The Rubix Cube

Master: We already have it waiting for you in the vehicle bay. You'll be using an old Freightliner to transport it so as not to draw attention to yourselves. DJ, you need to drive the truck. I want Rally and Rapperswil to be escorts in their cars.

They run to the vehicle bay and DJ climbs into the cab of the Freightliner. Rally gets into his Lotus Esprit V-8 while Rapperswil gets into his Dodge Ram 1500 Regular Cab. They drive slowly out of the vehicle bay and head down a dirt road to the highway. They pull onto the highway with Rally in front of DJ and Rapperswil at the back.

After a few minutes of driving, they pull off into a weigh station. Rally and Rapperswil park their vehicles as DJ pulls the truck onto the scale. Inside the building, two station operators are looking at a computer monitor.

They all head to the back of the trailer and DJ opens the doors. They all have to duck as Muzzle jumps out of the trailer, completely unrestrained. The station operator takes a couple steps back and Rally has to grab Muzzle by the collar to keep him from attacking.

Rally holds Muzzle while DJ and the station operator climb into the trailer. They look around and see about twelve wooden crates on each side. The crates are about five feet long and two and a half feet tall.

Station Operator #2: If you're questioned about your cargo, just show them these papers and they should let you through. Where y'all headed, anyway?

DJ climbs into the trailer and shuts the crate. Rally climbs up to put Muzzle back in and helps DJ put the crate back at the top of the stack. As the two of them get out, DJ shuts the doors and climbs into the cab. Rally and Rapperswil get into their cars and get back into their formation. (Rally in front, DJ and the semi in the middle, and Rapperswil in the back.) They pull back onto the highway and continue toward Fairview.

Master: I realize the danger, but it's best that we just let them do this by themselves. Besides, DJ and Rally won't let anything happen to Diamond. They'll be alright.

The gun on the Hummer turns to point at the trailer as Rapperswil pulls out from behind the semi. He speeds up and slams the back end of the Hummer, causing it to ride up on his front bumper. Rapperswil slows enough to have the Hummer drop off his bumper, then slams him again. The gun on the Hummer turns now to face directly at Rapperswil's truck. Before he can turn to avoid the shots, the gun fires dozens of bullets at the truck, shattering the entire windshield and spraying glass all over Rapperswil. DJ and Rally watch in their mirrors as Rapperswil's truck swerves off the road and rides along the left shoulder. DJ now slows until the cab of the semi is aligned with the Hummer.

As DJ speeds up, the gun (Which is still pointing directly backwards) fires a shower of bullets into the front of the cab. Smoke starts pouring from the engine compartment as DJ slams into the Hummer. The driver of the Hummer tries to stop, but the large Freightliner pushes it along. DJ turns slightly to the left, causing the Hummer to spin sideways. The Hummer is hit in the side by the Freightliner before being sent off the road. The Hummer starts to flip and spin, finally coming to rest upside-down next to a tree. Rapperswil now pulls back on the road and gets back behind DJ as Rally slows to get right in front of them.

Rally, DJ, and Rapperswil pull into a gas station and park at the back. DJ gets out to survey the damage to the smoking rig while Rally heads back to Rapperswil's truck. He opens the door and helps Rapperswil out. He looks at Rapperswil's arm, which has about five bullet holes in it.

DJ: Well, first of all, the radiator's totaled. That's gonna kill us right there. Also, there's a bunch of other things that are unfixable here. I just don't have the equipment to do anything.

He puts down the mic and grabs the medi-kit from the glove box. He walks back over to Rapperswil, who was sitting on the hood of his truck, holding his right arm.

(This is the same facility used in "An Average Day in the Life of a Rover".) Diamond is lying unconscious on a bed inside one of the cells. She begins to stir and sits up, rubbing her head.

James pulls a chair in front of the cell and sits down, putting the rifle on the ground next to him. Diamond begins walking around the cell, looking all around.

James: Yeah, I think I heard about that escape. They got out through the ventilation ducts, but Parvo made it to where that's not a safe way to get out anymore.

