'Thinking'

"Speaking"

"[Intercomms/Radio Transmission]"

*noises*

======

Babylonia - Command Center - Briefing Room
Asimov - Science Council Head Researcher
0421 Hours

"What the fuck is this?!" Asimov lashed out at the woman who is sitting at the opposite side of the table, slamming the file labed [TOP SECRET] he was holding on the desk.

The silence of the dimly light room was broken by Asimov's sudden raised, angered voice. Asimov shot her a glare as he sat down, waiting for the woman to answer.

The woman's reaction was indifferent, not at all bothered by the anger the head scientist was giving off. Instead, she sighed, lit up her cigarette and puffed a smoke. "So you found out about it."

Asimov's eye twitched. "What's with that reaction?!"

It was rare for the head scientist to be pissed off like this, especially since he always looks tired and doesn't give a damn about anything besides his science researches. The woman did expect that she would get this reaction, so this wasn't much of a surprise.

"Where did you get this file?" The woman asked.

"I have my sources." Asimov replied. "Now, explain this."

"Asimov. Asimov. Asimov." The woman said to him. "Do you know what our... experiment would bring? Power. Strength! Hell, maybe even peace. We can finally get rid of this Punishing Virus once and for all. Are you not happy with that? We can finally have a weapon to cleanse the world."

"Don't you dare try to convince me with that bullshit." Asimov replied. "This Omega Project you're so proud of. Does the president know about this? You experimented on a substance that is completely unknown to the Science Council and to the Armed Forces as well."

The woman puffed another smoke. "The President does, but the Armed Forces don't. Yet. We're planning on telling them, but not today."

"The President? Why didn't he..." Asimov sighed in irritation. "You experimented with the Punishing Virus and made a variant of it to inject onto the so called 'genetically gifted' babies. They're still babies, and you placed such hazardous substances on them."

"..." The woman stayed silent.

"Have you even thought of what might happen if those 'augmentations' failed? What if you just made another disease? And given the size of Babylonia, you might've just as well fucked the remaining numbers of humanity up." Asimov added.

The woman chuckled, now directly facing Asimov. "Coming from the man who assisted — leading, even — the Construct Program that involved children. Having their consciousness transferred to a system while their biological bodies are replaced with mechanical ones."

"..."

"Compared to what you did with the Constructs, the Omega Project, I would say, is more... okay. Who knows, you might've forced some children and brainwashed them while they were being turned into combat droids."

"Don't patronize me. We didn't force children into becoming Constructs."

"Well, as for us... We simply injected the substance to the babies. And we made sure that the substance would continuously enhance their mental, physical, and emotional capacities as they grow. The ultimate supersoldiers." The woman elaborated. "No replacing organic parts with mechanical ones, no consciousness transfer. They retain their flesh and blood. What about you?"

"We did that because we have no choice. It was the only way to save them. And besides, Consturcts are our last hope to reclaim Earth from the Corrupted."

"And... what about Luna?"

Asimov's brows furrowed. "Luna? Who are you talking about?"

"Oh? I'm surprised you didn't know." The woman smirked. She lightly tapped her cigarette, dropping the ashes on the desk before puffing another smoke. "Nikola hid it from you, didn't he? Luna is Lucia's sibling. She became a Construct first before her, and she died because she got infected with the virus. If you don't believe me, I can give you a file right now. And before you ask where I got this information, I have my sources as well. All is fair in love and war, after all."

Asimov's expression loosened a little. "...Tell me more about this Omega Project."

The woman raised a brow. "I thought you had already read the file?"

"Only the parts that weren't covered with black ink." Asimov said in annoyance.

The woman smiled, blowing smoke directly at Asimov's face, prompting the latter to wave away the smoke with his hand. "The Omega Project. We pick genetically gifted children and inject them with the substance called Cerevaux-212."

"Cerevaux-212?" Asimov echoed.

"A substance that is capable of increasing a human's capabilities, like I said earlier. However, not all are compatible with Cerevaux-212, that's why I said we selected the genetically gifted ones." The woman explained.

"And then?" Asimov pressed on.

"They would also give certain abilities to the child." The woman added. "That way, we can create soldiers that could operate even in the most harshest conditions alone or with a squad. A higher class of Special Forces, if you will."

"How would that certain ability work?" Asimov asked.

"Nanotechnology." The woman said confidently.

"How exactly would they do that?"

