Planet Protectors: Red Alert/ Chapter Five

Our story begins 7 years ago. In the backstreets of Xylox was Rufus, a scruffy 18-year-old basset hound carrying a pile of broken electronics that towered over his head and shook with every movement he made. He carefully manoeuvred past broken glass and muddy puddles, constantly taking sharp turns and recollecting himself, unsure on if the path he is taking is the right one.

There was nobody out. Of course, there was nobody about. It was dangerous to go out. Yet Rufus was out there. He'd promised his friend he'd be back soon. He finally reached his location, a large stone wall with a small crack in it. He snuggled down into it, reaching his hand out to grab the loot he just collected.

"See? I told you I wouldn't be that long.." he said, dusting himself off.

"Rufus, you had me worried... You took 10 minutes..."

The voice came from a sulking fox, struggling to make eye contact with Rufus. Her name was Kaiya.

"I'm sorry Kaiya... I just saw some tech when we snook out earlier and I just had to have it..." he said, genuinely apologetic. He began to place the tech in his corner of the hideout the two had found behind the wall. It was very small but relatively safe. Only those two were inside.

"We can't risk anything else. You're lucky to be alive..." She spoke in a soft tone. She was angry that he had left but relieved that he actually came back at all.

"The rumours of Velocity being here... Did you see any hints when you left?" She asked.

"No... I didn't see them or anything... I didn't see anyone... I just hope the town found somewhere to hide when we separated from them..." Rufus was tinkering with the tech.

"Me too... It was obvious that Velocity was going to come here sooner or later. We're in such a poor condition. Our streets are filthy. They'll keep a lock on the planet and we won't be able to escape or fly anywhere! We'll be forced to work for them, night and day with no rest..." She went over to Rufus to help him with the tech. "So, what are you doing with this?" she asked.

"Remember a few years ago when Velocity originally attacked us here?" Rufus asked, guesting to Kaiya to give him one of the pieces of tech.

"How could I forget? If it wasn't for that cute wolf... Cindy, was it?" she pondered. "She was so strong... We wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for her. She managed to manipulate all of their energy to herself to become even stronger!"

"Yeah! Bless Cindy. If you remember right, she gave the town a communicator, so we could ask her for help if Velocity was to show up again..." He placed the tech together and held it next to Kaiya. "Well, as our town's not doing so well, it got damaged. This is why I had to go out just now. I think I have all the parts I need to fix it again. This in my hand is what's left of it..." His tongue stuck out whilst he twisted the pieces together and simply stuck his old phone into the missing piece. The device began to light up.

"Hey! You've reached Cindy and Scott! We're the Planet Protectors and we're devoted to saving those in need. Leave a message after the beep!" The device began. The beep was literally just Cindy saying "Beeeeeeeep" into the device.

Rufus was a little scared so nudged Kaiya to speak.

"Hi... There's been uh. rumours that... tha- that Velocity is going to launch another attack on our planet Xylox. We're on street 12, coordinates X87, 0X8, check for a gap in the wall."

Rufus tapped the communicator and it stopped emitting light.

"How long do you think they'll take?" She asked.

"I don't kn-" Rufus started until they heard the sound of a ship landing.

Footsteps could be heard outside. A purple wolf stuck his head through the gap in the wall.

"Hey. You rang?" Scott smirked.

Rufus and Kaiya looked down at Scott in amazement. "That was. fast..." They both said in unison.

"Yo' bro, hurry through the hole!" Cindy shouted.

"I can’t... I'm stuck." Scott groaned.

Cindy gave him a swift kick up the butt and got him through.

"Ouch... I guess that's one way to get through here." Scott said, rubbing the kicked area.

"Alright, so... What're your names and where's everyone else?" Cindy said, crawling through.

"I'm Kaiya and this is Rufus. As for everyone else, we have no idea... The second we heard the rumours we decided to all separate, so we assume they're hiding alike us."

"I see." Scott reassured them. "Don't worry, for now let's just go back to our ship and wait for Velocity to come. They can't hurt anyone as we'll stop them the second they get here!"

"You can come with us!" Cindy said. "Think of it as a free tour."

The two looked at each other with great concern? Them? go out and see Velocity directly? Considering their last chance of hope got stuck through the hole in the wall on the way here they weren't too confident.

