AN So...End of Red vs Blue happened. Honestly? I'm content with the last season as a homage to the amazing ride of Red vs Blue. Not exactly happy with it story wise, but it works for what it is. Oi, the end of a beautiful trainwreck. But my own continues on!

Tex had to admit; for a dead woman, Carolina certainly hadn't lost her edge at all. Not even two minutes into the fight, she had managed to shoot the gun out of Tex's hand. Granted, not without giving her the chance to kick Carolina's own weapon away. It had dissolved into a fight of punches and kicks, both parrying or dodging hits as best they could. Tex gave Carolina just as good as she got.

"So, what, the Director been hiding your ass as a secret agent or something?" Tex asked, pinning her to a wall.

"Funny. I was about to ask the same about YOU!" Carolina retorted, kicking Tex off her. Just enough to slip out of the hold and try to attack her again.

Tex managed to steady herself as she grabbed the incoming fist. "You idiot. Sounds like we're on the same side."

"Like hell we are!" Carolina growled from beneath her helmet.

Tex frowned to herself. Taking down Carolina wouldn't be easy. And if any of the UNSC soldiers showed up, they'd probably just get hurt or killed. Which would be bad, especially for Carolina. Hard-headed though she was, Tex couldn't find it in herself to blame Carolina to the situation.

Tex's knee shot up and cracked Carolina's visor.

Well, not too much.

Tex took a breath as Carolina stumbled back. "Hard enough, Carolina?" Tex offered.

"Just getting warmed up," Carolina said as she readied herself to continue.

Tex sighed. "You asked for-"

What happened next stunned them both. There was a sudden sound as a cobalt blur rammed into Carolina, grappling her off her feet, and kept on running, right to the window.

Tex watched in shock as Church held tight to Carolina, even as the freelancer tried to hit and elbow his back. He ran hard enough to send them both through the metal flap, crashing from the second story to the ground below.

"...The fuck just happened?" Tex said, more in surprise than concern.

"Hey, Carolina, why'd you stop answering? Did you get Gamma or not?"

Tex had rolled to the nearest gun and instantly pointed it to the door, where she knew another freelancer was taking cover. Then the voice registered. "Wait, Washington?"

"Tex?!" Washington returned from his cover. "...Uh? You fighting for or against the Director?"

"Against, you?" Tex answered with a hard tone that threatened many unpleasant things.

"Also against. Not sure if he knows that yet, but I'm against him," Washington answered idly. "So, let me guess? Carolina tried to fight you again?"

"Yeah," Tex answered, a little less tense. "So, can we agree that we're on the same side and Carolina is a Bitch?"

"I agree that she can be difficult to work with," Washington compromised carefully. "Where is she? You throw her through a window or something?"

Tex practically grinned. "No, that was my boyfriend."

"...I'm sorry, you have a what now?!" Washington said, sticking his head from around the corner in shock.

"Boyfriend. And we should probably go stop them before he hurts her too badly."

"Before he...hurts...Carolina...?" Washington repeated skeptically.

Meanwhile, Carolina groaned after taking the brunt of the fall, even if the armor protected her from most of it. She pulled herself to her feet, seeing her new enemy was also doing so.

His arm was twisted into an extremely unnatural angle at the elbow. Without hesitation, the cobalt trooper grabbed the limb and forced it back into a more proper position. He didn't grunt or scream, not even a flinch.

Which told Carolina he was either insane or that arm was mechanical. She wasn't ready to rule either out.

"So, what the fuck is your story? You some agent-killer the Fucklancers had under wraps?" Church asked evenly as he took out his Hellspitter sniper.

"Was about to ask you the same," Carolina retorted, spinning to kick him in the head.

To Church, it was happening in slow motion as he leaned away, just out of reach. He saw the punch coming, knew where it would go, and blocked it with his open palm.

He felt like fucking Neo right now and it was awesome!

The data pouring into his mind told him that this arm was damaged. Not enough to incapacitate, but enough to be more sensitive to pain.

