Hey everybody, Lightheart77 here, coming at you with chapter 12!

I'd like to thank everyone for the last PMs and reviews. Think I'm going to close the "what character you'd like to see drawn" poll as soon as I have chapter 13 up… and that may take a while so we'll see. So far the nomination that people most want to see is a group photo. That may happen. But I'm not sure quite yet. One: I'm not exactly the greatest and fastest artist; two: I have to wait and see, because I need at least spring break to decide and start. But until then, I'll be doing my hardest to get chapters up and trying to draw up the most wanted character (not meant to be a pun).

I'd like to just make a shout out for wolfwriter101, who gave me a good idea for a new character, who will show up at the end of this chapter and upcoming chapters. In return I promised I'd do some editing for him. So, check out his newly edited story, Sly Cooper: The Dawn of the Shadow Walkers. Drop by and leave him a review, kay. ;)

Also, I've realized how much I hate typing in italics with the beginning of this chapter. *sigh* But there I go on rambling again.

Till then read on good people… read on.

Chapter 12: See Feelings of the Past

A fourteen year old fox and raccoon mix was running down the street with her backpack going back and forth with each of her steps. She was in her normal like attire of her hair up in a ponytail, a black jacket, a white t-shirt that day, blue jeans, and a pair of white tennis shoes. She stopped for a minute to take a breath, and looked back, having the feeling that someone following her but there was no one there. She then kept running for another five minutes until she stopped again and turned around to some of the bushes behind her. "Alright, come out! I know you're there."

Some boys from her school came out, but the ring leader, a panther, stepped out in front of them. "I see you figured out we were behind you," he said.

"Ha, it wasn't hard to figure out," she said, putting a stray hair behind her ear. "Your guys weren't exactly incognito. I kept seeing people in the corner of my eye and I kept hearing laughing and even comments like, 'she has a nice ass'."

The panther chuckled, "I'm so sorry, Miss Alexa. I told them to keep their bloody mouths shut." He snapped his fingers, and two gorillas grabbed Alexa from behind, having her drop her backpack.

"Hey, let go!" Alexa called as she struggled to get free. The panther walked up and grabbed her bag and began to look through it. "Give that back!" she called.

"Books, papers, medicine… why on earth do you have this junk; it's Friday for god's sake," he asked in an arrogant tone.

Alexa struggled more but couldn't get free, "Those are for my friends! They've been out sick all week."

"Aw, how sweet…"

"Put-them-back," she growled.

The panther dropped the bag to the ground with the contents going all over the place, chuckling, "Oops."

"You're gonna pay for that, you coward!" she yelled, trying to break free again.

"Oh, really?" the panther questioned going in front of Alexa's face. "You're the one who's going to pay. You completely ruined my rep!"

"Ha! What rep?" called Alexa, "That you're a pompous, know-it-all, snob who thinks he can get any girl he wants with a flip of his hair and a swish of his tail."

The panther's men chuckled from the half vixen's words. But the panther quickly glared at them and they quieted down just as fast as they started. "No, my dear," he replied, "My reputation for being able to have any girl think of me as a handsome, young aristocrat."

"Hm, that was ruined the minute you opened your mouth," she added, smiling as some of the guys behind her began to laugh at her comeback. "Now, if you excuse me, I need to go and see my friends before the sun goes down."

"Enough!" the panther yelled, silencing his men again. He grabbed Alexa's chin in his right hand, and growled, "You're a pest of a half breed and you're going to pay, here and now." He snapped his fingers saying, "Go at it boys," and walked out to the sidelines.

The others laughed as they began to huddle around Alexa. She fought back as best she could but there were too many of them and they were too strong for her. "No! Let go of me! Get off!" she called but no one else could hear her. It was Friday evening, and everyone was nearly gone in this area. The boys grabbed at her clothes but she kept fighting back. It nearly seemed hopeless until…

BAM! One of the boys got punched away. All of the others dropped Alexa to the ground as they straightened up to face whatever hit one of their men.

