A/N: Sorry I took long with posting this chapter. I actually wrote it like 3 days ago, but was really busy at work since we had a big Event going on... But that's finally over, and hopefully I'll have more time next week... Since I'll be off! ^^
Please review!
loonaticslover13- YES it was the Butler! XD And don't worry I can't get rid of Lexi otherwise I wouldn't have a story to tell! LOL! Who wouldn't have a thing for Lexi? She's cute as a button! As always, thanks for the review! ;)
Lexi's eyes fluttered opened as the smell of rubbing alcohol made it's way through her nostrils. She took notice at the cloth that was now invading her muzzle, and the yellow hand that held it. She looked up and noticed her head was actually resting on Ace's lap as he attempted to wake her up with the smell of rubbing alcohol, he succeeded, and now the smell was more burning than helping so she pushed his hand away from her as she tried sitting up, but stopped when the shot of pain hit her head. She fainted with all that happened, which surprised the rest and herself, she's never been the type to faint, and they've been in worst case scenarios before. But when someone points a gun at your head and you feel helpless you can't expect to laugh after you hear the sound of gunfire. The rush, the fear, the anxiety all contributed for the cause of fainting, it was a bit too much for her to handle.
"Lex You ok? You fainted…" Said a concerned leader as he noticed his second in command's attempt of sitting up. She turned her gaze up to him and nodded as she held her forehead in pain. She either hit her head with the floor as she fell, or the rush was causing the headache. Ace gave her a worried glance, but understood how she felt as he too had a headache earlier, so he glanced up at Tech who was now checking the IV stuck to the light brown rabbit sitting on the floor next to his bed. Lexi's eyes widened as she remembered Jake and his condition, she suddenly forgot about her headache and sat up facing him.
"Jake! Your ok!" Said Lexi as she gave him a smile of relief. He faced her gaze and returned the smile as he nodded. Tech looked back to glance at the female bunny behind him and exchanged a smile with her, happy to know she woke up, and happy to see her spirits up. But her happy appearance changed to a confused one as she looked around the room, it was only Tech, Ace, Jake and her in the room, where were the rest and most of all where was Bitterman?
"Wait! what happened to Bitterman?" She turned to face her leader, who was now starting to stand up and held a hand at her to help her stand up as well.
"Well I blasted the bastard just in time to save your fluffy cotton tail, and then I called in for backup, Duck, Rev and Slam took him to the authorities… So he should be behind bars soon." Responded Ace as he gave Lexi a smirk. She turned to glance at Jake and noticed that he was a bit bummed about it, as he distractedly looked down at the floor. Bitterman has been working in his family for years, and he trusted him enough to bring him to Acmetropolis, but the truth has been revealed, and now they were even trying to link other unsolved mysteries with him because of the similarities of the cases. So the fact that he was living and being taken cared of by a psychopath was a bit disappointing… And she understood what it meant to live with disappointment, so she decided to give him some space on the subject and not push it farther.
The leader gave her an apprehensive look, and remembered her headache. "I'll go get you something for your headache Lex" And she nodded in gratitude of his sudden offer. He then turned to face Jake "Hey Jake? Is it ok if I take some of your aspirins from your medical cabinet in your kitchen? they're for Lex" Asked Ace in a very much polite tone. Jake turned to him, and cleared his throat a bit before he spoke.
"Sure, I have no problem, and uh… Bring some for me too, I've been trying to fight a bloody headache for days now, I think it's become part of me by now." Jake managed to talk, but was caught up with a couple of coughs in return. Tech frowned at the reaction, and took a water bottle that sat next to him, and handed it to the light brown bunny next to him. He took the bottle and took a few sips to sooth his throat. Then gave Tech a grateful smile. "Thanks… uh… I'm sorry what's your name again?" Asked Jake as he stared at the coyote in curiosity.
Tech simply smiled and stood "My name is Tech, and you better keep drinking your water, 3 days without food and water were finally getting the best of you." Responded the coyote as he headed for the door. "I'll be back with some more water, and don't touch your IV! You need to get those fluids and nutrients in before we try and take you out from this hole." said Tech as he exited the room.
Jake glanced back to Lexi, and gave her a kind smile. "You ok love? You fainted there for a couple of minutes."
"I-I'm ok, I guess it was all a bit too much to take!" Answered Lexi sheepishly and she blushed a bit. He called her "Love", he was british and it's common for british people to use the term "love" on the opposite sex, or on people they care about.
