The press waited eagerly with their cameras for the report to come, chatting among themselves until someone arrived to the scene. Eventually, someone would arrive, and it would be Mister Macintyre. The reporters then started filming, take constant photos, or get out a tape recorder.

“Good Evening.” Macintyre started off with after standing behind the lectern. “As of Ten PM this evening, we have officially deployed military and police forces to every branch of the United States Government. This is in response to the arrest of Lieutenant General Michael Crowe, who has confessed to being loosely affiliated with a disavowed military brigade bent on overthrowing the US Government.”

The crowd was in a complete uproar. It would even get to the point where they’d press against one another as they took a couple steps forward. They shouted multiple questions at him in a disorderly and incoherent manner. To turn that into the opposite, Macintyre raised his hands in the air in an attempt to silence them. When they did, he continued on. “Starting tomorrow, every employee and official will be subject to a full investigation. They are to arrive at work as usual, failure to comply will only make you guiltier of affiliating with this terrorist group. Any Questions…? Yes?”

“Mister Press Secretary, don’t you think this is a little too extreme?” the journalist asked.

“We are not in any position to use less extreme methods at this point, ma’am.” Macintyre reciprocated. “The global community is already more unstable as it was during the two-thousand eight riots. If we were to use lighter methods, we would be more prone to this threat than ever before. Anyone else…? Alright, what do you have to say?”

“In regards to the O’Eight riots, do you think this group has anything to do with it?”

“No they weren’t.” Macintyre admitted. “Their plot to overthrow the NATO Governments was foiled before it would go into fruition, and that was back in two-thousand three. The riots are still considered as a popular uprising since its occurrence.”

This made the press even more outraged than the first time.

“Why didn’t you tell us about this during the incident?” one of them would shout.

“Doing so would’ve crippled our morale!” he explained. “Soldiers and the civilian population would’ve more than likely lose the will to fight if they ever found out that a terrorist group plotted to overthrow our government!”

“Then explain why you people tried to nuke the Soviets!” another journalist yelled. “Wasn’t the morale crippled enough when you tried to start Armageddon!”

“Look, that may have been a contributing factor in starting the riots, but there are times when hiding information from the public will-”

The press was in an uproar, shouting and hissing in disgust. Questions and insults were being thrown at the already annoyed Macintyre. “Damn Press.”

“I’m sorry, Macintyre.” Ada comforted through her earpiece. “I should’ve known this was a failure from the start.”

“Whoa!” Macintyre dodged the shoe that was flying towards him. It bounced off the screen behind him, and it gave him no choice but to run away. What was saving him from being trampled over, was the secret service holding back the crowd. “It’s all right, at least I was able to shield you from the angry mob here.”

In remorse for what she was seeing, she’d come up with a solution. “I’ll address the country starting tomorrow.”  

“We’re not putting the entire administration on the line just so you can spout out your revolutionary acts.” Macintyre whispered loudly as he past-paced his way out of the briefing room. “Just proceed with the investigation, and we’ll handle the rest.”

Ada grinned, sliding her hand down her hair. “You know, sooner or later I’m gonna have to talk about it, right?”

It was quiet for a moment. “Right, just make your presidency count, okay?”

“Of course.” Ada then turned off her recording piece. She leaned back until her head was upside down and facing the window. Outside, Utility choppers were still flying in the sky like little schools of fish. The amount of them that were in the air were making her feel depressed in a way. She swung her head back to her desk. There, her arms were waiting to support it once she landed. “No turning back, Ada, no turning back.”

“She left?” asked Celestia.

“Apparently so, Princess.” the Major answered, as she turned off her phone. “They told me that she decided to leave since the man in question’s not there anymore.”

“What is she intending to do?”

“Look for them, I hope. If they’re that motivated to using him as our weapon, then what should stop them?” She picked up the tablet that was on the table. She then crossed her legs before placing it on top of them.

Celestia didn’t know what to say to that, so she chose to remain silent and drink a little more of her tea. At least for a moment. “What are you watching?”

“Nothing really.” she answered. “Just watching some videos.”

Celestia sighed, choosing to have another sip of her tea.

“So, with Brixton running for Head of State, how many are there?”

“It makes him the twenty-eighth candidate, Anya.” Hilda reported. “Only ten more to go before the roster fills up.”

“… Damn. They’re that eager, huh?” In the streets specs of flames were still erupting from cars, businesses, and even bodies. They were completely void of people, only idle or flailing leaflets were present alongside previously mentioned. Grief was being instilled into Anya as she watched. “Were those all the invitations for the food drive?”

Hilda nodded. “We were going to say that the rebels stole the food for themselves. But…, they already knew that we were lying.”

Anya turned back to facing the seat in front of her.

Seeing the sadness quite clearly, Hilda mentioned, “If you think that policy will help with your reelection, then by all means, go ahead. It won’t change what’s outside, but hey, at least the polls will be flooding to vote for you.”

“Yeah…, they just looked so happy together.” she admitted quite warmly.

“I don’t think that it’s right either.” Hilda confessed. “But we’re not about pleasing the international community, we’re about keeping the HUE alive.”

Anya agreed with a little nod. “MmHm.”

Hilda put his arm over the seat to have a look behind her. “Well, we should be getting there by now.”

This made her confidence dwindle. “Do you think they’ll cooperate?”

“Of course they will.” Hilda started surfing through the database of her laptop. “According to the list, they have around two minutes’ left.”

Anya was growing wary. “That’s good, I guess.”

The car eventually stopped in front of a temple in the that only took up half the block, the rest being an empty parking lot. It read, ‘The Holy Temple of Haruhi Suzumiya and her Followers’ above the double doorway in a fancy black font. What worried Anya more were the Humvees and infantry personnel standing outside. She could tell by their eyes that they were as hostile as the people inside the temple, with guns of their own pointed directly back at them. She opened the door and set foot on the asphalt underneath her.

“Good Evening, Madame.” said the soldier in the center of the three that were there.

“Good Evening.” Anya lifted her right hand into the air, placed it on her chest, and bowed. “So, is it true then?”

After they did the same, only after a more traditional salute. The soldier would give her the rundown as they walked past the blockade. “Yes, it seems that the priestess of this temple wants to negotiate with you regarding the man you’re after.”

Anya nodded. “Hmm, that seems doable.”

She looked up to survey the temple to survey the area. In doing so, that proposal was less doable when she looked at the armed men and women pointing guns at them from the rooftop and the windows. Her bones were chilling as they faced her with those angry stares. Regardless, she took a deep breath before heading up the small set of stairs and opening the door.

The people inside were immediately quiet when that happened, with the exception of crying children and the occasional muttering conversation.  Their glum, starving faces shot straight at Anya like icepicks that were piercing at her heart.

  Down the aisle, a middle-aged woman in an odd and out of place school uniform was standing there. Behind her were five massive picture frames that hung against the wall. Five individuals in a similar outfit (save for the one in some sort of maid’s clothing) were displayed on them. The largest of them was in the center, who had the most determined face, with a smile as the cherry on top. It was as if there should’ve been fighter jets flying above her in the picture instead of the plain green background presented. She looked just as similar to the woman below, from the school uniform, to the red armband, to the yellow ribbon on their hair. The only difference was in hair style.

She walked down that aisle with that same level of determination as her idol. The noise was so lacking that her footsteps were already loud enough to echo across the temple. In time, she was already standing feet away from Anya. “It seems that you’ve come to hear me out.”

