To Run Away...

Chapter 26

  About a quarter hour went by after they were lucky enough to flee from the border unharmed. From then on, the four remained perfectly quiet... as usual. With Ivan driving, Pierre was fast asleep with a cigar still dangling from his mouth, Haystack lying in the backseat, and Maribelle lying besides him, sleeping like a foal.

While driving, Ivan took the opportunity to drink the newly acquired body builder; and do his best to keep his eye on the road at the same time. He couldn't take the fact that he forgot about this. Fortunately, he was successful, not letting the lemon tasting soda distract him. Once all of it was going down his throat, he felt a tingly feeling in his hands, as if a hundred ants chose to march three by three and shout "Hurrah!". Fortunately, the effects were benevolent enough to prevent him from losing control of the steering wheel. Once it left his body, he then picked up the Vita and turned it on.

  The music played as usual with the title card on the first slide. The next slide depicted the soldier with himself

"Injured? Don't worry!" said the lady.

"'Point and click' will make your weapons laser accurate!"

  The soldier was now shooting rebels while the bullets flew across the screen in a strait line.

"It's like playing a video game.. only without the soldiers being dimwits and your life constantly crashing."

  The next slide had the soldier give his thumbs up and smile while a medic came over to help him.

"Have fun, comrade!"

  The 'Thank you RED industries' slide appeared before it would turn off. Giving Ivan the sign to throw the piece of junk out the window.

"Ugh, what a waste." Ivan sighed.

"Ah'van?"

  Hearing his voice, Ivan was quick to reply. "Talk to me."

  The pony felt a little repulsed by what he said. "Ah beg yer pard'n."

"Oh, I mean, yeah?"

"Er, uh, would you mind answering a question for me?"

"If it's about why I'm here other than I have a debt to pay, then I'm not saying anything."

"No, no, It's just that... You said that Chicago's a very dangerous place since you were born."

"Yep, so what about it?"

"What was it like?"

  Without thinking, he simply said. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"C'mon, Ahm not saying that if that's the reason why you were in debt, you can tell me. And hey, Ah'll tell you how Ponyville was like."

  It wasn't a reason why he's in debt, well he thought it over, but after about ten seconds of doing so, he decided to tell him; mainly because he'll disclose what Ponyville is like. "Ugh, Chicago was like the jungles of Vietnam, but with buildings. No matter where you went, there would be something bad going on... but when I was born, things were worse. Especially when Arabia was in the state that it's in. Riots, increased crime, and cultists that follow Princess Celestia and Nightmare moon were always present."

"Well, Celestia always knew that you humans can't resolve yourselves."

  Not feeling the urge to bark back at him about humanity, he replied with. "Yep, war after war after war after war, things don't seem to be looking up."

  He looked over at Maribelle, the sight of her sleeping against him like she was his child made him feel worried about how they've been. "And when things looked up, it only made things worse, r'aght?"

  He nodded, "Yep, after World War one, the allies made the Germans pay, creating the third Reich. After World War two, the spit of Germany and Korea started both and arms buildup and a spread of Ideologies, and the list can go on and on. Back in Chicago, it was just like that. When one side won, that side chose to dominate everyone in the city, starting riots... and when the other side took them down, they wouldn't pull it up from the root, and that's when chaos ensued."

  He then decided to go into his personal life, willing to open up some information about himself. "When my mom sent me to school, he would conceal a small pocket knife in my shirt pocket, in case if anyone tried to kidnap me for money, indoctrinate me... or to satisfy their disturbing tastes and fetishes."

  Those words made Haystack's legs tremble. "Huh, you humans would even use children as a form of survival, right?"

"Yeah, I even had a friend who was taken by members of the Sisterhood of Night Eternal."

"Who are they?"

"Ugh, a cult dedicated to Nightmare moon."

"Oh, ah never that that existed."

"Looks like Celestia is so desperate to keep that a secret." He muttered.

"Huh?"

  To make sure he heard nothing, he continued with his friend story. "To continue, I managed to find him seven years later, baring the Lunarist flag."

  He sighed softly, feeling a little pain from that memory. "... Only to be shot dead by a Celestianist sniper."

"Oh..." He continued to stare down at Maribelle still feeling saddened that children like her were being forced to fight for her highness. "Well I'm sorry about that."

"Don't be... in this world, friends just come and go, our society helps us remember that." He then remembered the song that Maribelle was humming earlier in the day. "By the way, was the song Maribelle was humming named 'Snowdrop's Lullaby'?"

