After a night of sleep, I woke up the next morning still having absolutely no idea about what to do with my brother and his wife. So far, they'd both pissed me off, and insulted my wives, so I really had no genuine sympathy for them.

A bit later after breakfast, I was lying on the couch downstairs when I suddenly felt a large weight land on my chest. I looked down, and there was Briana. She was purring, and seemingly trying to cozy up with me.

I sighed. "Hey Briana, what's up?"

She just purred happily. "Not too much, just wanted to come and cuddle with you."

I saw that she was about the size of a house cat again, and that she was still looking pretty pudgy. I had actually taken her to be looked at by a vet, and she told me to make sure that she was getting exercise, and to cut back on the treats, however, that would really only work if Briana was a regular cat. Not only was she a Sphinx, but she was also a physical representation of Life! How the heck do you tell Life what to do?! Answer, you can't! I mean sure, Amber, Midnight, Misty, and Skyler all had chased Briana around, which did help her exercise, but yet she could also teleport, and seemingly transport herself to another dimension, so this really didn't help too much!

"So.....what do you think of my brother and his wife?" I asked her.

She gave me a look. "Well, like you, I think that they're dickwads! I don't know what their deal is, but for his wife to go around insulting mares who seemingly had kids with no visible father figure? How does she know that the father isn't just WORKING?! And don't even get me STARTED on your brother's constant bragging! I mean, I could understand maybe a LITTLE bragging, but on that level?! Just stop it already!"

I sighed. "As such is the nature of those who crew the Wabash Cannonball. They tend to be excessive braggers, but yet my brother wasn't in with them until just yesterday when they came here. He's a Marine, and I don't remember Marines acting like that. Maybe it's just him."

Briana shrugged. "Eh, I don't know Master. But what I do know is that in order to shut him up, you really need to show your true colors."

"And how do I do that Kitty?"

Briana shot me a glare, before smacking me with one of her paws. "I told you, I HATE that name! Sure, maybe a Sphinx IS a cat, but cats do NOT have wings like this!" She then opened her wings to emphasize her point. "And if you KEEP calling me that, I just might have to turn myself around and show you that a Sphinx is Fine Too!" She then began to give me the "F@#k Me!" look.

I looked at her with wide eyes. "And if you do THAT, I'm pretty sure Dashie'll take you on another ride on the pain train! Remember what happened the last time you tried to do that?"

Briana winced a bit. "Eh, yeah, I'll avoid that for now! But to answer your question, just bring him up here and show him your collection of war relics, as well as talk about how you got them. I'm sure THAT would shut him up!"

I held Briana close to me. "You know, that's actually a pretty great idea Briana, thanks!"

She gave me a few loving licks to the face. "Eh, don't mention it Leopard. Although, are you gonna drag him up here, or am I?"

I smirked. "If you could, that would be really great, as I don't want to do it!"

"Oh, I think that that can be arranged. Plus, I need the exercise anyway!"

Briana and I laughed, and then we continued to plan on how we were going to set my brother straight. Spitfire was with the Wonderbolts, Dash was at her parent's house with Misty and Skyler, and Daring had taken Amber and Midnight to some summer day camp in Ponyville, and would be there as a chaperone. Plenty of time to work in a little bit of evil!

Despite what it sounded like, our plan wasn't actually to kidnap my brother at all. In fact, the plan was just to find him, and ask him if he wanted to see my collection of relics. More likely than not he would say yes, and Briana would just carry him up to our house.

The easiest part of all was finding my brother. He was with the Cannonball, and didn't seem too happy to see me.

"What do you want?"

I sighed. "Dren, we need to talk, now. I think that it's high time I gave you a peek into my world, and what happened in it all while I thought you were dead, but were just in a coma."

"Eh, what does that mean?"

"Basically, it means that I take to to a special room in my house where I've housed scores of old relics, and with them so many memories. Sure, you may have heard the stories from others, but how would you like to hear about it from someone who actually LIVED through it?"

Now Dren was interested. "Sure! I mean, I've got nothing better to do, so sure, let's go see what you've got!"

I nodded. "Follow me." I then led him to the ground underneath our house.

When Dren saw it, his jaw hit the ground! "WHOA!!!! How the heck did you afford this place?!"

I laughed a bit. "Well, it was a lot smaller when it just belonged to Dash! I then moved in, and we expanded it to accommodate our growing family! I mean, we ARE flyers, so why not live in the sky?"

"Well, I know that YOU can fly, but how the heck am I gonna get up there?!"

I smirked. "Well, that's the easy part. Here Briana!"

"Huh? Who's Briana?"

"I'M Briana!" a female voice behind him laughed.

Then, before Dren could really protest, he felt himself get grabbed from behind, and then lifted up into the air! "GAAAHHH!!!!!" He then jerked his head around, and to his shock, he was being carried by what appeared to be a giant flying cat that was as big as he was! "HOLY......!!!!! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU!?!?!?!"

The creature didn't answer until she'd dropped Dren off on my front porch, and I landed a few moments later. She then sat back on her haunches. "Name's Briana. I'm a Sphinx!"

Dren looked at me. "What kind of nut-job sold you THAT monstrosity?!"

I walked over to Briana, and began to hug her and pet her, which caused her to purr. (She was also about the size of a mountain lion now, so as to be able to carry Dren). "Briana's NOT a monstrosity! Like she told you, she's a Sphinx! I found her when I was on a trip to the jungle about 4 years ago, and she's lived with Dash and I ever since."

"You.......went to the Jungle? Why?"

I laughed. "Well, I WOULD tell you, but I don't think that you'd EVER believe me if I did!" I then opened the door, and led the way inside. Briana made herself the size of a house cat, and perched herself on my shoulders so that I could carry her.

"Wait, she can change sizes too?!"

"Yep, I can! All Sphinx's can, and this is my usual size, though I can be any size from this, to my real size, which is about 18 feet tall!"

"She ain't kiddin' Dren, I've seen her do it! In fact, she was at her original size when I found her!"

Dren gave me a look. "Leopard, if I wanted fiction, I could have just read 'Daring Do', or any one of those other trashy kids books! This sounds an awful lot like 'Daring Do and the Lunar Shrine of Romance'!"

I started walking upstairs. "Well, you do know that the male character who's Daring's partner, Mac, is based on me, right?"

"Liar! He is not!"

"Is too! I have a letter from AK Yearling herself to prove it!"

"Show me!"