"Aside from the Cerevaux-212 enhancing their biological components, the ones who got injected also have millions of nanomachines in their system. Once they use their ability, the nanomachines will 'die' like normal cells. The nanobots will also decide what kind of ability they would give to the child, depending on their willpower and desires."

"So like the nanomachines would shoot out from their bodies?"

"Pretty much like that. However, not all would be granted with abilities like that, and would just be limited to physical and mental enhancements. According to the simulations."

"Why babies? Couldn't you just wait until they turned five or something?" At this point, Asimov's anger had already subsided, and the feeling was replaced with curiosity and worry.

======

Babylonia - Newborn Hospital Ward
■■■■■■ ■■■■■■■■ - Former Kurono Operative
■■■■ ■■■■■ - Former Kurono Operative
0427 Hours

A man holding a syringe on his right hand waits as his colleague scanned the baby on the incubator in front of them using a square device of some sorts, displaying the status of the baby. This is the 150th out of all the three hundred babies within the vicinity. After getting all the requirements green, they injected a yellow substance on the tubes that were connected to a baby bottle inside the incubators, which is being held by a robotic arm.

Once done, they nodded, then moved on to their next target.

======

The woman, having already spent her cigarette, pressed the lit tip to extinguish it. She took her handkerchief, and while wiping the soot and ash on the table, she said. "Because their bodies are more suitable for augmentation. We designed it that way so the substance will suit the child better."

"..."

"One more thing — I no longer work for Kurono Ops."

"...What?" The information surely surprised Asimov. Why? She doesn't work in Kurono anymore, but she had managed to create such substance. And as for the funds and supplies, the President probably authorized illegal transfers of money to support her operations.

"Surprising, isn't it?" The woman gave a dry chuckle. "Ah, it's like I'm an animal being freed after being in the cage for so long."

Asimov leaned back on his seat. "Why? What's your reason for leaving?"

"You know why. Cerevaux-212." The woman said, now holding a frown on her face. "They approved of the project, but..."

"They were planning to use it on something else, right?" Asimov continued for her.

======

"[Falcon 1, Falcon 2, someone's approaching the ward! Hide, quick!]"

The two men quicly scrambled for hiding spots. As they hid, the door hissed open as nurse got inside, checking the status of random babies.

======

"Yeah. I hated it." The woman grits her teeth, grasping her handkerchief tightly. "They're not planning to use it for the good of humanity. They have their own hidden agendas that even I would rather not speak about because of how disgusting and outright selfish they are."

Asimov sighed. "That's Kurono for you. No wonder why Lee, Nikola, and Vera left that shithole."

"Don't forget about me." The woman said, placing her handkerchief in the pocket of her tuxedo.

"I'm surprised Kurono has not sent assassins to make you 'commit suicide' with two shots at the back of the head." Asimov said in slight amusement.

The woman scoffed. "Let them try. I know how they move, you know?"

"Well, it's all clear now." Asimov said. "That's why you kept this for so long."

The woman sighed. "Aside from Kurono, you are also one of my reasons why I hid this program."

"Me?" Asimov confusingly queried.

======

The nurse got out of the ward after three minutes. After making sure that no one is within the vicinity, the unknown men continued their job, injecting substances on compatible babies.

After a few moments, they have finally scanned the last compatible candidate, which totaled up to one hundred and seventy-five. They confirmed that they have completed their mission, and went outside the ward, as if nothing had happened.

The third agent who was guiding the two from the security room, returns his gadgets to his case as he prepares to leave. Before he went out, he looked at the security guard he knocked out cold before proceeding to exit the room.

======

"Given that you're close with Nikola, and Nikola has connections with that fuckface Collins, you might've just as well blew me up. That's why I had to go under the radar for a while." The woman said.

"I'm not someone who's just gonna spill these kinds of information." A mildly irritated Asimov replied. "But I understand that you're being cautious."

"Asimov."

"What?"

"Can you... help me on this?"

Asimov looked at her in silence. The woman stared back, waiting for his answer. The silence was deafening, neither of them moving an inch.

"Sure." Asimov said.

"Really?" The woman almost stood up from her seat, eyeing Asimov with excitement.

"Yes. After all, you have a really good intention, and I don't see why not." Asimov added. "I long to return to Earth, even though I was not born there. And... you're my friend. You helped me a lot in the past, so I figured it's time to return the favour."

