A/N: Chapter 33 is here, and I have to say, I wasn't sure how the brief introduction of New Jersey would go down. But, it seems to have gone over pretty well. Now, it's time to end the Sandbox part of the journey, and some new upgrades for Massa's armor. The armor itself is from Halo: Reach, and I have to apologize for a serious typo in the author's note at the end of last chapter. There will only be three more chapters (this one included) of the Wash/Massa series. Shitty laptop fucking me over…

*Chapter 33*

Massa blinked her eyes open, surprised to see she was still in her armor. "What…happened?" She sat up, wincing as a sharp pain racked her side and head, and felt her wounds gingerly. "Ow…" 'I feel like such a weakling…I shouldn't have passed out the way I did. But I guess my body knows my limits better than I think.'

Massa saw Washington, his Battle Rifle slung over his shoulder. "You've been sitting there all this time?" The black/gold Freelancer nodded, checking his datapad on his wrist. "You could say that. Someone had to keep watch when you went down, and last time I checked, we're the only two out here."

Massa got to her feet, picking up a Sniper Rifle and biting her lip to prevent from crying out. "How long was out?" 'Judging by the damn sunlight, it has to be early afternoon. And the last thing I remember is that it was sunset. I swore vengeance on Yeager for what he did, and then I just passed out…'

"16 hours or so. It's been relatively quiet out there," Washington yawned. He looked back at his datapad, taking his helmet off to scratch his black hair. "Hey, do you know anything about Project: ALLISON? I mean, what the hell does that even mean? Is that like an armor project or something?"

Massa's eyes flashed, for she knew what that project was. It was the Director's experiment to create a clone of his long-lost wife, Allison. And she was also known as Agent Texas. 'Allison…I can't believe that asshole tried to manipulate you and use you for his own personal reasons. You're your own person, with your own heart and mind. He didn't just stop at one attempt, either. He tried over a thousand times…and each one ended in failure. Apart from Tex…' "No, it isn't…"

Washington's eyebrows rose in curiosity, and he tapped his datapad. "Then what the hell is it? Some ONI project?" Massa hesitated, and she let out a long sigh. 'If only. But Tex knows about it, probably. It's most likely the reason she went rogue and discarded Omega from her mind.'

"No," she finally answered. "What I'm going to tell you is top secret. ONI doesn't even know that I know about it. Project: ALLISON is what has gotten all of us in trouble." 'Tex…I feel so sorry for you. I just hope that you've found someone who sees you as your own person…'

"What the fuck? What happened?" Washington asked. Massa took a deep breath, meeting his grey gaze evenly. "Project: ALLISON…is Tex. The Director lost his wife Allison ten years ago, during the Covenant War. When he started Project: Freelancer, he tried to bring her back. Probably at least a thousand times. And after many years, he finally succeeded. Tex is a clone, physically identical to his lost wife. However…they're not the same person."

As she told the story, Washington's grey eyes darkened in anger. "You mean…the reason we're imprisoned is because of some shadow from the Director's past!?" Massa stood up to him, her fist tight. "She's not a shadow! She's a normal person, just artificially created! And Texas is as much of a victim as we are! She was being manipulated by the Director, and he purposely gave her Omega in an attempt to control her mind!"

Washington tensed, and for a moment, both Freelancers glared daggers at each other before he let his shoulders relax, the fire fading from his grey eyes. "The best thing that's ever happened to her…was meeting Reach. I hope the two of them are somewhere far away from here…"

He closed the file on his datapad, throwing her a bottle of painkillers. "Here. This should help. Now, where the hell do we start to hunt down Yeager? I'm not going to let him just walk away and give Epsilon to the Meta." Massa popped out three pills and swallowed them, gulping. "The Basilisk's Fang's hideout is a bioweapons development facility, hidden deep in Antarctica on Earth. My guess is that Yeager is on his way there to give Epsilon to the Meta." 'Of all the places to have a base…no one is stupid enough to risk going there. Well, no one but a pair of Freelancers.'

"Then let's pack up and go," Washington muttered. "That asshole is not ruining my only chance at freedom." He slid his helmet back on, and the blue/white Freelancer looked at him in surprise. "You're not complaining about something? Wow, I didn't see the Four Horsemen anywhere." 'He's changed. Something is driving him to see this through. Oh, Wash…if only you knew what was going to happen…'

"I've decided to stop complaining and just do what's necessary," the black-haired Freelancer replied. "Besides, I can't stand you making another period or Tampax joke." Massa picked up her own helmet, placing it on her head. "There's an orbital Freelancer storage facility above Harmony, one jump away. We'll stop there, get supplies, and then hit Yeager right where it hurts." 'The UNSC hopefully doesn't know about it. Harmony is where we did most of our training before the development of the facility on Reach.'

