The sounds of groaning metal were the first thing Zero heard as they awoke, their mechanical systems running diagnostics. They instinctively checked time, finding that an hour had passed.
No true notable injuries were noted, the armor taking the brunt. However, one message did make itself known quite well.
"Warning: Tracking Chip Not Found!" the message read. They leaned up, instinctively moving for the back of their head before realizing that they could actually feel it.
Their helmet was gone, they realized. Their optic flared to life as they looked to find that long-haired woman standing over them, Immolator in hand.
"Your cyclops is up, Yakumo." came their irritated voice, growling out the word 'cyclops' with a kind of restrained anger the Elite had never seen. Regardless, they instinctively scanned the area around them.
The wreckage of the train was in full view. A group of rebels seemed to be gathered closer to it, Medics tending to wounded in a makeshift camp as others attempted to pull out whatever supplies remained from the wreckage.
"Ah, good." Yukari spoke, Zero focusing on them as they came from the side, looking down to the Elite. "I do hope your sleep was pleasant."
"I do not dream." Zero flatly spoke, their voice significantly different without the modulation, just a very slight mechanical edge to it separating it from a normal human's.
"A shame." the former prisoner replied in a slightly pitiful manner. "But to the point."
Yukari lowered themselves to look Zero in their singular red optic as Mokou stepped back, leaning on a nearby tree. "Back in that trainstation, you gave me what essentially boiled down to an ultimatum. Now, I believe it is time to give one of my own."
"Your weapons are not here, your helmet is not protecting you, and with help from my friend over there..." Yukari's head slightly tilted in the direction of the group behind. "The Combine believe you dead and if you showed up to a Combine Outpost, it's likely they may shoot you on sight." they spoke, a smile full of satisfaction showing to the flat, seemingly unaffected face of Zero.
"So, I see two options here. Either you keep to your vows of duty to 'Our Glorious Benefactors'..." they started, words dripping with enough sarcasm at the title to refill the drained oceans.
"Or you come with us." they continued. "And prove that you truly care about this planet's future, unlike the falsities that the likes of Wallace Breen promised."
Zero simply gave a slight tilt of their head at that statement. "You are trusting a…" Zero seemed to pause as they reread the situation in their mind. "...'former' Overwatch Elite soldier with coming with you. And then trusting that they'd be loyal enough to not run away or kill the others while they sleep."
"I mean, you can try the latter." Mokou spoke up, readjusting the Immolator in their hands. "But it won't end well for you."
Yukari's eyes slightly narrowed at Mokou, their head turning towards them momentarily. Mokou rolled her own eyes in response before huffing as Yukari returned attention back to the Elite, who still looked to them with a flat look. Their face was hard for Yukari to read. It was a strange thing. Above the jaw, the head was seemingly made of that strange metal the Combine used for nearly everything, the only defining feature being the singular port for the optic which stared at them. It was somewhat unsettling to look at, and a testament to the life the Combine wish to drain out of humanity.
"So, do you have an answer?" Yukari asked. Zero did not speak for several seconds afterwards before they adjusted their position, getting to their feet before Yukari did the same.
"You make a lot of assumptions." Zero started. "You believe that we soldiers are engrained with Wallace's views of the Combine. This is false. Most don't or can't even care about such things. Morale is not an issue when manipulation of the mind is involved."
"My lack of faith in your Resistance comes not just with the many calculations i've done on the subject, but it also comes with the advent of that." Zero's head gestured over to the side, where a large drop presided, but along with it came a view.
Where once a Citadel loomed over the surrounding miles, now lied ruins that still easily reached a mile high, and above those, a torrential beam of energy coalesced upward in a violent and shifting fashion, only anchored by the growing turquoise portal it streamed into.
"That thing is a death knell, and by damaging the Citadel, your supposed face of the Resistance has likely caused the end of humanity." Zero stated with more force. "The Union forces somewhat held back last time they were here, yet they still conquered the planet in less than half a day. Now that they see the potential of what could happen, it won't happen again."
"And if they do come streaming in, they won't spare you, you know." Mokou noted.
"I know." Zero replied. "But considering the portal's current growing state, it's likely that it'll be possibly less than a day until that portal is finished forming, and the end comes. The time to stop it is very small, especially considering what would be needed to close it."
"White Forest is already working on that, and once the wounded are stabilized, we'll be heading there." Yukari replied swiftly. "Now tell me, calculate in your head the odds of us succeeding if that portal is shut."
This gave Zero pause for a moment, making them think before putting in all factors.
Resistance would likely be far more widespread after this incident, that was a factor they were sure of. Judging by the one who had hacked the Breencasts back in the city, the connection to the Overworld was tenuous due to the reactor's collapse, and that stream was the Union's main chance for reinforcement and extermination of life.
