The Cooper X Gang
By Mutitoon90
Chapter 5: Down Under Thunder, Day 2
Australia, 7:00 a.m.
The gang was downstairs, eating breakfast, and talking about their jobs. Sam was the only one who did not talk to the others.
"What's wrong this time?" Belle asked with a piece of toast in her hand.
Sam looked at her friend and answered, "I still not feeling okay about the job."
Belle thought for a moment, then she said, "How about I go with you?"
"What?" a shocked feline almost shouted.
"Are you sure about that?" Rad said after taking a drink of milk from his glass.
The others looked at Belle like as had received an 'B' on an exam.
"What?" Belle asked the others.
"What you're planning to do is for people whom can survive on their own." Justin said to his friend.
"I know." Belle confirmed.
"And Sam's the most qualified for that job." Luna added.
"I know." The mouse repeated herself.
"Hey, this is her choice." Sam said protecting Belle, "And with her there, I can be more comfortable about being there."
The others were quiet for a moment or so before answering the two girls.
"Okay," Mar said, still unsure about Belle going to the lemonade bar, "but I have a bad feeling about this, thought."
The others nodded in an agreement.
"We're not going to stop you, Belle." Rad said, walking away.
"Thanks." Belle said as the others left her and Sam alone.
"No prob," Sam said with an honest smile, "What are pals for?"
"Backstabbing?" Belle joked.
Sam, however, did not understand the joke. Thinking she really meant what she said, the shocked feline asked, "Really?!"
Belle noticing her friend's reaction, started to apologize.
"I'm sorry; it was a joke! I didn't mean!"
"Whoa!" Sam told her friend, "Calm down. I hear what you're saying to me, but remember: I'm not used to that kind of jokes. Understand?"
Belle giggled.
"Understood."
At noon, Sam looked out of her window to the dusty Outback. She saw how far the mining operation has gone and retracted. The cat was so deep in her thoughts that she did not notice Luna entering the room.
"Hi, Sam." Luna said, bringing the feline back to reality.
"What?" Sam asked as if she was just released from a trance, "Oh, sorry. I didn't hear you come in."
"Don't worry." Luna said to Sam, "It's happens to the best of us. If I remember correctly, you said, 'Most people turn into idiots when they see the place.'"
The feline blushed at the fact that her co-worker quoted something she said to Rad.
"That's right." Sam agreed with her friend.
"I'm here, looking for my MP3, but I did want to talk to you." Luna informed to Sam.
"Okay, speak your mind." The feline lazily commanded.
"You're allowing Belle to go with you on a mission?" Luna asked.
Sam nodded her head.
"Well, Justin told me that Belle is like a little sister to him and Rad, even after her parents took her out of kindergarten." Luna informed with a worried look on her face.
"Really?" The feline asked, "Why did they pull her out of school?"
"Well," Luna informed, "they were really scared that the police would use her to find them because they're wanted criminals before Belle was born."
"But, how did they keep their friendship so strong?" Sam asked like a curious child.
"Justin's dad and Belle's dad are good friends and members of the old Cooper Gang. Justin knows her very well."
"That's kinda cool." The feline commented.
"I think so too." Luna agreed.
"But, was Sly Cooper a member of the Cooper Gang before ours?" Sam asked.
"Yes, and I can't tell ya." Luna stated.
"Why?"
"I never learned about that." Luna answered.
"Well, that stinks." Sam said, disappointed.
"Yep." The white wolf agreed.
"Can I par take in this conversation?" Rad's voice rang into the girls' ears.
Sam and Luna turned to the door, and saw Rad standing outside the room with a grin on his face.
"What do you want?" Sam asked the suave raccoon.
"I want to talk to you," He said. Then, he turned to Luna and said with a more serious tone, "alone."
Luna got the message, and said, "Right. I'll be leaving now."
Luna left as fast as she can, leaving Sam and Rad alone.
"Rad, if you're upset at the fact that Belle is coming with me on the job-"
Sam was stopped by Rad's finger that covered her mouth.
"That's not what I want to talk to you about." Rad said as he removed his finger from the feline's mouth.
Sam recovered from the raccoon's action and asked, "Then, what is it?"
Rad sat down beside the cat and started to talk.
"Remember last night? You fell into my arms and started to cry. What's wrong?"
The feline tried to inch away from the investigating raccoon, but his arm, which grabbed her and pulled her back closer to him, stopped her.
"Come on, Sam." Rad stated, "I've known you for over a month, and I've never seen you like you did last night. Can you at least tell what you're feeling?"
Sam did not speak for a few moments, and then she said as tears stated to roll down her face, "There's something about you, and I feel really familiar about it."
"Really?" Rad asked the now-crying cat.
