Fan Fiction ❯ Friends- The MOVIE!! Wait... no... ❯ Part One- The Unexpected ( Chapter 1 )

"I can't believe I'm going to be late!" Esthenia exclaimed as she ran for the door. Her short golden red hair was still slightly damp from her shower. Apparently she didn't have much time to blow-dry it. Her green eyes looked panicked. She thrust it open, then pausing for a moment before stepping out. She then turned to her friend who stood there like a coat rack, holding out her forgotten apron. "Thanks!" she exclaimed while taking it from him and bolting out the door.

Pagasis just chuckled. He was used to this, Esthenia forgetting many things such as setting her alarm clock. He'd lived with her for quite some time now, and was able to read her like a book by now. He brushed his blue bangs from his eyes and sighed. His day off, now what?

"What's up?" He asked Terrin as he climbed out the window onto the fire escape.

Terrin, who worked as a computer graphic artist, also had the day off. Pagasis knew he'd be out there. The view wasn't the greatest, a back ally with a bunch of trash cans and dingy neighboring buildings, but it was a moment of humor for the both of them.

The end of the ally gave them both a clear view of an old Zephyr gas station underneath an overpass and a huge billboard sign. And without fail, there'd always be a group of pigeons sitting right on the structure holding it up.

Pagasis leaned over the medal railing next to Terrin.

"So," he grinned. "What's today's total?"

"Only two so far." Terrin replied.

"I didn't miss much then?"

"Nope."

"What are you ass holes doing?"

"Hey Dracos." Terrin said, not even looking at the dragon who'd just walked out Pagasis' window. He already knew who it was by his tired voice and his greeting.

"Woa!" Pagasis smirked. "It's alive!"

"It came from the deep!" Dracos said in a devilish tone, walking toward them like a swamp monster. He was always like this when he was awake. He and his room mate worked the night shift at an arcade that ran until six in the morning, then opened up again at eight. So it was a rare moment for him to be up and about during the day time.

"If the shoe fits…" Pagasis said.

"I don't wear shoes jack-ass."

"Drac-ass…"

"Kunt-bubble."

"Puss infected pussy pimple."

"Crab infested twat waffle!"

"Hey, look!" Terrin broke up the insult war and pointed at the gas station.

Pagasis and Dracos glanced down to see an old man leaning right against the pole that held up the billboard sign. He was eating a sub he'd just purchased.

"Dumb bastard." Dracos said. "He's going to get creamed!"

They waited a moment, then BAM! The guys head was covered. He dropped his sandwich in disgust and started shouting at the cooing birds.

All three boys doubled over laughing. Pagasis had to hold the railing to keep himself from falling off. The memories he'd gained from living there were some of the greatest he'd achieved in his life. It was enough to make up for his whole lifetime.

"You guys are awesome…" was all he could say.

"Stop right there!!" Umie yelled, holding out her gun.

A man with a ski mask and a sack full of stolen goods, dropped the bag, and held up his hands.

"You got me lady!" he said irritably. "Just don't shoot."

"You'd rather have me shoot you then kick you in the nuts!" she yelled. "Now keep your hands up!" She then spoke into her radio. "Officer 666 reporting that the thief has been captured and is calling for back-up."

"That's a 10-4 666." Replied the radio. "Hang on."

Umie would have arrested him, but she didn't have a car to stuff him into. Instead, she drove a motorcycle. She was really just a traffic cop, but when the opportunity to bust some bad guys came along, she was on it. She enjoyed her work.

No more than five minutes, a squad car pulled up and a sheriff climbed out. He was a muscular griffin with short blonde hair. He smiled at Umie as he walked up to her.

"Nice work." he said. "I'll take care of him."

Umie nodded, lowering her weapon.

The sheriff pinned down the thief and cuffed him. He then led him to the car. As they passed, the criminal looked at Umie with cold eyes.

"I won't forget this!" he said. "They'll come looking for me and when they know… they'll kill you!"

Umie, getting these threats all the time, just flicked her long brown and black hair and gave him the finger.

"Aren't you a bit afraid?" Mona asked when Umie stopped in for lunch.

"No…" Umie said. "They say that all the time. It's just a coward's famous last words before they're someone's ass bitch in prison."

Mona just laughed. She was the bar tender at the Kicking Donkey, and also the land lord of the apartment where Umie and her friends lived. She was a Dragonwolf in her thirties. The cool part about her was her eyes. One was blue, and the other was red. She enjoyed hearing the stories Umie told her every day when she came in to order lunch.

"I bet Tsuniker wouldn't mind that…" Esthenia said, appearing at Mona's side.

Umie just laughed.

"No…" she shook her head, trying to keep her mind off sick thoughts. She still found it amusing though. Her smile proved it.

"Damn…" Esthenia hissed when a group of bikers walked in. "Back to work…"

Esthenia worked there as well. She didn't get paid directly. Instead, she didn't have to pay her and Pagasis' rent, and she got to keep the tips, and she got those pretty good.

