Hey guys! Again, sorry for the wait....I've been super busy...and so has my beta reta so once again, please try to bear with us as the revised ones will be here shortly. :) To my reveiwers.... you guys are absolutely amazing!!! Thank you so much! ^_^I hope you enjoy...


She's only known heartache and pain
But she's never known pain like this
She stands alone defending her name
When all that she's done is be who she is
Well is it so wrong to be who we are
When all she's done is fail.

Cold is the throne of her hardened heart
No one has seen the softest part
Day after night she holds an ache
And won't budge to show this secret place
Well is it so wrong to hang on to hurt?

Maybe she could set it free.


Rita stepped in front of Skipper, held the knife out in front of her... She only hoped Mina was smart.

"I'm really not in the mood to do this the hard way. And frankly, I just don't want to see another dead body..."

She paused, seemed to think it over for a minute before replying.

"But it is durable, so don't push me... now... What is the true story?"

Mina gulped, seeming intimated for only a few brief moments, before turning her piercing glare upon Rita once more.

"Volcom was right. You are good....too good.... Oh, he won't be happy about this at all...your going to receive a punishment you may not survive little soldier!"

She yelled, angrily crossed her flippers, though she glared passed Rita, at Skipper, who simply returned the glare.

"Soldier? What does that even mean... ?Oh! I know... you mean slave."

Rita spat out the last word, throwing back the same deadly poison Mina used to break her.

The penguin scowled.

"You always were a rebel. No matter... I may not be as 'gifted' as you are...but I have a few tricks pulled up my sleeve, myself...."

Mina grinned. An certain eerie mischief developed in her eyes, and she slowly walked closer to the two, eying Skipper. Rita watched her carefully, she kept her guard on. Skipper did the same. Nevertheless, despite their efforts, they were too late...

Mina had already threw a needle that was attached to a bottle filled with some sort of liquid. It had appeared seemingly out of thin air into her flipper, and flew through the air at speed that many would not think possible.

Rita whipped around in an attempt to catch it, though despite her desperate efforts to prevent the act from happening, the needle had already collided with Skipper's flipper. An ear piercing scream erupted from his beak as Mina's manic cackling echoed off the walls of the sewer. In this moment, one little lemur decided she had finally enough... one brave lemur rushed forward with the knife clutched tightly within her paws.

Rita leaped onto Mina's back when she was facing the opposite direction, climbed onto her shoulders, and held the knife inches away from the penguin's neck.

"I guess you chose the hard way... What have you done to him?!"

Rita screamed, pressed the blade a little closer. It was enough to draw the slightest amount of blood, but not enough to cause any real damage.

"Tell me!"

She screamed, finding that her own voice had grown desperate.

Mina finally calmed her insane laughter down to a light chuckle.

"You-You don't know? Wow, Rita, I thought you were smarter than that, seeing as...your Volcom's kid and all."

If at all possible, Rita's anger would have grown. She glanced behind at the sound of a strangled cry that could have vary well been her own name... Skipper caught her gaze one last time before his body gave into the liquid's deadly poison, and collapsed on the ground with a heart wrenching thud, next to Rico.

"You really are a monster..."

Rita whispered bitterly.

"What can I say cadet? He needed to pay...."

Mina replied casually, almost with a drunken laugh.

Rita released her, only to give her a harsh shove. She stared at the crazy bird in disbelief.

"Ya know... I really shouldn't be surprised."

Tears threatened to fall from her eyes, though she did a good job at keeping her emotions in tact. As usual, she would remain strong.

Rita took a few steps forward. She raised the knife... thought it stopped, inches away from the fresh wound on Mina's neck, just above a vital vain... If Rita sliced that, the penguin was done for.

"And what do you think your going to do to me, Rita? Face it! I-It's over....you lost. As usual..."

A grin spread across her face, and she leaned her head back to let out another manic fit of laughter.

Rita released her once again.

"I don't have have time for this...your not even worth it."

