AN: Man, it's been a while since I've updated this story, but it felt good to finally get back on this. Why it took so long is that I have been writing for my upcoming Bad Guys story and eventually, I had to do a couple of assessments. At the moment, I have a bit more control, but currently preparing to complete the next few ones. So the updating progress will remain slow for my current stories.

This one I am looking forward to write since this might be another two/three-parter arc. And this is the first part.

Hope you enjoy!

So, where did we left off? Oh! Right! It seemed to be along the lines of 'I slapped a hand over my face and let out a loud groan of resignation…'

Chapter 23

And now…

Antoine slapped a hand over his face and let out a loud groan of resignation. He was in a really bent, slouching position that reminded me of something from before.

It was in the middle of me walking through the hallway of the training rooms. Right on time to see him groaning away at the door, his phone nearly slipping out from his hand. And just nearby, Molly, in the middle of shooting practice, looked annoyed by the coyote's moan.

And yet, I thought nothing weird would occur once I concentrated back on G.U.N.

I slowly slid into the room and the minute Antoine saw me, he went quiet.

Molly sighed, hooking her sniper gun underneath her jacket. "Antoine? What's with the long face?"

The coyote gritted his teeth, trying to suppress another groan. "I…don't think you'll like this."

He lifted his phone and its screen presented a ridiculously curly writing on an…email of sorts. And it looked really perfect. How come the writer could write all those words in perfect formation?

Hey there, Antoine. I got a brilliant offer for you and Agent Obsidian. We are assigned to investigate and assassinate former Jackal Squad member Ice. He's planning to destroy the Free Desire Stadium during the Magma Holiday Break Live Show. Your expertise would make you fit for the role. This goes the same for Obsidian.

Come to our room for discussion, sweetie~. See you there,

Breezie, Founder of Team Blood and Manager of Breeze Media.

Down below was a picture attached. I leaned in close to the phone, with Molly pushing my forehead away not to get close. It looked like me…but it wasn't really. The way the mohawk hairstyle was styled gave a more spiky appearance with longer flowing hair at the back, resembling a mullet. Excessive fur was growing in his ears, and he wore a blurry white jacket.

It was nearly hard to make up the image of this culprit since it was taken in what appeared in the midst of him falling from a building. But his chilling grin struck me with familiarance.

"Ice…" I muttered. "...I haven't seen him in a while."

Molly turned to me. "He's…not one of the agents here?"

I shrugged, feeling nothing. "He's a bit of a prick. I don't remember him much since he only stuck around the squad for one year. But I know he hates authorities. Of course, he would want to blow up a stadium…"

"That will have the greatest live shows of all time!" squeaked Antoine.

The high-pitched whine in his voice surprised me. It even shocked Molly, who immediately placed a hand on her sniper gun like she witnessed an anomaly.

Antoine realized what he said. Apparently, he never acted like this before. He hung his head in reluctant honesty.

"I bought tickets for it," he said, embarrassed. "I want to go there."

Molly snickered, brushing her mouth. It had been only a day since our so-called 'date' to see her old schoolmates and family, so I was kinda surprised to see her acting a bit more…well, not so serious and cold. She teasingly patted Antoine on the shoulder, earning a glare from the coyote.

"Now that's rough, buddy," said Molly. "What I'm curious about is that it's an assassination."

"So?" said me and Antoine in unison.

"That means…this is going to break your probation period, Obsidian," pointed out Molly. "You want to go through this?"

I blinked dumbly before my brain could function again.

Oh.

I guessed that she was thinking about me killing again. Valentina's words whispered in my head, but I pushed them aside. There were no other reasons to validate not killing Ice. And if so, then G.U.N would have already made those reasons BEFORE Breezie thought of sending us our new mission in the form of a murder.

"It's…it's cool," I said coolly, careful of my words. "The Commander wouldn't be stupid enough to let Team Blood handle this or get me to do the killing. I don't think he would let me do that. If I am permitted to kill Ice, I won't mind."

Molly was incredulous. "Is there some history between you and this…icy jackal? Or were you two like brothers?"

"Yes," I simply answered. "...wait, no, back down on the history part."

Antoine crossed his arms, scoffing. "I don't think I want to do the killing. I'm not going into some impotent plan by Team Blood. I rather trust a real squad doing this."

I glanced back at my phone, trying to remember what it was like when Ice was on the team. He switched between squads during his training days before settling into Zero's squad. But all he added was trying to make himself look big and taking credit TOO seriously at times. I didn't have that many fond memories since he was closer to Phoenix.

Ice left early, but I doubted he ever missed the squad since he wasn't one to show his feelings. And he was pretty insensitive to everything. This worked in his favor to pull off crimes on his own and making self-improvements of his own. Realizing this, I understood why Team Blood was handled with this job.

"Well, looks like you don't have a choice either," I said. "Ice is a psychopath. And he likes doing the job himself. He won't stop. It seems like Team Blood currently has the expertise to apprehend them."

Antoine was about to open his mouth, but he saw reason in this. His eyes glowed for a moment, peeved and torn by this decision. He glanced at Molly, who could only give a sheepish smile. The purple cat was nervous about the situation but seemed to agree with me. Giving up, he groaned again.

"OK, fine," he said. "But on the condition that we don't create a scene."

And so off the three of us go, skipping our way to Team Blood's room. I was starting to feel pumped about getting to go on a mission. It might be biased since this involved Ice, but I missed some of the action. Stopping a known mercenary from taking down a full-sized stadium…or what seemed to be a stadium in the city. I have never really been to a sports stadium in the city before.

Before, there were minor stadiums in the desert where gladiator games played out. I wondered what was the deal here since I doubt fighting wasn't allowed as a sport.

