"How is she doing?" Kuro asks, having returned from getting supplies.

Whisper raises a closed eye eyebrow as she flips through an old book. She then nods her head to the side, and Kuro looks over to his left and sees the wall before noticing it looks…off-center. "Improvements. But I do want to try recommendations and…what are you doing?" she bluntly asks as she sees Kuro sitting behind her and pulling her into his lap. "You hope to embarrass her out of that?" she asks, turning her head towards the snarky wolf.

"No. I Just wanted to hold you," Kuro says, leaning onto the crook of her neck and just smiles.

Whisper hums before going back to her book. "Well, I hope you have done what you wanted to do. But I want you to stay for a while. Let the heat outside die down before going again, and…do not say a thing," she says after a while and can feel his smirk on his muzzle.

"Whisper, are you ready to kill?" Kuro asks her after a while.

Whisper closes her book suddenly and softly sighs. "Why?"

"I found signs he is on the continent now," Kuro informs and feels her fur start to stand on end.

Whisper keeps trying to take steady breaths, falling into a pattern. "Kuro, you better not be lying, and it is true."

"I wouldn't lie or tease about this, but if he is here, he is hunting for you and must be terrified," Kuro says with a predator-like smile.

Whisper flicks her tail, hitting his chest and muzzle. "Easy. You can never underestimate every enemy."

"Think about it. Why would he come, but not by official transfer? According to the database, he is a glorified clerk. Also, Eggman thinks all the Diamond Cutters are dead. If one is alive, then it means he lied to Eggman. That would make it seem like he is a double agent," Kuro points out.

Whisper takes another deep breath before stopping as she feels some hands around her muzzle. She slowly moves her head towards Tangle, who came out of hiding and seemed to be having a worried expression on her face as she gently holds her friend. "Yes…that is correct," Whisper answers after a while.

"Let's make him squirm," Kuro says, smirking as he already is coming up with plans in his head.

Tangle smiles as she sits on her legs while grabbing Whisper's hands. Whispers let out a smile before sighing. "You lost. Again," she notes, and Tangle shrugs.

"Alright, Tangle, I have an easy assignment for you. Whisper will go along to provide cover and grade you," Kuro informs.

Tangle smiles as her tail coils around behind her. "Sure. What is it?"

"Here is a map," Kuro says, handing her a map. "And here is what you are planting," Kuro adds, pulling out a briefcase that neither girl ever noticed he had.

Tangle hums before leaning over, placing both arms beside Whisper and leaning past her. "What's the catch?" she asks, winking at the alpha.

"Read the notes on the map, and you will see," Kuro informs.

Tangle hums and looks over the map while Kuro pulls Whisper out of the trap between them. "I assume you are enjoying yourself?" Whisper asks as she returns to her book, waiting for the time to head out. She then feels her tail stiffen up as a hand runs along her tail. Each stroke gets closer to her ass while she tries to wiggle away.

"I will be back later," Kuro whispers into her ear before blinking away.

Whisper grunts as she falls on the bed. She then looks up at Tangle as she finishes reading the map. "Our alpha wants you to do an important job. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, I do. I am to set up the cameras in this briefcase without being noticed, and they are near or will be watching egg army facilities," Tangle informs.

"Man, Kuro is causing a headache for us. Storm, you sure he isn't from some secret hidden ninja village. As we can find nothing on his past beyond a certain point," Abyss complains while also inquiring.

Storm scoffs. "I am sure. He does not have the finesse of a shinobi. He has the movements of a thief," she responds, leaning on an arm. 'Well, he does have some aspects, but it's like adapting techniques and stuff, but nothing like formal training.'

"I know thief movements, and he isn't quite like that," Abyss says, thinking aloud.

Infinite lightly taps her claw against the desk, floating in the air because of her almost endless power pool. "It is a mercenary. A mix of honor to money and thief skills," she remarks while looking over the information in her mask.

"Have you heard of him, oh Ultimate mercenary?" Abyss asks, a bit sarcastic.

Infinite growls inside her mask as she turns a glowing eye mask towards her. "Why not go fuck him and find out more again?"

"Because he is very tight-lipped," Clove informs.

