33 years ago - District 15 (What would later become part of the Dark Zone)
No one would be particularly surprised by an old decrepit housing project like the ones in Plague City going up in flames so quickly. Constructed during an era when most of the buildings were built with walls of paper and wood. All it took was for the right amount of spark for the apartments that the impoverished monitor lizards called home to catch fire. The building took no less than 20 minutes to completely become engulfed in flames and burn like a pile of kindling wood.
The lucky ones on the ground floor all scurried and fled for their lives, while the ones higher levels all tried whatever possible to escape their fiery prison. Some were able to escape, some were able to climb down or were lucky enough to get to the fire escapes, while an unfortunate few found themselves trapped. Such as a family of three on the 3rd floor. Their ceiling had caved in on their humble and cramped two room apartment, separating two Komodo dragons from their young son. Their child, a thirteen-year-old 'hatchling', screamed in fear as he tried to squirm his way free from a scaldingly hot beam of wood that had dropped on top of him as the dying build began falling apart.
"Garochirou?!" It was his mother's soft voice. "Daisuke, I think he's on the other side!" They had heard his cries, her frightened but hope filled voice instilled a spark of determination in the young lad, he ignored the tender pain and found inherent strength known to his species if only briefly to lift the heavy beam high enough to slide from under it.
"Mother!" The boy's weak and frail voice to answer back. The soot and ash choked him up and made him cough profusely. The roar of the fire easily drowned out his voice. "Mother!" He shouted again at the top of his lungs, unconcerned with the hacking cough that followed. "Father! I'm here!"
"Garochirou?!" He heard his father's husky voice answer. "Boy run if you can. Get away! Don't wait for us!" Garochirou began hearing a loud banging as his parent's door began to budge, his father was trying to bash the door down. Garochirou fearfully took a step back as the door began to splinter. However the building was also beginning to crack, burning debris began falling from the floor.
"Dear, the building…" He heard his mother shout.
"Oh God," his father's voice had panic interlaced. "Garochirou! Forget us! Run! The building is-" Another loud crash cut off his disembodied father's call. The building rocked and shook like an earthquake, the young dragon was knocked to the floor. The battered burning door his father had been attempting to take down finally fell over, however instead of his parent's waiting on the other side, all the young boy saw was a gaping view of the neighboring buildings. What was once his parent's bedroom was completely gone.
The unstable building had crumbled in on itself, taking several floors with it and blanketing the area in dust and debris. Garochirou was besides himself. His parents were gone.
"Father! Mother!" The young lizard cried, praying that they would materialize out of thin air at the sound of his calls. But this was real life, not some fantasy. The truth was a hard pill to swallow. Tears began to trail down his stinging beady eyes as he stared at the literal empty void. Everything he knew was gone. The loud creaking however cut short his anguish. A piece of rubble smashed apart on top of his head, jarring him back to his situation. The building was still unstable, he needed to flee or share the same fate as his parents.
Crawling on all fours he clawed his way towards the front door. Hastily opening his portal to safety, a surprise gust of wind invaded the room and swept him onto his back. Shaking himself off, he pushed himself to escape the burning room, staying low under the billowing smoke as he crawled in the now abandoned hallway. He finally reached the end and crawled out onto the rickety fire escape, making his way down. The final level gave way and wrenched away from the building and dropped from under him. He crashed with a loud thud, falling a few feet into a pile of trash down below, breaking his fall. Everything went black as his aching body just gave up.
He woke later to the sounds of a panicked mob, screaming and murmuring while accompanied by the loud roar of motorbikes revving up and sputtering. The boy dug himself out of the refuse and spied his fellow neighbors all huddled together like prey while strange beasts on motorcycles rode around them like predators circling in for the kill.
Garochirou knew these thugs well. They were the Shiro-jitengumi, a band of at least thirty animals that plagued this part of town, all of them different species of mammals. Something they took extreme pride in and something they used to oppress the reptiles living in the area. They were strange in that they were a mixture of carnivores and herbivores, all putting aside their differences and uniting together to put down the so-called dangerous threat to their neighborhood, venomous animals.
