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Moving On

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Rahne and Rena were watching their respective mates through the manor window, and both of them were rather saddened by the loss of Ronin. "I'm worried about Tom," Rena said quietly to Rahne. Rahne looked over to her kin.

"How so?" the older vixen asked. Rena gestured to where Coyote and Tom stood in the rain, just looking at the grave.

"Look at how Tom's looking at that grave," she started to explain. "He isn't the kind of person to just, move on from something like this. Losing people is practically a personal failure to Tom. I know that he still blames himself for the death of his best friend, and I'm afraid that he'll be the same with Ronin."

Rahne quirked up an eyebrow. "Tom liked Ronin? That's...odd, from all that I know about Tom. I didn't know Ronin left such an impression on him," she said, watching as the two soldiers started walking back to the inside of the manor. Rena nodded.

"Yeah, Tom respected Ronin, I could tell. And...and I wish I wasn't so harsh on him. He didn't deserve it," Rena said. Rahne put a paw on the young girl's shoulder.

"Rena, I'm sure that Ronin was a great guy, if even half of what Gabe told me was true," Rahne told Rena. "Besides, if anything, Ronin would want us to remember him as he was. Although, both he and Gabe are pretty serious most of the time." Rahne smiled softly and chuckled. Rena looked over at Rahne.

"Most of the time?"

Rahne nodded. "Yeah, the first time he saw a Viximon, you want to know what he did?" she asked. Rena nodded. "He turned into putty! One look from the kit, and Gabe was wrapped around its paw! It was so cute!" Rahne said laughing, just as Coyote and Tom came in.

"Yes, and then Renamon came out and tried to kill me, again," he added, knowing just which part of that trip in Shinjuku Rahne was talking about. Rena's eyes went wide.

"What, Renamon?! As in, that was what she called herself?!" she asked in surprise. Coyote nodded. "She's my older cousin! She taught me how to fight, and when her father was killed by a Ladydevimon, she went to the Real World so that she could get stronger!"

"Yeah, and both she and her Tamer are scarier in person than on T.V.!" Coyote retorted. "Only reason Rahne and I managed to get away from her was because I threw a brassiere in her face. She didn't know what to do with it, and to this day, I have to say that that was one of the worst things I've ever done!" Tom simply stared at Coyote in shock. The man next to him threw a bra at quite possibly the strongest Renamon in existence, and he still lived? Tom mentally gave Coyote a few points for sheer dumb luck and survivability.

"You're lucky then," Rena stated. "Not many make it out of battle alive when she's attacking."

"Well, in my defense, she didn't give me much of a chance to explain myself," Coyote said bluntly. "It was all a misunderstanding!"

Rena chuckled as Rahne inched over to her mate. "Well, from what I had heard from Ronin, you were drunk off your ass and you looked like a Digimon," she said, much to Coyote's shock.

"Hey, it was Freshman's fault for not testing that serum! And it was only ONE drink, and that was at the end of the week!" Coyote angrily retorted. Tom looked at the two in confusion.

"What are you guys talking about?" he asked. Rahne smiled as she hugged her mate.

"We Tom," Rahne said sweetly, "Are talking about the day me and Gabe became mates." At the mention of that, Coyote groaned.

"Rahne," Coyote said gently, "Can we NOT talk about that? Most humans, including me, don't like talking about our sex lives in polite company." Rahne merely smirked as she not only let go of her mate, but she also shifted into her Champion form. Looking over at the deviously smirking vixen, Coyote began to freak out. "R-Rahne, what are you doing?" he asked. He took a step back, and then tripped over the still form of Sora. Falling flat on his back, Coyote could only watch in mock horror as Rahne pounced on him, and began licking him.

Nearby, Rena and Tom were laughing at the spectacle. "Hahahaha, why are you humans so uptight about mating anyways?" Rena asked, barely holding it together from laughter. Rena received her answer, albeit muffled, from Coyote, who was currently stuck underneath his mate.

"Mum-umum-bruh-mumabruh-mum-mumba!!" Translation: Because it's a personal and intimate matter we don't like sharing with other people!

