Prologue

The deep sound of a thud stirred him, the sound of the easy, but nearly random pattern impacting something near by, but that sound quickly dying away while it echoed throughout the area around him. As those blue eyes slowly opened, worked on focusing for the first time in a very long time all he could see was green. In a groggy turn of his head the sound of rushing fluid around his head made his eyes open a bit wider and as his gaze cut through that color he found that he was slowly able to see past it. His eyes locking onto what looked like a shadow moving in a distance. It was then that hi eyes opened entirely with the feeling of a hard electric shock running through his figure. That sudden sensation forced his teeth down around some kind of face mask that wrapped around his nose and mouth, forcing a tube down the length of his throat and into his lungs while air was pumped into his lungs, forcing them to expand and contrast at the will of the machine in the pattern of long and drawn out breaths. The taste of plastic filled his maw, bringing his senses quickly into focus before those hands worked to lift quickly, feeling the backs of his hands hitting the smooth surface of the barrier in front of him providing the same odd tone that was being delivered not long ago. Bubbles passed up around him, his body starting to grow more active while he floats in place, his palms coming to press against the surface of whatever was in front of him. Just past this the man could see something moving, unable to tell exactly what he was looking at, but the darkness of it's body shifted and moved about the area. With those hands pressed against the glass, he could feel another hard shock pass through his body, forcing his entire figure to jerk with bubbles lifting in his muffled cry. It was the sound of clicks that really caught his attention, the tone of deep beats through this fluid around his body and soon that water starting to descend from the glass chamber just before the front of it opened with a loud hissing unlatch that pulled the front away leaving the green fluid to pour out over the floor and those hands immediately lifting to take hold of the mask from around his face. As he tore it off of him the sound of coughing and gagging could be heard while inch by inch that plastic breathing tube was removed from his throat and bounced its way back into the chamber again. His knees hitting the floor of that chamber, catching himself just outside of it, but something was different, unlike what he remembered before being brought here.

With his eyes no longer housing that green tint from the fluid he'd blink at the sight of his hands on the floor of this room, the sudden look of concern came over his blue eyes as he'd notice the white hairs that covered his arm and fingers. Those same fingers that shook easily while he lifted one hand into his closer view and even turned it to view over his palm in order to see the blue pads that made up the only points not covered by fur. Nails even stretched from his finger tips, but like one would expect them to, these weren't simply nails but almost claws like one would see on a dog. That hand quickly crushed down against his chest, finding that the fur didn't just range on his limbs, but all over his body. With his figure lifting up he quickly noticed that he didn't only have white fur, but some points were blue as well like the bottom side of his tail... The fact that he had a long bushy tail made him worry all the more, almost on the point of hysterics It was when he felt a paper folder pressed straight into his chest that his focus turned from what had been done to him to something else, his breathing returning to normal quickly and his eyes blinking at the sight of the papers pouring out of their home down into the water around his knees. The sight of medical forms and pictures taken of him inside of the tube dropped down, but from what he was able to understand from this the page label of "Gencorp" caught his site first. The rest of the information was quickly smudged and washed away by the green water, but the images shown his slow transformation from a human to some kind of fox hybrid. The ears on top of his head twitched at the sight of this. Gencorp, the Genetic Corporation, a company that specialized in organic synthetic components used to help amputees, but clearly they were getting into the splicing games and this arctic fox was clearly an experiment on how far they were willing to take their experiments. When his blue eyes lifted he'd look to the man that had helped him, the man that had to have released him from that capsule, but what he saw drew a deep gasp from his breath, the eyes widening as he looked on at the image of the dark furred vulpine looking right back at him. If anything they were the same species, arctic foxes, but where Skie was permitted to keep a slightly more traditional color scheme, with the exception of the blue highlights in his hair and the bottom side of his tail, this other was different. Black fur with a similar highlight placement, but it was orange instead of blue. When the black hand reached down towards him Skie only looked at the furred covered fingers, easily reaching his hand out to grip it and allow himself to be pulled up to his feet once more.

The siren soon followed, blue and orange eyes quickly lifting up towards the ceiling as the two were forced to start thinking about how they were going to be able to get out of here. The flashing of red lights, and that blaring call sounded out loudly while these two were forced into action. Both knew how the corporations were going to be here, each one was its own nation with its own laws, and most importantly its own military to enforce those laws. If these two were caught they were going to either be locked away again, or shot on sight, and honestly between the two of them neither knew which was the worse outcome. When Skie turned around to look at the lights that had started surrounding them that same black hand gripped onto his shoulder, it forced him to jump, but the fast turn of his head back to the dark fox left him blinking at the cause of the sudden grabbing movements of this black furred colleague

"You have ports." He said quickly to him, leaving the white fox to look a bit confused before Citrus simply reached out and touched it. "In your temple you have an interface port." A hand pointed quickly at the control panel that this dark fox stood at, stepping away from it easily and looking about the floor. "Try plugging into this and see if you can get that alarm turned off, ok?" He asked easily to the white fox knowing that the two needed to get out of here quickly.

When the dark vulpine found a toolbox he'd open it quickly, flipping the cover off of it and reaching in to pull out a bit of pipe, it wasn't much, but it was solid and at least the length of his arm. If nothing else this could make a decent weapon for a little while. The fast movements from Citrus brought his body quickly against the edge of the doorway, his figure moving much faster than he remembered being able to, something that surprised him, but now wasn't the time for him to focus on such things, and instead waited for these guards to eventually rush into this room. Skie was still working well at the terminal, already hitting a few buttons on it while the hatch for a cable opened up along the side and gave him access to take hold of it in order to lift the prong towards the port on the side of his head. At first he had to reach for that port, feeling for it, and making sure that the port was even actually there on his temple, then as he lined up the prong with this hole he'd force it straight in, the blue eyes of the white fox relaxing then, the sound of the sirens and outside world fading and vanishing until his mind was cut off of it entirely. It was very clear that these two were built for very specific reasons. As Skie froze in place his eyes lose focus, simply staring at the depths of his own mind, the dark fox waited there against the wall, watching the door carefully as he knew it would eventually open up and those guards would come pouring through into the room. This dark vulpine had to be quick when that happened, he didn't have any effective weapons, only holding a small cut off from a pipe that was long enough for him to barely hit people with from the start. There was no time to think about it any longer, though, not while the doors were starting to open, leaving Citrus to press himself quickly against it with a narrowed gaze over his glowing orange eyes. Their rifles even moving into the room taking aim at the white fox that couldn't even tell he was in danger thanks to having retreated into the recesses of the computer he'd plugged himself into. The sound of that siren continuing to blare out loudly only went to help this dark fox approach the security soldiers, having to be careful thanks to their already stable aim pointed straight at his colleague that he'd personally freed from the capsule not even a full nine minutes ago, but even as they slowly approached their unknowing target the one bringing up the back of their formation would suddenly drop in time with the sound of a loud clang echoing from the pipe used to put him on the ground. With the other two officers turning themselves quickly in order to take aim once more that pipe lifted fast, swinging it hard into the underside of the barrel in order to lift it up high away from it's movement to lock onto his body. His attack of one guard didn't stop the movement of the other, though, and while the first was working to bring his weapon back down that pipe darted across with a blur of black furred speed until it pressed the tip against the throat of that third guard leaving the vulpine to slam his fist into his own end, driving that pipe in deeper and crushing that throat, this gave the dark fox all the time he needed to take hold of that quickly dropping weapon weapon and pull the trigger, unleashing a fast burst of rounds straight into the final guard's body to watch him fall to the ground with the others and gave Citrus the time needed to collect ammo that the two of them would need for their newly acquired rifles.

