Chapter 2: Search and rescue
For the next seven days the Rovers were practically working around the clock. They persistently searched every nook and cranny over the suspected perimeter of the Sahara Desert as best they could. When nothing was found they did a second search through every nook and cranny again.
It quickly became their highest priority for the Rovers, and everyone did their best to aid in the search.
During these tense seven days the Rovers had little to nothing to do...Well, no, that's not true. They had to respond to a few bank robberies. One in particular was a few hours ago, a robbery in a research facility. Other times they would get reports of dogs being stolen from pounds, shelters, and even from right off the streets.
As for the culprits, they were Cano-Mutants. Of course, General Parvo is up to his old tricks.
Strangest thing though, they always seem to arrive after the bad guys made their escape. But of course they arrive just in time to catch some Cano-Mutants before they high-tail it. Either Parvo cooked up some stronger and smarter mutants, or Parvo is getting some help...
But of course you could attribute that to the current crisis affecting everyone's performance. Hunter knows it's affecting his. He in particular felt guilty and responsible. He told them to take the new Cycle Rovers to test them out; he told them to head out in singles rather than in the usual pair.
He shook his head and buried his face in his hands, trying to calm down. Colleen told him many times not to blame himself, but he for some reason had plenty of trouble getting past that part.
He sighed as he sat up straight on his bed, counting the minutes until the Master gives them some good news about the search. He insisted on being out there searching, but the Master wouldn't allow it, stressing for them to get some rest after the near non-stop two day search after Exile disappeared.
He gasped and looked at his collar, seeing the dog tag blinking. The Master's calling them!
Hunter didn't waste any time. He jumped to his feet and stormed out of his room. He ran down the hall and skid to a stop into the briefing room. He looked and noticed he was the first Rover here. Of course a few seconds later the other Rovers arrived.
"Did they find 'im?" Colleen asked as she approached Hunter and the others.
Hunter shrugged. "I hope so."
They all hoped the same. They turned to the large monitor as the Master began to speak with urgency in his voice. "I'm afraid we don't have time for explanations, Rovers. I have just received this data from our satellites."
Hunter held hope. "Is it...Exile?"
The Master turned to the large monitor as images and satellite images were being shown on-screen. "See for yourselves."
The Rovers watched the large monitor. On the monitor it showed a live feed from one of the many Rover Satellites. According to the data the satellites are tracing this from somewhere in Africa, a desert from the looks of it.
Hunter shook his head. It couldn't be the Sahara Desert again. There's no way they would use the same place twice...Would they?
The Rovers gasped at what the video showed.
The live-feed showed an all-too familiar Siberian Husky running through the desert. He wasn't wearing his Rover uniform; he was garbed in black clothing. Despite the little difference they were sure they knew who they were watching.
"Exile!" The Rovers yelled.
They watched helplessly as the Husky fell on the desert sand before quickly picking himself up and resuming his run. What is he running from? The live feed soon showed movement elsewhere. They were Cano-Mutants, wielding laser blasters and giving chase. They were General Parvo's usual army of mutant soldiers.
"We gotta save him!" Hunter shouted.
"There were strange activities in the same area as last week, and we just got this transmission a minute ago," The Master said before turning to the Rovers. "This is urgent, Rovers. We've been searching far and wide for him. Now let's bring him home."
"Yes, Master!" They all responded with a salute.
Without wasting any more time the Rovers scrambled to the hangar. They ran down a corridor and into the hangar room, where all of their vehicles were waiting for them.
Hunter was the first into the hangar bay and wasted no time. He stood in front of the Sonic Rover and pointed to it.
"We'll take the Sonic Rover to make it there as soon as possible. We'll then use the Cycle Rovers when we get there! Now, let's bring Exile home!"
They quickly boarded the Sonic Rover and made the necessary preparations for take-off. With the urgency of the situation they had no time to waste. Exile was in the Sahara Desert, being chased by Cano-Mutants. They just had to get there, and quick!
"Let's hit the road, Rovers!" Hunter exclaimed after getting the Sonic Rover out of the hangar bay and into the sky. He set the jets to full power and shot through the sky at mach speed toward their destination.
