"Noooooo," Eve whined shrilly, pulling her bedsheets up over her head.

Automne gave a heavy sigh as he walked up to her bed, a bottle of cold medicine in one hand. "Eve, please take some medicine."

"No," Eve's congested voice snapped from under the blankets. "I don't need medicine."

"Yes, you do." Automne said firmly, pulling a spoon from his pocket. "Now, just take a spoonful and try to get some rest." Automne politely ordered as he removed the cap from the medicine bottle.

"No, I don't need medicine, it's gross."

"A fine argument from a medical student." He mumbled as he carefully poured the thick dark medicine into the spoon.

"Automne, hurry up," Petunia shouted from the other side of the room where her and Ty were staring at a laptop intently.

"Give me a minute." He shouted back causing a few drops of the medicine to splash out onto the floor.

"I'm not taking any medicine, I feel fine." Eve whined pulling the covers down to reveal her bright red nose and puffy eyes. "I want to come with you on the mission."

"No, Eve," Automne stressed, pushing her back into her bed as she tried to rise into a seated position. "You have to stay here and get some rest."

"I'm fine, I'm just a little congested."

"Eve, you can't even focus your aura." Automne chided, his hand still pinning her down. Unfortunately for Automne Eve was not about to make pinning a teenage girl to a bed while balancing a spoonful of medicine a simple task for she immediately began squirming and whining up a storm. In the midst of all the squirming though something made Automne hum curiously. His stare quickly began to change in intensity as he focused upon her face for a few long moments. Calmly removing his hand from her shoulder he raised it to her face and lifted her bangs. With a small moan Eve writhed uncomfortably as Automne pressed his cold fingers against her forehead and frowned. "And I also think you have a fever. Where do you keep your thermometers?"

"In my med kit, but I don't have a fever. If anything I feel cold." Eve softly, yet stubbornly, denied.

"Alright, fine, even if you don't have a fever, I'm still not going to let you get out of this bed." His patience thinning as he struggled to balance the spoonful of medicine while extracting a thermometer from one of Eve's many medical kits. "It's too cold out tonight and it'll only make you feel worse."

"Automne, I feel fine, I'm coming with-"

"Open," Automne ordered, pulling out a pristine glass thermometer and shoving it into Eve's mouth.

Eve gave him an infuriated glare as she rolled the thermometer around to the corner of her mouth. "I'm coming with you." She slurred. "What if you need medical attention? Or what if you get into a fight? You'll need me."

"Eve, you're too sick to help do anything. I'd probably end up carrying you around for most of the night." Automne reasoned, pulling the thermometer from her mouth and holding it up to read. "A little over 38. You have a fever."

"It's probably wrong." Eve responded defiantly. "That's an old thermometer, you should've used one of the new ones. And even those have been proven to be-"

"Eve," Automne interrupted, a frown stretching across his face. "Please, just take the medicine."

Eve's eyes darted to the spoon that he was beginning to lift towards her mouth. In a flash, she pulled the blankets up to her nose childishly and looked at Automne fearfully. "Please don't make me." She whispered from behind the blanket, her periwinkle eyes quivering.

"Eve, it's just medicine. I don't…" Automne stopped and gave a heavy sigh as he kneeled down next to her bed. He stared at the spoon for a few moments before looking back to Eve, giving her a warm smile. "Alright, tell you what, if you take this medicine, maybe a bit more in the morning, and agree to get some rest, I promise I'll make you some chicken and waffles when you get better."

Eve's eyes widened, they bounced between Automne and the spoon a few times considering her options. She stared at Automne intently as the shifting came to a stop. "You can't go back on your promise."

"I never do."

Eve turned her attention to the spoon and stared at it miserably. "Hmmmmmm- alright." Eve surrendered weakly, slowly lowering the blankets. With trembling lips she opened her mouth and squinted until she could barely see the spoon.

Automne gave a relieved smile and placed the spoon into her mouth. Eve's lips closed around the spoon and her face quickly twisted in disgust as she forcefully swallowed the spoonful of medicine. "There, was that so bad?" Automne asked in an almost condescending tone as he wiped the spoon off on his sleeve while working hard to suppress a chuckle.

"Yes, it was awful!" Eve cried as she threw the blankets over her head and curled up into a ball of fabric.