Storm blows out air while leaning back in her seat. "He doesn't even brag about himself. You think he would."

"I know one thing about him that all of you most likely don't. He is hurting inside very badly. He has lost a lot of people and hasn't healed properly. I found him while he was in mourning. Drinking heavily and even breaking down and crying," Clove informs.

All the girls slowly stop and then turn to Clove. Clove feels the stares before she turns to look at them all. "There's a break. Who was he mourning?" Abyss asks.

"No, you misunderstood something Clove. He isn't hurt badly. He is broken inside," Infinite says after a bit of thinking on it.

Clove raises an eyebrow at her. "And how would you know that without seeing him like that?"

"Because of when we fought. His eyes. I have only seen such dead eyes a few times amongst those looking for a place to die. Whatever happened to him, he might be beyond fixing," Infinite informs.

Things are silent in the room as Storm turns her gaze to the door. She somehow feels that Cassia is listening in along with some bubbling tea on a tray. Or rather, she hears them. It isn't until Abyss takes a small breath and sighs. "Fuck Infinite. Maybe you should talk to him."

"If I do, we might kill each other," Infinite informs. 'I don't want to admit it, but I know he was holding back. If he had wanted to, he could have killed me several times. I don't know how, but his eyes told me as much and my instincts as well.'

"Cause you are both wolves?" Abyss remarks, wondering if that is partly a species' thing on top of the mental limit.

"I am not a wolf," Infinite growls.

Abyss scoffs, holding up her hands. "Excuse me bitch," she mutters, looking to the side annoyed.

"You are excused for being a breeding bitch," Infinite fires back.

Abyss frowns and glares at her. "At least I got some. And what about you? You got heat on your mind?" she shoots back.

"She got her ass beat is what happened," Storm informs.

Infinite growls as a cube forms instinctively near her head. "Watch your tongue. For once, I didn't lose multiple times for a week on end."

"Did any of you beat him at all?" Clove points out, taking the tea as Cassia finally walks in.

No one speaks up before Cassia clears her throat, catching her sister's attention. "I beat him at a video game a few times. He doesn't have it that fast," she remarks.

"Video games don't count in this situation," Clove says, not dignifying that by looking at her.

Cassia looks downtrodden now as her ears become limp beside her head. "He said it was amazing I beat him," she mutters.

"His ability is incredibly troublesome to deal with. And the doctor still hasn't come up with a counter to keep him out of anywhere," Abyss says, remembering how he escaped her base.

"There, there, Cassia. I still think you're amazing," Kuro says, patting her head before blinking away.

Everyone looks over, shocked, before calming down. "I think we all need a nap," Clove groans, finally relaxing back into her seat.

"You know I wouldn't put it past him if he actually did that. He likes screwing with people's heads. Not to mention he has a knack for infiltration," Abyss says as Storm nods at that.

Cassia perks up a little and wonders about that part. She then takes a cookie off her tray and holds it up beside her. Infinite notices the move, and, in one blink of an eye, the cookie disappears. "He is defiantly fucking with us," Infinite remarks as Cassia looks all over her hand and arm for the missing cookie.

"…he is in the building…why is the alarm not going off?" Abyss asks, hitting the alarm button, but it's not working.

Storm scoffs. "Fucking things never work with him. He can easily turn it around on us if he wanted," she notes before tossing a paper towel in the air behind her, and it disappears in the air. A piece of paper then appears and drops in her lap, written with the words 'Thank you.'

"So you sure you are not married to him?" Abyss teases.

"Help! Intruder in the arg!" Mordred's voice came over the intercom and followed by the sound of getting beaten.

Cassia looks around the room and sees no one bothering to get up. "Wow. You guys really do find that reptile annoying," Cassia says, and Clove scoffs at that remark.

"I actually find use in one of his officers for an antenna tower idea and make it look like a tree," Infinite speaks up, not bothering to hide her contempt for Mordred.

"No, please! Not the chair!" Mordred calls before the sound of smashing furniture is heard.

"I am interested in this idea for a tree tower. It could be useful for my clan and territory," Storm says, now thinking about it as she looks up at the ceiling.

"Wonder what did he do to get Kuro's attention like this?" Clove asks offhandedly.

