Author's Note: Hello Lads and Ladies

Writing progress is currently halted. Chapter 19 is already done but i'm stuck between finishing Chapter 3 of the season 1 Rework and Chapter 20 of Season 3. Tired all the time, and between wanting to spend time with my friends and just resting from work I have very little moments to just concentrate on this. When I do have time my head is too darn full to get anything productive or of quality onto the page.

Hanging in there. Life is complicated yada yada yada. Love all of you, and wish you a good time. See you soon with another chapter and better news I hope.

Edited by: SuperAverageFoxyboy, The Dude who likes Tanks
Enjoy!
-Portal




"Ibuki!" Legosi spoke a very quiet shout as the lions approached. In a case like this, they were a welcome surprise.

"Legosi?... we were sent to save you. Juno, Bill." He nodded at the others, awaiting an answer from the wolf.

"I guess I can be persuasive every now and then... ugh..." His stomach rumbled to life, Juno looking at him in response.

"When was the last time you ate anything?"

"I honestly don't know, I'm starving... and I could use something to drink too." He opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to kick-start some saliva production.

"You'll come with us, our treat. Give us some time to talk." Free stood beside Ibuki, beckoning the group forward with a shorthand motion.

They nestled into a noodle shop on the black market main strip, the owner of the establishment immediately getting a large enough table to adequately seat all six of them.

"Where's the rest of the Shishigumi," Bill asked out of curiosity.

"Other assignments. Beastar Yahya's new policies have increased the police's security detail."

"Their Gear too." Dope aided Ibuki's explanation.

"But we've been kicking their asses so far." Free was boasting as per usual, Ibuki's glance drifting disapprovingly to his subordinate.

"You should probably start telling us exactly what you're planning to do. Melon is not to be taken lightly. He is closer to desperation than anyone else. Tomorrow morning the new government policy will force all hybrids living normal lives into a mandatory stay in his new research facility. A desperate animal is hard to be reasoned with." Ibuki's tone seemed to reflect the overall mood of the city. A boiling pot reaching the natural end of its tolerance.

"Least of all weapons. Giving him the means to tear a hole into that building and start saving his people Yahya will completely lose his mind... guy has enough screws loose already, might just make him send in the Country defense regiment." Dope had crossed his arms, his tone similar to that of Ibuki.

"Tanks rolling through our city, it's a horrible thought." Juno lamented, looking gloomily ahead.

"What would you guys like to have?" The server came and put a momentary stop to the conversation.

Bill got a light soup, Juno wasn't hungry and Legosi ordered a mixed noodles bowl as well as two bottles of soda. The Lions all ordered some variation of tea with a shot of sake afterward. Throughout eating Legosi told them the progression of events, which earned him shaking heads and open astonishment a few times.

"Now, to find out you're a hybrid, real shocker. But the stories of your behavior? That's even worse. You got any idea how close to death you're getting?"

Legosi looked at Dope with an expression of shame, his girlfriend shooting him frustrated looks.

"If Legosi is one thing then it's clueless." Said Bill in half laughter, the lions letting loose a small snicker.

"So what does Tokugawa have to do with this?" Free was leaning on his knee nonchalantly. "You wanna ask him for money or weapons or something?"

"I wanted to ask him to talk to Melon. They both have a common enemy, Yahya. And I thought the enemy of my enemy is my friend so... perhaps with Tokugawa's help and guidance we could steer Melon in the right direction."

"You got balls kid, I'll leave you that." Free downed his shot of the alcohol.

"You may try, though I'm uncertain regarding your chance of success. Tokugawa has his own problems and aiding a terrorist organization might be too much to ask for even in normal circumstances." Ibuki gazed across the establishment to the bar, the young swan waitress polishing the countertops. He raised her arm to ask her over.

