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Never Leave a Fallen Comrade

Digital World

Rena woke up to the sight of Tom sitting by a tree, his rifle in hand and in the process of being cleaned. Rena had once asked Tom as to why he did this about a week after he came into her life, and Tom patiently explained to the confused Renamon as best as he could. The ex-Spartan V said that if he didn't clean his weapon, he would not just be dishonoring his own creed, he was also putting his life in danger of misfires and jams, which were often fatal to snipers. The Spartan had his helmet on at the moment, so Rena couldn't see his face; his body language, on the other hand, was a different story. The young man was tense, and ready to shoot something. Rena stood up and stretched a bit before making her way over to her Tamer. "Good morning Tom," Rena said cheerfully, voice still somewhat sleepy. Tom nodded at her as he reassembled his rifle. "Are we taking that contraption again?" she asked, pointing at the Mongoose.

Tom shook his head as he got up and made his way towards the ATV. "No, reason being it's out of fuel," he said as he lightly hit the things engine. He grabbed the battle rifle that was in one of the bags started pulling out clips of 9.5mm ammunition and put them in his rucksack. Tom noted with sadistic glee that someone had left a box containing a hundred rounds of SAP rounds (Stun, Anti-Personnel) in 7.62mm. They worked similar to the ancient Tasers of 21st century Terra, and Tom knew from firsthand experience how effective they were. An upside with these rounds was that when they hit any type of powered armor, they had a very high tendency to scramble electronic systems. "Might come in handy," he muttered as he shoved the box in his pack. Tom looked at Rena. "Ready to go?" She nodded, and the two of them walked off to the east.

[][][]

Meanwhile, Zachary-667 was watching over the Renamon village, looking for anything that he could use against the D. Rifters. "Fuck, the damn bastards attacked too damn early," he muttered darkly. "Oh well, at least I know which way that worm went." He looked over towards his companion. Where the Toshigan were easy to manipulate, the Reavers were about as stubborn as a Spartan II, but much more evil. Standing nearly a foot taller than Zach, the Reaver commander literally looked down at the Spartan V with blood red eyes.

"Shall we attack the village while they are weak?" asked the Reaver. "Take out these...Drifters by surprise?" Zach took a final look at the village.

"No, as much as I would like to destroy anything that would get in the way of my employer's goal, we'll leave them be for now. 707 takes priority right now. Perhaps on the way back we can slaughter them," Zach said casually. The Reaver next to him nodded.

"Then we should move on sir. I have a pair of scouts tracking the Spartan right now as we speak." Zack nodded as he turned and walked away from the village, his dark alliance in the shadows for now.

[][][]

Coyote sat down beside his one-time mate and friend, thoughts rapidly swirling through his head. Gym had pulled a data recovery on the Pride, and after Varak had "talked" with the surviving Chronolegionnaire, Coyote had learned that there was a mole in the Fort Bragg battalion headquarters. So he called in a strategic lockdown of all Drifter sites; nothing was going through the multiverse for a while. And that equated to no support or reinforcements for a long time. Therefore, Delta was on their own.

Rahne stirred gently, moaning in her sleep. Varak had told Coyote (not that Coyote needed a reminder-all Drifter recruits had to go through it) that due to the amount of time spent in the temporal displacement mine, Rahne would be sleeping a lot. After she woke up, several things could happen. One, she'd turn into a vegetable. Two, she would go insane due to culture shock. Three, because she had been in the same spot in time for eight hundred and forty-nine years, two months, and a day, Rahne might kill herself. Or Rahne would quickly regain normal cognitive function and proceed to kick Coyote's ass, followed up by her ripping off his jewels through his ear canal. Coyote was praying for the last option. Well, minus the ripping off of his balls.

Rahne slowly opened her eyes, tail twitching. The last thing she remembered was being in a soundless explosion, and then darkness. The female Renamon saw a human male sitting close to her; he seemed to be in his early to mid-twenties, and looking at her with concern and...regret possibly? "How are you feeling?" he asked, handing Rahne a cup of water.

The Digital Vixen frowned. "I feel like I run over by a Locomon," Rahne said hoarsely, downing the cool, sweet water in one gulp. The human snorted in grim humor.

"Trust me Rahne, you don't want to be run over by anything close to that size category," he said in reply as he handed her a bucket of cold water. As Rahne guzzled down the life-saving liquid, the human looked at her chest. "I'm honestly surprised that you're still wearing it," he commented as he pointed at Rahne's neckline. Rahne stopped drinking for a moment to instinctively clutch and look at what was on her neck.

It was a ring, almost an inch wide and not made for a Renamon's finger. On one side was a collection of handheld games systems, the other a pair of c's crossed with an arrow. There was a red stone on top of the gold and silver ring, and other than the name "Gabriel" and "2012," there wasn't anything all that special about it. Except that it came from Rahne's former lover and mate, back in Shinjuku. Rahne looked at the human, and really looked at him. Now that she was thinking more clearly, she could see some mannerisms that the human and Gabe shared in common. The left corner of his mouth pulled up when he smiled (or smirked in not-so-hidden laughter), the standing on one foot, the crossed arms, those wild, hazel eyes, and the five inch charm with the golden fox on the - wait a minute! Rahne launched herself off the bed and onto the human, sending him crashing to the floor. He didn't move as she sniffed him, her fears rapidly becoming reality. Rahne sat up and shakily asked, "G-Gabe? Is that you?"

Coyote nodded sadly. "I'm sorry," he said as he pulled himself up from under the vixen. Gabe then proceeded to gently hug her. "I'm sorry I left. I'm sorry I left you alone in Shinjuku. Do whatever you want to me, but know that I'm not letting you go anytime soon, or later." Coyote stroked the fur between Rahne's shoulder blades. This calmed the now crying vixen as the two sat there, the silence the only thing they needed to say.

[][][]

Ronin was not a heavy sleeper. Sure, if he had the chance, he would sleep for eight hours, but on the field, the amount of sleep the Voxin got each night was more around three. Today was no exception. The sniper-scout rose before the sun did, and started his daily ritual.

First, he checked his equipment. He disassembled and then reassembled his weapons, cleaned them, and made sure that they were working properly. Next came the camera, optic displacement drive, and stealth detection pack. All were in working order. Then came personal hygiene, which right now only consisted of brushing his teeth.

Lastly, after he got all his gear on, Ronin prayed. He didn't pray to any particular deity, and to be honest, Ronin wasn't really that religious anyway. All Ronin did was say the same prayer he said every day for the last eight years. "Grant me the strength to change what I can, courage to accept what I cannot, and wisdom to know the difference. And for the day I find her. Amen." Ronin bowed his head in respectful silence and got up. Charging his Walther WA2000, Ronin walked off to the village wall to patrol it and make sure there weren't any hostiles inbound. And to receive a better signal from the tracker that Ronin had shoved into the Mongoose's engine when no one was looking.

