicked the Cyclops in the snout with an ax kick. The she-dragon grunted with a shrill screech as she backed away cradling her bleeding nostrils.
The lizard stumbled while instinctively reaching for her knife. "So, you want to use weapons huh? Fine." Her hands felt nothing on her belt or sash. The dragon scanned her waist, the blade was gone. The fox must have swiped it from her belt in a sleight of hand.
"Raira the Thief!" The dragon angrily dubbed her as the fox skipped playfully backwards into the mist flipping the knife over her hand.
"That's actually a good one! Hehehe." The grey and black fox taunted from the void.
Deshi growled annoyed. "I can think of others!" The attack came from the left. She hissed as she jabbed her clawed hands at the fox. Left swing. Another! Right! Raira blocked and slapped the blows away while firing back with slashes from the large Bowie knife. Deshi nearly swiped one of the fox's black sharp ears, before the fox cautiously retreated again, triggering another smoke grenade to cover her escape.
"Go ahead Raira-chan, hide in the smoke, I'll find you again...I can smell your blood a lot better now. Your little tricks will fail you."
"Upset I use tricks Plague Lips?" Raira teased. "What kind of fox do you think I am?" Raira's voice came through the void.
The Komodo swished her forked tongue. "A dead one!" Deshi hissed her answer angrily as she sensed the fox to her flank, lunging at her with her sharp claws, swiping from side to side. This caught Raira by surprise, the fox yelped as the dragon's nails ripped into her side.
Another swipe scratched her arm. The dragon was gaining the advantage fast. The fox ended up backing away until hitting the wall with nowhere to retreat.
Cornered Raira defensively swung the knife outward at the lizard, but the lizard wasn't as cocky as she thought. Deshi made a half-step feint and took advantage of her wide swing. The lizard rushed in to try and pin her to the wall, however Raira, wanting out of this spot, kneed the lizard in the side before smashing her fist into the area where her previous eye had been.
The dragon let out a groan and another when the fox kneed her again for good measure! She then shoved Deshi away from her far enough to get a kick in. The scaly monster took the foot right under her chin. Deshi forced her head back down and spit some of her bile at the fox.
"Bitch!" Raira exclaimed as she leaped on a table to evade the venom and pounced at the toxic lizard with a wild slash.
Deshi however sidestepped and disarmed her easily before batting her away with a stiff backhand right into her snout. "That's for stealing." She said flicking her tongue as the vixen pulled herself from the wreckage of a collapsed table.
"Honestly, what'd you expect?" Raira asked wearily with a weak smile as she raised her guard.
Just then the wall behind the front counter exploded into splinters causing the two brawlers to pause their confrontation and stare. Two figures collapsed through the large hole on top of each other. It was both the Dokugumi lieutenant Gar and Gin the Akita locked in a violent struggle over the shotgun.
Gin was propping the barrel against Gar's throat in an attempt to keep his lethal snapping jaws at bay. Eventually, he managed to kick the varanid off of him and began blasting him with blast after hard-hitting blast. Each spray of birdshot staggered the raging lizard but did not completely stop him due to the dragon's scales, hardy nature, and body armor.
Gar shrugged off the barrage and closed in. He decked the dog in the jaw, gripped the shotgun barrel before hurling it and the dog across one of the damaged display tables, sending him crashing into the wall so hard a light fixture shelf came loose and crashed on top of his head. With Gin out of the way, the scarred reptile turned his attention to Raira who was still gawking.
"You...where is the skull? Where is my tribute?!" He roared furiously.
Raira, still dumbfounded, looked at the scarred Komodo unsure what he meant. Then it came back to her, he was after that fancy crystal from the safe. Something she didn't have.
The silver fox began laughing as she couldn't contain the amount of joy knowing that Lùn had been even more instrumental in screwing them over. "I don't have it, Scarface. Hehehehe"
Gar looked none to please with her answer, "My patience wears thin, mammal. If you do not possess it, then you will tell me who! You will comply..." He said as he flicked his tongue out twice.
Raira's ear twitched as she sensed Deshi sneaking behind her and answered in kind with a hard elbow right under the dragon's jawbone. She followed up bashing down on her snout with both fists.
