Iudex did not speak as his paws flew over the buttons as if the cat himself were not controlling them. His eyes completely lost focus as LizardMan darted across the screen, performing combos slightly faster than Iudex's hands were moving, dealing damage in vast amounts.

Reno stared intently at the screen, both had won a round Tira was low on health, yet so was Aeon "Not gonna lose" he growled and finally made his move. Tira hit Aeon and Aeon had hit Tira, "DOUBLE K.O.!" the machine chimmed "MATCH DRAW!" it said. "That was round one cat..." Reno glared and began to walk towards the next challenge "Haunted Mansion..."

Iudex's eyes regained focus as he followed Reno to the next game, he gripped the controller intently, "You seem to be a worthy opponent, but I am as well." the cat's eyes began to go blank as he began to chant a different prayer, "Through the eyes of my proxy, I call. Through his hands, I pray. Through his feet, I wander. Come forth Our Lady of Chaos and deliver the soul of my proxy to me. Allow him to live through me!" Iudex chanted

Reno smiled "You know you're alright cat" he grinned and took his stance "I think after this challenge is over... we could be friends" he said as the army of zombies invaded the screen "Just don't push my friends around again, savvy" he chuckled slightly "My the best animal win" he said and began firing

"Right... This will be difficult," Soren said, walking up to the building, he cautiously opened the door and walked inside. Immediately he caught all the smells of sanitizers and offices.. He kind of hated it because the chlorox and cleaning materials about made him gag.

Marcus followed Soren into the stations and hesitated, not quite sure who he should talk to, So uh, ask at the front desk?

Iudex could not hear Reno, his mind was trapped in the body of his avatar in the game. He shot down zombie after zombie, closing in on victory, the trigger in the controller clicking over and over again. The game came to an end with Iudex on top and Reno very close behind, the cat turned to the dog, "Good game, impressive skills. What did you say at the beginning of the game? My soul wasn't quite with me."

Reno grinned "I knew something was off about you" he chuckled "I said, we could be friends" he held out his paw "The names Reno..." he smiled "Nice to meet ya" he said and readjusted his bandana. "Your name?" he asked, his off colored eyes showing excitement

Iudex chuckled as well, "You may find a few more things off about me. I would enjoy being friends." the dark looking cat held out his wrist with the shining steel cuff, the runes glinting in the dim light, and shook Reno's hand "My name is Iudex Markov. shall we continue to the final challenge?" The cat began to walk to the DDR consols

“Huh? Oh yeah, no kidding! This game is brand freakin’ new and well worth the card credits.” Cruiser didn’t even take his eyes off the screen as he spoke, continuously blowing away mutant reanimates which lunged at the screen from the other side. Finally, he reached the end of the first scene and the score counted up. “That was nothing. Watch this...”

Feeling like a bit of a show off, Cruiser swiped his card under the scanner for the second prop weapon and pulled it out of the consol. He was seriously about to duel wield weapons on a rail shooter...


--Edge City K9 Training Center—

After a few short minutes, several dogs wearing black K9-unit vests and a trainer walked through the front office, passing by Soren and Marcus. While the dogs kept walking, the trainer stopped monetarily addressing the two visitors. “Hey there, can I help you two?” The uniformed man asked.

"You bet" Reno grinned and stepped on the pad "Good luck" he winked and picked the song, which was "Speed Over Beethoven", he stared at the screen "ARE YOU READY!" the machine called "3, 2, 1 GO!" the song began and Reno's paws danced across the arrows, hitting each one the best he could

Trigger smirked. "Two of them? Geez..." He walked closer to get a better view. "Hang around guns much?" The dog commented sarcastically. At this point, Trigger wasn't sure if this dog was really ambidextrous, or just over his head. He crossed his arms and watched the screen. "Lets see how ya do."

Iudex did not have time to cast one of his spells and he swore under his breath as his feet fumbled across the arrows, "Curse my lack of agility!" he cursed. The cat's expression turned to one of utter defeat, the 'boos' racking up, only interrupted by a few lucky '100s'

Reno smiled as the song ended "You Rock!" came across the screen as he got a triple S rank "Well, our match ends in a tie my friend, so how about we call it evem, and you join in on this sleepover I'm hosting to get to know the pets in Edge?" he smiled "Sound fair?"