There was no doubt in his mind that they were the ones responsible for the fire. They had long since had a standing antagonistic relationship with the other groups in this district, but the poisonous reptiles were a chief target of theirs. They typically ransacked their meager businesses or destroyed vehicles as an ultimatum for the residents of Gar's building to leave the area and never return. This time unfortunately it seemed, they may have ramped up their efforts too far.
The thugs were all armed with blunt weapons like bats and billy clubs, swinging on or chasing down anyone brave enough to try and run. One resident, a male Gila monster got a spiked club smashed into his head when he tried to run off with his wife and child, while a young viper got his tail run over as he tried to slither away.
With nothing left to lose, the boy let his anger take hold. He looked down at his feet and spotted a couple of dislodged bricks and pieces of mortar. He angrily grabbed their biggest piece he could reasonably throw and hurled the brick like a missile, sending it flying right into one the bikers, a longhorn bull. The stricken bovine fell to the ground gracelessly like a sack of potatoes falling off the back of a truck. His comrades quickly saw the origin of the attack and veered towards him, weapons raised.
Seeing the impending danger, Garochirou hurled another brick, smashing a Rhinoceros rider in the face, though the blow had hardly the same effect as it did with the bull. The horned beast snarled as he locked in on the young reptile, steel pipe in hand. He swung frantically trying to strike him as he passed, but the kid ducked and ran off in the other direction. The other members altered course and quickly ran the boy down.
A swift whack to the back of the head from a crowbar sent the reptile floundering to the ground. Head ringing like a gong that had been rung, he feebly tried to get his body to get back up, but the pain was too great. He was quickly surrounded, he heard the sputter of their engines cutting off and sounds of boots hitting the ground around him. Soon he found himself kicked over, by one of the members, hard. His weary eyes opened to see a fierce looking Black-backed jackal standing over him. The next thing he saw was the soles of his boots about to stomp him in the face, he then received a kick in the ribs. The young lizard raised his arms to cover up and curled into a fetal position as the other gang members joined in an administering punishment.
"Where is the little shit?!" he heard the bull from earlier shout. The bovine pushed his way through the group and promptly kicked Garochirou square in the mouth, knocking loose some of the teeth the young reptile had only just gotten a year ago. He kicked him again and began to squeeze the poor boy's skull underneath his foot. The boy reached out to claw the dirt with his nails, slowly trying to crawl away.
"Wow, he's still conscious." The bull commented.
"Komodos are supposed to be a hardy race." The jackal said.
"That's what he is?" The bovine asked, surprised. "These scalies tend to all look the same to me."
"Yeah," The jackal answered watching the boy crawl. He slowly kept pace with him and sadistically crushed his small tail underfoot, keeping him from going any further. "He's just a little one."
"Well they can't be all that tough, we wouldn't have wiped 'em all out like that." The bull kicked him again. "He'll be a dead little one soon enough."
"Maybe the punk just got lucky."
"Luck…" A baritone voice behind them growled.
Their leader, a white-furred male Siberian Tiger, wearing dark shades and studded black leather clothing, parted the crowd to look upon the young hatchling huddled up on the ground. The bull quickly stepped away with a look of reverence for the feline.
Garochirou turned over, coughing heavily with a forlorn expression as tears rolling down his pebbly face. He was a pathetic looking being before this new arrival. However the feline's visage showed little sympathy, why would he? He was their boss. He'd likely ordered this attack himself. Gar knew outright that he wouldn't receive any mercy from the terrifying looking tiger.
"What do creatures like him know of luck?" he asked. "If he were lucky he wouldn't have been born a filthy poison lizard to begin with." The tiger grunted as he kicked the young dragon with his steel-toe boot, knocking all the wind from him.
