Element Gang: Battle Force 5 Chptr 6 In the Junkyard Zone

[Axel’s view]
After getting through the portal, we all saw that Zone looked just like we thought it would: a junkyard. There was so much scrap metal around that there mountains of it like the one I saw after we got through the portal.

“Here we are.” I said, just astounded by all that was left for scrap in the Battle Zone. “Man, look at all of this!”

“Ha! You must feel right at home around here, huh?” Basar chucked, making a joke out of my salvaging habits. “Being around all this scrap, huh, Axel-vager? Ha-ha!”

That inside joke got Tricha, Mari, Jay, and Trust to laugh and me to smile in a bemused way as I rolled my eyes.

“Axel-vager?” Vert asked, confused by the nickname Basar gave me for my habits. “What’s that about?”

“Was that a joke?” Stanford asked over the comm, not knowing what Basar meant. “What is he talking about?”

“Well, there’s an easy answer for that.” Jay said, ready to explain the joke. “Hey, Stanford, you remember the times Axel came up with those inventions of his?”

“You mean the ones that always blew up in our faces?” Stanford said, remembering the inventions I made. “How could I forget those?”

“Hey, not all of them blew up!” I said to him, reminding him that not all my inventions were failures. “Some of them worked. And I also found other uses for some of them too.”

“Okay, I get it.” Stanford said before getting back to finding the answer. “So what exactly does it have to do with whatever Basar just said?”

“Well, it’s because the parts he got for them were things he salvaged from the local junkyard back home.” Jay said to him, getting to point. “He did it so much that Basar came up with that nickname for him.” He then started laughing when he got to the point. “Salvager Axel? Axel-vager? Get it?”

“Oh, now I get it.” Stanford said, chuckling a bit.

“Wait, Axel? You went dumpster diving in a junkyard?” Vert said, surprised by this.

“I salvaged parts from a junkyard.” I said to him, clarifying things to him. “I couldn’t afford the parts I needed for my inventions, so that was the best option I could go with.”

“Hey, where’s Zoom?” Agura said as we all noticed that Trust’s little brother wasn’t around.

“He didn’t make the jump.” Spinner said, answering that question.

“Yeah, and it’s all Jay’s fault!” Trust said, sounding a bit angry.

“My fault?” Jay asked, surprised by this. “How is it my fault?”

“If you didn’t drove in front of Sherm and Spin, Zoom wouldn’t have missed the portal!” Trust said to him, not losing that anger in his voice.

“Guys, let’s just settle down and focus.” I said to those two, stopping that argument before it could escalate. “We got a job to do. We’ll have to do this without Zoom.”

“I’m picking up enemy readings.” Vert said over the comm. “Come on, let’s find that Battle Key.”

“All the metal’s interfering with my tracker. I can’t pick up the Key’s energy signature.” I said as my tracker wasn’t able to pick up the Key. “Sherman, you getting anything?”

“I think, uh…I have a bearing on the Battle Key,” Sherman said, sounding a bit unsure, “but all the metal in here is distorting the signal. Looks like there’s something…big near the Key. And it’s moving.”

“Axel? Ever heard of something like that?” Basar asked me over the comm.

“No. That’s new to me. Never had a situation like that in a Battle Zone.” I said as I truly didn’t know what the situation with the Key was. “Judging by that analysis, I would have to say that the Key is with some large creature.”

“You mean there’s something alive here?” Trust said to me. “What could live in a place like this? There’s nothing but scrap metal around here.”

“I’m not sure.” I said to him. “This could be an entirely new lifeform that can survive in such an environment like this Battle Zone.”

“Not good.” Jay said with worry in his voice as we all looked to him.

Vert chuckled before he said “Scared, Jay?”

“No. I’m not getting any reception in this Zone.” Jay said as we all saw he was holding his phone.

“Jay, after the modifications I made to your phone so it could get reception from Earth in a Battle Zone, now you’re trying to use it?” I said to him, surprised by this. “Why are you trying to make a call to Earth now? Your phone isn’t even connected to the base’s communication array.”

“I was just making sure I could still use it.” He said to me. “What if Grace tries calling me?”

“Really, Jay?” I said, feeling exasperated that he was using the modifications like that. “You’re using the phone that I modified to enable you to get in contact with any team member that might still be on Earth just so you can call a girl you think you have a chance with?”

“What? A guy can hope.” Jay said to me, trying to make an excuse.

“Wait, you actually upgraded his phone to work in a Battle Zone?” Spinner asked me over the comm.

“Yeah. I also gave those same modifications to my own phone, along with Trich, Mari, Base, and Trust’s phones too.” I answered him. “It was easy to do once I got my hands on the receiver and transmitting units from some wrecked Zurk and use them to upgrade the receivers and the transmitters on their phones. Hate to say it, but they really have some great communication range.”

“Okay, but why did you make it so they could still use their phones in a Battle Zone?” Agura asked me.

“It’s just so we can stay in contact with each other and be able to call back up if we need to, especially when we split up.” I answered her. “Long story. I’ll tell you all later.” Then I got to Jay as I remembered what he said to Grace. “By the way, Jay, I just remembered that you promised Grace you’d help her meet Domino.”

“Yeah, so?” Jay asked me, not realizing the problem with that.

“The girls don’t use the comms I gave them for personal chats with us and you don’t have their phone numbers.” I said to him, pointing out the problem. “How exactly are you going to get Grace to meet Domino when you don’t have any way of contacting them, genius?”

“Um…” Jay said as he took a moment to think before coming up with an answer. “I’ll figure something out. Those girls are always up to help people.”

“Okay, this has gone long enough.” Stanford said over the comm. “How exactly do you know some of the biggest pop star idols in the world?”

“I can’t really explain that.” I said to him. “It’s…complicated. It would be better if those three were here for it. I barely understand much about them.”

“Hey, Vert.” Jay said, sounding pretty smug. “How’s it feel that I got a better chance at getting a date with Grace than you?”

Vert sighed in annoyance before saying “We’re rolling.”

“I’ll try to see if I can find the Battle Key from the air.” Trust said as he then went off, put his Ice Bike in hover mode and went off to survey the area.

With that, we all then got moving to find the Battle Key along with whatever had it in this Battle Zone.

[Trustin’s view]
After getting high enough to get a good look around the Zone, I tried to see if I could find the Battle Key. After managing to see the others drive off to search on the ground, I looked to the ledge and saw something. It kind of looked like…there was someone watching Axel, Vert, and everybody else leaving. I shook my head to make sure my vision wasn’t messed up before looking back at the ledge. When I looked back, there was nothing there. Had to guess I was see-ing things. With that done, I then went on to keep looking for the Battle Key.