Chapter Text
“You know, when Amiya said we needed to get out of here, this wasn’t what I had in mind.” An exasperated Flare mentally says to the Ghost hiding in his non-existent backpack as he’s carried forward by the Cautus in question, with his left arm slung over her shoulder.
“Be able to walk on your own first, then you can complain.”
He rolls his eyes as the Hunter’s head turns to his right, peering through the tinted visor of his white and black-accented mask and past the white root-woven net interior and black ribbed exterior of his cloak’s hood to watch as multiple uniform masked figures dressed in white, wearing tactical vests and armed with crossbows and swords, move out of sight to the other side of the massive concrete cube the recovery team just left and were using as cover just a moment ago.
Now, the team would be moving faster, if it wasn’t for the fact that Flare’s legs really liked to casually crumple under his weight at the moment.
That was a wrinkle in the plan he, Ashe, and Amiya became painfully aware of after getting him out of the box and onto his feet, and the Hunter lasted a outstanding five fucking seconds before his legs decided not to leg anymore.
Getting him changed out of the medical gown and into something more protective was simple enough, just prop Flare up against something and have Ashe transmat the gear onto him (minus the mask, she let him put that on himself) instead of going through the struggle of physically changing him into it.
Now, getting him out of there with jello for legs was a whole different issue, so they ended up just deciding to either hold him up (like Amiya’s doing at the moment) or to just straight up carry him on their backs, at least until his legs regain enough strength for him to walk unaided.
Flare’s just really hoping that they don’t end up having him piggybacking, he doesn’t think his dignity would survive it.
Guard, the beanie-man from earlier but now armed with a crossbow of his own, catches back up with the rest of the team after ensuring that they weren’t about to be jumped by Reunion and takes point. They eventually reach a short staircase leading to a door sealed shut by a valve.
“Cover me.” Guard says as he hands his crossbow off to Medic, the… well, medic from earlier (and the winner of the Most Unimaginative Codename Ever award), “I’ll get the door open.”
“Try to do it quickly,” Amiya says, propping Flare up against a railing, “we probably don’t have long until that patrol comes back.”
In response, a “no pressure” is muttered under the swordsman’s breath.
Ashe chirps in over comms, “If it helps, I can keep watch using Flare’s radar.”
“That would help. Thanks, Ashe.”
As Amiya turns to help Medic keep watch, Flare takes the opportunity to take a look at what he’s been equipped with, while ignoring the squeaks of the valve turning.
The mask and cloak were pretty easy to figure out; the mask was a slightly redesigned version of the mask designed for the Solstice around the time of after the Scarlet Keep shitshow and a few months before Europa and Stasis, the differences from that and the one Flare’s wearing is that the colors are consistent with the Solstice mask he wore with his previous armor, just the cracks that would emit a glow of the color of whatever element he was currently channeling were missing and the visor lacked the same glow.
He’s already missing the glow horns.
As for the cloak? That’s easier, the Relativism cloak was something he picked up while wandering the Pale Heart following the Witness’ death and it quickly became a favorite of his because of its ability to mimic the abilities of some of the other specialty armor in his arsenal. And while normally, it’s shades of white and a pale blue, Flare had long since reshaded it to make it black with white accents and with a few splashes of a light blue in there for good measure.
As for what it's currently mimicking? Just the ability to make things explode when killed with electrified fists, thrown and heated/flaming knives, smoke bombs, Strand rope darts, Stasis shurikens, etc. and a small healing burst when dodging enemy fire. Pretty useful if the Hunter says so himself.
For the rest of the armor? Well, Flare pretty quickly recognized the legs and forearms as being nearly identical to the First Ascent armor that the Hunter assimilated into his armor following his first encounter with the Witness. Their differences to the original armor starting with general changes is that the color scheme was changed from shades of gray with teal accents to black and dark gray with light blue accents, the armor plates are also now white instead of silver.
For the legs, they’re mostly the same but the parts that would have integrated it with the armor’s vest are missing, so no random remains of a torso wrap on his right thigh. The arms are a bit more extensive, as all that remains is the now white bracers, elbow guards, and the armor on the back of the untouched padded gloves, the entire left bracer is visible now that the sleeves covering it are gone.
But while the original sleeves and the vest they attached to are gone, that doesn’t mean that Flare’s upper body is mostly exposed, as it’s covered by a very dark cyan and light blue coat that is near identical to the one that Amiya is wearing, the only differences being that its closed instead of being left open and it doesn’t appear to completely eat him alive.
He also has a holster and knife sheath on his right and left hips respectively. The sheath on his left holds a combat/throwing knife, while the holster, which is adorned with the Hunter emblem, on his right is the right size for hand cannons and sidearms. And in said holster lies a black and white hand cannon, with the outline of a white spade emblazoned on its black grip.
The Ace of Spades.
