"Is he on the case?"

As ordered, sir."

"What about our special agent?"

"With him."

"Excellent. Remind me to give someone a raise for a job well done."

"Yes, sir."

CHAPTER 4

UNCHARTED REGION, 07:23 AM-Northern Hemisphere Time-

The sound of machines digging around rock made Rouge cringe from time to time. Her sensitive hearing was put to the test as the machines kept digging trough raw rubble in an enclosed quarry. She clenched her hands into a fist, resting them on her broad hips. Her body formed a nice silhouette on the sand, as the stinging rays of sun blinded her eyes. Her wings were folded against each other on her back, but she extended them fully to let them cool down against the sandy breeze on top of the hill.

It was hot, it was uncomfortable, and her patience kept waning away with each minute that passed by. The minutes at the moment seemed like hours, and time was something she'd taken seriously. Rather looking for emeralds inside an abandoned mine than melting away in this inferno.

She tried to breath the air, chest expanding as her nostrils filled with sand. She soon bent over, covering her nose with a red-colored handkerchief, sneezing the unwelcome grains of sand that made her presence in this place a lot more uncomfortable.

"Damn IT! I don't think any reward-small or big...preferably big-is worth standing this hell. Why do I let myself be involved into such things..."

"Because I said so."

The bat's eyes opened fully as her body tensed. Drago's booming voice often sent a chill down her spine. She turned her body to face in an nonchalant manner, facing him, and still holding the piece of fabric over her nose."

"Don't do that again, Drago." She warned, "Is bad enough there's all this noise around that I have to keep my ears opened for anything out of the ordinary. And my ears-among the rest of my body- don't appreciate being out here at all."

"Well, excuse me your highness." Drago bowed, mocking her. "Next time why don't' I set the amount of money and YOU provide the meeting place? I think you would be more comfortable inside a damp cave hanging upside down while taking a siesta."

"Whatever."

Rouge turned her back on him, raising her right arm with an open hand to him. She cleaned her nose and tossed the handkerchief away, not caring anymore about the sand than having to endure the wolf's sense of arrogance.

"What is the report on the drilling? That is...IF you have been putting attention to it at all."

"Everything's going accordingly-and I HAVE been putting attention...-, but I haven't received any news about finding whatever you and your people are looking for."

Rouge turned her face to see Drago on the corner of her eye.

"What IS that ya'll looking f'r again?"

Drago walked close to her, too close for comfort as he slid his hands on her bare shoulders. Rouge allowed this with disgust, at least until he would tell her.

"You'll see when we get to it, bat. For now just...'chill' and do your job, eh?"

That being said, Rouge pulled away from his grasp aggressively, hunching her shoulders forward. She took a few steps towards the edge of the cliff, looking down at the badniks working the machinery; just the she had done so for the last three hours. Her upper lip flicked, showing a pair of sharp fangs that shone against the sunlight and her left leg rested upon a small boulder.

"I can't get over these things working as they are, as if their minds were linked together for a sole purpose at a time. No sign of independence there, eh Drago?"

"You'd be surprised how independent some get to be, Rouge." Said the wolf, with a somber tone, "maybe even more independent that you could ever imagine. "

With that he walked away, leaving the bat by herself once more. Rouge closed her eyes and shrugged, not caring much about that last reply. She let her mind drift away with thoughts of riches and treasure. Something she longed to do months earlier before she was contacted to work alongside Drago.

But riches weren't the only thought she had in her mind, for she already anticipating her next moves should she ever be deceived. Momma raised no fool.

"Damn right she didn't."

A smirk on her face appeared, just as her eyes affixed on the far horizon.

***

LOWER MOBIUS, 04:30 AM

Hershey followed Harvok inside another building, containing large cabinets topped with dust, and a few mainframes set on the corner of a wall. She knew this as the intelligence sector of Lower Mobius, where data was stored and computers were used to track movement inside the pipelines connecting their subterranean home with the rest of the world. The short walk helped her muscles relax a bit, after accumulating all sorts of stress gained from her previous adventure. The beeps of computers joined the wheezing sounds from copy machines everywhere her face turned. Members of the small militia group wandered from one monitor to another, working on their projects.

Harvok ignored all but one dingo sited at the center of the room. He was wearing a red scarf, and was eating a piece of bread with his left hand while his right typed on a keyboard. Hershey noted that there were more than five keyboards surrounding him, but he seemed to switch to one another without taking his eyes off the screen. Or letting go of the bread that seemed stale the more she kept looking at it.

