CHAPTER 7

Quick update for you guys! So things are heating up a bit, in multiple ways. I've always been a honest person and stories that have characters beat around the bush and avoid saying things that they should say always bugged me. Course everyone has their style and I'm positive my way of doing things bothers plenty of people haha. But yeah things are moving along and new angles are being introduced. Hope you enjoy! Please read and review and let me know what you guys think or want to see!

It was early morning when Zulu started his briefing of what he was planning. Gathered with him were Sonic, Shadow, Tails, Silver, Knuckles, Rogue, and Victor. He had decided to leave out Amy and Blaze because he wasn't sure he could properly utilize them, not knowing their combat capabilities well enough.

"Alright everyone, let's begin." Zulu started, spreading out an internal map of the G.U.N. headquarters that Shadow and Rogue had made. "Our main objective is to break in, find the portal room, and hold it while Tails hacks in and downloads the portal schematics and anything else he will need to make one. After that we get out." Zulu paused, making sure everyone was with him. "My plan so far is that we breach through the roof and drop down directly into the room with the portal, we hold out until Tails is done, then we split into two teams, one team escorting Tails back up through where we entered and escaping, while the second team fights through the complex to a nearby exit, drawing attention and hopefully taking enough pressure off of Tails' team so they can escape without much trouble." He finished.

"Sounds risky for the team fighting their way out." Sonic said, scratching his head.

"It is, that's why Victor and I are going to be the ones to do it." Zulu replied grimly. "I'm not going to order anyone to stay back with us."

"You two can't be that arrogant and stupid." Shadow snarled. "I'm joining you."

"It's not arrogance, and we will gladly welcome your support. It's just that I would never give someone a more dangerous role in a mission if I was capable of doing it."

"Count me in also!" Sonic gave Zulu a thumbs up.

"No offense Sonic, but I want you outside escorting Tails. It'll be tight quarters inside and Silver's abilities will be invaluable, if he's up for it of course. You will need to be a distraction outside while Rogue, Knuckles, and Tails get away."

"I'm up for it alright." Silver said, giving Zulu a nod.

"What?!" Knuckles exclaimed. "You're taking me out of the action?"

"You have flying abilities, although limited. You will be a good assurance outside if things go bad. You also pair up with Sonic really well, so you two could hold off long enough for Rogue and Tails to flee, then escape yourselves."

"I understand." Knuckles groaned.

"You've improved a ton since I first met you Knuckles. Think of it this way. I see you as a much more versatile asset than simply a close quarter's pair of fists. Prove me right." Knuckles perked up at the praise.

"I'm your guy!" He said proudly.

"Sorry about not involving you much Rogue." Zulu added apologetically. "I'm sure you're quite capable of handling yourself, I've just never seen you fight and I'm afraid I'd just put you in a bad spot, and you're my best choice for protecting Tails."

"It's fine hun." She gave Zulu a wink. "I get what you mean."

"Excellent." Zulu said confidently. "We do it tonight. So let's train hard and practice this morning, then rest in the afternoon. Tonight will be rough, I want everyone well prepared."

After sparring and practice, Zulu was in his makeshift room getting his gear ready. He had laid out his jumpsuit and special body armor, with a newly repaired chest piece, on the floor and was currently cleaning his pistol. Victor was also in his room, checking over his jumpsuit and armor. He had no weapons whatsoever, and wondered if he should have brought the stuff he had stolen back in Seattle. Zulu still had his knife, but Victor guessed he would "acquire" weapons during the mission, so he didn't ask Zulu if he could borrow it.

"You're oddly quiet cleaning that gun." Victor spoke up, remembering that he should try and open up more.

"I suppose I am." Zulu replied in a strange tone of voice. Victor wasn't sure he liked it. "I'm just contemplating the outcomes of our mission." Zulu continued.

"Well, we will be able to transport back home." Victor said.

"Isn't it strange, G.U.N. had dealings with our program, supplying combat drugs for research and development. They don't strike me as the kind of agency to do that for free, so what kind of deal was made? Why are they so keen on hunting us down?" Zulu asked no one in particular.

