Matthew ran into the teleporter and reappeared on the first floor. Stepping out of the teleporter, he gasped and jumped to hide behind a piece of wall between the two front windows. Outside an unarmored child with pointed fairy ears and small white metal wings was fluttering around. A Cherub. He had forgotten about those damn things. Cherubs only activated when the Blackouts knock down the Valkyries. They mostly did repairs, but with their tiny bows... they could be just as lethal. They were stealthy. Meant to use the blackouts to their advantage to eliminate threats until the Valkyries came back online. He recalled Mark saying something about the Cherubs running on the Eros power source... but Eros was never in the same place. He moved around Valhalla to follow the sun. His solar power fed the Cherubs. He both admired and hated that Mark used his idea for them. He'd never actually seen them though. He was usually freaking out at home over the loss of power.

Matthew peeked around the side, watching the Cherub land and look around with bright gold eyes. Cradling the robotic heart to his chest, he tried to think his way through this. Crouching, Matthew rushed toward the backdoor. He wasn't sure whether he should be afraid of them or not, but he was positive that something was off with them. The Cherub out front was not being stealthy. It was looking for something... or someone. Reaching the backdoor, Matthew saw a leather messenger bag in a lost and found shelf on the wall. Snatching it, he huddled against the backdoor and stuffed the wrapped heart inside. Slinging it over his head to hang it securely to him, he lifted his bandaged arm to access his watch. He needed help or he'd never make it out of the city in time. He needed his City Spies. Pressing a button on the watch to activate them from their slumber, he counted to three and pressed the call to them. Over his watch voices began to say in different tones. "CatPat online." "Peepachu online." "Skip Online." "Yellow Peep Online." "Drama Llama Online."

Over his watch, CatPat's eyes came on to show that the backdoor was clear. Taking a deep breath, Matthew opened the backdoor and slipped out in a low crouch. Sitting outside was a robot white cat with a black ear. His cats looked realistic but were an invention of his own design. They had been his way of spying on the Slums safely, but they were also his secret friends. CatPat's face turned to one of animated joy as it saw him and purred. Matthew pet CatPat's head, telling him in a whisper. "CatPat, Observation mode. Target Cherub and Eros." CatPat rose casually, turning to run down the alley at a pace just ahead of Matthew. Peeking down alleys, CatPat scanned ahead for him. Whenever he saw a Cherub, CatPat would stop and hiss softly in the direction of the Cherub. As his other robotic cats showed up, they took positions around to watch his back and sides. They brisky dashed through the shadows and were making good time to the gate. However, he needed to move faster. He was just missing one.

As they came to a street where they'd have to run out into the open, Skip trotted around a wall to greet the others with soft purrs. Frowning at Skip, he mumbled out. "What took you so long?" Skip coughed out little white metal feathers, causing Matthew to utter out a little shocked. "Oh... That's a bug. I'll fix it later." Lifting his arm, he pressed a button now that they were all united. The eyes of the eyes began to glow a bright blue as they gathered together and constructed into one large white cat with a black ear. Matthew was a little impressed with himself. He'd never used this feature, he only did it for fun. After riding with Nate though, he talked himself into giving this a try. Grabbing the scruff of Skip's neck, he swung his leg over him to sit on him. Unlike the horse, Skip's back shifted like real skin and muscle. Steering him was even harder. Skip turned in a circle, until he told him nervously. "Go to the Slum, Skip. What are you doing?" Skip's ears perked up, then he straightened up and began to run across the street. Matthew had to almost lay over Skip's back to keep his balance.

