EchoForce went dead silent as the turrets above fired briefly. They sneakily rushed upstairs to eliminate the intruder before they attracted more enemies to their location. But as they peered up and prepared to strike, they recognized the figure through the grates. In denial, they stumbled upon a familiar face, though drastically changed. Covered in dirt, multiple wounds, bruises, clothes torn, exposing bleeding cuts from his face, arms, and shoulders, and a gunshot to the leg, Cookie was still standing, but seemingly not for long. He was groaning and limping after getting past the turrets, but he managed to stay low and block their line of fire with crates before rushing downstairs to catch a breath, not even having time to relish seeing his friends alive.

–W-what happened??– Chappy asked in shock but was relieved. He almost hugged Cookie before seeing the severity of his wounds, but Cookie brushed off the rookies’ attempt to help him and dismissed the pain with an exhausted but smug grin.

–Nothing, I’m good. I mean, I knew you would set up turrets, but I still didn’t see one coming, and, well…– Cookie replied nonchalantly, letting the gunshot wound on his leg speak for itself. His injuries told a different story, making the rookies suspicious, prompting Ace and Shade to slow him down with more questions while Zoey kept watching.

–Wait, but… How did you survive? Like, I didn’t see it, but… You fell onto those animals, didn’t you? H-how did you get out of t-...?– Ace asked in a mix of skepticism and gratitude, but failed to believe Cookie’s presence. He looked as though he had barely escaped death, and his sudden appearance ahead of the ravagers and omens was too mind-boggling for the rookies to think of any explanations. But before their questions were answered, Tricky peeked from behind the pillar, growing anxious until she saw Cookie alive.

–Y-you… You escaped…– Tricky muttered in disbelief. Cookie eased her concerns with a brief, warm smile before his expression turned serious, turning the corner and taking the last steps down the stairs to see the bomb still on the ground.

–I’m not gonna lie, it was tough finding you. Their comms room is at the back of the base, but I figured you wouldn’t make it past the entrance, so I kept going down. But whatever, I’m here… What’s the problem? You can’t set it up?– Cookie explained elusively, growing concerned as he took a closer look at the bomb and saw Tricky shaking her head nervously. Troubled by her reaction, the rookies tried to explain but couldn’t say anything valuable before the turrets activated again, now signaling real danger. With a quick gesture, Cookie ordered the squad to guard the stairs, leaving him to deal with Tricky’s mental block.

–Hey, what do you mean? You can do it. Just sit there and do whatever you must to set it up. We’ll have your back…– Cookie urged comfortingly, attempting to encourage her, but Tricky was overwhelmed and couldn’t look him in the eye, only stammering in response.

–I don’t… It’s just… How are we going to leave? We are just going to die if we activate it… We can’t-... I can’t d-...– Tricky argued, but her voice broke with a terrified whimper. Hearing many enemies closing in and coordinating an attack to take out the turrets, Cookie grew impatient but kept his composure to calm her down.

–It’s okay, you got this. I’ll find a way out, trust me. They always have a secret exit or something. Just take deep breaths and focus on setting it up. Ignore everything else. We’ll handle it, okay?– Cookie reassured her, gripping her shoulders to steady her with his rough hands. Slowly, his words began to ease her mind, though she still felt anxious seeing the rookies preparing to fight.

Following Cookie’s advice, Tricky took deep breaths alongside him and finally managed to get rid of the guilt to focus on the task. While Cookie searched the room, she sat below the staircase, hidden in the dark, and began to plant the bomb. Carefully assembling the two halves of the device and connecting a few wires, she gained confidence until it was time to hook the large explosive to the control panel. She began hesitating again, but her concentration blocked out the chaos around her, and after flicking a switch on the front panel, she started the detonation sequence.

