The final minutes of travel to the outpost were eerily silent. A low fog began gradually appearing under their feet, increasing in size until it nearly blinded the squad to anything in front of them. They went on high alert, moving as if they were tiptoeing through a beast's lair, but not a single threat came from the fog. The eyes had even stopped opening to watch them, leaving the research team as nothing but idle spirits wandering through the dark forest. The entire Omnihive had seemingly fallen silent, mournfully breathing to itself. They arrived at the outpost before long; a small, yet secure building hastily set up within the shadows of the dogtrees. It was simple in design, with reinforced sides and entrance, windows made of tempered glass to keep the outside out. They entered swiftly, unnerved by the silence and half-expecting to be jumped in the final seconds.

The interior of the outpost was only made of a few rooms, the main research area acting as the center. Various shelves and cabinets lined the walls, some shut tightly and others overflowing with papers and objects. The floor was filthy, caked in dust and bloodied paw prints from the dozens of lost souls previously stationed there. All doomed workers cast away into the dark abyss, their final screams embedded in the Omnihive's booming voice. Never would they be at peace, even in death the hivemind continued to keep them within its claws. Ryder sighed and relaxed his body for the first time in hours, placing his gun down on the table. "So what happens here exactly? We sit around and tell campfire tales?"

Averus walked to the chemistry tables in the middle of the room, observing the mess of tools and glass objects standing tall. "We're supposed to make FRX here," he said, meticulously scanning each one for faults or imperfections. "There's some nap rooms in here, if anyone wants to take a fifteen-minute break." Parker and Danny joined him, going to their own stations.

"I'm never sleeping again," Marshall grumbled, coming to Rocky's side. "As long as we're safe in here, it's alright with me."

"It's probably the safest place in this entire realm," Averus nodded to the Dalmatian. "It's too secure for anything to get in; so if you want to rest for a few minutes, you can."

"How secure?" Rocky raised an eyebrow at the husky. "You're positive nothing can get in here?"

Averus shrugged, "reinforced entry points from all sides, what else could you ask for?"

"What about the vents?"

"The what?"

"The vents," Rocky almost growled. "I guarantee you those things are well accustomed to entering ducts, I know it for a fact," He approached the scientist with narrowed eyes. "Are the vents protected with the same material?"

"I..." Averus looked to the side, stuttering briefly. "That never really crossed our minds."

"What, why? Why would you not assume it could use vents?"

"Won't windows and doors be all we need?"

"No! We're just as exposed here as we were outside!" Rocky barked, flattening his ears at the situation. "No wonder so many of you are killed."

"As long as we don't call attention to ourselves, we're fine," Ryder called over, trying to end the argument.

"Maybe so, but we're still vulnerable. If we're going to properly protect you... we need to be armed."

"We are, though," Averus shrugged. "Ryder has a rifle."

"No, we all need to be armed!" the captain barked. "We can't just let one person have a gun; we all need to be prepared if something goes wrong."

"You want a weapon? Keep dreaming, we're not that stupid you know."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You want me to give a weapon to an ACG soldier who was abducted here by a faction he isn't aligned with?" Averus said, holding Rocky's narrowed gaze. "That's a good way to get us all taken hostage, I see right through you."

Aghast at the accusation, the mix jabbed his paw into the husky's chest. "I'm not trying to do anything malicious here, but if we aren't all equally armed then we're already dead!"

"Dutch ordered us to not give you any opportunity to act out."

"Who said I was acting out? How could I do such a thing when we're already in the Omnihive and everything wants to kill us?! I'm not rebelling, I'm giving us our best chance of survival, even more so that I'm a trained soldier. Now give me a fucking weapon." He held out his paw expectantly.

Silence befell the room, everyone watching as Averus scanned the mix up and down with skepticism. He opened his mouth with bared teeth, about to spit another insult when someone quickly stepped between them.

"Enough of this," Ryder said sternly. He gave a long sigh and reached to one of his holsters, producing a shiny, high-caliber revolver. "Here."

