[Mission] What Once Was Lost (Blade,Puddle,Ice) [FIN]

[GunSniper]

The morning had come quicker than Rish had desired. Most of the night after the formal dinner was spent studying photos, in particular a new one she received after the party, and researching different events. The lack of sleep did wonders for her mood. Rish was used to never getting enough sleep however. Most of her nights in the past had been taken by missions and research sessions.

It was still fairly dark outside, the sun's rays were just barely visible over the horizon creating a golden outline of the cliffs far in the distance. Not a cloud could be seen in the sky, which meant another abnormally cold day.

Rish looked out of the window with a frown. She had been looking forward to seeing the new 'guards' fumble about in a irritatingly complicated drill. In fact she had gone through the trouble to think of rules to make it more complicated. However, her nights worth of findings were much to important to turn a blind eye to. Even for an extra day. What made this matter more frustrating was she would not be able to go with them on this mission to be sure they were on the right track. She had to remain behind to cover for them. This mission the emperor could not know about.

They should have all been up by now. "Eagle." She looked at a smaller draconian MRZ who was sitting on the windowsill watching her in turn. "make sure they are ready."

With that said she opened the window for the small MRZ to fly out of. It let out a screech as it took to the crisp sky. For such a small thing it was incredibly fast and would no doubt have the letter to all three shortly.

General Rish N. Pendragon

I have found some disturbing details regarding the photo of the strange ancients you posses. My own surveillance returned to the same area where the picture was taken and has found a hidden entrance to a temple of some sort. Perhaps where your friends would be familiar with it?
In any case, this mission takes precedence over your training and you are to leave promptly to the area I have located on the map attached. Tell no one of where you are going, this mission is top classified. Report to me when you have investigated this temple. Think of it as your first lesson in team work....

Order Signed-
Gen. R. N. Pendragon.

P.S. Should you have trouble finding this enterance, perhaps your friends can show you. I don't doubt they know the area well. Also, Be sure to hide your ZOIDs before entering. It is important no one sees them.

(( Another sheet is attached to the letter of a map indicating some location near the city, but far enough for some comfort. ))

From that point she had to keep focus away from their location. It may have been a safe distance from the city, but it was still close enough a patrol may find it. It shouldn't be hard to do in any case. Not with her new position. With that in mind Rish left to work on her end of this mission.

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

From the exact location marked on the map there would be nothing to see but sand, rocks and perhaps more sand. The capitol could just barely be made out in the distance as a dot with longer lines sticking out of it. At this time there were no patrol guards around the area.

The area was quiet save for a light wind shifting the sands about over the rocks. A the perfect way to cover tracks, even from something as large as a ZOID.  

[Blade Kuroda]

At the break of dawn, Shun was up and getting himself ready for the day's training. He had some mixed feelings regarding it. On one hand, he was able to further his skills here, but on the other he was still forced onto this squad more or less. However, it seemed that there would be a change of plans for the day as he received a note from Pendragon herself.

Furrowing his brow, he had to take awhile to read it throughly, wanting to make sure he didn't end up mixing up the words or letters as he normally did. He hated written notes for that reason. The visuals attached to the mission note did help considerably though. The soldier couldn't help but narrow his eyes at what these orders entailed.

This wasn't bound to end too well, between the fact that they were being sent to some temple ruins and the fact that the rest of the Empire was not to know of what they were doing.

Sometime later, he was out near the target location in his Saber Striker, seeking out an area to hide the Zoid, as well as keeping an eye out for the other two members of the team. He just hoped that the Princess would keep her mouth shut and follow Talon and his own lead in this area.  

[PuddleInk]

Tyrant wasn't too far off in following Shun...


The receiving of new information only made Talon's eyes roll. Cuddles was ordered to stay away from the mechanics hall and allowed to roam free, much to the dismay of the accounting and mess hall attendants. Finding the site was pretty easy.

It was now how to hide his monster from scouts and areal patrols. Talon had some tarp, but that wouldn't help much. He sighed and shook his head, admiring the view of the city from this distance. Though soon enough he found the Dark Zoid and hailed it in quick greeting.

