They had been corrupted. Used. Manipulated. There was no changing the past like some tried desperately to do. Washington knew that there was no way that he would be able to recover and go back to being the way that he used to be. The Freelancer had seen plenty of things over his lifetime, and he knew that there was a chance that he wouldn't even come back from some of the missions. He and Maine were the ones that got injured the most in the program, as Washington wasn't all that great and Maine was usually the muscle. They had worked together on a couple of missions here and there and Washington considered him to be a great teammate that was one of few words. The other was capable of conveying what he wanted just by the way he acted. That might be one of the reasons why the Freelancer had got along with the other so much because the other didn't have the means to try and argue against him when it came to making snarky comments.

He had remembered the moment where the guy had found his signature weapon during a heist, and the other had asked him what he thought of it. Considering that it had been alien technology meant that it was going to look cool no matter who got their hands on it. He never even got to know the name of the weapon that Maine ended up using for the majority of the time. Then there was the aspect that Maine was forced to use his weight to get the package onto the top of the roof, which Carolina had done. It had been a crazy day, and it had also been the day that Maine got shot several times and got shot in the throat, meaning that he would never be able to speak again. It was a harsh blow to all of them as no one wanted to end up getting basically crippled from an injury. There was no such thing as a medical discharge, as every Freelancer found a way to fight through their disabilities.

Before even Maine got injured, it had been Agent York that had ended up losing an eye thanks to an explosion that had been ironically caused by Maine himself when they were fighting against Agent Texas on the training floor. Washington had thought that they were going to be punished but the Director had done no such thing. Eventually, Carolina had given her AI to Maine, so that he would be able to communicate with the rest of the time. That AI being named Sigma. An AI that Washington didn't like interacting with him at all, he would much rather be locked in a room with a thousand Delta's than the likes of Sigma. The other obviously had an underlying tone to him, and Washington now knew why he had been created and what exactly signified. Creativity. He wasn't sure that was the right word to use to describe Sigma. It was difficult to even think what AI's were capable of when they were all experimentation. The Freelancer had been told by his coworker that after the Mother of Invention crash-landed onto Sidewinder, that Carolina was attacked by Maine.

Eta and Iota were taken and ripped out from her implants. Something that Washington could only imagine how painful that could have bet before tossing her off of the cliff. There was a chance that he could have gotten caught in the explosion after what he had done to Carolina. Washington knew that if the other had made it to this world then it was going to be a problem. Especially since Theta was now on the playing field and they had no idea where the AI that represented Trust even was. Or even if North was still alive, although the life of North wasn't as important as the likes of an AI. When it came to recovery it was a simple protocol that was going to need to be followed, and that meant that they were going to have to find North's armor if he did die in it and get rid of it so that no one could get the gear and use it against him. One of the reasons as to why they went after CT once the program realized that they had been betrayed by the female. Either way, he hadn't mentioned all that much about Agent Maine to the majority of those that lived in the outpost anyway. Washington had no reason to when there was little that was even known about each other.

They had once been considered family, but now that felt a long time ago. It felt empty to think of them as such. They were all threats as far as Washington was concerned, including Carolina, who he didn't even fully trust since she was the Director's daughter. Because of the appearance of Theta though, Washington had increased his patrols through the territory. He didn't know whether the next Freelancer he saw would actually have the armor on them compared to Carolina who didn't have any form of her armor. The armored smilodon believed that he was going to be capable of defending against anyone that was going to attack him. Washington didn't have his AI like some would think, as Epsilon was taking from his implant a long time ago, although he did have all of the memories of the Alpha in him now. That information confidential that no one knew about and he hadn't told anyone about the memories before the Mother of Invention did explode.

The smilodon was walking around doing his usual patrols when he saw something shiny that was off in the distance. What was that? Anything metal could prove to be useful to the likes of a former human. It wasn't exactly hard to hear Washington coming thanks to the armor that he wore across his body rattling with each step that he took. It was only when he noticed a helmet that he stopped himself five feet away from who it was. He knew that helmet. Anyone in the program would as there were none others like it. His breath stopping in his throat as he realized who it was. Agent Maine. Carolina had been right. Fuck, she had been right. Washington wasn't sure what had happened to Maine after the crash, and maybe he had tried to do something that he regretted. All of them did. Washington spread out of his front paws a little bit, getting into a stance that would make him capable of defending himself if the other did attack him.

His gaze in his visor started to dart around as he looked to see if there were any civilians around. This wasn't their fight. It was theirs and only theirs. Washington didn't even know that Agent Maine still had his AI's or not, as from the angle that he was looking at from the size it was almost impossible to tell with the other's helmet on. "Heyyy Maine... What are you doing here?" Washington would say in a nervous tone as he looked at the larger creature. Agent Maine had always been the largest out of the group so that it would be no surprise that the hellhound was even larger than that of the smilodon. He was getting nervous. Should he call for Carolina? Could he even take Maine on with brute force? He didn't know. Different variables started to work in his head, and he just hoped that Maine would answer his question so that he wouldn't have to attack his former friend. His white claws dug into the ground, ready for whatever the other was trying to accomplish here. "speech"

SUITE
HEART

The sudden scent of Tanglewood greeted her, and the white feline was drawn towards it. In the recent weeks, she had grown to slowly, slowly, slowly trust the Tanglefuckers. She had done it begrudgingly. She hadn't wanted to like them, but most of the members were kind. They had extended warm welcomes to she and Margaery when they visited on ambassador business, and they had been empathetic when the pair delivered news of Starrynight's death. Beck was really the only one Suite didn't trust. He had hurt Luna. He had hurt Bast. She would never forgive him of that - alliance or not.

