This chapter took longer than I wanted to come out, but I've been super busy as always. I'm pretty happy with it though. For those of you who reviewed, I thank you so much and hope you continue to enjoy my story.

Disclaimer: If I owned anything regarding Metal Slug, I'd be doing a lot more than just writing this story.

Eri's POV

He was working again, and from what he told me, things seemed to be going rather well. Not that I really knew what he was talking about to begin with, but…

I peeked over the side of the tank to get a glimpse of his work, hoping he wouldn't notice me. It looked like he was conducting surgery with his wrench, and I could only dream of doing that myself.

"So your name's Eri, right?" he asked, scaring me half to death. That also marked the first time in forever I heard someone say my name. "Where'd you come from? SPARROWS, was it?"

"Yeah…sir," was all I could say, remembering to add his title to the end. He looked at me and smiled again. I was beginning to wonder if he'd ever look at me without a goofy grin on his face.

"Please, just call me Tarma," he chuckled to himself. "I doubt I'm your superior in many things anyway."

I smiled and waved my hand from side to side, "Well, you're certainly my superior when it comes to mechanics…"

"Wow…" he turned around and looked at me, "I've been trying to get Marco to say that for years, and now a cute girl I just met said it without even a hint of persuasion…"

Grudgingly, I felt heat rise into my cheeks, and I inwardly scolded myself for being so easily affected.

The man laughed and continued on with his work and his questions, "So what did you do to get dispatched with us?"

I collected myself and shrugged nonchalantly, not that he could see me anyway, "Not really sure. I'm just a simple demolition soldier. I thought you guys were in charge…"

Tarma shook his head, "We don't get any say in what goes on up top. If we did, I wouldn't be here right now – hell, I wouldn't even be a soldier anymore."

I could hear the disappointment in his voice, and I couldn't help but imagine the possibility of him sharing a similar past as me…

No. What did he know about what I've been through? What did anyone know?

Nothing, that's what, and no one ever would.

"Do anything before joining SPARROWS? You don't seem that green to me," he turned his head towards me in utter curiosity. For some reason I felt compelled to explain myself to him, but I knew I shouldn't and wouldn't tell too much.

"I worked as a spy for a little while. You know, some espionage here and there, until I transferred to the Special Forces," I told him. I don't know why I was telling him this, but the words just rolled out of my mouth, as if I was desperate for someone to hear my story.

He smiled again and wiped his hands with a sandy rag, "Things catch up to ya, huh? Needed some new scenery?"

I almost scoffed at him, but something inside me warned me not to revert to my old self. I was always somewhat bitter to strangers. I don't think he'd care, but I swallowed my immaturity and put on a brave face, something that I rarely did.

"I guess you can say that. I was just tired…of pretty much everything. Sometimes things build up past your breaking point…"

He chuckled. Then he started laughing, and I felt like throwing my knife at him. "You should really talk to Marco about that, I'm sure he knows everything about breaking points!"

I turned away from him and pouted unintentionally. I guess I overestimated his maturity. To think I actually thought he'd listen and understand…

Then he stopped, and I heard him clear his throat, "But yeah, I know what you mean. I went to a Special Tactics Academy a few years back after high school, and before I knew it, I had saved the President and was promoted until I couldn't leave."

My gaze turned towards him and I immediately felt guilty for my previous thoughts, after the initial surprise wore off. I sat still on the slug's tread and waited to see if he'd continue—which he did.

"Then I met Marco, and he was enough to keep me around for a war, and now I'm here…"

I pushed my thoughts aside and dove in head first, "Why didn't you just leave if you didn't want to stay?"

It was his turn to scoff, "Trust me, I tried all I could. The people up there don't care what you want, they just want you. Fighting for them is like pouring salt in an open wound. I'm basically forced to fight for my captors."

I dropped my gaze to the sandy floor and listened to the metallic clanks of his tools on the SV-001. Moments later, I decided to break the silence, "When I asked to be transferred to SPARROWS, it was like I asked to work for the enemy. Normally those types of requests aren't even considered, but somehow mine got through and was granted…"

I heard the noises stop and his tools hit the sand. I could practically feel his shaded eyes piercing into me, and he wasn't smiling, "Are you glad?"