Anya put her hands together. “Okay then…, you have less than a minute and a half.”

The priestess didn’t say a word for a moment. Instead, she glided her arms around the isle. “See this, Madame?”

Anya knew exactly what she meant, but the stares she was receiving was too gut-wrenching for her. “What is it that you want?”

The priestess stopped that graceful spin to face her. “I know what you plan on doing, Miss Anya.”

Anya was taken aback by her statement. “Huh…?”

Her animosity was clear. “If you want me to tell you where those three are, and hand over this month’s rent, then I want you to do a favor for me.”

“Please, Madame.” Anya begged through her trembling mouth. “Don’t do it.”

Her hands fell to each side of her hips, while her guards began gripping onto their rifles and riot shields. “You know what happens to places that do dumb things like that, right? Especially places of worship?”

The priestess took in a deep breath, before telling her, “Hand this territory back to the US.”

Anya was easily disheartened by this proposal. “You know we can’t do that.”

The priestess crossed her arms. “And why not?”

“Both sides will just come waltzing in, if that happens! And you know what they do to people like you!”

She rolled her eyes. “Come on, Ma’am. The Americans aren’t as incompetent as you might think, not to mention with a little paper work, some diplomacy, it can truly help your-”

“We can compromise, Madame.” Anya mentioned. “I can hand every citizen more food and-”

“And then not fulfill that promise?” she interrupted. “It’s pretty clear we’re not falling for that.”

Anya’s hands were turning into fists. “You’re running out of time, you know.”

“And I want to see change happen before it does.” the priestess asked. “So, do you accept?”

Anya refused to say anything, her hostile look was still on her face as she eyed the fed up priestess. She closed her eyes, then winced.

Anya was loading the last bullet in her revolver. Despite the emotional pain she felt, she loaded it up without any hassle. However, the bright reflection on the water was too much for her to ignore. So, she turned around to have another look at what it was reflecting. Flames overwhelmed the temple, resistant to the rain that was falling upon them.

“I told you not to go through with it.” Her mind would start focusing when she noticed the bodies being lined up against the sidewalk. To that, she asked everyone around her, “Is everyone accounted for?”

“Yes Madame.” the soldier informed her. “The majority of the civilians were evacuated in time.”

Seeing all those people lined in the middle of the street, just as glum as in the temple, made her heart shatter further. The children and individuals being held back and crying for their loved ones, made it all worse. To remain focused, she asked, “How many have we lost?”

“We lost half our platoon, Madame.” the soldier reported. “Heh, they truly know what they’re doing.”

“I agree.” She put the revolver back in her holster. “You okay, Hilda?”

“Yes… I’m okay, Miss Anya.” Hilda said through the shakiness in her body, to the point where she couldn’t get up from the Humvee she was sitting against. “Hey, do you hate doing this?”

“Absolutely, Hilda.” Anya said with pure honestly. “But as always, it’s part of the job.”

Hilda and the personnel around her were already saddened by this statement. It even got Anya to give up on trying to wear that mask of confidence. They were paying enough attention to the matter, but Anya could tell that they were too grief-stricken to keep on doing so. After some thought, she turned to Hilda with a new wave of sureness. “Hilda, the policy we were just talking about? Hold it off for now!”

Hilda tried standing up, using the Humvee for support. “Is it to reveal the truth, Madame?”

Anya nodded. “And to fix it as well.”

She looked past Hilda, where she’d see the priestess watching back at her. She was ignoring her wrath filled eyes, noting the blood that was seeping from her enclosed mouth. Even after she looked away, the feeling of her death-stare pointed at her was already shattering her heart into pieces.

The bus had stopped moving at the end of the intersection. The rusty stop sign was barely visible, even with the bus’s headlights. The driver was quick to announce, “Alright, if your destination is Pueblo, this is your stop.”

Ivan, Jacklyn, and Lance stood up from their seats. In fact, they were the only ones to stand up. The others, a raggedy clothe wearing couple and an old man, were too glum to even pay attention to them. The door hadn’t opened yet, for the driver had something to give them. “Here.”

In his hand were little flashlights of various colors.

A little befuddled by this, Ivan was not sure of what to say at the moment. “Uh… um… I don’t… I don’t th-”

The driver sighed. “I recommend that you take it, sir. It’s too dark to go treading out there.”

He was still rather doubtful.

The driver then added, “I don’t wanna know how you three were able to get to the bus stop, but it’s best not to know… so take it.”

“B-”

An annoyed Jacklyn took it from his hands, and handed each and every one a flashlight, regardless of their permission. The unexpected action was a shock to the driver and the others. However, she handled it by putting on a smile and telling the driver, “Thanks, sir, we appreciate your hospitality.”

The driver was still in perplexity, and just nodded before turning back to the steering wheel. “You’re welcome. Be safe out there, okay?”

They all agreed in their own way as the driver pulled the lever to open the door. They got off the bus, and the door would close before driving away into the darkness. It was a darkness that Ivan had just realized when the bus was already getting further away.

Flick!

Flick!

“Huh?” The bright light was beaming at his face. “Hey, what the-!”

“C’mon, Ivan.” Jacklyn pleaded calmly. “Just do it.”

In reluctance, Ivan turned on his flashlight too. “If we were able to see in Lakewood, then we should’ve been able to see something out here.”

“The bus stop was next to the church, Ivan.” Lance reminded him.

Ivan groaned. “Right…, let’s just find the gunsmith, okay?”

“Alright.”

The flashlights were brandishing in every direction. One thing Ivan caught was multiple run down and maltreated homes in a line. Some were even had bullet holes punctured into their walls. Just like the buildings in Denver, their color was almost completely gone. “So, turns out we’re in a suburb.”

“MmHm.” muttered Jacklyn.

“Yuka should’ve told us that the bus would make a stop ‘round here.” Lance complained casually. “Ugh, but who can blame her?”

“Yeah, but that only makes the task much harder.” Ivan would say.

“Yep. Jackie, can you take a look at the card Yuka gave you?”

“On it.” Jacklyn reached into her pocket to take it out, then used the flashlight to give it some light. “Hm, says that it’s located in a place called Kachina Drive.”

“Anything else?”

Jacklyn searched more, but, “Nah, nothing useful here.”

“Damn it.” Ivan complained. “And Yuka couldn’t even bother to give us directions?”

“I doubt she’d know where the bus would drop us off, Ivan.” Lance argued. “Even if she knew, she wouldn’t know where to take us.”

“Well, she’s a Madokist Messenger.” Ivan countered while pointing the light at a worn down playground. “Maybe she visits this place to do some charity work or something, probably visits the gunsmith at times.”

Lance felt a bit off at that, then shrugged. “True, but I doubt she would lie about what she does.”

“Hm?”

“Um… E-excuse me, sir!”

“What the-” Behind him, was a little girl in a dark red dress. One of her hands was behind her back as she handed him a piece of paper.

With her eyes batting away from them, she said shyly, “Uh… Roberta told me to give you this.”

“Uh….” Slowly, he took the piece of paper from her hand, and she immediately took off without a word.

Ivan reached an arm out, but held it back before it was fully in the air. Their flashlight was still pointed at her, though. They’d witness the girl be immediately taken by a woman in raggedy clothes, she too ran off in panic the moment she was eye to eye with them. They were already feeling empathetic towards them, but Ivan was the most affected. “Takes me back.”

