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Fifteen Minutes Later

Jade staggered up the steps to the second floor of the apartment complex. She had lost a lot of blood during her trip here, and it was a severely difficult task just to climb the steps to get to the second story. Clutching the railing to avoid a sudden rush of dizziness, she put her foot upon the last step, and heaved herself up.

She managed to stagger along the hallway, clutching at the wall as she went, counting the doors. 'two-oh-one... two-oh-two, two-oh-three, two-oh-four. Here it is... Alexis' apartment... please be here...' She raised her hand to knock, but suddenly a wave of dizziness came over her, and she pitched forward, her entire body hitting the doorframe hard. She cried out in pain and shock. The blood clot that had formed over her wound had broken when she raised her hand, and the blood began to flow anew once again. "Tychus!" She managed to cry out the foxes' name, right before she fell unconscious. When she awoke several hours later, she had no idea where she was. She was lying on her stomach, strapped to a table. There were voices above her. Suddenly, she was seeing a room... stark white walls, a spotless white floor, bright white lights... blood, so much blood. Her blood? Suddenly, the white room was gone. A memory, nothing more, and she was instead strapped face down to a row of flight seats on board the stealth transport jet that the team had used to escape the bombing of the resistance.

"Jade?" A voice said, "Jade, can you hear me?" Slowly, she turned her head to the side. A grey wolfess stared back at her. Jade blinked in confusion. "Who..." Jade tried to speak, but her throat was raw, and her mouth dry. "Here." A familiar voice said from beyond her field of vision, and a canteen entered her view. She tried to sit up, but the restraints held her down. "Wait a second. Alexis, help me with these belts." 'Alexis..... That's right...' Jade thought. The last restraint was undone, and she sat up, slowly and accepted the canteen, taking a long drink. She felt... something on her shoulder. Then, she remembered everything. A great rush of adrenaline filled her as she remembered what had happened. "Zel!" She shouted. "Zel and Alan! They've been captured!" She grabbed Alexis' shoulders, looking into her eyes. "Alan got taken!" Alexis slapped away Jade's hands, and stood up, walking to a corner of the Transport, away from Jade. Tychus, the fox, stepped forward and knelt in front of Jade. 'We know. Can you tell us what happened?"

The next few minutes went by in a rush as the words tumbled out of Jade; she told them what had happened, and how she had gotten injured, as well as how she had escaped. When she finished, Alexis came over and sat down next to her. "This Zel sounds like he knows how to handle himself. He'll be fine." Jade blushed, and was very grateful for the fur covering her face. "I know, I'm not worried. He's my commanding officer." Alexis' expression hardened, and she stood and moved to the other side of the transport.

"We knew something had happened to Zel when you got back, and Kal pulled up the Tracker Log to see what was happening. He got pinged about four hours ago leaving the country, and he came to a stop somewhere in the Swiss Alps. It would seem that whoever has taken him not only has the resources for machine guns and helicopters, but some pretty high level transportation as well." Jade sat with her eyes closed, struggling not to panic, not wanting to believe it. "Tychus... You remember where we were when we broke out of Project 7?" Tychus scowled. "Of course I remember, we were..." Tychus froze, his usually unflappable manner forgotten and his mouth hanging open. "Jade... You don't think they could..." Jade opened her eyes, and when she did, there was fear, anger, and determination in them. "I do, Tychus. Too many things match for it to be anything else." Alexis frowned, "What are you talking about? What is Project 7?" Jade and Tychus shared a look, before Tychus turned around and addressed Alexis. "Project 7 is a hidden base in the Swiss Alps. It is where experiments are performed on humans and anthros, all in pursuit of something that we know only as 'The Serum.' It is the place where we received our abilities, and the place where we, as a team, united and escaped from before we ran into the resistance."

Alexis frowned. "Project... 7?" she said quietly, "The PEMC... Seven deadly sins.... 'The Serum'..." She shook her head, trying to clear it. "It's impossible. We killed them all... destroyed them and everything they had worked for... There is simply no way for them to have come back..." She put a hand to her forehead. Jade and Tychus looked at each other in alarm. "What are you talking about?" Jade demanded. "What do you know?"