Citrus had been working fast on stripping the security agents, their body armor and uniform would be very useful in order to get out of this place. The one may have been ruined with bullet holes and blood, but the other two were still very usable. When the siren and flashing red lights turned off those orange eyes shifted quickly towards the white fox that had managed to get through the security system without even using a rig at all. If anything a hard jacking was considered to be very dangerous, but in a time like this they needed to use the resources that they had. These two had to work fast, though, not wanting to take the chance of another patrol already being on its way. They had to get out of this place in a hurry, needed to escape while they still had the chance to, and using the uniforms from the guard would go to help with that. Of course, such a tactic would only work so far, there was no way for these two to be able to fully hide their fur covered bodies, tails, and even snouts, but having something that looked somewhat familiar would get them much further than simply wandering around the halls completely naked. Already the first was fully stripped down and the clothing was being passed between the, trying to find some way to help match the size of the guards to one another, or as close as they could. As one article of this uniform was removed it would be put onto the body of the two foxes, quickly working to gain the full outfit from the two non-damaged uniform and soon they each had the full set, which was the first step to making sure that they had what they needed. If anything they'd carry the remaining magazines in the ammo pouches of their security belts, and with those rifles in hand it was time to leave. Citrus turned his orange gaze over to Skie who only nodded, wanting to get out of this building just as much as the person running down these halls with him. Every now and then they'd come across a patrol, leaving the two to stop, to turn, to hide if they could in order to keep their bodies and newly spliced figures a secret the best that they could. Not every patrol was going to be easily fooled, and at times these two would need to force their way through with firepower. The corporation that had kidnapped them, imprisoned them, and turned them into these monsters was always going to be at the height of their shit-list, but for now as they worked on their escape this duo quickly learned that they were stronger, better off, together where they could help one another. A partnership built out of necessity, and strengthened by a loyal silent promise to never betray one another.

Chapter 1

The rain poured down over the streets, neon lights illuminating the air over the city like a halo from the billboards and windows. It had only been a few decades, maybe even a century since magic returned to the world. People changed, races developing out of the DNA of those that existed in order to form elfs, dwarves, orcs and their kind alongside humans. Even the dragons had returned, though the forms that they took made them impossible to tell apart from the other people that lived about the city. In this time the government had passed laws allowing companies to purchase land rights in order to build their own capitals, to develop their own internal government, and have free reign over the tiny spot of land that they had the funds to take up. With these corporations governing themselves they had the right to build their own armies, their employees acting as their citizens, their chain of command their own governing body, and the morality that once guided these companies no longer taking effect or limiting their production. It was an era of corruption, of bought cops, of absent senators, and of self body modifications. Medical processes to replace, and improve, body parts was something that had grown popular. Plastic surgery was no longer about improving their looks, but the capability and functions of their bodies. In a time like this there were those that stood up to say "no" to the corruption around them, used those modifications to help fight back against an oppressive corporate entity, taking on quests and missions to harm the bottom line and bring down that chaos anywhere that they could. These were the shadow runners, people not afraid to step over that line of legal and non-legal, not afraid to be called a terrorist, or a criminal in order to better the community that they had grown to care for. In a dark and horrible city that turns it's eyes away from the wrong doings, it was these people that sought out to right those wrongs and be heroes for their fellow people.

As the rain fell down around them on the streets of Seattle the two fur covered creatures cuddled up with one another for warmth, their bodies housing a pair of hooded parka in order to keep the rain off of them, but this didn't do well to hide that cold weather from rushing through the figure of their bodies, lifting the fur and striking right at the skin. With a deep exhale from that white muzzle the breath could be seen in a plume of visible heat. It was clearly a cold night, as were most nights in the great state of Washington, leaving the two to slowly pass over the black asphalt road on their way towards the flickering sign that announced this building as being a local bar. There were many places like this in the city, many places that housed a certain clientele looking to right some wrongs caused by the corporate dicks that had forgotten their humanity so long ago. In this way the businesses had screwed over many people, but no everyone was in a position to do anything about it. Even if those people went to the police, or through the courts they'd only find that the judges and cops were simply in the back pockets of the corporations. Those that participated, took jobs, or even gave jobs were trusted to keep closed lipped on any location for these shadow running hubs that people were able to meet up, the cyber bars, the darkest backrooms of clubs, the deepest parts of the net, back alleys and other locations that are not only often used, but often shifted around for the entire sake of making sure that they were never found out. What helped the most were the bouncers, able to identify both police and business official with face readers and other smart little tools they were provided. Of course these bouncers could also deal with the more routine of their customers and those trying to get into the club. Standing out from the club was only the absolute meanest looking orc that one would possibly see, his crimson gaze watched the two hooded figures slowly make their way towards him. How long had it been after their escape? Years now? When they both lifted the brim of their hoods to those the animalistic face he was no longer surprised to see them, giving them and easy and respected nod while he stepped to the side, giving them the space needed to enter the building before moving back into place.

The bar was a dark and foreboding area, neon lights that decorated out there also decorated this place, not giving it much illumination, but keeping people able to at least see where the bar was. The few windows of this place had been blacked out, either by a good old tint job or some kind of projection tinting, regardless it kept peering eyes from seeing the ongoings of this place, making it easy for those that did come here to find work to do so with a great deal of privacy. When the two came in they continued to keep their hoods on, but even with it the silent scornful terms of "manimals" and "freaks" managed to touch on their sensitive perked ears. It was something they'd grown used to, something that had made living the last year difficult where they weren't able to get any real jobs, but had managed to make a living as one of the very few sets of full time shadow runners. Most people did the job behind the scenes, living an entire different life during the day, but where Skie and Citrus were unable to live that life, where Gencorp has managed to take that away from them, they lived day and night as this job needed them to. As they moved along this room their fur covered bodies took them towards the back of the building, a series of booths tucked away had long sense become a great area for these two to be able to sit and rest as they waited for a client to happen by. What really caught their eyes was the sight of a man actually sitting in what was usually reserved to be their booth, the eyes turning towards one another before back to this man. Most people that asked for the runners were nameless, they didn't share any actual information about themselves and this had earned them a generic calling card, a certain name that they all went by in order to keep their anonymity, and this man looked to be yet another Mr. Johnson.

***

One Johnson was like another, usually represented by a tall white male with short well groomed hair and a dark suit matched with a white button up. If anything most Johnsons looked a lot like the very business men that these runners tended to go up against. Maybe the corporations had learned the usefulness that could come with sabotaging another company, but even if that wasn't the case it didn't stop the two from knowing that they needed a job. His head turned slowly around his shoulder looking back at the two, but also revealing someone else sitting there. The way that this other individual was dressed didn't match the first. The second wearing more dark fabric around his chest, sleeveless with leather straps along the bicep and down towards the wrist. If anything it showed a bit of style, but what was really impressive was the firearm that rested at his side. It wasn't anything special, just a pistol, but the equipment attached to it made it a very big deal. Optic targeting that plugged into his wrist for a display to be transmitted into his right eye, and many other very neat additions that made the firearm very deadly. What really shown about him was the fact that despite having this pistol he didn't seem to have any long ranged weapons on his body, meaning that if he was a runner than he did so without any intention of fighting more than a few dozen feet away from the target. While this did well to indicate that he was going to be standing well in a hallway, it didn't show that he was setting up any real retreat plans. It showed confidence if nothing else, but it didn't answer the question as to what he was doing at their table.

The two looked to one another, unsure if they should head back and duck out for the night to keep going to take the obvious job that Mr. Johnson was keeping just for them. The idea to leave was one of safety, of mistrust, and rightfully so, but despite the skills that these two had done well to show in recent times the couple knew that they needed to keep up work, needed to show that they were still taking jobs. If Skie and Citrus were to walk away form this then it would reflect on them, costing them many clients down the road that might have come to them first. If anything Shadow Running wasn't just a way to get back at the companies, but was also a competitive organization. They had to keep the slight lead they had or they'd be tossed to the side like many others already have been. When Johnson stood up, though, they both took a step back, but soon moved to close the distance.

"Hello," Citrus spoke up first, looking from one to another quickly enough. "Something we can help you two with."

The sound of the fox speaking English was enough to take many people back, but it was something that had that had to be overlooked for now. The easy smile rolled over Johnson's face, his eyes watching between the two. He wasn't able to see under the parkas but he was able to spot the shouts poking out from under that hood. It was an interesting note that these two were like this, but even more fascinating were the impossible jobs that these two had grown a reputation at succeeding. A question was asked, though, and he did have an answer for it.

"Yes," the suit clad individual spoke easily to the two of them. "I shouldn't be telling you this, but Gencorp has started developing a serum to help improve a person's physical capacity, but they're using their own staff to test it. After a few people died of poisoning and cancer from the sudden mutations Gencorp started to lock up their staff overnight in their medical storage building. I just want you to free them."

"How do you know all of this?" The white fox would speak up, lifting a brow at the entire story with an easy cross of his arms under that body cover.

Mr. Johnson sighed easily to the question, giving it a nod while he decided to reveal a tiny bit of information about himself. "I was one of the scientists that escaped before everything started happening. I just want to get my colleagues out of there before they're all killed off." he explained easily to the two.

