The tone of the man that held him suggested that he was happy to see Tawn, but he didn't sound like a good man. He lifted the pup with uncanny strength. The way he carried Tawn belied experience in his craft. Am I being kidnapped? thought Tawn. The thought was troubling, and it sent Tawn into a frenzy. Tawn twisted, kicked, screamed, and even tried to bite the guy, but he wouldn't let go.

The man took Tawn up the stairs and into the house, where Mr. Ranger, his wife, and Indigo were all tied to chairs and gagged with tape. He brought the wayward pup towards the group and sat him in one of the other chairs while another came and tied him up. He struggled with all his might but there was no way to break the big guy's grip.

Mr. Ranger's usually-kempt green hair was strewn about and his face had several small cuts on it, as if his skin was torn. The only clothing he had on was his torn button-up and some shorts. Based on the raggedness of the fabric, they were once a pair of Mr. Ranger's pants that'd been cut up. This change in his clothes and general look was surprising to Tawn; he had never seen his boss like this.

Mrs. Ranger didn't look too different from when she had told them all to go home. However, he did notice that the ends of her hair and thumbs were burned. While she was more clothed than Mr. Ranger, that was the only good fortune it seemed she had; bruises and welts marred her skin almost everywhere he could see.

The new man was tall and lean; a stark contrast to the man who had brought Tawn in. "Where'd you find that?"

The big one walked out in front of Tawn and he saw that the man was wearing a brown suit, far from the kind of clothes he'd expect a burglar to wear. "Found this stray out back, digging through the trash."

"Figures." The lanky guy turned to Tawn, giving him a whiff of the nastiest smell Tawn had experienced; somewhere between 'decomposition' and 'weeks-old rancid food'. Calling him greasy was an understatement, he looked more like a strip of pink fat, as everything immediately visible was pink. His undershirt, belt and boots were black to make the whole stand out look.

The big guy looked around at everyone and caught Indigo looking at Tawn with alarm in her eyes. "Oi, what's this now? Seems the rodent knows the pup."

"Eh, all them faunus know each other." The greasy guy stated. "Now, what do we do with him?"

"Well, I caught a whiff of bobbies out front. Looks like they was here for 'im." The big guy put a finger to Tawn's chest with enough force to knock him onto two chair legs before falling back to four. "What did ja' do pup? Don't tell ol' Russet that ya' got them on your tail to bring them to us."

Tawn was too scared to speak, these guys towered over him and looked ready to kill him in an instant. All he could do was shake his head quickly and hope they bought the lie. That led the two of them to look at each other and laugh.

"Ah, forget about it anyway. We got this place on lockdown. And with your boss over there under our thumb. We can do anything on this property." The greasy guy said, gesturing over to Mr. Ranger.

There was a loud thud from the second floor, followed by heavy foot steps heading down the stairs. As they grew louder, everyone else grew quiet and a hint of fear hung in the air. Even the guys that were watching him and the others seemed to be quietly afraid of what was coming. He took a look over at Indigo to see sweat start pouring down her forehead.

"Alright, they broke their phones, smashed their computers, and overall disconnected fucking everything in the goddamn house so that I couldn't find her!" A guy clad in green walked over to Mr. Ranger and pulled his head back. Fury was written on his face. "I'll give you ten seconds to-" He cut himself off and looked back at Tawn. "Who's the mutt?"

"Don't know boss, but the huntress does," the man who called himself 'Russet' remarked.

The man walked over and tore the tape off Indigo's mouth. "Alright, what's with the boy?"

"I've never seen him before," she said, though not very convincingly.

He closed his eyes and sighed. "Alright, bring out the battery."

The pink guy let out a chuckle and walked over to the couch. "We gonna hook her up, boss?"

He looked Indigo right in the eyes, making sure that she was looking right at him. "No, we are gonna hook up the pup."

"No, you-" He shut her up by putting the tape back over her mouth but she still tried to object.

Tawn began to struggle at his ropes after hearing the guy say they were going to hook him up to a battery. "C'mon guys. I just work here. It's not like I know anything about whatever you are looking for. I was just curious to see why Mrs. Ranger was bruised and bloody."

"Curiosity killed the cat, eh?." The big guy said.

"I'm a dog."

"Still a house pet, so the saying can still apply." He spat back, pulling some jumper cables out of his pocket and hooking them up to the battery.

The guy in green walked over to Mr. Ranger and pulled the tape off his mouth. "Alright, I'm giving you one chance. Where did you send your daughter off to? I already know she isn't at Beacon or Haven."

