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\n Here's ch 4 of Shadow of a Freelancer, I'm trying to keep the chapters in this series short but What can I say when I start writing it just keeps going.

\n Please leave a comment and vote!


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\n It had been eight hours since Shadow left the bridge and entered his reprieve from everything in engineering. In that time he reflected on what Murazar had said, and cooled off while doing so. He hated the fact that certain subjects would set him off and that other...side of him took over.

\n Even after three years that voice that changed him the day Lliam had died still could be heard just as clear as when it first spoke to him. It tortured him relentlessly, but he had his ways of drowning out the voice. However when he slept he was at its mercy...which didn't exist. It always dove into his memories and showed him every face he ever killed, or the ones he loved being killed.

\n Shadow feared that his other self would take control at any moment, which is why he never went to the family grave to pay his respects to his brother. He feared that by going there not only would he lose control, but since Maya, Ada and David all lived at the house on the property at this time, he feared he would attack them.

\n It was this reason and the fact that his enemies would be looking for a way to hurt him that he cut his ties with Sara and never accepted anything from her in hopes that she'd move on with her life. He didn't have to worry as much about Maya being that the only person who knew his true identity was Murazar, and the fact that while he was on his own, any information he came across pertaining to him or his family he intercepted and destroyed. If it reached it's destination he killed those who it was sent to.

\n While he was in that room he remembered reading things in the Federation files pertaining to Lliam and everyone else who died that day. He knew that the grave didn't hold a body, only possessions of the deceased; his body was one of many that were never recovered from Daminia named that for the creatures known as Damin; large dragon like creatures that range from twenty feet tall by thirty feet long to twice that size. Daminia was formally known as ACX-003.

\n And so Shadow sat and considered his options, he knew several reasons why not to go but his heart yearned to make peace with the fact that Lliam was dead and to see Maya again, his only surviving sibling. He knew that if he did go, he couldn't go wearing his black mask of fear or the cloak of darkness that enshrouded him. He let out a sigh of frustration as he knew it was a bad idea, but he decided to go...if not for himself but to let Maya know he was ok at the very least.

\n *****************

\n After heading to his room he changed from his full black body armor into something more practical. When he emerged from his closet he was wearing a pair of blue jeans, a white T-shirt with a gray button up shirt over it, unbuttoned of course, and being paranoid as he was he had his black vest version of his body armor on underneath his clothes.

\n Being that his fur was also black, the vest looked like it was apart of him so no one would know that he was wearing it. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath and let it out as a sigh and with it went something else. He then walked out of his room and into the hallway.

\n "Boss?! Is that you?" Nerah asked as he stepped out of his room.

\n "Who else could I be?" Rrahkarr said he walked down the hall..

\n "It's just that...you seem completely different...almost like another person." Nerah said amazed.

\n "To tell you the truth I feel different." Rrahkarr said, in fact the way he stood, walked, acted and even talked was different and the dark shroud that always covered him had dispersed.

\n "Why are you dressed like that?" Nerah asked.

\n "Well since you've read my file I'll be honest with you. I'm going to my brother's grave so don't expect me back for at least a couple days." Rrahkarr said as he walked towards the Ira's transporter.

\n Once there he set the coordinates to a location just outside the very old styled small town of Noble. He wanted to see what had happened to the town where he was born at, and walk its streets before heading to the Sutarra family home that he left to Maya after he became a Freelancer. Thanks to a few connection he still had on Earth he knew that they moved into the house and that's were they have Lliams grave...alongside their dead parents graves.

\n "Ok Nerah I'd like you to beam me down to this location." Rrahkarr said as he stepped onto the transporter platform.

\n "Sure thing boss...but since this is Earth don't cause any trouble." She said cheerfully and before he could comment he was covered by a white light and the next thing he knew he was standing on the edge of a field.

\n Rrahkarr looked around and observed his surroundings. It was a normal yellow colored field. It being fall and close to winter had made all the greens of the land turn to yellow and orange, and the trees changed to reds, browns and yellows. He stood there as a gust of wind blew across the field towards him...almost like it was welcoming him back home.

\n Since he knew exactly where he was, he turned around and began walking through the golden colored woods for a short while until he came to another clearing and stood there overlooking the old town.

\n Fond memories came back to him as he stood there watching the town and all its inhabitants running about. He could see the school that he had been going to and the same one that Lliam had just gotten into just before their parents were murdered. He didn't let that dampen his mood however because more memories made their way to him. A smile managed to work its way onto his face as he walked down the side of the hill he was on while he headed into town.

\n Things didn't change much in that town. There was old Mr. Perkins corner grocery store where Rrahkarr's parents sent him to pick up food and other items. Mr. Perkins was still the owner of the store and he was outside sweeping leaves and dirt of the sidewalk in front of his store as Rrahkarr walked down the sidewalk.

