The Absurd Mission/Chapter 9

Chapter Nine: Now The Fun Starts
On the way to Fisch's igloo, Austin pulled out his phone and called John44.

"Hey! John, I can't talk quickly here, I'm down to a day left, and I've got to make this count. Okay, do you mind doing some working? Get to the RDA Base. You go and click a couple buttons, it asks for Identification, say Austin8310's orders, go down to Floor 11, you can probably hack it, and with the scientists down there, build the best war machine you can muster! I'll pay you well."

He panted as he dashed toward's Fisch's igloo. Merely 12 hours before the reinforcements arrived, and he had to have something.

As he flew past the town, he spotted a giant penguin. Probably an Emperor Penguin.

"Hey! You! Giant!" he panted.

The giant walked over to him.

"Yes?"

"Do you fight?"

"Yeah. My name Fezzik."

"Yeah, whatever. Listen. Show up at the mine tomorrow prepared for battle. I'll pay you a lot."

"Fezzik understand."

Austin had already ran off again.

Finally, he reached Fisch's house, and prepared for battle. He took out two swords, a RDA lightsaber, and an RDA Blaster.

To set himself an advantage, he set the house alight.

Now, to prepare for battle.

Fisch's Battle
Austin kicked open the door.

"Surprise, Fisch!"

Fisch leapt back, grabbing his sword.

"You! You're here! Austin8310, sent by my evil brother Swiss Ninja!"

"FOR SWISS NINJA!!!!!!!!!!!"

He flew at Fisch with his swords, slashing and hacking at every weak spot. Unluckily, Fisch calmly deflected them, and disarmed one of Austin's swords. It flew into the roof of the igloo.

Austin spun around with his sword and slashed at Fisch's head. Fisch evaded it, and struck at Austin's flipper. A thin cut of blood appeared. Enraged at the sight of his own blood, he grabbed a nearby chair and flung it at Fisch. It crashed into him, knocking Fisch under it. Fisch grasped the Amulet of Language and was about to summon something, but Austin kicked it out of his reach. Quickly, he stabbed through the chair Fisch was under. Fisch rolled to the side, and Austin missed. Quickly, Austin pulled out several Ditto Grenades. Pulling the pins out, he flung them at Fisch. The first one missed and left a hole in the wall. The second one hit Fisch and set him crashing into the wall.

Seemingly victorious, Austin went over and stepped on Fisch.

"Suprisingly easy."

He didn't notice Fisch's eyes glowing with the Sensei state.

Fisch rolled over and sent a fireball at Austin, who dodged. It left a hole in the roof where it exploded.

Angered, Fisch created a freezing blast that flew past Austin. It hit him, and solidified around him so that he could not move. However, Austin pulled out the RDA Gun and melted it, as Fisch charged lightning. Lightning crashed, but Austin had dodged it, and he slashed at Fisch with one of his swords, and as he ran forth to meet Fisch, he grabbed the other one out of the roof. Fisch charged a giant blast of wind to blow Austin into the wall, and Austin got blown into the wall. He heard a nasty crack as he hit the cold ice. Shakily, he rose up and threw his sword at Fisch.

It stabbed Fisch through. Luckily for Fisch, he was immortal, but a wound like that would hurt him for a while.

Austin then threw a ditto grenade at Fisch and froze him. Then, he put him in handcuffs and chained him to the table.

The Return of the Hochstadt Gang
Fisch woke up.

"Where am I?"

In front of him was a message pad.

Austin kicked him.

"Type a message that demands the Hochstadt Gang comes here. NOW. OR ELSE."

Fisch bent his head.

"No, henchman of my evil brother Swiss Ninja."

"AUSTIN. Not "henchman of my evil brother Swiss Ninja" or "bounty hunter scum". GOT IT? Now type the message.

Austin pulled out a deletion gun.

"You may be immortal, but not undeleteable. I have to admit, this is quick and painless so you're getting off lucky if I shoot."

"Fine, I'll write it."

Fisch started writing a note. Eventually, he finished.

"'Dear pesky plumbers Hochstadt Gang fellows,I invite you to a party at the mine, underground. Meet me at the pool at 3 PM tomorrow. If I am not there, come to the mine.Don't miss the party, it'll be fun!'"

Austin laughed evily as he emailed it to the Hochstadt Gang members.

"They'll walk RIGHT INTO A TRAP. HAHAHAHA-hack-cough... Man, I'm bad at that. Anyway, don't feel bad about doing that, your friends always escape. No matter what."