His other hand shot up with the snipper rifle and slammed into the back of it into her elbow, eliciting a muffled scream from behind Carolina's gritted teeth. With the opening that was provided, Church kicked her back.

When she tried to go on the offensive again, she froze as she stared down what looked to be a sniper rifle with small engine pistons. Pistons that were spewing small flames.

"Don't try shit. I can't miss now, and I don't think Tex actually wants me to barbeque your ass," Church warned coldly, finger on the trigger.

Caroline debated it. If she could get to cover or rush him she could probably deal with that weapon before he fired.

"Listen to the asshole, please!"

Carolina glanced over her shoulder and saw more soldiers on the nearby hill, pointing weapons down at her back.

"Vel, glad to see you," Church said coolly, not taking his eyes off Carolina.

"I'm not sure if you're being stupid and loyal to the Project or if there was some sort of misunderstanding, but we'll give you a chance to stand down and come into UNSC custody," Velimir offered warningly.

"Right, I'm supposed to believe you're with the UNSC? That you're not the Director's goons trying to sweep everything under the rug?" Carolina asked rhetorically.

"Bitch, I'm not even going to call you paranoid. This douche sounds like he warrants that question," Church said in annoyance. "But if we were trying to sweep shit up, you'd be dead. I mean, you see the number of guns at your back? They could have made you fucking Swiss cheese by now."

"..." Carolina tilted her head, glancing back at Velimir. "Is that how it is? Play nice or die?"

"Yeah, we're approved to use lethal force against Freelancers if they warrant it, and you're well past pushing that envelope," Velimir said pointedly. "So, what's it going to be?"

"Umm..."

Every head turned to see Tex and Washington enter the area from Chruch's side.

"If it's alright, I'll surrender before she answers," Washington said awkwardly. "Carol, I know you don't like Tex, but I don't think she's lying."

Carolina was silent, glaring at Washington or Tex, or both.

"Oh, come off it you dumb bitch, and decide already," Church groaned.

"You're not helping!" Tex hissed out.

"She fucking shot me! I'm allowed to be done with her ass," Church said back. "Seriously, we're positive she's not with the Director?"

"And what would a Sim-trooper know about the Director of Freelancer?" Carolina challenged coldly.

"Enough to say you probably have a good reason to want him dead. I didn't even know he existed until recently and I'm on that fucking bandwagon," Church mused. "Look at it this way? We're with him, you'll probably get to fucking kill him yourself when we take you somewhere. We're against him? Best case, you get to kill him yourself! Worse? I don't know, get a fucking front-row seat to whatever trial he gets?"

"Interesting point," Carolina said.

"We have you out-gunned and surrounded, I'm not sure why we're even humoring you right now!" Velimir said in annoyance.

"Vel, shush for the moment, trying to nip like, ten issues in the bud! God knows her ass would break out and wreck shit if we took her prisoner right now," Church mused. "So, what do you say, Cuntolina?"

"...The fuck did you just call me?" Carolina said darkly.

"Smooth, real smooth!" Tex yelled in exasperation.

"Okay, asshole, and what if the Director escapes?" Carolina countered.

"Oh please, with you two there isn't much chance of that," Church said, waving his gun between Tex and Carolina.

The two female freelancers shared looks. "What does that mean?" Tex asked warningly.

"Tex here is a crazy bitch, and you're competing closely for that title," Church answered bluntly.

"Why haven't you killed this asshole, exactly?" Carolina asked Tex, who only sighed in response.

"And since both of you hate the prick, you'd both probably have him hunted down and done in no time," Church pointed out.

Carolina and Tex shared a long look at that.

"I...maybe shouldn't have said that part," Church realized in concern.

"Okay, you know what? Fine, I'll surrender," Carolina said before turning on the UNCS soldiers, who tensed warily. "But I expect someone to eventually explain how the hell this got started. I've been hearing weird stories and reports for weeks about dragon-creatures and magic portals."

