A/N: Disclaimer: Refer back to Chapter 1.

Warning: MODERATE LANGUAGE

Chapter 2: Frustration

It had been a week since Heat's release from the infirmary. As expected from him, he had made a remarkably fast recovery. But despite his superb bodily functions, his spirit remained diminished and exhausted.

Everywhere he looked, he only saw admiration and support for their tribe leader. Heat gritted his teeth in annoyance as he heard a pair of new recruits speak proudly of their honorable and strong leader.

Heat clenched his hands and walked in his room, growling.

He plopped himself down on the chair and thought about the previous events. His feelings had not changed; his decision unaltered, his plan untouched. He cursed himself. He needed to act quickly.

'I should just fuck her brains out…' he thought impatiently.

As that night over a month prior, he had been constantly having dreams and visions of Argilla. He couldn't get her out of his mind. Normally, this wouldn't have caused a problem, considering that his feelings for her might be attributed as a "plus point" since it would keep him in focus of his objective: to destroy Serph.

But, that was only if lust was what he was feeling.

True, that Heat felt an immense amount of sexual desire for Argilla, but at the same time, he couldn't quite put it, but he felt something else for the woman. He neither knew nor understood it.

'Whenever I would look at her, I just want to wrap my arms around her. I want to protect her…' he thought intensely.

'She's a member of Embryon you jackass. She could protect herself just fine.' another part of him interjected.

Heat frowned. His other self was right. But still, he felt that need, that want, to protect her from all the harshness of this world. He didn't have to, but he wanted to.

Heat was also aware of every glance and stare that she had been throwing their leader. His eyes narrowed at the memory.

'Yes…but I also want her to look at me with those eyes…I want her to look at me that way. Me and only me. I want her to feel this need…'

He groaned.

He really had too much time in his hands.

Since their victory against the Maribel, all had been quiet. He was guessing that Gale and the others were planning their next move. That, and the fact that the Brutes, Wolves and the Solids were at war with each other.

They probably figured that getting in between the crossfire wasn't such a hot idea at all, and so, sought to wait things out until the victor came out, which, Embryon would eliminate.

How?

'How the fuck should I know? That's Gale's job!' he thought to himself, getting on the bed while putting his left leg on his right one, his arms folded behind his head.

No sooner than he closed his eyes, was he once again visited by his siren-turned-succubus.

"Damn it!" he yelled.

This had got to stop.

Easier than done though.

Heat smirked as he thought about his antidote.

He quickly got off the bed and grabbed his cloak. The night was young, and he decided that gathering information on his target to be a good idea.

His footsteps echoed through the deserted halls of the barrack. It was nearly midnight and everyone was asleep. He frowned. How was he supposed to find her now? It didn't matter. He needed to think.

If he was going to take her and claim her, he needed to know more about her. Heat headed for their records room. He entered the room with a bored look in his face; this was the first place to know about his 'special person'.

The guard, or should he say, the record keeper gave him a firm salute, "What can I do for you sir?" he asked politely.

'You could get the fuck outta my face boy!' his inner self yelled.

"I need a dossier on Embryon member Argilla, Intelligence officer." Heat stated calmly, his red eyes piercing menacingly at the young keeper's green ones, giving him the impression that going against his wishes would mean hell for him; a hell of hurt.

The young keeper, feeling the heat of intensity to which the commander's eyes were directing at him, hurriedly complied, while stifling a nervous gulp and hastily nodded and immediately searched for the aforesaid dossier.

Heat watched the young man type with feigned calmness, pleased that he could assert his persona and authority on one's will with such ease.

'Damn wimp…' he thought darkly.

"Here it is sir." the keeper suddenly spoke, rousing Heat from his evaluation of the young man. The young keeper held out the file to Heat, attempting his best to look professional, bold and definitely unafraid.

Heat's eyes danced amusedly upon his form, quickly seeing through his façade, and without ado, snatched the file from the keeper's hands.

"You're new. What's your name boy?" he asked offhandedly.

"Fox sir." the young keeper replied.

"Fox eh?" Heat looked at him quizzically, "Well, you do good work boy."

With that, Heat turned to leave, his file in hand, when Fox's voice broke through the thin air of silence, "Wait sir! You are not authorized to take dossiers from this room!"

Heat turned around, his red eyes ablaze, "I'll return it in the morning." he said firmly, earning him a nervous look from Fox.

