*OYHTLAL intro music starts playing, whatever that sounds like.*Actually I do know what it is. *Starts humming*
Grey Wolf: 'ello! That last chap was a little short, though I only put that last "shorty" there to get some attention. I promise that you'll love this chapter.
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DENSE COILED METAL pipes that snaked their way though the hollow ceiling shouted low hums as Brass headed down the hall. He was here to find out what happened to his lifetime brother-in-arms. The funeral years ago was a phony, the engagement ring Nash told him to keep safe for his girlfrend had given him proof. He had slipped it into the hand of the corpse, only to find that the scar on Nash's wrist was gone. He didn't tell Felica, it would have broken her heart.
Brass continued his way to the underground 'lair' of G.U.N.. A undersea lab located near Metal Harbor. The humid metallic hall opened to a large open bubble-shaped area filled with people. Most of them was crowding around a large cylinder that was covered with an orange curtain. Pipes and wires twisted and turned through the room, and converged at the shrine.
"You can't be in here Brass, even a man of your rank shouldn't even know about this," a man in a sanitized green suit said.
"I still have to know, that's my friend you have in your damn test tube," Brass replied.
"Well, that 'damn test tube' is saving its life," the scientist said.
"Stop calling him 'it'! That's a person in there! He used to be Nash!" he yelled.
"This is why we can't let you in here, we left the viability of returning his memory on the cutting room floor," the green-garbed man said. "We can't bring back Nash, it's not possible."
"That's sick! So you are going to use his body?!" he yelled.
The green suit just gave a unsure nod. "This!" he said as he pointed at the enclosed metal cylinder that took up a good portion of the immense lab. "This is the secrets of GUN, we can't deny the importance of this experiment. We have achived great steps in even replicating the research. Sure it's not complete, but it is a viable, living, breathing person."
"It's all wrong, that used to be Nash's life!"
"No, its S.I.L.V.A.R. now, our S.I.L.V.A.R.," the green suit said. "You have to leave, unless you would like to lose your job."
"I can't belive these monsters.....," Brass trailed off as he wrinkled his nose in disgust. He turned around and headed back out of the lab, back to the world he was comfortable with.
"Okay folks, we have to get this thing done today. We can't spare another moment," a voice said over a series of speakers said. A man turned up to one.
"Can't we have more time? Let's run through the paraphrasing again."
The voice declared back in a deep tone. "No! We have to get him out today or else he will literally rot in his artifical pre-birth stasis." he paused and changed his tone. "All autorized officals, man your stations. Everyone else, please vacate the U-1 area." After what seemed to be a random shuffle, the space around the giant cylinder was empty. Execpt a couple of G.U.N. officers that stood a generous distance from the "birthing shrine".
"Start sequnce now."
A slight hiss seeped around the oddly-tiled floor. A metallic shriek cried out as metal grates appeared on the floor. The two silver-jackets grabbed the orange curtain and ripped it away. Breaths were held as the curtain fell down, showing the years of their vigorous labor. It, probably to the ignorant eye, looked like a pathetic excuse for years of work. A nearly brain-dead hedgehog, half alive. The only life it could retain was of the juices that surrounded its naked body. He had only seen parts of his own transformation. He had been given the gift of life by sealing the donor's away.
"It's magnificent!" a faceless voice commented.
The two men pulled the orange piece of shimmering cloth aside. And the glass cleaved in half verticly and began to slide apart. The body inside began to shake violently. His movements broke off the support tubes that invaded his body. There was unspeakable pain as they snapped off and broke instead of unplugging. His breathing became rapid and his vision blurred as his eyes hit air. A chilling cold ran through his body as soon his skin left the warmth of the water of life and made contact with the stale air.
"This is hell," he thought to himself. The juices spilled out onto the floor and into the draining grates, washing the two men's boots in the fluids. The tube, in a violent rush, suddenly emptied of its contents and the hedgehog collapsed to the ground. He breathed in his first breath with a burning feeling in his throat and chest. On of the agents walked up to him.
"Any first words after your birth?" he asked jokingly. S.I.L.V.A.R.'s orange eyes looked at him.
"Birth is a great leap. To do it twice is a curse."
A green-suited scientist walked up to the gray and florescent hedgehog. "Good evening, S.I.L.V.A.R., Superior Intelligent Lifeform Vairable Attack Ranger."
Unkown Location a few short years ago.............
"Ahh, we have waited for you," a large wolf, Valgas, said to the large being. "Why couldn't you send a transmission like our other clients?"
"My rival has a constant pin on me," the robed figure said. A smaller one walked from behind the obeese one. Valgas noticed that the short one moved with an awkward stiffness. "I need your best," the fat one said.
"Then that would be Zelkin," Valgas said. The wolf turned to the sky and yelled. "ZELKIN!!!". A large figure with outstreched wings circled around and and came into everyone's view. The hawk was holding a raccoon child wearing odd bamboo armor. They all landed lightly on the ground. Zelkin let the child to the ground before preceeding to talk with Valgas and the two strangers.
"We have been given a job from this generous payer." Valgas said to the tall falcon. Valgas shifted and turned to the cloaked figures. The shorter one lifted his head, and red eyes glowed from beneath the shadow from his hood. The large one spoke.
