Hal waits around anxiously while Cochise does whatever it is he has to do to get down to the Volm cache. He can feel Ben's anxiety through their, well, whatever it is that they share and it's only amplifying his own. There's something wrong, but they need the equipment to get the beamer out of the ground too much to just abandon it based on random feelings.

Speaking of random feelings, he's been getting other weird vibes from Ben. He doesn't know where all of the random surges of jealousy keep coming from, but he's debating whether or not he wants to find out. Communication is probably important, right?

Hal wishes Mom was here to give them advice. Not that Dad isn't great, but Mom always had advice that made sense to him. He can't even guess at what Mom would say, as this is pretty unprecedented.

"What's eating ya?" Maggie asks, nudging him.

Hal starts, looking up at her with a wan smile. "Just thinking."

"About what? Your fight with Ben yesterday?"

Hal really hopes Dad or Matt told her about that, and she didn't hear it from some kind of gossip. He hates it when his family is gossip. "Kinda."

"I hope you guys work things out. He had a tough time when we were stuck in Chinatown, and I worry about him. Both of you," Maggie amends.

"Glad you worry about me too," Hal says, smirking at her, and suddenly, he's hit with what Ben had said about being in love. Because, wow, he's looking at Maggie and he can't stop thinking about how lucky he is that Pope took them hostage that day. She's one of the best things that ever happened to him, hands down. God, Maggie is so good with her gun, so good with his family, so-

"Hal?" Maggie waves a hand in front of his face, laughing a little at him as she furrows his brow. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Sorry," Hal says, grinning and looking down so he stops getting wrapped up in how beautiful she is, even through the gasmask. "But yeah, me and Ben sorted things out. There are still a lot of questions, though."

Maggie touches his shoulder and wow, is that electrifying. "I can only imagine. But if you need anything, I wanna help you guys."

"Thanks, Maggie," Hal says, smiling at up at her. "I'm sure Ben appreciates it too."

Ben… There's something weird coming along their bond and he doesn't hear what Maggie says next. He tries to figure out what it means. It's anxiety, but it's firmer, somehow. He looks in the general direction of where Matt, Ben, and Mira are and frowns.

"Hey Dad," Hal says, walking over to him. "I'm going to go check on them for a second, okay?"

"Be quick. We're going to have a lot to carry in a sec," Dad says.

Hal nods and jogs back to where they left the three of them. He's vaguely aware of Maggie following behind him.

When he reaches the three of them, he notices a couple things all at once. Both Matt and Mira are wearing gasmasks- Ben isn't because Mira has his. What he is doing is standing just a step behind both of them, his gun raised like he's about to go into battle.

"What are you doing?" Maggie asks.

"I think there's something going on, but I can't," Ben's voice is distant and he shakes his head.

Hal gets it. It's hard for them to trust their instincts when everything is suddenly different like this. When every part of their persons suddenly feel like different persons.

"They're coming," Ben whispers, and then he yells, "They're coming! Lots of them."

"Dammit," Maggie says.

"I don't want to get back there," Mira says, shaking her head hard. "Please don't let them take me."

"We won't," Matt assures her.

"I'll help you get Matt and Mira back to Dad and Cochise, and then we can come back," Hal tells Maggie.

"We've still got a few minutes before they get here," Ben says. He looks up at Hal. "You'll be able to feel them soon. It'll be weird, but it's okay."

"Thanks Ben," Hal mutters before helping Mira to her feet.

They run back to the cache, and when Hal looks over he sees that Matt is clinging to Maggie's hand for dear life.

"Ben says they're coming," Hal says once they reach Dad and Cochise. "Ben says lots."

"Dammit," Dad says, looking over at Cochise desperately.

"In order to retrieve all of the critical supplies, I require more time and your help, Tom Mason," Cochise says.

"Me and Maggie are going to go help Ben," Hal says.

"Be careful," Dad says.

Hal squats down next to Matt. "You keep safe, okay? Listen to Dad and Cochise."

"Yeah, yeah," Matt says, not really looking at him.

Hal presses his lips together, but they have to get back to Ben- he's starting to feel the skitters, too. When they reach him, he's kneeling behind some cover. His fingers are drumming against the side of his gun, aiming it into the distance.

"Dad's helping Cochise with some of the supplies," Hal says, kneeling next to him.

"Did Cochise say how long they're going to need?"

"All he said was 'some time,'" Maggie says from Hal's other side.

"Great," Ben says, shifting uncomfortably. "Hope he just means a few minutes."

The Espheni hit hard, coming at them with mechs and plenty of skitters. The three of them start shooting back, and Hal feels a peculiar feeling in his chest. Like every once in a while something is gone from inside of him.

