Baxter walked over to Diego, gently sitting on his bed and stretching his legs out before speaking.

“It’s fine if you don’t want to talk,” he said as he stared at Diego, whose back was towards him. “I don’t agree with Mayhem’s words towards you,” he started, keeping his solemn expression while occasionally looking at Diego, unsure if he was listening. “I don’t know what’s happened in his life since he never talks about it, but I understand how you’re feeling,” Baxter stated, going silent and trying to give Diego space to open up. 

Sighing tiredly, Baxter looked elsewhere as he spoke. “I remember when Mayhem first joined our team,” he started, “Mayhem was somewhat weak and unsure how to navigate and adjust to working for Sunrise.” “I’m assuming he sees his previous actions within you, which is why he lashed out at you earlier,” Baxter said as he fidgeted with his thumbs, trying to think. “It still doesn’t make his actions right, and I’m not apologizing for him,” Baxter said as he caressed his knees and awkwardly sighed.

His tired eyes looked at Diego again, “I don’t get paid enough for this,” he sighed under his breath as he stood up. “If you need to talk to someone, I’ll be in Mayhem’s room with Xochitil,” he said as he walked over to the door, leaving the room. 

As Baxter walked to Mayhem’s room, he thought, “I do wonder why I haven’t heard a word from him since earlier; perhaps he’s timid, or I’m overthinking it.” 

Arriving at Mayhem’s door, Baxter paused as he heard shouting through the door, his hand hovering over the handle.

“STOP ACTING LIKE YOU’RE BETTER THAN ME,” Mayhem screeched at Xzbat, his voice straining as he balled his hands.

“I’M NOT BETTER THAN YOU; I NEVER ACTED LIKE THAT; QUIT THE BULLSHIT, MAYHEM,” Xzbat screamed back, gritting his teeth as he stormed towards the door, blocking out Mayhem’s incoherent screaming.

Before Baxter could turn the handle, Xzbat stormed out of the room, pushing Baxter away as he stormed off. Baxter raised an eyebrow as he turned towards Xzbat and spoke.

“Xochitl, are you alright?” he asked, fearing he was too quiet for Xzbat to hear. Then, Xzbat suddenly stopped and sighed in aggravation. 

Xzbat paused for a moment. Then, bluntly, he said, “I’m going for a smoke. " He continued to walk off, briefly leaving Baxter behind. 

‘Wait,” Baxter said as he followed Xzbat at a distance, “Can I join you?”

Outside, Baxter leaned against the multicolored brick wall, with Xzbat sitting beside him on the concrete. Xzbat pulled out a pack of cigarettes and took one, then turned to Baxter and offered him one. “Care for a smoke?” he said exhaustedly, but with a slight smirk now that Baxter was around.

Baxter contemplated for a brief moment before ultimately taking one. He carefully crouched on the ground to avoid getting his clothes dirty and waited for Xzbat to light his as he placed the cigarette in his mouth. As soon as Xzbat lit his cigarette, Baxter leaned in and held his against Xzbat’s. As soon as Baxter’s was lit, he pulled away and took a slow drag before he spoke.

“I didn’t realize how much I needed this right now,” he said as he briefly closed his eyes as he thought, his arms resting on his knees.

“The cig or just some peace and quiet,” Xzbat replied, taking a drag out of his after he finished his sentence.

Baxter opened his eyes and looked up at the night sky and then at Xzbat. “Both,” he replied. What happened between Mayhem and you earlier? I know it wasn’t… the best conversation from the shouting I heard.”

Xzbat rolled his eyes and sighed, leaving a trail of smoke as he exhaled. “Remember that shit he said to… what’s his name? Santiago??”

“Diego, yes, I remember,” Baxter said, taking another drag.

“Yeah, Diego, I just told him how that wasn’t the right thing to say or act. I mean, be dead-ass; it’s his first day here. I’m sure everyone who works here has had an insane first day and was damn near scared shitless,” Xzbat said, briefly pausing to let that sit before he continued. “I’ve just never seen him act like that. I’ve seen him pissed off and yelling, but something about it was just… different?”