Sam nodded as she continued, "I've felt I little lonely for sometime, although I'm with good friends. Then, you and your friends came, and started feeling it."
"So, what does it remind you of?" The concerned thief asked to his co-worker.
"My dad." Was the answer the cat said.
The raccoon was surprised to hear that he reminds her of the father that was lost ten years earlier. He did empathize with her; his dad lost his parents at the same age as Sam.
"I'm sorry." Rad said hesitantly.
"What for? You did nothing." Sam stated.
"I wish I didn't remind you of your father." Rad replied honestly.
Sam said nothing, but she placed her head onto the raccoon's shoulder. The tears started to stain his shirt, but he did not care. All he wanted to do is comfort her.
"I wish you didn't say that." The tearful cat announced to Rad.
"What do you mean?" The raccoon asked.
"I'm very glad that you remind me of daddy, and I wouldn't exchange that for anything." Sam said as she continued to cry.
Rad blushed as the young feline cried onto his shoulder. Then, he pulled Sam closer to his chest, letting the tears stain the front of his shirt.
Outside the door, Luna saw the whole event.
"Poor Sam." The white wolf said as she walked away.
5:00 p.m. – Day two finishing up begins
Rad and Justin were at the oil wells when Belle called them via earpiece.
"Hey, guys. You better be ready for this job. There're groups of miners over there, waiting for some moron to come along to pound the living daylights out of them." Belle informed the thieves.
"Understood." Rad confirmed.
"Right! We're on it!" Justin exclaimed.
"Okay, over and out." Belle said before she left the communications line.
The boys nodded at each other and ran in different directions. Rad ran to a giant claw machine, while Justin ran to the oil grounds.
Rad just seated himself in the seat when he saw several dingoes running towards Justin.
"Boy, when Belle finds info, she finds info." Rad said to himself.
He started the engine of the claw, warning Justin of the danger he may face.
"You shouldn't be here." One of the miners informed the young husky, "You can get hurt."
"Threats don't scare me." Justin announced to the miners.
"All right," The dingo said, "have it your way."
The leader whistled, and the other miners attacked Justin. Justin dodged five fists at his body; the sixth fist hit its mark. The husky fell onto the ground.
"Ow!" Justin exclaimed in pain.
Back in the claw, Rad said, "Coming, Just." And he moved some shifts to move the claw.
The claw obeyed and picked up one of the miners, distracting the others. This gave Justin the chance to strike at the miners.
"Feel my fury!" The large husky announced to his victims.
The miners turned around, only to receive a bombardment of punches to multiple parts of their bodies. One miner was even kicked under the belt
Another of the attackers was about to hit Justin with a club, but Rad intervened and dropped the miner that was held up by the claw, landing on the attacking enemy.
After the carnage, ten dingoes and nine kangaroos laid in a pile, as Justin was the last one standing.
"You thought you could defeat the spawn of 'The Murry!'" Justin victoriously declared to the fallen miners, "The next time you pick on a person, beware for I might be that person!"
"Hey, 'Spawn of The Murry,'" Rad spoke via earpiece, "start loading the barrels. We don't have very much time before more miners come, looking for a fight."
"Right, chum!" the husky said and ran to the barrels to pick them up.
'Man, when he gets excited, he transforms into a version of his dad.' Rad thought as he watched for more miners.
Justin managed to get twenty barrels of high explosives on the claw when more miners came to the oil fields.
"See what I mean." Rad said, "Fight a few guys from a gang, you'll have the whole gang after you."
"No joke." Justin agreed as he watched the larger group of miners ran towards them.
"You know," The raccoon thief stated, "we can thin out the miners' ranks a bit."
"Good point." Justin agreed with a semi-fiendish grin on his face.
The duo prepared for the battle with the miners.
When the miners came to the place Rad and Justin was at, they were beyond furious. A miner stepped towards the two young thieves.
"You two aren't leaving here 'til we pound ya to a plop!" One of them declared loudly.
"Really?" Justin asked sarcastically.
"If you don't believe us, you're dead meat." Another miner spoke.
"You don't frighten us." Rad announced to the angry miners.
"Oh, yeah, Wagga?" The first asked, "Let's show them how to be scared, mates."
"YEAH!" the others yelled as they ran towards the two friends.
Justin dodged many punches and kicks. Rad brought out his cane and started to defend himself as the miners attacked.
"Wow, these guys are mad." The raccoon said as he avoided a direct hit.
"Tell me about it." Justin said as he delivered a painful punch to a dingo.