The lemur turned and ran to Skipper, while Mina simply fell to the ground.... the sound of her growing laughter seemed to mock Rita as she knelt beside him. She made a motion with her paw and a wet cloth appeared.

Rita acted quickly, and used it to gently dab his forehead. She made another hand motion and a bottle similar to the one Mina had thrown appeared in her paw, only this one had a cap that served as a cover instead of a needle.

"Come on Skippy, ya gotta' wake up!"

She yelled, squeezed the rag until a drizzle of cool water fell onto his face.

Skipper's eyes slowly opened, his vision faded in and out as his mind battled to regain conscienceless. He mumbled something inaudible, and let out a painful moan.

"Listen to me... It's going to be okay, but you have to drink this."

Rita reassured him. She quickly tore the cap from the bottle and threw it in a random direction, gently placed her paw behind his head, and tilted it up to prevent him from choking. It was odd to say the least that a lemur of her age would have such experience in the medical field, but again, as Skipper had learned, Rita was no ordinary lemur. She had been through more than he knew, seen things that no child of her age should ever have to see.

Skipper struggled to open his break, though could only manage slightly. It was just enough for Rita to be able to poor the right amount of clear liquid into his mouth.

She re-capped the bottle after she was sure he had swallowed and set it down on the ground beside them, forgetting the item for the moment.

"This should act as an antidote for whatever poison Mina shot into your body."

Rita said, bitterly glaring at Mina, who had stopped laughing and was presently sitting with her back against the opposing wall, a grin of mischief upon her face.

Skipper was not able to gather enough strength to form words just yet, so he settled on giving her a grateful nod.

"Wow Rita... You amaze me. You know that?"

Mina said in a voice that made Rita long to whip around and punch her... it was the same feeling Marlene had developed in their first meeting, back at the HQ. The lemur resisted the urge however, and instead, settled on gritting her teeth.

"Your really trying to be the hero this time...aren't you?"

Rita ignored her, trying to keep her main focus on Skipper.

"No...don't close your eyes... Skippy, you have to stay awake!"

She pleaded, shook the penguin gently.

Skipper's eyes fluttered open, and then closed again several times, until finally he found his voice and shakily took Rita's hand into his flipper.

"I'm so-sorry Rita... I know what your trying to do...but I think maybe it's time... to let go. ..retreat...while you still can."

The lemur shook her head, her mind refused to believe the words coming out of his break were true.

"No... no! Okay, I did not... you didn't come this far, go through this much, to just give up! Now you said you were in the military... Well army men don't just give up okay? They hold on! No-matter the cost..."

She tried to convince him, struggling to keep her voice steady.

"Yes Rita.... let go. Give up...for once in your pathetic little life. Except that you can't do anything about it."

Rita could hear Mina's taunting voice sneer from behind. She tried to block the words out of her mind.

She shook her head, lifted Skipper's chin, and forced him to look into her eyes.

"I know your not a quitter Skipper... You weren't when it came to Marlene, or to me... Now it's time for you to fight for yourself! You can win this thing Skippy, I know you can! There are so many people that love you, you can't leave them... your a fighter...remember that!"

That fateful night, some would say early morning, Rita's words, venerable and filled with passion and fear, would imprint in Skipper's mind for the rest of his life...

Your a fighter... remember that!

The words seemed to echo in his own sub conscience over and over again... They gave him the courage to force open his eyes and with all the strength he had left within his frail and weakened form, Skipper pushed himself off the ground, his flipper never let go of Rita's hand. She helped him stand... she reminded him of all the reasons he must fight...

"What about your little.. army people friends? Even I could see how much they care about you... they would be lost without you and every one of them knows that! I saw the look on that otters face when they took you away from her... I was there, Skipper! Me Rita! The one has never known what that's like..they need you! I was there and I saw it all... Now fight!"

Her voice seemed to be growing fainter now... He could feel himself begin to fall..

Was this really the end?