It was then that it hit him; they were willingly going into ruins to search for something... meaning there was this chance they'd be almost killed. This was the dumbest idea next to chasing after a humanoid organoid or something like that. And they couldn't even tell their country too! This was just getting too much.

At least this time he brought a camera and Moe. Oh and a red lensed flashlight. That'll save his eyes from all this mucking about in sheer darkness like last time. This time he'll be more prepared! This time..he'll bring rope. Which he did...

"Any good parking spots? " Talon said over the commlink to Shun. The princess would be along shortly.  

[GunSniper]

Zutnic hissed from the back of the Saber's neck. "Zutnic not see why other meat sack has to come.... Master will be in trouble. Better not to have to inferior humans. One is bad, two is bad...bad.... even more. Zutnic okay to take out other human? Do it quiet...." He continued the grumbling. Zut wanted to make sure he knew his perfect in every way human knew his dissatisfaction with the idea.

Atelius was silent to Zutnic's coments. Instead of flying about he was perched on the Tyrant's head looking for the entrance to the temple. It took the eyes of a seeker to find it, or an unfortunate fool to fall into it. When Ranee voiced her report over the speaker Atelius made a sharp screeching noise ruffled his metallic feathers than went back to scanning the area.

"I would suggest hiding behind a dune... or perhaps those large rock formations over there. The entrance is not far from that spot... In any case I get the feeling a patrol will be the least of your worries."

He sent an indicator to the location he was speaking of directly to the tyrant. it came up as a nice red blip on the map.  

[Blade Kuroda]

The others were not too far behind it seemed, as he received some signals from the other two Zoids. Before saying anything to the other two pilots, Shun went on and addressed Zutnic first.

"As appealing as that might sound, we need her alive right now. General's orders and all," he told the Striker.

"Not yet Talon, but I remember the map having some rock formations nearby that would do the trick," he mumbled while ushering Fang in the general direction of where they should be. They seemed as good of a spot as any to hide his Zoid in the meantime.

Once he was there, he positioned Fang, but before hopping out of the cockpit he asked, "Has anyone spotted the entrance yet?"  

[PuddleInk]

Talon sighed and shook his head. It seemed the General had managed to kill some of the scouts about this area. Though who knows. He was relieved when a spot was picked by the Seeker, as well as where the location was.

No, he wasn't happy that there was Ranee coming along, but orders were orders. You had to obey orders.

"Patrols may be the least, but I'd rather not even think about what may lie in the depths of that place. Or who we'll run into. " he muttered in reply to Atelius, also ignoring Zutnik's well meant irritation at the dead weight. Well, Talon didn't doubt her abilities, but Ranee really had yet to prove any of them. After all, she got her Zoid from her father, not through deeds.

Bringing his Zoid to a park, and coaxing it to lay as low to the ground as possible, Talon looked up to the sky, seeing the neon Redler circle them. Right...Subtle... Neon... What was she thinking!? Then again, his own Zoid was green in a sea of gold and brown... he couldn't really speak there.

"Land, settle in, gather your things... And remember! Don't step anywhere unless you know what's going to happen next. " he said to the other two, though Shun hardly needed to be told. Heck... Talon rather liked Zuts idea...but that might draw a crowd, and that was the last think they needed.

Moe was right there, perched on Talon's shoulder as he crawled out and gathered his gear for this run. Ropes, infared flashlights, a walking stick, and lighter and strike anywhere matches...though that was seemingly over prepared. He stood just outside his Zoid, closing it up and locking, ordering it to send a neutralizing signal in case patrols came, or to feign wildness if all else failed. The rocky outcropping, coupled with the dunes did well to mask the location.

"There... " Talon said, and started walking towards the entrance that was indicated by the red dot on the map. The others would come... Though he was praying for a sandstorm to aid in the covering of their Zoids. It also would give Tyrant's hull a nice sandblast to dull the colors some and sharpen his claws. He looked to the sky and prayed for a sandstorm... Any storm other than clouds of black would be nice.  

[GunSniper]

Zutnic huffed in response to being denied a good mauling of a threat, as he saw it. He couldn't say any more, but hope that the great mother was not as vigilant as he knew her to be.