It certainly wasn't what I expected. I contemplated his question. It seemed so simple, but so complex at the same time. Was I glad? Glad that I got to stop spying and assassinating? Glad that my conscious wasn't consumed by conspiracies and victims anymore?

"Yeah…" I smiled faintly, "Yeah, I think I am glad…"

"Then that's really all that matters. I don't want to be here, but I certainly don't regret joining. If you can make do with what you have and where you are, you can start anew whenever you want." I listened and considered his words more carefully than I'd like to admit. "I'm sure being stuck in some catacombs with me and a damaged tank isn't your ideal thought of a fresh start, but hey…" he shrugged and stood up to stretch. I couldn't help but giggle, surprised that I wasn't in absolute agreement with him.

A few minutes of silence overtook us and I sat twiddling my thumbs as he climbed into the slug and back out again. I watched him pull one of the lit torches out of the sand and walk towards me.

"Mind giving me a hand with this?" he asked before practically shoving the torch into my hands.

"Sure," I said, despite not having much of an option. I stood up from my seat and felt my stiff legs stretch as I followed him to the back of the slug. He knelt down in the sand and motioned for me to follow, which I did. I lifted the torch to provide him with as much light as possible and quietly watched him tamper with greasy nuts and bolts. Being the individual loner that I was, I couldn't stop my mind from noticing the short distance between us. I hadn't been this close to a single person in quite some time…

He offered a few grunts and sighs here and there as he tightened and unscrewed what seemed to be a maze of metallic parts. I was astonished by his work, amazed that he knew exactly what to do with each and every single screw inside the super vehicle. Finally, I built up some courage and decided to speak my mind.

"So…" I began, trying my hardest not to sound stupid, "What exactly are you doing?"

He turned to look at me with a smile on his face. Mission failed. I must have sounded ridiculous. Fortunately, I didn't think he could see the blush on my face.

"Good question," he laughed, and I just sat there and blinked a few times, utterly dumbfounded. "Some of the internal computer's components are connected through this hatch here," I noticed the small door in the tank's armor that lay open and nodded. "Problem is they make these things so damn complicated they're near impossible to fix. The computer's stuck in a hibernation state, but I think tinkering with these wires should do something."

"Oh…" was pretty much all I could say. I saw him smile again as his hands dove back into the hatch.

We continued working for a good amount of time afterwards. It honestly felt good to be of some use after keeping to myself for the beginning of the mission. I think he appreciated it as well, or at least that's what I wanted to think.

About five minutes later I heard something shuffle in the sand behind us and whipped my head around to see nothing. The Lieutenant didn't seem to notice, or care, since he was completely absorbed in the tank's backside. I shook off the strange feeling and turned back to watch him, handing him certain tools and giving light in the process. Then, just moments later, I heard it again. Only this time it felt louder and more defined, like it was happening in multiple places. I stared behind us, but saw nothing but black and sand. My hand subconsciously moved towards my knife secured on my hip, and I saw Tarma turn towards me out of the corner of my eye.

He looked at me for a few seconds, a confused frown on his face, before asking, "Something wrong?"

My eyes finished surveying the area, but nothing was in sight. I relaxed and looked at him before answering. "No… Just thought I heard something. Probably just in my head."

"If you say so…"

Not even a minute later we heard it. A raspy, animalistic moan travelled through the darkness and into our ears. I had never been one to be scared easily, yet I couldn't help but feel the shivers run down my spine. Tarma slowly stood up and made his way towards the front of the slug, motioning for me to follow. I did as I was told and stood up on the slug's tread behind him as he loaded his handgun and pointed it in the direction of the noise. I did the same with my own pistol, taking note that I only had four bullets left.

"Marco?" Tarma questioned aloud, but got nothing in return. The shuffling noise was getting louder and louder, as if something was walking straight towards us. I looked anxiously at Tarma and noticed a bead of sweat running down his face. I pointed my gun toward the darkness and tried to calm my rapid heartbeat.

"Hey, you there?" he tried again.

"Fio…?" I attempted, but cursed my shaky voice. I narrowed my eyes for a moment, and that's when we saw it. Its bandaged head and arms came into view, and as soon as we heard the deafening moan again, Tarma's gun went off.