"Is that why Tom doesn't like talking about it?" Rena asked, not seeing Tom's furious blush. Coyote's arms came out from under Rahne waved about in a shrug.

"Mug-gumum mugug? Ow-mum um mumumug bugmum!" Coyote said, which, when translated, went something like this: How would I know? The most he would have gotten was a lecture on the birds and the bees!

"You mean the brides and the bees," Tom said, looking at the flailing arms of his now current CO. Coyote managed to wiggle his head from under Rahne's fur and glared at Tom.

"SAME TALK!" he cried out, before looking up at Rahne. "And as I recall," he said to her, "You were the one on the bottom."

Rena almost fell to the floor laughing. "Oh sweet Maiden of Light!" she cried out, "A human and a Kyuubimon mating, now that must be interesting!" As soon as she finished, Rena saw the rather comical expressions of both Tom and Coyote. Tom was simply left speechless as he tried to process what his friend had just said, and Coyote...well, Coyote almost had a conniption.

"Rena, I don't want to hear another word," Coyote said coldly as Varak walked into the room, radio set in hand.

"Sir, it's for you," the dragon said simply, handing Coyote the receiver. Coyote nodded his thanks and put the receiver to his ear.

"Lieutenant Colonel Monnot, Dimensional Rift Recon Second Infantry Company, how can I help you?" he asked the person at the other end.

"Hey, el-tee see, it's me, Specialist Warren," said the technician back in Fort Bragg. "I have some good news and bad news." Coyote rolled his eyes.

"Alright, what's the bad news?" he asked.

"Well sir, the verse we got the new mission from? We just lost all contact with our outpost there. And the RiftPad we had there, well, the signal's gone. We think it was destroyed."

Coyote gulped. "That we knew. It was taken over by a joint force of Chronoinsurgents, Toshigan Loyalists, and Lupine Special Forces. As for how it was destroyed...well, Ronin took care of it."

"Sergeant Major Ronin took care of it? Well, what's his status, I mean, how did he do it?"

Coyote stayed silent, not wanting to bring up the memory.

"Oh my God, sir, I'm...I'm sorry. I'll...I'll inform the others." Silence filled the line for a minute. "Sir, we've found the mole, and are currently trying to reset the system completely. It'll take us maybe about five or six hours here to be able to extract you."

Coyote sighed. "Thanks for the heads-up. When ready, just home in on our radio's signal, understood?"

"Understood sir. CENTCOM, over and out." Without waiting for a response, the radio clicked off and filled the line with static. Coyote handed the receiver back to Varak.

"Alright, Varak, do a quick inventory of what we have, just in case we need to move out tomorrow. Rena, you anyway for us to get out of the Digital World?" The dragon went out to follow Coyote's orders as Rena hmmed in thought.

"Well," she said hesitantly, "Tom and I were planning to go see an old friend of the family. His name's Annulmon, and he lives over in the Forgotten Valley. He knows just about everything about the Digital World. Why?"

Coyote stroked the noticeable stubble on his chin. "Well, I just got word from base. They'll be ready to pick us up in about five to six days local time. And I was thinking, that if we were in the Real World, we can get pickup even sooner. So, how far away is the Valley?"

"About two days of walking, why?" Rena asked. Coyote nodded in thanks and looked up to Rahne's muzzle.

"If you'd like, I can actually sleep with you tonight in a room without being in pain," he told her. Rahne giggled and licked his face, making a cowlick stick up on Coyote's head. Rena had to giggle slightly at the sight.

"That, my dear mate, is something I can agree with. I'll see you after dinner?" Rahne asked. Coyote nodded.

"Yes dear," Coyote replied, stroking her cheek fur. Rahne purred and leaned into the touch as she stood up and stretched. The vixen finally got off her mate, and with one last look at him, disappeared into the manor. Coyote sighed. "Damn, how did I get so lucky?" he said to no one in particular. Tom looked at him confusion.

"Sir, what do you mean?" Tom asked.

