Brad and Ambient walked silently back to Layon's base, entering the small, dim garage-hangar.

Brad ran his hand along the Fox's armor as he passed it. The situation was every bit as upsetting as it had been, but he felt calmer about it now.

He felt calmer about everything. He wasn't sure why.

He and Ambient made their way through the base. It was the dead of night, and most lights were off. Brad began to wonder where Naomi-

The pair heard a nearby flurry of zippers and gear. Brad glanced and saw Naomi burst from a corridor, clearly in the process of trying to pull herself back together to go outside. Layon trailed her, hands in his pockets. Neither saw Brad or Ambient in the dark room; the only light came from the hall.

Layon sighed. "Fluegel. It's cold out there. Your thermal gear's a mess. Just-"

"Don't you fucking patronize me. We've been out there for days."

"Uh-huh. In Zoids. Of which yours is in rough shape."

Naomi stopped and faced Layon, a perfect picture of hostility. "Yes. That's why I'll take yours."

Layon bent to her eye level and sneered. "I don't think so."

"I'm not asking."

"Lady, I know you're packing, but this is my goddamn base and you're gonna listen to my goddamn rules. Got it?"

Naomi racked the slide of her pistol on its holster, never breaking eye contact with Layon. "Didn't hear you. Care to repeat that?"

Layon's upper lip trembled.

Brad's voice cut in suddenly. "Get out of her face, Layon."

Naomi and Layon both startled and glanced. Layon switched on a light in the wide room, revealing Brad and Ambient standing there, silent. After getting over her shock, Naomi snarled, furious. "Brad."

Brad tightly shut his eyes and rolled his head to the side, well aware that Naomi wasn't going to be happy with him.

"Babe."

"Where. The fuck. Did you go?"

"Outside." It obviously wasn't a lie: dirt, foliage, and melting clumps of snow and ice clung awkwardly to his hair. "I can explain."

"Oh, you'd better."

Brad glanced at Layon, and motioned with his head for the man to leave.

Layon glared at Brad for a few moments, then silently left the room.

Leon slammed the door to a small room shut and turned to his father.

"Steve. We have to contact the ZBGF. Now."

"No." The older man closed his eyes and folded his arms. "We've already talked about this. She's not with the Backdraft anymore."

"And you know this how? Because she told you?" Leon scowled. "You're putting the entire Team at risk. If our sensors were off the charts, there's no way we're not getting a visit. Not after what happened with the Berserk Fury. And if they find out you've been aiding Backdraft-"

"Nobody here is aiding Backdraft!"

"Dad-"

"Lee."

Leon inhaled through his nose and threw a challenging look. "This is my Team just as much as it is yours! I can't-"

"Is it? Last I checked, this is still my base, my roster, and my money." Steve's tone stopped just short of hostile. "You haven't even talked to Sara."

Leon felt his hands twitch against a desire to be fists. "Because she pisses me off, and I don't want her here."

Steve set his jaw. "That sounds like a you problem."

The young Toros's pupils pinpointed with ire. He stared for several seconds, then changed the subject.

"So what are you going to tell the ZBC, then?"

"Nothing. Like before. I keep the bunker in working order for a reason. We'll figure out-"

"No. We won't, because I'll tell them." Leon growled. "Sara and Polta - I don't know what their game is, but they aren't ever going to lift a finger to help us, it's written all over them. I don't know what to make of Stoller, but why would-"

"Listen to yourself." The older man's expression wrinkled with disgust. "We've always helped people who needed it. This is no different. You're better than this!"

"This is different, and I thought you were smarter than this! We already have enough on our hands with fixing the base and figuring out what to do about the damn Liger-"

"If you're worried about the Liger, go talk to Bit."

"Bit doesn't know what to do either, Steve! It's Vega's fault this whole mess even happened. And the only reason he was here-"

Steve interrupted, visibly upset. "You really expected me to turn away a mother and her son, probably to their deaths, because of who they used to associate with?"

"That bull about them being in danger is obviously a lie. Who in their right mind would touch Vega with that thing following him around?! We know the ZBC and ZBGF have been after Backdraft, especially since the Royal Cup, she just wants to hide! She'll tell you anything!"

Steve just shook his head, silent for a few moments.

"When you're a father, you'll understand."