"But-!"

"But nothing. Now, what do you say that you be a clever fox and decide that this is for your own good. Catch my drift?" he asked cryptically.

Fox, being NOT that naïve took the hint; if he didn't want to break his pretty face, he'd let Heat go.

"Yes sir…"

"Good. It'll be back by morning."

As Heat exited the room, Fox let out a deep breath he didn't even know he'd been holding.

xxxxx

Heat plopped down on his bed and began to skim through Argilla's dossier. His eyes looked through the information with hungry eyes.

"Argilla. Found 3484. That was five years ago. Hmmm…" Heat's thoughts drifted to the time aforesaid.

'Five years ago eh? Where was I? That's right…I was new to the Embryon as well. I had joined the year prior…'

He shook his head and returned his concentration back to the dossier.

"A female…aged 20. So, she was fifteen at the time…the bastard was only seventeen? Hmm…She's 5'6"; and weighed 57 kgs." Here, Heat smirked. "Women and their weights."

"Let's see…Distinguishable marks: The ATMA mark on her left chest area."

Heat smirked again and felt the all too familiar warm feeling at the pit of his stomach, "Damn woman…" he cursed inwardly as his mind produced images of the said woman, naked.

"Basic Appearance: Has pink hair and pink eyes…Yes, very unique."

"Basic Profile: In the year 3484, she had been found in the outskirts of Muladhara, at coordinates 683-AG. She was found by Serph." Heat's blood boiled at the sight of his rival's name. So, he had been the one who found her. It would explain her attraction towards him and him towards her.

"The subject was found unconscious from the lack of water and food. The subject was barely clothed and was delusional. Delusional?" Heat quirked an eyebrow.

"Medical Assessment: At the time of her arrival, the subject has a very low blood sugar which was consistent with the assumption of her state of lacking food and water at a prolonged time. There was no sign of abrasion or physical trauma in her body."

"Psychological Assessment: A very timid and emotional subject. Does not trust anyone to come near her or speak to her except for the person who had found her. The subject, who may be emotional, is not dangerous. In the first few nights of her arrival, she has suffered from insomnia and from a Para Somnia, called night terrors. The subject claims the she was being 'devoured' by a 'monster' in her dreams. The subject had also minor bruising on her body after such episodes which was deemed by the board as self-inflicted. But, according to Dr. Ezekiel, this may be a form of Somatoform Disorder. The subject has been diagnosed as Schizophrenic. The subject was then subjected to a series of treatment, physical and psychological-mainly medication (anti-anxiety and anti-psychotic drugs) and counseling (cognitive therapy)."

"The subject remains unresponsive to the treatment and demands to see the person who had found her, Serph. It was decided that Serph was to be the head of her counseling. Three months after the treatment, the subject had recovered and was deemed to be emotionally and psychologically stable."

Heat frowned as he finished reading the dossier. He had no idea that his teammate had gone through such a bizarre problem. He cursed. This would prove to be a problem. Serph had been, and still was a big part of her life. He was the one she met first; he was the one she first trusted and was the only one who helped her regain sanity. Their relationship was imbedded deep in their minds and hearts that it would prove to be a worthy challenge to destroy.

Heat momentarily thought of shifting his plan but decided against it. He wanted her; he had been wanting her for the last month. He couldn't stop thinking about her. He had to have her.

'But would she have me…?' he thought, 'Or would she continue to cling to that bastard as if he were her crutches?' he thought disgustedly.

'She will have me…In one way or another…'

Feeling weary, Heat set the dossier on the bedstead and fell asleep.

xxxxx

Fox yawned as he walked through the busy halls, waving and muttering hellos and good mornings to his comrades. His sleepiness, however, dissolved in a matter of seconds as he remembered the borrowed dossier and he immediately gained a quick burst of energy and practically ran through the halls while muttering a few worried "Oh shit! Oh shit!" along the way.

He made his way to the room, panting and proceeded to sit on his chair when he found the aforesaid dossier on his table.

'Eh? How did this get here? The room was locked.'

He shrugged his shoulders. It didn't matter anyway. As long as the dossier was back. He gently took the dossier and returned it to its original placing.

xxxxx

Heat looked onto the harsh and arid horizon before him. Yes, it always rained in the Junkland, but the sky was a perpetual yellow. It never got blue or even a tinge close to that hue. It was always a glaring yellow. Heat scowled; he couldn't do anything about it, so what was the use of complaining about it?

