A covert mission was exactly what D’Artagnan needed to get his mind off losing his entire family. He couldn’t believe they were all gone, and that he was in this place alone. He had spent nights drinking away his sorrows, but the current situation was too dire to continue on the path. Several people had been taken into an arena and were fighting for their lives, and it was up to this team to find out exactly what happened.
The island was secluded, and peaceful. Nothing seemed out of place and it certainly didn’t look like there was an arena on it.
“Guess we better head inland,” he said as he took trudged up the sandy incline toward the trees. A rustling caught him off guard, and the Musketeer drew his sword from its sheath.
Peter nodded, drawing his own sword as he turned toward the rustling sound. It was impossible to say whether they would find friend or foe behind those trees, but it was better to be prepared for the worst. Knowing that his brother and sister were in the arena raised the stakes of this mission for him in a way that was very personal, but he knew it was no different for Oliver whose girlfriend and former teammates were in there. It only strengthened his resolve to find those responsible.
D’Artagnan felt the same. Without his own family in Atlantis he had taken on to caring about the other people trapped in the arena, especially those of his two teammates. He knew that it couldn’t have been easy, and for them to keep their cool was impressive. D’Artagnan had more than once jumped into the fray head-first when it came to Constance, so the composure of these men was something he looked up to.
“Steady, lads,” he said softly strafing slowly to the left to possibly cut off whatever it was in the bushes.
Oliver was grateful not to be in Atlantis, to be able to do something more than just sit and wait or patrol the city. He’d rather be in the middle of things, to feel as if he was helping. The fact that Clarke, Alicia and Wanda had been through this kind of thing before pissed him off. Whoever did this stuff needed to pay, the three of them had been through enough already. There were others he knew in the arena too but the three that he was closest to were foremost in his mind. He had his bow, ready to shoot if they saw something but so far, it had been quiet.
He heard it at the same time D’Artagnan did and stopped. “I heard something,” he said quietly.
The rustling sound grew louder at the trio of men stood their ground. If it were COS agents they’d be ready, and if it wasn’t… well, they’d have to be ready for that as well. The movement in the trees increased, not just in sound, but in area. There were two more areas where there was definitely something moving amongst the bushes, and D’Artagnan’s heart beat faster in his chest up until the moment they appeared.
Bears.
Furry, brown, and quite large. They reared up on their hind legs, and sniffed the air. The chuffing sound they made was loud enough that it drowned out all else. They returned to the ground, large heads shaking.
“Don’t be afraid,” one of the bears said. “We mean you no harm.”
D’Artagnan took a step back and looked at Peter and Oliver. “I… uh… beg your pardon?” Was all the Musketeer could manage at the moment.
Peter couldn’t help a soft chuckle as he relaxed his sword arm and affected a more genial posture toward their new furry friends. Talking bears weren’t an anomaly to him - Narnia was full of talking animals, among other things. He’d grown used to regarding the talking animals of Narnia as his equal, more or less, and he extended these the same courtesy.
“Nor do we,” he assured the bear who had spoken, though he spared a glance for the others, extending his words to them, as well. “I am Peter and these are my friends, Oliver and D’Artagnan. We are looking for some friends of ours who have gone missing,” he added after just a moment, gesturing at each of his companions as he gave their names. “Have you seen any other humans about?”
Oliver just stood there, not quite believing what he was seeing. He’d seen some strange things of the mystical variety on Lian Yu, he’d seen some bizarre things in Atlantis but if there were talking animals, it was usually because someone he knew had been turned into one. These bears appeared to be just what they were. Talking bears. He glanced over at D’Artagnan and shrugged. Peter seemed comfortable talking to their new found friends (or he sure as hell hoped they were friends) so he was content to let him handle this.
D’Artagnan had been in Atlantis long enough to get used to the oddities that occured, and yet somehow being face with talking bears was quite the shock. He looked over at Peter, who was very comfortable with the entire thing, and the Musketeer followed suit. He offered up a polite bow of his head to the bears, and smiled.
The bears returned the bow, and looked at the men. “We’re not sure what happened,” one of the bears said as another bear stepped forward.
“We found this,” the second bear said and handed Peter a pen. “We did see some humans as well.” The bear added. “Further inland. Caves.”
Peter thanked the bear for the pen before giving it a puzzled look. He wasn't sure what her was supposed to do with a pen on this mission, but experience had had him that there was usually a method to Atlantis’ madness. He pocketed the pen, looking toward the direction the bears pointed out.
At least the bears were friendly, thought Oliver, and glanced at the pen and then back at the bear who had just spoken. “Did you see how many there were?” he asked. “Were there a lot of them or just a few?” COS probably wouldn’t have a large party out here but underestimating them was a bad idea. They’d certainly pulled off plenty of surprises in the past.
The bears gave an answer that was vague and not altogether helpful, but they were able at least to point them toward the caves they’d seen the COS agents in. “Shall we?” he asked his companions after thanking the bears for their help, gesturing in the direction of the caves. It seemed like the best place to continue their searching.
D'Artagnan nodded at Peter and Oliver, and then looked at the bears just as they turned to head inland. The Musketeer was a little hesitant to follow talking bears, but Peter seemed to trust them. He steeled himself, hand on the hilt of his sword as he pushed forward. The underbrush was thick, but D'Art was confident that their covert team could handle anything that came their way.