Vesna sat alone for the night, staring out into the forest from the village's defensive wall. Her old RATNIK gear rattled as she moved, keeping her AK-105 slung over her shoulder. She hummed a quiet, familiar tune as her mind played back the events of the past months. From her and her friends' untimely demise, to reuniting with them all here, to reuniting with the love of her life and to the therapy she was undertaking when off-duty to be able to at least function in normal society, it had certainly been an eventful year. She could only smile, though, as the fact that therapy was working its magic for her meant she and Vic could live normally.

In truth, there never would be an old normal they could go back to. War would forever take its toll on everyone it ever touched and death was an unmentionably traumatic event. One only those who've gone through could understand. She was glad to have them all here, because it meant they understood. It meant she was not alone in dealing with the repercussions of a death so sudden and bleak that she had thought she'd have nothing to look forward to when she first came to Remnant.

And yet, here she was. She pulled her glove off her left hand and beamed, looking at the glimmering ring on her finger, before quickly stowing it back under the glove and looking around to make sure no Scav scouts would try to hit them. Then again, these were bandits. Unless their former lead was military, they would not be that troublesome. She hoped, anyway.

She jumped a little as she felt a hand land on her shoulder, but quickly turned to see who it was and beamed as she saw her fiancee. Vic smiled right back at her, then leaned against the battlements and said, "Fine night for a patrol, eh?" with a jovial tone. With a nod, the young woman wrapped her arm around his, leaning her head against his shoulder as both of them looked out over the wall.

"Got even better now that you're here, moya lyubov..." She spoke, her voice soft as her skin.

He bumped his helmet gently against hers and said, "Glad to brighten the night for you, moya lyubimaya..." which garnered a chuckle out of Ves.

"So, you learned Russian, eh?" She teased, gaze shifting to the broken moon up above, before she looked back down toward the forest. She then inquired, "For whom, I wonder, would you do such an arduous task...?" with a little giggle, her cheeks flushed. Truly, the man had done the nigh-impossible task of a Latin-based first language user learning something Slavic like Russian.

"Heh. For who else than the love of my life?" He replied, then pecked her on the cheek, before hefting his PKM onto the wall and extending its bipod. She pecked him back on his cheek, then let go of his arm and checked her rifle, while Vic told her, "Word of mouth is we might actually get a couple bottles out of this, beside the normal Lien. Heh, seriously, I swear it feels like we're in The Godfather..."

"Da," She replied, then chuckled.

"Maybe we can get officiated by them, too," He snorted, "Y'know, mob wedding."

Ves giggled, "Oh, that'd be funny..." only to take a moment to reflect on things. She hummed, then asked, "Vic, how do you think home is?" before looking to him, to see the surprise in his eyes. She spoke, "I mean Earth. Our homes, Romania, Russia now, Poland... Everywhere. Considering there's a NATO drone or two orbiting Vale, maybe it means we're..."

"I think it means NATO found a way to us," Vic hummed, then paused to consider the situation, "Which would be strange, but maybe they have an explanation for why we're all alive, here and now. Remnant probably was never meant to have so many alien people on it, especially not a bunch of weirdo soldiers from mismatched units that just so happen to be friends..."

"Starting to question our existence here," Ves snorted, a bit worried, "Wonderful..."

"I mean, I'm happy we got revived , Ves. Obviously," He clarified. She gave an understanding nod, before scanning the treeline again. Vic shouldered his LMG and did a 90 degree sweep of his sector, too, continuing with, "But I can't not ask questions... You brought it up yourself, how did NATO get here in the first place? How did we come to be here at all? I'm hoping our commands have answers for this."

"Me, too," Ves replied, "... If... If they truly are here, do you think that means we could... Go home?"

Vic's eyes widened, "Back to Earth...?"

Would they have anything left there by the time they arrived? He knew Vesna and Vera's family were in Norilsk still, considering the city was part of the newly-minted Russian Republic, but would the world still be the same? So many questions... He replied to her, "I hope so. Your parents and everyone else's families deserve to know we're alive and kicking. They deserve some sort of happy ending, too, since we got ours..."

Vesna beamed at that, then hummed and giggled, "Oh, god, that means you get to meet my parents..." which seemed to make the Romanian pale. She wanted to add another thing, but the realization struck her, too. Not that her fiancee would be meeting her parents, but that her parents were still alive and she was not. She couldn't even start to fathom how her and Vera's deaths had affected them...

