Chapter 1

It came as no surprise to Onyx as he peered over the edge of a rooftop into a dark, damp alley one starry night and found a vuluptous young anthropomorphic fox girl getting beat on by 6 punks. She was a snow fox, the tips of her ears blotted with black, as if they were dipped in ink. The same could be said for her tail, and her forearms and legs were black below her knees as well. Her hair went down between her soft, curved back and stopped at her tail, and was black with white stripes going down its length. Onyx didn't have time to waste looking at her. He had to do something.

It was always like that there. The anthros were oppressed and insulted and hated. Regular beatings and muggings happened to them all the time. And police were always convieniantly not finding the criminals. Onyx was a tall, muscular but lean panther anthro with dark brown hair that hung smooth about his head, partially hiding his face. He was a recluse, preferring to do things alone and hang out by himself. He lived in his decent, comfortable apartment, watching television and watching the news, listening to reports of anthro murders and attacks on them actually rising. He sat and listened to this with growing impatience. The race of anthros could only take so much. You can only hurt a man so much before he'll fight back. Something had to give, and the only thing that gave was Onyx. One day, he stood up from his lazy-boy recliner and stared out the window. He had heard some commotion and sure enough, there was a ruffian chasing a cat girl across the street, who was looking about 16, from what he could tell. The man was laughing at her and teasing her, and others around, anthro and human alike, did nothing. Onyx's chest began to rise and fall with anger. He slammed his fist into the wall and turned away, putting on his hooded jacket and going out the door. He went down a flight of stairs, came outside and followed the voices of the man and the girl down the street. He reached them, the man having the girl against the wall, feeling her up underneath her shirt while she sobbed and tried to push him off. Onyx roared out, attracting the attention of others around, and the man too, which is what he was going for. Onyx shoved him away hard, giving him a look of challenge.

"Feel me up. Go ahead, see what i might do." Onyx said in his low, husky voice. The man scowled and swung at him with a right hook. Onyx put out his left arm and stopped the swing, and sent his right fist into the man's gut. He keeled over and Onyx took the opportunity to grab his head and slam a knee into the man's face. Blood drained freely from his disfigured nose and his mouth as he fell limp to the ground. Onyx only glanced at the girl and nodded to her. "Go home..." He then turned away and walked down the street towards his apartment. He started to walk slower as applause broke out from people all around, mostly anthros and actually some humans as well. They smiled and clapped and gave him thumbs up as he passed. A few gave words of congratulations and thanks. "Way to go, boy!" "You did good." "We need more people like you in this city!" Onyx blinked and smiled at that last remark. A human had called him a person. They regarded him as someone who had feelings and emotions, someone like them. When Onyx went back to his room, he fell to his knees and cried openly into his hands. He sat on his couch then, and started to watch more t.v. but he couldn't pay attention to it. He kept thinking about what that human said.

Could he make some sort of difference? Was he important in some way? The words rang in his mind as if someone hit a huge bell, and the sound kept reverberating in his head. He decided then and there, that he would do something.

He would fight back. Others might catch on, they might catch wind of an anthro helping others in need, mostly other anthros. Then, they might feel more confident. They would stand up for themselves and their rights. They would make the world notice them, and make it hear their cries. Justice would be served, and the anthros would be treated equally.

Liberty would finally come to them.

All of this raced through his head, and caused Onyx to stand up quickly. The rush of excitment running through him at that moment was exilerating. A smile grew large over his muzzle. That was that.

Onyx scoffed at the thugs in the alley. They were really shabby. Wouldn't stand a chance if they were attacked; they were'nt organized. Onyx could tell this by the way they stood and interacted with one another. He had trained himself to pay painstaking attention to things. After all, he might have been stronger and faster than most, but he could still make mistakes. He had to be carefull. Still, he had learned to pay attention to manurisms people used. It helped that the thugs were drunk too.

Onyx stood to his full height and put up his hood. it almost completely shadowed his face and head. Only his eyes shown through the darkness. He laid his ears back flat so they wouldn't poke at the hood to obviously. The only thing that showed he wasn't human was his long, black tail. One of the thugs had a knife to the fox girls neck and had his other hand clasped around her muzzle. She whined and cried as much as she could, but no one would here her. The man drew back the knife and was about to slide it easily into the girls soft furred neck, until a loud and sickining crack rent through the air. The thug's head had split open, spraying blood onto the red brick wall nearby, making it a deeper red. Blood kept spilling from him as he toppled to the ground. A large, bloody chunk of concrete lay nearby. The thugs friends' mouths gaped open at the sight. The girl stared at the body in shock. No one moved.

Onyx slapped his paws together to get the powder from the concrete off of his hands. He kept watching the other thugs to see if they would try anything. The started to look all around while backing up cautiously. Now was the time. While their fear was at its peak.