But if that was removed, the chances…
"38.24%. Odds if the portal is not shut down are below 0.05%. However, there may be factors I am not aware of, leading to it likely being not completely accurate." Zero finally spoke.
Mokou simply chuckled. "Better than I thought."
"Indeed." Yukari added. "So, let's consider that a solid chance, nearly forty percent. That, plus your inside knowledge of Overwatch tactics could give use even more of an edge."
Zero paused for a moment again. They hadn't considered that either. That could boost it into the low 40% range if those who they taught actually listened and took lessons to heart. There was a chance then. One that could possibly prove more fruitful than being forced to go it alone.
"I will accept your offer with a condition." Zero finally spoke. Mokou stood up, but Yukari rose a hand, making the red-eyed woman to sit down begrudgingly.
"What is your condition?" Yukari asked with a lower tone.
"Access to any Union technology we come across." Zero replied. "To increase odds."
Yukari paused for a moment, contemplating that statement before they spoke again.
"Then I propose a condition to your condition." Yukari replied. "That you be supervised while doing such accessing. I can think of the perfect candidate as well."
"Show me." the Elite asked, a hint of curiosity within their mostly emotionless voice. Yukari gestured towards Mokou in a near clinical manner.
"Yo, Kawashiro!" Mokou called out, body swivelling to look at the group behind them.
"E-eh? I'm kinda busy!" a voice replied from within the bowels of the wreckage. Zero noted it was both feminine and quite young-sounding, similar to a teenager's with an almost squeaky quality to it.
"Yakumo needs you for somethin'!" Mokou replied.
"I, uh… fine, gimme a second!" they replied, sounding quite peeved.
"You know raising your voice like that's just going to attract attention to this place, right?" Yukari noted.
Mokou simply chuckled in response, crimson eyes meeting violet for a moment. "Would be a good change of pace. Quiet's making me twitchy."
"Hey! I'm here." came that other voice again, and it's source revealed itself. It was a woman, though just short enough to be confused with a girl. Messy blue hair was barely restrained with a set of pigtails beneath a somewhat damaged green hat., and blue eyes were concealed by a set of safety goggles.
The rest of their outfit was equally as strange. A sleeveless short hung on their torso, layered with a spray-painted CP vest, and even above that, a necklace with a strange key hung around a necklace. This combined with the large pack on their pack and a set of jeans with numerous pockets gave a quite unique image.
"So what was it you…" the girl started before they noticed the presence of Zero. And more specifically, them being stared at.
"Oh… hehehe...if this is about that…" they continued, rubbing the back of their head sheepishly before Zero began to speak.
"What is the voltage needed to override a standard Overwatch console?"
"Eh? Oh, 43.8." the other casually replied.
"Standard radio frequency for Overwatch communication?"
"560 Hz." they replied more quickly.
"Temperature needed to shape standard Union metals?"
"2,350 celsius."
And the two went on for quite a time. Yukari clocked it at around five minutes as Zero pumped out countless questions about the Combine's engineering, standard armaments and other various information.
And the woman Yukari knew as Nitori Kawashiro answered every one, quick and swift. Mokou simply looked to Yukari with a look of 'what have you done?', making Yukari quietly chuckle as the question barrage finally began to slow down.
"Highest impact a standard Overwatch soldier's armor can take?"
".45 magnum, if you're referring to conventional rounds. Different pulse designations are still unclassified on our end." Nitori spoke. A small smile was on their face. It seemed they liked having someone to flex their knowledge at.
Zero finally looked over to Yukari. "They're good enough."
"Pardon, but good enough for what?" Nitori spoke, raising an eyebrow as they looked to Yukari.
"Our friend here has agreed to come with us, on the condition of being able to access Combine technology if we come across it. And you are the perfect candidate for supervising such intrusions." Yukari explained. "I take it you'll have no issues?"
"As long as I get a crack at it too! I love seeing how that stuff ticks!" the apparent engineer's eyes lit up with life as they seemingly thought to the possibilities.
"So then, Zero." Yukari's focus shifted once again. "Is that a deal?"
Zero was silent for a few moments before holding out a gloved hand, one which Yukari promptly shook.
"Yes." Zero spoke. "Now where is my equipment?"
"Oh, it's over where I WAS working on trying to contact White Forest. Follow me." Nitori replied, beckoning Zero as they began to move back towards the wreckage. Zero looked to Yukari once more before following, leaving Mokou and Yukari on their own.
"I still don't get it, Yakumo." Mokou spoke up. "What the hell do you see in that cyclops?"
"Consider it an... experiment of sorts. Plus, consider the boons if it works out." Yukari replied, looking on as they watched Zero and Nitori step into a traincar, also noting the many stares from several rebels at the sight of the former Deathwatch member.
"And if it doesn't?" Mokou asked, leaning on the Immolator in their lap.
