Topaz and Nicholas: Surprise

It was a few days after Nicholas had saved Topaz from the four canines who had tried to pick her up. Now the Jewel Vixens and Mendoza were on their way to Maine. All to investigate some scare hoax. Now normally this wouldn’t be a concern. But the dreaded S.P.E.C.T.R.U.M. was involved. The vixens knew about this organization since Purple Lotus from the Japan mission was a lieutenant from them. In addition the one who had kidnapped the vixens in the first place was also part of it. And as well it had been revealed that this organization was responsible for the disappearance of Sapphire’s father. Since this discovery the vixens had gone on missions to stop this organization whenever possible. But no more lieutenants had been found yet. 

Topaz in the present on the plane ride was thinking things over and what had been happening with Nicholas as of late ever since that fight. After seeing what had happened, the vixen couldn’t deny that there was more to the vulpine. But what could it possibly be? Without anymore information the female could only guess. 

Eventually the plane landed and that meant it was time to get to work. But not yet. First the Jewel Vixens as usual ended up doing a photo session. Just to keep up with their modeling work. Like when they had gone to New York. And to try to blend in a little bit even though they figured by now S.P.E.C.T.R.U.M. knew who they were. But this could still be useful to be more recognized and for their profiles. And yet even with this, Topaz couldn’t help but shake off the feeling that something was going to happen. Something big that would change her life and that of her team’s. 

X

Meanwhile back in California at the house of Nicholas, he was taking to two younger kits. One was a male with white hair and appeared to be ten. The other was a female that was about eight and also had white hair. Both had grey colored fur, almost to the point of being black.

“Now both of you stop that,” stated the older vulpine. “This goes beyond a sibling rivalry. How can you expect to face your mother, or even get to heaven acting like that?”

“Sorry Uncle Nicholas,” replied the younger male in a Scottish like accent. Nicholas let out a small sigh.

“Listen, I’m sure your parents have taught you because you were raised Catholic that violence is never the right answer. There is an exception to this rule, and that is using it to deal with bad guys and monsters.” He then looked up and saw an older vulpine about the same age as Onyx approaching. He wore glasses and had black hair. The younger vixen had the same white as he did for the lower muzzle and neck. 

“Speaking of parents…” Nicholas muttered to himself. He then turned back towards the children. “Okay, I want both of you to run straight up to your rooms. You’re father looks like he wants to talk to me.”

“Yes Uncle Nicholas,” responded the little vixen also in a Scottish accent. She then grabbed her brother’s paw and the two took off while laughing. Nicholas waved goodbye to them as their dad approached.

“Your kits are growing up to be fine ones,” stated Nicholas. “Their mother would be proud if she could see them.”

“Aye, she would,” responded the other male in a Scottish accent. He looked a bit sad. The younger vulpine seemed to notice. 

“It’s been hard for you, I know. Waiting while you recovered from that. But be a bit more patient; it won’t be much longer now. In any case, is there something you wanted to talk to me about?”

“She is contacting you.” Nicholas knew who that meant. He made his way to a communication screen and found it on. There was another fox, but the face was hidden in shadow. The male could see part of her features though. It was a Arctic fox and a vixen. Nicholas could also see that she wore glasses. 

“So what do I owe with this visit? What happened?”

“I’m afraid it had to deal with the Jewel Vixens,” the female responded. “And what they’ve been up to.”

“Yeah, they’re doing a much better job than I first thought they would have.”

“All to stop S.P.E.C.T.R.U.M.” Nicholas let out a grin. “This latest mission has them stopping a scare hoax in Maine. That organization must have found something they don’t want anyone else to find.”

“Well there’s nothing wrong with that, is there? If it’s the Jewel Vixens, I don’t have a doubt they’ll be able to find this thing.”

“But there’s more,” continued the vixen making the call. “It involves a couple of the members like Jade. Her ego and overconfidence could be a problem. Last I heard she’s been taking quite the risks.” 