"Leonard, this is Lt. Hershey. She needs your assistance with a mini-disk, please."

The dingo held out his left hand, not ever leaving the computer screen alone. Hershey reached inside her vest for the copy of the files that gave her trouble back at the pipelines. Leonard popped it inside one of the many CD drives that were hanging from everywhere, clicked into the secured folders, and then stared into an identification interface, asking for a password.

Leonard plugged away a cable that was connected entirely into another mainframe. Then let his fingers fly at the keyboard, typing every other password known to him into the interface. So far, none of these seemed to take effect on the screen. Finally, after minutes of waiting, Leonard managed to go trough the complex inscriptions read in the mini-disk. His eyes widened with every bit of information being thrown at his face.

"Where'd you get this disk?" He said for the first time with an accented tone, while turning his head towards Hershey. The feline replied with a stiffened pose, no sound escaping her mouth. Leonard shrugged, going back to the computer screen, and kept deciphering the encrypted fragments of data inside it. Finally, he clicked on the folder named "Quartz Quadrant", and began hacking into its contents. The dingo's hands stopped typing, and relaxed back on his chair, while nibbling on his ration.

"Done. It'll be a few seconds before it is given back to you." Harvok nodded and turned to Hershey, who seemed frozen in place. Her expression serious and emotionless, even after she got part of her job cut out for her. A series of print outs came from the computer, giving details of the locked information inside the disk. Leonard ripped a segment from them, and handed them to the Lt.

"This map shows where the Quadrant is located. I thought at first that it could've been some kind of mistake, but the coordinates show it as clear as it could be."

Harvok went over them and his eyes narrowed. He passed the prints to Hershey, who looked them over patiently. This time, her eyebrows raised slowly, looking at the other Mobians with a bit of concern.

"The wastelands?"

"Yeah, just about." The dingo explained, "That sector there will be reached by crossing this path. I am not sure what you are looking in there, but the thought of going at it alone is more like suicide to me."

Hershey studied the prints a bit further, and noticed an array of mountains peeking out from the edge of the wastelands area. It was marked with a green circle, a location that she may have to reach from that horrible place.

"What is this location?" She pointed at the green dot, "What is there, exactly?"

"Well, I am not sure what those mountainous structure iis/i exactly. But I can tell you that it is very close to the area belonging to the Wolfpack Freedom Fighters. I assumed that since the location pinpoints to the southeast of that region."

Leonard rubbed his chin smugly, while his ears flattened against his skull. "Funny thing is, no one has ever heard such location existed. This is a first to me, really."

"To me as well," Harvok said, while turning a stern gaze towards Hershey. "Just what IS that you are looking for in such a place?"

"That I am not so sure myself," Hershey said in a calm manner, "However, I cannot divulge much about my mission to anyone that is not involved in it. I apologize."

"I see..." The Lieutenant replied, not believing her story. He decided not to go any further into this, and turned to the hacker, who was still checking the disk's contents.

"Is there anything else you can find about that disk, Leonard?"

"Well...there are some other files which I can't seem to reach. But I can try to find my way into them if you give me the time." He turned his gaze back at them both, looking for an infinite answer. Harvok glanced over at Hershey, who gave a slight nod. Harvok then looked back at Leonard.

"Alright, give it a go."

"Right, here we go..." the dingo's fingers once again flew over the keyboard, checking into the disk once again. He paused momentarily, with a look of worry over his face. He then typed into the keyboard for the second time, a lot more aggravated than before.

"Something the matter, Leonard?"

"I am receiving images of the maps of Lower Mobius' entrances, sir." He said in a frightened tone, "It seems every opening we use to reach the surface has already been marked, also, I am getting different kinds of logs being exchanged from one point to another, with information about our escape routes."

"What are you saying?"

"What I am saying, sir..." he gulped, "Is that our location is being traced by an unknown perpetrator. For the looks of it, it seems to be doing more than just finding a way to get here. Our main entrances have been open up, while our emergency exits have been completely sealed off."

***

THE JUNKYARD, 05:14 AM

Medusa stood still, her limbs frozen, her eyes darkened. She tuned her sensors below normal functions, so it gave the impression that she was malfunctioning. The Swatbot carried her inside the lookout tower, where assistant robots were already waiting.