Rad ducked from a flying punch and hit another miner with a good swing of the cane. Justin knocked out several miners as they tried to gang up on the husky. One miner climbed up a piece of machinery in an attempt to attack Justin. The Cooper heir saw this and took out a rifle that looked very similar to a shock pistol. Rad aimed and fired; it hit its mark and stunned the miner. The miner fell off the machine with a scream. Justin heard this.
"Good shot, Rad!" The powerful husky yelled to his friend.
"That one was easy!" The raccoon yelled back.
Rad almost did not notice a gigantic miner trying to sneak up on him. The raccoon dodged the hit by doing a double jump. Then, he landed on the ground and dodged another hit.
"This guy is gonna be tough to beat." Rad thought as he dodged a few more punches.
The miner was about to attack Rad again when the miner stopped in his tracks. He fell to the ground, revealing that Justin was behind him.
"Good timing, pal." Rad said as he gave his friend a thumbs-up.
"Not a problem." The great husky responded before leaving to finish off the rest of the miners.
Rad sat back and watched his friend fight off the remaining attackers, which took Justin a few minutes.
When the husky finished his work, the raccoon thief ran to his friend and said, "Let's get while the going's good."
"Right!" Justin said before running to the claw.
"Rad! Just!" Belle yelled out of joy as she ran to embrace her two oldest friends.
"Hi, Belle." The boys responded as they were hugged.
Sam and Luna giggled among themselves as the green haired mouse released the boys. Mar showed a grin as he watched the events.
Rad regained his composure before he asked, "Mar, Luna, Guru, are you guys ready?"
"Yep." Luna called out.
"Ready." Mar answered.
The Guru responded in his native language.
"Good." The raccoon said as a grin appeared on his face.
Mar, Luna, and the Guru just made their way to the giant truck when Belle called in via earpiece.
"Hey, guys. How are things so far?" Belle asked.
Luna answered, "We haven't started let."
"Sorry."
"That's okay. So what's the plan?"
The white wolf heard her friend clear her throat. Then, Belle started to explain the job.
"This job requires the three of you to lure guards to submission. How to do this is simple: the Guru will lure the guards to the machinery, then Luna and Mar will take them out."
"Okay," Luna said, "Lure, attack, and defeat. That's sounds simple enough."
"Okay, over and out." Belle announced.
Luna removed her ear from the earpiece, turned to her fellow thieves, and said, "Let's go."
The wolf ran towards the machinery site with Mar and the Guru close behind her.
When the trio reached their destination, they saw a few miners were there, goofing off.
"Well, the Guru's job is goin' to be easy." Luna said quietly.
The Guru nodded, then he ran off to the guards. The guards heard the Guru approach them, turned around and saw nothing.
Behind the rocks, Luna and Mar are trying to hold back their laughter for they knew that the Guru disguised himself as part of the environment. Some of the guards looked around for the mystic for a few moments before they gave up.
"I guess it was our imagination." One kangaroo guard said to his co-workers.
"Yeah, I guess so." A dingo miner announced, "I just wished that I imagined that it was a pretty shela, mate."
"Yeah." Another dingo laughed out, "I know that would only happen in your dreams."
The group of dingoes and kangaroos were laughing at the joke when a female voice introduced its owner.
"Hello, boys."
The miners ceased their laughter and turned to see Luna standing next to a boulder. The guards' jaws dropped at seeing the white wolf's beautiful body.
"Well, I be! A shela right here!" A dingo announced to his fellow miners.
"Come and get some." Luna said, declaring that she was ready.
The guards ran towards to the young wolf, not knowing their fate was sealed by their desire for a young lady friend for personally reasons.
"Bye-bye." Luna said as she revealed her harpoon gun to the miners.
The guards were shocked at the fact that the girl, who revealed herself to them, would have a weapon on her person. Then, Mar and the Guru showed themselves, and each took control a miner.
"All right, let's get started!" the rat yelled to his friends, signaling to attack the guards.
"Good news to me." Luna said with a nasty grin.
The miners started to attack the trio. Luna put away her weapon and started to punch miners left and right. Mar and the Guru, using the miners they controlled, attacked the guards.
After the battle, many miners were laying on the ground either knocked out or near that state. The others ran off, leaving Luna, Mar, and the Guru.
"Hey, guys. What's going on?"
Luna heard Belle's voice, and it does not sound too good.
"We're just beating up some miners." The wolf answered honestly.
"Well, they're getting back at us by sending the guy that's wearing the Mask of Dark Earth over there." Belle said franticly.
"Good." Luna said calmly, "We need that guy dropped."
"Wait!" Belle screamed to the cocky wolf.
Her warning fell onto Luna's deaf ears as the wolf turned off the commutations line.
"This is it!" The white wolf declared to he co-workers, "We're going to drive off that mask!"
"WHAT!" Mar nearly screamed.