"Hey there!"

Umie froze when the voice of Terrin appeared from behind her.

"Hey guys." Esthenia said, walking past them with a pitcher of coffee for the other customers. "Here for lunch as well?"

"Yeah." Pagasis replied. "We had nothing else to do so we decided to see how you guys were doing."

"He's just fuck'in hungry." Dracos teased.

"Look who else is here." Umie winced when Terrin appeared on the stool next to her. "What's up?"

"Nothing…" she said, not looking at him.

Terrin was used to this, so it didn't bug him too much. The two used to like each other, but agreed on being just friends.

"Quiet as usual." Pagasis appeared on her other side.

She winced a little again. She didn't like being boxed in, especially by men, but for some reason, Pagasis didn't bother her so much.

They placed their orders. They sat on the stools and talked to one another while waiting. Pagasis and Dracos even started another name war that resulted in applause from the bikers that were sitting in the booths across the room.

"Where's the ass-hole?" Esthenia asked Dracos while handing him his order.

"He's probably asleep." Dracos replied.

"Sheesh… Doesn't that slacker ever see sunlight?"

"Probably not…" Terrin said while taking a bite of his sandwich.

Pagasis just smiled at her. He could read her like a book…

"What are you looking at?" she finally asked him.

"Nothing…" he diverted his attention to his fries.

"He's staring at your boobs." Terrin smirked.

"And you weren't?" Umie elbowed him.

"So?"

"Esthenia," Mona said while peering out the kitchen door. "Don't you have that hair appointment at 1:00?"

Esthenia looked at the clock, which read 12:56.

"Shit!!" she ran into the kitchen really fast, then ran back out. "I'll be back in an hour!" she disappeared out the door.

"Damn…" Dracos said, shaking his head. "That girl would forget anything even if she wrote it on her head."

"Tried that…" Pagasis said while putting anther fry in his mouth. "She forgot it was there and washed it off in the shower."

"Sorry I'm late!" Esthenia exclaimed as she entered the small hair studio.

Mupo looked up from her magazine. Her face lit up with a smile and her long black ears rose.

"It's about time." she said. "My next appointment is in fifteen minutes."

"I know." Esthenia sat down in the rotating chair in front of the mirror. "I almost forgot about it."

"I swear…" Mupo said, reaching for her scissors. "You have a man's memory."

"Does Sheirow forget a lot of things?"

"Sometimes." Mupo giggled.

"Pagasis doesn't forget so much…" Esthenia sighed. "Neither does Dracos or Tsuniker…"

"What about Terrin?"

Esthenia shrugged. Mupo had a point there. She knew that Terrin had a terrible time with remembering where he put things.

"And what about Torrik?"

"What about him?"

"Well, he forgets a lot of things too."

"So."

"Are you okay?" Mupo asked, noticing that Esthenia had grown quiet.

"I'm fine." Esthenia said reassuringly. She knew enough not to make Mupo worry about her. She had enough of her own life to worry about.

"So you just want a trim then?"

"Yup…" Esthenia said.

"Oh, and could you remove your apron so I could put this poncho on you?"

Esthenia's face went scarlet. She'd forgotten to take off her apron before leaving work, and had ran down the street with it on for all to see. Not to mention that it had a huge ketchup stain on the front that oddly looked like blood.

"I'm going to be known as the butcher lady now…" she whimpered as she slid it off.

"So, what kind of guy does she like?" Dracos leaned in.

Pagasis' face went scarlet. He pretended not to wince as both guys leaned in on him, waiting for his answer.

"This isn't really a question for me to answer…" Pagasis finally said.

"Come on." Terrin said. "You've known her for half your life, you must know something."

"Yeah, and the fact that you still have all remaining parts of your body…"

"Listen, she's just… hard to get." Pagasis said flatly.

"I know that one…" Dracos sighed. "I think I tried asking her out in high school… She wouldn't have any of it…"

"Has she ever dated anyone before?" Terrin asked.

Pagasis was silent.

"Damn…" Dracos sighed, under the assumption that Pagasis' answer was none. "You have to be a frick'in god to get her… Jesus!" He snorted his Mountain Dew and turned to the person who appeared next to him. "Don't frick'in sneak up on me like that!"

Torrik just stared at him. He'd been standing there for quite some time. He wondered when Dracos would finally notice.

"So it does have legs." Pagasis grinned as Torrik took a seat on the stool next to Dracos.

"Unfortunately…" Torrik sighed. As usual, he had a very calm expression. He looked pretty tired.

"Don't you agree that Esthenia's hot?" Dracos blurted out.

Pagasis snorted in his water.

Torrik just stared at them for a moment.

"Where is she?" Mona walked out from the kitchen. She looked at the guys who immediately grew quiet. "Hmm? Where'd Umie go?"

