Vindicated.

Sony ran towards the bike that they both used to transport themselves to Grayson's house, he tried placing Ryder on it, but Ryder's body couldn't stay steady on it. The body was stiff because of the way he wrapped his webs around him.

Sony undid the Webs, and Ryder's body was still not able to stay firm on it.

"Should I manage till I get to the nearest clinic?" Sony thought to himself.

That was when he recalled the words of Horse, their boss, "We won't have anything to do with the normal ones, we would do things our way. The Police won't control us, instead, we control them. If any of us are injured, we won't get treated in hospitals, we treat ourselves, if any of us dies, we bury them ourselves over here. If our masks are on, no one is to board a transport. If there is a need to follow a public bus or taxi, then your mask must be off..." Those were part of the words from their boss.

Sony was still thinking of what to do when he began to hear Ryder cough. He turned to look at him, he saw that Ryder was trying to get himself up.

"Let's... *cuff*...get out of here...*cuff*..." Ryder managed to say, he forced himself to sit on the bike, his left arm bent to his body because it was broken and his right hand placed on Sony's shoulder.

Sony turned on the bike immediately, driving away from Grayson's house, not even trying to reduce the speed of the bike.

Soon, they got to their hideout, and Sony helped Ryder out of the bike.

They walked in. Sony took Ryder to his seat, making sure he was comfortable enough.

Zero was the only one in the room at that moment. He was seated at his chair, reading some files when he saw them both, and he contacted Horse immediately.

It wasn't long before the screen turned on. "Zero get them all," The voice stated.

Zero adhered to the instruction and began to contact the others, telling them to show up as soon as they could.

Normally, the members of the Zoo Keepers didn't live far away from the meeting room, but the tardy ones just chose to be late for whatsoever reason they had.

It wasn't up to ten minutes when they started showing up little by little, and soon, it was only one of them that was left.

"Zero, what should we do about Oslo? He is the only one left," The guy that wore the mask of a Kangaroo, Kevin said.

Oslo was the next in power after Zero, he only had the power of an Ostrich but he was the second strongest in the gang after Zero.

"This isn't the first time Oslo is absent for an emergency meeting. Let's begin," Zero replied, and they waited for the voice from the television to order them to sit. The only one seated was Ryder.

"You may sit," the voice announced. "Not wasting any time, as we can see, Ryder is brutally injured, and it seems like they broke their promise. As we concluded earlier, their ranks are going to be lowered." The voice from the screen said.

"I am sorry to interrupt, but may I have a word?" Sony raised his hand in the air. That was the first time he would sound thoughtful.

"Go on Sony, let's hear your excuse this time," The voice blurted out.

"Not to disrespect, but you should have asked us to report on the mission. That said, I would begin the report."

Everyone in the room turned to look at Sony, he sounded very rude to their boss.

"Go on," The voice said. Each of them was shocked by the reply of their boss, they expected Sony to be reprimanded.

"The guy that interrupted our battle that day named himself Grayson. We went to his house, but with the way things were, M.D was not present there. Grayson only planned on wasting our time.

He began to threaten Ryder, and that made him lose it, attacking out of impulse. Things weren't fine, as another man was restricting me from interfering in their fight. But I managed to help Ryder out of the house..." Sony stopped for a second. "That's the report, but now, I would want to make an appeal."

"An appeal, now that you have failed the task? Nonetheless, go on," The voice said.

"I don't care if I am convicted, I don't care if this mission is taken away from me or if my rank is dropped, but, I would ask that you leave Ryder out of it."

"And why is that?"

"I was at fault from the start. If I had taken care of M.D that day, Ryder wouldn't have had to go through all this. Also, the mission was to get Denzel, but, we didn't even meet him. We wanted to leave, but, our opponents were very strong. We wouldn't have had to fight them if I summoned him earlier. Please, leave Ryder out of it," Sony pleaded, his head was faced down the whole moment.

"Sony, how does that concern the boss?" Oscar blurted out.

"Oscar, wait. He said something interesting. If I am sure, that Grayson of yours is also a Beast right, so the least you could have done was to capture him also. But, if we are to view it from your perspective, he truly isn't your opponent. I would cancel our deal, and you both would still have your ranks. But, you still can't go free. You both can't go on with this mission, and that also means no reward for you. We would decide who to take over this mission later, but, Ryder should get himself to the clinic to get treated. Since Sony has realised his mistake, I hope he behaves better from now on."

"Thank you so much Horse,"

"Boss is lenient with them, I expected more punishment," Pete said something for once.

*****************************

THAT EVENING...

<DENZEL'S RESIDENCE>

"Denzel, have you rested enough?"

"Yeah," Denzel yawned, staring at the decorations Carrie had already done in the living room to celebrate his birthday. "What's all this?"

"Have you forgotten? Your birthday--"

"Yeah, I know," Denzel said, scratching his head. 'Damn, when last did I celebrate my birthday?' Denzel walked towards the centre table in the living room, where the cake was placed.

"I actually wanted to surprise you, but you woke up earlier,"

"You already wished me this morning,"

"Ohh... That's true... Anyways, Dad! The preparations are complete. Denzel is already here!"

"Carrie, please would you keep your voice down, I wouldn't want you yelling my name,"

Denzel took a look at the cake and saw how boldly the 25 on it was written. "Yeah, I am 25... When did I grow so old?"

Denzel smiled as he mumbled that to himself.

Chris came to join them with the spree.

Carrie took the cake and placed it on the dining table, and the rest of them joined her there.

"Denzel, blow out the candle and make a wish," Carrie said to him.

"Ah... you still do that?"

"Just do it,"

Denzel blew out the candle and placed his both hands together as if he were praying, his eyes closed. Carrie clapped the moment he opened his eyes, and they got ready to eat.

"Thank you, Carrie," Denzel said, he had a satisfied look on his face.

"It isn't much, what are we family for?" She replied, picking up her spoon.

"Well, it's not only for the cake, but it's also for everything," He took his hands to pat her head.

"Huh?" Carrie was mystified.