ACT ONE

Another moment of gaping before Dave snapped to attention. Taking a shaky but deep breath to gather courage and strength, he pushed his hands on the ground, slowly lifted himself and stood up to his full height. A sharp pain bit his right calf. "Ow!" He clutched his calf, even kneeling down on his other leg at the pain's sharpness. Looking down at his leg, he rolled up his right pannel upwards and gasped.

His calf was covered in blood.

Gingerly, he ran a hand over the injury to scout for the bleeding's source. But nothing could be found - neither glass shard nor metal piece attacked his limb. He sighed a little in relief - that was some good news. He was about to ran a hand over his head when he froze. And remembered - there was blood on his head too. He carefully patted over the tender area. Luckily, the sticky blood was gradually drying up. But that didn't take away the swollen headache. "Ow..." he whimpered. He was going to need a lot of aspirin... if he could get some after this.

But first things first. "I hope it's not broken," he muttered. Biting his lip, he slowly rose up again. He put all his weight onto his leg and... another sigh of relief. It wasn't broken; he could move, even if it was going to hurt to move. And it didn't look like any blood would be spilt, thanks to his pannel absorbing the blood.

A sharp groan directed his attention to what was happening around him. Everywhere nearby, bodies of humans and hats lay unmoving - some face down, others face up. But one nearby - barely moving. She tried to get up, but her legs were trapped underneath a large piece of the airship's scorched metal.

He gasped and clamped a mouth over his mouth to prevent future screams from leaving his mouth. He never saw her before, but he didn't need glasses to recognize the top hat upon her head as a symbol of crime and danger to him. The Toppats were here too! "Oh no... I gotta get out of here!", he thought to himself. Dave was NOT going to be a prisoner again! He slinked away before the injured woman could spot him.

Limping under the sun. Past the forms of other lives and torn pieces of debris, both manmade and natural. Breathing, heaving, breathing, heaving quietly as he strained and pushed his body to move around the large and destroyed gray platform.

He found sanctuary- a palm tree facing away from the crime scene. He took cover behind it, taking a rest against the tree's trunk. So far, so good. As much as he knew, the lady trapped under the metal didn't see him. But just to make sure, he peeked behind the tree.

She still struggled to break free from the metal's weight and panting from the effort, but no one else had awakened as far as he could tell. For now, he was safe. Now he had to find to find a way out of this place and get help. But where would he go? And who would come to help him in the middle of this thickened jungle?

Little did he know, that not too far away from the crash site, stood another site. Not filled with villains or tragedy, but with heroes and hope ready to save the day. And they heard the call.

The heroes, composed of soldiers clothed in darker green and bright gold and the numbers varying in age and background and experience, muttered and gaped over the loud boom they just heard and the smoke coming from the birthplace of the noise. Many but a few, especially one young soldier in particular.

Running a hand through his shaggy black hair in a moment of stress relief, he placed his hat back on top and returned his gaze to the distance. The smoke rising from their base... something was wrong. Wrong for them, but right for the military? Hard to say. All he knew was that he had to check it out. Maybe he could get his hands on one member of that cursed clan - he who will not be named - and make him pay for what he did to the military by betraying their trust and aligning with the Toppats. What he did to the former police officer at the prison. What he did to both former police officers. The thought of his missing friend filled him with both a grim guilt and determined desire. He would go see the general and -

The crowd eventually departed to make way for their leader, almost before the young soldier realized what was occurring in that moment. And then he saw the leader step in front of the pack. Although aged in appearance as seen by his silver facial eyebrows and facial hair, he was regarded as the most experienced and wisest of the soldiers. Accompanying him was a pilot in his youth - his red headphones made him stand out among the many green-clothed personnel. He was regarded as one of the leader's most trusted men - might as well have been considered a right hand man. And over the scattered voices of confusion, the younger soldier stood by and heard the pilot ask their leader softly, "General... what... are your orders?"

And now everyone awaited for further word from their leader, the latter saying nothing at first and rendering the base on edge. He studied the smoke as it bloomed and rose into the troposphere, lost in his thoughts processing at the speed of light. So many questions with one constantly repeating itself over and over -

What happened?

There was only one way to find out. He turned to the pilot. "Charlie, I want you and a few pilots to take to the air and go on reconnaissance. See what you can find out and then report back." He turned to the crowd. "Some of you will go to the Toppat base. The rest of you will stay here to guard ours. In any case, get armed and be prepared. I'll contact our bounty hunters to lead the charge against the Toppats. Now let's move!"

The man known as Charlie, also known as Charles, saluted and then he left. Following Charles' example, the soldiers spread out and went to retrieve their weapons of choice.

Now was the young soldier's chance. Weaving through the crowd, he managed to catch up to the general and make his case. "General Galeforce. I want to go with you."

