“Yeah, they do that.” Nether pulled his Fireburst Brandish from its sheath and peered around the doorway before quickly pulling back. He took a deep breath and, without a word or request for cover, shot off into the building. We heard the turret inside prepare to fire, followed by the smashing of metal and the cry of the gun puppy as it was destroyed.

Not even ten seconds had passed, and Nether returned with a dubious look on his face. “You couldn’t have taken care of that yourselves?”

“It caught us by surprise!” Lance said in protest, but Nether was already walking around the building as if we weren’t there. The coast was clear of any security and Oilers now, so he paid little heed as he found a box attached to the back of the building. He thrust his sword through the box, causing sparks to fly as the whirr of electric noise died away. He made his way back inside, waving us to follow him.

“I don’t like this guy,” Zimthose muttered.

“I know. He’s acting real casual for someone who was dead earlier this morning.”

“Maybe,” Balldrick said, waving a finger at my brother and Lance. “But like it or not, he’s got the experience and skills to warrant it. My problem is the disregard for us in all this.”

“Enough,” I said with a sigh. “I feel your sentiment guys, but we’ve got to get along if we wanna figure out what happened, or what to do next.” They all reluctantly accepted, and I led the way after Nether.

Inside the storehouse was a large empty space, with rows of sheet-metal shelves and crates and barrels lining the walls. Everything appeared to be empty, though; there wasn’t a hint of any usable supplies to be found. The red gun puppy that had been stationed in the middle of the building was split into two parts: its body where it had been placed originally, and the head several feet away, being used as a seat.

“I’ve really got my work cut out for me if you’re struggling to keep up already.” Nether sat hunched over, resting his head in one palm as he watched us file in. “What moron decided to send you all down here?”

I could hear Zimthose snicker as I replied, “Rhendon.”

Nether shut his mouth for a moment. I couldn’t tell if he was waiting for me to follow up, or contemplating the fact he’d indirectly insulted his superior.

“Wow, he really is dumber than I thought. Who woulda guessed?”

So much for contemplation…

“You got a problem, Nether?” Zimthose asked, stepping forward. He rested a hand on the hilt of his Silent Nightblade, and Bigsby grumbled from his spot on Zimthose’s shoulder.

“Me?” Nether asked, sitting up straight. “I’m not the one with a rodent on my shoulder. You want me to get that for you?”

Instinctively, I moved to pull my brother back, but he was already in motion. He took a few steps towards Nether, moving to draw his sword from its scabbard, but the red knight seemed unperturbed. In the same moment, he was up and on one foot, the other one planting itself on the hilt of Zimthose’s sword, keeping him from pulling it any further.

“Watch yourself, kid.”

“The name is Zimthose,” my brother snarled. “And I’ll make sure you–”

Before he could finish, my brother was sent stumbling as Nether’s foot transferred from holding the sword in place to planting itself in Zimthose’s face. Lance backed up to avoid being taken down while he caught Bigsby, and I moved to stand between the knights.

“Oh? You want some too? Squad Leader against Squad Leader?” he taunted.

“We’ve got more important things to do,” I said, shaking my head.

“Move it, Blast,” Zimthose said, shoving himself off the floor. “I’m gonna make sure he never forgets the mistake he made in getting on my bad side.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Nether said. “I don’t forget those who impress me. And you, Simthose, are impressively stupid.”

“It’s Zimthose, you–”

“Drop it!” I ordered, glaring at Zimthose. I turned to Nether, my sword hand raised. “You wanna fight? Do it after you’ve told us what you have to tell. Until then, please try to tone it down.”

“Really?” Nether asked, disappointment in his voice. “You’re gonna let me walk all over your squadmate like that? Huh, Squad Leader?”

“He’s my brother. And I recognize he needs to be walked over from time to time.”

“Oh shut up!”

“Am I wrong, Zim?”

“You’re not always right, that’s for damn sure.”

“Oh take your sibling squabble anywhere but here!” Nether groaned, making a shooing motion. “I won’t deny that we needed backup, but for Rhendon to send me you? We’d have been better off without the baggage. Seriously, how sleep deprived was he when he made such an important decision?”

“Very, probably. Especially considering he had his own missions to be carrying out,” I replied.

“Oh, whoop-dee-doo. That makes about a third of the Spiral Knights on active duty now, doesn’t it?” Nether glared at me. “You need to learn to stop making excuses for everyone over everything. Justification or not, when things go south, nobody is gonna care what your reasoning is. Especially the Gremlins.”

“Which is why we need to know what’s going on,” I said, slowly and emphatically. “Now, will you help? Or should we stay here and let you do all the work? Because I’ll admit, you give off the vibe that you can.”

“Which begs the question why you couldn’t,” Zimthose snapped.

“Alright, fine,” Nether said exasperated. He sat back down on the head of the gun puppy and shook his head. “I’ll be short and blunt. To the point, so we can get this over with.”