Deshi massaged her nostrils again as she recovered. "It must have been that child with the curved knives you helped escape. Not to worry, I sent Bantu after her. She's as good as caught."
Raira let out a frustrated growl, cursing herself for not hitting that dark dragon when she had the chance, but soon focused on the situation at hand. She was practically surrounded and the dog contact looked to be still out cold and the arrival of the scarred Komodo wasn't good either. Gar could easily stomp her guts in worse than Deshi. She could just make a break for it, but she'd, unfortunately, have to leave the dog. They say sometimes when you're trapped you just gotta chew your leg off.
With that in mind, she spontaneously booked it for her life, taking off for the door.
"Deshi!" Gar ordered, looking to the female monitor lizard to stop her escape. "Do it!"
Deshi knew all too well what he meant, actually snapping off the tip of her tail and hurling it at the entrance. The still wiggling tail landed right in front of Raira's feet. The bewildered silver fox only had seconds to shield herself before a bomb that was attached exploded in front of her. She was thrown back into the smoldering remains of the aisles like a rag doll, landing ungracefully at Deshi's feet, body bruised and inflamed, floundering as she tried to crawl away pathetically. The front end of the store also collapsed from the damage. No one was going through the front door now, the only way out would be the way she and Lùn had come in before: through the back. No way could she make it like this. The blast also left a loud ringing in Raira's ears, but all the same, she still heard an even more unsettling noise. The sound of Deshi's sadistic hoarse cackle.
"Hmmm...guess I should have expected such from a fox, eh? You cowards always run away from your problems. You steal everything and flee with your stolen goods... well look where it got you, Raira." Deshi's muffled voice said, cackling with childish glee as her claws gripped into Raira's bruised neck and lifted her up off the floor by her collar. The fox groaned weakly as the lizard held her aloft and brought her face to face. Her foul poison-filled breath quickly repulsed the vixen's sensitive nose, who wished to turn away but could barely muster the energy. "Whether or not you have the skull, you need to pay what you owe!" Deshi shouted as she slammed her knuckles into Raira's wounded cheek. The fox grunted and whined as her head jerked to the side.
"If I remember correctly, you owe me an eye!" The reptile said with such zeal as she grabbed hold of Raira's face and started scraping down over her eyelid with one of her sharp claws. A pitiful yelp escaped the fox's mouth as the talon dug deeper into her flesh.
"Get it... over with... you...sadistic-!" Raira screeched at her, gritting her fangs as she tried to endure the agony.
Deshi formed a toothy grin as she savored this. "Look at it this way Raira-chan, we get to be twins now! Won't that be nice?! Huh?! Hahahaha! Oh but then again you probably won't live long enough for-"
*BOW!*
The silver vixen was unceremoniously dropped to the floor as the dragoness was violently jerked away by an unseen force. Raira looked up and saw smoking trailing from the lizard's chest, gunshot trails.
*BOW!* *BOW!* *BOW!* *BOW!* *BOW!* More deafening gunshots, small arms, a pistol. It was Gin. The Akita had finally come to and was peppering the tan dragon with his former employer's pilfered Browning 9mm High Power from behind the table. The Komodo danced violently as more bullets struck her before finally collapsing down to her knees, hurt but not exactly dead. Gin had practically unloaded the pistol until the slide shot back empty, and soon his attention was taken by the leader dragon, who hopped up on the table, towering over the dog ready to finish him off.
"You!" Gar snarled down at him, staring down the blue-furred dog. "I should have made sure you croaked, you stupid mutt."
"Now's a good time as any!" Gin snarled viciously at the dragon, inviting him. Gar pounced at the dog jaws open, only for the dog to whack the dragon upside the head with the empty 9mm, knocking him down where the Inu piled on top of him. While the dog and the dragon continued their fight, Raira managed to gather herself, mustering enough energy to limp over to Deshi. The weakened dragon never even saw her coming, as the fox came in and kicked the ailing dragon down and began trying to throttle her with an armbar and triangle choke.