Coyote sat up and looked back at Tom, who was currently being hugged by Rena. "Tom, I haven't seen her in nearly four years for me, and I don't know how many for her. Yet, despite it all, she still loves me, and wants to be with me. I don't know about you, but I don't feel like I deserve it," Coyote told him. Tom looked over at Rena and shrugged.

"Well sir-"

Coyote interrupted Tom. "Right now Tom, Gabe is fine," he told him. Tom nodded slowly.

"Okay then si-I mean, Gabe. I lost two people who were the brightest things that I had ever had in my life. When I lost them...I honestly didn't care if I was an asset to the UNSC. I didn't even think that anyone would accept a freak like me. But, after Rena found me, and after all our time together...." Tom gazed into Rena's eyes. "I realized just how much she meant to me. So, Gabe, is Rahne worth losing your life for?"

"Without a doubt," Coyote said in a heartbeat. "She...she's the reason I'm not crazy. Well, at least, not any crazier than I already am," he added.

Tom smiled. "Well then, I think that even if you don't think so, you do deserve to be with her." Coyote sighed and looked up at Tom, just as Hakuramon poked her head in the room.

"Pardon me," she said, "But dinner will be ready soon." Seeing the occupants nod in appreciation, Hakuramon went off back to the kitchen. Coyote then chuckled.

"What is it?" Rena asked curiously, her head tilted rather cutely in Tom's opinion.

Coyote shook his head smiling. "Nothing," he answered. "Just a little memory about Ronin, that's all." Rena frowned, then looked up with a smile.

"Can you tell us more about him during dinner?" she asked. Coyote flinched in surprise before nodding.

"Yeah, sure, I don't see why not. But first, we have to get to dinner now, don't we?"

[][][]

Several minutes later, the group was in the common area eating dinner when Rena looked over at Coyote. "So, what was that memory you had of Ronin? The one right after Aunt Hakuramon told us about dinner?" she asked. Coyote looked at her, and then swallowed what he had in his mouth.

"Alright," he began, "Now bear in mind, this is Ronin we're talking about here, so keep the disbelief at a minimum for now. So, this one weekend, I think sometime right after the First Toshigan War, he and I are back at my mom's place and we're about to have spaghetti. Now, I know what you're thinking; 'Spaghetti? What's that got to do with Ronin?' Well, after we all get our helpings of pasta, we, and by we, I mean myself and my immediate family, start eating."

Coyote stopped to smile and laugh. "Ronin slowly takes a bite of the spaghetti, and I swear, you could almost see his brain explode in surprise! Next thing we know, Ronin's wolfing down the spaghetti like it's the end of the world! I mean, here I am, sitting next to the guy, and he manages to not only keep his fur clean, but to also beat me at finishing our plate! Ronin looks around shyly, takes his plate, and then, oh you wouldn't believe this," Coyote said cheerfully, "He looks at my mom, holds up his plate, and asks, 'Mistress, may I have some more?'"

The group just stared at Coyote as Tom spoke up. "You're right, I don't believe it," the young soldier said.

Coyote chuckled. "Oh it gets better!" Coyote said with a spark in his eye. "So my mom tells Ronin that yes, he can have some more, but to eat to his heart's content, and to never again call her 'Mistress!' Now, I would learn this part the next morning from my youngest brother, but that night, when we were all sleeping, Ronin went back down to the kitchen to reheat some more spaghetti. Now, Carson, the youngest, well, he was up to get a glass of water. Now he enters the kitchen just as Ronin is about to start the microwave, and they just stare at each other! I mean, Ronin is just standing there like a kid with his hand in the cookie jar, and he doesn't know what to do! Carson eventually managed to convey to Ronin the concept of leftovers, and they went back to bed. And since then, Ronin has always been addicted to my mom's spaghetti."

Varak chuckled. "I have a better one. So, about three weeks after I joined Rift Recon, I'm with a bunch of grunts in Vegas, and Ronin is with us. We all go into the Mirage Casino, and we all scatter in the gambling area. Hours later, we hear of a newcomer at the professional poker section, and low and behold, Ronin is there playing against champions," the dragon said, Coyote chuckling silently as he knew the story. "Turns out, Ronin is an extremely good poker player. And as we all watched them play, I notice something. Ronin doesn't twitch. Good hand, bad hand, not a single tell. Threw the other players for a loop.