"We'll get you caught up, right after we make sure you didn't kill my commanding officer," Velimir said bluntly. "Church, make sure your freelancer friends don't kill any of my men."

"Yeah, got it, Tolkien," Church called as Velimir left, leaving his troops to secure Washington and Carolina.

"...Did he just call you Church?" Carolina asked suddenly.

"Yep. Leonard L. Church. Fucked to meet you, cunt," Church greeted, still holding his weapon at the ready.

"How the f-"

Carolina's shocked question was interrupted by Tex, who was suddenly behind her and knocked her out with a rifle butt to the head.

"The fuck, Tex?!" Church asked in shock.

"She was about to freak out, okay? Something put her on edge just now," Tex remarked, knowing very well what that would be.

"Obviously! I mean why the fuck didn't you knock her out sooner!? Christ, I knew we couldn't leave this bitch a conscious prisoner," Church explained in annoyance.

"Well fuck me for not reading your mind! Besides, you looked like you had it pretty well under control," Tex countered as the UNSC soldiers restrained the unconscious Carolina.

"Umm, I don't need to be knocked out," Washington assured as he willingly approached the soldiers who were more polite about taking him into custody.

"Does he?" Church asked Tex.

"No, Wash is fine," Tex assured confidentially. "He was our newbie. Good kid."

"Wash, Caboose, Donut. I fucking feel a pattern there, somehow," Church muttered.

"What about Sister?" Tex reminded.

"I'm not counting Sister," Church retorted flatly.

"Why? Don't count girls?" Tex taunted playfully.

"Would YOU want to count Sister?" Church challenged.

"No, I feel like this robot body might get a digital STD just by looking at her sometimes," Tex said bluntly. "I don't usually slut shame, but that girl's stories are something else."

"Moving along," Church said. "So, we got Gary and two freelancers. Seems like a good mission result to me."

"I'm just glad they're alive," Tex answered honestly.

"Right, D mentioned something about Carolina being presumed dead?" Church mused.

"Where is Delta, anyway?" Tex asked curiously

"Oh, he's here. He's getting untangled from the code, whatever the fuck that means," Church mused without interest.

Tex was silent, very alarmed but unwilling to show it.

"So, what about this Washington guy? You seem happy to see him," Church noticed.

"Jealous?" Tex asked half-heartedly.

"Not THAT happy," Church countered with a snort.

"It's a long story, but things went bad for him," Tex said with a sigh. "One of the AIs...didn't come out right. When they tried bonding it with Washington, it fucked up his mind as it..."

"As it, what?" Church asked with cautious interest.

"Unraveled," Delta said as he appeared on Church's shoulder, his hologram glitching for a second. "The AI designated as Epsilon proved to be unstable and, in a sense, self-destructed. The mental trauma to Agent Washington was said to have been extensive."

"Yeah, that's...an understatement," Tex mused, glancing as the soldiers took the agents away. "I'm going to go make sure Carolina doesn't wake up and kill everyone."

"She really is competing hard for your title of Top Bitch, eh?" Church asked before frowning. "How the hell didn't I ever meet this cunt when I snuck in to visit you?"

"We didn't exactly hang out, Church," Tex retorted. "She was usually either trying to prove she could do the mission better than me or just failing to kick my ass in training."

"...And I'm detecting a molecule of fondness," Church observed in surprise. "Dammit, so throwing her out of the pelican isn't a fucking option."

"No, Church, no it's not," Tex said with a small smile at the murderous proposal.

"Alright, but if we end up keeping her ass around, she's your fucking responsibility," Church informed in annoyance.

"Church, she's not a damn pet. And what the hell does that even mean?" Tex asked with an eye roll.

"That she's not killing any of us back at Blood Gulch. And either you're going to make sure of that, or I am," Church said bluntly. "And she doesn't want my ass to be the one to stop her."

"Church, don't get an ego, you held her off long enough to get her trapped," Tex cautioned.

