1310 HOURS, NOVEMBER 9, 2554 (MILITARY CALENDAR)

HALO INSTALLATION: SIRCA - PRESUMED FREELANCER BASE

Having to help haul the Reds and Blues? Not a big issue. Having to meet, walk and talk with a dead ghost as a Chupadore woman possessing the voice and behavior of a long-gone friend before she had gone off to Project Freelancer? Not... Terrible, but borderline uncomfortable.

Entering the Movement's base, and discovering one yellow, very tall and shirtless Chupadore male that possessed the voice and behavior of another dead ghost of a friend that you knew perhaps not as long, but he disappeared from Project Freelancer before being reported KIA? Edging on scary.

Realizing this was the same Constance and York, the same names, quirks, and bickering? "You in there, tin can?"

Tysiac had to force himself out of his staring between the two Chupadores, the tall and yellow that claimed the name York, eyeing him with some curiosity. It took just as much effort to not making his voice rasp, "I'm fine." He shouldered the still slumbering weight of Grif as he caught up behind 'York' and "C.T", ignoring their eyes as he marched on ahead of them.

Depositing the Reds and Blues plus Kai and Andee off in the holding cells, York attempted to place a claw on Tysiac before meeting resistance in the form of the MJOLNIR energy shielding, causing his claw to slip off. Tysiac turned to look at the tall Chupadore, seeing him look at where the shielding had sparked into existance before recovering from the surprise, "Nice trick. Gonna need you to follow me, cuz until they wake up, you're the only one with answers we gotta know."

Impulse guided Tysiac into not questioning or even resist at his words. Following him to a separate room that was clearly meant for interrogation, Tysiac didn't even put a fight or resist on letting the rifle and duffle bag be taken off of his hands as he watched the alien posing with York's name and traits leave the room for a moment, meeting up with a shorter Chupadore that he couldn't see.

In the meantime, Tysiac began to brood and dwell on his memories. Constance was... Honestly, she really was the kind of girl who fantasized about being a hero. Being raised on old holovids of superheroes or old fantasy movies, the high moralities, how good won out even when things looked grim. It's what got her first started working for the police force on Dryad before-

The door opened, snapping Tysiac's attention out of his reverie as the Chupa having the name York came in. Looking over, he asked, "Not gonna sit?"

"Wouldn't survive me." Tysiac replied in a low tone, making 'York' shrug as he moved to sit down as well. As he did, Tysiac immediately noticed the tattoo markings of the Greek symbol for Delta before the Roman numerals of seven on his left side.

Taking a quick snapshot over the symbol, Tysiac returned his eyes towards 'York' as the alien gave a sigh before stating, "So. I'm to be your buddy on Twenty Questions."

"Thought the game was multiplayer." Tysiac half-joked, which made 'York' crack a smile in return.

"Yeah, well, everybody else got shy. So, let's start with, who are you? The name, the rank, any serial?"

"Tysiac S-E001." The human replied by serial. It would be enough to tell the alien he wasn't anywhere in Sirca, not unless they had the Chupa of Dr. Halsey and Colonel Ackerson. However, his serial number was something familiar to the Chupadore, as he raised a high eyebrow before lifting one of his feet to rest on the table.

"Hell of a name and serial," The Chupadore commented as he asked, "Got a marking on you anywhere with that serial?"

Definitely the wrong answer, as Tysiac surmised that 'York' was under the belief that he was from whatever same outfit that gave him that marking on his side. Deciding to remove suspicion, Tysiac said, "None."

'York' started leaning forwards and picked at the table for a moment before asking, "Happen to be a conscript?"

"To the thing you call 'Omega'? No."

The curt response seemed to put 'York' off as he stopped picking at the table and started studying Tysiac more. The Chupa's eyes kept drifting around his helmet and armor before lingering on the UNSC emblem. Deciding to find something of a detailed answer, 'York' gestured with one claw, "Nice symbol you got there. That something you made or something you're part of?"

"Part of. Specifically, the one you based your own emblems on." Tysiac replied. His eyebrows furrowed as he used that question as a focus to differentiate the Chupadore in front of him from the York he befriended once.

"Meaning, whatever has that symbol belongs to you?"

"Not me, but it'll certainly gain my interest in whatever has them." Tysiac shifted from his stance as he began to lean against the wall.

Either by losing patience or just having no luck in finding something, 'York' elected a different approach, "What about those Reds and Blues you were with? They your buddies?"

Tysiac gave a shrug, "Acquaintance at best with Reds, playing caretaker with Blues. Been following them more than them following me." He leaned forward a little as he joked, "Those three tend to require an adult."

The Chupa cracked a grinning smile, chalking another familiar strike of memory of York as he said, "Sounds like they're quite a handful." The smile faded as he pulled his leg off the table, "Alright, Tysiac. Since I can't get to the source with a good pry, gonna need to be more direct. Anybody sent ya here?"