"Who the fuck's this?" Suiteheart inquired, brushing gently passed Playerone in greeting before taking a stand beside Washington. The white feline gazed up at the hellhound, eyes narrowing to slits. There was something about him that put her on edge - and Washington's nervousness wasn't helping Maine's case. "You're trespassing, buddy. Hope you've got a good reason." There was an edge in her tone; she wasn't too happy today it seemed.

© [color=black]MADI

"If they're trespassing, does that mean we get to fight them?" It was almost as if trespassers and hostile people were a magnet for the cub, sporting a usual grin as she made her way over, as if this was a friendly person come to join, not quite minding the size of the hellhound. "You're fur's so pretty as well! But it might be prettier with blood on it. How do you keep it so clean?" The second sentence was a bit odd for a child to say, but hopefully, nobody noticed, as Thea mentally slapped herself. Be more normal. But still, Thea couldn't hide the spark of excitement in her eyes.

♡ Caboose knew .. next to nothing about the Freelancers. He didn't even know they were called Freelancers, honestly. To him they were basically just .. scary people. Because of course they were. Caboose just knew he was supposed to listen to them, 'cause he was told he was supposed to. Caboose didn't mind, though. Except for when everyone is screaming and angry at him and them. That was less fun. And scary. Caboose didn't like when people screamed.
This is .. kind of besides the point. But Caboose doesn't really care about that, does he? The Retriever had nearly passed on by the situation without another word, since he just sort of .. didn't really care. Or, well, a better description was that he didn't know so he just sort of subconsciously decided against getting involved 'till he decided against that for some reason? Nothing was very concrete in his mind, and Caboose wouldn't give a coherent answer if asked about it anyways. If his helmet were off, his puzzlement would be clear, but as it was, the canine just waddles up next to Suiteheart .. warily? Not warily. He just seems .. a tiny bit nervous. Uneasy. A trace of friendliness that was left over after Caboose registered that people were angry. .. Mostly Suiteheart was angry. What a wonder, he realized something at all. He hadn't picked up on the fact that Washington-Washingtub was nervous, though. .. Thea's casual remarks seem to have, somewhat unfortunately, allowed him to let his guard down just a little, though. He barely hears what the little bitty thing is saying, but the brightness of it Caboose picks up pretty well. As it was, though, the Retriever just stares sort of blankly at the situation, torn between feelings and not really caring to try and figure out what was going on or what to do.
//catch me basically tracking

They were going to kill each other. The group that thought that they would fighting by each other's side until one of them ended up dying in battle. They thought that they would go through with each other until the very end, and that had been one of the things that Washington had hoped being the rookie. He had been waiting for an opportunity like Project Freelancer actually be able to make a difference in the war that was actually going on. The War that the Freelancer barely took part in, which had been the immediate concern after around a year of serving the program when they hadn't fought an alien in that same span of time. There had to be something else that he was missing right? He had completely missed the betrayal that was happening right under his nose, but everyone else that had been better and stronger than him had missed it as well. It was only when Washington realized what the Director was trying to do with all of them.

What the end goal truly was, that he knew what was going to end up happening to all them. He knew that as long as there was no one keeping the Freelancer's under control there was nothing that could really be done. Of course one could send an entire army against hem, and if they were well trained enough they stood a chance. If they weren't though, then said army was due to die in a matter of seconds depending on who they were going against. Washington hadn't been given enough time to make a decision on what side that he was going to end up being on. Everyone had picked their own sides and he had been left listening to the hallucinations that were not his own and barely grasping reality during that time as well. He didn't know which side any Freelancer had ended up choosing, and that made everyone a threat because they wouldn't be able to trust one another.

They could simply kill one another because of past grudges or to get one last threat off of the playing field. It was a simple tactic and strategy to take out all threats so that in case if they were paid to do anything that they wouldn't end up coming after them. Freelancers had to make a living somehow, and taking jobs would have been one of those, although he doubted any of them would become the likes of mercenaries. It would be unknown to Washington that all those that he knew would end up dying and he would be the majority of their deaths, or at least the Director would be more responsible for said deaths. If the Director had simply been honest with what he was doing and he hadn't tortured someone to the point where there was basically nothing left of their mind and they couldn't remember anyone that they encountered, then maybe everything would have changed for the better.

