Chapter 6: The Brothers of Chaos

Part 2 of 2: The Violet Specter

Rachel awoke to an intense pain. Her eyes shot open, and she saw nothing but darkness. Everything hurt. Her sides stung with a deep ache, her chest burned, and her legs were poisoned with unbelievable agony. Rachel was sitting down, as far as she could tell. However, when she willed her body to rise, she was met with restraint. She found herself unable to move, and soon realized that she was in fact tied to the chair, her arms wrapped uncomfortably behind her. Rachel's immediate instinct was to look around for a way to escape. But as she moved her head, she suddenly felt a large hand grab onto her hair, and yank back. Rachel stared up at the dark ceiling, as a deep voice spoke from behind.

"I wouldn't move, if I were you," she heard Kristov say from behind her. "You might see the damage caused to your body, and the last thing we need for you right now is to go into shock. If that happened, you could receive serious damage to your mind, so don't look down. Do you understand?"

"What…" Rachel sputtered out, not answering the question, being far more concerned for her well-being. "What the fuck is going on here?"

"Well, much to my disappointment," Kristov explained. "Yuri has a bit of a joy for torture. Unfortunately, you are his latest victim."

The cruel reality set in on Rachel. She had absolutely no idea where she was, except that it was dark and discreet enough for her to be held there. She had no idea how much time had passed since she was knocked out, or what had happened to any of her friends. For all she knew, everyone she cared about had died from their wounds. Rachel suddenly started wriggling around in her binds, trying to break free. But for her, every slight movement was like an eternity of agony, and she had to stop moving. Kristov released her from his grasp, and her head fell forward, as Rachel lost all strength to keep it upright. Rachel's eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, and when she could finally see a foot in front of her, she froze.

Rachel stared down at her own body petrified by what she saw. Her clothing was torn in many places, and she could see fresh cuts scraped across her skin. Her foot appeared mangled, her toes bent out of position at odd angles while the foot itself seemed to be stuck on its side. Fresh blood poured down her chest, and Rachel suddenly became very light-headed. She watched as the blood, her blood, trickled down her body and to the floor, creating a large, deep crimson puddle. From the sight of it all, Rachel could no longer hold in the contents of her stomach. Her head still bent forward, she vomited violently, covering her feet and the floor in the foul substance. She felt horribly ill, and immediately started to harshly cough afterwards.

"I told you that you shouldn't look down," Kristov said calmly. Rachel was now taking deep breaths, trying to calm her radically racing thoughts. She stopped thinking clearly, and her mind went into a state of survival. She heard a door opening, and then saw a rectangle of light appear several yards in front of her. A silhouette filled the light, and next, the light quickly faded away. Rachel saw a large figure approach her, holding something in his hands.

"Well, it looks like the British bitch finally woke up," Yuri said smugly. "How did you enjoy your nap?"

"Go to hell," Rachel said weakly. She was suddenly met with a very large object colliding with her stomach. Blood spit forth from her mouth, as Rachel became limp. She groggily raised her head, and saw what had struck her. Yuri was holding a sledgehammer, roughly six inches across, and three inches thick. Yuri held it with pride, tossing it between his hands.

"Aint she a beauty?" Yuri asked rhetorically. "See, back in the day, I used to bring this hammer out on assignments. It couldn't do anything that I could not already do with my fists, but it helped with the intimidation. Any fucker who saw this practically shat their pants in terror. But lately, I find that it bogs me down too much to be of any real use. Still, it's always fun to feel the weight of this colliding with a person, and it certainly still has the same impact, don't you agree?"

Yuri suddenly swung the hammer against Rachel's shin, breaking the bone easily. Rachel screamed, tears starting to stream down her face. Yuri, pleased with the response, struck Rachel's other shin with the same force, causing the leg to shatter painfully. Rachel's sobs were becoming harder to materialize, as each blow took away more and more energy. At the rate Yuri was going, Rachel doubted that she would be able to survive the night. However, Yuri put down his hammer, which gave Rachel a small sense of relief. But the sensation of relief quickly washed away as Yuri started punching Rachel in her chest and stomach, trying hard not to immediately kill the girl. He left her face intact, but he completely damaged her body. The cuts had split open further, her chest had swollen tremendously, and she felt like she was about to keel over at any moment. But unfortunately, any time she came close to the sweet temptation of unconsciousness, Yuri slapped her across the face, shocking her awake.

"I'm really sorry about this," Yuri said, slowing down his rate of punches. "Honestly, it's not like enjoy torturing people… okay I do, but that's aside the point. Making you suffer is part of the contract. And when several million dollars requires you to make a teenage girl wish she had never been born, well, who am I to argue?"

"Yuri," Kristov spoke up. "She's had enough. Let her be."

"Fine, Kristov," Yuri said reluctantly. "I'm sure that this has gotten a message across, regardless."

He stopped attacking, and Rachel's body gave way on her. She sank deep in her chair, her head fallen over, and her spirit broken. Her body, which had once been considered to be godlike by many of her peers, was now torn and shattered. Rachel could no longer feel any of the wounds on her mangled torso, only allowing numbness to register in her thoughts. It seemed that this had been enough for Yuri, who now started to walk out of the room.

However, he stopped dead in his tracks, as he heard someone laughing.

It was quite the peculiar laugh for anyone to hear at this time. Considering the amount of blood and violence, no one knew what could possibly be so hysterical. The laugh sounded deranged and rather high pitched. Rachel suddenly noticed that the laugh was, in fact, coming from her own lips, and her mouth had curved into a bright smile. Rachel had no idea why she was laughing, but she couldn't help herself. Perhaps the pain was so intense that she had gone delusional, or perhaps she had given up all hope in her life. Or, much more likely, it was both, yet Rachel didn't really seem to mind at this point that she was going insane. She was staring at imminent death, yet nothing frightened her. A sudden urge to challenge the Korbalovs had risen in her chest; one final moment to prove her worth. It was if every doubtful emotion that had plagued her thoughts had built into one long, endless strain of madness. Rachel knew, deep down inside, that the Korbalovs would not make her fell worthless again. She would need to be stronger than their intimidation.

She would have to be.

Yuri stared at Rachel, disturbed, while Kristov watched the two from behind Rachel's chair, his emotions ever eluding him. Rachel suddenly leaned her head forward, and stared with wide eyes at Yuri. Her mouth was dripping with her blood, which stained her lips and her teeth. She continued to stare at Yuri, a somewhat crazed look in her eye.

"You fucking idiot," Rachel said, her voice hoarse. "You're both fucking idiots. Do you think that I'm afraid of you? Do you think that I am going to cower before you? I may not be able to move now, but I swear to God, once I'm out of these bonds, I will fucking end you. You'll both be begging on your knees by the time I'm finished with you. I don't care about what you do to me. You can beat me, choke me, stab me all you want, but it doesn't matter. I have too much left to do in this word for you fucks to kill me. You don't even want to kill me, do you? But here's the important thing: even if you shatter my body beyond all repair, and actually do kill me... I'm not afraid to die. Because I know that even if I fall, even if I get beaten till I bleed from my eyes and I am paralyzed for life, then my comrades will destroy you in the same way you would have destroyed me. In fact, General Wilson is probably having his best men search for me right now, and when they find you-"

"WAIT!" Yuri suddenly shouted, his eyes wide with surprise. Rachel froze, her smile fading away. "Did… did you say General Wilson? As in, General Anthony Wilson, United States Military? Big man, gray hair, shit-eating grin?"

Rachel didn't respond, although she couldn't hide the look of panic and surprise on her face. Yuri suddenly looked at Kristov, who seemed to be expressing a similar face of surprise. Yuri suddenly picked up his hammer, and pressed it angrily to Rachel's chin.

"WHERE IS HE?!" Yuri shouted forcefully, pushing the hammer closer to Rachel's face. Rachel didn't know how to respond.

"Wha-" was all she was able to get out, before Yuri shouted again.

"WHERE IS THAT FUCKING MAN?!" Yuri yelled furiously. "For nearly fifteen years we've been hunting for that bastard! And now, you're telling me that you know where he is! If you can even comprehend what this means, then you are going to tell us where he is located. So, I'll ask once again… WHERE IS WILSON?!"

Rachel looked down upon the hammer which rested upon her chin. She glanced back and forth between Yuri and the hammer, and then smirked.

"I won't be intimidated by you," Rachel said smugly. "You can't scare me. I already know you won't kill me; you like pain too much to do that. As I said before, I'll never give in to you fucks. Torture me all you like, but you will never get me to talk. You psychopathic shits are pathetic for trying to get information out of me." Yuri growled angrily, removing the hammer from Rachel's face, and started to pace around the room, furiously.

"Oh, and by the way," Rachel continued, finishing off her string of verbal attacks to the Korbalovs. "As someone who has spent their entire life studying fashion, let me be the first to tell you that you look like an old, washed-up, fucked-up, drunkard, child molesting, small knob-ed arseholes."

Yuri froze in place. Suddenly, a horrible grin spread across his face. He turned and looked Rachel dead in the eye, causing her smirk to instantly vanish. He menacingly walked towards her, and suddenly grabbed a tight hold of her face.

"You know what," Yuri said, smiling proudly. "You have quite the awful tone there, miss. I can see that you like to insult people based on their appearances. That's not very nice now, so we'll have to… fix that, wont we?"

"Yuri," Kristov suddenly spoke up, very sternly. "Don't do what I think you are about to do. She's had enough." However, Yuri completely ignored his brother, and continued to stare down Rachel.

"You want to act tough?" Yuri asked in a mocking tone. "Because you are not. Don't overestimate your power, little girl. Now, I have been hunting this man for fifteen years, and you know where I can find him. So, unless you start being a little more cooperative, then we cannot fix this problem we are having right now. Luckily, I think I have a way of getting you to talk. You said that I look like a monster? Well, let's change that."

