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Tiriaq struggled to keep his heart rate steady but it always accelerated just before entering a battle. His ermine eyes watched out the back open hatch but the forest blur was only a blur of motion while his ship flew over it at high speeds.

The forest turned from green, to brown, to black the closer they reached the edge of the city. The charred craters of where Aggressor and one of his ships were destroyed replaced the outskirts of the city and the nearby forest. The ship slowed down, giving Tiriaq a painful view of where Yukiomaru was last seen.

He did what he was commanded to do by the young fox, run away. Now thinking back on that day, the ermine wasn't sure if he made the right call obeying that order. The two Fa siblings and Captain Redding turned back but he was ignorant to that fact and kept on running. The action nearly cost him his life, since nearly all the evacuation ships were destroyed before they could even leave the planet. Thousands of lives were lost trying to flee from the battle, and Tiriaq would have been one of them if he weren't fully armored that day.

"Captain Dewitt," the pilot's voice interrupted the ermine's thoughts. "One minute."

Tiriaq turned his gaze back into the ship he was riding in. Another half dozen soldiers were with him, all partially armored like he was. His earpiece that extended to cover his eye put the names and ranks of the team but he the Captain didn't bother reading any of their. This mission didn't require a full suit of armor since it was considered low-risk by Commander Yelena Cassander. She described it as a morale mission since they would be reestablishing one of the city's largest communication dishes to better coordinate the planet-wide resistance.

His earpiece that extended to cover his eye put the names and ranks of the team but he the Captain didn't bother reading any of their. Smoke brushed against the ermines fur, bringing his attention back to the city once again. Soft echoes of gunfire were heard from around the city, and the smoke was thin but the fighting here was still just as intense as the day Yukiomaru was killed.

Or worse, infected, thought Tiriaq. The thought frightened the ermine and he has had his share of horrific experiences in his long life. The young kit was a prodigy, exceptionally talented and exceptionally intelligent. If the Creepers got ahold of him then the surviving forces wouldn't stand much of a chance.

"Ten seconds," the pilot announced again. She counted down to the landing on the rooftop of one of the city's taller buildings that was built roughly into the side of a large hill.

The moment the ship touched the rooftop, Tiriaq stepped out, followed by his team. Raising his plasma-firing rifle, Captain Dewitt ensured that there was no enemy on the rooftop. The weapon he held in his paws was salvaged from a military base and it's not a common weapon but very effective against those who have been infected by the Creepers.

The ship's engines roared while it flew off to return back to the base, away from the setting sun that was soon to be touching the horizon. Tiriaq signaled his team to move forward to where a hatch was located on the rooftop.

"Remember our objective is the control room on the third floor," Tiriaq told his team when they had gathered around the hatch. "There's already a team inside and they're barricaded in the main studio on the fifth floor so first we have to rescue them. Don't shoot anyone unless you've positively identified them as infected."

"Yes sir," two of them said. The others weren't trained in the military and far less disciplined than Captain Dewitt had hoped for.

"Pop the hatch," he commanded.

The metal plate opened but gunfire immediately shut out of opening and nearly hit one of the team members. The hatch clattered to the ground nearby and something jumped from the opening. Tiriaq slammed his elbow into the figure the moment it landed near him, forcing it to stumble onto the ground. The sights of his rifle aimed at the creature, and he immediately noticed the vines and roots breaking through the fur.

Two bright rounds of liquid plasma burned through the infected body. The botanical alien reacted by removing itself from the body near the source of impacts but it still died from the wounds.

"It was waiting for us," yelled one of his soldiers.

"Keep your maw shut," Captain Dewitt ordered, glaring at the soldier. "We have a mission to do and it'll involve fighting. If you're not up to the task then you better start walking back to the base."

Despite the fear showing through his eyes, the tiger didn't say another word. Tiriaq's own heart was racing from the attack; he hadn't expected to run into any Creepers until they were at least inside. It was as the undisciplined soldier suggested, the Creeper was waiting for them. That type of behavior was very unusual for the infected.

From its paw fell the pistol that the creature had used in the attempt to ambush them. Captain Dewitt picked it up and placed it in its pack. Commander Cassander had ordered that every loose weapon is picked up or destroyed to prevent the Creepers from using them.

"Let's keep moving," demanded Tiriaq after sealing his pack. He dropped down through the hatch first and made sure that there was no others waiting to ambush them. The corridors were dark, the power to the city still nullified since the evasion. The light shining from his light didn't cross anything unusual so he signaled for the rest of the team to come down. They started to drop down behind him. Once half the team was in, a Creeper from the shadows charged straight for the team.

