Chapter 10: Cloak and Dagger

PRESENT DAY

"Okay, hold up," Tucker cried as Washington finished his story, "You're telling me that the Feds are just as helpless as the New Republic? I thought they were evil!"

"Well, we thought you were being brainwashed by terrorists!" Donut countered.

"Terrorists?" Grif asked baffled, "Our soldiers are a bunch of harmless morons!"

"Your soldiers?" Sarge asked, raising an eyebrow.

"They were all promoted to Captains," Rhode explained, "They gave them squads and everything."

"Blue Team for life," Caboose added quietly.

Sarge swapped a puzzled look with Wash, "Clearly our enemy isn't as cunning as we once thought."

"We don't have an enemy," Wash corrected, "As far as I can tell, both of these forces have reasons to fight, and neither are particularly guilt-free. We've just been caught in the middle."

"But the rebels aren't bad!" Tucker cut in emphatically, "Some of them are our friends."

"And we managed to make a few allies within the Federal Army," Wash sighed and shook his head, "None of this makes either side any better. The New Republic started this war with extremist attacks on the capitol."

"But only because the government was screwing them!" Tucker snapped.

"You gotta admit, it sounds kinda like a jerkish move," Grif agreed.

"We need to get these two sides to talk to one another," Wash decided, "Doyle is in the capitol at the moment, but maybe he can get this Kimball woman to agree to a meeting. If they can come to some sort of understanding, we might be able to end this thing and go home."

"This isn't right," Simmons muttered uneasily.

"Believe me, there's plenty wrong with this situation. But I think this is our best move," Wash gave Tucker a relieved smile, "I'm just glad you guys made it."

"No, seriously," Simmons insisted, "I mean this doesn't feel right. I just can't figure out what it is!"

"Yeah..." Rhode agreed, "Something seems... Off."

"Is it a false sense of superiority?" Sarge suggested, "That's probably a side effect of the false promotion."

"Minutes after reuniting and you're already starting crap," Grif sighed.

"What did you expect, breakfast in bed?"

"I hate you."

"I hate you more."

"Wait," Simmons interrupted, holding up a hand for silence, "Do you hear that?"

Tucker listened too. "Uhh... No."

"You okay, Simmons?" Donut asked in concern.

"What happened to the alarms?" Rhode asked.

Everybody swapped looks of realization. In all the confusion of finding each other, they hadn't noticed the alarms had stopped. Quickly they all ran out onto the field, expecting the Fed guards to have returned from the barracks.

But there was nobody there. Once again, the field was devoid of any life, save for several guns lying on the ground and two abandoned Warthogs each armed with rocket-launchers.

"Uhh... is it lunch time again?" Caboose asked confused.

"Hello?" Wash called out, running into the open, "Dr. Grey? Anybody?!"

Tucker ran after him, keeping his gun trained, "Dude. What's going on?"

"I don't know," Wash murmured.

As they approached the Warthog, they suddenly heard voices over the radio.

"Enemy contact! Fall back!"

"Where did he go? AAAARRRRGGGHHHH!"

Rhode immediately jumped into action, "Sarge!"

"Way ahead of you!" Sarge yelled, as he, Donut and Lopez leapt into the other Rocket-hog and drove away.

"What is happening?" Simmons yelled in panic, as he, Grif, and Caboose rejoined the others.

"We're under attack!" Wash cried, leading the charge after Sarge.

Ahead of them, the Rocket-hog slowed to a halt and Sarge leapt out of the driver's seat, raising his shotgun, "Lopez, stand by the rocket-launchers!"

"Si," Lopez replied from behind the turret.

"Donut, establish a perimeter!"

"Got it," Donut climbed onto the jeep's bonnet and yelled out, "Hey! Just so you guys know, you better not come over here!"

"Usted avergonzar a ti mismo," Lopez groaned, visor-palming. (You embarrass yourself.)

Just then, a Fed came running up to them, "Thank God, sir. You've got to help us. They came out of nowhere."

"Who, the rebels?" Sarge asked.

"No!"

