OOC: Crap. I like, completely forgot about this. =o

Let me get a chance to read up on stuff before I figure out where Kaze's gonna be. X|

(( I should probably reply with something, since I WAS given a little something to work with...but I'll sit on it until at least Sunday and let somebody else take their shot first! 😛 ))

OOC: o_O Zounds! I thought interest in this had faltered completely. I apologise for not being more diligent, people.
To answer your question, the party is still in the ship, just outside of the glacier.

Heh, naw Rappy, I think everyone was kinda waiting on me replying is all >>

OOC: No worries, Silver. I think everyone was waiting on everyone else to post something. I had actually fallen into an RPer's block.

I'm glad someone else replied though. I thought it was gonna fall off the first page again.

"What do we do next?"

"I have no idea," replied Arikyrenne, who had overheard Kayla's question as she herself spotted the mechs. "Is there some way to find out if they're on our side or not?"

If the mechs weren't on their side, then they might be something the group would have to deal with as well, in addition to everything that was already going on with the Frizonians. Arikyrenne hoped that that wouldn't be the case, and that the mechs would either be friends or otherwise just let them be.

OOC: Not much, but have been meaning to post for a while now, so wanted to get something in^^;

Marcus cast a wary eye on the mechs. They had not budged an inch, at least since the group had taken notice of them. After a moment of silence, he swivelled about in his chair and addressed the team.

"These mechs are to be considered neutral until we ascertain their stance, if any, as operatives. Do not engage them unless provoked, and then, act only in self-defence."

The team nodded quietly. The scope of the mission seemed to be growing with every passing moment. Marcus swivelled around again and pulled a lever on the control panel. A gentle humming became audible. Through the windshield, a red beam was visibly projecting itself against the side of the glacier. Within a short moment, the heavily-piled snow and ice gave way to the ray's heat.

"Although this is far from the most subtle of entrances, this is also going to be our most efficient way of entering the glacier quickly," Marcus explained. "I will be opening the hatch shortly for your deployment. Listen carefully, for I will explain this only once: your primary objective is the destruction of the base. If nothing else, this structure cannot be allowed to remain standing. I will provide each of you with a set of high-yield explosives. You must set these at various strategic positions within the glacier. When all are set and you have made good your escape, I will detonate the devices. Our secondary mission is the successful rescue of the five members of SONIC. From what we can gather, they are most likely being kept together in containment. The location of the cell block is presently unknown, but it would be reasonable to presume that it is deep within the glacier. Rescue as many as you can; they should have a good sense of what objectives the Frizonians have."

"That's it?" asked Dead End.

Marcus raised his hand. In it, he held a transmitter about the size of his palm. "For those of you who signed the contract, a means to keep radio contact with me."

And a copy of our fabulous home game, Jason thought.

"Are there any questions remaining?" inquired Marcus. "Speak now, for we are approaching zero-hour."

IC:
Kayla mulled over the mission information Marcus had given the group of forumers.

"This will either end really good, or really bad for us," she said.

Dead End gave her a reassuring beep.

"I suppose it will be sort of fun," she admitted.

She glanced down at her fusion cannon and nodded with satisfaction at seeing the energy level reading 100%.

"Hey, Dead End," she asked, "You brought along a couple of spare energon cubes, didn't you?"

Dead End nodded and produced a pair of glowing cubes.

"Good, I may end up needing them if I run out of power."

Dead End stuffed the cubes back into his subspace pocket.

"Here goes nothing."

OOC:
Are there going to be groups or is it every forumer for himself?

OOC: My inclination is toward groups; for better or worse considering the number of active participants still left. However, it's up to you.

OOC:
Either way is fine with me.

Gyser glanced around the ship once more, mentally making notes on everyone he saw. Alexia and Saffron stood next to him, one on each side.

"Uncle Gyser..." Saffron whispered. "I don't wanna be here any more. I want to go home."

Gyser gently placed a hand on the young hedgehogs shoulder. "Unfortunately you're stuck here now kid. But don't worry. I'm here. Ain't nothing bad gonna happen to ya' while I'm around." The fluroscent one flashed a huge grin at his nephew, which seemed to settle him slightly. "Besides, Alexia's here and she'll protect you too."

Alexia nodded, while silently thinking to herself, "I don't want to be here either. Last time we were in a situation like this we lost mum. I don't want to lose either of you two as well... You told us to run if something went wrong... Well you better run too, dammit!"

Alexia grabbed tightly on to her uncle. Placing his other hand on her shoulder, Gyser spoke up. "I assume we'll be splitting up in to smaller groups? You know, based on specialities and all that?"

Marcus turned to the neon green hedgehog and nodded in affirmation. "It would be to your benefit to do so. However, I shall leave such trifling details to your judgment. Whatever the case may be, I advise you to decide upon this quickly."

With that, he reached for the switch to open the Raker's doors. "I wish you the best of luck."

Jason lifted his mobile to his ear again and said, "Well, Captain, it looks like we're about to go in; the plan's as rudimentary as you could imagine, but I don't think we have the time to deliberate on this."

Ash noted the trace of unhappiness in his friend's voice and replied, "She's fine, Jase--I'm sure of it."

"You're right. Listen, do us a favour: see if you can't distract our frigid friends from our entry with a little firepower on the other side of the glacier, eh?"

The fox grinned widely. "I think that can be arranged."

After negating his impulse to follow Redley, Mobius had set the X-wing down in a small out-of-reach area, near a small unused cave of ice...the cold temperature was unpleasant, but he could tolerate it, since he was equipped for such an occasion. Now was a case of biding his time and letting things play out for a while. He wasn't sure if the place was on any patrol listings, of course, but there were no footprints in the snow according to general scanners and no signs of previous approach. It was probably inconsequential for the invading forces to have used this space in any way, and were probably only loosely monitoring the general perimeter nearest to them at best.

His monitoring equipment had picked up the radio frequancy of the ship that had arrived...and was quietly tapping into their radio broadcasts to get a vague idea of what was going on. It wouldn't be too hard to detect his presence if they realised something was listening in, but given they knew who he was it was unlikely he'd meet resistance. It would completely derail him being the surprise backup, of course, but so be it if it occured.

With him in place watching from behind, and as the Raker currently debating the stance of the mystery mechs, things were beginning to get interesting...but there was too much at stake to really enjoy the most of it. The game had begun...like it or not.

