***NA***
The City was somewhat quiet as the jet made its way to a higher platform and carefully landed close to the largest structure of the city. Getting the ship situated, Foxfire parked the vehicle and opened the main hatch, allowing her four passengers out.
One by one, the four Guardians made their way out, Fefnir stretching his back, Leviathan brushing off her armor, and Phantom landing dramatically from the jet.
Still on board was Harpuia and Foxfire. Foxfire was sitting soundly in her pilot's seat, looking at her lap, while Harpia was...eerily silent. The guardian glanced towards the pilot for a brief moment, before he too exited the ship, landing close to where Fefnir was stretching.
"Gah...an entire weapons factory out of commission!" Fefnir moaned, looking towards Harpuia, scowling. "That little mouse that Zero drags along is beginning to get on my nerves!"
"She was the one who activated explosives that detonated the building." Leviathan agreed, crossing her arms and motioning towards Phantom. "I thought ninja boy over there was the master of demolition."
"That's not to say even the enemy has their ways of destruction." Phantom pointed out, crossing his arms and frowning. "Keep in mind, the majority of the rebels used to once live right here in Neo Arcadia."
"Either way, this ally of Zero knows weak spots in the way we set up our excursions and building layout." Harpuia slowly approached his siblings, a serious look on his face. "We didn't even get a chance to capture her and bring her to Master X."
"It's kinda hard to capture an enemy when a giant BUILDING is coming crashing down on your HEAD, brother." Fefnir grumbled, putting his hands on his hips.
"Despite that." Harpuia nodded very lightly, crossing his arms and looking at his siblings seriously. "We need to rearrange our tactics and the way we organize things. The very fact they were even IN one of the cities we were sent to scout raises a red flag for me."
He narrowed his eyes and made a motion towards his siblings. "It may be possible we have a rat in our system...it's time we investigated our troops before moving forward with finding the sky fire."
The other three nodded in acknowledgment, while Foxfire jumped down from the pilot's seat, landing on the other side of the plane. For a moment she seemed to ponder to herself...before she noticed reploid soldiers approaching her jet in order to do maintenance on it.
Walking past them, she slowly started heading for the main entrance, a spaced out look on her face.
"...Foxfire!"
She paused at the sound of Harpuia's voice and winced lightly. For a moment she stood there, before she hesitantly looked over towards the four Guardians. None of them looked... MAD, per say; but they all seemed rather expectant.
Harpuia made his way over to Foxfire and put his hands on his hips. "...would you care to explain what happened back there?"
Foxfire winced and held her arm, glancing to the side for a moment.
...Raven…'The Raven'...how the heck had she not SEEN that? It hadn't been just ANY raven character, like how everyone got Shadow mixed up with Shadow Man, who was ALSO apart of the Cutting Shadow Squad...
It had actually been the one she had been thinking about, before she had convinced herself it was someone else.
...but no…it was THE...Raven Noir. In the flesh. Here to make her life miserable once again…
Foxfire gazed at Harpuia's feet for the longest time. "...s-...sir...I...well I-...She...We…"
She squirmed lightly. "...I know her...she's ridiculous...she-"
"COMMANDER HARPUIA!"
Looking to the side, Harpuia and the other Guardians noticed a small group of soldiers headed their way, one of them holding up a datapad and flailing. "Commander Harpuia! The Weapons facility in the west sector has been COMPLETELY demolished!"
"I'm aware, Panter." Harpuia turned away from Foxfire, and faced the troop, pointing at himself. "I was there when it was demolished by two Mavericks."
"Sir what are we going to tell Master X?!"
The banter continued between Harpuia and the soldiers, making Foxfire look to the side lightly. For a moment she stayed silent and still, before looking back towards the Four Guardians. Their attention was on the soldiers who were reporting to them…
Slowly, Foxfire moved away from them and quietly made her way towards the entrance, not noticing Phantom watching her retreat.
***RB***
"WHAT THE HECK WERE YOU THINKING?!" Zero all but shouted as he followed Raven down the hall and towards the Medical facilities. "You could have gotten us both KILLED!"
"But I DIDN'T, did I?" Raven snapped back, rubbing her shoulder and keeping her eyes firmly planted straight ahead. "The Guardians scattered, and we got out of there alive. I don't know what you're complaining about.
Zero scowled and caught up with her, putting a hand on her shoulder and forcing her to turn around. "Raven! You planted BOMBS all over that building, without telling me!"