A cherub suddenly entered the alley in front of them, causing Skip to hiss and change course. Matthew yelped as Skip leapt up onto a stone wall and then up onto a balcony. Matthew had no control of Skip. He was picking his own road. Clinging to him for dear life, Matthew regretted not giving him a collar. Skip sprang from the balcony to the roof of a house. Dashing over the roofs of homes and picking up speed. The Cherubs around them began to let out a beautiful musical note that alerted others to them. The Cherubs rose above the houses to shot little arrows at him that were laced with paralyzing agents. Skip was very agile though. His sensors telling him where the attacks were coming from. Dashing left and right, Skip avoided the arrows easily. At a large gap between the houses, a cherub rose up with its bow drawn. Skip only sped up to snatch the Cherub from the air as leapt the gap. Crunching the Cherub into pieces, Skip landed gracefully on the other side and kept running. Matthew did his best to hang on, his arms practically wrapped around Skip's neck now as he moved around faster and faster.

They were almost to the gate, when a beautiful young man with glittering solar wings and grey armor rose into the air with his silver bow drawn. The bright golden light coming off his wings made Skip skid across the last roof with a loud startled hiss. Eros. Eros's silver eyes narrowed on him, when Matthew raised his hands and yelled out in a panic. "Eros! Stop!" Eros froze, his arm relaxing the string of his bow as he stated in a beautiful soft voice. "Voice command recognized. Elite Matthew." Eros slowly landed on the roof, his wings folding. All around him the Cherubs relaxed and hovered in place. Matthew panted a little. They were listening to him? That had never happened with the Valkyries. The Valkyries only obeyed Mark and Mattias. Staring at Eros uneasily, he asked him curiously. "What's going on?" Eros looked confused but answered in an almost human sounding voice. "The Valkyries were on high alert when they went down. I'm seeking the threat. Your vehicle is unidentified to the server. I thought it was the threat."

Matthew chuckled nervously, before trying to do what Mark would do. Filling himself with confidence, he told Eros firmly. "The Valkyries were shut down due to a virus in their system. Until further notice, Eros... You and your Cherubs are to resume Valkyrie duties. Protect the city. There is a possible bomb threat to the area. Keep residents away from the Slums. Evacuate them to the shelters. Repair what you can but leave the Valkyries offline." Eros bowed his head, then let out a soft whistle. The Cherubs around flew off in a flutter of wings. When they had gone, Eros stepped aside for him. Out of habit, Matthew thanked Eros and coaxed Skip onward. Skip leapt down from the building to the street, dashing toward the gate. He saw emergency bars over the gateway and was about to slow down, until Eros rushed overhead. Eros reached the gate before them, spreading his solar wings to feed power to the gate. Whirling with power, the gate bars slid open for him to exit through.

As Skip dashed through, Matthew waved to Eros in thanks. He'd have to thank Mark. All this time Mark had programed Eros to recognize his voice. It was a sweet surprise that he wished he could enjoy more. He had to keep himself on track though. Pointing to the Slums, he told Skip clearly. "Take me to the warehouses and hurry!" Skip dashed down the ramp and through the Slums. Skip nearly tackled a few men in leather jackets as he leapt and bounced off walls to get to the warehouses. Matthew sat up as Skip slid across the pavement before the large cluster of them. There were so many. Glancing around, he pointed to a man in a leather jacket with a red Cyclone on it, asking hopefully. "Excuse me?! Did you see an Elite go in here?" The man snorted at him with disapproval, then flicked him off before continuing his conversation with another man. Matthew winced. That hurt more than he thought it would. Groaning, he nudged Skip to wonder around the warehouses. Skip trotted around the rows of them. So, many had people yelling and cursing about the video or music.

Hopping off Skip, Matthew told him seriously. "Split up and search for Sean or Elite Mark!" Skip rippled and parted back into his smaller cats. Each of them dashed off in different directions. He had to find Mark and fast. He didn't know how much time he had left. Racing around a corner, he ran face first into a man in a leather jacket. The man shoved him away from him, snapping out bitterly. "Watch where you're going, dumbass!" Matthew winced when he heard the heart hit the ground in the bag. It didn't go off, but it was a strong reminder that he had to be careful. The man looked him over, before kneeling to coo out wickedly. "Well, look at you. Not from around here, are you little mouse?" Matthew slowly got to his feet, uttering out as politely as he could. "Yes. I'm looking for my brother. I'm sorry." Matthew tried to rush around the man, but more men were suddenly stepping from the shadows of the warehouses. Matthew swallowed as fear ran up his spine.