Ronin scaled the wall and started walking. He scanned the treeline for hostiles, stealth detection pack set on high, and so far the tracker hadn't gone....

BEEP. BEEP.

...Off. Ronin checked the direction of the tracker. West. Ronin smiled on the inside. Now he could started his real job and maybe talk a little sense into the Spartan. After all, unlike the Jedi in Star Wars, Ronin was fan of peaceful negotiations. He just happened to carry an absurdly high powered rifle. Ronin set his camera down on the wall, set it to AUTO and WRLS, and went to find his CO.

[][][]

Coyote was in the process of telling Rahne what was going on when Ronin walked in. "Sir, I would like permission to go on solo recon, SIR!" he barked, a salute high in the air. Coyote rolled his eyes and looked at the sniper.

"At ease Nate. What's this 'solo recon' you're planning on?" he asked, holding Rahne even closer to him, and returning the salute. Ronin lowered his arm and visibly relaxed.

"Sir, while we were heading to the village, I shoved a tracking beacon inside the Mongoose's engine, just in case someone got lost or had stolen. A few minutes ago, I was on the wall when I got a signal heading to the west. I believe that I can get over there and provide overwatch for Tom and the Renamon accompanying him," Ronin explained calmly, hands blindly toying with an almost solved Rubik's Cube. Coyote looked at Ronin first in astonishment, then burst out in a rare scene of total amusement and laughter.

"Okay, I can authorize that, but what makes you think you can reach them?" asked Coyote after he stopped laughing. Ronin smiled. Not a smirk, not a flash of teeth, but an actual smile.

"Easy sir, I only put about ten bucks of gas if it was going fifty miles an hour. Seeing as it only gets about fifteen miles to the gallon, yeah I can reach them on a fast march."

Coyote smiled. "Very well then. Prep for LR patrol and recon, and wait for us to link up with you when you reach the target. Considering current circumstances, and by that I mean ONI not telling us that Zack is a mental case and the current Toshigan problem, mission orders are to protect and provide support for Sierra-707 as best you can. Dismissed," Coyote ordered, the Renamon next to him demanding his attention in a rather mildly surprising manner. Ronin nodded and walked out the door.

Three Hours of Fast-marching Later

Ronin found the Mongoose right where Tom left it. He looked around to visually make sure that he wasn't being followed; he also checked his motion tracker and stealth detection pack. Satisfied, he looked for the standard issue bootprints of an ODST, saw where it went, and followed it. After he turned on his optic displacement drive, of course. Soon, the Mongoose was alone again.

[][][]

After a few hours of hiking Rena and Tom needed a break. So, the two of them stopped in a shaded area of the forest. Tom looked over at Rena. "Any idea on where to go from here Rena?" he asked.

Rena sat back for a minute. "Ya know," she answered, "I do know a friend we can stay with. His name is Darkamon, he's a retired general of the Kitsune Valley Army, he's been a friend of the family for years he's basically my uncle but..." She looked down with a scared expression. "But it will take us just outside of Kitsune Valley and I'm worried that if my father found me here, he will make me come back home to mate with that creepy Shadowmon...but I don't see much choice we have...."

Tom put an arm around her. "Listen, if you think I'm going to let some smug ass Renamon take my friend away from me, you got another thing coming. Rena, I got your back, don't worry." He hugged her close as he thought to himself. I love you too much to ever see you unhappy like that, I'll die before they take you away from me, that I can promise you.

Rena sat there for a minute until Tom took off the set of metal charms that he wore around his neck at all times; dog tags, he called them. Tom then put them over Rena's head. She gave him an odd, quizical look. "Tom, why did you that these off?"

Tom looked up into her emerald eyes with a soft look. "Because this way you will always have a piece of me with you no matter what happens."

Rena was speechless; she just hugged him closer to her. "Nothing is going to happen to us Tom, nothing, I promise," she said softly. Rena turned the metal tags over in her paws, running her fingers over his name embossed into the tags. Thomas J. Walls...I will never let anything happen to you as long as I am alive.

Tom was worried. He had been covering his tracks miles back, but Rena didn't know how to evade a tracker in case Zack or the DRifters were following them. So Tom kept on alert as the two of them moved to a new location to spend the night.

That night, Rena and Tom found a place to stop and make camp. Rena had fallen asleep already, but he was too wired to fall asleep. He was worried about the possibility of the DRifters following Rena's tracks. Tom gripped his rifle tight as he sat next to where Rena was sleeping.

Tom had pulled out his sleeping bag open and draped it over her to keep her warm during the night time chill. "You don't deserve any of this," he said in a soft, low voice. He took out a small carving he had been working on for a while. It was a wooden fox totem, with Rena's family crest carved into the forehead. Taking out his hidden boot knife, Tom began to work on it a bit more as the night wore on. About two, three hours later, Tom heard a flashbang go off. Stowing his carving and knife in record time, Tom grabbed his rifle and sprinted off to where he saw the flash, about a quarter mile away, ignoring Rena's confused look as he went off to take care of whatever problem there was.

[][][]

Half a mile away and ten minutes ago...

Ronin continued to make his way through the cover of night, watching his step as to make sure that he didn't make much noise. It was on nights like these that Ronin would often think of the night that changed his life.

:_/:

_General de Santiago stared at Ronin in disbelief. After all, not many expect a slave to shoot-even if it was an accident- their master with a railgun. The only reason that Ronin snapped out of his stupor was that soon, the alarms went off. Ronin forgot that the bastard had a dead-man switch on him. So now, Ronin ran. _

_Pausing only to take the general's revolver and some of its ammunition, Ronin darted out of the building, making sure that the guards didn't see him. He knew that he'd at least be better protected in the woods than in the open. Not to metion that Ronin couldn't stroll into the streets of New Barcelona. Therefore, the young Voxin sent his overly white tail into the woods. _

He was spotted, that much Ronin knew. So it came as no surprise that he heard guards shouting out after him, lights waving about through the murk of the San Madrid night. Ronin did his best to dodge and weave, and after two hours of evading his pursuers, Ronin came across an empty cave. Thankfully, Ronin knew that this cave-really just a rocky overhang-was a good place to spend the night, and that there was a sharpened rock waiting for him. The rock was for taking out the tracking beacon implanted under his skin. Ronin picked it up and breathed heavily. This was going to hurt. A lot.

