A majority of Mount Blackhead's soldiers stood around one large picnic table together; small talk was shared amongst the majority of them as they eagerly awaited Numbuh Four's plan. On the table lied a large, blank white paper held down by several rocks and a popgun, making sure it wouldn't drift off in the cool night wind. Several unopened markers sat in a bag together, waiting to be claimed by the commander. Night had come, the sky a dark hue of blue while the stars twinkled in the clear night sky. The camp was lit up with all sorts of stringed lights, campfires, torches and much more.
Niles was one of the few who managed to get close, leaning in on the table with a hand. Beside him were Juno, Rachel and Zak, all anticipating what this meeting entailed.
Pushing through the crowd of talking soldiers did they grow quiet, witnessing another figure make her way forward. She wore a large green sweater, the sleeves covering over her hands. Under her loose collar was a black top, wearing gray sweatpants and black vans. A pretty girl, her face had been covered in white bandages while her long black hair draped past her shoulders. Held in its scabbard on her back was a slasher sword, its signature green design matching her sweater with the initials 'K.S.' engraved in the metal.
Beside her was Numbuh Four, this time having changed into something comfier than the armor he wore today. He had his signature look: the orange sweater, jeans and white kicks. He also had a bandaid on his chin, indicating he had only got scratched during his light fight.
"Alright everyone, listen up!" he barked, smacking his hands down on the table. The crowd quickly quieted down and turned to look at the table as he continued. "We've got big news and very little time, so we're gonna make this fast. Kuki?" Four turned to look at the girl beside him.
Numbuh Three made a worried face, rubbing her hands anxiously together and quietly replied, "Uhm.. you go ahead."
Four nodded, sitting up and taking a deep breath. "Me and the boys just got back from another patrol up north." He gestured a hand toward Niles, "We found another soldier today who was able to help us out; turns out, a bunch of nasties were found way up north, moving this way as we speak. Fuse is planning another siege on the camp."
A few voices calmly spoke out in reaction, the occasional "What?" and "No.." coming from many of them.
"Much like last time, they're in one big horde. More of the nasty buggers and then some from the desert; I haven't heard back from the folks up north, so something tells me we've lost Devil's Bluff." Four sighed, rubbing the back of his head as he frowned a bit. "Three and I are out of ideas, so we're open to suggestions. I'm not good at strategy and Kuki's specialty is stealth."
The crowd went silent, a couple of people turning to look at each other for ideas and offers. There wasn't a response initially, until Niles held a hand up, "Is this the first siege Fuse is starting on Blackhead?"
Four shook his head, "No, second time. We gave him a good smack the first time around."
A spark flew in Niles' head as his eyes widened behind the mask. A memory replayed the second siege of Mount Blackhead, a terrible time for nearly everyone in camp. A majority of soldiers had been turned into fusion during that fight, the defense forcible although unable to hold the army back. He was surprised for a moment that he had forgotten this meeting, feeling a sense of deja vu as he looked back at Four.
"I have an idea!" Niles jolted forward and motioned for the two to move aside. A hand reached out for a marker, taking one and ferociously began to draw with it.
Four looked startled, while Three was surprised. The two of them stepped back and took a seat on the other end of the table, allowing his confidence to guide him forward.
His hand forcefully traced across the paper, recreating an overhead map of Mount Blackhead and the surrounding forests by it. The sketches were simple, detailed enough to resemble what the symbols and icons meant.
"How many are there, Four?!" Niles asked frantically. "I need a good estimate, as well as the number of soldiers stationed here within the camp. Strategy is my thing."
Four turned back and motioned for one of the soldiers to leave, "What kind of soldier are you exactly, agent?"
"The kind that doesn't like losing."
Rachel chuckled a little bit, "Don't we all?"