Kristov didn't want to be a part of any more of his brother's insidious acts. Kristov, annoyed by his brother's lack of compassion, stormed out of the room, and walked down a long hallway. But even from many yards away, he could still hear Rachel's screams echoing down the corridor.

__________

November 5th, 2015

To say that the girls were pleased with their current predicament would be a lie.

To say that they were comfortable would also being a lie.

At the General's request, the girls were being transported back to Camelot, where Tara had been informed of the formation of a medical wing, in case of future injuries. Tara lay down on a stretcher in the back of an ambulance, staring up as the ceiling as she felt the pavement traveling by beneath her. Three ambulances, each holding one bed-ridden P.O.N.Y, were trailing behind a black station wagon, where Dash and Fiona were riding with Wilson and Celestia. Being trapped in the ambulance gave Tara plenty of time to think.

Tara was a very intelligent person, although she had started to take notice that she lost her ability to think clearly whenever irrational events had come about. And, considering that her entire foundation of fundamental principles was just completely eradicated, she was surprised that she was not distraught. In fact, she was taking the news with relative ease, and she didn't know why. Everything she thought she knew about the world was simply a lie to her, but she somehow felt solace in it. After much thought, she decided that it may have been because she had been so desperate to learn the mystery behind the Korbalovs, that when the answer came, she felt gratitude in knowing such information. Or perhaps it might have been that she could finally point to a scientific explanation of an otherwise supernatural phenomena.

However, as her worries about life's great mysteries faded, her concern for Rachel grew. Reflecting on their time together, she realized that they had not spoken as much as she thought that they had. Tara considered Rachel to be one of her best friends, and yet, the two had really known each other for a month. Even then, their conversations were brief. But despite this, Tara did care a great deal for her friend's safety. Hearing that the Brothers of Chaos were probably torturing her at that very moment was certainly not making her feel better.

However, Wilson had said, before they left, that he had a plan to rescue Rachel. Tara didn't know what he could possibly mean by that. Dash and Fiona were the only ones who could walk, and even then, Fiona had two broken arms, and Dash had a damaged eye and a broken hand, rendering them near useless in combat. She supposed that Wilson would explain his plan in time, although for now, she would have to be contempt of watching the ceiling.

Meanwhile, in the ambulance in front of Tara's, Pinky noticed that she was feeling quite worried. It was a strange sensation for her to be in. Pinky didn't usually feel worried. The only emotions she ever felt were happiness, cheeriness, and joy. She preferred to cycle through those options every now and then, but never strayed into foreign feelings. But now, she simply felt despair, as if a shadow was draping over her, and she had no means to escape its dark, depressing wrath. Pinky knew that she had many reasons to be feeling this way. A doctor had told her very slowly and clearly that she would most likely never walk again. He said that if he did, she couldn't make more than subtle movements, or else her legs might be permanently damaged. But she didn't think much of it at the time. Nothing in her life had ever slowed her down, and she doubted that anything would, so she was certain that she would make a full recovery. But now, lying down, her legs aching and burning in a horrible sensation, she was no longer feeling so certain of this. The thought of never being able to walk again terrified her, and although she may not have admitted it to herself, she knew deep down that she was afraid.

On top of this, there was also the matter of her friend being kidnapped. Pinky had talked to Rachel the most during her month at P.O.N.Y, and she felt like they had started to form a deep bond. Rachel was really the only person she could open up to, since Dash didn't seem to understand, and the other girls mostly ignored her. Of course, opening up usually entailed describing fun stories to the British girl, and then receiving a confused and shocked stare. Still, it counted as friendship in Pinky's mind, and she always enjoyed the time they spent together. The thought of someone so close to her getting injured made her feel even more afraid. But Pinky didn't like being afraid, so she immediately tried to get her mind off of her negative thoughts. She leaned her head back, so that she was now looking at the driver of the ambulance.

"Are we there yet?" Pinky called out. The driver shook his head.

"Nope," he responded. Pinky sighed. A few moments later, she called out again, this time even louder, in case she had been misheard.

"Are we there yet?" Pinky asked again. The driver groaned.

"If you start repeatedly asking me that," the driver said angrily. "I will shove you out of this car. You think I wanted to be an ambulance driver? Hell, no! I wanted to be an actor! So don't make me put up with this bullshit."

"Jeez," Pinky muttered out. "Just trying to make some small talk. Don't gotta go psycho on me."

"We're here," the driver suddenly called out, bringing the ambulance to a screeching halt. The next thing Pinky knew, she was being rolled back into Camelot, following behind Tara. The girls formed a line with their stretchers, while Dash and Fiona trailed them. Leading the group, Wilson began instructing them of his plan, now that they were in a safe location.

"Obviously, we need to acquire Ms. Germain's location," Wilson stated. "But considering that none of you can fight, we had to call in outside assistance."

"What do you mean, 'outside assistance'?" Tara asked.

"We've contacted a special field operative to search for the Korbalovs," Wilson explained. "She's highly trained, and with any luck, she'll be able to incapacitate the threat."

"Um, General," Tara spoke. "No offense, but if six of us couldn't take down the Korbalovs, what could one person do?" As she spoke, she found herself being wheeled into a bright room deep into Camelot, that of which she had never seen before. However, it looked strikingly familiar, for it was designed to resemble a hospital ward. The large, white room held plenty of space for all of the girls to rest, and now, Tara was laid against the wall, giving her a perfect view of the entire room.

"This operative," Wilson continued. "Has received extensive training, and has over ten years of intense combat experience. Although the Korbalovs may be strong, she can hold her own long enough for a small team to rescue Ms. Germain."

"You should know quite well of her talents, Tara," Celestia suddenly spoke up.

"Why?" Tara asked, confused.

"You know her," Celestia said simply. "You should be lucky to know someone with such experience. You actually wouldn't believe the trouble we went to get her here. We had to pull her out of a warzone, not to mention pull her away from her husband. But when we told her that you were involved, she seemed to become much more cooperative."

Tara's eyes suddenly went wide. Everything sounded so similar to her. The training, the war, the husband. Could it really be her?

"General Wilson, Madame Celestia," a voice from the door came. Tara turned hopefully, and despite the horrible agony she was in, she couldn't help but smile at the sight. Standing at attention in the doorway was a young woman, not nearly yet thirty. Her face was small, and she looked about ten years younger than she actually was. Her hazel eyes stared directly ahead, not yet noticing Tara's presence. Her arm was raised in a salute, and it brushed against her light purple and yellow hair, which flowed past her shoulders. She wore a dark blue uniform, symbolizing her specialized training.

"I've come as requested," she spoke with authority.

"Cadence!" Tara said, happily. Immediately, Cadence turned to look at Tara, and her stern expression quickly washed away into a smile of relief. Without hesitation, she suddenly moved towards the bed, and pulled Tara into a deep hug.

"Tara!" Cadence said happily. "I'm so glad you're okay! They told me everything. Why didn't you tell me what you were doing here? You should have-"

"Cadence, please let go," Tara said, painfully. Cadence quickly let go of Tara, blushing slightly.

"Oh, sorry," she said sheepishly. "I just, haven't really seen you in a while."

"Is Sam coming?" Tara asked hopefully. Cadence sadly shook her head.

"It's just me," Cadence said somberly. "He had to stay behind."

"Oh," Tara breathed out. "Still, it's nice to see you. By the way," Tara turned to the other girls. "These are the others. That's AJ, Fiona, Pinky, and Dash. Girls, this is Cadence, my sister-in-law."

The other gave simple greetings, which Cadence returned happily.

"Sister-in-law?" Fiona asked, surprised. "I didn't even know you had a brother."

"Yeah, I've been seeing Sam since Tara was little," Cadence said. "I used to babysit her." Tara blushed at the comment, finding it slightly embarrassing that her childhood memories were being revealed right in front of her friends.

"You don't need to tell them everything, Cadence," Tara said, somewhat annoyed. The last thing she needed was for Cadence to start revealing information about her youth, as there were certainly many events that she would have liked to forget. However, Dash, not skipping on any opportunity to see Tara squirm, started to ask questions to Cadence.

"You dated her brother while you babysat?" Dash said, smugly. "Man, I only imagine what crazy sexual fantasies you acted out. Tell me, did Tara ever walk in on you while yo-"

"Rebecca," Celestia sternly interrupted, making both Tara and Cadence feel much more comfortable. "Now's not the time. In fact, now's not the time for any reminiscing. Cadence, you have much to do. You know your parameters?" Cadence, growing serious once more, turned to Celestia.

"Yes, ma'am," Cadence replied. "Find and secure Rachel Elizabeth Germain, and if possible, derail the goals of Yuri and Kristov Korbalov, whatever those end goals may be. Their locations are unknown, so I'll have to gather Intel from across the city. If you presumptions are correct, I will have two weeks to find and secure Germain before she is lost."

"For someone who's about to take on those big fellas," AJ said. "You seem awfully calm about it." Without changing her expression, Cadence looked at AJ.

"I'm aware of their... unnatural abilities," Cadence said, her voice unwavering. "But I don't really care. If brute force can't stop them, then there are other ways to make them cease. I'll just have to find one."

"Cadence," Tara said, growing fearful. "Are you sure that you'll be alright? Those two weren't people. They were monsters. I… I just don't want anything bad to happen to you."

"Tara," Cadence said, reassuringly. She smiled. "I'll be fine. But first, we need to find where they are. Wilson, you said you had a potential lead?" Wilson nodded, and then walked towards the door.

"Yes," he stated. "If you'll follow me, we can get started. The rest of you, get some rest. We need you back in action as soon as possible."

With that, Wilson left the room, with Cadence following not far behind, waving to Tara as she left. Celestia soon got up and joined the two, leaving the rest of the girls alone. Dash groaned and flopped down across AJ's legs. AJ felt as if she should have complained, but she felt as that Dash would not be one for sentimentality.

"Man, this suuuuuucks," Dash moaned out. "We should be searching out there. I can't believe we gotta count on some other fucking bitch to do our job for us. No offence, Spark."

