FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

“Focus…"

That was the word constantly being repeated in the young windragon's mind as he sat in the open field. His claws resting against his knees as he felt the gentle breeze brush through his fur. He could feel it; the energy that was carried within the wind slowly entering his body, strengthening him… Empowering him… Changing him…

Inevitably though, Shiryu's thoughts started drifting to how good the grass felt whenever he rolled along the ground, and that empowering feeling coursing into him faded as quickly as it appeared. He let out a whine as he felt the energy fading as he lost focus, opening his eyes and looking defeatedly at the ground.

“Dangit… I messed up again." He remarked.

“You lost your concentration again," said a deeper voice, causing the dragon to look up toward the larger, older windragon sitting across from him, his deep blue eyes staring intently into the younger dragon's bright gold eyes. “Your focus needs to be completely unwavering, Shiryu. Otherwise you will never enter the Sage state."

“I'm trying, Papa," Shiryu answered, pouting. “It's just so hard when there's so many things roaming around in my head."

“And that is why we are working on that today - to help you block out that external stimuli and have you focus solely on the wind alone," Shiryu's father answered.

“...What's a stimuli?" Shiryu asked in an almost innocent manner.

The elder Windragon was about to open his mouth, but quickly shut it and lowered his head, shaking it slowly and letting out a sigh. “...You are such an innocent soul, my son…" He muttered softly. “If mildly immature, but I suppose you can't help that…" He said almost regretfully before he started rising back to his feet. “That's enough for now. Let us return to our home for lunch. I will prepare your favourite."

Shiryu's ear feathers perked up as a wide grin crossed his face. “Oh boy!! Lamb stew??" He asked eagerly as he stood next to his father. The elder Windragon smiled and nodded before flaring his large, feathered wings out and flapped once, taking to the air with that one mighty wingbeat and began soaring through the air. The young windragon quickly followed suit, beating his wings frantically in order to rise into the air and follow after his father, spurred on by the promise of his favourite dish.

The two of them flew over the fields below until they reached a mountainous area, to which the two dragons ascended over in order to pass over it. On the other side there rested a valley between two mountains, complete with many fields that were designed for harvesting both dry and wet crops, as well as wide open pens for many different farm animals. Near the bottom of the opposing mountain was a relatively large cottage big enough for the two of them to live in comfortably.

The two windragons landed just outside the main entrance to their cottage, when the larger dragon stopped short, making Shiryu bump into him as he wasn't paying attention to where he was going. Confused, he tilted his head up and looked at his father in a confused manner, but when he stepped around to get a good look at him, he paused…

Shiryu knew the look he saw on his father's eyes, narrowed and furrowed. He was sensing something; vibrations in the air around the immediate area. Overtime, Shiryu started to sense it as well, now that his father had alerted him. There was a presence in the air, but even from up high, he couldn't see it. He could feel it though; something moving through the skies, but try as he might his eyes couldn't see it…

Until, suddenly, something shimmered. It at first seemed only like the shimmering of a heat wave, but it was nowhere near warm enough that day for such a distortion to happen. The shimmer was right in front of him, but just as he tried to summon his wind powers again, a sudden weakness fell over him. The windragon lurched, feeling as if something was just ripped completely out of him and left him feeling nauseous and unsteady. Slowly he stumbled and fell to one knee as he tried to acclimate to the nausea he was being exposed to, but the sensation was too much, and try as he might, he couldn't summon his wind powers either.

“D-Dad!" Shiryu exclaimed, quickly rushing over to try and help him, but he too felt the sake weakness wash over him, and the younger dragon clutched his stomach and fell to his knees, looking like he was about to vomit.

Then, it appeared. From the shimmering silhouette, a metal machine formed into being seemingly from nothingness. A twin-rotor aircraft, each rotor sitting at the end of two short wings in a strange hybridization of an airplane and a helicopter. As soon as it appeared, a hatch opened on the front, and there were a pair of thumping sounds like something being fired by pressurized air, and two objects went whirling toward the two

Acting quickly, the larger dragon pushed his son of the the way of the whirling objects. The ones intended for his son suddenly altered course, and with a metallic snap they latched themselves onto Ranshiro's wrists. The second items similarly altered course, connecting with his legs and snapping closed around his ankles. Immediately, Ranshiro went down, hitting the ground hard and eliciting a grunt as he fell, turning so as not to land on his wing.

“Dad!" Shiryu cried, about to get up and run back to his father.

“Run!" He spoke desperately. “Take to the skies and fly as far away as you can! Do not look back!"

“B-But Daddy!" The younger Windragon protested.

“GO!!" Ranshiro commanded angrily.

Shiryu flinched and whimpered, but he eventually did as he was told. He turned and stumbled away, still weak from the effects of whatever had stolen his powers from him. He could feel the effects lessening the further away he made it, and managed to increase the pace of his sprint enough to spread his wings and take flight, hurrying away from the scene.

Inside the aircraft, Adrian Broadside glared out the cockpit window as the smaller of the two dragons took to the air. “You missed!" He berated the pilot.

“I was spot on - the other one got in the way!" The pilot protested.

Adrian scoffed, and then turned back to look at the men in the cabin. “Five of you, deploy now - make sure the big one doesn't go anywhere!" He commanded. “The rest of us are going after the other one! There won't be any escapees today! We'll leave the Cyber here too - we need all speed!"

