A/N: Here it is, the prequel to 'Caged'. All stories are on hold until I finish what will hopefully become a three-part series.

It had been an ordinary day, devoid of Stormshocks or peril. It had been an ordinary nightly routine, the two of them going to bed on their own and then her waiting in her room until half past lights out to sneak into his. It wasn't that they were breaking any rules, rather, it was to avoid being harassed by their teammates (or putting any images into their heads). Vert and Agura knew they meant it playfully but one could only take so many jokes before alternative measures were taken. The sneaking around was an insignificant price to pay; she loved laying there and talking with him about anything and everything.

That fateful night, he had initiated the conversation. She was on her back, he facing her on his side. Vert had learned through experience that Agura was, when it came to this sort of thing, adorably timid. She would never be the one to instigate the first touch, and so he had learned to warm her up.

"You know, I was thinking about when we first started out as a team," he was saying. "Remember? You and Stanford bickering all of the time, Zoom trying to prove he wasn't just the kid?"

"Yeah," she had laughed. It had been a simple statement, really, reminding her of past times, memories. She hadn't even considered at the time that it would have the power to ruin their lives.

"And I was thinking…what if what happened to Zoom… you know, with the puffer plant, happened again?" Vert asked worriedly. "I mean, we're on Vandal all the time, you never know what could go wrong."

She hadn't considered the irony in those words until now.

"What's your point?" Agura rolled over and propped her head up on her arm.

"Call me crazy, but I was thinking about jetting over there and grabbing a bunch of them." Vert chuckled at the spontaneity of his statement. "Just to be safe, y'know? So we would have one less thing to worry about."

"I certainly wouldn't have anything against that," Agura nodded in agreement. There was a heavy silence for a moment as they both pondered the chances of it actually happening, and then Vert spoke up.

"Do you kind of want to go?"

Agura glanced over her shoulder and checked his clock. 12:37.

"Actually, yeah," she laughed and admitted. If it would help him sleep better, so be it, and she would never sacrifice time with him alone. They pulled on their boots over their pajamas and she threw on a coat before entering the Hub. A Battle Key was quickly programmed and, with silent mode activated on their vehicles, the pair was off.

"You know, it's weird." Vert stated as they exited their cars, parked in a small clearing on the jungle planet. They were far from the stronghold and the only light was given off by the moon, so their chance of being detected was fairly small. "I just felt like I really had to do this. You know what I mean?"

"Vert, I have diagnosed OCD. Welcome to every day of my life." Agura reminded him with a chuckle as she scooped up a plant. "Ugh, completely forgot to bring my gloves," she grimaced as the black dirt squelched underneath her fingernails and into her hands.

"Yeah, those would have been nice," Vert laughed, taking the storage container he had remembered out of the Saber and setting it on the ground. "How many do you think we need?" He questioned, releasing one of the larger plants into it.

"Well, Sage can probably secure enough of the antidote from just the few of them, and if we run low we can always grab more." Agura pointed out.

"Works for me." Vert held up his muddied hands. "Hey, I think I remember there being a river right over there, if you want to clean up," he offered, pointing to the forest.

Agura displayed her hands as well, grinning. "Works for me."

It didn't take long for them to reach the stream, and Vert knelt down by the shoreline to dip his hands in the cool water.

"Well, now you're just getting your knees dirty, you know." Agura teased, indicating the mud at the riverbank. Something about being there with him had her defenses totally down.

"Aw, it's not so bad." Vert looked up at her with a twinkle in his eye and before Agura knew it she had been pulled down in the mire next to him.

"Vert!" She exclaimed, more from reflex than actual anger, and splashed him with the muddied water from her hands.

"Agura!" He mocked right back, cupping a handful of thankfully-clean water and trickling it on her head. Agua screeched at the sensation and tried to duck away, but not before the water had made its way down her back.

"Ooh, you…" she tried to glare at him but simply didn't have the heart. "Oh, you." Agura sighed wistfully, upon realizing how grateful she was just to be here with him. She glanced up at the stars, beautiful and untainted by city pollution. "You know, this really is a beautiful place at night." Vert looked up at the moon, seeming twice as round and luminescent when surrounded by the tall trees, and agreed.

"Beautiful night to spend with a beautiful girl." He smirked and kissed her cheek, and Agura blushed, brushing an imaginary strand of hair off of her face.

"Stop," she giggled shyly. She had never thought of herself as a giggler before meeting him.

"No," he replied cheekily, and kissed her again, this time on her lips. Warmth spread through Agura and completely erased the cold chill the water trickling down her spine had brought her. It felt this way every time, sometimes sweet, sometimes lustful, but always warm. She kissed him back, and he brought his hands around her sides. Always warm, always wonderful. Agura had never loved anyone like she loved him.