He went on for a solid few minutes until the map had finally been completed. A soldier had come back with a headcount on a clipboard, providing a rough estimate of each member and what group they belonged to. Niles took a long, good minute at it before finally placing a hand down on the table. "I've come to realize that they might have the advantage in numbers, if what I'm seeing here is right, but we have the advantage in defense. Outside of Sector V, our base here is the first line of defense between the suburbs and the jungles. The less work we put into fighting and more defensive we play, the better our odds are."
Niles looked up at Four, "Numbuh Four, I've heard tales about you. You're pretty fierce in battle."
The young man smirked and crossed his arms, huffing pridefully.
"We can't go for a counterattack but simply try and defend, here is what I have as a battleplan down." Niles gestured with a hand.
With the ideas he had in mind, he began sketching them out on paper with arrows and the use of small sticks and miniatures provided on the table. What was originally a simple map quickly turned into a jumbled mess of items, phrases and equipment but made sense. It turned into a blueprint more than anything else, showing off a slightly revised and re-fortified mountain in front of everyone. Several of the soldiers within the group questioned his decisions, although he received the approval of both Four and Three to take the lead.
As the night continued onward, everyone in the camp except for the injured quickly began to work. Four, Three, Niles and Zak took the lead in guiding their own respective groups as they began to coordinate their work together. The front gates remained open as lines of soldiers started gathering materials like ants to an anthill. Lines of trees were swiftly cut down as they worked together, bringing the large ounces of lumber back up into the camp to be redistributed. A small number of Dexbots quickly went to work, using their tools to carve and pull them apart into smaller bundles of wood. On the very ends did they form large spikes and wooden spears. Any ounce of spare metal the camp was willing to provide were quickly worked on in a makeshift conveyor belt, cut into pieces and sized down for proper work.
Meanwhile, on the outside to the north, Four and his team quickly used their tools and supplies to dig open several lines of trenches. They were small, only around five feet in size, although stretched out across one half of the base. The barbed wire they had on the top of Mount Blackhead had been stripped and repurposed simply for the trenches. Smaller dug-in posts were created for soldiers, giving enough room to place down a singular rifle or two for the purposes of long ranged combat.
Zak's group combined with Numbuh Three's group, discussing tactics while making a headcount. The ammunition for the weaponry and all weapons were distributed accordingly to each of the squadrons within camp, setting up posts on the top of the walls. Snipers were given positions on the watchtowers across the base and provided a box of ammunition for each. During this, Kuki prepared herself for the fight and began armoring herself up in the same leather armor she had worn before. She was given a pair of pop guns to dual wield, as well as two ammo belts on her chest. She had a green sash tied around her forehead, taking a little bit of oil and comically painted marks on her cheeks with her fingers.
Three's group was to be positioned on the frontlines, hidden within the trees and bushes. Many of them were equipped with blades and pistols, a couple of them tasked with carrying those red pepper grenades.
Meanwhile, far out in the forests was Niles' group. All of the soldiers who had experience with demolition took the rockets from their launchers, the grenades from their rifles and some spare dynamite and started creating do-it-yourself landmines. With the surface level knowledge Niles had, combined with the expertise these soldiers had in explosives, many of their weapons had been repurposed into mines. The fields in front of the trenches were currently dug up with a string of landmines just barely noticeable in the ground. Spool was divided amongst every single one, set to detonate in groups rather than all at once. Any of the explosives which were duds were transformed into extra supplies and materials, eventually dedicated to the cause.
The hours within the night passed by quickly as nearly no one had enough time to look at a clock or watch. With each passing hour as the moon went by, another chunk of progress had been completed. The amount of energy the group had was astonishing, fueled by the adrenaline pumped by this plan as well as an entire week prior to simply patrols and very little combat. Niles put in his best effort to encourage the soldiers, Three did her best to support them, Zak worked alongside them and Four practically whipped them. In the end, with all of their combined effort, Mount Blackhead was made into a deadly gauntlet within the span of only one night.