Leon's lip curled. "Not sure how you understand, then."

It took a moment for the insult to land, but when it did - it hit hard. Steve's eyes and expression dropped and stayed down, but he kept slowly shaking his head.

"I know you didn't want to come back, Leon. You didn't have to."

"Yes, I did, because without Brad and Leena-"

"No." Steve cut him off. "Running the Team isn't your responsibility."

"Perhaps not," Leon held up his thickly-gloved hands and forearms in riled demonstration. "But protecting it is. And don't you dare tell me otherwise!"

Steve didn't say anything, eyes staying down.

In the silence, Leon's irritation awkwardly died off. He didn't speak either, his arms slowly returning to his sides.

"You know that I care about everyone." Steve said quietly. "But I have to protect our family. I don't know if I could ever have forgiven Bit… or Brad, if you'd been killed."

Leon had only rarely heard his father's voice sink to the depths it now crept, and he felt a aching, sickly regret for pushing it there.

"It wasn't their fault."

"I know. And I don't care." Steve finally looked up, meeting Leon's eyes directly. "So don't you dare accuse me of endangering anyone, least of all anyone on this Team. Do I make myself clear?"

The bridge of Leon's nose faintly wrinkled. He didn't speak.

"Leon. Do I make myself clear." Steve repeated.

"Crystal." Leon replied, before turning and leaving without another word.

Something was different.

Brad seemed normal. Relaxed. He smiled, and his smile reached his eyes for the first time in months - for the first time since everything had gone to hell. Almost like nothing had happened.

For a jarring moment Naomi forgot where she was, forgot the weight of her gear, forgot the deep unease she'd spent the past week immersed in. Forgot how angry she'd just been, as she blankly watched Brad approach and gently touch the side of her face with his hand.

Naomi seized said hand with intensity, her fingernails digging in. Her eyes flicked, searching Brad's.

"What the hell happened to you?"

"Everything's okay."

"No, no, no." She lightly pushed the man away. "You fucking vanish, then walk back in like this, just expecting me to act like-"

Again, like nothing had ever happened.

Her words died out.

That's really what she wanted, wasn't it? She'd all but discarded the possibility, already trying to determine how to move forward. She'd done things she didn't really want to, but she realized - with an uncomfortable jolt of guilt - that she'd at least had, and made, that choice.

Brad just shook his head, approaching again and leaning down to touch Naomi's forehead with his own.

"It won't happen again. We're gonna be okay."

He spoke with an obscene confidence. Naomi struggled against what felt like an unnatural compulsion to listen, but then wondered why she'd hesitate. She trusted Brad, and wanted to indulge this reality he was simply asserting into being.

"Brad-"

"Don't worry."

She didn't need to worry. Everything would be fine.

She relaxed, closed her eyes, and slipped her arms around Brad, who was quick to return the gesture.

There was a blaze of heat, a frigid rush, then the dull comfort of a temperature she was quite used to: her home in the desert, with the night's touch of chill.

Naomi blinked and looked around. She stood in the dark living room of her apartment, Brad in front of her, and - that fucking Organoid, behind him.

Reasonably alarmed, Naomi staggered back; she had no interest in standing so close to the beast. But simply being placed somewhere else was disorienting, no matter how familiar said place may have otherwise been. She tripped backward over a small coffee table, but didn't fall. Brad caught her by her arms.

"Whoa, whoa, hey. It's okay. He's-"

"We've already been over this!" She yelled.

"I swear on my life, he won't hurt us." He gently pulled Naomi to standing, but didn't let go of her. "You just need to be back home. No reason for you to be out putting up with that shit anymore."

Naomi swept a baffled glance around the room again, then looked back at Brad. The complete bewilderment died from her face as she realized she'd seen the effect of - but not experienced - what just happened, before.

Did they just teleport? Could the Organoid teleport? Is that what it did when it just vanished? Is that how-

"But- how -?" The implications were a little too extreme for her to deal with at the moment. "What about my Zoid? What about your Zoid?!"

"We'll take care of it. Don't worry."

'We.' It was plain in his tone: Brad was talking about himself and the Organoid.

Naomi's eyes flicked cautiously back up to Ambient. The beast impassively returned her regard. Something certainly was different, but she didn't know what.

Brad leaned down and solicited a kiss.

