Chapter 8: Philosophy & Torture

Aria rubbed her hand on the young assassin's gauntlets. She eyed it with intrigue and was impressed by the craftsmanship of the weapons. The generals stood all around her ensuring the safety of the room in the midst of the recent break in attempt. Aria leaned against the table with a wide smile. You are here now with me. Adrian noticed the change in her attitude and felt it to be more than a hindrance he felt he was willing to tolerate. He eyed the entrance as two guards entered carrying a body in their hands. The unconscious ex-Freelancer was dragged into the room numb to the situation around her. Two more guards followed after them. It was the group responsible for subduing Carolina.

Dallas looked at the group of young soldiers and nodded his head. "Thank you for your valiant efforts."

Aria looked behind from the side of her right eye and approached the cyan warrior. She bent down to remove the helmet and was surprised to find a woman underneath. The rest of the generals were surprised as well. From all that they heard, they were sure that it was going to be a man. Aria reached out for Carolina's stray orange hair strand and brushed it to the side. She leaned in close eyeing every single detail on Carolina's skin. She stared the guard to her right. "Did you four check to see if she is transmitting any data or not?"

A sudden silence took the guards who looked to one another for a response. The generals knew just how badly the guards shook in their shoes right now from this mistake. Aria stood up glaring to all. "This one mistake can very well cost us our headquarters, and put our whole operation in jeopardy."

"But-"

Before one guard could get another word in, Aria strangled him until he was left essentially begging for air with the swings of his arms. The others bowed their heads and remained quiet as Aria looked towards her generals. "Strip this intruder of her armor, everything must come off. Then, throw her in the holding cells. The armor will be sent to the ground floor tech labs for study. Tell them to disrupt any potential data transmission as well in the process."

Oh no, Church became alert at the prospect of being discovered. He for safety measures quickly activated hibernation mode as well as the various firewalls of the suit to help keep any curious minds out. He kept the various communication channels open transmitting Carolina's position in a loop. Two generals took Carolina and dragged her away out of sight. Aria glared back to the guards and tightened her grip on the guard's neck. "Now then, as for you four…"

Aria released the guard as he hit the floor hard coughing for air. He held his neck in desperation and fear. He looked up with terrified eyes. She pointed to all four of them and then to two soldiers outside the room listening to her orders. "Take these four, and send them to the re-education camp."

"No, please not there," one guard begged as he was restrained from approaching Aria. The others were dragged away but one firmly stood his ground. "Please, just kills us here, but don't send us to that hell!"

Kai pushed back the one standing firmly with his superior strength. "Move it pal, we don't have all day."

"No, please!" the guard shouted as he was kicked out of the room. "Don't do this ma'am!"

"Do you ever shut up?" Kai rubbed his ears in irritation as he pushed the guard forward. The terrified screams echoed throughout the base. It was a sign to the others to never cross Aria in the wrong ways. As the screams slowly died down, Adrian found satisfaction in the powerful display of her superiority. If only she could be like this at all times. He could not help but wonder methods to make her adore and adopt this persona at all times. He looked at the gauntlets and then out the room. To gain some things, one must give up some things. You will have to give up something to be an absolute force not to be reckoned with Aria. I will see to it that you give it up for the sake of the organization.


Chloe slowly walked the quiet halls of the ATSG base. She studied every corner, and wall looking for that one young man with red cheeks. What will I say now that I went ahead and told him all those things in private the last time? She finally reached his room and firmly knocked on his door. There was no response. With another loud knock on the metal door, she swung the heavy door open with great effort. I have never understood why they bothered having these types of doors in here. It's like a safe door. She walked into the empty room and studied any hints of his presence. No one is here? Chloe walked out and to the next best place she could think of, Carolina's room.

Upon entry, she found the ex-Freelancers room empty as well. Much concern arose in the back of her mind now. There were no signs of their departure in the base logs. Everyone had to always sign out and sign back in when leaving or entering the base. So what gives here? She paced within the room to study for any clues. There was no struggle in the room, Carolina's things were still here and it most certainly didn't look like she just got up and left the ATSG. But then she found that note, the one note Alex had prepared for Carolina alone. She slowly read it in a whisper and her jaw dropped wide open. That idiot!

Chloe rushed out to the main room of the base. Siris noticed the hurried pace at which Chloe approached him in. He raised an eyebrow at the angered expression she wore. "What's wrong Chloe?"