Automne gave a small chuckle as he placed the spoon in Eve's med kit and stood up. "When I get back I'll make you some chicken soup. Try and get some rest while we're out."

Eve's only response came in the form of muffled whining about how she wasn't sick and how she just did it for the food.

Automne shook his head in amusement as he made his way across the room to Ty and Petunia, only stopping for a moment to pull the dividing curtain shut.

"'Bout time." Petunia slurred as Automne joined them at their makeshift command center. The command center, which was really just a table shoved into the corner and covered by some notepads, a laptop, and a half-dozen empty cans of Power Beast, made Automne cringe at how absolutely foul it smelled. The odor was the worst possible mixture of sweat and energy drinks that anyone outside a video game convention would ever know.

Like a man, Automne tried to ignore the stench by plastering his eyes to the laptop's screen while lightly gnawing at his tongue. Said screen was covered in large spreadsheets, a few initials sat perched atop each of the columns. Every box beneath was filled with numbers ranging anywhere from four to seven figures.

"Yeah, whatever, now tell me what we got?" Automne inquired running his eyes across the screen, perplexed.

"Well, as you can see, it looks like plans to blow up the moon." Petunia snapped as she scrolled down the page to reveal more and more of the numbers.

"It looks like we opened up their finances." Ty said quietly as he stared at the screen. "Petunia, you said earlier you found an address?"

"Yeah, it was towards the bottom of the page. I thought it might belong to whoever was running the operation or something. Turns out it's the address of a strip club down town."

"Hmm, do you think it could be a front?" Ty asked, taking the laptop from Petunia so he could look over the chart again.

"Maybe," She said. "While you guys were taking your sweet-ass time at dinner, I counted up the profits and it comes out in the millions."

"That doesn't seem super suspicious to me." Automne shrugged pulling out his Scroll so he could tap away at his tiny illuminated keys.

"Oh yeah, well that's just the profits for the past couple weeks. There are dozens of files on this system and I'm willing to bet that more than a few of them are finance tables just like this one." Petunia said as she rubbed at the large purple bags under her eyes. "Whoever these guys are, they're loaded. We need to get into that club."

"How're we supposed to do that? None of us look old enough to slip in there without being noticed. If they ask for ID we'll be out on the street in a minute." Automne warned as he stuffed his Scroll back into his pocket.

Petunia gave a proud smirk. "Fear not, pervert-"

"You're one to talk."

"- I figured out a way to hack into our Scrolls a long time ago. I'll just change our ages and we'll get in there with no problem."

"You know it's illegal to tamper with government issued ID's right?" Ty scolded.

"Yeah, but if the government never knows, they can't charge me now, can they?" Petunia said without the slightest hint of shame. She held her hands out to the two signaling them to pass her their Scrolls.

"Alright," Automne started hesitantly as he pulled out his Scroll and handed it to Petunia who ripped it from his hands like a greedy child. "So, what's the plan anyways? We're just going to go in there and look around for suspicious people?"

"Basically," Ty said simply, gently placing his Scroll in Petunia's hand. "What we gotta do right now is find out who these guys are, find out where the money is going and who's in charge, and then, when we have enough information, we'll strike the vital parts of their business and then watch them collapse in on themselves."

"Sounds easy." Automne mumbled as Petunia pulled up their ID screens and plugged them into her laptop. "So, when are we going to take off?"

"Right after Petunia changes our ID's." Ty replied, "You and I will go to the strip club and run recon while Petunia stays here-"

"Whoa whoa whoa," Petunia interrupted with a confused frown. "What the hell do you mean 'I'm staying here'?"

"Well, what do you think it means? Because it's kind of self-explanatory."

"I am not staying here, I'm coming with you." Petunia demanded as she set down her laptop and the Scrolls.

"No, you're not. You've been hunched over that laptop for what, thirty hours? You're too sleep deprived to help. You'll probably get us caught."

"That, and you're the world's worst lesbian." Automne chimed in with a nod.

"Oh, shut up, virgin." Petunia shot at Automne before returning her tired glare to Ty. "Dude, I'm fine, plus I'm the one who's been hacking these stupid files for the past few weeks, I deserve to be there."

