"Who's up for another round of Zombie Attack Max?"

The collective response of Jinja and Dax groaning, "No!" was enough signal that the fun was over.

Caroline rolled her shoulders forward, adjusting her seating beside the brown-haired boy as he placed the tablet on his lap with a soft huff.

In front of Bren, Jinja relaxed, her back on the stone floor of the cave with her arms sprawled out lazily. Chase was on the other side of Caroline, laying on his side watching his friends eagerly try to defeat the so-called master of the game. Beyal sat quietly in between Dax and Chase, his eyes curiously watching the screen of the tablet. Dax, sitting aside Jinja with his arms over his chest, did not look happy about losing the round.

Again.

"Its not my fault I'm awesome at this game!" Bren remarked, pouting at the lack of interest in his [now] favorite hobby.

"I'm not playing this bleezin' game anymore," Protested Dax with a glare, shifting his gaze to Jinja as she shifted into a sitting position with her knees pulled underneath her.

"You always win. There's no point in playing anymore."

Bren looked hopefully at Beyal.

The monk shook his head three times, a soft smile forming as he denied the invitation.

"While it fascinates me, I have no doubt you would be the victor, Bren."

Begrudgingly, Bren heaved his shoulders forward, his glasses sliding down to the end of his nose.

"I just want a friend to play the game with me."

"Hey, B," Offered Chase, extending a hand to the boy with the usual charismatic smile. "I'll give it a shot."

"Really? " Bren's tone was hopefully, placing the tablet on the ground and opening the file once more.

Chase pulled himself over and into a better sitting position, looking down at the game with a shrug.

"Why not?"

Dax snickered over his shoulder.

"You sure you can handle it, baby Suno?"

Chase laughed.

"I'm Jeredy Suno's son. What can't I handle?"

The laughter of the teens echoed around the cave, the eruption of noise dying down as Chase and Bren became submerged in the game. Each of the other members of Core-Tech leaned forward to watch eagerly, chanting on whoever they sided with...

Except for one.

Caroline watched almost emotionless as the boys continued their game, her lips in a small frown and eyebrows furrowed as if she was deep in thought. Her eyes raised, locking on the entrance of the cave, having to look over Chase and Bren's heads to do so.

Outside, Alpha stood.

It had been three days since Alpha had joined the group of six teens, and he had successfully made no progress in earning any of their trust. Aside from Chase, his counterpart, and Caroline, his once-fellow member of Strike Squad, he had no connection with the other remaining five members.

It had taken both Chase and Caroline for the others to at least accept that Alpha was a part of their group now, but no trust had been earned. Alpha had been scanned for a tracking device and been reluctantly told to remove his armor, leaving him in the black uniform underneath. The scans had all come up negative, and he had been roughly searched to make sure he hadn't hidden anything either.

The only object he had with him was Tripwire's core.

To say he wasn't trusted was an understatement. He rarely spoke within the group, usually confiding in Chase or Caroline for reasons mentioned prior, and despite his curiosity he did not pursue the others' or their affections. It was clear he was not wanted in the group of six, and until he proved himself, it would stay that way.

The blonde hadn't realized she was getting up until Chase spoke her name.

"Caroline, where are you going?"

Bren's shout of victory as ignored, as Chase was entirely focused on the blonde female.

The teen made her intentions clear by circling around the group, her right hand brushing the cave wall. The bandages covering her palm seemed to catch the black-haired boy's attention, although these had adorned her skin for the previous six months.

"Alpha's been outside for a long time."

The mention of the red-haired boy's name caused three of the five to tense, although Chase seemed unfazed. He opened his mouth to speak, but as Dax had grown bored of Chase sitting in his spot, he was roughly shoved to the side. Brushing a hand through his hair and passing a curse over his shoulder, the boy came to a sitting position just behind the female. His knees were underneath him.

"I'll come too."

"Chase, I can handle myself." Caroline used her foot to adjust her bag that was pressed against the wall. The toe of her boot shifted the black hoodie that lay on top, which she had discarded early in the evening to reveal the white shirt underneath. Which, currently, she still wore.

Chase's eyes shone with concern.

"He's dangerous; he is from Strike Squad after all."

Caroline looked over her shoulder at her companion, glancing behind him at the four who were now engrossed in another game. From the looks of it, they were teaching Beyal how to play.

"Heh," The blonde disregarded his opinion, tapping the whip handle stationed on her belt. The brown handle melted into the leather accessory around her waist.