“What?” they asked.

Ivan then snapped out of it. “Oh, uh, nothing.”

“Whatever.” Lance said in annoyance. “What’s on the paper?”

He then took a look at it for a few seconds. “It’s just a map, a crudely drawn one at that.”

On that map, were a series of lines. On one of the lines near the edge of the paper, it had a dot that would say, ‘The bus dropped you off here’ while pointing an arrow at that dot. “Really?”

Ivan pointed the light down at the intersection where the bus dropped them off. He took another look at the picture.

Jacklyn and Lance were looking intently at the paper too. However, Jacklyn asked him, “We’re not gonna stop by there, are we?”

“Hm?” He already felt a bit off by that question, especially with those beady eyes she had. Down the line, a crudely drawn picture of a church was there. He put a hand on her shoulder and rubbed it gently.

“Ngh.”

“Don’t worry, we’re not going to stop by another one.”

She turned away with such grief. “Uh… thanks.”

Furthermore, was a line intersecting to that one. What was written on that line was just what they were looking for. “Bingo, there’s Kachina drive.”

An arrow was pointing at a square in that line, reading, ‘I am here’

“And there’s our gal. Alright then, let’s get going.” declared Ivan. “We don’t wanna draw too much attention.”

A sympathetic Lance found something to laugh at. “Well, we already did with the flashlights.”

Ivan laughed. “Touché.”

They were quiet as they walked past that intersection. Just like the street they were on earlier, the houses were rundown and riddled with bullet holes, the trees were nothing but stumps, and the grass was littered with garbage. Ivan, still holding onto the paper, gripped it tightly. Jacklyn noticed thanks to hearing it crunch.

“Uh…, I wonder why there isn’t any people outside?” Jacklyn remarked. “There seems to be no curfew.”

Ivan and Lance, in a bit of perplexity, gestured their hands out into the darkness.

“But can’t they light up a fire, or something?”

“Maybe.” Ivan pointed the flashlight at a burnt up car that was parked in a driveway. “In fact, I heard it snows a lot down here…, I think.”

“Well... If that’s the case, then they should start one, you know?” Jacklyn’s flashlight pointed at a street where house after house was flattered to near unrecognition. “Winter can be pretty damn brutal.”

Ivan saw the disheartenment she had, and had to act. “Hey, speaking of winters, remember Christmas?”

She eyed Ivan with that level of sadness. “Which one?”

“Of~… Christmas of Twenty-Nine?”

“Oh, that one… Yeah, that felt nice.” Jacklyn rapt with a sense of ease. “Sharing those Cookies down at the park.”

“MmHm.” Ivan said.

"They were awful, to be honest.”

“What?”

Jacklyn chuckled. “Honestly, I think I put too much sugar in that batch. Heh, and they were probably undercooked too.”

She noticed the surprised Ivan, and smiled at him. “Well, at least you enjoyed them.”

Ivan turned away in embarrassment. “Uh…, Okay… If you say so.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“Blimey, weren’t you able to afford like something fancier from the store or something?” a troubled Lance asked.

“Well yeah,” Ivan addressed. “But Jackie wanted to make her own Christmas cookies. It would be a shame if I went to the store to buy some.”

“Well that’s true.” Lance looked up at the dark sky. Although there were few stars out tonight, he still felt a sense of relaxation while looking at them. “

“Your family probably had a feast back there.” Ivan complemented. “If your daughter watched Japanimation, then surely you’ll have something to eat.”

Jacklyn gasped in excitement at this, but didn’t go too overboard with it. “Your daughter watches anime?”

Lance too was laughing. “Yep, you two would have a blast talking about it.”

Shyly, she said the following while lightly holding her hair. “Well, if she has good taste, you know.”

Even though he felt a bit off at that, his smile remained. “Uh… I’m confident that she has ‘good taste’.”

This made her laugh a bit. “I’m kidding, Lance. I’m not gonna go biting her or anything for that.”

“Even if she tells you that Sword Art Online was the worst thing ever?” Ivan asked.

“Hey!” she reacted. “It’s not the worst thing ever! The fights are done really well, Kirito and Asuna make the best duo, and if people actually got around to reading-”

“Never mind, Jackie, never mind.” Ivan groaned.

“Didn’t you tell me that you didn’t watch that stuff?” Lance asked him.

Ivan rolled his eyes. “I don’t, she talks to me about it from time to time.”

“Oh.”

Jacklyn crossed her arms. “Hmph, geez.”

The three were quiet for a moment until Ivan asked, “What were we talking about again?”

Lance smiled. “Anyway, not really. Back home, everyone in our local neighborhood had to pitch in. Everyone brought what they can get, and we’d all have a good ol’ Barbie in the local park. If soldiers were busy with it, then it was off to the carpark.”

“Hm, let’s just say we were the same in a way.” Jacklyn said with interest. “If we couldn’t leave the city, we just spend it with our friends.”

“Huh, if you couldn’t spend Christmas with your biological family? Why not with your other one. Am I right?” he laughed with this statement. His laughter eased as he looked at every house in the neighborhood. Even when that laughter was gone, a nostalgic smile took its place. “Man, this place takes me back, in some weird way.”

Ivan was feeling empathetic at this. “Me too.”

“And how is that possible?” Lance asked curiously.

Ivan gripped his flashlight. “You know that little girl who just gave us this note.”

Lance frowned. “Oh…, her.”

Jacklyn had her head hanging low. “Was she like that back in Danville?”

He nodded. “In some way.”

“Well, was Chicago like this ‘Danville’ place?” Lance asked.

Ivan scratched the back of his head. “Uh… not really.”

Lance shrugged. “Okay then, so you should know what this place should take you back to then.”

Ivan sighed, and he too looked at the night sky. “I want to, Lance. It’s just… it’s just not that easy.”

He didn’t know that Jacklyn was gritting her teeth, her hand holding onto the flashlight tightly.

“Well, I know you can.”

They were surprised at this statement. They were quick to notice that Lance was still smiling. Caringly, he added, “It’ll just take some time.”

“Yeah.” Ivan, along with Jacklyn looked straight out into the dark streets. “Maybe that’s the case.”

Small specks of white light were seen in the distance. “Do you see that?”

“My, oh my.” Lance said in relief. “Looks like we don’t need-”

The sound of turning rotors was getting louder and louder. Ivan and Lance were going to turn-

“Don’t turn them off.” Jacklyn ordered them before the chopper flew right above them. They obeyed the command instantly, while the chopper would eventually lose audibility as it left. With it gone, they just kept walking casually. “It’ll only strike suspicion if you did.”

Ivan closed his eyes for a bit. “I guess you’re right.”

Down the line, they eventually found what those lights were. A ton of them were set throughout the green and cratered hills, with personnel and armored vehicles treading up and down them. A metal fence was what divided them, a sign that read coldly,

“Can we go now?” Jacklyn, trembling, requested.

Ivan turned to see her, with that, he nodded. “Let’s go, you guys.”

Lance couldn’t agree more, and the three were on their way.

Kachina drive was as empty as the suburbs.

It was nearly dark, save for the occasional lantern sprawled throughout the buildings in the desolate street. This encouraged the three to turn off their flashlights, for they could still see despite the lack of lighting. However, what also contributed in their decision were the jeeps of infantrymen parking in front of the church. When the engines were off, each of them formed a line between the church and their jeeps. Three officers in bright blue suits would come out and walk up the steps. They each instructed one soldier in the line to join them and point their guns at the door.

