Disclaimer: I do not own FusionFall. If I did, the nano system wouldn't have changed.

I updated quicker this time AND I wrote this all in a day. I'm so proud of myself. Well, enjoy. :D

Chapter 8

Last Minute Worry

Brydon zipped up the back of his rubber suit. This particular suit was made by Dexter. According to the boy genius, it had the same protection as heavy plated armour. It was flexible and easy to move around in. Plus, the flame design on the front wasn't half bad.

As he walked out of his living quarters to join Dexter, he thought of what happened at the Jungle Outpost. He had been helping Numbuh 4 with the defences and other things related to the war. He had asked the Australian if he had made any progress on Kuki, adding a smug smile with it. He apparently hadn't.

What Numbuh 4 had said after that still lingered in his mind. "So, how about you and Laina?"

He'd explained there was nothing between himself and Laina and Numbuh 4 had quickly apologised. There was something wrong, though. His heart had throbbed and he didn't know why. Well, that was a lie. It wasn't too hard to figure out.

He was very happy that he and Laina had become friends. To be honest, when he first saw her he thought she was a brat. Dexter had warned him that she could be very intimidating, but he had never seen a girl with such attitude before. He was quite relieved she only saved it for her employees and Dexter.

They still weren't really friends, though. Not until the day he first saw Katya. He'd realised that Laina was a normal girl with normal problems, but with a bit more sass.

And now he liked her. Great, just great.

He arrived at Dexlabs quicker than he thought he would. Time flew when you were deep in thought. He walked up to Dexter, who was standing with Narae. Laina was nowhere to be seen.

"We should be ready in ten more minutes," said Dexter. There were younger warriors in lab coats crowding around him.

"Who are they?" Brydon asked, gesturing to the people.

"They're my helpers. They have the most intelligent brains in the world, besides me of course," Dexter explained. "They're helping me with all the technical machines."

"Oh, I see," said Brydon. He looked around. "Where's Laina?"

"She's helping Cyber and some other people," Dexter replied. "Can you go help her? They're just inside Dexlabs."

Brydon nodded. "Yeah, sure."

He walked inside and saw dexbots, humans and other beings alike. They were all rushing around, getting ready for the battle. It was then the impact of the war finally hit him. It was real, not some fictional video game where you could revive your character each time you died. There was preparation involved for the best and worst case scenarios. It scared him to no end.

He didn't see any sign of Laina or Cyber on the ground floor, so he stepped into the elevator. He pressed the button for Dexter's laboratory. He had a hunch they would be there.

He was right. Laina and Cyber were in the centre of the room. There were six others standing around them. He recognised the Charmbreak twins, Emmy and Colin. Emmy noticed him, tapped Laina on the shoulder and pointed at Brydon, who cringed. He hated it when people pointed.

"Brydon, just in time," said Laina. She stomped up to him, grabbed his shirt and dragged him to the circle.

"You could have just told me to come over there, you know," said Brydon. He loved provoking her.

Laina huffed. "Well, yeah, but that wouldn't be as interesting now, would it?" She grinned.

"Hey, Brydon," greeted Cyber. "This is the plan. We're going to split up into different groups. Wiltarrow has agreed to go with the Blossom and Bubbles on the frontlines. Anna will go with Dexter, since they work well together. Colin will be on the medic team and Emmy and Nero will go with Ben. Dark and I will go with Numbuh 3 and the others making diversions."

"What about me?" Brydon asked.

Cyber thought for a moment. "What about the Rowdyruff Boys?"

"Sounds good to me." Brydon had heard about the three boys before, but had never actually met them.

"I spoke to Narae," began Laina, "and she said she'll help me."

Cyber was the only one who understood this. The others looked as confused as Brydon felt. He felt butterflies in his stomach.

"Help w-w-with w-what?" stuttered the boy next to Emmy, Wiltarrow.

Laina gulped. "Narae and I are going to sneak into the base the fusions established at Mount Blackhead. Dexter chose Narae and me to do it. He doesn't want too many people because the monsters will notice us."

"That's where the Diversionary Tactics Force comes in," Cyber interrupted. "Some of us are going to lure the monsters from the base, Numbuh 4's room, so Laina and Narae can sneak in without any complications."

'Without any complications?' Brydon thought. 'Yeah right, that never happens in a war. Laina and Narae have the most important job.'

Laina continued. "Numbuh 4 said he'd hidden some defence system prototypes underneath a floorboard. We're going in there to see if they're still there and also check if the fusions have any plans written down there."

"Okay, team. You're dismissed," said Cyber.

As they were heading for the elevator, Laina tugged on Brydon's sleeve. He turned around and gave her a questioning look.

"Tell Narae I'll be down there in a few minutes. I need to talk to Cyber for a second," she told him.

"Okay," said Brydon. He hesitated and said, "Be careful."

Laina beamed at him. "Only if you will. If you don't come to see me straight after this is over, you're a dead boy."

Brydon knew it was a joke, but she could have chosen her words more carefully. What if that really was the case? His breathing became uneven at just the thought of it.

Laina must have noticed, because her eyes widened. "Oh, um, sorry."

Brydon smiled sadly. "It's okay." He paused. "But I mean it – be careful."

"So do I."

Brydon rushed to the elevator where Colin was holding the doors open. He placed himself between Anna and Colin as the doors closed and they descended. It may have been the elevator, but his butterflies were flapping their wings harder than before. He shut his eyes until they reached the ground floor. He ran outside to Narae and recited what Laina had said.

"So, what are you doing?" Narae asked.

"I'm with the Rowdyruff boys," Brydon answered. "Where are they, anyway?"

Narae looked around the area. "Over there, between Dexlabs and Mandark Industries."

"Thanks." He waved to Narae and ran over to the Rowdyruff boys.

He expected the trio to be laughing over boogers and cockroaches, but they were just speaking normally. From what he had heard, these boys were the most disgusting beings in the world. Now they looked like the bad boys you could find in any school.

"Hey, are you the Rowdyruff boys?" Brydon was a stupid question, he knew, but he had to say something.

The red one, Brick, was the one who answered. "Yeah, what's it to you?"

"I'm supposed to help you," said Brydon.

Brick shrugged. "Sure, you look like you could beat a few monsters. We'll let you in, just for this one."

'It's not up to you to decide,' thought Brydon.

A whistle sounded in the distance. Dexter was standing on top of Dexlabs with a megaphone, making Brydon wonder how he got up there so fast. He said only one simple sentence.

"You know what to do, move out!"

There ya go! I did say I was going to put everyone's OCs in here at some point. And if my chapters turn out the way I want them to (in other words, if my brain is functioning properly -.-), it won't be the last you see of them.

By the way, Wiltarrow was supposed to be Ace Wiltarrow, but I decided to just use his last name because of the confusion between him and the Gang Green Gang (or however you spell and pronounce it) Ace.

Also, the Rowdyruff boys were requested by FanFLover 10. If he hadn't, I would have had writer's block for half of the chapter.

So, REVIEW! :D