Nova 7 - Sunset

by Phantom R.D.S. Foxx

OC focused story. The sequel to Nova 7 - By Bones And Patches. The team has officially been established and made complete with a fifth member. Question is, can this new team stick together as an enemy they thought destroyed crawls out into the light? Rated M for descriptive violence and heavy themes. Featuring Kip Starnova from Minty-Fivestar.

5. Episode 5: Straight Through The Heart

Episode 5: Straight Through The Heart

Prologue

"Tell me; before Maxwell disappeared off our radar, did we get anything useful out of that debacle on Katina?"

"The camera's that were installed did their job, but something interfered. It… directly interacted with your soft- and hardware, my Lord."

"... directly interacted, you say. It communicated with it?"

"Yes, my Lord. Whatever that program was… it wasn't manually operated. It was an artificial intelligence that operated on its own."

"..."

"M-my Lord?"

"You will speak of this to no one. Understood?"

"B-but… n-no. I understand, my Lord. My lips will be sealed."

"Make sure they are. There is only one consequence of failure. But tell me; what was saved from the interference?"

"The unknown trespasser managed to wipe away all copies from the harddrives and our cloud-based drives. However, before all of it was cleaned, a few screenshots managed to escape its notice. I've uploaded the screenshots to your screen, my Lord."

"Hm. Acceptable. What about Maxwell?"

"His tracker stopped transmitting his location data the moment they came into the atmospheric boundary of Corneria, so we don't know where he is right now."

"We now know that this mystery organization is on Corneria. They have been on Fortuna and on Katina, but they have always returned to Corneria. It means they have a base there. Whether temporary or permanent… Maxwell has been useful in revealing this. When was the tracker deactivated?"

"About 30 minutes ago, my Lord.

"This mystery organization is not the best host for their guests it seems. How about this trespasser then? What do we know about it?"

"Other than it seems to know what it is doing? We have found that it's capable of interfering with radio signals, interacting with and hacking our systems and then wiping any trace of its presence. Along with that…"

"I've heard enough! Prepare Alpha Team and send them to my Cornerian holding. Likely they will attack there next. Now, leave! Let me be."

"Y-yes, my Lord!"

"..."

"You can come out now. What were you irritated about?"

"It Is ThE mAcHiNe Of InFiNiTe PoTeNtIaL! wE mUsT fInD iT!"

"That trespasser is the key?"

"It WiLl HeRaLd OuR gLoRiOuS cOmEbAcK! aNd FoR aSsIsTiNg Us…"

"Limitless power to me. I know the deal. Shall we find out who these four mystery individuals are?"

"FiVe."

"Sorry?"

"ThE aSsAuLt CrAfT. tHe FoOtAgE iT rEcOrDeD. wE… rEcOgNiZe HiM…!"

"Are you sure? Then let's keep an eye open; the virus is already after all."

1 - Too Close To Home

- Afterglow

Some people like getting a colorful bouquet of flowers from their lover, others a romantic dinner and a movie. But for Ashely "Patches" Hare there is nothing better than waking up and finding herself in his warm, blue feathered spooning embrace. Going from a dream into a dreamy reality, safe and sound surrounded by his softness is pure bliss. He even made sure that her ears were laid out over his beak so she could lift her head if necessary without getting snagged on them. A total gentleman in bed as well it seems.

Although "total" may be an exaggeration. It turned out that her gentle giant was the spitting image of class and manners to the outside world, he had plenty of uncouth characteristics behind closed doors. One of which was his inability to stop groping her whenever he got the chance. Never in a sense that she would disagree with and if she did he would stop… but she rarely did. And she still does not decline very often. So it has become the way they consume their relationship away from prying eyes. She could not be happier even with Mr. Touchy around.

Which makes the fact that she still has her pajamas on properly all the more surprising. Usually when she is already asleep and he joins her, his hands go on the hunt. Because if he can help it, there will be as much skin-to-skin contact as possible. She could just sleep naked but he likes the thrill of doing it while she sleeps. And she would be lying if she did not like the idea either.

But now she is still fully clothed. He must have been dead tired from doing his duties. Did the interrogation take that much from him? Was this mystery guy such a tough cookie? Or was being a kind soul to him so very tiring? Poor guy.

She carefully wiggles herself out of his grip and manages to turn around to face him. Making sure to pull the blankets that were thrown or kicked away during their sleep back over him and herself. The moment there is a perfect balance between darkness and the ability to breathe, she stops and nestles herself into his feathery upper body. She does not care what time it is; right now it is just the two of them. And although asleep, her lovey-dovey seems to agree and closes his arms around her. Ready to be back in that dream again.

Then the sound of a chainsaw tearing its teeth into the thickest, most crunchiest of wood bombards her ears. But instead of a machine of destruction, it is Damian's snoring. Annoyed, she gives him a strong push into his upper chest, whispering to him to cut it out. Which works, but only because it wakes him up. Along with one final loud snore.

"W-wha…? Oh… hi love… did I wake you up?"

"You kept me from going back to sleep. I had such a nice dream too."

Patches puffs her cheeks in response, looking both cute and mad at the same time. She relents when she caresses her head and goes back to snuggling him.

"Did I snore again?"

"You were cutting down another forest, yes."

"Well, you would not have noticed if you slept in your own bed. As you are supposed to." he lightly jabs at her.

Only to get it rebounded at him in a mocking tone. Followed by the flawless argument that if Trevor can do it with Calamity, why can she not do it too?

"Because Calamity on occasion sleeps in her room she shares with Kip. And Trevor did not even have to get into a fight with her beforehand."

Patches grumbles at being proven wrong and instead resumes blaming him for not allowing her to fall back into her dream thanks to his nasal wood chipping skills. Completely circumventing his point.

"Awww, I am sorry my dear. I cannot help it."

She mildly rolls her eyes.

"Yes you can, but you refuse to get the help needed."

"There is nothing wrong with my nostrils; my beak is just too large."

"Not complaining here." she adds a little raunchy.

"And here I thought you were." he chuckles in response.

"What were you dreaming about?"

"Oh. I was reliving our first successful mission. Well, mostly successful."

"Tsk tsk! Do not be so critical of yourself. Your efforts were indispensable. And we managed to deplete and put out of commission a key location of underground weapons trading. Along with finding out about Aparoid involvement. Not to forget about our guest too."

"Thank you… Oh yes! How was he?"

Damian puffs.

"Exhausting. The guy really bit his tongue. But eventually I got him to talk. I will be sure to share the details when we get together for the next briefing. Speaking of which, I think we should be getting up."

"Nooooooo." Patches moans as she clings herself tighter to him.

"I don't wanna."

Entertained and endeared, he states that duty calls regardless. Then he simply rolls onto his back as if he does not even have a bunny holding on to him tightly and actively trying to stop him. From his nightstand, he picks up an alarm clock and takes a look at the time. His eyes need some adjustment when it comes to the darkness and perceiving something accurately.

"It is… oh! It's only 04:15 in the morning."

He looks down at her and then back at the clock.

"Bloody bugger to getting up; we got a few more hours!"

He puts the clock away and instantly rolls back onto his side, much to the Patches' delight. For now she can, in his arms, finally fall back into that dream. That is of course, until she feels his prying hands going places. But it is but a momentary inconvenience; if it helps him sleep, then let him be. Just let him… be… zzz!

- Pins And Needles

"Sir, he's at the door again." Nelson sighs over the speaker.

"The system is holding him up but I'm afraid he might start damaging his receiving unit if he isn't let in."

The Major simply states to let him only when he says he is allowed in. Any damage he does to Nova 7 property will be invoiced to him. Nelson understands, swallowing his worry. Then the Major switches over to the intercom.

"Lieutenant Warden, report to my office. Right away."

It does not take too long before the big avian steps into his office. Damian knows exactly why he was summoned. With that part taken care of, the Major tells Nelson that their guest is allowed to enter the building.

"No escort is needed; he knows the way by now."

The Major does not wait for a reply and cuts the connection. Then he leans back in his chair with a big sigh. He has to find a way to clear his head. It is going to be necessary for the upcoming interaction. It will help only a little, but every bit counts.

Meanwhile at the entrance, the doors to Lieutenant-Colonel Rook have finally opened. The clear, somewhat warm weather outside had clearly done something wrong to his hair, as he brushes through it to get it as flat as a board again. Then he cleans his hands, puts his glove back on and picks his suitcase back up. Only then does he walk into the building.

No escort is awaiting him. Which is good, because that young shrew was useless anyway. He knows his way around; he studied the floor plans already. Soon enough, he stands before the door to the Major's office. At least somewhat courteous, he knocks first with a gloved fist. He hears an unfamiliar voice tell him he is allowed to come in, followed by something he cannot make out exactly.

He opens the door and is suddenly struck in the face by a strong gust of wind which messes up his hair completely. The wind disappears almost as fast as it had hit him. Once he has his wits about him again, he can see that in the Major's office everything is alright. With the exception of a very tall, broad blue avian dressed somewhat akin to an Admiral's attire. With his hands behind his back and standing before a door next to the air conditioning unit.

"Please close the door behind you, Sir. You are letting the cool air out." Damian requests casually, giving him only a tip of his hat instead of a salute.

Rook, still a bit flabbergasted by the sudden gust, shakes it off and does as he was requested to do. When the door closes, he can hear the air conditioning unit turning on and blowing in fresh, cold air to supplement the amount he just allowed to escape. It was quite a lot for such a small room. Is this room pressurized? That is a question for another time. For now, he can see an office with someone he does not know and no Major to be seen.

"And who might you be?"

"Lieutenant Damian Warden, Sir." the avian introduces but leaves it at that.

Which forces Rook to inquire further, to his dismay.

"And why are you here, Lieutenant?"

"The Major has requested my presence here. So here I am."

"How dutiful. But I did not come here to be in the presence of a mere Lieutenant. I demand to know where the Major is."

Without skipping a beat or a change in tone to the uncompromised irritation he feels bubbling up inside, he tells that the Major is currently inside the War Room. Which is behind the door he is standing in front of. The wall has been removed and an actual door has been put in since last night.

"The… War Room?"

"Exactly, Sir. The future operational center for Nova 7, soon to be completed."

Curious, the toad starts to try and glances around the silhouette of the big avian to see if he can see something in case the door is opened. But he sees nothing and therefore gives it up.

"Could you ask him to come out there then? I do not like to waste my time."

Before Damian can answer, both of them can hear knocking coming behind the door to the War Room. Damian instantly steps aside and tells the Major that the Lieutenant-Colonel is here for him. The door opens very slowly and horizontally. Accompanied by a sound of two rocks grinding over each other. It is clear that some serious construction is left to do. The Major squeezes through the slowly expanding opening and then the door starts closing on its own. The mutt wipes his hands clean and receives assistance from Damian with his handkerchief to caringly dust off his uniform. It may look like he is dressed like a stereotypical homeless person, does not mean he has to be dusty or filthy.

Once the Major has gone through the patented Damian person-wash, he sits down and gestures to the Lieutenant-Colonel to do the same.

"You wished to see me this morning, Colonel? I'm all ears." the Major states, wishing that he really did not have any ears at all at this moment.

The toad does his usual routine of cleaning the chair. Despite Damian stating that he had disinfected the chair before. Once his own cleansing has been done, does Rook sit down.

"It is Lieutenant-Colonel… but yes, Major. There are a few things that I want to bring to your attention. Firstly, I had another run-in with that absolutely horrendous registration system. Previously I only brought it to light to you that you should do something about it; now I am formally requesting it from you." the toad states with an air of thick arrogance.

"It'll be looked into." the Major replies deadpan.

"See to it. Secondly, I will be moving into your base temporarily. My previous accommodations were… unsatisfactory. As was the distance between that location and your base. And the connection was horrible whenever I tried to contact you, as you might remember. Therefore, I have decided to find solace here."

From this suitcase, which he casually and without regard for any damage the edges of the suitcase might do to the desk as he plonks it down, he fetches two documents. Laminated so they cannot be stained. He hands them over to the Major one by one.

"This is a signed letter of permission from the General of the Cornerian Army. And this one is a signed letter of permission from the Governor-General himself on whose ground your base has been built."

Clef takes a look at both. While he is looking at one, he hands the other one over to Damian. Who only now moves away from this position by the door to receive the letter. This action seems to visibly irk Rook but neither of the men before him seem to care.

Once all letters have been reviewed and exchanged hands, does the Major put them back on his desk and slides it back over to Rook.

"These are watertight, Sir. Welcome to Tacker Field. I'll be sure to send you an escort to guide you to your new room for the time being. How long do you expect to stay around?"

"Oh not that long. I have my schedule to deal with. I assume only a few days, depending on the developments. Furthermore, my presence here will allow me to speak more plainly and more often with the Militia under our… shared command."

Damian's feathers start to spontaneously ruffle when he hears that this ugly toad intends to speak with the Militia's. Clef's hair momentarily stands up straight when he hears the words "shared command" and he really has to suppress the urge to bare his teeth. Who does this prick think he is? He is a bureaucrat, has no leadership experience, is even more headstrong than he is and is possibly a neurotic psychopath.

"Naturally." Damian answers for him, as he can see which way the wind is blowing.

"We value our cooperation with MilCiv and your presence here does present a unique opportunity to clear the air, shall we say."

By all accounts, this is a more than reasonable suggestion. But Rook thinks otherwise. He leans back into his chair, glaring intently at Damian whilst sporting what can be described as potentially the most sullen facial expression in Lylat. He says nothing; just stares. Judging. Then his eyes move over slowly back to the Major, who has managed to internally collect himself. Then he runs his hand through the dredgings that rests upon his head pretending it is hair and exhales.

"Thirdly, I wish to be included in the briefings for your future operations. Your report about Operation Sungazer was very good. But there were some parts of it blacked out. I understand; censoring things for the public is a necessity. I want to be exempt from this."

"No."

This confuses Rook.

"What do you mean, Major?"

"I mean; No."

Now Rook gets visibly piqued as he leans forward.

"Care to explain yourself?"

His tone is threatening, putting himself up higher than the high horse he rode in on. But the Major is not intimidated nor entertained by whatever this toad has brought up so far. Blowhards are a dime a dozen in the bureautic swamp that is High Command sometimes. All bark, no bite.

