Breathe in.
Her gaze swept quickly over the many, many robots, and Carolina felt her breath catch in her chest. There were so many. How could she hope to defeat any of them, let alone all? She had never been able to match Texas – and now, when she was expected to mow down them all, Carolina found herself recalling every missed shot, every hand-to-hand blow that had failed to fall her enemy. She hadn't beat Texas. How could she hope to do it now?
That just means there's no room for mistakes, Carolina. But you can do this.
I can?
Yeah. Church's voice was weary. She wondered why he was so tired, but then he spoke again. I know you can. You weren't number one for nothing.
I wasn't number one, Church. Not while she was there.
It isn't her. These… drones… are just copies. She's not here.
I guess. But Carolina felt hope stir in her chest, felt her fingers tighten defiantly over the plasma pistols by her side. The whole conversation had taken only a few seconds. And when the Texes ran, charging headlong towards them, she was ready. "South?"
"I'm here, Carolina." Her voice was determined, full of steel.
"Good."
Breathe out.
"Alright; me first." Carolina took a half-step forward, tightening her grip and raising the plasma pistols towards the rush of robot bodies. Plasma roared forth, dropping them like flies. She felt a savage grin expose her teeth, and glanced at South. How was she holding up?
But the ex-Freelancer had her DMR raised, shooting with deadly skill and thinning the ranks before they reached Carolina. She felt mildly surprised; Carolina had always assumed South to be uncomfortable with long-range weaponry, since North had always been the one to snipe, or to provide back-up from afar. She realized now that South was just as terrifyingly accurate.
Watch your left!
Carolina didn't question the order. She dropped her pistols immediately, throwing herself backwards and onto her back, a quick flip in the air as she tore the shotgun from her back. A black fist swung past her helmet, whirring as it cut through the air. Missed me, she thought smugly.
But in the momentary reprieve from her gunfire, the Texes had surged forward. She shot once, the shotgun's roar exploding in a vengeful boom, and she darted past one's fallen body. More were waiting behind it; she planted her foot on one's bent knee, leaping to another's shoulder, and then bouncing on to one's head, using it to catapult herself into the air.
She felt Epsilon's approval and smiled.
Carolina crashed to the ground, using another Tex to soften the blow. There was no time to think; only time for action, and reaction.
BOOM! A Tex fell back, two more surging forward to take its place. Carolina grimaced, cocking the shotgun quickly and firing, sending them flying to the side.
They all rushed her. Carolina shot, taking out three more, the others followed relentlessly. She jumped up, flipping backwards and feeling her feet connect with two of the Texes, shoving them away. I'm going to be sick! Epsilon cried. Carolina smirked, but otherwise made no reply. She loosed another shot as she landed, spinning in time to deflect a kick from behind with her elbow. She twirled, kicking the Tex away and firing simultaneously so that it flew backwards. Carolina exhaled quickly, lashing out with her back foot to drive away two others, and stepping back to avoid the swing of another.
There's so many! Her mental cry was full of despair.
We're fine. You're doing good.
Thanks, she thought dryly, deflecting the blow of another Tex and kicking out with both feet to push it away. Her back arched, and she swung her shotgun in time to fire at another who had hoped to take advantage of her momentary, though purposeful, fall.
More rushed towards her. She loaded the shotgun, firing repetitively as she fought. Carolina flipped in a no-handed cartwheel, driving another Tex away ash she fired at two more. Three Texes came too close for comfort; she let the shotgun's roar boom out as she kicked the third down, finally sending it soaring into two more of its companions.
But one was not to be deterred; it rushed at her, aiming for her helmet with a wild swing. Carolina brought the shotgun up and fired, but too slow – the gun was knocked powerfully out of her grasp and she gasped in anger.
The Tex brought its knee up, hoping to catch her in her stomach, but Carolina neatly sidestepped the blow and lashed out with her own foot, sending it crashing to the floor. But there was no lull in the conflict – another ran at her from behind. She spun, managing to duck beneath the black flicker of a flying fist and rose from her crouch, bringing her hands together to slam down on its back. The whirring broke down and the Tex lay still.
She kicked it away, ducking again beneath a black fist and came up with a powerful kick that slammed into the Tex's midsection. Carolina laughed darkly, spinning quickly over its back and twirling as she landed, gaining enough momentum to send it flying into another of its companions.
