(A/N) Hey guys, time for the next Phase Two: Betrayal update, this time written by the fantastic anna1795, and, well, the title of this chapter says it all! Again, just a quick note letting people now that we will shortly be presenting the winners of our first Awards night, to coincide with the Roosterteeth 11-Year Anniversary, just before the launch of Red vs Blue Season 12! All those that haven't voted yet, I'd advise you to do it soon, and you can find the list of nominations either on our forum or on our website!

Enjoy!

Chapter Forty-Four – Cat Fight

Agent West Virginia

Written by anna1795

"Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them - that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like." - Lao Tzu

West Virginia liked her position leaning against the wall, especially when she was in her armour. It gave her an opportunity to relax yet stay alert, always aware of what was going on in the room she was in. At the moment, she and the other Third Wave agents were lounging around in the classroom, waiting for the Director and the Counselor to get to them on their own sweet time, thank you very much.

There wasn't much to look at; Utah was in a corner humming to himself, still bearing several cuts and bruises, having just been discharged from Recovery. Nebraska was tapping his fingers together, and Nev was trying to sit still, though West could see that she was still rather twitchy. Connecticut was…being Connecticut, just sitting in a corner silently. Kent was fiddling with some technological thingamajig in his hands (West was sure to keep a respectful distance), and Jersey and 'Rado sat relatively close to each other, but the atmosphere around them could've soured milk (as well as anyone's mood if they tried to get close).

They should get along a little better, West thought to herself. Though, even I have a problem getting along with 'Rado, and I get along with EVERYONE.West's attention flitted across the room. 'Rado should get a boyfriend. I don't know if she and Kentucky would get along well, and Utah may be a little too cute for what 'Rado wants, bless his soul. Maybe Nebraska? They seem like they'd be a good match…

In her state of moderate boredom, West's mind began to wander. There doesn't seem to be a lot of couples on the ship. I mean, aside from Boss Lady and York. Georgia's like a lost puppy with South, or maybe just lost in general. He's kind of cute, but so is 'Sota. He's a little moody for me, though. Cal is…no, I won't think about him. If I don't think about him, he can't hurt me. Who can't hurt me? Exactly, brain. So, who else is an eligible bachelor on the ship? Alaska? No, he's a bit creepy. Florida? I don't think so, he's a bit old. Wyoming? Funny moustache, and he tells jokes, but I don't think Virgie would approve.

North?

West's mind froze at the mention of the nice blonde man that had shown her around the ship on her first day and personally pointed her to where she would sleep. He was good natured, calm, he could keep a level head, liked Grifball, and seemed to be a very skilled agent. A little too calm for me, but maybe I could try it out? I'll run it by Virgie later, after the meeting.

The door opened behind her, and everyone turned around and stood up as the Director walked down the stairs with the Counselor following like a faithful hound. Right behind them, West was rather confused to see Carolina, Georgia, South, and Minnesota floating into the room as well. What're they doing here? West asked herself as she took a seat and 'Sota sat next to her, exchanging a respectful nod. I guess they're just here to check on…whatever the Director called us here for. Maybe this Leaderboard that everyone's been talking about?

"Agents," the Director started, and everyone's attention was suddenly riveted to his words (in West's case, though, more to his shiny glasses). "Today, you'll be introduced, or reintroduced as the case may be, to our Leaderboard–"

Called it, West thought

"– a system used to track your progress in Project: Freelancer. Now that our Third Wave of Freelancers have served on their first missions, they have now earned their place. Generally, the Leaderboard will only display the names of the six highest ranking agents, but given that this is, for many of you, your first introduction, it will display all names briefly. In the future, the only full leaderboards will be the one in the cafeteria, or the ones present on your data-pads. Counsellor, the Board."

The Counsellor typed something on that data-pad that was permanently glued to his hand, and a screen at the front of the room blossomed to life with a flash of blue light, complete with a long list of people, symbols, and numbers.

1: Carolina

2: York

3: Wyoming

4: Virginia

5: North

6: South

7: Alaska

8: Maine

9: Florida

10: California

11: Minnesota

12: Georgia

13: New Jersey

14: Colorado

15: West Virginia

16: Nebraska

17: Kentucky

18: Connecticut

19: Utah

20: Nevada

The reactions were instantaneous: South got a very nasty look on her face, like she had just smelled something foul; Nevada got even more twitchy, and her head ducked down at the sight of the 20 by her name; Jersey seemed to brighten up at her placement, and 'Rado was practically boiling; Carolina seemed calm and satisfied, still in her Number One spot (West wondered briefly if it had always been that way). She turned her head to see Georgia smile and shake his head ruefully, apparently unconcerned by his position. Right next to her, Minnesota squeezed his hands together, and his jaw clenched.

