Chapter 6

Surprise, Surprise

"And then I thought, you know, we could sneak around the side while they were hiding behind the rock, but, uh, well that's when the tank showed up and, shit just started blowin' up. I don't know." Zelos said, explaining the events of the last hour to Kratos while he and Aska worked on the damaged jeep.

Kratos let out a long, pissed off sigh. "Wilder, do you have any Godly idea how much this piece of equipment costs?" he asked, pointing to the wreaked Warthog that Aska was sitting where the engine used to be, fixing the fuel line.

"Ah, I don't know, what like uh, ten, ten twenty, twenty-five gald, maybe? Uh, you, you're gonna kill me now aren't you?"

Kratos smiled and nodded his head. "Tell you what, Wilder, I'm a fair man. I'll give you a ten second head start here before I let Aska do anything he wants to you." he said. Aska climbed out of the wreak and stood next to Sarge, cracking his fists.

"Guys, I just want you to know. I'm really, really sorry here and..." Wilder started to say, but stopped when Aska pulled out a handgun. Kratos smiled an evil smile.

"Five Derris-Kharlan. Six Derris-Kharlan." he started counting as he pulled out his own handgun and loaded it.

Zelos slowly started to back away. "Okay uh, I guess I better get going then." he said. Aska and Sarge looked at each other, nodded, and started to fire.

"Hey guys, that's not funny. Somebody could get hurt here!"

"That's basically it sir, they have five guys over there and a big jeep." Lloyd informed the newly-arrived Freelancer.

"And your flag." said Lu in a deep voice, reloading his assult rifle.

"Right, that too." admitted Lloyd, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. Suddenly, Lu grabbed a grenade and threw it at his target.

"Uh, hey, Lu? I don't know what it's been like at your other bases, but we try not to use other soldiers for target practice here." Lloyd told Lu, hoping he would stop. Genis is frozen with bullet holes surrounding him, but miraculously, he was untouched.

"I'm scared." whimpered Genis. Lu then started to examine his weapons and tweak the sights if necessary.

"So, you've got the Special Forces black armor, I see. Were you in the Special Forces at some point?" Lloyd asked the freelancer. Lu simply ignores the Blue, simply switching to his pistol to zero it in.

"Yeah, I used to have black armor too. It was black because I got this stuff all over it from th-" Lloyd started to say to Lu, but Lu just holstered his pistol and lept the ten feet from the base roof to the ground and started to walk off.

"Oh, okay, you gotta go? I'll see you later." Lloyd said.

"I don't think he likes you." Genis whispered to Lloyd.

"Thanks." Lloyd said with irritation at the new guy. The two of them ran up to the edge of the base.

"Where are you going?" Lloyd asked the receding figure. Lu pointed to the distant Red Base.

"Red base. Kill everybody. Get the flag back." he said.

"Uh... Okay! We'll just stay here and guard the trans... porter..." Genis said to the receding figure.

"So, Sarge thought my strategy had merit, but was poorly executed, probably because somebody didn't believe in it." Zelos told Sheena and Presea, even though Sheena knew he was bluffing.

"Bullshit. He told me he thought you were a retarded monkey, and he's gonna suspend your weapon privileges."

"That's bullshit too, cause you're the only one that calls me a retarded monkey." Zelos retorted.

"Hey guys, since I captured the flag, do you think they'll give me my own color armor now?" Presea asked them.

"What do you mean 'captured'? You thought you were buying it at the store, stupid." Sheena said, rolling her eyes. Presea frowned at her maroon teammate.

"That's cause you sent me on that little adventure. Still, you think there's a shot?" pressed Presea.

"Maybe they'll give you Zelos's armor, since he destroyed the Warthog." Sheena said half-jokingly but with a sense of seriousness.

"Haha yeah, wait... you don't... you don't think they'd actually do that, do you?" Zelos asked nervously.

In the garage, Aska was trying to fix the Warthog with Sarge making vague, idiotic sugestions in his ear.