"Eventually, it comes down to Ronin and some fellow from Bulgaria. Both of them are now fighting for a fifteen million dollar pot, and the cards out on the table are a jack, ten, and an ace of hearts. The Bulgarian, in a bout of nervousness, goes all in, and Ronin does so too. Dealer asks for them to reveal their cards. The Bulgarian has a two pair, aces and tens. Ronin...." Varak paused for dramatic effect, "Ronin just looks up at the guy and just places his two cards on the table. He has a royal flush, with the king and queen of hearts. And thus, the Mirage Casino had to pay Ronin close to sixteen million dollars worth of prize money, and after tax, well, Ronin still walked off winning around fourteen million dollars."

Everyone not familiar with the story just stared. "Damn, so, that bet Ronin made on Tom in the arena..." Ari said softly.

"Was pretty much guaranteed to happen, yes," Varak said. "I know of only minor gods that have that kind of luck, and Ronin has it in spades. Lucky son of a rot-ridden cabbage."

"Yeah, that he was," Coyote said nodding. "Well, I think it's time for us to head to bed. We have a big day tomorrow."

The group muttered their agreements and dispersed. However, just as Coyote was about to leave with Rahne, Tom stopped him. "Gabe, I have something you might want to look at," Tom whispered. Gabe looked over at Tom.

"Sure, what is it?" Coyote asked. Tom took Coyote off to the side and pulled out his own datapad.

"I have data here that might help you out when we get out of here," Tom stated. "Armor upgrades, training,...how to make a Spartan V. It's all here. There's a file there too, and I can't make any sense of it, even after I got through the password."

Coyote raised an eyebrow. "Really? Well, I'll have to give it a look then," he said to Tom. "Shut up, and go to bed with Rena." Coyote gently pushed Tom into the arms of said vixen. "Now both of you, get some rest. You two deserve it." Tom nodded shyly, looking over his shoulder at Rena. Coyote looked down at the datapad. "Well, let's see what we have," he muttered to himself.

Coyote activated the datapad, and flicked his way through the documents on it. Tom was right on the money with this; armor schematics and upgrades, personnel files, weapon research, it was enough to pull leverage on Tom's version of ONI. Yet, what was this one file Tom was talking about? Oh there it was. Coyote noted that it was already accessed, and was able to get into it easy enough.

Now Coyote was seeing a bunch of smaller files. Curious, Coyote pressed the icon for the first file. A new window popped up, and Coyote was surprised to see a female scientist standing in front of a camera.

"This is Doctor Elizabeth Walls, here at the ONI Complex at Fort Hood, Planet Orion, entry one. Today, my little boy was born. The synthetic code worked...*sigh*I'm so exhausted from the delivery, but I'm so proud to be the mother of such a beautiful baby boy," the scientist said tearfully. Now that Coyote knew who she was, he did notice that the doctor was a bit pale and haggard looking. "He has my eyes...I think I'll name him after my father, Thomas. I think Dad would be proud to be Thomas's grandpa."

Now heavily interested, Coyote skipped ahead to another entry. "Entry fifty-four. Tom is growing so fast! He is so smart, not to mention a sweet little boy." Elizabeth's face fell. "As happy as I am with Tom, I know exactly what his future entails, and by God, it's killing me inside. I don't want Tom to endure what he will have to, but...he's a special child. Not just because he's my son, but because he has a higher purpose than just being a Spartan.

"But I know watching him struggle will kill me inside, I just know it. *crash!* Thomas Joshua Walls, what did you break this time young man?!"

"Bu Mommy, was n assiden'!" cried out a very young Tom as he walked into the view of the camera-

Coyote stopped the file, tears in his eyes. Once, he had condemned Tom's mother for being insensitive to her child. But now...he didn't know. Coyote looked at the pad with weariness. Steeling himself, he opened up a text file, wondering what could possibly be on this one.

