To Run Away...

Chapter 4

  "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" They screamed in unison as if they were riding on a rollercoaster, descending towards a tree.

  "Aaaa- Umph! Ow!" Ivan grunted once twigs and branches began to scratch them, silencing their screams before landing on the on the concrete below, back first.

SLAM!

   Fortunately, their backs didn't break, but Ivan was the first to get up.

  "You alright?" Ivan asked as he stood on his two feet.

  "Yep." said Haystack as Ivan helped him up. "So, are we goin' to f'aght our way outta here?"

  "Hell no!" was Ivan's frantic response once he noticed the enemy surrounding them from both sides. "We're getting ourselves out of here! Follow me!"

   He grabbed his M4 from the sidewalk and aimed it at a window on the building they were next to.

Rat-at-at!

   The glass shattered onto the ground before Ivan would hop inside. Then Haystack would follow in suit after placing his P90 in between his teeth..

  "We're not fighting those douchebags." Ivan added. "We're only here to deliver the package."

  "Hmm, 'Ah guess yer r'aght." He said once he let go of the P90 in his mouth and carrying it with his right hoof.

  "Uh huh, so let's go."

   Ivan began to look around, noticing that they were in a small room where only a writing desk was inhabiting it.

  "Huh, Ah'van, what's thi-"

  "Ugh, forget it Haystack. There's no time." Ivan advised as he walked up to the bullet marked door, twisting the knob.

   That's when he felt an object tap his wrist. He turned around and noticed that Haystack had a tape recorder in his teeth; And his eyes were telling him that he wanted to know what it was. It was enough to convince him.

  "Meh, it's considered stealing." He sighed. "But like it matters, we're on the run anyways. They're called tape recorders by the way."

  He then grabbed the tape recorder and placed it alongside his ammo in his pocket. "At least we'll learn about how they're living their lives here."

   Haystack smiled at his new piece of knowledge. He then followed him out the door and into a lobby, and empty one.

  "Well, I guess they must've fled once they heard about what happened." Ivan said, without a feel of surprise.

   He then spotted the revolving to his left. Pointing at it, he proclaimed. "But there's the exit."

   Relieved, they began to run towards it.

Rat-at-at-at!

   The glass windows next to the door broke open as bullet flew right through it.

  "Crud!" Ivan mumbled before he ordered Haystack to. "Find cover!"

  "On it!"

   Ivan bolted towards the service counter on the other side of the lobby while Haystack used the counter that was next to the elevator which was located to their right.

  "Stop in the name of righteousness!" An officer yelled through a megaphone, while ten of his comrades raided the place, scattering themselves across the lobby in order to prevent them from escaping.

  "We know you're hiding in there!" An officer yelled in a deep voice. "So get out from there with your hands up so we can kill you easily without any hesitation!"

   They hid quietly before Haystack began to hear his name. "Haystack."

   The pony jolted a little once he heard Ivan's voice on his left ear.

  "How're ya talkin' to me?" Haystack choked out.

  "Ugh, through an earpiece!" He whispered.

  "Oh, r'aght." Haystack chuckled in embarrassment. "Ah forgot ah had this on."

  "Oh you. Anyways, try and negotiate with them."

  "Wh'ah do that? Our looks alone will flip them off. Can't we just run towards the elevator?"

  "Nope, that's the only spear gun I had. Whoever shot it down will pay."

  "Oh, so we're goin' to f'aght our way out of here?" Haystack said nervously, unlike the last time he asked that.

  "Teh, duh."

   He aimed his rifle upwards and fired three shots at the chandelier above the officers, breaking the chain that hung it.

   They were quick to look up, but they weren't quick enough to get out of harm's way. The chandelier would slam onto the officers with brute force, pinning them underneath as the light bulbs that made it elegant shattered into a million pieces.

   It was Ivan's signal to attack. He vaulted over the counter before thrusting his left hand towards the distracted enemy, saying in mind. "Frigidus!'

   And at that very moment, he felt something surge in his hand. A cold and rather painful sensation that would rush through his arm like water through a hose. He felt like yelling at that very moment, but all he could do was grunt as the surge ended with nitrogen filled water being released from the palm of his hand, which would dart towards an officer who just noticed Ivan's next move.

   Within seconds, the officer was struck with the pulse of coldness. But instead of being pushed back, he stood still in utter horror as the nitrogen overwhelmed him and froze him in place. It would create a glacier over the red carpet, and Ivan knew what to do next once he witnessed the sight.