Instinctively the ermine took a step back while he fired several shots into the infected civilian. He accidentally bumped into his teammates but the Tiriaq didn't take his eyes off the alien-infected civilian as it fell less than half a meter from where the team stood. The sound of a heavy weight being dragged across the floor drew the Captain's gaze back up toward the shadows.

"They have us surrounded," informed one of the teammates.

"Bring them down," the ermine ordered before firing his weapon several more times. The loud snapping of the projectile weapons the rest of the team echoed off the wall, deafening the poor ermine. The Captain shot four of them, each more eager than the last to attack them, before they stopped emerging from the shadows.

The echoes of the explosive gunfire left the ermine dazed for a moment before he realized that the others have stopped firing too.

"Report!" he demanded.

"Five down, no one's injured," replied one of the soldiers. Tiriaq recognized the voice as one of his Lieutenants from Drach'n Fury. "Looks like they set up an ambush."

Captain Dewitt didn't expect to run into more than a few of the Creepers but they've only just stepped into the building and been attacked by a dozen.

"We won't be able to get by this mission quietly so let's get it done quickly," Tiriaq suggested. He looked back up through the hatch where the rest of the team was waiting to jump in. "The rest of you, get down here now. Let's go."

Captain Dewitt didn't wait for the rest of the team to drop in before leading them down the corridor. On either side were the doors leading into offices or closets, and each one made him nervous that another ambush might be behind any one of those. He kept an eye on the doors whenever he passed one for the slightest sign of another attack.

Glass shattered behind Tiriaq, followed by gunfire causing him to pause and turn around for a moment. He didn't have time to register what he saw when several of the doors busted open and Creepers attacked them for the third time.

The ermine dodged the attack from the nearest Creeper, and then kicked out its legs from under it. Fluidly he took a stance and shot two of the other Creepers. Another charged him, forcing Tiriaq to dodge out of the way. Another down the hall charged but the ermine turned and shot those behind him before bringing his elbow back into the belly of the infected civilian. The force did little to injure it but threw it back and off its paws long enough for Tiriaq get in a final shot.

With the gunfire echoing down the halls from the others, the sounds of their screams made the Captain's fur stand on end. Turning around, he witnessed one of his soldiers struggle under the infected dead. Blood splattered to the ground before the Lieutenant planted a hard kick into the ribs of the creature.

Two shots pierced through its throat, disabling the alien's ability to control the body. The soldier that the alien attacked was thrashing on the ground, causing blood droplets to splatter across the walls and floor. Tiriaq didn't even have to look to know that the Creeper seeds have been planted and already started sucking the life from the fallen soldier.

"Put him out of his misery," commanded the Captain. He didn't spend a second thought on the issue and stepped over the dead infected civilians. What is this war doing to me?

One last shot echoed off the walls and blasted against the ermine's ear as he reached the last door to the stairwell. With a kick, the door slammed open and the ermine stepped in with his weapon raised.

No more ambushes.

His team followed him while he moved quickly down the stairs. Several flights down, the screech of the alien echoed down the stairwell. The ermine glanced up to see one of them diving straight from them.

He snapped up his rifle and fired once, the plasma searing through the skull of the infected. The rest of the body landed on the railing and fell onto the stairs near Tiriaq's paws.

They're desperate, thought Dewitt. Pushing aside the body with a paw, Captain Dewitt continued down the stairs until he reached the fifth level. Again he kicked open the door and rushed in. The corridor was clear but once they reached the lobby, an ex-guard attacked the team again, armed with a sidearm.

"Secure the room," ordered Tiriaq. On the ground lay the infected guard, dead and no longer under control of the alien parasite. Two doors were on either side of the main lobby desk. One of the doors was heavily damaged after apparently being beaten open. "The studio is through the room behind these doors."

Tiriaq approached the broken doors himself, while the rest of the team finished securing other doorways. Peeking inside, he saw the room was overgrown with the alien parasite. The vines have overgrown the walls and parts of the roof, spilling onto some of the It was something he's rarely seen since they were on this planet.

Tang Fa, one of Admiral Alexander's scientists before he was taken, claimed that this growth had been slowing down because of the cold nature of the planet. Her brother, who had been researching the alien since the invasion, said that they could also hijack electrical power from any electronic device to grow, including something as basic as lights.

No sunlight can reach this deep and the power has been off since the invasion, thought Tiriaq. How can this much be growing here?

"Status," demanded the Captain. He backed away from the room for now and turned back to his team.

An armored lemur walked up to him, the lieutenant from Drach'n Fury. "We're sealing the doors except for our exit back to the rooftop," said the lemur. The tag highlighted by the earpiece spelled out his name Lieutenant Brandon Sherman.

