Foreword:
I've change around some of the characterisation and description of events to fit in more with what was revealed in Season 10 of Red Vs Blue (stuff like Theta being childlike, South's extra reasons for betraying North and hating Wash, and Sigma's/The Meta's ability to manipulate others) in the hopes of making a better version of what I originally wrote. I hope I succeeded and I hope whoever reads this will enjoy it.
/This is based on events in Red Vs Blue that were hinted at during the Recovery One series and the Reconstruction Series, namely South Dakota's betrayal of her twin brother North Dakota. This is obviously not cannon as I own literally nothing whatsoever. I believe all credit for Red Vs Blue goes to Rooster Teeth Productions. Enjoy, and review: all are welcome. If I have messed up in any way, let me know and I'll try my best to fix it./
1:
Dirt clouded around the feet of the Dakota twins as the Freelancers sprinted at inhuman speeds towards the edge of the ridgeline and the possible safety that it harboured.
Agent North Dakota's artificial intelligence, Theta, had alerted him and his twin sister South Dakota to the location of a stone structure below the edge of the ridgeline. The various walkways, structures, large rocks and boulders would provide an array of tactical options and give the twins a place to make their stand against their implacable pursuer.
"Is it still following us?" asked South.
"Why sis, still think you can take it after it just kicked both our asses?" replied North.
"It got the drop on me on me-"
"Yeah, 'cause you went off by yourself. Again."
South scoffed and repeated herself through gritted teeth. "You think it's still following us?"
"I don't know. Just keep running," North replied truthfully. He didn't like lying to his sister, and in this scenario it wouldn't do either of them any good. "Anything showing on your motion tracker?"
"Eh…"
"South…" North elongated his sister's name like she was a scolded child. "Did you forget to turn it on again?"
"I didn't forget!" South paused to spin past a tree, as the duo maintained top speed towards the edge of the ridgeline. "I just didn't do it."
"Well, do it now, sis."
"Alright," she said. "Nope. Nothing."
"Me neither. It must have countermeasures in place."
His choice of the pronoun 'it' was deliberate; North had no idea what was hunting them. All he knew is that unless they reached the destination below them, their sanctuary, they didn't have a chance against this thing.
"Is this the same thing that's killed the Freelancers these past few weeks?"
"Your guess is as good as mine South. But I hope you're wrong."
"Is this the same thing that killed Carolina, and hunted down Maine and…her?"
"It's probably the same thing Command thinks killed Carolina, Maine and Tex."
South growled at the sound of the traitor's name, and her armoured feet dug into the earth that little bit harder as they closed on the ridgeline. "And what if it is her. Will you stop me again, brother?"
North stayed silent as he slid down the ridgeline towards their sanctuary, with South in tow.
South struggled to control her balanced and the speed of her decent as she followed her brother, who had a much easier time with Theta making the calculations, as they slid down the face of the ridge.
After hitting the ground and rolling to lessen the impact, she took up a cover position opposite from North.
"Theta, can you identify the best tactical position for us to stage a defence?" she heard North ask his AI. His AI, she repeated in her head. She was overlooked at every single turn so far. She hadn't even been trained to receive one and she exactly knew what that meant. She was never going to get one.
An AI, a super smart construct capable of enhancing a Freelancer's strength, speed and reflexes beyond superhuman, while the AI itself could handle everything from tactical analysis and communication to treating wounds remotely. An AI was the ultimate upgrade
And thanks to the Epsilon Incident, her chances of getting an AI, this ultimate upgrade, were now non-existent. They'd all been removed, save for a few deemed 'non-threats' by Command, one of which was Theta. South knew she'd never get an AI, and that her twin brother North would never lose his.
Theta replied, "Of course. I suggest the structure to your one o'clock. A minimum of three entrances and an elevated position. You and South could hold there and see if it followed you." Theta, in its childlike tone, then muttered, "…I hope it didn't follow you."
"Theta," North assured. "It's gonna be alright. The three of us together? We can handle whatever's thrown our way. Good job find this place, buddy."
South scoffed as Theta cheerfully replied, "Thanks, North."