I turned around to glare at him. "I will! Just follow me up to my office/relics showroom, and I'll show you that letter, and SO MUCH more!" I then led the way the rest of the way upstairs, and to my office, with the relics room connected to it, though only accessible through my office.

When I opened the door, Dren could only gasp in surprise. "Whoa! Is this an office, or a museum?!"

I smirked. "it's kinda both. In here, I both work, and keep some of my favorite relics from the Imperial War."

Dren glanced around the room. In the back close to a window was my desk, and an office chair. A Caribou and Zebra fur rug adorned the floor, a few Caribou and Zebra heads were on the walls, as were a LOT of framed photographs. There was also a shelf for books, another shelf that had a model of the full Battleship Express train on it, a large safe, a grandfather clock, and 3 large display cases. One was empty, one held what looked to be a Zebra, and the last had a creepy looking mannequin with a suit of armor in it. Dren also noticed the desk, bookshelf, and safe on the other side of the room.

"Hey, who works over there?"

"Feathers, Dash's cousin. That's her side of the room, while the rest of it belongs to me."

"And what's up with these books?" He was looking over the collection of books that I had in my shelves. "Sheesh, if it's not Daring Do, then it's these books about the Battleship Express!"

"Hey! Don't dis my reading material! Heck, I WROTE most of those books! Look at the author, 'Captain Leopard'!"

He just shook his head. "Like I said, trash. I've read a few Daring Do books, and I even got a chance to read some of your 'books'. I can't decide which one I hated more, 'Time of Trial', or 'Fuel for the Fire'. And what the hell was up with 'Life Under the Floor'? Were you trying to write a BDSM porn novel? Sheesh, even AK Yearling could have written it better!"

That quickly, Dren found himself getting grabbed, before being slammed onto my desk hard! I held him there, my eyes blazing with fury.

"Let me tell you something about Amy Yearling. Amy Yearling WISHES that she could write like me! Heck, I've actually sold more books than she has, but nobody ever even talks about it!"

"What? You sold more books than a multi-millionaire author?! HOW THE HELL IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE!?!?!"

I smirked. "It's possible, because some Ponies just REALLY love the Battleship Express, as well as my life story!" (What I said was indeed true, though slightly bent. Yes, I actually DID sell more books than Daring did, at least for a time. We're both on the list of the Top 10 Authors in Equestria, though I only rank 3rd, while she ranks first. Some new guy named Steve Kingsly with all of his horror novels keeps stealing my spotlight at the 2nd spot!)

I then let Dren up. He could see the look of pain on my face. "Ok, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pushed you like that. But seriously, what the hell is 'Life Under the Floor' even ABOUT?! It just looked like a porn novel to me!"

"I'd tell you, but I doubt you'd believe me. That story is NOT for ANYONE under 18, and even then, most adults have a hard time swallowing it! In case you were unaware, that story was all about my life under my first Futa Mistress after my capture at Sue Falls, South Dakota."

"And what was that like? Your capture I mean."

"Sit down, and I'll tell you all about it."

He did so, and I began my tale.

"Sue Falls was the home base of Firestorm Battalion. Our job was to protect the Northwestern Border of the US, which we did during WW5, and we did so again during the first part of WW6. We were battle hardened veterans, and we gave the Futas everything we had, same with the One Race Empire before them. However, over time, the Futas kept gaining more and more ground. By January of 2024, they were in the Rocky Mountains. We continued to give them hell, as did the weather, but that's when things turned against us. In retaliation for this, the Futas under General Stacy Rikker launched MASSIVE missile and airstrikes against US positions, and that broke our backs. The US forces kept retreating East, and more and more were killed."

"And, I'm starting to get the feeling that Sue Falls was where you took your last stand?"

"Yes, it was. We still held on, until May 10th that is. By that point, the Futas were in Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Firestorm held only the city of Sue Falls, and we were one of only 2 US battalions still standing. The other one was Cold Stone Battalion, located in Nebraska. We only had 300 guys left in our battalion, but we CONTINUED to give the Futas hell! Oh sure, they laid siege to Sue Falls, but every time they sent soldiers in to conquer us, almost none of them were ever seen or heard from again! Losses were in the tens of thousands, and kept climbing. I mean sure, we DID take losses ourselves, but the Futas had it far worse!

As one of the Futa commanders later recalled 'Those rats are EVERYWHERE in there! There's a gun behind EVERY fallen brick! We can't take that city by storming it!' They tried to level it with artillery, air, and missile strikes, but that only gave us more rubble to hide behind. General Stacy wanted to nuke the city, but Empress Demetria refused to allow that, and threatened Stacy with hellfire if she disobeyed. May 10th though, I'll NEVER forget May 10th, 2024."

"Was.....that the day Firestorm Battalion fell?"

I nodded sadly. "Yes, it was. By this point, there were only 100 of us left, and we tried to hold the ruined city's perimeter, but there were just too few of us. We kept getting killed, and the futas kept pushing deeper and deeper into the city. However, the farther they got, the more pain they found! We hid bombs everywhere, snipers were having a heyday, and there were hidden machine gun nests, and artillery posts as well. Futa losses kept rising, but this time they were determined to win.

Time and again we reached out to our superiors in the US, but they were unable to help us. 'We can't get to you boys. We've tried, but we just can't break through their lines. You're on your own Captain Leopard. You can either try to break out, surrender, or fight to the death. The choice is up to you now.' We were all devastated. But yet we knew what we had we had to do."

"Wow, that must have been hard for you. You knew that you were in trouble, but there was nothing that you could do about it. I know what happened, but how did you come that conclusion?"

I sighed. "Well, that's the thing. I was in charge, so whatever I said went. However, we all had nothing left to lose, and everything to gain by fighting. We were prepared to go down taking a last stand. 'Remember the Alamo boys!' I told those under my command. 'We HAVE to hold them here! The US Forces can't get to us, and we're on our own! However, if we go down today, take as MANY of the Futas with you as possible! The harder we hit them now, the easier it'll be for the good guys later! They want this city so bad, then they're gonna have to take it from our cold, dead hands!' We then hit them hard, though that was indeed our last day.

