Chapter 10:
New Relations

	Samantha thought the idea of shopping in the city was a good one. So 
she grabbed Tobias and Kaitlyn, and, with the permission of Sven, dragged 
the two out into the city. They browsed many places, ranging from jewlery 
stores to boutiques. "Where to start? I don't know."
	"Well, how about a clothing shop?" Tobias suggested.
	"Yeah, that sounds nice."
	"Of course. I was hoping to get some new threads as well." 
	Kaitlyn chuckled. "That'd be nice. I'm sure you'd like a few new pairs 
of jeans."
	"How'd you guess?"
	"Well, I think it's a good idea. And besides, we can also get you some 
other things besides jeans. I'm sure you'd appreciate a sweatsuit or two." 
He smiled. "No, don't even say it."

	Several pairs of jeans, a few shirts, a few pairs of sweatpants, and a 
suit or two later, they started back to the compound. "Thank you girls," 
Tobias told them. "You don't know how much I needed this!"
	"It's our pleasure," Samantha told him. "You deserved it."
	"Yeah." He turned to Kaitlyn. "How can I pay you back? I mean, it was 
your money. And these things were pretty expensive."
	"Dun worry," Kaitlyn replied. "I'll just pop in for breakfast every so 
often."
	"Okay. Hope you don't mind my using different batters every so often. 
I have a habit of mixing raisins and nuts in on occasion."
	"It'll be all right." She hugged him. I can stand a few nuts and 
berries." There was a very soft crack of thunder out in the distance. The 
sky was filling with stormclouds. A light rain was starting to fall. "Better 
get moving. Looks like we're gonna get drenched." They sped up their pace.

	They were indeed soaked when they got back. Although he was furless, 
Tobias was the most soaked by that time. Eager to dry off, they split off to 
their quarters. Tobias set up a small area where Samantha could change in 
peace, and so he could change without being judged himself. He tried on a 
pair of his sweatpants and a teeshirt. They fit him perfectly. "It was worth 
it to get the extra tailoring," he said. "I really owe you two big."
	"You don't have to," she replied. "How many times do we have to say 
that?"
	"Too many times. I feel like I need to pay you back."
	"Please don't. You don't need to. Now, tell me how I look in this."
	"Hmm?" Foolishly, he looked her way. Her slender body clad in nothing 
but a pale blue evening gown that fit her figure perfectly numbed his mind 
instantly. "Looks good. I could get used to it."
	She smiled. "And you're expecting me to do something like this?" She 
undid her belt and flashed him. He instantly covered his eyes (modesty 
prevails folks!). "Don't worry, I'm covered."
	"Yeah, but please close that thing! It's not right for me to..."
	"Oh. Sorry." She tied her gown back up. "So what's for dinner?"
	"A surprise. You a vegitarian?"
	"Yup. Always have been, always will be."
	"That might take a little while to get used to," he winced. "But I 
think it can be pulled off. Get comfy and I'll cook."

	The delightful scent of the meal being cooked filled the room. 
Samantha leaned her back on the couch and absorbed it all. "All done," 
Tobias eventually said, brining forth two plates of stir fry.
	"Oooh! What's this?"
	"Meatless stir fry. Enough for you, me, and-" There was a knock at 
the door.
	"Come in Kaitlyn. There's enough for you too." The door flew open. A 
white blur ran by towards the skillet. It dished out some of the meal onto a 
plate, grabbed something bottled to drink, blurred over towards them, and 
sat down. "I was going to say make yourself at home, but I see you don't 
need to be told."
	Kaitlyn smiled. "Of course not!"

