"I'm just about at the Toppat base." Charles informed the general through his headset.

He must have been flying for almost three hours now- the weather had drastically changed from sunshine to rain during the journey, the droplets relentlessly pelting the windscreen and tracing watery patterns on the glass.

"Okay, and they haven't spotted you?"

"No, sir. I am a good distance away." He answered, peeking down at his surroundings. He was hovering above some kind of forest- definitely not an ideal place for landing.

"Alright, you're going to have to land somewhere remote and sneak into the Toppat's base."

Charles frowned. He hadn't been looking forwards to this part- Henry was the sneaky one, not Charles. He was the bold action man!

"I'll do my best, sir." He reluctantly responded.

"From what we've gathered, there doesn't seem to be many Toppat's there so don't worry too much." The general spoke in an attempt to ease the pilot's obvious nervousness. "Then again, our intel isn't certain- there could be loads in there."

Incredible. That didn't help at all.

Charles released a long sigh, his head beginning to ache.

"Well I'll leave you to it, Charlie." Galeforce stated. "Turn the headset on when you have valuable information or need assistance."

"Roger that." Charles replied, switching his headset off.

The pilot peered through the window down below, examining the area for any clearance. There seemed to be some kind of opening in the forest- a large, mostly flat zone. Charles decided it'd have to do, turning the Helicopter and flying over towards the clearing. Once he was directly above it, he steadily and carefully lowered the aircraft, narrowly avoiding stray branches from the towering trees. He let out a breath he didn't realise he was holding once successfully landing in the clearing, leaning back in the pilot seat with a relieved sigh.

"Nice work, Choppy." Charles chuckled, switching the engine off.

He waited inside for a minute or two, giving the rotor blades time to stop rotating. This was going to be difficult- he didn't understand why Galeforce couldn't have sent someone else who was more cut out for spy missions. Oh well, he'd get this done. He's just got to sneak inside, listen in on their plans and sneak back out. No big deal. The pilot lifted himself out of the seat, cracking his knuckles and neck before striding over towards the helicopter's door and hauling it open.

"Alright, I got this." He mumbled to himself, hopping out of the helicopter and beginning the trek to the Toppat base.

'It'll probably take a while to get there.' he thought to himself, surveying the forest around him.

The trees were twisted in bizarre ways, their branches arched downwards like hands reaching out to grab him. He would've found it eerie if it were dark. The leaves lining the trees were a fiery orange with explosions of yellow and red tinting them; Autumn really was a pretty season. The soothing ambiance of rain drumming on the leaves made Charles smile softly. It wasn't as harsh as it had been when he was in the sky. It was more calm and pleasant, like a peaceful melody. It wasn't too cold, either. The breeze was just nice and tickled the pilot's cheeks a faint pink. He found he wasn't as sad as he had been when he woke up.

It took some time and quite a bit of clambering over fallen trees and rocks but he'd eventually managed to make it to the base. He peered out through a bush, studying the area and checking for anyone nearby. Everyone seemed to be inside the building- probably due to the rain. He warily climbed out from the bush and dusted himself down, peering at the building with furrowed eyebrows. It really wasn't big- a two story structure shaped like a cube. It was a dull grey colour and most of the windows were either cracked or boarded up. Around the base was a tall, chain-link fence that Charles was confident he'd be able to scale with no problem.

"Huh, what a boring place for Toppat's to use." Charles mused, approaching the fence and beginning to climb over with ease. "I would've thought they'd have chosen something more flamboyant."

The pilot hopped down from the top of the fence, landing perfectly on the other side. He studied the building carefully, checking for any safe way in. He could see a few lights on in some of the rooms, though his eyes were drawn to a seemingly empty space with no glass pane in the window at all. Bingo.

The pilot scurried over, putting his back against the wall and peering through the first window. No one in sight. He hastily slid by and peeked in through the next, immediately turning away. Two Toppats conversing. He ducked down and crawled under the window, deciding to continue crawling until he was beneath the right one. Problem is, it's another story up.

He hummed thoughtfully, considering his options. There was a wide pipe that went all the way up to the roof beside the window- he could probably climb that though he'd have to be careful. He supposed he could try find another way in but that could be risky. He could always just go back to his helicopter and crash it into the damn building, though that wasn't very subtle.

His first option was probably the best.

The pilot raised his head slightly to look up at the window. This one was boarded up so he was probably safe to stand. Charles heaved himself up, eyeing the pipe warily. He hoped he didn't mess this up. Taking a deep breath, the pilot gingerly got a hold of the pipe and began to slowly climb upwards. The rain had made it slippery and it was hard to get a good grip- he felt himself slide multiple times yet he managed to make it up to the right window. With a relieved sigh, he launched himself off the pipe into the empty room.

It was rather barren inside, the only furniture being a slanted table, a few cabinets and a single chair leaning precariously against the wall. Charles stalked over towards the cabinets, quietly opening them to see what was inside. The first drawer was empty much to his dismay. So was the second one. The third one, however, did contain some interesting items. Charles reached inside, retrieving some kind of documentation.

"Toppat bios." He read under his breath, raising an eyebrow. This could be useful.

He skimmed through the files, briefly reading a few names. Sven Svensson, Burt Curtis, Ellie Rose, Blueberry? What a wacky name. He'd hand this over to the general. Charles rolled the documents up and stuffed them in his jacket's pocket, checking the last cabinet for anything useful. Empty.