They finally remembered the time, and the place, and realized that no matter how caught up in the other they were, it was time to go.

"We'll just say that I owe you one." Vert joked as he entered the Saber.

"To be paid back upon arrival at the Hub?" Agura raised her eyebrow provocatively, and he grinned.

"We'll see."

She had never driven home so fast.

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"So, how about that owing me one?"

They had made it back to his bedroom, rinsed off the extra mud and changed into clean sleepwear. Agura snuggled herself into his arms, and he pulled her even closer.

"You remembered." He grinned slyly, kissing her on the nose.

"You know that's not what I meant," Agura laughed, and he chuckled back and kissed her again. But before anything further than PG had happened, Vert pulled away and smacked his palm to his forehead.

"Oh my God, I forgot the plants." He cursed, shaking his head in disbelief, and Agura groaned.

"Are you serious?" She asked in exasperation, and he despairingly nodded. "Vert!" She couldn't help but laugh at loud. How could they have forgotten the entire reason they had even gone to Vandal at one in the morning?

"Ugh, I'll just go get them." Vert shook his head at himself, swinging his legs around and out of the bed. "You wait here." He leaned over and kissed her forehead before yanking on his boots.

"Are you sure?" Agura asked worriedly, sitting up now. "Maybe I should go with you, just in case." She frowned, about to get out of the bed as well.

"No, you stay right there." Vert shook his head, pulling on the other boot. "It'll just take a second. I mean, the Vandals didn't even know we were there. Don't worry." He smiled easily at her, and Agura uneasily bit her lip.

"Okay, but be extra careful." She cautioned anxiously.

"Aren't I always?" Vert shot her a winning grin before stepping out the door.

"No," Agura murmured to herself once he was gone. "That's what I'm afraid of."

She tried to lie back down and relax but the idea of him going alone, even just to Vandal, even at night, even though it seemed perfectly safe, scared her half to death. It was almost one thirty in the morning now, and she resolved to watching the clock as the minutes ticked away.

It really shouldn't take him more than ten minutes.

1:40.

Well, half an hour tops.

2:00.

The portal probably took him to the wrong side of the planet or something.

2:30.

Okay, isn't an hour enough time?

2:40.

What if the Vandals found him?

2:50.

What if he accidentally got stung by the plant?

3:00.

Something must be wrong.

3:10.

He wouldn't have taken this long.

3:20.

It's been almost two hours now.

3:21.

I can't take this anymore.

Agura kicked away the sheets and got out of his bed, wrapping her arms around her chest as a meager form of comfort. She exited Vert's room and went down the hall to where Sherman and Spinner shared their quarters, and knocked softly on the door.

She only had to wait a minute before Sherman opened the door, like an angel sent to answer her prayers.

"Um, hey, Agura?" He murmured sleepily, rubbing the back of his neck in bleary confusion. The distressed look on her face soon started him into wakefulness, however. He had never seen Agura so distraught. Worried, certainly. Anxious? Sure. Even frantic, occasionally, and usually regarding a situation Vert had gotten himself into. But he could tell just from her body language and the hour at which she had woken him that she was on the verge of hysteria.

"Ve—Vert's gone a—and I don't know—" Saying it out loud made Agura realize how terrified she really was, and Sherman placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Whoa, Agura, calm down." He soothed. "What happened?"

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"Right. You two went to a secluded tropical moonlit location after dark to stockpile puffer plants." Stanford's voice practically dripped with sarcasm, and Agura turned to face him angrily. It had taken enough self-control recounting the story and how long Vert had been gone without breaking into tears and she was in no state to deal with his accusations. Sherman saw this and thankfully squashed the problem before anybody erupted into an emotional fit.

"Stanford, not the time." He warned, and Agura gave him the smallest nod of thanks.

"We just have to jump over to Vandal, find Vert and make sure everything's okay." Sherman continued.

"I don't see why this task needs to be completed at three in the morning." Tezz grumbled. "Science proves that a disrupted sleep schedule can majorly damage brain activity—"

"Tezz, you could use some damaged brain activity for a change." Spinner snorted.

"My point," Tezz glared at his teammate, "Was that if Agura had simply gone along with Vert, like any logically-minded person would do and like the code of this team states, we would not have this problem." He folded his arms and raised an eyebrow at her, and Agura just about exploded.

"How could you even dare to say that to me?" She demanded, taking a step towards the Russian that had crossed the line. Tezz scoffed and prepared for a retort, but Sherman intervened.

"Guys, we don't have time for this!" He pleaded. "Come on, the sooner we get to Vandal, the better chance we have of finding Vert."