"And this guy?" The two of them looked towards the shadow runner that was now starting to get up from his seat in order to join them, looking at Mr. Johnson and then the two hood wearing creatures.

As the suit wearing man looked over to the runner that seemed to be stepping close to him his mouth opened easily to explain it, but it was that runner that spoke up first, cutting off their client with an easy voice. "I'm Samus, Mr. Johnson here gave me the access codes for the internal locks that are off the grid from the company network. You want to save those people then you'll need for me to go with you."

It seemed that there was no real choice, of course the client would assign the company pass codes to someone that he trusted, especially given that he'd never met the two of them before. They needed to take the job, it was good for business, and if they wanted to take this job then this Samus guy was going to have to follow them around. If nothing else it was nice that he looked like he could handle his own fights, though. The worst missions in the Shadow Run industry was when someone had to escort a doctor, or a scientist, around that was entirely incapable of defending themselves. It was something that Skie and Citrus had agreed to never do again after the first time. Regardless, this was about completing missions, being professional, and improving their client rating. The more work that they did the better off that they were going to be when it came to people selecting them for missions. These two already had a pretty decent reputation, but such things can dwindle in an instant so a good Shadow Runner was also a good negotiator. It was when hand shakes started being passed around between the runners that they'd turn their attention elsewhere. Yes, they had this extra member to their tight knit team, but they'd also need one more to compensate for the size growth. Moving just the two of them they knew their speed, they knew their stealth, but this individual wasn't one of them, not to mention if there were injured co-workers being stashed away they'd need a car to get them somewhere to be healed up. Without either of these two being able to even get a license let alone a car this lead them both to believe quickly that they needed a driver for this one.

***

It was known to be difficult to hire a shadow runner to do a job, even for clients, thanks to the general distrust that the runners tended to have for one another, they worked together enough, but mostly stuck to very small circles. Bringing in new people that you didn't know only usually helped to not only lower the amount that you get for a mission, but also added to the danger if one of those team members would get captured, or worse. The danger was always there, but it increased with the number of people that were added into the team. That was why most Shadow Runners moved in teams of three to five, it was safer, more focused, more duty oriented, and everyone had a purpose without stepping on the toes of someone else. this was how teams were efficiently made. It was when this sacred balance was broken that things turned bad, that people lost their lives, and entire sects of shadow running dens got overtaken. The orange and blue eyes turned about the building, knowing that they needed to find the right partner to handle what they were offering, a person that wouldn't judge them, but would instead find a way to shrug off their appearance so that they could be get this work done without any sudden issues creeping in. As the two moved to step in towards the bartender. In a place like this the tender's duty wasn't simply to serve drinks. The also made a living selling information, locating gossip and even finding ways to validate it. When it came to knowing who was there and what they could do this man was going to be like a living directory to see what their selection was.

When it came to shadow runners most of them had a vehicle of some kind, but there were certain ones that specialized in mechanical engineering, their cars were faster, more durable, and some even had some level of weaponry attached to them. Skie didn't know if they'd need something as extreme as that, but a person who could drive quickly and avoid police detection would be the absolute best option for them to get back and forth. With the white fox making a movement towards the bar his arms came to fold over the parka, pressing against the corner of that counter. The coolness of the counter itself was something almost entirely missed to the vulpine, unable to feel it entirely on his skin only because of the fur that covered his body. Having fur the way that he did was something that changed everything. Wind felt different, water felt difference, the brushing of clothing also felt different. It was an entirely different universe of senses, and for that he was both grateful and wanting to make Gencorp pay. Both Skie and Citrus wanted to make the genetics corporation suffer for what they did and even if it was something as small as this it still screwed over their operations which gave the pair of foxes at least the slightest feeling of justice. In this way it didn't matter to them who they teamed up with as long as he had a vehicle. Even the most racist jerks in the world didn't matter to the matching set as long as they could get where they needed to go and get those people out. To at least one of these foxes the people themselves didn't even matter as much as the idea of hurting the company that played God with their DNA. The more Citrus thought about this mission the more he wanted to do it himself, but it was Skie that always seemed to be the moral compass between them and would keep his dark partner on the up and up.

When Skie leaned there a dwarf beside him turned to look at the fox, only able to just barely be able to see some of that white furred face from under the hood, a blink coming over his green eyes. "You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?" He asked easily, almost sounding like he was quoting something old and forgotten, the very way that he said it forced Skie to look over at him. The man looked fine, normal, not really like one would expect a runner to be with the exception of one thing. Despite not really having much of the same gear that most of these people had he did have himself a prosthetic arm, a limb made of steel and iron with a bit of armor plating fastened onto it. "You guys need a ride?"

Skie found himself only lifting a brow, taking back by the comment. The fox had long since learned that it was far harder than it used to be for people for to read his expressions and needs from his face, but this one person seemed to be able to pick up on it easily. It seemed that what little of his head was shown displayed enough of his need for a driver that this dwarf seemed to make the offer first. It was odd because despite anything he didn't even seem to care that the white furred creature was a white furred creature, that he sported fur over his body, had animal traits that go throughout. No soft comment of "manimal" or anything from him and this alone drew a suspicion from this fox. "You don't care... What we are?" Skie asked in a soft tone, trying to bring about any figure of racism that this short fellow might be willing to make.

"Nah, you hear enough short jokes and it leaves you kind of numb to other people's issues." He'd smile to him, finishing his drink and skipping a few newyin across the counter towards the keep before patting his hand down on that furred shoulder. "I'll bring the car around. Your friends can meet me out front." he said to Skie leaving the fox to gather his people while moving towards the exit.

The absence of racism from him felt odd, it felt different, but after so long of having to deal with it this was kind of a breath of fresh air. When this pale vulpine made his way towards the other two he'd smile brightly, his hood coming to fall back around his shoulder to reveal the white hair with blue highlight, those ice blue eyes focused on the two of them and with a very short exchange of words they'd be off towards the front, leaving behind any drinks that Mr. Johnson would then need to pay for. For now their group was set up, their team was established The foxes had their skills in this, had been there quite a few missions in order to gather better gear than a lead pipe and a security uniform. They'd learned their skills, their capabilities, and their purpose under why they had been spliced the way that they had. And while their newly founded and limited race didn't provide them any actual benefits they're natural skills in what they do more than made up for it. The group made their way quickly outside, leaving the safety of the bar behind and went entirely into work mode. Samus was already prepping his gun, moving to plug a small node into the port on the backside of his arm. This node was a receiver, taking in information from the pistol in order to allow him to see what the gun was seeing as well as keep a full display of ammo count and other things well defined details that turned his right eye from a regularly looking pupil to a full on target. For now his gun was pointed down making him quickly develop as a left eye dominant person, but that didn't bother the marksman, he'd deal with that for a long time and while the pistol remained holstered it was the equivalent of closing one eye thanks to the darkness it created. The other two would prepare as well, getting themselves ready, but not removing the parkas as of yet. Citrus and Skie had learned a while back that it was better for them to stay covered up when out in public, less people came up to them, less people tried to jump them for being what they were. If anything it would take some time to get there in the car, and they could prepare themselves in that.

The vehicle that did pool by, though, wasn't a car at all, it was a full on van. For the most part it looked normal, no armor plating, no weapons, just a normal van, but as the side door opened and showed that dwarf in the driver's seat the true nature of this vehicle was proven. Inside was like a headquarters, video screens, jamming equipment, radars, weapons controls, and some things that the two of them couldn't even identify. Samus took the front seat leaving the fox duo to jump into the back, closing the door behind them and realizing just how heavy it really was. So the van did have armor, but it was planted inside of the doors instead of outside making it look like any normal van while it was some kind of shadow running fortress and printed on the inside wall was a single simple word, or maybe a name, "Shinobi". The well mounted seats worked as Skie and Citrus's sitting locations, leaving them to finally be able to prepare themselves. The removal of their parkas came to be rested down on the floor, tossed to the side for now so that they could be retrieved later. Citrus was good to go, though, his katana that had been lower on his back brought up over his shoulder for easy access while the rifle that he kept slung around his chest would already be set. For the most part the dark vulpine didn't need any real preparation for his outfit, a sleeveless shirt bound to his body with straps to prevent any hanging points that something could get caught on and even his pants and boots keeping this same pattern. Even a long coat to better hide his movements came into effect, previous hidden under that parka, but also lacked sleeves. There weren't any real cybernetic improvements about his body, but where they didn't show the fox had learned that his muscular system had been in large ways replaced with an organic improvement, making him faster, more responsive, more agile, and in any ways far stronger than he had been.