Towards the evening, it was down to just 45 men in 2 groups. My group was in the center of the city, trying to hold the downtown area, while the other group, led by Lt. Price, were holed up at the USS South Dakota Museum and Memorial. For them, they were hit by an artillery strike that collapsed the museum. Price and all of his men, except one, either died in the collapse, or were killed by the Futas. My group was scattered by a series of grenades. We all realized then that the jig was up, and we all tried to escape the city, though some continued to keep fighting. We scattered in all directions, and me and 5 other guys hid in the attic of a nearby hotel, but they still got us though. One by one from that point onward, we were slaughtered without mercy. Eventually, that attic was stormed, and I was knocked out a window by a grenade blast. I fell for at least 9 stories before I landed on a destroyed car far below. I blacked out, and the last thing I saw was a Futa reaching down to grab me."

Dren had a hand over his mouth. "That's.....so horrible Leopard. But wait. Why didn't they just kill you? And who was that other guy from Price's group? You said that all but one were killed."

"That 'other guy' was none other than my good friend Todd Davis. In case you've never heard of him, he's the Second Brakeman of the Battleship Express. He was grabbed because he was to be interrogated, as was I, as I was the captain of the battalion. We were the only survivors of Firestorm Battalion, though for our efforts, roughly 550,000 Futas were sent to their graves; numbers that their military would NEVER recover from! Also, we have good reason to believe that Stacy actually LIED on the casualty figures, and they were actually a lot higher than that! We'll never know for sure though, as there is no exact record."

"Now THAT'S something that I can believe, as I've read reports from interrogations from captured Futas! They sure took losses from you guys, and they NEVER bounced back from those losses! But, what happened to you afterwards? I mean, I doubt that you still have your old uniform from that era."

I shook my head, but I also nodded. "Well, no and yes. "Yes, it was taken away from me that day, as were all of my weapons, but yet they were put into storage at the 'Care Center' I was taken to. However, when I was re-adopted by Empress Demetria, she ordered that ALL of my things were to be given to her. They were, and they were displayed in a case in her palace in Vegas. All of these things were lost when Vegas was nuked.

Now I say 'Care Center', but you should hear 'Auschwitz'. These places existed ONLY to prepare males to be 'adopted' by Futa Mistresses, or sold as slaves. I was taken to one in Des Moines, in what used to be Iowa, and there I remained for about a week. I was bought in a bundle with a few other slaves, and taken away. I ended up in what used to be Bismarck, North Dakota, where my first mistress, a loathsome bitch named Delilah Paddock, kept a sort of farm. And it was there that my nightmares began."

"I was there when they liberated some of those 'Care Centers'. What we often found made us throw up. You don't have to go into too much detail on what you saw there, I already know. But if you could tell me, what did happen under your first Mistress?"

"I was treated like a slave. I was never touched sexually, as my mistress was only into Futas and Herms; she only needed slave labor. We were whipped, beaten, slashed with razors, kicked, hit with tools, kept naked at all times, forced to do degrading things, worked to the bone, and were the only things keeping the farm running. At night, we slept underneath the ranch house, in the dirt, with the bugs and spiders, as well as other critters, and the ranch dogs. This may seem strange, but these dogs were actually quite fond of us. There was only one male dog on the Ranch, Buster, a REAL bastard. Hell, Mistress used to use him to attack us just for her own sick pleasure! The females though, treated us like their pups. They licked us, and snuggled close to us to keep us warm. One dog though, stands out above the rest. I named her Radar, because she had such a keen sense of where our mistress was, and if she was coming. Radar was my girl. She was a large Border Collie with soft(ish) fur that was red roan and white, instead of black and white. She also had blue eyes, which was rather unusual for a dog. She loved me like a mate, and showed me her affection each and every day. She would help me wake up in the morning, show me where the mice, and small rodents were, as well as the larger ones like raccoons, she would watch out for Delilah and Buster, and would try to intervene when they came for me. She often failed though, and it hurt both of us. She would also show me where the water was, and then at night she would snuggle close to me, and cuddle me to sleep."

"What happened to the rodents and raccoons? Is that what the dogs ate?"

I gave him a strange look. "You seem to have the delusion that our mistress fed us Male slaves. Hell no she didn't! We existed ONLY to serve her, and whenever a slave died, she would just go out and buy more. She NEVER fed us, NEVER gave us water, and NEVER did ANYTHING but torture and abuse us! We ate whatever we could get our mitts on! We literally ATE those things, and oftentimes raw! Sure, the dogs would eat them too, and Radar and I would share."

"How.......d-did your mistress keep you all in line? Was it just her and Buster?"

"No, she did have a few overseers, and they were just as bad, if not worse. It was they who administered most of the punishments, and forced us to keep working. And the saddest thing I had to witness was what happened to Radar."

"They.......k-killed her?"

"No, worse; MUCH worse. Radar was pregnant, as she was a breeding dog, but when the pups were born, they just didn't meet Mistress's, or Buster's expectations. What I was forced to witness that day is something that's burned into my mind until the day I die. She......." I was almost sobbing when I remembered this, ".............T-threw them to Buster......and he......." I couldn't even finish the sentence, and broke down crying.

Dren knew that the pups were dead. "Oh.........God........for you to have actually seen that.........."

"Forget ME, Radar's reaction was BEYOND devastating! She LITERALLY tried to kill herself after losing her pups! I helped her through that though. The worst thing for her physically was the fact that her breasts were full of milk, but she had no pups to give it too. That same night, I was snuggled close to her, and I gently leaned down, and began to suckle from her. She looked down at me with surprise, but instead of really doing anything, she just laid back down, sighed contentedly, and let me suckle. This may sound gross, but dog's milk is actually very sweet. I know that it was Radar's milk that helped keep me alive. It was also Radar that gave me the will to live, just as I gave her the will to live. I kept going for her, just as she kept going for me."

"Did you have sex with her?"

"What was that?" I looked over at him.

"I said did you have sex with Radar?"

I gave him a look to kill, but I didn't answer the question. In reality, yes, Radar and I did get our rocks off with each other, but Dren did NOT need to know that! I just ignored him, and kept talking.

"Eventually though, in March of 2025, after almost a year of hell, liberation FINALLY came for all of us!"

"It.....did?! how?!"

"Well, as it turns out, under Futa law, what Delilah did to us was NOT legal! Futas were NEVER supposed to be doing what she was doing, and a few local Futas began to get suspicious that she was abusing the animals under her care. As it turns out, nobody even knew that she even HAD Males on her property at all! One day though, an MREA Agent came to her house to check out the animal abuse claims."

"Hate to interrupt, but what's the MREA again?"