  The pony was surprised at his knowledge on the song. "Uh, yeah... how'd ya know."

"The melody was so familiar around the city, can't believe that Maribelle would remind me of it. No matter where I went, someone would either be playing, singing, and/or humming it... *Sigh* The story of Snowdrop always interested me... a little filly trying to find a sense of living even after all the crap thrown at her... and she persevered in the end. Now the snowflake is the symbol of winter to both Equestria and to the human race." He glanced at the top view mirror, "Hmm, I loved that story... and that song you ponies made for her was nice as well."

"Thanks." The pony said, appreciatively.

  Another memory about the song popped into his head while he looked back at the vast plains in front of him. The memory made him chuckle a little before saying it. "I remember the time when my mother would sing it everyday during the winter... the ironic thing was that she was Christian, and you know how religious people tend to get here... But hey, just because you're a religious man or woman, doesn't mean that your god won't allow you to try new things."

"I kind of disagree with that." Haystack thought, reminding himself of Celestia.

"Ha ha... yeah, a lot of bad things went on in Chicago, but stuff like that song would always lift our spirits for just a little while... before it was time to bring it back down again." Not wanting to talk about it anymore, he decided to learn about the town Haystack originated from. "So, how's Ponyville like?"

  The stallion thought about how was he going to start. He had a lot to tell him about, so it was best that he started with the ponies that lived there. "Ponyville's a... a n'ahce place..."

"Yeah, and?"

"Well, the ponies in that town are very nah'ce. Hay, you can make many friends there, if ya wanted to."

"Yeah, if I was a pony of course."

"Hmm, anyways, the city isn't that big. The population is at around three-hundred thousand, and most of it is mainly mares."

"Wow, really?" He held his guffaw back, surprised at those statistics.

"Yeah, Sixty fah've percent of it .The rest is just stallions. We're mostly there to work though... like everypony in the town. But the stallions to hard labor, such as construction, carpentry, mechanics, and farmin'. Some of the mares do that too, but they mostly tend to shops, teach, or other stuff."

"Huh, seems like you ponies like to be organized."

"Yeah... Ah guess."

  He glanced at the front mirror again before looking back. "So, If I remember correctly, you're a farmer, right?"

"Eeyep."

"Bail hay?"

"Uh huh."

"Good, I remember. So, how's life like down at the barn?"

  He looked at the window again, trying to make the feeling out in his head; but in no time, he got it. "I-It's n'ahce. Everythin' just feels happy... just bailin' hay and supportin' the family... it fits perfectly."

"How's the family like?"

  The question made his heart sink a little the moment it was asked. "Well, It's been gloomy for the past couple years. M'ah parents dah'd when ah was eleven, and-"

"Ouch." He felt empathy towards him, knowing that that must've hurt. "I-I'm sorry about that."

"I-It's okay... Ah managed to get over it lah'ke ya should, but m'ah sister... I-It took awh'ahle."

"Whaddaya mean?"

  He sighed, memories of what had happened that day were threatening to break back into his mind. "They dah'd rah'ght in front of her."

  Ivan now regretted asking that, "I-"

"She told me they fell off a falterin' bridge whah'le they were trah'n to save her friend from fallin' as well. Some claimed that the bridge was f'ahne before the incident... but... but..."

"Don't worry, you don't need to say anymore." He interrupted, noticing the tear trickling down his eye.

"Whaddaya m-"

"You were about to cry."

  He then felt the tear and quickly wiped it off. "Oh, rah'ght... thanks."

"Don't mention it." He then chose to brush lightly on the subject. "Hey, did she eventually get over it?"

"Mmm Hmm." He nodded. "It took a long talk with our grandmother for that to be possible, now ah'm just glad that she's okay... Even though I somet'ahmes believe that she still feels the same way."

"Oh... Well I hope she'll remain that way."

"What, sad?"

"No, No! Of course not. I mean that I hope she'll remain okay."

"Oh."

"Yep." The two were silent for a few seconds before Ivan returned with the stages of grief in mind. "People and ponies tend to want to jump over to acceptance just like that, huh?"

"Yeah... they just have to understand that it doesn't work lah'ke that."

"Of course it doesn't... it'll only end up killing them in the long run.

  He had to agree. "Yeah, it certainly does."

  The silence resumed for another couple of seconds, but Haystack broke it up again with a little payback. "How's y'er family?"