There's no time for dwelling, though. Just a whole lot of shooting.

"Do you think they're done, yet?" Ben yells. It's weird. Hal had anticipated that the first time they went into battle like this, he'd be able to feel Ben's fear or something- he had worried it would only heighten his own- but the only emotions he's getting are cold hatred and frustration.

"I'll go check," Maggie says, barely audible over the sound of explosions and gunfire.

Hal's not happy about it- it's a dangerous errand, but nods anyway. Maggie gets up, darting back to the cache.

The Espheni take that exact moment to redouble their attack, pressing closer than ever. There's a surge of alarm coming down his bond with Ben. It's almost relieving to feel some emotion from his brother that he expected.

"Hal, go, I'll hold them off," Ben yells.

"Are you kidding?" Hal yells back. "There's too many. We'll retreat together."

"Not enough cover for two," Ben says. "Dad and them will need the backup."

"I'm not leaving you, dummy," Hal says. "You go."

"Hal!" Ben yells. "Go, please. You have to go!"

Suddenly, Hal's getting to his feet, stumbling back to the cache. There's a prickling feeling in the back of his neck. He wants to go back to Ben, to drag him along with him or to make him go instead, but he can't. He can barely even breathe. All he can do is keep going forward.

It's almost eerily peaceful at the cistern, gunfire and explosions distant. Everyone turns to look at him.

"Where's Ben?" Maggie asks. "I was just about to come back, just a little more time."

"I don't-" Hal is stuttering, trying to figure out what happened. He can't make his mouth work right.

"Is he dead?" Dad asks, voice cracking.

Hal shakes his head.

"Is he right behind you?"

Hal shakes his head again.

"Wait, did you leave him behind?" Dad asks. His brow is furrowed and he looks appalled at himself for asking the question.

Hal feels like he's about to vomit or sob or something as he nods his head.

"You left him behind?!" Dad crosses the space between them and for the first time in his life, Hal's actually afraid of him.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what happened," Hal pleads.

Something shuts down on his Dad's face and he unslings the pack from his back before shoving it roughly into Hal's arms. "Help Cochise."

Hal doesn't bother asking where he's going, just goes to Cochise's side, trying to ignore the feeling of everyone's eyes on him. He can't even blame them; he doesn't even want to look at Matt.

"What do you need, Cochise?" Hal mumbles.

"Hold this and point it at the cistern," Cochise says stiffly. He hands him what appears to be a blowtorch. "Do not waver."

"I won't," Hal says quietly, even though all he does is feel like one big waver at this point.

Hal can hear everyone shuffling behind him, getting ready to go, and the fight even farther behind him, but he focuses all of his attention on trying to find two sounds in the middle of it all. He can sense that Ben is still alive, possibly even unhurt, and he assumes that Dad is, too. Hal may not understand all of his brother's emotions but he knows there would be an emotional reaction to something happening to Dad.

It feels like an eternity, standing next to Cochise with a Volm-like blowtorch thing in his hands, waiting to see just how badly he messed up.

But then he can feel Ben getting closer, and Hal might be able to breathe again. "I can feel Ben coming," he says, still feeling kind of numb.

"I'll take this," Maggie says, taking the Volm machinery from him. The disappointment directed at him is palpable, but Hal looks at her thankfully anyway.

It's a good thing that Maggie has taken the thing from him, because suddenly he feels pain rip through his abdomen. He sprints towards where this feeling is coming from, resisting the urge to yell, just in case they're being stealthy.

Hal almost runs into them, but he hears them staggering just before that happens. He ends up catching the body of his younger brother.

"They got him. We were retreating and they managed to hit him with some shrapnel. It's still in his side, so he won't bleed out," Dad sounds haunted.

"Let me take him," Hal says shakily. It's his fault. "I can carry him, run with him if they chase us."

"Fine," Dad says, helping Hal scoop him up.

They're silent, but Hal can feel Dad's scorn just radiating off of him. When the reach the rest of the group, Matt and Maggie both run up to him.

"Is he dead?" Matt asks.

"No," Hal says firmly. "He's not."

"We have to get moving," Dad says. "We don't have much time."

"I have only most of the required supplies, Tom Mason," Cochise says. "Not everything."

"It's going to have to be enough," Dad says and there's a note of despair in his voice. "It's going to have to be enough."

Two minutes later, they're traipsing through the woods again, Ben in Hal's arms while he tries to keep it together. The bond between him and Ben feels as strong and scary as ever, and Hal prays to anything that may be listening that that's a good sign.