"That's good! Now strike!" Adi shouted. Raz leaped up and swung his leg around, decapitating the flourbag dummy they had created. He landed on all fours a few feet away. Adi smiled. "Excellent. You did that perfectly." he said. Raz stood with a smile. He was almost as tall as his friend now. He had already surpassed Zeki's height, making him the shortest one of the group. "I've always wondered." Raz said. His voice was lower now, something that he was very proud of. "Where did you learn to fight like this?" Adi smiled. "When I was young, my father taught me how to fight. He was a fighter. The Robotic Rebellion had already been going on for a few years, and my father wanted me to be able to protect myself. I had to learn fast. The Rebellion was becoming steadily worse." he said. Raz cocked his head. "I think I remember the Rebellion. I was really young, so I don't remember much." he said. Zeki poked his head into the giant room. "The Rebellion started about 19 years ago, when Adi and I were both about 6, and lasted for 7 years." he said matter-of-factly. "What happened with the Rebellion anyways? I never really understood it." Raz asked. Zeki sat down on a box in the room. "Well, it started when the scientists in Ebony City came out with the new line of robots. The 'Alpha 5', I think they were called. They were supposed to serve the animans, but they started to wonder why. Alpha 5's were really smart, and they got the idea that they were superior to us. So they started to take control. And not just the Alpha 5's, but they rallied with lots of other robots in the city. The Robotic Rebellion finally spread to here and by then, robots were trying to wipe out the animans. We finally won out, though. Thank goodness." he said. Raz nodded in agreement. Then he fell silent. He wondered if his parents ever had to deal with the Rebellion. Then his thoughts turned to Zula. "Adi. I want to take the test again." he said. Adi and Zeki both jumped. "But you've failed five times so far! And it's only been two months since the last time you took it!" Zeki said. "I had to take care of you for three weeks that time!" Raz flinched. "I'm not afraid." he said bravely. "I need to know that I'm ready." Adi sighed. "You know I don't like doing it." he said. Raz turned to him. "But if I can defeat you, then Titus won't stand a chance!" he said. Adi smiled. "Well, I'm glad you think so highly of me. But Raz, last time, you told me not to hold back. I cracked several of your ribs and broke your arm. I don't want to have to keep hurting you like this." he said. "Yeah! It wasn't nearly as painful as the time before! Which means I'm getting better!" Raz responded. "You really want to do this?" Adi asked. "If it means I'm a step closer to freeing my brother, then yes." Raz answered. Adi rolled his eyes and struck a fighting stance. "Don't go easy on me." Raz said. Then he struck a fighting pose too. The two of them stood silently for a moment, staring at each other. Then suddenly, they both turned into blurs. Raz dodged a blow to the head from Adi and swiped his hand at Adi's legs. Adi jumped over Raz's arm and brought his foot down hard against Raz's shoulder. Raz grunted in pain, but used the opportunity to place a blow in Adi's stomach. Adi doubled over, giving Raz a chance to slip out from under Adi's foot and leap over his head. On his way over, Raz clipped the side of Adi's face, throwing him off balance. But then Adi took hold of Raz's tail and brought him to the ground hard. Raz wheeled around and grabbed Adi's wrist and flung it off of his tail, sending Adi for a spin. Adi shook his head. "Incredible!" he breathed. Raz didn't wait. He dove at Adi. Adi stepped to one side just in time. As Adi did so, Raz turned his body so that he could land on the floor easier. He also streched out his hands and grabbed Adi's ankle. He quickly stood up and Adi toppled over. Raz smiled. Just as he did, Adi was gone. Raz turned around to see Adi land on him. Adi turned Raz over onto his stomach and twisted his arm behind him. Raz winced in pain. Adi could've easily taken Raz's arm off right there. Raz felt defeated. So he was going to fail the test again. Unless... Raz used his other hand to free his arm from Adi. Then in one motion, Raz flipped himself onto his back while using his legs to bring Adi's head directly to the floor. Adi layed dazed on the ground for a moment. He was seeing double. Finally, his eyes came into focus, and he could see Raz. His lip was bleeding, and he had a scratch that decorated his shoulder. He was holding his hand