The outline of this defensive began with a vast and expansive landmine in the forests underneath the most vital spots spread out. Small cans with matches were set off, one bullet capable of setting off an entire area. There was open room in between the minefield and the trenches for fire, a flat ground where the trees had been cut down to stumps to get a clear shot. Then, behind the barbed wires were three lines of trenches. Small outposts for soldiers were set up while wooden stakes stabbed into the trench paths beside them. Retrievable bridges were made for the soldiers so that they wouldn't fall in, warranting the right amount of safety for them to traverse. Right underneath the large wooden walls were one last mote dug around the entire base except for the main entrance, covered in more wooden stakes for creatures to fall in. The large spikes and battered metal on the front wall provided barricades for anything that could climb or fly, defending the watchtowers and posts on the top wall where snipers and long-range soldiers were placed.
The rugged cannons on the top of the walls were provided with a small amount of rockets in exchange for the mines out in the field, instead replaced with spiked spears which were to be fired off in bundles like massive shotguns. The spears were tightly wrapped in spare rope, perfectly sized to fit inside the cannon barrels and shot at a moment's notice. A third of the troops spared, as well as a handful of the injured, had volunteered to be lined up on the top of the walls in case the horde attempted to rebound by flanking on the other side.
When the sun had finally risen over the eastern horizon, rays beamed down on the idle dynamo suit Niles had left. The man had taken a long break after the preparations for the battle, laying out in the grass on a blanket underneath him with his hands behind his head. He had idly rested, kicking his foot up to its own rhythm. He was not alone in this, as dozens of the soldiers were currently resting early in the morning. The various soldiers who were stationed outside in the trenches and in the forests were hulled up in their own spots, watching off in the distance for any of them to come by at any minute.
Deep within the forests were the sounds of scratches and rumbling. Emerging from the thick jungles up north were dozens, nearly hundreds of creatures surfing across the biome. Mandibles, claws, tentacles, all sorts of different limbs pulled and pushed themselves across the ground. Coming in view just over the horizon were dozens of fusion mutations and monsters, transformed from the wildlife of the forests and the empty deserts north from where they came. The sky had a loud, buzzing sound with the equivalent of a construction sight as enormous mutated hornets and constructs soared through the air with battered wings.
As the horde advanced, the twisted trees of the forest seemed to recoil, their gnarled branches trembling in fear as the ground beneath them quaked with the thunderous footsteps of the approaching monsters. The air was thick with the stench of decay and corruption, a foul miasma that permeated the very essence of the forest.
Amidst the chaos and devastation, hidden among the tangled undergrowth and bushes, lay Numbuh Four's squadron. Kuki sat idly on one of the various branches with both of her guns in hand. She had covered herself in a cowl and mask, dressed in all black with patches of green like a camo ninja. Her two pistols were raised into the air, her thumbs grazing across the triggers as she gestured for a signal.
Back on the top of Mount Blackhead, Rachel sat comfortably with a sniper rifle in hand and a worried look on her face. Her eyes gazed out towards the forest through a pair of binoculars, spectating the outline of oncoming creatures.
"This is four's team; they're here, over." a voice replied from a small walkie talkie beside Rachel.
She quickly picked it up and replied, "Understood, over and out."
From behind, she turned back into the camp and cupped a hand over her mouth. "Guys! They're coming! Everyone get up and get moving!"
Four had slouched over a bit, checking the amount of bullets he had in his rifle before looking up and gave a nod. His shout was almost an alarm as he quickly stood up and breathed in deeply, "EVERYONE! TO YOUR POSITIONS NOOOOW!"
Without a second notice the camp quickly got up and started moving; orders were shouted between the ranks as the operatives dressed themselves up in their armor and reached for their weapons.
A tiny outline of Alien X appeared beside Niles and weakly smacked him on the tip of his nose, almost feeling like a flick. "Sir, I believe we're ready to go."
The man grumbled as he sat up and rubbed his eyes a little bit, taking a deep breath. "Alright, let's do this. Are you ready, X?"
He stood up and walked up to the dynamo suit, pressing on the heart plate and watched it unlock.