"I'm certain he wants to help, but not someone as reckless as Melon. Melon has no respect for the bystander. Now Yahya thinks he can do and say what he wants, but he's not torching housing units with plastic explosives." Dope's voice ordered another sake, Free motioning for him as well. Legosi ordered another soda. They paused till the waitress had gone away.

"No, he vacates homes instead of blowing them up." Juno's statement left the table silent for a longer moment, the waitress returning with the drinks. They all silently grabbed their drinks and contemplated. There was no binary choice here, all the options were equally rotten. You had to search for the silver lining like a needle in a pile of hay.

"What other choice does Melon have? People are knocking on his doors left and right just because of who he is, what is he supposed to do?" Legosi looked at the three wise lions.

"That's exactly the reason why it's hard to tell if Tokugawa will help you or not. On one side Melon had really no choice concerning his actions, yet he still puts civilians at risk. Not to mention that the explosion caused some of them injuries."

"So we got to roll the dice..."

After they finished their meal they followed the Lions to one of the gates, Two fox ladies standing guard. They remained in silence, nodding their heads in greeting at the Lions. Legosi thought the Shishigumi were higher-ranking officers to them. Based on their closeness to Tokugawa it made sense. They walked to a few parking spaces on the side of the road, the streets weirdly entirely silent.

They got in and the car started the drive towards the Tokugawa's residence in the northern outskirts of the city.

"Best of luck kiddos, we mean it." Ibuki gave a reassuring look through the rearview mirror.

"Thanks... I think I know how to say what I want to say." Legosi felt the warmth of Juno by his side and put an arm around her. He placed his head on hers, his free hand feeling the small blue box in his pocket.

"I'm so sorry."

"You better be..." Juno put her own hands around him for a side-by-side hug. Once this was over, he wouldn't waste any more time. If there was anything worthwhile about this life then it was love.

They were welcomed by Anno at the front gate, the six moving up to the mansion where they were seated in one of the many common rooms in the sprawling manor. It didn't take long for him to arrive.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." He did not, he was always very accommodating.

"I have a... stupid request Mr. Tokugawa." Legosi was the first to speak, he was the ring leader who had survived the one-on-one contact with Melon after all.

"Well, that's not a promising start. What did that conniving Terrorist do to you? Have you had any chance to visit a doctor?" Tokugawa approached the bruised face of the youngster, dried blood around the cuts and scrapes.

"Well, I killed one of his men so..." Legosi shrugged and looked away in shame for just a moment.

"But that doesn't matter now, I need your help..."

"With what? Go right ahead." Tokugawa looked with his fully awake eyes onto Legosi, who had to advert the gaze every now and then. He had always had trouble with staying in eye contact for too long.

"Down in his Headquarters, after they let me out of my cell-" Juno behind them was gritting her teeth at this. "-I had a chance to talk."

"I showed him that I was a hybrid, My grandpa Is a Komodo Dragon. So I was immune to Komodo Dragon Venom. He allowed me to explain myself and I told him that I could understand but not stand behind his violence against civilians. But I offered my help in any way that he needed it... I told him that I could perhaps set up a meeting between you and him. For the sake of perhaps an alliance..." The room was quiet, Tokugawa processing the information that Legosi just had dumped upon him.

"In what way did I ever give off the impression that I would work with terrorists." He remained completely calm, to the point of causing fright in not being able to place if he was about to explode or truly calm. That uncertainty caused active restlessness in anyone present, even the lions.

"Melon's cause... Omnivora. Is bracing against the new hybrid policy that will force them into the state testing just tomorrow... They'll do anything to get someone with power on board, and with your resources, which they need, you can set ground parameters for you working together."

More Silence, More indecipherable silence from the Mob Boss that was frightful in how vague it was. Tokugawa looked around the room, vaguely lingering on pictures on the wall before looking outside.

"I assume you thought of this because Melon and I share a common enemy?"

"Yeah."

"Mmmmh..." Tokugawa walked towards the window and seemed lost in his own world, Legosi standing behind in the middle of the room, smart enough to not say anything. He didn't want to rush Tokugawa at all.

