To Run Away...

Chapter 9

  "Ow." Ivan repeated under his breath as he and Haystack got up, looking around through the rebels' headlamps.

  "Troy, the two mercenaries are all right." One of the rebels contacted through his walkie talkie, "But we lost twelve of our men in the process."

  "Ugh, goddamn Roboldier!" Troy moaned.

  "Huh, so that's what it's called." Ivan muttered.

Static!

Static!

  "Ivan, is it working?' Troy asked through Ivan's walkie talkie.

  "Yes, yes it is. So, these are your buddies?" Ivan said as he and Haystack glanced at each and everyone of the eight resistance fighters who were looking back at him with their goggle covered eyes. At the same time, they gave them an awkward smile, since they were too nervous to say anything.

   He sighed. "Yep. Welcome to the resistance, my friend."

  "Uh, thanks, sir."

  "You're welcome. Anyways-"

  "Uh sir, we're going to have to move quickly!" A rebel wearing a turban warned. "Those goggles of theirs have tracking beacons!"

  "What?" Ivan couldn't believe it, neither did the rest. "How did you-"

   The two took their goggles off to notice that there was a flashing light in between the lenses.

  "Because I used to work with them! Now let's move!"

  "Then why didn't you tell them that?" Another rebel asked him while the duo tossed their goggles into the water beneath them before they began to run. In the meantime, they put their actuall goggles on. For Ivan, it was odd that he let them dangle right in front of him while using the enemy's.

  "I dozed off." The man replied.

  "Hmm, you and me both." Ivan mumbled.

  "Hello?" Troy called. "Ivan?"

  "Yeah?" He replied.

  "Oh good, Remember to use that dice of yours."

   That's when the squadron (Excluding Haystack) began to speak amongst themselves, wondering what he meant.

  "Uh, how do you know that?"

  "No time! I'll explain-"

  *Static!*

  "Damn it!"

  "Well, those mongrels can't stop making announcements, can't they?" A female rebel asked, annoyed by Doofania's tradition.

  "Nope." Another rebel answered. "Hey kid?"

   All they could hear was the sound of their boots splashing on the water.

  "Kid with the grey overcoat." The rebel then clarified.

  "Oh. Yeah?" Ivan asked, criticizing himself for not replying as soon as possible.

  "Can you tell your equine friend to wait-"

  "Ambush!!" Haystack screamed as bulllets began to fly past him, missing by a few inches.

   Ivan facepalmed. "Too late, my friend."

   However, the rebels were too busy being taken aback by the pony's sudden yell. But they had to put that aside to pay attention.

   They then met up with Haystack while he was standing against the wall near the three-way intersection, and joined him.

  "Next time Haystack, slow down."

   He nodded in obedience, feeling ashamed for what he did.

Rat-at-at-at-at-at...

  "Move in!" One of the soldiers yelled.

Splash! Splash! Splash! Splash! Splash...

  "Open fire!" The turban  wearing rebel whispered before the group charged out into the sewer intersection and did just that.

  "Aaargh!!" One of the soldiers cried, shot in the stomach.

  "Man down! I repeat man- Ay!" That soldier was then shot in the head as the rebel squadron ran across the intersection and onto the other side.

  "Dammit, those dumbasses are in our way."

  "So, that's where we were supposed to go?"

  "Obviously. DIdn't I just say that they were in our way?

  "I was just saying sir."

   They ran for about thirty more seconds until they found a four-way intersection. Upon reaching it, they turned left. But little did they know that more troops were waiting for them down the tunnel.

  "Fire!" One of them yelled before he and his comrades pulled the triggers of their weapons.

  "Get down!"

   They all went prone before returning fire. It wouldn't take long before all ten Doofanian soldiers would be mowed down by their counter attack.

  "Huh, that was easy." He added.

BOOM!

   The loud explosion behind them released smoke across the tunnel they were previously running through.

  "And it looks like they stepped on the mine I planted."

