Chapter ten! I can't believe how fast this story has gone for me xD Time flies when you're having fun? Anyways, enjoy!

Chapter 10

This way and that, Arizona and I took turns dodging and striking, neither one of us giving the other an inch. Men had stopped coming in, and I assumed it was because General Gray wanted to see what would happen between us two battling Freelancers. At one point, Arizona managed to slice his sword past my injured leg, and I felt the searing heat as it sliced through armor and skin. Hissing in anger, I leapt away and tossed my knife at him, which caught him in the knee where I had shot him, and embedded itself into the front of his armor. From his grunt of pain, I either hit him really hard, or actually penetrated the skin. Regardless of what I had done, he temporarily ceased his attack to wrench the knife out of his armor and toss it out of the door. The sound of his sword reactivating sent shivers down my spine as he rushed me yet again. The adrenaline pumping through my veins was temporarily blocking the pain from the hit he had landed on me, but I couldn't dodge him forever. I needed to take him down, and quickly, but I didn't have a clue how to get close enough to him without him stabbing me with his sword.

At one point, we both broke away and just stood staring at each other.

"Give it up, Colorado. You don't have anything to take me down with."

"You're like a broken record, Arizona. You should know me well enough to know that I would never fail a mission without giving my very best effort to succeed. Give me YOUR best effort, Arizona!"

"If that's how you want it, Colorado."

With that, he rushed forward again, and I flipped backwards out of his reach and towards the wall. I felt my feet hit flat on the hard surface of the walls and pushed off towards him. He readied his sword to stab into my back, but at the last minute I used my thruster pack to fly off to the right. My feet hit the floor, and I immediately leapt towards him again, catching him off guard as we both tumbled to the ground. His sword flew from his hands, landing on the ground with a slight click, and the sword turned off. Now it was Arizona's turn to go on the defensive, as my fists came in rapid succession towards his helmeted face. Most of these blows missed due to him blocking his helmet, but the few that did hit seemed to slightly daze him. However I did not pin him well enough, and he managed to get his legs beneath my chest and throw me off. I felt myself crash into one of the desks and got up, stretching to make sure nothing was injured. Satisfied that I felt little pain from the impact, I rushed towards Arizona again as he was scrambling to get his sword back. I kicked the hilt away towards the door and then rammed my knee into his chin, flipping him backwards. He kicked my legs out from beneath me and flipped on top of me. I shielded my face as he tried to beat my head to a pulp, and used my thruster pack to slide out from beneath Arizona just enough to kick him off. While he got up off of the floor, I ran for his energy sword and flicked it on, spinning around to see where Arizona was.

Arizona was up and had a pistol pointed right at me; we were about thirty feet apart.

"You're good Colorado. I won't deny that, and I would be a fool to try. But sometimes, you just have to be holding all the cards, isn't that right, General Gray?

I heard the click of a safety behind me.

"Right you are, William. Drop your weapon, Colorado. Even if you did manage to escape from this building, we have the entire facility surrounded. The second you step outside, my boys have orders to take you down, no questions asked."

"Congratulations, General. Allow me to retort."

With speed that would have given Carolina a run for her money, I ducked and swiped the sword up, taking the general's outstretched pistol hand clean off. With a yell of shock and pain, the general clutched his wrist and kneeled down. In that time, Arizona had begun firing, and I used my thruster pack to dive beneath the cover of a nearby desk. There, I deactivated the sword and strapped it to my thigh, swinging my Battle Rifle off of my back. The general had left the room, and I could hear his agonized and infuriated yelling from here. Abruptly, it cut off, and I could imagine that he had left the building to get help. As for Arizona, the firing had stopped, and I cautiously raised my head only to throw it down when I heard a shot go off. I cursed under my breath and dropped prone, doing my best to crawl between cover and get an edge on Arizona. Ten feet away from my original position, I cautiously raised my head only to find that Arizona was no longer visible. The click of a safety behind me was the only warning I received of his presence, and I hastily dove to the right before the sound of a bullet flew past my helmet.

Panicked, I wildly looked around and caught sight of Arizona to my left. I pushed myself up with my hands and landed on my feet, using my thruster pack to barrel into Arizona, sending us both sprawling to the ground. Both of us fought tooth and nail to gain the upper hand and pin the other, but in the end, it was Arizona who slammed my head to the ground, causing stars to dance across my vision. In a flash, he had brought out another blade and had it pressed against my neck. His other hand he brought around and used to yank my helmet roughly off of my head. The increased brightness made me blink a couple of times, but in the end I ended up keeping my gaze on Arizona's helmeted face. I couldn't see his expression beyond his visor, but I could imagine what it was; smug and arrogant all mixed up into one smirk.