I looked behind my shoulder and I wanted to think it was my ruby making this illusion as Molly was trailing behind her. I looked back at Antoine. He was still slouching, unenthusiastic about taking this mission. His footsteps were more soft despite his heavy boots. In comparison, Molly was standing up straight, her footsteps slightly louder. However, her widened eyes were filled with apprehension compared to the sulking Antoine.

Molly was afraid. I could sense it. At first, I didn't get why. But then, I remembered that she was just a typical agent. Meanwhile, me and Antoine were former mercenaries paying our debts. And basically, we were taking her over to a dangerous squad of villains and criminals…

"Why are you coming along?" I lampshaded.

Molly's purple eyes shifted to me before she rolled them. "Just…being there for Antoine. Shut up."

"Just…want to make sure if you're alright doing this," I said. "I mean, you're not like us or have that much field experience." My ruby hissed at me for saying a dumb thing. "Wait, no. I mean, not in that way, I mean-"

"Geez, OK, hermano," grumbled Molly. "...I know Antoine longer than you, so…I think it's best for me to stay on his side during the mission briefing. That's all."

I nodded. "OK then. I won't ask."

Molly suddenly came up with a question. "Do you hold a grudge against Ice?"

"No," I said plainly.

"Then why alright with killing him?"

That was a good question. Why alright with having Ice killed? It wouldn't be about personally connecting or emphatizing with the arrogant mercenary. However, it seemed to be more on the fact of allowing the killing to come or me doing the murder if possible…and then, I remembered back to what Zero's father told me on that night of my second murder.

"You have common sense. You know when it would be necessary to kill."

I held nothing against Ice, though I felt it wouldn't be enough to just hold him down from completing his plan of mass genocide.

"I don't use feelings," I stated, trying to be as straightforward as possible. "I use logic. And now, maybe it's not the best time to trust sparing him."

Molly whistled lowly, surprised. "Wow. They taught you good…you think this truly stops at killing Ice? You know that your powers can influence him, right?"

I didn't understand what she meant. "But my ruby wouldn't be enough. And neither would imprisonment. I have no idea how many times already he broke out from even a grave."

The purple cat glanced over my shoulder to check on Antoine. She was about to talk when she felt her phone buzzing. In a ringtone to the sound of 'So Much More'. She suppressed a growl as she took it out.

"Ah, you tiger," she muttered. "Obsidian, you really need to get a phone."

"Why?" I asked.

She presented her phone screen and it was a message of a hyperlink on her chat with Fiyero. The pop-up preview on the message revealed it to be a website about the concept of 'platonic relationships'.

Ooh, I nearly forgot that I took his offer to teach me about 'real' romantic relationships. Recalling from my memory, I asked him to advise me about being in a good relationship. However, the problem was that I didn't have any electronic devices. I couldn't even remember Topaz's or Agent Stone's phone numbers!

"How should this work?" asked Molly. "Am I supposed to send this over to Topaz? Or do I print it?"

I hummed. "Maybe printing this digital article would work better?"

"Fair enough then. Though, I don't want Fiyero to rely on me to send it to you."

"I'll work on that." I briefly looked away until an ambitious thought came to mind. "...do you honestly think I have a chance for Fiyero?"

"Well, given that you seem to like him and he is patient with you…" muttered Molly, blushing.

"OK, are we gonna talk about love now?" hissed Antoine. "Cause I don't know how I'll tell my love about this."

"It should be understandable," I said. "What's the worst that can go wrong?"

The coyote inhaled sharply, giving me a concerned look. Once the sight of eight guards around the door came into view, he rolled his shoulders before adopting a calm and stoic posture. He didn't flinch when the guards turned to us (and by extension, their weapons), standing tall to assert his confidence. However, it nearly faltered when the door opened and one guard dragged ANOTHER body out of the room.

"...let me guess, Lyric again?" I asked.

"No, I think it's Shortfuse," said Antoine nervously.

Seeing dead (?) bodies being dragged out was still uncanny. I'm pretty sure that Commander Towers didn't think of screening the recruits of Team Blood first before putting them on field duty. Antoine barely dropped his composure, stepping right through the door. On the other hand, Molly slowly inched towards me and her hand grabbed onto my arm.

I looked back at her.

She cleared her throat and immediately separated herself from me.

Weird.

I turned around and walked right through the door. The previous creepy feeling was replaced by a harmonious and calm nature once I saw the neat room. It was the same as the last time me and Antoine saw it. The only difference was a burning smell coming from the kitchen. Lo and behold, Ash Mongoose was currently cooking up a storm.

With headphones on, he sang a little ditty to himself as he spun around and slapped many containers and bowls. My ears twitched at the sound of bacon crackling from the frying pan. When Ash got close to it, he crouched down and a massive fire burst from the frying pan. For a moment, I thought he breathed fire into that sucker.

Antoine meekly raised a finger before deciding not to answer.

I took in a big sniff. Something obviously hot, yet a couple of spices were thrown in the frying pan. I wondered if it would be salty, but I only caught the fragrance of various spices. It was equivalent to sniffing a flower in the garden since it could produce a different smell. It was kind of exciting actually. I imagined the taste of his meal in my mouth.

My tail began wagging and it wasn't due to the hand holding my hand. Wait a second, I thought. I turned around and found that Molly was holding my hand again. This time, she was hiding behind me with her chin pressing against the back of my shoulder. She was sweating profusely, the fur on her face already wet.

She smelled like an old cat at the moment. It wasn't even hot in this spot!

Antoine turned around to see the hand holding. His face scrunched up in skepticism.

"Don't date my teammate, please," he said in a fatherly tone.

"Do you have a crush on her?" I asked innocently.

It was enough to snap Molly out of her unexplained anxiety. "W-What?! Me and Antoine h-have a huge age gap!"

