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Description
"You Are Mine"
By: Jade Lightning, a.k.a. Inuyashas-hanyougirl

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This is rated PG-13 for strong language and very slight violence.
This story is about Zenith, Halo, Nadir, and Grace.

Thanks for reading! ^^

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Part 2: Breaking Out

   “It’s quiet tonight isn’t it?”

   The officer who interrogated Halo, Officer Kelly, looked up from his desk to address his friend, Officer Chaplain.  “It is now that that new girl has quieted down,” he replied, “Those inmates chewed her up and spit her out quickly.”  Pausing he looked back to the paperwork he was filling out for her and said, “I don’t understand it.  This girl has no record at all.  No SS number, no bank accounts, no credit cards…it’s as if she has no identity at all.”

   Officer Chaplain took a bite out of his doughnut and let out a hearty laugh.  “Aww relax John!  You know she was just lying about her name.  Those animals like to make the jurors think we’re picking on them since they’re smaller.  She’s just trying to get the charges dropped.  I bet you money she has a rich fat daddy just waiting for his little girl to come home.”

   John Kelly wasn’t sure.  “I doubt that seriously Don,” he replied, sitting his pencil down.  “She looked terrified.  Sure, she has an attitude, what girl her age doesn’t?  Her expression and demeanor did not match her attitude.  She acted as though she had nobody at all who loved her, and while I’m sure there were two others committing the robbery with her, those other two could have simply been using her.  I want to get the full story but she has the right to keep to herself.  The courts will just have to settle it.  Maybe then we’ll find out who she really is.”

   “Hah ha!  That’s if she knows!” Don cried, letting out a hearty laugh again.

   At that exact moment, a loud crash could be heard coming from the entrance, and yet no alarm sounded.  Don stood up fast, quickly taking his night stick in his hands as he inched his way to the hallway door.  “Who’s out there?” he bellowed, “Identify yourself!”

   Officer Kelly rose to his feet as well, reaching for his gun instead of his night stick, apprehensive to cock it back and set the shot until they addressed the threat.  “Why didn’t the alarm go off Don?” he asked softly.

   Don looked back to answer John, but couldn’t as the heel of a spiked boot slammed into his jaw.  “Alarm this you bastard!” the attacker cried out as he did so.

   As Don fell to the floor from the impact, Nadir, wearing a bandanna over his face and sunglasses, flew in behind him, following his kick.  Once Officer Chaplain was on the floor, Nadir allowed his foot to fall down hard on Don’s chest.  His boots, though he called them cleat boots, were not cleats.  The sharp points were sharpened and sunk sickeningly deep into his flesh, causing the officer to cry out as he writhed in pain.

   Nadir smirked, cackling wildly.  “Hit that with your nightstick you fool!!” he shouted.

   Zenith, also wearing a bandanna and sunglasses to obscure his identity, ran in after Nadir, knocking out another officer that had come from the back to assist.  As the twins took down their opponents, Officer Kelly tried desperately to cock his gun, unable to properly after being startled.  “I knew it!” he cried, “You two were the ones at the robbery today!  I bet you’ve come to save that girl!”

   They paid him no attention.  After watching Don cry out for awhile, Nadir continued to laugh, slamming his hand into the side of Don’s neck, hitting a pressure point, knocking him out instantly.  Zenith threw punches and dodged swipes from a nightstick before taking out his challenger in the same way.  At the same time Officer Kelly finally cocked his gun and took aim at Nadir, who he addressed to be the more serious threat.

   “Freeze!  Put your hands in the air!” he cried, aiming the gun at Nadir.

   Nadir glared at Officer Kelly, removing his sunglasses and letting out a low growl as he said, “I dare you to shoot me…bastard.”

   The two stared each other down.  A wicked grin twisted Nadir’s lips, his eyes glowing dark and menacingly.  He reached for the whip in its holster and pulled it into the air, cracking it violently.

   “I DARE YOU!” Nadir shouted, staring him down.

   Officer Kelly, despite all of his training, felt himself shaking.  He wasn’t allowed to shoot Nadir unless his life was in danger.  He was still unwilling to shoot, even as Officer Chaplain and one of the prison guards both lay bleeding on the floor.  The alarm hadn’t sounded, so no back up would arrive.  He realized he had no choice but to shoot Nadir, hoping maybe he wouldn’t kill him, but perhaps disable him long enough to get control.

   Looking to his left, he saw Zenith was already going through filing cabinets, searching for Halo’s file.  Pointing the gun at Zenith, John shouted, “That’s enough!  Put your hands up and freeze!”

   Zenith turned and glared at Officer Kelly.  The pain in Zenith’s heart cried out in a rage through his gaze.  Much as his brother had done, Zenith removed his sunglasses and whispered, “Shoot me, asshole.  Do it if you want to taste blood!”  His voice rose to a terrible scream as he spoke, rattling John further.  His reflexes misfired, causing him to pull the trigger, sending a bullet flying for Zenith.

