A/N: This is a part of Sleeping Warrior Week on Tumblr, I'll hopefully have a new one everyday but no promises, I usually ramble on.
As always, I don't own anything. Please enjoy and review.
Aurora buries her face in the crook of her elbow again, covering the sound of her sneeze. She's going to have words with Emma – Agent Swan, she thinks derisively – when she makes it back to Headquarters. She feels another sneeze building and curses Emma's love of Die Hard and wish to live vicariously through others.
"Enchanted Dominion to Dreamer, turn right at the next intersection," Emma says from her earpiece.
"Copy that Dominion," Aurora whispers back with a sniff, crawling into a – sadly – smaller vent.
"Are you getting sick?" Emma asks, over the crunching of whatever snack she's stolen from Belle.
"No," Aurora hisses, shoulders brushing the sides of the enclosed space, "But these vents are filled with dust, pick a movie with a better access point next time. And one with wider spaces."
Emma's voice is filled with amusement, "That's not what even happens in the movie."
Aurora holds back her comment as she reaches the end of the vent, "I'm here, give me a moment to remove the cover and then you can take the security down."
"Tell me when you're ready," Emma replies as Aurora carefully begins to loosen the screws holding the vent, ensuring none of them fall.
"Ready."
"Security at the Beanstalk is down, you should have ten minutes to grab the package and exit the building before they manage to restart it."
"Got it," Aurora says, wriggling in the vent to place her feet near the grate. It falls with a clang after a few good kicks.
Aurora lands gracefully, surveying the safe. Elegant trinkets and items line every surface, her eyes carefully scanning for the object she wants all the while wiping all that damn dust off her black shirt and pants.
A thrill runs through Aurora as she spots the small golden object, "Package located, making my way out now," she reports.
She tucks the little compass into the pouch at her belt and pulls the emergency switch inside the safe, the large door swinging open smoothly. She walks out onto the plush carpets with bold strides, not fearing surveillance.
"Dreamer to Enchanted Dominion, are we clear for Alpha Exit Plan?" Aurora asks, adjusting her earpiece when she is met with silence.
"Can anyone hear me?" She asks again. There is a slight scuff on the carpet behind her and Aurora dives into a roll, breaking into a run as she comes up, forcing herself to swerve despite her instinct to flee as quickly as possible. A knife is embedded into the wall at the end of the hallway, still vibrating from impact. She barely has time to admire it as she turns, bringing up the floor plan in her mind.
She makes another turn, racing away from the footsteps behind her and turns left, a path which should lead her to the stairs, only to be greeted by the sight of a dead end. She curses – notes that she should spend less time with Emma – and begins testing the doors, kicking one and merely hurting herself when it doesn't open.
She checks her gun but doesn't take it out yet and places herself near the beginning of the hallway, even footsteps approaching her location. Her knowledge of the other agent is limited, never even seen their face due to the helmet they wear. But Aurora has a personal grudge, the agent having interrupted six of her missions and compromised another four. Her grudge is only exasperated by the professional rivalry between the Enchanted Dominion and the Land of Dragons.
The floor creaks next to Aurora and she launches at her opponent, catching the other agent off-guard and knocking the gun out of their hands. The two scuffle for a moment, Aurora managing to land a solid kick to the other agent's stomach but gets a painful punch to her jaw for the effort. They haven't ever been this close before, merely exchanging shots and cursing each other from afar. Aurora quickly realises that she is outmatched – while she is of course competent at hand-to-hand combat, it isn't her key skill – and is planning a tactical retreat when her legs are swept out from underneath her.
She's winded but pulls a similar move on her opponent before they can capitalise, Aurora manoeuvring herself into their lap, pining them down.
All her training screams at her to take this moment to leave, to use this moment to create some distance between them but she distinctly remembers the words 'headstrong' and 'stubborn' being used on her previous performance review so she might as well live up to it.
"Let's see who you are," she says fiercely, pulling the helmet roughly off.
In a terrible breach of all her training, Aurora can only stare at the face below her, one with dark brown eyes, full cheeks and could definitely be defined as attractive.
"You're a... Girl?" She asks, flustered.
"Woman," comes from firm reply, quickly followed by a swift punch to Aurora's face.
Aurora is rocked back, stunned and feels a tugging at her waist as her pouch is pulled away.
"Hey," she shouts indignantly and chases after the other woman, spotting her in another hallway and removes her sidearm from its holster. She holds it in her hand as she runs, waiting for a clear shot when the other agent pushes the door open to the stairs, it clanging shut behind her before Aurora can get her in her sights.
Alarms begin to blare as Aurora makes it to the door, hesitating. She pushes it roughly, slamming into the concrete wall as she looks for any signs of an ambush. She's finished her scan when she hears heavy footfalls on the landing below her. She peers down to see a flash of brown hair, racing down the stairs. Aurora is after her in an instant, leaping down the stairs.
She's two landings above when she hears the ground floor door open and forces herself to move faster. Aurora is so filled by the need to catch this woman that she almost barrels into her standing in the lobby, hands above her head.
"Toss your gun onto the ground and put your hands above your head," one security guard demands, shifting his grip on his gun. Aurora quickly notes four of his friends, similarly armed who going by their body language have minimal training.
