"Okay, lemme ask you something. Who would win in a fight; pirates or ninjas?"

Kyra chuckled at the question Tails had asked her and Sonic. Sonic smirked at Tails. "Ninjas, bro. Duh!"

"I disagree," Kyra muttered as she gazed at the slip of paper Clarisse had given her. "Ninjas have stealth, but pirates have the numbers and artillary. Haven't you ever seen the scene in that one Indiana Jones movie where they're on a horse and then a swordsman steps in their path and then Jones shoots 'im? C'mon! It takes more than a sword an' some pointy 'stars' to take down a pirate."

Tails raised a brow at her as he looked around Paris as they walked down the crowded sidewalk, the sun starting to set. "Indiana Jones is a treasure hunter, not a pirate."

"You know what I mean! It's a gun against a sword!"

Tails shrugged in turn. "Whatever you say."

"So," Sonic said as he eyed a vendor's stand curiously. "How exactly are we gonna find this 'mooner'? I mean, she gave us the address and everything, but what if the guy's not there?"

Kyra shrugged. "Simple; find out where th' bloke's gone and then find him again. And if that don't work out, then we can figure something else out."

"Have you ever been to Paris before, Sonic?" Tails asked, gazing at the old buildings in awe. Sonic frowned. "Yeah, but I never really went this slow…Didn't really pay this part of it much mind 'cause Eggman was about to tear it down. You remember, don't you?"

Tails shook his head. "Nah. I was probably sick when that happened."

"Yeah, that makes me wonder; how's a bloke like you, an international hero, end up working at a bar?" Sonic shrugged at Kyra's question as they turned into a narrow alleyway.

"You know how things go. Government doesn't consider me to work for them, said it was 'charity work'," He then proceeded to mutter agitated curses under his breath. "So, because I was apparently 'volunteering' I had to find other means of work."

Kyra wrinkled her nose in disgust. "That sucks a big one."

He scoffed. "Tell me about it!"

Tails then began staring upward, admiring the old, warn buildings making up the walls of the alley. "So how much further 'till we find that mooney guy?"

"Mooner," Kyra corrected, still looking at the slip of paper.

Sonic sniggered, hand over his mouth trying to hide it. Tails raised a brow at him. "What's so funny?"

He was now laughing hysterically, the others stopped and staring at him with curiosity. He then calmed down enough to say, "Haha! Mooner," before continuing to laugh until tears began streaming down his face.

Kyra glared at him and then Tails as the eleven-year-old began snickering as well. "You're both disgusting…," She growled before continuing down the alleyway, the two moebian's laughter following behind.

"Well, it all depends. If he's home, then it's quick. If he ain't, then it won't be so quick." Tails glared at her, ear twitching in aggitation. "I never would've guessed…"

Kyra gave a playful grin at him before shoving the paper back in her pockets. "Just a few more blocks, kid."

"You're job always like this?" Sonic asked, walking along a chalk line as though it were a tightrope. Kyra looked over at him, pulling her glasses on top of her head as they turned back onto a street. "Like what?"

"All complicated. You start at one place, then you go to another, and then another, and then another…" Kyra shrugged, glancing at the adresses on the buildings. "Not usually. I rarely get hired for jobs like this. It's mostly paperwork and retrieving demons sentenced to the Purgatories or something. That sort of bollocks."

Tails looked at her in confusion, looking away from the architecture for once. "The Purgatories? Like, a torture chamber or something?"

She nodded, pulling out a cigarette. "Yep. The Council sometimes has to sentence traitors or otherwise to the Purgatories due to their crimes. Thing is, they don't have any 'professionals' like knouters or anything like that. They usually just get a couple of psychos together and let them do their thing, each being assigned to a certain person or persons. Trust me, it's about as close to Hell as you can get in the demon world."

"The 'demon world' sounds like hell as is!" Sonic laughed. A smile curled across her face and she laughed a little. "I suppose it doesn't sound very appealing from your angle." She then paused in front of a storefront that had a warn wooden sign that said, Droguerie in black lettering. She pulled out the crinkled paper and glanced at the address before nodding. "This is it."

Sonic looked the storefront up and down before looking at Kyra skeptically. "The guy lives in a drugstore?"

"I wouldn't think so. There's probably an apartment upstairs." Tails noted, pointing to the second floor.

"Either way," Kyra flicked the butt to the ground and stamped it out with the heel of her boot. "You two ain't gonna confront him."

Sonic's ears rolled back a little and he clenched his jaw. "And why not, exactly?"

"For starters, you damn near got killed with that minotaur. Second, he's too young to be dealing with this sort of thing," She pointed to Tails as she said this. "And third, anyone who is still laughing at butt jokes at eighteen years old is obviously too immature and idiotic to handle this serious a situation." She then rolled her eyes and lit another cigarette. "When I was your age-"

"Oh good lord, don't get started on that…" Tails groaned, hands over his ears in 'agony'. Sonic didn't pay it any mind and continued glaring at her.

