"I'm sorry, you need me to do what now?" Rai asked once her and Sly had returned to the hideout.
"I need you to collect the spice gas trapped within the large balloons in the sky, then land directly on each caboose to blow open the hatches."
"So you want me to gather up spice gases, which are unstable at low altitudes might I add, to then use as a make-shift explosion on the cabooses, possibly killing myself in the process?"
"Look, I know it sounds bad—"
"That's because it is bad!" She cut in.
"But..." Bentley continued. "...it's the only way I could think of to blow open those hatches, and the spice gas in those balloons has enough power to do so, whereas my bombs just don't have that kind of firepower." Bentley explained.
Rai sighed irritably. "Fine, whatever, I'll do it. Where do I go?"
"To the ice plane Murray is piloting near the edge of the mountain."
"Then I'll go get ready."
"When you're finished, I have a special vacuum backpack for you to wear so you can gather up the spice gas."
"Sure, whatever it takes. I'll be out in a few minutes." She said as she went into her room, the fox seating herself on her bed. Rae ran her hands through her hair, sighing heavily.
"I'm just going to assume you're not a big fan of heights." A voice called, Rai glancing up to see Sly had entered her bedroom.
"Yeah... I guess I should've mentioned that I'm not overly fond of high places."
"And yet, you run along rooftops and tightropes as if it's nothing."
"That's different. With this, I have to paraglide down, popping those balloons to gather up spice gas, which I then have to use to blow open all three caboose hatches, but spice in its gaseous form is very unstable, so if I screw up..." She buried her face in her hands.
"I don't think it's you're afraid of heights as you are of unstable, exploding gas."
"Wow, ya think?" Rai said sarcastically. "I mean, come on... I'm basically betting my life here with a massive explosive attached to my back. So yeah, I'm petrified that if I miscalculate my landing, then..." She suddenly tensed up a bit.
"You're doubting yourself again." Sly said, crouching down in front of Rai as he took her hands in his. "You're over thinking the situation, causing doubt. I used to have that feeling to, thinking I couldn't take down the Fiendish Five, but then I realized that if I stopped doubting myself and believe in my abilities and the people I trust, I could do anything I wanted, and that's how I defeated Clockwerk."
"Yet, we're still in this situation..." Rai spoke up.
"Look, I know you have a history with the Klaww Gang – a bad one – but you can't let that hold you back. I've noticed that it's not so much the Klaww Gang that bothers you as it is Kisara. She's the reason why you're having a hard time trusting other people and yourself, but sooner or later you're going to have to let it go, otherwise you'll never be able to move on with your life. So, stop doubting yourself and believe that you can do this."
Rai stared into Sly's hazel eyes for a long moment before nodding. "Yeah, you're right... I'm letting her control me and cloud my judgement. I've gotta stop thinking I can change the past and move on."
Sly grinned. "That's my girl."
She then stood up, the raccoon doing the same. "Thanks, Sly. I'll be back soon."
"Oh wait, can I ask you something first?"
"What is it?"
"About your name..." Sly began.
Rai sighed. "Have you ever heard of the Vermilion family?" She asked.
"I think my dad mentioned them when I was young. Why?"
"Well, my family, or my mother, was very wealthy, I won't lie about that. During the day, she was a wealthy aristocrat, but by night, she was a thief..." Rai explained. "However, after she met my father and had me, she gave up thieving, wanting to pass it on to me, until..." She tensed up for a moment. "Well, you know the rest..."
"No, it's alright, I understand..." Sly replied. "Sorry, I probably shouldn't have asked.
Rai shook her head. "No, it's okay." She said. "You should at least know the history with my family."
"And Kisara? I mean, I know you told me not to trust her or anything, and I can see why, but, you know..." Sly insinuated.
"At first, I honestly thought that we were friends, and it seemed like that. She had been the first person who I actually trusted, until she stabbed me in the back, far too literally..." Rai placed a hand against her chest, a saddened look in her eyes. "And of course, even after that incident, I still have to gull to trust her. And where did that get me? Nothing but a sorrowful road full of pain and regret..."
"It's alright, Rai, you don't have to say any more. I understand..." Sly reassured her.