Flare lets out a quiet laugh at the sight of his favorite and go-to cannon. “Am I really that predictable Ashe?”
The Ghost responds with a digitized laugh of her own. “Yes. Yes, you are.”
The quiet, shrill sound of the door Guard was working on being opened catches the attention of the three, technically four, keeping watch.
“It's open, let's move.”
Amiya quickly collects Flare and Guard retrieves his crossbow before the team enters the top of a massive stairwell downwards with barred, circular holes in the walls. Having nowhere else to go and with a collective sigh, the team starts their descent, with Flare keeping one eye on his HUD’s radar and the other on the Weave the entire time in case of a potential ambush.
Upon finally reaching the end of the stairway, whose architect Flare now wants to personally murder, the team’s met with a second, larger valve door, only this one opens surprisingly quicker than the last, revealing a maintenance tunnel on the other side. Guard enters first, sweeping the tunnel for potential hostiles.
After a sweep that was a smidge too brief for Flare’s liking, even if it was backed up by his radar and the Weave, Guard stops aiming his crossbow and raises it. “All clear.”
The other three enter the room, Ashe deciding to join them and materializing as Amiya brings her Guardian past the threshold.
“Let’s rest here for a moment.” Amiya states as she’s setting Flare against the tunnel’s wall, getting an “alright” from the Hunter.
Guard sighs as he removes his hand from his radio. “Amiya.”
The Cautus’ head turns to him.
“I can’t reach Captain Dobermann.”
“I can’t either, something’s gotta be wrong.” Ashe adds on.
Amiya’s brow furrows for a moment. “She might have engaged Reunion already…” She sighs before continuing. “We’ll need to stay alert going forward.”
“I know we just stopped, but are we ready to move again?”
A quartet of nods answer their leader’s question.
“Alright.” Is the only thing she says as Amiya moves to pick Flare back up, with Ashe vanishing back into his backpack as she does. Guard interrupts her though.
“I’ll carry the Doctor, you two cover us.”
Amiya thinks it over for a second.
“Roger that.” And with that, the Cautus backs away.
Standing back up, she continues. “We have no idea where Reunion might be hiding. We have to be extra careful on our way to the rendezvous point.” Amiya then turns her head to Flare. “Doctor, I hate to ask you of this in your current condition, but if we encounter any trouble, do you mind lending us whatever you can muster?”
That question makes Flare pause for a second as he looks back at her.
The only power he’s really tried was Strand and that was just to see if there was anything to be alert of, not actually manipulating its telltale emerald threads.
And that’s only one of his Darkness powers, Deepsight can’t be used offensively what-so-ever and is already working passively, Stasis probably would work if Strand does but he hasn’t tried yet and given its the most draining of the two offensive Darkness elements he can use, Flare’s not in a hurry to test it.
As for his Light powers, Arc, Solar, and Void Light would all more or less be in the same camp: unsure and untested.
And if the Light’s out of commission, he can’t use Transcendance, which means no Hailfire Spikes and no dual element Supers.
So with a sigh, he responds. “I’ll try, but I can’t make any promises that it would be enough to help.”
Amiya gives him a reassuring smile. “That’s alright, we’ll just have to adapt to what you can use.” She returns to addressing all of them. “We should get moving.”
After a few “roger”s, Guard picks up Flare, but to the Hunter’s horror, he’s put into a piggyback. Flare groans as he feels his part of him die, much to the endless amusement of his Ghost.
The recovery team finds themselves staying low on the topmost balcony overlooking a room with a massive support column in the center and an opening on the wall opposite of them that’s full of identical Reunion grunts.
“Hey Ashe, feel like counting them all?”
“Eat shit and die.”
Medic speaks up for what’s probably the first time since they started their exfiltration, the nerves ever so present in her voice. “Reunion’s covering the rendezvous point.”
“I don’t see signs of a fight.” Guard adds on.
“Any chance we got here before Dobermann?” Flare asks.
“Not sure, I’m not picking up their pings yet.” Ashe answers.
“We can’t regroup there.” Amiya states. “Head to the backup point. We’ll search the area if we don’t find Dobermann there.”
With an unsaid agreement, Medic takes point, sliding up to the side of a doorframe and taking cover, crossbow at the ready.
However, following a twitch of one of her ears coinciding with a faint flash of red on Flare’s radar, she holds out a hand to stop them before turning to them. “I hear footsteps. Turn back!”
The red on the radar grows as Amiya starts moving to the other doorway. “Amiya, wait!”
The Hunter’s warning comes out too late as she makes it to the door and immediately recoils away from it. “Someone’s coming this way, too!”
Flare quickly looks into the Weave to pinpoint the owners of the radar pings…
…only to find one, flanked by two others, entering the doorway behind Medic. “Medic! Get away from the door!”