"When you were my age? If I remember my history correctly, when you were eighteen baths were a rare thing, wooden teeth were dentures, incest was considered to be perfectly fine, and people only lived to be about fifty, thus making it to where eleven year olds had to get married and start families. Oh, and fire had just been created and people were riding dinosaurs instead of horses, forgot to add that."

She snarled at him, lip curled back and razor sharp teeth bared at him. "Watch your mouth ya little smartass!"

"C'mon! I've handled a lot of crap in eighteen years, I'm pretty sure I can handle this guy."

"Oh really? You can handle your stereotypical werewolf?"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure I can."

"Pretty sure? As in 'not one hundred percent'?"

He growled at her, now becoming even more aggravated. "Just. Let. Us. Come."

She stared at him a long time, sizing him up and deciding weather or not to let them deal with something like this. She then shook her head and snatched the cigarette out of her mouth. "You're a bloody wanker…," She then snatched him and shoved him toward the door. "C'mon!"

Walking into the drugstore was almost like walking into one from the 1950s. The wooden floor boards looked as though they hadn't been replaced in almost fifty years and the shelves of drugs and glass jars lining the walls just added to the whole 'old-timey apothecary' look. On the counter were various drugs and some empty glass jars you could purchase; a little metal bell was on the counter too.

Tails rang it, seeing there wasn't anybody in that they could see or hear.

A hasty thudding came from the stairs in the back and soon a man in his mid-to-late twenties dressed in a nice red shirt and blue-jean pants came up to the counter. He had wavy brown hair and honey eyes as well as a pair of glasses.

Kyra smiled at him. "Bonjour. Is your name Armand?"

He blinked a little, surprised but nodded. "Err…Y-Yes madame. How may I help you?"

"I was wondering if I may speak with you in private."

He was jittery and glanced at her, then Sonic, then Tails, then back to her before he went to the front and flipped the sign to the fermé, or closed side.

He then averted his gaze back to Kyra, eyes filled with fear. "You shouldn't be here at this hour…"

"And why not exactly? I'm a Hunter, and you're a mooner."

He fidgeted a little as he drew blinds in front of the window and lead them to the back. "Y-Yes…but you shouldn't have come so close to dark and-" He stopped abruptly and stared at Tails and Sonic, that fearful look still in his eyes. "Oh no…" He then glared at her. "Mortals?"

Sonic and Tails rolled their eyes. "Again with the mortal thing…"

He shook his head, holding his temple as he opened up a trapdoor leading into an old cellar. "No…no…You need to leave now before anyone gets hurt."

Sonic chuckled. "Look, we know what you are and it's cool just-"

"You need to leave…" He muttered, going down a short, rusted metal ladder and taking a pair of shackles off the wall. "I can't…He'll get into my mind again and make me…" He cringed at the thought of whatever he had done prior.

Sonic jumped into the hole, along with Kyra who was delayed by making Tails stay up top. "He? He who? And what's this guy making you do concerning- Wh-What are you doing…?"

Armond was in a cell now, behind a steel door with bars near the top in a small square. The door was open and he had already taken his shirt off and was hastily tugging at the button and belt on his pants. "Taking off my clothes…They restrict too much movement and are uncomfortable during the…," He paused a moment before clearing his throat. "Transformation…"

His ears went back and he blushed. "Oh…well, err…I'll just…look…this way…" He motioned with a thumb in the other direction.

Armond nodded and gave a little smile. "Thank you. I'll have everything covered up in a moment."

"You go ahead and get that done, then…"

Kyra rolled her eyes and just lit another cigarette, not minding the whole stripping thing at all. "Cut the bloody chit chat. Who's the krenaht that's been controlling you?"

He sat at the other end of the cell, hands below his pelvis and knees pulled up to his chin. The cell door was now closed and barred and he had shackles on both hands and on either ankle. One that had been attached to the wall was around his neck. "Don't know. He has something big planned though…I think he's in Romania, hiding. He's been after some girl…What was her name? Amanda? Amy?"

Sonic's ears shot up and he looked back over at him. "Amy? Like, Amelia Rose?"

He nodded. "Yes. That was it. Amelia Rose."

Sonic was at the bars now, staring at him eagerly. "What'd he say? Why'd he have you attack her that night?"

He opened his mouth, about to say something when he then screeched in pain, hands clenched into fists and hunched over on the ground, whimpering. "Oh god…it's happening…th-the-" He jolted again as a sickening crack came from his back, tears in his eyes as he struggled against the chains, a spine chilling scream echoing throughout the cellar walls.

"What's happening, guys?" Tails asked, worry obvious in his voice. Kyra growled and yanked Sonic away from the bars. "Nothing good, Miles!"

Sonic couldn't see the transformation going on, but the shrieks of pain and the cracking and tearing of bone and muscle made his stomach churn.

