Sunlight almost blinded Niles' eyes. He let out a groan in pain as his helmet slid off. Slowly were colors beginning to reform and the feeling of ground surprisingly seemed better than anything else going on in the moment. His head spun, recollecting itself as if it had rebooted itself. The previous moments within the last few seconds felt like memories from several years ago, fading with time. His hot breath hit the ground, as if stomaching a suckerpunch that hit too hard. The hushed sounds of birds and wildlife began to take shape, a soft breeze cooling himself off. From within the suit, his body felt hot. Resting inside a steamed oven, his pits and legs were drenched in his own sweat.
As his back hit the ground, a hand shakily pushed down on the heart plate. The torso, arms and legs popped open with a slight vacuum release sound. Coolness hit every square inch of him, causing him to sigh with relief. His hand loosely wiped the sweat from his forehead, as if half-asleep. He couldn't feel touch in his fingertips or wrist, forcing it back down to lay idly for a moment. An earthy and natural smell filled his nostrils while the sunlight started to back off slightly. By now he was partially crying, tears rushing down the sides of his cheeks from the sensitivity to the light.
Pain pulsated from his head, mimicking a migraine. Ruptures across the sky echoed with large blasts, indicating a wide-scale fight was somewhere nearby.
When Niles was finally capable of recollecting himself, he held himself back from within his suit and slowly began to stand up. He grit his teeth, feeling a soreness everywhere in his body despite being perfectly sound. A hand held his hip, the other pushing him back up as he squinted looking around. The sky was a healthy blue, the faintest puffy clouds of white trailing across the sky. More than normal, a couple of air trails were traced from planes. Far out into the sky, an amalgamation of planets forced together reigned overhead: Planet Fusion. It had a light hue of green around it, the main planet itself practically made from this green substance everywhere. Several other smaller planets and moons had been sucked into it like a slimy meat grinder, slowly absorbing each one as time passed. One half-completed ring stabbed itself into the planet, emphasizing just how much of a mistake it was. The source of all fusion on earth came from it, well-spotted in the sky.
Its size was small, the aura even smaller. Niles held a hand over his eyes to squint up at it, fully opening them.
It worked.
A smile formed on his face as he weakly raised a metal hand in the air, "Aha! Yes! Hahaha!" He laughed out loud and skipped in joy, throwing both fists now. "Dexter, you mad genius!"
His tears of sensitivity quickly turned into tears of joy as he curled his fingers over his face. His laughter went maniacal, overwhelmed with a series of emotions left to be felt. His heart swelled up within his chest, beating at a rapid rate as the anxiety of the situation grew from within. Everyone he had missed, everyone he lost or passed on was back. A science which warranted madness brought back so many people he loved dearly. For a moment, he didn't care if they forgot about him, he was just joyous they were alive. The mistakes he made back then were allowed to be corrected now, an opportunity he wouldn't dream of missing.
The faint sound of a digital zap jumped him as he reacted, turning to look around. A blue hologram of a tiny figure with black, white and green appeared. Its body was compact and stylized, with exaggerated features that mimic the appearance of Alien X. Its head was adorned with three distinct horns, symbolizing the alien's trifold nature. Glowing green eyes gleamed with an otherworldly intensity, hinting at the vast cosmic powers that lied dormant within. Its body was adorned with intricate markings and patterns, reminiscent of the celestial energy that coursed through its alien counterpart. It hovered effortlessly in the air, surrounded by a faint aura of cosmic energy that crackled and sparked with each movement. "A pleasure to see you again."
Its tiny yet elegant pipsqueak voice piped up as she waved. This was a nano version of Alien X, built to replicate the original person. A technological development made by Dexter many years ago, the original heroes gave up a piece of their equipment to help create and mass produce small companions many of the agents fought with. They served like respective AIs, made out of fusion matter and physical equipment associated with that hero. In this case, it was one of Ben's aliens, meant to power Niles' suit for better versatility in combat.
"X-X?" stammered the agent as he widened his eyes. "How did you.. get here?"
