#3: Foxes With a Mission

"Hi, Foxy. Is Sierra here?"

Foxy glared back at the room in which Sierra had been. Sierra, from under the couch, recognized that look-You told me you never left!! Well, she had certainly been busted good on that one. Bluehawk walked slowly in and suddenly thought to offer to remove his shoes. Sama followed, grinning, and gazing around in wonder. Sierra began to crawl out from her hiding place. Bluehawk suddenly started off toward the kitchen, calling "Sama! No!" who quickly closed the fridge with an innocent grin. Foxy mouthed exasperatedly at Sierra. Did you talk to anyone else?

Sierra thought about lying and decided she'd already been busted once. Yeah, Saberz the Hedgehog…No-one else.

Okay, good…I know that guy. Foxy's expression was relieved when Hawk dragged Sama back to the lounge room. "Now apologize to Foxy and Sierra!"

Sama looked at his shoes. "I sorry fridge and dirty floor." He said morbidly, but still stupidly.

"That's better." Muttered Hawk, like a frustrated parent to a child who had just kicked their employer's shins. He pushed his sunglasses and cleared his throat.

"Okay…down to business…have you two read the papers?" Sama nodded. "Not you." Bluehawk thwapped him on the arm with his elbow. Sierra grinned.

"No, I haven't."

"Well…apparently there's a possible pair of mutants around, so be on the lookout. Oh, and of course if you see a dark blue fox with red sunglasses or a dark blue armadillo with a wacky hairdo, maim them for me." He gave a maniacal grin at this that even he found surprising later.

"Okay, thanks for coming to warn us." Sierra said cheerfully.

"And it's okay, the mud will be gone in no time!" Foxy winked at Sama, who followed Hawk out the door sheepishly.

The door closed, and Foxy gave a sigh of relief. "Hawk's looking for you, Sierra."

Sierra looked absolutely repulsed. "I'm no mutant!"

"And how do you know that? You don't remember a lot, do you?" Sierra put her hand to her chin in thought…Foxy was right.

Bluehawk walked into the double hotel room with a heavy heart and heavy fatigue, throwing his jacket on the bed in the room that the three of them had to share. ("Look on the bright side, we get it on the house because they took pity on us!" Phantom had tried to tell Hawk.)

"Not much good for when we're on an 'important mission'." Hawk retorted as he turned in his bed.

Sama wasn't too happy about this. "You said be quiet you not quiet! AYAYAYAYAYAYA…"

They weren't able to discuss much from that point on.

Hawk received the newspaper in exactly the same fashion as the previous morning, and kept it folded up in the bag until he got to Sama and Phantom, and they unwrapped it in the hotel room. Foxy reached under her apartment door and pulled the newspaper out from under it, and both foxes, in completely different buildings, looked with widened eyes. There on the front page was a colour picture which hadn't been handed in soon enough for yesterday's paper…of two buildings barring the sides of the photo, but Foxy was flying in the middle and at the very top could be distinctly seen one wolf tail.

"Sierra! We have to get you out of here!" Foxy called.

"Shoot! It's Foxy! Phantom, I'm outta here! Sama, come with me!" Bluehawk called on his stride out the door.

Sierra looked up blankly. "What?"

Sama blundered out the door, running to catch up with Bluehawk as he walked quickly down the steps, two at a time.

"Sierra! We're outta here! The fire exit, quickly! Bluehawk is usually up fairly early!" Both girls ran out the door and along the corridor.

Hawk was almost pushing the auto-doors open with impatience, the yellow echidna tailing closely.

Foxy flew upwards, leading Sierra to the roof for the leaps toward the North Forest.

Hawk broke into a light run, Sama caring more for keeping up with Hawk than anything else.

Foxy and Sierra madly dashed toward the cover of the trees…

Tap tap tap tap tap!

THUD!

"Sama! No headbutts!"

