***NA***
There was silence in the room for about 5 seconds, before Sobek let go of Zero and put his hands to his head in a panic. "F-FOX! SLAG! NOT AGAIN!"
"SOBEK BEHIND YOU!"
The warning came too late, because Zero had struck Sobek over the head with the back of his saber, making the Lieutenant fall to the ground, unconscious.
Zero stood up quickly and looked over Sobek for a split second to ensure the reploid soldier was out cold, before he quickly looked up, trying to scan the area.
Raven was gone, as was the little brat Lieutenant reploid of Phantom's.
Which left him alone with Leviathan and Shadow.
Leviathan tried to fire an ice blast towards Zero, but the former Maverick hunter quickly dodged and fired his own blast towards Leviathan and then Shadow. Shadow, on the other hand, was cloaking himself in darkness…
...which meant Zero was going to have to retreat.
Quickly putting a hand to his helmet, he attempted to hail base. "Ciel! Ciel I need to get-"
He was cut off by a static sound...nothing but static and squeaks...that could only mean…
Raven and Lieutenant Foxfire had somehow been transported to Point Gamma…
Inwardly cursing to himself, Zero turned heel and started running, dodging a few kunai blades from Shadow, who was hot on his heels.
Leviathan stayed behind, kneeling over Sobek and shaking him a few times. The Lieutenant moaned but did nothing else. Scowling, Leviathan put a hand to her helmet and narrowed her eyes. "Leviathan to Fefnir. I have two Lieutenants down and one Lieutenant missing. I NEED back up!"
"What the heck did you DO?!" Fefnir's voice came from the other side. "I thought this was a recon mission!?"
"It WAS, you Moron! Zero and The Raven were here trying to clean us out! Now Sandstorm and Sobek are down! Get your arse OVER here!"
Leviathan heard an explosion and quickly cut off the transmission, running towards the hall that Shadow had run down. Once she got to the opening, she was greeted by a cloud of smoke which made her shield her face automatically. Taking out her staff, she scowled and walked deeper into the cloud.
After a few moments she found Shadow on the ground, attempting to get up. Kneeling down, Leviathan put a hand on Shadow's shoulder and looked over him, before looking back into the cloud of smoke. For a while, she tried to scan the area...but she found nothing.
Zero had escaped.
Narrowing her eyes, she glanced behind her, hearing the sounds of transporting beams. Not five seconds later, Harpuia and Fefnir came down the hall, weapons drawn.
"Leviathan! Shadow!" Harpuia made his way over, looking over the condition of his sister, then his Lieutenant. Fefnir was aiming at the cloud of smoke, looking around for any sort of movement.
"I apologize, Commander." Shadow muttered as Harpuia helped him up. "I wasn't able to trap him."
"Take it easy, Soldier." Harpuia frowned seriously, before looking towards Leviathan. "Where are the other Lieutenants?"
"Sobek is in the main hanger." Leviathan motioned towards one of the doorways. "He's down. I have no idea where Sandstorm is." She paused for a moment and pursed her lips. "As for Foxfire…."
Fefnir paused and glanced over his shoulder, optic twitching lightly. "Please don't tell me she's dea-"
"She and the Raven disappeared. It's like they got transported somewhere, that even Zero wasn't prepared for." Leviathan finished.
Fefnir let out a noticeable breath. GOOD! He didn't have to face Phantom's wrath again! Harpuia on the other hand narrowed his optics. "Gather Sandstorm and Sobek and fall back." He ordered, sheathing his swords. "We'll track Foxfire's signal and not only bring our Lieutenant home, but deliver the Raven to Master X"
As the Guardians regrouped Zero had his back against the outside wall, staying as silent as he could, before one by one, the Guardians found their allies and teleported back to their base. Narrowing his eyes, Zero put a hand to his helmet.
"Zero to Ciel."
Crrrrrrrrrrrr
The sound of static didn't make the situation any better. "Ciel, this is Zero...come in!"
Crrrrrrrrrrr
Pursing his lips, Zero took his hand from his helmet and tried to triangulate his position. If he was only getting static from base, then that could only mean one thing…
...Raven and that little brat had been transported to point Gamma...
