The three of us made our way towards the armory. The halls were still full of refugees, lined with boxes of personal belongings, sleeping bags, cots, while the saddened eyes of refugees gazed on us with a glimmer of hope.

  Behind Uwu and I was Ash, singing to herself a cheerful tune. “We’re gonna go kick some Corpo ass, gonna kick their ass. Corpo scum don’t stand a chance…”

  I wondered how she could be so peppy while walking through this hall. It beat me up every time looking at all these people who had lost everything. We had to put everything on this mission, we had to succeed, or this was all over.

  We turned the corner just before the armory. I stopped in my tracks, letting out a long sigh. Standing in our way was a yellow hoodie wearing Anthro-Cat. My eyes closed slightly as I collected myself.

  “Captain Uwu, Vixie, I want to talk with you.” Noodle’s eyes gnced over at Ash, then back at me. Her shoulders were tense and raised up to her ears. She seemed uneasy, and I could only think of one thing.

  I cut off Uwu before he could respond, “Let me guess. You want to risk your life on a mission to the prison, so you can save your parents and be reunited as a happy family again?”

  Noodle nodded wide eyed. Her shoulders rexed a bit.

  I gnced over to Uwu. He shrugged his red furry shoulders at me. I turned back to Noodle, whipping my thumb up and pointing behind me, “Alright, get in line. We’re suiting up. No more distractions.”

  She smiled and stood aside, letting us pass.

  The four of us marched down the hall, no more distractions getting in our way. Coughs, weeps, and hushed conversations echoed around us. I couldn’t keep getting distracted here. We had to prepare for this next mission. No more losses here on Meowlith Prime. I wanted us to win big and take the whole damn pot home.

  I smashed open the doors to the armory and confidently strode inside with my lover and little ducklings following behind. Echo was arming up at some counters, counting rounds, inspecting guns, his eyes scrutinizing each detail. Walter was talking his ear off, mashing out words that fell on Echo’s deaf ears.

  “And that’s when the big dy decided to drop me from the balcony and watch my young, fit body drop to the street below. Thankfully, the sexy broad had the decency to drop me in the bushes, just a few scrapes and cuts were worth the time I spent with the Anthro-Hippo. Worth every scar…” His eyes drifted over the doors open with Captain Uwu, and myself, standing there watching him.

  A smile beamed from one ear to the next, his gravelly voice greeting us, “Welcome! I got the news from Echo here. Looks like you’re going balls deep into the dragon’s den for some good ol’ treasure.”

  I nodded at the balding man, “You bet your ass we are, and we need weapons, all of them. Leave nothing off the table.”

  Walter rubbed his hands together, “Wait til you see what I have in store for you fuckers. I won’t scrimp at the thought of Corpo scum getting what they deserve.”

  Captain Uwu stepped forwards, inspecting the plethora of armors and weapons stacked along the walls, some old antiques, others some newly scrounged goods from our st escapade against Praxis Power. “We need some protection for our new bloods here.” He gestured over to the Anthro-Cats standing awkwardly behind us. “And some simple weaponry.” He turned to the Cats, “You guys do know how to shoot a gun, right?”

  Noodle snatched a gun out of Echo’s hands, ejecting the mag and checking the bullets before smming it home, and pulling back the action, loading the gun. “I’ve had a few… altercations over the years with the Huff stuff going on. I can handle myself well.”

  Echo slowly pulled the gun away from her, ejecting the mag and pulling back the action, “Let’s keep this unloaded for now, okay? Get your own guns next time.” His eyes furrowed with frustration. Noodle hadn't been with Echo before now. We all knew not to touch his precious toys.

  Uwu nodded at Noodle, “Good to know, what about you, Ash?”

  “Uhh, I can’t really do that. Vixie showed me how to work a gun once.”

  Captain Uwu, Echo, and I let out a sigh in unison.

  Walter started ughing, his hoarse wheezing turned to a cough as he spped the counter top. He collected himself after a short coughing fit, wiping the spittle from his mouth, “Oh, no biggie ds and dies, I’ve found something perfect for a virgin.” The balding man dipped below the table and pulled out a dusty old box, made of hard pstic. The name on the box was scratched off and worn beyond comprehension.

  He blew a thick coat of dust off the box, assaulting us with a cloud of ancient allergens. We all covered our faces, coughing out.