"I have never seen such a beautiful sight, Colorado. Say hello to Nevada for me once you see-"

It was at that moment, when his guard was slightly lowered, that I ripped my arms out of their pin, placed them on Arizona's head, and quickly flung his neck to one side. The loud crack echoed through my ears. I wiggled out from under Arizona's limp corpse, expecting to feel a sense of victory. Instead, all I felt was regret, and to my surprise, a fair amount of sadness. Once, Arizona had been my brother in arm, and I trusted him with my life. Now he was nothing but a lifeless body, trampled by the might of Project Freelancer. I had mourned for Arizona already after Seras Prime, and even though he had tried to both kill and torture me, I would remember him as the man he was before Seras Prime: brave, loyal, and reliable.

It was with this thought in mind that I quickly stripped off my armor and instead wore his equipment. I rapidly clicked on my voice filter, and spoke a few words to make sure that it worked. Satisfaction flooded through me as Arizona's voice became my own. I also equipped my own armor on Arizona's body, to further improve my disguise. When I was satisfied, I strapped his combat knife to my other thigh, slung my Battle Rifle and DMR over my back, and tried hefting Arizona over my shoulders. In his armor, I was peaking at around five foot six at the most. It was an extra four inches on top of my short stature, but Arizona had always been taller than me. Hopefully no one would ask me questions as I made my way out. However, as I made my way to the door, it seemed like questions would be the least of my worries. I heard multiple explosions go off, and people started screaming. Against my better judgment, I opened the door and looked outside. I saw one burning shell of a tank, and overhead a Pelican was floating, letting loose a barrage of fire at scattering ground troops. As I continued to watch, the back hatch opened and out came four figures. Upon closer examination, I realized that I knew all of these people. However, I had completely forgot that I had Arizona's armor on, and instead of a warm greeting, I was met with the barrels of four guns. I ripped off his helmet while still in the cover of the doorway.

"Hey, don't shoot! It's me!"

North's POV

The forest raced by as the Pelican swept over the planets atmosphere. The whole view was green, but when I stood up and looked through the front view of the Pelican, I could see the craggy mountains of Vortex coming into view. We had about fifteen minutes until our boots hit the dirt, and already I could see signs of tension in the group. Carolina wouldn't stop fidgeting in her seat and playing with the slide on her pistol. As I headed back to my seat, I could see Wash was cleaning his Battle Rifle almost obsessively, as if it had been doused in blood. To my left, York had taken out some lock picking tools and was rolling them around in his gauntlets. The silence was both unnerving and calming, and I was silently thankful that Wyoming hadn't come along. He constantly had the need to tell knock knock jokes on the way to our objectives, and I had the feeling that Carolina would have killed him by now if he were here. However I had to wonder why Carolina was so quiet. Normally she would have taken control by now, and her silence was making me uneasy. I waved my hand to get her attention.

"Carolina, what is our plan when we hit the dirt?

She looked up at me, her green eyes seeming to pierce through my visor.

"We'll let the pilot take out heavy armor on the ground. Once she's done with that, we'll drop next to the facility and secure Colorado. After we assess the situation when we have Colorado with us, we'll plan our extraction."

I nodded slowly.

"Do you want anyone covering the entrances outside while 'Rado is being secured?"

"No; we don't know how many Innies there are surrounding Colorado's position. All of us will go in together, and we'll fight our way together as well."

I felt relief wash through me as Carolina's take-charge attitude returned. Though Carolina could be self-absorbed sometimes, and could be perceived as cold, there was no denying her excellent leadership abilities, or her skills in battle. After all, she was number one for a reason, and if a teammate were in trouble she would stop at nothing to help them out. The only thing I couldn't figure out was her sudden shift in attitude towards 'Rado. Neither of them liked each other, yet before our mission, the two had seemed civil. I felt my eyes narrow in thought.

"Hey, Carolina?"

"Yes, North? We have to ready to hit the dirt; what more do you need to know?"

Her voice was somewhat tense, but that hardly deterred me.

"What is it between you and Colorado? Neither of you ladies seems like the type to forget… disagreements so easily."

She looked at me for a moment, seemingly puzzled by the question. Almost as if she, too, were wondering why she and Colorado were now on civilized terms. It took her a couple of minutes to answer, but when she did, the tense tone from earlier was gone. Instead, it was replaced by a definitive, but calm, answering voice.

