Meanwhile, at Scarecrow & Architect's last known position...
"Nothing. No signatures on Thermal, Sonar, Magnetics - not a damned thing..." STAR hissed out in frustration as she switched her eyes back to normal.
"Do you think they gave us the slip?" RO asked dejectedly.
"That's what it's looking like, there's no way they could be jamming us without their equipment." STAR replied.
"We still need to check, it wouldn't be the first time Sangvis has pulled a new trick from up their sleeve." M4 spoke up.
"Architect's solution to problems is to blow them up, she couldn't have become an Electronic Warfare expert while locked up like she was, and Scarecrow's Neural Cloud got scrambled up by that EMP Svarog used on her, she can hardly even remember who she is." STAR rebutted.
"Just...keep your eyes open, we'll search the rest of our assigned area, meet up with 404, and call it in." M4 sighed out, silently agreeing with STAR's point.
"RO...I'm bored." SOP-II whined.
"Yes, SOP, I know." RO replied.
"Wanna act like we're the A-Rainers? I can be Paula Snow's character, and you can be...whoever else was in that movie." SOP-II suggested.
"I'm not cosplaying in the middle of a mission...And Paula Snow was not in that movie."
CLICK
"Echo-1, Griffin, come in." The radio chimed.
"Echo-1, send traffic." M4 replied.
"Echo-2 has arrived at the area you had disembarked from the vehicle. They're reporting that both the Commander and your vehicle are missing, the Commander's equipment was left on-site and the scene shows signs of a struggle."
"Wait - the Commander is missing?!" M4 cried out.
"That's affirmative, luckily the vehicle's tracker is still online, we've tracked the vehicle to an outpost a few clicks due north of your position. It looks like they've lead us right to their base, I'm setting up a line to Svarog now, hold your position and await further- Hey, M4, do you copy? I said hold your position!"
Meanwhile...
Dreamer's unhinged smile remained frozen on her face as she continued to swing the pendulum in front of the Commander. "You will command our forces. You will lead them to victory against your former comrades in Griffin, just as you commanded Griffin against us. You will destroy Griffin and the Military. You will-"
"You will give me Ice Cream and Strawberry Custard Cheesecake every day!" Destroyer's voice cut off Dreamer's from the back.
Dreamer's head twisted back in an instant to glare menacingly at Destroyer. "Don't interrupt me!"
"Come on, Dreamer! This is our chance! Architect told me that Griffin Dolls get tons of Ice Cream and Cheesecake!"
"Tch, fine." Dreamer scoffed and turned back to the Commander. "You will give me Ice Cream and Strawberry Custard Cheesecake every day."
"Hey!" Destroyer pouted angrily, balling her fists at her sides.
"Don't get like that, you little brat! I already gave you that lightweight frame, don't you dare say I never do anything for you!" Dreamer snapped.
"Yes, Master...Cheesecake and Ice Cream for Destroyer and Dreamer..." the Commander said in an entranced voice.
"...Whatever, close enough." Dreamer resigned before continuing. "You will write us Combat Reports whenever we ask you to, you will give us all the Cores and Fire Control Components we ask for."
"Yes...Master..." The words caused physical pain to the Commander as he uttered them - she had officially crossed the line, but he had to convince her that she was in control, it would land him in a better position to escape or at least signal for help.
"Oh, Dreamer!" Destroyer called out as she flipped through the pages of what looked like some kind of picture book. "She snapped her fingers in the book! I think you have to snap your fingers!"
"Oh...I knew that!" Dreamer replied unconvincingly and snapped her fingers.
The Commander stared blankly at the floor, trying his hardest to keep a neutral expression for what felt like an eternity as his captors stood wordlessly.
"Did...Did it work?" Destroyer finally spoke.
"...I am awaiting your command, Master..." The Commander spoke monotonously, sensing his que to say something.
Dreamer sneered and cackled enthusiastically. "Excellent! Excellent!" she bellowed out, looking as if she was about to start jumping for joy.
The Commander's guard remained sky-high, he knew Dreamer liked to toy with people, she could have been on to him from the start and was just putting on a performance. For now, he opted to shut up and not speak unsolicited, the less he gave them, the less they had to pick apart and find out he was lying.
"So that's it? It's working?" Destroyer asked.
"Yes! I am a genius!" Dreamer cackled.
"So now what are we going to do with him?"
"There is one more thing...Even though he might be a great strategist, he's still a human - a squishy, brittle sack of meat. When I was out scavenging, I ran into someone who said he could, how do those humans say? 'Hook me up'?" Dreamer said as she shuffled over to a cabinet in the corner of the room, and pulled out a set of needles.
Shit, drugs - this wasn't good. Even if it wasn't some kind of sci-fi mind control drug that Paradeus developed, there's no telling what he could say or do while under the influence that would blow his cover, but what could he do about it? If he tried to object, Dreamer would catch on for sure. The Commander's mind raced as Dreamer encroached upon him with the needles in hand.
"I was told that these here could make a man ascend to godhood, let's go ahead and test that out..."
Come on, genius! Think of something!
Dreamer's eyes scanned up and down his arm. "Now, where is the vein? Was it here? Oh screw it, let's see what this does."
The Commander gnashed his teeth together and cringed as Dreamer jammed the needle into his arm and injected the unknown contents.
"Wait - was it supposed to be this one first? Or was it the other one? Oh well, too late now."
Note: Dreamer is a terrible Doctor
The Commander resisted the urge to curse will all of his might as the second needle was jammed close to the first injection.
A few seconds passed, and then...nothing. Nothing bad at least, in fact, the Commander felt quite good. That still didn't make him any less pissed at these two bumbling idiots using him as a Guinea Pig, his body was a temple, and these two had just desiccated it.
