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\n     Oh yay, the next chapter of Shadow of a Freelancer, a little short compared to most of the others but oh well. This chapter is mostly between Sara and Rrahkarr. Please leave a comment and vote!


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\n August 27, 2342 - Mors Mortis Special GMP Holding Cell (5:40 PM)


\n     Rrahkarr stared in disbelief at the person who was laying mere inches from him. His breathing suggested he was holding back from openly crying but that didn't stop a few tears wetting his cheek fur as they fell from his eyes. For years he had convinced himself that he had protected her from harm by leaving her. Never speaking to her, cutting all forms of contact and any messages that made it to his special mail address he deleted. By leaving her in the dark, he thought he drew any eyes away from her and onto him.

\n     Yet here she lay, severely injured, bleeding, and in pain. Now he knew why he was in this room and chained the way he was. He could move around, fight if needed, but it wouldn't do him any good in helping her. He was completely useless as he looked down into her eyes; which were filled with pain and sorrow. His own eyes were filling with sorrow and regret; for leaving her and causing so much unneeded pain.

\n     Still smiling slightly Sara said weakly "I-It is you... R-Rrahkarr."

\n     She started to raise her paw towards his face but she had little strength left in her and her paw started to falter and fall. Rrahkarr quickly reached out with both of his bound paws and grabbed it as he said "Yes Sara, it's me."

\n     "W-Why did you leave?" She asked as she looked at him; seeing all the scars and pain he must have gone through.

\n     Rrahkarr closed his eyes in shame as he said "I left to keep you safe."

\n     He felt her move her paw and let go of it and she managed to reach his face this time. "You could...have t-told me."

\n     "I wanted them to think I had severed all connections with you. I wanted you to move on, find someone else." Rrahkarr said.

\n     "Start... a family." She added and let her paw drop back to his and said "I did."

\n     Hearing this he looked up to Patrick and said "Why, why did you bring her here? What was the purpose of this?"

\n     "To break you, let the other you out. He said this would be the fastest way." Patrick said with a smile.

\n     "R-Rrahkarr... they took her too." Sara said.

\n     "Took who, they took who Sara?" He asked.

\n     "M-My daughter, they captured her with me." Sara said and that made Rrahkarr realize who the little girl was they brought in.

\n     He felt anger at Patrick again and gave him a hateful look before sighing and looking at Sara and said "She looks like you..."

\n     "She looks... l-like her father." Sara said as tears ran down her cheeks.

\n     "I wouldn't know." He said.

\n     Rrahkarr was able to get into a position where he was able to hold Sara and support her as she leaned against his side and legs. He looked at all injures she had and cursed himself as she grunted in pain. He was blaming himself for this too; which was just more fuel for Severo who laughed in Rrahkarr's ears and repeated what Rrahkarr thought.

\n     "Hmm, Henrik really did a job on her. Just think Rrahkarr, what you've gone through every week of every month she was put through only once. But I think Henrik did more to her than usual." Patrick said with a chilling smile.

\n     Rrahkarr looked at Patrick with hate in his eyes as he said "You idiotic bastard... if he gets out, do you think he won't kill you and every person on Mors Mortis?"

\n     "I'm so sure." Patrick said sarcastically and continued in that serene voice of his "Well I'm sorry to show up and leave but I have a few tests to run." Patrick turned and left, when he was out of the room he turned and said to one of his guards "Bring that little one to the infirmary, I want a blood test done on her. After the doctor gets a blood sample take her to my lab." Most of Patrick's guards left with him except two, as Rrahkarr spent this time holding Sara. She was badly injured, Rrahkarr could tell by the increasing size of her bruises and pain she was in that she was bleeding internally.

\n     "I'm so sorry Sara..." Rrahkarr said in a shaky voice, as a few tears fell from his cheeks onto her.

\n     She let out something that may have been a chuckle as she said "In... all the t-time I've known you... I've never seen y-you cry before."

\n     "I've cried more times than I'd like to admit... I cried when Lliam died too." Rrahkarr admitted.

\n     "You... mustn't b-blame yourself." Sara said as she tried to move closer to him.

\n     "But... everything that happened... it's all my fault." He said as he lowered his head till his forehead met with hers.