Alien X gently floated up and landed on a shoulder, nodding. "Yes I am! Let's go kick some fusion butt!"
Finally, the yellow eyes in the dynamo suit lit up as Niles fully suited up. He took a couple of large steps forward while X retreated back into the helmet, his black cape folding itself out behind him and gently flapping with each step. He surveyed the area, focusing his attention toward Four who was watching him from a distance.
Four smirked at the iron warrior, giving him a thumbs up and a hand signal to take off. "Give 'em hell, agent! We'll be right behind ya!"
With the tap of two heels and stretched out arms, Niles lifted up into the air like a screeching rocket. A trail of smoke tailed after his shoes, a gust of wind blowing the camp as he made his way off toward the position he was to wait at. The faint sight of one or two explosions off in the distance could be seen from his eagle's eye view of the forest as Three's team already went to work in taking out the first few waves of the oncoming horde.
"Alright X, it's go time. If there is anything you've got that will help out, now would be a great time to show me."
Behind the field of mines but in front of the trenches, Niles quickly drop-landed. His knee, foot and fist hit the ground, making a dramatic superhero landing. However, he tripped a little and fell on his side as he made a loud, "OOF!"
He corrected his mis-landing and brushed some of the dirt off of his knee, standing up straight. "Still working on the whole superhero landing thing; ignore that, X."
The tiny chibi from within his visor appeared and chuckled a little bit, holding a hand up to his face and closed his eyes. "Hard not to, but yessir."
Off in the distance, several handfuls of agents booked it from the treeline. A couple of them held the unconscious members of their team that had been injured during their quick skirmish, dancing from one side to the other as they moved around the minefield just in time. Three could be seen pushing her way from behind, firing off the last few shots of her pistols before waving them in the air at Niles. Her faint voice screeched, "They're heeere!"
The man didn't move, sitting up straight with his arms at his sides. His fists tightened, zealously posing like an epic statue. His cape billowed in the wind, standing alone in the front as the first soldier up on the home plate. From within his helmet did his breathing steady, his eyes shut. All of the anxious and stressful thoughts of the work from the past few hours were quieting themselves. His mind focused, his body preparing itself for the worst pain imaginable.
The sky towards the jungle blackened as the outline of dozens of soaring creatures began to traverse the open skies. Gargoyles, hornets, abominations and fusion-infested robots soared through the air, approaching at an alarming speed.
By now there were faint sounds and rumbling of the creatures on the ground, a slight shake finally causing him to open his eyes as he stood still. His mind had gone into total focus, witnessing the appearance of the horde for the first time.
His eyes quickly began to trace the outlines of the cans hooked up to the mines in the field, letting them charge onto the field first before he did anything.
Three miniature boxes locked on from within the visor, permanently keeping them as the horde finally came to a stop. The line of creatures that were first up had stood against Niles, the entire horde on pausing as they all witnessed him out of curiosity.
Not a word was said, not an action taken. The man stood in silence, his eyes looking at every single ugly face in front of him. The desperation Lord Fuse had taken to mass produce his army of minions resulted in not only the construction of creatures and animals, but objects and minerals. Even some of these creatures were rocky and cyborg-ish but they all shared the same thing in their bodies: fusion. The living essence of all things affiliated with Planet Fusion was that green substance, the color that Niles had now come to despise.
They all independently looked at him, a step or two taken as the silence ringed out. From behind, Three and her team quickly retreated back into the trenches and took cover in the posts. The snipers up on top watched from a distance, ready to take out any of them at a moment's notice. The cannoneers had their bundles of spears eager to launch, waiting for a command from Rachel who stood on the top wall.
As Niles took one last, bated breath, he held up both of his arms on opposite ends and locked onto two of his targets. His fingers extended and a radiant light surged from the palms, singing in two bright screeches. The small line of brilliant gold burned through dozens of creatures, and within seconds several of the mines went off. Two blasts of incredible fire set off to his left and to his right as the ground shook; mine after mine went off, taking a handful of creatures within it as the horde finally began its assault in shock.
