Tex begins beating Epsilon-Church with his previous shell as the Reds stand by and discuss the situation. Caboose asks F.I.L.S.S. for help again; she suggests the armor lockdown safety protocol, which she didn't mention since she assumed Epsilon-Church already knew about it. Caboose has her activate it, which immobilizes Tex but also affects everyone else, except Caboose because his helmet does not have the lockdown protocol.

In the desert, Washington and the Meta have apparently killed all the aliens, which has ruined their plan to interrogate a survivor. Wash orders Doc to check the aliens' pulses while the Meta goes off to check for clues in a nearby cave. While waiting, Doc and Washington have a lighthearted discussion about job benefits , until Washington hears a noise from the cave. He goes to investigate, but after a near-miss with a grenade tossed from within the cave, he tells Doc to go in and check on the Meta. Doc protests, claiming that he has bad luck with caves.

The group finally arrives at Outpost 17-B Vahalla and quickly get to work. Church, Carolina, and Washington decide to go inspect the crashed Pelican where Tex's previous body is. Tucker approaches Church and is angry over how close he and Carolina seem to have gotten and wonders why Church isn't spying on her like planned, though Church points out that Carolina is a much more complicated person than they thought, and that the only way he can figure out her secret is to be close to her at all times. Then, Carolina forbids the rest of the group from following them to the Pelican. The Reds decide to go find and repair so they can get a numerical advantage against the Blues. Caboose rushes off to the Blue Base, leaving Tucker all by himself.

In the past, Carolina is still frustrated over how she can't seem to beat Tex. She is then approached by both Sigma and Gamma, who point out that Tex's superior abilities may stem from her AI, Omega. Realizing that she will never catch up to Tex without an AI, Carolina gets an idea and leaves. Meanwhile, in the training room, the Director and the Counselor are interviewing Tex, who is beginning to exhibit the enhanced aggression from using Omega. Carolina suddenly barges in and demands that the Director give her an AI. The Director points out that Eta and Iota are due to be implanted into Washington and South Dakota, and that she may choose one at the cost of taking one of her teammate's AIs. However, Carolina demands that she have both AIs, taking everybody by surprise. She points out that her armor should be able to handle 2 AI fragments, and that the newer fragments are getting weaker. The Director grudgingly accepts her request and orders the two AIs to be implanted into her immediately. Meanwhile, Sigma watches the entire scene unfold from above.

In the past, Washington finally regains consciousness after the implantation of Epsilon into his armor went awry. North explains that due to the incident with Epsilon, all future AI projects have been cancelled, with the existing AIs due to be confiscated by the Director. However, Carolina angrily protests against the idea of having her AIs taken. North further explains that while Washington was unconscious, Tex had gone rogue, allegedly attacked Wyoming and attempted to steal his AI and equipment, and left the base. However, North is skeptical about Tex being the culprit for the attack on Wyoming, due to his knowledge of her reluctance to use AIs. He then says that Carolina will most likely be tasked with hunting down Tex when an alarm goes off. Elsewhere in the base, Tex breaks into a secure vault with York's help, telling him that there's someone she needs to see. Unbeknownst to them however, Maine is sharpening his Brute Shot and preparing for battle as the Meta.

In the present, Carolina and Church gather the Red and Blue teams in the holographic training room under the Red base. They announced that they have found the Director and tracked him to three old Freelancer bases he could be at, and make plans to attack them. However, the Reds immediately balk, pointing out that they believe the mission was to find the Director, though Carolina says that plans have changed. The Reds then say they have no wish to be used as bait in Carolina and Church's personal vendetta, and claim that it isn't their fight. Tucker follows suit, calling Carolina a psycho and proclaiming that he doesn't need to follow her orders anymore. Carolina attempts to force them to comply at gunpoint, but is stopped by a furious Washington, who sides with the Reds and Blues. He states that he considers the Reds and Blues his friends now, saying he is already responsible for enough problems for them in the past, and would be damned if he lets Church and Carolina cause any more. Angry that nobody is willing to participate in the mission, Church loses his temper, begins to grow in size and goes on a rant where he blames the Reds and Blues as the cause for most of his problems in the past, remembering being shot in the head, having a bomb being put in one of his robotic bodies and being killed by his own tank as examples. Church realizes too late what he's done, as the Reds and Blues, including Caboose, leave the room in disgust as Church tries to apologize. Washington is the last to leave and coldly warns Carolina that she needs to figure out the difference between her enemies and friends. Carolina attempts to shrug off their departure, but is clearly demoralized by the unpleasant feud.

Washington regains consciousness from the land mines and is immediately interrogated by Tex about the Director's location, but is attacked by the Meta. She uses several hidden weapons as well as explosives as her Wash and the Meta attempt to use the capture unit on her. While she at first appears to be winning, Tex slowly loses ground. During the fight, the explosives collapse part of the ground they are fighting on, and Washington narrowly escapes death when Doc saves him. Eventually, the Meta manages to stab the storage unit into Tex's visor, capturing her.

Epsilon demands that they release her, but Washington explains that the unit is failing, and that Epsilon will be leaving with them. Epsilon resolves to fight them. Washington asks the Meta for the memory unit, but the Meta attaches it to his own armor, allowing him to cloak. Washington tells Doc to protect Epsilon, and is forced to fight with the Meta. Before Washington is about to be killed by the Meta, the Reds and Blues suddenly arrive in a Pelican dropship. The ship crashes due to Grif's inept piloting, almost knocking Doc off a cliff.

Epsilon asks if anyone has seen Tex, but Washington repeats that she was captured. Epsilon spots the capture unit lying in the snow, and asks that Tex be released. Washington tells him that the unit was rigged to be one-way, lest Epsilon — the intended target — escapes again. Washington explains that the unit will not survive being transported to a facility without sufficient means to do so. Washington says that if he lets her out, Epsilon will have to come with him. Epsilon agrees to this, and Washington sends the Reds and Blues to scour the base for equipment to aid in restoring the capture unit.

As the others leave, Epsilon says that he can get Tex out, but Washington refuses, stating that he needs Epsilon to get him out of all the trouble he is in; if Epsilon becomes stuck in the unit, the authorities will never believe Washington and he will never be cleared of the charges set against him. Epsilon states that he has to help Tex, as she is there because of himself, the Alpha and the Director. He explains that he learned from the Director's journals that Tex was a by-product of the creation of Alpha, and was a memory of the Director's lost love, Allison. Because all the Director could remember of Allison was her death, Tex is forever doomed to fail just when victory is within her grasp. As Epsilon asks Washington if he can imagine what that must be like for Tex, the storage unit suddenly raises from the snow, and the Meta decloaks, revealing that the unit is still attached to his back.

Washington and the Chairman hold their meeting, and Washington reveals he knows that the Blue Team has Epsilon. The Blue Team were not searched due to their deletion from Command's records. The Chairman agrees to drop all charges against Washington and let him have access to leftover Freelance equipment in exchange of returning Epsilon back to the UNSC. After a brief shot of Simmons fleeing the Meta, the scene returns to the desert, where Tucker shuts the temple door and becomes dismayed at the lack of help in response to his distress call. He then reveals that an ancient weapon is supposedly buried in the temple, similar to the ones used in the Great War, and that he and Junior have been acting as negotiators between humans and aliens. However, CT's team came with the intent of selling the ancient weapon, and killed the previous dig team. Tucker then requests that the others either help him get rid of the invading soldiers or destroy the weapon.

Church eventually limps his way back to Blue Base where, during a discussion with Tucker about his attempts to fix things, Caboose heads in the base and calls Command, who has sent out a special forces member to the Blues. Back at Red Base, Simmons is briefly obstructed by Grif and his recently-cleaned floor before getting Donut to help with the construction of Lopez. During this, Grif and Donut begin to revert to the personalities of their real selves, causing another earthquake.

On the Freelancer ship, the Director reveals the mission has provided new information on a Freelance target and updates the Freelance agent rankings. South is upset at moving down, but the Director scolds her for failing the mission's objective of remaining discreet and making their next mission harder.

Colegio de Postgraduados , Servicio Meteorológico Nacional

As the chapter begins, Washington is now at a Blue base located at Outpost 28 , in order to retrieve Caboose. There he finds that Caboose has been tied up in the brig due to his unsafe and mentally hampered nature that got all of the Blue Team's vehicles heavily damaged. Washington takes Caboose, much to the relief of his team, although not before Caboose accidentally kills a Blue team member named Private Jones, whose name was mispronounced by the whole squad. After they leave, a Blue soldier watching them then transforms into a white armored soldier, revealing itself to be the Meta, who apparently was following Washington for quite a while. In the memo, the Chairman tells the Director that the committee is now interviewing members of his staff about the incident at Valhalla.

As the Reds make a hasty retreat, Caboose asks F.I.L.S.S. for help, who declines, stating that she cannot interrupt a simulation test. Tex ambushes the Reds and starts to attack them while Simmons flees to find a better weapon. After finding a rocket launcher, he runs into Tucker, who he asks to help fight Tex.

The four soldiers then try to take Tex on all at once, but are easily overpowered. After much fighting, Simmons finally gets a clear shot with the rocket launcher, only for Tex to use the teleporters lying around the room to direct the rocket back at the Reds and Tucker, who are incapacitated in the resulting explosion. Victorious, Tex walks away when the now-vacant shell of Epsilon-Church hits her in the head; she turns to see Epsilon-Church, now with a body resembling Church's, holding a sniper rifle.

Caboose is walking around the canyon, still depressed about Church being gone. He then hears a noise and goes to investigate, he sees something and says hello to it. Back at Blue base, Wash now has Tucker run an obstacle course he constructed. Soon after Tucker finishes the obstacle course, Caboose returns in a exciting mood. Wash tries to get Caboose to run the course, which Caboose completes almost immediately, saying afterward he needs to do something. Wash immediately ends training for the day and decides to work on the communications dish.

At Red base, Grif and Simmons already get into an argument about their new living arrangements, such as Grif using Simmons' toothbrush and where to put the dishes. Simmons tries to get Sarge to reconsider the base arrangements, though Sarge says they all need to make sacrifices, except for him because he's team leader. Wash arrives and asks for a toolkit for the communications dish, with Grif leading him to it. Simmons mentions that they recovered a robot building kit from the crashed ship and suggests they can re-purpose it to fix the dish, but Sarge ignores him and instead decides to build a new robot to fix the dish for them.

In the present day, The Reds and Blues stop at the Wind Power facility, demanding to have a break. Church is revealed to have stored himself in Tucker's storage unit, revealing to have deleted inappropriate stuff Tucker has. Watching the teams chat from above, Carolina expresses her annoyance at their idiocy to Washington. Washington agrees that they are idiots, but also says that they're "not that bad once you get to know them", and states that he and the teams almost managed to trap The Meta the last time they were at the facility. Carolina emphasizes the fact that they didn't succeed.

In the past, as the strike team advances to the objective, the Freelancer forces notice that everything has gone quiet, and come to believe that the Insurrectionist forces have retreated. Suddenly, an Insurrectionist ship, the Staff of Charon emerges from hiding in the scrap field, and attacks the Mother of Invention. Before jumping to a new destination, the Insurrectionist ship leaves behind a nuclear device. The strike team flies back to the drop-ship, except for Washington, who is paralyzed with fear, not wanting to end up like Georgia. Carolina uses her grapple gun to drag him into the dropship, and it manages to clear the blast radius. The Director then demands a status report. Carolina reports their failure to capture the leader, and that C.T. is "gone".

Washington, the Meta and Doc gather near the Epsilon unit, which Washington realizes is empty due to the AI being moved to the eye-like body they saw in Valhalla. Doc, having not seen it, thinks Washington is going crazy from heat-stroke and tries to psycho-analyze him while the Meta begins converting the storage unit into a capture unit to retake Epsilon.

At the facility, the Reds and Blues debate reactivating Tex until Church takes AI form and inserts himself into her body. Once there, the two bicker for a bit until Church agrees to let her out and hit Tucker for making an ex-wife joke earlier. Back in his body, Church has F.I.L.S.S disable the recovery mode on Tex, who gets up and smacks Tucker. In the sponsors-only ending, the disabling of recovery mode also revives Donut back in Valhalla.

Washington and Caboose, on the latter's advice, arrive at a small outpost in search of , who they discover has been the base's sole inhabitant for 14 months. At first appearing furiously hostile, trying and failing repeatedly to shoot Caboose with the sniper rifle, he later allows Washington and Caboose to enter the base and have a conversation with him after they point out they were coming in either way due to a hole in the base's wall. Washington outlines the mission they are on, but Church is initially reluctant, until he is told Tex's ship crash-landed at Outpost 17-B. Upon hearing this, he agrees to go with them and the three of them depart. From a nearby ledge, the Meta is watching them, and opens a device which lets it copy Command's voice patterns from a conversation with Washington. The Meta uses the voice of Command to send a message to Sarge in Blood Gulch, tricking him into assembling his team to attack Washington and the Blues. After finishing transmitting the fake message to Sarge, the Meta notices movement nearby, which turns out to be and , who are also pursuing Washington. Unnoticed, the Meta drops to the ground and sneaks up behind them. In the memo, the Director assures the Chairman that the situation is under control and believes it will be dealt with very soon.

