November 13th, 2062

Hotel Base

0630

Lupus contacts Destroyer.

"Destroyer reporting…..What is it, Lupus?" Destroyer answers slightly annoyed.

"Base is taken." Lupus reports shifting his feet.

"Yes yes…...WHAT?!" Destroyer shouts, surprised. "I-I-I-I mean…..are you sure?"

"Affirmative ma'am." Lupus stands up. "All combatants have either been eliminated or injured beyond function."

"All combatants?"

"Affirmative. Our estimates determined there were going to be fifteen…..There were only ten, five of which were non-active." Lupus reports. "Regardless of activity, all have been neutralized."

"Onsite damage?"

"As pristine as when I entered."

Lupus can hear Destroyer growl quietly. "Very good Lupus." She says begrudgingly. "We'll send in Occidentalis and his squad to assist in clearing the area. ETA five hours.

"Affirmative ma'am." Lupus says. A smile grows on his face. "Don't force yourself, ma'am."

Another growl is heard. "Just shut up Lupus!" She shouts as she ends communications.

Lupus turns around the desk and hops on top of it. "You're stinking up the place y'know that?" He says to the decapitated body of Zav. He looks over to a corner of the room. "What do you think?"

In the dark corner of the room, a doll shakes, holding her gun in hand, pointing straight at Lupus. Lupus shrugs and lets out a sigh. "Never one with the ladies." He says to himself, but loud enough for the doll to hear.

"Why can't I contact the rest of my unit?" The doll says her words are shaky. The doll has silver hair and two buns on the side of her head. She carries an M4 and has a distinct club hairpin in her hair.

"I'm a walking disrupter." Lupus shrugs. "If you want to contact your squad either you leave….or kill me." He says with deathly seriousness.

The doll flinches at the thought. Lupus hops off the desk and walks towards the doll slowly. Like a wolf would stalk a frightened deer.

The doll puts her finger on the trigger of her M4, but that does not stop Lupus's advance. Within moments he gets so close to the doll that the barrel of her gun touches Lupus's chest. He pushes against the barrel with his chest causing the doll to back up in response. He keeps pushing until the doll has her back against the wall. He slams both hands against the wall trapping the doll between his arms.

"Why haven't you pulled the trigger?" Lupus asks with genuine curiosity.

"I-I-I don't know how." The doll whimpers.

Lupus lowers his head and lets out a long sigh. "The safety is on…." He whispers.

"What's a safety?" The doll asks.

Lupus raises his head and takes the M4 from her roughly. It's only when it's in his hands does he realize how light it is. He inspects the gun. He knocks the gun against the wall. The M4 instantly bends in half upon contact with the wall.

"Is this plastic?" Lupus asks the doll.

"I don't know….." The doll whimpers. "I don't know what's going on."

"What do your instincts tell you?" Lupus asks, still looking at the plastic gun.

"My programming says to run." The doll says.

Lupus quickly looks at her as she moves to sprint away from him. He quickly grabs the shorter girl by the arm. "Woah hold your horses, senorita!" Lupus says putting her in a headlock. "Tell me where your runnin too."

"The rest of my unit." The doll says struggling fruitlessly against the headlock.

"An honest one ain't ya?" Lupus says releasing his grip enough for her to breathe easier. "Lead me to them."

"Fine. Just let me go!" The doll says with childish frustration.

Instantly Lupus lets her out of the headlock, but then quickly grabs her hand. The doll blushes as her hand is forcibly grabbed.

"What are you d-d-doing?" The doll blushes.

"So you don't run away again." Lupus explains. "Anyway lead on."

The doll nods, but the red in her face doesn't disappear. As they leave the Commander's room Lupus spots XM8 still in the same location he left her in. Her eyes are closed and she breathes albeit shallow breaths. Lupus can't help but smile under his helmet knowing he did a good deed for once.

The duo walks down the hallway holding each other's hands like a couple of children. Lupus looks down at the doll. "So what's your name?"

The doll looks at him. He can almost see the steam coming off her as her face is beet red. "W-W-We don't have names."

Lupus looks down the hallway. "Is that because you're a part of the HOC unit here?"

"Y-yes." The doll responds.

"Club."

"W-what?"

"Club…...Should be your name." Lupus says flatley. "Cause you have Clubs as hairpins."

"O-oh….."

