As the adrenaline wore off, Brad sank into the Saix's seat with relief. In the cockpit's silence, he found the steady, rapid chop of the Zoid's stabilizers to be strangely relaxing. The Saix settled into its run, now having time to reflect its confusion with the Organoid cruising directly beneath it.

Ambient conversed with the Zoid for a few minutes, then grunted a chuckle at Brad.

~Mmh. This lad's an old one. Has opinions.~

Brad's eyes were closed. "As long as its opinions are that it doesn't mind being taken for a spin, I don't care."

Ambient shrugged, then considered Brad's choice of destination. ~Headin' home?~

"Yeah. Sorry I even left, to be honest." Brad grumbled, not looking forward to relaying any of this mess to Naomi - or Leon. He debated if he even should. "Figure we can ditch the Zoid a bit out of town and walk back."

Ambient made its brow-raised surveillance of their surroundings obvious. ~Love, you doin' that is great an' all, but theh sun'll be up soon and ah'm keen to rest. Tryin'a get us aroo'und town without bein' seen… nae great when tired.~

Brad cracked an eye. He innately understood that part of Ambient's ability to move undetected relied both on actual finesse - and on the beast basically selling a lie to everyone around it. Literally everyone: the more people, the more demanding the task became.

Brad's mind ticked with a growing awareness. Ambient's ability could extend beyond itself and to Brad as well, couldn't it? Even potentially to a Zoid they were piloting. Obviously it'd take great effort, but…

~Meanin': I think we ought hold off and head for somewhere with cover. Rest a bit. Theh'n decide what t'do from there. You've nae had any sleep either.~

Brad appraised the featureless expanse of desert around them, then sighed.

"Fine. It'd be nice to not have to-"

The Lightning Saix's farthest proximity sensors chirped a warning. Brad glanced down at the controls, eyeing the small screen.

His hackles and anxiety rose sharply, as he barely had time to register the display before-

A flash of laser claws narrowly missed the Saix's rear leg. The smaller feline screeched and sped up without being asked, bewildered at the Liger Zero's abrupt presence behind it.

"What the fuck!" Brad yelped. "How'd the Liger-"

~JUST RUN!~


A tangible silence.

Neither Organoid spoke, as Shadow stared into the dark of One's optics.

~Do not speak of things you know nothing about.~

~Like you, the details do not matter.~ One stated.

The Geno Breaker landed heavily, brandishing both pincers up at One. Shadow hovered just above the Zoid, saying nothing.

~Shadow, no.~

The blue Organoid's stern voice again. Then its tone dropped into an eerie shriek that produced a massive upwelling of blue insects. They arced around the Geno Breaker then rushed together like clashing waves, forming a mass of razor cacophony that rushed at One.

Vega winced away reflexively, but One simply hovered in the deluge, unbothered as the insects' attacks skipped across its body. It stayed focused on the two Organoids, recognizing that this was likely an attempt to mask escape: and indeed it was. When the insects' furor subsided, everything including the Geno Breaker had vanished.

But the two still knew where they'd gone. Together they focused and blazed to teleport-

Then Vega found himself in a sensory void. He blinked, and went feeling for his own face.

He wasn't sure where One had gone - or how he could lose track of something he was inside of.

His surroundings resolved, and what he saw didn't make sense. Vega recognized the pristine, motif-lined walls of the main corridor in Backdraft's headquarters. Excitement quickly tangled with confused dread: home?

But home was gone. He knew it was.

This couldn't be real.

Vega touched the wall, and like a disturbed puddle the imagery shuddered.

~I told you to leave.~

The blue Organoid's voice. Vega swung his head around, looking for it.

"Well… so?! We told you we weren't going to!"

One's unnerving absence made Vega feel tiny. Disturbing sensations of being watched from all sides flashed across him, and he became painfully aware of every sensation in his body.

The stifling air of judgment lessened, but Vega found his thoughts slowing. It crossed his mind that he couldn't remember the last time he ate anything.

Or drank anything, for that matter.

Specula regarded this with confusion-

-before black jaws tore through the illusion and latched on.

One seized Specula's snout and bit down with horrific force. The blue Organoid shrieked and vanished, Shadow bombing down from above to slam One into the sand, a furious carpet of insects swarming over them both.

One sank its teeth into Shadow's leg and rolled, and the two disappeared for several seconds in a shrieking flurry of fangs and tails. The two then burst free from the sheeting insects and faced each other, alight with rage.

~Submit and be consumed.~ One growled.

