AN: I do not own or operate the characters from Victorious. I just keep them alive. Someone else owns them and has already made a fortune from them.

Enjoy S.M.

Chapter 8: Shoot Out At the G.O. Coral

"Cat, can we look around?" I asked.

"Ya sure, let's go look around. What do you want to see?" Our red headed friend asked.

"Let's go down to the basement and start there." I said.

"What are you looking for?" Andre asked.

"I don't know, but I will know when I see it." I said.

Cat took us through the entire house. We looked at every room in the house. It was a nice house, but it had been redone a lot of times. Tori and I didn't find the source. I don't know where the source was, but it wasn't here. I did know that Sal Mineo had something to do with all of this.

"Who is this Sal Mineo that you keep talking about?" Andre asked.

"He was an actor. He had a very short career. He was nominated for the big one twice, but never won. He was blackballed because he was gay. He lived here for a while before he moved to an apartment in West Hollywood. He was robbed and murdered. He was only 37 years old." I said.

I flopped down on the couch next to Tori and Cat went to get us drinks. I stared out the window into the blocked view and thought about the situation. I was far away when Andre called to me to bring me back.

"Jade, Jade! I asked if I would know any movies that Sal was in." Andre said louder.

"He was in a bad Disney film and in Rebel Without a Cause and Giant." I said. "That is it! I think I know where the Source is!"

"I am not going to Texas. It is supposed to be here in L.A." Tori said.

"No not Giant. Rebel Without a Cause!"

"That movie was cursed!" Cat said.

"Cursed?" Andre asked.

"Ya the three lead actors all died very young. They were all going to be huge stars, but Sal was murdered, Natalie Wood drown in the ocean and James Dean was killed when some idiot crossed the center line and drove headlong into his car. Such a loss." I said.

"Where do we have to go?" Tori asked.

"Most of the movie took place in three locations. They were at the police station, an old mansion and The Griffith Observatory. The police station was a sound stage at Warner Brothers along with the cliff and the old mansion. They will be long gone by now. So that means that there is only one real location and that must be where we are to go." I said waiting for the rest to catch on.

"The Griffith Observatory!" They all said together.

"Nice sitcom moment guys." I laughed. "Andre I need your car."

"No I saw what you did to your car." Andre said.

"Good point, but would you rather be behind the wheel when the same people are shooting at us again?" I asked.

"No but nobody better be shooting at my car!" Andre said holding the keys.

I took his keys and told him to stay and look after Cat. I grabbed my holster, vest and jacket and Tori's wrist and I dragged her out the door to Andre's car. We had a fair drive at this time of day and had to get moving.

We were silent as we drove to the Observatory. Neither of us knew what to say. This was the real deal, up until know it was kind of a game abet with live rounds. We were either going save the world or ….

When we arrived at the Observatory the place was empty. They must be closed. The parking lot was empty and there was no sign of anyone, but the Strueds Cor was there. I could feel them. The hair was standing up on the back of my neck and all of my senses were on high alert.

I moved around to Tori's side of the car and took her hand. I told her to stay low and we would run to the edge of the parking lot where there was a hedge we could take temporary cover. We were almost there when a woman with an automatic rifle stepped out from a corner.

She stitched the air around us. The gun had more power than she could handle. I raised my gun and put four rounds in her chest. She stood there for a moment in disbelief before she looked down at her blood covered body and fell to her knees and then backward.

A shot rang out from behind us. I felt the slug hit my back. The vest stopped it, but I knew it was going to bruise and maybe break another rib. I staggered and fell to the ground. I was having a hard time catching my breath. I could hear his heavy foot falls coming towards me.

I was not going to go out like this. I couldn't do anything but extend my leg towards Tori. She saw what I was intending and grabbed for the small auto that I had velcroed to my ankle. In a moment she was pointing the gun at the assailant. He stopped for a second in his tracks. He didn't expect to be facing a second gun.

