- Catastrophe

The Lab was cold and quiet. Sterile. The only thing tying this eventless night to reality was the continuous beeping of a monitor. The machine showed signs of a beating heart, a living soul. Not quite yet ready to give up. Fighting through a recuperative coma, the young woman woke up, confused. Panic barely started to settle in when her memories came back to her. She remembered the blood, the pain.

Before she could feel her blame and remorse for failing her trial, Savvy quickly noticed a presence occupying her faintly lit room. At the end of her medical bed, a clumsy and unrefined entity was sleeping. His only viable eye was resting, he seemed troubled. Even in his sleep, he did not seem to find peace.

Saddened by his reality, but touched by his presence, she smiled morosely as she scoffed. He had made up his mind to stay by her side until she woke up. Sadly for him, he stood no chance against his sleepiness; he put up a good fight though.

Slowly, the painkillers and numbing agents were fading away; Savvy found that out quickly when she tried to move. The young woman grimaced through the sharp pain coming from her lower body as she reached for one of her pockets; she had to make sure it was still there. Surely enough, it was. She pulled out the shining pendant. A gift reminiscent of a past life. She stared at it longly, meditating on its original owner. A raspy voice startled her, pulling her out of her mind. 

"You sure took your time."

"What do you mean? I was waiting for you to wake up."

"Oh, fuck off."

The young woman giggled at her friend's expense. He tried to outwit her with sarcasm; a foolish mistake. Secretly, she hid her hand holding the necklace under the cover, thinking her friend wouldn't notice. He let out a heavy sigh as he straightened back up in his chair. 

"Why do you keep erasing yourself?"

She was caught completely off guard. The sudden change in his tone surprised her.

"Euh… What?"

"You always speak under everybody. You always keep to yourself. You always hide away. You always try to go unnoticed. You always conceal everything that has anything to do with you."

"I- I- don't know what you mean. I-"

"Stop. You know exactly what I mean. Why did you hide your necklace just now?"

"..."

"You've always had it, for as long as I can remember. But you've always tried to hide it from us. But we're not stupid. We know. We saw. You overestimate how sneaky you are. Why are you so afraid of letting us know about your life?"

"..."

Savvy slowly pulled her necklace back out and exhibited it in plain sight.

"It's just. I thought if you guys knew you'd ask about it. How I got it, I mean. And that's-"

"You're not an Outsider are you?"

The young woman's breath staggered. Tears started to pour out as she quickly turned her face away.

"I told you. We're not dumb. There's only so much you can hide inside. It was easy to see. Were you scared of us finding out?"

"... I just thought you would hate me."

"Why would we? You've always been so kind to us. To me. I don't care about the person you used to be. You've trained with us. Bled with us. And you're ready to fight with us. You're a part of the crew as much as anybody else."

She couldn't hold the flow of her tears anymore; she was sobbing.

"So do me a favor. Lift your chin up. Be proud of the person you are. Stop hiding. Plus, I'm sure that necklace would fit better on you than in your pocket."

Savvy chuckled and sniffled as she wiped her tears with her hands. 

"What's so funny?"

"It's not what you said. It's just that it's you who said it."

"Well, that's just great. Here I was trying to be-"

The young man froze as he felt her embrace tightened around him; she hugged him gently. 

"Thank you."

He didn't know what to do with his only arm. He just held it awkwardly stiff behind her back before she let him go.

"That meant a lot to me."

"I- I was just saying what I was thinking."

"Oh. Yeah, right. I know you'd have no use getting emotional or vulnerable. Ever. That would be lame."

"Oh shut up. Just know that I could definitely survive without your shitty sarcasm."

"Me? Sarcastic? I could never."

"Alright, that's it. I'm done."

Jab stood up and walked to the door as his friend was laughing.

"Now that you are clearly doing better, Imma actually go get some sleep. You should too."

"I think I've had enough sleep, thanks."

"You do you. Peace."

Jab left the room to walk back to his dorm, leaving Savvy alone in her room. She was smiling fondly. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've never seen her so excited and so down at the same time. She was so happy to hear that Slash would be in charge of our platoon, but she was so bummed out that Blue wasn't.

"I know, I know. But how cool would it have been to have Slash and you as our leaders!?"

"How much longer are you gonna keep whining about that? You should be happy to have your so-called mentor on your team."