\n     She shook her head and as he raised his head and looked at her she said "Don't blame yourself... this i-isn't you."

\n     She looked up into Rrahkarr's eyes and watched him before he said "I've changed, this is who I am now."

\n     Rrahkarr then; while supporting her, leaned back a little as she said "You can change b-back."

\n     He smiled slightly as she said that "No, I can't. I've done too many things during these years. I can't change back."

\n     "Change back... f-for Maya." Sara said.

\n     "What do you know of her?" He asked in a surprised voice as he looked at her.

\n     "Before we were taken... we lived on the planet the Darwin surveyed. I met her t-there... I was the doctor t-there... and when I learned she was y-your sister, we kind of became friends. All she... w-wants is her brother back." Sara said.

\n     "So you were taken from there? I'm sorry Sara. I've put you through so much..." Rrahkarr said and blamed himself again.

\n     "Stop, you deserve... a s-second chance." Sara said

\n     He looked back down into her eyes and noticed a fearful look on her face as her eyes started to fade. "Rrahkarr... don't go... where a-are you?" Sara said in a scared voice.

\n     Tears were freely falling from Rrahkarr's eyes as he held tight to her and said "It's alright... I'm here. I won't go anywhere."

\n     "Don't change... stay the way you w-were..." She had difficulty saying.

\n     She grasped; with what little strength she had, onto his shirt and tried her best to hold onto him. Rrahkarr got her into his lap and he hugged her. She gave him a small kiss on his cheek before resting her head against his shoulder.

\n     She was breathing very slowly now as she said "P-please... save her... save Aurora."

\n     "Aurora... your daughter. I promise I will and I'll return her to her father." Rrahkarr said; not knowing if he could even keep that promise.

\n     Even though she couldn't see and was scared, after he said that she smiled before saying "She... she's your daughter..."

\n     A look of surprise and disbelief come over his face as he looked at her and said "She's my daughter? How... when?"

\n     "The day of that attack... I found out I was pregnant with her. The day he died, no he... you must save her... and escape. Don't... blame yourself... Lliam... he's waiting... for..." This was all Sara could say before her eyes closed and she breathed her last breath.

\n     Rrahkarr's eyes went wide as Sara stopped talking. Her chest was still and Rrahkarr felt her go limp. He shook her a few times while calling her name "Sara... Sara! ...Sara?"

\n     "You're done" Severo said in Rrahkarr's mind.

\n     The physical world around him disappeared and was replaced with the dark world of his mind. He was still holding Sara's body even here, and a few feet from him was Severo; a devilish smile upon his face. He walked towards Rrahkarr but Rrahkarr didn't move at all, he still stared in disbelief that Sara was dead. He couldn't handle it.

\n     Severo stopped right next to Rrahkarr and put his paw on his shoulder. "You can stay here, I'll take care of the ones who did that to her." He then started walking into the distance and faded from view, leaving Rrahkarr right where he was; clinging to the lifeless body of Sara.

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\n Mors Mortis Pit Cell (5:55 PM)


\n     Louie and Zeig were sitting on opposite sides of the room. They were talking about what it was that Severo may have been attached too when Zeig suddenly stopped talking and grabbed at his chest where his heart was. Being that he too had a split personality at one point, he felt Severo take control of Rrahkarr.

\n     "Zeig what is it?" Louie asked in a worried voice.

\n     Zeig looked over to his brother as he said "He's gone... Something's happened to Rrahkarr and he's no longer there. All I can feel is... Severo!"

\n     "You mean, Rrahkarr's been taken over?" Louie asked in a worried and surprised voice.

\n     "Yeah... it shouldn't have happened this fast though." Zeig said.

\n     "Didn't Rrahkarr mention if he learned something bad happened to his family he may crack?" Louie asked.

\n     "Yeah he said that... but I could feel him from here. I lost him at one point because he was taken into a GMP holding cell but... suddenly I felt a strong emotional spike from him then... I felt Severo take over." Zeig said.

\n     "You can feel him at this distance?" Louie asked.

\n     "That's what worries me... he's in a GMP cell; one that Patrick left a few moments before and yet... I can sense his strength. If this is Rrahkarr's full power... he could have killed us easily that day we first fought." Zeig said as he stood up and added "He's escaped the cell; it's going to be a bloodbath out there."