Dreamer continued cackling as she eagerly paced the room. "Now what should we do first? Send him after his precious AR Team? Shoot down that pesky Svarog bomber? Maybe we should give Griffin a ransom demand, and act like we're setting him free - then he destroys them from within and brings us all of their cheesecake!"
As Dreamer went on and on about her diabolical plans, the Commander felt along the chains of his cuffs. They felt...plasticy...plastic, these handcuffs were plastic...Yeah, he could break these cuffs. He could wait until Dreamer decided on a plan and let him free, but why wait when he wanted to be free now?
The Commander rapidly wrenched his wrists to opposite sides, causing the Chinesium cuffs to snap apart almost effortlessly, and stood right up. His whole body ached all over from the beating he took just a moment ago, but now suddenly he felt good as new...better than new.
"Whoa! Hey! I didn't tell you to stand up!" Dreamer snapped.
"Have you forgotten, Dreamer? I'm the Captain now." The Commander retorted.
"W-What?" Dreamer was taken aback by the Commander's remark.
The Commander felt like he could do anything, but what he wanted to do more than anything is do something about that stupid smirk on Dreamer's face.
"Look at me, Dreamer...I'm the Captain now."
With that, the Commander slammed his fist directly between Dreamer's eyes, sending her stumbling backwards until she tripped into a stack of boxes, sending the stack crashing down on top of her. The Commander's hand should have been screaming in pain from doing that, but somehow, he didn't feel a thing.
"Dreamer!" Destroyer cried out before turning to the Commander. "You'll pay for that!"
"You're next you little gremlin!" The Commander yelled as he seized Destroyer by the wrists and began spinning her in circles, lifting her off her feet.
"HOW ARE YOU- AAAAAHHH PUTMEDOWNPUTMEDOWNPUTMEDOWNPUTMEDOWNPUTMEDOWN!" Destroyer shrieked as she was spun around faster and faster until the room was nothing but a blur. "PLEASE LET ME GO! I'M GETTING DIZZY!"
"Let you go? Okay!" The Commander replied with a menacing grin.
"N-NO WAI-" Destroyer was cut off by the Commander releasing his grip on her wrists, sending her flying at what felt like Mach-speed directly into the same spot Dreamer had landed, just as Dreamer had recovered from the blow and was beginning to sit up. A loud crash sounded as the pile of boxes and the disoriented dolls were sent careening into the wall.
"That's right! I'm the fucking boss now! Woo!" The Commander boasted, he felt a surge of energy he hadn't felt in a long time. He didn't need to do this spy movie crap, he could break out of here the old fashion way. He just needed to get out of this room, find a car, and he'd be back at base in time for chow...Hell, he could just run back to base, he sure felt like he could.
The Commander made his way towards the exit of the room and tried the handle. Locked. His eyes turned to the keypad next to the handle.
Dreamer gritted her teeth as she sat up. "It's no use! You'll never guess the code!" she cried out.
Who the hell was she to determine that? She wasn't writing his life story - he'd guess the code if he damned well wanted to. He was the boss, after all, some dainty little keypad wasn't going to stop him.
1 2 3 4
The Keypad beeped affirmatively as the lock released with a click. The Commander threw open the door, but before he walked out, he slammed his fist into the keypad, which emitted a low, garbled tone that slowly faded out as the smashed pad flickered and sparked, he then stepped out and slammed the door shut behind him.
"Damn it!" Dreamer hissed out. "You're not going to get away that easy..."
The door to the workshop slid open with a soft whirr as Architect stepped inside. In the middle of the room sat Scarecrow, who was hooked up to a diagnostic machine, while Executioner stood nearby, impatiently tapping her foot as the diagnostic program ran.
"Any progress?" Architect asked.
Executioner shook her head. "Until the Mastermind gets back, I don't think there's much we can do, the only other person around who knows how to repair Neural Clouds is Dreamer, and there's no way in hell I'm letting her mess around inside Scarecrow. Who knows what kind of funny business she'd pull..."
"Guys, come on! I'm totally fine! Stop fiddlefucking with my Neural Cloud!" Scarecrow snapped.
Executioner sighed. "That's it, I've had enough of this. I'm going to sort this out."
"But didn't you just say you didn't know how to repair Neural Clouds?" Architect asked.
Executioner walked closer to Scarecrow, sized her up, and began scratching her head.
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Architect asked once again.
"...I have no idea..." Executioner finally spoke.
"Try...smacking her or something, humans do that when something breaks, and it works sometimes." Architect suggested.
"What?! Hey! Keep your hands off me ya freakin' lunatic!" Scarecrow cried out.
Executioner sighed again, and after a moment's hesitation, gave Scarecrow a sudden, hefty smack on the head.
"Ow!" Scarecrow exclaimed.
"Feeling better?" Executioner asked.
"Bro, I am straight up NOT having a good time, man!" Scarecrow replied angrily.
"Okay...try it again." Architect spoke.
Executioner delivered another smack to Scarecrow's head.
"Yo! This shit is NOT bussin! FOR REAL for real! No cap!"
"Hit her again! Hit her again!" Architect cried out.
Executioner once again smacked Scarecrow upside the head, but this time, Scarecrow remained silent.
"Shit...did I break her?" Executioner quietly asked.
After a short silence, Scarecrow tilted her head back up and spoke, but something sounded odd about her voice...
"Cheel out...Dickwad." Scarecrow said in a strange accent.
"Well, at least she's not broken...Are you going to hit her again?" Architect spoke.
Executioner shook her head. "No, this is obviously not working...Do you at least remember the mission, Scarecrow?"
"...To ensure the survival of John Connor?" Scarecrow replied.