"If you don't like it you don't have to use it."

"N-no I like it a lot!" Club says with a big smile on her face.

Lupus looks at her surprised and can't help the smile that grows on his face. "Good."

"We're here," Club says pointing to a big garage door.

"Good." Lupus says. "My legs were getting tired." He jokes.

Club lets out a slight laugh.

Lupus presses a button causing the garage to open. The doors slowly open upwards as Lupus gets a view of the interior. The garage itself is actually quite small with only a singular bay where a mounted gun lies. By the gun, multiple dolls stand doing various inspections.

"Sorry for this." Lupus whispers.

"What-" Club is interrupted by a knock behind her head. She falls forward but is caught by Lupus before she hits the ground.

Lupus carries her by the scruff and unholsters his Glock with his other hand. He slowly walks towards the group by the mounted gun, Glock in one hand Club in the other. He stops walking just before the garage lights, trained on the gun, hit him. He knocks his Glock against the floor to get the attention of the Unit.

"Hey who's that?" A doll with silver hair like Club's asks as she spots Lupus.

"Probably the Commander." A doll with a yellow tie says in an uninterested tone. "Focus on repairs."

"Doesn't look like the Commander….." A doll with blonde hair says nervously.

"Not so much." Lupus says stepping into the light making sure Club is visible. "Are you the HOC unit?"

As soon as they register that Lupus is not the Commander they start scattering in every off direction. Lupus drops Club and starts to chase the closest one but realizes that this scatter tactic has no merit. The only entrance is behind him and they are scattered opposite to him. Lupus looks at them empathetically.

"What a bunch of cowards." He thinks to himself his shoulders slumping.

The doll with silver hair starts running towards him, her hands in the air. Lupus can't help himself and sticks out his leg tripping her. She falls face-first into the metal floor of the garage making an audible thud noise. Lupus can't help it. It starts off as a chuckle then turns into a full-blown laugh. He has to hold his stomach because of how bad the laugh is hurting.

"Pfffttt." Lupus lets out seeing the collapsed doll.

The silver-haired doll looks up at Lupus. He can tell from her expression that she is doing everything in her power to hold back tears. Lupus laughs die down upon seeing her face.

"Ugh….sorry." Lupus says getting to his knees offering a hand. "C'mon up."

The silver-haired doll looks at his hands suspiciously, but after a few seconds of contemplation, accepts it. She is pulled up to her feet by Lupus.

"Gather your squad and tell them I'm not here to hurt them." Lupus says touching the side of his helmet.

The silver-haired girl nods, and instantly her squad calms down and starts to walk cautiously towards Lupus.

"Now I'm sure you have questions about what's going on….." Lupus says to the gathering. "I'm not going to answer any of them, but what I will tell you is that this base is under Sangvis control and you're…..well you're trespassin."

"What happened to the Commander?" The blonde doll asks.

"He's dead." Lupus responds flatly. "And you will be too if you don't scram to one of the sister bases." He walks over to the garage door and clicks a button causing it to open. "I would suggest leaving immediately."

The girls look at each other then nod. They pick up their fallen comrade and head out into the snow covered ground outside. The silver haired one is the last one out, but she stops just before the door. She looks at Lupus.

"Thank you for sparing us."

"I'm just giving you a way out. That's all." Lupus says not looking at her.

The silver haired doll gives a smile then joins her comrades as they move out of Lupus's sight. Lupus clicks the door button again causing the garage to close. Lupus can't help the smirk that grows on his face as he leaves the garage. He makes his way back to the Commander's room. He enters the room, Zav's body still lies where it was, and walks over to the desk. He checks the terminal.

On the terminal it lists all the bases located in the region. Lupus carefully removes his helmet and places it to his side, making sure to face it away from the terminal. He starts to delete as much information off the terminal as possible. Whatever looks important gets deleted. He stops when he reaches a certain image on the terminal. He opens the image to see a picture of a grizzled older Commander in typical G&K uniform. The Commander is flanked by a DP28 unit and a IDW unit.

A smile creeps over Lupus's face. He removes one of his gloves and starts to write down coordinates ontop his exposed hand with a nearby sharpie. Satisfied with his writing he deletes the image and the file linked to it. Once the deletion is complete, Lupus stands up and cuts the terminal in half with the chokuto. He picks up his helmet and puts it back on.

