Chapter 8. Plots and distractions part 2

The process of rebuilding this new world wasn't a smooth one, not only because the mammals had to learn new things, change things to suit them instead of humans, and deal with the awakening of meta mammals, but because of one thing that hasn't gone away since the extinction of man. Black hearts. Evil. There were mammals that grew to have bad intentions like greed, hatred, sadism and the like. There were more good mammals than the bad that grew but that didn't stop them from being a problem.

It wasn't so black and white. There were those that were greedy, but had compassion for their fellow mammals. There were those that were selfish but wouldn't harm another. There were those that seemed heartless but they were just rough around the edges. It was those with the truly blackest of hearts that proved to be a major problem. What didn't help was that some of them gained Meta abilities. This became the beginning of Meta villains.

They would destroy, hurt, and nearly kill others, mostly those without powers since those with powers were few. It was thanks to those good mammals with powers that they were stopped, those with courage, bravery, a sense of justice, and a sense of responsibility due to great power. This became the beginning of Meta heroes.

The destruction caused by the villains were repaired by those who didn't fight, not always due to lack of will, but due to their abilities not being suited for combat nor they themselves. They had powers nonetheless and used them in helping others in their own way, like construction, repairs, and healing others. This became the start of Meta workers.

With the beginning of Meta Villains, Meta Heroes, and Meta Workers, a way of handling them was needed. The leaders came together and they created a new system of government, Meta Agences. A place to employ these Meta people. It was the first official government created in this new world, soon to be followed by others.

While Jackson was fighting Dynafist, Cleansing Night was making his way up the stairs to get to Jet Roller. He had his shadow envelop his feet, riding on it. He got to the floor where she was. He took cautious steps, moving down the hallway and peeking by the corners before moving forward. Looking by one corner he saw a group of Fang-bots, all standing guard. Down the same hallway, grinding against the metal gate as a wheel, was Jetroller. She had already busted through a few of them. Cleansing thought of the best way to attack, he didn't want to deal with her and the bots, at the same time if he tried dealing with the bots first she'd have more time to break through. He had to seperate them but he didn't know how. He analyzed the situation and his environment, formulating a plan. As he looked around the hallway, he spotted something. Right in front of the first gate Jetroller broke through, was a vent. Behind it stood not a single bot. That was his entry point. All that was left was separating Jet from the bots so they don't interfere, which will be a simple thing to do considering his powers. Simple but not easy.

He wanted to talk to Ange but couldn't risk being heard. He had to act now. He took a deep breath and sank into his shadow. His shadow went up and slipped into the vent above him, sliding to the one near JetRoller. He exited and slithered to JetRoller undetected, going to the wall beside her.

"Hm?" Jetroller noticed the dark shade next to her. "What the?"

Two slabs of shadow came out and hardened. Cleansing Night jumped out, placing the slabs on his arms before ramming into the rolling bunny, crashing her into the wall. He pushed his covered arms onto her, sparks coming out as they grinded against her hardened hairs.

"How the fuck did you get past those bots!?" Jetroller questioned, fighting back against Cleansing. The bat had shadow tendrils come out and push him against her. The bots noticed him and started to approach, making him push harder. She started to slow, her hairs eventually softening. She retracted the fur back to her back and swung at Cleansing. He managed to block and grabbed her by the shoulders, taking in a breath. She did the same as soon as he did that, knowing what he was about to do.

Before the Fang-bots could make contact, Cleansing pulled himself, along with Jetroller, into his shadow. While in there he slipped back into the vents, taking random turns in its corridors. All the while Jetroller started to attack him, lahing blows into him inside his own shadow, trying to force him to release them. He eventually found an exit, quickly getting out and leaving his shadow, kicking Jetroller to the other side, panting as he filled his lungs back with oxygen.

They were in a large office room with four rows of cubicles, each row containing five computer desks. Thankfully no one but them was there. "Ange, I'm engaging Jetroller, let Artisakat know," Cleansing said in his coms.

"Wh...t tha…'' static was heard from his device.

"Ange? Ange!?"

"Hehehe, aww what's wrong? Lose your navigator? I'm pretty sure there's an app for that," Jetroller taunted.