IC:
"I think that can be arranged."
As the words left his lips, Ash turned in his seat towards the ship's flight controls. "Dizzy?" he said. A disembodied, sprightly female voice answered from somewhere over his head.
"Uh-huh?"
"I'm taking control."
"Okei~!"
"Captain?" Jason's voice carried a note of confusion. "Have you someone up there with you?"
"Ah? Oh, no, that's just the Delta's AI. It needed a bit more... character."
"...character... right. Well, it looks like we're going in. Good luck to us both."
"Amen to that. One distraction comin' right up!"
With that, there came a screeching roar from overhead, as the huge sleek black shape of the Delta Infiltrator burst through the clouds bristling with plasma cannon fire. The glacier lit up all over as it's shield set about preventing the bladeship's cannon fire from piercing the ice itself. Ash chuckled with glee.
"ROCK AND ROLL!"

OOC:
Goodness I'm having way too much fun here. XD

(soundtrack: Angels With Burning Hearts)

Jason shut his mobile as he felt the first burst of chill whip through the Snow Raker's open hatch. The forumers were greeted with the sight of plasma fire barraging the glacier, prompting some of them to marvel temporarily at the spectacular explosions rocking the shield.

"It looks like we are being given a prime opportunity," observed Marcus as he distributed small explosives to each member of the group. The explosives were small, grey disks that fit neatly into the palm of the hand.

"We just stick these anywhere as we go?" asked Gyser quickly.

"I trust you'll find central control rooms, areas with weak structural integrity, and other invaluable locations to plant these," Marcus answered. "Now then, agents are go."

Jason sprang out into the snow and stared at the opening generated by the Raker's heat ray. He turned his eyes to Arikyrenne and nodded.

"Wanna be partners?"
***
"Hey, Boss," said Kane in his usual cheerful growl.

"What is it, Kane?" grumbled Leon irritably.

"I'm bored. Can we blow something up now?"

Leon sighed. "Kane, the Scope Head Gang will never achieve greatness if it always acts impetuously. These things take careful planning and consideration. It is a matter of principle that our first undertaking be one not only of great glory but of magnificent success. Therefore, it is imperative that we carefully craft strategies most--Kane? Kane? Kane!"

Kane's mech was already merrily bounding downhill and toward the Mobile Glacier with all the carefree joviality of a schoolboy. He let out a shout of glee as he did so.

"Uh, what do we do now?" asked another one of the gang members. Leon's teeth began to chatter.

"Blast it, let the idiot die," Leon snorted before folding his arms. He watched Kane's mech skip along until it was on the side of the glacier opposite the party of forumers. The mech sprang into the air, twirled about, and landed on its back in the snow, whereupon it started flailing its arms and legs.

"It's a snow angel, Boss!" yelled Kane. Leon clapped his palm to his face. That was when he noticed something suspicious on his scanner. It was a warmblooded creature retreating from a nearby cave.

"Easy prey," Leon noted. "Let's trap that little poor lamb that's lost its way." With that, the remainder of the Scope Head Gang proceeded after a certain Mobius Springheart...

Mobius had taken the time to make sure the plane was secure - he didn't plan on being out here too long, otherwise something or somebody may figure that there was a heat signature out here. The Black and Red Thermo bodysuit was by all means cosy in an arctic climate, but it wasn't made out of stealthy materials and would probably stick out a tad in all the cold on a Thermal scanner. It wasn't like the darn thing was meant for stealth missions anyway, and this was simply him making do with what he had.

He frowns, mentally noting that there was plentiful activity some miles away that he was vaguely aware of because of the Radio signature interceptions - wasn't much he was able to do for the moment other than scout the area. Of course, he'd brough along his trusty shotgun in case something unexpected snuck up on him.

It was about this time that he realised that he could SERIOUSLY do with a strong coffee and a cinnamon bun about now...ah well, all things came to those who waited!

The blast of cold reminded Arikyrenne to activate her AEGIS device, and she marveled at how much warmer she immediately felt. She shut it off again for now, though, since she didn't want to waste whatever energy it may use, not to mention she felt a bit strange not being able to actually feel how cold the environment was around her. Besides, at least this time she was a bit more prepared, with a jacket and better clothing that could help keep her warm. She wouldn't hesitate to use the AEGIS if it was needed it in the future, though.

She stepped out of the Snow Raker after listening carefully to what Marcus had to say, and tucked the small explosive into the safest pocket she could find. She took a moment to look around at the heat ray opening while the plasma blasts continued to bombard the rest of the Frizonian shield. It was then that she saw Jason nod to her.

"Wanna be partners?"

"Okay," she responded, giving him a nod back.

Inside the Mobile Glacier, the Frizonians were in, to put it mildly, a state of consternation.

Thermal scanners had indicated the arrival of several hotbloods outside the Glacier. That alone was cause for suspicion. Then there was the unexpected plasma bombardment from above; that had severely damaged the external shields. As if the day were not bad enough, a giant mech had run slap bang into the Glacier, causing a critical failure of the electric systems on that side of the Glacier. The presence of a tiny hole in the ice large enough to fit several intruders was the least of the Frizonians' concerns.
Jason and Arikyrenne hurried inside the Glacier. Jason kept one paw on the hilt of his longsword as he peered around in the frosty interior. Clusters of icy spikes hung on the walls menacingly. Though there were overhead lights in the Glacier, it remained quite dark inside.
"Ready?" he breathed. Ari nodded and contemplated reactivating her AEGIS device.
"Do you know where we're going?" she asked. Before Jason could respond, a beeping in her pocket alerted the both of them. She fished out the communicator given by Marcus and listened carefully.
"Marcus to all agents," came Marcus's voice on the communicator. "The two-way transmission system should be working fine. The temperature produced by the cold fusion reactor is reaching dangerously low levels. Everything indicates that the Frizonians inside will be armed and dangerous. One group should proceed to the central reactor and plant explosives there. Another team should move to find the SONIC operatives."
Jason looked at Ari and exhaled, his breath curling up in the air. "I'll leave it to you. Strike at the core or find the prisoners? Pick one and I'll follow you."
***
"Biff, you take the left. I'll take the right," ordered Leon, manouevring his gaudy pink mech around a hill and setting it to stealth mode.
"It's Butch, not Biff. How many times do I have to remind you?" protested the gruff voice of the other mech pilot on Leon's radio.
"Whatever," Leon said dismissively. "I'm sure that birdie will fetch a pretty penny when we demand ransom for him. Those dolts in Sega City hate to see anything done to one of their own."
Butch's mech was a black and red construction, and it also switched into stealth mode. Both mechs were now invisible to the naked eye, but would be easily picked up on any electromagnetic or thermal scanners.

