Waiting right outside the sinking cave, Crisis’s anxiety seized control of them as they saw the entrance in front of them crumbling. Despite the entire ground below trembling, they stayed as close as possible to the gate, with the fading hope of seeing their teammates once again gripping them to the point where they didn’t consider the risk of where they stood. They even began making their way back to the quarry, but with Indie keeping them in check, they just had to stay back and keep waiting with bated breath.

–Don’t worry, they will show up. They are just doing their thing, you know how they are…– Indie reassured in an almost lighthearted tone, showing no concern whatsoever as she maintained her composure. But since her teammates could tell she was processing the situation just like them, her fake optimism did anything but convince them.

–Yea, but… It never takes this long… Maybe-...– Candy replied in a frail, anguished voice, prompting Tricky to reach for her to provide comfort. But before any of them could ease her worries, they suffered the same sorrow when the entrance to the cave ended up collapsing entirely. The gate folded as the entire wall fell, bringing down a portion of the hill above it, as well as the two towers connected to it. Thankfully, the structure collapsed backward, but to avoid the landslide caused by the collapse, Crisis had to run back to a safe distance. But as soon as they were out of harm’s way, they all turned around in a state of shock and grief.

–NOOOO!– Candy cried with a terrible howl of agony, immediately breaking down in Tricky’s arms alongside the cave. The entire squad froze in place as they silently processed what they had just witnessed, except Indie, who tried to run back to the collapsed gate right away, but after noticing her teammates’ reactions, she was left conflicted and insecure about what to do.

–Oh no… I killed them… What have I done?– Nitro muttered to himself before bawling his guilt and remorse with the rest of the squad. He contained his cry a bit, just like the rest of the team held their tears. But with Candy crying uncontrollably, they all kept sobbing until they were on the edge of breaking down with her. Even Indie couldn’t keep up his front for longer, and as much as she tried staying calm, she was visibly struggling to deal with her emotions since she was stricken with as much pain as her teammates, if not more.

–You didn’t do anything, you just followed orders. If he trusted you with exploding the cave, it means he knew what he was doing, he always does, remember?– Indie affirmed with her best attempt at a reassuring voice, though it began falling apart as it was contrasted by the anguish afflicting her. Nitro glanced at her, but as her expression showed no genuine hope, he quickly turned away to pull his mask up and hide his face in shame. In response, Indie awkwardly turned around to face the fallen gate, and as she couldn’t do more than just think, she began sharing the squad’s misery after giving up. But with their captain now losing focus, Tricky assumed control after wiping some tears and letting go of Candy to assess the situation rationally.

–Maybe they got trapped there or something. I mean, there’s a big chance they just got stuck and are trying to find a way out…– Tricky suggested nervously, failing to get much attention from the squad but quickly composing herself to start coming up with solutions, though it seemed it was just an instinctive response to not fall into the same despair as her teammates. But while she couldn’t believe fully in her own idea, she did inspire some hope in Candy, who immediately stood up to run towards Indie.

–Yes, that’s why we need to go back and rescue them!– Candy urged frantically as she pulled Indie’s shirt repeatedly. At first, she didn’t react at all, but as her begging only created more distress, she gently pushed her aside and kept quiet. Seeing Indie speechless almost immediately killed all faith in Candy, who desperately turned to her other teammates for support, though they were also starting to accept what they would have to live with.

–But… Now that the entrance is blocked, I see it unlikely to go back down… We would need a team of miners to dig the place up, but by that time, it would probably be too late…– Tricky added in a sudden, harsh, and lamenting realization, beginning to sound delirious as she kept expressing her negative thoughts out loud, prompting Candy to snap at her.

–What is wrong with you?– Candy cried to Tricky with a somewhat violent but mostly disheartened tone. Tricky instantly backtracked her words in regret, but as she had already planted a horrendous idea in her head, she wasn’t capable of easing her overwhelming fear.

–Maybe it’s not a bad thing, I’m sure they can survive underground like those antipunks…– Tricky tried to explain, remaining realistic and sticking to a rational answer, but she couldn’t even elaborate out of desperation to calm Candy down. She couldn’t even look at her teary eyes as one glimpse of her depression ached to the point that she had to hide her face like Nitro to escape from the despair surrounding them. Candy once again collapsed, but with Indie catching her and trying to get her up, the other teammates approached to comfort her in any way they could, though Kiwy couldn’t say anything, and Nitro didn’t stop for one second to think before speaking.