"Back to work." Pagasis replied.

"Oh, you didn't see Esthenia by any chance did you? She was supposed to be back ten minutes ago."

All boys shook their heads.

"Sorry!!"

At that moment, Esthenia came running in. She looked pretty warn out.

"I'm so sorry…" She said, not really looking at anyone. She was paying too much attention to her apron, which she was trying to tie around her back. "When I was done and was just a block away from here, I realized I'd forgotten my apron at the shop and…" She paused when she finally looked up and saw that all them were staring at her. Her face flushed.

"Don't worry about it." Mona said, breaking the silence. "No customers came yet. Just chill out for a moment."

Esthenia looked around. For some reason, she didn't feel too comfortable in a crowded room. "I think I'll just go in the back and wash my hands first…" she said, heading for the kitchen.

"That girl is something…" Mona said, shaking her head.

Pagasis nodded. He then noticed that the rest of the guy's faces were scarlet. All except for Torrik's.

Tsuniker stood on the street corner. He wondered if the cars going by thought that he was some kind of prostitute, and wondered if they'd actually pick him up. Even though he'd normally except it, not today, he was waiting for Sheirow, who was supposed to be there five minutes ago. Tsuniker looked at his watch. He then started pacing back and fourth.

Suddenly, there was a screech of tires. Before Tsuni knew it, a huge van landed right in front of him, scaring the crap out of him and making him back up hard into a trash can. A huge ally cat yowled as it hopped out an ran away.

The van, without a single dent or scratch in it, opened up and Sheirow stepped out. He had a rather dazed look about him and a trickle of blood was running down his head.

"Hey Tsuni." He said in high spirits. "Sorry it took me so long. I forgot that a `men at work' sign meant that there were actually men working."

Tsuniker shook his head. He then spotted Sheirow's injury.

"Oh my god!" he exclaimed, pointing at it. "Your head is gushing blood!"

Sheirow put his hand on it a little. It seemed as though he just finally felt the pain.

"That's not good is it?" he asked with a smile. He then shrugged. "I'll have my wife kiss it better when I get home."

Tsuniker shook his head.

"Oh, by the way," Sheirow said, pointing at the van behind him. "I picked up Zera too."

"Is she alive?"

"Yeah." Zera stepped out. She looked fine except her spotted tail was very puffed up and her brown hair was kinked in several directions. She looked pretty shaken. "I'm okay…"

"Good." Sheirow said with a lot of enthusiasm. "Now let's go."

Tsuniker groaned as he climbed into the van as if it were his grave.

"Hang on!" Sheirow smiled as he slammed the gas petal. The van took off with squealing tires and sped down the street.

"Your memory's been terrible lately." Pagasis said as he and Esthenia stepped into their apartment room.

"I know…" Esthenia sighed as she took off her apron and hung it on a hook on the door. "The other day I almost forgot how to work the fry cooker…" She heavily sighed and sank into the white leather couch.

Pagasis sat down next to her.

"I remember this computer I had to fix with the same problem…" he said thoughtfully.

"What do I look like, a robot?!"

"No, no." Pagasis smiled. "Well… I looked at it, and found out the problem."

"What was it?"

"It had too much data on it." he said. "It had so much inside it that it started to forget all the previous things in place of the useless newer things."

Esthenia was silent for a moment. She thought about avoiding his glance, but didn't. She had always fallen for those blue eyes.

"How did you fix it?"

"Well…" Pagasis said with a shrug. "I re-installed the program because by that time it was too bad to repair."

"Are you saying that I'm doomed?"

"No." Pagasis laughed. "I'm just saying that you should clean out your mind. Your overflowing it."

"I suppose you want me to tell you what's been on my mind." Esthenia said in a down tone.

"That would be helpful." he said. He placed his hand over her shoulder.

Esthenia leaned on him. She felt comfortable and safe. She'd always felt this way when she was close to him.

"Do you think I'll ever love anyone?"

Pagasis smiled again. He had a feeling it would be about such a subject if it was enough to bother her so much.

"That depends." he said. "has anyone learned the secret yet?"

"Only you…" Esthenia said. "I doubt anyone will either…"

"Do you have any hunches on who might?"

Esthenia's face went scarlet.

"You mean a crush?"

Pagasis nodded.

"I- don't know."

Pagasis didn't ask any more. He got a little out, but he didn't want to push it. Esthenia didn't have the patience for such questions. Instead, he lightly stroked her head. He chuckled a little when he heard a soft purring. After a while he looked down and saw that she'd fallen asleep.

"Stop!" Terrin exclaimed over laughs. He attempted feebly to block himself.

Umie smiled and poked him on the side again.

"This is fun!"

"This is fun to watch…" Dracos sighed, leaning on the counter. He, Torrik and Terrin were still at the bar talking to Mona after Esthenia and Pagasis left. They were later joined by Umie once again who had just gotten off duty.

