World of Paws: Balance of Heroes

Search and Rescue

Vakatarus: "Now... my minions. Round up as many furries as possible! One of my scouts here has informed me that Jackson Tontione is here!"
Vakatarus: "Now someone here is going to tell me where he is. Or..."
He looks at his one of followers, as a bandit furry aims his pistol at an elderly badger.
Bandit Furry 1: "Can I pop this one, please?"
Vakatarus: "Hold your fire until I say."
Vakatarus: "Listen up Kingsgeo! I know he's here! Just make this easy and maybe I will leave this town unscathed."
......Two minutes later......
Vakatarus: "Really? No one?"
Vakatarus: "Such a shame."
Vakatarus: "Grab the youngest and shoot them if they try running!"
The bandits comb the town for any furry children in the open and take them to Vakatarus.
Vakatarus searches the town along with them and doesn't see a sign of him anywhere.
Vakatarus: "No mortal with spiritual abilities simply vanishes. Come on Jackson! If you give up, I leave everyone in Kingsgeo alone."
......In the café......
Taciana: "How did he find us?"
Jackson: "I don't know, babe. Regardless of how he got here, I must stop him before he hurts anyone else."
Taciana: "What? No! He will kill you."
Jackson: "He is going to kill everyone if I don't show."
Taciana: "No... Jackson you cannot really be considering this. This is supposed to be a secluded town."
Jackson: "Someone must have given away my presence here. But who could it be?"
A crashing sound from a small building echoed from outside.
Vakatarus: "Show yourself Tontione! Show yourself! If you don't, I will have this whole town executed!"
Taciana: "He is way worse than before."
Jackson: "I am going to help this town no matter what happens to me."
He storms out and levitates into the air and lands in front of the malevolent spirit.
Jackson: "Vakatarus! You want me? I'm right here! Let these other furries go! They have nothing to do with our quarrel!"
Vakatarus: "Always taking a hit for the weak. Honorable, but sorely mistaken."
Vakatarus orders his bandit army to aim at Jackson's position.
Vakatarus: "Time to put you to sleep permanently."
Jackson: "Wait!"
Vakatarus: "No. Not happening."
Vakatarus: "Hahahaha! Fire on him!"
The bandits shoot him from all sides and Jackson uses his energy shield to protect himself from incoming bullets.
Bandit Furry 2: "He's not going down boss!"
Vakatarus: "He can't keep that shield up forever! Keep firing until he tires!"
Bandit Furry 2: "You heard him! Keep going!"
The sounds of gunfire cause a panic as innocent run randomly to the buildings for safety.
Jackson: "Focus my energy. Careful and controlled. Careful and controlled."
He says to himself.
Vakatarus was about to strike as Jackson was under fire and breaks through the shield.
Vakatarus: "Ahh, yes he is knocked out. Now then, take as many furries as possible."
Bandit Furry 3: "With pleasure boss. Hahaha."
The bandits attacked the town resulting in destruction of public property and raiding the only two banks in town.
Bandit Furry 1: "Wooh, yeah! This town is so gonna be ours by the time we are done!"
Bandit Furry 2: "Hahahaha! All the money and gold we could want! Hahaha!"
Bandit Furry 3: "Now to collect the rest of the of the townsfolk per the boss's instructions."
Bandit Furry 1: "Hahaha! Yeah, this is too easy!"
......Back at the river's edge......
Jackson slowly regains consciousness and knocks out the two bandits guarding him.
Jackson: "Okay, there are a lot of bandits out there. What to do? What to do?"
A plan then pops into his head.
Jackson: "Hmm... if I can maintain stealth long for long enough. I may be able to take down all of them."
He considers his plan and snuck around the town. He finds three bandits holding up five innocents with knives and machetes.
Striped Cat Furry: "Listen, you can have whatever you want just please don't hurt us."
Bandit Furry 4: "True, I won't don't have to hurt you, but I want to. Cause it will be very pleasurable watching you scream."
The bandit punches him in the gut.
Striped Cat Furry: "Aaagh! No! Oh! Gah! Help!"
He and his friends scream for mercy and cry for help.
Bandit Furry 5: "Ain't no one coming for youse. Hehe!"
Bandit Furry 6: "I gotta admit. Vakatarus has made pinning this town to ground a snap."
Bandit Furry 4: "True dat. Let's take them back to the boss. I am sure he wants to dine on their essence."
The bandits surround them and hold their blades against their necks.
Jackson: "Hey! Stop right there!"
Jackson: "This isn't your town! Now leave them alone!"
