Hey everyone! Merry late Christmas and a Happy New Year! Lightheart77 is back with a story to tell. So yeah, definitely wanted to get the update in before another 2 years or so rolls around ^^; I am still very sorry about that. School got in the way very much but it was in a good way. I hope to keep coming up with the chapters and finish the story soon so that won't happen again. And I would've gotten it done sooner as well but my poor laptop got a virus. The chapter is done now, so happiness!
Oh! And before I forget, we have some new and old characters that aren't of my creation. Everyone remembers Ryu from wolfwriter101 and we have two new characters to be revealed from The Dancing Blade (who I couldn't get in contact with to look at the chapter before post so if your characters were used horribly please tell me so I can rewrite as soon as possible). I needed characters and I thank them both for allowing me to use their characters. I think it's a bonus for them though. They get to read the chapter first XD
OH! Another thing, please vote on the poll on my profile. We have a tie right now on who's the favorite from this story and I know way more people who have read the story than voted so please VOTE!
Okay, so here's the chapter where we finish or almost finish this job and when this job is done then… well to put it quite frank, the shit will hit the fan. And then this installment will be finished :( a sad day indeed unless I do that sequel. But it will depend on the demand for it (cuz I do have an idea for the sequel) and my schedule cuz I am officially in college and it only gets harder and crazier from here apparently ^^;
Well, you don't want to hear about my crazy days, so on with the story and please, do remember to review :3
Another Gang with Help
"Alexa? Alexa, answer me!" Jamie screamed over the communicator but the line was dead. She threw her headset aside and began packing things into her bag. "Come on Ken. We need to get them."
"Do you know where they are?" he grabbed his coat.
"I have their last location before they hit the water. Since I know the direction of the river, I can get us in their general area." She stuffed her arms through her jacket, "Let's just hope one of them can get them to shore." She then ran out with Ken right on her tail.
…
Alexa's lungs were beginning to burn from the oxygen starvation. But the adrenaline was blocking the pain as she desperately looked back and forth. She then spotted a ring tail and used the current to propel herself to Chase and she wrapped her arm around his torso. She then kicked upward leaving a hand in front of her.
The current began to slow and she was having an easier time going upward but then her hand hit ice. Damn! She grabbed a piece of her crane with her free hand and began pounding away at the ice. Then her vision started to blur and she began to go in and out of consciousness.
"Daddy, why did Cooper's only steal from criminals?" She heard a young girl ask.
"Because there was no honor, or fun in stealing from ordinary people," she heard a familiar voice chuckle as the cane began to slip in her hand.
"Wha's honor?" Alexa's body was going numb and she was losing her grip on Chase.
"Hmm… To do what's right despite all odds, even if the easy way is to do wrong or give up. And since you're a Cooper, you'll show that strength and never give in."
A new wave of energy went through her body. Never give in! She smacked the ice with all of her strength and it shattered. Her head broke through the surface of the water and she began gasping for air. She then pulled Chase up out of the water with her and dragged him to shore.
"Chase," she shook him but there was no response. She put her ear to his mouth and couldn't hear a single breath. "Shit!" and then she began to perform mouth to mouth. "Come on, Chase," she muttered checking for air after breathing in a few breaths. She put her lips to his when Chase's eyes flew open and he began coughing up water, and gasping for air. Alexa pushed him up to his side, "You okay?"
"Better than I was," he coughed his lungs still in pain from the new oxygen. He took a couple deep breathes before saying, "I guess we're even, huh?"
"I think so," she chuckled, laying him on his back.
"What now?" he asked as he hissed in pain. "Ah, my head."
She checked his head and smiled, "You'll be fine. You're bleeding a little but the cold water will prevent bleeding out and reduce chance of infection. And I'm…" she wavered, "I'm…" her voice faded as she collapsed on Chase's chest.
"Alexa!" he tried to move but grunted as pain spiked through his body. "Damn it."