If there was one wisdom that Louis had taught Legosi then it was the act of waiting for an answer. Letting the other person come to their conclusion on their own without seeming forceful and overbearing in their own behavior. The mountain lion clad In a light blue suit turned around and walked back to the middle of the room.

"What does he want?"

"He just asked for a meeting... I'm supposed to go onto any metro train with you in accompaniment and then enter the driver's car. There we wait for Melon to arrive." Another moment of silence, however much shorter than the last few.

"I admire your determination in this, but I would implore you not to involve people in your plans that had no way of consenting before it all comes into play."

Legosi looked away in shame again.

"I'm sorry Tokugawa... I really wanted to help."

"Of that, I have no doubt, but your impulsiveness can become a hindrance in the future." Tokugawa adjusted his suit and looked out the window again for the smallest pause yet that ended with a quick sigh.

"I'll see what he wants. But for next time you better not promise things that you have no way of delivering on." He walked towards the door, remaining wordless.

"Meet me tomorrow in the Central Metro Terminal at five." He left down the corridor deeper into the manor, leaving the grouping of them behind.

"May I offer you something to drink or something to eat before you depart?" Anno approached as soon as his Master had left.

"Thanks but I'm fine." Legosi declined. He hung his head and thought carefully about what would come next. If he in any way disappointed Tokugawa he would be without any lifeline or perspective.

They left the manor and sat back in the car. The lions were so kind as to drop off Legosi and Juno back home before driving back to the Black Market with Bill. The tiger leaned towards the open door.

"You know the clinic and my apartment, you need me in any way, I'm there."

"That's kind but I really don't want to keep you from your responsibilities." Bill grabbed Legosi's hand, squeezing it tightly in a brotherly fashion.

"This is bigger than the black market," Bill said and shook the wolf's hand.

"You need me. When push comes to shove you come and tell me what I need to do." He released his grip and leaned back into his seat.

"... Thanks Bill." Legosi looked almost meagerly with his bruised and swollen black eye.

"Stay safe Legosi, and go to a doctor if you can."

"Will do." Legosi closed the door and the car reversed until it came to a stop with the Lions looking out from their open window.

"Best of luck to you kiddo." Free extended his knuckles, Legosi's giving a weak fist bump.

"See you around."

The car went fully into reverse and out of the parking space, driving down the road and becoming the only mechanical steed out in the residential sector. The honking on the main road kept going even now in the late afternoon.

They went up the stairs, Legosi dumping his clothes into the laundry bin.

"Look at you... What is that, concrete?"

"I think so," Legosi answered her.

"I need a shower." He grabbed for his soap bottles and his towel, disrobing completely. Juno looked lost in thought for a moment as she stared at the bed, unmade sheets lying in a tumble.

"I think I do too." After she disrobed and both were just in their towels they went to one of the community bathrooms, Taking a shower cabinet. Juno did most of the cleaning this time, Legosi wincing due to his wounds.

"I don't think I ever want to do that again."

"Neither do I... I don't sleep well if the beds empty at night."

He smiled at her, probably the only thing he could well at the moment.

"I'm so damn lucky to have you, you know that?" He looked at her and found her expression of surprise almost bewildering.

"What's that about?" He turned his head, his ear would've twitched if he wasn't standing under running water.

"I... think I was the lucky one." Juno stopped rubbing shampoo into her fur for a moment.

"How? I wouldn't function without you."

"I don't think you realize just how charming you are." Juno carefully continued soaping up Legosi's arm. He only grew more confused.

"Well now maybe... but back then? I would've stayed alone if you hadn't come around." They shared a look of love between them, amplified by the showerhead dousing them with water that was reminiscent of rainfall. Her soap-free hand caressed his cheek, a world-brightening smile on her face.