"Yes well, the important thing is that you're ok and to see you have someone who really cares a lot for you. Good for you love." Her smile faded and her expression changed from happy to confused at his sudden words.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Asked Lexi confused of Jake's words.
"The other bunny, he's with you isn't he? Because the way he acted when he saw you unconscious… It's hard to explain but it was very much intense, the way he held you in his arms, he cradled you, he brushed your hair out of your eyes, and whispered some stuff in your ears." Admitted the brown bunny. Lexi's jaw dropped and looked down in disbelief of Jake's words, not that she didn't believe him, but if only he knew that they were nothing more than best friends and that recently that has also changed. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"He's not… We're just really good friends that's all…" Responded Lexi as her gaze was still fixated on the ground. Her expression sadden a bit as she thought about the "good friends" reference she just gave Jake.
"Just good friends? Well either he fancies you or cares deeply a lot for you… And not to offend him or anything, but he'd be a fool if he didn't, your gorgeous love." Admitted Jake to the black and pink bunny standing in front of him. Which was now thankful of wearing her suit as it hid her current burning blushes.
"Aww you're too sweet!" She said as she sat down next to him.
"Honest!" Jake responded as he lifted his right hand to his chest as a proof of his honesty. He tenderly stared at her and she returned the kind gesture. They just stared in silence for a couple of seconds, enjoying their company at this moment seemed like enough.
But Jake decided to break the silence as he coughed a bit and covered his mouth. He looked around a bit and returned his gaze to the female bunny sitting next to him.
"I don't think I can thank you enough for what you've done love. This wasn't easy… And if it wasn't for you who knows if I'd still be alive…" Said Jake, looking down at his feet.
"Yeah well… I guess Acmetropolis still needs their big star to entertain them." Responded Lexi trying to brighten up the mood, and he gave her grateful smile for the comment.
Ace walked in to the room along with Tech who carried two water bottles in his hands and a what looked like a medical kit under his arm.
"Here you go Lex!" Said Ace as he placed 2 white pills on her palm and did the same to Jake. Then Tech handed a water bottle to each. She opened the bottle and popped the pills in her mouth, followed by the water. She slightly moaned pleased as the clear liquid moistened her throat, she decided to finish the entire bottle in one take since she hadn't drank any in a couple of good hours. Jake did the same as Lexi, and popped the pills and drank more water.
Tech examined the brown bunny's IV and noticed that it was halfway done. He then opened the kit he held in his hands and took out some bandages and medical gauze.
"Ok Jake, as soon as the IV's done you'll be able to leave… It's gonna be painful as you have a lot of trauma going on in your body, but we'll bandage those up for now until you can go to an actual hospital" Announced Tech as he unrolled some of the gauze. Jake nodded in agreement.
"I don't think I have any broken bones… Just bruised pretty bad… And maybe a lot of pulled muscles…" Said Jake as he frowned with every word he kept adding to his sentence. And now he just pondered on something… "I'm sorry to change the subject, but how did you guys know I had a bunker room? I never told anyone except Bitterman. I designed it in such an odd position that it's kind of hard for me to believe that you just found it by surprise." Asked a now confused Jake, as he stared at the three Loonatics in front of him.
Ace, Tech and Lexi all looked at each other with wonder of what they should respond. But it was obvious the leader is the one who had take this question.
"Well… Tech and I studied your security system and footage before your disappearance, and came to the conclusion that you never left the house. I mean there was nothing that proved that you left the house in first place, not even the street cameras caught any weird vehicles, nothing. So I just assumed you just never left, I asked your assistant if you had a bunker room or any secret rooms, and she remembered you mentioned wanting to build one… And that's how I knew…" He turned to Lexi as he finished his sentence. "But it was Lexi who really found it, her super hearing caught something that led her here." He stared deeply into her emerald eyes, then changed his gaze as he realized how vulnerable he was getting with her. And Jake just watched amused and aware at Ace's expressions.
"And I can't thank her and you guys enough for what you've done for me. She took care of me for a few minutes before you guys got here, she was brilliant! You have a pearl here guys." Expressed Jake to both of Lexi's teammates. They both looked at Lexi and kindly smiled at her, acknowledging their female companion and her abilities. She blushed at the compliment, and thanked Jake with a smile.