   At the same moment, Nadir cracked his whip, lashing John in the back the moment the gun fired.  Grace sprinted into the room, disguised just as the twins were, and with two forward handsprings, she rammed her feet into Officer Kelly as she landed.  The whiplash tore his skin, blood erupting from underneath his uniform before the force of Grace’s attack sent him into the floor.  As he fell, Grace thrust her feet into him again, combining her favorite dance moves with self defense tactics.  As her name dictated, she was a graceful fighter.

   She took a bow as Officer Kelly fell, giggling sadistically.  “Thank you very much.  You were a wonderful dance partner…bastard.”

   “Humph,” Nadir growled.  He saw Officer Kelly staring at him in disbelief.  “Your precious bullets can’t save you now…asshole.”

   Blood trickled down his chin as Officer John Kelly coughed and sputtered, gazing up at Nadir and Grace.  “You…you’re here for the girl aren’t you?”

   Nadir laughed wildly, cracking his whip.  “Damn you.  We’re here to free all of our kind.  You humans think you can walk all over us in court, well I’m here to tell you that you’re terribly misguided.  When you wake up, you won’t have any record of any of them anymore, and good fucking luck tracking us down.  Nine times out of ten when I hit someone’s pressure points hard enough, they get their nerves rocked so badly they permanently lose their memory of the attack.  You should thank me.”

   Officer Kelly could only gaze at Nadir and Grace as he trembled, knowing there wasn’t anything else he could do.

   “Good boy,” Grace said, taunting him, “Now you’re behaving correctly.  Maybe from now on you’ll do the right thing and clean up your trashy race before further abusing and harassing ours.”

   Nadir chuckled softly.  He rose his hand up, ready to hit the pressure point, saying, “Nighty night officer!”

   A quick slam of his hand into the side of Officer Kelly’s neck caused him to fall limp and silent, offering no further words or resistance to his attackers.  As Nadir stood back up, Grace giggled seductively and said, “Well done Nadir.  That was…impressive.”

   “Heh,” Nadir replied, playing the game with her, “You know it.”

   However, Grace quickly remembered what was happening, and finally she thought of Zenith.  Remembering the gunshot, she went white with horror as she cried, “Nadir!  Where’s Zenith?!”

   Nadir’s eyes went wide and his expression frail.  “Zenith?  Where are you Zenith?” he called out.

   They looked around, unable to see Zenith anywhere.  “Oh God,” Grace whimpered, “What happened to him?”

   Frightened, they stood silently together.  They were soon startled when they both felt a hand on their shoulder, causing them to cry out in fear as they turned around with a jump.  Zenith was standing behind them, chuckling softly as he watched them.  “Hey guys, great work!  They were the only three guards on duty I think,” Zenith said.

   Grace scowled as she walked up to him.  “Oh I could just slap you Zenith,” she scolded.  Zenith continued to grin, having removed his bandanna, causing Grace to giggle a bit as Nadir walked back up to them.

   “So bro, have you found Halo yet?” he asked.

   Zenith shook his head.  “No Nadir.  We’ve got to clear her name from here first,” he explained.  Looking to the filing cabinets, he added, “I like your idea of only freeing our kind Nadir.  That will be the perfect cover.  Now, put your gloves on and let’s get to work before somebody walks in on us.”

   “Right,” Grace and Nadir said together.  Untying the bandannas, Grace removed her sunglasses, before they both pulled on a pair of gloves, not wanting to leave prints behind.  Grace immediately sat down at the desk and logged on to the computer.  She knew that a list of passwords was always kept locked in the desk drawers, and now that they had access to the officer’s keys, they had unlimited access to everything in the station.

   After unlocking the desk drawers for Grace, Zenith handed Nadir the keys and said, “Find the back room where they’re keeping the tapes.  If there’s an officer back there take him down quickly so he won’t see you.  Destroy all of the tapes from this afternoon and tonight, and make sure all of the cameras are disconnected and there are no more tapes left recording.  After that, get back here.”

   Nadir nodded, “You got it Zenith.”

   While Nadir attended to the cameras and tapes, and Grace deleted files off the computer, Zenith returned his attention to the filing cabinets that lined the wall.  Already wearing his gloves from before, he went back to looking for Halo’s file.  Any files on humans he left where they were, but took the time to destroy any that belonged to their kind, hedgehogs, cats and wolves, all in for various charges.  As he did this, he noticed that the worst any of his kind were in for, was for assault, and it was rage directed at humans, creatures twice their size and sometimes twice as powerful.

   He felt rage build up in him.  Humans were sitting in cells tonight for beating their wives, raping women, abusing their children, and killing people, while more and more of them ran rampant on the street.  The worst his kind was guilty of were largely misdemeanors, and minor felonies at that.  Somehow he knew not all humans were bad, but the way even the police officers, the protectors of peace representing their kind, were treating his brethren, made him sick.  Slowly, he felt no remorse.

   “We’ve got to defend ourselves,” Zenith whispered.

   “Alright!  Halo isn’t anywhere on these computers!” Grace shouted with joy.  Standing up, she looked to Zenith and said, “Smart girl, she called herself Halo Bershaw.”

