Categories > Original > Fantasy > Live To Tell The Tale
Chapter 6: Shaft City
0 reviewsChapter 6: The three travelers finally find their way to their destination: Shaft City, the former home of Spinel. And something is very wrong.
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LIVE TO TELL THE TALE
Chapter 6: Shaft City
Furry Fiction
By: Scy Storm
ssbs.furrynet.com
INEVITABLE DISCLAIMER: This chapter contains sensitive subject matter such as depiction of drug use and alcohol abuse. It also has some minor violence. You have been warned.
Time passed, and the group of three travelers was reaching one of the ends of the large forest. Ru's green and patchy dress is rather beat up and tattered from all the travel and training, the bottom of it actually having worn down to nearly the top of her thighs. Vulpa looks to her little sister, and makes a note. "Ru, I know you like that dress a lot, but it's torn and dirty now. You should change it, I have a lot of spare ones for you." She says.
Ru snaps at her sister. "NO!! I'm not changing this dress!!"
Vulpa and Wolufu blink in surprise, as Ru suddenly starts crying. "This was the last dress mommy bought for me!"
"Ru, okay, okay... I'm sorry..." Vulpa says, sighing. "I just wanted to give you advice..." This damn kid and her emotional whims...
Wolufu doesn't input into the conversation, though he notes the air up ahead. "... Hmm. What is that?" He says.
It's a bit smoky in the air, and Vulpa quickens her stride some, as they come to a cliff ledge. "We're at the city now!" She states.
The three of them come to the ledge and look out. Shaft City. A large metropolis of metal and stone buildings litter the landscape, definitely something different from the peaceful woods village they hailed from. The smoke hails from the different factories in the air and makes the air of the city look slightly polluted. But there are a lot of buildings, and even a large bridge in the distance. "Wow..." Wolufu says.
Ru wipes her eyes, and comes to a small realization. "Hey... Didn't Spinel live here?" She asks.
"Yes, he did... And by the looks of it, Omega hasn't destroyed it yet! We can buy or find something useful here." Vulpa exclaims.
"But what is that in the air?" Wolufu asks again.
"Hmm... It's strange. It's different from when I last visited here a long time ago... Like it's become polluted." Vulpa answers.
"Well come, let's not waste time." Ru says to them.
They both nod, and head for a way downward, away from the forest and down the hill to enter the city. And after only a short few moments of walking, they're in the city. And what they see is rather unsettling. The streets are filled with garbage. The kemonos walking around seem dead to life. There are even dead bodies, poor souls shot several times with guns. Bums are passed out with bottles of alcohol, or from having shot up drugs into their arms with needles. Some are even shooting up right in the vision of the three visitors. They look around, Vulpa's eyes showing so much shock. "Now I know why Omega hasn't destroyed it yet: It isn't necessary! What happened here? This place was never so dirty before, and the kemonos were never violent or gloomy..." She says.
Ru grabs on to her sister's wrapped wrist. "Sister... This place is scaring me... And the air smells really bad..."
"It's VERY polluted." Wolufu notes.
Vulpa looks around for a moment, spotting an old-looking kemono. "There's an elder... Hey! Excuse me!"
The old kemono looks over, as the three of them approach. His clothes are tattered, and he's pushing around a shopping cart. Obviously one of the bums. "Hey... What happened here, can you tell us? I visited here two years ago, and it was very clean, with friendly people!" Vulpa says to him.
The old kemono looks at them with surprise, quiet, before he shakes off his surprise. "I can't believe it. This is the first time in very long that a young one spoke to me with manners, and didn't call me an old bastard." He says.
Vulpa mrphs, and shrugs one of her shoulders. "Like I said, it's been a long time..."
"Well... I'll tell you, but you won't like it. The majority here is acting very strange... It's because of the pollution that Omega is spreading in this world. It's one of the many ways he's trying to destroy us: The pollution has poisoned the kemono's souls."
"This is like those stalkers we fought... They were created by the pollution." Ru notes.