"Didn't you have a snake bastard EMPing your base and you and Cassia?" Abyss reminds.

"Yep, I hit him with the cinnamon spray in my weapons," Cassia says happily.

Clove chuckles. "She is still proud of that. And the other troops love hearing it."

"So who do you think will take over this region if he offs Mordred?" Abyss asks.

"My money is on some clerk…we should probably make sure that they didn't help him bypass or anything," Clove says.

"Should we go check now?" Cassia, as they still hear the beatdown.

"My blood! He punched out my blood!" Mordred cries in pain.

"Eh," most of the room says indifferently.

"Not the sandwich!"

Cassia raises an eyebrow and looks at the girls again.

"Attention everyone. This is an important announcement," Mordred says over the intercom before the tone dramatically changed. "I just wanted to let you all know. I. Am. A. Low born. Gutter. Bitch," Mordred says, his tone all over the place.

"He's fine," Clove mutters, leaning on her arm.

"So…how can he access Mordred's terminal?" Cassia asks.

"…five more minutes," Infinite says.

"Ok, what news do you want first?" Clove asks, looking through the terminal unlocked to the three egg bosses as Mordred was carried out on a stretcher as he seems like Kuro has tied him into a literal knot.

"Bad," Storm and Infinite speaks up.

"Looks like he did have help. I am seeing signs of an infiltrator in our system with access clearance," Clove informs them.

"Has to be the resistance then," Abyss notes while looking over the screen and sees a few specific folders before sighing. "Reptile deserved it."

"And the good?" Cassia asks.

"It seemed he was more interested in beating Mordred than using the terminal," Clove informs.

"Yay," Storm says bored, and waves a finger in the air.

"There is one file he accessed through. The Diamond Cutters," Clove says, bringing up the file.

"Shit…" Abyss notices while Cassia looks at the screen and sees a group photo of a few different characters huddling together for the image.

"I know of them. High-risk missions. All anti-Eggman," Infinite says.

"Status dead," Cassia comments.

"Then why the fuck is he familiar?" Storm asks, pointing at the octopus one on the side.

"Wait…I know him. Mimic there turned tra…wait a minute," Infinite says as gears start turning in their heads.

"I am back. How did your assignment go?" Kuro asks the two girls.

"She did well enough," Whisper informs as Tangle looks proud.

"Let's check then," Kuro says, bringing up his laptop and starts to connect, and six videos begin to be pulled up. "Alright, good placement, the sun isn't blinding it. Alright, you pass your test," Kuro says in a congratulating tone that Tangle smiles from the praise. "Now, we will continue to work on that, but we will also switch your training up now. Hand to hand training with me and Whisper starting in the morning," Kuro informs.

"What are you going to do tonight then?" Whisper asks.

"Going to go hunting for something. You're on monitor duty," Kuro informs, smirking before blinking away again.

Mimic frowns as he can not get into the local eggnet as they had put it on alert. Sure he could have accessed it with his identification, but the last thing he wants is to be showing up in this region. Because of that, he is disguised as a shepherd dog walking around. Maybe, with it, he can infiltrate the local resistance. So that's why he is starting from a black market in a crowded alley. If you want to get lost, this is the place to do so.

"Hi, dead man walking," Kuro says, walking past Mimic.

Mimic stops dead as he turns and looks at whoever said that. But the owner of the voice has disappeared into the hustle and bustle of the crowd. He frowns as he continues walking, trying to find some resistance-looking members to deal with to get in the inner circle.

"Look lively. We got an egg army spy amongst us," Mimic hears as he keeps walking. Now he is uneasy. How did they know is he…wait, someone had called him a dead man walking. Mimic, for the first time in a long while, starts to feel afraid, like some predator is stalking him, waiting for the right moment. He had to get out of here now. Mimic hastens his pace as he walks, using a lot of his old infiltration trick, changing his form a few times, and doubling back.

After a while, he enters a parking lot now disguised as a squirrel. He is about to start picking the lock on a car when he hears the sound of a knife sounding like it was being sharpened behind him. "Well, well, well," the same voice from before says.

Mimic stops as he picks his head up and turns around. A figure is leaning against one of the supports while sharpening his claw with a knife. "Fuck…" Minic whispers as he grabs one of the knives buried in his clothes hiddenly.