"No, we need you here feeding us any information you can scrounge up that might help us find out who's running this thing." Ty stressed. He gave the girl an empathetic frown and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Right now you're more useful to us here. So, please…"

Petunia gave a heavy groan and smacked his hand away. "This's fuckin' bullshit." She grumbled as she went to work on her teammate's Scrolls.

"Swear box," Eve's small tired voice moaned from across the room.

"Oh yeah," Automne said absentmindedly. "Petunia, while we're gone could you check up on Eve every now and then to make sure her fever isn't getting worse."

"Bite my ass."

Automne nodded his head a bit, "Alright, then."

"Hey, buddy… hey." Ty said in a mocking whisper as him and Automne shuffled down the dark, quiet streets of Vale. "Are you mad at me?"

"Ty, shut up." Automne snapped, his eyes not straying from the sidewalk.

"Come on, bro. We're cool, bro."

"We are not cool, and stop calling me bro. You're a douchebag."

"Nooooooo, we're cool." Ty replied happily as they rounded a corner and made their way up the block. "So, you bring plenty of ones?"

"Shut up!" Automne snapped again, his fixation on the sidewalk intensifying.

"I'll take that as a yes."

The Scroll on Ty's belt gave a loud buzz as Automne began to grumble to himself. Ty lifted the slab of technology up to eye level and pressed a couple buttons. "Hey, Petunia, I got you on speaker."

"Hey," Hints of resentment still dripping from Petunia's voice. "I managed to crack open a couple of files and I found a conversation between these guys that I thought you'd want to hear."

"Why, what were they talking about?"

"Well, it's not really a conversation. It looks a lot more like directions on how to get into the VIP room at the club you're going to. It says that to get in you have to go up to the DJ and tell 'er she's quote 'So hot she's almost scorching red'."

"Hmm," Automne hummed, "Seems like an odd way to get into the VIP room."

"Which is why I'm telling you." Petunia scoffed, as the duo passed a small group of prostitutes. "I think that's where all the illegal shit is going down. Try and get in there if you can. It'll probably be your best chance at getting information on whatever the hell all this is."

"Alright, thanks Petunia." Ty said, hanging up and reattaching the device to his hip. Looking up the street he gave a soft sigh as he straightened out his green and purple pin-striped shirt. "Hope you didn't need to stop by an ATM, 'cause we're here."

Automne looked up from the sidewalk to the large red neon sign that shined down upon them with thin shimmering letters. It was almost intimidating how the dark two story building towered over them, faint pink light seeping through the intricate floral patterned windows above. Automne's tongue worked hard to moisten his mouth as he tried to mouth the words: "The Oasis."

"C'mon, we don't have all night." Ty said quietly as the two stepped forward to a large, dark, brick house of a doorman.

Before the doorman could open his mouth the two had already pulled out their Scrolls and held them up for his examination. Surprised by their swift response the doorman took his fair share of time glaring at the screens. He looked them over a half dozen or so times before he pointed to the entryway with his thumb. "Keep your hands to yourselves, and enjoy the show, boys." He grumbled in a deep voice as he returned his eyes to the street around the club.

Automne took a deep breath as him and Ty shuffled forward into the dark, almost foreboding, entrance hall.

"Remember," Ty whispered as they edged their way in, cold sweat beginning to form on Automne's forehead. "If anyone asks, we're mercenaries."

"Yeah, yeah, man… I… I got it…" Automne trailed off as they entered the club proper.

Chills ran up and down Automne as he set his sights on the elevated center stage where a positively beautiful silver haired girl slowly spun on a shimmering pole. Automne's heart swelled with a mixture of joy and fear as blood, rapidly coursing through his body, surged its way into his cheeks and other regions.

"Dude!" Ty whispered irately, lightly shaking Automne by the shoulder.

"Huh?" Automne moaned, not taking his gaze off the silver haired dancer, her tan skin positively glowing beneath the hot magenta spotlights.

"I said let's go find a seat." Ty said in a fashion that resembled more of an order than a suggestion.

"Right… Yeah, sorry. I just… didn't hear you." Automne admitted in a daze, his voice slightly drowned out by the seductive and provocative music flowing through his body.

Impatient to see when Automne would actually take his eyes off the pole-dancer, Ty grabbed Automne by the elbow and dragged him over to a small table next to the wall. Unfortunately for Ty, the table still provided Automne a perfect view of the round center stage where the silver haired beauty was beginning to finish up her performance. "Dude, you need to focus." Ty stressed as he looked around the room uneasily. "You're going to get us caught."

