The Time Of Fate

ZOOM! ZOOM! ZOOM!

''Come on, 'en; let's push it to the redline!'' Aero exclaimed, rolling the throttle on the hoverbike to the limit, the torque nearly causing his gaucho hat to fall off at the speed of going nearly 80mph. Chie and Chloe followed close behind, the pair displaying their own brand of indifference. ''Don't tell me this is the best you muckers can do!''

Chie hummed, wanting to cut off Aero's voice over their communicators, but even she knew that would be a tad counterproductive if the idea of a threat was present in a new land. The fact that Ms. Junko chose the five of them to venture forth into this unknown world rather than the common fodder spoke to the severity of the situation relating to her brother. ''Your arrogance is showing, Aero.'' Chie clearly said, slinging her instrument on her back and securing it as she disabled the autopilot.

''Whaddya mean?'' the growl of her engine sounded before Chie zoomed ahead, clutching her body close to the frame, narrowly avoiding the curved trees and branches before pressing a button on the touchpad, launching a small projectile that met head-on with the large wildcat that attempted to leap out at the trio, Chie falling back into the group as Aero grimaced. ''Nevermind.''

''Focus, you two.~'' Chloe said in a sing-song tone, checking her Life Drive as it pinged. Her lady would have what she wanted, and the. . .teamwork of her two allies would need to be in sync, or Chloe would have to get it in sync for them. The brother and Akame would surely be an issue if they were alerted to their presence beforehand, especially with their Fairies. ''Once we make contact with those two, you can bicker as much as you want later, but my lady and her needs come first, are we clear?''

Chie and Aero shared a small look, one of belayed confidence, and the other of mild annoyance. They knew it would be a death wish to challenge Junko, and nearly the same aspect was attributed to digging a ditch with a plastic spoon if one were to deal with Chloe. One of the few things that the two were unable to see was where in the world how Chloe was able to be so. . .her.

Clutching his hat a bit tighter, Aero dared himself to bring up the better question; what would they have to do to bring back Akame without the surrounding area being reduced to atoms. Another roll of the throttle from the bikes propelled the trio forward, the hot jungle air being drawn into the intake and roaring louder than the biggest lion. From their vantage point, the spacious, though eerie vibe of the path ahead of them slowly gave to a narrow clearing located on the other side of a trench, revealing what appeared to be a wall of vines.

''Hmmm,'' Chie hummed as she stepped off her bike, slowly waving her hand about, the weight of what was in front of her coming to light the longer she stood there, maintaining her breathing until a blast of air surged forth from her hand, causing the foliage to separate. ''This certainly seems to be a recent place where they may have been.''

Bright pink eyes widened a tad before calming. Slow and steady would be what won Lady Junko this race against brother, but too much being taken would be bad. Chloe walked forward, slinging her gargantuan sword on her back as she and Aero walked along the rotting, and possibly soon-to-be non-existent rope bridge with little care. The misshapen and somewhat poorly camouflaged village house had seen better days, from its copious amounts of moss and slathered mud to the smell akin to excrement. ''Bloody 'ell,'' Aero grimaced, his left foot giving way to the board he lightly stepped on, gripping the rope handles above him in an unamused manner.

''Do you require help, Aero?'' Chie asked with a tongue of venom, glaring at the cowboy who merely leaped found his grip, and pulled himself back up, taking a cloth from his vest's pocket and wiping it against his boot as if acid had been dropped on his shoewear.

''No, no, love; not at all. These are only a pair of 13,000 Baron American Alligator skin boots, of course, I won't require any help at all, you narrow-eyed-''

''-Aero, focus.'' Chloe chimed in, easily lifting the man up with one hand as the other pulled one of his revolvers from its pouch and aimed it towards the direction they were aiming, the pale cherry red grip's design embossed with dollar signs and waves of fire shining as she twirled it in her hand, pulling the hammer back. ''We have guests.''

''Just my luck, eh; coming or going?'' Aero asked, drawing the other weapon in preparation.

Chie took a pair of binoculars from her bike's saddle, focusing the lens to see a few shapes move as if unaware of the three of them. Even at 300 meters, it still proved difficult to directly ascertain what the potential threat was with the fog and foiliage. Taking her best guess, she opted for the former of the two options. ''I would say coming, they do not seem privy to us being here just yet, so the route of surprise would be the best course of action to take for this particular situation.''