At Blood Gulch, Tex tells Church to pick a member of the Red team and kill him. However, due to both his inaccuracy with the sniper rifle and his constant attempts to stall Tex, she takes Church's sniper rifle and shoots Lopez and Caboose claims he has avenged "Andersmith". As Tex prepares to shoot Donut, she instead decides to return to Blue Base upon hearing Donut's cries of anguish over Lopez, saying he will demoralize the reds; still believing him to be Simmons. Sarge and Grif discover Donut and Lopez's body, both of whom also believe he is Simmons. Just as they begin to deliver a eulogy, Simmons then arrives stating that he is alive and that Lopez was shot. Sarge ignores him and says small, unimportant things about Simmons, much to his own disappointment.

Meanwhile, the Freelancers begin their operation. Carolina's group infiltrates the target building; but just as York bypasses a holographic lock, he accidentally sets off an alarm for several seconds. This prompts the Insurrectionalist UNSC forces to detect the alarm and begins sending troops down to the vault to investigate.

Upon entering the facility, Epsilon-Church has F.I.L.S.S. run the tutorial for Caboose's benefit. As they explore the facility, F.I.L.S.S. explains that it is a backup storage site, intended to allow the operations of Project Freelancer to continue if its primary site was lost. She further explains that the bunker stores equipment used in the combat simulations, noting that her record of Blue team is missing. When they arrive at a locked door, F.I.L.S.S. refuses to allow Caboose to enter, claiming that only the Director is allowed in. At Epsilon-Church's insistence, she relents and allows both to enter. Outside, Grif and Sarge catch up with Simmons, who had seen Epsilon-Church and Caboose entering the facility. The three make plans to gain entry by posing as Freelancer agents.

In the desert, Washington tracks a recovery beacon while the Meta drags along the chunk of wall containing Doc. Finding the source of the signal, Washington orders the Meta to dig. The Meta uncovers the body of C.T., whom Washington reveals was a Freelancer agent and was actually female. As he orders the Meta to scavenge her equipment, the Aliens confront them. In the facility, Epsilon-Church and Caboose find a room containing numerous suits of armor, which Caboose believes to be duplicates of Church. Epsilon-Church flies past these, stopping at a large pod at the back of the room, revealing that it is what he is really looking for. As the episode ends, the pod begins to open.

Washington discovers Church in his ghost form hovering over Caboose's body. Church's explanation just leads to bickering between the two teams, which annoys Washington. After he orders them to stop, Sarge protests that his rank prohibits Washington from ordering them around. Washington then explains that the outposts in Blood Gulch were simply testing grounds for advanced equipment, and that Freelancers are the only real soldiers. As Sarge and the rest of the Reds proceed to check the vehicles, Church delivers Delta's message to Washington, who reveals that they need to awaken the Alpha AI, as it contains the information on how the copied AI's were made and their weaknesses, which leads him deciding they must go to Command. In the memo, the Director claims he holds the protocol in the highest regard and believes that doctrines led humanity to winning the Great War, and tells the Chairman to be direct if he and Project Freelancer broke any laws.
Carolina, Maine and Washington soon find the Sarcophagus and devise a plan with York to haul it out using a window-washing unit and Maine serving as the counter-weight to haul it up. After Carolina and Washington deal with a troop of guards, including a particularly persistent one with a flamethrower, the two regroup with York on the roof and find Tex there planting what appears to be a bomb. Carolina quickly suspects she is acting as a covert agent to cover the Freelancer's tracks, but the discussion is interrupted by a bevy of guards. The lead one commands York to deactivate the bomb, only for York to reveal the bomb is a transmitter for the Mother of Invention's main gun. The Freelancers quickly evacuate by leaping off the building and Tex manages to get herself, Washington, and the Sarcophagus into the dropship with a swiped jetpack. She orders the pilot to take the Sarcophagus directly back to Command before leaping out of the dropship. With the dropship gone, York and Carolina end up being saved by Maine in a Warthog as the building collapses behind them.

Rothermere, Vere Harmsworth, 3rd Viscount

The episode begins with Washington and another Freelancer named Connie returning from a failed mission. Washington tries to cheer up Connie by saying that the mission failure was not her fault, but she angrily replies that he is just making excuses. Connie points out that the ranking system the Director has put in place has started a rivalry among all of the Freelancers, drawing lines between them. She continues by telling Washington that he will eventually have to pick a side. Connie then leaves, telling Washington to call her "C.T." from now on.

Back in Blood Gulch, in order to prepare for Tex's arrival, Tucker sets up a training session to teach Church and Caboose on how to interact with girls. Church and Caboose are then forced to roleplay, with Caboose taking the role of the girl.

Donut tells Caboose about what happened to him after he was relocated from Blood Gulch, including his debriefing by the Counsellor of Project Freelancer. Donut had arrived at his new base and found a distress signal from Tucker telling him to find Church. Caboose, after explaining the events of Reconstruction to Donut and deciding they need help, calls Washington, who is revealed to be alive but in a maximum security prison. Washington is surprised to hear that Caboose and the Red Team received new bases while he was arrested and that Caboose still has Epsilon. He tells the guard he needs to talk to the commander because he just figured out the last part of the "puzzle".

At Blue base, Wash has Tucker do push ups as part of physical training, which frustrates Tucker. Tucker asks why Caboose isn't doing the training like he is, with Wash answering that Caboose is having one of his "off days". Wash then has Tucker run laps around the canyon. Later, Wash finds Caboose standing in front of a mirror, depressed because Church is gone. Wash tries to comfort Caboose, but Caboose goes on a walk by himself still depressed, leaving Wash to ponder on what he's going to do with him.

At Red base, Sarge is still continuing to complain about the base layout. This time he complains about the interior of the base, saying he needs a personal room for himself to ponder his accomplishments and his "non-existent" failures, though Grif calls it Sarge's "Denial" room. In the end, Sarge decides to keep one half of the base to himself and leaving the other half to Grif and Simmons, which leads Grif to immediately set ground rules.

As the Reds are busy with an attacking Hornet, Washington goes to Blue base, knocking out another guard before he can shoot Church. Church dispossesses the guard, who then faints, and then he explains that Tex is like him. Washington reminds him that they've all lost people, and then berates him for slowing his mission down. Going back outside, Washington handily takes down the Hornet. The Reds however wish to back out of their mission to infiltrate Project Freelancer, so Washington trades them a favor to get them to join the mission, demoting Grif. Caboose then comes up with a plan to infiltrate the Project Freelancer Operational Command Center. Washington and Church will drive into the facility in a Warthog, and the Reds and Caboose hide inside of a tank and go in behind them. As they do, they are unaware that the Meta is hanging on to the back of the tank. In the memo, the Director states that he values all of his subject's well being, but reveres above all else humanity's ability to continue and survive as a species, believing that no political committee or bureaucrat will convince him otherwise.

In the present day, Carolina looks for leads and clues to the location of the Director with Washington, as Tucker and Epsilon watch. However, the two are found thanks to Tucker's catchphrase "Bow Chicka Bow Bow!!" and are forced to leave without any answers to Carolina's plans. After Carolina's angry outburst towards Epsilon and Tucker, Washington attempts to calm her down, but she assures him that she is fine leading the squad.

In the past, the Director and the Counselor teach the agents about how to care for the A.I.'s briefly touching on the subject of Rampancy. South displays doubt about the necessity of the lessons, but Carolina tells her that it is crucial in their training. York reveals that Carolina's A.I., Sigma , was given to Maine by Carolina to help him communicate. Sigma asks about the fourth stage of A.I. rampancy, Metastability, which should theoretically make an A.I. human. The Counselor tells him that it is merely a theory, as no full A.I. has ever reached the stage before, and it is even more unlikely for a fragment, such as Sigma, to undergo the process. Sigma takes great interest in the concept, and after everyone leaves, creates the symbol of the Meta on a computer screen.

Back in the present, Carolina continues to intimidate the Reds and Blues, except Caboose when he mistakens Carolina's "ugly side" expression as an insult to her physical appearance. The Reds plan on abandoning the mission and returning home, but Washington tells them that due to their past actions, they are likely now criminals wanted by the UNSC. The Reds immediately change their minds and decide to stay.

Shortly after Simmons asks Lopez for explosives, Donut comes back from investigating Blue Base for parts, mentioning off-hand that Caboose took Epsilon with him. Simmons becomes upset, as returning Epsilon to the authorities was part of the deal that got the teams their new bases, and attempts to radio Sarge to let him know. Unfortunately, he is unable to make contact as Sarge's radio isn't working. Back in the desert, the guide explains the treaty between humans and aliens and that another human team might cause an incident. The guide does permit Sarge, Grif and Caboose to scavenge for parts to fix the jeep and supplies as long as they don't wander off. As Sarge notes that something "doesn't feel right", the guide tells Smith to return to getting the temple to open while he takes care of the others, as the camera swings around to reveal the dead bodies of the real investigation team.
At Blue Base, Caboose appears to talk to Epsilon about his adventures in Blood Gulch with Sheila. Sarge is looking for Simmons so he can brief Red Team on his latest plan to wipe out the Blues. Sarge finds Simmons in the holographic projection room beneath their base, and interrupts Simmons' heartfelt talk with a holographic version of Sarge. Above ground, Grif, Sarge, and Simmons discuss their strategy for combating Blue Team, which involves restoring the information of the Blue Team in Command's databases that was previously erased by Sarge, because the team reasons that they can't beat an enemy that doesn't exist anymore. Sarge tells Simmons to wake up Donut, who was shown to be still unconscious earlier in the chapter, but they find him missing. Once again at Blue Base, Caboose appears to be recounting previous adventures to Epsilon. The camera pulls back and Donut is revealed to be standing behind Caboose.

At the Freelancer facility, Carolina charges at the robots and attacks, using her skill and weaponry to her full advantage. However her obsession to defeat Tex as well as reminiscing about her failures in the past causes Carolina to eventually be knocked down. Church's coordination is also jarred from the intensity of the fight and he is unable to assist her. Carolina breaks down and laments that she can't and never will beat Tex. As the robots close in for the kill, Donut suddenly destroys them with several plasma grenades and Wash helps Carolina on her feet who is surprised to see that the Reds and Blues have returned, as Wash reminds her that "they're not so bad once you get to know them." When Church tells them he thought that this isn't the Reds and Blues' fight, Sarge replies that they couldn't resist taking on a mission with overwhelming odds with little to no chance of success. Church and Tucker then exchange some words of thanks and apology. However, the robots begin to regroup, and are ready for another round. Her morale restored, Carolina tells the teams to 'lock and load'. To help even the odds, Church enters Caboose's mind and manually angers him into smashing through the robot army. Carolina, Wash and the rest of the Reds and Blues follow suit and working as a team, they lay waste to the majority of the robots, but are slowly being overwhelmed. Wash tells Church to find the real Tex so he can shut down the army.

Church enters the data storage unit where Tex is being kept. He finds her in a similar predicament to what Alpha was in many years ago; Tex has been so broken down that she doesn't even recognize him or have any remembrance of her own name. Church reminds her of their relationship and comforts her, telling her to rest, which Tex wearily, but happily complies to. Church says goodbye, to which Tex recalls that she has always hated goodbyes, which Church replies that he knows why.

Back in the facility, all the Tex copies shut down as a result of Church's actions. The Reds and Blues take a moment to savor their victory, but Wash grimly reminds them that they still have to deal with the Director. Church however replies that what they have to do next, he and Carolina must do it alone, preparing for a final showdown with the Director.

Attempting to set things straight, Church tries to convince the Reds that their personalities are wrong. While he does not succeed, he does get Simmons and Sarge thinking and Donut to panic over his apparent knowledge of his diary.

Back during the Freelancer mission, the mysterious agent is revealed to be Agent Carolina and the dropship comes under attack from enemy fighters. With some evasive maneuvers and North's shield ability, the dropship manages to reach the rendezvous point, where the ship Mother of Invention destroys the attackers.

After dispatching the guards by herself, Tex and Epsilon-Church arrive at the Freelancer base. Church has another flash of Valhalla, and realizes he mixed the two locations up in his memories. Tex reveals that this was where Alpha was sent after the very first break in, of which she was a part. It was here more and more "tests" were run on him. Other AI were used in the torturing process of Alpha, with Omega and Gamma being used to create tests that were impossible for Alpha to win, driving him mad, and breaking him to the point he could not recognize anybody, not even Tex. When Church asks if she and the other Freelancers succeeded, Tex says no, and that she failed herself and Alpha.

In the desert, Washington asks Doc if he can comment on the Meta's current condition. Doc only reiterates that the Meta has too many pieces of equipment that he cannot operate properly anymore. Upon asking Washington what would happen if somebody attempted to use armor enhancements without an AI, Washington responds that there are negative side effects. At the first Freelancer facility, Simmons finally installs Grif with one of the armor enhancements. This turns out to be a super-speed ability, causing Grif to become highly energetic and run around at extreme speed, ultimately running into a wall. The timer runs out as the episode ends and Grif, exhausted, takes a nap.

In the present, The Reds and Blues arrive at the desert, where Carolina and Wash search for C.T's remains. The Blues recall the events that happened in Recreation as well as what they are up to here.