_Ronin felt under his fur for the implant and found it. There, on his neck, just in line with the top of his jaw. Ronin reached behind himself, rock in hand, and mentally prepared himself for the pain. Without waiting for his courage to fail, Ronin made the incision. _

_The pain was agonizing, but Ronin did his best to ignore the pain. He slipped the rock under his skin and stabbed at the implant. It was only about the size of a nickel, but the Voxin unerringly found it and slipped an edge under the tracker's seal. Ronin grunted in pain as he sliced into the implant. He heard-and felt-it break, and Ronin quickly withdrew the rock from his impromptu surgery. But now came the hard part; getting the implant out. The top part came out easily enough, all he had to do was slid out the top half of the implant out of his neck. The resulting pieces from the two halves rubbing against each other, on the other hand, needed a different approach. _

_So Ronin used the WA2000's magnetic rails. He set them on high, put the rifle behind his neck, taking out the ammunition as he did so. He pulled the trigger and winced as agony coursed through him as the smaller pieces of the tracker flew out of his neck, attaching themselves to the gun for a brief second. Ronin let out a sigh of relief. _

Now Ronin was free. Not for a few minutes or hours, but for the rest of his life. Ronin would no longer be monitored. Quickly, Ronin ripped off a strip from his pants and made a compress for his neck. He knew enough of the San Madrid wildlife to be able to heal and feed himself for a while. And now, Ronin was simply going to enjoy his first day of being free.

:_/:

On another note, Ronin was glad that there weren't any advanced civilizations nearby, because that would have played hell with the moon's light. So, all Ronin needed at the moment was a minimul VISR display. Although he did notice one thing.Two actually.Every so often, there seemed to be a flicker of movement right outside of his field of vision. Ronin wasn't going to stop his self-appointed mission just because of a shadow, but he still had an uneasy feeling. And the worst part was, the moving shadow wasn't appearing on his motion tracker or his stealth detection pack. The VISR wasn't working well either. And there was a strange light hanging over the village he left; Ronin couldn't make out any details, but he guessed that something was going on at the village. A celebration maybe? Who knew, and Ronin for one didn't care. He was worried about his tracker.

[][][]

Mersevus had been tracking the Voxin from the village ever since he had left. The Reaver scout was quiet as he followed the sniper. If the tales from the Toshigan were true, then this particular Voxin was something akin to a demon, responsible for taking out legions of Toshigan troops with sniper fire and artillary spotting. But according to Lord Zacaus, the Voxin would lead him straight to the target. In fact, Lord Zacaus was still near the village, awaiting word that the Spartan's trail had been found. The Reaver stopped on a high tree branch and observed the Voxin as he passed by under him. _He will lead us right to the boy,_he thought.

Ronin was still walking, following the trail when he noticed a black mass sitting on a tree branch. He acted as though he hadn't seen it, as he passed under it, he took out a can of soup. Popping the top off, Ronin kept on walking as he tossed up the disguised flash bang/flare into the air. He heard it detonate (thank the random forces of the multiverse for helmets) and turned to see what it was that had been tailing him.

A six foot three cloaked figure was holding its hand up to its eyes, trying to shake off the flashbang. "Graaw, fucking Voxin!" it said, its voice in a highly gravelly, strained English. Mersevus drew his pulse pistol and aimed it at the Voxin. "You couldn't be a good little fox and lead me to the brat, now, you've pissed me off!"

Ronin fired a Slow pulse at...whatever it was. It looked like a classical Grim Reaper, and the funny thing was, Ronin had met a Grim Reaper. Her name was Linda-058. Seeing as the target was now slowed down, Ronin aimed at the pistol it was holding and his gun with full power in the rails.

The round didn't hit the gun, but it did tunnel through the target's hand and arm before flying towards the trees. Pistol falling to the ground, Mersevus glared at the Voxin. "Y-You win this time, Voxin," he growled, nursing his mangled arm as he tried to melt into the shadows.

Before the he could disappear though, Ronin fired off a Grav Spike, the momentary white hole blasting into its chest and propelling it off the tree branch and into the trunk of another tree. The creature's back snapped as it hit, but it got up again and continued running off. Ronin, as a scout, was trained not to chase a target. But if this was a scout (and the pistol was all the proof he needed), then this thing had to die. But Ronin decided to use one thing that he never thought he'd use: the Echo VISR. Not a new invention, but it did take getting used to. Immediately Ronin saw his target running through the woods. Lining up the shot, Ronin took a deep breath and pulled the trigger. He saw with little emotion the 7.62mm round travel at two-and-a-half times the speed of sound rip through the targets head, tunneling through more than a few trees on its way to the scout's cranium.

The bullet struck the being's head and obliterated it, sending shards of bone and bits of brain matter everywhere. Ronin went over to where the target lay dead and saw the ground smoking where its blood went. The sniper whistled in surprise. "A humanoid xenomorph.Did not see that coming." Hearing a branch snap, Ronin activated his optic displacement drive, spun around, and swept his rifle from side to side, looking for the source of the noise. He did not expect to see his objective standing behind a tree.

[][][]

Tom had quickly reached where the Voxin stood examining his kill, battle rifle in hand. Moving to stand behind a tree, Tom accidentally stepped on a branch, making it crack violently and loudly under his weight. The Spartan activated his suit's thermal barrier, blocking his body heat from sensors, as well as his VISR. Peeking around the tree, Tom saw the cloaked Voxin searching for him, seemingly not sure of the exact position the Spartan was. Tom looked at the dead Reaver behind the Voxin. You're out of your league Voxin, Tom thought as he slowly flicked the safety of his smaller rifle.

Ronin was glad for the second time in as many minutes that he had the Echo VISR active. Otherwise, he never would have seen Tom standing behind a tree, or the shadow looking at its fallen compatriot and at Tom. Ronin took his rifle and switched the safety on, ejecting both magazine and the bullet currently in the chamber. Sliding the mostly full mag into a belt pouch, Ronin drew out his S&W .700 and shot the shadow next to Tom in the head, the massive bullet obliterating its head. "You're welcome Tom," said Ronin bluntly as he holstered his more or less overpowered revolver. The Voxin soon walked over to the tree next to Tom, deactivating his Echo VISR, leaned on the tree and looked at the moon.

Tom was showered by Reaver brain matter, the caustic blood causing his shields to flare for a brief second. Tom was cursing himself again for being so damned sloppy; this would be a mistake he wouldn't be making again. Now the battle rifle was up and ready to shoot...something.

"Isn't it beautiful?" asked the still invisible Voxin.

Tom quickly guessed where Ronin's voice came from and aimed accordingly. "Quite. Now kindly leave unless you want to start something, you bastards have caused enough trouble," Tom growled. He moved laterally away from Ronin's position, keeping an eye out for the slight shimmer of a cloaking device. "First you put my friend in danger, you opened a dimensional invitation for those other freaks to come here, and now you're mocking me!" At this point, Tom was doing his best not to lose his temper.