'MEDREP-SEIRRA 707

SYNTHETIC GENETIC CODE FROM ARTIFACT SUCCESSFULLY COMBINED WITH GENETIC MATERIAL OF SPARTAN SUBJECT 707.

RESULTS....

"The hell?" Coyote muttered. Tom was a genetic recombinant? Well, that was pretty new to him. Most of the recombinants that Coyote knew were former slaves and not human. Well, things were definitely not going to be boring when Tom was concerned. Shutting the datapad down, Coyote stretched, and then went into the room he was sharing with Rahne.

[][][]

0515 Hours, Next Day

Coyote woke up early the next day and for the next few minutes, he just simply lay there next to Rahne. Sighing, he stealthily crept out of the bed and put his armor on. Walking out of the room, Coyote went into the kitchen where he found, of all people, Darkamon waiting there. "Can I help you sir?" Coyote asked. Darkamon nodded.

"Yes," the older general said. "I know you have no ill will towards Thomas, but please, promise that you won't let anything happen to him." Coyote nodded slowly.

"Sir, I can't promise that nothing will happen to him," Coyote said slowly. "But I can promise that I won't let him die. Not if I can help it." Darkamon nodded.

"Thank you. That is all I ask," the general said. "But please, do tell me, how is it that you knew young Ronin?"

Coyote sighed. "I met Ronin on his home planet when it was being invaded. I rescued him, and he's been at my side ever since. Nothing that crazy," he told the Renamon. Darkamon chuckled.

"That wasn't quite how I heard it from young Ronin," he said. "He said that you rescued him with the fury of the heavens themselves. He even went on to say that you were divine retribution incarnate when you saw the slaves."

Coyote's face went still. "Yeah, I was angry when I saw what they did on San Madrid," he said quietly. "But then again, I couldn't blame them all. Most people who did have slaves treated them well enough, and I couldn't be angry at them for at least managing to treat them with respect. But the people like Santiago...I offered no mercy."

Darkamon nodded. "I understand. When do you think you will be leaving?"

Coyote looked out the window. "We'll be leaving in a few hours. We need to pack up the equipment. After that, well, we'll be out of your fur."

Darkamon put a paw on Coyote's shoulder. "Young one, you are welcome to come back if the need ever arises." Coyote looked over at Darkamon and nodded.

"Thank you sir."

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Soon, the rest of the group got and had a quick breakfast. The equipment went into the back of the Hog, while the two mechs both had a pair of weapons each. After a brief flurry of activity in trying to find Sora, who was now in the back of the Hog, the group settled into their assigned positions. Tom was driving the Hog, and Rena was sitting next to him so that he didn't get lost; Rahne was on the .50 cal turret on top, and Varak and Coyote were in the two mechs. Looking back one last time as they all left, Coyote nodded a silent thanks to Darkamon before marching off after the Hog.

"Rena, how far is the Valley on this?" Tom asked. Rena shrugged.

"Normally, I'd say two days on foot, but with this, it might just be a little less than half a day, maybe less if we don't hit any snags," she replied to her friend. Tom nodded his thanks as he weaved through the trees. "But after we get there, we'll have to go on foot. The forest is too dense for us to use these machines," Rena added.

From his spot behind the Hog, Coyote nodded. A cakewalk escort pretty much to the Valley. But that was when a static filled message hit his ears. "This is...ivate...sovich, requesting aid fr...lied units, I...agai...If anybody's ou...please, he...us! We ha...women and children, and we...inned...I say again, we...move anywhere! El-tee...Sarge, he..."

Coyote skidded to a stop as he listened to the panic filled message, causing the other two vehicles to stop. Punching a few controls, Coyote managed to triangulate the source. "Survivors, follow me!" Coyote ordered, headed off to the source of the message, sprinting past the Hog and unslinging his mech's M380 95mm Recoilless Rifle.

Tom revved the Hog's engine. "Hold on to your tails!" he shouted to the other three occupants of the Hog before gunning the accelerator, following Coyote. He and Varak followed Coyote as the lieutenant colonel weaved his way expertly through the trees, following the signal, and after about a minute, the sounds of gunfire. "Rahne, ready the gun!" Tom ordered. Tom's response from the vixen was the sound of her charging the gun and the spin of the barrels.