  "Crap! That son of a bitch has a dice!!!"

  "A dice?" Ivan wondered as he placed his body against the cold ice.

D-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r!

   He looked behind him to find that Haystack was already making his move.

  "Aw sweet Celestia! Snowdrop would never do that!" Haystack exclaimed in shock once he caught a glimpse at the glacier.

  "Calm down! It's called marketing!" Ivan retorted before shooting around cover and taking out two officers to the right with three bullets each.

   Once he saw them drop dead, he went back into cover. Then Haystack used that moment to strike. He mounted his P90 onto the desk surface again before spraying multiple rounds at the retreating officers before running out of ammo. Fortunately, he was able to shoot three down as they made their escape.

  "Now get over here!"

  "Yes sir!" Haystack replied as he reloaded his weapon and galloped towards his position.

  "Ok, on the count of three, we go!"

  "Where?"

  "I'll see. One, two, three, go!"

   The two quickly got out of cover and bolted towards the expanded exit, disregarding the revolving door. Unfortunately, they didn't count for what was heading their way. Sirens began to wail again, and the audibility was increasing with every second. This surprised the two, for they forgot about the officers in the other building. Fortunately, Ivan knew what to do. He extended his left arm forward and aimed it at the street in front of them.

  "Stagnum!" He thought before thrusting his hand forward, unleashing the blast of subzero water towards the street. Once it hit, the thin ice quickly spread across as if it were water.

   Suddenly, they began hear screeching sounds, making them imply that they were attempting to prevent their vehicles from driving over the thin ice. Unfortunately for them, their efforts weren't good enough. One of the Humvees was the first to slip on the ice before turning on its side and rolling down the street. Ivan and Haystack were quick to react, they began to run towards the Humvee as it was continuing its roll.

  "So, are we goin' to-"

  "Haystack, we're getting the hell out of here!" Ivan reminded him, "That's all!"

   They reached the Humvee as they heard a loud clash behind them as if someone was swinging a giant hammer at the buildings. The duo then dealt with the officers who were struggling to get up and recover from the crash by shooting them, of course.

  "Haystack, push the Humvee upright!" Ivan ordered

  "What? But wh'ah me?" Haystack complained.

  "Well, you're an 'earth pony' right?"

  "Yeah, but-"

  "And you're a farmer, right?"

  "What does that have anythin' to do with pushin'-"

  "Just shut up and do it!"

  "Excuse me!"

  "Grr, we don't have time for this!" Ivan advised his insulted comrade.

  "Don't ever speak l'ahke that to me again, you hear that!" He said angrily, ignoring what he just said.

  "Look, i'm sorry." He said with a hint of feeling, "But-"

   BOOM!!

   The loud boom was closer than they thought. Their ears began to ring incessantly as the ground shook underneath, causing them to collapse onto the gravel below. The two knew that the source was behind them. So, looking in that direction, they found the unexpected.

   A robot the size of three Humvees stacked on top of each other yelled in a raspy voice as it looked down on them with red glaring eyes; but the red eyes wasn't what made them tremble. Well, it wasn't what made Ivan scared. It was the fact that it was armed with a large rocket launcher on its back..

  "A-Ah'van, S-should w-we get in the h-Humvee now?"

  "N-nope, we run!"

"Die in the name of our successor!"

   And with that, the two quickly bolted out of there, before the robot's fist could reach them.

BOOM!

   The machine's force would create a crater on the ground as the impact made it shake again.

   Because of this, duo would stumble onto the ground again, with Ivan being the first to get up and with an idea as well.

  "Hold up!' Ivan called as Haystack (Who was feet ahead of him) got up.

  "Umph!" Haystack felt something mount onto his back. "Hey, What the hay-"

  "Giddyup! We need to get the hell out of here!"

  "Get off me!" Haystack ordered as he began to gallop instinctively. "I know you humans ride horses, but you can't be serious about-"

  "Well, they run-"

  "Alr'aght, alr'aght!"

"Righteous fury!" The robot yelled as he was gaining on them.

   Haystack was quick to notice that however, and so he placed his P90 in his mouth again.

   Then, while he was increasing in speed, Ivan had another plan, and so he turned around, hand stretched out.

  "Frigidus!" He thought.