He let his thoughts drift towards his siren once more. He groaned inwardly; now that he knew her past and history, the next step to his plan would be to get closer to her. That would a bit easier now, now that she felt gratitude towards him.

'For once, she'd notice another man other than that bastard.' he sneered.

"A penny for your thoughts?" a voice sing-sang behind him.

He stiffened momentarily as he turned around to face the source of the voice but quickly recovered and let his eternal furious facial expression veil his face once again.

"Hey Heat…!"

Heat blinked; it was Argilla. He had been thinking about her and before he knew it, she was right in front of him. His inner self grinned; she came to him. That was definitely a jumpstart to his plan.

What plan? Pure and unadulterated seduction.

"Argilla." he said in a monotonous voice.

"I came by the infirmary yesterday but they said that you had been discharged last week."

"Hn…" he replied, feigning disinterest.

"Well…I know I said I'd come see you sooner but Gale sent Serph and I on a recon mission. So, we had our hands full."

Heat's blood rushed to his head as he heard his rival's name. So, she had been with him.

'Damn that bastard!'

"So…how are you feeling?" she asked cheerfully.

"I'm fine." he responded curtly. Something was definitely different about Argilla today. There was a fragrance in the air that Heat couldn't put a finger on. He didn't know what it was…but it smelled damn good. It was rousing his systems and it sent jolts within his veins. He breathed easily and found that the smell was originating from her.

It was giving Heat a weird feeling. It was almost as if the fragrance was beckoning him to come closer to its source.

Argilla chuckled.

Heat blinked, shrugging off the effects of the strange fragrance and tried to focus on the woman in front of him. Right. What did she say again? Heat gave her a confused look.

"Well, it looks like someone's a little cranky!" she chuckled once more.

Heat said nothing but she had noticed an emotion dance in his eyes; emotion akin to…amusement?

"So…what are you doing?" she asked curiously.

"Nothing."

Argilla had tried; she tried her best but it seemed that Heat really deserved his name. He seemed or rather, was, obviously agitated. Was he agitated with her?

"Well, I just wanted to see you again Heat. I guess you're busy. So, I guess I'll see you later."

Heat's feet still remained where they were and watched wordlessly as she turned and took the first step to leave.

She stopped on her third step and turned once more to face him, "Oh and Heat? Chill out!"

Heat raised an eyebrow, "Chill out?" he muttered to himself as Argilla disappeared.

xxxxx

Heat looked at his ceiling; yet again, he couldn't sleep. He kept thinking of killing Serph and claiming Argilla.

He wanted her badly, that was no secret. But after their conversation that afternoon, another feeling asserted itself at being recognized. Sure, it had always been there but Heat had always suppressed it at the back of his head, deeming it as useless and annoying.

But as she looked at him that afternoon, the feeling came rushing back. He didn't know what it was but it sent a funny feeling of giddiness in his stomach and chest. He found his breathing to be severely constricted and so decided to stay quiet while giving it his all to steady his cold yet fiery composure.

Her touch on his shoulder had been electrifying to say the least.

'What is she doing to me?'

And as if on cue, a voice that seemed to be a distant memory of the past whispered to his ear, "Perhaps it is…love…" the voice offered hopefully.

Heat could only sit; his mouth agape at the supposed diagnosis of his "condition".

He was…in love?

Preposterous.

But…what was love in the first place?

Heat frowned in confusion and yelled, "Aargh! This is bullshit."

'You want her…you want to touch her…to claim her…to hear her moan…to see her writhe beneath you in ecstasy. You want her to scream your name…you want her to love you and only you…to desire you and only you…to be yours and yours alone.'

"Damn it…I think I'm losing it."

But…what was that smell? He remembered how stupidly he acted that time. The blasted smell was distracting him. She was the source of it. 'What the hell was that?' he thought angrily.

Heat allowed himself to lie on his bed once more and forced himself to sleep. And once more, without fail, his siren visited him yet again.

xxxxx

Heat woke up to the alarming sound of Embryon's siren. He bolted from his bed and quickly prepared himself for battle and in less than two minutes, he dashed out of his room and ran towards the strategy room.

