Author's note: I have not seen a lot of the episodes and none with Tezz fighting, so if I have his abilities completely wrong, forgive me and please enjoy anyway.
Early in the morning, the members of the Battle Force 5 were stirring, some more than others. "Saturday," Spinner sighed and then frowned turning over in his bed. "I fondly remember the days I could sleep in."
Inside the garage, Lin and Zoom were getting ready to spar. "Thanks for agreeing to spar with me. I haven't had a decent sparring partner since I left the Order of the Flying Fists."
"Why did you leave?" Lin asked stretching out.
Zoom jumped and ran a hand through his hair wanting to avoid this question. "Well, I… you see… it was confining, Lin. I wanted to see the world and being stuck at the dojo all the time was just…"
"Understandable," Lin said cutting off Zoom's discomfort and then squared off. Zoom did the same and they began trading blows. Starting slowly for precision and speeding up as they became comfortable with the other's style. Zoom was a strong Thai fighter of a true school. Lin's style may have been based in his House's style, but Zoom recognized moves from the Vandals and others from the school of stay alive.
"You're pretty good," Zoom said after they had been at a while.
"Survival and hunger are unforgiving teachers. I had little choice but to learn."
"I'm glad you're on our side," Zoom said noticing he was starting to get winded and Lin looked just as fresh as when they started. Lin was completely focused on sparring with a face devoid of expression. "How are you doing that?"
"Doing what?"
"That steadfast expression, it's chilling almost. And with the silence, in the battle zone that Vandal was terrified of you."
Lin caught Zoom's fist and froze. Zoom stopped allowing him to think, hoping he hadn't triggered some symptom of his friend's trauma. Lin shook his head, "I don't know what you're talking about. I don't remember." He let go of Zoom's fist as though he didn't remember catching it. He walked away rubbing his forehead again.
"He's got to get better," Zoom whispered and followed him into the hub. "Good match, let's get some breakfast."
"All right Battle Force 5," Vert said as they gathered. "Time to gear up for Lin's second key."
Sage was quite excited working on her interface. With the recovery of the unborn Sentient, she was filled with new hope. "Lin, which key do you wish to use next?" The keys hung before him, as the young man reviewed them.
"Sage, you do know that it is a good possibility last night's find was his biggest score?" Agura pointed out.
"Yes, Agura. I am well aware of that, but Lin appears to understand what may be critical to Sentient," she explained.
AJ raised his hand, "I want to go this time."
"We are not in school, AJ," Vert laughed.
Lin barely listened to the team as they discussed who would be going to the battle zone with him. He reached out and picked up the black key with a yellow star burst on it. In his hand, it made him think of thunderstorms, but little else.
"Is that the key for this mission?" Sage asked.
Lin handed it to her, "I guess."
"Let me see if I can find some information on this key's battle zone."
Vert nodded and said, "Agura, you'll be in charge. Zoom, Agura will need your skills."
"What, but I always go?" Zoom exclaimed.
Agura growled, "Zoom, if the Red Sentients try anything, I'll need a scout too. Your skills and Lin skills are similar enough to give us two solid teams, finally."
"Exactly my thought," Vert agreed. "And Lin has to go on this mission."
"Oh… all right," Zoom said finally understanding.
"I have some information on the battle zone," Sage said. "It is a dangerous zone in terms of weather."
"Weather?"
"Yes, Tezz. There is a violent lightning storm that never ends over the entire battle zone. Covering the land at key points are metal structures that act as lightning rods to protect travelers over the zone's flat lands. If you stay lower than the tops of the structures the lightning should not be attracted to you or your vehicles."
"Whoa, that sounds intense," AJ said and shouted. "I can't wait."
"If it's that dangerous, why did you hide something there?" Sherman asked Lin.
"I don't know," he said his eyes shut as he tried to remember but it hurt so much. "I just see lightning."
"All right, AJ, Stanford, and Tezz gear up. Cortez brothers, you're with Agura and Zoom."