The AI might be a curse in this scenario, South thought, after all even though North didn't know the truth, but she did. As a Recovery Agent, she see what this thing could do and why it was doing it; wasn't after Freelancers specifically, but their AIs and their armour enhancements. They didn't know what exactly it was, but Recovery Command had informed her that their best guess was that the hunter was either Agent Maine or Agent Texas. That is, if this is the same Freelancer-hunter following them, but South couldn't think of any other enemy who could match both her and North at their best. And if it is her, South thought. I'll do what Carolina couldn't, and North can't stop me this time.
The two Freelancers began to make progress towards the structure, moving in and out of cover, watching each other's backs and simply knowing and expecting the other's movements only the way twins can.
As they neared the structure, North asked Theta for something else. "Theta, see what you can do about my motion tracker. I don't want it getting the drop on us."
As Theta said something about a 'diagnostic', South just muttered: "Too late."
2:
The tattered ceiling of the stone structure was repeatedly punctured by sunbeams and light was plentiful. The large structure had only three entrances; one to the left, one to the right and one in the centre which had a walkway to a larger, less-defensible circular stone structure in the centre of the area.
"Okay, South you watch that entrance and I'll watch this one. We scan the third every twenty seconds. Sync?" asked North, as they clambered up to the structure.
"Sync," replied South almost instantaneously.
The two carried out their actions with perfect synchronicity, scanning the area and moving forward with caution. North asked his AI: "How's the tracker coming along, Theta?"
"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it. It doesn't look to be any malfunctions or anything."
"So it's working? Any contacts?"
"Yes it's working, but it isn't showing up any contacts now, either. I dunno what's wrong, North"
"Damn it," said a frustrated North as he scanned his entrances. He made sure to keep his composure despite his mounting nerves. "It's okay, Theta. Good job. Keep your eyes peeled."
"Will do, North."
South noticed the extra second it took North to reassure his pet AI, and knew that no other Freelancer would have picked up on that slightest of ticks, not even North's best friends York and Washington.
As his twin she hated being paired with him just because they were twins. It happened throughout their entire life, right up to and including the Freelancer Program, where they were collectively known as The Dakotas.
But in truth there was no one else she would rather watching her back. North would die for her. He had already proved his willingness to do so if necessary on every operation they ran together without fail.
But she honestly didn't know if she could return the favour. Not now, anyway. Not anymore.
"Anything?" North asked.
"No vis," replied South. "Wai- Conta-"
A White Blur blindsided South and smashed her into the wall, looked at North and realised it couldn't close the distance face enough, and sprinted for the closest egress.
"South!" yelled North. He sprinted forward, shooting at where the White Blur was, just a fraction of a second ago. A grenade streaked towards North, who barely avoided it mid-stride, leaving it to explode against the wall behind him. After firing three bursts North knew he had hit nothing but air and silently kicked himself for it. He'd rather have a sniper rifle in his hands, but this battle rifle would have to do.
"Shit," muttered South. "I'm good" She picked herself up and ran to North. The two were now back-to-back scanning the area for their hunter.
"No vis."
"No vis."
Another four grenades struck the stone ceiling above them, exploding in colourful bursts of orange flame and brown stone and blackened shrapnel. Large chucks of heavy stone began to fall right next to the Dakotas, way too close for comfort.
"Get down," North shouted at South as he put his arm around her head. Although she could easily handle herself, the natural instinct of being a brother was never fully trained out of North, nor did any of his other teammates wish it was. It was handy to have someone of North's skill also be completely altruistic in their actions in the field.
North was always protecting his comrades, always protecting South. Except when it mattered, except when it meant taking her side over that of some arrogant, traitor bitch.
"Theta, domed shield no-"
"Get off me," South shouted. She struggled free of his grip "I can handle myself."
North's reply was silenced before he could give it voice because a massive chunk of the ceiling caught his eye as it hurdled down towards the pair. He jumped back a half-second after he'd witnessed South do the same.