The boy was sent spiraling further across the pavement. The sucking pain in his chest caused the child to wheeze heavily, it hurt just trying to cry. However his feeble weeping fell on deaf ears, in fact it rather amused them as they crowded around the boy, prodding and laughing at him. He looked up toward the main entrance of his former home, hoping by some miracle his parents would finally emerge unscathed, that his father would save him. It was naught but a naïve hope however. As if putting a punctuation mark, the entrance collapsed into a pile of burning rubble and dust. No one would get out of that. A bookend to any chance for some heartwarming reunion.
Instead the only warmth he felt was the unpleasant and scorching heat from the raging inferno and burning sores he felt all over from his injuries. He was all alone now. He had no one. Nothing. All he had left were fatalistic prayers that he'd see his parents again or that they would end his misery soon. The shadow of the tiger began to encompass him as he approached. The striped cat bent down and inspected the child, grinning with bared fangs as he mocked him.
"See, not so lucky now is he?" The tiger chuckled momentarily, before producing a crude looking sword out of a scabbard on his lower waist. He got a grip on the boy's leathery nape and made ready to bring the blade down on his neck. "Perhaps I should be merciful and end this poor creature's suffering!" He shouted to his men holding the blade up.
Suddenly there was the sound of glass shattering, like a bottle dropping into the street. The tiger paused as he looked over his shoulders. A dark purple smoke began to billow all around them. This was soon followed by more, bombs of some sort coming from all directions and erupting into wide cloud vapors of purple. A few of the gang members, including the bull from earlier, were caught with the radius of the thick haze. The young boy looked all around him, the bikers were all beginning to cough up a storm, and stumble dizzily around from the effects like drunks. Soon almost all of them were starting to keel over.
"It's poison!" The jackal cried out the obvious. He lifted the collar of his shirt over his snout and took off. "Don't breathe it in!"
The leader did the same and made a run for his bike. They all did, the few that didn't instantly pass out to the toxic clouds attempted to make a hasty retreat. Oddly enough the miasma of toxin had no effect on the boy, it felt no different from just inhaling a bad case of dust or bad air. In fact it even tasted very familiar. Something sweet, like Marmalade? He guessed as the taste hit his tongue like a jolt on electricity.
The kid propped himself up best he could, trying to see what was really going on. He could only make out a giant shadowy figure with a long tail. Like a reptile. The figure clenched a set of daggers in his hand before hurling them out towards the other fleeing mammals. The projectiles fanned out and found their marks, ripping the blanket of smoke, striking each rider in the back and causing them all the drop gracelessly from their speeding mounts.
The jackal from before found ran headlong into the smoke trying to punch through and escape. He nervously swung his club at whatever, only for seconds later to be spat back out trailing blood. The canine was sent flying head first and crashed to the ground with a loud thud.
"You types always want to prey on the weak. But you are nothing, but cowards when the strong arrive." His assailant said as he emerged from the smoke.
The figure was a sub-adult Komodo dragon, emerald scaled and wearing an old beat up combat uniform with a bunch of leather straps and makeshift light armor attached. He was young for his age of 15, but with the frame of a strong adult.
The jackal floundered on the ground, before raising back up and trying furiously to jump on the young reptile. However he merely swatted him away like a nuisance with a swipe of the teenage dragon's tail.
Soon other large reptiles started appearing out of the purple mist, all armed to the teeth with weapons and explosives. The other biker gang members were quickly set upon and soon a melee broke out between the two groups. With most of their forces incapacitated by the toxins, the bikers soon lost their cohesion and the fight quickly became a rout with their leader, the tiger, frantically trying to get his bike to rev-up. The white tiger cursed loudly as the motor failed to sputter. He looked over his shoulder and to his horror he saw the emerald scaled dragon making a beeline for him, a look of utter contempt on his face.
"Hideki!" The reptile cried, as he picked up speed and charged the cat, ready to get his claws on the large feline.
The tiger frantically kicked the startup, "God damn it! Come on!" He shouted at his mechanical steed. Finally just his attacker was within range, the engine finally sputtered to life and the tiger zipped away down the alleyway, escaping out of his would-be assailant's clutches.