"I think... I came up with a new name for you Cyclops!" Raira snarled, as she reached down and grabbed her last remaining smoke grenade. "Legend has it that dragons were special creatures! They could breathe fire and blow up smoke! I know you Komodo freaks are all special too, so let's see if you really are dragons!" The vixen shrieked as she flicked the spoon off of her last smoke grenade. "Open wide!" Her hand almost went down the lizard's gullet to ensure the grenade went down as far it could go just before Deshi finally bucked her off, sending the fox crashing to the floor. The cyclops frantically attempted to vomit the grenade back up, but it was too late. The munition ignited in seconds, the lizard's leathery esophagus began to glow a bright burning red as the canister forced all the hot smoke up through her open maw, appearing like a mythical dragon belching fire.
"Well, hope you enjoy that new nickname... Deshi the Firebreather." Raira croaked weakly as she slumped like a crumpled mess, content at her gruesome handiwork. "Heal from that! Hehehehehe!"
While the silver fox eyes closed, Gin and Gar wrestled in a tense lock of hands. Gar eventually won out, grabbing hold of the dog's right arm, but Gin retaliated with a swift kick to the stomach right where there was little armor. The dragon buckled from the blow and he fell to his knees. Gin took advantage, jumping on the Komodo's back and attempting a textbook arm lock, however, the downed dragon was not so easily bested. His thick prehensile tail whipped and cracked the Akita hard in the face. With the dog stunned, Gar rolled over and paid the Inu back with a hard kick to the gut. Gin sucked air as he clutched his stomach, backpedaling and leaving himself open as the dragon wasted no time descending upon the dog. Gar's fists hurtled like stones into the side of the dog's head, knocking him to the floor, leaving him rattled.
"You fought well," Gar said, standing tall over the security guard. "You prove my earlier assessment very much correct. Surely a breed of worthy stock. But now... you ain't going to get sold. No... now that you really pissed me off. Now you're gonna pay for your insolence!" The Komodo said as he made a savage swipe ripping into Gin's forehead leaving three deep slashes. The dog ashamedly made a soft whimper as he cringed from the pain. "Just like a mammal. Whimpering like the soft little creature you are."
"Hey, Scarface!" A voice suddenly came from behind them.
Gar looked away from the dog to see Raira huddled over Deshi's still form. He decisively decked the wounded canine again before turning to deal with the silver fox.
"Desh- You defeated Deshi? Maybe I should I commend you, fox" He said addressing her. "However, there must be consequences." He commented coldly.
"Think fast!" Raira yelled as she hurled Deshi's dagger across the room. The blade embedded itself into Gar's chest, however, the reptile merely looked down at the dagger, completely unfazed. He shook his head at the silver fox.
"Pointless." He remarked, ignoring the blade as he continued to encroach on her with a murderous glare on his face. Just then the stock of a pump-action shotgun smashed into the side of his head, knocking the dragon down to the floor
"Was it though?!" Gin announced as he jumped off of the table behind and bodyslammed the stunned dragon to the floor, fighting savagely and attempting to bite into his neck. The PSI of his bite force clamped down on Gar's thick throat and began to squeeze, taking the lizard by surprise. "This is for Maurice!" He shouted, adjusting his grip. "For Alvin! For David! For Genkou-sama! YOU REMEMBER THEIR NAMES YOU BASTARD ON YOUR WAY TO HELL!" The dog growled as his fangs finally punctured even deeper. Eventually, in his rage, his jaws closed shut, the scarred dragon let out a sharp howl of pain as his air supply was briefly closed shut. Gar using what strength he had left, lassoed his tail around the dog's neck and pried him loose. Furious, Gar slugged the dog once more sending him rolling away as he felt his neck which had a big chunk of flesh missing.
Gin quickly stood to his feet; muzzle freshly red with the dragon's putrid blood and meat, shotgun in hand ready to finish the dragon. He spat it out and growled viciously at the dragon. A fierce display, but really a front. He was running on fumes.
As the wounded dragon began to stand as well, Gin noticed light shimmering off of the green dragon's scales that almost made him look otherworldly. Gin was confused but soon realized the source, the Mansion's large and ornate chandelier shining down on them, the seemingly only unscathed thing in the bombed-out ruins of a jewelry store. And more importantly, Gar was right underneath it.