What he didn't see was that after avoiding the largest section of stone, South had to dodge and roll and avoid a dozen others. Realising there wasn't enough room to avoid every bit of debris, South activated her armour enhancement, a domed energy shield. It deflected all but the biggest rocks and rubble away from her, but collapsed quickly enough under the strain. If I had an AI, I could've get it together longer, South thought as she took a rock to the shoulder and was knocked to the ground. At least I avoided being crushed. See North, didn't need ya. After the rumbling subsided, she began to pick herself up off the ground. Again, she noted bitterly.
Her COM crackled to life with the sound of her twin brother's voice. "South? South? Come in! South!? Theta, find me a way to loop around."
"I'm oka-" she tried to say, but cut her sentence short when something caught her attention. Which she noticed first, the movement on her tracker or the shadow on the stone floor, she couldn't tell. "C'mere bitch."
She turned and the hunter slapped her rifle from her grip and threw a punch. South avoided the first blow, the second too, then the third. She stepped over a kick, checked another and threw her first straight right.
But the hunter caught her fist like it was that of an infant. It squeezed until the small bones in her hand threatened to come apart and grind into dust. South refused to scream out, but little squeaks and sighs of pain escaped her mouth as she was brought to her knees. The hunter kicked her under her caught right arm, directly into her unprotected ribs.
She absorbed the shot and rolled back to her feet. She considered radioing North for help, but the thought choked her with anger, and the hunter was on her again.
South went on the offensive earlier this time, but her punches and kicks were met with parries and counters, the latter which forced her to counter back. She kept on marching forward behind a flurry of attacks, hoping to spot that one moment where she had the advantage. She could do this. She knew she could.
South spotted it. The hunter moved its right elbow back, readying a punch. She waited for it to launch its arm forward, and when it did she sidestepped the strike, grabbed the arm as it flew past her and struck the hunter five times into its armoured head.
It didn't even seem to feel her attacks. It just growled at her. With one of its arms already trapped behind her back, it looped the other around her to join it, and hugged South tight. The hunter lifted her up and bent itself backwards, suplexing her headfirst onto the stone floor.
Her balance was too shot for her to quickly pull herself from the indent cause by her helmeted skull. The hunter ripped her from the deck with a vice-like grip on her throat and raised her high.
"Who…are…you?" South gasped. She kept her eyes hovering at the white-armoured hunter, searching for a weak spot, somewhere, anywhere, she could strike at to break free.
"We are the Meta," came many voices at once, all speaking in sync with each other. The softest, eeriest voice was the loudest, through there was a low, echoing distortion underlying its speech.
That's my first objective completed, South thought. Recovery Command will be thankful I identified the piece of shit hunting down agents and stealing their equipment. Shame I don't get to kill that Tex bitch. Yet.
The Meta's grip tightened and South realised she had bigger problems than vendettas as she choked. Air struggled to get to her brain, but she tried to wrench its grip from her throat. But it was just so strong. She kicked and kicked at it, but the Meta blocked it effortlessly.
"You cannot win, Agent South." A half dozen glowing figures appeared on the shoulders of the white-armoured hunter. South recognised them as AIs, and the figure's build, stature and helmet seemed to resemble Agent Maine, though the armour was heavily modified.
"At least, not without Agent North," the voices of the Meta continued. "And do you really want to submit yourself to his authority again? Just because he was so wrongly deemed worthy of an AI and you weren't? If you had Theta, we wouldn't be conversing, we'd still be fighting." The Meta tightened its grip. "But you don't, and you were cleanly beaten. If you were just a little bit faster, a little bit stronger…you could be great, Agent South."
The Meta let out a chuckle drenched with audio distortion. "But he got the AI, and what did he do with it? He betrayed you; sided with a traitor instead of his twin sister. He's closer to that AI than he is to you because Theta needs to be coddled and protected, and you don't. He doesn't like that you're strong. He needs you to be weaker than him. That's why he asked for him to get an AI instead of you. That AI is the only reason why he defeated you onboard the Invention and stopped you from beating Agent Texas. He's kept you weak, and you still choose to submit to him." The softest voice was again the loudest, "Loyalty is overrated, Agent South. Survival, and Power, are not."
