Fight As One

by Bluecatcinema

Out Of Place

It didn't take the team long to place their meagre supplies in a corner of the cave. Once that was done, they took the time to sit down for a well-deserved rest; their long walk (and escape from certain doom) had exhausted them greatly. As they rested, some of them helped themselves to the food they had gathered along of the way (Fury, or course, didn't, still preferring fish).

"This place isn’t quite as big as I expected it to be." Black admitted, as he looked around the small cave. "But it'll still fit all of us quite comfortably."

"Just for the record, I'm not a fan of caves." Fury scowled. "I don't like any place that doesn't have a vertical exit, or room to stretch my wings."

"And you're just telling us this now?" Sterling frowned.

"Honestly, I didn't think we'd make it this far." Fury shrugged. "And we almost didn't. Remember the bridge?"

"Vividly." Fletcher groaned.

"But we still made it, didn't we?" Caboose smirked. "As a team, I might I add."

"Don't order the team t-shirts just yet, pal." Sterling rolled his eyes. "First, we need to survive this island. And that involves hanging on to this cave longer than a day."

"I have my doubts on that." Fletcher mused.

"Come on, guys, stay positive." Black urged. "It's not like anything can really happen to this place. It's a cave, remember? Solid stone. Not the kind of stuff that can be easily messed up."

"I dunno." Caboose smirked. "Over the years, I've messed up a lot of stuff that was supposed to be 'impossible' to mess up..."

"No kidding." Fury scowled. "Not to mention it was your fault the last few camp sites were wrecked."

"That's a matter of opinion." Caboose shrugged.

“Let’s recap: who pissed on the cragadile? Who had us take the rickety old bridge that almost lead us to our deaths? And this is probably just me, but I think you’re the reason none of us can remember what happened last night.” Fury glared.

“Again, that’s your opinion.” Caboose retorted.

"Okay, let's take stock of the situation." Black declared, stepping in. "Fletcher, how are we for food?"

Fletcher checked the pile of food the team had gathered along the way.

"Looks like enough to last us until at least tomorrow morning." He surmised.

"Good." Black nodded. "Sterling, how about firewood?"

Sterling glanced at the tiny pile of wood before him.

"'Fraid we're running a little low there, boss." He noted.

"Then some of us need to get some more." Black suggested. "Sterling, Fletcher, Fury, that'll be your job."

"And what are you gonna be doing?" Fury frowned.

“I’ll hang back with Caboose.” Black announced, “You know, to make sure nothing happens to this camp site…” As he said ‘nothing’, he cast a sideways glance at Caboose.

The three all lit up in acknowledgement, recognizing Black’s intentions. Clearly, he hoped to keep Caboose’s antics in check. While Caboose didn’t mean to, he was inadvertently responsible for the problems with all their campsites so far.

“Yeah… good call.” Fury nodded.

"Wait, shouldn't I be doing something too?" Caboose asked, confused, “I mean, I can’t just sit here and do nothing.”

“Of course you can, Caboose.” Fletcher urged.

"Yeah, yeah." Sterling agreed. "You've really been giving it your all today. I figure you've earned a rest. Let us take up part of the load."

"Well, if you say so." Caboose shrugged. "Have fun out there!"

“Oh we will.” Fury smirked, leering at Black, “Good luck.”

"Hope there's plenty of luck to go around." Black retorted. "Some of us may need it more than others..."

As Sterling, Fletcher and Fury departed, they were once again observed by Turbine.

"Just the three of them, huh?" He mused. "I guess following them beats staring at a cave entrance all day..."

As Turbine stealthily followed them, the Taskforce's kite tracked their movements. Back at the headquarters, Consul and Elite observed their efforts as the others were attending to their duties.

"There they go." Consul noted. "Looks like Black and Caboose are staying behind.”

"Yes." Elite nodded. "They seem to be 'switching things up', as the kids say."

"I'm pretty sure the kids don't say that anymore." Consul snarked.

"Though I'm glad they are perservering, I must confess I'm concerned with how rough they've been having it." Elite admitted. "Perhaps we sent them to the wrong island..."

"It's nopony's fault." Consul told him. "None of that stuff was in the intel."

"'Intel'?" Elite frowned.