Galeforce faced him. He frowned knowingly. "Ah, Rupert. I anticipated you would. And you will. But let's make it clear. We're not going to kill any of the Toppats unless they fire on us."

The blood boiled in Rupert's body, his fists shaking. "I... I understand, sir."

Galeforce nodded. "Good. I know how much you want to confront Henry for what happened. Which is why I need to ask you this - are you sure you're up for the task?"

The young soldier breathed in deeply to regain control of himself at the mention of him. "I am, sir. This is something I have to do for my own peace of mind. It won't be easy if I spot him there, but I know I have to do this for myself or I won't feel better over what happened back at the prison. And I want to do my part on behalf of the military." He straightened up to the highest height he could manage. He would not let any more mistakes be made by him or anyone else on his behalf.

The general studied him for some time, his stare seeing right into Rupert's steely soul.

"...Alright. Then let's go find Frog, Turtle and Eel. We have work to do."

"Okay... so this place is some kind of base for the Toppats. So far, only one is up and awake, and the others..." He shivered at the potential thought of what could have happened to the others around him. But he feverishly shook his head; now was NOT the time to panic over these horrors. Placing a hand on his chest, he closed his eyes and took a shaky breath. It was then he spotted it.

He did a double take, leaned forward and squinted his eyes. Was he suffering a concussion, or did it just so happen that past the wiry fence attached to the mysterious gray building before him, past its large satellite pointed towards the smoky sky, and past the green bushes and vines through its wide concrete cracks... there were parked trucks? He rubbed his eyes in bewilderment before staring past the fence again. No... they were real. And they gave him an idea.

"That means that a gate is nearby. Or some road that the trucks used to get in here. I can use it to get out of here. But where is it? And how do I get to it?" There was no way he could climb the fence; he could be spotted by the Toppat woman especially with his injured leg dragging him down. And that SAM turret sitting on top of one side of the building and perched towards the fence like a hungry vulture was not helping in his favor.

Now what would he do? He surveyed the area. Memories of his old police officer training days quickly kicked in - survey the area, use the environment around you, be resourceful. Right. Use the environment.

Gritting his teeth, he used the tree to help him stand up back onto his leg again. But he moved a little too fast; when he was back on his feet, a wave of dizziness overtook him. "Whoa...", he groaned. He leaned against the tree again, clamping a hand to his head. He waited for the dizziness to pass over and held his head in place until it left. He glanced at his leg. He should use something to secure and clean his leg before moving on, but there didn't seem to be much out here he could use. Sticks were scarce and his own clothes suffered enough damage already - what good would the tears and spots in his black uniform do to help him? His uniform...

All of a sudden, sweat fell down his face and exhaustion overtook his body. The heat would not bode well with his uniform's color absorbing the sunlight. He needed to get out of the sun fast or else he would be too hot and tired to raise even a hand. He looked at the building separating him from his goal. "Guess the only way out is through. I hope they have a medical kit inside."

He went to work.

He looked back around the tree one more time to check on the Toppat. He grimaced; she was partially free, but she was clutching her leg tightly. Must have been broken.

Looking around like a deer about to go out into an unprotected meadow, he moved out into the open. The dirt underneath his feet softly crunched as he sought a way inside. There was a large door resembling a warehouse gate, but he doubted he could get in that way. But there was a normal door next to it. "Please be open, please be open, please be open," he begged.

And so did his leg. His leg begged and ached so severely as he limped, the pain causing his eyes to sting with tears. But he pushed himself to the limit across the wide landscape and tried not to look for any conscious Toppats. Gee, It was so loud for his liking. Or was it his headache that caused him to believe his pounding heart and the flames' appetite behind him were louder than they truly were?

"Hey you! What do you think you're goin'?!" Oh no...

This time he had to look. The lone female Toppat. She saw him and he saw her - both deer had been caught in the headlights and neither dared to move. But survival overtook his fear and he took off as fast as he could go, injured leg or no injured leg. Now his heart thundered and beat in his ears as he panted hard like a dog to get to the door and open it.

"Get back here!" Growling, she yelled out, "Hey, can somebody help me?! Somebody! Anybody! Help! And get after that boy!" The louder she yelled, the faster he limped.

"Please don't let them get me, Please don't let them get me, Please don't let them get me," he pleaded under his breath, hoping that by some miracle, fortune would smile upon him and help him escape. His breath quickened as he felt his fear rising and fighting against his will to survive. He tried not to look around to see if anyone else was up and following him. "Don't look back," he urged himself, "don't look back." He alternated between the two mantras as he pushed his body to keep going. 'Please don't let them get me,' 'don't look back', 'please don't let them get me,' 'don't look back'.

