I should have known. It all makes sense, now. Rob grumbled to himself as he paced back and forth in his room. Ever since he had gotten home, he had been brooding over what Blue had told him. The timing was too good for it to have been Blue's idea; Josh put him up to it.

Rob ground his teeth as he remembered that day at the mall; Blue's cute little advances plus using that card were enough to get Rob out of the immediate area and Josh had known it.

"Ungrateful... I help him get ready for his first friggin' date and how does he repay me? By setting Captain Kiwi wannabe on me," Rob mumbled aloud, his paws clutched into fists as he continued pacing to and fro between his bed and dresser. "I'm not going to let him get away with this... I gotta get him back somehow..."

Rob furrowed his brow and clasped his paws behind his back as he kept on pacing, his gaze running over the floor as he remained deep in thought. Nothing too evil... I don't want to piss him off too much... need some sort of safeguard for afterwards, too... I don't want to get the stuffing beaten out of me.

Rob thought... and thought... and thought... and thought for what seemed like forever. The idea he was looking for eluded him, however, and it wasn't long before he was sitting on his bed, head back against his pillow. His attention eventually found its way to the poster directly above him on the ceiling.

"Well, hello there," Rob thought, a grin coming where a scowl had once been. "And how are you tonight, Ms. Zig Zag?"

He stared dreamily at the striped fur pattern for several minutes, allowing himself to be hypnotized for a short while.

Hmmm... that reminds me. Rob thought as he turned his head over to his nightstand, stretching his arm out and grabbing his digital camera. His grin grew significantly more as he began to go through the pictures he had recently taken on his last trip to the club. The camera perfectly suited his purposes; it was small, easy to use, and could hold over four hundred images at any given time. Needless to say, it was a veritable gallery of femmes, many from his favorite hangout: The Gentlefur's Club.

Ah, Misty. Now that's one feisty chipmunk. The corners of Rob's mouth turned and twisted upwards as he thought. Josh wouldn't last five minutes talking to her. He'd be stumbling all over himself, blushing his brains out. I can just see it no-.

Then he got an idea, an awful idea. Rob got a wonderful, awful idea.

###

"Mmmph," Josh mumbled as his head pressed sleepily against the pillow, shifting his body slightly so his arm was no longer under him. The couch may have been comfy, but it was nonetheless small for his muscular frame. He had turned and adjusted himself time and again during the night, coming out of sleep and into consciousness just long enough to make his body perform the necessary shift. But just as quickly as he had emerged, he would then return to a peaceful slumber. Until, that is, a wonderful aroma wafted past his vulpine nose.

*Sniff sniff* "Mmmmmmmm..." Josh dreamily breathed in the mouth-watering aroma as it ever so slowly roused him from his sleep. Something smells good.

Josh's tummy growled as his eyelids finally began to lift, a blurry image of a desk and chair slowly beginning to come into focus as he opened his eyes fully. He rubbed his eyes as he turned on his side, swinging his legs off the couch and placing his feet firmly down on the floor. With a good shake of his head, he was able to sit himself up straight, leaning back into the plushy cushions. After blinking slowly for a few moments, pulled his arms back and, with the telltale groan, he was finally on his feet.

Josh scratched the top of his head as he padded up to the kitchen counter, seeing Tammy by the stove in her same old pink nightshirt. "Morning, Pocketfox."

"Morning, Josh," Tammy looked back over her shoulder, setting the frying pan down onto the burner. "How'd you sleep?"

"Don't remember," Josh mumbled as he ran his fingers back through his headfur, his other arm resting on the counter as he sat down.

"That's usually a good sign," Tammy smiled as she leaned to the right, taking a plate from the cabinet and placing it next to the stove.

"I guess," Josh yawned, cricking his neck before flopping his muzzle down into his paws. "What's that great smell?"

Tammy smiled as she turned around, setting a plate down right in front of Josh before turning back to the stove. "Enjoy."

Josh moved his gaze from Tammy to what she had just set before him. His eyelids flew wide open, his paws dropping and grabbing each side of the plate. The corners of his mouth turned upwards and quickly began to water. "Your special pancakes!"