"Sherman's right." Zoom chimed in, and Agura's shoulders, once raised defensively, sunk in defeat.

"Alright, Buster, Chopper and Reverb, you're with me." She announced decisively, heading for the Tangler.

"Wait, why only four?" AJ asked in confusion.

"Sorry, AJ. Vert's still got his Sentient chip in the Saber." Sherman explained as he revved the Buster.

"Oh." AJ turned red. "Right."

"Okay, boys, let's go." Agura commanded, and all four vehicles sped out into the desert.

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"You're absolutely sure this is where you guys were?" Sherman repeated as their teammates scoured the clearing.

"Positive." Agura said desperately. "That's where the box was, and…the river, right over there…" She checked for the landmarks again. "I just don't… He's not here, Sherman." This much was true. The Saber was gone. The container puffer plants nowhere to be found.

"Hey, chin up." Sherman reminded kindly. "You're our hunter. Let's hunt him down." He left her side to circle the clearing, looking for some sign of Vert's presence. Agura followed, her keen eyes picking out long before his the Saber's tire tracks.

"There," she pointed. "He headed east."

"Uh, guys?" Zoom called worriedly. "I found the box of puffer plants." Sherman, Agura, Stanford and Spinner hurried over to his edge of the clearing, where the blue Sentient container was lying smashed on the ground, a few of the plants scattered limply around it.

"Oh, no." Agura slowly brought her palm to cover her mouth in horror.

"Hey, this doesn't mean anything—" Spinner attempted damage control, but Agura stopped him.

"No, but those do." She pointed out the collection of paw prints stampeded around the plants. Upon closer inspection the prints proved to encompass the entire clearing. Agura knelt down to study the prints, and her teammates waited with grim faces.

She looked up. "Kalus, Sever, Hatch and Krocomodo."

A collective murmur of worry went through the group.

"Any others?" Sherman asked apprehensively.

"Several." Agura stroked the ground one last time before standing. "They sent an entire hunting party." She murmured quietly.

Sherman put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll find him."

Agura cast a glance into the shadows of the forest. "I hope so. But we'll have to follow those tracks if we want a chance." She sprinted for the Tangler's undercarriage and entered the ATV, and her teammates followed suit. "Everyone on me."

"You got it, Agura." Sherman replied, glad to see the shift from her despairing mood. The Saber tire tracks they were pursuing soon began to appear next to ruts from the Vandal vehicles. Broken spears and arrows began to litter the trail, and Agura tried not to think about them. After nearly twenty minutes of straight driving, she stopped in her tracks.

"Agura, what's the deal?" Stanford exclaimed, irritated that the Reverb had been brought to so screeching of a halt.

"The tracks are gone." Agura replied in confusion.

"What do you mean, gone?" Stanford demanded.

"I mean, gone. The Vandal tracks continue but the Saber's just…disappeared." Agura exited the Tangler and stooped down to examine the soil. "The remaining Vandal tracks head that way, for the stronghold." She cast a worried look at the ominous forest.

"Do you think the Vandals… " Zoom gulped, not wanting to guess how his sentence might end.

"Vert's tough." Sherman assured him. "I'm sure he's fine."

"But we are going in there to make sure." Agura stood firmly. "We'll get as close as we can to the Vandal stronghold and then Zoom and I are going in on foot for some recon."

Nobody argued with this, and their vehicles soon reached the stronghold.

"We'll just go in, find out where Vert is, and hopefully get him out of there." Agura told Zoom as they left their cars.

"Be extra careful." Sherman told them, and Agura faltered.

"That's exactly what I told him." She whispered to herself.

"Huh?" Sherman questioned, but she shook her head.

"N-nothing. Come on, Zoom." Agura gestured, and he followed her through the jungle. They left their vehicles hidden in the dense bush, far enough away that they would have plenty of warning in case of an attack.

"This place seems…empty." Zoom whispered. They had slipped through an opening in the fenced-in community.

"This is bad." Agura replied nervously. "Where do you think…" A sudden clamor from Hatch's underground lab cut her off, and she and Zoom exchanged a glance.

We have to go in there. Her eyes told him.

I know. Zoom blinked back.

They crept slowly towards the entrance to the cavern and Agura gulped. This reminded her of when they had last been in Hatch's lair: stealing the very same puffer plant for Zoom.

If you don't learn from your past you'll be forced to repeat it. She thought eerily to herself. But wait, they had learned. That was why she and Vert had even come to this planet and they were still in almost the same exact situation.

The roar of multiple Vandals grew louder as they skulked further in the cave, and Agura wondered how the small lab could possibly hold so many creatures. They could make out their voices now, Hatch's shrill cackle and the low growl of his captain.