He ran into the room and saw his other teammates. His eyes casually ran over Argilla's form. Her face was as stern as his own; her composure fully alert and possessed none of its girly charm it had the day prior. She looked at him but said nothing; nothing but a simple nod. He said nothing as well but held her in his gaze for but a moment before turning away. And as a routine, his eyes wandered over to the man beside her, Serph. Heat glared at their direction. 'He is damn too close to her!' his inner self yelled, enraged.

Heat looked at Serph and saw that he too was looking at Argilla with a small smile gracing his lips. Heat growled and in an attempt to dissipate some of the tension from his body, he looked elsewhere and saw that Cielo and Gale looked serious as well. Something was going on.

"Gale." he growled, "What's happening?" he asked seriously.

"Cielo has discovered a new ruin that might prove useful to us." Gale replied impassively. The hologram was activated and Gale pointed to the southern part of the map.

"This is an uncharted terrain. But during a routine recon mission that Cielo made yesterday, he seemed to have found a ruin of some-sorts."

Heat sighed, "And? How is this place of any use to us?"

Gale nodded, his pale green eyes meeting Heat's bored red ones, "It seems to be a military installation."

"Does it belong to another tribe?" Argilla asked.

"No. According to Cielo, the place is deserted. We must act quickly if we are to claim it as one of our bases. It would prove to be a good HQ as we expand our forces. This would prove to be a good opportunity for us to grow and improve our manpower and equipment while the Brutes, Wolves and Solids are at war."

Heat scowled and all eyes were turned to him. "And what makes you think that there's anything there that are not dead piles of junk? And what are we going to do about the victor of the war? Those three are the biggest tribes in Junkland. How are we supposed to beat them when they combine into just one huge tribe?"

Serph looked sternly at him and Heat met his gaze as if taunting him to prove him wrong. Serph redirected his gaze to Gale and nodded before turning back to Heat, "They won't combine into one group."

Argilla looked at Serph, a smile dancing on her lips and Serph continued, not missing Heat's glare and clenched fists, "The Brutes' attention is towards eliminating the Solids and the Solids towards the Wolves. That means that the most likely tribe to be eliminated is the Solids. The Wolves know this too but they also know that they wouldn't stand a chance at winning should the Solids and Brutes combine their bases and manpower."

"The most plausible strategy to survive would be to ally themselves with another tribe. That would be either the Vanguards or us. Seeing that the Vanguards are too small and that we have conquered the Maribel, the most likely candidate for an alliance would be us."

"As it is, we have enough manpower and strength to crush the Vanguards. And we will carry out the assault once we have secured the base. And once we do, hopefully, that is when the Solids would be defeated and the Wolves asking our allegiance. And should we defeat the Brutes, the only thing standing between us and complete control are the Wolves which, we are confident, we could overwhelm as we are equally matched. The tricky part is just to which tribe the strength of the Brutes would go." Serph explained; his eyes steely and steadfast.

"So," Serph continued, "while this war is going on and the Solids are still undefeated, we would use this time to gather our forces, establish a new HQ or stronghold so that our forces are spread, not too thin, but spread enough so that we can send a pincer attack."

Gale touched his forehead, "Serph. It isn't tricky. Should everything go according to plan, and we defeat the Brutes, Embryon must waste no time and occupy Ajna and assassinate Lupa."

"Gale!" Argilla yelled, her pink eyes ablaze, "Are you suggesting that we…"

"Yes. We have to conduct a preemptive strike. Because if we do not, they will. This is the best way; the only way."

"But…!" Argilla protested but stopped as she felt a warm hand on her shoulder and turned around to see Serph's concerned silver eyes.

Heat growled as he looked at the two but turned his attention towards Gale, "Gale is right Argilla. There isn't another way. They're probably being briefed about this same strategy right now."

Argilla shrugged her shoulders and Gale nodded, "Right. The advantage we will have is that our preemptive strike will most likely give us control of Ajna. And should our plan to assassinate Lupa fail, we have a second base that is unknown to them. That would be our trump card."

Heat smirked, "Alright. Now when do we leave?"

"ASAP."

xxxxx

"Man!! It's really cold out here brudda!!" Cielo complained, his whole body shaking as they walked through the abandoned base. The snow had begun falling but it was just light. The base was cold but not entirely frozen. That was a good sign.

Argilla walked over to him and patted his head, "Well, it's because you don't wear the standard Embryon uniform!"