"My friend, you are really unlucky today…"
Chase looked behind him, "Ryu! Please help me get her out of here. She can't be used to these conditions."
"I don't think I should, Chase," the wolf replied with no expression, no emotion.
Chase froze and his eyes grew wide, "What?"
"I'm supposed to be helping you, not her. This would be the perfect time to steal the Thievius Raccoonus and leave. You wouldn't be lying to Father if you said you left her in the cold."
"I can't do that. I have to make sure she gets help." He tried to get up but he only fell back into the snow.
"Your body is too weak."
"It's not, damn it!" Chase sat all the way up and then got to his feet with Alexa in his arms. "If you're not going to help me, then you're against me."
"I am trying to help you! You're just being irrational because you're blinded by your feelings!" Ryu growled.
"Maybe you're right," Chase chuckled as he looked down at Alexa. "But I've decided to end this. After this job, I'm telling Alexa everything. She'll help me save Chris and stop Mother and Father. She cares about me and I care about her." He took stiff steps forward. His limbs froze with pain, he stopped next to Ryu, looking him straight in the eye. "Please. Don't become my enemy. Help me, brother." Chase's legs than gave out and he collapsed with Alexa next to him.
Ryu sighed with annoyance but smiled, "Stupid boy."
…
Alexa shivered as she woke up. "Aug, my head…"
Jamie, sitting right next to her, gasped, "Alexa, you're alive! Thank god!" She hugged her tightly.
"Ow! Sore body too, Jamie!"
"Oh, sorry," she released her friend embarrassedly.
"And what do you mean al—" she gasped as the memory flooded into her mind. She shot up in the bed, "Where's Chase? Gah!" Pain rushed through her body as she went back down. "Ow."
"Yeah, you may not want to move right now. You're pretty banged up from your fight and swim."
"I'm fine. How is he?" she pleaded.
"He's resting. Just like you should be."
Alexa sighed and looked up to the ceiling. "How's his head?"
"Bandaged up. You know, he's been going on about how you two are even. Something about you saving his life, giving him mouth to mouth…"
"That does not count as kissing," Alexa growled.
Jamie giggled, "He knows that. Said, 'it would've been perfect if I was breathing.'"
"Of course he'd say something like that…" she then looked around and realized, "Jamie, where are we? This isn't the safe house."
"You're right. If you can believe it, we're in another gang's safe house."
"What?" Alexa shouted, "What gang?"
"The Black Widows."
Alexa and Jamie looked over to see a female raccoon in her early twenties with indigo eyes and deep dark blue hair that draped to her knees in a pony tail. She wore black shirt with black jeans covered with spider webs and a necklace around her neck with a gold pendent containing the letter "A" in pearls. She was also holding a tray of herbs, streaming water and food as she sat down besides Jamie.
"Alexa, meet Akuma," Jamie smiled.
"Hello, Alexa. Happy to see that potion helped."
"Potion?"
"Oh, when we found you—well, that's not exactly right. Let me start over. Ken and I went looking for you two and ran into Akuma's sister who was looking for the 'friends of the raccoons.' When we got here, they told us that a friend had given them a call about you guys and they got you two just in time. I mean, you were in pretty bad shape, getting close to hypothermia and all scrapped up. Then Akuma gave you this potion and you got better really quickly. I mean, you were breathing normally and not in as much pain from what I could tell—"
"Okay, stop rambling, Jamie. I'm fine and I understand. But who is this friend who called for us to be gotten?"
"His name is Ryu," Akuma replied, her eyes focused on some of the herbs she was putting into a bowl.
Jamie nodded, "And I think Chase somehow knows him too cuz when he heard the name, he started laughing. Oh, but he did stop long enough to ask me if I had the Thievius Raccoonus…"
"And do you?" Alexa asked.
"Yep."
"Then what did he say?"
"Nothing. He just went on laughing. It was like he had completely forgotten that he was this close," Jamie held up her fingers with a tiny space between them, "to dying."