"We got to!" Luna said, ready to fight.
"No, we don't!" Mar argued, "I've heard stories of the Mask; it took many tries to destroy it!"
The Guru protested the idea by saying it in his language.
"Yeah, the Guru's right. There's no reason to stay here." The rat said.
A booming voice spoke to the group.
"What's the matter? I thought you wanted to play."
The voice was like to people talking at the same time. The trio looked and saw a giant dingo wearing the evil mask.
"I am Ger, the one who wears the mask of Dark Earth, and the one to punish you for your crimes against Mz. Sapphire." The dingo introduced himself.
"You're the one who's going to be punished." Luna said with confidence.
The giant dingo laughed as the mask's aura appeared around his body.
"This is bad." Mar stated as he saw the aura glowed more brilliant.
The Guru agreed as Luna ignored the warnings.
"This is going' to be fun." The wolf announced as she ran to attacked the huge miner.
The wearer of the Mask of Dark Earth dodged the attack, grabbed Luna, and pinned her to the ground. The she-wolf struggled as she tried to escape his grip.
"LUNA!" Four voices yelled out.
Luna looked up and saw the rest of the gang attack the giant dingo with a combined attack and got the miner off of her. Sam pulled grabbed the wolf's hand and pulled it, dragging her to a farther distance.
"Thanks." Said a grateful Luna to her rescuers.
Sam just glared at the wolf, Rad crossed his arms and shook his head, Justin gave the wolf a look of disappointment, but Belle was the most furious of the four rescuers.
"WHAT IN THE WORLD WERE YOU THINKING?! HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!"
Luna tried to answer, but she was so frightened by the fury in the normally quiet mouse.
"LOOK OUT!" Mar yelled as the dingo went to the group.
Sam ran to the dingo and attacked him. The giant dodged the assault and tried to grab the cat, but she jumped out of the way.
"Good thing Belle improved my whip." Sam thought as she prepared to attack again.
The feline pulled out her whip. She pressed a button that was on the hilt of the whip. Then, the tip of the whip was on fire.
"Prepare to be the first to taste my new attack: Will 'O Wisp Whip." Sam announced to the dingo.
"Don't kid yourself, Shela." The oversized Ger said, "I'm bigger, stronger, and more powerful."
The cat shook her head and said, "So, what's new, besides the evil, magical mask?"
The dingo growled as his fur stood on edge, and his all-ready dark red eyes changed into an even darker shade of red, showing his fury.
"Let's do this!" Sam yelled to the monster dingo.
The dingo pounced at the feline. Sam used the whip to defend herself by hitting the miner in the eyes. Ger howled in pain, and his hands at the moment rushed to the damaged eyes.
"Now's our chance to stop him!" Rad announced to the gang, "Luna, Justin, grab a heavy object to hit the guy. Mar, Guru, protect Belle as she gets the bomb ready. I'll help Sam."
The others wasted no time in an assault to take down the giant that threaten their lives. Each member took their positions as the dingo recovered from the fire on his eyes.
"You're just preparing to meet your fate, insects." Ger exclaimed, still feeling the pain of having his eyes nearly burned.
Rad reached to Sam and picked her up, saying, "Gotta go!"
The cat followed her ally as she saw the dingo charged at them. They ran to the canine duo of Luna and Justin.
"Here they come!" Luna announced to Justin, who was holding an old engine.
"Good!" Justin said as he prepared to throw the almost useless piece of machinery.
"Ready…" The white wolf said as Sam and Rad ran pass her, "NOW!"
Justin threw the engine at the dingo in the head. It did stop the giant long enough for Rad and Sam to attack him. The raccoon used some sort of power that seems to be from the cane itself, while the feline used her fire-lit whip to trip the oversized canine.
"Now to Belle!" Rad shouted.
Sam nodded as she turned and saw that the dingo was down, but not out.
"I'll get you!" Ger yelled at the running thieves as he got up to chase them again.
"Over here!" Mar's voice hit Rad's ears.
The raccoon ran to the direction of the voice, and he and Sam saw Belle waving.
"Let's hope this one works." Sam said, knowing the dingo's strength against Justin's brawn.
"Don't worry." Rad said as the duo ran closer to their friends.
"Stop!" Belle yelled out.
"What?!" Rad and Sam exclaimed at the same time.
"Don't worry, I have a plan." The young mouse said.
"I hope so." Sam said as she stopped.
The two thieves ran with the huge dingo jogging right behind them. Belle placed a bomb in front of the running people.
"What is she doing?" The feline asked as she saw the action of the mouse.
"Don't worry; just follow me." The raccoon responded.
The duo ran towards the placed bomb until…
"Run in the other way." Rad yelled to Sam.