"My guess is that Jarving and his man in Japan know a bit more about the deal than they let on." Victor replied.

"Hopefully we will be able to ask them about it."

It was dark and chilly on the roof of the G.U.N. complex as everyone huddled around Zulu, who was crouched in the middle of them. It was silent as he showed them where they were in accordance to the map he had taped to his arm. They stood directly above the room where the portal was suspected to be. Rogue and Shadow had taken out the guards on the ground and around the roof earlier so everyone had a clear spot to scale up the wall.

"All right everyone." Zulu removed a small explosive from a pack he was carrying. "Soon as this blows it's going to be nonstop fighting until we are all clear from here and back at Tails' place. You guys ready?" Everyone nodded. "All right, Tails let's hope your bomb does the job." Zulu placed it down and waved everyone back. He pressed a button and leapt back. The explosive device beeped three times and exploded, creating a moderate sized hole. "Everybody in! Go! Go! Go!" Zulu called, sprinting forward and jumping in first.

He landed feet first, rolling to avoid injuring himself and drew his gun, quickly scanning the room as Victor and the others joined him. In the center of the room was a large podium with an oval ring suspended above it that Zulu and Victor recognized as a portal. Wires and cords trailed from it to five separate desks that surrounded the podium. There were three people in the room wearing white lab coats, who raised their hands and stepped back when Zulu targeted them.

"Get back!" Zulu barked, causing them all to run out of the room. Alarms were echoing everywhere and yelling could be heard outside the room. "Tails, get to it!" He called, and the fox scurried over to a console and plugged a small device into it. Tails began hacking in and looking for engineering and development files. Victor moved up by one of the doors and waited to disarm anyone who tried to enter. Zulu trained his gun on a second door while Shadow and Silver covered the third. Sonic, Knuckles, and Rogue stood around Tails, guarding him.

The door next to Victor burst open and an armed man tried to enter with four others. The first had his gun ripped from his hands by Victor and was quickly knocked out, Victor slamming the butt of the gun into the side of the man's head. Victor then leaned around the corner of the doorway and fired into the remaining four who got bottle necked. Screams of pain and calls for backup began as Zulu started to open fire at men trying to gain entry through his door. Silver used his powers to hold his and Shadow's assigned door shut as men banged on it from out in the hall. Sonic watched as Zulu and Victor defended their positions with brutal efficiency, shooting only to kill.

Suddenly a wall exploded and men poured through the breach. Shadow was quickly there to engage along with Sonic, and both stemmed the tide as best they could. Zulu and Victor were unable to aid them, still defending their assigned entry points. Knuckles soon joined Sonic and Shadow, and they slowly began beating back the G.U.N. forces.

"I've found the files guys! Give me some time to move them to my storage device!" Tails called out over the fray.

"Understood!" Zulu yelled. "You guys prepare to cut and run! Victor, support Shadow with that wall breach, I'll cover the doors!"

"On it!" Victor yelled, firing a quick burst through the door and sprinting over to Shadow while Zulu crouched behind a desk where he could shoot at both open doors. Sonic and Knuckles disengaged and retreated to where Rogue and Tails were.

"Alright I'm done!" Tails exclaimed, removing his device and putting it into a pouch he had brought.

"Get going! Silver, blow the door and clear our exit! Shadow back him up!" Zulu yelled. Rogue grabbed Knuckles and flew up through the hole while Tails grabbed Sonic's hand and followed behind.

"Last one home has to spar with everyone against them simultaneously!" Sonic called, trying to hide his concern as he watched tons of soldiers pour into the room.

Silver used his powers to blow the door off its hinges and shoot it back into the hallway, crushing any men stuck in its path. Shadow bolted through the opening and dispatched the stragglers. Victor and Zulu were firing into the surge of enemy forces who were flooding the room. They covered for each other as they retreated until they made it to the doorway and stepped into the hallway. Victor kept firing into the room for a moment then ran after the others as they sprinted down the hall. Zulu and Victor watched the rear and kept the pursuing mob at bay. Shadow and Silver cleared out anyone ahead of them as they moved towards their set exit point. They got to the door and Silver started trying to rip it open. Zulu and Victor took up defensive positions and covered two hallways, while Shadow watched a third.

