Virginia slowly shook her head, staring at her former teammate.
"I... I can't believe you're alive!" Virginia rushed to him, throwing her arms around him and bringing him into a tight hug.
"I thought you've been killed." Nevada said, giving a kiss to her bare shoulder as he hugged her. "I'm so glad I found you."
"What are you doing here?" Virginia broke the hug as she looked at him. His eyes looked sorrowful. Virginia looked him over.
Nevada, or Nico, had on an oriental red and gold tank top with baggy khaki shorts. A gold chain was draped around his neck, holding an Asian kanji.
"I... I saw the news about the arrest on Chorus of that psycho called Temple. Imagine my shock when I saw a familiar suit of Freelancer armor on stage for the award ceremony." Nico explained.
"What the Hell is going on?" Came a voice as a large, abrupt rustle startled them. Virginia and Nico looked over to see Grif and Simmons swatting at bushes.
"Who are these clowns?" Nico asked, looking disgusted.
"Clowns?!" Grif screeched, forming fists with his hands. Nico began to raise a fist, when Virginia stepped between them.
'They're my friends." Virginia explained as she held a hand out at Nico, making sure to keep him separated from Grif and Simmons.
"Friends?" Simmons sounded hurt, and Virginia's heart sank when she realized what she had done.
"And boyfriend." Virginia added.
Nico did a double-take, looking over Simmons.
"Boy... but... what about West?" Nico asked.
"How does he know about him?" Grif asked, still sounding on edge. "Is he another fucking Freelancer?!"
"He knows about Freelancers?" Nico looked puzzled.
"This is Simmons and Grif, they are part of the team that helped brought down Project Freelancer." Virginia explained.
Nico formed an O with his mouth, but stayed silent.
"This is Nico, also known as Agent Nevada." Virginia explained.
"I knew it." Grif huffed. "There's always something with you Freelancers!"
"Grif, calm down." Simmons said, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"No! I won't be roped in to more fucking missions with these damn Freelancers!" Grif hollered. "I'm not in the military anymore."
"Grif, he could just be visiting!" Simmons said. "No need to get overworked!"
"Screw this, man." Grif waved a hand at Nico, as if he was swatting away a bug, and stomped off.
Simmons looked back and forth between Virginia and Grif.
"Go after him." Virginia said to him. "I'll be fine. I'll meet up with you later."
Simmons tried to force a smile, but he still looked concerned as he turned to run after Grif.
"Let's get out of the jungle and go talk somewhere." Virginia suggested to Nico. He nodded and they headed towards the distanct murmuring of people.

"Grif, calm down!" Simmons pleaded, tripping over a stick and flailing his arms as he caught his balance.
"Simmons, for as long as we've known each other, Freelancers have been nothing but trouble." Grif said as he stormed down the beach. "They've kicked our ass, literally! Blown us up, shot at us, dragged us on crazy missions to be shot at!" Grif threw his hands up, then whirled around to face Simmons.
"Grif... but what about Virginia?" Simmons said, sounding sad.
"What about her?" Grif asked, looking confused.
"She hasn't done anything to us. She has been transparent and upfront from the beginning. We didn't go on any crazy missions because of her. She's helped us and saved us." Simmons explained with a sigh. Grif lowered his head a bit, realizing how mean he's been sounding talking about Simmons' girlfriend.
"I'm sorry, man." Grif rubbed his arm, sheepishly. "You're right. She helped us when Temple and those shits broke out of jail. She stuck her neck out to protect us. She trained us. Bettered us. I'm..." Grif looked up at the sky.
"...a gigantic ass?" Simmons finished his sentence.
Grif lowered his head down and stared at Simmons.
"Hardy har har." Grif sighed and pulled out his cellphone. "Oh shit."
"What?"
"Can you bring me home? My mom is freaking out about Sister. I need to go calm her down." Grif said, pocketing his phone.
"Sure, no problem." Simmons glanced back at the jungle, hoping Virginia would be okay.

"West was killed." Virginia explained. Nico and her had found a secluded cliff by the ocean to sit on.
"How?" Nico asked, staring at the waves as they crashed amongst the shoreline.
"...Beheaded. By his own katana." Virginia felt her stomach turn as the memory flashed in her head. "One of those guys who worked for Temple, his name's Gene, he got the jump on him and took his armor."
"That bastard." Nico curled his fingers into the dirt, and then looked at her. "I'm so sorry, Sienna."
"Thank you." She inhaled. "I got revenge though. He's rotting in prison now. His armor is in protected custody of UNSC now." Virginia touched her scar. "He got one lucky stab in."
"I'm glad you made it, at least." Nico put his arm around her and pressed his head against hers.
"So... how did you find me?"
"Well, after that broadcast, I did some digging-"
"You mean 'hacking'?"
"Yeah, whatever. I did some research and got the names of those sim troopers and found a oh-so-familiar name on a flight manifest to Earth." Nico explained as he looked at her. Virginia gave a nod as she listened to him talk.
"So you and that cyborg guy?" Nico taunted. Virginia laughed.
"Yes. His name is Simmons." Virginia explained. "He's a great guy. Not exactly the best fighter, but he's smart, caring and sweet." She began to wonder if he was okay...
"Sienna, I have a reason to why I came to find you." Nico interrupted her thoughts.
"Do tell."
"Someone is making A.I's again... for soldiers." Nico's voice strained.
"Wait... what?" Virginia gasped.
"That's right." He turned to look at her. "They're reviving Project Freelancer."

