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Chapter 3: "Trail By Fire"
Date: 2751

Location: Planet Sari...

"Oh! I felt my little baby sister kick!" A young coyote anthro squealed in delight. Her forget-me-not blue eyes were half-hiden under her blonde bangs. The rest of her hair was pulled back in a ponytail that bobbed up and down as she jumped excitedly.

"Let me feel!" A younger, male coyote insisted. His dark, almost black, brown eyes were hard to find under the mass of dark brown fur that hung in his face.

An older, female coyote laughed and stroked the boy's head, bringing the hair up and out of his eyes. "Andrew, I do believe it is time for you to get a haircut"

"But, Momma! I like my hair like this!" The boy protested.

"To the point where you'll start running into things?" His mother returned.

The young girl giggled. Andrew shot her a look. "It's not funny, Maria"

"Now you two, no fighting!" A much older, male coyote entered the room.

"Yes, Father." The two children replied meekly and scrambled up on to the couch with their mother. Maria snuggled up to her, placing a hand over her large belly. "When is she gonna come out?" She inquired.

The mother laughed. "Maria, you are much too impatient, love." She said. "The baby will come out when it is time"

"And if she's anything like you, Rose, she'll come out only when she wants to." The father added.

"Oh, Johnathan!" Rose giggled, blushing as he gave her a kiss on the forehead.

.PEACH TRIANGLE.

Date: 2774

Location: Loonatic's HQ

Tech blinked sleepily before completely opening his eyes. It felt like it had been months since he had a good night's sleep. He smiled as he gazed down at Cassidy, who was fast asleep in his arms. He nudged her gently. "Yo, Cass.. Wake up.." He whispered.

Cassidy gave a small moan and just snuggled closer to him.

Tech sighed. "Cassidy, you are the worst person to try and wake up!" He muttered. "Now, wake up or I may be forced to use extreme measures.." He chuckled, wriggling his fingers.

Cassidy's eyes shot open and she nearly jumped out of bed. "I'm up! I'm up!"

Tech laughed. "Works like a charm"

A few minutes later, both coyotes were in the main room of HQ along with Ace, Duck, and Slam. Rev was cleaing his room and Lexi was in the trainer.

Zadavia's hologram appeared. "The Future team has just contacted me. The villains are on the move again."

"Where are they now, Zadavia?" Ace asked.

Tech was busy at the pop-up computer, typing away.

"Planet Sari." Zadavia answered.

"I just found out when...." Tech was just about to finish his sentence, but he cut himself off, glancing in Cassidy's direction in worry.

"When?" Ace persisted. He bent to the coyote's eye view and read the computer screen. He, too, became silent.

Cassidy gazed at them in confusion. "Is something wrong"

Ace cleared his throat. Tech glanced at him nervously. "Uh... It's the year 2751....It's the day of the attack."

"Oh," Cassidy said, nodding slowly. She was unsure of how to react.

"Cass.." Tech began.

But Cassidy cut him off. "Guys.. I know you're worried about me, but you don't need to be! I can take care of myself"

Ace nodded understandingly. "Of course"

"As all of you know, you must be extremely careful." Zadavia warned. "If anything major is changed, it could mean chaos in the present. Good Luck!" And with that, she disappeared.

.YELLOW TRIANGLE.

Date: 2751

Location: Planet Sari

Lexi peeked around the corner carefully, making sure she couldn't be seen. She turned back to Cassidy, Rev, and Slam, who were with her. "Coast is clear right now, guys. Get ready." All four of them were in disguise as Sarian gaurds, so they wouldn't be noticed.

Rev, too, took a quick peek around the corner, where King John, Queen Rose, little Maria, little Andrew, and three-week old Cassidy were. He glanced back at Cassidy, grinning. "I gotta admit, you were pretty cute back then! By the way, did Tech ever get to see that baby picture of you your father brought with him to show us?"

Cassidy blushed. ".... Yeah, he did...."

"Grabulaba like your mom." Slam added, having looked, as well.

"Yeah, you look exactly like your mom... except you have brown eyes like your dad." Lexi agreed.

"Hey, you guys in position?" Ace's voice came over the ear-peice communicators they were wearing.

"Ready, Ace!" Lexi called back.

"Good." He turned to Tech and Duck, who were right behind him. "Now all we gotta do is wait."

Inside, Tech was worried. He wondered if it was a good idea to bring Cassidy with them. Sure, she was tough, but he thought this might be too much for her to handle.

Suddenly, the room went dark, Rose and Maria screamed in fear as the lights went back on, revealing dozens of cloaked and armored men, the Starzians.

John growled loudly at the intruders. Maria and Andrew huddled close to Rose, who was holding the three-week-old baby girl in her arms.