~Neither are happening. Quit clinging to that child and fight!~

A massive pincer of the Geno Breaker flashed down with precision, driving One bodily into the dark sand. The massive blades came together with a shriek of metal as they pulled back, One dangling in their grasp.

One abruptly found itself elsewhere, and looked around.

Empty steel walls. The container that the Berserk Fury had been buried beneath the sea in.

Buried, with no real mind for the Zoid or its voracious occupant.

On one hand, the container didn't leak. On the other… despite a Zoid's relatively small respirations, the oxygen in the air eventually ran out.

And it took a very, very long time.

The Zoid's spiracles and vents gaped uselessly, a starving Core starved further, hearing water all around but unable to drink, its body stiffening as its unwilling occupant similarly suffered, consuming the dying machine from within.

One thrashed in-mind, outraged.

It had already escaped this prison. It wouldn't go back.

Something held him down. Some things.

Suffocating. Panicked. Starving. Its thirst burned as its surroundings closed in, maddening and empty. It didn't die. It couldn't die. Why couldn't it die? Why-

The Geno Breaker immediately brought its other pincer to bear and grabbed One's tail, wrenching the Organoid's body. The beast tore at the weakest point, the synthflesh base of its neck, with a grotesque burst of silver blood.

Vega dropped out of the mess, falling hard into the wet sand, unceremoniously writhing with a shared pain.

The Breaker wound back and threw both pieces as hard and far as it could into the ocean. Shadow snorted from atop the Breaker's back, wings still flared angrily. Though it was taboo to kill Organoids, an exception certainly had to be made for something so unrepentantly awful as the One.

Specula quietly, almost sadly, watched the child below. Vega seized and retched froth, screaming as his breath allowed it until he wore out.


Brad looked at the display then over both shoulders, not quite believing that the Liger'd caught up with a Saix at a dead run. It was just the Liger, not the Jager, right? He wasn't seeing things, right?

Another furious swipe of glowing laser claw made the Liger's proximity all too real. Near-effortlessly the Liger gained ground, moving with more speed and fluidity than Brad thought possible.

Bit's videscreen appeared. The younger man's expression was calm, displeased - and utterly possessed.

"Bit?" Brad managed.

"I'm not sure you heard us." Bit said quietly. "Ambient. Can't. Leave."

Ambient very much knew those words were Zero's, and very much wanted nothing more than to be as far away as possible.

Unfortunately, the current situation complicated things a lot. After fumbling with surprise and as a result nearly losing its position beneath the Saix, Ambient sank every talon into the Zoid's undercarriage, tucked its body in close and clung for dear life.

"We can't evade at these speeds! But if we slow d-"

~THEH'N GO FASTER!~

Ambient yanked Brad's attention to the panel on the Saix's controls for its full booster capability. Brad slammed the control with the side of his fist: the Saix's stabilizers, air intakes, and boosters all quickly shifted for maximum performance. A split-second later, it burst forward at even greater speed. The intense acceleration crushed Brad back against the seat.

Few pilots could deal with the Saix's full speed without training, but that really wasn't Brad's concern. He twitched a glance at a console. What concerned him was-

-exactly what was happening.

The Liger sped up. The Liger kept up. It would've been glorious-looking were it not also so terrifying: the rapid chop of the beast's sharp shoulders and haunches, its gracefully dipping back, its flowing tail. For its speed, the Liger's gait seemed effortless.

How could the fucking Liger Zero keep up with a-

~It's Zero!~ Ambient shrieked, itself struggling to keep hold of the Saix. ~He's fused t'the fuckin' Liger and-~

"Can't you do the same thing!?"

A painfully long pause. Brad felt Ambient's intense reservation, but couldn't process it fully with everything else going on. "Well?!"

Ambient relented with a growl. ~Guess we'll have to. It's nae gonna be pleasant.~

"Like we're having a great fuckin' time right now?!" Brad grimaced against the continued speeds keeping him glued to the seat. "Come on!"

The feeling was similar to - but still a far cry from - the feeling of Ambient fusing to the Fox. Brad's lack of relationship with the Saix spared him the details, but not the experience: he had the distinct impression of the Saix's hesitation, followed by Ambient's quick, aggressive coercion.

Their dire situation made things necessary, of course.

However much the Saix didn't want to work with Ambient, it certainly didn't want to find out what'd happen if the vicious Liger - which somehow continued to keep pace - got ahold of it.