The woman smiled, almost crying in happiness. She rubbed her eyes and took a deep breath, calming herself down. "Thank you, Asimov."

"Crying, huh?" Asimov smiled back. "That's not like you."

"Shut up." The woman jokingly responded. "Also, can I ask you another favour?"

Asimov nodded. "Anything."

"Can you look after my son?"

"...I'm not built to become a father—"

"Please. I'm not asking this as your colleague. I'm asking this as a friend."

"..." Asimov went silent, which the woman completely understand. He just learned about Cerevaux-212 and now this?

"I want you to lookout for his safety and well-being. He's... He's the only one I have left. Please... Asimov." The woman pleaded.

Asimov lets out a small sigh. "Can't be helped, then."

"Thank you again, Asimov." The woman replied, relieved that Asimov granted her request. "I'll repay you someday, I promise."

"So, what's the name of your son?"

"...(Y/n) Schmitt."

======

Sixteen Years Later...

Babylonia - Commandant Training Center
Sector 17 - Omega Project Facility
0552 Hours

"PUUUUUUUUUUUUUSH!!!" The Drill Instructor screamed at the top of his lungs near a recruit's ear. Despite his voice being raspy like sandpaper, his intimidating aura was terrorizing the recruits that are currently doing push-ups as best as their weakened bodies possibly can.

The recruits were the chosen ones of the Omega Project, a classified division of specialized trainees that were genetically enhanced with Cerevaux-212. The would-be special Commandants are being trained here by veteran Commandants who had experienced the hell on Earth caused by the Punishing Virus. It's currently their fifth day in the special training program, which they named S.P.A.R.T.A.N. (Specialized Practice of Attrition, Reconnaissance, Tactics, Attack, and Neutralization) Program. And from the performances of the candidates, the High Command and especially the Drill Instructors, were pretty much disappointed.

"I thought you were special! But I realized, you really are! A SPECIAL DEAD WEIGHT, THAT IS!" The Drill Instructor attacked a recruit who unfortunately fell behind everyone else. "Drop on the ground and give me fifty!"

The said candidate then went to do push ups, her face reddening from the strain.

"You call that push-ups?! YOU'RE BARELY LOWERING YOURSELF! LOWER!"

"Aye sir!"

"LOWER!!"

"AYE SIR!"

The recruits in the S.P.A.R.T.A.N Program were expected to perform well because of their enhancements, but so far, they have showed lower results, and even the drop troppers' scores were higher than them. But they let it slide, since it's still early to judge them, and they still have much, much more to learn.

*bang*

*bang*

*bang*

Gunshots echoed across the firing range as the candidates trained on firearms of various sizes and calibers, as well as how to adjust to hit their targets in different distances. Those who were having a bad performance were guided by the firearm instructors, which improved their performance a little.

"B-120, pass." The instructor said to a candidate. He walked to the next candidate and checked her results. "A-105, fail. Again."

The mentioned candidate sighed. "Aye sir."

Marksmanship is the first and foremost skill every candidate should master, as they have been thought that their weapon is their lifeline, and their partner. From safety standards to maintenance, the recruits honed their skills in the field.

"The serum is what we humans use to combat the threat of Punishing Virus. Unlike Consturcts, our biological components would be destroyed once we catch the virus and no serum is injected in our bloodstream within two minutes. The first thing they would attack is your brain, then your heart." The instructor in charge of the classroom session explained to the candidates.

Of course, classroom hours are also included in the program, which would take up to three hours that is focusing on tactics, do's and don'ts in combat, rescue operations, reconnaisance, assassination of high-value targets, and many more.

The Omega Project was revealed to the public by the Babylonian Armed Forces, which had gained mixed public opinion, but the majority of responses were positive, even seeing them as potential war tide shifters — saviors who will bring salvation to the godforsaken world and bring back the life they once had on the big blue and green that now became red and black. However, they did not reveal the classified aspects of the project such as the secret operation of applying the Cerevaux-212.

There have been notable students who excelled others, but the ones that stood out like a sore thumb were recruits Vanessa A-049, and (Y/n) A-019.

(Y/n) A-019. (Y/n) Schmitt. The strong, silent type, as others would consider him to be. The "boy-bandage". He got his nickname because of the injuries he would get from using his special ability they call as "absorption", which is basically just healing others' injuries but he would transfer the said injuries to himself, which would always result in him getting bandages most of the time. At some point, he has to be physical restrained to prevent him from abusing his ability. A silent, kind candidate who's always looking for others, and certainly a good morale booster.