Executioner and Architect slowly turned to each other, Architect giving a hesitant shrug while Executioner shook her head.
Suddenly, the lights in the room flickered as a loud rumble shook the building.
"Uh...what was that?" Architect asked.
Suddenly, the PA screeched as the speakers came on, and Dreamer's frantic voice sounded over them.
"ALERT! ALL PERSONNEL TO FULL ALERT! SUBJECT ONE-ZERO-SIX HAS ESCAPED CONTAINMENT!"
Alarms blared and sirens flashed as the Commander sprinted through the halls. He had no idea where he was or where he was going, but he was surprisingly unmoved by the gravity of his situation. He hadn't made it very far before two Sangvis Rippers rounded the corner at the end of the hall and trained their submachine guns on him.
"This is Sierra-1! We've got eyes on one-zero-six!" One of the rippers called over their communicator.
"Taser rounds only, Sierra-1! I want him alive!" Dreamer replied over their comms.
"Understood, less-lethal mode activated!"
The Ripper flipped the safety off of her weapon, targeted the Commander's torso, and squeezed the trigger. A burst of electrified prongs whizzed through the air and slammed directly into the Commander's chest...but the Commander kept sprinting towards them unabated.
"Ha! I didn't even feel that!" The Commander shouted as he kept running.
"Subject is not stopping!" the Ripper cried out as she fired another burst - but it was to the same effect.
The Ripper felt a cold panic surge through her systems as the Commander drew closer and closer.
"HE'S NOT STOPPING!" The Ripped cried in a panic as the Commander leaped into the air and threw his momentum into a powerful drop kick.. The sole of his boot slammed into the Ripper's head, the force of it shearing her neck in two like that of a plaster mannequin and punting her head like a soccer ball.
"Holy shit!" The second Ripper cried out in shock as she witnessed just how easily her partner came apart,
The Commander thudded to the floor, landing on his back after the kick. The Ripper quickly aimed her submachine gun at the Commander, but he rapidly turned his hip and snapped his leg into a sweeping kick that knocked the Doll's legs out from under her, sending her crashing to the floor. Her head banged on the floor, causing error messages to flood her vision.
ERROR: OUT OF MEMORY, ATTEMPTING TO DOWNLOAD MORE RAM...DOWNLOAD FAILED, DELETING SYSTEM32 FOLDER.
ERROR: ADMINISTRATOR PRIVLEGES REVOKED BECAUSE FUCK YOU
ERROR: ERROR HAS OCCURED ATTEMPTING TO LOAD ERROR MESSAGE, CONTACTING CUSTOMER SUPPORT...CONNECTED, YOUR ESTIMATED WAIT TIME IS: 99999 HOURS. NOTE: DUE TO THESE UNPRECEDENTED TIMES, FURTHER DELAYS SHOULD BE EXPECTED...
The doll let out a low-pitched whirr as it shut down, and the Commander jumped to his feet in an instant.
"YES! I'M FUCKING INVINCIBLE! YEAH BABY!" The Commander shouted as he hooked his foot underneath the fallen doll's submachine gun, kicked it into the air, and deftly caught it by the grip. His eyes turned to another submachine gun that was laying on the ground...Yeah, one gun with two hands was lame as fuck, he was the boss now, he could handle two guns no problem.
Now the Commander was armed, it was time to...What was he doing again? Something about stopping the Illuminati from microdosing him with corn syrup? Whatever, if he forgot, it wasn't important. He had all this energy now and bullets weren't hurting him, he could do whatever he wanted.
"Alright! Let's fuck shit up!" The Commander cried enthusiastically as he resumed his way down the corridor, not knowing where he was or why he was there, all he knew was that he must kill...
"Shhh, I hear him..." Executioner whispered as her hand slowly moved to the handle of her blade.
Her and Architect were lying in wait a little ways from the base's armory, and the sound of a single set of rapid footsteps had begun to draw near...
"Wait, didn't Dreamer say she wanted him alive?" Architect whispered, taking note of Executioner's weapon of choice.
"She said alive, she didn't say anything about how many pieces he had to be in." Executioner whispered back as she slowly began pulling her blade from her sheath.
"Can't be helped, I guess. It's not like my weapon's a much better choice." Architect shrugged, brandishing her Rocket Launcher.
"Those Military bastards destroyed my old blade, I haven't had a chance to test out this new one that Dreamer got me...Let's see HOW WELL IT CUTS!" Executioner shouted as she turned the corner and slashed at the Commander with an overhead swing, but the Commander was faster than her, and instinctively shielded himself with his Submachine guns.
Upon contact with the guns, the blade sheared off of the hilt with a metallic clang and clattered to the floor, Executioner's eyes widened as she looked upon what was left of her blade - little more than a jagged nub attached to the hilt.
"Nice mall Katana ya fuckin' weeb." The Commander deadpanned.
"You little-"
Before Executioner could finish, the Commander turned his SMGs on her and pulled the trigger, however, only one shot from each of them had managed to fire. The gun in his right hand practically exploded, the magazine was launched out of the gun at mach-speed and he had only narrowly dodged the bolt getting blasted out of the back of the gun and just over his shoulder. The one in his left had simply failed to extract and mashed the next cartridge against the rim on the one in the chamber, jamming the bolt and the magazine in place. Executioner's sword may have been a Far Cry from what it used to be, but the Commander's guns were clearly a Far Cry, Too.
Nevertheless, the two taser rounds that did fire did their job, and Executioner collapsed to the ground with a pained shriek, twitching and spasming as the current surged through her body. "GAAA-AAAA-AA-FUUU-UUUU-UUUU-UU-UUUU-CCCCCCCKKKKKKKK"
"Executioner!" Architect cried out as she turned to the Commander and raised her rocket launcher. "S-Stay back! I'll kill us both! I swear!"