"Y'know, like the geographical data." Consul said hastily.

"I suppose that much is true." Elite nodded.

“Yeah… by the way, Incognito is putting together a betting pool.” Consul declared.

"What about?" Elite frowned.

"About how long this site will last." Consul smirked. "I bet a day, Master Mind two, Ballista three, and Incognito bet a few hours.”

“Seriously?” Elite frowned, “They could die, you know.”

“They need something to entertain themselves.” Consul explained, “There’s a lot riding on this survival training. And while some of them may not look like it, but I can tell they want those guys to succeed.”

“And succeed they will.” Elite said firmly, “It looks iffy at the moment, but I’m sure their run of bad luck is over now. I mean, how can they mess up a cave?”

“Well, let’s watch and see…” Consul declared, “...So, do you want in or-”

“No.”

“Okay, just checking.”

Back on the island, Sterling, Fletcher and Fury reached an area filled with trees.

"Funny how you agreed to go aong with us, Ulysses." Fury declared. "Ain't you and Napoleon joined at the hip or something?"

"Hysterical." Fletcher scoffed. "You make it sound like we're dependant on each other. We can spend time apart, you know.

"You think Black can handle Caboose?" Sterling asked. "Don't get me wrong, Caboose is a great guy, but he has his quirks."

"He's got quirks like I've got feathers..." Fury snorted.

"We all have our little foibles." Fletcher declared. "And even if Caboose has more than most, he has many valuable skills also."

"I'll believe that when I see it..." Fury muttered.

Seconds later, they arrived at the thickest gathering of trees.

“Well, this looks to be the right spot.” Sterling smiled, as he pulled out his sword, “Plenty of firewood for the taking.”

"Hey, watch where you point that thing, remember?" Fury pushed the sword away.

"Sor-ry." Sterling snorted. "I wasn't going to use the 'special feature' anyway."

“‘Special feature’?” Fletcher frowned, “What are you talking about?”

“It’s nothing you gotta worry about, soldier boy.” Sterling huffed, “Fury on the other hoof…”

“If you wanna live to the end of the week, you better not think about it.” Fury scowled, as he conjured up a spear, “Let’s just get this over with.”

“Well, before we get ahead of ourselves, I believe we should go about this methodically.” Fletcher announced, “Back in Norhay, my family would often cut down trees for firewood and the crafting of handles and arrows. That said, I happen to have a knack for knowing which would be the best trees to cut down. Like say…” Fletcher scanned the area, before noting some trees, “Oak trees! Yes, they will make for excellent-”

Fletcher was interrupted by a loud cracking sound, then a creak, as a small nearby tree fell. Sterling stood close to the tree, his sword held aloft.

"Sorry, were you saying something?" Sterling asked.

"I was, er... just talking about the right kind of tree to bring down..." Fletcher said awkwardly.

“Fletcher, firewood is firewood. It’s all going to be burned anyways.” Sterling deadpanned, “Besides, these birchwood trees are smaller and easier to cut down and will burn just as well.”

“...Ah. Good point.” Fletcher nodded stiffly, “But still, you ought to know that if we were to break them up and pile them in a neat and tidy-”

“Pyramid so they can be carried easily.” Sterling finished, “I know.”

"Oh... You do?" Fletcher frowned.

“For flap’s sake, it’s not some kind of fancy magic theory.” Fury snarled, “You pick a tree-” He fired a spear, cleaving one tree and sending it to the ground, “And you cut it down. Break it up. And take it to burn it.”

“I was just trying to instruct you on the best way to do things.” Fletcher defended, a bit incensed, “I have experience, you know.”

“So do we.” Fury scoffed, “Wanna make yourself actually useful?” He summoned another spear, and tossed it to Fletcher, “You can start by hacking at another tree. Don’t break it.”

“...Very well.” Fletcher huffed.

The three went to work, chopping down more trees (Fletcher with the least enthusiasm), as Turbine continued to observe them.

“Hmm, a know-it-all who’s all talk.” Turbine smirked, “Hmph, certainly rings a bell…”

At that moment, his mirror started beeping.

"Speak of the devil..." He sighed. He held up the mirror and switched it on, revealing Broker's face. "Hello, Broker."