When it came to cybernetics it was Skie that really had those advancements. The white fox had nothing that was going to improve his physical capability, but the few ports that were housed on his body left him functioning like a living USB drive. Housing different cables for different purposes there was a cord that went from his temple down into a glove located on his hand, a glove that worked as a new grade decking gear, no longer having the full sized keyboard to carry around but instead keeping a virtual one on the at the finger tips anytime he was plugged into a computer, and even a holographic screen that was projected from the top of it. These gloves mapped his finger movement, keeping track of them for when he was typing so that it would reflect on the screen, but just as before it kept him completely vulnerable while he was jacked in, but in many cases the security and viruses located in the digital world was something far scarier than anything that they ever found out in the real world. Unlike Citrus the team hacker liked having sleeves, his rolled up jacket keeping them at a bay where and leaving his blue jeans to settle about his body like jeans should. The only additional accessory on Skie's outfit was the pair of sunglasses that he lifted from his pocket to cover his eyes. While the sunglasses didn't appear to have any real use other than making the white fox look more like the terminator, it was hard to say how far those cyber advancements go, and what all they could do, especially when put into use. It was always possible that certain kinds of side effects, could be displayed by his team, things that he'd rather keep hidden.

Chapter 2

High fiber, thirty-six deep grade, reinforced, carbon steel alloy.

Nero-synaptic connections.

Auto-aligning control setup.

Forearm containment rotary system.

Item found in containment area.

Shape identification complete: Pump-action Shotgun.

The data ran over Skie's eyes easily while he looked on at the driver's cybernetic arm, his eyes reflecting one of their main purposes. Living in a world that will turn around and strike back at you for the reasoning of what it had turned you into had forced these two to create some kind of precaution, they needed to know the people that were around them, they needed to constantly be on the lookout for anyone that might try and turn against them only as a cruel joke. This left Skie with having to replace his eyes, both of them, so that he could read enhancements off of a body easily, the database that was collected in the circuitry of the eyes helped to not only break down and analyze the equipment of those around them, but also allowed the white fox to know in advance what someone might be trying to come after them with. The sight of the color changing, the data-flow, and the shifting of the images on the eye were unnoticed by anyone else thanks to those sunglasses, they helped to hide what his eyes were doing for the most part, not to mention being stylish if nothing else. As those blue eyes turned about the dwarven body it was pretty clear that he wasn't equipped with any other specialty parts, everything else seemed pretty natural. No, it seemed that most of his equipment was in the vehicle itself not so much on his body, and despite Skie's greatest attempts he wasn't exactly able to analyze enhancements from a van. That did mean that with the exception of the arm, and of course the shot gun hidden inside of it, this driver wasn't as large a threat to him and Citrus as others might be. The blue eyes easily turned towards the other sitting up front, the person assigned to them in order to put in special access codes to the building, information that was clearly not wanted to get out. When Skie looked over this man, viewed what kind of upgrades that he had about his person the read only came back quoting an error, some kind of unreadable data, or maybe the data wasn't there at all, but that had to be impossible. The more this decker tried to read Samus the more that the read came back without any information at all, leaving this white fox with a very curious look as to how that was even possible. The motion that he made to Citrus informed the dark fox of the problem, a response that forced the vulpine's ears to perk with interest. It wasn't the first time that Skie had failed to scan someone, and likely wasn't going to be the last, but it always put them on edge when it happened.

The movement of the van driving didn't bother these two sitting in the back, the mobile headquarters had chairs in it that locked down in the forward direction allowing them to ride without any real swivel or motion passing around. The way that it was driven followed the laws, if barely, while the dwarf continued to take a far more unorthodox route. He didn't want to take any kind of highway, or well patrolled area, this runner was going to take the back roads, the roads that most people didn't often want to be in, but had a tendency of being far safer for anyone that wasn't part of a local government or police force. This was was the territory that people usually got kidnapped from, the idea that if someone around here went missing then nobody would actually notice. Even if passing through here was just a safer route for the runners to take it was also a grand reminder of what they were actually fighting for. While some did the work for money, and some did it to get a name out there, a good portion of the runners would all admit that they did this work in order to help give the rights back to the people like this. They wanted to help protect those that simply weren't able to stand up to the big corporations. This was the silent agreement of most runners, their untold mission statement, and their reason to turn outlaw in a world were laws seemed to only exist to protect profile and the bottom line.

Already the factory was growing closer to them, the housing pealing away as they got closer to the storage building that they were supposed to be raiding today. The sight of it was what you'd expect, a few guards at the mouth of the gate, an entry area to help feed the interest of the corporate big heads, and then the larger building near the rear that acted as the actual storage area and the purpose for the building to exist to begin with. The van took the road but turned to the left, turning away from the gate and continuing on its way. They all knew what was going on, the method of this was a little bit more than obvious to each. If they all started barreling out of the van right at the front gate then not only would the stationed guards set off the alarm immediately, but they'd likely get shot up before they even set foot on the ground. The dwarf had his experience behind this, knew where the better drop off points were and trusted that his team wouldn't question him while they did it. Even just a street over would be enough, a parking lot somewhere in order to unload their members, but to everyone's surprise the driver of this mission wasn't simply going to stay in the vehicle.

"You're coming in?" Skie asked easily, somewhat concerned by this.

The metallic arm on the dwarf would open up then leaving the shotgun that Skie had read off of him earlier to flip out on a holstered grip and be planted straight into his metallic can just before the arm closed once more, "Of course. I wouldn't miss this. I got you down where so I'm feeling a bit responsible for you kids."

There was nothing that they could to to stop him if he really wanted to come, dwarfs weren't known to change their mind once they set themselves on something and here they'd all look to one another and shrug. It was actually Citrus that spoke up to finally get any level of information from the dwarf that was already cocking his weapon and preparing for them to charge into the building, "What can we call you then?"

"Just call me Driver. It's what I do." He responded back quickly with an easy smile wrapped over his lips.

***

They had arrived on sight, they were parked, and now was the time to start planning their next strategy, trying to get the idea underway after they'd all had a fast glance at the shape and defense that this building had been given. Driver wasn't going to be a slacker in all of this, his van was very much prepared for exactly this reason, this moment, this purpose, and when he pulled moved to lift the side door on the vehicle it easily came off of the track, bringing itself to fold outward as the inside of the door made somewhat of a table. His hand went to pull off the inside cover only to show what looked to be some kind of radar platform with an outline of the blueprints to the building already showing up. Some kind of sonic mapping equipment which was why he needed to drive by the front when he did, it gave Shinobi the time that it needed in order to scan the building. While the others looked on at the map that was made in only a few seconds they all watched over stood around this platform wondering the same thing, "what was their entry point going to be?", a question that clearly needed an answer before they went to carry out the mission.

Citrus spoke up on this first, already knowing what they could all agree would be a bad idea to suggest and wanting to squash that before it could be thrown out there as any level of a suggestion, "If we try and take the main gate then we're going to be eating bullets. I think we need to watch for walking patrols, but find a side entrance, some kind of truck ramp or something that we can get in with."

"I doubt that Gencorp is going to leave their entrances without some kind of security cameras watching over them." Samus spoke up quickly, looking between them all, leaving them nodding in agreement to what he'd just said thanks to the logic that it held.

It was Skie that spoke in about it, pointing at some small posts listed on the map that had been made. On any normal map they probably wouldn't have been there, but because this was created on the spot it housed the small details such as these tiny posts that were set a few feet inward from the fence, "These are camera posts. When we get over the fence I can jump into one and then put a loop on their CCV lines."

"How long will that take?" Samus asked easily, wondering about the patrolling security and wanting avoid having any firefights before they had a chance to get into the building.

"Only a few seconds. It's easier to hack a network from a component that's already part of it." The white fox stated in a very matter of fact tone that drew an easy smile from the human.

Samus'd look back down at the post again, thinking about the different ones and which point would be closer to any of the rear or side entrances, "How about we enter the fence at the rear right corner, you can hack the camera and then we'll hurry to the door. You might have to hack that too."