"You got it! I figured you could stand eating something for breakfast that wasn't pre-packaged," Tammy replied with a wink as she turned back around. "Besides, I told you I wanted to thank you fo-."

The sight of Josh holding out the now empty plate, his cheeks stuffed with pancake, greeted her.

"More, please," He said as best he could, a few crumbs falling from his mouth as he moved his muzzle.

"Um, sure," Tammy said as she took it, amazed that he had been able to stuff a stack of six pancakes into his mouth, much less doing it within a window of five seconds. "You know, there's a knife and fork right there next to you."

"I know," Josh mumbled as he chewed his monstrous mouthful, obviously enjoying the delectable delicacy. "I can't even remember the last time I had these."

"I can," Tammy chimed in as she flipped another hotcake. "A year and a half ago, the last time you visited us."

"Oh, yeah," Josh said semi-legibly as he swallowed. "That was when Sheila was doing that swimsuit shoot in Bermuda, right?"

"That's right. You were rude enough to drop by unannounced," Tammy kiddingly reminded him, Flicking her tail in his direction.

"Hey, c'mon! I was trying to surprise you two," Josh attempted to defend himself as he wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin.

"Well, you succeeded. You missed Sheila by a day each way," Tammy told him as she flipped a pancake onto the plate. "You got there a day after she left, and you left a day before she got back."

"Aw, geez. I forgot all about that," Josh stated regretfully. "How'd she take it?"

"Sheila? Oh, she was mad. Especially when she found out how close she missed you by," Tammy stated as she picked up the syrup bottle. "I don't think she stopped pouting until we decided to come and surprise you the same way you did us. Of course, someone wasn't there!"

"Yeah, sorry about that," Josh bit his lip. "Well... maybe I can make it up to her. When you go back, tell her she can stay here the next time she's passing through."

Tammy's ears perked as she heard that, turning to look over her shoulder. "I'm sure she'll be glad to hear that."

"Good," Josh perked up slightly, sitting up straight on the stool. "I just hope I can make it all up to her somehow."

Tammy coughed, holding her tongue as different possible responses flashed through her mind. "Uh, yes, I'm sure she'll think of something."

Josh nodded and smiled, even more so when he saw another stack of pancakes set before him, drenched in maple syrup and with a small hunk of butter on top. He was about to do a repeat performance of the earlier stack when Tammy's index finger bopped him on the nose.

"Use the knife and fork! You know how hard it is to get syrup out of fur," Tammy sternly told him, not taking her eyes off him until he had a utensil in each paw.

"Heh, sorry. Forgot myself there for a moment," Josh chuckled before stabbing at the stack with his fork and cutting off a piece, daintily bringing it to his open mouth.

"Don't worry about it. It's not your fault you're a male," Tammy grinned as she moved over to the fridge.

"Mmm! Yummy..." Josh almost purred he savored the taste, delaying his reaction to Tammy's comment. "... Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just that everyone knows men are children," Tammy replied teasingly, putting the syrup away and closing the door.

"Don't you think that's just a tiny bit of a generalization?" Josh asked with a grin as he cut another piece of a pancake.

"Not at all. Why? You think you don't belong in that category?" Tammy teased as she leaned over her side of the counter directly across from Josh.

"Well, as far as acting childish goes, yeah," Josh replied as he began to work on his last pancake.

"Hmmm... well I suppose you're right," Tammy conceded as a smirk formed on her muzzle. "Children know how to chew."

"But I used the silverware this time," Josh defended, the same amused smile remaining on his face.

"Yeah, but you tried to inhale the first batch!" Tammy pointed out as she watched Josh finish the plate.

"I can't help it! You make them too good!" Josh whined, getting up from his stool and taking his empty plate around the counter and into the kitchen.

"Excuses, excuses," Tammy grinned amusedly until she saw Josh gathering up all the cooking materials she had used to make the pancakes. "Hey!"

"What?" Josh asked, placing the plate and a mixing bowl into the sink.

"I'm supposed to be doing that," Tammy complained from where she stood by the counter. "We agreed that I would do the housework as long as I stay here."