Cleansing glared at the villian. "You have a jammer?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She crouched down. "Either you took down Dynafist, or backup came and that asshole let you pass, having his fun with them." She surveyed the room. 'Big room, but not big enough for me to roll around freely. Gonna have to save that for a surefire hit. The desks are also in the way but I can just plow through if I wanna.' She smirked. 'This is gonna be fun.'

Cleansing got ready for an attack. 'Her power is called Adrenaline Rush, the higher her adrenaline, the stronger and faster she becomes, she even heals faster, so I best not keep this battle prolonged, especially since her power is a two parter, those hardened hairs are gonna be my downfall if I'm not careful. Luckily this room isn't big enough for her to roll around.'

"Hah!" Jetroller leapt at Cleansing with a forceful punch. The bat used his shadows to form a small veil to block, lunging a tendril at her. She ducked and sent an uppercut to his chin.

Cleansing leaned back, the punch nearly grazing his chin, retaliating with a downward chop. She hoped back and leaned forward for a gut punch. Cleansing brought his shadow together to block but that's what she wanted. She jumped and sent a knee to his face, knocking him back slightly. He grunted in pain and noticed her going for a spin kick to his head. He acted quick, shooting a shadow whip to her gut, pushing her back.

She slid her feet on the ground, regaining balance, just in time to dodge another strike of his whip. He sent in two more, managing to nick her in the shoulder and ear as she swayed out of the way. Her blood was pumping, she was getting excited. Her abilities' effectiveness varied with each type of adrenaline, the kind gained from fighting was the most effective, while one gained from fear was the least effective. She smiled wildly, she lost some adrenaline when he stopped her and submerged her in his shadow, but was gaining it back.

Cleansing blocked her next leaping fist but felt that it had more strength. Her next strike, a forward flip kick, nearly brought him to his knees. He had hoped his surprise attack and the fact that she'd been trying to plow through walls would have lowered her adrenaline more but it drained less than he had hoped. She sent a rising kick, breaking through his shadow guard, slamming her foot down on his head, dazing him, before crashing her fist into his stomach, sending him into the opposing wall, knocking over a bulletin board. He groaned, getting up, seeing her step side to side, raising her fist up in a boxer position. He needed an edge, but it was too bright inside for him to bring out his shadows’ true strength. Then it donned on him, he's inside with lights.

Jetroller lunged forward, striking for his face. She missed when he jumped to the side, shooting a few ropes of black at her. She dodged it easily, hearing the breaking of glass behind her as the light bulbs broke behind her. She went for him and he skated back on his darkness to keep the distance, shooting more strands of his shadow at her, all of them missing and hitting the ceiling. Jetroller used her jumping prowess to close the distance, managing to hit him a few times, though he kept up his means of attack. "Hah! That the best you got?" she taunted, effortlessly dodging more of his whips. "You even trying to hit me?!" It's when Cleansing smirked that something clicked in her mind. The room was getting darker, he was missing her on purpose. She would've noticed sooner if it weren't for the drawback of her power making her thoughts process slower. She looked around, only a few lights remained. "You shit!" She doubled her efforts, trying to stop his attempt at a blackout.

'She's noticed, guess she's not fully in the zone if she picked it up that quick,' Cleansing thought to himself, though the room wasn't completely dark, the amount of light was low enough to empower his shadow significantly, enough for one last trick. He breathed in and sunk into it, stretching it out behind Jetroller. She went to where it extended. From the beginning end something rose.

Jetroller turned and threw her gauntlet at the rising mass. "Think I'd fall for that trick?" She said haughtily, thinking she hit him. When she noticed that what she hit was just a clump of shadow, her smile dropped.

Cleansing rose behind her. "No. I didn't." He slapped three hardened whips on her back, slamming her down. No doubt it didn't do much damage due to her adrenaline hardening her hairy back, but it knocked her down long enough for him to take out the remaining lights. They were in complete darkness. "Now then," Cleansing felt a rise of strength in his shadow, "let me show you," from it rose two large, fierce, and hardened tendrils, both as big as a regular tree stump, "why they call me, Cleansing Night!"

