While the group was nearing their quarters, the Commander spoke up "Actually guys, you go on ahead. I've got something to take care of."

"Like what?" Vinnie asked, her eyes filled with curiosity

"Um, just gonna go talk to someone about something. I'll be back in a bit." The commander answered as vaguely as possible

"Can I come?" Vinnie replied

"Weren't you just tired moments ago?" Scar questioned, her eyebrow raised

"What, am I not allowed to just rest elsewhere?" Vinnie answered defensively

"I suppose." Reaper answered, sighing on the inside before starting to walk off

"You're not going anywhere without me." Scar answered, grabbing Vinnie's shoulder to stop her

"Then come with us. It's alright, isn't it commander?" Vinnie asked, getting a little annoyed with Scar's antics

"I guess. But either come now or not at all." Corey answered, growing restless

"Count us in too." Jack spoke up, Layla nodding in agreement

"Alright then, let's go." Corey responded finally walking off

"What's up with him?" Scar asked

"He's probably annoyed that you kept delaying him. I know I am but I'm not showing it." Vinnie answered, smirking before being punched in the arm by Scar

"Whatever." Scar responded

Minutes later the group arrived at a large door several meters thick called "Housing Unit" with a glowing sign saying "Specimens at play"

"Where are we?" Scar asked, growing concerned

"My home." Reaper answered, before doing a retina scan to open the door

"Home?" Vinnie asked, tilting her head in confusion

"Just keep calm and stay behind me for now." Reaper answered again, before entering the now opened room

The group entered into a vast and beautiful forest with the sound of flowing water and birds singing happily

"Welcome to Serenity." Reaper welcomed the group, who were observing their environment in awe while the door closed behind them

"This has been here this whole time?" Jack asked

"About as long as I have. Ah, there you are, hey guys!" Corey began to crouch and open his arms wide

Seconds later a pack of wolves ran towards the group before jumping onto Corey and licking him

"What the hell?" Scar exclaimed quietly

"Guys, I want you to meet my family. My wolf pack. The big fluffy one is Serenity. She's our mother, she's also what this place is named after. The small scruffy one is Ajax, my little brother. He may look cute and cuddly, but he'll fuck you up if you get on his bad side." Reaper began introducing

"This is adorable." Layla said blushing before shrinking slightly with her ears tilting forward

"The big boy back there watching us is Xoran. He's the pack's protector and lookout. He's also my big brother. He's got a small temper but some people grow on hi-" is all Corey managed to say before a small pup jumped on his head and cuddled him

"Aw! Who's that one?" Vinnie exclaimed slightly tempted to pet the pup

"Hi, yes sis I'm back. This little princess here is Misty, my little sister. She's arguably the most adorable of the pack aside from Serenity. She's also pretty clingy as you can tell." Reaper answered, before getting up and walking towards the forest

"You can touch them soon enough, just let me introduce you to them. For now follow me into what I like to call 'The Quiet Meadows' my thinking spot." Reaper assured, while the pack followed close behind

"This place is amazing. Why does this place even exist?" Jack asked out of curiosity

"Well, that information is kinda classified..... But since we're gonna be a team from now on, I suppose I can give you a bit of info. Just don't tell anyone else." Reaper began answering

"Halsey wanted to make another super soldier, while Chief is most likely gonna be the savior of humanity, she wanted another spartan to buy time. And take his place if absolutely necessary, as unlikely as that would be. In order to make a better spartan than most of the other II's, she began to experiment with genetics." The commander explained

"So wait, the wolves are here for genetic purposes?" Scar questioned

"Originally, yes. There were four attempts in total. The other three..... We don't talk about them. I was the successful one." Reaper replied, sitting down in front of a tree at the edge of the forest that leads into the meadows

"What exactly is the benefit of animal genetics? Aren't II's great on their own?" Jack asked

"On their own, yes. But imagine a II with the sense of smell and hearing of a wolf." The commander responded while rubbing Serenity behind her ears with Ajax and Misty sleeping on his lap

"Wait, aren't you three genetically modified?" Reaper asked, looking at Scar, Vinnie and Layla

"We actually don't know. From what we know, we were born this way." Scar answered, scratching the back of her head

"Oh. Anyway, the reason they kept this place afterwards is because they wanted me to interact with pack for awhile and see if they would accept me as one of their own. As you can see, they do but I grew attached. And because I became attached, they decided to keep this place for me and the pack. Every animal you see in this place is connected with me. I know each animal like their my brothers and sisters. But I consider them cousins. Another plus side of the genetics is the fact that most if not all packs that exist will accept as one of their own. A little extra support never hurt, and Halsey liked the fact animals would try to aid her spartan. So does ONI."

"So you're saying that animals would rush to your aid when needed?" Scar questioned

"Correct. It's actually been proven multiple times with video evidence. Although won't show you, as that is also classified. And I will only share classified information the longer we stay together." The commander answered

Seconds later Xoran walked up behind Scar and poked the back of her leg with his paw

"Huh?" Scar gasped slightly, confused

"He likes you. Looks you guys already grew on them. It usually takes longer." Corey smiled, happy to all of his friends getting along "If you guys wanna stay and rest here until the next trial, be my guest. Just don't annoy the animals." The moment those words left the commander's mouth, Vinnie plopped down beside him and looked towards the horizon with Jack and Layla doing the same

"This isn't so bad." Scar told herself quietly, before sitting in-between Corey and Vinnie

"Hey!" Vinnie pouted

Scar started giggling at the scene of Vinnie getting red in the face

"She did the same with me, don't forget that." Jack reassured Vinnie while chuckling

Xoran sat on the other side of Reaper and watched the horizon with him

"Look at us, like one big happy family." Scar said as the commander started to kind of grow on her