Cielo pouted and stuck his tongue out, "Gale doesn't either and I don't see you yelling at him! And besides, I need flexibility for my movements ja? How can I do my numbers if de suit is too tight or too long?"

Serph chuckled as well and went closer to the two, "Knock it off guys, we have a base to establish. Besides, with any luck, we'd install the heat today as well." Serph said, emphasizing his last sentence to the shivering Cielo.

All that while, Heat stood a few meters away from the group, surveying the area. The area was indeed a military facility. It seemed to be a hangar for planes. Which was all they needed. But he missed nothing of his teammates' conviviality as he watched them from the corner of his eyes.

He also didn't miss the fact that Serph had put his hands on both of Argilla's shoulders, as an attempt to keep her warm. He also didn't miss the pink tinge that graced Argilla's face as he did so.

"Ey! Knock if off guys, we have a base to establish ja?" Cielo imitated Serph, while winking.

"You two can do dat stuff once de mission is over." he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

Argilla smacked her forehead with her hand and chuckled, looking at Serph, "What's this? Cielo being matured? What's next? Varin in a pink tutu?"

Serph chuckled along with Argilla, "Okay, okay. That's enough. Let's go."

The three walked inside and Serph called out to Heat, "Heat! Let's go!"

Heat turned to face him, "I know."

xxxxx

"Why are here again?" Cielo asked for the nth time that day. Argilla sighed, "We're here to establish a new HQ!"

Heat smirked at hearing Argilla's feisty remark although it was unseen as the four walked through the dark halls of the installation.

"Well, why isn't Gale here den brudda? It's his mission too ja?" Cielo complained.

Serph sighed; it was always like that. It was as if they were babysitting. But then again, Cielo was an integral part of the team.

"Cielo," Argilla drawled, "Gale is needed at Muladhara to keep the place running! You know that!"

It was time for Heat to interject, "If that's true Argilla, then shouldn't Serph be there at Muladhara instead of Gale?" He knew he was plucking all the wrong strings in Argilla's guitar, but he wanted to test her tolerance. He wanted to know how she would fare when put into heat.

Besides, he was also curious as to Serph's reaction.

"Heat's right brudda! Serph's de leader ja? So, why is he doing some bum mission?"

Heat's smirk widened. That dimwit Cielo had unwittingly added fuel to the fire.

Serph was as quiet as a mouse.

"Because, as Gale had less experience in the field and he is our tactician, Heat, it would be prudent of us to let him remain there. After all, it's just dumb to send your brains to do the grunts' work!"

Heat smiled. She never ceased to amaze him. She was as sharp as a knife. "Besides, Serph wants to make sure that we're fine. And that's all we need to know. With Serph," her voice laced with emotion, didn't go unnoticed by Heat, "we are sure to succeed."

Argilla didn't know when Serph had gotten closer to her, but as she spoke those words, she felt his hand grasp hers in the dark. Her lips were tugged into a smile and she squeezed his hand back.

"Right." Cielo replied, finally understanding.

"Hn…" was Heat's only reply.

They walked out of the hall and located themselves at the power room of the base.

"Right." Serph began, "Well, so far so good. First, we need to generate power. Well, let's get to work people. I want this place up and running with power."

Cielo groaned, "Why me?"

xxxxx

Heat and Argilla headed for the furnace. What they saw was more or less a passable furnace. It wasn't too outdated and they both believed that it could still be used.

Heat scowled, "Why am I doing this crap?"

Argilla snickered, "Because we were ordered to Heat! You better be careful. I think some of Cielo's attitude is rubbing off on you!"

Heat didn't feel it the moment it came but it was after a few seconds of staring into Argilla's face had he realized that he had been smiling all along. To save himself of embarrassment, he averted his gaze from her and stared instead at the job that presented itself to them.

"Well," he began, his voice gruff, "we better get to work."

"You're right." she nodded in agreement.

The room fell into an awkward silence as the two set out to get the power-grid online.

Surprising for Heat, it was Argilla who broke the silence, "Hey Heat…?"

"Yeah?" he didn't want to sound impatient, after all, she was his goal, but all the same, it came out that way.

"Nothing." she said quickly.

Heat, slightly annoyed, stopped what he was doing and went over to where she stood, daring to step over her personal space.

Argilla had seen his marching form, but stood still nonetheless, "Heat…" she breathed out his name. Heat's inner self had rejoiced as he heard her voice say his name. It had been different from the way she previously said it. This time it was sensual. Heat could feel his desire increase and his blood pump through his system.

