She let out a blood-curdling scream as her eyes opened to a bright, overbearing light. Writhing, she coughed and shouted, finding her arms restrained. As she screamed her last, she clenched her teeth, panting as her vision cleared itself. Her hearing had left her but for only a moment, as the drowned out sounds of conversation soon became the focus. She blinked twice to find two people looming over her, holding her arms down.

Liskarm and Matterhorn.

"She's been stabilized," said the voice of Franka. "…We did it just in time."

A helicopter could be heard overhead, the sounds of the blades getting louder as it lowered itself near her. Lappland, still dazed, smiled as she parted her lips to speak.

"The traitor…" She managed, before closing her eyes once more.

"Matterhorn, keep her up," Liskarm said, releasing her arm. She stood up, signalling to the helicopter as Matterhorn picked Lappland up, carrying her in his arms. Sussurro and Franka watched as it dismounted, with Amiya sliding the side doors open.

"Hurry, hurry! She's losing blood by the minute!" Amiya said frantically. The team made no haste entering the helicopter. Matterhorn strapped Lappland in an empty seat, and both he and Liskarm sat on each side of her. Sussurro took a seat beside Franka, her face torn up. Franka looked down at her.

"…I wish she hasn't seen that," Franka said to herself. Sussurro's eyes were fixated on Lappland, trembling. She lifted an arm up to wipe the blood off of her face. She was genuinely horrified.

"Take us home," the Doctor said in the copilot's seat. The pilot took off immediately, repositioning to Rhodes Island.

There was nothing but silence during the whole trip. Matterhorn folded his arms, and Liskarm looked out of the window by her seat. Franka pulled Sussurro's head to her side, stroking her ears to calm her down. Sussurro's unchanged expression meant that it wasn't working. Lappland was the only one with a smile on her face, even during her unconscious state. Amiya, reading the room, decided that the best time to get a report would be back at base.

Rhodes Island Base, Docking Bay, twenty minutes later…

"Where are they!? Where's that son of a bitch!?"

Doctor stepped out of the helicopter and was met with distant shouting. Lappland was put on a stretcher, assisted by Matterhorn. The crew shortly followed, paying the others no mind. Turning their head quickly, the Doctor was met with a harsh slap to their face, almost knocking their hood completely off.

"Ow—hey!" They shouted, rubbing their cheek.

"NOW look at what you've done! I warned you, you're on thin ice here, Doctor!" Kal'tsit had reached her peak with anger. "Red just brought back a wounded Penguin Logistics member, and guess what? It's not Texas! Rather, it's the result of one of your dog's accidents!"

"Get off my ass, Kal'tsit!" The Doctor replied. "How was I supposed to know that they were going to interfere, much less impede the search!?"

"You're hopeless, you know that?" Kal'tsit sharply retorted. "All I asked—all I asked—was to let me helm the investigation and fight fire with fire. Then you play the 'justice' card and throw another bone in the mix because you were envious—and now what? Nobody is on the search now. Not Penguin Logistics, not Rhodes Island, not anybody."

Doctor wanted to respond, but couldn't. They felt responsible for Lappland's endangerment, and by proxy, Exusiai's wounds. Before Kal'tsit could continue, however, Liskarm approached beside Doctor and stood at attention.

"Doctor. May we speak later?" She asked plainly. Doctor nodded to her.

"Give me fifteen minutes, Liskarm," they replied. "I have to change a cat's litter."

"Oh, you son of a—you know what!?" Kal'tsit was face to face with Doctor, infuriated as she stomped her foot. "That's it! I've had enough of you!"

Sector SR01. Lappland's tailored emergency room.

"…Mmmn."

Lappland groaned weakly as she finally came to again. Shaking her head, she looked down at both arms as she sat upright. Needle after needle, and suddenly, it was déjà vu all over again. She chuckled, but her eyes rolled up upon realizing that she wasn't in the room alone. Matterhorn and Franka stood by, their weapons not that far from them.

