Note: As I am getting closer to the end, I feel relieved that I am able to get it done. Before I do, I want to thank those who were reading and following the story. Your reviews have allowed me to keep going, even if I had some ideas planned already. Even though it was an odd take on The Raccoons, and based on an unreleased PC game from the '90s, I felt confident as I wrote it. I even took inspiration from different stories, albeit ones that primarily weren't fanfiction for The Raccoons. I will credit them at the end, in case you want to read them.
Before we move on, I want to say something to a reviewer.
Ron: Yeah, lots of stuff happened. Not only did the Serpent Gang get the Ruby of Saturn, but they managed to abduct Junichi/George. The criminal organization just wanted to hit where it hurts, it seems. Chances are, they might torture Junichi. Let's just hope that the Seven Heroes are able to save him. If not, then Bentley might lose his father, and Ryuta/Ralph might lose his brother.
Now that I've said that, it's time for chapter twenty-two.
Chapter 22: Chasing the Serpent Gang
Now that Junichi had been kidnapped by the Serpent Gang, Bentley went to call his teammates over to his house. A few tears were in his eyes, as he felt overwhelmed by the situation. Not only that, but the kit felt angry, wanting to go after the criminals who dared to hurt his father. Once he had dialed Chu-Ya's number, the procyonid asked him to gather the rest of the team, the Pigs, and Officer Perry. He said that it was urgent, and that they would need all the help they would get. Chu-Ya agreed to have everyone come to the house, primarily because of the tone of Bentley's voice.
Once the Seven Heroes had arrived, Bentley immediately let them in. Needless to say, the team was horrified to see Lisa and Nicole. In fact, Schaefer had went to comfort Nicole, who had stopped crying, but was still shaken. The rest of the team tended to Lisa, taking her to wash the blood off of her body. Ryuta and Mayumi even helped her into the shower, offering whatever support they could. When Lisa was done, the Seven Heroes allowed her to get dressed in a bath robe, letting her go downstairs.
"So, let me get this straight, someone has Junichi?!" Bairei asked, genuinely shocked.
"Yes." Ryuta said. "And, unfortunately enough, his captors are the Serpent Gang."
"What do you think they're doing to him?" Chikaga asked.
"It's impossible to even imagine." Mayumi said.
"Zis can't be happening!" Nicole wailed. "We can't juzt let zhem hurt my Junichi! I don't want him to die!"
"Please, we have to go rescue him!" Lisa pleaded. "You have to save him!"
"We will, Lisa, we will." Schaefer calmly said. "In the meantime, the two of you should try to tell us what happened."
"Yeah, how did father get captured?" Bentley asked.
Nicole and Lisa looked at each other. They did not want to talk about what had happened recently, even if it would have helped the Seven Heroes look for Junichi and save him. Losing their loved one was something they did not want to happen, whether it was Junichi or Bentley. Even though Bentley had succeeded his father in the Seven Heroes, that did not mean that he would be able to win every battle. They did not want him to worry about Junichi, despite that he had been kidnapped. It was better for the kit to know, even if the truth would have hurt him.
"A man came to ze houze, azking if he could come in." Nicole spoke. "Liza wazn't going to, zo he forced himzelf pazt her. Zat waz when he zaw ze both of uz!"
"What happened next?" Bentley asked.
"He told dad that his services were now needed," Lisa spoke, "and he called out some ninjas to hold mom and I back as he dealt with dad! I tried to help, so I grabbed one of their daggers and struck several with it! As sick as I felt about killing them, I wanted to help out as much as I could! We couldn't stop that creep from taking dad, Bentley!"
"He uzed zome zort of light to do it!" Nicole said. "Zere waz nothing we could do to ztop him! He even told Liza zat he would come back for her!"
"What did he look like?" Mayumi asked.
"He was a black panther wearing a suit and tie." Lisa said. "When he spoke, he had an accent, sounding like how dad did."