With that command, the side door of the VTOL opened, and six of the twelve occupants jumped out, rappelling down to ground level. As they descended, the bottom of the VTOL opened, and a hulking figure dropped out, landing hard on the ground below as the others landed. The rappels retracted and the rest of the team flew after the smaller Windragon in hot pursuit, rotors whirring loudly as they put all power into propulsion to chase him down.

~~~~~

Lighris traded several blows with Kyle, their fists glancing off each other as they sparred. The fight seemed one-sided, with Lighris never managing to connect a fist to the human. Kyle outpaced and outmaneuver him at every turn. Growing frustrated, Lighris tried a harder punch, aiming to knock down Kyle in a single hit. But in doing so, he overextended himself, and the former marine had his opening. He seized Lighris by his arm and twisted around sharply, throwing Lighris over his shoulder putting the lightning phoenix onto his front in the dirt.

“Gah! Fucking-!" Lighris cursed.

“You're tough, Lighris," Kyle said. “But your technique is raw."

“Hey, I kicked the shit out of two of your pals the first time I fought them, remember?" Lighris asked.

“If you mean Robert's crew, he was former US Army and trained his boys the same way," replied Kyle. “I'm a Marine."

“What's the difference?!" Lighris demanded. That comment earned him a twist of the arm, making the Lightning Phoenix groan with pain. “Alright, alright!" He yelled. “Don't need to get so pissy about it!"

“Maybe you oughta think before you open that big beak of yers, small fry!" Korban called from where he sat, grinning in both amusement and satisfaction at Lighris' expense. “Helpful hint! Never compare an army grunt to the best of the best!"

Lighris flipped his middle finger at the husky with his free hand before Kyle released him and allowed him to stand up. The lightning phoenix took a second to pop his neck and roll his shoulder before moving aside to let the next sparring partner step forward, which was Volcan. But just as the phoenix made his way over and faced Kyle, there was a call from beside them.

“Hang on, guys!" The voice of Ayane interrupted them, and the phoenixes, husky and human turned as the red dragoness, accompanied by Avory and Obsidian, ran over to them. “We've got an emergency!"

“What's wrong?" Volcan asked.

“It's P.A.C.E," Obsidian answered. “They're back."

Korban's ears pricked upward at the revelation, looking between Avory, Obsidian and Ayane before speaking up. “Yer serious? They're makin' a comeback?"

"Looks like it, yeah," said Ayane, turning to Avory to let him explain.

"I laid sentinels – like those I placed at everyone's homes – throughout the mountains to create a sensor grid, with which we might see them before they saw us," Avory explained. “One of them, north west of here has detected spherum energy signatures. Opening audio and visual feeds show what we believe is one of their VTOL's, and it's moving fast. It has already passed by another sentinel. Based on the data I have received, that thing must be going about 330 kilometers, or two hundred miles per hour."

"Wait, if you detected that signature, does that mean the Disruptor is active?" Volcan asked, fearing the worst.

“Likely, yes," replied Avory. “My sentinels could detect a unit of Spherum if it was inert, but it would have to be close. This one showed active energy emissions, so it is definitely active. As for who or what they might be following."

"If the Disruptor is on and the ship is going that fast, then they're in a pursuit," stated Kyle. "Someone's in trouble."

“Guess it's time to start playing hero again, eh?" Korban asked, glancing over at Volcan with a knowing smirk. “Or should we have you sit back and let the pros handle this one?" The husky further teased.

Volcan shot him a dirty look. "This is no time to be kidding around. If P.A.C.E is back, then we're all in danger. But first, we need to help whoever they're chasing," the phoenix stated. "Avory, how far away are they?"

"About ten kilometres away, heading south," Avory replied.

"That's not too far from us. You and Avelyn can get there the fastest; the rest of us will catch up," Volcan instructed. "Get their target out of harm's way if you can."

"I can keep up with them!" Pavan piped up. "I may not be able to go supersonic but I'm the fastest one after them. Safety in numbers, right?"

Volcan looked at Avory to get his opinion. To which Avory looked up and down the wind phoenix. "You can be our back up, but stay out if sight until we need you. Everyone should get their 'MACI's' on. Ayane also has earpieces for everyone."

"Alright. We'll be there as soon as we can," Volcan said.

“Better head back to the trailer and gear up." Korban remarked, already turning and trotting back to his RV to gather up his things and inform his partner it was time to move out.

"Rough terrain out there. That chopper of yours good for cross country?" Lighris asked as the group hurried to collect their gear.

“Bitch, please." Korban answered. “My baby's a custom made work of art. She can handle anything I throw at her." He added with extreme confidence. “I should know. I oversaw her conception and made sure every mod I put on was to the exact detail of my specs."

"We'll see about that," said Lighris before he turned his attention to Volcan. "Bro, I need to talk to you."

"Lighris, we're in a hurry here-" Volcan started to say but Lighris gripped his arm and pulled him aside. "Hey!" Volcan said in protest as Lighris pulled him out of earshot of the others.

They made it twenty steps, out of earshot of the rest of the groupd before Volcan pulled his arm free of his brother's grip. "What is your problem, bro?" He asked, annoyed.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Lighris asked.

"What do you mean?" Volcan asked.

"Rushing off 'to the rescue' or some shit," Lighris replied. "When the hell did this become your thing?"

"I'm trying to stop P.A.C.E," Volcan replied.

"Yeah, and we took up that fight to protect ourselves," Lighris returned. "When did other people become our problem?"

Volcan gaped at his brother. "Are you kidding me?" He demanded. "Someone's in danger and you just want me to leave them out there?"

"We're getting ready to tear P.A.C.E and their whole operation to the ground," Lighris replied. "Whoever they're chasing has to be a meta or something, but if they can't get away we'll just free them when we destroy the whole operation. We don't need to go chasing after them."

"Have you already forgotten about Natalie?" Volcan demanded.

Lighris rolled his eyes, groaning in exasperation "That hooker again?!" Lighris retorted angrily. "Volcan, how many times do I have to tell you it wasn't your-"

"Wasn't my fault, yes," Volcan cut him off. "I know that."

"Then why do you still dwell on her?" Lighris demanded.

"A lasting reminder of what P.A.C.E does to people they don't consider useful," Volcan returned. "They didn't take her captive, Lighris - they murdered her in cold blood! She wouldn't have talked - she refused to see the cops, but they did it anyway! If this person, whoever they're chasing, is just a witness or turns out to be less than they're looking for they'll do the same to them! Captured or killed – that is all that awaits anyone P.A.C.E targets, and I refuse to let that happen!"

"Volcan, you can't save everyone P.A.C.E has killed," Lighris reasoned.

"Maybe not. But I can save this one and I won't forgive myself if I don't try either, so get on board or get out of the way, Lighris."

With that, Volcan left his brother staring after him, surprised to see that his normally timid younger sibling would talk to him with such fervour. Something had changed in Volcan, Lighris could sense it, and see it even as Volcan began to arm himself with the others and start discussing battle plans with Vinge.

Something about P.A.C.E, and that night and all the battles they'd had since then had awakened something in Volcan… Something Lighris worried might put him in more danger. With a groan, Lighris went over to get some equipment for himself. "I'm going to regret this," he muttered.

