Listening to the team reel off one-liners one after another was oddly refreshing. Maybe he actually liked the cockiness... Not that Duncan was one to talk. He turned to Jake with a stupid grin, just happy to be out of that hellhole. [b]'My friend, it will be as though you never left. I imagine we'll find plenty to- Oi... what was that..?'[/b] He paused, listening closely. There is was again, subtle but definitely there. One of the Galbadian turncoats staggered unsteadily away from the group, muttering angrily. [b]'I [i]told[/i] them this was a dumb idea, I [i]told[/i] them they'd get us all killed, why don't nobody ever... listen...'[/b] Her voice trailed off as she stared at the sand beneath her feet, like it was draining away underground... Duncan caught on a second too late. [b]'Oi, move outt-'[/b] His warning was cut off by a great thundering sound as the sand beneath the woman's feet fell away, revealing row upon row of serrated teeth rising around her. She didn't even have time to scream.

[b]'Sand worms!'[/b] This time it was Fresno who acted first, yelling a warning while pulling a device from his belt. Sand worm attacks were common here, at least outside the perimeter fencing. [i]How did they get in?[/i] He didn't have time to think about it now though. [b]'SeeD, stay completely still!'[/b] His mind raced, trying to remember the procedure for worm attacks. [b]'And run when I run!'[/b] He threw the device as hard as he could. It landed with a soft thump a couple dozen metres away, then detonated with huge concussive force. [b]'Now!'[/b] He pelted off in a random direction as the worms fell upon the area, thrashing around as they hunted for whatever made such big vibrations. But they weren't all that stupid; a few peeled off and dove back underground, creating ominous wakes behind them as they homed in on the SeeDs.

Duncan ran along behind the soldier, utterly confused as to what was going on. Did sand worms even exist..? True, there were a lot of undocumented monsters out there, but surely something like this would have been studied before. He glanced over his shoulder, up at the prison behind them; a state secret for housing political dissidents, protected by unknown monsters. Sounded very Galbadian actually. [b]'Split up!'[/b], he yelled. For a moment he wondered if being swallowed by a worm would really kill him outright; SeeDs were pretty tough after all. Then again, it was best not to test it. [b]'Head for the support team!'[/b] He could see some of them now, lining a rocky ridge a few hundred metres ahead. If they hadn't been eaten, then it was a fair bet that it was a safe location. He legged it.