The old kemono continues. "It's usually the adults, young adults, and even some of us elders, the ones with poor willpower. Only children, some youngsters, and elders like me have enough strength and hope for an unpolluted future were not poisoned. And well... Because of this pollution, most of this city has lost their hope and ethical beliefs. Food, money, and welfare are being distributed in an unfair way because of the kemonos with selfish desires of power, comfort, and dirty pleasure. They control most everything here with mafia and gangs."
Vulpa sneers a bit, and sighs. "That was really to be expected... The gangs..."
Ru holds her sister's paw tighter. Wolufu idly looks about and some of the people passed out from substance abuse. The elder notes where Wolufu is looking, and adds more. "Yes... Like you see there, little one, the adults spend all day using drugs, drinking, or having dirty intercourse without love. Because the city is so dirty now... It's making people beg, or worse, make their children prostitute or steal so they can satisfy their drug and alcohol habits."
Wolufu looks away from the kemonos and back to the elder. "That's horrible!" He says.
The elder looks to him, and nods just a bit. "It's because their souls are poisoned. I've never seen behavior like this in kemonos before." He says.
Ru looks up at him, her face sad, as she finally comes in with a question. "Mister... What happened to you?"
The elder chuckles a bit, shaking his head slowly. "I was one of the members of the council of elders of this very city. When Omega's pollution came, the adults and teens began to lose their respect for us, and treated elders like useless beings. We were left out and mistreated. It saddens me a lot, but mainly I feel bad for how the children are neglected and mistreated. I feel like crying sometimes, but I hold it back..."
Ru whimpers. She herself almost feels like crying. "That's terrible." Vulpa says to him.
"I can take care of a few children, but sadly I can't care for them all. You three look like a very pure and good-hearted group. I'm glad there are still good in this world." The elder says.
"Is there any way we can help you, sir?" Vulpa asks him.
"No... It's alright, you need not bother with me. If you intervene with the things that happen here, you could have trouble with the gangs. Oh... And some last advice... It'll be better for you if you get out of here as soon as you can, since the local gangs might notice your presence and try to steal your belongings." He says, of course noting the large pack of things Vulpa is carrying.
Vulpa looks back at their belongings, and then nods to him. "Thank you for the advice." She states.
"And thank you for listening to me... It was very nice to chat with good kemonos again... Perhaps I'll see you again."
With that, the elder kemono walks away from the group of three, pushing his shopping cart of belongings with him. They just watch him go, Ru whimpering. "This is so horrible... Omega is pure evil." She says.
"He is..." Wolufu says, sighing.
"Well come on... It's worth seeing if there's anything here, and if not, we'll just move on..." Vulpa says.
They walk a little ways, before Wolufu sees something in the distance. "Hey... Ru, look at that." Wolufu says.
Ru looks to where he's looking, and notices a little kemono wolf girl, dressed in a small yellow shirt and a pink skirt, being hassled by a larger canine kemono. He's wearing sunglasses and a tiger-striped jacket, and has his hair slicked back. He has her against a wall, scared and shivering. Ru and Wolufu look at each other, before taking off toward the scene. "No... Leave me alone... Don't touch me there!" She says, whimpering and crying.
The man has his hand going up her short pink shirt, though her legs are closed tightly around it. "Come on... Cooperate and I'll be nice. Otherwise not."
"Hey! Did you hear her! She told you to leave her alone!" Ru yells out.
"... What the fuck? Who's meddling in my business?" He says, saying it like he's some kind of pimp.
He looks around, noting Ru, and lifting his sunglasses to show very red and bloodshot eyes. He blinks in surprise. "You're a bad person, and I'm not letting you continue this!" Ru says, Wolufu standing by her side.
The pedophile pimp just blinks and looks at her. Hmm! She's a very nice one and looks very healthy! Must be a peasant... I bet I could take advantage of her easily... He thinks to himself, as he walks over to her. "I like your attitude, little girl, makes you very pretty."
Ru blinks, not expecting that. "Uh? Well thanks, but..."
He cuts her off. "Oh, please let me finish," he says, bending down in front of her and touching his paw to her cheek. "I have a proposal for you. Would you like to work for me? I can buy nice things for you, sweetie. What do you think?"
Ru grips his wrist tight, and pulls his hand off her face. "Here's what I think."