"You got out alive, didn't you?" Raven snapped, prodding him in the chest with a finger. After a few prods, Zero grabbed her hand to get her to stop, scowling at her.
"That's beside the point." He shot back. "The whole point of having a mission together is that we need to be on the same page. I was never prepared for escaping the area due to explosives." He made a motion with his hand for emphasis. "I was still focused on confiscating that jet from that pilot!"
Raven's eye twitched lightly. Right...he had been looking to take over that jet, hadn't he? She kind of forgot about that when she actually SAW the pilot of Harpuia's stupid jet.
Zero was silent for a moment, waiting for Raven to answer. When she didn't he frowned lightly.
"Raven. Why did you hesitate when you encountered that pilot? Who is she?"
Raven's eyes narrowed at the question. She glanced to the side for a moment, before looking back and YANKING her hand away from him. "Nobody." She growled, turning to head for the medical ward once again.
Zero wasn't going to take her BS this time. He marched after her and blocked her way. "Raven. This is serious. You hesitated in battle; that means there's something important about that pilot." He narrowed his eyes slightly. "WHO...is she?"
"She's a nobody, ok?!" Raven snapped, waving a hand in the air for emphasis. "She's just a little pilot that knows jack-slag about fighting and has an unhealthy obsession with Hidden Phantom." She crossed her arms and looked away, scowling. "She's not a threat. She's just a fangirl pilot. She's nobody, got it?"
Zero watched Raven for a moment, his frown never leaving him. After about a minute of silence and feeling Raven's rage radiating from her, he blew off a small breath. He firmly put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a serious look.
"Listen Raven." he said calmly. "If we are going to work together, I need to be able to trust you." He looked her in the eye, his voice low. "We're on the same side...are we not?"
Raven glanced towards Zero, surprised that he was talking so calmly...especially when she was boiling with her emotions at the fact that…
She looked down slowly, pursing her lips...before she slowly got out of his grip and started walking past him towards the medical ward. She took a couple of steps away from him, before she stopped walking for a moment.
"...She was once considered a friend." She muttered bitterly, keeping her eyes forward. "...maybe even…family at one point."
That much said, she continued down the hall quietly, leaving Zero behind to muse over her revelation. After she turned the corner, Zero crossed his arms and pondered over her information.
...So...this new face is basically a traitor...yet holds such a vulnerable position…
...this could complicate things…
***NA***
"Hwwwahhhh!"
Fefnir's voice practically echoed off the training room's walls as he charged up an attack and sent it HURLING for Harpuia; however, the air commander proved to be much faster than Fefnir's attack and was able to dodge it, while simultaneously sending off his own attack right back at Fefnir.
As he did so, however, an ice attack from Leviathan sent Harpuia to the ground.
"Keep your eyes on everyone, Sage!" Leviathan grinned, before she found herself surrounded by a cloak of darkness. Narrowing her eyes, she swiftly jumped upwards, missing an attack from Phantom by mear inches.
Performing a backflip, Leviathan moved to send an ice attack for Phantom's darkness; considering he was cloaked, all she had to do was-
"GAH!"
She found herself on her back with Fefnir over her.
"What happened to 'keep your eyes on everyone', little sister?" Fefnir taunted, a big smug grin on his face.
"Oh shut your face and get off me."
Off to the side, Sandstorm, Sobek and Shadow watched the four Guardians training, having already trained with each other, and now were taking it easy. It was somewhat entertaining to watch their commanders try to beat the snot out of each other.
Sobek stretched lightly, putting his hands behind his head and leaning against the wall. "Ten units says Commander Fefnir is going to kick everyone's butts."
"Oh please!" Sandstorm looked over towards Sobek and grinned. "EVERYONE knows Leviathan will knock 'em cold! Eh Shadow?"
"I'm staying out of this." Shadow replied, leaning against the wall and typing into a data-pad. "According to Aztec-Falcon, the Shadow Squad is trying to upgrade their jets, and they still haven't gotten the approval of Lieutenant Foxfire yet…"
Sobek and Sandstorm looked over towards Shadow, looking interested, before Sobek looked back towards the training Guardians. "...I haven't seen Foxfire in a week." he mumbled, before cupping his hands. "HEY, COMMANDER PHANTOM! YOU SURE YOUR GIRLFRIEND IS DOING OK?!"
The training suddenly came to a screeching halt, and Sobek earned the attention of all the Guardians. Sandstorm and Shadow were gawking at Sobek as though he had just murdered someone.
The naval lieutenant shrugged. "I'm just askin'! No one's heard from Lieutenant Foxfire in a while."