A wildfire began to spread in the open forests as smoke began rising, partially covering up the sky. Niles took both of his hand cannons and stepped back, forming them in the center together and fired off two lasers as the last detonation. His fingers extended, his palms turning both beams into one larger, combined one. It tore through several of the monsters coming at him and shortly afterward did one magnificent third bundle of explosions go off. Fire raged in the air as the bodies of fusion creatures were flung, green ooze staining the ground underneath it.
Dozens of these monsters quickly overran Niles, causing him to take off into the sky again and fall back. The fire from his heels melted two of them as they reached out for him, turning them into green puddles.
His hand cannons turned into focused blasts, cutting away into nearly a dozen more as he turned into a flying ballerina of utter destruction. He spun completely around several times, his beams tearing away at the oncoming army as they started to move past him.
Three mechanical gargoyles screeched and soared forward, clawing a little bit into his armor. His spinning momentum focused into one roundhouse kick, drilling one into the ground. The other had been met with a blast purely in its head, melting its face and the last one: detonated by a slick fire released from Niles' wrist throwers.
The cannons atop the mountain shot off, sending bundles of flying spears into the air. A massive barrage nearly covered the sun, directing themselves onto the oncoming army as Niles forced himself back. The ropes quickly undid themselves and the spears spread out, rarely one or two falling out of line. Both creatures in the air and on the ground were pierced, creating a rain of spikes. They drilled into the bodies of these vicious things, either stabbing them through the ground or exploding them into their own piles of goop.
Snipers on the top of the towers quickly started firing off their shots, aiming for the most vital points of the oncoming monsters and blew their heads to goop. The soldiers on ground with rifles took the distance to their advantage and fired off shots at the first lines of the oncoming wave, leaving the cannons and snipers to their own benefit.
Juno, one of the many soldiers on ground, had hooked up his massive gun onto a tripod and quickly let loose. There was a big smile on his face, his eyes widened behind the goggles while his screaming gun nearly deafened everyone else around him. Bullets started penetrating and ripping the horde of monsters apart, cutting them down like wheat to a sickle.
"OPERATIVES! CHAAAAAARGE!" Four screamed and hoisted a slasher blade into the air, leaping onto the open field in front of the trenches and started dashing as fast as he could. A battlecry emerged from the frontline operatives as they drew their large swords and clubs, forming the shape of an arrow and advanced quickly.
The next line up had been met with swords, nearly cutting them in two. Large clubs had smashed their limbs in, turning them into goop by the second as the operatives brought a surprising amount of strength with them.
Niles quickly took to the skies with the snipers watching his back, trading blows between flying creatures by the second. He had narrowly dodged an oncoming giant hornet amidst the chaos, blowing its head open with another cannon blast. His superman fist drilled into a gargoyle, using his momentum again to fling it into another creature coming by.
SCRISH!
Another gargoyle luckily managed to get a hit in, slamming its claws and tearing away through Niles' back. He let out a yelp, forcefully grabbing onto it and stabbed his fingers into its eyes. It let out a pained hollar, flinging itself around to let go of his grasp. The man blasted its wings off and grabbed a hold of its legs, turning it into a living weapon against its allies.
He spun around a couple times and launched it at another hornet, the two colliding and exploding into a pile of green goop that smeared over his armor. His breathing grew heavily, his heart pounding in his chest as sweat started to fall down his face. Amidst the flying spears, hornet stingers and gargoyle claws, his flawless armor quickly gained some scratches and tears into it already at the threshold of the fight.
Meanwhile, back down at the top of the hill, Rachel pointed forward at a cannon and shouted out. "Load the rockets! The horde is in one spot! Focus your fire there!" She gestured with a hand.
A pair of soldiers started running from one end of the wall to the other, helping the cannoneers reload.
