Author's Note: Hello lads and ladies

I feel like if i really delve into what kept me from writing for so long would be wasting time. Besides that i forgot to even publish this chapter for a long time while Chapter 22 lays at just shy of 2k words for more than a month now.

I guess it might just be that work has been stressing me out and that i haven't really found the calm moments i need in order to concentrate on writing even though we are so palpably close to the End.

I can't promise any consistency, i really have no idea when i will be publishing again in terms of when i will finally get my shit together. This story is not on hiatus is all i can promise. I will finish it, i just need my time to get there. Work and Life balance is a delicate act and no young adult has the perfect ratio down.

I'm sorry if the wait is long but i can't force it. I'll see you when i'm in better discipline!

Edited by: SuperAverageFoxyboy, The Dude who likes Tanks

Enjoy!

-Portal

"Do we not have any other options?" One of his men asked in the room full of only his men. All their families had been saved, laid protected somewhere beyond the mountain. And here he was, plotting his last word.

"We are prohibited from living normal lives, prohibited from partaking in their society. We are divided from the rest, brought to a high-security prison outside of their view simply that they can just ignore us. Soon we won't be allowed to vote and the even conception of another of our kin will be outlawed. Our parents are seen as mentally ill and us as a defiling of the precious natural order.

We are not allowed to be politicians, policemen, lawyers, doctors, or any other form of high-value work. Now a powerful carnivore who's been raised in a world fed with a silver spoon and dressed in silk is telling us to act civilized... As if we had a choice."

Melon turned his gaze away from the map to give his attention to the entire room.

"And by now we know that Project Vertigo was a weapons system designed to specifically target us. And I swear to each and every one of you that by tonight he'll use it, and if your mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, daughters, or sons were here they wouldn't care who it was, getting the brunt of the force. They would just press the little red button and then grab the writhing bodies of the ground."

There was no place for tears in his face, there never had been. But his eyes had ample space for hatred.

"Either we let this war end in Attrition, the deck stacked against us from birth or WE RAZE THIS PILE OF FILTH TO THE GROUND!"

Most cheered, some cried in memory of those lost or those in danger and a few stayed completely quiet. Sober in the face of the fact that the clock had struck midnight and they were there to see what many works of fiction and arts simply mused and dreamed of.

The revolutionizers readied their arsenal and Melon's gaze befell the guest of honor of the evening.

"I have nothing but hopes for your utmost prestigious political career. You have no hand in what follows today, but I hope you'll follow through on your promise of cleaning up once this mess is done."

Melon looked upon the image of ambiguity. He could tell neither age nor intent behind the eyes of the young Beastar. Melon slapped him on the shoulder, figuring that the plain clothes irritated the higher-class deer, yet he didn't seem to mind the touch of the Geopard.

"Alright. Let's roll!"

Melon's last order hit the streets at 3:50 am, aboard Melon's van being the deer that continued being extremely quiet and almost eerily void of emotion.

While Louis was being transported to a drop-off point where he would try to walk along the streets until he was picked up by an employee, the other trucks had other goals. Team one infiltrated the sewer system beneath the general hospital, opening the crates to reveal an assorted salad of cables feeding from the central metal frame. The men shoved the cables aside and inserted a small flash drive into the USB port of the small display at the top of the frame. It lit up in green a few seconds later.

4:00:00
3:59:59
3:59:58...

The men left for the next stop as another team reached Cherryton Hill, placing their bomb in the depths of the admin block's basement. Another placed theirs in the subway terminal beneath the Edobutsu City Plaza. A few in the largest precincts, a few in the fire departments, and a couple of the shopping districts.

All in all, there were twelve teams. The 13th was Melon's own which drove to the Beast Apartments. He unlocked the door with Yajuu's spare key and looked into the dark room, the crate hiding from the small street light coming through the window by sitting in the corner.

He stood still for a moment in awe and simultaneous fear of the paragon of destruction hidden away in his childhood friend's home. He turned and gave each of the men by his side hugs, one after the other. He released them and held both by their shoulders.

"This is it, uncharted territory. What we are about to do has never been done before, material for the history books."