In the past, Carolina, Washington, York, North and South ride with Four-Seven Niner to assault the Insurrectionist facility full-force. During this period, Four-Seven Niner is introduced to Delta, whose help she uses to launch a surprise attack on the base. The Freelancers begin their attack each achieving multiple victories over the defenses, including killing the Insurrectionist elite sniper and disabling most of the soldiers and vehicles. The remaining elites begin to turn the tables on them through teamwork. To counter this, Washington activates a beacon and Maine arrives in a drop pod. Sigma appears over Maine's shoulder and asks him if one of the nearby elites is the one that shot him in the throat. When Maine growls in confirmation, Sigma orders him to charge.

At Red Base the team awaits the end of the world. Grif decides to take a nap, figuring it would be best to die the way he lived. At Blue Base Epsilon-Church begins to explain to Tex that he figured out what the Director and Alpha could not. Tex was a by-product of the Director's longing to see Allison again, so strong in fact, that she was what drove him: her memory. After all they've been through Church tells Tex, "I forget you," finally allowing her to leave his memories and letting go. At peace, Church tells the world to do its worst. However, as the sky rips open further, Caboose calls into the Epsilon Capture Unit to Church, amazed that he is still alive. The Reds look on in confusion as Caboose, whom they believe to be God, calls out to Church, then Sarge suddenly appears next to Caboose to help, further confusing them. Realizing that the world is not ending but he is being rescued, Church despairs loudly and begs to be left here.

In the past, Carolina is seen looking over the updated rankings, as she is dropped to second behind Tex. The Director approaches her and tells her that things are going to change and he needs her to do "a great many things", some of which might be questionable. Carolina obliges, saying that he gave her everything and would do anything for him.

Epsilon comes out of the capture unit, furious with Caboose and Sarge and questioning why they came to get him and risked so much. Caboose informs Church that they and the others fought through many soldiers to rescue him, and did it for "her", who knew how to get Church out, whom Church assumes to be Tex. Caboose corrects him that it is not Tex but the "new lady." A nearby door opens revealing an alive Agent Carolina - long believed to be dead - who tells Church that now that she has him, he's going to help her what she should have done years ago: kill the Director.

At the Director's behest, an unnamed agent in blue armor arrives to help South and North, sneaking in and providing a distraction for them to fight back against the surrounding enemies. During the battle, North is wounded while protecting South from enemy fire. The unnamed agent helps the twins to extraction, a Pelican dropship.

Back in present day inside the Epsilon unit, the Reds formulate a plan to attack the Blues until Church shows up and attempts to talk to them, only to realize that they don't recognize him. The Reds agree to talk, but not before a bloodthirsty Donut shoots Church in the foot in exchange for five minutes to hear him out.

Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla from Smosh guest star in a cameo as two soldiers arguing over one of the soldiers' rifles during the fight scene.

makes preparations to call Simmons to get his take on Epsilon-Church's visions. In Valhalla, Doc recovers and wakes up at Blue base with Simmons, who explains the situation. Washington orders Doc to give the Meta a medical evaluation. Back in the desert, Sarge uses Epsilon-Church to boost the Warthog's radio and contacts Simmons, who is forced by Washington to answer the call and claim that everything is fine. However, Sarge senses something is wrong, and through his extensive knowledge of the team and what he believes to be hints from Simmons, deduces the situation at Valhalla. As he and Grif set off to rescue them, an intrigued Epsilon-Church follows at the mention of Valhalla.
The Reds at Valhalla locate the Meta's cloaked jeep and prepare to make off with it. Meanwhile the team at the temple are forced to engage a chain gun-wielding alien that suddenly stops firing when it sees Epsilon-Church, to whom it bows. After Tucker reveals that many aliens worship the old artifacts, Epsilon-Church flings a box into the alien. CT's group arrives and one of his soldiers overcharges his plasma pistol and disables Epsilon-Church, prompting the aliens to retaliate. CT flees with Epsilon-Church and Grif, Sarge, and Caboose give chase in the Warthog while avoiding rocket fire. Caboose fires the EMP cannon at - and misses - CT's fleeing jeep, causing the Warthog to shut down momentarily. However a distraction by Tucker gives time for the Warthog to reset, letting Caboose dispatch CT's accomplices whilst the other aliens pursue CT.

The episode continues with the earthquake which everyone believes is the end of the world, during this time the Reds panic. Since they are all about to die, Simmons takes the time to admit that he had always utterly despised his teammates. However, Andy turns out to be a dud and fails to explode, sparing the Reds. Meanwhile the Blues get Sheila running and try to use her to get out of Blood Gulch before the cataclysm. Church however decides to stay and tells them that if they find Agent Washington they tell him that "Memory is the Key". Instead of leaving with Caboose and Tucker, Tex decides to stay behind with Church, saying that he's never let her down yet. Church tells her that it had taken several versions of him to finally realize that in order get what you wanted, you sometimes have to let go of it first. Tex muses that she just proved the theory right and both she and Church stand together to watch the end of the world.

Back at Project Freelancer, York and North discuss the changes they've had recently. York notes how they've recently been fighting cops and UNSC soldiers and asks a question that has been bothering him especially since Tex arrived, "are we the good guys?" While North says that they are, York tells him that he didn't sound so sure, a statement with which North agrees with. Outside, South looks at the Freelancer rankings and turns away in disappointment when Tex becomes the new top ranking Freelancer, knocking South out of the top 6. Later, Washington catches C.T. finishing a transmission to an unknown person, saying that she needs "more time". Seeing Washington, C.T. tells him to mind his own business before storming off.

Simmons and Lopez fortify the Red Base in preparation for the Meta's next attack. However, Donut arrives, and is angry at Simmons for not introducing him to the Meta. Meanwhile, in Sandtrap, Caboose explains that he built a new body for Epsilon. Because it still had residual memories of the original Church, Epsilon inherited his voice and personality. However, Epsilon Church's memories are still incomplete, and the only knowledge he possesses about the Red and Blue Teams are based completely on the stories Caboose told him. Everybody begins arguing as their tempers flare, only to be stopped by Epsilon Church. Epsilon Church declares that he will be their leader, and that they need to set aside their differences and destroy the weapon to save countless lives. As he says this, he begins to drift sideways, and complains that he doesn't have full control of his body yet.

Washington, Doc and the Meta arrive in a jeep to find Church lying in the snow unguarded. Washington quickly guesses it is a trap set by a Freelancer sniper. Doc suggests that the sniper would anticipate the trap being recognized and would set up a different trap, which is soon proven correct when a series of mines under their Warthog explodes.

Back at the facility, Caboose informs the others of Church's beacon and tries to get them to help. However, Grif, Simmons, and Tucker are reluctant to aid him. Sarge volunteers to go by himself. When asked why, Sarge gives a rousing speech to the others, referencing the very first episode, asking them all why they're all here and decided to be more than just cannon fodder for the Freelancers. The others decide to go and Simmons shows them a new transport to get them there in time and nominates Grif to drive it.

Grif crashes the jeep into the vehicle driven by the person who was trying to guide them out. As Sarge berates Grif, it is revealed that Caboose was blown up by a mine and seemingly killed, but he shortly falls from the sky, perfectly fine. The guide explains that the area is a restricted dig-site, and is soon joined by a friendly alien, "Smith", apparently of the same species as the previous Aliens they'd met, revealing to the surprised soldiers that they are working together. In the meantime, Simmons tries to apologize to Lopez, but again offends him by making a comment about Mexicans holding grudges. Realizing he has blown it, Simmons looks for another way to blow up Blue Base. Elsewhere, Washington is led by the prison guard to a door, and is told he has five minutes to talk with the "man in charge". The door is opened, and the voice of the Chairman is heard off-screen, greeting Washington, saying that they have "much to discuss".

Doc informs Washington that the Meta is physically healthy, though he is having serious problems with his armor. In the desert, Tucker searches for the Reds and Epsilon-Church, and guesses they must have taken off. Caboose warns Tucker not to say anything about Epsilon-Church's absence, as the aliens would become hostile if they knew he was gone. Meanwhile, Sarge arrives in Valhalla, calling out for Simmons in an attempt to lure Washington into the center of the canyon. Washington tells the Meta to kill the prisoners if Sarge causes him any problems and moves out to intercept him. With Washington gone and the Meta distracted, Simmons and Doc plan to short circuit the Meta's armor using an overpowered charge on Doc's medical scanner.

Washington confronts Sarge and disarms him, then orders him towards Blue Base, but at Sarge's signal, Grif bursts through the canyon wall in the Warthog, landing on Washington. With the Warthog still moving at high speed, Washington climbs from under the Warthog onto the front, and attempts to shoot Grif. Grif slams on the brakes and Washington is thrown into a pile of explosive barrels as Sarge reclaims his shotgun. He fires at the barrels to ignite them, attempting a one-liner, and Washington is engulfed in the resulting explosion. The Meta notices the explosion and prepares to kill Doc just as he starts to charge his scanner.

Esmond Harmsworth, 2nd Viscount Rothermere & Margaret Hunam Redhead

Church wakes up in a strange blurry version of the Freelancer facility to learn from F.I.L.S.S. that he's in Recovery mode. He attempts to send Tex a message via F.I.L.S.S. only to learn that Tex has refused to receive any messages, something she should not be able to do. Church has his and Tucker's armor unlocked, but decides to keep Tex locked up until he can figure out what to do with her. The Reds also remain in lock down, believing they are dead and in some kind of Purgatory. Church tells them he will let them out if they agree not to fire on the Blues or Tex; Reluctantly they agree.

Back in the desert, Washington tries to order Doc to go inside the cave. But his continued attempts to stall forces Washington to try and call Meta out, telling him they can deal with whatever he found. In response Meta throws out the Epsilon storage unit that Caboose and Church left behind.

British newspaper publisher, politician and Viscount

C.T. manages to injure the two aliens pursuing him, only for Tucker to destroy his jeep with his sword, although CT survives the explosion. As Caboose looks for Epsilon-Church, CT corners Tucker on a ledge. Tucker asks who CT is, but CT gives no answer. Epsilon-Church rises up from behind and obliterates CT with his laser face, but now Sarge, Caboose, Grif, Epsilon-Church, and Tucker find themselves facing the aliens. At Valhalla the Meta's jeep won't start and the Reds have no ammunition to combat the Meta with. Simmons attempts to use the jeeps chaingun to gun down the Meta, but is unable to turn it due to lack of power. Just before the Meta attacks, Agent Washington appears, telling him to stand down, and demanding Epsilon from the Reds. The Reds are confused at the situation, but Washington loses all patience, shooting Lopez in the head and firing at Donut, seemingly killing him. As Simmons calls out to his fallen teammates, Washington flashes back to his meeting with the Chairman, who asks Wash if the Reds and Blues would just give Epsilon back to him. Wash claims that he has no desire to simply ask for Epsilon back, since Epsilon's retrieval will allow him to leave behind a life of betrayals and double-dealings.
As the episode begins, Agent Washington is in Outpost 1-A: Blood Gulch. Unfortunately, most of the soldiers who were based in Blood Gulch during the Blood Gulch Chronicles have been assigned to new, undisclosed locations. The only soldiers left are , who believes that Washington is a "cop" and doesn't offer much help, , who has refused his reassignment orders, and , who has a new body and is aiding Sarge in guarding the Red base. Sarge claims that he's not leaving Blood Gulch until all the Blues are defeated. Though Sarge proves to be more helpful than Sister, and says that can help Washington, the former having been infected by Omega briefly. Sarge sends Lopez to get the Blue reassignment files for Washington. In the memo, the Director expresses concern about his time being wasted with irrelevant questions the committee may ask.

After accidentally shocking himself, Simmons wakes up to find himself chained up in front of Lopez, who is now disguised as him. Lopez tells Simmons that he is going to pose as him so he can get access to the equipment he needs to investigate the earthquakes. However, Simmons mistakenly believes that Lopez is trying to replace him to become popular. Leaving Simmons in the cave, Lopez manages to fool Sarge and Grif into granting him permission to use their equipment, despite the fact that he is still speaking Spanish. Meanwhile, a curious Donut decides to investigate what the disguised Lopez is up to, while the real Simmons manages to break free from his bonds and leaves to confront Lopez.

At the Blue Base, the Blues finally recover from the flashbang and angrily ask Tex why she would attack them. Tex replies that she was merely reacting to an unexpected situation, as she was told she was sent to replace a Blue Team member who was killed but sees no evidence of a death. Church quickly lies to Tex, saying that their teammate "Andersmith" was killed and that they had removed his name from the roster. While Tex goes to make a call to Command, Church tells Tucker and Caboose that he lied to Tex so that she would stay in Blood Gulch a little longer to investigate the nonexistent death. Tucker is skeptical about the plan while Caboose is completely fooled by Church's lie and genuinely believes that "Andersmith" used to be a part of their team. Tex then returns and says that they're going to "even the teams" by killing one of the Reds so that she can leave Blood Gulch as soon as possible, much to Church's dismay.

