***NA***
"TAKE THIIIIIS!" Fefnir all but yelled, CHARGING for Harpuia, who readied himself and quickly took to the air, allowing his larger brother to plow right under him and SLAM Sandstorm to the ground by mistake. The two soldiers let off hard grunts as they came to a hard landing, before both of them quickly got back up and charged back into the fight.
Sandstorm was quickly tripped by Leviathan, and Harpuia had to dodge an ice attack from Sobek.
To the left, Shadow was throwing stars at Sobek, who quickly dodged, While Phantom was now after Fefnir…
...IT WAS AN ABSOLUTE MADHOUSE!
Over to the right, Foxfire was on the training grounds as well….though she was standing perfectly still and had her sai-shield activated, the entire barrier protecting her from all of the chaos going on around her. She watched Harpuia get SLAMMED to the ground, Sobek went FLYING right past her, with Leviathan hot on his tail.
...It looked like Shadow was also going after Sobek...Where was Sandstorm?
She scanned the area and finally found him, off to the side flat on his back and groaning.
Wow...Sandstorm was the first to get tagged out this time….how satisfying…
"GAAAHHH!"
Foxfire's eyes quickly darted towards the middle of the battlefield, where a cloud of darkness was now engulfing the area, and something was dragging Fefnir into it.
"OH COME OOOON, PHANTOM! I SAID I WAS SORRY!" Fefnir whined as he tried to struggle against being dragged into the shadows. It really didn't do him any good. Slowly he was dragged in, yelling up a storm.
Foxfire's eye twitched as she watched him get sucked in, heard punches landing...as well as the clang of a blade being struck again...and again…
...and again.
Before Fefnir went FLYING out of the darkness, SLAMMING into the wall, and landing on top of Sandstorm.
The orange armored Lieutenant let out a low "ooooowwww" as Fefnir groaned on top of him.
Foxfire suddenly FLINCHED when something SMASHED into her shield, and she was face to face with Sobek, who was practically being SQUISHED against her barrier by Harpuia. There was a small struggle, before Sobek locked eyes with Foxfire.
"...uh...I don't suppose you have any room in there for a poor unfortunate- WAAAA!" Sobek was sent FLYING when Harpuia CHUCKED him towards Phantom's darkness.
Sobek attempted to get up, but found the shadows start engulfing him, and desperately tried to escape.
"NO- WAIT! NOO! I WANNA LIIIIIIIIIIIVVVE!" Sobek cried out dramatically, which made not only Foxfire get a sarcastic look to her face, but Harpuia as well.
As Sobek was dragged into the shadows, Harpuia turned to Foxfire and drew out his blades, a smirk on his face. Casually, he knocked on the surface of the shield with one of his blades.
Donk donk donk…
"Lieutenant Foxfire...I do believe I know the way around your barrier trick."
Foxfire winced and braced herself-
"WATCH YOUR OPPONENT, BROTHER!"
Out of nowhere, Harpuia was TACKLED to the ground by Leviathan, leaving Foxfire standing there, her eye twitching in a nervous wreck.
As she stood there, a loud wail was heard as Sobek was CHUCKED out of the darkness and KNOCKED into Fefnir and Sandstorm, resulting in the trio all groaning in pain. One...two...three...
For a moment, Foxfire watched the three downed...before seeing Shadow run right past her and tackle Leviathan to the ground.
Harpuia attempted to recover, but Leviathan was doing an excellent job, blocking, kicking and jabbing the duo who were doing everything in their power to bring the Deep Sea Squadron general down.
That made six.
Whew…
Slowly, Foxfire deactivated her sai shield and sheathed her weapons, tucking in her arms and waiting for the trio to disband. They were so focused on each other, she was able to watch herself-...
Wait-...Six? Harpuia...Shadow...Leviathan...Sobek, Fefnir, Sandstorm….
….where was-?
Foxfire's pupils shrunk when she suddenly found herself surrounded in darkness. SHE HAD FORGOTTEN ABOUT HER OWN COMMANDING OFFICER!