"Maybe he just needs a lot more rest," Alexa nervously chuckled.
"As do you Miss Cooper," Akuma stated, grinding up the herbal mixture.
"So your gang knows of the Coopers?" Alexa questioned.
Akuma chuckled, "Yes. My sister and I heard of them when we were in the same orphanage your father was in as a child."
"Really? Wow, small world," Alexa muttered.
"Yes, it is," Akuma smiled. "And after hearing these stories, my sister and I decided that we could be good thieves as well. Not only that but we had started developing magical abilities. You could call it voodoo I suppose to keep it simple."
"I see… but the 'voodoo' here is related to life, not death… right?"
"Of course," Akuma nodded.
"It was so cool, Alexa!" Jamie bounced around. "I officially believe in magic!"
"That's great, Jamie," Alexa laughed. "I believed in magic since I read about Mz. Ruby in the Thievius Raccoonus."
"I've heard of her," Akuma stated. "She's one of those who give magic a bad name." She then waved her hand over the herbs, a puff of smoke wafted out of the cup, and she extinguished it with some water. "That and it makes magic sound so ludicrous that barely anyone believes in magic anymore."
Alexa gulped, "I don't have to drink that, do I?"
"Afraid so. But I brought some food to get the taste out of your mouth." Akuma handed the cup over and Alexa cautiously took it.
"What is it suppose to do?" Alexa asked.
"It's a pain killer and muscle relaxant," Akuma replied, cleaning up some of her things.
"I can't take it then. I have to stay awake. We need to make a plan to—" She grunted as she tried to get up.
"You can take two hours to rest. Don't worry, you won't miss much," Jamie said.
Suddenly, another female raccoon with long black hair that went down her back and bright blue eyes burst through door, walked over to Alexa and then stared at her. She was wearing a black shirt with tight red pants and a gold necklace as well only it had a diamond "S" on the pendent.
"Uh, hi?" Alexa tried to back up just a little. Personal space, please.
"Oh, this is Senaka, my sister," Akuma stated, not looking up from her work. "She's been eager to speak with you all day."
"How did you do it?" Senaka questioned.
"What?"
"'What'? What do you mean 'what'? You got into Fydor's compound and got pictures of his operations. How?" Senaka stated harshly.
"I used a Cooper technique that makes me invisible…"
"Gah, of course! That explains it. You get in using an invisible technique while we've been trying to avoid or take out the cameras and it just has not worked well," she grumbled.
"Why were you trying to get in?"
"To stop him and get some money along the way," Akuma stated before her sister could say a smart remark. "We heard of his reputation, probably the same way you did, and decided to see what we could do. When we got here, we met up with some of the escapees from the compound trying to help their families inside. Sadly, most of our plans have failed, many were killed, and few were saved. We probably would've gotten it done by now but the stupid cops from town keep getting in the way, trying to get the glory of taking down Fydor."
"Well, that's your problem then. You have to use the cops to your advantage. Reminds me of one of my dad's jobs. See, first—" but she was interrupted when Jamie put the cup to her mouth, forcing her to choke down a large gulp of the mixture. "Ack, ew! Jamie!" she coughed.
"Sorry but you have to rest. Fydor's plans don't happen for at least thirty six hours. We can work on a plan of attack while you get your strength back," Jamie explained, scooting away to avoid getting hurt.
"But—" the mix breed yawned. "Gosh, why do I feel so tired already?"
"You're brain is a muscle and it's relaxing along with the rest of your body. So go to sleep. Don't worry, Ken and I will fill them in on the job you're thinking of."
"I—" she yawned again, "But—" and then simply fell back into a deep sleep.
"Hmm, that one was a little strong," Akuma noted, grabbing the cup out of Alexa's hands and looking at the mixture.
"And she's gonna be pissed when she awakes up, I'm guessing," Senaka noted.
"Yes, but she'll be alive and well at least," Jamie softly smiled.