The nano calmly hovered up in front of him, holding its arms behind its back. "I believe it was Blossom who put me in here; I was stored here for the purposes of serving you and for the sake of the mission."
Niles sighed with relief. Blossom had never failed to impress him, often at times making him feel privileged for getting to work with her. "Well, I'm glad I wasn't the only one who got sent back. What can you do?"
"The feeling is mutual," it replied. "I can assist with the suit in any way I see fit, however not when I feel tired or out of energy."
The man nodded, taking his first steps on the new soil and looked around. "Which power did Blossom choose?"
"Celestial Light," remarked the alien. "I can remedy any physical wounds you might have, at a great cost of my own strength."
Niles grinned softly, "Of course she'd pick that power. That sweetheart."
"Agreed."
The two of them were surrounded by a winding, hilly forest. Odd mushrooms of impressive sizes grew underneath the trees and from within the tall grass. Twisting trees bent their branches in groovy directions, forming a musty swamp biome with peculiarly shaped flowers. Faint strands of fusion goop infecting the wildlife were slowly taking over the trees, overgrowing on the leaves and bark of the branches. Based on where the sun was at, it looked to be about midday, the heat slightly getting to Niles were it not for the air conditioning from within adjusting his temperature as needed.
"X, where are we?" he asked, spinning around once. His ears attempted to focus on where the distant ruptures were coming from.
The nano slowly hovered over and extended a tiny hand out toward the landscape, "I believe we are in the Twisted Forest."
"The closest base would be Mount Blackhead," Niles' head ticked, standing up straight and put his hands on his hips. "I faintly remember my first deployment here. If what I'm thinking is true.." he scratched his chin.
"We were sent backward in time, were we?" Nano X questioned. "Then it would seem we've been sent back four years in the past, based on your military career record."
Niles nodded his head, "My thoughts exactly. C'mon, let's go check out those blasts."
His hand reached up and closed his helmet, clicking the heels of the rocket boots. Two small, infernal engines kicked off quickly and a gust of power pushed him straight into the air. Niles outstretched his arms and took off at a quick speed, X retreating back into the console within his helmet. His legs stiffed up, locking into position as he held one hand up and the other at his side like a superman pose. His cape flew violently in the air as he streaked, leaving a tiny trail behind him as he quickly gained altitude. The view of the grove he started off in grew smaller, and the forest expanded. The view of swampy trees and marshes extended for nearly a few miles. Off in the distance in front of him lied the view of a walled-off structure; an enormous tree sat in the center, closed off by tightly sealed wooden-spiked walls. The trees grew to a massive size, surpassing any of the local fauna nearby.
Out of the corner of his eye did he witness a flash go off, earning his attention. He quickly changed course, curving through the air and started gliding further toward this mysterious destination. "We're really close to base! X, let's take this thing for a test drive first!"
"Understood, would you like me to assist you with any programs or systems?" A tiny outline of Alien X appeared on the top right of the screen, moving in a stop motion fashion.
"No, I wanna figure this thing out first." Niles replied, moving both of his hands back. The cannons quickly transformed into smaller boosters, channeling some solar energy into an extra short-term kick for travel. He was even faster, passing by trees at an alarming speed. From within the helmet, his eyes widened and eyebrows raised as he felt the momentum in his suit. It hadn't been nearly as fast as this, like being in the front seat on a rollercoaster. His smile widened as he angled his posture like a bullet, preparing to make an impact. "How fast does this thing go?! Whooo!"
Meanwhile, back down in the forest, a firefight had broken out. A small group of young men and women had traversed the landscape together, forming a small squadron of soldiers on behalf of sector V. Dressed in respective suits of black, they covered themselves in body armor. Helmets of variations covered their faces, much like military helmets but with fun details like a pair of goggles, or cartoonishly sized horns. Patches with their respective numbers in the group were placed on a shoulder pad, indicating who they were and what rank they had. Many of them had different forms of weapons, ranging from rifles to pistols, to just straight up swords.