Vanessa A-049 — the complete opposite of A-019. Cruel, and even manipulative, only seeing others as tools to be used for her own gain. She didn't care if she injured others during their training. It was completely normal to her. "Have that boy-bandage heal it," she would always say. Because of her being technically slightly smarter than (Y/n), she had always been on his throat, trying to break his kind persona and change his viewpoint on others as "necessary sacrifices". But, her attempts would only bring her so far, as the man wouldn't just give in. A tough nut to crack. For some reason, others still look highly at her, but some despised her ways.

While the candidates were having lunch at the mess hall, (Y/n) was eating alone in the corner. He really feels that he doesn't fit in with others outside training. He didn't have close friends, but he couldn't be bothered about that. He knows all of the candidates anyway. There are bigger problems than him not having friends.

"Having lunch alone, I see.". Vanessa walked up to his table, bearing her signature shit-eating grin that irritates (Y/n) down to his core. She sat down on the opposite side of the table, placing her food tray a second later.

(Y/n), who was just about to finish his meal, sighed in frustration upon seeing the white-haired girl. "What the hell do you want now?"

"Why so aggressive?" Vanessa replied with her own question, taking a bite of her fried chicken. "I just wanna talk."

(Y/n) quickly eats the remaining food on his tray, drank the water on his glass and placed it on the tray, then stood up. "Our conversation ends here. Have a good day."

Vanessa's grin just widened, watching the man walk away.

======

Babylonia - Commandant Training Center
Sector 17 - Omega Project Facility
0712 Hours

"Argh!" The male candidate fell to the ground hard. He tried to stand up, but the tip of the plastic combat knife being pressed on his neck prevented him to do so.

"That's enough!" The instructor shouts.

Vanessa smiled at her opponent, retracting her knife, claiming her fifth victory in today's hand-to-hand combat exercise. All of the candidates who have observed her one-sided fights were impressed, and they would be lying if they were not terrified of her.

The hand-to-hand combat exercise is also given priority, given that there are Corrupted that are capable of close quarters combat, and the possibility of their weapons breaking, being lost, or running out of ammo in the heat of battle is pretty much high. They were thought different types of martial arts to incorporate different bladed, blunt, edged, or other types of weapons.

"Next! A-019!" The instructor called.

(Y/n) stepped on to the arena. In an instant, the crowd became excited on how the fight would turn out, now that the two opposing forces finally faced each other.

Vanessa's grin widened. "Finally."

"..." (Y/n) prepares his training knife and got into a combat stance, with Vanessa doing the same.

"Do me a favor and lose for me, yeah?" Vanessa mocked.

(Y/n) scoffed. "Nah, I'd win."

"Ready..." The instructor said. "Begin!"

Vanessa charged at him first, doing a series of slashing and stabbing attacks, to which (Y/n) was able to defend himself against. (Y/n) returns the favor with a downward diagonal slash, prompting Vanessa to jump backwards.

This time, (Y/n) dashed towards her, gripping his knife in reverse. Vanessa sidestepped, avoiding a slash aimed at her neck. (Y/n) goes for a stab, but she managed to get a hold of his arm, pulled it towards her, and kicked his side, earning a grunt from him. Before she could let go of his arm, Vanessa got dragged towards the man and got her legs kicked, causing her to fall face flat. She quickly recovered and stood up, now looking at him with anger, only for (Y/n) to reply with a stoic face.

"Bad dog." Vanessa snarled.

Vanessa charged at (Y/n), now faster than before. (Y/n) ran towards her as well, meeting her attack head-on. The white-haired fighter once again aims at his neck, forcing him to reel back. Vanessa smirked and strikes his arm with a roundhouse kick, knocking the training knife from his hand. Taking the opportunity, she closed the distance and attempts for a stab on his chest, only for him to veer to the left and give her a left hook to her jaw.

Vanessa staggered, letting go of her knife. She retaliated with her own flurry of punches. Most of the punches were blocked, but some still connected to (Y/n)'s abdomen, causing him to curl to minimize the damage. She stopped and used a combination of spinning hook kick and side kick to finally break his defense.

'You're mine.' She thought, then follows her initial move with another roundhouse kick.

Only for (Y/n) to grab her leg and hold it in place. He quickly moves forward and sweeped her other leg, resulting in Vanessa to land on her back. (Y/n) wasted no time and quickly pinned her to the ground, his knee pushing against her abdomen while he pinned both of her wrists.