She held out the note for him. He took it with curiosity and slight worry. His eyes scanned every line carefully and widened in a fury of emotions. "What the hell is this?"

Chloe rested her hands on her waist and looked down at the ground. Both of them were equally angered and fed up with fate spitting in their faces. Siris slammed his fist against the desk nearly making Chloe skip a heartbeat. "I don't need any more shit on my plate!"

Siris threw the note to the side and kicked the chair in front of him. "I already have enough things to worry about as it is. What the hell was he even thinking?!"

"That's not all," Chloe spoke cautiously earning a stern glare from her senior. "I- It seems like Carolina is missing to."

Siris felt all the heat in his body leave. He felt like a cold statue, completely devoid of life. He broke out into a pathetic laughter. "Just great, the one person who is vital for our plan to work with the reds and the blues has gone missing. That's bloody brilliant."

Siris gripped the edges of the table and gritted his teeth. I know you are desperate Ken, but this is just asinine. I taught you to be better than some reckless amateur. He rested his forehead in his hands and breathed heavily. What do we do now?!

Chloe rested a hand on his shoulder asking the same question. He bit his lower lip in frustration. One another ATSG member in the room watched silently, letting Chloe handle Siris. The soldier as well racked his mind against the possibilities. Siris shoved Chloe's hand away in a fit of anger. "Instead of trying to ask me what to do next, why don't you try coming up with something?! I don't have all the god damned answers Chloe!"

"Calm down!" she shouted in response. "The fact that you are losing your cool like this will derail everything. You are our support pillar Siris."

Siris wiped the sweat off of his nose and breathed deeply. "Then what do you suggest we do?"

"I…I don't know. All I know is that we need to stop them."

"It probably is a little too late for that," the ATSG soldier spoke up and further explained. "They are probably at their destination by now. They would have either been captured, or have succeeded by now."

"How can you say that with certainty?" Chloe questioned the man's confidence. But he simply shook his shoulders and said. "The Ken I know is smart and very proactive in his thinking as well as planning. Where were they headed?"

"The Cradle of Hope headquarters."

"Oh shit," the ATSG soldier exclaimed nearly going into shock. "Never mind, in this case he was being plain stupid."

Siris bit on his nail as he looked at the computer monitor. All of a sudden the memory of the bug planted on Aria surfaced. "The trace!"

Siris moved to the corresponding control panel for the transmitter and brought up the signal. His facial expression softened a little at the active signals. "Looks like Aria's is still being tracked. Carolina is still transmitting as well."

"What about Ken?" Chloe inquired jumping against the chair occupied by Siris. He groaned in annoyance at her obtrusive action. Siris typed a few keys to access their real time data tracking database. There was no entry for tonight. Siris checked the back ups in case they had been erased from the production database. There was nothing there. This can't be right. He looked back slowly. "I'm sorry Chloe. I can't find anything for his trace. It's completely dead."

Siris could see the immediate concern on Chloe's face. He was quick to react to the infectious concern. Siris gently rested a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "Don't worry Chloe, they will be found. Plus, they will have a lot of explaining to do as well, both to you and me."


In a long stretched hallway, Aria and Adrian walked towards the prison cells. Aria studied the condition of the area, it was satisfactory. She approached the guard standing by the cell who saluted her as a sign of respect. The guard stepped to the side. Adrian stood behind Aria leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. His eyes studied the young man inside the prison cell, who lazily lied on the bed with his hands crossed behind his head. Adrian scoffed for the prisoner to wake up, clearly not impressed by what he saw. This is her brother? What a joke to be caught so easily. He must not be very smart. Aria glared back at him, and softened her eyes turning back to Alex.

Alex opened his eyes and stared at the group in silence. Aria warmly smiled causing him to revert his gaze. That is the smile I remember of you sis. He sat up and stretched his neck. Alex cautiously walked towards the bar with arms crossed. I don't remember you for being some crazy terrorist hell bent on destroying society. He looked behind her at the guard and the old man. "I see you brought your escort along."

Adrian stepped forward raising a finger. "Listen here you disrespectful little ATSG rat-"

He was held back by Aria who motioned for him to head back behind her. "Alex, this is just between you and me, they won't interfere. You have my word on that."

The young assassin let his arms fall to his side and paced in his cell. "We will see."