As the brothers conversed, Avelyn – suited in her Blue Lightning armour, arrived. Following her was the Red Lightning armour, which opened as Avory approached. Out of the armour stepped a basic robotic frame. The absence of the frame allowed the young raven-hoopoe to fit himself into the chassis and let it close around him. The chassis sealed, encasing Avory inside, and the helmet lit up with his heads-up displays.

"Thank you, A.V.I." Avory praised.

"You're welcome, Avogadro." The robotic voice replied.

With that, the two armoured avians ignited their thrusters, taking to the air and flying on ahead, accelerating to supersonic speed. Pavan was quick to follow, creating a wind tunnel effect around his body to propel himself forward after the twins. He couldn't match their speed exactly if they were to go at their maximum but he was still fast, and kept the pair in sight as they crossed the skies.

With the speed of their flight, the twins soon came in sight of the P.A.C.E craft, which Kyle referred to as a Retriever. As previously assessed, they could see a figure indeed fleeing from the craft; it appeared to be a dragon by its anatomical profile - a rather large one at that. But it was unlike either of the ones the twins knew; it had wings, but unlike Rikyuu, their wings were covered in feathers, more like the two avians themselves than not. Furthermore, their body, rather than being covered in scales, was cover in white fur with highlights of blue along their back, silvery scalp hair – much shorter than Obsidian's, and two feathered protrusions through the hair, resembling ears rather than horns.

As curious as Avory was at the dragon, he shifted his attention to the familiar aircraft following them. Angling his approach vector, he raced up to the aircraft from behind, curling himself into a ball before hurling toward the aircraft.

The cabin of the VTOL was filled with a defeaning report as the ship lurched awkwardly. Inside the craft, the crew were nearly thrown from their seats as the craft shifted. The pilot gripped the tiller hard and tried to steer the craft back into a stable course while Adrian standing beside him grabbed safety handles in the ceiling to keep from falling onto his back

“What the hell was that?!" The orange-furred cat demanded.

“The tail stabilizers have been damaged – maneuverability has been compromised!" The pilot reported, and then both he and Adrian looked up as a silver and crimson form raced across the viewport.

Adrian seethed, recognizing the figure. “Red Lightning," he growled. “Light that bastard up, now!"

“Engaging target!" The pilot confirmed.

The audio receptors in Avory's armour quickly picked up the unmistakable sound of a minigun spinning up before it began firing. It angled its nose to ahead of him, trying to lead its shots in his flight path as hundreds of bullets per second were shot at him.

“And with all this tech, I am disappointed there's no laser beam" Avory remarked in his suit, speaking to Avelyn and the team, “I've got their attention, make sure our friend is safe!"

“I'm on it!" Avelyn replied.

Blue Lightning flew up and alongside the dragon, matching course and flight speed with him. She had to hold back her surprise at the sheer size of him – even inside of her armour, he utterly dwarfed her. She turned on the exterior speaker and spoke to get his attention.

“Come quick! Follow me! You'll be safe!"

The dragon jolted with surprise, turning his head to look at her. He seemed uncertain what to make of her at first, likely struggling to gauge whether she was a person or a robot. “W-who are you?!" He asked, fearfully.

“Call me Blue Lightning. I''m here to rescue you. Follow me!" She replied before peeling off to the left and down towards the forest below.

Seeing as he had not many options available, the windragon reluctantly followed after the Blue Lightning down toward the forest, tucking his wings in to allow for a faster dive.

“How is he?" Avory's voice chimed in her ear, over the roaring of the minigun she could still make out even through the sound filters of Avory's armour.

“He seems ok, he's following me to the ground." Avelyn spoke back to Avory only, landing in the alpine forest, between the dense trees. She turned and waited until the dragon touched down after her, finally getting a good look at him, filling her with awe and amazement at his sheer size, easily standing seven foot tall. It took her a moment to speak up, “Are you ok? Do you know why they were chasing you?"

“I-I-I don't know! Dad and I… W-we were coming home to have lunch, and he started sensing something wrong, but then we started feeling sick, and then he pushed me away and told me to run…!" He wailed, starting to babble on and on like a scared child, with tears already starting to roll down his cheeks.

“Shh… shh…" Avelyn turned off her voice synthesizer, allowing the apparently young dragon to hear her real voice and leaned in, offering a reassuring embrace to him. “You're safe now…" she reminded him, giving him the time to come around to her. Once again, his size astonished her, as she found herself unable to get her arms around him.

Despite his apprehension of her, he didn't pull away from the metal-clad avian. “I-I-Is my dad going to be okay?" He asked.

“We'll do everything we can," Avelyn promised him. “We have other friends nearby who will take care of him. Now, tell me everything about the attack."

“We can't lock on with the cannon, sir - he's too fast!" the pilot said. “The gun is overheating!"

“Then it's time for the backup weapon," stated Adrian. Rex had made a special modification to the Retriever when the techs had repaired it, in anticipation of an encounter with the Lightnings. It was only a one-time use, but he was counting on the target not being able to react in time.

“Deploy the Swarmer!"

A new sound reached Avory then - the sound of a missile being fired. Behind him, a missile tube had opened beside the main cannon, and the explosive ordinance raced out.

"Missile detected. No lock" a robotic voice reported in Avory's helmet.

"What are you doing?..." Avory pondered aloud, concern in his voice as he darted far behind the craft.

Then, the missile detonated mid-flight, scattering into multiple pieces. Suddenly, one large missile had become what seemed like a dozen tiny ones, each flying in spastic patterns as they shot toward him.

"Twelve lock on signatures detected," the voice of the suit alerted him.

"Twelve?" Avory asked, surprised.

He darted away, entering an evasive flight pattern to keep the missiles away. They tenaciously pursued him, smart enough that they avoided colliding with one another as they attempted to chase. Deciding to thin the swam, Avory turned and cut his thrusters, raising his arm and firing an energy bolt into the closest missle. It detonated with a small explosion, and set off a chain reaction in the three closest missiles.

"Huh. Not that big an explosion" he remarked as the other eight continued to pursue him. He ignited his thrusters again, narrowly evading the closest of the missles, which altered its approach to chase him again. “Fascinating maneuverability though, even for a smart missile." He looked behind him, seeing the edge of a forest rushing up to meet him, and he smirked. “Let's put it to the test."

Twisting his body, Avory leaned into a vertical dive, free falling towards the forest below before picking up thrust and speeding down with the missiles in pursuit. Darting between the trees, he stayed ahead of the missles. Some of them attempted to alter their course and compensate, but the confined space was too much even for their advanced tracking. One after another, five missiles collided with flora around him, but when he exited the woods again via ascending through the canopies, he found three more missiles still hot on his trail.

"You three are persistent…" he said to himself.