"Hello, dead man, or would you prefer Mimic?" Kuro asks.

Minic frowns as he drops his disguise. He finds no need for it now since this one knows his true identity as he always has a changed name to go with his disguises. "I rather kill a bitch than a bastard."

"Oh, so yourself," Kuro fires back.

Mimic growls as he tries to look around him without moving too much. As he sees hardly any escape attempts besides jumping out the window, he speaks up and says, "You know where that bitch is…" he declares before choking as Kuro has grabbed him by the throat.

"You don't need to think about Whisper. As I am the one who set you up to come here," Kuro says, tightening his grip to reinforce the point. "That message from Mordred? That was me hacking into his profile and sending you the message. To lure your bitchass out of hiding," Kuro informs, his claws digging into Mimic's flesh quickly from how sharp they were.

Minic chokes, grabbing Kuro's wrist and hand. He painfully tries to pull Kuro's hand apart, but they wouldn't budge as his neck starts to bleed and drip down, soaking into his clothes.

"Now, here is the deal. I hold your life in my hands in multiple ways. The first, well, it's self-evident, don't you think?" Kuro asks, reaching into Mimic's clothes and pulls out his hidden knives. "The second is I can upload your betrayal to Eggman's terminal whenever I want. If you leave the region, then I will send that info. You hurt Whisper, and I will break you. So your only chance is to try and come after me directly. Game on," Kuro informs before headbutting the octopus mobium, knocking him out, and tosses his form onto the concrete floor before blinking away.

Mimic groans as he holds his neck before slamming a fist into the ground. "Bitch must have gotten more help now," he spits before hearing nothing but the wind. He thought for sure that this guy would come back just for calling Whisper a bitch. "Going to be a paranoid month."

"It will as I will be watching," Kuro says before blinking away again as he wants to make Mimic think he hears things.

'Damn,' Mimic thinks as he pulls himself to his feet once again.

"Whisper, I have something for you," Kuro says, blinking into their base. In his claw is a bottle.

Whisper slowly looks over at the wolf before sighing and turning back to the terminal. "A wine run. Perfect," she voices while Tangle looks apologetically at the two.

"Nope, I got your favorite," Kuro says, showing her the vodka in his claw.

Whisper turns her head toward the bottle before looking at the pushy wolf. "Are you trying to get me drunk?"

"It's a reward. Also, your shift is over. I am on next monitor duty," Kuro says, smirking at her.

Whisper seems to stare at him with her eyes closed before getting up and walking away. Kuro smiles even brighter as she takes the bottle and is already opening the drink once out the door. "At least that is sorted. She wouldn't sleep to let me take watch," Tangle remarks, walking up beside Kuro.

"You best sleep too. I am not going to take it easy on you tomorrow," Kuro informs.

Tangle tries to smile, leaning over to him. "Are you sure? You seem like you want company tonight," she notices and sees his smirk.

"Oh, trust me, I got all the entertainment I need," Kuro informs as a bear enters one of the videos, and he smirks, spying claw marks on its throat.

Tangle keeps smiling before sighing. "Alright. I was planning on keeping you company tonight. But it can be tomorrow," she says teasingly while walking away. Tangle giggles before yelping when she feels her tail pulled enough that it snaps back into her ass. "Yeow!" Tangle groans and rubs her sore ass before looking at the grinning Kuro. "Tease," she scolds.

"You love it," Kuro counters.

Tangle grumbles as she hears snickering while she leaves the room. "So even serious, he's a horny wolf," she mutters under her breath.

"I heard that!" Kuro calls after her.

"Again," Kuro says, having knocked Tangle onto the ground for what felt like the hundredth time that morning.

Tangle groans, picking herself up. "Fucking bastard," she mutters and wipes her muzzle before getting into a stance again.

"If this move out does you, then you stand no chance against Infinite, and gods help you if it is Storm," Kuro informs, sweeping her legs.

Whisper reads from a book as Tangle cries out and ends up being tossed to the other side of the room. "Or any other army member," she adds.

"Eurish is the bottom of the barrel when it comes to the egg army, though," Kuro reminds.