"I'm dangerous, and from the Strike Squad. We're not all that different. Just trust me on this."

Chase didn't seem convinced, but his trust in the female overruled his conscience. With a nod, he turned his attention back to the rest of Team Core-Tech.

Beyal was feverishly leaning over the tablet and speaking with Bren in a very hasty tone, as if he was very confused.

Caroline forced a small smile and returned her gaze to the entrance of the cave.

From her place, she could not see where her previous leader was.

With a quiet, almost inaudible sigh, she continued her walk to the entrance, in search of the red-haired boy.

She had forgotten how beautiful nights in the Lowlands could be. With the desert stretching as far as she could see, with rock formations and caves across the horizon. With a single glance upwards she could see the crescent moon above, with constellations decorating the ebony-black sky. There was a warm breeze from the east, shifting her fringe slightly in front of her eyes.

Now standing at the entrance of the cave, she adjusted the bandage across her left palm, leaning her head forward to look at the ground below. The cave the group had settled in was elevated off the ground - and if she knew Alpha, he was somewhere down there.

In the dark shadows below, she couldn't spot the signature red hair that was her previous leader's mark. That and his gold eyes, of course, much like a wolf he was compared to.

Kneeling at the edge of the rock, she swept her gaze across the ground below again. She scanned each rock and even the sand ahead of her. And yet, no sign of Alpha.

"I'm over here, Royal."

The voice spooked her, but she did not respond angrily, instead bringing her eyes to the right side of the cave.

Alpha stood beyond the entrance, near the formation of rocks that led to the ground beneath them and had been used as a pathway that evening. Dressed in only the black uniform with the classic insignia on either shoulder, he looked... foreign. His hair, messy as it had been since he joined, stuck out against the stone. He wasn't facing towards her.

This time, her smile wasn't forced.

Caroline stood, crossing towards him quickly and out of view of the cave. The sound of Bren's frustrated yelling grew dim as she approached, giving her a chance to speak.

"You know I don't go by Royal anymore."

She hadn't heard the term in almost a year. Like the rest of the Strike Squad, her name had been replaced with one she would be known to the rest of the soldiers by. Her complete soldier name had been 'Night, Royal' to honor her last name. With her cousins each having 'Night' as a part of their soldier name, she had adopted the term 'Royal' just as the boy in front of her was now 'Alpha'.

No one knew any of the others' names. Strictly classified - but at the time of the team being formed it had just been herself, Alpha, and X-Ray.

Old bittersweet memories...

"Sorry." The rough tone Alpha used surprised her, although she should have expected it. The teen crossed his arms over his chest, flexing his fingers around his arms. "Old habits die-hard."

"Hey, no need to be sorry. Just a reminder." Caroline responded, coming to stand next to him with her hands behind her back. Her head tilted, trying to catch a glimpse of the narrowed eyes that glared at the path ahead of him.

Alpha did not move, nor did he respond.

Caroline frowned, lowering her eyes to look at the stone pathway.

"It's really nice out, tonight."

She could remember one of the last times she had seen Alpha, before the rest of Strike Squad joined. The original three of the squad, herself, Alpha, and X-Ray, had finished their training for that night. Their main instructor, Commander Trey, had gone inside without unlocking the door to their rooms, thus trapping the three outside. It had been a beautiful night, one of the rare times they had done aerial training… They had sat on the roof until morning.

"I guess so."

Alpha coughed into his hand. When he looked back at the stone pathway, he closed his eyes, as if trying to block Caroline out.

The blonde frowned, extending her hand to his arm to touch the thick suit covering his skin. Her fingers brushed his shoulder for a few short seconds, but she did not get the expected response. Instead of ignoring her, the redhead slapped her hand away bitterly, without opening his eyes.

His silence hurt more than the contact.

With a deep frown, she recoiled, stepping away from him.

At least in S.T.O.R.M, if he had an issue, he would actually talk about it. Right now, he was acting like a child. He was obviously very upset, and was choosing to ignore her instead of speak up and get the problem settled.

That was downright infuriating.

"Stop acting like a child."

The crimson hairs along the boy's neck bristled, his head twisting to glare at her.

"Excuse you? Me? The child? You're the child here!" His golden eyes flickered with anger.

Crossing her arms, the blonde snorted.

"I know something is wrong with you, but you won't say anything. This isn't like you."

