Yuri unleashed a roar that surprised her and smashed her fist against the man's head. The man flew back as she stood wobbly to her feet. The man staggered as Yuri simply rushed forward, slamming her shoulder into the man's chest. He fell back onto a desk, smashing it as Yuri drew her knife. She stumbled into a combat pose. The man wiped his mouth and inspected the blood stain on his once pristine white uniform.
"You can still fight." He murmured. "Impressive. Won't help you." Yuri panted as her vision blurred. No, not now. She stumbled forward as the man stepped and reached for her knife. Suddenly the wall exploded and metal arm grabbed the man. The arm reached from the darkness, yanked the man in white and dragged him into the darkness. Yuri collapsed and was surprised to find that another man had caught her.
"Yuri." General James murmured as she looked up at his face. "Are you okay?"
"You know my name?" she grumbled.
"I know everyone's names." He responded as he carefully leaned her against the brick wall. "Glade, get her back to the vertibird now."
"I'm on it, sir." A man clad in X-02 power armor said and lumbered over to her.
"You're alright now. We'll take it from here." James said and stood. Yuri reached for James and grabbed his sleeve. He turned back.
"There's something you need to know." Yuri said softly. She felt herself drift into the blackness.
"Who are you?" the man asked.
"I was gonna say that." Dusk responded sarcastically.
"Really? Now?" Ash asked. The man drew a baton. It extended itself and unleashed an arc of electricity, which sparked and emitted an eerie blue light.
"Hey, rook." Dusk said as she drew a strange ]object from her belt. "Get that door open." She said. She seemed to press a button and short green triangular edge materialized from her wrist.
"What's that?"
"Alien tech. Arcade reverse-engineered it. Now, the door?" She asked.
"Right." Ash rushed to the console as the man ran towards Dusk. He slammed his baton downward as Dusk sidestepped the would-be attack. She expertly twisted away from the attack as she dodged and angled herself behind the man. As she did so, she nicked the man on his knee. It seemed a small cut to Ash, but the man was clearly limping in pain. Ash realized he had stopped to watch again and pressed the button. The door opened flooding the hallway in a bright light. Another man clad in a vest and slacks was already waiting inside. Ash recognized him instantly.
"X6." He murmured. X6 grabbed him and tossed him inside. The door closed enveloping the hall in darkness once more.
Dusk thrust her blade forward nicking the man on his cheek. However this was intentional as the man slapped Dusk's side with the baton. Though useless against regular power armor, Dusk was wearing the experimental. She flinched as he side exploded in pain from the shock. She jumped back and waved the blade around to disorient the man. The man affirmed himself into a defensive pose.
"Finally," Dusk said as she rubbed her side. "Some excitement." She drew her combat knife and twirled it in her left hand. She slashed forward causing the man to jump back. She ducked under his counterattack and landed an uppercut creating a line from his stomach to the base of his chin. The man roared and slashed desperately at Dusk. She parried one blow and realized that the experimental suit was not helping her against the man's brute strength. She slashed downward with the energy blade causing the man to stumble, leaving an opening. She stabbed downward with her knife.
"You have no idea what you've stumbled on." X6 said. He kicked Ash in the side as he tried to stand. Ash flew from the top of the stairs to the bottom. He couched and tried to stand. What strength! He thought as he rushed to his feet. He lost his rifle in the fall. He drew his pistol and aimed it. X6 stood in front of the barrel as Ash began to search for his target. X6 slapped the pistol from Ash's hands.
"Sloppy." Brandis's words echoed in Ash's mind. Ash threw a jab at X6, who swatted it away easily. Ash threw a hook at X6 in vain, the synth weaved himself through Ash's defenses and grabbed him by the neck. It slowly lifted him off his feet.
"Such a waste." X6 murmured. Ash threw punch after punch at X6's steel beam of an arm. "You could have been so much more." Then ash remembered that Brandis had taught Enclave trainees a mnuever to get out of this position. Ash cupped his hands and slammed them into X6's ears. X6 displayed slight discomfort before throwing Ash from the second story of the room onto the ground floor. Ash coughed and rolled to his back. Not what it was supposed to do, but I'll take it. Ash stood up and taunted X6 to come down. The synth hastily jumped from the scaffold above onto the ground beside Ash. Ash maneuvered himself to a wobbly fighting position.
"I can do this all day." Ash panted.
"I'm sure you can." X6 commented. He smiled at Ash and took a step forward. Suddenly a blue light illuminated X6's face. The synth's expression changed suddenly, becoming very fearful. Ash turned slightly to see what had X6 so afraid.
James entered the room through a hole in the wall. Dragging the body of Yuri's attacker into it. James realized that the limp body had not moved at all since he had beaten the man through the wall. He picked up the limp man by the neck and shook him.
"Hey, you still alive?" James asked.
"What the?" Ash asked. His form still maintained while facing X6. X6 was also frozen.
"No way." X6 murmured. James, satisfied that the man was dead tossed the body into the room. James kicked in the remainder of the wall and stepped into the room.
"Hey, rookie. Where's Dusk?" James asked.
"uh…" Ash murmured.
"What, you mute or something?" James asked. Then James seemed to suddenly notice X6. "Oh, hey X6."
"This is too soon." X6 grunted as he became surrounded by a bright blue light. James dashed forward and grabbed X6's face in a metal armored face. Ash blinked and James smashed the synth through the floor. The blue light was gone. James lifted his fist and only the head returned with it.
"Ah shit. I broke it." James grunted. He tossed the dead synth's head aside and dusted off his armor. "Too much power." He looked up at Ash and then patted his armor down. "Ah, by the way, rook. Good job out there." He held out a hand to Ash, who took it dumbfoundedly.
"You just killed a Courser." Ash murmured.
"Yeah, no big deal." James responded. "So where's Dusk?"
"Right here." A voice called from above. A stun baton bounced off of James's head causing him to look up.
"Dusk!" He called out. Dusk stood, leaning against the rail, helmet under one arm.
"Dusk. You're all right." Ash commented.
"Of course I am." Dusk responded. "Dissapointed?" Ash stammered and James laughed.
"Still the same as ever I see." James said. He turned and grabbed X6's head. "This might be useful."
"What is this place anyways?" Dusk asked as she walked down the steps of the scaffold.
"No idea." James responded.
"Wait, what?" Dusk asked. "Seriously."
"Seriously. No idea any of this existed." James commented. He pointed his thumb at the cylindrical machine behind him. "I do want to know what that does thought."
"You know what it is?" Ash asked.
"Nope." James responded. "but it'd be cool to find out."
"That's the spirit!" Dusk exclaimed. James wiped the viewport of the tube.
"Hey this looks kind of life-"
"A cryogenic tube." A man said from above. James looked up immediately to find an old man clad in a lab coat standing above them. Countless Brotherhood Knights and Paladins stood beside him.
"Forgive my intrusion. But I am here to reclaim my stolen property." The man said.
"Sure it's yours old timer, or the Brotherhood's?"
"Neither. It belongs to my mother."
"Who are you?" Ash asked.
"Forgive me, where are my manners. My name is Shaun."
"But my followers call me Father."