"Meh, I was an only child, and my mom was single until I was nine."

"So, can ya tell me more?"

"Ugh, of course." He groaned.  "My dad died before I was even born."

"Wow, A-ah'm sorry."

"Don't be... Anyways, she would go on to raise me on her own; making sure that I didn't get into trouble. She did well making sure my childhood wasn't going to be a nightmare... and that's when a guy named 'Harvey' showed up."

"And?"

"Unlike my mother, the guy was a fundamentalist nut. And since they've been friends for awhile, they had the bright Idea to get into a romantic relationship, eventually marrying a year later." Frustration started to become more audible in his speech. "Then that bastard chose to run everything in the house, in which my mother simply complied like the doormat she was."

"Must've been a tough lah'fe then."

"Of course it was." He nodded. "Fundamentalists are like subjects to a dictator. They think that god's some benevolent man who only punishes because 'He loves you'. When in reality, they're portraying him as a Celestial Adolf-"

  He then remembered about how butthurt he'll be. "I mean a Celestial Vladmir-"

  He remembered that Equestria and the Soviets aren't on good terms. "Uh, A Celestial Heinz Doofenshmirtz."

  The suspicion in the stallion faded. "Yep."

"Yeah... So things went bad; And now, all I need is the money to wipe away my debt, and then the only focus will be on what to do with my life."

  Haystack was quiet, but decided to ask. "Ah'van?"

"Yeah?"

"When you learned about your dad-"

"He was a nice man... Even in his death."

"How?"

"Don't know... the only thing I do know, was that he died keeping the peace in Tallahassee."

"Oh... So was he a cop?"

"No, just a regular engineer for RED fighting BLU. That's all."

"Hmm."

  They were quiet again... Until the vehicle began to rumble underneath them. "What the hell?"

  Ivan was stunned to realize that the fuel meter now read empty. "Oh come on!"

  The engine shut off entirely. Now, they were just sitting ducks. "Haystack, look behind you, is there any canisters of fuel there?"

"Uh, no, not at all."

"Damn it." He muttered, slamming a fist against the steering wheel. "Now how the hell are we going to get to Aegnus?"

  He decided to have a look around, when he noticed a small abandoned horse drawn carriage lying at about five yards to their right. The boy smirked a little. Quick to realize it, Haystack needed to stop him. "Ah'van, don't tell me-"

"Haystack, may you take us to Aegnus in that carriage?"

"No no no." He replied. "I cannot fit in that thing. It's too big. Plus you g'ahs are too heavy-"

"Pierre and I can sit on the wagon, Maribelle can sit on your back. Plus, there's an Umbrella she can use in the back of this vehicle. Also, there's a full pack of bottled water there. We're gonna need it."

  Haystack face hoofed. "F'ahne. But if ah don't fit in that thing, then you two will be walkin'."

"Of course."

  And so, they went on to wake both Maribelle and Pierre up from their brief nap. The little girl was easy to wake up. Just a calm little gesture and a soft tone would do the trick.

"Uh, yes, Haystack?" she moaned, rubbing her right eye. Haystack thought that looked so cute, even while he was delivering the news to her.

  Pierre on the other hand. wasn't that easy to do so. Ivan tried the calm way, but that didn't work. So he raised his voice, and that didn't work either. Thus, he slapped him in the face, and that made him shout. "Ah, Preston, leave me alone!"

  When he realized that he was awake, he immediately calmed down, and let Ivan's way of snapping him out pass. "Yes?"

  After that, they grabbed what they needed and headed towards the cart. Turns out the harness fit him well. So, once they were all accommodated, they were on their way.

"Well, I was right." Ivan said Triumphantly.

"Yeah." He slurred amidst his frustration. "What do I owe you?"

"Nothing really. There's nothing here to give you."

*  -  *

  *  -  *

Wesley was walking down an empty hallway in Doof tower. He admired the hall's décor with every step and glance. The red walls and marble floor made him feel comfortable as he approached the double doorway in front of him.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Come in!" A woman on the other side shouted in her familiar voice

  Without wasting time, he opened the door and walked inside; where Vanessa was sitting in front of her desk. She would then stand up and greet him. "Oh, you must be Thomas."

"Yes, Madame!" He stood up straight, and saluted to his master. "I'm here to serve the state."

  She, with the same amount of enthusiasm, saluted him back. "Yes, yes you are, my apprentice."