One of these operatives pulled off a world war II style helmet, lifting up a pair of goggles to push the bushy set of muffin blonde hair he had. There was a glare on his face, his teeth gritting together as sweat fell down his face. He stood up firmly, lifting up an unloaded pop gun into the air.
As he reached for another cartridge, he realized that the ammo strap he had on his black-patterned chest had completely emptied. He let out a groan then violently screamed in a thick british accent, "TWENTY SEVEN! LOAD ME!"
A young woman of the squadron reached into her pocket and pulled out a rectangular shaped cartridge with a light blue color, frozen to the touch. She quickly chucked it from the bushes she positioned herself in.
Approaching at a quick speed was a large, mutated frog. Its skin had transformed into spiky rocks, as if created from the ground itself. Its teeth were skinny and jagged, extending a long, slimy green tongue from the corners of its mouth. A pair of red eyes glared menacingly at the soldier in front of it as it leaped with extreme distance.
The soldier's lightning reflexes were no match for this creature; within the span of three seconds did the cartridge get slotted in, the gun cocked and the trigger pulled. Three piercing shots of icy chills from its popsicle barrel shredded into the creature's underbelly.
He stepped to the side, kicking it once in the head down the hill he was fighting up on. "Hah! What a bunch of pathetic lit'le TOADS!"
The soldier threw his fist forward with immense strength, decking another frog in the head. It let out a screech, stumbling backwards before being shot in between its radiant eyes.
The fight was spread out across this hill, consisting of the squadron combatting what felt like an endless horde of these disgusting creatures. They emerged from the hole like ants, crawling out only to be sent forward straight into battle. The soldiers up front, dressed in heavier armor with the swords, were covered by various snipers sitting in the trees and at the bottom of the hill. The sun had split rays through the trees, blinding the distanced snipers somewhat through their peripheral.
One of the many soldiers pulled off his skull bandana, looking back down at the soldier and raised a hand. "Numbuh Four! Permission to flank with top numbers?"
The young man looked back, a violent smile on his face as he clutched his fist. "Give 'em a good wallop!"
"Yessir! Top group with me!" the other commanded and directed with a hand up to the top of the hill.
Nine of the soldiers quickly navigated their way up the hill, stopping in their tracks in a line. A couple of them reloaded their weapons, another wiping the fusion from her sword. The man who had just given the order took off his bandana and tucked it underneath his chest, "Oh no way.."
From the other side of the hill came a massive group of creatures; the last of the frogs had collectively formed a rebound together, guided by a strange hand. Beside them were large monsters in the shape of humanoid venus flytraps. Their large mawed mouths eagerly craved flesh as a putrid fusion saliva dripped from them. Their arms and legs pulled like roots across the grass, tiny red eyes locking onto their own individual targets. They latched onto each other to create a big thorny bush, gliding themselves across the ground riding this newly founded wave of roots.
"Squadron! Retreat!" Yelled the exact same soldier as he reached into his chest strap. Out came a small, metallic red bell pepper with a pin on the top of the stem. He quickly pulled it, reeling his hand back and chucked it down the hill as far as possible before turning tail.
The group started their descent back down the hill as a large explosion shook the ground itself, a burst of red flame enveloping at the top.
A couple of soldiers tripped and started rolling, another grabbing onto one for support as their descent got quicker.
Numbuh Four, the leader of this group, glared as he stared up at the top with frustration. "Why are we retrea- HOLY SMOKES!" He smacked his face as he witnessed the oncoming horde and took a couple of steps back.
The combined power of thorny creatures created a living wall on the top of the hill. Their sharp leaf hands and wide mouths reached out to bite any they could, shuffling their way down the hill. However, two of them had stopped and squinted up in the sky. One took its leafy hand and pointed up.
BOOM!