That warning is delivered too late as well as her head snaps back to the door, only to be met by a nondescript white mask peering back at her through it.
The Reunion grunts move to block the doorway as the one closest to Medic advances a step closer. “Who are you? What are you doing here?” He notices the crossbow and draws his blade. “Drop your weapons!” He demands as he threatens the already terrified medic with his own weapon.
“Who are you people? What are you doing here?” He repeats in response to the medic’s terrified squeals. “Start talking!”
Amiya moves to Flare side, giving him a nearly imperceivable nod before facing the grunt and putting her hands up and starts an attempt to placate the grunt. “We are not your enemy. Please calm down.”
It takes Flare a moment to realize that while she’s actually trying to calm the grunt down, the nod was his cue to start seeing what he can pull out of his ass to get them out of this in case things get hairy.
“She’s… stalling? Huh, that’s the last thing I expected.”
“Lies right off the bat, huh?” The grunt’s words cause the Hunter to remember that he’s on the clock and needs to think fast.
“Ok, let’s see… Okay, well, Solar’s out by default, too much chance for collateral. An Arc flashbang could do the trick, but I’d need to tell the others to avert their gaze and it could draw more attention. I could turn us invisible with Void and a smoke bomb and slip away, but that would leave them in a position to alert the others…”
“Search them head to tail. We’re taking them in.” The two other grunts in the doorway start moving forward.
“...I could use Strand to string them up, but that would still leave them to be able to raise an alarm and strangling them with it could take too much time…”
“So that leaves…”
The Hunter takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, and focuses as much will and control as he can muster in his state onto himself and the environment around him.
Unbeknownst to the focusing Hunter, his visor starts glowing with an crystalline-esque indigo light with a pair of horns composed of the same glow growing out of the mask’s forehead, much to the confusion of most of them and wonder of a certain Cautus.
“Forget the lightshow, grab them!”
After a moment, Flare opens his eyes and looks at his hand, and the Revenant sees a swirl of indigo ice and frost forming in its palm.
“Heh…” The Hunter smirks for a second under his mask before replacing it with a more focused expression.
And before one of the grunts can grab Medic’s arm and yank her up, Flare brings up his arm, the indigo glow in his palm gaining a blinding intensity, before slamming his hand into the floor.
The resulting pulse of Stasis energy strips all three Reunion grunts of their entropy, freezing them solid.
“What was…?!” Guard sputtered out, definitely caught off guard (ironic) by the Reunion grunts suddenly becoming ice sculptures.
“They’re…frozen?” Medic isn’t faring much better.
“You know, Doctor.” Amiya starts as she turns to Flare, “I was kind of expecting you to use Strand or Arc instead of Stasis.”
The Hunter gives a shrug as his mask’s glow starts fading out. “Eh, figured the ol’ popsicle maker would be the safest bet, there were just too many risks with the others.”
The Cautus gives a thoughtful noise, before her attention’s stolen by two pairs of approaching footsteps.
“They froze the others?” The first of the oncoming grunts questions.
“Great… more Reunion…” Ashe states, exasperated.
“Weren’t you on radar duty?!” Flare interrogates.
“Shut.”
“What are you asking me for? Just get them already!” The second replies.
Flare sighs. “I’ll start charging another pulse.”
Only for Amiya to shut him down. “No, save your strength Doctor. I’ll handle them.”
The Cautus turns to face the encroaching grunts, black energy crackling around her fingertips.
But before either the grunts could reach them or Amiya could unleash her attack, a whip cracks against the skull of the rightmost grunt, causing them to collide with both the grunt next to them and the wall, knocking them out cold.
Standing behind where the grunts were a moment ago stands a woman with canine features - which another of Flare’s fragmented memories id’s as a Perro - brandishing a whip. She’s flanked by two others aiming crossbows in their direction, but the general very dark cyan and light blue color scheme in their outfits tells Flare that they’re on their side.
That’s when Flare noticed that his visor, via Ashe’s databanks, id’d her, confirming that she’s not hostile while also giving her identity or at least her codename:
Dobermann.
“Gee, look who’s late.”
“You beat me by a second.”
The black sparks dissipate as Amiya’s shoulders fall in relief. “Dobermann!”
The Perro gives a small nod in response. “Sorry I’m late. Is everyone okay?”
Flare gives a small nod while Amiya speaks on behalf of the other two. “Yes, we’re fine.”
Any further discussion between the two teams is prevented by shouts from below them.
“Over there!”
“Grab ‘em!”
“Don’t let them escape!”
“There’s a lot of activity closing in on us!” Ashe chirps over comms.
“That's an understatement and a half, Ashe.” Her Hunter remarks in response.
“Looks like our friends downstairs heard the commotion.” Dobermann bitterly notes.
Her gaze turns back to the recovery team.
