A/N: Before reading this chapter, I would like to inform you guys of something I'm doing to make reading much easier. Rather than having to write 'conveyed over the radio' all the time, I decided to make speeches transmitted through radio channels in italics. For this chapter, this is all you have to know. To avoid making this A/N too long, check at the bottom of this chapter for more info on this.

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Hasuni

Dust clouds enveloped the dying city, sand particles reluctant to drop back to earth as if scared of another eruption. Hidden from sight, panicked cries from humans and RAD alike reverberated throughout, both hunter and prey rendered helpless before the rage of mother earth.

Pissed off by the puny humans' penchant for destruction, cracks ran through the earth as she opened up her gaping maws to swallow everything above ground. Giant skyscrapers, foundations rocked by seismic strains crumbled to the earth like Jenga towers with the wrong piece removed, crushing both humans and RADs unlucky enough to be in range.

"Go! Go! Go!" Eli's voice roared into FireRaines' helmets as the quartet tore through the crumbling city, dodging falling debris, potholes and large crevices.

"HAHA! This is sick!" Dayle cackled as he flew off an inclined piece of debris. The hover-bike hobbled as it dropped back to the earth, nearly crashing into rhino-like RAD that burst out of a nearby building.

BANG!

A bullet to its side staggered the RAD, giving Dayle just enough time to rush passed unscathed.

"We're in mortal danger Dayle," Arthur scolded, quickly holstering the pistol. "Stop having fun when we're in mortal danger."

"Have you learned nothing Art?" Dayle questioned, mock-disappointment in his voice. "Mortal danger's the Best time to have fun!"

"Shut it, junkie! We've got bigger issues up ahead!" Raines' panicked warning dragged their attention to a gaping chasm ahead which grew wider with every passing second. The chasm, which wrapped around Hasuni, had formed a sort of dividing line between 'chaos' and 'bliss'.

Examining the rate of expansion, Eli quickly calculated they would not be able to get there in time to 'boost' across. "We've got to double back; find another way out!" Eli called. He'd already braced himself for a sharp U-turn when Arthur doused cold water on that idea.

"I am afraid turning back is no longer an option," Arthur calmly reported. He looked over his shoulder at the road which had begun to sink into the rapidly expanding crater. The quartet was only a couple of meters ahead of the drop. Any attempt to slow down or turn around would definitely result in an instant wipe.

"Shit!" Eli cursed. He looked back at the chasm and swallowed hard. "No other choice. We've gotta ri—"

"Got an idea!" Dayle screamed, not bothering to mask the excitement in his voice as he accelerated past Eli and swerved into a multi-storey car park just ahead of the chasm. "Follow Me!"

Eli opened his mouth, about to ask what the hell the plan was, but to his shock, without a single question (though Raines did curse a little), Raines and Arthur zoomed in after Dayle. The young operative shook his head with a wry smile as he too quickly chased behind. For all their bickering, these three definitely shared a bond of trust most teams could only dream of but never attain.

Ahead of the pack, Dayle squinted as he maneuvered through abandoned vehicles in the lot, leading the team five levels up the ramp to the top floor. A grin spread as he finally spotted what he had been searching for on the top floor.

Dayle let go of the handlebars then leaned to the right, managing to grab a latch from the boot of a pick-up truck which had been wrenched off its hinges. Without stopping, he flung the latch with all he had at a section of the wall set up to prevent cars and people from falling over. Propelled by the heavy motion, the latch dug into the wall at an inclined angle, forming a makeshift ramp.

Dayle drew out an assault rifle and trained it at the section of wall above the ramp. A quick squeeze of the trigger punished the stone walls with a salvo of merciless bullets. Dayle grinned at the bits of stone and dust bursting out of the wall, evidence of the wall's rapidly declining integrity.