"Hmpf. But I wanted him AND you."

"Well, you don't. And Ace is not a bad outcome. She's nice. I'm glad she'll be looking for you."

"Sure."

Blue has been trying to persuade her for a long time now. For the rest of them, they've just been taking it in. Drinking. Reasonably for most of them. Though, I guess you can say that Jab's drinking is reasonable at this point. He always drank like that; it's the norm for him. I've been trying to drink too. But alcohol doesn't seem to have any effect on me, so. I'm basically just doing it to not look awkward. 

I'm pretty nervous. That's weird. I'm guessing that's why they've also been quiet. Or maybe it's just me. But it's just, that's it. It's real now. We'll go out there, outside. We'll have to chase down these Hollows. And, actually, kill those things. I guess we can now. I guess all we needed was some juice in a syringe.

No. That's not fair. A lot died. That's the real price. To have the power to defeat these monsters was so hard to get that most of them needed to die. Would I have died? If I had taken the shot. It's been said that Blue is the only soldier in history to not have taken the shot. But now, there's me. I haven't either. But nobody said anything about that. 

Wait. Maybe I did. Maybe I already took the shot. Before I lost my memory. That would actually make more sense. That would be why I'm tough. And I'm fit. I don't know why I didn't think about it before. I was a soldier. I took the shot. That's why Doc didn't bat an eye before letting me in as a soldier. I already was. That has to be it. What if, in reality, the shot made me lose my memory?

Isn't that how that works? Equal exchange or something? To gain power, you must lose something. Would I have traded my memory for a sturdy body? I don't know. It's hard to say. Because these people, they didn't know me. Or at least, acted like they never saw me before. So I couldn't have trained with them. Or maybe they are all in on it. I doubt that's true. And it would just drive me crazy to think about that. 

"Yo."

I don't know that voice. Oh, I think that's her. Ace. 

"Sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to check on you guys before our mission tomorrow. How are we feeling?"

Her concern sounds genuine. Or at least her smile does. Or she's just good at faking it.

'I'll leave you guys with your new boss. Don't give her too much trouble; she's still young and hopeful. Don't let her turn grumpy and cynical like me."

"Haha, come on Blue. That's where you get your charm."

"Yeah, right."

As they walked past each other, Blue amicably put her arm around her shoulder. She told her something, but I couldn't hear.

"Please take good care of them."

"I will, don't worry."

Ace is now sitting where Blue was. She's facing us, her back against the counter. 

"So, I didn't hear if you answered my question."

"Depends what you want to hear."

Rouge broke the silence. I guess we're not in the talking mood.

"I mean, I'd be a bit worried if you said something psychotic like you're thrilled or excited or something. But shitty or scared would be a pretty good answer."

"I guess that's about right, then."

Savvy finally said something. She had been quiet since she came back from the medical wing. Though, she's wearing a necklace now. Nobody really pointed it out; I guess they have more important things to care about. 

"Well, for what it's worth, that's normal. I don't know if you expected me to tell you that I only used to be scared on my early missions, but that I'm perfectly all good now. Cause that's not true haha. I'm still terrified. I'm still so fucking scared."

"Well, damn. What a pep talk. A true captain."

Jab just loves being sarcastic sometimes.

"Sorry bud, but that's the truth. I'm not gonna sit here and tell you this shit is easy because it sure isn't. But we're a team. And that's how we're gonna make it through. That's why Doc put all of you guys on the same team. He knows his soldiers. He knows who's group already has the best chemistry."

They all slowly looked at each other. It's true. Even within the recruits, there are already some gangs that have formed. 

"But to say that Doc would put you guys together just to please you and make everybody happy would just straight up be delusional. He obviously identified your powers, along with Slash's and mine, and figured it was pretty balanced. Which brings me to my fun little pop quiz! What are you guys' powers?"

"Don't you already know?"

I agree with Spike. I just assumed that'd be something a Commander like her would be aware of. I guess we were wrong.

"Well, not really. Not all of it at least. I know you can harden your body and grow spikes. This loud fella can punch pretty hard. Other than that, I don't really know. What about you, big guy? I understand you can't really say anything, can you?" 

Mute just nodded. That's only how he can communicate. Nodding at yes or no questions.

"You're fast aren't you?"

"..."

"Yeah ok. So, that's your power?"

