Outside of Red base, Sarge was conducting a plan to rescue Donut. 

"Men, with Donut captured, I think we should abandon our previous plans of not attacking the Blues and institute a new plan, of attacking the Blues." 

"Good." Simmons agrees. 

"Winning the war is one thing, but having a man captured is quite another. I can't stand by knowing we've left a man behind! So I need a volunteer to run a suicide rescue mission. This won't be easy, and you're almost certain to die!" Sarge says looking at Grif the whole time. 

"Why are you looking at me when you say that?" 

"Thanks for volunteering, Grif! Now the plan is to run straight at Blue Base, grab Donut, and carry him home over your shoulder, even if he's not hurt. That way when the Blues track you down to kill ya, Donut will still have fresh legs to run home and avoid recapture." Donut was walking up behind Sarge. Simmons sees this. 

"Um, sir?" 

"Quiet, Simmons! You've been too unreliable lately for a suicide mission. I think I need to go with a pro." 

"Gee thanks, sir." Grif says not expecting that. 

"Just get him back here! I can't stand Donut being captured another minute!" 

"Aw, that's sweet, Sarge! Thank you!" Sarge turns to his right and sees Donut without a scratch on him. 

"What the-?" 

"Mission accomplished, sir." Grif states. 

"Excellent work, Private Grif!" 

"Thanks, sir. Request permission to go AWOL for a few months?" 

"Permission denied." 

"Eh. Had to try." 

"Donut, you're back! Are you okay? You look fine to me." Sarge says looking him over. 

"I do? Well, I did switch to a new armor polish recently. Thanks for noticing, Sarge." 

"No, I mean they didn't hurt you!" 

"Hurt me? Oh no, not at all. And it's not a "them" over there, it's only a "him." They only have one guy now." 

"Just one soldier, eh? That seems like it could be a tactical advantage." 

"We already knew that!" Simmons exclaims. 

"And now it's confirmed." 

"Permission to switch Simmons to the Blue Team, sir?" Grif asks.

"Permission denied." 

"Eh. Had to try." 

"Screw it. I'm gonna go help Lopez with the jeep." Simmons walks off. 

"Wait isn't that Rex's job?" 

"Rex is in the hologram chamber trying make some upgrades to the Warthog. Okay, Donut. I want as much information as possible. Let's get you debriefed." Sarge says leading him to the side of the base. 

"That sounds like fun. Boy, things have really changed around here." 

"That's not what I meant!" From far off, Caboose is watching with some type of device in hand. 

"Okay, Epsilon. Let's get in there. And try to stay quiet. It's sneaking time." Caboose runs off towards Red base. Simmons is standing beside Lopez, who is fixing the jeep. Caboose is hiding behind one of the barricades beside them. Moving from one crate to the other. 

"No, no. That one goes there, this one goes here." Simmons says to Lopez. 

<This argument is redundant. I know what corresponds to where.> 

"Here, just let me do it, give me your wrench." 

<This is a hammer you idiot.> Lopez then holds it up for him to see. Caboose walks past them unnoticed. 

"I am sneaking, I am sneaking." He whispers to himself. Caboose gets behind another crate and uses it as cover to walk past Sarge, Donut, and Grif. 

"Did you tell him anything?" Sarge asks Donut. 

"Not really. It seems like they had most of the information anyway." 

"What?" 

"Yeah! I was actually surprised by how much information he had gathered about our weapons and facilities." 

"We've got a leak! Grif, found out who's been jammin'!" Grif was watching Caboose poorly sneak past them with the crate. "Grif, can you find the leak or not!?" 

Caboose accidently crashes into the base with the crate. "What was that?" He whispers. 

"I'll get right on that, sir. I'm sure the leak is someone very close to us. Specifically, someone very nearby me." Grif says watching Caboose enter the base. 

Once inside, Caboose looks around the hologram chamber. "What? There's nothing here...this is boring!" Caboose's voice echoes through the room. 

[Caboose?] The blue soldier turns and sees Zone standing there with his arms crossed. [What're you doing down here?]

"Oh, uh...nothing! What are you doing down here Rex?" 

[My name is Zone, Caboose. Only dad calls me Rex.] 

"Oh...right." Zone then takes notice of a loud humming noise. 

[What is that?] 

"What is what?" Caboose asks trying to ignore his device he brought with him. The device then starts to glow. 

[Caboose...what's behind your back?] 

"Nothing...nothing at all! Whoops!" The device then slips out of Caboose's hands and falls to the floor. It then opens up and a green holographic figure appears. 

"It's you!" Caboose shouts. 

"Hello, Caboose. It seems fitting to say that it is good to see you again. Although, technically, that is untrue..." 

"Delta! I thought you were gone! I thought you were erased at the... eh...electronic thing whose name some people have trouble remembering." 

[DELTA?!] 

"BROTHER?!" Xi shouts appearing. 

"Agent Arizona. Xi. It is good to see the two of you have survived. We thought the Meta had terminated you both." 

[Well, uh that's a long story D.] 

"Actually, this is not Delta. We simply thought that Caboose would be most comfortable speaking to Delta." 

"We?" Caboose questions. 

"Yes. Epsilon strongly remembers all the other AI fragments. When Alpha went insane, Epsilon carried the burden of those memories. We can appear as anyone, in this case, Delta, whom, from your stories, was a trusted source of information for you. Therefore, we felt it best that we take his likeness for this conversation." 

"Oh. That makes sense." 

"Yes. We thought you would say that." Delta states. 

"Wait wait wait...I thought Epsilon was gone?" Xi says confused. 