"I want the Gerald Diaries," the fat one said. "They are the lost research of my grandfather. A rival of mine has found one piece, employing a bounty hunter that I had onece used. I do not doubt his incompotence, and I want to be sure that I will get the research. That is why I decided to hire the great and notorious Oak thieves. This may take some time, and I want a head start for me over my rival."
The smaller hooded figure said absoloutely nothing, he just nodded. The light from his eyes projected red streaks on his chest.
"I belive that this job can be handled by one person," Valgas said to Zelkin. "It would be foolish and expensive to send more than one on this hunt. Would you do it, or should I send Ryu?"
Zelkin turned to Valgas and the hoods, "I accept the work." He paused for a moment, then looked at Valgas. "You do know that this is sudden, my son hasn't seen me for weeks."
"You know that you can decline." Valgas said.
"No. I choose not to disappoint you." Zelkin replied to the wolf.
"Zelkin, that is not needed. We are a family here," Valgas replied. "It is your choice alone. But remember, you will be handsomely rewarded if you complete this objective."
Zelkin stared at Valgas' aging face. "Then my answer stays the same."
"Good then," the fat one said.
Pumpkin Hill..................................present
"Fang, c-c-calm down!" Jack stammered. "I'm not against you!"
"But I'm not completely sure about that," Fang returned. "It was a mistake to interfere with my run-in with Bahn."
"You have to admit, you would have died out there without my help."
"That is true, you aren't up to scratch in your skills just yet," Ivan intruded into the room, his worm-like tail drew circles in the air. He wasn't altered to the fact that he saw Fang ready to blow the cat's head off. "We don't need this quarreling, besides, Fang has a important engagement to go to."
Fang stopped his agressive gesture and put the gun away. "What? To some big fancy dinner party?"
"Yup," Ivan said as he nudged his glasses up the ridge of his bare nose. "You have to wear a suit and everyting."
"To what?" Fang replied. Jack dusted himself off.
"G.U.N. is having a small get-together in Metropolis. We'll probably overhear some important items that will aid your little quest." Ivan said.
Jack decided to introduce himself. "Hey I'm-........"
"Whatever," Ivan huffed as he smashed his fist into Jack's neck, knocking the feline out cold. Fang just watched in disbelief.
"Ivan?!" Fang blurted.
"I get unwelcome guests all of the time, I learned how to deal with him," the rat replied smugly.
"What will we do with him?" Fang asked.
"I'll teleport him to a water tower in Neo City," Ivan said as he began to drag the cat to the lab. He began to punch in come commands in a console comepletely covered with stray wires. He slumped the body onto the glowing yellow circle in the machine. It let out a grinding moan as Jack's body was engulfed with a yellow light and dissapeared.
"So how will I gather the info?" Fang asked.
"You don't," Ivan replied. He dissapeared into a corner of the lab.
"Ah jeeze, another one of his inventions," Fang mumbled under his breath.
"Ah yes, another one of my inventions! Of course!" Ivan replied while holding two items. One in his hand, a black card. The other was a gray box that had a earphone set pugged to Ivan's ears. "All you have to do is slip this.." he held the card up, "...into your front coat's pocket and I'll do the rest. Then you can enjoy the food, music, and dancing with beautiful women."
"Yet we run into another problem in your little scheme," Fang said. He pointed at an implant below his right eye. "These will raise a few questions. This and my 'fang'."
"I already know that. You'll get the tooth removed soon. You will use a cloaking device to hide the implants," Ivan said as he shuffled though some papers and withdrew a photo.
"Then what's my cover?"
He showed the photo to Fang. It was a white weasel wearing a pair of small-rimmed glasses. Strangely, it almost looked like him. "Allow me to introduce Nicholas Kheul, he is currently a leading psycologist in G.U.N. who resides in the Siberian state of G.U.N.." He chuckled, "You look the same and have the same surinames. He is invited to that party in Metropolis, but we need to put him away for a while.........."
Terret Slopes airport a few hours later............
"I'm sorry sir, but the flight will be delayed for a while, or it could be cancelled," the attendant behind the desk said to him.
"No! Check again! I have to attend in Metropolis!" he yelled. He was starting to lose his nerve.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Kheul, but there's nothing we can do about these storms," she replied. The weasel just mumbled dissaproval and stormed down the labrynith of halls.
"Hey buddy....over here...," Nick heard as he crossed an empty lobby, everyone had given up on leaving town and the airport was sparsely populated with travelers. Nick searched for the source, but didn't see anyone. He felt stupid that, a psycologist of high standards, had gone mental in an airport then started to hear voices. He decided to go to the nearest bathroom and wash his face to calm himself down. Bad idea........
Approxamately three seconds later........
"Who a-are you?!" Nick yelled as he was thrown against the cold tile wall by his attacker.
"Hold still, I gotta get a clear view of your face." the weasel said. Nick grew terrified. The attacker then snatched the glasses off his face and stared at him for a few silent seconds. The weasel let go and Nick fell to the floor. Fang snatched Nick's glassses and tossed it to him. "Yep, you're me all right." He withdrew a black gun and fired at Nick's arm. A tranquilizer dart.
"What....the..fuck....." Nick drifted off into blackness. Fang dragged the sleeping form into the nearby bathroom stall.
"That should last awhile," Fang remarked.
Somwhere.........
"Who is this?"
"No one."
"Tell me what you found."
"That Ivan's new go-for is not as weak as I expected."
"You didn't kill him?"
"....no....Jack interfered again."