"That might buy some time….." Lupus thinks to himself. "Good to see Boris again even if it was just a picture."

Lupus sits down in the Commander's chair and folds his hands onto his chest. He closes his eyes and nods off.

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November 13th, 2062

Hotel Base

1230

"Lupus…...Come in Lupus."

Lupus groans as the loud voice of Destroyer contacts him.

"Wake up idiot!"

"Ugh….what is it Destroyer?" Lupus groans.

Lupus opens his eyes and looks around to see a combination of Vespids and Rippers going through the Commander's room.

"We need to talk." Destroyer says. "Meet me in the cafeteria."

"Roger that." Lupus says tiredly.

Lupus gets up from the chair and pushes past the constantly moving SF soldiers. He enters the hallway to see that it has been cleaned, and that XM8 is nowhere to be seen.

"Hope she made it out okay." Lupus thinks to himself as he passes where he left her.

It doesn't take long for Lupus to get familiar with the layout of the base. Compared to previous bases this one is a completely above ground base. Most likely due to the fact that due to its importance it is heavily defended from most outside attacks by her sister bases. What they didn't prepare for was a stealth attack.

Lupus walks out into the evening sun and is greeted by a variety of SF units. There are the brutes, vespids, guards, and rippers he's familiar with. However there are new additions to the roster now. A long purple haired half masked girl leans against what Lupus can best describe as a walker. To the right of her another girl with short purple hair carrying what looks to be a minigun.

Lupus is caught off guard by their outfits. They do nothing to protect them and in fact seem to be more alluring than protective. He shakes his head as he moves past the newcomers and heads to the mess hall. He enters the building to find it looks like the cafeteria of Mother Base. The quaint simplicity of wood floors and wood paneled walls. He scans the room to see SF soldiers eating and talking. Every now and then there is loud laughter, but it quickly is drowned out by the low sound of talking that fills the room.

Lupus looks around until he spots Destroyer, a sandwich in front of her, by herself. She looks around nervously and gently fidgets with her hands. Lupus shakes his head and heads over to her. As he walks he takes off his helmet and holds it at his side.

Lupus sighs and sits down in front of Destroyer. He looks at her only to be greeted by a face full of both concern and surprise.

Destroyer leans in towards Lupus. "Who are you? Did Architect send you?" She shakes her head and leans back. "You have to leave. I'm waiting for someone and you're in his seat."

"Destroyer." Lupus whispers. "It's me Lupus. Y'know of the Canis Lupus."

Destroyer's face goes beet red as she realizes her mistake. She leans in towards Lupus. "That never happened. Got it?" She whispers angrily.

"Yes ma'am." Lupus sighs placing his forehead in his hand. "You needed to see me?"

"Y-yes." Destroyer lets out a cough to regain her composure. "I wanted to personally congratulate you, and ask a favor."

Lupus glances at the sandwich. "With a sandwich?"

"I-I don't know where that came from!" Destroyer stutters her face red. "Here." She grabs hold of the plate. "Let me throw it out." She starts to stand with the plate.

Lupus quickly grabs her wrist. "No don't." She sits back down. "I'll eat it."

"N-no you don't have too." She gets up and rushes the garbage. "Let me throw it out!"

Lupus sees her rush the garbage and rushes after her. "Destroyer give me the sandwich!" He yells, grabbing hold of her free arm and spinning her towards him.

Lupus tries to reach for the plate, but Destroyer reaches as far back with her arm as possible just putting it out of Lupus's reach. Lupus keeps trying for it, pushing the duo closer and closer to the wall until Destroyer's back is completely against it. Thinking quickly Destroyer places it behind her in the crevice between her back and the wall. Lupus tries to reach for the plate while maintaining a comfortable space between Destroyer and himself.

"Stop trying for the sandwich!" Destroyer yells. "I-It's not good! I-It's gone bad!"

"Dammit Destroyer I'm so fucking hungry I don't care if its bad!" Lupus yells back.

Lupus has had enough of Destroyer's struggling. In a swift movement he closes the gap between the two. He presses his body against hers and reaches behind her grabbing hold of the plate with one hand. He can feel Destroyer slipping against the wall so he grabs hold of her hips with the other hand and presses her against him while holding the plate above his head out of her reach.

"There! Got it!" Lupus says out of breath. He looks down at Destroyer. "Now I can eat!"

