The fox looked down for a moment, then gritted his teeth and slammed a fist on the table. "Damn, why do I know you? What the hell is wrong with me?"

Breech was too irritated to even try to bother being subtle anymore.

"You've got all the symptoms of a split personality," she said, still trying to sit up, "Memory gaps, severe mood swings, all that guff. Brought on by severe emotional trauma, often at an early age. Pretty much incurable, even with frequent trips to a shrink."

She sat up successfully and climbed off the table, trying not to put any weight on her injured leg.

"What did you say your name was?" she asked.

Rico sneered at the unwelcome diagnosis, "If I had split personality I'd have thought someone would have noticed _before_ now." He wrinkled his nose, "Name is Rico, I already told you that."

"Maybe they did, but you forgot?" Breech suggested, "Perhaps you can provide a better reason as to why you can't remember walking in here then."

She sat on a chair.

Rico glared at the feline, "If I knew that then I wouldn't have asked, einstein."

Breech shook her head, "I dunno, it's not my business," she sighed, "Fine, be who you want. It's hardly like I'm qualified to judge your mental health..."

She rubbed the back of her neck, tired.

"Rick it sounds like you've had a light case of Amnesia at the most." Lucas said. "Hopefully it'd go away in time - though afterall it had been decades since I've even seen you let alone talked to you." Lucas said.

The fox looked at Lucas, "So you're from before, but why do you remember me? Most everyone that knew me before the trial should be dead."

"Thats something I cannot say in this place. It'd attract too much attention to me." Lucas said. The red fox blinked for a momment as he spoke again. "But you can say I somehow kept my youth." he muttered. He gritted his teeth he wanted to tell Rico, but there were too many ears.

Too many.

Rico smirked lightly at having some non-abrasive conversation, albeit annoyingly enigmatic it was better than being told his was screwed up mentally. "So we aren't the only ones that live forever, this planet really is full of surprises."

He sighed, "I gotta find Toby, I know he's alive, he's gotta be. But the only thing I remember was a forest, nothing about the name or the people that attacked us."

"I sure hope so Rick." Lucas said. "Was it the Great Forest? or what?" he wondered. Rick shook his head in a 'Im not Sure' fashion. Lucas sighed. There were a lot of forests on Mobius. Lucas frowned. "I'll help you Rick." he said.

With a nod he took a quick breath. Maybe he'd remember hiim more as he spent time with him.

Rico nodde distantly, mention of his brothers name making him thoughtful again, "So... where are we? Noone seems to know."

Breech smiled, "Nobody seems to care. I'd be cutting this place right now if it wasn't for those damn Dusters. This is just a tavern in the middle of the desert where losers come to breed. The loserness seems to rub off on new customers."

"The Desert was a easy trek. The dusters were easily destroyed by me...so I just take it your'e weak or not a survivalist." Luke commented as he nodded. "As the cat said. We are in a desert. A tavern in the middle of nowhere." the fox said to Rico as he took a quick breath.

"I'm sure this tavern was built here for a reason." he muttered silently.

Rico soured a bit, "Then why don't you go clear me a path to the forest. The stronger are here to protect the weaker."

"Point taken Rick." Luke nodded. "Have no clue where to go from here, hell I came ehre because my legs were starting to ache myself." he chuckled.

"Talrec-Nan," The coon muttered "thats the town a few minuets down the track. Prospecting town, set up to provide housing for the Duriddiam mines. 'Corse, since then its become the seventh armpit of hell. Duster terrory to the north and west of us, Trecker's prowling the mountains to the south. There isn't a living forest for a thousand miles." Rayne looked at Rico with the same expressionless stare, clearly the whisky starting to take effect "You're a hell of a long way from where you started, and if your brother 'was' with you in the desert, he didn't come in with you, which meen's he's either bug bait by now, or died of heat exhorstion."

Rico sneered a low growl, "He's tougher than you think. He's alive, I know it."

Rayne seemed unimpressed with the foxes growling, continuing with that mild mannered stare as he carried on rustily playing out the facts "No one is 'tough' when it comes to out there mate, you either survive, or you don't. There's nothing that can help you, just lady luck's wimb that you don't run into dusters and can find shelter from the sun." The coon turned back to his drink, eyes narrowing at the brown substance within, his voice darker then before, reflective of the memorys that lay just below the surface ".. And thats just for the adults.. a kit ain't got a chance alone."