West just felt a warm glow of pride in her heart; third place in the Third Wavers wasn't bad by any means, and her sister was fourth overall. They were already beginning to make a name for themselves.

The Director was saying a little more about the top six and where the leaderboards were located on the ship, but West wasn't really paying too much attention anymore. She just moved with the crowd as they finally stood up and left the room. She took the stairs two at a time, and decided on a whim to catch up with Jersey and 'Rado, who were walking together back to their room and not speaking a word to each other. It might help if she tried to strike up a conversation with them.

"Congrats on your position, Jersey!" West said excitedly to the robot-armed woman, startling her slightly as West fell into step between her and 'Rado. "You too, 'Rado! Second is pretty impressive."

"Thanks," Jersey said, flashing a smile at West and making West's warm glow in her heart brightened. She loved to make people smile.

'Rado glowered at West, and the fire inside died a little bit. "I'm not second, you twit. I'm fourteenth. Are you dyslexic, too? Or just dense?"

West didn't see why 'Rado was being so sour. "You're second in the Third Wavers, and that's really good, though," she tried to point out, hoping to put 'Rado in perspective.

"Look at it in the bigger picture, blondie," 'Rado retorted with a snap. "We suck. We're at the bottom of the barrel. I'm fourteenth, and you're fifteenth."

"Did you really expect us to rank up there with everyone else who has more experience?" West was genuinely curious; she wasn't trying to be mean, and she certainly wasn't dyslexic, or dense. "I think it's pretty good that we're as close as we are to ranking up there with the other guys. We'll get up there before you know it!"

They were at the locker room, ready to change out of their armour and into civvies. 'Rado rounded on West as soon as they got inside. "I might have a fair chance at making it into the top, but the Board is a fluke. There's no way in hell that the cyborg over there is going to get into the top ten, much less you."

"I'm right here, you know," Jersey said wryly, but 'Rado ignored her.

"Colorado, you're being unfair to the rest of us," West tried to protest. 'Rado was being a borderline bully in the aftermath of the Leaderboard. "We'll all have our chance with more missions and such. We don't have enough experience under our belts, yet."

"Some of us have to work harder than others," 'Rado sneered, and West cocked her head. "Oh my god, you really are that dense!"

"What're you talking about?" West asked, hoping that this wasn't going where it was going. 'Rado had made that jab before, but she was hoping that she didn't bring it up again. West didn't like chalking up points against people.

"You really think that you made it here on skills alone?" 'Rado asked, but West had a feeling that she wasn't looking for an answer. "Because I don't think so, and I'm sure that you know it too. You're an object of favouritism, or really, nepotism, aren't you?"

West had to fight the urge not to bristle, and just smiled at 'Rado. "I don't think so. I'm not the best fighter, but I can hold my own. I'm happy with my position."

"You're not the least bit concerned that you weren't ranked first?" 'Rado sneered at her. "Or a little higher among everyone else? You have the connections, you know. I'm surprised that you didn't use them to make up for your pathetic lack of any common sense or survival instincts."

"Colorado: 2," West thought to herself, somewhat regretfully, yet with a rather sadistic hint of glee. At least she'd have a reason to beat 'Rado to a pulp if the need came for it. "I'm not looking to be the best, I'm just looking to help people out by being here."

"West just wanted to congratulate you for being second among the recruits," Jersey cut in, stepping forward after stripping out of her armour. "God forbid someone tries to do something nice for you."

'Rado looked about ready to explode, and she gave a humourless laugh. "Oh, second among the recruits. I'm so flattered to be ahead of some techies, a crazy-ass explosives expert, a fucking overly nice guy, and a blonde who always seems to be hyped on caffeine. Unlike the rest of you, I find FOURTEENTH to be unacceptable."

"Then go ahead and go for first," West said. "Just don't look a gift horse in the mouth. I'm just trying to be nice to you."

"Here's a fact, sweetie," 'Rado said with a voice like poisoned honey, "you don't survive a war by being nice. Then again, I don't expect someone to understand that who has the mental capacity of a donkey."

"Colorado: 3."

"Don't talk to your teammate like that," Jersey protested, smacking the back of Colorado's head.

