The Mouse Project

Shock to the System, Part 2

2009-01-26T00:00:00.001-07:00

6:00 A.M.

Roth trudged home, a little beaten up from a late night of underground street brawling. He was fairly bruised, and bleeding a little around the mouth. His hands, though already wrapped, were the bloodiest of all though, most of it not actually his blood of course. Regardless, the fox simply could not wait to get home and rest. Almost seeming defeated, every inch of his body aching, he headed up the stairs, prepared to see Fausk collapsed on his couch, out like a light as always. Of course, that was before he lifted his head.

Instantly, he felt invigorated with the sensation that Fausk may be in danger, the door splintered and broken off of its hinges. Quickly, he rushed into his apartment and glanced around, trying to find out what happened to Fausk, only seeing her outerwear on the floor, and the sheets all in a pile. Roth's eyes quickly focused on a nearby clock to see what time it was before he bolted out the door frame and ran down the street.

It almost felt like he was running for hours, the wind biting at his face he was dashing along so fast. The pain was completely ignored as he quickly headed into an alley way and busted through a back door. The interior of the structure he had ran into was pretty dimly lit, seeming to prefer only natural lighting, and even then only through the windows covered in blinds. As the sun was only barely peeking up, it was very grim and morbidly dark, almost as if it was a crypt.

From behind Roth, a hand started to reach towards him to grab him. The fox was too used to being attacked, and with a slight twitch of his ear he had bent down, spacing his weight across his knees to slide under the hands and around the attacker just enough to deliver a sharp blow straight to the kidney. The attacker doubled over in pain and fell to his knees, while Roth quickly glanced around, seeing several more starting to move forward.

"Enough." A voice calmly uttered from somewhere beneath the dark depths, and a desk lamp on a table clicked on. Immediately, the group around Roth ceased and all moved back to their respective locations. Breathing heavily, the tired, beaten, and fatigued fox slowly headed towards the desk, stopping the required seven feet from it, as the voice continued. "You look like you're about to collapse, Roth. Must be important."

Roth stood calmly, chest still heaving to try to catch his breath from the long journey, not even sure himself how he was still standing. "My apartment--"

Though not much was seen from the figure, a hand did come into the light telling him to stop his sentence. "Yes, there were reports of a large scale police force breaking into your place. Oddly, I thought they were after you though."

The charcoal fox just blinked, as if he didn't understand. "A large police squad, in the slums?"

The figure just seemed to nod in the shadows, leaning a bit closer to the light, but still staying out of it, "Yes, SWAT and everything. Rumor has it they're planning on increasing patrols around here, which is bad for everyone."

Roth seemed to fumble for words, just standing there speechless, trying to figure out what he could have possibly done that would have warranted being a high priorety target by the police.

Almost as if sensing his confusion, the shadow continued, "After I figured they weren't after you, and Tesla was also spotted leaving that bar you work in after the initial arrest," The figure paused, leaning back slowly, "the final option was of course, that girlfriend of yours."

Light was slowly beginning to pour further into the room as Roth seemed to move within the blink of an eye, breaking the seven foot barrier and slamming his hands against the desk, "She's not my girlfriend!" He practically yelled. It wasn't that he didn't care for Fausk, he just did not appreciate everyone thinking it was a romantic interest.

The figure just chuckled and held up a hand for the guards which quickly started to move in as Roth moved forward. "So she was there. Provided the cops don't get her, she's not going to be welcome in the slums anymore. That increased police activity down here still won't be enough to stop a few hits." The figure stood up and moved into the light of the sun a little, showing off his pinstripe suit and fedora as he looked out into the street.

Roth's eyes followed him as he just lowered his ears and growled, "If you, or any of your men so much as touches her, I'll kill you myself, Vincent."

The raccoon turned to look towards him, just smirking a bit, "Provided the slums don't kill you and your girl first."

Shock to the System, Part 1

2009-01-23T00:00:00.000-07:00

Morning of Fausk's Arrest. 5:30 A.M.

The doors to the police station seemed to burst open, the German shepherd carting the faux fox in. Fausk's arms, handcuffed behind her back, as she struggled and fought against his grip, lurching forward and around in every direction, growling to herself mostly. Perhaps the most surprising fact was just how busy the police station was at this early in the morning. Everyone was on the move, on the phone, moving this way and that. Cork poster boards were everywhere with photos and pictures and maps and everything being tacked and marked.

The noise level was unbearable to the hungover faux fox, and yet even as she glanced about she tried her best to focus on some of the pictures. Amidst all the yelling and frantic movement of the police officers she did manage to catch a glimpse at a few of the various images strewn about. Dead bodies, car wrecks, mysterious looking blobs of some sort of avian creature against the backdrop of a full moon, she couldn't tell, it was too hard to focus on any one thing because of her horrible headache. The German shepherd continued to drag her about, quickly banging his way through another door, this one leading downstairs, into a dark, dank basement.

Fausk was mostly relieved to not have to hear the unbearable noise from above as the door was slammed shut behind her. Within, were several more uniformed officers standing about, a single light shining above from the dangily light fixture. One of the men set down a wooden chair in the middle of the light and the German shepherd quickly tossed her into it, forcing her to be seated. She squinted, trying to keep the bright light out of her eyes as the men all seemed to turn away from her, save for the German shepherd who brought her in.

"Miss DaSilva, or would you prefer Fausk." He spoke, seeming calm, and in control of the situation.

"I'd prefer to get out of here, I didn't do anything wrong." She grumbled still trying to keep her eyes mostly closed.