"Guess that's it for this room." He murmured, freezing at the sudden sound of voices approaching.

Surely they weren't coming into this room, they'd probably pass right by-

they're coming into this room.

Charles panicked, diving underneath the slanted table and pulling his legs to his chest. This was the worst hiding spot ever. The pilot didn't have time to rethink his plan as the door was swung open and three criminals waltzed into the room.

"What do we need the files for again?" One of the voices asked, heading towards the cabinets and opening the drawer that held the Toppat bios.

"We have a new recruit- uh, Beans I think his name was."

One of the membered chortled loudly, a snobby laugh that made Charles cringe.

"What kind of name is Beans?" The snob asked incredulously.

"We literally have a guy named Peanut in the clan." The man stood beside him stated, folding his arms. "Names like these are nothing unusual."

"Uh- guys?" The man searching through the cabinets spoke up, gaining the duo's attention. "The file isn't in here."

The two men shared a look, approaching the other and peeking into the cabinet.

"Well, where is it?"

"I don't know!"

"Maybe that guy under the table knows."

Charles felt his blood run cold and his body tense as all three members stared directly at him.

"Hey- get him!" The snob yelled as Charles frantically scurried out from under the table and skid through the open door.

He darted down the hallway with no real plan in mind, turning a sharp corner and slamming straight into someone else. The trio that had been tailing him rounded the corner and came to a stop as soon as they noticed who the government spy had bumped into.

"Uh- boss. He was in the old filing room, we think he-" The snob started however was silenced by the leader.

Charles didn't dare open his eyes. He currently had his face buried in the Toppat leader's shirt. This was not ideal at all. In fact, this was terrible. He'd completely failed the mission and the general was going to be so disappointed in him. He perked up slightly at the sound of footsteps walking away. Did the three men just leave?

A sudden hand pat his shoulder and the pilot instinctively jumped away, startled by the gentle gesture. What the hell was that?

When his wintry blue eyes locked with familiar electric blue eyes, he felt his whole world stop. This couldn't be real- surely not. No- Charles was just having some kind of lucid dream, right? There's no way his best friend was the leader of the Toppats. There's no way his best friend would betray him like that.

"Henry?" Charles' voice cracked.

There he was, clad in a smooth, navy-blue tailcoat with pins across the front holding it securely in place. He wore matching dress pants with dark brown boots and tied loosely around his shoulders sat a silky, indigo-blue cloak that flared at the top like a vampire collar. On his head sat the hat that defined him as the Toppat leader and made the pilot feel sick to his stomach.

Henry seemed apprehensive to approach Charles. He took a tentative step forward, reaching out a hand and offering it for his friend to take.

"Join." Henry spoke quietly, offering a nervous yet hopeful smile.

He'd never wanted to leave Charles behind- he was his best friend, but he didn't want to work for the government anymore. He was a criminal and that's something that would never change. He'd felt guilty at first, but now Charles is here- maybe he'll join him, he could be his right hand man!

The pilot paled. Did Henry really expect him to just give up everything he's worked for? This whole scenario was insane, he couldn't believe this was happening- refused to believe it.

Yet, as he gazed into Henry's expectant eyes he realized this was happening; he was dead serious.

"You..." Charles trailed off, completely lost for words.

Henry's smile fell, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

'We can be partners again.' Henry signed, watching the pilot's expression intently. 'You'll get to meet my other friend, Ellie- she'll like you.'

Charles felt bitterness rise within him, like bubbling lava in a volcano. He felt betrayed- after everything he's been through-! Just to find out that Henry left by his own accord to join the enemy. Now he expected him to simply join them? The anger boiled up and his body began to tremble. He clenched his fists and bared his teeth, glaring fiercely in resentment at the one he once called his best friend.

"I trusted you- I cared so much about you, Henry!" Charles barked, stomping forwards and grabbing the other by his shoulders. "Not a day went by where I didn't worry about your well-being or pray that you'd return safe!"

There were tears in his eyes- how could there not be? They were so close and Charles thought it'd stay that way yet Henry severed their bond- deciding power and wealth was more important than their friendship.

Henry shrunk back, his eyes wide and fearful. Charles couldn't understand how the deceitful thief could look so innocent. Soft yet striking, electric blue eyes filled with pain and doubt. It left a sour taste in the back of his throat and made him want to throw up.

'I still care about you.' Henry desperately signed, staring into Charles' cold, bitter eyes. It was pitiful.

The pilot snarled, shoving the thief away from him. Henry stumbled backwards onto the ground, wincing in slight pain. He didn't expect it to go like this- he thought Charles would love to join him and lead the Toppats side by side with him and Ellie.

But Charles was loyal to the government, he realized.

Charles lifted his arm up, wiping away the burning tears with the sleeve of his jacket.

"You are nothing to me anymore." He choked out, turning away from the traitor and beginning to walk back the way he came from.

"Charles-!" Henry meekly called out, staggering up onto his feet. He hurried after the pilot, grabbing him by the arm.

"Don't touch me." Charles seethed, yanking his arm back and darting down the hallway back into the old filing room.

Those words cut deep, deeper than any blade. Henry let him go, watching helplessly as the pilot entered the filing room and presumably escaped the same way he came in. He'll probably tell the general that Henry betrayed them and is now the leader of the Toppat clan. He sighed heavily, deciding he should inform Ellie and the rest of the clan.

--