As they headed toward the Sahara Desert Colleen kept the team up to date on what's going on by using a handheld data pad she brought from Road Rovers Mission Control. She had the live-feed from the Rover Satellite running.
"How's he doin', Colleen?"
"Not too good," Colleen could barely keep her eyes on the live feed. It felt awful seeing your own team mate in trouble and you're miles away from being any help. "I hope we make it in time."
"Exile will be fine," Blitz commented as he rubbed his fist into his hand. "I'm more worried about dhose Cano-Mutants. Dhey're about to get dheir tooshies bitten when I get my paws on them!" He loudly clamps his jaws shut to prove a point.
Shag whimpered from Blitz's threats before mumbling something to Hunter.
"Don't worry, Shag. We'll definitely get there in time. Just hang on, I'm giving it everything this baby has!" He accelerated the Sonic Rover until they were at max speed.
The Sonic Rover shot through the sky at maximum mach speed, demonstrating why the Sonic Rover is held as the fastest jet in the world. But even with the Sonic Rover's speed it still took them an agonizing long time to get to the Sahara. Hunter could only pray Exile would hang in there.
It felt like forever and the team was mostly quiet from the tension, but they finally arrived to their destination. From the air they could see activity down at the desert, but to stay on the safe side Hunter piloted the Sonic Rover to land from a safe distance.
"All right," Hunter stood up from the pilot's seat and looked at the Rovers. "Shag, you stay in the Sonic Rover and keep the engine running. We're here to pick Exile up and make a clean getaway."
Shag mumbled affirmatively.
"Colleen, Blitz, let's take the Cycle Rovers and find our team mate!"
Blitz grinned and rubbed his hands together. "Finally! Let's commence in the biting of the tooshies!"
"Just try not to wreck the Cycle Rover, would ya, Fluffy?" Colleen teased as she stood up and went straight to the back of the Sonic Rover.
"My name's not Fluffy, it's Blitz!" Blitz groaned as he stood up from his seat. "Maybe I should consider in getting a name tag..."
The three Rovers mounted their respective Cycle Rovers after opening the back main hatch, the same model they used on their previous assignment a week ago. They had a spare fourth one back at Mission Control, to replace the one that was previously destroyed. They needed the solid traction on the sand and the horse power if they wanted to find Exile before the Cano-Mutants do.
Once after turning the ignition and warming up the motors they all shot out of the Sonic Rover and hit the sand, zooming through the desert once again. Hunter made it a point for them to stick together not only because of the Cano-Mutants that are out there, but because he doesn't wish a repeat of what happened last time.
"What's the status on Exile?" Hunter barked through his headset radio to Colleen.
Colleen looked at the data pad she attached to the Cycle Rover. She couldn't help but smile. Exile seems to have stopped running and took cover behind a rock formation in the desert. The Rover Satellite is an impressive piece of machinery for keeping track like this.
"Looks like he lost 'em, 'untie," Colleen reported as she looked over at Hunter to her left.
Hunter mentally pumped his fist as he smiled. "All right, Exile! When we get back there's going to be a big box of doggie treats with his name on it!"
"He seems to have taken shelter near a big rock formation. He looks tired though, I reckon' he won't last for much longer out 'ere."
Hunter nodded. Right, Exile's a dog breed who's not exactly suitable for this extreme heat. Heck, running from a group of Cano-Mutants under this scorching sun isn't suitable for anyone, period.
"Okay, Rovers. Let's search for any rock formation we can find and-Whoa!" He barely managed to duck his head under an incoming shot.
The Rovers soon saw Cano-Mutants on their own motorbike vehicles following and shooting at them. Hunter managed to see at least four motorbikes chasing them, two Cano-Mutants on each.
"Aaah! How did they find us so fast?" Blitz screamed as he swerved a little, avoiding the incoming laser blasts.
"They must've expected us coming since they were after Exile. Not exactly a plot twist," Hunter replied. He then glanced back to the other Rovers and said "All right, Rovers. Let's spread out and loose 'em!"