Jetroller couldn't see him due to how dark it was, even when her eyes adjusted. She looked back, only to be slammed in the stomach. "GOHOF!" The attack knocked the wind out her lungs, she stumbled, getting hit on the side by another mass of black. She rolled around, getting back up, quickly. Her ears picked up the sound of glass moving. She jumped, avoiding the incoming strike. She used her legs to vault off the ceiling, going to where the sound started, hitting the area only to hit the ground.

"Did you really think I'd stay in one spot?" He whispered in her ear behind her.

A shiver ran up Jetrollers back, she twisted to kick behind her, hitting the air. She used her natural hearing to listen for movement. She heard three things slithering about, knowing one of them had to be him riding his own darkness. She couldn't tell which is which, hoping she'd be able to discern the weight of the objects through sound but failing as she heard no weight in them. Her ears picked up the sound of something rushing to her. She jumped forward and heard one coming from in front. She jumped up, avoiding it. She came close to the ceiling before she felt a hand touch her back.

"Tag." Cleansing said in a screechy low voice. Jetroller could swear she felt his piercing gaze on her. He pushed her down and into a tendril that came from the side, knocking her onto a wall.

'Shit! Shit!' Jetroller screamed in her head, rising up. 'Bastards toying with me! When the hell did he get up there!?' She felt a tap on her forehead. 'In front!' She punched forward, hitting nothing, but getting her arm wrapped around and herself flung upwards, hitting the top of the room. She fell on her front, scrambling to get up. She could hear herself surrounded and his maniacal laughter echoed around her. Her heart raced, but for a different reason. Her blood rushed, but not from excitement. She had adrenaline but it was the least effective kind to suit her power, making her attacks less effective even if she found a way to hit him. She felt fear. She was afraid. His laughter, not knowing where he was, the creeping sounds of what could or couldn't be him, the vicious attacks, him randomly appearing around her, unnoticed and unseen sent shivers down her spine.

"Over here," He whispered to her left. She swiped in that direction, hitting nothing and getting slapped in the face. "Almost." He said on her right. She kicked that way, missing, and getting jabbed in her ribs.

"Gah!" She held her side in pain, glaring at the darkness. She looked around frantically, listened as close as she could, but couldn't discern where he was. All she could hear was rustling glass, laughter, and his taunting whispers telling her where he might be. 'Damnit dammit!'

"I think it's time to finish this."

As soon as he said that, the sounds slowly stopped, there was silence. 'Where?' She started to sweat profusely. 'Where is he!?'

He was in front of her, twisting his three shadow tendrils together, pulling and squeezing them back like a spring, aiming it at Jetroller. "It's over." Right before he could launch his tendrils, two fang bot heads came crashing through the ground beside him, small cracks of light peeking through. "What the!?" From the eyes of the bots came an ultra bright solar light, flashing right onto him. "Gah!" He shielded his eyes, his shadow ropes becoming small thin strands.

Jetroller saw the light and saw her opportunity. She hopped forward and rolled up, wheeling her way to him and ramming him full force, slamming his body through the wall.

Cleansing was unable to block in time due to being blinded. Luckily for him, the attack was powered by fear adrenaline, lessening what could've been severe damage. It still did a number on him due to his lack of guard. He groaned and raised up, noticing that Peacewolf and Artisakat were there. 'Oh good, back up!'

"Cleansing!" Jackson shouted. He ran up to him but was stopped by two black fang-bots jumping out in front of him.

"Arti….ound tw...that fl…" Mitch broke up.

"Mitch?" He heard nothing but static. "Mitch!" He was punched at by one of the bots. He pushed its fist away and went for a body blow but was taken back when the machine not only blocked it but went for a kick to the face. He stepped back and saw it kneel down so the other could jump at him and go for a high kick. He blocked it and moved his chin back before the first one could uppercut him. 'These bots are different!'

"I'm coming!" Peacewolf approached.

"Dont worry about me, help Cleansing!"

"Huh!?" She looked at Cleansing Night, the bat looking hurt after taking a big blow, and saw Jetroller step out the hole, smiling crazily. She understood why Artisakat told her to go with Cleansing. She rushed to his side. "I got you!"

Cleansing grunted, slowly rising. "Thanks. Those Fang bots flashed me with solar lights, weakening my powers for her to get me."