Iudex's head drooped as he lost, but he perked up as the word Friend was mentioned, had he made a friend? "Yes, even, friend." he stumbled over the last word, so unfamiliar in his mouth, "And a sleepover? That sound interesing, I haven't ever been to one of those." Iudex rubbed the cuff on his wrist, he could feel something was amiss. An image if blank, white mask began to form in the infinitely black surface if his tag, which was also a scrying mirror.

"Do you have anyway of calling Cruiser?" Soren asked, "he showed us the way into the city earlier and we got separated. He mentioned that he had to come here later and we weren't sure if he ever managed to get here."

A cold shiver ran down Reno's spine, something was wrong, he could feel it " W-well so far that makes four of us " he stuttered through the shiver " I'm sure you'll have a great time! " he grinned " I'll watch out for ya " he winked, trying to hide the look of worry

"H-have you always lived here?" Willow asked.

It's kind of urgent
Mrcus decided not to give any further information yet, "my friend got chased by a ghost/demon/monster" would probably just get them kicked out.

Iudex stamped down the rising urge to cast a shield spell, "Thank you very much, but what time is it? And where?" he asked, having regained his composure. The face on his tag gained definition... And eyes that stared intently at Reno. A faint whisper could be heard through out the arcade, 'Yummy yummy...' it said, worrying Iudex beneath his frosted facade

" Just stick around with me, We are heading to my apartment after we leave here " Reno grinned slightly " I could of sworn I heard another voice, but I don't see anyone else who could have... " he thought to himself, eyes looking around " It won't be too much longer " he grinned nervously

Iudex scowled inwardly as he drew a cross on his tag with is finger, dispelling the face, "Soon
..." the voice whispered. The cat perked up, "Alright," he smiled, "And don't worry about the voice. I sent him away for now." the cat pulled his phone from his collar and began to text, "I'm just telling my dad, not like he'd mind."

Reno's ears perked up when Iudex mentoined the voice " I thought I was going crazy... Tell me what you can about the voice... " he nodded, his fists clenched from reflex " I have a feeling we're gonna be sering each other alot... Not that I'd mind " he smiled, trying to break the tension

“Yes, just stay close. You’re friends of mine, so you’re just as welcome as I am.” They approached the mostly empty parking lot of the Diner. At this particular time of day and week, business was pretty slow for the rather isolated resuraunt. Generally the only people there were travelers or truckers getting a late breakfast, or an early lunch before quickly leaving.

Zaya pushed past the door and held it open for Plamen and Skya. Almost immediately, a red-headed woman who appeared to be in her late twenties welcomed the familiar dog from behind the front counter. “Oh Zaya! It’s nice to see you again! Please, come here!”


Zaya walked up to the counter with a small smile, and met the woman just outside the counter near an empty table. “Lucy, I’m happy to see you too.” The diner waitress gave Zaya a hug held one of her paws. “You haven’t been by in weeks. How have you been getting by?” Zaya replied with a giggle. “I’ve been doing fine, meeting new people...and making new friends. We’re a little hungry actually...” She said with a glance over to Skya and Plamen.


The woman gave Zaya another warm smile and guided her over to an empty table near one of the corners of the Diner. “Sure! Sure! I’ll be right with you and your friends. I’m sure Mel would love to see you again too!” The waitress walked off behind the counter again, and Zaya motioned for Skya and Plamen to take a seat by her.


--Edge City K9 Training Center--



The K9 trainer gave both the dogs a semi-skeptical look and glanced at his watch. “Cruiser? You mean a dog that trains here? Look if you have concerns about one of our dogs, you should talk to the front desk. But I can tell you two now, unless he’s part of the police K9 training unit, he’s not going to be here for another hour or so.”

--Red Star Arcade--




“The heck I do!” Cruiser cracked a wicked smile and let his tongue hand out as the next round began. With a second controller active, the games difficulty went up a level. More and more reanimates were popping up on screen. As before, Cruiser expertly mowed each and every one down with virtual lead. Though, it became obvious he wasn’t fully ambidextrous. His right controller was taking out most of the up-front enemies while his left was simply taping away at the farther, slower moving, approaching zombies in the background. Still, he was managing to clear each floor with only a few close call...and one critical hit from a lucky axe-wielding reanimate...