"I'm afraid that's just not possible given the situation." He pulls up a metal chair and sat on it backwards, resting his arms over the back of the chair as he leaned forward, "We've been after you for a few months now. Surprised to find out you were hiding in the slums, I suppose it makes sense with the lack of police enforcement down there." Fausk just seemed to stare at him while he spoke, not comprehending anything that he's been saying or what she could have possibly done wrong. The German shepherd looked up as one of the other officers handed him a file and he grabbed it flipping through it as he continued to spoke. "Had to go up to your parents place, seemed they had no idea where you were for 3 years."

Fausk just lowered her ears and looked away, no mention of her parents was ever a good one. Regardless of the situation she just looked back up at him, trying to fight against her handcuffs again, "Did they tell you they didn't want me?" She frowns a bit and just grits her teeth, "Besides, I have no idea what the charges are against me, don't I have some sort of right to know that?"

The German shepherd just sat quietly, staring at her across the folder, continuing to flip through it. "Odd that I don't see any prior record here. Then again, it did take us a while to be able to lift even a single print. You've been quite meticulous in covering your tracks."

Fausk just continued to look at him. Baffled at the fact that he was being so persistent in his questioning her, even though she was completely innocent. She grumbled, beginning to snarl between her lips, "I want my phone call."

Having a Friend to Confide in

2009-01-19T05:04:00.001-07:00

The snow leopard awoke the next day, feeling somewhat rested, but also rather worried about what her dream may have meant. The snow leopard got dressed, wearing one of her fancy dresses that was made from silk, and then wore a semi-short kimono style dress over the top of it, giving a nice layered and oriental sort of look to her outfit.

Misery headed outside of her building and walked to the curb, slowly waving her hand around, as she waited for a taxi. One eventually pulled up and she climbed inside and asked for the driver to take her to a restaurant in the China town district. She slumped back in the back seat again, this time folding her hands in her lap and keeping her posture much better than the previous ride.

It wasn't long before she was paying the cab driver and stepping out in front of the restaurant with a large, jolly looking panda's face on the marquee. She simply smiled, heading inside to the greeting ding of the door's bell tied on to the inside handle. A very svelte looking fox slowly made her way over, bowing to Misery.

"Miss Valentine, it is so lovely to see you again." The waitress spoke, very polite and courteous.

Misery just smiled, bowing as well, "Thank you, very much. Is Yi available for a conversation?"

The fox turned back, seeming to ponder, but not before the gleeful laughter came from the doors to the kitchen. The doors burst open, revealing the very large panda chef, seeming to enjoy eating as much as he liked cooking. "My good friend, Misery!" The panda, though large, was able to move about fairly quickly, and made his way to Misery and immediately wrapped his arms about her and lifted her off the ground in a large hug, causing faint grunts and gasps from the snow leopard. "It has been so long since you last came to see me!" He slowly puts her down and starts leading her towards the back room, "Come, come, so much to talk about!"

The snow leopard, a bit dazed, slowly stumbled into the back room with him. It was an office of sorts, with a large couch, that soon had the panda seated upon it. The table before them had an empty platter on it, and Misery slowly seated herself on one of the cushy chairs across from Yi. The waitress quickly shuffled in and picked up the tray, heading out of the room. Misery cleared her throat to speak, but soon was interrupted by the panda.

"You've been doing well, I trust? Keeping healthy? You still look too thin."

The snow leopard blushed, finding that more of a compliment than anything, but she knew how Yi worked. She nodded slowly, "I've been doing fine. How's business been for you?"

The panda laughed and scratched his chin gently, "Ah, there were a few slow months for a while, but it's beginning to pick up. It's enough to keep me in business, that's for sure!"

Misery nodded a bit, knowing that this small locally owned restaurant was nothing more than a barely afloat business. In fact, it seemed like a small mom and pop restaurant, with little more than a dozen tables, one chef, and one waitress. Even still, the panda was able to remain happy with his situation.

The waitress simply shuffled back in, setting the tray down, now with teapot and hot tea for the two. She bowed and shuffled back out. Both Misery and Yi reached for their respective cups and took their first sips. Misery took a breath, about to speak again, before the panda interrupted, "Things going o.k. at the firm?"

The snow leopard looked down, sipping at her tea slowly before nodding. Her cover job was as a lawyer for a law firm. It worked quite well, as she's more in charge of drawing up contracts, which almost every business in the world needs. It allowed her to be in more high class functions, easily keeping eyes on targets, while not being suspicious. Misery blinked and slowly looked up, turning her focus back to the panda, feeling quite a bit distracted and unable to focus on the task at hand.

Yi, easily picking up on her frustrations finally cut to the chase for her, "Something must be bothering you, or you wouldn't have come down to visit your old friend Yi."

Misery just nodded a bit, looking back at her tea, "Yes... I had this horrible nightmare."

Interrupted Reprieve

2009-01-16T00:23:00.002-07:00

After the chopper landed upon the secret location for Misery's current employers, she was lead from the landing pad into the debriefing rooms to get a more thorough analysis of her vital signs, any injuries she may have incurred and to just double and triple check her report. Hours of testing, and questions, a bit more than the norm for a simple solo mission. She wondered why the elaborate measures, as if they expected something far worse.

Thankfully, she was given two days leave to recover. She was unsure how she even managed to make it through the rest of the tests, she was already so fatigued in the chopper. They arranged transport for her, sending her off in one of the nicer cars the company owned. Misery slumped over in the back seat, forehead against the window as she gazed out wearily upon the city streets.

