OMGOSH! Is Spudwick13 updating a story? The world is ending! Gaaahhh!

Seriously though, it's been too long. Waaay too long. Allow me to begin with my pitiful excuses: Ahem, this has possibly been the WORST year EVER for me to start a story. Why, you ask? Well, there was the whole "oops I fell and hurt my knee"thing and then I friggin' lost my computer and wasn't even able to remotely type it so… yeah…

But I'm here now, and if you're still reading this and haven't given up on me, I thank you. I probably shouldn't add that I've had chapter 10 written since July…

Also, on a side note, Ted, you made me laugh. Or chuckle, giggle, snort; take your pick. ;) It is awkward to say, as a writer, that I'm no good with words. I meant notes like that. I usually end up sounding like a rambling idiot, which I'm sure I did.

-o-

Ace splashed water on his face as he stared down his reflection in the mirror. It was four-thirty in the morning but the bunny had decided it better to get up early before Lexi, Tech, and Alex got up to leave at six on the dot. Getting up early meant time to yourself; just like it did when the team was still a unit.

The man that stared back at him sighed and brought a hand to the bright red scar that streaked across his face. He cussed under his breath at the memory and lowered his gaze to the floor, reaching for the collapsed Guardian Strike Sword on the counter next to him. Ace squeezed the handle twice and the blade immediately erupted from the hilt and rose so that it covered a fair amount of the bunny's face. A smile tugged at his lips.

He's thought these days were long gone. From the moment he walked out those front doors fifteen years ago, almost to the day, he thought he's given this life up forever.

The smile widened as he mentally compared the figure in the mirror now with the one from fifteen years ago. He's been just a week from turning twenty-four, so he hadn't completely lost the scrawny, teenage look he'd had, but a lot had changed since then. Age still had a long time to catch up to his body, so really, the only noticeable difference, aside from how mature he looked now, was that he wasn't nearly as able-bodied as he used to be. There was no way he'd be able to execute the same back flips and attacks he'd managed in his hay-day.

Anyone could've noticed how much more mature he was now. He definitely looked fifteen years older, but still young and fit. Ace had done everything in his power to maintain the same figure he's shaped while a member of the Loonatics. The rest didn't look too bad either. It was obvious, though, that Duck had either gained a few pounds or become more buff than he'd been before.

Ace lowered his arm, sword still in hand, and closed his eyes; enjoying the pure bliss of the quiet darkness. He stood like this for a long while, with water still dripping down his face; not noticing the time whatsoever and nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt slender arms wrap around his waist, and soft hands on his bare chest.

Lexi pressed her cheek between his shoulder blades and Ace could feel her smile. "Scare you?"

Ace scoffed, smiling. "As if." She chuckled and let her hands graze over his torso, causing the male's breath to catch in his throat. Even after years of being together, this girl still gave him chills.

"Nervous?" she purred, feeling Ace shrug in response. He squeezed the sword's handle again and the blade retracted into the hilt.

"Just another mission, ain't it?" He felt her arms tighten around him.

"You and I both know that's not true, Ace," she murmured, he couldn't tell if she was fully awake yet. "Our whole future depends on this mission." After this, silence swallowed the room as Ace turned to face her, returning the embrace. The bunny opened his mouth to respond but instead found his face in Lexi's hands and her mouth on top of his open one, kissing his deeply.

Ace smiled and brought his girl closer to him, enjoying this simple pleasure. When they finally broke apart, Lexi linked her arms around Ace's neck and stared into his eyes. "Never think I don't love you," she whispered.

"Give me one reason why I should think that."

Grinning, Lexi leaned up and planed another passionate kiss on Ace's lips.

-o-

"You're awfully quiet," Tech observed, sitting down next to Rev in the hanger. The roadrunner looked up and smiled weakly at his friend. "C'mon, Rev," Tech egged on, I've never seen you go this long without talking." Despite the early hour, Tech offered Rev a soda. (Without caffine, Rev was dangerous when presented with caffine.)

"It's-just…" Rev paused. "Once-again-I-don't-get-to-see-the-action. I-was-the-one-always-left-behind-and-obviously-that-hasn't-changed… Even-when-I-did-go-I-didn't-do-much… it-bites."

Tech gazed at his friend sadly. "I'm sure that will change," he murmured quietly. Rev turned to look at him, face serious, a strange look on the happy, energetic roadrunner.

"When? If-it-hasn't-happened-yet-when-will-that-change-Tech." The coyote had no answer for him, thankfully, in that instance; Alex plopped down in between Tech and Rev, saving her husband who was scrambling for words.

"Hey, good lookin'," Alex said casually. Tech responded off-handedly, still mulling over what Rev had said. A sly grin spread over the female's face. "Who said I was talking to you?" she asked coyly, whipping her head around dramatically to face Rev. "Hey, Roadster; how's it hangin'."