"Wha—" Alexa looked up and saw a person about as tall as the other boys, dressed in a black trench coat, with a hood hiding his face.

"Stop him!" the panther ordered.

The bulky gorillas laughed. It was just a scrawny kid in their opinion and he would be easy to snap in half. They charged him, but he only stepped aside to dodge them. Then the others nodded to each other and attacked the figure all at once. He kicked one aside and punched another. He jumped into the air making two others run into each other. Then the two gorillas from before charged him from behind, but he just did a round house kick, sending one into another, causing them to collapse on the ground like dominos. At the end of it all, the figure was between Alexa and the panther.

"Pathetic," the figure whispered. "You call yourself an aristocrat, in yet you allow this to happen!" he shouted. "You disgust me." Alexa looked up at him and was shocked. Through her eyes that day, this boy was the first to act "noble" in front of her with true sincerity.

The panther just growled, "Humph, you're not worth it." Then turn and ran the other way, with his men saying "wait for us" as they followed.

The boy in black turned to Alexa, and bent down at her level and held out his hand, "Are you alright?"

She took his hand and replied, "Yeah, thanks." She got to her feet, and brushed herself off, fixing her clothes in the process. She then knelt down, collecting her books and papers before they could blow away.

"No problem," he said with a smooth voice. "You want some help with that?"

"I'm fine," Alexa said still a little shaky not wanting to reveal weakness. But when she looked up to him, he was picking up the papers that were too far for her to get at the moment. "You just can't no for an answer can you?" she asked standing up put her things back into her bag and she even tried to look under the boy's hood.

He chuckled, "I guess you could say that I'm just stubborn." He stood up and handed her the rest of her things.

"Thanks," she grabbed the rest of her stuff, and organized it in her bag.

The boy then asked, "Can I walk you to where you need to go? I mean, just in case those boys come back."

Alexa blushed a little but replied, "Um… Oh-kay. But only if you tell me your name; or you take off your hood."

He laughed, "You drive a hard bargain." He paused for thought, and then he took off his hood smiling. "My name is—"

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!

Alexa shot up in her bed with a gasp and turned to her alarm clock that read 10:00 A.M. She hit the clock hard and shook it, yelling, "Damn you, clock! I was about to remember that guy's name!" She sighed and put the clock back in its place and sat back down in her bed, crossing her legs, trying to think.

"What was his name…? I remember that jerk… what was I doing that day? Ken and Jamie were sick and their parents, both being health nuts, had the two of them in the same house so not to spread their sickness… I was bringing meds and school stuff because they missed the a couple days and we were all in the same classes. It was freshmen year and I had completely turned down one of the richest, snobbiest, juniors in the entire school that week… he and his friends ambushed me, and then he showed up… he was so nice, I even think he didn't try and hit on or take advantage of me… Ah! Why can't I remember?" she moaned grabbing her hair with her hands and falling back on her pillow, sighing.

"But… Why did I remember him now?" she asked herself, staring at the sealing. "Is it because that guy was Chase…" she laughed, "No way, it's not him. His name wasn't Chase, but it started with a 'C'."

A knock on the door came, and Alexa sat up saying, "Come in."

Jamie opened the door and looked toward her friend, "Are you alright? I could've sworn I heard you shout."

"Yeah, I did… Jamie, do you remember in our freshmen year, the day you and Ken were sick?"

Jamie thought about it for a second, "Yeah, I sorta do." She walked over and sat down besides Alexa asking, "Why?"

"Well, it's just that I had a dream about that guy… you know the one that helped me out that day. But then my alarm went off right when I was about to remember his name… do you remember?"

"Hm… I remember you telling me about that but…" Jamie said, scratching her head, "Nope, I can't remember a thing."

Alexa sighed, "You were kind of doped up on all of those meds your parents gave you and Ken."

"I guess. Sorry I couldn't be of any help…"

"Aw, don't worry about it," Alexa replied, giving her vixen a hug. "Besides, this is a time for celebration. We ripped off the ruby!"