"I have no obligation to tell you!" Alpha retaliated, eyes narrowed and hands clenched down by his waist. His hands were trembling, cluing her in on how upset he really was. His nostrils were flaring like an angry animal.

She wasn't backing down just yet. Caroline rolled her shoulders, doing the same as the male and bringing her hands to her sides. "Seeing as you're in this group now, yeah, you do!"

"You mean the group that hates me?"

"They don't hate you! They are just scared and don't know how to respond!"

"You going to betray this group too?"

There was a stunned silence following his words. Recoiling back, Caroline hissed out a muffled cry.

"Alpha!"

Throwing his head upwards, the once-soldier grunted in her direction. His eyes were blazing with anger, an emotion she was not used to seeing pointed towards her. Very rarely, even in her time as his subordinate, was he ever this infuriated.

Even now, as he readied his response, his anger was fading.

He looked hurt.

"You're going to betray them, aren't you, just like how you betrayed me and the others."

The words stung, her vision blurring and cheeks burning with feverish anger. The seconds withered away as her head spun, astonished by the young man's choice of words.

Abandoning S.T.O.R.M would have been easy before she had joined Strike Squad. Leaving Alpha and X-Ray had hurt her heart more than the burns that decorated her left side. Even though they had been her temporary team mates within S.T.O.R.M, and they had been all she could consider friends for months, they were not Team Core-Tech. The five teens were her family now, and it had taken her two weeks returning to S.T.O.R.M to realize how much they had meant to her.

Even then, she had tried to get Alpha and X-Ray to come with her. Alpha had denied the idea vehemently. He couldn't go.

For the squad, he had said.

For the squad.

Choosing her words carefully, she swallowed.

"You know that leaving was not my first choice."

It was like she was talking to a small child, worried if she said the wrong thing he would get upset.

Alpha's gaze hardened.

"Then why did you?"

The longer he held her gaze, the heavier weight fell on her shoulders. She may have left S.T.O.R.M twice, and it may have been to save her own skin, but she had never thought if there was any other reason. Could she have, possibly, managed to convince Charlemagne and her ring of commanders? Even with the tablet she had wired to track Core-Tech, with the ear-piece in her ear, communicating with Bren?

That would be impossible.

She could still feel the ache in her knees from all those months ago as the elites stomped into her room, throwing her off of her bed and onto the floor. She had been very lucky to have her whip and both of her cores inside of her overshirt, or she would have been executed.

Probably by Driftblade, like she had seen one unlucky traitor...Chained to the wall on the outside of the central arena….Driftblade set loose to wreak havoc on the poor man…

"I didn't want to die."

For a moment, they were both silent.

Alpha turned his head away, gaze locked on the pathway that would lead down to the desert floor. His expression was joyless, eyes flickering with wavering doubt. Slowly, he faced away from her, his feet sliding across the ground and his shoulder brushing against the rust-colored boulder. With an exasperated exhale, he slumped downwards. He kneeled, his head bent and hands moving along his knees. His fingers twitched and trembled.

Caroline wasn't quite sure how to respond, his misgivings throwing her off guard.

The least she could do was help.

Moving closer, she opened her hands. The bandages on her right hand were beginning to slip away, causing her to stop a few feet away from the quiet teen. After adjusting the bandage and pressing her thumb to her palm, she resumed her stride, only coming to a halt just beside him.

This time, he didn't reject her touch.

She kneeled next to him, placing her fingertips on his shoulder-blade. When she hesitated, he did not move, giving reassurance that the notion was accepted. The solicitude radiated from him through trembles, although rather small, and the twitching of his fingers.

Her hand, unhurried, moved across his back to be level with his spine. As she rubbed and allowed him to relax, she felt a shift in his upper body.

Caroline trailed her eyes to his face, one solitary eye meeting her.

The gold of his iris was a dark blue of sorrow.

Almost a whimper, he spoke, his voice broken and raspy.

"I'm sorry."

Caroline stopped, leaning forward to meet his eyes. There was not a time or place she could recall when she did not hear the sheer arrogance in his voice, or the spark of confidence in his eyes. Both were gone in this unfamiliar mood, his shoulders slumped forward and his eyes looking tired and lonely.

His voice cracked, his sudden change in emotion rendering her senseless.

"I don't know how you did it."

"What?" She questioned carefully, moving her palm to his shoulder. She could feel the edge of her ponytail brushing the small skin revealed at her waist, considering she was leaning forward so far. Golden strands of hair fell over her eyes, irises green with worry.