Bandit Furry 4: "The dhole? I thought he was knocked out?"
Bandit Furry 5: "Whatever, I say we kill him!"
Bandit Furry 6: "Yeah!"
The three attack Jackson a several swipes of their blades and miss while Jackson counters them with a mix of regular and spirit-powered punches and kicks. He knocks them down and ties them up.
The bandits were groaning in and out of consciousness.
Jackson: "Go into town and make it to the task force station."
They all nod and run while Jackson takes down all the furry bandits in Kingsgeo. He ultimately saves everyone and makes sure they are safely inside or near Kingsgeo's Task Force Station. Or so he thought.
Jackson: "Okay, is everyone here?"
Everyone nods as they recover and talk amongst themselves.
Taciana: "Jackson!"
She to him ventilating with worry in her voice.
Taciana: "They... the bandits took Sherman, Aubrey, and several other children."
Taciana started crying and as he comforts her.
Jackson: "What? No..."
Jackson: "Who else did they take from us?"
Taciana: "JJ was taken too."
She covers her eyes as while crying.
Jackson: "Hey, we are getting them back. I will get them back. Even if I have to do it solo."
Taciana: "What? No! You can't do this alone! You don't have to do this on your own."
Jackson: "I cannot risk any else getting hurt. I would never be able to live with myself knowing that I could have helped protect everyone."
Taciana: "It's too risky Jacky-kins. I don't want to see you come back with cuts and bruises."
Taciana: "I just..."
Female Rabbit Furry: "Jackson Tontione?"
Jackson: "Yes. Who are you?"
Female Rabbit Furry: "Lanette Johnson. My daughters were also taken by those horrid bandits."
Jackson: "See... it's not just about us. I need to help everyone."
Taciana: "Jacky..."
Lanette: "You save other furries, right?"
Jackson: "I do, ma'am. I certainly do."
Lanette: "Please bring my babies back to me please. I am all they have left since their father died."
She holds a picture of herself and her two daughters.
Lanette: "Please."
Jackson breathes heavily.
Jackson: "I am saving them all no matter what."
He reassures her and everyone else in the crowd and confidently walks towards the bridge.
Taciana: "Baby wait! I can help you."
Jackson: "No Tacci, wait here. I can handle this."
Taciana: "Wait! Just wait! We don't even know where they took them."
Jackson: "I can sense Vakatarus' energy from here. I will know where to find them."
Taciana sheds some more tears.
Taciana: "You better come back."
Jackson: "I always do, sugar bunny."
He levitates into the air and moves through the woods in an effort to find Sherman, JJ, and the rest of the missing furries.
......Meanwhile in the woods......
Vakatarus: "Hehehahahaha! I have finally bested Jackson Tontione! Now that he is out of commission, I can leech the life force from all of these little mortals."
Bandit Furry 1: "Yeah, boss. We took care of him. He ain't waking up for a while."
Vakatarus: "What do you mean not waking up for a while?"
Bandit Furry 1: "I mean uhm..."
Vakatarus: "You imbeciles allowed him to live?"
He says with a thundering roar in his voice. Thus, thrashing the ground with blast of dark energy.
Vakatarus: "No doubt on his way to save these brats from my wrath!"
Vakatarus: "Send the first few to me so that I may ingest their essence."
The bandits round up Cherie Mae, Aubrey, Sherman, and Stella first and set them in front of the dark spirit.
Vakatarus: "Now before I kill you useless brats? Do you have any remaining requests?"
Aubrey: "Why are you doing this?"
Vakatarus: "Jackson Tontione and those weak Vitaea, played a role in my humiliating exile. Therefore, all who stand with them shall perish."
Cherie Mae: "Pfft! Those are the words of a monster."
Stella: "Yeah, what do you even want?"
Vakatarus: "What I want is a world that follows under rule. A world of true balance. One where the weak only benefit the mighty."
Vakatarus: "You five will make a decent contribution to my ever-growing power."
Sherman: "My dad is coming to stop you. You know that right?"
Vakatarus: "Hehehe, oh I know he'll come. However, he won't stop me because one of my followers has set a delightful trap for him. One that will make him watch as I drain the life out of you."
Vakatarus: "Followers! Keep an eye out for that pesky dhole. Alert me the second you see him."
Bandit Furry 2: "Sure thing, boss."
Vakatarus scans the forest canopy for his opponent, while his scouts search for any sign of him on the ground level.
......Within the forest clearing......
Stella: "You two said your Dad is coming?"
Jackson Junior: "Yeah."
Sherman: "Believe me, our Dad is always there for us and for others."
