Chapter 4

"Operation MAIDEN"

Dropping from 20,000 feet certainly had its downsides, no flight suit, and having his balls freeze while free falling in pitch black was not something Roy looked forward to when he agreed to do this mission. Roy landed with a cold thud as he hit the soggy ground. He quickly rolled up his chute and buried it where he stood.

Rhodes was waiting at the lakeside.

"Roy-" Rhodes whispered loudly.

"I'm here Sergeant," said Roy.

"There's heavy fog…I hope we're in the right grid, I can't see this castle." Rhodes said looking through a starlight scope.

"Did you find the equipment crate?" Roy whispered. "Yeah I have it right here." Rhodes said patting a large box by his side.

Roy opened up the box and beheld an assortment of ammo, explosives, and special equipment. Roy pulled out another starlight scope from inside one of the boxes and attached it to a mount on his M14. Rhodes pulled out half of an m60 and attached a barrel to the front. The two carried the box of equipment into a small natural shelter beneath a fallen tree.

They set out into the forest moving inches at a time with the wind in the trees covering the sounds of their footsteps. The sun started to appear over the mountain as they came to the edge of a clearing in the woods, Roy pulled out his map, and made notes of a potential EVAC point, Rhodes looked around for tracks.

"Captain over there." Rhodes said pointing to a distant shape in the woods.

Roy and Rhodes walked over to what appeared to be the wreck of one of the cobras, there were no bullet holes in the fuselage, the instruments were clearly smashed, and the pilots were alive or possibly MIA somewhere off in the jungle.

"I don't like the look of this." Roy said as he searched the wreckage for booby traps

"NVA were not here, no traps, no holes I don't like it...a lot of bumps though" Roy said feeling relieved for finding evidence.

Rhodes spotted something faint on the ground, he lit up his flashlight to look at it.

"Captain does the VC wear flip flops?" Rhodes said looking at what appeared to be footprints in the dirt. "Boots and sandals, no flip flops...you got a trail though?" roy whispered as he came over

They followed the trail of footprints through the woods. It led them straight to the other cobra which was nothing more than a charred husk. "There's still no traces of bullet holes." Roy said taking notes in his book. Without warning an ominous low rumbling made its way over the trees, it sounded like the rapidly beating wings of a hummingbird. Roy hastily threw his notebook back in his pack.

"Get down." Roy whispered as they slid behind a large fern.

The fluttering noise got closer and closer as Roy's heart started to beat louder. Rhodes flipped his safety off. The figure moved in through the mist, floating in midair, hardly visible from the fern where the two soldiers lay.

Roy remained immobile trying to gather information from what he was looking at, but before he could make out what it was, it moved back into the shadows.

The loud beating subsided and both Roy and Rhodes now tried to follow the tracks back to where they were. It was too quiet now, as the team moved to the edge of a clearing a sudden swarm of winged beings flew from the tall grass and pelted the two with various rocks and glowing objects.

"AMBUSH!" Roy screamed as he let out a burst from his m14 in all sorts of directions.

Rhodes let loose the M60 and started on his escape towards the lake.

A maniacal laughing broke out from one of the winged aggressors as the two ran. The swarm surrounded their position and finally Roy was able to see what he was up against.

There were the fairies all around them, each one of them looked like they were wearing some kind of dress garment.

They all grinned sinisterly as they flew through the air using strange polygonal wings. A high-pitched sneering voice came from behind.

"Are you two idiots lost or something?" The voice said giggling with a sinister tone.

Roy and Rhodes turned around to see where the voice came from. A small, blue haired fairy floated above them, she wore a blue dress arranged with a white pattern around it, and sported a blue bow on top of her little head.

"What the hell are you?" Roy said lowering his rifle.

"Excuse me, how do you not know what I am?" the fairy said as she got up in Roy's face.

"Well...I've never seen your kind around these parts to be honest." Roy said as he looked back at Rhodes.

"Well...My name's Cirno and I'm the "strongest" of all Gensokyo so you better watch your step in my forest or I'll make you into a Baka Popsicle." Cirno growled.