She then lets go of the wrist and immediately slams that fist forward, her fist slamming his maw nearly inside of itself, knocking most if not all of his teeth out in splurts of blood. He makes a loud gurgling cry and tumbles backward, falling flat on his back. "Thought you could fool me? My sister told me about bad people already! After this I hope you never bother poor little girls again!"
The man does nothing but lie there dazed, a light groaning sound coming out of his throat. The little girl, still shaken but now even more surprised, starts smiling. Wolufu looks at her. "Are you okay?" He asks.
She explodes in glee and hugs Ru's shoulders. "Yes, thank you, thank you, very much! You're so nice!!"
Ru giggles, smiling at her as she pulls back. "You're like my brother and sister now! 'Cause I say so!" The girl says.
"I'm just glad we got here before he did bad things and polluted your soul too!" Ru says.
That's when an angry Vulpa finally shows up nearby. "Ru! Wolufu! There you are! How many times have I told you two not to go far away from me!?"
"Eep! I'm sorry sister! We saw this girl in trouble and we came to help and... forgot to... warn you... heh heh..."
"I don't like her when she's mad, Ru..." Wolufu says.
The little girl kemono looks at them, and blinks. "... Ru? Ru... Where have heard that name before..." She says.
Vulpa blinks, and the three of them look at her. "... You've heard my name before?" Ru asks.
"... Hey! Yes!! You're Ru, Vulpa's sister! Spinel told me about you!" She says.
They gasp. "... My... My sister is Vulpa, yes... But... you knew Spinel?"
The girl looks up at Vulpa, and giggles. "Then you're Vulpa! You're Spinel's girlfriend! He told me that you were really strong but I never knew you looked like it!"
Vulpa hrms, and smiles a bit. "Yes... I'm Vulpa, I'm her sister... But, you knew Spinel? How well did you know him that he'd tell you this stuff?" And right after she says that, she blinks a bit. Wait a minute... She looks a lot like Spinel! Could it be?
The little girl erfs, and blushes softly. "I'm sorry, I should introduce myself. My name is Sally, I'm Spinel's little sister! It's so good to finally meet you!"
Vulpa and Ru gasp, Vulpa's expression blank for a moment, before she manages a fake smile. "Oh, wow! This is a surprise, I didn't know he had a little sister, hehe... It's great to meet you too..." ... Oh please, Sally, don't ask about your brother...
Wolufu nods. "Yep!" ... This isn't good... I heard Spinel died...
Sally smiles gleefully and swishes her tail. "I've been worried about him! It's been.... two and a half weeks since he left to go find you and check on your town. But now you're here, at our city! That means you followed him here, right? He's with your group, right!?"
The three of them quickly lose their happy expressions, Ru and Wolufu looking away, down at the ground. Vulpa sighs. Just what she didn't want to happen. Sally's smile fades into a face of bewilderment. "... What's wrong? Where's my brother?" She asks.
Vulpa walks over to her, and puts one of her big paws on her shoulder. Sally looks up at her face, blinking. "... I don't know how to tell you this, Sally, but I can't lie to you... Spinel was killed by Omega... He attacked the village when Spinel showed up. Our parents, our friends, were all killed... We're the only ones left..."
Sally's eyes go wide and she lets out a low gasp. "Wh...." She mutters, tears instantly showing up in her eyes.
Vulpa's expression grows pained, and she tries her best not to look away from Sally's sad eyes. "We're on a journey to defeat Omega and save this world, and we came here first... I know this must be hard for you, but... You have to know, so you can be strong and overcome it... I know that Spinel would wish that of you..."
Sally's tears jet down her cheeks, and she looks slightly downward, her eyes squinting. Then she closes them and grips onto Vulpa's body, sobbing. Vulpa puts her arms around her and holds her softly. "Yes... Cry all you want, let it out... It will make you feel better, Ru and I have cried a lot ourselves..."
Wolufu and Ru finally look up and see her crying, letting her do it for a few moments, before Ru finally speaks as Sally is starting to calm down a bit. "Sally... Where are your mommy and daddy?" She asks.