Knock, knock, knock!

The door opened slowly, and an old man in a suit and tie came out. There was a large envelope in his hand, and by the looks of it, it was clearly holding a ton of stuff in it. The man had a disgusted look on his face, it remained even after he handed it over to the officer.

The officer, however, bowed in politeness. “May Celestia and Luna bless you, pastor.”

“And may God have mercy on your soul.” the pastor replied bitterly.

The officer and his guards went back down the stairs, he stopped to wave happily at some passersby’s across the street. Those passerby’s being Ivan, Jacklyn, and Lance, who in return, waved as ominously as the near darkness of the city. Despite that gesture, the officer went back into his jeep and stared driving down the road. By then, the pastor had already slammed the door behind him in that same frustrated tone.

Ivan stretched briefly before walking down the sidewalk. “Alright guys, the gunsmith should be down this street. So keep your eyes peeled.”

“Right.” they said with such heartbreak.

“It’s all right, Jackie.” Ivan reminded. “You won’t be sad anymore when we become shut of all this.”

She wasn’t talking.

Ivan blew a raspberry. “Let’s just get going.”

“Dave should be happy.”

“Hm?”

“H-He should appreciate that they’re not wiping his religion out.”

“I don’t think that’s why he’s fighting them, Jackie.”

“Well, he should at least acknowledge that they’re not being wiped out.”

Lance tilted his head back. “I’m confident that he does, Jackie.”

She didn’t say anything to that.

After some eventual searching, they found the place in question. Ivan read the sign that hung from a metal bar attached to the top of the building, “Guns and Ammo for Pueblo; Gunsmith Available.”

He looked at Jacklyn. “Does it say that in the card?”

Jacklyn looked at the card, and she nodded.

“Okay then.” Ivan got a hold of the door and pulled it open.

Dingle-lingle-lingle-lingle-ling!

The place was nearly dark with only candles lighting everything around it. It created a dreary atmosphere for the three, as if looking from outside wasn’t enough. There wasn’t a single wall that hadn’t had a massive array of rifles and pistols on them. The shelves were riddled with additional gear and ammunition boxes.

“Hello?” Ivan called. “Yuka sent us here!”

Ivan tapped his feet against the floor, as much as he could. The guns around them were already making them uncomfortable.

“Um…”

They jumped at that sound, despite it being at the same level as the squeal of a mouse.

“Uh…, can you help us, please?” asked Ivan. “We’re looking for Roberta!”

Coyly, she peeked from around the curtain that divided the store from the backroom. “Um…, Roberta’s not here anymore… I-I’m the new owner.”

The three were surprised. With Lance asking, “The new owner?”

She slowly let go of the curtain to exit out. She stood poised but tense, her hands clenched together as her lips quivered. “M-my name’s Heather, by the way.”

Ivan felt bad for her, but pressed on. “Where is she?”

She placed her clenched hands over her chest. “S-she’s dead, mister, died three years ago.”

Ivan, deadpan, walked up to the glass counter. He gazed directly at her timid face without moving. This obviously made her want to run, even though she knew she had to stand still.

Slam!

“Uaggh!” Heather shrieked, jumping back to the point where a streak of her chestnut brown hair would fall in front of her sight.

“Jesus, Ivan!” Lance scolded.

Ivan’s cheeks were smudging against the counter, he then rested his arms atop of it. “What can you offer us, ma’am?”

A hand was on her cheek, questions running around her mind. “Um…”

He lifted a finger. “Please, ma’am. We need to get out of here, anything helps.”

“Uh…, I’ve already made some armaments for you guys while you were waiting down with Yuka.” Heather said while pointing a shaking finger down at the curtains.

Ivan lifted his entire body up. “Can you show it to us?”

“Well…” Heather’s shoulders were tensing up again. “Did… Did Yuka mention my deal with you?”

Ivan excitement dropped, and his voice expressed it. “What do you want from us?”

Despite her shy demeanor, her eyes were radiating anger. “There’s a place I want you to go, please.”

“Can you give us the details?” asked Jacklyn, who was in a state of wariness.

Heather put her hands against the counter, and started to explain. “There’s a club located outside the city, It’s called, ‘Surge’. A lot of HUE and Equestrian troops go there. But, rumor’s circulating that there’s some illegal activity going on there.”

“Judging by you mentioning HUE, it’s as if they have something to do it.” Ivan said once putting the puzzle pieces together.

Heather nodded. “Good guess, now, a high class HUE senator is going there tonight, and I want you three to meet with him in order to expose everyone whose involved.”

“What’s his name?” he asked attentively.

“His name is Gareth Malloy. Likes to wear a lot of flashy outfits, so you can’t miss him.”

“But It’s just a rumor, Heather.” Jacklyn blurted out unexpectedly. “How would you even know if that is even possible?”

She pulled away from the counter, and told them to follow her using her hand. They did without questioning it, and she led them past the curtain. On the other side, was a near empty room. The only thing noteworthy about the room was a table at the far corner of the room, which looked more like a kitchen counter if anything. A rifle laid flat on top of it, with only a few other tools that were seemingly alien to the three. Except maybe the occasional screwdriver and the laptop, of course. Next to the counter were a series of drawers, cupboards, and containers that were lined up in a neat fashion. All of them marking the kind of weapon parts for each of them, and all of which having their own sub-category for each specific weapon name.

However, aside from the oddly clean workspace, the other thing noteworthy was the person… or should I say, unicorn pony, sitting on the other side of the room. Her lavender mane and mauve coat were disheveled as if she had such an awful nightmare when she slept. Even her eyes showed that sense of distress that comes from one.

“Hey.” Ivan waved awkwardly.

She waved back with that same sentiment.

“Her name’s Melody Swing, and the club’s owners are after her.” Heather explained quite tersely. “Worst yet, she’s the one that Malloy wants.”

“Uh, why?” questioned Jacklyn, a state of shock had set in when she saw her.

“I was a waitress for the club.” Melody explained.

“A waitress?” Lance asked. “I don’t think waitresses work at a night-club.”

Ivan was doubtful of that claim. “You sure, Lance?”

“The club I went to as a college student didn’t have them, so-”

“Well, it’s more than what you think!” Melody lashed out. When she saw their surprise though, she immediately calmed down. “The place is big, and beautiful, but there’s something dark that they’re trying to hide. I know that because I was kidnapped from my home in Trottingham.”

Jacklyn saw Ivan’s hand clench. ”Ivan…”

“I was sold to the club from some unknown place.” Melody started shaking. “They told me… that if I told any of the visitors where I’m from, then both me and the visitor dies… plus, who’d believe me anyway?”

She ground her hooves against the floor. “Worst yet, I live with them. We are always going in and out, being sold or gambled to…. and it was going to happen to me again, with the man that’s coming tonight.”

Ivan took a step forward, with that fist on his chest. “So how are we going to stop them?”

“L-let me show you.” Heather, a bit taken aback at his determination, responded. She walked to the counter and got the laptop out. “Take a look at this.”

After entering her password into the computer, she flipped it over to show them a site. Jacklyn was immediately in awe when she noticed the site she was on. Ivan and Lance on the other hand, where more interested in the video that was streaming apparently. It was showing footage of the countless guns that lined up on the store’s walls. Heather started to give off the plan. “I advertised that I’ll be streaming the live concert of Blaze, and according to the stats, a lot of people are tuning in.”