	"This was the best meal I've had since breakfast," Kaitlyn joked. 
"It's not what I'm used to, but I can get very used to it if we have it 
every so often. What's in it?"
	"Um, the basics. Snow peas, carrots, red peppers, and some bamboo 
shoots."
	"Where'd you get bamboo shoots?"
	"The pandas two floors down. They're very friendly, ya know?"
	"Yes, Aiko and Hsu are indeed friendly. Good choice."
	"Thank ye." He got the empty plates and brought them over to the sink.
	"Well, I should get going. Don't wanna wear out my welcome. Thanks for 
dinner."
	"No problem. Take care Kaitlyn." As soon as the door was closed, he 
shook his head. "That woman is like a plague of locust."
	"You're telling me," Samantha said. "She's my best friend!" He brought 
over the evening's tea. After setting it down on the table, he leaned back 
on the couch. She hugged him, not caring for the tea really. "Thank you."
	"The evening is still young Samantha." He pushed a button on a small 
remote that was sitting on the back of the couch. The lights dimmed. "A 
little mood lighting and then...." He pushed another button. The wall 
opened, revealing the screen behind it. The screen hummed for a little bit 
before turning on. A small movie of a fireplace started to play, repeating 
the cycle after a little bit.
	"Whoa! Not since my grandmother..." She curled up next to him. "But 
how did-?"
	"I programmed this when we were just neighbors. I thought I'd be 
using it to fall asleep alone. But now that we're living together, I thought 
I should share it with you."
	"You're so caring." She hugged him. "I wouldn't have this any other 
way." They watched the fire "burn" well into the evening.

	He felt a little uneasy around the time they decided to go to bed. She 
had already crawled into bed, but he remained up, pacing. "Tobias," she 
said. "Come to bed. Worry tomorrow."
	"Eh, I can't help it. I can't stop."
	"Well, could you at least worry about it in bed?"
	"I don't know."
	"Tobias," she cooed. "Please?"
	The coo was irresistable. "Okay." He did as he had done the past few 
nights. She smiled and kissed him. "Good night Samantha."
	"Good night Tobias." She yawned and drifted off into a peaceful sleep. 
However, his eyes remained open. Sleep wasn't about to come easy for him. 
Not with the questions he had going through his mind.
	"Is this meant to be?" he asked himself. He looked at her. She had 
turned his arm into a pillow. The soft look on her face made him feel 
easier, but the idea still lingered. "Is this the one? Will she own my heart 
forever?"
	*You know you love her,* he heard Lone Wolf say from somewhere. *You 
know that she's the one for you. You just cannot admit it.* Tobias remained 
silent. He knew that was right. *Tell her tomorrow. Tell her that you love 
her. You will not be sorry. Trust me.* 
	Tobias looked at her and smiled. "I will." He kissed her and drifted 
off into sleep.

	He awoke to the biggest surprise of his life. His eyes fluttered open 
to see Samantha, whereas he should've been seeing the ceiling. She had 
crawled on top of him and was watching intently. "You're so cute when you're 
asleep," she told him as soon as she realized he was up.
	"Yeah. Whatever you say. Why are you laying on top of me?"
	"Cause I want to!"
	"Oh." Not wanting to argue with her, he wrapped his arms around her. 
"How'd you sleep?"
	She smiled. "Pretty well." She started to nuzzle his neck. His eyes 
rolled into the back of his head. "Had an interesting dream last night."
	"O-oh....Please, tell me about....it. Oh god that feels so nice!"
	She continued to nuzzle his neck. "No, this is much more fun."
	He tensed up. "Oh lordy!" He grabbed her arms. "Samantha, I gotta 
confess something to ya."
	She looked at him. "What is that?"
	"Samantha, I-" A sudden pounding on the door broke the scene. "Who is 
it?"
	"No fair!" Kaitlyn replied. "Why'd you go and lock the door?"
	He looked at Samantha, who blushed. "Didn't want her busting into 
this," she whispered into his ear. She got up and went over to the door. 
"Sorry Kaitlyn." He crawled out of bed. He went over to the kitchen and 
started to make breakfast.