***SW***
"-ORT!" Raven shouted as she suddenly appeared...in the middle of a swampy marsh. She stumbled a bit trying to regain her footings, before she heard a SPLASH to her right side. Quickly turning, Raven aimed her Naginata...at air…
"Oooowww…"
She blinked and slowly looked down, seeing Foxfire sitting flat on her butt and hands in the water and looking spooked.
For a moment, the two only looked at each other blankly...before Foxfire tried to quickly get up and position her sai towards Raven. Raven on the other hand was quick to knock Foxfire's sai out of her hands, making the two blades go sailing into the air and ultimately in the water.
Raven smirked almost triumphantly...before she saw the sai re-materialize in Foxfire's hands and a sarcastic look came to her face.
"Oh...right." she muttered.
Foxfire attempted to take a step for Raven, but she quickly looked around, taking note of her surroundings. Her eyes widened and the girl quickly turned around, a look of panic on her face. "Wh- What the- How the- What the- WHAT?!" Foxfire took a few steps away from Raven, eyes twitching.
The mear reaction of the Guardian Lieutenant made Raven snort lightly, taking her Naginata, separating it...and ultimately sheathing it.
"What? Never been transported to an alternate location, little flower?" she mocked, only to have to quickly DUCK from a sai being CHUCKED in her direction.
Foxfire scowled in Raven's direction as her thrown sai materialized back into her grip...before the girl twirled her sai in her hands...and sheathed them at her sides.
For literally an entire minute, the two girls only glared at each other...before Foxfire turned her back on Raven and took a few steps away from Raven, putting a hand to her helmet.
"Foxfire to Shadow, come in!"
There was a crackling noise, along with what sounded like short beeps, before the signal was lost. Gritting her teeth, Foxfire tried again. "Foxfire to Commander Harpuia….Commander Leviathan...Sobek….Commander Phantom?...ANYONE?!"
Again, only short static-like sounds, along with beeps...but there came no reply.
Raven watched Foxfire for a moment and put her hand to her own com. As she expected, she was getting nothing but a static sound.
...Which meant the Rebel base was down. Wonderful.
Raven rolled her eyes and put two fingers to her forehead, before looking back towards Foxfire, who was pacing back and forth through the shallow waters, still unable to get ahold of her precious Guardians.
"You done, princess?" Raven mocked, crossing her arms and scowling. "Or are you going to come to the realization that we're kinda STUCK together?"
Foxfire glanced over towards Raven and scowled. "I'm not staying here with you." She grumbled, taking out a device and scanning the area with it. "Far from it. You can stay here and play in the water. Me? I have a team to get back to."
Raven rose an eyebrow and scoffed. "More like you have a Commander to get back to-"
"SHUT UP!" Foxfire snarled towards Raven, looking back towards her device and watching the patterns on the screen. She looked upwards in a certain direction and narrowed her eyes. "...so Neo Arcadia is in that direction…" she muttered to herself, taking a few steps forwards.
"GET DOWN!"
Out of no where Foxfire found herself TACKLED into the water. RIGHT as they splashed, an explosion was heard above them that shook the trees around them and even made the water tremble at the force, before finally settling down.
Foxfire quickly made her way to the surface and spit water out, coughing frantically.
Raven, on the other hand, managed to surface and felt some of her now-wet-and-grimy hair falling into her face. Wringing water from her bangs, Raven tried to tuck her hair back inside her helmet, whilst simultaneously trying to rub water droplets from her visor.
She panted for a moment, looking behind herself to see what the damage was. One of the trees behind them had been snapped in half, and it looked like several animals had been spooked from their perches and had either flown or scurried away from the explosion.
"WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?!" Foxfire growled, making Raven groan lowly and glance towards the Neo Arcadian soldier.
"It's the Rebel's point Gamma." Raven muttered, taking a few steps away from Foxfire and crossing her arms loosely. "There's booby traps everywhere."
"Wonderful." Foxfire muttered sarcastically, managing to push herself up and try brushing off as much water from her armor as she possibly could. On her left arm were scrapes and scratches, revealing machinery inside. Some wires fizzled and cracked upon receiving moisiter near the circuitry inside.