Where is Rita.... Oh, there she is... Why can't I hear her anymore?

Skipper could see tears in her eyes now... they fell down like heavy rain drops and landed on his face, as if, even they pleaded him to stay. Though her voice was not the only thing that was fading... Skipper's surroundings, and Rita's frantic face, too was beginning to slowly grow distant.

"Wait a second...you mean Ski-Skipper...could still be alive?"

Private finally asked. It was the first time the leader's name had been spoken since Marlene had relayed the news of the tragic events of Skipper's seemingly untimely death. The silence that hung in the air was awkward to say the least, and held a heavy sense of grief and strife.

Everyone looked at Hiro... Their last and only hope rested simply on whatever words would form out of his mouth.

The wolf met their gaze with a look of sympathy and a deep sorrow of his own.

"I don't want to say too much...but it's possible. The moment my troops informed me that Skipper was in trouble, we were on our way within minutes. Nothing beats the luxury of todays technology."

He laughed a little, an attempt to lighten the mood if only slightly.

"But how did you know he was in trouble?"

Kowalski asked, Skipper's natural paranoia seemed to have rubbed off on him.

"You know... the story is actually quit bizarre. Our team received a call from an unidentified source that Skipper had been abducted by Volcom... A deadly weasel who is in alliance with a nasty penguin who calls herself General Mina..."

Hiro started to explain, before Marlene cut in.

"Woah, woah hold up a sec... General Mina?" The vary mention of her name seemed to make Marlene's blood begin to boil.

"But... She's back at the HQ with Rico."

Private said, instantly fearing for his friends life. Judging from the looks he received from the other's, it was safe to say that even Maurice felt uneasy.

Hiro looked at them with nothing short of sympathy. It was such a look that if you were staring into his eyes you would have known that he knew something you didn't, but did not have the heart to speak the words aloud.

"For now, let's just focus on getting to Skipper. If he is alive, the faster we get to him, the more of a chance he will have at survival."

He said, watched for their reaction. No one seemed to have any objection, in fact, it was the exact opposite. For the moment, they did not notice the sudden change of subject, for everyone's fear for Skipper's life seemed to overthrow any other thoughts.

"If Skipper's alive, then there's no ifs, ins, or buts about it... we're going to find him."

Marlene said with a determination in her eyes that was fueled by a mixture of emotions, the strongest, longing and grief.

"Then there's no time to waste."

Hiro said, and the other's began to follow him down another tunnel of the sewer. Marlene ran up ahead to walk by Hiro. There were so many questions she had been longing to ask him from the moment he introduced himself as a friend of Skippers. Her original intent was to get her mind off the burning ache in her heart, though she soon realized, try as she may, she would never be able to get Skipper from her mind.

Private ran up to stand on the otter's right, almost as if he were afraid to leave her side. Kowalski guessed it was because Marlene was a gentle figure that Private could look up too, and seek comfort from in the bitter darkness of Skipper's absence. Kowalski was relieved that Private could find some sort of console, some kind of way to cope in such an uncertain time.

Kowalski himself brought up the back, along with Maurice. The two walked side by side, walking in silence... both lost in a world of thought.

"So...how do you and Skipper...know each other?"

Marlene asked Hiro not even 10 minutes later, even though she had a pretty good guess it had something to do with the army judging from the wolfs earlier statement...

soldier?

What does he mean? Skipper must be his soldier, but is this...could this be....?

"Well I guess you could say I'm sort of like Skipper's...well, Skipper."

The wolf replied with a small laugh.

I knew it! Marlene's mind mentally yelled.

"I was his General when he first joined the military.... it's a pity about his sister though. Mina has a good heart deep down, but unfortunately, pain and tragedy has a way of darkening the heart, and blinding a penguin to the freeing truths of an events real actions."

At this, both Marlene and Privates eyes widened to saucers.

"Wait... Lemme get this straight... Mina...is...Skipper's sister?!"