	"Once again, thank you for a wonderful meal," Kaitlyn said, putting 
her plate onto the table. "I have to recommend you to a number of people."
	"Don't do that!" Tobias said. "I don't want to have to cook for THAT 
many people."
	She grinned evily. "Don't worry. I won't." He smiled and started to 
collect the plates. "Oh, by the way. I'm a bit curious."
	"About what?"
	"Why was the door locked?"
	He smirked. "I dunno why. That was Samantha's idea. Ask her." He took 
the dishes and went over to the sink to wash them.
	"Well, I...um..." Samantha didn't want to answer.
	"Oh, I see. Trying to get lucky?" She nudged her with her elbow. "I 
always knew you'd take a stab at something like this."
	"Please stop. That's not true."
	"Don't worry. You can admit it. It won't change anything."
	"It's not true. Please stop."
	"Come on!"
	"She thought we could use a little extra sleep," Tobias butted in. 
"We stayed up late last night enjoying ourselves. We needed the sleep."
	"Oh. Is that all?"
	"Pretty much."
	"Oh." She looked at Samantha, who wore a sad look. "I'm sorry."
	"It's okay." She smiled.
	"I think I should be going. I don't want to be much more of a bother 
to you people." She got up and left in a hurry.
	Tobias put the dishes away and went over to sit down next to Samantha. 
As soon as he did, she backed away from him. "What's wrong Samantha?"
	"She saw right through me."
	"....Pardon?"
	"She saw through the fasade. She saw my true intentions."
	"Which were?"
	"Why else would I lay down like that Tobias? I wanted to fool around 
with you. And she knew that! She knew that's what I wanted to do." She 
curled up.
	"Samantha..." He slid over and kissed her cheek. "It's okay."
	"Why is it? Because you feel sorry for me?"
	"No, of course not. I would never say it for that reason."
	"Then why?"
	He took a deep breath. "The only reason I would say that is because, 
Samantha, I think I-" The wall started to slide open. "This'll have to wait. 
I'm sorry Samantha. Tonight at the latest."
	"Promise?"
	"Promise." The screen clicked on. "Hello Sven."
	"Hello Tobias, Samantha." She smiled back at him. "Tobias, I want you 
to take a look at this." The screen clicked over to a satelite image. 
"Recognize that place?"
	"Yeah. That's the base we evacuated."
	"Notice anything different?"
	"They rebuilt. They probably survived the blast." He muttered 
something under his breath. "So why show me?"
	"Let's take a closer look, shall we?" Part of the image zoomed in and 
clarified, revealing a few airfields. "Recognize those?"
	"Airstrike capabilities," he responded, suming everything up. "That's 
what you're trying to show me."
	"You're fast on the draw." The image shrank and moved to the corner of 
the screen, letting Sven's face to the majority of the screen. "This is a 
warning. Be ready to fight."
	"Don't worry Sven. I'll devise something to protect against...that."
	"If you insist. They have a three day launch window. The satelites 
show they aren't going to be ready for anything major, but they have the 
ability to drop a number of troops into the area by tomorrow. Although it is 
possible for us to be able to handle a small droptrooper strike, it's still 
cause a lot of damage."
	"All right. So you won't be able to get anything I send you up and 
functioning by tomorrow."
	"No. Sorry."
	He shook his head. "It's all right. I'm sure Crash, the guys, and I 
can handle it."
	"Okay. We'll have backup troops ready if you guys fail."
	"Tell Crash and the others. They must know about this." Sven nodded 
and the screen went blank. Tobias got up. "This is going to be one LONG 
day." He went over to his computer terminal and turned it on.
	"What are you doing Tobias?"
	He sat down. "I'm going to create a special flak cannon for defense 
from the major air strike I know they're going to send. I need to work a 
lot on it." He typed in something and brought up a design program. "I can only 
hope I can remember the design of that stationary flak cannon from that 
game." He put one hand on a touch pad and one on the keyboard and started 
to work.
	"But what am I supposed to do?"
	He stopped working. "Um....do you know where the coat I had when I 
first arrived is?"
	"Yeah. Why?"
	"In that is a black box. In that box is a bunch of music CDs. Feel 
free to listen to them. All are goodies."
	"So long as they aren't like the music Kaitlyn told me about."
	"Don't worry. I'm not that sick." She giggled and went to find the 
box, leaving him to his work.

