//------------------------------// // CM: Siren in the Sands // Story: Melody of the Future // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// As the group began searching around for quicksand, they found themselves confronted by Ferham as she swooped down. "You've come quite far, boys and girls," she offered teasingly. "But I'm really not supposed to let you get any further." She lashed her energy whip. "So...which of you big strong boys wants to play?" "Mine!" Cinnamon and Marino both snapped immediately as they grabbed onto Axl, making Octavia facehoof. "Taken," X and Zero both supplied immediately. Spider was mysteriously absent. Massimo stepped forward, bracing himself as he pounded his fists together. "I'm not going to let you hurt my friends," he growled dangerously. Ferham looked Massimo over curiously. "My, aren't you a big fellow," she purred. "I'd almost say...massive." "I'm not called Steel Massimo for nothing!" Massimo insisted. "Big all around?" Ferham inquired seductively. Massimo flexed. "Just try and find something small on this body!" "Oh, I'd love that!" Ferham taunted, floating forward and idly cracking her whip. "Don't think you can intimidate me!" Massimo proclaimed, the excitement of battle in his voice. "I can take plenty of punishment!" Ferham chuckled as she shifted swiftly to one side, Massimo slowly turning to follow her. "Having trouble keeping up?" she chided throatily. "I may not be fast, but I'll never stop!" Massimo declared confrontationally. "A great deal of...endurance, then?" Ferham purred wickedly. "Indeed!" Massimo confirmed. "It's a matter of pride!" Ferham let off a throaty chuckle, lifting the short metal tube that was the base of her energy whip to her mouth. "Oh, I'm going to have fun with you," she purred, giving it a suggestive lick. "Anywhere, anytime!" Massimo declared intently. Ferham suddenly let off a girlish giggle. "Gimme a ring sometime then, handsome!" she purred, blurring forward to slip something into Massimo's hand before flying off, blushing. Massimo blinked, glancing down at the contact card in his hand. He then turned to the others as Spider disengaged his stealth mode. "Uh...what just happened?" Spider chuckled softly. "Looks like you just got yourself a date, big guy," he teased, punching Massimo on the shoulder. He then paused, realizing he hadn't needed to reach up to do so. Massimo blinked. "Am I...missing something?" Spider glanced down, then up. "Uh...I'll explain later. For now, it looks like you found the quicksand." Massimo glanced down, seeing he'd already sunk up to his knees. "Wha!" He started to struggle. "Just relax," Octavia told him as she hopped into the quicksand alongside him. "Remember, we wanted to sink." "R-right," Massimo stammered nervously as the others moved into the pool to be dragged down. After a time of passing through the sand, the group dropped heavily down into a wide open chamber of metal walls. As they all held their breath and kept their eyes closed once they were enveloped by the sand, they were able to recover from it rather rapidly. "Guess you were right, Octavia," Massimo gasped in relief. "We found the facility." "No need to sound so relieved," Octavia pouted petulantly. "Didn't you trust me?" "I don't like being enclosed to the point I can't move!" Massimo whined worriedly. "Ferham would certainly find that interesting," Spider teased. "Why were you hiding from her, anyway?" Zero asked curiously. "...bad first impression," Spider answered evasively. "The first time they met, he tried to hit on her and she whipped him somewhere painful," Marino elaborated. "Did you have to bring that up?" Spider whined. "You tried to pick her up with fried chicken!" Marino snapped irritably. "Yes, I did." "It was my first time trying to pick up a girl!" Spider complained. "And my attempts weren't helped when you 'took pity on me', came back to my place, slipped me a knockout, and stole everything that wasn't nailed down, pried up the nails to steal everything that was, and then put the nails back!" "Can we keep it down and get going before we set off an alarm?" Axl pleaded before anyone could laugh too hard. After a few more chuckles, the group moved off into the facility. Past that first open room, the path was a maze of narrow, twisting corridors leading to hidden switches to unlock sealed doors. It was patrolled by bat mechanaloids and some of those from the desert sands above. Thankfully, the same narrow corridors that caused problems for the group's maneuverability also hampered the larger mechanaloids, making it that much easier for Marino, Axl, Octavia, and Spider to slip around them and strike at their weak points. Finally, the group found their way to an elevator, taking them up to higher floors with wider corridors and less sand. "Thank goodness!" Marino sighed happily. "Finally get to get some sand out of my armor. It's managed to get into some very uncomfortable spots." She turned her back to the group and began to futz with the clasps keeping her armor on. "Uh...is this really the best time for that?" X asked worriedly. "Could you help me with mine, Axl?" Cinnamon asked innocently as she moved to join Marino. Octavia chuckled as Axl moved to assist as requested. "Dad, they're just feeling a little territorial after meeting Ferham. Leave them be. It's not like we're in a hurry or anything." "And...if there are security cameras?" Zero asked softly. Octavia smirked. "Then whoever's running this place is going to be very distracted..."