"I'm just looking, dude." Automne tried to reason, his eyes still transfixed on the hips of the silver haired dancer as she made her way down a wide catwalk connecting the stage to a large luxurious curtain. "It's probably weirder that you're not looking."

"Hi there," A blonde in a plaid mini-skirt and matching bra said as she stepped up to the table. "Would you fellas like some company?" A large insincere smile revealing what she was really there for.

"Not right now, thanks." Ty said with a polite smile as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a twenty Lien bill. "But, if it's not too much to ask, could you get us a couple of waters."

"Sure, babe." The woman replied with feigned sweetness as she took the bill from Ty and made off for the bar on the other side of the room.

Automne gave a long sigh as his heart pumped heavily in his chest.

With an unhappy grimace Ty snapped his fingers a few times. "Dude, focus."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm focused! Do you wanna tell me what I'm supposed to be focused on?"

"How about the obvious gang members all over the place." Ty said impatiently. He gave a subtle nod over to a few scattered groups of guys who were all either wearing black and white bandanas or just looked a tad too shady to be random strip club patrons. "They seem pretty acquainted with the girls, so it's safe to say that they come here often."

"Do you think they're the ones behind this whole… whatever it is?"

"I don't know; it's too early to tell." Ty glanced around the club a few times. "Why don't you go talk to the DJ?" He held up his thumb and pointed over his shoulder towards a DJ booth set up at the back wall near the large curtain.

"Why me?!" Automne yelped as he set his eyes on the thin orange haired DJ, whose head bobbed up and down with the beat of the music.

"Because you've been getting distracted by every single girl who crosses your line of sight. Besides, if that blonde one came back while I was gone you'd probably choke on your tongue."

Automne gave Ty a scowl and got to his feet with a bounce. "Screw you, dude." He said before he made off in the direction of the DJ.

'Lousy ass jerk, thinks I don't know how to talk to women.' Automne spat internally as he briskly made his way past booths and chairs occupied by happy customers. 'I'm fine with women. I hang out with Eve all the time and- Holy hot fudge bunny slippers, the DJ's a girl.' Automne gasped internally as he finally got close enough to the booth to realize the captivating orange haired DJ was dressed in nothing but a pair of gogo shorts and a simple dark-green bra.

'Holy crap, how could I forget the DJ was a girl?! A hot girl?!' Automne asked himself as he stood there staring at the DJ who was too busy staring at a laptop to notice him. 'And she really is a girl-girl.' Automne's eyes lustily tracing over her subtle-slender curvature. 'Like she's probably only a couple years older than me! That's so hot!' Automne screamed internally, his nervousness becoming overwhelming. 'Automne, it's okay! It's okay, just play it off like normal. I mean seriously, what were you just telling yourself?'

Automne stopped and took a deep breath before he nervously continued his journey over to the DJ's booth. "I can do this. I can do this. I can do this." He mumbled to himself until he made it to the foot of her booth. "Umm... hello."

She didn't respond. Her dark, emerald like eyes were fixated on the turntable.

"Umm," Automne hummed uneasily, glancing around a bit so he wouldn't stare. "Hi,"

The DJ glanced up at him. Her eyes stood, fixed on him for a second before she brushed her chin length orange hair, which hung loosely in front of her face, out of her eyes. "If you want to request a song, the answer is no." She remarked dismissively.

"No, it's not about the music. I like the music." Automne pleaded in a panic as he shuffled his feet nervously and tried to find some kind of use for his hands. "I- uh I wanted to come over here and s-say something." Automne stammered, the DJ's emerald eyes watching him closely all the while. "I just- uh- I… I uh think you're cute."

She stared at him blankly for a moment until a small smile started to grow across her pink lips. She held out her hand and beckoned him forward with one finger. "Come up here."

Automne eagerly agreed and quickly pulled himself up onto the stage as subtly as he could manage. In an effort to suppress his heavy breathing Automne casually sauntered behind her booth and continuously ran his eyes over her equipment rather than indulge himself on her.

"I usually don't get called cute around here." She giggled as she closed her laptop, and looked him over. "I take it this is your first strip club, right?"