He leapt down swiftly, his clothes flapping against the wind, and landed with a soft thud behind them, blocking their way out of the alley. They all turned around quickly, gasping and cursing in fear. Onyx smelled the fear... it wafted from them. He was a little ashamed to admit that he got off on the smell. It enamored him. But he wasn't that ashamed.

He stood his full height again, about 6.1, and lifted his head proudly underneath the hood, pushing his chest out a bit so that he looked even more intimidating. It's intended effects went smoothly. They all were breathing quickly, a couple of them wimpering. Other then that, it was dead silence. Until one of them stepped up and spoke in a scared, but determined voice.

"He-hey man, just let us go. We can forget about all this, yea?" he had his hands out in front of him in a pleading manner. Onyx took in a long breath and sighed heavily, his breath letting out icy vapors from the shadow of his hood. One of the thugs swallowed audibly.

"I dont forget very easily." Onyx said in a deep, smooth voice that flowed through the air. The thug stomped in frustration. "C'mon, man! We don't want any trouble!"

"You should have thought about that before you STARTED trouble..." Onyx said with a growl in his words. "You words are as empty as your soul. Time to die." At that the thug yelled out and pulled a switchblade from his pocket. The others did as well. The lead one ran forward and brought his knife at a downward stab towards Onyx's head. Onyx simply stepped to the side and kicked out his legs from under him. Another tried to slice at Onyx's throat. Onyx grabbed his wrist with one hand and used the other to smash the thug's elbow backwards so that it bent the wrong way. The thug fell to the ground, crying and favoring his deformed arm.

Onyx leapt forward and pounced one's chest, his clawed feet digging into the man's flesh while Onyx's paws were clamped down on the man's shoulders, digging his claws in. The force and impact of the pounce sent him flying to the ground on his back with Onyx clamped to him. The fierce anthro clenched hes fingers around the thugs windpipe and tore it out with torrents of blood following it. Onyx pulled his legs up so that his head was between his thighs while he crouched over the body. He then pressed as hard as he could, his muscular legs flexing as he was sent into a perfect backflip, flying through the air and landing in front of a thug who was trying to escape. Before the man could do anything, Onyx had clenched his fingers tight, so they curled slightly. The muscles in them flexed and caused his long, curved claws to unsheath. He swiped at the thug's stomach and tore it asunder, the flesh flying off and the intestines hanging loose. The thug swayed on his feet, falling flat on his back after a moment. The last three thugs watched in horror. One of them grew balls and actually tossed a knife up and caught it by the blade and tossed it at Onyx quickly.

Onyx jumped in surprise as the blade sank into his shoulder. He growled loudly and looked at the handle of the blade, then slowly turned his head to the one who threw it.

"That was real FUCKING smooth, punk. Let me show you how it's done." Onyx reached his paw up and gripped the knife handle firmly. He pulled it out with a grunt, eyeing the blood on it and smiling. Without warning he cocked his arm back and hurled it towards the thug. It sank deep into his neck, and he cried out, but only gurgling came from his mouth, along with more blood. Onyx was going at a brisk pace towards the last two when one of them pulled out a pistol and started to point it. Onyx was too fast, however, and reached out with his right paw and grabbed the barrel of the gun. His left hand came up from his side and smashed into the thug's hand, sending it upwards. The thug stumbled back and onyx had the gun pointed straight at his face. A flash of light, a loud crack of metal clanging against metal, and a bullet went through the air and sank into the thug's skull. Onyx grabbed the last thug by the back of the head then and leaned him forward while jamming the gun into his stomach. The thug offered no resistence, giving into his fate. Onyx pulled the trigger and the body fell forward. Silence once again.

The only thing that was heard then was the girls slow breathing. Onyx looked up at her. She seemed calm while looking back at him. Onyx couldn't help but notice her crystal blue eyes. He sighed and started to turn away but was surprised when she called out.

"Wait." she had started to come to him slowly. "How many times must I be hit on by a bimbo in distress..." he thought. But he fealt different inside and didn't want to admit it. He decided to hear her out before leaving. This vixen was gorgeous. When she got near him she rubbed the back of her neck nervously. Onyx didn't look at her and only waited for her to say something.

"You're that Reaper guy, right?" she said quietly in a slightly exited tone. She had just been attacked a few moments ago and now she was peachy? Onyx looked at her with an eyebrow raised, although she couldn't see it. "Yea, I'm called a lot of things." he said shortly. She smiled. Onyx laughed inside. It had only been 2 months and he was getting well heard of. "You're so... cool." she said with a small laugh. Onyx cleared his throat. "Thanks. You should get home though..." She frowned and tilted her head slightly. "Yea, about that... I live 10 miles from here..." Onyx looked at her with narrow eyes. "What? What the hell are you doing so far from your home?" he said impatiently. He now had to escort her home and waste the rest of his night. he lived about 10 miles away as well. This was gonna be a long night. She gave him a mean look. "Hey, they brought me here! I couldn't do anything!" Onyx just sighed. "Look, I'll take you home... lets go..." with that he pointed his thumb over his shoulder and turned around. She grinned and followed him and started to say where she lived while they walked away from the bloody mess.