Most of the town, up by her organization, was mostly industrial. Smoke poured out of the large brick stacks that dotted the terrain. Most of it was for cover, but it also helped fund the organization by providing power for the nearby city. The city itself of course, started almost abruptly, large towering glass covered buildings. Steel frames, sturdy, tall, breath-taking and yet, it almost seemed smothering, as if all the buildings were always peering down upon the helpless and laughing at their troubles.

The snow leopard just continued to look along the skyline, little alleys of clouds barely seen between the skyscrapers. She, along with most of the higher finance citizens tended to ignore the streets. Not that they were absolutely terrible, but there were more than enough homeless that had drifted here to attempt to get any sort of money they could. The occasional flier or crumpled newspaper would also be seen rolling across the street, but still, even the businessmen and suit wearing people would be seen on the streets. It was as if the two cultures could intermingle because they had to on the ground level, where as they would never be seen together in any other circumstance.

A short while later, the car pulled up to her building, and even Misery was found stepping out of the car, still dressed for winter weather, having been far too tired to disrobe, she simply quickly headed into her building to get up to her floor. Misery felt quite elated to finally be back home. Almost immediately upon returning to her apartment, she collapsed on the sofa and dozed off. Her night went rather uneventfully, except that her mind was still active and trying to work out the events of her sleep deprived state.

In her dreams, she was back in the basement of the deserted command post, gazing into the eyes of the one known as R.C.L.E.P.A.O.S. The sinister smirk on her face as she held poor Misery off her feet, those powerful arms that didn't seem feminine at all. Her face seemed littered with scars, hidden beneath the fur, and her eyes seemed to flash an unearthly red, before the grip was released on Misery's neck.

Misery fell, feeling as if she was falling in slow motion, but as she looked up, she saw that she should have hit the ground a long time ago, having seemingly started to fall through a dark deep shaft to the echoing laughter of the armored feline above. As she fell, grasping frantically for anything to grab onto, she saw the other, the clothed one suddenly seem to tip over and rapidly descend past Misery, the cloak soon fluttering up past her. Misery turned in horror and looked down at something her brain couldn't comprehend. It was as if black smog had been given form, flaming eyes coughing up more smoke towards the falling snow leopard.

Misery then seemed to stop in mid air, everything seemed to stop around her, as if everything seemed suspended in time. Her hair and clothing was still forced upward from the fall, the wind whipping past her, forcing her garments towards where she fell. Even the smoke and smog beast seemed completely frozen in time, yet Misery could still turn her head, and as she did, the floor started to crack. Through the seams of the crack, light started to pour through, upward towards her. Hope filled her mind as she wondered if she was saved, but it was quickly dashed as out from the crack poured thousands upon thousands of soldiers. Suddenly Misery saw that she was above the planet, the cracking haven given way to the majestic overlook of the entire world, and the soldiers poured out onto it's surface. It looked as if oil was spilling along and covering the surface, leaving flames in its wake as the nameless armies marched on, Misery forced to watch in terror. Before she knew it, she was falling again, but this time it was towards the planet, the smog beast above slowly starting to descend towards the planet as well. In her ears was the sound, the sickeningly twisted laughter of R.C.L.E.P.A.O.S. getting louder and louder. Misery felt the heat, her body was beginning to enter the atmosphere and was burning up from having no protection.

Misery sat up, frantically, tumbling off the sofa and collapsing onto the floor, covered from head to toe in sweat, feeling as if she was burning up as she was in her dream. She looked down at herself and realized she was still in her thick winterized clothing, quickly taking off what she could. She slowly breathed a sigh of relief and just let her head hang, her thick black hair coming down over the sides and top of her face, giving her a curtain to protect herself from the horrors of the world. Her dream so vivid and fresh in her mind. Carefully, the now practically naked snow leopard took herself from off the floor and made her way to the shower. A nice cool relaxing shower would help her relax for the rest of the night.

Winter Wasteland, Part 4

2009-01-14T00:08:00.000-07:00

With the snow leopard having left, the clothed one turned to R.C.L.E.P.A.O.S. and spoke up, "I wonder why she did not try to escape as others tend to around you."

R.C.L.E.P.A.O.S. simply smirked around the cigar and gave off a deep chuckle, "Probably too scared to try, I imagine they haven't seen anything like me around these parts."

The clothed one just nodded, "I suppose so. I don't think we'll be able to get the satellite up in a month either, it will take time to get the rest of the crew through."

R.C.L.E.P.A.O.S. nodded and just tossed half of the cigar to the floor, stomping it out with her boot, "No matter, it's just to keep her scared for now. She's not extremely beneficial, but we'll see how things turn out."

***

Misery made it to the extraction point with little incident, glad that she was finally getting out of this horrible icy wasteland. She set down the mortar launching looking device and placed the specialized flare into it, firing it quickly and covering her ears as it exploded a few hundred feet in the air. She then waited, huddled up around herself to keep warm.

A few hours later and the chopper was spotted off ahead of her and she sighed a breath of relief, slowly standing up as it started to hover a few feet from her, quickly heading over and hopping inside. Inside, there were three completely armored creatures, face masks, helmets, goggles, and all sorts of padded equipment from head to toe, looking very militant. Almost as if they expected to run into some big trouble up here after Misery signaled them. Misery waved her hand around, giving the signal to take off and the pilot nodded and started to head out.

One of the military uniformed creatures started to reach towards Misery and rolled up one of her sleeves, sticking a needle into her arm and drawing out a sample. A briefcase was pulled out and the blood sample was squeezed into a small tube on the side of a laptop looking device. The device hummed to life instantly, and after a few minutes it beeped showing that she was clean of any infections, having no idea what to expect from the strange energy readings.