"I thought you had the access codes to the building." Citrus spoke up quickly about this.

"Only to the storage rooms. Getting in is left to Skie here." The human mentioned, nodding at the white pup.

The others had to agree to this, not only because it was one of a few options, but because it did seem like a solid plan. Yes they'd have to find the missing scientists, but they would have a lot better chance of doing that once they were inside of the building. The trick to getting in was going to be speed, it was going to be precision, and it was going to be getting around any patrols before they realized what was going on. Many would be asking about the barb-wire fences how to get over them, but these weren't just some new runners, each of them were well experienced in this field and had been doing this for quite some. Driver had already put the display back up, during it off and leaving the cover off for now so that he could keep up with the other three, but as they started down one of the back streets towards the rear of the facility these four would stay close to the shadows, ducking in as close as they were able to without having to rub up against the wall. Staying close to the brick would help to hide them if they weren't seen, and would help to block fire if they were. The most difficult task of any mission was the entry, exits were usually fluid or sloppy, but hardly had any real chance of it blowing up in your face, and the mission itself was usually momentum based, once it started it started, but entry was hard, getting in so that you could do the rest As they stood there for a good minute the dark fox was in the lead, his black fur helping to hide him despite his orange highlights Driver was the one watching the rear, moving to reach around Samus to hand Skie what looked to be a small metal hook, a simple to make and very useful tool to have that left the white fox looking over it quickly.

In time Citrus finally moved to pat Skie's shoulder, sending him forward into the mission, and while the racing white fox looked to see the passing guard already turning the corner away from them the hook that he'd been given gripped onto the barb wire of the fence, pulling it fast and hooking the other end around a link in the chain before he'd pull himself over and duck down behind the security camera. His hand reached up easily, locating a wire in the back of the camera to pull it out, immediately moving to plug it into his glove along the knuckle. Those eyes turned completely white behind the glasses, seemingly going absolutely blank. Anyone watching the camera would have seen a spot of blackness from where it was unplugged, but the second he'd get it into his rig the camera came back on, following the view from his now pearl colored eyes. As he promised the hacking took only seconds, looping the footage from the past hour of nothing happening so that the shot of the patrol continuing it's pace would be seen over the cameras posted, making the entire grounds blind to the team that was already climbing over. Driver even retrieving his hook so that it wouldn't be discovered later.

With a fast dart across the privately owned ground the team would stop just outside of the door leaving it to Skie to patch in once more, looking over the key combination lock easily with a soft smile. Such a thing wasn't the hardest to crack, but with so many combinations it did sometimes seem like these executive types just chose their pass codes at complete random. The movement of his hand over the outside of the box left him looking over it for a weak point, some way to open this, and when his thumbs traveled over the bottom it was clear that he'd found it, moving to push in the plastic tabs to easily lift the panel up, coming to bring himself under it while reaching to his gloves once again. The side of them contained many kinds of ports to plug into equipment with, but when he pulled a certain wire from a pouch on his side the one end that had an actual plug to it attached right into the glove easily, the other end had teethed clamps, clamps that he'd place down on either side of the screen reader for the panel. With the first clamp down the other one followed quickly enough, his eyes once again turning white while he was pulled brain first into a world of cybernetics. His feet feeling themselves dropping down onto the ground here while the sound of his boots echoed across the near hollow city that he was now settled into. A hand lifting to suddenly create a screen of blue in front of him in his mind to look over the many codes that made up the universe he now existed in. The movement of shadows in the distance drew his blue eyes quickly, the sight of the security programs already trying to close the distance on him, to track him, but like the samurai they were designed to mimic these programs had a tendency of being blind on their approach. With a few quick strikes of his keys he'd place up a wall to keep them back, creating a barrier that they'd have to fight through before they could come after him once again. It was a delay, but a delay that he needed to accomplish his goal here. Skie was already in the mainframe, looking up the data for the door readers, and with a few fast windows lifting the single name came up reading "Henry Cooper" and providing the code that he'd need to get into this building. It would be a simple process to just back out and type in the code, but instead this hacker would simply copy the data over into the keypad he was plugged into, listing as a loud beep echoed around him, the sound of crashing followed when security programs door down his walls, but it was already too late and Skie was left blinking at the sight of the real world around him once again.

A pat on the shoulder gave him knowledge that he'd done well, his fingers coming to unclamp the cable just before lowering the panel once more and stepping through the already slightly opened truck sized door, a door that Driver would make sure to lower before they continued on.

***

A long series of hallways that made this place less like a building and more like a labyrinth created an unfortunate layout for this team. The complexities of every room being connected to every other room helped to make things convenient for anyone that needed to get around, but it made it impossible to sneak through where intersections seemed to just exist at near random. It didn't hurt the building at all, but did make it hard for anyone trying to get through it undetected and with the size of the building being as large as it already was this only added to the problem. It was at the advantage of the team, then, that the storage rooms made up a good percentage of the building itself, leaving them all to have only a select few of these halls that would need to be manned as they ran through it making quick steps, sudden stops, and fast checks before passing along to the next sudden stop. It wasn't going to be an easy mission, but if they could do it without anyone getting hurt, without having to burst into a fight with the guards, without having to actually kill someone, then at least Skie and Citrus would consider this mission a complete success. It was never the goal of a shadow runner to want to kill others, at least not any shadow runners that other people wanted to work with. It was a suspicious organization housed by people that already didn't trust one another, and if a killer was amongst their ranks then it was obvious that he didn't house the same morals that the runners tried to enforce on the corporations. People dies, buildings got destroyed, this was everyday work for these runners, but it was widely accepted that they were to always try and limit the casualties the best that they could.

Given the size of the building, it was going to be hard to try and figure out where the scientists were, these poor people left to be hostages for the very corporation that they were trusting to protect them, and now these runners were here to fix the problem. So far the most active members to the group were the rigger and the decker, but now that they were inside the muscle could finally take its turn. Getting around and accessing things were a great part of what made a group function during a mission like this, but without some offense the entire group would be gunned down in only a matter of minutes. The perfect mission would be one where the runners were never caught, never found out, and so far the perfect mission simply didn't exist, there was always the chance for action to break out, and eventually people would notice that loop on the security tapes, they'd notice that the rear door had been unlocked during the night, and then the alarms would sound. For now they were still safe, but that simply meant that they had no idea where to go. The hostages could be anywhere, this building was large enough to fit them in multiple places. The first thought that came to mind was to take down a guard, find out what he knew, but that took time, interrogation wasn't something that happened quickly and easily, and then there was dealing with the guy afterwords They could break into the security room, try to find out if a camera was looking in at the people, but even that was going to be far more difficult than it was worth, not to mention that there was likely no way of knowing what "camera S4" was or where it was located. If they wanted to get to a room like that then they were looking to fight every guard in this place, and that was something they didn't want. Avoiding everyone was the best solution, trying to keep themselves unknown to those that wandered about this place was ideal. The only real option here was to check the rooms, travel the larger areas and try to see if anyone was within them. It was a sloppy way to go about things, but now that they were already inside the building their options were very limited.

The fast motion down the hallway took these heroes, these vigilantes, these shadow runners, down towards where Citrus remembered the storage rooms to be, his memory being one that was very well adjusted to the job. Able to remember the small details of a map so that he could guide Skie around the building where he needed to. The white fox didn't need such exact skills when he could download a map, if one was available, unfortunately no maps of this building existed other than the one that they'd made back in the van, and most Riggers fail to permit Deckers from accessing their sensitive equipment. The fast movement around a corner left them watching the backside of a guard heading around the corner on the other side, making his own rounds about the building just to insure that anyone that might get past the other guards wouldn't be able to get past the inside patrols. They didn't know who the guy was, and didn't care, while they hoped that he could find another security job maybe somewhere down the line, the fact that they were part of a corporation who was experimenting on their own employees drove the two vulpines to create a huge lack of empathy for these men. With that guard already gone the team was able to focus on the large wall to their left, clearly the storage room for the entire building, Citrus had been expecting for it to be divided, turned into at least three different storage rooms thanks to the size of it, but the lack of doors said that this room had been kept as a single massive container, easily the majority of the building. As he'd quickly move to the side of the door, his hand wrapped around the hilt of his sword, turning his eyes quickly to the side up and down the hall. Despite the fact that Samus was clearly an attacker like himself for this group they all knew that the real purpose he served here was to enter the codes for this door and get them into it. Not something that Skie couldn't do, but absolutely something that kept the pale fox safe and closer to the group. They were all ready, Driver holding his shotgun, Skie wielding his own basic pistol, and Citrus prepared for anything that might get past those two. With Samus quickly holstering his gun and typing in the series of codes for the door that he had been made to memorize the light on the panel would turn from red to green and the very audible click of the door unlocking could be heard. Immediately the human gripped that handle, pushing against the door to slide it open and leading the others to tumble into the room quickly before someone happened by.

