I'm on my feet before she's even finished her sentence, pulling my covering back over my face and resting my hand on my pistol. Corax lands on my shoulder only a moment later.

"Let's go!" I demand.

"Now." Corax emphasizes.

"First, a few rules. I know you believe you will be able to keep up with me, but I will not slow down if you cannot. I care about my people more than I care about you."

"That's fine, I get it." I interrupt her. "I wouldn't risk anyone in the gang I'm in for you either. If I die it's my fault, get that on record or whatever you need to do to make Zero happy, but we need to go. I'm not going to let B- Ruby get injured because you want to talk. I know what I'm doing, I know how to kill, I know how to not get killed. Let's just go."

"Alright." She gives a small shrug and her submachine gun slides off her shoulder, letting her easily catch it. "Fall in then."

"You need to hide." I tell Corax. "Soon as you're awake again, we'll have her safe."

I can't help but flinch as he gently pecks my ear before climbing into my backpack.

The Captain doesn't hesitate to walk down the hallway, and I follow behind. The man doesn't follow, and remains in his stiff, motionless position.

We pass by a few people on our way to the lobby, all dressed identically to the Captain and the man. Each one has built a small barricade they're entrenched behind, single handedly securing a choke point.

The lobby is entirely empty and the music thankfully silent. Two people are covering the front door, and six more relaxing at the bar.

Just how big is this group? I can't imagine how much it must have taken to shut down an entire hotel and bar without causing a riot, especially how packed it was. Plus, being big enough to entirely disregard any semblance of secrecy? I'm either in really good hands, or really bad ones.

"Look alive!" The Captain yells to the ones at the bar. "We have a job to do."

All six of them spring into action, most of them drawing weapons in preparation, and one quickly collecting a deck of cards and shoving them into a pocket. All of them fall in behind the Captain and I.

"Lead the way." The Captain gestures towards the front door.

"I'd really rather not walk with six guns pointed at my back." Too much training and stories have drilled into me just how quickly this exact situation can turn deadly.

The Captain nods, and the six of them stow their weapons.

It's still not a fight I can win, drawing their pistols would be nearly instant, but at least I can go down fighting. Maybe I can even take one or two of them with me before they fire, if I'm lucky.

I take a moment to ensure my face is entirely covered before stepping out onto the street once again.

We draw looks as we walk, but I'm short enough that the attention mostly stays off me. People are smart enough to get out of our way, it's nice not having to shove people to make space for Blue.

I retrace my steps to the ambush quickly, forcing some of the slower people to jog to keep up.

I dip into the alleyway, and stop in front of a familiar small door. Practice keeps unnecessary emotions from taking root in my brain, leaving only a familiar, comforting, cold seriousness.

I nod to the door and step back, letting one of the Captain's people go first. There's a non-zero chance they booby trapped this door, and I'd much rather risk these people than myself.

Two of them silently step forward. Both draw their short rifles, and one reaches for the door handle. After a nod, the first person pushes the door open, and the second follows the path of the opening door, sweeping the entire room in one smooth motion.

The second steps inside, and the first follows closely behind him in well practiced motions.

Two more rush inside, the four of them watching the staircase leading deeper out of the empty cellar. The two that remain out here watch either end of the alleyway, keeping every angle safe.

"The staircase down leads to a small, straight tunnel. At the end it forks left and right, with a platform overlooking the intersection. That's where we got ambushed." I quickly inform her.

She nods and gestures me inside. I draw my pistol, keep it aimed towards the staircase further down, and step through the door. The Captain joins me only a moment later, followed by the two people watching the alleyway. Despite them closing the door behind us, they keep their weapons pointed towards it. I'm definitely in good, professional hands. Glad Zero isn't fucking me for a second time.

We keep in formation as we descend. Two in front, two over either of their shoulders, two watching our back, and the Captain, Corax, and I in the center.

The staircase levels off and we begin to march down this fucking hallway again. The Captain stops part of the way down to check out one the small incisions made in the endless, thick wires, but quickly moves on.

We reach the intersection with my legs still feeling normal. Corax shifts in my backpack, poking his head out the side to take a look.

The two people leading our group take cover, watching both tunnels away from the intersection. A second group of two walk directly towards the wall supporting the walkway. One leans against it and crouches down, and entwines his fingers together. The second person steps into their hands and is thrown upwards far enough to grab the railing. They take a moment to look around, sweeping their rifle across the landscape, before signalling a few foreign hand signals to us.

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The Captain nods, and responds with a few signals of her own. Once she's done, the person on the walkway puts his weapon away before grabbing a length of rope from the small pack on his back. He ties one end to the railing and tosses the other end to the Captain, who begins to climb up.

Could I make it up there without using the rope? If I had my old servos, maybe? Getting height on a flat wall is rough on the best of days, chances are my metal feet would just slip. And with the speed my legs can move right now, the chances are even less.

As much as I hate to put my weapon away, I'm not going to get up there while it's still in my hand. I grab onto the rope and quickly scramble up, which is far harder than it should be with only one arm.

The moment before I grab the rope, a distant, harsh screech echoes down one of the hallways. The unmistakable sound of footsteps follow a moment later.

"A door just opened, and people are moving." I say and nod towards one of the tunnels. "Sounds far."

