"Doggie! You all right?"
"I'll be fine, Chief." Doggie said. His friends and teammates, Sunt and Rufus were holding him up. His leg was burning with pain, having broken it during the last mission, but he didn't let it bother him. "I'm just going to need some time off to recover."
The gray dog nodded. "Alright, Rufus and Sunt, take Doggie to the medical wing for the medical attention, then take him to his room."
"Sure thing, Tank, leave it to us." Rufus said, then he and Sunt carried Doggie off.
It didn't take him long to realize where he was when he came back into reality. The constant beep and the whirl of machinery told him he was once again in the medical wing of the Dekabase. As he opened his eyes, he found himself in one of the smaller medical rooms. His head was spinning as he pushed himself into a sitting position, finding the room empty. Lifting one hand to rub his eyes, he wonders how long he had been in the room.
Then he remembered. He and Yasu both completed the Solar Eclipse. He here was now, realizing that they had done it perfectly, otherwise he knew he wouldn't be sitting in the medical bed. In his semi daze, he didn't hear the door open or anyone walking in until a leather hand was placed on his shoulder. Turning his head slightly, he spots Jasmine smiling warmly beside him.
"How are you feeling, Boss?" she asks in a whisper.
"Like I was rammed by a bullet train." He admits, his whole body was starting to ache as he gathered his senses. "How long have I been out?"
"Four days," Jasmine said, "Yasu was up two days ago, and Sunt… I believe was his name, called up yesterday to talk with you, we were ask to have you contact him when you came to."
"Sunt called…" Doggie muttered, swinging his legs so they hung of the bed, "…I think I'll talk with him alone in my room… I still don't feel ready to work yet."
"Alright, I'll let the team know." Jasmine said as she watched Doggie stand up. He swayed a bit, but gathered his footing and picked up his uniform. "Take it easy." Jasmine said. Doggie nodded as he walked out of the room.
After a short walk, Doggie closed the door to his quarters behind him. Tossing his uniform onto his bed, he walks over to the computer and contacts his old friend. While he waits for the message to connect, he rubs his temples.
"Anubis Branch, how can I help you?" of course, operators.
"I'd like to speak with the chief." Doggie said.
"Name and place?"
"Earth Branch, Doggie Kruger."
"Connecting, please wait." After a minute, a visual came up. The black dog seemed happy to see Doggie.
"Bro!" he said. Doggie nodded tiredly, his teammates always considered him a brother. "What happen to you? Your team said you were recovering from an attack."
"I still am, but I was out for four days because of how the move, Solar Eclipse, works." Doggie said, sitting back.
"Solar Eclipse? As in that killer move?" Sunt's face held a look of shock.
"It can be done without killing the users." Doggie said, "otherwise I wouldn't be talking with you right now."
"Damn, man, you're always proving the impossible." Sunt said.
"It seems proving the impossible is my specialty." Doggie said. "Now what's the reason you called?"
"Oh, you do know Kris' birthday is coming up, I was hoping you could help me think of what to give her." Sunt said rapidly. It took Doggie a second to catch what he said.
"Aren't you dating her?" Doggie asked.
"Yeah, but she doesn't want to go on any date or anything, and she doesn't want any flowers or jewelry." Sunt said.
"How about a team picnic?" Doggie said, "I remembered she loved it when we all went to the park and had a big ol' picnic on her birthday." Sunt remained quiet as he thought of it. "Don't think to hard, Sunt, it'll just hurt your brain."
"Right, thanks for the idea, I forgot about the picnic." Sunt said, "Now you rest up, you look like you've puked all night."
"Thanks for the unnecessary reminder." Doggie growled, Sunt laughed as he cut the communications. Weakly, Doggie gets up and walks over to his bed. Grabbing his uniform and hanging it up, he lies down and closes his eyes to rest a while longer.
Meanwhile, the rest of the group was in the dekaroom, talking about simple things while they worked. Sen and Umeko were playing some cribbage while Jasmine and Tetsu looked over some specs. Yasu was helping Hoji with some computer problems while Swan looked at some information she had on a clipboard. She looked tired and ready to crash, which worried Jasmine, who occasionally glanced over to the mechanics direction.