It was with this in mind that Ash frowned when he saw the mechs on the move. He had temporarily ceased firing on the Glacier when Kane's mech flopped onto one side of the edifice, curious as to see what purpose--if anything--the whole snow angel bit served.
"Dizzy?" the fox said.
"Uh-huh?"
"Do a--hang on. Dizzy, do a heat scan in the area of those trees. I swear I saw two mechs there just a moment ago."
"Okei~! Beginning scanning!" Dizzy declared in a sing-song manner. "Two mechanised armours standing by in stealth mode containing pilots and one warm-blooded avian on foot."
Ash drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. "Bring up a visual of the traveller on foot."
He got a closer shot of Mobius moving along in the snow, apparently unaware of his stalkers. Ash frowned and considered his next course of action...

"I'll leave it to you. Strike at the core or find the prisoners? Pick one and I'll follow you."

Arikyrenne took a breath, letting it out slowly as she watched the mist that was formed by the warm air mixing with cold.

"Find the prisoners."

She had a tendency to be somewhat indecisive when it came to making decisions, but this time she was able to state her choice without much hesitation - if any - at all. Part of this was because she had already been leaning towards wanting to help rescue Modesty, Tachikoma, and the other SONIC operatives. And now that she'd be working with Jason…

He's probably worried sick about Modesty, though he's trying not to show it.

Despite how cold, dark, and tense the overall situation was getting, Arikyrenne gave a small smile, hoping that her response was a reassuring one for the red hedgehog.

(Just a quick OOC question - Just to make sure, did everyone get issued an AEGIS device, or was it just the people (or groups) who signed the contract? Basically just wanted to ask this since Ari would be less willing to reactivate hers if it meant leaving someone else (in this case, Jason) in the cold.)

"Then the speedy amongst us shall take the reactor." Spoke a voice from behind Arikyrenne and Jason. Turning, they found themselves face to face with Gyser and Alexia. Holding one of the explosives in his hand, Gyser grinned. "Make BIIIIG bada-boom."

With a puzzled look, Ari asked "Wasn't there another one?", refering to Saffron.

"Kid's not much of a fighter. We left him on the Snow Raker where it'd be safer." Gyser answered. "Where as my darling Alexia here can probably handle herself better than her uncle Gyser." Alexia rolled her eyes at Gyser.

"Enough talk. We need to get this done." Alexia stated as she looked up at the adults around her

Kayla took a long glance at the giant Mobile Glacier.

"Well, Dead End," she asked, "Do we blow this up, or find the prisoners?"

Dead End gave a short beep.

"You're leaving it up to me? Fine. We'll try to find the prisoners."

She cocked her fusion cannon.

"Let's do this."

The two headed into the glacier.

(OOC: To answer your question, Ari, everyone has an AEGIS device.)

Jason looked around before nodding respectfully to his fellow hedgehogs, Gyser and Alexia.

"You be careful, Gyser. We don't need to be rescuing you as well."

At this, Gyser laughed whilst playfully tossing his explosive around in his hands. "No way in hell they're going to catch up with me. Isn't that right, Alexia?"

Alexia rolled her eyes. "We should get going now."

As the two shot off in one direction, Jason turned around to look at Kayla and Dead End. "Going our way?"

The Minicon beeped again. "That's right. Anyone got a clue which way to go?"

Jason turned to Ari, who felt the weight of an expected decision on her shoulders again. Though not especially fond of the feeling, she was not about to let everyone else down. She began walking forward, uncertain if she were headed in the right direction, but maybe there would be a clue somewhere around the area.

For his part, Jason had his ears standing on end. Something was tugging at his intuition. The scarlet hedgehog kept his sword at the ready as they trekked through the labyrinthine corridors of the Mobile Glacier. Occasionally, he would swear he saw shadows moving behind the icy walls, but he shook it off as his nerves winding him up. Still, the nagging sense that they were not alone pestered his thoughts.
***
Gyser squinted, peering into the middle distance. Chilly vapours were beginning to build up all around, impeding vision. The corridor he was in seemed to go on forever. Alexia looked up at her uncle.

"Should we ask for help?"

Gyser removed his communicator from his pocket. "Why not? Hey, can we get a little hand here?"

Marcus's voice sang out. "It looks like you're going the right way toward the core. Keep going straight."

The two hedgehogs continued proceeding down the corridor until they came to a T-intersection. Gyser snorted. "Now what?"

"You have some more ground to cover before you get to the core," Marcus radioed. "It is still straight ahead of you."

The two hedgehogs looked in opposite directions. Neither of the two branching paths seemed to present any particular incentive or disincentive to be followed.

Jason turned around to look at Kayla and Dead End. "Going our way?"

Kayla looked at Dead End.

"Want to?"

The black Minicon beeped in agreement.

"Alright then," she said, "It's better than going alone."

::With the rain of plasmatic fire hampering their defenses, it seems that everyone had their opportune moments to complete their objectives. Unsure about the exact count of people he might encounter, Derek just stayed in the darkness of the hovercraft, long after everyone had left. Positive he had been forgotten about for the moment, Derek waited until that youthful hedgehog sat down on one side of the hovercraft.

"Guess its time for me to join the party.."

Marcus and Saffron both turned to look at the back corner. Surely there couldn't be anyone else there? A switch as flip from the Marcus seat, causing a light to illuminate that section of the cabin. Sure enough, nothing was there. Saffron stood up, a bit nervous about hearing random voices from the darkness.

"You sure that wasn't you Marcus"

"Positive. If anyone is in here, please identify yourself." Marcus stood out of the piloting chair and looked over to where he kept a few personal items for situations like this. Opening the top drawer, he immediately noticed that a disc was missing from the explosives he had handed out. That left him very uneasy. Immediately, he went back to the communication device- and radio'ed Gyser and Alexis.