A second person moves to cover that hallway, pulling out a flat steel plate from their back and setting it on the ground. They pull up on a small handle on the surface, unfolding the plate into cover for them to take behind.

"Move quick. We fight on our terms." She whispers, gesturing to the rope.

I scramble up the rope as quickly as I can with just one arm. The moment I'm up, I redraw my pistol. A table has been set up here, with a few pieces of trash and scraps of food spread across it, but nothing interesting. A single metal door is the only exit to this ledge, and the first person to get tossed up is already covering it.

We wait for a silent minute while everyone else makes it up the rope, the footsteps getting closer by the second. Once up, four people stack up next to the door, and the two watching our back continue to do so.

The same person who opened the first door signals a question to everyone else, and nods ripple through the group. They reach out for the handle, only to find it locked. They reach into a pocket, pull out a small plastic explosive, and attach it to the door handle. A small detonator is left in his hand.

Fucking great. This is going to be so loud, and I can't even plug both ears with my fingers. I had earplugs in my backpack, but Blue didn't save them.

I do my best to cover one ear with my shoulder, and stick a finger in my other just as the man starts to count down with his fingers. It's better than nothing.

3.

2.

1.

My brain splits in half from the sound. Doesn't matter, focus. All four people rush into the room, firing off a few shots. The Captain follows them in, and I sprint in behind her.

No cover, that's fine. Use one of them. Three people on the ground behind makeshift, last minute barricades. Two dead, one dying. A fourth man is running, his hand reaching for something inside his pocket. The moment his hand disappears, my legs freak out and my hearing scrambles.

I stumble against the wall, but fight to remain standing and keep my gun level. The man falls, blood blooming from his back. Just like that, the room is silent.

Electronics are spread throughout the makeshift lab, with a few unfortunate stray shots embedded in the server racks. The monitors that were definitely on a moment ago are blank, although I'm not sure if that's from the gunshots, or whatever is jamming my legs. A number of doors lead out of this room, and the people are already heading to clear the rest of this base.

"Legs and ears are shot." I slide down the wall, letting myself slip and land hard on the ground, overplaying my injuries. I need to be left alone for just a minute.

Her mouth forms an all too familiar shape. I told you so. Swallow my pride and focus, she's smirking, use that.

"I don't want to hear it. Just find my friend as soon as possible, and don't fucking touch her."

She yells something to her group, who are already prepared to breach and clear another room. They burst in, and the Captain and the two people watching our back set up at another door. They breach the door and head inside, leaving me alone in the room. Perfect.

I scramble to my feet as quickly as I can despite my fucked legs and riffle through the dead man's pockets. I pull out a small metal puck with a button on the top. I slide it into my pocket before pressing it, and the moment I do my legs return to normal.

Fuck yeah! Exactly what I was ho-

My legs freak out once again, and I collapse to the ground. Hitting the button on my puck does nothing, and I'm sure to hit it again to make sure it's off. Someone else must have activated another one, that's fine though, I only need the one.

This is how we kill Mara.

As much as I want to, I shouldn't leave this room. I can barely walk, and I'm just going to get shot if I happen to be in the hallway when someone comes in. Instead, I slowly walk around the room. There has to be something useful here, some kind of map of the base, anything.

No, there's nothing. All electronics in this room are still fucked, and it's not like anyone is going to use paper on a map or anything. Despite that, I keep shifting through the crap on the tables.

There are a lot of weapons and armor here, spread out anywhere they can find the space for it. Whatever they were doing here, they were prepared for something big.

I find a few more of those pucks and slip a few into my backpack, just in case. I leave the rest alone though, leaving behind enough that Zero hopefully won't care to take mine.

A door opening catches the corner of my eye, and I draw my pistol, only to hold my fire when I see the Captain.

She says something I can't hear through the static, and I holster my weapon.

"I still can't hear." I say. "Things get worse when these things are on, check anyone who died while reaching for their pocket." I grab a device off the table and toss it to her.

She hits the button, and a small light on the top lights up. Good, they have a way to tell if they're on, glad I won't have to sit and guess for an hour which ones are fucking me over.

She gives me a thumbs up, and heads back into the hallway.

It's ten minutes before the buzzing in my ears finally stops and my legs recover. The computers that still work in the room humm to life, and Corax is beginning to stir in my backpack.

I poke my head into the hallway and see the Captain heading back in this direction.

"I can hear." I report just as Corax drags himself onto my shoulder.

"Where?" He asks.

"I believe your friend is over here." She walks a few doors down and opens a door for me.

I rest my hand on my pistol as I walk towards her. Sure, she's been nothing but helpful so far, but there's no easier way to kill someone than to send them into a room you have an ambush set up in.

I turn the corner to a gruesome sight. Half dismantled robots are strewn about the room, stripped of everything even remotely useful. Blue lays atop them, skin plates tossed aside and parts removed. Only her head and some of her chest has been left alone.

Her eyes move, settling on the two of us, and relief floods her face.

"Corax? Cassie?" Her words come out slowly, a near insurmountable effort.

Corax flies to her shoulder, instantly taking a guard stance, ready to fly off and fight.

"Blue." I step forward, falling to my knees, placing my hand on her cheek, my forehead on hers, and letting my tears of relief join her own. "You fucking idiot."

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