Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/ works/1073869. Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Major_Character_Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage Category: Gen, F/M, M/M, Other, F/F, Multi Fandom: Original_Work Relationship: Zantham_Shamil/_Liddia, Zantham_Shamil/Agoryon_Yonoce Character: Zantham_Shamil, Agoryon_Yonoce, Malcome, Gianni, Original_Characters, Original_Female_Character(s), Original_Male_Character(s), Liddia, Po, Blanc_Shamil, Asuka_Meguro, Kyou_Meguro, Aria_McKinnon, Sharice_McKinnon, Sam, Juan, Mikos, Ronaldo Additional Tags: Furry, Anthropomorphic, Drugs, Abuse, Original_Characters_-_Freeform, OC, Alcohol, Smoking, Prostitution, Racism, racism_against_anthropomorphs, Corruption, Dystopia, Rape/Non-con_Elements, PTSD, Panic_Attack, Threats, Murder, Slavery, fantasical_racism, Tokyo_-_Freeform, Texas, Mexico, London, Explicit_Language, Organized_Crime, Crimes_&_Criminals, Fugitives, Spies_&_Secret_Agents Stats: Published: 2013-12-07 Updated: 2013-12-16 Chapters: 8/? Words: 10197 ****** Lady Bugs Breath ****** by ParallelPenguins, PhynixCaskey Summary This is an original story of the abuse and love that a group of Furry characters come in contact with. This story will push many buttons, on drugs, abuse, rape, religion, and so much more. It is a roller coaster and is written for people to enjoy it. There is sex, drugs, death, and so much more. The story originated back in the early 2000's and is written by two women who grew up with these characters a part of there lives. We will update archive warnings as they happen, and tags as well. Each chapter will have a note about what to expect from the chapter so you can skip it if need be. Each chapter is written from one set of characters point of view. Notes This chapter has slavery, prostitution, rape, and drug mentions. ***** Desert Rose ***** Malcome wasn’t sure his opinion on what he was seeing today. Zantham, the white rabbit was busting his ass cleaning up the dance floor on his hands and knees washing off the dirt from the night before. Not saying anything to the young man Malcome continued to bring in the cases of alcohol for tonight’s opening in a few hours. The sounds from the stage were that of the band, and owner of the club, working away at setting up the band gear and tuning it up. He nodded to his boss as he moved past the rabbit. “You missed a spot.” He spoke softly to the boy scrubbing the floor. He was always nice to the second rate citizens that the furries were. He hated that term for the anthropomorphic people that lived on the planet with them. Malcome hated the fact that people could own them as slaves and do as they wished with them no one saw them as anymore then glorified pets. But these pets could walk and talk to people and they even had emotions and feelings and could fall in love, hurt and bleed. In fact most dogs have more rights than the anthro’s did. The laugh from the stage brought Malcome back to his surroundings and out of his contemplations of the Rabbit on the floor. Moving along his way Malcome went to get more alcohol for tonight smirking as the rabbit finished off washing the floor. Now he was running a dry cloth over the floor to make sure there was no water left for anyone, more so himself, to slip on tonight. “Good work!” Malcome spoke gently as he placed the boxes on the bar. Zantham skipped over to the larger man and proceeded to help him put the bottles n the shelf. Zantham did as he knew was expected of him as the servant to the owner of this establishment. “You don’t have to help me boy!” Malcome spoke softly to him as the music turned on behind them and the lights started up. They would be opening the doors any moment and the staff was starting to come into the bar now to help with the remainder of the set up. “I know!” Zantham spoke smiling to the larger man. Zantham’s own voice was sweet and angelic in sound. If Malcome hadn’t seen this slight man in nothing but his thong and see through floor length skirt, he would think this rabbit was a female, and not a male. The music was starting to turn loud and the house lights went down to have the special coloured lights turn on. His white fur glimmered under the lights and glowed Zantham’s pink chin length hair was messy and started to move along with every ear twitch, catching in the chains that were strung amongst his ears forcing them to go from being perky to weighed down a bit. A golden ring in his ears one for each year of his life, 22 all together now. His tribal cheek tattoo glowed an angelic blue under his left eye. The makeup on his eyes made the blue pop and gave Zantham a bad boy look. Malcome smiled at the rabbit as he turned on his heals his pink collar glittering as it caught the lights, the chain hanging off of it was looped around the rabbits shoulders keeping it from dragging on the floor and making a ruckus. The only sound the rabbit made as he moved was the jingle of his ankle bands. The tattooed wings on his back glowed with the same blue from his tribal tattoo under his eye. “Break a leg kid!” Malcome spoke as he put on his apron, and watched as the white and pink tipped cotton tail bounced out of sight to the back of the house while people started to step in to order drinks. The rabbit was the main entertainment later that night. He was the one that would get everyone dancing by taking the dance floor himself. Zantham smiled as she moved around the back of house watching as Liddia and the band got ready to take the stage in an hour or so. Bouncing around he continued to gather his glow sticks and watched as the members of the band use a cat girl as a sex toy. The poor girl cried as she was rapped from the men in the band. Liddia watched from the couch before grabbing the chain around Zantham’s neck. “your turn boy!” her voice dark and hard. This was what Zantham hated the most. Nodding he came to her and kneeled in front of her, the music was drowning out the sickening sounds that the cat made beside him as she was punished for not taking everything the men gave her. Zantham closed his eyes and proceeded to use his mouth, nose, and fingers to pleasure the one he was given to for safe keeping while here at the club. She really wasn’t his master, but his orders were to treat her as if she was the master of him. It didn’t take long for Liddia to scream as she came from the rabbit’s soft fur between her legs. She was rough with him after she felt good standing she slapped him hard across the face and sent him to wash up before they all had to take the stage. Zantham’s perk in his step was gone, he slowly walked away as he draped the chain over his shoulders again and went to the small room that was his to wash up and get his makeup fixed up. The band played there set and Zantham stood to the side of the stage and watched out to the crowd for his target. He was here for one reason really, and that was him. He smiled to himself as he watched the target walk into the bar once again, as he did almost every night. The Lady Bug’s Breath was not a kind location, they