	He finished the designs early into the evening. After running a few 
diagnostic programs on the design, he sent the plans to Sven along with a 
message. "Sven," he read as he typed. "Meet the TS-145 flak cannon, 
nicknamed the Stinger. Twin plasma cannons with a certain adjustment to 
them set into a base that allows for rapid fire should defend against 
anything. I've also included an option for a missle battery upgrade. Look 
the designs over for that one. Get to work on these puppies immediately. 
-Tobias."
	"Tobias," Samantha cooed. "Stop talking to the computer. That's not 
healthy."
	"Sorry." He sent the message and turned the machine off. "I get 
wrapped up in my work like that. What time is it?"
	"It's around ten at night."
	"Did ya have dinner?"
	"Yeah. You should get something to eat."
	"Nah. I'll find something to snack on tomorrow. If I eat now, I'll be 
awake all night."
	"Oh. Oh well, come to bed then."
	"No arguments there." He slipped out of his pants, into his sweats, 
and under the covers. She scooted over and hugged him. It was then he 
noticed that she was wearing a very light lace nightee.
	"Now that we have nothing to interrupt us, what was it you were trying 
to tell me before?"
	"Hmm?"
	"When I told you that I wanted to fool around with you..."
	"Oh. I remember now." He kept an ear out for an interruption. 
"Samantha," he said. Here comes the interruption, he told himself. "I love 
you." Time stood still for a second. They both held their breaths.
	"Could...you repeat that?"
	"I love you Samantha. Since I met you, I've had a feeling about you. 
You remind me of someone who I knew as a little kid. She was just like you. 
She cared. She was loving. I had feelings for her, but I didn't know it. 
This time around, It's you that's loving, and this time I know what the 
feelings are. I love you, Samantha. I really do!" She remained still. She 
looked shocked. He closed his eyes and rolled over, facing away from her. 
"I'm sorry."
	"No, it's okay." She put a hand on his shoulder. "Tobias, look at me." 
He turned to her. Instantly, she got him in a kiss. "I've got something to 
confess myself," she said as soon as their lips parted.
	"That is?"
	"I love you too. You're a smart person and you're very caring. You've 
saved me twice already and I've returned the favor. When I was caring for 
you after your first transformation from Lone Wolf, I noticed how peaceful 
you were. You looked cute while you slept. It got me thinking, 'Why did I 
volunteer to take care of him?' It really had me there for a while. But then 
I realized, I was taking care of you because I loved you. I've been wanting 
to tell you, but I never could find the courage to tell you. But now that 
you told me, it made me feel easier."
	He smiled. "So we're on the same level then."
	She smiled. "Come on. Get comfortable. You need your rest." He gave 
her a confused look. "We love each other. We shouldn't let a sheet seperate 
us, should we?"
	"Of course not." He slipped under both sheets. Samantha slid closer to 
him. The lace nightgown soothed his weary body. He wrapped his arms around 
her. "I love you Samantha."
	"I love you too Tobias." They kissed. "And I'm no longer afraid to 
admit it. I don't care who knows."
	"Neither do I. I don't care what anyone says. They can screw 
themselves for all I care." He started to rub her back. She smiled and 
nestles herself closer to him.
	"I wonder how much more comfy we can get."
	"We'll find out some other time. Right now, let's get our sleep."
	"Are you sure?"
	"Very."
	She took his hand and put it on her hip. All that he felt was the 
nightgown and her hip. Nothing else underneath it. "Are you sure now?"
	"I'm gonna hate myself for saying this, but yes."
	"Oh well. Can't say I didn't try." He smiled and slipped his hand up 
her nightgown, resting it on her hip. "Oooh....that's much better." She 
kissed him.
	"Although I wouldn't mind fooling around a little bit. So long as we 
don't...ya know..."
	She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "That's what I was 
hoping for." She kissed him again, letting it linger.....

