(Whooo 100 chapters!)

Director: (voice over) Dear Chairman.

Fade in to some rocky terrain, with Meta shooting at South inside a Domed Energy Shield

Director: (voice over) The Meta is nothing more than an entity seeking to increase its power, in these confusing days after the war. From my perspective, that seems to be a very common occurrence at the moment.

South Dakota: Delta, report.

Delta: Your suit's energy reserves are nearly depleted. The shield will not-

South: How much longer?

Delta: The Meta will breach our barrier within sixty seconds. I suggest that you prepare your grenades while I divert power from your armor's non-essential systems.

South: No.

Delta: You have a better plan?

South: Keep the shield up as long as you can. When it starts to falter, transfer yourself to the storage unit.

Delta: I think I would be more useful in my current state.

South: I'll dump my shield generator at the same time. There's no way that thing can resist the both of you.

Delta: You are... abandoning me?

South: It's my best chance to get out of this.

Delta: South, protocol violations aside, this seems to be a very short term solution. The Meta will only grow more powerful by integrating me into-

South: Program override, acknowledge last directive.

Delta: Acknowledged. Preparing storage unit.

South: Get ready.

Delta: Shield failure in five, four-

South: Get ready to eject.

Delta: Three-

South: Transfer to storage.

Delta: Two-

South: On my mark-

Delta: One.

South: Now!

A grenade goes off behind the Meta.

Ash is on a third jeep behind them.

"There they are!" Wash yells.

"New targets incoming." Delta informs South.

The Meta turns to the jeeps as the drive in.

"Don't let it get near her!" Wash yells.

Caboose crashes his jeep with Church, Wash drifts his jeep to a stop and avoids a shot from. The Meta fires on Ash's jeep and the explosions causes Ash's jeep to go flying.

"FUUUCK!" Ash yells as he flies over the concrete walls.

"Don't let her get away!" Wash yells.

"Her? Isn't she a Freelancer like you?" Church asks.

"Yes!" Wash yells. "Just don't let her leave!"

"Okay!" Church yells and he turns to Caboose. "Caboose!"

"Hello." Caboose responds.

"Hey, see that purple one? She's on our team. You should help her."

"Okay!" Caboose stands up and shoots South.

Caboose crouches back down. "Uh. She got in the way when I was trying to help her." Caboose tells Church.

"Okay. We're good." Church yells to Wash.

Ash jumps over the concrete wall. "SURPRISE MOTHER FUCKER!"

Ash opens fires on the Meta with his DMR, but it doesn't do much to the monster. 

The Meta growls and turns around and aims his grenade launcher at Ash.

"Uh, oh." Ash as the Meta fires on Ash, sending him flying into the air and landing between Church and Caboose. "OW!"

Ash gets up. "You piece of shit!" Ash yells at the Meta, but then ducks under a grenade.

"Nice of you to join us." Church says to Ash.

"OH piss off." Ash says to Church.

Wash sees the Meta turn invisible. "Damn! It's gone invisible, keep an eye on your motion trackers, and watch your perimeters! Look for a shimmer." He walks over to the other three.

"It can turn invisible?" Church asks.

"That doesn't seem fair!" Ash shouts as he reloads his DMR.

"It takes the equipment of other Freelancers, it must have picked up cloaking from Tex." Wash informs the group.

"Wait a second. Any equipment?" Church asks.

"Yes! Why?"

"Shit. Wyoming!" Church yells. "Cover me!" Church jumps over the wall and heads towards the fortress.

"What? Wyoming?! Caboose, cover him!" Wash yells. "Grab those spike grenades."

Caboose goes over to the grenades.

"No!" Church yells. "Don't let Caboose help me!"

"Where are you?" Ash asks as he looks around.

"There it is!" Wash yells.

The Meta fires on Church.

"Hey! How about a little help out here?!" Church yells.

Ash fires at the Meta. "EAT LEAD!" 

But the Meta does something strange, he slams his right fist into the ground and a blue pulse surrounds him.

"Aw come on!" Ash yells. "What even is that!"

The Meta undoes his armor lock and turns to Ash. "Uh oh." Ash ducks down and sees Caboose toss a spike grenade into the wall.

