A/N: Yes, this one is long. Character development can be a bitch, but it is necessary, even when the characters are already outlined (if you've played the game).

A/N #2: This chapter is in third-person format. I told you I'd try it. Let me know if third-person works better.

She's Worth Defending

5150

With a small, relieved sigh, Cara turned the shower knob to the right; the water from faucet above her going from a smooth stream into a few droplets.

She replaced her hand next the other while she continued to lean forward against the broken, yellow, tiled wall. Cara held her head down; her blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders as she spat out any remaining water that happened to make it's way down her face and into her mouth.

It feels amazing to finally take a shower.

She didn't want to move; she just wanted to stand there and let the steam continue to keep her warm.

Cara looked down at her feet as the last of the water went down the drain and gurgled as it made its way down into the pipes.

After what felt like a decade, she reached out and grabbed a nearby towel; the towel that Torn reminded her to take into the bathroom not once, but three times.

Torn had offered the bathroom to her earlier, since all of his recruits were out on missions. He told her that if she wanted to shower, she would have to do it now or else she would be sharing the bathroom with his men. Cara was the only woman there, or so she thought, so she didn't even need to think it over. Not to mention, the showers in there were set up like showers in a prison; all lined up next to each other, without any stalls or curtains to cover yourself.

Cara ran the towel through her blonde strands one last time before ditching it into a nearby bin that was overflowing with unkempt towels.

She glanced over her shoulder and noticed that there were some clothes folded neatly on the counter. Cara couldn't help but narrow her eyebrows in wonder. She walked over to the counter and noticed that there was a note on top of the clothes that was written on a small, ripped piece of paper. She picked it up off the clothes and read it.

Went out. You might need these. -Torn

Cara smirked as she set the note down on the counter. She unfolded the top and noticed that it was a white, long-sleeved, V-neck suit, that was, surprisingly, in pretty good shape. Plus, it looked like it was fit for a woman of her size. She looked to the bottoms and noticed that they were also women's clothing: black pants that appeared to fit pretty snug.

Cara grabbed her undergarments off of the counter and began to get dressed.

The suit was nice, but definitely awkward; she had to step into it and pull it up onto her shoulders. To Cara, it looked like a long-sleeved, one-piece bathing suit. She turned to check her ass out in the mirror and, sure enough, the sides peeked out.

"Hmm…" Cara turned back around and grabbed the pants. She slipped those on and, yes, they were snug. Very snug. A little too snug. The waistband of the pants was lower, which let the cutouts from the suit show her bare hips.

Who would wear something like this?

Cara was new the whole 'skin-tight' thing. She always wore armor, a tank and pants, or her lab coat before. She was always addressed like her gender didn't matter; it was new to her to see even an inch of skin showing.

She kind of liked it.

Cara stood up straight and placed her hands on her hips, swaying from side to side in an attempt to check herself out in the mirror.

Who would wear this?

With a long awaited exhale, Cara broke her composure and dropped her shoulders.

I guess it's not that bad.

Cara turned to the door and made her exit, but jumped when she noticed that Torn was standing there at his desk.

"I thought you were gone!" Cara jumbled with all of her clothes that she was wearing prior to her shower.

Without looking up from his work, Torn replied, "I was. That should show you how long you took in there."

Was I really in there for that long?

"Well," Cara began while picking up a shirt that had fallen on the ground, "Taking a shower does take time when you're trying to find a faucet that actually works, which, by the way, means you only have two showers that work." She readjusted her handling on the clothes and gear in her arms and made her way towards a bunk.

"Hm," Torn looked up and rose an eyebrow, "Remind me to have that fixed." Translation: remind me so I can I remind you how much I do not care.

"Hah." Cara dropped the clothes and gear on the bed and turned back around to face him.

"So, the clothes?" Torn asked while he was hunched over his desk, but his eyes still on her.

"The clothes?" Cara asked, looking back at the pile that was on the bed.

"How do they fit?" Torn's rolled his eyes before they glazed over in an annoyance.

