This is a short one, sorry, but next one will be longer, I promise!

Chapter 7: Sinking feeling.

It was late in the afternoon and the sun was hiding already, an orange and yellow sky indicated it was sunset. Connor walked beside Amaya, animatedly talking with her. They had been all day shopping and at the same time, touring Milennia Town. Since they arrived they hadn't had time to do so, at least not as they wanted, a now that the kids weren't with them and they were all together, why not take that chance?

It was a slow walk on the slope, which was the safest route to take to go back to HQ with new stuff. They only had to follow the tracks of the old train that used to ran through it, as Barry, who they met again today, instructed. Connor had been on a good mood all day... or week. It seemed as if the team mostly forgot about the whole betrayal thing and moved on, but not entirely, as sometimes they doubted him on certain decisions.

Right now though, that was at the back of his mind. He stared amusedly at Amaya. "I remember! Foxwolf wouldn't stop jumping on us!"

Amaya put a hand over her stomach while the other held the shopping bags. "He wouldn't stop being scared of rats! I wonder what they did to scare him so much." She said.

Connor wiped away a tear. "I wonder that too..." They were talking about a mission in the under tunnels of the Tarabiscoville a year ago.

He noticed Amaya smiling at him and pinched him on the side with her elbow. "You and Federico had been pretty close lately, pretty close." She bumped into his side. "Want to explain?"

Connor rolled his eyes with a smile. "We are nothing, Amaya, we'll never be it. I thought I explained to you why."

"I know he's your ex, but sometimes feelings don't go away."

Connor stopped for a second and looked at her. "There weren't feelings for starters, there were..." He looked away. "...other things... but never feelings."

"So these other things-" Amaya tapped with her finger a purple spot on Connor's neck. "Are still there?" She eyed him amusedly.

Connor covered his neck with his jacket. "N-No..."

"Hah! Caught you red-handed." She laughed. Connor pushed her playfully, carefully not to throw her down the slope. Maybe he had involved himself with Federico a few times since the betrayal incident, but they didn't really mean anything more than fun.

Connor accidentally dropped his bag and as he kneeled down to grab it, someone bumped into him. He looked up to see Greg. "Sorry." Said the blonde then quickly looked back down to his cellphone. He had come with them but didn't say a word at all, only when something he liked caught his eye.

Connor stood up and exchanged a glance with Amaya. Greg had been trying really hard this last week to be useful on something, none of the kids shared any power or quality he could help on, and he's been feeling rather useless. Connor smiled back awkwardly. "You'll surely find something to do tonight."

Greg looked up and took a few seconds to process what the brunette said. He shook his head. "O-Oh, yeah, I hope so." They kept walking silently until the tracks buried themselves under the overgrown grass. They carefully descended into the clearing, heading towards HQ.

Greg still used his cellphone and Connor curiously walked beside him, taking a quick glance at the screen. "Bandicoot facts?" He smiled.

Greg looked at him. "There's surely something I can do, and I wanna figure it out before tonight, I don't like standing on one side while everyone is being helpful." He explained. They kept walking silently.

"Well, these could actually be useful." Connor burst out suddenly. Greg only nodded, looking only at the screen.

Connor bit his lip and slightly blushed. Why do I even try? He trotted ahead with Amaya and stood in front of the door. He put his finger over the lent and after a few minutes, Crash opened the door, his eyes bright.

"Connor's back!"

"Uh, hey, I exist too!" Amaya said, and Crash and Connor laughed. They accompanied Crash inside, and as soon as Connor set foot on Crash's Room, he was knocked off his feet.

"You're back!" Black Ear and Cotton exclaimed in unison.

"We missed you." Cotton said. "You were gone all day!"

Greg and Amaya looked at Connor from above with an amused smile, he sat up and brushed Cotton's head. "I was doing some shopping, for you."

"For us?!" Black Ear burst. "What is it?" She eyed him excited.

Connor faced away. "I don't know."

The kids pouted. "Come on, tell us!" Crash pleaded.