'Rado rounded on Jersey then. "Oh, I'm SORRY for having ambition. Besides the fact that I could take the entire Second Wave in my sleep, and the Firsts are down to six people, I expect to be at the top of the board in no time."

"You've got a lot of competition in your way, though," West pointed out, trying to be polite.

"Oh yeah," 'Rado sniffed. "A soulless ginger, her faithful fucktoy, the screwball Monopoly guy, an angsty, anorexic recluse, and the Wonder Twins. That's going to be SO difficult." She stepped forward and jabbed West painfully in the chest. "If you have no ambition, the exit's right there. Two less roadblocks in the way. My obligations as a teammate only go so far, and I'm not here to be nice. Besides, if two of the best Freelancer agents were killed by some two-bit traitors and a crazy Innie leader, I don't think the Top Six are going to be much of a challenge."

"And that's five points right there." West was not too happy with 'Rado by this point, and she let it be known.

"We're supposed to be working as a team here, you know," West stepped forward, and 'Rado took a step back. "I don't care if you're mean to me, even when I'm trying my best to be nice to you. Still, you should at least RESPECT the viewpoints of the rest of us, and not get all bitchy that we're happy with where we're at right now. We all have earned our place here, and you shouldn't go stomping on all of our efforts like that. SHUT UP AND LISTEN, SHORTIE!" she shouted in 'Rado's face, when the shorter woman looked like she was going to argue.

She felt a little bad that she had called Colorado 'Shortie', but West clearly wasn't in the best mood at the moment. "Also, how can you say that about the dead?! Have you no shame? They died trying to stop a threat against us. You saw Arkansas and Penn in that video, and you've never even met them. They're serious bad news, and we should be working to stop them, not belittling them and ending up dead and useless because we didn't know any better."

"The fact that I'm here and they're not says a lot about them," Colorado retorted, just as heatedly, getting all up in West's face. "I'm ready to take down Ark and Penn, and I'm not gonna let something as petty as 'friendship' get in the way of doing my job. When we finally get out in the field, I'll be sure to introduce myself before I put a bullet between their eyes, blondie."

"That's enough!" Jersey shouted, forcing her way between the two women. "West, you can get on out of here. Fighting isn't gonna help you at all. I'll deal with 'Rado."

West was all too happy to let Jersey take on her fuming roommate, and she finally tossed her helmet into her locker before slamming it shut and starting to walk away. "Thanks, Jersey," she said as she passed and made her way to the door.

"That's right!" 'Rado jeered after her. "You know that I'm right, but you're too scared to face it, coward!" That did it for West. She turned on her heel, chalked up a sixth point in her head, and punched 'Rado square in the face without a warning. The dark-haired woman reeled back from the blow, but West hurried out of the room before either she or Jersey could stop her.

As soon as the door closed behind her, West saw that a couple of people had been leaning against the wall beside the door; North and York were in some sort of mumbled, nonsense conversation, and Utah was just his vacant-smiled self. "I'm guessing you heard all that?" she asked, trying to plaster a smile on her face.

"What, you mean the catfight between the top three agents of the Third Wave?" York asked with a raised eyebrow. "I think even the Director heard it from here."

"Right…" West rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry about that."

"Hey, you don't have to be sorry," North said, heading the group as they made their way through the hallway and away from the shouting of Jersey and 'Rado. "She just doesn't understand, I guess."

"I hope that's all that it is," West said, sighing, scratching at the rubber undersuit she wore.

"West?" Utah asked in his gentle voice, and she looked up into the sparkly, innocent blue eyes of the behemoth. "Being ranked third is a good thing, y'know. You are a good Freelancer, and we all know that."

West bumped playfully against Utah's arm. "Thanks, Utah. Good to know not everyone's like 'Rado!" she replied in a matter of fact voice. Utah looked slightly preoccupied, but he still smiled.

"She's just…not confident. Needs to prove herself against the rest of us. Insecure," the tall blonde muttered.

"Well, that's just stupid," West said to Utah, reaching up to rub his muscular shoulder. "We're all here for a reason, every one of us. I'm stealthy, Neb's a great shot, you've got your strength. You're just like a big grizzly bear…you know, with armour and holding a gun, and you kill aliens."

"You think that I'm like a bear?" Utah asked West, and his voice sounded somewhere between confused and amused. She responded with a happy smile and a nod. "Then you're a cat. Small, fluffy, easily excited and always getting into fights."

