?No good deed ? ?

It seemed really simple. Load up the Claw, cart this guy to the other side of the world, be back in time for nommings and some dueling. Misty hummed happily to herself as she got things ready, waiting for this courier guy. She smiled, remembering Neo winning his barony the night before. One last check of the enviro-systems, and she heard footsteps.

?Oh! Hi, Mr. Smiths. Yous all readys to go nows??

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Nearly two weeks later, Misty was scrambling through dense unfamiliar forest as best she could, cradling one arm. Her flight suit in tatters, her fur matted in clumps. She was exhausted, thirsty, so hungry she was almost sick, and panicked to the point of paranoia. Her shoulder ached constantly, and she simply hadn?t slept worth mentioning the entire time here. The Claw ? who knew where it was. After she ejected with this krelos-spawned nasty nasty man, she thought she?d seen it spiral down into the waves, before blacking out from the pain.

He?d shot her. No arrow this time, but full on shot her! She could still feel the burning sting where the bullet creased her skin in a near miss. He?d forgotten her tail. She didn?t think she was going to get that lucky again anytime soon. Why was he still chasing her? Why didn?t he leave her alone? Her wrist-computer was shot, she didn?t know where she was, where any food was, or water. He could?ve just left her here.

But she could hear him, could smell him ? she could even feel him chasing after her as she scampered through the underbrush. Her stomach gnawed at her, even as it felt tied in knots big enough to make her sick. Her breath rasped in her throat as she gasped, slipping and scrabbling in the muck and mud. She tried rounding a corner around a tree trunk and slipped again, bare feet unable to keep a purchase on the wet leaves strewn about the forest?s floor. When she hit the log, she nearly bit through her tongue to keep from screaming out loud, waves of crashing pain coming from the shoulder she?d dislocated when she?d landed wrong during her headlong flight. With no time to herself, she hadn?t had the chance to try to put it back into place.

Weakly, she climbed over the log, tucking herself into a hollow, whimpering quietly as she tried to peer under and see her pursuer. Unbidden, her mind flicked back to that day ?

Neo strode down into the Arena, intent on a good night of dueling. Psly and Jaycy seemed quite comfortable on the couch, and that sat well with him after everything else that had happened of late. He?d just been talking to G?nort about a duel and redshirts when Jaycy sat up with a slight frown.

?She didn?t? What about last week??

?Las? week was mah turn,? Psly responded.

?Neo, have you seen Misty? She didn?t answer her phone today.?

Neo shook his head. ?No, I haven?t seen Misty since our challenge duel ? I just figured she?s been busy. Why do you ask??

Jaycy?s brows furrowed. ?She?s supposed to be here, but Psly said she didn?t answer when he called.? Her frown deepened as she turned to G?nort. ?Did she tell you she wouldn?t be here??

After dealing with G?nort?s usual snappy self for a while, Neo listened to Jaycy?s suggestion on the best course of action. A phone call to the Fur?za. Trying Misty?s line first, he frowned when he got her voicemail.

?Hey, Misty. It?s Neo. We haven?t seen you in a while ? calling to see what?s up. How you?re doing and stuff. Soooooo ? call me back. Bye.? Hanging up, he tried again, calling Paradise.

?Hey ? Paradise? Um ? how?s Misty doing? It?s Neo ? She took the Claw? No clues to her whereabouts at all? What?s the clue you got? Ocean? That?s my territory, I?ll go. That?s fine, just take me with you.? He paused a moment to explain himself to G?nort, and returned to the phone conversation, getting a kiss on the cheek from Kelathe in passing.

?Tomorrow, tonight ? whichever you?d prefer. Tomorrow, noon? Got it, I?ll be there.? What could be heard of Paradise over the phone was distraught, and growing worse. And G?nort?s snappiness wasn?t helping. He paused for a bit to snap back at him, then returned to the phone call. ?Yeah, even I know there?s no point in going out and searching blindly. Alrighty, then I?m going scouting.? Neo sighed, looking apologetically over at Kelathe. ?If you insist. Okay, then there must be something we can do now. If the ship will take too long to get ready, then there must be some way to get there faster. I can fly, but I can?t carry the entire cavalry on my own. Wait, I have an idea. We?ll be there soon.? He turned to Kel again. ?You?re going with us, right? To look for Misty??

?You couldn?t stop me from coming, love.? Kelathe nodded, smiling.

?Okay, Kel and I are on the way over there, we?ll see you soon.?

As Jaycy and Psly argued quietly about his participation, Neo and Kelathe reached an agreement.

?Neither of you are going. Just me, Paradise, and Neo. If something?s happened, we need to scout it out.? Kel?s voice strong and sure.

Neo echoed the sentiment, and finally the pair upon the couch agreed. As Kel and Neo made ready to leave, a memory surfaced in Kel?s mind. ?You know ? doesn?t ?Anya have a link with Misty??