He relinquished his grasp and braced himself, if not physically then mentally. He supposed it was labor pains, fear for what was to come. Most of his men would die, and he most likely would die. But perhaps so would the city. And from the ashes, a wolf and a deer would rise.

As they moved the crate the crate top slightly moved. His men stopped for a moment, allowing their leader to approach the crate. Melon peered into the wooden case of the bomb. The cables looked to be in order, properly lining up the ports around the frame of the display.

"Old wood, maybe the sellers forgot to nail it down properly."

They lifted the crate out of the room onto the elevator. They put it in the van and drove on. He picked up his rifle and switched off the safety only to activate it again, moving between on and off a few times. He was fidgeting and he hated the fact he was, but when he forced himself to stop he found himself fidgeting again soon enough. Today was just one of those days where simple comfort came in short servings. And if fidgeting was what he needed to stay centered, then fidget is what he would do.

Was this worth it? Waiting for a terrorist to come pick her up only so that she then had to explain and hold herself to scrutiny. Anything she had to say would be ignored and thrown into the wind anyway. There was no her, there was only a cog.

So she decided against it.

She loaded her car up with her belongings, of which most were utilities. She found the more she looked at the whole of her life that very little in it actually mattered to her. She took her diploma and her PhD off the wall, yet the feeling of pride she had expected to come had not been there. When she looked at the fine paper behind the glass with her name and the Government Stamp of Excellence on it, she felt sadness and even a little horror.

Without any goal beyond her doctorate, she had always been financially pragmatic. Not cheap or immensely budget-conscious, but also not boastful or decadent. Most of her earned wages sat in her bank account, perhaps with the reason for buying a house for the family that one day would be part of her life. Yet until now, she hadn't even given family life a thought. Work had simply come first. When she thought back she nearly burst into tears when she realized that the last big spending she had done was the car, which was for ease of transport, to make the commute easier.

They would buy airline tickets, elope to Europe most likely. She spoke some French and was sure she could learn others relatively easily, she had always had a knack for learning.

She went to his apartment later and collected the clothes that he wasn't allowed to bring. She also packed his collection of movies and anything that seemed of emotional value. And on that search, the one thing most prevalent in the room was the large wooden crate in the corner.

Yajuu had said it was for a friend, she didn't have to think long to realize it was Melon. Some part of her knew it was trouble to open it yet another part of her was overcome with the feeling that perhaps it was a gift for Melon. In the few months that she frequented this place, she knew that the crate was about as a set part of the decor as the table, the TV, or the DVD player.

The crate was shut tight and it took a few attempts for her to lift open the crate until her fingers hurt. She looked through his kitchen until in one of the drawers she found a long cutting knife. She jammed the blade into the opening and began to lean on the handle. It didn't budge.

She began to rhythmically lean her weight onto the blade. She worked up quite a little dance of trying to work the weight of her upper torso onto the handle, the wood creaking melodiously louder every time. Had the crate been more robust she probably would've given up, but the crate had just a bit too much give.

After her arms began to hurt the crate top finally gave up trying to keep its secret and the top practically began to yawn. She stood back, panting after the moronic little workout, and put the knife down. After she caught her breath she moved up close and peered into the crate, feeling a stupid animalistic rush of dopamine. She had won this little fight and after specifically this year of losses, she felt deserving of this completely stupid win.

The first thought that crossed her head was that perhaps it was a server broken down into its smaller pieces. Secondly, her feeling of victory abated quickly enough to make her feel hollow. The last thing she did before beginning to connect the dots was see the blank display in the center of the cable tornado.

She moved back from the box, the news shouting devastatingly in her mind.

The fact that Melon had stored a bomb, even in an inoperative state in his childhood friend's home...

In all her visions of the deepest darkest future, Edobutsu would become a surveillance state, with Yahya up in his dark tower viewing all of the world beneath his iron throne. Now that vision slowly became a rubble-filled wasteland born of fire and fumes. Soldiers and rebels walked along the street, gunning each other down. They saw no difference between civilians and the enemy. They simply mowed each other down.

