Another chapter, another dollar - except I don't get paid to do this. Oh well. :D
And now, replies to my gallant reviewers;
OddAuthor: Thanks very much! My brother is quite happy that you've been noticing the marines, incidentally.
unknown20troper: Thanks for reviewing! It seemed like the kind of thing he'd do, to present a set of options in which it was impossible to win.
Clockwork Orange King: Thank you very much, I'm quite flattered! :) I'll try to cut back on the irregardlesses - I just really like that word, is all. :D
One more thing - a small cameo for anyone who spots the Heroes reference.
Chapter Six: Dissent
Chester McBadbat sat in the mouth of the cave, peeling potatoes.
Food was a hard-to-come-by commodity for the Cave – wishing up food was too obvious, as nobody knew if F.A.I.R. could track magic. This was why they spread themselves across the entire cave network – several villages and vantage points to raid for food. As the largest and most easily accessible of the villages, Carnot was a good target, and the local 7/11 shop often found that its stores…vanished overnight.
Once food was acquired, several people were needed to prepare it – after all, there was at least six dozen kids, plus an average of one fairy for each of those kids, and this was the main cave alone.
Chester was up for food duty today, and was preparing a meal of potatoes with a side of…potatoes. What was desert? Potatoes.
He finished with a potato and was about to pick up another one when he heard a rustling in the bushes.
"God damn it, Mark, you just stood on my foot, you son of a b-"
"Rourke, shut it. I think we're there. Is this it, Binky?"
"Yep, this is the Cave, go on in!"
Out of the bushes stepped five soldiers, being led by Binky. Chester's eyes widened.
"GOVERNMENT!" he yelled, "THE FEDS ARE COMING!"
"No, wait, we're not the Feds!" began their leader.
"You're not?" mused Chester.
There was a short silence. Nobody came, meaning that Chester's yell had not been as loud as he had hoped.
"Yeah, I'm Lieutenant Max Bishop, USMC Force Recon, Sabre Team," he explained, "We'd like to join your little network."
"How do I know I can trust you?" demanded Chester.
"We know about Project Oppenheimer," replied Bishop, "We've heard that kids and fairies are being forced to work on…something, and we decided we didn't wanna be involved."
There was another short pause.
"I'll take you to see Molly," said Chester at last.
The Mayor of Dimmsdale hummed a tune as he drove to the F.A.I.R. headquarters. It was a nice day (well, actually it was raining buckets, but he meant nice as in good). He'd passed a few bills, raised taxes – all in all, things were great.
He flicked on the radio, deciding to catch up on the world news.
"…causing large scale destruction to the City of Rome," the newsreader was saying, "In other news, President Henry Edward Fulton today proclaimed the Penn Station Act, proclaiming that any and all property belonging to godchildren is immediately forfeit to the United States Government. This act was passed in order to pay of the growing budget deficit caused by the Magic Crisis'. The President stated…"
The radio fizzled out for several seconds. When it returned, a very different voice was being played.
"Good morning, Mister Mayor."
The Mayor rolled his eyes. Evidently, someone else was using the radio to complain about him. Again. Faewatch was bad enough…
"You may not know us, Mister Mayor, but we know you. Isn't that right, Ms. Foliax?"
Another, feminine voice responded.
"We certainly do, Mister Neutron. We know about everything you've been doing with F.A.I.R. Do you really think it's legal for them to get away with everything you let them do, Mister Neutron?"
"Not at all, Ms. Foliax. In fact, I think it might be a good idea to give Mister Mayor a message, do you?"
"Seems like it might, Mister Neutron. Will you do the honours, Mister Abrahams?"
"With pleasure."
The Mayor's back windshield shattered as a large rock was thrown through it. The Mayor jumped, and stopped his car.
Jimmy and Libby calmly walked in front of the car from behind a corner, while Francis walked up from behind. Libby opened the door.
"Now Mister Mayor, can we have a word?"
The Mayor stared, trying to comprehend what was happened.
"Eh?" he mumbled at last.
"We know about your input to F.A.I.R., Mister Mayor," grinned Jimmy, "I don't know about you, but I don't think they were meant to be your bodyguard."
"Don't think so," added Libby, also grinning, "Having them attack people because they support Timmy Turner over you? That's pretty low, so we came out from the Dimmsdale Flatts Mall to give you your…punishment."
Francis grabbed the Mayor by the collar and pulled him out of the car.
"If you're still anywhere near F.A.I.R. by next week, you're gonna get a lot worse then this," he snarled.
"T-then what?" shuddered the Mayor.