dealt with a lot of things here. Liddia has a few more of his kind in the back and if you found her after her band’s set she would set you up with her boys and girls, Zantham was the only safe one from that, but he had to service her, not a big issue he did what he had to do. If you talked to Malcome though he would sell some of the sweetest drugs one could want, not by choice mind you. Zantham knew there was something else about Malcome that no one else saw. Zantham smiled as the set was over and the music started up to the techno dance beats he was to dance to, cracking a few glow sticks Zantham walked out to the middle of the stage to see that Furries and Humans alike parted for him allowing his room to dance to the music, his glow sticks arcing in patterns around him. He was happiest when he was dancing. It was like he forgot who and what he was and would lose himself in the rhythm of the music around him. Every so often he would glance around him and smile at the man he was there to go after. The song soon changed from some unknown techno piece to that of Desert Rose, this was Zantham's favorite song. ***** Making Wishes in the Dark ***** Chapter Summary We meet Agoryon as he sneaks his way into the Lady Bug's Breath night club. Chapter Notes See the end of the chapter for notes There was a chill in the night air. People walking down the street turned their collars against the light breeze that was just cold enough to send a shiver down the spine. The music from the club thumped through the thick walls of the building and out into the street, reaching a crescendo every time the bouncer opened the door to let another patron in. There was a long line behind some velvet ropes and each patron in that line and every person in the bustling crowd going about their business on the street was bathed with the blinking pink neon light of the sign for Lady Bug's Breath, the latest big dance club in this area of Tokyo. It was a themed club, one part dance and rave, one part goth or emo rocker, one part Indy scene, and the rest was the kind of sleaze you find in a night club in an area like this in any city. A slight drizzle of rain began to patter to the street and the patrons in line began to grumble. When would the bouncer get up off his lazy duff and get this line moving a little more quickly? Agoryon Yonoce loved this kind of place. There were many like it in every city in every country all over this wasteland called Earth. You could drink your sorrows away, score your latest high, or pick up your next conquest in bed, and you could do it all under the cover of darkness and flashing neon lights with the comforting blanket of thumping base and anonymous crowds. This was where the masses came to disappear, where crime syndicates came to make seedy deals, where the roll of coins in a man's pocket could just as easily be his erection or his gun, where the girls were loose and easy and playing just as skillfully as the men. There were just as many normal human beings as there were anthropomorphs. There were tall skinny men, and short fat ones, long legged beauties, and girls trying too hard to be something they weren't. There were humans, and rabbits, and dogs, and cats, and birds, and all sorts of mixes. Agoryon couldn't get enough of this club, if only he could get in tonight. He took one look at the length of the line and changed his mind. Nope. He was not going to wait out in the cold and the rain for that damned long just to go inside to pick up a punter. Fuck that noise. He turned down the not-so-well- kept alley along side the building and made his way through the trash and puddles to the hidden VIP entrance. There were a few people hanging outside smoking. The bouncer at this entrance was much bigger then the one at the main entrance. Agoryon sized him up. Nope. Couldn't take him if his life depended on it. Instead Agoryon stepped up to a pretty lady wearing way too little for the cold and the rain, smoking a ridiculous smelling menthol, hands shaking. She was standing away from the other smokers and the bouncer, who to Agoryon's relief, was paying more attention to the crowd then him as they began to argue about some political issue he couldn't care less about. He leaned against the wall and flashed the girl his nicest, least conniving smile. "Trade you my jacket for one of your cigarettes." The girl was blond and almost a full foot shorter then him, thin as a rail as if she hadn't eaten in far too long. Her dress was red and satiny and it clung in all the right places and left little to the imagination. She looked up at Agoryon, a momentary flash of surprise on her face that quickly melted into a sincere smile. She reached into her tiny bag and pulled out a cigarette for him, her hands still shaking. She hadn't been expecting his lilting Irish accent to go with the face it came from. Agoryon was half bat anthropomorph. He had a light coat of very fine fur that was the same tan shade as his skin. He had a pushed up bat-like nose and perky over-large bat ears. His long hair was black-green and it clung to the fur on his cheeks in the rain. Despite the fact that his face was less then human, the girl still seemed interested. She was standing straighter now then she had been as he walked up to her and her chest stood out more. Maybe this was because, anthropomorph or not, Agoryon had a nice build. He worked hard on it too, wanting to keep his shoulders broad, his arms strong, and his abs "washboard" quality. He slipped off his jacket and slung it gently around the girl's shoulders. Agoryon didn't have bat wings, because he was only half anthropomorph. Instead he had webbing that ran along his torso and inner arms from hip to wrist on each side of his body, but the webbing was very flexible and he had it hidden under his smart shirt, buttoned up to his collar bone. The jacket he slung around the girl's shoulders as she lit the cigarette for him was black, as were his pants. The smart shirt was a bright, but not eye searing green. His tie was a deeper shade then his shirt and it was striped in a diagonal pattern. "You out here with these losers?" He leaned in and whispered in her ear. She smiled and shook her head. She didn't speak. She didn't look like she was from Tokyo. Did she speak Japanese? She must have if she understood him enough to give him the light. He shrugged and slipped his arm around her, pulling her close to his warmth. "Okay, well how about you're out here with me instead?" She shook her head again. "I have to get back inside." Her Japanese was impeccable. Okay, so she was from around here maybe. She dropped her cigarette and rubbed it out with the toe of her right shoe, Agoryon did the same. "Alright. Well can I get you a drink inside, at least to pay you back for the light? The use of my jacket outside isn't enough. These things are expensive." She smiled and nodded. Agoryon walked right in to the club through the VIP entrance with out paying the cover charge, and with out the bouncer really noticing him. Once inside Agoryon and the girl walked up to the bar. He