Chapter Text
After reaching the shack, Fang opened the door hesitantly. No sign of Bean and Bark on the couch. Couldn't hear Bean's high-pitched horrible singing. The table with broken legs was still there.
He decided to keep moving, heading up the stairs with bated breath. It was pretty late, maybe they were sleeping. Why would they even be here in the first place? Even bums like them would have a base hideout.
Still, it was almost like he could feel their presence passing through him.
Fang reached the door upstairs leading to the bedroom he once slept in. Opening it carefully, he sighed in relief as he saw . . .
His phone charger.
“Knew I forgot somethin’,” he muttered as he snatched it from the outlet it was plugged into. He did not have the energy to steal one phone charger from the store.
He put it under his hat for now. But just as he was about to leave, he heard hefty, quick footsteps downstairs. He jumped and hid next to the doorway, instinctively taking out his popgun. Who could be here, in the middle of the . . . did he jinx it?
“Phew! Hopefully we didn't leave any obvious trails behind,” a chipper, distant sounding voice said.
“Oh fuck me, what are those drongos doin’ here?” Fang whispered; he wasn't ready. “Gotta get out before they—”
“FANG???” Bean's head popped into the room.
“AGH!” Fang swung his weapon at Bean's face, knocking him off his feet. “How did you—”
Bean mumbled in a loopy voice: “Your . . . monologuing is really loud . . . we also saw your bike.”
“I was whispering, you—” He groaned and put his popgun away. “The hell are you and Bark doin’ here?”
He heard the thudding of steps going up the stairs. Bark emerged, eyes widening when he saw a crumpled Bean on the floor. He supported him with an arm while glancing at Fang in confusion.
Bean giggled. “Runnin’ from . . . da poopoo, ahahaha!”
Fang's ears shot up in alarm. “The cops?! Are they close by?”
Bean shook his head, bringing him out of his stupor. “Uhhh, they shouldn't be. We ran for a while.”
Bark sighed, his legs were pulsing with pain.
“More like Bark did.”
“Well I'm gettin’ out of here.” Fang ran down the stairs, but said a line of incomprehensible curses and ran back up. “Liar! They're right outside!”
“WHAT?! We thought we lost ‘em, right Bark?”
Bark nodded frantically. When he sneezed, a gray powder exploded from his face. This prompted him to look down at himself . . . powder was collecting on the floor . . . and led up the stairs. Bean and Fang followed his eyes and connected the dots too.
“Ooooo . . . I'm really great at foreshadowing, aren't I?” Bean chuckled.
Fang facepalmed and took a deep breath. “Let's just fight our way out, my bike's still out there and who knows what they're doin’ to her!”
“Confiscating it, probably.”
“Dammit! Bean!” Fang shuffled aimlessly on his feet for a few moments. The door downstairs banged loudly. They're breaking in!
The three peeked around the doorway and saw the main door shaking intensely as the police threatened to break through. This made Fang question how prepared the police would be against him, since he’s been evading them for longer than he’d like to be. But he couldn’t back down now; his queen was out there! Cold, alone, starving . . .
Evading them. He never actually fought against a group of police before. A few at the same time, sure. He’s not entirely sure how he’d dodge a storm of bullets and whatever weird weapons they saved just for him. Oh and, probably Bean and Bark too.
Just then, as though the house was trying to give him a plan B, he trained his eyes at a broken window outside the bedroom to the left.
“Nevermind, we’re jumpin’ the window.”
“What did that window ever do to you?!” Bean exclaimed, crossing his arms.
“We’re jumping out of it, idiot!” Fang hissed. “I’m not gonna risk getting shot!” He rushed to the window, barely checking for jagged glass on the edges before peeking out. Most of the police were at the door, but some stayed at their cars. Those guys would see him jump out.
He glanced at Bean, who was picking at his nonexistent ear. Bark was sweating profusely and looked ready to hit something.
“Bean, throw a bomb to the right, at the police cars. Now!”