Soon afterward the screen turned on with a video image of their home base, and the uniformed creature turned the laptop to face Misery. Misery felt quite fatigued after her long stakeout, the adrenaline rush and caffeine high beginning to wear off and take their toll on her, but she knew that they'd want a report on the situation immediately.

Eventually, a well dressed anteater appeared on the screen, wearing a perfectly tailored suit and tie, sitting down with his hands neatly folded on his desk before him, clearing his throat, he spoke, "Agent Misery, glad to see you've returned safely from your mission, what do you have to report?"

Misery glanced wearily at the creature on the screen, suddenly being hit with a two ton wake up call. She had finished her mission, but she couldn't report the truth without them dropping her off into the nearest mental asylum. She had to think fast, come up with some alternative for what the energy readings are. Something that would happen on a regular basis from here on out, and not require further looking into.

Within seconds, Misery came up with a plausible solution and cleared her throat, speaking calmly. "The energy readings directed us to an abandoned command post, probably left over from a previous war. I stayed outside until an energy fluctuation and then went in to investigate. The place was a mess, and it took me a while to find the source. Apparently, there's an errant computer that keeps powering up and down when it needs to access data, signaled via satellite. From what I saw, there was no way to shut the device down, and it almost appears to be used as nothing more than a routing node for hackers. Nothing for us to worry about, sir."

The anteater sat, listening to her assessment of the situation and before long, nodded. "Yes, very well then. Never can be too cautious. Would you be interested in returning to this location should the energy readings become more frequent to trace where the signal is coming from?"

Misery smiled, not only had her plan worked, but it almost guaranteed that she would be able to come back once the mysterious duo's plans were in full force. "I'd be delighted to, Adviser Crislone."

Winter Wasteland, Part 3

2009-01-12T00:02:00.002-07:00

Misery fought futilely against the armored creature's tight grasp around her neck, trying to regain her composure, "Y-you are under investigation by the--" Her voice was caught off by a particularly tight squeeze.

The armored one responded with a deep chuckle, "No, you work for me now, if you know what's good for you." Misery's eyes seemed to glance towards the fully clothed one for answers, but it seemed as if she had disappeared, until Misery looked the opposite way and saw her.

"Great one," the clothed one spoke, "Are you sure this one can be trusted? She seemed eager to rat out her current superiors."

A deep chuckle came from the armored one, "You should know better than to question the great R.C.L.E.P.A.O.S. Besides, even if she wanted to divulge secrets about us, she knows nothing. They'd have her committed if she said that we came out of no where."

The shrouded one nodded and just watched, "Forgive my doubts."

R.C.L.E.P.A.O.S. threw Misery to the floor, causing her to whimper and gasp heavily for breath. "Giving me your name would be in your best interest."

Misery continued to sputter for a while before she slowly stood back up and rubbed at her throat, "I am Misery Valentine, and I work for--"

R.C.L.E.P.A.O.S. cut her off, "Me, as a double agent. You will report on every detail that your organization knows about. Undoubtedly, you are a spy, so your organization must have all sorts of information I need."

Misery just stared her in the eyes, seeming to be contemplating not listening to a thing that she said, but agreeing with her anyway, if only to get herself out of this situation alive.

The large red painted cat pulled out a cigar and slowly lighted it up, just looking her over. "Trust me, we will find you and kill you if you do not comply."

The snow leopard seemed to realize the seriousness, slowly nodding, "Well, how am I supposed to reach you?"

The cigar smoke was starting to fill the basement slowly, smiling a bit, "We'll give you a data pad. It won't communicate data to us for one month, so don't waste your time trying to upload any information to us until that time."

A throat clearing noise came from the cloaked one, but both R.C.L.E.P.A.O.S. and Misery ignored it, as the snow leopard frowns and looked up, "Understood, one month and my employment for you begins."

R.C.L.E.P.A.O.S. nods and smiles a little, "I'm glad you understand. Once you leave here, you will never see our faces again, unless you do something wrong. Of course, if you did that, you wouldn't get to see us for long."

Misery nodded, slowly putting her hand out to the data pad. The cloaked figure produced a data pad from within the folds, handing it out to the snow leopard. Misery frowned and looked at it, seemingly high tech, taking it and slowly tucking it into a bag on her side, "Well, I suppose it's good to be working for you." She turned and started heading back up the stairs.

The cat plucked the cigar from her mouth and blew out a large puff of smoke, "You'll see shortly, you're on the right team."

Winter Wasteland, Part 2

2008-12-26T17:56:00.001-07:00

Misery kept her back to the wall, slowly pushing the door open to the rotten old command post. Her gun was always pointed at the ready, she had no idea what to expect after the light show from within the building. The inside, was much like she expected, tables and chairs tossed about all over the place, collapsed and broken. It almost seemed like a nuclear bomb had gone off and destroyed the entire place and left it colorless and lifeless. Slowly, but surely, the snow leopard continued to move along the wall, her boots softly crunching at the residue that was left on the floor. Occasionally she'd lean around a corner carefully, examining the side rooms to make sure they were empty, continuing to make her way through.

Eventually, Misery found a set of stairs, leading down, slowly making her way down into the basement. Here there were all sorts of pipes and support beams, all of them seeming to go in the most random patterns. Off in the distance, she heard something that made her ear twitch. Were those voices? She carefully moved to a crouched position, still quietly and stealthily moving along. She continued to get closer to the voices, eventually finding a crate to duck down behind that was close enough to listen to the conversation, slowly peeking over it to try to get a look at who was down here.