Connor shook his head. "Let's see how your training is going and maybe I'll give you what I bought." The kids protested, and as soon as Connor stood up, Badgerclaw entered with a freaked out expression that faded away as soon as he saw the kids. He tapped the side of his head where the ear was located.

"Snowfox, Foxwolf, they are here." He looked at the trio. "They slipped away from training," Then turned to the kids. "We were sick worried about you!"

The kids only snickered but Connor cast them a glance, he arched an eyebrow and they shifted in their places. "That's not something we do, apologize."

"Sorry, Badgerclaw..." They apologized and Connor nodded.

"Go with him and wait for us outside, and never do that again." They nodded and left beside Badgerclaw.

Gekko sat on the log, watching the others help the kids with their powers. He had tried all day to search for something he could do, and clearly, failing miserably. He put his hand under his jaw and sighed.

He looked over at Foxwolf and Owlette, helping Black Ear with her Caracal Roar and Caracal Sight. Black Ear was a handful one, she was super energetic compared to her friends and mostly ended up doing things her way. She reminded him of Catboy when he was younger... how he hated when he did all that, but such memory made him feel warm and he smiled; Things were great back then.

He was startled by Catboy jumping up on the tree and shortly after followed by Crash. "Excellent!" Catboy praised. Then both of them kept jumping on the branches.

Badgerclaw, from the ground, shout: "Use your claws to get a better grip on the branch! Use your tail to balance you!" He followed them as they moved, and Gekko followed with his gaze until he heard Cotton using her powers.

Snowfox used her Frost Shield to protect herself from Cotton's Chinchilla Dust power and then melted it once the dust froze. She approached the little one. "You're doing it so much better, you almost got me this time, Fluff." She ruffled her fur and Cotton laughed.

Gekko felt emptiness on his chest as he saw how well they all got along. He sat there, watching everybody, but suddenly he opened his eyes in realization. Is this how Catboy felt? Loneliness? For the past week, he's been trying to forget what happened and move on, either picking small conversations or trying to support the other. Of course, it wasn't easy, and most of their exchanges were awkward, but it progressed.

Suddenly the ground started shaking and after a flash of blue light, a part of the ground sank into a hole, swallowing several pine trees and logs. Gekko reached out of its way just in time, but unfortunately, the pine tree Crash was standing on and the piece of ground Cotton was practicing on sank, swallowing the kids with them.

"Crash! Cotton!" Catboy cried. He ran instantly to where the kids were swallowed, but Gekko noticed that if he did, he was gonna be sucked in too. He used his Gekko Muscles and caught Catboy on time. "What are you doing?! Let me go! I need to help them!"

"You don't help them being down there with them!" Gekko pointed out, struggling to maintain him. Once the rest was safe, they ran to the border of the hole and looked down. It was pretty deep, and now that it was raining slightly, muddy as well. Gekko kept Catboy into safety as he leaned down in the hole.

"Kids?! Are you there?!" He was obviously freaking out.

"We are fine!" It was Cotton.

Relief ran through his body and Gekko could feel Catboy relaxing. "Don't worry, we are getting you out!" Gekko said and heard faintly agreements from deep down. He put a hand on Catboy's shoulder, he knew how much he cared for them. "We are getting them out soon, don't worry."

Catboy looked at him gratefully and backed up. He looked at the rest. "How are we getting them out?"

Gekko watched as they discussed different ideas of how to get them, but drifted his gaze as Black Ear sat near a pine. He walked up to her. "Are you worried about them?"

She nodded. "Yeah... What if they are hurt and we don't notice?" She grabbed a pine cone and angrily tossed it into the hole. "I wish I was strong enough to pull a tree out, that way I could help them up."

Gekko opened his eyes in realization. "It could reach down, and they could climb it." He said, staring blankly ahead. He shook his head with a smile. "Black Ear, you're a genius!"

She looked confused. "I am?" Then she smiled. "I am!"