The walk was interesting, to say the least. Onyx never talked that much, but the fox talked the whole time almost. She wasn't annoying though, like Onyx feared at first. She was very casual with her words. She was actually interesting, And Onyx soon found himself talking as well. He never really enjoyed talking to others, But he was enjoying himself for the first time in a long time. He actually laughed, which shocked him at first. But he became more and more comfortable. The walk seemed shorter then it really was. When they arrived where she lived at the appartment building. She sighed and turned around to face him. "Well, here we are. I live about 3 floors up. I... guess i'll see you around." Onyx nodded slowly but was too much in shock over the fact that he was home. he didn't notice the route they took because he was too busy talking. She blinked and waved her hand in front of his face. "Hello, you there? Something wrong? Do you have super hearing and hear someone in trouble?" she chuckled. Onyx shook his head and cleared his throat. Oh, no, sorry about that..." He said quietly. She looked around a bit while it was quiet, and looked back to his face. "You have a number or something? Maybe we can talk again... Onyx was about to kindly refuse until she tilted her head to the side and smiled at him, waiting for a reply. Her eyes were so blue. Onyx choked slightly. "Um... i guess so..." he said while looking toward the ground and rubing the back of his hood. He was about to say it until he was interrupted.

"Can I see your face?" She blurted out causing Onyx to twitch in surprise. "What? I, uh, I don't think I can really do that..." he said while fumbling with the words. She let out a dissapointed noise. "Please? It's been bugging me all night, man! I wanna see..." She was slowly moving her hands towards the sides of his hood. He hesitated and his heart began to race. She gripped the rim of his hood and brought it back slowly. She widened her eyes and smiled a bright smile when she saw the narrow, strong shaped feline face. "Ooh, a kitty..." she cooed, which caused Onyx's stomach to lurch. He looked down and cleared his throat but couldn't find the words to say. She only smiled again. "Hey, i won't tell... it's alright, if it's a big secret or something I won't tell." Onyx looked up at her and smiled. It had been so long since he smiled. She giggled while she did too. "Look at you, you're beautiful... why hide your face like that?" she had put her paws behind his slightly between round and pointy ears, and was scratching behind them, her claws softly working through his fur. Onyx's mouth was slightly open as he began to purr loudly and close his eyes. She laughed out loud but he didn't hear her. "Hey, cat people really do purr, alright!" Onyx managed to let out a low laugh. He opened his eyes and clasped her warm paws and held them in front of him. "Um, My number isn't really neccesary... I live here too." he siad sheepishly. "And... i'm Onyx." The vixen smiled widely, showing her gleaming teeth. "Really?! that's awesome! I can't beleive it!... Oh!" She put a paw to her muzzle. "I'm so sorry, I forgot... My name's Catherine." she said and put a paw out for Onyx to shake. He took it and gently rocked it up and down. "Hi, Catherine..."

After that, they both went inside. They chat some more and Onyx found out she was 19. He said he was 20. They found out each others favorite foods and movies, and Onyx couldn't help but feel like these chats were pointless, like Catherine was stalling for something.

It turned out that Onyx lived one floor above her. They took the elevator to her floor. It wouldn't have taken so long to get there if Catherine hadn't pressed the stop button. Onyx blinked and looked at her. "Why are we..." But he stopped when She was looking at him seductively, her eyes locked to his. Onyx fealt that familiar lurch inside. He swallowed hard and stared back at her. Catherine all of a sudden looked puzzled at him, then wide eyed. "Oh my... You're a virgin, aren't you... ?!" Onyx looked at her shocked at the abrupt question. "Wha, h-how would you know?!" He squeeked out. She put her back against the metal elevator doors and crossed her arms, smiling to herself and chuckling. "I have a knack for these things." Onyx scoffed. "Who the hell has a knack for finding virgins?" he said skepticly. "No, i have a knack for paying attention to things... I can just tell that you're one... by the way you talk and act and stand and fumble your words." she explained. Onyx's face burned and he looked away. Catherine sighed. "Hey, i'm sorry if I came on too strong. I had plans but... we don't have to do anything..." she said soothingly. Onyx thought to himself. Fuck that, he had been waiting years to do something. He had been sexually frustrated long enough. He had masturbated enough to know it. He Turned to her and looked sternly into her crystal eyes. "No, i'm ready to try anything at this point." he sounded nervous. A smile slowly grew across her muzzle. "Good... I have lots of things to show you..."