The Commander appeared to pay her no mind as he walked up to her, snatched the launcher right out of her hands, and turned it on her.
"Not if I kill us both, first."
"AH! NO!" Architect screamed as she spun around and broke into a sprint.
"Bastard!" Executioner hissed out as she sat up and reached for her pistol.
The Commander instinctively turned the launcher on her and pulled the trigger without thinking...but the missile didn't launch. Instead, a distressing whirring sound rang out as flames spewed out of both the back of the launcher and through the small gap between the warhead and the tube in front, while the payload remained lodged inside the launcher.
Both the Commander and Executioner turned their gaze from the misfiring launcher to each other, their eyes meeting and at that moment reaching a mutual understanding. The Commander tossed the flaming launcher to the floor while Executioner scampered to her feet and took off running, while the Commander sprinted off in the opposite direction. The launcher slid across the floor before coming to a stop right in front of the base's armory, which housed piles upon piles of live ammunition and ordinance inside...
"Can you just drop it? I've seen that movie a dozen times now, Paula Snow was not in it!" RO snapped at SOP-II, whom she had been arguing with for the entire journey.
The AR Team was close to the vehicle's last known position now, it wouldn't be long before they reached the Command Post where the Commander was being held captive.
"No, she had to be in the movie! How else could we have dragged Lewis along to see it?!" SOP-II retorted.
STAR rolled her eyes at the duo's bickering and quickened her pace to catch up with M4.
"So, what's the plan once we reach their base?" STAR asked her team leader.
"We'll figure it out when we get there." M4 replied dismissively.
STAR sighed. "You know, I'm starting to miss when your problem was thinking too much. It was easier to yell at you to just pick a plan and go with it than it is to come up with a plan on my own."
"There's no time, STAR! They have the Commander, every second he's over there, he could be...We have to hurry!"
"At least get a drone up so we can survey the area, check their fortifications, see what building looks like it could have holding cells, give us something to work with! You can't help anyone if you're dead, M4." STAR tried to reason.
M4 stopped in her tracks and let out a resigned sigh. "You're right...We should at least see where they could be-"
Suddenly, a thunderous rumble shook the earth, rustling leaves from the trees and sending flocks of birds scattering to the sky. The team turned to the source of the sound to find a massive column a smoke rising from roughly where the MRAP's coordinates were.
"Commander...COMMANDER!" M4 cried out as she dropped her rifle to dangle from her sling and practically ripped her particle cannon from her shoulder before breaking into a sprint towards the smoke column.
"Hey, M4! Wait! M4!" STAR's calls went unanswered as M4 rushed ahead. "God damn it!" STAR hissed out as she sprinted after her leader, RO and SOP-II following close behind.
Architect slowly, hesitantly uncovered her eyes and opened her eyelids. The massive tremor that had rocked the entire base had ceased, and the area had grown dead quiet - quiet enough to hear her own electronic heartbeat, beating loud enough it was as if it was echoing through the small ventilation shaft she had hidden herself in. That Commander had gone completely insane, and she no longer wanted any part in this, whatever stunt Dreamer had tried to pull with him had obviously backfired horribly. She was just going to lay low until the storm had passed over.
Suddenly, a set of footsteps slowly faded in, growing nearer and louder. Architect hesitant peaked through the slits in the vent over into the hallway below to identify the culprit. Recognizing the Griffin Commander instantly, Architect suppressed a gasp as she retreated backwards, holding her breath and remaining as still as a statue until the footsteps slowly faded out.
Is he gone?... Architect thought to herself as she slowly began to crawl forward to peek out of the cover again.
The cover of the vent smashed open as the Commander burst through in an instant and seized Architect by the wrists, the scream Architect had been holding in shook the entire shaft as she shrieked at the top of her lungs.
"YOU VENTED ARCHIE! YOU VENTED! YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS?! YOU'RE SUS!" The Commander yelled with a frightening amount of excitement, a disturbing smile frozen on his face.
"NO! LET GO OF ME! LET GO!" Architect screamed, kicking and thrashing as she was pulled towards the opening. "NOO! NOOOOOOOO! AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
Architect and the Commander tumbled to the floor as Architect slid out of the ventilation shaft. The former ringleader quickly tried to scramble to her feet and ran to the nearest door, but the resulting power outage from the explosion had rendered it inoperable.
"Where ya goin' Archie? I thought we were friends." The Commander called after her as he got to his feet.
"Uh...Yeah! We are friends! Best friends! Sorry about that whole uh...beating Scarecrow and I gave ya, we were just...messing with you! Yeah! I didn't mean it!...I swear, I didn't mean it!" Architect pleaded desperately as the Commander encroached upon her, seemingly unmoved by her words.
The Commander had grown closer and closer, and was just about to say something when a rapid pair of footsteps sounded from the side.
"NO!" A mature voice shouted out, before the Commander could react, a white haired Doll threw herself towards him and tackled him to the ground.
"ARCHITECT, RUN!" M16 shouted as she pinned the Commander to the floor.
Architect nodded and quickly scurried out of the room.
"Commander! Commander, it's me! Snap out of it!" M16 cried out as she struggled to restrain her former Commander.
"I DON'T CARE WHO THE IRS SENDS! I AM NOT PAYING MY TAXES!" The Commander screamed out.
"What are you talking about?! Commander, please!" M16 pleaded, but it was no use. "Damn it, what the hell did that bitch shoot you up with?..."
"GET AWAY FROM ME SHE-DEVIL! ANTI-CHRIST!" The Commander continued to shout.