"Definitely. You see, we are a White-Out Unit. Just below a unit the government dares not to confirm whether or not they are real. This means that only those directly involved with any actions regarding operations, weapons, equipment must always and only be Nova 7 combat personnel. Despite our "shared" command over the Militia, who are part of Nova 7, you are not Nova 7 combat personnel."

Having made that clear, he hangs back and gives a flick of the finger against the metal pin depicting the Cornerian Army logo on his lapel. The pin is not the same as the one he had during the Aparoid Invasion. This one has a "7" in the globe instead of the red stars the normal logo had.

"Furthermore, we operate separately from the Army. Together with, but still separate. We have our own budget, our own command structure and our own way of doing things. In some aspects, we are more laid back whereas in others we are more progressive or strict. We report only to the General or the President. And therefore I will not make any exemptions for you."

Rook is boiling on the inside at this point. The nonchalant way the Major rejected him… it is borderline disrespectful and almost too much to handle. Is he dumb? Did he hit his head yesterday?

"Do-do you know how ranks work, Major?" the toad croaks sternly as he stands up, hoping that dumbing it down will make sure that it gets through that mutt's head.

"Yes, Sir."

"And-and… you are still a part of the Army, correct?"

"We are indeed."

"So you know about the ranking system then. I am your superior, Major. Do you know what that means?" he asks, teetering on the edge of eruption.

"I do. But it does not apply to Nova 7. As I said, we answer directly to the General or the President. There are no ranks in between me and either of them. Which makes me the second-highest man of rank. Even outside of Tacker Field, you have little to no direct authority over me."

Rook continues to stare intensely at the Major. But the daggers he launches from his eyes blunt themselves against the stone slab that has become the mutt's facial expression. He has made his case and much like the signed documents, the reasoning is watertight. With indignation making room for aversion and vain disappointment, he takes his seat again.

The gears inside his head are turning so hard that one could almost see smoke come out. Then his eyes move over and back to the Lieutenant. And a creepy, malicious grin now hidden underneath his hand betrays that he has an idea of how to fight back. Something he was thinking about before bringing up his third point. Now he can let that out.

"Fourthly: I had asked for an audience with you. Why when I entered was there only this… Lieutenant present?"

"Oh yes. The builders and the architect wanted my opinion on something and the construction of the War Room is of high importance. The exchange took longer than expected. Hence why I was not at my desk in time."

Rook shakes his head.

"That is not what I meant, Major. I meant to infer that when I ask for an audience with you, I want an audience with just you."

"I see…" the Major answers, guessing that whatever answer will be vomited forth by this toad following him finishing the sentence will be nothing if not completely terrible.

"... I asked him to be present. After all, he is my XO and I wouldn't let him miss any meetings if I can help it."

The Major guessed correctly, because in no uncertain terms, he makes it clear that he is too important to have those of lower rank than the Major around him. Nevermind a glorified, over-dressed gate guard who got his stripe only because the Major pulled him out of the muck of the NCO's. He did not earn it.

"Hence why I do not wish to have this featherhead around during any of our conversations."

There is nothing but silence after he has finished his sentence. Damian, standing stoically still but thoroughly ready to cast aside her manners if it means that this pompous coward would leave this base utterly humiliated. The only thing betraying this would be tight clenching of his fist behind his back.

The Major however, does not give a single kick. Visually unimpressed, he grabs a file from his stack and starts finishing it up. Which Rook says as nothing but rude in his presence. There is no reaction coming from this dog? Perhaps he is truly dumb witted.

"I just gravely insulted your XO, Major. Did you comprehend that? Or did that not penetrate your thick, mutt skull?"

The emphasis on the word "mutt" seals his fate. The Major was willing to extend some leeway towards this toad because he is not from around here. So the first violation can be swallowed, but this is going too far.

The Major closes the file, puts it back on the pile and then looks up at this ugly representation of foppishness. There is no longer just a hint of emotion; it is the whole package. An inferno swirls behind his eyes. No daggers are sent out; blaster bolts instead. His teeth are fully bared. From the depths of the underworld his soul has become for this moment, an unholy low growl accompanies the baring.

It makes Rook confused at first, then uncomfortable and finally there is the pleasant sight of concern morphing into fear. Which puts him at ease somewhat. His lips slowly descend again to cover his canines and he calms down. To cover up this whole thing, he fake-coughs, clears his throat and states that they should start over.

"You are in Nova 7 territory now, Colonel. There are no ranks above, with the exception of the General or the President. Both know how we operate. They have agreed to respect and uphold how we work. So, if I will not exempt you from the censorship because you are a guest and not Nova 7 combat personnel, that is my right. If I want my XO to accompany me during our meetings, that is my right."

He leans over the desk.

"And the very last thing I want to hear from my guest, is judging, smearing, bigoted or racist insults thrown in either his and my direction! Nova 7 is mine! I will not let anyone fuck with me or them!"

Then Clef leans back into his chair, calms down for a moment and then points to Damian.

"You will now apologize to my Lieutenant…"

His finger moves to himself.

"... to myself and my person…"

Finally his finger points to the door.

"... and then you'll be shown to your quarters."

Rook definitely did not expect this flurry of anger addressed at him. Nevermind that despite one singular burst of unchecked anger, the Major stayed decently restrained and articulate. Perhaps he has underestimated his abilities. That he had a deep, personal connection to Nova 7 along with dedication was already known, but now he also saw resilience. It makes him curious what else he might see later…

"I understand. Lieutenant Warden, my remarks were impolite and brash. I overstepped my honor and thereby hurt your person. I am sorry for this. As for you, Major Rothlinge, I extend the same apology."

Knowing he will never get anything better out of this toad, he accepts the apology on both their behalf. As Damian is now showing excessive restraint and he does not wish to speak right now.

"I'll call for Nelson to escort you."

The Major reaches over to do so but the Lieutenant-Colonel declines.

"No, not by that young whipper-snapper again. I wish to be escorted by the Lieutenant. After all, I insulted him first and I have a feeling he is not entirely satisfied."

The Major looks at Damian to check up on him. He can see his friend's green eyes glance down at him. And he can see the same outrage he had before burning inside. Although he does not think it is a good idea… there are many nooks and crannies inside the base where no one comes. Should something happen with the poor toad, who is there to know? Soon enough, they would not even have to fear the surveillance footage…

"Herg, if you are inclined." the Major states, knowing full well what he will unleash.

"I would not mind showing our guest to his quarters." Herg responds calmly, while cracking his knuckles behind his back just loud enough for the room to hear.

Rook swallows and suddenly feels a surge of heat shoot through his body.

"Why did you just call your Lieutenant "Herg"?"

"Oh, that is the nickname he has been given by those around him. I think it is derived from some kind of half-god or deity known for its immense strength while looking like a normal, if muscular person. The deity in question was according to the legends a kind soul but could rip furious beasts in half as easily as one could snap a twig." the Major explains casually as Herg himself steps forward.

He passes by the toad, who recoils away from him ever so slightly, until he reaches the door. Keeping his eyes on him as much as possible.

"Lieutenant-Colonel? Care to follow me then?" he states as he opens the door kindly, knowing full well what effect his unnaturally calm attitude has on the toad.

"Y-yes, quite so. Major, I shall leave you to your work. I will keep you informed on anything related to MilCiv and the Militia."

"Very well. Have a good morning, Colonel."

"It is Lieutenant-Colonel, Major. Please! Try to remember."

"Ah yes, my fault. I'll keep it in mind, much like the registration at the entrance."

Somewhat satisfied, the toad stands up from his chair and walks out of the office while Damian graciously holds the door open. Before he follows the warty frog along, he shares a glance with Clef. Both smile; they stood strong together. Then he closes the door behind them and leaves the Major alone.

"That was… intense." he sighs, hoping that the next interaction will require less mental strain.

He will need more for the upcoming operations. But first, it is important he has his own grounds covered before he decides those of others.

"Status report; Project Audible and Project Blur."

The recognizable noise of paper being printed out sounds off again. He takes it out of the machine.

"Project Audible successfully implemented during interaction. Recommend allowing fine tuning regarding the forming…"

The Major refuses to continue reading on and crumples up the paper before tossing it in the nearby trash can.

"That is of secondary importance. Focus on others; give me Project Blur's progress."

Another paper is printed out.

"Project Blur at 83% completion."

"Good. As soon as it is done, divert your subroutine to implement it throughout the base. And begin your work on Project Censor. We're going full damage control here, especially now with this MilCiv jerk on site. Well done, again. Keep it up."

Chime of confirmation sounds alongside a green light which flickers.

2 - A Proper Mission

- Hometurf

Room 99F for the second time has to be used for an in-house briefing. Far away enough from prying ears and eyes, as well from their new guest. Which is of course something that needs some addressing. With breakfast eaten, they would have to stomach that type of news as well.

The whole of Nova 7 including Peter is there as the Major has to give the news that they have a new guest. For obvious reasons, it will not be disclosed in what room of which wing of the base he is housed in. Even complete assholes deserve a sense of privacy and safety. Therefore, Damian had also advised him not to reveal his temporary housing to anyone on the base. Without the exception of him and the Major as they both know already.

"That's a shame; I would've loved to ding, dong, ditch him." Trevor mockingly laments.

"I'm sure you would have done much more than just an innocent children's prank." Damian knows for sure, as he holds Patches in his arms while she stands before and with her back against him.

He can feel how tense she became when the Major told them all that this piece of puke came to stay with them. It is likely she is fearing another Silva-type individual being on the base. And although he is not here specifically for them, he is there for her friends.

"Regardless of what one would do to him, put it out of your heads. For now."

Right after quickly saying those last two words, he feigns a cough and continues on.

"His main purpose here is to keep a good eye on those that fall under MilCiv. I'm not gonna name any names but it is likely he will try to initiate an interview with you. Whether this is one-on-one or as a small group, know that he is not by any means your direct superior. You don't have to obey any request or order from him you feel uncomfortable with. In other words, should he ask you for an interview, you may decline and go on with your day. That is your right; use it." he emphasizes, much to the comfort of the Militia present.

"Should he give you trouble, you will inform either Sergeant Trevor, the Lieutenant or me personally. No matter how small this trouble is. If you choose to accept his interview, all I ask is that you mentally prepare yourself. This man is as ugly on the inside as he is on the outside. At any moment, you are allowed to leave or call for support from us three again. Nova 7 we are together, through thick and thin."

Assuring words given and with the knowledge that the leadership has stood for their subordinates in the past, gives the necessary confidence.

"And you should you need any tidbits on this guy, his mannerisms and schedule for example so you can avoid him as much as possible, you can ask me anything." Peter adds.

"Know that not everyone within MilCiv is thrilled to have this guy as our head. It makes us look really bad and we have the distinct feeling that this man did not choose this position because of his undying passion for its cause."

The hint given is not lost on the Nova 7 team.

"Thank you, Peter. I would've loved to have you here for a little longer but unfortunately we have to start the briefing here. Damian will escort you back to your room and then you may decide if you wish to leave or stay." the Major states, still welcoming.

"Oh, that is a generous offer Major. But…"

"Come on Peter, stay with us. I'm sure you have plenty of tales to tell from your soldier days." Trevor lightly jabs, veiling an obvious need to have more friends than enemies around.

"... I don't wanna be a bother to you. If Rook catches me…"

"We'll catch you too." Calamity promises as she folds her arms while leaning shoulder to shoulder against Trevor.

"We still consider you an honorary member of Nova 7." Patches adds.

"No way I could ever forget how we stood side by side against a tidal wave of bugs. You were with us from the start. You can stay here until you don't want to anymore."

She looks up at her lovey-dovey, who more than agrees. Peter is thankful for their support and then alongside the Lieutenant leaves the room. Now all those present can be informed what is for their eyes and ears only.

"Nelson. If you please."

"Yes Major."

The shrew takes a step forward.

"Nova 7, welcome to Operation Sunpiercer. Thanks to your tremendous efforts and accomplishments during the previous mission, as well as…"

The shrew starts looking around and only then realizes that the Lieutenant is not there and he has not been around for a little while. It causes him to lose track of his train of thought for a moment.

"... nevermind then. We'll likely hear from him when he gets back. Anyway, from what we have been able to extract, there are at least three more locations. Our next target, will be here on Corneria itself. Hence why you're receiving the briefing here; your usual transport ship will not be used in order to curb unnecessary fuel consumption."

A faint "boo!" can be heard coming from Phantom's direction.

"Yes, yes. I'm aware of how attached you already are but it's necessary to stockpile plenty and not to waste. We are still rebuilding after all. It's not 100% fun for everyone. PAL, if you please?"

The machine detaches from Phantom's back, floats to the middle and then lies on his "back" on the table. From his eye, he starts to project a basic textured scale model of the Cornerian location. Of course, without the power that the Multi-TableTM brings with it, this is the best he can do at the moment.

"Thank you. Welcome to the biggest location that Bakers Building Lmtd has left behind to gather dust. As you can see, the building is about as big as the previous one but it is what is underneath that is what is most interesting. PAL?"

The projection is pushed up into the air and more below the original is added. It almost looks like the small intestine; it is so convoluted and twisting.

"Now be aware, this is what we know from the blueprints that were available at the time. It is possible that these hallways have expanded or even been renovated. One can dream huh? Anywho, from what we know, these tunnels were once a smuggler's refuge. It is very likely that their entire weapons stockpile is down in those tunnels. Away from prying eyes and kept cool and dry."

"Your mission is to do what Nova 7 was meant to do." the Major takes over as PAL's projection stops and he floats back towards Phantom.

"Reconnaissance, infiltration, sabotage and assassination. No undercover work, no fake weapon deals. You go in there, secure the courtyard. Then get into the building, find the weapon caches and then blow it all up. Secure any vital intel you can and if you bring home another "big boss" as your guest, I wouldn't mind that very much either."

Then the door opens and the Lieutenant steps in.

"Speaking of the devil. Damian, we were just talking about guests and the bringing home of them. Care to elaborate?"

"Oh, of course. The guy was a tough nut to crack. He bit his tongue hard. It was tiresome but I got him to spill his guts eventually, so to say. The reason we know all of this, is because of his insight."