Mona was wiping off the counter with a rag. She paused for a moment when she got to Torrik, who had fallen asleep and had his head resting on the counter. All you could see was his hair. After a moment of thinking whether or not to wake him up or just go around him, she improvised and lightly lifted his head and scrubbed the counter underneath, then set it black down like a fragile table piece. She shook her head when he still hadn't woken up.

Suddenly, there was the sound of screeching tires, terrified cats, yelling people and a police siren. Everyone stared out the windows, except for Torrik, who was remarkably still asleep. All they could see was a dark cloud of smoke.

Then, out of the darkness, the door opened and Zera, Tsuniker, and Sheirow, who's head was bleeding once more, had walked in. Both Zera and Tsuniker looked like they'd just gotten of some kind of thrilling amusement park ride. Then a second later, were followed by a small black cat with yellow eyes.

"Hello!" Sheirow waved.

Terrin and Umie just stared at them, Dracos was giving them the strangest look with his head tilted to the side, and Torrik might have snorted at them. Mona, however, didn't even look up.

"Doesn't surprise me…" she dully said, breaking the silence once again.

"Sheirow…" Umie said as he sat down. She was pointing at his head. "You're bleeding!"

Sheirow just smiled at her.

"I know… It's okay, I can't really feel it anyway."

"Uh…"

"Never… never do that again…" Zera gasped when she sank into the stool on Dracos' other side.

"How was I supposed to know that the bridge wouldn't hold?" Sheirow shrugged.

"By reading the sign that said `danger, bridge out!"

"Hey Trouble…" Terrin said as he bent down and picked up the black cat who was rubbing herself on his leg. She started to purr in his arms. "How did you get here?"

"She flagged us down…" Tsuniker said, taking a seat next to Zera.

"She wha-?"

Tsuniker did an impersonation of the cat standing on a street corner and holding out her thumb.

"I wish I could train Torrik to do that…" Dracos said after a moment of silence.

The cat climbed up on Terrin's shoulder and remained there for quite some time.

They all sat down once more. Since there wasn't too much business going on there, they decided to keep Mona company.

"Today seems to be going by slowly…" Dracos yawned.

"No shit." Terrin grinned. "You're never usually awake long enough for it to be slow."

"Meow!"

"Someone should wake him up." Zera said, pointing at Torrik, who was still fast asleep. "His neck's going to stay that way."

"I'm surprised it hasn't." Sheirow laughed. "I could imaging him having to stare at the floor for the rest of his life."

Everyone started laughing. Suddenly, one of Torrik's ears twitched.

Terrin suddenly had a lovely idea. Under the assumption that Torrik was mostly awake by now, he slowly creeped up behind him. He was about to poke his sides and scare the crap out of him when without warning, he was on the floor. Torrik's tail had tripped him. The cat had jumped in the nick of time and landed on a stool.

"Sorry…" Torrik said from under his hair. "It thought you were going to grab my ass…"

"Glad I didn't try it…" Tsuni whispered.

"Torrik, you ass-hole!" Dracos said. "How long have you been awake for?"

"Not too long…" he said as he lifted himself up. He then looked at Terrin, who was being helped up by Zera. Umie just stood back and laughed. "Sorry dude, tail has a mind of it's own…"

"I've heard that one before." Terrin sighed.

"I suppose I'll get out of here…" Torrik said as he got off his stool. His neck was indeed bent downward a bit. "Apparently, I've been the center of attention… I don't want to hog all the glory." He then lifted his large hands to his head and quickly turned it sideways, making it crack really loud. Everybody flinched to the sound. His neck was straightened anyway.

"Hey, if you bump into anyone we know on the way," Terrin teased. "Tell them we said hi!"

"I'll see you in a while." Esthenia said, slipping her rollerblades on.

"Same here." Pagasis said. He had passed Esthenia sitting on the bench next to the entrance of the apartment building. He was on his way to the gas station to get something to drink. "Oh, and… I don't want to be like your mother or anything, but please try to make it back by dark… I recently heard that there were street gangs on this side of the city."

"I will…" Esthenia sighed, standing up. She didn't want to sound annoyed. He was only protecting her. "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

"Good." Pagasis nodded. He then turned, and he and Esthenia went their separate ways.

Pushing her legs forcefully, Esthenia accelerated down the street. She loved the speed and the wind in her hair. It was one of her favorite things to do, especially in the evening, when it was cool and quiet. The sky was orange, her favorite color.

She hopped the curb onto the sidewalk and jumped a bench. Looking for some more action, she decided to go to the pier, which was a few blocks away. Doing another trick, she rounded the corner, them BAM, she was on her back. Her head hitting the pavement, nearly knocking her out.

"Oww…"

"I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, sitting up. She felt a little dizzy, but ignored it. "I should have watched where I was going!"