"Dang! It's really reinforced, give me a minute." Silver groaned.

"Don't take too long, here they come!" Zulu yelled. Victor opened fire as the forces barreling down his hallway got to close. Zulu began firing at a soldier who was approaching faster than the rest, but the man started dodging his shots. "Shit! We got trouble!" Zulu growled, unable to put the advancing man down. "What the Hell is this g-" the black clad soldier slammed into Zulu, knocking him back.

The man drew two knives and lunged at Zulu, who barely managed to draw his own and parry. The man was just as fast if not faster than Zulu. Zulu focused hard, blocking a blow to his leg, then immediately ducking a slice directed for his neck. The man brought up his knee and slammed it into Zulu's face, snapping his head back. Zulu instinctively blocked another slash to his neck then felt pain burn in his side. The man had reversed his grip and stabbed Zulu just under the left side of his rib-cage, which wasn't protected by armor. Zulu dropped onto his back and kicked the man's knee, making a sickening crack. The man's leg hyper-extended and he cried out in pain, collapsing to the ground. Zulu immediately reached over and stabbed the man in the chest then rolled over on top of him. He brought his knife up and jammed it up under the man's chin and into his head, killing him instantly.

"Zulu!" Victor yelled, running over and crouching beside him, firing down the hallway. "Silver just got the door open, you ok?"

"Yeah I'm…" Zulu groaned and coughed up blood, clutching his side.

"Dammit, that doesn't look good, come on!" Victor wrapped Zulu's right arm over his shoulder and stood up, shooting down the hall as he moved Zulu outside. Shadow ran over to help with Zulu while Silver blocked the incoming fire as they retreated away from the building into some nearby woods. They kept going for a few minutes before stopping to look over Zulu.

"You with me Zulu?" Victor asked, examining the stab wound.

"Don't baby me Ah!" Zulu winced and coughed up more blood.

"Damn he isn't looking good." Shadow growled.

"This isn't a normal stab wound either, look here. What's that clear liquid that's leaking out?" Victor asked, growing more worried.

"I don't know but we need to get him out of here now." Shadow said urgently. "The knife was probably coated in something."

"Can you carry him? You're faster than we are." Victor asked.

"What about chaos control?" Added Silver.

"I don't know what effect it will have on Zulu but I'll try." Shadow nodded and took Zulu from Victor. "You two hurry up and don't get stuck out here. Chaos Control!" In a flash, Shadow was gone.

"What the fuck?" Victor asked in awe.

"I'll explain later, let's get moving." Silver replied.

Tails and the others had arrived safely back at his house to the relief of Amy and Blaze, who were the only others aware of the mission.

"I hope the others are ok." Amy sighed, feeling concerned.

"Don't worry! I'm sure their-" a flash of light interrupted him. Everyone gasped when they saw Shadow clutching onto Zulu, who was unconscious.

"Oh my God!" Amy screamed.

"What happened!?" Sonic exclaimed, hurrying over to help Shadow with Zulu, who was bleeding heavily.

"I'll explain later." Shadow growled. "Victor and Silver are fine and are making their way back. I need to go get Vanilla." He chaos controlled out of the area and the others quickly brought Zulu to their make shift medical area.

"Looks like he got stabbed!" Blaze commented.

"Who would try and stab Zulu?" Amy asked the air.

"I don't think this is any old stab wound guys." Tails added.

Vanilla had just finished some paperwork for the hospital and was getting ready for bed when she heard a familiar voice call her from downstairs.

"Vanilla!" She hurried to the top of the stairs and looked down to see Shadow of all people standing there.

"Goodness, you're going to wake up Cream with-"

"Vanilla its Zulu." Shadow cut her off. Vanilla felt her stomach drop as she saw the look on his face.