***

With the team rushing into the room the door closed quickly behind them, slamming shut and locking once again. Those sets of eyes turning about the room easily, but while they narrowed their gaze each one could see quickly that there was nothing here. They must have come into the wrong room, the scientists must be in a different location. It was important that they'd keep moving, knowing full well that the longer they were in this building the more likely they were to eventually get caught. This room was a set back, a slight detour, but they could always take that guard room, the option sounding better and better by the second to the three of them now as they turned back towards the door. With a blink they all suddenly noticed at once that Samus wasn't there, the door was locked and while they did seem to have a panel the man with the codes for it was nowhere to be seen. Citrus grunted to this, believing that maybe the human had decided to stand guard outside of the room, or that the door closed before he could get into it. Any number of reasons could justify this situation and it would all make sense. With a hand lifting to knock against the door he'd speed in a hushed tone, but loudly enough to be heard, calling out to his partner and asking if he was there, telling the man that they needed to put in the code to get out of the room. Unfortunately, there was no answer on the other side Maybe Samus had gotten in some kind of trouble after the door slammed shut, maybe the sound of it drew a guard and the human had to tuck himself away until the coast was clear, or maybe this entire thing was just for the purpose of trapping the three of them in this room. Either way the dark vulpine couldn't wait around any longer, he needed to get out of here so that they could continue their mission.

"Skie, hack that panel and let's get out of here." He ordered the white fox who quickly nodded in response, rushing over to the panel to open it like before and start to plug in.

This was different this time, instead of being taken into another world within the computer the panel did nothing more than electrocute the poor fox, driving his body to shake as power coursed through him and finally sent him flying backwards to skid across the floor, the cable being pulled free from his glove. This wasn't some normal panel, it wasn't connected to any networks at all, and while Citrus ran after Skie to scoop him up, asking the young partner if he was alright and trying to wake him up from that harsh and devastating electrical shock the dwarf remained at the door, looking at the door lock while the face of the panel dropped down again, displaying a number on it now. The "6" that was there changed suddenly and immediately to a "5" forcing the rigger's eyes to widen suddenly and his body to turn towards the others. That strong cybernetic arm reaching towards one of the storage racks that happened to be in this storage room, made of steel and designed to support some of the heaviest loads that people could fit into a box, and with a fast pull of his arm he'd topple it sideways, listing to the loud clang as it crashed against the floor. The black fox looked up at Driver curiously, wondering what was going on, but soon that storage rack was pushed along the floor, sliding with a loud call of metal on metal and while the two vulpines were pinned down between it and the far wall the dwarf pressed his body to it, making sure that it would stay in place while gritting his teeth in preparation.

Driver turned his head easily to the side, looking back at the two of them through the tightly packed bars, "Find Samus", Was all he could say before the explosive light of a bright blast filled the room in nothing more than a second. The heat from the explosion forcing Citrus's body over Skie's guarding him, protecting him, keeping him safe as the walls and shelves seemed to simply crumble and get thrown away by the blast of the bomb that went off. The entire building not only shook but was uplifted, thrown to the heavens, by the blast the seemed to go on for the entire complex, those inside could never have survived, any guards were likely to be crushed, smashed, killed in horrifying ways as a result of the explosion, leaving the entire building as a heap of rubble that seemed to stretch out for miles across the city. Even nearby houses were left with harsh burn marks across them, destroyed windows, crumbled walls, and those within were even less happy than they were to begin with. In only a matter of seconds the blast was over, the bomb had gone off, everything around it was left as a devastated burnt up bit of stone and debris And the only thing that climbed out of this blast was a black fox holding the unconscious body of his closest friend, knowing that he had to get out of this place as quickly as he could despite the burns that had been deeply embedded into his body. Such things would heal in time, but even burns across his back wouldn't stop him from finding the man that tried to kill him and his partner.

Chapter 3

The door to the bar was opened quickly, not harsh enough to disturb those that were here, but fast so that Citrus could walk in quickly with the white fox still hanging loose in his arms. The grunts that came with the burns that had been biting into his back the entire walk up here left him wishing that someone hadn't stolen the van that they used to get there, assuming that it was the same culprit that had decided to blow up the building while they were still inside of it trapped in a room. The sight of Driver's face still burned into the mind of the dark fox, grunting while he passed through the building. Eyes locked on him, many people having no idea that anyone was, or could be, so extensively altered and spliced, but the sight of the fox body made them already start judging if they even wanted someone of his kind in the bar to begin with. The sword that was still strapped to his back forced them all to remain quiet, not willing to speak up against him, especially after seeing him carrying that white fox around to the back. Even the barkeep had to watch them, had to see the condition that they were in and then turning his gaze back to the others, giving them a look as if daring them to start something with that fox in his bar. They'd all sit down to that look, minding their own and while Citrus rested Skie down on the seat of their usual booth he'd give the pale vulpine the room he needed to rest. Citrus finally had a chance to sit down himself, taking the other seat in the booth and bringing his hand up to his forehead with an easy sigh, just wishing that the look that Driver gave him would wash out of his mind. It wasn't one of disappointment, but of knowing that was how things were going to end for him inevitably, just acceptance of what was happening and clearly having a lack of capability or willingness to even try and change it. If anything Citrus had to think him in the afterlife, had to honor him for saving the two of them the way that he did, and when he heard the sound of Skie coughing and moving to sit up the dark fox moved to stand quickly as well.

"Hey take it easy, you took a pretty bad shock." Citrus said fast, moving around the table while Skie was trying to bring himself into a sitting position.

"Wha... What happened?" He asked easily, drawing a less concerned look from the black fox's face.

He'd explain what happened there, how when the white vulpine plugged in there was an electrical shock that had fried through his body, knocking him out, and then the dark truth about the room that they ended up getting locked in, the trap that not only destroyed the entire building leaving him to carry Skie through mounds of rubble before finally being able to start on the trek back to this place, but more importantly killed their new partner. Citrus made sure to explain how Driver guarded them, protected the two of them from the blast that took out everything. Skie's eyes folded backwards at the news, eyes lowering and hand lifting to grip the front side of his face. The fox was taken back by this, upset, sad, angry, everything at once as he could only think about how he wanted to get payback, to find Samus and figure out what was going on after that door locked. A hand pressed down on the white shoulder, lifting his eyes up to the face of his fellow fox, and while Citrus did his best to calm the usually mild mannered mammal this dark vulpine couldn't help but feel like he agreed with him. Both wanting revenge, wanting to take a life for the life that was taken during their mission. The moral values of the Shadow Runner having nothing to do with this and leaving these two under their own personal agenda, an agenda that not a single person here, or anywhere, would question them on.

While Skie was given the chance to rest Citrus started asking around the bar, wanting to find out more about Samus who was assigned to go on the mission with them. As most Runners were easily willing to help out one another as long as it didn’t involve competing for a job, nobody seemed to have any real information about him. Those that had seen him only witnessed the runner that one time when he went on a mission with the pair of foxes. It wasn't until Citrus made his questioning way to the bar that he'd even be given any kind of information at all. The barkeep didn't know anything himself, but motion towards the TV that was playing on the news, an odd channel for a bar TV to be on. The sight of the broadcast was fine enough, it was covering the most recent story of a Gencorp building being blown up and that the destruction was being blamed on a local terrorist group known as the Shadow Runners. It wasn't the kind of press coverage that any of them could really need, most runners preferring to stay down in the shadows and have their little named set of groups left off of the lips of the general public. What became interesting was when the anchorwoman would mention that the loss of the building would be a substantial financial loss to the Gencorp CEO Henry Cooper, and the face that was listed there being the same as the man that had gone on their mission with them. Citrus's heart sank, the mission was never about saving anyone, Mr. Cooper was simply trying to cover his own butt and destroy the physical evidence of the illegal experiments that his company had performed on Skie and Citrus so long ago. The entire mission was a ruse to get at them, and Driver paid the price for it.