Destroyer's hands are against Lupus's chest and she looks up at him. Her eyes are teary, but her face is full of surprise.

"You're warm….." Destroyer says quietly.

"What was that?" Lupus asks tilting his head.

Destroyer shakes her head. "I said you're an idiot!" She pushes off Lupus's chest. "The sandwich is bad so just throw it out!" She says looking away with her arms folded.

"I'll be the judge of that." Lupus says taking a bite out of it.

"N-N-No!" Destroyer tries to reach for it, but her height prevents her from getting close enough to slap it out of Lupus's hand. She quickly covers her face as Lupus swallows.

"Holy shit…." Lupus starts.

"I-I told you it was terrible!" Destroyer says her face still buried in her hands.

"...This is really fuckin good!" Lupus says taking another big bite out of it.

Destroyer spreads out her fingers so that she can see. "You're just saying that."

"Well it might be because I haven't had a decent meal since I've come to this place, but…." Lupus starts. "...This sandwich is really good."

"R-really?"

"Eyup." Lupus nods, finishing the sandwich in another big bite. "That was really good." He walks over to the table they were before and places the plate on it. He takes a seat. "Barring that event what was it you wanted Destroyer? Something about a favor?"

Destroyer lets out a cough then takes a seat at the table. "Y-yes." She folds one leg over the other. "My congratulations was an informal one at best." She looks at the wall. "Architect wants you to meet someone as her way of rewarding you."

Lupus lets out a scoff. "Hmph." He folds his hands on the table. "Who does she want me to meet?" His eyes go wide. "It's not the mechanic again right?" He says with slight fear.

"I doubt it." Destroyer says. "Apparently you've met them before. She wants you to meet the person formally."

"Hmmm." Lupus thinks for a moment. "All right. I'm a bit confused, but I'll accept nonetheless." He looks at Destroyer. "Still doesn't answer my question about the favor."

"It's more a favor from Architect than me." Destroyer says. "It goes as follows: Do not fight the newcomer."

"That's it?"

"Yes." Destroyer says flatley. "From what Architect told me, you two have a history that might elicit a violent response from you." Destroyer points a finger at the table. "You have to promise you won't act on your baser instincts."

"Fine." Lupus sighs. "I promise."

"Good. You can leave now." Destroyer makes a shooing motion with her hand. "They'll be waiting in the HOC garage."

"Roger that." Lupus says getting up from his seat.

He walks to the door of the cafeteria and leaves.

"Idiot." Destroyer mumbles her face starting to go red. "Eating the sandwich I made for him and not even saying thank you….."

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Lupus walks through the corridors of the base until he makes it to the HOC garage. The garage doors are already open and Lupus walks right into the garage. The familiar face of Architect greets him upon entry. She however does not notice him and continues to talk to something hidden by the darkness of the garage.

"Architect." Lupus says his voice echoing off the wall.

Architect looks behind her and with her usual smile waves at Lupus. "Lupus! Yoo~hoo! Over here I need you to meet someone."

Lupus speed walks over to Architect and stands in front of her. Behind her he can spot a pair of legs sticking out from the darkness. Before Lupus can fully scan the legs they stand up straight and step out of the darkness. The familiar face of Gager greets Lupus.

"Long time no see, Hyena." Gager does a slight unenthusiastic wave. "You look well."

"Aye." Lupus says, his robotic hand turning into a fist. "Same to you."

Architect notices Lupus's heart rate rise and puts a hand on his shoulder.

"Be nice!" Architect says smiling. She puts an arm around Lupus's neck and one around Gager's, bringing them together in a huddle. "We're on the same team now!"

"I dunno if I wanna be on the same team as the person who chopped my arm off." Lupus says through gritted teeth.

"I was just following orders." Gager says flatley. "As a soldier you must understand."

"Whose orders?"

Gager does a subtle glance over to Architect, who remains smiling. Lupus's face scrunches then changes into a face of concern.

"You gave her orders to chop my arm off?" Lupus asks Architect.

"Well I didn't say to exactly chop your arm off." Architect says fidgeting with her fingers. "I simply said to send a message to Griffon…" She looks at Gager.

"And I succeeded in sending a message." Gager says confidently.

"What was the fuckin message?" Lupus asks dumbfoundedly.

Gager looks at him in all seriousness. "...I forgot."

