Haji checked his watch for the 100th time that hour.

"It's been quiet for too long." Haji said to himself. He told them 48 hours, but he knew how terrible it would look if he returned with Zero and Two's corpse. Command would not be happy.

"Sgt. Sadiki! Look!" The pilot, who had been sitting on the ground by the helicopter, was now on his feet pointing in the distance.

Haji turned and saw a trail of fire as it streaked upwards against the night sky and then dissipated into nothing.

He let out a small sigh.

"Alright, time to head out."

They jumped back into the helicopter and took off towards where they saw the makeshift flare go off. After several minutes of flying, the helicopter rounded the back end of one of the large cliff faces.

There stood Two and Zero by a giant hole that was made into the side of the cliff. Zero was waving them down as Two was taking a breather against a nearby tree.

The helicopter landed in one of the small clearings. Haji hopped out to meet the two as they approached.

Haji looked them both over to check their condition. "Well, you both look like you had the literal shit beat out of you."

Zero smiled a little, "Things got a little chaotic for a bit."

Two nodded in agreement. "That's putting it mildly."

Haji's eyes widened at the brief but civil exchange. "That's…well that's good. So, did you complete the mission?....Together?"

"Yes, the group was wiped out. We ended up in the black out zone due to an explosion while fighting off the last of them, but we managed to work our way out." Two reported.

Haji paused and raised his eyebrow. "Wait, you two ended up in a black out zone? And you're both still here? I'm…I'm going to need a pretty detailed report on this one, Two. As well as the intel you guys gathered."

"Yes, sir."

Zero peeked over at Two out the corner of his eye. Why did he lie? He thought to himself. Unless I missed something, there are still more of that group roaming around that we didn't get..

"Good job boys." Haji stated. He turned to Zero, "How did you feel about your first mission, Zero?"

"Um, it was….actually pretty thrilling." Zero said back.

Haji nodded and turned towards the helicopter. "Great job out there today. Let's head home."

The ride back felt a lot less tense as Zero and Two sat across from each other again. They rode in silence, but not because they didn't want the other around, but because they were exhausted. They had been out in the field for about 8 or 9 hours before Haji picked them up. The whole time being on high alert.

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The whirring of the helicopter blades eventually lulled both of them off to a well deserved sleep.

When they returned back to base, Zero went down to midnight squad's sub-level while Two went with Haji to his office to debrief about the mission.

As Zero got off the elevator, it was only then that he realized that he had lost his backpack somewhere during all the scuffle in the forest. Thankfully he only brought a few extra clothes. His hand then immediately shot up around his neck and felt relieved that the necklace Five gave him was still there.

"You made it!" Three had her head poked around the corner with a big smile on.

"Yeah, it all went well considering."

"Awesome. Come on, we're all hanging out on the couch. One let us know that you guys were on the way back so figured we stay up and greet you." She peeked around Zero. "Where's Two?"

"Oh, he went with Sgt. Sadiki to his office."

Three rolled her eyes. "This guy. He thinks we all have short term memory and will forget everything if we don't debrief immediately. Just because I don't remember my name doesn't mean I don't remember how many Reapers I took out."

Zero chuckled and walked with her to the common area.

"Zero!" Five called out as he waved. They were all wearing some form of pajamas and just sitting around on the couches. There was Five, One, Three, and….

"It's you!" Zero called out as he recognized Four sitting on the edge of the couch in an over-sized sweater. Four also was just as surprised to see him.

"Wait, YOU'RE the new Zero?" Four said in shock.

The others looked confused.

"You guys…already know each other?" One asked them.

"Um, sorta." Zero answered. Internally Zero was having a mini freakout.

This guy is on the team too?! He thought. What if he brings up seeing me leave the other day? Has anyone here heard the news from the city yet? I have to change the subject..

Before he could say anything, Five came to the rescue.

"Let's forget about that right now! Tell us about the mission!"

Zero gladly diverted talking about meeting Four and told them all about the mission. About how far they had to walk, tracking the Reapers, the cave in, and of course their time in the black out zone.

Even One seemed impressed.

"So you guys actually landed yourselves in a black out zone? I'm just glad you both made it back in one piece." One said.

Zero leaned forward in the chair he sat in. "Definitely. If it wasn't for Two keeping his cool the whole time it would've turned out a lot worse."

"I bet. That's especially surprising seeing as he's never been in a black out zone either."

Zero almost choked on the spit he was just swallowing. "S-so that was his first time EVER?"

"Oh yea." Three chimed in. "Honestly, the only one of us who has actually been in one is One. None of the rest of us have any experience with it."

Zero laughed nervously.

So, we were this close to dying then. He nervously thought to himself.

*Ding*

The sound of the elevator door opening caught their attention.

"Ah, that must be Two." Three said as she got up from her seat to go greet him as well.

Zero stole a quick glance over at Four who also happened to be looking at him. They both hastily looked away from each other.

"So are you and Two finally holding hands and playing nice?" Five said with a sneer.

"Oh shut it." Zero said jokingly. "It is nice to not have him constantly hissing venom at me when I talk to him."

One suddenly perked up and stood up from his seat. The others looked at him and his frantic movement.

Three walked around the corner with an almost nervous look on her face.

"Guys, we have a visitor." She said as she turned to the person about to walk around the corner.

"Oh don't mind me guys, just wanted to pop in for a quick sec!"

The Major General rounded the corner with his oddly playful personality. Even though it was late into the night, he was still in his full military outfit - coat and all. As far as Zero knew, the Major General never made trips down here.

He looked around the room until his eyes landed on Zero.

"What can we do for you, sir?" One spoke up.

"Oh nothing too dire. I just wanted to borrow one of your squad for just a moment if that's okay. Zero, come with me please."