When the human begun to leave the ZOIDs Zutnic hesitated joining them. This would be the first other human, that he was not allowed to kill, since being introduced to Shun. His jaws clicked in frustration before he lept from the neck to the ground and cautiously made his way behind Shun. It was a safe zone... The sharp metallic pincers on each tail widened and his body blades rose a little. His head was turned so his good eye could be very watchful of Ranee. Zut also did not wish her to see the hand imprint over his broken eye so she might think him weak. He did not like this being seen thing one bit, despite his earlier bragging on how everyone would love how shiny he was and worship his master for having such a magnificent find.

Atelius' feathers ruffled again before he joined Zutnic. He did not wish to be left behind. Like Zutnic he did not want his own hand indent on his head to be revealed, so he kept above the group to prevent that from being seen. He kept his position mainly over Talon, close enough he could dive with claws ready should he need. With his metallic feathers so raised he too looked very aggressive. But there was a bright side to this... For once the two of them were very quiet.

The temple entrance was protected by a mere illusion of the rocks. Upon closer inspection the rocks were carved with strange symbols that could only be seen at one angle and only up close. The symbols were no more than circles upon more circles. That was not what was so interesting, the door way immediately lead to some stairs that spiraled downward into the earth. The walls immediately inside were plain and only covered with those boring circle patterns, however the deeper the decent the more the circles seemed to turn into a fire-like pattern pictured with what looked to be, for Shun and Talon, familiar markings symbolizing the court ( Strikers, Seekers, and Obliterators).  

[Blade Kuroda]

Grabbing his pack, Shun hopped on out to head towards the entrance with the others. He had a number of supplies with himself as well in some attempt to prepare for this.. infared flashlight, extra ammo, some basic first aid, and a few other things that may come in handy.

His organoid popped out of the Zoid's core and quickly joined his pilot and the walking set of razor blades as they made their way.

Catching one of the goggles that the Princess tossed, Shun raised a brow at her, then placed it into his bag for the meantime. Well, at least she wasn't completely unprepared then.

It was almost odd to be walking about without Atelius and Zutnic having their usual banter. The Princess's presence must really be unsettling for the two, not that the Private had any more desire for her to be here with them.Going further along into the rocks, Shun's eyes narrowed as the etchings in the wall seemed to take some familiar shapes.

"Atelius, Zutnic. Do you know which of the three are inside here?" he asked. The flame pattern gave a hint, but if he had anything else more concrete, he would have liked to know.  

[PuddleInk]

Talon caught the goggles, stuffing them into his pack. Heck! These would be useful, but something told him that as fantastic as these were, he'd rather stick with a flashlight. He didn't want to see everything in the temple. But they'd be useful. "Thanks... Though, you might not get all of them back intact... you loose more equipment in here than you'd think " he said to Ranee flashing a wide and happy smile.

He was mostly weary of the dead silence between to the two bickering ones. It wasn't normal. In fact, he wasn't too sure if he could stand that silence. But perhaps silence was a good thing. Moe chirped and hooted happily, keeping Talon's spirits a bit higher as he flicked on the flashlight, letting the white light illuminate the beautiful markings along the wall. Despite himself, Talon ran a hand along the wall as they descended, making note of the intricacies and the startling familiarity with the change in detail. "You don't suppose its the salamanders...? " Despite that being the completely wrong thing, that mythos of lizards basking in coals of forge flames stuck with him.

Moe squeaked and clung to Talon's shoulder, happily taking the role of holding the light for him when gently prompted. Talon couldn't help but wonder why the temples were build and why hide away such power within. Darn it! He should have been an archeologist! These temples would be a find for the century! Then again, he'd have a bird and never be able to speak of his finds. Oh the world was cruel. "Ranee... " he said, with a slight chuckle in his voice, "have you ever had a near-death experience before? " He was trying to keep the conversation light. Or as light as it could be.

Talking may be a bad idea, but he figured he might as well talk. What if She was here? That would end badly.. They'd be dead. Better to let their voices echo in the stone hallows than meet a surprised Nick.  

[GunSniper]

Zutnic made a clicking noise in response to Ranee's comment about them. His claws scraped against each other as he fidgeted anxiously. It would have been so much easier without this new human here...