"Other than Juwo directing the big and white Chupadore here, no," Tysiac stated. Difficult as it was, confidentiality was a demand, and he wasn't one to break that, even for the ghost of a friend. The Movement didn't need to know about ONI, UNSC, or Project Freelancer from Section Three.

'York' raised an eyebrow again. A thought seemed to come to him, and the Chupadore mulled over the thought as he used a wooden toothpick that was on the table to pick on his teeth for a while before asking, "Know anything about the House? Oaths that usually get taken by them?"

Tapping into the comms long before he ended up having to emergency land, Tysiac did recall something about a "House." However, he couldn't make too much sense of it at the time and chalked it as part of the religion of Omega. Prayers, he could recall a few broadcasts, but oaths? Tysiac gave a shake of his head in answer.

That seemed to set something off with 'York' as he said, "Alright, bud. Then I got just a few more with this, because you're not making a lot of sense with them." His posture started straightening up as he pointed at Tysiac, "Meaning either you're a hell of a liar and using that helmet as a crutch to hide it, or you're not a local that's been hiding himself under a rock."

"You'd be surprised." Tysiac said smoothly, "Not as much a surprise as you had in Errer-" He immediately cut himself off, turned the speakers off and cursed at himself. His memories were acting up again and he wasn't keeping a tight lid on it.

Tysiac didn't cut himself off sooner. York's eyes bolted wide open and nearly knocked his chair over as he nearly stuttered, "H-how do you know-"

A thundering boom shook the interrogation room, both Chupa and human immediately looked over towards the door as the base's alarms went off. From what Tysiac could hear, it was a "Level Zero" alarm.

The door nearly slammed open as a new face appeared. This one was much shorter and had the unique color combination of black fur and yellow hair. 'York' asked the Chupa, "What the hell was that?!"

"I don't know." The new Chupadore said, his voice now throwing Tysiac completely off as he knew that voice belonging to no one else than Agent Washington, "It sounded like-" The Chupa froze as he listened to the alarm as it went off again, "Level Zero?? In the compound?! Fuck, let's go!"

'York' was just as quick to move after 'Washington', "Right behind you!"

Having been left alone and technically not cleared for free rein, Tysiac couldn't help but feel bewildered and lost. Not just in hearing and finding familiar voices and names being planted on alien faces, but that this Movement was so lax as to leave an ONI Spook with power armor alone in exchange for whatever was happening?

Playing Spook was certainly a demanded and almost hilariously obvious option, thus Tysiac elected to follow after them. A bit of bonus points might be given to helping whatever was causing the alarm. He paused just at the doorway before reaching behind and in a back pocket before placing it on top of the doorframe. A small black dot that connected to his armor and quickly began broadcasting the interior of the room in Tysiac's HUD.

Pocketing a few more, Tysiac began chasing after the two, finding spots here and there across the corridors to plant a few eyes.

The two Chupadores were easy to find as they stopped at a nearby junction with Wash commanding York, "Head to Control and work on the alarm, see who's responding. I'm going to check the b-" Hearing the sounds of Tysiac's boots hitting the floor, they turned around and gave a start at seeing the human stop short of them, "How the hell did you-"

"You left me alone, unsupervised and unhindered. Care to guess?" Tysiac commented dryly as he said, "Just point me where the problems-"

Now came Tysiac's turn to be interrupted as a storm of Chupadores came sprinting down the hallway and barreled past York and Wash. A few of them passed before Tysiac recognized Kai and Andee were among them, mostly yelling in panic as they were doing their damndest to escape something.

"How did they get out?" York demanded.

"Focus on what "Level Zero" means." Tysiac replied before being given the answer as a white and thick fist suddenly smashed through a nearby wall. The wall fell apart as an awake, growling like an animal, and a lot more fluffy Church stalked out of the hole and dust cloud. His entire posture had changed to being hunched over, his claws stretched out as if the Chupadore was ready to maul something. But the biggest difference that Tysiac could see was that Church's eyes had changed. Instead of a clear, ice blue, his eyes had become a wild yellow with narrow irises.

"It means that." Washington answered with dread.

This wasn't a good place to fight. Not when he didn't know the full capabilities Church had and because Tysiac didn't have his rifle and neither were the other Chupadores armed. With that in mind, Tysiac simply commanded, "Move!"

Both Chupadores didn't need to be told twice as they ran down the hall where the Reds were while Tysiac turned and sprinted down the same hallway he had come from. Church's roaring followed him, and apparently Church, as Tysiac's motion sensor was reporting the alien's movement coming towards him.

Tysiac gave another curse as he purposefully slowed his sprint, making sure that Church was still on his tail instead of giving up on a Spartan that was nearly leaving him in the dust for easier prey.