"Rose.." John whispered. "Take the kids and run, I'll be right behind you..."

Rose looked at him in shock. "John, I..."

John cut her off. "Go! I know what I'm doing!"

Rose nodded bravely. She tugged on Andrew and Maria's shirts, snapping them out of their trance-like state of fear. "Come, we must hurry.." And with that, the three took off running.

"Move out, Loonatics!" Ace called into the communicator. He, Duck and Tech went to work at taking down the Starzians.

Lexi, Rev, and Slam also followed Ace's lead. Cassidy began to, but froze. Something was wrong... Someone was here who wasn't supposed to be.

She quickly whriled around, and found herself face-first with Andrew. Not little four-year-old Andrew, but older, evil Andrew. Cassidy growled. Andrew smirked. "Come back for some more?"

Cassidy didn't reply. She had had enough of him. She struck out with her fist, aiming for his chest area. Andrew dodged her, then grabbed her wrist and threw her to the ground.

Cassidy was in a daze, confused. She weakly tried to sit up. But Andrew was no longer hovering over her, but instead it was Ace.

And he didn't look happy.

"You know our main concern is protecting your family, not going after your foe who happens to be your older brother." He stated firmly.

Cassidy opened her mouth, then closed it. She glanced down at the floor in shame. "I know.. I'm sorry Ace."

Ace's face softened a bit, and he held out his hand to her. "Come on, let's go..."

Ace led the team as they followed the rest of the gaurds in pursuit of Cassidy's family's chasers. When they rounded the corner they saw the other gaurds fighting off the Starzians. They saw Rose hide Maria, Andrew and baby Cassidy and counter attack the Starzians.

Tech grabbed Cassidy's arm. "Cheif!" He called out to Ace. "I'm getting Cassidy out of here. She doesn't need to see this.."

Ace nodded and joined the Sarians in battle.

Tech pulled Cassidy away and pressed a button on his uniform. They disappeared then reappeared in the Loonatic's ship. "Are you okay, Cass?" He asked.

Cassidy didn't reply at first. Her eyes were wide, staring unblinkingly. Tech hugged her. "I'm sorry, Cass.... I couldn't let you see it..."

She snapped out of her trance, and returned Tech's embrace. "I don't want it to happen, Tech. I don't want her to die..."

"I know. But it had to happen. Otherwise you wouldn't be here with us..."

Cassidy sniffed, letting go of Tech a bit. "You're right. But still..."

Tech pulled her closer. "I know... no one wants to lose anyone special to them... But everything will be alright..." He lifted her head so his eyes locked with hers. "I promise"

.BLUE TRIANGLE.

Their muffled footfalls echoed through the silent halls. Their hearts pounded loudly as they kept running. That's all they could do.
Maria glanced up at her mother, her blue eyes wide with fear. "Momma? Why are they chasing us?" She asked.

Rose clutched the little bundle in her arms even tighter to her body. "I'm not sure, love, just keep running"

The three turned several corners, then Rose stopped. She knelt beside Andrew and Maria, and handed Baby Cassidy to Maria. She then turned to face Andrew. "Andrew. You are a very brave boy, I know that.... I need you to protect your sisters while I help your father. I need you both to be very brave for me, alright?"

Andrew and Maria nodded silently.

Rose kissed their foreheads. "I'll be back, I promise." And with that, she ran out, eyes and hands glowing light blue.

Andrew and Maria huddled together, scared out of their minds. Just then, three-week-old Cassidy woke up, and looked up at Maria in confusion. Maria managed a weak smile, hoping to keep her little sister calm.

Unfortunately, it worked too well, and she began to giggle. Maria held her tight, whispering, "Hush...Shhh..."

But the baby's giggles were loud enough to be heard by the Starzians. Several of them surrounded the brother and sisters, waiting for the perfect moment to attack.

Suddenly, they stopped moving, they seemed to be like statues. King John appeared from behind them, rubbing his hands together. Andrew and Maria instinctively ran to him, hugging his legs tightly.

John picked them both up. "It's alright now... they're gone..."

Andrew perked up. "Where's Mother?"

John's face fell....

.RED TRIANGLE.

Ace, Duck, Lexi, Rev, and Slam reappeared on board their ship. Tech was at the computer, and had been watching them through the monitor. He turned around. "How'd it go?"

"The Starzians were defeated..." Ace began.

"All thanks to Yours Truely!" Duck added, taking out his mirror and glancing at his reflection.

Lexi, Ace, Rev, Slam, and Tech rolled their eyes at the same time.

"Where's Cassidy?" Lexi asked, looking around.

"Restroom, why?" Tech answered.

Lexi, Rev, Ace and Slam exchanged worried looks.

Tech was confused. "Did I miss something?"