"Okay." The frighten cat answered.
The two separated from each other while Ger ran straight for Belle, Mar, and the Guru.
"You troublemakers think you can outsmart me? Don't make me laugh." The giant miner announced to the gang.
"Nope." A grinning Belle said.
Then, the dingo stepped onto the bomb, causing an enormous explosion, followed by a smokescreen of dust.
"I, personally, want to make you cry." The mouse finished.
The Mask of Dark Earth fled the battle, leaving Ger to die. The gang ran into the dust and found the miner, unconscious and near death.
"Let's fix 'im up." Belle said, upset that she did not destroy the evil mask.
"Yeah, no fun to be chased by the bad guys if they're hurt." Luna said in agreement.
"I don't think so, Luna." Rad said, still upset at the wolf's actions, "I rather you stay in the safe house from a while."
Belle finished biding the dingo's wounds, and looked at her wristwatch.
"Oh, no! We're going to be late!" The mouse exclaimed.
"Really?" Sam asked calmly.
"I'm dead serious." Belle nearly yelled.
"You look alive to me." The feline said honestly.
The whole gang laughed at the response that Sam said, except Belle (She thought it was an insult), Sam (she did not know that she told a joke), and the Guru (He was confused at the whole conversation).
"Come on!" The mouse commanded as she grabbed the cat 's hand. She dragged her friend as the group continued to laugh.
"Don't worry, Sam." Rad said between laughs, "I'll tell you as soon as we're done with the last job."
At the lemonade bar, Sam and Belle go over what to do on the job.
"Okay, Sam, we need to kick these guys out." The mouse announced.
"I have an idea." The feline spoke as she walked to the bar. She almost entered the place, but stopped, turned to the mouse, and asked with a sheepish grin on her face, "Do you have any cash on you?"
"I thought you would ask that." Belle said as she reached into her pocket for money. She pulled out some bills and gave it to the cat.
"Thanks, pal." Sam said, turning back to the bar. The two friends entered the bar.
The place was a makeshift building, using wood, metal, and the side of a giant rock. The miners were enjoying their drinks until Sam and Belle entered the establishment.
"Hey, mate." One of the workers, a dingo, said upon seeing the cat, "Look at the shela that came in."
His friend, a kangaroo, looked at Sam and said, "Whoa, now that's a shela."
"Hey, let's see if she needs a drink." The dingo suggested.
"Yea," the kangaroo agreed, "She's a pretty one for a yank."
The eager miners walked up to the two friends, whom were a table getting their drink orders, and noticed that the feline, they wanted, had a friend.
"Two shelas for the both of us." The dingo obversed.
"Yeah, it makes easier; I get the cat, and you get the mouse." The kangaroo said, and he started to walk towards Sam.
"Now, wait a minute, mate." The dingo said, grabbing his co-worker by the tail, "I'll take the cat."
"What's going on boys?" Sam asked in a curious voice.
The two fighting miners looked at the cat and saw that she heard been watching one of them.
"We were wanting to know which one of us you would go out to a party." The dingo lied.
"I don't believe you completely." The feline said with a disappointed look on her face.
"Of course, you don't." the kangaroo announced.
"I'm not so sure about you either." Sam spoke to the kangaroo.
The two miners did not know what to do.
"Hey." Belle finally spoke.
The guards looked at the green haired mouse. She motioned the miners closer to her.
"If you want to date her, you have to beat her in a challenge first." Belle explained.
The guards looked at each other and nodded.
"I got an idea." The dingo said to the mouse.
"Really?" Belle asked in mock curiosity.
"Yea, shela." The cocky canine said, "Just watch."
The dingo walked to Sam, showing a grin.
"What so you want now?" the cat asked, annoyed at the miners' antics.
"How about a game?" the miner asked, still grinning.
"A game?" Sam asked, "What kind?"
"A drinking game." The dingo said, grinning bigger.
"Okay. How do you play?" The feline asked, seemly curiosity.
"How you play is simple: When I count to three, we drink, and who finishes their drink the fastest, wins."
"Sounds simple; best two out of three." Sam said eagerly.
"Good winkin'." The miner said, "Bruce, get out a round of six."
A larger dingo came to the table and gave a drink to Sam and another to the dingo.
"One, two…" The miner said.
Then, the dingo quickly drank his lemonade and slammed the mug on to the table. The cat looked surprised at the dingo.
"This is too easy." The miner thought as the next drink was passed to him.
"Okay, round two." Sam said, rather perky.
The dingo started to count again.
"One, two…"
He started to wolf down his lemonade, but when he slammed his mug again, he saw Sam licking her fingers with her elbow on the table. Next to the elbow was an empty mug.
