Episode 6: Sideways

On a refined piece of land, atop the pavement, a great many stomps vibrated the ground underneath, one foot at a time. The clouds flew to the right and revealed the pleasant warmth of the sun, nothing like what he used to experience in Blood Gulch. A line of recruits stood in front of him, attentive to their drill instructor. He walked back and forth, the aqua armour complimented the grey area well for it brought some colour into their surroundings. Tucker sized up every one of the recruits, in particular those of the female variety. "Looking hot today, Zoe."

"Hello, HR?" asked the young recruit. "I would like to report for sexual harra-"

"Moving on!" Tucker quickly bustled his way to the men in the group and studied their preparations. He eyed the positioning of the pouches, their level and readiness for access. "Nice, nice, very nice guys!"

Tucker walked back to the very front of the group and rested his chin in hand. "You know, back in the day, I was a universe saving badass. Have I ever told you guys of the story the time I met a god and saved everyone from it?"

"Yes," said one of the soldiers, and another spoke up to say, "Only about a hundred times already."

"So here I was, me, a sword wielding, super soldier, faced by this dick of a god...", as Tucker droned, the soldiers began to find it harder to remain standing. The mid-day turned to afternoon, and before he knew it, everyone was passed out from a lack of blood to their heads. "You know, if you guys needed to sit down, you just needed to ask for a break."

"Great..."

"So as I was saying, we thought he dicked us over, but turns out, we did him in instead..."

One by one, the soldiers that still remained standing, fell to their butts as their legs crushed under their own weight. "Please. Kill. Me."

The afternoon turned to night, Tucker looked around at his surroundings as his voice came to a stop, a mercy for his trainees. "Okay, training time then I guess."

He turned to look at the soldiers, passed out with a snore, audible in the air around him. The crickets too joined in on the symphony. "Hmm, maybe not for today then."

Tucker called over the several other soldiers on active duty and helped to move the recruits back to their bunks, but especially regretted not being able to move back Zoe himself. Another opportunity slipped out of my hands, faster than girls would tell me to eject – Bow-chika-bow-wow! He walked back into his office and found himself gravitated towards his cushioned chair. With a sigh, he found his tension from his muscles release and spread further away from him. Through the circular stretches of his arms, he looked at the computer screen to his right and checked his notifications for the day. Multiple emails from A.O.D headquarters, marked as high priority, rested in his inbox for reading. A lot of guys have been laid off lately. I'm just lucky to still be here. I probably would have been partying it up everyday with the guys if I wasn't working. He reached over to some of the other emails and slowly perused them. Junior seemed to think the same. That kid, even though he is still such a rascal sometimes, he can easily tell what I'm thinking. I guess that's the thing about having someone by you as you spend so much time raising them. He looked up with a sigh and thought, summer just can't seem to come fast enough, I'm looking forward to seeing him again.

In the tent of Viper squad, the renegades all congregated together under the blanket of clear, dark skies, only illuminated by the two balls of light in the sky, and multiple small stars which came and went from existence. Phase walked into the other room, and was closely followed by Wash's gaze. Zero, having noted the interest of the prisoner, took the opportunity to entertain himself. "Your physical injuries seem to have healed up nicely for the short while you were here, Agent Washington."

"How nice of you to be concerned," Wash scowled as he did his best to flick away Zero's hand. The Starlight's ace reached up towards the medical device and turned it off. The constant deep, heavy and rotating noise of the many gears came to a stop, but somehow still felt alive in Wash's ears. That's going to be stuck in there for a long while now. Great. "What more do you guys want to do with me?"

Zero undid the hinges on the medical contraption, and rested it on the table opposite to Wash. The answer came in the form of a very unkind silence, something that did not sit well with the ex-freelancer. "Look, you guys clearly don't seem like you are trying to be bad people. Why continue this, why continue doing this?"

Diesel rested a cup of coffee, much to the pleasure of his comrade, who gratefully took the wonderful aroma in. The giant man offered a cup to their prisoner once more, and as much as Wash hated playing in the hands of his captors, he had to admit that even he was enamored by the coffee. Both the men felt their nerves calm and Zero took a moment to himself as his eyes pierced deeply into the blood stained tent wall. "You know why we do this, Agent Washington. You know why we can't stop, justice is only obtained from taking action, not from giving up or remaining still."

"So revealing the dark past about A.O.D, and Starlight Laboratories will fix things?" Wash nearly let a laugh slip in between his words. "Do you really think it would be that simple, that the world really works like that?"

"And yet," Zero slowly leaned forward, a shadow that began to cover Wash, left a cold mark on his body. "We are the only ones willing to try. Everyone else that knows this truth does nothing. We are the only ones with the will to act."

"The organization itself won't go down so easily."

"Maybe not," Zero looked at his half-empty cup and gently swirled it around. "I'm well aware that it might not do any long lasting damage either. But if we can make even a little dent in their armour, and let the people know of the things that their government also approves of, and if it causes an enough of a stir, I will be content."

"All of this to cause a stir...it doesn't seem worth it," Wash scoffed as he looked away from the towering figure over him. "Just seems like a sad, and a misguided attempt at revenge."

"We have had this conversation before, at least I feel like we have," Zero took another sip to calm himself for he felt his nerves constrain. "As I have said once before, there is no stopping. None of us can be at peace until we do this."