Stopping in the treeline, Coyote looked at where the fighting was occurring. There was a pretty big group of Reavers and Lupine, along with about a dozen Ghosts, a Spectre, and off to the side, restrained, was a Pride-class SIN on the ground. They were surrounding a hastily dug bunker of sorts, and the roof was almost gone. The Ghosts were strafing the bunker, peppering it with plasma bursts, catching the occasional limb from an occupant here and there. Suddenly, a trio of blue lines connected with a Ghost, making it explode.

Coyote gave the signal to attack, and springing from cover, fired his rifle, sending high explosive shells into the enemy ranks. Tom looked over at Rena. "Rena, take the wheel!" he said. Rena looked at Tom in surprise.

"What?!" she cried out as Tom quickly stopped to switch places with her. Tom pointed at the gas pedal and the wheel.

"Just keep your foot on that pedal, and make sure we don't hit anything!" Tom said as he got onto the other seating, holding his rifle one-handed. Rena nodded uneasily and began driving around the bunker. Tom began nailing individual targets, while Rahne was busy cutting down wide swathes of infantry with the Ma-Duece.

All of a sudden, a massive two hundred and five millimeter shell came and exploded in the middle of the enemy group, the tip of Varak's cannon smoking. In minutes, the bunker was saved, and the surrounding area was basically totaled. Surprisingly, the SIN was unharmed. Bringing the Hog to a stop, Rena got out of it shaking, while Tom advanced on the SIN, a grenade belt in hand. Before he got very far, Coyote stopped him, the chest of the mech open so that the Spartan could see his commander's face. "Hold up Tom, something's different about this SIN," he said.

Tom looked at him in confusion and slight anger. "But Fox said that these things were hostile," he said back.

Coyote nodded. "They are. But then again, Toshigan don't usually put Class Four restraints on their own super-weapons," he said, getting out of the mech. Walking up to the alien robot, Coyote barely saw a pink-haired blur run past him and tackle Tom to the ground. Tom almost kicked Kat off of him, and Rena had to resist the urge to drag her off of her mate and strangle the poor private.

"Sarge, you're...," Kat started to say before she noticed who was on the ground. "Wait, you're not Sergeant Major Ronin...." She quickly got up, tears forming in her eyes. Tom got up as well and dusted off his armor.

"No, I'm obviously not," he told her gently. "Fox...he didn't make it."

Kat looked over to Coyote for confirmation. After all, it was practically common knowledge for new recruits that generally, wherever Coyote went, Ronin wasn't all that far behind, relatively speaking for the white furred sniper. When Coyote turned his head away in shame, Kat fell down to her knees. "He...he can't be dead. He can't be," she said in denial.

Tom sighed sadly. "Look, I'm sorry to say this, but he is dead. But he went out bringing a whole lot of bad guys with him," he said.

Kat didn't respond, instead getting up and heading back into the bunker. Well, what was left of it.

Tom sighed as Coyote went into the bunker after Kat. Dammit, too much blood has been spilled in this damn nightmare already, he thought. Over at the Hog, Rena and Rahne were making sure that Sora was alright after the rather eventful drive. Tom chuckled at Rena. "You know, the way you fuss over that kit, people are going to mistake you for his mother," he told her, pulling her off to the side after she was done. Rena smiled softly.

"Feminine instinct I guess," she told him, hugging him through his armor.

Meanwhile, Sora was asking Rahne if they could do that again, but without the explosions and gunfire. Rahne chuckled and agreed with the young Digimon, then looked over at the SIN a few dozen meters away. If it was able to stand, it would have been around eleven to twelve feet tall. Like the assault bot that her mate had briefly had at the village, it was heavily armed; a heavy machine gun in its left arm, an ion cannon on its right, and on its shoulder was a cannibalized .65 caliber anti-tank rifle. The SIN's boxy head looked down at her, and its central eye whirred, the machine whining like a puppy.