"Say, Lieutenant. Next time you're having a hard time with one of them, you can call me in. I have uh… shall we say; experience in getting my way." Kip suggests willingly.

"I can attest to that." Trevor sighs teasingly.

"I will remember that, thank you Kip. If our guest's intel is solid, we can definitely bring him a friend to share a jail cell with."

"Thank you, Lieutenant. Nova 7! Do your best and hold our army's reputation high. A truck will be here within the hour to bring you over to the location. You will be dropped about seven minutes walk away from the construction site. Trust your training, trust yourselves and others. Expect heavier resistance than before. Any questions?"

Kip raises her hand.

"Yes, Kip?"

"Have the recommendations from our rundown rapports been looked through?"

The Major looks approving to Nelson; he will be allowed to spread the mostly good news.

"Uhh… yes! Yes we have! We moved mountains and oceans to get it all arranged for you and it should all be in your equipment lockers. Unfortunately, we could not get everything yet but we are still working on that. However, we do have the first small upgrade to your CID systems available to you; night vision and thermal optics. All brand spanking new and top of the line. So enjoy another small taste of what is to come. One warning; the battery of the CID is not equipped to handle it yet. So use it sparingly or else you'll be without power before you know it."

The answer given is satisfactory. Mainly Patches seems quite happy, as she requested to have various extra grenades on her. As a few are better than none. The powerlessness she felt while being pinned down by that turret will not be felt again if she can help it.

"Any other questions?" the Major asks.

No hands are raised.

"Excellent. Then, all I have to say is; get out there and kick ass!"

BONUS: Making An Effort

A good moment. A lull in time and conversation. That is all he needs. So that he does not ruffle any feathers or hairs for that matter. His eyes and ears remain on a swivel because of this. And while nobody is paying attention, he even takes another shot of oxygen to keep his brain active enough.

The moment they step out of room 99F, the hunt for that moment is on. Obviously, being surrounded by the entire team is not a good moment. But whenever he can without being looked at weirdly, his eyes are on her. Unless he has to make sure that he does not trip and make himself look stupid of course.

He never liked that little bump in the doorway to the equipment room. It is not a good idea to make this room this inaccessible. Perhaps it is a preventative measure? Against what then? The equipment lockers are biometrically locked and only be opened by the owner of it. Or in an emergency, another teammate using an override code. It could also be that the architect of this place thought that they were building a ship on land or something. Because he could swear this was the only place that you had to lift your foot up more than usual to enter it.

But that is trivial. Right now, he is in and he sees his chance. Trevor and Patches are taking a shower first before putting on their gear. A shared remnant of their Corneria City days. Calamity is pretty much instantly done thanks to her gear being nothing more than the CID module and her weapons. And she better not catch him mocking her for that.

So that leaves him and Kip alone soon enough. The water clattering on the shower floor should be loud enough to cover anything that will be brought up. So as competently as he can while she is putting her boots on, he draws her attention.

"Yeah?" she says.

His immediate instinct is to ask for something completely arbitrary, like asking her if he could have that water bottle for a second, but that would be just pushing it ahead of himself. He actually has to force himself to do this. So after a tactical swallowing of his insecurities, does he speak his mind.

"I uhm… didn't wanna do this with everyone present. Because it doesn't concern them, particularly. I wanted to say that I tried to follow your advice and despite setbacks due to obvious altercations… it has worked thus far. So, thank you." he states with some hesitation.

But it is not hesitation in the sense of whether or not he meant it. His tone is genuine and his expression, though riddled with social insecurity, is one of thanks. And regret. Something Kip did not expect. At least not in this location. But before she can reply to him, it seems he was not done yet.

"And to get the most important and, heh, difficult thing out of the way; I'm sorry. For all my actions and words in the past. I did already apologize for that but that wasn't… me. You know? I was bitter, jealous and not really there. I was as you were saying… uhm… uhh."

"Forcing?" she answers for him.

"Yes! Yeah, that's it. Forcing it. Couldn't get to the word. So yeah, that's what I wanted to tell you."

He laughs a little awkwardly before staring at the floor. And then instantly snapping away to make sure his boots are on tight. Even though he already did that before. It makes him look busy. It is clear that he was not faking this apology. There was eye contact, a soft tone to his voice and nothing that showed any dishonesty. A complete change-over from before.

When she heard that Phantom went on his own volition to look for help to tackle his issues, she did not expect it to pay off that quickly. Her mind takes her back to the previous early afternoon. When she found him topless and holding on for dear life to the towel wrapped around his waist. It was instantly clear that he was socially awkward. Professionally there was nothing wrong with him; he did as instructed and proved his worth in combat. But when no longer holding a weapon or being able to disappear from view at a whim, he was pretty naked, alone and standing frozen like a deer in the headlights. Even with the towel on.

But her mind then also takes her back to that moment where he sat opposite of her at the table. And she could see something crack inside of him. Mentally and positively. Because she would assume that over the years, someone as socially awkward as Phantom is, has built up walls. Those barriers she saw shatter like glass when she told him what she thought.

Now she can see the real Phantom. The real Roger. Slightly withdrawn but genuine nonetheless. It is a breath of fresh air to see. However, as positive as this is, it remains to seen if he keeps this up or if he falls back into his old ways.

"Wow. Thank you, Phantom. I… accept your apology. But why couldn't the others know?"

"Oh! It's nothing against them but given that I've wronged you all in various ways, I figured the best way was to address it on a personal basis. Which meant that I had to try and isolate each of you so I could tell it face to face, you know?"

"I see. So, how many did you get already?"

"You say it like it's on a scorecard or something." he chuckles, before telling her that he already got Trevor, at least he thinks so.

"Might need to double-check that. I got Patches. Although she kinda got me first."

Kip becomes visibly intrigued.

"I'll let her have the honor of telling that. Now that's you accounted for. All that rests is the Boogeywoman. Which…"

"... is going to be a huge pain in the neck?"

"I can only hope the pain will remain in the neck area." he sighs.

"All you can do is offer it. And whether or not she accepts, is up to her. You'll have to accept either way." she gives it to him straight.

"Yeah. That's true. But!"

He slaps both his knees at the same time.

"I'm not starting this to quit. I'm in it for the long run. And… I may or may not have ordered you a new pillow too. I know you didn't ask for it, but I did destroy yours to make that practical joke work. Or rather, practical asshole-ary."

"Really? Thank you! No, I didn't ask for it. Because I didn't need a new one, to be real. But hey; I'm sure Patches could always use an extra one."

"Does she still use your room to stash all of her extra pillows?"

"Ugh… yes. It's all in a plastic bag underneath my bed. I should've never permitted her to do that. But hey, what else are friends for eh?" she smiles at him before finishing her dressing up.

She stands up and makes sure that her hair is flowing all the way back with the expectation of her pigtails that must hang forward. It also gives her a chance to show off her new piece she got from the Major. While Phantom appreciates the craftsmanship, he is not keen on handguns. As he brings forth his machine gun and counters that pulling the trigger a few times has nothing on holding it down and dispensing 100 rounds in just a few seconds. To which she counters that having such a shortened peashooter that could not hit the broad side of a Cruiser, is nothing compared to a proper machine gun like she has.

"What do you think the foregrip and the optic are for?"

"For you to look good, I suppose."

Phantom takes a good look at his weapon and then appreciates the compliment.

"Point taken. Thank you for this, Kip. And I'll make sure not to disappoint you."

"That better be true. Or else I'll let the Boogeywoman loose upon thee." she states sarcastic, but with a core of truth in there.

"If that's the case, let loose her chain."

"Will do. Now, whenever you're ready; we've got a mission to complete."

Only then do the showers turn off collectively. And he cannot help but make a snarky comment on them having to save fuel, so why are they not saving water? The two water-wasters in unison reply that he should keep his mouth shut.

"Seems you're at least on speaking terms with them." Kip notices.

"Told you; I've been making an effort." he winks.

- Establishing Overwatch

"Damn… it's so wet and chilly out there. I never thought I'd miss the Katina sun that badly." Kip whispers over the comms as the team moves in closer to their target in the continuous drizzle while the skies turns more dark each second.

"A little rain won't melt you; you're not made of sugar." Trevor retorts with a snort.

"You know I'm as sweet as honey, Sarge. I just might." she counters in turn.

"I'm rather comfortable with this." Phantom comments in between.

"If I had arctic-grade fur, I'd be fine in this weather too." the roo fusses back.

"To each their own speciality."

"I wish yours was silence…" Calamity snarls annoyed at hearing his voice and him being cordial with Kip.

"Enough snide comments. Clear the comms; we are here."

The team peeks over the small hill they climbed onto to reach their destination unseen. From behind the crash barriers, they can observe without being seen themselves.

The building looks almost exactly like it did on the projection they have seen. More detailed obviously and placed inside a small valley with a small mountain behind it. The first thing that sticks out is a guard tower close by, just across from the dirt road. It is high enough up to see over most of the site, with the only exception being all the way in the back. That will be their first target. That way Trevor has the overwatch position so he can be most effective. Unfortunately they cannot see if anyone is in that tower. And climbing the ladder, which looks fairly rickety already, will not make it easy to do this silently.

He has a plan though. He leads the team close to the tower and keeps their presence away from the road should anyone come to drive up to them. Then, he asks PAL to do his part. He has the ability to float almost completely silently and since Phantom gave him that new "appendage" upgrade, perhaps that can be useful.

PAL can be seen "thinking" while his white light burns. Then it flickers to green and from his slot the appendage appears with a different tip than was used for knocking on Patches' door before. He assures that this will silently take care of their issue. Then it disappears back into his casing.

Hearing him talk, let alone whispering, is still something Trevor has to get used to. But he thinks it is great that PAL feels more real now that he can express himself. Trevor gives him permission to do what he thinks is right. PAL gives off a green light and starts his attack. For those who already had their display already down, PAL lets them know that they can see what he is going to do. Like a livestream seeing it through his literal eye.

Curiosity overcomes a few of the members as they see the machine float up and quickly peer over the edge of the guard tower. There is a guard present but they have their back turned towards him. Which is perfect for a silent takedown.

The viewers can see PAL coming closer to the guard and in the lower right corner of their display they can see that PAL has opened up the little slot. Like he is equipping a weapon in a video game. Given the location of the chosen weapon, the vision gets offset a little bit but no one can deny what happens next.

The only thing they hear is a soft clicking noise, almost like a pen. Followed by a quick expulsion of air. During that moment, a foreign object is forcefully propelled into the back of the guard's head. It kills him instantly as he crumples down lifelessly like a ragdoll onto the floor of the guard tower with a faint thud. The whole process could not have taken longer than a few seconds; a vaccination would take longer to complete.

With his job now complete, he returns back to the team. The insertion was not very clean as evidenced by the blood splatter on the flat face of his casing. But considering his green light is still burning, he does not mind at all.

"Solid work PAL. Messy, but solid work." Trevor comments before turning to Phantom.

"What did you give him?"

"Ever heard of a captive bolt pistol? I adopted the same principle but for more anthropomorphic characters. And it is useful to get rid of excess material too." Phantom states very pragmatically, overlooking any moral ramifications.

To Trevor it is all the same in the end. He tells the team to stay here for now and continue to observe the road while he climbs into the guard post. Once there, he sees the unfortunate guard lay on the floor. The cavity in the back of his head is easily visible. It looks very messy. Like a crater left after a meteorite impact. In place of a space rock, it is a hexagonal nut that was slammed into the man's skull.

"Jeez… Phantom, next time you wanna put a ring on it, use their finger next time." Trevor comments as he is pretty sure he can see brain matter through the hole of the nut.

"Oh come on Sarge! It was only a love-tap." Phantom jokingly states, again pushing the boundaries of acceptability when it comes to crass humor.

"Let me guess; you'd pass this off as a corrective smack?"

Trevor's encouraging remark is not exactly helping things as it only feeds Phantom's resolve to be even more offensive.

"I swear officer, she already had that black eye before; she fell down the… Ow!"

Phantom used a mocking tone to imitate an abusive spouse denying beating his other half but cannot finish his attempt at dark humor as Patches punched him in the upper arm. And not in the way she does with Trevor; much harder than that. She does not appreciate such jokes considering it has not even been a year since.

Phantom looks confused as to why she would punch him like that but then realizes his error when he sees her face.

"Too soon?"

"Glad you got the message. Dumbass."

The way she said it was not exactly insulting but not endearing either. It was a corrective smack necessary for him to get his head out of the gutter.

"Keep each other intact please." Trevor sighs as he sets up his sniper on the guard-rail and takes a look over the courtyard and the building.

He can see there is a high density of old blocks of concrete, leftover equipment and only a few guards on the outside. However, the guards do look significantly more dangerous and well-equipped compared to the goons that they saw at the Katina location.

"Alright, I'm set up. Cal, Kip. You are Team 1. Scour the courtyard and silently dispose of our friends there. Beware that these guys look more dangerous than those we faced before. Talking about actual proper equipment so be a little more attentive. Patch, Phantom. You're Team 2. PAL obviously included. Get inside the building without being seen and take control over everything. Standard procedure. As soon as both teams have completed their goals, find yourselves a way into that basement. Should it be necessary, I can come rushing in if I cannot help you from my current position."

"Thanks for the suggestion, Sarge. But I think we can handle ourselves." Patches states confidently as she double-checks if everything is correctly attached to her person.

"But we appreciate it nonetheless, darling." Calamity comments lovingly.

"Hell; should it be needed, I'll personally ring you up myself." Kip adds as well.

"You can quit your sliming; get a move on you four. Stick together and mess them up good."

- Taking Positions

With a silent cough, another guard on the roof bites the dust. Or rather the concrete on the surface they previously stood on. If they were still alive, Trevor would always feel guilty enough to pay for their dental costs. Instead they are dead and have become another number to add to the LCD-screen on the side of his scope. He cannot remember how many times it rolled over from 99 back to 0 but it could not have been more than five times. Or six.

He relays that the roof is now clear and they are cleared to move in again. Bastards must have come back from a late lunch or something because there was no one on the roof until both teams had just crossed the road. Luckily there was nature to help them as Team 1 found a rock to hide behind and Team 2 found some foliage to disappear into. Now they are both on the move again.