"Commander, please! Just calm down! We can have a drink and just talk this ou-"
"NO! I WON'T DRINK YOUR CORN SYRUP! I WON'T EAT THE BUGS! I WON'T LIVE IN A POD!" The Commander yelled as he managed to wrestle just enough space to work his foot between him and M16, and drove his boot into her sternum, kicking her off of him and sending her stumbling back into the wall.
M16 had just managed to regain her balance when an unnerving sound of metal straining sounded above her, followed by deafeningly loud crashing and clanging. M16 looked up just in time to see the ventilation shaft above give way and come crashing down. She quickly tried to move out of the way - but not quick enough.
"OH, SHIT!" M16 cursed as the vent crashed down onto her back and she toppled to the floor, losing her grip on her rifle and sending it sliding across the room where it thudded into the Commander's foot.
The Commander slowly bent over and scooped the rifle off of the floor, and stood silently, staring at it in some kind of trance.
"Not good..." M16 whispered to herself, unsure of what the Commander was going to do next.
Suddenly, a loud rumble in the distance snapped the Commander out of his daze.
"GET OFF MY RIDGE, YOU CHARLIE BASTARDS!" the Commander shouted at the top of his lungs and charged off down the corridor, leaving M16 trapped alone under the debris.
"Oh hell..." M16 sighed out as she closed her eye and dropped her head to the floor in defeat.
The sound of the roof access door swinging open caused Executioner to rapidly spin around and draw her pistol in a single motion.
"Ah! No! It's me! Don't shoot!" Architect cried out, panting in exhaustion as she stepped onto the roof.
Executioner sighed and turned back to the column of smoke rising from the pile of burning fuel and smoldering debris that used to be the Command Post's armory. "Mastermind's going to kill us when she hears about this..."
"She won't kill us." Architect replied.
"It would probably be more merciful if she did, she isn't going to take the news of one person, a human at that, destroying half of our outpost lightly."
"It was all Dreamer's fault, if we don't mention my rocket launcher, we can probably blame the armory on her too."
"Yes...yes, if we just stick to the story that Dreamer brought him here, he got loose under her watch, and all of this happened before we could get to him, we might be able to dodge the blame for this."
Executioner's musing was interrupted by the door swinging open again, this time, Scarecrow stepped into view.
"I'm back." Scarecrow spoke in her odd accent.
"Damn it, Scarecrow! I told you to stay hidden!" Executioner hissed.
"We must make a stand now, or dere will be nobody left to go to da choppa." Scarecrow replied.
"I think...she wants to fight with us?" Architect surmised.
"Your Neural Cloud's been scrambled, Scarecrow! You will just slow us do-"
Executioner was cut off by Scarecrow extending the palm of her hand an inch from her face.
"Talk to the hand." Scarecrow deadpanned.
"Oh for the love of..." Executioner sighed.
"I've lost my launcher, you've lost your sword, and Scarecrow's personality is broken. I say we just wait for this to get sorted out, it's not like the Commander could get far. Even if he got to his vehicle, I don't think he could drive very well in his state." Architect spoke up.
An unsettling realization dawned on Executioner as she slowly turned to Architect. "...You brought his vehicle here?..."
"Yeah, we parked it right over there, did ya really think we walked all that way?" Architect replied casually as she pointed near the post's front gate, where the Griffin MRAP was idling.
"Did you sweep it for bugs?!" Executioner asked urgently, her voice becoming more panicked.
"Bugs? Uh...I didn't see any mosquitos or anything inside, I don't think..." Architect replied hesitantly.
Suddenly, a loud boom sounded in the distance, one that the Ringleader's instantly recognized as the sound of a familiar particle cannon. They slowly turned to the source of the noise as it repeated several times over and watched a straight line being carved through the canopy of the surrounding forest as trees came crashing down, the source growing closer and closer...
"You brain-dead ass! You've killed us..." Executioner uttered.
"YOU'RE NOT TAKING ME YOU CHARLIE BASTARDS! YOU WILL NEVER!" The Commander cried out as he sprayed the rest of the M16's magazine into the last Vespid unit, feeling the bolt lock to the rear as the doll's body thudded to the floor.
Dreamer's voice sounded over the fallen Doll's communicator. "Sierra-2, what the hell is going on in there?!...Damn it, Sierra-3 - get in there and engage!"
The door to the courtyard at the end of the hall burst open and a squad of Sangvis Dolls quickly filed into the room.
"Block him! Block him, get in there!" One of the Aegis units shouted at the shields move to the front of the line.
"It's over, human! There's no way out, drop the weapon and give it up!" A Jaeger called from the back of the line as it shined its laser onto the Commander's torso.
Staring down the team of Sangvis dolls, the Commander released the grip on the M16, causing it to clatter to the floor. It was out of ammo anyways, but that didn't matter - he wanted to kill fast, and bullets would be too slow...
"Sierra-3!...Sierra 3, respond!...Oh, what the fuck?!" Dreamer balled her fist and slammed it into the wall next to her.
"Dreamer...should...should we contact Agent and the Mastermind?" Destroyer hesitantly suggested.
"No. No. No. No! I can still fix this!" Dreamer cried out through gnashed teeth.
Dreamer exhaled angrily as she stomped over to a nearby wall and leaned against it, eyes glued to the floor. "Okay, Okay...Maybe if-"
Suddenly, the wall Dreamer had been leaning against exploded into chunks of rubble and strips of rebar, sending her and Destroyer flying backwards. M4 leaped through the hole in the wall and into the room before the last chunk of debris had finished falling to the floor, her particle cannon smoking at the muzzle. The rest of the AR Team filed in after her, and the moment they caught sight of Dreamer writhing on the ground, they rushed to her in an instant, incessantly pummeling her with punches, kicks, and stomps while shouting at the top of their lungs.