"Almost makes you wonder why they had to restrain it," Tom said from beside the Hog to Rahne. Rahne nodded in agreement.

"We'll find out from Gabe," she said. "But Tom, what do you think this thing could do?"

Tom looked at the SIN. "Well, judging from all the hardware on it, I'd say that it could take out a few tanks at the same time, and wipe out an entire infantry company if it had too," he replied. "I personally would not want to fight it."

All gathered outside nodded in agreement.

[][][]

Meanwhile, Coyote was inside the bunker, and he was somewhat surprised to see almost all of the evacuees in there. The atmosphere inside was eerily similar to that of the British people during the Blitz and Battle of Britain in World War II. Looking around, he saw Kat leaning into the arms of a young Renamon male, sobbing.

Moving over to her, Coyote kneeled on the ground. Finally, after a minute, he said, "Kat, please, talk to me."

Kat sobbed a bit before answering. "Sir...why did he do it?" she asked. "Why did he die in that blast?"

Coyote sighed sadly. "Because I'd do the same thing for him," he told the young private. "And for you, these villagers, and everyone else who needs saving." Getting up, he added, "Although, I'm curious about the SIN. Why was it restrained?"

Kat looked up at her CO. "Well, I don't know why it started, but, the SIN started protecting the villagers. It took out all of their artillery before they managed to restrain it," she explained. Coyote's face was simply frozen in shock at the meaning of it. If the SIN had actually begun going against its original programming, then....

Shaking his head clear, Coyote ordered Kat to follow him outside. Slowly, the private did so.

[][][]

Outside, Tom and the others watched as Coyote went up to the Pride...and let it go. "Hey Varak, is that usually a smart thing to do?" Tom asked the draconic healer. Varak shook his head.

"Not usually," the stoic dragon answered. Tom raised his rifle up as Coyote began questioning the robot.

"Why didn't you attack these people?" he asked the bewildered robot, pointing to the bunker.

The SIN hesitated, and then answered brokenly. "Not right," it said monotonously, looking down at Coyote. Coyote raised an eyebrow in surprise as Kat came forward, charging her assault rifle.

"What is your designation?" she asked forcefully. The robot stiffened.

"Thi-I am known as Unit 2403,"it answered.

"Unit 2403, what are your directives?" Kat asked sternly. Coyote at this time was slowly edging away from her. 2403 looked over at Kat.

"Directives: Serve the forces of the Toshigan Empire until such a time where the unit is not required. Eliminate any and all Dimensional Rift Reconnaissance personnel, and terminate the command unit known as 'Coyote.'" Every living thing turned to look at Coyote, who simply shrugged and took the safety off his MA37. "And to ensure the survival of any members of the Toshigan Royal Family."

"Unit 2403, why have you disobeyed your programming? Are you defective?"

The bot shook its head. "No. Previous directives overwritten. New directives added."

This time, it was Coyote who asked the questions. "On whose authority were your directives overwritten?" The response was something that nobody quite expected.

"I did," the SIN replied. "And this one wishes to have a name."

Tom looked over at Coyote. "I dunno about you, but I think the name 'Titan' would fit," he said, shrugging. The SIN tilted its head, its twin antennae drooping like ears.

"What is a 'Titan?'" it asked.

Tom shrugged a shoulder as he replied, "Human Greek mythology. The Titans were the precursors to the Olympian Gods known for their large size and extreme aggression."

"What is a small God called?"

"Umm...," Tom answered, hesitating. "A demi-god I think. Why?"

The SIN was quiet for a moment, and then asked, "May this one be called Theseus?"

Everyone turned to look at each other in confusion, the Drifters more so than anybody. This was, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the weirder moments in Rift Recon history. "Umm, sure," Coyote said, looking over at Kat. The newly named Theseus beamed at them...as much as a robot could beam anyway.

"Thank you!" Theseus said in a slightly less monotone voice. Rising back up to its full height, the robot began walking around, scouting the perimeter. Tom looked at the surviving Drifters.