Cara chuckled, "Oh…yeah, they fit." She held her hands out at her sides and then spun around for him to get the full view of her new outfit. You know, just to be obnoxious and whatnot.

Torn didn't seem moved whatsoever, but did watch as Cara spun around like a pageant queen. He shifted his footing and replied in his usual raspy, monotone voice, "Very nice."

Cara flopped her arms down at her sides as she watched Torn click the end of his pen and begin writing on whatever he was working on.

"Come here," Torn said as he continued to jot things down on a piece of paper.

"What?" Cara asked, her eyes slightly widened in confusion.

I didn't know I looked that good.

Torn looked up momentarily and gestured for her to come over to him before he looked back down at the array of packets, files, and paperwork before him.

Cara slowly walked over and joined him at his side. He immediately started talking in a manner that signified that they weren't talking as rekindled friends anymore, but as her boss.

"See this right here? This is a popular joint where the guards hang out. It's called The Orb; a club located in downtown Haven City; blocks away from the port." Torn had his pointer finger placed on top of a blue dot that must have been drawn moments ago, for when he removed it, the ink smeared ever so slightly.

Cara crossed her arms."Yeah, and…?" Mission time?

"I'm thinkin' that if we set something special up, that would really show the Baron what he's up against. Also, if we take out enough guards, it will take a huge chunk out of his patrolmen. He'll most likely send out more to that area from other sections, which will give us the freedom to roam around in areas we can't now." Torn turned to Cara, awaiting a relay of information. He wanted to make sure she, of all people, was paying attention.

Sure, we could blow that club sky-high, but there would be civilian casualties involved if it wasn't evacuated beforehand. If we were to evacuate the club, though, the guards would know something was going on.

"So, you want to take out the most prestigious club in Haven…just to get rid of some guards? What about the civilians?" Cara asked, surprisingly very intrigued.

"What? You think I'm going to just strap some C-4 in there and call it a day? No! I want to keep the civilians safe, by all means. We are not only doing this for ourselves only; we are doing it for the people of Haven. We get some of my men, and women, into The Orb…" Torn began. Cara couldn't help by smile and begin wondering if she was the only woman in the Underground, "It will be loud, dark, and, if the guards are how I remember them, drunk. It will be easy to take out the specified targets. And, who knows, maybe even that piece of shit, Erol, will be there…" Torn looked to Cara with a smile.

Cara smiled in return and nodded slightly. The hate for Erol was real. She could tell that Torn wanted Erol dead just as much as she did, if not more.

How could a person be like Erol and be okay; how could you live with yourself and the guilt of torturing people? Knowing Erol, he had no guilt, but only loved his life more after watching the struggle of a living being.

"You up for it?" Torn asked, breaking her from her thoughts of the ginger-headed psychopath.

When? Right now?

Cara gave in to her thoughts, "When? Right now?"

"No, not right now. This is simply a beta of the actual plan; I'm not ready to call this the actual plan. Besides, there is too much going on and I need to go over this with my men as well. Consider yourself lucky: you were the first to lay eyes on this. Do not say a word until I spread the word to the Underground, clear?" Torn's tone went from calm to somewhat angry in a matter of seconds…and she didn't even say anything.

Well, I guess this sums up my future life as one of Torn's Underground soldiers.

Cara unintentionally retreated during his small speech, but regained composure and spoke in a very drawn out, sarcastic tone, "Cleeeear as daaay, sir." She lazily saluted.

Torn, once again, rose an eyebrow at her and didn't say anything further. Cara's lucky that Torn knows her; otherwise, she would have been seriously chewed out for talking that way to him.

Then, a small device on the other side of the table shot out static and a very frantic voice. Cara's eyes widened as Torn made haste around the table and grabbed it, holding it up to listen.

"We have many *crrrk* casualties! *crrrk* Sector 3! *crrrk* Suspect resisting arrest!"The voice yelled, along with more hollering in the background.

Cara looked to Torn in shock and slight worry. Torn, in response, just held eye contact, completely expressionless.

