LunarKeys

Yuki inhaled sharply as the dragon walked in. He seemed impossibly large to her. The thick, silver-gray armor, long, swaying tail, and enormous wings. His broad shoulders and tree-thick legs and steely expression. It felt like the colossal boardroom had been built just to accommodate his gargantuan size. But it wasn't his imposing physique that terrified her. It was the weight of his betrayal. She remembered sobbing for breath, tears running down her soot-stained face as she desperately tried to climb out of the rubble of her own home. She remembered the grip of a strong, scaled hand, the cries of pain as chunks of brick tore her sides as

*WHUNK* Dragomir slammed the trunk closed, glancing back at the small mountain of weaponry still sitting behind him. He grinned somewhat sheepishly to the feline standing beside him. "Sorry, Ogy. I stuffed everything I could in there." "That's a pity. I suppose we'll have to leave everything else behind, then." The cat stifled a laugh at the look of horror on the big Luminari's face. "Just put them in the car, we'll find somewhere to stow them." He glanced around the garage, making sure his team was in order. Yuki was standing by, and he knew Ashley was already in the car. Dragomir was now frantically trying to find room around his seat for

Click. Ty squinted and held a paw up in front of his face, shielding his eyes against the blinding light. He winced as the light grew brighter for a second, then dimmed. He could hear another click - a switch being flipped, and the light turned back off. The fox rolled over, then yelped as he ran out of bed. There was a crash as he pulled the sheets with him, tangling himself up. There was a derisive snort in the background as the former general dug himself out of the mess, tearing the sheets in the process before leaping back to his feet, scanning the room. He had been moved to one of the smaller rooms in the medical wing. There were a fe

The door burst open, the knob slamming into the wall so hard that it left an imprint. The young general stormed into the room, fury written into his features. His nostrils puffed steam into the air, and his tail lashed wildly, practically tearing out of his pants as he pointed a shaking finger at his target. "You!" The man turned. His expression was one of boredom, as if the armed general was a nuisance. "What do you want?" "You gave them the order. You were the one who sent the trucks in." "And what if I did?" The manager was a thin, lithe feline, his features suggesting something of tiger ancestry. He crossed his arms and glanced at th

Yuki closed the last zipper of her duffel bag, then tossed it onto the stack. She looked around the room. Dragomir looked nowhere close to done on his own stockpile of weaponry, and Ougyoku was busy selecting outfits for the trip. "I dunno, I kinda like the gold. It's a bit flashy, sure, but think of the sorts that hang out at some of the downtown casinos. I'd fit right in!" "Considering your penchant for attention, that seems counterproductive." Ashley snorted. "Oh, right, I forgot! I'll save this for the upper-class. Thanks!" "Do you just enjoy being contrary?" The fox cast a look of disbelief at him. "Of course! We're outlaws, its our

Andrometus was not pleased. The silver dragon towered over the remaining leaders of his forces. Though two were physically imposing; one, a seven-foot falcon with a grim expression and talons that were reputed to tear through steel, and the other, a hulking black wolf with biceps as big as his head and enough weaponry to rival Slaris, neither were nearly as impressive as the dragon at the end of the table. Andrometus was enormous; his head nearly touched the ceiling of the narrow room. From the tip of his sharp horns to the edge of the menacing talons at the end of his feet, he stood eight and a half feet tall. His long, spaded tail slowly

Dusk was on the horizon. The sun was beginning to sink in the sky, turning the ordinary azure into a cascade of gorgeous purples and yellows, oranges and reds intermixing to make a painting of color. A vein of blood-red ran through through the tapestry. Slaris reached through his window and squeezed, imagining his claws snapping the imagined vein in half. Crunch. That's what it would sound like. No toying with his prey this time. One simple crack, and Sylvir's neck would be snapped in half, his broken body sliding to the ground. And Ougyoku, for that matter. He cursed the cat's seemingly endless luck. He had originally intended to use the u

The loudspeaker crackled for a few moments as a thin, reedy voice came through. "Tyraeil Liat. Age sixty-one. He served in the government military for twenty-six years, eventually being promoted to the rank of general. Two stars. He served fifteen of his years in that position before retiring and disappearing into obscurity. On the underworld front..." There was a shuffling of papers on the other end of the loudspeaker. "...reports say that he opened up an illegal arms operation and has been running it since then. Government tolerates him because they know that a scandal would damage their already-poor reputation. Has...dozens of contacts an

"Fifty seconds." Ougyoku trembled, staring at the device in his hands. His mind worked madly as time ticked down in his mind. Each second was a thunderclap in his brain as he tried to work out a solution. They were unarmed. He and Yuki had left their weapons back at the car, knowing that the hospital would have confiscated them anyway. Keys was alive and well, but he, too, was unarmed. He knew full well that Slaris had no reason to keep his word; he was holding all of their weaponry, their getaway vehicle, and one of their teammates. One step outside and he would be cut to ribbons. Which means Dragomir has to die. The thought filled him

Keys opened his eyes. The orbs flickered as they looked from one side of the area of the room to the other. Everything was fuzzy and blurred; he could barely make out the graffiti-scrawled brick, the discarded soda cans and newspapers. And blood. There was so much blood. He held up his hands dumbly, wincing. Something in his left arm hurt terribly, preventing him from lifting that one. He saw his right arm; the skin was sliced wide open, and he was bleeding profusely. He looked down; his clothing was drenched. His body was wracked with pain; his lungs felt like they were on fire as his heart jackhammered in his chest. He reached down with