Unbelievable, Wash pondered as he looked down in defeat. There is no dissuading these people at all. Phase walked back into the area, to an agreeable nod in Zero's direction, who stood up with a most happy smile. "Good, things are coming together for the final piece to the puzzle. Well done, Phase."

With one quick gulp of the room temperature coffee, she sent grins in his direction and said, "It was nothing. She and I have a pretty strong connection after all."

"What are you planning now?" Wash asked, but was met with a deadly stare from both Zero and Phase. From Phase he could understand as he never found him or her on very good terms with the other. But Zero had seemed rather patient and understanding, yet today seemed different. Zero turned around and as he left the room, he said, "You are too curious today. It would be good for your health to rest, quietly."

Diesel followed the two out of their tent, and gazed up at the night. "It's a pretty night tonight."

"Yeah, it sure is," Phase gently leaned against the big man for support, who in turn held her back to keep her from tipping over. Zero crossed his arms in front of the two and sighed at the beautiful night that granted them all quite the view. Phase walked up to their fearless leader and gently bumped a fist against his chest. "You okay?"

"I seemed restless back there, didn't I?"

"Everyone has their days," Diesel commented as he rested a reassuring grip by Zero's shoulder. "Proves that you are still human."

"That's nice of you to say, Diesel," Zero looked from his friends, back and forth with a small smile stretch his lips. "It's funny, I told Jullian to be patient, to not get heated with emotions. I should take my own advice. But, I can feel it, we are close, really close."

"Yes," Phase slowly wrapped her arms around the two men, who in response did the same and they formed a triangle. "We have had to do things we wouldn't have all agreed with, or even wanted to, but we are getting there regardless. We will make it."

"Together," Diesel smiled, whose enthusiasm was met with an equally measured determination. The three nodded and looked up to the stars, and the light of the shimmering hope they all illumninated.

The next morning, at the A.O.D base, Shatter squad all stood together, presentable to their commanding officer. West strolled back and forth from the group and eyed each of them to ensure they were at their best. "I realize that a lot of you have no doubt heard things about the changes happening in A.O.D recently. Good news is, that we aren't directly affected. Bad news, due to the cut in resources, we can expect delays in support from HQ."

"Well, at least we all still have our jobs," Raymond remarked. "I say that Axel should all buy us a round for that good news alone. Am I right guys, or am I right?"

"I like that idea," One mused, much to the chagrin of Axel. "Help resolve our current mission, and then I will think about that beer round."

"As much as I like that idea as well, as your commanding officer, I am obligated to tell you to cut the chit-chat," West muttered as he did his best to face away from the group. The embarrassment clearly stood tall over him. "Now, I say that we should all start the morning off with a good round of exercise."

"Ugh, do we have too?" Raymond moaned, only to quickly be tossed back into shape when West invaded the land the rookie so lovingly thought of as his private space. "You will take that attitude and drop it, Private. When your C.O. tells you to run some laps, you run those goddamn laps. Otherwise there will be consequences."

"What kind of consequences?"

"I'm taking all the computers on this base that you use, and have one of the other personnel install Bible OS."

"As an atheist, I take offense to that," Raymond sighed as he turned to get into his position. "You would have to be the devil to do that."

"You would have to be the devil to do that...?"

"SIR," Raymond groaned as he felt a sense of relief at the take off with everyone else. Their laps began, and along the way, so did the obstacles to challenge their stamina, and athletic abilities. One by one, they climbed over the objects, aided one another to ensure no one fell too far behind, and overcame the towering buildings on their path through the complimenting strengths of each other. Axel looked back to find the group falling behind him and West. "Hold up West, we might have a problem."

"What is it?"

Axel pointed to the very back, where they saw their rookie on his last leg. Breaths as strong as a wind gust exasperated from his body. Sweat permeated through his suit, to their surprise for they didn't believe it to be possible. Huh, the techie kid isn't such a great runner, is he? Pondered the two men. East looked back and found Raymond's trudging, almost zombie like form, to be rather adorable, yet sad in One's eyes. East slowed her pace to give him a gentle pat on the back. "Come on, keep up. You don't want to go back to newbie status now, do you?"

"Will that mean I can stop running?"

"Here I thought you were the sort to try, hmm...I might have to reconsider our Friday date."

Date, she said date. I know this is emotional manipulation, but goddammit I feel motivated, he felt his heart heat under more than just the cardio activity. Like heck I would lose that opportunity over something like this! He quickly felt his legs loosen and shift into top gear. His speed dramatically increased and even passed the two senior members at the front. Everyone stopped in surprise, almost tumbled over at the chicken run Raymond did. One poked the sides of East and mused. "Got him by the strings now have you?"

"Don't know what you are talking about."

"Oh sure, sure," One grinned and leaned closer into a whisper, "Tell me all about your date on our next girl's night out."

"No promises," East quickly left One behind for she felt her cheeks heat up, as well as her chest. One looked at her friend now leaving her behind and could only grin under one thought, it wasn't a yes, but that wasn't a no either. The two senior members watched East pass them as well, and nearly tumbled once again, and only saw One behind them now. Axel held his hand up against his head and wondered, "What were they doing back there to get this motivated all of a sudden?"

"Can't let them show us up now, can we Axel?"

"No, we can't."

The two men grinned back to one another and felt their legs bulge with the muscles forming in their under-suit. They quickly gained ground on the two in front and nearly caught up to them, when to everyone's surprise, One passed them all, and quickly left them all in the dust. Even to East's surprise, so much so that she tripped over her own feet, yet Raymond quickly caught her. East thanked Raymond, yet had little time to let him enjoy the moment. "Dammit, I can't let her beat me to the finish line!"

