Not Kaz.

I said I'd have more, so I do.

"You're sure it's Order Magic," Firefox said finally.
"Well, Order Magic is quite distinctive," Radium said. "And I have some, well, a lot, of experience identifying it."
"I'll bet," Phish said. Radium eyed him oddly, as if he couldn't decide if that was sarcasm or agreement. Apparently he decided it was the latter, as he turned back to Copper.
"Honestly, I don't know why you brought all of these guys up here just hear me talk," he said. Copper shrugged innocently.
"But you do it so well, Rad. Besides, I wanted them to meet Sasha."
"Now?"
"Well, sometime this century would be preferable. If you could arrange it, of course ..."
"Yeah, sure." Radium grimaced. "Down the hall to the left, last door. He was laughing his head off at Spaz last I saw."
"Thanks, Rad. Jack, Firefox, come with me."
"What about us?" Indigo indicated the rest of the Elite Task Force, and Phish.
"I'll leave you in Radium's charming company," she said dryly. "Sasha's not all that friendly."
"Ohh," Indigo and Splitter chorused together. She nodded.
"I thought you'd understand."
Copper and the two Elite Task Force members exited quickly. Copper sighed.
"Well, that was Radium. And this -" she led them to a slightly-ajar door "- is Sasha." She pushed the door open with an air of caution.
The dim room should have been lit by the large, open window in the opposite wall. The only problem was, this side of the castle was in complete shadow. For that matter, the whole castle was. Jack noticed that the dusk that had fallen during his battle had developed into full blown night. Thus, the only light came from a sputtering torch, burning low, next to the door.
A movement caught his eye. The window ledge was not empty as he had previously thought; there was a figure sitting on it, knees drawn up to chest.
"Copper? Jeez, you took long enough," the shape said irritably. "You're lucky I even stuck around."
"Good thing you did. Sasha, this is Jack Flash and Captain Firefox. Guys, Sasha Araspir."
Sasha rose to his feet and stepped out of the shadowy corner. "Well, for once you're right, Copper. It's a good thing I did stick around." He eyed Jack and Firefox curiously. His fur was black as tar, with dark blue streaks running through it. His hair was bleached blond, and his eyes were pale blue flecked with gold, similar to Radium's in that they were glowing faintly, and pupilless. "I guess I'm your air reconnaissance, or part of it, anyway. Hey, has Kaz or Nobody showed up yet?"
"No," Copper said. "Sasha, it's been roughly five minutes since I called them."
"I know. Your point is ...?"
"N0 lives on Mechaius, Sasha. He'll be at least a few hours until he arrives, unless he's still got Tiger with him. And Kaz ..."
As if summoned by the mentioning of his name, a red-feathered bird cannonballed into the wall next to the window. A moment later, Kaz hopped in through the window on one foot, balancing precariously on the window sill before falling directly onto Sasha, who shoved the dazed bird off irritably.
"... is here," Copper finished. Kaz shook his head to clear his vision.
"So I noticed," Sasha said. Jack grinned.
"So, are you a pilot?" Firefox asked Sasha quickly. The black rabbit started.
"What? No," he said incredulously. "You've got to be kidding me. I'm as mechanically inclined as a brick wall."
"We noticed," Copper muttered under her breath. Sasha shot her a glare that she ignored.
Firefox still didn't understand. "If you're not a pilot, how -"
"- do I plan to be your backup," Sasha finished. "Don't worry about that right now, Captain."
Firefox looked like he was about to say something when a silver and black striped rabbit materialized.
"Tiger! What's the matter?"
"A small problem. N0 and I are under attack by a flock of Desekan crows, and a few shockbots. Can I get some help?"
"Where are you?" Jack demanded.
"South end of Taffrith."
"Right," Sasha said, a malicious grin appearing on his dark face. Tiger nodded and phased out.
"Airboards are up one flight, first door on your right," Copper said. Firefox charged out the door, Jack on his heels as Sasha discarded his cloak, spread a large pair of wings, and dove out the window.
Copper shook her head and headed back to chat for a while with Radium and the rest of the Elite Task Force, if they decided to stick around.


I probably won't get on during the weekend, and I'm leaving on Wednesday. How frustrating.