Averus tensed up, "what are you doing? You're giving him that?"

"He's right, we can't take any chances," the boy turned to Rocky, who was stunned at the gesture. "You'll need a tactical pup pack to carry this, we should have extras somewhere in here."

"I honestly hope you know what you're doing."

"Trust me, Averus. We can't afford to turn against each other in times like this."

Ryder rummaged around in a few storage containers sitting against the wall, pushing aside small components until he found what he was looking for: a black, slightly worn mechanical pup pack. It felt like ages since Rocky and Marshall had seen one, their own ACG packs discarded upon their earlier capture. He brought it over, and Rocky held still as the backpack was strapped to him.

"Don't make me regret this," the boy warned him, before manually activating one of the extending arms. He fastened the revolver to it, dropping ammunition in the slots they were needed before closing it all up.

"Can I have one?" Marshall crept up.

"You're a medic, why?" Ryder glanced his way.

"To make being a medic easier?"

"Just use your paws."

Marshall leaned back a moment, emitting a long, deep sigh. He had to take a few deep breaths to stifle his annoyance, obviously this was not going to be a comforting thing to be part of. Giving Ryder a slight nod, Rocky pulled Marshall away toward the windows, gathering their bearings from the heated interaction.

Still slightly tense from the now past argument, Averus twitched slightly before slowly returning to his coworkers. They had more important things to do anyway, getting into petty arguments would only slow them down. Watching the group disperse, Ryder rolled his eyes and went to sit down by one of the windows.

"I guess we can't expect them to think like us," Marshall said to his brother, sighing as he gazed out the window at the bloodied world.

"Idiots," muttered the captain.

"They're not idiots, they just don't do what we do. They're probably more used to sitting at tables and decoding numbers and stuff. What would you do if someone asked you to do a scientist's job?"

Rocky let out a dejected sigh, "I'd probably have no idea what to do, you're right. But this is a matter of life or death, we can't make mistakes."

"Then we won't. They'll do their job, and we'll do ours."

"That's what worries me," said the captain, gazing out the window at the dogtrees. "We're expected to babysit a bunch of helpless civilians, basically. You know how much I hate missions like that."

"But we got it done, didn't we? Every single time. There's no reason we'd fail now."

"Those were very different situations; It's one thing to throw yourself in front of danger everyday for an assault organization, but this? Even if we make it out of this, things will never be the same."

Marshall placed a paw on his brother's shoulder, "I've never once doubted you, or Chase for that matter," he spoke with a hushed tone. "I'm scared too, you know."

"I'm a captain," Rocky said, a sorrowful lament in his voice. "I'm not supposed to be scared."

"If it makes you feel any better, I won't tell anyone."

The mix emitted a low chuckle, the light slowly returning to his face. "Thanks, Marshall."

Everyone stayed put until the scientists suddenly called their names, gesturing for them to approach a radar. Ryder snapped awake from where he was sleeping, and the two soldiers looked over with confusion.

"We found it," said Averus, noticeably lacking enthusiasm.

Ryder walked over, "found what?"

"The site we need to catch one of those things. It's right about here," he pointing to a scanned map of the area on his tablet. "The warriors tend to pass through every now and then to let their young eat from the trees."

"Wouldn't catching a young one be easier?" Rocky tilted his head.

"I guess it would be, but apparently they aren't sufficient for making the vaccine. It has to be an adult or we get nothing. Besides, there won't be anything easy about this with a baalcross prowling around."

The foreign name hung in the air while everyone had time to process the odd word Averus had just said. Looks of confusion were spread among the three soldiers, Rocky even flashed a questioning glance to Ryder who only shrugged back in reply.

"I'm sorry, a what now?" Marshall leaned forward.

"Oh, you'll love this," Parker laughed from where he was sitting, and gestured to Averus. "Go on, tell them."

All eyes went to the husky, who sighed with annoyance at the constant questions. "A baalcross. Unique creatures we've spotted around the Omnihive."