took his jacket back as she shrugged it off. He gave the bar tender his order for Vodka and Orange, and then nodded for her to choose her drink. The drinks came fast. He took his and she leaned on the bar to sip from the straw in her fruity cocktail. As she looked down at her drink Agoryon slipped quietly and quickly away from her, disappearing into the crowd and making his way to the edge of the dance floor leaning against a pillar at the corner to watch the show as he waited for his punter to arrive at the agreed-upon time. Chapter End Notes Please don't be afraid to point out any typos. None of this is beta'd. :) ***** Help! ***** Chapter Summary A bit of abuse, and blood. Nothing much more! Zantham’s eyes glittered in the light as they were half closed during his dance again. Soon the music changed again and he smiled as he moved off of the dance floor with a few twirls, his tail twitching with how happy he was feeling at this time. But his job, he had to do it. He couldn’t hold off any more. His true boss was getting suspicious of him as this target was taking him so long to apprehend. Liddia grabbed his chain and pulled him to the backroom again before back handing the sweet face of the rabbit. His fur ruffled up and his nose twitched as a small stream of blood came from it. “You Fool!” She hollered at him in Japanese. “You didn’t do your job! Do you see them dancing?” She shook him hard by the collar around his neck causing his air to choke off. This woman was making the rabbit mad, he had more strength in him then his body showed but still he had to take this abuse from them. He was scared, after all they had his sister. “Sorry.” He whispered softly at his feet. His toes twitched as he studied the large feet he had. The four toes twitched as he studied them trying to ignore the pain in his throat from when she pulled on his collar. “GET OUT THERE!” She hollered through her teeth pulling off the plastic skirt from his hips roughly and slapping his ass to add a tinge of pink to his cheeks to entice people to buy from him. Picking up a tray and a smile Zantham tried hard to put a bounce into his step again to play the happy part of the Rabbit. Zantham sighed at yet another patron grabbing his fluffy stubby tail. “Beer sexy!” One called as he snapped the pink strap of his thong. Zantham moved on a took a few more orders and walked up to the bar to have Malcome smirk at him. “She hit you again?” The bar man asked as her grabbed the nicely pointed chin in one hand dabbing at the blood under the rabbit’s nose with his rag that he had just dipped into the sink of water to wash the red strip of blood from under the twitching nose. “Yeah.” Zantham muttered not looking Malcome in the eyes as the blood was wiped away. Malcome was a friend the only one he had. Soon Zantham had his tray covered in drinks as he moved back through the crowds and dropped the drinks on the table and accepted the money they gave him. Liddia and her band were back on stage strumming up some great music. Zantham couldn’t help but have a sway to his hips as he moved and danced amongst the crowd of people taking drink orders and running to the bar to collect the drinks and drop the money into Malcomes hands. It was on one of these run’s back to the bar that a patron got over handsy. Zantham was use to people grabbing his butt, or tail, but nothing like this before. This man grabbed his tail and then his ears pulling Zantham onto his lap forcibly. “You would be a sweet fuck!” The man slurred in English into Zantham’s ear as he ground his hips up into Zantham’s thighs. “What is your price?” He asked before tugging on the ears in his hand again pulling Zantham’s head back hard and baring his throat and collar. “Not for sale.” Zantham muttered between clenched teeth at the man who was currently molesting him. The hand on his crock was rough and demanding. Zantham hated the feeling in his body, the sickness he was feeling at being touched like this. “Everything in Lady Bug’s Breath is for sale boy!” The man smirked as he continued to molest the rabbit roughly. “NOT ME!” Zantham hollered as he pushed on the man holding him. He was determined to get out of this, and without Liddia finding out as she was sure to beat him tonight for this. It is true he was not on the menu of items to be bought and played with, but if she were to find out that he was being forceful with a customer. Zantham growled at the man again he wished he had something on him aside from the tray that now laid on the floor under his feet. ***** The Bars are Temples but the Pearls ain't Free ***** Chapter Summary Agoryon meets an old friend. Chapter Notes Warnings for drug use and mentions of drug paraphernalia and past drug use. Agoryon watched as the white and pink Rabbit danced. It was entrancing watching him move, watching the glow-sticks swirl. Two songs was all this poor soul had before he was forced to wait on the customers and flirt them into purchasing what ever the "special" was tonight. Agoryon knew it wasn't long before some debauched jack ass took him off to that back room and had his way with him. So far he hadn't seen any evidence of that happening, but he knew the Rabbit wouldn't be safe from it for ever. No "furry" was. Agoryon also knew that no "furry" could do anything about the status quo, so for those two songs Agoryon watched, most nights, as the Rabbit lost himself in the beat and the bass and took so many of the Lady Bug's Breath's patrons with him. He wanted so very much to be the top bidder and be the debauched jack ass taking him to the back room. He'd be nice and gentle with him. He'd only do what the Rabbit was okay with, and if that meant just talking or just sitting in the room uncomfortably for an hour or two that would be fine. But Agoryon was never here for fun. He was here working, waiting on his client. He glanced down at his watch and sighed. The punter was late, very late. Maybe he wasn't coming this time. Agoryon looked up again to watch the Rabbit dance. The second song came on. It was a redone version of that song from the nineteen eighties, One Night in Bangkok. The chorus certainly fit this club to a perfect T. "Not much between despair and ecstasy." He watched as the Rabbit swayed his hips, wiggled his tail, and did a very careful flip. The boy was skilled, he'd give him that. Agoryon couldn't help but let a sigh out. His eyes widened when he did and he stood up straighter, looking around to make sure no one heard him. He shook his head. He was being a dumbass. The song ended. Agoryon turned away from the dance floor. He didn't want to watch the Rabbit be lead off into that back room. The punter wasn't coming. Fine. Agoryon would charge him extra next time then, for being remiss as a client. Maybe he could pick some one else up at the bar. Agoryon spent about another half our milling about the club before he noticed the Rabbit in some bastard's lap. He grit his teeth. The Rabbit looked so very uncomfortable. He even yelled at the guy. So he wasn't on the menu. Lucky, but that could change. The Bat walked