Stella: "Oooh... so that's why Cherie Mae said that our Mom was a fan of his."
Jackson Junior: "Your mom is a fan of our dad?"
Stella: "Yeah."
Jackson Junior: "Good to know."
Sherman: "Guys, shouldn't we be finding a way out of these bindings?"
Cherie Mae: "He's right. We must try and escape so your dad can easily find us."
Sherman: "My Dad taught me this trick when I was very small."
He tries moving his paws and grabs a stick to push the rope upwards.
Sherman: "Okay, I almost got it. Now to use one of my claws and... presto."
He uses his left dewclaw to slice the rope bit by bit until he free.
Sherman: "Okay, hold still."
Sherman cuts his brother's bindings first and then cuts Cherie Mae's restraints.
Jackson Junior: "Great we are nearly free."
Cherie Mae: "Yes! Thanks Sherman."
Sherman: "Don't thank me yet. I still have to free Aubrey and Stella."
......Two minutes later......
Sherman: "Okay, now that we are free, we have to get moving and stay out of sight."
He says in a hushed whisper.
Aubrey: "How? Shermie, they are everywhere."
Sherman: "See those thick bushes? We can use them for cover while making our escape."
Cherie Mae: "What happens if we get spotted? Those furries have guns."
Sherman: "You guys keep running and I'll draw their attention."
Stella: "What? Are you serious?"
Sherman: "Yeah."      
Jackson Junior: "No way big brother. I am not leaving you behind. We stick together."
Sherman: "Dad taught me to be selfless in the face of danger and that includes getting you out of here."
Jackson Junior: "Sherman!"
He whispers loudly.
Jackson Junior: "Can you please talk to him."
Aubrey: "Shermie, don't go. You could be hurt or worse."
Then one of the bandits sees them and chases them down.
Sherman: "Run now!"
The furry children run for their lives away from the bandit and make a break for a large boulder.
Sherman: "I think we lost him."
Cherie Mae, Aubrey, Stella, and JJ had looks of fear in their eyes.
The guns cocking draws Sherman's attention.
Bandit Furry 6: "Going somewhere, squirts?"
Bandit Furry 7: "Hehe, yeah."
Bandit Furry 8: "How about you five come quietly and maybe we won't tell Vakatarus that you tried to escape."
Sherman: "Aim your guns at me. Let them go free and I will give myself up willingly."
The others nodded no in disagreement.
Aubrey: "No!"
JJ: "Sherman, you can't trust them to keep their word!"
Stella: "Yeah, they kidnapped us!"
Cherie Mae: "We are all leaving together here! We are not leaving you!"
Then a gunshot rings out and a bullet hits Sherman's left shoulder.
Aubrey: "Shermie!"
She cries out and hugs him close.
Jackson Junior: "You shot my brother! Yaah!"
JJ runs at their legs and bites one of the bandit's legs with anger.
Bandit Furry 7: "Ahh! Dang it! Shoot him off! Shoot him off!"
As the other two bandits were about to open fire, Jackson appears and uses his energy flash ability to blind them. The bandits groan from the temporary blindness and are quickly taken down by Jackson's energy blast.
Jackson: "Are you all okay?"
Cherie Mae: "We are sir, but Sherman is hurt."
Jackson: "Sherman! Sherman! Hang in their son."
Sherman groans in pain from his bullet wound.
Sherman: "Dad?"
Jackson: "I am right here. You'll be healed in no time."
He uses his healing ability on his son by placing his paw over the fresh wound.
......Ten seconds later......
His paw glowed and his son's wound had healed instantly.
Sherman: "Thanks Dad."
Jackson Junior: "Yeah, thanks for saving us."
Aubrey: "That power is incredible sir."
Suddenly, more bandits arrived on the scene and attacked them.
Jackson uses his spirit shield to cover the children as he leads them to safety.
Vakatarus was hot on their heels.
Vakatarus: "You will never escape me! No matter where you go, my army will hunt you and your family down!"
Jackson reaches the bridge with the children and tells them to get to safety.
Jackson Junior: "Dad! Are you gonna be back?"
Jackson: "I'll be right behind you. Now go! Go back to town. I have got this covered."
Vakatarus and his minions catch up and surround him once again.
Jackson: "You are not terrorizing this town anymore, Vakatarus."
Vakatarus: "Hmm, Mmuuhahahaha! And what? You're going to stop me? Don't you see that you are vastly outnumbered?"
Jackson: "I think I see a few fools who want a beatdown."
The shifting form of Vakatarus fills with rage.