"I was lost too, remember?... You saved me as much as I saved you." Legosi returned the smile and they kissed in the waterfall of the shower.

"I am lucky to have you."

"So am I."

After they came out, clean with dry fur they went back to their apartment where they changed into clean clothes. Legosi laid down on his back and thought for a while longer.

Juno laid down beside him, her hand on his chest. He ruffled the fur on the back of her head and began to softly stroke it.

"Why were you wearing my jacket?"

"Mmmh?"

"In the black market, when you and Bill ran after me. You were wearing my jacket."

"I guess... I wanted to smell you, calm myself down a bit." He smiled at her words and stroked her head some more. The box was hidden away in a collection of his jeans. This was his little surprise and he wasn't gonna ruin it.

Then he thought back to the Tokugawa and his mood dropped a bit. He wasn't the one who talked well to people of higher standing than himself... but he knew someone who was.

"We need to visit Louis." His girlfriend jumped a little and then froze at the mention of his name.

"Juno?"

The wolfess sat up, an expression of slight panic on her face.

"Louis is in... Prison."





When the clock hit eight AM the State vans hit the road, Police vehicles in escort. They spread out like branches on a tree, from one building to the next. Most hybrids already had their bags ready, having been adequately prepared through means of the Letters that all of them had received. When Legosi and Juno awoke the walking in front of their door already confirmed that Yajuu was being brought out. For the smallest moment, Legosi was scared they'd knock on his doors too, but after they walked past the doors they left.

They both were feeling refreshed and yet still entirely exhausted. They both called in sick, Juno planning to quit that office job entire. Legosi wasn't yet sure if there was any way for him to return to work yet he didn't want to lose the option to either.

They went to the doctors first, Legosi getting some ointment for his eye and the rest of his wounds got disinfected.

"Went down the wrong alleyway..." Was Legosi's excuse, the first and presumably only lie that he would ever successfully tell. The only difference being that the difference between this and a domestic lie were the stakes.

They took the EL train to the city center where they walked the rest to the Metro station. The friendly waving onlookers that waved the two quickly talked among themselves as they saw the Popular Beastar's Wounds.

"So he shot a police officer in order to get Haru out of the city?"

"That's what he told me."

They hadn't talked for long about Louis yesterday, both too exhausted to deal with the ongoing panic that would ensue upon finding out the news.

"How will we get him out of that?" Juno asked as they entered the terminal through automatic glass sliding doors the likes of which were used at supermarkets and laundromats.

"We'll worry about that later." Legosi held her hand tighter and looked at her.

"He'll be sitting in the herbivore block, so I think he's pretty safe." She looked at him with doubt.

"Are you sure? The policemen there might have a vendetta against him." She was severely uncomfortable with the thought of a friend in a state penitentiary. He squeezed her hand.

"We gotta hope... I don't think we have any other options."

They bought sandwiches from the convenience store placed between a small post office and a small miso shop.

They ate them sitting on a bench down the stairs at an unspecified gate, the train driving deeper into the city. Besides a few Animals in suits and a few in high viz jackets, it was empty. Nobody had any reason to travel in these circumstances, and no one really wanted to. Many small shops had closed down, the vendors visiting family or leaving the city for good. The only places still open were a few of the malls speckled among the districts and the vending machines cramped in unused rooms in residential sectors or commercial zones.

The city that had once been so full of people that the main road barely allowed you to stand without touching another's shoulder, now it was a ghost town sleeping with guns and hybrids hidden in the walls. And in the high tower far above ground stood a black horse, the bringer of apocalypse.

They talked for a while, not minding the silence much with the occasional train breaking up the monotone. When the clock turned to five the cougar wordlessly approached and sat down, the three in line waiting for the train.

"I understand why you tried to help. Even if I was cold to you yesterday I want you to know that I understand." He wore Jeans a white shirt and a plain black Jacket. He managed to strike the illusion of a commoner quite well Legosi found.