Rai grinned, nodding. "Thanks, Sly, for being there for me. I'm not sure I would've gotten this far if I was working on my own, so thank you."
Sly nodded, returning Rai's grin. "Of course."
"Well, anyhow, I should go." Rai then said.
"Yeah. Just be careful out there, okay?"
She nodded. "I'll do my best." And with that, Rai got up from her bed and exited her room to go retrieve that vacuum backpack from Bentley. "Is this it?" She asked.
"Yes." Bentley nodded. "Murray's already waiting for you in the ice plane." He said.
"Alright."
"And remember to land directly on the caboose, otherwise—"
"Yeah, I know, it'll explode, I got it. Now I've gotta hurry." The fox then took off.
"You know, you really need to work on your bedside manner, Bentley." Sly spoke up, the turtle sending him a glare as the raccoon merely chuckled.
"Hey there, Murray. Thanks for waiting for me." Rai said as she reached the ice plane.
"Of course, little buddy! 'The Murray' is ready to go!"
"Then let's get this bird in the air."
"Alright!" He grinned as Rai climbed in, the plane taking off as Murray flew over the spice gas balloons. "Remember to use your paraglider!" He called.
"Always." She said as she leaped out, activating her paraglider.
Rai let the air carry her, slowly approaching one of the balloons. When she landed on said balloon, it popped on impact, sending the fox upwards due to the gas. "Whoa!"
"Hey, Rai, can you hear me?"
"Now really isn't the time, Sly. I'm kind of five hundred feet in the air popping gaseous balloons. This had better be important."
"I just wanted to let you know that Bentley said because of the gas contained in those balloons, they should keep you aloft while you fill up the vacuum backpack."
"Yeah, I kinda just found that out..."
"Just wanted to make sure. Now have fun!" He then disconnected, Rai rolling her eyes.
"Idiot..." She muttered, landing on another balloon as it popped.
It didn't take long before the backpack was finally filled up, her earpiece ringing. "Alright, Rai, the backpack is filled, so try to land on a caboose."
"Roger that." She replied. "Let's see... I'll try to land on Number 2 over there. It shouldn't be hard since isn't not out of my reach."
Rai let go of her paraglider, allowing herself to fall, but quickly grabbed ahold of it when she was nearing the caboose, aiding her landing. Once on top of the caboose, Rai took the gas bomb and placed it near the hatch before leaping off.
BOOM!
Rai landed on her feet, sliding backwards in the snow due to the force of the explosion. "Whoa... That spice really is unstable at low altitudes..." The fox noted as she stood up straight. "But now's not the time to be impressed. I've got two more cabooses to blow open." She then took off to the plane.
When she reached Murray, he took off for the air, Rai leaping out of the side once again. "You're doin' great, Rai!" The hippo encouraged.
"Thanks, Murray, but this shouldn't take much longer." She said before jumping, paragliding towards the balloons.
She bounced back and forth from each balloon she popped, quickly filling up her backpack. "Looks like I'm all set to land on the second train." Rai said to herself as she fell towards her target. "Get ready Number 3, you're about to blown wide open!" The fox announced before landing on the caboose, quickly planting the bomb before leaping off.
BOOM!
Rai gave a smirk. "Two down, one to go."
With the second train hatch opened, the feline head back for the ice plane to finish the job. Murray took off for the sky, giving Rai one last encouraging comment. "Just one more, little buddy! I know you can do it!"
"Right. That hatch will be blown open in no time." She said. "Wish me luck." Rai then leaped out of the plane.
She bounced and flipped to the balloons, filling up her vacuum backpack for the final time. Rai gave a grin once it was finally filled up. "Alright, time to finish this. The third and final caboose is about to be blown open."
Rai let go of her paraglider, falling towards the last train, but had to grab back onto it when the train turned. It was at this moment things were about to go wrong. Upon nearing the train, Rai let go of her glider once again to land on the caboose, until she realized she was short by a couple feet. Her eyes widened at this realization, that feeling of dread now sinking in. Was this it? Was she going to die like this?
Oh-no... I'm short a couple meters! I won't make it! This bomb is going to explode on my back! ... Ugh...! Rai suddenly realized something. Wait... All the gas is in this backpack, so what if...?
