Heya Readers, I know it's been a while since I updated this fic, I had some writers block and I was focused on 'Turtles and Transformers Book One' and 'Little Geisha Lost'.

But despite it all, I haven't given up on this fic! Hope this chapter makes up for the wait!

Note: Credit to Meian16 for his help!

Chapter Twenty-Eight

A few hours past and soon the early hours, or late to the Mutopians was upon them.

Jun and Dahlia had been sleeping peacefully in their room, feeling some comfort, solace and safety in each others arms.

After making love in their new animal forms, they had drifted off to sleep whispering sweet endearments to each other.

Yet Jun's peaceful sleep didn't last long, as he had woken up and for a moment he thought he was in the hotel room back in Chicago, or in the bedroom he shared with Dahlia at their apartment in Anchorage, or even in his own room back in Texas.

Yet his heart sank as he remembered where he was and what he had become as he rubbed his eyes and felt the fur on his face and hands.

He lifted his head from the pillow and looked at Dahlia who was sleeping deeply and facing him, some of her hair over her face and resting her head on her arm.

His eyes softened as he looked at her.

Even though her human features were no longer there, he could still see the woman he loved and cherished with all his soul and he stroked her head, pushing her hair out of her face, yet she didn't move.

Jun lay back on the bed, and stared up at the rock ceiling, lost in his thoughts and feelings about all that had taken place.

He thought back on the night he took part in the fight club, then how the Mafia had followed him and Dahlia, and how they were killed by them and they were mutated.

His thoughts then turned to his family along with Dahlia's.

They hadn't heard from Hugh about the reactions of their families, nor seen any news reports and he had been plagued with many thoughts on how they must have reacted to learn that they were missing.

Still finding it hard to sleep, Jun sat up in bed and moved his legs out from under the duvet cover to rest on the ground and leaned on his knees running his fingers through his long black hair.

Dahlia meanwhile continued to sleep on, she shifted slightly but didn't wake up from when Jun had moved.

Jun gritted his teeth and in his frustration he stood up and walked over to the chair near the dresser where he had left his clothes.

He pulled on his black cargo pants and a red shirt, and looked over his shoulder back at Dahlia.

Again she still didn't wake up and Jun walked over and gave her a kiss on her forehead before walking away from the bed and towards the door.
He opened it and snuck out, he had felt he couldn't just lie there slowly going mad.

As the tiger walked down the tunnel he could hear a slightly crumbling as he walked over the rocky ground, and some static sounds were heard from the small lights as well as the Crystals that glowed around him which he had to admit were very pretty.

Passing the many bedroom doors, Jun saw the different posters and signs on them, as well as heard some snoring coming from them.

He wondered whose rooms were whose, given the decor on some of them, he could tell which belonged to the males or females and he recognized a few posters and signs that belong to friends he used to know as a human and even those his brother and sister loved.
He felt a sense of nostalgia when he remembered the posters he used to hang in his room as a kid, mostly of bands he listened too and the WWF heroes he loved to watch on the TV.

"Man...I still can't believe this..." his thoughts of his and Dahlia's predicament came back to him as he walked, "Only a few days ago we were saying goodbye to our families and going on our trip to Chicago where I hoped to return triumphant, but instead..." he sighed as he started to pick up the pace before stopping at a corner and leaning against it.

This is...too much...If it were just me, I'd understand...but the fact that Alex was dragged into this...damn it..."

He placed his forehead against the wall as he closed his eyes.

"Part of me still can't believe this is real...and that this is supposed to be our new lives?"

"Trouble sleeping?"

The tiger almost jumped out of his skin as he heard a female voice behind him and he looked over his shoulder to see the Chameleon girl Sonia who had been at Sephie's meeting the previous day.

She was dressed in pink pyjamas and her skin was a yellow colour.

Jun frowned.

"Can't sleep?" Sonia asked again.

"Guess you could say that." Jun replied running his hand over his hair.

"Still not used to your new life huh?" Sonia asked "I can understand that, a lot of the newbies feel that way."

"Don't know if I ever will get used to this" Jun admitted looking at one of the crystals.

"I understand." Sonia said walking over to him.

"You call yourself Jun now?" she asked "Where did you get that from?"

"A name I came up with thanks to an interest I have in Asian culture." Jun replied.

"What does it mean?" Sonia asked her skin rippling with different shades of yellow the more curious she got.

"It has multiple meanings," Jun answered "One of the reasons I found it fascinating...genuine, pure, talented, handsome." he paused as he looked at his paws and touched his muzzles "...like I said, many meanings..."

"I like it." Sonia smiled.

"Thanks." Jun mumbled then looked at the Chameleon, as much as wanted to be alone, he couldn't just dismiss the curious Chameleon so he decided to be polite.

So um...take it you couldn't sleep either?" he asked.

Sonia chuckled and shook her head.

"Oh no, I was only using the loo." she said.

"Oh right, my bad." Jun said scratching the back of his neck then decided to change the subject.

"You said in the meeting with Sephie and the others, you don't remember your life before you mutated?"

Sonia nodded.

"That's right." she said.

"Do you ever think about it?" Jun asked "Or even wish you had memories?"

Sonia chewed her lip, her skin tone changing and rippling different shades of yellow as she thought hard.

"Not really know." she said "When Uncle Tyroth and Gramps decided I was at the right age to tell me about my origins, I was as prepared as I could be."

She stopped talking and held her hand out to Jun.

"Shall we go somewhere else to speak?" she asked.