Fisch seemed not to care.

"Enh. Anyway, I'm just going to bring you to the RDA Base. I'm not doing that with you awake, so... Goodnight."

Austin knocked him out, stuffed him into a cardboard box, and carried him to the RDA base, where he was promtly tied to the table. Suddenly, he noticed something.

"Where's XTUX's body?"

Tern004 seemed worried.

"Clovis, Dave, Rookie, and some stupid puffle came in here and revived him. He's alive now, just in case you wanted to know."

Austin couldn't believe what he had heard.

"Revived? That's impossible!"

"No, we had him hooked up to an electric current and Rookie activated it, activating him."

The elevator dinged, and John44 walked up the hallway.

"Oh, hey, you're here! Yeah, I've changed sides. They've given me a job here at the base, and I get paid way more than I did at the EPF. We're designing a battlemech called 'Metaltron'. It's about two penguins tall, and it has an eyestalk/turret and an electric ray gun. It also has two beds for transportation of soldiers, and it looks kind of like a tank. Here, I'll show you the blueprint."

"It does look like a tank. Anyway, so our forces are me, 20 RDA troopers, the RBOS, Swiss Ninja, and 10 of Swiss Ninja's royal guard against... The Hochstadt Gang? I don't see how we'll lose." said Austin.

Laughing, he left the base. It was already won, and he still had a night and 4 more hours left in the day before the battle. He just wished he had a few more mercenaries to make things certain.

Don't Enter This Bus
Austin was walking outside of the RDA Base, happy and content. He had captured Fisch, got the location of the Hochstadt Gang, and ended off richer than he had started. This mission, so far, was a success. Austin decided to teleport to the mainland to find some henchmen to aid him.

After about two more days, he had about had it with the search. Wondering road after road, he eventually plopped down at a bench in a rural bus stop.

"Man, I wish I could go someplace with more mercenaries."

Suddenly, he heard a loud cry of "WAHOOOOOOOOOOOO!".

Austin perked up, wondering where that had come from. He looked to his right, down the road, and saw what seemed to be a dust cloud. He looked closer and began to hear the unmistakable rumbling of a diesal engine. It was a bus, and it was probably doing a hundred on a fifty five zone.

The loud squeal of breaks followed as the bus went from tripple digits to nothing. Austin had never seen such driving, and he didn't even have to see the black marks behind the vehicle to know it was breaking far too many safety laws.

The bus was about the size of any public transport bus, but it was a royal blue color and bore the words "ICE KINGDOM AREA PUBLIC TRANSIT". Its exhaust was a dark grey- obviously not eco-friendly -and it seemd to have cracks here and there, in addition to signs of wear and tear from decades of use. This was a bus that pre-dated Austin, and it certainly wasn't what usually travelled Antarctica. It pre-dated it.

Austin looked in the dirty windows. One window at the front caught his attention. A yellow, bespectacled penguin with very curly, midnight black hair was knocking on the window with his flippers. Austin gestured to himself, to say "who, me?", to which the penguin nodded. He tried to mouth the words "TURN BACK". Austin shrugged, as the penguin continued trying to tell him to "RUN".

The door to the bus was flung open to reveal the driver. He was wearing an orange suit with a purple tie that had little red mullets on it. He also donned old-man-looking glasses and, like the curly-topped penguin, had raven hair. The driver's hair, though, was spiky, unkempt, and overall a frizzled mess of cowlicks and bad hair days that had probably not been combed since he had hair. On the dashboard near said driver, there were some familiar looking bobbleheads.

The bus driver had a sort of gleam in his eyes that Austin actually recognized from some mercenaries that lived on the edge. In fact, he had that look in his eyes at times, and most of his old friends did, as well. Austin felt a sense of connection with this.

"Hi there! Need a lift?" the driver said, waving one of his flippers as he faced Austin.

"Uhh... Yeah. Uhh, sir-"

"The name's Fraz."

"Oh. Fraz? That's an interesting name. Mine's Austin."

"DON'T GET ON, KID! RUN! RRUUUUUUNNN!"

It was that curly haired penguin again.

"Shut it, Albert!" a demanding, higher female voice called out. "Let the kid make up his mind. If he doesn't get on, he's obviously just a measely wimp."

Austin grunted a bit. He was NOT a wimp! Defiantly, he stepped on the bus. Fraz chuckled a bit and Albert- apparently that one was Albert -sighed.