The movement brought her down in a crouch, she paused for a moment as an armored leg swung over her head. No time for anything but improvisation, Carolina leapt up and kicked, snapping the Tex's head back and driving her other foot into its stomach. But this one was not so easily broken; it came up swinging, and she blocked and deflected the punches as best she could, landing a few of her own. There was almost no sound – in a detached part of her mind, she realized that South's gunfire had broken off – other than the odd crunches as her fist made connections with the Tex's chin, and a muted echo that she assumed was South fighting as well.
She grabbed its arm as the robot swung, spinning in a quick circle before letting go. The Tex soared away from her, and crashed loudly into two stacked crates before falling to the floor.
Another rushed towards her, and Carolina threw herself backwards. A quiet part of her mind noted that a crate had crashed to the floor, countless frag grenades spilling from its depths. The other part of her mind was completely submerged in the conflict.
Carolina slipped, tumbling to the side as her foot landed on one of the grenades. Luckily, the Texes had fallen too, but she was first to rise to her feet. She glanced down, feeling nothing but irritation at the interruption.
Use them, Carolina. Epsilon's voice was excited, but detached. She assumed he was having to concentrate pretty hard to keep up with the fight.
How? But even before she had finished posing the question to the AI, Carolina was moving. She kicking a grenade swiftly, sending it soaring into the air. It knocked against a Tex, sending it tipping to the side.
Carolina stepped back, her left hand dipping smoothly and then rising again to bring her grappling pistol high. A memory flashed through her mind, a quick image accompanied by Wash's wail; I don't want to end up like Georgia! Carolina smiled, feeling Epsilon's amusement radiate though her mind, and then pulled the trigger.
The grapple connected to the grenade with a clang, and Carolina whipped her arm back, bringing it flying towards her. The grenade swept past a Tex's legs, tripping it up and Carolina laughed, though her mind was utterly focused. The grenade flew past her, tangling between the legs of two others and sending them crashing to the floor. Carolina whipped it back, swinging it into one before launching it in a wide circle as she kicked the first Tex away.
She flicked her wrist, sending it towards the first of another rush of Tex's. But the robot raised its hands, blocking the grenade and sending it bouncing back to Carolina. She snarled, whipping the grenade-grappling cable around her, and then swung wide, aiming low to trip the advancing Texes.
BOOM!
Carolina cried out, stepping backwards and accidentally letting go of the grappling pistol as the grenades exploded with fiery vengeance. How-?
"South!" She cried angrily, spotting the ex-Freelancer with her pistol out, still aimed at the grenades.
"At least it worked, 'Lina!" answered South, with an impish grin. Carolina glowered at the mocking use of her nickname, but their conversation was broken when South turned away, deflecting a punch from one of the many Texes and retaliating with an explosive kick that bent its knee in entirely the wrong direction. Carolina felt slightly sickened at South's cruelty, unable to look away as South ducked beneath a flying fist, rising swiftly enough to catch the owner's arm and twist it savagely enough that even Carolina, halfway across the room, could hear the resounding crack.
Watch out!
Carolina looked up in time to catch a vicious blow under her chin. She felt her body leave the ground, flying through the air and crashing painfully to the metal floor a fair distance away. She groaned weakly, but rose to he feet again. Epsilon-Church flashed to life beside her, and she glowered at the AI , furious. "Could you be a little more specific?" she snarled.
"Yeah, uh, Sorry Carolina, but seeing this many ex-girlfriends in one room? Kinda has me terrified beyond the capacity for ration thought," he said apologetically.
But Carolina shook her head, still angry. "Well snap out of it, I need you!"
"Need me for wha – ow!"
Carolina spun, facing the remaining Texes with a snarl. She hesitated for one moment in her crouch, feeling the power surge through her limbs. And then she was away.
Carolina was halfway across the room in a heartbeat, feeling her speed unit lend wings to her feet. She blew past the Texes, raising dust in her wake, and let out a wild cry of exhilaration. It was almost too late when she realized she had left them all behind, and instead cried out to Epsilon for help.
"Church, brake right!" She skidded to a stop, feeling her boots grip the metal floor. Carolina spun, breathless, and spotted the robots running towards her. She glanced around quickly, but she couldn't see South.
She ran, mowing down Texes every step. They flew out of her way, crashing into crates and walls and each other, and she felt fierce victory burning through her every vein. But where the hell was South?!
Carolina, I don't think I can do this much longer!
Just hold on!
She spun to a stop, falling into a crouch and scrabbling at the ground for extra purchase, her heart racing in her chest. Come on, where was South?
