Shadow: Forces (Cringe)

Side Story 1: Winter Storm

A/N: hey everyone, apologies for taking so long. Initially this was not supposed to be the first one released but the one that was planned is being completely rewritten at the moment. This one ties into to the sequel however. The title of it right now is "Shadow Forces: Ground Zeros" Terrible art by me, lol. This was supposed to be up a week ago but I got sidetracked at least 90 times.

Gadget, Fuchsia, Lot and Ballista were in the command room of the former Resistance HQ in Ghost Town. A projector switched on, showing a roundel with the letters "UMDF" on the top of it. At the bottom was "United Mobian Defense Force", which was formed right after the end of the war. Shadow was there, Whiplash beside him "Welcome back Warwolf, I have your new orders. While Eggman has been defeated, remnants of his machines still linger in his old bases. One of these bases is located high in the mountains of Schenbere. (Shin-bear-ay) The frigid temperatures have made the machines' base stand out like a sore thumb, and we can take out this small cell before they can organize into a proper threat. Your orders are to make sure the base is rather cleared or destroyed. Gadget, Fuchsia and Lot will infiltrate the base, using the element of surprise to take out as many bots as you can. Ballista will provide sniper support with a gunship as soon as the firing starts." Shadow said, pictures of the base and the mountains around it appearing on the screen. Whiplash nodded "Warwolf, you are cleared to launch!" he said before they left and got ready. There was a gunship waiting for them, white paint coating it. They all got in, everyone except Ballista checking on their wispons. Ballista twirled a bullet between her fingers before sliding it into a magazine and slamming it into her sniper rifle, chambering it. The gunship lifted off as the doors shut, everyone looking at each other before getting ready for the long ride. The ride was quiet, with Ballista on occasion having a brief conversation with the pilot. "I was actually there during the Liberation of Mobius." he said, one of Ballista's eyebrows raising
"Oh really?"
"Yep. Seeing that humongous ebony ship demolish all of Eggman's ships like they were nothing was a beautiful sight." the pilot said before giving a light chuckle. Gadget adjusted his grapple hook while Fuchsia had fallen asleep. Ballista smirked before leaning back in her seat, her arms spread out onto the headrests beside her "This war has been hell ever since it began. Glad it's coming to an end, even if has been over officially for over a year now ."
"Wouldn't be the only one! Say, what ever happened to Eggman?"
"He's napping in the Death Egg with the help of a .45 round. Dare made sure he wouldn't make it out of this war."
"So I heard. Alright we're coming up on the base. You three, get ready."
Gadget gently woke Fuchsia up and the three got ready, the door opening. Ballista readied her rifle and pointed out the door "Go, we'll cover you."
Gadget looked at the other two and nodded as they stood at the edge of the door. They were just above the ground, the snow crunching as they hopped out. The gunship pulled up, the mission officially starting...

"Please make sure all machines have proper insurance."

