Rai was walking along through the frozen tundra of Canada, the snow quietly crunching underneath her boots, and with each breath she exhaled, she could see the white puffs waft through the cold air. She was trying to clear her head, to calm herself down since she was still on edge as of late, not that anyone could really blame her. At some point, Rai paused on a snowy hill, stood at the very top so she could overlook the icy scene before her. It almost felt calming, being up there all by herself as she tried to clear her buzzing head. Rai gave a slight shiver, rubbing her arms a bit as she exhaled, her breath forming in front of her face.
"I don't even know how long I've been out here, but I'm starting to get cold..." She said aloud. "I guess I can probably head back now... I feel a bit better since I got some air, but I still feel a little uneasy..."
"As well you should, especially with me roaming around." A voice suddenly chirped.
"Ugh!?" Rai gasped, whipping around toward the voice. "What in the—gurgh!?" The fox gasped when she was suddenly tackled to the ground, rolling through the snow and down the hill she had been stood atop of.
However, when Rai finally came to a stop, being pinned down in that icy white blanket, the moment she opened her eyes caused her to glare, growling. "Kisara!" She hissed violently. "What the hell are you doing here!?"
Kisara merely smirked. "What else? Looking for you, "old friend."" She chuckled.
Rai growled again. "Piss off! You're not my friend, not ever again! I want you to get the hell away from me, you backstabbing slut!"
Kisara chuckled again as Rai was struggling to free herself. "It's cute how you think you'll escape me. However, there was something I wanted to chat with you about while I'm at it, so I'm sure you can spare a few minutes, right?"
"I said to piss off! There's nothing I have to say to you!" Rai hissed.
"Well, given your current position, I don't really think you have much a choice right now. So, let's talk."
Rai growled. "I'll rip your vocal cords out through your nose..."
"There's no need to get so hostile. I only said that I wanted to chat, so humor me, why don't you?"
The fox merely growled again, not giving Kisara a reply.
The feline took this as a sign that Rai was willing to cooperate, but only for the time being, at least until she found a way to slip away from Kisara. "Anyhow, it's as I said, I just wanna talk, that's all."
"And since when have you ever wanted to do that?" Rai frowned.
"On occasion." The feline replied.
"Just what do you want? Here to try and arrest me? Get information out of me? What the hell do you want?"
"An explanation." Kisara frowned.
Rai paused, confused. "...For what?"
"You. I know there are some things you haven't told me, Rai, or do you prefer Alexandria?"
The fox growled. "It's Rai, so stop calling me that damn name." She hissed. "And there's nothing else I have to say to you about myself, so get off me."
"And you say I'm the liar?" Kisara emphasized.
Rai scoffed. "Tch! Because you are!"
"And yet, when you said you had nothing left to say, your nose gave a very subtle twitch."
The fox frowned. "What are you talking about...?"
"Every time you try to lie, I've noticed that your nose with twitch ever so slightly, and it's unnoticeable from a distance. But when I'm up close and in your personal space like this, I can see it very clearly. So tell me, Rai, what haven't you told me about yourself?"
"Tch... Why the hell do you even care?"
"Because I know you, Rai. You're hiding something, and I know it involves the Klaww Gang, so...spill it."
Rai scoffed again. "And why should I?"
"Would you prefer it if I made you tell me? Because that can be arranged."
"Tch...! Go jump off a bridge..." Rai spat.
Kisara scoffed this time, frowning. "Fine, but I just so you know, I did warn you..."
It was then that the feline lifted her right hand, pushing Rai's jacket aside as she placed her thumb just off to the left and slightly down from where Rai's armpit was before roughly pushing down as hard as she could. At the moment, Rai's eyes widened before she began to screech. "Gaaaaahhhh!" She screamed out in pain. "What the fuck, Kisara! Stop! That fucking hurts!"
"Are you gonna talk now!?"
Rai clenched her jaw, trying to endure this unbearable pain she was experiencing. "F...fuck off, you cunt!"
Kisara's eyes narrowed, only to ram her thumb into Rai's pressure point even further. "Aaaaaahhhhhhhh!" She screamed out, violently beginning to thrash around due to the pain. "STOP!"