The Rovers did as their leader said. They each took a separate direction, confusing the Cano-Mutants before they too spread out, one on each Rover...And two on Hunter.
"Huh," Hunter frowned as he glanced back to see two motorbikes on his tail. He speeds up to stay ahead of them. "Why do I always get an extra one on my tail?"
Colleen veered her head as she dodged the Cano-Mutants' incoming fire. She glanced back at her chasers and sped up. They tore through the sand of the desert, swerving and turning as the Rover tried to dodge and lose her pursuers. She launched off of a small sand hill, landing hard below but managing to keep her speed and traction. She glanced back again and noticed the pursuers cleared the jump as well.
They were persistent, and it was getting on her nerves.
As they tore through the desert they eventually rode through a patch of land riddled with rocks and boulders. Colleen swerved around the rocks, hoping the obstacles would help her lose them. Unfortunately these Cano-Mutants could definitely chase and keep up.
"Blimey!" She cursed as she glanced back after having a laser barely miss her head. "You're harder to lose than a tick!"
She looked forward and found another rock formation. There was an opening in the middle, but it was very low to the ground. The way to the rock formation was between two gigantic boulders. If she were to get in there she could get stuck. Unless...
"All right then, let's see you follow me through this..."
Colleen sped up and swerved around the rocks that were in her way. She aimed for the rock formation that had a slight opening underneath it and glanced back to make sure her pursuers were right behind her. They probably thought they had her.
She measured the distance she had between her and the rock formation and waited for the right moment. When the time came she turned the handle of the Cycle Rover hard, turning the vehicle and having it tilt on its side.
The Cycle Rover slid on its side along the ground and Colleen curled close against the Cycle Rover. She and her vehicle slid right under and through the small opening in the rock formation and out on the other side. She straightened up both herself and the vehicle as she emerged out on the other side and looked back. A second or two later she heard a loud thud and some pebbles gave way from the rocks.
She smiled to herself as she pulled her hair from out of her face. "Not too bright, are ye'?"
Blitz screamed and whimpered as he was being shot at. He mainly just tried going as fast as he could to stay ahead of them, but he eventually figured even that wasn't enough. He gritted his teeth as he did his best not to glance back at his pursuers.
He shook his head. "Okay, Blitz, think. How are you going to get two crazy Cano-Mutants off your tail...?"
He revved the vehicle as he tried to think on what to do. He drove through the desert while dodging their fire, screaming and whimpering every now and then from how close some of their fire came to hit him.
"Yaaaah!" He yelled from one laser nearly hitting his head. He finally looked back at the Cano-Mutants and shook a fist at them like an angry driver to a tailgater. "You mangy mutts! Watch where you are shooting!"
Blitz screamed as a shot nearly hit his head. "Aaah! All right all right I'm sorry! Just stop shooting at me!"
Nearly on the verge of a nervous breakdown Blitz turned to look at the road. His eyes widened and his ears lowered as he noticed he was about to go off the edge of a cliff. Without any time to swerve or stop the Doberman went over the cliff with a terrified yell.
Instead of stopping themselves the Cano-Mutants followed suit and launched themselves off the cliff after they caught up, landing safely below with little problem. It seemed like the drop wasn't lethal at all. But now they had a problem.
The Cano-Mutants came to a screeching halt and looked around. They seem to have lost track of the Rover they were chasing. They scratched their heads and looked at each other, shrugging in confusion at one another.
As he looked back at his passenger the driver saw something behind them and told his passenger to turn around. When the passenger did he saw just what they were looking for. There was the Rover they were chasing, but he had a weapon in his hands, a launcher. Where he was keeping that weapon during all of this they had no idea.
"I never liked being chased around all day," Blitz growled and aimed his launcher at them. "Let's see how you like it instead!"
Blitz pulled the trigger three times and out shot three metal balls. They looked like they would hurt if they hit their mark, but things got a little more interesting when the metal balls opened up to reveal razor sharp teeth in them. It got worse for the Cano-Mutants when the metal balls showed that those teeth were for chomping!