“Sheeeewhoop!” Bean shouted before a couple bombs launched out the window. At impact, the bombs sent the officers flying and their cars reduced to scraps of metal.
Fang bolted out the window, doing a tuck and roll with the help of his tail. He yelped and rolled out of the way when Bean planted face first next to him. Bark nearly rolled over Fang, but stopped just before his feet.
He couldn't complain right now, where's his bike?!
After peering through the smoke of Bean's bombs, he saw it was right next to the police who were trying to get in the house. Great placement. The explosion distracted them, but it wouldn't be for long.
His tail squished into a coil on the ground. It sprung down with such force that it flung him on top of his bike—perfectly onto his seat, may it be mentioned.
“Oh.” He grinned. Some gunshots rang in the air and one bullet whizzed past him like a jet. “Shit! Oh shit!” He started the engine as fast as he could. He felt something sink onto his bike behind him. No time to think, just go!
The Marvelous Queen roared through the grass, using a small hill as a ramp for extra distance.
Fang took a large sigh of relief. He wasn't in the clear yet, though. Just gotta find another place. Somewhere with lots of people, where no one could possibly know him . . . uh.
“I'll just keep drivin’,” he muttered. “They got no police cars but they'll send reinforcem—”
“Hey ma'am, you're bleedin’ all over the seat!”
“JESUS THE CHRIST—” Fang nearly swerved into a tree. Who else could that be other than Bean. “I didn't even notice you buggers were here! Get off!”
“Well we don't have a DEATH WISH! Also you're actually bleeding all over the seat, ew.”
Fang glanced back and felt a cold sweat bead on his head at the sight. Blood was starting to pool behind him and it came from his side. He gasped as a sensation like boiling red hot metal being laid on his side took over.
“ACK!” He squeezed his eyes shut for a second. His hands tightened on the handles. A simple bullet graze had set his skin on fire; he couldn't drive like this. “Gotta find cover . . . “
Bark took out a napkin from under his beanie and wiped up the blood from the seat. He didn't dare try to clean up Fang while he was driving; he was probably angry enough.
Fang drove for around ten minutes with the scorching pain in his side, through the thick trees and eroding structures. Multiple times it felt like bile was going to rise from his stomach.
Finally, he found a large slab of rock hovering over a small hill, just enough space underneath to hide them in case the police passed by.
Fang pulled out a med kit from a compartment in his bike. Not wanting to bloody his queen any further, he slid off her with some effort. He leaned against the hill instead, sucking in a breath. He took out a clean cloth and started wiping the blood off his back and side. The cloth found the wound, making him curse.
Meanwhile, Bark and Bean got off and stared at the jerboa blankly.
“What are you idiots lookin’ at? This is your fault y'know!” Fang spat.
“Should've told me to blow up the house, then!” Bean blew a raspberry.
“Doin’ that would've damaged my bike! If any more blood got on it—”
“Oh heaven forbid you have a period on your bike! Oh!”
“Ow—shut it you're making it worse!”
Bark grunted loudly as a signal for them to stop bickering. He was already getting tired of hearing those two, back and forth.
Fang directed his hate to him next. “Don't play innocent, ya big lug. You led ‘em straight to the house ‘cause you were covered in bloody bomb powder!”
‘I admit that was my fault, but at least we got away!’ Bark's hand motions seemed bigger and quicker. He quickly realized his mistake when Fang made a confused noise. This was technically the first time Fang's seen him speak.
“I don't uh . . . know sign language.”
“Of course you don't, what's next you can't read??” Bean eyerolled.
“I never knew anyone long enough to care to learn sign language!” Suddenly, Fang winced and lost his footing, falling back against the hill. “Fuck . . . just stop talking. You know how much this hurts?”
The three went quiet while Fang waited for the bleeding to stop.
Bark tapped Fang on the arm, who looked up with a scowl. He made a cup shape with one hand and a pouring motion with the other.
“ . . . I don't have a drink, if that's what you're sayin’.”