Alpha lowered himself to sit, leaning further against the boulder. His eyes closed, his face suddenly looking older than his years. He looked shaken, something a leader should never be.

Considering he wasn't leader, nor a soldier, at least not anymore, it didn't really matter.

"You left S.T.O.R.M so… easily. I haven't even been able to sleep. Not since I joined the group, or left Kud's, or left the squad. It's been so...hard. I haven't been this shaken up for a long time." His eyes opened, staring at the rocks and sand that made up the large Lowland desert.

"Not since Ignite Squad and Propel's battle."

Caroline knew the subject well. There had been more squads being trained when they were younger. By the time they were placed into their own unit, two squads had completed their training. Squad Ignite and Squad Propel each had six members, three of the twelve consisting of Alpha's older siblings. His only sisters, who were known by other soldiers as Zeta and Arcane, and his oldest brother, Volt.

They had not returned from their mission, brutally killed in battle.

Caroline frowned, clutching his forearm. His eyes were closed again. Before she could speak, he started again.

"All I can see now is Driftblade tearing the traitor from so many years ago apart...Thinking it'll be me...Seeing my siblings, all of my little brothers, from the sidelines...Watching their dumb excuse of a brother admit he betrayed them for a group not even family. I can't sleep...or close my eyes for long...It's a bunch of twisted memories and dark nightmares."

There was a pause.

"My brothers...What will they think of me?" His eyes, wide and open, focused on the emptiness of the desert ahead. His head swerved to face her, pain rippling across his cheeks. At his young age, there should be no faults on his face, but alas his features were traced with creases and bruises.

"I betrayed them...How can they continue to lead, if I'm not there to guide them? I'm not worthy of being their brother anymore."

Caroline vaguely remembered her meetings with the young boys that Alpha called his younger siblings. There were five of them, that she knew of, that were still alive. Omega, Beta, Rook, Bishop, and Rave. They were young boys, at the least twelve. Two sets of twins. Two were leaders of their own squads… And she knew Alpha had spoken with them frequently about the duties of being a leader…

She had overheard him a few times…

"A leader is brave in the face of danger- Rave, what are you doing? Put that core down!"

"Remember, be respectful to your Commanders- Beta, I don't care if Trey stepped on your foot. He didn't mean- okay, so he may have. He's doing it for your own good."

"If there is one thing you do, it is never leave your squad behind. You are a team. They trust you two. Even if you three aren't leaders- Bishop? Rook? Rave? ...PUT THAT CORE DOWN RIGHT NOW."

"Even with Zeta and Volt and Arcane gone, we're still a family. I'm not used to being the oldest...but I can try."

"Alpha," The blonde soothed the unstable male as his gaze hardened on his knees, "you know that is not true. Those boys look up to you; even if you were an enemy from the start, you're still their big brother." Her hand was off of his shoulder, now resting on her leg.

"And nothing will change that."

"You don't know what it's like to leave your siblings behind." Alpha's ignorance made her heart sink into the pothole forming in her stomach.

He didn't know about Donovan.

"Yeah, I do.."

Her gaze lowered to the pebbles between her shoes.

Alpha's eyebrow raised.

She didn't need a further sign that he wanted her to explain. The memories were sealed away in the back of her brain, but were rattling the chains to be released and overtake her emotions. She refused to succumb to temptation, shaking her head once.

"My brother...passed away...And he was doing it to prove himself. He didn't want my help."

Alpha knew her brother had died long ago in a lab fire, or so they had thought. He had not been told of recent events, so his confusion was understandable.

"But I thought he was..?"

Caroline felt a headache throbbing in her forehead. Relaxing her muscles, she took one shaky breath, allowing the pain to pass.

"We were wrong."

They sat in silence for a long time.

It may have been seconds, or it could have been hours. Both had their eyes locked on the pathway or desert Core-Tech would be crossing the next morning, or whenever everyone felt like moving. Alpha and Caroline would both need plenty of sleep, though considering they had gone much longer without rest in the training exercise, a few hours would suffice.

Alpha broke the silence with a barely audible croak.

"They told us you were dead."

His words confused her for a moment.

"They?" Her voice was soft, barely above a whisper.