"Let's Fly!" With a mad glint in Dayle's eyes, flames burst out the H-bike as with a boost of Nitrous, it smashed through the surviving bits of rock. Dayle spread out his arms, maddening laughter tormenting the team channel as he flew over the chasm in a brilliant, parabolic arc.

Behind him, Raines, Arthur, and Eli all let out unique strings of curses as they too boosted up the ramp and over the chasm, none daring to look down as if fearing that doing so would jinx the situation somehow.

Ahead, Dayle's laughter began to die off as he began his descent to be replaced by a slight raise of his brow. Hmm? Something seemed off. Why did the other side seem just a little out of reach? Was that an optical illusion? He looked over his shoulder, wincing slightly when he realized that the other three's arc was slightly higher than his. Damn, seemed like the wall had shrunk his momentum more than he'd anticipated.

Dayle crossed his arms as he stared into the abyss below. Was this what it felt like to be a hero? Sacrificing yourself for the sake of the greater good? Damn, Dayle thought, struggling to hold back tears. Sometimes I'm just too damn co—

"May you rest in peace."

Dayle paused, his internal dialogue interrupted by Arthur's last rites. He looked over his shoulder to see the young man, head bowed with his palms clasped together as if in prayer. Dayle clucked his tongue, fire suddenly returning to his eyes. Shit, even if I die for anyone else, it won't be these ungrateful brats.

The agent turned his attention back to the rapidly approaching abyss, swiftly coming to the conclusion he was just about six meters off the other edge. Unfortunately, he had burned out his rear boosters with the jump. It would take a few seconds before they recharged, by which time he would have already missed the landing.

Dayle, however, did not panic. To the shock of the trio behind him, he deftly raised his legs into the sky, such that the only thing preventing him from falling off was his tight grip on the handlebars. Gritting his teeth, he pulled the hoverbike closer, his legs dropping to meet the machine, till he was squatting somewhat on the seat, knees bunched as if preparing for a huge jump.

Dayle then released the left handlebar, wobbling slightly as his entire balance thus relied on the strength in his right grip. As the agent reached a point marked in his mind, he positioned himself squarely at the center of the bike, a snarky grin spreading up his face. Once he was seven meters above the point-of-no-return, Dayle pushed a button.

Whoosh!

Timing his jump to perfection, Dayle pushed off the vehicle just as its bottom thrusters flared up, taking advantage of the counter-acting force to launch himself several meters ahead in a steep arc. The bike, however, having lost a lot of its upward momentum, could only fall several thousands of feet into the gaping canyon.

Dayle had no time to mourn the loss of his bike, his flight not lasting long enough for him to harbor any stray thoughts. Dayle gritted his teeth as he crashed into the ground centimeters from the edge. Despite the ungainly landing, a quick roll and hop later, the agent was on his feet, coolly sliding across the wasteland earth to kill off the last of the momentum.

Dayle came to a stop, a wide grin plastered across his face as he whirled around. "I'm AWE—"

"Watch Out!"

Dayle never got to finish that sentence, as with a sickening crunch, Raines' bike slammed into his chest with all the force of ten raging bulls. Only by sheer force of will did he manage not to throw up in his helmet as he was unceremoniously flung across the wasteland. Several ugly tumbles and a hard stop against an outcropping later, Dayle could finally suck in the air that had been flogged out of his lungs, weakly picking himself up off the floor.

Dayle winced as he inspected the damage. Evidently, the suit could no longer handle the excess punishment it had been continuously dealt over the past couple of hours. Its auto-repair function was on the fritz, allowing bits of radiation to seep into the suit. It wasn't life threatening right now, but the agent knew that at this rate, he'd be staring death in the face in a few hours.

Dayle sighed, looking up as the trio brought their bikes to a halt in front of him. The young man clucked his tongue as he looked at those impassive helmets. Damn, unless they spoke over the channel, he could not tell if they were secretly laughing at him or not. He squinted at Raines, absolutely sure that if nothing else, that she-devil definitely felt some joy ramming into him.

