Wolf decoupled from his machine, the taste of blood lingering in his mouth for a moment before dissipating. After dropping the Peakcour girl off at the outpost, he and his beast had run around the mountains hunting the local wildlife. Not too challenging, disappointingly, but enough to tide him over until the next big target.

He walked through the dark cave into the main chamber, where Snake spent most of his time scheming. If the angry hisses were any indication, things had not gone nearly as well for Snake as they had for Wolf.

“Did they get the Daemon yet?”

“No! Those incompetent foolsss,” Snake roared. “Not only did they fail to extract Noir, the girl escaped. And now my sssources tell me that the Peakpoint Council has been made aware of our involvement. Told directly by Gaia, no less. I’m sure those mewling, pathetic Users are planning even now to strike out at us to appease their digital overlordsss.”

“Wow, sounds like you have quite the mess on your hands,” Wolf drawled. The politics of the situation bored him, although it was a shame that Noir had gotten away. Having another offensive Daemon on their side would free up more time for Wolf. He had a whole catalog of challenging prey to go hunt, after all.

“Don’t think you are innocent here, Wolf. You instigated this whole operation, after all. Get back in your chair and go track her down again. This time, take her to the Aegis outpost. Those researchers have proven themselves to the cause, unlike the bumbling buffoons out in the mountains.”

Wolf growled but turned to obey. It was a long trek to Aegis from Peakpoint, longer than he expected the girl would stay unconscious. He’d have to find some way to keep knocking her out, or maybe contain her.

“And Wolf!”

Wolf paused, turning his head back slightly.

“Thisss time, you can be a little rougher. Keep her alive, but maybe she doesn’t need both legsss. That should make it harder for her to run away again.”

Wolf strode forward again, his eyes gleaming in the darkness. Pointed teeth showed through his sinister smile. Maybe this hunt would be a little more fun than he had originally anticipated.

Snake watched Wolf retreat before sitting back in his chair. He reached over and grabbed a glass of water, refreshing his parched throat. The large scar that ran across his face had split his lip and even mangled his tongue, giving his speech its characteristic hiss and leaving his mouth constantly dry.

He closed his eyes and brought up the footage of the Peakcour girl again. He had watched every second of it: her abduction, her imprisonment, her damnable escape. He started composing messages to other operatives. They had failed, and been exposed to the Users and Daemons. It was a minor setback in the grand scheme of things, but he still needed to clean up the mess.

“Wipe the evidence from that mountain outpost. Much too close to Peakpoint anyway…” He muttered under his breath. “Oh, and ssseveral anti-personnel measures need to be taken as well, both in the city and without. Such a waste of resssources.”

Contingency plans made, he sat back and watched through the footage again. Her parents had nearly destroyed his well-laid plans, although they had paid the ultimate price in the end. And the girl would fall into his hands again, if he was just patient. And waiting was something he could do, biding his time for the perfect opportunity to strike.

A twisted sneer contorted his mouth, the scar pulling his expression into something nearly inhuman. He watched her incapacitate Brawn and shrug off Brain’s virus, memorizing her capabilities and scheming up countermeasures.

Who do you think you are, little girl, to stand in my way?

Bri had been ready for a number of situations when the Defects finally arrived at the decommissioned outpost where the Unshackled had apparently taken Val. The rogue Users could have requested backup and reinforced their position, ready to fire upon any intruders. Unlikely, but dangerous. They could have left the outpost, but left traps for the Defects to wander into. Much more likely, and still dangerous but less likely to result in a casualty.

They could have been rushed in their retreat and left the outpost undefended but devoid of any evidence. Reasonably likely, and not dangerous but extremely irksome. Only Kaya was any good at scouting and tracking. The rest of the Defects were almost completely combat-oriented, so investigation was not their strong suit.

It was even possible that the rogue Users did not prepare or expect them at all. After all, it was only one day after news of Val’s escape had been relayed to the Peakpoint Council by Gaia. The Defects had stopped by their compound for a quick resupply before heading back out again, not the first time they were sent out on back-to-back missions. Still, Bri had to assume the pair of rogue Users were more competent than that; despite Val’s escape, they had successfully abducted her in the first place. Better not to expect them to be caught with their exosuit off.

In addition to these, Zavis had also cataloged another eleven possible scenarios. In almost all of them, the most effective plan was for Bri to charge the compound and break in with shock-and-awe tactics. Wallon and Zavis could then follow shortly behind to secure their position, while Kaya provided ranged support.

And so Bri found herself blasting out from the treeline ahead of the group. The first few milliseconds were absolutely critical in deciding the next course of action, and relaying the right orders back to the rest of the squad. Which was why it was extremely disconcerting when she simply slid to a stop and gawked at the scene before her. It took several seconds for her surprise to pass and call for the others.