"You've gotta be shitting me." Ash says.

"That was the worst throw ever." Wash says. "Of all time."

"Not my fault." caboose says. "Someone put a wall in my way."

Church fires a rocket at the Meta's head before the Meta freezes time.The Meta backs away from the rocket, walks over underneath Ash and pulls his pistol out and aims it at him. The crack in the Meta's helmet is very visible.

The Meta growls but he suffers a electrical charge and times resumes and he flees.

"What?" Wash asks. "Where did it go? What happened?"

"You don't remember?" Caboose asks Wash. "You threw a grenade that landed in between us. But don't worry, I saved you both."

"I remember that very differently." Ash says to Caboose.

Church walks over. "It used Agent Wyoming's stupid time thing from the ship!" He yells. "What's wrong with you, why didn't you tell us it could use equipment?!"

Wash, Caboose and Ash walk over to Church.

"Why didn't you tell me that Wyoming was on the ship?!" Wash yells.

"And what was the armor lock thing he had?!" Ash yells.

"AND WHY DIDN'T SOMEONE GIVE ME SOMETHING TO YELL ABOUT?!" Caboose yells.

South moans in pain and grunts as the four walk over to her.

"Delta. Are you here?" Wash asks.

"Affirmative. I am undamaged." Delta informs. "However, Agent South is seriously wounded. May I suggest moving me to a new host."

"Roger that." Wash says. "I don't trust her anyway." He looks at the other three. "One of you three take him."

"I don't know 'bout that." Ash says.

"Um." Church starts. "I don't think that I can-"

Caboose interrupts. "I'll do it!" He walks over to Delta. "I like meeting new people."

Caboose backs away.

"Delta, what happened?" Wash asks the A.I.

Delta appears next to Caboose. "I agree with the simulation trooper. The Meta has most likely acquired both the temporal distortion unit, and an A.I capable of running it. In this case, Gamma."

"Well, why didn't it kill us, then?"

"I am sorry, but I do not have enough data to formulate an answer. I think we should simply be happy that it is gone."

"That makes sense to me." Church says.

"I mean, I am happy." Ash says.

"I also agree with the glowing person." Caboose says. 

"Everyone else sees the glowing person, right?" Caboose asks.

"It is possible the Meta has been injured in some way, and is retreating to repair itself." Delta states.

"So." Wash starts. "If we can find it before it does, we may actually stand a chance at beating it."

"Either way, I don't think we should be hanging around here." Church says.

Delta turns to Ash. "It is nice to see you again, Agent Minnesota."

Ash looks to the A.I. "Even this thing calls me that."

"Are you not, Agent Minnesota?"

"That is a long story." Wash tells the A.I. Then he looks at the group. "Let's get moving.

South stands up. "I can't- I can't walk on my own."

Wash turns to her. "Well, I guess you'd better start crawling. If you think I'm leaving you here to escape, you've got another thing coming."

"Agent Washington, if I may." Delta starts. "Before you arrived, South attempted to turn me over to the Meta. To save herself."

"Really."

"Much like she wounded you to escape in our previous encounter with it." And as I have learned in our travels, her brother, North, suffered a similar fate."

"What a team player." Wash says sarcastically. 

"It is highly probable that she will turn on us again soon, and in her current physical state, she will only hamper our progress."

"What are you suggesting?"

"That we do not allow her to hamper our progress."

"Wow, she sounds like a big bitch." Ash says.

South turns to Ash. "Minne?"

Ash looks to her, then to Wash. "Someone I should know?"

"What?"

Wash turns to Ash. "It's better that you don't." Wash turns to South and pulls out a pistol. 

"Oh come on, Wash." South starts. "What are you gonna do? Sh-" Wash shoots her.

"Yes." Wash starts and he lowers his gun. "Good suggestion."

"You're welcome." Delta says.

"Dude." Church turns to Wash. "You guys are some cold motherfuckers."

"That was kinda cool." Ash says.

Then it is silent for a few moments till Caboose speaks. "I just want everyone to know that I have no problems walking. ..... And I take full responsibility for the grenade incident."

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07-07-2022