214C

After yelling down to Zac and Fredrick, Ying stopped circling the clearing, and flew off into the distance.

Fred and Jay looked at each other, Jay's eyes wide with worry and Fredrick slowly shaking his head at him.

Jay raised his eyebrows, and then Fredrick flicked his eyes toward where Zac and the other survivors were hiding.

After that short interaction, which only took moments, Jay shook his head, and turned away, running off into the surrounding forest.

While Ying had been circling above, the Lava Lion had been cautious, eyeing him with its remaining eye, and snarling and growling as it paced around.

But once Ying had flown away, and Jay had also disappeared into the forest, its caution disappeared, and it stalked toward Fredrick, who stood firm in its path, a grim expression on his face.

Frederick knew that even though the ITC helicopters were nearby, leaving now would surely doom the few survivors they managed to rescue, the Lava Lion would easily sniff them out once he was gone.

"Come on then! You fleabag!" Frederick roared out a challenge at the Lava Lion, which growled loudly in response, easily drawing out his yells.

Zac and the other survivors watched on, confused, why had Fredrick's comrades abandoned him, surely the ITC didn't care that much about whether a rescuer was sanctioned or not?

Meanwhile, the sound of the helicopters grew louder and louder, and even as the Lava Lion neared Fredrick, an enormous helicopter appeared overhead.

The survivors, Zac included, tore their eyes away from the enormous beast for a moment, the helicopter above was truly impressive.

It was painted in green and yellow camouflage, and at its nose, was a large see-through bubble, where the pilot would clearly sit.

It had one large rotor overhead, that sent the leaves spinning away from the trees below as it descended, and it had a tail, with a smaller rotor attached.

Below, mounted on the bottom of the craft, was a large gun, as well as missiles that were mounted to short wings that sat behind large doors on the side.

On its side was the ever recognizable logo of the ITC, a pair of clasped hands in front of a stylized image of the earth, in the black and white that were so familiar to anyone in the world, even a person living in the most remote village.

The large door on the side slid open, and a thick rope slid out, dangling a few meters short of the ground.

The Lava Lion was once again on its guard, circling Fredrick while its remaining eye flicked up above.

Frederick slowly backed away, heading in the opposite direction to where Zac and the others were hidden, but it seemed that the Lava Lion wasn't about to let the one remaining intruder escape, and it followed, staying between him and the trees.

Zac watched in fascination as the silhouette of a large figure appeared from the side of the helicopter, and grabbed the rope, sliding down the rope.

Even before reaching the end of the rope, the person sliding down the rope leaped toward Fredrick, and slammed into the ground next to him.

The person only came up to Zac's shoulder and their face was away from Zac, and they wore a helmet that almost covered the entire head.

The person was wearing a set of body armor, made out of a flexible, stretchy material, that had metal plates on the torso and back, as well as smaller plates dotted all over the armor.

The armor was colored in the same camouflage pattern as the helicopter above, and on the figure's back, was a large sword.

The sword had a long handle, enough for it to be held with both hands, and had a single edge, ending in a triangular point.

Zac watched, in confusion, as the figure completely ignored the Lava Lion, and swung its blade free of its back, pointing it at Fredrick's neck.

"Sir. You are under arrest for violating ITC Code Number 214C. An Augmented may not venture into a newly formed Transition Zone without going through all official systems and procedures." The voice was definitely a man's, and he spoke clearly, easily heard above the growls of the Lava Lion and spinning of the helicopter blades above.

'What the f***! No way! He's going to fight, isn't he! Or run away?' Zac stared in confusion, he got up from where he was pressed into the ground, for a better look at what was happening.

But Fredrick didn't do anything of the sort, he just shook his head a little, and with a resigned expression, he fell to his knees, and put his hands behind his head.

By now, the confused Lava Lion was stepping toward the two individuals, confusion would only keep it distracted for so long.

Another figure, slid down the rope from above, this one was far smaller, wearing the same body armor and same helmet, with a dark visor that Zac could now see.

This individual didn't even slide down half of the rope, before letting go and falling toward the Lava Lion.

'What the hell! Are these people crazy or something? What on earth are they doing?' Zac rose to his feet now, stepping toward the Lava Lion and the new arrivals.

He focused on his Mana Core, he knew that as a scrawny young teen, he couldn't do anything to help Fredrick.