"It was the Male Rape/Rights Enforcement Agency, depending on who you ask. Under Demetria's rule, they were like the Police Force, and it was their job to uphold Futa Laws, protect males from abusive Futas, and rescue them if it came to that. And it did come to that that day. On a side note, the MREA was VERY corrupt, and more often served the interests of Futas, instead of the males that they were supposed to protect. Sure, not ALL MREA agents were like this, but a lot were.

Anyway, I heard the agent talking to Delilah in the house above us, and I began to hit a water pipe with a rock, trying to let her know that I was there, as were several others, though they were almost brain-dead. I heard the agent asking a few questions, but Delilah didn't seem to want to cooperate. I then heard a few shots get fired, and then a loud scuffle on the floor above us. Then I heard the agent scream over her radio that she had a belligerent in custody, and that she needed backup IMMEDIATELY!

Long story short, more backup arrived, and the premises were searched. Buster attacked an officer, and had to be put down with a shotgun, though NOBODY cared! Worst of all though, was when the agent who found us looked under the porch. What she found made her wretch EVERYWHERE! There were 4 male figures lying in the dirt, surrounded by bugs, spiders, the skeletons and partially-eaten carcasses of animals, a number of dogs, and what appeared to be blood. The officer tried to get closer, but was warned off by a loud growl coming from close by. The agent turned her flashlight towards the noise, and what she saw made her heart stop. There, huddled in the darkness, was an angry looking dog, and another male. The male appeared to be a feral Human-wolf, and looked just as savage as the dog who was apparently his mate. In the end, we all had to be knocked out with gas, as there was no safe way to remove us while the dogs were still there, and NOBODY wanted to shoot the dogs, as they were the reason that they were called out there in the first place!"

"What happened after you all were gassed?"

"Well, one by one, we were all dragged out. There were 4 males, all malnourished and showing signs of HEAVY abuse, 6 female dogs, 1 alpha-female (Radar), and her feral Human-wolf mate. He too looked just as abused as the others, though he still seemed to have the spark of life in him. We were taken away from that farm, and Delilah and her overseers were taken into custody on charges of animal abuse, and 5 counts of male abuse. We were all rushed to a local medical center, though 2 of the males later died from their injuries, and a 3rd later died of his undernourishment. I never heard what happened to the 4th one though. Some of the dogs were sent to shelters after they recovered, but not Radar. When I was returned to the Care Center in Des Moines, she was right by my side every step of the way! I NEVER let her out of my sight, and after I attempted to actually BITE several of the staff there for trying to take her away, they just let me keep her!

Over time, I did slowly begin to regain my Humanity, but a year of abuse while living among dogs can REALLY do a lot to a person! I also no longer trusted ANY Futas! I had to be put in a section for broken and heavily abused males, but I didn't care, and neither did Radar. In that section, very few, if any Futas or Herms EVER wanted to adopt a male like that! We were free to spend our lives with each other, as we were all the other needed."

Dren was about to tell me that Humans and dogs weren't meant to be together, but he refrained from doing so, as he could sense the extreme amounts of pain and trauma I'd gone through up to that point. I could still snap, and if I wanted to be with a female dog for the rest of my life, he decided not to say anything about it!

"And.......what happened when you were adopted? What happened to Radar?"

I smiled a bit. "When Empress Demetria 'adopted me', Radar came with me. All throughout my time in Vegas, I had her with me. With me at least, until the coup happened. I was taken away by slavers, and then sold to a ranch in Kansas. I never saw Radar again, and I think that she died when Vegas fell. Oh god how I miss her!" I then reached into my desk, and pulled out pictures of myself and Radar that I'd taken while I lived in Vegas. (Demetria mailed them to me upon request prior to the Battle of Vegas).

As he was looking over them, Dren had a thought. "And whatever happened to Delilah anyway? She did die, right?"

I smirked darkly. "Oh yes, she died alright! She FRIED for EVERY LAST MALE that she EVER tortured and abused, and so did her overseers! Happiest day of my life was when I watched them all die!"

Dren looked like he was going to puke. "Can.......we maybe talk about something ELSE for a while?! I can't take this anymore! I don't really want to know what you went through after all! And I SINCERELY apologize for EVER doubting you on this! You've been through WAY worse shit than I have!"

I sighed. "Well, I'm glad that we can agree on something for once. And yes, if you want to talk about other things, we can."

Dren nodded, and then began to look towards my other relics in the room.

"First of all, where was that letter from AK Yearling that you insist exists?"

I reached into my desk. "Right here. I received this letter from Mrs. Yearling while she was just about to start writing 'Daring Do and the Fire Under Sulfur Mountain', which was the book where she introduced Mac." I handed it to him. "Basically, she was asking me if she could create a character based on me, as Daring Do fans were largely requesting that she have a partner. Long story short, I accepted, and now Mac is Daring's friend, adventuring partner, friend with benefits, and if things keep going the way that they are, I wouldn't be surprised if Mrs. Yearling has them get married them sometime in the not too distant future! And as I'm sure that you know, 'Daring Do and the Search for the Lunar Shrine of Romance' was Mac's first major role after being introduced in 'Daring Do and the Fire Under Sulfur Mountain', and making a minor appearance in the one that followed."

Dren was looking over the letter. "Wow, a letter from AK Yearling, and signed in ink! Well, sorry for doubting you Leopard!" Dren then looked on the top of my desk, and saw my famous Kitsune Mask. "And I HAVE to know, what's the story behind this mask? Where did it come from, and why did you wear it so much?"

(Yes, after all this time, THIS is what my famous Kitsune Mask looks like!)

I smirked a bit, before picking up the mask. "This mask was actually a gift to me from my second wife, Lilly. She gave it to me as a wedding present the night before the Battleship Express pulled out of Grand Central Station heading for war. It was made out of bullet-retardant material, had 2 leather straps to hold it on my face, and although the mask was white with black features, over time I began to add bloody streaks to it to make it even MORE intimidating than it already was! I didn't wear it too much, up until the day that Face sabotaged the Big Boy's boiler.

Due to my face being severely burned, I actually used that mask like a prosthetic face. In truth, I wore it for a long time because I needed it. Almost daily, creams and gels had to be applied to my face to help the burns heal. These gels and creams were held onto my skin by bandages, and the mask helped hold them in place. It also TERRIFIED the Futas, and as a result, thanks to the mask's black markings and my incredible skills on the battlefield, they gave me the nickname 'the Black Fox'!"

"Again, I remember hearing about this, but I NEVER thought that I would actually get to see the real mask! Can I try it on?"