Before he could draw down on Tori I got my wind back and I rolled and put a round in his knee. He was knocked backward. I then swept the good leg out from under him. I holstered my gun and pounced on him. I delivered a solid punch to the chest. I then slid behind him and wrapped my arms around his head and his neck.

"Look away Tori!" I shouted.

She looked at me puzzled and then she looked away. As soon as her eyes were diverted I gave a short sharp twist and broke his neck. He was done. He would not be interfering any more.

I took a moment to breathe. It was painful but I was glad that I could still take a breath. I lay back down for a minute. Tori came over to me and helped me up. She handed me back the gun. I put it back in the ankle holster.

I got up and we made our way to the front doors. They were locked. I told her that we should go around the side and try to get in another way. I found a fire escape door and tried the door. It was locked too. I reached in my back pocket and took out a small leather folder.

We all have a past, well accept Tori, in my past I did a lot of things and learning to pick locks was a handy skill for getting into trouble. I inserted the T wrench and selected a pick.

"What are you doing? Where did you learn to pick locks?" Tori asked.

"Well they wouldn't give me a set of keys for the school." I grinned.

I moved the pick back and forth listening for the little clicks. I then smiled at Tori as I turned the T wrench and the door opened. I listened for alarms, but there were none. That means one of two things. There isn't an alarm or the Cors turned it off and are waiting inside.

I grabbed Tori's hand and in we went. I didn't have to ask Tori what she was thinking she was transferring her thoughts into my brain through my hand. I knew that we were in the right place. I could feel the energy of the Source.

That is when I heard the sound of a footstep to my right. I drew down and I was facing three Cor holding guns on us. There was nothing that we could do. They advanced and they took my gun. I hoped that they would leave me with ankle hideout. No such luck. One of them must have been watching the parking lot. He bent down and ripped it off my ankle. Another Cor relieved me of my Bowie knife.

They grabbed us and shoved us along in front of them as we made our way down a dark hallway. We must have been heading toward the mechanical room. The noise of machines grew steadily louder as we went.

The lights were dim in the boiler room. There were two more Streuds Cor. These two must have been in charge. The Cor that captured us showed them respect and approached without saying anything. They simply presented us to them.

"Leave that one. Kill that one." The one Cor told our guards.

The one that was holding me grabbed my arms a little harder and dragged me out of the room. We went down a small cement hallway. When I saw the exit sign I knew it was now or never. I made my move.

I relied on my training. I stomped down on the top of the foot of the guy on the right. I felt bones break beneath my boot. I then thrust upward with my hand under the chin of the guy on the left. I spun and kicked the first guy in the chest. He went down. I followed up with punch to the second guy.

The second guy managed to dodge my strike. We locked into a back and forth fight. The vest I was wearing actually helped stop the blows. I knew that I had to fight only one at a time. If it turned into two on one I would be finished.

I grabbed his arm and pulled and when it was stretched out I punched him repeatedly in the kidney. Hitting someone in the liver or the kidneys takes energy out of them. They become sapped of their energy because the body wants to protect life and it is telling you to stop fighting.

He went down hard and I kicked him in the ribs.

I turned to the first guy, Mr. Big Mustache, just in time to see his fist crash into my nose. My face was covered in blood and the pain shot into my brain. All I could see was black.

I shook my head trying to clear the blood and the darkness from my brain. Light started coming back quickly and my vision although blurred allowed me to see Mr. Mustache.

He punched me in the stomach, but my vest came down far enough to spread out the force of the punch. Something that Master Ray told me was that in a real fight you must fight to live not to win. There is no referee and no rules in a street fight.

Well Master Ray would have been proud. I waited until Mustache threw his next punch and I stepped aside and let him extend his arm. I grabbed it and slammed it into the wall. While he was still stunned I did it again. This time I heard bones breaking. Now he had hand and foot injuries he was out of the fight.

I looked down to see Cor number two trying to get up. I brought my boot down on the back of his neck. He died from a broken neck.

