War for Freedom

(Chapter 6)/More Than Just Us

(A/N: Just a heads up, this is going to be a long chapter, just over 22k to be specific, and this was the main reason for Chapter 4's delay, so I hope you enjoy it,

Now back to the story.)

Third person POV:
March 8th, 2093, 09:29:
Near Trutch, British Columbia:

The day was clear, with a cool breeze and a small number of clouds in the air. A butterfly was flying through the air, having recently hatched from its cocoon. It did a little loopy doo before a large, fast moving flying machine zoomed right by it, causing it to lose balance over its flying. After recovering, it continued its flight path, as though it hadn't nearly been killed.

The flying machine in question was the Alpha Team's pelican, and it was making its approach to a place called Trutch. Inside was the Alpha Team themselves, each preparing for a mission that could affect the tide of the war. Besides Rena's armor upgrade, the other Anthro team members all got more upgrades as well, courtesy of Brian.

For Ruby, she was equipped with a specialized shielding meant to surround her wings. This was meant to protect the vulnerable parts of it should her normal shielding be disabled. It runs on a separate loop and has been upgraded to withstand all but the most advanced EMP devices.

For Mariana, she was given an upgrade to her helmet, allowing her to see both wind-speed and an armor scanner, which would help identify which targets had armor tough enough to withstand even her .50 caliber bullets. Brian had originally thought of making her a helmet upgrade to show where the bullets from her guns were expected to drop, but she refused. She stated that such an upgrade would be detrimental to her abilities as a sniper, and as such, the upgrade was changed.

For Douglas, his forearm grenade launcher was upgraded to have a handmade magazine, with the capacity of three grenades. This upgrade would allow him to fire off three grenades before the thought of reloading was necessary. Douglas was impressed with it after he got it, clearly happy with the ability to fire off more grenades.

For Via, she was given an upgrade to the defensive capabilities of her armor. Besides her shielding, Brian added Osmium plating to her armor, which doesn't slow her down one bit. This was mainly needed after her overwhelming defeat from the Huntress, which was mainly for mental relief than practicality.

And finally, for Chloe, she wasn't given an armor upgrade. Instead, Brian had her touch the container of a Reaper crystal similar to the one Zero touched. Unlike Zero's, when she touched it, the crystal was split in half and held together by a vortex of flames. Brian had asked her to wait while he tried to figure something out for her.

Each member of the team was just finishing with their final checks on all their gear when Mariana asked,

Mariana: "So, what exactly do we expect to find here? A bomb? Advanced weaponry? Maybe even a new ARC unit?"

Chloe: "All that I know is that it's important enough for both generals to send us out here for, so expect it to be surrounded by C.A. units."

Ruby (flaps her wings): "I'm still surprised Brian made us all new upgrades; I wonder why he did it."

Via (shrugs): "Beats me, maybe he decided not everything is about our human."

Pelican pilot: "All right, we're just about to land, area seems...quiet?"

Chloe was confused by this, especially after the words she threw out of her mouth. Walking to the cockpit, she entered it and saw the town they were in seemed dead, as though no one used it for years. This confused her even more, as she was told this town was brimming with large amounts of activity for the past couple of days. She believed they were flying into a trap, but they had a mission to fulfill.