"I don't… I can't... " He looked at Tawn apologetically before shaking his head. "I won't tell you. Even with the boy's life at stake."

The man slapped the tape on the side of Mr. Ranger's head before spitting in his face. "I don't take pleasure in this. But I will get what I want."

The guy in pink put the black alligator clamp on Tawn's right thumb, causing the poor kid to struggle even harder against his bonds. "Guys, please. I'm just a kid. I won't tell anyone about this! Just let me go!"

The guy walked over and kneeled in front of Tawn and looked him right in the eye. "Sorry, kid. You didn't ask to be here. Hell, the only thing you're guilty of is being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Just remember, it's not your fault that I'm doing this." He pointed Tawn's head toward Mr. Ranger. "It's his. Hook him up."

Mr. Ranger didn't even make eye contact with Tawn, instead he just looked away and kept repeating one phrase. "I'm sorry, Tawn. I'm sorry."

He let go of Tawn and the pink guy attached the other clamp to his other thumb. He flinched back and so did everyone else, including Tawn, as he waited for the electricity to shoot through him. After about three seconds, his eyes opened up and he didn't feel like anything was happening. The battery was out of charge.

"Uh, boss, we got nothing."

Tawn and Mr. Ranger both let out a sigh of releif before Leech put the tape back over Mr. Ranger's mouth.

"Goddamnit. I told you to pick up a fully charged battery." He said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I did." Russet said, adjusting his collar. "Coho must have screwed it up."

"Hey, I didn't do anything to the goddamn battery."

"Look, Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Stupid, go out to Gamboge's truck and just pull the battery. We don't have time to argue."

"Right. I'll get it." Russet said, taking off out the door.

"Boss, I swear, that battery should have been perfectly fine."

The boss turned around and grabbed him by the neck. "Look, I am doing this to get ahold of the first worthwhile wind semblance I've come across. I don't need you two buffoons screwing it up. The only reason you are here is beca-"

"Tawn, don't panic. It's Indigo." Tawn jerked up in his seat when he heard Indigo's voice ring out in his head. "Quit moving around… Just… hang on… Tawn, look at me."

He followed her command and made eye contact with her.

"Okay, I think I know a way out of this but I need you to close your eyes and clear your mind."

He looked at her skeptically and then peeked over at the man in green who had his back to them, rubbing his nose. "God damn ingrates. Last time I use locals."

Following her orders again, he closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind but everything just continued to overwhelm him. It was all too much, every time he cleared his mind, he just thought of his heart stopping from electrical overload or these guys beating him like the had the others. No, there was no way that Tawn could find calm in the nightmare he was in. Whatever Indigo's plan was, she would need to do it without him.

"Tawn, focus on digging."

As soon as he heard her say that or at least heard it in his head, he imagined a shovel hitting the dirt. Every scoop he saw in his mind took a small load off his shoulders until he felt lighter than air. He was completely at peace.

"What… It's… TAWN, IT'S TOO LATE!"

Tawn's eyes shot open in time to see Russet let the last red clamp go to connect the new battery. The pup winced as he waited for the electricity to shoot through him. He could see his heart frying in his imagination, his blood boiling from the increase of energy. What little life he had shot through his mind at lightning speed and he realized something in those few short seconds: He didn't have a life to remember.

He was dying here, but did he ever live in the first place? He never felt love for another besides his parents, nor did he have dreams. Everything that people think of was gone, all he could think about was how he never got a life. It made him angry, it made him hate everything that was happening now, but most of all, it made him hate the people that were killing him.

That's when Tawn clenched his hands in anger and rage. Then, his eyes opened when he realized that his fists clenched of his own volition and not from the electricity. Something was wrong with the battery again.

"Idiots, imbeciles, dumbasses, ignoramuses. You all are nothing but ants, losers, and just complete tools!" The man in green was calling Russet and Coho every name in the book.

"Leech, I swear I took the battery out carefully. There is no way that the darn thing should be out of charge." Russet shot back, standing up to the green-clothed man.

"Why do we have to electrocute the lad?" Coho asked, brandishing a knife. "Seems like it would be far easier to slice 'is throat and let the blood drain."

Russet looked to Leech who closed his eyes in anger. "Damn it, the idea of having the battery was to show them that the torture we put them through will break them. Both mentally," he looked over at Mrs. Ranger, who was a ghost of her old self, "and physically." On the last word he looked over at Tawn.