"Don't you worry! We'll have your backs." Cindy was pushing Scott back through the gap again.

The four began to walk down the streets. Cindy took in her surroundings with great surprise. There were houses and apartments all down the streets with broken windows and no animals living in them. Nothing was in the houses either; one could assume anything left in them was stolen quite some time ago. Back when Cindy fought to save this planet, things were bad but never this dire.

"What... happened here." Cindy looked down at Rufus.

"Ever since you left we've been struggling... Our resources have been low for a long time. We've found it hard to live daily life and most of us are homeless..." He said looking down, making sure he wasn't going to trip and fall over like he usually does. Especially not now! He's with the Protectors!

"It seems really rough... You guys look like you'd need a change of clothes. We've got some stuff in the ship, don't worry." Scott double checked with Cindy.

Rufus was wearing a tank top with tons of marks and holes in along with cut jeans and no shoes. Kaiya simply had a shirt and tracksuit bottoms.

They had made it to the ship. The protector's ship was nowhere near as advanced and huge as it is nowadays but still kept its iconic purple paint and ears at the top. It had a mostly oval shape, with sleek and sharp edges to help mobility when in flight. It could sense when a protector's presence was near it and with a click of a protector's belt button, it could teleport them directly inside.

"Okay, hold our hands and you'll be teleported in." Scott reached for Rufus whilst Kaiya reached out for Cindy and squeezed her hand tight.

They were now inside the ship. It maintained its purple paint indoors and had a ton of screens just below the ceiling. Somehow the ship's rooms were square shaped on the inside despite the ship's outside appearance being round. The floor was dark blue and very soft and shiny. They were in the hub, and at the desk was Audrey.

"Oh, thank goodness you're safe, Mr. Scott and Mrs. Cindy!" She smiled at the two. "I'm glad to see you got some inhabitants back too."

"Sorry to have kept ya' waiting." Cindy said, looking up at the screen. It displayed a map of Xylox whilst the one next to it had a general view of the planets around it. An unusual logo was displayed halfway in between the one planet and Xylox. On the logo was an upside down "W" with tiny triangles surrounding it. Cindy stopped.

"There they are..." She said, pointing at the screen.

"Huh? Velocity??" Rufus asked.

"Yep. That's their logo alright. And it's heading our way." Scott looked at the two who began to panic.

"It's nothing to worry about though. We can handle them. Audrey, can you get these two some fresh clothes and something to eat? They haven't been in the best condition." Cindy smiled.

"Sure thing! If you'd just follow me down here..." Audrey directed them through a tunnel in the main hub and through the dorms.

There was silence for a while before Scott lied down on the floor, head against the desk.

"You... really think we can handle this?" He said, looking up at Cindy.

"Yeah. Just think, how many times have we faced Velocity?"

"Five."

"And how many times have we sent em' packing?"

“...Five!"

"And who says we can't handle them on their sixth attempt? We can do this bro. Just stick with me and don't get scared. Aside from money they also love to feed on fear."

"You know me..." Scott confessed. "I always get scared..."

"That's fine... Just stick with me." She said. The two hugged. Over Cindy's shoulder Scott looked up at the screen and noticed Velocity was too close for comfort.

"Let's go outside and wait for them." Scott gestured to Cindy to look up at the screen.

Meanwhile Audrey, Kaiya and Rufus had returned. Kaiya had a frilly light-yellow dress on with a daisy in the middle and roses at the bottom, complete with red boots. Rufus on the other hand had a blue sweater, comfy trousers and new shiny shoes on.

"Is that better? I hope the lunch I had left over was enough too." Audrey smiled at the two.

"We're so thankful... We haven't seen clothes like this in years!" Kaiya spun around in the dress until she got dizzy and had to sit down.

"The food was really nice too!!" Rufus smiled whilst kneeling down to support Kaiya.

"Uh... Where's Cindy and Scott??" Kaiya asked.

Audrey was just about to reply when suddenly an extremely loud burst of techno dubstep music began to play.

"I CAN TAKE A GUESS..." Audrey shouted at the top of her voice. She ran to the desk and within a couple of seconds the walls began to rise up, leaving a thick wall of transparent glass. The three could see a ginormous ship that had landed nearby theirs. Unlike the Protectors, This ship was red and black, and the ears on this one were pointy. (One question remains; who's idea was it to put ears on the top of a ship? Is this a trend?)