The Perro’s eyes flick to the three Reunion grunts, still frozen by their Stasis-induced lack of entropy, and linger there for a moment, her gaze unreadable, before returning to the team as a whole.
“I found a shortcut, come with me.”
“Roger that.” Is the last thing said as Amiya helps Flare to his feet and starts following Dobermann, with the others following after.
After a short while of evading patrols and slipping through ventilation shafts, the united team takes a moment of respite on a large ledge in a space behind a large turbine.
In other news, Flare’s legs now feel like cooperating, so he’s able to stand on his own for much more than five seconds before they give out again. As for walking, he hasn’t tried yet and he’s not convinced that Amiya’s willing to find out given their current circumstances.
“It’s lucky we managed to regroup.” Dobermann opens, her arms crossed.
Amiya gives an agreeing nod. “Yes. We rescued the Doctor, too. Now, we just need to make our way up.”
“About that…” The Perro starts. “A large number of Reunion fighters have infiltrated the underground passage.” She turns her head to look at the turbine before continuing. “They seem to be looking for something, but their objective is unclear.” Dobermann turns her head back to Amiya. “What is certain is that they already see us as enemies.”
“We have to assume they’re guarding all of the exits we planned to use. And there’s no time to look for any other ways out. We will have to fight.” The Perro finishes, before turning her gaze to Flare.
“Doctor,” The Hunter’s head snaps up and out of his thoughts to meet her gaze, his hands staying firmly in his coat’s pockets, “I’ve heard of your superior commanding skills, along with your… unique abilities.”
That last part raised an eyebrow…
Amiya moves to retrieve something out of her coat pockets, with Flare watching as Dobermann continues. “I’d like you to direct our extraction operation.”
“Originally, after Amiya’s team recovered you, we were to contact Dr. Kal’tsit to direct our extraction, but something is interfering with our outward communications, preventing us from contacting her. As a result, we’re forced to place the operation in your hands so soon.”
Flare barely notices a flicker of familiarity at the mention of “Dr. Kal’tsit”, but ultimately shrugs it off.
Amiya raises her hands, a device, about the size and shape of a pre-Golden Age smartphone, lying in them, with its display alight with a white screen, saying “PRTS: Analysis OS” with text saying to “please login” directly below it.
“Doctor, this is PRTS.”
“I’m sorry we’re pushing you so hard.” She takes a breath before continuing as Flare removes his hands from his pockets and gingerly takes the terminal. “But with you in command, I’m sure we’ll all make it above ground safely.”
“Please, Doctor.”
“Help us.”
The Hunter lifts the terminal closer to his face in one of his hands.
“Please log in.”
A flicker of a memory surfaces, but fades before he can perceive it.
Flare takes a shaky breath as he looks at all of the expectant, hopeful gazes around him.
At Guard, Medic, and Dobermann’s crossbowmen; while none of them have done anything super noteworthy yet, knowing that they’re there to lend support when needed is very much appreciated.
At Dobermann; while he hadn’t known the Perro long (to his current knowledge at least), she helped them out of a sticky situation that probably would have only gotten stickier if she hadn’t stepped in and will probably continue to do so.
And finally, at Amiya; the young girl who had been there to greet him as he woke up in that damned box and has since started haunting the Hunter’s missing memories, a girl who seems to have more faith in him in spite of his amnesia than he ever had in himself ever since his second life began all those years ago.
Flare looks back at the device in his hand, the weight of which feels like it's grown ten times.
The Ghost hovering over his shoulder the entire time remains silent, knowing that she needs to let him decide this himself.
He doesn’t know why he’s hesitating so badly. Flare usually sees a risk and dives right into it, he once ran head first into a room full of higher ranking Vex Wyverns with no grenade launcher or machine gun ammo while also being low on time to complete whatever other errand he had that day.
It took him over three hours to reduce all of the Vex combat frames to scrap metal after countless revives, all he got out of it was another unwanted weapon to scrap and a missed time window that netted him an about three week wait just for another shot at it.
But… that was just his life on the line, not the lives of six other people.
And while yes, he is the leader of a Fireteam, they’re all Guardians, whatever kills them they can just kill right back. And their strategies tend to be “kill whatever tries to kill you” with highly infrequent nuance.
They get an endless supply of second chances. The six around him don’t.
And he isn’t confident that he can keep them safe.
So, with a sigh, the arm holding the terminal falls slack against his side.
“I’m sorry. I can’t do it… Not in my current state.”
The rampant dismay on all of their faces hurts to see, but he won’t put them in even more danger if he can help it.
“What do you mean?” Dobermann questions in an interrogative tone that Flare doesn’t appreciate at all.
The Hunter lets out an annoyed sigh. “Let me give you the short version then.”
“I woke up with a significant part of my memories missing, and whether it's because of a third party or not and whether fragments come back or not, what matters is that unless those skills became muscle memory at some point or I just spontaneously get them back when I inevitably find myself in that position eventually, those commanding skills you want, I no longer have .”
