***SW***
"So! Have you actually gathered the guts to confess to ghost-boy yet?"
Raven's question was answered by a low scoff, but Foxfire didn't respond. She was too busy keeping an eye on the terrain she was wading in. They had come to an area where they were forced to cross the water, and Foxfire was practically gritting her teeth so hard, Raven SWORE the girl's jaw would screw loose.
"Ew….ew…..ewww…" Foxfire whined as she waded in the water, glancing down at her once-clean armor and grimacing at the fact that it was getting absolutely COVERED in gunky water, muck and mire.
She had noticed that Raven WAS following...in the more shallow ends; which made her want to go to the deeper areas.
After all, she could swim just fine…
"It's been...what...five years since you've been under his command?" Raven droned on, gazing around the area, keeping a sharp eye out for more traps that may be waiting for the girls to stumble upon. "Not to mention the two years you were trained and under Harpuia's command...basically the whole ARMY should know about your little crush on Ghost-aft."
"...grr…" Foxfire gritted her teeth and glared behind her slightly, but continued to walk.
"Oh but he's too dense to actually pick up on those, isn't he?" Raven mocked, putting her hands behind her head and pursing her lips in a thoughtful way. "He's always been an idiotic-"
THWIP!
Raven stood perfectly still when one of Foxfire's sai whizzed RIGHT past her helmet and slammed into a nearby moss-covered tree. Raven frowned and narrowed her eyes at Foxfire, who still had her back turned to her, but was glaring over her shoulder.
"...are you FINISHED?" Foxfire snarled as the sai disappeared from the tree and reappeared in her hand. "I'm SICK of hearing you constantly insulting Commander Phantom. Can't you insult someone else?"
Raven scoffed lightly. "What? You worried I might hurt his widdle feweeings?" Raven put a hand to her mouth and made a mock gasp. "Does your precious 'conquering hero' need his widdle fangirl to make him feel secure? Wike a widdle bwanky that'll hold him tight?"
Foxfire gritted her teeth and turned to face Raven. The action made Raven shrug her shoulders and wave a hand in the air slightly. "Fine, I'll choose someone else. How about Harpuia? You still attached to him?"
The glare in Foxfire's eyes made Raven put her hands on her hips. "Heh. I'll take that as a 'yes'. How about Leviathan? Nah, she actually knows how to think 30% of the time. OH! I KNOW! How about Fefnir!" She paused and put a finger to her mouth thoughtfully.
"Nah. Too easy. There's no challenge in that one."
Foxfire growled and turned, sheathing her weapons and continuing to tred in the water.
"OH OH! I GOT IT! I'll start slagging on Co-"
***NA***
Kkkkrrrrrrrrrrr
"Blast it, we lost the signal again." Shadow scowled, trying to type into the computer, narrowing his eyes as he tried to strengthen the signal...but with all the interference, he was going to have to wait until Foxfire managed to get into a more favorable area.
Leviathan crossed her arms, looking over the screen and narrowing her eyes in contemplation. "...if it wasn't for the conditions of the waters there, I would have already had my navy out there on the skyfire's trail." She scoffed. "HECK! They would have already rescued Foxfire and captured the Arorue by-"
"Send the Strong air battalion and cutting shadow squadron at once."
All in the room suddenly stopped and looked at the new arrival in the room. Copy X was standing in the doorway, hands loosely behind his back and a deadpan look on his face.
"M-Master X!" Harpuia quickly took a knee, as did every other soldier in the room.
As all took a knee, Copy X kept his eyes firmly on the screen that they were observing. Every now and then a garbled signal would come from the Lieutenant of the shadow squadron; however, he was more focused on the voice that was accompanying her.
"Master." Leviathan looked up slightly. "The area they are in is a swamp area….and Lieutenant Foxfire's signal keeps cutting in and out-"
"Precisely why the Air Force and Intelligence units need to go together." Copy X replied simply, his ruby optics narrowing very slightly. "Since our ninjas are capable in all areas, while our pilots can cover wider ranges, each jet will take two members of the cutting shadow squadron and drop them in separate locations so they may cover the entire area."