Foxfire attempted to dodge to the left, but two hands firmly grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her two feet in the air.
She went stiff as a board as she felt Phantom's chest against her back and heard him chuckle into her ear. She couldn't see a THING!
"...Lieutenant...you let your guard down…" Phantom droned in a slight teasing tone.
Foxfire let off a very small whine, but quickly shut up when she felt his arms slip around her, bringing her more snugly against himself. She felt her face get hot...was...he aware of how jittery he was making her feel right now?
"But you know…" his voice was LITERALLY right next to her helmet...and it was getting lower. Gentle even. "You lasted a whole lot longer than last time."
Foxfire blushed and breathed out slightly, her entire body tense.
Finally she heard Phantom whisper, "...brace yourself…"
Foxfire swallowed, but instead of his signature drop move...he held her tighter and she felt his chin rest on her shoulder.
She breathed out slightly and slowly turned her head in his direction, even though she couldn't see him...something told her that he was mear inches away…
A few yards away, Shadow was dodging Leviathan's attacks, while simultaneously performing attacks alongside Harpuia, who was doing everything in his power to dodge her ice attacks.
Since HE was impervious to the ice attacks, all he had to do was find an opening to strike at her back.
He dodged to the side and quickly scanned his surroundings. This needed to be executed correctly. Leviathan to the front, Harpuia up top, Phantom and Foxfire about to kiss, the floor was his only-
...wait what?
Shadow's gaze was ripped from Leviathan and he found himself staring into Phantom's darkness. With his heat vision he could see them...they were FINALLY about t-
"SHADOW DUCK!" Harpuia suddenly snarled.
Shadow barely had time to react before Leviathan's staff SLAMMED into him, sending him SAILING across the room, and SMASHING into Phantom and Foxfire.
His concentration broken, Phantom's darkness dispersed from the room, revealing the three soldiers getting bowled over like pins.
Foxfire scrambled up, and Phantom backflipped, landing on his feet.
Shadow wasn't so lucky. He was laying on his stomach, groaning lowly. Foxfire winced and Phantom scowled, looking towards Leviathan and Harpuia.
Harpuia had watched Shadow land, allowing Leviathan to blast an ice attack at him, grounding the air commander and sending him sliding across the floor.
Leviathan grinned and twirled her staff, putting a hand on her hip. "Guess that means I win, huh?" she taunted, pleased that she had taken out her two older brothers. "Guess that means you'll know better than to turn your backs on me, boys."
She barely finished her sentence when her wrist was caught and a blade was rested against her neck.
Making a sarcastic face, Leviathan glanced behind her, finding Phantom pinning her.
Phantom narrowed his eyes, looking ready to make another move, should his older sister decide to continue. "And you should know better than to turn your back on me, sister." he crooned, making Leviathan groan lowly.
"Well darn...and here I was about to celebrate my victory." Leviathan half-whined, half-mocked. She waved a hand carelessly. "Fine. I surrender. Have your win."
Phantom smirked very lightly...before ultimately releasing his sister and allowing her to take a few steps away, stretching. "Good grief."
Clap...Clap….Clap….
The sound of slow, yet obnoxious clapping made all in the room turn to see who had come in.
To their displeasure, Lumine was by the door, leaning against the wall and smirking. He stopped clapping and placed his hands behind his back slowly approaching the battle floor.
"My my, that was quite a show. They don't call you the feeble four for nothing." Lumine paused and blew a mocking raspberry. "Oh, I apologize, it's supposed to be 'fearsome' isn't it? How amusing."
The air suddenly got thick with tension. All who had been on the floor groaning had now quickly stood, weapons drawn. Harpuia took a few steps forward and pointed his blade in Lumine's direction.
"What are you doing in here, Director Lumine?" He snarled, eyes mear slits. "Can't you see we're in the middle of training exercises?"
"Of course, you're ALWAYS welcome to JOIN us!" Sandstorm suddenly said out loud, twirling his kusarigama around almost tauntingly.
