The water seemed to stretch endlessly in front of an isolated island. This island was named South Island. South Island was green and vibrant, hosting beaches, palm trees, vibrant grass, massive hills, you name it.
A red blur dashed past, moving at Mach speeds
It was Nico, a young, humanoid leopard. He ran like a human and looked like one too. His fur was red, and he had dark spots all over his body. His chest and all the way down to his crotch had white fur on it. His muzzle was white too.
He wore no clothes, but did wear black gloves that didn't cover his fingers. He also wore some black sneakers built for running.
His face looked friendly and suggested peace. His ears were black for some odd reason, and he had an athletic build.
His long and spotty tail fluttered in the wind as he ran past dozens of palm trees. The grass beneath his feet nearly melted at how fast he was going.
In the distance, Nico saw a small monkey, no bigger than 1 ft in size. It was engulfed in a strange black shadow that seemed to absorb light.
"Not another one..." Nico sighed, sprinting towards the pure black monkey.
As Nico punched the shadow monkey in the face, the darkness engulfing it seemed to splatter of its body, disappearing as the sun grazed it, leaving the monkey unharmed.
"You stay safe out there!" Nico exclaimed, sprinting past the monkey, who was now dancing with joy.
"Damn that Dr. E and his shadow minions!"
Several minutes later, Nico arrived at a small workshop atop a green cliff, overlooking South Island.
"Yo!" he said as he entered the workshop, waving his hand at a young, humanoid fox boy with dark red fur.
"Nico!" the fox said, jumping up from his seat and walking over towards the leopard.
"I haven't spoken to you in days!" the fox said.
The fox looked young and impressionable. His fur was a shade of dark red, and he had a white snout and torso. He wore brown boots and a utility belt with all kinds of tools and gadgets.
"Long time, no see, Viper." Nico replied before grabbing something from behind his back.
Viper watched in curiosity as Nico whipped out a blue gem.
"Wait... is that what I think it is...?" Viper asked.
"Yup! It's a Phantom Ruby! It's the blue one!" Nico replied, showing it off to Viper.
"That's so cool... If you manage to collect all 5 Phantom Rubies, then you can access a new version of yourself with exponential strength and the ability to defy all odds..." Viper replied.
Viper leaned closer to the gem, the blue light reflecting in his eyes.
"You're serious?" he said quietly. "You actually found one."
Nico tossed the Phantom Ruby lightly in his hand before catching it again.
"Found it after smashing one of Dr. E's shadow beasts. The thing was guarding it like its life depended on it."
Viper crossed his arms, thinking.
"That means Dr. E is already searching for them. If his shadows were protecting it, then he knows what the rubies can do."
"Yeah, I figured that much…" Nico replied. "That's why I grabbed it first."
Viper turned back to his workbench. Tools, wires, and half-finished gadgets were scattered across the surface.
Then, a sound pierced through the area.
"NICO, YOU BITCH! GET OUT HERE NOW!"
Nico's ears twitched slightly at how loud the noise was.
"Ah, that sounds like Dr. E..." Nico said, walking outside.
"This is the 4th time this week..." Viper said.
As Nico stepped outside, he saw Dr. E, in the flesh, standing on his electric scooter floating 30 meters in the air.
Dr. E had jet black, slick hair. He had a black, fancy moustache and wore a dark black coat along with some dark pants His black shoes shined in the sunlight, as they looked freshly polished.
"What the hell do ya want, Dr. E?" Nico protested, resting his face in his palm.
"Dr. E, huh? It's Dr. EvilMcEvilton to you, ya little rat!" Dr. E responded, pointing his finger at Nico disrespectfully.
"What a stupid ass name..." Nico cringed.
"And I'm not a rat, you bastard! I'm a leopard! You can never catch up to me! Also, did your mother not teach you pointing fingers at people is considered rude?" he continued.
"Enough talk! Let's duke it out right here and now! You'll pay for destroying one of my shadow minions..." Dr. E exclaimed.