She and Torrik stared at each other for a moment. Immediately, her cheeks turned red. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…" Torrik groaned. He was on his hands and knees. He appeared to have landed that way. "Oh… the others say hi by the way."

"Eh?"

He grinned a little, looking directly at her.

"The others told me that if I ran into anyone they knew, to tell them they said hi."

Esthenia giggled. She then gasped, realizing that Torrik's eyes looked somewhat different.

"Oh my gosh…" she gasped. Pointing at his left eye. "Your eye… It's blue!"

Torrik didn't look at all surprised. Though he did look startled for a brief second. His eye was indeed blue.

"Secret's out I guess…" he sighed. He then looked around on the ground.

"What are you looking for?" Esthenia asked curiously.

"My contact…" he said.

"You wear contacts?"

Torrik nodded. He tried to keep his cool, but his cheeks were flushed with embarrassment.

Not wanting to admit to helping him, she silently looked around. "Ah," she picked up a tiny, clear round lens with the tips of her claws. "Is this it?"

"Yeah." Torrik said. Esthenia dropped it into his hand. He placed it back in and blinked hard. Both his eyes were brown once more. "Better… Thank you."

Esthenia couldn't think of anything to say to this. She then started to notice the throbbing pain on the back of her head. She let out a hiss and pressed her hand on it to suppress the pain.

"Um… We should get you some ice for that."

"Don't be silly…" Esthenia said. Her face turning red. "I'm fine."

"No you're not." Torrik pointed. "Your eyes are watering."

"I said-"

"Come on." Torrik had grabbed her hand and lifted her to her feet before she could finish her sentence.

Esthenia gasped. She had no idea how forceful he could be. In a way, she didn't mind giving in to it. She still didn't like being treated like a damsel in distress though.

Both of them were silent most of the way back. They were both walking, Esthenia had taken her rollerblades off and was carrying them. She made no effort to start a conversation. She was still deep in thought about him, wondering why he was being so nice. Most of their past meetings were brief and normally full of insults. Was it because he was around the others?

"You're quiet." he finally said.

She jumped at the sudden sound. It had been so quiet that his voice had startled her.

"Sorry." she said. "I guess I just can't think of anything to say…"

"I see your point." he said.

And nothing else was said. It wasn't too long a walk back to the apartment, but by the time they made it to the door, the sky was a dark shade of purple. The street lamps had come on, and there were moths bussing around, hitting themselves hard against them, unable to resist the light.

Torrik opened the door and allowed Esthenia to go in before him.

She didn't hesitate, but wished he wasn't being so nice. For some reason, that was bothering her the most.

They decided to go to he and Dracos' room. They wouldn't have except for the fact that Esthenia didn't have any ice in her and Pagasis' room, and Torrik insisted that she got something for her head. Esthenia felt very uncomfortable about this, but there was another feeling. Excitement maybe?

Esthenia seated herself on the couch. She looked around while Torrik disappeared into the kitchen. She looked around, remembering the last time she'd been there. She was helping Dracos clean his room. That was when she found the picture. The one that proved that they all knew each other back in high school.

"Here you go." Torrik said, handing her a ice pack.

"Thank you." she said, taking it and putting it on the goose egg that appeared on the back of her head. It stung a little, but eased the pain.

Torrik sat down next to her. This made her want to stand back up, but hesitated. She was eager to see what was going to happen now.

Torrik stared ahead. In front of them was the TV set and the tangle of wires that was connected to game consoles and the stereo. He seemed to be deep in thought.

Esthenia wasn't sure what to make of this. She was trying to keep a clean mind at what Torrik might of been thinking about. She then reverted to her thoughts back in the ally way when he'd grabbed her hand. She noticed how large his were. For some reason, she'd always liked big hands. She started thinking about Terrin's too. They were pretty large as well.

"Well," he finally said, looking at her, giving her the chills. "I have about two hours before I have to go to work. Have you ever played Halo before?"

Esthenia wanted to burst out laughing. Supposing that she should keep her mind out of the gutter and stop assuming things, she nodded with a smile.

"I have." she said. "Terrin makes me play it a lot. It's fun."

"Good." he said, standing up and turning every thing on. He then turned to her with a slight grin. "And just so you know, I'll kick your ass at this."

"We'll see." she said, returning the grin.

Pagasis walked down the dark ally way. Listening to the crickets chirping and the sound of his own footsteps, the was glad that there wasn't complete silence. He somewhat felt hypocritical, walking the streets at night like he instructed Esthenia not to do. It made sense anyway, he was worried more for her safety more than his own.

Instead of walking to the Zephyr gas station just a block away from the apartment, he decided to lengthen his walk and went to the EZ-Mart about eight blocks away. There he purchased a bottle of Vanilla Coke. Then on the way back, an apple from a street vender. Life was good right now.