…
Alexa started to stir and when she opened her eyes, her face turned into a frown. "Damn. I'm gonna kill Jamie." She sat up and felt something on her hand and she looked over to see Chase sleeping at her bedside holding her hand tightly. Her other hand ran down her face as she turned pink. "Geez. Why is he here?" She shook his shoulder, "Hey, Chase."
Chase's eyes opened and looked up to her and smiled. She really is okay, and his grip on her hand relaxed. "Hey."
"Why are you sleeping—" But she didn't finish. Chase had wrapped his arms around her. "C-Chase?"
"I wanted to say thank you. You didn't have to save me but you did. You don't know how much I owe you."
Alexa looked down and mumbled, "I could say the same thing about you…"
He chuckled, "I suppose." He then put his hands on her shoulder and put her out in front of him so he could look her in the eye. "Alexa, I—"
Senaka burst through the door, "Sorry to interrupt, but it's about time you two come and listen to the plan for bringing down Fydor."
Chase looked down and sighed but did not remove his hands from Alexa's shoulders. "Senaka, I told you—"
"I know what you told me and I don't care," Senaka replied putting her hands on her hips. She looked to Alexa who gave a confused face, "Don't worry about it. You feel up to coming?"
Alexa mumbled, "Um, yeah." Chase moved out of her way and helped her to her feet. She whispered, "Should I really not ask?"
"I'll explain later," he said with a shy smile. But then his tone turned serious, "Right now, Fydor needs to be stopped and we need to get the cops to work with us. We should be able to strike tomorrow before his plans go under way."
Alexa nodded and walked to the door passed Senaka, "Then what are we waiting for?"
Senaka had a cocky smile spread across her face. "Heh, nothing now. Let's go, Cooper."
…
"So, here's a pretty much the simplified version of what we're going to do: first there will be two teams. Team one will be Alexa, Ken and Senaka. You three will go to the compound to lay bombs in the gun storage unit and get the guards away from the entrance into the compound. Pretty much, you guys are the distraction for the compound. Team two will be Chase, Akuma, and me. We will go to the cops and get them to direct an attack on the compound while the guards are distracted. In a nutshell, we start the true chaos. Once both teams have their parts under way, we'll all meet up and send the signal to the runaways that have been gathered by Akuma and Senaka to clear out the mines and take what they can. Finally, when the cops are fully distracting the guards, we'll take down Fydor and leave him wrapped up nice and pretty for the cops. What do you think?" Jamie grinned.
"Sounds great, Jamie. You think you can make transmitters for everyone else then?" Alexa asked.
"I can make them tonight with Akuma's help."
"Good. Do we have a place for these refuges to wait for the signal?"
Senaka nodded, "We've been digging towards the mines as a backup plan for months. Just the right amount of explosives will get the men into the mines without hurting anyone."
"Awesome cuz they need to stay hidden until the right moment. And the cops… how are we getting them here?"
"Heh, that's where I come in," Chase stated. "The police have our pictures so I'll be bait to get them in the right place. Then Jamie in disguise will come into the picture to point out the smoke from the compound. The cops will be more interested in Fydor and getting into the compound than a thief."
"And you," Senaka piped in to Alexa, "are going to get us in. If you can get in there invisibly then you're taking out the guards."
"Heh. I can do that. Once I get the main guards taken out, our muscle," she grinned patting Ken's shoulder, "can come in and help me take care of the rest. Then you can come in with the bombs."
"Ha, yeah right. I'm not letting you have all the fun," Senaka crossed her arms.
"Well, someone needs to stay behind with the bombs and be look out," Alexa crossed her arms.
"Not me. I've waited too long to stop this guy." That's when the sparks began to fly between them.
"Sister, please don't cause such strife," Akuma muttered, rubbing her temples.
"I'll do it," stated Ken. "I can be look out."
"Alright. We're pulling back together anyways. I really think we'll all get a chance to hit somebody."