A purple blur entered South's field of vision and North opened fire on the Meta, which spun and hurled South at her twin. North caught her with his left hand and maintained fire with his right. One of his bursts caught the rapidly-escaping Meta in the back, right above the shoulder blade, but it didn't slow down and disappeared from sight.
"Are you okay, sis?"
"Yeah," South croaked. She cleared her throat and said, "I'm okay. I-"
North chuckled, "Let me guess. You 'had it right where you wanted it'?"
No, South thought bitterly. I was going to say thanks. But no, you always have to be the hero, the saviour, and I always have to be the kid sister who needs help. South got to her feet and pushed past North and scanned the exits.
"…You've not been very chatty lately. I thought we were cool, sis."
South ignored him.
"Can we leave this place?" asked Theta. "If it got in here once..."
"I'm not gonna argue with that logic," replied North as another grenade struck the wall behind him and rubble began to fall from the stone ceiling. "Where to?"
"There's an identical structure just opposite from us. Use the walkways for the most direct route."
"Out there, across open ground?" asked South, a mixture of evident anger and creeping fear in her voice. "Gee. Thanks a lot."
"I'm just trying to help…" muttered Theta.
"And you're doing a great job, buddy," North said. "My sister's just a little stressed out right now." He made sure his gun was loaded. "Okay, South. I'm on point, you're on our six. Sync?"
"Sync." South hesitated barely long enough for North to notice, but not long enough for him to comment on, considering their predicament.
They sprinted toward the high exit, jumping over the debris on the way, reaching the walkway without further incident. The Dakotas moved fast, but carefully. They scanned and analysed every direction but they couldn't pick out their hunter.
"No vis."
"No vis."
They were halfway across the stone walkway, behind a high stone wall that covered only one side, when it struck again.
3:
Their hunter had moved impossibly fast, keeping its body low and out of sight, before jumping and grabbing the deck of the walkway and using its momentum to flip under and around the walkway and over the wall that ran along it, flying though the air to the other side and landing right between both Dakotas. An impossible manoeuvre for any normal Human, almost child's play for a Freelancer, North noted as he spun.
The Dakotas could barely turn before the hunter began to attack. First, the Meta swept South's legs with one of its own, before continuing the same movement and kicking North into the chest, pushing his rifle against him as it did so and preventing the male Dakota from getting a shot off.
It turned back to South before she hit the ground and it grabbed her legs. The Meta swung her into her brother, sending them both further along the walkway.
North had rolled backwards onto his ass and fired off a burst at their attacker, but the white blur had already disappeared off the walkway. The two were back-to-back again, and advanced into the large circular, roofless structure that lay in the middle between their destination and their previous, now mostly destroyed, position.
It would be too hard to defend against this thing where they were now, as it had too many points to enter from. They stuck with their backs together in a vain attempt to cover all the possible egresses and entrances. North knew that they had to move, but he never got the chance to voice this.
The thing was back, or at least its grenades were, and one exploded against the ground in front of North, throwing up enough dust to blind him. He fired off a burst through the smoke and hit nothing, yet again. If North wasn't as calm as he was in combat, he might be getting pissed off that he, one of the most accurate Freelancers to ever shoot a rifle, had so far hit the square root of fuck-all.
Instead he was hit, as the Meta appeared from over South's sector, dropping from the circular structure's walls. The kick sent him into the opposite wall, hard enough for him to lose his footing and his battle rifle. The white blur attacked South as she turned and it again batted her still-firing rifle from her grasp.
By the time South managed to land a solitary punch on the Meta, North had also closed the distance. He ineffectively punched their hunter into the spine and the ribs.
North and South fought in perfect unison, each striking a different target on this humanoid white blur. It was unable to counter everything, but whatever strikes the Dakotas got through didn't have much, if any, effect.
North dodged a punch, and South kneed the Meta in the gut. It went to swing again, but South parried the left hook as North brought his heel down on the hamstring of their hunter. In the moment it took for the Meta to be reduced to one knee, South had already launched herself through the air and kicked it square in the face, knocking it from the higher circular walkway to the grass below in the centre.
