Chapter 2
There was a screech from the brakes for only just a moment as the driver poked his head out the window and turned his covered-up face to see Neon. Neon didn't know what the guy had been thinking in that short second, but he had waved a hand at one of the other men in back of the van, who ducked under the view through the window, appearing to grab something. The green hedgehog didn't care, and he continued to pursue the van.
Holding out his arms, Neon concentrated his wind control to make a gust of wind form a barrier in front of the car, which slowed the vehicle down. He continued towards the slowly-moving vehicle, until he saw a long, metal, cylindrical object point out of the back window at him. There was no mistaking it. That was a-
BANG!
His arms dropped down. Neon stumbled back, a think, red liquid beginning to pool on his left shoulder. It had started to run down his arm and stain on his glove when the sharp, knifelike pain rang throughout his body, and Neon collapsed to the ground, holding his shoulder. The wind barrier dissipated, and the screech of rubber on the road was heard before the van continued its course.
"AUGH! GET BACK HERE!" Neon shouted, gritting his teeth as he winced from putting pressure on his wound. He struggled off of one knee and was getting off the other when another shot rang from the rifle in the van. It missed Neon and ricocheted off of the ground nearby him. The green hedgehog finally stood up, the sides of his left glove and the palm of his right glove stained with a thick, dark-red bloodstain.
Neon angrily made a swiping motion with his right arm, and a gust of wind slammed into the side of the van and it skidded to the side. As he began to run towards it, another bullet was fired and missed due to the rocking of the van. Another gust of wind pounded into the van, and this time a screech was heard as the car was spun in a different direction. The person holding the rifle got a steady aim, setting the crosshairs of the weapon on Neon. Neon saw this and dived out of the way as a bullet scarred the road right where he'd stood mere moments ago.
By now, the commotion of the scene had attracted the attention of several people, who were now hidden inside the nearest building and peering through the windows to take in the event. Several drivers swerved out of the way of the van and ran out of their cars, hoping not to be injured. Neon chased after the van once more, and held a good gust of wind on the side of the car to prevent it from turning towards the castle.
Another bullet blasted through the air. Neon tripped as it skimmed the side of his shoe and stopped himself from hitting the ground with a pillow of wind just in time to avoid possibly cracking his head on the road. He scrambled to his feet, groaning from the pain in his arm, as the longer he was in one place the easier it would be for the person holding the rifle to get a good, clean shot at him. Just as he moved, another bullet scraped against the street.
The rifleman had finally gotten tired of getting a perfect aim and began to just plainly shoot at Neon, not pausing to get a better aim. As the van went around a corner, Neon took shelter behind the walls. The bangs of the gun suddenly stopped for a moment as the man had to reload the rifle, and Neon ran out from his cover, slamming a huge gust of wind against the car, knocking it on its side. Neon would have smiled victoriously, had the men not climbed out of the car. Two began to work on turning the car right-side up, and the other two, including the rifle man, went after Neon, the second one drawing a pistol.
They wasted no time. Before Neon could say a word, gunfire echoed through the city. It was a wonder that Blaze hadn't done something yet. Surely she'd heard the noise? Bullets flew by Neon as he ran for cover and took shelter behind a wall. He sent a blast of wind at the two men, and they fell over, rolling across the road by the blast. They skidded to a stop after grabbing onto a bench on the sidewalk, and began to try to get towards Neon again. The hedgehog was about to blow them back when his shoulder seared with pain again as it brushed against the wall. Neon fell to the ground, clutching the wound once more as he leaned on the wall with his other side.
"I've got to stop these guys quickly…" he mumbled, looking around for something to keep them down. He spotted a few bricks near the wall and grinned cunningly. He reached down and picked one up, then darted out from safety.
"Come on!" he shouted, grabbing their attention. He ducked away from a few shots before hurling the brick at one of them. It crashed down near one on the street, but the man had moved out of the way.
"Damn it." Neon grumbled, taking cover behind a corner. "I've got to find something better…"
He'd only looked around for a moment when the clicks of guns sounded behind his head. The two men stood behind Neon, the ends of their guns pointed at his head.
"Don't move." sounded the muffled voice of one from behind their mask. Neon continued staring directly ahead into a mirror in a display window. He viewed the two more clearly for a chance. They wore black ski masks over their faces, and one was modified to fit only a certain person as this man was undoubtedly a hedgehog. Their ears stuck out of cuts in the masks. Both men wore a dark green suit that was made so that it appeared to be made of scales. There were silver insignias on the front of the suits that looked like a diamond over an X. The pants of the suits were black, as were their shoes.
"Who ARE these guys?" Neon thought, swallowing hard.
A thud was heard nearby, showing that the van had been pushed right-side up again. Neon needed to act quickly. Without any movement of his arms, a gust of wind slammed down on the two men and they both dropped their weapons. With a slight laugh of triumph, Neon turned and raced down after the van, which had just started up and began to drive away. It turned a corner and Neon followed it still, until he realized that once again the car as heading for the castle.
"BLAZE! THEY'RE COMING TOWARDS YOU!" Neon shouted, trying to hold back the car.
Blaze had heard the shout, and in fact she'd heard everything else. But she was unable to do anything- her guards had held her in her room, while some stood inside near the doorway, their weapons drawn and ready. The moment the car had been seen the action was made.
"What's going on?" Blaze asked one of the guards standing near the door in her room. She attempted to get past him, but he didn't budge. "Let me through!"
"I cannot, Your Highness." the panther sternly replied, shaking his head. "You are in danger."
"Of what?" Blaze demanded to know.
At that moment, the great crash from the front room was heard as the van careened through the large doors. The van tumbled around for a moment just as the men inside got out and drew their guns. The guards began to attack, with swords, guns, or plainly their hands.
Neon ran towards the castle and soon saw several more vans approach, stopping and letting out the men wearing identical uniforms. They advanced on the guards and attacked, pushing them back and clearing the way for the men to go up the stairs. Neon ran after them, about to knock them all back with a blast of wind, when one of the two men from earlier tackled him- and against his injured shoulder, no less.
"You won't interfere!" the man shouted above Neon's cries of pain. The other man drew his gun and threatened anyone bold enough to go and try to help Neon.
The green hedgehog rolled over on top of the man and broke free of his hold as he heel-kicked him in the crotch. He got to his feet and kicked him in the side, then in the head, knocking him out. Neon turned around after the other one, when he stopped after seeing the gun pointed at him. Not wasting any time, the man pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened. It appeared that he was out of ammunition, and Neon advanced on him and blew him back into a wall. He continued nearer to him when the man attempted to strike him with the butt of the rifle, but Neon ducked, only to get clobbered in the back of the head as the rifle swung back at him. The spine where the rifle hit became bent and his fur became matted up with a thick spot of blood.
Neon collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.
The men burst through Blaze's door, knocking aside the guard. One man, whose suit was a red color, removed his mask.
"Princess Blaze, it's an honor to be in your presence." The black Wolf said, a menacing grin crossing his face as he spoke sarcastically. "The Cross-Diamond Raiders have business to do with you…"
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A/N: Pretty neat, huh? Now I suppose you want to know who these Cross-Diamond Raiders are and what they want with Blaze? I guess you'll just have to wait!