Then, with a beep, another voice, that was much calmer, spoke, "We have a 5150 in Sector 3. White male. Suspect appears to be unstable and dangerous. Not armed. Possible 4532. Over."

"What's-…" Cara began, but stopped when she saw Torn bring the device to his mouth and press the button on the side of it, causing it to beep.

"10-4. Retreat, immediately. Over." Torn said calmly and, as if he's meddled in the guard's business before, brought the device down to his side and smirked at Cara.

Cara mouthed to him, 'What are you doing?'

Torn brought the device to her face, where it shared static and the calmer person's voice once again.

"10-4. Extraction in progress. Over."

Cara couldn't help but grin, especially when Torn turned his head away and chuckled. Torn tossed the device back on the table and then looked to her.

There was small moment of silence.

"Do you do that often?" Cara asked with a smile, an eyebrow raised.

Torn looked away and imitated a cough, as if to hide his reply, "Maybe." He sniffed, cleared his throat, and turned to head towards the stairs.

Cara's easiness was jolted when she realized that Torn was leaving. "Wait! Where are you going?" She followed after him, pressuring him to 'wait up', but she already knew that Torn had no intentions of stopping to listen to her. Cara stopped her pursuit at the bottom of the stairs, even though Torn continued to make his way up.

"I'm heading out. I'll be back before morning." Torn said nonchalantly. He continued to walk up the stairs to the Underground exit as Cara stood there with her eyebrows narrowed.

"But…but, you just got here! Can I at least come?" Cara yelled to Torn, who was now only a shadow near the entrance.

"No." That's all she got back.

"Why not? You want me to go out and do these crazy missions: like blow up a club and stuff, but you won't even let me come with you to do whatever it is you're doing!" Cara was very adamant about going, but to Torn, she sounded like a little girl throwing a tantrum. Just like the Cara he remembered: hot temper, short fuse, but useful.

"Because!" Torn stopped, finally, and turned to look at the blonde, three-year-old actin', time bomb that stood at the bottom of the stairs. "There's something crazy going on up on the surface; I don't think it's safe for you to come out of hiding yet."

Cara scoffed, "What? We were just talking about doing missions! I guess that future club fiasco wasn't planned until waaay later then, huh?" She shot back angrily, making Torn glare down at her.

Before Torn could say anything, the Underground door slid open, which caused Cara to cease her whining and for Torn to look back behind him cautiously.

A blonde woman sauntered down; obviously unaware of the argument that was taking place underground. She had a smile plastered on her face as she merrily walked down the stairs; no trouble in her mind. She wore an olive jumper top cropped right above her navel, a pair of short-shorts, and a magenta colored headband. Cara also noticed that she was wearing lipstick; a deep red color that really complimented her fair skin.

"Hey!" The girl said to Torn upon noticing that he was standing on the stairs. The girl was currently unaware that there was another girl in the Underground, but Torn's sketchiness caused her eyes to wander around until she spotted her at the bottom of the stairs.

"What's going on?" The girl asked Torn as she looked at Cara and then back to him. "Wait," she did a double take Cara's way, "Are those my clothes?"

Cara looked down at herself, inspecting the clothing and then the outfit the girl was wearing.

Yeah, makes sense.

Torn ignored the girl's comment and grabbed her by her upper arm to get her attention. "Come outside with me. There was a situation earlier and I need to make sure that there are no threats to Underground up on the surface. Earlier today, this guy-…" Torn began, but was interrupted.

"Who is that?" She chuckled as she continued to look Cara's way, completely reluctant to Torn's advances to get her to go outside. "Do you have a girlfriend, Torn?" She asked while she pretty much giggled in his face. "It's about time, you know, it gets tiring being the only girl down here."

Cara continued to stand there, but started to look away. Every second that went by she began to feel a little bit uneasier. Just watching the two before her really made her realize that she was the underdog. She couldn't even leave the Underground.

"Tess!" Torn yelled, causing Tess to roll her eyes and finally oblige.