"Yeah, yeah," said Antoine, embarrassed. "I already have a date. And I just want to ensure she's safe from questionable men."

"...but am I trustworthy?" I asked.

The coyote's ears folded back. "...OK, sorry. You are trustworthy. It's just too many young men, both here and out there, hitting on-"

"I'm not your daughter, Antoine," hissed Molly, her face burning. "I…I need to use the restroom."

She made a beeline for the first door nearby, crashing into the front of it before she pushed it right open to enter properly.

"You're that protective of her?" I asked curiously.

Antoine rolled his eyes, but his response was softer than his expression. "She's my fellow teammate. And now, it reminds me a lot of every time she and I travel to transport secret weapons. She doesn't need to come here."

"I'm starting to see that," I said. "You have a good friendship with her."

The coyote smiled. "Thanks."

"Just wondering, did you notice Molly sweating buckets?"

Antoine grunted, glancing at the cooking Ash. "This is her first time meeting Team Blood, so she wants to be careful. She met former mercenaries before, but I think…these guys scared her the most."

I hummed in concern. "Yeah, she could be seen as another guard to them."

"At least she is wearing her pink coat. Shows that she's an agent and not a mere bodyguard."

"Do you…think she is alright with the assassination? She did make a couple of threats of putting bullets in my head before, but she seems uncomfortable today."

Antoine had a thoughtful look. "That's usually her way to say 'bite me' at people. She's not serious about putting a bullet in the head. She's still a person."

I nodded automatically, but I had a thought about this. Connecting to her lack of battle experience, it wouldn't be a surprise that she disliked the thought of killing. I thought she meant it whenever she pointed a gun at me too many times before and couldn't for obvious reasons.

Looking to the side, I noticed the restroom door was still open.

"Girl really forgot to lock it," said Antoine, rubbing his hips.

I squinted my eyes to see through the gap at this distance. I could see the floor. It was dark and stained in…red.

"...I don't think that's a restroom," I said.

"Huh?" said Antoine.

Without waiting, I marched forward to the door. There was a board attached to it. I checked through it first and its details astounded me. It was a check-off list with many names on it. All of them were scratched out in dark brown, with some hints of red in it. It looked more like it was painted on rather than using a regular pen.

Making things more confusing was the title 'D-CLASS PRISONERS EXECUTED'.

What did that have to do with this room?

This felt like some kind of stupid toy room, wasn't it?

But Molly didn't come out yet.

I was confused about this.

Antoine seemed to say something, but I didn't pay attention. I opened the door and stepped right in. The mood suddenly dropped once I saw the dark walls surrounding me. Antoine followed, but his footsteps slowed until he bumped into a nearby table. I found Molly standing in the middle of the room, but when I got to her, she barely responded to my presence.

Her eyes were wide in fear. She didn't move a muscle, staring in the distance. When I looked at what she saw, it gave me more questions about this place. A large jail cell with bars stretching from one side of the room to another, sectioned into at least three cells. Each cell had a hospital bed with handcuffs attached to them to the legs.

There were more red stains around these cells. Splattered on the walls, the floor and the beds themselves. Random sharp pieces resembling dentist tools were scattered on the floor. Needles rested nearby, some dripping to form a crystallized puddle. But what frightened Molly the most was a skeleton arm dormant on one of the jail cell beds.

And it was dripping in dark brown.

It smelled like rotten flesh.

I was becoming more aware of the stench and the dim lighting in this room. A familiar smell resembling metal. It was really salty but somewhat grainy. My stomach dropped with a heavy cross bared onto my shoulders. Memories of seeing the jail cells in G.U.N came to mind. As an 'honorary addition' to Team Blood, I realized what else they did behind the scenes.

For a team that has half-looking sane members, it gave me horrible imaginations of the more diabolical members taking their prey here. The cries of mercy and agony echoed through the room to place a lingering influence of terror. The paint of blood carelessly applied like an art piece unfinished and rushed through. The dim lighting from above to lay the vulnerable in a weaker spot.

And this was the same team after Ice?!

A light chuckle caught my ears and so did Molly's. The purple cat gasped, her hand reaching for a potential gun inside her coat. But she lowered it when we turned to Antoine. The coyote didn't look like himself, staring at the contents of the plastic table. Oh, and it was a convenient display of bloodied knives, ranging from tiny daggers to kitchen size.

Antoine was chuckling to himself, but he was breathing heavily. And gradually loudly like a storm rolling from above the town. He was slouched over again with his dangling fingers twitching. His golden eyes were glowing, enthralled, but shaped like sharp slits. The coyote sitting behind the bushes for a chance to strike. But his ears were folded against his skull in irritation, matching his twitching lips.

He lifted his right hand, itching it close to the knives. But his arm hesitated, shakily trying to move it back. However, his laughter through his growing smile told me that he wanted to carry one of the knives. He was dazed but conscious enough to know the weapons in front of him. A fleeting temptation controlled him to move forward to grab a knife.

Just as his fingers touched the kitchen knife handle, Molly immediately raised her voice.

"Antoine?" she squeaked.

Antoine whipped his head at us. Drool dripped down from his canines, landing with an audible 'plop' on the floor that echoed through the silent room. His feral eyes were hungry, observing us top to bottom like meat on a skewer stick.

It didn't last long when his golden eyes softened and a look of sad regret repainted them to normal.

"S-Sorry!" he said in a deep-throated, strained voice. "Sorry. I-I didn't mean to. There was-like, erm…there was…a flash of light-red. A burning red color right behind…"

"Y-You didn't do anything," I reassured. "It's OK."

The look on Molly's face said the opposite. It didn't look OK. Antoine didn't look OK. Before he snapped back to his usual self, he was just gazing at the knives in the manner of a feral animal. The creepy grin rested in my mind, defining this new side I saw from the coyote.