Ace's communicator went off, and he answered it. It was Rev.
"Hey-guys-hope-Jake's-getting-better-we-have-an-ambulance-waiting-for-Jake-and-Lexi-for-when-you-guys-come-out-and-they-just-put-Bitterman-under-arrest-but-they-still-want-to-question-Jake-when-he-gets-out-for-details-and-charges-against-Bitterman-so-how-much-longer-is-it-gonna-take? Duck-is-begging-to-go-down-to-you-guys-so-he-can-take-pictures-with-Jake! You-know-how-he-is-he-just-wants-to-make-friends-with-him-could-you-imagine-that? If-they-became-real-friends?"
Ace eyed Jake's IV before responding, and noticed that it was less than halfway done. "Until he's IV's not done we're not leaving, and Tech's bandaging him now, but we'll let you know, and please keep Duck up there, I don't think Jake's in the condition of meeting raving fans." And he shut him off.
Lexi raised an eyebrow at Ace. "An ambulance for me? What for?!." Asked the female bunny to her leader.
He gave her a reassuring smile before he spoke. "I ordered it, you fainted and quite frankly I won't feel better until you get checked out." She pouted at him not happy at all with his decision, but didn't protest as she currently felt fine, so it probably won't take long until the medics realize that too, and inform that to their leader.
Jake cocked an eyebrow at Ace curious of Duck's remarks… "Uhhh… Excuse me, raving fans?" Asked a curious Jake.
Ace simply chuckled at the other bunny's reaction. "Ehh… Duck's your biggest fan, apparently he wants to be just like you with the ladies. When you were unconscious he literally stood in front of you mesmerized…" Jake gave him an awkward look, he was quite aware of who he was and his titles, and he knew his fan base could get a bit freaky sometimes, but most of the time he didn't have to deal with them personally, not that he didn't want to, but for his security he had to keep a distance. And to learn that one of his biggest fans was on his property made him feel… well just awkward and honored at the same time.
"Wow… Um… That's a bit freaky don't you think? I mean I know a lot of people look up to me and admire my job, but um… I actually don't think I'm really good with the ladies…" He nervously scratched the back of his head.
"Well your history sure says otherwise… No offense Doc." Responded Ace as he turned around and headed for the door. Jake gave him a shameful look, he did have a history with the ladies, but there's a reason why he's never lasted with any of them. Most people saw him as a lucky guy with good looks, charm, fame and fortune, but that's not all it takes to make a relationship work. Most of the girls he's dated were relatively beautiful and famous, so that's why his reputation was one of a womanizer. He'd hate to admit it, but some of his previous relationships were pure publicity stunts, no real love behind them, just kiss for the camera and give the tabloids something to talk about, and the sad part was that he'd agreed on them. Ace may have not intended to offend him, but when reality hits you, it hurts.
Tech was finishing up with the bandaging, and Jake decided to change his mind and try moving his legs, they hurt, but not as bad as it did when he was laying on his bed earlier. Plus the aspirins he took earlier contributed a bit, though they weren't as strong as other pain killers, but since he needed to move soon, he couldn't really take anything that made him drowsy.
A couple of minutes passed and the IV was finally done, and you could tell it's made a difference since Jake felt a bit more energetic and anxious to leave his underground mini pad. He slowly began to stand up with the help of Tech and Lexi, he winced as the pain shot through his body, but he managed to stay up. He took a few steps, and found himself slightly limping. It was a hard task, but he thought he could manage the crawl back to surface.
"I think I can manage, it's not gonna be easy, but I just can't wait to get out of this hell pit." Informed Jake to the three concerned loonatics starring at him. He winced a bit as he took another step, but gave the trio a reassuring smile, in hopes that they'd allowed him to leave the hole.
"Are you sure about this Jake?" Asked Lexi, her eyes filled with worry. She didn't want him to get more hurt than he currently was, and if he did during the vents in would just complicate things for the team. But at least he was mobile, and was willing to take a risk. If the team decided for him to stay until he got better and healthier it would take days and who knows even weeks until he was in complete shape to perform the task. But he currently needed professional health care, so he had to come out somehow.
"Yeah. It hurts a bit, but I think I can get out." He said as he nodded to the female bunny standing in front of him. She nodded in return and turned to look at her concerned teammates for their opinions.