The Neo Arcadian Lieutenant looked around at her surroundings, before looking in the direction that she had been going. "...I need to figure out a way to track these traps…"
"Why don't you just, oh I DON'T KNOW, FLY?" Raven gave Foxfire a sarcastic look. "You've got wings. Use them-"
"You know DAMN WELL why I don't fly on my own very often!" Foxfire pointed at Raven accusingly, before pointing upwards. "BESIDES! We are surrounded by TREES! There's no guarantee that I wouldn't just go slamming into them!"
"Oh right, your little scuffle with Harpuia three years ago." Raven mocked, looking at one of her hands lightly. "You know most SANE individuals would take Harpuia's shot as a sign that he can't be trusted-"
"Harpuia never MEANT to shoot me!" Foxfire seethed, marching over to Raven and prodding her finger in her chest, to which Raven only gazed at Foxfire, completely unfazed by her outburst. "It was in the middle of a BATTLE! Anyone could have missed that shot."
"Yeah, because as a COMMANDER, one's aim is supposed to be, I don't know, carefully aimed?" Raven mocked, making Foxfire grip at the air in frustration.
"I don't have time for this." Foxfire snarled, turning and beginning to trudge through the waters once more.
"Uh, hello? Booby traps? Water everywhere? Possible alligators?" Raven turned and started following Foxfire. "Ring any bells?"
"I'm going back to Neo Arcadia and away from you." Foxfire snarled in reply.
"Oh and HOW are you going to do that? Neo Arcadia is at LEAST 50 Miles away! You're not going to just WALK all the way back, are you?" Raven crooned.
"I'm getting a signal. It's weak, thanks to all the SWAMP trees, but I'm still getting a signal." Foxfire glanced back towards Raven. "The closer I get, the stronger the signal will get. Then I can call for assistance."
"And you plan to get that all done on your own?" Raven rose an eyebrow, continuing to follow Foxfire. Every now and then, she would glance around to ensure no more traps were within range. She had only been in this area ONCE, and it had only been to retrieve something from the emergency unit…
...she had never been in the actual SWAMP trying to navigate it before...anything could happen.
"Well I mean that's the general idea." Foxfire glanced behind herself, scowling. "I don't need you following me."
"Well guess what, Princess? I'm following you." Raven pointed towards her helmet. "My com is down. Might as well make sure little miss 'delicate flower' doesn't get blown to bits."
"Oh for crying out loud…" Foxfire grumbled, continuing to navigate through the brush.
***NA***
"How is it possible that you have the SECTOR that Foxfire is in, but you can't triangulate her actual POSITION?" Sobek kept his hands on his hips, practically hovering over Shadow, who's optic twitched very slightly from the amount of annoying prods he was getting from his ally. To his left, Leviathan was also typing into a nearby computer, yet looked less irritated.
After all...SHE was the one who trained Sobek, it was more than obvious she was used to his jokes, actions and habits.
Shadow glanced back towards Sobek and frowned. "It can be a number of different things. Her armor could be damaged; her transponder could be experiencing interference; she could be using the wrong frequencies for the distance she's in…" he paused for a moment and frowned. "Though knowing Foxfire, she would know better about that last one…"
"Keep on task, Shadow." Harpuia motioned the ninja to keep his focus on the screen. "We need to get Foxfire away from the Skyfire holder, as well as get our hands on the Raven before Zero can interfere again."
The air commander looked back towards Sobek and Fefnir frowning. "I'd suggest you two go inform Master X of our current situation. He may have a specific order concerning the Raven."
"Right." Sobek crossed his arms and rubbed his helmet slightly. "Because Master X is certainly going to love the idea that this girl has once again managed to slip on b-" The Lieutenant stopped when the door opened, allowing Phantom inside, who glanced slightly towards Fefnir and Sobek.
Almost IMMEDIATELY, both Fefnir and Sobek quickly pointed in Leviathan's direction. "SHE did it." They both accused in unison.
Phantom said nothing, he only walked past them and put his hands behind his back when he was standing next to Harpuia, watching Shadow and Leviathan typing at the screens. For a moment he said nothing, before looking towards Leviathan.
"So...what's the plan so far?"