Ronin uncloaked and turned to look at Tom straight in the eye-or at least, the Spartan's blue tinted visor. "I was talking about the moon. And for the record, I didn't mean your friend harm, in fact, I was trying to show her that I wasn't a threat. Second, the Toshigan Empire has always hated our guts, after losing two wars and all. And since they still have tactical rift generators of their own, we didn't 'invite' them, as you say. Finally, I don't mock super soldiers. I reportedly have no sense of humor," Ronin explained coolly, tapping the screen on wrist mounted TACPAD/iPhone.

Tom normally would agree with the Voxin on the moon. He loved the night sky, but as it was, Tom was still on an adrenaline high. "So the Toshigan hate your guts, great, then take your fucking battle elsewhere. And there is nothing 'super' about me. Finally, you and your CO put me and Rena in harm's way when you brought that smug bastard here!" Noticing Ronin tapping at his TACPAD, Tom raised his long silenced pistol and aimed at the TACPAD. "Sorry, but I can't let you bring in reinforcements." Tom fired his pistol into the wrist mounted computer-only to watch as the round was sent off course by an energy shield.

Ronin jerked his arm back, his face momentarily etched in surprise. Looking at Tom, the Voxin lightly glared at him. "For one thing, what you just tried shooting wasn't a radio, that was my phone. Secondly, I have new orders, and we didn't know about Zack until he tried killing you. That and he ran off when something blew up; I'm going to assume that was your doing. As for taking our fight with the Toshigan elsewhere, we can't. We won that firefight, and HQ is under strategic lockdown. No support, no back-up, and no chance of a pick-up. And I have a feeling that the round you were about to plug in me would be better used on them." Ronin pointed at the two smoking corpses.

Tom shook his head. There was no way in hell that he was going to trust him, not after he had orders to capture him. Especially after what he saw at the village and because of Zack. Tom looked over at the Reaver briefly before turning back to Ronin. "I have HE rounds for them, but thanks for the advice, sarge," Tom said sarcastically. Tom aimed his rifle at Ronin; if at all possible, Tom didn't want to shoot Ronin unless he really needed to. "Now turn around and report whatever the hell you want to your CO but you come any farther this way and I will shoot." Tom paused to focus his anger. "You,...DRifters, you can go pound sand for all I care, but I will not go back to Orion without a fight. I have no reason to trust you."

Ronin popped his neck as he answered. "Reaper," he said, surprising Tom with the use of his old call-sign, "You trusted me enough not to kill me on sight. Even if I was once under orders by ONI to find you."

"That's because I still have a shred of morality," Tom retorted. "I don't trust you, and if given a choice, I wouldn't want to kill you. But follow me, and I will shoot." Meanwhile, Rena had followed Tom to where he was talking to the weird fox man. Springing from a bush, she leapt over to where Ronin was, grabbed him by his combat vest, and slammed him into the tree.

"You have caused enough trouble! I will NOT let you take Tom away from me, not without a fight!" she snarled, lifting him up higher into the tree, her paws starting to glow in pale blue fire. Ronin sighed. Apparently this was one of those days.

"Miss, could you please put me down? I would like to die some other day as a citizen of the United States and with a long-term girlfriend. And Reaper, just so you know, flash bangs at night are the worst idea in night-time stealth, and I'm reading a lot of contacts. Plus Sierra 667 has an overshield. And do you have my SAP rounds by any chance?" Ronin politely asked, not looking the least bit disturbed at the fact that he had a vixen threatening to burn his head off.

Tom's attention snapped back to his surroundings. As much as he didn't want to admit it, the Voxin was right. A flashbang was a sure-fire way of attracting attention at night, and Zack had to have noticed. "Let me worry about Zack Voxin," Tom said coldly. "Yeah, I have your rounds, I think they'll come in handy. Rena, you can put him down, he's not stupid enough to shoot us for the most part. We gotta move, just leave him." Rena was hesitant about letting Ronin go; her eyes were almost burning a hole in Ronin's head. She tossed Ronin a few feet away and went off with Tom. Tom saw-or rather, heard-what Ronin was talking about as the woods around him rustled. Tom checked the mag for the battle rifle and was grimly overjoyed at the fact it was full. The Spartan looked around him for targets before he and Rena went into a dead sprint.

Ronin heard the pursuers as well. After Rena dropped him, Ronin quickly slammed home a fresh clip for his rifle, turned the rails on to half power, and proceeded to follow the two figures ahead of him. He also threw back a can of ravioli, taking the top off of that before he tossed it. Ronin activated his stealth drive, and as he was running, watched as a motley collection of troops went after Tom and Rena. Currently, it was shadow freaks and Lupine warriors, and a couple of BIG wolves hauling cannons. Oh, and then there was the platoon of Toshigan Slaughter-masters. Ronin frowned. Shit was going down and in the fan.

As the previous duo ran, the trees gave way to a field and about a klick away was a large house-like structure. After they broke the clearing, Tom turned and dropped to his knee as a few Reavers came out of the trees. He nailed each of them in the head with the battle rifle, watching as more started coming out. "RENA, DON'T LET THEM NEAR YOU, JUST HIT THEM AT RANGE IN THE HEAD!" Tom shouted out as he hustled over to the house.

Rena nodded. "Diamond Shard!" she yelled, throwing a single crystal into a Reavers forehead as it came out of the woods. Tom kept popping off targets, watching in fear as not only Reavers came out, but Lupine Moxelus assassins, some Alpha Berserkers, those things that Tom had seen at the village, and some humans in the worst looking power armor he had ever seen. He then heard the dreaded sound of a railgun charging. Looking at Rena, he saw a green dot flutter on her chest. Images of Devan flashed in his mind; Tom sprang over to Rena just as the shooter, clad in out-dated Mk. II Reflex Armor, fired his modified GR-20 A1. The bullet pierced his shielding in an instant, slowed by Tom's armor, and was laid to rest just behind his back; the organ now suffering was Tom's left lung.

Rena caught him before he hit the ground, the Spartan gasping for breath. "TOM! NO!" Rena shouted, falling to the ground. "Nonono," she muttered. Turning her head to look at the massed force, she snarled. "You BASTARDS!" She rose up as a shining white shell enveloped her, Tom's Digivice coming to life. "WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE US ALONE!!" Rena was shaking in fury inside the shell of raw data as the Digivice chirped.

"Activate Light Digivolution. Renamondigivolve to Lumenamon."