   Nadir re-entered the room at this point and let out a laugh.  “Bershaw?” he asked, “She must have started to say Bertier and covered for it.”

   Grace giggled softly as Zenith stood up.   “Did you destroy all of the tapes?”

   “Of course Zenith.  I even destroyed the ones of us beating these idiots up!” Nadir exclaimed with a laugh, “All of the cameras are disconnected.  None of us were ever here.”

   Zenith nodded.  “Well, I destroyed any files belonging to our kind…but I can’t find Halo’s anywhere,” he explained.

   The three of them glanced between each other, until Grace’s eyes fell to the desk where Officer Kelly was sitting earlier.  She saw a file laying open, the information on the papers within resting on the table.  A photo of a very distraught Halo peeked out from under one of the leaflets.

   “There!” Grace cried out softly.  The twins looked to the desk, watching as Grace claimed her prize.  Thumbing through the papers, she laughed softly and said, “The pathetic fool was finishing up the paper work even as we broke in.”  She handed it to Zenith as she said, “As I went through the computer all I found were her mug shots and her prints.  They were in folders labeled by her name, and that was all I could find.  I searched both that computer and the online database.  They haven’t even had time to upload her to the national network folder.”

   Zenith blinked twice as he looked up to her.  “I didn’t catch some of the computer lingo, but that’s good.  At least only this police station had any information on her.  It’s all bogus anyway,” he said, stuffing the papers back in the folder.

   “It’s a good thing we’re homeless and no one cares about us,” Nadir said, “We never had any paperwork, and as we get on the straight and narrow it won’t be reflected on us.”

   Shaking his head Zenith replied, “Only as long as we get out of here Nadir.  We disguised ourselves yes, but they’ll keep a memory of Halo, even if we hit them hard enough to rob them of their memory.  We’re gonna have to head back west, tonight.”

   As Zenith took the ring of keys from Nadir, the younger twin moaned and said, “No Zenith, I don’t wanna go back to Starshine Town.  Anywhere but that hell hole.”

   Zenith started to walk down the hall, pausing to look back to Nadir.  He smiled and shook his head, “Anywhere but here Nadir, anywhere but here.”

   He then turned and headed off to the jail cells, while Grace took Nadir’s hand, smiling as she pulled him behind her, following Zenith.  Nadir relaxed too, relieved they would be able to avoid Starshine Town again.

   Any joy they felt was silenced as the hallway they were walking got dark, and opened up until jail cells lined the right side.  The same prisoners who taunted Halo, now came alive with curiosity.

   “More of these creatures?  My, my, was there a drinking party tonight?”

   “Aww what cute little kids.  Have you come to see your mother?”

   “Can’t believe those cops are arresting more of us.”

   The third voice caught Nadir’s attention as they passed the cell of the owner.  He reached for Zenith, grabbing his arm and stopping him.  Gazing at the black and red furred Greywolf behind the bars, Nadir took the keys from Zenith, concealing them for a moment as he said, “I can’t believe it either.  …What are you in for?”

   The Greywolf rolled his eyes and said, “Got ratted on by some human after he challenged me to a fight.  He got off scot free and I’m facing a trial…the bastard.”

   Nadir, Zenith and Grace looked between each other.  Looking back to the Greywolf Nadir asked, “Did you see a magenta colored cat walked down here earlier?”

   “Yeah, about an hour ago.  She looked upset.  You know her?” the Greywolf replied.

   Zenith lowered his eyes.  “She’s my wife,” he whispered.

   Some of the inmates continued to laugh and taunt them, causing Zenith to hang his head in shame.  “Stop it,” Nadir said to him, “Don’t listen to those filthy humans.”  Turning back to the Greywolf, Nadir took the keys and started to unlock the cell door.  “I’m tired of those humans and their nasty tricks.  We’re here to rescue Halo, but we’ll rescue our own kind as well.”

   The laughter ceased.  All of these voices began to cry out when they realized who was really in charge.  As the Greywolf slowly left the cell, he gazed at Nadir and said, “…Thank you.  It’s about time somebody stood up for us.”

   Nadir grinned.  “No problem,” he said.  Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a second set of keys and said, “I found these in the front desk.  You take them and free the rest of us.  All of the humans can rot.”

   The outcry got louder and more fierce.

   “That’s not fair!”

   “Free the rest of us you dirty rat!”

   Nadir laughed hard and long.  “Ha!  Hardly you trash!  You aren’t any better than those cops!  That’s what you get!” he shouted.

   Hidden in the darkness, the human inmates could only curse this faceless creature that dammed them, even as they had dammed and condemned him and his kind time and time before.

   Taking the keys, the Greywolf said, “They took her down towards the end.  Go quickly!”

   “Right,” Grace replied, “Thank you.”

   “No, thank you, all of you, for standing up,” he replied.

   The Greywolf ran down the tier, freeing the rest of their kind.  Zenith cried out, “Hurry!  Let’s save Halo!”