Yukari didn't say anything for a few moments, looking to the pyro with a more solemn look.
"Then this war will be far harder to win."
The blue-haired girl showed Zero to their little makeshift workstation inside the train. A radio sat on one of the seats, humming out a static-laden call. On the next seat over was what drew Zero's attention, however.
His equipment. Both sides of their helmet, their AR2 and Sniper Rifle. Zero approached, optic scanning every inch of the inside of the mask before looking to the engineer.
"You've modified the mask's circuitry." the Elite stated plainly.
"Wha'... how can you tell!?" they looked quite flustered, and Zero's singular optic gazed on and on.
"The seal for the outer layer is on improperly. Explain, engineer."
"Well, you know Combine tech! Some of the only reasons we don't use actual soldier armor is because of all the fail-safes that happen when it's owner dies. Being able to have access to functioning Combine armor, let alone Deathwatch armor? I couldn't resist!" the engineer spoke. "And it's Nitori, thank you."
"You never mentioned your name." Zero replied as they released the outer layer, exposing the interior's numerous circuits.
To most, the amount of circuits within would seem far more than what was required for simple operation of the helmet and interface with the optic, but Zero knew it's workings, and as Nitori pointed out, it's failsafes. They sat, carefully examining the wires.
Nitori blinked. "Oh. Well, um, sorry."
"It is… fine." Zero hesitated on that last word, unsure if it was the proper one. "But do not do so again."
"Okay, okay." Nitori sighed, getting back to work on the radio. Silence filled the car as the two worked diligently on their respective tasks, the only sounds coming from outside.
"What exactly were you trying to do?" Zero asked, breaking the silence.
"Oh, well, it's simple." Nitori started. "I was looking for a way to halt the fail-safes on the masks. First I actually looked at the wiring, since before it was all fried whenever I tried to get at it. The next part I can't do 'till we get to White Forest, which is try to recreate the fail-safes, and see if I can't bypass them via a jolt, like with consoles."
"So you attempted to mess with the circuitry to get a better look at it, not guessing that there might be another fail-safe or two for that kind of tampering?"
"Th-there is?" Nitori sounded a little dumbfounded. "What about repairs? That wouldn't make sense if there was.
"Usually one is to get a replacement if heavily damaged or fried. Tampering is not permitted."
"Really? That optic of yours is quite a bit different than others i've had a look at." Nitori countered.
Zero stifled a chuckle at that. "It is, because it's not mine." Zero started. "It was Three's, one of my teammates. She always liked to modify things until they were just right."
"A Combine perfectionist?" Nitori rose an eyebrow.
"You could say that." Zero spoke, reminiscing a bit. "Elites such as myself are allowed a bit more freedom than standard troops. They found it could allow for stronger bonds and better teamwork. Standard troops are fairly disposable."
"Then why don't they give it to the other troops?" the engineer asked, static fading slightly as they worked.
"Of all transhuman soldiers, only 5% make up what you would call 'Deathwatch'. Now consider the fact that I can actually even THINK about joining your… resistance. I can think independently of the Union's will. Standard troops cannot, because if they did…"
"Mutiny?" Nitori questioned, actually glancing towards Zero at the statement.
"Potentially. The Benefactors are paranoid, it's something that even they realize. Hence the numerous failsafes, hence the tighter grip. If every Elite trooper went traitor, they would find themselves horribly outnumbered, to the point where skill wouldn't matter, not to mention the tracking chip like that you removed." Zero explained. "Hence why the risk can be taken, and it pays off. The kill-counts of Elite soldiers is 45% higher than standard before expiration."
"Remind me not to agitate you more. Um, again, i'm sorry." Nitori apologized.
"It is fine, as I said. But back onto topic." the Elite replied. "Modification is prohibited, but Three used a loophole, as the main one who dishes out the punishments for these is the Overwatch AI. It's very likely you heard them back in the city."
"Wait, that was an AI? Sounded almost human to me, aside from the constant usage of clinical terms." Nitori's eyes widened slightly.
"Yes. They could actually be quite amicable on a good day, though I would imagine they went down with the Citadel. Anyways, Three invoked another rule whenever the AI got on their case about it. It's one of the largest and sweeping rules, but it's rarely invoked." Zero started.
"If commanding officers interfere with efficiency of a team or unit, prosecution can be ignored. Now, the important word here is efficiency, since because they could show the AI their equipment and modifications actually have a marked improvement over standard, they literally cannot stop them."
"That sounds like an incredibly loose rule. How was that not abused more?" Nitori questioned.
"Because it was made during the occupation's infancy. It's buried, and thus many Overwatch soldiers don't even know the rule exists." Zero explained, finally finished rearranging the wires and putting back on the seal. "It's also because of Three that I actually know how to correct the helmet's wiring. You two probably would've gotten along."