"Well, yeah, but I was just saying that to get you to stay," Josh grinned self-satisfyingly as he turned the water on, rinsing off the goopy syrup all over the silverware and plate. "Besides, you were sweet enough to surprise me, the least I can do is clean up."

"The least you can do, is nothing," Tammy retorted while unsuccessfully trying to hide her smile.

Josh looked thoughtful for a moment before allowing himself a good chuckle. "True, but I'd still rather do this."

"Fine. I'll put away what's left over here," Tammy conceded, moving over to the cupboard while Josh did the dishes. "Actually, I was surprised you had the ingredients I needed."

"Heh. Well, you were in luck, most of that stuff was left over from that cooking show fiasco," Josh nodded over in the direction of the fridge. "The only reason I have eggs is because I was going to try making an omelet. I figured if I screwed that up, at least there wouldn't be too much mess to clean up."

"Makes sense," Tammy chortled as she put the flour away. "If you want, I can give you a helping hand when you make it."

"Really?" Josh looked over his shoulder as he scrubbed the mixing bowl. "Thanks! With your help I might actually be able to make something edible."

"I'm not a miracle worker, Honey," Tammy shot back with a playful wink.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Josh shook his head and chuckled as he put the last plate in the dishwasher. "Thanks for making those pancakes, by the way. I'm surprised you could get yourself up this early, seeing as you were so drained last night."

"Oh, I didn't get myself up," Tammy told him as she closed to cupboard. "Your stupid alarm went of at seven A.M. and I couldn't get myself back to sleep."

"Ah, ok. Geez, sorry about that. Forgot that thing was set," Josh then paused, his brow furrowed as he turned his head towards the vixen. "Hold on. You woke up at seven? What time is it now?"

"Um... almost nine," Tammy responded after looking at the clock.

"Nine? Shoot! I'm late! Blue's waiting for me already," Josh exclaimed as he quickly jogged out of the kitchen and into the bedroom.

"Late for your date, huh?" Tammy yelled after him amusedly.

"No, I just promised he could come to the gym with me," Josh yelled back as he grabbed his gymbag and stuffed his handgrips into the side pocket. "He forgot last week, so he wants me to drop by this time to remind him."

"Whoa," Tammy said as she saw Josh come out of the bedroom. "Blue wanted you to come by his place?"

"Yup," Josh replied without looking up, picking the keys up off his desk.

"Uh-huh..." Tammy paused until Josh turned her way. "Did it ever occur to you that Blue might be planning to pounce you the second you stepped through the door?"

Josh laughed as he slung the bag over his shoulder. "Yeah, right. Blue knows not to try anything like that with me."

"Uh-huh. Sure. Do something for me," Tammy pushed on, leaning over the counter. "Just ring the buzzer on the outside of Blue's building and see just how long it takes him to come out."

"Ok, fine. You're being silly, though," Josh chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Say, you want to come with? I can wait while you throw something on."

"No thanks," Tammy shook her head, yawning. "I don't like exercising this early."

"Suit yourself," Josh said before he turned towards the door. "I'll see you later!"

"Uhm, Josh?" Tammy chimed before Josh could open the door. "Are you forgetting something, or do you always go to the gym wearing nothing but pajama bottoms?"

"Huh?" Josh looked down at himself, groaning as he realized she was right. "Aw, geez. Thanks for noticing. I would've gotten some looks over this."

Tammy giggled as she watched him run back into the bedroom. Oh, yeah, not child-like in the least.

###

"YAPPAPPAA YAPPAPPAA II-SHAN-TEN! Hashagu koi wa ike no koi. YAPPAPPAA YAPPAPPAA II-SHAN-TEN! Mune no tai wa dakare TAI. YAPPPA-,"

"Will you stop singing that? You're driving me friggin' nuts," Josh exclaimed, interrupting Blue's melodic reverie.

"Aw, but I like it! It's got a nice tune to it," Blue defended as they walked along together en route to the gym.

"It's in Japanese! I don't want a song running through my head if I can't understand the language it's in," Josh pointed out as he shifted his gymbag's strap on his shoulder.