Epsilon's storage unit suddenly opens up, and the figure of Delta is seen. He explains that Epsilon chose this form because Delta was the main source of information from Caboose's stories. Delta asks Caboose for his help on a mission; specifically, he asks Caboose to take him to the source of energy that Donut had previously mentioned, and also where Tucker is supposed to be, so they can punish those who harmed Alpha. Delta states that they must find it themselves because Washington doesn't trust Epsilon and Caboose constantly fails at building a new body for Epsilon, explicitly remembering the fires. Caboose agrees to go on this mission. As Delta disappears, the Reds arrive and Caboose tells them that he is leaving to get Tucker. Grif volunteers to go with him so that he can ensure Command acknowledges the Blues exist. Sarge decides to go as well, but Simmons chooses to stay behind with Donut and offer 'logistical support'.

In the past, Carolina and Texas prepare for their match, while most of the other agents gather to watch as some of them are betting if Tex and Carolina might kill each other. Washington expresses concern that him and the agents watching might get killed in the match. As Tex and Carolina charge each other to start the match, the Director arrives, angry that an unauthorized match is taking place. Upon seeing that Texas is involved, he shouts "No... Allison!". Suddenly, all the agents with AIs except Washington collapse as their AIs start screaming "Allison!"; Carolina suffers the worst, screaming for the voices to stop. Growling noises start emanating from the Sarcophagus, frightening the soldiers guarding it. The Counselor suggests sedating Carolina, but the Director declines, saying "she made her decision", then dismisses the agents watching the events. On the training floor, Omega implores Texas to "end" Carolina, but she holds back, and instead knocks Carolina unconscious, telling her it is for her own good.

In the present, Carolina becomes frustrated as the search of the crashed ship proves fruitless. Washington tells her that it was highly likely, as the UNSC response teams would have already beat them there. He says that time isn't on their side, and that any leads left behind may have long gone cold. Carolina orders Washington to tell the teams to prepare to move out again. However, Washington is reluctant to force the teams to move again, pointing out that they consider Vahalla their home, but Carolina ignores him and tells him again to tell the others they're leaving. Meanwhile, Sarge and Simmons find Lopez, now propped up as a scarecrow in the garden of a makeshift hut. then walks out, having heard their voices, and reveals that his life was preserved by an armor lockdown. Sarge and Simmons wonder how Donut received the medical attention he would have needed after he was released; just as they realize the answer, approaches from behind and greets them, greatly upsetting Sarge.

At Red Base, construction on Lopez has finished and Simmons begins to show signs of his real personality, demonstrating his love of math and organizing and kissing up to Sarge. An earthquake hits briefly, followed by Lopez activating and speaking Spanish. Sarge explains this is adding culture and learning the language as a unit bonding activity, and as he and Simmons acknowledge just how out-of-character that is, another earthquake hits.

At Blue Base, Church attempts to explain the situation to Tucker and Caboose, specifying that the earthquakes are caused by the failing capture unit and the point of this is for him to try and figure out about himself.

Continuing from where the previous episode ended, the two Insurrectionist soldiers open fire on C.T; only for it to be a hologram. Shortly after, the real C.T. incapacitates the two soldiers before greeting the Insurrectionist elite, thus confirming her affiliation with the Insurrection. After giving the elite a datapad containing information on Project Freelancer, they then discuss an artifact that the Insurrection has discovered before the UNSC and Project Freelancer. The elite and his soldiers then prepare to leave, urging C.T. to go along with him; stating that the other Freelancers will soon be onto her. Meanwhile, back in the station's hangar, South reports to Carolina that the Leader isn't present in the facility, but instead is somewhere inside the scrapyard. Just as Carolina orders South, Washington, and North to prepare to enter the scrapyard, York arrives.

Back in the present, Washington and Carolina engage several soldiers while Grif, Tucker, and Simmons secure several Warthogs for transport. After the soldiers are killed, Epsilon Church then asks everyone why they decided to rescue him. Caboose explains that Carolina wants to find the Director and since Epsilon Church has all of his memories, he may know where he is; but Caboose also mistakenly believes that when they find the Director they will throw a surprise party for him. Epsilon Church is skeptical about the plan, stating that just because he has the Directors memories, that doesn't mean he can recall them at will. Carolina then tries to give orders to the Reds and Blues, only for them to not understand what "sync" is or not caring about it, with Caboose randomly saying different appliance names; leaving it up to Washington to summarize for them. The group then finally leaves the facility.

Having set the piece of wall containing Doc back up vertically, Washington again attempts to interrogate him. After being repeatedly hit by the Meta and threatened to be shot, Doc reveals that Simmons said something about a distress call, and mentioned "sand". At the desert, the Reds spy on Epsilon-Church and Caboose. Sarge believes that the Reds may be able to restore the Blues to command's database at the facility mentioned by Epsilon Church. As the Reds leave in pursuit, Tucker takes the opportunity to escape from the aliens and he makes a dash to his alien motorcycle to follow the Reds. Unfortunately, the vehicle runs out of gas and Tucker is forced to flee on foot with the aliens in pursuit.

Epsilon-Church and Caboose arrive at the entrance to the facility, hidden within a derelict factory, and find a monitor embedded in a tree. The monitor activates and a voice identical to that of is heard, explaining that they have thirty seconds to leave the facility or they will be killed. The program identifies itself as F.I.L.S.S. ; Sheila's name before Church mistakenly renamed her during . Upon hearing Epsilon-Church's voice, F.I.L.S.S. disables the countdown, believing him to be the Director of Project Freelancer. At his request, F.I.L.S.S. opens the door to the facility, hidden in a nearby wall. Epsilon-Church requests that F.I.L.S.S. answer to the name Sheila, as it will be easier than getting Caboose to adapt to the new name.

Outside the Red Base the team of Caboose, Sarge, and Grif prepare to leave for Donut's given coordinates while Grif questions the capabilities of their new jeep. After they leave, Simmons informs Donut and Lopez that he is going to blow up Blue Base. After he is gone for a long while, Donut decides to go check on him. Meanwhile, after stopping at a number of bathroom breaks for Caboose, the team arrives in the desert, only to be told to vacate over an intercom. This follows with a warning that they've driven into a mine field. The scene cuts out while Caboose and Sarge question whether or not you can own a field and Grif says that he means explosives, just as an explosion is heard.
The Reds return to the desert to find Caboose being threatened by the aliens as a result of Epsilon-Church going missing. To get the aliens off his back, Caboose claims that the Reds took him. Meanwhile, as Simmons and Grif attempt to wake Epsilon-Church, Sarge is forced to lead the aliens to them; Grif, knowing that the aliens would attack if they found them in possession of Epsilon-Church, punts him far away and out of sight. When Tucker and Caboose arrive, the Reds flee in the midst of the distraction, and Caboose abandons Tucker, leaving him to face the aliens alone. The Reds and Caboose locate Epsilon-Church, who landed in the mine field after he was punted away. Grif tells Simmons, who is unaware of the mine field, to retrieve him. Simmons obliges and then hastily retreats when he accidentally activates a mine.

Doc hits the Meta with a blast from his overloaded scanner, knocking him back temporarily. The Meta attempts to punch Doc, but the blast causes his temporal distortion unit to malfunction, slowing him down drastically. Simmons quickly theorizes that his punch will still carry the same force as normal as they are merely viewing the Meta from a different timeframe, but Doc ignores him. When the Meta's fist connects with Doc's helmet, he is slammed into the base wall. Simmons attempts to pull him free, but is forced to abandon him when the Meta recovers. Simmons is then blasted away from the base by the Meta's weapon and manages to grab onto the Warthog turret when Sarge and Grif drive by. As the trio tries to escape, the Meta uses the grav-lift to launch himself onto the hood of the jeep, destroying it and throwing the Reds out. As the Reds prepare to fight, Epsilon-Church arrives and catches the interest of the Meta. He lures the Meta back towards Blue base, briefly pausing when he recognizes it from his memory flash. The Reds take the opportunity to flee through the hole in the wall, which leads to another canyon.

Epsilon-Church soon regroups with the Reds, with the Meta and Agent Washington, now recovered, in pursuit. Sarge, Griff and Simmons attempt to enrage Epsilon-Church in order to activate his energy weapon, but they are unsuccessful. However, the mere sight of Washington sends Epsilon-Church into a rage, activating his energy weapon and melting the stone around the hole, sealing it. Now out of power, he mentions that they "can't let them get to her first" before passing out. The Reds retreat while Washington assures the Meta that they still have a lead. Doc, still stuck in the wall, calls out for help.

On the Project Freelancer ship, "Mother of Invention", the Director speaks with the Alpha AI before quickly dismissing him when Carolina appears. They both join the other Freelancers and the Pelican pilot Four-Seven-Niner and begin briefing on their next mission. Members of the UNSC loyal to the Insurrection have acquired a high level asset and are holding it in a secure building. The asset, codenamed the "Sarcophagus", can only be accessed by a key code held by an official of the program that created it, who will be arriving by car to inspect the asset. Because the building will be locked down at the first sign of trouble, both targets must be attacked simultaneously, meaning there will have to be two teams.

The first team - Carolina, Washington, and Maine - are tasked with infiltrating the package storage facility. They are unexpectedly joined by York, whose quick recovery from his injuries surprises the other Freelancers. The second team, composed of North, Wyoming, and C.T., will act as recon for the first team until they infiltrate the building. After that, the second team will then ambush the official and obtain the key code. Also, as a result of her poor performance in her last mission, South is barred from participating in this mission.

When Carolina asks if Tex will be joining the mission, the Director asserts that enough questions have been asked; C.T. then quietly tells Washington that the Director hasn't said "no". Carolina then adds that they don't know how big the Sarcophagus is, but that it would have strange markings on the exterior; something North saw at the oil refinery. After the Director says that they know what it is, C.T. asks rhetorically how it is that they know what it is but not how big it is; she quickly dismisses the question after receiving a glare from the Director. Four-Seven-Niner also adds that since their Pelicans are being modified to be as light and fast as possible, they cannot bring any heavy weaponry or equipment with them. The Freelancers are dismissed and the episode ends with two Pelican dropships disembarking towards the planet they are orbiting.

In the offsite storage facility, Church and Carolina find the Director in a room with FILSS watching a video file of Allison leaving to join the military again. The Director repeatedly says that he needs more time to bring Allison back and that he's close, but Church ignores it and goes a rant on all of the actions the Director has to answer for, such as what he done to him, Carolina, Wash, Tex and all the others he hurt. Carolina tries to calm Church, but he continues ranting on the lies the Director has made and for the torture on the AIs, all just to bring back a shadow, and he must pay for all of it. Carolina looks at the Director in disappointment as he looks back at her, showing that they both have the same eye color. Realizing killing the Director won't solve anything nor heal past wounds, Carolina tells Church to leave, but he claims that they came all this way to kill the Director, though Carolina reminds him that he needs to let it go. She also says that the past doesn't define a person for who he or she is, but that it's a starting point to what they will become. After leaving a pistol for the Director at his request, Carolina kisses him on the forehead and leaves, just as the Director is saying "You were my greatest creation." Church tells the Director he doesn't know who he is, but he knows that despite being a copy of the Director, he is a better person than him. In response, the Director says "I wasn't speaking to you." As Church leaves, the Director orders FILSS to delete all files dealing with Project Freelancer, including FILSS, except the video of Allison and to shut down every Project Freelancer facility, including the one he is in. FILSS warns him that doing so will shut off the life support system in the facility, though the Director insists. Before shutting down, FILSS asks him if Project Freelancer was a success, he replies no but claims he came very close, and that he wish he knew earlier. He then finishes with saying "perhaps the next time around." The Director and FILSS say their goodbyes to each other as the door to the room lowers down, sealing the Director in with the pistol in hand.

Outside the facility, Church and Carolina acknowledge that the journey is over. They thank each other for showing the other a different side of themselves after all they've been through. Carolina then asks Church about where the Reds and Blues will go now, as Church answers that there's one place they haven't been to yet the Reds and Blues can call home.

In the past at Freelancer Command, the Director and the Counselor discuss where to hide the Alpha. The Counselor points out that the Alpha will need a security detail, someone they can trust, so he nominates the blue soldier, which turns out to be Flowers, also known as Agent Florida. The Director mentions they'll need a cover story for Flowers' "disappearance", as the Counselor has the state of Florida break into several pieces on a computer screen behind them. Then the Director points out that they'll need a place to put the Alpha where no one will be able to think to look for it, then the Counselor says he believes he knows a place, Blood Gulch.

Back in the present, the Reds and Blues begin to settle back in Blood Gulch as Church and Carolina watch over them. Carolina then tells Church that military equipment had recently been stolen from Project Freelancer by some low level soldiers, pointing out they should get them, hoping to do good things to replace all the bad things they've did, though it may not be good enough. Church considers staying one last goodbye to the Reds and Blues, but Carolina tells Church a short story about her mother, who came to see her and then leave time and time again, but Carolina says that her mother never said goodbye, as she believes that not saying goodbye means you're not really gone, but just not here right now. Church tells Carolina that her mother must have been smart. Carolina agrees but said that her mother had a bad taste in men . Down in Blood Gulch, Caboose calls to Church to come down with him, but realizes Church and Carolina are gone. Tucker asks Caboose if he found Church and where he may have gone to. Caboose replies no and that he doesn't know where Church is, but says that he's somewhere but isn't here right now. As Caboose and Tucker head inside their new home, Church's sniper rifle is left lying on a hill overlooking the canyon of Blood Gulch.