South went to jump down after the Meta, but North grabbed her. "No. That's what it wants. We stick together, we can fend it off."
"I can beat him."
"No, only we can beat him," North countered.
Before North realised what was happening, the Meta was behind him and it shoved him into his twin.
"Switch!" North called out, unable to do anything else. The two spun around each other and as North swung around his sister, as she punched their attacker twice before she tried to kicked it.
As South's leg was diverted away by the Meta, North called "Switch" again, spun back around and landed a one-two before he took a strike to the face and twisted back around his sister as she shouted "Switch".
South launched herself into the air and connected with a flying knee to the Meta's midsection and a simultaneous twin-hand smash down on its head. Landing, she tried to punch it, but was parried sideways by the Meta, who then struck her painfully into the back, perfectly targeting her kidneys.
North was right behind her and threw a jab/hook combination, but The Meta absorbed the jab and sidestepped the heavy right hand, caught him and then swung him into the wall before it disappeared from view.
Less than a second later it dropped from the structure again, apparently after swinging itself up and over it, and kicked at the twins. But the Dakotas didn't let their guard down and they continued to fight as one, simultaneously kicking their hunter mid-air and launching it against the wall.
The Meta bounced off the wall, leaving very large cracks and a huge humanoid shaped dent in the thick stone.
And still, it showed no signs of slowing.
It landed, rolled once toward the Dakotas, reached its feet it and ran horizontally across the wall, over North and behind South, grabbing her and catapulting her across the circular structure, robbing her handgun as it did so.
It didn't take much for North to deduce its intentions when it raised the pistol in his sister's direction. North knew it wasn't the smartest way to handle it, but it was the quickest and thus the safest for South; as fast as a Freelancer could, he lunged at the white armoured hunter. He grabbed its arm and wrenched it into the air, making sure that the handgun fired towards the sky, rather than at South.
North was now facing off against this thing alone and it was all too clear that he was outmatched. He didn't even have time to release either of his hands from the pistol to strike or block with when the Meta punched North into the gut, the ribs, axe kicked him so hard he bounced off the stone and then upercutted him into the wall. As North bounced back from the dent he made in the wall another boot was driven into his chest by the Meta.
He heard a loud crack come from inside him and a loud click near his helmet and looked up to see that the Meta had the handgun levelled against his head. North fought for breath.
Before the thing finished him off, North could see himself in its huge full faced gold visor. A Freelancer, he realised, it must be a rogue Freelancer.
"M-Maine?"
A group of AIs appeared at the Meta's shoulders, and their many voices spoke from behind the pistol. "Wrong, Agent North. Agent Maine is no more. We are the Met-"
A burst of gunfire struck the rogue Freelancer and the Meta doubled over, dropping the pistol. Another burst struck it before South's magazine ran dry, the Meta was gone again.
North dropped to his knees, and with his first free breath he said, albeit painfully, "What kept ya, sis?"
4:
While coughing agonisingly North picked himself up, only then realising that Theta had been screaming in his ear for the last few minutes. Now the AI was saying something about 'broken ribs'. Yeah, as if I didn't already know, thought North.
"I'm okay, Theta. We can't beat this thing unless we stick together," he told South as he reclaimed his rifle and reloaded it.
"Hey, I wounded it," she said, pointed to the small patch of blood on the stone. "If I hit it once, I can do it again. We'll either kill it, or send it crying back to whatever shithole it came from."
"I doubt that, sis. It took a full burst just there and didn't even slow down. It's not leaving until it gets what it wants, or until it can't get what it wants."
"But you just said we can't kill it."
"I think what North means is that it takes a really big amount of power for Freelancer armour to house that many AIs, and if we hold out long enou-"
"We?" South scoffed. "What the hell do you have to lose?"
North intervened. "South, please. He's just trying to help. He's in it with us too."
"Yeah, of course you'd stick up for your little buddy. Y'know North, if you-"
"North, your tacker," shouted Theta.
North glanced at his motion tracker. A single dot. The Meta was coming back, at his sister's side. "South. Your six."
"-trying to keep everybody safe-"
"-South," yelled both North and Theta.