"Well, maybe if you watched the show, you could learn some," Blue cheerily suggested as he and Josh padded along side-by-side.

"No way, it's a cartoon. I haven't watched any of those things since I was a kid," Josh replied, giving the air a swift slash with his paw.

"Cartoon? It's not a cartoon! It's an anime!" Blue sharply replied, almost as if insulted by the label Josh had given it.

"It's the same thing. Anime, animation, cartoon," Josh read off as he brought up his fingers, one at a time.

"Cartoons are NOT anime, Joshy. There's a big difference," Blue insisted, folding his arms across his chest as they continued on.

"Yeah, yeah, sure. What was so enthralling about that cartoon anyway?" Josh questioned as they both stopped at an intersection, waiting for the WALK signal to come on. "I was buzzing you for 5 minutes before you got downstairs."

"I wanted to see the end of that episode!" Blue replied before thinking. And the fact that I was butt-naked didn't exactly help.

"Figures," Josh said as he cracked a grin. "Sorry I was late, by the way. Tammy's staying over and I forgot to move my alarm clock out to the living room."

"Tammy's at your place? Why didn't you tell me?" Blue pouted as they crossed the street.

"Whoa, down Blue," Josh chuckled and gave his buddy a pat on the back. "She showed up at my place last night and I convinced her to stay with me while she's here."

Blue's eyes instantly narrowed as he turned to Josh. "Where is she sleeping?"

"In my bedroom, I'm crashing on the couch," Josh answered with a quizzical look on his face. "Why?"

"In your bed?" Blue growled as his eyes narrowed still further.

"Yeah... why?" Josh repeated as he held the same expression.

"Hmph! I don't want her there," Blue stated as he commenced walking again.

"What, my apartment?" Josh scratched his head confusedly as he again walked in sync with his friend, keeping pace with him.

"No, your bed," Blue answered without looking at him.

Josh laughed despite his best efforts to suppress it, finding it amusing that he hadn't guessed already. "Ok, then. Why don't you want Tammy sleeping in my bed?"

"Think about it, Joshy. Who's been in your bed? Hmm?" Blue offered forth, trying to give Josh the right clue so that he could figure it out.

"Well... there's me..." Josh started, his brow wrinkled in thought.

Blue grew impatient quickly when Josh failed to give the correct response. "And ME!"

"Yeah... and now Tammy..." Josh finished, still not quite sure what Blue was getting at.

"Before she came along, it was just us!" Blue stated indignantly, his ears flattening.

Josh just barely held back a laugh, making it come out as more of a snicker. "Blue, you jumped on top of it for all of one hour. Jumping on something is not the same thing as being in it."

"Joshy, if anyone knows about the difference between on and in, it's me," Blue retorted, raising an eyebrow. "And for your information, I snuggled up in the covers and took a nap afterward! So nyah!"

"Nyah? What are you, twelve?" Josh ribbed him as they approached the street the gym was on. "Though I guess that would explain why you still watch cartoons."

"Anime is not cartoons!" Blue stomped his foot forcefully, eyes narrowed once more. "And I still don't like the idea of Tammy in your bed. Susan wouldn't either, Joshy!"

"Susan? Why would she care?" Josh questioned as they turned the corner.

"Think for a minute, Joshy. A vixen whom you're close to and you've known significantly longer than her is not only sleeping at your place, but in your bed," Blue laid it all out, summing it all up. "Oh, yeah. Susan will be just fine with that."

"But... she's just a friend..." Josh said slowly, his brow wrinkled in thought.

"Oh, sure. I'm sure after she calls and some cheery vixen answers your phone that she'll be more than happy to believe whatever you say," Blue continued in his tongue-in-cheek manner, having a great time watching Josh's befuddled expression.

"Aw, c'mon. You make it sound like she doesn't trust me at all," Josh said, turning forward again after his brief lapse in concentration.

"Remind me again; you've known her for... how long?" Blue asked just a tad condescendingly, trying to make sure his point got across.

Josh pursed his lips for a moment as he pondered Blue's statement. "Hmmm... you do have a point... think I should tell Susan?"