"I thought I told you that weapon is useless." The dragon slurred as he held his hand over his neck wound, trying to stop the bleeding. "Maybe I'll club you to death with it."
"Maybe useless against you!" Gin shouted as he aimed the weapon and fired up into the light fixture, causing it to crash down on top of the unsuspecting dragon. The mostly metal heap crushed and pinned the varanid under its weight, finally putting him down for good. Satisfied, the canine put the barrel up to the dragon's exposed head, just about ready to finish this. Aven at that range and in the head, a blast would certainly kill the nigh unkillable dragon. He pulled the trigger and received a very unsatisfying response. *Click* A very sobering click. He racked back the pump and tried again. *Click* Again nothing. He was empty.
"Ah for fuck's sake... guess you were right..." He groaned dejected and exhausted, throwing the now useless weapon aside. Gin then turned his attention to his so-called accomplice, who he saw laying on top of the horrid charred remains of the female dragon. She looked to be unconscious or perhaps... a dark thought flashed in his mind, perhaps she had finally succumbed to her wounds. "Violet… Violet! You still alive?!" He shouted, desperately hoping for a response.
Thankfully to his delight, the fox's eyes opened. "Ugh…" She groaned, wincing from the many wounds inflicted on her. "I ain't gonna bite it here, dog boy. Not after a good score like this..." She murmured, patting the almost full bag on her waist. "I just need some help getting up and maybe some rest. But I ain't dead."
"Good, I don't have to say another prayer." He said squatting down to help her up. "C'mon."
"Fuck...let's get out of here quickly. He'd probably not dead, even from that. I should know. Fuckers are frustratingly tough." Raira groaned as Gin lifted her on his back. "Ugh... tell me you got a car."
Outside in the parking lot
Gin made it out of the back entrance and placed Raira in the passenger seat of his Red sedan.
"The name's Gin by the way." The dog finally introduced himself as he sat in the driver's seat and started up the car. "Gin the Akita Inu. What's yours, unless it's really Violet?"
"I'm not... I'm not fucking giving you my real name! Your name is 'G'! I'm 'Violet!'" Raira vehemently proclaimed. "I'm going to forget yours when this is over." She stated dismissively, trying to avoid giving him further eye contact
"Oh, come on..." The Akita whined as he pulled out of the parking lot.
"Oh don't you Oh, come on me. " The silver fox mocked. "You wanted to be professional, this is professional."
"I guess so... Raira? That's what the R stands for in our text messages isn't it?" He remarked looking rather smug.
"You forget that name, Pooch!" The vixen shouted as she feebly punched him in the arm.
"Now who's not professional, hmm?" The silver dog chuckled as Raira sank back into her chair.
"This is just turning out to be a fucking nightmare." She groaned.
"You doing okay?" Gin asked as he took a look at her then the backseat where her backpack full of their haul sat. Of course, she had completed their job for him while he had to go and play the hero. She'd paid the price for it too it seemed. Her body was scuffed and bruised from fighting the dragoness and she bore some nasty scars as well. He couldn't say he had escaped unscathed either, feeling the dampness of blood seeping down his scalp. "You don't look so hot."
"I'm fucking fine..." She insisted, slamming her hand on the dashboard. "Don't worry about me. Just get this thing moving! We just robbed a jewelry store that looks like ground zero. I don't think we should be loitering around here."
"Right." He said gripping the wheel and beginning to twist the key. Then a thought occurred. "Didn't you have a little kid partner too?" He asked as the image of the little girl popped in his head. "I thought I saw a red fox tail."
"Are you fucking... look I sent her ahead with the office safe loot." She explained impatiently before his face softened to worry. "Though now that you mention it. She did have one of those freaks chasing after her. I ran out of ammo and one of those scaley bastards escaped."
"Don't worry she's our next stop." He declared, starting the engine up. "I got a phone if you need to call her."
"I get what you're doing... you're trying to seem all helpful after you ditched me and her to go to the back." She barked at him. "I'm not stupid you know!"
"Sorry, it all turned out like that." He said, his ears lowering as guilt set in. "I don't think I'm cut out for this."