There were two of them, one of which was completely covered in clothing that hung loosely around its form, making the figure almost seem ghost-like. The other, was standing at a massive height with an armored and padded body suit, wearing a military style beret on its head. It wore full red camouflage and had really ragged hair, from behind at least.

The tall one spoke up with a deep, yet clearly feminine voice, even amongst all the gritty undertones. "Excellent. This place will suit our needs perfectly."

The figure, fully draped in cloth seemed to make a little head bob, speaking in a seemingly shaky, halting sort of voice, "I knew this would serve well for our... purposes. It will take months to get enough troops through. Perhaps, it would be best if we... recruit locally."

Misery continued to listen from the hiding spot, trying to figure out what these two were planning, so that she could report back to the authorities. The snow leopard leans in a bit further,
accidentally knocking a wrench onto the floor. The two figures she was listening to, turned their heads towards her, the taller quickly striding over.

The suited and gloved hand came down and grasped Misery's coat collar. The creature, covered in red fur, with the occasional black paint over in camouflage techniques. Even in the dimly lit basement, there was a tiny glint as the figure's teeth shone from the smirk.

"Looks as if we've found our first recruit."

Winter Wasteland, Part 1

2008-12-24T09:48:00.000-07:00

A year before Fausk's arrest

The snow leopard was camped outside of a old Russian command post. Misery was completely uncertain what it was ever used for, but she was fairly certain that it hadn't been used since the 1940s. Her superiors had sent her out here on a stakeout, and she was in no position to argue after having screwed up several previous espionage missions.

Regardless, she found herself huddled up in the arctic regions of Russia, bundled up in thick winter, fur lined clothing. Sitting in a run down car, that barely had enough heat to take any chill from the winter weather. She sat, impatiently, sipping at the coffee she had brought along, listening to the constant static from the radio to her superiors.

Such a wasted use of her time, something about strange energy readings, up here, in the middle of no where. She knew, it was obviously just to get her away from them for a while. Misery took another sip from her cup of coffee and slumped down into her seat, folding her arms over her chest. Her eyes slowly started to close for a bit as she decided to try to catch some sleep while she could, not like anything else was going on.

She woke up, not knowing how much time had passed. She looked up at the command post before glancing over to the radio. The static had been replaced with a high pitched whining sound, probably what awoke her. She reached up and pounded on the radio a couple times, and the whine increased in volume. It wasn't long before Misery's eyes were clenched shut and her hands grasped over her ears to try to prevent the sound from continuing to hurt her.

Fumbling with the car door, she eventually pried it open and tumbled out into the snow, kicking and frantically attempting to drag herself away from the car. The sound just seemed to continue growing louder and louder, as if it was everywhere all at once, and not just from the radio speaker. Misery continued to try her best to escape from the sound before collapsing back onto her knees a good 10 feet from the car, clutching her ears as she let out a loud scream, as if trying to counter the sound with her own voice, desperately hoping it would stop.

Suddenly, all at once, it was silent. Misery lifted her head and glanced around warily, unsure of what had happened. Not forgetting her professional demeanor, she quickly extracted her Walther from her thigh holster, keeping it at the ready as she got onto her feet and looked in each direction. Slowly, the snow leopard's footfalls would be approaching the car, frowning a little as the radio had resumed playing the unsettling sound of static.

Right as she was about to reach the car, a bright light shone out from the windows of the command center, all different colors cascading along in dancing patterns, not unlike Aurora Borealis. Misery, staring at the lights, jaw agape, slowly shook her head and pointed the gun towards the building, carefully and slowly making her way toward it, to find out what was going on here.

A Slight Backtrack

2008-12-22T01:09:00.001-07:00

9:51 PM

The loud, small-cannon sounding shot was still ringing in the kitsune's ears. The ambiguously gendered kitsune stood there for a while, eyes closed as it stood over the body of the latest kill, waiting for its ears to stop ringing. They did, eventually, and it slowly pulled a knife out of its boot to start digging deep into the chest cavity, performing open heart autopsy on the latest victim. After opening the corpse up enough, the kitsune dug into the heart and eventually extracted the rare, custom Damascus steel bullet.

The blood washed off easily enough, from the bullet and its hands, down the gutter grates and into the sewer. With clean hands and a clean bullet, the gun returned to a holster under the pirate style coat, while the bullet returned to a bag on the creature's belt. After doing a last quick double check of the scene, the kitsune rounded a corner, tails and silver flowing hair remaining for a second afterward before it too was gone.

The slums had many unsolved murders, almost as if the cops just didn't care about the scum that died here. Perhaps their effort was better suited to more interesting endeavors rather than tracking down every John Doe that ended up as another unidentified corpse. With all the gangs down here, it wasn't entirely uncommon to find bodies.

Unfortunately, for Faryad, bodies with large holes carved out of them were starting to attract a bit bigger attention. For now, however, it was still in the clear. Deciding that it was time to take a break and try to calm itself down, it headed for the nearest bar. The pirate hat turned this way and that with the head of the kitsune as it tried to find a location that was the most beneficial for its current needs.

The Bloody Knuckle seemed like a good enough choice and thus, the kitsune slid in through the doorway. Glancing around at the people, the kitsune opted to sit off in a corner of the bar, away from everyone else. It was amazing, regardless of the fact that the kitsune practically stood out like a sore thumb, no one ever seemed to stare for too long, nor would anyone remember its presence later, benefit of drunks.

The bartender eventually made his way over after serving drinks to the celebrating group of three further down the bar. The kitsune answered in a strange deep voice, which seemed cold, devoid of emotion, "Half rum, half water, pinch of sugar, splash of lemon." The bartender just sort of stared slightly but shook his head and moved off to prepare the drink. The kitsune's attention brought back to the group as the tallest one was hit by the middle one, and yet everyone seemed to just go about their business.