"After York and Wyoming stopped me from… verbally reprimanding Colorado in the observation room, I saw the look on her face. With South, you normally see pure anger. CT has a bitter silence. Colorado was angry, but she had a look on her face that said she was desperate to prove herself. That look made me realize how alike we are. We are always fighting to be the best, and constantly having to face those who think they know better. However, neither of us let doubters rule our judgment. We make our choices, and we have no regrets. I don't think Colorado herself realizes his though. In fact, I bet she was wondering why I was being so cordial in the first place. Although, North, now I'm done bearing my soul, let's focus on the task at hand. We're going to be leaving our comfortable ride soon and I'd rather not be distracted by reflections of my thoughts."

With that, the redheaded number one grabbed her sea foam green helmet and placed it on top of her head, becoming the formidable leader all of us in the project knew, and feared to an extent.

"Ok people, listen up. We're about to hit the dirt. Our priority will be to secure Colorado. Eliminating the general and Arizona is a secondary objective, but will not be actively pursued. I want Colorado secured and all of us in the Pelican within three minutes. Am I understood?"

All of us nodded.

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Good. Now, lock and load, people!"

At that prompting, all of us got out of our seats and began checking our weapons. I had brought my sniper, while Carolina insisted on just a pistol. York and Wash were loading up Battle Rifles, and also packed a couple of grenades. Carolina offered a grenade to me, but I pushed her hand away gently and stood near the rear exit to the Pelican. She nodded in understanding, and I was grateful that I didn't need to speak to convey my feelings. I just wanted to get out there and bring 'Rado back home. No one was going to stop me from protecting my best friend, and I actually felt sorry for any Innies that got in my way.

I took a few deep breaths to try and steel myself for the mission ahead. If I let my emotions get in the way, I'd be more prone to making mistakes. Mistakes could kill my team, or myself, and I would not allow that to happen.

"Coming up on target now, Agents. I am deploying missiles now to take out heavy armor on the ground."

All of us turned to cram our heads into the cockpit in time to see four missiles streaking towards what looked like two tanks outside of Colorado's position. I couldn't help but smile as the missiles met their targets, and sent two fireballs screaming into the sky. As soon as the Pelican came within range, two machine guns opened fire, and sent the visible ground units scrambling for cover.

"Ground team, you are free to go!"

At this, the hatch started opening, and the four of us immediately got into position to jump out. The second the hatch stopped lowering, we leapt. The ground came rushing towards me, and the machine gun fire got much louder, but none of that mattered once I hit the dirt. Instantly, I spun around and caught sight of Arizona in the doorway of the facility, with Colorado slung over his shoulder. I felt rage starting to bubble inside of me, and all four of us immediately set our sights on him. However, he ducked around the corner, and dropped Colorado in the process. I began to rush forward, only to stop when a clear, feminine voice cut over the sounds of combat.

"Hey, don't shoot! It's me!"

I felt myself gape as Colorado's face took a peak around the corner. Her beautiful green eyes were wide with astonishment, and she seemed generally unhurt. With relief, I magnetized my rifle to my back and ran over to the door, knowing that Carolina and the others would cover me. I grabbed Colorado and pulled her into a tight hug, which she returned.

"I told you I'd be back for you. Now, let's get out of here."

Colorado's POV

I had never been so happy in my life to see North, York, Wash, and Carolina. Though they were essentially threatening to shoot me, I couldn't help but fight the urge to throw myself into North's arms. As it turned out though, I didn't need to. The second they recognized me North began moving towards me, and the other three set up positions to cover him. Every so often their guns would go off, but a few rebels dying was of no concern to me at the moment. I raised my arms as North got to me, and he pulled me into a tight hug, which I gratefully accepted.

"I told you I'd be back for you. Now let's get out of here."

I nodded and took up Arizona's body again. North regarded the load and tapped my helmet.

"Who's your unlucky decoy, 'Rado?"

Without missing a beat, though I still felt regretful, I replied with a single word, "Arizona."

He placed a strong hand on my shoulder, and I made my way towards the Pelican. North was the first to reach it, and he climbed up the rope. I fasted a knot around Arizona's heavy body, and as North pulled him up, he dropped me his sniper rifle. I caught it and pivoted around, kneeling on my right leg. The dressings on my wound probably needed to be changed by now, but for the moment, I put all of that out of my mind as I rattled off four quick shots for three kills. Wash went up the rope next, magnetizing his Battle Rifle to his back as his strong arms sent him flying up the rope.

"York, go!"

Carolina ordered Freelancer's number two up the rope next, and he hesitated.

"Ladies first, Caro-"

"I said MOVE, York!"

"Alright, alright, I'm going."

York, being the dexterous individual he was, made his way up the rope in ten seconds flat. Carolina took a quick look to make sure York made it up, and then motioned to me.

"Go, Colorado! Move!"

I looked at her and shook my head.

"Hell no, Carolina! I'll cover you, get your ass up that rope!"

"I'M the leader of this operation, Colorado, and I am ordering you up that rope!"