"It's not a competition," Raymond stretched out his arm towards her as she got further away. "Come back, we were getting to the good part. Hugging is better than running!"

Everyone passed Raymond, and he rested in peace, like a carcass dried under the sun. He gently closed his eyes, shifted his weight to his side and with a small whimper, let out a single, sad tear. We could have gotten to the nice part about the hugging though, why must you forsaken me love angels, why?!

As the two women at the front pushed on, they noticed one final obstacle before their finish line. Carolina, she stood as strong as a brick wall in the wind, and as tall as an imposing tree in the forest. East and One shot quick glances to one another and agreed in a silent nod. Operation Freelancer takedown, go! Thought the duo as they quickly hurried their pace, One moved on ahead and went to tackle the cyan soldier head on. Carolina heard her own sigh, as loud as a song bird on a summer morning. They just don't seem to learn. She stiffened her body into a tighter pose, eyes all around to her vitals and readied to counter the jester in front of her. One quick blow to her chest should be enough to knock her off her feet judging by her momentum. As Carolina shot her fist forward, One ducked to her left, and East took a sharp turn to her right. "Psych!"

Carolina looked at the dust the two left behind as they reached the finish line. To her amazement, the ex-freelancer could not come to comprehend their coordination. Have I just been bamboozled?!

"Looks like they got you," Axel interjected in her state of confusion, as both he and West went past her. "They got you good."

Wait, wha-, she looked back and forth with her eyes ready to jump out in bewilderment. Did I just get bamboozled again?! She reached out towards the two men, but they were too far gone now. "No, come back, I wasn't ready. Let's do that again!"

"Hey Agent Carolina," Raymond groaned as he slowly trudged his way towards her. She already felt the weight of defeat on her shoulders, and the sense of embarrassment that her pride would not let her forget. I already let the others go by, may as well make it a third time I get bamboozled now, she thought and motioned for him to go past. Raymond, to his surprise was thankful to take the opportunity. "You are nice, I like you."

"Gee, thanks," Carolina quickly found herself on the ground, face first, and her helmet dug into the dirt. "That makes me feel so much better about this."

At the very end of the course, like the nuts and bolts of a structure coming apart, Raymond felt his legs fall apart on him, and he fell to the ground. Exasperated gasps escaped him for the sweat began to pool underneath him. "Water..."

"Here," he heard and saw the pinkette offer her bottle. He carefully took it, so as not to spill a single drop of kindness. Yet East quickly felt a certain sense of discomfort as all eyes were on them. One leaned in close, too close and mused. "Sharing bottles already now, didn't you drink out of that one East? That's like an in-direct kiss."

"What are we, in kindergarten?" East pushed her comrade back and turned away from the crowd. Raymond slowly stood up and handed her the bottle back. "Thanks, East. I owe you."

"Pay me back on Friday," she replied with a big grin, partially obstructed by her brunette hair. It was a smile which Raymond painted onto his memories, and enthusiastically nodded. West simply stood at the side as the scratch on his head would just not satiate. "What is going on with this teen drama I am watching?"

"Something special is in the air," Axel laughed as he gently patted his friend and coordinated with the rest of the group. Carolina caught up with the group and to everyone's surprise, they heard words of praise to the two ladies. "Looks like someone had spent some time thinking and decided to work together."

"Competition is fun, but so can working together be as well," One smiled in East's direction, who returned the gesture in kind. The two women bumped fists, yet as their hands parted, One could have sworn she saw a change of expression on East's face. The face which was once showing camaraderie, now had a veil of loneliness, if not disconnect. Was that my imagination? Pondered One as they all dispersed for their morning breakfast.

Mid-day, Tucker watched the rookies make the rounds. His eyes especially trailed in Zoe's direction, and he would occasionally get more than he would ask for as she would flick him off. The rookies finished yet another round as they made their way to the next course. To their displeasure, they watched the aqua soldier slowly follow them in a Warthog. "You guys are doing great, keep on going, doing great..."

Over the radio, he heard a call put out for him from the main building of the base. With a sharp turn, he drove off into the distance, leaving his rookies both covered in dust, and confused. "So, we call it a day here?"

"Yeah, I guess so," said one of the guys. "Anyone wanna go get drunk after doing this shit?"

"I'm down for that," another replied. "My liver could certainly use more punishment."

"Just make sure the strong stuff is there," Zoe barked as she walked off to her quarters. Nearing the building, Tucker came to a stop and walked in to meet the gaze of many commanding officers. "What's up, dudes, you guys call for me?"

Dudes? Thought one of them as he gently lowered his stare into the pit of disappointment that knew no limits when it came to this simulation trooper. At least its better than 'brosefs' that he used to call us, when he first started here. "There is a call for you from Shatter Squad."

"Oh nice," he reached over for the communicator and asked, "Is this about that hot soldier finally wanting to get with me?"

"No comment there," said another one of the C.O.s as they all left him alone in the room. Tucker heard a familiar voice on the other end. "Carolina, is that you?"

As the confirmation came in, his voice perked up noticeably so. "Hi, how have you been? I still owe you guys for that prank you played on me. The guys at the canyon haven't let me forget about it so far."

"Well it might be a while before you can get your chance at a revenge prank."

"Why is that?"

"Wash is missing, he was abducted by a mysterious group of assailants. I have been on a mission to track these people down and arrest them, and also bring back Wash."