Copy X turned and motioned towards Harpuia and Phantom. "I want both of you to lead this search and bring me the Skyfire...and Phantom…."
The ninja glanced upwards towards his master slightly, seeing the focused look in his ruby optics.
"Set aside your affections for your Lieutenant and remain focused on the task at hand." he ordered sternly.
Phantom was silent for all of two seconds before he bowed his head. "Yes Master X."
Copy X looked back towards the screen, narrowing his optics further. "...I don't intend to allow Zero to take this opportunity away from me again…" he mumbled more to himself than anyone.
After a long moment he glanced towards Harpuia and Phantom sternly. "Go, both of you."
Harpuia and Phantom stood with a salute, and started heading for the door.
"...oh, Commander Harpuia." Copy X glanced over his shoulder, his optics narrowing. "One more thing…"
***RB***
"These two sure like to yell at each other." Chateau mumbled to himself, rubbing the back of his head. He had never SEEN anyone argue this much if they were enemies...well...without SHOOTING each other at least.
"Miss Foxfire only seems to talk when Raven's around though!" Colbor pointed towards the screen. "When Zero tried to interrogate her, she wouldn't budge until Raven was in there...and then they basically did THIS the whole time!"
"That's what happens with women! They don't know how to shut up…" Jaken paused and glanced towards Ciel, who was giving him a weird look. "Uhh….no offence."
"Raven and Foxfire only fight so much because they used to be on the same side." Ciel replied calmly.
"Oh right!" Colbor looked towards Ciel, putting up a finger. "Raven was once a Neo Arcadian soldier, wasn't she?"
"Yes." Ciel nodded. "Which means Raven and Foxfire were constantly together until Raven left their ranks."
"Wait…" Zero looked up from where he was leaning against the wall, raising an eyeridge. "Raven told me that Foxfire was the one who betrayed her…" He stood, a serious look on his face. "And yet...every time we encounter Phantom's little sweetheart, there's signs that she and Raven still share a connection, despite being enemies...so who's telling the truth?"
Ciel was silent for a few moments. After a while, she looked towards Zero.
"...both of them."
"Wh-"
"Both of them betrayed each other inadvertently….i don't think malice was the intention. Raven left. Foxfire stayed….they both saw that as an act against each other." Ciel gazed at Zero patiently.
"...But I do know that they're safe with each other…"
Zero studied Ciel for a moment, before the radio crackled back to life once more.
"...-ern how to SHUT...the flip. UP!" Foxfire's voice growled.
"Oooooh, what are you going to do? Disown me?" Raven mocked. "Nah you've already done that."
"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO DISOWNED ME!" it sounded like water was splashing from a fast movement. "You want to know WHY I don't tell Phantom I love him? Because I'm not as important as he is! I'm not risking my position just to tell him about some silly crush I can't get over!"
"Who says you're not important?" Raven scoffed. "Did he? Did Copy-"
"I DID ROS-...Raven!"
There was a moment of silence on the radio and a few of the rebels glanced towards each other. Was Foxfire about to call Raven...something else?
Ciel put a hand to her head softly, a small moan coming from her, before the radio came to life once again.
"Besides, you can't talk, can you?" Foxfire spit out. "All the time you spend with Zero and he remains in the dark about your own feelings." more water splashing. "Hypocrite."
Zero suddenly looked puzzled.
"Wh- What the heck- WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!" Raven all but snapped. "Are you implying-"
***PG***
"...that I have feelings for ZERO!?"
"Well if the fit shoes." Foxfire muttered sarcastically, climbing up a tree stem and looking over the area in front of her. There didn't appear to be more booby traps in this area...of course, she wasn't - wait.
Her eyes caught something that shone in the light and she studied it for a moment.