"No, I think you should drop her, give up on femmes entirely and go out with me," Blue playfully suggested, allowing the tip of his tongue to show past his teeth.

"Uh, that's ok, I think I'll just call her," Josh nodded with a chuckle.

"Of course," Blue rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically. "Your ideas are great cause' you're a guy, but mine don't matter because I'm a femme."

"I hate to break it to you, Buddy, but you're not a femme," Josh jokingly pointed out as they continued along.

"You got that right, Joshy," Blue quickly replied. "I can do things that femmes can only dream about."

Josh laughed at Blue's arrogant remark. "I'll take your word for it."

"And I'll happily take a lot more than that as soon as you come to your senses, Big Boy," Blue winked seductively as he sauntered forward, using his best 'come-hither' hip swivel.

Josh only blinked for a moment before letting out a good belly laugh. "That's it; no more cartoons for you."

"Anime is not cartoons, dammit!" Blue yelled back at him, completely ruining the mood he had tried to set just a moment ago.

###

Susan hummed cheerily along with the radio as she pulled into the mall parking lot. She stopped in front of the side entrance and waited there for a bit, her head bobbing a little from side to side as she mouthed the words to the song.

"They just wanna; they just wanna; girls just wanna have fu-un..." Susan sang along silently, her tail twitching back and forth from behind her.

"You like that song WAY too much."

Susan smiled as she looked over to see Tiffany poking her head in through the passenger's side window. "Hey, everyone has a favorite song, y'know."

"Suse, liking a song is one thing, being obsessed about it's another," Tiffany playfully reminded her, reaching over her shoulder to put her bags in the back seat. "I have yet to ride with you and not hear that song."

"It's good traveling music," Susan quipped as she waited for a few pedestrians. "Besides, it is the 'offical' Clique theme song."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you have to play it all the time, you know," Tiffany said, buckling her seatbelt and keeping a pleased smile on her muzzle.

"Have to? No. Want to? Yes," Susan replied with a wink, followed by a yawn. "Sorry I didn't come with you today, Tiff. After talking with Josh last night I really needed some sleep."

"Oh, I see. That kind of call, was it?" Tiffany grinned evilly with the tip of her tongue showing past her lips.

"Fraid' not," Susan laughed before pulling out of the parking lot, heading down the road en route to Susan's apartment. "His voice is a bit too soothing for me to think of anything else."

"Sounds like you had fun," Tiffany pleasedly observed as she folded her arms across her chest. "And don't worry about not accompanying me to the mall. I found someone to keep me company."

"Oh? Anyone I know?" Susan asked with a curious grin.

"Considering the size of your little black book, I wouldn't be surprised," Tiffany kidded, turning her head towards her. "He's a guy I met online a little while ago. I thought he was a bit of a nut at first but he's really sweet once you get to know him."

"Oh? Your latest candidate in your search for the 'perfect guy', huh?" Susan grinned amusedly as she turned a corner.

"Well someone has to," Tiffany said, sticking her tongue out playfully. "And I'm sure as heck not finding him by running around a football field with pom-poms."

"Don't tell me you're thinking of leaving the squad, too," Susan asked concernedly as she waited for the light to change.

"No, it's just that jumping up in down in a short skirt and tight sweater doesn't exactly send the right message, if you get what I mean," Tiffany explained, gesturing with her paws.

"Well, I don't know about that. What about your number one fan?" Susan grinned evilly as she teased, knowing that she was pushing one of Tiffany's buttons.

"That mangy perv of a ferret?" Tiffany grumbled, her eyes instantly narrowing. "The only place I'd like him watching me from is the inside of a cage."

"Oh, so you're sure he's only there to watch you, hmm?" Susan teased, turning the radio off so it wouldn't distract her.

"Nope. I'd say he's more than happy to drool over all of us," Tiffany stated rather drolly. "He's an equal opportunity creep."

###

"Seriously, Dude. We gotta make an impact and we gotta do it soon," The well-muscled hyena stated as he did another hammer curl, mentally counting each rep.

"I dunno," The raptor grunted as he pulled the bar back, his bulging biceps expanding to cope with the weight. "I think we've *umph* done a pretty good job so far."