   The three ran down to the end of the hallway.  It got quieter.  More cells were vacant and lonely, until finally they reached the end of the hallway, the final cell, where a magenta colored cat rested on the floor, curled up in a ball as she hugged a pillow, with tear stains on her face.

   “Halo!!” Zenith cried out, gripping the bars.

   As Nadir went to work unlocking the door, Halo began to rouse.  “Zenith?” she whimpered softly, groggy and tired.

   The door came open.  Zenith practically flew into the cell, scooping Halo up in his arms and holding her tightly as he spun in a circle where he stood.  The tears were pouring down his face as he held her close, overjoyed to have her in his arms again.

   “Oh Halo, it’s me Zenith!  You’re safe now!” he whispered.

   Opening her eyes, her vision adjusted and Halo could finally see that Zenith was indeed right there, holding her close again.  She smiled, hugging him as tightly as she could, delighted to be reunited with him.  “Oh Zenith!  I knew you’d save me!” she cried, feeling a tear fall from her eyes.

   Nadir and Grace walked into the cell long enough for Nadir to say, “We’ll be safe once we’re out of here.  Let’s go!  We don’t know how much longer those cops will stay down!”

   “Right!” Zenith replied.

   Still holding Halo, Zenith took off down the hallway with Nadir and Grace at his heels.  As they ran, all of their kind that the Greywolf had released praised them, even as the humans continued to curse them.  As Nadir passed the Greywolf, he tossed a bottle of mace to him and said, “Shut those idiots up for me okay?”

   All of their kind let out laughs and cheers while the Greywolf replied, “Will do, then we’re all busting out of here!  Thank you, and good luck!”

   Nadir waved goodbye, finally running out of the tier, chuckling softly to himself as he heard the humans get sprayed with the mace.

   The three ran away from the police station, and didn’t stop running until they were on the outskirts of town, facing the countryside that they would have to run before they reached the next town, somewhere they knew they’d be safe.  As they came to a stop, Zenith set Halo on her feet, hugging her tightly as he kissed her on the cheek.

   “Oh Halo, I’m so sorry you got caught.  I should have protected you,” he said.

   Halo let out a soft giggle.  “It’s okay Zenith.  I knew you would save me, no matter what it took,” she replied, gazing at him.  She paused and sighed, adding, “I’m just mad that they took my wedding ring and the bracelet.”

   “Looking for these?” Nadir asked, holding the ring and the bracelet with the Embala Ruby in his hands.

   “Way to go Nadir!” Grace cried.

   Halo let out an excited gasp as her eyes lit up.  She hugged Nadir tightly as she took her jewelry back.  “Oh gosh Nadir!  Thank you so much!” she cried.

   “Heh, the keys weren’t the only thing I found in that desk drawer,” he replied with a wink.

   After putting the bracelet back on her tail, Halo moved to put her wedding ring on her finger.  Zenith took it from her however and said, “No, I’m going to do that, just like I did before.”

   “Aww,” Grace murmured, leaning her head on Nadir’s shoulder as they stood together and watched.

   Standing in front of Halo, he took her hand, and as he gingerly slipped the ring on her finger, he whispered, “I promised not even death would take you from me, and I take that vow again tonight.  No filth shall ever put a hand on you again, for you are my heart, my soul, the very air I breathe, what gives life to my spirit, and a reason for the sun to rise for me, a sun that will never set.  You are mine Halo, and I love you forever and ever.”

   Halo gazed at the ring as it twinkled under the moonlight.  Looking back to Zenith she whispered, “You said the exact same thing for the most part when we were married.”

   “I did say I was taking the vow again,” Zenith replied with a whisper.  Holding her hand in his own he whispered even softer, “You are mine Halo, and I love you forever and ever.”

   Leaning forward, the two kissed, reliving that night that united them forever, once again under the stars.  Grace let out a romantic sigh, and even Nadir had to smile warmly.  As Zenith and Halo pulled back from the kiss, Halo whispered, “Forever and ever, you are mine,” as she gazed at him.

   Zenith smiled, looking back to the town for a moment.  “We better run,” he said at last, “Maybe not there, but somewhere, we’ll find a foothold, and move on with our lives.  Let’s run for it.”

   “Ha!  Yeah, let’s go!” Nadir cried out.

   The four took to running together, heading for the next town, ignorant of the chaos they left in their wake.  Although the officers would wake up hurting and missing most of their inmates with their office destroyed, they would find something quite strange; a bag of money, the exact amount stolen from the store that day.

   In the end, Zenith would do only what he had to in order to rescue Halo and set things right.  He put it all behind him, and left the money behind to seal it.

   As happy as they were, they would never completely forget it.  A promise was made to never pull such stunts again.  As long as the four of them were together, any struggle could be taken, no matter how hard.

   Nothing was worth losing each other again.

   And so another town would soon welcome them into their borders.  Perhaps this time, a more positive road would be there for Zenith and Halo, and Nadir and Grace to walk down.  They didn’t know how, but somehow they knew they’d find a way.

   As long as they had each other, and forever and ever, under the stars.