"Uhhh, yeah," Automne's face practically searing as he tried to prevent himself from dropping his eyes below her neck. "I'm uh- uh a mercenary and we just came- that is me and a buddy - we just came into town. So we figured we'd umm… try this place… out."

The DJ ogled him with an exceedingly enthused smile. "You're cute." Setting both her hands on the edge of her table she puffed out her chest for Automne. A seductive smile spread her lips as she flexed her lean, pale body in an extremely lustful manner. "Usually I charge five hundred for a private dance, but since you're new to town, I'll make it four hundred even."

"I'd like that." Automne gasped breathlessly in a high pitched voice, his face and ears absolutely burning.

'Focus, remember what you came here to do... Also you don't have four hundred Lien on you.'

Automne cleared his throat and averted his eyes from the DJ's prurient pose. "Well actually umm, maybe in a bit, but I should really wait a bit because you're so hot you're uh-almost scorching red." Automne stammered, silently hoping he had remembered it correctly.

The DJ's eyes narrowed as her smile shifted into a smirk. Like a warm breeze she stepped forward and pressed her body against Automne's. She slowly raised her hand to his face and cradled it in her soft, delicate palm, draining Automne of whatever breath remained in his lungs.

Automne's lips quivered as he slowly began to lean forward to press his lips to hers.

She giggled slightly as she moved her thumb over his lips. "You're a lot more interesting than I originally thought." She whispered into his ear, her warm breath tantalizing his skin. "But kissing will cost you extra." Not pulling out of their embrace the DJ reached into her booth with her free hand and pulled out a black business card. "I guess we can talk about price upstairs though. Show this card to the bouncer near the bar and he'll take you up to the VIP lounge. I don't get a break for another half-hour, but if you're willing to wait, you and I could have some real fun." She finished with a lustful smile as she placed the card into Automne's hand.

Automne stood there blankly as she stepped back and returned to her laptop as though nothing had just happened. Automne's grip on the business card tightened as he tried to suppress his lewd thoughts. Calmly he pocketed the card and made his way down off of the stage.

"Tell them you're waiting on Pumpkin." the DJ called to him as he began to quietly shuffle away. "You know, if you want to have a good time."

Automne turned back to her with a warm, intoxicated smile. "Pumpkin, like the plant?" Automne asked curiously, his cheeks still burning red and his heart still pumping happily.

She gave him a large grin. "Or the pie."

Automne's cheeks started to burn with renewed energy as she gave him a playful wink and seductively waved goodbye.

Automne politely waved back and quickly, but calmly, walked back to the table and slammed his hands down onto it, causing Ty to jump back in surprise. "Ty, I need you to lend me a couple hundred Lien! I was talking to the DJ and she offered me a private dance and I think I'm in love with her and I will forgive you for everything that happened with Chartreuse if you lend me the money! Please, please be a good friend and lend me some money so we can fall in love."

"What the frick dude? We've been here for like ten minutes and you already think you're in love?" Ty inquired with furrowed eyebrows.

"You don't understand man, you haven't met her. I could feel the sparks and everything; it's love." Automne pleaded, his face twisted like a twelve car pile-up of emotions.

"You're not in love, you're horny. Now, did you find out anything from the DJ or not?"

"Yeah, she gave me a card and said we show it to some bouncer to get into the VIP lounge, but seriously dude, I'm in love. When she touched me there was just this energy there; I could feel it. I need to borrow money so we can get some alone time together."

"Show me the card?" Ty urged impatiently. His eyes shifted around the room cautiously as he bounced to his feet and swiped the card from Automne just as he pulled it from his pocket. He held the card low at his side as he examined it intently.

The rectangular card didn't have anything to hide however. It was just a solid black business card, with the only exception being a small purple dot that comfortably sat in the bottom corner of the card.

Ty rubbed the card between his index finger and thumb, eliciting a soft crisp sound, before ultimately deciding to pocket the parchment. "Which bouncer did she say?" Ty asked distantly, his eyes wandering around the room.

"The one by the bar." Automne replied tilting his head towards a large bouncer standing near a door by the bar; his love-struck passion subsiding as Ty's somberness pulled him back to the ground.

"You ready in case of a fight?"

Automne gave a proud smirk. "I'm always ready, dude."