Three howling missiles soared through the air, barely overshooting the line of frontliners. A straight line of direct explosive strikes lined up, tearing an open and bloody line through the oncoming horde as it narrowed down even further. So much fusion had been dropped that now operatives were stepping in it, coated in this disgusting substance from head to toe. Regardless, they continued cutting and bashing away as one or two of their comrades had been cut down by the monstrosities.
SLAM!
Niles' grit his teeth as he had been penetrated in the torso by a hornet, causing him to let out a scream. The stinger had just torn it open, thankfully an inch off from his actual stomach. His hands gripped on it, pulling it out and kicked it forward into two more. Its massive sharp edge penetrated two gargoyles, taking down another three as he grew tired and hurt.
X appeared at the top of Niles' screen and held a hand out, "Sir, you look hurt. May I aid you?"
The man raised a hand, grabbing onto a creature which was the equivalent of a giant mosquito and blasted it point blank in the head, melting it instantly. "Not.. yet!"
Just as another fusion drone made its way forward, a sniper shot blasted its body open, causing it to squirt more goop out and start its dead descent down onto the ground.
A hand reached out and grabbed onto another hornet, pulling it down with him as he started a wild roller coaster dive toward the ground level. "Okay, now!"
The stinger became a lance, drilling into another line of monstrosities on ground. Niles passed the frontliners, giving a two finger salute just to show off despite bleeding out a little.
Nano Alien X appeared beside him as he flew by, holding a hand up in the air and glowed brightly. "Celestial Light!" X's tiny voice boomed out and a cosmic aura surrounded not only Niles, but several other fighters beside him as he flew by.
Wounds began to regenerate, adrenaline pumping back out and easiness booning their tired muscles as liquid fusion transformed into medicine which injected itself in all of them. Alien X hunched over a little bit and quickly retreated back into the helmet, "I'm afraid I must rest now.. Sir. Good luck."
Niles nodded, blasting another frog down. "Rest easy bud, we're almost done."
On the other side of the battlefield, Numbuh Four was toe to toe with a fusion in front. His hands swiftly jabbed one and two together, throwing punch after punch in front of the thing before kicking it off to the side. He had been drenched in sweat, fusion and a little bit of his own blood. He shakily lifted his rifle up and let off, blowing another fusion bolting right at him in the head and turned to look out. Thanks to the help of Niles' nano, none of them were struck down; however, many of them were fatigued. The fight was slowly being pushed back toward the trenches, the frontliners unable to keep up with wave after wave.
Four weakly grabbed a hold of his slasher blade and drilled it deep into a fusion, kicking it into the ground and lifted his blade up. "FALL BACK! FALL BACK!"
The soldiers quickly began to retreat, throwing jabs and firing each bullet off until they had little to no strength left and kept going backwards. They ran in a line, going across the rickety boards they used for bridges. Four was the last one to come back and forced the operatives in the trenches back to the last line toward the wall itself. Juno had lifted up his gun and started moving back, providing some cover support while they dashed.
By now, a shocking majority of the horde had been slain within these last few minutes. Nearly all explosives had been used to their fullest potential, a surprising accuracy from the soldiers high on the wall. They didn't stop; many of the barrels in everyone's guns had steam or frost billowing from them. Bullet after bullet was saved for each monster making its way forward.
Four looked out to the fusions making their way forward, watching them trip and collapse into the spikes they prepared for them. He held his rifle up and shot another one as it was coming his way, looking back up at the wall and making a gesture.
When they made their final stand, the line of fusions quickly stopped and stood on the other side of the trenches. The first two pits had been flooded in fusion, leaving the last batch of nearly a hundred to sit and look out. The mountain didn't stop firing, snipers taking shots and reducing them one by one as they started to disperse on both the land and the sky.
Even as they began to run away, they were met with shots in the back, blowing them wide open and leaving them to ooze out on the ground.
Then, the silence came.