"Pretty good's not enough, man," The hyena breathed out hard as he set the barbell down on the floor next to him. "We're the new guys in the WFWF; we have to get ourselves some recognition and dang fast."

"Well, furs seem to know us pretty good," The raptor got out before pulling the bar down again. "*grah* We are undefeated, ya' know."

"Big freakin' whoop. That don't mean a thing without some name recognition," The hyena said before taking a swig of his sports drink. "We gotta get the tag team championships, and soon."

"You nuts? *mrgh* You know the boss doesn't give newbies like us title shots," The raptor replied, holding the bar up to his chest before slowly letting it go back down. "Not with a chance of winnin', anyway."

"That's what I'm talkin' about. We gotta impress the pants off of him; y'know, make an impact," The hyena stated, turning to face his scaly buddy.

The raptor laughed as he let the bar fall back, almost losing his grip on it. "You mean like those little punks in 'the great furry team'?"

"Heck, no," The hyena replied with a chuckle. "I meant something that didn't make us suck."

"Good, ya' had me worried there," The raptor smirked as he took a breather. "Sudden Impact; what a crock."

"Tell me about it. Oooh, they're dancing! I'm so afraid!" The hyena mockingly pretended to tremble before almost busting a gut laughing.

"The wolf's even worse than the cat," The raptor observed before gripping the bar again. "I swear if hear him rapping again I'm gonna knock his teeth out."

"Wouldn't be worth it. You might scrape your knuckle," The hyena kidded as he rolled his shoulder. "I think what we need is a name."

"We already got names," The raptor bit his lip as he pulled the bar up to his chest. "You're Metal-Head and I'm the Iron Raptor, remember?"

"No, I mean like one for the two of us, the team," Metal-Head explained, pointing first to his buddy then at himself. "Can ya' think of anything?"

"Hey, you're the one with all the ideas. *grrgh* You do it," The Iron Raptor strained, slowly allowing the bar down.

"Lemme see... it's gotta be something that sounds cool..." Metal-Head wrinkled his brow in thought. "Maybe something to do with each other's names, too."

"Whatever," Raptor groaned as he pulled the bar back again, his muscles bulging under the strain. "Damn this thing's heavy!"

"Of course it's heavy; it's Metal, ain't it?" Just then Metal-Head's eyes opened wide. He jumped up and pumped his arms in the air, laughing jovially. "Yeah! I got it!"

Raptor turned his head ever so slightly as he let the bar down, not wanting to strain his neck. "*gra* What you talkin' about?"

"Our name, Dude! It's perfect!" Metal-Head moved over so that he was sitting right next to his raptor pal. "We're gonna be 'Heavy Metal'!"

"Sweet, man. I like it," Raptor breathed heavily, letting his body take a rest. "Got a nice ring to it."

"Totally. We're gonna Be the best team the WFWF has ever seen!" Metal-Head proclaimed, giving his buddy a high-five.

"Room for one more on that team?"

The two looked up just in time to see a blue-furred wolf in white gym-shorts and a headband slide into Raptor's lap, wrapping his arms around his neck.

"Afterall, three's company," Blue added with a toothy grin, looking up at the Raptor's suddenly strained expression.

Raptor's entire body tensed up and froze, his paws gripping the bar over his head as his right eye twitched. "Get... him... off... me..."

"Aw, don't want to play? C'mon, I can take care of you much better than your cutie-pie here," Blue offered enticingly, nodding over to the snickering Hyena.

"Get... him... off me... now..." A vein was showing in Raptor's forehead now, his claws beginning to dig into the metal on the bar.

"Ok, that's enough. We ain't interested in your kind, so get lost," Metal-Head told the rambunctious wolf, shooing him away with his paw.

"Hmph!" Blue got off of Raptor's lap and stuck his nose in the air. "Your loss, Honey."

Raptor finally relaxed his muscles, releasing his grip on the bar as Blue padded away. "Geez, man."

"Don't let it bug ya', dude. We gotta make plans for our new debut," Metal-Head said as he patted Raptor on the back, moving on with their plans.