Nodding to her subordinate, Chloe agreed, catching who or whatever that was soon to come there would provide some kind of information, however small. Nemea and Delta-1 would be standing by to receive an update in the next minutes, so the trio would need to be quick.

''Very well; Aero will provide an overlook from that ridge to our right, you and I will give our guests a warm welcome once Aero gives us the signal to go ahead. Afterward, report our findings to Delta-1. And we all know she will be doing her absolute best to make sure the mission stays what it is unless further notified of what to do otherwise.'' Chloe handed the gun back to Aero, the satisfying click of the hammer being pulled back sounding like music to Aero's ears.

''I do wonder whatever went on in that mind of Last Order for her to pick a place such as this?'' Chie asked, keeping a watchful eye over their immediate surroundings as Aero snuck over to the nearby ridge to set up post. Other places, some far and few in between came, but rarely one so. . .different.

Chloe agreed, only able to see that the result of the situation was due to an error. An error of not listening to her lady about what was to be expected. Time, and time again, Last Order's ability to open gates in time and space often came too little too late; rather than being controlled and used for more practical purposes. The things that she did with the power gifted to her often resulted in 'issues' that would have to be fixed by her and her comrades. ''Yes, though I would assume it was something that was against Lady Junko's ideals, and the punishment she received was merely a fraction of what she really should receive.''

Chie and Chloe walked on the narrow bridge path, the creaking and cracking of the wood filling the air. The door next to the pair was smaller than expected, leading the two to duck a bit to get in to reveal a spacious living area complete with a makeshift rug for the floor, surrounded by hanging vines and wooden shapes resembling crude furniture. Chie pointed a finger upward, leading to an opening of sorts on the ceiling passable by a row of steps off to the side. Chloe's Life Drive began to ping a bit more, the scanners cycling through various wavelengths before shining a blue light on the ground, revealing two sets of shoeprints.

A nod to each other led to the slow traversal around the balcony, the sounds of their guests being heard more clearly.

''And you're sure this is where they came from? It seems abandoned.'' a male's voice sounded unimpressed. A hum came from Chie as she assumed the 'they' in this case could have been Akame and the brother. But they would require more to be sure. ''Never let it be said that I was the one completely on board with doing this.''

''You're the leader, you're supposed to know these things better than us, or was that little spiel you gave us a joke?'' a female's voice chimed in, the clacking and jangling of their gear filling the quiet air.

Chloe inched closer to the edge, hugging the ground as she low-crawled where she hoped she would be able to attain a better angle to see what or who exactly they had yet to engage, or if the effort to engage would even be there. Another scoot gave Chloe enough room to see over the edge without hopefully being spotted. A glint came from her peripheral, the orange glow of Aero's rifle scope giving her comfort as her communicator sounded in her ear.

''Oi, love; from what I see 'ere, it looks like we're dealing with. . .horses?'' Aero questioned, racking a round in his rifle and steadying his breathing. ''Not the weirdest thing we've dealt with. . .but call it.'' Chloe tilted her head, trying to decide how she would respond. ''One finger for go; two for no.''

Horses? That's what Last Order had in mind? Horses? Why. . .was the question the second in command to Lady Junko could not understand; let alone those that are capable of speech. While not groundbreaking in terms of interest, it was something that Lady Junko would want a report on, nonetheless.

To further her own agenda. Chloe raised two fingers before clutching her fist, choosing to let them pass in favor of gathering more information. The pair stood up slowly and quietly, watching their surrondings as Chloe began to signal to Aero again. Dragging a outward palm facing hand down her face before clutching it at her chin, Aero dug himself deeper into cover, using the vegatation around him as Chie uncovered a wooden prayer stick, breathing a breath onto it before touching the tip to her and Chloe's forehead, their forms soon turning invisible as the pair moved away from the door just in time to see their would be discoverers.

''But I am still a bit pissed we couldn't get hold of that little floating. . .talking thing; even if it did have that high pitched voice.''

Chloe grinned, knowing exactly what they were talking about. Chie shuffled behind the group, taking out another wooden stick and cracking to catch their attention.