"No, no, it's my…my fault," choked out Antoine, grabbing a tuff of his cheek fur. "I was…I was just daydreaming! Yeah, daydreaming of a…red…red jacket? Yeah! Red…jacket…"

He trailed off when he saw a certain mongoose standing at the door. Much like Molly and Antoine, he reflected a horrified look at what terror could reign in front of him.

"Antoine?" Ash said.

Molly muttered something under her breath, but it was in another language.

The coyote was already in a bad state that he began squeezing on his tail like a squishy toy. Never before had I seen Antoine this scared. He seemed to try to keep his eyes lifted up to maintain eye contact, but it didn't save him from holding his trembling. I thought at first that he might suddenly pounce forward…if that savageness came out.

I expected Ash to drop the shock. His immense shadow covering the other side of the room made him a suspect in the unseen slaughter. His presence got me a little panicky. For all I know, he could be trapping us here and revealing a darker side. I wouldn't be worried if it weren't for the fact that Antoine or Molly could hurt themselves.

Just feeling Molly holding onto my shoulder got my mind mixed in fleeting emotions.

However, Ash's face told a different story. His ears flattened with his eyes shining in sorrow.

"…oh," he said quietly. "I'm so sorry that you got to see this."

Antoine sniffed like he was close to tears. Eventually, his no-nonsense attitude towards Team Blood returned and his expression hardened.

Ash sighed when he saw that look from Antoine. "Come outside."

The coyote barely grunted but kicked the floor. He didn't say anything else as he followed the mongoose. I remained in place, uncertain about joining them. This was already starting to feel like the old times…

"Obsidian…" whispered Molly.

Her softer voice overcame my growing fear and I realized that her hand wasn't on my shoulder anymore. She was in front of me, her eyes filled with concern. There was a green light reflecting on her. I blinked and looked down at my hands. They were surrounded by a green aura. My entire body was covered in pixel cubes, glitching out of place.

It was when I realized my breathing was heavy. I immediately told myself to calm down, but I still felt panicky. I was still afraid for my friends. This room was evidence that Team Blood might not be benevolent, especially in the upcoming assassination of Ice. And Antoine was gonna be involved…my hands glitched, shifting to take the appearance of blood dripping from my clawed fingers.

A growing puddle of blood formed around his head like it was squeezed to a p-

S̸t̴o̷p̶ ̴t̸h̸i̶n̶k̴i̴n̶g̶ ̵l̸i̴k̸e̴ ̷t̷h̶i̴s̵.̸ ̵Y̷o̸u̴'̴r̶e̶ ̵h̵u̴r̶t̸i̶n̴g̷ ̶y̶o̵u̶r̶s̷e̴l̵f̴ ̴f̷o̶r̸ ̶n̷o̴ ̷r̸e̴a̸s̴o̶n̵.̸

Before I could start remembering, a soft whisper from the Phantom Ruby informed me that I shouldn't fear. It told me that G.U.N might have known about this. Not everyone in Team Blood was a psychopath and neither was I. No one will be hurt; everything will be OK. These comforting words sounded trusting. The familiar warm and safe feeling flooded me.

My body pixelated to the point it looked like I was a television filter. Molly gasped, immediately grabbing my hand. I just squeezed my eyes and took a deep breath. Once I felt like I was back on earth, I opened my eyes and only a soft green aura surrounded my body.

The purple cat was still with me.

"Hermano…" she muttered.

I smiled. "I'm all good now. I'm good."

Molly raised an eye, but she decided not to ask further. Honestly, I don't think I would have the answer. She only sighed and turned on her heel. I followed her and we were welcomed back to the lighter-colored room. Away from the devil's torture room. It was too much to progress. I felt relieved, but it couldn't be said the same for Antoine.

The coyote was lying on a couch that was near the table. His chest was slowly rising and falling. At least his breathing wasn't worse than mine. I thought of calling his name, but he stared aimlessly at the unmoving river below him, its fabric empty of any bothers. Molly hummed, the shadow of her fedora covering her eyes, and sat beside Antoine. She didn't seem to have the words but remained loyal to Antoine's side.

Being the only one remaining standing, I turned around to the kitchen area, where Ash resumed his cooking. However, his movements were stiffer, robotically trying to pull all the food components together to construct a perfect meal.

A growl escaped through Antoine's lips. "What the hell is that in there, Ash?"

The yellow mongoose barely turned around, but his body sagged in burden. "Our 'fun dungeon'."

"A 'fun' dungeon?" I repeated.

Running a hand through his black hair, Ash finally faced us and leaned back against the table.

"Lyric, Rosemary and Shortfuse use this room whenever we get a chance to interrogate our targets," explained Ash, no joy in his explanation. "Breezie sometimes used it. But recently, it turned into a playroom where D-Class prisoners were allowed to be taken there and shredded to pieces."

Antoine clicked his tongue and his strict voice returned.

"But why?" he retorted. "I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if you go in there to take out your insecurities at some body bag."

I immediately spotted Ash's fingers gripping the kitchen table tightly. "What is THAT supposed to mean?"

Antoine shook his head angrily. "I-I…I knew you…you and your squad…just…TROUBLE! For no reason!"

Ash grabbed something, but I stepped forward with one hand reaching out as if to gesture to him to stop. And the yellow mongoose dropped his glare when he noticed my body glitching again. Squinting my eyes, it was only a piece of salad he scrunched up in his hand. It wasn't a weapon.

Fortunately, he calmed down, closing his eyes. "...because I'm broke to hire a specialist or consultant to find an alternative. And apparently, not every murderer here can stop killing. I tried filing for a lawsuit…but Breezie is an enabler. She won the right to have it at G.U.N."