–And to think that they are now buried with them, what an awful way to go…– Nitro muttered to himself while shaking his head repeatedly with a dejected frown. But as his comment only made things worse for Candy when she heard him, he shut himself up after seeing the enraged stare she gave him. For a second, it looked like she was going to jump at him to punish him for what he had done, but as Kiwi broke down crying as well, Candy lost all strength to move as she wept her sorrow away.

With Candy crying harder than ever, Indie was unable to do anything but rub her back as she held her tightly in her arms. She tried to shush her up to not make the rest of the team cry as well, but just seeing her usually cheerful and optimistic demeanor get stripped away so cruelly left her with very little hope to comfort even herself. Indie seemed on the verge of crying as well, but as the entire squad was facing the somber reality, she forced herself to stay strong and remain the only one with any spirit left, even though it appeared to be long gone. She couldn’t endure it for much longer, but just when the urge to cry with Candy became irresistible, Indie was startled by some noises coming from the gate.

–Wait, shut up. Look…– Indie ordered her team as she abruptly changed her attitude, now adopting a defensive stance after standing up. But as only Candy noticed her shifting her attention back to the gate, Indie was mostly ignored and struggled to focus on the faint sounds coming from the mountain of rubble in front.

Trying to get a better listen, Indie approached the collapsed gate cautiously, already drawing her rifle, which is what eventually caught the rest of the squad’s attention. When they noticed her inching closer to the entrance of the cave, they stared at the gate in confusion, with some of them on edge in case they had to deal with another threat. But all of a sudden, they all dropped their guard once they heard some very clear coughs coming from the cloud of dirt and dust that had yet to settle at the entrance.

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They held their breath in complete silence as they waited for confirmation of what they heard, and while they couldn’t see anything moving from the remains of the gate, they spotted some figures coming from the side of the junkyard. They had to look over a few crates as someone was coming from the tunnel that the antipunks had used to ambush them at the start of the operation. But once they saw the faces of their teammates and realized they had come back alive, they all burst with joy.

Frost, Panda, and Scott walked out of the destructive scene seemingly unharmed. They were covered in dirt, which they were still trying to get out of their lungs when they walked out of the tunnel and into the junkyard. While they were more than exhausted and could barely walk, they appeared to be unscathed, except Scott, as he was limping on his left leg, needing Panda to be able to stand up. But as soon as they left the cave, they were blinded by the sun rising over the horizon, enlightening their arrival, though they didn’t get to enjoy the light for too long as they were overwhelmed by the squad.

Indie’s arms and jaw dropped in shock at the sight of them returning, but while she was left stunned in place, the rest of the team ran straight to their teammates to welcome them back. Candy didn’t hesitate for a second to rush at Frost, and even though he was still panting and trying to catch his breath, he was sharp in his reaction as Candy surprised him with an overly affectionate hug. She jumped into his arms and wrapped both of her arms and legs around him to hold him tightly, squeezing his torso so hard that it got him to cough again.

Despite his condition, she nuzzled up to his dirty and sweaty neck without care, bursting into tears once again, but this time with a gigantic smile on her face as she enjoyed the embrace. Frost held her, but as he barely had any strength to carry her, he didn’t hug back and just looked over at his teammates with a pleasantly surprised expression. He let out a chuckle after seeing his teammates greeting him and Panda, and while Indie stayed back in complete silence, he caught a glimpse of a tiny warm smile on her face before Candy obstructed his view by pulling his head down so he could rest his chin on her head.

–Y’all really thought we died? Seriously?– Panda asked with an amused but grateful grin as Tricky, Nitro, and Kiwy gave him a brief hug before they all shared a laugh and began joking around. Indie approached them, but she only stayed behind and kept quiet, choosing to watch her teammates celebrate without getting in the way so she could enjoy the moment from a distance.