"It's 'If the SHOE. FITS'" Raven growled, pointing up towards Foxfire and beginning to stomp in her direction. "And I do NOT have feelings fo-"
"GET DOWN!" Foxfire swiftly turned and TACKLED Raven to the ground-
BOOOM!
The girls were sent through the air and SLAMMED against multiple trees.
***SW***
The explosion could be heard throughout the area, and a plume of smoke could be seen over the trees. It didn't go unnoticed, because one of Harpuia's many jets spotted the plume.
The pilot narrowed his eyes and glanced towards the two ninjas in the back. "Lieutenant Shadow. Shadow-Man. There's been an explosion 20 degrees to the east."
"Lock on and follow." Shadow looked out the window and narrowed his eyes, activating his com-link. "Lieutenant Shadow to Commanders Harpuia and Phantom. There's been a disturbance at vector 1-5-3….locking on target."
"Understood," Harpuia's voice replied. "Teams 3 and 4 stay on track. The rest of you come with us to investigate."
"Roger!"
***PG***
Raven slowly sat up, covered with mud and holding her head. She just KNEW that blast was going to give her a MASSIVE headache in the mo- Raven paused and quickly turned, sitting on her toosh and gasping.
"...Li-...Fox…..FOXFIRE!" she screamed, standing and looking around frantically. "FOXFIRE!...FOXFIRE!...LIL-"
"GET. OFF. ME!"
Raven paused and quickly looked down...where she was standing on top of Foxfire, who was face first in the mud. Letting of a sigh, Raven quickly jumped off of Foxfire and offered her a hand. "...y-...you ok?"
"Do I look ok?" Foxfire asked, getting herself up and looking over herself in disgust. "I...am...FILTHY!"
A sigh left Raven once more...before a smug grin came to her face. "I dunno...mudbaths are supposed to be good for- GAH"
SPLAT!
A glob of mud was sent HURLING at Raven's face while Foxfire growled. "If you want a spa treatment, BE my guest! I'm going to have to clean this mud out of my circuits! I can't just WASH my tech in WATER!"
"Weren't you doing JUST that while you were wading in the water?" Raven mocked, slowly wiping the mud from her face.
Foxfire pointed toward her left arm that still had an open gash in it, where mud was dripping into her arm circuitry. Raven looked over it and made a face. "Ooooh….that's not good." She grinned. "Welp. You'll have to ask Phantom for some time off to get that situated won't you?"
"Pah. and knowing YOU, you probably won't bother to go over anything with Zero, will you?" Foxfire scoffed, turning and continuing in the water.
Raven crossed her arms. "There's nothing TO go over with him. Zero's my ally. That's it."
"He's not even that, is he?" Foxfire glanced over her shoulder sarcastically. "You're too much of an ass to admit he's a friend, much less a crush."
"I DONT….have a crush on Zero"
"You paused." Foxfire shot, managing to get out of the water and into a grassy area. Taking the time to stop and look around for more traps, she heard Raven growl behind her.
"Listen Foxfire. Just like you THINK Phantom's too important for you, I know for a FACT that Zero's too important for me." Raven waved an arm in the air for emphasis, causing Foxfire to turn and gaze in her direction.
Raven paused and continued. "Look….he's fought in wars with the Real X...he's been a leader for years...he's practically a legend...and what am I?" She put a hand to herself. "A cast off human dressed as a reploid pathetically fighting a war for justice against a maniac who thinks he's X, but really isn't, and the loner of the rebels. I'm. Nothing."
There was a long moment of silence between the two.
Nothing could be heard except for water rippling and frogs croaking.
Foxfire narrowed her eyes slightly. "...so...you continue to push everyone away."
Raven frowned and stood up straight. "I do what I have to, to keep myself safe Foxfire...After I lost you….I didn't want to trust or get attached to anyone else…."