Pagasis normally didn't like being alone, but sometimes, he felt glad to be away from the noise for a while. Sometimes, he figured that his ears picked up a lot more sounds than the other's did, and this time, he was glad of that thought. In the distance, he could hear the sound of foot falls and a car engine running.

He didn't want to snoop, so when he passed the ally where the people were, he kept right on walking, but when he heard the name of one of this friends, he froze.

"That bitch is going to pay…" someone was saying. "We're doing this tonight. No witnesses."

"Are you sure you don't want me to walk you back?" Terrin asked for the third time.

"I'm okay." Umie said. The others had started a pool game but she could hardly keep her eyes open. It was getting late, and she needed to go get some sleep. "It's just down the street. I'm sure I'll live."

"Don't worry." Tsuniker called from the pool table. "She'll be fine. Umie's a tough girl. Aren't you?"

Umie nodded.

"Fine." Terrin sighed. He was still unsure.

"I'll see you around." she said as she gave Terrin a hug.

Terrin held her tight. They might have agreed to being just friends, but he still didn't want to let her go just yet.

They parted and Umie walked out the door and headed down the street.

The past few weeks were starting to get a hold of her. Ever since her talk with Terrin, she started to feel a lot closer to him. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. It made her feel glad that she didn't have to worry about him groping her or anything. She knew that Terrin wasn't that type of person. He didn't like the thought of beneficial friends. The thought didn't bother her too much however. She wasn't looking forward to a relationship or anything, so maybe it wasn't such a bad thing.

Suddenly, a man appeared out of the darkness and ran right past her into a dark ally. He was wearing all black, and had a large bag over his shoulder. From somewhere else, there was somebody yelling; "Stop thief!" To Umie, that meant only one thing.

"Stop!" she commanded, chasing after him. With her police training, she was quick, and was able to catch up to him in no time.

They ran a few blocks down to an ally with a dead end. A dim light was lit over head, making it easier for Umie to grab the man, and slam him against the wall. She held him tightly by pinning his arms behind him and her knee on his back.

"Let me go!" he grunted. His face was hidden beneath a mask.

"In your dreams." she said, reaching for the pair of hand cuffs she always carried while off duty. "You're under arrest for the felony of theft."

"Not today he isn't."

Umie glanced and looked over her shoulder. There where a group of men standing behind her.

They were all relatively large and had numerous tattoos and piercings. All of them dressed in black like the guy she had caught. The thing that caught her attention the most, was that some of them had chains and long medal pipes.

The guy she had against the wall started to chuckle.

"You fell right into it…"

A spike of fear and panic rushed through her. She had fallen into a trap, and wasn't sure if she'd get out alive. In her line of work, she'd been in situations like this before, but she was unable to request for backup, and she was clearly out numbered. What made it worse, she didn't have her gun.

"Not so tough now, are we?" one of the men asked. He was a brutish tiger with a deep voice who was clearly their leader. "You're going to regret putting Jimmy in the slammer…"

The rest of them chuckled tauntingly. It made Umie feel sick with fear. The way they were all looking at her made her feel like they were ripping off her clothes with their eyes.

"So, what should we do to her?" of them asked in the same cruel way.

"I think we should tie her up and beat her."

"I wanna feel those boobies!"

"Fuck that, I wanna feel the rest of that work!"

"Leave her alone!!"

Umie gasped, for that moment, someone was standing in front of her, holding their arms out and blocking her from the evil men's stripping gazes.

"Pa-?"

Pagasis glanced at her over his shoulder.

"It's okay, I'll try to hold them off. Get out of here while you can!"

Umie was froze. She was in so much shock that she couldn't feel anything. She wanted to run, but she felt as if her legs were made of rubber. They wouldn't go anywhere. She'd never seen Pagasis angry. It was kind of scary.

"You, get out of the way!" the men were shouting to him.

"This is none of your concern!"

"Move it asshole!"

"Do you think you can take all of us on?"

"I'll try!" Pagasis said confidently. "But unfortunately for you, it won't be long before the cops arrive." He looked from one fearful face to the next. "Yeah, that's right!"

"Let's kick the crap out of him then go!" one of the men suggested.

"Yeah!"

"It was worth a try…" Umie heard Pagasis mumble. She had a feeling that he'd lied about calling the police.

"Let's get him!"

They charged mercilessly.

Umie, in complete horror, slid down the wall. Her legs couldn't support her any longer as she watched as Pagasis did his best to fight off each of the men.

They seemed to come at him one at a time. The rest stood in a circle and cheered their own man on.

One of them swung the chain for his head, but Pagasis ducked down and then kicked the guy right in the stomach with his hoof. The man grunted then feel over outside the circle, and another replaced him.

This guy had a little more luck. He swung his pipe right into Pagasis' shoulder.

Pagasis let out a painful cry as he almost fell to his knees in pain. He was then hit with the pipe once more. Right on the back.

Umie let out a startled cry when he fell over.