"Heh," Jetroller laughed, "and I'm gonna get you again! Friend or no friend!" Her fear was going away now that she was out of that room. Now she was getting pumped for payback. She was about to roll forward, her hairs extending, before she noticed Peacewolf bring her hands together.

"Calm!" Peacewolf used her power on Jetroller. She was taken back when she still rolled forward full force. "What!?" She quickly grabbed Cleansing's arm and jumped out of the way. She looked at Jet ram the walls before she got out of wheel form, looking at them. There was blood on her lip. 'She bit her lip to ignore the effects!'

"I don't think your power's gonna work on her. She's pretty pissed at me, so she's determined to take me down," Cleansing told her.

"Angry, huh?" Peacewolf thought of what to try but hated trying it. Jetroller was about to roll again. She put her hands together, and activated her power but did something different. "Rage!"

Jetroller bit her lip again to ignore the effects of the peace going into her except it wasn't peace. Instead she was filled with anger, intense anger. Her mind spiraled and her teeth grinded. 'That prick almost made me piss myself in there!' She thought, eyeing Cleansing. "I'm gonna flatten you so hard, pancakes will look bigger!" She shouted, rolling up and shredding the ground as she revved up. She rushed to Cleansing, aiming straight for him.

"Chill!"

Jetroller’s hairs softened and she unrolled, her anger dissipating in an instant like a crumbling sand tower. The momentum she had carried her through the air, straight to the two heroes.

"Now!" Peacewolf told Cleansing.

Cleansing gathered as much strength into his shadow whip before darting it to Jetroller, slamming it into her stomach. The momentum she carried added to the impact. Her legs shook and she was bending forward, in excruciating pain. She fell down, her consciousness leaving her.

"I can remove Peace just as well as I add it you know," Peacewolf told Jetroller before the Villain was fully out.

On Jackson's side, he grabbed a punch aimed at him and was about to slam his fist into the bot's face. The other bot jumped at him and swung its claw down, just like he wanted. He pulled back and pulled the bot, making the claw go into the fang-bot's head. He slammed his fist into the other's face, breaking it and disabling it. The bodies fell and Jackson took a breath, he admitted he felt somewhat winded. "Everyone ok?" He asked, approaching the others.

"I'll manage," Cleansing stated.

"I'm fine. Is it over?" Peacewolf asked.

"I don't know," Jackson said. He checked his communications device. "Mitch? Mitch?" He got nothing but static. "Still jammed."

"Could it be because of the Fang-bots?"

"I dont…" Jackson remembered what Mitch said about being watched. "....are we," he looked at the cameras, "still being watched? Is that why? Can the Navi's still see us?"

"Oh right! Your navigator said that, didn't he?"

"I'm out of the loop. I lost contact with Ange when I got here," Cleansing told them.

"Oh, well, Artisakat's navigator said he found that someones been hacking in this place and watching us too."

"What!? Is that how those bots got to me?"

"Wait," Jackson became curious, "Ange didn't say anything about them being in the room with you, so where'd those bots come from?"

"Below me. Why?"

"Why were they-" he was cut off by the sound of a multitude of clanking feet. He looked back to see a horde of black Fang-bots coming from the corner at the end of the hallway, charging at them. "Wha- More of them!?" He brought out two pistols, about to fire on them as Cleansing got his shadow ready and Peacewolf got her Stun Baton.

The eyes of the fang bots grew brighter, flashing a solar light in their faces. They were all blinded by that light, Cleansing getting weakened by it. Jackson pressed one of the buttons on the left side of his visor, darkening it. Peacewolf turned a dial on her right nose of her visor, doing the same.

"Cleansing, get behind us!" Jackson told them. Although they put their glasses into nightshade mode it was still bright, though not blindingly so, but still enough to make it hard to make out the bots. He started firing on them, managing to knock a few and hit one but they still came closer. "Shit! Get ready, Peacewolf!"

Peacewolf got ready and Cleansing mustered up what little strength his darkness had left, willing to provide some assistance. Two loud bangs were heard, followed by a few metal bodies collapsing. The bot horde stopped and looked back.