With Church pretending to be a prisoner, Washington breaks into the AI storage facility to search for the Alpha while the Reds and Caboose remain in the upper base. While searching the AI vault, Washington tells Church that he's found what they were searching for, which Church believed to be the Alpha. As Church approaches Washington to help, a flash of several images appear in his head, stunning him momentarily. Washington's target was actually the remains of his old AI, Epsilon. In the memo, the Chairman tells the Director to not recast the committee's investigation into a vendetta as their questions are standard procedure, and that they have received all of Project Freelancer's records and logs granted by the UNSC, warning him that they'll see what the Director is hiding.

The episode begins in Blood Gulch, with Grif yelling at and insulting the Blue Team; in the hopes that he'll make them mad enough for them to send a bomb to the Red Base to use in Sarge's plan to stop the planet from destabilizing. He eventually succeeds and Tex builds Andy the bomb.

At Red Base, the Red team prepares to begin their voyage to the center of the planet with the drilling machine Sarge built with a massive excavator he ordered online; both which Grif points out that no one noticed until Sarge pointed them out. Afterward, Tex drops off Andy and he begins to count-down to his explosion, something Grif forgot to think about.

At Project Freelancer, the Director and the Counselor speak with a disoriented Delta; whom they say was just recently created. Delta initially believes that he is Alpha but the Director quickly corrects him and directs Delta's attention away from the issue.

Simmons works on deleting the Blues from Command's database, but is annoyed by a blinking light. Grif goes to turn it off, but winds up receiving an incoming distress call from Tucker. At first Grif doesn't know who it is, until Tucker utters his catchphrase, "Bow Chicka Bow Wow". Tucker claims to have found something "under the sand," right before explosions are heard, forcing him to end the transmission. Church has trouble accepting the fact that he is an AI, telling Washington that he is 'fucking crazy', and would much rather believe that he is a ghost. Washington tells Church that he needs him to defeat the Meta. Church suggests that he get help from Tex since she is like him, but Washington is unwilling to trust her. Also, the Director and Counselor worked with her very closely, giving her so much special treatment that she was considered their favorite. An alarm goes off in the facility, forcing Washington and Church to leave the AI vault with Epsilon. Caboose notices several soldiers approaching them from outside but Grif closes the shutters to keep them out. Simmons hesitates when preparing to delete the information on the Blues, citing the purpose of the Red vs. Blue conflict, but Sarge does it anyway. In the memo, the Chairman believes that the Director and Project Freelancer have abused the freedoms giving to them by the committee, and the abuse of the Alpha A.I. by the Director and Project Freelancer will be the subject of a criminal investigation, and states that the Director has seen the end of his patience.

In the present, The Reds and Blues have a meeting about Carolina's secrecy and motives, as they believe she can't be trusted, even Washington. The group decides to find out more about Carolina's motives and plans by inserting Epsilon-Church into her Mongoose.

In the past, Maine demonstrates his power by destroying a Warthog with his bare hands, effortlessly defeating the soldier who shot him and helping Carolina take down the rest. During the fighting, Sigma communicates directly with Delta, showing the roots of his desire to collect and unite all of the AI fragments. Meanwhile, the Insurrectionists and C.T retreat into a bunker whilst Carolina, York and Washington regroup with Wyoming to assault the Insurrectionist base. To stall them, two heavy gunners lay down suppressive fire. Things change when a cloaked figure attacks them. To Carolina's chagrin, it turns out to be Tex. Not willing to let her win again, she charges and joins the assault, while York and Wash mention her motivation and obsession to win, especially against Tex.

Arriving at the wind-power facility, Washington splits up from Church and Caboose, and both groups move from the beach in different directions to enter the facility. While Church and Caboose head for the base, Church questions Delta, discovering that Washington was only one of several failures in the AI implantation experiments. Delta suggests that Agent Maine's power troubles are only a small indication of what is happening inside his mind. After the group find the Meta in the facility, they launch an attack which it escapes from. Church and Washington pursue, while Caboose and Delta head in a different direction to flank the Meta and surprise him. Before Church and Washington can find the Meta again, the Red team, composed of Sarge, Simmons and Grif, arrive in their Warthog and crash into the windmill. As Simmons opens fire on Church and Washington from the turret, Washington suddenly asks where Caboose and Delta are. It is then revealed that Caboose is lying motionless on the ground as the Meta approaches. Delta projects itself from Caboose's body; when he does, the many AIs the Meta has captured project themselves too and begin to talk to Delta, all of them saying that they missed him, Delta remains silent. In the memo, the Director understands about the Chairman's concerns about increased activity with increased risk, assuring him that Recovery teams are trained to immediately respond and retrieve any military equipment in danger of being taken by the enemy.

The Reds and Blues attempt to flee the base in their vehicles while Washington attempts to finish Project Freelancer by activating an EMP inside the base. The Meta follows him inside the facility as he predicted. Washington heads towards the terminal allowing him access to the failsafe and suddenly the Counselor and the Director speak and attempt to stop him. The Meta arrives and it is revealed that the Meta is Agent Maine, who is attempting to gain the trust of Project Freelancer so he can meet the Alpha AI, a promise made by the Director. The Meta shoots Washington as per his orders. Meanwhile, Caboose loses the immobile body of Church as they escape from the base and has to leave him behind due to the imminent EMP which threatens Epsilon. Washington, answering Maine's question of where the Alpha is, reveals Church in the form as the Alpha AI, who jumps inside the Meta's head, still maintaining that the EMP will not kill him because he believes he is a ghost. This allows Washington to activate the EMP, destroying all AIs and other equipment, including Church, throughout the base. The Red Team's Warthog is disabled by the pulse, however Caboose manages to escape and save Epsilon from the EMP wave by driving his vehicle off a cliff. In the memo, the Chairman informs the Director that the Oversight Subcommittee have dispatched officers to place him under arrest, and states that when the UNSC rewrites morality protocols for dealing with A.I.s, they'll rename entire sections in the doctrine after the Director, securing his name in history.

In the epilogue, the Director steps down from his position after the Chairman presses full charges against him and Project Freelancer and details his final memo to him. In Valhalla, the Reds discuss their new base given to them as a reward for their services to the military and it is revealed that Caboose has moved into the adjacent one and attempts to bring Epsilon back online. The Director reveals in his final memo that he loved a woman early in his life that was killed many years ago, and that given the chance he could have saved her, and the memory of her had haunted him his entire life, and more so in the last few years than he could ever have imagined. He also reveals all the AIs were actually based from the minds of certain people, and the Alpha was no exception. He knows that there are punishments for laws the Director and Project Freelancer have broken, but there are none for the terrors they have inflicted on themselves. He tells the Chairman to send his men, stating that he won't fight back, as he's an old man tired, but satisfied with his duty, and that his mind is filled more by memory than hope. At the end of the epilogue it's revealed that Alpha/Church was based on the original Leonard Church, the Director of Project Freelancer. The fates of Washington and the Meta are left ambiguous.

Informed by F.I.L.S.S. that the storage facility contains backups of Project Freelancer data, Simmons has her restore the Blue Army data. Grif and Simmons then look at the records, and they reveal that all of the Red and Blue bases are merely training grounds for Freelancer agents, and are staffed with the army's worst soldiers based on poor test scores and poor field performance. Furthermore, all of the strange events the Reds and Blues had encountered during The Blood Gulch Chronicles, including being seemingly blown into the future, meeting the , and Tucker's pregnancy were part of just one of several scenarios that may be run at simulation bases . Sarge is shocked by these revelations and walks off to construct a base from junk. He insists that Simmons and Grif stop calling him "Sir", and then announces that he quits.

At the Freelancer base, Tex reveals that she is looking for the Director. She suggests that Washington and the Meta may know who the Director is. In the event they do not know his identity, Tex states that she will simply kill them, and that if she cannot find the Director, she will settle for destroying everything he built. When Epsilon-Church asks how Tex will get in contact with Washington and the Meta, she shoots him, triggering his recovery beacon. She explains that the beacon would not have activated until they left the storage facility. Church insists that he would have helped her. She states that he cannot even help himself, which is why he made her. Church asks her why she is doing all this, and she says that she intends to find out herself.

In the desert, Washington and the Meta pick up Epsilon's recovery beacon. Washington has the Meta grab the storage unit and Doc acquire a vehicle, stating that they are "going to the only place that's left."

In the present, as Washington and Carolina return from the Leader's corpse, Caboose manages to finish installing Church into Carolina's Mongoose. When Washington and Carolina study the data they salvaged from C.T.'s corpse, they find data on the alien artifact Epsilon-Church temporarily used as a body. Tucker recognizes the artifact and informs them that they had found and used it, though he claims it was a pain in the ass for them to deal with. However, Caboose admits that he had lost the artifact shortly after it was damaged when Church transferred to a new body, which enrages Carolina. The datacard is also revealed to be corrupted, meaning that they have no more leads in the hunt for the Director. Afterwards, Carolina decides to go off alone to visit an abandoned fortress on a nearby island, taking the Mongoose with her. As the Reds and Blues head to the temple to rest, Tucker asks Washington where she is going, Washington replies that she had "lost something" and "needs time to find it again". Also a modified version of the song "A Girl Named Tex" plays as she drives away into the distance.

In the past, the Chairman chastises the Director for letting C.T. and her valuable armor escape. Frustrated at failing the mission, Carolina begins practicing close combat drills. Both York and North keep an eye on her from above, and begin talking about each other's AIs, such as how Theta is afraid of the dark and how Delta is constantly making calculations. Both Freelancers are acutely aware of the fact that all of the AIs seem anxious about something, as if they know something that the Freelancers do not. North decides to go to sleep while York stays to keep an eye on Carolina.

The Meta finishes configuring the old Epsilon unit into a capture unit. Out of curiosity, Doc asks Washington if they could track the Reds' trail, like heat signatures, footprints etc. Washington tells him otherwise, however, after Doc is out of earshot, Washington asks the Meta if they could track the Reds like Doc suggested.

Back at the facility, Tex fully recovers and discusses Epsilon/Church's motives on freeing her. Church claims that he needed to get Tex out of his head and even refers to her as his girlfriend. Meanwhile, the Reds decide to use the absence of the Blues to put them back into the database. Simmons and Grif decide to go together, after Simmons threatened to change Grif's job description and change his gender to a woman. Back at the desert, Doc finds out that Washington has taken his suggestion and had Meta find the Reds successfully. Doc demands that the two give him credit for the idea.

In the desert, Washington and the Meta free Doc from the concrete block he was trapped in using grenades and the Meta's weapon. Doc tells the ex-Freelancers that the aliens are drawing a map to where Epsilon went to, though his translation may be incorrect. The aliens finish drawing the map, but it turns out to be a picture of a dead human with the word "Shisno" next to it. Rather than waste any more time, Washington decides to simply kill the aliens and leave one alive to talk, resulting in the Meta leading an attack.

Back at the Freelancer facility, the Reds gain entry when Sarge shoots the computer after Simmons's plan failed, due in part to Grif using the name "Agent Pluto". After hearing a ruckus from inside the facility, they quickly find a frightened Caboose outside a door with Epsilon-Church shouting at an unknown individual on the other side. Caboose begs F.I.L.S.S. not to open the door, but she reports that if the "Director" requests it she will have no alternative. The Reds demand that Caboose let them in, but he slowly and silently walks away from the door when something begins breaking the door down piece by piece. The Reds prepare to ambush whatever it is, only to receive a frightening surprise when the door goes flying past them, revealing a resurrected on the other side.

After Washington hangs up on Caboose, Donut offers to help him with his project and mentions that the Red team's underground holo-room could be useful before returning to Red base. After another accidental fire, Caboose decides to take Donut's advice and sneaks off toward Red base with Epsilon, planning to check out the holo-room. There, the Reds are making plans to rescue Donut, who returns and explains his brief visit to Sarge. Only Grif notices Caboose's attempt to stealthily enter Red base, but he ignores him and Caboose gains entry to the holo-chamber. Once inside, Epsilon begins to make humming sounds, which alarms Caboose. The scene fades to black and the chapter ends with Caboose mysteriously exclaiming, "It's you."
As CT's team attempts to smash into the ruins with the digger to no avail, Tucker explains the importance of not activating the weapon, explaining the last one was designed to wipe out all organic life in a large radius. During this time, Caboose wanders off, forcing the others to go look for him. Back at Valhalla, Simmons and Lopez attempt to attack the Meta. Simmons only succeeds in destroying the motorcycle again while Lopez takes out the Meta with a missile pod launcher. In the ruins, Tucker, Grif and Sarge happen upon Caboose, who has found a floating robot that has Church's voice, though he seems to have no memory of either Sarge, Grif, or Tucker.

After breaking into the Mother of Invention, Tex begins making her way to the labs. However, after defeating a group of guards, she is confronted by South who tries to kill her with a missile pod. North then intervenes, saving Tex and buying her time to continue on while he confronts South. Meanwhile, after defeating Wyoming, York tries to create a distraction in order to help Tex. First he hacks into the ship's systems and causes it to fire missiles at itself, disorienting the crew. He then disables the artificial gravity, neutralizing the guards and allowing Tex to bypass a hostile Scorpion tank.