Seriously, you need to slow down!
"No!" Her voice was breathless, but Carolina surged forward anyway. "I can do this!"
"Carolina!" A voice, not Epsilon's, broke through her thoughts. She flipped, dealing out punches and kicks and knocking down robots with a single blow.
"South?" she yelled, unable to find her amongst the sea of black armor.
"Yeah it's – OW! YOU BITCH I'LL KILL YOU FOR THAT!" The threat was quickly followed by an enraged scream, filled with anger and spite and raw agony.
Finally, Carolina broke through the swarm of Texes that followed her. Blue armor flashed in the corner of her eye, and it took a moment for her to remember that that was South. She was struggling, her arms held by two Texes who pulled them behind her back at impossible angles. Her helmet had fallen, and her face was an awful mess. Purple bruising had exploded beneath her eyes, remnants of the many fights between her and Wash. Her nose was slightly crooked, no doubt a result of – once again – the times Wash had broken it. But worse, much worse, was the vivid crimson that soaked her face. It poured out of her nose, which had probably been broken again, and welled from the many cuts across her face. A third Tex stood before her, calmly unloading blow after blow onto her body. South was holding her chest at an awkward angle, and Carolina guessed that one of her ribs had already been shattered. Her left fist, held in the grip of another Tex, seemed mangled and broken.
But as Carolina raced towards her, South raised her chin defiantly towards the Tex before her. It seemed to pause, cocking its head to one side, and South coughed, and spat bright crimson blood onto her visor.
The Tex responded instantly with a backhand slap, the edge of her gauntlet slicing across South's cheekbone and opening yet another cut.
Carolina sped up, racing between the Texes that blocked her way. She had to help South – there was no way she could escape on her own.
Carolina! Suddenly, the part of her mind holding Epsilon seemed to detach itself, and his voice came from far away. And suddenly, fighting her way through the seemingly never-ending line of Texas', she could hear them.
"She really wants to win." Wash's voice drifted into her mind, and she cried out.
"Ah!"
Carolina, stop!
But she couldn't, because now York was talking and she could hardly hold back her tears.
"-n't know how to-"
Rage and fury swirled within her, and she screamed her vengeance, hurling aside the bodies as she broke through them.
Carolina, calm down!
"Real hero, Carolina." South? Of course, that bitch ha always been so condescending-
Get a hold of yourself!
And now, North. Calm, wise, and gentle, one her only close friends within the program. "She's always been like this," he whispered, his voice distorted.
Tears welled in her eyes, but she sped forward despite her deteriorating vision –
She didn't see it coming until it was too late.
The arm smacked her across the throat, and Carolina flipped into the air, with no control over her motion. Her body crashed into something solid and unyielding – Carolina slid slowly down the metal crate until her body rested against the floor. It ached, burning with shame and injury. She had failed. And the final voice spoke softly from within her mind.
"You can't win, Carolina."
Come on, get up! Epsilon urged.
"She was right." Carolina rose slowly to her knees, her voice cracked and broken. "I can't do this. I can't beat her. I could never beat her."
The voice stuttered, returned to normal.
"B-b-b-better luck next time, C-C-Carolina."
Suddenly, blue spheres hissed out of nowhere, catching onto to the lip of three of the Texes helmets. Carolina took a half-step back, shocked, and looked to the direction they had come from.
"Nine points, you dirty whores!" Donut yelled triumphantly, his pink armor sparkling under the fluorescent lighting.
Carolina didn't hesitate, throwing herself to the side in a messy summersault before sprawling untidily on the ground. Behind her, three plasma grenade exploded, and the tight bands of failure around her chest loosened, and she could breathe.
"Get up." A grey and yellow armored hand was thrust into her field of vision. Carolina smiled briefly, and accepted it.
"What are you doing here?" she asked Wash.
He smiled in turn, gesturing around at his friends. "I told you, they're not so bad once you get to know 'em." He unclipped a Magnum from his waist, and offered it to her without breaking her gaze. She grabbed it thankfully, nodding to him once.
Epsilon flashed to life, and walked slowly to his teammates. They ignored him, and so he spoke first. "I thought this wasn't your fight?" he asked, pointedly looking towards Sarge.
"Come on," the Red said gruffly. "Overwhelming odds with little to no chance of success? How could we resist?"
"You got a problem with that, Church?" Tucker raised an eyebrow in challenge.