Leviathan didn't look back at him, but frowned slightly. "At the moment, we have a general location. However, we can't pinpoint the actual whereabouts she's in." She brought up a screen that was showing a sector of area on it, with a red dot blinking...and then showing up in an different spot...and then another spot...and then another.
The blip wouldn't stay in one place.
"The signal interference seems to be a mixture of both damaged circuits, as well as surrounding interference." Shadow pipped, making a motion to the screen. He looked towards Harpuia, who was still looking seriously at the information being shown to him.
"So far the only information we're getting is damage status." he finished.
"And that would be?" Phantom prodded, to which Shadow motioned to the screen.
"Only 2% damage. She may have had a harsh landing, but she's perfectly fine. As for the whereabouts of-"
"HA! I'm finally getting her radio signal!" Leviathan suddenly grinned, typing into the computer. "Now we'll see about those coordinantes."
She punched in a few keys and looked towards the screen...however, the blip that had been on the screen...suddenly vanished.
"What the-"
"What did you do?"
"I didn't...I'm not…" Leviathan pondered for a moment, before she pressed a button on the console. "Fairy Leviathan to Lieutenant Foxfire!..."
For a moment there was nothing but static...along with something that sounded rather garbled. Leviathan made a motion towards Sandstorm, who turned a knob on the wall. The signal started getting slightly stronger.
"Fairy Leviathan to Lieutenant-" The Guardian started to say...before she actually heard Foxfire's voice.
"...ork and determination...something you don't seem to grasp." Foxfire's voice grumbled in an agitated manor. After a short moment a different voice came over the radio, that made everyone on edge.
"Oh. And YOU are so much better at knowing your place, when you're practically blinded by certain ninjas." Raven's voice came over the line.
Harpuia took a step closer to the keyboard, narrowing his eyes. "She's with the Skyfire…" he mumbled more to himself than anyone. For a moment he seemed to ponder, before looking towards Fefnir and Sobek, pointing towards the door. "Go inform Master X that we're getting a location on the Skyfire. We will need his guidance to determine how we'll finally get our hands on her."
Fefnir nodded, while Sobek seemed to ponder for a moment. "Shouldn't we send scouts to give Fox back up-"
"We'll handle that." Harpuia pointed towards the door. "Go inform Master X, now."
As the two left, the talking on the radio started getting garbled. Phantom took a step up and gently pushed Shadow out of the way, to which the Lieutenant quickly moved to allow Phantom access to the consul.
Phantom narrowed his eyes as he typed. "...Sector 46…" he paused and looked concerned for a moment. "...we can't get any land or sea soldiers in that area."
"No." Leviathan confirmed, looking over her own screen. "My navy can't handle all the trees and gunk in the water...and Fefnir's troops need solid land."
"Not to mention all the trees will disrupt my air force." Harpuia muttered. He glanced towards Phantom. "I WOULD tell you to send your ninjas out there...but there's a problem."
Phantom looked towards his oldest brother, frowning. "My ninjas can handle any terrain, Harpuia. There's nothing that can hold them-"
"I don't doubt that, Phantom, but Sector 46 has a 40 mile radius!" Harpuia pointed towards the screen. "And we're unable to pin point Foxfire's location."
He crossed his arms and frowned. "Though if I know Fox, she's going to be doing everything in her power to find a stronger signal. We just have to wait…"
Shadow frowned and looked back towards the screen. The Raven had been a thorn in the side of the Neo Arcadian army for a long time...the very fact that she was basically trapped with Foxfire of all soldiers...But still something about this encounter seemed...off.
The way Raven and Foxfire were bickering with each other...the fact that Foxfire didn't seem to be trying to fly…
"Shadow."
The ninja paused and looked towards Harpuia, who was pointing towards the screen. "Try to enhance the signal on point c. The blip seemed to be doing a lot of gathering in that area."
Shadow nodded. "Yes sir."
Phantom watched Shadow and Harpuia for a moment, before looking towards the screen with a serious look on his face.
...Foxfire…
***RB***
"Systems are at 30 and climbing." Colbor reported, looking from the screen over towards Ciel, who was trying to type into her own computer. "No reports from Zero or Raven just yet."
"They should be at the secondary base by now." Ciel mumbled, continuing to type. "Of course, with the systems down, we'd be getting a hard copy or an encrypted message from them."