Description
"You Are Mine"
By: Jade Lightning, a.k.a. Inuyashas-hanyougirl

-----

This is rated PG-13 for strong language and very slight violence.
This story is about Zenith, Halo, Nadir, and Grace.

Thanks for reading! ^^

-----

Part 2: Breaking Out

   “It’s quiet tonight isn’t it?”

   The officer who interrogated Halo, Officer Kelly, looked up from his desk to address his friend, Officer Chaplain.  “It is now that that new girl has quieted down,” he replied, “Those inmates chewed her up and spit her out quickly.”  Pausing he looked back to the paperwork he was filling out for her and said, “I don’t understand it.  This girl has no record at all.  No SS number, no bank accounts, no credit cards…it’s as if she has no identity at all.”

   Officer Chaplain took a bite out of his doughnut and let out a hearty laugh.  “Aww relax John!  You know she was just lying about her name.  Those animals like to make the jurors think we’re picking on them since they’re smaller.  She’s just trying to get the charges dropped.  I bet you money she has a rich fat daddy just waiting for his little girl to come home.”

   John Kelly wasn’t sure.  “I doubt that seriously Don,” he replied, sitting his pencil down.  “She looked terrified.  Sure, she has an attitude, what girl her age doesn’t?  Her expression and demeanor did not match her attitude.  She acted as though she had nobody at all who loved her, and while I’m sure there were two others committing the robbery with her, those other two could have simply been using her.  I want to get the full story but she has the right to keep to herself.  The courts will just have to settle it.  Maybe then we’ll find out who she really is.”

   “Hah ha!  That’s if she knows!” Don cried, letting out a hearty laugh again.

   At that exact moment, a loud crash could be heard coming from the entrance, and yet no alarm sounded.  Don stood up fast, quickly taking his night stick in his hands as he inched his way to the hallway door.  “Who’s out there?” he bellowed, “Identify yourself!”

   Officer Kelly rose to his feet as well, reaching for his gun instead of his night stick, apprehensive to cock it back and set the shot until they addressed the threat.  “Why didn’t the alarm go off Don?” he asked softly.

   Don looked back to answer John, but couldn’t as the heel of a spiked boot slammed into his jaw.  “Alarm this you bastard!” the attacker cried out as he did so.

   As Don fell to the floor from the impact, Nadir, wearing a bandanna over his face and sunglasses, flew in behind him, following his kick.  Once Officer Chaplain was on the floor, Nadir allowed his foot to fall down hard on Don’s chest.  His boots, though he called them cleat boots, were not cleats.  The sharp points were sharpened and sunk sickeningly deep into his flesh, causing the officer to cry out as he writhed in pain.

   Nadir smirked, cackling wildly.  “Hit that with your nightstick you fool!!” he shouted.

   Zenith, also wearing a bandanna and sunglasses to obscure his identity, ran in after Nadir, knocking out another officer that had come from the back to assist.  As the twins took down their opponents, Officer Kelly tried desperately to cock his gun, unable to properly after being startled.  “I knew it!” he cried, “You two were the ones at the robbery today!  I bet you’ve come to save that girl!”

   They paid him no attention.  After watching Don cry out for awhile, Nadir continued to laugh, slamming his hand into the side of Don’s neck, hitting a pressure point, knocking him out instantly.  Zenith threw punches and dodged swipes from a nightstick before taking out his challenger in the same way.  At the same time Officer Kelly finally cocked his gun and took aim at Nadir, who he addressed to be the more serious threat.

   “Freeze!  Put your hands in the air!” he cried, aiming the gun at Nadir.

   Nadir glared at Officer Kelly, removing his sunglasses and letting out a low growl as he said, “I dare you to shoot me…bastard.”

   The two stared each other down.  A wicked grin twisted Nadir’s lips, his eyes glowing dark and menacingly.  He reached for the whip in its holster and pulled it into the air, cracking it violently.

   “I DARE YOU!” Nadir shouted, staring him down.

   Officer Kelly, despite all of his training, felt himself shaking.  He wasn’t allowed to shoot Nadir unless his life was in danger.  He was still unwilling to shoot, even as Officer Chaplain and one of the prison guards both lay bleeding on the floor.  The alarm hadn’t sounded, so no back up would arrive.  He realized he had no choice but to shoot Nadir, hoping maybe he wouldn’t kill him, but perhaps disable him long enough to get control.

   Looking to his left, he saw Zenith was already going through filing cabinets, searching for Halo’s file.  Pointing the gun at Zenith, John shouted, “That’s enough!  Put your hands up and freeze!”

   Zenith turned and glared at Officer Kelly.  The pain in Zenith’s heart cried out in a rage through his gaze.  Much as his brother had done, Zenith removed his sunglasses and whispered, “Shoot me, asshole.  Do it if you want to taste blood!”  His voice rose to a terrible scream as he spoke, rattling John further.  His reflexes misfired, causing him to pull the trigger, sending a bullet flying for Zenith.