After a moment of silence, Harpuia sheathed his weapons and looked over towards Phantom. "Now that Lieutenant Sobek mentions it; it has been some time since i've heard about any of her reports myself. She's also completely missed every meeting this week."
"That's not necessarily a new thing, coming from Foxfire." Fefnir pointed out, putting his weapon away and placing his hands on his hips.
"True." Harpuia replied.
Phantom put his kunai away and glanced towards his Shiruken, which was laying on the floor a few feet away, before looking back towards Sobek and frowning.
"...she's not my girlfriend." he muttered. "And Foxfire has been working very hard. She's just been far busier than she normally is."
"Foxfire has been rather silent lately, but I wouldn't doubt she's working." Harpuia glanced towards Sobek. "Working is what Foxfire does best after all."
"Don't worry Sobek!" Fefnir grinned, giving Phantom a rough PAT on the shoulder. "Phantom's girlfriend will come around eventually!"
Phantom groaned and glared towards his brother. "She's...NOT….my girlfriend!"
"Why not?" Fefnir smirked down towards Phantom and grinned. "She practically worships the ground you walk upon! She literally turns a different COLOR when you walk into the same room she's in."
Leviathan chuckled and crossed her arms. "Not to mention she can't seem to TALK correctly when you're around, little brother."
"She can talk just fine." Phantom crossed his own arms, frowning towards Leviathan. "She has plenty of things on her mind is all."
His three siblings grinned towards each other, before looking back at him.
"Oh yeah. LOTS of things on her mind."
"Like you."
"And Your orders"
"And your BUTT!"
The three started laughing, making Phantom scowl.
Harpuia took a step towards Phantom, chuckling. "Come on, Phantom, it is MORE than obvious that your Lieutenant has strong feelings for you...of course if you DON'T return those feelings, I wouldn't mind trying my luck with her!" He put up a hand, ignoring Phantom's sudden glare in his direction. "After all, I'M the one who trained her, after all. She technically belongs to my battalion."
Fefnir laughed at Harpuia's statement and pointed towards Phantom. "How is it that you, 'the most serious Commander of the four Gaurdians', can lead an ENTIRE squadron with an iron fist….and yet you can't tell ONE girl that you like her?"
Phantom sneered in Fefnir's direction. "That is NONE of your business, brother, and you would do WELL to drop the subject!"
Harpuia chuckled and put his own hands on his hips. "You know, If you're too scared, baby brother, I could always talk to her for you…" He paused and chuckled lowly. "Then again...she might take that as an invitation from me and go out with me instead."
"Or you know, MAYBE She'd be better off with ME" Fefnir piped up, posing dramatically. "I wouldn't mind haven't a cute girl like her around! She is rather...Foxy-HURGH!"
Fefnir lurched when Phantom's blow hit him full force, and found himself doppled over, holding his gut. As the Guardian wheezed, Phantom glared at his writhing brother, before turning, grabbing his Shuriken from the floor and marching out of the training room.
Harpuia and Leviathan watched Phantom go, before looking towards Fefnir, who had Sobek slowly approaching him and looking over him to make sure his Commander was at least functional.
Fefnir coughed and smirked. "...Worth...it.." He groaned, a grin still plastered on his face, which only made Sobek grin.
Phantom fumed as he went down the hall, making sure he walked with his hands behind his back and at an upright position...at least to give the impression that he wasn't as pissed off as he actually was.
His siblings had been giving him nothing but grief since he had started taking an interest in Foxfire. She was...so much different from any other female soldier in Neo Arcadia. MOST fems went weak at the knees at the sight of his oldest brother; Sage Harpuia the pretty boy. It was NORMAL for both female Reploids and Humans alike to take a second glance at Harpuia.
Heck, even Fefnir had his share of fangirls, since he was all muscle and no brain…
...However Foxfire never seemed to notice them...and always got fidgety around him instead.
...he liked it…
She had become important to him. So important that he had felt a burning inside himself when he happened to glance out one of the windows of the building they had been in during their last mission; only to find Zero aiming at his lieutenant.
Just the thought of Foxfire falling on his watch...falling at ALL…
...It had filled him with a rage that he couldn't explain.
Foxfire always worked hard for him...always put his orders above anyone elses...always gave him her absolute best. He knew he could trust her with any-
Phantom stopped walking as he thought about that last thought.
...Foxfire's actions last week…
Another flash of the battle came to him. The order that Harpuia had given her to get to the rebel's position. She had begun to obey that command...but had suddenly frozen when she saw the second rebel…
The second rebel...Zero had meant nothing to Foxfire...but his partner on the other hand had made Foxfire stop in her tracks.