“I understand what you’re saying,” Baxter said as he looked up, thinking, “In my eyes, he was more aggressive than usual. I guess Diego not saying anything and standing there could have struck a nerve in Mayhem. That could be a possibility.”

“But what nerve could that have even struck??” Xzbat questioned before thinking, “Maybe I shouldn’t ask that; it’s not like I know shit about him. He doesn’t even talk about anything relating to his past.”

Baxter hummed briefly in thought as the silence settled between them. After a few moments of silence, Baxter finished his cigarette and turned to Xzbat again. 

“Do you think it’s because he may not have had the best history? When we were at Valentino’s birthday party, you asked Mayhem something about his childhood, and he quickly changed the subject… But I think you were too wasted to realize that.” 

Right before Xzbat was about to reply, Valentino almost suddenly appeared before them. 

“Speak of the devil,” Xzbat said as he looked up at Valentino with a slight smirk.

“You two are both well informed that I’ve stated many times that smoking isn’t allowed on the premises, yes?” Valentino said as he looked at Xzbat, his cigarette still in hand.

“I know,” Xzbat said as he took another long drag, finally finishing it before he put it out. “Cut us some slack. Tonight’s been stressful as all hell. You called us out here at 12 at night.”

Valentino sighed before he spoke, looking at Baxter and Xzbat. “This is the one time I’ll accept it,” he stated sternly. If you are seen smoking on our grounds again, there will be repercussions.”

“Hot damn, we get it,” Xzbat said as he stood up, dusting his pajama pants off.

“Xochitl,” Baxter said sternly as he stood up and adjusted his T-shirt.

“In better news… I need you two for a meeting. It’s top secret!” Valentino said, all chipper as he slightly grinned, putting his hands together as if he could clap in excitement.

“Isn’t it.. 2 or 3 in the morning,” Xzbat said as he raised an eyebrow, thrown off by Valentino’s poor planning.

“Yes! Meeting in my office as soon as possible!” Valentino said as he started to walk off, leaving zero room for discussion.

Baxter and Xzbat groaned almost in perfect sync as they followed behind Valentino, nearly wanting to put their two weeks in. 

Back in Mayhem’s room, almost everything was tossed about, and all the lights were switched off, with only the street lights casting a subtle glow through the window. Mayhem stood before the mirror in his bathroom, hunched over the sink, trying to calm himself down before losing his mind. 

“Goddamnit,” he muttered softly with a crack in his voice, contrasting with his usual loud demeanor. He covered his eyes with his hands, leaned back slightly, sniffled, exhaled, and shakily grabbed his phone.

He shakily dialed his friend’s number, his tears rapidly clouding his vision. As the phone began to ring, Mayhem stood there, hunched over the bathroom counter, and ran his fingers through his hair. 

“Please fucking answer... Please,” he exhaled as he slightly trembled, feeling as if a thousand trains were running at different speeds and times in his mind. Then, the other side picked up.

“Yo?? Mayhem, why the hell are you calling me at 2:40 in the fucking morning for?” The man asked groggily, aggravated with Mayhem for the late call.

“Darren,” Mayhem choked out before sniffling. Can I just come over? I don’t have the time to be getting cussed out right now,” he said, his voice unsteady.

Hearing the hurt in Mayhem’s voice, Darren suddenly became more alert. He sat up in his bed. “Come over. You know where the key is. Go through the back door,” he said patiently. I’ll be up when you get here.”

Mayhem sighed a shaky “Thank you” before he hung up. He dug in his room for his duffle bag and hastily packed it with outfits that didn’t match. He then grabbed one of his many keys from his nightstand and rushed out of his apartment’s door. Noticing that nobody was outside, he sped and walked to the garage to his car, just to realize he didn’t bring Geese back, his 1965 Mustang. Letting out an aggravated and exhausted groan, he walked over to his 2014 Dodge Challenger and hopped in, dashing out of the garage.  

Back in Ilithyiah’s lab, her phone started to ring as she was tending to Redknee’s wounds. She quickly answered, seeing it was Valentino. 

“Ilithyiah,” Valentino started, “Are you currently occupied?”  

“Yes,” she said as she almost immediately hung up and tossed her phone on the counter, slightly aggravated. “It’s 3 in the damn morning, and he’s still asking me to do shit.”