Nicholas scoffed. “Some of them are nothing but amateurs. A few of the vixens are like kindergartners compared to me. Topaz, Jade, and Aquamarine come to mind. I was fighting against evil months before the Jewel Vixens even existed. So why are you telling me this? If it’s a simple mission like what you’ve stated, I don’t see a reason to worry.”

“But it’s not a simple one anymore.”

“What?!” asked the vulpine in shock.

“I’ve received a report that a V.I.L.E agent has been deployed to help S.P.E.C.T.R.U.M. in Maine. Something like that poses a threat to the Jewel Vixens. They’ve never had to deal with anything like it since V.I.L.E agents are much more deadly.”

“The nerve of our enemy,” responded Nicholas. “Sneaking around while working together. Teaming up because they can’t handle the Jewel Vixens. What cowards.”

“I’m sending you out to help the vixens in Maine,” stated the vixen making the call. “This new agent could very well get them killed. It would be a terrible loss to us if they were to die. Especially since you care for one of them very much.” It was no secret to many that Nicholas really liked Topaz. He didn’t mind.

“I understand. I was going to go myself,” responded the vulpine. “And if I should run into the vixens?”

“It will be up to you to reveal what you do. Sooner or latter your organization will have to work with them. Now go quickly.”

“I’m off on the first plane to Maine,” stated Nicholas. “And as that male said, ‘If anyone does not love the lord, Jesus Christ, let him be accursed at his coming; god save you from your fate. Amen.’”

X

It then became the night for the operations. And it found Topaz infiltrating the building where S.P.E.C.T.R.U.M. forces were operating. The vixens had managed to figure out what they were hiding; a sunken ship that held goodies inside of it. One that could benefit the evil organization. The plan was to stop their forces here before having help salvaging the treasure from the ship and get it to the right hands. 

The blonde hair vixen’s thoughts then turned to what had been stated by Mendoza before the work had begun. He had received a call that another agent was being sent to help them. Emerald and Jade had scoffed at the idea of needing extra help. The male vulpine figured it would be pointless to change their minds about it and let this agent show them how much it was needed. 

Topaz reached a section in the air ducts of the building that split into different paths. These were large enough for her. And this one could allow the vixen to stand up. She took a look at the map that had been drawn up by Aquamarine who had managed to make it after hacking into the system of the building. Topaz’s goal was to get the rest of the vixens in undetected by shutting off the security system of the building. The vixen was close. 

Suddenly she got the feeling she wasn’t alone. The vixen looked up and could make out a figure. Although it was dark in the air vents, there was a little light coming in to see. “Uh… hello?” she asked in a soft voice. 

“Shhh,” whispered the figure in a Scottish accent, showing it was a male. Topaz could see him put a finger to his lips. “It’s better if you remain quite. You might alert those in here.” The vixen nodded hastily. “Don’t worry; I’m on your side. I trust Mendoza told you vixens about me coming. I’m here to help. Now let’s get moving.”

The vixen followed this mysterious new male. He seemed to know where he was going. A million questions were going through her mind. But Topaz knew that now wasn’t the time to ask. The two made it to the place where the security box was. The male pointed to show the vixen that it was her that needed to go. Topaz nodded and came out of the air veneration system. Landing quietly, she opened the box and had the security down. The second it was Aquamarine modified the others. Sapphire, Emerald, and Jade went in as one group while Onyx, Ruby, Amethyst, and Aquamarine were in another. Topaz in the meantime made her way to join up with her leader. They met in a hallway.

“Well done,” stated the Arctic fox when she spotted the blonde vixen. Topaz put on a big smile.

“This is weird though,” commented Emerald. “How come there are no guards are anything here?”

“Something’s up,” stated Jade. This time she had her katina with her. “Have you seen anything Topaz?”