Iudex grinned wickedly, finally getting to show his knowledge, "The voice belongs to an agent of gluttony who has no name." he said quietly, "Due to his lack of a name, he's hard to seal away permanently. He likes to lurk just beyond the boundary of our world and his." Iudex shifted his weight anxiously, "As an agent of gluttony, his goal is to corrupt through food, and when you're fully corrupted, he eats you." his phone buzzed inside of his satchel, "Where ever an agent of gluttony is found, agents of sloth and greed tend to lurk as well, thankfully they're easier to seal away or exorcise." the cat's smile became less menacing, "And I look forward to future meetings."

The husky clapped his hands together. "That's pretty good. Need alittle practice shooting with your other hand though." Nodding to Cruiser's left hand. He gave another smirk. "But seriously, no dog's that good unless they hang around guns on a daily basis." He rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand. "And I if i were a gambling dog, which i am (figuratively, of course), based on your collar, I'd bet my money that your a police dog." He stood there for a few seconds, quietly tapping his right foot repeatedly on the ground and watching the game before walking over and grabbing one of the guns from the dog. "Mind if I join? The only shooters I've played today was Time Crisis."

"Well then... if you are one the exorcists... Teach me..." Reno nodded "If these things intend to hurt people, I want to put a stop to them" he crossed his arms "I won't just stand by and do nothing..." he said, a fiery look in his eyes

Iudex smirked at the word exorcist, "I am not an exorcist, that isn't the right word." he tapped his chin, "Sorcerer is more accurate, but I suppose I could teach you a few basic spells and seals." the cat smiled gently, "At least enough to protect yourself. If you have a gift, you can learn even more. If you don't, no spells will take at all." Iudex's hand flourished

Skya had quickly and silently followed behind Zaya, bouncing the whole time, only to let out a squeal of excitement once Zaya had motioned for them to sit next to her. It was almost like her feet never touched the ground at the speed she went charging at the seat before jumping onto it. "Alright, first question Zaya, how much is this going to cost, second, do you think I got enough tea this morning, because I'm kinda questioning my own sanity, and third, Plamen smells like a flower." She said without taking a breath, Trying to figure things out and get Zaya to sniff Plamen, just to see how uncomfortable it would make Plamen.

She Thought Plamen would probably get her back for it, but it would be worth it. It would really be worth it.

Reno nodded "We will do it after the sleep over... We don't need people freaking out... I am actually kinda surprised I haven't" he shrugged "Trigger, Rover, Lets get going. Its getting late and I am not quite comfortable with Edge during dark hours yet" he called

Iudex nodded silently, waiting for the others to arrive so he could go, "This will be fun." he said, toying with a piece of chalk from his bag

When he finished his game he walked over to the other pets. "Yeah, a sleepover sounds fun." "Why are you uncomfortable with the night?" he asked

Plamen followed the two females silently, caught in his memories. As they were near the restaurant, he managed to snap out of it. He sat when Zaya motioned them to.
At Skya's first question, the GSD smiled "Don't worry, Skya. As a gentleman, I'll pay for our meals."
At the cat's third *question*, which was more like a statement, Plamen gave Skya an angry glance, but said nothing, hoping that Zaya will ignore that part.

"Look I've had a few bad experience s at night, and I don't want to talk about it now." Reno blushed slightly from embarrassment "C- Can we just go ok.." he said a slight whimper in his tone "I will talk about it when we get home ok" he walked briskly to the door, waiting for the others outside

Iudex followed promptly behind Reno, hoping to that his new would feel better, he may appear cold on the inside, but he truly has compassion. Once outside, the cat walked up to Reno, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Reno didn't see Iudex and was pacing back and forth, his arms crossed. Memories came flooding back to his mind, he flashed back to when he was a pup, lost at night. A particular image made him fall to his knees and cover ears "NOOO! It hurts!" he screamed, tears falling

Iudex gasped and dropped to his knee next to Reno. He pulled out a small jar filled with shimmering liquid, opened it, and held it under the dig's nose, forcing him to inhale the mixture. Iudex hoped to god that it would take the proper affect and shake Reno out of his trance, "Please calm down." he commanded

Reno shook terribly "Iudex.." h opened his eyes and looked up at him " I'm sorry... he stood weakly to his feet, his head swimming "Lets go..." he said looking away, trying to hide his tears

Iudex frowned as Reno turned away, did his friend really hurt that badly inside? The car followed close behind, "Please, don't be sorry." Iudex put his paw on Reno's shoulder, "I am just glad that you've snapped out of that trance." he smiled as he walked alongside the dog