As if sensing his gaze, Raines chuckled, "That was close." Patting the H-bike she sent a sly grin Dayle's way. "Almost dented her frame."

Although Dayle could not see her expression, he could certainly hear the mocking in her voice. With a loud snort, he retorted, "Next time you're jealous of my awesomeness, keep to hitting me upside the head okay?"

Raines laughed as she turned her back to him. "Get on stupid. We've got to get outta here."

Dayle grumbled incoherently but still got onto the back seat. He wrapped his arm around Raines' waist, gasping as he looked over his shoulder at the crumbling city. "Whew," he muttered as they took off, "That was totally not my fault."

"I am quite certain you played a major role," Arthur quipped.

"Yeah," Raines seconded. "I specifically recall you screamed 'Blow it, Eli!"

"Hey! I don't want to hear that from you of all people," Dayle protested with a snort. "You helped lay the bombs in the first place. I was just thinking of the environment. It would be a waste to keep such explosives lying around without using them."

Arthur glanced at the gaping crater rapidly disappearing in the horizon. "Mm. Yes, you really helped the environment."

"Art? Is that sarcasm I hear?"

Before Arthur could reply, Eli's panicked voice broke through. "Speed up! Nexus inbound!" Without another word, he squeezed the throttle on his bike, nearly breaking the sound barrier as he zipped off across the horizon.

Arthur and Nina pressed down on the leg-based throttles, only barely managing to keep him in sight as they zoomed across the wasteland.

"Where's Nexus?" Dayle, who had nothing to do nonchalantly asked. "Haven't met one of those yet?"

"Above." Despite being several dozen meters ahead, Eli's reply showcased the beauty of the Party Channel.

Dayle raised his head, just in time to see three sled-like hover crafts zip overhead. Three beings stood on these crafts, armour glistening in the early morning sun. Dayle's eyes squinted, activating the zoom function. He was just about quick enough to catch a sharper glimpse of the individuals.

It seemed for all its hatred of humanity, the Nexus still preferred a humanoid design for its robots. Diversity as well was not lost on the program it seemed, as the three robots above looked vastly different from one another. The first, a Yoshimitu-looking robot, was massive in both height and mass, resembling professional bodybuilders. Two, red blades sheathed to its back revealed its major mode of attack. The second, a much smaller model compared to the first, sported tough, all black armor, its arms smugly folded across its chest as they advanced. The third, and probably the most human looking of the trio wore armor reminiscent of old spaghetti westerns, milk-white wind beater wrapped around its frame to prevent dust from messing up its similarly white pants.

What all three had in common was a common skull motif for their heads, all of which evoked grim-reaper vibes when one gazed upon them. It seemed this Nexus character also possessed a morbid sense of humor.

Dayle's heart heavily chilled, breath stilling as those helmets simultaneously turned to meet his gaze. His shoulders slumped, heart-rate climbing sharply as their gaze lingered. Luckily, however, the trio seemed to deem the collapse more important than three whelps. Their gazes retreated and they soon disappeared in a streak of light.

Dayle couldn't help but shiver, recalling the tremendous pressure he'd suffered under their sharp scrutiny. No one spoke another word, staying silent until they had put dozens of miles between themselves and Hasuni.

Eli finally slowed to a halt near a small town, gazing at the light blueish hue hanging over the cluster of buildings. These tiny towns, protected from the radiation by larger extensions of the 'Firecone' were bastions, not only for the mercenaries going out to hunt in the wild, but also for the rest of humanity who couldn't afford to get into the outer walls of the major cities due to overpopulation.

The Firecones could eliminate radiation from the air, allowing them to breathe clean oxygen, but it could not filter out rain as it fell. This meant the people in these towns relied heavily on water produced internally and food imported from the major cities to survive. Of course, sometimes the people in these towns did not get food on time, and they would thus resort to eating RAD meat despite knowing how toxic the meat was.