Alexis sighed, and began, "The Resistance once played a major role in taking down the PEMC, the Palmani-European mining corporation... The organization was headed by seven leaders. They were... Created somehow, but I don't know the full details... The main leader was a man named Ramirez... He's...well, not immortal but pretty damn close. He had his blood substituted with an oxide saline substance, something that allows him to use Cryo sleep chambers. Basically, he's chronologically 200 years old yet biologically he's 30-40 years old. This 'Serum' you are talking about was a project that the PEMC was working on, called Overdrive. The serum was the first step in making the overdrive system, which is basically a combat training machine. It turns day one recruits into hardened veterans using injections of the serum to boost muscle strength, and mental capacity, which leads to increased reflexes, coordination, and agility. In addition to this, for some, the Serum gives them... special powers."

Alexis looked sideways at them, before continuing. "The ability to control fire, water, light, or sometimes even a life force itself, among other things... Nobody ever knew the full capabilities of it, because we destroyed it and anything pertaining to it, or so I had thought... Alan was the "Alpha" build of the serum, the first biological subject who did not die as a result, though there were artificially created subjects whose reactions to the serum was more defined to their specifics. Seven to be precise, including Ramirez. They were known as the sins, every deadly sin turned into a human embodiment. Alan killed Gluttony, Greed, and severely wounded Ramirez, or Pride. We torched the entire facility to the ground and destroyed all files and databases with information on the Serum... but if what you are saying is true, it seems like we were not as thorough as we thought."

Jade scowled, and looked briefly at Tychus. "Call the rest of the team in here... We need to make a plan. If what she's saying is true, we are in for a lot more hell than we thought we were..."

***

Three hours later:

"Everybody strap yourselves in, we just got spotted by patrolling aircraft, and we are probably going to have to take some risky maneuvers." Kal, the pilot, called back from the cockpit. Jade woke with a start, and immediately sat up, pulling on her harness. The others were all already seated, and strapped in. Jade was having trouble with her fastener, her arm was stiff from the numbing agent that had been used on the wound. Alexis undid her own harness and walked across, "Are you going to be alright?" She asked as she fastened Jade's harness for her. Jade looked at Alexis, and nodded quietly. Alexis stood and walked back to her seat, fastening her harness once more. Jade stared at Alexis with a puzzled expression, and tugged sharply on her jumper cable, making sure it was firmly attached to the rail above; she had decided to take a short nap, but had been ordered by Tychus to wear her parachute in case things got hectic. It had been uncomfortable, but she had still managed to get a little bit of rest.

Over the intercom, a brief burst of static was issued, and then a stern voice came over the radio. "This is Lieutenant Curtis Ruden of the 117th Division of the Swiss Air Force under Private Command. You have entered Restricted Military Airspace. I am under orders to shoot down your aircraft unless you have clearance for this sector. Identify yourself and state your business." At the front of the Jet, Kal looked back at them briefly, flashing a quick grin before picking up the radio and responding, "Knock, knock!"

"What?!" The voice that came over the intercom was incredulous.

"Knock knock." Kal said again.

"What the hell? Who is this?" The voice came over the intercom, this time in anger.

"Me!" Kal said.

"Me who?"

"That's right!"

"What? I do not copy, who is this?"

"Meehoo!" Kal said, trying not to laugh.

"That is what I want to know! I mean... Who is this?" The voice sounded confused and exasperated.

"What's what you want to know?" Kal asked, smiling.

"WHO IS THIS?! STATE YOUR NAME AND BUSINESS!!! I AM UNDER ORDERS TO SHOOT YOU DOWN IF YOU DO NOT COMPLY!"

"Yes, exactly!" Kal said.

"Exactly what?" The voice asked. Evidently, the pilot on the other end was confused, but curious. No missiles or bullets so far. Kal was trying to buy time to get closer to their destination.

"Yes, I have an Exactlywatt on a chain!" Kal said.

"What? Exactly what on a chain? I do not copy."

"Yes!"

"Yes what?"