But she wasn’t the only one staying back; Scott was left behind by Panda after they all came to greet him, and as no one came to him, he just stood awkwardly next to Crisis while sharing a few smiles whenever someone glanced at him. Despite being excluded, he looked happy to just be there with them, appreciating the little acknowledgment he received as he listened in on Panda’s jokes. Scott was definitely in a rougher shape than Frost and Panda, so he took longer to collect his thoughts and regain composure. But as he began looking around the junkyard, appreciating the fact they got out of the cave alive just in time, he noticed Candy wrapped around Frost like a monkey, refusing to let him go, which got a few nervous laughs out of him as he tried to pull her off him repeatedly.

Frost eventually gave up and allowed Candy to hug him for a while longer, but it led to Scott fixating on their intimate moment. He kept staring at Candy in particular, intrigued by seeing her so delighted and endearing towards Frost, but also crying from the great amount of anxiety she suffered from almost losing him. Something sparked in Scott at that moment. He suddenly turned a lot more serious, and even though he still seemed joyous from escaping the cave, that initial gratitude and relief began to fade away slowly. In its place, a disgruntled, almost sorrowful, yet bitter frown formed as he looked at the entire squad and began dissociating from them. That expression stayed with him for a long while, at least until the team stopped celebrating and cheering, giving him the chance to join the conversation.

–So, what happened there? Tell us!– Nitro asked eagerly as the team gathered around Panda and Frost, with Scott shyly stepping closer as he turned back to his normal self, although he stayed behind to not steal the spotlight since the others really seemed to enjoy the recognition.

–Oh, it was nothing, almost got crushed like eight times, the usual stuff…– Frost replied in a playfully smug manner that got some laughs out of the squad. But as his response only made them more curious, Panda stepped in to share more details in an overly dramatic manner.

–Yea, we chased after Trash, we found their stash, but then the suckers ran off on us and left us to die… We were too deep, so we climbed up the entire ravine right before it exploded. We had to leave the elevator behind because it fell out of nowhere, and then we got trapped right at the exit and had to search for another way… We were about to off ourselves, but I was out of bullets, then I saw the light and I said to Frost, I’m not going down like this, and then he said, me neither, and then… Uhh, oh right, I got hit on the head by a massive rock… I’m pretty sure I have a concussion right now…– Panda explained with such energy and enthusiasm that he blurted his words out as fast as he could before he had to catch his breath. However, he then fell quiet as he held his head and realized he was injured, but he just brushed it off, prompting the entire squad to laugh with him.

–We really thought you were gone, for like, forever… That would have been awful…– Tricky said in a rather sarcastic tone that got a brief skeptical stare out of Frost, but as he remained carefree as Candy was still wrapped around his back, he scoffed at her comment and responded with a smirk.

–Yea, I’m sure you wish I didn’t return, it would save the team a lot of trouble in the future…– Frost joked with a teasing grin before turning to Indie, who looked at him with the usual disapproving stare, though she did crack up a little despite growing suspicious of his and Panda’s disappearance.

–Alright, before I get yelled at again, let me tell you what really happened back there…– Frost added with a casual sigh as he kept his cocky, nonchalant attitude now that the squad was walking back to the base. They all followed him in a heartbeat, enamored by his words as he began to narrate his escape with Panda, keeping Candy entertained as she wouldn’t let him go.

The only ones who stayed behind for a second were Indie and Scott, with the former looking at him weirdly for a brief moment before giving him a nod and pulling out her radio. While she called back to the base to inform them about the completion of the operation, omitting the incident with Frost and Panda, Scott tried to catch up with the rest of the group. They were all focused on listening to Panda and Frost’s story, which they began exaggerating more with every detail they added, managing to engage their teammates to the point they didn’t even notice Scott’s presence.

He sneaked in to hear how they narrated the event, and even though they didn’t mention him much despite playing a major role in their escape, Scott seemed pleased just to listen like the rest of the squad. He did realize that they were playing up the story for a more dramatic tale, which seemed to work as it got plenty of reactions from the team. But as Scott didn’t put much thought into it, an ever so slightly proud smile appeared on his face as he returned safely to his home with the team, getting a last look back at the cave before looking at the dawn breaking over the hills around them with dreamy eyes. Somehow, he had made it.

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