Naomi responded, but her eyes stayed fixed on Ambient - who vanished.

She looked back at Brad, her face a conflicted mess of relief and apprehension.

But the warmth in his smile disarmed her. In his ice-blue eyes shone the fierce, silent confidence that'd drawn her to him in the first place. She'd missed it, just like she'd missed every other aspect of the man who'd been stolen from her, months ago.

Yet here he was again.

Naomi's eyes glossed. She very decidedly guided-then-shoved Brad back into the sofa, shucking her coat as she climbed on top of him and kissed him deeply.

Bit caught the tail end of Leon stalking into the hangar, and hastened to catch up.

Behind him, Sara trailed, in much less of a hurry.

"Leon!" Bit yelled. When the young Toros didn't stop, but was clearly heading towards his Blade Liger, Bit added: "Where are you going?"

"Romeo City."

"Do you kn-"

"No. And I'll worry about it when I get there." The man paused, visibly steeled himself and glanced over his shoulder. "Want to come with me?"

Though Leon was clearly agitated, Bit could tell it wasn't aimed at him. And as Bit considered his answer, he ached.

Whether the ache was for a shred of normalcy, or because One had tried to garrotte him, he wasn't sure. But the notion of leaving Zero made him anxious. It wasn't a feeling he was used to, and he shut down for a moment to deal with it.

Bit knew his partner would never be too far away, but that was the problem: he didn't want Zero following him everywhere. Worse, he knew that the Organoid would reason through any instruction to the contrary if it felt like it - as was evidenced by its unconcerned barging into Brad's room at the hospital not long ago.

Leon's eyes flicked, watching Bit's obvious struggle. He misunderstood it.

"You can ride in my Liger. Yours will be fine here."

Bit just shook his head, looking away. "Nah, nah. Just let me know if you hear from Brad and Naomi, okay?"

Leon nodded. His eyes slid to Sara, who'd finally made her way to the doorframe.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll be gone by the time I get back." He said.

Sara just smiled. Impolitely.

Bit saw Leon's muscles cord with the very real effort of withheld fury. But the young man simply turned and continued to his Blade Liger, leaving Bit to glance toward Sara.

"If I were you, I'd be a lot more worried about Vega." Bit said.

Sara's smile vanished. "He'll be fine."

"Sure. One only tried to kill me and eat Liger." Bit replied bluntly.

"You're not Vega, dear." Sara shifted her intense gaze to Bit; something about it unnerved him. "I may not know where he is, but…" The woman closed her eyes as Zero scuffed up against her mind, a warning reminder of its presence. "Frankly, it seems you and your Organoid may be the bigger threat to him."

Bit's flashed a scowl, but it didn't stay. "Screw off. He's been running around trying to avoid you. I've only been trying to help him."

Sara cocked her head and stared. "So you helped him hide a problem instead of talking to me, Steve, or anyone who also could've helped?"

Bit blinked.

He hadn't thought of it that way. His gaze drifted as he quietly watched Leon's Blade Liger power up and go loping out into the night.

Bit had already admitted to Leon that he was wrong to try and deal with things by himself. He felt his throat tighten against the notion he'd been wrong here too. Had he inadvertently pushed Vega - and One - to such heights of desperation?

Sara's unrelenting stare almost had a physical heat to it.

He felt stupid. Insignificant, like he-

~Stop.~ Zero commanded. ~Bit, we could not allow them to continue killing without consequence. Sara,~ The Organoid's voice layered with a growl. ~If you feel you must assert yourself this way when speaking, that means only that your words are themselves empty.~

Sara glanced around, a brief search for Zero. She settled on side-eyeing its lurking mental presence.

"Says a beast who takes without asking, judges without knowledge, and views my son with contempt."

~That unfortunate child - whom you claim to care for, yet indifferently thrust into the jaws of Death itself - would be better off slain.~ When both Bit and Sara went tense, Zero quietly added: ~Of course: only a fool would rob a bondmate of its partner.~

Sara took a level breath, almost able to feel Zero's teeth in its voice. "Are you suggesting that I mean either of you harm? Because I don't."

She steeled against Zero's immediate scrutiny, which lasted several seconds. Bit watched her, then blinked again.

She seemed to be telling the truth. In fact, nothing she'd said seemed amiss.