The Radi were initially born in such places before spreading out to the rest of the world after copulation with normal humans. Thanks to the genes they passed on, humanity overall gained more resistance to Radiation, allowing the people in these towns to sometimes substitute for Radi meat occasionally when a transport was delayed for whatever reason. Still though, over time the toxicity would still build up, even if slower than in the past.

As a result of these conditions, the life expectancy in these regions was quite low, with most resorting to banditry in hopes of acquiring enough credits to buy their way into a major city—even if only the outskirts.

Eli explained all these to FireRain then added a piece of advice, "You guys can stop at towns like these if you're feeling hungry, wanna rest or just wanna get rid of some loot crowding your inventory. Word of caution though: these guys buy low and sell high. So, always leave the city with enough ammunition for your mission or else these guys will fleece you hard. The riff-raffs in these towns also mark people who come to sell stuff, then set up ambushes outside." He turned to Dayle. "Though I suppose that should not be much of an issue for you guys."

Dayle nodded. "Thanks for the advice. We'll make sure to keep that in mind next time we head out."

"You're welcome," Eli acknowledged, then leaned into his bike as he powered it on. "Well I'm going this way," he said, angling his bike towards the west. "I've sent you guys' friend requests. Who knows, we might have reason to work again sometime in the future."

"Be seeing you, Eli," replied Dayle, giving the teen a two-fingered salute.

"Nice meeting you, Eli," Raines bid her goodbyes.

"It was an honor to fight alongside you." Arthur slightly bowed, fist across his chest.

"Haha, the honor was mine." Eli chuckled, placing his arm across his chest. "Check you guys on the flip-side." With that, he squeezed the throttle and zoomed off.

Dayle muttered as he watched the retreating figure. "Kid's not half-bad. Has the makings of an excellent apprentice."

"I pity whoever is unlucky enough to become your apprentice," Raines rolled her eyes.

"What do you mean?" Dayle protested with mock-shock. "Just look at Art. I taught him everything he knows, and he turned out great."

Arthur's brow jumped. The hell!?

"Bah! Don't deceive yourself," Raines snorted. "Art is nothing like you. He's responsible, sweet and kind"

Arthur's hear warmed. Thank you, Rai—

"He clearly got that from me," Raines declared with a puffed chest. She swiveled to the poor agent. "Isn't that right Arthur?"

"You wouldn't be going against me now, would you Arthur?" Dayle prompted, intense glare somehow making it through the helmet.

Arthur winced, nearly suffering a migraine from listening to these two. Christ, if he had known he would have to deal with these two's constant bickering, he would've just stayed at home. Just when it seemed like he would crumble beneath their glares, a welcome distraction came in the form of Eli's voice.

"Hey, can you guys hear me?"

"Yes!" Arthur excitedly answered, his voice almost sounding hopeful as he continued, "Yes we can. Is there a problem?"

"No. No problem," Eli replied. "I remembered something important I was supposed to have told you guys, and just realized the team chat was still active."

"Oh? What is it?"

"I assume it's you guys' first outing so you probably are not aware," Eli said. "Before anyone re-enters the city, they are thoroughly checked. That goes for us too. They can scan everything in your gauntlets. Although the guards generally overlook one or two illegal weapons found in the field, if they find the stockpile you guys have, they'll suspect you of being arms dealers. Not only will they confiscate the weapons, but you might even serve some jail time."

Dayle frowned. "Wait, then how do we sell these? I can't just throw them away."

"You have three options," Eli informed them. "The first, you sell them in one of the many bastions. Those guys don't care about the origins of weapons. But like I said, they buy low, especially for illegal goods. They sometimes knock off entire zeroes."

"Don't like it," Dayle disagreed with a shake of his head.

"Thought as much," Eli chuckled. "Option two then. Find a place to stash your loot, then bring them one at a time over a period of time into the city. The time period can't be too short either or the cops will turn suspicious."