Diamond jumps up and grabs James' tail through the bars and pulls as hard as she can. James yells out in pain as Diamond places her left foot on the bars for support and continues to pull.

Diamond continues to pull as hard as she can. After a while, she lets go and James stumbles forward. He then sits in the chair and starts to pet his tail, a tear rolling down his cheek.

James: Well, if you want to know, I'm the reason Parvo kidnapped you. He tried creating a machine to make canosapiens instead of cano-mutants since canosapiens are faster, smarter, and usually stronger. I was the first one he created, and so far, the only one. When I was put through training, they found out that I was as smart as a canosapien, but didn't have the speed or strength to compete with even the cano-mutants. Parvo was about to kill me, but instead, he made me a security guard.

Rapperswil is sitting on the hood of his truck with his right arm wrapped with a bandage, DJ is leaning against the side of the semi, and Rally is lying on the roof of his car when a Kenworth cab pulls in.

While DJ and Dylan start to detach the old cab from the trailer and attach the new one, Rally slides off his car and picks up the CB mic.

Dylan climbs into the Freightliner and slowly drives it to a place out of the way of any cars that might drive through. He climbs out and walks over to the others.

James: Because we need to make sure we can get away without being caught. I'll be right back, I gotta check some things real quick. If anyone else comes in here, act like nothing happened and try to pretend you're scared.

A few hours go by before Diamond hears footsteps from the hall outside the detention area. She stands up and waits. A soldier steps in front of the cell and scowls at her.

Soldier: Ha! I seriously doubt it. Well, just a few more hours until Parvo's plans are complete. I'll leave you alone now, but I'll see you when you're about to die.

The soldier starts to walk out when James walks back in. The soldier looks at him, then punches him in the chest, knocking him back against the door of an empty cell. He then walks out as James walks over to Diamond's cell.

James: Yes, but we won't be able to get out safely until tomorrow when there won't be as many guards around. I figured you'd be hungry, so I got you something to eat, even though I'm not supposed to.

He pulls a plastic-wrapped sandwich out of his vest pocket and hands it to Diamond through the bars. She sits on the bed and begins to eat.

DJ, Rally, Dylan, and Rapperswil are still heading toward Fairview. The sky is starting to get dark as the sun sets. The clock on Rapperswil's dashboard reads 7:41 P.M.

Dylan: Yeah, they'll do just about anything for her. Rally even told me once that he'd give his life for her if it was necessary. He acts tough, but he's actually very sensitive and kind.

Dylan: You just better be careful sayin' that around Rally. He's the one that basically protects her and makes a lot of decisions for her. You'll probably have to get his approval before you can go with Diamond.

After about a quarter of an hour of driving, they pull into a rest stop and park. They step out of their vehicles and sit on a couple of benches nearby.

Rapperswil, DJ, and Rally tell Dylan what had happened from when they first saw the Hummer to when they pulled into the gas station in Belen.

DJ walks over to the semi, climbs into the cab, and lays down on the bed in the back. The other three stay on the benches and are silent for a while. Rally looks up at the sky and sighs.

They walk to their vehicles. Rally lays across the seats of his car and drifts off to sleep. Dylan and Rapperswil get to the pickup and Dylan jumps into the bed of the truck.

Rally slowly wakes up and looks over at the clock on his dashboard, which reads 10:00 A.M. Rally closes his eyes again, but then opens them wide when he realizes where he is. He jerks up in the seat and nearly hits his head on the roof as he takes another look at the clock.

He jumps out of the car and runs back to the semi. He opens the door, climbs in, and finds DJ sound asleep in the back of the cab. He shakes him by the shoulders until DJ finally begins to stir.

They jump out of the cab and DJ runs to the back of the trailer and opens the doors. Rally runs over to Rapperswil's truck and opens the driver-side door. Rapperswil is laying on his left side with his head at the door. Rally shakes him, being careful not to hurt his right arm.

Rapperswil slowly come to as Rally goes back to the bed of the truck. He smacks Dylan lightly on the head a couple of times to wake him up. Dylan sits up, rubbing his face.