If the war had never started, their lives would have never gotten to this point, his father would still be alive, Carolina would have a loving family and they would have gone off to live some sort of generic life. Would he have been satisfied with that kind of lifestyle? Washington would never know. Washington wanted to believe that they could all get along. Yet he knew that he may even be one of the reasons why he wouldn't be able to get along with any of those that he encountered. He lacked the ability to trust anymore. He never thought that he was going to trust someone again, not even another Freelancer. Washington hadn't been sure how Carolina ended up getting attacked by Maine, at least the way her story had ended up going. How had she had been in such a weakened state that someone that wasn't even on the leaderboard could attack someone like that? Washington had technically been ranked higher than Maine was, although Maine was just always directly below him. He was pretty sure the man had no intention of climbing up the board. He was a soldier.

He was there to do the work that was intended no matter how gruesome it was. He would obey orders, but at the same time he may go against protocol if situations got too heated. Such as the situation in the training area when he threw a grenade trying to hit Texas after losing over and over again only to make York lose an eye in the process. They were fighters, and they held no ill will against each other. He wanted both of them to be punished, but just because they were friends didn't mean that they had to agree with everything that their friend did. There were going to be disagreements. The one thing that Washington hadn't expected was for so many to end up coming up next to him to be able to address Maine and why he was here. Washington knew that answer, but maybe there was a possibility that he returned back to normal after dealing with the explosion of the Mother of Invention. it wasn't just Maine that Washington was just concerned about.

If Maine had his AI's it would become an issue for Washington because the hellhound would be able to run armor enhancements that he wouldn't be able to do himself. His eyes darted in his visor as he looked at Playerone that was tensed next to him before Suiteheart came onto the scene followed by Thea, the female wanting to try and pick a fight with the likes of the Freelancer. Washington could feel his throat tightening and the anxiety that was building up in his body. This wasn't going to end well. Anything with Freelancers never did. He addressed Suiteheart first. "Suiteheart I would appreciate the offer of taking everyone away from here. This is Agent Maine." The name should sound familiar to the vampire, and if it didn't, the Agent in front of the name should tell her that this wasn't going to end up well. When Thea wanted to try and fight Maine just frustrated Washington even more to the point of growling at the current situation. The Freelancer had turned his head to address the other leopard his jaw opening, but before he could really say anything, Agent Maine was rushing at him. Caboose was also there, although he didn't have all that much worry about the simulation trooper. He wondered if the other was even concerned, as Washington wasn't exactly used to anyone being concerned about his physical health and whether or not he was about to fight. As long as Caboose didn't try to join in the fight, he was fairly certain that the golden retriever would live, and he would make certain of it. The Freelancers weren't the only ones that were used after all by the program. A simulation trooper didn't deserve to die to a Freelancer.

This was the worst case scenario. If he was being attacked, that meant that there was something wrong with Agent Maine, or whatever he had ended up becoming. Where was Sigma? What made it even worse was that Carolina wasn't even here and he didn't want to admit that he was going to need the other's help to fight his former friend. "M-" Was all that sounded out of Washington's mouth as he was tackled onto the ground. His body rolled over a couple of times, and thanks to his larger side he wasn't used to moving so slow anymore. Blow after blow happened, and finally, he felt one of his arms were trapped while he was on his side. The armored smilodon tried to move his body upward so that he could get his arm free. Even in animal form, Washington knew what the maneuver was, and that if he didn't get out of it soon that he arm was going to be broken. He wasn't quick enough to try and release the pressure in his arm, and the audible snap could be heard even through the armor. His left arm could no longer be used as the bone was snapped, although it wasn't an external fracture as his bone remained in his flesh.

The adrenaline of fear of his potential death flashed through the former rookie's eyes. This had once been the man that he went on missions together. Killed for. They all had. This was one of the first fights in this area where this actually mattered, compared to when Carolina had attacked him in a similar way, but this time his arm was actually broken this time instead of just restrained. A wheeze would escape his jaws as he tried to ripple through the pain that was clouding his actions and his thoughts. He could deal with pain. He had bones shattered before in battle and had almost his entire side ripped through at the same time. He could deal with pain, although it would only take a couple minutes for the actual idea that his arm was actually broken to reach his head. Almost as if the nerves were lagging behind exactly what he was going through which happened to some injured victims in dire situations that had adrenaline blocking nerve endings so that their bodies can function past the pain.

Maine continued to move toward his head though, and now he was either going to have to react or listen to his own neck break and he would be killed. As soon as he felt the paws on his head, Washington turned his head slightly and reared up using his back legs, where he would then aim to slam the back of his helmet at the very bottom of Agent Maine's helmet, attempting to hit him right where his chin would have been in order to try and let him go. If that worked Washington would roll away, before standing up already panting heavily and his left arm hanging limply at his side. If that didn't work, then he would still try to struggle out of the other's hold by any means necessary. Standing on three legs was difficult, but if Maine wanted to get into close combat that could be something he could deal with. His expressions were hidden with his helmet on, and a snarl would rip through his mouth, almost animalistic. Threatening. Trying to scare the larger animal anyway. With a broken leg now, there was no way he would be able to get away from Maine since he had all working limbs. Hopefully, everyone would see the situation and actually end up leaving instead of trying to get into a fight that would probably get them killed. "speech"