A/N: All right people! Hope you enjoyed the last few chapters, more shall come. I'll try to update as often as possible so as not to keep you guys waiting for…too long. Heh, this is gonna be one long ass story. Maybe I should make it into a motion picture or something? Nah, I don't think anyone could hold their piss for that long. ^_^

"Okay, listen up!" The recruits stood at ease before Rico offering nothing but their undivided attention. "Intelligence has reported that in order to achieve supreme victory against the evil Tediz bastards, we have got to demoralize them. They suggest that we steal their colors from here," Rico paused and lifted his finger towards the top of the Tediz tower, motioning for the soldiers to follow with their eyes. "and take it back, running like a bat outta hell, to here." This time, his paw pointed towards a large metallic square at the bottom of their base. "Whoever goes for the flag, better make sure you have some cover. Okay snipers, that goes for you guys too. Right, fall out and good luck!"

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Axel fiddled with the sniper rifle in his paws. Nerves were jarred when the tasks were assigned amongst the group. Hunter was at the turret gun, his superior marksmanship placing him there. Axel's accuracy also placed him and once again he was the sniper for the team. San would guard the base entrance along with a few random soldiers, identifying themselves as Seth and Grider. Rin was there too, volunteering for offense along with Riley. No one was surprised when Jones and his group split before the carnage unfolded.

Axel stood outside the entrance to the sniper tower, shifting his foot nervously in the wooden floor. Riley's going for offense. He did not like that one bit. His best friend, his pseudo brother, was willingly taking on the most dangerous part of the mission. Of course, Riley had played several sports through school and had great stamina as well as agility. However…

The voices of the others were nothing more than mumbles to his usually alert ears. Through the whole discussion he remained staring at his boots with a sense of dread spreading through his brain. Through his thoughts he could hear them all departing for their stations. He shook his head trying to clear the fog. Relax, he'll be fine. We've gotten this far, ne?

"Riley." The named squirrel paused in his tracks, slowly turning towards the source of the voice. Axel forced the pained look on his face to a menacing one before his friend could look upon it. "If you die out there," he said, locking his eyes with Riley's. "I swear I'll kick your ass."

Riley shouldn't have been surprised by his friend's words. He did have to admit, however, that it was unusual he would let something like this go. He was certain Axel would pick a fight over him with his choice of placement. After all, playing sports was good, but a pretty lame excuse to go and try to steal a flag from a group of trigger happy psycho teddy bears. In response to all this, he mustered a smile. A weak half-assed one, but genuine. He could hardly say he was in a smiling mood.

Riley was rewarded by a twitchy smile from Axel. Now he was definitely not in a smiling mood. I wonder if he's thinking about her. "I'll be sure to smack you upside the head tonight for being so ridiculous, so don't you go getting yourself killed either. Okay?" Axel's smile grew somewhat with a chuckle which was enough to satisfy him. With a curt nod, he turned to leave, finding he had to force himself not to look back. He needs to stop being so damn angsty.

"See ya." Riley lifted his hand in the air at Axel's feeble reply. His retreating form was quick to disappear from view, leaving Axel to take his position. "Today would be good, Slugger!" He shot an annoyed glance at Hunter, who had already taken his seat at the turret, before climbing up the dark walkway to the sniper tower.

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Being the sniper sucked. His muscles ached, his neck ached, even his tail ached. Holding a strong and steady position he had managed to take out five Tediz, but his entire body was starting to cramp like he never though possible. With one eye through the scope and the other scanning the area, Axel could've sworn that even his brain was starting to cramp.

A greyish green figure on the bridge caught his attention. It was crouched behind one of the stone walls while a shower of bullets from the enemy turret was blasting the bridge for what it was worth. He couldn't tell just who the figure was, but it was obvious this guy was in need of assistance. "Hey Axel," a voice crackled over the radio. Rin's voice to be precise. "Could ya give me a bit of clearance here? I'm on the bridge."

"I'm on it." Axel had already had the turret gunner in his sights before the message was relayed. It's not like I would be doing anything else up here. There was a fountain of stuffing that splattered over the turret seat just after the trigger was pulled. "Thanks." Rin's voice cracked again and fizzled out. Once again Axel slipped back into the hawk-eye pattern of sniping. Scan, scan, and scan some more. See a Tediz, shoot a Tediz, scan scan again.

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Riley pressed his body against the hill to grasp as much cover as possible. Directly over head Rin was trotting across the bridge after the turret gunner had been taken out. So far so good. He watched Rin's shadowed figure slowly peep out from the passage that led to ground level from said bridge above. He stood in anticipation, awaiting a clear sign to continue. Instead he received a waving paw instructing him to get down low and remain still. After crouching down in the shadowed cover of the hill, he felt more than heard several plush feet pulsing against the ground in a marching state. Soon after the sound of Hunter's turret rained down, confirming that there was indeed a large assault group of Tediz heading towards home base. Along with sound of gunshots was the relieving splatter of stuffing and Tediz insides plopping across the ground. That alone indicated that not only were their squirrel friends aware of the attack but were prepared as well.