She collected the things that she knew mattered and left the apartment, without Yajuu it felt cold and with the addition of the Tool of destruction buried beneath wood and cables, it felt like a lone asteroid floating through space.

She packed up her car and drove home. She left her and Yajuu's belongings in the car, made herself dinner, and then sat down on her sofa in her bedwear. Turning the TV on would be white noise that may cause some semblance of comfort, but the illusion of company seemed foolish when starting tomorrow she would have herself company for a long long time. She had known the Weindeer for about half a year now and she loved him dearly.

The bomb kept recurring in her mind, disrupting any calm she had collected. Mostly because she knew that she wouldn't be able to shut up to Yajuu about it, even worse: She wanted to help too, and Yajuu would force them.

She spent nearly an hour looking for a way out, when she fell asleep that night she knew she wouldn't leave this city without fighting for it.

She came to the clinic at three thirty AM with the pretense of having forgotten some kind of company data. She snuck off down the patient hall and opened his room, ushering him out. They had no time to hug, most of the place had cameras or other forms of surveillance. She led him past security and past cameras expertly until finally, they stood in the parking lot in the pitch-black dark of the night.

They hugged, again mirroring Shipwrecked sailors who thought they'd drown without each other's touch. Yajuu laid down flat in the backseat of her car with a blanket draped over him. She got back into the driver's seat and calmly kept herself from moving too much, the gatehouse always had a car, the last hurdle before they were free to go.

As she drove up to the window she felt like she was ready to die, feeling like the guard would look up and smile deviously at her, motion towards the backseat. At that point, she would turn to see Antlers poking out of the blanket.

She fought off her need to look back and handed her employee card through the window to the guard. The bear looked up, barely glanced between her and the ID, and then handed it back.

"Have a good rest of the morning, Madam."

She turned off the government lot and drove halfway down the road until she finally felt safe.

"We're clear."

His head emerged from the blankets as if on command.

"Thank you so much." He immediately followed it with a kiss on the back of her neck, causing her to shudder and swerve.

"Sorry!" Yajuu rocked with the car, sliding over the seats from left to right.

Carol stayed entirely silent as she drove on for just a moment longer, turning into a forest road, the car bumping along the lack of pavement. She stopped the car and pulled the keys free from the ignition and stared blankly at the dark open road.

"Carol?"

"Come out, Juu."

She stepped out of the car, enveloped by the cold air of the fastly approaching Fall. When he stepped out he seemed unbothered by the cold.

She took a few steps away from the car, mentally grasping at straws to try and get herself some mental stability. The next few words for the Weindeer that had stolen her heart were very important, because she already knew what her stake in this was. She had no choice. Edobutsu was their home.

"Yajuu I... opened the crate in your apartment."

"Those were Melon's things, why would you do that?"

"I was curious and lonely and thought whatever was in it might be for you, I know it was stupid." She hung her head in guilt.

"But that doesn't matter now." She raised her gaze to look at him.

"It was a bomb. He kept a bomb in your home."

Yajuu's face sunk, a pale blueish visage of deep regret and fear. He looked away towards the forest, Carol figuring that the emotions going through him weren't much different than the ones she herself was facing.

"The worst part about all of this is that I learned to love this city again... because of you." He looked at her, through the troubled expression there was the hint of a smile and the clear look of love in his eyes. She reached out and tenderly brushed over his cheek.

"Same here..." Her admission of love was rewarded with him gently grabbing her hand that still lay on his face.

"You know I can't leave now. I have to try somehow to fix this."

"So do I." Her voice wavered and she enveloped him in a tight hug as both began to cry.

They held each other, consoling the inconsolable.

"You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, and you know I'm not exaggerating." Yajuu's words made her cry even harder as she began to realize that he was, without exaggerating, the best thing that had ever happened to her as well.

After a small eternity, one that would stay in their memory forever they broke the hug.

"When this is done, then people like us can hug as long we want to. They don't need to be scared anymore." She pushed her snout forward so they were nose to nose.

"I love you." Carol barely whispered.

"I love you too... and I can't wait for the day when I can loudly scream it in the streets."

They began to chuckle. A last moment of fun before they were going to tested for how strongly they really followed their ideals, and if they were willing to die for them.

