Matt looked at me as we headed back. "Are you ok?" he asked, worried. I felt on my face, and found a deep gash in my right cheek. "Not really…" I replied, showing him the wound. He got up, and went to the first aid. He grabbed the suture inside, and then sat right down next to my right side. "Hold still." Matt said, as he stitched the cut shut.
I smiled, feeling slightly better. "Thank you. You're good at that." I said, feeling the now closed cut. "Why, thank you. I have been doing it for years." Matt replied, with a happy tone in his voice. Kirsten took a quick peek out, and said "We're almost there." with a happy tone. "Great!" I said, pulling out my sonic screwdriver.
"What is that?" Matt asked, touching the blue end of my sonic screwdriver. "It is a sonic screwdriver. It comes from Doctor Who, one of my favorite shows." I said, fumbling around with it. I pressed a button, and the blue end glowed a little. "Doctor Who? What show is that?" Kirsten asked, moving closer to Matt and me.
"Well, Doctor Who is about a nine hundred-something time lord who travels around in his time travel device, called the TARDIS, and takes his companions around time and space, saving the world and stuff." I said. Kirsten and Matt looked at me in awe.
"Really?" Kirsten asked, as the automatic pilot announced our arrival.
I took Matt and Kirsten into my room, and turned on the TV. Matt pulled the blue bean bag chairs from under his bed, and set them for all three of us. I flicked through the on demand stuff, and played one of my favorite episodes: The Eleventh Hour.
After the episode ended, I asked Matt and Kirsten something important. "Is this something you like?" Both responded with an enthusiastic "Yeah!" I smiled a little. "Great!" I replied, as I put on the next episode. Five episodes later, I looked at the clock, and turned off the TV. "It's almost time to go to sleep for me. Goodnight!" I said, shooing the two out of the room so I could change into my blue nightgown.
After I changed, I let Matt back in. "Matt, I just wanted to say… thank you so much for last night's surprise. I really enjoyed it. A lot." I said. "Glad you did." He responded, happily. "Well, good night, I guess?" I asked, climbing into my bed. "Alright. See you in the morning!" Matt replied, climbing into his own bed. I closed my eyes, and fell asleep.
In my dream that night, I was undercover as a recruitee for the Saints. I was wearing a wig, and other things that made sure my identity wasn't uncovered. I was also in the penthouse, with Kinzie. My name there was Maria Ali, and we were discussing… me, when I was the leader of the Saints.
"Yeah, she must have been a huge threat then." I said, jokingly. Kinzie snapped at me, then settled down. "Yeah, you were." Kinzie said, tearing my wig off. My eyes shrunk, and then my friends, like Pierce and Shaundi, appeared from behind the shadows. Kinzie looked at me with a dirty look, and pointed a pistol at my head. There was a gunshot, when I woke up with a jolt in the safety of my bed. I yelled loudly, and awoke Matt.
He walked over to my side, and grabbed my hand. "Nightmare got you up?" he asked. I breathed heavily. "Yes." I replied. Matt looked at me for a moment, before climbing in next to me. "I'll keep you safe." he whispered, falling back asleep. Feeling more secure now, I fell back asleep as well.
In the morning, Matt was back in his own bed. I smiled, and walked over to his. "Thanks." I whispered, looking at the sleeping man under the covers. I walked over to my closet, and put on my outfit – it is just like Matt's in every way. I smiled a little, before heading out of the room and towards the throne room.
I peered through the window. There were a few people down there, and I smiled. I turned around, and walked down there. Greeting everyone down there, I walked outside to sit by myself. When I got to the bench, my heart felt heavy. I knew the things I have done to get here.
Betrayal. Keeping secrets. Breaking rules. Those were just some of the things I done in the past couple of days. I breathed in deeply, and then exhaled. The thoughts of the Saints; Kinzie and all… it just made me cry a little inside. My body felt hollow. Maybe I shouldn't have done this, I thought to myself.
I heard the sound of footsteps in the distance. I lifted my head from my hands, and saw Kirsten walking towards me. "Past got you down?" she asked. "Yeah. Everything I knew is gone… and I miss them every now and then." I replied, voice hollow. "Don't worry. I had been in a similar situation myself." Kirsten said, assuringly.
