Well, here we are again! My previous VG Cats fic, which was also my first ever, got lots of views and a generally good reception! I received helpful tips and very inspiring feedback! I appreciate it so much, seriously! Anyways, the warm reception of my previous fic inspired me to make another. It is a continuation of my previous one, titled Confessions. This one will include some drama…
~ragingbaboon38, with love 3

Murphy's Law

Aeris sat behind a concrete barrier, hiding herself behind it while plasma fire spewed from the other side. Aeris looked down at the bright blue LCD on her MA5B assault rifle. 17 rounds left. She looked back at Leo, who had a cracked visor, and was bleeding from several wounds on his chest. He was hiding behind another barrier, about 40 feet away. His energy shields had started recharging. Suddenly, she noticed an Elite come out of camouflage, charging towards Leo. "Leo, look out!" she cried. Leo barely had time to look back and fire his DMR before the Elite pinned him to the ground, ready to end his life. He shot the Elite in the chest, barely fazing its shields. The large Sangheili knocked the weapon out of his hand, and a left hook from the hulking alien crossed Leo's helmet, completely shattering the visor. Another Elite had attacked Aeris, which she was fighting off. Leo was on his own. Leo's emerald eyes could be seen through the helmet, stricken with fear as the Elite raised his energy sword to attack. Aeris looked back just in time to see the alien enemy plunge the sword into Leo's chest, the gray feline screaming as it does so. He falls limp, his head moving to the side. Aeris screams in rage and empties her assault rifle's remaining bullets into the Elite in front of her. As the bullet-riddled Elite collapses backwards, Aeris' back is thrust forward and into the air, held up by the energy sword that had just gone through her. She looked down at her chest, the Elite's energy sword piercing through her pink armor and out the other side. She fell limp as the Elite cursed her, and threw her to the ground. "Game over…" The titular announcer said, as both their visions faded black.

Aeris put down the controller. "Ugh, I can't believe we lost again! What round did we get to?"

Leo set his controller on his lap, and sighed. "Round 6, I think? That's actually really good though. You know how hard the Elites are in Halo: Reach."

Aeris rubbed her temples. "Yeah, I guess you're right… I still hate them though."

Leo smirked. "Well, that's understandable." He stood up, stretching. "Anyways, now what, pinky?"

Aeris blushed. She always did, when Leo called her that name. "I think I'm going to take a shower."

Leo grinned. "Can I join you?"

She started walking towards the bathroom. "Maybe next time, Silver." She entered the bathroom.

Leo sulked. "Well, had to try." He laid down on the couch, and turned on the TV.

About an hour later, Aeris came out of the shower, with a towel around her. Her fur was fluffy, having just dried off. She walked into the living room and saw Leo, sleeping soundly on the couch. She smiled, looking down at him. He was so peaceful and perfect… She grabbed a blanket that was lying folded on top of the couch, and draped it over Leo. Then she unwrapped her towel, and crawled under the blanket with him, snuggling up against him and closing her eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep.

The next morning, Aeris awoke to the sound of Leo snoring behind her. Not even a bomb blast could wake him up at this point. She pulled the covers off and stood up, then put them back on Leo. She picked up the towel from last night and wrapped it around her, then left to her room to put some clothes on. A few minutes later, she came out of her room, wearing her usual attire. Pink jacket, purple shirt, blue jeans, and the Triforce necklace Leo gave her. She walked over to the couch, where Leo was still sleeping soundly. She kissed him on the forehead, and ruffled his hair a little. "I'm going to work." She said quietly. She walked to the door and opened it, then walked outside, shutting it behind her. The cold Toronto air hit her like a wave, moving through her fur. She zipped up her jacket, then started her 20-minute walk to her workplace, which just so happened to be the nearest Gameshop.

Just another day… She would think to herself as she walked through the automatic doors. She walked behind the counter and took her place there, ready for another mundane day of work.

After a few hours, Aeris' phone went off. She was sitting behind the counter, resting her head on her paw, almost falling asleep. The phone startled her awake, and she pulled it out of her pocket. Leo was calling her. She smiled, and answered the phone.

"Hey babe. What's up?"

Leo yawned. "Hey. I'm going to Ternaldo's place to play Magic: The Gathering. I don't know when I'll be back, so I wanted to let you know. If I'm not back by midnight, assume I'm dead."

"That's not funny, Leo. Please be safe. You know how much I worry about you."

Leo chuckled. "Oh, I'm just walking to Ternaldo's house, babe! That's like a 15 minute walk, what could go wrong?"