They entered the car a few minutes after the first bomb had been armed.

The knocks on the door rattled Juno awake with a lurch. The dream she was having wasn't worth staying asleep for. She jumped up from the bed and walked to the door in a hurry, halfway expecting Legosi to stand in the door with terrible news.

But when she saw Yajuu and his girlfriend stand at the door she wasn't really sure what to make of it at all.

"What's going on?"

"You remember when Legosi gave me that letter to Melon?"

Juno stood mouth agape in the doorway, unable to process what was happening.

"Do you?" Yajuu asked again.

"Ehm... yeah?"

"Well, you might be the luckiest animals in all of Japan because Melon is my longtime childhood friend. I think that's why he took the letter so badly because he was disgusted with me for trusting someone who looked like a pure breed."

Juno continued to listen in pure astonishment.

"I've been keeping a box for him all this time, a big storage crate. And yesterday Carol was going through my things and opened the crate thinking it might have something of importance to me... It's a bomb, and we don't think it's the only of its kind."

Juno continued, her fur again losing contrast until she was very nearly a cream-colored ghost.

"Juno?" Carol approached her and expected her to flinch at the touch, yet Juno stood completely still, simply looking back with widened eyes.

"What do you need me to do?"

"We need to check my apartment and then we need to find Legosi."

The world was a muted mess through which Juno could barely keep a clear head at all she nodded and almost like under hypnosis stumbled back into what was the place she called home. It was home.

This was their little spot they had elected to make their home. She wrote university papers, washed her clothes, and made her dinner here. For a moment she looked at the bed and found that she made love here too.

"Juno?" Carol called from the door. She waved it off with a hand that seemed to move in slow motion.

"Just grabbing some clothes."

She walked outside again in jeans, a sweater, and her dark red jacket, it had begun to be awfully cold with the turn of the seasons.

When they came up to Yajuu's door they felt the bad omen that was the open door, left unlocked by an unceremonious visitor. Yajuu was the first to enter, and Juno thought how awful it must feel for him to walk through this door like this. Especially to him, his home must have been a real relief, a little spot where the outside world had no opportunity to assault him. And now it was a premature tomb that just waited to be filled by the countless bodies that would follow the screams of the rebels as they tore the circus tent civilization had become to the ground.

They followed without words, all of them equally lost tonight. The air whipped through the apartment like cold hands grasping for warmth, a remedy from the cold grip of the approaching autumn. Books laid open, pages fluttering in the wind. It looked abandoned of warmth and still Yajuu persisted through it towards the corner of the room, where the crate used to stand. Now it was empty, the black nothingness even more terrifying than when it was still there.

"... hid one right in my home." Yajuu's face was filled with devastation.

"You are supposed to be in the clinic, not here. He never meant to harm you." Carol tried soothing words. Yajuu remained still for a moment.

Juno found he had the same trauma-filled eyes that Legosi had when he talked of his mother. It frightened her.

"Oh he knows he's hurting me... he just doesn't care."

Yajuu grabbed at the corners of the crate, Carol taking a step forward and extending her hand.

"The world hurt him and he doesn't know any other way than revenge. The world doesn't listen to people like us unless they are forced to."

Yajuu didn't react to Carol's touch as if she wasn't there at all. The weindeer had sunken and disappeared completely within himself.

"But I can't live in his world. I belong less in a world of fire than I belong in this one. If he does this then no one will ever listen... If this happens the chase never ends."

The weindeer turned around and stared deeply into Juno's eyes.

"Legosi is the only way we can stop this... Help us find him."

Tears welled in Juno's eyes as she perfectly pictured the world that Yajuu lived in. A world that had shut him out and refused his existence to its very core.

We'll make this right. Protectors are what we are.

"Of course."

Hiding from view Louis creeped along the streets, the traitor scurrying along to hide from the nocturnal worker or delinquent out at this early hour. Yet the further he walked along to the empty streets of the city the more he was turned away from the idea of allowing the driver to come pick him up.