"There's something we wanted to tell you..." Rev started, talking unusually slow.

"Yes.....?"

Lexi took a deep breath. "Cassidy's mom... wasn't exactly killed that day......."

(END CHAPTER)

DRAMADRAMADRAMADRAMA!!! XDDDDDDDDD

Chapter Five: "Sisters Forever"

 Date: Year 2759 (Christmas Day)

Location: The Bunny's Farm

"Lexi! Lexi! Open mine next!!" A little light brown coloured bunny squealed, handing her older sister a small package.

"Alright, Ella." Lexi giggled, quickly opening her present. It was a long, green ribbon.

The Bunny family didn't have a lot of money, even if they did own a ranch with horses, cattle, and chickens. The girls had to work to earn money for gifts. And little Isabelle, also known as Ella, was only five.

"Do you like it?" Ella asked, her eyes growing wide.

Lexi smiled widely. "I love it, Ella! Thank you!" She said, giving her little sibling a hug.

Two older bunnies were sitting on a couch nearby the girls. The female stood up and walked up to Lexi, taking the ribbon and tying her ears together with it.

"Thank you, Momma." Lexi said, then she picked up another package. "Now open mine!" She said to Ella excitedly.

Ella laughed and tore open her present. In it was a picture of a fuzzy grey pony and Ella, the frame made from popsicle sticks and glitter. "Smokey and me! Thank you, Lexi!" Ella squealed, hugging the picture frame to her chest.

"Now, why don't you two go outside and play while Mother and I make breakfast.." The male bunny said, standing up.

"Yes, Poppa!" The sisters replied, scrambling to gather up the ripped peices of wrapping paper and their presents. Then, after disposing of the garbage, they ran up to their rooms to get changed.

.PINK TRIANGLE.

Ace glanced back at Tech. "You and Cassidy have outdone yourselves once again..."

Tech smiled. "What? All we did was build a device based on Future me's computer that can track the villains' use of the Tempa Loada and upgrade it a bit so it was so simple even Duck could use it"
Ace rolled his eyes and focused his attention on the house in front of them. Suddenly, the door opened and two little girls scrambled out into the deep snow, laughing and jumping everywhere.

"Look!" Lexi gasped, pointing far out towards the forest.

The smaller bunny beside her also gasped. By the edge of the forest stood the most beautiful horse the girls had ever seen. His chocolate brown mane fluttered in the wind as he trotted up and down the empty feild. His light brown hide was covered in white splotches, which disguised him in the snow.

The smaller bunny slowly walked up to the fence that seperated the horse from their ranch.

"Ella! What do you think you're doing?!" Lexi whispered, horrified.

"I want to go see him." Ella answered, starting to climb throught the fence.

Lexi grabbed her coat. "No! Can't you see he's a wild horse?! He could hurt you!"

"He won't... I just want to help him... Look at his neck and legs..."

And so Lexi did. Around the mustang's neck were what looked like rope burns, and it looked like his legs had been cut open for quite a while, as they were swelling a bit.

Lexi looked at the wild horse's face. It seemed.. kind. His eyes were wide. He wanted someone to help him.

"Alright.." Lexi whispered. "Let's go."

The two girls approached the wild horse cautiously, using the horse sense they had learned from their father. They kept their heads low, glanced down at the ground, as if they were looking for the right spot to graze.

The horse glared at them warily, unsure if they really wanted to help him.

Ace's eyes narrowed. "Lexi told me about that horse....On the day that Cassidy joined the team.... But she never mentioned her sister.... I've never even met her.."

Tech looked at Ace in confusion. "What made her think of that horse?"

"Cassidy did." Ace paused. "She said Cassidy seemed to be a lot like this horse."

Tech nodded silently. But Ace hadn't finished talking.

"Why didn't she tell me about her sister? Why haven't I met her before?"

Tech put his hand on Ace's shoulder. "Maybe something happened to her and Lexi didn't want to talk about it.."

Ace nodded to Tech then shook his head to get his focus on the situation in front of them.

The girls were getting closer. The chesnut paint moved a little closer, still not too sure of the girls. Lexi and Ella stopped, still looking at the ground. The mustang stopped, too, inspecting them curiously. Then, he took a couple of hesitant steps, placing him right beside Lexi and Ella. He sniffed their hair. They smelled like the humans who took him from his heard, but slightly different, like the tall prairie grasses he and his mares loved to munch on during the summer. He decided to trust them. They had approached him differently than the humans had, as if they were horses, too.

Lexi knew they now had the mustangs trust. She smiled at her sister, whose eyes were shining brightly in excitement. Lexi slowly faced the stallion, softly placing her hand on his neck.

The stallion flinched, but otherwise, did not move.