I looked back at Antoine and the coyote took the time to understand Ash's point of view. I'm not going to lie, the mongoose sounded reluctant to have this torture room around. No hint of pleasure or benefit he saw. It confirmed the ruby's reassurance that not everyone here would be a sadist. Antoine got the same message and he shifted his eyes down.

Molly shifted a little beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you gonna…like…drag Ice the whole way here and…?" Antoine stopped himself, squeezing his watery eyes.

"No, we're not going to," reassured Ash calmly. "This is more of an urgent case, so Breezie will be holding a strong leash on Shortfuse on making it hurt for…" He paused, turning his eye towards me. "Your former friend. Teammate?"

I sighed. "I would have agreed to blow him to bits. But I'm not giving the bloodthirsty the satisfaction."

Molly spoke up, but her voice was shaky when she looked at Ash. "Y-Yeah, it's…not really ideal. I think electric chairs are more fine."

"True," said Ash without another moment of hesitation. "At least you three don't seem to see it their way. So that's good for you."

I nodded. "Hopefully so."

"And you're sure about going with the assassination, Antoine?"

The coyote opened his eyes. I expected tears, not a dull look in those golden gems. "…maybe."

Ash nodded before he returned to assorting the food in the kitchen. But he wasn't done talking.

"Agent Johnson, correct?"

Molly perked up. "Yes."

"Apologies for what you have to see in there."

Molly hesitated. She glanced at me and back at Antoine. But once it was clear to her that Ash was no threat, she sighed and some of her previous snarkiness seemed to rise back in.

"Well…I…didn't check the sign…" she said weakly.

Antoine let out a weak chuckle, smiling. "Guess you don't have an eye for critical analysis."

"Their room just looks so…basic."

"You don't have to stay," said Ash, holding the cooking into a rectangular container. "But if you plan to, ask me where the restroom is."

Molly tried to grin in gratefulness. Her legs pressed against each other. She definitely was holding it together. As she and Antoine slowly unwinded themselves from the previous stress, I let myself take the comfort of the space and collapsed into a nearby chair. It was nice of Ash to clarify things for us since he didn't advocate for that previous death trap.

Seemingly wanting to make us feel better, the mongoose walked over with a container of sizzling tacos. Placing it on the table, I got a good look at it. A reddish yellow sauce coated the filling in those crispy red shells. First thing that came to mind was that it was chili.

"Lava tacos?" he offered generously.

Without a second thought, Molly grabbed one and swallowed it whole. This earned a dumbfounded look from Ash.

I stared at the tacos. I didn't have the appetite to eat after seeing the torture room.

"And you're just giving us THESE now?" I asked incredulously.

"I thought it would be a nice snack to have when discussing tonight's plan," Ash said defensively. "We are technically going to see the Magma Holiday Break Live Show!"

Antoine's eyes widened in realization. "Oh my goodness. I planned to buy these and now you…" He laughed anxiously, rubbing the top of his head. "I can't stomach this after my ruined appetite!"

"Same here," I said, rubbing my face. I didn't want to feel too nauseous despite not feeling too icky from the previous sight of blood.

I thought that the coyote wouldn't take one, but he did. Albeit critically since the first thing he did was observe it, unlike the stress-eating Molly nibbling onto her second taco. Antoine took his precious time eyeing every detail of his taco before lowering a hand underneath his mouth. On the first bite, he immediately licked the sauce left on his lips and swallowed the crumbs falling onto his palm below.

"Gives the Mexican spice," he analyzed. "Crispy, both shell and salad, um, feels like you just blown too much cheese in it…and that meat is undercooked. Feels more like chewing on the real meat of your enemies. Pretty nice punishment technique."

He seemed quite literate. I glanced back at the tacos and considered taking one. The food I ate in the city was great so far. Antoine's criticism seemed a little too much; both of us are canine and we can eat undercooked meat, right?

Familiar white gloves pressed against his shoulders and I looked up to see the teal-furred leader herself. Antoine sensed her presence and he mouthed a lousy word.

"Yeah, but you know the saying," snarked Breezie with a cheeky smile. "Never bring a knife to a sword fight unless concealed."

"...I don't get it," I said.

"So…you're admitting that…you're a terrible role model?" muttered Molly.

"Just think deep, sweetie," said Breezie. "It's poetry! I'm guessing that you little children saw the fun dungeon?"

Antoine grunted, pushing his shoulders upwards to get Breezie off. I just gave the hedgehog a pointed glare.

"Looks like fun," I snarled.

Breezie shrugged sheepishly. "It's the healthiest and most agreeable therapy room I could find. I rather not spend too much time in there. I mean, it's like too much blood around, so cliche. I find somebody's saliva on the walls, so it's like they want to suck their own…" Molly shook her head in disgust as she swallowed her whole second taco. "...you know what."

A weird smile traced over her muzzle. One reminiscent of high school nostalgia and mischief.

"But man, when I had this idiot once and he thought he was invincible, you should have seen me killing him in one punch!" she barked happily. "Had to put up with a conceited, condescending male who only saw me as Jessica Rabbit." She shouted loudly, looking a bit TOO excitable. "Oh, it was so good!"

Ash hissed and this caught Breezie's attention. She even noticed me and Antoine giving her a deadpanned look.

She cleared her throat. "…sorry, I got too carried away. Unprofessional of me."

Molly was about to touch her third taco until Antoine drew her back.

"Don't choke too much, sister," he said. "Save the rest for the others."

The rest of Team Blood appeared, coming out from their rooms as if on cue. Rosemary and Kalus were the first to appear. The former was holding a large mug of coffee, appearing wasted. But when she saw the container filled with lava tacos, suddenly, she was all smiles and all was forgiven, gingerly picking one up.

Kalus just looked…well, stoned. He still provided an eye-catching display to watch.