----

Standing out in the blistering cold was definitely unacceptable. Derek took the moment in though, as all the chaos moments before seemed to evaporate and all your could hear was silence. Realizing that sticking around would get him caught on sensors-the shadowy being quickly evaporated in a puff of smoke. He had ground to cover.

Realizing he could prolly travel faster if he slid through the shadows, Derek quickly found a small dark spot from which to enter. But glaciers were weird in that way. Since they were highly reflective surfaces, the ability to hide within the darkness seemed limited. Since he chose a more intangible form, he looks like a shadowy gas moving through the walls. Voices soon became apparent, and Derek reformed outside of a certain glacial hallway. He leaned in close, barely making out a hint of red. Since he was still unwilling to fully reform, he imagined the person on the other side of the wall may have saw him as just a strange movement of darkness.

He left there, to ensure that he wasn't spotted. His solo trip however was not lending any new knowledge about the Frizonians. He needed to find a control center, and fast. It was then that he made a left, and found himself in a vapor heavy tunnel. The footsteps he heard before were now coming closer, and instantly, Derek mimicked the soft wispy appearance of the chilly air.

Gyser squinted, peering into the middle distance. Chilly vapours were beginning to build up all around, impeding vision. The corridor he was in seemed to go on forever. Alexia looked up at her uncle.

"Should we ask for help?"

Gyser removed his communicator from his pocket. "Why not? Hey, can we get a little hand here?"

Marcus's voice sang out. "It looks like you're going the right way toward the core. Keep going straight."

The two hedgehogs continued proceeding down the corridor until they came to a T-intersection. Gyser snorted. "Now what?"

"You have some more ground to cover before you get to the core," Marcus radioed. "It is still straight ahead of you."

The two hedgehogs looked in opposite directions. Neither of the two branching paths seemed to present any particular incentive or disincentive to be followed. Alexis then turned, noting the one strange dark swath of vapour rising up near the left tunnel. She leaned back a step-positive that for a split second, there was a face within the vapour-watching her, watching them.

OOC: I'm BAAA-AAAACK N_N! And I'm allz caught up!!!!

Jason suddenly hesitated. Kayla looked at him.

"What is it?" she whispered, her pulse quickening. Ari stopped and turned around when she heard Kayla.

"I've got a terrible feeling about what's waiting for us round the next corner," the hedgehog answered. He drew his longsword and gestured for silence. Kayla, Ari, and Dead End watched him cautiously advance toward the point where the corridor bent at a blind turn. He whipped his longsword through the air, letting it carve a neat arc in the sight of whatever might have been awaiting them around the corner. When nothing happened, Jason allowed himself to relax a bit. The others visibly relaxed as well.

"So you were getting us worked up for nothing?" Dead End chimed in. Jason looked slightly apologetic.

"It's not often that my sense of impending danger leads me astray," he muttered as he turned to round the corner. He gave a yelp when he did and was yanked out of sight, disappearing around the corner.

Kayla, Dead End, and Ari stared as Jason disappeared around the corner.

"Should we see where he went?" asked Ari, panic creeping into her voice.

"Well, it's never a good idea in the movies," said Kayla.

Dead End gave her a cheerful beep.

"Though DE has a point," she said, "The people in movies don't have a Minicon that transforms into a cannon. You'll check it out then?"

Dead End answered by immediately transforming into his alt mode. He round the corner, shooting as he went.

Arikyrenne continued on down the icy corridor, hoping that she was leading the group in the right direction, or at least towards something that could point them that way. She had resumed her tigress form back near the entrance of the glacier to help deal with the cold, but even then found that the cold was getting too distracting - something that definitely wasn't needed on a mission like this - so she had finally decided to flip her AEGIS device back on as well.

Her ears perked and swiveled back towards the others, followed by the rest of her, when she heard Kayla ask about Rapid's sudden hesitation. After hearing his explanation, she watched, holding her breath, as he went forward to see if the coast was clear.

A jump and small yelp came from her when Jason was suddenly pulled around the bend, and she stared at the spot where the red hedgehog had been standing just a few moments ago.

"Should we see where he went?" she asked, panic creeping into her voice even as she tried to stay as calm as she could.

Upon hearing Kayla's and Dead End's responses, she stepped out of the way as the minicon immediately transformed and rounded the bend.

Arikyrenne waited tensely as she moved a bit closer towards where the edge of the wall turned at the corner, listening intently for what kind of reaction Dead End's shooting would bring about.

Come on. Please let Jason be okay, she thought, trying to figure out what to do if something bad did happen to him.

{{ Owing to unavoidable offline owing to moving, I shall be AWL for a couple weeks up to a month. >>; I'll post again when I get back, I SWEEEARZORZ! }}

Alexia took a small step back, grabbing Gysers wrist to gain his attention.

"Uncle Gyser..." The small girl began.

"There's someone there, right?" The hedgehog answered, still looking down the other corridor.

"There's someone th..." Alexia silenced herself when her uncles words sank in.

Without turning, Gyser issued a challenge. "You better be friend, because I'd hate to think what would happen to you if you were foe..."

Dead End charged around the corner, blasting at anything foolish enough to be in his line of fire. In the course of his charge, he was quite surprised to find a large robot with oversized hands swinging Jason around like a cheap ragdoll. Dead End's shots punctured the rivets holding together the robot's metal plating and it fell apart with a crash not unlike the sound of a heavy metal band falling down a flight of stairs.

"Are you alright?" asked Kayla, looking over at Jason,who had been slung into a wall. The hedgehog rolled up into a sitting position and nodded.

"Blighter caught me off-guard. Was hardly expecting the Frizonians to be going around with giant robots in their employ," he muttered. It was then that the group heard a moan from amidst the wreckage of the robot. Ari and Kayla cleared away some of the debris to find a young man in the heap of junk.

"What the...? Who are you?" Kayla enquired, both perplexed and astounded. The young man's head bobbed forward before he moaned, "Robotic machine...ancient technology..."

Jason, Ari, Kayla, and Dead End--who was assuming his usual form again--all stared vacantly at this man and tried to absorb his cryptic statement. Jason approached and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, come on. What's your name?"

After some swaying, the young man blurted, "ID 24601--SONIC Agent Phoenix Reed."

"Marcus to Arikyrenne," chirped Ari's communicator. "Is everything copasetic? Over."