"Hey, boy... Will you let me and my sister put some cream on those wounds of yours? They look really bad... The cream will help you feel better...." Lexi cooed, stroking the mustang's cheek.

The stallion gave a soft snort and lowered his head as if to say, 'Help me, please'

Suddenly, several gunshots could be heard. The mustang's head snapped up, and he reared sharply, knocking Lexi backwards. Lexi landed on her back in the snow, but Ella was standing right in the stallion's way as he charged blindly forward.

"ELLA!" Lexi screamed, then everything went black for her.

Ace went to lunge forward and save Lexi's little sister from being trampled, but Tech had a firm hold on his shirt. Ace looked back at Tech about to smack the coyote, when Tech cut him off.

"None of the villains are here.... This is supposed to happen..." Tech said, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

Ace looked at Tech in disbelief, then back at the girls. He quickly turned his head away, closing his eyes tightly.

Tech's watch suddenly started beeping. He glanced down at it, then his eyes narrowed. "They're here." He rasped.

Ace turned around, glaring as two figures appeared. He felt a tug on his arm, but tried to ignore it, knowing who it was.

"Remember what you said to Cassidy.." That he could not ignore.

Ace nodded slightly. Sypher and Andrew appeared in front of them. Andrew scowled. "Great, they beat us...."

Ace's hand was at his side, ready to snatch his sword out at any moment. Andrew's eyes glowed black and he smirked at Ace.

Tech glanced sideways at Ace. He knew what was going through his leader's head. 'Don't do it, Cheif.. Don't start it...'

Andrew moved his hands forward slowly, then they began glowing.

Ace grabbed his sword and lunged at the villains.

Tech lept after him. "Cheif!"

Andrew fired at the tree the two had been hiding behind. An avalanche of snow fell from the branches. Soon the coyote and bunny were buried under the thick, heavy snow.

If only they knew the tree itself was tipping over....

(END CHAPTER)

Yes, short, but I wanted to stop there! XDDD

Chapter Seven: "New Homes, New Lives"

Date: Year 2756

Location: Acmetropolis Orphan House

They were best freinds.....
They were total troublemakers.....
They were two little orphan boys.....
And their names were Duck and Pinkster....

"Pinksta! Wait for me!" A small, six-year old black duck anthro ran after his equally short partner, a six year old pig anthro with a patch of dirty brown hair on the top of his head. The two ran around several trees, playing tag. Tehy stopped when they spotted a girl sitting under a near-by tree, reading a book. She had fire-red hair pulled back in pigtails, which were braided, and dark brown eyes.
The two boys looked at each other a smiled mischeiviously, then began slowly tip-toeing towards the girl.

"Hey!" The five-year-old girl protested as her book was yanked away from her. "That's mine!!!" She stood up and glared at the boys.

Pinkster and Duck were not intimidated. Even though they were all about the same height, guys are normaly stronger than girls, plus, she was outnumbered two to one.

She folded her arms and stomped her foot. "Gimme it back!"

Duck stuck his tongue out at her. "Gimme, gimme never gets!!!" He teased her. Both boys laughed.

The girl growled at them. "Fine!" She stepped up to Duck, and stomped her foot down on his as hard as she could.

"YEOUCH!!" Duck cried, jumping up and down while holding her foot.

"H-hey!! You c-c-can't do that!" Pinkster protested.

The girl said nothing, just did the same to Pinkster as she had done to Duck.

Now both boys were jumping on one foot, crying.

"What's going on here?!" The three turned around to see one of the workers, a tall slim woman with curly red hair, glancing down at them disapprovingly.

"She stomped on my foot!!!" Duck and Pinkster cried, pointing at the coyote girl.

"Cassidy! How many times must I tell you to leave the boys alone!!" The woman scolded her.

"But-!" Little Cassidy protested, but the woman cut her off.

"I don't want to hear any more of this. Now, come along, all of you, it's time to get ready for the visitors"

Meanwhile, older, super-hero Cassidy and Duck were hiding in some nearby bushes, smirking to themselves. "Those were the days.." Duck muttered.

"You remember that?" Cassidy questioned.

Duck nodded. "Don't you?"

Cassidy shook her head. "No, why didn't you tell me?"

Duck shrugged. "I thought you remembered...... After all, who could forget THAT face!" He said proudly, pointing at his toddler self.

Cassidy sighed and rolled her eyes. "You're right Duck, that would be almost impossible!"

Suddenly, from behind them they heard a noise in some other bushes. The pair exchanged unsure looks, then slowly krept towards the source of the noise.

"GOT YOU!" A voice shouted as Cassidy and Duck were caught in a large net, immobilizing them. Older, evil Pinkster and his two thugs jumped out of the bush, smirking at the trapped teammates.

"Any last re-re-re-re... words?!" Pinkster threatened, pointing his gun at them.