The fox scoffed and laid his head down muttering, "Long as we have faith, we'll be ok."

McCaffrey snorted a bit of derisive laughter, cigar smoke billowing out into the room. "Right. Lemme just say that given the choice between body armor and faith, I'm gon' take the armor. If all your brother had to go on out there was faith, you'd probably best stop lookin' for him. Jus' a bit of advice from someone who's seen how far faith kin get someone out here, drifter."

Breech shrugged, and used an interesting swearword as her shoulder gave a nasty twang of pain, "Leave him be," she said, "Faith and hope's not a bad thing to have, and he's got it, which is more than a lot of the suckers in here have."

"Indeed." Lucas nodded. "Faith, Hope, and then there is that feeling. The feeling that tells you its going to be alright." Lucas added. "I mean after all of the crap I've gone through I have made it through fine. And all I've had is myself and faith. Faith that I will survive." he said as he turned to Rick.

"We will find him eventually."

Zu frowned at the bandages and small amounts of blood being smeared over his favorite table.

"Eh, no matters," laughed Zu suddenly.

The bartender smiled, "So ya wants to know why there's a bar in the middle of nowhere, eh?"

The bartender didn't wait for anyone to acknowledge him as his wrinkled, owl face began to speak.

"Simple, this used not to be the middle of nowhere, you stand in the center of where the ancient city of Mobotropolis used to stand... that is... before the war and before all the big weapons," added the bartender.

"Don't talk 'bout Mobotropolisss," slurred Zu, suddenly belligerent, "Don't wanna hear it!"

"Ok ok, Zu, that's fine," sighed the old bartender as he polished a shot glass.

"If your brothers out there and he's alive, then I'd be more worried about locating him." Talios said.
"Do you know where he might go?"

Zu was intentionaly avoiding eye contact with Rico, as if just the sight of the fox would throw him into that fit of rage that had gripped him moments ago. While looking at the floor Zu held up both of his closed fists shoulder-width apart then help up one finger on each hand.

"Brothersss belong tagethah," stated Zu clumisily as he brought his two hands together, unifying the two fingers, "Ya-shud go finds that bruther."

Anyone even paying the slightest attention to the stupid drunk wouldv'e noticed the drunk's face twisted in agony as he tried his best to not look at Rico.

"Mobotroplis... Robotropolis... Knothole..." He rubbed his temples, "They all are there in my mind, but I can't quite remember what they are. Like a bad dream. He'd go somewhere he knew I'd find him. If I remember those names, maybe he does too."

"Well, if this was once Mobotropolis, then I suppose you'd better search the nearby town first then try out the other areas." Talios looked outside at the practically dead storm and thought it was probably best to wait a few more minutes before venturing out.

Suddenly an explosion ripped through the air. The sound of the explosion rattled the shot glasses on the bartenders wall.

"What the-" trailed the bartender as he shot towards the direction of the town.

Zu stumbled towards the door, almost knocking over Lefty and Righty in the process.

"Ssssorry 'bout that gasss masssk man," slurred Zu as he stumbled outside of the bar and looked towards the direction of the town.

A large column smoke billowed out of the center of the town in the distance.

"Ssomebudy's makin' truble," stated Zu solemnly.

Rico stood up suddenly, "Trouble follows Toby and I around like the plauge. If there's trouble over there, he might be too." The fox's spirit seemed to rekindle slightly as he got up and jogged out the door towards the smoke despite the remnants of the dust storm.

"WooWhee! Now that was a hell of a bang!" The old colly chortled, looking out of the window toward the pillar of smoke "Hay! Miner? You recken that was explosives or sumat elce?.. miner?" McGraw turned around to where the young miner had been sat moments earler, only to find his place empty, the glass roling on its side toward the edge of the table. Clearly the coon was gone, dispite the fact that no one had seen him leave.

--

Somewhere, out in the residue of the storm a cloaked figure was running into the town, old welding goggles over his eyes and a dust rag tied tightly around his mouth, covering almost all of his face and neck. His ringed tail was held low behind him for balance, though it kept just above the sand.
'What the hell are you doing?' The voice of sanity muttered in his head. The coon didn't reply, instinct was driving him onward, drawing him towards that explotion. He knew explosives, he knew their sound and their feel, the procise vibrations they sent though his feet. Something was drasticly wrong, but why he wanted to know what it was...

