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Tireal took another step; electricity crackling between his fingertips. Quint's finger squeezed the trigger and his heart shattered as sparks ignited behind the only bullet he had left. The small explosion from the gunpowder stored in the rear of the metal slug sent the deadly projectile forward; spiraling down the barrel of the gun on its fated course. Tireal formed a ball of lightning between his palms as the bullet left the barrel and shot towards him. The electrical ball flew from the otter's hands and connected with the bullet; sending bolts of electricity to the floor before both projectiles exploded. The hyena and otter were thrown backwards from the blast; Tireal slammed back first into a pillar and Quint slid along the floor painfully.

The hyena opened his eyes slowly, gasping in pain.

"I'm getting too old for this..." he groaned softly as he slowly pulled himself onto his feet.

Tireal lay unconscious about ten feet away and the hyena circled the prone otter's body like a mouse circling a sleeping cat. Quint nudged the prone otter with his foot, but all that came from Tireal's mouth was a muffled groan. Quint decided to risk everything.

"Tireal?" He said tentatively.

The otter mumbled incoherently before rolling over and slowly opening his eyes. He blinked and looked up curiously.

"Q-Quint?" He stammered. "How did you get here?"

Tears crept into Quint's eyes and he lifted the otter into his arms; the pain in his body disappearing.

"I thought I'd never find you," The hyena said. "Either that or when I did... you'd be..."

Tireal put a finger on Quint's lips; silencing him.

"It's alright, Quint." Tireal said hoarsely. "I'm a little bruised and I hurt all over, but knowing you cared enough to come looking for me makes up for it."

Quint smiled and his tears slowly stopped flowing. He lowered the otter to the ground and looked around the ruined room.

"Well now what do we do?"

The torches went out.

Quint yelped as a heavy something caught him at the base of his skull and he crumpled to the floor.

Back in the conference room, Zas smiled inwardly as the screen in the center of the table disappeared upwards and the other rats around the table looked to each other uneasily.

"So," Zas said, "He is an acceptable candidate, is he not?"

The other rats nodded in agreement. "Yes, General."

"And you all see that the two are inseparable?" Zas had the senate in the palm of his hand.

"Yes, General." They said somewhat reluctantly.

"Good, then I assume we can continue with our plans, correct?" Zas looked across the table; smiling openly now at Senator Charr.

"Correct, General." The senators spoke in unison save for Charr.

"Senator Charr, do you not agree with my decision?" Zas asked, the smile never leaving his lips.

The rat at the other end of the table, who looked more like a military officer than Zas did, clenched his teeth in anger. Charr's features held a calm exterior but inside, the rat was boiling with rage. Charr wore a uniform like Zas, but the fabric was better kept and each medal shone with unique brilliance; a startling contrast to Zas's old and clearly uncared for uniform. Charr's fur was mottled gray, though he had a patch of black on the top of his head. His eyes; piercing, emerald green; gazed back at Zas defiantly.

"No, Zas." He said reluctantly as the other rats breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Charr tended to disagree with most of the plans and ideas that the General had. He clearly didn't appreciate Zas's attitudes or his ruling style. Zas lifted his hand.

"Then it is decided, we shall go ahead with the situation as planned. Meeting adjourned."

Charr met Zas in the hallway after all of the other rats had left for their homes.

"I disagree with your methods of coming to this decision... General." Charr seemed to spit the word general from his mouth like a rotten grape.

"Is that so, Senator Charr?" The smile on the rat's face vanished into a smug glare. "In what way do you disagree with my methods?"

Charr folded his arms over his chest. "Torturing creatures to determine their worth is inhumane. You yourself should know this. I agree that for our task, these two are the best for the job, but altering minds and pitting them against each other is cruel."

Zas's face was now a mask of seriousness. "I did what I had to do to ensure this senate's decision was the right decision for our country, Charr, nothing more."

"You did it for your own amusement, you sick bastard." Charr growled.

Zas snarled back and grabbed the older rat by the throat; pushing him up against the stone wall.

"You had better watch that loose tongue of yours, Charr." He hissed, "You may find that such treasonous words could land you in hot water."

Charr gulped and chose to stay silent. He couldn't win this kind of argument with one who had so much political power.

"I trust that means you'll guard your words more carefully from now on, eh?" Zas' nose was inches from Charr's and the older rat felt the young General pressing his body against his. Charr clenched his teeth; hoping that the younger rat didn't do anything that warranted violence. Zas seemed to realize how close he was to the other rat and shook himself before dropping Charr off of the wall.

"Watch your tongue from now on, Charr." Zas said icily as he walked away down the hallway.

Charr watched the general leave and shuddered. What was the general thinking?

***

Tireal was afraid to open his eyes. The last times he had done so had been disastrous, and the thought of what might be greeting him next kept him from looking. Something poked his ribs and he squeaked involuntarily.

"Wake up, otter." He heard an unfamiliar female voice say in his ear. The proximity of the voice made his eyes snap open.