Behind the group was a five foot five inch tall average bodied black wolf with light gray areas around his eyes. He wore a red chest plate with short black armored sleeves that went to his elbows, had a small brown drape over his shoulders, wore black armored pants and silver metal boots with a knee guard, had two straps around his hip, connected to his belt, with rectangular capsules. He wore a pair of sunglasses and had a cowboy hat with a belt of bullets. Both his forearms were the barrels of shotguns. "Shoot them down!" He yelled while having their attention.

Jackson took the opportunity while their lights were off him, shooting down the bots along with the wolf, the wolf's shots doing most of the work. Once the last one fell, everyone relaxed but not completely. "Phew. Thanks." Jackson thanked the wolf.

"Don't mention it," he walked forward, "name’s Kanashi." He extended his hand for a shake.

Jackson shook his hand. "Artisakat. I'm guessing Mitch sent you."

"I sure did!" Mitch said in the coms.

"Mitch!"

"Hey dude!"

"Good to hear you! What happened?"

"Well I pieced together that you were gonna say this was a distraction, so I had Kanashi go in to see if anything else was happening near you, something that seemed unrelated."

"I was over at the next building," Kanashi explained, "and I spotted a bot crash out the window from the floor below. Once it saw me, it grabbed the ledge and went back in. I came in to give chase, it spotted me coming up the stairs and doubled back here."

"I see. Wait," Jackson noticed something in his story, "you only saw it, meaning one?"

"Yeah. It led me up here and I saw it join its bot buddies in going after you."

"It led you here?"

"It was up to something, maybe had something on it, but I don't know if I can tell them apart from the others. Should I search?"

"Why would it…"

"Probably a good idea," Mitch told Kanashi. "Whoever's watching us is gone and the signal just left. I couldn't track it, sorry Artisa…..Artisa?"

Jackson was pondering something. "It led you here only to be destroyed….that doesn't sound-" the sound of a high pitch ring reverberated in the hall.

"Huh?" Cleansing felt a sting in his ears due to them being bat ears. "What is that?"

The sound got louder. "It sounds like it's coming from the destroyed machines," Peacewolf analysed.

The Fang-bots started to shake, gaining a red hue. "What the-?" Kanashi was confused.

Jackson had a suspicion as to what was going on. He shot a wire at Kanashi and flung him to the pathway that had the broken gateways.

"Whoa!"

Jackson turned and took hold of Peacewolf and Cleansing, jetting to Kanashi. He tossed them in, hooking the unconscious Jetroller and yanking her to them.

"Artisakat, what are you-!?" Peacewolf questioned.

Jackson threw his arms forward, putting them up together. He created a large brown tower shield that was as big as the entrance. It had arm sleeves going up in the middle, where Jacksons arms were now in, vents on all the corners, and lens in the middle above the arm sleeves. He pressed a switch and its rim extended, pressing hard into the walls, floor, and ceiling, digging into it. From near the vents came stilts that embedded themselves diagonal into the corners. Jackson braced for impact.

*KRABOOOM* The sound of a large explosion was heard from behind the shield, muffled a bit. The area around them shook as the impact hit the barrier with intensity. Luckily Jackson didn't have to push much due to the hold the shield had on the hall.

The explosion subsided. "Holy shit!" Kanashi cursed.

"They detonated!?" Cleansing said, startled.

"Everyone alright!? What happened!?" Mitch asked.

"Thanks to Artisakat, we are. How'd you know that would happen?" Peacewolf asked the Meta hero.

Jackson swayed, his legs stumbling as he struggled to stand. Steam came out the vents before the shield upheld itself from the pathway. He fell forward along with it.

"Artisakat!" Kanashi and Peacewolf ran up to the hero.

"Gotta...get rid of..this...before…. it becomes...a...nuisance…" Jackson said, fading out of consciousness, the calling of the others getting drowned out by silence.

"Hey kid," Gary told a thirteen year old Jackson inside the living room. The two were watching some drama. It just got to a commercial.

"Yeah?" Jackson gave him his attention.

"Let me ask you something. What is evil?"

"Evil?" He thought for a moment. "Umm...I guess...hurting innocent people."

"That all?"

"Well, it's also doing bad things."

"Bad things like what?"

"I guess….killing mammals or...being selfish when you can help others."

"So is someone a bad mammal if they do that?"