Brad quickly discovered Ambient wasn't kidding. The sensation of it fusing with the Zoid was bad. Searing heat, the Zoid struggling against a nauseating instinct to purge, then things felt painfully cold.

While the Lightning Saix was quick to recover, revel, and pour on additional speed, the edges of Brad's vision were beginning to close in.

He rode that sliver of consciousness as long as he could, then everything went dark.


The pursuit ended not long after Ambient upped the ante.

Though like Brad, Bit was capable of dealing with extreme speeds, he'd strayed into territory beyond what he'd known with the Jager.

He wasn't capable of acknowledging that, however.

Everything was perfect - no, nearly perfect - he could feel his own pulse in his ears and everywhere around him. Bit, Zero and the Liger bordered on perfect sync. Muscles corded and quivering, Bit strained for a sickly-sweet feel he could sense the edges of but didn't know, even as his body fought for its independence.

A corner of his mind screamed at him to remember Vega's supposed role with One. Was the same thing not true for him?

Was this what Vega had to deal with?

But hard physiological limits were reached. Bit simply couldn't take anymore speed, and passed out.


Some time later, Brad awoke in darkness. Everything hurt.

Faint pre-dawn light filtered in through the Saix's eyeglass, but the Zoid's displays and controls were offline. Brad reached and feebly tapped a nearby panel. Nothing.

Brad sluggishly undid his harness and peered outside.

Snow covered the rocky ground and thickening foliage. A combination familiar to Brad - mountain foothills. The Saix lay folded in a deep thicket, newly-fallen snow having done its best to make the Zoid a part of the landscape too.

It was at least clear that the Saix had stopped, not crashed.

Brad sighed and crumpled back in the seat, exhausted and in pain. Though his hands wouldn't stop trembling, he reached into his jacket for a cigarette and lit up with the ease of habit.

"Ambient."

He felt the Organoid nearby. But it felt heavy, muddy.

Hungry.

Brad's breath caught.

~Help me.~ Ambient breathed, its voice small.

Brad sat up, immediately on-edge. He hastened out of the Saix's cockpit and looked around: after a few seconds he could tell Ambient was still in the Zoid. Carefully shuffling across the Saix's snowy armor and the ice-slicked branches around it, Brad managed to force his way close to the Zoid's underside.

However, with no tools, accessing anything was far easier said than done. He pried at the paneling, first with gloves, then without. Nothing gave. Sticks and rocks were similarly ineffective.

"Gonna have to help me out here," Brad muttered. "Or, you know, come out."

Brad felt in his bones just how tired and unwilling Ambient was to move.

But it did something, and the Saix's paneling disengaged enough to allow the man access.

Brad shoved his way into the maintenance hatch, leveraging his entire body and shoulders against the heavy panels. When he finally managed to reach an edge of the Zoid's outer Core chamber, he pushed a small hatch open and peered up into the space.

Ambient hung mounted to the Zoid's core upside-down, likely an artifact of its positioning prior fusion. Brad took several squinted seconds to absorb the odd sight of the Organoid's splayed body interfacing with the Core.

~Let me have it.~ Ambient whispered, dim optics gazing down at the man. ~Please.~

"Have what?"

But even as Brad spoke the words, he understood. The beast's sharp hunger gnawed at Brad like a personal insult: Ambient wanted the Zoid. Ambient wanted its Core.

Something about the request felt amiss. Taboo, even. Brad could only picture the mess One had made of the Fox's Core, and it-

~Ah told yeh. Tha's why I couldna'e help him now. He can't push back.~ Ambient's optics dimmed to nothing. ~An' this old fool kept taking from me. Even after'r I warned him.~

It was supposed to be an agreement, a promise. One that wasn't meant to be broken.

Together, an Organoid and Zoid could become more than the sum of their parts. But only if they bared their soft underbellies to one another, agreeing to share their most precious resource of all: themselves.

Long ago, Ambient turned to consuming flesh and other inadequate bio-matter in the name of resisting mindless barbarity. Sure, it'd stolen nips of pure energy every now-and-again from unwary and foolish Zoids. But that didn't involve the complex negotiations - and likewise betrayals - that full symbiosis did.

The rage, the disgust, the shame - the hunger. Brad felt every roiling inch of Ambient's discomfort as he gazed warily up into the Core chamber.


He ached, everywhere. It hurt to move, hurt to breathe, hurt to open his eyes.

Bit felt the Liger's steady gait beneath him. He didn't know where they were or where they were going - and he also didn't care. He could feel Zero's soothing presence everywhere around him, but the beast said nothing.