Sally is off of Vulpa now, wiping her cheeks with her fist and sniffling a bit, but trying not to. "When... When Omega's pollution came, it poisoned them. They started to drink and use drugs, and everything... Only my brother and some of my friends take care of me and some other children. We have to survive here avoiding gangs and wanting jobs for food. Sometimes we look for leftovers at the restaurants. Clean water is even hard to find, we have to boil all of our water first."
"Oh dear..." Ru says.
"This is no life for children." Wolufu chimes in with.
Sally sighs softly and shrugs. "It is very sad here, but we try not to lose hope, otherwise we'd just end up like everyone else..." She's quiet on that note, before she sparks up suddenly. "Hey! You know, it would be really cool if you meet with my friend in our hideout! Would you like to come see? I bet you could teach us cool magics!"
She grabs onto Ru's paws and smiles a bit. Ru smiles, and softly giggles. "I'd love to meet your friend and help you out."
Sally yays, and giggles, looking up at Vulpa. Vulpa herself smiles down at her, agreeing, and also glad to see Sally smiling. "Let's go there!" Wolufu says.
Sally nods, and starts walking one way, the three of them following her. Vulpa and Wolufu idly note the surroundings, how bad they are, as they travel through different streetways. Sally says upbeat, though, and Ru seems to be soaking in her happiness. "We're really close now, I can't wait 'til my friends can meet you." Sally says.
Ru nods, and giggles softly. "Of course."
Sally smiles, and then abruptly stops with a gasp, causing the other three to stop. They all see a group of many kemonos, a few bigger that the others, grouped up near a building. They'll all dressed in baggy clothes, punk hairstyles, and assorted shining jewelry. "Oh no! I didn't think they'd be over here..."
"Who are they?" Vulpa asks.
"They're the Killer Fists! One of the most violent gangs in this city. ... But, wait, what are they doing?" Sally wonders.
They can see there's a kemono on the ground, and the gang members are above him, laughing, one of them with his foot on him. The kemono is in a near fetal position, his fur bloodied and bruised. Sally looks for a moment, before gasps again. "They're beating up Josh!!!"
TO BE CONTINUED...
Characters and storyline © Mariano
Used with permission
Strip Note: 60-66
~ Scy
Chapter 6: Shaft City
Furry Fiction
By: Scy Storm
ssbs.furrynet.com
INEVITABLE DISCLAIMER: This chapter contains sensitive subject matter such as depiction of drug use and alcohol abuse. It also has some minor violence. You have been warned.
Time passed, and the group of three travelers was reaching one of the ends of the large forest. Ru's green and patchy dress is rather beat up and tattered from all the travel and training, the bottom of it actually having worn down to nearly the top of her thighs. Vulpa looks to her little sister, and makes a note. "Ru, I know you like that dress a lot, but it's torn and dirty now. You should change it, I have a lot of spare ones for you." She says.
Ru snaps at her sister. "NO!! I'm not changing this dress!!"
Vulpa and Wolufu blink in surprise, as Ru suddenly starts crying. "This was the last dress mommy bought for me!"
"Ru, okay, okay... I'm sorry..." Vulpa says, sighing. "I just wanted to give you advice..." This damn kid and her emotional whims...
Wolufu doesn't input into the conversation, though he notes the air up ahead. "... Hmm. What is that?" He says.
It's a bit smoky in the air, and Vulpa quickens her stride some, as they come to a cliff ledge. "We're at the city now!" She states.
The three of them come to the ledge and look out. Shaft City. A large metropolis of metal and stone buildings litter the landscape, definitely something different from the peaceful woods village they hailed from. The smoke hails from the different factories in the air and makes the air of the city look slightly polluted. But there are a lot of buildings, and even a large bridge in the distance. "Wow..." Wolufu says.
Ru wipes her eyes, and comes to a small realization. "Hey... Didn't Spinel live here?" She asks.
"Yes, he did... And by the looks of it, Omega hasn't destroyed it yet! We can buy or find something useful here." Vulpa exclaims.
"But what is that in the air?" Wolufu asks again.
"Hmm... It's strange. It's different from when I last visited here a long time ago... Like it's become polluted." Vulpa answers.
