Planet Protectors: Red Alert/ Chapter Eight

Whilst the space explorers were keeping close eye on the light, Scott, Sonar and Casey were about to finish up their training.

"Casey..." Sonar panted and tried to catch her breath. “...All this time, you haven't hit either of us once, yet you've tired us out..."

"Heh, yep! That's just how I work. I don't physically attack. I'm more for stealth." Casey took a bow for Sonar.

Scott had just about forced himself up, sweating from the training. "Yeah, well it won't work every time... LIKE NOW!" He lunged for Casey at immense speed with a dagger in hand. Sonar was surprised however Casey gave him a slow, motionless stare as he got closer. "Whatever. I can deal with that." She grabbed a smoke bomb but instead of throwing it down to hide herself, she threw it at Scott, causing him to vanish in a cloud of smoke. "He'll be back, just you wait!" Scott emerged once again mid-air, vulnerable. Casey grabbed him by the top of his vest and threw him upwards before carefully kicking him into the pile of training dummies.

Scott lied upside down, dazed by the attack. Casey came up to him and took the dagger from his hand with ease. "See? Told you. My techniques are perfectly capable. Now I guess I should finish this, huh?" She grinned with an evil look as she raised the dagger towards Scott's chest (who was too dazed to react). "CASEY?" Sonar ran towards her. She simply pierced Scott's vest with the dagger before handing it back to him and laughing. "HAHA! I know I say I hate the guy but GEEZ... Do you really think I'd kill him??" She helped Scott up, giving him a fierce pat on the back and helping him recover.

Casey considered her next action as she helped heal up Scott. She said it anyway. "Scott pal... I gotta know... How on earth do you keep in power with Cindy if you get your butt handed to you this much?? I've never seen ya' at your best." She paused. "Sorry..."

Scott was clearly angered by the question but took a deep breath and let out a sigh. "I'm not the best with pressure. It can really mess me up. I can't concentrate or fight well." He took a deep breath whilst Casey looked on at him in confusion.

"So, Why the heck are you our 'boss' then?" She tried her hardest to word it well but struggled.

"Well I did fund this place. You wouldn't be here right now without me. It was mostly Cindy's idea. She hated Velocity and their corrupt ways, and I wanted to support her... Besides... I can be very fierce when I'm at my best."

Casey regretted asking Scott the questions. “...I'm sorry Scott... My curiosity always gets to the better of me, heh..." She paused to observe the wolf who had his head down. "I really a-" she was cut off by Scott reaching his arm out for a hug, which Casey gently gave him back. “...This is a side I've never seen of you before..." she replied. “...and uh... sorry for beating you up." She added, looking back at Sonar for approval who shook her head in disapproval.

Sonar got up and picked Scott up. "C'mon Scott. We have a battle to win here!"

“...Yeah. We do. Let's go find Jack." With a flash he was up and ready.

"Huh... How do ya' do that...??" Casey watched as Scott left without a word.

"I have my methods. I don't question them." Sonar chuckled faintly.

The three had moved into the main room. Jack had fell asleep, snoring on the floor whilst Roary was talking to Melissa and Cindy.

"The transfer is running smoothly, Roary. I'd wake Jack up now; Velocity may launch their attack soon, so we must all be ready... They're supposedly attacking with two ships, but who's gonna lead them…" Cindy pondered whilst Roary tapped Jack on the shoulder whilst maintaining eye contact with her.

"Guh..." Jack woke up from his slumber. “...The last thing I remember... light?? We were stopping the light??"

"It's being transferred now. We need to get ready and prepare for Velocity. Do you two know where Scott is?" Cindy looked around the camera to see if he was around but couldn't see him.

"HEY CINDY!! WE'RE COMING!!" Casey shouted. The three had moved over to the screen with Jack and Roary, squished together.

"I recommend that everybody prepares themselves outside." Cindy began but noticed Roary about to speak. "As for you Roary, I think you should stay with Audrey in-case the ship needs to use any weapons. We'll keep you all posted on the status of the light transfer. See you all soon, hopefully." Cindy closed the call.

Meanwhile, in space, the four were sitting around playing a trading card game that Gary had in his booth.

Mandy played a card. "HAHA! The Wolf Of Wonder. Try beating that Rufus!"

Rufus was distracted by the light, that was slowly shrinking. "OH! uh... I only have an Anxious Ant.." he played the card.

It was Polly's turn. "I got the Pony Of Power! I doubt you'll be able to beat that, Gary!"

Gary smirked and held up a poorly crafted card. "I have the GARY OF GUIDANCE! It destroys all cards and automatically lets a guy named... Lessee... Oh! "Gary" win. I guess that means I'm the winner here, huh?

The others sighed and tossed the cards back at him. "I'm gonna change my name to Gary..." Polly frowned.