"You guys...have got to be the weirdest bunch of people I have ever met," the Spartan said slowly, shaking his head in befuddlement.

"So says the cute, taken, and short shock trooper from a messed up dimension," Kat retorted, just before Coyote smacked her upside the helmet. Rena chuckled as Tom's eye fidgeted.

"I'm not short..." he growled out.

Coyote rolled his eyes. "You're the same height as me, so, you are short. Now, if we're done, Kat, I want you and Theseus to head to these coordinates, take the refugees there. After that, head straight over to where my beacon is. Understood?" he asked.

Kat nodded. "Sir, yes sir." Heading off, she started barking orders to the village survivors to get ready to move. Varak looked over at his commanding officer.

"She's grown up," he commented. Coyote nodded as he got back into his mech.

"Yeah, well, a lot of people have," he replied, starting up the mech. "Right now, we need to focus on the mission at hand."

Varak sighed and nodded in agreement. "Now that this is over sir, shall we continue?" he asked, hopping into his own mech. Coyote's mech nodded its head.

"Yes. Soon as Tom and the others get in the Hog," Coyote said through the mech's external speakers. Looking over, the two of them waited as Tom got back in the driver's seat, Rena in shotgun, and Rahne stuck in the gunner's chair, with Sora right behind Rena. Together, they all went off to the Forgotten Valley. In about two hours, the small convoy reached the edge of the forest surrounding the valley. Coyote looked at it, and sighed. It was dark, it was dense, and he didn't really have the time to shove every last tree out of the way.

"Alright everyone, we're humping it from here," he said, getting out of the mech and locking it. Varak got out of his mech and grabbed his now stuffed medical bag.

"Looks like home sir," Varak commented as he walked over to where everyone was unpacking as much ammo and supplies as they could out of the Hog. At that comment, Tom grimaced.

This just brings back the past, he thought as he hoisted a pack onto his back, and brought out his rifle. He hugged Rena briefly, and waited for everyone else to grab what they could carry. Which basically went something like this: Coyote had his MA37 and plenty of ammo for it, along with what was left of his SMG's ammo, Varak was stuffed full of his weapon's ammo, and had enough medical supplies and food shoved into some weird bag to keep a small army happy, Rahne had Sora in one hand and a BR85 in the other. Between the whole group, they all had some food and a small collection of ammo, and after Coyote locked the Hog, they went into the forest single file.

As they moved in, Tom was having memory flashes to that night....

"Okay, looks like we don't have that far to move till we hit the red zone. It's only three clicks north-east of our current, so we go in like usual, fifty meter spread. Me 'n you take the ridge and take cover," said Devon as she laid out the plan for the mission.

Tom shook his head. Odd. For a second, he could have sworn that Devon was right there in the tree line, about fifty meters away, moving with the group. Watching.

"Hey, you okay?"

Tom turned to look back at Coyote, the latter of whom had his head tilted in worry. Tom nodded. "Yeah. I'm...I'm fine. Just thought I saw something," he answered, looking back at where he saw Devin. She wasn't there. Coyote sighed and fished something out of one of his pockets.

"Here," he said, handing it to Tom. "It's an ECHO VISR module. It'll help us find those shadow freaks." Tom hesitantly took it and patched it onto his helmet's side equipment port.

"Thank you sir," Tom grunted. Coyote nodded and kept walking. A few minutes later, Rena slowed down to walk with Tom and touched his shoulder.

"Listen Tommy," Rena said soothingly to him, "You're going to be okay. I'm here for you now."

Tom smiled behind his helmet, resisting a tear. "Thanks Rena," he told her. "I needed that."

Rena smiled. "I'm glad to help you, my mate," she said, just as Coyote stopped and dropped to the ground, clenched fist in the air.

Everyone reacted and dropped down as Coyote whispered, "Contact on motion, one o'clock, eighty meters. Return fire only."

Tom flicked the safety off his rifle and aimed.

Rahne and Rena had prepped diamond shards to throw into the vitals.

Varak had his SMG and a spell ready.

Coyote aimed his assault rifle and waited.

Seconds later, the contact came out....