###

Well, they weren't very nice. Blue sighed as he walked through the free-weight section of the gym. He scanned the area, looking over all the hard, well-defined bodies of the various weightlifters like a smorgasbord. Mmmm... that reminds me, time to find Joshy!

Blue padded over to where he had left Josh earlier, looking left and right to try and spot his friend. It didn't take long before Blue caught sight of a large fox's back. He was working out with a pair of dumbbells, bringing them up slowly before allowing them down. Blue decided to have some fun and carefully came up from behind, taking care not to get his buddy's attention.

"Found you, Joshy!" Blue exclaimed as he gave the fox's tush a good smack with his paw, followed by a nice firm squeeze.

'Josh' froze in place, pausing a few moments before slowly turning around. The fox looked down at the wolf through dark stylish sunglasses and in a very forceful voice said, "The Fox wants to know exactly what the hell you think you're doing."

"Come on, Joshy! You've done your impression better than that!" Blue giggled as he stood before the hulking fox. "Besides, the Fox sounds a lot more manly than that!"

"Hey, Blue," Josh said as he came up from behind him, giving Blue a pat on the back. "He your knew friend?"

Blue's eyes widened as he looked back behind him to see Josh standing there, towel slung over his shoulder. He quickly looked back in front of him, finding the first fox just as he had seen him. The only real difference between the two was the pair of dark sunglasses and subtle differences in their gym attire. After a few seconds of looking from one vulpine to another, Blue clasped his paws together, his eyes swelling with excitement. "OOOOH! Two Joshies! And I'm between them! My dreams have come true! WEEEEEEE!"

Both foxes stared at Blue as he seemed to be immersed in some sort of wonderful daydream. After a few moments, The Fox turned to Josh. "Uh, is he ok?"

"Yeah, he just needs to snap out of his little dream world..." Josh paused as he looked around seeing the locker rooms off in the distance. "Hey, Blue, that lion of yours just went into the showers."

"Ooh!" Blue snapped out of it almost alarmingly quick. "Wait for me!"

The two vulpines watched as he sprinted towards the locker rooms, bounding over exercise equipment like a gazelle. After he had disappeared from sight, the two stared at one another for a long moment before each cracked a grin.

"Good to see you, Josh," The Fox smiled as he shook Josh's paw.

"Good to see you, too, Dwayne," Josh smiled back as they began walking toward the juice bar. "What're you still doing here? I thought you guys were supposed to be in Dallas."

"Most are, yeah. A couple of us stayed behind for that press conference the boss set up," The Fox explained as they sat down at the bar.

"Press conference? What's the WFWF need to have a press conference for?" Josh inquired, taking a swig from his water bottle.

"Didn't you hear? The company goes public in two days," The Fox responded, sitting up straight. "The boss is pretty excited about it."

"Heh. I guess that's reason enough," Josh said after he ordered a grapefruit juice. "Who else stayed behind with you?"

"Well, Sky Kat's back at the hotel. He's nursing his shoulder; bruised it up pretty good in his last match," The Fox told him as he looked over his shoulder, scanning the gym. "Stripes went off somewhere on his own and the two rookies are wandering around here somewhere."

"That new tag team?" Josh ventured, looking in the same direction as his buddy.

"Yeah, they debuted last week. Not bad for a first outing," Just then he stopped, laughing to himself as he turned back to Josh. "That's right, I forgot you saw em' in action."

"That we did. Thanks for the seats, by the way," Josh bowed as he raised his glass of grapefruit juice.

"Hey, no problem. I would've preferred having you backstage with the rest of your squad," The Fox commented as he leaned back against the bar, letting his muscles relax a bit after all the strain he had put on them.

"Yeah, same here," Josh admitted, taking a sip of his juice. "But hey, your boss was the one who decided to switch security companies."

"Wish he didn't. Bunch of teenage punks who didn't know what the heck they were doing," The Fox sighed as he adjusted his sunglasses, pushing them back onto the bridge of his snout.

"Hey, I used to be one of those punks," Josh objected with a chuckle, nudging him in the arm. "I started at the tender age of thirteen, don't forget."

"Oh, yeah, you're real normal," The Fox grinned, returning the nudge.