	He woke up the next morning refreshed and with a full memory of the 
previous night. Happy he kept his cool, he got up and got dressed. He went 
over to the window afterwards and looked outside. The rains had subsided. 
His flak cannons were being built out in the courtyard. "Looks like they're 
getting ready for the heavy stuff," he said.
	Samantha began to stir. "Tobias?"
	"Hmm?" He looked over to her. "Good morning beautiful."
	She got up and stretched. "Good morning sexy. How'd you sleep?"
	"Probably as well as you did."
	"Oh yeah." She walked over and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You 
have silky hands."
	"You've got a nice body."
	She smiled. "Thank you. I'll share it with you if you promise to share 
your hands with me."
	"We have a deal then." He kissed her. "I'll share it with you right 
after I finish with what I have to do."
	"Oh? What's that?"
	"Remember what Sven told me about yesterday?"
	"No....don't go."
	"I have to. But I promise I'll be right back." He kissed her again. He 
let go of her, grabbed his rail gun, and started for the door.
	"Wait. I'm coming."
	He spun around. "What? No! You'll be hurt!"
	"I don't care." She was already puting some pants on. "I want to help 
you. There's nothing you can do to change my mind."
	"Samantha, please stay. How can you help me?"
	"You'll see," she said as she put a shirt on. "I can be helpful." She 
wasn't going to stop. He hoped Sven would knock some sense into her.

	"Sven," he said as he entered his office. "We've got a problem."
	"What is it?" Sven responded. "Broken rail gun? Someone's sick? You're 
injured?"
	"No." Samantha entered soon after. "She wants to help me."
	"Oh. That's not so bad."
	"I don't want her hurt though."
	"Didn't she tell you?"
	"No." He looked at Samantha. "What's up?"
	"I'm an expert at trajectory. I can work the rocket towers like 
nobody's business."
	"She already asked me about that," Sven added. "I've approved it. 
She's going to be in control of 6 rocket towers around the instalation."
	Tobias raises a brow. "And when were you going to tell me this?"
	"Um....dunno really. She said she wanted to suprise you."
	"Well, I'm surprised. I also need a change of underwear, if you know 
what I mean." The lights started to flash. "Well, changing my tighty 
brownies will have to wait. Looks like company's arriving. Tell Crash and 
the others to be ready. Samantha."
	"Yes."
	He gave her a passionate kiss. "Get down to the rockets. I'm really 
gonna need ya out there."
	She blushed. "I will, lover." She turned heels and sped out the door.
	"Lover?" Sven asked.
	"You heard her. I'll explain whenever you want me to. But not right 
now."
	"Whatever. Go kill some Raiders." Tobias nodded. Of course, he had no 
intention of doing that.

