Electricity crackled over the darkness of Outskirts. A ball of lightning materialized out of nowhere, striking the ground below with concentrated electric blast. The flash disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, and the darkness returned. Glancing towards the sky, Vityukha returned to his work. Others in the Redemption squad had already gone to rest, bar for Dimuha keeping watch, but the duties of a medic never ended. Felka's legs had been brutalized to such degree that even the experienced medic that Vityukha was, he wasn't sure if it was possible to save them. Still, looking down on the greenish, vine-like artifact that had latched itself around Felka's other knee, perhaps his skills didn't mean as much as the otherwordly powers of Zone's bounty.

He swapped Felka's bandages, checked the stitches for signs of infection or swelling, and finally, took the wounded stalker's temperature. With the situation seemingly in control, for the moment, Vityukha sat down, listening to the weak breathing of Felka beside him, and opened his water bottle. At least their guards in Chornobyl had allowed him to keep most of his stuff, unlike Dimuha, who had lost his exoskeleton and other gear. The stale water felt more refreshing than ever. The situation felt quite surreal, as he was sitting in the ghost city of Pripyat, trying to keep a man alive with the help of magic rock-plant hybrids. His father would have been equal parts intrigued and baffled. Vityukha shuddered at the thought of his family, remembering the events that led to him ending up in the Zone. He had never told it to his friends, but the reasons he was here in the first place were far from glamourous.

Vityukha thought back to those times, when a whimper from Felka made him shot a look at the sleeping Redeemed. The man seemed otherwise stable, however, and Vityukha took another sip of water. The rustling of grass nearby startled him once more, and Vityukha drew his MP-440 pistol. Dimuha raised his hands placatively, and Vityukha lowered the gun.

"I thought you were supposed to keep watch, not loiter around the campfire.", Vityukha said in a mock disapproving tone.

"Boris relieved me from the guard duty, he can't sleep. Nor can I, ever since we survived that Nightshade attack.", Dimuha sighed.

"He's not the same guy we met in Dark Valley, is he?", Vityukha muttered, and his friend nodded.

"No, not really. But this time, it's different. I saw him looking at some maps with drawn circles, and I didn't quite recognize the place on them. He isn't telling us something, and that is quite worrying. There's a similar fire in his eyes like back in Limansk, you know.", Dimuha mused.

"Damn, he isn't in the best of shape after that interrogation, I hope he doesn't go all kamikaze on us again...", Vityukha groaned.

"Indeed. Eh, we can only hope he opens up in time. How's the renegade?"

"Bad. Nietzsche's gift has given me a ton to work with, but this is among the worst cases I have seen. I'll keep working, but I don't have high hopes."

"Alright. Take a bit of rest though, I can keep watch on Felka and wake you up if something changes.", Dimuha offered, and Vityukha nodded in agreement, walking closer to the crackling fire to sleep.

He woke up hours later to the morning light. Everyone else was already up, bar Felka, who was still in drug-induced unconciousness. Boris was sitting across from Vityukha, and the others had gathered around the fire as well. Dimka was standing furthest away, keeping watch, while Sevka was roasting flesh meat on the embers. Dima looked sad, empty pack of cigarettes in his hands, while Sanyok was looking at a military map of the Outskirts. Dimuha was still sitting with Felka, keeping watch. Sokolov was missing, but the cussing and loud noises coming from inside the helicopter revealed his location.

"Morning, Vityukha. We were just planning our next move. Dimka and Sevka already did a scouting run on the place me and Felka escaped from, it's wiped clean. Only corpses left there.", Boris said in a weary tone.

"What do we do now, then?", Vityukha asked.

"Sokolov got some tools off Yubileiny, from the long-dead Monolith technician there. He plans to fix the Valkyrie, but it'll take some time. We'll search the area in the meanwhile, see if we can find UNISG hiding place. They mentioned a place called the Eagle's Nest, which could be in the city.", Boris explained.

"Plus we still need to find Stitch and Rogue. I contacted Strelok, and he said they are still MIA. I fear UNISG may have captured them too.", Dima chimed in.

"And one more thing, we need to track Serbin's men. We may have to spread out.", Sanyok pondered out loud.

"Yup. Me and Sevka are planning to go scout for Khan's hidey-hole, if that is alright.", Dimka offered.

"Absolutely. But Dimka, I know you have a personal vendetta with him, and no issues with that, but do not do anything reckless. You find them, notify us of it, and we deal with them together. Got it?", Boris asked, and Dimka nodded with a stern look.

"I'll stay with Felka and Sokolov, both may need help. That alright?", Vityukha asked, and Boris nodded in turn.

"Me and Dima will find Stitch and Rogue. Sanyok and Dimuha will go track down Serbin's men. This alright for everyone?", Boris asked, and got agreeing grunts in return.

Half an hour passed, and everyone prepared themselves for the missions ahead. Boris was in a bad mood, having barely slept the night before. He was worried of Felka, and he mourned the loss of his weapons. With just a SIG SG-552, he felt far less armed than usual, but at least he had the Absolver suit. Dima was in far better mood, ready for the mission and cracking jokes as per usual, which did little to improve Boris' situation. With final planning session on when everyone would return, the three pairs left off into the wilds of Pripyat Outskirts. Clear blue sky hanged over the city as they moved in the foliage, and their pace was quick yet careful.

