At The End Of The Tunnel

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At The End Of The Tunnel

Co-Written By Harley Quinn hyenaholic and Froggy22651

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Harley: Come on, where the hell are my reviewers? I don’t write for the sheer joy of it; I want a response or two as well!

Froggy: Dammit Harley, you screwed up! You put this chapter in the wrong fic!

Harley: And my account is fucked up too, so I can’t do stuff about it instantaneous-like as I would normally.

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Chapter 18: Hackers Unleashed

Breech and James were now safely back on the train, leaving the hellish nightmare they had survived well behind them. They were out of the desert and back into the familiar forests, albeit polluted by being so close to Robotnik’s operations. James had been hoping that Curtis would be smart enough to leave the crater and head for the train when the pair didn’t return… but they hadn’t run into the blond fox. James was sure he would be fine, though; say what he may about Cur’s attitude, the man was a helluva warrior.

The sound of clicking and clacking filled the train car as Breech’s furry fingers danced over her laptop’s keyboard. The feline was hacking into the Robotropolis database, searching for whatever emeralds the doctor managed to get his hands on. They couldn’t allow the undead monster that resided in a cave to obtain their power. Nor Robotnik, for that matter. The thought of Julian with the powers of a god scared James.

James sat next to Breech, watching the bounty hunter work. Despite how grave and important the situation was, his mind kept drifting away from it and back to her. He couldn’t get the kiss they shared out of his head. He could still feel the softness of her lips, taste her, and smell her scent… And he couldn’t lie to himself; he’d enjoyed it.

Of course, that could be contributed to him being imprisoned within an emotionless shell for a decade, but he honestly just… liked her. A deeper relationship just wasn’t possible though. Bounty Hunters and Royal Guards just didn’t mix. That, and Breech, while she seemed to appreciate his presence, still loathed the Royal Guard in him. She wasn’t in her right mind when she kissed him. It was just a spur-of-the-moment thing.

Even when everything was normal, her sanity was questionable.

Dude, you are not exactly the poster fur for clean mental health, either.

Good point.

“You nearly done?” he asked her.

Breech’s brow scrunched in concentration, and she replied with a hint of irritation, “Do you have any idea how many firewalls Robotnik has?”

“More than I can get through…”

“If you guys weren’t so damn smart, this would be a lot easier,” she said, referring to the Freedom Fighters, “Your bloody genius son, that fatass walrus and her majesty Princess Acorn are the reason for most of them.”

James chuckled, feeling proud of his progeny.

“Damn – still six more to foil! If I get caught…”

“You won’t,” the fox encouraged her, “Just keep it up; you’ve almost got it.”

Breech ‘humphed’, not quite sharing in his confidence. Several more minutes passed.

“Okay… and we’re… in!”

James smiled and scooted closer. “Awesome. Lets find ourselves that emerald.”

“Okay… search for emerald…” Breech muttered, navigating the immense database, “Bingo bango! There’s research ongoing on emerald power in Korriban City.”

Figured. Korriban City was where Robotnik held his more dangerous experiments, safely away from him. It was an ancient city, even older than Mobotropolis, and once the capital of the kingdom, in centuries past. It had a long and turbulent history, as was evident in its numerous ruins. It was a seamless mix of ancient architecture and modern technology, sitting next to the Great River. Not an industrial zone like Robotropolis, Korriban lacked much of the pollution common in cities assimilated into the empire. The skies were still blue over the city. Robotnik’s additions to the city included the abandoned shipyard where his long-gone Destroyer airship was built, a sprawling research facility where all manner of experiments were conducted on a regular basis, and the infamous, dreaded Detention Facility NP-1 Alpha, aka Hell’s Gate.