"Yeah!" Sobek twirled his own trident-staff around, his eyes narrowing and a wide smirk on his face. "We need more practice dummies, after all."
There was a very slight eye twitch that came from Lumine, before he let off a rather unpleasant chuckle. "That's a generous offer, coming from the guardians of Neo Arcadia, but I'm here strictly on business." The lavender-haired reploid nonchalantly made his way up the few steps and onto the platform. He sneered in Harpuia's direction as he casually made his way...to Foxfire.
She took a step back as Lumine offered his hand to her and smirked slyly. "Lieutenant Foxfire, my dear. I'm told you have more insight on not only the rebel base...but the Raven as well." he purred, taking her hand in his. "Kindly accompany me to the board."
The statement made Foxfire freeze and make a face at his touch. Slag...HOW did that information get to Lumine?! She had only told the Guardians and the Lieutenants!
This...this reploid was...a snake...he was-
Lumine suddenly cried out when his arm was snatched away from Foxfire and twisted behind his back by Hidden Phantom. "GAH! UNHAND ME YOU WRETCHED- GAH!" Lumine found himself forcefully turned and SHOVED towards the door.
"I've already told you, Director." Phantom hissed, releasing Lumine and watching the reploid stumble down the three stairs. "Foxfire is MY Lieutenant. She will follow my orders and mine alone excluding Master X."
Lumine scowled and turned, pointing towards Phantom accusingly. "Perhaps, Commander. But it is MY job to report any activity concerning the two fires, of which the Raven is suspect of!" He scowled and put his hands on his hips. "You would do well to let me do my job and allow me to question the Lieutenant- GAH!" Lumine suddenly put a hand to his head as Sobek walked past him and 'accidently' hit the reploid director over the head.
"Oops." Sobek put a mocking hand over his mouth as he made his way to Foxfire and put an arm around her shoulders, his eyes getting dangerous towards Lumine. "Commander Phantom?" he asked innocently, still looking towards Lumine. "Isn't it a GUARDIAN'S job to question a Lieutenant?"
"Which has already been done and accounted for?" Shadow droned, getting on the other side of Foxfire.
The sound of metal hitting metal could be heard as Sandstorm made his way right behind Lumine, pounding his fist into his hand.
"And isn't that report already filed away, ready for puny purple haired bots to look at?"
Phantom stood up straight, placing his hands behind his back and glaring towards Lumine.
"...You heard the Lieutenants, Director Lumine. Your reports are already filed and waiting for you." His eyes narrowed and glowed a slight ruby color. "I recommend getting back...to work…"
Lumine was silent for a while, finally standing up straight once more. From the looks of it, Shadow, Sobek and Sandstorm wanted to lay into him...and the Guardians most likely would turn a blind eye to their shenanigans…
Clearing his throat, Lumine allowed a smirk to come to his face, before cooly waving a hand in the air.
"Well in that case, it seems I've wasted a trip down here." He hummed, casually turning and heading for the exit. "Have fun beating each other up." Lumine glanced back as he was exiting the door and smirked. "Considering there was no real winner, just yet."
The door shut.
The room was silent, tensions still high and guards still up. After a moment Sandstorm glanced back towards Leviathan and made a face. "I...REALLY...hate to admit it, but...He's right."
Leviathan gave Sandstorm a weird look, twirling her staff and placing it at her back. "What are you talking about, Lieutenant?"
"Well...There was no winner yet."
"What do you mean? Yes there was." Fefnir made a motion with his hand. "The only one still standing was Phantom."
"Actually, Foxfire was still in play as well." Shadow looked over towards Fefnir. "I was the Lieutenant that fell...she got back up."
Suddenly all eyes were on Phantom and Foxfire...the latter suddenly as stiff as a board. For a moment she put her hands up. "Uh-."
"I'm not helping you outta this one." Sobek suddenly said, releasing her from his hold, causing the smaller Lieutenant to trip.
"Me neither." Shadow said, turning and walking for Harpuia, Sobek right behind him.