Gadget, Fuchsia and Lot moved towards the base, the wind covering any noise they made, along with the gunship. They could see the base, a large radar dish being some sort of landmark. It didn't appear to be on though. "Something's wrong, ain't got anythin' on the thermal." Ballista said over the radio. Gadget looked at the others, Lot shrugging. They moved together in formation, Lot up front, Fuchsia at the rear, and Gadget in the middle. They got to the base after a few minutes of trudging through the snow and looked around it. The base looked like an old airfield, with the air traffic control tower still standing and some old vehicles on the runway. It was quiet... "Warwolf 4, we've got contacts, it's an ambush!" Ballista yelled over the radio. Sure enough bots swarmed in from every direction. Gadget looked at the other two before they ran behind an abandoned truck for cover. Gadget pulled a grenade from one of his satchels and tossed it, hitting a group while Fuchsia fired her void wispon. Purple lasers flew across the runway, each bot hit by it imploding from the miniature black holes. Lot couldn't really do much due to his drill having very little range but deflected any lasers that came at him. The gunship flew over and both it and Ballista opened fire, the miniguns on the gunship ripping the machines to shreds as duos of missiles fired. Ballista was taking bot after bot out, smoke swirling off the end of her rifle. Suddenly a rapid beeping was coming from the cockpit. Before Ballista could do anything, something hit the gunship, a rocket that Ballista hadn't seen? Suddenly two jet fighters blasted by, not being UMDF or Robotonick... The jets circled back around and fired missiles at the mountain above the base, the intention unknown...
"Warwolf 4, we're going down, repeat we're going down!" Ballista yelled, the helicopter jerking into a violent spin before slamming into the snow on the other side of the airfield. Gadget looked at the others with visible concern before they heard Ballista coughing over the radio "Warwolf 4, I'm okay... Pilot's gone... Need you to get your butts up here though, there's too many for me!" Ballista yelled as she slid the side door open and got out, loading her sniper rifle. Several bots stood between the group and Ballista. Gadget looked at the others and pointed at the bots in front of them before putting his hand into a fist. They nodded and got ready, Lot's drill spinning, a purple glow coming from the barrel of Fuchsia's void, and Gadget's burst heating up. An egg hunter MK II hopped down by the machines, the three's focus unbroken. Gadget nodded and the three charged straight at the machines. Gadget incinerated several of the bots, Fuchsia firing a void round that opened a small black hole, consuming most that weren't ashes. Lot meanwhile moved in on the Egg Hunter. It attempted to crush him underfoot, missing as Lot rolled to his side. He spun up the drill and slammed it into the Egg Hunter's leg, it roaring before kicking him back. It went to slam it's railgun down onto him, Lot catching it with the drill. Gadget grappled onto the side of the machine, yanking himself over top of it. The red wolf tore open a panel on the back of the machine before shoving the burst wispon into it and filling it with liquid fire. Fuschia ran under it, tossing a sticky grenade onto it's bottom. It reared back, Gadget jumping off and doing a front flip before landing by his comrades. The Egg Hunter had explosions ring out all over it's armor, the grenade exploding and blowing it's lower body off. They looked at each other and smiled before Ballista slid down one of the base's sloped walls, landing by them. Before they could celebrate though, they heard a rumbling. Ballista looked at the others "Get inside the base, now!" She yelled before they quickly sprinted for the door. Gadget looked up and could see an avalanche headed right for them. It was huge, like the mountain itself was collapsing! They then heard laser fire, another wave of bots coming for one last defense. The team readied their weapons, firing back. One laser managed to strike Ballista, her growling as her stomach had a burn mark. They fought their way through the machines, barely making it inside before the avalanche hit. Right before it hit, Lost hit a button that closed the door. They all sat down against a wall, Ballista growling and hyperventilating as she gripped her stomach "Laser... Shredded right through my suit!" She yelled, her voice echoing through the empty halls. She was bleeding badly, enough that her glove was soaked in red, and if they didn't stop the bleeding she'd have five minutes at max. Gadget pulled a syrette from one of his pouches, jabbing it into her stomach. She tensed up at first before relaxing. She was calm, almost asleep as her mouth hung open slightly. That would buy her time. Fuchsia and Lot laid by each other to try and share their warmth, Gadget and Ballista doing the same before the other two joined them. "Avalanche... We can't..." Ballista started before she was too weak to even speak. Her eyes closed as her head drooped, her rifle still in her hands... She was still breathing, but that's all she had left. Gadget could hear more rumbling from the mountain. Fushia turned and grabbed his hand, leaning against him as they tried to keep warm. The three looked at the large metal door as the rumbling got louder. Gadget smiled a little as he heard the bigger avalanche hit, knowing that even though the chances of them making it out were low, the mission was still a success. They could hear Whiplash on Ballista's radio "Warwolf 4 respond... Warwolf 4, are you there!? Anyone!? Warwolf!?" was the last thing he heard before a third avalanche hit, covering the entire base and cutting their radios off... "An avalanche just swallowed the entire base, there's no way they survived." Shadow said on the radio with a sigh. Whatever was above ground was now covered in snow so thick that the air traffic control tower was barely sticking above the ground...
"I thought this war was over! Somebody figure out where those damn fighters came from! Give me a name, I'll hunt them down myself!" Whiplash yelled, Shadow walking out of the room. Whiplash shook his head before opening the four's files and marking them as MIA. there were two others that were MIA too, but another window on the computer blocked them from view... Whiplash stayed silent as he shut the computer off and left...