"Maybe next time, Gosha-kun! Ha ha!" The leader taunted as he rode down the street to relative safety. That is until a dark purple scaled dragon, wearing a black sleeveless shirt and baggy pants popped out of the shadows in front of him and clotheslined the tiger off his speeding bike with his waiting grasp.
"Now just where do you think you are going, Hideki?!" The dragon hissed as he grappled with the ejected feline. The riderless bike careened and smashed into a large fireball to the side, the flash revealing the attacker's features fully for a brief period.
The feline attempting to free himself, put up a decent struggle, using his claws to swiped and claw at his attacker, but he was quickly overpowered by the heavier hitting Komodo. The only real blow that actually did anything was a deep slash across his attacker's eye before the larger lizard kneed him hard in the ribs. He felt varanid latch his massive hand through the thick fur on his neck and squeeze, lifting him effortlessly with the famed strength attributed to Komodo dragons. The world became a blur, as the ground rushed to meet the back of his head as he was slammed hard to the ground, making a crater in the dirt.
The once strong mammalian predator almost cowered, weakened before the more formidable reptile. The dragon barely looked exhausted as he stared down at him, with the fresh scar over his eye.
Then suddenly blinding headlights from a car flickered on behind them, an old beat up junker parked across the alley. The rays of light enveloped his attacker's silhouette almost like the radiance of an angel.
The car then crept forward before coming to a stop in the pathway, blocking any potential escape for his gang down the one way path. The doors opened and a wheezing much older brown scaled dragon, likely in his late forties, wearing a shabby cloak and makeshift mask covering his snout, stepped out accompanied by two other monitor lizards. The tiger recognized the older gentleman as Dogora, Boss of the Dokugumi.
"Dogora?" The tiger asked, panting as he tried to compose himself in front of his supposed contemporary. "I should have known if your muscle were here, you wouldn't be too far behind."
"Stand 'im up." The leader ordered. The amethyst toned dragon from before and another squat looking olive green individual complied, quickly hefting the dazed feline up under his arms and keeping him held in place. "Drag 'im out in the open. I want 'im to gaze 'pon his works."
The overpowered biker was placed right in front of the car where he got a full view of the still burning inferno his men had created. The noxious gas from earlier also had settled, and he saw his men either incapacitated or being rounded up by the victorious Dokugumi. The tiger cursed and spat at the dragon's feet, as a sign of disrespect.
"Aren't you doing this a little too early, eh Dogora-san?" The feline taunted looking up at the old lizard, who stood there staring silently at the ruins. "The turf war isn't for another week." He readied himself for the typical beat down he'd expect for being caught in a rival gang, but his counterpart had a different look about him. Instead of rage or anger, he looked up at a very stoic faced reptile, very fitting with his species' cold blooded nature. "What's the matter, can't wait?"
"After what you've done tonight, you really think you deserve any more of my patience, Hideki?" Dogora said, his icy tone contrasting the raging fire reflecting off of his sharp cold eyes. "Besides you clearly are the one who can't wait."
Dogora snorted and then began un-fashioning his mask. "I believe our arduous relationship has finally run its course, Hideki-san. I wish I had only ended it sooner."
"Wait! Wait! Y-you can't be serious." The tiger began to panic. The strong feline was reduced to a true babbling coward as soon as the Dokugumi leader's mask fell to the ground. Tried as he might could do nothing, but flounder about within the arms of the two strong men. "Dogora-san. We can talk this out."
"Talk?" The reptile responded as he opened his mouth, revealing his viscous venom dripping from his gums and fangs. "How about those families you barbequed alive, huh? That would be an interesting conversation, wouldn't it."
"No, look. There are rules for this sort of thing, r-right?" The white-faced tiger protested.
"How convenient that your rules don't involve sparing innocents."