***

On his way back to his booth any mention from the other customers of "manimals" or "freaks" would be shut down by the tender quickly, barking out at them to stow that kind of talk. The bartender knew what kind of trouble that the runners got in daily, and honestly felt for the two vulpines that had to put up with even more. Most of these shadow runners could return home after their night, go back to a normal life, but those two didn't have that option, they were stuck in this profession, trapped to always be hunted by the people that they worked against. He'd seen few others like them, none of them splicers, but all of them ending up dead after a few months when the corporations finally catch up to them. These two had lasted years, looking after one another and being safe about where they went, where they stayed. It would be simple for the corporations to track them down, just ask anyone if they'd seen a black and white pair of foxes running around, but the two of them were smart and kept their noses out of the dirt when they needed to, allowed things to die down, and made sure that they stayed on the good side of those that really mattered.

As Citrus sat down the dark fox would look across the table once again towards Skie. The pale vulpine was still feeling the effects of the electric shock that over came him, the energetic yet training sensation of his heart being forced to flutter and his body losing control over the synapses that pass through his brain, but already he was thinking about what he could do be a help to the Citrus who was looking back at him. Pale ears folded back easily, the blue highlight of his hair falling down over his eye while his head lowered quickly towards the table. In a way, Skie felt a bit like the extra wheel on that one, he'd gotten them into the building, but when it came to getting them out he hadn't noticed that the panel was actually a trap, and because of that he was knocked out, taken down in the middle of the mission which in turn pulled Citrus out to try and protect him. It may very well have been that which cost them Driver, the dwarf had to step in and guard the both of them from that explosion because Skie couldn't do anything about it. With an easy sigh the white fox felt himself responsible all due to his carelessness. It was guilt, fear, worry, emotions that the dark fox had learned to read all too well on the faces of others, especially Skie. Seeing his friend, his partner, tossed into such a realm of self doubt made him reaching out across the table in order to place his hand down on the top of the pale vulpine's continuously gripping and relaxing hands, bringing his orange eyes immediately into the soft blue gaze of the arctic fox.

"I know that look, Skie," he started to console his life long partner, "this wasn't your fault at all, you have to know that. What happened to me, what happened to Driver, it's not your fault. It's Samus's fault.. I mean.. Henry's fault."

"Henry?" The fox looked up to his dark partner, looking on in a bit of a confused look "Henry Cooper?"

Citrus was taken back by this giving the fellow fox a look of confusion as to how he was able to pull that name so easily out of the air. Skie followed up his statement though quickly, "I used his security codes to get into the building. What does.... Are you saying that Samus is actually Henry Cooper?"

"Skie," Citrus spoke up easily, "Henry Cooper is the CEO of Gencorp."

The news left the white fox speechless, eyes narrowed while the pieces were put down into place for him. The very thought that they'd gone on a full mission with someone that ran the company that did this to them, that then betrayed the and tried to kill them, it was a thought that he'd rather not have. Without a word the still plugged in rig gloves that helped him to perform his many amazing decker feats would start to light up, start to power on and become useful. Those eyes rolled from the blue gaze into a dead white as the focus of this fox was ripped from the reality and moved straight into the depths of the internet. He wasn't hacking, not really, maybe a little to get into the closest router possible, but he wasn't doing anything directly illegal once in. The quick search engines that lit up around his body, all programmed to do a search for the name of Henry Cooper. Of course the information came back with his real information, but that was only a small portion of his interest. What he was looking for was actually common locations that the CEO might be spotted and what he actually found was the quoted information, and directions to, the primary Gencorp office buildings. Information that could be accessed by anyone, then again Skie wasn't just anyone. As he dug into the database for the Gencorp offices quickly, those same ghosts that happened by before starting to circle around him, again those walls lifted, his first security measure to protect himself which the fox knew would only buy him a few minutes at best. The fast typing, the hurried movements and fox was allowed into those personnel files, discarding all of them except for one. With the file opening up he'd look over the very basic information which was specifically when his access card was commonly used to the building. Turns out that Mr. Cooper tended to come in late on Mondays, leave early on Tuesdays, and then stay late on Fridays to finish up his work. A very interesting way to go about his business, but it was all Skie needed to know. This time when he popped out of the cyber world and his eyes turned back into their blue, the vision of Citrus looking at him faded the white fox's consciousness into reality leaving him smiling right back at him.

As Skie stood up he'd give a nod to the dark fox, "Let's go Citrus, we've got to make an office visit."

Chapter 4

The fast movements of boot over concrete helped to travel these humanoid fox bodies across town in an easy sprint. What would be impossible for some in the realm of speed and endurance, was quickly second nature to the vulpine duo who's spliced bodies had been improved to the point of handling such long stressed situations. Thanks to this they were able to close the distance on that building, able to view its quickly approaching construction that drew their eyes up the length of the high-risen, multi-story design. The words stamped on the side of it announced that they were in the right place, the bold and capital letters reaching "GENECORP" in clear, bold, green lettering that anyone looking on would be able to see and recognize. Being the world leader in synthetic improvements for the human body made this company very famous, it also made it very wealthy, and with wealth came security and security measures. While the two slowed their approach as they grew closer, they absolutely weren't about to come to a complete stop. The easy growls that passed over both of their lips, showed that they weren't here for some normal mission, or any kind of fetch quest that they would normally be doing. These two foxes were here for blood. Even while the fur stood up on the back of their necks the pair knew to keep their wits about them. The easy motions that these two made came to a complete stop, finally, as they ended up just outside of the fence and ready to figure out their strategies.

So far both Citrus and Skie had gotten here out of pure blood rage, but even that would only take them so far. Last time they'd opted for a rear entry point, something out of the way that they could get to, but this time there was no wait, no holding off and seeing if these people were going to circle around or stay put, there was no internal map, no way of preplanning the building before they approached it and while these runners stared down the building itself the fast movement of a dark fox would close the distance on the front guard shed in what seemed to be a complete instant. Citrus's bio-muscular system making him far faster than any normal person could claim, his hastened movements taking him straight up on the guard before they even realized that the orange highlights weren't some kind of glowing insect but instead were attached a fox that perfect blinded in with the night air. His katana quickly pulled free from the sheath, swinging down fast in a single motion as it cut straight into and threw the first, body armor and all, the quick spin of the handle against his palm would easily bring it into a conventional reverse-grip that allowed him to plunge it backwards behind him and penetrate straight into the other guard's body, hitting right through the stomach and feeling the weight of the human collapse against the edge of his blade just before he pulled out and permitted this soldier to drop. Those orange eyes looking down at the two of them, but keeping an eye out for any incoming patrols or proactive surveillance people. At this point it didn't matter if the alarm went off at the building, these two were coming in anyway.

Skie moved easily towards the computer box at the guard booth, looking over it quickly and moving to reach for another kind of plug, putting one end into the side of his glove just like before and the other into that computer. That same digital world surrounded the white fox once again, masking him into the image of buildings that were computers filled with rooms that were files, but he wasn't going for either. The fox had what he wanted, he didn't need anything from here at this time. The reason that he was plugged into this computer wasn't for some secret data, or even to try and access some hidden code. No this decker only needed to look for one thing while here was here and as he stepped across the digital road his smile brightened easily, the sight of that switch showing itself brightly as if daring him not to do what it simply knew he was going to. His hands reached up for that kill lever, moving to pull it, the security ghosts in the computer, though numerous, didn't even have time to know he was there before the entirety of Skie's reality turned into a sudden, complete and pitch black that forced him out of that realm and back into his body. Skie was only there for a second, but in that second just after he want in the lights of the building shut off, the loud audible click called out into the cool night in order to demonstrate well the sound of the power being cut off all at once. Many of the people inside would quickly start to try on their lights and power buttons, but as they found that nothing seemed to work confusion set in, a confusion that these two could use. In a way turning off the power was both brilliant and foolish. While power outages were simply a thing that happened from time to time nobody ever expected them, it was a great way of concealing any kind of advancement on the building, and on top of it people were more likely to stay where they are while waiting for that power to be turned back on again, it kept the panicking crowds from running up against them on their way out of the building. Of course it also told anyone that knew the power wasn't the problem that someone obviously was, but there wasn't much they could do about it with phones and alarms turned off, now could they?