"..."

"No? Ok, well. Do you know what your power is?"

"..."

"That's good then. But I guess you don't really have a way to explain it to us, do you?"

Mute pointed at his ears.

"Your ears?"

"Yeah. That's what I could understand. I think his earring is actually nuts."

"That's really useful."

"Probably, yeah. But that would also suck. Bad."

"I guess. So right now, can you hear, like, everything everything?"

"..."

"Damn. That's crazy. And you can't turn it off?"

"..."

"That's fucked. I'm sorry to hear that. But at least know that it's still really resourceful. You'll be able to help us stay alive, so. Don't forget the bright side."

"..."

"What about you, captain?"

"Ok now. Don't call me that. I'm just Ace. But what about me?"

I feel like Jab is gonna be looking to stir some troubles. I just feel it. 

"I mean, you seem pretty dead on in investigating us. But what about your powers?"

"I wouldn't call it an investigation. Jab, right? Or do you prefer subordinate?"

He scoffed. I think he might like her bluntness. 

"Jab is fine."

"Well, Jab. I never said I wouldn't tell you about my power. I just wanted to get to know yours."

"It's fine, Jab. She has her reasons. It's just, at least for me, I don't really know what my powers are. I don't know about you though, Rouge?"

"Nah. I'm just like you Blondie. I have no clue."

Maybe I'm overthinking it, but she looked away after she said that. Does she know? But why would she lie about that?

"And what about you? Aren't you Doc's little protegee or something?"

"... Me?"

"Yeah. Akuma right? You randomly joined the Foundation pretty late. What's your power?"

"I mean. Not much. I just know my body is pretty resilient. Sometimes it goes on autopilot and I don't have much control over it."

"Hm, I see."

"Did you think you could just dodge my question?"

Jab is really set on getting to know her power. I kinda want to know too, so.

"You get lonely pretty fast, don't you? Don't cry, I'm not avoiding you. What about a coin toss?"

"Huh?"

"Yeah, let's make it a little bit more exciting."

"How the fuck is that even fair."

"Oh, come on. Heads or tails?"

"Woah, woah now. I never agreed to this. Why do I even get to win in this?"

"I'll tell you my power, isn't that what you wanted?"

"But now I can only lose. There's nothing in it for me."

"Listen. Heads, you ask me a question. Tails, I ask you a question. We take a shot if we don't want to answer. Anybody who wants in can join. How's that sound?"

"Nah. I'm good. I have something to do." 

"I'm sure he'll be able to entertain you, but I'm leaving too. Sorry."

"Wait for me Blondie!"

"..."

I guess I'll go too.

"Well, looks like it's just you and me. Think you can entertain me?"

"Look at me. I can drink this whole place down."

"And you think that's a personality trait?"

"You didn't spin the coin to ask that."

"Haha, that was smooth, I'll give you that. Shall we get started then?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After 13 coin tosses, 13 tails and 13 shots, the drunk soldier was baffled. 

"What the actual fuck. This can't be real. How. How!?"

The young woman could barely breathe. Her sides were hurting from all that laughing.

"Bro! Just answer my questions! Why are you actually doing the shots!?"

"Oh just shush it! I'm done! This is some bullshit!"

"And here I thought you could drink this whole place dow-

"Do not finish that sentence. I can't do this right now."

"Hahaha!"

Jab was getting out of his stool while the Illusionist was getting the quite formidable bill under control. The young man was wobbling around the bar, the fact he could stand up on his own was already an achievement. Surely enough, he tripped and was on his way to completely faceplant on the floor. However, a gentle but firm arm caught his fall. Ace brought his arm around her neck to support him and help him walk.

"Alright there buddy, I got you."

The Commander helped him walk to his dorm. They stopped in front of the door; they were trying to be quiet not to wake up his roommate and her future teammates. 

"Here we go. You got it from here. Thank you for the night, it was pretty fun not gonna lie."

"Oh fuck off! I only got messed up and you lost nothing!"

"Hahaha! Hey, what about a final toss?"

"Oh hell no! I'm done with this shit!"

"No no, wait. Let's change the stakes. Tails I tell you my power and heads, you owe me another night. Maybe less drinking."

"Yeah sure, whatever. I don't care anymore."

The Illusionist flipped the coin in the air and caught it before showing him the result. The first heads of the night. 