"Well come, let's not waste time." Ru says to them.
They both nod, and head for a way downward, away from the forest and down the hill to enter the city. And after only a short few moments of walking, they're in the city. And what they see is rather unsettling. The streets are filled with garbage. The kemonos walking around seem dead to life. There are even dead bodies, poor souls shot several times with guns. Bums are passed out with bottles of alcohol, or from having shot up drugs into their arms with needles. Some are even shooting up right in the vision of the three visitors. They look around, Vulpa's eyes showing so much shock. "Now I know why Omega hasn't destroyed it yet: It isn't necessary! What happened here? This place was never so dirty before, and the kemonos were never violent or gloomy..." She says.
Ru grabs on to her sister's wrapped wrist. "Sister... This place is scaring me... And the air smells really bad..."
"It's VERY polluted." Wolufu notes.
Vulpa looks around for a moment, spotting an old-looking kemono. "There's an elder... Hey! Excuse me!"
The old kemono looks over, as the three of them approach. His clothes are tattered, and he's pushing around a shopping cart. Obviously one of the bums. "Hey... What happened here, can you tell us? I visited here two years ago, and it was very clean, with friendly people!" Vulpa says to him.
The old kemono looks at them with surprise, quiet, before he shakes off his surprise. "I can't believe it. This is the first time in very long that a young one spoke to me with manners, and didn't call me an old bastard." He says.
Vulpa mrphs, and shrugs one of her shoulders. "Like I said, it's been a long time..."
"Well... I'll tell you, but you won't like it. The majority here is acting very strange... It's because of the pollution that Omega is spreading in this world. It's one of the many ways he's trying to destroy us: The pollution has poisoned the kemono's souls."
"This is like those stalkers we fought... They were created by the pollution." Ru notes.
The old kemono continues. "It's usually the adults, young adults, and even some of us elders, the ones with poor willpower. Only children, some youngsters, and elders like me have enough strength and hope for an unpolluted future were not poisoned. And well... Because of this pollution, most of this city has lost their hope and ethical beliefs. Food, money, and welfare are being distributed in an unfair way because of the kemonos with selfish desires of power, comfort, and dirty pleasure. They control most everything here with mafia and gangs."
Vulpa sneers a bit, and sighs. "That was really to be expected... The gangs..."
Ru holds her sister's paw tighter. Wolufu idly looks about and some of the people passed out from substance abuse. The elder notes where Wolufu is looking, and adds more. "Yes... Like you see there, little one, the adults spend all day using drugs, drinking, or having dirty intercourse without love. Because the city is so dirty now... It's making people beg, or worse, make their children prostitute or steal so they can satisfy their drug and alcohol habits."
Wolufu looks away from the kemonos and back to the elder. "That's horrible!" He says.
The elder looks to him, and nods just a bit. "It's because their souls are poisoned. I've never seen behavior like this in kemonos before." He says.
Ru looks up at him, her face sad, as she finally comes in with a question. "Mister... What happened to you?"
The elder chuckles a bit, shaking his head slowly. "I was one of the members of the council of elders of this very city. When Omega's pollution came, the adults and teens began to lose their respect for us, and treated elders like useless beings. We were left out and mistreated. It saddens me a lot, but mainly I feel bad for how the children are neglected and mistreated. I feel like crying sometimes, but I hold it back..."
Ru whimpers. She herself almost feels like crying. "That's terrible." Vulpa says to him.
"I can take care of a few children, but sadly I can't care for them all. You three look like a very pure and good-hearted group. I'm glad there are still good in this world." The elder says.
"Is there any way we can help you, sir?" Vulpa asks him.
"No... It's alright, you need not bother with me. If you intervene with the things that happen here, you could have trouble with the gangs. Oh... And some last advice... It'll be better for you if you get out of here as soon as you can, since the local gangs might notice your presence and try to steal your belongings." He says, of course noting the large pack of things Vulpa is carrying.
Vulpa looks back at their belongings, and then nods to him. "Thank you for the advice." She states.
"And thank you for listening to me... It was very nice to chat with good kemonos again... Perhaps I'll see you again."