South pivoted and her reflexes allowed her to avoid the Meta's first slash with the bayonet of its grenade launcher, but the Meta was able to bring up the body of the weapon fast enough to smash off her face and stagger her.
The Meta looped around her and kicked her from the walkway, turning to face North. Agent North Dakota fired three bursts at the Meta. All nine rounds hit. Most were deflected by the armour, some flew right through the rouge Freelancer, but none slowed down its charge.
North lined up another burst after spinning around the bayonet charge, but the Meta was fast enough to spin around too, slashing with its weapon. The barrel of North's rifle followed south to the deck below.
Running out of options, North jumped at the Meta. He drove his legs in against its weapon, pinning it and its arms against his chest, and grabbed their hunter by the shoulders. North flipped back and pulled the Meta with him, leaving it on its back with North crouching on its chest, raining down punches.
Growling menacingly, the Meta exploded its arms outward and sent North hurdling towards the wall. This time he found his footing against it and landed softly. Well, as soft as one could with a broken rib or two and perforated lung.
"South," North shouted. "I could use a hand."
The stone walkway shook at the Meta bulled towards North Dakota. He dodged as best he could, but the Meta caught him with an outstretched arm. North wrenched its hand off his arm, but took two shots to the ribs as a cost. The Meta tried for a third, but North kicked out and pushed it back.
The Meta charged and North sprinted at it. As they met it threw a punch which North avoided by sliding between its legs. He popped up behind it and waited for it to spin around. The Meta pivoted to its left, so North pivoted around the opposite way to remain behind it. As the rouge Freelancer turned again, North unleashed a spinning back kick that caught the Meta across the jaw and sent it recoiling back.
The pain was becoming unbearable and North was forced to a knee. It was getting harder and harder to breathe. The Meta marched towards him, Knifle in hand. It raised the killing blow.
And North charged it. His hands grasped the Meta's forearms in a death grip. The Meta was incredibly strong and North knew he didn't have a chance.
At least until South reached up behind her and grabbed the Meta by the head and flung it over her shoulders and along the end of the walkway.
North got to his feet and stood a little taller beside his twin sister. With both Dakotas side by side on the walkway, and with no reliable way to flank them, The Meta growled and backed off and out of sight.
"Think we scared him off?" South asked.
"We're not that lucky," North groaned. "We can't stay here, South."
"But he's wounded, now. We shot him repeatedly. He's bleeding. We can beat him."
North shook his head as he summoned enough breath to reply. "No, not like this we can't. I'm wounded, we've been running for hours. We're down to our sidearms and low on ammo. W…which…"
Theta took over. "North's trying to say that we should run, 'cause the probabilities don't favour us in a fight."
"There you go again," South said. "'Us'. It's like you're the siblings now. Leave if you want…" South turned away from them and loaded her pistol. "I'm staying and killing this 'Meta'."
"South…please."
"No North. This is one 'monster' you're not stopping me from killing."
"I thought you'd have let that go by now," North said. "It was nothing personal, sis-"
"No," she said as she faced him. "It was just a 'family matter'. Ha, family. You chose her over me, your fucking sister. And you went behind my back and robbed that AI from me. You betrayed me, North."
"I've never betrayed you," her brother groaned desperately. "Not once." North took a step forward while clutching his ribs. His blood splashed off the ground. He pleaded, "South…please. We have to go. I can't help you fight him like this."
"I don't need help."
North Dakota put as much authority into his voice as possible. "South, I've never ordered you befo-"
"Bullshit," she growled. "You ordered me all the time. When we were kids it was always 'follow me' and 'South do this' and-"
"-Please, South. We don't have time for this."
Theta squeaked, "He's right, South. Pleas-"
"How about you shut up? This is a family matter."
"Hey," North said, "he's just tryna help."
"I told you I don't need help. I never did, I never will. Everybody thinks I do. Nobody thinks I can take care of myself, let alone an AI. No one trusts me, but everybody trusts you to have their backs. And the one time I really trust you, you take her side instead of mine. And now you want me to run again, North? Why should you be in charge? Why should you boss me around? I can take care of myself." She raised her handgun at her brother. "I. Don't."