\n The arcade where friends of his and him played games was still there however it had been shut down. All the games were still in there collecting dust and sat unused for years it seemed. He recalled many memories of the good times he had there as he passed it.

\n Noble's buildings were very old but were kept in good condition, Rrahkarr noted a large crack the wall of one of the buildings he was walking by and also the person who was repairing the fracture. The people were still friendly and some greeted him as he passed by. Most of the people were decent folks but just as in any town or city in any time; there were always trouble makers.

\n As Rrahkarr walked down Main St, he happened to see a small group of teens that may have been between 13 and 16 and all of them were girls. One was a human and seemed to be the oldest while the other two were furs, one red fox who looked to be the youngest and the other a black wolf who seemed to be somewhere in the middle.

\n There was another group of teens, five of em and all boys too, they ranged from 16 to 19 and they seemed to be making trouble for the girls and giving them a hard time. Normally if he was acting like his Freelancer self he wouldn't care about what was going on and would just walk right on by. But he was acting like his old self so he decided to go and see what was going on.

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\n "I told you to leave us alone Billy!" The human girl; who had blond hair with blue eyes and a thin form, yelled as the boy named Billy; another human; with dark hair and eyes, and also the oldest and leader, laughed.

\n "And why would we leave you alone Stacy?" Billy said as Rrahkarr walked across the street towards them.

\n "Why do you always mess with us?" The wolf girl said.

\n "Because you three are the cutest little things in town!" Another boy; an otter, said as the others all laughed.

\n "Why can't you just leave us alone and quit playing tricks Jonny." Stacy said to the otter boy named Jonny as Rrahkarr stepped up behind them.

\n "Is there a problem here?" Rrahkarr asked.

\n "Mind your own business buddy before you regret messing with..." Billy was saying before he turned around and saw the six foot five inch tall black wolf behind them.

\n "Messing with whom...a bunch of teens that enjoy picking on girls, only because you five are the rejects of the town and cant get any respect?" Rrahkarr said.

\n "Hey pal I don't know who you think you are but strangers here have no say, and I won't let you bad mouth us!" One of the other boys; a wolf smaller then Rrahkarr, who thought he stood a chance said as he swung his fist at Rrahkarr.

\n Acting on impulse Rrahkarr grabbed the boys arm, spun him around with his arm behind his back and snapped it like it was a tooth pick. Upon hearing his arm snap and feeling the bone pierce through his skin and fur, the teen howled out in pain as blood started to flow out of his arm.

\n After seeing their buddy in distress the others attacked Rrahkarr, believing that they had the upper hand with more people. Rrahkarr quickly rammed his shoulder into the closest one then with several consecutive hits with his elbow and fists knocked him out.

\n The second closest one he tripped then grabbed the third one who was closest to the wall of a building and slammed his face into it as blood splattered from his nose. The next one managed to grab him from behind but he slammed the back of his head into the guy's face breaking his nose, then grabbed one of his arms and flipped him over onto the ground.

\n The fifth one; Billy, kicked at Rrahkarr but was blocked then kicked in the stomach in return, the one Rrahkarr tripped was back on his feet but Rrahkarr grabbed him and slammed him back onto the ground and put his foot on his head as Billy tried to punch Rrahkarr. Without moving his foot Rrahkarr grabbed Billy by the throat and hoisted him into the air and pinned him against the wall.

\n "Now...are you going to mess with them again?" Rrahkarr asked in a tone of voice that sounded like nothing had happened.

\n Billy, who was barely able to breath managed to say "N-no" as Rrahkarr dropped him to the ground and lifted his foot of the other guys face.

\n "Get out of here and take your buddies with ya." Rrahkarr said coldly as Billy, and the otter boy known as Jonny helped their friends and high tailed it.

\n After those teens ran off, Rrahkarr turned and faced the three girls who looked shocked and scared. He smiled to try and ease the tension and asked "Are you three alright?"

\n They stared blankly at him and after a few seconds he started to continue down the sidewalk when they spoke up.

\n "Wait please!" The blond known as Stacy said as Rrahkarr stopped and turned around to face them.

\n "We're sorry for not answering you, we're ok...it's just that we've never had anyone stand up for us, thank you." Stacy said.

\n "It's ok you don't have to apologize and your welcome. Hey when a six foot tall black wolf comes up and starts a fight and wins against five opponents...I'm surprised you didn't run away." Rrahkarr said.

\n "Ha we wouldn't have run away from someone trying to help us. I'm Stacy by the way, what's your name?" Stacy said.

\n "Ah...Shadow." Rrahkarr said.

\n "We thought you'd lose that fight being outnumbered." The wolf girl said.

\n "What you did was awesome! You kicked their butts!" The little fox girl said and started acting like she was fighting.

\n "Calm down Tiff." The wolf girl said then looked at Rrahkarr "My name's Maya, pleased to meet you and this is Tiff." She said as she patted Tiff on the head who just smiled.