over quietly and carefully and made his way behind the bastard. While he was distracted with pawing at the squirming and yelling Rabbit Agoryon removed him of his wallet. If he was going to try anything with any one here tonight he wouldn't be able to pay for it. He wouldn't get far. Agoryon pocketed the wallet and left the club quickly. He made his way back to his apartment. It was only a few blocks away. He was on the third floor of the shabby building that clearly hadn't been fixed up or kept up since the day it was built some decades ago, and the elevator was out yet again, so he took the stairs. When he got to his door he could hear some one moving behind it. This set Agoryon's nerves on edge. He turned the key in the lock and slowly, carefully opened his door to reveal his fairly ugly orange and green apartment. He liked the garish look of it, the checkered floor, the fading wall paper. He didn't like that some one was tossing his shit around. Agoryon flung the door open the rest of the way when he saw who it was making a mess of his home. The man was short, with a monkey tail and large round ears shoving, and was shoving his mattress off of his bed with a grunt. The man had curly golden-red hair, now flecked with grey, and his prehensile tail held a paper bag that was crumpled and barely holding together. Agoryon laughed. "You gotta be kidding me. How the hell did you find me?" The monkey jumped, turned, looking fierce, his shirt was open revealing a mane of white fur about his chest and up his neck. "Aggy, ya ole horn dog ya! Where do ya keep'em?" He had a thick accent that was some where between stereotypical and fake, but it was all his own. Gianni, despite the Italian sounding name, was a golden-lion tamarin anthropomorph from New Foundland, Canada, but when Agoryon knew him the monkey lived in London, England. though Agoryon hadn't seen him in a decade or more. The monkey walked over to him like he hadn't been freaking out and hadn't broken into Agoryon's apartment and squeezed him in a tight hug that left Agoryon feeling a bit uncomfortable. "I don't know what you're talking about Gianni." Agoryon closed his door, scratching behind his ears. "Oh yes ye do! Where are they?" Gianni's smile was less then happy now. "Where are what?" "The needles, ya arse! I'm outta needles. I gotta get into what's in mah bag." His hands were shaking. Agoryon sighed and stepped away from his door. "Ah. I don't have any. Sorry, friend. When did you fall off the wagon?" He began setting things right in his apartment again, replacing the chairs around the table in the small kitchen, picking up the books and putting them back on the dresser, the shelf, picking up his radio and plugging it back in, putting the broken dishes and figures in the garbage, putting the whole dishes in the sink and whole figurines on the shelf again. Gianni moved to help Agoryon. "Ah, I don't think I was ever really on the wagon. Just got into Tokyo, ya know. How've ya bin? Are ye sure ya ain't got any lying 'boot the place? Really?" Gianni sat on a chair, watching Agoryon re- make his bed. "No, love. I've been clean of that shit for more then five years now." Agoryon moved into the small kitchen and sat at the table with the aging monkey. "Time has been kind to you, old friend, all things considered." "Kinder to ya. So ya really got nuttin'?" "Aye. No sticks. No needles. Nothin'." "Ah shite. But I really need mah buzz back. Damn." The monkey slumped against the back of his chair. Agoryon sighed and moved from his chair. "Well, I hate to share it but..." He went over to the far side of his bed and knelt down. With his natrually black, sharp claw-like nails, he pried up a tile from tha floor and pulled from underneath it a small, clear plastic bag containing a handful of very small, round, pastel-coloured pills, each stamped with the face of a smiling animal on one side, and a tiny lady bug on the other. "I do have these." Agoryon smiled and walked back over to the kitchen table. "Ah, so yer not so clean after all." Gianni teased. "Said I was clean of that shit in your bag, not that I was clean of everything. Anyway, this is new. Only been around the last few months and it's all the rage in the clubs. High like a four year old on sixty pixie sticks." Agoryon watched Gianni hem and haw, then finally hold out his hand. "Fine okay. It's not my kind of shit, but I'm desperate for mah buzz back. Where'd ye get it?" "That club not far from here, Lady Bug's Breath. A punter paid me with them. He got them from there. You can get 'em from the hottie behind the bar if you ask just right." Agoryon popped a tiny pink pill with a smiling rabbit on it, swallowed hard, and leaned back in his chair. Only now did he notice Gianni had broken his window and come in by the fire escape. "Ah, shit, Gianni, where'd you leave your picks? Look at my window!" Gianni began stumbling over excuses. Agoryon waved them off and moved, languidly over to the window, feeling the "blah" before the high come over him, and began picking up the large pieces of glass. He'd have to call the landlord in the morning. Good thing it was summer, even if it was a cold summer. Things were beginning to feel murky and Agoryon could feel electricity begin swirling in his gut and fluttering down his arms and legs. The first effects of the pills weren't the high of a four year old on sixty pixie sticks, that came soon enough though. Agoryon looked over at Gianni as he picked up shards of glass. The monkey was picking his teeth with a nail. Agoryon felt a stab of pain in his finger. He looked down. "Shit." He got up, carrying the larger pieces of glass to the garbage, dripping a trail of deep red blood. He ran his finger under cold water and wrapped it in a paper towel and cleaned the rest of the glass with a brush and pan, then sat back down. Agoryon and Gianni talked at the table for another half hour or so, then they felt the high of the pills really kick in. It was as if every thing became more saturated in colour and brighter, even if it didn't really. Agoryon felt almost dizzy and all kinds of energetic, and a touch horny. "Oh man, Agoryon I could hit the bars right 'boot now!" Gianni got up and gyrated his hips, putting the paper bag into the pocket of his denim jacket. "Sure thing, let's go." Agoryon smiled. He loved dancing in the neon lights when he felt this way. He wasn't expecting to hit another club tonight, but maybe he could get back into Lady Bug's Breath. Gianni would like that place, or the stuff they had at least. Three blocks wasn't far, though there was also a pretty nice rock club a few blocks beyond that. Well, Agoryon thought, try Lady Bug's first. ***** Arm yourself because no one else here will save you ***** Chapter Summary Ahh the lab! The organization that Zantham works for. Introduction of Blanc, and Po. Mentions of Kidnapping. Title comes from the song You Know My Name by Chris Cornell. Zantham smirked at the Bat as he lifted the wallet from the man who was trying to molest him. He knew the man wouldn’t get far with him now. Zantham stopped