Epsilon-Church sighed, and spread his hands in defeat. "Guys? I'm an asshole. I admit it, and will gladly accept any and all smartass remarks after this is over. But I would like to point out the fact that we are standing in a room full of crazy, Freelancer robots, that are ready to completely and utterly fuck our shit up."
"So, cheesy forgiveness speech later?" Tucker asked.
"Yeah, that sounds good," Sarge agreed.
But their attention was re-captured when Carolina spoke, holding out her pistol and sliding in a fresh clip. "Lock and load, people," she said warningly.
Everyone drew their weapons, holding their fingers readily on the triggers. Doc giggled in a terrified kind of way, charging his scanner to full power. Tucker's sword flashed to life, and they all turned to face the army of remaining Texes. Predictably, Caboose was facing the wrong way. Church sighed, and padded silently to his side.
"Caboose? I need you to get a little angry, okay buddy?" he asked slowly.
"Okay," Caboose agreed willingly. And then he paused. "Yeah, I don't remember how to do that."
Church grinned. "I do."
But suddenly, they were all interrupted by a piercing, rage-filled scream.
"YOU BITCH! YOU LITTLE – OW! YOU MOTHERFUCKERS ARE GONNA PAY FOR THAT!"
Wash turned his head slowly to the side, and raised an eyebrow at Carolina. She shrugged, and he shook his head slowly in disbelief. Carolina grinned. "Let's get 'em, boys!"
South struggled violently, almost tearing her arms out of the sockets in her need to escape. But the robots were resolute, holding her stationary as the third one unloaded blow after blow, the pain building until she was on the verge of blacking out. But she was still conscious enough to feel the agony, and to scream her rage at the three black figures whom held her so successfully trapped.
"BITCH! I WILL KICK YOUR ASS!" The snarl erupted from her throat and she thrashed, feeling the pain lance up her arms. Beyond the black Freelancer Tex-bots, everything was blurry and distorted. She could see strange, multicolored swirls but dismissed them angrily. "BURN IN HELL YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!" she screamed, her voice clawing its way out roughly.
Oh, she would kill them all for this! Stupid bitch, thinking herself so high and mighty, all-powerful now that South was trapped. And where the fuck was Carolina? The bitch was probably laughing her head off right now, speeding lightly out of harm's way every time a Tex attempted to rip her head off.
It had been a small mistake that had led South to her pitiful demise. She's swung angrily, feeling the familiar rage roar forward in her chest as a Tex kicked, caving in her ribs, and had used too much force. The Tex had ducked out of the way, leaving South stumbling, and two of the other fucking robots, whirring distractingly, had stepped forward and imprisoned her arms.
Distractedly, her mind detached in so many ways – why was the room spinning like that? It didn't seem normal. And what the fuck; why was everything fading, and growing darker? It made it harder to focus on the Tex-bot in front of her – South noted absently that gunfire had returned to the room. Strange; it boomed out in the roar of a shotgun, the explosion of some monstrous weapon that bizarrely brought an image of Maine to mind, and in the regular crack of a DMR and assault rifle as it rained lead death. And also some weird swishing noise she was unfamiliar with – and a large, booming voice declaring something about taxes. What the hell?
South snarled, and drew her eyebrows together in an attempt to focus her eyes. Her vision wavered, turning pitch for a moment before leaping briefly into stunning clarity. She sucked in a breath, and nearly choked on blood as it whistled down her throat.
South coughed, drawing it all into her mouth. The Tex hesitated, and then kicked at her stomach. Her ribs screamed in protest, but South grinned, knowing her teeth would be gleaming blood-red and dripping. "Hey, bitch," she said pleasantly.
The ploy worked and the Tex paused, its fist cocked comically in the air. South resisted the urge to roll her eyes, and instead spat. A glob of crimson flew through the air before smacking into the Tex-bot's golden visor, mirroring the other one beside it.
South's head snapped to the side before she even realized she'd been hit, and pain bloomed belatedly across her temple. She giggled insanely, feeling hysteria bubble up in her chest.
The Tex stepped closer, and South watched it in her peripheral vision. An image rose in her mind, and she grinned again, exposing her bloodied teeth once more.
Come on, just a little closer, she begged silently.
The Tex-bot took another half-step towards her.
South threw herself forward, and the two Tex's holding her arms stumbled, allowing her the extra distance she needed. Her left foot pushed off the ground, and she stretched, following the motion as far as she could.