"Don't fucking apologize." The fox said not really caring for apologies. "Just don't do stupid shit like that again."
"I'm sor- I just had to make sure I got everyone out of there."
"Oh and, where are they?" Raira asked incredulously. "Car seems pretty empty right now!"
"Dead...it was a mistake." The Akita dog said with some regret in his voice.
"Wonderful, while you went back to confirm all that, I had to improvise. if we worked together from the start we could have gotten the loot all in one go and probably shot our way out... now my girl's out there on her own, I'm bitching to you about being an idiot, and now I have a splitting headache because you're asking all these fucking questions, you fucking boy scout."
Gin had a big exhale and his ears depressed down matching his mood. She was right, but he still didn't want to hear that.
Raira rolled her eyes at the dog's expression and gave a big sigh. I'm being a real bitch, she thought. She needed to chill out, they'd both gone through hell in a handbasket back there. "Look uh... Gin," She said, placing her hand on his shoulder. "I appreciate you sticking your neck out for me back there. Okay?"
A smirk formed on the Inu's face. "Likewise. Glad you distracted big and gruesome back there. He'd have killed me."
Raira's stretched her scarred face in annoyance as she took her hand off of the dog's shoulder. "Ugh... look, can we congratulate ourselves later? We're still in front of a crime scene, y'know? Get us out of here and maybe we can see where little Vespa is." She said, pulling a cracked cell phone from her pocket.
"Right." He said as he put the car into drive and started to head out.
*TWUMP!*
Suddenly there was a loud crash that rocked the car violently, causing Gin to hit the brakes. Both occupants were jerked forward in their seats by the sudden stop. They had hit something...or better yet something or someone had hit them.
"You really thought I'd just let you disrupt the harmony of this city unimpeded? During the Meteor festival no less?!" Said a dark figure rising off the dented hood of their car with a loud snort. Before them stood a dark-skinned Arabian horse, clad in riot gear and sneakers, with a luscious flowing black mane and tail blowing in the night breeze. The figure stood up, his slender frame seemed almost giant from their perspective
"It's... it's him!" Gin stammered, staring wide-eyed out of the windshield. It was the Black Devil himself! The Sublime Beastar, Yahya!
Raira knew of the dark stories about the horse and what he would do to people like them and instantly knew exactly what needed to be done: Escape!
The equine crusader reared back with his long-toned legs and intended to kick their windshield in. The silver fox screamed in a panic at the top of her lungs in gin's ears. "DRIVE! JUST FUCKING DRIVE!" The silver dog didn't need further prodding as he smashed the gas pedal and the car shot off at high speeds.
The gambit worked. "WAAAAAHHHH!" The dark stallion screamed in surprise as he found his footing suddenly shifted out from under him. The occupants heard his body bump over the roof of the car as he rolled off and landed hard on the street.
"Damn it..." He cursed, shaking off the incident. "That's what I get for being theatrical," Yahya remarked as the car made a wild turn. He began dusting himself off and took a look towards the smoking jewelry store. He had come here on foot, bounding from the rooftops, so he didn't have a car to pursue, so it was probably best to deviate this to the police force while he checked out the crime scene. He picked up his cell phone and called the police chief, Darth.
"Commissioner, this is the Beastar at a fresh crime scene. There was a robbery at the...uh Crystal Mansion in the Tokoro District. I have the make and model of the jewelry thieves' getaway vehicle. They are heading down Peregrine Ave at high speed. It's a Red Bonda Civic 5th Gen with a damaged hood..."
The Saint Bernard as usual pestered him with the usual paranoid concern over his well-being and gave him the same runaround with his forces being thin. Yahya however wasn't having it. "Don't lose them this time!" He angrily added, before sighing heavily, "And send me some men down here. Beastar out. " He shook his head as he put the phone away, and stretched, hearing an unsettling pop. "God, when did you get so old?" He grumbled to himself, adjusting his leg. "Can't even make a proper entrance anymore..." He said almost limping as he crossed the street and looked through the collapsed storefront for clues.
Now I have to add this robbery to my plate. Great...Bloodbone dealers, Tusk Trade murders... never ends. He sniffed the air. "This scent smells very familiar. Almost like..."