"I-I! You can't do this! Please no! I'll leave and never-"
"You're begging now?"Dogora asked, almost insulted as he raised his venom covered claws to the tiger's face. "What ever happened to your pride? Aren't cats supposed to be prideful creatures? Face your end with dignity like your predecessor." He silently gave his men a signal.
The two Komodo dragons both pried open the cat's jaws wide enough for Dogora to jam his drenched claws down the cat's gullet, gripping the beast's jaw. Choking and poisoning him at the same time.
"No...wait noaUAAUUGHHHHH!" His screams were smothered as the gang leader felt the sharp pain as the claws both punctured the inside of his mouth as well as the sizzling tingle of the venom taking hold. The tiger lost all control in his legs, dropping limp to the ground in his captors arms, violently jerking and spasming. Foam began to form and spew around the feline's mouth as the last spark of life began to leave his eyes. The tiger died with a horrifying look of excruciating pain with Dogora's piercing pupils staring him dead in the eye throughout all of it.
The dragons let what was left of the cat's lifeless carcass drop to the ground while Dogora began dipping the tip of his tail in the pool of blood. "This is more than you deserve, but we will mourn your passing from this world. If not only to ensure your horrid spirit doesn't remain to haunt these people any further."
The scarred lizard silently observed and began a low chant alongside his boss.
"Dogora-sama!" He heard someone call out.
The Dokugumi boss opened his eyes to see the emerald one from before rush over towards them, dragging two unconscious gang members in one hand.
"Gosha-san." The boss replied, acknowledging him.
The young dragon dropped his captives in horror as soon as he saw Hideki's remains. A mortified look grew on Gosha's visage as he took in the Dokugumi leader's handiwork. "You actually killed him." He said, before advancing on the older lizard.
"Are you really surprised?" The scarred violet colored lizard, Savon, said standing up and stopping Gosha from coming any closer towards the Boss.
"That's not how we agreed to handle this!" Gosha shouted at the purple dragon, before looking at the head dragon. "Dogora-sama, I didn't join you just so you could use my strength to wipe out your competition!"
"Is it not justice to punish wicked men?" The older dragon said stepping away and casually flicking the blood and saliva from his hand.
"But this was just 'a hit' for you. Wasn't it?" The young dragon was filled with rage. "Convenient that you just so happened to be ready to catch him as soon as he fled." Gosha pointed out.
The old scaley gangster fastened his mask back to his face and stared at the young man. "It is true we were anticipating the coward to flee once we attacked, but his death was long in the making, boy. After tonight do you really think he deserves mercy for his crimes?"
Gosha's venom ducts started opening as he stared at the old man. "So, it wouldn't be murder if I put you down for yours?" He clutched the blood covered daggers in his grip. "I haven't forgotten your crimes, Dogora-sama."
"Don't." Savon warned, stepping between his boss and Gosha. "Don't be a fool, Gosha. We aren't your enemy. Don't lose your life crossing us." His eyes narrowed at his green counterpart, but Gosha didn't back down an inch. Only a quick involuntary flick of his tongue broke his angered scowl as he stared at Savon.
Gosha wasn't truly a member of the Dokugumi, merely an associate. He only lent his poison whenever the innocent and their homes were threatened.
Dogora heaved a deep sigh as he walked away from the hairy mess of the feline's remains. "Gosha, you are like a son to me. I've seen you grow from hatchling to a young dragon, so for that reason I will overlook your youthful insolence just this once."
Gosha continued to simmer regardless as he glared at the approaching boss, his emerald skin almost turning a darker shade as the fire raged behind him.
"I want you to look 'pon this tragedy." Dogora said pointing to the burning apartment and cowering former residents. "Look at their suffering. Do you think that our response wasn't unjustified? That we should just let 'em all go free with justa couple of scars and bruises after this?"
The young dragon said nothing, he mulled over the old beast's words. They made sense, no matter much he felt about it. He still didn't like it.
"This isn't some busted car window or some smashed up shop." The elder dragon continued. "These people, our people are dead or without home, because of these creature's evil actions."