"Hey, thanks Yasu." Hoji said.
"No problem." She said, walking over to where the girls sat. "See how things are, I plan on leaving tomorrow." Yasu said, "Plan on returning home and pay a visit to my family."
"Will you visit us again, sometime?" Umeko asks, looking up at Yasu.
"I don't know." Yasu admitted. By this point, Swan had gotten up and left the room.
It wasn't because she did not want to listen to the team talk, she just had work to do. She knew she was also starting to push herself to her limits, yet down deep inside she felt her safety was gone, that someone was chasing her. Entering her office, Swan checks over the status of the Dekamachines. She didn't hear anyone enter behind her until a blue hand rested on top of hers, stopping her from what she was doing.
"Doggie." She whispers. He moves his hand to her shoulder and pats it.
"You look like you need some fresh air." He says weakly, "I could use it myself."
"Did you tell the guys we are going for a walk?" Swan asked, turning her chair to face the dog.
"Yeah, just keep you license on you." Doggie said. He wasn't wearing his uniform, rather he just wore a t-shirt and a leather jacket Swan has only seen hanging in his closet. She wondered if it would be enough for him, as the autumn weather grew steadily cooler. Standing up, Swan walks over and picks up her license and puts it on her belt, hidden under her lab coat. They headed outside to go for a walk. The chill of the air wouldn't bother her, since her kind was used to cooler temperatures, but she stayed fairly close to Doggie.
"How old is this jacket?" Swan asked, breaking the uneasy silence.
"A little older then me." Doggie said, "it was my father's." he sounded solemn when he said it.
Swan gave him a friendly hug, knowing it was hard for him to talk about his past. Doggie had told her that he has very few memories of his youth with his parents, just the lingering memory of the fire. Patting her back, Doggie smiles softly. Stepping back, the two of them continued to walk through the park.
The next thing Doggie knew, Swan lurched forward, falling to the ground. "Swan!" he called, reaching to grab her before he felt something hard connect with his head. He falls to the ground unconscious next to Swan.
Dekabase…Hoji looked up at the clock on the computer screen. He wondered what was taking Doggie and Swan so long in returning. He noted that they should have been back nearly an hour ago. Sitting up, he starts up the computer's search system to try and located either Kruger's or Swan's license. He became increasingly worried when neither were located.
"Guys, we might have a problem." Hoji suddenly called, facing the team. Yasu stood off to the side, but listened in.
"What?" Tetsu asked, coming over to the table the rest of the team was at.
"Boss and Swan have been out far longer then they said, I just did a search to located either of their licenses, and I can't find either or." Everyone gasped at the news, even Yasu. Sen's surprise didn't stay long, and he quickly entered his thinking pose. Everyone looks at him, Umeko silently explaining to Yasu about Sen's thinking pose.
"Oh." He suddenly says, turning back upright, "Let's go to the park and see if there is any clues." The team nodded and quickly headed out on the Dekavehicles. After a short drive, they quickly headed into the park and looked about. Jasmine couldn't help but feel uneasy as she walked through the park. Suddenly she stops, feeling the Guard Dog's sprit in the area.
'Ah, Jasmine, 'bout time you guys got here.' The guard dog said. 'You need to go to location 9-0-2 ASAP if you guys want to save Kruger and Shiratori.'
With a nod, Jasmine calls out to the others. "Guys, I know where they are!"
"How so, Jasmine?" Tetsu asked, walking over with the team.
"Jigoku no Banken." She said, "Point 9-0-2."
"Then we better move it."
Point 9-0-2, a simple house with a deadly secret.
"Tell me, did the dog I saw you with all those years ago tell you those awful things about me?" a man asked Swan. She didn't say anything, she knew anything she said against Tang would harm her. The truth, what she saw so long ago, remained like a burning image in her mind.
"You expect me to remember?" she says, trying not to flinch under his gaze.
"I guess not." Tang said, sitting closer to Swan, "What about recently, the dog you were with."
"Just a friend." She says, trying not to look at him. She could still feel her heart flutter, she knew she still had affection for him, but she also knew she was over him. The memory raged in her head as she tries to remain calm. She could hear him scowl, she knew what she said was wrong when it came to Tang, and any friends that were male he would think she saw past him.