It was furious. But not with him.

Well… sort of with him, but not really…

"Bud," Bit managed, surprised with how rough his voice sounded. "What's-"

~Rest.~

Bit lay his head back.

Glimpses of their pursuit of the Saix trickled back to him, but didn't seem real. It seemed more like something he'd dreamt.

He knew that wasn't the case. His jaw was sore from how tightly he'd been clenching it. As Bit recalled more, he realized he must've passed out. Then he understood Zero's demeanor.

Bit sank between the bars of his harness, chagrined.

~It was not your fault.~ Zero said levelly. ~I pushed you. Too far.~

"I can handle it." Bit protested quietly. "I just need-"

~No. It is over. For better or worse, they escaped. Just like One and Vega did.~ The vicious edge in the Organoid's voice skirted Bit, but never touched him.

Bit said nothing, the gentle rhythm of the Liger's gait filling the silence.

Then:

"It's me, isn't it."

Zero didn't respond.

"I'm holding you back."

Still no response.

Bit slumped further, fighting nausea and a splitting headache. An incomprehensible wad of emotions bunched in his mind, far too many to deal with. He took a deep breath then just started to sob.

~Bit.~ Zero said softly. ~You did what you are supposed to do.~


Brad found it admittedly disgusting that Ambient regurgitated things.

Namely things it couldn't digest, which mainly seemed to be certain fabrics. And hair.

Brad idly kicked snow over the mess, before glancing at Ambient. The creature lay curled beneath a rocky outcropping, dozing. Whatever reservations it'd had about eating the Saix vanished when Brad had allowed it - and its silent contentment was intoxicating.

Ambient felt much better, as it'd effectively absolved itself of responsibility. Brad unwittingly took up that mantle.

But as the sun rose, so did an unsettling sensation in his chest. He understood what he'd done.

Without really intending to, he'd allowed the same thing that'd not only incensed the Fox, but nearly taken it from him.

Brad really didn't like having things in common with Vega.

While he was familiar with Vega's unfortunate attitude toward others - especially given he'd been personally subject to it - he couldn't help but wonder how much of that was the child, and how much was simply One.

But that thought didn't improve anything. Were that the case, One could've simply asked. Like Ambient just had.

Ambient sleepily draped itself across Brad's mind, grooming away doubt. Starved of ritual and companionship, the beast was an eager slave to it; Brad simply appreciated that he could relax into its strange intimacy and be no worse for wear. It was something he'd longed to do with One, but somehow knew he'd not be able to come back from.

Those thoughts peacefully ended. That didn't matter anymore.

Not only did he have Ambient, Ambient was far more like One than he'd even realized.

Like One… but better.

Just like it'd said.


Bit knew he wasn't going to get away with arriving back at the base unremarked. He didn't notice anyone as he entered, but after he dropped from the Liger's cockpit and unsteadily rose, he saw Stoller.

The man leaned on a tall crate, staring intently at the blonde.

"I take it things went well." Stoller said dryly.

Bit didn't respond, just glared and began to walk into the base.

Stoller gated his entry with an arm. "Bit. We need to talk."

Bit just stared past Stoller's arm and into the corridor.

"Move."

Stoller hesitated, but dropped his arm. Bit stalked past, and Stoller followed.

"Bit, you need to take the Liger somewhere else. Now."

No response. Bit walked silently to the kitchen, turned on the faucet, and started drinking greedily from it. After finishing, he shook his head.

"It's you guys causing these problems. You go somewhere else."

"The base is under surveillance. If the residuals of the Organoids' fighting didn't get everyone's attention, that debacle with my Saix certainly did."

"Again," Bit shut his eyes, "That sounds like you guys' problem."

"While it is our problem," Sara's voice cut in suddenly, "it's not solely ours. Remember our little chat about the black boxes?"

Bit's pupils pinpointed. The past few days' discomfort and distraction had pushed it out of his mind, but Sara's harsh reminder brought it back. Zero's frustration and his own anxiety had him baring his teeth like a cornered animal.

"Don't make me regret stopping them, Sara."

Sara looked on coolly. "You already regret it, dear. And I don't blame you." A stiff shrug. "But for what it's worth… thank you."

Silence lingered and became awkward. Bit stared at Sara and the slight - genuine - smile on her lips.

She meant what she said.

"You're welcome." Bit said at length. "But you don't deserve it."

"Clearly one of you thinks I do." Sara replied, flicking a mental glance at Zero, who harshly rebuffed it.