"I'll let this one slide because of your truly bad situation at the time. But next time you better not get any ideas about my automatic involvement in your ideas." The only thing he did not manage to fool anyone with was his disposition. He sat on the bench, entirely awake and present in the moment. He seemed to be unable to slip fully into his own world.

"I'm sorry..." Legosi looked across the abandoned train terminal. Soon he would have to return to work through Yahya's ranks, doing whatever work they saw fit to keep the hybrid problem at bay. This couldn't keep going on, he would lose his mind if he moved another finger for that horse.

Next time he would come around he might just sabotage them in order to make sure no other hybrid life would be put at risk.

The train rolled into the stations and the group got on.

"Why are you here madam?" Tokugawa questioned Legosi's mate.

"After what happened I'm not letting him go into this alone." She squeezed Legosi's hands. Tokugawa smiled.

"People like the two of you are rare." They both were surprised.

"What do you mean by that?" Tokugawa stopped to think on the question, the two nearly bumping into him. He turned around with a charming smile.

"I find that in the current climate, there is one prevalent fact most disheartening. The lack of empathy or care. When I see school kids, adults, parents, and even grandparents walking the streets I see this callous disregard for anything that's not like them. I've often seen people turn their backs on things because in their worldview there is no place for things that are not like them. Only those who are the same are helped, and any change to the mold is viewed with hostility for no reason other than that accepting change is hard. The two of you are different, yes you know how to fight and stay your ground, but you've never forsaken your understanding for those against you. You see them as people that need to be taught a different way, and that's commendable. True empathy, I mean the kind that is truly felt not brandished to others like a trophy, is rare. What is harder than trying to see the world from the eyes that hate you?" Tokugawa took a step closer.

"This war will not be won with nice words. But after the fight is done you need to keep living, find solutions to problems. And those that can truly forgive will pave that path." He turned around and continued towards the front of the abandoned and almost desolate train. They shared a glance, both in a state of somewhat surprise.

"It's nice to hear that at least someone has faith in us." She voiced the doubts about both of them.

"I'd rather have his words praising me than all of my admirers in the city." He was glad to make her smile.

"You got my admiration, I think that's enough for now." He dipped in to kiss her.

"Sure is. Let's go." They followed Tokugawa along the train.

The driver's car was full of animals with the little sheep with wolf's teeth tattoos walking along the car. The driver's car was identical to the rest of the passenger cars except for the control cab at the front. The men had closed the connecting door and as it seemed had installed metal shutters on all windows. Equipment lay scattered left and right, technicians handling radios and security detail consulted a map of the metro as well as the sewer tunnels and piping.

"Sit down in the control cab, We'll radio the boss in." One of the men had taken one of the headphones off to motion them forward.

"How accommodating." Tokugawa followed the request, the two wolves following. They sat down in the control cab, the driver wearing headphones. They were noise canceling and faintly one could hear faint background talking and ambient noise in order to make the wearer deaf to all conversation occurring within the small cab. Seats had been placed all around the driver, pointing at each other instead of at the front.

"What are the conditions?" Legosi asked.

"You'll see," Tokugawa answered, having crossed his legs in front of him. He was again an enigma in the truest form.

The train took fifteen minutes to ride to another station, the light at the front of the train being bright enough to forbid anyone from looking into the front, and the sides were closed by the metal shutters. This probably broke some regulations somewhere, but the stations were as dead as the inner city roads. There was no one to make a complaint.

The train stopped for another ten minutes, letting them sit in anticipation. Legosi looked at his mate, the wolfess having balled her hands into fists. She seemed to tense up.

"Juno?"

No answer, her lips lifted up with the scrunching up of her top muzzle, revealing her teeth.

"Hey," Legosi spoke quietly, laying his hand on her fist. Yet no effect. She stayed entirely the same. Legosi looked around beginning to get a nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach.

