03 DEC 33AE, 0445 MT

Outside suspected Exodos base, Yellowstone National Park

"Team Three, in position."

"Team One, in position."

"Team Two, in position."

"Teams One, Two, Three, in position, confirmed," the Team Zero leading captain said over the comms, and Camilla could hear them speaking from beside her as well. "Standby." Then, off the comms, "You're up, Wyatt."

Camilla nodded, and knelt on the ground, placing her palms against the dry patch of dirt she cleared of snow just moments ago. It was nerve wracking to have everyone watching her with high expectations, especially when her job was so critical. Plus, if something went wrong, she would be the only one to blame. The pressure made her want to back out right then and there, but that wasn't an option. The only thing she could do was hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

So Camilla closed her eyes and let her energy surge into the ground, directed towards the mountain before them. As she got closer, she slowed her approach, not wanting to accidentally set off any alarms.

At the surface of the ground, she could sense the weight of several Exodos lookouts, and she could feel their energy humming throughout the air in search of enemies. In search of the Org. But the guardians waited in silence just outside of their reach; Camilla was the only one behind enemy lines.

Eventually, Camilla's energy reached the surface of the mountain, and she carefully searched it for any weaknesses. There were two spots on opposite sides where there were large cuts in the structure; these were the entrances the scouts reported. At the moment, they were closed, but that didn't make a difference to Camilla as she extended her energy inwards.

The next layer was a strange mixture of highly aerated water that viciously churned like in a hot tub. Had another meta been able to make it past the solid rock exterior, even if they could also control the water, their control would falter with all of the air mixed into it. It was a simple defense mechanism that took advantage of the fact that nearly all solids metas wouldn't be able to control both liquids and gases as well. Even Camilla, who could actually control all three, struggled a little with the constant movements.

Finally, she reached a solid layer of wood, and after a quick scan of the material, Camilla was struck with a sense of awe. Exodos's base was essentially a hollow wood block floating within the mountain.

After sensing that the air within the wooden block was at normal atmospheric pressure, Camilla knew immediately that she had infiltrated the main area of the base. Not only that, but she could feel sound waves reverberating through the air.

"I'm detecting conversations inside," Camilla notified the Team Zero captain. "Request permission to listen in."

It wasn't a captain's decision to delay an entire operation, so they elevated the request through their comms. While they awaited an answer, Camilla concentrated on listening in anyway. The conversation sounded far from where her energy had broken through the barrier, and since she didn't want to risk going any deeper just yet, she settled for simply picking up bits and pieces. But what she did hear made her freeze.

"What's... latest... our guardian POC?" one voice asked.

"Last transmission... 24 November," another replied, "munications... trickier... they know there's a mole."

"Captain Wyatt, Base," Camilla heard over her comms. "Permission denied. Proceed with mission as planned."

As much as Camilla disagreed with that decision, she had no authority to argue, especially in front of so many other guardians that were tuned in to the same communications channel. There was no way she could disobey a clear order, nor did she have any way around it. Plus, if there really was a mole in the Org, the last thing she should do was admit that she knew of their existence.

"Understood," Camilla said, and the Team Zero captain relayed her acknowledgement.

Camilla directed her focus to the wooden layer of Exodos's base, pouring energy into it until she was sure she had enough of the material under her control to move the entire structure. Once she was certain, she opened her eyes and turned to the other captain.

"Ready," Camilla said.

"Shaking the nest on my mark," the Team Zero captain began. "Three, two, one, mark."

At the signal, Camilla let loose, shaking the enemy base as rapidly as she could. Initially, the movement couldn't be felt above ground. But it didn't take long for the force of the tremors to overpower the other layers of the barrier, and the enemy defenses collapsed. Once that happened, the only thing that was between their base and the Org's guardians was about two hundred meters of dirt and rock, and Camilla's attack immediately shook the entire vicinity.

"Team Zero, Base" a voice sounded over the comms again. "Report enemy status."

"No sign on the surface," the captain replied, their voice wavering with the tremors in the ground. "Wyatt?"

Camilla focused on maintaining the earthquake while sending some of her energy through the air in the base. "No movement. They may be trying to wait it out."

"Maintain your attack until directed otherwise," Base ordered soon after the other captain relayed Camilla's report. "Team Zero MS's, work on breaking in through the south-southeast section. Teams One and Two, standby."