"Oh good, because we kinda just found out that they're really not that bad. Boy, have we got a story to tell you, and you are gonna laugh!"

"It's not the rebels, sir. It's-" But before the Fed could finish, he was hit by a red bolt of energy and thrown off his feet.

As he hit the ground, his body began to glow like a burning log and dissolved into ashes.

The team stared in horror at the Fed's death.

"Umm..." Tucker gulped, "Did everyone else see that?"

"You mean a man disintegrate right in front of us?" Grif muttered.

"Yep!"

"Really wish I hadn't," Simmons groaned.

'Why does that look so familiar?' Rhode thought to himself.

Just then a scream cut through the air like a knife, and the Reds and Blues turned and saw a terrible scene of carnage. All around them, Feds were shooting at something, but each one was hit by the red bolts and burned into nothing. One Fed tried to fight with the tank, but a sticky detonator destroyed the tank, and another bolt destroyed the Fed.

Amidst the chaos, nobody noticed Dr. Emily Grey hiding behind a wall, listening to the death cries of her allies, "Oh dear..."

"We've gotta do something!" Simmons cried.

"We could run!" Grif yelled, "Running is something!"

Suddenly a large object hit the side of the Rocket-hog and started glowing.

"Sticky detonator!" Tucker gasped.

"Get away from the car!" Wash shouted.

Everyone ran a good distance away and ducked down into the snow. Lopez leapt off the turret, shouting in Spanish, and dived into the snow with Donut. Seconds later, KABOOOOOOMM! The Rocket-hog was destroyed in a huge explosion.

Rhode looked around frantically as the gang got to their feet, "What are we dealing with?"

"We don't know!" Donut squealed.

"Well, it ain't the rebels, that's for sure," Sarge replied grimly.

"Then who the heck is it?" Tucker yelled.

Suddenly a glowing red targeting laser beam hit Tucker's armor and they heard the sound of a gun powering up. Then more laser beams flashed onto the others' armor and the Crew lowered their weapons.

Just then, they heard a deep sinister laugh that brought shivers down their spines.

Then on a walkway overhead, a shady figure wearing steel-gray armor with green trim appeared out of thin air, armed with a binary rifle, "Like sheep to the pen."

"Oh no," Wash breathed in horror.

"You're ready for slaughter," Locus finished.

"Locus!" Tucker yelled angrily, raising his rifle.

"I advise you stand down, boy," Locus warned.

Even as he spoke, several black-armored soldiers appeared on ledges above, each armed with a powerful binary rifle, surrounding the Blood Gulch Crew. With an angry growl like that of a cornered animal, Tucker lowered his weapon.

"The soldiers from the fueling station?" Simmons asked, recognizing the three soldiers that stood next to Locus.

"I thought they were Feds," Grif added.

"Those ain't our guys," Sarge replied.

"I told you, Agent Washington," Locus gloated, "I am a professional. I complete my missions at all cost. But you, and your comrades, have put a blemish on my record. This... is unacceptable."

Carefully, Tucker reached behind his back and took hold of a grenade.

"What are you talking about?" Wash yelled furiously, "You just killed the men you're working for!"

Locus gave an irritated grunt, "It appears you don't understand at all. Unfortunate. You were such a fascinating soldier, Agent Washington."

As Locus raised his sniper rifle, Tucker prepared himself to throw the grenade.

But suddenly, just as Locus squeezed the trigger, Felix darted out into the field, ran in front of Wash and raised his hardlight shield, taking the bullet.

"Huh?" Tucker cried.

"Felix!" Rhode grinned.

"Tucker, grenade!" Felix yelled, holding out his hand.

"Oh! Right!" Quickly, Tucker whipped out the grenade from behind his back and tossed it to Felix, who deftly caught it with one hand.

Felix got into position to throw, but stopped.

He stared at the grenade in his hand began to chuckle, in a way that made everybody feel nervous, "Ah, that was close! Nice throw, Tucker!"

Tucker took an uneasy step back, "Felix?"

"How many times have I jumped in front of a bullet for you, Wash? Three?" Felix laughed, "Those are some pretty great reflexes, huh? Most people would have to plan that sort of thing."