The door opened and to his complete shock Juno jumped up from her seat and ran towards Melon launching her fist ahead. Melon perfectly caught her first fist yet the second caught him by surprise, his face launching back as he grunted. Legosi jumped up, Tokugawa following the two restraining the wolfess from throwing another punch.

"YOU LAY HANDS ON THAT WOLF AGAIN AND I'LL KILL YOU!" Juno's scream caused every technician to look their way, the security men almost grabbing their weapons if the wolfess wasn't in the grasp of the two carnivore males.

Melon grabbed at his head and then looked ahead to see the reddish brown wolfess fighting the grasp of the grey wolf and the mob boss. He could assume that this was Legosi's mate. The anger from the hybrid himself fell onto a stone-cold facade as he looked at the large cougar.

"You know that you deserve it," Tokugawa spoke coldly, the Hybrid wiping one last time at the aching side of his face.

"What a way to open Negotiations." Melon's words seemed to cause a spark of anger in the cougar.

"You're alright Juno. Calm down." He looked at the wolfess in kindness and between the face of Legosi trying to console her and the cougar she slowed and finally stopped fighting.

"I mean it. He ever lays a finger on you again and I'll kill him." She spoke with exposed fangs nearly going to a growl, Legosi staying with her at their seats. The driver set his headphones back on, going back to observing the track. Meanwhile, Tokugawa moved closer to Melon.

"These aren't negotiations. You kidnapped a trusted friend of mine and now you are begging for my help. Your cause is noble but your methods are needlessly brutal."

The Geopard seemed to only grow more irritated.

"You know what our options are? All those In the city hate us, why should we spare them if they would jump at the chance to get rid of us."

Tokugawa moved through the door and closed it, now the two of them among his security detail.

"You accuse others of taking the moral high road while you use excuses to justify the murder of innocents simply because you can't differentiate between a bystander and a perpetrator. Yahya deserves his own hell for what he has done but you need to listen carefully. The people of the city have direct control of your future. We get rid of Yahya, they'll vote someone in with the same rhetoric."

The Geopard looked up annoyed yet stayed quiet. Tokugawa stepped to the side and pointed at the door.

"That wolf you kidnapped? He might just be the only chance we have at turning the tides. Because this city sees him as a hero. He might be that future which you fight for."

Melon scoffed at Tokugawa's words

"That idiot? The second-generation hybrid that sent me a letter to ask me to stop being violent... Sure yeah, great political leader."

Instead of a sneer or anger as Melon would've expected in response Tokugawa seemed to almost agree with that comment.

"Legosi is an idealist, someone who believes in a better world than there actually is. But there is someone that grounds him, a realistic counterweight to his idealism. The only trouble is that that individual is in prison."

Melon looked up at the cougar and seemed to be on the same wavelength for the first time.

"Beastar Louis."

"Yes." Tokugawa didn't smile yet he also didn't scowl.

"There are some hideouts I know, my trucks are ignored by the border patrol or otherwise they'd have trouble with my security detail. And if Yahya is actually crazy enough to declare war, then I'll be the one protecting your people. I can offer the families under you indefinite safety until this has all blown over, in exchange I need you and your men to break into the prison block. High-grade weaponry and equipment and the likes will all come from me."

The offer was pretty clear and simple. Yet on some level, the Cougar was asking him to infringe upon his own set of morals and ethics. The rage that brewed against every single parasite living within this city wouldn't subside just because he had Mafia backing.

"Do not hate clay because it's ugly. Hate its sculptor for deciding to make ugly shapes." Tokugawa seemed to read his mind and although Melon had every right in the world to be freaked out, he wasn't. He looked the cougar up and down.

"Alright." They shook hands and the deal had been sealed.

"The mob doesn't break pacts. I hope Omnivora operates under a similar honor."

Melon wanted to smile but couldn't. He too felt, like everyone else, that this whole charade was nearing its end. The winner of the conflict however was entirely uncertain.