It would seem, from the way she was looking at him now, that she indeed felt something for him. Her pink eyes seemed to be lighter in color, is if in a trance or a dreamy state. He stopped right in front of her, their faces only inches apart.

It was his turn to breathe into her face, "What…?"

"I…" she was looking at him now, calmness and collectedness boasted by her countenance, confusion and reluctance betrayed by her glazed eyes.

She was hesitating. But hesitating to do what?

"Argilla…" her name rolled off of his tongue and he saw her shiver. Perhaps it was the cold, or something else entirely. Heat put his hands on either side of her face now that he had backed her into a wall.

"Heat…what?"

"Sshhh…" he cooed as he leaned down to finally taste her full lips.

Argilla didn't know what came over her, but the moment she had entered the room with Heat, she felt flushed and warm. And when he gazed into her eyes, she saw something she didn't expect to see. She saw want and need in them.

So, perhaps, inside Heat's fiery exterior, was a man longing for someone.

Caught in the moment, she leaned towards the kiss.

"Report." came the crackling transmission.

Heat immediately withdrew from her and turned his back, cursing to himself.

'Damn that bastard!'

Argilla was immediately snapped out of her daze and responded, "The process is almost complete. Expect it in a quarter of an hour."

"Roger that. Out."

Without another word, Argilla returned to her tasks, determined to forget what had just transpired.

'Heat…but Serph…'

Heat watched her sigh from the corner of his eyes. He had been so damn close; but that bastard had to ruin it all.

As the memory of their previous positions, Heat's lips tugged itself slowly to a smile. He had been very close to her, their bodies just aching with anticipation. But he shook his head violently; he was on a mission and couldn't afford to be distracted any more than he already was. She, especially, cannot afford to get distracted.

Heat smirked.

He saw her move her lips as if she were talking to someone and yet no words came out. She was distracted.

His smirk widened. He was the reason why she was being the way she was now. Her lithe frame was slightly trembling, her face still held their quaint pink tinge.

For the first time during the day, he felt happy.

He felt happy because it was he who had provoked such bodily reactions from her. Him and him alone. In that moment, it was just he and she. There was no Embryon, no Military Base, no stupid Cielo and most importantly, no Serph.

He continued to feel giddy about himself until he heard Argilla speak, "Heat! I'm done in my end? Give me a status report!"

He continued to smirk; he liked that fiery attitude of hers.

"I'm done. All we have to do now is connect the cables and flip the switch!" he said emotionlessly, perfectly masking what he was feeling.

She nodded in his direction, "Right. Let's get to it then."

xxxxx

Cielo, with a bored look on his face, tapped the keys of the keyboard with less enthusiasm than his face, if that was possible.

He had been assigned to set up the communications link with their base at Muladhara.

He grinned, however, when he succeeded in making a link, "We're online Serph!" he said excitedly through their com links.

"Roger that. Good work. Out." came Serph's crackled reply.

Cielo frowned; this was just too boring. Heat and Argilla hadn't come back yet, and they promised power ten minutes prior.

'Dat would make it, five more minutes ja?' Cielo thought.

'Let's see…' he then grinned once more, thinking of just bugging his leader. Just as he was about to do so, the lights flickered and flashed on. Power was restored.

"Yes!" he said gleefully. But still, it didn't change the fact that he was nearly driven out of his mind with boredom. And so, not forsaking his plan, once again, he sent a transmission to Serph.

xxxxx

Serph looked at the room before him; it was dark and so he just relied on the light from his flashlight.

He was getting rather anxious and suddenly, power was restored. Heat and Argilla had done it. His eyes began to scan over the room once more and he saw that it was a weapons storage facility. There were rifles, ammunition, rockets, rocket launchers, missiles and other kinds of artilleries-heavy and light.

He felt glad. This was what they needed to win the war. The heavy artillery that they found would make their future sieges to be easier and hopefully help turn the tide of the war in their favor. Serph turned his head onto the other shelf as its contents piqued his interest.

He walked over to the aforesaid shelf and held one of the weapons in his hands. It was a rifle. It was a light rifle and he held it easily in his hands. He looked at it thoughtfully and remembered the pink-haired female member of his team. The rifle was her first choice of weaponry. He sweat-dropped when he thought about it. Rifles were very deadly and sneaky to boot! But then again, it matched the description of his bubblegum-haired comrade.