The men started to cheer.

The guy with the pipe held it up like some kind of trophy.

"Finish him off!"

The man didn't have a chance, because at that moment, Pagasis thrust out his leg, and hit the guy right in the shin. There was a terrible, sickening crack as the man fell over and started screaming in agony over his broken limb.

Pagasis stood back up, though with a lot of effort. He tried to maintain his balance, but the blow he'd taken in the back was forceful enough to weaken him immensely.

Some of the men looked apprehensive, but the tiger stepped forward. He didn't look one bit afraid. He didn't carry any weapon, but he had wicked clawed hands. With them, he struck Pagasis across the face.

Pagasis stumbled backward and nearly fell again, but managed to stay on both feet. There was a cut across his cheek that began to heavily bleed.

"You can fight me all you want." He said, managing to smile. "But don't you think it's a little too much when you start `bitch slapping' people?"

The tiger let out a growl and swung at him again.

Pagasis dodged the blow, and landed a punch right across the guy's face.

It had been so forceful, that the tiger was knocked backward into the other men.

"I've had enough of this." Pagasis said. "Let's stop this now before somebody gets killed!"

"You bastard!" the Tiger growled as he jerked himself away from the helping hands of his comrades. "I'll kill you anyway!"

Umie was in complete shock as they began fighting again. She was completely paralyzed with fright. The way Pagasis looked when he was angry scared her enough, but the tone of his voice was ten times that. Her cheeks and eyes started to burn when tears started rolling down them. This was too much for her.

With one last effort, Pagasis kicked the tiger right in the face. His body, cut and bruised, refused to give him anymore energy. He fell right there, just beside the tiger, who was clearly knocked out.

The other men were in silence for a moment. Some of them looked completely horrified that their leader was beaten. Finally, two of them came and picked him up. Then with one last look at Umie, they fled into the shadows.

Umie, feeling completely worthless, didn't move. She sat there, under the light, and stared at the body of Pagasis, who like herself, wasn't moving at all.

"I can't believe this happened…"

"I know…"

There were voices. Coming from somewhere in the dark.

"Who-?"

"When do you think he'll wake up?"

"The doctor guessed another hour or so… That is if he wants to."

Pagasis opened his eyes. There was a dim light coming from somewhere. It was bright enough to make him squint. It took him a moment to realize that he was lying in a bed. Where, he wasn't sure. All he knew was that someone had said the word doctor. Was he in the hospital?

"Look!" someone exclaimed. "He's awake!"

"How are you feeling?" came the soft sound of Mupo's voice.

"I've felt better…" Pagasis groaned, realizing that it hurt to talk. His whole chest and back hurt. He could feel it with every breath he took.

"You are one lucky bastard…" Dracos said.

"Whe… Where's Umie?" Pagasis found himself asking. The question had been dwelling deep in his mind. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine." Sheirow said, though his tan face was unusually pale. "She's sleeping in a room just down the hall. She was exhausted."

Pagasis sighed with relief.

"At least she's safe…"

"WHERE IS HE!?"

Esthenia barged in the room, at her heels was Torrik. She looked completely frantic and her face was ghostly white. She had been at Torrik's apartment when they received the call and hurried as soon as they could.

"I'm fine…" Pagasis said, slowly raising his hand a little.

Esthenia walked up to his bed. Her eyes were red like she'd been crying, but Pagasis knew all too well that she wasn't.

"How did this happen?" was all she could ask.

Pagasis sighed and shrugged.

"You know… I can't really remember right now…" he replied, though that was only half the truth. He didn't want to remember. Looking around at everyone, he noticed that Terrin wasn't around. "Where's Terrin?"

Everyone exchanged uncomfortable looks.

"Well…" Zera finally said. "He's with Umie. You know, just being there."

Pagasis went deep into thought for a moment.

"Excuse me…"

A doctor had appeared carrying a clip board. He was a tall dog in a pair of blue scrubs.

Everyone parted and let him through. All except for Esthenia anyway, who remained by Pagasis, and nobody was going to tell her otherwise.

"Well… Mr. Pagasis…" the doctor said, examining his clip board. "I see you've regained conciseness. You're lucky to be alive."

Pagasis just smiled.

"But, we ran through a couple tests concerning some of your injuries." he then turned to everyone else. "I'm afraid you'll have to leave. If he wishes to tell you on his own time, that's his choice."

With a disappointed murmur, they left.

"Be strong Pagasis!" Sheirow called over his shoulder.

Esthenia was hesitant to leave. She didn't want to, but when she stood up, the doctor held out his hand.

"Hold on young lady!" the doctor said, making her stop. "You stay here."

"Why does he have to do this…" Dracos said solemnly in the hallway outside the room. "He always has to be the hero."

Everyone else was silent.

"Why does Esthenia get to stay with him?" Mupo asked. She was tucked under Sheirow's arm.