Foxfire was silent...before she sneered. "...So you're hurt because we were separated…." she mused. After a moment she turned. "Then maybe YOU shouldn't have abandoned me in the first place." she shot, before continuing to walk.
Raven frowned and looked to the ground for a moment, letting off a long sigh...before slowly following Foxfire.
***RB***
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!
"HA! All systems back online!" Colbor suddenly cheered, looking towards Ciel. "I have a lock on Raven's position!
Ciel quickly looked over the scanners...and winced sharply. "They're not alone...Zero!" She turned towards the former Maverick Hunter, who was gazing at the screen with a stunned look on his face.
"ZERO!"
Zero quickly snapped out of his zone and looked towards Ciel, who was pointing towards the screen. "We have a lock on them! But Harpuia's troops are there too! Get Raven out of there!"
"Got it." Zero narrowed his eyes and rushed towards the transporter.
***PG***
One hop from tree to tree, and Foxfire managed to land on the grass, looking around carefully...before she turned and looked behind herself, watching Raven land not too far away. The two said nothing to each other, they just continued in the direction Foxfire was wanting to follow.
There was a tense air between the two...neither of them wanted to make anything hotter between them...at the same time, the silence was practically eating at them…
...and Raven couldn't take it anymore…
"...Foxfire…" she muttered lowly. "...if this means anything at all to you…"
Foxfire stopped walking and turned to look at Raven. There was a long pause between the two...before Raven took out her blaster. Foxfire's eyes widened for a moment, slowly putting her own hands on her sai, but only waiting. Except when she actually saw the blaster, she frowned.
"...You got a new one huh…"
"Well you kinda took mine and gave it to Phan-"
"I gave it to Harpuia...not Phantom." Foxfire muttered.
"...listen...could you...you know…" Raven mumbled, looking away and still holding out her blaster towards Foxfire.
The Lieutenant was silent...before she took her hands off her sai and started heading for Raven, before stopping right in front of her. "...it really means that much to you?"
A slow nod came from Raven, but nothing else. The two shared a silent moment…
...before the silence was destroyed by blaster fire.
Raven suddenly looked scared. She didn't just shoot did she?! Wait- Foxfire looked just as surprised as she did, and her weapon wasn't smoking...then who-
"SKYFIRE HOLDER!"
Both Raven and Foxfire quickly looked towards the trees-before Raven was TACKLED to the ground by Shadow-Man and Hanumachine.
Foxfire gasped and quickly turned. "Raven-" she didn't get to finish her sentence, because Shadow quickly landed not too far away from her and put a hand on his helmet. "Skyfire located! We're apprehending her as we speak!"
"Shadow!"
The Lieutenant looked over towards Foxfire, who was reaching for him. "Wait! She's not th-"
Foxfire nearly jumped six feet in the air as Aztech Falcon landed in front of her, Sage Harpuia on his back and jumping to the ground with narrowed eyes. "Keep her down! We're going to finally deliver the Arorue to Master X." He looked towards Falcon. "Stay with Lieutenant Foxfire. I'm going to apprehend The Raven myself."
Falcon nodded and watched Harpuia walking towards the ninjas who were struggling with Raven.
"Commander Harpuia! She's not the-" Foxfire started to say, before the air commander let off a lightning attack towards Raven...who quickly kicked the ninjas away, crossed her arms….and reflected the attack right back towards Harpuia.
Harpuia was knocked back SLAMMING into some trees and landed on his hands and knees. Shaking his head he looked up, stunned.
Raven panted slightly, shaking off her arms from the excess energy, a scowl on her face. After a moment she exchanged a glance with Foxfire, who looked like she was panicking, taking a few steps back with a big wince on her face.
Falcon took two steps in front of Foxfire, while Hanumachine charged up a fire attack, quick to charge it towards Raven. Narrowing her eyes, Raven once again crossed her arms in front of herself and seemed to absorb the attack….before shooting it back towards the other soldiers in the area.