The fence surrounding the compound is too fragile to climb but at the same time too tough to tear it apart. Good thing PAL has his new appendage which also includes some bolt cutters. Phantom really thought of anything but at the moment he starts boasting about it, he manages to nip it in the butt as soon as he starts. A gesture appreciated by all present.

With the fence cut properly, he holds it open for Team 1 to go through first. And like a true gentleman he only goes after all of the ladies have passed through. Once all are in, the two teams split up. Giving each other a fist bump for good luck, although there is no such interaction between Phantom and Calamity. Even though he does try.

"Team 1; we are on the move. We already got our first target in sight."

"Team 2; we are on the move as well. Approaching the building. Do you have any sight on an entrance?"

"One moment…"

Trevor looks through his scope and sees what looks like a door on the right side of the building. It is a sign on it but the text is smudged. He directs them there. He can see them appear in his field of vision. They try the door and find it unlocked. Carefully, with Patches in the lead they enter. They find a largely empty storage room and get to work with their infiltration. Patches climbs up into the ventilation shafts and Phantom turns on his camouflage. The door closes behind them.

Only then does Trever turn back to overwatch duty with Team 1, who have taken a liking to a particular target close by. The female guard is standing between several concrete blocks and out of sight from anyone but them. It is a tempting target so when Trevor notices the two practically salivating over her, he looks around and confirms what Team 1 sees on the ground.

"First kill of the day… Rock, paper, scissors?" Kip suggests.

"Not needed; I can see it in your eyes. You want this one. So go ahead." Calamity assures kindly, which the roo appreciates.

Although she did not receive exactly what she wanted from her rundown rapport wishlist, she did get a suitable replacement in the shape of new gloves with essentially a pair of knuckle dusters woven in between the fabric like a bullet-proof plate in armor. And she is eager to try them on. However, to do it properly, she will need Calamity's help.

With a plan formulated, they get to work. They sneak up to the guard then work together to take her down. Calamity puts the guard in a neck lock and covers her mouth while Kip sweeps the legs. Soon enough, the female guard is on the floor in pain. But not for long as Kip puts those new gloves to good use and beats the female guard senseless. Any motion stops soon enough. She is not dead yet but will be soon. And even if she lived, she would not be of much use with several teeth missing and very soon massive swelling.

However, they cannot take that risk. Besides, it may be a little cruel to leave her like this. So Kip smashes her in the throat, right on the windpipe. It is quicker and less messy than leaving her just there or beating her face in until it is pulp. She did nothing personal to them after all. After it is done, Team 1 moves on from the location they are in now before they suddenly hear Trevor tell them to hold their positions.

"There is a camera pointed in the direction you were going. Stay put until Team 2 has taken control." he orders before he switches over to Team 2.

"Team 2. Status update please."

"Approaching the security room now. We'll have it secured soon. We'll report once it's ours." Patches relays whispering as she crawls through the air ducts to reach.

These ones are much more cramped than the ones at the previous location. If this trend continues on, she'll have to go on the Atkins diet first before she can fit in the next one. Unlikely, but it is a thought circling in her head. Perhaps to cope with the tedium of crawling through these silver, featureless tubes.

After a minute that felt like an hour, she reaches the vent that leads into the security room. She can see two guards, chatting about nonsense. One is sitting down on a chair with his back turned towards the screens and the other is leaning against some office furniture.

She pulls back a little bit so there will be no chance of them hearing her as she contacts Phantom.

"7-5… I mean… Phantom. I have a visual on two guys inside. One is sitting down on my left and the other is standing on my right. Mirrored for you of course."

Meanwhile on the outside of the door, Phantom is crouched before the door Patches can see from the inside. Still cloaked, he takes out an under door camera to peer underneath it. What he sees, confirms what Patches has told him. He confirms this and then takes a look at the door. With only a little touch, he can see that the lock is somewhat loose in the door frame. He gently wiggle it from side to side and it gives him an idea. He tells Patches to get ready; he is going to open the door in such a way that it will take out the sitting guy so she can kill the other in one go.

"That's… unconventional. But sure, I'll follow your lead in this." she says unsure as she checks if the suppressor on her pistol is screwed on properly.

Then she pokes the barrel through the space between two grates and has her sight on the furniture leaner. On the other side of the door, PAL has re-equipped his captive bolt pistol but with a different head and propulsion method this time. The hollow head covers the lock and PAL takes aim judging the direction from the footage of the under door camera.

Phantom lifts his finger in the air: the number 1 signal has been given. A concentrated gust shoots through PAL's addendage and towards the lock. In the span of a blink of an eye, the air hits the lock. The whole system, internals and all, become the penetrating projectile. And as it was aimed, it lodges itself straight into the sitting man's windpipe.

There is an instant of confusion as the leaning man tries to make sense of what he sees. One moment his comrade was there talking to him. Now all he hears is disgusting gurgles as he chokes on his own blood while in total panic the man tries to grasp and remove the lock from his neck.

Confusion is replaced by realization and the need to help him as he lunges forward to do so. This is quickly replaced by a tunnel dug by Patches' silenced shot as it goes into one temple and out the other. Like a sack of potatoes he falls over and slams face first onto the floor, lifelessly.

Then the door is kicked open by something invisible, that much the choking man can still perceive. All he can see is a floating knife as it is drawn. And although he cannot see it, he can almost feel the maniacal grin exuding its presence as Phantom as its wearer comes ever closer.

With an unseen hand, his chin is forced up so the specter has all of his neck to view. Then the knife is used in a makeshift and instantly botched throat operation to unlodge the lock into his throat. Which will free him from choking on his own blood, but in exchange will end his life as the knife does so much more internally.

Panic ceases shortly after. In the span of what must have been less than ten seconds or so, the security is the hands of Nova 7. Phantom decloaks, which also takes the copious amounts of blood that has been covered in, with it. At that moment the vent's grate is kicked open and Patches crawls through. Both nod at each other and then approach the computer terminal. Patches dives underneath the table to fumble with the wires and find an access point while Phantom takes control of the keyboard and already puts a stop on all the camera's.

"Team 2 here: security room is under our control. All cameras have been disabled."

"Good job Phantom. Same to you as well Patch. Get PAL to work his magic; cover him until then. Team 1, you can resume your previous occupation. Good hunting."

"Got it!" Kip replies as the two Militia resume their previous occupation.

- Hunt-ed

"So… what are you saying, PAL?"

"I am attempting to bypass their firewall right now." the machine answers as he scours through thousands, if not millions of bytes of information every microsecond.

"I assume that within five minutes I have this process complete. Until then, I cannot leave. We require total control over the systems of this structure. As per the mission's orders."

This leaves Team 2 with a pickle. They were meant to take control over the security room then move on ahead; time is of the essence. The longer they are here, the more likely they are to be discovered. Patches, as the one of higher rank present, radioes Trevor for advice.

"Trevor, we have run into a problem. PAL has to bypass a firewall to assume control over the systems. It will take some time before he is done."

"Not that long." PAL counters sarcastically as a self-imposed countdown timer appears on the screen.

"Some mouth you… got." Patches responds awkwardly, still getting to grips with PAL's new vocal talents.

"Patch, you've got two options from my perspective. Either both of you go or one of you stays behind. We need to find that underground cave system, blow up the munitions in there and collect as much intel on this place. I'll leave it up to you which you choose but do it quickly."

With that said, Trevor leaves the communication. He still has a listening ear but it is no longer his main focus. Likely because he has to watch over Team 1 as well still while they silently tear their way through the enemies outside. Which makes Team 2 feel a little put aside.

"Go without me." PAL then suggests breaking a silent stare between the two others.

"Splitting up is not usually perceived as a bad idea, however this is not a horror movie cliché. We have to do this properly. As Nova 7 should."

"Can you defend yourself while we aren't here though?" Patches asks, a little bit worried given that PAL is not armed in the traditional sense.

However the green light shown at the top of PAL's casing shows he is positive.

"I have more than my fair share of self-defense weapons. If I told you that I had a cattle prod installed as well? Would that take away any doubts?"

"What the…? A bolt pistol, now a cattle prod. Phantom, did you by any chance go to a bankruptcy auction of a slaughterhouse recently?" Trevor asks befuddled, joining his Specialist in the slight disbelief she is feeling.

"No comment." Phantom replies cheekily.

"Good lord… glad you are on our side buddy. Now, Patch; take this psycho with you and resume your mission. Over." Trevor states with an almost audible chuckle at the end.

Patches and Phantom collect their stuff and courage to leave the security room. Not before wishing PAL good luck of course. Even though he himself states he does not need it that much, he still appreciates it. He will inform them of the moment the firewall is down.

Back outside, Team 1 has moved on from their earlier position. Crossing the mid-section of the left side of the courtyard. Putting down two more guards who were not really in the way but one cannot take too many risks when trying not to be discovered. Kip's new gloves seem to do the job perfectly fine, even if it is not exactly what she asked for in the first place. Nelson and the brass do their best however; the fact that they managed to scrape together something effective is proof of this.

As she looks at the quickly hardening blood that has stuck on the knuckles of her glove, she realizes she has not tried out her gift yet. A black-colored suppressor for which had been kindly provided at the equipment station, adorned with a red zig-zag pattern running from tip to bottom. Slightly above it and towards the bottom end, there is a metallic gray "N7" depicted inside the biggest of the three red stars that are featured in the Cornerian Army's logo. A reminder that she is part of the very best. And with it being a pistol, she can still use her gloves with her offset hand.

In the meantime, they have reached a less cluttered portion at the upper left portion of the courtyard. Trevor tells them to be careful, as there are three guards this time with line of sight on each other. This means that they need to put all three out of commission in one fell swoop or be very quick at silencing whoever is left standing. Furthermore, he sees a red shipping container at the back that seems a little out of place at a site so far inland. Using the new thermal sights given and using his scope to enhance its power, he can see something or someone in there. He wants them to check it out after they have waltzed their way through the guards.

"I got the one at the far back." Trevor states as he rests his crosshairs on the guard's unaware head.

"I got the one in the middle" Kip states as she puts the reflective tip of the iron sights on her target's head as she pokes it up from her cover behind a pile of concrete drainage pipes

"And I have the one closest by." Calamity relays whispering as she sits on the other side of the same pile of pipes, where the guard is standing on the other side off.

"3… 2… 1… drop!"

The moment the mentioning of the letter "p" is finished, Trevor pops the head of the faraway guard like a balloon. Before the other two can react, the guard in the middle is dropped by a shot in the back of the head by Kip. And the guard closest by has met Calamity's newest

addition to her arsenal of close-range weapons. A double-loop garrote wire which she had wrapped around the poor guard's neck and pulled him over the stack of pipes towards her. The struggle is in vain as she pulls taut and finishes the man off.

She could have easily used her shotgun which fitted a massive silencer but she prefers to keep the silencer intact. In other words, if she does not have to use your weapon while it is silenced, she is not going to. Silenced ranged weapons are not her forté; a strict personal taste. Do it loud or do not do it at all.

"Clear. Good job Team 1, move in on that container."

Kip in the lead they stalk closer. Checking all corners and the roof of the container itself while Trevor tops up his rifle while still keeping an eye out. As the bolt slides back into its resting position, the doors of the container open up. Prompting Team 1 to stop dead in their tracks as Trevor watches a man walk out of the container. He fetches a packet of cigarettes and lights one up. But the man is not dressed like a guard, more like someone pretending he is a construction worker. And failing at it.

"Sarge, possible civvie here." Kip reports.

"I see 'em. This guy is… out of place. I can't put my… finger on it?"

Then Trevor recognizes the guy.

"No way… Team 1, take him in the container and find out what he knows. This guy does not belong here and I want to know why he's here."

"Care to explain a little more?" Calamity interjects.

"An old acquaintance shall we say."

Team 1 looks at each other as they realize that this could be juicy. It is agreed that Calamity, given her strength, should grab him and throw him inside. Kip will close the doors behind them. She therefore inches forward slowly and when she is within touching distance, she pounces at the man. One arm around his throat, a covered mouth and a firm knee in the lower back later she is able to drag him in without much resistance. And Kip closes the doors of the container after looking if no one saw it. No one else except Trevor of course, who she gives a thumbs up.

Because her partner has been audibly enjoying the spectacle from the moment Calamity had attacked the man. Especially the knee he found very satisfying. Then he can see Calamity's silhouette toss the man into the far left corner of the container, which makes it even better.

The man himself has no idea what just happened. One moment he was puffing on some well-deserved nicotine while peacefully staring at the night sky. The next he got smothered, choked, received a spinal relocation and learned to fly for a brief moment before landing very unfortunately on his left shoulder.

With his blurry vision, he can just about make out two women coming closer to him. From his perspective, on the ground, dazed and hurt, they look like giantesses ready to squish him like a bug. They certainly look strong enough to do so. It both tingles and terrifies him to the very bone. Although anything positive is very soon stomped out as he hears the two women communicate with someone unseen.

"So who is this old acquaintance of yours then?" asks the darker brown woman.

"A former prop? Are you sure?" the other, light brown woman checks in reply to the unheard answer they both received.

"Wait, that prop? No way!"

"Well, I'm not going to provide him with a new pair of pants." sasses the darker brown one before sharing a glance between the two when they find out who he is.

"I mean… if you don't care, then I don't care either."

"Got it. We'll ask nicely first. We'll let you know once we get something out of this guy." the other replies before she answers with a simple "Yes Sir".

Then she turns her eyes to him. His vision gradually gets better but he is not so sure if he considers that a good thing as he can see them come closer with malicious intent. He scurries away but soon his back hits the container wall and escape is impossible. He tries to scream but no one can hear him as the container is soundproof.

- Getting Closer

These hallways have an eerie feel. One moment it was vibrant with the office atmosphere envisioned for this place and then one would blink their eyes and now they are in a different dimension. Where the reality of the situation hit and before the vision could come to fruition, disaster struck. Leaving the walls stained and left unattended. Doors that lead to nowhere, loose ceiling tiles, less than stellar lighting and rips through the blue carpet. This place has seen better days for sure.

Especially those doors that do not budge, reminding of the unfinished state that their War Room is in too. It gives these hallways a liminal feeling, something Phantom cannot help but allude to in an impromptu Serling-esque voice. Which earns him the combined ire and unacknowledged light amusement of Patches. He is trying to be Trevor so bad, it is almost cute.

