Chapter 34: Egypt Courtyard
While Gerald and the other Mercenaries of the Bomb were dealing with Merasmus, Freddie and Steve were still traversing the various sand-dunes that stood between them and the Moving Fortress. Since they were captured at Lakeside and had to leave just as quickly because of the Robots invasion of it, their food and Bonk! Soda supplies were at their lowest. As a result, they were forced to ration it to the bare minimum, which didn't give them enough energy to run so they spent most of their time walking. Mumble on the other hand always managed to get ahead of them on foot despite not wearing any shoes and he seemed to be able to find things to eat in the desert, whether it was a small lizard or a dung-beetle. But he never shared anything he found, and that made Freddie and Steve grateful to an extent because though they were starving neither of them wanted to stoop to Mumble's level of indecency.
"You know, one thing I've been noticing lately is that the One Bomb seems to occasionally vibrate," Freddie said, touching the small bomb that was still attached to the gold chain he wore around his neck underneath his shirt. "And it's happening more frequently the closer we get to the Moving Fortress. Why do you think that is?"
"I have no idea," Steve replied bluntly. "Must be picking up the signals the Moving Fortress sends to all the Robots."
"Or it could be reacting to the Monoculous' energy."
"Yeah, it could be. Does it hurt?"
"No, but I feel strange every time it happens, like my whole body wants to tear itself apart but can't."
"I see." Steve stopped and turned back to face Freddy. "Listen, Freddie, I know that Bomb is your responsibility and all, but maybe if you let me hold onto it for a little while I could—
"Don't even think about it!" Freddie snapped. "I don't want you to get hurt, Steve."
"Okay, okay, I was just asking."
Up ahead, Mumble had stopped, which surprised Freddie and Steve because he usually never stopped. So they ran to catch up with him, though it was a burden on their worn-down sneakers, and were amazed by what they saw. Beneath the sand-dune they were standing on lay a cliff, and beyond that lay an entire valley consisting of Ancient Egyptian style buildings and courtyards with metallic walls surrounding the entrances and a cluster of Mercenaries in black uniforms standing on a Control Point between two courtyards.
"What is this place?" Steve asked out loud. "It looks like Lakeside, but Gray Mann's Androids are down there so it's clearly controlled by the Robots."
In response, Mumble made a series of sounds underneath his Pyro gas-mask, which he never wanted to take off despite Freddie and Steve knowing what he looked like underneath.
"Mumble says this is Egypt, the southernmost Mercenary-controlled Area in America," Freddie said, translating Mumble's words. "I'm guessing that the Area has been abandoned by the Mercenaries for quite sometime, and so the Robots decided to occupy it. Now how the heck are we supposed to get down there?"
"Wait, we're going down there? I thought you were taking us on a more hidden route, Mumble."
After Mumble made more sounds, Freddie said, "He says he didn't know the Androids would be here, but there's a way down that'll keep us from being seen and it's going to involve cliffs."
The thought of cliffs made Steve remember the time he almost fell off one back in Hydro when he followed Freddie despite Freddie telling him not to. For a brief time, Steve was frozen with fear as Freddie followed Mumble towards a cliff to the right out them out of the Androids line of vision. Then, he quickly snapped out and followed them. Once they got to the cliff, Mumble climbed down first, followed by Freddie, and then Steve. Their descent was slow in order to make the least amount of noise as possible, and so it was several hours before they finally reached the bottom of the cliff.
Once there, they hid underneath a wooden platform consisting of crates then peering through a gateway they saw something emerging from the Control Point beneath the Androids. It was the Android Soldier who got severely damaged by Franklin's blade during the fight at Lakeside, but he was now fully fixed and sporting the Rocket Ranger metal braces, ankle pads, and mask. Next, the Android Soldier took out handfuls of ankle pads similar to his and tossed them at the other Androids, who subsequently caught them and put them around their own ankles. After that, the Android Soldier activated small rockets that were attached to the insides of the ankle pads and took off into the sky, followed by the others.
"Oh, this ain't good," Steve said once the Androids were no longer visible.
"They can now appear anywhere they're needed without traveling on foot," Freddie added.
Mumble then made some irritated growls and dashed quickly through the courtyard and stopped at an entrance to a tunnel that had no light coming from it.
Freddie sighed and said, "Not right now, Mumble. Let us rest for a few minutes."
After some hesitation, Mumble nodded, and wandered off as Freddie and Steve decided to sleep underneath the wooden platform.
End of Chapter 34