Noting the sadness now permeating Vesna's face, Vic gave her a quick hug of reassurance, before stating, "It's okay... We'll get there when we get there," as he rubbed her shoulder. She confirmed with a nod, then shifted her mind back to their work, both of them suddenly focused on keeping an eye open for the enemy. Meanwhile, on another side of the wall, Jim and Sam walked together while watching both their soon-to-be-wedded friends and their sector.

Jim commented, "Those two went through about thirty separate moods in like six minutes. Think they're okay?"

"I bet they're just fine, Jimmy," Sam shot back, grinning as she peered through her rifle's scope. She lowered it, then told him, "Therapy's been doing wonders for most of us if you're referring to the psych stuff, meanwhile we all have Auras, body armor and helmets if we start getting shot at..." as she turned to look at him. He turned to her with an awkward smile, causing a hum to arise from the Chinese shooter.

She sighed and said, "You wanna talk about something, don't you?"

Jim hesitated, then shook his head, "Nah, I'm good, Sam..." as he lifted his assault rifle and shouldered it. He walked up to one of the battlements and peered through the scope, while Sam was considering if she should ask him more about it or not. She knew very well the man had a crush on him, but, for the sake of their friendship, she wouldn't turn him down until he confessed to her. She was their Lieutenant and she needed to get used to the idea she probably wouldn't have someone.

Meanwhile, down below, Lita glared at both of them. Sam for basically being the object of her online childhood friend's affection and Jim for being dumb enough not to take a perfect chance to confess to Sam right then and there. To note, she was partially glad he didn't, because he'd be inconsolable for the duration of their mission, but she wanted to see him try it, not because he'd get turned down, but because she'd tried to help him get through it multiple times.

"Take it Jim's still unable to confess?" Lita almost jumped out of her skin, looking back to see Paul standing there, Minimi in hand and looking at her. She nodded with a sigh, to which Paul stepped up, stating, "I wanna slap him around some times, I swear..." as they started patrolling together. He murmured, "Thank Christ I and Katja finally said our peace and got together..."

"I'm glad for you. As glad as I am for Vic and Vesna," She replied, "Jim told me Vic wasn't in good shape either..."

"Guy was one of the first to drop from the men's side of the Misfits," Paul chuckled sadly, then looked at the other pair up on the walls as they displaced and moved to another spot as the turrets and the local guards took their place. He murmured, "Obvious he wouldn't be that well. Not like any of us guys are any better off than him, but... I'm not sure, he might've become worse if we didn't find you and Vesna."

"I can imagine," She shot back.

"CONTACT!" Called out Jim, causing the duo to tense up. A warning shot rang out, suppressed naturally by the rifle's attachments, but that still caused a mild amount of panic among the Misfits. Lita and Paul immediately ran up the stairs to the walls and aimed their weapons where he was aiming, with him lasing a silhouette and calling out, "CLOSE ENOUGH, SCAV!"

The reply came back, a heavy Russian accent, "I'm not a fucking Scav, suka! You nearly took my head off!" as the silhouette threw his AK into the view of a spotlight and walked out with his hands raised. Lita pushed Sam and Jim's weapons down as she watched what looked to be another man clad in EMR Camo step into view. He had a balaclava and goggles on and the patch on his shoulder that told of the flag had been removed, but he was clearly Russian.

Lita called out to him in Russian, "You look VDV, comrade!"

"I am!" He sounded a little relieved, though he was still tense. He corrected, "Was! Before they put me in shturmovy units!" which caused Lita to frown. She gave a nod to him to pick up his rifle, which he did, only for her to notice it was a standard-issue 74M with plum furniture and a GP-25 40mm grenade launcher. He slung the rifle over his shoulder and onto his back via its strap, then lifted his hands up again.

"You al-" Lita was about to ask, before the crack of a branch behind the VDV soldier echoed. The man swiveled about, quickly drawing his Grach pistol and aiming it just as the others did, too. A racking assault rifle told them there was another target and, indeed, out walked a German in woodland FLECKTARN, a gas mask on his face. Lita blinked and lowered her rifle, then called out, "The fuck is a Kraut doing here?!"

"Looking for a place to stay and resupply, actually! And someone to explain to me how the fuck I wound up here instead of the Underworld!" The German man replied harshly, though his accent was surprisingly not German. Rather it seemed a tad more familiar than that to the unit. The Russian paratrooper ahead of him lowered his pistol and holstered it, to which he hummed and said, "A ruski with a brain. Color me impressed," as he lowered his G36.