[Me too, so let me get this straight...your Delta, but not actually Delta. Your a memory of the one and the same AI fragment that tried to commit suicide in Wash's head?] 

"Epsilon did not want to live. When he realized what part of the Alpha he was, he decided to take the best course of action: death. He was a reminder of the Director's past. A past that was unruly and what made him become the man he is." There was a long pause until Caboose spoke up. 

"So you can...appear as anyone?" 

"Theoretically, yes. Anyone in our memory banks." 

"What about a chair?" 

"If you felt that was fitting, the holographic technology in this room allows us to project ourselves in any matter. It is surprisingly advanced."

"How about a giraffe?" Zone then smacks Caboose on the back of the head. 

"We regret that we will not be able to appear to you or communicate with you outside this room, so all of you must listen carefully. Caboose, did you understand what-"

"I'm listening carefully." 

"All right. It can be hard to tell. Caboose, we need you to find a way to help us. Washington said that when Epsilon was recovered, that our memories could be used to punish people who tortured Alpha." 

[So let's find Wash.] 

"That is not an option. Washington will not trust us, and our new recent attempts to build a new body are not working." 

"We had a fire!" Caboose exclaims. 

[That would explain why I smelled smoke three days ago.] 

"We remember. Your friend from Red Team described a location nearby with a strange energy source." 

"Oh, that's where Tucker is." Caboose clarifies. 

"We don't have many memories of him." 

"Yeah, I never really liked him so...I leave him out of most of the stories." 

"The Freelancer Project found sources of intense energy, so a scenario team was sent to investigate the area, but they left without doing anything." 

"That's pretty typical, no harm no foul. The Director's ultimate game." Xi says coldly. 

"Indeed. This place sounds like the location of the energy source. You should go there and investigate. We can explain more when the opportunity arises." 

"Okay, I can help you do that. Even if it helps Tucker too..." Caboose says. 

"Thank you, Caboose. We have to go now. Someone is coming. Remember: memory is the key." Delta than disappears back into the memory unit. 

"What? I thought we were done with that part." Caboose says confused. Sarge, Simmons, and Grif then enter the chamber, coming down the ramp. 

"Aha! Somebody is down here!" Sarge yells. 

"See, I told you it wasn't me who moved your favorite crate." 

"All right, Simmons, I said I believed you. So just drop it already!" 

"I don't know why you like that stupid thing so much anyway..." Simmons mutters. 

"Hey, Blue! What do you think you're doing down here? You better not have messed up any of my stuff!" Sarge threatens. 

"Messed up what? Everything down here is fake." Grif points out. 

"Yeah, but who knows how he could've sabotaged the system. Better run a diagnostic." 

"Yeah, if he sabotaged anything, I'm sure he just ended up fixing it." Simmons fires back. 

"What do you think you're doing down here, Blue?" 

"Nothing. I was just, um, I was just looking around. I need to leave anyways. I have to pack." 

"Leave? Problem averted, back to...wait. You're leaving leaving?" 

[Yeah, me and Caboose have a little business to care of somewhere.] 

"Yeah, I need to ring my friend Tucker." 

"The guy in the desert? Awesome!" Donut says walking up. 

"But then there won't be any more Blues here. Which means they'll probably send-" 

"Actually I'm gonna go find Tucker, bring him back... then there will be two Blues! Plenty for you to fight!" 

"Why don't I have confidence in this mission?" Grif asks. 

"Yeah, it sounds super dangerous but I'm sure I can manage. I've done dangerous stuff before and I've always come out fine, both physically and..." Caboose then pauses. Zone, Xi, and the Reds look at one another. 

"Caboose?" Xi says unsure. 

"Mentally!" He finishes. 

"Yeah, this is not going to work. Hey, Sarge? Permission to go on the Caboose and Zone's stupid mission?" Griffith asks. 

"What?" Sarge says baffled. 

"What?" Simmons says even more baffled. 

"Don't you see? If he dies on this mission and let's be honest, when he dies on his mission that means they won't be back in Command's records yet." 

"Well, that's not good." 

"But if I help him pull this off, then Command might notice them and put 'em back in." 

"Excellent point, Grif!" 

"No. It isn't." Simmons states. 

"Permission granted." 

"Um...you've never, actually said that to me before. That means "yes," right?" 

"Yes." Sarge verifies. 

"Okay, just checking." 

"And I'm coming with you three!" 

"What?" Grif says baffled. 

"What!?" Simmons says even more baffled than before. 

[Dad...you sure?] Sarge then walks up and places his hand on the back of Zone's neck. 

"Rex, I just got you back. I was never there for you when you were kid. I don't intend to lose you again. You're my son and that's the end of it." 

[Hmph, thanks dad.] 

"Simmons, how about you? You in?" Sarge asks. 

"I think I'll stay at the base and provide logistical support, sir." 

"Sounds good. Let's get a move on! We'll either restore the Blues or we'll fail and I get to watch you die! It's a no-lose!" 

"Sounds perfect!" Caboose says obliviously. 

[Lopez is almost finished with the Warthog, you guys go grab what you need. I still need to grab a couple things.] Zone then trots off with Xi floating next to him. 

"Wait! You mean Simmons will get to hang out at the base while I go out on a dangerous mission?" Grif complains. 

"That's right. Enjoy the limelight, Private Lazy-Butt. I'll just be hanging out here with Donut until you get back. (Yawns) I think it's time for a nap." 

Oh man, this is going to be great. It'll be like a sleepover! And we can decorate. How awesome is this gonna be? I'll go get my wallpaper book, Simmons, you be thinking about paint colors!" Donut then leaves following Sarge and Caboose. 

"Aw man, I think I'm regretting this already." Grif and Simmons say at the same time.