"Try connecting that hose to that metal thing over there. I think that's what's making that rattle." he said pointing to random parts. Without looking up, Aska cocks his pistol and pointed it right between Kratos's eyes.

"Uh.. I think I'll let you do it." he said, slowly backing away from the mechanic. Aska went back to work as if nothing was wrong. Lu, unseen to the naked eye, ran behind Sarge. Sarge felt a slight breeze.

"What the... What was that?" he said, turning around, seeing no one.

Zelos and the others were on top of the base, looking out for Blues. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a slight simmer.

"Hey Sheena, what's going on? What's over there?" he asked, pointing to the bottom edge of the base. Sheena peered over the edge. and saw the same simmer before it disappeared.

"I thought I saw something for a second." he told the others. Lu was flat against Red Base, waiting for the right moment to create havoc.

Sensing something was wrong, Zelos turned to Presea.

"Hey kid, put the flag somewhere safe until we can figure out what's goin' on."

"Good idea. I was sick of carrying this thing anyway." said Presea. She tossed the flag in the conveniently placed hole on top of their base. Suddenly a stone struck the roof right behind them. Zelos and Sheena turned and looked over the edge of the base for who threw the stone.

"Did you hear that?" Sheena asked.

"Yeah." said Zelos, eyes scanning the canyon.

"Hey! What's going on?" Presea whispered. She was quickly shushed. While the majority of the Reds were distracted, Lu threw a plasma grenade which adhered itself to the side of Presea's head.

Seeing something flash over and behind them, Zelos and Sheena turned.

"What the fuck?" said Zelos, seeing the grenade.

"What?" asked Presea, oblivious to the 17 ounces of high explosive plasma right next to his head.

"Umm... What is that thing?" asked Sheena.

"What thing?" Presea started to get scared.

"There's something on your head..." began Wilder.

"What, is it a spider? Get it off!"

"No, it's not a spider, it's, like a... blue thing." Sheena said.

"What, like a blue spider? Get it off!" Presea screamed, her terror rising to new heights.

"It's not a spider, calm down. It's some kinda, fuzzy pulsating thing." Zelos said.

"That doesn't sound much better than a spider." Presea said, getting a grip on her panic.

"Does it hurt?" Sheena asked.

"No..."

Sheena turned to Zelos and began to confer with him.

"Maybe we should try to take it off." she suggested.

Zelos agreed. "Good idea. go for it." he said.

"Me? By 'we' I meant 'you'. Asshole. Isn't the guy supposed to help a lady?" she said.

Presea butted in. "Well somebody needs to get it off. Look, it might be dangerous." she said. Suddenly the grenade detonated, almost killing her.

"Son of a bitch!" said Zelos and Sheena. The next thing they know, a black-armored figure was attacking them all ferociously.

"...man, he is really kicking their asses..." Genis said as he observed the battle through the sniper rifle with a fuming Lloyd.

"How come I never get the fucking sniper rifle?" Genis lowered the aforementioned weapon.

"I'm really glad Lu is on our team and not theirs."

"Yeah, it sure makes things a lot easier for us."

"...I think switching Lu for Castagnier was a good trade..."

"It definitely seems like your killing him is starting to work out for us."

"Ya know, ya think so? You know, I was gonna say something but uh, well you know, uh... nuh...yeah..."

"Did Lu get to the base?"

Genis repositioned the weapon to take a peek. "Yep."

There was a flash at the bottom of the base and the flag magically appeared back in it's original place, before an extremely deep voice was heard.

"Blue team-flag returned." Lloyd's head snapped to look behind him. "What the hell? Who said that?"

"Sorry, that was me. I uh, I guess I had something stuck in my throat. Your flag is back, by the way."

"Hey...it's Castagnier." Genis's eyes lit up. The dead soldier couldn't help but smile a little.

"Yeah, it's me. Hey, Sage."