"You..." Vanessa growled, attempting to get out of his grasp, to no avail.

"Try moving. I dare you." (Y/n) snarled back, looking at her with a glare, causing her to shiver. "I've had enough of your bullshit. You've fucked around long enough, and now you found out."

"That's it! Enough, Schmitt!" The instructor pulled him away from the girl, letting Vanessa get back on her feet.

Soon, she was also pulled away by another instructor and the medics soon checked on her condition. For the first time, she didn't mind losing — being forced to submission. Especially when he looked at her with those shiny (E/c) orbs with such fury, as if she was a slave who disobeyed her master. She had always dreamed about getting (Y/n) under her control, to manipulate him, to be her puppet. But now, she experienced what it felt like to be the shoes of those she abused. To her it felt... good. Real good.

"Um... Sierra 049...? Are you okay?" One of the medics asked her in concern after seeing her grin.

"Yeah... Yeah, I'm fine..." Vanessa answered timidly, which surprised the medics, but they nodded nonetheless. At that moment, she also realised that (Y/n) held back, but he also made sure that she would know that the man could kill her at that time if he wanted to, and the way he pinned her earlier was a warning.

'(Y/n) Schmitt... Your face, your name, your voice, your strength, your will... all of you... I'll remember all of it...'

======

One Year Later...

Sector 114 - Tokyo, Japan
Staff Sergeant (Y/n) Schmitt - Fireteam Eagle
1147 Hours

It was supposed to be a normal recon mission. Get to the source of the signal, check the vicinity, get whatever is needed and pull out.

Not this.

"Grennet, I need you to take care of those Sentries or else we're gonna be pinned forever down here!" (Y/n) shouted at the explosives expert of the group.

"I don't have enough ammo, sir! I'm going to eliminate as many of them as I can!" Specialist Grennet Jones replied.

"Rico, support Angela and Grennet!" (Y/n) ordered at the squad's designated marksman. "Prioritize the Aerial Monitors!"

"Solid copy, boss!" Corporal Rico Hawkins moved to where Grennet and Angela Ashton — the medic of the group — were positioned at.

"Angela, fire upon those Missionaries! I don't want us getting fried with electricity by those shits!" (Y/n) shouted.

"Got it!" Angela replied, complying with his order.

High-explosive rounds landed upon Fireteam Eagle as they fired back at the enemies coming in from all directions, surrounding them and forcing the soldiers to hide behind a small pocket of debris.

They have been ambushed by the Corrupted, who have sent the signal using a dead Construct's body to lure them in. They expected the possibility of it being a trap, but not the scale of it. What's worse, they were surrounded in all sides, and the combination of Sentries, Aerial Monitors, Pilgrims, Missionaries, and Executors, they were pretty much outnumbered, outmatched, and outgunned.

"Boss! I'm almost out!" Rico informed. A round impacted near him, forcing the designated marksman to dive back to cover. "Son of a bitch!"

"Do we have a plan, sir?" Angela asked, shooting at one Missionary after another. "We can't keep this up forever!"

"We do." (Y/n) said.

"Sir, we need to get to our vehicle! It's our only chance!" Grennet insisted.

"Calm down, Grennet." (Y/n) eases him up, then initiates a connection with Babylonia. "Eagle 1 to Babylonia."

A second later, a female voice came in his comms. "[Celica here. Status?]"

(Y/n) eliminated an Aerial Monitor before his magazine ran out. He hid again and continues his conversation with Celica. "We're being overrun. Requesting danger close on our location! We're basically fighting an army here!"

"[Understood." Celica acknowledged. "[Helios missiles inbound, firing in five. ETA fifteen seconds.]"

The doors of Babylonia's missile bays opened at a moderate pace as the red tips of the Helios missiles popped out, ready to launch at any given moment. Their boosters ignites a second later, then getting launched from their respective bays and heads towards Earth, half of their bodies now glowing red hot as they entered the atmosphere. Once the missiles reached the proper altitude, they adjusted and flew horizontally, directing themselves to their plotted points.

Fireteam Eagle watched as the missiles strike large numbers of Corrupted fall under the wrath of angry missiles falling down from the heavens, each warhead striking true to their targets. The team used the opportunity to retreat to their vehicle while shooting those who survived the missiles, the sound of the explosions gradually getting lower as they got further and further away from the carnage.