As she cleaned Redknee’s wound, he let out a sharp screech, which caused Masider to jump out of his state of unconsciousness, catching Ilithyiah off guard. She immediately turned to Masider, and right as she was about to say something, her voice caught in her throat.

“Oh... oh no,” Ilithyiah whispered softly, almost sympathetically, her aggravation quickly shifting to worry.

“What is it? Where the hell am I?? Redkne-“ Masider paused as he saw Redknees’s mortified look. “Why are you looking at me like that?” Masider said as he looked at Ilithiyah. 

“Please don’t freak out, but try to close both of your eyes,” Ilithiyah said as her face curled in immense worry. 

As Masider tried to close his eyes, he quickly realized he couldn’t blink on his left side or move the left side of his face. He started to freak out. “WHY CAN’T I BLINK? WHAT’S GOING ON? YOU DID THIS TO ME, DIDN’T YOU?! " he yelled, pointing accusingly at Ilithiyah with his free hand. 

“She’s just trying to help; she didn’t do anything,” Redknees started, immediately backing up Ilithiyah. “It’s my fault, I’m sorry.” 

“Sorry?? Sorry for what? You didn’t do anything,” Masider said, oblivious to previous events, evident that he’d forgotten what happened. 

“Oh shit..” Ilithiyah muttered, realizing there was a possibility he might have amnesia. She quickly went through her cabinets and grabbed eye drops and an eyepatch. “Okay, well.. let’s start with this... it’s the least I can do,” she said as she approached Masider.

“Hell no.” Masider said as he saw the drops, “I don’t do eye drops, and I’m not taking shit from some random,” he said as he looked directly at Ilithiyah, not breaking eye contact. 

Redknees looked over at Ilithiyah with a slight frown and sighed, realizing what he had to do.

After 15 minutes of thrashing around, hitting, and a few bites, Masider was finally put in a headlock, and Ilithiyah put the drops in his eye and covered it with an eyepatch. 

“Your ego isn’t bruised, is it Masider?” Redknees asked, looking at him. Masider didn’t reply; he just looked at him with disapproval. Redknees sighed and sat in uncomfortable silence until Ilithiyah was done. 

“It’s late, so I’m keeping you two overnight. I don’t feel comfortable letting you two go out like this at 3 in the morning,” Ilithiyah said as she stood up from the chair, walking over to a tall cabinet in the lab. She took two blankets and placed them on one of the counters. 

“Before I uncuff you two, I’ll need to search you two, destroy any devices, and confiscate any weapons you two might have.“

She then put on another pair of gloves and scoured them. The search almost came clean until Ilithyiah found two circular discs sewn into their uniforms. 

“What the hell are those,” Ilithiyah said as she crossed her arms, looking at the both of them with an aggravated look. “Spit it out,” she said as she stood there, creating an agitated atmosphere.

Masider said nothing, causing awkward silence between the three of them. Redknees sighed and said, “They’re GPSs.” 

MAYHEM’S HUSH-BUSH

Mayhem was relaxing on a sun chair near the ocean, casually eating pineapples up until he realized the camera was on him. “AW C’MON, YOU DON’T RECORD A MAN EATING PINEAPPLES DO YOU?!” He said as he put the bowl down and wiped his mouth, with Diego beside him slightly chuckling. The camera zoomed in on him as he got ready to speak. “ANY WAY, AS YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED I’M NOT IN A DINGY RANDOM ROOM ON HQ, I’M BY THE SEASIDE DESTROYING PINEAPPLES WITH MY BROS, BUT I STILL HAVE SHIT TO DO.” As he cleared his throat, he said, “ANYWAY, TODAY’S HUSH-BUSH, DID YOU KNOW IT TOOK SADATOR 4 DRAFTS OF PARA/TOMIK BEFORE DECIDING ON THIS ONE? AND THAT’S OVER THREE YEARS!” He said with a big smile. He then adjusted his hat, grabbed his bowl of pineapples, and returned to staring at the ocean. The camera then turned around, revealing the cameraman as Stephanie. “Get a load of this guy, huh??” She said right before ending the recording.