"Hmph, I expect more of you, Lock."
"Hey it was-"
"Listen, to make sure that none of the Gram spy's bloodlines extend any further, you have to execute him. You know the reasons."
"I don't need another lecture about them, all I know is that I'm too young to remember and care."
"Don't get on my nerves, Lock. The Oak are now after him too."
"So, let them kill Nack."
"No. That is not what I want. Make sure you get to him before the Oak do."
"I wi-"
"(Dial tone)"
The next day..................
"...and then he puts the pin *back* into it and tosses it!" the bear said. He recived a modest round of laughter. "James should know this!" They were standing in a group near the tall and decorative window on the west wall of the immense place that seemed like a combination of a dance hall and dining floor. The view was of the lights of the city that spanned for what seemed to be parsecs. But one feature was prominent in the glass. The Acorn castle. It didn't look like a castle, but, a collection of tall towers that reflected the night lights. From the opposite side of the glorious city, a few of the men of large size seemed awkward in their formal attire, though James the Bat looked impressive in his jet-black suit. Andrea, dressed in a red dress spotted with sequins, his stunning wife, stood beside him, though wasn't amused by the talker's drivel.
"Yes..tell us more," Andrea said half-sarcasticly. She shot a look at her husband. James just shrugged his shoulders.
"Art is always ready to share stories...." a liger drifted off, obviously a subltle sign meaning 'shut up'.
"Do I HAVE to be here, mother?....." Rouge drifted off. She gazed at the ceiling, which was a series of glass arches that streched across the length of the dancefloor. Near the side of the wall where tables were absent, an egg-shaped hollowed-out area of the wall was being traversed by a few men setting musical instruments in an arrangement. Andrea turned to her.
"Listen, I know that you're bored, but we all were invited. So make the best of it," she replied. "Find someone of your intrest. Talk to somebody."
"Are you serious?" Rouge replied. "This place is filled with war veterans and science nerds, typical G.U.N. material."
"Just give it a try," Andrea said. She nodded in a direction. Rouge turned to see a strikingly handsome weasel, sitting alone at a table situated on the outside of the dancefloor. "Isn't that Nicholas Kheul? I thought he couldn't make it here. Go and make conversation, just give it a try."
"Ivan, this is nonsense," Fang said as he sat at his table, nothing to do but to trace his tounge over his new teeth.
"You're doing fine. From where you're sitting, I'm tapping in on all the conversations in the room. Expect someone to arrive at your table soon. I heard someone ask of you," Ivan replied over the radio tucked in Fang's right ear.
"Now this is pure crap. I have to pose as a renowned psycologist or my ass is grass," Fang mumbled under his breath.
"Don't sweat it," Ivan replied. "Just make it up."
"It might just be me, but I think it's impossible to ham it up."
"Look at it this way, you're the only top psycologist in the room," Ivan said. Fang understood. He attention was tuned to an attractive female short-tailed fruit bat approach his table.
"Hello," she said in a soft voice. "Bored to tears I see." Fang looked up and tried to size up his situation. This situation was what seemed to be an actual normal person who just wanted to talk with him. She wore a flowing dress that stretched taut over her shapely hips and defined other goddes-like features on her body. Her wings were partially hidden behind her, as not to scare a new friend.
"Not that you're here, I can't stand all of this army hoo-hah." Fang replied. "It's nice to see a friendly face." He motioned her to take the seat in front of him. "Go ahead, unless you have something more important to do?"
"Me? Oh no," she said with a slight smile as she sat across from him. "It's odd to see someone like you to come unescorted here."
Was that a compliment? "Yeah, are you?"
"No, my parents dragged me here. They're top agents of G.U.N.," she replied while nodding behind her. Fang swallowed hard.
"You plan to follow in their footsteps?"
"Too late, I'm already one," she replied. "I been given a first missson...but I can't give away details." She smiled. "You ask a lot of questions....yet none of them was 'what is your name'?"
Fang chukled. His hidden eye implants identified her face, showed records of her history, and her age. "Don't worry, Rouge, we'll get to that soon enough."
Rouge's eyes glinted. "You're a sly one, Nicholas Kheul."
Fang winced when he heard that name. "Call me Nack."
"Nack? Why's that?" Rouge asked. Thoughts began to run through her head. Nack? Nack the Weasel? No. Couldn't be. He's diffrent. Handsome.
"Old nickname I still carry. I have a certain 'nack' for things." Nack responded. A man walked into the middle of the floor with a microphone in hand.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Before we start with our meal, music and dancing, I would like to say a few words. We all have gone through tough times before, but not like this man. He is the man who made GUN possible....oh hell, we doesn't even need an introduction. May I introduce the guests of honor, Maxwell Acorn and his lovely daughter, Sally!" Two figures entered the large dining hall through the hudge set of double doors that were behind the speaker. The speaker gave a modest bow to the king and princess and handed the microphone over to Max.
Max opened his mouth, immedetely closed it, then smiled. "Odd, I don't have much to say this time. But I would like to thank all of you for your efforts for making this organization possible. Let's all hope for more years of peace!" He recived a rumble of applause from the seated audience. A squad of waiters appeared from the same entrance doors and began to prowl around tables.
Rouge turned to Nack. "Are you hungry?" she said as she tapped the leather-bound menu resting to the side of her plate.
"Ravenous," Nack said as he opened his menu. To his dismay, it was all French.