"Sounds good. Good treasure hunting," Spinner said.
"We'll be fine," Vert said and pulled Agura aside before whispering, "I know you want to go hunting. I just need to go with Lin this time to be confident with him. If he stays grounded, you're leading his next key's mission. I'll be staying at the hub."
Agura was surprised, though she had led missions before this was the first time Vert wouldn't be there. She nodded, "I won't let anything happen to him. I won't let the team down."
"I know," Vert said getting in the Saber. He and his team drove out of the hub.
The battle zone was dark with a drizzle across dark land that was shaped like their salt flats. The team arrived and instantly cringed as thunder roared through the air and lightning leaped across the sky. Lin winced as he looked about.
"This looks pleasant," Stanford snapped. "Why choose such a place to come back to?"
Lin eyes went wide and he activated his gear's stealth mode hissing, "Shush, be silent." His suit and bike's covers darkened and blended the dirt beneath his wheels.
The team went quiet for a few seconds and AJ said, "What's wrong?"
"Quiet!" Lin hissed manually rolling his bike forward watching the terrain closely.
"Lin," Vert whispered, "What's out there?"
Over their coms they heard his whisper, "You don't want to know. It's hearing is very good. I wish I never saw it in action… The stuff is not far, but it is a tricky shot…"
"Tezz or Stanford can handle it," Vert whispered.
"Tezz, then," Lin said. "Come with me. I want to leave ASAP." He rode away and Tezz had no choice but to follow.
"Ok, was it just me or is Lin really scared of this place?" AJ asked.
"Why did he ask for Tezz instead of me? I've been at this longer," Stanford said shutting off his stereo.
"Your weapons are sound based, Stanford. That's what Lin probably decided with," Vert explained. "Now, quiet and cover the portal. Unless Lin or Tezz call us we maintain radio silence."
Tezz followed the nervous Lin carefully. Instead of speaking, Lin used hand signals to tell Tezz to stop as he checked a little ahead. The way Lin checked in all available directions before motioning Tezz to follow was nerve racking. Particularly, when he noticed Lin's hand was shaking with each signal. Whatever was out there must be truly awful.
Finally, under the safety of one of the structures Lin motioned for Tezz to come up beside him. He pointed up to a metal compartment in the neighboring structure, in a soft voice, "I threw it in there… it was chasing me… I didn't have a choice."
"What was chasing you?" Tezz asked. The team listened, eager to know what they might be up against.
"…Have you ever seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail?"
"Yes, quite amusing," he said and they heard chuckles from the rest of the team.
"Remember the rabbit?" Lin whispered, "It is that kind of wrong."
"He's freaking out over a bunny," AJ whispered. They looked at each other, not sure what to think.
"It wasn't a bunny… I remember wrapping the chips in tire rubber."
"Chips? Sentient or upgrade?" Tezz asked.
"I don't know. Can you get them quickly?" Lin asked searching the landscape.
"Yes, my electromagnetism will make this easier," Tezz said confidently. He got out of the Splitwire and used his gauntlet to increase the structure's ability to attract lightning to give him a decent chance to get up the other structure and use the magnetic grappler to snare Lin's prize without the storm getting in his way.
Lin watched the terrain and activated his weapons system. He pulled out the rifle's back end and Tezz saw that both sides of the bike had components to build a long-range weapon to meet Lin's needs along with the sword. Quickly, Lin selected parts for something that looked like an assault rifle. The ammunition was marked in Sentient for paralysis.
Tezz ignored the lightning strikes the best he could, calculating the best path to the compartment. He nodded once to Lin as the young man settled the rifle against his shoulder. He pressed the pedal to the floor and the Splitwire flew between structures and up the side.
"Hurry," Lin said focusing on one point in the distance.
"Almost there," Tezz snapped. "I just got started."
"Quiet, it doesn't hear us yet," Lin hissed.
"It's there?" Vert asked worried.
"Hunting."