The otter was sitting in an ornate, wooden chair in a large room. He tried to get up, but his feet and wrists were held fast to the chair by metal shackles. He saw Quint sitting awake in another chair next to his and the hyena was tied to the chair in the same way. The otter noticed that his clothes had changed. He was now wearing a blue tunic and leggings that didn't belong to him. He noticed that Quint was wearing similar clothing. A large desk was in front of the two bounty hunters behind which sat a throne with a very official looking rat seated in it. Two large windows bathed the room in sunlight; silhouetting the throne.

"Welcome to the city of Kathsera," the rat in the throne said. "I am General Zas." He slowly rose from his seat. "I trust you have found your stay in my palace to be hospitable?"

Quint scoffed. "Hospitable indeed! First you have that bitch shoot me and then you capture and torture us in that sadistic maze of yours! What the hell are you trying to pull?"

Zas circled the desk as slowly as he stood. "My intention was only to test you, and you both succeeded. You should be glad that your abilities were good enough to keep you both alive."

Tireal struggled against the shackles that held him to the chair. "What do you want from us?"

Zas sat on the front of his desk; facing the two bounty hunters. "I merely wish to offer you a job. That is all."

Quint tried to lift his right arm and gave up after a few moments. "It's not like we have any choice is it?" He growled.

Zas smiled. "This kingdom and all of its inhabitants are in grave danger. Kathsera is on the brink of war, pirates. The avian country Serevix has been threatening an invasion for some time. My father, rest his soul, had been paying Serevix off in order to stave the greedy birds, but it appears that this time, they are determined to take Kathsera for their own. My instructions are as follows. I need you two to find a very special gem for me. Legend has it that the Celestial Sapphire can grant unfathomable power if used correctly. You are to find that gem and bring it back to me. It was rumored to have been in the south and, if that is the case, Serevix may have it already. There is an informant in Taldoor who knows more than we do of the gem."

Quint glared at the rodent. "What do we get out of this?"

Zas' expression turned menacing. "You are in no position to negotiate, hyena. But I suppose you need some sort of incentive. There is the fact that I won't kill you if you do this for me. Also, you get to have the satisfaction of saving an entire kingdom from certain doom. The avians are far better organized than we ever could be. That should be enough incentive for you. To make sure you don't stray from your task, I am assigning two of my personnel to guard you on your mission." The rat waved his hand and two other rats stepped forward. One of them was familiar to Quint and he snarled at her as she walked passed his chair. The other seemed familiar as well, but the hyena couldn't put his finger on it.

"How nice of you to join us, Captain Alexis and Senator Charr," Zas said. The senator was not pleased to have been chosen to go on this assignment. He had no desire to help further the General's cause.

Zas pushed a button on his desk and the shackles withdrew into the chair. Alexis and Charr lifted the two bounty hunters from their chairs and pushed them towards the door. "Have a pleasant journey, and Alexis, if any one of them acts up, you have my permission to use terminal force if necessary." Zas called after them.

As the odd foursome exited the large building that was Zas' palace, they were faced with the bustling city of Kathsera. Alexis led the group for over an hour through the busy rat-filled city to the port. Quint was relieved to see the Dodger floating at the docks, but something was odd about the ship. As the group walked closer, Quint saw creatures moving on the deck.

"Hey!" he shouted, "What are they doing to my ship!?"

"Looks like they're looking for something," Alexis mused in her thickly accented voice.

"Well tell them to cut it out!" Quint snarled angrily at her.

Alexis rolled her eyes and snapped something in her native language at the rats. All of the rodents stopped what they were doing and scurried off of the ship, standing at attention in front of her. She glared at all of them and folded her arms across her chest.

The rats gulped nervously and emptied their pockets and rucksacks onto the wooden dock. Quint's temper boiled.

"There," Alexis said, "You can have all of your supplies back, but they said they want to keep the lion."

Quint was puzzled for a moment before he remembered Vicks.

"Tell them that if they do not give the lion to us, I will personally gut every single one of them if that's what it takes to get him back." Quint spoke through clenched teeth; trying to hold back his rage. "He's our bounty and the money on his head is ours for the taking, not theirs."

Alexis nodded and yelled at the rats who quickly scurried into a nearby warehouse and brought Vicks out on the dock. The lion was bruised and his hands and feet were tied. He smiled slightly when he saw Quint.

"Hey, guys." He said. "Looks like hiding in the ship wasn't such a good idea after all, huh?"

Quint stepped forward and pushed Vicks up the gangplank.

"We're still taking you to the authorities, you know." He said to the lion.

"Yeah, yeah I know." Vicks said as he stepped onto the Dodger.

Alexis barked at all of the rats who began readying the ship for departure and Charr, Quint, and Tireal boarded the ship as well. Quint began barking orders to them to start the engine. Alexis was quick to scurry up onto the ship as the rats scampered off of it and onto the dock; the plank retracting into the side of the ship.