Simmons laid on the bed, browsing through some news articles on his tablet.
He had dropped off Grif and decided to go back to the hotel and wait for Virginia.
The door knob clicked and he looked over to see Virginia entering the room. In the fluorescent lights of the bedroom, he could see the red on her cheeks from the sun.
"You got some color." Simmons said as she locked the door behind him. She looked up at him, walked over to the bed and straddled him.
Simmons was taken aback as she began to kiss him. He fumbled to place his tablet on the nightstand and then brought his hands to her back as he returned the kiss.
"I love you, Richard." Virginia said as she pulled her lips away from his.
"I love you, too." He brushed his thumb along her cheek. "What's gotten into you?"
"I just... want to show you how much you mean to me." Virginia kissed him again, and Simmons felt his heart flutter.
"You mean, um..?" Simmons cleared his throat, turning bashful.
"If you want to." Virginia stared into his eyes.
"More than anything." Simmons admitted, then rolled her onto her back as he hovered his body over hers.
They continued to kiss, more hungrily this time, as they pulled off articles of each other's clothing.
Simmons paused for a moment to drink in her image, and then he planted soft kisses all over her body. The last place he kissed was the scar on her abdomen, from where Gene had stabbed her.
He slowly came back to her lips, and watched as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She pulled him in and they kissed passionately, letting their tongues entangle.
He tilted his head into the kiss, and in that moment, they became one.

Simmons awoke to the sunlight peeking in through the sliver of parted curtains.
He rubbed one of his eyes and looked over to Virginia, who was sleeping naked and softly breathing.
He smiled and kissed her eyebrow, then pulled the sheet up over them.
Virginia cuddled against his naked body, enjoying his warmth.
Simmons wore a permanent smile as he drooped his arm around her and held her close to him. He allowed himself to fall asleep, finding he had the most peaceful sleep in years.

Simmons awoke again, stretching. He patted the bed and realized Virginia wasn't there. His eyes shot open and he looked over to see she was gone.
"Sienna?!" Simmons called out, sitting up in bed. He instantly began to panic.
Did she run off with that Freelancer guy from last night?
His panicked thoughts were seized by the bathroom door opening.
Virginia stepped out, wearing one of his T-shirts, as she brushed her teeth.
"Hmm?" She asked, a bit of foam coming out of the corner of her mouth.
Simmons felt himself ease and sighed with relief.
"N-Nothing." Simmons waved. She stepped back into the bathroom and Simmons listened to the sink run.
Virginia came back out of the bathroom and sat next to him as she leaned over and planted a kiss on his lips.
Simmons was smiling as he kissed her, then wrapped both arms around her and pulled her down into bed.

Grif sat on the front stoop, smoking a cigarette. He eyed ladies in bikins as they walked by, wondering if he could strike up a conversation about how he's a space marine hero...
"Morning." Simmons startled him and he quickly pressed the cigarette into the cement stairs.
"Good morning!" Grif stood as he greeted Simmons and Virginia.
"How's your mom?" Simmons asked.
"Ah, she's fine. She's happy that Sister is at least married to a guy who isn't in prison, or pregnant with a guy who is in prison." Grif shrugged, and then he stared at Simmons.
Simmons watched as Grif slowly pointed at him.
"What? You doing your 'E.T' impression?" Simmons asked, looking scared and confused.
Grif leaned in closer to Simmons, grabbed his jaw and turned his head.
"What the fuck is that?! Is that a... hickey?!" Grif gasped.
Simmons eyes went round as he suddenly looked mortified. He threw his hands up to his neck, stammering incoherently.
Virginia was giggling, her cheeks rosy.
Grif's eyes shifted back and forth between the two, and then he gasped again.
"Did you two...?!"
"Grif, keep it down!" Simmons pleaded, looking embarrassed. Grif gasped for a third time.
"You did!" Grif dug into his pocket, pulled out his phone and began to text. His fingers tapped furiously. Grif kept a shocked, giddy face on.
"What are you doing?" Virginia asked, her arms crossed.
"I'm fucking tell everyone!" Grif cackled.
"No!" Simmons swiped at Grif's hands, but Grif surprisingly dodged. Grif bounded down the stairs, giggling as he continued to text.
Simmons ran after him as Virginia rolled her eyes. She watched as Simmons tackled Grif, only to have Grif laugh and announce that it was too late.
Simmons growled and began smacking Grif over the head.
As the two bantered, Virginia began to think about last night and what Nico had told her.

"Someone's reviving Project Freelancer."

Nico sighed and continued to talk.
"There's more of us still alive, you know? Ten. Michigan. Oregon. And I saw that Carolina and Wash are still kicking around."

"We need to do something. That project needs to stay buried. They're only going to cause more wars. There's apparently already corporations with their fingers in the honey pot. They're helping to make the equipment and armor and hoping to make money off of all sides. Let's not forget about the torturing of Alpha... that A.I. technology is dangerous. They're in this business of making monsters."

She felt a deep pit in her gut. She knew she had to get a message to Wash and Carolina.

Nico squeezed her hand and then stood up.
"I don't know about you, but the civilian life doesn't suit me. I can't seem to... fit in... to the normality of everyday life."
Virginia knew exactly what he meant.
"Some of us are meant to continue the fight." He began to walk away, then paused as he glanced over his shoulder at her. "Where do you fit in, Virginia?"

Virginia saw Simmons and Grif approaching her.
"I forgot something up in the room. I'll be back down!" Before anyone responded, she rushed up to the room.
Once she was inside, she noticed Simmons tablet on the nightstand. She signed on to the tablet, knowing his password was '1Password!'.
She found the message icon and pulled up the contacts and added the familiar names.
She propped the tablet up, letting it show her face for the transmission and began to record the message:

"Hey, it's me. I need to get the word out to you quickly, for it may be life or death. All dramatics aside, I have intel from someone... someone from my past. I've been informed that Project Freelance... it's... someone is reviving the project."