The shell exploded, revealing Rena in all of her furious glory. Only now, she wasn't a Renamon. She was now a large Kyuubimon, her fur a shining gold and stark-snow white. Now there was a VERY pissed off vixen between the enemy and Tom, and by the Light-Bringer, they were going to pay. Snarling in rage, Rena spread out her nine tails, the tips glowing with angry light. "NINE TAIL STAR BOLT!" The orbs took off, and in seconds, vaporized a group of Lupine assassins.

Meanwhile, Ronin was running and gunning as he followed the trail that Tom and Rena left. He heard his slightly-okay, highly-overpowered plasma bomb go off, sending a clear message to Coyote that shit had hit the fan. But right now, the concentration of dead bodies was slowly increasing. He soon ran into a field and saw a Chronoinsurgent sniper take a shot at the Renamon, only for the sickly green round to hit Tom. Ronin responded by shooting the sniper in the head and watched as Rena Digivolved. He was already clueless about Digimon, so whatever the hell Rena turned into, the Voxin didn't have a damn clue. All he knew was that if the Spartan didn't make it, his ass was going to be GRILLED.

Ronin sprinted to where Tom lay, summoning a miniature singularity in the middle of a group of Reavers and drifted over to where Tom was. Ronin quickly fired his mag dry, taking care of a squad of insurgents with heavy weapons. Rena turned and looked furiously at him. Ronin either ignored the look, or he didn't care, but the sniper still kept firing. "Rena," he shouted, "Get Tom to that building, I'll hold them off! After that, a little help would be nice!"

Lumenamon-or Rena, depending on who you talked to,-glared at the Voxin momentarily before unleashing a new attack on a group of Lupine. Spinning head over heels, the kitsune created a mass of light in the shape of a dragon and fired it off. "AURORA WHEEL!" Said wheel utterly destroyed the enemy troops before they could react.

Tom was losing blood, he could barely breath as it was. He watched, clutching his wound as Rena turned into a kitsune, a fox-like creature from Japanese mythology. He soon faded out of consciousness before Ronin got to them.

Rena grabbed Tom by the collar of his undersuit with her mouth and ran off to the house, leaving Ronin behind. Which was great because a pulse cannon obliterated that spot, sending Ronin flying and crashing to the ground a few meters away. The fire stopped as Lupine soldiers, mixed with a few Toshigan, surrounded the prone body of Ronin. Ronin looked up groggilly, hearing the faints sounds of the foes around him as he stared at a phantom of a young Voxin girl. She reached out for him, only for Ronin to be hauled up to his feet to look in the eyes of a Senior Slaughtermaster. Ronin closed his eyes.

Ba-Boom.

The Toshigan drew out a wicked looking knife.

Ba-BoomBa-Boom.

The Toshigan pulled his arm back, ready to drive his dagger into Ronin's heart.

Ba-BoomBa-BoomBa-BOOM.

Ronin's eyes snapped open, his pupils little more than slits when the Slaughtermaster flung his hand forward. Ronin slapped the blade to his side, dropping as the Lupine behind him died in agony from the poisoned blade. Ronin let loose a flurry of punches, stunning the Slaughtermaster long enough for Ronin to take both his assault rifle and his pistol. Spinning round and to the ground, Ronin fired both weapons until they were dry.

I've got the reach and teeth of a killin' machine, with a need to bleed you when the light goes green, best believe, I'm in the zone to be, from my Yin to my Yang to my Yang Tze.

Ronin sprinted and ducked under a pulse cannon blast. Grabbing the cannon on the Lupine Alpha, Ronin hooped onto its back as its comrades fired at him. Taking the cannon, Ronin fired back before hitting the overload switch. Jumping off of him, Ronin landed meters away when the Alpha detonated, taking with it some Reavers and an assassin.

Put a grin on my chin, come to me, 'cuz I'll win, I'm one-of-a-kind and I'll bring death to the place you're about to be: a river of blood runnin' under my feet.

Ronin quickly snatched up a Toshigan shotgun and fired, taking out several Lupine in one blast. He unleashed the guns bayonets as he charged an Alpha, the massive wolf flinching and dying as the smaller Voxin plunged the three bladed bayonet into its throat, blood soaring out and coating Ronin's armor.

Forged in a fire lit long ago, stand next to me, you'll never stand alone.

Ronin didn't notice the bright balls of light the Rena sent downrange. If anything, Ronin added to it as he ripped off the pulse cannon from a dead Alpha and destroyed a moderately sized group of Reavers.

I'm the last to leave, but the first to go, Lord, make me dead before you make me old.

Ronin bent backwards as a rocket came screaming by his face. Flipping back up, Ronin took his hand cannon and fired, killing the Chronoinsurgent. Meanwhile, Rena was busy keeping the Reavers away from Tom, many of them dying from her star bolts.

I feed on the fear of the devil inside of the enemy faces in my sights: aim with the hand, shoot with the mind, kill with a heart like arctic ice.

Ronin fired another singularity, adding mayhem to the long since scattered ranks. But Ronin looked at the deserters with vengeful eyes as he drew out a pair of swords from his back.

I am a Soldier and I'm marching on, I am a warrior and this is my song.

Ronin danced among the last dredges of the enemy, his collapsiblekatanas cutting them down with ease. Rena had to admit to herself that the fox-man had some skill. Not as much as Tom, but good nonetheless, considering that while there had been close to four hundred and forty some combat units assaulting them, the fox-man had taken care of over two thirds of them.

She looked with a mixture of admiration and suspicion as Ronin quickly came up to where Rena was at the door of her friend's home. Sheathing thekatanas, theVoxin looked up at her. "You mind if I patch up your mate?" he asked, taking out a can of Biofoam-N.

Rena incinerated a stray Reaver before turning to Ronin. "My mate,...um, yes. But try anything, and you'll end up like them, understood?" she responded, nodding her head over to her recent kill.

Ronin smiled. Rena didn't know it, but she was one of only a few people to have seen Ronin smile. Period. "Don't worry, I'm not a fan of suicide," he said as he went over to where Tom lay bleeding. Dropping to one knee, Ronin took the biofoam injector-enhanced with medicinal nanites-and inserted it into his fellow rifleman; when it was deep enough, Ronin squeezed the trigger, filling Tom's chest with an anti-bacterial foam laced with tiny robots designed to bring troops back into action as soon as possible. Taking the thing out, Ronin patted the Spartan on the shoulder. "Hang in there soldier, hang in there," Ronin whispered, his order heard only by himself.

Tom was coming in and out of consciousness, lightly twisting in distress. "Devin..Rena..." he muttered, face twisted in pain. Rena snorted as the last of the enemy forces retreated back into the trees. She turned back completely, ignoring the Voxin as he stood up and backed away; laying down, Rena put her more fox-like head down on Tom's chest.