"The perfect opportunity to test your new invention, Hatch." Kalus chuckled darkly from within. Zoom looked at Agura worriedly, and she bit her lip. They were almost into the laboratory now.

"But Captain Kalus, doesn't it strike you as suspicious that he was found alone?" Korocomodo's throaty rumble questioned. Agura motioned for Zoom to stay back and cautiously peered her head around the wall, to where a crowd of Vandals were gathered in the lab. Hatch must have had it expanded, because no way would they all have fit in the original. Agura couldn't see what they were all crowded around but a sinking feeling in her stomach told her it was Vert. Across the room and at the front of the horde were Kalus, Hatch and Krocomodo, who had apparently just stepped up to challenge Kalus.

"Krocomodo, you dare question the leadership of your commander?" Hatch gasped. Kalus folded his arms firmly and Krocomodo growled, shrinking back.

"The subcreature was found alone. No portals or sign of his teammates anywhere near. If the humans were planning an attack they would have done a better job." Kalus stated.

"And the one that did come won't be returning to as human anytime soon." Hatch sniggered, and the assorted Vandals cackled along with him.

"What do you think that means?" Zoom whispered anxiously, appearing next to her to take in the scene. Agura gave him a look that said I don't know.

"Now, everybody, out!" Kalus suddenly commanded. "Hatch needs utter concentration for his experiment!" Agura and Zoom shot each other a panicked look as the horde of Vandals that had been crowded within suddenly all tried to get out.

"Go go go!" Agura hissed, and the two sprinted for the outside of the cave, leaping into the cover of the surrounding jungle just seconds before the first Vandal ran out.

"That was close." Zoom whispered, but Agura was already comming to Sherman.

"Sherman, Hatch has Vert in his lab," she informed her teammate quietly. "They're performing some sort of experiment on him—"

"I'm on my way." Sherman responded instantly, and she sighed wearily. Oh, Vert. What are we going to do? The task was left to her now and she had no way of knowing how to fulfill it. Agura had led her teammates before but somehow this was vastly different. She had messed up. She had let him go alone.

And now she would pay the price.

"What's the plan, Agura?" Sherman asked from behind her, appearing out of nowhere and making Agura jump. "Sorry," he apologized meekly. Agura looked in panic towards Hatch's lab and then back to her waiting teammates.

Never let them see you sweat.

"Well, Hatch, Krocomodo, Kalus and possibly Sever are inside," she began slowly. "The three of us might be able to take them, but they've got Vert, which is a major advantage."

"Were you able to see him? How is he?" Sherman questioned, but Agura shook her head.

"No. Too many Vandals."

"But a lack of fiery retorts, so…Vert's probably unconscious." Zoom added grimly, a statement that would have been humorous in any situation but this one.

"What if we had a distraction? Something that would get Kalus and maybe Krocomodo or Sever out of the cave so that we could go in and save Vert?" Sherman suggested. "We may not be able to take four Vandals but I'm sure we could bring down two."

"Good thinking, Sherman, but how are we going to get out?" Agura responded uneasily. "Hatch'll have the alarm blaring before we can throw a punch."

"Wait, Spinner and Stanford are back guarding the vehicles, right?" Zoom asked, and Sherman nodded. "Well, what if we get them to tow all of our cars to right here?" he suggested. Agura and Sherman looked at each other thoughtfully. "The location's perfect! It's right next to the lair and the Vandals wouldn't even notice a thing!" Zoom persuaded, and Agura eventually nodded.

"Okay," she said. "Zoom? Think you can you get the Chopper and be our distraction?" she asked, and Zoom grinned.

"I'm all over it!" he nodded, jumping up and sprinting off to where their cars were hidden.

"Sherman, the second Zoom busts through those gates…" Agura trailed off meaningfully, and Sherman nodded.

"You got it." He nodded, and together they slunk closer to the entrance of the lair. Agura nervously crouched in the foliage, and Sherman gave her a reassuring look.

"You know we'll get him back, don't you?"

Agura shook her head. "I don't think I'm a good judge of anything anymore—"

"WOOOOOO HOOOOOOO! Come on, Kalus, show me what you got!" Zoom's taunting voice echoed through the compound, along with the revving motor of the Chopper.

"SUB-CREATURE!" Just seconds later, Kalus came bursting out into the open, crossbow drawn with Krocomodo and Sever at his side. "Krocomodo! Guard Hatch! Sever and I shall deal with this…interruption."

"Bah! I am no mere guard!" Krocomodo growled, but Kalus fixed him with a glare so piercing that the warrior croc turned around and sulked back into the cave. Agura and Sherman exchanged a glance a wordlessly followed.