fighting when the bat walked away. “If you want me talk to Liddia!” He purred into the ear of the man who had grabbed him. The man who held him tight was so shocked at the lack of struggle from the rabbit let him go long enough for Zantham to get back on his feet and picked up his tray. It wasn’t long before he was forcing himself to be bouncy again and back to the job at hand. The music changed again and it called Zantham to the dance floor, it wasn’t long now before the largest bidder got him for the night. But at least the man who had groped him and held him hard wasn’t going to be the winner of that privilege tonight. Zantham lost himself in the music this time he was given two pink dancing fans to flash in the lights as he moved. His fans flashed and he could hear his ankle bands as he flipped the fan under his lifted leg to catch it in the other hand. It was a lovely catch and people cheered around him. He continued to dance through the song and smiled as another one came on that he was to dance too. His fans were now closed and used like they were glow sticks in his hands. He flashed a smile at the people around him, he was to be enticing and that is what he did. He touched his chest trailing his fan down it and to his thong. This was the dance he hated the most. Soon he knew he would be done for the night. Malcome shook his head as he watched over the club from his perch at the main bar. Men, women, and “furries” alike came up to him. Many ordered drinks and a few ordered the drugs that the club specialized in. Malcome smiled towards the rabbit as his dance moved from entertainment to erotic. He had to admit that he wished that he was allowed to bid on the Rabbit, that boy needed to be treated better then he was. “Nice ass!” One man spoke to a woman beside him pointing to the rabbit as he had just bent over to “adjust” his ankle bells before slowly running his hands up his long leg and over his rear playing with his tail. “We should go for it!” She spoke softly to her male companion. Malcome wanted to just hit the two of them to give Zantham one more chance to not have bids tonight. Soon the two of them moved over to Liddia who was sitting on the stage taking people’s money for a chance with one of her other pets. “How much?” The man asked pointing to Zantham who was still dancing up a storm. “Thirty Thousand Yen!” Liddia called out over the music as she sent another back for one of her cats. Zantham was special he was out front in the dance floor, he was her prize and she would not allow him to go for any less. What she was being paid to house him from his other master, and what he made off of him, she was rolling in the yen. The man and woman talked it over for a bit and walked away. So far Zantham still was not sold. He would take a beating for it later. It was towards the end of the dance he saw the molester walk up to Liddia and went to fetch his wallet. When it turned up missing Liddia listened to the man and laughed as he tried to say Zantham took it. Liddia was a smart woman where would Zantham hide a wallet in his almost naked state. Zantham couldn’t help but smile at the thought that he would get out of a beating tonight. The bar was quieting down now that it was getting late. They would be closing in a few hours and Zantham was thankful, he might not be bought tonight. His thoughts returned to the bat who he was to try to get towards. Liddia never let him do his job, he had to find where the Bat lived and had to get him ready for his boss to pick him up. Malcome breathed a sigh of relief as he noticed that many people walked up to Liddia about Zantham and all walked away with no exchange of money between them, he too was happy that maybe just maybe Zantham would not have to deal with that un godly abuse tonight. *~*~* "You will have to send her to fetch him!" A dark voice spoke from the other side of the cell door. She paced in her cell back and forth worried about the boy that was her identical twin brother. They were from the same litter and she was not with him right now. The organization had him chasing after another of their kind one that was so important that they wanted it alive. Zantham had been gone for months now, living in some place in Japan with another of the agents. She wanted to cry more for her brother but couldn’t bring herself to do it. Her long white hair was pulled into a tight braid and her red eyes blinked at the tears as her nose twitched. “He will be okay Blanc! Your brother is the best out of us!” Another one spoke softly to her. Blanc turned and glared at the black and white fur of the Panda that sat beside her. The creature was getting bigger each day as her pregnancy progressed. Blanc sighed as she sat down beside the other woman. “I know.” She whispered her voice so similar to her brothers. “Then why are you worried?” “Po... If... if he doesn’t come back soon, they will send me for him.” Po was still innocent she was captured not raised here and it was Po that was teaching Blanc what it meant to be human. “If they send me...” Blanc’s voice hitched and she looked to the other woman. Her red eyes settled on soft grey ones. “I know.” Po spoke softly taking the other woman’s hand in her own. “I know.” No one wanted to admit that they were not in a good situation. If Zantham didn’t return with his mark soon, than Blanc will be ordered to fetch the target and kill her brother in the process. ***** This ain't a Scene ***** Chapter Summary We meet some new faces, and Aggy and Gianni make their way to Lady Bug's Breath. Chapter Notes Warning for violence. There was a long, depressing pause then suddenly, finally, the jukebox clicked, whirred, thunked, buzzed and another song came on. This time it was some old american, twanging country song and Asuka Meguro wrinkled her already pushed-in pug nose. Country was fine with her, but this old time shit that crooned about desperate circumstances and mortal sin and utter loss tugged at her memories and left her with a sour taste in her mouth. She shuffled in her booth at the corner pub and stirred her cocktail with the tiny straw that came with it. It was too early to be drinking alcohol, but it was too hot not to be. It was so hot she was having a hard time breathing and every now and again she had to stifle a snort, which embarrassed her beyond belief. Pugs were not made for the heat. Sweat trickled down the back of her neck and it was all she could do to keep from panting. She wiped the wetness off the back of her neck and leaned into the table, pushing her ample breasts up to rest on the table. She was slim and shapely and had every eye in the back-water pub on her leering since she walked in. She had dark fine black fur, folded limp ears, a curling tail (when she was happy, but right now it was long and limp and too hot to keep curled) and paw-like feet. She stood five foot six and used every inch of it to her advantage. Asuka was a twin, fraternal mind you. She was waiting on her brother, Kyou, who was bringing some one who claimed to be desperate to speak with them. She'd been waiting in her booth for twenty minutes already. Service had been fast, but her stew was getting cold. When he finally walked in through the door, looking every speck her twin, she nearly jumped out of her seat with relief to see him. This wasn't the safest place in the country, let alone the world, for anthropomorphs and he'd taken WAY too long. Kyou had in tow an aging calico cat, stooped and using a cane to walk. Time had not been kind to this woman. It was clear she had once been very beautiful and had had an athletic build, but the years and the often cruel and hard life of an athropomorph in this world that despised them had ruined her. The drugs hadn't helped either. Her arms were littered with track marks, some having once been infected, leaving the skin around them puckered and flaking and devoid of fur. The fur and hair she did have had once clearly been luscious but now was peppered liberally with grey and white where there had been none before and it was all rough and scraggly.   