He looked ahead, spotting the Retriever making another intercept course in his direction. Then, he had an idea, and he adjusted his speed to stay just ahead of the missiles, but changed his approach vector to bring him above one of the rotors before he descended again, catching the wing with his hands and swinging himself under the wing, where he clung to the metal frame...

The pilot inside, monitoring Red Lightning's path closely, seemed to catch on to what the armoured avian was intending as he approached. “Commander, the engines!" The pilot shouted.

“Abort!" Adrian commanded, though the pilot wasn't even waiting for him, pressing a button on the console.

The three mini-missiles self-destructed before they could collide with their own ship, fragments of debris scattering harmlessly. Avory was dejected at the result, having had something far more spectacular in mind.

“Aww, come on. I always wanted to do that" Avory remarked, still clinging to the underside of the wing, still watching the smoke trails of the missiles.

“Wanted to do what? What are you doing up there?" Avelyn asked through the coms.

“You know the bit in movies when they use their own missile against them?" Avory remarked.

“Yeah?" Avelyn replied.

“That" Avory confirmed, and then turned to look at the door to the aircraft in anticipation...

"We have no way to get him off the wing!" The pilot exclaimed.

"Yes we do," Adrian returned, picking up his UMP-45 and heading for the side door.

The shooter was fast. Avory barely saw the orange cat throw open the door before before the bullets came; an orange-furred feline leaned out and aimed a weapon at him. He had little time to react before a burst fire of bullets thudded into his armour, using the momentum to throw himself over the top of the wing. None of the bullets had managed to pierce the strong alloy, one having even ricocheted off the armour's chest to bury itself into the wing, damaging the refractive plating.

Avory crawled across the fuselage of the craft, hurling himself over the starboard side of the craft where he ignited his thrusters again. He swept under the craft in a half-loop before reappearing below the open door. On approach, he reared back and fell at the cat, more bullets ricocheting harmlessly off his armour before slamming into the orange-furred cat hard, throwing both of them across the cabin and into the opposite wall.

The cat grunted as he was thrown into the wall. But to his credit, he acted quickly, seizing Red Lightning by the arm. Not to pull him off, but to hold him in place as his troopers, hastily extracting themselves from their seats and dog-piling onto the armour-clad avian. They wisely didn't try to use their firearms inside the cabin of the VTOL; inside, Avory heard the metallic thudding of knives striking his armour repeatedly, their wielders trying to find gaps in the articulated plates while also pulling him off their commander. But for all their efforts, not a single blade penetrated, and all struggled to even budge the metal man.

Avory ignored them. "Do you have a family?" Asked the synthetic voice of Red Lightning, almost uncaring of everyone piling onto him as he spoke to Adrian, his other hand keeping the cat from reaching for his sidearm.

"Wh-What?" The cat asked, eyeing the armoured avian incredulously.

"Do you have a family?" The mech repeated, unmoving to the bashing and clawing behind him.

Adrian could feel his fur bristle from his neck as small jolts of electricity found his way through him.

"I lost that right when I left the SEALs!" The cat retorted before he lifted his leg and kicked the mech-suited avian as hard as he could.

Between that kick and the multiple men clawing at him, Red Lightning was pulled off the commander, and they hastily threw him back out the door of the craft. But not before a huge serge of electricity erupted from their metallic body filling the ship. The Retrieval Team was protected by their insulated armour, suffering only lightly under the jolt emitted by Red Lightning. However, the less protected interior of the craft suffered greatly from the electrical surge, causing instruments in the cockpit to begin shorting out.

"Losing power!" The pilot cried as he attempted to regain control. "Engines are failing! Everyone brace for impact - we're going down!"

After the power surge, Red Lighting was in free fall, having been ejected from the side of the retriever. He opened his wings to try and catch himself and enter a glide until the suit regained power, allowing him to once again ignite his thrusters and regain altitude.

The whirring sound of the VTOL's engines faded as the craft lost power, spinning out of control as it descended. It seemed to be steered into a glide, but the wings were not designed to carry the weight of the craft on their own. It fell fast and gouged the earth where it landed. Several forms were thrown clear of the craft as it skidded over the ground, tearing up the grass and soil before coming to a stop.

"Red Lightning, status update," Avelyn then called over communications after hearing the almighty crash.

"Their suits were grounded, but the interior of the ship was not." Avory commented, "I've fixed that now."

“The dragon they were chasing is named Shiryu; they appear to have come after him and his father up in the mountains at their home. He escaped but his dad is still up there with some of them" Avelyn explained, “I've let the team know, and given them the rough directions. They're on their way."

Red Lightning flew low towards the crash site, trying to keep out of sight to inspect the casualties, hoping they had all been taken out of the fight.

No such luck. As he made another circle around the craft, he saw movement, and his armour was struck by a bullet as a burst of bullets was shot at him. Two more shooters appeared, brandishing their weapons and attempting to bring down the avian. But from this distance, his armour held strong.

Knowing he had now been spotted, Red Lightning rocketed forward towards the shooters, winding between the trees and the shower of bullets coming in close before twisting his body and kicking one of the gunmen into the other, using the thruster on his feet to blast them back, while cooking their armour.The two men went down, but the third, still up, fired at a much closer range. The powerful .45 calibre bullets hammered into Avory's armour, stumbling him under their barrage, though still not penetrating.

At that moment is when Pavan appeared. He rushed into view from the shooters flank, landing a high velocity drop-kick to the man's helmeted head. "Tell me quick!" Pavan sang even as the man dropped, attempting to pitch his singing voice to sound deeper than he naturally was. "Ain't that a kick, in the head~?" He concluded as he landed gracefully above the fallen trooper.

"Nailed it," he added with a smirk.

"Stupid little-" the shooter grumbled as he pushed himself up, his helmet having saved him from Pavan's kick, and he drew a sidearm.

Red Lightning saw this and collected a large stone from the ground, thrusting forward and launching the stone ahead. He stopped short, landing beside Pavan as they both watched the large stone come in with the velocity of a missile, hitting the gunner's hand and splitting every bone in it through the glove.

The gunner screamed in pain, dropping his weapon and clutching his broken hand. Pavan backed away instinctively while Avory struck the man with his fist, knocking him out. Then he rounded on the Wind Phoenix.

“Oof. Felt that, mate," said Pavan.

Avory whirled around, facing him. Though Pavan couldn't see it, he was sure that raven in the armour was leering at him. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be back up!" The synthetic voice barked.

"That's why I'm here! I came to back you up!" Pavan replied.

"I haven't asked for back up!" Red Lightning remarked, reaching down for another rock at his feet. Another gunner began to move behind the wreckage and poked his head and gun above the cover, but was quickly knocked out as Red Lightning turned and launched the rock from his hand using his thruster without taking his gaze away from the wind phoenix.