I held the mask close to my chest. "HELL NO!!!! NOBODY but me will EVER wear this mask! I mean sure, maybe I DID let Dash, Spitfire, and Dar.......eh, Feathers, try it on, but that was ONLY because I trusted them! I do NOT trust you!" I then set the mask back down onto my desk.

"And what's up with that ax? That's not THE Fire Ax, is it?" he was pointing to the fire ax that was hanging on the wall behind me.

"Oh you recognize it, do you? Yes, that's the very same ax I've had with me from the very beginning of WW4! The only time I didn't have it was close to the end of the first part of WW6, though this was because I added it to a stash of footlockers, and other essential messages to families that left on the last truck out of Sue Falls before the battle there. Eventually, the stash that the ax was in was handed over to the crew of the brand-new Battleship Express, and it found its way back into my hands! Same ax, and now it was with me to stay! Used it a lot throughout the last part of WW6, and a lot during the Imperial War as well. In fact, it was this very ax that I used in my brief duel with Caribou Prince Dactyl, and with which I almost killed him!"

"No way! Really?!"

"Yep! The dried bloodstains still on it are from him!"

"And how did you even get this ax?"

"Well, the very first Army battalion that I was a part of was stationed in the city of Watertown, New York. I was a fireman at Fire Brigade 69, located at Firehouse 69. When the One Race Empire laid waste to the area, the firehouse was destroyed, and myself and 2 other firemen were the only survivors. This ax was one of the only things salvageable from the ruins of the firehouse, aside from our firefighting gear. It was sad, losing so many good men that night (not to mention Ell and our kids Max and Sierra), and as I held this ax, I vowed to see them all avenged. I did so, and I kept the ax with me."

Dren shifted a bit in his seat. "Again, I remember hearing reports form captured Futas warning about you and your ax. As you said, they called you the 'Black Fox', and said that the day that they fought you was their last day alive!"

"Eh, wouldn't surprise me too much. I mean I WAS pretty deadly in combat!"

Dren then looked over to the display cases. "And what's so special about these display cases? I mean, one of them is empty!"

"Well, that first empty case used to contain Aurora's battle armor before the Imperial War Museum was finished. Once it was, the suit was removed to become a part of the museum's collection, and I just never found anything to put in there. I was going to put my diving suit in there, but I displayed that in my relic room instead."

"And who's the Zebra?"

I smirked. "Dren, I'd like you to meet General Tarrath. He was Overlord Zakia's right-hand man, and the leader of the Zebra city of Zandia. It was also him who infected me with the poison that was beginning to destroy my DNA, and resulted in me having to become a Human Bat-Pony hybrid. Just as I was falling in the battle, I hit him with 3 shotgun blasts, which ended his life. Not too long after, I had him stuffed, and he was originally on display at the museum too, but due to complaints that an actual corpse was 'too morbid', I took him back for my personal collection."

"Wow, that's pretty crazy!" I then saw Dren looking with wonder at the final case. In it was a suit of armor, as well as a red cape, and a staff-like weapon on a mannequin of a stallion that looked downright evil. "And what's the story about this display case here?"

"This is the armor, cape, crown, and staff of none other than King Sombra himself. In a nutshell, King Sombra was a tyrannical leader who ruled over the Crystal Empire until he was banished by Celestia and Luna. 1,000 years later, he returned, and tried to conquer again, only to be defeated by Twilight Sparkle and her friends, including my wife, Dash. He was defeated, but not destroyed. His spirit, contained inside of his horn, was still alive and well, and eventually, his horn and armor found their way to Earth. Again, in a nutshell, Sombra's armor and horn were found first by the Matriarchal World Empire, then the Black World Order, and then by the Futas, before finally falling into American hands. For a long time, Sombra's spirit was reaching out, trying to find a host to connect to, until on the day of the Battle of Vegas, his spirit became intertwined with mine, and he became a part of me!"

Dren looked at me incredulously. "And do you really expect me to believe that?"

I shrugged. "You can believe whatever you want, but I'm telling the truth. It was because of Sombra that I was able to do incredible things. Terrible things yes, but incredible nonetheless! I saved the day at the Battle of Carlon when I saved my men from a War Beast stampede using Sombra's magic, and I cleared a path through Donneth at the battle there. The horn that you see on the Sombra mannequin isn't Sombra's real horn; the real one is kept somewhere safe!"

"Show me that you can use Sombra's powers!"

"I would, but yet, after the Battle of Donneth, I made a promise to myself that I would NEVER use Sombra's magic again unless it was an EXTREME EMERGENCY! I've never used it since, but yes, I CAN still use it!"

Dren just rolled his eyes. "And whatever happened to Sombra anyway? Is he still inside of you?"

I shook my head. "No, he's not. After the climax of the Battle of Donneth, he tore free of me, only to realize that he didn't have the power that he thought he was going to have. He left me, vowing revenge, and I've never seen him since. He's still out there somewhere, though I do hope that one day he does come back, as I miss having him as a part of me."

"You need SERIOUS psychiatric help, you do know that right?"

"Yeah, I know. I've been seeing a PTSD therapist, and I think that I've been getting better. Heck, I've even taken up painting since then. All of the paintings in the room next door were painted by Yours Truly! Want to see my relic room?"

"Sure."

I then led the way to a door close to my desk.

Once he was inside, Dren once again gasped in shock. This room was about the size of my office, but it was filled with stuff! It was lit by a window, and all around were display cases, and shelves with boxes on them. Caribou and Zebra heads adorned the walls, as did Caribou and Zebra weaponry. More weapons were in display cases, as were 2 diving suits. There were also a number of trunks, and marked boxes on shelves. The walls also had a number of paintings on them, and more framed pictures.

"Whoa! Is this another museum?"

I nodded. "Yeah. This is where a lot of memorabilia from WW3-6 and the Second Cold War, as well as a number of other miscellaneous items ended up. I was unable to display all of it, so some of it wound up here. I think of this room as a sort of 'relics archives'."

"Anything from your time under your mistress on that ranch where the Battleship Express was born?"

"Yep." I then reached up onto one of the shelves, and pulled out a small box. Inside of the box were a few small metal and fiberglass pieces.

"And what are these?"

"These pieces were all that I was able to salvage from a homemade patchwork biplane that I once tried to use to fly to freedom! I almost made it to Kansas City, but I got shot down, and forcefully returned to the Ranch. These few pieces were all I was able to salvage." I then found a photograph. "And this is Samantha 'Sam' Applegate, the owner of Creamy Dream Ranch in Kansas, where I was enslaved for the last time."

