Coming back from the dead wasn't something that happened. The only time he heard or even seen anything like that was in movies or in books. That was because their world was different from theirs and there were no such things as second changes. They all got one chance at life, and if they messed up and couldn't be saved from their mistake then it was their own problem. They weren't going to get a free pass and another chance to fix their mistakes. That wasn't something that happened. Washington knew about the movies that consisted of dealing with zombies and those that were out for their blood. There were all sorts of horror movies that play with that trope when he was a child, although new movies weren't something that really happened all that often when the topic of extinction was on the table.

Washington was never the kid that had just sat around to play video games either and didn't know all that much about them. During that era video games were drastically different, as there were all different sorts of video games that one could play if they wanted to. Instead of doing something that would waste time though, Washington would then instead take care of his sisters, which has two of them meant that it was basically like a full-time job while his mother worked two jobs after their father died from the Great War. Washington didn't know much about his father as he had died when he was incredibly young, and therefore he didn't wish for the fact that he was still alive. That kind of thinking was wishful and childish. Washington was forced to mature fairly quickly at his age, which happened to a lot of kids his age too that weren't able to escape the effects of war on civilians that lived on Earth. The reason why he wasn't affected all that much by the death of others meant that he was used to it.

He had watched marine after marine die next to him on the battlefield because they would make simple mistakes that would get them killed. He knew that there was no point in mourning for too long because they were gone and never coming back. The only thing that one could do is try to remember who they were before they died and move on. Washington didn't know the death of many Freelancers over the time that he was there, considered to be that of a rookie. He wasn't a rookie anymore, but after everything that handled with Agent Texas, it meant that his mind was a little bit more fragile. The Freelancer didn't know what to think about what Carolina had died. His instincts were telling him to forget about her and move on with his life. But there was an emotion that he hadn't felt in a very long time since they were teleported to this world. That feeling of loneliness.

He had been working with Carolina for several weeks now and had gotten used to her take-charge attitude like he had always been. It was a familiar feeling, one that gave him hope that they would all make it back to being humans again. Washington didn't want to remain this beast for much longer, and he knew that if they put their minds together they could make it work. They had to make it work. There weren't any chances to fail a mission like this one, and considering all that he had to go through, he didn't want to be the only one. He doubted that Texas would be the one to take orders from him, and he wasn't about to be the one to be taking an order from someone that was just a shadow and constantly gave him a headache. They wouldn't get along because of that large mental barrier that was there. Caboose was still missing, and he didn't know where the golden retriever was. Church was still here, but the other kept to himself and barely followed any orders that he gave him in the first place. It was all a mess, and here he was picking up the pieces. Just like every Freelancer was going to have to do if all of them made it from the explosion.

Not to mention that the Meta was still around somewhere, and there was no way he could fight the other Freelancer alone. Maybe with Agent Texas, but he doubted that she would want to readily help him anyway. If anything, the group that they were in now could just readily turn on the likes of him and everyone else because they had brought only a little smidge of trouble against them. Washington didn't want that because they had the technology that they needed. They needed every resource they could get when they kept losing. Over and over again. He was starting to know what it felt like to constantly have everything ripped away from him. The thought of Carolina coming back had never crossed his mind when he saw her corpse. It was almost nice to have Imperia there to try and comfort him, but there was little that the canine could end up doing to help his condition.

He wasn't like the rest of the group here that primarily considered the death that happened to those around him to be some kind of joke. Did they not understand that when someone died they still died? They went through the pain of said death. They saw their life flash before their eyes and they felt their body grow cold. Something no one alive should ever know the feeling of. He had been close to death plenty of times in his life, but he had never actually died. That obviously wouldn't be possible. So, of course, he had his doubts about who he was talking to. Not only did she look completely different, most of those that he had met so far usually looking similar to the way they had when they were humans, but there was something else.  He knew that there were some sort of abilities that these animals had that they could use against them, and he wasn't sure if this could be one of their tricks. And if it had been, it made him sick to his stomach. He didn't want any of this.

He was full of guilt for the way that Carolina died because of his hesitance. Another reason for him to never hesitate again when it came to the likes of a fight. The Freelancer didn't know if it had been better for Carolina to die in this world. The issue was, he had buried her. He remembered looking at her corpse. He wasn't just going to let her corpse there for the bugs. She had been through his shenanigans for years when he was just a rookie. Washington wouldn't treat her like that, and he did everything himself. If someone asked him right now where Carolina was buried, he could easily point them in the right direction and show them her corpse. It had been a little bit difficult to dig a grave with one paw, but it was sufficient enough. Did Project Freelancer even bury those that died? He doubted that their families were even notified that they were indeed dead.

Washington's attention flickered to everyone else that padded toward 'Carolina's' direction. They all seemed to be calm about everything, and the only one that seemed confused was Roy. Understandable, as Washington had the same question if it was actually her in the first place. The armored smilodon held his breath as his head tilted to the side again until he could hear a pop. From there, his attention remained solely on the strange looking cat in front of him. When she started moving toward him, Washington didn't move from his current position. The former human thought that she was going to stop just slightly in front of him, but then he felt warmth against his right good leg. Warmth. Then her voice. It really was here. His throat clenched as emotions filled his head. Some of his, some emotions not his own. It didn't matter to him. He wasn't alone anymore. His broken paw seemed to twitch and moved toward where Carolina was against his leg. Washington didn't bring her in a hug though, instead, he seemed hesitant, and only aimed to gently tap her shoulder as she stepped away.

It had been a while since he had someone touch him that wasn't a medic, and it felt strange. He honestly didn't know how to react to it. "Don't do that again Boss." Washington would say in a breathy voice as if he was exhaling the breath that he was holding. A small grin was spread across his jaws behind his helmet. The phrase that was left unsaid though was 'I need you'. Then Carolina began to address those that were speaking toward her, and Washington allowed himself to sit down. He was exhausted that was for sure as there had been too much that happened in just a couple of days. Washington seemed to be fairly speechless about the situation, not exactly sure what to say given what was presented in front of him. Was being alive better than being dead in a place like this? At the mention of the world looping her though, Washington shifted his paws slightly where he was sitting. "Maybe you just got lucky..." Washington said in a hesitated voice as if he was trying to apply logic to the entire situation. Which, there obviously wasn't. He definitely didn't want Carolina going into the fray of battle thinking that she wouldn't end up dying if she received lethal injuries thinking that she would return back to life. He flicked one of his ears inside of his helmet as he noticed the tension that would probably always remain between Bastille and Carolina, but there was no arguing that was going between them. Now that was good. "speech"

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