"You're a witch. There just ain't no way."

"Hahaha! What can I say, the coin has spoken. I'll let you get some sleep now."

She left him by the door before walking away. Suddenly, she stopped and smiled before turning back around.

"Can't believe you haven't figured that out yet but, my power allows me to control the coin. Kinda. Sorta."

"You wha-! Of course. Of course you fucking did. … But wait. Then that means. On your last throw, you meant to-"

"Goodnight!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Finally. We're all done here. These should work."

Rouge was sitting up in a rusty and dusty bed, a panoply of tubes coursing out of her arm. Venom couldn't help but notice the young woman's dazy eyes as she was unplugging the medical devices out of her flesh.

"You're feeling ok?"

"Yeah. I'm ok."

"You might have pushed yourself too hard. We never tried this before and you're already going all out."

"No really, I'm fine."

"Alright. Well, at least your hard work is gonna pay off. I'll mark the vials so you can differentiate them."

"No it's ok, you don't have to. I can tell."

"Wait, really? Let's test it."

Behind her back, the Mad Scientist was shuffling through her fingers the various vials full of blood. One by one, she would pull one out and show it to her test subject. With indescribable accuracy, she was able to successfully guess the vials' properties. Firstly, there were those whose blood had a ridiculous amount of testosterone and protein. On paper, those would be used to accentuate one's physical strength. They are somewhat similar to those filled with adrenaline.

However, the latter could be used to give an overall physical enhancement, along with helping a weakened heart. There are also some vials with better healing properties, presenting a higher count of white cells and blood plaquette, for example, to help wounds heal and coat. One after the other, the young woman was able to feel, to sense, the essence of her blood resting in the glass containers. As if an extension of herself. 

"You really are fascinating."

"Well. It's mostly thanks to you. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to pull all this shit out."

"Still. Anyway, I'll just leave them in your care as is then. You have anywhere to put them?"

"Yeah, I'll just put them in my bag. Thanks again for your help."

"It's nothing. You're actually helping me. More than you know. Someday you'll understand. Go get some rest for now. Tomorrow, shits are going down for real."

"Yeah. I know. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Rouge. Be careful. Stay safe out there."

"Yeah. I will."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How is it that you keep showing up more fucked up than the last time? And here I thought you had reached peak alcoholism."

"Ask that to your lieutenant here. It was her bright idea."

"If you wanted to avoid drinking, you just needed to answer my questions"

"I wasn't going to just lose to you. It's about sending a message."

The group laughed and shook their heads at their friend's unsolved drinking behaviour and their new co-captain who proved to be more troublesome than expected. The new team, formed by Akuma, Jab, Mute, Rouge, Savvy and Spike, led by Slash and Ace, is currently outside the fated walls' protection. Geared up and fresh to go, at least for most of them, they are now heading to their first mission's location. 

"Hahaha! I can already tell this team is gonna be so fun!"

Even while being the highest form of commandment in the group, The Shogun cannot hide his giggling excitement. 

"It's gonna be hard to supervise you on top of all of them."

Ace was a little bit less eager.

"Savvy, what's our mission?"

"Right."

The young woman answered nervously. As the Strategist, she'll be the one making the calls when the time comes. 

"This is a simple Recognition Mission. Our objective is to get to the designated area and figure out why we lost our vision in this zone. We are to replace any damaged or lost equipment and report back."

"And what's your plan if any fuckers show up?"

Jab truly did not remember. 

"We get into position. Rouge and I will stand behind and keep an eye on the threat. Spike and Akuma will take the lead to engage and hold down the threat while you and Mute wait for an opening to kill it."

Savvy knows her plan through and through. Her mind has been continuously thinking about all the possible scenarios. Fatigue and anxiety are already taking a toll on her. But she has to push through.

"Sounds good to me. Shall we begin then?"

"Hahaha! Time for Team Slash to head out!"

Nobody even agreed on that name, but all the members happened to have the same thought. They can't deny his strength; the recruits have seen it firsthand when he fought their blind friend. So they're going to put up with it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Well, this was more stressful than anything."

"Not even a puny Omega to practice on. This truly was eventless."

"You kids better shut the fuck up and be grateful nothing happened."

"This mission truly was a test on your patience, wasn't it Rowdy?"