Dylan gets into the driver's seat of the pickup as DJ and Rally get into their vehicles. They start them up and pull back onto the highway.

He walks over to the bed and dumps Diamond, along with the thin mattress, onto the floor. Diamond gets up and pushes the mattress off of her.

He pushes Diamond out of the cell and guides her to an office. The soldier sits her in a chair and walks out of the office. In front of the chair is a desk with a man seated behind it. The man stands and approaches her, and she sees that it's Parvo.

Parvo: Don't worry. I'm not planning on killing him. He's just been brainwashed, and when I get those parts, he'll be put through the transformation process again. And this time, there won't be any flaws.

Parvo: We'll just see about that. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to prepare for the arrival of the other Rovers. Don't even think about escaping. I have guards set outside that are ordered to shoot you if you try to leave this room.

The gates open and the three vehicles drive in and park near the front entrance. The four Rovers get out and stand in front of the Kenworth. A short while later, Parvo and the armed soldiers walk out.

He snaps his fingers and one of the soldiers walks back into the building. He returns after about a minute with Diamond held at gunpoint.

Dylan walks around to the back of the trailer and pulls Muzzle out. He walks him over to the pickup and puts him inside. The soldier that has the keys now walks to the semi and gets in. A large door on the side of the building opens and the soldier drives the truck inside. The door closes and the Rovers look to Parvo.

Parvo, the soldiers, and Diamond (Still held at gunpoint) head back into the building and the door is locked behind them. The four Rovers try to open it, but to no avail. Rally begins to power up for an energy blast, but Dylan quickly grabs his arm to stop him.

Before anyone can answer, dozens of soldiers run around the corner, their guns aimed at the four Rovers. The soldiers surround them on all sides and ready their guns.

The Rovers are sitting around, playing Poker, reading, etc. The Poker game is cut short when the communicator on Hunter's collar starts beeping.

DJ (Over communicator; whispering): Hunter, we're in trouble. Parvo's double-crossed us and we don't know where he's keeping Diamond. We can't look for her now because we've been locked up in a room that Rally can't destroy.

After a few seconds, the Sonic Rover is rocked by a giant explosion. Blitz, Exile, and Ricky are thrown to the floor. Colleen's head is flung against the console and she is knocked unconscious. Hunter desperately tries to steady the Sonic Rover as it starts to plummet to the ground. Bayson looks out the window and sees that the engine on the right has been severely damaged.

Exile gets up and runs to the back. He rips open a panel and pulls a lever. A loud whining noise is heard just before the left engine fires up with an extra burst of power. Hunter pulls hard at control stick and levels out the Sonic Rover only a few feet from the ground.

When she doesn't answer him, he looks over and sees that she is unconscious on the console. He reaches over with his right hand and lifts her head, revealing a huge gash in her forehead.

Hunter slowly brings the Sonic Rover to an altitude of two hundred feet and flies at a much slower pace than before. As they near Fairview, Colleen starts to regain consciousness. She rubs her forehead and looks at the blood on her hand.

Parvo and Groomer are standing in front of the completed transdogmifier. The machine has just stopped whirring and the steam starts to dissipate. A young canosapien steps out and looks at Parvo.

She leaves the area and James looks around as cano-mutants emerge from different places, armed with guns ranging from a conventional pistol to a fully automatic Uzi. James gets ready to fight as the cano-mutants approach him.

The Sonic Rover lands and the six Rovers step out. Hunter looks over at Colleen, who is wiping a trail of blood from her forehead under the gash.

They walk to a door and find that it's locked. Exile uses his super-vision to freeze the door. When it's completely frozen, Colleen kicks it and it shatters into millions of pieces.

They walk down a very dark hallway for a very long time. They finally come to a door and Hunter slowly opens it enough to peek into the room. Inside is a hallway with many more doors. Hunter opens the door all the way and they all step in and look around.

They walk from door to door and check every room. Exile comes to the last door and checks inside. He turns to the others and calls them over.

Diamond looks up and turns to see them standing in the doorway. She jumps up from the bed and runs over to Hunter. She hugs him tightly and cries on his shoulder.