"Okay…I'm going!" She began to walk towards the door, but quickly turned around to look at Cara again. "Hi!" She waved above her head, but Torn was quick to grab her to keep her from getting distracted. As Torn practically dragged her outside, she glanced over her shoulder at Cara one last time before the Underground door slid closed behind them.

"…Hi.." Cara said softly, but ended up speaking to only herself.

It was quiet. Too quiet.

She sighed, turned around, and walked back down to where she and Torn were before. The only thing she could hear was the crackling from the fire in the furnace to the left of her.

What do I do now?

Torn and Tess made their way outside and into an abandoned alleyway. The stone slab that covered the hideout slid shut as Tess stopped walking and laughed.

"What's your deal?" Tess asked, placing a hand on her hip.

Torn, who continued to walk past her, turned to face her. "There was threat to the Krimzon Guard today."

"Really?" Tess walked to Torn and genuinely seemed concerned. "Do you know what the threat was?"

Torn crossed his arms and looked down the alleyway suspiciously, not saying anything at first.

"I don't know, but I don't like it. I heard everything over the radio and it sounded like the threat was a person."

Tess's eyes enlarged in shock, "A person?" She almost whispered.

"Like I said, I don't know. They reported a 5150, so it could have just been an elder with Alzheimer's throwing empty liquor bottles at zoomers again. Who knows…" Torn shrugged, which caused Tess to laugh.

"Well, did you get anymore info?" Tess asked while readjusting her headband, but still keeping direct eye contact.

"No, that was it. Although they did mention a possible 4532, but it could have been a separate call.."

"What do you mean? A 4532 means an escape…" Tess catechized, her voice heavy, but her eyes full of worry.

"The girl down there, Cara," Torn pointed towards the Underground, "She escaped the Baron's fortress."

Tess looked back towards the Underground door, "She's a prisoner?"

"No, a guard."

"What!" Tess whipped back around, "Torn!"

Torn sighed and pinched in between his closed eyes in annoyance. "Don't worry about her."

"What if she's a spy?"

"She's not, Tess…" Torn dropped his hand down to his side, "I know her."

"Are you sure we can trust her? We shouldn't be taking anyone new, not now. Not with this war that's going on." Tess badgered.

Randomly, Torn's communicator went off and an elderly man's voice started to speak, causing the two to discontinue their bickering.

"I am sending a young man to the Underground. I, uh, I don't know exactly what his intentions are, but he's a great fighter. He seeks answers and wishes to strike against the Baron; like we wish to. I felt that if anyone could help him and take him in, it would be you, Torn." The communicator beeped and stopped the voice message.

"What?" Torn asked himself as Tess just stared at him. Another newbie?

Tess sighed and continued, "So, Cara and now-…"

"She's fine," Torn retorted, but quickly became quiet when he suddenly heard footsteps approaching the alleyway that they were in. This caused Tess to look towards the corner of the alley nervously and for Torn to back away from her. "We have other things to worry about. Put your game face on."

A man with blonde-green hair, who sported an orange animal on his shoulder, walked into the alley. He seemed confident, but slightly apprehensive, as if he didn't know if he was where he was supposed to be. He looked around as he walked down the alley, but Tess was quick to stop him from wandering any farther down the path.

The man took a step back when Tess intervened, but was quick to start drilling people for answers.

"We're looking for a guy named Torn," The man said, which caused Tess to look over to the red-haired, tattooed man in shock. It wasn't often that someone came down this alley asking around for someone from the Underground. Someone who was a member must have told him their location. "Kor sent us…" Oh. This was the guy?

Torn immediately began to walk over to the man and his pet. He got in the blonde-haired man's face and looked him up and down. He wasn't comfortable with this man, whom he didn't know, knowing his name. Even though Kor had obviously shared info with him during an incident he didn't know about, something was telling him that this man couldn't be trusted.

"Um, are you…Torn?" The man asked, slightly uncomfortable.

The man's animal peered around the corner of his friend's shoulder and chimed in, "Maybe this guy's a mute, like you use ta be…" He then disappeared back behind his friend, who rolled his eyes at his comment.