"We exist, Kraut," The Russian nodded. He turned to the people on the battlements and asked, "Can we come in, please?"

"Aye!" Lita nodded, "See you in here!"

The two men strolled inside, only to be met by the squad of those that were awake and a Mi-8 Helicopter that was parked off to the side, one of its crewmen tending to it without a care in the world. Vic, Ves, Sam and Li were at the front, with the others hanging out in the back. Paul hummed, watching as the two men ahead took their respective face coverings and helmets off, before pausing and looking better at the German.

The German, meanwhile, voiced, "So, fellow paratrooper... How did you wind up in the shit?"

The VDV man snorted and replied, "... Avenged an old friend after he got lynched by putinist gangs in our home town. You?"

"Shot in the head when we were raiding a chemical weapons laboratory in Neo-Soviet Territories," He shrugged, "Could've been a worse death..." and that made several people wince, Vic included, since he might've had a run-in with the weapons that lab had developed a while back. The German then watched Sam take a step forward and noted the Lieutenant's pins, stating, "Didn't think a Chinese woman would be in charge of NATO and Russian units..."

"We're a local PMC. Long story," She stated, then added, "I'm Lieutenant Samantha Lee. We're the Misfits and we're here to ensure the security of this village at the request of its head family, considering the Scav raids here have apparently been intensifying... Who might you gentlemen be?" and she eyed both of them with a bit of wariness. The German looked to the Ruski and showed him to go first.

The man himself sighed, then said, "Corporal Fedor Ivanov. 11th Guards Air Assault Battalion... Formerly, anyhow. Our unit got mulched to the last man from Hostomel to Bakhmut and beyond..." as he gave the Lieutenant a quick salute. He told her, "If you need a grenade rifleman, you can ask me for backup. I don't need pay, just something to eat..."

She gave him a nod and said, "Welcome to Remnant, Corporal Ivanov." before turning to the German.

He hummed and tapped a tune on his G36's plastic furniture as he spoke, "This is going to sound a bit weird, but here goes..." Then he breathed in and told them, "Feldwebel Mihai Toma, 373rd Parachute Battalion of the Falschirmjaeger's reactivated 31st Airborne Brigade..." which caused the entire group to pause. Vic stared at the man with confusion, furrowed brows and uncertainty.

"What...?" Mihai asked, noting the surprised looks in the entire group.

Vesna spoke up first, "Did you say Toma?"

"... Ja? Why?" He felt his heart rate rocket as he looked at Vic. Soon, both started noticing similarities, their faces fairly alike, just that Mihai was older by a couple years. He swallowed, then tugged at his uniform's collar. The dead silence that fell upon the courtyard was oppressive, Victor staring with disbelief at the man before him. Sam hummed, crossing her arms to her chest...

"Maybe take this somewhere private while the rest of us continue our patrol," She then suggested.

"I'm going with," Vesna stated, determined, taking Vic's hand into her own. She looked over to the German, who now wore a small smile at the sight, seemingly knowing things he didn't let on to until they were in private. Both men nodded and stepped off to the side, toward the building Vic, Vesna and the others were using as a barracks. Fedor and the others watched them enter.

With the Russian commenting, "Well, this got weird..."

"You're telling us...? C'mon, let's pack up and continue patrols," Sam told him, then lifted her rifle. Fedor didn't need to be told twice, pulling his rifle off his back while keeping the safety on, before walking with the others to continue the patrol. Meanwhile, inside the building itself, Vic, Vesna and Mihai sat themselves down, the former two opposite the latter, all of them setting their guns aside.

"So," Mihai hummed, "I have a... Suspicion..."

"If you want to start, man, feel free..." Vic told him, his voice a little low. Vesna felt the wariness in his words and held him close. He leaned his head against Ves's, garnering another short smile out of Mihai, who sighed and set his own gear aside, before crossing his arms to his chest. Ves still eyed Mihai with her own suspicions, but would let him speak first.

"Okay," The German paratrooper nodded, "Let's start with the basics..." then he scratched his chin, adding, "At barely three months old, you were left alone in an orphanage, with only the name you're currently wearing, that being Victor... Toma..." as his voice almost cracked. He cleared his throat and continued, "Without any knowledge of who your parents are."

"Yeah..." Vic nodded, baffled, "How'd you..."