"So how long's left on the transfer?" Gary asked. It was still warm, and he was getting hot despite the light's shrinking size so he attempted to remove his helmet before realising it was necessary or he'd die due to a lack of oxygen and forcefully shut it back on.

Polly looked over at the generator. "Not long now... It's 75% complete."

"What a relief! I'm glad you guys could help out." Mandy stretched tediously as she struggled to get up.

"All we need to do now is make sure we can win this battle." Polly nudged Rufus who turned aside to phone Melissa to update her.

"Make sure you don't hurt Sabre too hard!! He's a big softie you know..." Gary twiddled his thumbs.

"Why do you care about him??" Mandy asked.

"If you hurt him I can't get any mone- I mean, he's a good friend..." Gary collected all of his cards and put them back in the pack to sell them as 'Brand New'.

"Okay, I've let the others know that we're nearly done... I guess you can start packing up now Gar-"

BOOM!

Rufus was suddenly interrupted by a loud, piercing noise that sounded like an explosion.

"GAH! WHAT WAS THAT???" Gary jolted and crouched behind Rufus and Polly. It didn't work well. Mandy returned to her guard stance that she maintained by the start of the path to space.

A shadow swooped past the generator and deactivated it within a blink of an eye.

"WHO'S THERE??" Mandy growled. "You're not welcome here! Well Gary isn't either BUT STILL!"

"Hey!" Gary cowered and just about got that out.

The shadow stopped mid-air and slowly landed in front of the four. It was a bird hiding itself with its wings, functioning as a cape.

"A... BIRD??" Polly yelled. "But... I was the onl-"

The bird revealed herself. "Oh Polly... What, you really thought all the birds in the galaxy would just be gone?"

"You know my na.. Wait... Lana."

"Oh, so that dull brain of yours DOES remember me..."

"Of course it was you... The crafty Lyrebird... Only you could make that explosion noise... How did you escape? Where are the others?"

"I didn't escape. I joined Velocity. I'm quite cunning. You know that. I managed to persuade Sabre to see worth for me. Anyway, about the other birds? They're fine. Well, they're working tirelessly without pay and freedom. But they're fine."

"I’ve... I've felt horrible all this time... Over something that wasn't really under my control... Yet YOU'RE HERE, and you could SAVE THEM, YET YOU WON'T! How do you not feel bad?!?"

"Oh. Hey Gary. How're things?" Lana completely ignored Polly.

"Oh. Hey Lana... heh..."

"GARY? You knew about her? a bird?? on Velocity's side?? Yet you don't tell me?? I thought I was the only one!"

"Gary... How could you do that to her?" Rufus piped up.

Mandy tried to take a step backwards for safety after Polly signalled her to do so.

Lana noticed and swooped down, and back up again, completely destroying the thin path and separating Polly and Rufus from Gary and Mandy. There was no way for Polly and Rufus to escape.

"I was going to eventually!! For a price..." Gary confessed.

"Ugh. You're so selfish..." Polly glanced and gave Gary a foul, foul stare. He gulped. "You two. Get back down to earth right now." She commanded whilst Lana got closer to her and Rufus. Gary ran away without looking back whilst Mandy panicked and slowly left.

"Alright then! With them out of the way..." Lana lifted her wing over the two whilst muttering “...I bet their ties with that guide dog are over now" and sniggering. “...I best be taking you in my space cab parked behind the generator. Seriously... How did you not notice that? I've been here for a while. ANYWAY, Yes, yes, Sabre will want to see you. Don't think of it as being kidnapped for life, maybe... Maybe think of it more as being able to work under Sabre's GREAT GLORY! It's truly an honour." Lana gushed. She grabbed the two fiercely whilst Polly tried to ruffle her feathers free to which Lana shoved her to the ground and used her utility belt to generate a thin piece of metal that wrapped around Polly's feathers, clipping them and acting alike hand cuffs, preventing her from moving.

Rufus stared at her.

"What? Are you surprised maybe by the technology? Yes! It's far more advanced than anything YOU could do. Or maybe it's the fact that I haven't done the same to you? Why, I can answer that question. I have heard a lot about you. I know you're weak and can't do anything to hurt me. Therefore, I know you will not do anything to harm me, so thus I do not waste resources on you. It's simply not worth it!" She chuckled. Rufus remained silent as Lana forced the two into the cab.

Meanwhile, on Xylox, it was getting late. Scott and Jack were sitting on the steps of the ship outside, talking about Roary whilst Casey was sitting down, picking at the blue grass.

Scott looked down at Casey. "Hey Casey, where's Sonar?"

"She's behind the ship. I don't know why..."

"You didn't ask?"

"Nah."

"Oh. I guess I'll go check."

Scott walked towards the back. It was dark, so he had to use his belt's display as a temporary flashlight.

Scott had finally found Sonar. She had her back turned to him.

"...Hey Sonar. Is everything okay?"

Sonar looked back at Scott and sighed. For the first time, she said "No.."