"Really?" I asked. "Yeah, but I prefer not to talk about it." Kirsten replied. "Got it." I said, happily. "Is Matt up yet? I want to talk to him for a moment." She asked. After Kirsten said that, Matt was walking by. "You need me?" Matt asked. "Yeah. When are gonna move on the Saints and get the last NEMO chair back? We need it if we want to succeed." Kirsten asked.
"Right. Kirsten, Maddison, come with me." Matt commanded. I followed close behind, and smiled a little. I'm guessing that that was our first battle meeting. When we eventually got to our destination, Matt stopped us. He punched in a code, and a secret door opened.
Inside was top-secret tech: like new weapons and such. Kirsten and I looked in awe, as Matt led us through the maze. We got to the battle room in a few minutes. "Alright. We will take action tomorrow. Kirsten, debrief Maddison on our plan." Matt said, walking into a smaller room.
"Ok, well first…" Kirsten muttered, bringing up a holographic screen in front of us. "We will have some of our specialists undercover, including me, as guards as Kinzie sets the NEMO chair up. When she is done…" she said, placing a few blue dots on the screen, I guessed that those were the specialists. "…I will call Matt. Then, you and him will take our ambush unit…" Kirsten said, making a box around two large dots with dozens of smaller ones around it. "…and attack the Saints. When they are down, you and Matt will take the NEMO chair and leave. After I see you disappear, I will call the attack off and leave. Got it?" Kirsten explained.
"Understand." I replied, looking at the board. "But I had a dream about something like this, where I was undercover. Kinzie was able to look through my disguise…" I said, smearing the blue dot representing Kirsten on the holographic screen. "… and kill me." I finished. Kirsten looked at me, then at the board. "I see. If that does happen…" she muttered, doing a few things.
"Alright. You, Matt, and the ambush team will be hiding in a nearby building. And all of this will be taking place at Kinzie's hideaway." Kirsten said, as Matt reappeared. "Did we have a plan revision?" Matt asked, looking at the board. "Yes. Maddison mentioned her dream, where Kinzie saw through her disguise, and killing her. So, I moved you from the building a few blocks away…" Kirsten replied, pointing at the mass of black dots.
"Got it. Save, then take the stick out to the main room so we can tell the team. Maddison, come with me." Matt replied. I followed him out of the room, and into the main room of the cooling tower. "Everyone on Ambush team Alpha and Beta, report to the meeting area outside." I said, and Matt patted my back. "Well done." He said, as we walked outside.
Soon, everyone was outside, and had their eyes trained on Matt, Kirsten, and I. "Our plan has been finalized. Kirsten and Maddison, want to explain?" Matt asked, motioning towards us. Kirsten plugged the external hard drive into the portable holographic computer. "Sure. Some of our specialists, including Kirsten, will be undercover guarding Kinzie setting up the chair." I said, making the dots appear that represent the specialists.
I heard some of the specialists chattering to each other, worried. "Matt, Maddison, and the rest of the ambush unit will be hiding here." Kirsten said, making a few dots in a nearby building. "We will come earlier if cover is blown. If not, we will come when Kirsten calls." I said, drawing an arrow to Kinzie's hideout.
Everyone clapped in approval. I was happy inside, and looked at Matt. "Kirsten will hand pick some of our best specialists to go to the Image As Designed nearby to get wigs and a makeup job, and then to the Planet Saints as well to get clothes. As they are doing that, Maddison and I will take the rest to the building we will be hiding at." Matt said, motioning to us.
"Of course, this will all happen tomorrow." He finished. "I expect each and every one of you to be up at seven o' clock, sharp. We will be heading out then." I said, motioning to Kirsten. "I will say that we are there as guards when we get to Kinzie's, my crew." She said, walking down to the specialists. She picked ten from the crowd. "We sleep out here tonight." Kirsten commanded, taking the group to the tents set up nearby.
I looked at the rest of them. "We sleep out here as well." I said, walking over to another group of tents. "Ok, everyone, take a partner and a tent." Matt said, walking me over to a large tent. "Our tent, as always." Matt said, leading me in. I got inside, and there were a pair of sleeping bags, and a mini fridge. "Care for a water?" Matt asked, grabbing bottled water from the fridge. "Sure." I replied, as a bottle of water was thrown at my face.
Catching it, I opened the cap and took a sip from it. "I'll be back." I said, walking outside. Everyone had a tent, and I smiled a little inside. Grabbing a pan and a spoon, I made two clashing noises. All of the soldiers (and a few specialists as well) emerged from the tents.