Gekko ran past the others, gaining confused glances. He watched all the trees around carefully. They all were similar, tall, which was good, but thin, which didn't help at all, as it risked the branch breaking in two as they climbed. His eyes laid on a tall pine tree that was mostly out of leaves and that was thicker than the rest. The tree, sticking half-way out of the ground, moved slightly to where the hole was, and Gekko picked that one as he thought it would be the best choice. He ran to it and hugged it.

"Gekko, what are you doing?" Snowfox asked.

Gekko struggled to get it out. "I'm going to hold the tree down so they can climb it!" He explained. He couldn't move the tree farther as something was pulling it back. He looked back and saw the roots being pulled with the tree. He was running out of air; it was heavier than he expected.

Owlette flew up to the branch and helped him hold the tree, flapping her wings furiously. Catboy saw the struggle and determination on Gekko's eyes, so he, Foxwolf, Badgerclaw, and Snowfox ran beside Gekko and Catboy looked at him determined. "What do we do?"

"Untie the roots!" Gekko instructed as he hugged the tree even stronger, which made his chest hurt a lot. "Badgerclaw, Snowfox, cut the roots, your claws are stronger and larger than Catboy's and Foxwolf's." He looked at them. "No offense."

"None took." Foxwolf, preparing his own claws.

Gekko caught the tree before it fell over them. "You and Catboy dig them out, it'll be easier for Badgerclaw and Snowfox to cut them, they are too big to preserve." Both of them nodded. "At my call, ready?" They prepared and nodded. Gekko held the tree stronger with Owlette's help. "Dig!"

Catboy and Foxwolf dug furiously around the roots, leaving space around them so Badgerclaw and Snowfox could cut them. Catboy went for sides, while Foxwolf dug them under. "Clear!" Catboy shout.

"Cut them, now!" Badgerclaw's claws glowed neon purple and he started to cut them. Snowfox's glowed neon cyan and the roots froze and she broke them easily.

Gekko didn't think of how heavy the tree would be once the roots were cleared, and he loose balance, leading the tree in the wrong direction. Terror surged through him. I'm gonna be crushed!

He heard steps hurriedly running toward him. "Super Caracal Roar!"

The huge wave of sound that Black Ear produced was strong enough to lead the tree in the direction Gekko wanted. He had trouble leading it down the hole, but with Badgerclaw's strength and the others leading the tree as well, he managed to pull it down. "Crash, Cotton, move!"

He didn't know if they did manage to move out of the way as the tree touched the ground. He saw their suits glow and he was relieved they were close to the wall of the hole. Catboy tried to climb down the tree but found it was too wet to be climbed down. Gekko held his breath for a moment and used his Lizard Grip to stick to the tree, casting a reassuring glance at Catboy before climbing down.

The two kids were wet and full of mud, and when Gekko stepped in what he thought was the ground, he found his leg be swallowed by the mud up to the knee. "Damn." He said and hurried to the kids. They looked shaken to their bones. Gekko holds Crash up first. "I'm gonna climb him up and then come down for you, alright? The three of us in the tree might not be safe."

Cotton nodded and followed Gekko, waiting at the foot of the branch while Gekko climbed with Crash. Catboy held a hand and took Crash with him, and Gekko climbed down once more. He took Cotton with him, but midway up, the ground shook again before lightning struck and in desperation for the little girl, he loose grip on the branch and slipped on the side.

Cotton was scared and gripped onto the branch as if it depended on her life. "Gekko, I'm scared! I want Catboy!" He was hanging from a branch on the side with one hand and the other had a big piece of wood stuck across it.

"Everything will be alright, Cotton!" He said though he wasn't sure how accurate it was; he was slipping. "You just need to be brave," He thought of something quickly. "Like Catboy!"

She looked at him and then up, then back at him again. She loosed her grip and started carefully slipping down to where he was, she reached a hand to him. He didn't get to tell her to put herself safe before the branch broke in half.

"No!" She cried. Her suit lighted up and she jumped after him.