Wash's eyes narrowed in suspicion, "Felix, what are you doing?"

"Just helping out an old acquaintance," With that, Felix turned and tossed the grenade up to Locus, "You missed a spot."

"Are you done?" Locus asked, passing the grenade to the soldier on his left.

"Not even close," Felix replied with a menacing grin.

"Dude!" Rhode gasped in horror.

"This doesn't make sense!" Tucker yelled in shock, "That's Locus, your enemy!"

"Riiight," Felix drawled with a mocking tone, "And I'm the charismatic mercenary with a gruff exterior but a heart of gold. A little too romantic, don't you think?"

"But the guy freaking shot you!" Tucker snapped.

"Yeah," Felix chuckled, flexing his leg that had been hit by Locus, "Funny how an act of sacrifice like that buys you so much trust. And so much information."

Wash and Rhode suddenly recalled all the questions Felix had asked him back in the canyon while they'd been preparing for the Feds' attack.

XXX

"Weren't you with another Freelancer? And an AI?"

"I need a detailed list of the supplies you've got on hand."

"You wouldn't happen to have any high tech armor on board that wreck, would you?"

XXX

"But you're supposed to hate each other!" Simmons cried.

"Oh, we do," Felix confirmed, "After all, you should never mix friends with business."

"Wrap it up," Locus growled impatiently.

"But we just work so well together," Felix stated, "Remember that little hit-and-run we did, Tucker? I'm just glad Locus took my advice and got down when I told him to."

"You dirty liar!" Sarge bellowed.

"Hey, whoa whoa whoa," Felix cried out indignantly, "I never actually lied to you idiots, okay? Well, except for once: 'You're some of the galaxy's greatest soldiers!' Pfft! Now that couldn't be farther from the truth. But you know, it did make you the perfect candidates to lead the people of Chorus."

"Stop boasting and let me kill them," Locus growled, "We have a job to do."

"Ooh, that's right," Felix gloated. "He doesn't like you guys. He actually thinks there might be a few fighters among you. Ha! Told you he's crazy."

"But why?" Rhode demanded, "Why the capture? Why make us part of this war?"

"Well, you see-"

"Felix!" Locus warned.

"No! I've had to put up with these morons every day, so you let me have this," Felix turned to Rhode and folded his arms, "You see, someone, somewhere out in our galaxy, has their eye set on this planet. The only problem is the inhabitants. Now, if it were up to me, I'd just nuke this place from orbit. But our employer has other ideas."

XXX

As Felix observed the scene below, he spotted the Blue Team and gasped in amazement, "Holy crap, it's actually them."

"Back off," Locus warned him on the opposite cliff, "Control wants them alive."

As Locus switched on his cloaking device, Felix's face grew worried, "Oh no..."

XXX

"We have to play this thing carefully, you understand?" Felix explained, "If an entire planet dies overnight, well, people ask questions. But if you stumble onto this rock and find that the settlers killed each other, well, that's just a tragedy."

Tucker suddenly recalled Kimball's words, "Our first leader was killed in action. The second was assassinated in what we had been told would be a peace treaty, and the third was blown out of the sky while trying to leave Chorus for help."

"It was you," Tucker snarled accusingly, "You started this war!"

"EERH! Wrong!" Felix cried out, "These people hated each other way before our operation showed up; we just had to keep the hate train a-goin'. And let me tell you, you guys have helped so much."

The Blood Gulch Crew all swapped horrified glances as they recalled the battle back at Crash Site Bravo, thinking of all the Feds that they had killed and the equal number of New Republic soldiers that had died trying to save them. Tucker felt a greater guilt as he remembered the deaths of Rogers and Cunningham, and Felix's words in the aftermath.

XXX

"Dude, two of our guys are dead!"

"And two more will probably die tomorrow."

XXX

"Does it hurt?" Felix sneered coldly, "Knowing just how much death you've brought to this planet?"

"Enough!" Locus cut in angrily, "How many times must I tell you, if you want to make the victim suffer, you do it quickly, and efficiently."