	He stood out in the open courtyard. Behind him was his guard detail. 
They were armed and ready to shoot. Samantha was behind the controls of six 
massive missile towers. All were pointed skyward towards the old base. "When 
the radar lights up Samantha, fire those puppys off."
	"Aye Tobias."
	"I don't want to have to use the chip for this. I know we can handle 
this without it. Take out as many as you can."
	"I will. If it means your safety and a little something extra later, 
I'll do it."
	"Good. Watch that radar screen." He turned off the transmitter in his 
headset and activated his targeting systems.
	"Hey Tobias!" Crash called to him. 
	He looked. "What?"
	"What did she mean by something extra?" He was trying very hard not to 
laugh.
	"Mind your own business Crash!" The missile towers suddenly fired off. 
"Here they come!" He looked at the target area and charged his rail gun. 
Targets were starting to drop. "Fifteen....ten....come on Samantha. We can't 
handle that many troops." By the time the platoon reached the compound, 
there were only two ships. "Crash and crew! Fire!" He aimed his railgun and 
fire. It punctured and engine and the transport went sputtering away. The 
other transport dropped it's cargo: fifteen paratroopers. The crew wasted no 
time in wasting the falling soldiers. Only four landed successfully. "Don't 
move!" Tobias said, pointing his gun at them. They dropped their weapons. He 
activated his transmitter. "Sven. We have four captures. Send a paddy wagon 
at once." His headset started to go off. "The hell?" He looked up at the 
sky. A ship decloaked overhead and dropped something. "Sven, we've just had 
something decloak overhead and drop additional problems. Five new 
signatures. I don't know what the hell they are."
	"Fuck!" Crash called. "Those are commandoes!"
	Tobias looked at him. "What?!"
	"Don't ask! Just frag them!" He raised his gun and started to shoot. 
Tobias didn't argue and fired his rail gun again. It struck one of the 
commandoes, who went limp. His body suddenly exploded. They nailed two more 
like that, but two of the commandoes landed safely. They drew their weapons 
and pointed them at Tobias.
	"Freeze jiz bag," one said. "Drop your weapon." Tobias smirked and did 
as he was told. The rail gun dropped to the floor.
	"Tobias!" Crash called. "What the fuck are you doing?"
	"Doing something I didn't want to at the start." He reached into his 
belt pouch and pulled out the chip. He placed it in his headset and looked 
at the commandoes. "Your time has come. You will be sorry you were sent on 
this mission." He formed a double fist and slammed the ground. A beam of 
light sprung from the ground, enveloping him. The commandoes, wanting to get 
rid of him, fired their guns off in rapid volleys. The first few energy 
bolts hit the light. The light exploded outwards, sending everyone out to 
the ground.
	"The hell was that?" one of the commandoes asked.
	"Suicide bomber probably," the other replied. "I don't blame him 
either."
	"Yeah, now let's destroy this base and-" He winced in pain. Something 
hit his arm. He reached over to try to find the wound. But, to his horror, 
his arm lay on the ground, severed from his body. "What in the blazes?" They 
both looked about. The dust settled. Standing there, in the sun, was a tall, 
wolven person. There was blood dripping from his right claw.
	"Suicide? Never on this planet."
	"Who the hell are you?"
	"Don't worry. You won't live long enough to use it."
	"We'll see about that." He grabbed his gun with his other hand and 
pointed it at the guy and fired off three rounds. The person spun around and 
fired off a green blast of energy. It absorbed the shots and hit the one 
armed commando, vaporizing him. The other commando dropped his gun and fell 
to his knees.
	"Mercy," he pleaded.
	"Granted." He turned his back on him. "Sven, 5 captures. Four grunts, 
one commando."
	"What?!" Sven said. "You caught a commando?"
	"Yes."
	"We'll be there in a few seconds. Wait for us."
	He chuckled and switched channels. "Samantha."
	"Yes Tobias."
	"I had to transform. I need help getting back to our quarters. Can you 
come down?" His answer was the door swinging in the background. "I guess 
that means-"
	"Lone Wolf!" Wrench called. "Watch out!" He spun around and saw the 
commando looming over him.
	"Die slug!" He had a knife raised high in the air. A gun sounded and 
the commando dropped the knife. He fell to his knees, then face first on the 
ground. Lone Wolf dodged the falling body, noting that there was a burn mark 
at the base of the neck. He looked to where the blast came from. Sven was 
standing there, pistol drawn.
	"Nice shot Sven!"
	"Lone Wolf! Get away from there! The commando is set to explode on 
death!"
	"What?!" He started to move away. He was too slow, however. The 
commando exploded, sending him flying into a wall. Samantha, who had just 
exited, saw this and rushed to his side.
	"You okay?"
	"Yeah. Just a bit winded though. That blast sure drains ya."
	She smiled. "Is Tobias gonna be okay?"
	"He's gonna be sleepy. Let him get his rest. And don't worry. He will 
keep his promise." He reached for the chip. "See you next time, Samantha." 
He pulled the chip.