"Blood dripping from a gaping wound till the poor sod dies is just as good." Coho turned around and held the knife out to Tawn's throat. "Besides, there is nothing he can-"

Tawn leaned away from the knife and did everything he could to keep it from touching him, but his efforts were useless. The knife inched closer to Tawn's neck, and as it touched skin, there was a bright flash and a loud crack. A bolt of electricity shot through Coho and sent him flying across the room into Indigo. The sheer force of him flying into her carried her backward and they both slammed into the wall. The impact shattered her chair, freeing her of her restraints, save for the chair limbs still tied to her legs and arms.

She didn't pull off the tape on her mouth, instead snatching up the chair legs tied to her ankles and holding them out in front of her like clubs. Her stance and the look in her eye were both with the intent to kill. Nothing was going to stop her from beating the three men in front of her.

Leech looked at her and then at Tawn. "Forget the Ranger's kid. I think I just found something better." He grabbed the side of the confused boys chair. "Hold off the rodent. I need to get to the vehicle."

Russet took a boxing stance and stepped between Leech and Indigo. "Righty-o, Boss, just give me a sec to spank the ferret and I'll join you."

Everyone in the room, including Tawn paused for just a moment and looked at Russet with a look of disbelief. It was such a show stopper that Indigo took a second to rip the tape off her mouth. "Wow, you, uh, wanna rephrase that big guy?"

"Nope." He said, moving in with his fist drawn back to punch her.

Tawn didn't see anything after that as Leech pulled him by the chair and dragged him out the front door. "Seriously kid, I don't know where you came from but you are my big break."

"What?" Tawn asked before getting thrown into the passenger seat of a car.

"No no, don't speak. Just sit there and relax. You have just been upgraded from piece of shit worker trash to my own personal aura supply." Leech got into the car right next to Tawn and locked the doors before starting it. "Now, just sit there and get ready."

"Aura supply? What are you-" Tawn was cut off as the guy grabbed Tawn's head right above his left eye.

There was a second where nothing happened then a sudden burst of pain shot through Tawn from the spot where Leech was grabbing him. It felt as if something was tearing into his head. Then, something began to drain from him, though it wasn't his blood; it felt like something else was being pulled from him, like the very thing that made him who he was was leaving and nothing was replacing it. His head throbbed.

No, this couldn't be the end of his life, not after what he just went through with the battery. Whatever he did before, he called back that same feeling of not wanting to be touched. This time, however, nothing happened this time and all his attempt did was cause Leech to start chuckling.

"Kid, you're not going to be able to electrocute me. Not when I'm literally absorbing you."

So, that was it, Tawn was helpless to this and everything he would ever be able to do was going to be stripped away from him. However, that didn't mean he was going to let this be the end of his life. He was done letting these thugs decide who he was and what they were going to do it him. Pain, fear, and anguish were not going to stop him at any length now.

Tawn pulled away from Leech and was greeted to a spout of blood from his forehead. He didn't know why and he didn't care, he was a dog backed into a corner but he was still gonna fight for his life. There was no giving up now, especially now that he saw how pathetic his life had been.

"Get your hands off me!" The pup shot forward and bit Leech's hand, sinking his teeth in good and deep until he tasted blood.

Leech began to yank and pull at his hand, trying to free himself from Tawn's grip but the kid wasn't going to let go. Each time Leech tried to pull away from Tawn, he sank his teeth in deeper. That made the captor switch tactics, attempting to twist his hand out of Tawn's mouth, but this too was a bad decision. His teeth were at just the right angle to snap the parasite's pinky bone.

The rush of pain forced a gut reaction and Leech punched Tawn in the head, right where he was wounded, knocking him back against the door. Upon hitting the door, Tawn felt the handle slip into his hand. With this break, he pulled it and fell out of the car and onto the ground, shattering the wooden chair he was in.

Leech got out of his side of the car and started walking around. "You little shit! I'm gonna have you neutered."

Standing up, ignoring the blood flowing down his face, Tawn took a fighting stance with the chair still tied to his arms and legs. "Get the hell away from me!"

"Oh yeah, and how are you gonna fight me ya' fuckin' mutt?! With those claws that you don't have? How about those teeth? They aren't savage dog teeth. How about with the weapon that you also don't have?"

Tawn opened his mouth to shout back but immediately closed it when he realized that he didn't know. Of course, he didn't have to say anything as Russet and Coho came flying in from the left and smacked into Leech. The three of them then rolled down the hill and smacked into the fence.

"He may not have the experience to kick your sorry butts, but you will find that I'm more than capable." Indigo said, landing on top of the car with her sai in hand.