The entire hillside shook as a couple of agents fell off their feet. Dust and dirt flew everywhere as a newly formed crater completely decimated a fraction of the forces' movement. Two bright yellow beams stretched out across the forest, ripping through dozens of the creatures to shreds like laser-pointers of death. The skin and flesh of these monsters sizzled and exploded into green goop, starting a tiny landslide of this nasty ooze.
The creatures started their own posse on this force, jumping in to surround what was causing such distress from inside.
Numbuh Four looked up, blinking at the situation going on with utter confusion. The bodies of the creatures began to pile up at a shocking rate, forming into recyclable fusion at their disposal. He turned to look back at the group, stomping his foot in the group and held his pop gun forward. "OPERATIVES! ON ME!"
He turned back, gritting his teeth. "What unnamed reinforcements by three is it this time.." he grumbled, beginning to stomp back up the hill.
The squadron positioned themselves back on the bottom of the hill and the frontliners charged on with zeal. Quite confused with Four's orders, they decided to roll with it and remained defensive for now. One or two stray creatures leaped forward, only to be sliced and shot down by unified strikes together.
They were slow and effective, compared to the unknown force who remained crazed for now.
Niles had been covered in fusion goop from all over, thankfully none through the cracked of his armor just yet. His hands burned like hot plates, firing off beams at several dozen lunging monsters coming his way. There was a sweat bead rolling down the side of his head, his arms and legs quickly thrashing through as many monsters as he could. "X, I know I said I didn't need help but I changed my mind!"
In the midst of literal hell, the small chibi popped up and pointed a finger up scientifically. "Might I suggest the spray flamethrower? It can be found within your wrist grip."
"Yes please!"
The heat in the area quickly grew as a gust of two separate flames sprayed from Niles' wrists. Tiny gusts of heat quickly cooked the creatures back into respective goop. The deafening screeches of pained monsters roared throughout the forest as a small fire began. The line of monsters quickly disassembled themselves and started to split up, forcing their way back down the hill as half of their numbers started melting away.
The iron soldier stood up, pointing his hand cannon at a couple of them and set off a continual beam. The unfortunate monsters who weren't able to escape the trees were quickly sawed in half by the power of the sun, folding and melting into string-cheese in the grass.
As Niles lowered his hand, the last few creatures had quickly been picked off by the hiding snipers, providing support. He stood there for a moment, looking at the fusion coating his armor and sighed. "I forgot how long it takes to scrape this stuff off. Man..."
The group of soldiers held their distance, watching the last of the monsters fall away and turned to face Niles together. No guns had directly been pointed at him, although the group remained alert while standing their ground.
Numbuh Four made his way up and spotted the man, seeing his cape drift a little bit. The mysterious figure, enveloped in red and white, was surrounded by the fire he created. Smoke began to billow from the miniature damage he caused to the wildlife, heightening a dramatic entrance. "Oy, fella! Are you a superhero or something? Never seen you before!"
He turned to look at the group and made a gesture to lower their weapons, turning to look back at Niles.
"Nope, just some guy in a metal suit." replied the man sarcastically, contrasting his appearance as he took a step down. "Agent Arachnid, reporting for duty."
Numbuh Four squinted, unloading the cartridge from his gun and eyed him from top to bottom two times. "What's this? I was never told about some science project joining the patrol."
Thankfully, Niles was hidden behind his helmet. He took a hand and pointed it at his chest and spoke blankly. "Dexter's tech, consider me a test subject."
There were many looks of interest shared amongst the soldiers, some of them a bit skeptical while the majority of them felt relieved. Several of them took off their helmets and glasses, rubbing the sweat from their brows and grease from their hair.
"I heard you guys were having some trouble over here, so I decided to pitch in a bit. Numbuh Four, a pleasure to meet you. I need to get back to Sector V as soon as possible."
The young man quickly took a stance, squinting up at him as he pointed. "Just so I know you ain't some fusion scum, take off the helmet."
Niles hesitated, his cape draping for a couple of seconds before taking a deep breath. As his hand pushed the button, the helmet came sliding off and folded into its neck guard. His hair had become slightly greasy, and once his eye mask had been taken off, he looked tired but happy. He held the mask in his hand for a second and extended his hands out, moving it up and down. "There, I'm not a fusion. Happy?"