"Like that time you discharged your pistol in the locker room?" Ty jabbed in the same restrained tone as he started off towards the slab of beef guarding the door.

"Hey, that mag was supposed to be empty."

"That's the same thing you said when you shot Petunia in the foot during last week's training exercise." Ty ridiculed as they made their way past tables packed with business men.

"Okay, that one wasn't entirely an accident." Automne shrugged quietly as they approached the bouncer who was eyeballing them like they were a couple of walking middle-fingers.

"What'ch you kids won'?" The bouncer slurred, crossing his arms and delivering unto them a leer that would've killed Automne if he were alone.

Automne opened his mouth to respond, but Ty quickly placed a hand on the center of his chest. Silently Ty pulled the card from his pocket and held it out to the bouncer who snatched it away, unimpressed by his flair.

The bouncer flipped the card over twice, lowered his gaze to the floor, and stepped back to push in the door.

"Present this card to the woman at the top o' the stairs, gentlemen." The bouncer said cordially, holding the card up for them between his fingers.

"Of course," Ty responded like he were some kind of professional hitman, taking the card back with so much force that he almost ripped it in half.

"Dude," Automne whispered through clenched teeth. "Wasn't that a bit much?" He asked as the bouncer closed the door behind them, leaving them alone in the dimly lit stairway.

"We gotta make it look like we belong here dude, besides that guy was just being an asshole."

"Well, yeah, okay, but we're probably going to stand out if we get our asses kicked."

"That's why I have you here. If something breaks out, I'll just throw you in the middle and book it in the other direction." Ty said with a smile as they climbed the stairs which were furbished with the loveliest carpet Automne had ever seen.

"Yeah right, I'd grab you by your ankles and hang onto ya' so we'd both die."

"They wouldn't kill us… immediately." Ty said with a grin as he took his final steps up the stairs, placing himself on the second floor.

Automne followed shortly after, struggling to maintain his smile. It wasn't Ty's playfully serious remark that was getting to him, nearly a month and a half of dealing with him every day practically made him immune to his jokes. It was the air that whisked away his comfort.

The air —if what he was struggling to breathe in could be considered air—made him cringe and set his nose aflame with every breathe he took. Thick, like smoke, this humid flower scented thing he was forced to call air was pressing against his face like a pillow. Automne cracked the corner of his mouth open and tentatively shuffled forward as if he were being weighed down by what felt like a hundred pounds of smog.

The only semblance of pleasure in this hell of a ten foot hallway was a cushy black door where enticing, etheric, neon pink light seeped out from its edges. Automne stepped forward eagerly, his arm outstretched in hopes that the air on the other side could actually be called air.

Before his fingers even had the chance to brush against the door's surface an alluring black haired woman pulled it inward. And just like that Automne's eyesight was now being assaulted by the curvaceous body of the dark haired woman.

"Gentlemen," the woman said cheerfully, her eyes flitting between them. "Welcome to the VIP lounge. May I see your card?" She asked politely as Automne stood and gawked at her.

"Ty," Automne gasped. "You've got the card." His eyes still pasted to the woman's tight-fitting, strapless leather dress which ended so far above mid-thigh that Automne was afraid he might start drooling.

"Here you are." Ty responded coolly, extending the card out to the woman.

Delicately she lifted it from Ty's hand and glanced it over before beaming brightly at the boys. "Right this way, gentlemen." She said cheerfully turning to lead the two down a hazy decadently designed hall.

Automne made to give Ty an unsure glance before setting off, but his partner was already trailing after the dark haired woman with no hesitation. Automne swallowed hard and glanced over the black and red pinstriped wallpaper which radiated ominously beneath the fluorescent pink lights before he broke into a speed walk to catch up to Ty. "Wait up." Automne called to Ty in a hushed tone as they passed by doorways sealed behind black curtains.

"Pick up the pace man." Ty hissed following closely behind their seductive escort.

Automne started to give an infuriated sigh, but about half-way through a certain offer from a certain orange haired DJ crossed his mind. "Umm, Miss, uh I'm kind of waiting on Pumpkin." Automne stammered as his cheeks started to burn again.

Ty came to an abrupt halt and turned to glare at Automne. "Dude-"

"I'll let her know you're waiting for her." The dark haired women replied with a soft, chipper giggle. "She should be ready to see you by the time you two finish your meeting."