Rouge must have seen him jump. "You can't read it?"
"Can you?" Nack replied. Rouge nodded.
"I know a lot," Rouge said. "Do you need help?"
Nack looked at his menu and green lines appeared in his view. Green English words overlapped the French ones and he could understand the names of the dishes. "I was going to ask you."
A waiter took his spot standing by the table. "Your order?" the otter asked. They went about ordering their food. The waiter stepped away, probably to concern himself with another table.
"You're a strange one, Nack," Rouge said as she sipped a glass of water.
"Why do you say that?" Nack asked, mesmerized by her brilliant green eyes.
"A siberian psycologist who's sharp on his wit and knows French," she said. "Makes you wonder...."
"Knowing a lot can give you bragging rights," Nack said with a shy-guy smile he saved for occasions like this one. A painful silence wrapped the two. Rouge, unfortunately, decided to break it.
She asked a question of the type that Nack feared. "So, how is being a psycologist?"
"Well, before I moved up into G.U.N., I was your typical shrink-doctor case," Nack said, reciting the document of Nicholas Kheul's past. "I was thrown into a waste af talent. Hence, almost all of my patients were overeaters or the suicidal type."
"Then how did you end up here?" she asked. The waiter reappeared with thier food, and slid their plates with a slight clatter as he laid it down. They began to eat their meal.
"I decided to be a part of neurological studies in G.U.N.," Nack said after a swallow. "I was gladly accepted."
"What do you do?" she asked.
"Alot I can't talk about," Nack replied. The orcestra band in the egg-hollow began to play a slow tranquil song. Couples began to leave their seats and occupy space on the elaborate, tiled dancefloor. Rouge looked into Nack's eyes. "Care to dance?" Rouge let herself be led into the the sea of people. Nack placed a hand on the small of her back and *tried* to put his other hand a bit higher. But her wings were in the way.
Rouge giggled. "Don't worry about it, we'll just have to dance a bit more intamate," she said as she slid his hand down to the top of her buttocks. "There, much better. Don't you agree?"
"You're a fast one," Nack chuckled as they rocked to the rythim of the slow melody. Nack, probably for the first time in ages, felt that he can be happy in his troubled life. Even if it wasn't truth that he told, he wanted to live this way. He left his thoughts and caught Rouge staring deep into his eyes.
"Tell me something," she said. "A psycologist, in theory, would be the perfect person. They would know how to solve any emotional trouble and maintain a perfect life."
"I wouldn't go that far," Nack replied. "If I would listen to my own advice, I wouldn't be here."
"Where would you be?" she asked.
"Probably on a farm, feeding emus." Nack chuckled.
"Then what about love?" she said with a sensual tinge in her voice. "How do you deal with it yourself?"
"Personally, I think love's an accident," Nack said. "Humans and anthromorphs stumble about the concept in the same clumsy manner. Unlike our un-anthromorphic 'ancestors'. We can't just find a mate, show off, and have sex. We have trouble bearing rejection in mind."
"Do you?" she asked.
"Hm?" Nack sighed. "N-no, of course not."
"Why are you so confident about it?" she said. A teasing smile came across her face. "Oh, I forgot. I'm talking to a psycic psycologist."
"You're a colorful character, aren't you?" Nack replied. Rouge gave a small giggle. "You must be a lot of trouble to be around."
"Oh, but I promise you, all of my trouble is worth the price..." she said.
"I already know that," Nack said as he embraced Rouge in a kiss. They contined to dance together in the sea of people.
Meanwhile..........
The shadow scaled the steep side of the roof. He waved a hand, and a group of other shadows followed suit behind it. They came to the top of the roof, the glass structure that streched across the length of the building. The leading shadow unfolded its wings and swooped to the other side of the barrier.
"Remember who we're looking for," the winged shadow said.
Back inside...........
Nack was savoring every second of the dance. Hoping that it will never end. Then he heard it. A slight shuffling noise. It sounded hollow and it came from the roof. In one thought, he was slammed back into the reality that he was a criminal because of his employer, and now he better be prepared for what's going to happen next.
"Nack, what's wrong?" she asked as she notcied his body get tense. Nack leaned in and wispered to her.
"There are people on the roof, they might break in here. Try to get out of here, now," Nack said in a hushed voice.
Rouge looked up and saw something move over the glass structure above. "What are you going to do?"
"Just get out of here, I'll get some help," Nack replied. She shot a look. "Just go!"
"Just, be careful," Rouge said as she broke away and dissapeared into the dancing people. Nack turned and found a set of double-doors that led to the kitchen. He followed the kitchen all the way to the back and found a back door. He swiftly traversed the street in the alley and came to what seemed to be a hover bike. "MQ" was embossed with color on the front panel of it. He opened a built-in box and pulled out a trenchcoat. He quickly dressed and ran back through the back door, and re-entered the dining hall. As soon as he did, the immense glass arches above broke apart into a thousand pieces and clattered to the floor as the guests paniced and scatterd away. Three large chords dropped down and their ends clanked to the ground. Shadowy figures slid down the chords. They wore black flowing scarfs over their black and red ninja garb.
"The Oak?!" a few people yelled. The first one that dropped stepped forward. It was a large gray falcon with large wings that emerged from the back of his clothing.
"I have come to kill Nack the Weasel, where is he?"