Parvo: That's just what I wanted to hear. Prepare him for departure. We're not going to wait for those Rovers to find us, we're gonna track them down like the dogs they are.

From inside, the door starts to glow bright red. After nearly a minute, it melts and DJ and the others stand up. Hunter and the others walk in and Diamond runs up and hugs Rally.

For ten minutes, everyone sits and waits for Rally to get back. He finally appears from inside the building, holding a handgun and looking very mad. DJ walks out of the Sonic Rover and stands near the door.

Before Hunter can put up the CB mic, a bullet flies through the side window and strikes him in the left arm. He yells out in pain as the bullet embeds itself in the bone. He leans back against a wall and falls into a sitting position on the floor, holding the wound. Colleen runs up and kneels next to him.

Hunter: I'm fine. Just get everyone in here and take off. I don't know what's gotten into Rally, but we have to get away from him before he kills us.

Colleen runs to the door and tells DJ, Diamond, and Exile to get in. They close the door and Colleen takes off. Rally fires a couple more shots at the Sonic Rover, but nothing penetrates. He throws down the gun and runs to his car. He slams the car into gear and takes off at full speed down the highway. Inside Parvo's facility, Parvo is watching Rally drive away on a television monitor.

He laughs insanely and goes into a coughing fit. Back onboard the Sonic Rover, Exile has climbed into the co-pilot's seat and Hunter is sitting behind him, a piece of cloth wrapped around his arm where the bullet penetrated.

Dylan: Just be ready for anything. There's no telling what Rally will do. *Thinking to himself* And there's no telling what we'll have to do, either.

Rally pulls alongside the truck on the right side and slows to match their speed. Rapperswil looks out the window and sees Rally smiling evilly. Rally suddenly takes off at full speed, leaving Dylan and Rapperswil in his dust.

Rovers are running back and forth through the room, checking computers, getting orders, and arming themselves. Briggs is standing on Master's balcony, but Master is nowhere in sight.

Briggs: Dervish, you secure the northern wing, Sash take the eastern side, Carmen can get the southern section, and Zudnik, I want you at the west.

He turns off the radio and puts the mic down. He runs over to Kytec and starts discussing something. Onboard the Sonic Rover, Colleen slowly removes the headset and lets it drop to the floor.

Diamond: Look, I don't know how they do things where you come from, but where I'm from, we don't just stand by and let our family get killed! So either you get this bucket o' bolts up to speed now, or I do it myself.

Colleen hesitates for a second, then pushes the throttles up to max. There's a loud bang and a violent shaking as the extra power kicks in. The force of the extra power causes the engine to rip off the right wing and smash into the ground below.

Kytec: He's gone crazy and has already tried to kill his brother and his friend. We thought you could talk to him and maybe find out what's wrong with him.

Briggs: Alright, now that we're armed, we need to keep an eye out for Rally. We don't need him catching us off-guard. Dervish, get to your post and let us know when you see `im.

They all walk into the briefing room and sit at the tables. Master walks out onto his balcony and looks around the room. He now notices Stephanie.

Master walks out of the room and the Rovers gather together near the tables. Dervish runs in and stands next to them. Inside the vehicle bay, Rally speeds in and screeches to a stop. The force of the braking causes a thick cloud of smoke to rise up from the tires and drift past the car. After the smoke dies down, Rally opens the door of his car and slowly steps out.

He walks to the door and opens it. As he steps into the briefing room, he sees everyone standing in a group, most of them with weapons at their sides.

Rally: I don't know anyone named Stephanie. To me, you're just another obstacle standing in my way. Oh, well. Parvo won't care how many of you there are, just as long as I kill all of you.

Rally: That's right. I don't know why I never caught on before. It's obvious that he's going to take over, so I decided to take sides with him so I'd be on the winning team.

The nine Rovers with guns, including Briggs, start to fire at Rally. When everyone is out of ammo, they see that Rally is still standing, completely untouched.

Rally charges up a quick blast and fires it at the Rovers. Everyone jumps out of the way and the blast hits a wall behind them, blowing it into oblivion.