The ire vanished from Ty's face as he turned to look back at the dark haired woman quizzically. "What meeting?"

"You'll see in a few moments." She replied vaguely, stopping at the end of the hall. She turned and took a single step to the side to give the two full view of a large black door, flanked by opaque windows. "The Manager's lounge, gentlemen." She said as she waved them towards the silver doorknob.

"The Manager's lounge?" Ty repeated in what he tried to pass off as a cool-headed panic.

"Yes, go right in." The woman insisted with an almost intense smile.

Ty looked over at Automne hoping for some sort of helpful input, but was only greeted with a shrug that seemed to say, "Why the hell are you looking at me?" Reluctantly Ty forced a smile onto his face and gave the woman a small nod. "Of course," he muttered, stepping forward and taking hold of the door knob. He took a shallow breath, turned the knob, and quickly pushed himself into the Manager's lounge.

Immediately an inexplicable comfort washed through both of the boys. If Automne were to speculate it most likely had something to do with the air, which unlike the air in the hall, was cool and nothing akin to breathing through a plastic bag. The décor probably would have been Automne's second guess. Two large leather sofas sat parallel each other at the center of the lounge, the pair divided by a glass-top coffee table. A small bar sat in the corner of the room where a couple of young women wearing luxurious lingerie sat on tall, leather and wood bar stools.

The wall behind the far sofa was almost entirely comprised of large windows, the glass broken into floral patterns by gray metal. Automne could make out parts of the street from between the patterns and the large red curtains which hung from shiny silver rods above.

"Welcome," A honeyed voice rising from a woman sitting on the sofa overlooking the doorway. An unpleasant smile sat on her lips as she lifted her smooth leg and crossed it over her knee; the fabric of her dark red skirt falling lightly into place over her thighs as she did. "Please, sit." Her exotic dark skin standing out boldly under the pink lights as her pleasant voice sent chills through them.

Automne and Ty complied. They shuffled quietly across the lush dark carpet and took their place on opposite ends of the closer couch.

One of the girls sitting at the bar quickly jumped off her seat and strutted over towards the two with a smile stretched across her lips. "Can I get you gentlemen anything to drink?"

"Holly," The woman on the sofa chimed, her dark hair shimmering as she turned to the girl. "Don't concern yourself with their orders; they're both underage."

Ty and Automne stiffened, glancing helplessly at each other from the corner of their eyes.

"Yes, Ma'am." The girl said with a bow before returning to her seat at the bar.

The woman on the couch turned back towards Ty and Automne with an amused smile. The black pearls hanging around her high-neck dark red dress and the pointed steel armor on her right arm glistened as she extended her right hand out towards them. "Your Scroll, please." She softly demanded, her ruby eyes digging into Automne.

Automne plunged his hand into his pocket, swiftly pulled out his Scroll, and handed it to the woman.

Snatching it away with a smile she opened it and began to flip through screens. "Hmmm," she soon purred, staring at the screen keenly. "Whomever altered your ID is truly an artist. I should ask you for their name, but I shall know it soon enough." Her tone becoming more solemn toward the end as she tossed Automne's Scroll into his lap.

"Who are you?" Ty said with a stiff grimace.

"I could ask you the same question." The woman replied with a scowl. "I saw your friend's name on his Scroll, but I haven't made your acquaintance yet." A smirk parting her lips while her foot bobbed up and down like a fishing lure.

"My name doesn't matter, but you're our host and it only seems appropriate that you share your name." Ty insisted, earning him a glare from the woman.

Slowly, she uncrossed her legs and reclined back on the sofa. "Did you boys enjoy my club?" She asked without the tiniest shred of enthusiasm.

Ty opened his mouth to respond, but went silent when the door opened and four lovely young women stepped in, and made their way over to the manager's couch. Sitting up the woman gave a soft sigh and draped her right arm over the back of the sofa.

Automne's chest grew tight as his aura urged him to dive to the floor.

In an instant the woman in the red dress stood up and pulled a large twin headed battle axe out from behind the sofa. Without thinking Automne flung himself forward off of the couch and onto the ground as she swung the weapon down through the air, smashing the coffee table and sending glass flying.

Automne quickly rolled over onto his back and was greeted by the barrels of a couple pistols.