"Dash, there is nothing we can do," Tara said, ignoring Dash's rather insulting remark.

"No," Dash corrected. "There is nothing you can do. But look at me, still walking about. My hip's shattered, but I'm walking around anyway, just because I can't feel it. Hell, even Fiona could do something."

"No way," Fiona denied. "We did all that we could. All we can do now is wait for Cadence to find Rachel, and bring her back."

"Fiona," Dash said, stubbornly. "Do you really want to put all of your trust in someone that you literally just met a few seconds ago? Or would you rather lead the search?"

"Wait a minute," AJ suddenly said. Something about Dash's words put her off. She had heard Dash complain many times before, but this sounded different. When Dash complained, she swore. A lot. But Dash sounded serious for once. There was also something about the tone of her voice. It sounded as if she was trying to be persuasive. And when Dash sounded persuasive, it was guaranteed that she had a horrible idea in her head.

"Dash, what are ya suggesting?" AJ asked. "You better not be thinking what stupid idea I think you're thinking."

"If you think I'm thinking about taking a vehicle, leaving the grounds, and then looking for Miss Giant-tits," Dash said. "Then I am thinking of what you're thinking of what I fucking think, I think, I think. Jesus fucking Christ, I thought that would be apparent."

"Dash, that's suicidal," Tara scolded. "You're injured."

Dash scoffed.

"I'm down an eye," Dash explained. "So I got no depth perception. That's what Fiona's for."

Fiona appeared rather shocked.

"You actually want me to go with you?" Fiona said, astonished. "But… my arms are broken. And it would be really dangerous."

"But you have all of those crazy kicking moves, like when you beat down the crazy sword dude back at that high school," Dash said, clearly not concerned about Fiona's capabilities. "Secondly, if you're just joining a search, then you might not have to fight. Thirdly, I can still kick ass even if we do get into a fight. And lastly, I know for a fact that you want to go out there and help the Brit just as badly as any of us."

Fiona sighed. Although every sensible part of her was saying that she would most likely be slaughtered in an unholy fashion, she couldn't not deny that she wanted nothing more than to go right back to helping her friend. She didn't know why she felt this way. Of course, she had always enjoyed helping people, but recently, she noticed that she seemed to be putting herself in harm's way far more often than she would like. First, she fought off against The Beast, then she tried to act as a sacrifice against Melanie Moon, and now she was considering rushing off with Dash to stop two men who were essentially gods. Perhaps, if circumstances were different, and she had time to think about it, she might notice some recent event that caused this bizarre psychological behavior. But her passion to save her friend outgrew her concern, and reluctantly, she bowed her head.

"Fine," Fiona said, softly. "I'll… I'll help you rescue Rachel."

"Oh no, you won't," Tara said stubbornly. "As leader of this team, I forbid you two from launching a crazy suicide pact to save Rachel. I already have Cadence rushing off into danger; I don't need anyone else doing the same."

"Come one, Spark," Dash protested. "Don't be like that. We'll be far more helpful out there than waiting in this shitty hospital room underground."

Despite the protest, Tara's answer remained firm.

"No," she repeated.

"Tara, how about this," Fiona reasoned. "What if we came to a compromise? We would help search for Rachel's whereabouts, but we wouldn't launch any attack to free her. If we find anything, we tell Cadence, and then come right back here. Is that alright?"

Tara considered this for a long moment. She mulled over the thought in her head many times, thinking carefully. She didn't know why Fiona decided to help Dash. Tara, after all, had been trying, unsuccessfully, she might add, for a month to make Dash become less compulsive. It didn't help that any time Dash had an idea, someone would immediately agree with her. Although, Tara was quite interested that Fiona went along with the plan. Usually, Pinky was the one who instinctively went along with Dash, although Tara could clearly see why this was not the case for this plan. Tara, after some more consideration, found herself leaning towards letting Dash and Fiona go. In all honesty, despite her desperately not wanting to let Dash run loose around the city, especially with someone as fearful as Fiona in tow, there was no complaint why she shouldn't let them go. Fiona would ensure that they stayed out of trouble, it added extra support to Rachel's search, and if something went wrong, Wilson would immediately retrieve them and bring them back.

So in the end, after what seemed like hours of waiting, Tara expressed her confirmation with a deep sigh. Dash thrust her hands up into the air in victory, before suddenly grabbing onto Fiona's wrist, and dragging her to the door.

"Sweet!" Dash said ecstatically. "Time to go Fiona. Got a lot-"

"WAIT!" Pinky suddenly screamed out. It was so sudden that Dash stopped dead on her tracks, and stared at the hyper girl. Although, at this point, she wasn't hyper; her body still, her face clearly showing how nervous she was. It was something that none of the girls had ever seen before.

Pinky was being serious.

"I…" Pinky said slowly. "I want to come with you." Dash rolled her eyes.

"Um, Pinky, unless you haven't noticed," Dash said snidely. "You can't walk. That, and I was actually going to use my sweet-ass bike to travel, which only holds two people. So, unless you get magically healed, you can't come with us any way." However, Pinky persisted.

"Please, Dash," Pinky begged, her eyes showing sincerity that she did not show often. "I promise I won't be a problem. Just let me help."

"Listen, Pinky," AJ interjected. "I know ya wanna help, but there just aint anything you can really do right now. Trust me, as someone who's seen wounded people in the field before, it'll just cause more issues." Pinky's mood slowly deflated, and now, she crossed her arms over her chest, and lowered her head.

"But…" Pinky said, quietly. "Rachel's my friend, too. And, I need to do something to help her."

"Pinky, we all wish that we could help," Tara said somberly. "But this just isn't your fight, right now. Dash and Fiona can handle themselves." Although Tara scarcely believed in her own words, she said what she needed to in order to make Pinky feel better. And it seemed, to some degree, Pinky became less upset, and calmed down.

"Okay," Pinky said reluctantly. Suddenly though, she perked up, and pointed sternly at Dash. "But before you leave, I need you to get me a laptop from one of the offices. I'll see if I can hack the device for any useful information."

"Um, okay," Tara said, slightly confused. "Pinky, when did you learn to hack computers?"

"My mom worked for the FBI," Pinky said, nonchalantly. "Taught me a bunch of things. It's actually quite fun once you get the hang of it. See, it starts with-"

"OKAY, BYE!" Dash suddenly called out, yanking Fiona out of the room and then slamming the door to avoid one of Pinky's stories. With Fiona guiding the way, the girls were able to retrieve a laptop from one of the rooms in Camelot, slip back to the others, deliver the device, and then escaped outside. The guards easily let them go after Dash gave the excuse that they were going to get pizza to eat away their grief. With both girls on the bike (which Fiona was rather nervous about), and went on the search for their lost comrade.

__________

Cadence's first guess to Rachel's whereabouts was an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the city. From the Intel that she gathered from Wilson and Celestia, the factory used to produce toys, specifically dolls for six year old girls, which, somehow, seemed to inexplicably attract a fan base of sexually frustrated teenage boys and middle-aged men for no particular reason whatsoever. The factory was had been closed since the late 1980's, but there never seemed anyone caring enough to tear the place down. Cadence could never say she liked the dolls. She certainly knew of their infamous existence, and she had a friend who possessed one, but she never wanted the My Special Princess dolls.

So, she didn't feel comfortable wandering around the rather large factory, listening closely for any indications of the Korbalovs. Instead, she felt the scene nearly resembled something out of a horror film. The factory was dark and dank, cobwebs filling up the machines, and old remains of toys scattered about the floor. The main chamber, which Cadence walked through, was empty, save for the machines, and the dust in the air that kept filling her lungs, making it harder to breathe with each passing minute. Her gun was readied in her hand, and she kept the weapon raised, anticipating an attack. To her, the disturbing factory seemed like the perfect place where Rachel would be held hostage.

Unfortunately for Cadence, a different threat lurked in the next chamber of the factory. However, the people awaiting could not say that they had the skill or the reputation of the Russians.

The Grizzlies, the occupiers of the factory, were one of the street gangs that were rising to take over the position of power previously held by the Smiling Dragons. When Discord first took reigns over Philadelphia, the Grizzlies were the first of many to pledge allegiance to him. As such, they rapidly picked up the knowledge of the criminal underworld, and now, with Discord missing, many in that world believed that the Grizzlies would most likely take full control of crime in Philadelphia. As such, the positions in the Grizzlies were becoming harder and harder to come by, and it took a lot of work for everyone to be sorted out, which further delayed the takeover.

The leader of the Grizzlies was a man named Lucas White, a man whose cocky nature and large disrespect for the law made up for the fact that he was mostly incompetent. Being the leader, and thinking of himself in a rather high regard, he forced his workers to refer to him as "Mr. White", or "Head Grizzly". He was Discord's first contact whenever a major operation went down, and as far as anyone was concerned, he knew all of Discord's tricks. And, as such, he decided on every day to dress like his former boss, in an all-white suit, white tie, black shirt, and white hat.

However, try as he might to imitate Discord, he certainly was not the mad man everyone wished him to be, which is why he was now complaining to the other three men in the factory about how poorly they were handling his drug operation.

"What do you mean you can't get better speed than this?" Mr. White demanded. It was not his first decision to make a base out of the factory. Each day that he stayed there, his dark chocolate-colored skin became covered with more and more dust, and he found that he was getting some sort of mild illness from it all.

"Look, Mr. White, sir," his underling said. "You know I aint the brightest. I'm doing the best I can manage."

"Well, it isn't good enough!" Mr. White screamed. "How am I supposed to surpass the legacy of Discord if I can't even make some decent meth? I'm about to become king of the underworld, and you are fucking it all up!"