"What the..?" The miner started to say.
"We still have one more round." The cat informed the bluffed miner as the drinks were given to them.
"All right." The dingo announced, "One…"
Then, he drank the beverage with great haste. When he was finished, he said, "Got ya!"
"Are you sure?" Sam asked with a grin on her face.
"You must've cheated!" the miner accused, pointing at the cat.
"I with I could agree," the kangaroo said regretfully, "but she didn't cheat, mate."
"What?!" The dingo yelled out.
"She didn't cheat, I saw her guzzle that lemonade down like…like…" The kangaroo guard said.
"Jell-O?" Belle said, trying to help.
"Yea, that's it. Jell-O." The miner announced, "Thanks."
"Not a problem." The mouse responded.
"Okay," The dingo yelled, "if you think she didn't cheat, then you challenge her."
"I will." The kangaroo said.
"I'd gladly accept your challenge." Sam declared.
"Okay. Bruce, another round."
The drinks were given out as the kangaroo spoke.
"Okay, one round, winner-take-all, understand?"
"Of course, sir." Sam said, "But let's rise the stakes a bit."
"Like?" the guard asked the cat.
"If I win, your gang's going to left the place." The feline informed.
"And, if I win?" The kangaroo asked.
"Then, my gang will leave."
"Okay, let's drink."
The competitors grabbed their drinks as the kangaroo started to count.
"One, two…"
"Wait!" The cat exclaimed.
"What?" The miner asked.
"I'll agree to the drink, only if my friend does the counting." Sam stated, pointing at Belle.
"Fine." The guard said, annoyed.
"Okay," Belle announced nervously, "On the count of three. One. Two. Three!"
The kangaroo drank his beverage quickly, almost faster than the dingo.
"Done!" The miner announced as he slammed his mug onto the table. His cocky smug converted into a dropped jaw when he saw the cat was licking her fingers as an empty mug sat in front of her.
"I see." Sam said coolly through her sly grin.
The kangaroo growled like a dog, and his partner yelled out, "She must have cheated, or else she wouldn't use a friend, mate."
"Why I never…" The mouse said in anger as the miners were gathering together.
"Belle," The feline stated, "this isn't the best time to start yelling at these guys."
The small mouse was about to talk back at her ally/friend when she noticed that the number of guards was increasing in size.
"Oh, I see what you mean." Belle announced softly to Sam.
"So much for yur big talk." The dingo stated.
"Time to teach ya what we do to cheaters, mate or shela." The kangaroo added.
"Let's dance." The feline said, ready for battle.
"I think this isn't my number." Belle said, because she was frightened at the fact that the odds were against them.
The miners sprang into the girls. Sam dodged, kicked, punched, and one time bit anyone that tried to harm her and Belle. Belle, however, managed to dodge hits.
"I wish I had brought my sword with me." The mouse said as she dodged a near- kick to the face.
"Wish granted!" Rad's voice rang through the sounds of the fight.
"Rad!" the two girls said in unison, almost getting hit by a thrown bottle.
"At your service." The raccoon announced suavely as he knocked out a big dingo.
"Sword, now!" Belle yelled out as she evaded a punch from a kangaroo.
"One sword, coming up!" Sam said as she kicked a dingo's chin.
The physically furious feline ran to Rad, dodging attacks. She dodged five to ten punches and two to four kicks.
"Rad!" The cat yelled to her co-worker, "The sword! Quickly!"
The raccoon heard and threw the sword to the cat. The feline ran back to the mouse who had her back against a well.
"Belle! Catch!" Sam yelled as she threw the sword to the trapped green hair.
Belle, hearing her friend's voice, said to the miners, "Hey, is that last season's winner of "Australia's Next Top Model!"
The guards turned to see the model. While the workers looked away from the mouse, Belle grabbed her air-borne weapon by its hilt and prepared to fight a group of miners that would be even more enraged at her.
"Oops, my bad." The mouse announced to the guards.
The miners, who were angered by the trick, attacked Belle who dodged the attack by ducking under one of her attackers.
"Bye!" The mouse said as she ran to Sam.
"Hey, now the party's cooking!" The cat said as she pulled out her whip.
The guards launched at the feline who dodged the assault. The group fell to the floor.
"My turn." Sam announced as the miners collected themselves from the floor.
The group of enraged dingoes and kangaroos Tried to attack the crafty cat, but she brought out her whip and pressed a button on the hilt. Then, the whip's tip was on fire. The workers saw the flame stopped in their tracks.
"I would back if I were you." The feline warned as she swung the flaming weapon over her head.
The dingo, that Sam defeated earlier, charged at flame-playing cat.