"Than talk!" Kisara shouted.
"Fine, just stop!" Rai cried out.
Kisara finally removed her thumb, the pain easing up, but that burning sensation from her pressure point just being abused so violently still lingered as Rai was panting heavily. "You ready to share?" Kisara then asked.
Rai swallowed hard, but continued to pant as she glared up at Kisara. "What...the fuck...do you want?"
"What is your relationship with Arpeggio?"
"Why...do you care?" Rai asked, swallowing hard again before exhaling sharply. "He was apart of the Klaww Gang when my parents were murdered. There's nothing else to tell."
"Stop lying." Kisara glared. "Your nose twitched again. Tell me the truth, now, or I'll abuse your pressure point again."
Rai growled. "Fine!" She hissed, shoving Kisara back as she sat up, scooting back in the snow a bit. "He knew my parents back when my mother was still pregnant with me, maybe a couple of months before I was born. Because my mother was a wealthy aristocrat and, quote, "art collector," as well as a technological specialist and somewhat of an mechanical engineer, so Arpeggio took an interest in her. The two hit it off, I guess, and they got to know each other really well to my understanding. The only reason I have more of a connection with him than any other member, excluding that monster, Rajan, was because I met him once or twice when I was really young, and shortly before my parents were killed. Unfortunately, because of my connection with Arpeggio, I already know his motives and ambitions, not that it really matters since I have most of the parts anyway."
Kisara sighed heavily. "I feel like there's more to this story than you're letting on..."
"Well, since you won't leave me alone otherwise, I might as well tell you the rest so you can piss off faster." Rai frowned. "Look, for a while, Arpeggio and my mother would frequently meet up to talk about God knows what – I'm assuming it had something to do with what they did for a living or whatever, my mother trying to hide the fact that she was really a master thief, and all seemed to be going well. However, from what I've discovered, Arpeggio found about my mother's double life, and he snapped. He didn't like to be lied to, despite how calm and cool he acts. When he found out the truth about my mother, he...he had her and father murdered, okay? And he would've gotten me too if I didn't manage to somehow escape that day, of which, I still question how I managed that..."
"And yet, here you are, getting close to confronting the birdbrain responsible for the deaths of your parents."
"It's not like I have much of a choice at this point." Rai glared. "I'm already too deep in to back out now, so I have to see this through to the end, even if it means revealing who I really am to the one responsible for my parents' untimely deaths." Rai explained, though bitterness clearly in her voice. "Anyhow, you've gotten what you wanted, so leave me the hell alone. Remember, I still want your head on a silver platter, so don't think this makes us equals or anything. I don't care what it is you're planning to do, because no matter what, I will stop you." Rai stated. "Now, why don't you do me a favor, and stay the hell away from me."
Kisara then chuckled softly. "Well, now, as much as I would like to let you go, Rai, I'm afraid that I'm still on duty, so I'm gonna have to take you with me. So sorry for the inconvenience."
Rai merely smirked, scoffing. "You'll have to catch me first!"
"Urgh!?"
Suddenly, without warning, Rai just grabbed a large clump of snow and hurled it right into Kisara's face, causing her to gasp as she furiously tried to wipe off all the snow. Rai quickly used this opportunity to make a run for it and bolted in the opposite direction as the feline growled. "Get back here, Vermilion!" Kisara hissed, quickly chasing after the fox.
Rai glanced back, Kisara right on her tail, but just as she had turned to see how close the feline was, Rai suddenly slipped on some ice on her path. She gasped, stumbling forward before crashing down into the snow as she began to tumble down the hill she was on. Rai tried her hardest to stop herself from rolling, but there was just nothing to grab onto, so she was pretty much screwed in that aspect. However, as Rai was tumbling down the snowy hill, she suddenly came to the edge, rolling right off. The fox gasped when there was no longer anything underneath her as she came hurling down to the ground. Rai frantically tried to reach for her grappling hook, but was a moment too late as the back of her head slammed right into the hard ground, the fox immediately blacking out just as a pile of snow came falling down on top of her. And just as Kisara reached the end of the cliff, she scanned around the area, only to frown irritably.
