"Master, it will not be long until we can hail Egg boss Abyss," one of the ninjas informs Storm.
Storm sighs and has her head in her hands. "He is the bane of everyone. Everyone…" she moans dejectedly.
The ninja quickly back out, having delivered the message.
Storm sighs and lets her head fall onto the desk. "He had to steal from us. Not Abyss first. No," she thematically says out loud before groaning. "At least it's underwater and not…shit," she sighs once she realizes the view down at Abyss's base.
As she thought that over, a thought came into her mind. 'Why am I so fixated on chasing him? Sure, I see him as my prey, but is that all to chase him this far?' Storm thinks.
Storm groans and massages her forehead before sighing. 'Calm down, girl. Right now, he is a thief who is going after Abyss, so I have to warn her as an ally. Besides…Eggman could be watching, and I can't disappoint him.'
'Ok, this bag of loot should be enough to disappear for a while,' Kuro thinks, walking away from storing the bag of loot in one of Abyss's shadier lieutenant's chests. So if Kuro is discovered while he was searching for a good and fast escape route, that lieutenant would take the heat. 'I could vanish during one of the raids with it and what else I can score during the raid, but this time, I can't get too greedy as I did with Storm. This time, only business and not just having fun,' Kuro thinks, putting on the helmet to walk around.
Kuro hums while walking through the metal and cramped corridor. He looks at all the pipes and cables running over his head and through walls, which sometimes leak from their joints. Overall though, it seems this base is in tip-top shape as there is hardly a dirty spot or messy organization. Everyone is tasked with something, and they all do it to a tee. This also means there is less work for Kuro so he can work on getting out of here and slipping away even.
When Kuro rounds a corner and enters the barracks hall, he stops and slips back to press his back against the wall. He then peeks around and spies Abyss and Storm talking together while they stand in front of Abyss's door. And it is at the end of a long line of doors. So, not great news. Though, with how the place is made, Kuro can hear the echoing voices of the two girls as they chatter about someone that seems to turn the whole thing into a heated conversation.
'Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, Fuck!' Kuro thinks, walking away at a brisk pace. 'All the way here…how did she even know…doesn't matter now. I got to get the loot and take my chances. I am not going to have them play doctor with me,' Kuro thinks before stopping. 'On the other hand…' he thinks while imagining Storm and Abyss in some very skimpy and tight-fitting nurses' clothing and giving him a very sexy smile. He chuckles at the idea before shaking his head. 'Head in the game boy,' Kuro chastises himself and rushes down the hall now. 'Before anything, got to take precautions,' Kuro thinks, heading to where the injector was before grabbing and using blink on it, teleporting it out of the base with himself for a moment to then return into the base without it. 'That should buy me some time,' Kuro thinks happily.
Kuro rushes down the halls now, making his panic-induced rush into more of a brisk walk when he passes by a few of the crew members. All of the crew hardly gave him no attention or just a passing glance as they seem to have no idea that Storm is on board. 'Good signs for me. If no crew member is talking about her, it is good news for me,' Kuro thinks happily while approaching the treasure room.
"Attention lubbers, we got an imposter on board. Keep an eye out for any wolves," the intercom suddenly says.
Kuro groans and hangs his head. 'Too good to be true. And she sounds pissed. I would too if I fucked a bad wolf, heh. Oh well, at least I got her smiling again,' he thinks, smiling at the thought of her having trouble letting him go or not.
"He has got to be in the treasure room!" one yells as they run that way.
'And that is my cue to get my already stolen loot from its hiding place and get out,' Kuro thinks, going in the opposite direction.
Kuro runs by others while he goes at the same pace as them, trying to keep up appearances. He heads along the corridors and rushes into an office after looking around to make sure no one sees him. He smiles as he looks at the bag he left for the fall guy next to the desk and grabs it. "This should hold me out for enough time until I get somewhere," he says to himself and peeks inside to make sure. "Okay, off to escape," he sighs before pressing his ear to the door and listens.
Kuro waits for the sound of boots on metal to run before opening the door. He leans his head out into the hall and sees that it is mostly clear. Kuro smiles and rushes out towards the dining hall, where he knows he spotted some escape pods lined up outside the doorway. When he reaches the main hallway to the mess hall, he stops as a few big guys run by where Kuro is as he presses himself against the wall. When the guys run by, he peeks out again and rushes toward the pod once he sees it is all clear.