The ruby buzzed me. I gritted my teeth, feeling its sting. It reminded me that I was still considering going out on a date with Fiyero…dang it, I had been planning to do so, hadn't I?

Lyric slithered from his room, looking as grumpy as ever. When he noticed the new guest in the room, Molly, he grimaced. For some reason, I thought that one would try scaring the other. But Lyric just took a step back, all while Molly meekly watched on.

That being said, Molly's nervousness didn't last when Shortfuse came out of nowhere and landed right on the couch. Poor Antoine and Molly were nearly squeezed between the armrests and the larger Cybernik, their eyes popping out as Shortfuse broke into another pose.

"Alright!" he narrated. "Now we're back on another mission! Yesterday, being in silence. Today, now being in the spotlight! And we'll be hunting down a real traitor from the Eggman Empire to bring him to-"

"Urgh…do you have to say this kind of stuff ALL the time?!" growled Antoine.

Shortfuse hung his head like a child. "Yes, repetition is supposed to make it stick."

"To be fair, Ice NEVER worked for anyone before," I clarified.

"Nuh-uh-uh! You're an exception! Anyone who has some form of connection to a devious corporation is bound to share evil similarities!"

Rosemary choked on her taco when he said that.

Molly's eye twitched, looking close to snapping. "Your ardilla here is VERY invasive."

"Chillax, bro," said Shard, patting Shortfuse on the back. "You don't want to cause a short fuse!" He mimicked a raspberry, but the lack of saliva from his metallic tongue didn't make the sound impressive. "Get it?"

Shortfuse groaned at the lame joke, finally hopping off the couch and stomping to a free space. I couldn't help chuckling to see Antoine and Molly sighing in relief. It seemed like Shortfuse was taking a toll on today. At least Shard was more thinner and smaller when he sat between them. In what appeared to be the 'Sonic way' according to Eggman, he spread out his arms to rest them against Antoine's and Molly's shoulders. The former looked slightly exasperated, but the latter was still on edge.

"How's things cooking?" said Shard with a wink. "Got your bullets sharpened?"

"As prepared as I can be," said Antoine. "Though, not sure if this mission you need to do will really go well."

"I don't see it as impossible. Obsidian should have known Ice the Jackal more than any of us! We have an advantage!"

I shrugged. "Depending on how many skills he picked off ever since I last saw him."

Antoine nodded his head. "Yeah, that's true. We can't really let our guard down on him."

"Is he at least fun?" asked Shard.

"Best not to ask."

"Bummer. Thought it would be just like fighting Eggman."

Molly, who was reeling from Shortfuse's unexpected monologue, smiled at Shard's more casual and wittier remarks.

"Well, you would be dead by then," she said.

"Or buried alive, brr!" agreed Shard. "Say, you're actually here to join?"

"...I'm just here to watch out for Antoine until he goes with you guys," explained Molly.

"Unfortunately, your participation is unwanted," said Lyric robotically, pointing his claw glove at her.

The purple cat's eyes widened and her hand gripped Shard's arm tightly to the point she could rip it off.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" said Kalus, grabbing the giant snake by the back. "We're not supposed to kill agents!"

"You already had your fair share three days ago," said Breezie, rubbing her face.

"And you're willing to let this lesser female marksman hear secret information?"

"You can just say 'marksman', man…" said Kalus.

"If I just say 'marksman', it would sound like I'm more addressing a man."

"She's just standing right there," pointed out Shortfuse. "We don't have to imagine her as a man."

"Must be weird being called marksman when you're just wearing something fashionable."

"Oh, you have a problem with that?" asked Breezie, placing her hands on her hips.

"She's wearing a man's suit. A female dress means she hates herself and has no purpose or meaning built on intelligence and strength."

I wished that Lyric didn't see that since that brought back memories of me being flustered when Molly asked me to be her 'date' for yesterday's party. She shared the same sentiment when Lyric ducked downwards before a bullet could land a crack in his glass helmet. The source of which came from the agitated Molly, now wielding a gun.

I clenched my teeth nervously, knowing this would be one way of ticking her off.

Nearly everybody looked surprised to see this.

Meanwhile, both Antoine and Shard gave thrilled grins.

"Antoine already showed me the stupid mission email earlier," grumbled Molly, attempting to sound upfront. "Y-You know what? I don't care…I'm just staying and won't tell a soul."

"But you've heard our assassination plan," pointed out Lyric.

"If we can't stop Ice, it won't matter," said Rosemary wearily.

The giant snake finally relented and crossed his arms.

Breezie cleared her throat and stepped into the middle area between the couches. Adjusting her lapel, she returned to her confident and flirty attitude, a sly smile crossing over her muzzle. I sat further in my chair. Maybe a little too comfortable since my tail was already flopping over my lap. This should be interesting.

"Anyway, we should get back to business," she said. Without looking, she grabbed the container of tacos and tossed them aside. "So, no more tacos!"

Ash stared mournfully at the now lava-sauce-covered wall. "Hey, I don't want to waste food again, Breezie…"

Without batting an eye, Breezie pressed a button on the table and the mini spotlights attached to it directed themselves upwards to form a huge hologram of the one and only Ice. From this close, I could see the white jacket he was wearing. To my surprise, it was a leather jacket. He must have bought that in the city. And boy, could I remember that insufferable smirk on his face that made me want to slap him for looking stupid…

"As you probably already know," explained Breezie. "Ice is one of the most notorious solo criminals out there. And recently, in the last few months, he had been seen ransacking multiple properties in several towns."

This caught my attention. "That's new. I never heard that he went out this way to cause damage in these city areas…"

"He seems busy the second he stepped into metropolitan areas," said Breezie. She pressed another button on the table and the hologram morphed into a map with several red dots. "Our intel told us she picked up digital communication between him and his contacts. Specifically, the devices his contacts used weren't fully secure. We gathered a few likely locations where Ice and his gathered allies might be before they head to the Free Desire Stadium."