Rev grinned. "How-are-you-Alex?" Alex stretched and brought her hands around her knees.

"Not bad… I want it to be warm and sunny."

"You'll be getting that once we arrive in Freleng."

Alex smiled broadly. "You bet I will."

"Speaking of which," Tech said, standing up, "I'd better get this ship ready. No doubt it will need to be looked at, not having used it in over a decade."

The lady fox hopped up next to him. "And I will go with you." Alex looked over her shoulder at Rev. "What about you, Speedy. You up for this?"

Rev shrugged. "Nah-I-better-check-on-Maxi-and-the-little-squirts."

An eye roll. "You can't exactly say that anymore, since Roi is almost as tall as you, and he's only thirteen." Rev ignored the genius coyote and started walking away.

"Have fun," Alex added sarcastically with a little wave.

It was rev's turn to roll his eyes. "You-know-it." A pause. "Good-luck-you-have-your-radios-right-'cause-those-are-our-link-and-we'll-be-sure-to-keep-you-updated-on-"

"Thanks," Alex cut across him and turned to enter the space craft.

"It's been a longtime," Tech announced, walking into the ship and taking a deep breath. It felt so good to be back, words couldn't even describe it.

Alex's chin was suddenly on his shoulder, her lips in his ear. "You've missed this," she murmured. Tech nodded with a smile.

"You're right, I have." The coyote turned to face her but in that same moment Alex was on his other side, linking their arms.

"How about a tour, handsome? You did make this one I presume…" she drew out the last word with sarcastic critique, looking coyly around the ship.

Tech scoffed. "Don't insult me. Of course this is mine." With that, the coyote proceeded to show his wife the layout of their ship.

Though the statement about it only seating four was correct, this ship was big enough for a group of four to live comfortably. Tech showed Alex the control room first, followed by the kitchen and the few bedrooms. Finally, the tour ended with the engine room.

"We should never have to go in here unless there's a problem," Tech shrugged and wandered around, saying offhandedly how to work each piece of machinery.

Alex had to giggle at his vocabulary, which was so extensive; she wouldn't have a clue where to even begin if something were to go wrong. But he was just so confident with all of this, that sure look on his face and his offense if you didn't take it all seriously… he was just so cute…

"We about ready to roll?"

Ace's voice jerked Alex out of her trance. She made her way to the ship's entrance where Ace was standing, jacket slung over his shoulder and Lexi not far behind him. Unlike they would've all those years ago, the team wasn't dressed in their black jumpsuits; Ace was just wearing old, faded jeans and a t-shirt and it appeared Lexi hadn't even changed out of the clothing she'd slept in.

"Absolutely," Tech's voice came behind the fox, making her jump. The coyote tossed the keys for the ship over to Ace who caught them neatly in his palm, chuckling.

"Serious déjà vu," the male bunny laughed, making his way to the pilot seat, Tech close behind. Lexi went to close the door to the ship when she caught sight of Duck, Rev and Maxi leaning against the far wall of the hanger. With a smile, she gave them a salute and proceeded to close the door.

Seating himself in the pilot's seat, Ace grabbed the key with his thumb and forefinger, drawing a blank as he desperately tried to remember where to place it. Tech grinned as he came up behind him. "Left," he hinted.

Ace scoffed as an embarrassed blush crept across his face. "I knew that, I was testing you." He smirked in the coyote's direction.

"That's what they all say."

Laughing, Ace inserted the key into the ignition and turned it. The engine roared to life and the noise reduced to a soft purr. The bunny nodded; satisfied, and turned in his chair to make sure everyone was seated for takeoff. He met Lexi's eyes and she gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up. Grinning, Ace put the ship into gear and felt the ground vanish beneath the ship as it ascended into the air….

-o-

"Hiya."

Lexi looked up from her book. Alex. "Hmm," she mumbled, putting on her annoyed expression. Alex turned her gaze down, trying to catch a glimpse of the book's cover.

"What're you reading?"

"A book and I'd like to get back to it if you don't mind…" Lexi stuffed her nose back in her novel just in time for Alex to snatch it from her hands and fling it behind her. "Hey-"

"Listen up," Alex snapped; she'd come over here to try to reason with Lexi and hopefully end whatever stupid feud they appeared to be in the middle of, but all the perky bunny wanted to do was spit fire. Well two could play at that game. "I, being the mature one, decided to come over and have a civilized conversation but all you-"

"This is exactly why I said you shouldn't come, but Ace insisted so…"

"So you caved because you'd do anything for him," Alex finished with a sly smile.

Lexi gave her a sneer that didn't quite reach her eyes. "So what if I'm crazy about him? I should be; we've been married a while now."