"Turbine." Broker said curtly. The image and sound quality was still subpar, "Just checking to see if your little wild goose chase is still just as pointless as it was before."

"Ha, ha, very funny." Turbine scowled. "But, as it turns out, I did see some interesting sights today."

"Oh, really?" Broker said skeptically. "Like what?"

“Well, for starters, our problem almost went away.” Turbine announced.

“...’Almost’?” Broker frowned.

“Well, you remember that rickety old bridge that we almost took when we first got on the island?” Turbine recalled, “The one not far from the peak?”

“Oh, yeah.” Broker grimaced, “That thing looked like it would've gone to pieces if we took one step on it. Thank Faust we found that rock bridge right next to it.”

“I found that rock bridge.” Turbine corrected, “You were insisting that the quickest way between point A and B was straight across. You would've went on that bridge if I hadn’t stopped you.”

“Minor details.” Broker growled, “Anywho, what about the bridge?”

“Well, these guys actually took that bridge… and unsurprisingly, it went to pieces.” Turbine explained.

“No way. No creature could be that stupid.” Broker scoffed.

“Well, stupid or foolhardy. For a moment, I thought they were goners.” Turbine shrugged, “But they actually managed to get out.”

“Hmph. Sounds like they got lucky.” Broker grunted.

“Luck has nothing to do with it, Broker.” Turbine challenged, “No ordinary creatures would had been able to get out of there. They are something else entirely.”

“Okay, maybe they’re not tourists.” Broker admitted, “Doesn’t mean they’re here for us.”

“Then why else would they be here? They came across one of our holes.” Turbine revealed.

"They did?!" Broker gasped, his face alight with panic.

"Relax." Turbine assured him. "They only glanced at it, and I don't think they have any idea what it is."

“Ohh…” Broker let out a exhale, glaring, “Don’t buckin’ scare me like that.”

“Well, hopefully, this means you’ll start to take this more seriously.” Turbine declared.

“Look, even if they are a threat as you're making them out to be, I’m not about to send more guys out there just to take care of them. In case you've forgotten in your time sitting in trees, we’re on a tight schedule.” Broker scowled.

“What? You can’t push back the big day?” Turbine sneered.

“I could, but then I'd have to explain to everyone else that we can’t leave the island because someone wants us to take care of a few stragglers.” Broker retorted

“Hey, I want off this stupid island more than the next guy. But I also don’t want the past couple of months to have been a huge waste of time.” Turbine shot back.

“Well, with you gone, we’re down one worker.” Broker frowned, “Everyone back here are running around, trying to get this done, while you’re off playing spy games.”

“And what if those guys find us?” Turbine insisted, “Then all of that work will be for nothing, and we will be right where we started two years ago… if not worse.”

“And what if they don’t?” Broker shot back, “Then you’ll have done all that fretting and sitting in trees for nothing, yet you'll probably get your pay like the rest of us, despite barely doing anything..."

"You call watching out for the whole operation 'nothing'?" Turbine sneered. "We'll soon see about that. I can feel it in my bones."

"Well, as trustworthy as your bones are, I..." Broker trailed off as the mirrors suffered interference again. "Oh, great. Guess we'll have to finish this later. ...Or not, since I don't really like listening to your crazy conspiracy theories. Broker out."

"'Crazy'." Turbine scowled, as he put away the mirror. "We'll see who's crazy..."

Back at the work site, Broker put down the mirror.

"Unbelievable." He growled.

"Something wrong, Broker?" The green Unicorn, clad in a white and brown armored bodysuit, asked, flinging his braided green mane over his shoulder.

"You can say that again." Broker sneered. "Turbine and his obsession with those outsiders… I swear, I think all these years on this island is starting to get to him. If I didn’t know any better, he enjoys sitting in trees and pretending to be an actual bird.”

“Well, better him than me.” The green Unicorn grimaced, “All that tree climbing would give my hooves splinters and get leaves and branches all over my mane. And I can imagine those branches not being easy on your bottom.”

“You wouldn't know about that, wouldn’t you, Pomelo?” A gruff voice grunted. The griffon was standing nearby, in front of three targets. The griffon was a very broad and powerful specimen, the beak squared and sharp. Just above the talons were bracers with magic crystals embedded in them. "Fortunately, some of us aren’t so concerned about our looks… or butts.”