“Well actually-“ began the stated vixen but then stopped. They could hear footsteps approaching them. They looked and could see a male approaching them. He then stopped some feet away from the four. Topaz could tell this was the guy that had helped her. And the vixens could see his features. His head was covered by a black colored mask. But the orange colored tail with the white at the end could be seen, showing it was a fox. He was wearing an outfit similar to what the vixens wore. Only the pants were black with black colored boots. The top was colored green. On the left chest area was a large circle with the letters AC. There was a belt around his waist that held a small flashlight, two gun holders that held some kind of hand gun in each. The last thing was some kind rope that had a small knife in the shape of a katina. On his back was a longer katina with a black colored handle and guard. The strap holding it had four extra gun magazines on it. Looking at these showed they were for M1911 Pistols. Finally the eyes could be seen through the eye holes of the mask. They looked like some kind of glass was covering them along with a faint hint of green surrounding the pupils. His paws were covered by black fingerless gloves.

Everyone regarded each other for a bit. The vulpine then spoke. “Beautiful night for work like this. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“So like who are you?” asked Topaz.

“Me name’s not important right now Topaz,” he answered. “But if you must call me something you can call me Dash. But there are more important things to worry about. Like helping you girls out. It’s been awhile since I last had a mission. I plan on enjoying this.”

“Helping us?” asked Sapphire. “You must be the one Mendoza told us about. The one who would come to assist us.”

Jade and Emerald’s eyes went wide with shock. “Right you are,” stated the vulpine. “I’m glad he got the call. You must be Sapphire. The leader of the Jewel Vixens.” The male took some more steps forward. “You’re reputation as a model and leader are good ones. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“You say you’ll help, but I don’t trust you,” said Emerald who began taking steps forward. Jade was with her. “We don’t need any help from anyone.” The others began to object but the vulpine shook his head. 

“What had you done to the guards here?” asked the shorter vixen.

“I’ve dealt with them,” responded the male as the three got closer to each other. “Not much fun really. I didn’t even have time to enjoy it.” They met in the middle of the hallway. Topaz looked with weary eyes.

“So it seems you two don’t trust me. What are you going to do?”

“What do you think?” asked Jade. Her eyes along with Emerald’s looked back at the male for a brief moment. He then spun around just as the two vixens prepared for attack. Yelling out, the vulpine had his fists ready. Emerald tried to get him with a punch. But the male was quicker. Even with all of the stuff on him, it was obvious that it didn’t slow the vulpine down at all. Meaning he was quick and deadly. He blocked the vixen’s punch and got her in the gut.

Emerald gasped in pain and went down with shock on her face. Topaz and Sapphire were also in shock as well considering how skilled this vixen was in fighting. Not as much as Jade, but just as good as her leader. The shorter female came in and with two of her right fingers struck the male on the body, hitting a pressure point. Grunting, the vulpine was sent on his back and knocked out. 

“You attacked me and Emerald head on without a plan,” stated Jade. “You didn’t even try to catch me by surprise. You’re a brave vulpine. But you’re also a fool.”

“Like what did you do?” asked Topaz.

“I hit a pressure point on his body that would make him go down. He’ll be out for about an hour. Now, let’s-“ Jade’s sentience was cut off as to her shock, she sensed the vulpine rise up behind her. His katina was out. The blade’s color was that of silver. The male let out a laugh and swung. The shorter vixen was able to doge the blow.

“WHAT?!” she asked. The male continued to laugh and took a ready pose in a martial like style. He attacked again, but Jade moved. Going on the offensive, the vixen spun around and brought out some shuriken. With deadly aim, she threw them. The male deflected each of these with his sword before jumping back. He then let out a breath before charging with a yell. Jade threw more of the shuriken at him which got deflected by his katina. He then reached the female and did some swings. The vixen quickly brought out her katina and deflected these. They came apart and the female threw some more shuriken. 