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Grey Wolf: What do you think? Should I keep going? Should I update this soon? Review to tell me!
Grey Wolf: 'ello! That last chap was a little short, though I only put that last "shorty" there to get some attention. I promise that you'll love this chapter.
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DENSE COILED METAL pipes that snaked their way though the hollow ceiling shouted low hums as Brass headed down the hall. He was here to find out what happened to his lifetime brother-in-arms. The funeral years ago was a phony, the engagement ring Nash told him to keep safe for his girlfrend had given him proof. He had slipped it into the hand of the corpse, only to find that the scar on Nash's wrist was gone. He didn't tell Felica, it would have broken her heart.
Brass continued his way to the underground 'lair' of G.U.N.. A undersea lab located near Metal Harbor. The humid metallic hall opened to a large open bubble-shaped area filled with people. Most of them was crowding around a large cylinder that was covered with an orange curtain. Pipes and wires twisted and turned through the room, and converged at the shrine.
"You can't be in here Brass, even a man of your rank shouldn't even know about this," a man in a sanitized green suit said.
"I still have to know, that's my friend you have in your damn test tube," Brass replied.
"Well, that 'damn test tube' is saving its life," the scientist said.
"Stop calling him 'it'! That's a person in there! He used to be Nash!" he yelled.
"This is why we can't let you in here, we left the viability of returning his memory on the cutting room floor," the green-garbed man said. "We can't bring back Nash, it's not possible."
"That's sick! So you are going to use his body?!" he yelled.
The green suit just gave a unsure nod. "This!" he said as he pointed at the enclosed metal cylinder that took up a good portion of the immense lab. "This is the secrets of GUN, we can't deny the importance of this experiment. We have achived great steps in even replicating the research. Sure it's not complete, but it is a viable, living, breathing person."
"It's all wrong, that used to be Nash's life!"
"No, its S.I.L.V.A.R. now, our S.I.L.V.A.R.," the green suit said. "You have to leave, unless you would like to lose your job."
"I can't belive these monsters.....," Brass trailed off as he wrinkled his nose in disgust. He turned around and headed back out of the lab, back to the world he was comfortable with.
"Okay folks, we have to get this thing done today. We can't spare another moment," a voice said over a series of speakers said. A man turned up to one.
"Can't we have more time? Let's run through the paraphrasing again."
The voice declared back in a deep tone. "No! We have to get him out today or else he will literally rot in his artifical pre-birth stasis." he paused and changed his tone. "All autorized officals, man your stations. Everyone else, please vacate the U-1 area." After what seemed to be a random shuffle, the space around the giant cylinder was empty. Execpt a couple of G.U.N. officers that stood a generous distance from the "birthing shrine".
"Start sequnce now."
A slight hiss seeped around the oddly-tiled floor. A metallic shriek cried out as metal grates appeared on the floor. The two silver-jackets grabbed the orange curtain and ripped it away. Breaths were held as the curtain fell down, showing the years of their vigorous labor. It, probably to the ignorant eye, looked like a pathetic excuse for years of work. A nearly brain-dead hedgehog, half alive. The only life it could retain was of the juices that surrounded its naked body. He had only seen parts of his own transformation. He had been given the gift of life by sealing the donor's away.
"It's magnificent!" a faceless voice commented.
The two men pulled the orange piece of shimmering cloth aside. And the glass cleaved in half verticly and began to slide apart. The body inside began to shake violently. His movements broke off the support tubes that invaded his body. There was unspeakable pain as they snapped off and broke instead of unplugging. His breathing became rapid and his vision blurred as his eyes hit air. A chilling cold ran through his body as soon his skin left the warmth of the water of life and made contact with the stale air.
"This is hell," he thought to himself. The juices spilled out onto the floor and into the draining grates, washing the two men's boots in the fluids. The tube, in a violent rush, suddenly emptied of its contents and the hedgehog collapsed to the ground. He breathed in his first breath with a burning feeling in his throat and chest. On of the agents walked up to him.
"Any first words after your birth?" he asked jokingly. S.I.L.V.A.R.'s orange eyes looked at him.
"Birth is a great leap. To do it twice is a curse."
A green-suited scientist walked up to the gray and florescent hedgehog. "Good evening, S.I.L.V.A.R., Superior Intelligent Lifeform Vairable Attack Ranger."
Unkown Location a few short years ago.............
"Ahh, we have waited for you," a large wolf, Valgas, said to the large being. "Why couldn't you send a transmission like our other clients?"
"My rival has a constant pin on me," the robed figure said. A smaller one walked from behind the obeese one. Valgas noticed that the short one moved with an awkward stiffness. "I need your best," the fat one said.
"Then that would be Zelkin," Valgas said. The wolf turned to the sky and yelled. "ZELKIN!!!". A large figure with outstreched wings circled around and and came into everyone's view. The hawk was holding a raccoon child wearing odd bamboo armor. They all landed lightly on the ground. Zelkin let the child to the ground before preceeding to talk with Valgas and the two strangers.
"We have been given a job from this generous payer." Valgas said to the tall falcon. Valgas shifted and turned to the cloaked figures. The shorter one lifted his head, and red eyes glowed from beneath the shadow from his hood. The large one spoke.
"I want the Gerald Diaries," the fat one said. "They are the lost research of my grandfather. A rival of mine has found one piece, employing a bounty hunter that I had onece used. I do not doubt his incompotence, and I want to be sure that I will get the research. That is why I decided to hire the great and notorious Oak thieves. This may take some time, and I want a head start for me over my rival."