  "Wait, you planted a mine while we were-" One of his comrades asked being interrupted.

  "Yes, now let's go." He then faced Ivan as they began to run away from the smoke. "The name's Mark by the way."

  "Oh, well nice to meet you." He found it odd that the turban wearing man didn't introduce himself earlier.

  "What's your name?" He asked.

  "Ivan. Ivan Bentley." He answered without even looking him, but realizing that Mark should know his name by now.

  "Well, nice to meet you mister Bentley. And your little pony friend?"

  "Uh, he's not little, sir."

  "Well you know what I mean." He said as he glanced at the trotting earth pony.

  "Oh, well his name is Haystack, sir."

  "Huh, you ever wonder why their names are like that?"

  "Not at all, but you can forget asking the Celestianists and Luna witnesses about that, because they don't know either."

   Haystack in the meantime, heard the entire conversation, and he felt the same way as Ivan on that.

  "Watch out, more of them!" One of Mark's comrades yelled. "And they have riot shields!"

  "Let me deal with them." Ivan said before switching to his M79, and firing three grenades at the oncoming wave of enemy troops.

Ka-thwop! BOOM! Ka-thwop! BOOM! Ka-thwop! BOOM!

   Eight of the twelve troops were thrown off their feet from the blast before the squadron dealt with the remaining four.

  "We should take the shields. It'll go a long way." Mark suggested.

  "I think they will." Ivan said.

   And so they ran up to the corpses and did just that.

BLAM!

Shwoooom! Plat!

  "Arrgh!" The ski masked rebel shrieked as a bullet tore through his head.

  "Sniper!" Mark yelled before everyone in the squadron lifted their shields up towards their faces. "Let's go, before more of us get sh-"

BLAM!

Shwoooom! Smash! Plat!

  "Mark's down!" A rebel yelled in fright.

  "Damn, I just met that guy." Ivan mumbled.

BLAM!

  "Clear." Haystack announced as he lied on his belly, rifle in hand.

   The others looked down in shock, primarily because he spoke for the second time. However, all Haystack did was look directly into his scope and watch the sniper's corpse lie flat on his back, feeling too nervous to look back at them.

  "Uh." Ivan had to calm them down. "L-let's go you guys. We need to keep moving."

  "Uh, oh." That's when they all snapped out of it. "Y-yes sir."

   They then proceeded down the tunnel, moving on from the fact that two of their comrades was just murdered.

  "C'mon Haystack." Ivan ordered.

   The still earth pony nodded before getting up and following the squad.

  "Ah'van?"

  "Yeah?"

  "Wh'ah did they go crazy when 'ah talked?" He asked, for that annoyed him.

  "Well, you ponies are known for not speaking while off Equestrian grounds."

  "Yeah, 'ah guess yer raght. We only speak when the princess tells us to."

  "Hmm, but you're a temporary mercenary now. Celestia can't tell you that."

  "True."

  "More of 'em!" Another rebel cried.

  "Oh come on." Ivan muttered.

Rat-at-at-at-at-at...

Cl-cl-cl-cl-cl-clang...

   The bullets pounded onto their shields as the two ran up to assist them. However, upon reaching them, they noticed that the incoming wave of troops also had shields as well. So the two factions decided to deal with this as they normally would. They then let out a battle cry before charging at each other with their weapons in hand.

   Ivan in the meantime, took out his pistol.

BLAM!

   His first shot would kill a soldier that was trying to pounce on the rebel in front of Ivan and kill him with a machete. After that was done, he began to walk forward, causing Haystack to follow.

BLAM! BLAM!

   The next bullet hit the soldier (To his left) in the leg before the next shot hit her in the head.

BLAM!

   The next soldier  (which was to his right) was shot in the face while he had his target on the ground, and was on the verge of shooting.

   And since no rebel was lost in the clash, they were able to deal with the remaining three troops with ease. Then, without saying a word, they proceeded into the next sewer intersection.

Rat-at-at-at-at-at...