"Mhm." Jackson nodded.

"Even if it's someone they dont know?"

"Especially then."

"Heh," Gary smirked, "so naive."

"Huh?"

"Let me tell you something boy. Good and evil ain't so clear cut."

"What do you mean?"

"If someone was coming at you with a knife, trying to kill you, and I kill them instead, am I a bad Mammal?"

"Uh...I…killing is wrong isn't it?"

"But I did it to protect you."

"I know but…"

"Sometimes to do good, you must do bad. Sometimes taking a life, you save another. Sometimes you can't help others because you gotta take care of yourself. If you can't take care of yourself you can't take care of someone else."

"So...it's ok to kill?"

"I didn't say that. What I'm saying is there are times you gotta do a bad thing to do the right thing. It's not ok to hurt, kill, or forsake others, but it's ok to help, heal, and aid others. Thing is, sometimes they're not so separate. There are even gray areas."

"Gray areas?"

"Yeah. Someone may seem bad but maybe they're just someone lost and confused, or caught up in something they shouldn't be. Not bad mammals, just doing bad things."

"That statement sounds self-defeating."

"You'd think but...you'll get it when you're older."

Jackson groaned as his eyes opened. He saw a metal ceiling with lights. He felt himself lying on some bed. "The hell?" He rose up.

"Rise and shine!" Mitch told him, sitting at a desk in front of Jackson.

"Mitch?" He looked around and saw they were in a metal room with screens on the side next to him that had a gap near the end of the wall, a computer at the corner, and a drawer on the other corner where the gap was. On the wall adjacent was a small table with a cup of water and a panel above the table. On the far end was a folded four panel gate. He looked down to see he was on a compact bed. He also saw his suit wasn't on. "Where's my-!?"

"Your suit disappeared along with that shield. Don't worry, Cleansing quickly wrapped you up before anyone got a good glimpse of you. Took you right to this RV we pulled up in."

"Oh. Ok. I'm in a support RV." Jackson took the cup of water and took a drink. "Why'd my suit disappear?"

"They told me you were saying something about getting rid of something, so maybe those thoughts made you get rid of everything."

"I see. How long was I out?"

"About thirteen minutes. That last shield must of winded ya."

"I do feel groggy."

"Cops are here, already taking in Jet and Dyna, doing one final sweep before transporting them. Jet's still knocked out but Dyna's awake. Ambulance is taking a look at Cleansing while Peace and Kanashi are helping with the sweep."

"He say anything?"

Mitch shook his head. "Nah, they're gonna question him at max prison."

"Oh."

"Though...he did say he'd be willing to talk to you."

"He did?"

"Yeah. Something about a deal’s a deal?"

"Huh."

"There's...something else...it's about Anet."

"What about her?"

"Well...you see she-" The sound of gunshots was heard outside. "What the!?"

"Something happened!" Jackson donned his suit and rushed to the exit of the RV, hitting the bottom on the side to open it. He came out and saw a few armored police mammals with rifles standing in front of a shot up black Fang-bot. They were behind an armored transport vehicle.

"It's ok sir, we got it!" One of the mammals told him. A ringing sound was heard and the bot's corpse became reddish.

"Look out!" Jackson flew forward, grabbed the machine, and flung it upwards, luckily it hadn't hit five just yet, so the explosion hit no birds. "Too close." He landed. "Everyone ok?"

"We're fine, thanks!"

"Hey buddy!" Dynafist yelled out to Jackson.

"Hm?" Jackson looked back to see a strapped up and cuffed Dynafist. The eagle was smiling at him.

"Glad you're ok! Was worried about ya!"

"Oh really." Jackson turned to the police. "You about to transport him?"

"Uh, yes," the police mammal answered. "But, can I ask where that bot came from? I thought they were all taken down."

"I'm hoping he'll answer for me," Jackson pointed at Dynafist, "so mind if I tag along?"

"Sure, that's fine."

"J- uh, Artisakat?" Mitch called out.

"Mitch, I'm gonna see if he can tell me anything. Let Ferris know, I'll be back soon."

"Ok, but come straight back. You need rest."

"Hm." Jackson nodded, boarding the truck.

"Now then….let's chat," Dynafist said to him.

End

. Deals.