With that, the elder kemono walks away from the group of three, pushing his shopping cart of belongings with him. They just watch him go, Ru whimpering. "This is so horrible... Omega is pure evil." She says.
"He is..." Wolufu says, sighing.
"Well come on... It's worth seeing if there's anything here, and if not, we'll just move on..." Vulpa says.
They walk a little ways, before Wolufu sees something in the distance. "Hey... Ru, look at that." Wolufu says.
Ru looks to where he's looking, and notices a little kemono wolf girl, dressed in a small yellow shirt and a pink skirt, being hassled by a larger canine kemono. He's wearing sunglasses and a tiger-striped jacket, and has his hair slicked back. He has her against a wall, scared and shivering. Ru and Wolufu look at each other, before taking off toward the scene. "No... Leave me alone... Don't touch me there!" She says, whimpering and crying.
The man has his hand going up her short pink shirt, though her legs are closed tightly around it. "Come on... Cooperate and I'll be nice. Otherwise not."
"Hey! Did you hear her! She told you to leave her alone!" Ru yells out.
"... What the fuck? Who's meddling in my business?" He says, saying it like he's some kind of pimp.
He looks around, noting Ru, and lifting his sunglasses to show very red and bloodshot eyes. He blinks in surprise. "You're a bad person, and I'm not letting you continue this!" Ru says, Wolufu standing by her side.
The pedophile pimp just blinks and looks at her. Hmm! She's a very nice one and looks very healthy! Must be a peasant... I bet I could take advantage of her easily... He thinks to himself, as he walks over to her. "I like your attitude, little girl, makes you very pretty."
Ru blinks, not expecting that. "Uh? Well thanks, but..."
He cuts her off. "Oh, please let me finish," he says, bending down in front of her and touching his paw to her cheek. "I have a proposal for you. Would you like to work for me? I can buy nice things for you, sweetie. What do you think?"
Ru grips his wrist tight, and pulls his hand off her face. "Here's what I think."
She then lets go of the wrist and immediately slams that fist forward, her fist slamming his maw nearly inside of itself, knocking most if not all of his teeth out in splurts of blood. He makes a loud gurgling cry and tumbles backward, falling flat on his back. "Thought you could fool me? My sister told me about bad people already! After this I hope you never bother poor little girls again!"
The man does nothing but lie there dazed, a light groaning sound coming out of his throat. The little girl, still shaken but now even more surprised, starts smiling. Wolufu looks at her. "Are you okay?" He asks.
She explodes in glee and hugs Ru's shoulders. "Yes, thank you, thank you, very much! You're so nice!!"
Ru giggles, smiling at her as she pulls back. "You're like my brother and sister now! 'Cause I say so!" The girl says.
"I'm just glad we got here before he did bad things and polluted your soul too!" Ru says.
That's when an angry Vulpa finally shows up nearby. "Ru! Wolufu! There you are! How many times have I told you two not to go far away from me!?"
"Eep! I'm sorry sister! We saw this girl in trouble and we came to help and... forgot to... warn you... heh heh..."
"I don't like her when she's mad, Ru..." Wolufu says.
The little girl kemono looks at them, and blinks. "... Ru? Ru... Where have heard that name before..." She says.
Vulpa blinks, and the three of them look at her. "... You've heard my name before?" Ru asks.
"... Hey! Yes!! You're Ru, Vulpa's sister! Spinel told me about you!" She says.
They gasp. "... My... My sister is Vulpa, yes... But... you knew Spinel?"
The girl looks up at Vulpa, and giggles. "Then you're Vulpa! You're Spinel's girlfriend! He told me that you were really strong but I never knew you looked like it!"
Vulpa hrms, and smiles a bit. "Yes... I'm Vulpa, I'm her sister... But, you knew Spinel? How well did you know him that he'd tell you this stuff?" And right after she says that, she blinks a bit. Wait a minute... She looks a lot like Spinel! Could it be?
The little girl erfs, and blushes softly. "I'm sorry, I should introduce myself. My name is Sally, I'm Spinel's little sister! It's so good to finally meet you!"