Soon enough his shaking hands found the door. "C'mon, c'mon, please open!" He struggled to get a grip on his shaking hands and turned the doorknob. Would it - it did! It opened! He scurried inside, much to the Toppat woman's disdain, and to the curiosity of one observant eye in the sky.

The dust in the road dissipated around the green jeep as it tore down the road and led the pack of other jeeps currently behind it. At the wheel was the young soldier. Next to him in the front passenger seat sat the general. And sitting behind them was the team of bounty hunters that the general brought along specifically for this mission.

Clad in the same dark blue colors, the team composed of three members. The leader, John Pilkin, was a master in stealth, infiltration and espionage. He could easily be identified by his signature bandanna which he wore around his forehead and by his raspy and deep voice. He mainly answered to his codename, 'Frog'. Sitting next to his left was Gordon Banks - the technicians expert and hacker of the unit. If he displayed any emotion, they could easily be hidden behind his large pair of Ray-Tans sunglasses and government cap. His fitting codename? 'Eel'. Finally the third member and only female of the group sat on Frog's right, her short and brown hair flowing slightly in the wind. Like Eel, she wore a government cap as part of her attire. She was a woman of action - she specialized in demolitions and is known to tackle problems quickly and head-on. Ironically, she went by the codename, 'Turtle'. They held weapons at the ready in their laps.

Trees and flora blurred past them as they traveled through the jungle. No one and nothing spoke a word, save for the birds and other wildlife chattering away and the orchestra of growling motors burning up food sources.

A series of beeps emanating from the jeep's radio communication systems would break the silence.

"Calling General Galeforce. Calling General Galeforce. Come in. I have visual, over."

Galeforce picked up the jeep's communicator. "Galeforce here. Go ahead, Charlie, over."

"It looks really bad, General. The Toppat airship crashed into the launch site of their rocket, and everything's pretty much gone up in are a bunch of Toppats on the ground and some of them don't look... well, a lotta them are down for the count and one of them is alive but has a broken leg. Over."

At this revelation, the passengers exchanged alarmed glances with the exception of one. Rupert only gripped his hands on the steering wheel tightly as he concentrated on the road ahead of him.

"What about Henry Stickmin? Do you see him anywhere? Or Reginald or the Right Hand Man for that matter?"

"...Let me get back to you on that." The crew could hear warbled noises of communication exchange back and forth between Charles and his own team of pilots as they relayed information to him over the receiver. He soon replied, "No. I don't see them anywhere, and no one else has either. We'll keep an eye out for them, though."

The young soldier could detect the sourness in Charles' voice. Who could blame him for the way Henry surprised them all by going rogue and joining the clan of thieves? But it was soon lightened up with a dose of optimism as he immediately reported back again.

"But there is a bit of good news, sir. There's an unidentified person down on the ground up and walkin' around. Although from what I can tell, he looks hurt - he's limping. He must have been caught in the crash. Over."

The general raised a brow although Charles wouldn't see it. "Is he a Toppat? Over."

"I don't think so. He's wearing a hat, but it's not a top hat. Looks like a regular black cap to me. And it looks like he's tryin' to get away from the Toppats, not help them. I'm not sure what his deal is, but one of the Toppats has spotted him and now he's trying to get inside the warehouse. I think we better pick him up, help him and find out what he knows about this mess. Over."

"Good thinking. Fine work, Charlie. Pull the pilots back, but don't fall back. Stand by for further instruction and in the meantime, if you see anything else, report back immediately. Over."

"Yes sir. Over and out."

After hanging up the receiver, Galeforce turned around to face the unit sitting behind him. "We have another objective now. "

Frog nodded. "Understood, sir. We'll get him before those Toppats do. But any idea who it could be and why he would be there?"

"No. But if he's not part of the clan, I have a hunch he was taken hostage and forced to accompany them. In any case, he was at the wrong place at the wrong time and we need to save him or he might end up at a worse place at a worse time."

Rupert's blood brewed again. Whoever this person was reminded him of the way his old friend was caught in a similar trap back at West Mesa Penitentiary. He just hoped that wherever his friend was, he was in the right place at the right time.

A/N: Don't touch that dial - we will be right back after these messages!

References:
-Ray-Tan sunglasses - a parody to Ray-Ban glasses. They were fairly popular in the 1980s, and I think they're still popular today, among military members. You can thank Top Gun for that. Thank you, Mr. Tom Cruise for making them cool!

-"Looking around like a deer about to go out into an unprotected meadow, he moved out into the open." - A sort of reference to the meadow scene from Bambi when the titular character goes there for the first time and his mom goes first to make sure she and her son can safely pass through without worrying about hunters, particularly Man.

Enjoy!