With the information they heard from Nicole and Lisa, it hit the Seven Heroes. The fact that he had ninjas with him should have been enough for the team to know that the man was a member of the Serpent Gang. However, as he had been described as wearing a business suit, it was clear that he was much higher up in the organization. It was someone that the Seven Heroes had heard of, even though they had never encountered him in person. He was dangerous enough for them to want to avoid any encounter with him, though a fight against him was inevitable. The panther who had kidnapped Junichi was none other than the Serpent Gang's leader: Tatsuya Hirose.
"I can't believe it!" Bairei cried. "The leader of the Serpent Gang himself came to snatch Junichi?! Kuso, this is bad!"
"More than bad!" Ryuta said. "If we do not rescue my brother and retrieve the Ruby of Saturn, then the world will be in danger!"
"We've never even seen Hirose in person!" Mayumi said. "He could be even more powerful than his henchmen!"
"This is madness!" Chikaga spoke. "There's no way we could defeat the Serpent Gang now that they have the Ruby of Saturn!"
"How horrible!" Shizuka whimpered.
"Even with our weapons and magic," Schaefer said, "we'll never beat the Serpent Gang!"
"I just wanted to help the team, and this is what I get?!" Bentley cried. "Everything just keeps getting worse!"
Chu-Ya stomped on the ground, which caused the room to grow quiet. He was not willing to let his team go into hysterics, despite what had happened recently. Throughout all his life, the aardvark knew that his allies, teammates, and pupils would have trouble, but they had to push through it and keep on fighting. Their honor, among other things, should never be compromised. Chikaga was raised to believe that, even if he wound up not joining the team. It wasn't just the belief system of the Sunea family, but also the belief system of an earlier incarnation of the Seven Heroes.
"That's enough out of everyone!" Chu-Ya spoke. "I understand that something terrible has happened, but this is not the time to act like hysterical children! For now, our main priority is to stop the Serpent Gang from taking over the world, let alone destroying it!"
"But how are we going to find them?" Bairei asked.
"I attached a tracking device to the cat who you fought at the museum." The aardvark said. "By reading the data off of it, we will be able to tell what her next destination is."
Signaling for the Pigs to get something for him, Chu-Ya snapped his fingers. As they ran out of the room, Izumi, Nozomi, and Daisuke went out to the limo, grabbing whatever their boss needed. It turned out to be a computer, which had a data reader and a scanner on it. Walking back into the Tanuki residence, they sat the computer on the table. Chu-Ya then opened it, entering the password for the tracking device he had attached to Masako Ogata. It wouldn't be long before the Seven Heroes found out where she was going.
As the data came up, Chu-Ya detected that Ogata was on a plane to an unknown destination. However, that did not stop the aardvark from checking what it was. Coordinates came up on the screen, and they were for a familiar country. The Serpent Gang seemed to be going to Japan, but what part of the country they were heading towards had yet to come up. The coordinates kept counting, slowly tracking what part of Japan the criminal organization was taking Junichi and the Ruby of Saturn. While watching, the Seven Heroes hoped that the computer would work faster. If they were too late, then Earth would be doomed.
Suddenly, the coordinates stopped moving, meaning that the Serpent Gang's destination had been found. It turned out to be Hokkaido. The Seven Heroes had been there before, so it wasn't that hard to find. Ryuta and Mayumi had even went there on their honeymoon, foregoing any other places in the world that any newlyweds would like to visit. Bairei had been to the island himself, though it was only because his ancestors had lived there. The three raccoons hoped that their experiences at Hokkaido would be enough to help their teammates.
"Why is the Serpent Gang going to Hokkaido?" Chikaga asked.
"Is it because they don't want anyone to interfere in their evil plans?" Shizuka asked.
"No, Hokkaido is populated." Chu-Ya said. "Given how the Serpent Gang stole the Ruby of Saturn and took Junichi, it's likely that they could be looking for a shrine or barren area in the forests. If we're early, then we can grab the Ruby and rescue Junichi!"
"And if we're late?" Bairei asked.
"Then not only will Junichi be sacrificed," the aardvark spoke, "but the world will be decimated by the evil that the Ruby of Saturn has unleashed!"