   At the same moment, Nadir cracked his whip, lashing John in the back the moment the gun fired.  Grace sprinted into the room, disguised just as the twins were, and with two forward handsprings, she rammed her feet into Officer Kelly as she landed.  The whiplash tore his skin, blood erupting from underneath his uniform before the force of Grace’s attack sent him into the floor.  As he fell, Grace thrust her feet into him again, combining her favorite dance moves with self defense tactics.  As her name dictated, she was a graceful fighter.

   She took a bow as Officer Kelly fell, giggling sadistically.  “Thank you very much.  You were a wonderful dance partner…bastard.”

   “Humph,” Nadir growled.  He saw Officer Kelly staring at him in disbelief.  “Your precious bullets can’t save you now…asshole.”

   Blood trickled down his chin as Officer John Kelly coughed and sputtered, gazing up at Nadir and Grace.  “You…you’re here for the girl aren’t you?”

   Nadir laughed wildly, cracking his whip.  “Damn you.  We’re here to free all of our kind.  You humans think you can walk all over us in court, well I’m here to tell you that you’re terribly misguided.  When you wake up, you won’t have any record of any of them anymore, and good fucking luck tracking us down.  Nine times out of ten when I hit someone’s pressure points hard enough, they get their nerves rocked so badly they permanently lose their memory of the attack.  You should thank me.”

   Officer Kelly could only gaze at Nadir and Grace as he trembled, knowing there wasn’t anything else he could do.

   “Good boy,” Grace said, taunting him, “Now you’re behaving correctly.  Maybe from now on you’ll do the right thing and clean up your trashy race before further abusing and harassing ours.”

   Nadir chuckled softly.  He rose his hand up, ready to hit the pressure point, saying, “Nighty night officer!”

   A quick slam of his hand into the side of Officer Kelly’s neck caused him to fall limp and silent, offering no further words or resistance to his attackers.  As Nadir stood back up, Grace giggled seductively and said, “Well done Nadir.  That was…impressive.”

   “Heh,” Nadir replied, playing the game with her, “You know it.”

   However, Grace quickly remembered what was happening, and finally she thought of Zenith.  Remembering the gunshot, she went white with horror as she cried, “Nadir!  Where’s Zenith?!”

   Nadir’s eyes went wide and his expression frail.  “Zenith?  Where are you Zenith?” he called out.

   They looked around, unable to see Zenith anywhere.  “Oh God,” Grace whimpered, “What happened to him?”

   Frightened, they stood silently together.  They were soon startled when they both felt a hand on their shoulder, causing them to cry out in fear as they turned around with a jump.  Zenith was standing behind them, chuckling softly as he watched them.  “Hey guys, great work!  They were the only three guards on duty I think,” Zenith said.

   Grace scowled as she walked up to him.  “Oh I could just slap you Zenith,” she scolded.  Zenith continued to grin, having removed his bandanna, causing Grace to giggle a bit as Nadir walked back up to them.

   “So bro, have you found Halo yet?” he asked.

   Zenith shook his head.  “No Nadir.  We’ve got to clear her name from here first,” he explained.  Looking to the filing cabinets, he added, “I like your idea of only freeing our kind Nadir.  That will be the perfect cover.  Now, put your gloves on and let’s get to work before somebody walks in on us.”

   “Right,” Grace and Nadir said together.  Untying the bandannas, Grace removed her sunglasses, before they both pulled on a pair of gloves, not wanting to leave prints behind.  Grace immediately sat down at the desk and logged on to the computer.  She knew that a list of passwords was always kept locked in the desk drawers, and now that they had access to the officer’s keys, they had unlimited access to everything in the station.

   After unlocking the desk drawers for Grace, Zenith handed Nadir the keys and said, “Find the back room where they’re keeping the tapes.  If there’s an officer back there take him down quickly so he won’t see you.  Destroy all of the tapes from this afternoon and tonight, and make sure all of the cameras are disconnected and there are no more tapes left recording.  After that, get back here.”

   Nadir nodded, “You got it Zenith.”

   While Nadir attended to the cameras and tapes, and Grace deleted files off the computer, Zenith returned his attention to the filing cabinets that lined the wall.  Already wearing his gloves from before, he went back to looking for Halo’s file.  Any files on humans he left where they were, but took the time to destroy any that belonged to their kind, hedgehogs, cats and wolves, all in for various charges.  As he did this, he noticed that the worst any of his kind were in for, was for assault, and it was rage directed at humans, creatures twice their size and sometimes twice as powerful.

   He felt rage build up in him.  Humans were sitting in cells tonight for beating their wives, raping women, abusing their children, and killing people, while more and more of them ran rampant on the street.  The worst his kind was guilty of were largely misdemeanors, and minor felonies at that.  Somehow he knew not all humans were bad, but the way even the police officers, the protectors of peace representing their kind, were treating his brethren, made him sick.  Slowly, he felt no remorse.

   “We’ve got to defend ourselves,” Zenith whispered.

   “Alright!  Halo isn’t anywhere on these computers!” Grace shouted with joy.  Standing up, she looked to Zenith and said, “Smart girl, she called herself Halo Bershaw.”