"You were taking a whole clip in the face there!" Pavan returned, gesturing at his own head for emphasis. "At what point did it not look like you needed hel- heads up!" Pavan pointed toward the craft, out of which stumbled one more operative. The pilot, judging by his clothes, carrying a compact pistol which he leveled at Avory.

As the bullet left the chamber, Red Lightning's metal wings wrapped around his front like a full body shield as he walked forward nonchalantly towards the desperate pilot, stepping over rubble. Even at close range the bullets did very little the a couple of scrapes as they ricochet off.

Once the clip was empty, Red Lightning pulled back his wings and reached forward, grasping the gun and throwing it aside before picking up the pilot by the shoulder and letting him hang in the air. One of his arms broken, seemingly from holding the craft stable when they crashed.

"What was your mission?" The synthetic voice barked.

"Kiss my ass, you rusty chicken!" He retorted, the hint of a Spanish accent in his voice when he spoke, before attempting to kick his captor in the face, though he didn't even make them flinch.

"What a very curious mission." Red Lightning responded, "And if I do this, would you leave everyone else alone?"

The pilot was confused at how literal the mech seemed to be, not seeing Pavan to the side trying to contain his laughter at the Pilot's confusion. "What the fu-? Did you short out or something?" The pilot asked.

"What was your mission?" The mech then repeated, gripping his shoulder tighter, he could feel his armour growing weak, and his bones aching below as if he was about to be crushed.

"W-Wait a minute! If you're an automaton, you can't hurt me!" The man protested, still believing Avory was a robot, but screamed as he felt his shoulder creak and crack under the vice-like grip.

“Do you have any family?" Red Lightning then asked.

"They think I'm dead!" He replied. "I served in the Mexican Army before I deserted! The Directive forged evidence that I'd died in a fire!"

Another military deserter, like Kyle and like the cat - Adrian, an Ex-SEAL operative, according to Kyle who was himself an Ex-Marine. “Good. So there will be no one to miss you if I kill you now if you don't answer me." Red Lightning assured, menacingly.

The man finally caved. "Alright, alright! We were sent to apprehend a pair of elementals!" He exclaimed. "They emitted properties similar to wind elementals - we thought we were looking for Wind Phoenixes but we instead found two dragons, living like hermits up here in the mountains! That's all I know!"

They had mistaken the dragon for a Wind Phoenix? Out of the corner of his eye, Avory could see a look of puzzlement equal to his own cross Pavan's face. Pavan, an actual Wind Phoenix - and an avian. How could anyone mistake a dragon for one of his kind? Although, Avory supposed it was true they were not like other dragons; he had only seen Shiryu from a distance, but he'd yet to see him up close, or take any reading about him.

“Anything else you'd think I'd want to know?" Red Lightning asked one last time to the man dangling from his hand.

"The other is being held back at their home with half the team plus our Cyber Soldier! That's all!" The man replied.

“See… isn't that nice to get it all off your chest…" Red Lightning then assured, before slowly lowering him to the floor. “Do you know how to get back home?" He then asked.

“I-I'm from Puerto Vallarta… I'd never get across the border," he said. “I'm declared dead, and I'd be charged as a Deserter if I went back now."

“Well you're a free man now." Red Lightning announced, “Go and start your new life, but if I see you around P.A.C.E again." he paused and pointed at one of his deceased colleagues with a stone lodged in his head, “You will meet him again in the afterlife."

The man swallowed nervously, but nodded in agreement. He slowly backed away from Red Lightning, looking between him and Pavan before he finally mustered the courage to look away from them. His pace increased to a run, and he left the scene…

“You should probably let the others know. I don't think Kyle or Korban will know not to shoot him," Pavan suggested. “Just a thought."

“You got that, guys?" Avory asked, having already changed the comms mode to group frequency even before Pavan had even spoken, letting everyone hear. “Otherwise we're all sorted over here. Might need Ayane to help pick through the rubble."

“We heard," Volcan's voice chimed in. “We're diverting up the mountain following Avelyn's directions now. Avelyn, can you send us an image of what Shiryu looks like? Just to get an idea of what his dad looks like - Ayane's ready to receive."

“Oh, right. Comms," said Pavan, absently scratching his ear.

Avelyn looked over Shiryu briefly, ordering her armour to take a photo of the dragon before sending the images of him to Ayane to distribute. “Ayane should have it now."

“...Oh wow. He's actually standing over Avelyn even in her suit. How tall is he?" Ayane asked.

“About... Seven foot," Avelyn replied.

“Holy crap, he's even bigger than Volcan!" Tsumé's voice chimed in.

As though on cue with the mention of his name, Volcan chimed in with a question. “Avelyn, what's his dad's name?"

“Shiryu, what was your dad's name again?" She asked him curiously.

“R-Ranshiro." The dragon timidly answered. “His name's Ranshiro."

When Avelyn relayed the name to him, Volcan thanked her before adding. “Okay. We'll be at their home soon. Pavan, come rejoin us - we may need you."

“On my way," Pavan replied.

“Shiryu. You have my word we'll do everything we can to get your father back," Volcan promised. “We'll drive off those men at your home too."

Avelyn repeated Volcan's words to Shiryu, to which he suddenly responded. “I-I wanna go too. I need to make sure he's gonna be okay." He stated pleadingly. “H-he's the only family I got…"

“Of course. But we need to be careful, and stay out of sight, ok?" Avelyn replied to the large dragon.

“Y-yea. Okay." He answered softly, followed with. “T-Thank you, miss robo bird lady."

“You're welcome, Shiryu."

The five phoenixes, three dragons, two Bounty Hunters and a lone human made their approach to the small, isolated homestead. They were impressed by what they saw, seeing the sloping hills covered in cropland, and producing a bountiful crop from what they could see. 'Terrace farming', Vinge called it - a difficult, but rewarding lifestyle. In his own words, it had allowed civilizations like the Incan Empire to thrive where others would have starved. Judging by the amount of crop they saw, it was enough food to feed the pair of them for a fair amount of time, and leave enough left for any livestock – if they had any, as they didn't know if these dragons were a vegan species or not.

But the otherwise welcoming homestead was made far less so by the five men patrolling the grounds, armed to the teeth with heavy weaponry. With them was an absolute behemoth of a humanoid, standing at the door to the house to bar any entry or exit. It was the first time Korban, Kieran and Ayane had seen one of P.A.C.E's Cyber Soldiers active before, and Ayane - behind her armour's dragonic helmet, shuddered.

“That is the most terrifying, ungodly abomination I've ever laid eyes on," she commented, speaking more to herself than anyone else even though her armour's external speaker was on. “What kind of scientist thought that was a brilliant creation?"

Volcan and Korban were lying prone on a dune, making themselves harder to spot while they observed the sight. Korban watched the patrols via his binoculars, though Volcan didn't require them - his eyesight possessed a natural telescopic function that allowed his vision to zero onto a target from afar. A feature all birds of prey could use when hunting small prey in a field.

“I got five men, plus the creepy giant," Volcan whispered to the husky. They were far enough away the troopers couldn't hear them, but it was an instinct that most sentient beings had - to be quiet when they knew they were in hostile territory.

“Yea, same. Judging from the gear they're carrying, the thing they bagged must've been a big mother fucker." Korban replied, lowering his binoculars for a moment. “Their pattern seems to be pretty basic, so we can jump 'em if we time it just right. The main problem is the big boy guarding the cottage."