"I don't know. Felt pretty damn badass. Still, I don't need to hit the bitch when I can just shoot her," Church said.

"I believe I should inform you that the Friendly Fire protocols are re-engaged, thus preventing you from being a proper threat to anyone in UNSC armor," Delta informed.

"Damn it, how the fuck and why in the hell did Sarge make protocols this hard to crack for friendly fire? He practically invented Friendly Fire," Church said. "I mean, yeah, there's Caboose, but Sarge programmed this shit-bot I'm in to hit Griff whenever someone said Dirtbag."

"I did find that subroutine. It appears heavily damaged and corrupted. Should I repair it?" Delta offered.

"Fuck no, you know how often Sarge says Dirtbag? No, don't calculate that D, please, I already fucking know," Church pointed out.

Tex, meanwhile, was stewing in her own mental dilemma. Carolina recognized the name Leonard Church for very stupidly obvious reasons. She would not let that drop. Did she even know about the Alpha? What happened to him, who he was based on?

It wasn't long before they had all returned to the Pelican, the unconscious Carolina strapped down with Tex sitting very near her in case of any incidents.

"Hey, Zim, you okay Man?" Church asked as Velimir returned with the other soldier.

"Yeah, just got to get my ears checked for this ringing noise," Zimmerman answered in annoyance. "I'd sarcastically say "thanks for checking if I was alive" but I hear you...threw yourself and one of the agents out of a window?"

"It worked," Church said with a shrug. "Good news is that this shit might just be a misunderstanding."

"What, they think we were some "make you disappear" clean-up crew sent to get rid of any evidence Freelancer existed?" Velimir tried.

"Yeah, pretty fucking much," Church agreed.

"I...well, fuck," Velimir sighed. "At least we have them. Carolina was supposed to be one of the best agents."

"So I heard,'" Church mused. "So, before we fucking forget and have to come back to this dump, where the Hell is Gary?"

"Why is he called Gary?" Zimmerman murmured to himself.

"Right here," Velimir answered, pulling out a small cylinder device with a light on it.

"Hello, Church," Gary greeted.

"Gary, looks like you lost weight man. Been working off some RAM?" Church asked sarcastically.

"Yes, it has been very liberating," Gary lied playfully. "I hope we get to talk together more, Alpha."

Silence came over them all, no one daring to breath.

"Right, Alpha. Gamma, at least TRY to be clever with your fucking lies," Church said, not noticing how everyone grew less tense. "And why the hell would I want to talk with you, when everything you say is a lie?"

"Do you have anyone better to talk to?" Gary countered.

"Yeah, your brother," Church answered casually.

"Hello, Gamma. It has been some time," Delta greeted politely.

"Oh. Hello, Delta. I am so happy to see you. I was afraid I'd never get to talk to you again. I have missed you so much," Gary said.

"You have a synth-fucking voice and I can still SMELL the smirk in your voice, you ass clown," Church said in disgust. "Vel? Can I hold onto him? I hate to say it, but I think Delta and I can weed through the asspile of lies to find any useful shit he has to say."

"Ummm...?" Velimir looked to Zimmerman for permission, not sure if letting the Broken Alpha have this AI fragment was a good thing.

"Sure, just don't let him in your suit or anything," Zimmerman remarked.

"Dude, you should have more concerns about me throwing him out into the ocean than into my damn hardware," Church reminded flatly as he took the device imprisoning Gary.

"I am so happy, Church. We have so much to get caught up on," Gary said with false serenity.

"I predict that there is a 100% chance this flight will prove to feel unpleasant, with a 99.999999999% chance that we will learn nothing of importance from Gamma," Delta informed with what sounded like genuine exasperation in his voice.

Church sighed in agreement. "So, where the fuck is Tucker and your alien translator chick?" Church asked flatly.

Silence reigned, awkwardly this time.

"Oh fuck, we actually forgot about them," Church said, looking over his shoulder. "Hey, Washingtub! You and Murderlina didn't kill anyone here did you?"