"N-no…Zulu, what happened?!" She clutched her chest and stammered. Shadow didn't expect this reaction.

"Momma, what's all the loud talking about?" Cream mumbled, emerging from her room.

"I need you to come with me, he needs help. I'll explain when we get there now hurry!" Shadow barked.

"Go back to bed sweetheart, just an urgent work thing I have to take care of."

"Why is Shadow here? What's going on?" Cream continued, beginning to sound worried.

"We don't have time for this!" Shadow barked. "Cream, get down here, Vanilla get your things!" Cream hopped down the stairs while Vanilla disappeared for a moment and reappeared with her work bag as well as another larger bag. She hurried down the stairs and stood by Shadow, her heart thundering away in her chest and her stomach feeling sour as concern and worry ate away at her. In a flash they appeared in Tails' house.

"He's in the medical room." Shadow lead the way and found everyone gathered in the room, save for Victor and Silver.

"Oh my god!" Vanilla gasped and hurried over. "What happened?!" She asked again, sounding desperate.

"Zulu!" Cream cried, trying to get free from Shadow as he restrained her.

"Cream please, come sit with us, let your mom work." Amy said soothingly and offered a seat next to her. Cream ran over and hugged Amy, never taking her eyes off of Zulu.

"It was his mission plan. We break into G.U.N. and steal their portal plans." Shadow started. "The first part went off fine, no injuries. Tails and his escort escaped while Silver, Victor, Zulu, and I held off the troops." He continued. "We made it to our exit point, but the doors were more reinforced than we had anticipated, so it took Silver more time to pry them open. Zulu and Victor were holding off the troops when Zulu got rushed by a guy wielding two knives. They had a short engagement. Zulu got stabbed but he managed to kill the guy. Victor dragged him outside and noticed Zulu wasn't doing well. We think that the man's knives were coated in something. We saw a strange clear liquid around his wound." Shadow finished.

"You mean to tell me he expected to hold off the entire G.U.N. complex with four people?!" Vanilla exclaimed, carefully examining and cleaning Zulu's wound.

"Actually his original plan was just him and Victor drawing their attention while the rest of us escaped." Sonic clarified. "He said he would never ask anyone to do something he wouldn't do himself." Vanilla shook her head in response and gasped as she peered deeper into the wound.

"I think I've found that liquid." Vanilla stated. She used a swab and wiped some up with it. "Tails, please examine this."

"Yes ma'am!" He took the swab and ran out of the room. Vanilla worked in silence, focusing hard and doing her best to keep from crying. After a half hour she took a deep breath and set down her tools.

"I've cleaned the wound as best as I could and stopped the bleeding." She declared. She turned around to see that Silver and Victor had arrived and were watching her. She looked down to Cream and motioned for her. Cream jumped into her arms.

"Will Zulu be ok momma?" Cream mumbled, burying her face into Vanilla's chest.

"Yes darling." She stroked Cream's head and tried to retain her composure. "Alright, I suggest we all give Zulu space and let him rest, so everyone out." Vanilla struggled to say. Everyone quietly left the room until it was just her, Cream, and Victor.

"I'm sorry ma'am." Victor said solemnly, surprising Vanilla. "I know you probably blame me for him getting hurt. I know how much he means to you both." He continued. Victor knelt down and looked at Cream, who peaked out of her mother's embrace at him. "I'm sorry to you as well Cream."

"I don't blame you Victor." Vanilla said gently. "Why would I?" Vanilla's eyes widened when he chuckled.

"Ma'am, I don't know if the others can see it, or even if that naïve moron on the table can see it, but I can see it very clearly."

"See what?" Vanilla started blushing.

"Well Zulu mentioned to me that you two were like angels, helping him see himself as something other than a weapon. He told me he would rip my throat out if I ever hurt Cream as we walked to her school to get her. It was clear to me how much he adored her." Victor said. "Seeing Zulu and Cream interact with each other throughout the day, you love him don't you Cream?" He asked with a much gentler voice than Vanilla thought possible.