"Aww crap." Ty slurred as he found himself in the exact same situation.

"On your knees." The scantily clad women urged.

"Lay down the tarp, I don't want them getting blood on my carpet." The manager demanded as she pushed the broken pieces of the coffee table aside with her axe.

"Yes, ma'am." One of the gun toting strippers said obediently while Ty and Automne tensely crawled to their knees.

"I certainly hope you boys enjoyed your time in my club, because I for one know you will not enjoy much of anything for the rest of your short lives." She slid a small metal panel on the handle of her weapon forward causing the back of the shaft to bend into a rifle stock. She took the weapon in both hands as the blades rotated under the seven barrels that swiftly emerged from the head with a hiss. "You boys are going to tell me whatever I want to know, and if you don't, my girls will make you." Her eyes drifted between the two as one of her girls threw a tarp down over the mostly cleared ruins of the coffee table. "We'll start with the green one. He's clearly begging for our attention."

Ty jerked his head at Automne, waggling his eyebrows a bit. "I really think you should start with him." All turned to stare at him, unamused. "He'd probably crack in no time flat."

Automne gave a low growl, lightly flexing his entire body. "Oh screw you, Dude. You're just always out to ruin my life aren't you?"

"Oh here we go again. What are you going to start on this time; The Chartreuse thing?" Ty suggested with the rolling of his eyes.

"Yes the 'Chartreuse thing'. You knew I liked her and you went for her anyways."

"You can't call dibs on people, Automne. Besides, you were never going to go for it anyways."

"Well, who are you to decide that? I probably would have gotten the courage to ask her out eventually."

"Oh please, you're not fooling anyone." Ty scoffed, while their captors glanced amongst themselves irritated and confused.

"Screw you, and you know what, I think you just want me to be unhappy. Because now that I've found someone awesome and fallen in love, you won't even support me."

"Dude," Ty said flatly. "You're in love with a whore."

"Don't talk that way about her!" Automne shouted, lunging forward at Ty, his hands outstretched towards his neck.

"You couldn't kill me if I was blind and retarded!" Ty barked grabbing Automne by the wrists and pulling him down onto the ground where they rolled in a tussle.

"Then I guess I'm going to have to make you blind, retarded, and deaf!" Automne screamed as he managed to push his goggles down over his eyes.

"That's enough of this," the woman in red hissed, taking aim at the two. "Blow their legs off."

"Alright," Ty grunted as he rolled onto his back, Automne lying on top of him. "Let's go!" Ty exclaimed as he dug his heels into the carpet and pushed off it hard.

Automne closed his eyes and clung to Ty tightly as they weightlessly pushed through a monochrome version of the lounge and out through the window over-looking the street. With a loud pop they regained their color about half-way out in the street and from there they fell about twenty feet to the asphalt below with a thud.

"Ahhgh!" Automne groaned as he rolled off of Ty, clutching his chest. "You couldn't have put us on the ground?" Automne wheezed as he rolled into the fetal position.

"You try teleporting through a wall while lying down." Ty growled as he rolled onto his shins and stumbled to his feet. "Oh wait, you can't."

"It was glass." Automne croaked, pushing himself off the ground. "Oh, and by the way, not cool, dude. Don't talk crap about Pumpkin."

"Who?"

"The DJ. I know we were playing it up a bit, but don't talk bad about her, or I'll hurt you."

"Oh for the love of Dust man. She. Works. At. A. Strip. Club. It's her job to seduce you. You can't be this-"

There was a loud clatter from the second floor of The Oasis as the women smashed the glass away. Their glares burning into the two who were still standing right in front of the club.

"-stupid." Ty whimpered.

"Maybe this isn't the best place to finish this conversation." Automne suggested meekly before him and his partner broke into a sprint, a hail of gunfire following them on their heels.

Meanwhile, the woman in the red dress sat dawn on her sofa with a sigh. Propping her weapon against the armrest she pulled out a Scroll from within the folds of her dress and held it to her ear.

There was a soft click, almost inaudible over the sound of gunfire. "It's Rouge, they're heading you're way." She held her Scroll aside, ended the call, and tossed the device across the sofa. She glared down at the shattered coffee table with disdain as her employees quickly ran out into the hall reloading their weapons. "What a mess."

To be continued... obviously.

-CS