The bandana soldier turned to look over at Numbuh Four, waiting for his answer.
"You said you're stationed here, soldier?" Four raised an eyebrow.
Niles nodded, putting the eyemask back over his blue eyes. "Yes I am; again, I need to get back to Sector V. It's urgent."
The young soldier scratched the back of his head, pointing a finger up. "Don't think you've earned yourself a ticket just because you started a forest fire. Seven and twelve, take him back to base. I'll have a talk with him later."
From within, two feelings clashed. Niles pursed his lips as he held his bated breath, slightly frustrated with him. He had forgotten how hot-headed and paranoid Numbuh Four was, this harsh nature resulting in him and his team getting killed. He took a deep breath, choosing not to say anything back and went with it. "Yessir."
Numbuh Four gestured with a thumb, and the two operations linked up with Niles to walk him back to Mount Blackhead.
"As for the rest of you, reload and line up! I wanna make sure these tree-hugging leeches have been scared off far enough for today!" he barked, snatching another cartridge from one of his men and continued onward.
"Yessir!" The team unified together and began their march, following loyally.
The three began their walk back toward Mount Blackhead, keeping watch for now but enjoyed the stroll. The fighting had come to an end and any threats were nullified. A cool breeze blew in, each of their respective hairs flowing gently while they passed by. The area around this base had been mostly cleansed of fusion, leaving the land to grow and prosper normally compared to an alien-infected landscape. The initiative to take care of the planet by these soldiers was imperative, trying to preserve themselves from the clutches of this undesirable spacial threat.
The operative to the man's left took off a beret and held it at her side, letting her blonde hair loose a bit. One of her buns had been loosened, the other holding the rest together. Her skin was tan, eyes a simple green. Holstered on her hip was a pop gun, a large slasher sword much like Niles' old one stowed within a scabbard on her back. Despite some cuts and tears through her armor, she seemed fine. "Hey, I wanna thank you for helping us out. I know Numbuh Four didn't take too kindly to it, but he's just a little on edge lately is all."
Niles stomped across the ground, waving a hand, "Don't worry about it, soldier. It seemed like you guys needed the extra support. As for Four, well, he's just like that." he let out a loud sigh, looking out toward a treeline.
"Oh, by the way, I'm agent Seven but you can call me Rachel." she grinned.
Agent Twelve didn't say much, hidden behind a cowl, bandana and goggles. They remained silent, carrying a large, orange and white sniper rifle in their hands. They glanced over at their conversation but remained quiet and took in the scenery.
"Niles," he replied. "If you don't mind me asking, why's he on edge?"
Rachel took a deep breath and cushioned her beret back on her head, tucking it into place. "I can't get into a lot of it right now but higher ups are questioning his leadership at the moment. With the fusion spreading around our base and closing in, we don't have that much supplies to clean and we end up having to clear the roots out by hand. With the frogs and creepers around, this place is getting more dangerous by the week. Not to mention, the fish from the local lake have also been mutated."
"Shatterguns typically do well against the frogs, and the creepers are scared of fire. You might wanna look into a little bit of deforestation, but you didn't hear that from me." Niles answered.
Rachel raised an eyebrow, "What makes you say that?"
"Fusion infects living things better than dead ground, unless a spore grows there. It'll slow it down."
The agent nodded her head, "Hm, I'll bring that up. Thanks for the tip."
"Don't mention it," Niles replied. "It's what I'm here for."
She didn't quite get what he meant by that and made a face, although brushed it aside for now and continued their walk back. The rest of the trip was silent, except for the calm sounds of the wildlife around them.