Harpuia slowly got himself up and charged another lightning attack at her, to which she quickly dodged, though it looked like she was panting.
"...Incredible…" Harpuia breathed. "This is the aurore in action?"
"You are so uneducated." Raven scoffed. Taking out her blaster, Raven aimed towards Harpuia- Only to get grabbed from behind, a kunai blade being rested against her throat.
"Not...another move" Phantom's voice growled from behind Raven.
"Ah crap." Raven growled, struggling against Phantom's grip, only for it to tighten.
Phantom sneered. "You've been causing way too much skyfire holder...it's time you finally surrendered to Master X."
"Do ANY of you know how to properly read legends?" Raven mocked, a sneer on her own face. She paused for a moment, looking past Harpuia-
"GAH!" Harpuia was suddenly launched in the area, sent SLAMMING into Shadow-Man and Hanumachine.
Phantom looked over quickly, watching his brother and his ninjas SPLASHING into the muddy water of the swamps. He looked back, seeing Zero suddenly coming for him-only for Shadow to TACKLE Zero to the ground, trying to punch the legendary hero across the face.
As Shadow and Zero fought, Raven took her opportunity to SLAM her elbows into Phantom's mid section, quickly ducking down as Phantom lurched.
Phantom attempted to correct his error and grabbed Raven by the wrist, though Raven slid kicked Phantom, causing him to fall…
...of course, his grip on her didn't loosen, causing RAVEN to also fall.
"Raven!" Zero called out, kicking Shadow off of himself. The former Maverick hunter SLASHED at Shadow's back, causing the ninja to cry out and land on his side, wincing sharply. Turning, Shadow attempted to continue the fight, but saw Zero over him, about to strick once more-
Before Foxfire quickly slid in front of Shadow and activated her sai shield, teeth gritted as Zero's Z-saber came CRASHING down on the shield. After a moment, Zero took a few steps back, narrowing his eyes at Foxfire.
She glared right back at him, taking two steps back and standing over Shadow protectively.
"ANY DAY NOW FIRETRUCK BUTT!" Raven called out, causing Zero to quickly turn and run for Raven and Phantom.
Zero managed to SLAM himself into Phantom, knocking the ninja back a few feet and releasing Raven from the Guardian's grip. Phantom cried out as he was SLAMMED hard against the ground and quickly grabbed Zero's wrists.
Zero growled and glanced to his left, where Harpuia had recovered and was running towards them.
Swiftly Zero rolled over to where he was on the ground, and threw Phantom upwards-Causing Harpuia to SMACK into Phantom instead of himself, knocking both Guardians back.
"HA! Take THAT, ninja boy!" Raven sneered, running for Zero, who met her and looked her over.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm filthy, but I'm fine."
"Good. Let's get out of-"
"Running away again, are we Zero?
Zero suddenly went rigid at the sound of the new voice. Pausing, Zero turned to face...a mech close to Falcon, hands behind his white armor and a smug smirk on his face, ruby optics gleaming.
Time stopped….all his enemies disappeared...HECK! Even RAVEN disappeared!
"...Lumine…" he mumbled under his breath.
Existence didn't exist anymore...all Zero could do was stare at the purple haired reploid, who only smirked at him. For a long while, Zero could only hear silence...no...he heard something else….echoing in his memory…
X….do you really have what it takes to stop us?
Maverick? You don't really think that's the case do you?
Line up to be exterminated!
"ZERO!"
Zero snapped out of his internal thoughts and quickly looked towards Raven who was motioning towards Harpuia and Phantom, who were recovering. "We need to get OUT of here!"
Quickly shaking his head, Zero quickly wrapped an arm around Raven and looked back towards Lumine, gritting his teeth.
Lumine only watched, an unbothered look on his face. "The sun is setting once again...huh Zero?"
Zero narrowed his eyes dangerously and gritted his teeth. "Ciel! Warp us out!"
In an instant, Zero and Raven were gone.