"Carmen? CARMEN?" Ivy called out, as she, Zack and Shadowsan followed the directions Player gave them to Carmen's previous location before disappearing.
Ivy then went into panic mode. "Oh man! What if VILE kidnapped her?! What if she's dead? If she is, then that means we all failed as a team and we're all al-"
"Ivy?" A familiar voice interrupted.
Ivy, Shadowsan and Zack turned around to see Carmen and Martin standing there. Alive. And not running from VILE operatives.
"CARM!" Ivy exclaimed before anyone else could react, launching herself at the woman and hugging her.
"Are ya alright? Do ya need an ambulance? Where are the VILE operatives? I'll kick their sorry as-"
"Sis, BREATHE. Yer freakin' Carm out!" Zack said, before turning to Carmen.
"Just double checking, but do you actually need anythin'?"
Carmen laughed. "No, I'm fine, Zack. But apparently that's not gonna stop Ivy from being a worrywart." She said, teasingly glaring at the other woman.
Ivy scoffed. "Well, excuse me for being worried for my friend and boss!" She said, crossing her arms over her chest and looking away.
Carmen patted Ivy's shoulder. "Although, I can't blame you. I did have a few close calls, after all." She said, scratching the back of her head.
Ivy smiled at her boss. "Thanks, Carm."
"MHM!"
The two ladies of Team Red looked around to see Martin still standing there. Looking at them in amusement.
Carmen snapped back into "leader mode".
"Oh, right. We're making a change of plan. We'll kill two birds with one stone—show the world how the Sterlings really are..and destroy VILE for good." Carmen said, earning nervous looks in return.
"How are we supposed ta do that?" Zack asked her, frowning.
Carmen and Martin exchanged a look, before Carmen steered her head back to face the Bostonian.
"That..is in progress." She confessed.
Ivy frowned. "We don't have a lotta time, Carm! How are we gonna defeat VILE and crush the Sterlings all at once?!" She demanded.
Martin stroked his chin in thought. "There's only one way we may be able to pull this off."
All of Team Red (that was present) looked at each other. Confused. After a moment of silence, Zack spoke up.
"Then..what is it?" He asked, being the voice of reason for the group.
Martin sighed. "You are probably going to think I'm crazy when I say this, but..we'll need ACME's help to pull this off. Along with law enforcement."
Carmen, Zack and Ivy all looked at him, flabbergasted. Even Shadowsan was a little surprised, but he hid it well.
Carmen shook her head. "No. Absolutely not. Not after what I did last time." She said, recalling the events that took place in Seattle. Where Chief was really at.
Martin raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh? And what happened in Seattle?"
Carmen took a deep breath. "I..overreacted when I found out how my father really died. Chief, she..killed him. Not Shadowsan." She said, looking down at her feet.
Ivy placed a comforting hand on Carmen's shoulder. And Zack wrapped her in a side hug.
"Anyway, I..used a fake VILE hard drive for her to use. So that when she tried to download the "files", Player breached the network and was able to get information about what happened that night in Argentina." Carmen explained, never looking up from the ground.
She was too ashamed of herself to even look at anyone. Which was normal, since what she did was..definitely not good.
Carmen then felt something welling up in her eyes. It was..water. Tears. She tried to wipe them away before anyone could see them, but..it was too late. She was completely crying. And she couldn't stop the tears from falling.
"Oh, Carm.." Ivy whispered softly, before pulling her friend and boss into a tight hug.
Carmen clung onto Ivy like she was her only lifeline, burying her head into the other woman's shoulder.
"I'm sorry..I'm so sorry.." Carmen managed to say through her sobbing.
Zack couldn't stand around any longer, understandably. He joined his sister in hugging Carmen. Gently rubbing her back as she continued to cry.
Martin watched the scene unfold in front of him. With a saddened expression on his face. Seeing Black Sheep, Carmen, like this..was truly heartbreaking.
But..she is allowed to regret things. She is allowed to have emotions. She is allowed to express her feelings.
It was VILE's fault that she thought she couldn't be like how normal humans are.
When Martin was about to step forward, Shadowsan had beat him to it.
Shadowsan sighed. "Carmen, you have nothing to be sorry for."
The woman in red looked up from Ivy's shoulder, tears still pooling in her grey-blue eyes.
"Wh-What do you mean "I have nothing to be sorry for"?! I overreacted! I hacked into Chief's network to just see if what you said was true! There was no good reason why I-"
Shadowsan growled, holding up a hand. "Silence."
Carmen's mouth immediately closed, freaked out. She had never heard Shadowsan be..this serious in her seventeen years at VILE Academy. Ever.
"You were angry, Carmen. Not just desperate for answers. You were frustrated with the woman who had killed your father. Whether it was by accident or not, she still took away one of your parents. And you have a right to be that way." Shadowsan said, sighing.
"I wish VILE had never told you you cannot express how you're feeling. That you didn't have to hide your inner demons."
"B-But it still doesn't change the fact that what I did was wrong!" Carmen pointed out.
"That may be true, but you were also rightfully not trusting Chief. You were grieving over a loss that had been delivered to you a very long time ago by her. And that, Carmen, is something that humans go through."
"Shadowsan's right, Carm. You're only human. It's okay to be sad, angry, terrified, and any other feeling humans..feel." Zack said, continuing to stroke Carmen's back.
After a few more minutes, Carmen's sobbing subsided. Slowly calming herself down as she pulled away from Ivy's arms.
She sadly chuckled. "Thanks, you two. I really needed that." She said, looking at Zack and Ivy. Who returned the chuckle.
"It's alright, Carm. You've been holding that in for a while. I'm glad it finally came out." Ivy said, rubbing Carmen's shoulder in reassurance.
"Yeah, at least the weight is lifted now." Zack added.
Carmen laughed. "Thanks guys."
"You're welcome, Carm!" Zack and Ivy said.
Shadowsan nodded. "It is no problem, Carmen."
Martin cleared his throat, which got everyone's attention. He smiled at the group.
"Sorry to interrupt this tender family moment, but..we still need to come up with our plan."
Carmen gave him a nod. "Right. But there's one more thing we should take care of."
Martin raised an eyebrow at her. "And what is that?"
"Your son? Rodrick? He doesn't know who you really are." Carmen said, referring to Martin's time as The Engineer.
Martin's eyes widened. "Oh no.."