   The water flew towards the tin man's chest. But instead of freezing, the water just splashed onto it as if it were regular water.

  "What?" Ivan asked himself in dismay.

  "Stagnum." He thought.

   But this time, nothing came out.

  "What the-" He couldn't understand, it was working before. Why wasn't it now?

"Burn in hell, you curs!" The robot yelled before firing a rocket.

  "Crap!" Ivan muttered before turning around.

   The rocket missed by couple of inches before detonating. The result was a blast that spread from sidewalk to sidewalk and debris flying into the air.

   Ivan in the meantime, watched as a car door landed onto the street at the right time.

  "Haystack, there's-"

  "Ern it!" The tan stallion knew what he was talking about.

   He hopped onto the door's leathery interior before sliding down a slanted area of the street, increasing in speed as sparks flew behind them.

   The robot however, stood still near the slope and aimed his launcher before firing.

  "Crap!" Ivan shouted as he watched the rocket head towards them. So he got out his M4 and aimed at the rocket before firing multiple rounds. Then, one of them was lucky enough to blow it up in midair. That's when their ride slowed down to a halt just fifty feet from the slope.

   They turned around to find the robot putting his launcher away before getting out a large shovel.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!" The robot yelled wildly as he hit his helmet with the shovel like a mongering warrior, jumping into the air again.

  "Run!" Ivan screamed.

   So Haystack did, running away from the robot's landing area.

BOOM!

   Haystack felt the machine's landing beneath him, before he was flown into the air by the shovel's flytrap like slap.

   They both screamed before slamming onto the gravel. However, they were quick to get up, before galloping off.

    They've been chased for thirty blocks now, until they realized what was waiting for them next.

   "Crap!" Ivan shouted, "Police blockade, five blocks ahead!"

   The two were in shock due to the blockade's formation. Which consisted of eighteen police officers lined up behind three police cars.

  "Drmn it!" Haystack muttered, panting heavily through his teeth before asking, "Whrt... d r wer... d-dr nrw?"

   Ivan began to think as Haystack galloped past the first block towards their possible demise.

"To hell with you!" The robot yelled before firing another rocket.

   He looked behind him, which killed his train of thought as the rocket flew towards them.

  "Pfft, again?" Ivan rolled his eyes before aiming at the rocket with his rifle.

  "Hrry urp, Arvan!" Haystack warned.

  "Hold- huh?"

   Turns out the rocket made a Beeline above them. The two looked in awe as the rocket flew towards the blockade.

BOOM!

   And that was the sound of the blockade being decimated by the blast.

  "Whrrt thr hrll jrst hrpprnrd?" Haystack asked.

  "Don't know, don't care!" Ivan simply said.

   Upon reaching the site, Ivan managed to find what he was looking for. It was an entrance to a subway located on the far right corner of the intersection.

  "Over there!" He pointed at the entrance. "Now!"

   Haystack looked in that direction before galloped towards it. Just by looking at it, he knew that it would lead to another tunnel that wasn't a sewer. Guess the entrance to the country taught him more about how the humans get around. Once he reached there, they went down the stairs and found themselves in front of a line of turnstiles.

"Come out, enemies of the republic!"

  "Phew, robot can't get here." Ivan sighed in relief.

  "Yep... so where are we?" Haystack asked after he spat out his P90 from his mouth and carrying it in his right foreleg.

  "Right now, an entrance to a subway station."

  "What's that?" Haystack asked curiously.

  "You'll know once you get past the turnstiles."

  "Can't you just-"

   But Ivan would bolt towards the turnstile and jump over it like a hurdle.

  "Now you go."

   Haystack rolled his eyes before doing the same.

"The enemy is in the there!"

   Upon hearing that, Ivan said with total confidence. "That's why, if you were asking."

  "Oh, r'aght." He blushed.

  "Alright then. lets get moving."

   Ivan began to walk away, prompting Haystack to follow him. It only took a few steps before they reached their destination.

  "This, Haystack, is what you call a subway." Ivan introduced with a smirk.

   Haystack was enthralled once again, his mouth gaped open and his eyes widened as he observed the railway, "Railroads... Underground? Impossible!"

  "Pfft, not in our world."

  "Awesome." But his enthrallment changed to confusion. "Wait, but wh'ah are we waitin' for a train if the cops are after us?"

  "We're not." He said calmly.

   Then there was a light in the distance, coming from the right.