"Please don't die Tom, don't leave me please," she whined. "Why would you that?" Now the vixen was starting to cry. "Why would you do something that stupid?" Her question was answered unexpectedly by Ronin, who was currently checking the amount of ammo he had on him.

"Because that's what friends do; we save each other's asses even if it means our deaths. And considering that Reaper just took a round from an early model of railgun and survived, he must either like you a lot, or he loves you. Considering current behavior, I'm leaning towards love," he said, putting the can of Biofoam down on a nearby table.

Rena looked over to Ronin angrily. "If you hadn't come along, none of this would've happened," she said bluntly. "I thank you for helping us, but he is still not going back with you to Orion." The vixen laid her head onto Tom's chest so she could feel his heartbeat, which for some reason soothed her nerves.

"Yeah, well, I'm not leaving you two for more than an hour or two. Plus, as it is right now, we can't move anywhere due to that railgun round. Well, I'm going to scavenge what we can from there corpses," Ronin replied, walking out the door as Rena glared artillery pieces at him. The Lumenamon curled herself around Tom, tails covering Tom to keep him safe from the chilly night air. That and Rena was still ready to blast the living hell out of Ronin.

Ronin went ahead and started collecting weapons off the dead. And while he was at it, the sniper decided to set a few traps around the area, just in case. All the while, he saw that the lights around the village were getting more chaotic, until a small mushroom cloud appeared, sending tremors through the ground.

It took him most of the night, but Ronin had finished his traps and collected enough weapons to make the house into a fortress. About twelve pulse cannons at about eighty percent charge, three Toshigan shotguns, with nearly ninety rounds each, four Toshigan SMGs, each with four clips, two of their assault rifles, with nearly twenty mags for them, a Toshigan Spike Pistol, and nearly twenty of their frag grenades. The Chronoinsurgents had only modified GR-20-A1 heavy assault rifles, made to fire 7.62mm rounds. Then there was a single HUNTER class 90mm recoilless rifle, with ten rounds for the gun. Finally, the sniper gathered up the Lupine's SMGs, collecting nearly two_hundred_ clips for the guns. The Lupine only had flashbangs, which Ronin repurposed for trap duty. And for the grand finale, Ronin found that there was one Type 13Light Assault Gun, with well over two thousand rounds for the weapon; that equated to about twelve seconds of firing.

Meanwhile, Rena was still in her Champion-form, holding onto this form in order to better protect Tom; she still didn't trust Ronin, even though she watched as he gathered up the fallen weapons, made traps, and oddly enough, gave the fallen enemy troops a burial. They didn't have much of a grave, but according to what Tom had told her in the past couple of weeks, a grave for a soldier was a grave to be treasured. For now, Rena stood guard over Tom, almost like a mother protecting her young (or an injured mate). No one would get near Tom unless she said so. Not unless that person also had a death wish.

Darkamon's home was similar to that of a traditional Japanese manor, complete with sliding doors, stone walls, and a meditation garden in the middle. Darkamon, however, wasn't in, most likely visiting family deeper in the valley. Granted, the manor was built to hold at least a pair of Kyuubimon, but since Rena was still slightly larger than a normal Kyuubimon, she felt a bit cramped. She watched warily as the Voxin came back in, obviously tired, but still making himself work.

Picking up a med-pack, Ronin spoke to the kitsune behind him. "We need to fill him back up with Biofoam, and he needs some more nanites. Some herbs should be able to help accelerate the healing process as well. That being said, I will need to get near your mate to help him." Ronin turned to look at Rena expectantly, Biofoam in one hand and a syringe in the other.

Rena looked down at Tom; his gear and armor had been taken off to the best of her current ability and was laid out behind her. The vixen noted the relatively large hole in Tom's chest and the memory of first helping Tom came to mind; how the strange foam hardened in the wound and helped it heal. "Your weapons," Rena stated, pointing her head to a spot by the corner. "Leave them over there, all of them. No funny business."

Ronin complied, taking the ammunition out from his rifle and pistol, removing the chambered round in his rifle, and made it a point to lay down his twin katanas and his only kukri. And as much as it bothered the hell out of Ronin on the inside, the Voxin didn't flinch as he removed his TMD from his wrist. He waited patiently for Rena to move so that the only currently functioning sniper could do some good for his fellow marksman. Rena moved her tails so that the fox-creature could get closer to Tom, but still watched him like a hawk.

"Why do you keep calling us mates?" Rena asked out of the blue. Ronin's ear swiveled to listen to her. "We're just friends, so why do you keep calling us that?" Rena still wouldn't admit it, but she dearly wanted to be more than Tom's friend and partner.

Ronin hmphed in amusement as he injected the medical nanite laced Biofoam into Tom's chest. "The way you two care about each other," he said, taking the syringe full of morphine and injecting it into Tom's bloodstream. "Like I said last night, the two of you have more than a bond of friendship. And knowing that my CO has also mated with a Renamon and sired what I assume to be a fairly good sized clan, you two will work out fine." Ronin swabbed the area around Tom's neck with antiseptic.

Standing up, the Voxin stretched. "Well, all we need to do now is make sure that he doesn't do anything stupid and strain himself. Spartan or not, nobody simply walks off a railgun to the chest, not even my good friend Gym, and he's a robot." Ronin looked at Rena. "I don't know the local flora around here, so either tell me what to look for, or you can get them while I watch over him." Ronin went over to where he put his weapons and strapped on his TMD in a heart-beat.

"Hmph, a human and a Digimon, that's just absurd!" Rena retorted. Oh, but is it really?_asked that little voice in the back of her head. She looked back to Tom, seeing his pale complexion. _Tom, I do love you. Rena glared at Ronin. "No way in the name of the Maiden of Light am I going to leave you alone with Tom! Look, Darkamon was a veteran general and his mate is a healer, she should have an apocathery on the south side of the house," she said. "She stores her herbs there as well. I'll tell what you need to retrieve."

Ronin nodded, taking one of the Toshigan SMGs and loading it with a half full magazine, taking another two of varying capacities. "Well, what are they?" he asked, charging the gun and aiming towards a window. The vixen's response didn't really surprise him. After, she and Tom were pretty much mates, they just didn't know it yet.

Rena told him the names of the herbs needed, and gave the sniper a general description of them. "But they should be labeled and most likely be ready for use," she added, curling up tighter around Tom. Ronin nodded as he hustled over to the south side of the manor, taking a small recon head set with him. Putting it on his head, Ronin activated the VISR, hoping to hell that there wasn't any nasty surprises inside. Whatever the hell the shadow beings he first met were, they didn't show up on most of Ronin's sensors, but the Toshigan, Chronoinsurgent, and what appeared to be a sick twisted version of the Lupine from home would still appear. After about three minutes, Ronin found the room he was looking for. Opening the sliding door, Ronin took one look and whistled in admiration. Damn, if only Varak was with him. The Voxin quickly grabbed the herbs needed, his eidetic memory serving him well for once. Turning around, he saw a shadow disappear behind the door frame.