Vulpa and Ru gasp, Vulpa's expression blank for a moment, before she manages a fake smile. "Oh, wow! This is a surprise, I didn't know he had a little sister, hehe... It's great to meet you too..." ... Oh please, Sally, don't ask about your brother...
Wolufu nods. "Yep!" ... This isn't good... I heard Spinel died...
Sally smiles gleefully and swishes her tail. "I've been worried about him! It's been.... two and a half weeks since he left to go find you and check on your town. But now you're here, at our city! That means you followed him here, right? He's with your group, right!?"
The three of them quickly lose their happy expressions, Ru and Wolufu looking away, down at the ground. Vulpa sighs. Just what she didn't want to happen. Sally's smile fades into a face of bewilderment. "... What's wrong? Where's my brother?" She asks.
Vulpa walks over to her, and puts one of her big paws on her shoulder. Sally looks up at her face, blinking. "... I don't know how to tell you this, Sally, but I can't lie to you... Spinel was killed by Omega... He attacked the village when Spinel showed up. Our parents, our friends, were all killed... We're the only ones left..."
Sally's eyes go wide and she lets out a low gasp. "Wh...." She mutters, tears instantly showing up in her eyes.
Vulpa's expression grows pained, and she tries her best not to look away from Sally's sad eyes. "We're on a journey to defeat Omega and save this world, and we came here first... I know this must be hard for you, but... You have to know, so you can be strong and overcome it... I know that Spinel would wish that of you..."
Sally's tears jet down her cheeks, and she looks slightly downward, her eyes squinting. Then she closes them and grips onto Vulpa's body, sobbing. Vulpa puts her arms around her and holds her softly. "Yes... Cry all you want, let it out... It will make you feel better, Ru and I have cried a lot ourselves..."
Wolufu and Ru finally look up and see her crying, letting her do it for a few moments, before Ru finally speaks as Sally is starting to calm down a bit. "Sally... Where are your mommy and daddy?" She asks.
Sally is off of Vulpa now, wiping her cheeks with her fist and sniffling a bit, but trying not to. "When... When Omega's pollution came, it poisoned them. They started to drink and use drugs, and everything... Only my brother and some of my friends take care of me and some other children. We have to survive here avoiding gangs and wanting jobs for food. Sometimes we look for leftovers at the restaurants. Clean water is even hard to find, we have to boil all of our water first."
"Oh dear..." Ru says.
"This is no life for children." Wolufu chimes in with.
Sally sighs softly and shrugs. "It is very sad here, but we try not to lose hope, otherwise we'd just end up like everyone else..." She's quiet on that note, before she sparks up suddenly. "Hey! You know, it would be really cool if you meet with my friend in our hideout! Would you like to come see? I bet you could teach us cool magics!"
She grabs onto Ru's paws and smiles a bit. Ru smiles, and softly giggles. "I'd love to meet your friend and help you out."
Sally yays, and giggles, looking up at Vulpa. Vulpa herself smiles down at her, agreeing, and also glad to see Sally smiling. "Let's go there!" Wolufu says.
Sally nods, and starts walking one way, the three of them following her. Vulpa and Wolufu idly note the surroundings, how bad they are, as they travel through different streetways. Sally says upbeat, though, and Ru seems to be soaking in her happiness. "We're really close now, I can't wait 'til my friends can meet you." Sally says.
Ru nods, and giggles softly. "Of course."
Sally smiles, and then abruptly stops with a gasp, causing the other three to stop. They all see a group of many kemonos, a few bigger that the others, grouped up near a building. They'll all dressed in baggy clothes, punk hairstyles, and assorted shining jewelry. "Oh no! I didn't think they'd be over here..."
"Who are they?" Vulpa asks.
"They're the Killer Fists! One of the most violent gangs in this city. ... But, wait, what are they doing?" Sally wonders.
They can see there's a kemono on the ground, and the gang members are above him, laughing, one of them with his foot on him. The kemono is in a near fetal position, his fur bloodied and bruised. Sally looks for a moment, before gasps again. "They're beating up Josh!!!"
TO BE CONTINUED...
Characters and storyline © Mariano
Used with permission
Strip Note: 60-66
~ Scy
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