Chapter 7: Block Transmissions
Mari and Vera were working alongside Gaudile trying to get the transmission back up, but to no avail.
"Sorry guys, but the interference has gotten worse." Mari said as she cleaned her glasses.
"Damn it… I can't even contact Jesse or Usopp. Transmissions are really getting fried here." David said.
"Maybe this isn't a coincidence. Someone's jamming our comms." Connor said.
"I've located the jammer's signal, but it's…" Nana trailed off as she showed an image of a desert.
"Ah, great. I hate deserts." David said.
"We're just gonna have to move quick, find that jammer and destroy it before the heat and sand get to us." Hope said,
"Be careful, everyone. The Onovan Desert is a death trap with its quicksand. Once you're caught in it, you can't get out." Anna said.
"Good to know. Thanks, Anna. On the plus side, I'm sure Sahara will have plenty to work with in a desert." Hope said.
"That's right, when we met in the Gerudo Village, she made an entire house out of sand. It's safe to say Sahara will have the momentum in the fights ahead." Erza said.
"Yup. Ready to shine, Sis?" Hope asked.
"Only if you stop calling me that." Sahara said glaring at him.
"It was only one time…" Hope said. "We're good to go Anna, beam us to Onovan Desert."
"Understood. Commencing transfer! 3...2...1, transfer!" Anna said as the group was transferred to the desert. "Good luck."
The group arrived as a sandstorm was in effect.
"And this is probably why David hates the desert." Toma said.
"He's not the only one, this is the second damn time I got sand in my eye." Saki said as she and Saaya rubbed their eyes.
"When was the first time?" Erica asked.
"When Ace and the others helped us bring the globe under control from the undead spirits when we went to Dubai." Aya said. "Honestly, I didn't know how much I could take from the heat there."
"And did you get sand in your eyes too?" Toma asked.
"No. My hair got dry and crackly." Aya said.
"Well, we'd better clear this before you three experience repeats." Sunset said. "Sahara, do you think you can clear this sandstorm?"
"I control sand, not sandstorms, although I can make those." Sahara said.
"I wanna ask you something Sahara, I know you wanted to learn the Sand Style because you wanted to show your independence, but was there another reason?" Starlight asked.
"Nope. Only reason cause some siblings think I need help when I didn't. Even when they claim to do the opposite." Sahara said.
"Well, we're family. It's kinda like us to be the siblings we are." Hope said.
"Daisy was the only one who let me be independent. You and the others...you were just too doting." Sahara said.
"Well, let's just…" Hope began.
"You sink!" Sahara said.
"If you're trying to hurt me, I think you mean stink." Hope said.
"No, I mean you're sinking in quicksand!" Sahara said.
"Oh, crap!" Hope said. "Help!"
"My my, what do we have here?" A voice asked as everyone turned to see a winged female reploid floating in front of them. "A couple of rats snooping around?"
"I saw you at the ruins. You're pretty close to Epsilon, aren't you?" Connor asked.
"Gold star for you handsome, I am Ferham, one of the Rebellion Army Cadres." Ferham said as she introduced herself.
"So you're the one in charge of operations…" Hope said sinking deeper. "Why am I trying to do this? I'm still sinking!"
"Damn it, hold on!" Ace said as he floated and grabbed Hope's hand.
"You have to deal with Ferham while you're getting me out! Keep her busy while Ace is pulling!" Hope said.
"Sorry, but I'm not the one in charge of this area, you'll meet him underground...if you survive." Ferham said as she activated a plasma whip and hit Ace, knocking him out of the air. They all appeared to have sunken into the sand by this time. "It's over." She said before a lash of sand whipped one of her wings.
"Yeah..not all." Sahara said still standing there not sinking.
"How are you…" Ferham said.
"My Sand Style grants me some immunities. One of them being I can't sink in quicksand." Sahara said.
"Fine then… I'll just have to take care of you personally. You poor coddled little-" Ferham said as a spire of sand rose up and got her across the body.
"Sorry, I didn't quite get that." Sahara said as she slashed Ferham mercilessly with the sand. "To me, all sand is a weapon. Meaning...you're flying over a personal arsenal of it."
"You brat! I'll give you the punishment of a lifetime!" Ferham said drawing her laser whip and charging.