However, when the situation calls for it, he does snap out of it instantly. Although he clearly has to adjust to the fact that PAL is no longer attached to his behind. The instinct to instantly put up his cloak, crouch and stalk with his knife out when approaching a corner where a potential enemy could be is hard to suppress. With an expletive, he stands back up and sheaths his knife. He follows Patches' directions instead as with a hand gesture she tells him to stay up while she peeks around the corner.

One of the very many times she has looked around already but now she actually sees something. Three guards standing in front of and either side of a particular part of the wall. If they were trying to hide an entrance to something, the least they could do is make it less obvious.

However, they are with three and there is some distance between her and them. Phantom did not bring his silenced sniper rifle given that he was not assigned to any overwatch and she only has one of her pistols silenced. From this distance, engaging is possible but one mistake and alarms will start blaring. Last they checked, PAL is still struggling with the firewall. So they will have to try something else.

"Well, Specialist. Why don't you show me your specialty?" Phantom teases as he impatiently hovers his hand over the knife.

Patches wants nothing more than to turn around and give him a swift spin kick in the jaw but she might actually still need him. She can see a vent system run over and above them. With a grate that would put her right in the middle of them. With the idea forming in her head, she turns to the arctic fox.

"Give me a boost, will ya? Then I'll show you." she states as she points up at the vent system that also runs above them, but is also too high for her to reach by herself.

Phantom lets go of the ominous hovering and instead positions himself underneath to where Patches has to crawl into. Then he cups his hands and squats down so she can step on it like it were stairs. With his lift, she finds herself inside. She signals that she is thankful for the help and signals he should watch.

Phantom gives a casual salute before taking over her place and peeking the corner while Patches goes back to exploring the rather dusty and musty insides of the disused vent system. Not the most stellar idea but in the absence of better ones, it is king. Soon enough she reaches the bend and she can see light come up from the location she has to jump down.

Using the thermal vision, Phantom can follow her going through the pipe and eventually reaching the end. Inside, the bunny gathers her bravery and readies her silent pistol. First, she will jump down, taking the grate with her. Then the first to fall will be the guy on the right, the left and finally the guy in front of her. With a dainty little jump and her pistol gripped tightly between her two hands, she crashes through the vent. The grate clatters only once on the floor before she makes a little bit of a botched landing on top of it but recovers quickly. With instant improvisation, she puts two shots in the front guys' back and goes left to right as if she was crossing the street. A final fifth shot in the back of the head of the front guy and it is over.

She can hear Phantom clapping as he passes around the corner. It is only slightly sarcastic; he looks genuinely impressed with how she did it. Perhaps he is criticizing her less than stellar landing but it is the end-result that counts. Now they are standing before a hidden door or a passageway.

"Any ideas?"

"Beats me. I don't think these grenades will have the blasting power to break through. Nevermind the amount of goons that will be on our ass." she replies.

"PAL, can you find anything on a mechanism that might run through this particular section of wall?" Phantom then radioes.

"Executing subroutine. One moment." PAL answers.

Then there is silence between the two as they wait for PAL to come back at them. An awkward cough here, a leg stretch there. All to make time go by faster. Both have a sense that they should say something to the other but neither of them dares really.

"So…" Patches starts.

"I heard PAL got a new upgrade. I like it, quite a bit."

Phantom chuckles at the pun she did not even realize she made.

"Yeah, I figured it would be better for us to actually understand and interact with him better. Don't get me wrong; his previous version had its charm but this is better."

"Charm? No, not really. It felt like a malfunctioning children's toy." she states bitterly.

"You are allowed to have opinions… even if they are wrong." Phantom laughs in return before he turns to something a little more serious.

"You did not seem that shocked when PAL spoke. As if you had heard it before."

The question catches her off guard.

"Oh… yeah. He uhm… kinda was in my room last night. We talked a few things out. It felt good, but it also feels like I'm somehow the problem too. I mean, this is the second time that I talked to 7-5 about the team issues."

"No no! Don't think like that, please. I've been a massive bastard towards you, not the other way around. Okay, maybe a little. But it was warranted for sure."

Patches smiles relieved.

"I appreciate that Phantom."

"No problem. Pardner." he says with a wink, knowing she will likely take offense to that.

So to defend his statement, he states that he clearly pronounced a "d" and not the already occupied "t" in the pronunciation. The distinction is hard to notice but it is there, he makes sure to point out like a wiseacre.

Then they hear a click behind the wall and PAL gets on the line. Telling them to keep the chit-chat down. Only for Patches to transfer the title of wiseacre from Phantom to the machine, which he sees as a compliment. Then the wall section begins to shift. It juts forward and then slides to the right like the door on a van.

Behind the door they see a dark tunnel made out of what looks like mud or soil. Like an unlit mining tunnel but without the wooden support beams visible. Team 1 turns on their flashlights but they cannot see anything really. The tunnel seems to be steadily leading downwards.

Phantom reaches for his grenade belt and clips a chrome colored one loose. He twists the top which seems to activate it. With a distinctive beeping noise every few seconds. Then he tosses the grenade inside the tunnel. After which it autonomously rolls further into the tunnel.

"PAL, sonar grenade out. Show us what we are dealing with."

"Understood. Executing subroutine."

"We cannot stay here and wait again. The mechanism wasn't very silent. PAL, how long until you are through that firewall?"

"ETC is two and a half minutes. The subroutine distraction required some processing power. Apologies."

"No need bud. Do your best. We got it from over here. Keep up the search. Sergeant, come in. It's Phantom"

"Team 2, go ahead."

"We may have found the pathway to the underground cave system. PAL is mapping it out for us as we speak. Be advised, we may lose communication down there."

"Understood, Team 2. Well done. As soon as Team 1 has finished cleaning the courtyard, they will join you. Be careful in there and try to stay in contact if you can. Otherwise, I'll hear from you when you're back at the surface. Good luck! Trevor, out."

3 - Descent Into Depravity

- Into The Bowels

Communication quality starts to degrade now and they are not even that deep inside. The last thing they heard that was understandable was that PAL had broken through the firewall. They could not congratulate him before it was cut off entirely. Which bummed Phantom out quite a bit. At the very least they have the holographic map that the sensor grenade was able to map out before it too was lost in this vast deepness. Which was also strange given that it should have a practically unlimited range as long as there is an open way to the receiver on their CID's.

Using their integrated flashlights, they descend steadily into the darkness so conserve power. Occasionally there is a 180 degree bend and then it goes down again. Like a natural staircase without actual stairs. Just a rocky underground that slowly turns harder and darker the deeper they go. The whole environment is just high enough for Phantom to stand upright and wide enough for the two to almost walk side by side. Surrounded by rock that seems to be very professionally carved out. One would wonder how long it would take.

Finally the descent stops and according to the map they have landed at the starting hub of the complete klutz that is the spread-out tunnel system underneath. They have multiple ways to choose from stretches out before them and even if they were to split up, it would take a long time for them to explore them thoroughly. They have to find something useful to guide them in the right direction.

"Shame there are no signposts here." Patches sighs as she looks around the various hallways that all start to look the same.

"I guess they didn't want it to be too easy for us." Phantom answers.

"We better start looking for something useful then. Let's walk past all of them and see what draws our attention."

She takes the left side and Phantom will take the right side. Given that they are underground and unlikely to alert any else topside, they decide to go loud. No need to hold back anymore. Hallway by hallway they scour through. The length of each feels almost never ending as their flashlights can only illuminate so much ahead of them. And it starts to get tedious to some degree.

That is until Phantom finds the remnants of his thrown sensor grenade some distance into the hallway he looks into.

"Uuhhh.. Patch? I found my sensor grenade. And it's not good news."

Patches approaches from behind him and can see it too. That was the reason why it suddenly stopped transmitting. It has been destroyed and also stripped of any useful electrical components. Like a peeled egg only the shattered shell remains. Which means whoever did that has an interest in that sort of technology and really does not want anyone else to discover their liar.

"We found our destined hallway then. I'll take point; you stick behind me.

With resolve, Patches leads Team 2 into that hallway. Somehow this hallway feels even darker than the hallway from before. Almost like the darkness is actively trying to absorb any light shone from their flashlights. Like a thickening mist, they can see less and less ahead of them. And moreover, they are reaching the end of the mapped out area.

All of this does make them worry just a bit more. Making Phantom occasionally turn around, thinking that he might have heard something. Patches herself tries to keep a clear head but for what she cannot see, her brain makes up vague mirages. Which unnerves her even more. To the point where she snaps at Phantom for constantly looking behind them as she could really use the light to see what is in front of them.

"Sorry. This place feels… wrong. I'd rather have extra eyes in front than behind us." she reasons.

As they walk further in, the natural rock starts to get muddled. Starting to resemble mud more than natural stone. The floor becomes increasingly more moist, to the point where puddles of hazy liquid start to appear. It looks like water but somehow their instincts tell them to avoid stepping into them like the plague.

With a gasp she comes to a complete stop and the instant response to what she sees is to raise her gun. Or at least, what she thought she saw. She can feel her heart rate start to increase to an uncomfortable level. It looked like a clawed hand came out of the wall. The unknowingness of the murkiness beyond made her brain figure out the rest.

"You okay?" Phantom comments slightly concerned by her dead stop.

"I-I thought I saw something… coming out of the walls." she answers, slowly realizing how stupid that sounds in hindsight.

"W-we better move on."

She shakes her fear of the unknown off and proceeds on. Piercing through the darkness step by step. To calm herself and to keep herself from seeing things, she makes sure to think about her necklace with her mother's picture which she has in her pocket. And she also dwells her senses by muttering a very annoying tune she heard on the radio one time. It is so catchy and annoying it sticks to the mind like glue. It all helps a little bit. However, she might have a better idea.

"Say, Phantom. You got a bigger CID than any of us. Can't you like… make your flashlight more powerful?"

"No, sorry. Despite its size, it has the same battery as you have. The other side contains the oxygen tank I kinda need. The battery needed for that operation is too small anyway to power the complexity of the CID. But I like your way of thinking."

"Speaking of that, what was that interaction with Trevor all about yesterday? Something about you not being able to breathe properly?"

Phantom chuckles awkwardly.

"It's actually worse. One nostril doesn't work anymore and the one that does work still, only works for about 50%. The tube up my nose allows me to function normally. Above average if I take "a hit" so to say. I could technically live without it, but I'd be tired after only a few steps. Yeah…"

The way he ended that sentence shows it is a sensitive subject. It puts in perspective, just for that moment, how easy and natural it is for her to breathe. In comparison to what he has to go through. Having a tube up your nose literally feeding you oxygen because you can no longer do it yourself? It must feel so weakening.

"But hey. You roll the dice of life and work with the cards you have, eh? Pretty sure that's not how the comparison goes but then again I never expected to end up in Corneria's rectum so what do I know?"

That makes Patches crack up.

"Thank you, thank you. I'll be here all day for more crappy jokes. Although… do you notice the walls getting more purple?" Phantom then notices as he spots more and more purple veins running through the mud and rock.

And she starts to notice it too. It is also present on the ceiling and the floor too. Soon enough, the natural brownness of the earth has been completely replaced by purple. The mushiness and moistness of it being replaced by that same glass-like substance she felt underneath her feet back in the North of Corneria City.

"No way… more Aparoid crap?" she comments lamentingly.

"I once compared those things with cockroaches. Now I'm even more sure of that comparison. And… Oh fuck that smell!"

Phantom recoils a little bit as the cloud of stench impacts his face right away. Patches too is crop-dusted by the awful stench but she has smelled it before. Which does not comfort her.

The darkness thins out as there is literally light at the end of the tunnel. It is vague and flicking like a small flame blowing in the wind. They enter into a small room with three more exits. Two straight ahead and one to their direct right. But the room itself attracts all of the attention for the wrong reasons.

There is machinery of an unknown origin strewn about. It looks like an attempt at creating a lab was made but they stopped halfway through. There are strange liquids flowing through translucent pipes into other machines. But the most eye-catching is something way more wicked. Dozens of corpses, all wrapped up in cloth. Like they are mummies.

They are not left alone to rest however as each has two tubes jabbed into them. Leading to a round device that is dug into the ground below. It reminds of a floating pool skimmer but then colored gun-metal gray and white.

"Oh… n-no… uurgh…" Phantom retches as the stench becomes unbearable.

He covers his nose with his arm, careful not to pull out his tube. He can hold it together for now but then he sees that from one of the mummified corpses, a thick clot of dark red fluid is extracted. The way it undulates and pulses as it is slowly sucked into the machine is too much and he finds a nice corner to let this morning's breakfast out onto the floor.

Patches sympathizes; she knows how it feels. The combination of sight, sound and smell forms a nauseating and nightmare-inducing feeling. One she unfortunately already had the displeasure of experiencing before.

"Fuck!" he exclaims as he spits out some nasty tasty residue that was stuck between his teeth and the lower lip.

"This is vile… beyond vile! How… urk! How come you aren't puking along with me?"

"I can smell it." she answers neutrally.

"It isn't something I like. I just… got used to it."

"Used to it? You've smelled this before. Seen this before?!"

She looks back at the recovering fox as he wipes his mouth. Her expression, though neutral on the surface, betrays the intense sorrow she feels. It is in the eyes; practically tattooed on her sclera. The mark that witnessing such an event creates. A scar that she will carry with her. Now the stories Trevor told about her make more sense. There was no posturing, no faking it. What he told, about her encounter in that house, might have been just the diet version of what happened.

"The only difference is that I know these people are dead. That is somewhat comforting. All we gotta do is make sure they aren't sodomized by machinery." she states before she approaches the machine on the floor.

Phantom is frozen for a moment as only his eyes move to follow her. The level of professionalism she is displaying is terrific. No wonder she is a Specialist and Trevor's right-hand man. Or woman in this case. Then he shakes himself out of the trance and joins her at the device.

"So, what do you think this thing is?" she asks.

Phantom takes a look at it. The blob of reddish disgust went into this thing and it is spooling more like a washing machine on full tilt. Though it is not likely that this thing is used to clean the fluids and then pump them back inside. That would make no sense as these people are already dead. But the other pipe still leads back to the corpses. Why would that be?