"WHERE IS THE COMMANDER?!"
"I-"
"WHERE IS HE?! WHAT DID YOU DO WITH HIM?!"
"I JUST-"
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH THE COMMANDER?!"
"I'M TR-"
"WHERE DID YOU TAKE THE COMMANDER?!"
"STO-"
"TELL ME WHERE THE BOMB IS!"
"W-WHA-"
"WHO ARE YOU WORKING FOR?!"
"WHA-"
"WHERE'S GORDON?! WHERE IS THE FREEMAN!"
"I HAVE NO="
"WHAT WAS HE FIGHTING FOR?! WHAT ARE YOU FIGHTING FOR?! WHAT AM I FIGHTING FOR?!"
"WHAT THE HE-"
"WAS PAULA SNOW IN THE A-RAINERS?!"
"WHAT?!"
"OH, YOU DON'T WANT TO TALK?! MAYBE THIS WILL JOG YOUR MEMORY!"
"AAAAHHHH" Dreamer had resigned herself to just covering herself from the incessant blows as the AR Team's questions grew less and less coherent, when an idea dawned on her.
"DESTROYER KNOWS! ASK HER!" Dreamer shouted.
"You backstabbing-" Destroyer's insult was cut off by the AR Team rushing over to him and relentlessly pummeling her in the same fashion, while Dreamer grunted in pain as she frantically tried to crawl to some semblance of safety.
"DREAMER'S LYING! SHE'S THE ONE THAT KNOWS!" Destroyer shouted.
"Oh you-AAAAAHHH" Dreamer screamed as the AR Team jumped back on her.
"DESTROYER!" Dreamer quickly screamed.
"DREAMER!" Destroyer shouted before the AR Team could land their first blow.
"DESTROYER!"
"DREAMER!"
"DESTROYER!"
"DREAMER!"
The team kept going back and forth before RO finally snapped out of her trance.
"Wait! Hold on! Stop! STOP!" RO shouted as the AR Team slowly relented, STAR giving one last kick to Dreamer before stopping. "This is obviously not working."
Taking advantage of the break, Destroyer spoke up. "WE DON'T KNOW WHERE THE COMMANDER IS!" she shouted.
"Shut up, you little twit!" Dreamer hissed, but Destroyer continued regardless.
"Dreamer tried to brainwash him and make him our Commander, then she injected him with something - some kind of supersoldier serum or something, then he punched her in the face and ran off somewhere! Nobody we've sent after him is responding over the comms! Please you have to believe me!"
"Brainwash?!" M4 cried out, balling her fists before RO quickly extended an arm in front of her.
"Brainwash a human? How?" RO asked urgently.
"We found some kind of book that explained how!" Destroyer revealed.
"Destroyer!" Dreamer angrily cried out.
"Do you have this book with you now?" RO pressed.
Destroyer nodded and pointed to a paperback book with a colorful cover laying on a countertop.
"Watch them while I check." RO ordered as she walked over to the counter, the rest of the Team's sights trained on the two ringleaders.
RO reached the counter and picked up the book, her brow raised as she read the book's title.
"'I Hypnotized My Big Brother To Be My Master and Ordered Him To Violate Me While I Am Stuck In a Washing Machine'...U-hum..." RO read out in a confused tone.
"That's the one! I swear!" Destroyer cried out.
"Check inside! See if there's a way to undo it!" M4 commanded.
RO nodded and opened the cover. "Let's see here...The hell?" RO's brow raised even further as she saw the contents of the first page, and slowly turned to the next one, her eyes widening upon viewing the contents. "...Wha-What am I looking at?" RO turned to the next page. "What the?! What the hell is this?!"
"Hey, Lemme see that!" STAR walked over and snatched the book out of her hands, her eyes widening upon viewing the contents as well.
RO crossed her arms and stared judgmentally at the two ringleaders. "This is absolutely unacceptable..."
STAR lowered the book and slowly nodded. "Yeah, that's...that's not normal..."
"Where are your parents? Who are your parents?" RO pressed.
"Talk to me, you two! What did they do to the Commander?" M4 spoke up, her patience thinning.
"The Commander isn't brainwashed, they just thought that...Ugh, you know what, you can look at the damned thing if you're so curious." STAR said contemptuously.
M4 turned her attention to the book, curious as to what was getting that reaction out of STAR and RO.
"Oh! Oh! I wanna see!" SOP-II cried out, taking her eyes off of the ringleaders.
"DESTROYER! NOW!" Dreamer shouted as she scrambled to her feet and bolted towards the hole in the wall.
"UWAH! WAIT FOR ME!" Destroyer shouted as she trailed hot on Dreamer's heels.
"TACTICAL WITHDRAW!" the ringleaders shouted in unison as they disappeared around the corner.
"DAMMIT! GET BACK HERE!" M4 shouted before RO grabbed her by the shoulder.
"Forget them for now! They said they injected the Commander with something! We need to find a sample of what they gave him and see if there are any kind of side effects or antidotes!"
"Right, check that cabinet over there." M4 agreed.
RO nodded and made her way to the cabinet. Noticing a drawer left ajar, she pulled it out and a stash of needles came into view.
"What-...This is just Bath Salts and PCP! There's no supersoldier serum here!" RO said angrily.
"Looks like we found this story's operating budget." STAR deadpanned.
"What?" RO raised an eyebrow.
"What?" STAR blinked and shook her head.
"So the Commander's running around the base in some kind of drug-induced psychosis?" M4 asked.
"Yeah, we need to move, before he hurts himself-" RO was cut off by a the sound of crashing and clanging in the distance. "...more than he already has."