Nitori's face dropped a little at that last part, putting two and two together. "Condolences."
"Thank you." Zero spoke, finally putting the helmet on, sealing both sides into place with a click before finally arming themselves, putting all the weapons into their appropriate places. They noted the loss of their knife, remembering they dropped it on the roof. Meaning it was likely somewhere buried in the wreckage.
And their sidearm still was likely in the hands of Yukari. They would get it back later. For now, they turned their attention to Nitori's fiddling with the radio. The engineer had one side of it open, trying to get a good signal but failing consecutively.
"Do you require assistance?" Zero asked, voice back to it's normal modulation. Nitori nearly jumped at the sudden change.
"Well, I…" Nitori thought. "What do you think you can do?"
"Utilize my helmet as a signal booster." Zero simply replied. "Even without the tracking chip, it can still access radio signals easily enough."
"Range?" Nitori gave a slight head tilt.
"250 miles." Zero informed.
Nitori gave a whistle. "Damn, I really do need to take a look at that helmet more later."
"If you ask, I can properly walk you through it. Now, move aside." Zero ordered. Nitori moved as Zero twisted one of the side spheres on their head, causing it to open. Nitori simply watched in fascination as they pulled a small cable from it, magnetically attaching to the side of the radio.
"Try now." Zero informed, standing to the side as Nitori looked for the right frequency.
"Hello, hello, White Forest, this is Nitori Kawashiro, reporting from Train #8, do you read?" they started. Nothing but static at first, but eventually garbled voices started to be mixed in, clearing up as Zero adjusted some things.
"-shiro, we- -ead you, do you hear us?" came a voice over the line.
Nitori's face lit up. "Yes, White Forest, we have you. We're reporting from Train #8, we got wrecked due to the explosion, but we're fine mostly. We also had a couple of unexpected visitors when we were leaving."
"Unexpected?" the operator asked.
"One Yukari Yakumo literally dropped onto our train alongside a member of the Combine Deathwatch." Nitori explained. "However, the Elite was far more… amicable than I think we thought. With a bit of… convincing, they've agreed to help us."
"That, um… that probably needs to be reported. I mean, I can understand a CP, but a Deathwatch trooper?"
"You would be surprised." Zero finally spoke up.
The other end of the line went silent for a moment. "They've been listening?"
"I'm their impromptu signal booster for the moment." Zero replied. "You may report whatever you wish about myself."
"Look, operator, could you trace where we are relative to the base? We don't even know."
"I can, you're about… 22 miles due south. You were the second to last train that got out of the city."
"Did the last train even survive?" Nitori questioned.
"We don't know, but it better have, that train had Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance on it!" the operator replied.
"If they survived the explosion at the top of that Citadel, they probably survived the crash, one which was likely far less devastating." Zero added.
"Anyways…" Nitori interrupted. "We lost a fair amount of people, and we've got quite a few more wounded. Medics are tending to them, and we'll likely be on the way over to White Forest soon.
"Alright, i'll send word that you're heading in our direction. Just... be careful. We've gotten word that Overwatch has been pouring Hunters and other scouting parties into the Outlands, quite a few outposts haven't been responding." the operator spoke. "Good luck to all of you, hope you make it here safe."
"You too." Nitori replied. "Kawashiro, signing off."
And with that, the radio shut off.
Nitori breathed in deeply for a moment as Zero disconnected the cable. "Alright, got what I needed, they know we're coming, and we've got a general idea of where we are."
"Progress." Zero noted.
"Very much." Nitori nodded. "Need to get this info out to Yakumo and see if we can't get a timeframe of when to start movin'. Don't know about you, but i'd rather not face Hunters. I've heard some rather… gruesome tales about the things."
"I have seen them in action too. They're very effective." Zero affirmed.
"All the more reason to get moving." Nitori spoke, gathering up some little things and tucking them into the large bag they wore. "Now come on, I don't wanna' be in this train-car if that portal starts spewin' out storms."
Zero simply nodded as they followed the engineer out, leaving the traincar abandoned and empty. Unbeknownst to either, however, a single, small scanner, formerly of City 17, peered through the window, buried in the wreckage beyond the traincar. Despite it's heavily damaged state, it's optic still worked, swivelling and spiralling as it took a picture without flash.
A single picture was all that was needed for Overwatch. Thus, teams were alerted, synths rerouted.
And a hunt for another group of Rebels began.
Author's Notes
Apologize for the wait, but the release of the new WoW expansion distracted me. This is a pretty heavy dialogue chapter. I'm not good with dialogue. At all. That also contributed to the extra time. I'm generally not the most happy with it, but blegh, I never expected the story to get this far off the ground anyways. Next chapter will have more action, which is something I think I might be able to do.