"Still, carelessness gets you nowhere but the dirt," Whisper seems to recite.

"Or ten feet into it," Kuro adds.

Tangle groans, picking herself up off the ground. "Yeah. Yeah. I got it."

"Good," Kuro says before dodging her tail attack. "You're getting quicker, at least."

"I will get you eventually," Tangle growls, getting back into a fighting stance.

"In a few years maybe," Whisper points out.

"Ok, I think I have gotten a handle on your center of gravity and reaction speed now. Show me your stance and hold it," Kuro instructs.

Tangle looks at herself before spreading her legs and then holds up her arms. Her tail even coils behind her, ready for a strike. She quickly sees Kuro blink beside her and tries to kick her down flat on her face, but she steels herself and uses her tail to deflect it. She even uses her arm and flicks off a strike from her other side when Kuro blinks onto her other side.

"Ok, now we work on your stance a bit more," Kuro says, lightly chopping her head when he blinks behind her.

Tangle moans, holding her head and rubbing it. "Ow."

"Should have grabbed her tail and pulled," Whisper points out.

Kuro smirks over to the busy wolf. "If I do that, she will keep trying to jump my bones."

"Yes, and how is that any different from normal?" Whisper asks.

Kuro chuckles. "Simple. She doesn't get any work done."

"Speaking of work. Are we going to do anything today?" Tangle asks, still rubbing her head.

"Yes. Whisper, you are going to need to do some sniping," Kuro informs, and their wisps fly towards her. "Cause some confusion with the destruction of some badniks."

Whisper looks up before jumping off her seat. "Okay. Simple enough."

"Tangle, watch the place. We will be back soon. After we level a factory," Kuro informs.

Tangle stretches while watching them grab their gear. "Okay. But I will be bored. Don't be surprised to see some stuff in our place."

"Don't worry, we won't say anything if you get your porn collection out," Whisper says before the two blinks away.

Tangle blushes and rolls her eyes before taking a quick look around. She then slowly slinks away, finding her room and digging into her bed. "Hello, private time," she says happily, taking out a magazine and opening it up.

"On a scale of one to ten, how romantic is this?" Kuro asks sarcastically as they watch the automated ammo factory go up in flames.

Whisper slowly moves her mask to the side before taking out a bottle. Kuro chuckles as he hears the vodka bottle pop open before Whisper gulps it away. "Two," she mutters, taking a deep breath after drinking a few gulps.

"Yeah, not all that well with our relationship, but then again? Can you tell me that we could live 'normal' lives after all?" Kuro asks.

Whisper takes another long gulp and throws her head back to drink most of it before coming back forward. Kuro watches Whisper stare straight into the fire and doesn't say anything for a while now. Any visible part of her face doesn't seem troubled, but Kuro can sense she doesn't want to jinx anything by talking about it.

"Ran into him already. I gave him a warning of what would happen if he tries anything with us," Kuro says, hearing someone nearby. Whisper says nothing as he is sending a message to her mask via his eyewear. 'We got someone listening in. I am sure it is Storm or Infinite listening in. Let's screw over Mimic a bit.'

Whisper sputters out some of the drink. She groans, wiping her muzzle with an arm as she leans back on her spot on the old bench. "Mimic fucked up," she huffs, almost hating the name now.

"Yeah, little bitch thinking he can play both sides and say he supported whoever comes out on top, but we know what that betraying scumbag has done," Kuro says, showing a lot of hate in his expression and the two talk hinting that Mimic is a traitor until they got up and left.

"Damn," someone mutters before Storm lands on a branch. She then looks at Infinite as she hovers out of the tree leaves. "Mimic is a problem."

"…he has gone missing and has been for a while. Enough time to coincide with the hacks into the system, and his job and rank give him some access. Combine that with hacking; he could easily do what has been done," Infinite informs after searching and gathering information on him and checking his access powers.

Storm sighs as she watches the two walk away in the distance. "Now we have to keep an eye on Mimic. There is no other choice. Especially if Eggman finds out and we ignored it."

"Eye on? I think we should just kill him now. We know he is a traitor and, from the sounds of it, one of the reasons Kuro there is our enemy right now," Infinite informs, not liking how this keeps reminding her more and more of her past.

