Title: The Mission
Summary: Robots are invading again and the party thinks Lance is to blame.
Rating: T
Warnings: Mild blood, mild language
Genre: Angst, friendship
Pairings: mild AnnaxLance
World: Post EBF4
Matt abruptly stopped when a concerned-looking NoLegs appeared in the snow in front of him. The cat looked up at him with a black object and a pouch in his mouth and offered them to take. The swordsman exchanged confused looks with Anna and Natalie, but bent to accept the objects. He frowned, thinking the pouch looked familiar, then turned his attention to the other object. It was a black cylinder, only about as long as his hand and had a small red button on one end. NoLegs meowed a few times and Natalie frowned.
"He says it's a message from Lance, and that you need to press the button on the top to hear it," the mage translated. She rolled her eyes, "I say just destroy the thing. I don't particularly care what that bastard has to say."
Matt shrugged, "I don't really care either, but Lance knows how we feel about him. I doubt he'd try to contact us if it wasn't important."
"I don't know; what if it's a bomb?" Anna asked with a frown.
"Nah, if Lance really wanted us dead, he'd come try to do it himself. Remote detonation isn't his style," Matt said with a shake of his head.
"Good point," the ranger sighed. "Might as well hear what he has to say, then."
The swordsman nodded and pressed the small button. The cylinder made a small whirring sound and a few lines lit up with red lights. There were several seconds of static and then they heard Lance's tired voice.
"Hey, guys. I know you never wanted to hear from me again, but I needed to let you know a few things. I think I would rather have done this in person, but that won't be possible. Please let this message run all the way through. I know you guys won't believe me, but I've been looking into where the robots are coming from. You're right that they're my design, but I don't have any active factories anymore. I tracked the signals they were receiving to a mountain due south of the waste disposal plant near Whitefall. I found a factory near the peak and think I know what happened. If I'm right, then blowing it up should stop the waves of robots."
There was a pause and then the three skeptical listeners heard a heavy sigh, "I'm sure you don't believe or really care about all of that and you probably won't care too much about this next part, either. The real message I wanted to pass on is that I doubt I'll make it out alive and I wanted to tell you goodbye. You're probably cheering over that fact, and I guess I would deserve it, huh? At least you won't have to worry about seeing me again."
The three listening to the message froze in horror. Even if they were mad at Lance, they had never wanted him dead. They numbly continued to listen to his farewell and each felt tears form in their eyes.
"NoLegs, I still despise cats and I still think you're an irritating furball, but I'm glad that you always backed us up. I really appreciate that you heard me out and were willing to deliver this message. After the recording is done, tell Matt what's in the pouch, alright? Also, make sure he buys you some ham."
"Matt, you've been a great friend and I had way more fun running around with you than I did trying to take over the world. Keep fighting and you can sell whatever is in that pouch for more gold; I told NoLegs everything that's inside so you can get it out."
"Natalie, you are hands-down, the best mage ever. I'd say I'm sorry for hitting on you, but I'm not; it was fun and I never really meant much by it, anyway. Thanks for looking out for me and the others all this time. Keep taking care of everyone, okay?"
"Anna, your archery is on par with most of my gunmanship. I know I always disparaged you weapon choice, but it was a lie to get you worked up. I might as well admit that I've had a crush on you for a while now. Maybe saying all of this in a recorded message is a good thing; I can't see the expression you're probably making and you can't smack me. Stay safe, alright?"
"I guess that's it. Sorry if I screw this mission up as badly as I did our friendship. I'll do my best to not fail. Goodbye, guys; it's been fun."
With that the cylinder fell silent and the lights on it turned off. Matt dropped the object, staring at it in horrified disbelief. Natalie's face was covered in tears and Anna looked stunned. The mage shook her head.
"He's lying, right? He would never admit any of that," Natalie whispered. "Besides, he'd never throw himself into a suicide mission."
Matt swallowed, "He'd admit it if he really thinks he's going to die. And Lance has changed a lot from when he first joined the team. I can see him trying to do this on his own, especially since we apparently convinced him that we want him dead."
"Gods, what have we done? Maybe if we hadn't told him all of that, he'd have come found us to help," Anna quietly said.
NoLegs began to softly meow. Each word he said had Natalie's eyes widening further and further. She looked at the pouch in Matt's hand then jerked her head to the south with her jaw dropped. With a shuddering inhale, she shook her head.
"He left us almost all of his rifles, armor, food, loot, everything. NoLegs says he only has his gunblade, radio, and Super Snipe on him now. He also says that Lance was already wounded, but still planned to assault the factory as soon as the message was sent," the mage whispered.
Matt's face set and he began digging through his pockets. He pulled out a scrap of paper and a stubby pencil and began scribbling a rapid note down. He then handed it to NoLegs, "I need you to take this to Lance, alright?"
The cat nodded and vanished again. Matt turned to the other two, "Let's get going. We're already close to his location; if we hurry, we can save him."
Anna and Natalie nodded with determined looks. Together, they set off at a sprint headed south, eyes fixed on the only mountain there. They ran for hours and only increased their pace once they reached the base of the mountain. All along the trail up, they saw the signs of Lance's passing. Metal bits and robots littered the path. Some were blackened from explosives and others were punched clean through from bullets. Near the top, they came across an ominous patch of snow that had been stained red. They saw a discarded Medipack lying next to the spot and strips of bloodied bandages.