With all this information in his head, Bentley knew that the Seven Heroes had to get to Hokkaido as quickly as possible. The Serpent Gang was already on their way there, so there was no time to lose. If the team didn't get there, steal the Ruby of Saturn back, and rescue Junichi, then the world would belong to the Serpent Gang. That was, of course, assuming that the world wasn't destroyed by the evil that was released by the Ruby's activation. Bentley looked at his teammates, seeing that they had determined looks on their faces. He was not the only one who was willing to go to Hokkaido, and it was clear.
"Mr. Sunea, is there anyway to get to Hokkaido quick?" Bentley asked.
"Well, unless we have a military plane or helicopter on hand, then we'll have to go to Hokkaido by plane!" Chu-Ya said. "That would be the case if our friend, Officer Perry, doesn't know anyone who works in the military."
"Actually, I know a guy who served in the Air Force." Officer Perry said. "I'll try to get in contact with him and see if he's willing to take all of us to Hokkaido."
Taking out his phone, Officer Perry then left the room. Once he was gone, the Seven Heroes then looked at their weapons, at each other, and themselves. It was clear that this would be their final battle against the Serpent Gang, and a rescue mission as well. As such, the team knew that they had no other option than to use everything they could. From their weapons and skills to the magic they had learned, they would have to do what they could to stop the Serpent Gang. If they didn't, then the world, let alone all traces of life, would be destroyed.
When he entered the room again, Officer Perry told everyone that his contact would be bringing a transport vehicle to take Perry, the Seven Heroes, Chu-Ya, and the Pigs. It wouldn't be long, so Chu-Ya had his team pack up for the big mission ahead. They did so, gathering their weapons, belongings, and anything that they would need. The team then stepped outside, waiting for Perry's contact to arrive. With no time to spare, they hoped that he would be quick, as Junichi and the Ruby of Saturn were likely being taken to somewhere barren in Hokkaido. It would not had been hard to find them, but it would not be better than them being taken to a shrine.
Out from the sky came a military helicopter, which landed on the ground. When they saw it, the Seven Heroes were told to enter it by Officer Perry. However, Chu-Ya and the Pigs went first, informing the pilot that it would be a while. Bairei entered the helicopter after them, as did Ryuta and Mayumi. As his teammates entered the helicopter, Bentley was about to enter it as well. That was until he saw Nicole and Lisa approach him.
"Bentley, don't go!" Nicole said. "You're ztill eight yearz old!"
"I have to go, Mom." Bentley said. "If I can't help my team, then they will be at a disadvantage."
"Bring Dad home with you, Bentley." Lisa said.
"I'll try." The kit said. "If I can't, then I'm sorry."
For a brief moment, Bentley was hugged by Nicole and Lisa. While he was surprised at first, the raccoon hugged his loved ones back, secretly hoping that he would see them again. If he died during battle, then he would never get the opportunity. The kit knew that his teammates had his back, but he hoped to back them up as well. With all the magic and weaponry they had, it would probably be a breeze. That was, of course, if they weren't to late to save Junichi and retrieve the Ruby of Saturn.
Breaking free of the hug, Bentley ran to the helicopter. Climbing aboard, the raccoon waved goodbye to his mother and sister. As the door closed, he knew that there was no time for a tearful goodbye. For now, all that mattered was saving Junichi, getting the Ruby of Saturn back, stopping the evil from being unleashed upon the world, and defeating the Serpent Gang once and for all. The Seven Heroes readied themselves for when they arrived in Hokkaido, as that was when they would fight through whoever the Serpent Gang had on hand. The final battle was approaching, and the world's fate was dependent on who won.
Note: That's right, everyone, the final battle is going to happen next. Will Bentley save his father on time? Can the Seven Heroes get the Ruby of Saturn before the Serpent Gang uses it? Will Junichi be able to contribute to the fight? Who will be the one to fight Hirose head on? Will he fight fair, or will he have a few nasty tricks up his sleeve?
Until next time, guys, this is Newcomer24, signing off. Peace!