   Nadir re-entered the room at this point and let out a laugh.  “Bershaw?” he asked, “She must have started to say Bertier and covered for it.”

   Grace giggled softly as Zenith stood up.   “Did you destroy all of the tapes?”

   “Of course Zenith.  I even destroyed the ones of us beating these idiots up!” Nadir exclaimed with a laugh, “All of the cameras are disconnected.  None of us were ever here.”

   Zenith nodded.  “Well, I destroyed any files belonging to our kind…but I can’t find Halo’s anywhere,” he explained.

   The three of them glanced between each other, until Grace’s eyes fell to the desk where Officer Kelly was sitting earlier.  She saw a file laying open, the information on the papers within resting on the table.  A photo of a very distraught Halo peeked out from under one of the leaflets.

   “There!” Grace cried out softly.  The twins looked to the desk, watching as Grace claimed her prize.  Thumbing through the papers, she laughed softly and said, “The pathetic fool was finishing up the paper work even as we broke in.”  She handed it to Zenith as she said, “As I went through the computer all I found were her mug shots and her prints.  They were in folders labeled by her name, and that was all I could find.  I searched both that computer and the online database.  They haven’t even had time to upload her to the national network folder.”

   Zenith blinked twice as he looked up to her.  “I didn’t catch some of the computer lingo, but that’s good.  At least only this police station had any information on her.  It’s all bogus anyway,” he said, stuffing the papers back in the folder.

   “It’s a good thing we’re homeless and no one cares about us,” Nadir said, “We never had any paperwork, and as we get on the straight and narrow it won’t be reflected on us.”

   Shaking his head Zenith replied, “Only as long as we get out of here Nadir.  We disguised ourselves yes, but they’ll keep a memory of Halo, even if we hit them hard enough to rob them of their memory.  We’re gonna have to head back west, tonight.”

   As Zenith took the ring of keys from Nadir, the younger twin moaned and said, “No Zenith, I don’t wanna go back to Starshine Town.  Anywhere but that hell hole.”

   Zenith started to walk down the hall, pausing to look back to Nadir.  He smiled and shook his head, “Anywhere but here Nadir, anywhere but here.”

   He then turned and headed off to the jail cells, while Grace took Nadir’s hand, smiling as she pulled him behind her, following Zenith.  Nadir relaxed too, relieved they would be able to avoid Starshine Town again.

   Any joy they felt was silenced as the hallway they were walking got dark, and opened up until jail cells lined the right side.  The same prisoners who taunted Halo, now came alive with curiosity.

   “More of these creatures?  My, my, was there a drinking party tonight?”

   “Aww what cute little kids.  Have you come to see your mother?”

   “Can’t believe those cops are arresting more of us.”

   The third voice caught Nadir’s attention as they passed the cell of the owner.  He reached for Zenith, grabbing his arm and stopping him.  Gazing at the black and red furred Greywolf behind the bars, Nadir took the keys from Zenith, concealing them for a moment as he said, “I can’t believe it either.  …What are you in for?”

   The Greywolf rolled his eyes and said, “Got ratted on by some human after he challenged me to a fight.  He got off scot free and I’m facing a trial…the bastard.”

   Nadir, Zenith and Grace looked between each other.  Looking back to the Greywolf Nadir asked, “Did you see a magenta colored cat walked down here earlier?”

   “Yeah, about an hour ago.  She looked upset.  You know her?” the Greywolf replied.

   Zenith lowered his eyes.  “She’s my wife,” he whispered.

   Some of the inmates continued to laugh and taunt them, causing Zenith to hang his head in shame.  “Stop it,” Nadir said to him, “Don’t listen to those filthy humans.”  Turning back to the Greywolf, Nadir took the keys and started to unlock the cell door.  “I’m tired of those humans and their nasty tricks.  We’re here to rescue Halo, but we’ll rescue our own kind as well.”

   The laughter ceased.  All of these voices began to cry out when they realized who was really in charge.  As the Greywolf slowly left the cell, he gazed at Nadir and said, “…Thank you.  It’s about time somebody stood up for us.”

   Nadir grinned.  “No problem,” he said.  Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a second set of keys and said, “I found these in the front desk.  You take them and free the rest of us.  All of the humans can rot.”

   The outcry got louder and more fierce.

   “That’s not fair!”

   “Free the rest of us you dirty rat!”

   Nadir laughed hard and long.  “Ha!  Hardly you trash!  You aren’t any better than those cops!  That’s what you get!” he shouted.

   Hidden in the darkness, the human inmates could only curse this faceless creature that dammed them, even as they had dammed and condemned him and his kind time and time before.

   Taking the keys, the Greywolf said, “They took her down towards the end.  Go quickly!”

   “Right,” Grace replied, “Thank you.”

   “No, thank you, all of you, for standing up,” he replied.

   The Greywolf ran down the tier, freeing the rest of their kind.  Zenith cried out, “Hurry!  Let’s save Halo!”

