~Bloodstained Snow~

A harsh snowstorm raged through the arctic, causing snow and ice to ram into the side of a lonely outpost in the middle of the snowy desert. The building wasn't too large, though it wasn't small either. A few snow vehicles were parked in a garage off to the side, but someone forgot to close the doors, so it was filled with snow and ice. All of the lights in the building appeared to be on, and if anyone was nearby, they could hear the conversations coming from the small squad of soldiers that were stationed at the lonely little building. "So I walked into the med bay, right? The doc said.. 'I haven't seen you around here in a long time', so I told him.. "Yeah I know, I've been ill."

The small group erupted with laughter, all seeming to be great friends. If they weren't wearing their armor, one might assume they weren't even in the military. One of the soldiers, Coyote, reached for a large cup on a table in the middle of the crowd, taking a long drawn out sip of the alcoholic drink inside. This earned a playful slap on the shoulder from the soldier beside him, Maxwell. "Come on, man, you shouldn't drink so much. We're soldiers! We cant get drunk while we're on the job!"

Coyote laughed and playfully shoved the man back, holding the cup away from him as he tried to take it away. "I need to be drunk if I want to physically withstand all these terrible jokes, Maxwell."

The one telling the jokes, a younger and newer soldier known as Katy, let out an offended gasp. She put her hand to her chest. "Hey!!"

And once again the room erupted with laughter from the squad, Maxwell slinging an arm over Coyote's shoulder. "That ain't very nice, Coyote, she's new here!"

The little group continued to playfully jab at each other as the loud storm roared outside of the base, getting worse as the hours went by. If any of the soldiers were paying attention, one of them might've noticed the shadows that were moving around out there, hidden by the falling snow and ice, preparing to ruin the innocent fun..

After a few hours, most of the group had went into their quarters and gone to sleep. It was hard to tell in Antarctica, especially with the raging snowstorm, but it was about three in the morning. They were tired. Coyote let out a long yawn as he turned off the sink in the kitchen, drinking an entire small glass of water in an instant. In the lounge, Maxwell yawned shortly after him, playfully calling Coyote out for starting a yawn chain. "I'm probably about to head to dreamland myself, I'm damn tired."

Coyote chuckled and set his empty cup down, then joined Maxwell on the old couch in the lounge. "Me too, today was busy, huh? Before the goofing off, I mean."

"It really was! Which is surprising, given we're out in the middle of fuckin' nowhere."

"Right?? At least we get most days off, that's pretty rare in our line of work."

"You're damn right-"

Maxwell cut off abruptly, standing up from the old seat. Coyote raised an eyebrow, standing with him and wondering what was up. "Are.. You okay?"

"I thought I heard someone... Outside."

"That's impossible, everyone else is asleep in their quarters. There's no way someone could randomly find us this far from.. Anything."

"I'm telling you, someone's out there, I know it-"

Maxwell was right. He usually was. Loud bangs came from the front door, as if someone was trying to kick it down. Hard. The two soldiers eyes widened, how did they find the base?? It was so far out in the snow for this exact reason, to keep them from being located. It was supposed to be completely safe. "Coyote, get everyone up! NOW!"

He did just that, running for the quarters. The first thing he did was grab his helmet on the way, putting it on as he headed into the first room. Katy's. He woke her up, and she was getting ready in seconds, not wasting any time at all. He went into Richard's room, then Amanda's, then Michael's. He went until everyone was up and getting their weapons, they needed to be as fast as they could. As soon as the soldiers busted down the door, it would be guns blazing. They HAD to be ready. A few of the group were slow to get up, but they quickly sped up when they were told what was happening. As soon as everyone was up, Coyote grabbed his shotgun and ran for the main room, where Maxwell had set the couch up as a shield.

As soon as Coyote got behind it, the door came crashing down. A group of enemy soldiers dashed in, and Maxwell opened fire. Coyote followed suite, his first shot hitting the closest soldier in the chest. Maxwell complimented his aim, and Coyote poked fun that he hadn't hit anyone yet, but they both quickly went back to taking the situation seriously as the rest of the squad joined them to help. Katy's main weapon was a sniper rifle, so she stayed in the back and fired from there. She was definitely out of her element, being so close to the enemy, but she was trying her best. Richard was better with melee weapons, such as swords or throwing knives, so he was behind a lounge chair near the couch trying to figure out the best approach he could take.

A few enemies with massive shields came in, and something was suddenly launched through a nearby window. "GRENADE!! Everyone back up!"

The small squad made a dash for the quarters, the explosion going off behind them and knocking a few of them down. Katy was the closest to it, she clutched her arm and caught up with the others. They went to the furthest room from the lounge, which was Andrea's. They moved furniture in front of the door and Maxwell began tending to Katy's injured arm. There was a window in the room that they could break through if they needed to get out, but where would they go? That storm would kill them faster than the soldiers in the building would, going out in it would be suicide. There were a few more explosions outside, and the sound of stomping feet. Then the sound of doors opening.. They were checking the quarters. They'd be found soon. "If we don't make it out of this.. It was an honor serving with you guys-"

"Don't talk like that, Michael!! We're gonna make it. We just need a plan."