"Hold on, Washington is missing?" Tucker slowly sat down on the nearest chair and squeezed his legs shut tightly. "What's the progress looking like?"

"Honestly, not that good," Carolina stared up at a large door in front of her, and the key slot above Shatter Squad. "But we have a lead on Wash. We need your help to get to him."

"My help?"

"Yeah," she gently ran her fingers along on the carved door. "I'm standing in a temple of some sort, not of human origin. It's alien in nature. And there is a key slot of some sort to the door that stands in between Wash and me."

"It's like Chorus then," Tucker thought as he gazed down to the sword. He took it in hand and said, "I will book the next flight out. ETA should be by the end of day today at minimum."

"Considering the recent shakeup in the organization, I will take it."

"Cool," Tucker stood up and walked over to input his details to the nearest computer. He searched for the next flight out and put his name on the list. "And Carolina, sit tight, we will get Wash back."

"I know, I believe we will," she smiled with a sense of confidence that left those around her shaking. It was the confidence that could be transferred into an unstoppable determination. As the call hung up, she looked at the indicator of his recovery beacon. Behind her now, Shatter squad was beginning to setup a makeshift camp. Carolina gently banged her hand against the door and let out a silent curse. Axel tapped on her right shoulder and invited her back for a coffee and a chat. As Carolina watched the contents and the resources used, she wondered, "Is this use really necessary?"

"Keeping morale up is always important," Axel reasoned as he took some off the boiling pot, and poured Carolina a fresh batch of coffee. He handed her the cup, and a couple of crackers. "Food is a great morale booster. Plus, fighting on an empty stomach sucks."

"Can't argue with the empty stomach part," Carolina bit into the salty and hard treat. As it dissolved away under her own saliva, she washed the remainders down with the sour drink. The after taste was something of a repugnant variety. She always preferred her coffee with some sugar and cream in it, she thought as she began to take larger drinks in an effort to finish the cup faster with minimal waste.

West rubbed his rifle clean and looked up at the door with a slight gruff. "So, anyone have a plan for when we get in there?"

"Go in, extract Agent Washington fast, and get out," Axel noted with One in a quick follow-up, "Sounds simple to me, I like it."

"I doubt that they would make it that simple for us," Carolina sighed as she finished her cup, and gently leaned back her weight, onto her arms. Raymond quietly agreed as he pointed to the door and said, "They seem like a smart bunch."

"Well, we can just do our best in the event we get jumped," One remarked. Axel quickly followed up however before he felt they would invest too much of their energy into the idea. "Or, we could get what we came for, and run."

"That would be boring," One moaned, but acknowledged that it was the smartest option. "You have been quiet, East. What do you think?"

"I think that as long as we work together, we should be okay."

"I guess I will take the lead," One raised her hand with the empty cup high in the air. She lowered it in Axel's direction, who refilled the fuel for her soul. "I'm the one with the tactical ability after all."

"That sounds backwards," Raymond pondered as his head slowly began to spin in circles. "Shouldn't the planner be in the back, and West in the front since he has the most destructive power out of all of us here?"

"All of us?" Carolina raised an eyebrow. Raymond quickly shuffled a little further away for her tone was clear, and he valued his health too much. West holstered his gun behind him and stretched his arms. "I don't know, I could be the strongest."

"We can see if that's true after this mission," Carolina cracked her knuckles and was already amped to tackle her next opponent. As the group idly chattered, the time seemed to pass, and once the boredom settled, so did the silence in the air. The day changed into the night, and Axel, on guard stood up in caution. He took a hold of his assault rifle and aimed it in the direction of the blip on his map.

"Yo, what's up losers?!"

Suddenly, all became aware, and Carolina more so as she jumped to her feet and quickly ran past Axel. "Tucker!"

He almost felt like he was blown off his feet as she took him into a tight hug. "Oh, this is new for you. But I could definitely get used to this. What's the occasion?"

"You are the occasion!" Carolina chirped excitedly, leaving the simulation trooper a little flushed. "Never in my life have I felt so popular, where I won't have my ass beat in the end, and dumped out in the middle of the night. At least I don't think that will happen here."

"So our key is here," West greeted the man with a nod as he pointed to the sword. Tucker looked at the group and immediately found himself in the vicinity of One and East. "Hello ladies, I take it you have heard of me?"

The two women looked at the cyan ex-freelancer in a rather unimpressed expression, and Raymond with his flames of jealously releasing more fumes than the emissions of their cars. East sighed in disgusted and took a step back. Tucker quickly rested a hand on East's shoulder and asked, "So, pink, I have had a thing for girls in pink. What say you and I get a drink and go down the excited snake-way?"

Quickly he received an elbow to his abdomen, much to his displeasure, yet satisfaction. "Worth it...bow-chicka-bow-wow..."

"I see that your subtlety hasn't improved in the days we last saw one another," Carolina gently punched him on his helmet and motioned above them. "I know you just got here, but Wash is waiting beyond that door. Can you open it up for us?"

Everyone stood in position, and as Tucker turned the lock, the gears behind the door began to rumble and slowly split the door apart. Carolina's eyes glistened with the grey and yellow armoured soldier, lying on the side of the area. With an ever so cautious scan of the room, she entered. With every step she left behind, her pace quickened. As they all entered the room, they were a little surprised and enamored by the large structure ahead of them. Tucker caught up to Carolina and Wash, and bent down beside them. "How's he doing?"