There was no answer, Cassidy and Duck just sat there, staring at them.

"Answer me!!"

Still no reply. Pinkster was just about to fire his gun anway when Duck and Cassidy suddenly started flickering, then disappeared.

"Wha-wha-what the heck?!"

"Looking for someone?"

The bad guys turned around to see Duck and Cassidy, in the flesh, standing a few feet away. Duck had his arms folded across his chest while Cassidy had her hand placed on her hips.

"OOooohhh... That wasn't fair! And you know what I do to people who don't play fair, right Duck?"

Duck snorted and shrugged the pig's threat off. "Like I'm scared of you, Pinkstuff!"

"It's not me you should be scared of right now!" Pinkster looked at his thugs. "De-de-de-de-de-de-de-de-de-de-"

Duck lifted his hand to his beak as he yawned. Cassidy folded her arms over her chest and tapped her foot impatiently.

"De-de-de-de-de-de-de......... GET THEM!" Pinkster ordered. Bugsy and Stoney lunged at Duck and Cassidy, firing their weapons. Cassidy backflipped away from Stoney, eyes and hands glowing light blue with a wild fire. Stoney's gun glowed, ready to fire, but Cassidy blasted it with her fire, toasting it and slightly burning Stoney's hand.

Meanwhile, Bugsy was trying, and failing, to blast Duck's tail feathers off with his gun, as Duck kept quacking back and forth, adding a splash of style by performing several flips and cartwheels as well. Duck's hand and eyes glowed bright orange as he gathered one of his 'eggs' and fired it at the midget badguy. A tar egg quickly stuck the villain's feet to the ground. He turned to face Cassidy, who was dodging and returning Stoney's attacks.

"Hey, Princess!" Duck called out.

Cassidy glanced in his direction, wondering what he wanted.

Duck gave her a wink, gestering her to come towards him.

Cassidy smirked, knowing his idea. With one last kick to the large villain's gut, Cassidy turned and ran towards her equal-sized teammate, who just happened to be standing right in front of a large chain-link fence. Duck cupped his hands together, and just as Cassidy had her left foot in his hands, Duck lifted her up and over his head. Somersaulting in the air, Cassidy springboarded off of the fence, sending her at twice the force at Stoney. The chubby villain tumbled straight over backwards as the coyote's foot came into contact with his face.

Duck and Cassidy exchanged mischeivious smiles before facing Pinkster.

The short pig, finding himself outnumbered, and outwitted, backed away from the superheroes. Remembering what Optimatus and Andrew had drilled into their heads, Pinkster quickly pressed a blue button on his wris****ch, causing a large worm-hole-like portal to appear. Stoney picked himself up and pulled his partner out of the tar before running after their boss, disappearing with him in the portal.

Duck and Cassidy sighed. Once the villains had gotten into the portal, there was no way to track them until they began travelling to another place in time.

Cassidy quickly faced Duck and slapped him hard upside the head.

"OOWW!" Duck whined, rubbing his head. "What the heck was that for?!"

"That. Was for calling me 'Princess."

.ORANGE TRIANGLE.

Still at the Acmetropolis Orphan House:

The little black mallard rolled his eyes in boredom. It was like this every time. They'd line up to be shown to a bunch of prospective parents, encouraged to smile and look cute, and for Duck and his freind, Pinkster, they were overlooked. It had gotten to the point where the boys gave up on being hopeful. He looked down the line. Even the little coyote girl they had been buggin earlier was soon chosen.

Suddenly, a young couple came up to them. The woman crouched down beside them. "Hello, boys, what are your names?" She asked, her voice soft and sweet.

"I'm Duck!"

"I'm Pi-pi-pi-pinkster!"

The man and woman spent the next few minutes asking the boys other questions. Finally! Maybe they would get a home for themselves! After talking to the orphanage workers for a few moments, the woman knelt beside Duck and Pinkster again. "I know you two want to be adopted together.... But we can't afford that right now..."

The boys exchanged worried looks.

Duck perked up. "I got an idea!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a coin. "Heads, you get me. Tails, you get Pinkstah!"

The couple looked at each other and shrugged.

Little Duck flipped the coin up in the air. It landed on the ground, heads up.

You all know what happens.....

.BLUE TRIANGLE.

"Welcome home, Cassidy."

The little girl glanced around the large room. Her brown eyes searched over the several large paintings a photographs, but none really interested her four-year old attention span. What did was the baby playpen in the living room. She took a few hesitant steps towards it, still not sure if she was supposed to leave her guardian's side yet.

The dark-haired woman looked at the female skunk anthro. "I must leave now, I'll come and check on her tomorrow."

The skunk nodded, smiling down at the little coyote. "Thank you very much."