"A plan??? We're in a small room, there's a snowstorm outside, and soldiers are stomping our way. What can we possibly do??"

"If we can make it to the vehicles, we should be able to use the radio to ask for help. They were in the garage, they should've been safe from all the snow and ice."

Michael let out a nervous chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. "Uh... What if.. Someone forgot to shut the garage doors..?"

Everyone slowly turned to face him, and they all let out loud groans. Coyote facepalmed, taking a deep breath in. There were spare radios in the storage shack beside the garage, that would have to be their next idea. As he explained this to the group, there was another explosion and the wall beside them crumbled. They were all blown back, but Michael was knocked out by a piece of the rubble. While Katy held him up by her shoulder, the rest of the group began shooting. They were able to take out quite a few of the soldiers, but they were definitely outnumbered. Maxwell smashed the window and ordered everyone to get out before they were shot, however while he was making sure everyone else made it he took a bullet right to the chest. Coyote's eyes widened, dropping his gun so he could use both hands to grab Maxwell and get out of the window. He situated Maxwell over his shoulder and used his now free hand to reach into a pocket on his armor, pulling out a grenade of his own and throwing it into the building. It exploded and knocked him and Maxwell away as the Outpost went up in flames.

Coyote forced himself to get up, despite how much pain he was in. He wasn't sure it if was from being knocked around, or if he himself had been shot as well, but he didn't care. Maxwell was hurt. He slowly trudged through the snow towards the shack where the radios were kept, not seeing any of the others nearby. Where did they go? Were they okay? He'd have to look later, right now he just needed to get help. He had to save Maxwell. He nearly collapsed as he pushed the shack door opened, reaching up to grab the closest radio. "Mayday, mayday, this is Outpost Bravo in the Antarctica region. Agent Coyote speaking. We need backup ASAP, the enemy found us and attacked. Some of us are injured. Please, hurry!"

As the snowstorm continued to rage, Coyote made the shack as comfortable as he could manage. He had taken his helmet off, and helped Maxwell get his own off too. He wasn't looking good, he was barely breathing. He could still speak, Coyote thought that might be a good sign, but there wouldn't be a happy ending to this day. "C....Coy...ote??"

"Maxwell? What did I just tell you? You need to keep yourself from talking, help will be here soon, you're gonna be just fine-"

"Coyote, you know that ain't... True." Maxwell let out a long series of coughs, blood dripping from his mouth.

Coyote was at his side in an instant, leaving the radio at a desk. When Maxwell's coughing fit was done, he let out a dry laugh. "We were just havin' fun and tellin' jokes, Coyote.. Who would'a thought this would be how that ended, yeah?"

Coyote didn't respond, taking Maxwell's hand in his own. He and Maxwell both knew how this was going to end, but Coyote didn't want to admit it. To Maxwell or to himself. He felt a sting at the corners of his eyes, tears threatening to roll down his face as Maxwell reached up. He cupped Coyote's face, smiling. "Come on, Mutt, if you start cryin' you know I'm gonna start too.."

"I cant lose you, Maxxie. This wasn't how it was supposed to go-"

"I know, but you're gonna be okay, buddy. You gotta take care of those other nerds for me, that's an order."

Coyote looked up, feeling Maxwell's grip on his hand tighten, and then loosen completely. He heard him mutter a weak 'I love you' before he went silent, and his chest stopped rising and falling with every breath he took in. When it set in that he was truly gone, Coyote let out a sob, still holding Maxwell's hand in his own. Where the fuck was the help he'd asked for? Why weren't they here yet? He brushed Maxwell's eyelids shut and put his helmet back on, standing up and backing away from the body. He couldn't stand to look at it, to see Maxwell... Gone. He didn't want to believe it, no matter how real it was. He sat himself down in the corner of the shack, tears rolling down his face as he waited for anyone to show up. Hell, he wouldn't even have complained if enemy soldiers found him and shot him right then and there, but fate had other plans.

What felt like an eternity went by, however it was only an hour. A helicopter landed close to the shack and medics ran in as fast as they could, some slipping on the ice. As soon as the first two got in Coyote was up and in their face. "You were too late!! He's fucking gone because you assholes couldn't get here earlier!"

After shouting at the medics he stormed out, putting his helmet back on as he headed for the helicopter. He could see a few of the group members there, Katy was among them, though he didn't see Michael or Andrea and a few others were also missing. He didn't bother questioning it, as he was almost certain he already knew what the answer would be. Coyote considered resigning from the army and going back to his home, where he knew it was safe and no one he loved would be shot, but he decided to stay. He didn't want to run away. He was determined to win more than just the battle- he wanted to win the war for Maxwell, and the other soldiers they lost during the ambush.

And he was going to do just that.