Marlene exclaimed, voicing Privates thoughts. Even Maurice and Kowalski listened in at that.

"But...but....he never mentioned anything like that to us..."

Private said, a little saddened that his leader had not been honest with the team, when he had always taught them the opposite.

Kowalski on the other hand, was more concerned of the reason he did not want to tell them.

Marlene knew most likely, it was not her place to address the subject any farther, but her curiosity was known for getting the best of her. It was also the source of a lot of unneeded trouble. Nevertheless, she couldn't resist.

"How come?"

She asked, unable to stand the suspense any longer.

~~~~~~~~~Rita's POV~~~~~~~~~

"Skipper!"

I screamed out his name, my hands kept a gentle grip on his shoulders even as he fell back down to the ground. I fell at his side, patted his cheeks lightly in an attempt to keep him stable.

Oh, come on... You have to hold on! You can't do this to them, you can't leave them...

"You can't leave me!"

What?! Did I just say that out loud? Oh, no... no, no, no. no... Rita, your getting in way to deep here! The goal was to help him to he could return to his family... this isn't for your gain! You don't have a family, and you never will... So just get that through your stupid pathetic little head!

"Skipper, Skipper! Don't leave me.... Pathetic. Rita...I'm truly ashamed of you."

I could hear Mina's cruel snake-like voice taunting me...again. Why can't she just give it a rest already?

Look what you did, you idiot! You just fed her more fuel to add to the flame...the flame of taunts!

I mentally cursed myself, watched Skipper's eyes open and close to keep my mind off of...arguing with myself, or it.....me? Whatever. My mind is not what I need to be focusing on at the moment. It's Skipper whose life is in danger here! Focus, Rita...

While I was busy....arguing with myself, I hadn't even noticed that Skipper's flipper had somehow managed to reach my face and wipe away a few fallen tears.

Tears? Wait a second...I'm....crying? Have I really allowed myself to get this close to someone?! I never knew my father.....Okay, my real father... Volcom was nowhere near what a fatherly figure should be... Not that I would know... But I'm pretty sure it's nothing like that, so I had nothing really to compare the bizarre feelings that stirred somewhere inside me.

"Get up Skipper! Please? Try....for me?"

Please don't die! Please....

"They need you!"

Yes, they need you!

"And I'm not letting you give up!"

I grabbed his flippers and proceeded to help him stand.

"It's hopeless Rita! All your efforts are going to be in vain, and then you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to laugh...as he takes his last breath."

Right as Mina had said it, another horrible fit of laughter erupted from her whacked-out beak that sent old familiar shivers down my spine. They were similar to the ones I get whenever Volcom is around. Huh... Strange.

Skipper staggered a little as I struggled to keep him upright.

"Don't listen to her Skipper, just focus on winning the battle! Your not going to die."

I said, staring into his deep blue...broken eyes.

"Ri-Rita...why...why are you even doing this?"

Skipper asked, his voice slurred and weak. He stumbled and would have fallen if I had not been there to hold him up.

"Why not just....sa-save yourself?"

He looked up at me, and I could tell he was on the verge of giving up.

My own eyes filled with unwanted tears...again. Looking at his face broke my heart, it broke because I knew he didn't deserve this. Of all of the animals in this world, why must the good be the ones who seem to suffer the worst? It doesn't seem fair.

"It's be-because...I know what it's like...to feel pain."

I replied, struggling to keep my own voice steady.

It's because I know what it like to feel the cold sting of loneliness, what it's like to cry yourself to sleep at night only wishing someone was there, to feel like you don't have a friend in the world. I know what it's like, and how bad it hurts....to lose the only one who's ever cared about you.

Skipper didn't respond this time. Maybe it was too much for him...? I don't know, but it didn't matter because the look in his crystal eyes said all.

"You'd better get a running start while you still can little Rita, because before long, you won't have the chance...besides, Volcom always loves a good chase. Why not humor him?"

I could hear Rita's nasty voice geer from behind us. I glanced behind to see her stand up and smirk.

"Well this is one race Volcom is not going to win...and neither are you."