Mihai raised his hand, showing him to wait, then went on, "Obviously, the Nuns told you you were abandoned there because your family didn't want you, as that's what our nuns usually do back home, the bitches. Even though dad was friends with one of the head nuns in the place, who vowed she'd take care of you... Maybe she didn't say anything to dissuade them, either. Thought it'd be better for you not to seek us out... Nun..."

"Alexandra, yes..." Vic swallowed, while Ves held his hand still, "S-She raised me, pretty much... Was always sad when the other nuns told me the shit they told me, that I was unwanted, a pain, a problem kid, all for... Being friends with and helping a bunch of fellow little snotty little bastards avoid their wrath. Well, that and outright pranking them when the situation called..." And he let out a bittersweet laugh... "Diana can vouch for that."

"Mm..." Mihai nodded, "I bet they never told you that we were running when we dropped you off..."

"No, they d-..." it soon hit both the Romanian gunner and his wife-to-be that the man said 'we'...

He gave a weak, saddened smile as he explained, "... I was really young when we handed you over. Don't recall how young, though. Mom and dad were really concerned with finding somewhere safe to put you while we got out of the country."

"Why'd... You have to leave the country?" Vic felt his throat drying up. He coughed, clearing the block, "Why leave me behind...?" And his words seemed to take an edge. He was hostile, defensive, tense. Even Vesna hadn't seen him like this. Meanwhile, his brother noted the tension, fully expecting the kid to burst at him, be angry, to scream, to... Do anything a normal child would've done in such a situation. Still, the blonde beside him held him close, staring at Mihai with suspicion and worry.

To his credit, though, Vic managed to keep his composure. Seeing that his family was as calm as could be, given the circumstance, he continued, "... Mom knew a lot... And I mean a lot about the inner workings of the post-December government in Romania. So much so that the Securitate, then-rebranded the SRI, wanted her out of the picture, alongside dad and us. When they found us out, you had barely been alive for a few months. Mom decided it was time to book it. We left for Germany, but you had no certificates, no passport, nothing. So, we did the best thing we could, given the circumstance... Left you at that orphanage with nothing but your name..."

Vic felt his heart sink as the thought of his mother and father being hunted played in his mind. He breathed, then asked, "And mom and dad...?" his voice cracking.

Mihai shook his head, "Disappeared when I entered training with the Bundeswehr. For all I know? Both are dead and gone now..." words that shook both Vic and Vesna to their cores. The man's shoulders sagged as he told Vic, "Look... I get it if you wanna yell at me, hit me, do whatever. I'm the last 'living' relative you have left, though how I'm still alive, I have zero clue. Just know that me, mom and dad...? We never got over having to..." And he closed his eyes, stifling tears.

Despite what he had expected to happen, though, the man was pleasantly surprised by the fact his brother had wrapped his arms around him. He was also stunned, only noting that Ves, the blonde, was smiling brightly at the sight. Vic whispered, "I'm not alone... You guys didn't abandon me willingly..." while smiling. Mihai blinked, trying to shoo away the tears, before gently wrapping his arms around Vic, too. He stated, "No... Glad to see you, frate..."

Vic chuckled, wiping away the tears from his own eyes as he backed off. He sat himself back down next to Vesna, who beamed and hugged him, too. He hugged her back. Mihai, meanwhile, smiled and said, "Take it this is... Your girlfriend?" as he picked up his gear. The Romanian boy looked over to his girl, then both shook their heads and grinned, much to Mihai's concern.

"Fiancee," Vic replied proudly. Ves lifted her hand and took off the glove, showing the ring to a stunned Mihai.

"Oh, goddamn," Mihai snorted, "Niiiice, bro. She been good to you?"

Vic smirked, "The best," as he patted her on the hand. She giggled and nuzzled him like both were newlyweds already.

"Good. I'm glad I didn't miss the wedding, heh," He quipped, then slung his weapon over his shoulder, "Anyway... C'mon. Guess we oughta talk to the rest of your group of friends, eh?" as they all stood up. Vic nodded and propped the door open, before noting that everyone was, in fact, eavesdropping on the conversation. Though they hadn't heard all that much, considering they had sat far away from the door.

Sammy started, "Oh, hi, Vic, Mihai, Ves... What's up?" trying to play it cool.

Vic and Mihai smirked, then Vic looked forward and said, "Folks. Meet my brother. As in, actual, blood-related brother."

"WHAT?!" the group balked...