Maine charges at Guns and Sweetheart as she readies her pistols when Rambo drives his Warthog straight into Maine. The Warthog smashes Maine into his pod sending it back on its side. Maine using his behemoth strength, was holding the Warthog by its tow hooks, the front of the warthog slowly lifts it up and Maine kicks it towards Sweetheat and Guns, tearing off the tow hooks. They dive out of the way, Rambo landing next to his teammates. Wash and York are reloading their weapons as Sigma appears next to them.
"Hello gentlemen."
"Hey Sig. You sure he's good to fight so soon? He was hurt pretty bad." York states.
"As compared to whom, Agent York? You two don't look so good yourselves." Delta then appears in front of Sigma.
"Hello brother."
"Sigma, protocol dictates that A.I. units are not to communicate directly-"
"Protocol is just another way of saying rules Delta." Sigma interjects. "Remember what the Director says. There are no rules on the battlefield." Sigma appears behind Delta and pats his shoulder. "Besides; we A.I.s should really stick together. Excuse me. I'll be right back." Sigma then vanishes.
"I'll be honest; that one kinda gives me the creeps." York says looking at Wash.
"Yeah, I hear ya. Come on, let's move." The two Freelancers then move out. Back on the field, Sweetheart is struggling to get up.
"Well, hello." She turns and sees Carolina aiming one of her plasma rifles at her head. "What a pleasure to see you again." Rambo then runs up behind Carolina and punches her down with his robot arm. Carolina gets up, and sees that one of her plasma rifles was badly damaged. She raises her other rifle only for it to be hit with a machete. Carolina turns and sees Sweetheart bring out two more and twirl them in her fingers.
"Pleasure's all mine." Sweetheart then charges at Carolina. Carolina dodges and throws the plasma rifle at her. Sweetheart cuts it in half and charges again. She is knocked back, and Rambo steps in to try and punch Carolina. Carolina backs away as they both pursue her. Guns is then wearily getting up, massaging his head. Looking to his right, he sees Maine, who cracks his knuckles and neck. Guns swings his fist at Maine, only for Maine to catch it and starts crushing his hand. Maine slowly twists his arm, forcing him onto his knees. Maine then uses his left fist and punches him back hard enough to knock his helmet off, and knocking him out. Maine turns around to see Carolina still fighting Rambo and Sweetheart on a higher platform and rushes to assist. Carolina avoids more swings and punches from the ODSTs.
"Come here!" Rambo charges at her, only for Carolina to kick him back, and regains her footing, pulling out an electric baton. She then charges at them, hitting them both with a series of swings. Carolina kicks the Rambo into Maine, who throws him into the ground.
"Rrrr, away with you!" Rambo growls. Maine begins charging at him but is sent flying by Rambo into Carolina, still fighting Sweetheart. Carolina immediately gets up and charges again, while Maine jumps for his brute shot. He then fires a round but Rambo catches it and tosses it back towards him. The round explodes, briefly clouding Maine from view. The smoke clears as Maine throws his brute shot at Rambo, severing his robotic arm with the bladed edge.
"Ah, my robot arm! Ah, you freak!" Maine charges and kicks him, grabbing his brute shot, embedded into the ground. Rambo gets up and Maine fires several rounds at him, knocking him back into the ocean. Rambo disappears under the water as Maine watches for a brief moment then looks to Carolina. Sweetheart sends a kick that Carolina blocks but pushes her a few feet back. After a brief fist fight, Carolina kicks her helmet off and nearly knocks her off the platform. Sweetheart holds onto the edge, until a robotic arm reaches out. Taking the arm, she notices that it is being held by Maine.
"Oh great..." Maine was about to drop her when Carolina stops him.
"Maine wait." Maine growls in confusion but listens to her as he swings Sweetheart onto the platform and pins her down with his foot on her chest plate. Carolina levels her baton at Sweetheart's face. "I'm going to ask this once, and I should warn you that me and Maine are not the most calm people, so I suggest you give me the answer I'm looking for. Where. Is. Arizona?"
"Your silver-haired buddy, you know I gotta tell you. He's pretty good looking, glad I made my mark on him." Sweetheart laughs wryly. Carolina and Maine look at each before back at the blonde ODST. Carolina hits her face with the baton three times before Maine grabs her by the throats and throws her into the ocean.
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Below the base, Headcase, CT, and two ODSTs with giant chain-turrets strapped to their backs are walking down a hallway. From above, Florida is watching them in the shadows. Headcase suddenly raises his hand motioning for them to stop. CT whips out her magnums and looks around. Headcase pulls out some sort of modified tomahawk.
"Catch!" He calls and throws it. Florida being caught off guard then receives the blow from the tomahawk as it embeds itself in his chest. Florida then falls off the platform onto the ground.
"Surprise. We've got company coming. Cut 'em down!" Headcase orders the chain turret ODSTs. They both aim their turrets at the platforms above them and fire numerous rounds at them. After about ten seconds they stop, Headcase walks between them. "Hold this position." Then Wyoming pops up from behind a crate on the floor and fires a couple of rounds from his sniper rifle. The shots bounce off them and they fire on the white Freelancer, Wyoming rolls out of the way behind another large crate.