Meanwhile, Cookie got desperate and frantically searched every inch of the room, tossing crates and pounding on the stone walls aggressively to find a secret passage. The rookies above were locked in a fierce battle as both omens and ravagers stormed the room. The turrets held them off for mere seconds before being overrun. Hidden below the metal grate around the pillar, the rookies peeked at the chaos nervously. The clashing forces provided a brief distraction, but soon the omens overpowered the ravagers with their rifles, and as they gained ground, some spotted the rookies through the gate.

Zoey tried to signal her teammates to back away slowly, but in their panic, Ace and Chappy stumbled, creating noise that attracted more omens to the stairs. Bullets began to rain through the metal grate, forcing the rookies to retreat slightly and hide below the first steps, but they still blocked the way to protect Tricky. She glanced up and saw them struggling to cover themselves from the bullets, but as she only needed to set a timer for the detonation, she tried to help by searching for gadgets in her backpack.

–It’s fine, take your time…– Cookie reassured Tricky, noticing her worried glances upward. He urged her to focus, despite the escalating danger and failing to find an exit. She didn’t stop worrying, so he ran up the stairs to join the fight, leaving her alone with the bomb.

Tricky managed to focus, but the sounds of the battle above became too concerning to ignore. Her teammates’ lives were at risk because she was taking too long. The weight of their lives in her hands caused immense stress. She was about to set the timer for the detonation but couldn’t press the correct buttons without shaking, and then she heard a shot. Running downstairs while holding the tears of pain, Chappy couldn’t defend himself anymore after being hit in the arm. She couldn’t comprehend his anguish at first, but it quickly sank in when they locked eyes for a brief moment. That look made her realize it was now or never.

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With the rookies falling back and Cookie protecting them, Tricky reflected on the circumstances. They had risked their lives for her, and she couldn’t waste this chance to pay it back. Seeing Chappy confirmed her resolve, and she set the timer on the EMD without a single ounce of doubt. With the bomb active and ready to explode in minutes, now they only needed to escape fast. Omens and ravagers were blocking their way up, and with Cookie, Zoey, Shade, and Ace falling back, Tricky tried to find an escape route in the last possible spot. Sharper than ever, she checked the areas Cookie hadn’t, quickly deducing where a hidden exit could be.

–Help me move this crate…– Tricky ordered Chappy. Despite his injury, he helped her drag a large crate near the pillar. It was tough, but they uncovered a hidden hatch beneath it, barely discernible since it was just a slab of stone. She opened it without hesitation, pulled out her last smoke grenade, and tossed it next to the EMD to conceal it and create a distraction.

Seeing the signal, the rookies followed Tricky and Chappy down the hatch into a narrow, pitch-black secret tunnel leading further down. They could no longer see when Cookie entered and closed the hatch behind him, but they kept crawling forward, desperate to escape the omens. Tricky, worried that the omens might find the bomb, froze in place and tried to turn back, but once the tunnel opened and gave them more space, Cookie picked her up and dragged her to safety.

–No! They might destroy it! We have t-...– Tricky tried to argue, but Cookie wasn’t listening. The rookies were too focused on escaping and didn’t look back at the omens chasing after them. Tricky’s face was marked with apprehension, but as she realized there was no turning back and they all escaped together, she accepted whatever fate awaited them. She seemed appreciative of what they had accomplished, knowing they had done everything possible, and now that it was out of her hands, her muscles relaxed, and she held tight to Cookie as he carried her.

They weren’t off the hook yet. By the time the omens found the secret tunnels, EchoForce was already making their way down to the mountain's base, where the tunnels connected to the hidden bunkers on the sides of the pass. The squad was ecstatic and relieved to have escaped, even as they heard the omens chasing them. But when they reached a dead end in those bunkers and saw what was happening at the pass, they realized their situation was just as bad, if not worse.

From their vantage point, they saw the Heartaches engaged in a desperate battle, not against ravagers as expected but against the antipunks. Every ravager was already dead, and the Heartaches were on the brink of being pinned down. Dismayed, EchoForce watched the dire situation unfold, conflicted about what to do. The rookies wanted to rush out and help, but Cookie held them back, ordering them to wait for the Heartaches to defend themselves. It was excruciating to watch their teammates struggle without intervening, as the Heartaches had no real defense against the antipunks’ gunfire and had been hit. They were forced to use ravager corpses as makeshift shields and create a barrier, but their strategy would only stall the enemy for so long.