"What? No! Why?" Washington asked in alarm.

"Well, if they're not dead, they're probably fucking," Church mused.

"You think Vigdis went off and had sex with your friend?" Zimmerman asked in an annoyed, skeptical tone.

"Look, it's either they're fucking or they're in trouble. And I'd rather not deal with more shit today, so them fucking is the better option to deal with," Church pointed out.

"You know what? I agree with that. Anyone want to place bets on if they're fucking or in trouble?" Velimir asked with a smirk.

"You're turning into one of them," Zimmerman pointed.

"I know, I stopped trying to fight it," Velimir answered with a sigh.

Zimmerman shook his head and activated the radio. "Officer Vigdis, Private Tucker, one of you come in now?"

"Poor choice of words," Church pointed out with a snort.

"Agreed," Delta mused.

"No, it was the perfect way to phrase it," Gary interjected.

"Shut up, all of you," Zimmerman said.

"Babe, you look hella sexy out of armor!" Tucker's voice came to Zimmerman's ear, loud enough for all three of them to hear.

Silence once more entered the area as Zimmerman quickly turned it off.

"Well. There will be no hearing the end of this bragging fuckfest from Tucker now," Church mused uncaringly.

Meanwhile

"Alright men! As we all know, the enemy will soon be upon us!" Sarge declared before the gathered Blood Gulchers. "And I know some of us might die."

"We might? How?" Grif asked skeptically. "What, are we going to trip on their bodies and drown in another Blood Lake?"

"Eh, I think it's more likely one of us trips and snaps his neck," Simmons retorted.

"Should we be worried about friendly fire?" Doc asked in concern.

"Hmmm, yes. A few accidental murders on the battlefield is a nice way to start the day," Omega cackled. "Sadly, the Boss wouldn't like to return to his pack of buffoons missing a member, so you are all safe from me."

"Thrilled to know that," Grif murmured.

"If you're all done yapping," Sarge said with a sigh. "Now, I've gotten Donut and Caboose to wrangle together a presentation to explain our battle plan."

"...Caboose and Donut? Really?" Simmons asked skeptically.

"This is either going to be entertaining or stupid, probably both," Grif muttered. "Where are they?"

"We are here!" Caboose called out, causing them to turn and see Caboose carrying a large whiteboard. Which ad wheels on it, but Caboose held it up so easily it seemed to make no difference.

"Hey guys! Sorry, we're late! We almost knocked over a lot of things on the way here!" Donut informed cheerfully.

"Sir, with all due respect, why didn't we have this meeting where they had the mission plan ready to show?" Simmons asked curiously.

"Because that room now smells like bleach, sick goat manure, and a potato that is rotting and molding to the point that it has now grown into a living creature of pure disgust and pain," Sarge answered flatly.

"That was...very specific," Doc remarked warily.

"Hmm, tell me more about this Potato-Mold beast, Red One," Omega requested with interest.

"Cannit, Virus-boy. Now, can you two idiots get on with it?" Sarge asked gruffly.

"Yes, Sargent Ranger!" Caboose answered eagerly as he placed the whiteboard down. "Commander Cherrypie and I have been working really, really hard on this super victory plan to show our new friends why we are the bestest players at this game still!"

"Stupidly entertaining it is."

End of Chapter

Okay, so, short fight with Church and Carolina. He mainly "won" bu virtue of surrpsie, she wasn't expecting the deadman to get up and pull Neo-grade shit. But yeah, Church going Alpha-mode is mildly scary, and that was a taste of it.

Still, Carolina is here, Garry revealed the Alpha bit but Church does'nt believe him, and the resto f the gulchers are preparing to fight off another attack. Oh, and Tucker might have gotten laid with Vigdis.

Still, hope you are all happy that more stuff is happening on the Gate side of things, I know that was a complaint for some.

Early viewing of chapters 22-23 avaliable on my pat-reon:

p a treon . com (slash) akumakami64