   The three ran down to the end of the hallway.  It got quieter.  More cells were vacant and lonely, until finally they reached the end of the hallway, the final cell, where a magenta colored cat rested on the floor, curled up in a ball as she hugged a pillow, with tear stains on her face.

   “Halo!!” Zenith cried out, gripping the bars.

   As Nadir went to work unlocking the door, Halo began to rouse.  “Zenith?” she whimpered softly, groggy and tired.

   The door came open.  Zenith practically flew into the cell, scooping Halo up in his arms and holding her tightly as he spun in a circle where he stood.  The tears were pouring down his face as he held her close, overjoyed to have her in his arms again.

   “Oh Halo, it’s me Zenith!  You’re safe now!” he whispered.

   Opening her eyes, her vision adjusted and Halo could finally see that Zenith was indeed right there, holding her close again.  She smiled, hugging him as tightly as she could, delighted to be reunited with him.  “Oh Zenith!  I knew you’d save me!” she cried, feeling a tear fall from her eyes.

   Nadir and Grace walked into the cell long enough for Nadir to say, “We’ll be safe once we’re out of here.  Let’s go!  We don’t know how much longer those cops will stay down!”

   “Right!” Zenith replied.

   Still holding Halo, Zenith took off down the hallway with Nadir and Grace at his heels.  As they ran, all of their kind that the Greywolf had released praised them, even as the humans continued to curse them.  As Nadir passed the Greywolf, he tossed a bottle of mace to him and said, “Shut those idiots up for me okay?”

   All of their kind let out laughs and cheers while the Greywolf replied, “Will do, then we’re all busting out of here!  Thank you, and good luck!”

   Nadir waved goodbye, finally running out of the tier, chuckling softly to himself as he heard the humans get sprayed with the mace.

   The three ran away from the police station, and didn’t stop running until they were on the outskirts of town, facing the countryside that they would have to run before they reached the next town, somewhere they knew they’d be safe.  As they came to a stop, Zenith set Halo on her feet, hugging her tightly as he kissed her on the cheek.

   “Oh Halo, I’m so sorry you got caught.  I should have protected you,” he said.

   Halo let out a soft giggle.  “It’s okay Zenith.  I knew you would save me, no matter what it took,” she replied, gazing at him.  She paused and sighed, adding, “I’m just mad that they took my wedding ring and the bracelet.”

   “Looking for these?” Nadir asked, holding the ring and the bracelet with the Embala Ruby in his hands.

   “Way to go Nadir!” Grace cried.

   Halo let out an excited gasp as her eyes lit up.  She hugged Nadir tightly as she took her jewelry back.  “Oh gosh Nadir!  Thank you so much!” she cried.

   “Heh, the keys weren’t the only thing I found in that desk drawer,” he replied with a wink.

   After putting the bracelet back on her tail, Halo moved to put her wedding ring on her finger.  Zenith took it from her however and said, “No, I’m going to do that, just like I did before.”

   “Aww,” Grace murmured, leaning her head on Nadir’s shoulder as they stood together and watched.

   Standing in front of Halo, he took her hand, and as he gingerly slipped the ring on her finger, he whispered, “I promised not even death would take you from me, and I take that vow again tonight.  No filth shall ever put a hand on you again, for you are my heart, my soul, the very air I breathe, what gives life to my spirit, and a reason for the sun to rise for me, a sun that will never set.  You are mine Halo, and I love you forever and ever.”

   Halo gazed at the ring as it twinkled under the moonlight.  Looking back to Zenith she whispered, “You said the exact same thing for the most part when we were married.”

   “I did say I was taking the vow again,” Zenith replied with a whisper.  Holding her hand in his own he whispered even softer, “You are mine Halo, and I love you forever and ever.”

   Leaning forward, the two kissed, reliving that night that united them forever, once again under the stars.  Grace let out a romantic sigh, and even Nadir had to smile warmly.  As Zenith and Halo pulled back from the kiss, Halo whispered, “Forever and ever, you are mine,” as she gazed at him.

   Zenith smiled, looking back to the town for a moment.  “We better run,” he said at last, “Maybe not there, but somewhere, we’ll find a foothold, and move on with our lives.  Let’s run for it.”

   “Ha!  Yeah, let’s go!” Nadir cried out.

   The four took to running together, heading for the next town, ignorant of the chaos they left in their wake.  Although the officers would wake up hurting and missing most of their inmates with their office destroyed, they would find something quite strange; a bag of money, the exact amount stolen from the store that day.

   In the end, Zenith would do only what he had to in order to rescue Halo and set things right.  He put it all behind him, and left the money behind to seal it.

   As happy as they were, they would never completely forget it.  A promise was made to never pull such stunts again.  As long as the four of them were together, any struggle could be taken, no matter how hard.

   Nothing was worth losing each other again.

   And so another town would soon welcome them into their borders.  Perhaps this time, a more positive road would be there for Zenith and Halo, and Nadir and Grace to walk down.  They didn’t know how, but somehow they knew they’d find a way.

   As long as they had each other, and forever and ever, under the stars.