"Damn, she got away again..." She growled. "Whatever... HQ doesn't need to know about this little incident anyway, so I'll keep my whereabouts a secret and continue on my other mission." Kisara said aloud before she turned and walked off.
Meanwhile, as Rai was laid out on the cold ground while the freezing snow was piled on top of her, she came to for a mere moment, and only one thought crossed her mind just before she fell unconscious once more.
...Cold...
"Bentley, where Rai?" Sly asked, evident panic in his voice. "She's been gone for over an hour and hasn't come back yet, so where could she have gone?"
"I-I don't know, Sly." Bentley replied, also sounding panicked. "I've tried to contact her, but every time I do, all I can hear is static coming from her earpiece, and she isn't picking up her binocucom either. I don't know what to do!"
"Well, we have to find her! She couldn't have gone far!" Sly said, sounding frantic now. "Isn't there anything we can do to find her?"
Bentley placed a hand against his chin for a long moment, only for the realization to suddenly hit him. "Wait! If her binocucom is still active, maybe I can track its location!"
"Really?!" Sly beamed. "Well, we have to try!"
"Just give me one moment." Bentley said as he began to type furiously on his laptop.
The seconds ticked by agonizingly slow, nothing but the fast typing of Bentley's computer being heard in the room. Sly was waiting in eager anticipation, fidgeting around nervously as he waited. Suddenly though, the typing stopped, Sly immediately perking up. "Did you find something?" He asked.
Bentley's brow furrowed. "That's odd..."
"What?" Sly asked, walking around to glance at the computer screen, only for his brow to furrow as well. "Wait, is that even right?"
"It appears so... Rai's binocucom location is coming from the far edge of town, but why would she be so far out? That's almost a thirty-minute walk from here..."
Sly immediately stood up straight as he walked away from Bentley. "Murray!" He called. "Come on, we need to take the van out!"
Murray pounced to his feet in earnest. "Where to, little buddy!" He beamed.
"We have to go find Rai. It says she's near the far edge of town to the east, so we have to hurry and see if she's still there."
"Oh-no! Rai is missing?!"
"Don't worry, Murray, we'll find her, but we have to hurry." Sly reassured.
"Then let's punch it!" Murray exclaimed before rushing toward the van.
"Sly, wait!" Bentley called just before he went to follow after the hippo.
"What, Bentley? I kinda have to go!"
"I know, but take this." Bentley said, handing Sly some sort of small device.
Sly gazed at the device in confusion. "What is it?"
"It's a miniature tracker. Use that to track Rai's binocucom."
Sly nodded. "Cool. Thanks, Bentley. We'll be back soon!" Sly waved as he turned to head for the van with Murray.
Once in the van, Murray quickly threw the vehicle in reverse before slamming on the gas, speeding off with Sly in the passenger seat next to him. Sly was bouncing his foot nervously as he sat in the passenger seat, his arms folded while anxiously biting on his bottom lip. He was worried that something bad might've happened to Rai, that when they found her binocucom, it would be the only thing there and no Rai. Sly couldn't shake this uneasiness in the pit of his stomach, his heart in his throat. However, while Sly was so lost in his thoughts, fearing the worst outcome, he didn't even notice they had reached their destination until Murray had screeched to a stop.
"Is this it, Sly?" Murray asked.
Sly held up the tracker in his hand, glancing down at the small screen. "Yeah, this is it. You just stay here and keep the van running, I'll be back. And watch my cane for me, okay?"
"You can count on me!" Murray nodded before Sly climbed out of the van.
He could see his breath in front of his face as he walked, constantly checking the screen of the tracker as he was nearing the blinking red dot. When Sly reached his designation, however, he glanced up, and no Rai, not even her binocucom. Sly immediately felt his heart drop down into his stomach as he stuffed the tracker into his pocket. "Rai! Hey, Rai?! Are you out here?!" He called.
Sly waited a moment and didn't receive an answer. In that moment, he thought his world was about to come crashing down, until he heard a soft groan from nearby.
"N-nugh...!"
Sly immediately perked up, his ears twitching slightly. "Rai! Rai, can you hear me?!" He called again.