"Sorry…"

But the door remained unopened. "Foxy! You there? HELLO?" The mutant had got to her. He knew Foxy was innocent, but was the wolf-tailed human? He had thought, before he knew for sure that she was new, that the wolf-tail thing was something else. But she was the mutant he was searching for. He opened the door, worried about what he might find…nothing in the lounge room, or any other room, Sama was again fossicking in the fridge and got a stern 'no!' from Bluehawk, who saw the dining table. A newspaper was unopened on the table in front of a half-finished bowl of cereal. Sama glanced furtively at the bowl, Hawk said 'no!' again…they had found the report…but what the heck was going on? It could have been perfectly innocent, but then the breakfast bowl completely demolished that idea. The apartment was left unlocked with no-one in it, too. Suddenly Bluehawk realized something he had only noticed subconsciously, and walked out the door a few paces, looking right. The fire exit door was open, and far out the door he could see the North Forest, the one which had been half-destroyed by lava flows…that was where they were. "Come, Sama!"

Foxy and Sierra made their way as deep into the forest as they could, being spotted on the way by a cloaked figure, which made sure they were out of sight before pursuing in the general direction. If he were hostile, he'd have a radio, but he wasn't hostile…Sierra would recognize him instantly, surely. But about halfway through the day the clouds began to close in, thickening, until raindrops finally started their descent. Foxy cursed that she never checked the weather…

"There's a cave over there, c'mon, quick!" Sierra pointed, Foxy sighed. But it was fortunate, because as soon as they got in the rain came down in torrents, removing visibility. "We won't be found easy now." Foxy shrugged.

Bluehawk grabbed Sama's arm and ran as fast as he could through the trees, using the red emerald for extra strength. But the rain completely soaked off his attempt at pursuit, the visibility was so low that he had to slow down, and that made him and Sama get cold and wet. "I see cave, we hide please?" Sama pleaded. Bluehawk nodded slowly, water dripping from his chin. They approached the huge pile of rock and greeted the dark shade happily, the shelter from the rain, but no sooner had Hawk begun to shake off the water than was he seeing complete black and didn't even know it.

His eyes finally began to open lazily, and Hawk went to rub his head. "Anyone get the number on that cruiser?" He mumbled. Something shifted in the darkness, making a soft noise. Sama sat at his right, eyes open and blinking, still dripping slightly, and that's when Hawk realised he was cold and wet. "You've come to!"

Bluehawk whirled around suddenly, almost jumping right up. Sierra. In moments he had kicked upwards and caught his flipping gun from the air. "Get back mutant!" he cried. The figure of Sierra moved out of the shadows.

"If I was so hostile I wouldn't have left you with your emerald."

"Where's Foxy?" Hawk shouted, getting right to the chase.

"A bit further in, looking for a secondary exit." Sierra shrugged. "Long passage."

Hawk's suspicion was eased slightly, but not destroyed. Sama looked up at him like a child who had been interrupted from his toys by a clanging noise and wanted his parent to investigate.

"How…do I know I can trust you?"

Suddenly a crack of a door in the back wall began to light up, and Foxy ducked through casually with a small flame on a stick. "Oh, Hawk!" She gave a start.

"What's going on?" Hawk queried, a tone of impatience.

"Sierra's on the run from scientists, that's all we know."

Bluehawk gave a scowl of mistrust.

"All I remember is a few images." Sierra said sadly. "I remember being in a stasis tank and escaping because of a fault in the tranquilization…not enough or something…next thing I can recall, I'm running through this forest as fast as I can, then I'm waking up and Foxy is bringing me home, and you seem to have pieced together the rest."

Bluehawk scowled again. "I've been hired to bring you back into custody, but employers aren't my main concern. Who's to say that you won't snap-"(Bluehawk snapped his fingers)"-at any moment, start rampaging through innocents, however little you think you will?"

Sierra went to speak.

"And if you do, might I add, I've faced a mutant before only days ago, I can handle you." Sama stood up and walked to Hawk's side slowly, confusedly, trapped between what he was already told and loyalty to his leader and legal guardian. Sierra raised her eyebrows.

"You're right, you can't completely trust me…and neither can I you. But if you're fighting to protect innocents, then help me out as long as I'm innocent and by all means take me down when I'm not!"

Foxy looked between them, ready to jump in the middle at the first sign of a fight.

"Good, now that's all sorted out-"

"Brilliantly said, Sierra." Exclaimed a new voice, male, from the cave entrance. A cloaked figure strode in through the door, Bluehawk backed up slightly, ready to aim and shoot at the first sign of trouble…but Sierra was stirring in some kind of memory…suddenly her face lit up.