I spat out through gritted teeth, before turning back to Skipper. Talking to Mina would only be a waste of valuable time.

"Listen to me okay? Your going to be okay....I-I promise."

I knew I had no right to promise Skipper such a thing, and judging from the look on his face I could tell he had his doubts, but I had to say something to bring him hope....

"If you really believe that...then lead the way."

I could tell his voice was filled with obvious doubt, but at least he was going to try, and that's really all I could have asked for.

This is my time for revenge...my turn to repay him for all he's done. I've watched him destroy too many lives already...It has to end somewhere. Why not today? Why not now? Why should I stand around and watch one more animal's world get torn to shreds, without doing anything to prevent it from happening because of some stupid threats?

Well not anymore....

"Not so fast."

I mentally cursed under my breath. Volcom....

"What do you want now, Volcom?"

I asked, glared daggers at him.

Seriously, what is with this guy?! Can't he give us a break? Of course not...

"It looks like we have a little traitor in our little family...."

The weasel sneered.

I ignored him for the moment, and slapped Skipper right across the face. I regretted it the moment I saw the pain in his eyes as well as the glare I received in return.. Still, I had to do something to get him awake, and if slapping him was the only way, then he could thank me later.

"Skipper, wake up!"

I screamed. I wasn't exactly sure what kind of poison Mina had shot into him, but I wasn't taking chances... there was still a small possibility that Skipper could slip into a coma if I didn't keep him awake long enough for the medicine to kick in, and...well...if that happened, it wouldn't end well, let's just say that.

"Ow!"

Cried Skipper, reaching up a flipper to rub his sore cheek. There was a gash there, and that is when I realized in my panicky state, I must have slapped him a little too hard because the wound had reopened.

"I'm sorry, but I need to keep you awake!"

I exclaimed, guilt immediately took over my emotions at the look on his face.

"Oh, your right Rita...he does need to be kept awake... we want him alive to watch the show."

I whipped around at the sound of Volcom's eerie voice only to meet his evil smile.

"What show?!"

I demanded, a little too panicky than I should have let on... a million thoughts continued to rush through my head. I returned my gaze to Skipper... I could tell he was trying his hardest to keep his eyes open as I had instructed, but seemed to be having a difficult time accomplishing that goal.

"Let's meet our main attraction...shall we?"

Volcom grinned.

"Skipper, please...."

I begged, buried my face into his chest, and let out a broken sob, unable to take anymore of Volcom's taunts. To my surprise, Skipper's flipper somehow found it's way to my back and began moving in slow steady motions. I sobbed a little harder... I could barely hear him shush me. After all that had happened, I only wanted to disappear...

All my life I had always tried to be so strong... it's not like I ever had a choice. I didn't choose to be this way. When Volcom brought me with him to join his life in the circus, everyone was on their own after awhile. We were all freaks... Volcom told me my special ability's were a gift...but at times, they seemed more like a curse......

****Flashback*****

A younger, baby Rita stood at the base of a tall wooden latter that would lead to a thin wired line. The people called it a tight rope, and Volcom had told her that she would be forced to clime the latter, and walk the thin line with only the netting below to rely on to catch her fall. The little lemurs first reaction, like any child, was that of fear... Rita had began to cry when Volcom relayed the news, only to receive a harsh slap across the face.

"Quit your crying! Tears are for wimps and babies... you, Rita, are neither. I'll make sure of it."

He had told her in a strict tone. When she was unable to do as he asked, the weasel had picked up a large whip the humans normally used for training the larger animals, and gave her 7 lashes across the back.

When the crying still would not cease, Volcom had taken a knife from a nearby table and drug it across her face in a single diagonal line. The wound ran from her right eye, along her face. After that, he had made her promise not to cry... And the tears did stop.

The recent memory seemed to flood over Rita in one terrifying wave of sorrow as she stood, trembling, before the wooden latter she knew she must clime. Volcom glared down at her with cold, empty eyes of stone. He gave her a harsh push towards the latter.