"ID 24601--SONIC Agent Phoenix Reed."

Kayla stared at the young man who'd said he was a SONIC agent.

"What would a SONIC agent be doing in a Frizonian robot?" she asked.

"That's entirely up to you, flourescent one"

That last part came out in a gutteral hiss, as Gyser and Alicia took a step back. The vapour seemed to try and coagulate, but all that could be made out was an enormous eyeball, still translucent. The ocular gazed left, and right, pulsing with a strange power that reeked of otherworldly forces. Seeing nothing of interest, the eyeball focused back on the duo, before slowly fading away-back into vapour.

"These icy foes are headed this way, on a routine perimeter check. I suggest...you make a choice. I'll see you again when the time is right."

The black vapor moved on, toward an actual icy vapor. The two streams intermingled, until the tint of darkness was almost all gone.

"Colonel Gelidus, what are we going to do?" wailed a Frizonian in the upper control room of the Mobile Glacier. A slightly overweight Frizonian was seated in a chair, staring at the wide array of monitors surveying the situation. Outside, a strange mecha was rolling around on the glacier's exterior. An assault had been launched from an unknown starship. Inside, contact with one of the hotblood-powered robots had been lost. Intruders had infiltrated the glacier. Colonel Gelidus folded his arms and grunted.

"Why don't we give them to Meh-Teh?" Gelidus snorted. The Frizonian twitched and turned around to reveal the incredulity in his eyes.

"M-M-Meh-Teh?" the Frizonian stammered. "Are you quite sure that's a sound idea, Colonel?"

Gelidus shifted in his seat and gruffly responded, "Are you quite sure that questioning a superior's orders is a good idea?"

The Frizonian squeaked anxiously and saluted before throwing a few levers at his control panel. Deep within the bowels of the Mobile Glacier, something moved.

Jason shuddered. As Marcus radioed to Ari to ask about the situation, Kayla extracted Phoenix from the rubble. Dead End beeped.

"He okay?" inquired the Minicon. Kayla nodded.

"Passed out," Kayla said. "He'll be okay."

Jason's eyes shifted about anxiously. A familiar tingling at the back of his head let him know something was amiss. "Anyone else got, you know, a feeling something bad's about to happen?"

Gyser and Alexia both peered into the shadows, trying to discern the talking vapour.

"Uncle Gyser, what was that?" Alexia tentatively asked. The bright green hedgehog shook his head. He was about to make a condescending remark about advice from a gas when both hedgehogs heard footsteps approaching from behind. A light shone out in the darkness and a voice shouted, "Hey, you!"

"Damn. Time to get the hell out of here," muttered Gyser.

Arikyrenne stared at the man as he answered Jason's question, but before she could say anything herself…

Marcus to Arikyrenne. Is everything copasetic? Over.

Arikyrenne fumbled a bit as she pulled the communicator out of her pocket - Marcus's voice had startled her out of her bewildered state.

"I…I think we may have just found one of the missing SONIC agents. Over."

(OOC: Sorry about how long that took for me to reply^^; Finals + move-out and such. Should be able to keep up with things a bit better now though. )

OOC: What's with Alicia and Alexis? It's Alexia. =P

IC: Before the approaching footsteps had finished issuing their verbal challenge, both Gyser and Alexia were speeding off in the other direction, hoping to gain some distance and formulate a plan. Gyser picked up Alexia and chucked her on his back so they could travel faster. The two made their way deeper into the glacier, Alexia hoping that they found their target quickly and that the others were doing well in their search...

OOC: What's with Alicia and Alexis? It's Alexia. =P

OOC: *edits* You saw nothing, I tell you. Nothing!

IC: Dead End chirped, "Maybe they put him in the robot to keep him from freezing to death."

Kayla shook her head. "You really think these aliens are the type to care about how cold the rest of us feel?"

"Just a thought."

"A SONIC agent? State his name," insisted Marcus on Ari's communicator.

"Phoenix Reed," she answered. "Number 24601."

For a moment, only the clacking of a keyboard could be heard from Marcus's end. Then, he said, "Good work. Found any others with him?"

"No. It was just him in the robot."

Marcus hesitated, rather uncharacteristically. "...the robot?"

"He was in a robot that we managed to free him from."

After a pause, Marcus replied, "Unusual. I advise you be prompt about finding the remaining agents then. They may also be imprisoned in robots."

For his part, Jason did not mind that his question had gone unanswered. He was not particularly thrilled at the prospect of someone else sharing his dread. The scarlet hedgehog was up on his feet and glanced down the corridor. A set of locked double doors awaited them at the far end of the corridor. Above the doors, a sign read Authorised Personnel Only - Maximum Security Containment Facility.

"Well, that looks promising..."
***
Gyser was barrelling down the hall, Alexia snugly clinging to him. She peered over her uncle's shoulder as they trekked further into the abyss.

"Do you even know where we're going?" she asked. Gyser managed a small grin.

"Of course I do. We're going that way. I don't know what's over there, but I know we're going there."

As he shuttled farther away from whatever guards had been making the rounds, the increasing darkness was not lost on the bright green hedgehog. Feeling that he had put sufficient distance between his pursuer and himself, Gyser radioed Marcus.

"Hey, can I get some help here?"

"It looks like the power has been completely shut down in that sector. There should be an emergency override switch somewhere nearby. Try looking for it," Marcus responded.

Gyser grimaced before looking at his niece. "Okay, keep your eyes peeled for a big ol' switch somewhere around here."

Alexia nodded as the two proceeded into the near-pitch darkness.

IC:
"Hmm. Dizzy, keep a lock on those cloaked mechs, and start scanning for a communication link to them. If we can get them on our side, so much the better. If they decide they want to make trouble for us, have the cannons prepped to fire concussor shots. No need to destroy what they've worked so hard on after all."
"Okei!"
With that said, Ash leaned back in his seat, a holographic keyboard appearing in front of him. After some quick paced typing and a hit of the "Send" button, a text message was sent to Jason's phone...

OOC: Alexia. Why did I mess that up. Anyway....

IC: Gyser and Alexia now found themselves in a situation where things were not quite their forte-stumbling around in the dark. Slowing his speed enough so they wouldn't crash into anything, the pair of hedgehogs cruised along, not noting anything of interest.