As the three finally make it to the front gates of Mount Blackhead, tall walls crafted from the enormous trees spike high into the air. Tattered sheets of metal and loose wrap are wrapped around the front walls, giving them a rugged yet intimidating look to them. On the bottom of the walls were spiked barricades, sticking out from the ground and attached to the walls to prevent any of these creatures from scaling the walls; not like they would get that high up, as the walls matched the height of a titan. The front gate of the outpost was open, several other operatives keeping an eye out towards the forests and a distant, shallow lake. They appeared to be armored heavily, carrying large weapons on their shoulders and backs meant to intimidate. Their faces were hidden behind large plated caps or helmets.
One of the soldiers at the front gate looked out toward the three, giving a wave. The voice of a young boy spoke up, at the cusp of teenage. "Seven! Welcome back! Any news?" he shouted from nearly the top of the hill, making his way down. In his hands appeared to be a large hand cannon with three long barrels, with the color palette and paint of a child's toy. A large slot for ammunition was stowed on the side, indicating that this young man was carrying the modern day equivalent of a minigun at his side.
Rachel gave a small wave and gestured toward Niles with a thumb, "Hi Juno! Just had another assault today like normal. We found this guy, though. Helped us out of trouble. Apparently, he's another agent stationed here."
The soldier looked up at Niles as the group approached. They came to a halt; in his armor, Niles towered over the young boy as he looked up. "That's a very nice suit you got there, agent; name and number?" he asked hesitantly.
"Agent Arachnid, number four nine dash twelve." Niles replied, offering a hand for a handshake.
Juno reached out and took his hand, feeling the warm energy surge through the palm. Almost like touching a hot stove, he shook it for a split second but then yanked his hand back. "Oof! Good to see you, agent, and welcome back."
Niles placed his hands on his hips, "Thank you. Is Kuki- I mean Numbuh Three free right now?"
"I'm not sure; she got into a fight a week ago and has been recovering ever since." Juno replied, turning to look at Rachel. "Rumor has it that we're closing the gates tonight when the others get back."
The other agent shook her head, frowning as she looked up at Niles. "You heard about this?"
He blanked, scratching his hair a bit while making a face. "I- uh, no, not at all. This is news to me."
The other operative, after all this time, finally spoke up to pitch in. "Not enough troops to go around right now, best to settle in and rest. We've been at it for weeks." His voice was soft, a little bit of a stutter to go with it as well.
Juno nodded, "I'd say go talk to Zak. He's free if you want information. Find your camp and get settled in for tonight."
"Thank you, Juno." Niles started on his way up the hill and into the encampment. As he started, he turned to look at Rachel. "Thanks for the walk back; I'm gonna split off now."
The girl shook her head like it was no trouble, continuing to speak with Juno for a bit while the second operative ended up going inside, off in another direction.
Mount Blackhead was just like young Niles had remembered: bleak but busy. The amount of agents diligently working brought some comfort to him as he stopped to take in the atmosphere. Whether it was the countless training, or day in and day out fighting he did, this place had shaped him into the soldier he was today. Prior to when he had wanted to go above and beyond with his role as a soldier, the training camp conditioned him into a versatile warrior. Whether it be rifle, pistol or sword, young Niles had never failed to give it all he got. He admired the idea of a war like this, fighting a common foe everyone shared, before the gravity of the situation had pulled him down.
Sunlight pierces through the canopy, illuminating the inner grove of the base itself. Streams cascade down moss-covered rocks, their babbling waters echoing through the forest like a soothing lullaby. Just outside the walls did the faint rumble of a distant waterfall add to the coziness of this all-nature base. It is a sanctuary nestled deep within the heart of the mountain's rugged terrain, raised up high enough and well-barricaded to hide from any prying eyes of Fuse's minions. At the center of this camp, between the dozens of tents and cottage-like park houses lies a peculiar tree. Its gnarled roots anchor deep within the earth, towering branches reaching towards the sky like outstretched arms. The bark and leaves are a hue of purple, contrasting the healthy green and yellow which surrounds it.
At the base of the tree, carved over an oval-shaped canvas, represents a living face. Its eyes, glowing a bright yellow, watch the agents at their work with interest. A small mouth formed out of bark lips purse and pose whenever they do something wrong but remains silent.