"Sorry, Mr. White, sir," the lackey apologized. "It won't happen agai-"

BANG

Cadence, having overheard all she needed to from the conversation, decided that she might as well take the extra few seconds to put down a few more criminal masterminds. She rolled into the next room, taking the others by surprise as she blew a hole right through the underling's head. Her aiming was precise, and tactically, within a matter of seconds, she shot down the other two henchmen, and turned her sights on Mr. White. Mr. White attempted to reach for his gun, but the next thing he knew, a bullet tore through his hand, and he had collapsed to the ground. He whimpered as the pain flowed through his hand, and he felt tears welling in his eyes. Cadence walked up to him, and planted her foot on his chest, pointing her gun at his head.

"Okay, you big softie," Cadence said snidely. "You seem like you have top knowledge of all crime going in the city. After all, you are the 'King of the Underworld'. What do you know about any recent kidnappings going on around here?"

"What?" Mr. White asked, confused and afraid. "I…I don't know anything." Cadence responded by firing another shot through his other hand, causing him to cry out in pain. He whimpered again.

"Bullshit," Cadence said sternly. "You don't seem like a tough guy, so I doubt you'll be able to hold onto your lies for long. Now, I'm looking for two men. Big men. They've taken a teenage girl with them into hiding, and I know that they are somewhere in this city. So, unless you want me to blow that hand off, I suggest you tell me where they are. Now."

"But…" Mr. White whimpered out. "But I really don't know. Honest. I would tell you if I knew, but I don't. I swear to God."

Cadence considered his response for a moment, before deciding that he was lying again, prompting her to now adjust her aim downwards, and shoot a bullet through his foot. Mr. White made incredibly pitiful sounds, as he now started to cry fully.

"You're lying again," Cadence said harshly. "I'll give you one last chance. Tell me what I want to know." Mr. White panicked. He didn't know what else to say to the woman in order to avoid any more agony. He knew nothing. She thought he knew something. Unless he could suddenly conjure up some information within the next few seconds, he would be done for.

But then, he thought of an idea. A very wicked idea which would guarantee not only his survival, but an increased chance for business opportunities. An idea so brilliant, that Mr. White was amazed he had even come up with it at all.

"Okay, okay," he moaned out. "I'll talk. I'll talk."

"Good," Cadence smirked. "Now, what have you hears about the kidnapping?"

"Well," Mr. White began. "I'm not sure exactly, but I remember something about Johnny Wild from the Princes that they were helping some dudes take care of some girl. Said something about 'watching her suffer', or some shit."

"What else do you remember?" Cadence asked.

"Nothing else," Mr. White said nervously. "That's all. But I think the Princes are planning on clippin' her tonight."

"Where?"

"On the east side," Mr. White said. "That's where the Princes reign supreme."

"Thank you, very much," Cadence said happily. Mr. White breathed a sigh of relief. Not only would he escape, but hopefully, this girl could do something about the Princes interfering with his crime syndicate. If she was as tough as she looked, which she appeared to be, then he would have very little excess competition in the upcoming months.

However, his hope dropped when he noticed that Cadence had never taken her boot off of his chest.

"Wait, aren't ya gonna let me go now?" Mr. White asked, very confused.

He was met with a bullet to the skull, and his body went limp. Cadence stepped off of him, and started to walk out of the factory. If Mr. White was in running to become a major crime leader, (which he said he was) then hopefully, he had some proper information for her to use. She didn't know why he assumed that he was going to be allowed to live. After all, he was a criminal. But something Cadence did know, quite for certain, was that she would never be more relieved until she exited the horrid factory.

__________

"So… what music do you like?" Dash asked Fiona, who as currently clutching the girl in front of her for dear life, as the two sped down the streets on Dash's bike. Dash was trying to pass the time, but Fiona was much more focused on her own safety to answer any of the questions.

"Could you slow down?" Fiona asked, terrified. "Please?" Dash shook her head.

"We can stop when we're dead," Dash responded.

"I don't think we'll have to wait long," Fiona said back. Dash was surprised by Fiona's rather sarcastic tone.

"When did you develop a sense of sarcasm?" Dash asked. Fiona flushed.

"Oh…" Fiona said, embarrassed. "I, uh, didn't mean to say that out loud. My bad. Sorry." Fiona made a mental note to keep her thoughts to herself, although she quickly forgot this as she felt Dash accelerating.

The two rode down the streets with great haste, although Dash had no idea where she was supposed to go. Perhaps, just perhaps, she should have waited for Pinky to find anything before actually leaving. But, perhaps, she would never admit to herself that she made a wrong decision, and, for that reason, drove Fiona around in circles in order to give off the illusion that she had any idea of what she was supposed to be doing.

"Hey, Pinky, anything yet?" Dash asked aloud. Underneath her helmet was an earpiece connected back to the girls at Camelot. From over the phone, she could here Pinky let out a groan.

"Not really," Pinky admitted. "I mean, yeah, there's some stuff here, but I just don't like the look of any of it."

"Can't you just track her phone like a normal government agency?" Dash questioned.

"Already did," Pinky said. "According to this, it says that she is at 14 Brooks Street, on the eastern edge of the city."

"Why didn't you tell us that before?" Dash said, clearly annoyed.

"Because I also managed to find the Korbalovs website," Pinky said. Fiona, who also heard the conversation, chimed in.

"They have a website?" Fiona asked in amazement.

"Yep," Pinky calmly said. "It's .com, Russian servers. Turns out the crime over there is so intense that they have a legally purchased website for mercenaries. Anyway, it lists their business credentials, and under the category of kidnappings, it says, and I quote, 'We guarantee that the victims will be untraceable throughout the entire operation. All possibilities, such as GPS untis, cell phones, or other such means of identifying location are accounted for'."

"So, they took her phone away and planted it somewhere else, basically," Fiona simplified the news.

"Well, yeah, if don't like reading, and instead like being a grumpy, old page-skimmer, sure," Pinky said in a childish manner. She regained her composure. "Now, here's something else I found. According to the website, they guarantee that when torturing people, they will keep them alive for two weeks, minimum."

"We knew that, Pinky," Dash groaned.

"Well, I've been thinking," Pinky said.

"I've been thinking," Dash heard Tara call out from the phone.

"We've been thinking," Pinky continued, annoyed. "Based on the strength the two displayed when they fought us, it seems like it would be impossible for them to keep someone alive for two weeks without eventually giving them medical attention. I mean, these guys can shatter bones by flicking people too hard."

Dash heard some static, and then she heard Tara on the phone.

"So," Tara continued, who had stolen the phone, feeling like she could provide a better explanation. "We know that Yuri Korbalov personally enjoys hurting people, which means the torture is most likely physical abuse. Let's say that he broke a bone every two hours. Well, he would have to eventually wrap up the wound, or else Rachel would probably go into shock, and die from the pain. Also, he needs to provide her with enough food and water to live, not to mention all of the blood he would eventually need to clean up. And, unless they have very subtle torture methods, there will be blood."

There was more rustling as Pinky ripped the phone back from Tara's hands.

"Basically, they need to be in a very populated area of the city," Pinky explained. "Somewhere where they could get enough food to keep up their metabolisms, and treat Rachel's wounds to some degree. I'm running a search for any places that could fit these requirements."

"Pinky, focus!" Tara yelled.

"I'm busy working here!" Pinky complained. Although neither Dash nor Fiona could see what was going on, they could only imagine the rather humorous appearance of two nearly crippled girls fighting over technology (although it was primarily Dash who thought this was funny, so much so that she nearly drove off the road from laughing too much, while Fiona gripped her friend ever tighter).

"No, you're not!" Tara yelled. "You're trying to buy a My Special Princess doll!"

"Hey," Pinky said, taking offense. "If I'm not going to be able to move for a while, I can at least have some company!"

"Ladies, calm the fuck down!" Dash ordered, restraining her laughter. "Spark, stop bugging Pinky. Pinky, get your fucking act together."

"Well, I would," Pinky complained more. "But I've already found the area we are looking for. Dead center of the city; there's a hospital, grocery store, and plenty of shady spots to hide. Problem is, I just don't know where they are specifically. I've got it down to a two mile zone and- hey! Look at this!"

Pinky was now shouting in amusement, as, unbeknownst to Dash, Pinky had accidentally clicked her way to the local news website as she tried to buy herself a toy. She read aloud the article on the page.

"Remember how that crazy old guy was trying to take over WMH Enterprises?" Pinky said.

"You mean the perverted old fuck who tried to take over the Earth like, two days ago?" Dash said, remembering the experience. She could fondly say that she hated McCarther; her best memory of him was his head falling to the ground, and blood spurting from his severed jugular.

"Well, it says here that WMH Enterprises has made an official deal with the African country of Vitrumia to outsource its fuel," Pinky said, reading the article out loud.

"I bet Wilson's happy about that," Tara chimed in, albeit with disdain in her voice. "Vitrumia's been close allies with the US for at least a decade now, since its country's creation. America will get back some of its reputation, and that fuel probably won't be going anywhere."

"At least The Unknown won't get his hands on it," Fiona added, trying to think of the positive side of things.

"Oh yeah, I forgot that hairy-palmed bastard was working with no-face," Dash replied in reminiscing. "Man, I forgot a lot of shit that happened a few days ago. Hey, Fiona, did you know that the guy took me to a stri-"

Dash froze. As if a buzzer went off in her head, a brilliant idea sprang into her mind, causing her to slam on the brakes, an act which nearly sent Fiona flying off the bike.

"Pinky, quick!" Dash demanded. "Find out where the Ultimate Palace, Gentlemen's Club is."

With great haste, Pinky searched, and in a mere matter of seconds, she gave Dash the address. Without a moment's hesitation, Dash sped down the streets, Fiona desperately wrapping he arms around the girl.

"Dash!" Fiona shouted over the roar of the bike. "Where are we going?!"

"Strip club!" Dash shouted back.

"WHY?!" Fiona asked, not only extremely confused, but rather embarrassed as well. She had never imagined going to a strip club, and now, thinking of all the scantily-clad women dancing about, she became quite flustered.

"You'll see!" Dash said with a smirk. "I've got some people to visit!"