"You know, running in the dark is dangerous!"

"Is that a hint to slow down because you can't see" Gyser replied, But Alexia was right, just running in the dark would not help them. Marcus's little tidbit of info wasn't really the greatest either.

Gyser stopped after a breeze crossed his path. Looking left, he pointed for Alexia to get off his back, She stood behind her uncle and peered over his right shoulder, as Gyser pointed toward what he though could be a switch. He reached out and flicked it with his finger. It rang with a metallic clang, and something moved behind Alexia. The pair of hedgehogs turned and separated in lightning speed as a green light appeared and fired across the room. It hit the metal object Gyser hit and a panel flipped revealing a canister.

The hedgehogs watched from opposite sides of the corridor, wondering why that canister appeared. Gyser turned back to spot that green light.

"Gyser watch out!" Aleixa shouted, before she was instantly swallowed by the darkness. Gyser didn't even scream, he was off like a shot as the canister started hissing, and subsequently flash froze the area the green laser spanned across. Gyser stopped noting the ice wall now blocking their passage. But that didn't matter all that mattered was Ale----

-------------

Gyser landed on the ground, tapping the ice wall that he saw from only a moment earlier. On the other side was a mech of considerable size, but Gyser was already sizing it up. It tapped the wall, and then walked away, seemingly satisfied with its integrity. Alexia ran to her uncle's side and he quickly gave her a hug. His eyes then turn to the two blue orbs that were hovering around 6 feet above the ground.

"Didn't think you the helpful type. Guess you were the smoke we heard earlier."

"I'm shocked Gyser. After all the paths we crossed...." Derek retorted, his eyes more than adept at seeing the dark and all the secrets it held. "...why would you think I would allow any of you to be hurt before your time?"

Gyser and Alexia gave each other strange looks, but hey-at least they had another ally that could prolly see the switch they were looking for. Alexia chimed up right after Derek spoke. "Well wait, how did that mechanism work if there was no power in this section"

"Simple. Isolated power source. Defense systems probably made to inhibit trespassers from reaching this far." Derek turned, his back to the wall. In the immediate area, the was no switch, but further down held more possibilities. "You both can take the lead-as I might have to teleport you two again."

"Why does that sound more like you not wanting to fight alongside us?" Gyser said, grabbing her arm as he walked forward.

Derek cracked a creepy smile, invisible to the pair of hedgehogs. He followed after, instinctively sliding into Alexia's shadow in order to follow as fast as they moved, while watching for a switch.

...

While Kayla, Arikyrenne, and Dead End contemplated what to do with Phoenix, Jason frowned at the sensation of his mobile noisily chiming in his pocket.

Of all times to get a text message! This had better be important. He extracted his phone from his pocket and flipped it open. He arched an eyebrow as his eyes scanned the brief message from Ash.

"Ari, can I borrow that communicator for a moment?" Jason inquired. She extended her hand out and the hedgehog took hold of it, radioing Marcus.

"Marcus, do we know the status of Mobius right now? I think he may be outside."

"Mister Rapidfire, you are not authorised to use that device. Please return it to its proper owner at once."

Jason scowled. "You're kidding, right?"

"Protocol exists for a purpose, Mister Rapidfire," Marcus said. Jason could just picture the smug look on Marcus's face as he said this. With resignation, he handed the transmitter back to Arikyrenne and said, "One of you talk to this idiot. Tell him that Mobius is presently outside the Mobile Glacier and that those huge mechs we saw outside are tailing him. We don't have the time to spare quibbling on procedure."

"Colonel, the cage switch won't throw," said a Frizonian in the upper control room. Colonel Gelidus sighed.

"Then do it manually."

This idea did not seem to be the most appealing prospect to the Frizonian. "You mean go down there and open it?"

"You have another definition for 'manually', soldier?"

"Right away, sir!" said the Frizonian, trotting out of the room hastily. Of course, once out of sight of Gelidus, the Frizonian took his time heading downstairs. There were so many places he would rather be than tasked with the charge of manually opening Meh-Teh's confinement: at his mother-in-law's, in a volcano...

Leon was carefully stalking his prey in his pink mech. His mech crouched down, ready to pounce. He was just about to strike. Every piston and spring coiled in tension.

BEEP BEEP! BEEP BEEP!

"Gah, what is that!" thundered Leon. Someone was trying to send him a message on an open frequency. He sneered as a voice came in on the audio-only channel.

"Can you hear me down there?"

"Who are you?" Leon hissed.

Ash shifted in his seat. "I'd not worry about that so much as what I'd like to discuss with you..."

IC:
"I'd not worry about that so much as what I'd like to discuss with you..." Ash stated plainly. "Namely, the fact that right now as we speak, my bladeship's targeting systems are locked on the location of yourself and your comrade." he left a moment's silence for that fact to sink in, before continuing. "I posit to you that currently all of us have greater concerns than fighting among ourselves. Namely, that large frigid eyesore over there. You're probably not aware of this, and maybe you don't care, but that thing happens to be housing a reasonably sized force of aliens intent on taking over this world of ours."

Another voice interrupted quietly over Leon's comms. "Hey, boss! What's the deal with this stiff?" It was Butch.
"Shut it, Biff." Leon hissed back. "We may as well hear this gentleman out." Not least because, unless he's bluffing, we could get blown to bits at any second, he thought to himself.
"Alright," he growled back at Ash, "what do you want with us then?", completely ignoring Butch's protests regarding Leon getting his name wrong again...

"Well, first off it'd be nice if you could give the stalking thing a rest. That eagle happens to be a friend of mine - and I know for a fact I've got more firepower on board here than you and your buddies put together." Not that I can actually utilise all of it in a really effective manner right now of course, he internally mused. Of course, they didn't need to know that.
"And second, you might want to make yourselves a bit more useful in giving us a hand with throwing out the intergalactic trash. I'm sure you can think of some creative way of making their lives more difficult."
Leon's mech relaxed, and the cockpit pivoted around slightly as he took a look around to see where the bladeship targeting him was. "Supposing we help out, what's in it for us? The Scopehead Gang don't work for free, friend!"
Ash sighed lightly to himself. "Well, there's the feeling of doing something good to help out your fellow man and maybe even save the world..." He pondered for a moment. "But if that's not going to be sufficient, well... it just so happens, I do happen to be closely acquainted with one of the most notorious arms dealers this side of the galaxy. I could put you in touch, perhaps?"