The Griffon threw out one of his talons as if throwing a punch. A bunch of light burst out of the bracer's crystal, punching a hole through one of the targets. The griffon threw out more swings, taking out the other targets.

“Hmph, you’re just jealous that I could pull this look off far better than you ever could, Grunt.” Pomelo sneered, “One look at you, and all the potential tail goes running for the hills.”

“Yeah, keep on talking, pretty boy, see where that gets you.” Grunt retorted.

"Nice shooting, Grunt!" One of the small Minotaurs grinned. "You got some real good bullseyes there... in fact, so do I!" He pointed to his own eyes.

"Good one, Ferdy." The second minotaur, distinguished from his twin brother by the golden nose ring he was wearing, sighed. "Better than anything I could've come up with..."

"Thanks, Dan." Ferdy grinned. "But hey, you could probably come up with some good jokes, too."

"Somehow, I doubt that." Dan sighed. "Considering what a hoof-brain I am."

"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself, bro." Ferdy encouraged.

"Yeah, shorty." Grunt smirked. "That's my job."

“Okay, you clowns, let’s get back to work.” Broker grunted, “We have a deadline to meet, especially with ‘certain’ factors that may or may not come in play really soon. We need all hooves and claws on deck. Just because Turbine have gotten out of helping, doens’t mean you haven't. So get to it!"

"As you wish." Pomelo pouted.

"Yeah, yeah..." Grunt muttered.

"Let's hop to it!" Ferdy joked, leaping unusually high for his size.

"I just hope I don't mess anything up..." Dan sighed.

"How did I end up with these weirdos?" Broker sighed, rubbing his temples.

Back in the forest, Sterling, Fury and Fletcher were carrying back the firewood. More notably, Sterlng and Fury were carrying much more than Fletcher, who was trailing behind the two, something the Earth Pony seem to not be so happy about.

"This oughta keep us warm and toasty for a while." Sterling grinned.

"The others better appreciate this." Fury grumbled, uncomfortable with the weight he was carrying.

"What's the matter, feathers?" Sterling smirked. "Havin' trouble?"

"Not a chance." Fury scoffed. "I can handle twice this."

"Then how about you take mine too?" Sterling asked.

"Nice try." Fury rolled his eyes. "You get yours, I get mine."

"Worth a shot." Sterling shrugged, as he glanced back, “What about you, Fletcher?”

"I think I've got a rather decent amount, thank you very much." Fletcher said in a snippy tone.

"Jeez, what's with the attitude?" Sterling frowned. "I was just asking a question."

"And I was just answering." Fletcher scowled.

"Heh, what crawled up your butt and died?" Fury smirked.

"Nothing." Fletcher retorted. "And kindly keep your vulgar statements to yourself."

"Okay, easy." Sterling shook his head. "Let's head back to the cave already."

"Hmph!" Fletcher sniffed haughtily.

"Yeah, yeah..." Fury grumbled.

As they kept walking, Fletcher picked up a scent in the air.

"Hold on." He told the others.

"What is it?" Sterling asked.

"...Over there!" Fletcher led them to behind a large tree.

Seconds later, a Timberwolf emerged from the undergrowth.

"I knew it." Fletcher frowned.

"Well, now." Fury smirked. "Looks like we got us some more firewood. Just gotta chop it up."

"Bad idea." Sterling declared. "I've heard about these things. They can pull themselves back together in seconds. The only thing that’ll do is wear us out even more and piss it off.”

“Hey, speak for yourself. I still got some fight left in me.” Fury scoffed.

“Well, luckily for you two, the academy taught us Norhayans how to handle Timberwolves.” Fletcher chuckled, stepping forth, “All we gotta do is employ the classic-”

"Misdirection method..." Sterling declared.

"You stick to the shadows, making as litle noise as possible..." Fury nodded.

"...Yes." Fletcher said awkwardly. "While at the same time-"

"While at the same time staying downwind, so it won't smell you coming." Sterling talked over Fletcher. "Then you distract it..."

"With a rock." Fury declared.

"A rock?" Fletcher frowned.

"It makes the best noise." Fury continued, as if Fletcher hadn't even interrupted.