The flailing paw of Rin caught his attention again. He threw his arm in a repeated hook, instructing him to make a dash for his location. Riley took off, using the stamina he had built over his childhood to reach Rin's location in at exceptional speed. He slammed into the wall, using his palm to keep from smashing into it head first and joined Rin in the shadows. "It seems they've sent over most of their team to our base. We should be able to sneak in while they're distracted." Riley gave a curt nod in reply and settled into the shadows as Rin quickly checked the sniper tower. With a nod to confirm the coast at least appeared to be clear, the two braved the daylight keeping close to the ground and quiet, ready to sprint at the sound of a bullet.

The pair padded swiftly down the winding path from the door producing only small sounds as their boots shushed through the grass. Upon reaching the ground their sneaks turned to mild sprints as they raced for the cover of the base wall, which would shield them from the view of snipers. Pressing their backs against the cold concrete wall, they strained their ears trying to determine just how many Tediz would be ready to greet them inside. However, the sounds of battle from the Squirrel base, far as it was, did little to aid them. "I'll take one entrance you take the other. See you at the top." Rin whispered rather abruptly.

The sudden command caught Riley off a bit. While there was little they could do to form a plan given the situation, going in without any real idea of what they would encounter was a bit rash. However, before Riley could voice his opinion on this, Rin was already making his way towards the opposite entrance. He sighed a bit before slowly venturing into the fortress. He walked lightly along, keeping as close to the wall as possible before daring to sneak a peak inside.

Red lights illuminated the hallway. The entrance curved a bit making it impossible to see what enemies would be waiting in the main area. Aside from the difference in color choice and symbols, the base seemed to be identical to that of the Squirrels. Even the carpet of mud was present. Just great.

Riley slipped into the entrance, keeping himself pressed against the wall as he placed his feet onto the wooden planks that sat at the mouth of the hall. Inwardly he cringed as they creaked beneath his feet. While the sounds was only loud enough for him to hear, he couldn't shake the thought of the Tediz picking up his presence and planning a deadly surprised attack. He forced himself to press on, braving the noises beneath him as he set foot into the slimy mud. Great. Just what I need, to fall flat on my ass should I need to turn and run like hell.

A sudden shot brought him out of his train of thoughts and caused him to jump slightly. "Shit!" Without a second thought or word he was off. Along with the first bullet several joined in and flew through the air. Riley's feet were tempted to slip up on the muddy floor but he wouldn't allow it. Upon reaching the end of the hall he spotted Rin in a showdown with the apparent Tediz guard. "Keep movin'! I'll take care of this one!" Rin shouted before Riley had a chance to reach for his own firearms. Though Rin never took his eyes off his adversary, Riley could sense the look in his eyes and Rin was a very pissed off squirrel at the moment who would not appreciate his orders being disobeyed. Well, leader or not, Rin was right. Leaving his fellow soldier to fend for himself, Riley sprinted up the spiral ramp.

Upon reaching the top he sprinted towards the enemy turret gunroom. If this base was nearly identical to their own, then he knew exactly where the flag would be and how to get there. The Tediz were not about to make it easy for him though. As he reached the entrance to the turret gun a brown figure stepped before him. Armed with a rifle and wearing a stitched smirk, a Tediz took aim and was more than ready to puncture Riley's flesh with hot metal. At the sudden enemy appearance, Riley jumped a bit and tried to stop. However he was going too fast and was too close, causing him to collide right with the stuffed bear. The impact threw off the Tedi's aim and left a rather nasty bullet hole in the wall.

For the first time Riley was thankful that their enemies were stuffed mechanical bioandroids. The force from the impact sent both him and the Tedi crashing to the floor, but because of the stuffed insides of the bear, Riley was given a nice soft landing. That was well and good, but he didn't let it slip that he was facing off with an enemy. During the fall he twisted the bear's arm to keep the gun pointing away from him. However the Tediz were much stronger than they looked and a small struggled erupted between the two. Being on top allowed Riley the advantage and he was able to retrieve his combat knife from his belt. In a quick slash the Tedi's neck was spurting yellow fluids and Riley made a dash for the flag tower.

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Though the boredom that came with sniping had diminished, what with the enemy attack and all, Axel was still at a degree of unease. The Tediz had thinned out when it became obvious to them that without shelter they would suffer a few losses to say the least, forcing Axel to return to his vigil strain. This time he needn't need to wish for action to make the mission go by faster. The constant hunting for the stuffed enemies had provided that. However the urgency for such a task was causing his muscles to strain even worse. This stand off seemed to have no end.