James dreaded going to Korriban City, and for good reason. As with all cities under the control of Robotnik’s empire, a regional governor was assigned to it; James happened to have a personal history with said governor. Korriban was administrated by the irredeemably insane Raphael Kavakos, a feline born into an aristocratic family and a decorated officer in the Great War that betrayed the kingdom, butchered his family, and participated in Julian’s plot. To say he was demented was an understatement; he was a cannibalistic sadist who took great pleasure in torturing rebel prisoners in inventive ways and then having them for dinner. James didn’t help things; during the coup, he had horribly maimed the feline before being captured. Since then, Kavakos had replaced half his face, much of his chest, and his left arm with electronics to make up for the injuries, removed his tail and fur to appear more human, and even removed his genitalia out of his disgust for sexual intercourse.

He was probably the only man that James truly feared, and the fox was going to make sure that neither he nor Breech would end up in Kavakos’ dungeon.

“Korriban City... yeah, that makes sense,” James said, “Lots of Robotnik's more dangerous research goes on there, safely away from him. I think this train stops there on the way back to Robotropolis.”

“No it doesn't...” Breech protested. She saw James' expression, “Yet.”

James raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“The train is programmed to go straight to Robotropolis, passing through other stops. I'll have to hack it to make it stop,” she explained.

“Alright. Do that... we're going to have to make an unscheduled stop,” James said with a nod.

She was already on it, “One unscheduled stop in about half an hour,” she looked up from the computer screen, “Where’s Cur gotten to, anyway?”

“I’m not sure… but he’ll be fine.”

“I prefer it when I can see him,” Breech said grimly.

“Any particular reason?” James asked. Whatever the answer, he was prepared to admit that he would like Curtis in his sights as well. The way the fellow guardsman had been acting was disturbing. Something about it seemed off.

“It’s kinda… embarrassing,” Breech said, squirming, “You see, me and Cur had… a relationship... and when it was over... he didn't want to let me go...”

“Curtis has always been like that,” James admitted, “Very possessive and... obsessive about the things he wants. It’s got him into trouble more than once.”

Breech squirmed some more, “He scares me.”

James could tell. They way she avoided eye contact with him, the way she cowered slightly when he looked at her, the way she avoided him whenever she could told him that. Their bickering didn’t sound like empty threats. The position he found them in on their way to the desert was especially… disturbing…

“He won't hurt you. Not with me here.”

“I've known him for years and... the longer I know him... the more he scares me.”

“I know the feeling...”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

Now it was James’ turn to squirm, “Well... you see... It has to do with how I became the Captain of the Guard.”

That got the feline’s attention. She raised one eyebrow and listened intently, “I’m listening?”

“The last Captain was slain in the Great War. It was up to the king to decide upon a successor. I and Curtis were the top candidates.”

“Yes, he... did go on about that a lot when he was... applying.”

James continued, “One day, Max ordered me and Curtis to his throne room for a special assignment. When we got there, all Max said... was for us to fight each other to the death.”

“Sounds like Max,” Breech said dryly.

If James was offended by the comment, he didn’t show it.

“So, how come you're both alive?” she asked him.

A good question.

“I refused to fight. I would not attack a fellow brother, even if commanded to do so. ...It was the only time I disobeyed Max. For that... he made me Captain of the Guard. Because I did what I felt was right, rather than what I was commanded to do. I never saw Curtis so furious in my life. I thought he was going to kill me right then and there. He was almost cast out of the Guard for his outburst.”

“I wonder...” Breech said slowly, “If Max would have let you two fight to the death.”

James clenched his jaw, and his eyes took on a distant, detached look, “I’ve been kept up late many nights wondering about that too.”

A smile twitched on Breech’s mouth, “It doesn't matter. It's the past. The past doesn't matter...”

She hung her head. The air felt so thick with old pain and bad memories that it was suffocating. In the short time they had known each other, James had begun to really understand why she acted as she did and her motivations for making the choices that she had. Her tough, bitchy attitude was a shield to hide her inner scars, and a way to discourage others from trying to get close to her, in case they hurt her further. He wasn’t so different, really, hiding behind his duty. He silently contemplated this for a while before he reached over and held her to him gently.