The smaller hooded figure said absoloutely nothing, he just nodded. The light from his eyes projected red streaks on his chest.
"I belive that this job can be handled by one person," Valgas said to Zelkin. "It would be foolish and expensive to send more than one on this hunt. Would you do it, or should I send Ryu?"
Zelkin turned to Valgas and the hoods, "I accept the work." He paused for a moment, then looked at Valgas. "You do know that this is sudden, my son hasn't seen me for weeks."
"You know that you can decline." Valgas said.
"No. I choose not to disappoint you." Zelkin replied to the wolf.
"Zelkin, that is not needed. We are a family here," Valgas replied. "It is your choice alone. But remember, you will be handsomely rewarded if you complete this objective."
Zelkin stared at Valgas' aging face. "Then my answer stays the same."
"Good then," the fat one said.
Pumpkin Hill..................................present
"Fang, c-c-calm down!" Jack stammered. "I'm not against you!"
"But I'm not completely sure about that," Fang returned. "It was a mistake to interfere with my run-in with Bahn."
"You have to admit, you would have died out there without my help."
"That is true, you aren't up to scratch in your skills just yet," Ivan intruded into the room, his worm-like tail drew circles in the air. He wasn't altered to the fact that he saw Fang ready to blow the cat's head off. "We don't need this quarreling, besides, Fang has a important engagement to go to."
Fang stopped his agressive gesture and put the gun away. "What? To some big fancy dinner party?"
"Yup," Ivan said as he nudged his glasses up the ridge of his bare nose. "You have to wear a suit and everyting."
"To what?" Fang replied. Jack dusted himself off.
"G.U.N. is having a small get-together in Metropolis. We'll probably overhear some important items that will aid your little quest." Ivan said.
Jack decided to introduce himself. "Hey I'm-........"
"Whatever," Ivan huffed as he smashed his fist into Jack's neck, knocking the feline out cold. Fang just watched in disbelief.
"Ivan?!" Fang blurted.
"I get unwelcome guests all of the time, I learned how to deal with him," the rat replied smugly.
"What will we do with him?" Fang asked.
"I'll teleport him to a water tower in Neo City," Ivan said as he began to drag the cat to the lab. He began to punch in come commands in a console comepletely covered with stray wires. He slumped the body onto the glowing yellow circle in the machine. It let out a grinding moan as Jack's body was engulfed with a yellow light and dissapeared.
"So how will I gather the info?" Fang asked.
"You don't," Ivan replied. He dissapeared into a corner of the lab.
"Ah jeeze, another one of his inventions," Fang mumbled under his breath.
"Ah yes, another one of my inventions! Of course!" Ivan replied while holding two items. One in his hand, a black card. The other was a gray box that had a earphone set pugged to Ivan's ears. "All you have to do is slip this.." he held the card up, "...into your front coat's pocket and I'll do the rest. Then you can enjoy the food, music, and dancing with beautiful women."
"Yet we run into another problem in your little scheme," Fang said. He pointed at an implant below his right eye. "These will raise a few questions. This and my 'fang'."
"I already know that. You'll get the tooth removed soon. You will use a cloaking device to hide the implants," Ivan said as he shuffled though some papers and withdrew a photo.
"Then what's my cover?"
He showed the photo to Fang. It was a white weasel wearing a pair of small-rimmed glasses. Strangely, it almost looked like him. "Allow me to introduce Nicholas Kheul, he is currently a leading psycologist in G.U.N. who resides in the Siberian state of G.U.N.." He chuckled, "You look the same and have the same surinames. He is invited to that party in Metropolis, but we need to put him away for a while.........."
Terret Slopes airport a few hours later............
"I'm sorry sir, but the flight will be delayed for a while, or it could be cancelled," the attendant behind the desk said to him.
"No! Check again! I have to attend in Metropolis!" he yelled. He was starting to lose his nerve.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Kheul, but there's nothing we can do about these storms," she replied. The weasel just mumbled dissaproval and stormed down the labrynith of halls.
"Hey buddy....over here...," Nick heard as he crossed an empty lobby, everyone had given up on leaving town and the airport was sparsely populated with travelers. Nick searched for the source, but didn't see anyone. He felt stupid that, a psycologist of high standards, had gone mental in an airport then started to hear voices. He decided to go to the nearest bathroom and wash his face to calm himself down. Bad idea........
Approxamately three seconds later........
"Who a-are you?!" Nick yelled as he was thrown against the cold tile wall by his attacker.
"Hold still, I gotta get a clear view of your face." the weasel said. Nick grew terrified. The attacker then snatched the glasses off his face and stared at him for a few silent seconds. The weasel let go and Nick fell to the floor. Fang snatched Nick's glassses and tossed it to him. "Yep, you're me all right." He withdrew a black gun and fired at Nick's arm. A tranquilizer dart.
"What....the..fuck....." Nick drifted off into blackness. Fang dragged the sleeping form into the nearby bathroom stall.
"That should last awhile," Fang remarked.
Somwhere.........
"Who is this?"
"No one."
"Tell me what you found."
"That Ivan's new go-for is not as weak as I expected."
"You didn't kill him?"
"....no....Jack interfered again."
"Hmph, I expect more of you, Lock."