"You know, of all the things I've been called in my lifetime, I think I've been called that the least," Josh observed before gesturing towards him. "Why don't you take off the shades? The lighting isn't too good in here."

"Can't. It's in my contract," The Fox grinned, turning his stool slightly to the side.

"What? Your contract says you got to keep those things on inside?" Josh asked, a hint of disbelief in his voice.

"Nope. Everywhere. I gotta keep these things on anytime I'm in a public place," He continued to grin, folding his paws in his lap.

"... he snuck it into the fine print, didn't he?" Josh smirked over his juice glass.

"Oh yeah," The Fox nodded and patted his thigh. "I renegotiate my contract next year, so I'm going to make sure I have my lawyer there with me this time around."

"Good idea," Josh nodded in agreement, gulping down the last of his juice before getting up. "I'll be right back."

"Where you going?" The Fox asked, his ears perked.

"Blue's been gone for more than four minutes," Josh yelled over his shoulder as he kept on walking toward the locker room. "That means I gotta go save his butt again."

###

Tammy sighed as she thumbed through her magazine. She still had a good hour to kill before she met Eric for lunch, and boredom was starting to catch up with her.

Well I'm thoroughly bored out of my mind. Tammy sighed as she tossed the magazine onto the coffee table, looking over her shoulder at the wall that housed Josh's sword collection. Those things look expensive, but I have to admit that's a cool hobby.

That thought could only hold her attention for so long, however, and soon she was back to scanning the walls, searching for something to occupy her thoughts as time passed ever so slowly. Little seemed to do the trick until her eyes stopped roaming and became fixated upon Josh's desk; the bottom-right drawer, to be precise. The events of the previous night crept into her head, reminding her of the box that Josh had hurriedly placed inside.

He almost freaked when he saw it... Tammy thought, her eyes still locked on the drawer. I wonder what could make him react like that...

Tammy quickly shook her head and turned away. It's probably nothing. Josh told me not to worry about it and I trust him...

... but still, I've never seen that look on Josh's face before... Tammy slowly turned back, not seeming to be able to tear her attention away. Tammy slowly got up and began walking over to the desk, hesitation more than apparent in her demeanor. As she reached it, Tammy kneeled down, looking at the drawer for a moment or so more. She couldn't shake a strange sense of foreboding, a sense that something... just wasn't right.

Tammy slowly moved her paw towards the drawer's handle, extremely hesitant as her fingers touched it.

CLICK

Tammy's ears perked up as the sound popped up out of nowhere. After a moment, she realized it was the sound of Josh's answering machine turning on.

Hey, this is Josh Fox. After the beep, you know what to do. *BEEP*

Tammy looked confusedly toward the answering machine as she got to her feet. That's odd. I didn't hear the phone ring.

Hey Foxy!

Tammy's eyes grew wide as the familiar voice reached her ears. "Oh, crap."

Hope you're taking good care of my sister, cause' I'm certainly going to take very good care of you once I get there. *giggle*

Once she gets here?!? If Tammy's eyes were wide before, they were enormous now. Immediately Tammy lunged for the phone resting on the coffee table, snatching it up in her paws and hitting the TALK button. "Hello, Sheila?"

Thanks for letting her stay there. You're so sweet... hopefully in more ways than one.

"Hello? Hello?" Tammy pressed the button again, but for some reason it wasn't working.

I got a couple days off from work, so I decided to come and see you! Hope you don't mind making a little extra room in that big bed for me.

"No! No! Don't come!" Tammy yelled into the receiver frantically, pushing the button wildly.

I'm heading out the door now. I have to make a stop on the way, but after that I'll head straight there. In two days you'll be able to see as much of me as you like.

"NO NO NO!" Tammy was mashing buttons like crazy now, trying anything to get it to work.

My cell phone's busted, so I won't be able to call you except by a pay phone. Don't worry, though; I'll be there in no time. Just make sure you're ready for me. See you soon! *CLICK*

Tammy's shoulders sank as he flopped back into Josh's recliner. She brought the phone up, and after taking a careful look at it she noticed the low battery light was on.