"Evil actions? That's exactly the kind of sentiment Hideki used to commit acts like this!" The teenager shouted. "I've been paying attention to your campaign since I met you. Don't forget how you created his hatred when you wiped out the Byakkogumi and how that costly war destroyed the neighborhood under their protection last year. Where exactly do you think Hideki came from? You murdered his father. How long before another Hideki comes along to avenge him or take his place?"
"We'll be ready, next time. The other gangs will know we won't tolerate such aggression against civilians anymore." The old man said.
"No Dogora-sama, you'll be ready next time, there's no more we ." Gosha declared pointing. "Not anymore." He furiously turned and walked off.
"You can't! Where is your loyalty?" Savon shouted, rushing after him and grabbing him by the arm. "After all Dogora-sama has done for you and our people, you will just walk out on him like that?"
Gosha slowly turned, and silently glared at the man with a look more deadly than any venom. The more slender reptile flinched briefly, but regained his posture as he made ready for a brawl. Luckily, a confrontation was averted when Dogora stealthily wrenched his subordinate's hand free.
"Savon-san, let him go." The elder dragon said, emotionless. "The boy has clearly made up his mind."
"Boss?" His subordinate asked, still unsure.
"Gosha's always been a bit of a mercenary to our cause so far. He was never truly Dokugumi and we never pressed him into it." The old man stated. "His strength and allegiance lies only with his morals. We were merely blessed to have those morals on our side. We clearly have no right to them any longer. He is free to go in peace."
Gosha turned and faced his former ally with a sullen look. He raised up his index finger in front of his mouth and cupped together his other index finger and thumb to form a 'P' shape. Dogora returned the gesture and respectfully nodded. He held no ill will towards the youth. Gosha nodded back, and then continued his way down the alleyway never looking back.
"Peace my child."
A few feet away, the hurt young boy laid on his side, too weak to move. His mouth ached as he felt his sore gums where his teeth had been kicked out. It hurt just to breathe.
Still he felt he was safe at last with the arrival of the other dragons, the biker gang had all been dealt with. Some were being finished off, while others had hopped the fences or escaped into the neighborhood.
They had been punished for their crimes, yet Garochirou also felt empty inside. He had no clue what would come next. His parents were still gone. As if to prove that point even further the entrance to the apartment finally collapsed into a heap of burning rubble. No one was coming, a decisive bookend to hope for a heartwarming reunion.
Instead the only warmth he felt was the unpleasant and scorching heat from the raging inferno. He truly was all alone now. He had no one. No immediate family, no one to look after him. His parent's had moved to this city to start a new life, only the laws restrict any chance to go far, because of their poison. They had to live in ghettos like this, where his father worked a meager salary and his mother did what she could as a maid. Now, he had nothing.
Another large shadow loomed over him though he barely paid it any mind. It was only when he felt a strong clawed hand touch and shake his shoulder, that a bit of life came back to him. Instantly hope raced back to him as he thought of maybe his father had miraculously survived. Instead he looked up only to find disappointment. It was an old lizard wearing a cloak, much older than his father.
"Are you okay, young one?" the old lizard asked.
"I...I don't know." Garochirou replied.
"Can you stand?"
Garochirou could feel the words fumble from his mouth. "I...g-guess."
The uncertainty seemed to annoy the older man. "Can you or can you not?" he asked, much louder.
He reminded the boy so much of his late father. The man that had been taken from him by those monsters. The very same people, this strong man had defeated. Garouchirou felt he could trust him.
"Yes. I can stand." Garochirou said, having more conviction in his voice.
"Then stand." He said, looking down on the boy. "Stand and move forward. You survived. We are all creatures that grow more beautiful the more we face adversity. You have just only begun to polish your scales young one, so stand up. You have more trials to face." The light from the fire shined off the old man's scales as he extended his hand to the young lad. They all glimmered like the mirrors.
The young boy hesitated, but took the man's hand and woozily stood up. "Yes, sir." He replied.
"Good boy." The older dragon said, a slight smile slid across his scaly visage. "You got any family?"