Just below was Cindy and Scott.

The two ships were laid out so that the land between them was somewhat like a standoff. Cindy and Scott walked in the middle space between the two ships. The red ship had a door that flashed up with lightning speed. Cindy and Scott waited in anticipation. Scott was clearly nervous whilst Cindy was cracking her knuckles.

Out of the door came a large, muscular German Pinscher, listening to music on an mp3 player. He was decked complete in Velocity branding and had light up shoes that glowed red with every step he took.

There was an awful and awkward moment of silence for a long time whilst the Pinscher took dramatic steps down the platform created by the door opening. Each step set off his shoes, which in addition to lighting up, played a cheesy pop song from the latest hip boy band.

He glanced at the two Protectors whilst pretending to be shocked at their appearance, despite obviously seeing their ship and having the intention to be here.

"Oh!" He said, putting away his mp3 player. "I almost didn't see you there. It's ya' pal Sabre, leader of Velocity!"

"We know who you are. This planet is not for taking!" Cindy snarled.

"You may have won in the past, but I've got me some backup this time. Sonar! Come out!"

A large and burly husky came out of the door with an overwhelming array of weapons on her belt.

"So, these have been causing you trouble Sabre?" She asked. "Pfft, you can handle them, surely. What's the problem?"

"You don't get it... These guys... They're scary." He whispered, but with a booming voice like his it was pointless.

"Let's get this over with already." Sonar said.

Within a flash she jumped up and grabbed her axe from her belt. It grew in size and she began to spin in the air whilst holding it up, generating power. She striked for Cindy but her move was useless. Cindy blocked it just by a little inch and pressed the button on her belt to knock back Sonar. She grasped onto the once lush blue grass until she gained her balance next to Sabre.

"See, I told you!" He yelped.

"You weren't kidding huh..." Sonar Growled.

Scott selected his sword from his weapons section on his belt and began to swipe at Sabre.

"Oh no! Whatever will I do?? I'm doomed, Sonar! DOOMED!" he chuckled.

For the entirety of their confrontation, Sabre had a metallic object in his hand. This was attached to a metal plate on his back. He quickly pressed the object in his hand it and the panels on his back struck up in the air.

"Oh, never mind. I forgot about this! New technology. Y'know, I could've saved several planets with the money it cost to make this, but hey, would that benefit me now?" He smirked. "Behold! These plates can do anything I like, here's a sample!"

The plates struck in front of Sabre and blocked every shot that Scott struck at him. Once Scott was tired out, the plates transformed into a propeller and fiercely struck Scott into the air.

"Now, Sonar!" Sabre yelled. Cindy froze in panic.

Sonar jumped up next to Scott and pulled out her signature weapon; her wrecking ball. She struck Scott with all the power she had and sent him flying.

"Good job!" Sabre laughed.

"Yeah, I know I'm great. How much am I paid for this again?" Sonar questioned.

"Uh... Details later. First we gotta finish this purple punk off." Sabre avoided answering her.

Cindy managed to struggle out of her panic and look up at the three on her ship. "AUDREY! THE WEAPON!"

Audrey, holding Kaiya and Rufus tight, nodded and ran to the desk. The other two followed.

"What's "THE WEAPON"??" Kaiya asked, holding Rufus who was covering his eyes with his ears.

"It's the complete opposite of what you think. We have a barrier that we can fire from the ship. It will take a lot of energy and keep us stuck here until it recharges, but it will send Velocity away. Trust me, this isn't worth that much of Sabre's time. He'll leave." She reassured them.

"Why didn't we just do this at the start?" Kaiya asked.

"Well, the problem is that the ship needs to stay here, as far as we know. This means that you would only be safe in our company, and of course we have many planets to save." Audrey sighed, tapping the button in frustration, only to see it wasn't working correctly.

Rufus uncovered his eyes. "Uh... what's the problem." He shivered.

"I don't know it's just... not working?? I'm no good with tech!!" She stressed.

An idea struck Kaiya. "RUFUS!!"

"WHAT??" He nearly jumped out of his furry skin!