"Go back up the ladder," Kyra hissed, pushing him back. "Get Tails out of here. Find a hotel or something, I don't care, just get away from here as fast as you can."

More shrieks echoed throughout the cellar, this time sounding more like an animal in pain rather than a person. Sonic didn't have to be told twice to get out of there, he was getting nauseous just by the sounds in there, he didn't need to get even worse by seeing what that guy looked like when he fully turned.

He started to climb up the ladder, the thick rust turning his gloves a deep, blood red color. As he was grabbing the top bar he winced as a twinge of pain came from his hand. Pulling it back, he saw that the rusted ladder had cut into the palm of his hand, making it bleed ferociously.

Silence filled the cellar.

A low growling sound started coming from within the cell, and Sonic's ears rolled back.

Kyra's lip twitched upward as she glared at the cell and then at him.

Go. The thought echoed in Sonic's mind like hot iron had been pressed against it and he ignored his hand, pulling himself up into the room. Tails looked at him with concern. "Sonic? What's happening?"

Sonic shoved him toward the store front. "C'mon. We gotta get out of here before-"

Splinters and broken wood then flew at them as well as giant hunks of concrete. Sonic forced Tails behind an isle, himself following.

Snarling could be heard from the spot where the debris erupted from as well as ferocious, eager scratching and clawing against the hardwood floor.

Sonic hated to do it, but glanced around the shelf they were behind. A black shape with two glowing red eyes peered out from the hole, its face in an angry, twisted shape and bloody yellow teeth grinning at him. Half of its mangled body was on the floor and its bloody, shackled claws groped at the floor eagerly, trying to pull himself up.

Sonic then glanced down at his hand as he ducked back behind the shelf. Oh no…he smelled the blood.

"Go-go-go-go-go….!" Sonic hissed, shoving Tails along, getting as far away from the hole as possible. It was directly in front of the door…shit.

A yelp of pain then came from the 'mooner' and it started clawing even more at the floor. Sonic's ears then went back as he realized what was happening. Kyra was pulling him back down into the cellar, or at least trying to.

The shape went back down a few feet, snarling down at the hole and swiping at her with a paw.

Tails then nodded at the staircase. "The apartment."

Sonic nodded and started for the staircase. Looking back, he saw that the mooner was almost all the way out, a pointed ear now torn off and bite marks on his muzzle.

Pulling Tails along, they finally got to the top of the stairs to find the door unlocked. Opening the door, Sonic rushed Tails in just before the gruesome black-furred face peered around the stair corner.

Slamming the door shut dead bolting it, and then shoving a couch in front of it, Sonic went to help Tails pry open a window in the corner.

More snarling and growling sounded outside the door as it shuddered when something- or perhaps someone -slammed into it.

The window was jammed, possibly not having been opened in weeks or months.

A splintering and cracking sounded from the old wooden door before a pair of claws jolted back from it, long jagged scrapes now on the door.

Sonic glanced at Tails, who was now hyperventilating. He growled and picked up an iron poker from a fireplace mantel nearby, gripping it tightly before swinging it against the glass, spraying shards down onto the dark cobblestone streets.

Tails looked back with wide eyes as more wood came from the door, this time the mooner's entire head coming through. He sniffed at the air, bloody saliva dripping from his chops before snapping his head in their direction, baring his teeth at Sonic with an animalistic hunger.

Tails grabbed Sonic's hand before jumping out the window. "C'mon!"

Sonic didn't have any objections at the moment, and gladly followed him out the window.

By the time they landed on the ground the mooner was already at the window, groping at the walls eagerly, trying to figure out how to get to its quarry.

Sonic and Tails ran into a dark alley thirty minutes down the street, not stopping until they were sure it was safe.

Tails looked at Sonic, panting. "Do…Do you think we should go back for Kyra?" Sonic hesitated a moment before shaking his head. "No…She knows what she's doing with that thing." He then sighed, leaning against the alley wall. "We should've listened to her…"

"You couldn't have known what that thing was going to do. I mean, it's not like we've dealt with something like this before."

"Yeah…but she told us not to-"

"Will you two shut the fuck up?" Sonic's ears perked up as Kyra came down the alley, scratched all to hell and back and coated with blood. "I swear, I've never heard so much whining in my entire life."

Sonic's eyes widened. "Holy shit, are you okay?

She nodded, wiping some blood from her mouth. "Yeah. The bastard's knocked out for now…He should wake up around dawn, if not later."

"Did you need any help? We would've gone back if-"

"It wouldn't have mattered if you two were there or not. Your sourpuss friend ended up teleporting in on the whole thing."

Sonic's brow furrowed. "Sourpuss friend?"

"Still haven't figured out my personality, Sonic? Hmph, sounds like you're slower than I thought." Sonic looked up to see Shadow leaning against the alley wall casually.

Tails was surprised, too. "Shadow? What-? What are you doing here? I thought you left the whole thing?"

"I did…But I had a little pursuation. You guys might wanna sit down…"