A giant bright fireball exploded from the sixth floor, most likely a very violent backdraft. The damaged side of the building broke away and crumbled like a piece of dry cake.
"No." He mumbled. "No," He said much louder. "They're all gone. The fire took them."
"Then sit with me." The cloaked dragon said dropping down and sitting cross legged.
"But…" He said, not really wanting to sit back down.
"Just sit." The dragon repeated, sternly. "What's your name?"
"Garochirou. But my friend's all called me Gar for short."
"Well 'Gar', we're going to pray for the ones lost tonight. Pray for your parents. That their souls find safe travel. That they reach the Beyond." The other dragons all began to kneel or sit down near the aging lizard in unison and clasped their hands in prayer. The leader tilted his head down towards the young boy. "You should join us."
"Yes, sir." The boy said as he kneeled next to the dark dragon. He clasped his hands together and prayed the best he could. After a while he opened his eyes and saw the adult was still sitting there silently.
"Mister, what's your name?"
The dragon opened his left eye. "I am called Dogora. I am the Boss of the Dokugumi."
"You're the group that always sticks up for our people, when no one else will. That's what my father said."
"Then he was a good man. I'm sorry we couldn't do more."
"I hope you get them next time!" Gar said, his rage building inside him. The old lizard opened his eyes again, curious. "They deserve worse than that." The boy shouted. "I'll help you destroy them if i have to!"
"You got some fire within you. The spirit of a true dragon." The old reptile silently stood up and looked down at the young lad. "I can't bring your family back, but I can offer you a new one."
Present Day (A few days later from the previous chapter) - Apartment Building 14 - Dokugumi Hideout
Gar awoke, breathing heavy. He frantically looked around him unsure of his immediate surroundings. He saw the impoverished rundown walls around him and the busted windows. The air felt stuffy and bland to the taste. He smelled the noxious chemical taste of smog as well. He recognized the neighborhood, and the room also looked familiar. He figured he was back at the Dokugumi's fortress, a mostly abandoned apartment complex the lizards had taken over and fortified.
"Please don't move anymore brother," He heard a weak voice next to him say. "Just lay back and let your muscles rest." He looked down to his left and saw a masked female Komodo, crouched by his side holding a pair of bloodied pliers and needles.
Gar recognized her, she went by 'Morphine', she was the resident doctor in the hideout. She was currently digging into his side trying to pull bullet fragments free. He probably was doped up, but he could still feel her working on him, the pressure rather than the pain.
"I've worked on most of the surface level wounds, so your flesh is going to be a bit sore for a while. You slept through most of it, but I still have work to do. So don't move." She instructed.
Gar winced as his comrade continued digging the lead pellets out of his flesh. The sound of the discarded little metal balls hitting the bucket with each plunk was a sobering feeling. Needless to say, it sucked getting shot, even for a Komodo. They were built tough, but not invincible. Of course his gear had done its job, but still some of the pellets managed to penetrate into the softer unprotected areas like his arms, shoulders, and neck. Those that went deep would be with him forever, a constant reminder of his endurance.
"I'm almost through." The makeshift surgeon told him. "Your scales will be shining like the harbor at sunset."
"There are better ways to polish your shell than pretending you are bulletproof." Another voice said on the other side of the room.
Gar turned his head to see a toned dark purple scaled dragon in his forties staring at him in the doorway. It was Savon, current Boss of the Dokugumi. "I see you are awake now."
"Boss..." The wounded dragon started out to say. "I can explai-"
"They found your missing soldier and his brother on Gilgo Street." The older dragon said, ignoring him. "Rumors say they were trying to eat a little sheep and rabbit. They're dead however."
"Dead...Bantu." Garochirou muttered his comrade's name solemnly.
We also heard they've identified members of the rest of your crew at a vandalized jewelry store on Inyusu. "Deshi, Kainik, Jun, Koffi, Phoso. All of them, just like Bantu and Yazhn. Word on the street says they were all killed in an explosion, maybe some of their tail bombs exploded no one is sure. Of course, we couldn't recover their bodies, the badges have them. However what we could gather is that canines were involved. What kind we don't know."
