Back at Blue base, once we had all calmed down, we sat down in the living area in a large circle—it was a bit cramped, because both Michigan and Indiana had decided to stay and listen to the explanation of what exactly went on. At this point, however, it didn't matter who found out about our adventure anyway. Soon, everyone would know.

"Eleven, what the hell happened in that room?" asked Church the moment we were seated.

Everyone became very quiet, watching me. I took a deep breath.

"Well… at first, I didn't know what happened. Everything went dark." I shuddered a bit and continued. "O'Malley had been controlling the lights the whole time, so he turned them on, and before I could get a chance to shoot him, he… he electrocuted me. He stole my gun, tied me up, and then decided to tell me everything that was going on, because he figured he'd just kill me after he'd taunted me with the information." Now the entire team listened raptly. My speech sped up. "Everything that's been going on here has been because of Leonard Church.

"He realized that his Freelancer project was going to fail, and so he created this device for the Epsilon not only to keep the memory AI safe but to enable it to activate itself, actually coming back to life if given the chance to feed on electricity. It just so happens that O'Malley was the strongest memory in there, so he fought his way out and came on top, so he's the image that came back to power.

"He explained this all to me, and then told me that if I didn't get you to leave, he'd kill all of you with a sniper that he'd hidden in the corner of the room." My voice shook. "He was about to shoot Donut."

Everyone looked at him, and he shrank. "That was when I talked to you—but which one of you realized I was in trouble?"

"That was me," said Tucker, smiling. "That hint of yours was way too subtle."

"What hint?" asked Grif.

Tucker grinned. "Remember when we were talking to her over the speakers? When would she ever call herself 'Ells'? We all know she hates that name."

I smiled. "And I always thought you just ignored my complaining about that. After you guys left, O'Malley didn't see you disappear from his cameras. But how did you get inside? I just heard you in the ceiling."

"That was my idea," Church replied. "We snuck over to the speaker and saw a vent right next to it, so we climbed in and it led us right to the room. We checked to make sure there weren't any cameras either."

"Then, we went to go get the Warthog," Simmons interrupted, begging to be noticed for his bravery. "We found that one of the walls of that room wasn't cement at all—it was just the back of his computers, so we figured it was the best way to damage him and find you."

"Don't forget about us!" Indiana said excitedly. "We were the transporters! We saved everyone! Like superheroes!" He and Michigan began laughing.

Sarge whistled slowly. "Well, you should be proud. This was a great victory, men." He looked up, smiling at the others, but saw they were all staring at him. "And woman," he added sheepishly.

"Wait a minute," Grif said slowly. "The lair exploded."

"Thank you, Holmes," interjected Sarge gruffly.

"No, listen!" He seemed upset now. "You saw how the whole place blew up. The entire mission was a failure—now you don't have any evidence to show that the Director was part of it!"

To everyone's surprise, I laughed.

"Is this evidence enough for you?"

I flicked a switch on my armor—a small green button bearing the word "play."

"Good afternoon," rang O'Malley's voice throughout the room. The entire congregation jumped.

"Who's there?" I heard myself say.

All mouths in the room fell open.

"You—you recorded it!" gasped Donut.

I smiled. "Why do you think I was busy fooling around with my armor as we drove away from the computer room instead of shooting O'Malley?"

Dumbstruck, the teams listened closely as my recording played through the entire dialogue of what happened back at the lair, and when it had finished, they sat there… sullenly.

"What's wrong?" I asked, puzzled. "Aren't you glad we can arrest the Director now?"

Silence. Then—

"You've finished your job… so you're leaving."

I looked around my empty bedroom, now unoccupied. The bare walls now just seemed bleak, and the gray sky shining through the window matched my mood exactly. I was just about to turn and leave when I heard voices again.

"We've gotta make her stay," someone said through the vent, and I recognized Tucker's voice. "She can't just leave."

"I'll make muffins!" It was Caboose.

I heard Church sigh. "Don't get any ideas, Tucker. She's just another girl." Another sigh and a slight thump—I figured Church slumped down on one of the couches.

"What is your problem?" Tucker asked incredulously. "You've been acting really weird ever since we destroyed Epsilon."

I had noticed this as well, but I figured it was just another of Church's mood swings.

"There's no problem! This is work. There's no room for emotion here."

I snorted loudly.

"Come on!" I could imagine Tucker rolling his eyes. "I know what you're thinking."

"Oh, and what's that?"

"He's a mind-reader!" whispered Caboose urgently. "What am I thinking, Tucker?"

Tucker sighed impatiently. "Nothing, Caboose."

"I told you!"

Tucker turned his attention back to Church. "You thought Epsilon might come back as your girlfriend, didn't you?"

"Tex is dead." His voice was emotionless.

"That didn't stop you from hoping."

Church said nothing, and I realized just why he hadn't been able to speak to me about the Freelancer project before. Why he was horrified at Epsilon's absence. Why he couldn't kill O'Malley.

Upon hearing nothing else, I left the bedroom for the last time.

I stood at the entrance of Red base, where it all began. The team members—both Red and Blue—stood together haphazardly, as if they wouldn't even be fighting each other once I left.

"Take care, Ells," Grif said, grinning. "I guess you're not so bad after all."

"You must come back all the time to see us!" Caboose exclaimed, unable to restrain himself. "Then we can have more fun with the AIs! A… I… what does the A stand f—"

"Okay, Caboose," Church interrupted. "Ells… you make a good Agent." I figured this was all I'd get out of him, as he couldn't speak. Something seemed to be stuck in his throat.

"Yeah, especially as a guy!" piped in Tucker. I made a face at him.

Sarge stepped forward. "Eleven, you've been a real help to us," he said solemnly. We shook hands. "I admire you… except you can stand Grif, which is obviously a lack of judgement."

"Sorry, sir. But really, thanks for everything, guys," I said gratefully. "I almost don't want to leave."

Simmons looked up hopefully. "You don't have to…"

"Nice try. I do have to get going, though. I—I'll see you around."

With difficulty, I turned away from the group. As I walked toward the portal, I heard a voice behind me.

"When you visit, we can go shopping!" shouted Donut. "Then we'll go out to eat, get pedicures, and then you'll spend the night!"

"Bow chicka bow wow."

I giggled, and continued my trek across the green plains. Once they were out of sight, my smile fell.

I hadn't had this much fun at my job since… well, ever. I didn't want to go. I reached the portal, the entire ordeal running through my mind like a movie. It was going to be a long day at Command—would they ever believe any of this had really happened?

Honestly, I had a tough time believing it myself.

(Congratulate yourself if you are reading this. You made it the entire way through! If you enjoyed this story, please don't hesitate to make your way over to the companion fanfiction, Red vs. Blue: After the Recon. Be warned, however: the next story contains much less plot and much more silliness. Thank you for your interest!)