Lupus slaps his face. "Jesus christ." He removes himself from the huddle. "Anyway what did you want me here for, Architect? It couldn't be to open old wounds was it?"

"No." Architect says slyly. "It was so that you two can bond a bit."

"Why would I need to bond with this one?" Lupus says pointing at Gager.

Gager looks behind her then glares at Lupus. "If you have a problem then say something." She takes a step towards Lupus puffing out her chest.

"Oh I have a problem alright…." Lupus growls pressing his chest into hers.

Gager might be taller than Lupus, but he makes no mention of it. Both stand chests pressed against one another, their teeth gritting and their fists clenched.

Architect quickly puts herself between the two and pushes both back.

"Cmon comrades shouldn't be fighting!" Architect pleads. She looks at Lupus. "Can you think of any ways for Gager to make amends."

Lupus thinks for a bit. "A duel. A proper fight." Lupus says. "Hand to hand only. No weapons. No tricks. Just fists. As nature intended." Lupus demands.

"Wai-" Architect starts.

"I accept." Gager says flatley.

Lupus looks at Architect. "You're the ref. Call it when one side has had enough."

"Wait, you're doing it now!" Architect says defeated.

"I have no problem with now." Lupus growls.

"Now is acceptable." Gager says.

"Good." Lupus says, taking off his jacket. He removes his t-shirt as well leaving him bare chested.

"Your removal of clothes will not aid you." Gager says, stepping away from Lupus.

"We'll see." Lupus says backing away from Gager.

Once a good distance is away from the two they stop. Only Architect remains in the middle, acting as the middle ground.

Architect raises her hand. "Ready….Start!"

Gager is the first to make a move. Her robotic limbs give her a speed and strength enhancement as she closes the gap almost instantly. She punches Lupus, but is blocked by his robotic arm. Lupus counters with a left hook to the side of her stomach. The hook comes out stronger than Gager anticipated and she staggers. Lupus follows up with a right uppercut hitting her square in the jaw.

Gager staggers backwards and puts up her hands in defense. Lupus follows with a roundhouse to her side. Gager blocks the kick and counters with a haymaker. Lupus slips past the punch and delivers another right uppercut to her gut. Gager spits up blood from the robotic punch.

Gager tries to grab Lupus to put him in a hold, but she can't seem to find traction on his body. Lupus notices an opening in her attempt to put him in a hold and gets around Gager. He grabs her waist, and using all his strength, german suplexes her into the ground. Lupus stands up.

"Give up." Lupus says somewhat out of breath.

"Never." Gager says standing back up.

She charges Lupus. This time she attacks him with a flurry of straight punches. Each punch is blocked by Lupus's arm, but with each block he can feel a dent form in his arm. Lupus keeps blocking as his arm starts to bend and deform. Gears start to become exposed as the assault continues. Gager holds back a punch and with her strength releases it into Lupus's arm. The punch splits Lupus's robotic arm in half at the elbow causing it to go flying across the room. Without his defense Gager lays into him.

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"So what makes Lupus so special?" Destroyer asks while walking down a corridor.

"What makes Lupus special?" Occidentalis repeats. He thinks for a bit. "Not much really."

"What do you mean?" Destroyer says confused. "You told me that even he could beat you."

"Yeah he can…..when it comes to CQC." Occidentalis says confidently.

"So how come he lost to you when it came to it?" Destroyer asks.

"Because he didn't care to fight."

"He didn't care?" Destroyer says surprised. "So he let himself get beaten to a pulp. Is that what you're trying to say?"

"Basically." Occidentalis says. "Each of us has our quirk. Mine is that when pushed to the edge I become enraged and just go on a rampage."

"Can't be that bad of a rampage, right?"

"I once ripped a man in half with my bare hands." Occidentalis whispers. "Blood, guts, everything just poured out of the poor fucker."

Destroyer's face becomes fearful. "I see."

"And besides you saw it when you first captured me." Occientalis says. "How much did it take to capture me again."

"Five squads destroyed, and me damaged."

"Exactly, and that was me without a weapon." Occidentalis laughs. "Imagine that, but quicker and smarter."

"That's Lupus's quirk?"

"Eyup." Occidentalis takes a gulp. "Dude becomes a hand to hand genius when he's pushed to the edge. Not to mention his ability to feel pain becomes dulled from all the adrenaline pumping through him."