"Commander Trey...and Charlemagne.." Rolling his shoulders back, Alpha steadied his voice. He had not quite yet returned to the predator-like stance he held on any normal occasion, but he certainly was not huddled over like a broken child. What a break of character it had been for him to submit to his inner turmoil...Then again, she couldn't quite blame him. With three siblings dead, and the family he once knew within Strike Squad now against him, it would be a miracle if he wasn't emotionally damaged.

Caroline hadn't realized she had zoned out, tuning back in near the end of his speech.

"Trey looked more than pissed off. Since you didn't know the others very long, they didn't quite know how to feel. It wasn't like losing Ignite Squad, where we lost our mentors and friends...They didn't know you at all. X-Ray was hit pretty hard." Alpha's gaze softened the slightest before his eyes closed, leaning his head to the side of the rock in thought.

This was the Alpha she knew well, before the battles between Core-Tech and Strike Squad, before everything got so complicated.

It was nice to see him returning to his youthful self.

She could still see that red-haired boy standing next to her in line, stuttering and turning as crimson as his hair. His cheeks framed with hair and looking more like a puppy than a soldier in training, and a shy smile when he had spoken his birth name.

For a few moments, they exchanged quiet conversation on the events following her second departure of S.T.O.R.M. and the formation of the current Strike Squad. Her counterpart, Shark, had joined soon after she had deserted, and from what she had heard, he had not changed in the least.

The air was growing colder as the night dragged on. The moon was nearly in the center of the sky, clouds casting across the ebony skyline. Even though both had been trained for frigid conditions, they lacked the heated armor they had used in said scenarios. Every few minutes, one of them would shiver slightly, but neither made a move to the other.

When silence came over them, Alpha pressed his forehead against his knee. He seemed content with sleeping outside, even if it would be of great discomfort to do so.

Forcing herself to her knees, she stood.

"The night may be beautiful," She saw him smirk the slightest, but she let it pass. "But we need to go inside."

Glancing at the cave entrance, she noticed the lack of light from the fire. There were no cries of victory or laughter, the Core-tablet's light having disappeared from view.

The others must be sleeping already.

Leaning forward, she pat his shoulder, causing him to stir.

"I'm heading inside. I don't want to be out here when it's freezing in a few hours."

She began to ascend up the stone pathway.

"I'll be up in a few minutes." She turned to see his head facing upwards, gazing at the stars overhead. With a short glance, she noticed the constellation he seemed to fixated on.

Of course, Canis Lupus.

That was the first constellation we saw that night on the roof. Some things never change, I guess.

"Okay. Don't take too long."

Caroline was nearly inside of the cave when she was stopped again.

"Hey!"

She turned, her hands entangled in her hair to slide her ponytail out. The closer she got to her sleeping bag, the more fatigue was beginning to settle in. The last thing she wanted to do was stay out here any longer, but she couldn't just ignore him.

"Yeah?"

He was standing now, one hand on the boulder. His other hand was running through his hair, trailing across his cheek to rub his eye. It seemed even the strongest of the group couldn't deny the temptation that was sleep.

"I, ah.."

Caroline rolled her eyes, sliding her hairband over her wrist. The released hair fell in clumps to her upper thighs, tangled and knotted. She could fix that in the morning.

"I swear, if you're going to tell me my hair is messy, I'm leaving you out here."

"No, no," He laughed slightly, pleasing her. At least he was smiling, and without a sneer this time.

"Then what?" She nearly challenged, one hand on her waist. The other was beginning to undo her bandages, preparing to toss them into Bren's bag when she would pass him.

"Good night, Royal."

She couldn't tell if the use of her soldier name was intentional or not. He may have been tired enough to not care, or was doing it for the sake of old times.

As he had said before, old habits die-hard.

She didn't have the heart to correct him.

With a pained smile, she gave a small wave.

"Good night, Faolan."

He returned a childish beam.

Turning away, she entered the cave, tossing her bandages against the wall. She wasn't going to disrupt Bren when he was clearly asleep, or any of the others who were at least trying to get a few hours of rest. She heard Alpha enter the cave just as she was settling down near the wall, pulling her blanket over her shoulders.

She waited.

When he did not speak, and presumably went straight to his spot farther down into the cave, she relaxed.

Caroline allowed herself to be pulled into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Tomorrow would be a long day.

But, she was fine with that.

For it would be the fourth day Alpha would be with them, and the first he would be considered a friend.

I only claim ownership of Royal/Caroline and the idea of Alpha's siblings and his birth name. Kud belongs to mewhunter9.