I reached down and took back my Bowie knife from him. I saw Mustache trying to escape and I drove my knife into his back and into his lung. As he lay on the floor next to his partner I retrieved my knife and wiped it clean on his shirt.

I heard Tori scream and I turned towards the sound and ran to where she was. The last of the Cor were going to kill Tori. One was holding her and the other was holding a knife to her throat.

I had to think fast. I showed them my hands so that they would know that they were empty. I had one chance at this and I had to get it right. I was too far away to make use of my big knife. I could go for my guns, but that was too slow. I had to make my move or Tori was gone.

I reached around my back and pulled out my two throwing knives. I threw one and then the other. The first went through the forehead of the guy holding Tori. The second found a home in the back of the Cor that was holding the knife to Tori's throat. Both men fell to the ground.

I ran to Tori and held her as she cried. "I thought that I was going to die and the world would be taken by the Cor." She freely cried letting all the stress of the last couple of months fall away.

Once she had managed to get herself under control we could start looking for the Source.

"You must have been practising with the throwing knives!" she said with a smile.

"Just luck I guess." I lied with a smirk. "Can you feel the Source anywhere?"

"Yes I am close." She said as she started walking away from me.

I followed her to a very large cast iron tank. It looked like at one time it might have been a part of a boiler system. Tori closed her eyes and stood very stiff. The tank started to vibrate and make a banging sound. Soon it opened like a clam shell and a pillar of yellow green light was standing in the center.

"We came all this way for a giant glow stick?" I said sarcastically.

Tori never acknowledged my comment or that I was even there. She simply reached her hands out to the glowing tube of bubbling liquid. This is want she was born to do. This is what she existed for. I had no idea if she would fall down dead after she touched it or if she would explode.

I stepped back a little. She stared straight into the light then she placed both hands on the sides of the tube. It started to boil even faster. That was when I knew the trouble with the Cor was not over.

I don't know if I felt something or heard something. Maybe I just knew what was going to happen. I ran up the stairs to the front doors. I pushed on the crash bar on the door and put the little foot stand down then I went out into the parking lot. I shaded my eyes from the bright sunlight and I could see vehicles of all description heading our way.

"Dammit, Dammit Tori! It is like a beacon. They must have known when she touched it. Shit!" I ran back inside and kicked the little stand back down. I ran around gathering up all the guns that I could find. This was going to be my last stand and my Sundance Kid was down holding a giant glow stick.

I knew I would lose, but I planned on taking as many of them with me as I could. I dragged some heavy furniture into the foyer and started loading guns. I had them all laid out on the ground around me where I could reach them. It reminded me of the scene from the movie The Alamo where they loaded all the guns and sat waiting for the dawn attack. Then I remembered that the Texans lost and were all killed, so I pushed the image out of my head.

I waited to make my move. I wanted as many of the Cor to come to the front door as possible. Then I would start the music. I flexed my fingers on the triggers of the two nine mil autos in my hands. I had to be patient.

Then it happened. The first guy came and tried the door and it did not open. Others came up and joined him. They cupped their hands by their eyes and pressed their faces to the glass. That was when I popped up and started unloading the thirty rounds in my hands.

The guy at the door took one in the head and fell before he knew what hit him. The others started going for their guns but fell as well. Now the return fire started. Glass was flying everywhere and the walls were tearing up around me. My barricade held. It was soaking up the lead. I dropped out the clips and popped in two more. I fired until they were empty dropping a couple more of the Cor.

They were starting to move around the sides. I knew that they were trying to flank me. It is what I would have done too. I took a round in the chest and went down for a minute. That was going to leave more than a bruise. When I came up the next time I took a round to arm.

I put down two more guys and then took a round in the leg. I felt bones breaking. This was it. I was going to write the final scene now. I picked up my guns and stood up and started unloading them.

AN: Let me know what you think. Please leave feedback. Please. I am not above begging. It is the only way writers get better. I am so evil for making a cliff hanger. There will be one more chapter. I just have to figure out how I want this to end. JThanks S.M.