A smile slowly spread across Leon's face. "Ha! You're playing my kind of music now. Alright, maybe we'll mix it up a bit. But you'd better hold up your end of the deal, or you'll be next in our sights. That, and if that place turns into a full-on warzone, we're getting out. Got it?"
"Gotcha." came Ash's reply. "Oh, incidentally, you asked my name just before. It's Ash. Ash Fox. Sega City Enforcer Fox and Moderator. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Just call me Leon, for now." Leon answered. "My compatriot over there is Biff--"
"Butch, boss!"
"Butch, sorry. And the idiot making snow angels back there is Kane."
"Why is he doing that, anyway?" Ash asked with a half-interested tone.
"Did I mention he's an idiot?" remarked Leon bitterly. Ash smirked and repressed a laugh.
"Right, right. Well, I'm sure you gents can figure out a means for putting the heat on our icy invaders. I'll leave you to that, I still need to have a word with my avian friend there."

With that said, Ash took a quick glance over at his comms console to see if Jason had responded yet... if he had Mobius's number to hand...

Arikyrenne took the communicator back, glancing apologetically at Jason. "Um, sorry about that. He was just wondering if we knew where Mobius is, since it sounds like the mechs we saw earlier are on his tail…"

While she waited for a reply, she looked over at the nearby doorway, and then back down at the unconscious SONIC agent. She wondered what they would do with him, since they certainly couldn't just leave him there like that.

(About to head off on a trip, so will be away from the net for a week, but wanted to make sure I at least got something posted before that (hopefully got stuff pretty much correct, since I don't have time to double check details atm ><; ) Anyway, cya/have fun everyone^^ )

Marcus responded after a moment's pause. "Very well."
Jason rolled his eyes. Marcus began rattling off the digits of Mobius's mobile number, which Jason quickly input into his own phone for storage. Ari smiled slightly, pleased that Jason and Marcus were no longer butting heads, but something else was troubling her yet.
"About the SONIC agent...well, we have him here and he's unconscious. I don't think we can keep him here..."
"Understood. You are with Kayla, correct?"
"Yes."
"I want the two of you to set your communicators down on the floor on either side of the agent and leave the rest of the work to me."
Though Kayla's face was a picture of scepticism, she and Arikyrenne both did as Marcus requested and stood back. Meanwhile, Jason was firing off a quick text to Ash containing Mobius's number.
"I hope this works," Jason muttered to himself.
"I hope this works," Kayla thought aloud.
A thin, multicoloured band of light encircle Agent Reed and stretched up into the air. The cylindrical light touched the ceiling and then contracted, shrinking upon itself. It vanished as swiftly as it had come, and Agent Reed vanished with it. The communicators remained on the floor, looking innocuous.
"Excellent work," Marcus's voice said. "The SONIC agent is here with me aboard the Raker."

Ash watched as the Scope Head Gang set to work drilling at the base of the Mobile Glacier. He was vaguely disgusted when Kane's mecha piled up a huge snowball and launched it at Leon's mecha, much in the same way a parent is disgusted after finding a child drawing on the walls. Dizzy called, "Incoming message from Jason Rapidfire~!"
Ash reclined in his seat, crossed one leg over the other, and rested his chin on his fist. "Perfect. Let's let Mobius in on the good news that he won't be shot where he stands..."

Gyser and Alexia continued their haphazard progress in the darkness. Gyser squinted, not quite certain where he should be looking for the switch. He came to an intersection of corridors and was about to ask his niece which way to go. As usual, things did not go according to plan. A light suddenly appeared and shone in his face.
"Who are you?" asked a voice, clearly as startled as Gyser was. Gyser turned to see a nervous Frizonian holding a torch and staring at him in wonder.
The neon green hedgehog scooped up his niece and bolted, grumbling how he could not even come up with a witty response to the Frizonian's question. He could hear the Frizonian yelling, "Hey, come back here!"
"Just my luck that the meter man's wandering around here now. Where's this damn switch?"
"What's that?" called Alexia from up on his back. She pointed to a red light against the far wall. Barely visible underneath was text reading, Manual Override.
"Finally, something promising..."

IC:
"Give Mobius a calll, Dizzy." Ash ordered.
"Okei~!" Dizzy replied happily.
Ash awaited an answer from Mobius before continuing. "Hey there Mobius. Lemme bring ya up to speed, and give you the opportunity to thank me for saving your ass..."

Gyser screeched to a halt in front of the switch. He moved Alexia to his back so he had his hands free.

"Let's flip this bad boy and see what happens then..." Gyser muttered as he reached out and pulled the switch.

... "Arrrgh! The correct response was "I'm the god-damm Batman!"..." Gyser thought to himself, lamenting the lost chance at something funny...

(soundtrack: Break Through The Ice)

The lights flickered on hesitantly. Gyser, who had been reflecting on what could have been a terrific witticism, breathed a sigh of relief.

"About time. It's bad enough around this place without being able to see."

"Shouldn't we keep moving?" posed Alexia. "Just in case the alien's still chasing us?"

"You got a point. Let's--hey! Well, well, whaddya know?"

Turning to his left, the hedgehog noticed a set of mechanical doors down a narrow corridor had opened. Beyond the doors, a huge computer mainframe occupied an entire room, at the centre of which was a huge blue-green crystal in a tank. Liquid metal swirled around the crystal. Gyser trotted into the room victoriously and held up his hand as if expecting to receive something.

"Give me that bomb we got," he said. Alexia handed him the explosive, which he emphatically slapped onto the base of the core reactor.

"There!" he declared, satisfied with his work. "Now we can get the--"

Before he could finish his sentence, an alarm began to blare noisily. Gyser's communicator chirped.

"Gyser, come in. Over," spoke Marcus. Gyser turned and stared at the narrow corridor through which he had come impassively.

"Relax. Just a little hitch in the plan. There must've been an ID problem or something. The Frizonians got wise to us."

Frizonians were swarming into the corridor, firing their freeze rays. Gyser tilted his head to one side, narrowly dodging the blast.

Mang, any time you wanna come out and help here, Gyser thought with Derek in mind.