Indigo held her sai out, pointing at Leech and the others, with an wild eyed grin on her face. "You guys caught me by surprise last time, but that's not going to happen twice."

Leech pushed the other two oafs off him and stood up. "Listen up, rodent. Nobody had to die before. It was old Gamboge and his wife that were forcing my hand."

"It doesn't matter if you had better intentions. What this is, and has devolved into further, is a kidnapping and attempted murder. You're under arrest, Leech. Anything you want to say?"

Leech let out a roar and charged her, drawing a mace from nowhere. "You think I care about Vale's laws?!"

He took a swing at her but she caught it expertly with her sai and held him with it. "Don't get ahead of yourself. Vale's not the only kingdom that wants you. The one we're in? Yeah, law enforcement here wants to have a few words as well."

Breaking the grapple, Leech spun his mace in hand and stopped it when it glowed red. "Get ready, rodent. I'm gonna burn the entire kingdom to the ground. Starting with you," He spat.

Leech charged in, swinging wildly but Indigo blocked every one of this shots expertly. Each time he brought his mace around, she was already positioning her sai to block it. However, that left her completely open for him to catch her off guard with a punch - a punch with the same effects as when Tawn had shocked Coho. She shot backwards after the attack and slammed into the car, denting it horribly.

Indigo quickly climbed back to her feet and leapt behind the car, flipping her sai around. They split apart at the middle and a small vial came out of the handle, parallel with the main blade. She then stabbed it right into the center of the car, launching it at Leech.

A look of worry crossed his face, but he quickly switched it to a smile and swung his mace. It collided with the car and knocked it back at Indigo, who popped out another vial from her sai and hit it right back. Leech was not having any of that though, and knocked the car off to the side with another dust strike. It landed off to the side with a thud.

He took a second to move but it looked like something shifted in his stance . It wasn't highly noticeable but enough that Tawn saw Indigo's gaze flit to his feet. She flipped her sai around backwards and pulled a second one from her sleeve.

Leech shot forward again and closed right up to Indigo without a moment's rest and swung his mace. Her reflexes were honed and ready for it though, and she brought her new sai down to catch it. It landed with a clink sound and prompted sparks to fly out in all directions. Her free sai closed up and she brought it down on Leech's mace, hooking it at his hand and using both sai to pull it.

The mace was yanked out of his hand and she discarded it to the side. He didn't take too kindly to her knocking away his weapon and punched her right in the sternum. She fought through the pain and flipped one of the sais around and using the butt to strike him in the face.

Leech went careening back but managed to land on his feet and make another quick dash to his mace. She leaped at him this time and brought the blades of her sai down on him. With a quick flick of his mace, it started glowing another color and he swung at Indigo. Both their weapons collided and blasted her back to Tawn and Leech to the car.

He shot behind the car and knocked it back at her, restarting their game of vehicular tennis. With each strike the Dust on the car grew in intensity, transforming it from a flying hunk of metal into a ball of elemental chaos. This volley continued until Indigo dumped two vials into her strike, taking advantage of the surprise to place herself between Tawn and the imminent explosion.

He didn't see much, but he felt the explosion knock him backwards, into the side of the house. Indigo took the brunt of the blast, keeping Tawn as safe as she could. That didn't prevent a loud snap from ringing out as he hit the wall.

She didn't notice the noise - or if she did, she ignored it - instead choosing to confront Leech. "Are you done? If you are, put the mace down and let's do this by the book."

"Hehehe, kid, I already like you a lot more than my other food." Leech said, just as police sirens began to blare from all directions. "And that is my cue to cut this dance short."

Indigo scowled, readying her sai and charging right for him. "Oh no you don't."

"Please, fleabag, you think I came here unprepared?" He closed his eyes and opened them again, unleashing a bright flash that blinded Tawn. The scream of engines filled the air.. Leech yelled something, but Tawn couldn't tell what it was over the sound. Then, it all faded away as the sirens encircled them and police flooded the area.

Hey guys, so this is the premise of my story kinda. I know the whole stealing semblances thing is kinda hated on the but I swear if you stick with me. You will enjoy the story. Alright, now to address reviews.

Toothless is the Best: Probably means you are my biggest fan. Congrats! Here's a digital cookie.

Masterdude94: Well, it's a free web series on the internet so… yeah, go watch it. That's all I can really say.

Artisan Bubblegum: It's not a poem. It's a story. Maybe I'll include a character that only rhymes for you. (Probably not)