"Some never learn to listen to warnings." The cat said to herself as she prepared to fight off the assailant.
"I'll show you a warning!" The furious canine yelled as he ran closer to the feline.
Sam stood her ground for a few seconds until the dingo was within her whip's reach.
"Gotcha." The cat said as she attacked her flaming weapon.
The dingo dodged out of the way of the attack. As he landed, the now cocky miner said, "You maybe quick with a mug, but you're slow with a whip."
"You think so?" A smiling Sam asked.
The guard suddenly smelled something cooking.
"Yum. Whatever's smelling so good better be from in here." The dingo said, licking his lips.
"Mate! That's you!" one of the other miners yelled.
Then, the guard finally reacted to the flame that was burning his tail and backside.
"EEEOOOWWW!!!"
The flaming canine ran to the back of the bar. He took a giant leap and landed his tail and backside into a wine cooler that was filled with ice.
"Ouch," the cat said, "I know that has to hurt."
The miner, no longer on fire, charged at the taunting feline. Sam, however, dodged the assault and used her whip to landed another hit on the infuriated dingo.
"Second verse, same as the first." The cat said as she attacked the guard.
"EEEOOOWWW!!!"
As the miner landed into the wine cooler again, his co-workers attacked the feline, but soon they suffered the same fate as the dingo had.
Rad and Belle just laughed at the number of thugs, who were running and diving into anything that contained water or ice.
"Wow! I've never seen so many guys trying to go the men's at the same time!" Belle giggled as she parried a kangaroo guard.
"Yeah!" the raccoon laughed as he dodged an attack, "I'm sure what they have will last for a few seconds."
The miners still attacked the three thieves until all of them were down for the count. Rad stood next of Sam and Belle as they saw the damage they did fighting the guards.
"Wow!" The mouse exclaimed, "I thought that the damage would be less."
"Really?" The cat asked as she looked for more miners to fight, "It's looks like a normal amount of destruction to me."
"That just makes me wonder about how many fights you've been in, Sam." Rad announced as he started to leave for the door.
"Yeah." Belle agreed, following the raccoon.
"What?" Sam asked as she ran after her friends.
9:00 p.m. Day two setup completed.
At the safe house, Belle was setting up the slide show, while Luna sat at the window, thinking to herself.
"Hey, Luna."
The white wolf looked at her friend, Sam, and asked her, "Whazzup?"
"Nothing much." The feline said, sitting herself next to her friend.
"I heard that you left quite an impression on several miners at the lemonade bar." Luna stated as she pointed at Sam's whip.
"I have Belle to thank for that. She was the one that 'upgraded' it." The feline said, pointing at the busy mouse.
"I guess so." The wolf said, "I just wish I didn't go almost AWOL."
"AWOL?" Sam asked.
"It means that I almost left the gang. I just get crazy sometimes." Luna said, feeling upset.
"Why?"
"My mom has been controlling my life, so when someone else tries that on me, I just lose control of my senses."
"Ouch!" Sam exclaimed calmly, "That explains a lot."
"Yeah, but I'm also kinda lucky."
"Why?"
"My dad."
"I wish I had a mother again." The cat said.
"Why?" Luna asked, "All they do is boss you around."
"That's because they care."
"I'll bet that's not true." Luna stated coldly.
Sam was shocked at her friend's comment and would have said something if Belle had not said anything.
"Okay, everyone!" Belle announced, "Time for the show!"
The two friends walked to the table, while the others came one-by-one.
"Hey!" Justin yelled out, "Where's the popcorn?"
"Ha ha." The mouse said to response to the joke.
"Come on! Let's get this show going!" Mar yelled as he sat next to the Guru.
"Just give her a minute!" Rad yelled at the rat.
In a few moments, Belle asked Sam to turn off the lights. The cat got up and flipped the switch.
"Okay," Belle said as the projector was turned on, "We have a big day tomorrow."
The picture was of the valley.
"It's time for Operation Repeat the Blunder!"
"Excuse me, but why is it called 'Operation: Repeat the Blunder?'" Mar asked, confused about the name.
"I'm about to explain it." Belle answered.
"As we know, the last Cooper Gang came here and planned to destroy the Mask of Dark Earth."
"Yeah," Rad said out loud, "Poor Murry. After all that effort, only the guard was attacked."
"And it chose your mom." Justin added, knowing the story as well as Rad did.
"But this time, we have to 'scare' the Dark Mask into running to Mz. Sapphire." Belle announced.
The picture was now of the reptile that they have to stop as well as the mining operation.
"So, I've constructed a dummy which resembles Just's dad." Belle said as she changed the slide, which the picture was of a pink hippo.
"Good old Dad!" The husky yelled out with a short, hearty laugh.