  "Huh, and yer sayin' as if you knew that train was comin'."

   The light was brightening with every second.

  "Grab on." said Ivan.

  "Whaddaya-"

  "Just grab on." He placed his right hand on his hip, making Haystack imply that he should stick his left foreleg through and cling on. And so, without hesitation, he did just that.

   The train in the meantime, quickly rushed past them, but Ivan was prepared. He got out a small black cymbal from inside his overcoat, while their hair, mane/tail, and overcoat blew in the same direction as the train was going. But that didn't concern Ivan, for he was able to latch onto the train's metal exterior with no problem, using the cymbal's magnetic power.

   Haystack held on for dear life as his hind legs dangled beneath him.

   Ivan in the meantime, withdrew his feet from the metal, preparing to kick the wide window open.

SMASH!

   He witnessed the glass break, but that didn't come from his feet. And so he and Haystack swung inside, landing on the marble floor.

  "Huh, those are some hooves you have! Without them, It would've taken me at least six kicks to break through!" Ivan complemented with a shout as the wind made his speech nearly inaudible.

  "What?" Haystack shouted back.

  "Let's get to the next train car!" Ivan suggested

  "Good idea!"

   And so they did. Walking up to the door before it slid open, granting them permission to enter. Then, after crossing to the other side, it closed.

  "I said," Ivan reiterated for the wind was no longer interfering. "Those are some hooves you have. Without them, it would've taken me at least six kicks to break through."

  "But, ah didn't break through it." Haystack said Admittedly.

  "Really? Oh. Then how did it break?"

  "'Ah don't know. But you know what's odd? Since it's a train, 'ah expect it to be little more crowded." Haystack pointed out.

   Ivan couldn't help but shrug in agreement.

  "And shouldn't we be headin' towards the front of the train?"

  "Nope, Danville trains are computer powered."

  "Oh." But that generated more questions for Haystack to ask, "Wait, what's a computer? And how do ya know this?"

   Ivan sat down on one of the seats before letting out a sigh, "To answer your first question, it's hard to explain. To answer your second question, Danville managed to create their own computer powered subway system back in two thousand and five. And that was before they went silent. After twenty-eleven, we never heard from them again.

  "Hmm, Ah guess Hah'nze takin' o'er was the reason w'hah."

  "Mmm Hmm."

   Haystack accompanied him by sitting beside him.

  "So, how did ya get in debt?" Haystack had to ask.

  "How did you get your cutie mark?" Ivan brought up, feeling annoyed at Haystack's question.

  "Uh, Ah'm not gonna say." he grew nervous.

  "Then I won't tell you how I got in debt."

  "Well played." Haystack muttered.

  "Uh huh, just like your information, my life's personal as well." He said straight forward as he sat back, placing one leg over the other and crossing his arms. "So I'm sorry for asking about your personal life when we were outside Danville."

   Haystack had no choice but to accept, "Um... It's alr'aght."

   They continued to sit down awkwardly as they felt the train underneath their feet/fore hooves. Ivan then decided to lighten the mood.

  "Hey, since we're here, we should listen to the tape recorder."

  "What's that?"

   Ivan face palmed, struggling to maintain his patience. "The thing you just gave to me back in the other building?"

  "Oh, that, heh heh."

   He took the tape recorder out from his pocket and pressed play. They began to listen with close attention.

    Amidst the static, was the sound of a worried man, saying. "Roger Doofenshmirtz wanted paradise... but Heinz wanted power... But it wasn't entirely Heinz's fault... Roger ran this place to the ground... starting with the program to terminate imagination. Not exactly what Roger wanted, but he passed that law anyways. Then that douchebag Hienze took over and it all went even more downhill from there... Ugh, It's January first, Twenty thirty three... and that'll be the day that the first man was able to flee from this Hellhole... which is me of course... Damn cigarette's out. I'm gonna need another one in order to not worry about the heavily guarded borders. And this recorder will be right here, for anyone to understand what i'm doing."

   The man then let out a sigh. "You can't just say that you want to leave the city anymore."

   The recording ended.

  "Huh, looks like permits won't get us out of the city." Ivan concluded.

  "Mmm hmm."

   They were quiet again, which made Haystack want to look around. While exploring the empty cabin, he found something on the red leather seat across from him.

  "Ah'van, it's another one of them 'Vitas'."

   Ivan looked in the direction he was pointing at and found it.