The more often he saw the glass tower peeking above the rooftops the more he was filled by those terrible thoughts. He saw himself shooting Yahya dead or kicking him out of the window, falling to his death a screaming madman. Yet he knew that was naive.

What were his options? What would it mean to himself if he just ran away, gone with the wind to his little safe space where his wife and son waited for him? Leaving Yahya in his political panopticon.

"Sorry there mister."

Louis extended his hand beside himself, letting the tapir pass. He ducked his head out of the way, the darkness shielding his visage from being revealed to the passerby.

His mind took another little turn as he felt the power that was within being completely powerless. He was a true shadow. Everything that could seriously hurt him was gone beyond the veil of the city, out of view of the dark tower. He had everything to lose, yet none of it was right here.

His cab stopped by the corner of a side road, the convenience store lights from across the streets shined bright like a beacon yet not strong enough to really illuminate anything. His glance for a moment rested on the okapi in the driver's seat. A new hire, someone that had been found to be available, with the little staff they had at hand it was luck they even found anyone. He rested on the seat for a moment and thought of his options.

He knew nothing of Melon's plans and even less of Yahya's, but he had the strong hunch that the state building housed something that would be useful to him. The grand Archives up in that ivory tower. Yet if he got anywhere near there he would only end up back in a jail cell.

Of all the chains he wore in life, the livestock tower's, his father's, and the state's, he had missed to see that his loyalty to this city was in itself chains. True complete freedom was exempt from those that cared because care itself moved you to do things as if under a spell. Empathy and love chained him to his wife and his child, and those chains he never wanted to come off.

He stopped himself in his tracks. His family, his love for the city he was born in... those weren't chains, those were bonds. A caring man wasn't necessarily free, but he chose the bonds he's in with care.

"Master Louis?" The driver looked through the rearview mirror.

"Drive to the safe house, I need a moment."

"Alright, sir." The driver started the car and Louis thought of the possibility of a future that might still exist. A future where the state building was a sign of hope and not of endless peril.

Legos was sorting equipment in the Armory when the voice of Captain came from the door.

"Legosi, your mate wants to talk to you."

Legosi looked back with a puzzled expression.

"Said it was important," Captain said with a shrug.

Legosi left his task to his fellow privates, following Captain to the lobby of the warehouse. Captain waited by the doorway, pointing to the wolfess standing in the center of the room, where Juno stood with bright eyes that demanded all of his attention the second she caught sight of him.

"What's going on?" To see her this early wasn't exactly calming.

"That letter for Melon that you wrote, you gave it to his oldest friend."

Dumbfounded Legosi looked at his mate, the gears in his head turning.

"I gave it to Yaj-... oh..."

"Well in Yajuu's apartment used to be a crate that Melon put there. It contained a bomb. And now it's gone."

Legosi froze, zooming out of the situation as his mind concocted a vision similar to the one that Yajuu had earlier in the night. Fire, rubble, and smoke that was thick in the sky, reflecting the ambient light and creating the fiery orange-red atmosphere of Hell. He saw his friends, he saw her, crying tears of blood as they choked on the burning air, the fire having devoured all the oxygen.

"How do you know?"

"Carol told us... She's Yajuu's girlfriend." Her words only further set in stone for what was to come soon.

What came next was certain death, him and his, yet unknowing, bride-to-be.

"Where are Yajuu and Carol?"

"Outside in the car. What are you doing?"

"The only thing that makes sense." Legosi took a step towards Captain at which point Juno had grabbed for his arm.

"What are you doing?"

"We can't do this alone, we need their help." Legosi looked into worried eyes.

"You really think that is a good idea? To ask them for help?" Her grip remained on his arm.

"They don't want bombs to decimate the city just like we don't want to...." Legosi leaned in closer and began to speak in a whisper.

"If we don't stop these bombs there won't be a city to save. As much as I understand his plight, I can't let him destroy this city that I love..."

The moment of stillness stayed in the air. Legosi laid his hand over the one grabbing his arm. He squeezed softly.

"Really?" she asked.

"We can't do it alone," he replied.

"Ok..." She released the grip, his fingers covering hers.

"Don't worry. If anything happens, I'll handle it." He turned away with one last squeeze and then approached Captain.