"We've been working on getting a message to the secondary base," Jaken reported from his seat, looking over with a somewhat concerned look. "But it's almost been two hours and we still haven't heard anything."
Ciel sucked on her teeth, tucking her arms in and looking up at the systems, which were only 45% done checking every ounce of data and security they had.
...if they had security like Neo Arcadia did, it wouldn't have taken them HALF as long as two hours.
The sounds of a jet engine flying overhead made all in the room tense, before Ciel quickly pointed towards the doors. "Sentries! I need to know where that jet has come from! Surely all of ours-"
"It's ZERO!" Chateau suddenly exclaimed, pointing towards his security screen. Ciel quickly ran over to Chateau and looked over the screen. Sure enough, a Neo Arcadian jet had landed close to the base, and out hopped Zero, who then bolted for the main entrance.
Ciel quickly put her password into the emergency override system to allow Zero in, and about exactly one minute later, the former Maverick hunter rushed into the main control room, a serious frown on his face.
"Have you re-established radio contact?" He asked bluntly.
"Wait- Raven's not WITH you?" Ciel looked stunned. "But- the system said two people were transported to point Gamma before everything went into lockdown!"
"Phantom's little brat girlfriend got sucked up in the transport as well!" Zero made a motion towards himself and scowled. "She had been struggling with Raven when I was trying to call for transport back to point H, but Sobek slammed into me before I could finish the statement."
Ciel winced and put a hand to her head. So the 'gah' had been an impact noise...not a request for lockdown…
...MAN she felt stupid right now…
"So." Zero looked towards Ciel, frowning. "HAVE you established radio contact?"
"No….we're trying to get a read on her now." Ciel responded, motioning towards the computer. "The system is still down, but we've managed to get connected with the Gamma base…" Ciel frowned in concern. "The only problem is, they're not there."
Zero frowned and narrowed his eyes. "Then I'll fly this jet straight over there and-"
"No!" Ciel waved her arms around in panic. "The terrain won't be able to handle a jet! Besides, Raven knows the area, she should be fine until we establish contact."
"But Phantom's girlfriend-"
"She's not going to hurt Raven." Ciel put a hand up, looking at Zero seriously. "This I know for a fact."
Zero looked stunned at Ciel's answer, as did a couple of the rebels in the room. For a moment, there was just silence in the room, before Chateau suddenly exclaimed, "I'VE LOCKED ONTO LIEUTENANT FOXFIRE'S RADIO SIGNAL!"
Ciel turned, slightly perplexed, while Zero looked seriously at the soldier. "Where is it?"
"Well, I can't PIN POINT her exact location…" Chateau turned and motioned towards the screen. "But I'm getting a garbled transmission, and it sounds like Raven and Phantom's girlfriend are….talking."
"Talking?" Ciel looked stunned, almost hopeful. "Civilly?"
"Well...no, they're more bickering than anything."
This earned a small sigh from Ciel, who rubbed her forehead lightly, before making her way to the computer. "What can we hear so far?"
Chateau pressed a button on the consul so the signal would allow all in the room to hear...two girls bickering.
"...-Pened to say 'OH HEY ZERO! Let me lay out the entire Neo Arcadian BLUEPRINTS for you!'" Foxfire's voice could be heard in a mocking tone.
"Oh, and YOU have it so much worse, do you?" Raven's voice snided. "At least I'm working with the REAL Zero, and not some copy who THINKS he's the real thing, but is just a stupid-"
"WHY DO YOU KEEP BRINGING THAT UP?!"
"Oh I dunno, maybe because ITS THE TRUTH!"
"...wow…" Chateau blinked at the bickering, before glancing towards Colbor. "I thought you said Foxfire was actually pretty chill…"
"Well...I mean...she was with me…" Colbor rubbed his head slightly. "...Then again, she was the calmest...when Raven WASN'T around…"
Zero came up to the two, a frown on his face. "Is there any way of triangulating the position of Ghost boy's girlfriend's position?"
"It will take a while." Chateau nodded lightly. "But it's doable." That much said, the rebel turned and started typing into the computer, while the rest of the room listened to the bickering of the two girls that randomly went in and out as the signal got weaker, stronger, and then weaker again.