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It was supposed to be a routine rescue mission. A plane had malfunctioned, making a miraculous landing onto the ice in his unit's region. Just after the radars had shown its landing area, the power had gone out from a powerful blizzard. Nothing too surprising as that was a common occurrence in the Arctic, but perhaps it had been a sign of the troubles they would have.
The danger that they were unknowingly walking into.
Snow fell thick upon the ice, blurring their vision and blanketing their armor. The Hyper Nitro kept them from freezing but they may as well have been walking snowmen for all the good it did protecting them externally. "GZ, this is on the logs, right?" one Search and Rescue Leaguer called out, holding one hand above the mask covering his eyes in an attempt to see further in front of him.
"The written one, yes," GZ replied, his voice raised to be heard over the storm. "FLS, how far from the target are we?"
Silence was his only answer, the unit quickly stopping as they tried to figure out where their missing member was. "Could he have gotten lost?" Ten-R asked.
"Impossible, he has our locations marked. Unless his internal radar is malfunctioning, he shouldn't lose us," NaCl said. "And he's not responding over the comm either."
"Where could he be then?" KB questioned. He turned at the sound of snow crunching behind him, a relieved noise leaving his mouth as he saw the dark shape through the falling snow. "Ah, there you are! We were wondering when-"
GZ's unit froze in shock as KB's body fell to the ground, his face a dented and broken mess. Something akin to a pained sob left the fallen Leaguer, then was cut short as his attacker jumped on top and began to mercilessly assault him. GZ cried out in protest, but there was nothing he could do to save him. They had no weapons, the hockey stick that he carried for little more than a good luck charm likely having no effect on the monster that was out for oil. "Run!" he shouted, his unit looking back at their fallen comrade in desperation before following him.
It truly was a shame that the only one who was capable of locating their base was very likely dead.
Member after member was picked off as they frantically tried to figure out their way back to base. The first fell to a Leaguer with a ponytail, a subconscious part of GZ recognizing him as a Dark Sports Leaguer. Another to some beast who shouted nonsense as he ran one of his friends through with his horns. GZ quickly became separated from the remaining members of his unit, his eyes falling upon the plane that had attempted to land on the ice. Perhaps his only safe haven still left in the Arctic. Or his grave.
It didn't matter either way. His Hyper Nitro was running out and he would freeze when it did. If he was lucky, the radar on the plane was working and he could find his way back to base that way. Unlikely though if the outside was any indication of the plane's condition. GZ swallowed nervously, shaking his head as he began the arduous effort of climbing up to the door. Oddly enough, he thought he could hear music coming from inside the plane.
The door was almost frozen shut when GZ finally managed to climb up to it. It eventually yielded to his tugging and slowly opened. He threw himself inside, noting the slight warmth compared to that of the outside, and quickly closed it before the temperature could fall any further. Music indeed echoed throughout the confines of the plane, and GZ immediately located the source. "Are you alright?!" he asked fearfully as he rushed to the slumped Leaguer's side.
He received no response, although the music kept playing. "Can you hear me?!" GZ shouted over the music, unsure what was wrong with them. All he could tell was that they were online, although their eyes were almost dim to the point it appeared otherwise.
"You're rather noisy, aren't you?" someone said off to his left.
The music rose, almost deafening with its proximity before falling once more as all other instruments went silent except for the flutes. GZ turned to face the speaker, concern for the green Leaguer overflowing from him. "Do you know what's wrong with him?" he asked worriedly.
"Topjoy apparently thought it would be a good idea to fry his circuits," the pale grey Leaguer said disinterestedly, marking his place in the book he had been reading before setting it aside and standing up. "At least he is still of some use."
"He could die!" GZ cried out in protest, turning back to the Leaguer named Topjoy and began searching for whatever is was that could potentially cause that much harm. He turned him around after finding nothing on his front or inside his chassis, turned him over. His oil suddenly grew cold as he took in just how many patches were on his back. Once more the music became deafening, but GZ was too busy tearing off patches-far too many patches in his opinion-to care.
The Leaguer casually walked over, inspecting the slowly growing pile of patches beside the Rescue Leaguer. "That is quite a lot," he noted, frowning at the Basketball Leaguer. "Juurouta, I thought you said you took care of whoever was smuggling those in for him."
GZ didn't hear the response as the music continued to play. Most of the patches had been on his back, some in places he doubted the Leaguer could have reached. "He didn't put these on himself!" he said in realization, jolting back in shock.
"Oh?" the Baseball Leaguer said, his interest caught for a brief moment. "It was probably Bull Armor then. Trying to get rid of him, I suppose."
"You suppose?!" GZ shouted, anger flashing in his optics. "Your friend could have died! No, he could still die! These patches leave a lingering charge when they're pulled off prematurely!"
"You pulled them off," the other Leaguer pointed out, gesturing to the pile beside GZ.
"They were more of a danger staying on him," he said, brushing off the comment. "He'll need repairs immediately if we're to save the rest of his circuits from potentially burning out. His processor will need to be analyzed too in case the patches caused any damage to that as well. Do you have a place where I can do emergency repairs on him? I can at least prevent any lasting charge from causing too much harm."
The grey Leaguer thought for a moment, glancing behind him at the rest of the plane. "As far as I know of, no. This type of plane is mainly for private use," he said. "Ah, I have been somewhat rude though, haven't I? My name is Silver Frontier, and you are?"
"I am GZ," the Search and Rescue Leaguer said, shifting to a better position so that he could move Topjoy. "Make yourself useful and dispose of those patches or get away." Before he could lift him up, a sharp object pressed against his neck.
"How dare you disrespect Frontier-chan?" a new voice said threateningly, the pressure from the blade increasing. GZ could feel oil dripping down his neck at an increasingly alarming pace, the knife or whatever it was cutting further and further in. Any deeper and it could cut something important like-
"Juurouta, that's enough."
Instantly the blade was gone, GZ letting out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding as he clutched at the cut in his neck. "I told you not to call me that," Frontier said, appearing perturbed as he stared out of the corner of his eye at the Kendo Leaguer. "Don't let me hear it again."
The Kendo Leaguer nodded obediently, sending a menacing glare at GZ the moment he thought Frontier's attention was away from him. "And do something with him," the Baseball Leaguer said, motioning towards Topjoy's still body.
"Yes, sir," Juurouta said immediately, sliding in between Frontier and GZ. The Baseball Leaguer stepped away with a disgusted look on his face and watched as Juurouta grabbed the unresponsive Leaguer by his wrist and begin dragging him towards the door GZ had entered through. GZ leapt to his feet, the cut on his neck forgotten as he realized what the Kendo Leaguer planned to do.
"Hold on, you can't just throw him outside!" he shouted, gaping as Frontier stepped in front of him. "What are you doing? You can't let him do that!"
"He's useless to us as he is, although I'm sure Bull Armor will still find some use of him," Frontier said flippantly, then looked behind him as the door opened and two Leaguers came in as Juurouta tossed the Basketball Leaguer out. "Ah, Ryuken, it would appear we have a guest. Would you care to show them around while we wait out the storm?"
A dark grey Leaguer walked forward, looking GZ up and down with a twisted grin on his face. "He looks like a screamer," Ryuken said, cracking his oil stained fists. "I like it when they scream."
That was the only warning GZ had before the Karate Leaguer slammed him against the floor.