__________

"I thought I fuckin told you, nigga. I don't get high easy," Jerome complained. "Especially since Benny got capped."

The three men were once more sitting in the alleyway, passing the time, and trying to forget the events of the few nights before.

"But if yo ass is high," Jordan explained. "Then you aint got no worries."

"Testify to that," Anwar moaned out. The intense usage of marijuana was affecting him badly, and he could no longer feel the left side of his body.

"Is that all you motherfuckers do?" Jerome asked in anger. "One of your best niggas die, and you sit back and pop a mothafucka just like dat? Man, Benny's right, fool, we need to lay off this shit."

"Complain then, bitch," Jordan said. "Why do niggers always gotta complain?" Jerome promptly stood up, walked over to Jordan, and punched him in the face. Jordan fell backwards off of his seat, and landed on the floor with a smack. "Jeez, what was that for, bro?"

"Who you calling a fucking nigger?!" Jerome shouted out.

"No one, bro," Jordan apologized, cowering in fear. "No one!"

"That's what I fucking thought, homie!" Jerome shouted back.

"HEY! GANGSTER ASSHOLES!" a voice called out from the end of the alleyway. Jerome turned towards the sound, and his eyes shot open wide when he saw who was at the end of the alley. Dash was leaning against the nearby wall, looking as cocky as before, although this time, there was a bandage covering her eye, and wrappings around her arm. Also, he saw that she had a friend with her, with flowing pink hair, a nervous yet beautiful complexion, and a bandage placed over her nose. Despite the wounds, Jerome felt horrified, and immediately turned to run out of the other end of the alley.

However, Dash didn't give him the chance to get far, pulling a gun out of her pocket and shooting Jerome in the leg. Jerome collapsed to the ground with a yelp, as Fiona jumped back in surprise.

"Whoa!" Fiona yelled out. "Where did you get that thing?" Dash shrugged.

"Stole it from Camelot," Dash said simply. "Hell, it's not even a challenge anymore."

She started walking towards the other men, who did not seem at all startled by her presence. While Jerome was attempting to crawl away from Dash, Jordan simply looked up at her in amazement, as her shadow lurched over him. He appeared dumbfounded, and perhaps it was the drugs, or perhaps it was fate, but she seemed like the most beautiful person in the world to him. Jordan opened his mouth to say something, but was greeted with a knee to the face, knocking him out. Anwar didn't move, instead just gazing at Dash in a sense of confusion. Dash walked over to him, and knocked the joint out of his hand, before roughly pushing him to the ground. Jerome tried to make his escape, but Fiona managed to block his path, allowing Dash ample time to walk over to him.

"Remember me, buddy?" Dash asked happily. "You tried to shiv me the other day. Then I murdered your friend. Anyway, I need your help with something."

"Fuck you, you crazy bitch!" Jerome shouted out. Dash sighed.

"If that's the best thing you can call me, then you really need to work on your insults, cum-licker," Dash said, unimpressed. "But back to matters… you live around this area, right?"

"I aint telling you shit!" Jerome called out.

"Look, tell us what you need, and maybe I won't have to cut your nuts off," Dash said threateningly.

"You cut my balls off, and I really aint telling you shit," Jerome repeated, even more defiantly.

"Please sir," Fiona suddenly interrupted. "We don't want to do any harm. Just, please, we need to know if there are any places that criminals might hide out in the general area."

Jerome paused.

"Wait… dat's all?" he asked, confused. "You don't need me to, like, put a cap on someone's ass or nothin'?"

"No," Fiona said softly, trying to remain nice. "Can you please just tell us if you know anything? Anything at all?"

"If it means getting you two bitches off my ass, then sure," Jerome hastily agreed. "See, there's this secret place we in da' hood know 'bout. Back behind the supermarket, there's this old rusty shack. Great place for hiding out drugs 'n shit. Most big gangs don't know about it cuz it's in too much of a crowded area, but my boys use it plenty."

"Behind the supermarket?" Dash reiterated. Jerome nodded.

"Yeah, it's blocked by this rusty set of planks," Jerome explained. "But I wouldn't go there if I was you. Hear some big fellas been seen stormin' about that bitch yesterday. I aint fucking with dem niggas."

Dash and Fiona looked at each other, realization dawning on them.

"Thank you so much," Fiona said, before quickly rushing out of the alley. Dash turned to follow her, but Jerome yelled after her.

"Hey," he shouted angrily. "What about my leg?!"

"Not my fucking problem!" Dash shouted back. "I don't do drugs!"

Jerome groaned in pain, and tried his best to sit up. His leg hurt him terribly as he looked around. Anwar was slowly rising to his feet, wobbling about and holding his head.

"Shit, that was some crazy-ass shit, nigga," Anwar said. "Damn, Jordan's out cold."

"Anwar," Jerome said, extending his arm. "Just give me the mothafuckin' pot, will ya, nigga?"

__________

It was getting late when the last member of the Princes fell. Two bullets ripped through his chest cavity, and he fell to the ground in a thud.

Cadence, covered with sweat and blood, stood alone among the fifty bodies that lay on the ground. She had been roaming the hideout for an hour, stealthily trying to find Rachel. It was an oversight that she had been spotted, but it didn't matter to her, as her skills were far superior to that of any of the gangbangers. Although she initially thought that once she was finished with the gang members she could continue searching, she now had many doubts that what Mr. White had told her was actually true. She had rummaged through every dark corner of the lot where the Princes rested, but she found nothing. There was no indication that the Korbalovs had ever shown up there, and she figured that she had been led on a wild goose chase. Cadence decided at this point to return back to Camelot, and get a decent night's rest before continuing the search in the morning. At least, she figured, it would give her more time to see members of P.O.N.Y. Although, there was one person at the base that she wished to see more than others.

Buzz Buzz Buzz

Cadence, confused, reached into one of the pouches in of her uniform, and pulled out her cell phone. She slowly placed it to her ear.

"Um, hello?" Cadence said awkwardly.

"She's behind the Cargo's Supermarket downtown," a voice quickly said through the phone.

"Wait, who is this?" Cadence suddenly demanded. "How did you get this number?"

"It's Dash," replied the voice. "One of Spark's friends. Not important. Anywa-"

"Who's Spark?" Cadence asked, confused.

"Tara," the voice specified. "I'm the one who asked if you blew her brother, remember?"

"Oh, you," Cadence said, not particularly pleased. "Wait, how do you know this? What are even talking about? And how did you get this number?!"

"Just get there!" the voice demanded. "The Korbalovs are hiding there, behind some old planks. There's a secret hideout in the back alley. MOVE!"

"Shouldn't you be back at the base?" Cadence said. She heard a groan.

"Do you want to stop being a bitch and get over there already?!" the voice yelled. "We're going back to the base right now. Try not to get raped over there, 'ey princess?"

The person on the phone hung up, and Cadence put the phone back into the pouch. Reluctantly, she walked out of the Princes' lot, and got into her car. She was pretty sure that the person on the phone was who she claimed to be. There wasn't anyone else who would remember that conversation regarding her husband and the rather radical deeds they had performed in their youth. However, she could not say that she greatly trusted Dash's information. She did not have any sort of liking for the girl, and she would not be surprised if this was all leading up to some trap or sick joke. Regardless, it was the only lead she had to follow, and it would not take her long to investigate. At best, she would actually find what she was looking for. At worst, she would possibly kill some less than effective thugs, and she would get to the base about twenty minutes later than expected. She turned on the ignition, and started the ten minute drive down to the supermarket.

When she finally arrived at the market, the sun was setting, causing an orange hue to be painted across the sky. Cadence parked across the street, and, before leaving the car, threw on a thick coat as to not attract attention to her special ops uniform. She got out of the car, and walked across the street. The wind was soft, blowing a few strands of hair over her face, which she brushed out of the way. Cadence looked up at the sky, taking in the sunset, which was mostly blocked out by the tall buildings surrounding her. She had not remembered the last time she had seen the sunset. She had been so busy as of late that she had such little time to truly enjoy the world around. She supposed that was the cost of war, but deep down, she would have traded anything else to keep the pristine beauty of the world intact. However, she tossed those thoughts aside, as she crossed into the alley behind the market.

The alley was only twenty yards wide, and it was narrowly squished between the market, and another tall, brick building, which seemed to have no particular purpose other than provide living quarters for cockroaches. The alley itself was empty, save for three things: first, a dumpster pushed against the market, second, a basketball, which had somehow managed to roll into the alley due to playing children, and thirdly, two big wooden crates, both four feet in length and square, pressing against the brick building. Cadence, curious, walked over to the two crates, and pushed them out of the way into the dumpster. She saw no back door or secret entrance in front of her, and she sighed. She felt rather annoyed that Dash had misdirected her, and made a mental note to get back at her once she returned to Camelot. She was about to relinquish the search, when she looked down, and in surprise, noticed that she was standing upon a wide panel, buried into the ground. The panel was a yard in width, and it could easily fit the Korbalovs massive size.

Cadence took out her gun, and reloaded it, before placing it in her holster in her waist. She bent down, and grabbed onto a small, rusted handle attached to the panel. She tugged hard, and, after a few seconds of intense pulling, managed to pry the panel open, and reveal what was hidden underneath. She saw a drop of ten feet, and a ladder placed at the edge of the hole. She took her gun out once more, and placed it into her mouth. She then slowly descended the ladder, falling into the shadows of the earth.

