[Kitsuna POV]
"What?" Brenda said, looking at me, confused.
I looked at her, then at the rest of the squad.
Everyone had gone quiet.
"The special unit was waiting at the western entrance," I said. "You ran past them."
Brenda's face went still.
Not angry. Not embarrassed. She was taking it in.
That was better than making excuses.
Olivia looked back toward the way we came. "They were present?"
"Yes. One of them was sitting in the trees, looking down at us like we were children who forgot the teacher was standing there."
Rin winced. "That bad?"
"Bad enough," I said.
Brenda took one slow breath. "What did they report?"
"Minor monsters only. Nothing major. No Federation units have been seen near this route for months. They do not think the Federation knows the exact mission location yet."
Nekro's eyes narrowed slightly. "Then we still have time."
"Yeah, you guys can even rest more if you want and just keep your ears open for monsters."
"Captain, I think we should go down then and take our time outside before we go inside," Brenda said.
"Brenda, it's your call. I am just notifying you about this now because it seems like you are too on edge," I said, tapping her shoulder relaxingly.
We were on top of the last mountain before the valley. From here, the ruins were easy to see.
The forest pulled back from a wide clearing below us. It made a rough open circle with the ruins sitting in the middle like someone had put them there and told the trees to keep their distance. Broken walls stuck out of the grass. Old stone pillars stood in uneven lines. Some had fallen. Some were still standing because apparently old stone was more stubborn than common sense.
In the center of the clearing was a darker ring of stone around a sunken area. I could not see the full entrance from here, but I could see enough.
Brenda looked down at the ruins for a long second.
Then she turned back to the squad.
"Let's go down," she said.
Rin raised a hand slightly. "Are we pretending the missed briefing did not happen, or are we taking that beating now?"
Brenda looked at her.
"Right, let's go, guys," Rin said, picking up her gear.
That got everyone's attention.
Brenda looked at me for half a second, then back at the squad.
"That was my mistake. It will not happen again." Brenda said, looking at me.
'No excuse. That's a good sign,' I thought, knowing she wasn't really saying sorry to me but to the squad.
Toma shifted her weight. "We followed the order."
"I gave the order," Brenda said. "So it is mine."
"We still have the advantage over the federation, so don't think too much about it and move on," I said, wanting them to move on with their mission.
She looked at Chinada.
"Chinada, you remain on rear watch."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Olivia is behind me," she continued. "Rin and Brit on forward flanks. Toma's and Sarian's side coverage. Sirone, Nekro, and Apricot in the middle. China's rear."
Apricot looked at me.
I looked back at her.
She gave me that innocent face.
The little shit.
Brenda checked everyone once. "We descend in five. Drink water. No long break. We are not camping on this mountain."
"Yes, ma'am."
The squad moved.
No panic. No wasted noise. They drank, checked straps, tightened gear, and got ready to move again.
I walked over to Apricot and Nekro while Brenda spoke quietly with Olivia and Sirone.
Apricot looked up at me with a small smile. "Hello, Mom."
"Don't look at me like you weren't tracking me the entire time," I said, narrowing my eyes at her.
Nekro's mouth twitched. "You were not hiding that hard."
"I wasn't trying to hide anyway."
Apricot rocked on her heels. "You smell different after the Dead Forest."
"That is not creepy at all," Nekro commented.
"It is true."
"Still creepy."
"Hmm," humming, I tapped Apricot's head.
Nekro glanced at Apricot, then at me. "We knew where you were most of the time."
"I noticed." I looked between them. "Good work."
Apricot blinked.
Nekro stilled a little.
Apricot smiled properly this time. "Thank you, Mom."
Nekro nodded once. "Thank you."
Brenda turned back to the squad. "Move."
We started moving down the mountain.
The descent was not a straight path. The slope broke into shelves of rock, wet dirt, and patches of roots that liked ankles a little too much. The clearing stayed in view most of the way down, which helped and annoyed me at the same time.
Helped because Brenda could keep checking the ruins.
Annoyed me because anyone in the clearing could do the same to us if they had good enough eyes.
Rin and Brit moved ahead on the flanks, checking the safer drops before the rest of the squad committed to them. Rin moved lightly. Brit moved heavily but steadily. They balanced each other well enough.