"JASON!" She screamed, Hawk blocked his ears against the high-pitched squeals of delight as she ripped off the cloak and the teenage boy underneath tried to grab it back, complaining that it was cold. Then Hawk saw. Another wolf tail. Foxy grinned.

"I see you two know each other."

Bluehawk seemed to be weighing things up in his mind, go for money and prevent risks of their madness, or help to hide the innocents? Mere hours ago he had been worried for Foxy's safety, but Sierra had been so natural when explaining her situation…either she was genuine or should have taken up a career in acting…he made up his mind for a moment, went back into thought, then made it again. They were innocents for now.

It was a few hours before the rain finally began to let up, and the afternoon sun made the outdoors look very green. But Bluehawk was deep in thought, not really noticing. Scientists…stasis tubes…that meant they were highly advanced scientists then, but then again there was some kind of fault which allowed these two to escape. The Secret Service didn't know who they were working for, why should Bluehawk even trust the source? He wouldn't get paid at this rate, but the pay wasn't as important as upholding peace, right? Besides, if they ever got off their backsides and checked their sources…before he could even think to walk outside, everyone was running into the cave. "Sama! Get in here!" Then he saw why…a huge shadow of an airship was moving over the forest…and it looked so familiar…

Sierra whimpered as she ducked into the shadows.

"I just hope they don't have thermal scanners…" Moaned Jason.

Bluehawk murmured something under his breath…it was almost like a chimera cruiser, but not quite. It was a fair bit smaller, and its shape was a fair bit different, and of course it had jets out the bottom, while chimeras always used hovering devices. It was dropping smaller ships, which headed straight down into the forest to land and fan out…could so many people be after the mutants? Bounty Hunters, no doubt. SoaH City was full of them. "Stay here, everyone. I'm doing some reconnaissance-"

"You mean telling them where we are?" Sierra grunted.

"If I was really still after you, don't you think I'd try to get the job done on my own?"

"Shut up, both of you!" Foxy shouted suddenly, shocking both of them and they looked at her, her eyes raging between them. "And stay here, Hawk. Anything could go wrong."

And it was. Hovering bikes and assorted cars were slushing through the mud to a halt right in front of the cave.

"What is it you want?" Bluehawk stormed out of the cave, and was almost blasted back by the loudness of the megaphone.

"We know the mutants are there. Both of them. Out of the way, all three of you!" Saberz indicated to Hawk, and Foxy and Sama who were following him out.

"You fool, Saberz." Bluehawk growled, stepping forward and further into the way. "I had a friend once…but he was experimented on by human scientists and went completely mad."

Saberz laughed as more hunters moved into position around and behind the cars, pointing guns straight at the trio. Bluehawk suddenly realized how little he had realized the passing of time…it was nearly night. "Exactly. He went mad. Now hand them over before they do the same-"

"WENT MAD BECAUSE PEOPLE LIKE YOU WERE FOOLISH ENOUGH TO JUDGE HIM!!" Bluehawk snapped right out of control, breathing heavily through clenched teeth and a huffing black nose. Saberz was taken aback slightly. "Besides, I seem to recall that you were a similar experiment yourself!" There were murmurings from around the group of gun-toters. Bluehawk had struck a weak point.

"That's different! I was created, they were-"

"How is it different?" Hawk shot back, before Saberz could finish. "Both with modified DNA. Both owe their powers to a team of scientists…both being pursued by those teams." Bluehawk gave a sly smile. Saberz looked nervously around the gunmen, who remained somewhat perplexed, but were ready to shoot at any time. Suddenly there were gunshots from behind them…a car with flashing lights suddenly shot up into the air, bursting into flames as it flipped over sideways. The next one was suddenly frozen over, encased in ice before the first one hit it, slid off and set fire to the next…there was a chain reaction of orange flashes as the gunmen all fled in different directions, Saberz remaining with the megaphone and a sickeningly shocked expression as he ran forward as far as he could from the flames, finally collapsing into the mud when the force of hot wind and orange light subsided. And standing behind the wreckage, different coloured pistols in hand…Bluehawk raised a fist with a 'woot!'

"Urthdigger! Timing couldn't be better!" Hawk grinned, Foxy looking stunned, Sama looking as confused as usual. The orange flickers of the flaming car bottoms on the trees distracted Hawk slightly as he realized, again, how quickly the sky was darkening…wait, that was partially the ship with the flashing light on the bottom, making another pass…Suddenly Bluehawk thought. "Saberz!"