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\n Inside Rrahkarr's Mind (6:10 PM)


\n     Everything had disappeared; there wasn't even a solid ground to stand on. It was like he was floating on water; a black and empty sea that seemed to stretch into nothingness. Rrahkarr couldn't move at all, it was if someone was holding him down. He couldn't feel anything, see anything, or hear anything except his own thoughts.

\n     He had been here only once before but the people who he called his friends and family were like beacons in the dark that called out to him and brought him back. There were no such beacons this time as he freely floated away; deeper and deeper into the dark.

\n     "It's all my fault." Rrahkarr thought but being in his own mind it was heard as if he spoke it.

\n     "Grandma... Grandpa... Mom... Dad... Lliam, forgive me. I wasn't strong enough to protect any of you." Rrahkarr thought as he drifted, images of those family members appeared before him.

\n     "Chris... Tina... Albert... James... Vincent... Tommy, I'm sorry guys. I wasn't able to avenge any of you." He thought as the images of his old team appeared.

\n     "Stone... Dead Eye... Blade... Ace, I wasn't able to save you from their plan." Images of his newer friends appeared as well.

\n     "Kathy... Maya, I'm sorry... I won't be able to see either of you smile again... goodbye." He thought as their images appeared before him.

\n     "Sara... please, forgive what I put you through. I'm sorry but I won't be able to follow you to where you went." He thought as a tear ran down his cheek fur as a ghostly image of her appeared before him.

\n     She was wearing some sort of clothing he could only describe as cloth of some kind; it was simple and nothing extravagant. Her hair looked like it was being slightly blown by wind. Her eyes sparked as if stars and there was a faint glow about her. She was smiling at him and looked like she was reaching out for him.

\n     He closed his eyes as he saw her. He was ready for death, ready to face hell head on; for he was sure that's where he was going for what he had done. He then felt a tingling sensation on his right cheek. When he opened his eyes he saw that the ghostly form of Sara had reached out with her paw and placed it on his right cheek.

\n     She smiled and in a ghostly voice said "None of that was your fault Rrahkarr."

\n     Looking into her ghostly eyes Rrahkarr asked "Sara... is that you?"

\n     Still smiling she replied "Yes it's me; this is my spirit coming to you. I've come to tell you that you mustn't let him control you. Take back what is yours and keep the promise you made."

\n     "But how? How can I... I don't even know how to get rid of him."

\n     "Rrahkarr... you blame yourself for all the bad things that have happened to you and your family. You must forgive yourself before you can move on." She said to him.

\n     "Forgive... myself?" He asked.

\n     She simply nodded before saying "Forgiveness from others is what you seek but what good is it if you cannot forgive yourself? If you can't continue, more will suffer worse than us. It's not time for you to die or fade away, please save our daughter and stop those men."

\n     "I'm not sure I have the strength to even stop Severo anymore... how can I even attempt to save her if I can't even save myself?" Rrahkarr asked as he watched her hover above him.

\n     "You have to forgive yourself... you know how to stop him, just believe in yourself... and when you're free of him and this place. Stop those men and return to your family... and Lliam he's waiting." She said to him.

\n     He stared into her shinning eyes as she told him this. He closed his eyes and felt tingling coming from both of his cheeks. When he opened them the spirit of Sara had placed both her paws on his face and had brought herself lower till the tip of her nose was mere centimeters away from his. "Rrahkarr... save yourself, then save Aurora; our daughter, and know that I'll always love you." She said before she leaned down further and kissed him passionately.

\n     Though she was a sprit and had no physical body, he too no longer had a physical existence either. So when they made contact it was possible only because of that. The kiss itself was far different from a regular kiss; here in this place just as when she touched him, he felt a slight tingling sensation on his lips. He returned the kiss; the last one he'd ever share with her.  After a few moments she broke the kiss and smiled at him as she started to rise away... but before she disappeared forever she left him with a few words.


\n "You brought me serenity, a reason to live
\n The feelings you gave to me, I'll never forget
\n I'm with you forever, in true love
\n Look up to heaven
\n I'll be there, guiding your heart" *

\n (* A few lyrics from Lost Love by Judas Priest *)

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