Kuro cheers in his mind that he is making it to the home stretch. He reaches one of the pods that is close to the doorway and opens it up. Inside is a padded seat and controls that line the sides while the hatch is a full window covering to allow the occupant to see where they are going. Kuro smiles and tosses the bag inside before starting to step in himself…which wasn't being helped by the hand on his shoulder. 'Shit…so close…'
"You're a hard wolf to find," he hears the unmistakable voice of Storm before being turned and punched in the head.
"And because I turned her down, she has been hunting me ceaselessly ever since. So please, don't let her take me, captain," Kuro says to Abyss, who was just smirking at Storm now.
Abyss leans down to his height and keeps the smirking expression on her face. "So this is a lover's quarrel? That's it? What about those tales of you stealing from her clan?" she questions, looking over his striped form as he kneels there against the bars in nothing so he can't try anything funny if what Storm told her is true.
"I am a thief. I stole from her, but mobilizing all her forces to catch me, I don't think that is warranted, and I haven't even slept with her. So more like a stalker," Kuro says.
Abyss hums and looks thoughtful while looking up towards the ceiling. "It makes me wonder if you meant anything when you came to me."
"I think you know the answer to that," Kuro says suggestively.
Abyss huffs before standing and slyly looks over his still muscled form, but it was marred by his fur ruffled and bruised where they hit and handle him. "You nursing that shiner Storm gave you?" Abyss asks.
Kuro sighs and sits down now before leaning against the bars. "Not all bad. I had worse," he groans while rubbing his head and then snarls when he touches a sensitive spot around the injured area.
"So, what are you willing to give me if I save you?" Abyss asks, thinking she had all the cards as Storm growls hearing that.
"If you can get the injector to use on me. Then all of my skills," Kuro says. 'Good luck finding it, though.'
"Hum, I may just take you up on that," Abyss thinks out loud while leaning down to him again.
"Hold on a minute. I tracked this wolf over two regions, and I am not leaving here without him. You also wouldn't have even known he was here without me telling you about him," Storm says, raising her voice as she walks up to them.
Kuro smirks to where they both can't see and looks towards Storm with a worried look on his face. "You sent your entire army after me so that you can get revenge on a simple thief? What did I do to you besides steal to warrant all this?"
"It's not what you stole, it is where you stole it from and also the hat off my head," Storm reminds, convincing Abyss a bit more that Kuro was right.
Kuro frowns and starts to stand to grab the bars of the cell. "Hey, a test of my skills. You seemed the best one to check how far I came. But an entire army?" he asks again, annoyed.
"It does seem a bit excessive," Abyss says, facing Storm, missing when Kuro blinks out of the cell and returns a few moments later with a sandwich in hand and starts eating.
Storm frowns as she pokes Abyss's chest. "This wolf is dangerous. He has a great ability that allows him to teleport around, almost a thousand feet at a time. So don't count him as weak as he can make your life hell," Storm warns.
"Oh come on, that is a li…where did you get that sandwich?" Abyss stops, noticing what Kuro was doing.
Kuro shrugs and takes another bite. "Found it. But seriously, she is determined to take me down to the altar. I doubt even injecting me would do it. It would be completely chained and tied up," he explains with his mouth full.
"Oh no, we are not going through that again," Storm growls, noticing the sandwich too now.
Kuro hums and looks to Abyss. "See what I mean? I don't even have that much interest in her. Mostly as a good one to test my skills against."
"Ok, tell me, why did you steal from the Eggman armies?" Abyss asks, taking this in a new direction.
"The truth, or you want me to keep playing around as you do?" Kuro asks before swallowing the rest of the sandwich.
Abyss crosses her arms. "Truth. And I can make this difficult for you," she reminds while pointing her cybernetic tentacles at him threateningly.
"Alright, three reasons. First, the amount of loot. That's the most obvious one. Second is the challenge. I want the excitement and challenge of stealing from tough marks. And the final one. I don't have anything else to lose. Everything I ever cared about or had a positive attachment to is long gone. Also, call me Kuro, not the wolf," Kuro informs the last part aimed at Storm.
Storm frowns heavily at him as she knows his tricks while Abyss sighs and pulls her tentacles back. "Is he that bad?" Abyss asks the feline ninja.
"Don't look at me. I am only out to catch him, not to write his biography," Storm informs.
Kuro scoffs. "Yeah, right. More like write about how you caught an elusive thief," he waves off before yelping as Storm grabs his hand and yanks him toward her, slamming his head and body into the bars. "Ow…no. My sandwich!" Kuro calls as Abyss swipes the remainder of it.
"So I think he would be better off in my army," Abyss informs, wanting to see how far she could push this amusement now.