"Begin a diagnostic on this unit," The Swatbot ordered, "Make sure she is operational as soon as possible."

Medusa was left in the center of the room, and the robots began wheeling toward her, tentacle-like arms extending towards her body, eager to dismantle her body to run every type of test possibly to examine her current status.

Medusa caught one of the metallic arms, just before it went for her neck. She lifted her head, eyes radiating in a blood-red glow.

"Keep your filthy claws to yourself."

The machine began beeping frantically, trying to brake free from Medusa's grasp, but the metallic vixen had a firm grip onto it. She pulled the arm to its extent, veering it towards another robot that was already trying to escape the ordeal. The machine clashed with its partner, sending them both towards a wall in a splatter of bolts and plates that got loose in contact with one another.

Medusa turned towards a third unit that was already signaling an alarm at the door. She picked up a metal rod from a trash compactor, and launched it on the robot's upper torso. The machine began convulsing violently, and then it shut down in a puff of smoke. Satisfied of her actions, the badnik walked towards the exit at the doorway, to her freedom.

Her hopes were cut short by an appearance of a leather-clothed individual at the opened doorway. The feminine features were plainly apparent against the glare of the light emitting from outside, although Medusa's robotic eyes needn't the aid of any source of light to notice it. A black helmet covered the head, with a visor covering her face.

"It's only you...what are you doing here? Aren't you aware that this is treacherous ground to meet me at?"

The only response that the figure gave was a shot from a laser gun that appeared in her right hand. Medusa's eyes dilated fully, as the sparks of severed cables came from a new hole embedded in her chest. Her eyes flickered to darkness, after her body collapsed to the floor. The shadowy character turned from her, blending into the darkness from whence she appeared.

A set of metallic tentacles appeared shortly, from the room, wrapping around the metallic vixen's body. The door closed with an audible hiss of air as she was dragged back inside.

***

LOWER MOBIUS, 05:35 AM

"Sector 14 has been breached, sectors 3 trough 7 are inaccessible. We're having causalities left and right." A mobian kangaroo said, his fingers flying trough the keyboard while checking any more damage done by the monstrous robotic rodents. Harvok turned his gaze back to Leonard's monitor screen; a computerized version of the city was displayed, covered in tiny red dots that seemed to be increasing in number. Hershey crossed her arms and looked at the disk inside the computer in the meantime.

"How did this happen?" Harvok asked, "Who could've entered our computer terminals and override the city's defenses this easily?"

"I don't know sir, I wish I had an answer to that," Leonard replied, "but I am working on getting our exits opened at the moment."

"Very well, see that our people have a chance of getting out of here alive. Lieutenant Hershey, I have to ask you to leave this place, it is no longer safe for you to be around."

The feline looked at him with a concern look on her face. The goat nodded, and handed her the computer disk.

"Your mission must be completed if our friend Medusa was involved on it, make sure not to let her down."

With that said, Hershey took the disk from him and kept it inside her vest. She peered over Leonard's screen, which displayed another section of Lower Mobius being ravaged by the robots.

"Sir, I managed to open one route towards the surface," the dingo said, "it is located on the subterranean cavern, near the regional area." He looked back at the L

"Good job, Leonard. Hershey, use this exit and get out of here, we will do our best to hold off those vermin."

Another loud explosion was heard, and this time, part of the ceiling gave out, sending large chunks of debris and clustered pieces down. Hershey jumped out of the way, avoiding a direct hit from the dangerous stones. A cloud of dust covered everything as she managed to go out trough the door.

Coughing, she got up and looked behind her, there was nothing visible other than a screen of smoke that the collapsed section left. She saw no one moving inside. She walked back inside, looking around for any survivors. There was a kangaroo with a heavy computer frame located on her chest. Hershey began walking to the injured Mobian, only to be pushed aside once more, this time her oppressor was nothing more than a gigantic motorized rat, fixing a scanning laser on her face. Hershey ran away from it, but it was too late, the mechanical beast already pounced on her, raising her by means of having its metallic jaws on her backpack. Hershey was unable to move at such angle, but tried to detach her backpack to get herself free.

The rat began shaking its head violently, moving Hershey's body like a rag doll. Her legs met the concrete walls once, making her flinch in pain. Hershey got herself free after slashing the backpack's lining with her claws. A move of desperation she found to be most useful on this situation. She fell down on her side, her legs being unable to support her body after the painful crash with the wall. The rat spat away her backpack and looked down at her, its glimmering eyes radiating death upon her face. With a screech, the rat snapped its jaws at her, and then lowered its head to take one fatal bite at her body.