Faryad had to wonder what two foxes and whatever sort of wild mix that third one was would have with each other's company. Regardless, there was something that put the mixed creature in Faryad's sights. The treatment of that female, farthest away from Faryad, it was uncalled for, and the fox already seemed depressed to begin with. Faryad made a note for later and smirked to the bartender, taking the drink quickly and taking a large guzzle.

After a few hours, the bar started clearing out, but everyone seemed to be heading deeper into the bar. The female who had caught Faryad's eye walked towards the exit though and out into the night, and Faryad turn approached shortly afterward. The kitsune ducked out the door into the night, going where ever it felt like, having not paid for its drink. As if that was really a prime concern at the moment. The kitsune was off, answering the call of the night.

Not an Average Day

2008-12-19T00:32:00.004-07:00

1:22 AM

The three had gotten quite drunk by now, but the night wasn't over, for Roth and Tesla at least. Fausk on the other hand had excused herself from watching the late night after hours fist fighting in the basement of the Bloody Knuckle. Usually, she didn't mind watching, but tonight, she just wasn't in the mood. Something was weighing heavily on her mind still, and she just couldn't shake it.

Instead, she got permission to crash at Roth's place, it was much closer than the auto garage, about a block away. Not to mention, with the cold chill of the air, it'd be nice tonight to sleep in an actual building. So, Fausk found herself back outside, bundled up and shivering slightly as she made her way down the block towards the apartment.

The street was deathly silent, opposed to the hustle and bustle there was formerly. It was almost haunting that even though everyone around here were so active, everyone shuts down at around the same time, or at least clears off the streets. At least she wouldn't be distracted, stumbling towards Roth's place, trying to keep her eyes as focused as possible on where she was headed.

She finally rounded the corner of the block and smiled a bit to herself as she saw the apartment complex, as run down and ragged as it was; she knew it to be a nice, comfortable place. Carefully, she made her way up the stairs and held on to the rail with a death grip, still unsteadily making her way along. She seemed to keep glancing at the doors until she finally found Roth's apartment, number 216.

The faux fox was leaning heavily against the door by the handle, prying open the bag that typically doubled as a belt. It was far too large for her, and acted more like a low hanging sling, the bag resting against her thigh. Regardless, this is mostly what she carried everything in, including heavy tools. She dug around within the bag for a while before she felt the keyring and pulled it out. Her keyring was mostly empty, only having the key for the padlock to her garage, and the two keys to get in to Roth's apartment.

After a good 10 minutes fiddling with trying to get the correct keys into the correct locks, she finally stumbled her way inside and shut the door behind her, locking it once again. She pressed her back up against the door and just slid down it, rubbing her forehead some as she groaned to herself. It felt so good to be here though, it was the only place that had ever felt like home to her. Roth had been the only one to ever care about her, and so, it was comforting to know she could always have him to lean on.

Carefully, she lifted herself up off the floor and stumbled over to Roth's bedroom. Snagging a blanket from off his bed she made her way back to the sofa. Taking off her sweatshirt and makeshift half shirt, that was torn in most places, and tossing them to the floor, she lazily flopped onto the couch, pulling the blanket over the top of her. She was still wearing her gray sports bra, never wanting to give Roth the impression that she wanted more from their relationship. She was more than happy to just be best friends with him. Lazily, she kicked off her shoes and pried off her socks and just laid there in a heap on the couch. Her eyes, very heavy from sleep, slowly drifted shut.

* * *

A few hours later, a loud banging on the door snapped Fausk back to consciousness. She grumbled and covered her head, starting to feel the effects of her hangover. More than likely, it was just some people heading over to hire Roth to 'teach someone some manners'.

A second knock, seeming more loud and furious this time, the loud noises pounding at Fausk's skull from the wonderful side effects of drinking. The irritated faux fox just continued to groan and hold at her head while trying to cover up more with the blanket.

However, instead of a knock, this time the door seemed to blast off it's hinges with the associated sound of a thunderous boom. The groggy Fausk sat up and stared in horror as she watched the door splinter some and tumble to the floor ahead of her. Shortly afterward a full S.W.A.T. team was pointing all their weapons at her, as she of course threw her hands up.

A German shepherd stepped up from the back, wearing mostly plain clothes as he flashed a badge and cleared his throat, "Fausk DaSilva?" The frightened Fausk could only nod, and even that was only barely. The German shepherd stepped forward and quickly started to handcuff her, pulling her arms down behind her back, "You have the right to remain silent."

A Day in the Life of Fausk, Part 4

2008-12-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

9:57 PM

The faux fox slowly steps through into the bar, and immediately was grabbed from behind. A gruff voice growled out to her, "Hey, miss, you're far too young to be in here!"

Fausk grunted at the sudden grasp at her, reaching up to grasp at the hands around her, "Get your hands off me, I know the owner here!" Almost instantly, the hands released her and she turned around and her already frustrated and disappointed face became even more cross, ears flattening even more as her scowl narrowed and she glared at the figure behind her, "Tesla!"

The wild dog/wild cat hybrid just tilted his head upward and laughed a bit as he pushed past her towards the bar, "Cat's got claws." All that got was her stiff, evil eye glare to follow him. Tesla walked over to the fox sitting at the bar and sat to his left, giving him a half hug, with one arm, before putting both arms on the bar counter.