Dren looked at the picture. The Futa in it was tall, had dark red hair that was in 2 braids, green eyes, a few freckles, lots of muscles, and she seemed to be smirking a bit as well. She was also wearing a red shirt which barely contained her massive breasts, work boots, jean shorts that also revealed her massive bulge green leggings, and cowboy boots.

"Sam wasn't outright evil by any means, but she did like to exploit the males under her 'care' at times. She had a something of a rape fetish, and would sometimes ravage me without mercy whenever she felt the urge. It did hurt later on, but it DID ensure that Sam was distracted, and that the Battleship Express came to be!"

"And whatever happened to her anyway?"

"She and the ranch's manager, Misty Barrow, were captured, and later put on trial. They ended up spending a while in jail, but I don't know if they're still there or not."

Dren was looking at a box that said "Carla" on it. "And who was Carla again?"

I smiled. "Carla Boudica was the niece, and adoptive daughter of Empress Demetria. Her sister was General Stacy Rikker. It's interesting though. Demetria's full name is Demetria Jocasta Boudica, while Carla's was technically Carla Francis Rikker-Boudica."

"How is that possible?"

"Well, like I said, she was adopted, but yet she was also Demetetria’s niece. Carla's mother was a Herm named Natasha Boudica. She married a man named John Rikker, and together they had Carla and Stacy. However, both John and Natasha died when their daughters were very young, so Demetria adopted her 2 nieces, and raised them as her own. Carla adopted the last name 'Boudica', while Stacy stuck with 'Rikker'. Still to this day I wish that I could know what happened to Demetria and Carla. I still pray that they made it out of Vegas, but I doubt that they did."

Dren just rolled his eyes. "I don't see why you even care about them so much anyway. I mean they were Herms, and Demetria was the EMPRESS of the Futas!"

"Demetria was NOT one of them! She used her power and influence to manipulate the Futas behind the scenes, to try and win the war for the Allies! Carla was the same way, and they both saved many lives thanks to their actions. Carla loved me dearly, and if nothing had gone wrong, I would have married her, and would have been very happy."

"Master?" A female voice from close by asked.

"Oh, yes DECLI?"

"Aren't you going to tell him about me?"

I nodded. "Oh yes, I was. Thank you for reminding me DELCI!"

"You're welcome Sir!"

Dren looked confused. "Huh? Who's 'DELCI'?"

"DELCI is our resident AI unit. She was on our train for the entire time that it existed, though she dates back a LOT more than that!"

Dren then sat down on an empty crate as I began to tell him about DELCI.

"DELCI began her life in the late 70's, as an advanced supercomputer called M13. She was made by a company I used to hear about all the time called Ryerson Engineering. In later years, Ryerson would merge with General Electric, and General Atomics to create a bigger company called General Atomics International. Together, these 3 companies would go on to create a LOT of other amazing machines. In fact, some of the appliances, and most of the weapons systems on the Battleship Express were made by General Atomics.

But anyway, back to the topic at hand, M13 was one of the most powerful computers in the world at the time, though her operators at Ryerson kept trying to make her more and more powerful. This project was sidelined in the late 80's, and kept there until the mid 2000's, when M13's systems were finally updated, and streamlined. She was still called M13, but she was also given a lengthy serial number. Said serial number had the letters 'D', 'E', 'L' 'C', and 'I' in it in numerical order.

By this point, artificial intelligence was just coming into use, and some thought that M13 could become the next generation of that. Many long hours, and thousands of dollars were spent on the project, and for the scientist's efforts, M13 was indeed able to not only speak, but also showed the early signs of being able to think for herself. As AI technology continued to advance, M13 continued to grow and learn. Eventually, just prior to WW3, I got a chance to see her in action at a convention. During WW3, she helped run calculations, and run algorithms for winning the war. During WW4, she had to be taken to an underground fallout shelter to protect her, and this is how I met her for the first time.

She wasn't guarded very well, and once day I sat at her console. 'Um, hello? are you operating?' I asked.

'Yes, I am', M13 replied. 'Who are you?'

'I am Sgt. Scar. I'm taking shelter in this bunker until my squad's ready to move out again. It's nice to get a chance to talk to you though.'

'Yes, it is', M13 agreed.

Eventually, she was upgraded and streamlined again, and it was actually I who suggested that she be called 'DELCI' due to those letters being part of her serial number. This was agreed upon, and I helped save DELCI during WW5 when she could have been destroyed. We smuggled her to a secret military base in New York, where she would remain until the Battleship Express was under construction there. Then, once the train was ready, she became its resident AI. She helped with calculations, algorithms, and monitored the radars, scanners, and could even operate the weapons systems. And this was never tested, but theoretically she even could have even been able to launch nuclear shells all on her own!"

Dren looked impressed. "And did DELCI ever have to use any of the train's weapons?"

"Oh yes, I did! Not too often, but at times when we were shorthanded, I did have to take over a few weapons systems. I was fully capable of doing so, but I didn't have to do it very often. And I may be 17 years old, (as an AI, not a computer!) but I sure don't feel like it!"

Dren laughed a bit. "Well, I wouldn't know about that, but I guess that you're only as old as you feel!"

We all laughed at this, and then Dren looked around a bit more, while I began to cuddle with Briana, whom I had cradled in my arms.

Eventually, Dren came across an odd looking green jumpsuit. The suit appeared to be stained, and it had a gray helmet with it too. Included with the jumpsuit and helmet was a picture of me wearing them. I was a Human-Wolf in the picture, and I did look rather sickly.

"What's the story with this jumpsuit and helmet? When was this picture taken?"

I looked at it, but tears began to form in my eyes. The truth was I had tried to force myself to forget about it.

"That jumpsuit.........was what I typically wore while I was living on Creamy Dream Ranch. I'll let you guess what some of those stains on it are!" I then shifted a bit. "But yet, that's not why I hate that suit so much."

Dren looked at me curiously. "Oh? Well then, what is?"

"Well, the truth is, towards the middle of my stay at Creamy Dream Ranch, in the early Spring of 2026, a bad storm came in. There was wind, blinding rain, and almost freezing temperatures. It was starting to get late, and it was then that Sam realized that 11 of her stock of Femboys were missing. They should have been back at the ranch barns by sundown, but they weren't."