Determined to stop Tex, the Director orders Carolina to stop her by any means necessary. Carolina pursues Tex throughout the corridors of the ship until York attempts to stop her. She asks York why he is siding with Tex, and replies that he's not rebelling because he agrees with Tex, but because he's doing what he feels is right. He asks Carolina to let go of her rivalry with Tex and flee Project Freelancer with him. However, Carolina refuses to let go of her jealousy and both she and York reluctantly fight, with Carolina easily incapacitating York. She then leaves behind her lighter for York to find before continuing her pursuit of Tex. Both women eventually encounter each other and begin a brutal fight throughout the ship's corridors. However, due to the damage it has taken, the Mother of Invention goes out of control and crash lands on a nearby planet, ejecting Carolina from the ship and knocking her out.

Tex takes the opportunity to access the ship's systems in order to find Alpha. She finds Alpha and tries to convince him to leave with her. However, Alpha does not remember Tex and is reluctant to leave the ship, saying that it probably isn't possible anyway, and he is very tired and wants to rest. Disappointed that Alpha doesn't remember her, Tex has a short chat with him before logging out of the system, with both of them agreeing that they hate goodbyes.

Outside, Carolina regains consciousness to see Maine approaching her. Before she can do anything, Carolina is grabbed by Maine, who forcibly takes both of her AIs and then throws her off a nearby cliff as Tex watches in horror, but as Carolina falls, she pulls out her grapple gun. Soon, the Director and his forces begin to regroup, forcing Tex to flee the scene. Sigma alongside Iota and Eta materialize next to Maine as Sigma warns Tex "Run, Agent Texas. We are the Meta, and we will find you, very soon."

The episode begins where the last one left off, with Washington and North Dakota heading to a training match featuring a new Freelancer. In the match, the new Freelancer, Agent Texas, spars with Wyoming, Maine, and York. Meanwhile Freelancers Washington, North Dakota, South Dakota, Carolina, and C.T., overlook the battle from above. During the match, using her strength and agility, Tex easily defeats her three opponents, winning Round one. As Round two begins, York tries to coordinate a plan with his teammates. However, Maine and Wyoming, attack by themselves instead, leading to all three having many repeated failures. The three then start attacking Tex from all sides. Tex, however, easily kicks and punches them around, impressing the other Freelancers overlooking the battle. York tries again to regroup his team, but continues to be ignored by Maine and Wyoming, leading to further defeat.

In round three, the arena is reconfigured to feature raised cover, and the four Freelancers are given guns to use, which fire a special immobilizing paint that makes their armor stone hard. While York, Maine, and Wyoming look for Tex in the arena, Tex quietly uses her surroundings to get the best of them. Tex continually outsmarts her opponents, eventually winning rounds three to eight. In round nine, Maine and Wyoming purposely load their pistols with live ammunition, shocking York. As the two start firing, York tries to protect Tex, but she refuses his help, telling him "Never abandon your team." As the battle becomes more intense Maine throws a grenade towards Tex, which she easily dodges. Unfortunately, the grenade lands near York, but before it explodes, Tex shoots him with the immobilizing paint, to try to protect him. The grenade explodes as the episode ends, alarms are heard, and a medical team is sent to the training room.

In Blood Gulch, Church pleads with Tucker to help him have Tex remain at Blue Base, only for Tex to announce that she would be staying longer, stating that Caboose told her about the broken tank and giving her one-hundred dollars. Later on, Church tries to have a private conversation with Tex, only for Caboose to remain with them not understanding Church telling him to leave them alone.

At Red Base, Simmons and Grif recover the equipment Lopez was using the study the earthquakes. Then in a meeting with Sarge, Donut, and Grif, Simmons explains that the planet has become unstable and will collapse. Sarge comes up with a plan to drill to the core of the planet and set off a bomb , much to Simmons' dismay.

Back in the Freelancer storyline, North's team is pinned down on the freeway and is unable to reach their target, prompting Carolina and her team to reach the second team's rally point and intercept the VIP themselves. Tex meanwhile calls the Mother of Invention and has them send in an equipment pod containing a motorcycle and a rocket launcher. The episode ends with Maine jumping onto the VIP's car and attacking him with his "knifle" .

* 2× NFL champion
* 1st team All-West Coast
* Little All-American
* Inland Northwest Sports Hall of Fame
* Gonzaga University Hall of Fame

At the base where Church was stationed, South and Delta are trapped by the Meta in South's collapsing domed energy shield. South, seeking only self-preservation, orders Delta to store himself in a portable component, intending to abandon him alongside her shield enhancement in order to buy time for her escape. Washington, Church, and Caboose arrive on two motorcycles, and South is wounded by Caboose to prevent her escape. When Church learns that the Meta takes armor enhancements from other Freelancers, he reasons that it may also have Wyoming’s time distortion enhancement from the ship at Outpost-17B. He quickly fires a rocket launcher at the Meta, who stops time to avoid the shot. The Meta is about to shoot Washington when its armor malfunctions, ending the time distortion and forcing it to flee. Figuring the Meta is taking refuge to repair itself, the group decides to find the Meta before it can be fully functional again. Delta, citing South's severe wounds, is implanted in Caboose. Once there, he informs Washington of South's intention to abandon him in order to escape, reminds Washington of her previous betrayal, and reveals that South's brother North suffered a similar fate. Under Delta's advice, Washington executes South via a pistol shot to the head. In the memo, the Director believes that the Meta is nothing more than just an entity seeking to gain more power, which he believes is a common situation after the Great War.

At Blue Base, Tex continues to work on the tank when Church approaches her and asks about how she knows so much about vehicles. During the conversation, Tex reveals that she is aware that Church is really Epsilon and that she is also unaware of the Director's reasons for bringing her back as an AI. Afterwards the tank finally activates.

Meanwhile, Maine returns to Carolina and York with the VIP's briefcase and all three are then pursued by Insurrectionalist forces with Tex catching up to them. The fight eventually leads to the back of a truck with Carolina and Maine squaring off against two of the Insurrectionalists; during which Maine is shot repeatedly in the throat. Soon enough one of the Insurrectionalists gains a hold of the briefcase and attempts to escape, with Tex and Carolina, who is determined to beat Tex, in pursuit. After Carolina tackles and neutralizes the Insurrectionalist, the briefcase falls loose and Tex claims it in front of Carolina . After Tex leaves on her own, a Pelican dropship arrives with the remaining Freelancers and extracts Carolina. This is the first episode where Carolina's face is seen.

Donut is cleaning up Blue Base when the Meta appears. Having not been involved with the events of Red vs. Blue: Reconstruction, Donut remains oblivious to the danger, believing the Meta to be a new Blue soldier. Simmons recognizes the Meta, becomes scared, and runs away. Meanwhile, in the desert, Sarge, Grif, and CT run over to find Caboose surrounded by alien and human soldiers in front of the digger. Caboose claims he was "trying to find a home for Epsilon". As CT notices the storage unit and questions what it is, the entire dig site shakes and the temple gate starts to open. As it opens, all the soldiers apart from Sarge, Caboose, and Grif start running towards the gate. CT screams for the soldiers to kill the person in the gate and to make sure it stays open. An open firefight begins with the soldiers all firing at an unknown assailant. Grif attempts to escape in the digger but quickly abandons it because it moves too slow. Sarge, Grif and Caboose start to run away, but encounter Tucker, who orders them to get into the temple while he covers them.

At Valhalla, Grif and Simmons debate on their motive for being here and hunting the Director. Simmons points out that the Director is the reason for them being here and all the enemies they've faced over the years. Grif points out that, unlike the Freelancers, they have no personal vendetta against the Director. Then Sarge joins up with them and grimly replies that even if they succeeded in killing the Director, it would be pointless as they would still be doing the same thing they've done before and leaving Valhalla will just make things worse. Unbeknownst to them, Washington has heard their entire conversation and leaves to ponder this. Meanwhile, Church is getting more curious about Carolina's grudge against Tex. Carolina bitterly responds that Tex was the best of the best and she couldn't compete with her, and that if Tex couldn't find the Director, then how can she do it. Church responds if Tex was the best, then she would be in Carolina's position right now, not her, and tells her to let it go. Carolina then notices Tex's dog tags that Wash found in the Pelican and finds that it is actually Connie's. Church notices it has some data stored in it and searches it on Carolina's request.

In the past, Tex investigates the dog tags and finds a message from C.T. directly to her stating that she has left behind a copy of the data she took about the Director's misdeeds and sent this to her not because she is the best soldier, but because she is the one she can trust the most. Tex decides to investigate her data having details on all of the A.I and becomes incensed upon discovering that she is the A.I unit Beta. Meanwhile Washington has gone through surgery and just as Epsilon is implanted in him, severe hallucinations of Allison start to occur sending Wash into extreme pain and unconsciousness. Eventually he is sedated and sent to Recovery.

In the present, Church exits the data file in the dog tag and states that he now knows how to find the Director as he now remembers everything. As he says this, he changes appearance from small and blue into a white, full-sized soldier, similar to when Church was a "ghost" as the Alpha.

In the past, North introduces his new A.I., Theta, to York, Washington and South. Theta exhibits a childlike, shy personality, so York introduces his A.I., Delta, to help Theta with its shyness. When North introduces Theta to his sister South, Theta mentions that he also has many brothers and sisters. The Director arrives, to prepare a test for Theta and North. He reminds Delta that protocol forbids direct interaction between A.I.s, then orders it to administrate the test. During the test, Theta is able to successfully operate North's Domed Energy Shield armor equipment to defend against multiple automated turrets, compensating for changes in the situation. With Theta's aid, North is ultimately able to eliminate all the turrets, greatly impressing Washington and York.

In present day, The Reds discuss being dragged along with the Blues on the mission and whether Carolina can be trusted. Elsewhere, Tucker and Epsilon witness Washington entering a doorway in the facility.

The episode begins with Sarge, Grif and Simmons attacking Agent Washington and Church. Washington and Church doubt that the Reds are actually working for The Meta, so after checking Caboose's vitals via Biocom, Washington also wonders why the Biocom does not work on Church normally. Washington then uses his armor's megaphone to tell the Reds to stop firing. The Reds stand down after Washington gives Sarge the correct codeword, which was again 'codeword'. Meanwhile, the Meta starts to recharge itself and disguises itself as a Red. Grif, not believing Washington and Church, confronts the disguised Meta, and asks him for help. The Meta then lifts up a Warthog and throws it at Grif, who flees. Washington and Church then confirm that the Reds are not in allegiance with The Meta after Grif and the rolling chassis of the Warthog pass by their hiding spot. In the memo, the Director admits that Project Freelancer was given only one A.I. for experimentation, and believes that they aim to find creative solutions for unexpected problems.
Back at Blue Base, Simmons discusses the mess Caboose has made in his project to build a new body, and mentions how nobody has won the war because they waste their time building “lame robots”, a comment which Lopez takes offense to. Because Lopez is the only one with access to the Red's armory, Simmons tries asking him for explosives, but Lopez deliberately stonewalls him. Meanwhile the voice over the intercom tells Grif, Caboose, and Sarge to remain still so they can work out a way to navigate out of the mine field. After they prove incapable of following simple directions, a frustrated Grif decides to just drive his way out. Explosions are heard off screen while the stranger over the intercom agrees that running is just the best option.

In the present, Carolina tells the Red and Blue teams that they are leaving, much to their dismay. Sarge and Simmons return, telling Grif about how Donut is still alive and living with Doc and Lopez. Meanwhile, Tucker becomes more anxious and frustrated at how Church seems to be getting closer to Carolina, and how he has apparently forgotten his original objective in spying on her. Church points out that Tucker nor anyone else have any idea what Carolina has been through. He then storms away angrily and asks Carolina to talk privately with him.

Meanwhile, in the past, Tex and North are observing Carolina, who has been in a coma ever since the accident. York is also present, and has not left her side in days. Tex informs North that South had filed a request to take one of Carolina's AIs, a move that disgusts him. Tex warns North that South is a "vulture", and that he should keep an eye on her in the future. She then confides to North that she refuses to use her AI because she believes it's too dangerous, and she has not told the Director. North believes that Carolina's accident would halt the AI experiments, but Tex tells him that the Director has scheduled Washington to be implanted next, leading North to believe that the Freelancers are nothing but the Director's guinea pigs. Meanwhile, the Director and the Counselor oversee Sigma, Omega and Gamma torturing the Alpha, forcing it to create a new AI fragment. The Director orders the AIs to log off, as they are not allowed to witness the fragment creation process, but Sigma secretly disobeys orders and stores himself in a nearby security camera. As he watches, he sees the Director bring in the Sarcophagus, which contains an unknown alien . The Director asks the alien to "fix" an AI memory unit, giving birth to a new AI fragment, Epsilon.

The Reds at Valhalla make a break for Blue Base in an attempt to escape The Meta. Meanwhile at the temple, Sarge expresses his concerns about Blue Team, now that they outnumber the Reds with their "three members". Grif assures Sarge that they don't have any advantage, and that Epsilon Church hardly counts as a soldier. Just then CT 's group is heard breaking through the temple door. Caboose fixes Church's short term memory problem by bashing him, when alien soldiers appear and the Reds engage them in battle. Epsilon Church discovers he has telekinetic powers, but then loses control of his body again, floating out of the room.