"So, are we going to sell it on thief-net?"

"No, we're going to visit an old friend of my dad's. I'm sure he'll take it off our hands at a good price. By the way, how much money did we get from all of that pick-pocketing that I did the other day?"

"Well... With all of the money you got plus the items that we sold, we're up to… five-thousand dollars," she said with a grin.

"Wow! Seriously! Sweet!" she said excitedly smiling, "Looks like I definitely got the pick-pocketing thing down. It is so a time to celebrate!"

"That's right. And you wanted to get some actual food," Jamie laughed.

Alexa laughed with her, "So true… oh, where's Ken?"

"He's still pasted out," she giggled.

"Poor Ken, we fell asleep before he did… he probably had to carry us in," Alexa sighed, "And he had deal with Chase all by himself, too. I hope he didn't cause too much trouble…"

"Obviously not," Jamie concluded. "If he did, he would've waked us up."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," she said looking down at her hands, "How about… we go ask him?" she suggested, standing up.

"Wait!" the vixen hissed. "Let him sleep. We can ask him later."

Alexa eased back down on her bed, "I guess." She looked over to Jamie, moaning, "I think I've lost my mind. I feel like I'm falling for the bad guy in this adventure."

"Gosh, sounds like your mom's story, doesn't it?" Jamie giggled. "Falling in love with the 'bad guy,' who just happens to be a suave raccoon."

"Yeah, it does… only this raccoon isn't as suave."

"But last night he got you with the hand kissing thing—"

"Nah-ah! None of that," Alexa said going a bit red, "Just because he did that, does not mean that he's 'suave.'"

"Okay, we'll forget about it," she laughed, "How about we get some breakfast? We can also check out thief-net for some new cool gadgets."

Alexa gave a sigh of relief, "Now, that's more I like it." She got up and headed for her closet, adding, "You go on ahead."

"Kay, see ya down there," with that she was out the door.

Alexa went to her closet, grabbing a pair of jeans and a tight navy blue shirt. Quickly changing and putting her hair up, she went to go grab her shoes at her door and noticed something that wasn't there before. There was a piece of paper right next to her shoes. She picked it up and muttered, "A picture?" It was a photograph of a young of male raccoon with short, jet black hair and blue eyes, and he looked like a seven year old with a big grin. "He almost looks like…Chase?" She put the picture into her back pocket, pulled her shoes on and ran out the door to Ken's room. She busted through the door and yelled, "Ken!"

"Ah!" he yelped, as he fell off his bed with a thud. "Ow…" he moaned. He looked up to see Alexa at his door. "Was that really necessary? I was sleeping," he yawned.

"Yes, I noticed," she replied, opening the curtains allowing the light to shine in.

"Gah," Ken mumbled, shielding his eyes. "What is it? Is something wrong?" he asked sitting back on his bed.

Alexa sat next to him and asked shyly, "Ken… what happened when you got here last night?"

"Oh… that… Why? Everything went fine. Even Chase cooperated. He just wanted you to know that he said 'you're welcome'," he explained.

"I found this in my room," she whipped out the picture and held it in front of his face. "I think it belongs to Chase."

"It's possible…" he said as he examined it.

She put it back in her pocket and asked, "Was he in my room?"

"Um, well…"

"He was, wasn't he?" she gasped.

"Yes…" he sighed.

"You let him come into my room?"

"Well, I—"

"You left him alone… with me," she blushed.

"He carried you up to your room and that was it. He didn't do anything to you. I made sure of that."

"Yes, but why did you let him do that?"

"Because, I know he really likes you," he smiled.

"What!" she shrieked, with her eyes wide and face all red.

"It's obvious. And you like him too, don't you?"

"I… yes," she mumbled, "But it's complicated by the fact that he was trying to get the Thievius Raccoonus from me and…" she gave a sigh, laying her head in her lap, "I don't know what to do!"