Gale asked his co-leader. They have been put in charge of this team made of Cortex, Sprout, Lunchbox, Drool and Blister. Like all the other new teams, they have been quested with a low-grade Recognition Mission. Now having just replaced the equipment in this area, they are heading back to report the success of their first assignment. 

"Maybe you guys would have liked some action, but for me, I'm glad we didn't. The less work the better."

Cortex sighed.

"It's not like you would do much if there was a Hollow anyway. Honestly, I don't even know why Doc lets you be a soldier."

Lunchbox spouted.

"Looks like he needs me to order around morons like you."

"Fuck you."

"Alright guys, calm down."

Blister said, fed up.

"No but really. Doc must value my intelligence; he even made this special hover vehicle for me to get around more easily. This thing is actually crazy."

Pridefully said Cortex while maneuvering his vehicle using his brain activity.

"Whatever. Let's just get the fuck bac-"

Lunchbox immediately stopped talking; he was the last one to sense it. He rapidly turned around and jumped in position. Back where they came from, a Hollow appeared. Small in stature, but aggressively ferocious, it rapidly started clawing the metal installment they had recently just replaced. None of the recruits were talking anymore. Confidence is one thing. Bravery is another.

"You fuckers had to open your damn mouths and talk shit."

The Junkie scoffed. 

"Alright, kids. Time to see what you're made of. Take this seriously. This isn't like the tests and the Trials and the games that you're used to. This is life or death."

"R-right. Cortex?"

"I- Uh. Blister, release a sleeping gas. Let's see if it affects it. Gale, use your air power to blow the cloud away if it gets too close to us."

"Got it."

"I'll need some time to concentrate."

Nervously said Blister. She took a deep breath before extending her hands before her. A thick magenta aura formed around her before a strange mist seeped out of her pores. The mystic fog began to fill the area around the Hollow.

However, it was more dense than anticipated. Before the beast could completely disappear from their sight, they could see its head slowly turn around towards them, its two menacing eyes glowing. 

"Fuck! We've lost sight of him! This wasn't the right call. Gale blow the smoke away we need to-"

Before the strategist could finish his command, the hazy smoke broke out from the inside, leaving a gaping hole. Something of extreme speed pierced through it and continued towards Cortex. Without warning, Cortex's head exploded in a burst of flames. His brain matters and inner fluids splashing his comrades around him. Everybody was paralyzed in fear. Even Rowdy and Gale froze for a second.

Gale then immediately leaped forward in front of everyone, quickly followed by Rowdy. The plan has changed. This isn't teamwork training anymore. It's survival. The Torrent's chest grew triple in size as a teal aura spiralled around him. Gale exhaled a gust of air with tremendous force, immediately breaking the smoke screen.

The Hollow was still in its spot, surrounded by metal scrapes and destroyed electronic pieces. It seemed to have calmed down from its destructive frenzy. It was slowly crawling around, staring down the soldiers. The Commanders were wary. Even though it looks like an Epsilon-level Hollow, it is far more dangerous than that.

"Everybody stay behind us. Keep your eyes on the target no matter what. As hard as it sounds, forget your friend. You can't afford to have your mind on something other than the enemy." 

"Fuck! Here it comes!"

The demon grounded its claw deep in the ground, bracing for a powerful blow. A fiery glow seeped through its flesh; it was charging its next attack. Paired with extreme heat, the Hollow's incoming projectile was being compressed inside its body. With a deafening screech, the monster blasted a blazing orb at the soldiers. Because of its ridiculous speed, the fireball's trajectory was frenetic and unpredictable.

Gale stepped towards the center and launched a second wave. The powerful wind was slowly affecting the attack, but not enough; it blew right past him. Drool saw the orb coming right at her. She closed her eyes right before impact. However, the orb exploded in a wall of flame, split in the middle, blowing at both her sides.

Rowdy had jumped right in time to take the brunt of the attack. He was blown away by the force of the firepower. They all looked at his burning body skipping on the ground into the darkness. However, they got brought back into the moment.

"Do not look away!"

The Commander yelled. The recruits immediately turned back around. As they did, the monster was already brewing its next charge.

This isn't good. It won't approach us. Its abilities are ranged. That means…

"Drool! We need your protection, now! We're going in as soon as we can."

