Heyyyy guys :3 I know it's been way too long (I neglected you pretty much all summer…I'm sorry *cries*) but I'm back and I'm back with a vengeance.
This story is now dedicated to a great reader of mine.
The Crafty Imp!
You can all thank her for sending me a Private Message with a TON of amazing prank ideas in it. I couldn't refuse the chance, so this story IS going to be continued.
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I peeked around the corner. The corridor was empty. Perfect. I tapped Archer's shoulder as a signal before darting noiselessly down the hall and into the rec. room. Nobody was there. My walkie talkie buzzed to life and I ducked down. "Gadge…we've got company. You're gonna have to move quick," Toad advised from his position in the air vents (Don't even bother asking how we got him up there. It was a serious chore.)
"Copy. I just need one minute. He has to pay for what he's done." I whisper back, slinking along the wall towards my target. Ozone has a nasty habit. One that we've decided to take advantage of for revenge on him for double crossing us. Not to mention that our spirits are low after having so many successful pranks against us.
"Hurry up! They're closing in on your position." Toad's voice was thick from worry. I rolled my eyes, edging nearer to my goal.
Archer joins in. "Gadget, they're about to go in there, grab it and get the hell out!"
"I'm armed. If anyone comes in, I'll turn 'em pink."
Finally, my hand closes around the object. I glance around. No trap. No prankster lying wait. I smirk and take off, the target tucked safely in my pocket, and dive into one of the closets. I hunker down and silence my walkie.
"I could've sworn it was in here." Ozone. I grin, putting my hand over my pocket, relishing the prize.
"Are you sure? You're always losing it." Meat. The temptation to spring out and shoot them with my paintball gun was nearly overwhelming, but I restrained myself. Save it for another battle. They owed me, but I'd get them back.
The sound of someone rummaging through the couch cushions grabbed my attention. "It's not here."
Meat swore and shoved Ozone out of his way. "We're in the middle of a war and you lose your phone. You're useless." He storms out of the room and slams the door behind him.
I peeked out of the closet, spying on a very distraught Ozone. I almost felt sorry for him. I would have, but he double crossed me. He sighed, hanging his head and running his hand through his hair before going to search for his cell phone somewhere else.
He wouldn't find it until I wanted him to.
"Target acquired." I whisper into my walkie after Ozone left the rec. Tumbling out of the closet, I hurried into the corridor, grinning at Archer when he comes out of the shadows to meet me.
"Nice work, Gadget. You're really earning your keep." Toad says from the air vent.
"Hey, I started this team, remember?" I defensively put my hands on my hips and looked at my fellow sniper. Archer had a gleam in his eyes that I wasn't used to seeing. It made me smile, appreciatively, "Well? This is your prank. What next?"
Archer draws a full bottle of 'Gorilla Glue' out of his pocket. "Guess."
"Ni-ice." Toad laughs from the vent, his voice crackling over the walkie talkies. "Get going you two. Mactavish is coming towards your position. Looks like he's heading for the bathrooms. I suggest you take the short cut."
Archer and I hustled down the hallways, checking our corners for enemies or any traps they might've set. Ghost's influence was spreading around a bit too quickly for my taste, and with only three of us, it's a scary situation. "Let's go find Worm," I panted, "We need more allies."
"Ozone gets his first." Archer stops at one of the cupboards, opening the door and rummaging around for a moment. When he extracts his hand, he's holding a canister of spray paint. "C'mon."
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Ozone walked down the hallways, slowly, eyes everywhere at once. Paranoia was setting in. He'd never been good at stealth to begin with. The prank war had only added to his nervousness. Then, poor Ozone came upon something peculiar. His name. Spray painted on the floor in shimmering, silver paint. He stared down at it, for a moment, frowning.
As his eyes follow the pattern of the paint, he spots an arrow on the wall to his right, pointing ahead.
Ozone swallows hard, turning around and heading back from where he came. He'd find his phone later. It's not like he needed it, at the moment, anyways.
$#^&#$^%*%^&^$#!$%^
"I thought you said this was fail safe." I muttered irritably, fiddling with my paintball gun. "This is taking too long. We should go find Worm and—"
"Toad is getting Worm on board. He can talk Worm into anything. They're best friends, remember?" Archer placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "And this is going to work. Ozone won't be able to resist."
I nodded begrudgingly and settled back to wait for our prey to come along. Five minutes passed in silence and just as I started getting edge-y again, Ozone rounded the corner. "NOW!" I shouted, lifting my paintball gun and splattering him with a hundred pink and purple paint balls.
Ozone howled with surprise and turned around to run, but Archer had already sprung into motion. He leapt into our opponent's path and lifted his water gun filled with, you guessed it, glue and honey. Ozone looked down at himself, growling in frustration, as Archer and I tore down the hall, laughing hysterically, catcalling back at him.
We entered our HQ (my room) and collapsed on my bunk together, still shaking with laughter. "Did you see the look on his face?" I giggled, mimicking the soldier's mortified expression when he looked down and saw the mess we'd made of him.
"Yeah," Archer wiped a tear from the corner of his eye, clutching his side, and shook his head. "Poor kid should've just followed the arrows."
Archer's plan had been ingenious, fail proof even. Spray painting a trail that lead straight to his missing phone, which was Gorilla Glued to the cafeteria door with his name written above it (so everyone would know just who was pranked). We had waited on the opposite end of the trail, knowing that no matter which way Ozone went, he'd be pranked. Archer was nearly certain Ozone would be 'clever' enough to turn his tail and go the opposite direction.
The end result? Archer and I got the pleasure of barraging an enemy with sticky, colorful weapons of destruction and we got bonus points for a double prank. Cha-CHING!
We lay on my bunk, laughing until our eyes watered and our sides were fit to split open until we finally calmed down. Archer rolled onto his side, facing me, still grinning. "I told you I was good."
"Yeah, yeah. You did well, really proved yourself, all that jazz. Now," I smirked at him, sitting up and sliding off the bed. "We have more work to do."
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Of course Worm joined us. Toad sweet talked him into it (I would've made some back-handed 'Worm-joke' to Toad about it, but I had promised not to). So, that made four of us. Ghost had two of the greatest pranksters on the face of the planet, his own genius, and Ozone, who knows every hiding place in the barracks like the back of his hand. We were even in numbers, but it was going to be a struggle to keep up.
Toad and Worm dropped out of the vent right in front of Archer and I. Archer was still draped across my bed, lazily toying with the empty can of spray paint, and I was laying opposite of him, sketching a map of the barracks.
"Are we interrupting something?" Worm teased, hopping up on my dresser and grinning wildly.
"Good of you to join us." I respond, acting as if he hadn't made the comment. I tiredly got off the bed and began to pace. "Our last strike was a complete success." Worm and Toad cheered wildly, laughing and high fiving. I quieted them with a wave of my hand. "However. Let's not forget that they got us far more times in the past. We let our guards down too much.
"They have the upper hand. Whether we like it or not, we're losing this right now," The men all moved to protest but I waved them off again. "Yes, we're losing right now, there's no point in denying it. But…"
I grinned broadly in light of my plan.
"Not for long."
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All right all right all right :D Next chapter is the last shebang! I can't wait!
Reviews are much appreciated :) Please leave one if you have the time.