"Wait, Femboys? As in......"

"Boys that look like girls, and pretend to be girls. However, they differ from Traps in the sense that they're just really girly sluts, while Traps aren't always interested in sex. The Ranch often catered to local events, and sex just went with the game. Most of these Femboys were also underage. I was 'too old and too ugly' to be a Femboy, but that's besides the point!

Anyway, even though the weather was severe, we HAD to find those kids! Sam, Misty, and a few other ranch hands all went out looking, as did myself, and the 5 other male workers. It was pitch dark, pouring rain, and temperatures were hovering at almost 30 degrees, and falling fast. Soon enough, I was soaked to the bone, freezing my ass off, and starting to get disoriented, but I kept looking."

"And, were those kids found?"

I nodded slowly. "Yeah, I found them. They seemed to have panicked when the storm started, and in their confusion, instead of running towards the barns on the ranch, the scantily clad Femboys ran towards the end of the pastures, through a gap in the fence, and somehow wound up close to a bend in the Arkansas River, which was close by. Remember, the ranch was located in Kansas, close to a bend in the river."

"And what happened next?"

"Well, I saw that they'd somehow made it to the other side of the river, and were stuck on the opposite bank. Even though I knew the severe risk, I shone my flashlight into the river, and began to cross it to get to them. The water was BITING cold, and the current was somewhat swift, but it only came up to my waist. Eventually, I reached the other side where the Femboys were huddled. I could tell that they were both terrified, and shivering from the cold. They were glad to see me, and I grabbed my radio that I'd been given, but to my dismay, the trip across the river had shorted it out! I was all alone for the time being.

I then looked at the kids. 'Ok guys, here's the deal. I HAVE to get you out of here now! The storm's getting worse, and the river's rising fast! Also, you guys are in SEVERE danger of hypothermia! I have to get you all back across the river, and back to the Ranch!'

'Wait, we have to go back across the river?!'

I nodded. 'Yes, I'm afraid that you do Courtney. But don't worry, the river isn't all that deep right now, and there's still time to make it!'

Courtney and a few others looked worried, but in the end, I was able to get him, Silver, and Mickey to safety. Once they were on the other side, the 3 of them all scurried to get back to the Ranch, while I waded back across the river again. The water was getting deeper, and I was having a hard time feeling my legs and feet. My time was running out, but yet I knew that I HAD to get the rest of the kids to safety!"

"Then what happened?"

"This is where things start to get tragic. The remaining 8 Femboys were now terrified. They were confused, disoriented, and shivering. I kept trying to convince them to let me carry them back across the river, but none of them would budge. I kept trying to help them, but they were stupid, and refused to let me. I knew that our time was rapidly running out, but I never gave up trying to help them. I stayed with those little runts all through the night. The water kept rising around us, the temperatures plummeted into the single digits, and then, sometime in the night, possibly around 3-4am, the heavy rain caused the section of the riverbank that we were on to give way, and we were all thrown into the frigid water.

By the time that morning came, all of the remaining 8 Femboys had either drowned, or frozen to death. When Sam found me at about 6am, I was nearly 4 miles downstream from where I found the Femboys, clinging to a fallen log, and just barely alive. She dragged me out of the river, and held me close to her while she carried me back to the Ranch. Once we were there, she took me up to her private quarters, threw some more wood on the fireplace in her room, stripped me of my soaked jumpsuit, placed me on the furry rug in front of the fire, stripped herself, lay down close to me, pulled a blanket over the both of us, and began to spoon with me to warm me up again, and keep me alive.

Long story short, a few days later, I was back on my feet again, but yet, my hearing was never the same again. The combination of the cold, and lengthy exposure to freezing water, caused my left eardrum to rupture. The damage was never fully repaired, and I've been deaf in that ear ever since. Somehow, my sensitive Wolf Ears on the top of my head survived, and ever since that night, I've just had them, (though now they're Bat-Pony Ears), and my right ear." I then moved a hand over my left ear. "Still to this day, I'm completely deaf in this ear because of that night. I saved 3, and lost 8. Sam never fully blamed me for what happened, as the 3 survivors all attested that I did everything in my power to save the 8, but time just ran out before I could save them. Over the years since, and still today, I keep having nightmares about that night. I'll never forget what happened, and I doubt that the other 3 survivors, wherever they are right now, ever will either."

When I finished my story, Dren looked at me with utter shock. He'd never heard that story before from anyone else, and the way that I'd just told it, with very little emotions, sent more than a few chills up his spine. He couldn't quite tell what I was thinking, but he guessed that I was feeling more than a little regret for what had happened, even though I'd done everything in my power to save those kids.

Finally, he just asked, "Why? Why did you stay with them?"

"Because I thought that Sam and the others would find us quickly enough. I had the (sadly false) assumption that they would either find us quickly, or that the 3 that I'd saved would get back to the ranch, and tell them where I'd found them. I later learned that the 3 surviving kids did, but that due to the weather, Sam and the others were unable to get there until about 4:30am, and by then, it was too late. An hour and a half later she found me, and pulled me out of the river. Then perhaps 5 months after this was when the rest of the would-be Battleship Express crew made our escape from the ranch."

"And.......what happened to you after you could work again?"

"Well, Sammy kept a close eye on me, though this was due to my poor health. She made me sleep with her, which did help me with staying warm. I would remain somewhat sickly until I was back Stateside."

Dren then put the jumpsuit, helmet, and picture back where he'd found them, and was about to leave the room, when one last picture caught his eye. It was sitting on top of a trunk. "What in the world?" The picture was of what appeared to be myself, and a few others, but we were dressed in white robes, and were wearing white pointed hoods with eye-holes. On a hunch, he then opened the trunk, and pulled out a white bundle. After unwrapping the bundle, he saw that it was one of the same outfits as in the picture.

"Hey Leopard, what's up with all of this? Why do you have this, and why's everyone in this picture dressed up like a ghost?" He then held the white outfit up again.

I suddenly turned pale, and PRAYED that he NEVER realized what he was holding really was! In truth, that picture was taken during WW5. Due to the complete corruption of the ENTIRE Black Race by that point, and their EXTREME emphasis on destroying ALL of Earth if they lost the war, they had to be exterminated for the sake of all of Humanity. There was a supplier out there who provided full KKK outfits for anyone who wanted one, and even those who DIDN'T want one! I ended up with one, and so did the others in that picture with me. I never wore my outfit that often, and after WW5 was over, I put it in that trunk, and buried it underneath my old house. Once I reached the ruins of my old neighborhood again in WW6, I once again dug up the trunk, and brought it back to the train, where I placed it in storage. It resurfaced again after the Imperial War, and I locked that trunk into my Relics Room, and tried to forget about it. Now here it was again, and my brother could EASILY figure out that his older brother, whom he ALREADY hated, had been a practical member of the KKK during WW5!