Ace just shrugged at Jake's response. "If you really feel up to it… I mean it's up to you Doc. You call the shots." Ace said as he stretched his wrists. Tech simply gave the brown bunny a concerned look but he nodded to him in agreement, if he felt ready, then he felt ready.
And Jake just smiled back to the trio in gratitude and understanding, the guy really just wanted to get out. Ace took his sight from him and brought his left hand to his face as he pressed a few buttons in his communicator.
"Guys, be ready for backup, we're going up!" Informed Ace to his communicator.
"That's-great-news! Totally-sweet-sweet-sweet!" Responded Rev.
"Hurry up! The cameras are ready for this big moment! All of the news teams are here waiting to see Jake! …And so am I of course!" Responded Duck, with a bit of urgency in his tone.
"Ready!" Blurted out Slam. As Ace brought his arm away from his face, indicating the rest that his conversation with Duck, Rev and Slam was over.
"Alright seems like we're good to go, so let's get crawling." Ordered Ace, as Tech and Lexi helped Jake walk out of the room, he wasn't struggling as they thought he would. His feet were wobbling a bit, but not as much to complicate his walk. They finally got to the in built ladder that led them through the vents, and they all stared at Jake worried that he wouldn't be able to climb up to the vents. And he also looked a bit worried at the task, he's climbed this ladder so many times before, but he was injured now which made him a bit nervous.
Ace stared at him and back at the ladder, he sighed in thought. "I'll go first, Tech you next in case we have to pull him, and Lexi you keep a look out and watch his back." She nodded in agreement, and up went Ace and Tech, and now it was Jake's turn to climb. He worriedly looked at the steps, but took his first step as he lightly pulled himself up to the next. Lexi could hear him wincing under his breath in pain, She stretched a hand to his back which made him turn his head to look back at her.
"Don't worry, I'm here" She kindly said to him, as he gratefully smiled at her for the kind gesture. He turned his head back and kept on climbing little by little. Lexi remembered how hard it was for her to get to the bunker room, and how the darkness made her climb down the ladder a bit of a struggle. The darkness still remained, but the only difference now was that Ace and Tech had mini flashlights and were lighting up the path for Jake. When He was less than halfway up, both Tech and Ace stretched out their arms to help Jake, and pulled him up to the vents. Lexi started to climb and Ace lent a hand when she was near the top, she decided to take it even though she didn't need it, and he pulled her up. Once all of them where up, Ace positioned himself first and started to crawl first, followed by Tech, Jake and Lexi. They had to stop at least twice for Jake, as the shot of pain attacked him during their crawl. But he composed himself and kept crawling and crawling until they reached the opening.
When Ace crawled out of the hole on the wall he was blinded by the flash of the cameras, and the commotion of questions from the reporters that awaited outside. He protectively placed his arms against his face protecting his eyes from the sudden harsh flashes of the cameras, as he felt a slight push and noticed that the flashes stopped. Duck pushed himself through the crowd of news reporters and their camera men, as he started to push and shoo them all out of the closet.
"Alright! Alright! OUT! Let the man breath some air! He hasn't even been out yet and you guys are attacking him with your silly questions!" Pressed Duck to the news reporters as they all took a step back to give the now rescuing team some space to get out of the darkness. Ace turned around and helped Tech out of the hole, once he was out, they both turned to help Jake out which took more than they thought as he was starting to get weak again. Duck noticed the struggle, but gasped amazed that his idol was in front of him and very much alive. The few camera crews that had visibility to Jake's appearance recorded the whole thing. Ace became a bit irritated that only news reporters awaited their return, this is not what they urgently needed at this moment. So he glared at Duck.
"Duck! Get these people out of here! And get the paramedics NOW!" Demanded Ace as he took Duck out of his trance, but understood once he took notice of Jake's battered appearance. He signaled Rev and Slam for back up, as they gently started to get the news crew out of the house. Ace and Tech managed to pull Jake out of the darkness, he looked like he was about to pass out, so before that happened they managed to get him to the nearest sofa they could find before he collapsed of exhaustion and pain.
As Lexi was crawling out she noticed his current state and saw how he just fell on the couch, she stood and ran to his side worried about him. She kneeled down next to him and took his hand, she turned and looked at her teammates. "Someone call the medics!" She frantically demanded. But she spoke too soon as a pair of paramedics stormed to the room in search of Jake, the trio stood back and let the paramedics work their magic on Jake, and behind the paramedics ran Duck, Slam, Rev and a anxious Gretchen.