Phantom pursed his lips...and began making his way to the Cutting Shadow Squad.
***RB***
"Raven?"
Ciel made her way into the main training room and poked her head inside upon hearing all the destruction that was going on inside. Upon looking inside, she found Raven mercilessly beating up a training bag that was programmed to fight back.
Every time the training bag moved to block or make a move, Raven was already ten steps ahead of it, and practically demolishing the thing. For a moment, Ciel waited, before she slowly made her way inside and slowly made her way towards Raven.
The girl pursed her lips as she got closer to Raven, before she was standing a few feet away, watching the murder of the training bot. "...um...Raven?"
"IM. FINE."
"...I need the training bot down for maintenance."
"Maintenance? It's PERFECTLY. FINE!"
As Raven said that, she PUNCHED the training bot's head clean off, the part going FLYING to the side of the room…
After a moment of silence between the two, Raven stood up straight and scowled. "...I'm moving to the simulator…"
Ciel was quiet for a moment, before she looked towards Raven, a concerned look on her face. "...Raven, it's been a week since your encounter with-"
"DON'T...Mention last week." Raven took her weapons and glanced towards Ciel, scowling. "As for last week, ONLY having Zero as a 'team' didn't exactly help things. The next time you put me on a mission with JUST Zero as backup, I am going to shove my blaster SO FAR UP HIS-"
"RAVEN!" Ciel put her hands up quickly. "Language!"
"Nose." Raven huffed. "I was GOING to say nose…" with that much said, Raven marched off into a different room and SLAMMED the door behind her.
Ciel quietly watched the girl leave...before she glanced upwards towards the supervision walks. On one of the walks was Zero, who was watching the exchange, and looked rather neutral. After a moment, he gave Ciel a slight nod, before walking to the other side of the walk to see the training room that Raven had entered.
She had just BARELY got into the room, and she was already destroying targets...rather hurriedly if he was being honest with himself. Every move she made seemed to be rushed and forced...like she was allowing her emotions of anger to get the better of her.
Raven would hit a target, and then miss...hit...miss...miss….hit….miss….miss...miss…
Her training was a whole lot more…sloppy. It's like the angrier she got, the worse her performance became. He felt something inside of him turn. Raven was acting in a similar manor to him when he first came online...however, in her case, she had an excuse for violence right now…
...him on the other hand…
Zero looked up when he heard Raven yell out in frustration and saw her SLAM her naginata across the room, which ended up hitting and sticking to the wall.
After that outburst, Raven fell to her knees and panted, her whole body trembling…
Zero could practically FEEL the anger and rage coming from her...but he wasn't quite sure what to do. The talk that he had with her last week made him think that she needed to be left alone...however from his observations, it looked like the more she stewed in this anger…
...the hotter her rage became.
He pursed his lips and looked to the side for a moment. When he and X used to work together, even X had problems with anger at times. That was one of the things that made X more relatable to the humans...he could think and feel on the same level that they could…
Honestly, he felt as though he was beginning to understand certain things that X felt all those years ago...for one, without X, he felt...somewhat alone...like he had lost a brother.
….Could he and X even be considered as such?
For that matter...in Raven's case...her anger made her seem like she was a traditional Maverick...which made him want to keep his eye on her.
But at the same time, she had this...sadness to her that a normal maverick could NEVER understand…
It made her so much more intriguing to him.
Just the first impression that he got from her had been a whole lot more different from any other reploid he had rescued…
Hearing Ciel trying to keep Raven awake while Raven went on about absolute nonsense..
***FB***
"Raven, listen, try to stay awake, we're getting you to the rebel base for medical treatment…" Ciel kept her hand on Raven's shoulder, while the girl donned in black and red armor stayed on the ground, trembling.
"...Ciel?...What are you doing out of bed?...Your parents are gonna...make you eat your broccoli…" Raven mumbled incoherently.
Jaken winced and looked towards Ciel. "Are you sure we should take in a Neo Arcadian soldier? This reploid could report to the Guardians...besides! For her to be talking like that; I'd have to do a MAJOR overhaul on her circuitry!"
"That won't be necessary, Jaken, I'll take care of her in my room." Ciel motioned towards Jaken. "Go tell Cerveau to get a cot in my room."
"What do you need me to do?" Zero asked, standing behind her.