They read underneath the video, and she was right on the money. Ivan was the most impressed, “Three million, jeez!”

“MmHm, and this thing is fully charged and ready to go.” She closed the laptop. “Once it goes live, I’m going to expose the entire HUE for what they’re doing. At least for Melody’s sake.”

Ivan knew where this was going. “So what you’re saying is…?”

Melody bit her lip, and was taken a deep breath as well. “You people are technically mercenaries, right?”

Ivan shrugged. “M~more like private contractors now that I think about, but okay.”

“Well…,” Her body was near turning into a statue, as her eyes turned to pinpricks. "I want you three to turn me in!”

“Huh?” Jacklyn gasped.

“The guy we were talking about before, he seemed really interested in me.” Melody was rubbing her hooves against one another in doubt. “At least, that’s what the guard was telling me.”

Ivan crossed her arms. “So, how do you plan on going through with this? We’re doing this for free, by the way.”

Heather, holding multiple duffel bags behind her, locked the door to the store. The candle lights inside were blown out completely.

“Uh, Ivan, was it?”

“Mm?” Ivan looked down to Melody.

“How do you plan on getting us there?”

“Simple.” Ivan entered into the street, and stood right in the middle of it.

“Uh, Ivan, sir?” she asked nervously.

“Don’t worry, ma’am. I got this.”

Jacklyn felt nervous at this. “Uh, Ivan? Are you sure about this?”

“Of course.”

Down the road, a pair of lights were starting to appear, and they were getting brighter and brighter. Ivan aimed down his iron-sights with enough time before the light would start to engulf him. The car slid sideways before coming to a stop, even threatening to actually land on its side. Ivan observed further, and when he confirmed who the driver was…,

Rat-at-at!

“Flanagan!” The officer sitting next to him got out from his seat, pistol in hand. Then he fell to the ground after a bullet to the side of his head.

  Ivan was appreciative by Lance’s sniper fire, and just waved at them to come along. Ivan opened the door and pulled out the body of the driver, then he got in himself. Lance would take the front seat, with Jacklyn, Heather, and Melody taking the backseat. When all the doors were closed, Ivan immediately sped off into the night.

“Thanks, Lance.” Ivan said to him. “For the support.”

“Don’t mention it, Ivan.” Lance pulled back the charging handle of his sniper rifle.

“Even though I really wanted to take the second one down.” Ivan laughed.

That statement was already raising some red flags in Lance’s mind. “What do you mean?”

Ivan stopped his laughter. “Oh uh, nothing, nothing at all. Let’s just get this out of the way.”

Lance gripped the rifle as tight as possible. “Alright then, we’re off.”

Jacklyn started petting Melody’s mane. This made her somewhat uncomfortable, so she faced up to her. “Ma’am, is everything alright?”

“Huh?” She pulled away immediately. Then she started laughing at her actions. “Oh, heh heh, sorry about that. I was just lost in space, that’s all.”

Melody could see through the smile; it was already disappointing her. “Does Ivan-”

Jacklyn faced the window in anguish. “Just… please, let’s just get this over with.”

Melody wasn’t feeling too good at this, but she knew that now wasn’t the time to ask. “Okay then.”

“Where to, Heather?” Ivan called to her.

This pulled her away from her nervousness. “Oh, there’s an entrance coming up, go there.”

“On it.” he said plainly.

They were now on the interstate again. The only light source there was, seemed to be the base they walked by. It stood out like a sore thumb, after all, with lights waving at the sky and everything. Heather looked down at Melody, worrying about her very safety in the operation. It would also pass on to the others she just met, and that was sewing her mouth shut.

“Hey Heather.”

It was so shut that she could only make a distorted hum to show her attention.

“The weapons were really well done, I like it.”

She started stammering. “Uh… um…, thanks, sir. I-It’s a late-war weapon for the b-battle for Seoul.”

“Nice…. When the allies finally took back the south, right?”

She nodded. “Mmhm, that battle.”

Lance lifted the rifle a bit to inspect it. “They called it, the SR-24.”

“Or the Hitman’s Heat maker mark three.” Heather stated smoothly. “It was a special weapon of Mann Co. before it was leaked during the coup of seventy-two.”

Lance grinned. “Yeah, it was a pretty chaotic year back then…. Anyway, you seem to know quite a bit about that rifle.”

“Well, I owe it all to Roberta.” Heather said rather fondly. “She taught me a ton of stuff about guns before she died.”

“You seem to be running that place alone, though.” Lance said. “How did you manage?”

“It was heartbreaking at first.” Heather answered. “She told me that she’d be going somewhere personal to her, and then she was reported dead. She was caught in an explosion that blew her to bits.”

Through the top mirror, Lance could see that she had her hands together. Her thumbs were fiddling with one another as she spoke.

“I didn’t know what to do. All of the business stuff was her job, I was just a rookie gunsmith.” She faced out into the darkness of the streets. “A-as you can see, I’m not the assertive kind of person. It really affected me… to the point where I had to close shop for two months.”

“Ouch, that bad?”

She nodded. “I thought it was all in the name of retribution, honestly.”

That statement, when connected to what was said previously, hit a sour note to the three. Heather could feel it clearly, the sudden drop of assurance once she said that.

“Why?” Jacklyn asked coldly, much to Heather’s fear.

She gulped down a lump of drool. Her hands were tied together as her eyes narrowed in determination. “I used to be a caretaker of children in a house in Utah.”

The three were heartbroken at the sudden revelation, but not as much as Jacklyn. Heather’s heart stopped for just a moment, she could feel a fist hover right beside her. It was inches away from her face, and was only being held back thanks to the pink aura that engulfed it.

“Those kids are being rescued today.” Jacklyn said hoarsely.

That gave Heather a sense of optimism, even if it was being expressed in a stuttering voice. “W-Well… a-at least-”

“The ALM is doing the rescuing though.” she finished. “And you know what the ALM does to them?”

Despite the aura that stopped her move, her fist refused to dissipate. Heather let her nose get right next to it. She saw the anger that Jacklyn was trying to hopelessly hide, while Melody used her hooves to hold her body back. With a hoarse voice as well, she told her, “Are they okay, though?”

The question was a shock to Jacklyn, and her mind was stammering for an answer.

“They have to be.” Once again, Heather’s eyes were narrowing. “I taught Becky everything she needed to know. How to run the place, how to feed the others, how to teach them how to run the place. It can’t all be for nothing.”

Jacklyn tried to push forward, trying to barge through Melody’s defense. Luckily, Melody’s body was strong enough to hold her off, even despite how aggressive she was.

“I had to leave, ma’am.” she explained. “I needed to find a way to buy more equipment into-”

“So why didn’t you tell her that!” she screamed.

The question shot through her like an arrow, the tip buried deep into her heart. She turned away to look back out the window.

“They turned out okay, Heather.” consoled Ivan. “They managed just fine on their own.”

Her eyes started to water, they start to flow as she shut them completely. “I know that.”

Jacklyn’s fist was weakening, giving Melody the sign that she can let go. When she did, Jacklyn sat back down on her seat. Bitterly, she told her, “Well I hope you’re happy with yourself.”

Ivan sighed, letting the silence once again fill the car. When everything calmed down, he announced. “Let’s just get this out of the way.”

No one said a word.