Several alarms blared throughout her suit, and she sighed as she saw just how much of it was damaged. 'You've got to be kidding me. The damn thing is malfunctioning, and it's too dangerous to use it in the field. Hopefully, Harmony's facility has some spare suits, along with her.'

"Got it. And this time, I'm flying the damn ship," Washington muttered. "You work the weapons station. I drive, you shoot." Massa rolled her eyes and they packed up their equipment, throwing it into the back of the Pelican. "Fine. I've always wanted a chance to fire Shiva nuclear missiles at my enemies. They create not just a loud bang, but a very pretty explosion. Not to mention the EMP might knock out their communications and allow us to slip in easier." 'Ah hell. Someone could take that the wrong way. Perverts…'

"So glad York and North aren't here…" Washington sighed, rubbing his head. "Anyway, let's just go. I prefer the cold to devastating heat any day of the week. And I want the pleasure of shooting Yeager's men myself. That fucking asshole…" He got into the pilot's seat, flicking the switches on to engage the thrusters, and Massa strapped herself in, looking at their onboard weapons. They had a nose-mounted railgun, a pair of Shivas, eight Archer missile pods, and wing-mounted Spartan Lasers at their disposal. The ship was fitted for more than just pure stealth; it could dish out tremendous punishment.

"Well…whoever armed this bird sure knows a thing or two about blowing things up," the blue/white Freelancer commented. "I think this thing can take out a frigate." 'I don't know if the Mother of Invention is even functioning anymore, with all of the Freelancers and crew either rogue, dead, or imprisoned.'

"No kidding. I mean, who puts nukes on a dropship, or a railgun for that matter?" Washington asked rhetorically. "The guy was either a certified genius or total wackjob." Massa narrowed her eyes, folding her arms. "What if it's a girl?" 'Not only men are good mechanics or weapons specialists. Women are too.'

"I'm equally minded. Her as well."

Massa laughed softly as they took off, leaving the hot sandy hellhole of Sandbox behind. "Fair enough. We have about three hours before we reach the damn orbital facility. Prepare for the worst case scenario." 'Just how many Freelancers have died because of the Director's ambition? And to think that New Jersey and Carolina would be amongst them…if one had told me that Carolina would be the first person to die from the Meta, I'd have said they were insane.'

"I'm always ready," the black/gold Freelancer returned. "About earlier…what do you mean he tried to bring her back over a thousand times? Are you telling me that somewhere, there are a thousand clones of the most hardcore Freelancer out there, waiting to beat the living shit out of us?"

Massa nodded, looking out at the emptiness of space. "That's right. The first attempt was the Beta AI, and it has the memories of what happened to Alpha, along with the failed clones. They're hidden in some Freelancer storage facility, and are currently dormant. However…if they're anything like the real Tex, then we are in for some serious pain." 'Beta…where the hell are you hiding? You've got to be somewhere close by. But where?'

"That actually scares me," Washington murmured. "But fuck it. Let's hurry our ass up to the station." He flicked a series of switches on the Pelican's control panel, and Massa could hear the Slipspace drive warm up. "Time to go. Course is set, and the drive is active."

The dropship jumped into Slipspace, and Washington relaxed, slumping in his seat. "We should be there within three hours, if these calculations are correct. Do you have any more information about Yeager's base? I hate walking into enemy territory completely blind." Massa checked her TACPAD on her wrist, her eyes searching through the countless files. "Not much, I'm afraid. It's in the middle of absolutely nowhere. No one goes to Antarctica for a reason, you know." 'We go from a sandy wasteland to an icy hell. So much for hoping we can go to a beautiful island paradise with coconut cocktails.'

"Damn," the black/gold Freelancer muttered. "I guess we get to make it up as we go along and shoot our way in. Not the best plan by any stretch…but still. At least we get to shoot the assholes."

"Wow, you really stopped complaining…"

-0-

The Director growled as the Meta approached, his eyes slits. "What do you mean, Alpha's gone?" 'No one should have been able to take his body. There are security codes that prevent its distress signal from being deactivated.'