"Wh- GUYS!" Foxfire gritted her teeth, a flabbergasted look on her face. "That's- not-" She paused when she looked over towards Phantom, who was drawing a single kunai blade out, looking at her seriously.
IT WAS LIKE THE CONFRONTATION WITH LUMINE HADN'T EVEN HAPPENED!
"Uh-..." Foxfire put up her hands halfway. "I yield?"
Phantom smirked very lightly. "That's not how it works, Lieutenant...you know this." He got himself into a ready position, making Foxfire groan weakly.
She turned and got her sai out- however as SOON as they were in her hands, Phantom came RUSHING at her, slid kicked her, and caught her with one arm across her back as she fell.
His other hand set his blade a foot away from her face, but he kept it there...watching the girl staring at him with wide bewildered eyes, that had barely enough time to think before he had even moved.
For a moment he stayed like that...before putting his kunai away and helping her stand.
"NOW...we're done."
"Ooooohh myyyy wooooord…" Foxfire's legs practically turned into jello and she stumbled a bit before stabilizing herself and putting a hand to her head. "...how the flip do you DO that?!"
Phantom only let out a small smile, however Sobek laughed out loud. "Oh it's simple! He's a ninja!"
Shadow glanced over towards Sobek, a sarcastic look on his face. "Absolutely BRILLIANT deduction, moron." he grumbled.
***RB***
Peace...solid peace...beautiful peace…
...was shattered.
"RAAAAAAAVEEEEEENNN!"
Raven slid down one of the halls and went BARRELING past rebel soldiers, a half grin/half exasperated look on her face as she fled. She practically LEAPT over one of the soldiers while others had to duck out of her way…
...and not that far behind her was an enraged Jaken, who was waving around a lump of parts in one hand and shaking his other fist.
"GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE BRAT! YOU'VE DESTROYED YOUR LAST CLOCK!"
As the two past, a few soldiers murmured to one another.
"...how many dose that make?"
"I think….about 15...maybe 17…"
"Huh…"
Raven was oblivious to the murmuring of the other rebels. She was more concerned about getting AWAY from Jaken!
SURE she could take him on easily; but it wasn't his attacks she was worried about…
IT WAS A FLIPPING LECTURE SHE WAS TRYING TO AVOID!
Raven slid down another hall and quickly checked each door- THAT ONE!
Swiftly, she prodded the door open and bounced inside sliding the door behind her and holding her breath.
As expected, not too long afterwards, she heard Jaken's stubby little metal feet rushing past the room she had ducked in, yelling at the top of his processor. "RAVEN GET BACK HEEEERRREE!"
Raven continued to hold her breath, the fact that she needed oxygen knocking at her door...her chest felt tight...her body was BEGGING for a breath of AIR.
But she couldn't give away her location. Not if it meant sitting through a Jaken-spill-
"BEEEAHHH!"
Raven suddenly let out her breath and started panting heavily, her innards desperately sucking up at the air for that delicious oxygen. For a few moments, Raven panted, inwardly cursing her humanly need for air, before she slowly came to realize that Jaken could no longer be heard.
For a while, she only stayed still, before she put a hand to her head.
"Man...for an old steam clunker, the geezer sure is FAST." she muttered to herself, rubbing her forehead for a moment, before looking around at her surroundings. It was just an empty room...with a stiff reploid bed and a wall of different blasters…
Raven rose an eyebrow.
….Who in the rebel base had nothing but guns in their room other than-
She suddenly paused at her own internal thought...and a wince came to her face.
Oh no...tell me I'm not….PLEASE tell me i'm not in…
"Ah slaaaaaaaaaag…" she groaned, SLAMMING a hand to her face and groaning. Of ALL the rooms she had ducked into, it just HAAAAD to be ZERO'S room, didn't it?
Raven glanced to the door inwardly wondering to herself whether or not it was safe to quickly duck back outside. Would Jaken have noticed that she wasn't in the halls anymore? Was he still in the same hall, or was he running around aimlessly like a protoid with its main wires yanked out?