As Church struggles to get Caboose to remember when the special forces agent will arrive, Sarge and Simmons continue to work on Lopez. Donut interrupts and goes to talk to Sarge about their feelings while Church attempts to activate Sheila in case things get dicey when Tex shows up. His attempts prove fruitless, but it does get Tucker to start showing his interest in women and revert to his real personality.

A few hours later, Simmons checks up on Donut and Sarge. Donut's extended conversation on feelings ends up draining Sarge of his desire to do so, turning him back into his regular gruff personality.

As the Reds are looking for power sources to keep the capture unit running, they hear a large explosion, which leads Simmons to arm a rocket launcher as they all go to investigate. They run outside to see Washington and The Meta in battle; the Meta quickly gains the upper-hand and takes Washington out of the fight. As Caboose and Doc stay with Epsilon, Sarge, Simmons, Grif, and Tucker attack the Meta, and they inflict some damage despite the Meta's power. The Meta is goaded by Sarge into coming towards him and grabs him by the throat. Sarge says "shotgun" three times and Grif, remembering the codeword from earlier, gets Simmons to help him push the jeep off the cliff. Sarge then attaches the tow hook onto the Meta's armor - which was given to him by Washington during the fight - and references his arguments about the jeep with Grif early in the Blood Gulch Chronicles by saying to the Meta "Hey Meta settle an old bet would ya? Does that thing look like a big cat to you?" The Meta drops Sarge and the capture unit falls from his back as he is dragged over the cliff to his death, swiping at Grif's legs in the process. Simmons tries to stop Grif from slipping over the edge, but Grif falls. However, he manages to survive by lodging the Meta's weapon — which he had stolen earlier — into the cliff face and holding on.

With the capture unit close to failure, Epsilon prepares to enter it to find Tex. He tells Caboose that if he does not come back, then Caboose will be in charge of remembering him. Leaving his body, he enters the unit. Doc goes to check on Washington, and Simmons tries to stabilize the unit to no avail. The unit fails before Church and Tex can emerge.

Later, UNSC recovery forces arrive to investigate, and the Red and Blue teams are questioned. After the questioning is finished, the soldier that interrogated them tells them they can return to their training bases. He expresses surprise at the teams having killed three Freelancer agents, but says that the Chairman will be disappointed at not being able to debrief Washington. The members of Blue team comment on Washington's supposed death, including Washington himself, who had faked his death and is now wearing Church's armor but with yellow trim. Washington joins the Blue team, while the Reds, not wanting to walk back to base, hijack a Hornet. The interrogator tells another soldier to throw the capture unit in evidence, as "it's all a bunch of junk now anyway".

The camera closes on the inside of the Epsilon unit. Narrating the epilogue, Epsilon says that he did not find Tex right away. However, he has learned from the Director's mistakes. Instead of trying desperately to find Tex, and pushing her away in the process, he'll stay in a place where she could find him and be patient. He decides to wait in his memories of Blood Gulch. The canyon is a bit different from how he remembered it , and he hopes that things can be different for him too. As Epsilon stands in front of Blue base, Tucker comes and tells him that the Reds have got a new vehicle, and then goes to check on it with an eager Caboose. In closing, Epsilon says "I mean hell, if you have to live the rest of your life in a memory, you might as well make it a good one."

In the present, Caboose begins giving Tucker a tour of their new base in Outpost 17-B Vahalla. However, Tucker is not impressed, as the area doesn't seem that much different from Blood Gulch, though Caboose points key differences such as a waterfall and a beach. Meanwhile, Church, Carolina, and Washington begin examining the Pelican wreck. While Washington only manages to find several shell casings and a dog tag, Church downloads himself into the Pelican's computer to see if he can obtain any information from Sheila.

In the past, South is furious when she learns that Carolina has taken her and Washington's AI and wonders why she gets such preferential treatment. In a fit of rage, she strikes Tex's locker, knocking it open and causing the name tag to fall off. Tex witnesses this and forces South to pick up the tag for her before South angrily storms out. York and Washington tell Tex that Carolina is currently in surgery to have her two AIs implanted, and that they plan to meet her in the recovery room. Tex agrees to join them, but not before discreetly pocketing a dog tag that she was keeping in her locker. In the recovery room, York and Washington observe that Maine has been suffering chronic headaches. York explains that it's a common side effect of AI implantation, but they usually wear off over time, which is not the case for Maine. Carolina then wakes up and demands for a match.

As the Valhalla group assesses their situation, Donut mistakenly translates one of Lopez's comments on the vehicles as a possibility for escape by hijacking the Meta's transport. Simmons and Donut begin to speculate where the Meta's vehicle might be, with Simmons suggesting they leave Lopez behind on grounds of being expendable. At the temple, Epsilon Church manages to regain mobility and stops himself. He then attempts to access his memories and functions as Caboose warns Tucker about the repressed torture memories within him. In the end, Epsilon Church only manages to deactivate his short term memory as somebody gains entrance to the temple.
Washington and the two teams head back to Valhalla, and watch as the Red Team steals a Warthog. After an enemy Warthog gives chase and attacks them, Washington leaves to rescue the Reds. Meanwhile, Church ignores Washington's previous orders and leaves Caboose and his body in the middle of the canyon to take a look at Tex's body. Taking over a guard's body, Church walks into the base calmly. Meanwhile, the Reds manage to destroy the enemy Warthog, only to be berated by Washington, who wanted them to capture it. A Hornet then rises behind him and starts attacking the Reds. Washington escapes the Hornet and notices the Church-possessed guard heading within the base where Tex's body is and queries Caboose over the radio about the now frozen-in-place Church. Caboose blatantly lies to Washington in an attempt to hide the truth from him. A skeptical Washington asks Caboose to put Church on, when suddenly an explosion causes Church's body to fall over and Caboose quickly hangs up. In the memo, the Chairman tells the Director that the laws aren't designed to outline every possible infraction, but is designed to punish anyone that disregards the safety and well being of citizens, regardless of how well it's justified.
At the base,Church questions Delta about Washington's sanity while Washington is seen destroying South's body in the background; Delta tells Church about Epsilon, Washington's old AI that went berserk while still it was still in Washington's mind, but Delta says Washington is acceptably sane, though this doesn't comfort Church. It is mentioned that Wyoming's helmet was on the crashed ship causing Washington to comment that the Meta is more powerful than previously thought. Church asks why the Meta wants AIs, so Washington reveals that some equipment cannot be run without them and also comments that, the possessor of a "smart AI" can be virtually unstoppable. Delta is described as a fragment and Alpha is revealed to be the only AI given to Project Freelancer, which was then copied to make the rest of the AIs, who became obsessed enough with it to break into Alpha's storage facility. Washington receives a recovery beacon from Agent Maine, who is suspected to be the Meta, but the transmission is jammed before they receive coordinates. From the data they do receive it is concluded the Meta is low on power and is trying to find a power source to recharge. Church correctly guesses that the Meta is headed for a wind-power facility that the Red and Blue teams had previously visited. In the memo, the Chairman reminds the Director that Project Freelancer was granted only one A.I. for implantation experiments, but states that they found records of agents in the field with fragments of the A.I.
While Grif and Sarge scavenge various jeeps for parts, Grif notes that all of the radios are either broken or have been completely ripped out, preventing them from calling Simmons. When Caboose suggests he can "fix" one of the missing jeep radios, Grif decides it best not to reason with him. While Sarge and Grif discuss the strange situation, Grif realizes that the investigation team's mobile base probably has a radio. Just then Epsilon's distinct sounds can be heard. Grif startles Caboose and he drops Epsilon’s carrying unit, just as the guide from before approaches from the distance. Meanwhile, at Red Base, Lopez has assembled two motorcycles in order to allow Simmons and Donut to find Sarge, or so Simmons thinks. Lopez reveals that after years of working with the Red Team he builds two of everything, and sure enough Simmons destroys one of them immediately as he goes to retrieve Donut from Blue Base. Back in the desert, the guide introduces himself simply as CT. CT notices Caboose is gone and points a gun at Grif, demanding to know where Caboose is, a threat with which Sarge has no problem. Just then an alarm sounds and various other soldiers and aliens are seen running towards the mobile base, while Grif confirms that it’s probably Caboose’s doing. CT orders Sarge and Grif to move in the same direction.

O'Hara performing at the National Memorial Day Concert in May 2010

In the present, Carolina arrives at the abandoned island fortress where York was killed during the events of Out of Mind. Church reveals himself and then asks Carolina what her motivations are and why she can't trust the Reds and Blues, causing her to go on a rant over how she couldn't even trust her fellow Freelancers. Church then delves into Epsilon's memories and summons Delta, who begins playing York's video diaries, recorded after he left Project Freelancer. In the diaries, York expresses his wish to see Carolina again, and gets excited when he hears rumors of a rogue female Freelancer, but is disappointed when he learns that it is Tex. He then reminisces about how he and Carolina first met and wishes things between them turned out differently, implying romantic feelings between them. Carolina asks Church why he showed her those diaries and responds by saying "Because, I know what it's like to spend your life chasing ghosts." Carolina thanks Church, and reveals she wants to kill the Director to take revenge for all of the Freelancers and others he victimized, Church included. They both begin to bond, with Carolina becoming much nicer toward him and Church agreeing to analyze the Director's diary logs for any information.

Meanwhile, back at the alien temple, the Reds and Blues become increasingly anxious about Carolina's motives. Caboose attempts to spy on Washington, voicing the rest of the teams' concerns over Carolina to him. Caboose then offhandedly mentions how he considers Washington a friend, something that catches him by surprise. Shortly after, Carolina returns to the alien temple and tells everybody to get ready to move. She and Church reveal that they are returning to Outpost 17-B, Valhalla.

Simmons and Tex begin working together to sort through Command's personnel files, only to be roadblocked by the Director's files being restricted and no record for either Tex or Church. However, Tex does pull up another Freelancer base not far from their location. As she sets off to check out the weaponry, F.I.L.S.S. asks Church to make a journal update as the Director used to. Church has the entries transferred to him and deleted from the database, an act observed by Sarge before sending Grif to aid Simmons with supplies.

After acquiring some new armor, Tex decides to set off on her own for the other outpost, with Church being the only one willing to go with her. The two leave as Simmons discovers a cache of Freelancer equipment that granted their special abilities. Despite requiring an A.I. to function properly, the prospect on being able to turn invisible and nap whenever proves too much for Grif and he requests to have an ability installed.

Washington and Church manage to outrun the guards and regroup with Sarge, Simmons, Grif, and Caboose, but the Recovery agents have them pinned in the bunker. Upon learning that the computers house all of command's records, Church decides to use it to check if he really is an AI, but is dismayed when Simmons points out Sarge had deleted all the information on all the Blues teams. Outside, the Meta attacks the Recovery agents. Washington, having planned on the Meta's appearance, uses it as a distraction to get to the motor pool. There, he attempts to send Sarge, Simmons, Grif and Caboose away with Epsilon so it can be returned to the authorities, while he and Church remain behind to activate an EMP failsafe that Project Freelancer has to eliminate the remaining AIs and equipment in the vicinity, knowing the Meta would endeavor to recover all the AIs in the vault. Church, however, refuses, and gets into Caboose's jeep with the intention of leaving, as he is apathetic to Project Freelancer and its exploits. Washington gives him a choice: to leave now, or to stay and find out the truth. In the memo, the Director states he doesn't care about the Chairman or the committee's concerns about Project Freelancer's activities and reminds him that humanity was at war against an alien race. He believes that when humanity is faced with extinction, every alternative is preferable.

Alvarez with San Jose Earthquakes in August 2010

In the present, Washington reports to Carolina that he has found nothing in the wind power facility. They decide to move on to the ruins in the desert where Washington found C.T.'s helmet. The Blues discuss Epsilon's memories, and his difficulty determining which of his personalities they come from.

In the past, Wyoming and an unnamed blue-armored soldier spy on an Insurrectionist facility and report C.T.'s arrival. When her defection is confirmed to the Director, he sends Carolina to join Wyoming and kill C.T. preventing her armor technology from falling into enemy hands. In the mess hall, York and North order their A.I.s to shut down so they can have a discussion about the Alpha, having both heard about it in the thoughts of their A.I. partners. The A.I.s seem obsessed with the Alpha, and refer to it as their "creator", rather than the Director. The A.I.'s vagueness regarding how the Alpha created these fragments worries York.

At Red Base, Lopez notices that the earthquakes are getting more frequent, and tries to warn the Red Team that they are in danger. However, the Red Team can't understand him and they assume Lopez is making jokes. Simmons, jealous at the attention Lopez is receiving from the Reds, storms off to prove to Red Team that he can be "likeable, funny, and people-like".

Meanwhile, at Blue Base, Church continues to try to explain the situation to Tucker and Caboose, and tell them that the simulation they are experiencing is a form a recursion taking place within the Epsilon unit, where the computer tries many different iterations of the same scenario to find a solution. He also reveals the fact that he is actually an AI based on the memories of Alpha and the Director. Tucker then likens Church's search for Tex to a stalker's actions. Suddenly, they notice a grenade lying on the ground between them, and realize too late that somebody must have thrown it at them before it explodes.