What could go wrong. She hated those words. In her experience, if anything can go wrong, then it will. She sighed in defeat, knowing she wouldn't be able to convince Leo to stay home. "Alright, Silver. Just be safe, okay?"

"I promise I'll be fine. Love you."

"Love you too, Silver." Aeris hung up the phone, and put it back in her pocket. Her ears lowered, and she thought about Leo. Surely he'll be alright. It's just a short walk to Ternaldo's.

Leo walked down the sidewalk, looking at this phone. "5:30…" He said to himself. "I should be there soon." The sun was setting. Suddenly, a gruff, angry sounding voice was heard in front of him. "Hey! There he is! That grey freak!" Leo looked up from his phone, and saw two large, beefy

men walking towards him. One was wielding an aluminum baseball bat.

He put his phone in his pocket, and waved at the men. "Well hello, how can I help yo-" He was cut off by one of the men striking him with a left hook to his face. The blow knocked him clean out, and he stumbled back onto the ground. The man spat at him. "Pick him up." He ordered the other man, a large, stocky man with stubble, a toned jaw, and sunglasses. The man set the baseball bat down, and picked up the unconscious Leo, slinging the cat over his shoulder, holding him like a wounded soldier. He picked his baseball bat back up. "Good, now let's go somewhere more private." Both the men walked down the street, towards an abandoned shed.

Leo opened his eyes, and looked around him. Once his vision cleared up, he saw that he was sat up against a wall, however he was not restrained in any way. He saw the two men from earlier, looking down at him. He also noticed the stream of fresh blood that was running down from his mouth. From what he could tell, it was night. "Look who's finally awake." The man who punched him earlier spoke. He was a tall, well-built man, with dirty blonde hair and vibrant blue eyes. His face was twisted into an evil grin. "I've been waiting to see you for a long time, Leonardo… too bad we couldn't get your girlfriend as well." Leo's blood ran ice cold. What were they going to do to him…?

He silently prayed that Aeris was safe. The man reached his hand out to Leo. Without thinking, he took the man's hand, and he pulled Leo up to a standing position. The man's face suddenly lost all expression.

"Hit him." The bigger man gripped the baseball bat. Before Leo could register what was about to happen, he was struck hard in the back of the knees. He cried out and instantly fell down to his knees. He began to get up, and the blonde-haired man placed his foot on the back of Leo's head, and pushed down.

"Ah ah ah. You don't get up until I say so." Leo got up anyways, and punched the man hard in the jaw. The man stepped back for a second, then looked at Leo. His eyes were filled with rage. "Hit him again! Seems he's too thick to listen!"

The bigger man gripped the baseball bat again, and struck Leo right on the back of his head. Leo fell back down to the floor. "Hold him down. I need to teach this kitty how to listen." The bigger man got on top of Leo, holding his knees on the injured feline's shoulder blades, preventing his movement. The blonde-haired man pulled out a butterfly knife, and bent down beside Leo.

He grabbed the cat by his hair, and held Leo's head still as he cut into his left ear. Leo screamed in pain as blood immediately started seeping from the wound. The man shoved Leo's head into the floor, to quiet his screaming.

Once he was done, he had removed about half of Leo's left ear. It was cut horizontally. He pulled Leo's head back up, and looked him in the eyes. Leo looked back, his eyes filled with fear. The man brandished the bloodstained knife in front of Leo. "Now, are we going to be a good kitty and stay down?"

Leo nodded, tears streaming from his eyes. "Good…" the man sneered. "Now… you listen to me, you filthy creature. I've always hated you and those animals you call friends. Animals, especially cats, are below humans. You're pets. Food. Worthless. You hear that, you mangy feline? Your so-called advanced species is doomed, and I'm going to be the one to kill them. Starting with you and your girlfriend."

Police sirens could be heard in the distance, growing closer. "Shit! Someone must have seen us. We need to go." The bigger man gets off of Leo, and runs out the door of the shed. "By the way, my name's Jack. Don't forget it, you worthless furball." The man, now known as Jack, gave Leo one final hard kick in the stomach, before running out as well.

Leo's consciousness faded in and out as the police and EMS approached. The last thing he saw before passing out were paramedics running towards him, along with a very familiar voice, who was screaming and crying, begging to see him.

Whew, Chapter 1 done! All that in just 1 hour and 46 minutes. I'm exhausted! Anyways, I hope you're enjoying it so far! I will definitely work hard on getting chapter 2 out as soon as I can. Please review, it helps me to get better and inspires me to keep going.

~ragingbaboon38, with love 3