The Cano-Mutants panicked and took off on their vehicle to get away from the incoming offense. They didn't get far though when the chompers tore into their vehicle and launched them into the air as the motorbike was destroyed from right under them. They had no choice but to continue running on foot as the chompers kept following them.
Blitz laughed. "Yah, you better run, you little pansies!"
As the Doberman put away his weapon Colleen came up near him on her Cycle Rover. She just witnessed the Cano-Mutants running off with their tails between their legs as she stopped by Blitz, a little amused at what just happened and impressed.
Blitz grinned at Colleen. "How did you like that, beautiful?"
Colleen chuckled. "Not bad, Fluffy. Not bad at all. Now let's go, 'unter might need us."
Blitz's ears lowered, annoyed at how Colleen still doesn't remember his name. "You're lucky you're so cute..."
Meanwhile Hunter glanced back as he still couldn't shake the Cano-Mutants. Of course it shouldn't surprise him, he hasn't found anywhere he could go to lose them or even hide. He's just been driving the Cycle Rover out in plain sight. He rode up sand hills and swerved in attempts to kick up some sand with his rear tires to blind them, but nothing he tried could get him free from them.
He drove through a cluster of palm trees. Some were dry while others looked a little brown. Hunter would admit he was a little curious at finding such trees here in the middle of the desert, but of course there are a lot of things even dogs don't know.
Hunter gasped as he veered suddenly, just managing to avoid being shot. He glanced back at his persistent pursuers as they dodged the many palms in the cluster before being out of it and back out in the open desert landscape.
He shook his head and turned to the readers. "I heard of chasing another dog's tail but this is ridiculous!"
He ducked his head to avoid more of their gunfire. He was gritting his teeth as he gripped the handle bars of the Cycle Rover even tighter. They were wasting precious time! Every second they spend out here dodging the Cano-Mutants is another second Exile is out there deprived of shade and water.
Hunter's ears picked up the faint sound of other vehicles coming. He looked behind him and saw a Cycle Rover launch up from behind a sand bank to Hunter's right. It soared over them and scared the leading Cano-Mutant into veering his vehicle in a panic, losing control and wiping out on the sand.
"Surprise!" Colleen cried as she landed her vehicle safe and sound and caught up to the chase.
The second pursuers were in such a shock at what just happened that they didn't notice a third Rover coming up to their right. When they realized it they were too late. Blitz smirked at them as he flexed out his claws and took out their front tire. The two Rovers waved mockingly to the doomed Cano-Mutants before they backed off, putting some distance between them as the Cano-Mutant loses control and wipes out.
"Wow!" Hunter grinned after what just happened. "I would not have predicted that!"
"You're all clear, 'untie." Colleen spoke through the headset.
Hunter held his hand to his headset. "You two are the best friends a dog could ever have. You gotta teach me how you managed to launch the Cycle Rover so high like that!"
"It's all in the momentum." He heard Colleen chuckle.
"Hahah, right. Now, let's go back to what we're here for. Got a lock on Exile's location?"
"Yeah, I did but I'm not the only one, 'untie. We better 'urry!"
"Send me the coordinates, I'll go get him. Right now I want the two of you to get back to the Sonic Rover and prepare to get it up the second I get there. If the Cano-Mutants are here then Parvo isn't too far off, I don't want anything to go wrong now in the last stretch."
"All right. Be careful, 'unter."
"Yah, bring that snowball back alive!"
Hunter chuckled as he looked at the equipment on the Cycle Rover as he received the coordinates. "Be more than happy to, Blitz."
He wouldn't dream of doing anything less. He revs up the Cycle Rover and speeds off toward Exile's coordinates. He narrowed his eyes as he leaned down against the Cycle Rover as his speed began to pick up. He's putting all of his trust on this new version of the Cycle Rover to get him to his destination. He couldn't wait to find Exile and bring him back home.
As he neared his destination he squinted and growled. He reached into his belt and pulled out his lucky tennis ball. He recognized that human. "The Groomer..."