After a few moments, Raven's eyes scanned over the room and her inner curiosity got the better of her. Taking a few more steps further into the small room, Raven couldn't help but eye the few blasters that Zero DID have. He prefered to fight with his Z-Saber...though he was known to use a blaster, a staff-like weapon, as well as other goodies that were placed neatly in a line along one of the walls.
The saber was gone, but Zero kept that on himself at all times.
Raven slowly approached the weapons and gazed over each of them, one by one. The details of the weapons were intriguing...almost familiar. Really if anything, the one who would be interested in going over the mechanicals of a weapon would be her-...
She glanced to the side at the stray thought before forcing herself back into the present, looking over the rest of the room.
Honestly, it was a pretty boring room. Nothing else was in there except for a reploid bed, weapons, and a couple of pictures-
Raven blinked when she noticed the small row of pictures on a rather thin shelf. She made her way over to them and gazed over each one. One was a picture of Megaman X….the guy looked like he was glancing over and looking confused, almost as if he had been unaware of the fact someone had been taking a picture of him.
The next picture was a picture of Zero- who was sporting a different kind of armor. It was far bulkier and looked like it could take far more hits than anyone in the Rebellion.
Raven couldn't help but stare at this version of Zero. He looked like he was yelling at whoever was taking the picture...he looked a whole lot more confident...like he was sure of himself and all around him.
The last picture was was a picture of X looking like he was holding a gun up, and a somewhat awkward smile on his face, while Zero was off to the side of him, holding another reploid by the neck with one arm and grinning smugly. The third reploid was a black and white male with a cat-like shape to his helmet as well as spiky hair sticking out from behind.
He looked like he was much younger than X or Zero, as he had a big laughing grin on his face even though he was basically being 'strangled' by Zero. He was also holding up a peace sign.
...honestly, if Raven didn't know any better...she would think the three of them were brothers-
Suddenly she heard someone approaching the door, and the girl winced sharply. Was someone coming in!? Was someone bringing something in for Zero?! Was ZERO coming into his room?!
DID JAKEN FIND OUT WHERE SHE WAS?!
Raven quickly activated her stealth ability in her armor and swiftly pressed her back against the wall…
...as Zero walked in, an indifferent look on his face as he closed the door behind him.
CRAP! OH CRAP! OH SLAGGING CRAAAAAAAP!
Raven bit her bottom lip to keep herself from exclaiming, but she watched as Zero took out a datapad and glanced over it for a moment. He took two more steps into the room, completely oblivious to her presence.
Quickly glancing towards the door, Raven looked back towards Zero. His attention was on the information on his datapad.
If she could just...slowly...get...to….the door…
For a moment, all Raven could do was slowly inch for the door…
Zero was indeed more focused on the reports on the screen. There was a note from Colbor saying that Chateau had discovered Ciel's datapad had been thoroughly scanned by a reploid soldier known as 'Foxfire.'
The same soldier who had been prisoner here. The same soldier who had been at his mercy during the first sabotage...the same soldier that Raven had freaked out about when he had-
Scrape…
Zero's optics suddenly narrowed at the sound.
Chucking the datapad away, Zero whipped around and SLAMMED his arm against a figure against the wall. With his other hand, he took out his Z Saber and got it into a striking position.
"GAH! OW! ZERO!"
Zero suddenly cut his attack short when he heard the voice, and his optics went wide for a moment. "...Raven?" he asked, a bewildered look on his face. For a moment, all was quiet in the room, before he pressed harder on the figure against the wall.
"OW! OW OW OW OW! ENOUGH ALREADY, YOU'RE SQUISHING ME!" Raven yelled out, the stealth in her armor shutting off, revealing the black and red armored girl, practically struggling with Zero's arm that was smashing her into the wall. "SERIOUSLY! I FEEL LIKE A BUG BEING SQUISHED!"
Zero blinked...and a sarcastic look came to his face. He slowly sheathed his weapon and he took his arm off of her, though he DID grab her wrist and hold it firmly. His sarcastic look never left his face.
