A/N: :-O I'm back with my Regenerated Love sequel! I'll try to keep my posting times more consistent this time around, but I've begun working on an original project I've been ignoring as well, so I'm not so sure how that's gonna go. But I won't leave too much time between updates, promise! Hope you guys enjoy Chapter 1 and, as always, thanks for reading! Be looking for the next chapter soon! (Also, a note to new readers. I recommend that you read Regenerated Love first if you haven't yet, but technically I guess you don't have to. I sort of go over the main events of what happened in the first chapter. Just a suggestion!)


It had to have been at least a year since the Cy-Brad incident, as Calhoun had begun calling it in her head, but it still seemed so vivid to her. Felix had relaxed just a few months afterward and was trying to get her to do the same, but she wasn't so sure that things were as okay as they seemed. The two soldiers swore to her that they had properly disposed of Brad's corpse, incinerating it on the highest level of heat possible. But that didn't mean that he couldn't have respawned. He was, after all, part of the programming.

She'd had the game swept multiple times just to be sure, and each time there was no sign of him. Eyes had been kept on the respawn station since his body has burned and no one had seen anything aside from the occasional respawn of soldiers who had been taken out during game play. She began to wonder if she wasn't just being paranoid.

Felix had insisted that she begin living in his game with him, and after some coaxing and reassurance she'd obliged. Their relationship was as good as it could have been and she hoped that someday soon he would be proposing. But just as life began to feel a bit more normal odd things began occurring in Hero's Duty during the evening times, and her soldiers swore that they never saw a thing. They were aware of the vast amounts of missing supplies, such as food and spare civilian clothing, but no one could pinpoint where these items were disappearing to.

And so, much to Felix's dismay, Calhoun had insisted that she begin spending her nights in her own game until the thievery stopped. She hadn't the faintest idea of who could have been doing it. Her soldiers weren't fools, and she'd already interrogated each one of them personally. No one had cracked, which only further reassured her that none of them could possibly be behind it all.

So then her thoughts returned to Brad. If he had respawned he certainly wouldn't have wanted anyone to know about it. Though some part of her thought that if he did respawn, it would have been in his Cy-bug form. But that wasn't exactly a proven point, as no one had ever actually been consumed by a Cy-bug, turned into one and killed in the history of the game.

She hated all this wondering. She was the type of woman who preferred to know exactly what was happening, and if she had doubts she'd find a way to prove herself right or wrong. But it was impossible to figure this one out and she was forced to wait.

Things had been quiet for the most part tonight. It was her third night staking out the equipment room with two of her soldiers at her side and so far they had yet to catch anyone even anywhere near the place without permission.

She was about to send them home when one of her soldiers grabbed her shoulder and pointed. She followed his finger to a shadowy figure stalking along the perimeter of the wall. It hurried into the building, the door slamming behind it. "Gotcha." She said with a grin. She grabbed her rifle and readied it, motioning for her men to follow her.

They approached the door cautiously and once she kicked it in the soldiers hiding inside flipped on the lights. They all swiveled their guns towards the bait supplies that had been laid out. The bait was gone, and so was the offender. "What the hell?" Calhoun swore, scanning the room for any signs of the intruder. Nothing. Whoever he was, he'd gone. "Who was he? Did anyone see him?"

All her soldiers shook their heads, and most of them looked dumbfounded. "We saw the door open Sarge, and we saw him come in, but after the door closed no one could keep their eyes on him. He moved almost too fast to be human."

She kicked a nearby box, releasing a stream of curse words that Felix would have blushed at hearing. That meant that it most definitely couldn't be Brad. He'd have respawned as either his human self or in his Cy-bug form. They must be dealing with someone from another game. "Alright, just forget it for tonight soldiers. We'll figure this out tomorrow."

She busted through the door of the building, running her fingers through her hair. If it was someone from another game then it made things much more difficult. There had to be at least fifty games plugged in at Litwak's; possibly more. It would take them a very long time to possibly track down any outsiders. They would have to catch him here, on their own turf.

But she forced herself to shrug it off, for now. Another failed attempt meant that she could at least return home to her love for the rest of the night. And right now, that was exactly what she needed. She grabbed her Hoverboard and hopped on. It cut about twenty minutes off her trip back to Felix's game and quite honestly she hated riding in that rickety little cart that gave entrance to it.

So once she entered the game she jumped off the board and powered it down, walking over to the house Felix had built for both himself and her to live in together. She pushed the front door open and smiled when she heard his voice ring out from the kitchen, "Tammy? Is that you?"

"Sure is Fix-It." She leaned the board against the wall beside the door and strode to the kitchen entrance. Felix was wiping his hands on a towel hanging on the wall, clearly having just finished washing the dishes for the night.

"Well jiminy jaminy, you're home early tonight!"

His cheeks were full of that 'honeyglow' he so often referred to as he hopped up to kiss her on the cheek. She grabbed him before he could get back to the ground, kissing him on the lips. She set him down and tried not to laugh at his dazed expression. It seemed that she could never kiss him without leaving him that way. "Well I've got nothing else to do there, for tonight at least. We almost had the creep; he was literally just a few feet away from me! But he got away."

Felix had pulled out a chair for her and pulled another chair next to it, hopping up and taking a seat. "I'm sorry honey. But if he was so close then surely you know who it is now!"

She shook her head and sighed. "Couldn't see him. He was shrouded in shadow. None of the soldiers in the building got eyes on him either. But, according to them, he moved much too fast to be anyone from Hero's Duty. So we're pretty sure now that we're looking for someone from an outside game."

Felix leaned back in his chair, frowning. "My lands, I wonder who might resort to stealing. It's been a while since any games were unplugged."

He seemed deep in thought, but she didn't want to pass her worries on to him. "Well it's done and over with for now, short stack. I don't want to think about it anymore." She leaned forward and nuzzled him. "I just want to spend the rest of the night with you."

That broke him from whatever he may have been thinking about and he looked up at her, grinning goofily. "Well then…" He hopped down from his chair, holding out a hand to her. "If you're ready, milady."

She smiled warmly and stood, taking his hand and allowing him to lead her up the stairs to their bedroom. They both changed into more comfortable clothes and climbed into bed together. It had been a few nights since she'd gotten to sleep cuddled up beside him, and for tonight she relished it. As he drifted off she pulled him close to her, hugging him tightly.

As of this moment, the problems of Hero's Duty were miles away from her mind. She only wanted to focus on this moment, and the happiness he made her feel. She deserved to take at least a few minutes for herself and she'd be damned if anyone would keep that from her.


He was sick of it. Stealing food and clothes from these idiot soldiers was easy, sure, but it was beneath him. He reassured himself that he would only have to do it for a while longer and tore into the meat in front of him. Soon enough, all would be exposed, and he would never have to resort to thievery and scrounging to get what he needed ever again.