"Hey it was-"
"Listen, to make sure that none of the Gram spy's bloodlines extend any further, you have to execute him. You know the reasons."
"I don't need another lecture about them, all I know is that I'm too young to remember and care."
"Don't get on my nerves, Lock. The Oak are now after him too."
"So, let them kill Nack."
"No. That is not what I want. Make sure you get to him before the Oak do."
"I wi-"
"(Dial tone)"
The next day..................
"...and then he puts the pin *back* into it and tosses it!" the bear said. He recived a modest round of laughter. "James should know this!" They were standing in a group near the tall and decorative window on the west wall of the immense place that seemed like a combination of a dance hall and dining floor. The view was of the lights of the city that spanned for what seemed to be parsecs. But one feature was prominent in the glass. The Acorn castle. It didn't look like a castle, but, a collection of tall towers that reflected the night lights. From the opposite side of the glorious city, a few of the men of large size seemed awkward in their formal attire, though James the Bat looked impressive in his jet-black suit. Andrea, dressed in a red dress spotted with sequins, his stunning wife, stood beside him, though wasn't amused by the talker's drivel.
"Yes..tell us more," Andrea said half-sarcasticly. She shot a look at her husband. James just shrugged his shoulders.
"Art is always ready to share stories...." a liger drifted off, obviously a subltle sign meaning 'shut up'.
"Do I HAVE to be here, mother?....." Rouge drifted off. She gazed at the ceiling, which was a series of glass arches that streched across the length of the dancefloor. Near the side of the wall where tables were absent, an egg-shaped hollowed-out area of the wall was being traversed by a few men setting musical instruments in an arrangement. Andrea turned to her.
"Listen, I know that you're bored, but we all were invited. So make the best of it," she replied. "Find someone of your intrest. Talk to somebody."
"Are you serious?" Rouge replied. "This place is filled with war veterans and science nerds, typical G.U.N. material."
"Just give it a try," Andrea said. She nodded in a direction. Rouge turned to see a strikingly handsome weasel, sitting alone at a table situated on the outside of the dancefloor. "Isn't that Nicholas Kheul? I thought he couldn't make it here. Go and make conversation, just give it a try."
"Ivan, this is nonsense," Fang said as he sat at his table, nothing to do but to trace his tounge over his new teeth.
"You're doing fine. From where you're sitting, I'm tapping in on all the conversations in the room. Expect someone to arrive at your table soon. I heard someone ask of you," Ivan replied over the radio tucked in Fang's right ear.
"Now this is pure crap. I have to pose as a renowned psycologist or my ass is grass," Fang mumbled under his breath.
"Don't sweat it," Ivan replied. "Just make it up."
"It might just be me, but I think it's impossible to ham it up."
"Look at it this way, you're the only top psycologist in the room," Ivan said. Fang understood. He attention was tuned to an attractive female short-tailed fruit bat approach his table.
"Hello," she said in a soft voice. "Bored to tears I see." Fang looked up and tried to size up his situation. This situation was what seemed to be an actual normal person who just wanted to talk with him. She wore a flowing dress that stretched taut over her shapely hips and defined other goddes-like features on her body. Her wings were partially hidden behind her, as not to scare a new friend.
"Not that you're here, I can't stand all of this army hoo-hah." Fang replied. "It's nice to see a friendly face." He motioned her to take the seat in front of him. "Go ahead, unless you have something more important to do?"
"Me? Oh no," she said with a slight smile as she sat across from him. "It's odd to see someone like you to come unescorted here."
Was that a compliment? "Yeah, are you?"
"No, my parents dragged me here. They're top agents of G.U.N.," she replied while nodding behind her. Fang swallowed hard.
"You plan to follow in their footsteps?"
"Too late, I'm already one," she replied. "I been given a first missson...but I can't give away details." She smiled. "You ask a lot of questions....yet none of them was 'what is your name'?"
Fang chukled. His hidden eye implants identified her face, showed records of her history, and her age. "Don't worry, Rouge, we'll get to that soon enough."
Rouge's eyes glinted. "You're a sly one, Nicholas Kheul."
Fang winced when he heard that name. "Call me Nack."
"Nack? Why's that?" Rouge asked. Thoughts began to run through her head. Nack? Nack the Weasel? No. Couldn't be. He's diffrent. Handsome.
"Old nickname I still carry. I have a certain 'nack' for things." Nack responded. A man walked into the middle of the floor with a microphone in hand.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Before we start with our meal, music and dancing, I would like to say a few words. We all have gone through tough times before, but not like this man. He is the man who made GUN possible....oh hell, we doesn't even need an introduction. May I introduce the guests of honor, Maxwell Acorn and his lovely daughter, Sally!" Two figures entered the large dining hall through the hudge set of double doors that were behind the speaker. The speaker gave a modest bow to the king and princess and handed the microphone over to Max.
Max opened his mouth, immedetely closed it, then smiled. "Odd, I don't have much to say this time. But I would like to thank all of you for your efforts for making this organization possible. Let's all hope for more years of peace!" He recived a rumble of applause from the seated audience. A squad of waiters appeared from the same entrance doors and began to prowl around tables.
Rouge turned to Nack. "Are you hungry?" she said as she tapped the leather-bound menu resting to the side of her plate.
"Ravenous," Nack said as he opened his menu. To his dismay, it was all French.
Rouge must have seen him jump. "You can't read it?"