out to Adi. Adi smiled slowly and accepted Raz's help. "And so the student surpasses the teacher. In all my life..." Adi breathed. "I've never seen such skill. How did you do that? Last time you weren't half this good!" Adi said. Raz smiled a little. "I have more confidence in myself." he said. Adi and Zeki looked confused. "Why is that, Raz?" Zeki asked. Raz shrugged. "I'm thinking about changing my name." he said. A look of wonder crossed Zeki's face. "Really? That is quite an undertaking, Raz. You could change the course of your entire destiny by doing that!" he said. Raz nodded his head. "That's why." he answered. "What do you want your name to be?" Adi asked, sitting down on the floor to rest. "Jace Barton." Raz answered. Barton wasn't his real last name, he had forgotten that. So he came up with a new one, along with his new first name. Zeki smiled. "Jace! In one of the ancient languages, it is translated as 'heroic' or 'courageous'! That name suits you very well, dosen't it?" Zeki asked. Raz smiled. "Yeah. I like that very much." Raz answered. * * * * "So that's why I'm moving to Ebony City." Raz concluded. Adi and Zeki exchanged glances. They were all sitting in the center of the large main room of their building. Zeki leaned forward. "So let me get this straight." he said. "You're moving to a dangerous city, taking a job in the law enforcement, and moving into a house all by yourself so that you will become stronger?" Raz nodded. "That's right. I'll be able to learn more fighting skills that way, and I've heard word that Zula might be near there. I'm going to start looking for him." he said. "You're sure you can do this by yourself?" Adi asked. Raz smiled. "As much as I would like for you two to come along, it will be a very dangerous life. I'm taking the job of a bounty hunter. Also, Titus wanted me to fight him alone." "You've only learned a little in the ways of dispelling ghosts." Adi warned. "I'll practice in my free time." Raz replied. Zeki sighed and smiled. "You really have grown up over the past few years, Raz. We'll miss you." he said. Raz smiled. "I'll visit." he promised. Zeki nodded. "You better!" he warned jokingly. Raz stood. "I'd better get ready to go." he said. "I'm taking the metro to the city, and it never runs late." Adi and Zeki watched him walk away to his room. "He makes me feel like a bump on a log, that kid." Zeki said. Adi turned to him. "What makes you say that?" he asked his friend. "Here he is, a 19 year old kid, going out and taking on the world. I'm 27 and still single. No real job, just here to fight the bad guys of Silver Town." Adi laughed. "Don't forget, I'm in the same boat as you." Adi said. Zeki smiled. "I'd always imagined it would be just us, Ad, but then he came along. That guy has guts." Adi nodded wordlessly. They looked up as Raz appeared at the top of the stairway. He had a black bag over his shoulder, and a confident look on his face. "Take care of this place while I'm gone." Raz said. The other two stood. "Send us a message every now and then." Zeki said. "Tell us what the great Ebony City is like." Raz nodded with a smile. "I will." he said. Raz said his last farewell to his only two friends in the world. They were like his family when he had none. As he walked out into the streets of Silver City, he looked back and waved at them one last time before he turned a corner and was gone. The metro had been a long ride. Raz had never seen more animans in one place in his life. All different shapes and sizes and species. It was almost noon by the time Raz stepped out into the business of the city. Buildings towered overhead, and cars and busses filled the streets. Animans walked this way and that. Raz followed the directions he had been given and made his way to the police department. It was a sleek, silvery building. He walked through the revolving door and approached the front desk. Behind the desk sat a girl fox animan. She had pure white fur all over her, save for her stomach, ears, and cheeks, where it was a light pink. She looked up at Raz with soft, red-colored eyes and smiled sweetly. "Welcome! What can I do for you?" she asked. Raz stood stunned for a moment. Her looks had caught him off-guard. He cleared his throat. "Uh, I'm here to see Mitch about the bounty hunter job." he said, not taking his eyes off of her. She smiled. "Of course! I'll let him know and he'll be here as soon as he can." she leaned over and pushed a button on the desk. It lit up with a little red light. Raz looked at it for a while, trying not to look at her too much. "You're