(Hey, guys! I HAD a short, not-even paragraph, but apparently that's 'against site rules' and causes more annoyance than wonder... now, you see, I was hoping to create suspense and wonder, but-alright, alright, you want the story, so I'll stop talking, and start writing.)

"I was in charge of a squad. Best of the best, those guys. They never left my side, and I never left theirs. I shouldn't've had them go. Maybe they'd still be here if it wasn't for me... I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry..." Minnesota said as he climbed out of the rubble, his armor cracked and his visor nearly shattered. He looked like he'd been through hell and back... but he didn't care. Why should he care? He deserved it in his eyes. He looked around, seeing nothing but rubble. Rubble, death, and god-knows-what else. Debris and-

A light...? A purple light, flickering, almost like it's dying. Minnesota grunted as he walked towards the light, ripping his helmet off and limping towards the light, collapsing in front of it. It was a tiny light. A tiny, little purple light. Almost... mesmerizing in a way.

Minnesota reached out to the light, hoping to grasp it. Hoping to grab the one thing that kept him going. Hoping to-"A chip? A microchip?! Did I just waste my time, and energy, for a MICROCHIP?! What a waste of energy!" He clenched his fists, wrapping his knuckles around the microchip. He reeled his arm back to throw it. Throw it far away from here. *I just hope my arm still works...* He thought.

"WAIT, WAIT! Don't throw me! Please! I can help you! Just plug me in your helmet!"

"Huh?" He looked at the microchip in his hand, slowly opening his hand as a purple figure appeared on the microchip. It was holographic. It was wearing female armor, as well as having a female voice. Almost like a. No. No way.

"Are you... Are you an A.I.?!"

The figure appeared to have rolled her eyes at his comment.

"No, I'm a fallen Angel from heaven. Of course I'm an A.I.!" The A.I. said, sarcasm heavy in her voice.

Minnesota narrowed his eyes. "...I'll still throw you, you know. Or I could just crush you in my hand, under my boot. I could go on. I'll even let you pick."

The A.I. crossed her arms with a 'hmmph!'. "Then you would have destroyed and/or disintegrated your only hope of ever getting out of this mess."

Minnesota kept his expression. "You say that like it's a bad thing. I deserve this. For what I did... I deserve a lot more than this."

The A.I. uncrossed her arms. "Whatever. I'm Alpha."

Minnesota looked at her. "...Alpha? You mean THE Alpha?! The Alpha A.I.?!"

Alpha scoffed. "I WISH! But to answer your question, no. I wasn't created by your Project. I was created by Insurrectionists. Now, if you want out of here, and to stop the blood loss that is clearly causing you to be delusional, I suggest you put your helmet on, and put me in your helmet. Or, I could just do it myself, but it could be quite-"

"Alright, I get it, I get it! God! So needy..." He put his helmet on, hesitantly putting the chip in the helmet. "There, happy?!"

Alpha disappeared, then reappeared, pulling up a screen and fiddling with some controls. "Oh, wow. You have a lot of stuff in here. Judging by this, and my calculations/scanning of your bio-signs, you must be a Freelancer. You ARE one, right?"

Minnesota shrugged. "...I was. Name's Minnesota. Agent Minnesota."

Alpha nodded. "Ah. Nice, um. Nice name, I guess...?"

Minnesota nodded slightly. "Likewise, now, are you going to help me, or are we just gonna stand here and talk?"

Alpha smiled, making the screen disappear and adding a waypoint to Minnesota's HUD. "Should be a Pelican near the waypoint. We could take that, while you rest up . The Healing Unit you have should do the rest. Your suit is badly damaged, but your abilities appear to be functioning, your energy seems to be-"

"Alright, alright, if it gets you to stop talking, I'll start walking! Jeez!" Minnesota got to his feet, stumbling a bit as he limped to the waypoint.

Alpha huffed, disappearing and re-appearing on his shoulder. "...Wanna know what my name stands for?"

Minnesota shrugged. "...Fine. But only because I'm curious."

Alpha laughed slightly. "I can tell we're going to get along juuuust fine, friend..."

Minnesota looked at her, shaking his head as he headed to the Pelican.

(Hello, me again! Whew, this was a lot to type! Anyways, hope you enjoyed! Oh, by the way, Alpha stands for Artificially Licensed Physical Helping Aid. Man, Insurrectionists REALLY have terrible names, am I right? No? Okay, well, I guess I'll see you guys in the next one!)