A few days later, it was the day of the mission. Tygan was called onto the bridge, as usual with these important missions. However, this was the first time Tygan was in the same room as Central since their sour conversation. Central shot Tygan an awkward glance, who simply looked down at the screens in front of him. Both were professional enough to not let this disrupt their work but also stubborn enough to let the other know how they felt. It made things rather awkward. This mostly vanished when the Lost became involved. Tygan was too busy documenting all he could about them and Central had to try his damnedest to keep everyone alive.

"You never encountered these? I taught you and Mox were inseparable." Shen asked during a lull in the mayhem. "And he seems to have plenty of experience."

"We've only really started to explore the cities right before I left for XCom. There's also the fact that, while I did fieldwork, Betos usually ordered me to stay at the base for more dangerous missions. We don't exactly have an abundance of medics."

"Seeing how he's fighting, I can see why you'd be closely guarded." Shen commented over Central yelling about Mox having just blown up a fuel truck surrounded by Purifiers.

"You can't argue with its effectiveness," Tygan remarked, before heading back to tracking the many, many Lost that had just appeared. "From a certain point of view."

The rest of the mission, Tygan tried to focus on just being helpful. When the Assassin showed up, Central once more turned to him.

"I would not be here if I've ever encountered her." Tygan simply said. "Unless you count treating wounds she's inflicted, I know just as much as anyone else." Again, his attention went back to the screens. "Let's just make sure everyone comes back alive."

"Agreed." Central said, also getting back to the mission at hand. Things were tense but seemed to go rather well, even getting some good hits in on the Assassin. When it looked like everyone was going to escape, a visible exhale of relief could be felt.

Until…

"Time to go home, traitor."

With that, the Assassin vanished with Mox.

A 'No!' could be heard from both the Skyranger and the Avenger.

A stunned silence followed before Tygan ran off.

"Tygan, what are…?!" Central tried, before sighing and running after him.

Tygan had run to his desk, rummaging through its many contents.

"Where did I put the damn…?" He muttered under his breath. "There." He put on his personal communication link. "Mox? Mox, can you hear me?"
No answer.

"If you can hear me; please hang on, I think there's a way to…"

Richard…

He could hear Mox from the other side. It was faint, but enough for another surge of panic.

"Mox? Mox!" Tygan tried, however, the answer he got was not from Mox.

If you want him back, I welcome you to try.

The cold, gravelly voice of the Assassin softly said before the link cut with a harsh noise, indicating that the device at the other end broke.

"Tygan… " Central tried, not knowing what else to say as the look of fear in the Doctor's eyes was new and… unnerving. After a moment of just being frozen in shock, Tygan shot up and wanted to rush past Central, but he grabbed his shoulders.

"Alright, you need to calm down." Central firmly said.

"Let me go." Tygan demanded. "We need to start organizing…"

"The Skyranger hasn't even come back yet." Central took a deep breath. "Not to mention that we still have no idea what she's really capable of."

"I have." Tygan said, still sounding upset. "Many times. I've treated so many people that had an encounter with them. Often than not barely hanging by a thread. I can't even recount how many times I spent days at a bedside trying my best to heal them…" His voice cracked. "Only to have to resign to just making them comfortable…" He looked down. "And now Mox is in her hands. I have to get him out of there. I have to…!"

"You don't have to do anything." Central firmly said, grasping his shoulder. For a moment he looked furious, but Central started talking again before Tygan could. "We'll ALL try to get him back." This caused Tygan's expression to soften a little. "He won't be helped by people just going out half-assed against someone like the Assassin." He sighed. "Listen, if she wanted him dead, she wouldn't have captured him. I know that him being in her captivity doesn't sound like a step up…"

"No, I… I understand what you are saying." Tygan said, calming down. "He's still alive. That means we can still save him." He took a deep breath. "Apologies for my outburst." He calmly said, straightening himself and overall reverting back to his usual calm and stoic persona. Central sighed as he let go of the other man's shoulders.

"Listen, I get it. Mox means a lot to you. If I were in your shoes I'd lose it, too." He said. "We'll get him back. I promise. But until that, it's best we all do what we do best, alright?" Tygan nodded at this.

"Alright." He said, heading to his workplace, taking his tablet and quietly heading back to his research. There was still fear and restlessness in his actions, but if he just focused on his work, he should be able to keep going.

He just had to keep going.