"Out cold," she noted and motioned for the rest to come closer. "Call for medical evac."

Carolina's head quickly jerked for she saw a figure jump down towards the ground. They all looked back at the loud echo of the heavy boots hit against the ground. Carolina quickly took to a defensive pose. "You are from the assault team."

Diesel looked at all his opponents, and sensed a fast change in the air. Wary of his presence, they all drew their weapons, and Carolina took quick notice of the knife that flew past them and beside Diesel. Out from thin air, came Phase. The bright aura of her under-suit painted Diesel in an attractive glow, that slowly subsided to reserve energy. "Nice to see you again, Agent Carolina. Glad to be able to cross swords once more."

Her voice sounds the same as East's, why? Wondered West, who quickly trained his gun on Phase. One held her aim steadily on Diesel and asked, "So you guys are the ones that attacked our base. Why did you do it?!"

"Aww, looks like we are becoming famous," Phase gently nudged at Diesel's side with a widespread grin. The big man simply laughed at the notion as he cracked his knuckles. One raised her rifle to his head and found herself speaking in an aggravated tone, "Answer the question already!"

"We don't need to answer to you," Diesel remarked as he looked above to their approaching leader. He quietly did so with a silver paired plates in hand, dog tags from a past life. In the deep, echo of a voice, one which silenced the room in an instant, he spoke, "What a surprise, to think that they would send you two, Axel, West."

Axel nearly felt his grip loosen on his gun as he turned to see the familiar armour. He took a small step forward to see the symbol of the A.O.D on the dog tags. "Elijah?"

"No," Zero stated as he threw the dog tags over in Axel's direction. "You killed that man on the night of our escape. Do you remember?"

"I was just following orders."

"As you always have been," Zero shot back, with a hint of anger in his voice. "Still, it was thanks to your resolution, that mine came into being. I owe you my gratitude for that much at least."

Orders? The rest of Shatter squad wondered as they watched the exchange between the two sides unfold. Axel looked down the barrel of his gun and heard the familiar sound of rain drops, patter off his gun. Through the narrow streets, connected to the back of Starlight Laboratories, he chased down his target. The alarm of the escaped subjects still rang loudly in his ears. Very few had decided to remain in their cells as soon as they shot wide open. And the massacre he witnessed, and helped bring about to a certain degree left him de-sensitized. Now, there was only the mission. His footsteps rested heavy in the light puddles of water. His feet led him in the direction of the sporadically splashing water. Walking past a corner, and coming out of a clearing, he reached the end of a destroyed street.

Down a few steps from the metal platform, he saw his friend, the greatest creation he had ever witnessed, and now an ex-ally, study the landscape in front of him.

"Elijah!" Axel shouted for his friend to turn around. Quickly he found himself in a defensive pose against Axel's pistol, that rested its aim firmly on his forehead. "By the order of the A.O.D, I ask that you stand down and turn yourself over!"

"No, never!"

"I'm authorized to use whatever means necessary to stop your actions," Axel warned as he rested his finger, a little more cautiously against the trigger. "You are a smart guy, Elijah. Do the sensible thing."

"I'm not going back," Elijah shot back as he pointed in the direction of the lab. "You know what they have done, the horrible experiments they conducted to not just me, but to all those people. The families they have destroyed, and all for what, just to create a means for long-term profit, under the guise of helping the war effort? No, I won't be a part of that!"

Axel rushed forward and took a hold of his friend by his neck armour, and threw him down onto the ground. With a swift punch, he left Elijah, almost writhing in the heavy pulsating that beat on the side of his head. "Those people volunteered to be in the programs, as did you. Don't play the victim card here, you all signed up for this. You all signed your waivers, and now that shit has hit the fan, you think you can just run away without any consequences?"

Elijah slowly crawled towards the very edge, where the street seemed to descend several meters down onto the lower levels. He looked back to his Shatter squad member, and said, "I know that I signed up to be a part of the experiments, but I never signed up for them to cover things up the way they have been doing, and breaking apart our families. Phase, she wasn't even allowed to see her own father after she was admitted full-time into the labs. Starlight and A.O.D have several skeletons in the closet, and they need to face them!"

"Oh cut it with the bullshit," Axel felt his patience stretch like a fine, thin string. "Their activities that would be fitting for public knowledge are transparent. You know as well as I do that what you are chasing after is a revenge plot. Be practical Elijah, surrender. If you do that, you will be saving yourself a great deal of trouble in the future."

"You just don't understand," Eljiah muttered as he rested his head to see the rain drops bounce off his visor. Some trailed like tears mixed with the rain of a dreary day. "You never saw the things I did...I can't surrender."

Elijah slowly stood up and reached out towards Axel. His hand slowly opened with an offer, and said, "You know in reality that I'm not so bad. Think about it, even after the extreme measures they went to in order to try and contain their prisoners, do you really think that they are still not the monster?"

Axel quietly raised his gun back up towards Elijah's head. As the silence trailed on, it was only the the sound of the rain drops that broke what little understanding remained between the two men. In a seemingly last ditch effort, Elijah begged of his friend, "Come with me. We can bring to light the wrong doings. Come with me and help me do the right thing. You know I'm rig-"

Like the thunder, a loud noise crackled in the streets. Smoke escaped the barrel of Axel's pistol, who then lowered his gun with the release of his breath. He looked at Elijah's body that flung back from the shock and fell of the edge. "I don't think so, I have my own responsibilities and people waiting for me. Unlike you, I can't just betray them."