   Assault rifles and SMGs were being fired from behind.

  "Crap!" the duo shrieked in unison before turning around to prevent the bullets from reaching them. That's not to say for the rebels, for they were all shot dead before they could even react.

Cl-cl-cl-cl-cl-cl-clang!

CRACK!

   Ivan gasped in shock after one of the bullets made his shield crack, telling him that it couldn't much longer.

  "Ah'van, do something!" Haystack demanded as he struggled to switch from his sniper rifle to his M16.

  "On it! And why didn't you stick with your M16 in the fi-"

  "Because of that Sniper-"

  "Never mind!"

   And so, he quickly placed his pistol in between his teeth and extended his arm, firing another blast of nitrogen towards the troops to his left. Three of the four would be caught inside the glacier, while the fourth got his foot stuck in it. Wasting no time, Ivan switched back to his pistol and shot him dead while he was trying desperately to get it out of there. And due to that, Haystack was able to shoot the other soldiers down, since the blast of nitrogen was powerful enough to get their brief attention.

  "God dammit!" Ivan said, frustrated at the loss of their comrades. "We lost our ticket to the shelter!"

  "But wh'ah do we need the shelter again?" asked Haystack as he looked at the bodies.

  "We can't camp outside the labor department. If we do, we'll get our asses kicked."

  "That's true."

Static!

  "Ivan, you there?"

  "Yeah, and bad news, your squadron's dead."

Slap!

  "Dammit!"

Crash!

   The sound made them jolt.

  "Uh, you alright?"

  "Yes, I'm alright." He said, hiding his frustration. "Grr! No I'm not! Why would you let-"

  "Whoa! We were ambushed!"

  "Ugh..." Troy did the best he could to calm himself down. "Never mind then, where are you?"

  "In another sewer intersection."

  "Oh, and is there a ladder there?"

   They looked behind them to find out that there was, and the headlamps were showing them that.

  "Yes sir."

  "Climb on, you'll be able to find your way to the shelter without the aid of my finest."

  "Agree."

Static!

  "Alright, let's go. And at the same time, wait for Troy to give us further orders."

   Haystack nodded while Ivan began to ascend up the ladder and towards the manhole above.

  "Oh yeah, Ah'van?"

  "Huh?' He stopped the climb.

  "What's this place used f'er, since Ah've seen many of these places have different purposes."

  "Uh, you don't wanna know."

  "Oh, also, Ah found this wh'ahle we were at that vendin' machine thingy." He reached into one of his pockets and then handed him another tape recorder.

  "Well, looks like we got another one of these." He then took it from his mouth and pressed play.

   Once he heard the click, the recording started; and with that, they continued their climb.

   At the beginning of the recording, they heard moans of pain, followed by a voice.

  "Come on, Josh *Sniff*." The feminine tomboyish voice cried in panic. "Don't die on me *Sniff*... Damn, this is bad *Sniff*. Why did I tell him to take those body builders in the first place?  ..."

  "What does he mean by 'body builders'?" Haystack asked while Ivan was lifting the lid.

  "I think she's referring to those pills we took." Ivan assumed.

  "... *Sniff* Don't die Josh *Sniff*, don't die!" She cried as the 'Josh' fellow continued to wallow in his misery. "... Damn pills *Sniff*..."

  "Huh, I was right."

   There was a squeal, before it went completely quiet. By then, the two were already exiting out the sewer.

  "No! No! No! Josh!" She began to weep profusely. "Josh! Josh! Jo-"

Static

Click!

  "Looks like we need to be careful with what we put in our mouths." Ivan said as they ran into an alley.

  "Agree."

   Since there was nothing they could do, they sat against a nearby wall, waiting for those further orders.

  "So, looks like we're going to be here for quite awhile, are we?"

  "Ah guess so. And here ah am, thinkin' that my reputation will be fixed in a couple of days." Haystack said, feeling down in the dumps, "Ya know, that recordin' rem'ahnds me-"

  "Say no more." Ivan responded. "Remember the deal."