The woman smiled back, then knelt beside young Cassidy. "I have to go now.. Be a good girl..."

Cassidy watched her curiously as she left. She really wasn't sure about this family. They seemed so.. different from her old family. The woman had black fur with a white stripe starting at her nose and running up and down the top of her head and then down her back to the tip of her tail. She wondered who was in the playpen. Maybe it was a baby. She hoped so, she liked babies.

"Cassidy, this is Alyssa.." The skunk picked up a little skunk from the playpen and set her on the floor in front of Cassidy.

Alyssa stared at Cassidy with big green eyes. Cassidy returned the look, then moved closer. The baby skunk crawled up to Cassidy and well.... pretty muched glomped her, nearly knocking the little coyote over.
The baby's mother chuckled quietly and picked both of them up, cradling one in one arm, and the other in her other arm. Cassidy, at first, did not like it and tried to scramble out of the strange woman's arms. The woman set her down, and Cassidy scooted away from her. The woman then pur her attention on her real baby, who was beginning to fall asleep. She gently rocked her while singing sweetly.

Cassidy inched closer, gazing at the sleeping baby skunk. She hesitantly stood beside her new mother, looking up at her curiously. The skunk smiled and sat cross-legged on the floor, so her skirt became a little hammock. Little Cassidy hesitated before curling up in her lap. Her foster mother then stroked her hair softly.

Suddenly, the door opened and in walked another skunk. He called out cheerfully. "I'm back!"

The baby skunk automatically sat up and giggled. "Da!"

The male skunk scooped the baby up into his arms and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He glanced down at his wife, who seemed to be having someone using her as a hideout.

Poor little Cassidy had been so startled by the man's sudden entry that she scrambled out of her adoptive mother's lap and hid behind her.

The man knelt down on the other side of his wife. "Hey there... Don't be afraid.." He said, smiling at her.

Cassidy peeked out from one side, her brown eyes shining with curiousity and with fear. The man slowly stretched his hand out towards her. The little girl hesitated before setting her hand in his.

Little did she know, that about ten years later, she would look upon that decision as a grave mistake.....

(END CHAPTER)

Chapter Nine: "Fire In Her Eyes..."

.CASSIDY'S POV.

My eyes were locked on the Science book in front of me. Not that I really wanted to be studying right now. I just needed something to distract me. To keep me from thinking too much. I could feel his eyes on me. I pinned my ears back in annoyance. When would he get the picture? We went through this every day. He tried flirting, I'd shove him away and tell him off.

"What's wrong, Cassidy?" Zac came closer to me, leaning over the couch and placing his face next to mine.

I growled deeply and shoved him away from me. "You, Zachary." I replied bluntly. The red fox was too much sometimes.

He chuckled to himself before standing straight and walking towards his chair. The wind blew his short red fur this way and that, as well as my own fire-red hair. I snuggled further down into the couch. It was getting more and more chilly. Even though I was wearing a sweater, I was still cold.

I was sitting on a couch that sat on top of a small hill overlooking an old, abandoned junkyard. No one came around her anymore, except us. And by 'us' I mean myself, Zachary, and several other guys. We decided we'd make a gang, basically defending each other. None of us were very popular or well-liked. Heck, most of us had gotten into trouble once or twice with the police. Nothing major, some property damage or petty theft. Our leader was Zachary, the red fox. He appointed me as his right-hand person, but I really don't care. I was really only in this gang for the protection. Not that I couldn't defend myself if needed. It's like that saying 'there's safety in numbers.'

I was pretty sure all of us were in the same boat. Runaways, orphans, and most of us had gotten in trouble once or twice with the police. Except me. I couldn't afford it. If I got caught by the police, they'd drag me back.

Back to those people who dared to call themselves 'parents.'

Such a big lie. I was surprised know one could see it. But I guess it's something you have to experience first before you realize it.

They say family is the most important thing in a person's life. That may be true... but I don't really know. From life, I've never known the people who I could truely call my 'family.'

Maybe that's why I'm a part of this gang. We're rejects, looking for protection. I swear that's the only thing keeping us together.

Suddenly, a commotion broke my thoughts. I at first thought it was a couple of the guys getting into a fight. This often happened. But not this time.

"Who's that guy?" Zachary pointed to the stranger, a grey and white rabbit anthro, who had just gotten himself caught between Buster and Zeke, two of the biggest members of the gang, our bodygaurds.

"Why are you asking me? Does it look like I know him?" I snapped.

Zach glanced at me before climbing down the heap and going to see what was going on.

I continued to sit there, uninterested at first... until I noticed that this new person seemed to be a bit of a pushover. An idea began to form in my head, and I smirked almost evil-like. This would be fun.