When she reached the bottom, she took out a flashlight, as well as her gun, and held them both at the ready. With a click, she turned on the flashlight. Before her was a corridor of about twenty five feet in length. It did not diverge any further, except for the four rusty doors on the walls, two on either side. Cadence slowly treaded forward, trying to make as little noise as possible. She quietly walked to the first door on her left, and, readying herself, flung the door open, and shone her flashlight inside. The room was small, and only contained two soft sheets, which were covered in dust. The blankets were incredibly large, and Cadence knew that they had to be made for larger individuals. Despite the gathering dust, they appeared to be recently used, suggesting that someone had used them recently. Now more cautious than ever, Cadence shut the door, and opened the one on her right. The next room was also devoid of people, but did contain a rather large amount of illegal drugs, stacked nearly as high as Cadence herself. Cadence slowly walked away from the room, having no further business with it, and moved further down the corridor. She could hear the busy streets above her, as people walked about in the closing supermarket, trying to get food before the store was shut for the night. It put her off ease, knowing that such horrific events could happen so close to ordinary people. Cadence now found herself at the end of the hall. She noticed something on the door to the right, but she decided to avoid it for the moment. She peered into the room on her left, and noticed that the room was filled with canned goods, beef, bacon, pork, bandages, ropes, splints, and a microwave. Noticing the room was devoid of human life as well,, Cadence quickly turned around and looked at the last door. Attached to the door was a slip of paper, taped to the wood. On it was written, in messy handwriting,

Too Late.

The message was written in blood.

With wide eyes, Cadence kicked the door in, and shone the flashlight into the room. A horrible odor reached her nose, causing her to cover her face with one hand. Looking around, she could see that the room could only be ten feet in length. In the middle of the room was an old chair, which was covered in a plethora of bodily fluids. Blood was splattered against the walls and floor, puddles of it laid all around the room. Dried vomit was sprayed in front of the chair, and everything mixed together to create a putrid sight. It was quite clear to Cadence now that someone had to be tortured in this room. But was it who she was looking for? Cadence didn't have to wait long to see.

Suddenly, she saw movement behind the chair. Someone was on the floor, and was lying still for so long that they had completely blended into the background. Cadence cautiously walked up to the person, and with disgust, witnessed one of the most disfigured people she had ever seen. The woman before her had every inch of her body covered in her own blood, and let out a soft moan as she writhed in agony. She had violet hair, which was now stained a dark red from being coated in blood, and a light complexion, which was now tainted with crimson. Her clothes were cut and torn as multiple knife wounds imprinted on her form. Her hands were tied behind her back with a thick rope, and her palms were cut open, including slits between each of her fingers. A long scar traced across her right arm, although it appeared to be older that the other cuts, some of which still dripped with fresh blood. Parts of her body that weren't caked in the substance were badly bruised, swelling horribly. Some of her bones seemed to be badly bent out of place, and she could see the puss festering under the wounds. The woman's face spared no expense. Her nose was crooked, her cheeks were black and blue, and her lips were clipped badly. Thick, blood-soaked bandages had been wrapped around her eyes, cutting off the view of the upper half of her face. Blood rolled down her cheeks from under the bandages, making the wrappings damp, which Cadence assumed were due to a bad cut across the eyes. Cadence recognized the girl from an image she was shown earlier, despite the horrible injuries that covered her.

It was Rachel Germain.

Cadence, trying not to startle the poor girl, very slowly placed her hand upon Rachel's arm. It immediately became apparent how cold Rachel was to the touch. Despite the sudden warm contact, Rachel barely moved, instead shivering at the impact.

"Rachel," Cadence spoke kindly. "My name is Cadence Sullivan. I'm here to get you help."

Rachel muttered something incoherent. Cadence, tried moving Rachel into her arms, but was met with protests from the girl in the form of pained groaned.

"Rachel, it's alright," Cadence said. "I'm working with Wilson. Everything will be okay now."

Rachel muttered something again, this time louder and more clearly.

"Ihmzory" Rachel spoke, her voice still soft. Cadence leaned in closer to Rachel in order to make out the groans.

"What was that?" Cadence asked.

"I'm…I'm sorry," Rachel managed to get out. Every syllable strained her immensely, and she felt as if she were to die at any moment.

"It's not your fault, Rachel," Cadence softly said. "They did some horrible things to you here, but it's over now. We're going back home."

"I'm sorry," Rachel repeated. Now that Cadence listened closely, it almost sounded as if Rachel was sobbing.

"There's nothing to be sorry about," Cadence said. But Rachel continued with her mantra, shuddering as each words left her damaged lips.

"I'm so sorry," Rachel said once more. "I… I failed."

"You didn't fail anyone, Rachel," Cadence tried to explain.

"You don't understand," Rachel said sorrowfully. "I'm a failure. I failed everyone."

"How?"

"They… they told me it would stop," Rachel said slowly. "They kept pushing and pushing, and I just couldn't bare it any more. I was too weak to be of use to anyone. I gave in because I was selfish."

"Rachel… what did you do?" Cadence asked, getting concerned.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Rachel repeated. Now clutching Rachel close to herself, Cadence asked in desperation.

"Rachel, what did you tell them?" Cadence asked.

"I… couldn't take it anymore," Rachel said slowly. "I was a coward. I acted for myself instead of staying true to the cause."

"Rachel, what did you tell them?" Cadence pleaded. Rachel, without moving, spoke in a hoarse whisper, with was racked with sobs.

"I… I told them where the base was," Rachel finally spat out.

With horror, Cadence realized why the Korbalovs were not present.

Cadence pulled out her phone as fast as she could. In a panic, she dialed in Wilson's number, and held the phone to her ear.

"I'm so sorry," Rachel repeated once more. However, no one heard her pathetic cries, for Cadence was far too concerned with the fact that no one was answering her call.

__________

The raid on Camelot should not be called an easy task. In preparation for the worst, an attack squad was called in to defend to the base at all costs. With them, they carried the latest equipment, all in hopes that the new leaps in technology would be able to take down the two most powerful men in the world. The attack team carried forty members, and was divided into three. The first twenty was sent out in front of the restaurant, and was calmly waiting behind the cover of several military jeeps. The next ten were dispatched in the hallways of the base, and were lurking around every corner to surprise the enemy. The last ten were ordered to stay around the computer room, in which Wilson had been bunkered. Seven waited outside the room, while three waited within. The system was specifically designed to constantly wear the Korbalovs down, and it was hoped that if they did discover the location of the base, the military would be ready for them. The raid on Camelot should not be called an easy task.

It should not be called an easy task. That doesn't mean that it wasn't.

It all started with a speck in the sky. The sun was starting to set over the horizon, and the soldiers out front took very brief time off of their schedule to look up and try to enjoy it. After all, they only had suspected that the Korbalovs might try to attack, but they had no actual proof at this point. So, it seemed like a perfectly fine thing to do, as the sunset was rather beautiful. But, one solider happened to notice something very peculiar about the sky. In the normally deep orange sky, there was a black speck. He couldn't tell how high up it was, but it looked like it was falling towards him. The soldier rubbed his eyes, but the speck would not leave. In fact, it appeared closer than ever before. Now that it was closer, some of the other soldiers noticed it too. Also, a strange humming sound was now ringing through the air. By this point, nearly all men looked up at the speck, as it was now fast approaching them. The speck now no longer looked like a speck, but a man. A very big man, with two crimson arms, held bend at side, hands clasped together, as if he were about to swing a bat at the air.

While some soldiers attempted to fire at the man, it was a futile effort, and he eventually collided with the ground, slamming his arms into the pavement. A shockwave ruptured throughout the earth, sending rock, cars, shrapnel, and men flying about in all directions. The blast was so intense that it rattled throughout the ground, and even reached the ears of the P.O.N.Y's inside of the medical wing.

As Kristov stood up from his attack, a vehicle pulled around the side of the building. The dark grey vehicle was built like a tank, and rested on top of it was a large minigun, which could be accessed from inside. The van came to a screeching halt outside the base, running over one of the soldiers in the process. From out of the tank came Yuri, grinning happily at the carnage around him. With no resistance, the two men marched into the base.

Meanwhile, inside, the girls were starting to panic; the chaos outside filling their minds, and reminding them painfully of their first encounter with the two Russian monstrosities.

"What do we do?" Tara asked to no one in particular. "They're in the base."

"I know, Tara," said AJ, trying to calm her leader down. AJ could see that Tara was losing control of the situation, and once Tara stopped being in control, she stopped thinking properly.

"We're all going to die," Tara said to herself.

"Tara, calm yourself," AJ reassured. "We aint gonna die."

"Yes we are," Tara said grimly. Pinky was watching the two girls talk, staying relatively calm herself. Her eyes back and forth across the room as Tara talked about death, while AJ tried to give her new life. While Pinky could hear the girls argue, she could also hear what was going on outside their door.

"Guys," Pinky said, straining her ears. "I think they are inside."

"Damn it," Tara muttered. "How can we do anything about this now? They're just gonna march around in here like crazy until they kill us all. Oh my God, this the end…"

"TARA, ENOUGH!" AJ suddenly yelled. Tara stopped speaking. "No one is going to die, Tara. Once Cadence and the others get back, everything will be alright. Until then, we are going to have to do what we can to stall them.

"Um, AJ, I hate to interrupt," Pinky said. "But we, uh, are kinda not able to move right now."

AJ paused for a moment. She could hear the screams of the soldiers from right outside the door, and yet she was powerless to do anything about it. Throughout her life she had always managed to find a way to overcome the odds. No matter what problem she encountered, she could always end up beating it. It simply was a matter of trying hard enough.

So, taking deep breaths, AJ slowly unplugged herself from the machinery which surrounded her bedside. Incredibly slowly, and in tremendous pain, AJ rotated herself around, and then stood up off of the bed.

"AJ, what are doing?" Tara asked, bewildered. "You'll get yourself killed."

"I have to do something," AJ said through the pain. She forced herself to walk towards the door. Her entire body burned with an intense fire, but this only gave her drive to go on. "If we do nothing, then we fail. If we try, we can at least have a chance of victory. If I had to fight and die, or surrender and live, I'd rather fight any damn day."

AJ, despite the relentless protesting, opened the door in front of her, just in time to see a soldier fly across the hallway. AJ took a deep breath, and walked out of the door. She closed the door behind her, and turned her head to the left. She saw Yuri, smugly grinning at her, and Kristov, who was incapacitating another soldier.