Moving among the building blocks, Boris and Dima listened in on any sounds echoing in the mostly silent city. They had made it past Yubileiny and the school when quiet, barely audible whispers echoed inside their helmets, and Boris looked at Dima with a questioning look. Dima nodded, and they sought to investigate the source of the noise. As they got closer to the kindergarden, it got louder and louder. Dima turned on the thermal vision on his helmet, a feature Boris did not have, and pointed towards the bushes nearby. The pair prepared their guns, waiting for something to attack, when ghostly, transparent apparitions emerged from all around them. Spectres of boars, zombies, snorks and bloodsuckers barreled towards them, and the two Redeemed turned their backs towards each other to best cover their rears. From amidst the phantoms, a short and small creature pounced towards them, screaming incoherent gibberish.

Boris' SIG rifle shot a burst at the mutant, who struck his battleplate, clawing at it ferociously. Boris recognized the grey face of a karlik twisted by anger, the tiny psychic mutant digging its nails into his armour with little visible damage. Boris grabbed the mutant, which was now screaming in anger and pain, and dropped it to the ground. Loading his full strength into his leg, Boris kicked the mutant five metres across the yard, and it no longer got up. Dima looked at the scene with a bit of awe before speaking.

"Damn, that was brutal. You alright Boris? You're not usually this intense.", Dima asked.

"Sorry, I'm not really feeling too great. This whole shitshow of an operation is getting on my nerves. Let's just get this over with.", Boris sighed, and Dima looked at him, concerned.

"That doesn't sound like you, Boris. Are you sure you can keep going?", Dima questioned further.

"I can. Focus on your own affairs, Dima, I can manage. Let's check this place, I have a good feeling about this now that the karlik is dead.", Boris brushed the topic aside and marched inside.

"This shit again... Fine. Can't wait to go inside the haunted kindergarden, truly I am giddy with anticipation.", Dima sighed.

Inside, there was little indication of human interaction with the dusty tables, toys and chairs left to slowly degrade after the city had been evacuated. Still, the sight of empty children's play equipment was somehow eerie, which Boris thought was because of some sense of somberness in his mind. After all, toys are meant to be used by happy kids, yet here they lay, abandoned, as if there would never be ones to use them ever again. The pair marched through empty hallways and rooms, kicking objects out of the way as they went. Yet the eerie feeling grew, more and more, and the hairs on their hands, necks and arms rose with the odd energy pulsating subtly in the air. Only when they entered the final room was this energy's cause made clear. An emitter roughly as tall as a full-length spruce, made up of trash, spare parts and odd machinery, hummed inside. The room's floor had been broken partially to allow the emitter to enter the room, and now it stood there, emitting something.

"Looks like the thing they also have in the book store. And I think also inside the Palace of Culture. Are these some sort of radio towers?", Boris asked.

"Hard to say, too bad our ad hoc egghead is out with Dimuha. But whatever it is, I say we blow it up. You got any grenades?", Dima asked, and Boris shook his head.

"That cunt Serbin stole them all. You got any?", Boris queried in turn, and Dima took out a pineapple-shaped explosive with a grin.

They took cover in the other room, and Dima tossed it towards one of the weird-looking devices hanging from the emitter. The explosion was massive, making the entire building shake, and the pair waited for the dust to settle. When it did, they entered the room once more to marvel the destruction Dima had caused. The emitter had collapsed, the haphazard nature of its construction easily disassembled by the grenade. Peering through the now free hole, Boris saw faint flames rise from the husk.

"That's that, I guess. No Stitch or Lil-, I mean Rogue in sight. Shall we head on?", Dima asked, but Boris raised his hand to quieten him.

A groan rose from the floor below. Boris thought it best to investigate it, taking out his Automag, and jumped down. Another yelp came from the large cabinet downstairs when Boris' heavy exoskeleton landed on the trashpile. The Redemption leader closed in once Dima had moved into overwatch position, and using the enhanced strength of his suit, Boris ripped the cabinet open. A man in Sunrise suit stumbled out of it, dressed in loner colours. Shaking his head in confusion, he looked at Boris until the confusion turned into recognition.

"Damn, tough guy himself! How's it going Boris?", Rogue asked.

"Could ask that of you too. What the hell happened?", Boris questioned in turn.

"What do you mea-... Oh. Good question. Where am I?"

"Kindergarden. Looks like they had some sort of children brainwashing scheme going on with this here emitter, typical Soviet experimentation. Pretty telling that a kindergarden emitter worked on you, though, Rogue.", Dima quipped from upstairs.

"Oh... You. Blyat, he is still alive.", Rogue sighed, looking at Dima before continuing.

"That makes sense though. Tossed my psi-helmet away when the Scorcher went down, damn thing made me jumpy like a Duty recruit on a dog hunt. Perhaps I was a bit too hasty, thanks for saving my ass.", Rogue said with a hint of embarassment in his voice.

"Shit happens. Speaking of shit happening, there's a pseudogiant's dungpile worth of it hanging over us right now.", Dima commented.

"Monolith or Sin again? Or another flavour of the month fanatic cult? You guys show up, it's kind of guaranteed...", Rogue remarked with a tired grin.

"Something new, actually. We'll explain, but let's get out of here first. I can almost hear children giggling in my ears, and I want none of that crap today.", Boris sighed.