Ronin crept up silently to the door frame, SMG ready to fire. While the gun wasn't what Ronin would call accurate, the gun carried stopping power, noise, ammunition capacity, and sheer rate of fire. And thank the multiverse that the four inch spikes fired were effective on both shields and flesh, otherwise Ronin would have a hard time killing a few more shadow beings. Turning the corner, Ronin saw a smaller version of the shadow beings sneaking down the hall. Ronin didn't fire the SMG, but rather, shot the damn thing with a Grav Spike, sending the would be assassin through a wall. The thing landed forty feet away in the dirt, got up, and was promptly ripped apart by a hailstorm of razor sharp, molten hot spikes, taking with them its head, upper chest, and an arm. Ronin's gaze was hard. So they were being watched. This wasn't good.

Rena had immediately gotten to her feet, ready to fight when she heard the sound of Ronin'sGrav Spike, all nine of her tails pointed straight up and slightly smoking. Just as she did, another Reaver was tossed through a wall and landed hard on the dirt outside. A grey blur came out and landed on the Reaver's neck, the sickening snap audible even to Rena. Rena saw Ronin turn a corner, a new gun up in the air, aiming at nothing at the moment, and the next second was pinned by the grey blur, gun clattering to the floor. It was then that Rena recognized what - or rather, who, the grey blur was. It was a Renamon, and an old friend of hers. But now, Rena was going to see how the Voxin dealt with being pinned to a wall by someone other than her.

The strange Renamon was mostly grey, with golden white fur on its chest, with even whiter fur around its neck. "What in the Sovereigns name are you, and what the hell are you doing in my father's house?!" snarled the stranger, his voice nowhere near old enough to be considered an adult.

Ronin looked at the Renamon who currently was blocking his windpipe. "Sergeant Major Nathaniel Ronin, I'm here to protect someone, and if he doesn't get these herbs," Ronin tapped the pouch he had on his thigh, "He will die. As for what I am, you don't want to know," Ronin explained. He was too close to use his TMD, and he didn't want to risk any temporal illnesses.

Rena was partially relieved and surprised at the same time at the new arrival. "Ari,...." The grey Renamon dropped the Voxin and turned to look at Rena, a look of shock on its face.

"L-L-Luna? Is that you?" Ari asked, the Digimon's voice identifying it as a he. Rena de-Digivolved to show that it was indeed her.

"Yes, I'm so glad to see you!" she said, a smile flashing across her muzzle. Ari nodded in agreement before pointing at Ronin, the Voxin standing up and rubbing his throat.

"Who's this guy?" he asked. Rena shrugged.

"He's harmless...for the most part. My ma-my Tamer was hurt bad, he's helping me with him," Rena said, looking at Ronin suspiciously as he knelt down a few feet away, bag of herbs open. Ari looked at Tom and his eyes widened in surprise.

"What happened to him?! He looks frail." Ronin took the liberty of answering Ari's question.

"He took a railgun round to the chest. He's lucky it was only a 7.62mm round that hit him, otherwise he wouldn't have a chest cavity right now. Bonus of having bones of titanium and the round mostly passed through him," Ronin explained as he took out the herbs. "Now Rena, how do I do this?"

"He's not frail Ari, he's stronger than he looks," Rena said proudly. Ari sat next to Ronin and started helping him with the herbs.

"It's been so long Luna, I mean, your mother is worried sick about you, and your father is, well,..." Arie said uneasily. Rena easily understood what he meant, even as she watched Ronin like a hawk. Even after all his help, the vixen didn't trust him, not with his intentions still unclear.

"Ari, I don't care what that asshole thinks anymore, I have a new life now, and a Tamer for Maiden's sake," she replied to her friend, face scrunched up in anger.

Ari looked Tom up and down, then looked back up Rena. "You know what he thinks about humans, he's going to be beyond furious when he finds out," he said. Rena didn't respond, simply brushing a few stray strands of hair away from Tom's face.

Ronin listened to the entire exchange. Outwardly, he was expressionless; inside, the sniper was jealous. At least the vixen protecting Tom still had parents that cared about her. At the Spartan whose mother had been with him nearly his whole life, and lastly, Ronin was angered that the Renamon femme next to him didn't know what she had. "Personally," Ronin said, startling both Renamon, "You should count yourself lucky, even grateful Rena." Ronin pounded the inside of his mortar with his pestol. "You at least have parents that still care about you, even if you don't like it. Me, I wish I still had one."

Rena looked at Ronin coldly. "You don't know me!" she said angrily, fangs starting to be bared. "I may not have had it as bad as you or Tom, but you have no idea what it's like to live under the expectations and demands of a man whose only goal in life is to marry off his daughter to some creep, all because of some Stupid LEGEND that says I'll somehow be stronger with him. No, I'd rather die with my Tamer before that happens. And have you ever been known as the runt, the weakling of one of the most powerful families in KitsuneValley, the let down to the crest on my gauntlets, my so-called birth right," Rena was now glaring at Ronin. "I love my family, I really do, but I can't live under my father's shadow anymore."

Ronin finished pounding the salve into submission and looked at Rena, his eyes wavering in envy. The Voxin whispered something so low, that Rena had to ask him to repeat the statement. Ronin looked away.

"At least you were acknowledged for your existence," he said, handing the salve over to Ari. Rena was still pissed at the Voxin, but now she was curious about the odd creature said. What did he mean,acknowledged for your existence? Meanwhile, Tom was starting to move about wildly.

[][][]

_Tom was currently being tortured in his mind with memories of his mother's death, and that of Devin. That, and the night he almost lost Rena. In his dream, all those grisly images flashed in his vision. Tom was curled up against a log, the stars twinkling in the night sky. Tom felt tears roll down his cheeks. _

_"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, why must I be so weak? Zack is gonna hurt Rena, and I can't do anything about it! First my mother, then Devin, now this: God, why must I be so fucking weak?" Tom cried out as he let out his emotions. _

_"Child, if you knew the power that resided in you, you would not be saying that you were weak." Tom looked up and saw a hooded figure sitting on a stump in a nearby clearing. _

_"Who are you?" Tom asked, rifle aimed at the stranger. The figure chuckled in an almost grandfatherly way. _

_"The time for that is neither here nor now. Young one, what is important is your relationship with Rena. The two of you are meant to be more than just friends, the fate of many depends on that bond of love," the figure said. Tom was surprised-okay, shocked as hell,-at the figure's statement. But then Tom's dream started to fragment into reality. _

_"Wait, how do you know I love her? And what the hell do you mean when you say our fates depend on it?" asked Tom worriedly, as the dark night was quickly being shredded to a white room that slowly filed with more color. _

"All will be revealed in time." The forest was soon destroyed, only to be replaced with the interior of a Japanese style home. Tom felt a pain in his chest as he instinctively bolted up.