Gretchen noticed her boss's state and gasped in fear. "Jake?!" She cried out. But Tech placed a hand on her shoulders attempting to bring some kind of support to the hysteric woman. The medics turned to the loonatics and Gretchen and gave them a reassuring look letting them know that Jake was going to be ok.
One of them, a young lady spoke. "He's going to be alright, he's just physically exhausted. But we'll take him to the hospital and put some fluids on him, he looks a bit dehydrated." Tech knew he'd still be a bit dehydrated, the fluids he put on him was only a third of what usually dehydrated patients get treated with. But the water they gave him helped a lot. Gretchen nodded understanding the medic's predictions, her features seemed a bit calmer now that she knew that Jake was going to be alright. Lexi's expression also calmed when she learned that he was going to be ok. Ace put a hand on her shoulder trying to take her attention away from the collapsed form in front of them. She turned to him and gave him a questioning stare.
"Now that Jake's getting checked out, let's get you checked out and make sure your ok." Informed Ace to Lexi. She gently brushed his hand from her, but nodded as she started to walk away from the entertainment room, and the rest of the team followed, except Duck who stayed behind next to his idol's side. Ace noticed and glared at him. "Duck?" Questioned Ace to his mallard friend. Duck returned the glare annoyed, but sighed and started to walk towards the exit.
"Your despicable you know that right?" grunted Duck to his leader.
"Me? really? Do tell…" Teased the black and yellow bunny.
"Yup! Despicable!" Responded Duck as they walked outside of the mansion.
Once outside of the house, the whole team was surprised with the loud cheering and applause. The fans outside of Jake's house cheered as they already knew that Jake had been found, thanks to the news resporters that now recorded the loonatic's exit. They all chanted the team's name in a form of gratitude for what they've done. They all waved back grateful for the cheers. But before they could say anything, news reporters stormed to their direction, attacking them with their questions, flashes, microphones and cameras. Ace simply waved his hand in dismissal, and explained everything that happened in the house, and Jake's health condition. After his brief explanation he grabbed Lexi's hand and stormed off to the nearest ambulance ahead of them as he pushed his way through the camera men pulling Lexi along with him.
Once the news crew caught the message that they didn't want to be disturbed they decided to respect their space. Lexi got checked out by the medics that awaited her, and informed her and the team that she was alright, but her sugar levels were a bit low. It was almost sunrise, which reminded her that her last meal was almost 24 hours ago, no wonder her sugar levels were low.
Ace frowned about learning the news of her low sugar. Besides the fact that they had a rough day, emotionally and physically, he still cared deeply for his best friend, and he couldn't help but to feel concerned about her well being more than anyone else in the group. Not that he didn't care for the others, but since he was closer with Lexi, he couldn't help his natural instincts to care so much for someone or something that close to you.
"Yeah… That might've been my own fault, I had a light breakfast yesterday, and that's it! nothing else!" She admitted to the medics. But her fainting wasn't only because of her low sugar levels, it was also because of what she went through emotionally, in fact the whole day was just en emotional wreck for the girl, and she could only take so much.
The medic looked at a chart he held with Lexi's case, he suggested for her to not skip anymore meals, as this could mean she could get hypoglycemia. She nodded, and then he ordered her to get more blood work the day after to check on her. She once again nodded, and turned around to leave. The whole team was now walking towards their ship, and ready to leave, as exhaustion crept upon them.
As they all got into their designated seats and prepared themselves for takeoff, both Duck and Lexi stared at the mansion in thought. Duck finally got to meet his idol… Well more like see him in person, since he was mostly unconscious whenever he was present. And Lexi only saw hope, hope that things do change for good, and that not everything is what it seems. She might've thought the worst of Jake before she met him, but after seeing what he went through, and the way he admired her in general, she couldn't help but doubt about her previous opinion on him. She met him all bruised, battered, sick and dirty… Not a good way, and yet to her that seemed more truthful than anything. Not that she liked him, but now she found him a bit more appealing… But why should it matter anyways? She was probably never gonna see him again, as the mission was officially over…
END OF CHAPTER 5
I've read this chapter a couple of good times, somehow I feel like there's something wrong with it, either it's me being paranoid that it's not good enough... Or there is actually something wrong with it, so if that's the case please don't hesitate to let me know and review! ^^