  “Dammit, Walter,” I coughed out.

  He opened the case with glee, ignoring out plights. He twisted the case around and smiled, “It needs a bit of a charge, but it’s an Arc-pistol. No reloads, no magazines. Just press this button and fire.” He pushed it towards the Anthro-Bunny, “Check it out! A pretty girl like you can’t be shy!”

  She took the gun and waved it around in awe. I rolled my eyes at the pervy armorer and began digging around for guns to repce the ones I had lost. My knife was strapped to my thigh now, hugging me and leaving a nice calming presence on me.

  Walter turned to me, “I see your vest still holds up, a few more dings than st time I saw it, but looks like it did the job.”

  “It did the job very well. Saved my ass a few times for sure. I suppose you don’t have anything else special hiding back here?” I gave him my biggest doe eyes, hoping for some sort of miracle magic that he had something for me.

  “Nothing like you’re wanting, but!” He held up a finger and turned, digging deep into a chest full of items, “I have something you might want back.” He turned, holding my purple skinsuit draped across his hands. “I fixed her up the best I could. It ain’t tip top shape here, but it still has some of the juice it used to have.” He thrust it into my arms, “Go on, try it on!”

  I snatched it from his hands, “Maybe ter, perv.”

  Walter chuckled as he turned to Noodle and Ash, prepping them with supplies as Uwu came to my backside.

  “I’m gd the old suit is back. You look great in purple.” His hands caressed my hips, slowly moving up to my ribs, pulling me tight. I let him embrace me, falling backwards a little so I could rest on him. His chest heaved up and down with each breath, calming my nerves for the time being.

  “I’ll try it on for you tonight. Maybe put on a little show.” I smiled at him.

  Echo scoffed, “Oh, just get a room you two. We got work to do.” He cocked his shotgun, staring us in the eyes. “Let’s get it done.”

  My eyes caught Ash staring at us, looking away when I noticed her. I turned my attention back to Uwu, “He’s right. Let’s suit up.”

  I eventually found a set of dual pistols fixed up by Walter, the same autoguns I had before. I was gd to have them back, strapped at my hips, where they belonged. The vest was strapped with magazines for the pistols, 4 each on either side. Finally, a submachine gun for the close quarters of the prison. I suspected the tight halls and corridors would be where we spent most time fighting.

  Echo went loud and big. His signature shotgun slung across one shoulder, with a grenade unched slung across the other. Two more sawn-off shotguns were attached to his chest, with several auto pistols on his hips. Magazines and a pouch full of shells were also lining his belt. His smile never faded the entire time we stood in the armory.

  Captain Uwu had his cssic power pistol holstered on his hip, along with a automatic rifle, scope attached. He was worried we might run into long range fights. A couple grenades were strapped on a bandolier across his chest, along with some other explosives, in case we ran into a closed door or two.

  Walter outfitted Noodle with a submachine gun and a sidearm for extra measure. Ash had her Arc pistol charging up, something simple, but very powerful. I swallowed hard as I thought of her blowing a hole in my backside by accident. Both girls were loaded with backpacks full of supplies to keep us running in an all-out war.

  And we were ready for an all-out war. I just hoped the five of us were enough to stage a prison break. One wrong move could spell doom for us all.

  Captain Uwu huddled us together with our gear ready to go. He looked around, inspecting our gear. Nodding along with Echo describing the diversity that was our kits. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. The dim lights hit his red fur, outlining him like an angelic being.

  “Alright, crew, we have a tough mission tomorrow in the AM. Be at the nding pad six sharp! We will load up and get dropped in the city, a few kilos from the meeting site to not arouse suspicion. Once there, Ash will be our voice, get us into the metro line, and into the prison, from there, Vixie, Echo and I will take the lead. We head to the control terminal, find the guy, and get him out, …”

  Noodle held a finger up, but was cut off by Uwu, “And the scientists, then we free the prisoners, taking care of any Corpo suits along the way. Understood”

  We all nodded, “Right, be flexible, and look out for yourselves and each other, and we will get through this alive. See you all tomorrow. Dismissed.”

  I grabbed Uwu by the colr of his shirt as the others began to leave. “How about I see you right now?”

  He grinned back, “How about it?