"Isn't it obvious?" Tsuniker said. "She is his room mate. I suppose that counts as a spouse."

"Or maybe he wanted her to be with him." Torrik said quietly. He was leaning against the far wall. His face was rather pale. "You forget… Those two are inseparable. Esthenia wouldn't have wanted to leave. She'll remain by his bed until he leaves it."

Everyone was silent once more. Nobody could think of anything to say to that. They figured that Torrik had been right.

At that moment, the door opened and Esthenia walked out. Her face was ghostly white. She appeared to be blinded, for her eyes were closed tightly as if she were about to start crying at any moment. Esthenia couldn't cry. Not without paying for it. Instead, she grabbed the first thing she could reach and completely broke down.

Completely shocked, the group watched as their friend cried, the first time they'd ever seen her do so.

Torrik just looked down at her. He didn't know quite what to make of this, surprised that she had picked him for her shoulder to cry upon. Eventually, he ignored everyone else's stares and wrapped his arms around her.

After that long moment, Esthenia let him go. Her eyes were red from crying.

"I'm sorry…" she hiccuped. "I- I have to find Terrin. Does anyone know where he is?"

"I do." Dracos said. "I'll take you to him."

Esthenia nodded. With one last look at Torrik, she followed Dracos down the hallway until he stopped in front of a door.

"He's in here." he said. "Will you be okay?"

"Yes." Esthenia nodded. "Thank you."

Dracos wanted to give her a reassuring hug, but thought the better of it. He was surprised when Esthenia gave him one instead.

When they parted, Esthenia turned to the door and opened it to view a dimly lit room a lot like the one that Pagasis was in.

Terrin, who'd been sitting in a chair with his face in his hands, looked up at her as she entered the room.

"Hey." he said solemnly.

"Hey yourself." Esthenia said. She then looked at the person lying in the bed. "How is she."

"She's fine. Just exhausted." Terrin said. "How's Pagasis?"

Esthenia gulped.

"He told me to come get you." she said. "He wants to talk to you alone."

Pagasis smiled when Terrin entered his room.

Terrin paused when he saw the cuts on Pagasis face.

"I'm fine." Pagasis said. "Have a seat."

Terrin did as he was told and found a chair and sat in it.

"Esthenia said you wanted to talk to me."

"That's right." Pagasis said. "First of all, how's Umie doing?"

"She's fine." Terrin said, knowing that this was the second time someone had asked him that.

"Good." Pagasis sighed. "I was pretty worried for a while. How did she end up here anyway? I have a feeling I haven't heard the whole story."

"Well…" Terrin began. His voice was trembling a little. "She came to the bar, knowing it was the closest place to find help. She was freaking out, telling us what happened, then collapsed right there. At first, we just thought that she was in shock until we went to look for you."

"And?"

"You were already there." Terrin said heavily. "Right outside the door. Umie must have not of wanted you to stay there all alone… So she carried you the whole way back…"

Pagasis gasped. No wonder she was in such a state.

"Well… At least she's all right." was all he could say.

"How did you know it was going to happen?" Terrin asked him.

"I heard the men talking about it on my way back home." Pagasis replied. "They had mentioned her name and were saying something about her putting their friend in jail… They were saying that she was about to leave the bar alone… I donno, someone must have been stalking her and giving them information. Anyway, I followed them."

"Damn…" Terrin hissed through clenched teeth.

Pagasis examined him for a moment.

"You're blaming yourself for this…" he said. "Aren't you?"

"I should have went with her." Terrin said. "She said that she was fine by herself… And I listened to her."

"It wasn't your fault."

"Yes it was!" Terrin's fists were now white from squeezing them so hard. "If I didn't listen to her, then neither of you would have been here. I would have…"

"So you think she's your responsibility?"

Terrin gasped.

"Of course not!" he exclaimed. "I just… I don't know. Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you seem to always protect her?" Terrin asked. It was a question that had been dwelling in the back of his mind for quite some time. He then paused for a moment when Pagasis didn't reply right away. "I'm sorry… That was a dumb question."

"That's not such a dumb question." Pagasis said with somewhat of a grin. "I care about her. I don't know what brought it on really… I guess she seemed to be in need of a friend… Just like Esthenia long ago…

"Speaking of Esthenia," he added. "Could you do me a favor?"

"What's that?"

"I'm going to be here for quite some time." Pagasis said. "Apparently, I have a crack in my spinal column, and I have to get pins in it. If the surgery doesn't go right… I won't be able to walk again."

Terrin gasped.

"What I want you to do for me," Pagasis said. "Is to watch over Esthenia for me. Keep an eye on her. She may seem to be okay, but with so many emotions bottled up inside her, she just might snap. I know she relies on me too much. That's why I want her to learn that I cannot always be around for her. I trust you Terrin."

Terrin swallowed a sob. Everything he'd heard that night was just too much for him.

"I'll do my best."