Vakatarus: "Rrraah! Bandits! Finish him off for good this time!"
They start shooting and Jackson evades their shots as takes on all fifty-five bandits with his energy blasts. The skirmish ends with the bandits knocked unconscious.
Vakatarus: "Idiots! All of you!"
Vakatarus: "I guess it's time for me to take care of you myself!"
Vakatarus then throws him into the water with his dark energy grapple.
Vakatarus: "Give up dog! You cannot possibly defeat me this time. Now that I have a whole town to drain."
Vakatarus: "Starting with these failures lying around you."
Vakatarus grabs two of the unconscious bandits and drains their essence, thus making him even stronger.
Jackson: "No! Grr! Raaaaah!"
He fires two mega orbs at the infamous entity and encases him in a humongous ball of spirit energy.
Jackson: "You are not going hurt anyone else as long I live! Kiyaah!"
He uses his strength to fire the dark spirit so far into the sky that breaks past the atmosphere.
Vakatarus: "This won't be the last time you see me!" (echoes)
Jackson: "Hmph! And stay out."
Bandit Furry 1: "What? Why did you save us?"
Jackson: "Because I am not like Vakatarus or you."
Bandit Furry 1: "So now what?"
Jackson: "Now? Now you and friends are going to return everything you stole and the other kids you abducted."
Bandit Furry 5: "What other kids? We only had five?"
Jackson then punches him in the mouth, knocking a carnassial tooth out.
Bandit Furry 5: "Ahh! Dang it! My tooth, man!"
Jackson: "Stop lying and tell where they are!"
Bandit Furry 5: "Fine! The last four are in a holding pit we dug up a while ago!"
Jackson: "Good. I will carry them back."
Bandit Furry 1: "What do we get if we do this?"
Jackson: "It's not about me or you. It is about this town living in peace."
Jackson: "That is why you thieves are going to turn yourselves in."
Bandit Furry 2: "We are not going back to jail. Forget that."
Jackson: "You are all going to help me make this right or I will personally drag every one of you to jail myself. Am I clear?"
They took his threat seriously and went back into the woods near their meeting spot.
Jackson levitates into the air and watches as bandits reluctantly lead him to their stash of stolen goods and the other missing children. He hears the furry children crying out for help.
Jackson: "I gotcha now. Come on, you are all going to back to town and to your families."
They grab his paw and Jackson lifts all four of them from the pit.
......A little while later......
The bandits brought everything back and were arrested by the task force of Kingsgeo.
Kingsgeo Captain: "Thank you Mr. Tontione. What you did was noble and courageous, but we can handle it from here."
Jackson: "You are welcome, Captain."
Jackson rejoins the crowd of furries who were all abuzz about his heroic feat and each one thanks him individually.
Male Puma Furry: "Are you Jackson?"
Jackson: "Yes, indeed I am."
Governor Montune: "I am Burnsley Montune, the town's local governor. On behalf of the furries here in Kingsgeo, I offer you this Safety Medal of Honor and your likeness on our Wall of Fame."
Jackson accepted the medallion and places it over his neck.
Jackson: "Hehe, thank you Mr. Montune, but it's been a long and eventful day. To be honest, I could use a good rest."
Governor Montune: "Understood, sir. But this town really admires you now and your fame could even help with building morale around here."
Jackson: "I will think about it, sir." (chortles)
Governor Montune: "Excellent! You here that folks! He will think it over!"
An uproar of cheers floods the town.
Jackson: "Hehe, the applause feels good."
He says to himself while he attempts to locate Taciana and his kids."
At the edge of the crowd, Taciana was still checking Sherman and JJ for any injuries.
Taciana: "I can't believe that monster ordered those thieves to kidnap you. How awful."
Sherman: "Mom we are okay. Dad saved us."
Taciana: "Hehe, that is always your father. Always thinking of others first."
Zaino: "Where is Daddy?"
Taciana: "He should be here soon, kiddo."
Aziza then looks around and gasps at the sight of her father.
Aziza: "Daddy's back!"
She runs to Jackson and hugs his leg.
Jackson: "Aziza, don't hug my leg too hard now. Hahaha!"
He lifts her up off the ground as he rejoins the comfort of his family.
Taciana: "Thank the Vitaea you are okay!"
She greets Jackson with a loving nuzzle.
Taciana: "What happened out there?"
Jackson: "I encased Vakatarus in a large orb and boosted him up out of here."
Taciana: "Thank goodness. What about the bandits? You made them return what they stole?"
Jackson: "Sure did. I am a natural for this kind of stuff."
Taciana: "Hehehe! Jackson..."