Bean sighed. “He's asking if you have water to clean the wound.”
“Oh. Yeah, it's on my bike. I'll get it myself—” He cut himself off with a groan as he tried to stand up, but fell down. “I'll get it.”
“Mm.” Bark didn't sound convinced.
Fang gritted his teeth as he considered his options. Well if they wanted to take his bike, they would've already. And he can't exactly get up right now, but he didn't want them to help him up either.
“Fine, it’s in the compartment under the wheel. Don’t touch anything else, y’hear?”
Bark pulled it open and felt around until he heard a crackling sound. He took out a half full water bottle and handed it to the mercenary.
“Thanks.” As Fang cleaned the wound, Bean started shining a spoon of his with his bandana.
“Why were you back at the house anyway? Didja miss us?” he asked with an incredulous chuckle.
“‘Course not, I forgot my phone charger.” But as the words left his mouth, he thought about what Clutch said.
“Havin’ those tight connections can really save your ass, especially in this field of work.”
Maybe if it weren't for Bean's quick bomb throwing, he would have more than a bullet graze. And if Bark didn’t clean the blood on his Queen’s seat (yes he noticed), his mood would be infinitely more times ruined. But when considering missions in the past, the polar bear’s strength came in handy. Especially against Knuckles.
Fang sighed heavily.
‘Christ, this better be worth it . . . ‘
“Listen: let’s forget about all the issues we had before. You two need an efficient sniper like me and a good getaway vehicle. And I need connections.”
Instead of mocking him, Bean grinned. “ . . . Oh so you did miss us!”
“Shh shush, zip it.” Fang made a quick motion over his mouth to emphasize. “I think it could be worth a shot to . . . work as a team. For now!” He looked down at his bandaged hand. “I’ve always preferred working alone, but nowadays, pulling off heists and missions solo hasn’t been the best for me. And whenever I do join a team, it always seems to shit on me in the end.”
Bark and Bean listened intently. In the mere days they’ve known Fang, they never thought he’d consider working alongside them.
Fang sucked his teeth. “But I’m gonna try this one more time.” He started wrapping bandages around his torso. “You in?”
The duo looked at each other. They exchanged sign language; their brows would furrow and they shrugged at times. Fang tried with no success to understand them, he simply waited with anticipation.
Then finally, Bean and Bark gave each other thumbs ups. They turned to Fang.
“Okay we’re in!” Bean exclaimed.
Fang nodded, standing up and taking a deep breath to make sure the bandage was tight. “Alright, then it’s settled: we’re a team. But I’m the boss, okay? Leader. Me.”
“I didn’t know he could call dibs!” Bean whined. Bark chuckled heartily with a snort.
“I already regret this,” Fang muttered. With a small pep in his step, he sat on his bike again. Bark and Bean sat behind. “Let’s get goin’. We’re gonna have to move counties if we don’t wanna be chased down by cops again.”
“Yeah about that: can we go back to our cabin?” Bean asked. “We ordered some stuff with the cash money reward and it would suck if I didn’t get my premium soccer ball . . . “
“We’ll go back in a week, in case the police linger around.”
“Cool beans! As secondary team member of—uhhhh . . . “ He shook Bark frantically by the scarf. “We need a team name! NOW!”
“Oh my god, do we?” Fang facepalmed.
“Yes! And I have a few ideas up for debate!”
“While I’m driving, please.” After he got his bike moving through the trees again, Bean piped up again.
“Okay so Team Dynamite? Team Fireworks? Team Nuke a City? Team Hydrocity But However We Pronounce It?”
Bark tapped Bean’s shoulder and signed ‘Team Hooligan?’
Bean gasped and bounced on his seat. “OH YOU OVERSIZED GENIUS! Team Hooligan!”
“You’re kidding,” Fang grumbled. “That makes us sound like jokes! I can easily think of a better name.”
“Yeah? Like what?”
“Uhhhhh—just gimme a minute.”