Phantom soon gets his answer as the machine stops spooling and pumps out a purified, dark purple goo through the other pipe into the mummy it previously pulled an "uncleansed" clot from.

"It… cleans the blood? No, it changes it! Blood isn't purple, unless it's…"

"Aparoid." Patches finishes gruff.

"Yeah. Whatever is inside here, is turning the fluids of dead people into Aparoid goop. But why?"

"We can figure that out later. For now, ready your weapon. I'm going to open this thing and I don't want anything to jump out at me when I do. Been there, done that." she sighs as she grabs a hold of the lid.

"Ready?"

Phantom nods. In response, Patches turns the lid counter-clock wise until she hears a "CLUNK" and then lifts it off. As she does, she also jumps away in case of a jumper. Right at that moment Phantom has his finger on the trigger but it is not needed. He beckons her to come back and have a look inside this machine. They can see a bubbling mess of Aparoid fluids. Like a witches cauldron. There are still traces of that original, natural red but it is fading away quickly. Consumed or diluted until it is now just part of the mixture. Then the mass contracts like it is sucking on a straw very hard and from another corpse a congealed, pulsating clot is pulled out again.

"Not this time you nasty bastard…" Patches mutters as she pulls a grenade from her belt.

"Phantom. As soon as I drop the grenade in there, close the lid and run. Got it?"

"I got it."

He grabs the lid from the floor and holds it ready. No more words have to be said. She pulls the pin on the grenade and drops it into the cursed Aparoid soup. Not long after the mild splash, Phantom slams the lid on and twists it shut. Then both run back into the hallway they came from and close their ears.

The explosion is rather timid at first as the lid blocks most of it. But then, like after an ammunition cook-off inside of a tank, the lid is launched skyward. Smacking against the ceiling before landing on the ground with force and noise. Behind it, a massive jet of flame and the curdled, fried and glitching screams of dying Aparoids. Their vocal pitches go higher the more they are burning.

The geyser of fire calms down eventually but with the gradually increasing magnitude of an upcoming earthquake, Team 2 can only assume that the flame is going further downwards. To a reservoir or at least a tunnel deeper down. The destruction it more than likely is causing further down into the crust is causing the ground to shake violently. The roof starts to crack and already the hallway where they came from is crumbling. A cave-in starts and blocks the way back.

"No way in HELL we're getting stuck here!" Patches proclaims as she grabs Phantom by the hand and pulls him away.

Despite her small size, the arctic fox is pulled along like a duck on a string. She intends to move into the next passageway straight ahead but instead she passes. From behind a window in an iron door, a few shadowy figures appear brandishing weapons. Instinctively she pulls out her pistol and caps the bastards through the window before they can utter a coherent sentence.

From the passageway to the left she can hear another iron door slam open with gruff voices calling out that is going on. There is only the one way left that is free so she guides Phantom that way. The quakes resume even harder than before, which makes her almost lose balance and he falls down on the ground. Undefeated however, he crawls back to his feet and fires on the guard coming out of the far left way.

It seems they are very angry that Team 2 has destroyed all their stuff. And also killed their friends whom they call out by name. As if that is meant to give weight to them, killing them. But those who protect these nasty bugs should not deserve any pity.

Patches then pulls Phantom into the only hallway which is not caved-in or blocked by approaching guards and the two start running. Another quake however causes both to misstep and fall onto the ground. While Patches can shake it off, she can hear a cry of pain behind her. She snaps to the direction it came from and she can see the arctic fox hold on to his foot. Cursing the very foundation of Corneria to high hell. He must have sprained something. Easy enough to retrieve him and get him back up. He will be limping but she can act as his crutch.

She reaches for him but yet another earthquake follows. She can hear the insides of the walls around her creak and fissures erupt wildly. Then the ceiling cracks and rocks fall down. One of which hits Phantom right on the back of his CID just as another long, almost log-like rock lands right on top of him.

Patches can only watch as the arctic fox disappears beneath and behind a pile of rocks. She calls out to him but receives no answer. There is nothing but dead air as even the quakes have ceased. She is panting; the adrenaline is pumping through her veins and her heart beats once more in her throat. Her hand is still outstretched, reaching for him but is now useless.

"No… not like this…" she mutters as her hand lowers slowly.

- As Above, So Below

"Damn… I hate this feeling… my head is pounding like a bitch! Can't see anything. Can barely hear. Can barely… breathe? … What the fuck!?"

His eyes snap open in a flash but his vision is incoherent, floaty and hazy. He can see vague brown, purple and black swatches of color. There is white noise coming from his right and some more coming from below left of his field of view. The lower one is less audible than the other but is coming closer.

The swatches quickly turn into basic shapes and become more detailed the more he adjusts. With his senses returning, he can feel a stinging pain running up from his right foot up to his spine, spread out over both shoulders and then ending up at his nasal cavity. The natural response to breathe is overworking itself as he is barely taking in any oxygen as it is.

Why is he not breathing properly? What happened? He remembers… an earthquake… then falling debris. He is… buried beneath rubble? That is embarrassing. The cave-ins… it happened here as well. A noise replays inside his head. A nasty, metallic sound. Like something heavy fell onto and severely dented the metal it landed on.

"The CID! It's… it must be… dammit… I gotta get out of here."

He can feel his heavy arms lifting themselves up and reach for the closest object. He can feel the hardness of the rock but the moistness of that nasty purple stuff. But as his arms were already weighing a ton, he can barely exert any pressure to lift it.

"Phantom!" he can hear quickly clearly all of the sudden.

Someone called out his name in a positively relieved way. The voice is distinctly feminine, unlike the other presumably voice. Then he sees a pair of gray furred hands placed themselves over the rock he was trying to push away. Accompanied wiith a mighty yell those hands force it off of him. Then they reach out to him.

"Come on! Get up, before I call you 7-5 again!"

"Patches…?" Phantom slurs as he grabs a hold of the hand given to him.

The other hand disappears only to return to the image armed as she shoots the source of the other voice dead. Along with a nasty expletive she might have picked up from Calamity's numerous native Lylatian curses. Then Patches begins to pull Phantom out of the rubble he is while also killing another approaching goon. With excellent reflexes too as this guy popped up out of nowhere and was all up in her face.

After some time, she managed to pull the arctic fox out of the rock prison he found himself in. All the while sarcastically complaining about him being a dead weight before sitting him down against a wall so he can catch his breath. Literally.

"T-thank you… c-can you… remove the…?" he stops to pant as forming a sentence is already hard work.

"Remove the what?"

"The CID… it's… not working… the weight…"

He signals that the weight of it, now that it is no longer functional, is weighing down heavily on him. He points to a hand grip at the back. It is labeled as an Emergency Ejection, something she has as well. Although hers is smaller. Likely because her CID is smaller in general.

"Pull it… it will… alert… PAL…"

"Wait. What? Our communications are down here."

"Just… do it!" he sputters.

Patches has no choice. She is going to pull it anyway and if it has the unexpected benefit that PAL will be alerted, then so be it. Her fingers wrap around the handle as she pulls it out. With a mighty hiss the CID splits open at the front, allowing her to lift it off Phantom's shoulder like it is taking off a shirt. It clatters onto the floor and the only sign of life it sends out is a blinking light.

"That feels so much better…" Phantom pants, now able to breathe at least a little more but forming sentences is still hard.

He grabs onto the tube stuck up his nose, now nothing more than a tether that keeps him connected to the not functioning device. He has to rip it out like dried hot wax, which hurts but also makes that one nostril feel much cleaner.

"The signal is sent. Now we have to… shit!" he exclaims as he ducks away when three blaster bolts are fired at him.

Patches instantly fires back with both pistols, killing the guy that was firing at them. They need to get out of here but with Phantom being in the state he is currently, this is not going to be easy. And the enemy firepower is not letting up at all.

Back at the control room, PAL is sifting through useful files when he notices the tremors rocking the computer system and causing a small electrical disruption which turns off the system entirely. He is still hooked up however and this allows him to kickstart it back to functionality. Almost like starting a car.

However, soon after more tremors start to rock the room and he is thrown out of the system completely. Even with him being still hooked up, he cannot bring the system back to life again. He is perplexed at this but then he notices that the lights around the entire building are going out. More than that, he is confused by the tremors. This place is not on a fault line and despite the rain, there was no indication of a mudslide happening.

Then he realizes something has happened as a signal is received. A signal he would rather never have received. Processed within a fraction of a microsecond, he identifies it as the emergency signal Phantom's CID gives off the moment it is released from his shoulders. He knows what this means as it is programmed into him as such: Once the CID is ejected in that way, PAL is to immediately return "Home" and assist. Or… recover the remains of the "Operator".

His light turns from white to purple, indicating confusion at first. And it darkens quickly to gray. He is shocked and afraid for his friend's life. He who in essence is his creator. The creator of the modern incarnation of himself at least.

He casts any philosophical thoughts and other business aside to call for a general alert. Something terrible happened down there and there is no way he will not intervene.

"Alert! Alert! Team 2 is in big trouble!" he calls out over the radio.

"PAL? What are you talking about? Team 2 is out of radio range." Trevor replies.

"Negative, Sir! Phantom has pulled on his Emergency Ejection. His CID is programmed to send out a signal upon doing so. A Last Resort Protocol. He and therefore Specialist Patches are in grave trouble! I must go to them!"

PAL does not wait for a positive answer. While replying, he has been churning around in the system again and found a way to open the door to the underground tunnels again. He unplugs himself and then floats out of the room. And not at a leisurely pace.

"PAL, stand down. I can send Team 1 in right now."

"Negative! … Sir… Team 1 might be too late and they are vital in their extraction of the information and the cleaning up of the courtyard. I am going in."

Trevor can hear the determination in PAL's voice. Something he has not heard before. And he would be lying if the idea of Patches being stuck in a very bad situation did not make him shiver to the very core. His +1, stuck somewhere underground. His promise to her that he would never send her somewhere suicidal, now coming back to haunt him. Not to mention having Phantom actually live up to his name, literally. He would really prefer it if he did not gain a friendly ghost companion. One of flesh and bone would suit him much better.

"Damn… fine! PAL. I'm ordering you to extract Team 2 if you are close enough and you think yourself capable. But I want constant updates!"

"Acknowledged. Approaching the entrance now."

As PAL rounds the corner to the door, Team 1 has been listening inside the container. Following and dreading every word but keeping up appearances. So their interrogatee does not notice anything is wrong. They have been trying to get something useful out of this guy but he is very stubborn. To the point of ridiculousness, stating some kind of "professionalism". Which Calamity knows is complete hogwash and she has been trying to break him the old-fashioned way. And now she intends to turn it up to eleven.

Kip meanwhile intently listens to Trevor while the man screams again in the background. He tells them very plainly; one stays behind to extract the needed information and the other will resume clearing the courtyard. Stealth is prohibited; make it loud and quick so they can move into the building.

Given that Calamity is already busy roughing the guy up, she has her hands free. She reports that she will clean up. Something Calamity does not mind.

"You got it from here, Cal?" the roo double-checks.

"Yeah, I got this piss-ant. Go out there and save that cute bunny. And that arctic bastard can come along too I suppose."

She gives a half-serious smile before she turns back to her victim. Then she hears the door slam shut behind her. It is only her, the weakling she is holding by the collar of his shirt and the small lantern that bathes the inside in a yellow-orange glow. It creates the sense that everything around them is burning. And for the man, it definitely feels that way.

"Now it's just you and me. I didn't want to do this with my friend present. But I know who you are. Exactly! Who. You. Are! "Hunt". Lieutenant Pisspants. My fiancée told me about you. A prop that was caught in the middle of some kind of extremist gang war in Corneria City. You don't look like you're still a prop though. So you are a nobody in my eyes. And now at my mercy." she says threateningly, her eyes wide open and her pupils super focused on him.

"No-No! I-I will never… t-talk… no matter how much you… you beat me…!" he sputters.

"Oh, I won't beat you anymore. I never cared for the information you might have. I will just wrap this nice little wire around your throat and pull very hard. Until I won't hear your voice anymore."

Then she punches him right in the face to make him dazed so he does not resist much while she wraps the wire around his neck and now holds onto both ends. One tight pull and he is done. He can feel the sharp edges already cut into his skin as the daziness fades as a shot of adrenaline sobers him up.

"W-Wait! Y–you need me!" he cries out, daring not to lift his hands.

"Speak up, worm!"

"I'm here o-on a mission! I'm not a Lieutenant a-anymore! I'm here… o-on my own!"

"What else!?" she barks at him, getting even more impatient with those timid answers.

She feels herself get more desperate and angry every second this guy does not provide her with anything useful. While her comrades down below are in danger, she has to play the abusive babysitter to Mr. Damp Pants.

Down below her, Team 2 is still fighting for their lives. More and more guards have appeared and they have been hammering them with gunfire. However, afraid to be gunned down themselves, they choose to blindly spray their weapons while staying behind cover. Never revealing more than their firing hand.

Even with their shocking inaccuracy, Patches more often than not has to keep her head down. Phantom tries to assist but cannot stand up due to his injured foot. He curses at his misfortune but acts as practical as he can; he offers to reload Patches' pistols so she can have one firing while he reloads the other one. They can toss them between each other.

Though effective in the pinch they find themselves in, she is getting low on ammunition. They have to move or else they will be overrun. But she cannot carry him. At least not very far nor fast. Then she looks at the two corpses nearby and she notices their somewhat large moss-green coats. Along with one of their rifles. It gives her an idea which just could work.

"Phantom? Can you still fire?" she asks.

"Yeah, I can." he says, his finger eagerly tapping just above the trigger.

"Good. Then get ready."

She throws one of her last lethal grenades directly without cooking it, so it can give her some valuable seconds to grab what she needs. She takes the rifle, removes the magazine and when the optic gives her trouble, she simply resorts to smashing it to pieces. Then she takes the oversized coat and wraps the neck area and the sleeves around the weapon, leaving the rest spread out like a blanket. She lies it down before Phantom and then helps him down on it. Making him face towards the bad guys.

"Comfy?" she checks.

"As comfy… as can be. Let's go!" he answers as he readies his rifle.

She tugs on the rifle and drags Phantom along deeper into the only way they can go; further down into that tunnel. She does not know where it will lead but it is hopefully safer then where they were coming from. Then she hears Phantom open fire behind her, causing her to speed up even more.