Aurora gently lowers her gun and kicks it over, disgusted at herself. Her gun skids close to where the other agent must have thrown the compass when she surrendered and her fingers itch to grab it and run.
"Now, hands above your head and-" He doesn't get to finish his sentence as Aurora and the other agent share a quick look and nod slightly, diving to opposite sides of the lobby to avoid the bullets.
Aurora winds up behind the front desk and pulls her smaller gun from her boot as she notices the agent pulling one from under her shirt, safely behind a pillar.
"Let us go and nobody will get hurt," Aurora calls out loudly, hoping to be heard over the gunfire.
"Surrender and hand over what you've stolen," the first security guard calls back.
"I guess diplomacy is over," she whispers to herself and pulls out of cover, attempting non-lethal shots. She gets one in the leg before they scramble for cover, the other agent putting a clean shot in the same man's shoulder.
"You got an exit plan?" Aurora calls to her.
"Not yet."
Aurora fires off another couple of shots, only grazing one man before she tries her earpiece again.
"Dreamer to Enchanted Dominion, I need an exit now, can anyone hear me?"
"Don't bother," the woman shouts as she pulls back to cover, "I disabled all communications before coming in here."
"Well, that's just great," Aurora says sarcastically. She reloads her gun with her only spare clip while assessing the glass behind the other agent.
Aurora supposes she should have given the agent some warning as she aims her gun in her direction, watching as the bullets fly into the glass. She should have, but her wide-eyed look is kind of hilarious and a small recompense for the fact she interfered with another one of her missions. The glass is high quality, but she has created a nice web of cracks before she stops.
"Cover me," the other woman says, picking up a chair from the waiting area.
Aurora scowls at the demand but complies anyway, aiming carefully with her remaining bullets. She gets another leg shot and the other two stay in their cover more, cautious.
There is a shattering sound as the chair goes through the glass, but Aurora cannot focus on that. She looks at the woman, noting the calculated expression and wonders which way she'll go.
She surprises Aurora by going back to her cover and yelling, "Hurry."
The remaining guards are getting desperate, not wanting to completely fail at their job and firing more aggressively. Aurora looks between them, the agent, their exit and the compass and quickly decides on her path.
"No, the compass is not worth your life," she hears the other woman say but it is too late. She slides for it, picking up her gun in one hand and compass in the other. She fires a couple of shots, satisfied by the grunt of pain she hears and scrambles to her feet, weaving to the window.
She fires a couple of shots behind her and hears the other agent follow and they disappear into the darkness.
They are both panting by the time they reach the alley, thoroughly exhausted by their standoff and escape. Aurora digs about the trash while the other woman recovers, still obviously wary of Aurora. That thought amuses her immensely.
"What are you doing?" She finally asks as Aurora gives a slight 'aha' and holds up a plain backpack victoriously.
"Emergency supplies," she explains, digging to find her water.
She drinks greedily, ignoring the sour taste. Aurora offers the drink and the other woman frowns suspiciously.
"I literally just drank out of it," Aurora protests, "Do I look poisoned to you?"
The agent takes the water reluctantly and makes a show of studying it before drinking.
A small smile plays about Aurora's lips as she accepts the bottle back, "Was that so hard? You got a name?"
She stiffens and glances at her sharply, "So you can report it back to your people?"
Aurora actually laughs at that, "Like either of us are going to report that this happened. I was simply curious and I thought it would be easier than continually calling you 'the-annoying-person-who-messes-up-my-ops'."
Aurora sorts through her bag, pretending not to care but her head snaps up at the one word.
"Mulan," Mulan says, holding out her hand.
Aurora accepts the handshake, both of their grips firm, "Aurora."
They drop their hands but Aurora's fingers are still tingling.
"I suppose I can't call you 'the-pest-who-interferes-with-my-missions' anymore," Mulan quips, a small smile gracing her features and raising the apples of her cheeks.
"Could be an affectionate nickname," Aurora replies, smiling as well.
Mulan begins to laugh before she sways, Aurora holding her steady. She struggles in her grip but the drug is already beginning to affect her.
"What did you do?" Mulan asks weakly.
"The water wasn't poisoned exactly, simply laced with a mild sedative. There's a cavity in my mouth that holds something to counter the effect," she replies mildly, easing Mulan to the ground.
Mulan's eyes are flickering but Aurora can see the accusation in them all too clearly, "If it makes you feel any better, I do feel bad about this, but I don't trust you enough to leave you conscious when I leave."
Mulan gives a gentle snort in response to her comment and those deep brown eyes finally close, her chest rising in even breaths. Aurora drags her over to the side of the alley, out of sight of the street and gently tucks her hair behind her ear.
"I really am sorry," she whispers.
Aurora stands and sorts through her equipment, activating her spare comms unit and securing the compass inside. She strides out of the alley without looking back, reporting to the Enchanted Dominion like a good little agent.
She would have to pretend from now on, she realises, because if she truly were a good agent, she would secure her rival and take her in for questioning. Not learn her name and leave her to wreck vengeance later on. And if she truly were a good agent, she wouldn't be looking forward to that happening.
A/N: Hope you liked it! If you recognise the Agency names, yes, I did steal them from Kingdom Hearts.
Enjoy your day,
Adrina Stark.