Francis grinned, and formed his hand into a fist.
"This one's from the Resistance."
Molly leant against the wall of the cavern, arms crossed, as Bishop finished relating their story.
"…and that's why we went AWOL," finished Bishop.
"What do you think?" mused Chester, "I say throw 'em out."
"Well nobody asked for your opinion," snapped Rourke.
"Rourke, we're trying to get in here," shot Baker, "That ain't helping."
"Fah," snorted Rourke, "Just saying."
"I don't know about this," mused Molly, a scowl on her face, "How do we know we can trust you? You worked for F.A.I.R…"
"We did, but we don't now," replied Bishop, "Listen, I can't prove that we're any more trustworthy then the rest of the Corps, but we have weapons, we have supplies on us, we can help. Just give us a chance."
Molly looked thoughtful.
"You're right," she said at last, "You can't prove that we can trust you…"
Chester grinned and pointed at the way out. Rourke scowled at him.
"…but you have stuff we need," finished Molly, "They're staying."
"You won't regret it," grinned Bishop, "Alright guys, set up, we're in."
"At least we're out of the rain," shrugged Gavin, dropping his rifle on a rock, "I'm gonna go find Binky."
As he walked away, Molly turned her eyes to the discarded rifle.
"We'll need some of those," she said.
"But you're a kid," Morrissey pointed out, "You shouldn't even be thinking about needing guns at your age!"
"Nope," nodded Molly, glaring, "I shouldn't be leading a resistance against the government at my age, either."
She got up and stormed away. Morrissey looked at his feet.
"We forced these kids into an army," he sighed, "What kind of monsters are we?"
"People suck, friend," shrugged Rourke, matter-of-factly, "Never forget that."
Jazz sighed heavily as she climbed back into the car.
"That was an interesting side tour," said Norm in a sardonic tone as he got into the passenger seat, "Where to next, Wonderland?"
"Look at this place," replied Jazz, a scowl crossing her face, "We haven't changed anything!"
"Nope," replied Norm, crossing his arms, "Fairy magic. My genie magic can't affect it without the consent of the fairy. That fairy can't get his magic back unless Sarah willingly gives it."
He shoved the lamp into the glove department.
"Don't think she'll be doing that for a while."
Jazz snorted, and started the car.
They drove in silence for some time, away from Jensenberg and back into normality. Here, they met the rain, a refreshing sight from the unnatural brightness of the town they had left.
Jazz, however, was still down.
Norm continuously tried to ignore his companion, but found that the silence was irking him. Once again, he found himself cursing his newfound conscience.
"Look," he said at last, "I know this is disappointing, but it isn't your fault, it's Mrs. Disconcerting's."
"I know," Jazz nodded, glumly.
Norm gave a small smile.
"Let me put it this way," he added, "Maybe, when the Great Toothsader gets back, he can use that Light magic he has to fix that town before I gut him like a fish for making me to this!"
Jazz glared.
Then she let out a small smile.
"There we go," grinned Norm, "Now I don't have to feel awkward anymore."
He pulled out his magazine again and silence reigned once more. This time, however, it did not feel quite so suffocating.
The Director was pacing.
Freakshow had taken him to Washington, where he had appealed to the President. Fulton was a gullible man – he was easily convinced that Freakshow's plan was the future.
Now, he was in the HQ building of a large complex in South-Western Texas. He was the overseer of work on Project Oppenheimer, and he was enjoying every second of it.
Until now, that is.
"What d'you mean Sabre Team went missing?" he snapped.
"I'm just saying it like it is, sir," shrugged the F.A.I.R. officer he was speaking with.
"Carnot, right, it's Carnot," mused the Director, "That confirms it, it's the Cave. Gather the tanks, I want that village wrecked within the week, got it Major?"
"Got it, sir."
"Good, good," nodded the Director, "I'll tell Showsenhower. We might be gone for the activation, but it's worth it to crush the Cave. Dismissed."
The officer left the room, never noticing the grin on the Director's face.
"Here's hoping Freakshow can open that wormhole without me," he mused.
Dr. Bender rubbed his head with frustration.
It had not been a good day. The Mayor had been ambushed on his way to F.A.I.R. Headquarters, arriving heavily beaten and terrified. He'd immediately declared that he intended to stay far away from F.A.I.R. and had to have sense yelled into him.
Sanjay Bradley had turned up in protest at the Dimmsdale Elementary School, but had slunk back into the shadows before Wendell could get there.
"Can this week get any worse?" he demanded to himself.
He was about to find out just how much it could.