from out of town, aren't you?" she asked him. Raz looked up. "That's right. How did you know?" Raz asked. "You've got that small-town look about you." she answered. Raz didn't know what that meant, but he smiled anyways. She looked very pretty. He was nervous at first when he saw her red eyes, but they looked kind, rather than Titus's eyes. Her red eyes had a deeper, warmer hue. "I've never met an albino before. You dye your fur?" Raz asked. She nodded. "Being all one color seems really boring to me." she answered. Raz nodded. "What's your name?" he asked. "Elizabeth Carter." she replied with a smile. "What's yours?" "Ra- uh, Jace. Jace Barton." he held out his hand, and she shook it. "Nice to meet you, Jace." she said. "Nice to meet you too, Elizabeth." * * * * "Pietro, why are you still here?" Zula asked. "I thought you'd never come back." The young bear stood in the doorway of the great hall. They were in a large castle on the edge of a cliff. The cliff seperated the land from the expanse of the ocean. Pietro smiled sadly. "I couldn't leave my friend all by himself." he said quietly. Zula sighed. "It's dangerous here." he said. "I want to help you." Pietro insisted. "I know what's wrong with you. I've read about it. You saved my life, I need to save yours." Zula smiled. "How is it that in my miserable exsistance, I've been blessed with such a good friend?" he said. His voice was low, and tired. "Titus has plans for this place, Pete. He's not going to take lightly to you." "I'm aware of the consiquences." he said. "I won't leave your side." "Is that a promise?" came a voice into both of their heads. Zula rolled his eyes with a groan. "You're awake, I see." he muttered. Titus laughed. "So I am. As for your little teddy bear, I'll let you keep him, for now." he growled. Zula lifted his head. "You will?" he asked in surprise. "Yes. As inconvenient as it is, it would be worse without him." Titus answered. "Loneliness tends to induce insanity, and I can't allow my host to lose his reason." Zula made a face. "Your concern touches me." he said sarcastically. Titus laughed. "By the way, today is the ninth anniversary of when I took over your body. Why don't we celebrate?" he asked smoothly. "Excellent idea!" Zula said with fake animation. "Pietro, pour the arsenic!" he waved his hand. "Now, that's just insulting." Titus pouted. "Speaking of insulting, your brother still hasn't shown up to avenge you. Perhaps he forgot?" he said, hoping to irritate Zula. "Of course not!" Zula said incredulously. "I'm sure Raz is working hard so that he can pummle you into the dust once and for all right now! You can't shake him when he's made up his mind. He's a very determined person." "Or he was when you last saw him." Titus retorted. "It's been almost a decade. He could be completely different now." "Not Raz." Zula insisted. "Not my brother. He's going to fix this. Just you wait." * * * * I sat in the dark room, a solitary light dangling above my head. I heard footsteps approaching. Then a figure entered the light. Mitch was a German Shepherd, with a medal hanging around his neck. He smiled, showing two rows of sharp, perfectly white teeth. "Jace Barton. We meet at last. I've been looking forward to seeing you ever since I got your application. I can see that you're an excellent fighter from the tape you sent me. I just need to ask you a few questions before we can continue." Mitch grabbed a chair and sat in front of me. "Why do you want to become a bounty hunter?" he asked. I thought about it. "I want to help rid this city of outlaws." I said. "The action is very enticing, as well as the pay." I added. "I also work best alone." Mitch nodded. "Very good!" he said. "I'm quite impressed. One more question. Do you like armor?" "Huh?" I asked in confusion. Mitch clapped his hands, and the rest of the lights in the room turned on. It was a small room with four grey walls. Behind Mitch, on the far wall, hung a suit of armor. But not like the mideval armor that I had seen in pictures, this suit looked high-tech, with spikes on the forearms and shoulders. "You gave us your measurements for a uniform, but I had a feeling you would appreciate this more." Mitch said proudly. "What do you think?" I stood up and walked over to the armor. It was sleek and a shiny silver color. It looked menacing and professional. I smiled. "I like it." I answered. Mitch smiled. "Great! Suit up and meet me out in the training room. We'll give it a test run. Oh." he seemed to remember something. Then he handed me a piece of curved plastiglass. "This