The rat's eyes met a laser blast, sending the mechanical being back with another screech. Hershey looked back to the source of the blast and found a wounded mobian chipmunk at one of the doorframes holding a blaster with his right arm while his left was holding his ribs. He kept firing more shots at the rat, trying to distract it from the fallen feline.

"Hurry and run, I will keep this thing occupied!" He shouted and Hershey jolted out of the room, ignoring the burning pain that her legs still held within. There were more shots then she heard the sound of the metallic rat, but nothing more. Hershey jumped and crashed her body against a damaged window, liberating herself from the cursed robotic vermin. It was fortunate that the ground was not so far below; otherwise she would be a stain on the now-ravaged city. This time, she landed on her feet, but the burning sensation was still present.

Hershey hid herself behind a wall, and surveyed the area. Buildings riddled in fire and ruined homes where everywhere, the rats kept excavating tunnels on the floor for more of their kind to get out. She remembered the map straight from her head, she knew where she current location was, but the problem was how to get there before the rats began to attack anyone that dared cross their path.

There were not many mobians outside now, the ones who were present held the rats at bay with any means of defense they found, it ranged from laser beams to wooden sticks and rocks. The battle was turning quickly against them, since the metallic bodies of the vermin were powerful enough to sustain damage from such weak weaponry. Buildings collapsed as more rats appeared, Lower Mobius seemed to face the last ray of life as its people kept fighting desperately. Hershey felt the need to join them, to defend with any methods of dense she had at hand.

However, when she began to move towards the small group of fighters, her mind turned to let her know of her directive, images of St. John flashed on her mind, he was shown either alive or dead, and she needed to find him regardless of what she was confronting down here.

With a grunt, she turned and ran towards the exit. She was halfway to meet the metallic vermin, when a yellow transport pulled right in front of her. Jason smiled weakly at her, good arm holding the steering wheel of the hover car.

"Need a lift?" He said, already opening the door for her to jump in. The hover car was maneuvered away moments before a rat pounced it to the ground. Avoiding a couple of other mechanical fiends, Jason drove at full speed, avoiding the mayhem and destruction. Lower Mobius became a vast battleground, unlike the way it looked to Hershey when she first visited. Smashed building and fire replaced the cheerful life these mobians used to have. She noticed a few corpses on the ground; heroic soldiers who risked their lives so other could flee the invasion. Desperation joined her sadness, feeling hopeless, as she could do nothing to stop the massacre.

Jason made a sharp turn to the left, avoiding more of the monsters lurking around. However, a large boulder obstructed his way. Jason did not have the time to stop fully, so he tried to maneuver around the boulder without colliding with it. The action proved to be too much and the hovercar found itself turning over, hitting the boulder on its side. The vehicle spun in the air and landed on its side, knocking Hershey far away. Her body trashed against dust and rocks violently, then finally stopped against a crumbling limestone wall with a heavy thud. She managed to maintain consciousness however, raising her head lightly to see towards the direction of Jason's vehicle. Trough a scratched visor she noticed the canine's arm stretched from below the upside down hovercar, but it made no motions whatsoever. She cringed, not being able to comprehend all this carnage. The car caught flames moments later, and it was giving all the signs that it would explode any time soon.

"No...Jason...please..." Her words were stuck on her throat, trying to make way trough a mouth full of her own blood. One of the dreaded mechanical rats appeared, and it advanced towards her, ignoring the damaged vehicle. Its eyes shone with the knowledge that Hershey was not going to escape at all, and just like before, its jaws opened to meet her body, going for the kill. Damn it all, she thought, this seemed not worth the senseless killing.

Sparks flew from the neck of the robotic monster, flying around its body and barely touching the cat's fur. After the last spark flew by, the rat stood motionless, its eyes darkening. It made neither sound nor movement, but its head kept falling onto her involuntarily. She felt her body being pulled away in a flash, moments before the severed head fell on her with a crashing sound. The rest of the body fell apart moments later, piece-by-piece it went, forming a useless pile of metal and circuitry. Hershey felt confused about what was going on, she felt her body being held by a pair of masculine arms, and at the same moment, she tried to look up to see who was responsible for her rescue. She managed to notice a blurred blue face before she passed out completely, due to the damage her body sustained.