"Can you?" Nack replied. Rouge nodded.
"I know a lot," Rouge said. "Do you need help?"
Nack looked at his menu and green lines appeared in his view. Green English words overlapped the French ones and he could understand the names of the dishes. "I was going to ask you."
A waiter took his spot standing by the table. "Your order?" the otter asked. They went about ordering their food. The waiter stepped away, probably to concern himself with another table.
"You're a strange one, Nack," Rouge said as she sipped a glass of water.
"Why do you say that?" Nack asked, mesmerized by her brilliant green eyes.
"A siberian psycologist who's sharp on his wit and knows French," she said. "Makes you wonder...."
"Knowing a lot can give you bragging rights," Nack said with a shy-guy smile he saved for occasions like this one. A painful silence wrapped the two. Rouge, unfortunately, decided to break it.
She asked a question of the type that Nack feared. "So, how is being a psycologist?"
"Well, before I moved up into G.U.N., I was your typical shrink-doctor case," Nack said, reciting the document of Nicholas Kheul's past. "I was thrown into a waste af talent. Hence, almost all of my patients were overeaters or the suicidal type."
"Then how did you end up here?" she asked. The waiter reappeared with thier food, and slid their plates with a slight clatter as he laid it down. They began to eat their meal.
"I decided to be a part of neurological studies in G.U.N.," Nack said after a swallow. "I was gladly accepted."
"What do you do?" she asked.
"Alot I can't talk about," Nack replied. The orcestra band in the egg-hollow began to play a slow tranquil song. Couples began to leave their seats and occupy space on the elaborate, tiled dancefloor. Rouge looked into Nack's eyes. "Care to dance?" Rouge let herself be led into the the sea of people. Nack placed a hand on the small of her back and *tried* to put his other hand a bit higher. But her wings were in the way.
Rouge giggled. "Don't worry about it, we'll just have to dance a bit more intamate," she said as she slid his hand down to the top of her buttocks. "There, much better. Don't you agree?"
"You're a fast one," Nack chuckled as they rocked to the rythim of the slow melody. Nack, probably for the first time in ages, felt that he can be happy in his troubled life. Even if it wasn't truth that he told, he wanted to live this way. He left his thoughts and caught Rouge staring deep into his eyes.
"Tell me something," she said. "A psycologist, in theory, would be the perfect person. They would know how to solve any emotional trouble and maintain a perfect life."
"I wouldn't go that far," Nack replied. "If I would listen to my own advice, I wouldn't be here."
"Where would you be?" she asked.
"Probably on a farm, feeding emus." Nack chuckled.
"Then what about love?" she said with a sensual tinge in her voice. "How do you deal with it yourself?"
"Personally, I think love's an accident," Nack said. "Humans and anthromorphs stumble about the concept in the same clumsy manner. Unlike our un-anthromorphic 'ancestors'. We can't just find a mate, show off, and have sex. We have trouble bearing rejection in mind."
"Do you?" she asked.
"Hm?" Nack sighed. "N-no, of course not."
"Why are you so confident about it?" she said. A teasing smile came across her face. "Oh, I forgot. I'm talking to a psycic psycologist."
"You're a colorful character, aren't you?" Nack replied. Rouge gave a small giggle. "You must be a lot of trouble to be around."
"Oh, but I promise you, all of my trouble is worth the price..." she said.
"I already know that," Nack said as he embraced Rouge in a kiss. They contined to dance together in the sea of people.
Meanwhile..........
The shadow scaled the steep side of the roof. He waved a hand, and a group of other shadows followed suit behind it. They came to the top of the roof, the glass structure that streched across the length of the building. The leading shadow unfolded its wings and swooped to the other side of the barrier.
"Remember who we're looking for," the winged shadow said.
Back inside...........
Nack was savoring every second of the dance. Hoping that it will never end. Then he heard it. A slight shuffling noise. It sounded hollow and it came from the roof. In one thought, he was slammed back into the reality that he was a criminal because of his employer, and now he better be prepared for what's going to happen next.
"Nack, what's wrong?" she asked as she notcied his body get tense. Nack leaned in and wispered to her.
"There are people on the roof, they might break in here. Try to get out of here, now," Nack said in a hushed voice.
Rouge looked up and saw something move over the glass structure above. "What are you going to do?"
"Just get out of here, I'll get some help," Nack replied. She shot a look. "Just go!"
"Just, be careful," Rouge said as she broke away and dissapeared into the dancing people. Nack turned and found a set of double-doors that led to the kitchen. He followed the kitchen all the way to the back and found a back door. He swiftly traversed the street in the alley and came to what seemed to be a hover bike. "MQ" was embossed with color on the front panel of it. He opened a built-in box and pulled out a trenchcoat. He quickly dressed and ran back through the back door, and re-entered the dining hall. As soon as he did, the immense glass arches above broke apart into a thousand pieces and clattered to the floor as the guests paniced and scatterd away. Three large chords dropped down and their ends clanked to the ground. Shadowy figures slid down the chords. They wore black flowing scarfs over their black and red ninja garb.
"The Oak?!" a few people yelled. The first one that dropped stepped forward. It was a large gray falcon with large wings that emerged from the back of his clothing.
"I have come to kill Nack the Weasel, where is he?"
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Grey Wolf: What do you think? Should I keep going? Should I update this soon? Review to tell me!