At Project Freelancer, Washington and North get into a discussion about how North was able to use his armor ability in the field without a direct pipeline to Project Freelancer's mainframe. However, their conversation is interrupted when a group of guards run past saying that a new recruit is facing off against Maine, Wyoming, and York in a three versus one sparring match. The final scene shows all three Freelancers being knocked away by a single individual wearing black armor. The small part in the end is the first appearance of Agent Texas in the 9th season.

Washington orders the Meta to free Doc from the wall so he can interrogate him, as he feels questioning someone stuck in a wall to be ridiculous. Meta's attempts at freeing Doc are unsuccessful. The Meta suggests using the winch from the destroyed Warthog to pull him free. Back at the temple, the Reds and Caboose gather around Epsilon-Church. The Delta fragment of Epsilon's memories activates and warns Caboose that due to the encounter with Washington, Epsilon has begun searching his memories, and that some of them must remain hidden in order to prevent his insanity from reemerging. Epsilon-Church then regains control and asks Caboose to help him with a task inside the 'facility.' Caboose decides to leave the original Epsilon unit behind as Epsilon-Church insists they won't need it. Meanwhile, Washington and the Meta attempt to pull Doc free with the tow cable, only for a large piece of the wall to collapse on Doc.
At Outpost 17-B, Washington is stopped from approaching the crash site by the soldiers present there. According to the guards, the Director of Project Freelancer has ordered a total lock-down, so Washington creates a distraction to allow Church and Caboose to use a gravity lift from one of the bases to approach the crash site. They access the ship's computer to discover that is still active, despite the ship's systems being badly damaged. Washington and Caboose manage to activate the log of the previous flight, and observe Tex's struggle to land the ship before it crashed. In the sponsor cut there is Andy talking in the background of the flight recording. Washington then receives a call from Command, who tell him that a recovery beacon has been activated by the . Command also informs Wash that South, Delta's current host, is in "big trouble". Washington, remembering South's past betrayal, replies with "Yes. Yes, she is." In the memo, the Chairman understands that a shift can be difficult for anyone, and he also states that his and the committee's trust has its limits.

Caboose and Wash take the tank back to Blue base, where Wash reminds Tucker that no one is to touch the tank. Wash also reminds Tucker that until they're rescued, they need to be more mindful of the resources they have and to report to him about anything. Wash then says that with Church and Carolina gone, he's responsible for holding the team together. Tucker then makes a badly timed joke about the crashed ship's entire crew dying at the time of the crash.

At Red base, Sarge continues to complain about the base layout such as the sandbags in the west wing. Grif agrees with him by also mentioning the hole in the base's roof. Simmons, having designed the layout, doesn't see the problem. He says it's the ideal place for his garden and that it's under the damaged engine of the ship to keep them warm, though Sarge mentions the huge amounts of radiation the engine gives off.

The episode picks up right after Maine's grenade explodes and greatly injures York. As the medical team arrives, Washington comments that a Freelancer's armor hardens after it locks down, explaining Tex shooting York with the hardening paint shortly before the explosion; something that may have saved him from worse injury. The Director then arrives and berates Washington for following the rules of the training floor, saying that the enemy won't fight according to protocol on the battlefield, and that Wyoming and Maine showed initiative and creativity for using live ammunition and will therefore not be punished. The Freelancers are left confused by the Director's statement, with Carolina becoming suspicious of Tex.

Back in Blood Gulch, the Blues are disoriented by the grenade explosion, which turned out to be a flashbang grenade. Blinded and partially deaf, they begin to open fire in random directions while Tex watches on, commenting on their incompetence. Meanwhile at Red Base, Simmons lures Lopez to the caves near the base. There, he plans on tricking Lopez into walking into a puddle of water that he electrified with a battery. Lopez overhears Simmons' plan to kill him and tells him that he will go around to another entry to the cave. Simmons attempts to catch up to him, only to step into the water and get electrocuted.

With the Red and Blue teams refusing to help them, Church and Carolina decide to try to find the Director themselves. After an unsuccessful search at their first target with no one there, their second target yields results when FILSS mentions that the Director had entered the facility years ago but has not left since.

Meanwhile, in Valhalla, the Red and Blue Teams are continuing their "war", with the Reds attempting to negotiate with the Blues to get their flag back by giving up their stuff, though they all start to admit that it's starting to get depressing. Simmons decides to reveal and trade the Meta's Brute Shot for the flag, though Grif protests since he wants to keep the "Grifshot" for himself and use it as a mounting piece. As Washington and Grif argue over what to do with the Brute Shot, Doc asks the teams whether they really are okay with letting Church leave by himself. When they point out that Church has been nothing but trouble for them and mention all of the problems they had to deal with in the past, Doc responds by pointing out how their past adventures had changed them for the better. For example, Sarge finally got to lead a real military operation, Tucker learned how to use his Plasma Sword, Washington found a new team, Simmons found his old team, Doc himself managed to keep a patient alive for the first time in his career, and Donut didn't die. Realizing this, the Reds and Blues decide to go after Church. Washington attempts to stop them, saying that it's stupid and that they are being too reckless facing almost impossible odds, also pointing out that the Director plays for keeps. Sarge points out that being stupid and reckless helped them get things done and that Wash and the Freelancers have seem to forget: the Reds and Blues were able to beat the Freelancers time and time again. Sarge also mentions the fact that the Freelancers may have better equipment, plans and training, but they lacked the one thing the Red and Blue Teams have: a team they could count on. He also gives Washington his choices: keep playing it safe, or get a little reckless for once. Wash says this is the stupidest idea ever, but decides to join them anyway. As all agree to go, they realize Church and Carolina have a huge head start on them and wonder how they will be able to catch up to them in time, when suddenly a trio of UNSC Hornet gunships arrive to arrest them, unknowingly proving Wash's theory that he and the Reds and Blues are indeed wanted criminals. The Reds and Blues hijack the Hornets, strand the UNSC soldiers at Valhalla and fly off to find Church and Carolina.

Back at the Freelancer facility, Church and Carolina note how the facility seems to be completely abandoned, and both of them have a sense of deja vu. Carolina finds a new pair of plasma rifles in the armory and takes them for herself. They then enter a teleporter to confront the Director. However, they instead end up in a room filled with robotic copies that resemble Tex. Church reveals that the Director had never stopped trying to create a perfect copy of Allison, and these robots were the byproducts of his obsession. When Carolina asks if the Director ever succeeded, the robots then activate and before attacking Church and Carolina, one of the byproducts steps up and says "You have no idea what kind of trouble you are in."

In the past, the Mother of Invention approaches the facility, revealed to be a scrap-metal recycling station, firing its main cannon. The station launches Longsword fighters in response. Pelican drop-ships are launched from the Mother of Invention, one of which is carrying agents Carolina, North, , Washington and Connecticut , who have orders to capture the "Leader". Due to York's failure to unlock the Leader's hangar, they are forced to deploy into the main hangar of the station. Before deploying, Carolina advises using their jetpacks sparingly, lest they end up like Agent Georgia, who was never found. Flying into the hangar, the agents fight the Insurrectionist forces present. After the fight, Carolina assigns the agents tasks for the mission, then notices that C.T. is missing. C.T. is then seen entering another part of the station via a hole in the hull, and confronts an elite Insurrectionist and two soldiers, who open fire.

Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla from Smosh guest star in a cameo as two soldiers, one of which is holding a large amount of shotguns while the other berates him . The soldier holding the guns drops one and kills the other accidentally upon seeing the Freelancers, only to be killed himself soon after.

At Blue base, Wash is working on the communications dish with Tucker with him. Tucker comments that they and the others should have been founded by now, remembering that the crashed ship's GPS locator should have activated when they crash landed. Wash grows frustrated about not having all the tools needed to fix the dish, thinking the Reds took a tool. Tucker tries to calm Wash down, saying that if they were in Blood Gulch, they would be doing the same thing, though Wash believes that they are being watched by someone. Wash eventually agrees with Tucker that they should have been rescued by now. Meanwhile, Caboose is working on an unseen item get loose from something, wondering how the item got there. Caboose assures the item to not worry as they are going to be best friends.

Back at Red base, Sarge is working on building a new robot, while Grif and Simmons talk about science-fiction movies and TV shows that had robot domination. Sarge finishes the robot, who coincidentally looks and speaks Spanish like Lopez, much to the chagrin of Grif and Simmons. Still not able to understand Spanish, the Reds assume the robot, now called Lopez Dos.0, is stupid. Sarge eventually has Lopez Dos.0 go work on the communications dish.

In the present, Washington and Carolina approach where Wash saw C.T.'s helmet, wondering how C.T. ended up there. Carolina then tells him what happened back at the Longshore Shipyards.

C.T. and the Insurrection Leader plan to escape the facility, but C.T. tries to tell him that the Freelancers might help them if they were told the whole story from their point of view. Outside the room, Carolina and Tex wait at the door, as the room is guarded by turrets making it impossible to get in without them activating. Carolina orders York to disable the power, but the latter is pinned down by the Twin Insurrectionists. Wyoming proposes that the Blue ODST help them as the latter recovers from his injury and uses his rifle to cause a crane holding a crate to smash into the two insurrectionist turret soldiers, killing them.

With the power finally disabled, Tex and Carolina rush into the room, holding C.T. and the Leader at gunpoint. C.T. attempts to convince them of the Director's crimes, but the two will have none of it. C.T. then reveals that she knows what Tex really is, and calls her a shadow, enraging her enough to shoot at C.T. With negotiations over, the four have a fight before Tex fatally wounds C.T. with one of the Leader's tomahawks. The Leader drags C.T. out of the room as Carolina berates Tex for harming a teammate, but Tex tells her C.T. is no longer one of them. The Leader drags C.T. into an escape pod and she gives him a card full of information describing the Director's crimes before dying. In grief, the Leader takes her helmet and puts it on, revealing that the C.T. the Reds and Blues encountered in Recreation was the Leader all along.

In the present, Washington is surprised at the truth as Carolina retrieves what she was looking for; the card with information about the Director.

The Reds are attacked by the Meta leading Sarge and Simmons to take shelter with Washington and Church, while Grif hides behind a pile of debris. Washington leaves to check on Caboose and finds him unconscious and Delta missing. He then attacks the Meta with a machine gun, but the Meta again uses his temporal distortion enhancement to escape. The group assembles around Caboose, who is unable to wake up despite clear vital signs. Simmons suggests that Church enter Caboose's mind to find out what is incapacitating him. Church agrees as long as Washington is distracted so that he isn't traumatized. Church leaves his body, becoming a ghost, and enters Caboose's mind. He eventually meets with Caboose's own mental projection and a prerecorded message left by Delta, which tells him that "memory is the key," and that Washington will understand. Church exits Caboose's mind only to be discovered by Washington. In the memo, the Chairman expresses that the Director may have forgone safety protocols for using A.I., which led to the Meta having multiple A.I.s, and believes that the protocol is not a guideline but doctrine, and that no one is above its rule.
The Reds are out looking for Donut, heading over to Blue base. Donut confronts Caboose and tells him that he has an important message for Church from Tucker. Caboose quickly explains Church's true nature as an AI and Donut tells Caboose the message instead, saying only that Tucker needs help, and that "it is under the sand" before passing out. Caboose misunderstands the message, thinking Donut said, "it's under this and", but tells Donut he can rest at Blue Base for as long as he needs to. Meanwhile, Sarge, Grif, and Simmons arrive outside and think that Caboose is torturing Donut. Caboose talks with them and Sarge tries to negotiate Donut's release, but Caboose misunderstands the questions, believing the Reds are offering him treats, and becomes angry when they don't give him any cookies. Simmons also becomes agitated with the situation before leaving to "go sleep under a tree until it's over". Caboose goes back inside the base where Donut has regained consciousness. The episode ends with Donut puzzling over the fact that the normally insubordinate Grif is working with Sarge and that Simmons has uncharacteristically abandoned them.
In a flashback in Blood Gulch, Sarge receives the Meta's fake transmission from the end of chapter 4. It tells him that Washington is re-assembling the Blues, so he makes plans to gather the other members of the Red team. For reasons not stated, Sarge cannot retrieve Donut, leaving only Simmons and Grif. He then tells Lopez that he's leaving him behind, to Lopez's delight, and departs. At Grif and Simmons's new base, both are about to be executed for selling their ammunition to the Blue team when they are unwittingly saved from death by the firing squad by Sarge's arrival. Sarge takes them both with him, unable to comprehend that Grif is the base's sergeant, even after countless attempts trying to explain it to him and departs, leaving the remaining Reds utterly bewildered. In the memo, the Chairman believes the Director is avoiding the question about how the Meta is using multiple A.I.s, verifying that Project Freelancer is using multiple A.I.s, and wonders how the program was able to procure them.
The Director sends twin agents & North Dakota into a cryogenics research facility. South tries to steal data files while North tracks the guards via thermal imaging. While downloading the data, South is confronted by a guard. The guard tries to activate an alarm; South kills him, but his momentum carries him to the alarm button. With the facility now alerted, South grabs the data pod and rendezvous with North. The agents fight their way past numerous guards to get to the helipad for extraction. When they reach the pad, they find themselves surrounded, and a voice demands they stand down and hand over the data pod.