"So don't engage him hand to hand basically." Destroyer says confidently.

"Yeah, basically." Occidentalis says. "Feel bad for the fucker who pushes him that far….."

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Each punch meets flesh. Gager wails wildly into Lupus throwing punches randomly across his body and face. She grabs a handful of his black hair and punches him into the ground. She continues her assault even when his body goes limp. She finishes off with one last punch then gets up from on top of him.

"Gager is the win-" Architect starts.

Gager feels her foot grabbed from below.

"Wha-" Gager starts.

Before she can finish her waist is grabbed again and she is suplexed into the ground. She tries to recover but is instantly punched in the face. The punch takes a bit of her strength away. Gager can feel herself being raised by her lapel. She opens her eyes just in time to see Lupus about to headbutt her. His head crashes into hers with such force that it dislodges some of the mechanical pieces in her head. Her vision becomes faded as she gets to her feet.

She can feel her hair grabbed as a knee comes crashing into her face. She staggers backwards only to get push kicked in the stomach. She goes backwards even further and falls on her butt. She punches her head desperately trying to knock the parts back in place. She looks up at Lupus only to get roundhouse kicked in the face. The kick sends her spinning and she falls face down on the ground.

"Give up." Lupus says blood streaming from his head.

"N-never." Gager says through bated breath.

The sound of Lupus approaching causes Gager to kick wildly hoping to hit him. He simply moves to the side of the kicks and places a boot on her throat. She can feel the boot crush her throat as he presses down with all his weight.

"GIVE. UP." Lupus grits his teeth.

The only response is choking sounds from Gager. Architect watches on her face still in its typical smiling expression. Finally Gager slaps the ground.

"WINNER!" Architect rushes over to Lupus and raises his human hand. "LUPUS!"

"Not a doubt in my mind." Lupus says removing his boot from her throat. He walks over to where he dumped his clothes and starts to put them on.

Gager sits up and uses her hand to feel her surroundings. "I can't see."

"Don't worry Gager!" Architect wraps her arms around the wounded Gager. "Lupus will take you to the new workshop."

Lupus turns around. "I will?"

"Yup!" Architect says happily. "You caused this mess so you clean it up. After all you two are going to be operating together!"

Lupus doesn't have the energy to argue. He walks over to Gager who is currently trying to stand up blind. He gently touches her arm and she grabs onto him.

"C'mon senorita." Lupus says picking up Gager and wrapping one of her arms around his neck and using his shoulder to steady her. "Let's go."

The duo walk out of the garage and into the corridor. They walk down the hallways getting stares from nearby SF units as they pass.

"You're better than what was reported." Gager says.

"Not too shabby yourself." Lupus responds. "Not many push me to the edge."

"If you didn't knock my parts out I would have beaten you."

"I doubt that." Lupus says. "That's like me saying if I had my arm I would have beaten you."

"You would have." Gager says. "That's why I disabled it immediately."

"Mhmmm." Lupus lets out. He stays silent for a few seconds. "I think we can get along."

"What?"

Lupus adjusts her so she lies more comfortably on his shoulder. "I said that we can be friends." Lupus says.

"Friends?" Gager looks towards Lupus.

"Yes like comrades, but a bit more than that." Lupus states. "I can respect your skill in CQC so I don't see why I should treat you like any other person."

"Friends…." Gager looks forward. "So I am special to you?"

"If you want to put it that way then yes." Lupus says. "You are special to me."

A rare smile appears on Gager's face. "I see."

The duo arrive at the workshop. They enter through the garage doors and enter into a large area with multiple damaged SF units. There seems to be a line for repairs. Lupus sucks his teeth upon seeing how long the line is. He spots a couch to the left of him and makes his way there with Gager.

Lupus gently places Gager on the couch and takes a place next to her. Gager feels around with her hands and upon contact with Lupus grabs onto his jacket. She moves closer to him on the couch and lays her head on his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Lupus asks.

"I'm going to rest while we wait." Gager says flatley raising her head. "As my friend I wish to sleep on your shoulder. Is the request granted?"

Lupus lets out a sigh. "Request granted."

Gager rests her head on his shoulder and nods off almost instantly. Lupus can hear her soft breathing even through the commotion of the workshop. It's only listening to her does he realize how tired he is given the adrenaline leaving his body. He rests his head on Gager's and passes out next to her.