"Leave someone here to guard our tails," Tiriaq ordered. "Team, assemble around me and let's go." The Lieutenant ordered one of them to stay behind but Captain Dewitt didn't pay attention to who it was. He pushed aside the broken and dented doors and stepped into the room overgrown with the alien parasite.

Two gunshots echoed from behind the doors leading into the studio. Tiriaq aimed his rifle at the doors and waited for a second. The door didn't budge, and there was no more gunfire. That made the veteran ermine nervous.

"Remember, don't shoot unless you're certain they're infected," Captain Dewitt said. "Let's hurry." Underneath the foliage, the ermine rammed the doorway but he nearly rebounded off of them.

"They've blockaded this doorway," informed Lieutenant Sherman.

"This is Captain Tiriaq Dewitt," he shouted through the doors. "Is anyone still alive in there?"

A pained groan was the only response. Immediately Tiriaq feared the worst. They've already been infected.

"If anyone is injured then we need you to move the barricade away from the door," said the Captain. Fear was in his voice but he didn't move away from the door. "Remove the barricade!"

A heavy sigh answered but Tiriaq couldn't understand what was said. It brought a little ease to his mind that someone answered. Maybe they're not infected yet.

"Move the barricade!" he shouted again.

A shrill scream answered, this time the words were clear, "I can't!"

One of them is still alive.

"Help me break down the doors," ordered Captain Dewitt, letting his weapon fall loose in his paws. "We're going to break down the door so stay away from it!" He put his body weight on the doors, along with the lemur but the doors refused to budge. Straining his muscles, the ermine's tail flicked in his desperation but nothing worked.

Breathing heavy, he rested against the door and looked at his lieutenant. He was tired as well but continued to struggle against the doors.

"It's not working," said the captain, supporting his weight on his own paws again. "Step back, all of you." He waited for his team to clear before stepping back himself. He took the rifle in his paws and aimed it at seams of the doors. Two shots pierced through the hinges of one side of the double doors, and another two went through the other side. One finally shot hit wear the locking mechanism was located at.

Smoke rose from the smoldering metals where the shots pierced through. The smoke didn't subside, since the shots must be burning whatever was blockading the doors as well.

The ermine walked back up to the doors and wedged half of his paw through the seam of the door, being careful not to burn his paw. Straining his muscles again, he pulled on the door, that screeched in response as the raw burning metal resisted. With a loud snap the door broke free and fell to the ground.

Tiriaq stumbled backwards, narrowly avoiding being crushed. Smoke poured out of the room, stinging the ermine's eyes. It was far more smoke than he thought his plasma rounds would cause but he soon realized that it wasn't the fires he started that created all the smoke. The botanical alien vines were smoldering at the seam of the door, and ashes fell from them.

"Let's move team," ordered Captain Dewitt. His curiosity on what happened inside the studio motivated him to remove the metallic furniture that now barred their path from entering the studio.

"You heard him," yelled Lieutenant Sherman. He glared at the other three members of the team. "Use your paws for something useful and get this furniture out of the way!"

"Yes sir," two of them replied. All three of them hurried to the opening and started attempting to remove the furniture. The smoke never ceased to flow from the open door, which made it difficult to work.

They worked slowly but with the help of the Captain and Lieutenant, they managed to create an opening into the studio.

The smoke had thinned but it was still difficult to breathe in. Covering his muzzle with his arm, the ermine tried his best to squeeze through the opening. The metal scraped his armor and fur, slicing his skin at one point, but Tiriaq managed to get through the barricade and arrive on the other side of it. Standing once again, he looked around the room with squinted eyes. His eyes went wide.

Ashes of the alien were everywhere while brittle strains of the vines showed Tiriaq where it once covered. Without a doubt, this was the source of the growth but more disturbing was the charred bodies on the ground. Most of the flesh had been torn away, leaving mostly bone but what remained of the Creepers suggested that those bodies were once infested.

A struggling cough drew Tiriaq's attention toward the far side of the studio. Leaning against the wall was a wounded muskrat. A dead soldier lay near her. The captain didn't realize how wounded the muskrat was until he ran up to her side.

"What happened?" asked Tiriaq. His gaze fell to where her paw was clenching her side. All he saw was blood leaking from there but it was obvious that a good chunk of her flank was missing.

"Bastard shot me," she said but coughed once again. She glanced at the soldier lying near her. It was now obvious that the soldier was infected when he was killed. Blood leaked from her muzzle and down her throat. "A seed. It was a seed. I felt it hatch inside me and start to feed off of me to grow."