They eventually arrived at the club, which was literally in the middle of nowhere. The entire city must’ve been miles away, for they couldn’t see it at all. The brightness of the club would make it even harder. Speaking of the club, it was pretty massive, as massive as a mansion. In fact, it was one, to be precise. Its appearance was hard to describe though, because the lights were emitting various bright colors in every window of that was there. Despite this, the impressiveness of it all was only expressed by a whistle from Lance.

“Jesus, much bigger than the club I went to.” Lance complimented. “Are you sure this is a club?”

“The person who owns the club, also lives here.” Melody added. “So yes.”

Jacklyn was in complete disbelief. “Uh…, so Blaze is…”

Heather nodded. “That’s why I’m here.”

She opened the laptop once more. “Hm, the hotspot’s now active.”

“What’s that?” asked Ivan.

“Don’t worry about it.” Heather answered. She took out a tiny blanket from one of the duffel bags and covered the entire laptop with it. Then she shoved it underneath the front seat. “Alright, hide your guns here.”

Pointing at the multi colored duffel bags was raising a lot of questions for them. Ivan would tell her the first question. “Why?”

“Because these special duffel bags are for the ‘VIP’ of this club.” Heather showed them the glittery silver tags attached to the zippers with the word VIP printed in white. “With us…, and these bags, I’m confident they’ll take you in… also, take these.”

In her hand now were a triplet of lanyard, the same tag attached to it.

“For the VIP experience?” queried Lance.

She just nodded.

Ivan parked the car multiple feet from the massive house. It rested alongside every other car that parked themselves in perfect lines.

“By the way, how are you recording this?” Ivan asked curiously.

Heather pointed at the emerald colored earrings attached to her earlobes.

“Neat.” Ivan said impressively.

They opened each door and started walking out.

“Yo what up, pal!” was what a young adult man shouted while running up to them with such enthusiasm, what struck Ivan odd was that he was still in his uniform (minus the Brodie helmet). “You ready to have a good night?”

He leaned to his side and found Heather pulling away from his sight. “Say~, that’s some fine chick you got there. And judging by those luggage bags, it seems that you guys are VIP.”

“Uh, yeah, we are.” Ivan said quite uncomfortably, even taking into consideration that the others were feeling the same way.

“I got a nice amount of money in my pockets, think you can hook me up with that-?”

Jacklyn quickly stood in front of Ivan, confronting the man in such virulence. “Get the hell out of here, asshole! We’re on important business here! So you better piss off, or six feet underground will be your new VIP spot!”

“Okay Jeez.” The man started walking away with a rather jumpy laugh. “Such a feisty lady you are.”

They were rather shocked by Jacklyn’s outburst. Including Ivan. “Jacklyn?”

“Come on.” she demanded bitterly. “Let’s end this.”

She started walking down the dirt road towards the club. In befuddlement, they just went along without questioning anything.

They eventually arrived at the massive gate, where a line was formed for each person entering the club. Two soldiers were guarding the outside, patting the guests’ bodies for anything suspicious on them. The guests would snicker about their ‘VIP status’, either in awe or jealousy. The group chose to ignore it without saying a word to each other. When it was their turn, the guard simply smirked at the sight of their bags. “Are these your invites?”

While being patted down, Ivan answered. “Indeed, sir.”

They continued to pat down the others, with Melody only being told to spin around briefly.

“Alright, have fun.” They stepped aside and let them in, much to the dismay of the people behind him.

The concrete path was painted gold, and healthy green grass laid on each side. Sprinklers were showering over every drunken individual on it. Especially a couple making out on top of one another in a rather erotic fashion, their clothes unbuttoned or near half-off. This made Jacklyn’s blood boil with fluster and embarrassment. That also applied to Heather and Melody.

“Was it like that in that night club of yours?” asked an indifferent Ivan to Lance.

“Always. And in Chicago?”

“Where there was an alley or no cops in sight, the lovebirds go there to reach that height.”

“I guess.”

The entrance was wide opened, and the colorful lights extended into the inside hall. That included the party members trotting, walking, or stumbling up and down.

“Holy Shoot.” Ivan mouthed.

At the end of the hallway, the dancefloor was waiting for them. It was located down the stairs, made to look like some sort of pit in the ground. People and ponies alike were banded together to dance to the loud upbeat music that played like a wild orchestra. Strobe lights and large ones were hanging from the ceiling, shining over the hands and hooves that were raised in the air. The tiles underneath their feet were constantly changing color. There was a bar that was right across from the railing that split the mezzanine from the dancefloor. Countless attendants flocking there and begging the already stretched thin bartenders for their drinks. Either that, or they were cheering on from the mezzanine’s railing.

“Melody?”

Melody turned to find a woman standing there in a maid outfit, a large plate with a wine bottle was on her hand. “Stacey….”

Melody could see that her eyes were watering a bit, but Melody just nudged at the four guiding her along.

The woman was quick to notice, and nodded before heading on her way to deliver the drinks.

They kept walking down the mezzanine when...

“Umph, what the-” Ivan could feel someone press against him with such force.

“Hey cutie!” the yellow Pegasus pressed against his body greeted lustfully and drunkenly. “You wanna take a ride on this horsey?”

The soft swaying of her rump was already making Ivan want to gag even more. “No thanks, ma’am.”

“Come on~.” she pleaded like some sort of moe character. Her hooves got a hold of his back and chest, rubbing them leisurely. “Is it because I’m a pony?”

Ivan tried to push her away, but she wouldn’t budge. “Please, ma’am… I don’t wanna-”

“Well not a problem, babe.” Those words had a sense of ease and longing to it. All the while, she was too close to his face, her bedroom eyes meeting his panicking ones. She thrashed him until his chest was pressing against hers’. Her hooves were resting on his shoulders. “A little experimentation doesn’t hurt.”

“Uh…”

Her lips were about to press his’. “Let me help you become a stalli-Hrrr!”

Jacklyn got ahold of her throat with such force, setting everyone around them in astonishment. The pony lifted her hooves away from Ivan to tend to the hands on her neck.

“Leave us alone, you bitch!” she said harshly. With violent shove, the pony was on the floor coughing for air.

The mare stood up once she was alright, backlashing with, “If you wanted him to yourself then tell me, asshole!”

As she was trotting down the stairs and into the crowd, the others were looking back at Jacklyn. Who was ignoring them as she watched the pony get as far away from them as possible. She proceeded down the mezzanine, where a door was waiting at the end of it. ‘VIP Only’ it read on the top in red neon lights.

“Uh, thanks, Jackie.” Ivan complemented in humiliation.

“Learn to say no, Ivan.” Her low and brief tone made him speechless.

“Uh… yeah.”

Just like at the gates, two armed guards were there as well. When they saw them together, they got just as excited.

“It seems you three brought in the jackpot.” the guard on the left said first. “Not to mention you got ourselves a special bonus right here.”

Heather got more anxious as the guards briefly observed her body. Although she wanted to hide, it would only make it worse.

“Alright, come in.” the guard opened the door and invited them in.

Past the doorway, a set of stairs were leading them down. Not saying anything, they did as such and didn’t look back, even when the guards closed the door behind them. The music was now muffled, only the beat seemed to have passed through the walls. Nothing but hanging lightbulbs laminated their passage downwards. They were nervous to near death, but Ivan and Jacklyn were the least. They had their eyes glaring swords down the stairway. It helped them balance their nervousness quite a bit. Then that nervousness would fall out of line when they reached the bottom.