Roth shook his head some and rolled his eyes, taking another shot of alcohol before he turns to look at Fausk and waves her over, "Come on, kiddo. Gotta celebrate tonight, no grumpy guys allowed." He turned back to the bar and put both of his arms over the top of it, leaning heavily against it.

Tesla just smirked and glanced back over his shoulder, just smirking a bit as the faux fox slowly moved up and sat down to Roth's right. "Well, since we're all here now, I guess I'll start the celebrations off right." The cocky creature stood up and held his glass high, "What better place to celebrate a bouncer's birthday, than at the bar where he works, with free drinks for him and his friends!" Tesla laughed again and just downed his most recent drink and sat back down, setting the glass back down.

Fausk, seeming not to be in the best mood for celebrating, simply pulled her sweatshirt tighter around her, keeping her arms folded over her chest, but she seemed less pissed off now, and more depressed. Roth, downing another shot, glanced over at her and just put an arm around her now, leaning in close, "Hey, y'know, I was only kidding this morning, I'm not gonna kick you out or anything, you've got nothing to worry about." Fausk nodded quietly and just looked down at her feet.

She finally spoke up, "Mr. Bristow showed up again today." Roth nodded quietly and just ordered another couple shots making sure that Fausk got one as well. She grabbed the shot and downed it almost before the bartender set it down. Underage drinking wasn't anything different in the slums down here, so no one paid any mind. Not that they wanted to answer to Roth either, not that he was the owner, just the bouncer no one wanted to mess with.

"He's a customer, Fausk, those lingering feelings of recognition are nothing, it's just that deja vu feeling you get. Probably because he comes around every week." Roth, trying his best to console her.

Tesla leaned over towards the conversation, already seeming rather drunk, "Yeah, he's a stalker, he's coming to get you Fausk!"

Roth grumbled and turned back to Tesla and punched him square in the jaw, causing more laughter from Tesla who just shook his head and downed a couple more shots, too drunk to notice the pain at the moment. The charcoal fox sighed and just looked back at Fausk and ruffled her hair, "Celebration, no sad faces, we can talk about it more tomorrow." He smirks and takes another shot of his own.

Fausk nodded a bit, as the next shot came over, clinking the glass against Roth's shot glass gently, holding it close to her mouth, "Happy birthday, Roth."

A Day in the Life of Fausk, Part 3

2008-12-15T00:11:00.001-07:00

9:47 PM

The rest of Fausk's day was as uneventful as ever. Between playing a few songs, and working some more on some of her various inventions or projects, the time flew by as much as it could. Long after the sun had set, Fausk pulled a sweatshirt over her head and grabbed the padlock and key off of her work bench. She moved outside the garage and closed the door, dropping the hinge over the loop bolted into the concrete, and then putting the padlock in place and keeping it secured. Tucking the key away in her pocket she slowly sighed and moved down the alley out to the street.

Ah, the neighborhood, such a wonderful place. Trash blowing down the streets in the wind, bums huddled around bins of burning garbage, broken down and busted cars here and there. It almost seemed like some sort of post apocalyptic nightmare. Until you saw normal cars driving down the road, their windows up, obviously lost. Plenty of people walking about in matching colors, all the buildings covered with graffiti, and the occasional cop car rushing past with its lights and siren wailing.

Fausk was used to it though, she'd been living here in the slums for most of her life. She simply made her way down the streets, keeping her head down and moving throughout the bustling streets of people. Everyone seemed to leave her alone, as if she was protected by some sort of invisible shield. Of course, the truth was a bit more mundane. Everyone knew about the creatures she hung out with, and that's what kept her safe from problems. Word travels fast in the slums, and having connections is what keeps you alive. Her connection was a mid level one, but enough that no one wanted to mess with it.

Quickly she jogged across a street, no crosswalks or traffic lights, at least not ones that worked anymore, and the government of course had much better places to spend the money on. Probably more protection for those snooty high rise mansions on the coast. As far as she, and pretty much everyone else that lived in the slums, were concerned they weren't even on the map anymore. The government probably just had a large gray block on the grid where they were, it was a shock they even got electricity down here.

A gunshot sounded, echoing across the streets, but some of the noise of the traffic and sirens drown it mostly out. Even if it had been heard, people would have just ignored it anyway. It was none of their business and they had no reason to step in and attempt to help, such an act would be foolish anyway. It was hard to even tell what sort of gun it was, it made such a unique sound. Completely unlike the popular models of handguns around here, it almost seemed more like a cannon, though not quite as loud.

Fausk just shook her head, she had been walking for a while now, a good five or six blocks and had just about made it to the edge of the slums. She wasn't leaving, no one ever got to leave once they moved in here, it's too hard to make enough money to get out and get a new start. No, she was heading to the Bloody Knuckle bar, the only seemingly neutral gray area where people from the rest of the city would come, and people from the slums enjoyed hanging out.

The faux fox took a deep breath and pushed the door open to head inside.

A Day in the Life of Fausk, Part 2

2008-12-12T00:04:00.002-07:00

1:54 PM

Fausk's day was entirely uneventful, as usual. She sat at her work bench, fiddling with various projects, switching between them. Sipping at the Dr. Pepper avidly when her ear perked and swiveled towards the sound of a rather beat up car puttering down the alleyway. Fausk stood up and snagged the hankerchief off her carpenter pant-style loop, wiping the residue of various fluids off her fingers as she moved just outside the garage, leaning back against the wall.

The elderly wolf just continued to carefully navigate down the alley, taking time to give a friendly smile and wave to Fausk as he turned his 1972 Dodge Charger into the garage, carefully shutting it off and getting out of the car, just as Fausk turned back around the corner and into the garage.