Indeed. The Groomer stood by a sand hill overlooking a few palm trees and a boulder. They had found and cornered the pooch, and they went through a lot of trouble to capture him to just let him escape now.
The Groomer walked forward as she looked at the sight. Exile laid on the sand, blood was seeping from his head near his left ear. When she arrived with her Cano-Mutants he tried to hide and fight back with his heat and ice beams, but a firm strike to the back of the head made sure he'd heel.
"Take him away," The Groomer instructed to her Cano-Mutants.
Just when the Cano-Mutants were about to collect the subject they heard a vehicle approaching. Before they could even react both Groomer and her Cano-Mutants were swallowed by a spray of sand. It got them coughing as they were covered in sand, and their eyes stung as some of them blinded them.
When the Groomer managed to open her eyes she was glaring at a Retriever mounted on a motorbike. The silver uniform and his tennis ball were nothing short of familiar.
"Hey there, Groomer," Hunter greeted as he juggled the tennis ball in his hand.
"You!" The Groomer spat. She was sure the Cano-Mutants out on the field could hold them off longer than this.
Hunter revved the Cycle Rover as he held the tennis ball in his hand, waving at them with it while saying "I haven't seen you and your army of mutants again in about a year! Did ya' miss me?"
With a wink he dropped the tennis ball by the enemy's feet before taking off on the Cycle Rover, once again blinding the Groomer and the Cano-Mutants in his dust.
The Groomer coughed before ordering the Cano-Mutants. "After him!"
Before the Cano-Mutants could even move the tennis ball that Hunter dropped opened up, releasing a green gas. The Groomer and the Cano-Mutants didn't know what hit them as they all chocked and passed out to the nauseous gas. Falling for the oldest trick in the book ended up being amusing for the Retriever.
"I always loved tennis balls. A dog's best toy," he commented.
Hunter drove the Cycle Rover down to the palm trees and came to a stop. He leaped off of the Cycle Rover and ran straight toward his downed friend. Up close he got a good look at his friend's condition, noticing the wound on his head.
"Exile!" Hunter shook him as he kneeled next to him. He checked him over for any other wounds but stopped himself as he admired the new clothes now that he's up close and personal. "Hey, nice outfit. Where'd you get it?"
Exile groaned a little, which Hunter assumed he tried to answer his question. Good, he's conscious...Well, sort of. But he was alive at least, and Hunter was so grateful for that. A little later and they might've lost him to the Groomer and her Cano-Mutants.
"Come on, buddy." He brought Exile's arm up over his shoulder and helped him up to his feet. "Up we go. I know how much you want to get out of this sun."
Exile was barely conscious enough to stand on his feet; Hunter was basically making all of the effort to hold him up. He must've been through a lot to be this out of it. Hunter couldn't even begin to guess what Exile went through this whole week. He could only imagine what Groomer wanted from him to chase him all over the desert.
"Rovers, I got him!" Hunter contacted back to his team mates. "He's alive, but he's hurt!"
Colleen was the first to respond. "That's great news, 'unter! But tell me, how bad is he 'urt?"
Hunter looks over at Exile. "He has a pretty nasty wound on his head, and there's quite a bit of blood. Other than that I can't see anything else. Anyway, I'm on my way back. Get the Sonic Rover ready for launch as soon as I get there."
Instead of hearing Colleen he heard Blitz responding, "Yah yah, we know we know. We got the Sonic Rover ready a long time ago. Just hurry back!"
"Right away, Mr. Impatient," Hunter grumbled into the headset at Blitz.
He slowly made his way back to the Cycle Rover all while supporting Exile up...Or more like holding him up. Hunter was worried sick, Exile wouldn't even make the effort to try to stand or move. He was running and defending himself not too long ago before they got here. He prayed the head wound wasn't that bad.
"Come on, buddy. Help me out here," He grunted as he struggled to keep the bulky Husky up on his feet, and himself. He finally made it to the Cycle Rover and helped Exile up on the vehicle, sighing in relief as this day is almost over.