Maranya Ergin-Falconne had her attention fully caught up in a duel, keeping her eyes on her opponent, Rekah. She?d heard the exchanges earlier, and that thought buzzed around in her head as she fought, but staying in one piece seemed more pressing at that very moment.

?We should wait until she?s done, and ask her.? Kel mused, and Neo agreed. Making their farewells with promises to stay careful, they waited patiently.

The duel ended in a draw, as a wave of foreign thoughts snapped into ?Anya?s brain. Her eyes widened, as emotions sprang into being. FearangerhungerweaktreeswarmoceansmellspanicrunrunrunRUN! Falling to her knees, she cried out, holding her temple.

Kelathe stepped forward, her own psionic senses picking up on the disturbance. ?Neo, we need to go, NOW.? In agreement, Neo led the way to the stairs, as Kelathe followed with strands of ebon weaving through her hair.

Jaycy frowned after them, muttering softly. ?Why aren?t I going now too??

?Y?know, Ah?m askin? th?same question ?eah.? Psly rumbled in response.

?I. ? we have two options. We can listen, or go.?

As the pair quibbled with the Governor of Rhy?Din to arrange a fast mode of transportation, Salvador took note of Maranya?s condition, he took a reasonable (to him) course of action to correct it, throwing a nearby baton at the woman. Who then, quite luckily, pitched forward out of the way, letting the baton sail through the air, striking Psly?s bandaged arm, and causing him to pale and pause.

Maranya?s murmured ?Misty,? got Sal?s attention again, as did the much louder ?Bozhe moi, Misty!? Even injured, he limped to the ring, kneeling down next to the doctor. ?I?m going to ****ing regret this,? he muttered. Using a sharp knife, he opened both his palm and ?Anya?s, in order to form a link. He had a trick up his sleeve, so to say. Such as being able to find a location, and send people there through the nether.

Jaycy, Psly and Matt continued to banter back and forth, as Sal coallated the information, fixing the location in his mind and making the proper calculations. To cut a long story short, soon enough the trio of Jaycy, Pslyder and Maranya stood upon a beach, blinking at the sun. That is, before Pslyder turned a vicious shade of green and fell to his hands and knees, retching in the sand. Jaycy fared a little better, more familiar with this mode of transportation, but ?Anya knew it best. As Psly recovered, they could hear a familiar rumbling whine in the distance, as Neo and Kel, with Paradise in tow, rode toward the island over the waters with the help of the Keeper of Water?s power.

She couldn?t hear. It seemed to replay itself in slow motion, her leap through the air. Her scream. The man whipping around to get off a shot. Her tail wrapping around his wrist, the gun going off. She felt the bullet go by, it was that close to her cheek. Her clawed hand, reaching, grabbing a hold, pulling back for all she was worth.

The world remained silent, save a faint keening noise. Her ears were ringing, but she just stared. Staring at the man, who stared back, trying to breathe through the ruins of his throat, his cold eyes growing dim as he glared accusingly at her. She let him drop, let her tail drop his arm, unclenched her fist long enough for the bloody chunk to fall out. Slowly, very slowly, she turned, and saw the group at the clearing?s edge. Familiar faces, all of them. Some more than others. Her world went white, then very, very dark.

She never even felt Neo catch her as he flash-stepped.

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Sometime later, on board the Fur?za, the group discussed what they saw.

?She?s?a tough?n, Ah?ll give ?er thaht.? Psly spoke quietly, looking down at the unconscious Kirn.

?She?s going to need a lot of help to get through this. Killing a man like that, even in self-defense ? ? Jaycy trailed off, shaking her head.

Paradise?s voice was full of tears. ?Why didn?t she tell me??

Neo looked at the wall, mulling things over. ?There?s a lot of things we don?t know about this situation. Such as why a man was trying to kill her. If the Claw?s in the ocean, I should be able to find it. Hopefully there?s something intact on it that can help us.?

Kel didn?t speak, busy as she was trying to clear the infection out of the bullet gouge. Very deliberately, she kept her eyes away from Paradise.

?Anya held one limp furry hand, softly stroking, looking over the Kirn with worry filled hazels. ?Dorogaya sestre moya. I promise, we?ll get you home. We?ll make it better," she crooned softly. Then a song the Good Doctor often used to help soothe those she cared for was sung in a soft, strong alto voice. A song of mockingbirds and looking glasses, with a verse added about a Misty cat and a green felt hat. Tears fell unchecked while Kel continued to tend to her sister.

The Fur?za, summoned on autopilot, streaked through the sky on the way to the clinic. For her part, Misty never knew. Just like she?d never know about the smoldering corpse, charred to the point of ignition by her first mate. She?d be sleeping for an awfully long time.


(Parts of this were adapted from chat logs. Special thanks to everyone involved!)