I carefully began to climb down the hill, as silent as a ninja half my size, a trait I picked up from my several months of living on the streets. It was essential to learn to be fast and silent. Otherwise you'd get caught.

Finally, I was right behind this newcomer. He was about twice my size. No big. Strength and size did not matter, only smarts did. I crouched down, curling my legs underneath me, ready to pounce at any moment...

"RAWR!" I screamed as loud as I could while launching myself into the air towards him. He screamed as well, only his was slightly more high-pitched than mine. I landed gracefully on the dirt floor, my legs still tucked underneath me. He stared at me for several moments, eyes wide. I slowly stood up. "What are YOU looking at?" I asked saucily, placing my hands on my hips.

.ACE'S POV.

"RAWR!"

"GAHHHHHH!!!"

I spun around only to be glared at by a girl. She was short, only coming up to about my chest in height. She wore baggy jeans with an even baggier olive-green sweatshirt. Her eyes were a very dark brown, hard and unmoving. The one was covered by her fire-red hair hanging in the way. The rest of it was tied back in a long braid, almost reaching her tail. Her eyes continued to glare at me. She kept silent. I gulped. Never before had I met a girl like this.

Her lips curled into a smirk. "What are YOU looking at?" She placed her hands in her hips.

"N-nothing." I replied. Something about her gave me shivers.

She rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh. Nice scream, by the way.."

I glanced at the red fox, who shrugged. "Feisty, ain't she?" He chuckled.

The girl froze and spun around to face him. She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and glared daggers at him. A few moments passed before she release Zachary and walked a ways off.

Zachary brushed himself off before turning to me. "So.... you want to join our group, huh?"

The coyote girl paused and watched, trying to not look interested.

"Yeah. I do. Is there a problem with that?"

"Uh, yes." The fire-headed girl coughed in reply.

Quite honestly, I had already had more than enough of the girl's attitude. I glared at her. "Oh really? Do you wanna say that to my face? Or is coughing inconspicuously enough for you?"

The girl's expression was surprised for a moment, then it switched to the glare that seemed to be usual for her. "I'm impressed.... A little."

My hands clenched into fists. She wanted to be impressed? Bring it on! I lunged at her, but, as if she had been expecting it, the girl backflipped and held her hands in a classic karate style. I paused. She had WANTED me to do that. She just wanted to show me up!

Zachary stepped in between us. "Hey, listen buddy. We'll think about it, okay?"

.BLUE TRIANGLE.

.REGULAR POV.

Lexi sighed as she walked towards the large doors of Acme High School. Her first day here. She knew no one, her family had just recently moved to the city. Before she had gone to a small private school in a small town nearby their old farm. Things had been hard since her little sister had left. They eventually could no longer run the farm, and had to sell it and move. That was the last thing any of them had wanted to do, but they had no choice.

The pink-clad bunny walked down the long hallways of the school alone, clutching her books, and a peice of paper, with her locker assignment, and class list. She soon reached her locker and punched in the combination. She noticed a taller, blonde-haired girl beside her. The girl was dressed in the latest fashions, and she had tons of make up on her face. Lexi knew there would be no chance of the girl even thinking of talking to her. After all, she was from the country, and on top of that, her family didn't have the money to afford such clothes. Lexi shrugged 'Oh well, there's tons of people around here. There's gotta be at least one who'd be my freind.'

.PINK TRIANGLE.

Ace glanced to his left. "So... what's your story?" The bunny had met up with the coyote he had met only the previous day while on his way to school. He decided to try another approach to the confusing girl.

Cassidy gave him another glare. "What do you mean?"

"Y'know... where you're from.... how long you've gone to this school, stuff like that." Ace shrugged.

She paused, then shrugged to herself. There was no harm in letting him know. "I'm an orphan. Been that way for as long as I remember..."

"Were you adopted?"

"Nah, I was put into to foster system. I had a lot of families... a new one every few months..."

"Really why?"

The coyote shrugged. "They'd either move, or have a new baby or have an allergy." She rolled her eyes. "Same old story over and over, so I ran off. Now I live on the streets."

"Allergy? To what?"

She gave him a disgusted look. "My fur... duh."

"Oh...." Ace rubbed the back of his neck. "Well... I have two parents... And.. well... we have a lot of problems... I just... couldn't take it anymore... so I just..."

Cassidy suddenly froze and spun around to face him. "Are you trying to tell me that you ran away from your family?"

"Errr.. I uh.."

"I cannot BELIEVE you!!! How could you do that?!" She screamed. "You left your family because you guys have a few problems?! So what?!"

"But, you don't understand-"

"Oh I understand perfectly! You're obviously nothing but a spoiled little boy who doesn't know when he has something special!!!"