Jun cocked his head on one side but he agreed and took the Chameleon girls hand and she lead him out of the residential quarters and to the main village and to a bench near the canals.

Jun looked around the large centre of the sanctuary which seemed rather eerie and empty without all the sounds of chatter from the residents.

It was like being in an empty Football stadium or at a closed theme park.

"I know right?" Sonia said, her voice startling Jun for a moment "Feels strange when it's sleeping hours."

Jun said nothing but he nodded as he looked around and he could recall all the different areas and where everything was that he had gotten a chance to explore earlier.

"We always sleep when the suns up." Sonia said.

"I see..." Jun mused "So it's Daytime on the outside right now?"

"Uh huh." Sonia replied.

"Interesting..." the tiger mused as he looked upwards, a thought coming to his head but he pushed it aside and looked down at Sonia.

"Anyways, you said you wanted to talk?"

Sonia nodded.

"You asked whether I wish I had memories of my old life?" she said.

"I did yes." Jun said.

"Well, in a way," Sonia replied "I am a little sad I don't remember my human life, as I was so young, well after all, no-one really remembers the life they had when they were very young, apart from a few sparks."

"Yet." Sonia said "I have none, no sparks at all."

"Sorry." Jun said in a sympathetic voice.

"It's alright." Sonia answered "But in a way, having no memories is a comfort, as I don't feel any pain, I have nothing to miss, I am one of those rare cases of those who arrived here, as many have memories of their old lives, and families left behind."

"Like me and Dahlia." Jun said under his breath.

"Anyway," Sonia said "Because I mutated so young, I have no idea what my life was like as a human, I was about four when I mutated."

"Wow..." Jun said.

"I was told they found me washed up in the caves from Lake Michigan." Sonia said.

"So you're from Michigan?" Jun asked.

"I don't remember," Sonia replied "But yeah I was found half drowned in the sewers, I was told I had been a victim of a yacht accident when a storm hit over the lake."

Jun didn't speak but he listened carefully to the young Chameleon.

"It turned out that the storm capsized the yacht and all on board had died, my parents included."

"I'm sorry." Jun said softly.

"It's okay." Sonia replied "I was shown newspaper cuttings from that day, and a photo of the people who perished or in my case went missing, so I have an idea what I looked like as a human, even if I don't remember it," she twirled a bit of her amber/blonde hair around her finger as she talked.

"I do sometimes think about the loved ones of those on the yacht and whether I had other family, but again, I have no memories."

"How did you cope with what's happened to you?" Jun asked curiously as he looked at the young Chameleon in front of him and tried to imagine what she was like as a human.

"Well, like I said I didn't remember my human life, being a mutant from the start was my normal."

"So it's like being what you are now is what you've known your whole life?" Jun asked.

"Thats right." Sonia said with a nod.

"I see." Jun mused "Well, I'm in no place to judge...especially if this is what you've known all your life."

"There are a lot of people in the same boat as you, or rather there were, and they'd be happy to tell you." Sonia said "Not just those at Sephie's meeting."

Jun sighed.

"Believe me, I know that I've come across as ungrateful, which I don't mean to be, I really don't...it's just everything that Alex...Dahlia and I had planned for our lives, gone just like that..."

He then felt Sonia's hand on his hand that rested on his knee.

"It's understandable Stripes, quite a few of the residents here were in your shoes before they came here."

"What do you mean, in my shoes?" Jun asked raising an eyebrow.

"That they had plans for the future as humans but then it was ripped away so quickly." Sonia explained then she yawned slightly.

"Sorry..." she said "Didn't mean to..."

"I should be the one apologizing..." Jun cut in quickly.

"What for?" Sonia asked.

"I'm sure you were going back to bed before you ran into me?" Jun said with a sheepish chuckle.

Sonia laughed.

"I was actually, until I saw you." she looked at a wrist watch she wore "It's 4pm" she said.

"Middle of the day." Jun said "Still trying to get used to that, well, when I travelled the USA doing my fighting tournaments I had to get used to the different time zones."

"We sleep during the day and are active at night," Sonia explained "Cam and Barry salvage around that time and the Knights go on patrol, and at night its easier to stay hidden."

"Hmm, I see." Jun mused "Apologies for keeping you. I hope you have a good night's sleep. Or good morning sleep, in this case."

"You too Jun." Sonia said standing up "Thanks for talking to me, goodnight." she then walked back towards the residential area leaving Jun to sit on the bench staring at the water then look around the centre of the quiet dark village.

He sat there for a long time thinking about what Sonia said, not having any memories of her human life, but he also thought about the hours the Mutopians slept.

He glanced upwards wondering what would be happening in Chicago right now.

He knew the cities all over the United States, whether it be New York, Anchorage, Dallas, they would all be busy and active around the clock and around the year.

Chewing his lip, Jun stood up and began to walk towards the tunnel that would lead to the surface, having learned of where it was when he was shown around the sanctuary.

"Mostly everyone's asleep right now..." he mused "And Sonia said it was 4pm." he walked further into the tunnel, his thoughts circling in his head.

Part of him argued that what he was doing wasn't a good idea, but the other half of him said that if he did go topside, it was only for a little bit and if he didn't spend too long up there, he would be back before anyone found out.

"Why not?" he thought to himself "Some fresh air could do me some good and help take my mind off things..."

He looked back at the Sanctuary then kept following the tunnel, the many glowing crystals lighting the way.

Jun is still indifferent to his situation despite the passion he and Dahila shared last night, and after a talk with Sonia, he's decided to go topside.

But is that a good idea?