"Definitely. By my count, there are at least three hundred guards," noted Jamie as Alexa whistled. "But we don't know how many would betray Fydor at the sight of rebellion. He's not exactly a nice guy you know."
"Right…" the half breed muttered. "Then there's something else we can do tonight."
"What is that?" Akuma asked.
"We plant a seed. Tell the guards that are for sure against Fydor about what's going on and we'll probably cut his army in half, or more."
"One problem," Senaka held up a finger, "You don't know who they are and they don't know you're a good guy. They'll probably shoot you before you get the chance to explain yourself."
"Oh!" Akuma snapped her fingers, "One of the mothers has a son in the guard. I believe his name is Ivan. If you have something of hers, he'll know you're a good guy and spread the word."
"Perfect," Alexa grinned.
"They'll still shoot you since you don't look like a guy," muttered Senaka.
"Then I'll go," Chase interrupted. "I'll snatch a uniform and see him. He's less likely to shoot a guy in uniform."
"But I should go. I can get in a lot easier and I can look like a guy," Alexa's eyes reflected frustration. "Besides, you should rest after getting your head hit like that."
"But—"
"She's right," Akuma nodded. "I still need to make sure you didn't take too much damage. Oh! And I actually have a uniform lying around somewhere," she muttered leaving the room.
"Alexa, are you sure?" asked Jamie. "You need rest too."
"I'll be fine. It's an easy get in, get out. Just need a new transmitter and binoc-u-com. Fydor has passwords for his guards too, right?"
"Yeah, but—"
"Then with you at the cameras, you can get me to where Ivan is and get out before Fydor even knows."
"Alexa," Ken said with a flat tone, "I think it would be best if I went and did this instead."
"But—"
"I think we could all agree with that," Chase chimed.
Alexa glared at him and had an eyebrow raised.
"Please, Alexa. You should rest," pleaded Jamie.
"Oh, fine. But you better be careful, Ken."
"Believe me, I'm gonna avoid trouble like the plague," Ken grinned.
Senaka sighed, "Okay, now that that fuzzy moment is done, are we sure of what we're doing now?"
"Yeah, we should be good to go," Alexa nodded.
"Good, now teach me how to turn invisible."
"Sorry, it's a Cooper thing."
"But if I could learn it, we'd have such an easier time and—"
"Sister," Akuma grumbled coming back into the room, "stop pestering her. You know better." Senaka just rolled her eyes while Akuma handed over the things to Alexa. "All of this should get you in."
"Alright." She then put the things in Ken's hands. "He's going for me cuz they all believe I still need to rest."
"Ah, I see. Not a bad idea. You had a lot of bruises and were nearly frozen. You probably should rest, just like Chase."
"Alright." She nodded and hugged Ken. "You be careful."
"I'll be fine. Jamie's got my back."
"Of course," Jamie said joining the hug.
Senaka shook her head and whispered to Chase, "Can you believe that? It's like they're never gonna see each other again."
Chase chuckled, "That just shows how much they care for each other."
Senaka was in shock. His eyes revealed true admiration. She looked to Alexa and glared. "You guys do realize we're on a time crunch?"
"She's right." Jamie looked to Alexa, "You to rest and," she pushed Ken's shoulder, "you go suit up. I'll start messing with your binoc-u-com and then you're ready to go."
"Okay," and he left to change.
"Can I at least be there when he goes in?" Alexa pleaded.
"I think you should go relax. We'll be able to handle it. Besides, I think we're kinda tired of you doing all the field work," Jamie winked.
"Alright," Alexa chuckled. "Then I'm gonna go outside to get some fresh air."
"But it's snowing and your warm clothes are still wet. Akuma that can't be good for her."
"Fresh air is perfectly fine as long as she bundles up."
Alexa snatched Jamie's jacket, "Thank you. Later." And she walked over to and out the door.
Jamie sighed, "She's so stubborn!"
"What's wrong?" Ken asked coming back into the room in his disguise.