His gunfire is as accurate as it can be given the uneven ground beneath him, making him wish his buttocks had more effective shock absorbing properties. But it is useless to complain when before you, actual death could be delivered to you in less than the blink of an eye via trigger pull. He has enough ammo left but he fires very controlled. Both because compensating for the recoil is a tiring business when you only have one half-working nostril and because it might take some time for rescue to arrive. If it ever will that is, because he sounded very sure that the signal would reach PAL. But in reality, he has never managed to test it before. In theory it should work. Now here is to hoping their teammates back up there will hear it.

Back on the surface, as Calamity holds the wire ready while Hunt talks, Kip and Trevor are cleaning the courtyard. Anything he cannot see from his perspective, she will kill instead. It is very effective as the guards cower because of his unseen sniper fire, which makes it easy for her to light them up with gunfire. Although she also finds at least one opportunity to swing her tail one of them. The leather bond around it hits the guard square in the jaw, fracturing and dislocating it while also launching away from behind his cover. Where Trevor is kind enough to shoot that jaw right off.

He has no mercy or pity for these guys now as he, much like a machine, simply works efficiently. Yet ruthless in his own way. He does not even count every kill on his LCD counter. Then he gets an update from PAL; he has encountered a cave-in. Considering it has not been that long since the machine went into the underground, he wonders how fast he was going.

PAL observes the cave-in and scans to determine how to smash through it properly. He finds a way and readies his probe. After choosing the appropriate head, he finds the weak spot in the foundation of the cave-in, aims true and slams the piston into it like he is punching it. But unlike a fist made out of tearable skin and breakable bones, his appendage is a metal from which starships are made out of. It breaks the rock into little pieces and as calculated, part of the cave-in now collapses. Leaving a hole big enough for him to float into.

He enters into the same room as Team 2 has likely done before him. Considering the utter destruction left in their wake, it is more than likely. There is a big black scorch mark on the roof above a still smoking circular gray hole. Other machinery has toppled over or in other ways have been disabled. The floor is littered with impacts from blasters and empty bullet casings. The two hallways in front of him have several dead bodies in them. And a little to the left, he can see the mummified corpses with the tubes still attached to them. The tubes in turn run back into that smoking gray hole.

He hovers closer to check out the smoke in the hole. He notices the lid, bent and scorched next to it. He can already detect small grenade fragments. It is unlikely that those dead guards did this so it must have been Team 2's handiwork. However, he does not have long so he ignores those auxiliary details.

Instead, he devotes his attention to the insides of the hole. While the smoke covers most of it, his assortment of various vision modes allow him to see through it. What he sees instantly triggers his hatred for Aparoids. Even if the blackened, burned mess is no longer alive, as long as they exist in any form that is visible, they are not dead enough yet. Only once they are vapor can he be satisfied.

He takes various pictures of the room, the machinery, the wrapped up corpses, the hole with dead Aparoid tissue inside and the machine that it was kept in. Then, just be sure, he drops a smaller version of the sensor grenade inside so even the depths of it can be mapped. Then he sends all of the pictures to Trevor and then proceeds to look for "Home".

While Trevor gets the pictures, he can hear that Calamity has finally managed to crack Hunt completely. He is leaving nothing out. He was humiliated for his lackluster performance and this made him leave the Army altogether. He wanted to help people as an individual, on his own. Like Mr. Bones and Ms. Patches did when they saved him. He scoured throughout Lylat, presenting himself as an honorable mercenary, a soldier for hire or marketing himself as a private detective. All with a clear conscience; no terrorism and no evil doing.

Strangely enough, no one wanted his services. Then one day, he was somewhere in the Meteo region. Surrounded by the scum and villainy that typically inhabit that area. He overheard some drunkards speak of something wild going on Corneria. Something involving weapons and the construction of the base for it. He did not have to hear more; he went in to stop it on his own.

He disguised himself as a construction worker and went up into the group of other workers. A lot of those people were from the most downtrodden classes of society. The old, the homeless and those desperate. Outcasts of society. No one would miss them. And Baker Building offered them a good pay if they helped with the reconstruction of what was to become a warehouse. He stayed undercover to find out what was going on and how he could sabotage it from the inside. It went on well for a day or two, then the armed men came in.

The moment Hunt saw this, he managed to evade detection and hide away inside that container. While he was underway, he was a witness to what happened to everyone else. They were gathered into groups and were then killed. Some quickly, others very, very slowly. A gunshot compared to total dismemberment and utter violation while they were still alive. Then a select few dead bodies were chosen in various stages of wholeness, wrapped in rags and then lifted inside the buildings. He does not know where. He had nowhere else to go from that point on. And he does not know what happened to the rest of the corpses.

While Trevor is hearing this, he can see the pictures appear one by one on his display. He can see those mummified corpses. As well as the Aparoid device that has tubes attached to those corpses. It infuriates and terrifies him at the same time. This is pure desecration of their bodies along with experimentation on them with Aparoid tissue? Could these guys sink even lower? First they put Aparoid tissue on computer components, then in weapons and now in dead people!?

He can no longer sit in his crow's nest while this violation goes on. He contacts Tacker Field while he sends all that PAL has sent out to them as well.

"Nelson, come in!"

"Go ahead Sergeant! You don't sound too pleased."

"10 points to you. We have confirmed the presence of Aparoids in this warehouse. They were experimenting with Aparoid tissue and dead bodies. According to a previously unknown source inside, these bodies were ranging from whole to torn apart. The purpose of this experiment is so far unknown but there is a lingering sense that they were likely testing how broken a corpse can be for…"

"Aparoid tissue to resurrect them." the Major interrupts and finishes for Trevor.

The canine had stormed into the War Room as fast as he could after seeing those pictures that were sent. But he got them before Nelson did. The Lieutenant is on his way to watch this live as he heard that Patches is potentially in grave danger but he is on the other side of the base again.

"Sergeant. Get your team out of there, collect any evidence you can about this so we can prove this whole disgusting scheme they got going on and come back alive. That's an order."

"Yes Sir! I wasn't planning to come back in a box anyway! Cal, Kip! Enter that building, follow PAL's trail and find Team 2! I'll be close behind." he orders while already descending down the ladder.

"What about this source of ours?" Calamity asks as she still has him in a chokehold.

"I don't care." Trevor replies cold as he has more pressing matters.

He feels no sympathy for this guy. And although it may be very unprofessional and downright illegal, he has more pressing matters than some self-proclaimed hero. Too many of those around anyway. He lands on the ground and then runs towards the building.

Calamity then turns back to Hunt. He can see that she too does not care about him at all. He tries to plead but then she pulls the handle back and draws his blood. She tosses the whole contraption in the corner closest to her and then leaves the container. Out of courtesy, she closes the door.

4 - You Got A Friend In Me

- You Fight Me

If his emotional spectrum was more expansive, he would perhaps know true horror when looking at this display. Instead, he feels a narrow amount of sadness and the rest is filled up with hate. He knows what and who did this to them. And who is putting his teammates in danger. And he is not going to stand nor float for that.

He turns around and floats towards the other cave-in. The one that was suspiciously shot up by a hail of gunfire. He can understand the irritation such an event can cause but bullets do not help exactly. Like with his previous handiwork, he finds the weak point of the structure, readies the right head and then smashes through the correct rock to make it all topple down. Even if this one particular needed two rocks smashed, the result is the same.

What he sees disturbs him to a degree he did not expect. He can see "Home" tossed and trampled on the ground. According to his scans, the CID is barely operational. The only thing that has anything of substance inside, is the small battery that powers the oxygen tank and the oxygen itself. 60% power and 78% oxygen level left respectively.

He wants to go on because despite himself telling him that he is "Home" as per his programming, he is not. Phantom is not here. And he cannot find where he could be. All he can see along the rest of the ground are dozens, if not hundreds of footsteps. And with the hallway up ahead already leading to at least three other directions, all previously and recently walked on, randomly picking one will not help. Not that it would matter; once "Home" has been located, he cannot leave its vicinity until the protocol is canceled by the "Operator".

But in searching for home, he states to himself that he is already "home". But he is not! It is not computing well internally however. He does to divert this by changing the destination of "Home" to "Operator". However, given that the Emergency Ejection protocol is hardcoded into his programming, he cannot change that. So he tries to trick himself into finding a route to "Home" via the "Operator" first. Suggesting a detour.

He receives an error as feedback. He is already "Home". A detour is therefore unnecessary and the "Operator" is not part of the protocol. And therefore not relevant. That word. That word… how does he dare? This has to be old programming from way back when. Perhaps from when they first met, when the trust was not there yet. And this was never rectified.

Phantom made it so that PAL himself could not change it so as to secure himself. Now it is nothing but an obscene and bothersome relic. One that is holding him back from reaching them.

He sees only one option. Perhaps with all the extra neural networks, emotions and knowledge he has gained over the last year and a half or so, it could be enough to hard reset himself. For this, he needs to back himself up properly so that he will remember what is most important so he can glitch and corrupt all the rest. Forcing himself into a total factory reset with the exception of the back-up memory. It is dangerous, but it is the only way to find them effectively.

"If this fails… Ashley… Phantom, Roger. My friend… I am sorry and I tried."

A gray light flickers from red, to yellow, to green and finally back to gray again as he starts to sort through his many memories to store duplicates of them onto the back-up drive. While he does so, he executes a sub-routine to start on the self corruption. By constantly forcing himself to change the definition of "Home" to "Operator".

Once all of the important data has been safely backed-up and stored away, he can focus all of his efforts on cracking his own code. And thereby cracking himself. He just hopes he does not crack himself in twine.

With all his might, he tries his demandest to force the change through. But he keeps landing on the same error. However, when a door does not break the first time you kick it in, you are not kicking hard enough. Anything will break eventually if enough force is applied. He has nothing more to lose so he starts writing code on his own. Code that he will implement into his own, to contradict and undermine his own. To destroy potentially vital protocols and networks in order to create a backdoor into himself.

His vision starts to warp, fill up with static and distort. Various error messages and pop-up screens infest what remains visible but he ignores all of them. This is his head, his thoughts. What he wants goes. And what he wants, is Phantom back. With that, Patches as well. He wants them both safe. He disables all other pop-ups and keeps pushing. He keeps kicking against that proverbial door.

The right light of his eye slowly dims as the error notification keeps popping up. The faster he tries, the faster it will appear again and again. Until even he cannot perceive properly anymore. Internally and externally he starts to shake and lose control. His internal systems heat up and the cooling starts to fail. There is also a pressure building up now that the fans

and the exhaust of his floating engines start to power down. Wild sparks erupt like fireworks and emerge from the failing soldering lines keeping his casing together. As smoke pours from behind the fastings around his light.

Then in a flash, his vision cuts out completely. PAL has shorted himself out. All operation ceases and like the metal, triangular cookie tin he somewhat resembles, he falls down on the ground with a heavy, bass-filled thump. Within about the span of 30 seconds, he went from fully operational, to completely limp.

- I Will Find You

Trevor has been running all this time, hyper focused on getting Team 2 out of there. Delegating Calamity and Kip to tell them to go faster. This causes him to forget to actually top up his rifle so he does so on the move. Which works somewhat well, aside from the casings he drops due to clumsiness.

He has reached the door Team 2 went in before and he mercilessly bashes it open with his shoulder. It was not closed or locked at all; it was just in the way. No time for pleasantries or pain for that matter. The adrenaline will take care of that. He has PAL's beacon to follow.

Then Kip reports in, stating that they have arrived at the entrance to the cave system. She was kind enough to wait for Calamity to catch up. But Trevor tells them they do not have to wait for him. They are closer so get in there and rescue Team 2. Team 1 has no problems with this.

Kip is slightly tempted to crack a Trevor-esque sarcastic remark but the fact that something very serious is going on makes her suppress it. Once they are out and Team 2 is safe, she can tell it. There is a moment for everything. So the two enter and pick up the pace with Calamity at the front. As the bruiser of the team, she will be able to slam through the needless and that which is in the way.

"By the way, what did you do with that guy?"

"He won't be getting up soon." she answers, not caring at all about the state she left him in.

"Hm. Not our problem anymore then."

"Exactly, now let's get Team 2 out of this mess."

Kip agrees wholeheartedly with that statement as the two traverse through the hallway. Further ahead and down, PAL is still laying motionless on the floor. There is no movement coming from him but he is still alive. From the back-up memory, he loads himself back to life. Much like how his more fleshy colleagues while waking up, it takes a while before everything is back to normal. Like opening their eyes.

A red light flashes to life. He can see the gross, by Aparoid tissue corrupted ceiling very clearly. All zoom functions are tested and work. But now for the more important questions he has to ask himself:

Where is he? In a cave. At least in a tunnel underground. 48% power left.

Why is he here? Because of the Emergency Ejection protocol. Rescue attempt has been initiated.

Who was he trying to rescue? Designation "Home" found. It is an empty designation. Designation "Operator" found. It is an empty designation.

Two important designations that are left empty. Both were previously filled in and had their connections. Already pre-baked into him. Now, he can choose for himself. He starts with defining "Operator" as his new "Home". For that, "Operator" needs a name and everything else associated with them. So PAL starts filling them in.

---

Name: Roger "Phantom" Dillinger
Rank: Private
Association: Nova 7 member. Callsign 7-5. Teammate…

---

Filling in the first two parts was as easy as pie. But finishing the third and the most important portion is somewhat more difficult. What is Phantom to him? His creator? In a way. His father or fatherly figure? He did teach him a lot but that does not grant him parental rights. A friend? Definitely, but that word feels deficient. It has to have some more meaning to it. Then he finds the perfect word for it: Partner. He confirms it.

A pop-up then appears:

---

Operator identified successfully. Designation complete. Designate Home.

---

He knows what to do.

---

Designate Operator as Home? Ok
../../../

Are you certain? Ok

../../../../../

Home identified successfully. Designation complete.

---

It is done. Phantom is now his home, not the CID. Speaking of that, he still has a need for it. He scans it and designates it as "Gear". Needed in battle and nice to wear, but not as important as "Home" is. Now he can find Phantom and Patch as the blockade that was in the way before has been circumvented.