Not even a second for everyone to understand this and many were already voicing their ideas.

"I say that we go in there and smash his head!" roared Shortfuse.

"Nah, I say to make him suffer longer by inserting metal liquid into his blood," hissed Lyric.

"I'm thinking more of burying him under rubble," deadpanned Rosemary.

"C-Can we take this a bit more seriously?" said Antoine, sweat already rolling down his face. "This is serious."

"But Ice might be a fun guy!" said Shard, grinning. "That's the joy of having enemies. I mean, you've seen the banters between Sonic and Eggman. And the many humiliating defeats of Eggman that he could have died for real!"

"This is not a game," growled the coyote, gritting his teeth in repressed frustration. "The outcome of this disastrous situation can cause more incidents than possible."

"Oh, 'the outcome of this disastrous situation' and my brain dies!" teased Shard, swinging his arm around dramatically like he was carrying a sword. "What else can I be stating the obvious on?"

Breezie, Lyric and Shortfuse chuckled in amusement. However, I didn't find this funny. Antoine wasn't sulking away. He might have a stoic and serious look, but I believe he was one step away from becoming a nervous wreck again. He was vocal earlier about doing the assassination. He was right that this wasn't a game. Why couldn't the others see that?

I growled animalistically, gripping one of the armrests of my chair. I ignored the green glitches on my arms. However, it was noticed by Shard. His smile barely dropped with a hint of gullibility. His ears wiggled in the manner of being a show-off. Molly punched him slightly in the shoulder. When he looked at her, his smile dropped. The purple cat was glaring at him as well, but her furrowed brows were knitted in worry.

Once Shard realized the situation, he frowned appropriately. Antoine barely looked at him, but Shard seemed to try to make him feel better by patting him on the back. Even through my anger, I was confused to see him acting… awkwardly in providing comfort. Shard was actually concerned.

Breezie, Lyric and Shortfuse didn't get the hint, so I decided to voice Antoine's concerns. I stood up, flapped my arms to wave away the glitches and cleared my throat.

"Hold on, guys," I said. "I'm not gonna make this sweet and simple. It's suicide to come running straight into Ice's hiding places like this. Much like breaking into a house where there are already armed bodyguards."

Breezie was the first to stop laughing and turned her head to me in interest.

"Oh, how can you tell?" she asked, brushing a bang away from her eye.

"I don't think Ice wouldn't see forces of resistance coming in," I said, walking near her to take center stage. "Trust me, I've seen what he did before. And he tried validating what others belittled him for. Running into where he might be hiding is unwise since he would know how to hit intruders. I propose how to catch him off-guard is to get to the stadium first."

"Oooh," said Shortfuse, nodding his head slowly. "...and then we kill him the second he comes in!"

I glared at him. "I'm not done YET."

Immediately, I closed my mouth at the sound of my robotic and menacing voice. The ruby even picked this up, its panicking voice asking me if I did that. The anger building up died down as I realized how many eyes were on me. I slowly turned back to Breezie, feeling ashamed. The teal hedgehog raised an eyebrow quizzically, whether in disgust or surprise.

"Sorry, a-am I going too far?" I asked. "Is there anything I should know?"

Breezie didn't say anything. She pressed a button on the table and the holograph morphed into a brick apartment building. Surprisingly, floating bars appeared around it. One of them seemed to be a…time monitor? Judging by the numbers appearing.

"His plan is to plant explosives around in the stadium before the show's second half starts," she informed. "He already employed the same tactic to an apartment once, even getting past high security. We don't know how he exactly did it, not even saying this through his digital connections. What you bring up is a good point since even if we found him in his hiding place, then he would have gone ahead with a prepared backup plan already set in motion."

At the right timing, the building behind her exploded. I jumped back before reminding myself that it was just a hologram. Or at least footage of what Ice did back then. From what I saw, a massive ball of smoke and fire erupted from the top of the building, travelling all the way through the building. I could see the unwelcome and dark smoke puffing out from the windows, covering those still within.

To my shock, the building began to collapse. The bricks from top to bottom fell apart like toy blocks stacked on each other. The slow motion applied gave the appearance of the bricks gently floating off into space.

But I knew it wouldn't be the case since it would have been more violent back then. It came to my attention that seeing something like this playing out was more…frightening than in thought. As the building's top exploded, I could imagine the cries and screams inside…

A reminder of what jackals like…me could do.

Why did I feel so casual at the start with what he did?

My nails dug into my palms. No, I wanted to chew much harder on this. Not gonna let Ice chew on it. I'm gonna come and take away what he wants.

"Then it seems like we need to beat him at his own game," I said. "If we show ourselves to him too early, he can assess his next moves easily. By blending in at the stadium without giving our appearances away, we can track down the explosives or other devices he plants and turn them off. Those explosions and their linked devices are our targets first."

The entire Team Blood watched on with mixed looks. But they were already drinking into this, their eyes watchful for the dots to connect and form a precise shape for them to utilize. I could see they were coming up with better ideas. From the couch, Antoine was slowly nodding in understanding while Molly began smirking like she knew I would say this.

"Hmm, can traps work as well?" asked Shard.

Rosemary hummed. "Not gonna lie, that's a good idea. Traps can appear in any field, especially democracy. But it seems like we need to ensure they are foolproof, sophisticated and invisible."

"And what about Ice and the others?" asked Kalus. "How do we…get rid of them?"

"Now, that one I want to explain," cut in Breezie, standing right next to me with her chest puffed up in audacity. "We can't exactly assassinate them on the spot. Thousands will be on their seats, but people will still be crawling around. We can't cause a mass panic. The hiding spots and shadows are our way of killing them. And no messes!"