The space is rendered silent as everyone is taken aback by Flare’s frustrated tirade. Not just from it being unexpected, but also that it dropped the bombshell on everyone who isn’t a Cautus that the Hunter is dealing with amnesia.
“I’m sorry Dobermann, I really am. But I’m not getting any of you killed because I’m not up to the task yet.”
The silence persists for a few moments.
“You're fucking kidding me…” Dobermann finally hisses out. “All the Oripathy research, everything, gone… This was all for nothing…!”
She takes a moment to recompose herself before turning to face Amiya, who despite the dismayed expression she had a moment ago, already exchanged it for a more resolute one. “Amiya, this situation is far outside what we planned for.”
“We need a new strategy for this operation… No, for all of Rhodes Island.”
“Amiya, are you listening?!”
The Cautus doesn’t answer, her eyes locked with Flare’s eyes, barely visible under his mask’s visor.
“We’re fine.” She finally responds, having found what she was looking for in his gaze.
No.
She already knew it was there.
She just wanted him to see that she isn’t giving up on him. Not now. Not ever.
“The Doctor will get us out of this, I know he will.”
And judging by how his eyes widen slightly, she knows he got the message.
“What about this is “fine”?” Dobermann snaps back incredulously. “Our commander is missing very crucial portions of his memory!”
“What’s missing isn’t gone.” Amiya replies calmly. “It just needs time and the right triggers to bring them back.”
She turns her head to Dobermann before continuing.
“And besides, what he does still recall could help us out of this just as-”
“I get where you’re coming from,” The Perro interrupts, closing her eyes and rubbing her forehead, “but you’re being too optimistic.”
She pauses for a moment before sighing, opening her eyes and letting her hand fall back to her side.
“No.” What she wanted to say wasn’t worth it. “We have to work with the manpower we’ve got.”
Amiya gives a small nod before turning back to Flare.
“Doctor.” She takes a breath. “I know you aren’t willing to lead at the moment, but can you still provide us your aid?”
The Hunter’s silent for a moment, before putting his hands back into his pockets and letting out a small chuckle. “I’ve promised you that much already, haven’t I?”
The Cautus’ eyes brighten slightly. “Thank you, Doctor.”
“And don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll remember everything eventually.”
A Reunion grunt stands alone in a tight corridor, standing guard in case those intruders from earlier try to head down this way.
Unfortunately for him, he doesn’t have eyes in the back of his head as he’s quickly and quietly ambushed by one of the crossbowmen, who chokes the grunt out until he’s out cold.
The rest of the team is motioned forward and they advance through the corridor with as little noise as possible.
Flare’s found himself back on Guard’s back as the team collectively agreed that they need to get to the surface as quickly as possible before they’re cornered and Flare moving on his own could end up slowing them down.
The team moves through doors and corridors before exiting one door into a small corridor that leads into an area leading up to sunlight that resembles a roofed drainage canal. The crossbowman who’s been taking point for most of this leg of the exfiltration goes first, sweeping for any Reunion grunts lying in wait.
“All clear.” Is all he says before looking toward the ramp upwards. Dobermann moves from the opening into the tunnel shortly after the signal is given.
“I thought this place would be a no-go. Was I overthinking it?”
The crossbowman behind her lowers his weapon and looks back as the other crossbowman and Medic step out as well.
“Are we getting through to Rhodes Island?” The Perro questions as the others leave cover.
“No response. The signal’s still being jammed.” One of the crossbowmen answers.
“Yeah, and I’m not having luck tracing where the jamming is coming from.” Ashe adds on. “We’ll need to track the jammer down before we can raise the others and call for evac.”
“Copy that.”
As Guard moves to leave the opening, a tap on his shoulder from Flare stops him.
“Doctor?”
“Just wait for a moment.” Is all the Hunter says as he stares at the ramp up into daylight.
His eyes narrow under his visor. “Something isn’t right…”
Also hearing his order, Amiya stops with them as well, still watching their back for an ambush.
Unfortunately, the others didn’t hear Flare as one of the crossbowmen speaks up. “Should we move up?”
“Yes, but let’s check out the situation above ground first.” Dobermann replies. “The two of us will head outside. Everyone else, watch our six and wait for our signal.”
And the two start approaching the exit.
“Outside…?”
A disturbing thought occurs to Flare.
“Ashe, boost our signal! Fast!”
“O-okay?”
The Ghost’s response falls on deaf ears as he immediately starts feeling into the Weave again…
…to be met with the horrible understanding of every part of the trap they just walked into.
“Oh… shit.”
The two are nearly at the exit.
With a breath and mustering all the strength he can in his disused vocal chords, he tries to call out as loud as he can…
…only for Amiya to do it for him to his confusion.
“Dobermann! Come back!”