"You're infected?" Captain Dewitt took a step back.

"Not anymore," coughed the muskrat. "It was the only way to get it out. I used my rifle and shot it. I think I did more damage to myself though." She chuckled weakly, knowing her death was moments away.

"Listen," she said suddenly, look him in the eyes. "They were using civilians to grow all of this. This was feeding off of them, like they were made of soil and sunlight!" She coughed violently, more blood coming out.

"Don't speak," Tiriaq demanded.

"Shut up," she napped, her gaze turning into a glare. "I know I'm already dead. Don't pretend otherwise. Now, all of this was feeding something else; something in the on a lower floor. The alien was desperate to protect it. We were down there and saw the vines everywhere but my command and team were killed while we were retreating. Two of us were left when we barricaded ourselves in this room. But they got him, and they nearly got me too." Her eyes went wide. "Don't let them take my body. You have to get me out of here. Don't let them use me to grow whatever monstrosity they're creating!"

"We're going to get you out of here and alive," insisted Captain Dewitt. A clattering of metal distracted him but he realized that the rest of the team had finally made it in. "Move the barricade. Lieutenant, take her to the rooftop with the medical kit and defend her until our evacuation ship arrives."

"You're not going to let me die peacefully, aren't you?" muttered the muskrat with a painful chuckle. Her teeth were bared for a moment and Tiriaq saw that they were stained red.

"Not a chance soldier," answered Tiriaq. "Do you know why the Creepers are guarding this building so persistently?"

"It's on the lower floor," she said, her eyes watching the lemur approach her with a needle in his paws. He stuck it into her neck. "Ouch... Whatever they're growing down there must be important to them. You must destroy it."

Captain Dewitt kept his mouth shut. His mission was to reestablish the dish so they could communicate with bases around the planet but something more serious was happening here and Commander Cassander didn't know about it.

"Get her out of here, Lieutenant," ordered Dewitt. He stood and faced the other three who have managed to clear a pathway out of the studio. "We're heading down to take the control room, restore power and try to find out what's going on in this building. Whatever's going on here may be critical to taking back the city so let's go."

Following the Lieutenant, who was cradling the wounded soldier in his arms, out, Captain Dewitt led the rest of his team back toward the stair well. He ordered the guard to go with the Lieutenant. They ascended the stairs while the Captain's team went down.

Two floors lower from the infected studio, and stepping over three additional infected civilians, the ermined led his team into the control room to find it surprisingly well intact. All the power was off but there was no sign of a struggle or infection.

"I thought there was supposed to be a jungle down here," remarked someone from his team.

"I told you to keep your maw shut," snapped the ermine. He continued to search the control room with the barrel end of his rifle. There really was nothing in the room. "Get power restored to the main computer and activate the security cameras throughout the building. Some of them have to still be working."

"Yes sir!"

One of them took of his pack and placed it near the main computer. Connecting a few wires, he activated his pack that held a magnetic generator. Holographic screens started to appear, floating above the desks but many were too weak to fully turn on.

With the screen glowing and reflecting from the room, Tiriaq stood over it gazing down. He touched the screen and it responded by bringing up dozens of video thumbnails, many of which only portrayed static.

From there he could see most of the cameras throughout the building and he was surprised by the amount of Creepers that were inside. The ground floor main lobby had several, barricading and defending the main entrance. Others seemed to be searching for a new source of energy now that the sun had gone down.

The majority, however, were coming into the building from the underground garage entrance. Using a light enhancer program, the ermine searched the other garage cameras to see where they were all going.

He nearly missed it. They appeared to be walking into the shadows near a wall but the ermine looked closer and realized that there was a tunnel dug there, with vines sprouting from it and infected the building itself.

What the hell? Was that tunnel made by them? Why would they build a tunnel?

A low groan rolled across the control room before a loud bang made them all jump. Turning back toward the entrance, the ermine saw the door budge after another heavy strike.

"Restore the communication dish," ordered Tiriaq, raising his rifle again. "I'm going to the basement. All of you stay here and defend this room. I'll stay in touch."

"Yes sir," now only one of them answered.

Tiriaq moved toward the door that again shook under a heavy impact. Once he reached it, he stopped and waited for it to be struck again. The moment the bang echoed through the room, Captain Dewitt unlocked the door and rammed it with his shoulder.

The Creeper on the other side stumbled back into the corridor before growling and gazing up at him. The eyes were full of pain however. This one is still alive.

"Don't worry," he said. "You're suffering is over now." After he pulled the trigger, Tiriaq stepped over the body and moved back toward the stairwell.

Where does that tunnel lead? And why is there an army moving into it?