"Target hit." (Y/n) said. "Eagle 1 confirms elimination of Corrupted within the vicinity."

"[Acknowledged. Follow the coordinates I'm sending you. The Corrupted signal is still dense in your location — I need you and your squad to get somewhere safe. We'll send a spacecraft to pick you up.]" Celica replied.

"Understood. Eagle 1 out." (Y/n) said. "Grennet, man the gun. Angela, Rico, backseat. I'll drive."

Once they reached their vehicle, they took their respective positions. (Y/n) starts the vehicle and stomped on the gas, going at full speed towards the location Celica tagged.

"[Fireteam Eagle, I have bad news.]" Celica contacts the team.

"Problem?" (Y/n) asked her.

"[Arrow Squad needs help, and you're the ones who are near.]"

"Helios missiles. Did you use 'em?"

"[I did, but the majority of the members of the squad are wounded, and their Commandant is incapacitated. In addition, the Corrupted within the area kept coming as well.  We can't afford to use missiles as it risks friendly fire.]" Celica explained.

"You can't send spacecraft?" (Y/n) asked.

"[We can't. The presence of Corrupted Sentries are heavy within the area they are currently at. Heavy anti-aircraft fire would make the spacecraft vulnerable and even attract more Corrupted, making this more difficult. They need immediate rescue.]" Celica added.

"Your decision, sir." Angela said.

"...We'll go." (Y/n) said.

"[Roger. I'll be sending their coordinates. I have sent the location of Arrow Squad in Specialist Grennet's map.]"

"Received. We'll be going there shortly. ETA six minutes." Grennet replied. "Stand by for updates, Eagle Actual."

"[Understood. Standing by.]" Celica said.

After being told the location of the wounded squad, (Y/n) turns the vehicle to the coordinates. The trip was silent, and no one dared to break it. They were just on their guard, watching for enemy movement.

As they got closer to their objective, Jitterbombs suddenly popped out from the pile of debris, flying towards their vehicle with pinpoint accuracy. Time seemed to slow as the four looked at the Jitterbombs in shock and horror, who were mere inches from their vehicle.

"SHIIIIIIIIIIT!" Grennet quickly dives back inside, then felt the vehicle steering as (Y/n) attempted to get away from the Jitterbombs.

But it was too late. The Jitterbombs exploded, and everything went black.

======

Babylonia - Command Center
Celica - Eagle Actual
1206 Hours

"Fireteam Eagle, your signal disappeared from the map. What happened?" Celica called the team.

[STATIC]

Only to receive static on her end. Her worry began to increase. "Fireteam Eagle, respond! Anyone!"

[STATIC]

"Shit..." Celica muttered. There's no way they lost connection. The signal from the ground to them was stong just moments ago. Unless... "No, that would not..."

President Hassen arrived a moment later. "Celica, what's wrong?"

"I lost connection with Fireteam Eagle." Celica reported. "Arrow Squad needs immediate rescue as well. I assigned Fireteam Eagle to do the task, but..."

"Send out a team immediately." Hassen ordered. "We can't afford to lose them! Especially him..."

"Roger. Sending emergency broadcast immediately." Celica replied. She dragged the microphone on the table towards her and directed the connection to the rescue teams on standby. "Attention! Attention! Alpha Squad, Thunder Squad, and Wolf Squad, I need you for an emergency rescue mission — Fireteam Eagle led by Sierra 019 lost connection with Babylonia three minutes ago."

======

Babylonia - Hangar Bay
Alpha Squad/Thunder Squad/Wolf Squad - Rescue Team
1208 Hours

On the hangar bay, the soldiers of the mentioned squads were loading their guns and wearing their respective combat gears as the combination of general quarters alarm and Celica's announcement over the speakers merged with the sounds of the soldiers racking the charging handles of their guns and heavy stomps from their boots.

"Go! Go! Go!"

"Get those JLTVs in the spacecrafts! Hurry it up!"

"[Fireteam Eagle's last known location would be sent to your pilots' maps, as Arrow Squad's coordinates who the Fireteam Eagle was supposed to rescue.]" Celica's voice continued to blast in the speakers. "[Expect heavy anti-aircraft fire from Corrupted Sentries and Aerial Monitors. Good luck]"

======

Sector 114 - Tokyo, Japan
Staff Sergeant (Y/n) Schmitt - Fireteam Eagle
1210 Hours

A sharp headache hits (Y/n) as he slowly regains consciousness. He held his head, only to feel something warm and wet on his fingertips — blood. Still dazed and his vision being blurry, he attempts to move his body, only to find his legs stuck in the dashboard and driving wheel that got compacted into one mangled mess. Although he can't see clearly, he could tell that the vehicle flipped upside down.