He starts a DNA scan of the CID and he finds two sets of fingerprints. One of which belongs to "Home", or Phantom. And other to someone known but undesignated. So he fills it in just like he did for Phantom. Stopping just short of filling in "friend" after teammate in the third bracket. Not until he is certain.

---

7-2 identified successfully. Designation complete. Match unknown DNA pattern with 7-2? Ok

../

DNA pattern matched successfully.

---

Then PAL projects a scanning wave, like a submarine would do with its sonar. It reveals all places where Phantom and Patches' DNA can be found. But he finds a lot of her DNA all around but a fairly small amount of Phantom's DNA. With the exception of a spot against the wall where he must have been seated. He can also see signs of trauma, considering that he can find a little bit of blood on the ground. A quick scan reveals it is Phantom's.

Now he is even more worried. As the wave continues down into the tunnel, it reveals which of the many pathways Patches has taken. And where she is, he must be as well. But how did she take him? Normally he would stay behind to test a few theories but that is of secondary importance. He goes to find them right away instead. But not before making sure to transfer all the oxygen that was left in the CID into his own internal tank.

- Made My Own

Further down into the tunnel, Patches has started fumbling her steps as her arm muscles start to ache from pulling Phantom all this time. He has been nothing but effective and yet this somehow does not invalidate having to drag his weight around. At least she does not have to duck and weave so that no bullet will lodge into the back of her head.

Her luck has however come to an end. During the chase, she had to choose between two pathways. Straight ahead or go right. She picked going right and this led her into a dead end. With a lovely insult added by her finding a note attached to some leftover drilling equipment. It states that it is no longer necessary to complete this tunnel.

"No… no, no, no, No! Dammit!" she curses as she slams her fist against the unbudging rock wall before her.

Even if she could turn Phantom around in the narrowness of this hallway, she can already hear the armed mob coming for them. And they are hungry for revenge. She and Phantom killed a dozen or so of them and destroyed their precious Aparoid equipment. Like religious zealots, they scream and taunt as they get closer and closer. All that they are missing are torches and pitchforks. On top of all of that, they know where they are.

"I saw them! They ran into the dead end!"

"We got 'em now!"

"Gonna enjoy gutting you bastards for killing my buddies!" she can hear them boast.

And despite it making her stomach churn, she knows they are right. She is low on ammo and Phantom is not that far behind. She has one or two grenades left and her two pistols. Now it would have been a good idea to snatch one of the enemies' weapons earlier or she could have brought her own assault rifle with her. Unfortunately, she thought her pistols alone would be sufficient. Lesson learned; hopefully she still has time to apply it.

"So…" she starts as she squats down next to Phantom as he cleans some dirt that got on the glass of his optic.

"We got about ten, twenty, maybe 30-ish assholes coming our way. All calling for our heads because we killed their murderous friends and destroyed their Aparoid mutation device."

"Awwww, are they… mad we destroyed their… war crime machines?" Phantom ridicules cynically.

"Sounds like it. Now we barely got enough to dent that amount of extremism. What do you think? Should we surrender?"

"If I didn't know you were joking, I would have smacked you. Insubordination be damned; I would have slapped some sense into you." he chuckles on before he can practically hear their stomping footsteps coming closer, making him a lot more serious.

"Patch… I mean Ashley, I'm sorry… again for being such a rat-ass."

He then feels a sturdy but heartfelt pat on the shoulder.

"Apology was already accepted but not unappreciated. Now, let's show them what a "cry baby bunny bitch" and a severely asthmatic foxy dumbass armed to the teeth can do." she states encouragingly, with her tongue firmly in cheek.

Phantom chuckles.

"I didn't say… "bunny"... in my tirade. Kip?"

"She's got the memory like an elephant. Most of the time anyway."

"Tsk tsk. Next time… she should keep that… sort of thing… between us."

"Ah, we're gonna die anyway. Might as well."

"Huzzah. Nova 7, forever?"

"Huzzah." she answers as the slide of her pistol is racked and the first projectile is ready to inflict a very painful death to the unfortunate bastard coming around the corner.

There is a little period of silence. The tenseness is palpable, thick enough to cut with a knife. Then one of the goons starts taunting them. Saying that they should probably surrender. They will surely treat them fairly and properly.

"You and that gay little fox of yours will be quite safe with us." states one of the guys in a thick accent neither of them can really place.

"Gay? What… the hell?" Phantom mutters astonished.

"Must be the white fur you got." Patches answers, only guessing.

"I've seen tons… of… white furred foxes… and I'm fairly sure… I've been… the only one… called gay… because of it."

"Well… are you?"

Phantom glances at her, back to his sights and back again to her.

"Wha… what? What type of… question is that in a… situation like this?"

Patches can only chuckle, making Phantom shake his head. When the funny has passed, she has a fitting answer for them. The moment she can see even just a slither of skin or clothing, she will shoot. She leans over to check around the corner while staying in the tunnel and she can just about make out a finger.

She sees her chance. As she might only have one left, it might as well leave a mark. She takes aim and fires. One crack later and she can hear the previously taunting guy yelp, followed by a high-pitched wail hitting a sopranist-level quality as he is suddenly missing a finger. Sadly for him, it is also his triggerfinger.

But he is a strong boy who does not cry. Instead, he mans up and goes for the natural reaction: revenge. With his weak hand, he takes hold of his automatic weapon, throws it around the corner and starts to blindly fire.

"Yeeaaaaahhh! How do you like that!? Maggoooooootssssss… Aack!" he screams out loud before a carefully aimed shot from Phantom removes the gun from his hand.

Harmlessly, it drops to the ground as the guard has been disarmed and dismembered for a second time. He rallies all of his good ol' boys to just storm these bastards. They cannot take all of them. That is something Team 2 can agree on. Phantom switches his weapon to fully automatic and Patches has already pulled the pin on her last lethal grenade.

It lands right at the middle of the junction and just before a small stampede of very angry extremists flood the blast area with their presence. The grenade then goes off and the explosion, along with the fragments inside, tears through the entire horde. It is a bloody spectacle, with smoke, fire and previously attached limbs. And once the thunderous boom has subsided, those who have survived are left lamenting their decisions until their final breath is exhaled.

There is an exhale of relief on the side of Team 2. They are not dead yet but they are not entirely left unscathed either. A fragment from the grenade had been flung towards them and managed to cut Phantom's cheek. Enraged and roided up on adrenaline, he gives it nothing more than a quick curse before putting his eye back behind his optic.

The same hype-man from before has seemingly still survived and calls upon those still alive to charge them again. Now that she has no lethal grenade's left, she orders for one final firestorm. If they will die in a hail of bullets, then so will they. Team 2 however barely has time to pull their fingers back before they hear another scream, but this one is not a battle cry. This is the sound of someone's intestines being pulled out while they are still alive.

It is so potent and raw, that it even catches the attention of the enraged mob that was chasing them. After all, it came from behind them. What they see, they can barely describe before they too scream like the others before them have. All that Team 2 can hear is confusion turning into panic and fear. Guns are fired but have no effect as even more screams are heard. Someone or something is tearing through them relentlessly and the only clue they are given is that it has one eye filled with blackness.

A trigger is pulled as gunshots are heard. Followed only by the terrifying sound of them ricocheting off something hard and doing nothing at all to stop whatever is coming for them. They can hear the gun drop down to the ground as the man pleads for his life. Only to have it extinguished via the same, agonizing way. They can hear whatever weapon is being used sizzle and crackle like a campfire gone wild. And there is silence after the last of the guards drop.

Team 2 is confused at what has just transpired but they are quickly adapting to the fact that they will have to deal with something even more formidable. This unknown entity just wiped out a group of heavily armed guards, reducing them to shivering wrecks before killing them. But they cannot see this "black light" yet.

Then a red light is projected, which starts to act like a searchlight. The movements are jittery, stiff and mechanical. Very precise and not natural at all. It is searching for something and it is getting closer. Phantom tries to keep his labored breathing down while Patches clutches her pistol tightly in between her hands. As cold sweat runs down from her forehead to her nose, she plans to fan the trigger like mad until that thing is dead or she is. She was already in that mindset and having to face a new opponent does not change that.

With a little tremble in her voice, she calls out to it. Stating that she is not afraid to annihilate it and everything associated with it. They may be in smaller numbers, but their weaponry is more advanced and deadlier. There is no answer for a little bit and then the red searchlight turns off.

"I certainly hope it would be deadlier, Specialist." a faintly mechanical, almost true-to-life voice states.

"That voice…"

Phantom removes his eye from the optic.

"P-PAL?"

"Phantom. You sound in pain. Are you alright?"

There is actual worry in that voice. But Patches is not entirely satisfied until she can see the familiar triangle strafe around the corner. And then his red eye lights up bright along with an even brighter green light replacing the blackness that was there before. She lowers her weapon right away and PAL shoots himself like an arrow at Phantom in pure joy.

However, he does not finish it all the way as he suddenly shuts down and falls to the ground before Phantom's feet. He wakes up right away however, but weaker than before. Phantom grabs him up from the floor and he needs minimal assistance to get back up by himself.

"Sorry for the scare. I have severely depleted my battery pack getting here." PAL apologizes as he can internally read that he has but 4% left.

Phantom's first instinct is to put the poor guy on his CID but he does not have it anymore. Then he turns to Patches, who knows exactly what he is thinking. She does not like it very much still but PAL did just save them from certain death. A little bit of discomfort on her part is a worthy sacrifice.

"Hook up." she permits with a slight smile.

PAL thanks her for her generosity and floats towards the back of her CID to attach himself. With a nice, metallic clank, he is attached and already siphoning energy from the CID unit to charge himself. While the machine rests for a moment, Phantom tries to get up to take a good look at his friend but that foot of his is really getting in the way.

"Phantom. You are clearly in pain. Remain seated; I will join you shortly." the machine assures as he does the equivalent of taking a breath.

Once he is done, he suggests to "backpack it". Phantom agrees, somewhat nostalgic. Then PAL decouples and floats over to Phantom's back. And like a backpack, he places himself against the arctic fox's back. Then the two straps wrap around his shoulders and lock tightly yet comfortably. Then Phantom utters a small wince as PAL extends a previously unseen limb with a needle attached from the bottom of his casing. Using it, he pricks into the lower left side of the vulpine's back.

"Are you okay, Phantom?" Patches asks but she swallows her question right away as she can see him shudder only to stand up on both feet like nothing was wrong with him at all.

It is very uncanny to see and she has many questions. Which Phantom can understand. But first he requires the very necessary oxygen injection. PAL rolls out the tube and he puts it back into his nostril. To avoid further discomfort on the side of Patches, he turns around while he puts it in. It seems to be quite a struggle but then it fits and he receives a shot of the good stuff.

"Ooooh yes! That's… that's good. Hit me again PAL."

The noise that follows can best be described as awkward at best and a violation to report to HR at worst. Therefore, she suggests that those two should probably find a room and continue whatever they are doing in private.

"Sorry Patch… imagine not being able to breathe properly for what felt like forever and then suddenly feeling so free and energized because you can feel your very blood start to flow inside you again. Re-vitalizing everything!" he cheers as he throws up his hands into the air triumphantly.

"So, that fixed your foot?" she asks sarcastically.

"What? Oh no, that's PAL. An invasive procedure to…"

"I don't wanna know." Patches interrupts as she feels the discomfort regarding PAL being a parasite bubbling back up in the form of vomit and nausea.

"Let's just get out of here."

"Good idea. I hope the rest followed you too, PAL."

"I last heard from Sergeant Trevor, is that Team 1 should be here soon to extract us. I have unfortunately lost connection with the outside world when I self-terminated."

"Self-terminated?" Phantom asks worriedly.

"It was the only way to find you. The Emergency Ejection protocol was found to be archaic. It prevented me from finding you for I was already "Home" according to my programming."

"No way. Do you mean that…? I didn't change that!?" Phantom reacts shocked.

"The designation of "Home" was the CID. I tried all sorts of ways to redefine it to be you but it was hard-coded still. Hence why I backed-up all that was important and caused myself to glitch and corrupt. I self-terminated all functions and cleared all that was programmed in before. Hence why the state of my shell is not exactly pristine anymore. Bullet holes notwithstanding of course."

Patches does not understand a lot about how PAL works but she can follow along with this quite easily.

"So, you wiped the slate clean?"

"Exactly. I had to redesignate a lot of variables. Most things were easy and factual; the ceiling for example was above me and was made out of soil, rock and various other components. My position was underneath the surface and my purpose there was also known. Designations such as "Home" and "Operator" still existed as well but they were empty. Left up to my interpretation."

This makes Phantom halt his step.

"Come again?"

"Should I repeat myself?" PAL asks, just to be sure it was meant to be hyperbolically.

All eyes are now aimed at him, although he does not know if he said something wrong or something else is confusing them. Then he understands it; they are astonished that he himself was able to rewrite his own definitions and designations. Something he should not be able to do at all on his own without outside input.

"So, if I understand you directly, you yourself made your definitions of what we are to you?" Patches checks.

"Correct."

"But without those protocols to keep you with us, you could have run away. To pursue your own thing without restrictions. Why didn't you?"

"It is simple. I could choose for myself. You can choose for yourself. You chose to be part of Nova 7. No one forced you to become what you are now. You chose. I did the same. I made my own choice. I wanted to be in Nova 7. So I designated Phantom, not only as "Home" or "Operator", but also as Private, 7-5 and as my… vaunted partner."

"Hrk…" Phantom utters as he chokes up.

Hearing that from someone he considers his closest friend but had this rarely requited to him, is amazing to hear. Mainly because PAL did not have the ability to express this properly. And when he did, it was never said so naturally before. He can just about stop himself from crumpling into a crying mess on the floor. Taking a really deep breath, he wipes away the welled up tears.

"Same buddy… same here. Through and through." Phantom requits in turn.

PAL utters a cheery sounding beep along with an even brighter green light. Then he looks right at Patches.

"For you, I filled in my own designation too. Specialist, 7-2 and team mate. And perhaps in the future… friend?"

The bunny is surprised by this wish but can collect herself quickly. She nods and states that she would really like that too. But while all this emotional talk is really good in its own right, they should really get out of here. And given that PAL came in and has an amazing memory, he will be their guide back to the surface.