"Too long," Dayle refuted. "We need cash fast. That method will take too long."

"Option three is what you want then," Eli said. "But it's most likely the riskiest of the lot. Like with option two, you stash your loot somewhere safe and mark it on your map so you don't forget. Then you've got to make a connection with a faction or black market gang in the city and sell the location of your stash. If you report it to a faction, you'll get a tiny pittance, so I suggest finding a black market gang. After removing costs for the smuggling process, you should still enjoy a hefty profit. The problem however is..."

"Finding a dealer you can trust," Raines finished, stifling a groan as she imagined the smug grin on a certain someone's face at that moment.

"Hehe," Dayle chuckled. "I told you guys I'm awesome. Art, still don't wanna admit I'm the best master an apprentice could ask for?"

Arthur rolled his eyes, choosing to ignore him. "Thank you, Eli. Just so happens we have made contact with some gangs in the city. We'll take it from there, see how it goes."

"You're welcome," Eli acknowledged. "Now, remember to dissolve your team chat after every mission. I'll let you guys close this one. Eli, out."

Dayle shook his head as Raines and Arthur powered their H-bikes. "Art, I cannot believe you forgot to dissolve the team channel."

"Why should Art do it?" Raines quickly rebuked, sharp acceleration nearly throwing Dayle off the back seat. "You're the leader."

"Hey you're the one who said he's the responsible one," Dayle complained. "He should take responsibility for being the responsible one."

Arthur, the person in question, did not get a chance to defend himself. He smiled wryly at the bickering duo, muttering as he dissolved the team channel, "Ah, who am I kidding? I would not trade this two for anything."

****

Several hours later, Dayle, Arthur, and Raines took shelter from a passing thunderstorm in a debilitated bungalow, revealing scrunched up faces as they munched on their rations. With the illegal merchandise safely buried in a secret location, the Fireteam could afford to take their time returning to Kudan.

Dayle, sitting opposite Arthur at a metal table lucky enough to survive the apocalypse, chugged down an entire bottle of water, eager to wash off the ration's nasty aftertaste while Raines laid on a couch which had seen better days. Dayle, with the taste of sandpaper finally exiled from his tongue, turned his attention to the next thing on his to-do list. The agent cycled through his inventory, then clicked on a certain object.

Arthur's brow rose as a giant glowing orb appeared in Dayle's hand. Recognizing the orb to be the Queen Wasp's core, he tentatively asked, "Dayle, what are you planning to do with that?"

Dayle looked up from the orb to his partner. With a large grin on his face, he prompted, "Isn't it obvious?" With a loud chomp, a significant portion of the core disappeared into his mouth. Dayle's brow rose with interest as he chewed, "Mm, doesn't taste half-bad." To his surprise, the core was similar to a coconut, except its shell was soft enough to chew through. Also, rather than water, there was a concentration of radiation in liquid form which he greedily slurped till nothing was left.

Raines's lips rose in a smile as she watched him swallow the last of the shell. "You do realize they didn't actually mean 'eat' when they said ingest right?"

"Hm?" Dayle's brow rose as he licked his fingers. "What do you mean?"

"Yeah," Arthur muttered, looking nervous. "You are supposed to first take the cores to be treated. Only then can they be ingested through injections or as medicinal syrups. You are not meant to eat them raw. In fact, I think it is quite fatal."

"Nah, that's not possible," Dayle laughed, nonchalantly waving them off. "I read that article many times. It clearly stated co—Brrr!" Dayle's expression shifted, swiftly grabbing his stomach as a wave of pain racked his body. Expression turning grim, he glared at Raines. "Why didn't you tell me earlier!?"

"Didn't remember," Raines shrugged. "But while we're on the topic, they say some people explode from RAD poisoning."