“Uhhh… Y’all have to see this. Coast is clear, but get up here!”

Zavis stepped out besides Bri in his nano-constructed armor, hefting a massive shield. His experienced eyes swept from left to right, taking in the scene quickly without missing a detail. Not that there was much to miss.

“Hmm,” he said as he lowered his shield.

“Hmm? That’s all you have to say about all this?” Bri said, gesturing in front of her with her arm.

The brush behind them rustled as Wallon emerged with a grenade in his hand. “What is all thi– Oh. That’s a big hole. Zavis, I think you have to update your list of expected scenarios.”

Bri snorted. A big hole. As usual, Wallon had massively understated the situation. The trio found themselves standing on the edge of what would be better described as a massive crater. There was no evidence that an outpost had stood there just days before. In fact, the building wasn’t the only thing missing. The trees and even the ground were missing for several hundred feet in front of them, leaving a roughly hemispherical depression in the forest.

Bri’s eyes narrowed as she looked at the walls of the crater more closely. Not roughly hemispherical – exactly hemispherical. It was like a perfect scoop of the planet was just… missing.

“What do you think, Wallon? Explosives?” asked Zavis. He lowered his shield slightly, but his eyes continued to wander. Bri had never seen him completely relax during a mission, and this seemed like no exception.

Wallon shook his head. “I don’t think so. I don’t detect any residue from an explosive device, be it traditional, nano, or otherwise. Besides, it’s one thing to blow something up. But that just moves matter around, not removes it entirely. Where’s all the debris?”

Zavis nodded. “I agree. There are no documented rogue Users that have techniques capable of doing this, but given that Val already uncovered two new Unshackled in this area, I think we have to assume that the Unshackled have acquired some additional talent.”

“You think a person is capable of this?” A shiver ran down Bri’s spine. A single User capable of casually disintegrating a city block… It was not a pleasant thought to imagine them walking into Peakpoint.

Zavis fixed her with his steady gaze. “Maybe not a single person. It’s possible it could be a synergistic technique requiring several people. Or maybe a device constructed by a team. I have to imagine there are restrictive conditions or significant resources required to do this if we have not seen this being used offensively.”

Bri nodded, turning her head to survey the crater once more.

“Well, what now?” she asked.

“No enemies to fight. No leads to follow.” Zavis shrugged. “We report back to Peakpoint and await our next mission.”

“What?!” Anger bubbled up in Bri again. She had felt an immediate camaraderie with Val – both young women thrust into the dangerous world of the Defects. Bri had found herself looking forward to helping Val find her way in her new circumstances. But they had barely spoken with her before sending her off on her own. Presumably safe, but Bri should have known better than to assume the Council had the best interests of the Defects in mind.

Her rage had started when the Defects had returned from their mission. Their fourth C-ranked mission that month, surpassing what many Scouts and Mercenaries encountered in an entire year. A mission that they completed in record time, pushing themselves to minimize the time that Val had to fend for herself.

And what do we get in return? No “thank you” or “good job”. Just another mission, with a message saying: by the way, that brand-new User that we so irresponsibly tossed out to you? Oh, she was taken from right under our noses. No other casualties, thankfully. Oh, but don’t worry: she somehow managed to escape from her captors. No idea where she is now, but could you go take them out for us?

Bri knew she wasn’t being fair to the Guildmaster who assigned the mission. In his defense, he had come to see them in person to explain the situation. What was his name again? Celery? A Scout, I think. The Guildmaster had even seemed contrite and apologetic, but it still rankled Bri. After all, if they really cared, they would have done more to prevent the situation from happening in the first place.

As usual, we’ve only got each other to look out for us.

“Are you sure there’s nothing we can do for Val?” Bri asked again, pushing her anger away with a force of will. Letting emotions cloud her judgment now wouldn’t do her or Val any good.

Zavis shook his head. “What do you suggest we do? If she’s smart, she’ll be in hiding. The chances that we find her with our skills is pretty minimal. Best we can do is head back and be ready to respond if they give us more information.”

Bri grumbled under her breath but didn’t argue. Zavis rarely made bad tactical decisions in the field, and in truth, she had no better ideas either. She heard the other two make their way back into the treeline, rustling through the brush. She looked out once more at the crater before turning to follow Zavis and Wallon. Her body settled back into a familiar rhythm as they traversed the forest, but her mind refused to rest.

Where did you go, Val?

Fynn looked down at the tray of his food glumly, sticking his spoon back into his mashed potatoes. He stirred the spoon around, pushing potatoes around but not picking any up. His stomach grumbled but his normal voracious appetite was nowhere to be found.

“You doing alright, Fynn?”