The lights were out, just as the sword was, the dead of night made the rooms dark beyond reason and this left the only advantage to the two foxes that were blessed and cursed with eyesight capable of picking up in such dark places, and all thanks to the very corporation they were about to see burned to the ground.

***

The protocol for an outage like this was standard practice for security, their well trained response to this scenery met it with A-class precision leaving the group with the glowing circles that made up the flashlights at the end of their rifles to bob up and down while the sound of their heavy boots clicked across the floor. The dark uniforms slapping across their body and soon the first pair was pouring through the doorway, growing out into the surrounding grounds. The movements of these guards quickly hitting a stop when the hissing sound of a silenced pair of pistols fired with their soft cracks that flowed out in order to punch holes in the security officers wearing them. One quick fire from both the black and white fox that were lying in wait and those bodies dropped. Before the next pair of guards could even tell what had happened they too were shuddering a heavy bullet to the chest and neck that dropped them as well. The sound of human bodies hitting the hard concrete sidewalk and leaving the final pair in the back already using wall itself as a barrier to hide behind. This wall didn't serve them at all, tough, not when the dark vulpine would rush in quickly while they were still hidden and just as they turned out to take aim at whoever it was that just took down the rest of their squad they too would feel their bodies dropping down into the ground, landing with a harsh wet slap against the carpet. Those at the receptionist desk were already panicking at the sight of the mutant people, the half fox duo that were coming through their doors and killing their guards, but while these two continued to rush past their loud screams didn't come to bother these shadow runners at all.

The screams would easily call attention downstairs meaning that they needed to get upstairs fast, get away from the threat before it could catch them and stop them from accomplishing the very goal that they'd broken in here to accomplish. More guards were rushing about as if someone had just kicked a bee hive and was left with the armor wearing men taking up their arms quickly in order to find and take out the threat that Skie and Citrus had clearly proven they were the two had to move fast, had to remove themselves from the lower floors and work on going after the very specific person that they'd come here to see. With the elevators off there was only one route that a man like that could really take, and that route would have to take him through the stairs that they were now ascending. Fast rushing movements up the length of them turned the party one and then the next, then the next. The further up these two would grow the louder the sound of the doors below them got, more of the guards starting to come into the stairs and when a loud bang sounded creating a spark against the side railing the two had to jump back towards the wall, still pulling themselves up the flight. Skie reached his hand over quickly just for the purpose of firing back, pulling the trigger and over and over just to make sure that they'd stay back. As Citrus rushed past the main executive floor a white hand gripped his shoulder, the pale vulpine pushing against that door quickly to open it quickly and pile into the hallway. Of course guards were there in wait, a few being stationed on this floor alone for the purpose of guarding the CEO, and as they opened fire on the black and white foxes these two ducked back quickly watching the sparks fly against the walls to either side of their face between them. As long as the bullets continued to fly these two would be pinned down, but they couldn't stay here for long, not while the other guards were making their way up the stairs. There had to be a way around these upper level guards, but the real question came down to how they could.

As the two looked at one another, orange eyes met blue eyes wondering what the plan was going to be. Skie's one hand wrapped around the handle of a pistol, ready to dart in there and throw down some rounds, but knew that if he did then he'd be full of holes in no time at all. It was then that he'd lift his hand with an easy smirk, the dark fox narrowing his gaze in confusion. Skie lifted his own gun up and soon Citrus caught on the what he was going told. The dark vulpine had more sophisticated fire power, that was clear and obvious enough from the start out with, but it did draw the easy question as to what Skie was planning to do with it. The dark hand lifted up quickly, tossing the pistol across the hall and threw the line of firepower being shot, as it twisted the pistol passed easily through the different paths of bullets, feeling the heat from the rounds, but never the bite before landing down against the white hand of the other fox. Quickly it was Skie's time to shine, his chance to show what he was able to do and how he could handle himself. The white vulpine's own gun didn't have a lot of the same tricks that the dark fox's did, but it did have an access port that was used to upgrade certain aspects of it. This port was something that Skie was able to jack right into, pushing his port through he tight fit and while his eyes turn white they'd fade back to blue long before the guards down the hallway finished. The gun no longer sat there peacefully though, having been in the core programs of Citrus's firearm it now ran hot, at a high pitch, and finally when Skie tossed that pistol down the hallway the guards all turned their eye to the shaking pistol, a sight that they hadn't seen before and wouldn't be seeing again, not when the gun exploded in a heated electrical blast that would arch from one guard to the next and force them down into the floor shaking as the current ran through their bodies, but while the white fox handed his own firearm to the dark vulpine he'd follow him closely, making sure to shut the door behind him with a hallway shelf in order to provide some level of lock while the power was off throughout this building.

***

Skie finally caught up with Citrus down the hall, looking at the still tased guards that had been bound up and set to the side. The easy smile rolled over his lips, surprised that his tactic had worked even if it cost them a firearm. If nothing else the dark fox had the other one that they shared, and that would just have to be good enough for now. With the two entering that office, having dealt with all of the opposition that came up across them Citrus had the pistol pointed right at the back of the seat as it was turned away from them. The closer they got the more that it failed to move at their presence. Closer and closer they got until the white hand gripped the back of the chair and with a fast spin it would reveal it to be empty. The confused look over both of their face showed that they had no idea where he would be. Henry couldn't have gone down stairs with the power turned off, and he absolutely couldn't have snuck past them on their way up. The only solution that they had from here was to think, knowing that their time was incredibly limited and that they'd have to figure out soon if this mission that they'd given themselves would end up being something that they'd have to abort. Neither of them wanting to leave it the way that it was, but if he wasn't here then he simply wasn't here.

The sudden chopping noise of the wind drew their heads up quickly, eyes widening and the two gasped at their sudden realization that the reason Mr. Cooper wasn't in his office was because he was above it. Rushing from the room their eyes locked on the sight of the security guards trying to push the door open, narrowing their twin gazes at the people trying to push the door open. With that they'd duck back into that office again, looking around it easily. Most CEO's had some kind of escape route built into their offices just for this kind of purpose and while the two moved back into that room and started looking around they quickly noticed the cool breeze flooding the office thanks to the beating propeller of the helicopter above them. The short, probably hidden at one time, set of steps would lead these two quickly up into the roof, able to see the suit clad "Samus" trying to settle himself into the chopper. With narrowed eyes the quickly charging black fox made a straight line for the CEO, lifting a gun quickly and opening fire on the man who's only course of action was to roll from the copter. What the two seem to have forgotten was the human's skill with a medium ranged firearm because as they closed in on him his hand moved quickly under his coat top to pull that gun out quickly and take aim. When the bullets started to fly from the ex-runner the foxes were forced to separate once again, finding a bit of wall to hide behind while it was Citrus that seemed to be suffering the most from it. That didn't mean that his attention wasn't on Skie, because as he poked his head from around that corner the pistol was quickly turned to aim at him, forcing him back under it once again.

"You should be thanking me!" He called out to them easily, "You're faster, stronger, smarter than you ever were before. All of these gifts that I gave to you, and then you turn around and try to use them as... Shadow Runners.."

He'd snear at the very mention of the word, firing faster quickly to keep them pinned down. When the sound of the very clear click of the clip drop sounded out the two knew that they didn't have long. Citrus dropping that pistol fast so that he could focus his entire attack on the katana strapped to his back and the movement of the street samurai drove in fast, no longer trying to fire Skie's pistol but instead reaching over his shoulder, when the sword was once again drawn in a fast and downward motion that pistol came up, blocking the strike while Cooper grunted out at the strain of trying to hold this beast back. "Look what you've... become... you've turned yourself into outlaws, into criminals. Shadow Runners are a blight on the potential of this city, don't you see that?"

The white fox moved in closer, keeping just enough distance to have the space he needed between the two, but he'd lift his arm easily, aiming the recovered pistol from where Citrus had dropped it and pointed it right at the now stationary CEO. That finger stressed against the trigger, narrowing his blue eyes at the man that had cost these two so much. "Everything that we've become is because we're Shadow Runners." The trigger finally hit the front of the handle, being pulled fully and firing it's final bullet from the chamber. The sight of Henry Cooper's head jerking to the side with the sudden and immediately hole put into it made it very clear where the round had hit, that body turning limp quickly before even hitting the ground and leaving the panting dark fox to smirk back at the white one, now only needing to figure a way off this roof. As the two turned to take a look at the still very functional chopper even that answer became more obvious than the last.