"Mow 'em down!" He orders as he and CT run off. The ODSTs continue firing their turrets when York and Wash arrive.
"Well, about time."
"Hey, Wyoming. Did we miss all the fun?" York asks.
"Hardly, chaps. Now where's our dear Carolina?" Carolina rushes in and takes cover behind a pillar. "Ah yes."
"Wyoming, move up!" Carolina orders.
"With all due respect, I'd prefer not to be killed. If at all possible."
"York! Got any ideas?"
"I don't know. Have we got any nukes?"
"You mean besides the one I'm going to drop on Wyoming if he doesn't move up?!" Carolina snarls.
"Yes, I can see everything just fine from back here. Thank you."
"We need to get into that bunker. That's where CT and their leader are holed up. Maybe Zone too."
"How are we going to get through all of this?!" Wash asks.
"So far, we're not." Wyoming states.
"Maybe Wyoming should try one of his knock-knock jokes." York suggests.
"Oh, who's there?"
"Nobody, stop."
"Nobody, stop who? Shall I go on?" Wyoming asks.
"Yeah, I was kidding. Now shut up."
"Shut up, who?"
"Both of you shut up. Okay, here's what we're going to do. Wash, you establish a line on that side. York and Wyoming, you-" Carolina is interrupted by a cloaked being dashing through the turret's fire. The cloak flickers to reveal Tex. She swings a punch at the one of the ODSTs which he dodges, and Tex rolls and cloaks out of sight. The soldiers fire at where she disappeared.
"Dang it, no! Cover me!"
""Cover me"? That's the plan?!" York says baffled.
Wash dashes to the pillar on the opposite side. "Open fire!" He orders.
Wash and York open fire. Carolina then rushes at the gunners and jumps off one of them, only to be hit by the other.
"Agh!" She helps in pain before landing badly, then gets up and runs after Tex.
"Carolina! Dang it!" The twin turret ODSTs fire on York and Wash, who retreat into cover.
"Man, she really wants to win." Wash states.
"Yep. But it's not them she's fighting against." York clarifies. Inside the bunker, CT and Headcase are both trying to pull data from a computer.
"We need to get to the escape vehicle." CT says.
"I'm not leaving them!" Headcase summons out two turrets from the ceiling by using the computer.
"You don't understand. They want me! They don't care about the rest of you. I know too much. If I leave, they'll follow me." CT explains. Outside of the room, Carolina runs next to Tex ouside the door.
"Quiet, that room is guarded by turrets." Tex tells her.
"I can get past them." Carolina says.
"If there was a way to do it, I would have already done it."
Carolina turns on her radio. "York, I need you to cut the power on the main complex."
"Little busy out here!"
"Just do it." She demands.
"(Sighs) I'll see what I can do." Wash, York and Wyoming are still ducked behind cover from the turret ODSTs.
"Sounds like a good excuse to get out of this firefight." Wash jokes. Suddenly the three look to see Florida pulling himself up.
"Good show, mate! That's the spirit. Still have a bit of fight in you." Wyoming encourages. Florida pulls off the tomahawk from his shoulder and tosses it at the ODSTs. It hits the ground and skids to a stop a few feet away from them. They share a glance before continuing to fire.
"Ha, so much for that plan." York states.
"What now?" Florida takes cover and spots a crane off to the side. He fires his grenade launcher at the crane arm which knocks a crate out of its grasp. The crate slides across the ground and knocks the ODSTs off their platform and onto the ground where the crate messily crushes them.
"Ha, I don't believe it!"
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
"We're all clear Carolina. We'll be dark in less than sixty." York informs.
"Roger that." Carolina stands up and turns off her radio.
"Don't forget our objectives. We're just here to retrieve the armor and save Zone." Carolina reminds Texas.
"Carolina, I know what the freaking objective is!"
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Zone is still held up by the energy cuffs when suddenly they deactivate and he falls to the ground. He hisses in pain as he pulls himself to one knee, he then looks and sees his armor to the side and grins.
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Inside the bunker, Headcase still works on the computer, suddenly the lights go out.
"Dang it!"
"We need to go!" CT insists.
"I already told you, I can't leave them!" Headcase then pulls out another tomahawk.
"Most of them are already dead! Besides if we leave they have no reason to be here!" CT pulls a data pad out of the computer. "Please, let's just go while we still can!" CT grabs Headcase by the hand and turns him towards her.
"Connie, come on!"
"You promised me. You said we would be together. I have all the information we need, I have my armor. We can take this to the right people and they'll..."
"They'll what Connie?" He interjects.
"I don't know! Make a deal with us! Keep us out of prison! They'll help us! Come on, we don't have much time." The doors to the room open and Carolina and Tex enter.
"Actually, you don't have any time." Carolina states as she and Tex aim their magnums at the two.