"What about Ice? He's a tough fighter."

"Does anyone have experience up to a desert mercenary level?" I asked matter-of-factly.

Nobody raised their hands. Shortfuse took a step back, probably deciding he might not have the full combat training to go head-to-head with Ice. Shard slowly lifted his hand up, but he lowered it down. Surprisingly, Rosemary lifted her hand without hesitation. And then, Antoine joined in with a reluctant frown.

"OK, Antoine, Rosemary, you two will be with me," I said. "But be careful. He's a bastard, but he's not an idiot."

Antoine nodded, muttering something to himself.

"I like where this is going," said Rosemary. "Kid, for such a young mercenary, you know how to take action in a crisis."

Molly chuckled. "Like you wouldn't believe."

I shrugged. "I know worse."

Rosemary turned to Antoine. "What about you? Any innovations you have?"

The coyote shook his head. "Nothing on my end."

Breezie let out a hearty laugh and slapped me on the back. "Looks like we got a prime plan in plan. I'll be coming along. Shard, Shortfuse, you'll come along with us. You two have the quick hacking and deactivating the bombs."

Shard and Shortfuse stood up with the former's LED eyes sparkling like these anime characters you would see on phones.

Breezie's smile disappeared, uncharacteristically annoyed. "That means YOU, Shortfuse."

"Oh no…" groaned Lyric.

"Wait, you're taking SHORTFUSE along?" asked Kalus.

"Oh, you got a problem with that?" said Shortfuse, stepping in. "I have trained my entire life for this! Whether it is to crush the Eggman Empire or to clean the world from any unholiness, Shortfuse the Cybernik will be as small as his former self to flatten the-"

Out of nowhere, Breezie dashed forward, struck him from where his chin might be and slapped on two familiar-looking rings around his wrists. Shortfuse gasped, a loud beeping coming from inside his suit.

"Wait, are those…the Blocker Rings on his wrists?" I asked.

"And that's why I'm putting you on this, Shortfuse," said Breezie. "Oh, don't think we got rid of the Blocker Rings. Technology isn't made to be thrown away. You're on baby mode. We won't need your fancy gadgets and strengths. Only use your brain until we finish the mission."

Shortfuse's body slumped in disappointment, his explosive privileges taken away. "Figures."

The Cybernik became the new sulker as he stared long into his Blocker Rings. I felt a little bad for him, but maybe it was for his own good since he was much wilder than us.

The rest of the talk was discussing which places were good for hiding and setting up traps. We even looked into what else Ice sent to his contacts in setting up the explosives.

So far, so good. And we were crafting an excellent plan. Not bad for a black-ops team with a divisive reputation in G.U.N. A couple of them still tried arguing and ended up looking foolish, but we all got a good laugh from it with no prolonged grudges or issues.

Getting to be part of this discussion and being one of the leading voices…it gave me the same feeling back when I was in my squad. Back in the good old days, when creating a plan with Zero and the others. This time, it was for a good cause. A messy, good cause. At least I was doing something to pay my debt and repay some of my squad's previous crimes.

This felt like the right way to continue being a mercenary. If there was an acceptable role for one.

During the conversation, I kept my eye on Antoine. He had been taking the mission seriously the whole time. I thought back to his mental breakdown in the torture room. Given that he was defensive towards Shard, what was going through his head?

But at this point, he retained his stoic look so figuring him out became complicated.

And even watching Molly, the closest ally to Antoine, didn't indicate anything. She was listening to our plan but didn't seem concerned. Maybe it was due to the coyote acting like he was alright.

But was he truly OK with this plan?

AN: We're gonna have so much fun together.

On the jokey side, Antoine going into food critic mode on Ash's perfectly cooked lava taco is a wink to his canon character's likeness to fine cuisine. So you can say that Antoine is really critical of how he likes his food to be.

The joke surrounding Team Blood getting sidetracked by Lyric calling Molly a 'female marksman' is based on Peacemaker. I feel like it's a little cringy, but thought it would be funny to show Lyric being a bit of a misogynist.

On the serious side, this chapter goes a bit harder with exploring characterization.

And I thought it's about damn time that I focus on former members of the legendary Jackal Squad. While the ones who joined G.U.N earlier aren't around, I thought it necessary to include conflict from those who remain outlaws. I hope that Ice will be an exciting villain to write and while he won't have a major role, I want to make sure he gets to shine. Interestingly, his name is a homage to one of the characters in 'Sonic Forces: Chapter 2' by Ultimate Anarchy.

Team Blood's involvement and mission to assassinate Ice serve as a base for Antoine's character. As you can see, he has issues of his own. I tried my best to describe how he felt or at least through the lens of Obsidian. You can probably already guess what would happen when Antoine faces off Ice.

In a world where no one bothers seeing counselors, you have psychos hiding under the surface. Unfortunately, I forgot that Obsidian should have called a therapist and this seems to have some unwanted effects over the course of the story.

And this goes the same for Team Blood; while the earlier kills and their talk about murder are played for laughs, their 'torture room' is a deconstruction of some of their mindsets (namely Lyric's, Shortfuse's and Rosemary's) and how terrifying it actually is.

There's something I want to point out as well. With Shard, you can see that he replicates Sonic's personality. He even replicates what Sonic's dynamic would be like with Antoine. But Shard is still one of the kindest and most moral teammates. As a nod to his canon counterpart, he is still learning more about morality, so he doesn't realize that he might have upset someone immediately.

Thank you for reading this chapter! If you enjoy this story, be sure to follow or favorite. Make sure to leave a review with your thoughts. Constructive criticism is needed for improvements, but if there are any flames, then you'll end up being the fool.

Until next time, keep on rocking!