So, I'm bad at naming chapters, but we get to finally meet Torn here! He's totally my favorite character, hands down. Anyway, I hope you like it! Please review!

She was drinking heavily by the time Tess arrived. The Dark Warrior had left, waving slightly. She had gotten the vine that he wasn't an all bad person and had decided to judge him less harshly. She watched him go, the tiny rat clutching his shoulder loyally. She had argued the humanity of those in the KG, but what about eh humanity of those in the underground.

Tess noticed Senra clutching her empty glass and staring off into the distance. Krew had fallen asleep in his hover raft, thing and Tess took the opportunity to sit herself down across from the KG girl.

"What's on your mind?" She asked, casually leaning forward and resting her chin on her hands.

"What do you know about the underground?" Senra blurted.

Tess stared for a moment, guarded. "I don't know. Why?"

Inhaling, Senra explained. "I'm... I'm thinking of leaving the guard."

Tess offered a small smile but didn't respond besides that. She seemed to be waiting for more.

Senra popped an ice cube in her mouth and crunched it carefully before meeting Tess's eyes and explaining everything. She told her about the Baron's Eco deal gone wrong with the metal heads and how the situation was getting worse. She explained that metal heads were infiltrating the city every day and that she didn't think the Baron knew what he was doing. She also briefly explained the Baron's lack of regard for human life and the way he threw soldiers away on a whim. She explained the corruption in the ranks with the higher ups threatening their subordinates to comply because the guard was quickly running out of loyal soldiers. Tess had gotten her a few new drinks while she spoke and she felt herself getting angrier and angrier as the alcohol coursed through her veins. She found it difficult to not yell and fought to keep her rage to a quiet, inconspicuous level.

In the end, Tess waited patiently until Senra ran out of things to say. The blonde then grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet.

"Hey Kit," Tess called out. A brown haired girl looked up from the sweeping she had been doing. "Could you cover for me? I'll be back as soon as I can."

The brunette widened her eyes in surprise but nodded.

"I wanna take you to meet someone," Tess whispered. "I told you that you shouldn't have joined the guard in the first place."

"Yeah, yeah," Senra muttered as the blonde led her to a two seater zoomer. She stumbled into it and let Tess take the driver's seat.

She watched lazily from the passenger seat as they drove through the city, passing through the industrial district and eventually exiting into the slums.

The sandy ground passed by without her questioning where they were going. She trusted Tess. Always had.

When they came to a stop, Senra looked around. They were by some fork in the road.

"Gotta take you in blindfolded here!" Tess said chipperly.

Senra snorted. "You're kidding, right?"

"Nope." Tess produced a bandana from her pocket and grinned impishly as she tied it around Senra's eyes. "Don't worry. I won't walk you into walls or anything."

"Haha," Senra grumbled, not putting up a fight as her friend pushed her along.

They made several turns and seemed to walk for only a few blocks before Senra heard a door opening. She felt the air still as she was led inside a building and out of the musty air of the slums.

Tess removed her blindfold after the door shut behind them. Senra looked around in the dim light. There were bunks around her that seemed to be communal and ahead of her sat a tiny work area with maps and a table nestled in the centre of the room. And there stood the infamous Torn and the dark warrior, Jak.

She glanced nervously at Tess as both of the men stared her down.

"C'mon," Tess whispered, a comforting smile on her face as she wrapped an arm around Senra's shoulders and led her down the stairs.

The two girls made it to the bottom of the stairs and Torn crossed his arms, taking several steps closer.

"Who's this?" He growled.

Senra fought back the urge to snap a retort at him.

"This," Tess interrupted. "Is Senra. She's an old friend of mine and I've finally convinced her to leave the KG."

Torn let out a chuckle. "You sure she isn't a spy?"

"I'm sure." Tess's clear voice was confidant.

In the momentary pause in the conversation, the orange rat jumped from Jak's shoulder to Tess's arms. They greeted each other fondly and Senra awkwardly looked away.