  She then exited from behind the desk and stood in front of him.

  Looking up, he realized how tall she was... and it made him feel more inferior than ever.

"At ease, sir."

  As fast lightning, he dropped the salute and remained firm.

"So, are you ready for your first day?" She smiled.

  The smile made him feel warm and confident while nodding with a smirk across his face.

"Good." She knelt over to him, meeting up to his height. She then held onto his shoulders. "Because I'll be needing your duties in the future... can you handle it?"

"Y-yes Madame." He said softly.

  Wesley opened his eyes slowly to the sight of her master looking at him with that majestic face of hers.

"Wake up, sleepy head." she said as if she were a mother waking up her four year old.

"Uh..." Shaking, he did his best to salute to her, even through all the pain he was feeling right now. "... Hey... M-ma-"

  She held onto his hand, preventing it from moving any further. "At ease, Thomas."

  He let it go, the arm would then lie on the bed against the rest of his body. "S-so... what h-happened?"

"You passed out after grenade shards made you lose twenty percent of your blood."

"Ouch." He then took the time to look at his bandage covered self.

"Look, I'm just glad you're alright." She began to pet his hair. "But I still can't believe that you'd leave your soldiers behind for the sake of saving yourself."

"Say what?"

"You disobeyed Doofania's honor code, and you will be reprimanded for your actions."

  He couldn't believe it, she's going to discipline him for that. Without any concerns for his current state of health, he increased the volume of his voice to explain himself, "But Madame, I had to survive, I'm the commander of this city's battalion; as well as your apprentice! I needed to save my-"

"Your own safety isn't as important as the safety of our men, commander!!"

  He used his left arm to sit upwards. "But my safety can determine the fate of not only my men, but of this nation as a -"

"You do not hold that position, Thomas! I wield that responsibility, not you!"

"I uphold as much of that as you do Madame!"

"No you don't!"

"Then what am I to you then, a Pawn, your personal sex toy, a mindless slave that's only worth is to command some platoon and then come home to rut-." His chest began to swell, making him groan in pain. Immediately, he lied back down to take a little breather.

  Knowing how much pain he was in, Vanessa chose to let him get some rest. "Look, just calm down. I'll leave you to recover from this injury."

  And like any lover would, Vanessa would lean over and planted a kiss on his forehead. Which seemed to calm everything down, even as the wet kiss made the young commander blush. The dear leader than walked away, along side her two guards. Suddenly, she stopped, turned around, and said, 'But that doesn't mean that this discussion is over, got it?"

  He wanted to argue even more with her, but the pain was too much, so he simply let the urge go and say calmly. "Yes, Madame."

"Alrighty then." She and the guards then walked away in peace.

  Alone now, all Wesley could do is sigh in utter annoyance at the fact that her own master would scold him for doing something just.

"Relationship problems, huh?"

  He then realized that he wasn't alone. "Uh, hello?"

  He looked over to the blue curtain, where the shadow of a woman was on the other side.

"Yeah, talking to you." she said.

"Wh-who are you?"

  She was silent for a little while, but then she spoke. "A woman who's just curious on your issue."

  It would lead him to assume many things, "Are you an enemy of the state!?"

"Oh no, no no no no. Just an affiliate to RED."

"Prove it."

"Ugh, fine."

  She grabbed onto the curtain, and pulled it back, revealing her identity.

"Oh, Alice." He looked away, nearly embarrassed at his outburst. "I-It's you."

"Huh, It's been a while since we met face to face, hasn't it."

  He lied back down, "Yes, yes it has."

"So, Vanessa's been a little tough on you, hasn't she?"

  He sighed, "Ugh, yep."

"Tell me about it, my boss has been working my ass even as I lay in the hospital."

"Well, so you were the one hacking into our surveillance cameras."

"Huh?"

  He laughed a little inside. "Rodrigo told me about it. Remember the open mouths policy?"

  She rummaged through her memory, until realizing the deal back in the year twenty-twenty-six. "Oh right... we at RED seem to forget a lot. So, with that brought up, what are you guys doing?"

"I can't tell you." He said proudly. "That's a Doofanian secret."

"Ugh." She rolled her eyes, knowing that this is the reason why they had that policy passed, mumbling. "You statist pricks."

  The dear leader continued to walk down the halls until she remembered something she promised last night; and that made her freeze in freeze.

Slap!

"Ugh, I forgot to talk about our lack of drone deployment." Her hand was pressed against her forehead when General Lang would arrive in front of her.