In the temple, the gloomy color cleared from Axel's mind and he shook his head. "No, you should be dead. I shot you in the head."

"A helmet is a very useful thing," Zero pointed in the area the bullet had hit, a spot that was now long healed. He threw the dog tags towards Axel, who instinctively jumped back and then slowly reached down for them. Zero mused with a laugh, "The man you killed as I said before was Elijah, you can have that trophy. And you gave birth to the resolution of Viper squad. We will have what we came for, and you will this time be watching."

"Wrong!" Axel retorted as he fired off a bullet. Zero dodged it with ease, and landed down to his level, strongly on his feet. Axel was quick to activate his suit's ability. He felt his body numb to the sensations injected inside, and his mind slow his surroundings. Zero's punch, that would have been a deadly greeting to the face for a normal person, now seemed like an avoidable casualty. Zero swung from left to right, and every one of them, Axel dodged successfully. One activated her abilities to get a view of her surroundings, and East engaged Phase with her enhanced speed. Yet that speed meant nothing to the Viper member as she teleported from spot to spot. No matter the superior speed, it always amounted to nothing for she continued to miss her target.

West moved forward to jump into the fray with Zero and Axel, but failed to get a clear line of sight as their opponent placed Axel in between the weapon of destruction, and himself. Frustrated, he holstered his rifle and jumped in between the men. A small shock-wave shook the ground, and left them struggling for balance. West's suit glowed brightly and the energy slowly built up at his hands and feet. With a high roundhouse kick, West nearly managed to pin Zero to the ground, but as quick as he went down, he got back up. Zero moved in between the punches and the kicks, he jumped up using West's thigh as a spring board, and kicked both of them in the chin. The single opportunity was enough to grant him the upper hand.

Diesel slowly moved forward towards the rookie of the group, who slowly backed away with his rifle continuously firing. As the bullets all deflected from Diesel's armour, Raymond felt himself feeling with growing worry, "What the hell, who decided to make an ability to create such a perfect shell? Damn them and their creative mind!"

"Stay here with Wash," Carolina looked to Tucker, as she gently pinned him down beside the grey soldier. Tucker took a quick hold of her and said, "But I can fight, let me help. You remember what happened last time."

"This time, it's not just two people fighting," Carolina argued. "You stay here and protect Wash, please."

Hesitantly, he withdrew his grip and watched her land with a kick to Diesel's arm. In between the rookie and the brute, she prepared herself for her muscles bulged and grew with passion for the fight. One saw the various routes and covers available to them in their surroundings. She conveyed the data to all connected squad members and pointed in the direction of a small crevice. "West, use that."

And get back around Zero to clock him out, he pondered with a nod. But was quickly dissuaded by Axel. "We don't know if that area is safe. It's not worth the risk!"

As Zero continued to push them back, and gain more ground into their personal space, West gruffed loudly, "What other option do we have when we are getting pushed back like this?"

West blocked a kick from Zero, that still left him shaking in his armour, and broke free towards the crevice. A smirk tugged at Zero's lips, who easily dealt with Axel now. One is always easier to deal with than two after all. Phase jumped in between East and One, with her teleportation knife, and spun kick One to the ground. She held her knife up high and dug it down in her direction. As the sharp point approached her neck, her heart ached with a scream, with a fear that clawed at her chest. Mere centimeters away, she found her salvation for East jumped in and tackled Phase to the ground. "We finally got you!"

"Do you really?" Asked Phase as she slid the knife to her right and quickly teleported with East on top. When they exited the rift in space, East hung upside down. Tired, Phase quickly tossed East to the side, and with her knife at her side, she rushed in One's direction. One slowly powered down her suit as she found the energy consumption to have already drained her batteries half-way. Phase swung up with the knife, nearly slashing at One's chest, who quickly reacted with a jab at Phase's chest. The force caused Phase to stumble back, as a sharp, pointed, aching sensation buried deep into her bone. She gritted her teeth and swung wide with her leg. One quickly blocked it with her forearm, and forced the leg down to throw Phase's balance off. But to One's surprise, she found herself on the ground fast, with her head stuck in a spin after having encountered Phase's elbow. She struggled to stand back up, and continued to find herself suppressed. Little room for free movement was left for her as Phase laid the pressure on her hard. With a kick to One's side, she left her opponent squirming in a wince. Phase slowly drew her knife and bent down with the sharp edge against her neck, but again found herself intercepted by the intentions of East. The pink soldier moved in to hold Phase's hand further away, twist her wrist and loosen the grip on the sharp object. She removed the weapon from Phase's reach and held her stomach in between her arms, which she then, without restraint proceeded to swing her opponent's whole body backwards. With a silent curse, Phase quickly collected her bearings and deflected the punches headed in her direction. One finally stood back up, and joined the fray. Every opportunity presented to her, she took to take a jab at Phase, and East quickly reacted to the follow-up opportunities. Phase found herself losing ground as she was being pushed back much to her dissatisfaction, and surprise.

Carolina just dodged Diesel, for he stomped, and cracked the ground beneath him. Every punch, every kick from this man carried the force of a top-speed semi-truck. She landed several punches to his back, but no effect was observed. His shields had restored and any stray bullets did little to hurt the man. And he was safe within his encased nano shell of his hardened armour from the physical attacks. "Raymond, prep a magazine!"