With that, he raised his sniper rifle and pointed it at Wash's head, "There will be no rescue for you. You will die here, today, along with the rest. No one will find your bodies, no one will know the truth, and no one is going to stop us from killing every last person on the planet!"

As the other mercenaries raised their weapons, the Reds and Blues felt more helpless than they had ever been. It really looked like there was no way out for any of them...

Then suddenly, the mercenary on Locus's left lowered her gun, "Alright, that's all I need to hear."

With that, she dropped the grenade on the ground and leapt right off the building, landing right in front of Felix.

"KILL THEM!" Locus yelled.

"Who the crap are you?" Felix cried.

In response, the mercenary pulled out a suppressor rifle and fired at Felix, but he quickly raised his hardlight shield and deflected the shots back, knocking the weapon out of her hands and at Grif's feet.

"What is going on?!" Grif shouted.

"Just grab it and shoot!" Rhode yelled, firing his sniper rifle and nailing a soldier in the head.

The rest of the Crew raised their guns and started shooting the other mercenaries. Grif quickly snatched up the suppressor and joined in the fight, gunning down the mercs.

Behind them, Dr. Grey ran out of hiding and spotted her friends in the middle of the fight, "Wash?"

Meanwhile, Felix began to engage the traitor merc in hand-to-hand combat, but each punch and kick that he threw was blocked and countered with lightning-fast reaction. One such counter-punch sent him sprawling to the ground.

"You think you're fast?" Felix grunted, getting to his feet before being knocked back down almost immediately, "Oh, what the crap?"

"Faster than you," the merc gloated.

"Let's change that," So saying, Felix whipped out a combat knife and stabbed the merc in the leg, making her cry out in pain.

Then he swung out his leg and kicked her over to the Blood Gulch Crew, "Locus!"

With a grim nod, Locus appeared out of invisibility, holding a large laser weapon, and pointed it at the Reds and Blues. In response, the female merc pulled out a glowing orange spiked cube.

"Is that a future cube?" Grif cried out, recognizing the device.

"Stay close!" the merc yelled.

Just then, Dr. Grey broke out of cover and ran towards the group, "Wait, stop!"

But just as she caught up to them, the merc threw the cube onto the ground, causing a flash of light so bright that Locus, Felix and the other mercenaries had to cover their visors. At last, the light faded and they opened their eyes... only to find that the Blood Gulch Crew, the merc, and Dr. Grey had disappeared.

Locus gave an angry sigh, "Call Control."

XXX

Several miles away from the facility, in the depths of a foggy forest, there was a bright flash of light and eleven figures appeared out of nowhere. One figure landed nimbly on her feet but the other ten just collapsed in a tangled heap.

"Uh, what just happened?" Grif groaned, staggering to his feet, "And why did it hurt?"

Dr. Grey pulled herself out from under Caboose's legs, "Uh... Where am I?"

"I think my insides were just outside," Caboose moaned, clutching his stomach.

"Ugh," Wash grunted, pushing Lopez off him, "Is everyone okay?"

Just then, a light laugh made everyone look up to see the merc standing over them, "You know, I never thought I'd be so glad to see you idiots again."

Rhode's eyes widened in shock, "That voice... It can't be."

At that moment, the merc's armor shifted its color, changing from black to a lightish-blue. As everyone stared in amazement, the soldier then pulled off her helmet, revealing her fiery red hair and piercing green eyes.

"Carolina!" Rhode gasped in joy.

"And that's not all!" came another familiar voice.

Everyone looked round in confusion.

Then suddenly, a glowing sapphire-blue Spartan about a foot tall appeared next to Carolina, holding out his arms, "Miss me, morons?"

Everyone was silent for a few seconds, staring in amazement. Then the silence was broken.

"You jerk!" Tucker yelled, throwing down his rifle and pouncing on Epsilon, only to fall right through his body and crash to the ground.

Epsilon frowned and turned to Carolina, "Huh. Wasn't expecting that."

XXX

And thus ends probably my favorite episode of the season! Carolina and Church are back and the huge plot twist that Felix is a bad guy. Till next time guys!