The Dodger was sailing once again.

Quint stood at the helm and guided the ship in the direction of Taldoor as Alexis stood next to the hyena; watching him.

"You know," Quint said nonchalantly. "The gun in my ribs is hardly necessary."

"It's a precaution." Alexis replied. "To make sure you don't do anything stupid."

Quint smirked. "I've done a lot of stupid things in the past, what makes you think you won't shoot me for the wrong reasons?"

Alexis smiled. "I'll know when you're making a fatal mistake."

"Could you at least ease up with that gun a bit?" The hyena asked. "I don't need it bruising one of my ribs, thanks. I've already received too many wounds from you."

"Aw, poor hyena's afraid of a little bruise?" Alexis smirked.

"No, but I would like to be able to sleep comfortably on my side tonight if you don't mind." Quint grinned.

"Fine," Alexis lifted the pistol from Quint's ribs. "Just know that it's still aimed at a delicate place."

Quint followed the direction from the gun's barrel to between his legs. "Interesting tactic..."

The Dodger sailed through the waters towards its destination, kept firmly on course by Alexis' constant urging. Tireal sat at the stern of the ship with Charr and Vicks.

"So let me get this straight," The otter was saying to the rat. "You don't like Zas, and he doesn't like you, so why would he send you with us?"

Charr shrugged. "My guess is that he's hoping to kill two birds with one stone."

Tireal blinked. "How so?"

"He wants the sapphire because of its supposed magical properties." Charr told the otter, "He also wants to get me out of the picture for a while because I'm the only senator not under his complete control. By separating me from the senate for a long enough time, he could theoretically become a very powerful dictator."

"So why did you come with us, then if that's the reason he sent you?" Tireal was puzzled.

Charr grinned. "I needed to get away from him anyway. Besides, I have some loyal accomplices back in the city who will do whatever is in their power to stop Zas from taking over completely. Call it a backup plan if you will."

Tireal nodded. "Well I'm not sure why I'm here. Quint's the one who does all of the work, sometimes I feel like I'm just here because he feels sorry for me."

"Don't sell yourself short." Vicks piped up. "You two need each other, that much is obvious."

Charr grinned. "I concur with the lion. You two are pretty much inseparable and you have some decent magical powers. I'm sure those have come in handy more than once in the past."

Tireal blushed. "Well thanks, but it's nothing really."

Charr smiled and looked out over the water. "I wonder how long this voyage will take."

"Well judging from Miss PMS back there, it won't take long at all." Vicks said. "Hey Tireal, are you guys really going to turn me in? I mean I did break your engine on purpose, but I didn't break the law that much..."

Tireal frowned. "All I know is that Quint found a poster that had a picture of you on it and a seventy-five thousand piece bounty. It's ultimately his decision."

Vicks looked down at his feet. "Well, could you at least untie me? I promise I won't sabotage the ship again."

"Sorry, but that's also Quint's decision." The otter looked back up towards the helm. "And it looks like he's going to be busy for a while."

Vicks sighed. "I don't want to go to jail."

"No one does. I'm sure Quint will find some way to help you." Tireal patted the lion on the back consolingly as the Dodger sailed on.

Dusk and night had come quickly, but Alexis would not let Quint slow the ship down until she was sure of where they were. When she did finally concede, the others had already gone to sleep and Quint stopped the ship on his own. He led the rat down into the sleeping quarters and pointed her to a spare birth that wasn't filled with a rat or a lion. After she was settled in, Quint entered his own quarters and slowly stripped down to his skivvies. The room wasn't very large. A desk piled with maps sat under the large bay window on the far wall. A mirror hung on the wall next to it and the walls were covered in paintings of islands and interesting nautical discoveries. The hyena's bed was no larger in width than two births set side-by-side, but there was far more height above the bed. He looked at his bandaged body in the mirror and sighed. He wondered if all of this was worth so much pain. Tireal's prone form in the reflection of his bed told him it was. As long as his charge remained alive, Quint's life didn't matter. The hyena turned from the mirror and walked over to his bed; slowly sliding into it next to Tireal. He wrapped an arm protectively around the slumbering otter and closed his eyes as well.

"Quint?" The hyena was surprised to hear the otter's voice.

"Yes?" he responded.

"I... I think I love you." Tireal said slowly.

"I love you too Tireal." Quint said.

"No... I mean I really love you." The otter sounded as if he was about to cry.

Quint was at a loss for words for a moment. "Tireal... You know I can't... You're like a son to me." He could hear Tireal start to cry. "Tireal... I'm sorry."

The otter slid out of the bed and left the room, still crying. Quint slapped himself mentally. Why did he say that? Why didn't he just lie and tell Tireal he was gay? Because he didn't want to live that way. He had lived too many lies already. He debated going after the otter, but didn't think it would change anything. Quint rolled over and sighed. There was always another problem.

END?