The kneeling man stood up, chuckling out darkly. "Don't worry. We'll help you. Come with me." The man grabbed Matthew's arm hard enough to bruise him. Yelping, Matthew trying to tug his arm free, yelling out. "No! Stop! Let me go!" The men laughed as the guy wrapped his arms around him to hold him still. Matthew screamed, trying to pull away from him as the others moved closer. The man licked the side of his neck, purring into his ear. "Relax. We'll make room for you somewhere... After we have a little fun with you." One of the men touched his white jacket, asking the others. "Wait... Isn't that the uniform of an Elite?" Another man scoffed loudly, stating out. "He's no Elite. I've certainly never seen him before." The man holding him, sniffed his neck, before adding out pleasantly. "Smells good though. Definitely from Valhalla." Matthew whimpered as a man reached inside his open jacket to touch his sides. The man leaned in to kiss Matthew, but Matthew spit at him. The men laughed as the guy wiped his face with a curse.

The man holding him, yanked him up off his feet before trying to wrestle him to the ground. As scrawny as Matthew was, he couldn't slip out of the guy's grip. Not with the other men helping to pin him down to the ground. As panic started to set into Matthew, he screamed out. "MARK! HELP ME!" The men laughed louder. Matthew started to cry as he felt their hands on him. Then one of the guys screamed as something landed on his back. Matthew saw the guy roll with someone before getting thrown away. The new man rolled perfectly to his feet, lunging back at the other men around Matthew with an aggressive hiss. The other men fell back away from Matthew with startled yelps. The new man arched his back flashing a set of canine looking teeth as his long black tail flicked aggressively behind him. The men began yelling out. "What the fuck is THAT?!" The new man's silky black cat ears fell back as he swiped at them with sharp black nails. Within seconds one or two was running away.

Matthew sat up a little with wide eyes. This was a pet from Valhalla. An altered pet from the looks. The man wore tight black leather pants with a hole for his long black tail and a black tank top. Around his neck was a black collar with a silver bell. The guy that had been thrown away, came running back to fight the cat man with a switch knife. The cat man waited for him to get close, then quickly swiped the knife from the man's hand and began to punch him with fast movements. One punch turned into a scratch that scarred the man's face. The man staggered back, clearly outmatched. The cat man hissed at him, forcing him to retreat. The cat man stood waiting a few minutes. His tail flicking with agitation as he listened to every sound. Then he relaxed and turned around to ask him coolly. "Are you ok?" Matthew slowly sat up on his knees, asking the question he really wanted to know as his response. "Who are you?" The cat man smiled, his ears perking up as he chuckled out. "I'm Ricky." Ricky extended a leather fingerless gloved hand toward him to help him up. Matthew took it feeling uneasy as he stammered out confused. "How did you...? Why did you...?"

Ricky pulled him to his feet, sweetly telling him. "It's ok. I'm a friend of Nate. He sent me a message. Said you were going to need some help. I came as fast as I could. Your cat thingy is fast." Matthew blinked, saying under his breath in shock. "Nate sent you?" Ricky nodded, admitting a little shyly. "Well, ya. I was once a Slum dog. We know how these people can be. He was worried about you. So, he called in a favor." Matthew huffed with relief, leaning against Ricky a bit to catch his breath. Even injured Nate was still saving his ass. Ricky held him lightly, saying softly. "I arrived just in time too. Fucking Cyclones." Matthew couldn't say anything. He was still so shaken up. He'd never been manhandled like that before. Ricky held him, sniffing the air. After a minute, his ears twitched, and he said softly to himself. "Sean?" Matthew took a step back, asking curiously. "Sean? Where?" To Be Continued...