"Madame?" He said, saluting her.

"Ugh, yes?" She said, rubbing the hand against her face before releasing it. Knowing that he didn't let go of his salute, she ordered, "At ease, comrade."

"Well, first off, it has something to do with our lack of drone deployment. Secondly, I question why you didn't bring it up at the meeting this morning, did it have something to do with-"

"Yes, General. It had to do with RED's attack on our troops."

"Indeed Madame. But I have concerns over RED and their use of drones; since the attack involved their 'Scoutbots'."

"Huh." She placed her hand over her chin. "Didn't think of that."

"Looks like their increasing their use. Even in the infiltrators recent attack on the department of security, we found out that they were hacking into our surveillance cameras."

"What?" She was surprised at their little plan. "Why would they-"

"Probably to see what the infiltrators were up to."

  Angry, she punched the wall nearby. The concrete made her knuckles crack. "Damn it, those bastards are trying to use us!"

  Shocked at her sudden outburst, Po stuttered in beginning his sentence. "I-I... I think you're right. They're going to extreme measures just to acquire the intel on that package. And now I question what the hell are they going to do next."

  She sighed, putting her reddened hand against her hip. "If RED's going to do this to us..."

"Right." Lang nodded. "Like the sniper said, they're only here for their own interests."

"Then they better be prepared for what's to come." She began to walk, causing her entourage to follow. "Effective immediately, I want all ten thousand drones in the entire country to be at the ready."

  Not going to fight that demand, Lang complied. "Yes Madame."

  He then proceeded to run away from her, only to be stopped by her call.

"Yes, Madame?" He said.

  She was quiet for a couple seconds, trying to articulate her question.  When she got it, the question was, "Do you think that RED was able to acquire the intel?"

"I-I don't know Madame. If you remember, the surveillance camera didn't show much. Only Blythe and Subject A1 were visible."

  She sighed, "Then be very cautious, Because that's another reason why I want our own drones on the front lines."

"Yes Madame." He saluted, before continuing his departure.

  Vanessa then continued her walk. "Because God will soon cut Redmond down."

  It's been at least six hours since Ivan, Haystack, Pierre, and Maribelle last left the useless Humvee for a wagon. Fortunately for them, Haystack's legs were still going strong even after being out there for that long.  But throughout the time they were walking, neither of the four spoke to one another. Pierre and Maribelle continued to sleep (Lucky for she and Haystack that the umbrella remained perfectly slanted on his back.) while Ivan looked out the pleasant looking horizon. Haystack did the same, only while walking in the direction they were heading.

  Impatient about how much time there is left, Haystack finally asked. "Ah'van, do you remember what Pierre said about how much tah'me there was left before reachin' Aegus?"

"He said that we only have three hours to go." He said before drinking another sip from his water bottle. "Jeez, thank god that this wagon had a cooler and some fresh ice inside... I wonder how was that possible?"

"Huh, beats me."

  He then chose to move on to the next topic. "So, about your sister."

"She's fah'ne. If it has anythin' to do with m'ah parents bein' dead, then Ah'm not goin' to talk about it."

"No, no. It has more to do with how she feels about you leaving. For that matter, how does the rest of your family feel about it?"

"Great, another hard one." He thought, before answering. "Well, it ain't that easy... The whole family took it well... except m'ah little sister."

  He frowned at the thought of that. "Sh-she... was crah'n, pratically beggin' f'er me to stay... but ah told her that it had to be done."

"Wow, so how did she look when you were leaving?" Ivan said.

  He sighed, understanding what he was referring to, "Don't know... Ah left for the Baltimare port overnah'ght. But if Celestia told me how she felt, Ah bet she was still cryin' for me."

"Huh, sad, isn't it?"

"Mmm Hmm."

  During the pause, a question popped into Ivan's head. "Wait a minute, I thought Equestria didn't allow citizens to the leave the country."

"A yacht sneaked me out before anypony could see."

"Oh, nice."

"So, what about y'er family? How did they take it?"

"Meh, they took it well. They started out crying... begging me not to go." He dazed off a little, remembering their relentless cries on the day he broke to them the news. "But in the end, I just watched them wave good-bye to me.... Heh, doing their best to smile... but I knew they were still saddened."

"But didn't you say that you hated y'er-"

"Yeah, but he still thought of me as a son... even if we went on to welcome another person into the family."