Finally, the entrance of the factory came into view. They could hear the muffled sound of sirens coming from within. Occasionally, there would be a blast that rattled the bars placed over the high windows. Matt ran straight for the entrance and with a mighty swing, cut the metal door open. He paused only long enough for the other two to join him before darting into the building.
The interior was lit with bright white lights and sirens wailed. A robotic voice on the intercom listed areas that an intruder had broken into. Orders blared out about mustering all available units to destroy the intruder. Matt shot a swift look around the area, taking in the devastation Lance had wrought and checking for any enemies. Anna darted over to a nearby wall and inspected a list of what was in what zone. Red lights flashed to show what areas had been compromised and as she watched, a light flicked on next to the name 'Assembly Line.'
"He's down in B-4," Anna announced.
Natalie nodded, "Let's hurry. We're almost there."
The three dashed for the staircase and bounded down the stairs. Matt led the way, his sword in hand and his eyes constantly scanning for danger. As they hit the bottom floor, they began to hear the distant sounds of gunfire. Another explosion rocked the hall and the three staggered, trying to maintain their footing. Another blast sent them to the ground, but they sprang up again and raced on. They followed the sounds of fighting and saw a set of large double doors that had been blown clean off their hinges. In the room beyond, they saw a flash of light as another explosion went off. The three running towards the room each gave breathless smiles. They charged into the room only to hear a familiar voice yell at them.
"Damnit, get down!" Lance barked.
Immediately, the three hit the floor and felt a blast of air rush past them. Another explosion happened and they felt bits of debris pepper them. Natalie cautiously raised her head in time to see Lance fling a hand bomb at a robot. The device detonated and blasted the enemy to pieces. Silence fell, broken only by four sets of panting.
The three new arrivals cautiously stood up to see Lance staring at them. The gunner looked exhausted and was obviously in a lot of pain as he heavily leaned against the wall. Blood and sweat ran down his face, trickling through the dirt and smoke staining it. His left arm dangled uselessly at his side and they could see a crude splint binding a break. His clothes were singed and ripped from the fighting he'd been doing. He seemed astonished to see them, but shook his head and pushed off the wall with a grunt. The gunner turned away from the three by the door.
"What are you guys doing here?" he quietly asked.
Matt frowned at his back, "What do you mean what are we doing here? Didn't you get my note?"
The gunner shrugged, "I haven't read it yet. Besides, I'm pretty sure the last time we spoke your exact words were 'I never want to see your traitorous face ever again.' I figured it was some more bad-mouthing and didn't need another slam before I die."
The swordsman flinched and said, "We were wrong, alright? We aren't going to let you get yourself killed on this asinine mission."
Lance glanced over his shoulder to look at them. The three winced at the empty look in his eyes as he watched them. The gunner shrugged his good arm and said, "Look, you don't need to feel guilty about this. I decided to do it and I accept the consequences. Besides, this whole mess is my fault after all. I should have wiped the computers with the designs when I abandoned my factories. It'll all be taken care of and I'll be out of your hair in a little while, promise."
Natalie shook her head, "Quit talking like that, Lance. We're beyond sorry for what we said, and we do not want you dead. I'm going to heal you and then we're going to help you destroy this place. Once all that has been taken care of, we'll have a long talk about how stupid the three of us were for accusing you with no facts."
Matt nodded, "Please, Lance, let us help you. You're still our friend and we don't want to bury your corpse, regardless of what you think or what's been said. And take your stuff back; I'd much rather you have it and be alive than have a ton of money from your death."
Anna anxiously watched Lance as he seemed to waver in his resolve. She stepped forward to stand in front of him and felt a twinge of sadness at the flash of panic in his eyes at her approach. Obviously, he feared her reaction more than anything else at the moment. The ranger stood on tiptoe and pressed a quick kiss to Lance's dirty cheek.
She pulled back and smiled at his stunned look. "I won't be happy if you die and it would be awkward to explain to people that I refuse to date them because I'm smitten with a dead guy. I'm not going anywhere without you, so you might as well work with us because we're going to tag along and help, anyway," Anna firmly told him.
Lance stared at her then shifted his look over to where Matt and Natalie were nodding their agreement. Finally, his face broke into a relieved smile and he nodded, "Okay. Let's do this."
The other three cheered and with a flash of light, Natalie healed Lance's injuries. The gunner released a sigh of relief and carefully sliced the splint off. He flexed his arm a couple of times with a small grin and looked up to give the mage a thankful nod. Matt stepped forward and held out the gunner's Adventure pouch. As soon as Lance took it, Matt held his fist up.
"Welcome back to the team, Lance," the swordsman said with a grin.
Lance smirked and bumped the offered fist, "Good to be back. You guys ready to make a mess?"
"Always," the others replied at the same time.
Together again, they turned to defeat the latest threat.
A/N: This is something that randomly came to me. I should probably have added more backstory to it, or been made into its own story, but, eh. You can probably figure out the gist of it from what's here.