"Mmhmm." Cream nodded. "With my whole heart." She declared.

"As I thought." Victor smiled. "But you see Vanilla, at dinner I thought that you guys looked like one big happy family, and I then noticed how you were looking at Zulu, and I realized that you love him too." Vanilla made a slight gasp and put a hand to her heart.

"I-I wasn't aware you were so good at reading people." She murmured shyly.

"You love him too momma?" Cream asked excitedly.

"I do believe so darling." Vanilla sighed.

"That's why I thought you both would blame me." Victor finished. "I would understand if you did." Vanilla stood and walked over to the table Zulu was on. Gently, she caressed his cheek and admired his face. Cream hopped up and sat by his head.

"So handsome." She sighed. Victor stepped up beside her.

"I wouldn't know ma'am." He said, causing her to blush. She softly traced his jaw and brushed her fingers over his lips.

"Has he always been so reckless?" Vanilla asked.

"You could say that. He always assigned himself the most dangerous job. Always the point man, first one to take fire, first into the fray. He also made sure he was always the last man out, covering our retreat. He "died" all the time in training, but in doing so the rest of the team always made it through." He sighed. "The mission where we were ambushed was our first actual mission, with no training wheels." Victor trailed off.

"You were by his side weren't you?" Vanilla asked.

"Until I got hit. We were the last two standing. I got hit and knocked off the platform. I ran for a door to take cover. I heard him scream. It was a sound of rage and anguish. I busted through the door expecting a room to hide in but fell down a disused elevator shaft instead. Then everything exploded."

"Were you by his side today?"

"Yes. I watched his fight with the man who stabbed him. All I could do was keep shooting at the advancing troops and trust he could kill the guy."

"Well I'm putting my trust in you to keep him safe." Vanilla muttered. "Cream and I are counting on you." She looked up at Victor with pleading eyes.

"Zulu is a hard man to kill, let me tell you. He's also very determined about protecting people. I promise I will do my best to back him up, wherever he leads me." Victor saw the relief in the rabbits face as she gave him a small smile and gazed back at Zulu. "Hey, Cream." Victor said. Cream jumped slightly and looked over at him. "Come here." She gave Vanilla a questioning look. Vanilla nodded and Cream walked over to Victor. To her he was still kind of unknown and scary.

"Yes?" She asked timidly. He leaned in really close and whispered in her ear deadly serious.

"You um…haven't been attacked by any furniture or appliances today have you?" Cream snorted and started laughing. Victor smiled and gave the unconscious Zulu a wink. He wished Cream and Vanilla goodnight and left the room, headed for Tails lab.

"Still up huh?" He said to Tails as he entered the room.

"Yeah, just finalizing the results of whatever was on that knife." Tails replied tiredly.

"What have you got so far?" Victor asked, walking over beside the fox.

"It's a toxin that I haven't ever seen before. Must be something new G.U.N. is developing."

"A new toxin they're developing? Sounds bad." Victor said.

"Well I've tested for any harmful bacteria or chemicals that are usually in toxins. I've found nothing that could be really harmful."

"What?" Victor replied, more than a bit confused. "What the Hell is the point?"

"I have found a lot of chemicals that are used in sedatives and tranquilizers. My best guess is the toxin is meant to completely disable someone. The ratios of the chemicals are staggering. A normal person would have been knocked out as soon as this entered their body, and would be out for a very long time. This stuff is like a liquid coma." Tails explained.

"So that's G.U.N.'s plan. They want to neutralize us and capture us without a fight. That doesn't explain who the guy was that rushed Zulu. He moved and fought way to well for a normal person." Victor thought out loud.

"Well we should be on guard tonight. They could scramble up a team and come try and take Zulu while he's out." Tails warned.

"Don't worry, I'll stay up and be ready." Victor growled, leaving the room.