Shag, who was standing behind the others, pull the missile launcher out of his fur. He takes aim and fires… the right way. Rally fires a quick blast and it hits the missile just a few feet in front of him. The Rovers shield their eyes from the explosion and Rally braces himself so he is not knocked back by the force. The explosion dies down and the Rovers unshield their eyes. Just as Rally is about to fire another blast, they hear something from the vehicle bay. Hunter and the others run into the briefing room and look around.

DJ takes a step back as Rally charges up a blast. He fires the blast, but DJ dodges it and runs into the vehicle bay. Rally runs after him and everyone else watches. DJ runs into a tool room and grabs the first thing he can find -- a lead pipe. When he sees Rally running at him, he raises the pipe to hit him and Rally instantly stops in his tracks just a few feet away. Rally's expression suddenly turns to fear and he starts to slowly back away from DJ. DJ is confused by Rally's actions. From the other side of the vehicle bay, everyone looks on with confused expressions.

Rally takes another step back, trips, and falls backward to the ground. He sits on the floor of the vehicle bay, frozen with fear. DJ takes a few steps toward him and lowers the pipe to his side.

He carefully sticks the needle into Rally's left arm and injects the fluid. After about a minute of struggling, Rally calms down and Prof. Hubert drops the syringe into a trash can. All of Rally's muscles relax, he passes out, and Shag lays him on a medical bed.

Prof. Hubert: That's a special serum I've been working on. It causes the person injected with it to go into a state of unconsciousness for about ten hours. Now we should be able to re-transdogmify him with no trouble.

DJ and Hunter pick Rally up and carry him to the transdogmifier room. They are about to put him into one of the machines when they hear three gunshots from on the roof.

They head over to a stairwell and run up to the roof. When they get there, they see Briggs kneeling next to Kytec, who is lying on the ground next to a black helicopter with a bullet hole in the right side of his chest.

Briggs: There was an orange-colored canosapien with Groomer. After I shot Groomer, the canosapien shot Kytec. He tried to shoot me, but missed. After that, he ran off.

Colleen (Into walkie-talkie): Rovers, keep an eye out for an orange-colored male canosapien. He is in league with Parvo and is armed and dangerous. And no, I'm not talking about you, Dervish.

Briggs grabs Kytec by the legs and he and Colleen carry him down the stairs to the inside of Mission Control. When they get him to the infirmary, Colleen immediately starts to go to work on him.

The three of them split up and run down different halls. DJ stops at a corner and cautiously peers around it. He sees the canosapien standing with his back to him in front of the infirmary door. He jerks his head back around the corner and lets out a deep breath. He runs around the corner with his gun pointed in front of him, but the canosapien is nowhere in sight.

DJ runs back out into the hallway and rounds a corner, running into Hunter. They both fall to the ground and drop their guns. They sit up, grab their guns, and stand back up.

They run to the transdogmifier room and see Rally lying on the floor just as they had left him, but next to him was the canosapien with a bullet hole in his chest over the heart.

They pick him up and put him into one of the machines. When he is back to his canine form, they restart the machine to change him back to a canosapien. After the process is done, they carry him back to the infirmary and lay him on a bed across from Kytec. Colleen has just finished wrapping Kytec's chest with a bandage and is sitting in a chair next to his bed.

DJ: But we're not safe yet. Parvo can still make more of those canosapiens, so we have to destroy everything we gave him. And this time, I'm destroying the facility, as well.

All six missiles fly from their racks toward their target as DJ turns the Jet Rover around and starts to head back to RRMC. A few seconds later, an explosion is heard and DJ looks back to see a giant fireball rising into the sky.

Diamond: Marauder's gonna make sure Rally's OK. If he's not, Dylan's gonna tranquilize him until we figure out a way to get him back to normal.

They all get up and follow Dylan to the infirmary. Stephanie, DJ, Diamond, Hunter, Colleen, Exile, and Rapperswil are able to fit into the room, but everyone else has to wait outside in the hall. They see Rally sitting on the edge of the bed, talking to Marauder.