“Why... why are you so... nice... to me?” Breech asked him, after a long moment. She could feel strange and unfamiliar emotions churning inside her.

Another good question.

“Because... because I sympathize with someone else that has a twisted past. Because I rather like you. Because it just feels right.”

Breech could feel her furry white cheeks turn pink with a blush. Her grip on James tightened slightly, “I don't get a lot of nice,” she admitted.

“I know…”

Breech was pretty sure by now that her cheeks couldn't get any redder, and her entire body was on edge. She rested her forehead against James' chest, just wanting to be close to him, shaking slightly from nervousness. James wrapped both arms around her, holding her close. He could feel her trembling.

“It's alright...” he whispered, “You're safe with me.”

Breech was still trembling as he touched his paw to her cheek. She wasn't scared of him. That was the point. She was not used to men who... cared about her feelings. That kind of man didn't join Robotnik's troupe.

James looked down at Breech, noticing her blushing so fiercely underneath her fur. She looked strangely vulnerable in that moment, scared and scarred by the world, afraid of contact with others. Not thinking, he leant down and kissed her on the cheek. Breech gasped, almost frozen in shock. For a moment, she managed to regain control and pulled away from James. Then she made a mistake she would regret often afterwards - she looked into his eyes.

“James...” she whispered, and stopped, suddenly unable to continue.

The fox looked into her green eyes. They seemed to glow like the emeralds they were searching for, and they had the same mesmerizing effect on him. He couldn’t look away; he was drawn to those eyes, sucked into the pool of green.

Their noses touched, snapping him out of the spell. Breech gasped quietly at the contact; James could feel her breath against his face. His mind froze; he acted only on instinct. He pressed his lips against hers, kissing her. Breech was still for a few seconds, then she closed her eyes and returned the movements. Encouraged, James continued the kiss. He wanted this, needed this...

He began to deepen the kiss, his paws trailing down her spine, his tail rubbing against hers, his lips parting... and then they heard a chime from the train car, alerting them that they were almost at Korriban.

Breech pulled away from him, flushing again, “We're here,” she said, looking down, “The emerald awaits,” she added with more confidence.

James nodded, swallowed, and took a deep breath. Right. The emerald. Saving the world, and all that. They had a job to do. Kissy kissy and soul-searching could come later.

“Right...we need to get the emerald... How are we going to do this? Its...its in the city's main research center, and there are several ways in,” he said.

“Then we have to stay in contact,” Breech said, pulling at the tags around her neck, “Here, pass me your tags...” James leaned towards her, letting her grasp the slave tags. She took them, pressed them against her own, and then nodded, “Squeeze them twice, and the other person - me - will know that you're in trouble and that it's time to get the hell out.”

The guardsman sat back up and nodded, understanding, “Alright…”

Breech looked straight at him, “Just get out, okay? No dumbass heroics, just start running, and don’t worry about me. I can handle myself.”

James nodded, “There are two good ways in. The roof and ventilation system, or the sewer and maintenance passages. Which do you want to take?”

“Ugh... roof,” Breech said without hesitation. It wasn't an unusual choice for someone who cleaned themselves with their tongue. James smirked, understanding.

“Alright. I'll take the sewer,” he said, “Now... I'm sure you understand that Robotnik won't be happy about having his emerald stolen, so... don't get spotted by any cameras, ok? You don't want to be identified. Especially in this city.”

“Right... I'll fit easiest in the shafts,” Breech nodded, and after a moment, pulled on her stolen cultist robe. “They're probably planning it anyway,” she smiled.

James smiled back and pulled the hood of his own robe up, “This ought to strain relations between Robotnik and the Cult. Good for us. Bad for them.”

With that, the two of them stepped off the train and split up, leaving to take their chosen route into the research facility.

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End of Chapter Eighteen

Harley: Woot! James and Breech are getting mushy! Only more so! But this story isn’t about mush. It’s about... um… stuff. With foxes and cats and evil mad scientists.