Vanilla sat by Zulu while Cream had curled up by his head. About an hour ago Zulu had developed a burning fever. Vanilla guessed his body was fighting off whatever had been forcibly put into his system and had laid a cool, wet cloth on his forehead. She had just checked his temperature and noted it was dropping back to a normal level. Vanilla wiped his brow tenderly and felt relieved. Victor had stopped by earlier to tell her that Zulu had been given a high concentration of sedatives and to expect a high fever. Victor had explained that their augmented bodies were used to many things and recovered much quicker than normal, so the sedative was not something to worry about.

She got up to get a pillow and a blanket and returned to slide it under Zulu's head. Vanilla gently lifted Zulu's head and slid the pillow underneath, lowering his head down onto it.

"You know." A weak voice croaked. "If you're gonna snap my neck, try not smelling so nice. Ruins the assassin vibe." Vanilla gasped and covered her mouth with her hands to not wake up Cream with a laughing fit. Hearing his voice flooded her with relief and joy. "That was a very feminine noise you just made." Zulu continued, too weak to open his eyes to see who he was talking too. "I'm about to get killed by a girl aren't I? Girls have cooties." He mumbled on, still a bit out of it from the remaining sedatives his body hadn't purged from his system. Vanilla dared not speak just yet, enjoying Zulu's weird conversation with his "assassin".

"Hey, you smell like someone I know." Vanilla heard him try to sniff the air. "Did you steal her perfume?" Vanilla let out a snort, unable to contain herself any longer.

"No I didn't, it's just how I smell." Vanilla replied quietly.

"Hey, I know that voice…good God…you stole Vanilla's tonsils!" Zulu accusingly declared.

"First off, you're a very strange man, second, tonsils don't work that way." Vanilla replied, trying her best not laugh. Vanilla saw Zulu slowly try and open his eyes. "Don't push yourself Zulu." She said softly.

"Look, if I'm going to Heaven, I've gotta see what you look like before you take me up there, angel." Vanilla blushed and watched as he finally cracked his eyes open.

"Well great, proof that angels exist is right in front of me and my eyes are acting like a camera trying to photograph Big Foot." Vanilla giggled at the obscure reference and saw Zulu open his eyes fully and blink a few times. He made her feel like a little girl with a crush. She found his bizarre commentary strangely cute and childish.

"Sorry Zulu, no angel, just me." She whispered.

"Vanilla?" He asked, squinting hard at her. "Dang, I'm already in Heaven then. Stupid angel." Vanilla blushed a deep red and hid her face.

"Oh please." Vanilla replied. "Hush. You need rest."

"Could I get some water?" Zulu asked.

"Of course, I'll be right back." She hurried off and returned with a glass of water. She cradled Zulu's head and slowly tilted the glass for him so he could drink.

"Ah." He sighed. "That felt good on the throat." His voice sounded much better. "How long have I been out?"

"Quite a few hours. Everyone was pretty worried." She replied.

"I'm sorry." Zulu said.

"As long as you're ok, everything is fine. Everyone else made it home without any injuries." Vanilla felt tears start running down her cheeks and she tried to muffle a sob.

"Vanilla? Are you crying?" Zulu asked. "What's wrong?" Suddenly she leaned down and hugged him, hiding her face in his chest.

"I'm…so happy…you're ok Zulu." She sobbed.

"Hey now." He said softly. "I'm not worth crying over."

"You are to me Zulu. Cream hasn't left the room since we got here, and neither have I." Vanilla replied, sitting up and wiping her eyes.

"Cream is here too? Oh geez, I must have really worried her."

"She's curled up next to your head. We were both very worried."

"Aww, she is just the sweetest thing. I really do love her. Wish I could move my head to see her."

"Yes, she is the best daughter I could have ever asked for, and well…um…" Vanilla blushed and looked away.

"I'm not sure why you're blushing, but if it's because of whatever you're looking at, remember I can't see over there."

"No, I'm blushing because…well…geez look what you've done to me. I feel like a little girl." Vanilla's cheeks grew redder and she stood up and walked out of Zulu's eyesight.

"Hey! Not fair!" Zulu said. Suddenly Vanilla reappeared, her face inches from his, filling up his entire view.