"She came to," Franka slightly chuckled.

"Geez. Stalkers, are we?" Lappland replied. Something felt off about her, though. She felt… lighter. Weaker, somehow. Her ears twitched as she looked away from them in utter confusion. All she did to get her answer was to drift her eyes down ever so slightly.

Lappland's right leg was severed from her body.

"…Ah. How close was I that time…?" She asked somewhat sheepishly.

"Inches—no. Centimeters from death," Matterhorn replied, unfolding his crossed arms. "We were lucky to have made it to you when we did. You were almost entirely consumed with Oripathy crystals, so…"

"We had to amputate your leg. A small price to pay to keep living, I'd wager," Franka interrupted. She turned to the counter and grabbed her disposable cup full of coffee, taking a sip before setting it down. Lappland continued to stare at her missing leg. It was wrapped in blood-stained bandages like freshly packed meat.

"If you think this will keep me here, you are sadly mistaken." Lappland looked at everybody, her smirk fading into an angry frown. "Which one of you should I be thanking for my second chance?" Matterhorn turned his head to the right.

"Our lovely little nurse," he replied. Lappland turned to see that she was gesturing to Sussurro, who was sleeping sideways one of the nurse chairs. Her tail was curled up against her, and her staff was standing upright against the wall. She appeared to be shivering. "If it hadn't been for her, you would have died right where you slept." Lappland turned her head back to Matterhorn, who returned her stare with a mournful gaze.

"Ah, the irony," she smiled. "Perhaps she proved me wrong. Well, I suppose I'll have to thank her when she wakes up, but until then... what now?" Lappland laid back, knowing that any movement would cause either them to react immediately.

"We're currently waiting for Vulcan to begin her operation on your leg." Franka took another sip of her coffee. "Of course, she volunteered without our say-so, so I guess your consent doesn't matter. It's not like our Doctor knows either…"

"…Operation?" Lappland raised an eyebrow. Franka's smirk was painted cleanly on her face as she looked right at Lappland, the coffee cup at her mouth.

"You wanna find Texas… right?"

Lappland's smile returned.

Doctor's Office, concurrently…

Liskarm stood at attention at the desk. Doctor sat in their chair, facing sideways as they were silent. You could cut the tension in the air with a knife as Liskarm finally inhaled sharply, exhaling to break the airy silence.

"Liskarm, before you begin," Doctor spoke up first, beating them to it. "I am going to place your team on standby indefinitely. I seek not to put you or others in any further endangerment in this mission. You were lucky Red left when you did."

"…You're suspending us?" Liskarm said, her head tilted. "No, forget about me; Sussurro performs an emergency triage by force and you're rewarding her by plucking her off the field?"

"You misunderstand my intentions, Liskarm." Doctor dared not to look them in the eye. "You lot did your job, and you did it well. I'm not suspending you because of my stupidity. I'm keeping you out of harm's way."

"For what!?" She raised her voice. Catching herself doing so, she sighed, and calmed down. "…Forgive me, Doctor." Doctor replied by waving their hands, understanding their emotions.

"…Just hear me out, Liskarm. You've done your job, and I don't want you to be thrown into a complex of missions."

Liskarm inhaled again, infuriated.

"Then it is prudent of me to ask, as I couldn't agree more." She paused for a moment, awaiting a response that would never come. "Doctor… you let Lappland escape our crutches, and then sent us to retrieve her." Doctor rested their hands in their cheek. "Then, you predicted that Penguin Logistics members Exusiai and Mostima would follow suit, along with Kal'tsit having deployed Projekt Red for the same reason… tell me, why so many irons in the fire trying to find Texas? It was bound to backfire eventually and—wait… did you mean to…?"

Doctor spun their chair slowly to face Liskarm, resting their chin in their hands.

"Do you believe that one person can be capable of creating a Catastrophe, Liskarm?"

"Doctor…?" Liskarm gasped.

"Because that one person being in danger endangers the rest of us."