Throughout the camp, the air is alive with the hum of activity, as cooks prepare hearty meals, healers tend to the wounded, and scouts keep watch for any signs of danger. Despite the ever-present threat of Fusion invasion, there is a sense of camaraderie and unity among the camp's inhabitants, a shared determination to stand against the darkness and protect their home at all costs.
"Never thought I'd miss this place." Niles softly speaks to himself, taking off his eye mask after a little sweat. He rubs his face with the back of his hand, breathing intimately. The walk and arrival back to this old place brought him comfort, something he hadn't felt in a long time.
"It oddly grows on you, doesn't it?" A distinct, teenage voice of a boy speaks up from beside.
Niles lowers his hand and side-eyes whoever spoke, feeling some old familiarity in that tone. "Yes, yes it does.."
A young man dressed in an orange t-shirt and black pants crosses his arms, tilting his head. His hair is black, with a white streak in the front. His skin is a dark tan, slightly darker than Niles, and his eyes flare orange. A gothic 'S' engraves itself on his shirt, a signature look for the teen. "You doing okay, dude?"
"Uhh, yes I am." Niles replied, turning to face him and heightening his broad, metallic shoulders. "Agent Arachnid, good to meet you..?"
Zak Saturday. Many thought he and his family were cryptid hunters, that was until planet fusion arrived. The Saturday family had a variety of special skills in their arsenal, as well as an impressive intelligence distincting the world between humans and cryptids. Some referred to them as scientists, while others called them scholars of biology. In spite of the brief end to their old hobby, they made use of their research and knowledge into studying various fusion creatures in hopes of learning about their respective strengths and weaknesses. Niles never really knew how the family died, having a rare privilege of never hearing about it.
"Zak. You need a minute to sit down? You seem winded." Zak asked, expressing concern.
Niles nodded, deciding to go with it and walked over onto the hillside behind him. His suit plotted itself onto the ground, sitting and hunched up as he got comfortable. "Yeah, thanks. Good to meet you Zak. How are things here?"
The young man crossed his arms, watching the camp work while he breezed in the wind. "A little hard I'll be honest, but otherwise fine. By the way, you seen Komodo around here? A little green komodo dragon?"
"No I have not," Niles squinted out toward the camp and sighed. "Is Numbuh Three available?"
Zak scratched his chin, giving a look of frustration about his komodo. Still, he shifted the conversation along. "Yeah, she's in her room right now. You see that little hut up there with the big three on it? Right there."
Niles caught it with his attention, nodding his head.
"I'd wait a bit, maybe until tonight if I were you. You're stationed here, right?" he asked, looking down at him.
Niles shook his head, "For now."
"We're having that meeting tonight, in case you forgot." Zak replied.
Meeting? Niles' memory was keen but not photographic. He couldn't recall the specifics in his younger years, just larger events that took place. He rubbed the back of his neck a bit, "Oh, right. I completely forgot." he answered blankly.
Zak gave him a weird look, although decided not to question it and patted him on the shoulder. "Get some rest, you seem like you're a bit tuckered out. You owe yourself a break."
With a little wave, Zak quickly paced his way into the camp and raised a hand in the air. Casually he shouted, "Let me help you out!" and disappeared somewhere in his good work for others.
Niles had a bit of free time on his hands, giving him some options. While he rested for a second, he figured now would be a better time than ever to cater to himself a little and stood back up. He found a spot somewhere in the camp to himself and set up a little spot to claim as his for now, having no camp or supplies to sit. Pressing his hand on the chest area, he popped open the suit and climbed out of it, stretching his arms and legs. He rolled his shoulders, looking around before finally making a decision.
He snuck into the camp and quickly snatched some things for himself including a water bucket, a sponge and a spare sandwich from the camp supplies. Carrying a little blanket in his armpit, he walked up to the suit idly resting by itself and rolled the blanket out like a picnic.
The tree watched him with interest, its eyes following Niles' every movement but remained silent.