"-South?" North said, shocked to the core. "What are..?"
"-Need. Help!" Agent South Dakota squeezed the trigger and her brother, Agent North Dakota, collapsed to the walkway.
He groaned, but never reached for his pistol. "W-why?"
South's breathing was shallow. Her heart never beat as fast in her life. Her mind raced. "I'm gonna use you as bait, brother. The Meta can't resist your AI. I'm gonna use you to escape."
Theta's purpled hologram appeared above North's back as he slumped to rest. "You…You shot him…You're his sister. He…loved you."
"He traded me for you."
"No, he didn't," Theta said, voiced high-pitched but stern and calm. "He would never betray you." The AI paused. "…And you just shot him."
South swallowed and began to walk away from North and Theta. "I'll have the last laugh. I'll get away, spin Command a story and they'll be none the wiser."
"You're a, you're a traitor and a coward," Theta yelled. "It's no wonder they gave me to your brother and not you."
"And look where it got him," South said.
"They'll never give you an AI if you run," Theta shouted desperately.
After all the AI's verbal poking and prodding, it found its mark. "Then I won't run."
The smoking gun still in her hand, South gazed wide-eyed at her brother. She was utterly amazed; she didn't feel a goddamn thing. Thoughts raced through her brain and her numbness was replaced with excitement and anxiety.
She could use North's body as bait. She'd run and set up an ambush and kill the Meta as it scavenged North's AI. South chuckled.
South decided she could easily pin this on the Meta, and once she killed it she'd return to base and she'd be the hero for once. Sure, North'd take his fair share of attention and he'd probably be given a commendation posthumously, but she'd be getting the real reward, an AI. Probably one of the ones she'd save from the Meta. Maybe they'd let her pick which one she-
"South, contact," Theta shouted.
South felt a presence behind her. She took a punch across the face as she turned, but she had her pistol raised. Far too quick for even a Freelancer to react, the Meta had grabbed her arm as she pulled the trigger. The bullet cleanly struck his shoulder.
South expected him to weaken and allow her to take advantage. But all he did was growl.
Then the AIs appeared again. "Agent South. So nice that you took our suggestion. You're not as stupid as your actions would suggest."
"Yeah," she said, angling the pistol towards the Meta's head. "We'll see who's stupid-"
Sill sizing her hand, the Meta sharply pushed it towards her head and knocked her out with her own sidearm.
"You're even stupider," the AIs finished. The Meta looked at North's crumpled body and made a guttural sound.
5:
Despite the anaesthetics and coagulates Theta was pumping into his system through his armour, North was barely conscious. He could hear Theta yelling into his ears for him to wake up, pleading and begging him.
"North. Stay with me. Please, North."
"I got her to stay North. South will ambush him."
"North. Please wake up. Please."
Feeling reinterred North's body. He was on fire, the ground was hard, his bones were stiff, his muscles soft, his head was caving in and after all that flooded his cognitive functions, he wondered where he was.
Then North remembered his sister had shot him.
North finally cracked his eyes open. He spotted the Meta walk up behind his sister. He tried to scream, but his lungs were empty. Theta tried to warn South too. One thought flowed through North's head: if she turned on her motion tracker like I'd told her…
He opened his eyes again to see his sister face down on the walkway. She twitched just enough for him to know she wasn't dead. He'd guess South had tried to take on the Meta at its own game. That was her flaw, he thought. My sister, no matter how good she was, always thought she was that little bit better and always lost because of it. Poor, poor girl.
The Meta stood over South and raised its Kinfle again. North shouted, "No." He breathed fire and blood, and it felt like the stone beneath him was sapping his energy.
The Meta looked up. Theta was still pleading with North.
North Dakota managed to get to his knee, but that was it. He couldn't stand. All he could do was take a knee, bleed and wait for the coup de grâce. He summoned his energy and breath."…Please. Not her."
The Meta looked at him and snarled.
"North," Theta squeaked. "I'm scared."