Ari and Kayla marvelled at the warping power of their communicators, which they retrieved from the floor. Jason turned to face them.

"Right, are we ready?" he asked. Dead End put his hand up and said, "Were those doors open before?"

The others turned. The doors under the containment facility sign were wide open. It was, however, too dark to discern anything particular inside the chamber beyond the doors.

"I don't think so," Jason said. "Maybe this is where they've been hiding the prisoners."

His longsword at the ready, he crept into the chamber.

While Ash was waiting for Mobius to respond, Dizzy said, "Incoming message from Jason Rapidfire~!" Ash turned and narrowed his eyes when he saw it was the same message with Mobius's number from before.

"Odd," he commented. Dizzy responded, "Okei~!" to nothing in particular. Ash made a mental note to check on the computer's performance later when something caught his eye. A little ways away, a black vortex had formed. The clouds were swirling around the vortex and seeming to disappear into it. This was some cause for mild concern. Unpleasantly, the vortex began to spit out small, icy spacecraft. Dozens upon dozens of them poured out of the vortex, prompting Ash to grit his teeth. He was about to issue commands when his eye fell on the clock display. He frowned and reached into his pocket to retrieve his own mobile. Checking the comparative times, the clock display on the computer was about two minutes behind.

What's going on here? wondered the fox.

Ari and Kayla marvelled at the warping power of their communicators as they picked them up.

"Wow," said Kayla quietly, "Who knew they could do that?"

Jason turned to face them.

"Right, are we ready?" he asked.

Dead End put his hand up and said, "Were those doors open before?"

The others turned. The doors under the containment facility sign were wide open. It was, however, too dark to discern anything particular inside the chamber beyond the doors.

"I don't think so," Jason said. "Maybe this is where they've been hiding the prisoners."

Keeping one hand on is longsword, he crept into the chamber, with Kayla, Ari, and Dead End bringing up the rear.

"I hope there's nothing nasty in there," said Kayla.

OOC:

I really hope you don't mind me snitching that paragraph of yours, Rapid. I've been suffering a major block lately.

Arikyrenne tucked the communicator back into her pocket, still surprised - and glad - that the small devices had been able to warp the SONIC agent to safety. The newly opened doors quickly became her main concern, though, as she followed Jason towards the darkened room that waited just a short distance before them.

"I hope there's nothing nasty in there," said Kayla.

"Same here," whispered Arikyrenne in reply, involuntarily giving a little shudder at the thought, as well as at the cold and darkness in general. She continued moving with the group, tigress ears listening attentively as her golden-colored eyes scanned their surroundings, trying to pick out what they could in the low-level lighting. If this was where they were keeping the prisoners, or had a clue pertaining to such, she hoped that they'd be able to find some sign of it soon.

----------

OOC: I know the last time I posted said I'd be away for a week (which I was, due to a trip with my relatives), but turns out I'm going to be away again for another week (starting tomorrow) due to the typical family vacation trip we take each year. RL and other stuff has been causing slow postage, but definitely still here in general, and will catch up with whatever ends up happening once I return. Cya and have fun everyone^^

As the freeze rays railed into the computer room, using the actual monitors, Gyser and Alicia stepped back, pondering their hyper speed options.

"Things were so much easier when people fought with their fists." Gyser remarked, while noting his newly planted bomb was now beeping examined by none other than their friendly creepy guest. Derek didn't say a word, he just kinda...glided over to the control panels. Fingers slid along the keys and he hummed along with their silent chime.

"Ok, once you're done playing Mental linkup-we'd like to go before this place become a slushie fountain."

"Relax Gyser. I'm kind of hungry for ice cubes anyway." Derek eyes opened, and he lunged forth, passing both hedgehogs with a intent glare in his eye. His body began to break apart and stretch out, until it was clear that Derek now sported what looked to be tentacles instead of arms. The dark tendrils wrapped around three of the incoming foes and seemed to inversely suck them into the suction cups. armor and all. Guns fell to the ground, and the other Frizonians topped shooting at that display of grotesque ability.

That gave Derek enough time to force a shadow field the exact width of the hallway up. He knew it wouldn't hold-but it gave Alexia and Gyser some time. Reforming his arm into a standard humanoid form, the deep red eyes went back to their icy blue coloration.

"Whenever you two are ready to run, just blast through. I'll take care of the rest. Unless of course..there is more for us to do here..."

Ari's ears twitched, straining to hear in the void. Jason, Kayla, and Dead End all peered around in the darkness inquisitively.

"Do you hear anything?" Kayla asked.

"No," whispered Ari. "Do you see anything?"

"Hang on," Dead End said. "I feel something."

A sudden CLANK and a few dim lights blinked into life, illuminating what seemed to be a huge warehouse full of dusty crates and boxes; one might have recollected the last scene of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Dead End, leaning on the light switch, beeped indignantly.

"This is it? They call this a safemax facility?"

Jason's nostrils flared. "I smell something. Smells like oil."

Ari's ears perked. "And I hear something coming this way."

A thumping was getting louder, starting from a faint noise on the edge of hearing to a heavy rhythm. Three crudely-constructed robots with enormous hands emerged from behind boxes. Upon seeing the intruders, the robots shot their giant hands out like grappling hooks to snag the unwelcome party.

"Scatter!" shouted Jason, bounding out of the way of the assailing robots' hands. The others took off in different directions. Jason rolled behind a crate and held his position, trying to assess the situation.

A buncha robots walking around in a place like this...what are the Frizonians trying to protect?

"Yipe!" Arikyrenne dodged out of the way as the robots shot their giant hands towards the group, then quickly ducked behind a nearby box, peering around one of the edges to see what the bots would do next. Her eyes also searched for any sign of Jason, Kayla, or Dead End, since they had taken off in different directions, but as long as she couldn't see them, hopefully that meant the robots couldn't see them either.

Are these regular robots, or could there be SONIC agents trapped inside them as well?? she thought.

A small orb of psychic energy started to form in one of her hands. Whatever the case, she wanted to be prepared for the bots' next move.

(OOC: I sorta assumed everyone took cover for this post, though if not then that's fine as well, since Rapid's post only said that Jason rolled behind a crate. If Kayla or Dead End didn't take cover, then Ari just hasn't spotted them yet or can't see them from where she is atm -- after all, there's only so much one can see when peering around a crate^^; )