The rookie frantically worked to retrieve one from his nearly dry supply. "What do you have in mind?"

"You will see," she announced as she jump kicked the brute further back. "When I give the signal, pull the trigger!"

Diesel blocked Carolina's many kicks, yet few still made it through, for his body could not keep up with the determined speed the woman possessed. Carolina pushed him back, more and more until he felt the ground begin to disappear from beneath his heel. Looking back, Diesel found the large crevice invite him into the dark descent. Smart, she is using her surroundings, he thought. Yet for him it was too late to retaliate for she quickly rolled out of the way, and said, "Do it now, Raymond!"

While the bullets may have had little impact on Diesel's health, the laws of physics certainly did not become obsolete with his armour. He found himself being pushed back by the force and come so very close to being pushed off. But in a miraculous outcome, he managed to just roll out of the way from the final barrage of bullets. Safe, he reached to pick up Carolina by the neck, and threw her in the direction of Raymond. "Enough of your tricks!"

Diesel jumped down, and landed with his knee deep in Carolina's stomach, who nearly spat out her own bile. Raymond, who quickly activated his armour abilities, held out a remote activation bomb. Perceptive as Diesel was, he stopped whatever ploy Raymond had in mind, and crushed the device under the weight of his foot. A firm punch to the jaw left Raymond squirming on the ground. Carolina on the other hand slowly stood up and held up her arms weakly towards the big man. To their surprise, Tucker jumped in swinging, and managed to graze Diesel through his seemingly impenetrable armour. Tucker smirked underneath his helmet as he supported Carolina with one arm. "See, I told you I can fight. Looks like a badass's sword will do the trick here."

Diesel nearly scowled in the drill instructor's direction as he studied the damage. To his relief, it was not a deep cut, but it did leave that particular spot weak to future attacks. Diesel bent down to avoid a high swing and twisted Tucker's arm. Diesel quickly introduced and relieved Tucker from the world of agony as he kicked the soldier down. Carolina wrapped her arm around Diesel's neck from the back, just before he could attack Tucker any further and struggled against his sporadic movements to get her off. I can't let go, she thought looking in Wash's direction. I won't let go.

West grunted as he made his way through the small crevice, in the shape of a tunnel. Small enough for someone to only crawl in. His body slowly turned and twisted through what seemed like a never ending maze, only to come across more rocks in his way to dig through. After several minutes of exploration, through which the sounds of fighting never failed to keep him alert, he began to see some light pierce an opening ahead. He rejoiced at a potential exit, and quickened his approach. Yet as he saw Zero's back, and that the tunnel took him exactly where he wanted to go, he failed to realize the small, yet noticeable resistance against his body. A string cut loose beneath his body and sent sparks throughout the tunnel. Shit! He thought as loud, heavy sounds of the rocks crumbling above him came falling down from the small explosions. For him, the rocks failed to knock him out, and it was a matter of gratitude as he still remained aware, yet pinned down. There was no way he would be able to move the rocks himself. Zero looked back with a small chuckle. "You never did mind your surroundings whenever you got an idea so deeply stuck in your head, West."

"But you better start minding yours," Axel proclaimed as he shoved Zero to the side with his elbow. Not bothered, Zero simply grinned with excitement for he blocked a punch and held Axel's arm tightly. Quickly, Zero shifted his weight to one side and ran behind Axel, with the arm now in a twist. Axel's grunts only further validated Zero's actions, for he kicked his opponent down to his knees and pulled back on the arm, nearly disjointing the bones. As the pained screams began to pollute the area, One looked back in Axel's direction, yet it was a distraction long enough for Phase to capitalize on. She round housed One squarely in the jaw, and knocked her off her balance. East nearly met the same fate, but narrowly dodged the aggression. In kind, she followed through with her fists, but each one was either blocked or avoided entirely. Phase quickly bent down and rose high to head butt the soldier hard. Like One, she found herself stumble back as her world spun around her.

Diesel continued his struggle against Carolina's hold. To his surprise, she didn't let up no matter how much he swung his body, from left to right. She didn't let up one bit even if her body was grazed and battered by the surroundings. Finally, he felt himself at the very edge of the land that was his patience. And at the very edge was an abyss that left him free falling into a loop. Insanity through frustration was seeding itself into his emotions. He jumped back to the nearest wall he saw, and the cracks behind him in the ex-freelancer's body did not bode well for her. Her arms slowly fell down over his shoulders, and slid off his body as the weight dragged her down like a potato sack to the ground. To Tucker's relief, who cursed his inability to help, he saw that Carolina was still conscious, yet immobilized. Her suit quickly engaged in the healing unit, and left her numbed to all sensations around her for the pain slowly drowned out from her body. Diesel freed himself to meet the terrified gaze of Raymond, who weakly held onto his rifle. The barrel stared unsteadily at Diesel.

Diesel wiped off some dirt from his armour, and he slowly stood up to make use of his imposing, towering form over the puny rookie. "Don't bother."

Like a command to a slave, he lowered his gun in a silent understanding. His fingers loosened around the grip, and the weapon released itself from his possession. Amused by the young one's actions, Diesel dealt a crushing blow to the gun beneath his foot. Pieces lied in all directions, and Raymond found himself in regret, fast. Before he could do anything more, he was quickly kicked down, and left squirming into a ball.