As his mind thought more about Argilla, he couldn't help but wonder as to where and what she was doing at that moment, he began to think of how pretty she looked that day. Correction, she had always looked beautiful in his eyes.

It made him think of the times that they had spent together. He remembered when he first found her; how tired, exhausted and vulnerable she looked.

Flashback

Serph gently caressed the back of the girl in his arms. Her pink eyes from dull and hazy, her body exhausted. Her pink hair was dirty and dusty. She looked at him with fear in her eyes that even with her limited strength, she tried to push him away from her.

He didn't let her. He couldn't.

He held her tighter and lifted her off the ground.

"Ssshh…" he said gently, "I'm not going to hurt you…"

Her eyes told him that she was hesitant, and so he leaned down and kissed her forehead gently, and smiled, "You're alright now…I'm here…"

It was then that she first smiled at him. A timid yet genuine smile. He held her closer to his chest and he started towards the base. He looked at the bundle that he held and noticed that she had fallen asleep in his arms. He smiled warmly at her.

End Flashback

'Argilla…' he thought.

His thoughts were interrupted when a sudden transmission was sent to him, "Report."

"Ey Leader! Wen are we getting outta here brudda? It's too boring ja?"

Serph smiled, "You're so bored that you had to tell me about it?"

"Of course ja? Say, Leader, where do you think Heat and Argilla are? Dey've been gone for hours ja?"

Serph didn't know why but the thought of Heat and Argilla being lost, for hours, together, sent unpleasant feelings throughout his system, "…" and once more, Serph found himself speechless.

"Maybe dey got lost ja? Or maybe dey're busy? I tink Heat's just old enough to look for a mate eh?" Cielo knew that getting his leader riled up was one of his priorities. Cielo had also been aware that not only Heat but Serph as well was at his prime; the perfect time to seek a mate. He was darting stones at the dark, but his instincts said otherwise. It was blow sort of below the belt, but he just wanted to see his reaction. Too bad he couldn't really see it. Sigh. Oh well, he just had to settle to hearing his reaction.

Serph frowned; his mind was sending him images of Heat and Argilla. Argilla was an important comrade to him, she was special to him and they had a special bond; a special kind of esprit de corps. But, then, he really had no claim on her. Not really.

Then why did he feel like that?

Why did he feel unpleasant when another male would set eyes on her? He had been feeling that since he met her, but he had attributed that to his nature of being protective towards his comrades.

But never did this feeling burn with such intensity until Cielo had mentioned that Argilla and Heat were "lost", "alone", "together" and that they could be "busy".

Heat was a comrade too. He wasn't an enemy. So, that pretty much trashed his first theory. It wasn't protectiveness towards a comrade. It was something else entirely.

The word that made him tumble over the edge was the word "mate". Was Heat looking at Argilla as a prospective mate? He couldn't let that happen. But, he also knew that he was not her mate either…nor was he even considered as a prospect for her. If anything, she saw him as a leader and a comrade…a close friend…perhaps even as a brother…and that was all.

He thought about Heat too. He was a man, just like he was…of course it would be natural for him to seek a mate…it wasn't a bad thing. But, for some reason, Serph just didn't like the idea of Heat considering Argilla as a prospective mate. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply; he couldn't let himself get distracted now.

This was an important mission.

With a deep breath, "I'll contact them. Hang tight Cielo. Out."

He hadn't meant to sound cold, but at that moment, he couldn't help himself.

He radioed them.

"Heat, Argilla, report."

"We're heading to the point now. ETA, 5 minutes."

"Did you run into some problems?" Serph asked, guising his jealousy behind leadership concerns.

"No…it was smooth." came her reply.

"Roger that. Out."

Somehow, Serph wasn't all that convinced.

xxxxx

Psychological Terminologies:

Para Somnia: A sleeping disorder

Night Terrors: Night terrors are a sleep disorder involving abrupt awakening from sleep in a terrified state. Night terror is similar to nightmares except that nightmares usually occur during REM sleep and include unpleasant or frightening dreams. (http://adam. A psychological disorder where the patient suffers from delusions, coupled with social detachment and being emotionally cold.

Somatoform Disorder: A psychological disorder wherein in a trauma results in a physical manifestation. (e.g. A person who had the trauma of seeing her daughter raped has gone blind.)