He looked up as he saw the cute blonde girl set her tray down across from him, concern etched into her face. Normally, Yessa’s appearance would have been enough to brighten his mood, but his heart just wasn’t in it today. He sighed heavily, letting the spoon clatter to the side of the tray.

“Not really, no. This whole situation doesn’t sit well with me.”

“Gosh, I know! Can you imagine, a direwolf snatching someone up from inside the city? And we were right there too. Thank Gaia none of us were injured.” Yessa shivered as she sat down.

Fynn’s fist clenched under the table. “Except for the girl who was taken.”

“Oh that’s right! That’s so insensitive of me. You said you had met her once before during your rotation?”

“That’s… right. Apparently, she went into User Selection at the same time as me.”

Fynn had no idea why Val had insisted on downplaying their friendship, but he trusted she had a good reason. He planned on keeping up the ruse for as long as possible until he heard otherwise from Val directly.

“Straight to the Def–, oops, Irregulars? Poor girl,” Yessa said, looking sad for a moment before her cheerful demeanor returned. “Well, Wren was saying this has been, like, a super weird introduction to the Guardians for us as well. We were supposed to go out on another patrol this afternoon, but it got cancelled.”

Fynn perked up at that. “Really?”

“Mhmm!” Yessa nodded. She hesitated, but then leaned in and whispered to Fynn conspiratorially. “Can you keep a secret?”

“Of course,” Fynn whispered as he leaned in, his face less than a foot from Yessa’s. Under other circumstances, he would have enjoyed the proximity, but his undivided attention was on her next words.

“Squadleader Kriven got called up to the Council to answer some more questions about the direwolf incident. Apparently we might not see him for a few days.” Yessa sat back with a giggle. “Can you imagine, Council business so early in his career? Maybe they’ll give him a medal for fighting off the direwolf or something!”

“Wow, yea, that would be quite something.” Fynn forced a smile on his face, but his mind was furiously working. Jenma had come home last night with news that the Mercenaries and Scouts were both on high alert, and that the Guardians would probably follow suit today. Something big was going on behind the scenes, but it didn’t take a genius to connect the heightened security to the most significant security breach of the past few years.

And now, the commanding officer in charge during the security breach gets whisked off to Council discussions? Somehow, I doubt he’ll come out of that with anything good on his record.

Fynn’s eyes narrowed. There was something going on behind the scenes, but he didn’t have enough information to piece it together yet. Maybe Val could have; after all, she had always been the more strategically-inclined of the two of them.

“By the way, how do you know all this? I haven’t heard anything like that yet,” Fynn asked offhandedly.

“Oh!” Yessa covered her mouth with a delicate hand, finishing her mouthful of mashed potatoes before responding. “Well, I guess I’m not supposed to really tell people, but… Kriven’s actually one of my second cousins. So this is sort of family gossip.” She looked demurely at Fynn over the table. “Please don’t spread that! I’m… trusting you.”

“Of course you can trust me – after all, I’m the guy with the shield who’ll always have your back. No one will hear it from my lips.” Fynn gave her an honest smile this time.

She met his gaze for several long moments before blush spread across her face. “Thanks,” she said softly before taking another bite of her lunch.

Fynn felt his cheeks warm as well. He picked up his spoon and quickly shoveled mashed potatoes, his earlier reticence at eating overwhelmed by the need to occupy his mouth before he said something too cringy. My best friend is out there probably fighting for her life, and I’m sitting here freaking out about a little accidental flirting. Great job, Fynn.

They finished their respective meals in companionable silence. It was probably the longest Fynn had spent with Yessa where she hadn’t said anything, but he didn’t feel the need to break the silence. Clearly, she’s well connected though. I wonder if she can find out anything more about what’s going on. Fynn immediately felt guilty for thinking of potentially using Yessa like that, especially because he took his promise of looking out for her seriously. But he had promised the same to Val so many years ago, and he refused to let his longest friend down either.

With a clank, he dropped his spoon into his now empty tray. The sound seemed to startle Yessa out of her thoughts as she looked up at him as he stood.

“Well, this was nice. Thanks for stopping by, I do feel better now,” he said as he gave her a warm grin.

“Of course. I’m… glad I stopped by as well,” she responded, giving him a beaming smile in return.

Feeling conflicted between his excitement and prospective guilt, he waved good-bye and forced himself to move towards the door. Dropping off his tray, he left the mess hall and made his way towards the training grounds. Usually, physical activity was meditative for him, allowing him to clear his mind of any unwanted thoughts.

But even that was a struggle today as intrusive thoughts continued to bombard him. Some about Yessa, both her revelations about Kriven and his own personal feelings about his teammate. More about the recent security activity around Peakpoint, and what could possibly be going on behind the scenes. But most of all, one singular thought kept running through his mind.

What have you gotten yourself into, Val?