"Yeah, yeah." Sterling agreed. "That'll do nicely."

Sterling picked up a large rock and threw against a distant tree. It hit with a loud thud, drawing the Timberwolf's attention. As the beast prowled over to investigate, Sterling prompted them to move out of the area while it was distracted.

“Hmm, not bad, Cross. Didn’t think they had timberwolves over in Haygypt.” Fury admitted.

“They don’t, really. It was just a standard diversion tactic.” Sterling said humbly, “Good call on using the rock, though.”

“Well, I didn’t always have spears to rely on.” Fury gave a small chuckle, “I had to improvise a few times in the past.”

"Must've worked, if you're still here." Sterling grinned. "I know a little about that myself."

"I figured as much." Fury nodded. "How else could you have stayed one step of the Forefathers and taskforce so long?"

"Guess I've just got the knack for it." Sterling declared. "We both do."

"Yes, yes." Fletcher scowled. "Congratulations all around. Now can we please keep moving?"

“Ooh, somepony’s real moody now.” Sterling joked, “What’s buggin’ ya, soldier boy?”

“Nothing is bugging me.” Fletcher retorted, as he let out a sigh, “I’m just… tired. Yeah, tired. That’s all. Cutting down all that firewood was exhausting.”

“Really? Hard to imagine, considering you did the least amount out of both of us.” Fury challenged.

“I just am, okay?!” Fletcher snarled, “Can we just drop it and just go?”

“Okay, okay…” Sterling huffed, “Either way, it’ll be good to get back to the cave and relax."

"Somehow, that enclosed space doesn't seem so bad right now." Fury agreed.

As they continued onward, Fletcher was silent, focusing on the events of the day.

'I really wasn’t any help today, was I?' He asked himself. 'It seems like everything I have done to this point has been rendered pointless by the others. They even knew how to handle that Timberwolf, and none of them had even seen one before.' He hung his head in despair. 'Does this mean Sterling was right about me? That I’m obsolete? Dead-weight?'

"Fletcher?" Sterling called. "Fletcher!"

"Ulysses!" Fury yelled.

"What?" Fletcher snapped out of his funk, realizing he had fallen behind.

"Quit daydreaming!" Fury growled. "Try and keep up!"

"Coming!" Fletcher awkwardly caught up to them.

Meanwhile, back at the campsite, Caboose was standing at the cave mouth, inspecting his crossbow. Black soon emerged, intent on scoping out the surrounding area.

“Hey, Caboose, what are you doing?” Black asked.

"Just making sure the ol' crossbow is clean and working right." Caboose shrugged. "Don't want it goin' bust just before some other savage animal attacks."

"Good thinking." Black smiled. "i do the same with my crossbows."

"Great minds think alike, huh?" Caboose chuckled.

"So... How's that family of yours doing?" Black asked.

“Oh, they’re doing fine. Michael growing good. Hurricane’s doin’ well in the junior guards, Daring’s been keeping herself busy.” Caboose smiled.

“How about them brothers of yours?” Black added, “They’ve been well?”

“Oh well.” Caboose admitted, “Few ups and downs, that one psychopathic ex-cop coming back for revenge, sending guys out to kill us, Grim nearly dying. Lots of fun had by all."

“Huh. Sounds like you’ve all been busy since I went and blew up your first home.” Black noted awkwardly, “...I am sorry about that, by the way.”

“Well, to be fair, I did almost killed you.” Caboose shrugged, “And we did keep you locked up under there for ten years. I’d probably want to burn the place down myself.”

“But I did deserved all that. After the crap I pulled with the changelings and the Crystal Sun…” Black sighed.

“Yeah, but things turned out fine in the end.” Caboose smiled.

“Barely…” Black murmured, “...But if I was being honest, those brothers of yours did me a favor. If they didn’t grab me that day in the marshlands, there’s no telling what kind of horrible things I would had done in those ten years.”

“Yeah… guess it would had eventually overshadow the Crystal Sun thing, huh?” Caboose mused, pausing a bit in his inspection.

“No kiddin’. I oughta thank them one of these days.” Black declared.

“I think they’d like that.” Caboose chuckled, “Maybe once we get off this island, I can get you and the guys together, so you can thank them in pony.”