"My mate has found out Melon's next move."

"How did she manage that?" Captain furrowed his brow, his face gaining that tension of utter seriousness. Legosi kept still for a moment thinking of any way to avoid stating the outright reasons.

I can't waste time

"A friend of ours has revealed themselves as one of Melon's inner circle. He told us that Melon hid a bomb within their apartment."

Captain's eyes furrowed.

"If they really give a damn about this city then they need to turn themselves in. If these claims are invalid then we're following false leads."

Legosi almost flinched at the comment, cursing himself in his mind. Why would Captain believe them immediately without any question?

"Can you ask about suspicious activity? Lives are at stake."

Captain's face furrowed further.

"I'll call it in, but without any proof, we can't act." Captain turned around and walked back into the facility.

Legosi turned around and walked briskly towards Juno. He felt tormented by how much this next course of action would scare her.

"They need proof to believe. Without direct witnesses, their hands are tied." Legosi's words made Juno's eyes widen in terror.

"You can't give them up to them, that's exactly what we are fighting against." Juno walked in front of Legosi as he approached the door to the outside. He had a defeated and resigned expression on his face.

"Either this or we have no city to save." Legosi pushed on, ignoring her begging and panic not for reasons of heartlessness or anything comparable to the sort. Simply because he had to. Time was of important essence.

"Legosi, Legosi stop! We can't do this if we turn him in." Juno was cut off by powerful hands firmly grabbing her upper arms.

"I'm turning nobody in. It's Yajuu's choice, but I can't defuse bombs. That's knowledge and equipment I don't have. It's his choice if our home will become a smoking pile of rubble today." He pushed past her for the door.

Legosi felt vacant when he looked at the car. He was about to abandon his own kin because he knew that he alone would not be able to stop Melon. He alone would be unable to do anything at all.

He was breaking all of their hearts because he was powerless. Because he knew nothing...

Legosi came to a sudden halt, his face easing up and suddenly void of emotion as if a shot had rang out and hit him straight in the heart.

Captain didn't seem surprised, he... just furrowed his brow like he didn't look forward to the mess this entailed... Does he know somehow?

"Legosi?" Juno's voice was a drop in the ocean to his senses.

They know.

"They know. Captain knows."

"What?"

"He knows. He never showed an ounce of surprise at what I said." Legosi looked back at the building with a swelling of anger that reminded him of roughly two years in the past when he looked at a bear that had gone Insane with comparable rage.

Juno looked to the building and then back to her wolf.

"Is there any chance you might be wrong, maybe he was expecting Melon to escalate."

Legosi shook his head.

"You've seen how they are, how drastic they are. They react to anything that might possibly upset the order with intense hostility... and in there he brushed me off, asking for witnesses. Since when did Yahya need witnesses?"

Juno's face showed the gears turning and slowly the realization setting in.

"What now then?" Juno looked to the car and then back to him. He had lowered his head, looking straight to the ground. His arms hung dully and his back was arched.

"I'm going to have to improvise..." Legosi looked up, fingers readied with his claws, his breath becoming more ragged and the inner animal scratching the surface.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and the inner animal abated softly, knowing his mate's touch by instinct. They held eye contact, soul to soul, animal to animal. Her own anger had seemingly stirred, their heart rates sinking up. Not much further and their thoughts would be one too.

"After he's incapacitated, what then?" Juno asked.

"When I'm back in control I can get them on my side. This city links all of us."

"If it falls we fall too." Her somber tone waved out until he felt sadness too.

"Yes." At this point, the beast's voice was but a low tremor in his vocal cords.

"Carol and Yajuu?"

"Can go to the black market, tell Gouhin what's going on. Gouhin will call Tokugawa, then we got him and his mob." The beast replied

"Louis?"

The beast groaned and both of them shared their feeling of absolute anguish over what had happened to him.

"We'll pick him up after we're done here."

Eyes to eyes, heart to heart, mind to mind, and soul to soul.

"Tonight things will change..." said the beast that stood in Legosi's place.

"...forever." Growled the beast that stood in Juno's Place.

And change came.