The Perro’s head whips around at Amiya’s cry and half a second later the crossbowman in front of her is pelted with crossbow bolts and falls to the ground.
“Damn it!”
At least four Reunion grunts drop down onto the ramp in front of her with their blades drawn.
“It’s a trap!” Dobermann exclaims as her whip cracks against the ground.
She starts pulling the incapacitated and very-filled-with-arrows archer backwards with her. “We’re falling back! Cover us!”
“They’re coming from below, too!” Medic calls back.
“This way too!” Guard calls out as well, looking at where they came from. Though that entrance is quickly blocked by Stasis crystals spawned by a Glacier Grenade Flare threw out moments later. “That should hold for a while! Guard, go help out Dobermann!”
“Roger!” Guard responds as he puts Flare back on his feet before heading towards Dobermann. The Hunter draws the Ace of Spades from its resting place and checks its cylinder to ensure its loaded before flicking it back shut. He props himself against one side of the opening and starts firing down the tunnel at the grunts running up at Medic and the other crossbowman.
“Amiya! Can you give them covering fire?”
Amiya must have been dazed for a bit as after a delay she nods and takes the side of the opening opposite of Flare and starts throwing volleys of black bolts at the increasing number of grunts assailing Dobermann and Guard, with the Hunter noticing while reloading his hand cannon.
“So that’s how she fights… neat.”
“Still doesn’t explain how she knew I was going to call them back…”
During the skirmish, however, very few of the recovery team hear the comms crackle to life with a male voice calling to them through the static. “Can you… read me?”
“Flare, there’s someone trying to get through on comms!”
The Hunter stops firing for a moment. “Is that because you boosted our signal?”
Amiya must have heard him, since Flare notices her out of the corner of his eye, she stops firing as well and looks over at him.
“I’m still working on that and there’s still too much interference, so whoever it is has to be close by!”
The comms crackle again. “Ace… Come in…”
The static abruptly vanishes.
“This is Ace! Do you read me!?”
Unlike his first attempt, his call doesn’t go unnoticed by the others.
“Captain Ace?” Guard calls back. “Loud and clear!”
“We read you!” Amiya adds as she and Flare start firing again.
“Look alive. Flashbang coming out.”
“What?” Dobermann breaths out as she backpetals.
“On my signal, cover your eyes and ears.”
“Easy for you to say, you're not the one who can’t cover his ears.” Flare mutters under his breath.
He must have said it louder than intended as a chuckle rings out over the comms for a moment in response.
But only for a moment as the voice returns.
“Now!”
“Doctor, get down!” Flare hears Amiya call out and tries to turn to face her as he’s tackled to the ground by the Cautus, her hood falling over her head as she tries to protect the Hunter from the flashbang that’s just hit the ramp.
It bounces a few times before erupting into a mix of blinding light and deafening sound.
After a few moments, Flare cracks an eye open, his ears still ringing from the flashbang and his vision still full of the floor of the tunnel, with his view of it partially obscured by Amiya’s left hand and right forearm. Thankfully his radar isn’t obscured due to being part of his mask’s HUD, so he’s able to see that more friendly pings have appeared on it, with one of them moving over to where the Hunter and Cautus lie.
After reaching them, it stops moving and he feels the weight on top of him shift as Amiya’s arms move away from his visor. A pat on his cloak’s hood informs him that it's safe to get up and the two move to get back onto their feet.
After escaping Reunion’s ambush, the two teams relocate to an abandoned store of some kind with its windows shot out somewhere within the city to regroup.
Sitting below one of those windows and watching the approaching storm clouds on the horizon with Ashe sitting on his shoulder, it occurs to Flare that he never really asked where they even were.
But before he can ask his Ghost, his attention’s drawn to the injured crossbowman on the floor in front of him, who lets out another agonized cry as Medic treats him.
“Procedure complete, you’re okay now.”
Flare’s feeling pretty thankful to have a Ghost just from watching that.
“This is awful…” The Hunter’s gaze drifts over to the voice’s owner, as she’s crouched down near a group of bodies that used to be a family of three, with Guard standing close by. The sorrow and disbelief in Amiya’s voice is hard to ignore. “How could they do this to such a young girl?”
The Cautus pauses for a moment.
“I’m sorry we’re using your shop without permission.” She says, grabbing a tablecloth and pulling it over to cover them. “Please let us rest for a bit.”
“I wanted… to save you.”
Flare’s eyes linger on Amiya for a moment longer before pulling out the terminal she gave him earlier and turning to look at it.
“Please log in.”
He sighs.
“Can I really…?”
As he stares at the device sitting in his left hand, Amiya crouches down onto her knees next to him.
“Doctor.” He turns his head to face her. “You can login using your fingerprint, as long as you think you’re ready.”
“It’s our friend, and it’ll give us all the information we need.”