Once they were descending the stairs he had to move behind Shun more and thus lost sight of Ranee. Zut had to focus forward or else he would trip, and that would not be fun for any party member ahead of them.

Since Zutnic showed no signs of wanting to speak Atelius sighed as he landed in front of the group. His wing span would not allow him to fly safely through the hallway at slow speeds. Instead he had to run awkwardly along. Not as fast as a striker on land, but he was decent enough with his pace.

"They indicate it more past the entrance as means of defense. If these runs remain constant, than that would mean it is a nest for all three. However, if one shows more than the other the further in that would mean those are stored in this temple... Zutnic and I did not go past the door, so we do knot know what is in here."

The stairs seemed to spiral downward for hours, if even only fifteen minuets have passed. All of the runes seemed to vanish the deeper they went, all but the flaming 'salamander' like runes which dominated the wall. Zutnic had been watching the walls and nearly squeaked when he saw five fresh lines forcefully carved into the rock. Those claw marks lead to a rectangular hole in the wall. Whatever was in there had been removed, recently. The spike-like imprint was proof of that.

The stone that was covering the hole was now smashed to near powder on the steps leading into a wide room full of thick pillars and statues of some faded organoid in between them. It looked dragon in appearance, but the details had been faded with time. Or perhaps the faded look was intentional?

This figure looked to have had four arms, all outstretched, and what might have been a long fin stretching from its nose to the back of it's long head. The thick pillars were decorated with flaming 'salamanders' running up and down the smooth surface in what looked to be a frenzy. At the end of the wide room, ( a good guess would be 30' by 50' long ) a dark door way waited for them. It looked like a solid black square sitting there glaring at the group spitefully with promise of trouble ahead.

A loud crash came from the other side of the black curtain ahead, and moments after the echo settled another crash came behind them. Their entrance was now closed... no turning back.  

[Blade Kuroda]

Since the Princess's words were to Talon, Shun didn't bother answering her. What he was interested was Atelius's answer. It didn't give him much to work off of, but it was a start at least. Before long, he was able to see which of the runes dominated over the rest.

"Seems like it is the salamanders. Great," he frowned before peering at the claw marks, "... Looks like we might not be the only ones around. Keep your guard up."

At the sight of the statue, the soldier narrowed his eyes as he knew what this was supposed to signify. He recalled seeing it, though it had been far away at the time. But he had little doubt this was the organoid he saw the day he and Talon got into a mess with the Jury. He also remembered seeing a mural of it in the last temple he had visited.

Bent-tail took a few cautious steps towards the statue to get a better look. The ancients were quite fearsome indeed... When the crash occurred, he jumped and let out a squeak.

"It's begun. Let's keep going and keep your eyes sharp," he said while turning on his infared light. For good measure, he had also drawn his pistol.  

[PuddleInk]

Talon gave a small grunt of acknowledgement when the information was relayed. Since it was now almost predominantly fire, it would mean indeed it was those monsters from their last encounter. This time, they didn't have a Zoid to protect them. Being flame broiled didn't sound fun at all. The Princess' question drew a chuckle, though, "Once they get used to you, they'll bicker until the cow's come home like old men on a front porch. " He shrugged at this point, getting a swat on the ear from Moe for moving and startling the little thing.

Ignoring the swat, he pointed to the downed statue, which Moe happily pointed the light at. Getting a better look, Talon snickered and followed after Atelius. The looming, beautiful pillared room brought no comfort. The intermitted statues of the monster they were about to meet drew less. Still, Talon couldn't help but find a cold beauty about this place. The ancients sure knew how to make tombs. He shook his head as he took a good look at the monsters, snagging the light from Moe to get a look at the ceiling as well. Spikes might fall from it, or something like that.

He opened his mouth to reply to Ranee about the death trap, but the ominus clicks and crashes did well to speak for him. He grinned and shrugged again, carefully making his way to the shadowed doorway and kicking sand out of his path so he could get a look at the floor beneath. "Yep. Mind your step, Princess." So far, the path he took had no discolored tiles or any indication that this was dangerous...meaning something far worse was up ahead.

Bring it. "Atelius... I've an extra shoulder if you need it. " Talon said softly, having capped his flashlight with the red lens, returning it to Moe for safe keeping.