"Hey, brother, look," Yuri said, pointing at her. "She's still alive. I guess you can have a clear conscience after all."

"This is over," AJ said fiercely. "You're not getting any further than this."

Yuri snickered. "Kristov, go on and find Wilson. I'll take care of the girl."

Kristov nodded, and ran past AJ. She attempted to strike him as he moved, but was forced to dodge one of Yuri's attacks instead. She rolled out of the way, the motion hurting her horribly. She got back to her feet, and took up a fighting stance, barely able to bring her one non-broken arm up to her face. Yuri laughed, and reached behind his back.

"Man, I've been waiting to use this on a target for years," he said with a grin. He pulled a sledgehammer off of the holster on his back, and gripped it tightly in his hands. AJ showed no fear.

"What are you waiting for, you son of a bitch?" AJ said coldly. Yuri smirked and charged at her. He brought the hammer over his head, and then tried to bring it down upon her. But even in her weakened state, she rolled out of the way. He swung again, each swing taking a painfully long time to follow through. This gave AJ plenty of time to move out of the way, although it was putting a massive strain on her body. She was starting to feel woozy, and her ribs felt like they were melting. Still, she fought on. She ignored every will of her body to quit. But Yuri was relentless, starting to swing faster and faster. AJ knew that eventually, she would have to attack him, but she painfully remembered the last time she threw a punch at the two men. However, it was becoming necessary, so she now raised her left arm to attack.

Her opportunity came when Yuri missed his next attack. Rolling behind him, she chopped directly at his back. However, he was quite prepared for this attack. He dropped the hammer, quickly turned around, and grabbed onto her left arm with his right hand. Next, he took her right arm with his left hand, and then yanked her towards him. He pressed their foreheads together, and stared directly into her eyes, grinning, as she struggled to break free.

"I have to say, you're doing quite well for someone with twenty broken bones," he said, staring coldly at her. She persisted to struggle in vain as he spoke. "But, unfortunately, you are interrupting me with a very important assignment, so I must cut our little date short, I'm afraid. It's been a real pleasure, though."

Yuri, without warning, slammed his head into AJ's, sending her flying across the room. Her forehead was covered in blood, and she thought another bone might be broken from the fall, but she stood up again anyway. She rose just in time to receive a brutal punch to the stomach, and she fell over, unable to stand any longer. Yuri waved her farewell and picked up his hammer, as he ran off to catch up with his brother. AJ reached out an arm towards his fading form, desperately trying to do anything to halt his progress. But finally, her body failed her, and she once more slipped back into unconsciousness.

Meanwhile, in the computer room, Wilson and Celestia were discussing something of the utmost importance, as they heard the disruptions outside their door.

"I'm not going in there," Celestia argued. "My job is-"

"Not as important as your life," Wilson said sternly. "We can't afford to have both of us fall to these men. Then the entire project will be deemed a failure."

"But General," Celestia tried to argue.

"Bridgette, you've done plenty," Wilson said. "Now, get back into the panic room. I'll take it from here."

Celestia scorned, and then rotated back and struck her fist against the wall. Beneath her, a two-feet wide hole opened up in the wall, revealing a small, secret room. If they were to be looking for it, the Korbalovs would have most likely found it, so Wilson decided to effectively draw their attention away from it at all costs. Celestia reluctantly managed to squeeze through the small hole, and she closed herself into the wall. She managed to get in just in time, as Kristov immediately blew the door off of its hinges. It landed in front of the General's feet, as the three soldiers opened fire at the man. Kristov raised his arms to his face, blocking the shots with ease. Suddenly, Yuri sprang out from behind him, lunging to one soldier, and ripping his head off of his body. He took out his hammer, and hit the second man in the ribs, before hitting the third man in the back. With all three men down in one way or another, Yuri finally looked upon the man who he had been searching for for years.

"Wilson," Yuri said, grinning. "You look fatter. Like pork. Big, fat, disgusting, putrid pork."

"You two are insane," Wilson stated. "Coming in here, attacking my base. Attacking my operation. Do you feel no shame for the lives you took?"

"I feel shame for not murdering those children as I passed them by a few seconds ago," Yuri said with a grin. "Regardless, we have wasted far too much time, Anthony. If you would allow us to take you back with us…"

"I'm not going anywhere with you," Wilson said forcefully. He raised his arms, and prepared to fight. "I've spent thirty years in the military. I know how to handle scum like you."

To this, Yuri laughed.

"Kristov," Yuri said, now growing serious. "You ready for this?"

Kristov nodded, taking a fighting stance. Wilson suddenly charged at the bigger man, readying his fist for a strike. He swung hard, but Kristov swung harder. Their fists collided with each other, and every bone in the General's hand shattered instantly. He clutched his hand in pain, before Yuri tackled him to the ground, and started pounding on him mercilessly. Every blow sent blood splattering out of Wilson, and Yuri screamed at him with every punch. Eventually, Kristov had to pry Yuri off of the man, so that Wilson would not die from his wounds.

"Remember the plan, Yuri," Kristov said sternly. "We take him back to Russia. Make him suffer in the cold. Then we kill him."

"Yeah, yeah," Yuri said, regaining his composure. "I guess we'll have to put that Discord contract on hold. We can't hold everyone for torture at once. Make sure Discord finds out that we have to stop trying to kill the teens for a while, if he really wants them to suffer. He'll probably be mad. But it's worth it. Oh, so worth it."

He grinned, and then picked up the General, flinging the limp body over his shoulder. The two walked out of the base with tremendous pride, and a happy sensation in their hearts. Meanwhile, hearing the threat had left, Celestia crawled her way out of the panic room, and looked around at the remains of the base. She quickly ran over to one of the few living soldiers, and woke him from his slumber.

"Wake up," Celestia ordered. The solider stirred, and struggled to rise to his feet. Celestia held him down, however, making sure he didn't break any bones.

"Ma'am, what happened," the soldier asked.

"Wilson was taken away by the Korbalovs," Celestia said grimly. "Can you rally the troops?"

"No," the soldier said. "I don't think there is any one left to rally."

"Damn, they're going to get away," Celestia said, angrily. "Wilson is in charge of the operation, and we need to get him back immediately."

"Ma'am, if Wilson is gone," the solider said. "Well, you know that if he is absent in the call of duty, then all responsibility of the operation falls on-"

"I know," Celestia said. She didn't particularly want to hear what he had to say, but she knew it anyway. She feel like it should be happening, but she had no real say in the matter.

"What are your orders, then," the solider asked. "Chairwoman Celestia."

The words filled her mind with grief. She didn't ask to become head of the operation. But taking up responsibility, she did the first thing her instinct told her to do.

"We need to split up," Celestia stated. "Get the girls, and tell them to go to Point Vertigo in Albany, New York. I'll go back to Washington. Tell the others who are out, too. Things are going to be quite different from here on out, and we need to get ready for it."

__________

November 8th, 2015

To say the trip was confusing would be an understatement. Not only did Tara have no idea where he was going, but she didn't know why either. She saw nothing wrong with staying in Philadelphia, but she knew that there had to be some reason. However, it didn't seem to matter much, as in the new base, she was still restricted to a medical bay, which all of her friends were held in. She hadn't heard much, but what she did hear was very important. For starters, she heard that Rachel was found, and she was being sent to a hospital first, before being transported to the base. Secondly, she got word that Cadence had to go to Washington D.C. She wished she had gotten to spend more than a few minutes with her friend, but she got word that Cadence might return after a few months. Lastly, she heard that the Korbalovs got away. It didn't surprise her much, but it was notable, nonetheless. Now, as she sat in the medical bay of Point Vertigo (which looked nearly identical to the last one she was in), she was caught in the midst of speculation and rumor among her friends.

"Why do these fuckers have to keep dragging us to new locations?" Dash complained. "What is so important that we could not stay at Camelot? I was actually starting to like the place."

"The Korbalovs wrecked it pretty badly," said AJ, trying to recover from her latest wounds. Aside from a constant feeling of nausea, AJ hadn't felt too much of an effect from her latest beating. "The whole lot of it must be destroyed."

"Still, it sucks," Dash said.

"I think the Korbalovs are aliens," Pinky said.

"Pinky, we already know what they are," Fiona said. "They are people."

"Aliens are people too," Pinky said, somewhat offended, as if she felt the sorrow of the extraterrestrials. Suddenly, the door opened, and a man walked inside. With him, he carried a rolling platform, and on top of that platform was a small, flat monitor. The screen suddenly flicked on, and the face of a beautiful, blonde woman appeared, sitting in a dark office space.

"Celestia," Tara said. "What's going on? What happened?"

"I have some rather unfortunate news to share with you all," Celestia said sorrowfully. "First of all, the Korbalovs have escaped back to Russia, with General Wilson as hostage. As such, I humbly accept the responsibility as the overseer of this operation."

"Really?" AJ asked in disbelief. "He's actually gone?"

"I'm afraid so," Celestia said. "I'm here in Washington D.C, discussing matters of the highest importance. As such, I cannot be there with you at the time, so this video chat will have to do. By the way, this will be your new base until we can repair the damages done to Camelot. It might take a while though."

"How long?" Fiona asked. Celestia shrugged.

"We don't know," she admitted. "A few months, perhaps. Anyway, we need to talk about the most important matter: Rachel."

"How is she?" Tara asked, growing concerned. "Is she alive?"

"She's alive," Celestia said, grimly. "But, there have been some rather… unfortunate complications. The man who's standing by the screen is Dr. Marrow, and he is helping Rachel recover. I think he can explain things better than I could."

"Thank you, ma'am," said the doctor. "Now, regarding your friend, the damage was pretty severe. We had her checked into the hospital for a couple of days, but now, we have had her delivered here."

"What happened?" Tara asked once more.

