The Unseen 3

Progress?

When they entered the base, it was quiet. No one was in as Wendy looked around.

"Hello! Top Rangers are here!" Silence followed before the door opened behind them. They turned as Lapis paused. Silence followed as he closed the door quietly. "Lapis. Good to see you." He nodded silently before going around the group and over to the desk. Admiral noticed bandages on his arm, just slightly hidden by his jacket. Ice must've noticed with his question.

"Are you ok?" Lapis paused what he was doing, almost to think about an answer. Silence must've been chosen since he grabbed a folder and handed it to Wendy. He then went back out, leaving them to the file. Wendy gulped before Admiral sighed.

"He's wounded. Something happened."

"Being that this is supposed to be the one of the liveliest bases of Fiore? I can believe that." Wendy opened the file with a pause. "Let's see... hm... most of the forces are up north in Wintown." She then paused. "Lapis is the only one marked anywhere south. What are they thinking-" Admiral gulped.

"We can take charge here. Lapis has no guidance whatsoever." She then paused. "I'll take charge. Someone has to." Wendy nodded as Admiral went over to the Operator's station, which was also abandoned. With only a few clicks, the station was back online. Dijon instantly reached out.

"Voicemail, Voicemail, Union to Fall City."

"Fall City to Union, Admiral speaking."

"What's the status?" Admiral gulped as the other three joined.

"Not good." Wendy took over slightly. "They move almost all rangers to Wintown. There is one ranger patrolling down here." Luana cursed.

"I told them to think wisely before moving their forces. Who's left outside Wintown?"

"Lapis. And I have a feeling he's already been targeted for being on his own." Luana stayed quiet as Crawford spoke.

"Are you guys going to need backup?" They looked at each other. Wendy hummed.

"Not right now. We'll see how the next couple of days go. But we're not going north yet. They have enough forces up there. If they need help, they need to send people south."

"Copy that. We'll reach out to Wintown."

"Copy that."

~~~

Ice was able to convince Lapis to get checked. It took a couple hours, but eventually the tired ranger allowed himself to get dragged back to the base, where he was sat down and a first aid kit was brought to him. Lapis wouldn't say anything, only speaking with his eyes. So when Ice asked him to remove his jacket, his eyes were a lot more honest than he was, showing hesitation and fear. But Ice was able to get him to relax and started redressing his wounds, which looked both painful and sore.

Crepe watched from afar as Ice helped Lapis out. This was not the same Lapis who took on the Go Rock Squad the first time. This was not the Lapis that helped the base when they were lost. This was not him.

Wendy was the one that got him to understand that Admiral was taking charge and if there was an order he got, Admiral was going to override it. But he refused to say what that was. He listened to Admiral, but he wouldn't tell what his last order was. So Crepe finally approached, which got Lapis to open up.

"Lapis, you are hurt and I know every time you complete something from Admiral, you are off doing something else." Lapis nodded faintly, almost knowing that the smaller boy was right. "What did Sage give you?" He looked at him with sad eyes.

"He... told me to keep them back... back from the city... in the forest..." Crepe felt a tug at his gut. While the forest was Ringtown territory, it was also Lapis's stomping grounds. This meant two things; One, Lapis was holding the line for two bases and two, his safety net was being invaded. Crepe stood up after Lapis looked away, prompting him to look up.

"I'll go handle that. You see if Admiral has anything for you." Lapis looked confused, but he didn't give him a chance to question it as he ran off, sending Admiral a text that he was dealing with a problem in the forest.

~~~

Crepe's heart dropped when he discovered what Lapis meant. He called Wendy with a soft voice.

"I now know what happened to Lapis. I need backup in the forest ASAP."

Wendy joined him and gulped.

"Lapis... has been fighting this?"

"That was Sage's last order to him. Keep them back from the city. I don't think Sage knew they would send more units down here when the vast majority of the rangers went north." She twitched.

"I'm burning a hole through these guys."

"The field's yours. Just leave the forest in one piece."

Wendy alone forced the Go Rock Squad out of the forest. Crepe didn't need to join. But he overheard the evacuating forces say that there was an admin that got past Lapis's barricade and was somewhere in the city. Typical.

But Crepe focused on giving Lapis some peace of mind by bringing him to the now cleared forest. Lapis was lost in thought before Crepe noticed.

"Hey.... you good?" Lapis nodded softly, not entirely pulling out of his thoughts as he stared off. Crepe stopped him as he paused. "You sure?" Lapis blinked twice before nodding.

"Sorry... I'm not usually with people when I..." Oh. Crepe smiled before nodding.

"Right. Then I'll leave you to the rest of you walk. Return back to base when you're ready." Lapis nodded as Crepe raced back. He then took a steady breath.