Fortunately, the Heartaches spotted EchoForce in the bunker on the left mountain. Kayden and Zayn created a diversion, allowing Agnus to lead the rest of the group inside the bunker despite being shot in the right arm and left side of her hips. They were able to catch their breath, but their solace was short-lived. As Kayden and Zayn slid into the bunker, the antipunks saw them and began firing inside. Both squads waited out the gunfire, hidden and hoping the enemy would move on. After a tense moment, the antipunks focused on their primary objective, eventually walking past the bunker and heading to the main battlefield. Although the Heartaches had failed their mission, they were relieved to have made it in one piece and found comfort in knowing EchoForce had succeeded.

–Did you plant the bomb?– Kayden asked bluntly, breathing heavily. The rookies, despite their exhaustion, were eager to confirm their success. Even Shade, who was too tired to stand, smiled from his spot on the floor next to Cookie and Ace before deflating and resting on his back.

–Yea, the mountain is going kaboom at any second…– Chappy replied optimistically. However, his upbeat tone made the Heartaches uneasy, especially since it looked like he and Cookie had a concussion.

–Wait, is the whole mountain blowing up?– Ignatius asked skeptically. The other rookies were too worn out from their close call, leaving Chappy to respond, even when he wasn’t certain.

–Uhh… I don’t know, but…– Chappy muttered sheepishly, looking to Tricky for clarification. She seemed preoccupied and didn’t immediately notice the Heartaches’ concerned gazes, but she remained determined and hopeful.

–If my calculations are correct, it will blow up most of the mountain above. It should detonate in one minute, so we better be ready for when-...– Tricky answered confidently but trailed off, her mind still partly consumed with the fear that the bomb might have been disarmed. But there was no time for second-guessing as the sounds of approaching enemies grew louder.

Both EchoForce and the Heartaches took refuge in the bunker, crammed together and unable to move without alerting the antipunks passing by. The enemy was heading up the pass to assist the omens, leaving the squads with no choice but to remain silent and wait for the EMD to detonate. The tension in the bunker was palpable, the air thick with anxiety as they had no way out. Each enemy footstep triggered the rookies’ uncertainty. They could only wait and hope the EMD would go off as planned, but with nowhere to run, they started growing paranoid.

–What now? They are right there…– Ryu whispered to Zayn and Agnus, his voice trembling. They tried to hush him, their minds racing for a plan, but the incessant sounds of enemy footsteps outside the bunker made it difficult to concentrate.

–Just wait for the right moment…– Zayn replied assertively, but his assurance did little to calm the Heartaches. They clutched their swords tightly as the antipunks tried to peek inside the bunker while passing. Any movement would surely draw fire from the enemy, and as EchoForce was also waiting for the bomb to go off, they tried to prevent any premature actions.

–No, we shoul-...– Tricky countered, but before she finished her sentence, the group turned back as the enemies from the tunnels behind had suddenly found their way to the bunker.

With omens closing in from behind and antipunks in front, the joint team coordinated a spur-of-the-moment defensive formation. They couldn’t fight head-on, so EchoForce crawled to the sides of the bunker’s opening, taking advantage of the near-total darkness to hide from both enemies. From this position, they signaled the Heartaches, who were caught in the middle of the antipunks’ line of sight and couldn’t move without stepping into the faint light from outside. All they could do was stick to the ground and the wall with the open windows.

| THE KILLER’S BREED OR THE DEMON’S SEED

THE GLAMOUR, THE FORTUNE, THE PAIN

GO TO WAR AGAIN, BLOOD IS FREEDOM’S STAIN

BUT DON’T YOU PRAY FOR MY SOUL ANYMORE |