"She received numerous lacerations across the body," the doctor started. "She has five cracked ribs, a broken ankle, two shattered knees, broken hands, and that's not even half of the things wrong with her. It's quite a miracle she's even alive. But there are even worse things. In particular, an almost life-threatening cut to the neck, hairline spinal fracture, and… her eyes."

"Wait," AJ said, worried. "What happened to her eyes?" The doctor coughed, looking very uncomfortable.

"In the field of medicine," he stated, ignoring the question. "We are taught that almost anything is possible with the proper technology. Using our technology, we believe that, eventually, Miss Germain will make a full recovery, broken bones and all. But… we can't do anything about her eyes."

"Why can't you do anything?" Tara questioned. The doctor sighed.

"Look, there is no easy way to describe this situation, so I'm just going to simply tell you," the doctor said. "The reason we can't fix her eyes… is because we can't find them."

"What…what do you mean, 'you can't find them'?" Fiona spoke up, terrified.

The doctor took a deep breath.

"She doesn't have eyes anymore," the doctor stated grimly. "They were forcibly removed from the skull; torn right out at the optic nerve. They're gone."

Silence filled the air. There was absolutely nothing, no words to describe the awful feelings in each of the girls' chest. Most of them felt sick, some felt afraid. To think that something so hideous, so awful as that could happen to someone like Rachel was almost too much to bare. It seemed impossible. It had to be impossible. There just didn't seem anyway that the doctor could be right about this. He simply had to be wrong. But, as the doctor continued explaining, everything slowly set in to reality. He told them how she would be blind for the rest of her life. He explained how since the nerve was torn, any chance of restoring her sight was out of the question. He told them about the complications of dealing with possible infections, and a necessary surgery to seal up the damaged eye sockets. He didn't bother to tell them about the horrific pain Rachel was in, but they managed to figure it out, regardless. Feeling that there was nothing left to say to the girls, Celestia requested the doctor bring in Rachel, and then leave them alone for the day.

None of the girls had the stomach to look when Rachel rolled into the room on her bed. She was placed against the wall, facing everybody, yet she could see none of them. When they finally did look at Rachel, the sight was too painful. Rachel sat upright on the bed, unmoving, her body covered with casts, cuts, and bruises. But what was most horrible was the bandages that were wrapped around Rachel's face, covering her eyes from the world. None of the girls could tell if she was even awake or not, or if she could feel the people staring at her, shocked and amazed at the freak with no eyes. It wasn't hard to imagine the absolute misery Rachel must have been feeling, and the sensation of quietness had become infectious, fastening each of the girls' tongues to the back of their mouths.

After many painful minutes of silence, Fiona finally spoke up, hoping to break through the dreadful emptiness.

"Hey, Rachel," she spoke up. "How are… how are you feeling?"

Rachel said nothing.

"Rachel, I'm sorry about what happened," Tara said softly.

Rachel didn't move, her head remaining sunken slightly forward.

"Damn it, look at us," Dash suddenly complained, with the same rambunctious attitude as ever. "Acting like a bunch of sissies because of a fucking injury. Stop acting like pussies guys. That means you too, Rachel. Being blind doesn't mean you can just mope about like a fucking heroin addict every day of your life."

"Dash…" AJ scolded. "Not the time."

However, Tara, in some bizarre manner, actually understood what Dash was trying to do, or at least she thought she did. In some ways, Dash was actually helping more than any of the rest of them. Dash was acting like it wasn't a big deal; like everything was fine, and no one really cared. In some weird way, by Dash acting like it wasn't an issue, maybe Rachel wouldn't think so as well. Maybe, just maybe, Dash hoped that if everyone acted like normal, everything would become normal. It would stop feeling like death and despair. Rachel would stop feeling like a freak. Maybe they would all end up being okay.

But things weren't okay. Rachel didn't have eyes anymore.

Suddenly, Tara felt mad. Really mad. Incredibly mad. The same kind of ferocity a cornered animal had. Everything was sinking in to her, and it just didn't seem fair. It seemed like all of their hard work had been for naught, like they had been climbing the highest mountain in the world, and someone pushed them off the ledge before they stood on the top. Tara felt angry not just for herself, but for Rachel. Tara realized that Rachel's life was practically over. Rachel was a fashion major, and without sight, her primary dream could never be accomplished, no matter how much effort was put into it. Not to mention the fact that Rachel could now hardly do anything at P.O.N.Y. anymore. Fighting their enemies was out of the question when the girl could not see anything at all. In fact, what was Rachel to do with her life from this point forwards? Everything she knew to that point was stripped away in the most horrible manner, leaving Rachel trapped in a cold, black world of lost hopes and shattered dreams, and Tara hated it.

She hated them.

"We need to find them," Tara suddenly spoke. She was met with confused glances. "The Korbalovs. We need to hunt them down. Kill them. Make them pay for everything."

"Tara, are you alright?" Fiona asked. She couldn't help but notice the growing hate in Tara's tone. And this terrified her, far more than the Korbalovs ever could.

"I'm fine, Fiona," Tara said. "But they won't be. We need to get out of here, and take back everything they stole from us."

"Tara, we can barely move," AJ explained.

"Then we recover," Tara said. "We go to Russia, and we hunt those bastards down. If we're lucky, we can even get Wilson back. It'll be a rescue mission."

"Tara, you know what they can do," Fiona said. "We'd be doomed from the start." However, Dash immediately took a liking to the idea.

"Actually, it's perfect," Dash said. "It gives us an excuse for whooping some Russian ass. We wait a few months, train, perfect our skills, and then take the fight to them. They'll never see us coming. Hate to say it, Spark, but I like this mad plan of ours."

Tara grinned.

"Guys, this is our chance," Tara said confidently. "We need to do this."

"But, Tara-" AJ tried to protest, but was suddenly cut off.

"Please," a voice spoke up. Everyone turned towards Rachel in shock. She had not moved her head, but it was most certainly her who had spoken. Her voice was hoarse and weak, but it was unmistakably her's.

"We have to do it," Rachel said in a whisper. "If we don't, then why should we even bother to fight? Why bother existing without a cause to fight for."

After a few moments of silence, AJ sighed.

"Okay, Tara," AJ said reluctantly. "I'll join. Fiona? Pinky?"

Both girls slowly nodded.

"And Tara," Rachel spoke again. "Please… let me join you."

"Rachel," Tara started to protest, but was cut off.

"Please," Rachel begged. "I… I don't want to be worthless to this group ever again. I need to do something. Just… just let me join you."

Tara smiled, although Rachel would never see it.

"Okay, Rachel," Tara said. "You can come along."

And then, for the first time in days, Rachel smiled as well.

__________

"You're plan is falling to shit!" Sombra screamed out. He was pacing back and forth across the room, as The Unknown sat at the wooden table. "First, Discord proves to be a failure. Now, Moon's dead! She's dead!"

"I know," The Unknown spoke calmly. "But it doesn't matter that her job was a failure. Your country of Vitrumia got the fuel regardless."

"But we are being picked off one by one!" Sombra shouted. "What if they target the King next? Then what?"

"Then you kill them," The Unknown said. "You of all people should not be worrying about death."

"That is not the point!" Sombra yelled. "The point is that these girls are going to fuck up this whole plan, and you don't seem to be doing shit to stop them!" Sombra paused for a moment. "And where the hell is Chrysalis?!"

"Calm yourself, Sombra," The Unknown said. "First of all, these minor setbacks are not interfering with the plan at all. If anything, we are moving ahead of schedule. Second, as long as you do not fail, this plan will work fine, and then everything I promised you will be yours. And third, do you not remember what our dear friend Chrysalis is?"

"A Macer," Sombra responded.

"And do you know what she can do?"

"She can-" Sombra said, before suddenly realizing what The Unknown was getting at. "Oh, I see. So that's where she has been hiding out."

"Of course," The Unknown said. He briefly left the room, and returned carrying two wine glasses, and a bottle of the substance. As he poured, he talked. "While she destroys them from the inside, we can carry out the plan. I've been waiting too long for this. It seems like an eternity. But now, we will finally have what we want."

"You brilliant bastard," Sombra said happily. He took one of the wine glasses, and raised it in the air, as they both took a seat at the table. "I should really stop doubting you. A toast." The Unknown raised his glass as well. "To the end of their world…"

Clink

"…and the beginning of ours."

__________

Cadence walked down the halls at rapid pace. She had waited too long for this, and now, she could finally bring it all to an end. She walked faster and faster with each step, trying to reach the office as fast as possible. Finally, the door was in her sight. The office of Chairwoman Bridgette Celestia lay before her, and only one woman awaited her. After years of searching, and days of relentless torment, she could finally be with Celestia alone. But as she neared the door, three guards stopped her.

"Halt," they ordered. "No one is allowed to see Celestia except under heavy guard."

"But she asked to speak with me," Cadence argued. "It's very important, and very private."

"You can't go in there ma'am," a guard spoke. "Not by yourself. Celestia is on lockdown in here, due to General Wilson's sudden capture. As such, we are required to protect her at all costs. And as such, no one is allowed to be alone with her."

"Can you please just let me in?" Cadence said, very annoyed. "It's urgent."

"No, ma'am," the guard spoke. Cadence groaned, and marched away.

It didn't seem fair to her. She had waited so long, and had come so close. But now, once again, Celestia eluded her. But this time, Cadence could wait. She could wait as long as she needed to. The deer had been found, and now it was simply a matter of firing. One way or another, she would have what she came for. She knew she was supposed to be with the girls, but this was far more important than her assignment. She could pretend all that she wanted that she cared when she really did not. Now, it would be so easy to get to the prey. Besides, what were the benefits of shape shifting if she could not do with ease what was previously impossible? Once Celestia came out of her rabbit hole, then the snake could finally feed. It wouldn't be long now. Maybe a few days, maybe a few weeks, maybe a couple of months. But it was over now. It was finally over.

Can't hide any more, Bridgette, Cadence thought with a sadistic grin. It's finally time that you die.

End of Chapter 6