“Uhh…” Black blanched, “I don’t think that would be a good idea. I mean, you took me being alive pretty well, but somehow, I doubt your brothers would be too forgiving of the things I did. Besides, I’m supposed to be dead. So, I can’t really be seen by anyone outside HQ, especially without my armor.”

“I guess there is that.” Caboose shurgged, “It’s a shame, though. Your social life must be really weak."

"What social life?" Black deadpanned.

"The one I just mentioned." Caboose replied, oblivious to the joke.

"No big deal." Black shrugged. "Never really had many friends growing up. There was just my brother, Big Red, Marshall, and Cherry. They were all the friends I needed."

"That's rough, pal." Caboose sighed. "I didn't have that many friends growing up either. But at least I had my family to keep me company."

"Yeah, family's the important thing." Black nodded. "You should cherish yours while you have them."

"I already do." Caboose nodded. "And always will."

"That's the spirit, Caboose." Black smiled. "You may not be the brightest stallion around, but when it comes to heart, you're a genius."

"Oddly enough, that's not the first time I've heard that." Caboose grinned. "Probably won't be the last, either..."

Black chuckled, then noticed something.

"Hey… is it really a good idea to check your crossbow while it's loaded?" He asked.

"Eh, it's always worked for me." Caboose shrugged.

"I'll bet." Black deadpanned.

Black took a look around. Things seemed peaceful enough. Suddenly, a shadow passed over them. Black glanced upwards, and saw a gigantic bird flying overhead.

"Hey, is that a Roc?" He mused.

"Rock?" Caboose frowned. Suddenly, he found himself reliving a traumatic episode from shortly after he joined the Taskforce. It involved Titan rolling into him.

"Did someone leave a big brown boulder..." He said in a daze, before suddenly yelping in fright. "...Ahh! Not again!"

In a panic, Caboose accidentally fired a bolt into the air.

“Whoa!” Black jumped back in shock.

Unbeknownst to the two, the Roc suddenly stopped mid-flight, emitting a high-pitched squawk.

“S-sorry… got a little scared.” Caboose rubbed his head nervously, “I heard you said-”

“I meant I saw a ‘Roc’-” Black instantly note Caboose’s growing panic, “As in the bird! Look!”

“Huh… oh.” Caboose glanced upwards, as he saw the Roc, “Silly me… boy, that is a big bird…”

“Yeah… real big...” Black began… as he suddenly noticed it was getting bigger, “Really big…” Suddenly it hit him, “Caboose, I think we should move.”

"Why?" Caboose asked. Black pointed upwards, and Caboose followed with his eyes, spotting the falling Roc. "Oh... Run!"

Caboose suddenly tackled Black, sending them down the nearby slope and away from the cave.

The Roc crashed right in front of the cave with a loud ‘thud!’. As Black and Cabose once again emerged from the cave, set on investigating, they saw that the giant bird was dead. The bolt Caboose had fire was lodged deep within its skull, right between the eyes.

“Lauren Faust…” Black cursed...

"...You know what? You were right." Caboose told Black sheepishly. "It was dangerous to inspect my crossbow while it was loaded. Sorry."

“How the hell… how did a small bolt like that kill a Roc?!” Black gaped.

“You know, I’m not so sure myself.” Caboose admitted, as he then tugged on the bolt in the Roc’s head. It was stuck. “Yikes, it’s in there deep. Never knew Roc skulls were so thin..."

At that point, Sterling, Fletcher and Fury returned, carrying their load of firewood.

"Pretty good haul, I'd say." Sterling smiled.

"Yep." Fury nodded. "Nice day's work."

"I suppose..." Fletcher muttered.

“Hey… did we pass the cave or something?” Fury frowned, suddenly noticing something unfamiliar.

“No, we shouldn’t have.” Sterling murmured, “I marked some of the trees as we left, so I'd know where to go.”

“Well, I assume you remembered something wrong.” Fletcher grunted, “Because all I see is a big dead bird.”

“Actually, you and Sterling would both be right.” Black grimaced, as he and Caboose approached them.

“Black? Caboose? What are you talking about?” Fletcher frowned.

“Yeah, where did the dead Roc came from?” Sterling asked.