Rally: *Shakes Rapperswil's hand* Congratulations. I had a feeling you had a thing for her. Maybe if you two get together, you can help her get over her immaturity.

They walk out and the other Rovers crowd around Rally and bombard him with questions about what happened. Rally puts his hands up to quiet them.

Rally: I assure all of you that I'm OK, but I'm afraid the mission's not over yet. We need to make sure what happened to me doesn't happen to anyone else.

Hunter and Rally walk to the vehicle bay. Hunter walks over to the Sonic Rover and Rally walks over to the Freightliner cab. Rally opens the engine compartment and looks around until he finds the entry point of one of the bullets. He reaches in and feels around until he hears a rattling noise. He grabs something and carries it back to the others.

Rapperswil: That's what I thought. Alright, let's see here… Apparently there were fourteen Hummers made with concealed .50 calibers. Nine are stationed overseas, three are in Washington D.C., and the other two are registered here in New Mexico.

Rally starts the truck, puts it into first, and drives out of the vehicle bay. Hunter watches them leave as he walks back into Mission Control.

This causes Blitz, Colleen, and Dylan to burst into hysterical laughter. Hunter scratches his head in confusion and walks out of the room as the others continue to laugh.

Rapperswil, who is still in the bed of the pickup, bangs on the top of the cab. Rally reaches back with his right hand and opens the sliding window behind him.

Rally finds a parking garage and pulls in. He stops in the first available spot and cuts off the engine. He looks over his shoulder so he can see Rapperswil as he talks to him.

Rally undoes his seatbelt and steps out of the truck. He starts to walk to the back of the truck and motions for Rapperswil to follow him. Rapperswil jumps from the bed of the truck and they stop about ten feet behind the Ram.

Rally (Under his breath): Apparently when Parvo changed me, my one true flaw remained in the back of my mind. *To Rapperswil* Rap, do you think you could keep a secret, because it's pretty embarrassing.

Rally: Well, lead pipes are my fear. I know it sounds stupid, but something happened to me when I was a pup that had a very traumatic effect on me. I can't even remember exactly what happened. All I know is that the sight of a lead pipe scares the fur off me. You won't tell anyone, will you?

They go back to the truck and Rapperswil again jumps into the bed as Rally climbs back into the cab. Rally starts the engine, backs out of the parking space, and pulls back onto the road.

DJ walks out of the vehicle bay as Exile walks over to the Sonic Rover and surveys the extent of the damage. DJ walks into the rec room and sees most of the Rovers just sitting around. Hunter and the others aren't even playing their usual game of Poker.

Blitz stands on the free-throw line and shoots. The ball dances on the rim for a while before falling off the side. Hunter retrieves the ball and takes his place at the free-throw line. He lines up the ball and takes a shot. The ball bounces off the backboard and sinks into the net.

Blitz throws Hunter the ball and Hunter charges down the court. He shoots a lay-up shot, but misses. Blitz grabs the ball and runs down to the opposite end of the court with Hunter in hot pursuit. He sinks a two-point slam-dunk and hangs on the rim. He drops from the rim and gives Hunter an egotistical smirk.

Their basketball game goes on for nearly 2½ hours. Hunter is dribbling the ball in place while Blitz has his hands on his knees, panting for air. Both Rovers are tired and sweating, but Hunter shows less fatigue than Blitz.

They walk to their separate rooms to take a shower. Back in the vehicle bay, Rally pulls in and slows to a stop. He kills the engine and the three Rovers step out and head to the briefing room.

They all turn to face the door. About thirty seconds later, a loud scream is heard and Rapperswil is seen running as fast as he can through the hall, though all the Rovers can see is a brown blur. Colleen runs by a short while later and stops in front of the rec room door.

A door opens upward from underneath the ruble where Parvo's facility had once stood. Parvo steps out and looks around angrily. He had gone into an underground room when missile detectors went off, letting him know that DJ had launched six missiles at his facility. He just barely got in the room when the missiles made impact.

Parvo: That's the last time I put so much faith in incompetent fools to do my work. One of these days, I'll get those pests once and for all! I swear I will!