Storm is silent as she considers this. "For once, I agree, but for now, we can't just kill another ourselves without proof," Storm begrudgingly admits.

"We are back," Kuro calls as he blinks into their hideout with Whisper.

Tangle jumps in her seat. She quickly shuts off the computer and rushes over to the doorway. "Hey…guys…" she greets nervously as she leans against the door.

"We don't care what porn you were looking up. Now we need to plan," Kuro says before his communicator goes off. "Kuro here, Sally," Kuro answers.

"Hey, we are preparing a mission for you and your team. We will need you in about two months. Can you make it?" Sally asks.

Kuro smiles as he walks away to speak a little better. At the same time, Whisper takes the chance to see what Tangle is looking up. Whisper raises an eyebrow with her eyes closed before turning to look at the embarrassed lemur as she pushes her fingers together. "Yeah. I can. We are almost done here anyway," Kuro replies as he walks past and sees that Tangle got interested in some wolf guys. He snickers silently, and Tangle blushes brighter at him, laughing at her.

"Also, can you tell Tailsko she has someone who just joined her hobby?" Kuro says to Sally.

"Uhh…sure," Sally agrees, confused about that part. "Also, do pick up chocolates for all of us. We are wondering how it tastes over there."

"The taste is exaggerated," Kuro says blandly as Whisper giggles at that.

Tangle blinks as she watches the bitch giggled happily behind her hands before seeing Tangle's reaction and stops, coughing a little to hide it all. "Right. Pick it up anyway. Didn't Tailsko ask you to grab some too?" Sally asks.

"I don't know. Did you Tailsko? I mean, you could talk as I know you are eavesdropping on this," Kuro says.

Tangle leans over to hear before Tailsko says, "I know about Tangle's search history. Not hard when I have access to make sure no traitors after all. By the way, Tangle, try the second and third sites next time. As for candy, yeah. I did ask. Plus, I'm dead bored, you jackass!" she screeches and makes the speaker ring.

"Love you, and Whisper misses you," Kuro says, smirking, picturing the pouting fox girl.

"Horny wolf," Tailsko mutters over the call as they hear Sally sigh tiredly.

"You want to talk about being tired, Sally? I got Infinite, Storm, Clove, Cassia, and Abyss all in this region all at once. So can you tell me some good news as I got half of all the egg bosses occupied here?" Kuro asks.

"We have cookies?" Sally offers almost sarcastically. But Kuro looks at their makeshift dining table on top of a crate and sees the empty plate of what used to be cookies. "It's borderline trouble here, Kuro. I am coordinating a massive strike with at least five different groups at once on a high valued station. So don't tell me you have it rougher," she scolds and hears a hard clunk from what Kuro assumes to be her foot against a metal wall.

"Wait, what about Mordred? He is the egg boss of that re…oh," Tailsko starts before he sends both of them an image of what he did to the snake egg boss.

"Yeah, I don't think he will be in any condition to do anything for a while. We also have another headache. I am uploading the file now. He is a traitor to the cause," Kuro informs before uploading Mimic's eggnet file.

"…that guy?" Tailsko asks in a perplexed tone. "He's a paper pusher. We mostly use his credentials at times to get access to simple systems when he's not looking," she explains.

"Check his ability and past affiliations," Kuro informs.

"Oh…shapeshifter that could be handy…what is this restriction over past affiliations?" Sally asks.

"Former Diamond Cutter. They were an anti-Eggman mercenary squad before Mimic betrayed them," Kuro elaborates.

"Why does that…?" Sally stops as it seems she and Tailsko get the idea. Kuro even looks over to Whisper, who has headphones over her ears and is browsing through the terminal with Tangle over her shoulder. "Whisper…right."

"Yeah, he's come for her. I had a run-in, but all I did was give him a scare. We need to take him off the board permanently. He is a traitor, and with his ability, he will be damn good at infiltrating us," Kuro informs.

"Yeah. I can see what I can do. But you have to deal with your end since he would be near you after all," Sally warns.

"Yeah, I know," Kuro assures. 'I will spend the next week making him jumpy. Then,' Kuro looks to his claws and flexes them, 'neutralize him for good.'