Kyou manoeuvred the aged furry into the booth in which his twin sister sat. He pushed his bangs back behind his ears. They were getting too long, time for a hair cut. He had the same hair cut as Asuka, and that was on purpose, though her hair curled slightly more then his. He sat down beside the calico and put a comforting arm lightly on her shoulder. "Alright Aria. We are both here now. You can tell us what you wanted us to hear." His voice, like his sister's was accented, though placing it was hard. Clearly the accent was from some where in the United Kingdom, but even a native of those isles couldn't ever exactly place it. It was a fluid accent, but the voice behind it was strong, confident, and secure. Aria's hands shook. She looked into the eyes of each of the dark pug twins. Her long, now crooked tail twitched. She bit her lip and breathed in deep as tears filled her eyes. She wiped them away with the back of her hand. "I, uh-"Aria's voice, wracked with years of abuse and hard living, faltered. She cleared her throat and started again. "I am sorry to call on you like this. It was hard as hell finding you, and I know you don't know who I am, but-" She paused to swallow and smile. "Actually," Asuka took the pause as a chance to let Aria in on her and Kyou's unintentional secret. "We do know who you are, Aria McKinnon." Aria looked surprised. "You used to run in some shady circles, but you ran in them with some one who always tried to keep you safe, didn't you?" Asuka smiled, trying to sound reassuring. Her voice was just as strong and fluid as her brother's, but she came across softer, more empathetic, and one hundred percent more feminine. "H-how d'you?" A frail hand went to cover her mouth. "You have a long record. It's not hard to find if one knows where to look. You needn't worry about any harm from us. We had to look you up when you rang out of the blue. We had to find out how you found out about us." Kyou was less sympathetic sounding then his sister. He was more matter of fact. "Oh." Aria looked down at the table. "And now you think the worst." "No, dear. We know how hard it is in this world for those like us. Really we do. We can't judge you." Asuka took Aria's hand gently, to reassure her. "Now please, do continue with what you felt was so important that you had to search us out." Aria chewed her cheek before she spoke. "Well, you come from that same place a wonderful man I once knew used to live at, right? That's what I heard when I was looking for you. You may still know how to get in touch with him." She sighed and her shoulders slumped, and she gave a shudder like she was suppressing a cough. "I am not well. I am... I am dying." Aria coughed violently, gripping her sides with one arm, covering her mouth with the other. "I once knew Agoryon Yonoce, the Bat. He and I were very close, out of necessity." Aria coughed again, groaning at the pain of it. She gladly took the glass of water that Asuka offered her as a waitress came to give their food. "I ordered for you while I waited." Asuka smiled gently. "Well, he and I... we had a child, a daughter. He doesn't know. He disappeared before I could tell him I was pregnant. I didn't get to keep her. The government took her from me, saying I was an unfit mother. That may have been so, but they took her to that same damned place Aggy used to have nightmares about." Aria paused as both Kyou and Asuka exchanged shuddering glances. "I had her all of four years. Long enough to love her, long enough to know she had the same genetic condition Agoryon has. She was four when they took her but she only looked maybe half that." Aria sipped her water. "I tried to get her back, many times over the last decade. I tried hard. But they'd throw me out each time. They'd never let me even see her. She'll be about fourteen, but look only seven I'm sure." Aria took a deep breath, looking each pug in the eye in turn. "I know I've only got a short time left, weeks or months. I'll never see my baby, Sharice. But I'd like you to find Agoryon. Let him know she exists. He should know. I tried finding him too, but I lost his trail in Germany. That was years ago now. When Agoryon wants to stay hidden he's good at it I guess. Never used to be. Maybe he changed his name." Aria coughed again. "Just please, promise me you'll find him and tell him he has a daughter. Sharice McKinnon. Maybe they call her Sharice Yonoce, after him. I don't know, but let him know." When the pugs nodded and agreed fervently, Aria thanked them and got up. Kyou moved to help her, but she politely shrugged him off and left the pub quietly, though slowly, wobbling on her cane, leaving the twins to talk over her request.   * * * * *   The air was cool on Agoryon's face as he and Gianni strolled down the street. Agoryon winked at a sweet young thing with curled hair and a flower-print dress that was passing by with some groceries in her hands. She wrinkled her nose and harrumphed at him and hurried her walk away. Agoryon rolled his eyes. What ever. "So we hittin' this Lady Bird's Breasts or what?" Gianni asked. Agoryon sighed. "Yes." "Aye? I was kinda thinkin' I'd like to pregame it a bit first." "Haven't we already done that?" "Aye, but I'd like to get some drinks where it's cheaper first." "There's always the vending machine on the way. Tokyo has vending machines for damn-near everything." "I know a place right close though. It's a nice pub-like place. Give you a taste of home." Agoryon shuddered. "Aw, not that place. No." Agoryon stopped and shook his head, getting a little dizzy. The street was full of people so he moved close to a building to steady himself again. There were many other furries trawling through the crowd for fixes and tricks. Agoryon and Gianni fit right in, but Agoryon like to keep a low profile outside, even when flying like a kite. It was a hard lesson learned long ago. They kept near the buildings for the rest of the walk. This time that turned out to be less of a bright idea then Agoryon had thought. He heard with his bat's hearing, from the dark of an alley they were passing, the