"ARRGGHHH!!! MY BODY!! IT HURTS!!" Angela's muffled cries reached (Y/n), who was still recovering from the shock. "SOMEONE HELP ME!"

Hearing her screams, (Y/n) regained focus looking around the vehicle, until his eyes landed on Angela, who got shrapnels all over her body and is in an awkward position in the backseat. Beside her was Rico, already killed in action. A piece of metal was lodged in his neck, penetrating half of the entire part.

"Hold on, Angela... I'm coming to get you..." (Y/n) weakly said to her.

"Sir... I..." Angela spoke.

"Hold still..." (Y/n) used all of his remaining strength to remove his legs from the wrecked dashboard. "Come on...! A little more...!"

(Y/n) finally frees himself after a minute of struggle. He wasted no time and crawled towards Angela, ignoring the pain from various shrapnels on his arms, shoulders, upper torso, and sides. Once he got to her, he finally got a closer look of her injuries — like him, she had pieces of glass and metals sticking in different parts of her bodies, but the worst one she received are the two large pieces of rebars that are stabbed in her lower abdomen.

It was only then that (Y/n) realized that after the vehicle had flipped over, they skidded to a concrete pile and got their vehicle stuck in the said pile. "Shit... You're losing a lot of blood!"

"I know sir... it's bad, huh...?" Angela softly uttered, tears running down her cheeks. "I'm sorry... for being a burden... sir..."

"No! You were never a burden..." (Y/n) disagreed at her words. "Don't talk, okay? Save your strength. I'll find the cordless angle grinder and get you out of here..."

"I don't need it, sir..." Angela said to him, her voice even weaker than before. "I already lost a lot of blood before you woke up... I'm dead anyway. And even if you got this thing out of me... I'm not gonna let you... use your ability on me. They can't afford to lose you, sir..."

"..." (Y/n) looked down, unable to say anything.

"Sir..." Angela called out. "I have a request... if you don't mind..."

(Y/n) looked up and stared directly at her blue eyes. "What is it?"

"Take care of yourself... and please... don't blame yourself. That's my final wish." Angela gave him a one last smile, before finally passing away, her smile disappearing at the same time, leaving only a stoic, dead face.

"..." (Y/n) doesn't say anything further. He reached for her eyes and gently closed them, hoping that it will finally bring her to rest.

(Y/n) looked at Rico. He went to the designated marksman and did the same. He gave a brief prayer for their souls, hoping that in their next life they would not face anymore suffering. Once done, he crawled back to the front seat and grabbed his rifle. He used the butt stock to bash the cracked windshield a few times, before finally breaking it. He threw his rifle through it and got out a few seconds later.

He slung his rifle and searched for Grennet, hoping that he's still alive. Not long after, he found Grennet lying on the ground, a few meters away from the wrecked vehicle. (Y/n) immediately ran to him, but stopped when he saw the man's condition — bloodied, full of shrapnel like him and the others. Nonetheless, he extends his arm and checked his pulse.

"..." (Y/n)'s frown came back after getting no pulse. "I'm sorry..."

He didn't have the time to mourn, however, as Corrupted began to gather around him, aiming for his flesh and blood. He gripped his rifle tightly, eyeing the horde with fury, prepares for a fight, and screams at them. "Come on!"

======

Sector 114 - Tokyo, Japan
Alpha Squad/Thunder Squad/Wolf Squad
1225 Hours

"I see smoke!" The pilot of the lead spacecraft, Drake 1, informs Drake 2 and 3.

"Drake 1, we're going to the location of Arrow Squad." Drake 2 told the lead craft.

"Roger, Drake 2. We'll take it from here." Drake 1 said.

The spacecraft on the left veered to the side, leaving Drake 1 and 3 to rescue (Y/n), who were carrying Alpha Squad and Wolf Squad respectively.

They arrived at the target area minutes later. Fearing the heavy anti-aircraft fire Celica mentioned earlier, the spacecrafts landed a few kilometers away from their designated point. They cautiously moved forward, until...

"What the fuck is this...?" One of the soldiers uttered at the sight.