"AH-HAHAHAHAHAHA! I'M RICH! RIIIIIIIICCCCHHHH!" The Commander cried out in joy as he yanked out the last strip of copper-wiring from the echelon formerly known as Sierra-3.
Kalina could pawn this stuff off no problem, if she could find buyers for the random junk the Expedition units brought back, she'd have plenty of use for this.
The Commander kicked open the door leading outside, fresh air at last. He was contemplating what else of value he could lift from this place when the roar of a motorbike's engine sounded close by. Tires squealed as a mean-looking motorcycle drifted around the corner, the front headlight shining directly in the Commander's face.
"Hmmm, nice bike..." the Commander muttered to himself.
"So, we finally meet, Griffin Commander!" The biker cackled enthusiastically. "You seem so much more exciting than those dolls, this is going to be fun!"
Beak revved the engine of her motorcycle and released the brake, popping a wheelie as the bike zoomed directly towards the Commander.
The Commander quickly kicked the door to the garage behind him open and ran inside.
"Leaving so soon? That's too bad, Commander! There's nowhere to run, and you can't hide from me!" Beak shouted as her bike's front fender morphed into a hefty dozer blade.
Tracking the Commander's heat signature, she accelerated towards the wall at full-throttle, and smashed her bike through it. The impact knocked her thermal imaging offline, and a thick, impenetrable cloud of dust surrounded the bike as it screeched to a halt inside.
"Did I get him?..." Beak questioned to herself when suddenly she heard the sound of metal straining coming from her bike.
Beak looked down and her eye's widened as she saw the Commander crouched down right besides her.
"YOU PARK LIKE A FUCKHEAD!" The Commander yelled accusingly, and ripped the Catalytic Converter straight out of her bike before sprinting off into the dust-cloud.
"NOOOOO! GIVE THAT BACK!" Beak shrieked after him - but he was already gone.
M16 panted anxiously as she sprinted through the halls, alarms and sirens blaring while rumbles and bangs shook the building. This whole operation had gone to complete shit, there was only one thing to do now, there was something she had to protect - something she couldn't let anything happen to no matter what, it was the instinct that was embedded in the deepest parts of her programming.
M16's boot slammed into the door leading to her room and she frantically rushed inside, briefly checking the corners before rushing to a crooked painting hung in her room, which she promptly tore off the wall and revealed a massive stash of various bourbons and scotches.
"It's okay, my lovelies! Big Sis is here! Nothing's going to happen to you!" M16 frantically reassured the bottles as she dug under her bed for a large black bag and rushed over to the stash.
"That's it, come on, come on!" M16 said hurriedly as she quickly stuffed the bottles into the bag.
"Come on! Come on!" She urgently exclaimed as she struggled to pull the zipper all the way closed, beads of sweat running down her forehead.
"Alright! Good enough!" M16 resigned as she slung the bag over her shoulder and hurried to the window, kicking out the glass with her boot.
Cradling the bag in her arms, she dove out the second story window, angling her body so that it would absorb the impact. M16 grunted in pain as she hit the ground with a loud thud, and quickly checked the bag - no sounds of broken glass. M16 leaned back and breathed a sigh of relief before scrambling to her feet, sprinting off into the trees with her treasured possessions.
The Commander could feel the dirt kicked up from the bullets hitting at his feet bouncing against his ankles as he sprinted to the front gate, which was for some reason wide open despite the post being on full alert, Beak's catalytic converter still in hand and the copper-wiring from the Sangvis dolls trailing out of pockets.
The Commander had just rushed out of the gate and rounded the corner when a strong hand seized him by the arm.
"I've got him! RO! Help me!" M4 cried out as RO rushed over and grabbed his other arm. "Commander! It's us! It's the AR Team! Calm down!"
"NO, I'M NOT DONE YET CINNAMAI! I HAVE TO STOP THEM!" The Commander cried out as he kicked and thrashed.
"You've done enough! STAR! Grab his legs! SOP-II Cover us!" M4 barked out as the Commander continued to struggle.
"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! I HAVE TO STOP BILL GATES FROM BLOCKING THE SUN!"
M4 sighed and turned to RO. "What's Svarog's ETA?"
"3 minutes, we have to move!" RO replied urgently.
"Alright, let's get a move on!" M4 commanded.
The AR Team quickly scooped the Commander up and carried him off into the trees towards the extraction point, the Commander still thrashing and screaming incoherently the whole way.
"Cringe...CRINGE!" The Commander screamed out.
STAR sighed. "What the hell is he going on about now?"
"I don't know and I don't care, don't engage with him, it'll just encourage him." RO replied.
"THIS...IT'S ALL CRINGE! WE'RE CRINGE! EVERYTHING! THIS WHOLE WORLD! CRINGE! IT'S IN MY WALLS! IT'S IN MY SKIN! CRIIIIINNNGGGGEEEEE!" The Commander kept shouting.
"Jesus Christ, are we going to have to sedate him?" STAR asked.
"NOOO! DON'T INJECT ME WITH THE GAY!" The Commander screamed in protest.
"Just...stop talking. Don't acknowledge him, just be sure to hold onto him tight when loading him on the chopper." M4 said.
"Damn it, where the hell is Dreamer?! I can't find her, Destroyer, Beak, or M16 anywhere!" Executioner cried out as she regrouped with Scarecrow and Architect in the Courtyard.
"Are you telling me it's just us now?!" Architect cried out.
"It better not be! Those cowards better not have left us to-Wait, shush...Do you hear a helicopter?" Executioner turned to the source of the noise to catch a glimpse of a Blackhawk lowering itself below the treetops on the other side of the forest.
"Did...Did they get away with the Commander?" Architect asked hesitantly.
After what felt like only a couple of seconds, the helicopter ascended into view again.