"Obviously, I don't want Vega hurt. And obviously, I recognize that you two's Organoids are… fundamentally opposed." Sara stepped closer, far closer than Bit liked. "But you both have already been working together. Trying to, at least. I don't see why that can't continue."

"One tried to kill me and eat Liger." Bit emphasized, repeating his earlier statement. "And I don't even kn-"

Sara leaned forward, her face only inches from his.

"Surely you wouldn't blame Vega for a situation of your own making."

"N-no." Bit's body did things outside of his control, and he wasn't very happy about it. He uncomfortably stepped back. "Of course not. But-"

"I didn't think so."

"Sara." When Sara tried to close the gap again, Bit shoved his hands onto her shoulders, indicating the end of his patience. He spoke through his teeth. "Listen. We're willing to tolerate you here, but you've hurt a lot of people. Killed a lot of them. I get why but-"

"Then you understand why I had no choice."

The woman's damn expression never changed.

Bit wanted to disagree. But he knew Sara's experiences with Vega after the Royal Cup via Zero, and had his own recollection of the deep mental wound he and Zero had seen on Vega.

For an excruciating moment his own empathy retreated, overwhelmed. It left a brutal, utilitarian reality - Sara's. And in that reality, where Vega was more important than everyone else… yes. He understood.

And he hated it.

Bit withdrew again, shaking his head. "Stop."

"Dear. Don't lie to yourself. You're no different. You know that you and your Organoid are more important than other people."

"I said stop."

"She's right, Bit." Came Jaime's voice, abruptly. Both glanced over at the young teen sitting on a crate nearby.

Bit blinked.

"Come on." Jaime said. "We all know you think it. You can't have showed up on our Team, dragged us up through the ranks and just… not think you're not more important."

"It's… we're a Team. Everyone's important."

Jaime threw a skeptical look.

He awoke with the first traces of dawn. The empty desert sky, solid blue, stretched everywhere above him.

Vega blinked and slowly sat up, flecked by a sand-filled breeze.

He felt stiff, he hurt, and he was colder than he'd ever been in his life. Reflexively he drew his knees to his chest, shivering hard.

He slowly realized that the drag below him was that of metal flooring, not sand. As he continued an ascent to awareness, he realized he was above the level of the horizon. He wasn't on the ground.

A squint. He turned to look over his shoulder, taking several moments to register where he sat. A small rear deck on the disused Ultrasaurus. Near the very stage upon which the Liger Zero and Berserk Fury had mere months ago fought.

Vega blinked several more times, trying to remember what had happened, how he'd ended up here.

He stood and unsteadily crept to the ledge, observing the sheer drop below.

Backing up with a shiver, he tightly folded his arms. How the hell did he-

One appeared beside him in a gouge of black. Vega brightened as One shepherded him close. The beast's body was warm - uncomfortably so - but that was much preferable to the cold.

Vega relaxed onto One, reaching to gently scratch its neck and jawline. He had no real idea what'd happened, but he seemed fine, and One seemed calm.

No, not calm. Satiated.

He watched One's throat work as its tongue jutted out, idly clearing its chops. It wasn't hungry, and neither was Vega, anymore.

~You were correct.~ One said. ~It is alive.~

Dark eyes flicked. He didn't recall making any claims, especially not-

Vega looked down at the deck. The Ultrasaurus.

~It is old, and quite stagnant. But its stores are vast. I am delighted.~

It didn't sound or act delighted, but Vega understood it perfectly. One imaged the massive Core chamber with its equally-massive Core, and shared the rather bizarre sensation and gratitude of bolting down chunks of it.

"Thanks, thanks. I get it." Vega waved aside the share, resting his head on the beast again. One carefully sat on its haunches, then leaned and began to gently groom Vega's hair.

It felt delightful. Vega buried himself close to the Organoid, lovingly tracing his fingers across the panels that made up its side. The rising sun also felt good on them both. With One subdued and gentle, it was easy to relax into its mental embrace. This quelled the aches in Vega's body, his shoulder, quelled the hunger he hadn't realized he still had - until it was gone.

Something in his own mind, gnawed, begged, pleaded: he was parched. He was starving.

He didn't notice.

He dipped again into an uneasy sleep, secure and warm in One's embrace.