"What?! You think that having a family is a picnic? Sometimes, maybe. But my family's different. And you, you have freedom from everything! I'd give anything to have what you have!"

"And I'd give anything to have what you have!" She paused, not fully realizing how much she really meant that. Ace stared at her. Cassidy turned away, her face red and hot.

Ace frowned. "Are you okay?" He reached out to set his hand on her shoulder.

She quickly jerked away. "Don't touch me." She glared at him once more before running off.

Lexi paused. She had overheard the arguement, and stopped to see if she could help. "Is everything okay?" She asked, walking up to the grey bunny.

Ace spun around to face the peach and cream bunny. "Uhh.. Yeah.." He replied, stammering. His cheeks went red. "H-hi. I'm Ace."

Lexi smiled. "Hi Ace. I'm Lexi..."

"Uh.. You... you haven't met that girl, have you?" Ace asked, gesturing to where Cassidy had been standing.

"No, I haven't...." Lexi paused. "Who was she?"

"Honestly, I just met her yesterday. She hasn't told me her name yet.." Ace shrugged. "Are you new?"

"Yeah.. My family moved here just a few months ago.."

"Where'd you live before?"

Lexi's eyes glanced at the floor. 'Should I tell him? How will he react?' "Welll... I... I lived in the country, actually..."

"Oh really?" Ace replied, interested.

"Yeah.. We lived on a farm.."

"Cool." Ace smiled, trying to show her that he was being genuine.

Lexi smiled back. "Thanks.... We should be getting to class."

Ace nodded. "Let's jet!"

After class, Ace and Lexi continued to hang out. They were beginning to enjoy each other's company, and Ace was especially glad that at least this girl didn't want to bite his face off.

"..Haha! That's funny!" Ace chuckled as Lexi told him about one of her experiences during her time on her parent's farm. He was about to say something more when he caught sight of the mahogany-coloured coyote turn the corner ahead of them.

Lexi followed his gaze. "Is that the girl you were arguing with before?"

"Yeah. I'm actually a little worried. She's a very strange person..."

"Oh, you mean Miss Heidi?" A female voice interrupted. The bunnies turned around to see a blonde-haired human girl a few feet away. It was the girl Lexi had seen at her locker.

"Do you know her?" Ace questioned.

"Yeah. She and I used to ice-skate together. She used to be a part of the figure-skating club. Her name's Cassidy. She's got some real issues, though. She doesn't like people very much."

"Hehe, I figured that last part out already." Ace rolled his eyes.

"Who are you?" Lexi asked the girl.

"My name is Kerri. I-" The girl was about to continue, but Lexi cut her off.

"I knew I saw you somewhere! You're Kerri Gladstone! The next figure skating chamion!" Lexi squealed excitedly.

Kerri smiled. "I guess I am."

Ace rolled his eyes again. This was almost as bad as talking with those famous actors. Good greif. What was so great about being famous anyway?

"Uh, listen goils.. I gotta go.. I'll catch up with ya later.."

"Sure.. bye Ace!" Lexi smiled and waved goodbye.

Ace left with a wide, goofy smile. Lexi was a really nice girl. 'Kinda cute, too..'

.YELLOW TRIANGLE.

"Hey! Cassidy! Wait up!" Ace called out after the fire-headed coyote.

The girl spun around and glared at him. "How do you know my name?" She growled.

"Oh, your freind... uh.... Kerri?"

"Figures." She sighed, adjusting her back pack and pulling the hood of her sweater over her head. It was beginning to rain lightly.

They walked along the sidewalk in silence. It was after school, and Cassidy was headed for the junkyard. Suddenly, the coyote froze in her tracks.

Ace blinked. "Sometin' wrong?"

"Look.." She whispered, pointing to the sidewalk across the street. There stood a man, a woman, and a young child in one of the alleyways. The man had his hand holding the child roughly, and his other hand was holding a gun, inconspicuously towards the woman. There were tears streaming down the woman's and child's faces. The man was whispering some orders to the lady, trying not to attract attention.

"We should call the police!" Ace gasped.

"Yeah, but they won't get here in time. And that guy might kill the girl and the lady if he hears the sirens!" Cassidy quickly ran to the edge of the street, crossed at the lights, and ran straight down the sidewalk perpendicular to the one the man and woman were on.

"Where are you going? They're that way!" Ace shouted to her.

"I know! But we're obviously not gonna get anywhere attacking from the front!" She shouted back, running down another alley. It looked like a dead end, but there was a short brick wall, and in front of it, a large garbage bin. The coyote lept up and landed on the lid.

"You said 'we.' Does that mean me as well?" Ace pointed out.

Cassidy paused. "Is there anyone else around who's been stupid enough to follow me?" A small smile played on her lips.

Ace smirked back. "I guess it does..."

(END CHAPTER)