"Ah, it's good to have another passenger. Welcome, Austin. Please, take a seat anywhere." Fraz looked over Austin. "Hey! A Khanz penguin! I haven't seen your kind in a while. I like your kind. Khanz are always up for a little... Excitement."

He chuckled again. Austin swore that those bobbleheads lit up for a moment as he did.

He looked around at the passengers. They were all the same kind of penguin and they all had the same jet black hair as the driver. They must be related. In the back, though, was a shorter, conservatively dressed, red-haired penguin in a pantsuit. She had an angered look through her horn-rimmed glasses that screamed "lawyer". Austin immediately decided not to sit there.

The passengers all seemed to be about his age, except Fraz, who may have been their father. That lawyer seemed to be younger than Fraz but older than the others.

"Austin, are you going to seat yourself now?" Fraz asked.

"I just want to figure out who to sit with."

"They're all nice to sit with, but I'd reccomend not sitting with the lawyer." Fraz replied, smiling.

"Why?" Austin asked.

"She's a lawyer."

"Oh yeah."

Both snickered a bit. Austin liked this guy. He had an interesting sense of humor.

"Oh, as for the passengers, you're standing closest to Albert." Fraz said, gesturing to that penguin again.

"Austin, by the time you're through with this, you'll wish that you stayed home."

"I can handle a bus ride, four-eyes." Austin snapped back.

"That's what they ALL say."

"Well, you seem to enjoy adventure, right?" Fraz asked.

"Oh yeah. I'm looking for some mercenaries."

"Hired belligerents, eh?" Fraz asked, smirking. "All right. You should sit with Winona."

A female penguin waved near the middle-right of the bus. That must be Winona. She had shoulder-length black hair and was wearing a pink shirt with a red vest, and a mid-length red skirt. That was an immediate theme that Austin noticed: no female except the lawyer was wearing pants or nothing but a shirt.

"So, you're not a wimp after all!" Winona said, slapping Austin on the back. Hard.

"Where are you headed to?" Austin asked, trying to strike a conversation. He was no ladies' man, but he was pretty good around females.

"Actually, the driver's my dad. We ride around with him. The jerk in the back is a lawyer."

"I could tell."

"Heh. I know. Her name's Jeane."

"What's with the weird names?"

Winona cocked what would count as an eyebrow as she angrily placed her flippers on what would qualify as her hips (waist?) where whs was sitting.

"What's THAT supposed to mean, square-eyes?" Winona said assertively.

"Well, I just don't think I've heard a name like 'Winona' or 'Albert' since the fall of the Confederacy. Heh heh. Is there an Ethel on here, too?"

Winona slapped Austin on the back again and curled up her flippers the best she could.

"Watch what you say or you'll be on the business end of my fist." Winona paused with a strange expression on her face. "Well, penguins can't actually make fists, but you know what I mean!"

Austin sort of liked this penguin. She seemed to act without hesitating. That was the kind of thing he liked in his women. It was a shame he wasn't going to be with this female that long.

"Seat belts everyone!" Fraz shouted.

Austin looked around for a seatbelt.

"Err, Fraz? There aren't any seatbelts." Austin said.

"I know! Seatbelts are for wusses."

"YEAH!" Winona added, as did another penguin with some old-timey hat.

"I was just seeing if you were paying attention. Remember to secure your belongings in your inventory before we depart. Now then..." Fraz shifted the bus' gear into drive and inserted what seemed to be a glittering cassette tape into the tape deck. "...is everyone ready to take chances, make mistakes, and get messy?"

Assorted shouts of glee (and Albert's moaning) followed. Austin was interested to see what would happen next as he leaned back in his seat. Before he could blink, Fraz slammed his foot onto the pedal, with a foot of lead, and the bus was going at least a hundred in seconds.

Austin screamed as he actually felt the feathers on his body be pushed backwards, like a human's face would, at such speeds.

"I KNEW YOU COULDN'T HANDLE IT!" Winona shouted over the roar of the bus' engine. Her hair was thrown back, as was most everyone else's.

"I CAN AND I WILL!" Austin shouted back, trying to push himself a bit forward. It was futile, though. The bus was going too fast.

"WWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHOOOOOOOOOO!" Fraz bellowed, triumphantly.

Time passed, and Austin grew accustomed to the blistering speeds. He found that he could now sit more comfortably and normally now that the speed wasn't increasing. He looked out the window. They must have been going at least one hundred twenty miles an hour. To pass the time, he decided to talk to the other passengers. Well, he would have, if they didn't talk to him first.

"So, what'cha do for a living?" Winona interrogated first.