What they saw was total carnage. Bodies of Corrupted everywhere, either with missing heads, limbs, or both. Other dead Corrupted died in other ways, being stabbed with various metallic materials, even some have their heads pushed down on their torso. And in the middle of it all was (Y/n), barely keeping himself standing, holding a piece of rock on his left hand, while he held his broken combat knife on the right.

The soldiers called out to him, and when they got close, their faces shifted to that of surprise and horror when they saw how injured he was, as if he was taking a bath with his own blood.

"Holy shit..." One of the soldiers from Wolf Squad muttered.

Bloodied and bruised, the man points at the wrecked vehicle. He uttered, "Mission... failed."

Before he finally collapsed.

======

Babylonia - Hospital Ward
Staff Sergeant (Y/n) Schmitt - Fireteam Eagle
1927 Hours

When (Y/n) woke up, he found himself staring at a white ceiling. Hospital, he thought. It was silent, and the only thing that's breaking it every now and then were the small beeps from the heart monitor on his side. He looks to his left, then saw a dextrose and blood bags hanging on the IV rack beside the table. He looks around — no one is around. No nurse, no doctors, no medical droids. How many hours have it been since...

The door hissed open, revealing Celica, who was holding a food tray. Her expression lightened up and rushed to his side. She placed down the tray on the table and calls a doctor. The doctor arrived a few moments later and checked his condition. She nods, and tells them both that he's stable, but he needs to rest. She gave Celica the medicine he needs, told them the exact time when to take them, and excuses herself, leaving the two alone.

Celica took the chair, placed it on the side of the bed, and sat down. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine, I guess..." (Y/n) said weakly, continuing to stare at the ceiling. "How's my team?"

Celica frowned upon hearing his voice. It sounded so broken that it broke her heart as well. "Their bodies are in the morgue."

"And their families?"

"..."

"They blamed me, didn't they?"

"They didn't." Celica assured him. "They understood that you were ambushed and no one wanted this to happen."

"..." (Y/n) stayed silent. "How's the Arrow Team?"

"They managed to hide from the Corrupted until help arrived." Celica said.

"That's good." (Y/n) replied.

Celica then wore a heavy expression on her face. "... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have ordered you to get them."

"They're still my fellow soldiers. I have the obligation to save them."

"..."

The two sat in silence. (Y/n) gripped his blanket in silent rage, tears finally trailing down his cheeks. He was special? Absolute bullshit. His training and augmentations didn't help at all. His teammates died. Under his watch. He should have been more cautious, more careful. He should've planned his moves better to prevent what happened.

"I know that soldiers shouldn't cry, but... can I, Celica? Just this once?" (Y/n) pleaded.

(Y/n) felt Celica's hand touch his. Before he could speak, Celica brought him to a hug, muffling his cries. She didn't care if her clothes got wet from his tears. She didn't care if he will cry for hours, so long as he can let all his emotions out.

=======

One Year Later...

Babylonia - Command Center
Commander (Y/n) "Ranger" Schmitt
1456 Hours

One year have passed since the incident. Since then, (Y/n) had received additional training from Babylonia's Special Forces and had completed dangerous missions on his own. He refused every request to be transferred to a team. He can't risk it anymore. Because of him operating in dangerous operations alone, many had called him a lone wolf, some even called him a crazy bastard, or a gung ho.

Even so, his kindness outside of work still remained, but at times many would notice that he would show signs of mild sociopathic tendencies and difficulty with socializing with others, however, the record of him showing high efficiency operating in hazardous conditions outweighs his 'tendencies'.

"And that ends my report for today." (Y/n) said to Hassen.

Hassen nodded. "Very good. You may take a break."

Just as he was about to leave, Celica came inside, and stopped him from leaving. "Commandant, stay right there. I have something important to tell you."

"What is it?" (Y/n) asked.

Celica hands him the file she brought with her. (Y/n) opens the file and scans the contents, then sighed.

"Commandant, I know that you dislike being in a team, but Gray Raven is in a pinch right now." Celica explained. "The support Consturct of the team, Liv, recieved sexual harassments by their recent commanders, which traumatized her greatly."

"Their previous Commandant have been stripped of his position and was imprisoned." Hassen added. "This is not a request, Commandant. This is a direct order."

(Y/n) sighed, unable to do anything now that it has turned into a direct order. "When do I get to meet them?"

Hassen smiled. "Now."