“Especially since we can't shoot him," said Volcan. “If he's like the last one he's powered with a hydrogen fuel cell. You rupture that and it'll blow us all straight to the moon if we're too close. Found that out the hard way… We could hurt Shiryu's father too."

“I think I can sneak past him," Tsumé piped up, crawling up to lie between the two. “Maybe if I can get inside the cottage, I can free Shiryu's dad."

“I think that would be wise," Volcan agreed. “From what Avory told us, one of the operatives he fought wasn't present in the crash or the combatants, so at least one of them got away. There's no telling where he's creeping around. They may also try to take Ranshiro as a hostage if they feel cornered."

Korban snuck a glance at Tsumé after she crawled between him and Volcan. “Sure you got this?" He asked. “You fuck up and that hulk will be on ya like a moth to a flame, and we can only keep his attention for so long before shit hits the fan."

“We have to try," she said. “If we don't get Ranshiro out of harm's way, P.A.C.E won't hesitate to use him. Especially if they're desperate."

Volcan nodded. “Alright… We're counting on you, Tsumé, but be careful. We may have them outnumbered but we shouldn't take chances."

“I'll be careful," she promised, before she rested her palms on the ground.

Slowly, the earth beneath her parted, and the Earth Phoenix descended through the topsoil, the grass merging together above where she'd sunk below the earth, loose soil being the only indication that she had ever been there.

“…Gotta learn that trick somehow." Korban muttered with a grin before turning his gaze forward again. “We, we got the lay of the land and the tangos we're dealing with. Let's get Mr. Freeze's opinion on how we should do this."

With that, the two slid back down the hill, rejoining their friends and giving them the situation report at the cottage.

“Damn… that Cyber complicates things," said Kyle.

“It has to have a weakness," said Volcan. “Preferably one that doesn't rupture its power source and turn it into a walking bomb."

“It does," replied Kyle. “The central processing units are all in the skull. Left side is the combat CPU, the right is the analysis module - the Cyber can analyze a threat and adapt. The main control, however, and primary circuits, all in the spinal column, and the bones have all been reinforced with an aluminum-based alloy compound."

“Why did Rex go to such lengths to make a cyborg?" Obsidian asked. “With how little anything resembling human is left in that thing, why not just make a robot?"

“He wasn't able to make an endoskeleton strong enough to support the structure. He needed a human bone structure - heavily enhanced with growth drugs, metal implant surgury, and of course removing the brain to replace it with a combat AI core. All of the Cyber Troopers are also clones, grown in tubes and kept vegetative so that they can survive the surgery to make them into Cybers."

“Your boss is fucked up, man," Lighris said scornfully.

“Yeah, I know…" Kyle agreed.

“Can we destroy the CPU from a distance?" Rikyuu asked.

“You'd need a high velocity rifle, and be a crack shot - it's a small target," Kyle replied. “Otherwise our best bet would be to get in close."

Korban then cleared his throat, a smug grin present on his face as he regarded the group. “Well then, I guess it's a good thing you guys decided to bring along a hired gun than can literally shoot a bullet that's been fired out of a gun." He remarked confidently.

“…Thats an exaggeration and you know it, boss." Kieran replied plainly.

“Point being!" Korban interjected. “I never miss my mark."

“You can really make a shot like that?" Kyle asked, unable to keep the doubt - with a hint of hopefulness - out of his voice.

“Like I said, I never miss." Korban answered. “Just line up the shot for me and I'll end his whole damn career,"

Before anybody else could answer, a voice crackled over the comms. It was Tsumé… And she sounded worried.

“Guys… I got a problem," she said.

Ranshiro lay silently on the floor, his eyes closed and his breathing slow, but steady. He was mumbling something in his sleep, and he was actually drooling. Tsumé noted the large syringe on the table nearby, and was easily able to guess that the dragon - the very, very large dragon, was heavily sedated.

“What happened? Did P.A.C.E spot you?"

“No. I managed to get in the house," Tsumé replied, speaking lowly. “But Ranshiro… There is no way in hell I can move him."

“Is he chained?"

“Yes, but that's not the issue. This guy is enormous!" She hissed. “I don't think even you could pick him up, Volcan - he's got to be twelve feet tall! Maybe more. Plus, I think he's drugged - even if I could get the shackles off, he's not going anywhere until the sedative wears off and I have no idea how long that'll be."

“Crap… We saw that Shiryu was big but we never expected his dad to be a giant," said Volcan. “We can't get him out of there like this…"

Volcan turned to the others. “Anybody got any ideas?" He asked.

“I could try and portal him, but I'd need to be close to him in order to bring him out of harm's way." Kieran offered.

“How would you move him?" Lighris asked. “From what Tsumé just said even Volcan couldn't pick him up, and it wouldn't be quiet either even if we could drag him."

“Ahem," Ayane cut in. “I did design this armour originally for heavy lifting. Between Volcan and I, I think we could move Ranshiro."

“Kieran, if you could see inside the house, could you get us in unnoticed?" Obsidian asked.

“If I could peer through a big enough window, maybe." He answered. “It was a trick we were gonna try using on you guys the second time around at the bar."

“What if you could see what is in the room, through the eyes of someone already there?" Obsidian asked.

“...I don't know if I like the sound of that," Tsumé remarked. “But go on?"

“I can link your senses to Tsumé's," Obsidian offered. “You'll be able to see through her eyes as if you're actually her. Would that work?"

Volcan nodded. “Like you did when P.A.C.E first attacked Lighris and I. You saw them through my eyes."

Kieran rubbed his chin in thought, raising an eyebrow. “...That could work, in theory." He answered. “Though if I'm gonna be looking at the world in Tsumé's eyes, the drawback would be that she might feel the adverse effects of exposure to magic, and she's not a trained practitioner like I am."

“It'll only be your sight, not your bodies. She should be okay," said Obsidian.

“If you try to peek down my shirt, hairball, I'll hang you with your own tail," Tsumé warned through the comm.

“He also won't have any control of your motor functions," Obsidian added, rubbing her eyes. “Purely a link of eyesight. Nothing more. You won't hear what he hears and he won't hear what you hear, etcetera."

“Then I'd say it's worth a shot." Kieran answered with a nod. “And fer the record, Tsumé. I wouldn't dream of it. I'm not a perv unlike someone else I know who's been ogling you from a distance." Kieran cast a glance at his partner, who merely shrugged back at him.

“What? I can appreciate a hot babe when I see one, and DAMN, she's hot."

“She's also eight years yer junior, boss."

“Eh. Age is just a number, and she's a legal adult anyway, so fair game."

“I can still hear you!" Tsumé said sharply, though her voice was still low.

“Good. Now ya know." Korban answered with a smug grin.

“Alright, enough kidding around!" Volcan cut in sharply. “We've got a rescue to finish. 'Sid?"

“Doing it now. Tsumé, you may feel a tingle behind your eyes - blink now if you need to but don't close them," Obsidian instructed. “Look at the most open space you can see in that room."

“Okay…" Tsumé replied, still sounding unsure.

“Kieran," Obsidian began. “Close your eyes, and keep them shut - if you can wrap something over them, do so. We want you just seeing what Tsumé sees. Vinge, stay beside him in case he has to move - we don't want him walking into a tree or something."

