Apparently, getting up and fighting robots, and getting shot at by a giant ass one, is bad when you just had surgery.

As soon as the Directors voice came over the speakers, Seth was nauseous. His head had started vibrating, a pain that was centered inside of his head. The things around him became blurry, as he fell to one knee.

He ripped his helmet off, right before he started vomiting uncontrollably. His head was pounding, he felt drained, he felt weak. He could vaguely hear somebody over the loud speakers, probably the Director.

Seth looked to his side, and saw people coming onto the training floor. He could only make out blurred colorings of their armor. One wore white, one was black, one was light blue, and one was dark purple. He fell onto his stomach, no longer being able to keep himself up.

He started fading, but before he blacked out, he could feel himself being lifted off of the floor. He had time to see the white armored figure holding him, before accepting the darkness.

This time, the sleep was comforting. No screaming, no pain, just blissful sleep. Omicron had been tired out from the fights also, so he had logged off after Seth had blacked out. Seth needed the sleep, he wanted it.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Seth was lifted from his sleep by voices. He could tell they weren't worried, that made him feel better. The last time he woke up to worried voices. That thought made him realize something, he had already blacked out twice, in his short run as a Freelancer.

He shrugged that thought off, as Omicron stirred in his mind. He didn't wake up though; the training fight had really drained him.

Seth could feel his head beginning to clear, and he could make out the voices. He heard North, Wash, and the deep throated growls from Maine. Seth tried to sit up, but he almost vomited again. The nausea was like a train, and it was trying to get into his head.

"Whoa, easy does it." North said, as he walked over to him.

"Ugh, what happened?" Were Seth's only words.

"The first time, or the second?" North asked, in a grim tone. This made red flags wave in Seth's mind. From what he knew, north was always happy, he only used that voice when something was wrong.

"Wait, what?" Seth asked, still confused.

"North, just tell him what happened." He heard Wash say.

"OK, fine. Well, after that training match, you blacked out. We think this was because your body was still weak from surgery. I'm still not sure why you were allowed to train anyway. You just had surgery for Pete's Sake!"

Seth saw North give Wash a questioning look. This was the "Should we, or shouldn't we, tell him" kind of look. Wash sighed, and stepped forward. He looked nervous.

"Well, after the implantation, you kinda went a little crazy."

"WHAT?!" Seth sat up, extremely confused now. North was the one to speak.

"You started screaming, and throwing things. You seemed, angry, about something."

Seth didn't know how to respond to this. He had thought the anger was only a dream. Now he was being told that he attacked people?

"O.K., then why did I wake up in the recovery wing, alone?" Seth glanced at North.

"The Director wanted to make sure you didn't hurt anyone else."

"Else? Who did I hurt.?

"just a couple of medical assistants, their fine now. Speaking of which, you were out for three days. You were only out for a day this time, though." North told him, trying to reassure him.

"Damn, this sucks….." Seth mumbled. The others already thought he was weak. This didn't help. He went to stand up, but North stopped him.
"Are you sure? You still need to rest."

"North, trust me when I saw this, after four days of not eating, then vomiting what was left up, I'm fucking hungry." Seth said, a hint of humor in his voice. North grinned.

"You sound just like South." With that, Seth tried to stand up. He almost fell over, as more nausea hit him. Luckily, Maine caught him, again, and kept him up.

"Thanks Maine." Seth told the large freelancer.

They exited his room, and walked down the hall. Seth had lean on Maine, to keep from falling. His body was extremely weak. They came to the double doors, and entered the mess hall. They walked over to the food line, and Seth filled his tray.

They turned, and he saw the other freelancers all at their normal table. He didn't want to be with them, he just wanted to leave, to go back to his room.

"I-I think I'm just gonna eat in my room." Seth said, trying to turn around.

"Nah, You can eat with us, the others wanna know you're doing." North said, in his normal comforting tone.

"That, and you look like your about to fall over." Wash added, earning a look from North. But it was true. He felt horrible. He could barely stand, if Maine wasn't there, he wouldn't even be able to stay up right.

They walked up to the table, where South, Carolina, Wyoming, York, C.T., and Tex were all sitting.

Maine helped Seth sit down, which made him feel worse. He looked at his food, and slowly began to eat. He could tell the others were just staring at him. He didn't want to talk, and he wasn't going to. South spoke up first.

"Wow, you look like shit." This caused North to warn his sister.

"South…"

"What?! It's true."

"So, how's your AI?" It was York who asked the question. Seth didn't respond, he only kept eating his food. There was more silence, until Delta, which Seth had never actually met, spoke.

"Scans indicate that he is refusing to speak."

"Thanks for the newsflash, D." York replied to his AI.

"He can still talk, right?" Tex asked, looking at North. Before he could respond, Seth finally spoke.

"Yes, I can."

"Then say something."

"OK, shut up, and let me eat."

Everyone just stared at him. No one but Carolina, had ever actually talked back to Tex. They stared at each other, until Tex finally smiled.

"I like him, he's got a spine." Tex said.

"So, can we see him?" York asked. Seth wasn't sure. He couldn't tell if Omicron had woken up yet. He tried to think to his AI. Omicron responded. Seth asked if he wanted to meet the others. The AI was wary, but agreed.

"Ok, he's coming out." Seth wasn't sure what to expect. He hadn't actually seen Omicron yet, he had only heard his voice.

A small figure appeared next to Seth's head. It was black and white, and looked like a mini version of Seth. When he spoke out loud, he was very confident in his words.

"Hello everyone, I am Omicron." He said to the table. They just looked at him, until York spoke again.

"Dude, he looks just like you!" York implied to Seth.

"Indeed, quit, unusual, for an AI." Delta responded.

"Now D, that's not very nice, be kind to the new addition." Delta didn't respond, and just logged off.

"Yeah, just like him….." South grumbled.

Seth thought it was time for him to leave. He stood up, and was wobbly, but he didn't fall. He walked out of the room, and slowly went down the hall, and back to his room. He went back to sleep, as Omicron logged off.

"How is he, really?" Carolina asked North.

"If you're asking about his physical condition, he will fine after some rest."

"North, I mean his mental, condition." She said, concerned. North sighed.

"He seems o.k., but he's still in the danger zone." North told her.

"What's the danger zone?" South asked

"It just means that he could still snap. We need to be careful around him. That means we have to watch him, any of you need to report id he starts acting weird." The table nodded, and agreed.

"Man, he's only been here for a short time, and he has already had it rough." Wash commented.

"Hey North." Tex said, looking at him. "Did notice anything, different about him?"

"Actually, yeah. He seems to be less nervous then he used to be." North said, thinking.

"And that training session was pretty impressive for a recruit." Wash added.

"Those both are probably just from his AI." Tex said. "It is the Fragment of courage, which would explain why he isn't nervous, and it probably helped in his training."

"It makes sense." York told them. Them.

Then .L.S. told them that training was in five. The all got up, and left the mess hall. They all had one thing on their minds.

"What the hell, had happened to Pennsylvania?"