Bang

Once.

Bang

Twice.

Bang

Three times.

The thing dropped to the sand in a pile of mere bandages, and I tried to swallow the lump that was in my throat. I looked at Tarma for the millionth time as he reloaded his gun; his sunglasses perched on top of his head. Without a minute to rest, several more moans came from all around us, and my body tensed immediately.

He looked at me with a serious expression, one that I hadn't seen before, "You ready?"

I took a deep breath and nodded, "I got four shots left…"

"Here," he tossed me a spare Glock clip, which I muttered a 'thanks' in return for. I didn't have time to load my magnum. "We can always use the slug if we need to. We've got plenty of ammo for it, but I'll need a few seconds to ready it if need be."

"Right."

I watched Tarma turn to his right and begin shooting. I'd never admit this to anyone, but at that moment, I was scared to turn around and face what was approaching behind me. I swallowed hard and breathed deep. I was a soldier, this was what I did. We were out of explosives, save for the slug's cannon, but I had plenty of armaments to deal with a few…mummies.

I thought about that for a second. Were these things actually mummies?

Tarma's gunshots brought me back to reality and I spun around, setting my sights on my first victim ten feet away. I shot once and hit it in the shoulder, and was taken back when it barely flinched. I shot again and hit its chest and it just moaned. My third bullet put it in the ground.

Two others limped in close behind my first kill and I took aim with the last bullet in my mag. I pulled the trigger and...

I missed…

I swore colorfully, disgusted with myself, and swiftly reloaded in record time. My next shot went straight through the forehead of my intended prey. That a girl, Eri.

"Nice shot, private!"

I turned to see Tarma laughing with a huge grin on his face, while shooting his pistol with one hand and giving me a thumbs up with the other. Instead of ignoring him like I normally would have done, I laughed. I didn't sneer at him for being immature, I actually laughed at something goofy. I guess the heat was starting to get to me…

I finished off the other mummy and yelled back to him with a smirk, "I'm not a private!" Our gunshots rang in our ears, but his comeback was nearly automatic.

"Then don't miss again!"

My face scrunched up from embarrassment, but I kept smiling anyway. I don't know why I was smiling, but for whatever reason, I was almost enjoying myself. I cleared out a few more mummies and peeked back at the Lieutenant, who was shooting with a devilish smile plastered on his face. Not even five minutes ago we were apprehensive about our situation, and now we were laughing and shooting like a couple of berserkers. It was…amusing, to say the least. I don't think I've ever laughed and shot a gun at the same time before.

"Hey, Eri!" I heard him call my name.

I turned my head and yelled, but kept my eyes on my targets, "What?!"

Turns out he had jumped next to me and I, once again, made a fool of myself by screaming in his face.

"Oh…sorry…"

He just smiled and shook his head, "I'm gonna have to man the turret, 'cause there's a whole bunch of these things crawling in and I'm out of ammo. Gonna need you to cover me for a bit."

"But I only have three—" I sighed when I realized he had already hopped inside the slug.

Well, time to prove my worth. One shot, one kill.

I surveyed the perimeter, seeing and hearing upwards of ten…things slowly limping towards me and the slug. I concentrated and took out three of them with my last three bullets. As another approached me from the side, I swiftly unsheathed my knife and threw it between the creature's eyes, that is, if it had any. I frantically ran back to the slug and grabbed my empty shotgun out of my backpack with one hand and a torch with my other. I didn't want to melee these things, but I didn't have much of a choice. I decided to let them come closer so I could see. A good defense is the best offense.

"How's it looking?" I asked.

His muffled voice barely found its way to my ears, "Just hold 'em off for a few more seconds!"

I tightened my grip on the barrel of my shotgun and swung at my first target, smacking its head clean off its shoulders. A cloud of dust formed from the beheaded body, making it difficult to breathe. Another came and I whipped my torch at it, setting it aflame. Hearing a noise behind me, I turned around, but my left arm was stopped and the torch fell to the ground. I looked at the mummy holding me in shock as two others came in from behind. For consisting of bandages and sand, these things were extremely strong. I struggled, but couldn't get my arm free and took too much time. The other two closed in on me and began emitting a terrible shriek, much to my horror. I finally realized that I messed up…big time.

