"I found a way down. I'm going in. The rest of you stay back.", Chris said as he stepped closer to the burning hole that had been bombed into the ground. "Guide me from above."

"Roger.", agreed the team.

"Captain.", Night Howl sounded like he needed to get something off his chest. "I've compared the mold at the village with a sample of the Bakers' and... there is no sign of the genome editing we saw in the E-series. The stuff originated here..."

Chris pulled a face. Slowly, he made his way through one of the huge tunnels, always looking out for a sign, traces or anything that could lead him into your direction.

"Just one more thing to take care of.", he said, as if it didn't bother him.

To be fair, at that moment, he really did not care. He couldn't give less of a shit about the mold right now. His mind was far, far away. He was restless, in a way that he had not been in ages. He wasn't even sure if he had ever been this nervous.

He jumped down a small ledge, right into an underground room that looked suspiciously like an arena.

"Huh?", he looked around, checking every inch. "Blood."

His eyes fell on a spot that looked darker than a simple shadow. Cautiously, he approached the spot, his eyes darting through the darkness. His heart began to beat faster.

"(Y/N)?", he hated how much hope was in his voice. "Are you there?"

An outline appeared before his eyes.

His heart leapt, he held his breath.

With trembling fingers, he reached out a hand to the darkness. At first he could only feel something soft, then there was the feeling of fabric and skin.

It was cold, covered in blood. But the shadow moved, as he touched it.

"(Y/N)?", softly he nudged the shoulder.

Slowly, very slowly, the person put their head up.

"H-help... me...", whispered an exhausted voice.

Chris squinted his eyes to see better.

"You are not-!", he could not finish his sentence.

Suddenly a hand sprang forward, grabbed his wrist and squeezed it so hard that a sharp pain shot through his hand.

The person raised their head.

It was a man.

Blood was running from the corner of his mouth. He coughed several times, could hardly breathe properly.

"Must... must I die down here...?", Chris could hear the fear in his voice.

Panic sparkled in his tired eyes.

But he was beyond saving.

There were already dark spots stretching across his skin. The dark skin of the lycans had already begun to devour the man. It was only a matter of time before the man succumbed to the monster.

With a little force, Chris freed himself from the grip. A sharp pain spread through his body, making his hand go numb for a moment.

He took a few steps back and raised his weapon. But he hesitated to pull the trigger.

"P-please!", the man crawled after him.

His legs were crushed, he could no longer walk. So that's why he was trapped down here and hadn't escaped yet.

"I need help!", the man continued to beg. "Please help- argh! Help!"

The man began to twitch, writhing in pain.

"I'm sorry.", Chris frowned. "There's nothing more I can do for you."

He raised the rifle.

The man froze.

His eyes widened in fear and he raised a hand to shield himself as if he could protect his life by blocking the gun from his sight.

"N-no!"

The sound of the shot echoed in the cave. Blood spurted up and stained the walls red. Then everything was silent again.

"Shit.", he muttered, turning away from the corpse.

It wasn't the first time he had done something like this, and yet it felt different. It felt wrong. Maybe he had gone soft, but it disturbed him to kill people. All those years killing monsters must have fucked with his senses.

"All right, Captain?", Tundra suddenly asked.

Chris' lips twitched.

His temper was already pretty tense, but her asking a lot of questions wasn't helping. It bothered him, making him feel like he was getting interrupted from saving you.

"You've been pretty nosy lately.", he muttered, not expecting her to respond.

A laugh sounded.

"It's not curiosity if you want to know if the boss is okay.", she defended herself. "After all, you are the one who's paying us. And you dragged us into this mess. You have to lead us out again."

For a moment he didn't answer that.

"You've been very talkative lately. Don't ask so much. If I don't answer the question, you'll have your answer."

"Pff. I know you're not a lively person, but in this mission you're especially grim."

"So?"

"And I think it's your little friend's fault."

Again his lips twitched. This time they formed a displeased expression. Luckily she couldn't see it, because then she would have known that she had hit a sore spot.

He hated to think about it, but he couldn't deny it either.

"Mind your own business.", he finally growled.

Again she laughed.

He didn't like the sound of it. He preferred your laughter. It sounded more pleasant to his ears, softer and not so mocking. He felt mocked by her. With your laughter he had the desire to laugh, too.

"Captain.", the way she said it sounded mocking. "Have you gone soft? Because of a little thing from the past."

With a deep breath, Chris closed his eyes.

"Tundra.", his tone sounded warning. "Watch what you say. I'm not repeating myself again. The past that (Y/N) and I share is much stronger than the one between us. I would not hesitate to sacrifice you for my best soldier. My best friend. So watch out and know your fucking place."

On the other side of the line, he could hear her inhale sharply.

Chris knew that a happy team was a good team. He always thought it best to maintain equality and be neutral toward each of his comrades. But he knew there was no point in pretending you weren't special.

Because you were special to him. And he was tired of pretending that wasn't the case.