Tezz reached the compartment and activated his grappler hoping to grab something. His sensors registered something the size of a battle key. "I think I got it," he said turning the Splitwire to the ground
"And it saw us. Run," Lin snapped and began firing at a small, tan creature sprinting towards them.
At this distance it was slightly like a rabbit but Tezz saw a predatory look to its movement. The chips were safe against his vehicle and he was nearly to the ground. "Grab my gauntlet and let's go," he shouted.
Lin fired twice more and ripped the gauntlet loose wires and all. "It's so fast," snarled Lin. His tires spun a moment allowing Tezz to get ahead of him. "Vert, we're on our way with company."
"We're ready," Vert promised, the Saber flipped out its blades. The Reverb's guns came out and the Gearslammer's drill spun into position.
"We're not staying to fight, are we?" Lin said sounding a little horrified. He turned slightly to fire the rifle again.
Vert thought a second and said, "Not anymore." The team moved away from the portal only enough to get some revving speed. They watched Tezz then Lin turn the corner.
Behind them and gaining was a fluffy little creature. "Kind of cute," AJ laughed and stopped as lightning struck the creature and it didn't slow down. The little animal bared its teeth that were some place between a cat's and a rattlesnake's.
"Tell that to the Vandal who got his throat rip out by it," Lin shouted. "Run for it!"
It was the first time Lin had spoken above a whisper alerting them all to the seriousness of the situation. Their tires squealed in the mud and they headed for the portal. The creature leaped and landed on the Splitwire. Tezz shouted as it tried to claw its way through his windshield. The body looked like a large rabbit but no rabbit ever had claws, fangs, and eyes like that thing. With a shot from his rifle, Lin shoved the creature off before they reached the portal.
In a flash a light, the vehicles landed safely in the salt flats. Vert jumped out of the Saber and reached out for the key. It safely closed with no sign of the furry terror. Lin quickly checked to make sure of that before lowering the rifle and knocking off his helmet to wipe the sweat from his face.
"How could you forget about a thing like that?" Tezz demanded jumping out of the Splitwire to get the chips. The bundle was wrapped in what was tire rubber, but the multiple lightning strikes had melted it closed.
"I don't know," Lin insisted, "I couldn't remember till I was there." He holstered the rifle. Then he massaged his aching skull.
"We will have to let Sage know to update her records about that zone," Vert said calmly. "How are the chips?"
Tezz shook his head, "I can't tell. I will need some equipment to remove the rubber to have any chance at recovering the chips in working order."
"All right, let's…"
"Vert!" Agura shouted over the com. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, it wasn't easy…"
"Good, Sage has a reading on Kytus and we got to go," she ordered.
"Right, Stanford with me," Vert said passing the key to Tezz. "Send us your coordinates, we're on our way."
The team drove together till they saw the other half of the team's dust cloud. Vert and Stanford broke off as AJ, Tezz, and Lin continued to the hub.
"Agura, what's happening?" Vert asked as he and Stanford joined the team.
Agura opened the portal and said, "He's attacking what's left of the rouge Sarks."
"Zemerik, we can't let them get control of him again," he said.
"Exactly," she answered and the team entered the portal.
Back at the hub, Sage waited for the three. When Lin stopped his bike, he began to take the rifle apart and put the pieces away. Tezz lifted the rubber-covered bundle for Sage to see. AJ jumped out of the Gearslammer and said, "That battle zone wasn't as fun as I thought would be."
"Fun?" Sage said always perplexed by AJ's use of such terms.
"There was this rabbit thing that Lin was terrified of," he explained.
"Which is perfectly understandable," Tezz snapped. "And it wasn't a rabbit."
"I don't understand. What do you mean by rabbit?" Sage said.
Tezz went to some equipment the scan for the condition of the chips. "Ask Lin."
"I don't know what it was. I never did," he said.
AJ shrugged, "It's fine. No one got hurt." Both Lin and Tezz glared at him for a moment.
"I need some air," Lin said leaving.