He set the water bucket down, the soapy water sloshing while the sponge gently floated inside.
His hand unwrapped the sandwich and shakily did he take a bite out of it, having not eaten anything ever since he had arrived in the past.
"Mmm.. alright," he spoke to the suit. "Let's get you washed up."
Nano Alien X appeared as a little hologram on the suit's left shoulder with his legs crossed, tilting his head. "What an interesting predicament we're in, don't you think?"
The man shook his head and scooped up the sponge, squeezing it to drain the water a little from it. "No sense in being idle; there's work to do."
X sat up, resting his hands on the suit and leaned in. "I sense you're a little anxious; perhaps take a few deep breaths and relax a little bit."
"X," he began as the sponge slapped itself onto the torso. The green grime slimed off as the sponge took it on, treating it like the germs it was. "How am I supposed to do that? Give me one good reason."
"Well, for starters, a calm mind equals a sharp focus. You don't want to end up like your old suit you broke: burnt out and in need of a serious reboot, do you?"
Niles made a face, blankly looking up at him. "You think you're a funny little guy, dontcha?"
Alien X waved a little hand, "I thought it would help."
"Sort of, thanks pal. Let me just.. clean this off." Niles said, pressing the sponge hard on the arm. He dunked it in the bucket again, taking another bite of his sandwich while he worked.
"Sir, I know you. Get your mind off of things for a bit and get this armor clean; it'll look better. Enjoy yourself, will you?" Alien X asked.
Niles sighed, "I suppose I'll try; it's just hard, you know? I mean, what's stopping me from just leaving?"
"Dexter wanted you to leave a good impression, remember?" X asked.
He sat up, looking up at the nano on the shoulder and squinted. "So you were listening in on that conversation?"
"It was hard not to, given the circumstances," Alien X replied. "Traveling through time isn't a common practice."
Niles bit into the sandwich, holding it in his mouth and let go while he continued scrubbing away. "Could've told me shooner.."
"I wanted it to be a surprise, sir."
The two continued to playfully argue with one another as time went on, the sun approaching the horizon more and more. As the sun gleamed through the trees, it was now getting to be golden hour. Work was slowing down while many of the agents here in the camp switched to their night time activities. Patrol shifts changed, meals were prepared and games for downtime were had. Still, in spite of the waiting, Niles had managed to turn his suit into a gleaming beacon of glory once again.
With his mind somewhat relaxed but his arms tired, he sat out in the grass for a while and watched the sun slowly set, resting beside his nano while easing the tormented thoughts in his mind. Something in him stirred, unable to be held down. Like a cornered predator did it prance and bite at any positive thoughts but at least did the sunset help. Perhaps he was tired, or the aftereffects of time travel had altered his mind, but one thing was clear: for once, in a very long time, he felt a small ounce of peace within himself.
4/17/24
The introduction to Nano Alien X was so fun to write; here we're introduced to that sort of John/Cortana bond with Niles/X as a guide in the past.
A reason I wanted to introduce Mount Blackhead first was that, in the past, I had plans to write this enormous battle for the jungle outpost up to epic proportions with nearly a dozen characters. The whole area in the game is just set up for something like that, I don't know how to explain it.
It was the spot that a lot of players hung out in and to make it a hub for warfare was something I just couldn't miss. Not to mention, I threw up a couple characters as references for some unknown players in the game.
I also had fun introducing Numbuh Four as the second KND member revealed in the fic; a hardass with his own squad following his dumb tactics feels right to me.
Since the time machine did end up working, there's this sort of dynamic where X is a calm in Niles' mental storm. The man is still in a waking mode of thinking there are monsters around every corner, though in reality it isn't as bad as he initially thinks. Right now, he's the kind of man where if you were to give him a gun in a room with his enemies, somehow he'd shoot first with an extra bullet.
6/4/24
Something extra I'd like to add here is that getting to introduce the capabilities of the new suit was very exciting; I have plans for all of his specific suit capabilities and it only gets better from there.