I thought fast. "Um.......yeah. Those were ghost costumes. We had a Halloween party one night, and as a joke, we all decided to be the ghosts of soldiers killed in WW5, which was when this picture was taken."

"Oh, cool. And that's a really nice bonfire in the background too. Why does it look like a cross though?"

"Oh.....that was actually a larger structure before we set it on fire. The cross-like bit in the picture was all that was visible by the time that that photo was taken."

Dren then folded the outfit back up, and then placed it back into the trunk with the picture. He then looked up at me. "Leopard, I would just like to say right now that I'm SO SORRY for treating you like garbage. After seeing all of this, and you showing me what you went through, I see now what I fool I was to keep pushing you around. Sure, I didn't really regret doing it when we were younger, but now? I see that it was a mistake! Can you forgive me for that?"

I nodded. "Yes, I can. I mean sure, maybe we don't see eye to eye on everything, but yet we were two of the ones who helped keep the Futas at bay, and we are (unfortunately!) brothers, so that has a part to play as well."

I then shook my brother's hand, and then we went back downstairs.

Once we were down there, Briana jumped up onto his lap while he was sitting on a chair, and he began to pet her.

"Aww, she's licking my face! Does that mean that she likes me?"

"Eh, I don't know Dren, but if you knew what I knew, you would NOT be laughing right now!"

He gave me a confused look. "Huh? Why's that?"

"Because moments before she jumped up and started licking you, she was just licking her butt!"

"EWW, WHAT THE..........!?!?!?! GET OFF OF ME YOU SICKO!!!!!" He then grabbed Briana, and threw her away from himself!

"Incoming!" Briana was heading right for me, and I managed to catch her.

Dren then asked to leave, and I helped him back to the ground. After flying up again, I scooped up Briana, and held her in my arms.

"Briana, why did you do that?"

She looked up at me. "Because I still don't really like him. I just thought that I get rid of him fast!"

I shot her a look. "And you do know that I'll have to punish you for that, right?"

She smirked a bit. "Sure, just as long as you think that you can take THIS ol' Sphinx for the ride of her life!"

I groaned, and then began to plan on doing just that later.

A few days later, Dren, Tim, and the rest of the Wabash Crew, as well as those from the Battleship Express that they were related to, were invited to Canterlot for dinner. The Princesses wanted a chance to dine with them, as did a few other Canterlot nobles, including Fancy Pants, and his wife Fleur de Lis.

We were all going to be gathering in the Main Dining Hall, which was being prepared for dinner. Dren, myself, Don, Tim and a few others ventured in there a little bit before dinner, as Don and I wanted to show them the room's architecture.

"Whoa!" Tim gasped a bit when he saw it. "This room is huge!"

"Yes, and it's for ROYALS AND NOBLES ONLY!" A voice snapped from close by. We all turned to look, and there, sitting in one of the dining chairs, was none other than Celestia's nephew, Prince Blueblood. He was the brother of Princess Cadence, and NOPONY liked him AT ALL! He was a HUGE stuck up jerk, and saw almost everypony as being below him.

I glared at him. "Um, no, this room is for those that the PRINCESSES invited to dine with them tonight! That includes soldiers from Battalion 4009, Battleship Express Crew, and the crew of the Wabash Cannonball, to say NOTHING of those related to them!"

Blueblood shot me a look. "You are all PEASANTS, you know that?! You would be NOTHING without me!"

Don looked at him. "Ok Prince Blueblood, that was not called for. And what does that even mean, 'you would be NOTHING without me'?!"

Tim then chimed in. "Yeah, how much crack have you been smokin' today buddy?" We all snickered a bit at this.

"Why you little runt!" Blueblood screamed, though he made no moves to leave his chair. "I will have you ALL escorted out of here IMMEDIATELY!"

I then took a step forwards. "Oh yeah? And how are you gonna do THAT Buddy? There's more of us than you, and we're ALL combat veterans, to say nothing of some of us being CQC masters! So I guess that it all comes down to whether or not you'll swallow your pigheadedness, and dine with those who helped save Equestria!"

Blueblood then turned absolutely livid. "NEVER!!!!! I will NEVER dine with the likes of you!"

Dren then looked straight at him, and said something that I'll NEVER forget. "Oh yeah? Well then how about you just head upstairs to your room little boi? If you don't want to dine with us, then I'm SURE that your boyfriend would be willing to give you something to eat!"

When Dren said that, ALL of us who heard it fell down on the floor CRYING we were laughing so hard! Blueblood ran out of the room crying and screaming, and once I was able to, I looked over at my brother. I mean sure, he had hurt me, and he hadn't fully earned back all of my respect yet, but now I could see that he was well on his way!

Whew! Here it is everypony, Chapter 25, just like I promised! I'm SO sorry that this took so long, but yet not only did this take me so long to write, but I also got busy, had to work a lot, and had a few issues happen to me that prevented me from being able to work on this chapter for a LONG time! Nevertheless, here it is, and so I hope that you enjoyed it!

Now Dren realizes that he was a fool for being mean to his brother, and a LOT more about Leopard's past was revealed as well. What could happen next now? Well, you all know the drill, stay tuned, and I'll tell you! For fans of the Futas, they come back in about 3 more chapters, and then be in the last few chapters until the end of the story. That's right folks, there's now less than 10 chapters until "Beyond the Express" is finished! It's starting to build up to the finale, but when it gets there, I KNOW that you will all be absolutely blown away by it, so keep on reading! (Also, the whole bit about the KKK uniform was a borderline joke. I mentioned this before in the previous chapter about Leopard's past, and I decided to elaborate on it some more. It was NOT meant to be taken seriously, PLEASE do not be angry with me!)

In the meantime though, as always, comments, feedback, questions, as well as spreading the word about this story are ALWAYS appreciated, and I'll see you all again in Chapter 26!

ScarFox out for now!

Oh, and if any of you guys just so happen to have liked Leopard's dog Radar, and still wonder what happened to her, well, remember the old saying, Sometimes, you just can't keep a good dog down........