  "Huh, that's odd."

   Ivan then walked up to it and grabbed it. What made it even more odd, was that there was a note attached to that one as well. Which read,

If you learned about the name

                                                               for "Snowdrop's fury" (Which is DICE),

                                                                        then watch this video.

                                                                                            -Redmond

  "Alright then." Ivan then turned the Vita on.

   When the grey screen appeared, it displayed the logo for RED industries. Underneath that, it read, "What is DICE?" in bold Georgia font. In the background, Vivaldi's "Spring" played in the background, to lighten the mood a little.

  "What is DICE?" The feminine voice returned as a triplet of question marks appeared on the next slide. "Well, DICE is an acronym..."

  "I knew it." Ivan mumbled as the next slide featured the word DICE in bold white.

  "... For DNA, Infusing, Combat, Enhancers. Meaning that you'll sacrifice your genetic structure for an advantage on the battlefield."

  Ivan rolled his eyes in irritation. "Ugh, I don't need the definition. The acronym explains it."

  "... However..."

   The next slide featured the soldier from the previous video have his arm stretched out as a drop of liquid seeped from his hand. The soldier was confused on what was happening, even expressing it with a scared look and three question marks over his head.

  "... If your DICE isn't working, then that means that you've run out of Energy."

  "What do you mean I ran out of energy? I'm fine."

   The soldier would say in a word bubble, "What's Energy?"

  "Exactly!"

  "... Well my friend, this isn't your typical energy. This energy is used to recharge your DICE."

  "Oh?" Ivan said.

   The soldier smiled as the bubble would read an exaggerated. "Ooooooh."

   The slide then changed to one of a water bottle. Next to that, was the logo for Snowdrop's fury. All with an Equal sign in between them.

  "... However, all DICE require Energy from a specific source. For example, Snowdrop's Fury needs fresh water to replenish. The more you drink the more energy you gain!"

   The next slide was of the soldier drinking a bottle of water before firing Snowdrop's fury towards the left. The soldier would then smile and give out a thumbs up.

  "Have fun, Comrade!"

Thank you,

                                                                                      RED Industries!

   The screen went back, implying that the short film was over.

  "Well, not only was my Genetic code toyed with..." Ivan sighed as he placed the Vita back in its resting place. "... but another Vita just died. At least I know how to recharge my 'Dice'."

  "Hey Ah'van, have you noticed that the train stopped movin'?' Haystack asked as he remained sitting down.

  "Huh? Whaddaya-"

   He noticed it too. The train was perfectly still, and they were on top of a bridge that was spanned from one end to the other end of a lake.

  "Since when did this happen?"

   Suddenly, the lights would turn off, with the power winding down.

  "Ah don't lahke the looks o' this." Haystack quivered as Ivan stood firm.

   Then, flat screen TV's began to slide horizontally from every corner of the car. The screens then lit up with the grey background. But instead of the logo from RED, it was the state seal of Danville, with the words "PLEASE STAND BY" in bold white. The sound of trumpets in E major played before the chirpy female voice came in and said,

  "And now, a message from the great successor, Vanessa Doofenshmirtz!"

  "Vanessa Doofenshmirtz?" They asked each other.

   The next thing to appear on the screen was an image of a woman with half open eyes while smirking with lipstick covered lips. She had hair that made them imply that it was long and dark. And along with her pale face, it made Ivan assume that she was Goth.

   Then, there was a voice, a husky one. Not the kind of husky that made you think that she was a sexual deviant, but the kind of husky that made you think that she is not to be messed with.

  "So, the pod was discovered by a bunch of mercenaries. How interesting... Look, I know that under that clothing, you both are government fools spying on our land. So who do you work for, huh? The CIA? Mi-Six? The KGB? Oh, I forgot, Celestia would never work with the Soviets... or would she? Anyways, it doesn't matter. I know that your plan was to arrive here and escape, but I won't let that happen. Because I won't let you ruin my father's creation!"

   The screen went to black. While that happened, the sound of helicopter rotors were heard.

  "Uh oh." Ivan said, aware of the choppers

Shwooooom!

BOOM!

   They (And the shattered glass) began to fly into the air, as smoke and fire arose in the sky. They felt weightless before the wind would pin them against the floor.

  "AAAAAAAAAAAAGGHH! They screamed again before the roof would crash onto the water below sending them flying towards it like books slamming on a desk as water rushed in.