"Hey man, how's it going?"

"Sage..." Emil chuckled lightly, something they had never seen before. "I'm not really here to make small-talk, okay? I wanted to say nice job. So how'd you guys manage to get your flag back?" The living Blues exchanged glances, before Lloyd began to laugh with fake happiness.

"Wh, what? Oh, th, that flag? We've always had that."

"...Irving, come on man, who do you think you're trying to fool? ...wait, where's Lu?"

"I'm not really sure, he said he was gonna go to the store, something about uh, Elbow Grease?" Lloyd smiled nervously. Emil realized that they had let Lu go off to the red base.

"Oh...great. This is so typical! What was the one thing I told you guys the last time I appeared?"

"That Flanoir Island is cold?" Genis guessed, waving his hands nervously.

"Ugh, what was the other one thing I told you?"

"Not to let Lu get involved?" Lloyd muttered.

"Right. And what did you do?"

"We let him get involved.

"And not just a little involved, how involved?"

"Very, very involved..." Genis whimpered.

"Freeze!" Kratos shouted to Lu, shotgun aimed. Aska came and blocked the other way out of the room. "Drop your weapon." Seeing no other choice, the black-clad Freelancer complied and dropped all armaments.

"Hey buddy..."

"What."

"You really better hope the first one knocks me out." With no more encouragement needed, Kratos smacked Lu in the head with the butt of the Shotgun, effectively knocking him out.

"...ow" Zelos returned to the world of the living with bleary eyes.

"...my freakin' head..." He saw Sheena tending to Presea's head-wound.

"Zelos, she's hurt. She'll make it, but we need to get her some help, fast!"

"Wait, what's going on? First Combatir's head exploded, and then you fainted, and then some black thing showed up and started-" Sheena then stood up and interrupted.

"Whoa, wait, dude, I did not faint. Something knocked me out."

"Okay, fine, keep lying to yourself. Whatever helps you sleep at night." Sheena started to get irritated.

"...just go find Sarge. We need to get her out of here."

"Yeah, fine." he headed for the ramp. "I'm fine by the way. Thanks for asking."

"Whatever, nobody likes you anyway."

Genis looked through the rifle again and saw Zelos going inside of the base. "Yep, he's definitely captured... Or dead... Captured or dead..." then he gasped as if he had an epiphany. "...or captured AND dead!"

"Oh, well..." Emil pinched the bridge of his ghostly nose. "That's just perfect!" Lloyd finally got irritated and asked what the hell Emil's problem was with this.

"What? What is your problem?" Lloyd glared. "Why do you even care if he's captured, I thought you hated that guy anyway, for stealing your girlfriend?"

"I never said I hated Lu..." Emil started solemnly, then surprised the living Blues with his next words "...I just said that she was the reason why we never got married."

Genis blinked. "...she?"

"Sarge!" Sheena poked her head in from the sunroof on the base. "We need to get Combatir air-lifted out of here, pronto!"

"Could you put that in a memo, and file it under, 'shit that I already know!'" Kratos yelled and rolled eyes.

"Get on the horn with Command!" As Sheena left, a stirring noise was heard from Lu. This got the Sergeant's attention back on the captured soldier.

"Well, look who's up. Rise 'n' shine, buttercup."

Lu's helmet started to spark a few times, before the soldier decided to remove it. Kratos and Zelos we're not expecting what was before them, a blue-eyed girl with long, brown hair that reached down to past her stomach. She also had an odd, black symbol on the left side of her forehead. This soldier was Marta Lualdi.

"Oh great...thanks for breaking my voice filter, you cockbiting fucktards." The two 'fucktards' stood there in awe before Zelos recovered from the shock.

"OH MY GOD! I KNEW IT! ONLY A CHICK COULD GIVE ME A HEADACHE THIS BIG!" Marta stared at the Reds for a seconds before finally speaking.

"What, have you guys never seen a girl before or something? My god how long have you been out here?"