Alex studied her face carefully. "I haven't gotten that far." A smile. "You're a tough girl to crack, Lex." It was strange: Ace's nickname for her being used by someone else, but all the same, Lexi smirked.

"I ought to be, I lived with a bunch of guys."

"Your husband is an open book," Alex murmured offhandedly, disregarding Lexi's comment. "I can almost always tell what he's thinking." She looked thoughtfully out the window.

"Then he seems surprised when you respond." Lexi chuckled. "He's cute," she added, studying Alex's face. She'd never admit it, but the moment she saw Alex she was jealous: Beautiful green eyes, clever, sharp tongue, confident, and amazingly sexy. Alex had a tone body with naturally curves most girls would kill for. Even now, in a tank-top and sweatpants, Alex was more likely to attract men's eyes than Lexi had on her prom night.

Sighing, the female bunny stretched and checked her watch. "Time?" Alex questioned, not moving her eyes from the window. Lexi's eyes flashed up.

"Eight-twenty," she said slowly. Alex turned to her with a playful smirk.

"You might want to think about getting changed." Lexi looked herself over. She was still dressed in the old T-shirt she'd thrown on when she got up and Ace's basketball shorts which she'd slept in.

"It's a nice idea," she noted and got up to leave.

"Hey, Lexi." The bunny stopped but didn't turn around, nonetheless, Alex pressed on. "So, we're good?"

Lexi slowly turned to meet the fox's eyes. "Sure, Alex," she said before leaving without another word, leaving Alex more confused than she had before.

-o-

Hours later, Ace called the others up to the bridge. As Tech approached last, a grease stain smeared across his right cheek, Lexi smirked. "And what is Tech working on?"

The coyote shrugged. "Nothing crucial. We haven't used this space-craft in so long, some of the devices are dated. I'm just updating them. The steering mechanism is retro and the flux capacitor needs new cables and-" Alex casually put a finger to his lips.

"I need to buy you a book on slang," she murmured. "That way you could speak in a language we'd all understand." Tech sighed.

"Some parts are old. I need to make them like-new again so the ship doesn't go down in flames."

"Much better," Ace said with a smirk as Alex used her thumb to remove the grease from Tech's face. "Anyway," the bunny continued. "We're about to land in Freleng, so I encourage everyone to just act natural, and let Zadavia know what's goin' on. Sound like a plan, guys?"

"Sure thing, baby," Lexi said, giving a thumbs up.

"Absolutely."

"Sounds peachy to me."

"Great," Ace said, turning back to the controls and putting the landing gear in action. "I actually had to let the hanger guys know we were coming," the bunny said with a chuckle. "No more special privileges I guess." They entered the planet's atmosphere and saw the planet's ship housing where many men in matching suits motioned to them, showing Ace where to land.

After touching down in the appropriate spot, the partial-team stepped opened the door and walked down the platform to get their first look at Freleng. The sun was shining but the humidity was incredible. "Wow," Alex said as she stepped out. "I guess I'm glad I wore a tank-top after all."

A beefy man in a suit identical to all the rest came up to them and consulted a clipboard. "You're Ace, right?"

"That would be me," Ace said, grinning. "Unless you see a playing card around here, 'cause Ace isn't really a common name."

"Alright then," the man said, clearly not up for jokes. "I need you to sign here… here… here… and… no, wait… nope, that's about it." He ran a meaty hand through his brown, greasy hair. "Tell me when you're done."

"Thanks," Ace said with slowly, the smile fading, and braced the clipboard against his knee and scrawled his name in the designated spaces.

"What a grouch," Lexi muttered, crossing her arms as he walked away. Ace shrugged.

"Don't be too harsh, Lex," he said without looking up. "Just think 'bout how many humorless, arrogant losers he gets through here. I think the fun gets stamped out of 'em." Ace finished his last signature and placed the pen back into his pocket. "C'mon."

The group walked casually through the giant hanger that looked suspiciously like Space Mountain and slapped the papers on the front desk as they arrived. The large man who had talked to them earlier took the paperwork and looked them over, frowning at Ace's messy penmanship. Finally, he nodded and smiled stiffly. "Thank you. I have informed the queen of your arrival, have a pleasant day."

Thanks, Mike," Tech replied, reading the worker's nametag as the band of anthros began to walk away.

"That's nice," Alex stated as they arrived outside the hanger. "Now all we have to do is walk on through the front door." As they hit the streets, their glee was short-lived. The crowds thickened dramatically; packed with tourists, locals, and politics.

Tech groaned. "At least the castle is only a couple blocks away…" he muttered, gazing uneasily at the sea of people.