It was getting dark outside. "Well, everyone, get to bed. We have a long day ahead of us all." I said, and everyone went back into their tents. Matt came from the tent. "Maddison, come inside." He said, with a calm voice. I nodded, and walked into the large tent.
I took a sleeping bag, and he took one. "You know… Matt… if this fails, all of us could die tomorrow." I said, looking up. "Right. Let's hope that doesn't happen. Goodnight." Matt said, turning off the small light in the tent. It got dark really quick. "Goodnight." I replied, falling asleep.
I had another dream that night as well. This time, we were at the location where we were hiding. "Matt… is this safe?" one of the specialists wondered. "Totally." I said, but there was a loud banging on the metal garage door nearby. And another, and another. The door succumbed to the outside force, and there was the anti-ambush crew of two: Johnny and Pierce.
I looked at the two in horror. "Surprise." I heard Johnny say, as gunshots were fired. Almost everyone was shot and killed. Eventually, they got to Matt and I. As Johnny took care of Matt, Pierce held me back as I watched in horror, the murder of Matt. My eyes widened, as Johnny's pistol was aimed for my head.
I awoke with a jolt again, breathing heavily. I looked over to Matt, and he was still asleep. Sighing deeply, I laid my head on my pillow, and looked up at the ceiling.
What if we die tomorrow? What if the plans fail? All of these scenarios ran through my head, but I quickly shut them out. I fell back asleep, with a cleared mind.
In the morning, I woke up to the alarm clock. "I'll wake up the specialists." I told Matt, as he woke up. "Got it." He replied. I walked out of the tent with my outfit on, and I walked across the pavement to where Kirsten was. I pulled out the pan and spoon from the pouch near Kirsten's bed, and banged it seven times. "Wake up, everyone. It's show time." I said, as everyone emerged from their warm tents.
As the specialists left to go to the Image As Designed, I walked over to where the others were. "Alright everyone, today is the day. We go in, do what we need to, and leave. Show no mercy to the opponents. Once we get out there, it's kill or be killed. Good luck, everyone. Pack up and meet Matt and I at the garage in one hour." I said, as Matt nodded in approval.
I was getting all the cars ready when Matt and the team came. "Kirsten just called. She said that they are on their way to Kinzie's. Let's roll." He said, excited. I hopped onto one of the motorcycles, and rolled out. I had everyone else, including Matt, follow in trucks, every one of them capable of holding a NEMO chair.
When we got into position, I saw Kirsten and the others go into Kinzie's, undercover. I smiled a little, then turned to the team. "Ambush team alpha, guard the perimeter. Team beta, cover Matt and I. We'll be looking at the place for a signal to move." I said, as my phone buzzed. "We're ready." I heard Kirsten say, before hanging up.
I turned around. "Attention. We just got the signal to move." I said, as Matt interrupted. "Alright! It is now or never!" he said, in a happy tone. Everyone shouted "Yeah!" before I opened the metal door. We busted out of there like a bullet, and were on our way.
We busted down the door to Kinzie's. She was surprised by the fact that I was there, and she got into a defensive stance. "Attack!" I shouted. Everyone attacked the Saints, as I pulled Matt to the side. "The chair's in the back." I said. "Got it. Let's go." He replied, with certainty.
When we got to the back, nobody was there. "Go get one of the trucks. I can hold my position." I said, and Matt left without a word. A few minutes later, he was back. "Great. Disconnect it. I'll help with the chair." I said, looking towards the door. Kirsten ran from it towards me.
"Maddison!" she said, out of breath. "Hurry up. We're down to our last five, including me." She said, worried. "Matt!" I shouted. "Got it. Help me with this." Matt said, holding the chair at one end. With Kirsten's help, we got it onto the truck. I took it and drove to the front.
Dead bodies laid everywhere. Only one stood, but he was then picked off by Kinzie. I drove away as fast as I could. I heard a sigh of relief from both Matt and Kirsten. "Everyone fine?" I asked. "I am." Matt replied. "Sort of. Just a shot in the foot, but I'll be ok." Kirsten said, with a little pain in her voice.
When we got back to the power plant, I looked back. Many have died for me today. I looked forwards, and rolled into the hidden parking lot. When we got into the main cooling tower room, everyone looked at us. "We got it, but only we survived." Kirsten said, head low.