"Why is this the first time we're hearing about it?" Rocky said, narrowing his eyes.

"I honestly figured you already knew."

"So what the hell is it then?"

"Baalcrosses are strange animals," Averus turned back to his papers. "They're massive, and don't bear any resemblance to ferox warriors. We can't really seem to understand what purpose they serve, and no ones gotten close enough to find out."

"Well there is one thing," Danny turned around in his chair. "They travel with ferox infants, carrying them around like a mama spider."

"Ugh, thanks for that lovely image." Marshall grimaced.

"Are they dangerous?" Rocky asked, a slew of discomfort running through him.

"Everything in this entire fucking realm is dangerous, captain."

"Language," Marshall jutted into the conversation. "If they're really that big, then we should be able to see it coming from afar. Dodging it should be easy."

"Then maybe it's a good thing after all we're all equally armed," Rocky glared at the scientist. "Why didn't you want to give me a gun again?"

"Too much gunfire will draw attention to ourselves, and I still have no reason to properly trust you," Averus rolled his eyes. "One way or another, we need to get out there and get this done. Everyone rested?"

"Oh don't worry, I got a whole twenty minutes of sleep, I'm practically a brand new man." Ryder said sarcastically, brushing his hands on his vest.

Rocky shot the husky a narrowed look, "define 'rested.'"

"Just making sure you're all alive," Averus dodged the annoyed glances. "Alright, everyone outside."

As cramped and uncomfortable the outpost was, it was home compared to wandering out into the bloodied abyss of the Omnihive. Rocky already missed the dry metal flooring the very second he stepped his paw back out into the fleshy grounds. Ryder led the group as they left, Averus following closely behind him with Parker and Danny tagging along. Rocky was last in the line, putting his nose to the air as he spread his senses. An eerie stench was being carried in the wind, smelling of rancid breath and molded meat from an unknown animal. The dogtrees gently swayed in the hot air, dripping their fluids down in a slow but steady pace. The hundreds of lungs and skulls tied up in their branches gave the illusion of breathing, like the tree itself was sadistically keeping its victims alive despite the sheer ruin of their body. A yellow eye opened on one of the trunks, scanning the group as they left the outpost. Rocky got a glimpse of it and quickly snapped his head over like an alerted cat, but the eye quickly shut before he could focus on it. Growling with agitation, Rocky flattened his ears and caught up with the moving squad.

"Any more surprises?" The captain asked, moving to Averus's side. "No more dramatic reveals?"

"Look, I honestly thought you knew, and I'm telling you everything I was told. I'm not trying to-"

"Trying to what?" Rocky hissed. "Keep us in the dark?"

"Considering you're here to protect us, that wouldn't exactly be the smartest move, would it?"

"And yet you didn't want to give me a gun?"

"That's different!"

"Exactly how is that different? How can I protect you if I don't have the means to do it?"

"The rule was, we can't give you any opportunity to-"

Ryder audibly groaned, "can you two please shut up?"

"Oh trust me, I'll be nice, don't worry," Rocky said quickly. "I'm just trying to understand why we're blindly walking into things we aren't being told anything about."

"Rocky..." Marshall said with a low tone, already sensing an argument was coming.

The captain ignored him, his fur visibly spiking on end. "Hey I'm not trying to start anything, does it look like I'm trying to start something, because I'm not." His claws clenched into the floor, the mix flashing an accusing look at their companions. "I just want to know who you think you are."

"I'm an Archline scientist," Averus said, tensing up. "I think I know more than you here."

"Oh really, you know everything?" Rocky raised an eyebrow like he was trying to imply something.

"Compared to you, it seems."

"Guys..." Marshall tried to defuse the situation but was drowned out.

"You know and see every little thing going on?" Rocky bared his teeth. "Just because I'm some brainless soldier and you're some smartass worker?" His eyes flicked over Averus's shoulder.

A vicious snarl emitted from the scientist's maw, "I wasn't gonna say that, but your words, not mine!"