"Sorry to scare you BUT you're good with tech!! Have a look and make it quick!!" Kaiya screamed.

"Are you sure?? I don't know if-" Audrey was worried.

"Audrey, Rufus was the one who fixed the communicator that Cindy gave to us just earlier today. He risked his life to fix that tech, and if it wasn't for him, you wouldn't be here to save us now!" Kaiya said anxiously.

“...I guess we have nothing to lose now." Audrey moved aside to let Rufus inspect the device.

“...Did you try turning it off and on again?" He asked.

“...Does that change anything?" Audrey asked, observing the three down on the battleground.

Sabre was about to approach Cindy when he noticed Audrey and the two town dwellers in the ship. His eyes flamed with disgust.

"Wow. You really did it... I actually respected you two a little, but you've went to an all-time low here. Really? You let the filthy rodents that live here inside your ship? Why do you even care about them? Do you not realise how exploitable they can be? Why care?" He edged closer.

"T-They're people too!.." Cindy said, edging back, feeling underpowered against the two fierce foes towering over her.

"I don't care. They're filthy. Just like you. I can't believe you scooped this low."

Sabre rearranged the plates on his back to form a sharp knife.

"You'll regret it. You should've joined us, not rebelled against us. You fool. Your brother's gonna have fun scooping up your remains, because I doubt that pathetic excuse for a cat is gonna help you up there." The knife was edging closer, but all Cindy could focus on was her ship above her.

"RUFUS... any time now would be GREAT!!" Audrey nudged him and pointed towards Cindy.

Rufus suddenly stopped. The other two were struck in confusion.

"Rufus…" They said in unison.

"Just wait..."

"Any last words? You're not worth it, but I'll be nice and let you speak I guess." Sabre was millimetres away from Cindy.

"HEY!"

"I GOT SOME WORDS FOR YOU. GET OUT!" Rufus yelled for the first time in his life! Barrier had appeared, keeping Cindy in safe hands.

Sabre's plates had collapsed due to interference with the barrier. He struck his head up at Rufus.

"HEY YOU! CUTE BOY! YOU'LL REGRET THIS!! JUST YOU WAIT! C'mon Sonar! let's bail!" Within a flash Sonar and Sabre were off Xylox and way out into the endless realm of space.

Cindy collapsed to the ground.

"Hey... are you okay??" Kaiya worried.

Cindy, still flat on her face, gave the three a thumbs-up.

They sighed in relief and teleported down to see her.

Meanwhile, Scott burst through the bushes behind the ship and ran towards them.

"I'M HERE!! IS EVERYTHING OKAY??" he screamed.

Cindy got up and the five all hugged. "We're fine. Rufus here knew how to operate the barrier and saved me. Velocity is long gone now.

"Wait what? He actually knew how to operate that thing/ I thought none of us knew..." Scott looked at Rufus, who'd finally smiled for the first time in years.

"Rufus, we could really do with someone like you on the ship." Audrey proposed.

"REALLY?" Both Rufus and Kaiya were stunned.

"Yeah! You'd be a great help. You would be great behind the scenes. We'd even give you one of our badges. Only for the bravest members. You really helped us out here. You deserve this." Scott patted Rufus on the shoulder.

"Scott, there's two animals with badges, and they're us, heh..." Cindy laughed.

"Well now there can be three! Whaddya say, Rufus?" Scott questioned.

"But... what about Kaiya." He asked.

"I'm sorry... But she can't come... it wouldn't be on safe hands for us to monitor you both..." Cindy frowned.

Kaiya nodded in approval. "I'll be fine Rufus. Don't worry, I wouldn't dare to let you miss out on this! Go!"

Regardless of a revelation he had under his sleeve, Rufus couldn't help but worry. "I... Well, I have some news..."

"I believe I can recode the barrier so that it will stay in it's place when the ship leaves Xylox... This will keep the planet safe from Velocity for quite some time." He said with the last shimmer of confidence left in him.

“...You'll be safe, Kaiya. I promise." He finished.

"It's settled then!" Scott cheered.

"Welcome to the team, Rufus. You're a Planet Protector now!" the three cheered, carrying Rufus off to the ship. He stared back at Kaiya, who faintly smiled and held her hand slightly, weakly waving.