"Sir, it's okay, I have them in custody, and…guys? NO! It's all fine! It's under control!"

Urthdigger stopped in his tracks between the cars. "What's going on?"

Saberz had a sudden change of heart, that's what's going on! Hawk thought, gazing up at the ship…the chimera cruiser. Sierra and Jason rushed out to what promised to be a battle scene, Foxy and Sama greeted them with vividly scared looks through the darkness, but the humans caught only silhouettes…and suddenly green light shot out and enswarmed them all from above…

It was an absolutely huge room, large metal shapes, all in groups of the same, scattered all over, in various sizes. Except for a straight route from the centre, where everyone involved but Saberz stood, looking around. Sierra gasping in bucket-loads of flashbacks. Jason trying to comfort her. Sama trembling at the knees, his hands over the gap between his legs as if trying to hide something. Foxy looking around in wonder. Urthdigger glancing around calmly, but with a hint of angry determination to get out as soon as he spotted a flaw in the floor plan. But then the door, which appeared miniscule from the centre of the huge hanger, suddenly slid upwards…a black hedgehog with purple-striped spines and the back of his ear purple like a scar strode toward them, followed by two similar creatures, in different colours and uniform of some kind. Lirash, the one with purple spines, glared at Bluehawk first, then at Sierra and Jason.

"A mighty fine catch!" He presented them to the guards, who made a weird noise which Bluehawk decided was laughter. "We get the tests AND the master's worst enemy back!"

"Tell 'the master' that the feeling is mutual." Bluehawk growled, absolute hatred in his tone.

"Why should I when you can do it yourself?" Lirash scoffed. "Oh, and I don't think he wants you to have that." Suddenly the chaos emerald zipped into Lirash's hand. "Subjects first." Sierra gave a despairing moan as guns appeared on her at all sides. Jason glared at each and every one of the five chimera guards. They marched off back toward the door as two more guards started pushing Bluehawk, Foxy, Sama and Urthdigger along. Urth mouthed an idea to him, a spell he could use. Bluehawk shook his head. He had a better idea than to have Urth fall asleep when he was most needed.

Bluehawk left his fellow fighters to be shunted into Bloodhawk's usual 'throne room'. It wasn't on the same ship, but the layout was barely changed, it all looked just as the one in which he had escaped through the window out in space. The chair whirled around just like last time, Bloodhawk having hands clasped on his chest, twiddling his fingers, wearing those red sunglasses. "Persistent one, Mykol."

"Cowardly one, Stryke." Hawk retorted with the best he could be bothered to waste on his brother. "Yeah, that's right. I picked up the name tag." Hawk frowned angrily.

"I see."

"So, you still need others to do your bidding before you try to do things? What kinda name is 'Stryke', anyway? Try something original, like Gigyas or Mr. Cheese."

Bluehawk whirled around as the door whizzed open again, and the dark blue armadillo, Darkness, walked in. "They are safely tranquilized." He bowed. Bluehawk saw it all come together.

"So! I already figured the black shiny guys were allies to chimeras, but what's this? Chimeras have been using them to do your bidding? They probably captured those two humans you-"

"ENOUGH!" Stryke bellowed, standing now. It was working…sorta. Stryke pulled out the red emerald, and then in turn the dark blue one.

"I can blast you to your death right now, with as much pain as I desire. Darkness here will hold you down, maybe even toss you out the window again."

Bluehawk grinned. "Last I recall, it was me who did the throwing there." Stryke fired a warning blast of chaos energy at the door, it bounced off and hit the bottom of the chair that he had been sitting on, breaking the stand and toppling it. Stryke gritted his teeth in rage, knowing that that was his own fault.

But Hawk was surprised what happened next-Stryke picked the smart way out. He pressed a small button on his wrist pad, guards immediately ran in through the opening door and grabbed Hawk by the shoulders, dragging him out with no way to attack. "Allow me a few minutes before I see anyone else today, Darkness." Stryke waved him away with his hand. "Send the subjects to the lab and place the other three in the laser cells under heavy guard…make sure you check up on the weapon, too…be sure that it is well fed…" There was a tone in Stryke's voice which Hawk didn't like at all.