"I just don't want anyone else hurt or killed." Bit had both a strong sense of justice, and an equally-strong need to help, to see no harm done. Sara could sense every splintered, rasping edge of his internal conflict - the realities of which he'd not encountered before. Not like this. "That doesn't make what you've done okay."

"Letting Vega die wasn't an option." Sara said simply. "And I know you understand that."

Bit did.

Just like he understood the feral panic he'd seen in Brad's eyes when Zero refused to let Ambient go. He didn't want to understand it, but he did.

With an unpleasant rise of bile, he realized he'd not really thought through what would've happened, had he, Zero and the Liger actually caught Brad, Ambient, and the Saix.

~My questions would have been answered.~ Zero said bluntly.


As Ambient slept and the sun rose, Brad roused from a nap at his own nagging physical needs. He stood to survey the area, made sure Ambient was okay, then meandered into the brush to take a piss.

Harrowing events of the previous few hours aside, Brad felt much better than he could remember feeling in a long while. Things seemed manageable.

Rational thought wanted to know: why did things seem manageable, exactly? He had none of his usual outdoor gear, no supplies, and no Zoid. He wasn't even sure where he was, besides 'probably somewhere in the Mackaray foothills.'

That didn't matter, though. He had Ambient, and they could accomplish anything together.

He thought about Zero and One.

Almost anything.

Brad shuddered against the cold and sighed. It wouldn't be worth his while to build a fire. He didn't have the items to simplify the process, nor did he have anything to warm besides himself, which the rising sun would take care of soon enough.

Brad gazed tiredly into the distant forest, zoning out for a few moments. He-

-felt like he was being watched.

He froze. A brief mental reach for Ambient encountered only its sleeping silence. It wasn't the Organoid.

Brad carefully scanned his surroundings, readying himself to move. He hadn't seen or heard anything, and was loath to wake Ambient on account of a fleeting feeling. But-

They weren't quite voices in his mind. More akin to suggestions slid across a table.

The Enemy comes.

Wake Him. Get out of the open.

Brad's body responded with an anxious trust he didn't consciously possess. He hesitated at the sensation, continuing to look around. What was-

Go!

He couldn't ignore it. Adrenaline spiked and Brad dashed back to Ambient, who drowsily lifted its head to regard the man.

"We've gotta go."

Responding to Brad's alarm, Ambient sharply stood and scented the air - then startled as if slapped. The red Organoid swiped its confused partner up onto its side and shoulder, then went bolting for the forest, voice gruff. ~Hold on.~

Brad threw his arms around Ambient's neck and a leg over its back, not given much time to register that they'd gone crashing into the brush. Branches and foliage skipped across the two's bodies at speed, but Ambient was surprisingly nimble, and neither were struck.

In the same instant Brad began to question this mode of transportation, Ambient gently quashed his confusion. This was, put simply, their only option at the moment - and that was all the explanation Brad needed.

He quickly made sense of it: of course. The dense forest couldn't easily be surveilled or scanned. No sooner had the thought crossed his mind, Brad heard the distinct sound of aerial Zoids. Storm Sworders, he guessed, by the sound. More than one.

Now well into cover, Ambient slowed and set Brad down, glancing skyward. The pair watched and listened quietly.

~ZBGF.~ Ambient mumbled in response to Brad's unspoken query. ~They noticed. Fuck.~

"Noticed what?" Brad whispered.

~Fusin' with a Core can cause'a big spike of enerh'gy. I think they're always monitorin' for anythin' that crosses certain thresholds.~

Brad faintly recalled Leon telling him about the ZBC and ZBGF showing up at the Blitz Base after the Berserk Fury's attack. Not because of the attack… but because it'd involved the beast's CPG.

~Mmhmm. Same thing.~

Charged particle weapons were banned ZBC-wide and unavailable to civilians. Their use was strictly controlled, and essentially forbidden. Though… Brad's lip curled as the Royal Cup crossed his mind. 'Essentially' had a lot to answer for.

Brad squinted into the sky again. Had any of the Liger's pursuit of the Saix been observed? Had the energy of Ambient fusing to the Saix garnered their attention - or had the wildly-overpowered Liger Zero done so?

~No tellin'. Regarh'dless, when they've their eyes on an area, it's best t'lay low.~ Ambient glanced. ~Which means no teleportin'.~

A silent nod, but Brad's expression fell.

"...doesn't that mean they'll go after Bit, too?"

Ambient considered. But it paused, optics flicking skyward.

A brief glimmer of light from above was all the warning they had.