Zeta's hologram flashed up, and she looked just as furious as the Director. "That's exactly what we mean. Alpha's distress signal is deactivated, and we no longer have an eye in Blood Gulch thanks to Omega being terminated by an EMP blast. Not to mention…Agents Washington and Massachusetts have been sent by the Chairman to hunt us down."

The mention of the second Freelancer made the Meta stir, and he tore his helmet off to growl angrily. His orange eyes flashed, and the Director felt sweat trickle down his back. "Calm down, Meta. I doubt Massachusetts knows our exact location. Now Zeta, find out where the two of them are heading. I want the Meta to deal with this as he sees fit, since this is a personal matter." 'Massachusetts wants me dead. This is a personal vendetta against me.'

The Meta nodded slowly, and let out a soft hiss before he turned away, placing his helmet on his head. He picked up a Gravity Hammer, placing it over his broad shoulder and leaving the Director alone. 'Your sister still believes she can bring you back. But the drugs I gave you are supposed to have irreversible side effects. I doubt she can, but it is better to be safe than sorry in these circumstances. I've already learned that the hard way with Agent Texas.' "Eliminate them."

He swiveled around in his chair, looking at a picture of his now lost family: Allison, Carolina, and a younger Leonard Church. He traced a finger down the photo of Carolina, letting his head sink in despair and trying to blink back the tears. "Carolina...you were my greatest creation." 'My daughter…I will find your body. I cannot allow the Chairman to find it first and use it for evidence. Even if I'm a monster, I hope you can still find in your heart to forgive me.'

-0-

Orbital Freelancer Facility Sigma

In orbit above Harmony

Washington landed the Pelican on the docking bay of the facility, looking down at the thermal imaging camera. "No heat signatures detected. Thermal's clean. Looks like the place is deserted. That's nice." Massa stood up, wincing in pain as a sting racked the left side of her body. "I need new armor. Hopefully the UNSC didn't clean house." 'Not to mention…Xei is held here.'

Xei was her AI, having been confiscated by the Director before Massa got nabbed by the UNSC. It was female, and really annoying; for some reason, its hologram was a schoolgirl. More often than not, Massa swore that it was going rampant and trying to become human. 'I'm almost glad the Director took her away. She annoyed the fucking hell out of me.' "While we're here…I might as well reveal a secret. I had an AI once. Xei."

Washington whirled around, obviously shocked by the news. "What!? Why the hell didn't you tell me you had an AI?" Massa winced, her shoulder throbbing. "It was classified. Xei was a black-ops AI, and one of the first AIs created in Project Freelancer. To be honest, I enjoyed not having a chirpy little girl's voice in my head after it was confiscated; I actually got to sleep at night. To be fair it was in a cell, but still." 'Xei, I hope to fucking God that your personality changed. You drove me insane with your damn habits.'

"You don't say," the black-haired Freelancer scoffed, the two of them getting out of the dropship. Their weapons were raised, and they walked into the facility, Washington whistling. "Damn. I never knew about this place. It looks old."

Massa smiled to herself, a door hissing open. "You're right. This place was built ten years ago, and was Project Freelancer's training facility until 2557, when the base on Reach was built. You probably weren't in the project during the early days, I assume." Washington shook his head, looking at the weapons locker. "No. I was just a Marine, fighting the Insurrection. I didn't get into Project Freelancer until about two years ago."

He picked up a newer Battle Rifle, nodding approval. "Nice. I like this." He took the weapon, throwing the old one to the side. Several other lockers contained various experimental weapons, and Massa hefted one of them up. "This looks like it causes one hell of a bang." It was a portable Flamethrower, but on closer inspection, it had a Grenade Launcher stuck to the side. It was the kind of thing one sees in a horrible science fiction movie, not in an orbital facility belonging to a top secret military program. 'Looks fun, too. I'd love to test it out, but I don't have any targets…pity. I love big explosions.'

"Is that a…what the hell do you call that? Grenade-thrower?" Washington asked, rubbing his helmet as he picked up a new Magnum and ammo for both weapons. "That's the kind of thing you see from an eleven year-old nerd's art book." Massa shrugged smiling as she looked it up and down before placing it down on a bench. "I call it my new toy. Hope you like roasted chicken." 'I can repair my DMR. I'm not worried about that. I just need to find Xei and some new armor.'

"I do. Just don't burn my toast. No amount of scraping will remove the black stuff," the black/gold Freelancer returned. "I'll be in the arms locker. I guess you're going to find your AI and new armor. I won't leave without you, I promise."