The two guards dragging Hawk said nothing, although they hadn't yet bothered to try searching him. They must be planning to do that when we get to the others. Hawk thought to himself. Suddenly one of them looked to the other and they both stopped…they were saying something to each other…then suddenly they started snorting and laughing. They were planning something…Then suddenly Hawk was being lifted…and he saw the spaghetti of wires that weren't ceiling-ed over, wires of every colour to go with the metallic red of the walls…and they were buzzing. He was being lifted up further, further…then it felt slightly slack as one consulted the other, perhaps about lowering him…that's when he raised his arms and grabbed the wires with his gloved hands, kicking at both sides, feeling his shoes connecting with faces as they reeled backwards from shock…electric shock. The gun whipped out of the kicking foot and blood was smeared on the already red walls from the holes in two chimera heads. Hawk cringed at the echoing bang and ran for the door to which he was being dragged.

Foxy screamed with shock and Urthdigger cringed violently as a door slammed open and four gunshots echoed around the room, piercing the nearby doors and emanating through the corridors. Bluehawk lowered his gun slowly, the silence settling in. Foxy and Urthdigger finally lifted their hands from their ears. "Maybe I should have used the silencer. Where are the mutants?"

Urthdigger's long face crumpled slightly. "They're in stasis…" Foxy moaned. "If we try to break their tubes they'll be teleported to the next cruiser."

"Let's get out now, then." Bluehawk looked up at the door, then down at the four Chimeran puddles of blood…two of them lay face down, one on his back and the other slumped against a wall, a trail of blood streaking down the wall above him…then everyone cringed as the ear-splitting, tearing of metal echoed through the room and the wall opposite the door tore itself in half, splitting as if it were sewn with light threads…and Hawk saw why in the darkness behind it…two glowing cyan eyes…pointing downward in evil rage…bodied by a yellow glow… "Darkness." Hawk snarled.

"I was not always this…" Eagle claimed, walking out slowly, his cyan eyes flashing of darker blue.

"You two, go. Get out of the ship!" Bluehawk called behind him, seconds later hearing hurried footsteps on steel.

"The old 'I'll-keep-him-talking' tactic?" Eagle retorted, taking slow strides toward Bluehawk, who was stepping back fearfully. "Ha…you should know me better than that…" at once he attempted a strike at Hawk's stomach with an icy fist and was blinded by white light…corridors down, Foxy looked back at the reflections on the steel walls and floor, which were slowly turning to violet as they ran past a startled chimera talking on a headset. Bluehawk looked down, Darkness looked up as his own light began to fade into invisibility, as Bluehawk's fur glowed a brilliant shiny violet. Hawk studied his own arms, not quite understanding, but Darkness knew full well.

"You have been exposed to high quantities of your element." He said, fading even further into the air, bending light around himself. "The energy is absorbed, rather than destructive…this will be enjoyable…"

Hawk hovered back to the ground, extending his arms outward and releasing electricity into the steel floor, which began shooting it straight back out in randomised places just as Foxy and Urthdigger passed an insulator panel. So, he had the power to absorb electricity…how much energy was Sama building up, having withstood an explosion and a fiery pit? It explained why Phantom was so powerful sometimes, he was in constant contact with the element that chose him…Eagle was suddenly taken aback as a huge blast of electricity reached him, sending him hurtling back through the hole he created with a crash, and right through the other side of the dark room. Hawk waited silently, not even lowering his outstretched fist…Eagle didn't seem to be through there any more-then suddenly he was receiving punches all over from an invisible foe, and understood…Eagle had claimed to be the master of stealth so long ago…this was why…Hawk received one final punch of power and slammed straight into the wall behind him, dissolving as he contacted into glowing particles…Darkness stood, puzzled, and stepped cautiously toward where Hawk had disappeared…he felt a slight prickling in his feet, like electrical energy…Then suddenly Hawk appeared out of the steel as if it were air with an electrical flying drill punch, hitting Eagle into the air before grabbing his leg and swinging him at the cold hard steel floor with a slam. "Had enough?" Hawk's sunglasses glinted in the shine from the reflection of his own light.

The invisible Eagle, detected by the noise of his footsteps, brushed himself off. "If that's your all…"