"I have kept my word about no harm coming to you so far, haven't I?"

"So far, yes."

Aria closed her eyes and shook her head. "Let's just begin. Why are you a part of the ATSG Alex, and how did you get your training?"

Alex stopped to look deep into Aria's eyes and inched closer. "I joined to find you."

Aria's mouth nearly dropped open, somewhat flattered by his sincere voice. But that didn't answer her questions. He looked down at his hands and clenched them into fists. "I was first invited when you left me just like our parents, only my mentor was there for me. He picked me up off the streets and gave me a chance to find you after the police did fuck all."

"He was the source of your training as well?"

"Yes," Alex held up a hand before Aria could speak. "Before you say anything, I chose to kill, I was never forced to. If it meant finding you, then I was ready to do so at that time. I still am."

"Even if that target was me?"

Alex remained quiet looking away with the scratch of his hair. He shook his head and looked back to Aria. "Look, all I wanted all this time was for us to meet one another again and get away from all this fighting. I want for the two of us to lead a peaceful life, I want for us both to just run away together."

This brat, Adrian gritted his teeth, fearful at the prospects of losing his own grip on Aria. He wanted to step in between the two of them, shun the idea of running away and drag her away. But to his relief he did not need to. Aria herself told Alex her absolute answer. "I can't, I was never raised for that purpose."

Never raised for that purpose? Alex gave her a quizzical look. "What are you talking about?"

"Tell me little brother, did you never find it strange on how our parents treated us differently?"

Alex thought hard about it, but could find no instance of truth in her words. She recalled one very prominent memory. "Do you remember when our parents took you to the movies and not me?"

"Yeah."

"That is just one instance. They did so because in the confines of our home, I was being bred to take up the mantle for Cradle of Hope."

"I would have noticed if something wrong was happening with you!"

"Who said it was wrong?" Aria suggested with a raised eyebrow. She smiled and recalled all the times she experienced the more brutal side of her parents upon failure. She rubbed her left cheek. This side of the face suffered the most from their punishments. She looked back to Alex and said. "You were the only one who was unconditionally kind to me in our family. If anything, there were times where I wished it was just the two of us and no one else. In my childish naivety, I used to think that we could survive together alone. Oh how foolish I was to think so. We both got to experience that upon our parent's death after all."

"That still doesn't explain why you said 'bred'."

"You are right," Aria nodded her head gently and held the bars. She reached inside wanting to lovingly hold her brother. "It's because ever since my birth, my sole purpose according to what our parents have guided me towards has been to change this world through Cradle of Hope. I will change this world."

She holds out her hand and smiles happily. "I can finally tell you all these things. Our parents made me promise to never tell you any of this, to let you lead a normal life."

"Why?"

"I don't know, and honestly I don't care anymore. I kept quiet in the past to respect their last will. Now, that we are here like this I could care no more about such trivialities. Alex, join me."

Instantly the young man shook his head. He stepped back from his sister almost shocking her. "What you are doing, and trying to coax me into is not reformation of the world, but the destruction of the very fundamentals that help build society."

"Destruction?" she gripped the cell's bars and her mouth fell open at his words. "I'm reforming the world. We fight to change the very world that everyone else is slowly letting die off. We are fighting to protect this and many other planets, to ensure peace, but also bring back humanity on the right path!"

"You mean your path."

"The path we were all meant to take!"

"But that is what the people in higher positions of this organization think," Alex argued holding his ground. "And those who follow are simply deluded to think that this is the only way. You say you are fighting to change humanity and protect the universe. You are fighting for peace, but what peace can there be if there is conflict? The reformation you talk about is a contradiction in itself. It is a path leading only to destruction."

"Listen to this nonsense you utter," Aria backed off from the bars in a laugh. "Do you even hear your own words?"

"Yes I do," he replied glaring towards her. "True reformation comes from a mutual understanding, not some change that is forced onto others. Because then it's simply a dictatorship."

"Then why have you sullied your hands in red all this time just to find me?"

"I had no intention of mutual understanding sis," Alex lowered is head as a sign of respect for all the lives he has taken. "My only goal was to find you by any means necessary. What happened after that was up to those willing to continue the fight."

"Well congratulations, you have found me! Now I'm still giving you this opportunity, stand by my side and join us. Pledge your allegiance to us Alex by telling me all that you know about the ATSG! You can become a part of a greater revolution than any other in our history."