Jackson: "I know. I know. Don't let the fame get to my head. However, the town thinks I'm a hero. So why not enjoy the perks? Oh, and guess what I got. Another medallion for maintaining the peace and safety of Kingsgeo!"
Jackson Junior: "Mom, you should have seen Dad in action! It was so awesome how he defeated those nasty bandits."
Sherman: "Yeah Mom, Dad's a hero."
Jackson: "I can't take all credit though. You two were also very brave out there, my sons."
Sherman: "How? We just ran away mostly."
Jackson: "Sometimes retreating is the smart choice to make during a life-threatening situation."
Aubrey: "Sherman was brave because he figured out how to cut his restraints and free the rest of us, Mr. Tontione."
Jackson: "Is that true?"
Sherman: "I had to after cutting my own restraints. Heck, I want to be just like you, Dad!" 
Jackson: "Hehe, ya hear that babe? He wants to be a hero just like his old man. I might consider teaching him some self-defense techniques."
Taciana: "Honey... No. He is not old enough yet."
Jackson: "Babe, it's gonna be dangerous everywhere we travel. Even being home will be dangerous. It is why I need to teach Sherman how to defend himself."
Taciana: "Honey... don't do it. What if he gets hurt by accident?"
Jackson: "Tacci, he won't. It'll only be some basic stuff. He will be safe the whole time, I promise."
Taciana: "Mmmm... we will talk about that more later. For now, let's go back to our room and relax."
Jackson: "Yeah... okay. Let's go."
The Tontione family and their guest Aubrey all return to the hotel rooms. Taciana pushes the stroller back inside the hotel room first and started to make some warm milk for the babies, while Jackson turns on the main television to see if the Gryphons team is playing.
Jackson: "Ahh, good. Hey hun? There's a game on! You want to join?"
Taciana: "Give me several minutes, Jacky. I need to feed the babies."
They all start cooing and reaching out for Taciana.
Zakari: (coos)
Angel: (coos)
Cecelia: (coos)
Joseph: (coos)
Eliza: (coos)
Jaronte: (coos)
Taciana: "Awww, you six had long day, didn't ya?"
Zakari: "Ahm, ahm, ahm."
Taciana: "Yes... yes you did."
She pecks their little foreheads and begins to feed them milk one by one. The infants suckle on their bottles.
......Meanwhile......
The children were in the other room talking about what happened earlier.
Aziza: "What happened out there, big brother?"
Zaino: "Yeah? What happened?"
Mallory: "I am rather curious myself."
Jackson Junior: "You sure you want to know what happened?"
Aziza, Zaino, and Mallory nodded yes to the question.
Jackson Junior: "I wanted to tell you, but Sherman won in rock, paper, scissors."
Sherman: "It all started like this..."
......Thirty four minutes later......
Sherman: "And that is what took place. The end."
Aziza: "Whoa...."
Zaino: "That is so cool!"
Mallory: "Wait a minute, Vakatarus had over a hundred bandits surrounding you?"
Aubrey: "Sherm-Sherm, there weren't that many bandits."
Sherman: "Okay fine Aubs, I may have added the hundred bandits to give it a dramatic effect."
Aubrey: "Still... tell the true story. Not what your other siblings want to hear."
Taciana: "Kids! The food's ready!"
JJ, Zaino, and Aziza run out the door for dinner.
JJ: "Race you all! Hahaha!"
Aziza: "No fair!"
Zaino: "JJ always does that!"
Mallory: "Ugh! Some siblings. I'll see you two at the table."
After they leave the smaller room, Aubrey stops Sherman for a chat.
Aubrey: "Sherman?"
Sherman: "What's up, Aubrey?"
Aubrey: "I wanted to thank you for what you did today."
Sherman: "It was a spur of the moment thing, Aubs. I mean we were all in a dangerous situation."
Aubrey: "No... it wasn't just that. You were willing to sacrifice yourself to save me and your brother."
Sherman: "I wanted to protect you both and the other kids that were there. It's not like I'm special or have powers like my dad."
Aubrey: "Shermie no... don't say that about yourself."
She grabs his cheeks and smooches his lips.
Aubrey: "Mmmwwah! Mmmwwah!"
They separate, and she looks him in the eye.
Audrey: "You are special. Special to me."
Sherman: "Aubrey, I uhm..."
Aubrey: "Shh... come on."
She holds his right paw in her left one.
Aubrey: "Your family is waiting on us."

Author's Note: "Vakatarus isn't the only thing that Jackson has to deal with. Find out what it will be in the next chapter!"