  "Oh, sorry sir." He wasn't going to argue with him. He was the commander of the duo after all.

  "Hey, have you heard of the city of Rapture?"

  "Yeah, it's a city at the bottom of the ocean that you humans built in the nineteen forties, but it was a total failure. W'hah ask?"

  "Hmm, because since it's such a popular 'creepy pasta' around here, I though some of you Equestrians must've heard of it."

  "Creepy pasta, what's that?"

  "Internet slang, for 'urban legends'."

  "What's the internet?"

  "Oh right." He sighed,. "I don't know, thought we'd share some fun facts as we wait."

"Oh... yeah."

   And thus, the conversation ended quickly. So they just sat there for about at least three minutes until they began to hear static coming from the walkie talkie.

  "Huh, looks like he's back." Ivan said as he got up.

Vrrrroooooooommm! Schreeeeech!

  "Crap!" Ivan yelled as a Humvee pulled in front of him. "How did they-"

  "Ivan. have you managed to-"

Static

  "Dammit! All for nothing!"

Rat-at-at-at-at-at-at...

   Ivan crouched down, causing the bullets to miss him. He then jumped towards the wall to his right and bounced off before the stream of rounds reached them. Once he was able to jump a good distance, he made a somersault onto the street before getting out his pistol and shooting his pistol in his head. As the soldier collapsed back inside, he hopped onto the hood before reaching the rooftop and shooting down every soldier inside from the ring-mount

  "Wow, does it take them that long to get ready?" Ivan muttered.

Rat-at-at-at-at-at-at...

  "Yikes!" He jumped off as the incoming chopper fired multiple rounds at him. He then said, "C'mon Haystack, we're outta here and you're shooting!"

  "What? But wha-" He then realized why, "Oh, ok."

   He then galloped over there and climbed onto the rooftop, causing the Humvee to tilt slightly.

  "You know you could just-" Ivan said as he opened the door and dragged the body out of the seat.

  "No t'ahme!" He grabbed onto the HMG. "Anyways, whah are we doin' this?"

Schreeeech!

   A Humvee appeared on the other side of the alley way before turning the turret towards them and opening fire.

  "Uh oh." Haystack then counter-attacked.

  "That's why." He slammed the door shut and pulled the lever onto drive. He then pushed the gas pedal, causing the Humvee to speed off while two more behind them gave chase. That's when bullets started to fly out of their HMG's.

    Despite this, Haystack was able to turn the turret towards them and fire, aiming for the drivers. The firefight lasted for about a block until Haystack managed to bring one of them down. The Humvee would skid out of control before crashing into the other one with tremendous force, sending both HMG armed soldiers flying into the air.

Rat-at-at-at-at-at-at...

   Bullets pounded onto the street, for the chopper was flying back for another round.

  "Ugh, it's back." The pony muttered before aiming at the cabin entrance (Where the bullets were coming from).

Rat-at-at-at-at-at-at...

   He returned fire, and it only took about four seconds before the soldier would drop. Once the pilots got word of that, they turned the chopper ninety degrees counter-clockwise before preparing to fire a missile.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep...

   A red light started flashing on the steering wheel, making Ivan notice. Underneath that, it read "FLARE".

   He gasped, for he knew what was about to happen.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeep!!!

   He pressed the button, and a trio of flares would fire from three muzzles located on each bottom side of each Humvee. And so, the missile would follow one of the follow one of the flares while the pilots of the chopper tried to shoot Haystack down. Fortunately to him, he was able to stand his ground, even as Ivan made a sharp turn to the left at an intersection. It didn't take long before the chopper couldn't take it anymore. The bullets were able to fly through the windows and kill the pilots. And before they knew it, the chopper was making its decent towards the ground.

  "So, How-"

CRASH! BOOM!

  "Holy Shoot!" Haystack jolted as he watched the mushroom cloud of fire and smoke arise in the distance.

