"Z."
"Come on, you got this, I know you do. Pull yourself out."
"What happened?!"
"Pushed herself too far, she'll come out of it in a minute, General."
"I hope so, since it seems that we don't have much time."
---
"Better to feel something than nothing, old buddy."
"It's a touching reunion, but we need to get out of here now."
"There's an exhaust vent that leads to the cooling systems up there."
"They've breached the front door, it won't be long till they're through the second. Wrecker, get Z back till she comes out of it."
"On it."
"That should get it open!"
"Great. Now how do we get up there?" Crosshair asked, his voice jarring Z. She blinked her eyes open drowsily, trying to ignore the splitting headache that followed. Not to mention how dizzy she felt. There was a vent on the ceiling that was open. And a helmeted face looked down at her.
"Sarge! She's awake." Wrecker called out loudly, and Zero winced. "Oh, sorry." The larger clone whispered. He set her down on the ground gently, where she sat up and shook her head. There was a trickle of blood beginning to drip down from her nose, and Tech crouched next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. She smiled at him gratefully, and Hunter tossed Z's helmet to Tech. Then Wrecker grabbed Hunter and started walking towards the middle of the room.
"Wait-what?" Hunter asked, trying to wriggle free. "Wrecker- what are you-" Z and Tech watched with amusement as Hunter screamed while Wrecker sent him soaring up to the vent. He grabbed onto a handlebar, glaring down at them.
"Heads up would have been nice!" He shouted.
"Where's the fun in that?" Wrecker shouted in reply. He tossed up Crosshair, then Tech. He moved over to Z, helping her stand as she shoved her helmet on. He tossed her up gently, and Tech and Crosshair grabbed both her arms, pulling her up into the vent. Z pushed her helmet onto her forehead as she wiped more blood from her nose. Tech and Crosshair glanced at her worriedly, but she waved them off.
That didn't mean she waved off Tech looping her arm around his shoulders. The dizziness would fade in a few minutes, but until then, she would take all the help she could get. Hunter approached her, watching as Tech pulled her to her feet.
"Next time I tell you to pull out, you pull out! Is that understood?" He said sternly.
"Hunter-" Crosshair tried, but the Sergeant cut him off with a wave of his hand.
"Is that understood, Zero?" He demanded.
"Sir yes sir." Z said in reply, and she and Tech walked past him. A second after Wrecker joined them, an explosion racked the building. Predictable. They ended up walking in silence for a few minutes, and Z unlooped her arm from Tech's shoulder, finding her balance.
"This ventilation corridor acts as a cooling system for all the computers in the facility," Tech said, awe echoing through his voice. Z shoved her helmet up again, wiping more blood from her nose. Her armour plate on her hand now had a streak across it.
"How did you know it was up here, Echo?" The General asked, and Z shoved her helmet back on.
"Well, they got access to my memory, I got access to the Techno Union database. All their inventory, plans, building schematics-everything." Echo replied.
YOU ARE READING
The Shadow
Fanfiction"She's one clone, she can't be that much trouble." The recruit said harshly, and Crosshair pinned him with a stern look. "I trained her. Wherever you are, you are not safe. You stay behind cover, and you might just survive." --- CT-9900, the firs...