Everyone stopped for just a second, witnessing the last fusion make its way back through the cratered, burning forest in front of them. Billowing smoke rose up into the sky, indicating a sizable portion of it had collapsed. Several operatives went to reload, while some of them lowered their weapons and watched them run. Three and Four stood together, holding an arm around one another as they watched the last waves quickly disperse.
They had won.
Four raised his rifle into the air with a cocky smile on his face and shouted, "That's right! Leave with your tails between your legs! I'd like to see you try and face us now you ugly crayon munchers!"
Three smiled widely and laughed a little bit, waving her hand up in the air. "Bye bye!"
Juno lifted up the goggles from his eyes, showing the black paint which stained him. "Did we win, sir? Is that it?"
"VICTORYYYY!" Four screamed, doing a little kick and shimmy dance.
A handful of the other soldiers around them began to cheer, thrusting their guns up in the air and started shouting like Four did. Many of them took off their masks and grabbed onto each other, talking out loud as they shook each other up a little bit. Compliments, respect and credit was given all around.
The soldiers on the top of the walls cheered as well, while the cannoneers fell back and slumped in their seats; they were glad it was over with, having to reload and reposition the cannons after every single shot.
Meanwhile, Niles soared through the sky and came to a harsh stop, smacking into the ground with a bit of smoke rising from the bottom of his feet. A crater had been smashed where he landed, his arms and legs outstretched as he stopped for a moment. His screen seemed fine, although open sections let warm air in between his armor, indicating it had been severely damaged during the fight of the horde.
He calmly sat up and switched his helmet, taking a moment to breathe and grunted a little bit. A hand covered the hole where the hornet had stung him, spitting out a little bit of blood onto the ground beside him as he held himself together. The taste of iron was fresh in his mouth, having taken a couple of not so good hits. The pain was coming right back, reminding him of what he had suffered back in the future with the fight against Fusion Samurai Jack.
Way off in the distance, the last sparse minions of Fuse disappeared in the trees, leaving but a tiny fraction of what once was ordered had arrived. Niles smiled, feeling a sweat drop rush down his face as some of his greasy hair covered his face. When he was first a recruit, this had been a slaughter. Now, thanks to his efforts, nobody had been killed during this face. Outnumbered and outmatched with great odds, a little bit of homemade defense and strategy went a long way.
Niles stood up, holding his side and slowly walked over back toward the camp. His cape had been tattered, his armor scratched and pieces of padded leather scraped open. He looked like a hot mess, but at least the armor protected him from sudden death. He was tired, tuckered out from such an intense fight as he started stumbling his way forward.
"You did good, sir." X's voice spoke up from his suit.
He nodded back in response while stumbling forward, "T-Thank you.. X.."
Four and Three spotted this, immediately moving across the trenches to get back over to him and waved their hands in the air. An operative followed behind them too, carrying some medical supplies under their arm.
The three of them quickly crowded Niles and gathered him up under his arms, starting their way back as the man struggled to walk a bit. He had pushed himself a little too hard, fighting to keep his balance and felt weary.
"You're a bit.. heavy-" Three grunted, pushing herself a little bit as they started making their way up the hill of the front gates.
Four kept his strength up, wiping the sweat from his brow and smiled. "You did great, agent! What'd you say your name was? You're a super, right?"
He panted, kicking himself forward with his legs and lifted his head up. "Niles.. my name is Niles."
Three patted him on his metal shoulder and grinned, "Don't worry Niles! We'll get you patched up; go join the rest of the others in the medical tent! Good luck four!"
She had completely dropped all of the weight on Four, causing him to stumble as he breathed out of his mouth. "Huh?! Kuki! H-Hey! Don't just leave me here!"
She started skipping off up the hill to join a few of the other operatives, raising her hands in the air and cheered.
"Oh great, stuck with the dirty work like always." Four grumbled, getting Niles comfortably on his feet and started walking him with the medic behind. He sighed, looking back up at him.
"Just get me to the medical tent-"
"Alright."