"New faces make me nervous," Torn poked at the man's chest, "Word is you're out to join the fight for the city. You know, picking the wrong side could be unhealthy." He attempted to discourage the man in front of him. Tess was right: they didn't need more people.

"We want to see the Shadow." The man demanded, which caused Torn to chuckle.

'Look at this little punk asking to see the Shadow. I'm primarily in charge and I don't even see the man often.' Torn thought to himself. Tess obviously thought the same, since she rolled her eyes and glanced over at Torn and the unidentified man.

"Not likely. If you want to join something, why don't you and your pet go join the circus? Unless you got the fur for a really tough task." Torn unsheathed a dagger from a pocket on his back and rubbed a finger along the side of it, causing the orange animal to shudder. "Steal the Baron's banner from the top of the ruined tower. Bring it back to me, then we'll talk." Torn tossed the blade up, making it spin, but caught it with no effort and shared a smirk.

Meanwhile...

An elderly man, who wore an off blue robe and walked with a cane, slowly opened a door to an apartment. He let out a sigh of relief upon his arrival. A little boy, no older than four, ran past him, obviously having his own agenda.

"Now, now, child, you mustn't bring havoc to this household today," The old man chuckled as the little boy stopped to look at him.

With a small gimp, the old man walked past the boy and gently opened the door that the boy seemed to have wanted to go in. The man laughed as the boy ran into the room excitedly.

There was a white, wooden crib that comfortably sat near the shabby window. Suddenly, a little head popped up and peered over the top of the railing. With a small coo, the baby reached her hands over the railing and towards the little boy. The boy, who was dressed in a scruffy set of overalls and sported a burlap beanie, which exposed parts of his green bangs, was about to run over, but was stopped by the man extending his cane in front of him.

"Not today, young one. This old man needs his rest. Come! Let us nap." He then turned and walked out of the door, leaving the little boy to follow on his own. He looked from the baby, to the man, and then back to the baby. He obviously had made a friend, even though the age difference was maybe three years.

The baby waved her hands, "Hi! Hi! Dah, dah, dah!" The baby was very happy and excited as well to see the young boy.

The young boy, who was fidgeting with his fingers, slowly turned away from the baby with much hesitation, and then followed the man from out of the room.

The baby started to cry.

The young boy, who was now at his older guardian's side, looked back towards the door of the baby's room.

"Let's go." The man held his hand out to the boy.

He didn't understand why the baby was always alone. He rarely got to see and play with her. It seemed like the man wanted to keep them separated, but that didn't make sense. He looked down at the ground and took the man's hand, following him into the room.

Inspired by: [Still Counting - Twinkle Twinkle Little Rockstar]

Later that night, the door to the baby's room creaked open every so slightly.

The baby slept soundly, a thumb in her mouth, until a pair of blue eyes peered through the crib rails.

It was the little boy.

He reached an arm through the railings and tapped the baby gently.

The baby's eyes opened and a smile immediately lit up on its face. She slowly, but surely went to a stand and started squealing away as the little boy dragged a stool over to the crib.

"Shh.." The little boy said as he pressed his finger to his lips with a smile.

The baby girl imitated him and pressed a finger to her mouth, "Sh." She giggled.

The boy hopped up on the stool and proceeded to break the baby free from her crib, stumbling when trying to carry her.

He brought her down to the floor and held her in his lap clumsily as he sat down. There were a couple pieces of paper strewn across the floor and also some crayons. The baby watched quietly as the little boy started to draw pictures.

The boy drew a picture of them sitting a field of grass, near the ocean, and the sun, that had a smiley face, beaming happily above them. He wished for a better life for both them, despite not knowing what exactly they both needed. He just knew that they needed a house, food, and water. He had no understanding of jobs, sickness, money, or fame; just love and happiness.

He realized that he hadn't heard the baby make a noise in some time and looked down. The baby had fallen back asleep, but looked more at peace; like she felt that she was safe and loved. He smiled and looked back to his paper. He continued to draw as the baby girl slept peacefully, her tiny fingers grasping the boy's medallion that hung around his neck.