"So am I," North whispered, though he had tried to raise his voice and put on a reassuring tone. "Theta…whatever happens… d-don't let him kill my sister-"
It slowly encroached forward, ignoring South.
"-Please, North. Get up."
"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, Theta. I'm s-so sorry."
"No," Theta counted. "I'm sorry. This is my fault, North. I was supposed to save you. I tried. I really did. Please. Get up. Run. Do something. Please-"
"I tried, Theta… I can't…move. I'm s-so-" North coughed and felt blood splash off his helmet and stick to his face. The Meta was getting closer, and shock was bypassing the medicines in his system and settling in. "I know you're scared Theta, but…you'll have to get out of my h-head. I don't w-w-want you to ex-p-perience this."
"No…" Theta said firmly. "We're in this together, North. I won't leave you."
The Meta was right in front of him now.
"Thank you Theta. Th… so much. Keep her s-safe." North closed his eyes. "Goodbye. Both of you."
The Meta raised the knifle.
Theta sniffled and braced itself. "Goodbye North."
The bayonet came down.
******************************Two Hours Later**************************************
When South regained consciousness, the first thing she did was check her brother's body for his AI, but as expected, she found nothing. She stared at North's body for some time. She still didn't feel anything. She knew he'd die for her, she just helped him along. And anyway, it was comeuppance for betraying her for an AI. I mean, she thought, I did the something similar, but he did it first. They all thought he was the better one, but I'm the one who's still alive. I tricked him.
I killed him, actually.
I killed him. The thought bounced around her skull like a small calibre bullet. He was dead anyway. We both were. I saved one of us. It's what he would've wanted.
She decided the main thing was she was still alive. That's all that mattered to her now. Survival and power. She would have another chance to get herself an AI. Maybe with North gone Command would try to fill the gap? Then I can hunt down the Meta and take the others.
She reported to Recovery Command and told them about their experience against the Meta, confirming the rumours that he was the rogue hunting and killing Freelancers for their AIs and armour enhancements. She omitted, of course, her betrayal of North and let them assume that she was only spared because she didn't have an AI, which was true enough.
"The rogue agent's identity is now confirmed. However, the loss of the Delta AI was unfortunate and as such Recovery Command is issuing you a new directive."
"Right now? So soon after North-?"
"Hesitating any longer will give the Meta a chance to recuperate. Another Recovery Agent is being dispatched to clean up Agent North. We need to run an operation with him, but he cannot know of your involvement in the Recovery Program. Together you will engage and eliminate the Meta and recover all AIs and stolen equipment. Confirm directive."
"And why would I fight the Meta again after what it just did to my brother? To me?" inquired South.
"Because it's an order, Recovery Two. And upon successful completion we'll have you rated for your own AI. We know how much you want one, Agent South. So, I say again, confirm the previous directive."
And there it was, her chance at an AI.
"Alright. But tricking another Recovery Agent won't be easy."
"Actually, I beg to differ, Recovery Two," as the complete contents of the profile on Recovery One began to fill South's HUD, along with the details of her next operation.
"Ah, him," South mused. "I might even enjoy this one."
*****************************Another Six Hours Later**********************************
"South? South? Are you alright?" asked a familiar voice. She pretended to wake and began to get off the ground. Time to begin her mission. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah..." she replied, feigning confusion. "What happened?"
"I have some bad news. I'm afraid your brother is dead," said the Freelancer next to her, he was wearing full armour with a grey and yellow colour scheme. You, she thought. The asshole who caused the Epsilon Incident. Mr. Recovery One himself.
"What? No..." she said as she glanced to her brother's lifeless body, his armoured shell just feet away. She drummed up as much emotion as she could in her voice and talked as if she was fighting the incurring cracks in her voice.
"I'm sorry."
She paused for a full minute and hoped this Freelancer would assume that the emotion had momentarily gotten the better of her. Then again he wasn't the smartest one of the bunch, in her opinion. "Damn it. Who...Who are you?" she asked, knowing the answer: another asshole who cost me an AI, the next objective, the Freelancer agent I need to trick.
"Agent Washington," came the reply. "What happened here?"