Gekko feared for a moment both of them would fall to their end and was astonished when she stuck to the branch and held him tight with her hands. "You've got Super Grip!" He exclaimed astounded. They climbed up on the tree again and headed up, Gekko with his Lizard Grip and Cotton with her Chinchilla Pads.

Catboy hugged her once she was on safety and Gekko smiled, painfully holding his hand. Catboy noticed and helped him up. "Let's go, you need to get that treated." He nodded and they all headed back to HQ.

Greg sat on the ground while Connor carefully cleaned his hand. Everything was quiet around the room. Unità was sleeping beside Amaya, both snoring calmly. Badgerclaw and Foxwolf were with Hope on his HQ Room and Silver was currently giving Vita a bath.

"This might hurt a bit," Connor warned him.

Greg gritted his teeth in pain and said. "Do what you gotta do."

Greg closed his eyes as Connor started to pull out the piece of wood he had across his hand. He breathed curtly and once Connor was done, he grunted. "Stupid branch."

Connor glared amusedly at him then used the gag to clean up all the blood coming from his hand. Luckily Greg had instructed him how to pull it out, so no more damage was done. "You are still the bravest of us all when it comes to wounds," Connor said while covering Greg's hand with bandages.

Greg looked at the gags full of blood beside Connor. "Last time I checked you didn't even flinch when Amaya did you stitches."

Connor grimaced. "I was... holding back." Both of them laughed and Connor finished wrapping Greg's hand. Greg looked at him. Maybe this is the best time...

He took a deep breath. "Connor," Connor looked at him, expectantly. "I just, thanks." Greg looked down. "Even after how I treated you, you keep saving my ass." He laughed awkwardly. "You're still my-" Greg didn't get to finish as Foxwolf appeared on the room. He glanced at Connor and smiled.

"Ready?"

Connor looked at Greg and his hand, and Greg nodded, disappointed. "Where are you going?" He asked defeated, but curious about what the other two were gonna do.

Connor, as he walked towards Foxwolf, said. "We are gonna check the hole the kids fell in, maybe there's something that tells us what caused it." He stopped beside the pink-eyed boy and eyed Greg. "Wanna come?"

Greg looked at his injured hand and smiled. "Nah, I'll stay behind. You go and have fun." He winked.

Federico only went down and Connor rolled his eyes incredulous. "I can't believe you nor Amaya." He said while Greg laughed. He waved and the other followed the pink hero out.

Greg sighed. He wanted to apologize, but something always got in the way, it's been like that for a week. He wanted at least one moment alone with Connor so he could say sorry. Nothing would let him, and he was getting really annoyed. Why was the world against it?

Was there something else he had to do before he could say sorry?

Outside HQ, the sky was covered by passing clouds that turned the color of the sky into a more pinkish color. Connor, now as Catboy, walked through the forest beside Foxwolf. They had decided to explore the hole on the ground that formed two hours ago. He hated the wet feeling that the forest created, the humid air, it made him feel unsettled.

"Cats hate water, no wonder you like them so much." Foxwolf, who brushed his arm with his long fur, joked.

Catboy let out a purr of amusement. "That's not why I like them, y'know?"

"Yeah, talk me into it," Foxwolf said sarcastically. Both of them laughed and Foxwolf asked. "What do you think it caused the ground to collapse?"

Catboy tapped his chin. "I'm not sure..."

Foxwolf looked thoughtful. "Maybe an earthquake? Everything trembled before the collapse."

"I thought about it too," Catboy stated, he stopped as they reached the border of the hole. "but nothing in HQ was damaged and it seems as if it was only this portion of the forest." He pointed around, where only a few meters into the forest were damaged and the other looked as always.

Catboy looked down onto the hole and saw trees and rocks and a lot of logs inside. The other wall of the hole has a weirdly shaped stripe on the middle, which to Catboy looked like a bolt of lightning, or as if someone pulled it apart. He didn't want to think about it, but if this was the possibility, someone else needed to know. "Maybe it wasn't natural."

Foxwolf arched an eyebrow confused, and looked at where Catboy had his eyes on, then opened his eyes worriedly. "Are you implying someone could've done it?"