Savon leaned down and looked Gar in the face.
"And the kicker, the Black Devil is out on a crusade in the market, we think he's been targeting our dealers specifically. Run-ins have been reported more often than not lately, the ones that come back usually tell of him questioning about a scarfaced dragon. That description is a dime a dozen among us, but I'm looking at your injuries and the fact that your crew is in the papers. That 'Scarface' description is definitely starting to narrow down real quick." He said, staring knowingly at Gar.
Gar looked down, looking forlorn. The leader's brow raised angrily as he upon his subordinate.
"Spare me that wallowing crap!" Savon growled, apathetically. "I already know you've screwed up Gar. I just want to know, what the hell were you up to? Why you're here all shot to hell after crawling back with your tail between your legs. Tell me."
Gar knew this confrontation was inevitable, thankfully he already had a plan. He didn't dare tell Savon the entire truth, but he could give him part of it.
"We had been hired to knock over a jewelry store on Inyusu. It was a behind the scene deal for some extra yen." He started to explain. "The owner was some old simian paying us a fortune to vandalize his failing business with our bombs, so he could collect the insurance money."
"You? Working with a mammal? Right." Savon said, skeptical. Gar was one his more passionate underlings, he usually had to reign in his more ruthless tendencies when fighting the other groups. He'd always had that tick about him ever since he joined. He was even instilling that sort of prejudice within his own group, too much for even Savon's taste.
"I had good reason." Gar replied. "There was also another prize that caught my attention. Something sacred."
"Oh? Sacred?"
"Yes, I believe I found it, Savon-sama." He revealed, "I had found our founder's remains."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Savon looked at him perplexed.
"I mean his skull, Boss. Dogora-sama! Our founder!"
"That's been lost to us ever since the Okamigumi sacked our old headquarters ages ago. Just how the hell did you find it?!"
"I had come to an agreement with the old ape who had come into possession of the skull years ago. He said he had bought it from some shady wolf types, which all but confirmed it for me. They must have sold it to him. He had been using its beautiful crystalized state to display it as some sort of center piece at his little shop. I sought to liberate it."
"Why didn't you inform me as soon as you found out?"
"I wanted to surprise you. It would have been my tribute for this month."
"Great, so now your tribute is that you no longer have any soldiers." Savon heaved a deep sigh. "So what happened? I see you are empty handed. "
"It was a double-cross!" Gar insisted passionately, jumping up from the table earning his annoyed glance from the surgeon.
"Move again and you can keep the needles," She warned, waving her surgical tools at him. Gar nodded understandably and sat back down, trying to remain still.
"We were set up by the Inarigumi. I recognized one of the foxes from our battle last year. The one that took Deshi's eye." he continued. "Somehow they knew we'd be there and they ambushed us. We weren't expecting a fight and they overwhelmed us with guns." He embellished the truth even further. "At least seven vixens were there, all of them carrying some heavy firepower. We didn't stand a chance!" he said wringing his hands, though he made effort to keep his animation limited so as to not draw further ire from the she-dragon.
"Seven?" Savon mused, stroking his chin. "That's a regular hit squad for them." He began to pace around the room. "Why was your man found blocks away with his brother?" He asked. "There is still that mystery."
"They had made off with the skull, they plundered the whole damn store after all of us were down. You know just how greedy those shifty furbags can be. One of them broke away from the pack and Bantu managed to escape and chased after them. I'm sure those foxes had something to do with his death."
"This is very troubling, I wouldn't imagine Ten making such a sudden move like this, but those foxes are known for their cunning. This will be an interesting point for the next turf dispute." The purple dragon shook his head. "You aren't off the hook just yet Gar," he said pointing his finger before heading for the door. "But for now I want you to rest. Rejuvenate your body, we'll discuss your future once you are fully healed."