Massa laughed softly and walked away, heading through another pair of doors. "I won't be long." 'He trusts me completely. Too bad…I wish he didn't. I don't deserve it, considering what I'm going to do to him in the future when we find my brother. I don't want to do it, but my brother means too much to me. I cannot allow him to be dissected by ONI, or face a firing squad.'

The next room contained several suits of armor, and more importantly, an AI unit. "Hello, Xei. Are you in there?" The unit sparked, and the pink hologram of a small schoolgirl flashed up. "Hey Massa~! It's been so long~!" Massa rolled her eyes, sighing as she looked at the suits. "Nice to see you're as chirpy as ever." 'Fuck. So much for that dream…'

She removed her own battered armor, discarding it. Xei floated over to her, looking at the new suits. "Why don't you choose pink~? It looks cute on you~!" Massa resisted the urge to face-palm as she selected another blue/white suit, but with several different additions. The helmet was an Air Assault FC-I with a gold visor; the shoulder pieces were Recon; the chest was a very rare UA/Base Security; the knee guards were FJ/Para, and the utility was a Tactical/Soft Case. "Shut up Xei…"

"Oh, come on~! Don't be like that~!" the pink AI sang happily. "We've never had a pink Freelancer before~. Why not break that tradition~?" Massa finished putting her armor on, activated her old suit's fail-safe, and grabbed Xei's chip. "Because I hate that goddamn color. This color combination suits me well enough, thank you." 'Goddammit. I forgot just how much she pissed me off. Next thing I know, she'll be suggesting that I try and bake a cake for Wash or something.'

The blue/white Freelancer inserted the chip, shaking off the shivers as Xei entered her mind. "I know there's a reason why I came to bring you for this mission, but for the love of me, I can't fucking remember it. Apart from having you help run my equipment." 'Still tingles and feels cold. You'd think that after all these years, they'd have found out how to do this without making it feel like coming out of cryostasis.'

"Oh, you don't really mean that~," Xei sang. "You love me~." Massa let out a sigh as she walked out of the room, grabbing a spare Sniper Rifle and her Grenade Launcher/Flamethrower on her way. "You really haven't changed…" 'Dammit Xei. I was hoping that you would have at least grown up and matured a little bit.' The doors hissed closed behind her just as the fail-safe ran out on her old suit, destroying it.

Massa looked back, shaking her head. "That's at least one way to make sure it doesn't fall into Insurrectionist hands." 'Clean, quick, and doesn't involve a few Plasma Grenades and a Flamethrower.' She walked out of the facility, and Washington was waiting for her outside. "Nice armor. Hopefully you don't try and kick my ass for that comment."

"I won't," Massa returned. "Wash, before we set off to Earth, I'd like for you to meet my AI: Xei." The small pink AI's hologram flashed up, and she purred as she looked at the black/gold Freelancer. "Hello~. You're quite a cutie~. Massa here sure has an amazing taste in men~. Are you single~?"

Massa's face flushed, and she glared at her AI. "Xei! What the fuck is wrong with you!?" 'Goddammit! I do not need my own AI hitting on my partner!' Judging by the heat waves starting to flood from Washington, he too was incredibly embarrassed by Xei's comments and attempted pick-up line. "That was the worst pick-up line ever."

"Of all time," Massa added, the two of them getting into the Pelican with their new weapons and equipment. "Xei, how about you just stick to making sure my equipment doesn't malfunction and kill me? I prefer it if you didn't try to ruin my partnership with Agent Washington, thank you." Xei let out a sigh, pouting and flickering away. "Meh, you're no fun~. Meanie~."

"Are all AIs like this?" Washington asked, his shoulders slumping and pulling on the ship's controls to rocket away from the facility. "Completely insane, flirty, and weird?" Massa let out a scoff, slipping a hand down to her leg pouch to feel her ammo. The Pelican's drive heated up, and they jumped into Slipspace again, now en route to Earth. "You have no idea…" 'All there. Good.'

'Yeager, your time has come. I'm going to kill you first, then find my brother. I'm willing to sacrifice the trust others have in me for him.'

A/N: Next up, the infiltration of the Basilisk Fang's base. Hopefully this can be an early Christmas gift to you, along with a CarolinaxYork one-shot, but you never know. Speaking of Christmas…I need a new drumset thanks to me raging when I tried to play Die from RWBY Vol. 2. Seriously, it's fucking ridiculous.

Happy Holidays guy!