Seeing the same room he had left, Tysiac raced past it and kept looking for an open space of any kind. Despite trying to keep distance, Church was gaining ground on him. He was running out of both options before finding one hallway junction that showed a staircase leading down. Taking a risk, Tysiac ducked and slid down the stairs, causing Church to overshoot and crash into the opposing wall before recovering quickly.

"There he is!" One Chupadore cried as Tysiac found his twisted luck, giving him an open space with storage crates of metal and wood. And it so happens to contain a rather sizable armed force taking shelter and aim at Church as he came bounding down the stairs on all fours.

Rolling to the side, Tysiac dodged the feral Chupadore's attempt of grabbing him before the rest of the Movement forces began opening fire. Thankfully, the feral Chupadore overshot once again and his focus switched towards the armed and more loud forces shooting at him. Church charged towards one soldier that had been taking shelter at a large pile of wooden crates, leaping with an angered roar.

The armed Chupa fell from the stack of crates, luck saving him as Church landed and cracked several of them on landing before throwing the remains of one at another solider.

With space and a moment of breath, Tysiac began studying what he could from this new aggressive Church. Without a doubt, his fur and skin was giving him a great deal of resistance to shrug off multiple shots, even with the soldiers around panicking at both the size and aggression.

The feral Church threw another crate, this time a more intact wooden crate at another soldier, not noticing two Chupadores racing towards a vehicle in the area that looked similar to the UNSC's Warthogs. Quickly turning the vehicle on, the Chupa at its back hopped on the mounted turret and began shooting at Church, scoring multiple wounds on him.

It wasn't enough to stall the feral Chupadore, as he immediately lept down the crates and began racing straight for the gunner. Realizing full well what was bound to occur, Tysiac raced to intercept.

Just as Church raised a claw to maul the gunner, Tysiac dashed across the open area and after taking a quick jump off of a few metal crates, delivered a dropkick into Church's side and sent him clear from the Warthog as he told the gunner, "Move!"

He turned back to see Church give another animalistic snarl at him as Tysiac braced with his fists at the ready. With a short roar, Church pounced at him and took a wild swing with one claw at the Spartan. It was an easy swing to dodge under as Tysiac returned with a right hook into the Chupadore's side. The blow wasn't enough to make him wheeze, but it did make Church recoil. That allowed Tysiac to throw another fist into Church's gut and was about to uppercut the Chupadore.

The feral Church gave a short roar before striking with another swipe. This time it landed and hit hard against Tysiac's shields. Briefly looking at the HUD, the swing had a lot of strength behind it as it took a solid half from the suit as Tysiac followed through with the uppercut.

That sent Church reeling back as Tysiac started forming a plan to deal with the Chupadore. The hit was certainly strong, but it was about as similar to a Covenant Brute giving a solid punch. In addition, that feral attitude was all too similar to an untrained animal. Raw strength, but none of the windup or experience.

Tysiac readied for another round as the energy shielding began recharging before the sound of a motor vehicle turned on and its engines revved loudly. Both Tysiac and Church turned to look at the noise, finding 'York' grinning as he taunted on a similar make of the UNSC Mongoose, "Here, doggie doggie! Wanna go for a ride?"

Church gave a snarl before chasing after the yellow Chupadore as he drove away quickly around the circular floor. However, the chase didn't go on for long as Church lept up on several crates, past two other Chupadores and onto the large, steel storage unit.

Realizing that Church's animal nature was intelligent enough to know how to chase a fast target down, Tysiac raced after them. Sure enough, York looked back in confusion before giving a loud curse in surprise as Church crashed into the side of the Mongoose, destroying it and sending the yellow Chupadore off of it and landing hard against a metal railing.

Wash gave a panicked yell towards York, who didn't respond. Tysiac gave another burst of speed and drop kicked Church a second time from behind and sent him against the wall, cracking the bricks. It still didn't daze the Chupadore as he gave another angry snarl at Tysiac, who got back up and prepped for round two.

Then came one voice. That one damn voice that Tysiac wished he didn't need to hear again. Just a single shout was enough to unsettle and shift Tysiac out of focus, with twisted luck bringing Church's attention away from him, allowing him to recover.

Tysiac's eyes locked onto a calm Chupadore woman that was walking confidently. Even with a different species and an unfamiliar face, her voice and attitude was enough to still haunt him and brought back the memory of Allison.

She was dual-wielding pistols out with a threatening display as she continued to yell at Church before falling silent with a grin. The Chupadore put away her pistols as the voice of Washington registered in Tysiac's ears, "What are you doing??"

"Relax," That same haunting voice came again, bringing up her fists and giving that same eager look Tysiac knew, "This one's mine."

Church gave a loud roar as he flexed his claws, standing up as he prepared to claw the now running Chupadore woman.