Her right foot snaked around the Tex's neck and yanked, pulling it closer towards her. South raised her other leg, and added its strength to her desperate bid. The Tex-bot stumbled, and South wrenched it forward. Then, she slammed her forehead forward, smacking it into the Tex-bot's helmet with a resounding crack! Red and black spots burst in her eyes as she completed the savage motion, dragging the Texes behind her as she did so.
South uncurled her fingers from around the Tex's neck, and it dropped to the floor, stunned.
The two behind her had been yanked off-balance by her violence, and she slid her arms quickly from between their fingers, knowing that bruises would have already formed from their intense pressure. Her left fist scraped past its previous captor, and it was so numb South could barely feel the agonizing spike of pain that lanced into her fingers when they brushed against something solid. Blood flowed back into her arms, and South forced away the numbness, also shaking her head in a brief effort to clear it.
It didn't work.
South spun, rising to her feet, but unfortunately the room spun with her. She felt gravity shift around her, pulling her first in one direction and then to the opposite, causing her to dip and sway. The Texes rose, seemingly at an odd angle to herself, and South lurched towards them, her hands stuck out in front of her.
The Texes dropped into ready stances, hands raised, waiting. South paused, wondering detachedly if it was such a good idea to run headlong into them – and then the world disappeared momentarily in a flash of frightening black, and she knew that she didn't have much time before she collapsed.
One leapt up from its stance, foot raised and lashing out towards her face. In a flash of clarity, South realized she should retrieve her helmet, and then the clear thought faded and she clumsily side-stepped the hasty blow. Her hand lashed out, palm open, to snap against the bottom of the Tex-bot's helmet. It was a weak blow, but worked nonetheless, and South spun for momentum – the world tipped bizarrely to the side, and she was dancing on the very edge of the earth – before slamming her foot into its midsection.
The Tex fell over, but so did South, crashing to the floor in a disgraceful tumble. Her back slammed against the metal ground, and her head whip-lashed back, hitting the floor with a boom that echoed mightily in her mind. South cried out, clutching her head as she fell to the side. Her body curved in on itself reflexively, and her chest screamed out in pain as her shattered rib was crushed further. Tears pricked shamefully at her eyes, but South was losing herself to the darkness and couldn't find the strength to care.
Her eyes opened in the tiniest crack as vibrations shuddered through the floor. The second Tex had risen, yet now knelt beside her broken body, its fist raised and South was struck through with the immediate familiarity – where had she seen this before? But her mind leapt forward, shoving an image before her eyes so that it overlapped reality; her head snapping back with a sense of finality, a crack that echoed across the room as her neck and spine snapped, her eyes burning with a searing pain and then fading, until naught was left but the echo of flames.
Crack! Crack-boom!
The Texes fell away, and South felt her body break down in trembles as her savior walked up behind her, unseen.
"South?" The voice was familiar, and it waded in amongst her fading consciousness. She drew in a halting breath, the pain in her chest crushing her lungs. Who else, asshole?
"South, what the hell happened to you?" Wasn't it obvious? Or had they – whoever the hell they were – not seen as she had broken?
She felt it as they knelt down beside her, and as they shook her shoulders none too gently. "South!" She didn't respond, though her eyes strained to see past the blurred lines and focus on whomever had saved her. "Carolina, she's not responding."
A reply, broken off and sounding as though it were yelled across a distance. The person beside her hesitated, and then –
- they slapped her.
South shrieked as pain exploded across the left side of her face, the cuts on her skin stinging with fresh horror and the bruises aching with more force. She snarled, and jackknifed upwards, ignoring the fresh waves of pain and the shifting gravity as it tried to pull her to one side, drew back her palm, and slapped him back.
Her eyes focused just in time to catch Wash's expression as he fell to the side, clutching at his cheek in mild outrage. He looked at her balefully. "Yeah, she's back," he said flatly.
South leered at him, and then raised her gaze to sweep the area behind him. Red Team and Blue Team fought valiantly, and had backed off into a corner, no doubt so that Wash could save her while the rest held off the army of Texes.
Not, of course, that she had needed saving.
Wash rose slowly to his feet, still glaring at her. She shrugged at him, hiding the smirk that begged to spill across her features. "What," he snapped, "no 'thanks for saving my ungrateful ass, Wash'?"
"Nope," South replied evenly. She hadn't needed to be saved, so why should she thank him for intervening, pointlessly? She had been handling it fine on her own. "We were getting along just splendidly without you." Her words were drenched in sarcasm, and a muscle twitched in his jaw. She felt vaguely proud, and yet also disappointed, to see it.