"I'll just have to throw it and hope I don't miss!" She hastily slipped the backpack off her back and threw it as hard as she could just as she dropped by the train.
Come on, don't miss! She silently prayed, until—
BOOM!
"Urgh...!" Ri covered her face with her arms just as the bomb went off upon impact with the train hatch, destroying the lock. The fox then crashed down into the snow, sliding to a stop before pushing herself to sit up to see the lock on the hatch was gone, giving a sigh of relief. "Good, I made it..."
Her earpiece suddenly crackled, causing the fox to wince slightly at the sound. "Rai, did you blow all the locks off that hatches on the trains? My computer just now updated and it looks like they're all open, but I just wanna make sure." Bentley said in her ear.
"Yeah, all the hatches are open. I just blew open the last one so I should be back soon."
"Alright, and thanks again, Rai. This really was a big help."
"Sure, no problem." The line then disconnected, the feline sighing heavily before she stood up and brushed the snow from her clothes off.
Jesus, that was way too close for comfort... I can't make a stupid mistake like that again, otherwise I'll end up getting myself killed... Rai sighed. I should probably head back though...
"Rai!" A voice then called.
"Huh?" Rai glanced back, only to see Sly fast approaching, though he seemed to be a little concerned. "Sly?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Hey, are you alright?" He asked worriedly when he finally reached the fox. "I just barely managed to catch a glimpse of what happened. You're not hurt, are you?"
"Oh, uh, no, I'm fine." Rai replied, though a bit warily.
Sly didn't seem convinced, and his suspicion was correct when he placed his hands against Rai's arms, where he could just barely feel her trembling. "Hey, you're shaking. Are you sure you're alright?"
Rai paused for a moment, quickly dropping the facade as she slowly shook her head. "N-no, not really..." She replied sheepishly. "I...I almost messed up, bad..."
"Tell me what happened..." Sly said gently.
Rai drew in a shaky breath. "I was stupid and miscalculated my landing, so, in the heat of the moment, I just...threw the whole backpack at the caboose to try and blow it open like that..."
"But you got all the hatches open, and you're still here, so that's something, right?"
"Yeah, but that was such a gamble, and…it scared the hell out of me."
"I know, but you're alright, and that's all that matters." Sly reassured. "Now, come on, let's head back to the hideout, okay?"
Rai grinned sheepishly, nodding. "Yeah, alright..."
Bentley was getting ready to leave so he could get the first Clockwerk Part from one of the Iron Horses, but before he left, he glanced over, noticing Sly was cradling Rai in his arms. "Hey, uh, are you two...okay?" Bentley asked warily.
"Huh?" Both lifted their taxes up to the turtle, confused.
"What do you mean?" Sly asked.
"It's just..." He pointed at their position. "...you two are, you know..."
Rai chuckled a bit, realizing what he was referring to. "Oh, right, I see... Sorry, Bentley, I was just a little on edge after I finished blowing up the caboose hatches."
"Are you...okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Rai replied. "It's just that I didn't judge the distance between me and the train correctly, so I was almost blown up. In a desperate move, I took a pretty big risk and just threw the whole backpack at the train, somehow managing to still blow the hatch. Needless to say though, I was a little shaken up, but you don't have to worry, I've calmed down now."
"As long as you're alright, that's all that matters." Bentley nodded.
Rai grinned. "Yeah, I'm just fine. Thanks for your concern, Bentley."
"Of course. You're apart of us now, Rai, so I do get very worried about you as well when you're out in the field."
"Glad to know I'm apart of the family." She smiled.
"And we're happy to have you along for the ride." Sly chimed in, nudging Rai's cheek with the knuckle of his finger.
"Anyhow, I'd best be off, so wish me luck out there." Bentley then said.
"Good luck." Rai said, chuckling.
Bentley chuckled. "Well, I didn't mean it literally, but thank you."
"Say what you mean, and mean what you say." Rai joked. "I'm just kidding, but good luck out there."
"Thank you, Rai. Now then, I'll be off." The turtle said before exiting the Safe House to set out for his mission.
"Part of the family," huh? Heh... I never thought I'd hear those words from anyone, and they actually have meaning... At least now, I'm finally not alone anymore... Rai grinned as she leaned against Sly's shoulder.