Camilla did as she was told, but she couldn't help but feel inclined to ignore the orders. Any longer, and the entire mountain could collapse, potentially killing everyone inside. Sure, Exodos was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people, metas and non-metas alike, but that didn't mean that Camilla wanted to be like them. She didn't want to be a murderer just because she was ordered to.

As the seconds ticked by, Camilla felt the structure under her control growing weaker and weaker, and she felt like she was putting more effort into holding it up rather than bringing it down. But since she still had to maintain the tremors as ordered, it was like she was fighting against herself in a battle between her duties as a guardian and her personal morals. She gritted her teeth, trying to think of a plan for what she could do, but her mind was only filled with desperation.

"Captain Wyatt, Base," Camilla's comms rang in her ear. "We're detecting a decrease in seismic activity. What are you doing?"

Camilla grimaced and increased the magnitude again, nearly straining her abilities in holding Exodos's base up. Desperate, she spared some of her energy and slipped it into the air in the base, hoping that those inside were at least trying to escape. In one small section, she detected about one hundred people, panicked and fearful but not moving. Some of them were non-metas; some of them were children. They all had to move. If not, they were going to die.

"Get out," Camilla whispered to herself, dropping her head as if she was bowing, pleading with them to somehow hear her words. "This place is going to collapse, and I can't hold it for much longer. Please, get out of there."

Suddenly, Camilla heard her words like an echo, but not with her ears. She felt it with her hands, as if she had unintentionally transferred the sound waves of her voice to the inside of the base. And when the people inside all started scrambling for the exits, she knew they heard her.

Surprised, her head snapped up, and she quickly looked around to see if any of the other guardians had heard her. Since no one was looking at her like she was crazy, she figured she was safe.

"Wyatt, what is it?" the Team Zero captain said, probably having seen her looking around the forest.

"They're on their way," Camilla said, for lack of a better answer. Sure, maybe she was just leading the Exodos members to their death by another means, but at least on the outside they could fight back. "At least one hundred of them."

She heard Mack mutter angrily from somewhere behind her as the other captain relayed what Camilla said over the comms. And a few seconds later, there was movement at one of the entrances. Exodos was revealing themselves.

"Team One, Team Two, you have permission to engage," Base said. "Wyatt, stabilize the base and assist Team Zero with Entrance Bravo."

After the other teams confirmed their receipt of the order, Camilla spared a hand to activate her comms. "Base, Wyatt. Understood."

When she didn't have to fight against her own attack, it was easy for her to stabilize the base, and she moved on to helping the other guardians create the alternate entrance for their own mission. Once the opening was made, she was ordered to provide a rough rundown of the base's layout, and only after she was done with that could she rest.

Camilla didn't feel as if she had accomplished anything, but she felt too exhausted to even push herself upright. So instead, she collapsed onto her elbows, trying to regain her composure as quickly as she could. But with the temperature in the teens and the sunlight shrouded by clouds, there was no heat she could use to replenish her energy.

"Camilla, let me," Mack offered, rushing up to her and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Let me help you this time."

"The others—" Camilla began, but she couldn't even manage to finish her sentence before clamping her mouth shut to stave off a wave of nausea.

"The kids?" Mack clarified. "They're bored. Guess we didn't need them on defense after all. But seriously, can you let me do my job?"

The fact that Camilla found it difficult to argue was telling on its own, and she begrudgingly nodded, not trusting herself to open her mouth to speak. Soon after, she felt a warmth soaking through her from Mack's palm, and relief quickly followed.

"Wyatt, One," the voice of the Team One captain suddenly buzzed in her ear. "Request assistance at the southwest section of the battlefield.

Thankfully, Camilla was already feeling moderately better, and she batted Mack's hand away impatiently before activating her comms. "One, Wyatt. Understood."

"Just a little more, Camilla," Mack insisted as Camilla stumbled to her feet.

After living in Southern California for so long, she hadn't realized how much energy she must've been unconsciously absorbing from the heat around her, not until she had to fight in such dreary and cold weather. The difference she felt was astounding, and if she wanted to be of any help at all, she needed to act with her brain, not her emotions.

"Are you sure you'll have enough energy?" Camilla asked.

Mack looked surprised that Camilla was even considering his offer, but he quickly nodded anyway. "I'll take more from the forest if I have to. There's no way I'm taking from Exodos, even if they are the enemy."

Camilla nodded in agreement. "I don't blame you," she said, then held her arm out towards him. "Alright, do your thing. And then, we have a battle to win."

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