Kuro groans in pain as Storm kept pulling before suddenly letting go. Kuro cries out in pain and relief as he slid against the bars to the floor and stays still for a while. "Ask me to dinner if you are going to hold me that long. I'll even cook for you," he jokes, giving a small chuckle.
"No, you have plenty of thieves. I want his infiltration skills to bolster my force abilities," Storm argues.
"You have ninjas. They can do the job easily and without being seen no less," Abyss argues as her and Storm are now in a heated debate.
"You both seem to need to talk this out. So I will leave you to it," Kuro informs, neither catching it as he blinks out of the cell again. This time, going back to the treasure room.
"How about I inject him right here, and he would be with me?" Storm seems to threaten the squid.
"Or we could just let the doctor decide," Abyss suggests.
'Nope. Now I have a jilted lover and a stalker after me. Time to go,' Kuro thinks as he works on gathering his new loot into a bag. 'At least the captain is a good fuck. So glad I got her number as well when she was distracted,' he chuckles at the thought of him calling her and possibly teasing her at times.
Kuro didn't waste time and hefted the bag of gold and jewels over his shoulder. He then rushes out into the hall and blinks down the hallways, aiming for the escape pod he was trying for last time. When he appears in front of it, he wastes no time and rushes in as some of the crew notices him and starts to run at his pod. Kuro gives a grin and a wave before activating the release latch, and the escape pod goes flying through the pipe and out into the sea, aiming for the surface. Kuro hums before digging into the bag and takes out a communicator and starts to call Abyss's number.
Kuro taps his fingers against the controls as he waits while the line rings. "Come on, sexy. Pick up," he says, not realizing quick enough the ringing ended halfway.
"What is it? I am in the middle of an important meeting," Abyss says a bit angrily, showing that they still hadn't realized.
Kuro smiles gently as he watches the surface come closer. "What? Is that something you say to all your good bedmates? I would hate to hear how you handle those that you are angry with," he says with a joking tone and hears her sputter. "I had a good time, Abyss. Honestly, you were the most fun. More than Storm there. The raids, meals, and being able to spend time with you especially is memorable and brings back some of the old memories. So I will leave you on your own for a while. I will see you around, and don't worry. I will bring the booze and chocolates next time. Also, Storm, I know you are listening. Keep coming after me. I enjoy the chase. And let's face it, you are chasing me not for a grudge, but the thrill of the hunt and because I beat you. So keep coming after me yourself and prove you can beat me without help from others. Then maybe I will marry you," he teases wistfully while relaxing in his seat.
"You…" Abyss didn't get further than that as the line hangs up, and Kuro puts the communicator away back into the bag.
"So much fun. Now the chase to see if they can catch me," Kuro reminisces as he reclines in his seat, knowing as soon as the pod breaks the surface, he will have to start using blink to get away.
"What did he mean, booze and chocolates?" Storm questions as Abyss blush at the implications. "Wait…did you…?" Storm realizes and points at her.
"Yes, I slept with him! That's not important right now. Right now, we have to find him," Abyss redirects very angrily.
"He is going to be out of our grasp if he hits the surface. Remember what I told you about his power?" Storm asks.
Abyss sighs and holds a hand to her head. "He jumps to what knows, yes. I do remember you mentioning that."
"And from what he can see. And with how far you can see on the sea then…" Storm growls.
"He can jump to the horizon itself then," Abyss frowns as if what Storm is saying is true, then it is trouble for the both of them.
Storm snarls. "What do you have that's quick enough?"
"My sub, but if he is using one of the pods then…control! Freeze all pods. Lock controls and make them start to descend!" Abyss yells over the intercom before rushing to her sub. Storm followed her into her sub before launching and intercepted the now sinking escape pod.
"Can't be that easy," Storm remarks as Abyss tries to move around the pod to see inside.
Abyss frowns and kicks it when she looks through the glass. "It's empty. He is gone unless he can turn invisible."
Storm scoffs. "Fat chance. He would have done that around us if so."
"Get me the doctor," Abyss says to the bridge.
"Ability to teleport?" Eggman says, thinking that over as he watches his newest egg boss Infinite take out a group of newly formed resistance fighters,
"Yes, doctor. We have a lot of unknowns about this ability, but it seems like it leaves no energy signature like chaos control does and is unhampered by walls or roofs," Abyss reports as Storm leaves.
"And this thief has been using it to steal from us?" Eggman asks a bit interested and wonders if it was similar to the Phantom Ruby he had discovered.
"Yes, we are unsure how to contain them, so he has escaped several times already," Abyss informs.
"So can be caught, but containment is the issue. Cubot, Orbot, update all egg bosses on this and order them to capture this wolf," Eggman orders.