"What the-"

Breech levered herself off the table and forced her feet to hold her.

"Damn!" she snarled, then again, as she looked out the window, "Damn damn!"

She grabbed a backpack from the floor, "I gotta get out of here, like, now," she insisted, pulling it on and still feeling lousy from the Duster stings.

In the midst of the explosion, a metal capsule steamed to life with an array of blinking lights and hissing smoke. The capsule swung open and revealed a figure covered in thin but highly durable armor. With a single red jewel afixed to the center of the creatures's smooth, armored head, the figure pulled itself out of the capsule.

"It's some kinda cyborg!" shouted one of the paniced citizens of the town.

The Cyborg let out a screech of rage, sorrow, and anger. Electricity arced between his highly polished metal frame. Without any explanation, the Cyborg marched towards the rickety towns sad excuse for a bank...

***

Zu stumled over himself as he followed Talios towards town.

McCaffrey looked out the window towards the column of smoke. Ah hell, that's right near Flanigan's bar. Time to move, guys. Righty nodded at McCaffrey as Lefty put the Tommy Gun back in his duffel bag. McCaffrey tilted his hat at the bartender. "I'll be back around the usual time," he said, causing the bartender to clear his throat nervously.

And with that, McCaffrey left the bar and headed towards the commotion in the distance. Whatever was out there causing trouble, it could hurt his business and that would be unacceptable.

Lucas followed Rico closely, "Wonder what exactly is going on in the town...." Lucas wondered aloud.

The Cyborg wasted no time in demolishing the flimsy front doors to the rickety bank. One of the tellers, Alicia, stood like a dear in the headlights.

"M-may ah help you?" she asked in that pretty southern accent that often charmed the patrons of the bank unintentionally.

The Cyborg did not reply as he marched up to the desk and sent his fist through the wooden counter, creating a shower of splinters. Alicia shrieked in terror as she stumbled backwards on to her back.

"S-sir ah'm gunna have ta ask ya ta calm down," pleaded the bewildered young squirrel.

The Cyborg wasn't immediatetly interested in Alicia, but she was lying right in front of the vault... the vault that the Cyborg wanted to get into.

Talios had run out as soon as he'd heard the explosion. Pelting out into the fadin sandstorm and off towards the source of the main noise, listening carefully, beyond his breathing, beyond his footfalls, he continued on on autmoatic while he listened to hear what was happening, he could hear it now, a cry. Then he heard the smashin of something, a building probably, he flet for where it was in his mind, and realised it was in the middle of town, there were only a few shops there, and the only target he could think of, the bank.
Picking up his pace he swore, snapping back into reality as he faintly heard the voice of a female in the building a few seconds after the smashing noise.
As he got closer to the town he wondered if it was a cyborg or the person that had shouted was exaggerating...

"Whatever it was, I didn't do it..." said Breech as she climbed out from under a table. She blinked and focused on the hole in the wall, "Gosh."

She headed out of the bar hurriedly and looked at the mess in the bank.

"Gosh," she said again, not entirely sure what else to say.

The Cyborg momentarily stopped it's advance and turned his head to look over his shoulder. He immediately picked up Talios's life signs and the scanned the weapons he was carrying. Satisfied, the Cyborg turned his attention back to the vault.

"Stop, mistah! Ya jus' have to!" excalimed Alicia as she struggled to her feet.

The Cyborg cruelly grabbed her by the throat and began to squeeze...

"Dammit, a robot. Let'er go!" Rico cursed charging in. The unmistaken sound of a sword leaving it's sheath was audible moments before a loud clang. Followed by the fox being propelled backwards from the force of metal meeting metal and landing on his rump annoyedly. The young vulpine grumbled getting to his feet and glaring at the cyborg, "Damn paperweight, what the hell is that, some kinda armor?" He charged again, striking the creature hard to enough to cause a dent and get its attention.

The Cyborg dropped the young female squirrel. He turned around and screeched more like a wild animal than a robot. The Cyborg lunged forward and chopped at Rico with his arm. Rico ducked, almost getting clobbered by the heavy metal arm.

Suddenly the Cyborg grabbed his head and screeched again as electrcial sparks swarmed over his body.

Complete you mission...