"Cream isn't the only one who loves you." She whispered, then quickly pecked him gently on the lips and vanished from his sight again. It was quiet for what felt like hours. Vanilla was started to regret her actions when Zulu started talking again.

"I know you're still here Vanilla. I must say I'm very disappointed in you. I never thought you would be the type of woman to take advantage of a completely helpless and willing man." Her ears had drooped until the last few words he said kicked in. She stood up and timidly approached the table he was on. She walked up beside where his head was and looked down at him shyly.

"W-willing?" She asked.

"I told you to warn me before you did something like that again didn't I? Sure you popped up right in my face and told me you loved me, which would be quite the warning that something was coming my way, but how about a warning for the warning nex-" Vanilla put a finger over Zulu's mouth to silence him and leaned in close to his face. She didn't say anything, just stared into his eyes. Slowly she removed her finger from his mouth and took her time admiring his features closely.

She had never really realized how handsome he was. Maybe it was her newly developed feelings of love for him that brought them to her attention. Zulu's short black hair was messy and unkempt. He had pointy ears which made him look more aggressive in her opinion. He had dark eyebrows, but they weren't thick or bushy. His jaw was strong and defined, with a five-o-clock shadow tracing it handsomely. He kept his neck clean shaven. Then she gazed into his eyes. They were such a dark brown that they looked black. What really surprised her were the flecks of bright crimson red around his pupils.

"Not to uh…spoil your moment doing, um, whatever you're doing." Zulu jarred her from her thoughts. "But um…you're really being quite a tease."

"Oh? Am I?" She leaned in, almost so their noses touched, before standing up straight. She desperately wanted to kiss him, but she felt that it wouldn't be as satisfying having their first kiss when he couldn't move at all. Still, she was enjoying torturing him. She giggled at the thought.

"You just wait." Zulu growled, his voice getting stronger.

The next morning Zulu was able to get up and walk around a bit. He walked to the hangar to find Victor and the others sparring with each other. Zulu sat down on a bench and watched, still feeling too groggy and slow to try fighting. He also wanted to give his wound time to heal. He coached and called out tips from his bench as the sparring sessions progressed through the morning. Victor ran through a rough session with Sonic, helping him to deal with aggressive opponents. Victor used Zulu's knife and Sonic was unarmed. Victor was brutal and didn't hesitate or give Sonic any mercy. Twice Victor had surprised Sonic during a pause in the fighting and "killed" him.

After all the training was done Zulu and Victor left the hangar and headed for Cream's school. Vanilla and Cream had left earlier in the morning before Zulu had woken up and he was excited to show Cream he was ok. He also had a score to settle with Vanilla. As they walked, they were unaware of a sniper who had his scope's cross hair centered on Zulu's head. He watched them walk, not moving an inch. He was in a hotel room about half a mile from where they were currently walking. He kept his sights trained on Zulu, but didn't pull the trigger. Suddenly he saw movement and sighted in on the source, about half a block behind the two men. The man sighed as he watched some spandex clad biker peddle out onto the sidewalk and ride away from Zulu and Victor.

He felt like watching these guys was pointless. They were apparently elite super soldiers, so couldn't they handle themselves? His thoughts were interrupted by a bang coming from outside his room. He heard a lot of feet running around and the occasional bang of a door being kicked open. He sprang into action, folding up his rifle's bipod and placing it inside a large case. He drew a small pistol with what looked like a harpoon jutting out of the barrel and shot it into the wall, then clipped the gun to his belt. He grabbed all his ammo and gear and threw it into the case, slamming it shut and strapping it to his back. Without hesitation he sprinted for the window and jumped, smashing through it just as his door was kicked open. The harpoon in the wall held firm as he swung into the wall of the building.

He began running down the wall and bullets started flying past him. He reached the ground and unclipped the gun from his belt, running away and leaving it hanging there. By the time the men reached the ground floor and got outside he was long gone. The gun being the only sign that the mysterious sniper had ever been there.