Rhodes snorted concealing a laugh.

"Oh really...well how would I know Tinkerbelle…what the hell do you want from us anyway...there's a war going on and you are stepping in some deep shit?" Roy asked feeling a bit annoyed.

"Well I was going to ask you your business but now I'm fixing to test my shoe size up your butt." Said Cirno with a angry smile.

Roy rolled his eyes.

"You look like a 9…and a half...I guess...child size." Rhodes said quietly.

"So...you're the one who shot down Eagle..." Roy growled. Cirno tilted her tiny head in confusion.

"Those were eagles…I didn't know they could be that annoying?" She sneered as she looked back at one of the chopper wrecks.

"You killed those men...I don't think you know what that means." Roy said grimly balling his fist in rage at Cirno's arrogance.

"Well excuse me…if you don't want to join them I suggest you tell me why you're trespassing on my turf in your ugly green suit." Cirno said pointing sharply at them.

The Fairies began to close in on the heavily outnumbered soldiers.

Several thoughts bounced around Roy's head from having his blood boil in a bitter rage. He thought carefully of how he was going to end Cirno and her miserable, antagonistic existence. He would have to have her make the first swing.

"Rhodes you didn't slip drugs into our canteen did you, is there a logical reason of why I'm talking to a three foot, overgrown, bitchy, blue, bumble bee with a napoleon complex." Roy whispered.

Cirno glared at him.

Rhodes looked at him slowly.

"No sir I can see the same thing you're seeing, a three foot, overgrown, bitchy, blue, bumble bee with a napoleon complex." Rhodes said in affirmation.

Cirno's smile twisted into clenched teeth. She got red in the face and glared at the two under her eyebrows.

"Uh oh" Said Rhodes, Cirno let out a trembling roar and extended her hand towards Roy.

"Oh Shit..." Roy said as Cirno suddenly threw him into a tree with nothing more than a blast of freezing wind, several blue streaks of glowing ice followed behind its plume. Roy watched as the glowing icicles stuck into his helmet while it was in midair. It froze completely solid, shattering into pieces as it hit the tree beside him. Rhodes flew across the field from another blast and fell with a clatter into the tall grass.

"I'LL GET YOU FOR THAT." Cirno screamed at Roy as she charged up a beam of ice. Roy rolled out of the way as the huge blast of frozen particles shattered the tree into frosty splinters.

Cirno's frozen rage was so intense that she ended up freezing several other Fairies unintentionally with her strange ability. Roy was no longer in a jungle from what he saw before him. Snow was everywhere and the rapid temperature change threw off his situational awareness as he began to feel icicles cling to his moustache. However, in the distance, placed against a tree from an unknown intervention was Roy's M14.

He quickly bolted across the frozen ground, shaking ice and snow off his fatigues as he dodged the relentless traversing volleys of Cirno's deadly hailstorm.

Roy picked the rifle off the tree and dolphin dived into a clearing of white powder below him, he drew a bead on Cirno with the help of the night vision scope picking up her luminous signature amongst the darkness and the freezing wind.

With a loud Crack, the burst from the rifle blew Cirno clear across the frozen Whirlwind.

"BAAKKKKAAAA!" She screamed as she flew through the air into a tree shattering it into white powder and icicles.

"You should've flown south frosty." Roy said as he reloaded his rifle.

The rest of the fairies swarmed up and proceeded to pelt Roy with debris and glowing balls of energy.

"FUCK OFF YOU LITTLE SHITS!" Roy screamed in rage as he blew several fairies out of the sky with his M14.

Roy found Rhodes still struggling to regain his balance

"RHODES...WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW." Roy bellowed lifting Rhodes to his feet.

They ran as fast as their legs would carry them as the roaring swarm of angry Fairies bombarded them with debris and glowing bullets from all angles. Light began to come from the sky as Roy activated several smoke grenades. The Fairies began to wither as the thick smoke in the dim morning light caused them to collide with several trees in their pursuit.

But through the thick of it they remained hot on Roy's tail.