Belle continued to talk, despite the interruptions of her co-workers.
"Okay, by using the dummy, we will be able to stop the guard that wear the Mask, and we'll get Mz. Sapphire to wear it. Then, we start the next phase, which is when I start using my darts at the business witch, causing her to become bigger. Then, her fury fueled by the Mask and us, she'll chase us to a bigger location, so we can throw the TNT barrels at her."
"Question?" Sam asked with her hand in the air, "Why do we need her and the Mask that big?"
"I'm getting there!" The green haired mouse hissed at the curious cat.
"Sorry." The frightened feline said, trying not to enrage her friend even more.
Belle resumed the plan.
"Once the two are at the right size, Rad will climb up the alligator to hang on the rings on the side of the Mask. Then, Sapphire will try to swat him away, and she'll also pull out one of the rings."
"So, when Sapphire knock off the rings, the Mask will leave her face. Sapphire will shrink back to normal size, but how do we get rid of the Mask?" Rad asked.
"That's taken care of." Belle answered, "Your parents have been informed about our whereabouts. At tomorrow night, they'll be here ready to arrest someone."
"Three guesses who." Luna joked.
Sam laughed, knowing what Luna meant.
"Okay, so that's it: we start tomorrow." Rad announced with a serious tone in his voice.
"Evening." Belle added.
"So, that means that everyone must get some rest." Justin spoke as he got up from his seat.
The members of the gang went upstairs, while Sam helped her mouse friend with the projector.
"Hey, Sam."
The feline turned her head to Belle and asked, "What is it, friend?"
The mouse said as she placed the slides into a box marked 'Slides,' I've been wondering about something."
"What is it, then?" The cat asked with a grin on her face.
"Do you have any feelings towards Rad?"
That question froze Sam in her steps.
"What makes you ask a question like that, Belle?" The feline asked the mouse, shaken by the inquiry.
"I've noticed something between you two since the first time our groups met." Belle said, "But you're evading my questions now."
The cat sighed deeply.
"One to never beat around the bush, that Belle."
Sam breathed in again, this time, deeper and said, "You know what?"
"What?"
"To be honest, I really don't know."
The answer shocked Belle.
"She doesn't know her own feelings towards Rad?! I guess I pry a bit more."
"So, what about Mar or Luna?" Belle continued her interrogation.
"I think of them as friends."
"Is that it?"
The cat nodded to the mouse.
"And Justin and I?"
"You guys are also my friends." Sam said as she dusted herself.
"Well, I'm glad to hear that." Belle said with a smile on her face.
"I'm glad to have friends like the Cooper X Gang." The cheerful cat said with an awkward, but honest grin on her face.
"That's the truth." The mouse agreed with her friend.
"I do have a question."
"What is it?"
"How did you three meet at kindergarten when all three of you were different ages?" Sam asked.
Belle blushed at the mention of her first meeting of Rad and Justin.
"Well, I was four when I was enrolled by my dad." The mouse explained, "Justin was enrolled a year earlier, but was held back."
"He wasn't that smart?" The cat asked, curious about how the husky was held back.
"No, his mother was worried about him being challenged too much."
"Ouch!" Sam exclaimed.
"Don't worry, I'm really grateful to her to this day." Belle said.
"How?"
The mouse took a deep breath, preparing to tell the story, and said, "Well, it was a sunny day. I was playing with the RC car, my mom made me for my birthday. As I played with my toy, a big bully came to me and demanded that I surrender my car."
The cat said, "What happened next?"
Belle giggled a bit before she resumed telling her tale.
"He took my car, and I demanded it back, but he just laughed at me before he kicked me. Then, out of nowhere, these two boys confronted the bully."
"Rad and Justin." The cat said.
"Yep." The mouse confirmed, "Rad swapped the car, while Justin fought the bully, who was Justin's older by a year."
"Did the guys get in trouble?" The feline asked, still curious.
"Did you ever fight in school?" Belle asked her friend.
Sam thought for a moment before answering the question.
"Yep, and I got into trouble."
"The same thing happened in Pairs; Rad was grounded, Justin was forced to stay at his grandparents home for the weekend for a month, but I got my car, and I made some lifelong friends." The green head said with a happy grin on her face.
"That's a good thing to have, besides a family." The cat said while holing her long furry tail.
"Yeah."
Sam gave a big yawn its introduction and said, "I think it's about time we went to bed too."
Belle giggled as she agreed with her cat co-worker.
"Yeah."
"Night, Belle."
The two friends went upstairs and went to their rooms to sleep. Belle had only a thought about the operation.
"Tomorrow is going to be a dozy."
Next Chapter: Operation: Repeat the Blunder