"Fuck that! I'm not putting you guys in danger any more, so get up that rope! Consider it payment for the rescue."

"Colorado, if you don't get up that rope, I'll shoot you myself! I can do this, now get up the rope!"

Growling in frustration, I realized that arguing with Carolina was going to get us both killed, and I started climbing the rope. I got about three quarters of the way up; when I heard a cry of pain and saw Carolina go down clutching her right arm.

"Carolina!"

Looking up, I saw York looking out. I didn't need to see his face to see the horror that was apparent in his stance.

"Forget about me York! Get out of here, go!"

"Colorado, go secure her to the rope, and we'll pull you both up!"

I hesitated at York's suggestion. If Carolina had gone down, it meant that there was a fantastic shooter out there. In addition, Carolina was number one. If we left like she wanted us to, we would be down a number one. Who better to take her place than someone who had taken down a rogue agent and kept the secrets of Project Freelancer safe? The Director would have to pay me mind with Carolina gone, and I would take no blame for leaving her behind since it was an order.

At the same time, she seemed to finally be respecting me. For whatever reason, she was on this rescue mission to get me back, and was willing to fight with me to get me on the Pelican first. Sighing in defeat, I released my hold on the rope and dropped down next to her. She looked up at me, and I could tell that though she was in pain, she was furious.

"I gave you an order to leave, Colorado!"

"Well, obviously I didn't listen."

I picked her up and slung her over my left arm, and tied myself to the rope.

"I couldn't just leave you here. Who else would be able to be a complete bitch and criticize the rest of us? Plus, I'm not exactly leader material."

Despite the pain she was in, Carolina scoffed.

"What makes you think YOU'D be the leader?"

Despite the situation, I chuckled dryly.

"Just a hunch, ma'am."

With that, I signaled the boys, and together they hoisted us up. Once onboard the Pelican, I removed Carolina's armor off of her right arm and pulled out the medical supplies I had swiped from the doctor. She removed her helmet and stared at me I surprise.

"No matter where we go you always have biofoam."

"Ya, you're welcome for this. You may want to brace yourself; this stuff stings like a bitch."

"I'm sure it's not worse than getting sh-AHH!"

I couldn't help but snort in amusement at Carolina's scream as I filled her wound with the biofoam. Tossing the can away, I brought out bandages and began wrapping her wound.

"I warned you, Carolina. I don't know what's in Innie biofoam, but it was probably the worst thing they used on me." My amusement waned a bit. "Well, almost the worst thing."

Her emerald eyes matched my own sage ones, and we shared a nod. Carolina fidgeted a bit after I secured her bandages and motioned to the seat next to her.

"You know, we never actually had our little talk since you got captured and all."

"You just got shot, Carolina. I don't think you want to listen to me blabber on and on."

North chuckled at the both of us.

"Come on ladies, kiss and make up."

"Hey, fuck you, North! This is harder than it sounds!"

He took off his helmet and set it aside as the Pelican began leaving the atmosphere.

"I don't know, pulling off this rescue was quite a challenge," he then grew serious all of a sudden. "'Rado, what were you trying to say to me just before the general released me?"

I felt my cheeks go scarlet as I remembered that conversation, and what I had nearly admitted. Carolina gave me a knowing smirk and motioned me off.

"Oh, this is going to be far better than whatever we were going to talk about."

I sent her a frightful glare and turned to North, all the while locking and interlocking my hands in anxiety. North was sitting just across from me, leaning forward waiting to hear my answer. Could I do it though? Would I be able to finish what I had started? I took a deep breath and looked up, only to have enough time to squeak in surprise as North's lips met my own. His arms drew around me, pulling me closer. His lips were absolutely amazing, and I drew him closer as well, deepening the kiss he had initiated. Our breaths wrapped around each other, and after another minute, we pulled back to breath. I figured I was still wide eyed, and chuckled a bit.

"What was that for?"

He shrugged and chuckled.

"I considered this a first date."

At this I laughed and hugged him.

"Would it kill the mood if I told you I was going to say 'I love you' in the med bay?"

He seemed to consider seriously, but my suspicion was squashed when he smiled.

"Nah, it just makes the kiss that much better."

I could only smile as he brought me in for another kiss as we approached the hanger of the Mother of Invention. As long as North and I were together, nothing else mattered.

Oh man, don't hate me for ending on that note! I promise I'll be starting work on the sequel, and it will take place during seasons 9 and 10. After that I may write more with Colorado, detailing what she does after Freelancer collapses. Until then, tell me what you thought of the story! Did the chapters drag on too long? Was someone out of character? Were there characters you wanted to see more of? Thank you to everyone who has favorited and followed this. It means a lot to know that my work is actually hooking people :)