Flare turns back to looking at the device and stares in silence at it for a moment.
“I…”
Amiya gives him a reassuring smile.
“It’s okay, there’s no rush. Just try to remember what you can a little at a time.”
At that moment, Dobermann and Ace, a man with a beard wearing sunglasses, a headset, and tactical vest, walk back into the shop.
The even larger recovery turned exfiltration team turns to attention at the two captains’ entrance.
“Everyone listen up.” Dobermann begins. “We’ve scouted the route to the secret shortcut and it’s safe. We’re leaving in ten.”
“Rest up until then.”
Ace moves from next to Dobermann and over to Flare, Ashe, and Amiya.
“Ace.” The Cautus greets warmly.
“Hey.” Ace greets back as he reaches them.
“Thanks for getting there when you did, I don’t think we would have come out of that as intact as we did without you.” Ashe says.
“Don’t mention it. I’ve had plenty of thanks already.” The captain states as he crouches down in front of Flare and rests his arm on the one knee left upright. “It’s been a long time… Doctor.”
“Oh…”
“Oh fuck.”
It’s one thing if they’ve heard of him, it’s another if they knew him.
And while he did have warning from a flicker of familiarity, he more or less didn’t notice it since it wasn’t as intense as the feeling Amiya still gives him (though the reason why is probably just because he still doesn’t completely remember her or what she is to him yet).
But unlike with Amiya, there’s no memory fragments coming to his aid this time.
So the Hunter just stares blankly at the man, noticing that there’s no discernible animal traits that he’s left visible, unlike literally everyone else around them. And to his surprise, no memory fragments barge in out of the ether to provide Ace’s race, so that’s something.
And the next words out of Ace’s mouth hit Flare with a sledgehammer. “I hear you’ve got amnesia, or at least partially.”
“Uh…”
“Don’t worry about it. As long as you’re healthy.”
“What is it with everyone who knew me and being really fucking good at being reassuring?!”
“Funny you say that, I can think of someone you’ll have to meet sooner or later who’ll probably have to restrain herself from turning you into a coat.”
“Not helping, Ashe.”
Ace continuing snaps Flare from his conversation with Ashe. “We’ll have lots of time to talk once we’re back at Rhodes Island.”
The Hunter gives a small nod in response. He wants to ask about Rhodes Island, and a lot of things really, but he’s not even sure where to start with all of it.
A conversation between Dobermann and the injured archer where he tries to blame himself for letting his guard down (which the Perro shuts down) catches the attention of the four for a moment before Ace turns to Amiya.
“According to the report from Scout’s team, there are Reunion uprisings all over the city. Looting, riots, arson… the works. They’re going nuts out there.”
Amiya’s expression becomes frustrated at the news. “That’s only going to get them ostracized even further…”
“I’ve been meaning to ask…” Flare starts, thinking that at least knowing what their enemy is would be the best question to start with. “What exactly is Reunion? I mean, I know it's at least a militant faction that really likes white and being giant pricks to everyone they see, but what exactly makes them tick?”
Ace lets out a chuckle at the “pricks” comment. “Nice to see some things never change. Amiya, mind if you explain?”
Amiya smiles and shakes her head. “Not at all.”
She takes a breath, smile fading from her face, and begins. “As you know, the group who ambushed us are the Reunion Movement.”
“They’re a terrorist organization formed by people infected with “Oripathy”.”
“Oripathy… That’s what Dobermann was talking about a while ago, wasn’t it?”
The Cautus nods, she opens her mouth to continue…
…but the Perro in question takes over for her. “They started off just protesting the discrimination the Infected faced…”
“But they’re finally showing their true colors, huh?”
“They have to know the Ursus government isn’t going to take this lying down.” Guard says as he walks over.
“Which means they think they can win in a fight.” Ace adds. “Ursus security forces haven’t quelled the unrest yet, which means they might be right.”
“Boy, did they throw a wrench into the works…”
For a moment, no one says anything.
Until Guard speaks up. “But why act now, when there’s a Catastrophe coming?”
At that, Flare tilts his head as Dobermann walks over to the window above him.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they planned to take advantage of the commotion. They’ll get their revenge even it costs them their lives-”
Dobermann’s barely cut off by the sound of glass shattering and the yells of a Reunion grunt. “Don’t let any of the Ursus escape! They’re all cold-blooded scumbags!”
Crouching down in order to not be seen, Dobermann quickly counts how many grunts are headed in their direction as the grunt pipes up again. “It’s time for them to get a taste of our pain!”
“How many?” Ace asks the Perro.
“About twenty.” Dobermann replies. “We should avoid fighting them.”
She turns to face the rest of the exfiltration team. “The enemy’s coming from the left. Leave through the back door now.”
Amiya stands up and Ashe vanishes as Guard crouches down in front of Flare with his back to him, waiting for him to climb on. “Doctor.”