  The entire room was large and poised. The checkered floors were shining to the point that your reflection could be seen upon them, and the chandeliers above them lit the room with a light touch. The walls were painted a pristine white, which contrasted the rusty jail cells that lined each side. The walls seemed to go on forever, though. It was something that made the five genuinely uncomfortable just looking at them. In the distance, two rows of five guards stood behind a woman in a rather punkish design. To greet them, she pushed through the row.

“Thank you for bringing our little prize back to us.” she said in a satisfactory manner.

“It was no problem, ma’am.” said Ivan. “She thought hiding with this bimbo was the right thing to do.”

Heather nearly wanted to punch him for that remark.

“So, by bringing her in, I’m guessing you want that bonus.”

Ivan shook his head. “Not really.”

“Hm?”

“I want to bet these two with the man intended to pick them up.” Ivan declared rather confidently.

“Oh really?”

He nodded.

“Lucky for you, I’m right here.”

They turned around, and a man in a rather sleek tuxedo walked up to them.

“Welcome back, Gareth.” Blaze greeted. “Did you manage to run for office?”

“Indeed, ma’am.” he answered braggingly. “When I’m head of state, I’ll make sure to keep this club as lively as possible.”

“Thanks pal.” she then walked to the group. “Well, it seems that this guy wants your little prize. You up for it?”

Gareth pressed a hand against his chin. When he looked from top to bottom at Heather, a smirk formed on his lips. “Hmm… does the chick there count as a bonus?”

“Indeed, mister.” Ivan responded. “If you win, you get to take the pony and lady with you.”

“What about the money?”

“I won that fair and square, dude.” Ivan retorted. “We’re only betting on the ladies here.”

“Aw, such a shame.”

Ivan took a few steps towards him, and he could already see how tall that man was compared to him. However, he pressed on with his question. “S-”

“What game do you have in mind?” asked Gareth.

This was already to Ivan’s discontent. “Uh… I-I was going to ask you the same thing.”

“Hmm, how about Chess?”

“Chess?” Ivan said bewilderedly. “Isn’t that a little too unfitting for a gambling game?”

“I don’t think a person that young can handle the advanced stuff.”

Ivan crossed his arms. “I’m old enough to know what the big boys play, and I’m confident that I’m going to win them.”

“Alright then, have you heard of Texas Hold’em?”

“No.” he said instantly.

“Well then, chess it is.”

“I’m serious, sir.” Ivan implored with impatience. “Let me play, I don’t care if I’m inexperienced!”

Gareth too was starting to become impatient. “You know that the lives of a lovely lady and mare are on the line?”

Ivan just remembered that. He took brief glimpses at them, and he knew they weren’t liking one bit of this.

“That’s why I suggest that you hand them over now!” he demanded harshly through gritted teeth. “The guards behind me are the finest mercs money can buy, and they’ll damn well make sure you’ll be filled with gushing holes.”

Despite how they were feeling, he kept his foot down. He was not even flinching at the threat.

Gareth grinned at this. “You were always that stubborn, weren’t you kid?”

“Hm?”

“Your mother was such a beautiful starlet.”

Ivan felt as if his entire body was numb for a moment, as if he wanted to drop to the floor in an instant.

“If you hadn’t resisted like you did, then maybe you and your mother could’ve been fine at my estate.”

He lifted a trembling finger up at him. “H-How did you-”

“Chicago’s database surely knows how to track its people.” Gareth said with a sly smirk. “You killing them wasn’t enough to make me forget.”

Ivan unzipped his bag, and his hands was the assault rifle he was given. In a pent up rage, he’d say, “Don’t mess with me, asshole!”

His trembling, though, was causing the iron sight to lose focus on Gareth.

“Please, sir!” Blaze demanded. “Put the gun down!”

Ivan looked back at them, they were all being held by a guard. There were knives against their neck, all of them letting out squirms of panic.

He just ignored them, and kept his rifle aimed straight at Gareth.

Gareth eyed him with such disgust. “You really aren’t going to drop the gun, aren’t you?”

He ignored that statement, his eyes staring at him like that of a mad dog.

“And you’re looking at me as if I’m the bad guy.”

Ivan’s fingers were dangerously close to the trigger.

Jacklyn was already seeing the anger flowing through his body, but she was too scared to say anything. Her resistance was slowly coming to a close, as she questioned everything that was in front of her.

Ivan quickly shot to the side before putting in multiple rounds all over Gareth’s face.

“What the-” Blaze’s legs were suddenly in the air. Her head suddenly hit the ground like a baseball bat against a metal pole. The assault rifle Ivan held was now pressing its barrel against her cheek.

“Now drop the knives or this bitch dies!” Ivan yelled.

On the contrary, just like Ivan, they weren’t going to do that. Even as the ponies and people behind bars were already in attention to the drama.

“Do it!” Ivan pressed the rifle even further against her cheek. “I’m not going to repeat myself!”

They didn’t move and inch.

“One!” Ivan counted.

The soldiers were still hesitant to move.

“Two!”

They started to press their knives against their hostages’ necks.

“Ivan!” Jacklyn screamed.

Boom!

The ground started shaking, and the lights were flickering violently. Ivan’s aim was fluctuating along with it, giving Blaze the opportunity to lift her foot up and kick him in the cheek. Ivan stumbled back as she ran off. When he regained his balance, he put his foot down, and started firing his rifle at every enemy close by. When they were all on the floor, he turned around to notice that the others were able to deal with them easily. Granted, Lance did most of the work, with Jacklyn knocking out around three soldiers, but it was still worth mentioning.

“Clear!” Lance shouted.

Ivan dashed straight for the exit.

“Ivan, wait!” shouted Jacklyn.

He just ignored them.

“Let’s just go!” Lance advised. “Heather, you remember the route out of here?”

“MmHm.”

"Help us, please!"

They looked around them. Against those rusty steel bars closing the cells, were the countless ponies and people banging on them in such desperation.

"Aw shoot." Lance muttered.

"Definitely." Heather commented.

"We don't wanna die!"

"Please, get us out of here!"

Jacklyn's heart was beating rapidly in such a panic.

“You okay, ma'am?” Melody asked her, concerned for her sanity.

Through her increasing consternation, she started running after Ivan.

"Ma'am wait!" Melody called.

At the top of the stairs, Ivan kicked the door open. Bullets started pounding against his body like baseballs. That didn’t bother him though. The constant flinching wasn’t enough to stop him from unleashing bullets onto the soldiers, mowing them down instantly.

Click!

He lifted his hand in the air, and thrusted the hand at the bar close by. A heating fireball came right out of it, knocking down as many glass bottles as it could. The entire area was on fire, which included anyone who was around it. He kept took a look at the dancefloor below. Ivan chuckled. “Hm, cowards fled.”

Through the fire that covered half the carpet, a couple of bullets pounded against his arm and head. He fired from the hip as he moved forward. He heard soldiers screaming in pain, giving him a sense of satisfaction Through the narrow area that hadn’t caught fire, he found soldiers across the mezzanine scrambling for cover. He smirked when he found another bar over there. Again, he shot another blast of fire. The same result happened.  He reloaded his rifle, firing multiple rounds at anyone or anypony that wasn’t dancing in flames.

The hallway entrance was close by, so he took out and armed two grenades. They bounced off the wall after he threw them.

“Grena-!”

BOOM!