\n Rrahkarr's eyes widened for a second when she said her name, he then noticed that while she looked like she had completely black fur, she had reddish brown fur throughout her black fur and hair. She had a petite form and was five feet four inches tall, her hair had been cut short since the last time he saw her because it was now shoulder length rather then in the middle of her back.

\n When he looked her in the eyes he noticed she had Emerald green eyes that seemed to sparkle in the sunlight, he noticed all of this in less then a second with one glance. It was too much of a coincidence to be someone else.

\n "Shadow huh, that's an interesting name...and it suits you well with your black fur." Stacy said.

\n "So what are you doing here Mr. Shadow?" Tiff asked.

\n Rrahkarr looked down when she asked that, but he looked back up at her and said "Visiting the grave of a friend."

\n "You seem to be heading the wrong way then, the cemetery is that way." Maya said and pointed in the opposite direction he was heading.

\n "If it was anybody else, yes I would be going that way...he's buried in a private cemetery up by the old Sutarra Manor on the other side of town." Rrahkarr said, just acting like he was Lliams friend.

\n When he said that Maya had a surprised look on her face and looked down as the other two girls saw the look on their friends face and turned around to give her a little bit a privacy. Maya then looked up after a few seconds and said "I'm guessing you were a friend of Lliam?"

\n "Yeah...you could say that." Rrahkarr said as he looked down to the street.

\n "I'm his sister, maybe he spoke of me to you?" She asked.

\n "Yeah he talked about you a lot." Rrahkarr said.

\n She started to look at him like she recognized him. She looked like she was studding his face but with his hair covering most of it she couldn't see it. She took a deep breath in and then said "You look very familiar almost like my eldest brother Rrahkarr...could you do me a favor?"

\n "Sure." Rrahkarr said.

\n "This may sound silly but could you move your hair out of your face so I could see it?" Maya asked as she stared up at him.

\n After a few moments he pushed his hair out of his face; she looked closely at his face but with as many years that have gone by without him there, she couldn't quite remember what he looked like. She knew he didn't have any white fur on his forehead so that threw her off, and his scent seemed familiar but it wasn't the same she couldn't tell that he was her brother.

\n "Will that do?" Rrahkarr asked after she finished looking.

\n "Thank you I just had to check something...if you want I'll take you up to the manor." She said.

\n He nodded and then she patted her friends on the shoulders to let them know it was time to go. Her friends said goodbye and waved to them as they walked down the way Rrahkarr had come from as Maya and him walked towards the other side of town.

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\n They were walking up a dirt path on their way towards the manor. Rrahkarr looked around and noted the differences between the place in his memories, and the place he was now.

\n There were more trees around, and there was also a small brick wall that lined the property. To his left was the manor it self; it was made primarily of brick other then the top floor which had white siding all around it. It had black shutters on all the windows and sat upon the top of a hill that overlooked the town.

\n To his right was the small playground that their father built for them when they were younger. And directly in front of them; what they were walking towards, were five grave stones all in a row.

\n The farthest one from them was their grandmother's grave followed by their grandfather, mothers then fathers graves. Each one holding the names, birthdates, the day they died and other writings on them like "Devoted Mother and Loving Father" on them. Then there was the newest addition and closest grave to them...

\n Maya stood back a couple yards as Rrahkarr drew closer to the fifth grave. As he approached the gravestone it held the Sutarra Family Crest on top and read...

\n William Mathew Sutarra

\n May 24, 2314 - October 13, 2334

\n Died in the service of his people and his government.
\n He will be remembered and never forgotten.


\n As Rrahkarr read this he felt sorrow for many reasons, the main one being that, if they weren't on the mission they were on, he would be buried here instead of Lliam. He felt anger towards himself and hated not only the Electus in general, Patrick Territh in particular but also himself.

\n He was on his knees as he talked to Lliam and there he made a promise just as Murazar had so many years ago. He then talked about what he had discovered about the Electus, his plans with Murazar and several other Freelancers, and he even talked about what happened on moonbase and how close he came to revenge.

\n As he knelt there he not only talked to Lliam but his parents, and grandparents as well. Once he had done that and he was still himself, it felt like an incredible burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He decided that, since Maya didn't know he was her brother that he'd say goodbye to her and thank her for bringing him here.

\n He stood up and was about to turn around and say goodbye when a familiar feminine voice from behind him asked Maya "Who's your friend here?"

\n He turned around and saw a pair of raccoons, Ada and David Telge; Maya, Lliam and his foster parents, talking to Maya.

\n "His name's Shadow." Maya said as Ada looked over to Shadow and got a surprised look on her face.

\n She then slowly approached him in shock...the more she looked at him the more she knew that he was Rrahkarr. Even David was surprised he knew it was Rrahkarr as well; even after all the years that went by they could tell it was him.

\n Then to Maya's surprise Ada said "Rrahkarr? You...you're alive!"
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