"Zero, I need you to help me carry her to the transport vehicles." Ciel stood up. "Please"
Zero nodded and leaned down, taking Raven into his arms and hefting her upwards. Raven looked at him dizzily.
"...Zero?...what kind...of name is that?" she mumbled, still rather incoherent.
He rose an eyebrow at her slightly. "...it's my name."
"That's not a name….that's a number." Raven groaned, before she finally passed out.
***EndFB***
The addition of Raven had certainly...made things interesting around here...Still, there were many things about her that he still didn't understand. Things she wouldn't talk about...things she would dance around.
Now seeing her practically crumpled up like a sheet of paper on the floor...made him think that she definitely understood pain on the same level he or Ciel did…
Zero pursed his lips and looked to the side slightly.
...Ok...I do trust you, Raven...but I know you're hiding something...and I'm going to find out what it is….
***CS***
"I'm telling you…" Foxfire kept her arms crossed and gave the two reploids bringing her their problems a look of agitation. "If you modify your ship with those kinds of weapons, then you'll also need to modify the wings of your jet."
"But if the wings become bigger, it will make the jet slower!" the soldier motioned towards the blueprint that he was presenting to Foxfire, looking determined to change her mind. "For the jet to qualify to stay in the Cutting Shadow Squad, the wings need to be smaller and silent."
"Yes." Foxfire confirmed, pointing at the blueprints, her eye twitching lightly. "But the particular WEAPON that you want to MODIFY on this ship, will be too heavy for the jet to properly fly. If the jet has too much of a load, the wings won't be able to provide enough lift to get it off the ground and keep it in the air."
She pointed at the wings. "In ORDER to get more lift, you need BIGGER. WINGS. To CATCH the wind. Thus, providing lift."
The soldier looked at the blueprints for a moment, scanning the 'map' of the plane for a moment...before he held it up again. "But...that will make the ship too slow-"
"OH FOR THE LOVE OF-" Foxfire SLAPPED a hand to her face, gritting her teeth in agitation. "How am I NOT getting this through?!"
"...AH! Commander Phantom!" The soldier suddenly looked behind Foxfire, making the girl tense up and glance behind herself. Sure enough, Hidden Phantom was making his way into the main office and seemed to have his sights on her.
Foxfire winced lightly and walked away from the soldier, quickly making her way to her specified computer and beginning to type as though she were busy.
That was near impossible for Phantom to miss. Slowly, Phantom started making his way over to her, before he looked towards his soldier that was now in front of him.
"Sir! Phoenix Magnion charged the east platoon with modifying the weapons on the stealth jets." He said quickly. "But Lieutenant Foxfire isn't pleased with our choice for some reason."
Phantom glanced at the blueprints only briefly, before he frowned towards the soldier.
"Of course she isn't pleased. That type of weapon will slow down the ships and make them incapable of flight." he droned flatly. "Change your weapon choice immediately."
"Wha. But sir-"
"Need I remind you that my Lieutenant trained under Commander Sage Harpuia, the leader of the Strong Air Battalion?" Phantom's eyes narrowed very slightly. "...I do believe Lieutenant Foxfire knows far more about jets than your platoon."
The soldier paused and shut up for a moment, before quickly saluting. "I'll get right on that, sir." he replied, taking the blueprints and quickly scampering off for another room. Phantom watched him leave before setting his sights back on Foxfire…
...who had moved from the outside computer, and had disappeared into her own office. Phantom pursed his lips for a moment...before glancing towards the other soldiers remaining in the room.
"Platoon. Move your work to the lab. This particular sector will be closed off for an hour." he instructed.
At his order, many reploids hurried to grab whatever they needed, before heading out of the room. Even though it was a sudden order; they knew better than to ask why. Phantom always had reasons, and they were not to be questioned.
After the last soldier exited, Phantom turned and headed for Foxfire's office.
When the scanner detected him, the door opened for him, revealing Foxfire standing at one of her four computers in the small room. What she needed with FOUR computers was beyond him, but she got things done...despite the rather...unkempt state of the room.
As he entered, Foxfire seemed to tense up, but neither looked back nor turned around to look at him. She was keeping a facade that she was busy in some way, even though it was more that obvious that she wanted to be left alone.
Phantom frowned only slightly. She had been left alone for a week...it was time to get some answers. Slowly Phantom approached Foxfire, watching her type at one of her standing computers hurriedly, as though she were trying to get something important done.
Though judging by the fact that EVERY other word she typed was misspelled...only communicated that her attention really wasn't on work.
"...Foxfire."