The Cyborg suddenly straightened up and spun back around and marched back towards the vault as if Rico had never been there and jammed his hands deep into the metal vault door and began pulling. The vault groaned under the new found stress and slowly began to give way to the Cyborg's pull.

***

He felt horribly sick, too much alcohol... way too much alcohol. Zu stopped half way between the tavern and the old town and threw up in the sand. The dirty dusty ground soaked up the liquid refuse easily enough, leaving only a green and brown stain that was quickly swept away by the wind. That was one thing about the desert Zu liked, it was a good place hide what you didn't want anyone else to see.

Zu climbed back to his feet, dizzy but not down... not yet. That fox with the green eyes... why had he snapped like that? Zu shook his head and stumbled into town.

"Damn, they're fast," coughed Zu, reffering to Talios and Rico who had already made it inside the bank.

Breech trailed a few feet beind him, wrinkling her nose.

She looked at the bank. The two self-proclaimed heroes would probably get killed by the cyborg. But by then, they'd have damaged it. She'd just pick up the mess.

Of money, spreading over the floor.

"Stupid sword, its about as good as a letteropener." Rico cursed striking the Cyborg a few more times only watch his weapon jerk back everytime with little or no effect. He backed up some not wanting to take a hit from the metal creature as Lucas caught up with him. "Hey, you, you said you know me or something. Why the HELL do I carry around this worthless piece of junk?"

"To defend the defenselss..." Lucas thought aloud, as he looked at Rico. "From what I remember it took you a while before remembering how to use it the first time you got amnesia." he said in addition as he drew his own sword, and blinked as he kept his guard up.

"Hmmmm..." Luke muttered.

Talios fired his shots at what looked like its head, but his bullets weren't penetrating the armour.
Annoyed now he moved quickly past Rico and headed for the vault, already being attacked by the cyborg. The collie jumped and climbed and eventually made it ontop of the vault, which was at this point being ripped at by the metal creature. He ran up the arm and charged up to the head then swung his pistol hard at it, hitting it with the hard metal handle.
TBC

"Forget it, its armored like a tank. Lets get the lady and anyone else in here and scram before decides it can't eat money." Rico snapped loudly dratting back for the hole of a wall.

From the dark shadows of a dusty aly, the dark figure of Rayne watched the bank as events continued to unfold, his eyes unseen behind the heavy welding goggles and the tails of his rag-mask flapping in the stiff breaze that caused an eddy the air as it blew passed the allyway. His first suspissions had been justifyed, it wasn't explosives that had rocked the town only moments before. But if one were to look upon him (not that anyone did, strangly none even seemed to notice him) they might wonder why he simply stood there, watching but not interveaning. Rayne knew how to stay alive, he knew the ways of servivel and in this dry, unforgiving land, you have to put yourself first.

Rico was the polar opposite, by the time Astral had entered he had ahold of the young lady's hand and was hurried pulling her along out of harms way. No matter what happened or how many close calls with death he had, the fox had always watched out of people weaker than himself. He'd learned nothing from his dances with death, or at least that was the way it seemed. To the weak he was a real life hero with never ending luck, to the smart he was a idiot one step away from killing himself and others.

Never-the-less he kept going, even with the guilt of his lost brother wrenching his gut constantly, he was saving yet another person who in all probability could have gotten to safety on their own. All while yelling at a stranger named Lucas, a person that said they knew him, to run as if he meant the world to him.

The Cyborg screeched angrily and shook the Collie off of his shoulder with a violent jerk of his shoulder. The Collie landed easily enough on his feet. With a terrible sound of grating medal, The Cyborg finally freed the vault door from it's hinges.

"Th-thanks, mistuh," panted Alicia, still dizzy from all the events.

"Mistuh look out!" cried Alicia suddenly as the heavy vault door burst through the decaying wood front of the bank and flew straight towards Rico, Talios, Rayne, and Alicia.

***

Zu saw the capsule buried halfway into the ground that had proved as a vector for the Cyborg. Zu grabbed his head in pain...

"I refuse!" sputtered Zu insanely.

Breech raised an eyebrow of confusion at Zu's sudden burst.

"S-sorry there," laughed Zu nervously as he rubbed the back of his head with a dirty human hand.

A split second decision was Rico seeing the Collie was too far even for him. Although Rayne was quite capable of diving to safety on his own, he annoyedly found himself on the receiving end of a clumsy footbal tackle on part of the fox.