"Just Alexa being Alexa," she chuckled. "Oh! You're binoc-u-com! Come on, we'll go fix it up," she stated grabbing his hand. And they went into the other room.
Chase smiled. A bit of a strange bunch I got stuck with I'll admit but good people none the less. I wonder if Alexa's gonna be warm enough though… "Akuma, do you have any blankets?"
"Hm… in the closet down the hall."
"Why?" Senaka arched an eyebrow.
"I don't want Alexa to catch a cold. Knowing her, she'll be out there for a while," he chuckled and went off.
"Hmpt, what does he see in her?" Senaka muttered. "She's not even a full raccoon."
Akuma laughed, "Falling in love again? You've always been one to fall in love easily."
"I guess I can't this time, now can I? I mean, it's so obvious that he's head over heels for her. He woke up screaming for her." She sighed, "I might as well just bite my tongue and work with the Cooper especially since I know that secret of his."
"That would be for the best," her sister nodded.
"Grr, why did Ryu have to get us involved with them?"
"Because they can help us bring down that tyrant."
"Hmpt… still don't like her that much."
Akuma chuckled, "Really? I thought she could be your twin. You're so much alike."
"Bite your tongue," her sister gasped.
Akuma smiled and shook her head, "Whatever you say, sister."
…
Alexa shivered out on the roof, sighing, "Maybe I should've grabbed another jacket…" then she felt a blanket over her shoulders and saw Chase come under the blanket laughing.
"Maybe it was a good thing I decided to come out here with you."
"You couldn't have gotten your own blanket?"
"I figured we could keep each other warm like the night before." He held out his arm. "You can come closer." Alexa gave a small sigh but scooted right next to him and leaned on him, covering the both of them tightly with the blanket. He smiled, "No complaints?"
"I'm cold and well… I've gotten used to you."
"Really?" he wrapped his arms around her to the point that her head ended up underneath his chin.
"Well, obviously. I gave you mouth-to-mouth without thinking about it, remember?"
"And you have no idea how thankful I am of that," his voice was soft and warm. "I was so mad with myself. If I had died, all of that pain my brother and I had gone through would've been wasted."
"How come you just haven't gone to get Chris and get him to a hospital?"
He chuckled, "You think I haven't tried that? Every time it would end up making things worse. I gave up years ago…"
"Is there anything I could do to help?"
"There is." His body tightened and he tried to stay calm, "But I want to ask you about it after this job."
Alexa put a hand on his arm and said, "It's okay. You're in the gang now. I'll help you. It will be our next job, alright?" she angled herself to show him a warm smile and his body melted with a sigh of relief.
"Thank you." He laughed, "I'm so relieved!" and he fell back in the snow with Alexa still in his arms.
"Woah!" Snow still fell as Alexa tried to get up out of his arms. "Hey, you okay?"
"I'm just so relieved…" he gave another deep misty breath and closed his eyes.
"So relieved that you would go to sleep?" she chuckled trying to get up. But then she realized that his grip wouldn't let her up. "Um, Chase?"
"Just give me this peace with you, please. We'll just be in the snow for awhile and rest like we're supposed to," he stated with a relaxed face.
"Well, alright but don't get any ideas!"
He yawned. "Wouldn't dream of it." He relaxed his grip and pulled the blanket over the two tightly. The two then closed their eyes and fell asleep in each other's arms, getting well deceived rest as the night grew dark and the snow fell quietly.
Alright, this update is over. So glad I got it in for you guys. Again, sorry it couldn't get up sooner. It was going to be a Christmas present to you guys but stupid virus prevented that and then my trip with my college's band prevented me getting the chapter up before New Years. But our team won, so it's all good. The next update will hopefully come sooner and I hope to see many reviews guys. I really want to know if you're up for a sequel or not (although I could guess the answer is yes). And don't forget to go to that poll! Oh! And visit those two authors who so graciously let me use their characters for me as well.
So with that, Happy New Year and see you at the next chapter :)