Olivia stayed behind Brenda, watching the ground and the air at the same time. Her fingers hovered near one of her guns, but she did not pull it out yet.
Toma and Sarian held the side lines. Toma checked loose rock with her boot before anyone stepped there. Sarian watched the brush and kept one hand close to her weapon.
Sirone kept her eyes moving. Ground, tree line, squad, and ruins. Repeat.
Chinada stayed at the back with her rifle tucked in tight. She checked behind us.
I walked near them with my hands relaxed.
"Monster," Toma said. "Old. Two days, maybe three."
Sirone looked toward the tree line. "No smell of rot. No fresh drag marks."
"Not current," Brenda said. "Keep moving."
Brenda stopped us before we stepped into the clearing.
"Stop."
Everyone held.
She looked over the ruins from where we stood.
"No one crosses open ground yet," she said. "We inspect the perimeter first."
Brenda turned to Chinada. "Scope."
Chinada lifted her scope and scanned slowly.
"Outer stones. Broken pillars. No visible movement. No heat signatures are visible on the open ground from this angle. Some interference near the central ring."
Olivia frowned. "People?"
"Maybe. Could be monsters."
"Helpful," Rin muttered, annoyed.
Chinada did not lower the scope. "Reality is allowed to be annoying."
"Fair."
I looked at the clearing again.
The ruins did not feel alive. Not like a monster den. It felt old and waiting, which was its own kind of pain in the ass.
Brenda pointed left. "We circle clockwise. Stay inside the tree line first. No one steps onto the ruin stone until I call it."
"Yes, ma'am," all of them said as they started to move.
'What a waste of time,' I thought, sighing, just waiting on the spot for them to return.
[10 minutes later]
"So did you find anything new?" I asked, looking at Brenda.
"Some broken branches and footprints 2 days old," she explained, looking back at the ruins.
"hmm,"
"Let's go to the ruins. Take care where you step; there might be traps set," Brenda said, looking at everyone.
The formation adjusted without Brenda saying much. Rin and Brit stayed forward but slowed down. Olivia kept close enough to Brenda to check anything odd. Toma and Sarian watched the outer trees. Sirone kept scanning the ruins. Chinada watched our rear. Apricot and Nekro stayed near the middle, and I stayed with them.
We reached the first outer pillar after a few minutes. It leaned at a bad angle and cracked near the base. Ruins ran down one side, worn thin but still readable in places.
Brenda held up a hand. "No touching."
Rin pulled her hand back.
I stared at her.
She looked at me. "I wasn't going to."
"You absolutely were."
"I was curious."
"That is how people die stupid."
"Alright guys, look around in a group of two," Brenda said and walked off with Olivia before anyone said anything.
Well, the grouping will stay the same. I thought looking at how everyone went around it, it was only Chinada that went with Nekro instead of her other two friends.
"Mom, let's go there." Apricot said, "Point in at the entrance of the ruins."
Apricot, please don't call me Mom on this mission, please. Actually stop calling me it altogether. "I said, annoyed, following her always.
"No."
The ruins looked worse up close. Not because they were falling apart. Because they had fallen apart in a way that still felt organized. The outer pillars were not random. Even the broken ones sat in a pattern. Some had shifted with time, but the original layout was still there if you looked properly.
"Oh, here are patterns?"
"That's probably how you open the door, Apricot," I said, looking at her like she was a blonde.
"No shit, but how, though?" "Apricot," said the person, looking at me, waiting for an answer.
"..." Staring her down, I shook my head.
"It's only the two of us; they won't know." Apricot whispered.
"Your wires. There are gaps between the buttons; I presume that's what they are."
"Ah, I understand what you mean," Apricot said, getting started.
After a while, Brenda came up to us.
"I got broken grass and moved leaves around that side. I think the federation might have been here already instead of still being on their way."
"... I doubt that." This entrance hasn't been opened in years," I said, looking at the door in front of me.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, apricot, open it."
"Ah, I still haven't gotten the final button."
The final button will be the first one again.
"Ah, they are in a certain sequence?"
"Probably."
"Are we going to try it?"
"Yeah, use your puppets."
"Right." Apricot said, "Stepping back with all of us just in case there are any traps."
[5 minutes later with 15 retrys]
Click.
"Ah, finally it opened up."
"What did they say was in the ruins?"
"A weapon of some sort."