"Just remember not to be seen," reminded Sage and then turned to Tezz and AJ. "So what did you find there?"
"Sentient chips perhaps… if we can salvage them," Tezz said showing her the density scan of the bundle. There in the rubber were two chips as Lin stated.
Sage nodded, "This will be tricky."
"Is it ever easy with him?" Tezz muttered.
Lin leaned against the open door of the garage trying to think of nothing. His skull had finally stopped pounding and no one was hovering around him not that he minded that too much. The smell of the garage and surrounding salt flats was calming. Nothing was hunting or being hunted, which was a serious relief. To his annoyance his rebellious mind brought forth images of the past. He still had yet to see his father or brother, but he was certain he would handle them with his mother's help. It was the memory of Angela that worried him the most. What had she been up to since he had been taken into the multi-verse? Did she believe he had left her intentionally? Had she moved on and met someone else? Or worse, did she want to pick up where they left off and pretend these past two years never happened? He didn't need anyone to tell him that he had changed. Those changes were too much and too deep for him to go back to who he used to be.
Lin looked up to the sound of a car, thinking it might be the team, but it was a police car. It was heading straight for the garage and there wasn't going to be enough time for him to get to the elevator. Lin darted inside and selected the first decent hiding place against the sheriff he remembered.
Moments later, Sheriff Johnson entered the garage a gun in one hand and swinging his flash light about in the other. "I know I saw you. If you're one of Vert's friends come out. Darn kids," he snapped. "If they left their doors open they should get robbed. That would teach them." Lin remained silent and still, reflecting that the sheriff hadn't changed a bit in two years. "Come out! This is Sheriff Johnson of Handler's Corners." Lin rolled his eyes, hoping that AJ or Tezz wouldn't accidentally come up. Lin listened as the sheriff searched the garage. Without a com Lin couldn't call for help.
Finally, Lin heard the sound of several vehicles. Sheriff Johnson stepped out of sight. The team pulled in and Vert switched on the lights. "Who left the doors open?" Vert demanded.
Agura grabbed the battle key off the Tangler and tossed it to Zoom before checking for tracks. Lin leaned into her field of vision, signaled for silence, and pointed to where the Sheriff was hiding. She nodded and carefully stalked toward the intruder.
"Spinner, you did close the doors, right?" Sherman asked.
"Of course I did little brother."
"Shush," Agura ordered and came up on the Sheriff position. "Got…" Agura jumped back with Sheriff Johnson coming into view pointing a gun at her a moment before holstering it. "What are you doing here?"
"I saw your doors opened and some one standing there. I thought it might be a prowler, but I can't find them now," Sheriff explained and then pointed at Vert. "It's not wise to leave your doors open, hot shot."
"I know, thank you for checking, sheriff," Vert said politely as Agura carefully indicating Lin was hiding. "We'll take extra care from now on."
"See that you do," he snapped and left.
They waited, listened for the police car to start and drive away. They breathed a sigh of relief and Lin came out of hiding. "Still a fuse bucket," Lin said.
"He's actually gotten worse, believe it or not," Vert said.
"What happened?" Zoom asked.
Lin shrugged, "I wanted some air. Your mission?"
Vert shrugged back, "We drove the Red Sentients back and the Sarks retain their free will another day."
"Battle Force 5," Sage called over their communicators.
"Yes, Sage."
"Please bring your vehicles to the hub. We have managed to free one of the chips successfully. It possesses upgrades for your vehicles."
"Sweet," Zoom said.
"The other chip?" Lin asked.
Sage replied, "I'm afraid we couldn't save it. The upgrade chip is a fine treasure. Also, Lin, your mother is calling Vert's phone. I believe she may wish to speak with you."
"We're on our way," Vert said.
Author's note: As far as Monty Python movies are concerned, normally I don't like stupid comedy but the scene with the rabbit and the holy hand grenade was my favorite in the entire movie. How it worked its way into this chapter, it actually just happened.