is your visor. It'll protect your eyes." Then he left the room. I put on the armor and the visor. "I feel awesome!" I said to myself. "Even though it's metal, it feels light! I can move as freely in this as I can out of it!" I opened the door and saw Mitch waiting for me. "It's just like I pictured it!" he said happily. "The Armored Ninja! That suit of armor has a lot of neat extras added into it. Hidden in the forearms are two throwing knives each. You've also got a bundle of throwing stars tucked away in the shinguards." I grinned. In the training room, I got to fight a couple robot simulations. They were easy to deactivate. I was having fun. Mitch handed me a metal sheath. "We didn't know what your preference was, but we got you this." He said. I grabbed onto the handle, and pulled out a long, toothy sword. I stared at it in wonder. I had only dreamed of being able to fight with this high-quality of a sword. It was perfect. "Thank you!" I said. Mitch grinned. "Welcome to the Ebony City Police Force." he said. "This is the crew! You've already met Lizzie." Mitch said, gesturing to the albino fox, who waved at me. I waved back. Mitch walked over and put his hand on a young dalmation's shoulder. "This is our intern, Cecil. He'll be showing you around Ebony for the next few days to help you get to know the place faster." he said. Cecil smiled and pushed his thick-rimmed glasses closer to his eyes. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Jace Barton. We're going to become good friends, I imagine." he said with a smile. I smiled too and shook his hand. "Well, Cecil, why don't you and Jace take a drive and show him where he will be living?" Cecil nodded and turned to me. "My car is out in the back." he said. I gave Cecil the address to my new home. Luckily, he knew where it was, and we drove through the city to get there. "Over on our left is the grocery store, and there's the city mall just next to that. That's main street we're passing right now. It has a lot of buisness buildings and stuff like that." Cecil said as we drove. I liked Cecil. He reminded me of Zeki. Soon, we pulled up to a small house in one of the less busy parts of the city. It was short and a dark blue color with a porch in the front. I smiled. "I like it!" I said. Cecil smiled. "It looks nice. Well, I'll see you tomorrow morning at the board meeting. Mitch says it's important, so be there by eight!" "Alright. Thanks, Cecil." I answered as I slipped out of his car. I waved at him as he drove away. Then I turned to my house. "Alright, Jace." I said to myself. "Let's check it out." It was very homey. I wished Adi and Zeki could see it. There was a kitchen to the left of the front entrance, and a living room to the right. There was a hallway down the middle with two bedrooms and a bathroom in it. I opened up the box that Mitch had given me and pulled out the suit of armor. I tried it on again and did a few fighting moves. Then I took it off and put it back in the box. It was late in the afternoon, and I realized that I was hungry. "Too bad we didn't stop by that grocery store on the way home." I muttered to myself quietly. I decided that I would grab something to eat on the way to the meeting tomorrow morning, and layed down on the couch in the living room and fell asleep. Then I heard a knock at the door. I opened the door and was surprised to see two warm, red eyes looking back at me. "Elizabeth! What a surprise!" I said. She smiled. "I found out that we live on the same street, so I decided to come over and visit!" she said. Then she held up a box. "I brought some food. I didn't know if you already had some or not." I smiled. "Oh! Thanks! Come in!" I said, taking the box from her and setting it down on the kitchen table. Elizabeth looked around the house with a smile. "This is a nice place you got here!" she said. "You're all ready moved in?" I nodded. "The furniture was already here. I didn't bring a lot to unpack." I answered. I looked in the box. "Would you like to stay for dinner?" I offered. "I can't let you do something nice for me without letting me try and make it up to you." I said. Elizabeth smiled. "You can fight like a ninja AND you can cook!" she teased. "Is there anything you can't do?" I shrugged my shoulders. "I'm not so good at singing." I said. Elizabeth laughed. We chatted as I cooked some of the pasta that she brought. I stirred it in with some cream of mushroom soup and added a little seasoned salt. Then I placed a plate of it and a fork in front of Elizabeth at the table. "I hope you like it." I