Torn was still eying her suspiciously. His face had all the roughness of a seasoned veteran and he currently wore an almost angry or hostile expression.

Senra swallowed, trying to think of what to say. She glanced back at Tess, but she was busy rubbing noses with the orange thing.

She caught Jak's eyes.

He took a step forward and, thankfully, came to her rescue. "She's helped me before," He informed Torn. "When I was escorting the kid. She let me go and didn't attack me once."

"That doesn't count as helping." Torn's voice was an angry rasp.

Senra felt Tess's presence beside her and she gave the girl a tiny smile. Tess returned the smile and absently scratched the rodent under the chin.

"I know," Jak sighed. "But I think she's better than most KG officers I've met."

Senra sighed, the alcohol making her a little braver. Not by much, but enough. "You've been in the Guard before," She began coolly. "I don't need to tell you about how the chain of command is corrupt to ensure loyalty from those who don't agree with the Baron's practices." Wait, was she really going through with this? She hadn't made up her mind entirely, but now that she was here... There was no going back. She squared her shoulders and continued. "I've never agreed with the things that go on in this city. I thought I could ignore all of that, however and that things might one day turn out okay. I just wanted a place to call home and enough money to live comfortable. I was selfish and that has gotten to me."

Torn's face didn't change as she explained her situation.

"She's complained every step of the way," Tess added, trying to be helpful.

There was a light snicker from Jak on her other side. She didn't know how it happened, but the three of them (four if you counted the rodent) had rallied up and even Jak was on her side now. She didn't know what she had done to deserve his help, but she didn't want to question it too much in the moment.

Torn regarded her coolly. "Can you drive, and operate a gun without screwing it up?"

She tried to suppress a smile that crept on her lips. "Yes, I'm usually a pretty good shot. I'd prove it to you but..." She had been about to tell him that she was drunk but decided that probably wasn't the best idea for fear that he would doubt her resolve. Maybe she should be doubting her resolve. "I don't suppose now's the time. Considering how late it is."

Torn gave a curt nod and regarded her for a moment. "Tomorrow, I'm sending you on a mission with Jak to prove yourself. We were just attacked by blast bots and I'm tired of dealing with them."

She nodded, glancing towards Jak who shrugged. When she looked back at Torn, he was right in her face.

"If you slip up," He growled, jabbing a finger towards her. "Jak's here to take you out. If you mess up, I'm sure the bots or the guards will take you out. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that this is risky. But this is what you're signing up for. If you've really got it in you, then you'll stick it out until the end. Dont. Mess. Up."

He backed off and turned his back to them dismissively, leaning over the table and studying the maps with his hands behind his back.

Senra swallowed.

"C'mon," Tess said cheerily. "Let's get you a bunk. There's no going back to your apartment now."

Senra sighed. She would miss all the sweets she had stashed there and the countless trinkets she had collected over the months.

Tess locked arms with her and led her over to the bunks.

"At least he likes you," Tess chirped, pointing to Torn.

Senra rolled her eyes. "Yeah right."

"No really. He went easy on you. Maybe it's because you're from the Guard too and he knows where you're coming from." Tess swung herself into the top bunk of one of the beds and patted the side of the frame to indicate that Senra should sleep in the bottom bunk..

Senra noticed that Jak had selected a bunk as well and pulled the blankets over himself. There were also a few other sleeping bodies that she hadn't noticed before.

The rodent scurried its way over to Tess's bunk and climbed the post to snuggle next to the blonde.

Staring at the underside of the bunk, Senra tried to process what had happened. Her mind was spinning and reeling from all that had occurred in the last few hours.

She rolled onto her side and tried to calm her thoughts.

She heard Tess and the rodent talking quietly when Tess suddenly shouted, "Keep it down Torn! We're trying to sleep over here!"

There was no response from the silent man, but the ottsel and Tess giggled anyway.

Senra smiled lightly and got comfortable in the soft bedding.