Tysiac was quick to move and reinforce her as she ducked under the wild swing and uppercut Church to his chest before grabbing both his shirt and fur to pull him down. She brought an elbow down and slammed it into the feral Chupadore's back as he fell to the ground.

He didn't stay down for long as Church growled in rage and quickly got back up on all fours and made a leaping charge. Tysaic intercepted him with a vicious haymaker that connected to Church's jaw and sent him sprawling down off the ledge and into the main floor, surprising the Chupadore woman as she looked at him.

Taking advantage of Church's downed state, Tysiac grabbed the back of the feral's neck and brought him up just enough to land a low hook that connected to Church's jaw. The blow sent the Chupadore wheeling onto his back with a choked yelp.

The haunting voice called out to him angrily, "Hey! I had him!"

Tysiac ignored it. He couldn't stop right now, not with a wild and aggressive Church that was ready to kill people. If he gave the ghost attention, then Tysiac wouldn't get out of the past. Church was already recovering as he lightly shook his head before snarling.

The Chupadore woman lept up over Tysiac, using his shoulder as a jumping aid, and brought one of her feet down to kick Church in the face. However, the feral alien quickly dodged, letting the foot crash against a support pillar and cracking the metal before grabbing her ankle and throwing her on the far side of the open area.

Thinking quickly, the woman saw a bit of chain hanging nearby and grabbed it. The chain supported her momentum as she bounced off the walls and began making her way back towards Church.

Speaking of, Church was just about to leap after her before a sudden fist landed at the lower part of his back, just below the tail. He was sent stumbling forwards before finding Tysiac nearby, his fists raised and making it clear he was letting him chase after the woman.

Ignoring another yell from the ghost's voice, Tysiac allowed the feral Chupadore to charge at him before turning around on one foot. Timing it right, the Spartan wheeled around with a small jump and delivered a spinning kick that landed his foot across Church's face. The kick once more sent Church flying, this time further into the center of the room.

Not letting up to give the feral time to breathe, Tysiac moved in. The Chupadore was a lot more bloody and was beginning to show signs of dizziness as he attempted to get up, growling again as his eyes locked onto the approaching Spartan.

A sudden explosion resounded just above both Tysiac and Church, making them look up to see a falling metal platform above coming down onto them. Realizing what the Chupadore woman had done, Tysiac unleashed another hook into Church's gut. Without pausing, the ONI Spartan grabbed the same scruff on the back of Church's neck and elbowed him hard in the nose before throwing him to the ground and leaping backwards.

The platform crashed on top of Church, nearly pancaking the Chupadore. Yet even with all that Church had endured, the growling continued as the platform started to rise. Sure enough, the snarling form of Church could be seen on his claws and knees, trying to get up before the Chupadore woman landed on the platform. The sudden impact made Church fall forwards as his eyes looked up at the woman with animalistic rage as the haunting voice came again, "Well, Leonard. If our love life was half this exciting, I wouldn't have needed to join the army."

Tysiac had to fight instinct as he watched the woman bring out a different pistol and loaded it with a yellow capsule. Aiming it to Church's head, she said, "Now be a good boy, and stay down."

She shot a dart into Church's neck, making the feral Chupadore give a small yip before the growling faded. His eyes drifted and started to wander lazily before falling asleep from the tranquilizer as Tysiac tried to calm himself. This wasn't the time or place to act like he knew this Chupadore.

He couldn't fall back on muscle-memory as she stepped off and moved towards him, "Didn't ask for the assist, but helluva job." That same haunting voice came. The Chupadore woman grinned at him as she raised a fist at him, "Got a name, tin can?"

"Tysiac S-E001." He nearly grounded out without a stutter, bringing a fist to bump against hers.

The woman gave a curious look at him before hearing the rest of the Movement emerging, Washington running over to the two, "Welcome back, Tex."

"Always did throw the best of parties for me, Wash." Tex smiled as she turned around and began lifting the platform up. Some of the nearby Chupadores grabbed hold and held it there long enough for her to pull the unconscious and still feral Church from underneath.

"Only because you knew how to crash them." Wash spoke with some sarcasm as he looked over the bloody and battered body of Church, "Go hit the showers. I'll clean up here."

Tysiac's eyes never left the woman as she slowly left the area. She apparently noticed and gave a motion with one claw, "How 'bout you follow me, tin can. You look like that fight took more out of you."

His eyes widened slightly. It was only now did Tysiac notice he was breathing hard and his arms were shaking, "I-I'm fine." He said, voice shuddered. A silent curse left him as he began slowing his breathing down to not hyperventilate, "I'm not injured."

She looked at him, utterly unconvinced. Though she had a strange look on her face as she asked, "You don't sound fine to me. You sound like you just saw something outta nightmares."

Red vs Blue © Rooster Teeth. Halo © 343 Industries. Concept by Myshu, assisted by The Department of Chupapology.