said, putting some on my own plate. She took a bite. "It's really good!" she said. "I'm impressed!" I smiled. "So, you said we live on the same street? Where are you?" I asked. Elizabeth swallowed to answer. "Just about five houses down. I have an apartment at the top of a complex called Birch Housing." She said. I nodded. "You said you have an apartment. You live alone?" I asked. Elizabeth's smile turned sly. "Yes. Does that surprise you?" She asked. I lifted my eyebrows innocently. "Just curious. It's a big city. Not to mention dangerous." I said. Her smile turned soft again. "Well, I do have family here, but I decided that it's about time I live on my own. I'm almost 20." "Me too." I added. Elizabeth looked at me. "Do you have family nearby?" she asked. I blinked. "I, uh... have a brother. I'm- kinda looking for him." I muttered. Elizabeth gave me a pitied look. "He's lost?" she asked. I winced at this. I folded my ears back. "He's... not himself. I'm hoping I can set him straight again." I answered. She smiled at this. "He sure is lucky to have a brother like you." she said. This made me feel better. "Aren't your parents worried?" she asked. I looked down at my hands on the table. "I'm sure they would be." I said. Elizabeth put a hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry. I didn't-" she started. I stopped her with a smile. "Don't worry. They died a long time ago. I don't even remember them. It was my big brother who raised me. But when I was about eight, he... took a path that I couldn't follow. I learned to take care of myself. But I've been looking for him all this time. I hope I can bring him back." I said. Elizabeth put one of her hands on mine. "I'm sure you will." she said encouragingly. I probably was grateful, but I was caught too much offguard by her hand on mine to notice. I blushed bright red. "Um, thank you, Elizabeth." I said awkwardly. She smiled. "Call me Lizzie." she said. I looked up at her. She was smiling warmly at me. The way she had when she realized I was from a small town. I smiled too. "Alright, Lizzie." I said. Lizzie stood. "We have that board meeting tomorrow. I'd probably better go." She said. I glanced out the window. "I'll walk you home." I insisted. "It's dark out." Lizzie didn't argue with this. I grabbed one of the throwing knives from my armor on the way out just in case. When we got to Lizzie's place, she turned and smiled. "Thank you for walking me home!" she said. "And for that lovely dinner!" I grinned. "Anytime." I said. "It was a pleasure to meet you." I turned to leave. I could rest easy now. Lizzie was safe at home. One less person I had to worry about for the next eight hours. I wondered how Adi and Zeki were doing by themselves. * * * * "Do you think Raz misses us?" Zeki asked. He was lying on his back on one of the many mattresses in the room they slept in. Adi smiled and rolled his eyes as he sharpened his handknife. "Of course. He promised he'd visit. He'll be back in no time." he said simply. Zeki sighed. "I didn't realize how talkative that kid was until he left!" It's so quiet around here!" he said. Adi laughed at this. "That gives you more time to talk, then, dosen't it?" he joked. Zeki threw a pillow at him. "Not funny." he muttered. "How do you think he's doing by himself, Adi? He's never been alone in his life, except for when you found him all those years ago." Adi snorted. "Don't say 'all those years ago'. It makes us sound old. As for Raz, you saw how he can fight. He'll be fine. He's much different than that little eight-year-old we found. He even changed his name, remember?" he said. Zeki's eyebrows shot up. "You're right! I forgot all about that! Jace! Ancient for 'courageous' or 'heroic'." He smiled at this. "He's gonna turn heads in Ebony City for sure!" he laughed. "Nobody's named Jace anymore these days." Zeki turned on his side to look at Adi. "I wonder if he'll find his brother." he said quietly. Adi stopped sharpening his knife and turned to Zeki. "A little bit of me doesn't want him to." Adi said. Zeki nodded in agreement. "If there is no way to save Zula, Jace will be heartbroken. And if Titus defeats him, Jace will lose the will to fight." Both of them sat in silence as they contimplated this. Then Zeki shook his head. "But Jace is strong and determined! He won't give up easily. He'll save his brother for sure!" he said enthusiastically. Adi smiled too. "You're right." he said. "We shouldn't be contimplating the 'ifs', but Jace's potential. He'll confront Titus when he's ready." "And save Zula." Zeki added with a smile.