"Huh? Oh, I'm a bounty hunter."

"You make your primary income off of capturing wanted fugitives and returning them to the authorites that ordered their capture?" another female penguin added, this one having her hair tied in a pair of pigtails and apparently wearing a blue labcoat over a purple shirt. Again, she was wearing a skirt; this one was floor length. She had on a pair of glasses.

"Yeah. That's it.  Nerd. "

Winona slapped Austin lightly on the back of his head.

"You're a bounty hunter? Cool! Who do you work for?" the chubby green penguin with the vintage hat asked, facing backwards to talk to Austin. Austin could tell that he had a thick head of hair, and he was wearing a green shirt with the letter "R" on it.

"I work for Snowzerland."

Another female penguin, this one brown and wearing a mini-skirt (a contrast to all the others) with a purple sweatshirt scowled and crossed her flippers.

"Swiss Ninja's an ampersanded moron."

Austin did not respond. He didn't expect her to talk like that.

"I agree." another penguin, this one in a blue hooded sweatshirt, commented. "Swiss Ninja does have some holes in his foreign policies."

"CLARENCE." the entire group groaned.

"You're name's CLARENCE?" Austin asked. "That's not a girl's name?"

"Well, my mother chose it. She's a girl, so I guess it is a girl's name of choice." Clarence made a cheesy Zone-like 'I'M SO FUNNY' grin.

"CLARENCE." the group repeated.

"Well, if what I read was true, Swiss Ninja was an efficent ruler." the labcoat penguin said. "He didn't take junk from anyone and landed every colony he took under a militaristic hegemony that fitted his needs and silenced the population."

"Right! Hey, what's your name?" Austin said.

"Me? Oh, I'm Deloris. It's a pleasure to meet you, Austin."

"Swiss Ninja still acts pretty cheesy though." Clarence added.

"CLARENCE." they all said.

"...-And the Snoss Secret Service were ruthless in their pursuit of dissidents." Deloris continued. "If this is a Snoss bounty hunter, than he's certainly an elite."

Austin straightened up a bit at that comment. He felt proud to be recognized as an elite.

"True." the one with the suprising vocabulary added.

"Who are you after?" the "R" penguin asked.

"The Hochstadt Gang, a no-good group-"

"Consisting of Fisch Hochstadt the Immortal, Admiral Jock Hochstadt, Fuut-Ga Hochstadt, Agent David Hochstadt, Corai Alistair Unki, the President for Life of Chi Con, Clovis Jester Hochstadt, Sensei Yilk Hochstadt the Elder, Piper Jett Cub, Sir 'Got Fried' Jugendel Hochstadt, Elite Puffle Leonardo di Tremezzo and Coach Bernard Hochstadt." Deloris interrupted.

"WOW." Austin said. Deloris just smiled, closing one of what appeared to be many of her books. "Oh, but you said 'Got Fried'. Heh."

"If what I read was true, his name IS 'Got Fried'. I feel sorry for him."

Austin decided not to correct Deloris. That was funnier.

"Yeah... Yeah, it is. Got Fried. Heh heh."

"Why are you after them, Austin?" the hat-wearing penguin continued.

"Swiss Ninja wants them gone, and he's paying me a fortune to get them. That, and I just HATE Fisch. Is that a reason enough?"

"Isn't it... Dangerous?" Albert meekly inquired.

"Of course! ...-And I love every minute of it."

Albert sighed.

"Have you been successful thus far?" the "R" penguin continued.

"Oh yes!" Austin said, happily. "I also got to see Club Penguin, get some weapons, a small fortune in cash, and a lot of memories."

"I don't believe diddly squat of what you're saying." a snobbish, female voice interrupted.

"What's that supposed to mean, LAWYER?" Austin said, turning to the back to face Jeane.

"What I mean, is PROVE IT. Your boasts are worthles if you can't PROVE IT."

"Proof? You want PROOF?" Austin said, a bit annoyed. He reached into his inventory and whipped out a loaded Mavv Banana Blaster, cocking it as if he was about to fire it.

"Is THIS proof, LAWYER?"

Jeane was silent as she shivered. Adjusting her glasses, she slid down in her seat.

"Uh huh... Yeah."

Winona slapped Austin on the back as he placed the gun where it belonged.

"You sure showed her!" Winona shouted.

The rest of the group cheered for a bit.

Comfort
"...-But now for the BIG question." Winona said. Everyone fell silent.

"Mmm-hmm." Austin said. He liked these penguins.