Getting a better look at his surroundings, Nico noticed that Dr. E had bought all types of complex machinery and robots to back him up if they were to fight.
"You know it always ends the same, right? I always destroy your robots, hit you a couple times and then send you packing!" Nico reminded the Doctor.
From out of the scooter emerged what looked like dozens of bazookas, and they were all pointing at Nico.
Nico was shocked for a few seconds before regaining composure.
'Seriously, how the hell did he fit all those bazookas in that scooter?' Nico pondered before taking a fighting stance.
"Whatever, just attack me with your so called army, Dr. E"
"Gladly." Dr. E responded.
Nico lowered his stance the moment the first missile fired.
The rocket tore through the air with a shriek. Nico vanished before it could reach him, leaving nothing but a red streak cutting across the grass.
The missile slammed into the ground behind him and exploded.
More followed.
Dozens of rockets poured out of the scooter like a storm. Nico zig-zagged across the field faster than the eye could follow, each explosion chasing the afterimage he left behind.
"Hold still!" Dr. EvilMcEvilton shouted.
"Not my style!" Nico called back.
Nico suddenly planted his foot into the ground and launched upward. His red blur shot straight toward the hovering scooter. One of the robots deployed and fired a laser directly at him.
Nico twisted in the air and drove his fist straight through the robot's metal face.
The machine shattered into fragments that scattered through the sky.
Three more robots rushed him.
Nico landed between them and spun at incredible speeds. The force created a small shockwave that threw the machines into the air. Before they could stabilize, Nico leapt again and kicked through the first robot, punched straight through the second, and slammed the third into the ground with a downward strike.
Metal crumpled.
Sparks sprayed everywhere.
Dr. E gritted his teeth.
"Fine! Send the heavy units!"
Larger robots dropped, their weapons charging.
Nico dashed forward. He ran directly up the side of one robot, flipped off its shoulder, and drove both feet into its head. The machine collapsed instantly.
Another robot swung an arm the size of a tree trunk. Nico ducked, sprinted under it, and delivered a rapid series of punches that caved in its torso.
The final robot fired a barrage of bullets.
Nico disappeared again.
A moment later he reappeared behind it and slammed his heel into its back. The robot smashed face-first into the ground and exploded.
Silence fell across the cliff.
Dr. E stared down at the smoking pile of destroyed machines.
"You know," Nico said calmly, brushing metal dust off his glove, "this is getting expensive for you."
Dr. E pointed at him angrily.
"This isn't over, you oversized house cat!"
Nico sighed.
"Leopard."
Dr. E slammed a button on the scooter. The machine blasted upward, its engines whining as it turned away from the cliff.
"You may have won today, Nico!" he shouted while retreating. "But next time I'll have an army you can't outrun!"
"Sure," Nico replied. "See you tomorrow."
The flying scooter shot into the distance until it vanished into the clouds.
Nico stretched his arms and walked back into the workshop.
Inside, Viper was already staring at the Phantom Ruby again.
"Done beating him up?" the fox asked.
"Same as always," Nico replied.
"Hey uh, Nico..." the fox asks.
"Hm? Yeah, what is it?" Nico responds.
"Do you mind if you leave the Phantom Ruby with me for a week or so?"
"Uh, yeah sure? But why?" Nico asks.
"I might be able to make a Phantom Ruby tracker with the energy given off with this one." Viper responds.
"Oh- Well in that case, of course you can. There's no telling if Dr. E might hatch some crazy plan that we'll need all 5 Phantom Rubies for..." Nico says.
"Mhm... And not even just Dr. E. There could be a world ending threat coming soon. You remember than giant earth worm that nearly wiped out an entire city?" Viper asks.
"Yeah... I remember... That was last year, wasn't it? The same earth worm that took our whole group to defeat..." Nico says.
Viper pauses for a moment before pointing to the door.
"Alright, get out so I can do my work. It'll take a while before this tracker can get completed... Besides, you're dragging this conversation out." he laughs.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. See ya never!" Nico says, running out the door smiling.
To Be Continued!