“It’s a long story.” Black inclined his head in Caboose’s direction, “But to put it short… we now have a dead bird blocking up the cave.”

“Seriously? We didn’t even have this site for a whole night!” Fury snarled.

“Wait a second… isn’t all the food we collected still in the cave?” Fletcher gasped.

"...Yes, it is." Black realized.

"And now we're stuck out here, while it's in here." Sterling groaned.

"What do we do?" Caboose asked.

"How about we try moving this oversized pigeon?" Fury suggested.

"Move it?" Fletcher frowned. "Seriously?"

"You got a better idea?" Black asked.

"Let's go for it." Black nodded.

The team all gathered on the side opposite the cave mouth, and pushed against the Roc's body. Unfortunately, the creature's gigantic body proved impossible to move.

“Gah, dammit. This bird is too heavy.” Fletcher cursed.

"So much for that idea." Sterling sighed.

"Well, it was worth a shot." Black nodded.

“But the food is still in there.” Caboose pouted.

“We could make our own way in.” Fury suggested, conjuring up a spear, “I mean, the bird is dead, so I doubt it will mind if we were to carve a nice round hole through it…”

"Ugh! No way!" Sterling gagged.

"The poor birdy!" Caboose cringed.

"Sorry, Fury, no can do." Black shook his head.

“Oh, come on. We’re part of the RDL!” Fury snarled.

“Yeah, doesn’t mean any of us wants to crawl through the entrails of a dead bird!” Sterling grimaced.

“I’m afraid he’s right.” Fletcher declared, “Even if we ignore the thought of desecrating the bird’s corpse, we’d be going in and out through the thing. And it’s eventually going to emit such a foul stench. I hate to say it, but we’ll just have to leave the food and the cave.”

"So we're moving again? Great..." Sterling groaned. "Don't suppose you've got a fourth camp site in mind, boss?"

"Maybe." Black shrugged. "I did see some other possibilities from up on the peak. None of those were nearly as good as the other three..."

"Which is saying a lot." Fury scoffed.

"Shall we press on, then?" Fletcher asked, eager to take his mind off certain matters.

"Guess so." Black nodded, as he faced Fletcher, Fury, and Sterling, "Hey, since you guys went to the trouble of grabbing the firewood, do any of you need help sharing the load?”

"Nah." Sterling shook his head.

"I'm good." Fury shrugged.

"Fletcher, you-?" Black started.

"No." Fletcher abruptly cut him off. "I'll go on ahead, if nocreature minds..."

The others watched as Fletcher marched ahead.

"Well, that was... ot of character." Black frowned.

"What's with him?" Caboose asked.

"No clue." Sterling declared.

"Don't care." Fury shrugged.

As the group made their way, leaving the dead giant bird behind, Turbine watched, utterly flabbergasted.

'Again?!' He thought incredulously. 'I don’t know whether they are stupid or have the worst luck ever… still, they managed to kill a roc. I fear to ask what would happen they came across another giant beast.

Back at the Taskforce's headquarters, the Taskforce watched, equally unnerved. Most were watching intently... save for Incognito, who cheered loudly.

"Yeah!" He whooped. "I won the bet!"

"Unbelievable..." Ballista groaned.

"I was so sure the odds were on my side..." Master Mind sighed.

Elite and Armory said nothing, instead looking on in disapproval.

“Honestly, what are the odds of Caboose making such a shot?” Ballista sighed.

"Statistically, this beggars logic." Master Mind stated, rubbing his head, “It should had been impossible.”

"No kidding." Incognito nodded. "Even I'm starting to think this is going too far."

"So they're still having bad luck with campsites." Elite shrugged. "At least they've managed to not get in each others’ faces today. It looks like the training is working.”

"I suppose so." Consul nodded. "But they've still got a ways to go before they become a single, well-oiled machine. Not to mention they still have to survive on that island for a few more days."

"They've survived so far, haven't they?" Ballista pointed out. "Regardless of the state of their teamwork, they've managed to withstand anything the island can throw at them. If they keep up the survival, they'll be back here before we know it."

"Yeah." Armory smiled. "They've already overcome wild animals and a near fall into a deadly chasm. What else on that island can possibly be worse?"

"What indeed..." Elite mused.