"It could be... there was a blue light before everything went down." He looked around. "Literally."

"There's no way a regular human could've done this, Catboy. Not even us, and we have powers. If a person really did it, they need to have a lot of power to pull something like this." Foxwolf noticed the sick expression on Catboy's face, and he understood where all the concern came from. He lazed his tail with Catboy's and quietly said. "There's no way she's here, Catboy, no one but us know about this. She can't reach us here."

"But... but-"

Foxwolf cuddled Catboy with his mane. "There's no way, we would've spotted her a while ago. This is an open place, it's not so easy to hide in here."

Catboy sighed. "You're right..." He shook his head. "Sorry, it's just that... I don't know what would I do if she ever reaches the kids. I don't think I'll ever forgive myself if she ever harms them."

"She won't, you don't need to worry about that." Catboy sighed and nodded, and watched the hole once more. He noticed that behind a rock, there was a black hole, it wasn't Black Spot's black holes surely... Foxwolf followed his gaze. "There's a-"

"There's a black hole."

They looked at each other and used the tree from before to climb down; now that it wasn't so wet, it was easier to stick the claws in it and not slip away. Once they reached the bottom, both of them carefully approached the black hole on the wall, prepared for anything that could happen. They both jumped defensively and prepared to attack, only to be welcomed to the entrance of a tunnel. An underground tunnel.

"Oh." It's all they could say. Catboy was about to head back to the three, but he was stopped when a hand grabbed his. He looked at Foxwolf. "Huh?"

"Aren't you curious to know where it leads?" He tilted his head and entered the tunnel. Catboy followed him closely.

Once inside, his suits glowed, revealing that the walls and ceiling of the tunnel were made of rocks, like a path that was meant to be there. They kept walking for some long minutes, and at some point, they reached a huge cave that was full of crystals of different colors, most of them of different shades of orange. They dropped their jaws at the sight. "What is this place?" Foxwolf asked, looking around amazed.

"I don't know." Catboy walked around the crystal, looking for an explanation when he spotted a wood sign in beside a crystal. He kneeled down to grab it and read: Crash Caves. Catboy blinked. Crash Caves? That is not a coincidence.

"There's another path." Foxwolf pointed as he stood beside another huge cave. Catboy trotted to him and they both followed the tunnel for other long minutes before feeling the wind in their faces, which carried an earthy scent with it, probably due to the rain. They burst out of the tunnel, only to be welcomed by the sound of rushing water.

Catboy spotted the edge of the ravine and a bridge that crossed it to the other side. When he spun around, he saw two other huge tunnel entrances besides the one they just got out that were similar. "We need to tell the others, but not now, tomorrow," Catboy said. "Now let's get back to the hole."

Foxwolf stopped him. "But, we already know something other than a natural disaster caused it, what else is can we find?"

Catboy looked at the tunnels and then at Foxwolf. "Do you think whoever caused it used these tunnels?" He looked at the bridge that crossed the ravine.

"Maybe, but who could it be? Who else could know about these tunnels?"

An idea hit Catboy's mind. "Someone who's been here for the longest." He gritted his teeth angrily. "Someone who holds a grudge against us and that knows dangerous people."

The realization hit Foxwolf. "Bleeder."

Catboy nodded. "Exactly, he knows we reside here, and he knows how we look. Of course, it's him." He started to walk ahead. "Let's go, we have everything we need."

"Wait." Catboy looked at Foxwolf. The other one approached him, carefully. "We have everything we need, what's the hurry?" Catboy arched an eyebrow when Foxwolf circled him and brushed his chin with his tail. "And we just discovered a bunch of tunnels that could be... useful... to us in many ways..." He walked in the main tunnel. "Don't you wanna find out those ways?" He asked with a desire-laced voice.

Catboy arched an eyebrow, interested now that he knew what the other meant. He walked slowly to his side. "Alright, lead the way."

They both disappeared in the depths of the tunnels.

Hope you enjoyed and don't forget to review! They mean a lot to me :D!

Have a nice week :)