Phase turned around from East as she felt the change in the air behind her, and blocked a punch. One, now on her feet and ready, she felt her body move almost on its own in response to Phase's attacks. Just as One figured she was gaining ground, the illusion was wiped from her eyes for the reality sang differently. Phase landed a sharp jab in One's stomach, and followed with a strong left hook to her cheek. East, who found enough strength to stand back up again, slowly moved towards Phase from the back, yet she did not get anywhere close enough. Diesel stood in her way like a wall to a weak, stormy wind. He picked her up and threw her with some reserved strength towards Tucker. The drill instructor quickly moved in her direction and activated his sword as a warning to the brute. But to his surprise, Diesel did not take any actions. Tucker looked down to the pinkette and shook her almost violently. "Hey, don't pass out here. Come on, stay with us!"

Tucker's eyes shot wide open as he felt a pulse spread from his stomach to his body. Through his armour, a knife pierced him clean, and the nerves it touched finally stung like the attack of a thousand bees. A loud scream, almost mortified, alerted everyone in the room. Zero, who held Axel down, felt a wave of relief overcome him, yet there was turbulence in those waves all the same. Momentarily distracted, One froze in shock, yet it was a mistake she regretted quickly. The next minute, she found herself on the ground, under Phase's boot. East reached for the sword on Tucker's leg and holstered it on to hers, as well as she retrieved her knife. With one swooping motion, she drove it into his throat, and the eyes that looked in horror once behind the visor of the aqua soldier, now gasped in desperation as the air escaped from his throat. His body slowly found itself squirming about on the ground, and quickly into a state of shock.

Am I dying? Tucker felt his leg flung up for the energy in his body expanded until it left him completely dry. No, I was supposed to see Junior again this summer, and the rest of the guys. He slowly turned over and reached out to dig his fingers deep into the little crevice. With what little might remained in his fibers, he pulled himself forward, so little progress by the second. Of all the things I have faced, it's a knife that would kill me like this? No, it can't! Tucker gritted his teeth and bit down on his lower lip. The pained sensation still reminded him of the pulse that pounded in his chest. Carolina felt her legs shake first, and slowly it worked its way up her whole body. Still weakened by her previous impact, she could not move her body, let alone summon the strength for her voice, "Tucker...someone call a medivac...someone..."

As Tucker's crawl came to a slow stop, his body limped down onto the ground, where his vision slowly focused onto the ground, and faded out again. His chest no longer shouted as it did before, but rather felt like it was falling into a long, long, slumber. I really am dying...fuck, fuck, fuck...I'm sorry kiddo, looks like I can't keep my promise this summer. I didn't want to leave you this early, I wanted to see you grow even more, to get up to some more things together, to see you grow the family. His eyes slowly closed half-way, and his head no longer shifted in his helmet. A few minutes passed, his eyes lied completely shut. East retrieved her knife and took a hold of her newly acquired power. Like the thunder of a storm, the sounds radiated with the vibrant blue sword. Electricity was evident from the edges of the weapon, and she moved back towards where Phase stood. "Mission accomplished, sis."

Sis? West looked at the two women, who quickly embraced one another. Phase, along with Zero, Diesel and East, retreated back towards the entrance to the room. "Danyell, what are you doing...with them?"

Phase quickly turned around at the mention of the name, where as East slowly followed after. The pinkette, determined to tell of the man off, she pointed to her sister, and said, "She is Danyell. I'm Katherine."

"What?" West looked back and forth from the two, in a growing sense of perpetual confusion. "Twins?"

"Correct," said Phase as she held East's hand in hers. "We are a two that were made into sisters."

Phase noticed the grip tighten on her hand as East struggled against the urges. She held her sister back firmly and said, "We have done what we came to do. It's time we leave. Goodbye Shatter Squad, goodbye Bruce."

West looked at the dark pink visor turn and out into the direction of the exit. East, before following her comrades out, barked, "This isn't over, you will pay for what you did to us, Bruce!"

The members of Shatter Squad all looked in a silent terror, as the lifeless body rested in the middle of the stage their was defeat so magnificently recited on. Carolina's eyes slowly blurred from the moisture that built up, as her mouth quivered with a slur of words, that simply fell out without any proper form. Shatter squad now rested, completely defeated, and lost.

Somewhere in the universe, a boxed canyon was gazed at by an intense heat. The only relief during the day for the inhabitants were the shadows, and their in-built helmet fans, at least for the ones that it still worked. In this canyon, two bases, one with a red outline, and another with a blue, were placed in opposite view of one another. Their foundations after all these years were still strong. The grass on the ground after all this time still managed to survive somehow. One could say that it was a miracle organism in this part of the planet.

Atop the blue base, a man dressed in blue armour looked at the canyon, through his amber like coloured visor. This man stood tall, with his form well built to shape the muscles of the under-suit. He heard the yammers of approaching soldiers, but that bothered him little for a worry tugged at his heart. He could not explain why he was worried. There was no immediate threat or danger, but his heart warned him of something, some heartache. He looked up with a most innocent gaze and in a single word, he pondered of a friend. "Tucker?"

A/N: How'd you like that chapter?

So, do you think Tucker is done for in this iteration of the season re-write?

How was the ending of the chapter?

Hopefully it gets you pumped for the OG reds and blues that still remain from the ending of the last season, are going to be returning. Let's be honest as fans here, it's simply not red vs blue without them.

I would love to read of your thoughts on the chapter. If you have feedback, please don't hesitate to put that down in the review section, and I'm always open to accepting it through a PM as well.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read. I hope the long wait was worth it!

~ Monty