BOOM!

Ivan went charging in, putting bullets into the already disarrayed personnel. Those that still had a hold on their weapons tried to fire some shots at him, but they weren’t even close to hitting him. Instead, Ivan got to them first.

A unicorn pony tried to use his telekinesis to stop the bullets. He may have caught three that were heading towards him, but he couldn’t consider the other two that had managed to escape his aura. He collapsed to the ground when they struck his head and leg.

He walked across the hall without a care in the world, even kicking one to the floor since she was in the way. The grass outside was completely barren of any people or ponies. Explosions were flashing and soaring down like meteors, while personnel were firing from the windows above. Through the broken gate, and the smashed concrete that held the wall together, he could see streaks of bright pink flowing across the lot, blowing up cars and sending them into the air. It got Ivan to realize that getting out through here wasn’t the best of ideas. He had to look for another way out, after all, he had plenty of time to do so. He only smiled at that thought.

He turned around and started running towards the dancefloor this time. Running like a bull, he vaulted over the railing that stopped anyone from falling from the mezzanine. In midair, he managed to shoot down three soldiers at point blank range. He then landed on his feet before standing up without a faze.

The enemy had him surrounded, but he ducked the moment they opened fire. In rapid motions, he put bullets in the bodies of anyone close by. He took out a couple more grenades before tossing them out into the charging personnel. The explosions were powerful enough to burn out the floor’s patterned lighting.

Through the chaos, Ivan charged towards the stage and climbed on it. He hid behind the DJ mixer when bullets started soaring past him. He blind-fired as many shots as he could before he ran out. While he was reloading, a group of explosions hit the dancefloor. So massive that they covered the entire dancefloor. During which, he ran down what appeared to be the stage exit.

Then from that moment on, it was all a blur to him.

What he saw as he ran through backstage were endless shades of red. Men, women, mares, and stallions, all with their rifles were in his way. The only option was to shoot them down, and he went through with that option. He ignored the bullets that were deflecting off of him to put bullets of his own into any part of their bodies. He eventually found a hallway that lead to a large door that was attached to the floor. He only needed a grenade from the dead soldier close by to blow it to pieces. Without any care, he hopped inside as sirens started blaring around the entire area. It appeared to be a tunnel, a massive one at that. Regardless, he just started sprinting down with his pistol in hand.

He could see people and ponies scrambling everywhere in panic for their rifles, some just started shooting their pistols anyway. He shot them down without any injuries of his own.

Rat-at-at-at-Click!

He glanced at the ejection port, and dropped the rifle entirely when he noticed the casing stuck in it. “Damn.”

He switched to his pistol, and fired a couple rounds down the hallway.

Thwap!

He held to his hip, and saw that blood was already spreading to his hand. He thrust around his hands until everyone around him in the intersection he was on was burning. Bullets were hardly flying around, but he could hear the enemy shout commands as they approached. Through the commands though, he could hear more guttural cries of pain. Through his grunts of pain, he was laughing a bit. Laughing to the point where it got louder and louder with every second passing. He stood up straight despite the pain, took out a combat knife, and held it as tight as he could.

With one leap, he went down that tunnel, and jabbed at anyone who was in their way. The wound in his hip was nothing to him as he went around stabbing kidneys, hearts, and slitting the throats of any soldier that was in his way. If he couldn’t reach them in time, then a bullet to the face would do. The enemy desperately tried to shoot him down, but he was too fast for them to pinpoint. Eventually, the massive flock of troops trying to bring him down were reduced to around ten or so personnel desperately making a run for the opening that was on the ceiling.

“Come on, Sing! He’s coming!” the soldier shrieked with such fear.

“I’m trying, I’m trying!” the unicorn yelled back as she tried to levitate the heavy metal door to the side.

“Open fire!” another screamed.

Rat-at-at-at-at-at-at-at…!

After reloading his pistol, Ivan weaved from side to side to avoid the bullets. Even at some points hoping around the tunnels to do so. He stabbed the first soldier in the neck, then went to the pony next to him. He did the same before the pony could scream his comrade’s name.

“Come on, come on!” the unicorn grumbled. Hearing the others’ blood curdling cries made her more desperate in opening that hatch. “Nngh!”

And so she did.

“Go! Go! Go!” the soldier said. She hopped straight out into the open plains, and so did he. Unfortunately, the third, who was halfway into climbing out, had his leg be held on. He flailed his arms violently, only to be sucked back inside. A screech was the last thing they heard from him.

“Screw this!” the unicorn yelled, on the brink of tears. “We’re heading to California!”

“Right!” the soldier said with that same feeling.

BLAM!

The unicorn fell to the ground.

BLAM! BLAM!

Two bullets were lodged into his back, making him cough out blood before tumbling to the ground. Although frailly and faintly, he looked behind him, and saw the unicorn bleeding from her hind leg. She tried to get back up, but a bullet flew through her head. He heard something clash against the ground immediately after. The next thing he’d see was the man with a twisted smile, holding that bloodied knife. The last thing he’d see, was him lifting them in the air for the kill.

It felt like forever to Ivan, stabbing that man endlessly until his arms grew tired. The man’s face was near unrecognizable, that’s when his smile started to change. The next stab would be his last as he breathed heavily amidst his exhaustion, the knife would be left impaled on his face before gently letting go. That’s when his memories started to come back to him, especially of the ones who were at his side. When they did, it didn’t take much for him to realize that they were standing right behind him. The first thing he’d see when he turned around was Jacklyn, starring at him with those tearing and trembling eyes.

The sight was already sending chills up his spine. “Uh…, Jackie… I…”

She took two steps back before losing both her balance and conscious entirely.

“Jackie?” he uttered concernedly. Meekly, he crawled over to where she lied. Her eyes were closed, and she was not moving.

The sight was already breaking him down. He was already feeling nauseous when thinking about the person he stabbed past death. The weight he felt was too much for him to handle, and that heaviness would soon expand to his eyelids. He felt light, he felt sick, and combined it would make him fall to the ground and drift away. The noise outside was blurry as his sight, but he could hear what they have to say.

On that website, the comments were coming in by the tens of thousands. They ranged from talks of denial to talks of disgust. The views were also increasing too, nearly surpassing ten million.

The person sitting in front of the computer screen was watching nothing but static on the screen. His phone then started reading. He stood up from his seat and swiped his knife into the plain air. His body transitioned from a soldier in HUE uniform, to a Madokist in his hakama. The two guards next to the door did the same thing.

“{Hello?}” he responded with.

“{Congrats on the livestream.}” complemented the caller. “{If you’d like, you and the others can come out now. BLU forces have already taken the place.}”

“{Alright.}” He stood up from his seat, to grab the large bow resting on the table. “{After all, I can see it all from here.}”

“{Anyway, do you think she would’ve been able to stream it herself?}”

“{Not a chance, it took a ton of equipment to do that}.” He unplugged the cords from the laptop, and closed it. "Anyway, did the five leave?}"

"{Gone before BLU arrived, sir. Right on time... Anyway, let’s just pack up and go.}”

“{Roger.}” He looked back up at the surveillance screens. Specifically, the one where his comrades were tending to the prisoners. Providing them with food, water, etc. Seeing that was already making his skin crawl at the thought of who would've done this.

"{Is everything all right, sir?}" asked one of his subordinates.

He turned around and nodded. "{It's okay, let's go.}"

They complied, and then left the entire room empty.