"AUGH! DEY GOT TO DA CHOPPA! SHOOT 'EM DOWN NAOOOO!" Scarecrow cried out as she readied her drones, but the Helicopter had already disappeared from view by the time they were primed to fire.
"Well, at least we didn't run into the AR Team..." Architect commented.
"No...if they know our position, and they pulled out..." Executioner's hypothesis was proven correct before she could even finish stating it when the sound of a bomber's engines slowly became audible, and her and Architect exchanged concerned looks.
"Ah, shit..." Executioner resigned as the bomber's payload jettisoned from the craft and came barreling straight towards her...
Destroyer turned back and watched the massive storm of electricity completely consume the Command Post. They had really screwed up this time, their entire operation in this sector was now in shambles, and it was all thanks to Dreamer's stunt as well as her poor choice of parts-sourcing.
"Dreamer...What do you think Mastermind's going to do when she finds out about this?" Destroyer asked nervously.
"Just follow my lead, and everything will be fine Destroyer. I have a plan." Dreamer replied.
"You always have some kind of plan, Dreamer..." Destroyer replied insincerley.
"This one's a good one..."
"WE'RE SORRY!" Dreamer cried out as she fell to her hands and knees, bowing so low that her nose was touching the floor. Destroyer quickly followed suit.
"WE'RESORRYWE'RESORRYWE'RESORRYWE'RESORRYWE'RESORRY!" The two continued to cry in unison as Elisa stood silently with her arms crossed, glaring menacingly at the apologizing ringleaders...
"Looks like it's your lucky day, Griffin. We've got three ringleaders here ripe for the taking."
As the noise and static faded from Executioner's senses, she could pick up a group of male voices surrounding her and saw two masked men standing over her. Although she could see and hear again, she had been completely immobilized, as had Scarecrow and Architect.
"Understood, Griffin, payment's been received, pleasure doing business with you...Postman, this is Paperboy, I've got three packages labeled and ready for pickup...Affirmative, setting up the skyhook. Alright, Steve, get their harnesses on."
Executioner was promptly turned over and fitted with some kind of backpack attached to a cable.
"Well, shit..." Executioner sighed.
"Looks like I'm going back to Griffin...I'm not sure that's a bad thing looking at the state this place was in." Architect spoke.
"How's Scarecrow?" Executioner asked.
"I'm alive...unfortunately." Scarecrow replied shamefully.
"Hey, you lost the accent." Architect commented.
"Do not bring that up ever again, either of you." Scarecrow snapped.
Architect sighed. "Well, today was sure a bust. The base got destroyed, the Commander escaped, and we're getting sent back to Griffin."
"At least John Connor is safe." Executioner said mockingly.
"Yeah...we know why he cries..." Architect replied.
"...Although it is something we can never do." Executioner finished.
"Both of you please be quiet..." Scarecrow hissed.
Architect's attention turned to the large balloon that was being inflated with helium close by, and realized it was connected to the harness she was wearing.
"Wait...What are they doing?" Architect asked nervously.
"That balloon's going to fly up into the sky, then their gunship is going to latch onto it and pull us up." Scarecrow answered callously.
"Wait...no...I don't like heights!" Architect whined.
The balloon was sealed shut and popped loose from the helium tank, and it quickly rose up into the sky, giving the ringleaders a slight tug as it reached the end of the cable. The noise of a plane soon became audible in the distance.
"Please...A helicopter! I'll ride on a helicopter! Just not this! I hate flying!"
The Svarog mercenary didn't answer, instead simply giving a brief Aviator Salute as the gunship passed overhead and caught the balloon under it's wing.
Architect's stomach dropped as she felt the cable being pulled back, and was yanked off her feet almost an instant later, shooting into the sky.
"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" Her screams faded off into the distance as the merc reached for his radio.
"Paperboy to Griffin, the package is in the mail."
The Commander's head screamed in pain as he slowly regained consciousness, finding himself in a hospital bed in Griffin's infirmary. He had no memory of anything that had transpired after being captured, all he knew was that his body felt worse than it did the morning after his first night of leave. M4A1 sat quietly next to his bed, it was clear she had been waiting there for some time.
"Urrrgghhh...What happened?" The Commander groaned out.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, I'll let you read the report..." M4 replied.
"Did I...get hurt?..." The Commander asked, taking note of the casts covering his arms and legs.
"Forty years ago, you would have wound up looking like your friend from StateSec with all of the bones you had broken in your arms and legs - but thanks to the wonders of modern medicine, you will be making a full recovery." Doctor Bob brushed the curtain aside and strolled in. "There were concerns about your mental state due to the drugs you were administered by your captors, but now that you're conscious I think we can safely put them to rest. Paranoid delusions are a common side effect of Phencyclidine and almost always temporary. Rest assured, your friend here no longer has any reason to worry."
"Broken bones?...Fen-cycle-ya-whatever?" The Commander asked.
"It seems you don't remember what transpired while you were under the influence, a common occurrence and in your case, probably for the better, though I'd doubt your friend here is going to let you forget. She has been quite worried about you ever since you got back. I will defer to her for the lecture, meanwhile you can rest until you are recovered. I have been informed that RO635 will be handling your day-to-day tasks while you are on medical leave." The Doctor informed and casually strolled off.
The Commander turned slowly turned M4. The Doctor was right, he was probably going to be in for a lecture.
"I'll wait until you've healed some to lay it on you, don't worry." M4 reassured before inching closer. "But I will say now - you are not going into the field ever again if I have anything to say about it."
"Alright, enough keeping me in suspense, let me see that report..." the Commander resigned.
M4 fished a document out of the bag that RO had left behind and handed it to the Commander, who promptly began reading it line-by-line...
"What the fuck..."