"No, Exactlywatt!"

"Come again?"

"I told you - Exactlywatt!"

"Exactly what?"

"Yes, it's with me!"

"What's with you?"

"Exactlywatt - that's what's with me."

"Me who?"

"Yes!"

There was a long pause, with no response. Kal picked up the radio again.

"Knock, knock..." He tried. There was no answer.

Then, after nearly a minute, the pilot spoke again. "Negotiations are over. I am switching to hot ordinance. You have one more chance to identify yourself before I open fire."

Kal smiled, and said "Knock knock."

Three seconds later, the missile lock warning started beeping, and Kal grabbed the controls in both hands and began a barrel roll. Jade could hear flares erupting from the exhaust port, as Kal tried every trick in the book to get the missile off their tail. "Apparently, the pilots on their side have a very poor sense of humor!" He yelled over the sound of the engines. Jade struggled to orient herself, as they were tossed upside down and right side up and then upside down again. The G-Forces were taking their toll, and the missile lock alert was still screaming at them. "Incoming! Brace for impact!" Kal yelled, and then, suddenly, Jade could hear it. The sound of the missile closing in on them at a frightening pace. At the last second, Kal ejected a load of flares, and the missile detonated just behind them. The engines whined and began to die. Kal strained to keep his grip on the controls, as they fell into a flat spin. The G forces pressed Kal against the window, and made it impossible for him to correct the joystick. Finally, Kal let go of the controls, and unbuckled his harness, using both hands to lever himself up and push his way back into the loading bay. 'Get ready for Paradise, we're going to have to jump!" He hit the button to open the bay doors, in the back of the Jet, and suddenly all sound was lost in the furious howling of the winds. Kal clipped his harness to the jump cable, and hauled Tychus to his feet. They began unbuckling Jade's harness. Alexis was already on her feet, and looking out the bay door. Jade's cable was right behind hers. It seemed as though everything was moving in slow motion. She stood up, and then she ran out, following behind Alexis. Her parachute opened automatically at the proper altitude, courtesy of the electronic release installed in the chute itself. There was a powerful jolt, and she screamed in pain as her wound tore open again, and then, suddenly, everything was quiet, save for the snapping of the wind in the parachute.

Alexis was a few yards away, expertly maneuvering her sail so she could get closer to Jade. However, Jade could not see anyone else. "Where are the others?" Jade yelled over the wind rushing past her ears. "They got caught in a cross wind. They are farther above us." Alexis shouted back. "Are you alright? You're bleeding again! You must have torn through the stitches I put in your shoulder!" Jade strained to see her wound, but was unable to. "I'm fine! We need to land at the main complex! See that small flat, square patch in that mountainside?" Jade pointed with her foot. Alexis nodded. "That's where we need to land! That's the airfield! The hangars are underground, but there should be an access gate for maintenance of the landing strip!" Alexis nodded and flared her chute to accelerate her drop. Jade did the same, and in a matter of minutes, there was only about a hundred yards between them and the airfield. Jade began to let out more of her chute, to slow down, but Alexis waited until there were only about fifty yards remaining before she began to slow down. Just then, Jade saw it. The maintenance hatch was open, and it was directly below them. There were also two armed guards on duty. They did not seem to see them, however. Jade grinned, as she saw what Alexis was doing. When there were only ten feet between her and the guards, Alexis released her harness and landed, feet first, on their shoulders. The force of impact knocked them down, and Alexis wasted no time breaking their necks. A clean kill. No noise, no commotion. Jade landed and rolled to a stop, before standing up and making her way over to Alexis.

"Nice work. You clearly still have your skills from when you were a soldier." Jade said, patting Alexis on the back. Alexis scowled, as though she did not appreciate the compliment, and handed Jade one of the soldier's guns. "It's on safe. Don't shoot unless you have no other options. It will give away our position." Jade accepted the gun and nodded, checking the magazine and then kneeling to rifle through the soldier's pockets for spare clips. Finding none, she stood, smiling at Alexis. "Shall we storm the castle?" she asked. Alexis sighed, and started down the ladder into the underground hangar.