Ace was about to respond when a male raccoon pushed him roughly, causing the rabbit to stagger backward. The young man turned to face Ace, annoyance clear on his face. "Watch it, dude! Don't just stand on a walkway!" He rolled his eyes and ran to catch up with his friends.

Standing off to the side this time, Ace faced his small team. "That jerk had a point. We should get moving."

-o-

After ten grueling minutes of fighting crowds and the heat, the group arrived at Freleng's castle gates to find a girl in her mid-20's with shoulder length, white-blonde hair standing just on the other side. Her bright, electric green eyes seemed to be peering directly into each of their minds. In fact, she looked just like Lexi would if she were human.

"Um… Hi?" Ace began awkwardly to the strange girl. She smiled knowingly at him in response.

Creepy.

"We're here to see Zadavia," Lexi said firmly as the young woman turned to face her.

"Of course," she replied smoothly, opening the creaking gate. "She's expecting you." The gate opened wide enough for them all to fit through. "Follow me." The girl turned and started up the cobblestone walkway to the castle, the others not far behind.

Zadavia never gushed, but the closest she'd ever come to it was when telling the team so many years ago about how magnificent the royal palace in Freleng was. Tech had always thought she'd been playing it up for a good story but now, just walking through the garden on the way to the doors, he could tell she hadn't been.

The architecture was so beautiful and unique; all of them couldn't stop staring. At last, the blonde girl stopped before the front doors. "Do I even need to tell you not to touch anything?"

"Eh, I think we got that…" Ace smiled hesitantly.

Her eyes narrowed. "What?"

"I'm a guy who likes to call people by their names." She turned around.

"And I'm a girl who doesn't like to give her information out to strangers," the girl retorted. "Sorry buddy." Without another word, she opened the door and let them inside.

As she began to walk inside, Ace turned to face the team with an exaggerated surprised/bemused expression. "Wow," he mouthed before following the girl deeper into the castle.

After zig-zagging their way through several different hallways, Blondie finally came to a halt in front of a pair of 20 foot tall doors. Alex let out a low whistle. "Sweet," she piped up from the back.

Wearing an incredibly fake smile, the girl held open one of the giant doors. "After you."

The small collection of anthros walked inside and stood dumbly in the middle of the wide room, Blondie leaning against the closed door. The whole room seemed to be made out of pure, white marble which was shined so amazingly, everyone could see their reflections anywhere they looked. "If I may repeat myself," Alex said, breaking the awestruck silence. "Sweet."

Tech smiled and opened his mouth to respond when the doors opposite from the ones they had entered through flung open and Zadavia entered alone, wearing a beautiful, flowing silk dress of fine lavender. All things considered, the Frelengian queen had not aged much; just the slightest hint of wrinkles starting to show along the edges of her eyes. Nonetheless, she smiled warmly at them.

"It's been quite some time." She stopped, taking notice of the new face. "I don't believe we've met before," she said to Alex.

"And I believe you're very good at stating the obvious," Alex replied with a smirk. Zadavia's smiled broadened.

A wave of relief washed over Ace as he wasted no time delving into their tale. Zadavia listened, nodding frequently. Her face seemed to turn white when the news about the deceased Tasmanian devil crossed her ears. When Ace had finished, Zadavia seemed beyond flustered and put a hand to her heart.

"I – I truly am speechless." The queen frowned and spoke directly to the foursome. "Please feel free to make yourselves at home, you have to allow some time to let this news sink in. We'll devise a plan of action tomorrow." Ace nodded, speaking for all of them.

"Thank you, we'll catch up with ya tomorrow." They turned and left the exquisite room and stood outside the castle in the garden.

"So what do we do now, chief?" Tech asked casually, absent-mindedly letting his hands run across Alex's palms.

Ace gave his a wicked grin. "Well we are in Freleng and we've got the whole day to ourselves…"

"Ew, no thanks." Lexi's face contorted with disgust. "Nothing sounds worse than being surrounded by a bunch of Barbie dolls flaunting their bodies for the men. Count me out." She gestured back to the castle. "I'm going to see if Zadavia can hook me up with a room."

Tech shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Ace turned to the two remaining. "You two game?"

Alex beamed. "Absolutely. As long as we're here, we may as well have some fun!"

-o-

Sorry this took so long again guys. :( But the good news is: … Wait for it… NO MORE LONG UPDATES! Why you ask? I finally have a computer in my room and I'm seriously working my butt off trying to get this story done plus a one-shot I'm working on for Ace and Lexi.

On a side note: What do you guys think these four should get to do in an entire planet like south California? Could be fun, right? Should Lexi decide to join them after all? Send me those ideas and advice in one of those REVIEWS! All you've gotta do is click on that little blue button at the bottom there. Magic things will behold if you do! ;)

~Spud13