"Hey, come on," Ken said in a comforting voice, rubbing her back, "This is how love is."

"I hate it! Love sucks!"

"I know the feeling," he chuckled.

She looked up at her wolf friend with a curious look, "How?"

"I-uh…" he looked away with his cheeks going rosy, "I've had the same kind of problem."

"Really? With who?"

"No one special," he back-pedaled.

"Come on, you can tell me."

"No, and why? Because you'll tell her."

"Please. The only person I could tell is… you like Jamie!"

"Wha—"

"Don't deny it!" she countered, "You really like her, admit."

"I, well… so what if I do?" he blushed, looking down at his feet, "She probably doesn't even like me that way…"

"Aw, don't think that. You haven't even asked her. I bet she does. In fact, I'm sure of it."

"You think so?"

"Positive," the half-vixen smiled. She then exhaled and got to her feet, "Alright, time for me to head down. I told Jamie I'd be right behind her, so she's probably wondering where I've disappeared to. You might as well get dressed and head down, too." She went to the door and looked back, "You really should talk to her. I mean, if you don't, someone else might take her."

She closed the door behind her and headed for the stairs. Doing a quick rail slide down, she then walked into the kitchen seeing Jamie at the microwave. "Yo, chickadee, whatcha makin'?"

"Oh, there you are. What took you so long?" she asked curiously.

"Sorry, I went back to sleep somehow."

"Oh, you must still be tired. We did have a long night. And that explains that thud you made. I was about to come and see if you were okay."

Alexa just shrugged, going with Jamie's idea, "Yeah, sorry about that…" She sat down at the table, having her elbow on the table allowing her arm to hold up her head, "But, you know, I've been thinking."

"Pray tell, a scary thought," she laughed, "About what though?"

"Well, Miss Funny-Girl, I've been thinking about seeing if I could talk to Chase… you know, maybe get to know him better…"

"Seriously? That's great!"

"I think you should do the same with Ken… I mean, after last night's gunning, well…"

"I've been thinking the same thing. And well, I feel he needs to know… it's been years and I think he deserves to know."

"Now that's the kind of thing I want to hear," Alexa grinned. "So… you never answered my first question: What are we eating?"

"Well, I actually found some hot pockets… you know, just to give us a change in pace."

"Ah, cool," the master thief nodded in approval.

Then their wolf friend walked into the room putting his shirt over his head, saying, "Morning all."

"Morning," the girls chimed.

Ken sniffed the air and noticed the smell of something other than sandwiches, "Mm, what smells good?"

"Jamie rummaged around and found us some hot pockets," stated Alexa.

"Really, awesome," he replied taking his seat, "We get to have a good breakfast today."

DING!

"Yay, they're done!" Jamie called, grabbing the three plates from the microwave and putting in front of her friends, "There we are. Dig in!"

The other two didn't even have to be told. They began stuffing their faces, happy to have some different food.

"Thanks, Chief Jamie," Ken said with a mouth full. He then swallowed and continuing with, "You're the best."

"No doubt," Alexa agreed.

"Oh, come on guys… they're just hot pockets," she said as she took her seat but still blushed as she began to eat her own breakfast.

Alexa swallowed another bite and asked, "So… Where are we going to have some fun today?"

"Well," Ken thought aloud, "We could just walk around for awhile… um, and then we could…"

"Oh, I got it!" Jamie exclaimed with a snap, "We can walk around the bizarre here and there, to get some food for lunch and perhaps get some souvenirs. Then, for dinner, we can go to this karaoke bar I noticed after we finally got away last night."

"That's a great idea, Jamie," Alexa approved, "I mean, my dad took the gang on some movie set, or something like that… so, why not? I'm in!"

"Me too," Ken nodded. "I can't wait to hear your voices again. It's been forever since I've heard you two."

"Ken, we haven't sung together since… what was it the sixth grade?" Alexa asked the vixen.

"Yeah, that's right. We did a duet for the talent show that year. And we got first if I remembered correctly," Jamie recalled.