"Dammit, stay down soldier! You're going to rip yourself apart if you do this!" Tom heard someone shout, pushing him onto something soft and furry, that same furry being now holding him. Tom suddenly recognized the Voxin and his fight or flight instincts came back online. But then the pair of three fingered paws stopped him from moving.

"Thank the Sovereigns you're alright!" Rena buried her head in Tom's shoulder, crying tears of joy that Tom was still alive. Tom looked around and saw that there was a grey Renamonlooking at him.

"She really seems to care for you kid," he said, waving his hand over to Rena. Tom nodded, then shifted his focus to the Voxin who stood up, stretching, the Spartan's ice blue eyes showing his confusion. It was then Tom realized that Ronin still had his mission from ONI to complete; but there was something in that Voxin's eyes that Tom couldn't place.

"W-What happened while I was out?" he asked, looking back to Rena. Tom was slightly surprised at Ronin answering.

Ronin shrugged. "We repelled the assault, Rena Digivolved, I patched you up, and the two of you were almost assassinated. Other than that, not much," the Voxin said, going back to prepping the salve. Tom glared at Ronin.

"Err, yes, thank you for helping, but like I said before, I'm not going back to Orion without a fight," Tom retorted. Pointing to his chest, Tom went on. "This shouldn't take long to heal, and when it does, me and Rena are gone."

Ari looked over at Tom. "I agree, that would be a wise decision, considering that if Rena's father finds out that she's here and has a Tamer; if that happens, shit is going down," the teenaged Renamon said. Ronin shrugged, picking up his SMG and checking it.

"Well, we can't go anywhere," he said simply. Turning to Tom, the Voxin kept on talking. "And no, I'm not going to leave your asses for more than ten minutes. And I don't care how fast you can heal, NOBODY walks away from taking a railgun round to the chest, not even a Spartan. So you are staying right where you are, and don't even try to argue."

Tom glared at the Voxin while Ari talked to Rena. "My mother and father are away visiting my grandparents, so you're welcome to stay as long as you like until your Tamer's healed. But I'd stay low if I were you, I mean, if the townsfolk saw you, well, the worst that will happen is that your father comes and drags you back home, possibly crippling Tom and forcing you to marry that dirtbag Gravismon." The young Renamon told his friend. Rena nodded as Ari got up and went off to fix the holes in his father's walls.

Rena still held onto Tom around his neck and thanked Ari. The vixen then turned her attention back to Ronin, eying the Voxin as he started cleaning the SMG. "I'm grateful for your help," she said softly to Ronin, whose ear swiveled to better listen to her. "But I'm still keeping an eye on you."

Ronin shrugged indifferently. "Whatever. I'm getting a bite to eat and grab some shut-eye," Ronin said, getting up. Ronin was about to walk away when Tom spoke up. Rising on shaky legs, the young Spartan addressed the Voxin harshly.

"What is with you? First you show up wanting to bring me back to Orion on a mission you can't complete, you track us through the woods even after I said I would ghost you, and you still act like this is a walk in the park! I know your orders asshole, but what the hell are your intentions? Are you just keeping me alive so you can take me back to Orion? To Hell?" Tom asked angrily, almost pulling out his hair.

Ronin looked back at the Spartan. "First of all Corporal," he said coolly, "You need to sit your ass back down before you hurt yourself more than that railgun. Secondly, my CO and I didn't exactly pick this mission. Third, ONI asked for our help in retrieving you, and didn't state how to retrieve you. And as a man who's freed those...who've been enslaved, my CO has a better understanding of your situation than a lot of folks back on Orion. And m-our mission changed after Zack went rogue. So no," Ronin finished, "I'm not going to separate you from your friend and take you back to Orion, dead or alive. You have my word as a marksman."

Tom snorted angrily in disbelief. "Bullshit. You don't need to patronize me with rank, S_ARGE_," Tom hissed bitterly. "I'm not a puppet soldier anymore, so why can't you take your fuckin' squad somewhere else and leave me alone? I had the start of a new life, and for once in my miserable life, I was at peace! I felt like I was actually home, and then _you_guys came along and fucked it up! Why is it that when I find some semblance of peace in my life, a bunch of interdimensional 'good Samaritans' come and shake it all to Hell?" Tom paused as he realized what Ronin had said earlier. "And what do you mean, you didn't pick this mission? You voluntarily went as the retrieval team, didn't you?" Ronin was about to respond when Tom continued his ranting. "Look, point is, you put the only person that still cares about me in danger, and those things are chasing us!" Tom pointed to the woods outside, staring down at Ronin.

"Which ones? Because I have experience dealing with at least half of them," Ronin said as he took out his canteen. Barely giving it a glance, the sniper handed it to the scout. "Look, the only reason we got the mission was because my commander was overdue for a field mission, and we were the only other squad available. CO had bigger problems trying to balance the budget and explaining to the USCMC about why we couldn't help with their xenomorph problem. After all, he can't go about breaking his own regs, right?" Ronin commented as Tom accepted the canteen. Popping the top off, the Spartan took a sip of the enriched water inside of it and then proceeded to gulp it down.

Tom almost gagged after what Ronin said next. "Who knows, maybe he'll ask you to join up. We can use a guy like you. Pick your own missions, have a chance to make a real difference, and asylum from ONI. Pretty damn good deal." Ronin shrugged. "Anyway, wake me up in about seven hours, or if we're under attack, whichever comes first." With that, Ronin leaned into the corner between two walls and closed his eyes.

"W-Wait!" Tom exclaimed in surprise. "You're telling me that you'd let me join you to get away from ONI?" Ronin nodded one last time before the Voxin started snoring quietly. Tom slumped back onto the floor, Rena catching him and slowly taking them both down together. Tom took out Captain Martinez's pistol and performed a routine inspection of it. If what that Voxin says is true, Tom thought, then I can finally get away from ONI. But I can't leave Rena behind, not even for my own freedom. Ari offered him a bed, but Tom refused, saying that Rena needed it more. While Ari was guiding her to the bed, Tom went over his mental plan of ghosting Zack. Other than putting a bullet between the monster's eyes, Tom didn't have a much of a plan. All he wanted was to keep Rena safe from harm, and the conflict brought by the DRifters didn't help much in that department.

In all, as Tom watched the tree line and the sleeping figure of Ronin, the Spartan was thoroughly confused, concerned, and tired. The future was so damn confusing.