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After reaching the flag with no more faults, Riley sprinted towards the enemy colors without allowing himself the luxury of rest. With his lungs gasping for oxygen he reached out for the pole and paused for only a second before hearing footsteps from behind. The adrenaline of completing the task of reaching the enemy's flag, as well as his exhaustion, made him very reluctant to give up such a victory. He snarled as he turned to greet his follower, eyes narrowed and hand groping for his rifle. Instantly his expression changed to one of relief when the footsteps were identified.

"Glad to see you lasted this long." Rin shouted with a smirk, clutching his bleeding arm. Riley breathed heavily while leaning some of his weight on the flagpole. "You're hurt." he stated rather flatly. Rin shrugged in response then removed his blood soaked paw to reveal his wound. "Only a flesh wound. Let's get outta here. I'll lead."

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"Comin' through!" The loud voice that crackled from his radio caused Axel to jump slightly. It took him a while to identify the voice as Riley's, leaving only one conclusion. Relief washed over his face as a long sigh eased from his mouth. Not only was his best friend still alive but he was successful. It would only be a matter of time before they could return to their bunks, mission complete, alive.

The sight of several brown figures scampering towards their own base brought him back to reality. For a second he had forgotten that his friend wasn't out of the woods yet. It was one thing to obtain the flag but another to return safely and alive with it. His heart began to hammer in his chest as he struggled to calm himself. The Tediz needed to be taken out in order to provide a clear passage for Riley and Rin and he wouldn't be able to provide them with one if he couldn't keep his aim still.

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Riley pushed through the battlefield holding the enemy flag proudly over his shoulder as Rin ran ahead, shooting down any and all enemies that dared to show themselves. San and a few others joined in the effort to break down the wall of Tediz standing between the duo and the base. It seemed to be worth the efforts as Tediz either dropped dead to the ground or scattered for shelter. That was before Riley felt the whiz of a bullet inches from his neck. After a bullet hole appeared in an eruption of dirt beside his foot in the ground, Riley heard himself cry out the only logical explanation for such an assault. "SNIPER!"

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Hearing the faint cry of his friend, Axel's aim went instantly to the enemy sniper tower. Anxiety and anger boiled in his blood at the thought of the enemy targeting his friend and him alone. "Axel, sniper! Take 'em out!" Riley's panicked voice crackled through the radio. That, of course, did little to still his shaking arms. The terror that was thick in the friend's voice alarmed him even more so than the current situation. His entire body trembled as he took a poor shot at the sniper. The only reward for his efforts was a bullet dent in the enemy's tower.

"Shit..." Axel cursed to himself when it was all too obvious his aim had been affected by the rush of adrenaline. Through the scope he watched as the enemy took another shot at his friend, cringing slightly in reaction. Not taking a second to wonder if it was a miss he fired again, only to graze the concrete just below the Tedi. "Hurry!"

At the second cry from the radio Axel willed his body to cease its shaking. He narrowed his eyes and forced his lungs to release a long breath through his teeth, creating a growl from his throat. He tensed his muscles as he slowly tried to get his crosshair on his target. "Axel, kill 'em!" The Tedi took its aim. Axel's finger slowly pressed the trigger. His paws shook and sweat soaked his forehead. "AXEL!"

A shot echoed through the field among the sounds of battle. Axel smirked in satisfaction at the sight of gushing yellow blood spurting from where the sniper's head used to be. With his paws still shaking from the rush, he reached for his radio and held it to his mouth. "Okay, Riley, I got 'em. You're good to go."

He breathed heavily as he awaited a reply. However, as silence had yet to be broken by his friend's voice, his smirk slowly melted away. "Hey, Riley? You okay man?" He spoke again, needing to confirm that his friend was still breathing. Once again silence was all that greeted him. His heart instantly began to race again. "Riley, say something dammit! RILEY!" Shouting into the radio stung his throat slightly, but the pain had gone unnoticed. His body began to tremble again as the radio slipped from his paw. Instantly he bounded towards the turret gunroom in hopes of seeing what had become of his friend.

Axel's sprint ended abruptly at the sight of Hunter sitting in the turret chair, a shocked expression upon his face. Axel's heart instantly leapt into this throat as his hopes of seeing his friend stunned, but alive, sank. No, Riley's stronger than that. He told himself repetitively as he willed his feet to move. With somewhat reluctant movements he stepped closer to the edge of the turret window. His heart froze and his lungs took in a large amount of air when his horrified eyes landed upon his best friend.

"Ri...ley.."

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Yes, I had to be evil about it. For that is how I am. Stupid college and work is taking up so much of my time I actually had to finish this chapter in school. Yeah, I know, I should've been doing my labs but I'm almost done with them anyway. So please don't forget to read and review and it would be very cool of you to check out my other stories if you're interested in Rurouni Kenshin or Jet Grind Radio at all.