“On it," Vinge said, moving to stand beside Kieran.

Following Obsidian's instructions, Kieran kept his eyes shut. Slowly, behind his eyelids, he saw a distortion appearing across his vision, until an image appeared in front of him despite his eyes being closed. In seconds, the distortion cleared, and he was in an unfamiliar room, standing over the biggest antropian dragon he'd ever seen in his life.

“Hooooly shit, you weren't kidding around!" The cat exclaimed suddenly, almost opening his eyes in pure shock. “That dude's bigger than a freaking Greyhound bus!"

“Can you make a portal big enough to move him through?" Kieran heard Volcan's voice asking him.

“Ehhh… I'll have to try, but I've never opened a portal that big before. I'll be put under a lotta strain just to open it, let alone hold it open for him to drop through."

“If you can get Ayane and I inside, we can do the rest," said Volcan. “We only need ten seconds."

“Alright… Here goes…"

Kieran held his paws in front of him and started slowly waving them in wide circles in front of him. Mystical runes started to appear around his hands as he began conjuring his portal spell, eventually clapping his paws together and spreading his arms out. A distortion in space started appearing in front of him, slowly growing bigger and bigger and displaying the inside of the cottage through a round window suspended in midair.

However, he was already starting to feel the strain of opening a portal so big. His teeth gnashed together and his arms started shaking as if he were trying to hold back a very heavy object. He grit his teeth, bearing the strain as best as he could.

“Go, go!" He growled hurriedly at Volcan and Ayane.

The phoenix and armoured dragoness wasted no time, running through the portal hastily and appearing in the room where Ranshiro was being kept. They turned him over onto his front, and took hold of his arms. Volcan laid one arm over his shoulders, Ayane tucked the other under the arm of her suit, and together they hauled the huge dragon back through the portal, with Tsumé the last one through.

They reappeared back by their friends, with the added form of Ranshiro coming out of the portal with them. They gently set him down, rolling him onto his side in a recovery position as directed by Kyle and Obsidian. With that, Obsidian began to examine him, holding his face as she studied the lax look he had. A bit of drool leaked out of his mouth, but his breathing was steady. She opened one of his eyes, seeing the way his pupils were dilated and how they barely contracted even from the light of the sun.

"He's definitely sedated," said the dragoness. "He'll be out for hours at least, but he seems to be unharmed."

"Damn! I didn't know you dragon fellows could get this big," Kyle remarked, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Most reptilians grow throughout life," Rikyuu commented. "This guy has to be hundreds of years old at least. But… Why does he have fur and feathers instead of scales? I've never-"

Pavan cut in suddenly. "Uh, guys?" He called, pointing back in the direction of the house. "I think they're onto us!"

Obsidian stayed by Ranshiro while the others crawled up to the crest of the hill. Sure enough, the five men were actively moving into battle positions with the Cyber Trooper at the front. They were coming their way.

"They must've noticed the glow from the portal," Kyle suggested.

"Looks like we're in for a fight after all," said Lighris.

Volcan put a finger to his ear. "Avory, Avelyn, we might need you here. Guard Ranshiro and his son while we deal with these P.A.C.E lackeys." He looked over at Kieran, seeing how exhausted the cat was. "Better add Kieran to that too - he tired himself out getting Ranshiro out of the cottage."

“We're almost there!" Avelyn called back.

“I can't find that ginger son of a bitch. He's not here." Avory cursed over the coms, “I'm on my way over now too."

"Alright guys, let's do this!" Volcan called, raising his halberd. "Pavan, get in the air - get their attention and stay mobile! Everyone else, spread out! Korban, Kyle, you cover us!"

"Make sure you know who you're shooting at," Lighris said in a warning to Korban before he followed Volcan, Vinge and Rikyuu over the hill, with Tsumé ducking back underground and Ayane bringing up the rear behind the phoenixes and dragon.

“Sheesh, someone's in a mood…" Korban muttered as he unslung his Steyr Scout from his back and lowered the tripod on it before taking a prone position over the hill, chambering a round and taking aim through the scope.

The five men in tactical gear started firing their weapons as they closed in. Rikyuu brought up a shield of hard light, deflecting any bullets coming their way. From below, Tsumé shook the ground and stumbled the five men, giving the others time to engage. Pavan raced across their path trailing a gale behind him, creating a backdraft that further stumbled the five P.A.C.E troopers and bought them the precious seconds they needed to close the distance. Rikyuu dropped the shield, and the fight was on.

Vinge was the first to his target. He unloaded a burst fire from his Uzi drawing his sword and striking at the man's weapon. The UMP-45 went falling to the ground, along with a finger. The man recoiled, howling in pain, before he received a kick to the face from Vinge, tilting his head back where the Ice Phoenix slashed him across his throat The next one was engaged by Lighris, who sent electricity surging into the man's weapon causing the ammunition to prematurely go off. The man's hand was mangled, and Lighris drove his other fist square into the man's face. Bones audbily cracked, and they were followed by another bolt that missed the insulation of the armour and went straight into the man's skull; he fell without making a sound.

One of the other men tried to flank them, unaware of Korban's sniper rifle being trained on him. The man's helmet offered no protection from the high velocity bullet, sending him straight down. The other two men jumped at the sound of the sniper shot, and that split second of distraction was costly as Volcan struck one of them with his halberd, cracking bone even as their armour held and forcing him to draw back his weapon for a second strike to finish him off. Rikyuu attacked the last one, creating an arm sword of hard light and running the man through without difficulty.

Thunderous footsteps approached as the grotesque form of the Cyborg closed in. Ayane intercepted, her armour servos whining as she caught its twin spiked fists and brought it skidding to a halt, though not without some difficulty as she tried to overpower the cybernetically enhanced clone. Warning lights flashed in her armour, showing that her arms were failing.

"Not good!" she exclaimed. "It's stronger than my suit!"

Tsumé intervened, sending a command through the earth below the Cyber Trooper. The ground softened at her command, and immediately the heavy cyborg's leg sank into the earth, causing it to buckle. Ayane pushed it back, and then delivered a mechanically powered uppercut to the face of the cyborg, knocking back its head. Of course, the nearly unstoppable cyber trooper recovered easily - a punch that would knock any normal man's head off wasn't enough to stop it. Ayane grabbed its head, forcing the cyborg to look to the side and exposing its head to the line of Korban's rifle shot.

“Aaaaand checkmate." Korban muttered once he had a clear shot at the cyber soldier's weak point, pulling the trigger of his rifle right after he spoke.

The bullet punched into the cyborg's skull. It froze in place, head spasming repeatedly, before it fell limp to the ground.

"Nice shot," said Kyle, nodding in approval. "Damn, I didn't need to fire a single round."

Above the battlefield red figure appeared, darting across the sky and coming to a complete stop as it hung in the air. A thunderous boom echoed around as the Red Lightning had arrived, he scanned around the area, seeing nothing left to fight, as he descended to the ground, towards the team, “Looks like you guys managed to handle it all"