The vulpine deflected these before switching his sword to his left paw. With a shout he grab the rope like thing on his waist. Twirling the object around quickly in a circle, the male threw it at Jade. She could see the rope was attached to a small katina to make a strange grappling hook that could be used as a weapon. Smiling, the vixen dodged this. Only to learn it was a mistake. The male grabbed her right wrist and pinned the female against the wall. He then struck her on various places on the body which were pressure points. Grunting, Jade discovered she couldn’t move. Topaz and Sapphire were watching on with shock. Emerald had managed to recovering and was watching as well. 

The male brought out his katina. “Nice try,” he stated.

“A martial artist like me,” replied Jade in shock.

“Correct. One who has made his own style to deal with others like you.” Suddenly gun fire was heard and the vulpine was forced to move. Everyone was shocked by his speed in dodging the bullets. Looking showed that it was the rest of the vixens and that Amethyst was the one who had done the shooting. 

“That’s enough from you,” she stated. Jade just rubbed her neck, now able to move again. She had come very close to being gutted. The shorter vixen glared at the vulpine who straightened up and put his katina away.

“I wasn’t going to hurt Jade at all,” he responded. “After all, I’m here to help. She and Emerald attacked me; I was only defending meself.”

“So ye say laddie,” said Onyx. 

“I know none of you trust me, except Topaz. But now’s not the time to fight. Until this is over, I say we work together to stop S.P.E.C.T.R.U.M. here. I’ve taken care of most of the guards. I’ll leave the rest of the work to ye.”

“He’s right,” responded Sapphire. “Let’s move.” 

This group of nine did so and managed to get to where the one leading this section of S.P.E.C.T.R.U.M. was. There wasn’t a lieutenant but it didn’t matter. The vulpine quickly showed how much more skilled he was in fighting. The male not only used his katina, fists, and legs but also his guns which were custom M19911 Pistols. These fired eight shots per magazine instead of seven. The body was brown colored but had tan colored grip handles. He even used the ends of the handles like blunt weapons. And the vulpine showed he was a deadly shot. When it came to reloading, he was quick to grab one of the magazines on the holder that held his sword and reload the guns. All of this didn’t slow him down at all. 

It didn’t take long for the Jewel Vixens to get the job finished. They and the newcomer made it outside on top of a grassy hill outside the city. “Wait, that’s all it took?” asked Topaz.

“Yes,” stated the newcomer. “It seems now…” He paused and put on some shades. “This job is wrapped up.” (www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YMPAH… ). The vulpine then took the shade off.

“Maybe, but who are you really?” asked Sapphire. The male turned to the vixens. 

“I suppose the time has come to end the secrets. The truth is, you know me quite well; especially Topaz.” His voice changed and from underneath his suit he pulled out a familiar necklace before removing his mask. To the eight females’ shock it was Nicholas. “How’s it going?” he asked in his regular voice.

“Wait, what’s going on?” asked Topaz. “You… like… how?”

“What is the meaning of this?” asked Sapphire. 

“Yeah, I know this isn’t what you were expecting. And I know you’re wondering why I’m dressed like this. I can’t go into full details here. But I can tell you this. I’m a spy just like you girls, and part of a team that works for Diamond. She sent me out here since there was a V.I.L.E. agent here. Or was suppose to. It seems they got away.”

“Wait, vile?” asked Sapphire. 

“It’s an acronym. It stands for Lethal Intelligent Living Emblem. Don’t ask why, that’s what they call themselves. In any case, those agents are more deadly than S.P.E.C.T.R.U.M.; you wouldn’t stand a chance against them. And V.I.L.E. is working with them. That’s why I was sent out here. But now it seems like it wasn’t necessary. That’s all I can say.”

“So like now what?” asked Topaz.

“With the job finished, it’s time to head back to California. There I promise, you’ll get rest of the answers. Now let’s go. Oh and this time let’s make sure we pick  Mendoza up and not have him cross the country on his own like that one time.” With that, the nine foxes made their way back into the city. The treasure from the ship was recovered and put in the right hands before they and Mendoza flew back to California. What would happen next would bring even more surprises.