unmistakable 'swikt' of a switch blade. He'd heard it before, so many, many times. The sound haunted his nightmares. It froze him in his steps. A spotted, clawed hand shot from the dark and grabbed him and pulled him into the alley. "I want all the yen you got!" The lack of a thick British accent that usually accompanied the 'swikt' in his nightmares snapped him from his terror. His fist flew out as the blade made it's way up to his throat and made contact with a nose. There was a crunch. The blade was dropped with a clang before it could spill any blood. Agoryon spun around, punched the leopard in the gut, cracking a rib or two, brought his knee up into his groin, then pushed his head down into the same knee with his free hand and with the fist he jabbed two sharp, fast punches into the leopard's kidneys, cracking more ribs. The leopard fell as Gianni came into the alley looking for Agoryon. Everything had happened in less then a few seconds. Agoryon let is foot come down hard on the attacker's throat, crushing his windpipe, blood sputtering out of his mouth. He watched for a second as the leopard sputtered in agony, begging for aid with his eyes. "Gee, Bats, what happen'd 'ere?" Gianni scratched behind his ear, his prehensile tail twitching. "Nothing, just found a load that should've been flushed with the rubber." Agoryon turned to the monkey, stepping out of the alley. "So what about that pub place?" "Ah. It's this way." They left the leopard in the alley to suffocate in a pool of his own blood. ***** Baby it's Cold outside! ***** Chapter Summary We meet up with the Breakfast crew in Mexico, and Canada. YAY! Nothing angsty or horrible just back story. Chapter Notes Time note: IMPORTANT! The next part of the chapter is happening around the same time as the club scenes above! But as they are on the other coast, almost 14 hours behind the other group of characters time might seem different Sam smiled as she bounced around the kitchen humming to herself She always loved Friday’s! It was the day before the weekend and the kids are going to have one more day of lesions before she had a weekend of fun with them. “Good Afternoon my Angels!” Sam sing song as her black feathers ruffled in the afternoon sun from the large bay window in the dining area of the house. She could only smile more as her kids started to take their places and pass around today’s lunch bowls to share. The elder ones happily helped the younger ones to the food. “Miss Sam, are we getting to help Juan with the garden today?” A small voice asked from a calico kitten. He was one of the newest members to the Breakfast Club Orphanage. “Is that what you all would like to do today?” She asked as she poured them all a tall glass of iced tea. The toucan was sweet and kind to all the kids that came to her care. She loved every one of them and prided herself on who they all became. At the chorus of voices wanting to help Juan and her smiled to each other as he walked into the room to get his own lunch. “I would love to have you all help me.” He slurred around his large canine teeth in his mouth. The kids all cheered as the Orange and Black Bangle tiger sat at the head of the table and took up his own food to his plate. Sam was the last to make her plate as they all sat down. The youngest and newest member kicked his legs a bit as he waited for Sam to nod her head. “Bless this family, and this meal Lord, and please care for us who do not have a home. Care for our Kin, and our kind and bring our family back together. Amen.” The young kitten whispered the meal prayer as they all dug into the food that Sam created. “So when is the Rooster coming home?” Juan asked Sam as they watched the kids chat and eat their lunch. He was thankful for the tall glass of Ice Tea on this hot day. So far today he spent the morning outside in the sun digging up there garden for this year’s crop. “I am not sure.” Sam spoke as she helped a younger child re wrap her flat bread. “KC sure has been gone a long time!” Another of the kids spoke listening in to the adults conversation. “I hope he is okay!” She smiled up to Juan who ruffled her hair and smiled back. “He is!” Juan spoke hoping it was true. Two of the family they all knew left around the same time, and neither has returned. “What about Trix?” Juan asked about the White Rabbit that gave there orphanage the name they so hated. “Un known.” Sam spoke again as the kids started to clear away plates. Many finishing their food in record time only so they could head back to study before helping Juan with the garden. “They will be okay!” Juan spoke to reassure all who were listening. “So we need to get DIRTY!” He called as the whole crew got up and put away dishes and ran out the door to the garden. When all the kids were out the door Juan frowned and walked over to the woman who was legally his wife. He wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her a huge hug. “They are okay Sweetheart, you and I both know it.” Nodding Sam smiled her beak glinted in the light from a crystal that hung from the kitchen window. “I know they are, but I would like them home!” She spoke pulling away from her best friend who helped her open this place. They ran here from the circus that beat them to care for kids that were not even their own. Juan married her so they could get the house easier, and just to make life much more simple for them all. He loved her, he did, but they were not a couple at all. She was determined to not bring another person into life that would have the chances of being like Juan and her. Life was hard as it is. Harder when you’re a fourth classed citizen. Juan kissed her cheek as he always would to tell her that he cared before moving out to the yard and putting the kids to work. “Okay you Hooligans let’s get dirty!” the kids all cheered as they grabbed shovels and started to turn the dirty around. Juan started to sing a song and the kids all joined in. Sam smiled from where she leaned on the door jamb watching them from the comfort of the house. Soon the toucan moved along her way to start the chores. Cleaning and laundry had to get done. “You would be so proud of the kids!” She whispered as she walked by the family photo hanging in the hall carrying a load of laundry in a basket and spotting the bright blue eyes on the rabbits face, and the crest of the rooster who was blocked by said rabbit. “Trix, Kc come home soon!” She touched their image as she moved on. The picture was her family album, she took one every year and often as kids would join them she would add a Polaroid to the outside of the frame so she always had her family shining brightly on display. She also kept an album with all the kids information and a picture that she would update on their birthday’s in case something horrible happened.   