"You don't make friends with males, I've told you that I'm the only one you need." He whispers into her ear. "I still love you, you know."
Then why? She wondered. Why did you do that all those years ago?
She was walking down the hall to meet up with Tang. He was going to take her on another date to her favorite restaurant. As she walked, she soon saw something strange. In the middle of the hall, a man and some girl were making out to the point where they were having sex. Swan held a look of surprise when she spotted Tang being the man. Slowly, so not to startle Tang and the woman he was with, Swan walks away from them, then soon breaks into a run. As she ran, she soon spots a dog in the distance, clearly back from one of his trips in space, since she could tell his clothes were dirty. Without a second thought, she raced over to him, at first planning on passing him, but his broad arms grab her.
"Whoa, what's wrong?" He asks, keeping her still. She didn't say anything, just took in the fact that someone was there to comfort her. Soon, she heard footsteps behind her, and she turned to face Tang, who stared in disbelief.
"Swan?" he asked, looking at her.
"Forget it Tang, it's over." She said, "I saw what you were doing just down the hall!"
"What? I wasn't doing anything." Tang said, "You sure that dog didn't say anything.
"I saw everything." Swan was yelling at this point. "Just leave me alone." She started to sob, then soon broke from the dog's arms and raced down the hall again.
"Swan!" Tang called, but he didn't give chase.
The Dekarangers were soon racing through the house, suited up. Dekas 2-5 were in SWAT and using the sensors to look for Doggie and Swan. After some searching, Sen stops the crew. He had detected something inside one room. Tetsu breaks the door down, and everyone spots the room had more rooms in it. Quickly entering, they checked it out.
"Found Boss!" Umeko called, and everyone raced over to her location.
"How is he?" Jasmine asked as Hoji bends down to check for a pulse.
"Fine." He says, "we boys will watch him, probably get him out of here, girls are to track down Swan and rescue her."
"Roger." Yasu said, then the trio heads out. They continued to check the halls and rooms without opening any doors by using the X-Ray system on the SWAT suits. It wasn't long before they located Swan. Yasu was quick to break the door down, not caring about the consequences.
Tang quickly stood up, pulling Swan with him. Jasmine and Umeko quickly enter in behind Yasu, holding their D-Revolvers up and pointed at Tang.
"How about unhanding Swan and letting her go?" Yasu asked.
"Why?" He asked. Swan answered instead.
"Because you took me here against my will." She said, trying to break his grip.
"Fine!" he yelled in his and Swan's native tongue, then stabbed her in the arm with a knife no one saw him with. Crying out, Swan collapsed onto the floor. Jasmine and Umeko, in their worry for Swan, forgot about Tang and quickly raced over to her side. Tang escaped, Yasu knew that, but she noticed that the blade dripped with poison, and feared the worse.
"We have to get her back to Dekabase!" Jasmine said.
"There's no time to transport her by car." Yasu said, picking up the now unconscious Swan. "But don't worry, just head back." With those words, Yasu and Swan disappeared before their eyes.
"ESPer?" Jasmine wondered as the girls contacted the boys. "We found Swan, she's probably already back at Dekabase now."
"What? How?"
"You can ask Yasu when you get back to base." Umeko said.
"Leave the Machine Doberman, and head back with Boss." Jasmine ordered.
"Consider us on the road." Tetsu said, then communications cut.
Jasmine and Umeko were outside ten minutes later and on the road. After returning to Dekabase, they quickly headed to the medical wing. Yasu was waiting for them outside.
"How's Swan?" Umeko asked.
"Fine." Yasu said, "My telepotation technique is what ultimately saved her, getting here within seconds."
"So she was poisoned?"
"Correct." Yasu said, looking inside. "The medics say four to six days and she'll recover enough to be up and about." The other two look in, both sadden at the sight of Swan resting in one of the medical beds. It was the first time she had been injured enough to have her in there.
"Oh, where's Boss?" Jasmine asked.
"In his room, the medics had him there since he wasn't badly hurt, just a concussion." Yasu said. "Though I think I'll be sticking around a while longer."
The girls nodded as they headed back to the dekaroom.