"Well, Mr. Bristow, it's lovely to see you, yet again. More 'car troubles'?" Fausk smirked, slowly walking closer to him.

The wolf seemed as though he was trying too hard to hold back a smile, gently rubbing the back of his head with a hand, looking back over at the car, not meeting her gaze. "Well, uh, yeah. It sounds to me like there's something wrong with the engine."

Fausk, not believing him for a second just sighed and smiled slightly, opening the car door and slowly scooting into it, sitting down and rolling the window down. She started the car, leaning out the window partially, while the wolf leaned down against the window, so they were both at the same level. The car engine revved a few times and Fausk just sighed and chuckled, shutting the car off and looking up at him, "There's absolutely nothing wrong with your engine."

"Could you just open 'er up and take a look for me?" The elderly wolf was smiling by this point, no longer trying to hide it. He opened the door for her, and she stepped back out and shut the door behind her, moving over to the front and popping the hood. She leaned over the front of the car, resting her chin on top of her hand, elbow resting against the top of the grill. Her tail swished from side to side while the wolf looked over at her and just leaned against the roof, near the door. "So? Anything wrong in there?" He asked, seeming to act worried.

Fausk shook her head and carefully closed the hood of the car, "Your car is in tip top shape, and has been since you first came here and I actually did fix it." She smirks a bit and just sticks out her tongue at him, "I pride myself on my work, Mr. Bristow."

The wolf nodded and carefully pulled out his wallet from his back pocket and pulled out a fifty, "Well, lemme give you this for wasting your time then."

Fausk just shook her head some and put her hands up defensively by her chest, "No, I didn't do a thing, if anything I wasted some of your gas by revving the engine."

Mr. Bristow simply stood his ground, keeping the fifty extended to her, keeping silent for a while before he simply looked up at her, seeming to look on with slightly worried eyes, "Please." That was all he was able to muster. Fausk, reluctantly reached forward and took the fifty and nodded softly, biting at her lower lip gently as she walked back over to the tackle box, opened it, and dropped the money inside. The wolf just quietly got back into his car and started it up, seeming to keep his head down. Fausk did the same, hanging her head over the tackle box as she kept it shut, just listening while the car pulled out of the garage and headed back down the alley.

Fausk sat back down, but this time, didn't feel much like working.

A Day in the Life of Fausk, Part 1

2008-12-10T05:27:00.001-07:00

9:16 A.M.

Traffic, the droning sound of cars, occasional rare honk, tires screeching. With it, comes the eventual awakening of the faux fox. Fausk blinked her eyes slowly awake, still wearing her clothes from the previous day. Carefully, she rolled out from under the work shelf, her cot having been placed directly below it to save space. A single one car garage that almost seemed more like a storage shed, with its metal roll up garage door. On the various shelves were all sorts of tools and miscellaneous parts taken from junkyards to build the various mechanical parts that she uses, both herself, and in the cars that she repairs. Apart from that, there was just a large oil stain in the middle of the garage. Despite not having a very well situated garage, there were a few customers.

Fausk surveyed the garage sleepily, adjusting her clothing before she slowly moved to the garage door and opened it. The light poured in, causing her to squint and grunt sleepily, quickly putting a hand up to cover over her eyes. As if perfectly timed, she looked to the right and left and smirked out the corner of her mouth as the charcoal fox rounded the corner and started down the alley with a cup of coffee and a 20 oz. Dr Pepper.

"Ah, you're already up, this time! Usually you've got me standing out here banging on the door." Roth snarkily remarked.

Fausk just rolled her eyes and responded, "I smelled you coming today." With a quick push she rolled the garage door the rest of the way up so that it would stay, slowly walking down the alley to meet him, and snagging the Dr. Pepper from him, quickly twisting it open, taking a sip, hoping to wake herself up.

The charcoal fox just continued on past her, heading into the garage and sitting down on the metal folding chair, setting down his coffee and carefully sliding out a metal tackle box and popping it open, sifting through the random assortment of dollars and cents. He cleared his throat taking out a large amount of it, sifting through and counting it. The fox's gaze drifted back to the female who was sitting on the edge of the cot, hanging her head. Roth just frowned a bit, "You're still not making a profit, Fausk. I know the location's not that good, but you simply must stop driving away the few customers that do arrive."

He was met with a glare from her, "It's not my fault they all sit there and argue with me about my expertise! They think just because I'm not an authorized mechanic that they can push me around and get their service for free. And I'm not even overcharging the dirtbags!" She was on her feet by now, and she turned and kicked at the cot, just listening to the metal clatter seemed to prove at least somewhat satisfying.

Roth just made his way over and tucked a hundred dollar bill into her pant pocket, the rest of the money making it into his own pocket, "Hey, I know it's rough, but you gotta learn to tolerate all the retards out there. Just be glad I don't kick you back out on the street where I found you, 'kay, Fausk?" She simply turned back towards him and nodded a bit, but kept silent. "Chin up, kiddo." She hated when he called her that, but didn't seem to show any distaste towards it, even going so far as to smirk to him. He smirked back and just tapped at her shoulder before heading back towards the alley, turning back to look at her, "See ya at 10 tonight, right?"

Fausk nodded again and folded her arms over her chest, "Yeah, yeah... gotta celebrate how much of a dick you are!"

Roth laughed and pointed at her, indignantly, "Wouldn't have it any other way." He waved and made his way down the alley, vanishing around the corner and out of sight.

She watched him go and shook her head, moving over to her work desk and shutting the tackle box, returning it to its spot while she pulled out one of her previous projects and set about to work.