Gale ordered. The young woman quickly unlocked her jaw mask. She then began to throw a jet of saliva, spraying her comrades, and covering them with a protective layer. She then withdrew her stream and poured the last drops on herself. 

"Watch out!"

As soon as Lunchbox warned them, the beam was already launched. Out of nowhere, Sprout took the initiative to dash in front of everybody. She then grew her arms enormously large and created an improvised shield, enabling everyone to take cover.

"Good thinking, Sprout! As soon as this blast hits, Lunchbox and I will charge in. I have a plan."

The fireball hit the flesh shield simultaneously. Sprout yelled in pain and undid her defensive barrier. The Torrent began sprinting.

"Now-"

Gale thought he had come up with a plan to end it all. But his plan had failed before he even came up with it. They were all outsmarted by a beast. When Sprout's arm separated, another fireball immediately came through. It violently crashed into Sprout's abdomen and imploded on impact.

Unconsciously, they had all assumed the time needed to charge between each attack. However, they were misled by the Hollow who purposely fired its attack at a slower interval than what it was actually capable of. 

"Sprout!"

The young woman had a gaping hole in her stomach. She was completely scorched. Drool's protective layer was enough to keep her body from exploding and to keep the blast from going through her completely. But the attack was still lethal. It had taken a few seconds before life left her body, but soon enough, she collapsed. Lifeless. 

Gale was overwhelmed. This was bad. Really bad. He decided to give up on defeating the Hollow.

"Everybody get the fuck out of here right now!"

They looked at him, uncertain.

"Now! Run!"

They did not hesitate one more second. The young soldiers immediately took off, leaving behind the Commander. His mind was set. He looked at the two corpses. It was his fault; he was sure of it. And he was going to take the blame to the grave with him. But not before giving it his all.

"Alright, you fucker."

Under a raging roar, the Torrent focused all his aura. A powerful swirling gust of wind began to spiral around him. His enemy followed his steps and readied its next blow. Gale then brought his hands to his mouth and formed a makeshift funnel before blowing all his accumulated air into it.

The pressure from it created a robust stream of wind that cut through the fireball rapidly coming at him. The blazing orb exploded and spread fire in every corner of this cave. Gale stopped his attack to catch his breath, ready to counterattack at any time.

Alright. I can destroy them. But how long can I keep up? This really isn't good.

"Yo, you piece of shit. Thought you killed me?"

Never before had this voice been a blessing for him. Rowdy yelled at the top of his lungs as he walked out of the shadows. His body was visibly burned. But not his resolve.

"You tough motherfucker. About time you came back. Fired up already?"

"You don't fucking say."

The Junkie's injuries were severe. But his power-up was massive.

"I've got a plan. Take this!"

The Torrent took one of the massive tanks resting on his back and threw it at his comrade. It was filled with hydrogen.

"I need you to shove this thing in its mouth as soon as it charges up. This will blow it up and kill it."

"And me with it?"

"Hopefully not. You should be able to survive the explosion."

"And it won't?"

"I hope the fuck not. If this doesn't kill it, I don't know what wil-"

"Heads up!"

Rowdy noticed Gale of an incoming blast. The Lieutenant was able to destroy, just in time, the fireball threatening them.

"Now Rowdy!"

The Junkie was already on the move. He was holding the metal tank under his arm as he was charging at the monster. Once its lungs began to glow red, Rowdy cramped Gale's equipment in its jaw.

"Die you piece of shit!"

As the Hollow tried to fire its beam, the tank brutally exploded. An immense ball of flame engulfed both the fighters. Not long after the detonation, Rowdy's body flew out of the smoke screen created by the explosion and crashed on the floor. Gale rushed to his side and dragged him further away. 

He's unconscious, but he's still alive.

When the explosion's aftermath descended, Gale was able to spot the remnants of the monster scattered around. He sighed in relief. It was finally over. He looked around him. The unconscious body of his friend covered in burns and wounds. The headless body of his subordinates. Sprout's mauled and burned corpse. He closed his eyes. This was a disaster. 

The Torrent left his second tank behind to be able to carry the three bodies back with him. Before leaving, he made sure to finish his mission and repair, yet again, the devices. As he was walking back, he threw one last glance at the Hollow's grave. Fear overtook him for an instant. Now that the fight was over and his adrenaline was worn out, he was able to process. His intuition was right.

They're getting stronger.