"That's right, over Miss Margot's second… I think that's why she hated us so much after that," Alexa laughed with her fox friend.

Ken finished up his food and went to put his plate in the sink and turned to a morbid note, "We should probably leave this safe house while we're at it. If the police know it was us who ripped off that ruby, and I'm pretty sure we left enough evidence to points a straight line to us… they'll be looking for us here based off of info from your dad, Alexa."

"You're right," Alexa sighed as she flicked her last piece into her mouth. "We are gonna have to go. So, we'll pack right now!"

Jamie swallowed her last piece and agreed, "Right then." She took hers and Alexa's plate to the sink saying, "Let's get started."

After an hour or so, the packing was nearly done. Ken was getting the rest of the things in the van and Jamie was inside finishing up packing her computer, while Alexa… well, let's just say, she's doing what her father would: sitting on the hood of the van, just itching to go.

She sighed and looked up at the first safe house and turned some thoughts over in her head. I'm gonna miss this place. Our first safe house for our first job was here. Ken and Jamie both decided it was about time to tell the other that they like each other… about time. And I… her face went red at this thought but agreed with it, I guess I sorta fell in love…

"Alexa!" Ken called walking up to her, "The van is not a chair!"

"Huh? Oh, sorry," she replied hopping off.

"I mean, it's not exactly my van but I feel it should be taken care of," he mumbled patting the hood.

Alexa laughed, "I suppose so. But don't turn into another Murray, okay? I don't need a crazy car guy, I need a smart brawn, alright," she giggled flicking his forehead.

"Yeah, yeah," he replied chuckling running his hand through his hair. He hopped into the driver's seat and closed the door with the window down.

Alexa leaned against the door and said, "I'm gonna head in and double check the place, along with telling Jamie to come out. Have the van started, kay. We'll leave in a few minutes."

"Okay," he wolf nodded allowing the van to start up with a roar as the half vixen ran inside.

Alexa saw the fox packing up her lap top, "Come on, Jamie. We need to get going."

"Hm, okay. I'm nearly done. Then I'll head out," she replied zipping up cases.

Alexa then ran through the kitchen, Ken's and Jamie's room, and the "planning" area, leaving her room for last. "Well, that should be everything," she nodded satisfactory. She turned to the door but then felt a presence of someone behind her. Turning on her heels she saw… no one. "That's odd… I could've sworn someone was there…"

The van honked outside at least three times. Alexa stood there for a moment but dismissed the feeling and ran to the stairs yelling, "I'm coming!"

A figure stepped out of the closest and went to the window seeing Alexa run to the van, sticking her tongue out at Ken and hop in the back of the van with Jamie, laughing. "So… this is the girl that stole Chase's heart…" The light shined through the window showed the figure as a white furred wolf, his hair to his shoulders and bangs right before his eyes of two different colors: sapphire blue and forest green. His clothes were a black trench coat with a hood along with black gloves and soft soled shoes to help him in his quiet hunting and martial arts.

He watched as the van drove away and he mumbled, "I suppose things will get more interesting… after all, the poor boy is supposed to kill her." He then turned to walk out and nearly trips as he got to the stairs. He cursed underneath his breath and muttered, "I can battle many with flawlessness, execute martial art and acrobatic moves with ease, but I can't seem to ever stand on my two feet without falling over myself… curse my clumsiness." With that he walked down the stairs and left the house without another word.

That's it! Wahoo! I'm so happy that I finally got that done and out of the way. It seemed to take forever. But it's done. I hope you all liked this chapter because I enjoyed righting it.

I would also again like to thank wolfwriter101 for my new character described above. I had the idea in my head but he gave me the solid words I needed. Things are going to get interesting and the rest of the information about our new character will come up soon. So, do him a favor and visit and review his story for him and me, kay. ;)

And again the "what character you'd like to see drawn" poll will end with the next chapter, so keep the PMs and reviews coming.

So, until the next chapter all of you good people, later!