  "What was that?" Ivan asked.

  "Where the hell are we goin'?"

  "Don't know. We'll just tell troy that-"

BOOM!!

   The robot was back, standing in front of them.

  "Crud!" Ivan pushed the breaks, causing the vehicle to skid towards the robot before coming to a halt.

   Meanwhile, Haystack returned fire as fear was crawling into him, aiming for the face.

   Ivan then pushed the gas pedal and sped off to the right before the robot could make his move.

"C'mere Cupcake!!!" The robot yelled before giving chase.

  "No wonder they weren't putting up much of a fight!" Ivan shouted as the Humvee shook from the robot's running.

"Booyaaa!!!" The robot then jumped into the air.

  "Ah'van!" Haystack cried as he watched the robot jump over them like a hurdle.

   Ivan then pushed the brake, while simultaneously getting out his M79 and loading it with the few grenades he had left.

BOOM!!

   The robot landed in front of them before turning around. It then raised its fist, preparing to strike. By then, Ivan was ready to fire. He stuck the M79 out the window and fired grenades at its face.

"Ulgh!" The robot groaned as it refrained from its move to tend to its wound.

   This gave Ivan a chance to drive around the distracted machine.

"Get back he-

BOOM!!

   The head exploded into pieces once the last of the HMG bullets tore through it.

  "Bull's-eye." Haystack muttered in satisfaction, watching the robot dance in mechanical pain, with sparks flying out of the neck stump.

  "Nice shot." Ivan complemented as he watched the event unfold through the side view mirror.

  "Thanks." He replied while he was reloading.

   Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

  "Uh Oh." Haystack muttered, his jaw dropping at the sight beholding him.

"AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!" The headless machine cried while pounding his chest with two fists.

  "Crap!" Ivan shouted as he watched it jump into the air again, "Kill it!"

  "On it!" Haystack finished reloading and aimed upwards.

   While in midair, the robot took his rocket launcher out and pointed it towards them.

"Mmmaggot!!"

Boom!

   The rocket flew out of the muzzle, only for the bullets to stop it.

BOOM!

   The robot was sent flying back before crashing onto the street below, creating a massive crater in the gravel.

  "So, I guess shooting it in the head won't kill it." Ivan said in disbelief.

  "'Ah guess it doesn't. And how the hay is it talkin' without its head?"

  "Beats me!"

Static!

  "Ivan, where the hell are you?"

  "Somewhere in someplace, I don't know!" Ivan said, looking around in panic. "Look, I'm driving very fast and the buildings look the same in this area! How the hell am I supposed to know?!"

  "Ah'van, it's back!" Haystack watched in astonishment as the robot bounced over the road like a ninja in a forest.

  "Kill it then!"

Rat-at-at-at-at-at-at-at-at...

"AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!" The robot then jumped into the air, made a fist, and aimed for the ring-mount.

BOOM!!

   Fortunately, he missed, but the blast was powerful enough to throw the Humvee off, sending Haystack flying into the air, screaming. Ivan in the meantime, hit his head on the rooftop, making him struggle for a scream. But once it hit ground, it rolled over violently, sending Ivan all over the place like a piece of clothing in a washing machine.

  "Nmh." Ivan moaned, feeling a little dizzy once the wild ride ended. He was now lying flat on his back over the chairs, "Haystack, you alright?"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM...

   The footsteps from the machine grew louder as the ground shook.

  "Haystack? ... Oh yeah, that's right." He quickly opened the door and got out, ignoring the robot that was approaching him.

"Surrender in the name of our dearest fatherland!" A deep voice yelled as five helicopters hovered over the area.

  "Looking around, he also noticed that over five dozen troops were surrounding him, from every alley and from every side of the road.

  "Great." He muttered, putting his hands up, and still looking for Haystack.

   Not a few moments after, he was able to find him... with his head down, eyes closed, bruised, and being restrained by two soldiers. "Found 'em, but he's knocked out... again."