"Ya had a sibling?"

"A step one. That's a better word for it; or to be specific, a step-sister."

"Oh, congrats."

  He took the complement as if it were sarcasm. "Woo, yep, I should be proud."

"Huh, Ah'm guessin' that lah'fe in the household wasn't all that n'ahce."

"Ugh, you think? It should've hit you while we were in the Humvee."

"Oh, sorry about that."

"To reiterate, don't be. Relations between parent and child seem to diminish with every passing year."

"True... remember when you told me that love isn't reciprocal?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Ah can see wh'ah you humans sometimes say that."

"You teenagers and children, We foals and teen-foals, seem to grow so independent from them that they feel lah'ke we're lovin' them less and less."

"Yeah, and?"

"Do ya often feel lah'ke the work we're doin' now is considered an act of love... since we're here payin' our debts b'ah killin' people and b'ah deliverin' this package?"

"Yeah... I guess so. But hey, if that has anything to do with Maribelle, just remember that she had her reasons. She doesn't hate you, she's just doing her job."

"Mmm Hmm... but... " He glanced at the sleeping little Maribelle, who slept like a cute foal, trying his best to think of another question. "And if..."

  This made Ivan roll his eyes. "Don't worry about her, she needs you as much as you need her."

  Haystack looked ahead. "Yeah, of course we do."

  He still reminded himself of what Maribelle did before going to tend the capsule. It felt a bit saddening, but she had her reasons. Hopefully, she doesn't feel like abandoning her entirely. He knew that by heart. Pushing any more fears out, the pony continued his trek across the plains.

  On the cart, Ivan questioned their little bond, thinking. "I don't know what they find in each other, but soon it'll have to be brought into the light."

  Redmond smoked another cigar while the boardroom remained empty.

  The sun was setting now, and all he wanted to do was to watch it.

  Suddenly, the sound of footsteps were heard, interrupting his leisure time.

"Mister Redmond." said the man.

"Is it about Rodrigo?"

"Uh-"

"Then don't say anything. The man did his best to support his family.

"Well, no sir. It's about Alice."

"Oh... so what's the news."

"She texted me a few minutes ago to tell me that Vanessa's 'apprentice' in the same room as she."

"What?"

"She has tried to interrogate the man on certain issues, but to no avail. Redmond-"

  He stood up, slapping his hand against the table. "That Doofenshmirtz! She's on to us!"

"B-but, isn't that what you wanted, sir?"

  Knowing that he forgot that Vanessa's suspicion was on the plan, he sat back down, feeling a bit foolish for his outburst. "Ugh, you got a point..."

  He then faced the sunset. "So, do you know where the infiltrators are now?"

"According to satellite photos, they're heading for the city of Aegnus."

  He tossed the cigar in the small canister of black powder and said. "Prepare to deploy another squadron of scoutbots into the city... Time for the next phase in our plan."

  Redmond then looked at the man. "Killing them... killing them all. The boy, the foal, the traitor, and subject A1, I want them DEAD!! And I want their corpses in this boardroom!! ..."

  He looked down. "I want to get the hell out of here... with my men, and with their little delivery."

*  -  *

  *  -  *

"Mister De Francois." A girl's voice cried.

"Oh hello, Blythe. Ca va?"

"Things are going great... Anyways, I need help with something."

"Oh? And what is it?"

  Her voice turned grim. "Um... you see, There's this Pet shop right underneath where I'm living in, and I really want to save it, can you help me?"

"Hmm... I-I don't know what I can do, but, I'll do my best... You can count on me." He said with compassion.

"Thanks Pierre, I know I can."

  He smiled, "You're welcome."

"Anyways, how can we start?"

"Pierre, Pierre!!" Ivan whispered with every call.

"What?" His eyes shot open. "What 'ze hell is-"

"We're here."

  He looked to the right, and noticed the hill. "Ugh... fine, then let's get ready to."

  Then something circular touched the back of his neck.

"Freeze!!"

  He looked around, to realize that the others were in the same situation.

"Pierre, wh-who the hell are they?" Ivan said, feeling the urge to tremble in fear.

  At the same time, he noticed the clothing they were wearing... which were green berets, grey shirts, and black pants. Another thing he noticed, was that they were all women. So, he said. "At ease, Firestorm girls. There's nothing to worry. It's me Pierre."

  The girls didn't budge, so they asked. "Where is your captain, Isabella?"

  They still wouldn't move.