"Tarma!" I yelled out of desperation. Luckily, I received an immediate response.

"Duck!"

Without even thinking, I pulled my feet off the ground and I fell to the sand below as HMG rounds tore through the mummies above me. They fell near me, but I just stayed there as Tarma cleared out the rest. Moments later, the gunfire stopped and silence took over the cave again. Then I saw a pair of boots stop in front of me.

"Are you okay?"

I didn't even want to look at him. I felt so embarrassed with myself I couldn't even see straight. He offered me his hand to help me up, but I just ignored it and pulled myself up from the sand.

"Sorry about that. A little closer than I thought…" he apologized with another one of his persuasive smiles.

"No…" I muttered, "It was my fault. Sorry for being dead weight…"

I walked past him and began packing my supplies up again. I wasn't trying to sulk, but it was kind of hard not to…

He walked towards me with a more serious tone, "Hey, come on now… Don't tell me you're one of those hard-nosed, pride-loving soldiers. You did fine, no reason to mope about it…"

My body tensed a bit, but I knew he was completely right. I didn't care about pride, but relying on myself all these years conditioned me so that I wouldn't be weak and need others. I never even had others.

And now that I wanted to start 'anew', as Tarma had said, I'd have to swallow my stupid past characteristics.

"You're right…sorry…"

"Nothing to apologize—"

"And…" I interrupted him, "Thanks. You saved me back there. I guess I owe you now, huh?"

As expected, he gave me a reassuring smile, "Nothing to thank me for. That's what comrades do, right?"

Comrades… I thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, I guess it is…"

Maybe it was possible after all…

MS 2

Tarma's POV

Well that was a mess. But it was kinda fun. Just a little.

Certainly beats fixing this stupid hunk of scrap metal.

I quickly scanned over Eri, concluding that she was okay. I guess she was humiliated for losing a fist fight to a mummy, and I was a tad disappointed. I didn't think she was one of those stubborn, pride-driven soldiers, but I guess everyone wasn't like Marco and I.

"You're right…sorry…" she apologized. Well now, maybe she was like Marco and I. Needed a little work, but I think she could do it.

"And… Thanks. You saved me back there. I guess I owe you now, huh?" I knew that was coming. The old 'thank you for doing your job' excuse. Did it occur to her that I sat on my ass while she fought all those things? I'd have to straighten that out with her later.

I stood there for a bit, basking in our victory over the mummies. She was back at her old spot, packing her equipment up and keeping a tight ship. I figured I'd get back to the slug or contact Marco, but she surprisingly approached me seconds later.

"So…" she began, and I could tell she was a bit uneasy, "what were those things?"

I can't say I didn't expect that either, "I guess they were mummies… What else?"

"But…"

I sighed, took a seat in the sand and lied back against the front of the slug. She just stared at me like a deer in headlights.

"'We carry the burdens of war on our shoulders in search of, and to ensure, everlasting peace,'" I quoted in the most intellectual voice I could muster.

She seemed to get the point, "Who said that?"

"The idiot who left us here…"

I pulled my sunglasses over my head and watched her take a seat in the sand a few feet away.

"War brings all kinds of bad things to the world, and those who have to deal with it, like us, often experience crazy, unexplainable things…" I said as if telling a child a bedtime story. "Once you leave the battlefield, these things no longer exist. If you go telling ordinary people you saw and fought mummies, everyone would call you insane. But if you told me that…well, I'd still call you insane…" I joked, and I saw her lips curve upwards, "But I'd believe you."

I stared straight ahead into the darkness, enjoying the peace and quiet after all the commotion. I looked at Eri, and she seemed deep in thought. I noticed that she did that a lot, and I guessed she had a ton of moral questions floating around in her head, most likely the effects of a troubled upbringing. I sighed, preparing to lift my sore body off the sand to go work, but not until I closed my eyes for a few moments.

"Let me tell ya," I yawned, "The things we do for peace…"

A/N: Well, there ya have it. Chapter 2. I expect upwards of 2 or 3 more chapters. My optimistic goal is to write a sequel about Tarma and Eri's mission in MS4, but I don't think I'll get around to it for some time. Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and I apologize for the agonizingly slow updates.

Thanks as always.