"Oh really? Don't move, ruff, ammunition!" Rocky's backpack quickly extended its arm, sharply arming his revolver and bringing it forward.

Expressions of shock reared from the dogs around him, Averus completely backpedaling with horror. Fear spiked his body as he stared down the barrel of the gun, taken completely off guard at the sudden drawing of the weapon. Marshall went wide-eyed, freezing up as traumatic memories returned to him. For the first time the Dalmation actually pulled himself close to Ryder, who was also frozen in his own shock.

"Wh- what are you doing!?" Averus backed up, his tail shooting underneath him.

He got no answer as a sharp gunshot hit the air, making everyone violently flinch at the deafening noise. Averus froze, expecting a bullet to tear into his neck from the high powered handgun. He blinked for a few moments, waiting for the bullet, only to look down at himself and not see a single bleeding wound. He was completely healthy, prompting a look of confusion, until he slowly looked behind him.

There had been a dogtree behind him, on its trunk was a completely ruptured eye. It opened itself to peep on the group, only for a high-caliber gunshot to meet its iris with full deadly force. The eye nearly exploded on impact, shredding through its retina and lens like paper. The rounded organ popped like a balloon, gushing out bloodied yellow onto the ground as the casing deflated. A distant moan could be heard from the ground, a low bellowing of pain vibrating through the layers of red meat.

"Knew we were being watched," Rocky growled, retracting the gun. "See and know everything, huh?"

"The trees have eyes," Ryder blinked in disbelief. "Well, that's disturbing."

"Wh- you scared the shit out of me!" Averus spiked his fur, staring at the dead eye and back at Rocky. "The hell was that for?"

"What's wrong? Just doing my job," Rocky leaned in. "Protecting us."

"That's not funny!"

"What's watching us?" Marshall fearfully crept toward the burst eye, sniffing it. "Another unknown disgusting creature you haven't told us of yet?"

Averus whipped at him, "you can't just keep accusing us of withholding things! The baalcross was a misunderstanding, but we didn't know the trees had fucking eyes!"

"It might just be the Omnihive itself," Ryder kneeled down to observe the dead spy. "The whole realm is pretty much alive in a literal sense. How many of these are there?"

Rocky shrugged in reply, "hard to say; I'm pretty sure they were spying on us as we traveled. Your guess is as good as mine."

"If we're being watched, we should probably get moving fast. The feroxes are assumed to be a hivemind and probably already know we're here."

"Oh, great."

"The trapping site is just up ahead," Parker said, pointing out in the horizon. "Let's set up what we can before anything tries to jump us."

The group hurried along, a foreboding sense of uncertainty following Rocky from behind. A heightened sense of awareness made note of every little detail in his surroundings, forcing him to lag behind slightly as he scanned his environment. A new revelation had filled him with resolve, bringing light into something he didn't know was even possible.

The Omnihive made a mistake.

The yellowed eyes were so cautious before, evading the group's gazes to hide their presence. Until one of them slipped up, appearing where it was seen and providing Rocky the perfect chance to shoot it out. He couldn't help but scoff, knowing he -by technicality- had successfully put a bullet into the Omnihive, no matter how minuscule it was. He for so long assumed Feroxmalis' lair was an exception, being a small piece of the realm obviously more vulnerable. But it wasn't, the whole damn Omnihive was just as weak.

"You aren't invincible," Rocky growled, looking up at one of the dogtrees. "Now I know there's a chance to get rid of you. We just need..." he trailed off, wondering if the meaty plant was able to actually hear and understand him. The hive had eyes everywhere, did it have ears? A mouth, somewhere?

An explosion is what they needed, but at this scale, it would have to be the size of the realm itself. How in the world would he manage that? Dutch would probably know, but any thought of forming an alliance with that egotistical executive put a sour look on his face. Whatever, if there was a way, he'd find it. Determination hardened his resolve, he couldn't fail the greater good, and he wouldn't fail now.

The Omnihive had to be destroyed.