KC shivered again as he pulled his sweater around him tighter. “It is COLD!” He cried for the millionth time to Shaun who was lounging in nothing but his shorts. “Dude it is mid spring, it is nice out!” The Skunk smirked at the rooster before picking up his Slurpee and taking a cooling sip. “Where you from? A Volcano?” Kc only scowled as he continued to shiver in the sun. Canada was defiantly no Mexico! ***** Try to Take the Best of Me ***** Chapter Summary We meet Mikos, and Agoryon meets his worst nightmare. Chapter Notes Warnings for panic attack, and institutionalized abuse. The air was hot and stifling in the Ford plant. The day was just beginning and already it was hot. Mikos pushed his white bangs back from his eyes, wiping the black fur of forehead of sweat. He moved the same hand behind his long black rabbit ears to scratch the back of his head, the hair cut short there tickled with another bead of sweat. It was time for his first break. He'd started well before dawn. He put the welder down after turning it off and made his way to the break room. "Hey, wait!" Mikos groaned inwardly as he heard the voice of his foreman call after him. "Yes sir?" He turned to see the man walking after him, licking his sparce teeth and tonguing the space where a front tooth should be. "You done yet?" His southern accent was thick. He wasn't from Texas, but Mikos couldn't quite settle on a state to put the accent to. The man loomed closer as the Dark Rabbit chewed his lip. Mikos could almost cry. The plant owned him. He worked, ate, and slept here, and hadn't seen the outside in years. "No sir, but it's break time. I need some breakfast." Mikos backed up a step, swallowing. "I'll tell you what you need. You need to finish! Break's over! Get the fuck back to work!" Mikos felt the ghost of tears sting his eyes. This was the third day in a row his foreman forbade him breakfast, if he was lucky it wouldn't be the third day he forbade him lunch or supper. "Please, sir. I haven't eaten to day. I've been up since three a.m. I'm dizzy." "I don't give a flying fuck what you are. You ain't missin' yer fucking quota again this month, boy. Get your ass over there and GET. IT. DONE." Mikos didn't move. He just stared at the foreman. The man was about three inches taller then him and a good forty years older. Despite his pot-belly and clear health issues (the man would hack and cough every half hour or so, until you'd swear you could set your watch by the regularity with which he lost a lung) he moved still faster then Mikos, grabbed the Dark Rabbit, by the scruff of his neck and shoved him down harshly to the rough concrete floor on his knees. Mikos yelped, pain shuddering it's way up his legs. "Shut it an' lissen, ya fuckin' freak! I don't care what the manager does wit'ya in his office after hours when the lights are out! When the clock's tickin' yer ass is mine! Now get that fuzzy piece of shit in gear or I'll rip your cotton tail right the fuck off and you won't get no fuckin' sick time for it." The foreman screamed in Mikos's sensitive ears. Tears streamed down his cheeks, leaving wet tracks of clumped fur behind. He nodded. The foreman let go of his neck and Mikos stood and staggered back to his station. Mikos picked up his welder, put his face guard down and turned it onr, trying to see through the stream of tears to work.   ***   "So you've been here long enough to know of this pub-place, but not enough to have been to Lady Bug's Breath?" Agoryon crossed his arms over his chest. He cocked and eyebrow but kept his voice light. "I heard this Bird's Breasts place is real exclusive. I din wanna try gettin' in on my own."Gianni smiled his lop-sided smile. Agoryon rolled his eyes. "It's Lady Bug's Breath. The club's name has nothing to do with a girl's chest... I think." He laughed and after a few seconds Gianni joined in. It wasn't long before they were at the pub. Gianni took the lead. As soon as they got in to the place Agoryon had a bad feeling. It looked an awful lot like home. Tokyo had a thing for themed cafes and restaurants and bars, and this place's theme was London pub, down to the brass taps and oak. Gianni was making sure to stay in front of Agoryon so he couldn't see the table he was being lead too until it was too late to run. He heard the thugs step in behind him before he heard that voice. "What took ya so long in bringing me mah boy?" It was the voice from many of Agoryon's nightmares. That same rough, confident, oozing voice. Agoryon gave a deep shudder that he could not control. "I'm sorry. I lost mah picks. Had to break in the long way. But he's here now." Gianni stepped to the side and made a flourish to show off Agoryon to the man. It was Ronaldo. Agoryon could feel his throat closing up and his heart beat speed up. He could barely get air. This man was a walking nightmare, a monster if ever there was one. Ronaldo smiled, almost a leer, his dirty teeth yellow, rotten and uneven. He patted the cushioned seat next to him in the booth. "Come 'ave a seat, luv." Agoryon's face lost all colour. His hands shook. He heard the swikt of Ronaldo's switch blade and every thing came rushing back to him in seconds, everything he'd run from. The nights in the basement, the parties, the risky jobs, the hours and hours spent alone with Ronaldo doing unspeakable things upon command. He slid into the booth instantaneously with out a second thought. He didn't try to suppress the shudder as Ronaldo slipped his thick arm around his shoulders. "Now. Ya've been a bad Bat, Aggy, 'aven't ya?" Ronaldo watched Agoryon nod. The Bat opened his mouth to speak, but Ronaldo waggled his switch blade in front of his face, watching Aggy's eyes follow the blade like a hypnotist's watch. "Ah- ah-ah! No excuses. I know why ya ran. I don't 'old it against ya. Not much any way. But ya gotta make it up to me." Ronaldo pulled him in close. Agoryon knew he could smell booze on his breath, just as he could smell it on Ronaldo's. "What do I have to do?" Agoryon was dreading the answer to that question, his voice barely a wisper. "I won't ask anything too taxin' of ya, right yet. I just want ya to infiltrate that club ya like to go to. I want ya to get a job there, and keep an eye on the competition so to speak." Ronaldo watched the perplexed look on Agoryon's face. He smiled. "I can't replecate it, their drug. All mah attempts have been piss an' shite." He swallowed. Agoryon didn't once look away from Ronaldo. He knew he liked that. Even after all these years he remained well trained. "So you do that for me and it will redeem ya in mah eyes. I might think of takin' ya back into mah good graces." Ronaldo flicked his blade shut and open again. "But fuck it up an' there won't be enough left of ya for the cops to identify." Agoryon nodded. He was over joyed with relief when Ronaldo shoved him out of the booth and told him to leave. Agoryon ran from the pub. Gianni ran after him with excuses, but Agoryon wouldn't hear any of them. He had a job and he was going to do it, at least until he could be sure he had enough time away from Ronaldo's thugs and spies to make his escape again. When Ronaldo came to a city and set up shop, he brought all his big guns and he made all the right connections.   He knew he'd have to run tonight if he was ever going to run again. Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!