"WHAT….are you doing in my quarters?"
"It was an ACCIDENT, Firetruck butt. I ducked in here by mistake, trying to get away from old lecture-butt!" Raven tried to release her wrist from his grip, but Zero was far stronger than her. He wasn't HURTING her, but she certainly didn't like the idea of being 'captured'.
"Will you LET GO of me, so I can get out of your smelly room?" Raven scoffed, putting her other hand to her hip and scowling at Zero. "Look, I'm sorry, ok? I didn't realize it was YOUR room until I was already in here!"
Raven gave him a sarcastic look. "I mean seriously, you could really use a lesson or two in interior decorating or something!"
Zero smirked...actually smirked...before releasing Raven's wrist. "And have my room filled with paper flowers and little pink bows? No. Thank. You."
"Ha Ha Ha, we're SOOO FUUNNNYYYY!" Raven rubbed her wrist slightly and crossed her arms. "Of course, if a big tough guy like you is INTO that sort of thing, I'm not gonna judge."
"Raven, It's you." Zero put his own hands on his hips and smirked. "You judge everything."
"Mooooiiiii?" Raven asked innocently, a look of mock offence on her face. "SURELY I don't know what you're TALKING about!"
"Uh-huh." Zero turned and walked away from her, picking up the datapad that he had tossed away and looking over it once more. For a while he seemed to go over the information, before looking towards Raven. "Hey...before you go."
Raven had opened the door, but turned around, looking at Zero confused. "What? You want me to knock next time or something?"
Zero approached Raven, and motioned towards his datapad. "Regarding Phantom's girlfriend..."
Raven paused and got a small guard up. He wasn't going to ask what she knew about that brat, was he? The last thing she wanted to be reminded about was-
"How good is the reploid with technology?" Zero asked, a serious look on his face. "According to this, every aspect of this datapad has been looked over...and with the complications that it has...it's highly unlikely that any normal reploid could strip this entire device…"
Raven noticeably relaxed and faced Zero. "Oh...she's literally THE best at decoding any sort of information." She crossed her arms lightly and leaned against the door post. "One of the reasons she's second in command of the Cutting Shadow Squadron...she can take things apart, find out how they tick, and put them right back together so quickly, it gives information gathering a breeze for anyone who has her on their team."
She glanced to the side for a moment and gave off a bitter mumble. "Which is a shame since she's so blinded by her stupid crush on that stupid ninja with his STUPID owl head…"
Zero gave Raven a weird look. "...Don't like Phantom much, do ya?"
Raven smirked sarcastically. "NOOOOO, ya think? I hate the creep." She paused for a moment and glanced back towards Zero's shelf...before looking back towards Zero. "Ok, your turn, Firetruck butt."
"Still white back there." Zero smirked at Raven, who actually smirked back.
"Ha. Ha." Raven motioned behind him. "I recognize X….but who's the other kid?"
Zero glanced towards the shelf...and paused. For a moment he stayed silent, before his whole demeanor changed. His fists slowly closed and his optics got dark, making Raven blink at the sudden change in the repliod's mood.
"...No one." Zero finally replied dully, approaching Raven and taking hold of the door. "Now if you'll excuse me, Raven. I need to recharge for tomorrow."
Raven rose an eyebrow and took a small step back to get some personal space. "Ok, NOW i'm even more curious. Who is he? Is he a brother? Friend? Did he have some sort of connection with X or something?"
"Good NIGHT Raven." Zero replied through clenched teeth, his demeanor continuing to darken.
"Ok fine, you're not going to talk about the kid." Raven put up a hand, scowling. "Then would you at LEAST tell me who this 'Dr. Wily' Foxfire mentioned the other day is?"
Zero suddenly stopped, and his eyes widened for a moment...before he glared darkly at her...and SLAMMED the door shut.
Raven stood on the other side of the door, a bewildered look on her face for a split second...before she turned and slowly walked away.
"Yeah, Good night professor moody." she grumbled more to herself than anyone else.