Dayle groaned, skin turning bright red as he clutched his stomach. "If I die, I'm coming for you," Dayle cursed as he weakly rose to his feet. Taking some heavy steps, he left the area enveloped by the Firecone and walked outside. If he had the time to pay attention, he would have noticed that he was without his helmet, yet there were no warnings or adverse effects to his health.

Within the building, Arthur suddenly jumped, recalling Dayle's silhouette as he left. He had forgotten his helmet! Arthur groaned as he grabbed his partner's helmet from the table.

"Make sure he gets it," Raines called, her back to the young agent. Under her breath, she cursed, "I swear that idiot keeps finding new ways to get himself killed."

Arthur's face couldn't help but light up with a bright smile. Indeed, no matter how these two bickered, there were probably no tighter partners in the world. "I shall," Arthur promised. He was just about to head to the door when...

BOOM!

A huge explosion blew the metallic door off its hinges, sending it hurtling towards Arthur. The Aug reflexively slammed the thing in his hand against the door, a wince forming when he heard a tell-tale cracking sound.

"Motherfucker!" Raines instantly swore as she sprung to her feet. "I only said that as a joke! Don't tell me he actually exploded!?" Despite the rage in her voice, Arthur could see the apparent worry in her eyes. A worry which was snuffed within moments.

"Haha!" A familiar voice chortled through the smoke. "That worry I hear?" Dayle called, a grin on his face as he emerged from the smoke, completely naked.

Completely. Naked.

Glaring at the streaking man, patches of black from the remains of his previous armor still visible on his frame, Raines snorted, "I'm not even gonna ask." With that, she returned to the couch to await the end of the thunderstorm.

Dayle pouted, taking a long look at himself before turning to Arthur. "You were right man. She really is completely gay. You can't look at all this and not feel anything otherwise."

Arthur just shook his head as he returned to his seat. "Judging by your actions, you probably do not need this anymore," Arthur said, placing the damaged helmet on the table.

"My helmet!" Dayle shrieked as he ran over and grabbed the helmet, hugging it tight to its chest like it was some long lost loved one. Glaring at Arthur, he raged, "Do you realize how much emotional trauma you just caused!? You owe me ten thousand credits in emotional damage."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "You've literally only had it for less than a week. Quit playing. Put some clothes on and tell me what happened to you."

"Hehe," Dayle chuckled as he dropped the helmet. With a few taps, he was once again dressed in his start-up western gunslinger outfit, complete with the cowboy hat which he placed on the helmet. A grin spread as he took a seat across from Arthur. Eyes twinkling with delight and excitement, he said, "About that. I think I just somehow managed to become even more awesome..."

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A/N: Wanna welcome all you guys back to United Front. I've been having a blast writing this chapter, and I can't wait to explore more of this world for you guys to enjoy. 

Now in regards to the italicized radio chatter, I will be going one step forther for larger dialogue pieces. For now, you only need to watch for the following in front of an italicized dialogue. I'll point it out if there are any others in the future.

[PV] Private Channel - Discussion between only two members

[FT] Fireteam Channel - Discussion sent to the entire Fireteam and the Fireteam alone

[TS] Teamspeak Channel - Exists between two or more people. Do not necessarily have to be members of the same fireteam. All discussions will be transmitted among all team members.

Okay. That's it for now. See y'all in the next chapter.

Picture of the Day.

Following in the traditions of Parallel Vol.3 we'll be looking at some pics that inspired, inspiring, or will inspire characters, events or places in United Front. WIthout further ado...

Above is one of the earlier images I found floating around on Pinterest. Really kicked off my ideas for UF. Was initially gonna make Dayle a fisticuffs kinda character, but midway he changed to a gunslinger. 

Now, although slightly leaning towards bo-staffs and melee weapons, Arthur is probably the closest to the initial melee idea for Dayle. Of course, that doesn't mean Dayle is a done and dusted gunslinger. There's still a good chance the story returns him to this style of combat, or maybe a mix of both. 

Don't know. That there's the fun of writing, isn't it?