"Meow!" West responded jokingly, rolling her eyes, and Utah seemed to chuckle. However, they both almost bumped into York and North's backs when they stopped at the rec room. North seemed shocked and almost frightened.

"Kent?" he asked cautiously, while West peered over his broad shoulder. "What're you doing?"

The green-armoured agent was standing back and holding a remote with a single red button. On the door of the Rec Room, copious amounts of putty held a giant jury-rigged bomb with lots of wires sticking out. "The door won't open!" The boombringer whined. "Stand back! I can't get it open any other way!"

"Hold up," York said quickly, approaching the bomb specialist. "Let me take a crack at it before you go blowing the ship up."

"You're no fun," Kent groused good naturedly as York approached the keypad and began hacking it to get the door open. "There's someone in there; I heard stuff scraping around."

"Well, this should…there," York said as the keypad blinked green. "That'll get it open. Would you mind taking your bomb off the door so that we can get in and watch some Grifball?"

"I'm sure Georgia will like it," Kent said as he peeled the putty away and deactivated the bomb. York keyed the door open, and they all stepped inside before freezing. The room had been prepared for the night's Grifball match: the two opposing teams' posters lined opposite sides of the room, the TV had been flipped to the IGL channel, there were two ice-filled buckets of beer, and a coffee-table had been set out with bowls of snack mixes. No one else was in the room, however.

"What a spread!" North cheered as he plopped down on the couch, grabbing a bottle of beer for himself. "Whoever did this really knew what they were doing."

"Who could've done it, though?" Kent asked as he looked over the Slipspace and Majestic posters. "I don't think the Director would be the one to set it up."

"Maybe it was a ghost?" York suggested while chuckling, downing a beer in one go. "The ghost of Majestic's winning streak. Oooohhhh…"

"It's obvious that Slipspace is gonna win tonight," North agreed. "They've really been upping their game this season."

"No way!" Kent protested. "Majestic's got this one in the bag!"

While the guys started arguing about the two teams, West was taking a look around the room. It was nearly spotless, everything in perfect order, and had been set up when no one was looking. On a whim, she looked up at the ceiling tiles, and noticed that one panel had been moved slightly from a faint scratch on the side. "I'll be right back," she called to them. "I've got to change into my Grifball clothes. By the way, if we're starting a betting pool, my money's on Slipspace."

She ducked out of the room and started jogging away before anyone could start arguing with her, and West made it back to her room, passing by Minnesota and Maine on their way to the game. She keyed open the door and rushed inside while pulling off her suit. Virginia was lying on her stomach on the bed, writing up a report.

"Nice job on your placing," Virginia said in a somewhat preoccupied voice when West got inside and started stripping.

"Thanks," West thanked her sister happily. "You too. It's nice to see you in the Top Six."

"Yeah, I guess," Virginia mumbled, continuing her rapid typing. She looked extremely absorbed in her work, and West took the opportunity to go to the small chalkboard on the wall by her bed. Colorado's name was already on there, and she added five tally marks beside the agent's name.

"What did she do this time?"

"Hmm?" West hummed as she looked to her sister while searching through the haphazard pile of clothes at the foot of her bed.

"Colorado," Virginia asked. "What did she do this time? That's the most points I've seen you add to a person's name in a long time."

"Oh, you know," West shrugged, pulling on an oversized jersey and a pair of short shorts before listing them off on her fingers: "Nepotism again, insulting my intelligence, insulting you and the Top Six, insulting the dead, and calling me a coward."

Virginia finally looked up from her data-pad. "Wow… what a bitch."

"You have no idea," West deadpanned, taking a look at the ceiling. "You wanna come watch some Grifball with the guys?"

"No thanks," Virginia politely declined, turning back to her work. "I've got to get this done for the Director, then I've got training for the rest of the night."

"Don't overwork yourself," West said. "Anyways, I gotta run. Before I go, though, do you think I have a shot with North?"

Virginia's head snapped up so fast, West thought that it might pop off. "What?"

"You know," West said casually while going to the door and sliding on a pair of flip flops. "He's smart, calm, and a cutey. Do you think that I have a shot?"

"Uh…" Wow, that was a weird reply. Virginia very rarely said "uh".

"You think about it," West finished hurriedly. "Anyways, good night!" West shut the door behind her and left her sister alone. It was a very weird reaction on Virginia's part; whenever West asked her something, her older sister usually was able to muster up an intelligent response. Was something going on between the two?

Whatever the case, West decided to leave her sister alone. She was probably very tired from hauling beers and crawling through the ceiling, anyways.