"Yeah...we're done...Sandy….Cannon!" Sahara said as a fist of sand sent Ferham flying far away.
With the rest of the group…
"Who would've thought sinking in the quicksand would lead right to where we need to go?" Hope asked.
"I don't know, but next time we see Ferham, she's dead." Kagura said.
"So we're in the underground part of the desert." Toma said. "But Hope's right, we can definitely find the Jammer from here."
"Are you sure? It's like a maze down here." Sectonia said.
"Anna did say the signal was coming from here, so let's look around and see if we can find it." Mari said.
"But how are we gonna find the jammer in a maze like this?" Sakura asked.
"Echolocation." Hope said. "Bats use their echoing screams to navigate tunnels. They're blind, so they rely on sound. Maybe we can use the same method."
"Let me try something. If there is a jammer, it has to be letting loose some kind of noise." Jiro said grabbing an earphone into the wall as she listened. "Okay...it's faint but I can definitely hear it. We go straight then make a left."
"Nice work, Jiro." Hope said.
They followed Jiro's lead as they followed the path she heard, eventually leading them straight to a large device.
"This must be it. Give me and Vera a few seconds, and we'll shut this thing down." Mari said.
"Alright. We're counting on you guys." David said.
"It's strange though. Ferham was up top waiting for us. I thought she would be in charge here." Hope said.
"Oh no. You're way off base." A voice said as a large bodied reploid walked in. "I am Botos! A cadre for the Rebellion Army."
"We don't have time for this! Get out of our way." Hisui said.
"Hard to do when I'm the one guarding the Jammer. I can't let your two friends disrupt the signal and bring your communications back online." Botos said.
"Well then, you're gonna be sorely disappointed." Hope said.
"Not if I use the Supra-Force Metal here!" Botos said as he held up a glowing orb and absorbed it.
"Like that'll make a difference. But we'll give you points for trying when this is over!" Toma said.
W-A-R-N-I-N-G
Warning! Warning! Warning!
(MMXCM-Executive Battle)
"Time for a little lesson in agony!" Botos said.
"Agony? Please. Let me show you some agony." Jiro said plugging her earphone into her amplifiers. "Cover your ears! Heartbeat Fuzz!" She shouted as a loud sound was being sent out.
"Argh! My Audio Receptors!" Botos said.
"So it even affects robots, too!" Pit said.
"Also, it should be noted that he's weak to water and ice attacks." Tails said.
"Good to know. We'll give him something to help cool off." David said. "Arctic Style...Ice Fang!" He yelled as the head of a lion appeared over his hand and punched Botos in the face.
"Fragments of Ice pour down...Glacial Rain!" Ace chanted as four glaciers rained down onto Botos.
"Water and Ice are fine...but let's try and keep things unpredictable." Jiro said plugging one earphone into the jammer as the other plugged into Botos's head. "You wanna protect the jammer...how about a taste of your own medicine." she said as the sound traveled through as it was increasing in intensity inside Botos's head.
"Ah! Get this damn sound outta my head!" He shouted thrashing in pain.
"You ready to surrender?" Jiro asked.
"Yes yes!" Botos said before dropping something. "Oh no! The supra force metal that Epsilon gave me!" He said.
"Ugh...will someone please send this crybaby flying already?" Jiro asked.
"I've got this." David said cracking his knuckles before dealing an icy uppercut. Botos smashed against the cavern wall comically and landed on the ground. "Whew… Really needed to get that out."
"Well, looks like the jammer's out of commission. And we go home with a bonus prize." Jiro said collecting the Supra Force Metal.
"That was almost too easy, though… Something's off…" Massimo said.
"Yeah, I can feel it. If the Supra-Force Metal was really important to him, you'd think he'd do a better job keeping it out of our hands." David said.
"Still, we can analyze this sample back at the base. So...one's loss is our gain." Tails said.
"Agreed. Let's get back to base and get this Supra-Force Metal analyzed." Ichiro said.
"Yeah. With the jammer down, transmissions should be back up again." Fulgore said.
"Speaking of which, I hope Sahara's doing okay." Hope said.
"Sahara? She returned to base not long ago." Anna said.
"Oh, good. We were worried for a moment. Pull us back too. We're done here." David said.
The group was then warped back to base, so that they can figure out the Supra-Force Metal's secrets and what power it hides.
Chapter End