The Lieutenant tensed up when Phantom spoke, and her cheeks seemed to turn pink.
"...What do you know about the Raven?"
Foxfire stopped typing and she looked in front of her, a look of stunned silence on her face. She seemed to be having a tough time contemplating this one...still, she said nothing.
Phantom narrowed his eyes very slightly. Why would Foxfire have a reason to hide anything? This was the FIRST time she had ever withheld information from him.
...he could trust her….right?
"...Foxfire, this is serious." He finally said after another minute of silence. "The Raven has been working with the Mavericks and has jeopardized many of our systems already...you are already aware of this."
Foxfire looked down at her hands and winced lightly. "...Yes sir...I am aware."
"And up until recently, you have been doing everything in your power to locate and identify this 'The Raven' for Master X. You've been working nonstop; you've been sending my soldiers out, you've been loosing sleep just to find this for me." Phantom continued. She looked at him, a shocked look on her face, before he frowned. "Don't think I don't notice how much harder you push yourself than anyone else when it comes to my orders, Lieutenant…"
Foxfire blushed and looked back towards her computer screen, flattered that Phantom was actually both praising her and showing concern for her well-being…
"But…"
And THERE was the climax of the point that she didn't want to hear.
"Ever since we encountered Zero and the Raven personally…" Phantom frowned. "...You have shut down. You act like you've seen a ghost...you act as though you are now doubting your loyalties to Master X. To Neo Arcadia...To m-"
"NO!"
Foxfire swirled around and looked at him fearfully. "NO! That's not what this is about, Commander Phantom! I would never turn on you! I would never betray Master X and the Guardians! This is my life!"
For a moment, both of them were silent...before Phantom reached up and firmly put his hands on her shoulders, gazing at her sternly.
"Foxfire...I need to be able to trust you…"
Foxfire looked hurt for a moment...before she looked down, a pink blush on her face. To him, she seemed to be contemplating his words...trying to compose herself…
"...Yes...I do know her." She finally said quietly. Phantom kept his eyes on her, patiently allowing her to move at her own pace. After a brief moment, she brought her arms in and winced.
"...She...we...used to be...she was my friend…" Her eyes narrowed very slightly and she gritted her teeth. "We did everything together...we grew up with the same friends...we shared similar goals...We both had...similar abilities...She was everything to me…"
Foxfire paused for a moment and she gritted her teeth further, putting a small grip on her own arms. "...but...the Mavericks...the war….she…" she shut her eyes for a moment...before she looked away, opening her eyes and glaring at the floor.
"...she betrayed me…."
She said nothing else. Phantom studied her expression and it pacified him as the truth. Everything about her demeanor told him that she had been hurt by this individual...which explained why she didn't want to be apart of the topic.
For a moment, Phantom allowed her to stay silent, before he took one of his hands and gently lifted her chin so she was looking at him. She looked so broken...so disheartened. He only looked at her for a moment.
"...Then I'll ask Hanumachine to take over the topic of the Raven. You've worked hard on this topic so far and I can't thank you enough." He replied. When she looked like she was about to protest, he shook his head. "I'm not going to force you to work a task that is going to make you uncomfortable, Foxfire. You work harder than any of my other soldiers, and I value you for that."
Foxfire blushed darkly at his words, though Phantom cleared his throat lightly, looking to the side for a moment, before resting his eyes back on her.
"...Foxfire…"
There was thick silence between the two…
"...Commander Phantom"
The two suddenly froze at the voice coming on Phantom's comlink, before Phantom slowly broke away from Foxfire and put a hand on his helmet. "Master X…how may I serve you, Master?"
"It has come to my attention that the Four Guardians has encountered someone of great importance." The sound of Copy X's pleasant voice came onto the line. "You and your siblings come and see me...there is something important we must discuss."
"Of course, Master. Anything you say." Phantom shut the line off and stood up straight, a serious look on his face.
Foxfire winced slightly. Surely….Surely Master X wasn't after Raven...right?
"...Commander Phantom-"
"Lieutenant, I need you to get as much information as you can about the Aurore and Aubade fire." Phantom looked towards Foxfire, who had a notable wince on her face. "Just legends and information about the power of sky fire itself...you don't have to look into the Raven personally."
"...Sir she's n-"
"I must meet with Master X, Lieutenant. I order you to take the rest of the day off and start your research in the morning." He turned and headed for the door. Foxfire reached for him as he opened the door and walked out.
"But Commander she's-"
The door shut. Foxfire made a face...before she put a hand to her head and growled.
"Raven...damn you Raven…"