"Carolina! And you." CT glares at Tex.
"Hey Carolina, the power is off." York says on the radio.
"We noticed."
"What, no "thank you"? This was a complicated-"
"Actually, I did most of the work Agent York." Delta clarifies.
"Give it a rest, D!"
Tex moves forward, with her weapon still trained on CT. "CT, you have something that belongs to project Freelancer, and you know how the Director hates to share."
"You two are fools. The Director is playing you. Don't you see it?!"
"CT stop it! We know you've been feeding intel to the resistance for months!" Carolina tells her.
"Ha, ha, is that who he told you we are?" Headcase laughs.
"They aren't the enemy Carolina. We're the ones working outside the rules, not them. You don't know what the Director has done. He's broken major laws. When this war ends, we're all going to have to pay for his crimes! Maybe some of us are already paying for them."
Tex raises her pistol. "You need to stop talking, CT!"
"No, I know what you are Tex; and I won't take orders from a shadow."
"What did you just call me?!" Tex growls.
"Where is Zone CT?" Carolina asks.
"Right here." Everyone turns and sees Zone leaning against the wall struggling to maintain his balance. They can all clearly see the blood dripping from various parts of his armor. "Long time no see." He chuckles before limping over between Tex and Carolina. Zone raises his fists, ready for anything.
"You okay?" Tex asks worriedly.
"I've been through worse, trust me." Zone says wearily.
"CT your coming with us. This is your last chance." Carolina warns.
"No, I'm not going anywhere with you."
"Connie, for once in your life, do everybody a favor and just shut up." Zone then pulls out a knife and throws it at her shoulder, only for it to pass through her. Hologram. The real CT had ducked and shoots Zone in the throat four times before running straight for him. She pins his arm behind him and stabbed his back with her own knife before shoving him to Headcase and he strikes Zone in the chest with his tomahawk. Zone falls to the ground unconscious.
"ZONE NOOO!" Carolina yells.
"That's gonna cost you!" Tex says before firing her pistol at CT. She ducks and engages Carolina as Headcase engages Tex.
Carolina ducks behind a crate as Headcase tosses a tomahawks at her. She fires back at him only for CT to attack her with a knife and Carolina fires, hitting another hologram and dodging the real CT's attacks. CT sticks her knife in Carolina's pistol before tossing it away, while Carolinas pulls out her electric baton and hits CT with it.
Tex gets behind Headcase and flips him onto the ground. As he gets up, Tex kicks him in the head and he gets back up, two resume fighting. Carolina and CT continue to duel each other, Carolina sees an opening and strikes CT several times. A hologram CT disappears and the real CT lunges at Carolina. Carolina, Tex, CT, and Headcase attack each other before CT and Carolina fight again and Tex and Headcase do the same. Tex repeatedly punches him while Carolina dodges CT's knife.
Carolina is attacked by another hologram CT which she defeats and the real one appears as Headcase charges her. Carolina kicks him over to Tex who punches him in the face, knocking him across the floor. CT loses grip of her knife but grabs it again in the other hand and continues her attack. Carolina flips and disarms CT, Tex charges at her with Headcase's tomahawk and misses. CT summons another hologram before Tex grabs a second tomahawk and defeats the hologram before shoving the two tomahawks into CT's abdomen and shoulder. Headcase begins to get up as CT falls to the ground. Carolina grabs Tex by the shoulder.
"What are you doing?!" Carolina says shocked.
"Completing our objective!"
"By killing a teammate?!"
"She's not a teammate. She's a traitor." Tex states before they look to see Headcase supporting CT into an escape vehicle and then closes the door behind them.
"Dang it! That's on you! I guess you can explain how we lost a whole suit of armor and failed to capture the leader of the Resistance!"
Tex turns on her radio. "Command, we need extraction, now! Agent Arizona is severely injured!" Tex and Carolina rush over to him.
"I've got them Command. Read you loud and clear Texas. Clear me an LZ and get ready for pickup." 479er responds.
"I don't know what's gotten into you Texas, but you better figure out the difference between your enemies and your friends." Carolina tells her. They both tend to Zone. Tex takes off his helmet and feels for his pulse.
"(Exhales) He's alive, barely." Tex and Carolina each grab one of his arms and being them over their shoulders. They exit the room and see Wyoming, Wash, Florida, and York.
"There you are, what happened in-ZONE?!" Wash and York rush forward to their friend.
"Geez what did they do to him?" York asks.
"Let's get him out of here." Tex says. After grouping up with Maine, North, and South, 479er lands her Pelican retrieving all of the Freelancers. Maine takes Zone from Tex and Carolina and lies him on the floor. He then rips out the tomahawk and knife still embedded in his armor.
"Four-Seven-Niner get us to the Mother of Invention ASAP!" Carolina orders.
"On it." 479er hits the thrusters. In the bay Carolina takes off her helmet and strokes Zone's cheek.
~Stay strong Zone, you're gonna make it.~ Carolina thinks.