"Go on...show em' what you got! And remember, don't cry..."

He gave a sinister wink that sent shivers down the young lemurs spine. Nevertheless, Rita nodded frantically and began her long clime up the latter... she could hear the loud thunderous cheers of the crowd just outside the certain.

A voice off-stage announced her act and a large red curtain opened. Rita's heart seemed to beat faster with every passing second. She glanced down at Volcom, who eagerly cheered her on.... though it was not the kind of cheer one may think.

In fact it was one that made Rita only long to turn and flee...though she knew if she did her efforts would be in vain. She simply took a deep breath, said a little prayer under her breath, and cautiously began to walk the tiny line that seemed as though it would break the moment she stepped onto it. Instead, the second her feet hit the thin wire, Rita lost her balance and began to fall...

She closed her eyes and prepared herself for the impact in case something were to go wrong.... Though it never came. A simple motion of a paw and two wires shot down from the ceiling attached to a mental bar. Rita immediately clutched onto it, and flipped herself upward, grabbed the wires and continued her act, her heart racing.

It went on like this for awhile as the crowd would let out a loud boisterous cheer whenever Rita would make something appear and do a few tricks with whatever object she happened to posses, all the while with Volcom at the bottom flashing a huge sinister grin until it was time for him to perform his own act.

When the day finally ended and all of the animals and people had finished their acts, little Rita would escape Volcom by spending her time with the rejects of the circus...mainly, the mice.

"I dream of cheese!"

One of the mice, a brown one, yelled out with a longing smile as the others finished the re-telling of their own goals...some were noble and just, while other's held utter madness. Rita listened to them all with the same amount of respect. The mice served as some of the few friends she had made in the circus. When it came down to her turn however, she simply hung her head and stared at the dirt.

"Come on Rita...you must have a dream...a goal of some sort perhaps? Everyone does."

Said the brown mouse. If Rita would have looked up, she would have noticed that he gave her a warm smile. Instead, she simply shied away from his gaze and replied in a barely audible tone,

"I don't....have one."

"Surely you must have a dream, Rita."

She whipped around at the sound of a familiar voice.... Rita's face lit up at the site of a small grey fox. He had arrived at the circus a few days ago with a cast on his right fore paw, though he seemed to prefer keeping to himself up until this point. At the site of the approaching stranger, the mice scattered in random directions as a natural reaction of fear. They yelled for Rita to follow, though the lemur seemed curious of this intruder.

The fox carefully limped over to where she was sitting, gave a single lick to the deep wound that Volcom had left earlier. Rita flinched away, uncertain of the sudden bizarre act of kindness.

"Ho-How do you know my name?"

She stammered fearfully, re-thinking her decision to stay now that she realized how tall he was... at least, compared to her.

"It is not hard to learn one's name when it is often spoken by other's near bye."

He replied in a voice that Rita thought seemed wise.

She looked at the ground, suddenly a wave of embarrassment washed over her.

"Sorry..."

She murmured, before noticing his leg, and making a hasty decision to change the subject.

"What happened?"

The fox's ears seemed to drop and a distant look entered his eyes of something only he could see.

"I was attacked... a mission went sour....I was captured, and because of my shortcomings, a dear friend lost the love of his life..."

He said, his voice grave and filled with a deep sorrow.

Rita's face fell into a mixture of horror and sympathy.

"That's terrible! But you've gotta tell me.... what, exactly, do you mean by...mission? Are you a secret agent?"

She asked, once again finding herself a little more curious than she should have been.


Cause she's so nice, naive and beautiful,
Why did she get taken for granted?
Why did she live in a world so cold?
He took advantage of the nice, naive and the beautiful.

~Plumb.

Hey, if anyone who can guess who Rita's mystery fox may be, or which character from another movie who he's based off of, I'll give you cookie! ^_^