"S...so...c...cold..."
Sly perked up, worry now displayed on his face. "Rai! Rai, where are you?!"
It was then Sly heard weak coughing, whipping around when he saw an oddly shaped lump of snow on the ground. Without even a second though, Sly rushed over to the pile of snow, and to both his surprise and horror, he found something – it was Rai! She had been buried underneath all of that snow! Quickly, Sly began to dig through the snow, trying to shovel it off of Rai with his hands. When the fox had finally begun to come into view, Sly gasped. She was shaking like a leave, her breath ragged and trembling with each one she took. The raccoon hastily shoveled off the rest of the snow from Rai before gathering her up into his arms.
"Rai! Can you hear me?" He called out to her.
The fox let out a shaky breath as she forced her heavy eyelids open, her vision cloudy at first as she gave a few slow blinks, until she could faintly make out Sly in front of her. "S-S-S...S-Sly...?"
Sly's eyes lit up. "Rai! Thank God you're alright! What happened to you?"
Rai shivered for a moment before exhaling sharply. "K-K...Kisar...a..." She mumbled weakly. "I-I...r-ran from her, a-and...f-fell... I-I don't...r-remember...m-much..."
"Come on, we have to get you warmed up, then you can tell me what all happened." Sly said as he gathered up the fox into his arms before rushing back to the van.
Once Sly had climbed back in the passenger seat, he slammed the door shut. "Murray, step on it! I don't know how long Rai has been out here, but she might be on the brink of hypothermia, so we have to hurry!"
"Leave it to me, Sly!" Murray said before throwing the van into drive as he slammed on the gas pedal.
It didn't take long to return back to the Safe House, and once the van was hidden again, Sly took Rai and rushed her inside with Murray waddling in after him. "Bentley! We found Rai, but I think she's on the brink of hypothermia!" Sly announced in a panic.
Bentley pounced from the table. "Murray, go get some firewood and start a fire while I go get as many blankets as possible. And, Sly, you stay here with Rai and try to warm her up until we get everything set up." He instructed.
Sly nodded, seating himself on the couch with Rai still in his arms as he held onto her tightly, pressing his body as close to hers as he possibly could to try and transfer some body heat onto her. Rai was shivering like crazy, unable to keep herself still as her teeth chartered violently. "Just hang on, Rai, we'll warm you up." Sly cooed to her.
The fox gave a shaky nod before trying to remove her jacket. Sly noticed what she was doing and, though reluctantly, helped to remove Rai's jacket, setting it aside. It was then though that Rai practically threw herself into Sly, burying her face in the crevasse of his neck as she tightly gripped onto her shaky arms. Sly was surprised for a brief moment, but merely wrapped his arms around the shivering fox, holding her close as he rubbed her arms to try and warm her up a little. Not long after, Murray had thrown some firewood into the fireplace as he got the fire going while Bentley gave a ton of blankets to Sly, helping him wrap them around Rai. Once Rai was all bundled up in Sly's arms, her senses were starting to return and everything was becoming more clear to her. After about maybe fifteen minutes or so, Rai had finally stopped shivering and was beginning to return to normal.
"Hey, are you doing okay?" Sly asked, brushing so stray bangs out of her face.
Rai nodded. "I'm feeling better now." She replied. "I finally stopped shivering, so that's good, I guess..."
"So, what exactly happened out there? I thought you were just going for a walk?" Sly asked.
"I was, until Kisara ran into me. She wanted to talk, then claimed that because she was still "on duty" that she had to take me in, so...I ran. However, as I was running down a hill, I slipped on some ice and went tumbling down the hill. When I fell off the edge, all I can remember is hitting my head before everything went dark. When I came too again, I could just barely hear you calling before you had finally found me..."
"Well, you're safe now, and that's all that matters..." Sly said.
"Yeah, but still... Knowing that she's here while we are is unsettling... It was bad enough with Carmelita on our tail, and now her too? This is getting to be too much..."
"Don't worry, we're almost done here. We just have one more part to get and then we can get out of here." Sly reassured her.
But even so, how much longer before I finally have to face the big cat waiting at the end of this long road? Just what is waiting for me at the end of this journey?