Suddenly, all the Texes dropped lifelessly to the floor. The whirring stopped, and for a heartbeat the long room was blessedly silent. What the hell had she missed?
"It's done." Epsilon burst into existence at Carolina's shoulder, and his voice was so… heartbroken… that South didn't have the energy for the usual flare of bitter hatred she conjured whenever the AI appeared.
"Uh, you know you could have done that before I got punched in the balls by like, twenty of them at once," Grif huffed, and South felt her lips twitch in a half-hearted smirk.
"Yeah, but where's the fun in that?" Tucker asked, and she had to concede it was a good point. But God, she just felt so exhausted.
"Nice goin' there, Church. I guess little fairies really do make wishes come true!" Sarge joked, his voice light and teasing.
"I could have told you that!" Donut insisted, and Doc smiled brightly.
But Simmons interrupted; "So, I guess our work here is done?"
"Almost." Wash spoke from beside South, and she turned to stare at him. "There's still the Director."
"No." When Epsilon-Church spoke, South felt his words like hammer blows across her skin. Her stomach dropped, and the all-too familiar rage rose in her chest, threatening to choke her. "What comes next, Carolina and I need to do alone."
There was a heartbeat of long, unbroken silence while South struggled to find her voice.
"No! As if, asshole! I came all this way for him, you are not doing this without me!" South snarled, stepping forward. Wash raised a hand as though to restrain her, thought better of it, and lowered his arm. "Sure, Carolina went crazy, and you have all the memories of your fucked-up girlfriend and your supposed torture, but none of you lost your family! North may have been misdirected, and an asshole who didn't know where his loyalties should lie, but he was my brother! None of you lost family like I did. It is my right to storm up there and totally fuck his shit up for what he did to me. I deserve this. I lost the only family I had left to that asshole."
"And I didn't?" Carolina spoke quietly, but South felt her argument shatter around her. Bitterness rose in her throat as she stared defiantly at the ex-Freelancer, but she was the first to break her gaze. She stared, unseeing, at the floor.
Conversation broke out again in quiet murmurs, but she tuned it all out. One person returned to stand by her shoulder, hesitating as though they were going to say something, but then the turned away. South didn't know who it was.
But when she looked up, Carolina and Epsilon were gone.
"Hey Wash, look at this!"
He looked up in time to see Tucker slice open one of the crates with his energy sword, its contents spilling out haphazardly. Wash grinned as he saw what remained inside – special armor ability units.
Tucker crowed in delight, and reached out to read the packaging on one as Wash bent down to retrieve one himself. "Hologram," the Blue read, "to create a perfect replica of the user for tactical use in a battle or simulation situation."
C.T. Wash felt his stomach drop to the floor. "Maybe we should leave those," he began hesitantly. Somehow, he didn't think it would be right. And if he saw a healing unit in there, it would only remind him of York and Delta. A bubble-shield would only bring to mind North and Theta; a speed unit Carolina, Eta, and Iota. And an invisibility unit? He glanced around. Surely they had had enough of Texas to last a few lifetimes. He tossed his unit to the side without looking at it, feeling slightly sick.
Wash looked to the left at a girly squeal of pain. Doc had Sarge and Simmons restraining a thrashing Grif as he tried to treat a wound in his thigh – not from a Tex robot, but from when he had been swinging his Grif shot around triumphantly and accidentally nicked himself with the sharp blade. Donut stood beside Doc, peering nosily over his shoulder as he treated the unwilling patient.
Caboose walked slowly through the crowd of broken Texes. Wash watched as he nudged a few, seemingly confused as to why they had all frozen. And then he shook his head in disbelief a Caboose took a step backwards and tripped on a frag grenade, sliding to the floor in an uncoordinated tangle.
"Wait, what the hell…" Tucker spoke again, and Wash look back towards the Blue. But Tucker was pointing behind Wash, and asked in a confused tone; "Where the hell did South go?"
His head whipped to the side. South was gone, the place where she had been standing silent and empty. How had they not noticed her walking off?
Then his gaze dropped to floor – where he had tossed the special armor ability unit to the side without a glance. His mouth dried out; had it been an invisibility unit?
"Oh, fuck," he growled.
A/N: This chapter was insanely fun to write XD Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it.
Anyway, I guess I don't have much to say today. Have a good one, you guys.
Review? ;)