"Do you know about The Secret?" Winona whispered, as if someone was watching her.

Austin gasped sligtly.

"Why do I keep coming across people after that Third Window?!"

Fraz slammed on the breaks. Everyone was thrown forward.

"OOF!" they shouted, in unison.

Fraz placed the bus in neutral and ran over to Austin, picking him up and holding him to eye level.

"PLEASE AUSTIN, tell us all you know."

"Why?"

"Dad's... A bit obbsessed with finding out more about those crazy sky programmers." Albert said, rubbing his flippers together nervously.

"As I always say, Albert, we must arm ourselves with knowledge. Now, please share your secrets about The Secret."

"Pfft." the mini-skirt penguin added. "I still think you're all overexaggerating this."

"No, actually, he's not." Austin said, as Fraz placed him down.

"I really don't get much about the Window either. From what I think, though, there's this big assemby up in the sky. It's the Bureaucracy in Fiction, or something. It's led by a single leader called Denny."

"Is Denny... A puffle?" Fraz asked.

"Uh, yeah."

"I KNEW IT!" Fraz shouted.

"Yeah, so anyway, Denny's in charge of the Fiction world. He controls us and punishes those who know the truth."

Fraz's eyes widened and he nodded intently. Silently, Fraz went back to the bus driver's seat, now frowning deeply, and sniffling a litle. Austin was concerned that such a happy penguin suddenly became somber like that.

"Austin, I'm not sure if you should'a mentioned the punishing thing." Clarence said, with a very concerned tone.

"Why not?"

"Denny killed Mom, Austin." a quiet, meek voice added. It came from a yellow, female penguin, wearing a yellow blouse and a long, dark red jumper-dress, added. She was slightly shorter than her peers and wore a red headband over her shoulder-length hair that added to her already innocent appearence. Despite being the same age as Austin, she looked like a young schoolgirl. He never even knew she was there.

"Oh..." Austin said sadly. "I'm sorry about your mother, uhh-"

"Peggy." the meek penguin said.

"Peggy." Austin replied.

There was silence for a moment. The bus started back up and travelled along at the speed limit.

"Oh no..." Peggy said, deeply concerned. "Dad's driving the speed limit. Maybe you should talk to him."

The others nodded. Austin agreed.

"Uhh, Fraz?" Austin said, looking at the saddened bus driver.

"Oh. Hey Austin. Sorry you have to see me like this." Fraz, said looking to the dashboard at a little greyscale picture of a pretty (but old) penguin in a long dress. Austin noted that she must have been his wife. "See, your mention of this Denny guy... Well, I lost my wife to him."

"I'm sorry, Fraz."

Fraz sniffled a bit.

"That's all right, Austin. You can't bring her back, either."

"True, but would she want you to mope like this? Austin asked.

Fraz looked to Austin. He smiled a bit.

"No, she always wanted me to be happy."

"Well, this isn't happy, is it?"

"No..."

"What was that thing you said? Get chances, make messy, take mistakes?"

Fraz smiled a warm. He put a flipper on Austin.

"You're right, Austin. As I always say, there's no such thing as coincidence. Thank you for reminding me that."

Fraz nodded and moved his flipper to that picture.

"You know, I think I have something that might help you out."

Fraz blinked.

"Here." Austin said. He reached into his inventory and handed the other half of that necklace he always had with him. Reaching into his inventory for some sort of string or chain, he punched a makeshift hole into it and tied that string around it. Fraz took the half of the necklace in his flippers. They trembled a bit as tears filed Fraz's eyes.

"Valerie... Had a necklace just like this..." Fraz said quietly. He strung the necklace around his neck and smiled a contemplative smile.

"Austin... Thank you..." Fraz said, wiping the tears. His smile and that wild gleam in his eyes were back. "You really helped me, you know that?"

"Ah, it was nothing."

"No. As I always say, good must be repaid with good. You said you were a bounty hunter, right?"

"Yeah."

Fraz stopped the bus and looked into a glove compartment. He pulled out a HUGE rocket launcher. Austin's eyes widened and he drooled a bit.

"OH. MY. FISH." Austin stuttered.

"This was my dad's, Austin." Fraz said, holding the weapon upside down. "I never did use it, but he claims that it was stolen from a Bureau in Fiction minion that Dad ran over in the old RV."

"You want... ME... To have THAT?!" Austin hadn't seen a personal weapon of that size and power since the Snoss Wars.