He at first had his doubts. The new Cycle Rover only had one seat; it'd be a tight fit with two people riding at once. It'd be a bit easier if Exile was more conscious so he would hold onto him. The last thing he wanted was to get to the Sonic Rover only to glance back and notice his passenger wasn't there anymore.
"Hey!" Hunter yelped as he reached back and grabbed Exile's shoulders to keep him from falling off the side of the Cycle Rover.
He held him up straight and gave some light slaps to the Husky's cheeks to get him attentive. "Come on, bro, this is no time for you to take a nap. I need you to work with me here."
Exile responded from the slaps, but all he got was something muttered in Russian. Hunter started the Cycle Rover up after making a second check, making sure that Exile won't fall off during the trip. When he was satisfied Hunter revved the Cycle up and took off back to the Sonic Rover.
Hunter constantly glanced back at Exile to make sure how he was doing. He at first went at a slow pace, only slowly picking up the speed as he grew more confident that Exile wasn't just about to fall off.
"So...Some week, huh?" Hunter tried to talk to Exile, maybe as a way to keep him conscious. "I mean, I'm very glad to see you again, Exile. Really, things were just so gloomy back home without you, y'know? It just wasn't the same."
Exile didn't respond, but Hunter kept going with a slight frown. "So uhhh...That was the Groomer back there? What...What happened here a week ago?" He winced as the guilt came back again.
Hunter sighed. "Look, about what happened, you don't have to explain yourself...It was my fault, really. I...I shouldn't have made us go it alone like that. Especially on something we had almost nothing to go on...And-"
Once again he's cut off as gun fire shot right over his head. He glances back to see three motorbike vehicles on his tail. Cano-Mutants, already?
"Oh you gotta be kidding me. They just don't give up! Hang on tight, Exile." Hunter speeds the Cycle Rover up and makes a mad dash toward the Sonic Rover.
"Rovers, the Sonic Rover better be ready!" Hunter spoke through his headset to the rest of the Rovers.
"We read you, 'unter." Colleen responded through her headset from the Sonic Rover as she kept a lookout through a pair of binoculars. "We're good and ready to leave as soon as you get 'ere."
"Yeah, well, I got a few friends here who want to come along, and I'm not exactly expecting to take Parvo's mutant lackeys along with us. I'm gonna need a little help on getting them off my tail."
"Roger that." Through the binoculars Colleen spotted Hunter on his way over to them. She felt at ease when she also saw Exile on the Cycle Rover with their leader. They finally found him, and they're bringing him home.
Colleen turned her head to Shag. "Shag, get your launcher!"
Shag nodded and reached into his fur coat, but what he pulled out wasn't what Colleen expected.
"No, not your lunchbox! Your launcher!"
Shag grinned sheepishly and threw aside the lunchbox and tried again. This time he pulled out just what Colleen was asking for, a rocket launcher. The Sheepdog turned to the direction Hunter was coming from and took aim with the launcher.
There was only one problem in this scenario. Shag could never really remember which way to point the thing to.
"Shag, wait! You're pointing it the wrong...Way..."
Colleen could do nothing but watch as Shag pulled the trigger and shot the rocket into the opposite direction that it was intended for. The Sheepdog realized his mistake and watched as the rocket flew through the sky, most likely blowing up a mountain or rock formation in the process.
Shag whimpered from his mistake, but he got a comforting pat on his back from Colleen. "Don't you worry, Shag. I'm sure you'll get it down one day."
Shag smiled and mumbled something to Colleen to which she nodded. "Of course you will."
Blitz then emerged from the Sonic Rover with his own launcher, apparently getting a little impatient in wanting to get out of here. He took his aim and shot the rocket toward Hunter's direction.
Hunter saw the incoming rocket and glanced back at his pursuers. "Sorry guys, but you're not exactly welcomed back home today. Maybe next time!"
He revved up the Cycle Rover and sped up as the rocket whistled through the sky and over his head. The Cano-Mutants couldn't a thing but whimper and whine in shock as the rocket soared straight down and exploded right between them all, blowing them away and out of their pursuit.
"Yes!" Blitz pumped his fist. Great shot if he says so himself.
