When I feel myself waking up, I yawn and bury my face in Zelo's chest, not bothering to open my eyes. My fingers curl into the front of his shirt when he suddenly jerks back from my fingers.

"Mmph. Don' do 'at. Tickles…" a voice mumbles, muffled by sleep as the person holding my waist pulls me in closer to let their arm drape over me.

I find myself confused for a moment until I remember that my team is out on a mission while I'm stuck here with my stitched up shoulder and arm full of pins. Letting go of his shirt and pulling myself up with my one good arm, I bat Hakyeon's hands away to go have a shower, but I'm stuck; Hakyeon is holding onto the fabric of my shirt tightly and I'm reminded of when Yongguk is sleeping beside me, of how hard it is to get up when he's hanging on to me. I pry his fingers open and get up to start my day but stop at the door to look back at him. Splayed out over the pillows and only half of him covered by the blanket, I know he'll get cold, so I go back to tuck the blanket under his chin before heading out to find something for breakfast.

There's nothing of interest in the cupboards and I end up snacking on a bread roll, surprising myself when I'm full after only eating two. It would seem the effects of the shots I had been receiving are wearing off already and I'm glad. As much as I like eating, I would much rather train with the others than spend half my day stuffing my face. Unfortunately for me, Hongbin would probably find a way to hand my to me if I went out of my way to go against what he specifically told me. I may not have been around him for long now but already I can tell that he's more conniving than he looks.

Wandering down to the hangar, I weave my way through the people milling about towards the exo-suits standing abandoned at the back, careful to not get my bare toes stepped on. Without Jongup there working on them, they seem more lifeless than ever. The normal silver is almost gone on the complete one though, replaced by a matte black finish as dark as the shadows we hide within. I run a hand over it and smile sadly.

"We're getting there," I mutter to myself. "Please wait just a little longer, Mato; you will see the sun again."

A long finger jabs me in the side and I swing around to punch the offender when a hand catches my fist.

"You know, you shouldn't be fighting. What would Hongbin say?" Hakyeon reprimands jokingly. "What are you doing down here so early?"

"Just thinking. I never really had the chance to go out and help when Yongguk went out into the field. Mato is stuck. The world is stuck. As dangerous as I know that it is, I can't wait to get out there to actually fight back and free it."

"I'd rather we not go with total anarchy, thanks," he deadpanned. I didn't have to see his face to know the expression he was wearing.

"Myself as well. If you think about it, the original set up of this world would have worked if it wasn't for the complete psychopath in charge."

"Psychopath would be putting it nicely, considering the people of LC9 are all either the children of failed human experiments or the few remaining who survived."

"This world is so ed up…"

"But it's the only one we have."

I nod sombrely, reaching up to run a hand over the smooth paint one last time before turning around to face Hakyeon. "I'm going to go have a shower and change. I shouldn't be wandering around without proper clothes on – Yongguk's already pissed off enough as it is."

Hakyeon gives me an odd look.

"He's… not here."

"Yeah, but he'll find out and then all I'll hear is "This isn't Mato, Bree. Things work differently around here. Blah blah blah blah blah…" I love the guy but there's a reason we get in to it so often."

Agreeing to meet him later for explanations of the state of things, I leave him standing in the hangar staring up at Jongup's war-bound work of art.

*****

"Knock knock," I say as I barge in to Hakyeon's office, startling him and almost making him drop the book in his hands. "What have you got for me today?"

Hakyeon regains his composure and laughs quietly. "Someone's enthusiastic."

Dragging the chair over, he sits me down and spreads a map across the desk in front of me. It isn't long before he starts using the books normally lined up on his desk to mark out known government guard outposts on the map as he stands behind me, pointing and explaining. Although the ROVIXX have the cloaking ability, it's still best to avoid them since avoiding their radar requires flying so low to the ground, especially considering how rough the terrain gets in some districts. As much as I'm familiar with the general terrain, having been the one to tell the foremen where to branch out in the mines, the above ground is still something relatively unfamiliar and I'm somewhat surprised when I learn that the geography of some districts is almost as deadly as the government and all their people. On top of that, the season changes have been known to cause problems along usual supply routes, making winter a difficult time for everyone. They rely on us to get them food to survive the winter and fuel to continue their work for our cause, and here in Hakyeon's base we rely on them for producing medicinal goods such as the shots I had been receiving. By the time he finishes explaining the supply routes, my head is spinning – I knew there would be a lot for me to learn, but this is overwhelming.

"How the hell do you keep track of all this on your own?"

"I don't. We report to each other the status of our respective districts and sort out what has to happen from there. Sometimes problems with supply routes have nothing to do with the terrain and seasons, and everything to do with Rats and government representatives being present in the districts. If they're in either the shipping or the receiving district at the time, nothing can go through because it's too dangerous."

"I take it that would be why you are always in here?"

"Among other things, but we'll talk about those some other time. We've been discussing all this for almost two and a half hours now and I'm starting to bore myself."

"I wouldn't disagree with that," I laugh.

"Really now? How 'bout I make things a little more interesting?" he whispers roughly in my ear, leaning over my shoulder his hands sliding down my arms.