"Yes, I do." Fraz said. "It's a deletion weapon. In its entire existence, it can only make one shot, but one of these babies can delete half of South Pole City. It was apparently experimental and not meant for use by you or me... Just them."

Austin let out a long whistle. A Bureau in Fiction missile launcher?!? Could he GET any luckier?!

"You have found a BOF Upgraded Deluxe PWN Missile Launcher of Epic Awesomeness. Would you like to pick it up?"

Austin took the mighty weapon and added it into his inventory. This day just got better and better.

Crazy Alliances
Fraz smiled widely.

"Now, get back in your seat and let's find those mercenaries!" then, Fraz stopped.

"You know, I have a better idea than getting mercenaries." Fraz said. Austin perked up.

"What's that, Fraz?"

"May I have the honor of assisting you in your battle?"

Austin blinked. This old penguin wanted to fight?

"Oh WOW!" Winona added. "Dad hasn't fought since Grandpa Baldur left with Hamhead."

Austin rubbed his beak in thought.

"You got any skills?"

Fraz laughed.

"Of course! I can run people over with my bus."

Austin chuckled.

"You're hilarious!"

Fraz looked confused. Austin realized why. He meant that.

"...-AND hired!"

Fraz looked overjoyed as he reached for a lever on the bus. The ceiling slid open to reveal a compartment. Weapons fell out.

"OH MY GRAVY." Austin said again.

"All yours." Fraz said, winking at Austin.

"Do any of your kids fight?"

"Not really. Winona is a good flipper-to-flipper combatant. Deloris knows every military strategy since Um. Russel can use blunt weapons, but he's not too agile, so he has to be careful."

So THAT was that hat-wearing penguin's name.

"As for Clarence, Peggy, Albert, and Katherine, they're either pacifists or don't possess any sort of skill. You'll have to respect that."

Austin nodded.

"Besides," Winona said, smiling, "it's not like we're fighting anything big. Just some weasely brothers of Swissy. If they're anything like that wimp, Albert there could take 'em."

"Yeah," Clarence said, "you'll fry that Fish."

"CLARENCE."

"Jab that jester!"

"CLARENCE."

"Make that Ninja a none-"

"CLARENCE." Austin said, pre-emptively.

"Sorry. Those jokes were sort of cheesy, wern't they?"

"CLARENCE." everyone said, even Austin.

"Well, it's settled. Everything I have is yours when it comes to your fight. Be sure to take Winona to battle. She's been wanting to 'knock someone's block off' for years. Also, pay attention to Deloris. She knows a lot. Oh, and please don't make Peggy or Albert battle, they don't believe in that sort of thing."

"Mmmhmm." Austin said.

"Well, that about covers it! Austin, get in your seat, we're headed off!"

Austin did as Fraz floored it.

"WWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHOOOO!"

The bus screeched back to the coasts of mainland Antarctica that bordered Club Penguin, as the sun was setting. The Hochstadt Gang would never expect this.

Swiss Ninja's Arrival
Austin stood at the town as the Worker I sped across the sky, and started slowly landing. In there were his companions, waiting for battle. The various penguins in the town gawked and gaped. And most of them left when Austin waved his gun at them.

First out were two RDA troopers. These ones were ERC troopers, the best of them. They knelt over, and then SN stepped out of the ship on top of him.

"I just love that. It makes me feel like I rule the world."

Austin rolled his eyes, as Swiss DID rule part of it.

"Thank goodness you're here. All the Hochstadts have arrived, and it's 10 minutes prior. We have to make it to the mine soon. See, here's my plan. They all run through the entrance from the pool to the mine. First, we bombard them with fire and bullets. Then THE BUS flies through and knocks a couple, and then the fleeing ones get trapped by the Metaltron."

Next out of the ship came Rex. He wasn't much for dramatic entries. He walked out and looked around. "Hmm. Not a good place for a battle here."

Austin rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't choose to fight HERE. Too many civilians. They'd summon the EPF."

Johnathan, his old friend walked out, bearing his sniper rifle. "I swear I'm going to headplant one of them."

Java and Vincent came out. Austin waited a minute and then remembered that XTUX was... Well, gone? It was hard to tell.

The Metaltron, driven by a loyal RDA soldier drove up next to the Worker I, and the worker jumped out.

Rex stared at it and was immediently interested.

"I want to drive that. A lot."

Johnathan, Austin's old friend grinned.

"There's no doubt we'll get them this time. But make this quick, I've got to track down some TerraBEAN."

Vincent and Java were both at the back, listening to Austin.

Austin started running off to the mine.

"Let's not be late!"