The Rovers all went back into the ship as Hunter neared it. He slowed down on the Cycle Rover as he got closer and ran up the ramp of the hatch door, coming to a full stop inside of the Sonic Rover. Immediately after he was inside Blitz slammed his fist into the hatch button and closed the hatch doors.
"Blitz, help Colleen with Exile." Hunter began with the orders as he jumped off of the Cycle Rover immediately after returning. "Shag, help me get the Sonic Rover into the air."
Shag was already moving to the cockpit along with Hunter when Blitz went up to the Cycle Rover and saw how Exile was slumped on it. Colleen was already on him examining his wounds, taking great notice of his head wound and other injuries on his body.
"Is he okay...?" Blitz gulped as he saw the Husky's bleeding head wound.
"It doesn't look too bad." Colleen responded. "But we need to get 'im home and fast. Help me get 'im over on the table."
In the cockpit Hunter and Shag were making the preparations to depart. As he told them the Rovers already prepped everything for immediate launch. All it took was the flip of a couple of switches and they were immediately moving to depart.
"Hang on tight, Rovers!" Hunter pushed the throttle of the Sonic Rover and soon they were off the Sahara desert and up into the clear blue skies. It wasn't until they were all clear in the skies when Hunter let out the breath he was holding in as he slumped back in his seat. They were out of there safe and sound, but more importantly they were all accounted for.
He ran his fingers through the fur on his head and smiled to himself. After seven torturous days they finally found Exile, alive and well...For the most part. They were all finally together again.
Both Shag and Hunter looked at each other. Hunter gave a tired smile and held a thumbs up at Shag. "To the power of the pack."
Just as Hunter said his catchphrase a camera flash nearly blinded him. Shag lowered his camera and nodded with a happy bark. Shag's been doing this almost every other day for the past few weeks now, snapping photos out of anything he'd find interesting. They haven't yet asked him what it was for.
Hunter grinned in response, but as he turned his head to look through the cockpit window his grin disappeared as he began to wonder. Parvo was behind this if the Groomer and the Cano-Mutants' presence was of any indication. But what was he trying to do?
Piecing everything together Hunter could assume that Exile was held captive since his disappearance seven days ago. He half-expected their nemesis to destroy them the moment they were in his grasp, but as far as he could tell Exile was just fine.
So, what the heck happened during this past week?
The Retriever pushed the thoughts aside for the moment. For now they had to get back home and treat Exile's wounds. He stood up from his seat and placed his hand on Shag's shoulder. "Keep the Sonic Rover steady, Shag. I'll be right back."
Hunter exited from the cockpit and made his way to the back of the Sonic Rover. In the back Blitz and Colleen both helped Exile off of the Cycle Rover and laid him down on a nearby table. Hunter watched as Colleen examined the Husky's wounds, treating them as best she could with what she had from the Sonic Rover's first aid kit. She managed to clean the head wound and bandaged it, but it'll need stitches for when they get back to Mission Control.
"How's he doin', Colleen?"
Colleen looked back at Hunter. "His wounds aren't too bad, but we need to get 'im home fast for that 'ead wound of his." She turned back to Exile, gently stroking the fur on his head. "He just lost consciousness, but he's breathing."
Hunter nodded. For now he's doing okay, but they got to get back to Mission Control as soon as possible. He looked over at Blitz, who was just sitting by a bench resting his elbows on his knees with his chin on his knuckles.
"Blitz," Hunter called to him.
Blitz looked at their leader. "Yah?"
The Retriever motioned his head to the cockpit. "Get on the radio with the Master. Tell him we found Exile and we need Professor Hubert to be ready for him when we arrive."
Blitz nodded and went back to the cockpit. Hunter watched him go before moving closer to Exile. He watched him as he lay on the table unconscious. He was breathing peacefully, hopefully dreaming something pleasant for a change after what he went through. His eyes moved to the bandages around his head and how the blood was showing through them. He frowned, then sighed.
Hunter looked back at Exile's face. He placed his hand on the Husky's shoulder. "Hang in there, buddy...We'll get you home..."