"It was… surprisingly easy," said Volcan, though he eyes his bloodied halberd with some clear disdain, having taken a life for the first time…

“It is when you work as a team," Red Lightning nodded, then followed Volcan's gaze to the bloodied weapon, letting his eyes linger on it for a moment before returning his gaze to Volcan. “it's not an easy thing, to take a life… Don't get used to it. It's always a choice, even if you have to be persistent when asking them."

Volcan frowned, lowering the halberd. "Hopefully, when all this is over, I won't ever have to do it again," he said.

“That's the intention. Go for the heart of P.A.C.E and you will never have to worry about them again. Then you can leave everything up to me and the Lightnings." he reassured Volcan, placing a hand on his shoulder, smiling under his helmet even if Volcan could not see.

Volcan looked at him with a smile. "Thanks, Avory," he said.

Having traveled at a slower speed, Blue Lightning and Shiryu arrived after the battle was already over. Shiryu literally hit the ground running, landing even before Avelyn and making an immediate beeline toward the sleeping form of his father. He called out to him, shaking him, but he was answered only with a snore. The younger dragon stared, confused, clearly not understanding how his father could be sleeping, now of all times.

Sensing his confusion, Obsidian came over, moving to sit down beside him. "Don't worry," Obsidian spoke up in a motherly tone, her hand rubbing his shoulder in a comforting gesture. "Your father is unharmed. They sedated him, but it will wear off eventually. He's going to be just fine."

Shiryu looked back at Obsidian for a moment as she spoke, his eyes still wearing that saddened gaze even with her reassurance. “Why…?" He asked almost in a whisper. “Why did those mean men attack us…? We didn't do anything to them…"

“It's hard to explain," Obsidian replied, reaching out to rest a hand on his shoulder. “But we'll fill you and your dad in as soon as he comes around. I promise."

Shiryu kept staring at his father in silence for a time, the concern never leaving his face despite Obsidian's words. But slowly, his gaze began to harden, his brow furrowing almost to a scowl before he slowly started to rise to his feet. “…They gotta pay." He said softly, his claws clenching into tight fists. “They hurt my dad… They gotta pay for that…!"

Obsidian looked sympathetically at the evidently young dragon - despite him being a full foot taller than her, his personality suggested he was still maturing. She kept rubbing his shoulder in a reassuring manner, letting him take a moment to vent his anger before she said anything else.

"Kyle… Something is bothering me," Vinge spoke up, earning the humans attention. "Those men seemed so… Uncoordinated. When they knew where we were they threw all caution to the wind and just rushed at us, leaving them so vulnerable. I should expect better from soldiers. Why didn't they seek cover, or spread their formation out? It was such an uncoordinated attack."

"You can thank Adrian, and P.A.C.E's overall complacency for that," replied Kyle. "Up until now, resistance from the subjects we captured was light; element of surprise and the Disruptors made it so easy without their powers. Now, against you guys, they've kept failing, and these guys are faced with situations they aren't ready for anymore. Furthermore, Adrian has a bad habit of not promoting free thinking in his troops. He assumes they'll just fail if he trusts them to do anything without his guidance."

"So he has no faith in the abilities of his own men, and his low expectations become reality," Vinge summarized.

"That'd be about the gist of it, and he refuses to acknowledge his own ineptitude regarding it," said Kyle. "That day I rescued him from police custody, he actually threatened me rather than thank me."

“Sounds like this guy's got quite a superiority complex." Korban remarked as he came over, supporting Kieran by draping an arm around his shoulder. “And he was a SEALs guy too? The fuck was he discharged for, disorderly conduct?"

"I wasn't privy to that information but I'd bet you're not far off," Kyle replied. "He always claims he left of his own accord but somehow I doubt it."

“Are you talking about the ginger cat?" Red Lightning called over.

"Wait, he was here?" Kyle asked, looking over at Avory in surprise.

“He was the kind fellow who let me into the retriever to take down from the inside," Avory replied sarcastically. “However, he was the only one I could not find the body of in the wreckage. I think he escaped. I continued to search the nearby area before heading here, but I found nothing."

“He's probably gone off somewhere secluded to call fer a pick up, or to inform his boss that the mission was a bust because of us." Korban suggested with a scoff.

"Should we go after him?" Volcan suggested.

"He may be an arrogant bastard but he's still Special Forces," said Kyle. "We won't find him out there in the wilderness. Not without a proper tracker, and that ain't one of my skill sets."

“I've scanned everywhere for footprints, trampled foliage, the lot." Avory shook his head, “I can only imagine he dived out of the craft; maybe had a parachute, but I couldn't find one." He concluded, and waited in thought, “...We need to jump them. We need to get the jump now."

"On who?" Volcan asked.

"He means on P.A.C.E," said Vinge. "We've just ended the last of their their Retrieval teams. Our showing up here is going to clue them in that we can find them now. “And, they have to at least be suspicious that we know where their base is."

"How could they?" Tsumé asked.

"They may not be aware Kyle is with us, but we just intercepted one of their VTOL's far from civilization," said Vinge. “Or at least they know the Lightnings did - who's to say they can't track where the craft originated from too? Someone as overly cautious as Jacob Rex isn't going to take that chance. And," he looked at Avory. “There's a chance Adrian saw Pavan during your battle - even if he arrived after the craft came down it's entirely possible he was still nearby and saw Pavan's arrival, so if he makes it back to the base before us, he might warn them that we're coming."

“Then fer once, I actually agree with Stark." Korban piped up, his cocky demeanour replaced with a stern look. “We've fucked around and found out fer long enough. I say we take the fight to those bastards and put them out of their misery."

Everyone shared uncertain looks with one another, but they saw the logic in Avory's words and Vinge's reasoning. Adrian didn't have all the facts, but he knew enough that P.A.C.E would at least be suspicious an attack was imminent. They would start to prepare, either to defend or to run - either of which would make ending their threat that much harder.

Volcan was the first to speak up, his brow furrowed. “You're right. It's time to act," Volcan stated. “If we need anything else, then we need to go back for it now. Otherwise, our best chance is to get to P.A.C.E's base before Adrian warns them."

Red Lightning looked to the side in annoyance. “And here I was hoping to bring in the other Lightnings for this assault."

“There's no longer time for that, I fear," said Vinge. “By the time they get here, it'll be too late, even with their speed." He looked at Ayane, saying her name to get her attention. The armour turned in response, its LED-illuminated eyes shining toward Vinge. “Take Kyle back to your workshop, and get the intact VTOL - he said he can fly it, right?"

“Yeah, I can," Kyle answered for himself, nodding.

Vinge nodded back. “If you can find anything else we'll need, load it on. I'll fill the others in on my battle plan - I've already discussed it with Kyle, so he'll fill you in on the way."

“Okay," Ayane said through the speaker, looking at Kyle as he walked over. She put an arm around him, securing him to the armour chassis with the hands. “We'll be back as soon as possible."

With that, the armour's rockets ignited, and Ayane and Kyle flew into the air, leaving the others to wait for them.

“Alright," Vinge began filling them in on his strategy…