“No, no need.” Flare refuses.
“Huh?”
With a small bit of effort, Flare gets to his feet. “I can walk on my own.”
The team quickly piles out of the shop and into a courtyard, moving towards an archway. But Amiya, who’s one of the last out, ends up stopping upon seeing a mother and daughter fleeing in the other direction…
…the same direction the group of Reunion grunts are going to intersect with in few moments.
“No! Don’t go that way!” The Cautus shouts, but her warning goes unheeded.
Amiya’s shout does catch the attention of Dobermann, who snaps her head back around from the front of the pack. “What’s wrong?!”
“There’s a mother and a child heading toward Reunion! If they’re spotted, they’ll be-”
Amiya attempts to start running after them, only for Dobermann to grab her arm and pull her back. “Wait!”
“Taking so many head on will only lead to more death!” The Perro scolds.
“I know it’s dangerous, but we can’t just stand by!” The Cautus protests.
“Do you get what’s going on here, Amiya?!” Dobermann shouts while grabbing Amiya’s shoulders, the frustration in her voice mounting. “If this drags on and we sustain more casualties, we won’t be able to escape the Catastrophe!”
“ All of us will die!”
“Calm down, Dobermann.” Ace attempts to placate, but it's clear to the Hunter close to him that Dobermann’s blocked them all out.
With a sigh, Flare comes to a decision.
If Amiya wants to put so much faith in him…
…then he’ll put his faith in her.
“You’re Rhodes Island’s leader.” Dobermann’s tirade continues. “And as its leader, you need to think about what to prioritize.”
Amiya opens her mouth to retort, but the words die in her throat.
She closes it and adverts her gaze down to the walkway they’re standing on.
She grits her teeth, wanting to go save them so badly, but she also knows that Dobermann’s right, making that call could cost them valuable time and could wear thin their already sparse number.
Fortunately, someone decided to make that decision for her.
“Please log in.”
The sound of the PRTS terminal that she gave the Doctor earlier causes her to lift her head slightly, eyes widened. Her head raises further when she hears the terminal let out a confirming chirp.
“Initializing… Complete.”
“Permission: Level 8.”
“Welcome back, Doctor.”
All Amiya can do, all any of them can do at that moment is stare at the Doctor, with his right gauntlet being draped over the arm holding the terminal, in stunned silence.
“Don’t worry.” The Doctor states, his gaze meeting the shocked Cautus’. And despite the mask, she can tell he’s giving her a reassuring smile.
A flash of blue light, that Amiya can assume was from Ashe, materializes a few drones at his feet.
“Initializing reconnaissance drones.”
The drone’s rotors suddenly whir to life as they lift into the sky, spooking the Operators in the Doctor’s immediate vicinity.
“Searching for enemies.”
“We’ll save them.”
“We can even make use of the buildings to ensure we get the drop on them.”
The Doctor’s eyes suddenly flick to a corner of his visor, causing Amiya to remember how Ashe mentioned that she was going to integrate PRTS into a corner of his mask’s HUD so he can still use it while having his hands free.
“Doctor,” Ace speaks up, uncertainty radiating off of him, “you sure you can take command?”
“Hold it.” Dobermann starts. “This is too much for you with those memories gone.”
The Doctor’s gaze snaps onto the Perro, steel gray eyes sharpening into daggers. “I’ve handled worse in worse states, Dobermann.”
“And like you said,” he continues, gaze softening as it drifts over to Amiya, “ she’s our leader, which means she has the final say on whether we do this or not.”
The Cautus stares stunned for a moment, before a determined expression appears on her face. “Doctor, please go ahead.”
The Doctor gives her a nod as Dobermann looks at her incredulously. “Amiya!”
“The Doctor suspected before we were ambushed that we were walking into a trap before using his power to confirm it.” Amiya turns to the Perro. “It was thanks to him that I was able to warn you in time.”
“What?”
“Even if he did use one of his abilities to confirm his suspicions, the Doctor’s instincts are as sharp as ever.”
Dobermann turns to look at the Doctor surprised as she wraps her head around what Amiya revealed.
“I’m sure of it.” The Cautus finishes. “The Doctor will lead us to victory.”
“Let’s do this.”
Dobermann stares at her leader for a few moments, before turning to fully face her.
“Alright.” The Perro says, still not completely convinced. “I’ll trust you for now.”
“She’s our leader.” Ace joins in. “We don’t really have a choice.”
His comment causes a snort to leave the Doctor.
“Maybe so, but I get the feeling that we’d follow her even if she wasn’t.”
“Thank you, all of you.”
With a breath, Amiya turns around and her determined expression returns as she begins to speak.
“‘Silent we shall be, should conflict be avoidable, but fight tooth and nail, should it be necessary!’”
“We are Rhodes Island… and that is our creed!”