Alex shook his head and refused her pleading. "The ATSG is the one thing that stands in the way of the world and this organization's deluded ideals. I'm not about to just bend over for you. You will get nothing from me."

Aria stared at her brother in disbelief. "What happened to the Alex I knew?"

"People change with time."

"Evidently so," she replied in a very discouraged voice. But then nodded to Adrian who left and Aria looked down at the floor with a heavy breath. "I didn't want it to come to this. Whether you tell us or not Alex it doesn't matter, we will get this information in due time. Perhaps your comrade, that soldier of Project Freelancer will be able to help speed up the process."

Carolina is captured, she followed me?! Alex rushed towards the cell's bars. "Don't do anything to her!"

"You have left me with no choice," replied the organization leader. She glared Alex deep into his eyes and made her ultimatum. "You should stand by my side. It is our family's right to do so. Our parents have made it so. But if you continue to ally yourself with the ATSG and engage us, then you will become my enemy personally little brother. This kindness you receive now will be no more and if need be, I will kill you with my bare hands. No matter what the others think or say, our cause is justified and will be for it benefits humanity long term. People are so short sighted that they let a few sacrifices release the fear in them running wild."

Aria turned to leave. Alex reached out of the prison bars in desperation. "Please, don't do anything rash sister!"

"You were given a choice," shouted Aria as she neared the exit door. "Now your decision will realize the consequences onto someone else!"


"Carolina's missing?!" Washington nearly had a heart attack. He leaned close in disbelief towards the monitor as Siris sat back in his chair uncomfortably. Sarge helped pull Wash back and gave him some time to calm down. "So you must be that Siris fella that Church kept going on about before."

"Um, yes my name is Siris. Nice to meet you all," he scanned all those behind Sarge and Wash. So these are the people who are our only hope. He leaned forward and rested his chin on his hands. "I was instructed by Church to contact all of you should Carolina be unable to communicate. I wanted to give an update on her situation so as not to leave you all in the dark."

"What happened to her?" asked Simmons. Siris shook his head in frustration. "One of my men, and her did something stupid is what happened. They went to infiltrate the main base of the terrorists. I don't know why they did it all by themselves, but this is reality. We don't know what exactly happened to her aside from a theory of potential capture."

"Well we should go rescue her!" Tucker instantly spoke up with Caboose raising his fist behind the aqua soldier. "Yeah, let's go rescue our friend!"

"Hold on guys," Matthews and the Chorus soldiers said. Matthews waited for the silence to return before he continued and gained their complete attention. "We are nowhere near Earth, and we still have the pressing need to complete our own mission first."

"Matthews has got a point," Grif acknowledged getting many surprised looks. "What?"

"Nothing sir, it's just we never thought you would agree on something with Matthews," explained Andersmith. But not all of them were going to be so easily persuaded. Tucker walked forward towards Grif and the Chorus soldiers and pointed a figure at them. "How can you guys even say that?! Clearly you don't care about her!"

"Hey, cool it man!" Grif pushed Tucker back. Simmons stepped in between the two and kept them at a distance. With a calm breath he chimed in. "I get what you are feeling Tucker, she means a lot to me as well. But what Matthews has said is the right thing to do. We risk a lot by going to Earth right now."

"Then what do you suggest we do? We just sit here and twiddle our fucking thumbs?!"

"Relax!" Wash raised his voice silencing everyone. "We continue with our mission. Siris, I'm choosing to trust the ATSG in getting this resolved."

"We will do our best."

The blue ex-freelancer turned around to the BGC. "Our mission is too great of importance to give up on. Carolina may not be so keen on forgiveness either if we just abandon everything for her rescue mission."

Iowa noticed the downed mood on Caboose from his lack of movements, and constant stare at the floor. Iowa rested a hand on Caboose's shoulder and shook him out of his saddened trance. "Don't worry Caboose, we will help find Carolina as well when we reach Earth, she is our friend to. Maybe we will get to meet her right away anyways."

Idaho and Ohio raised their hands in encouragement. Ohio smiled underneath the helmet. "You got that right Iowa. No matter what happens, we all have got to stick together. We are all that we have after all."

"I understand," Siris replied happy to see such energy and determination. "You focus on your mission. I promise you all, by the time you make it to Earth; she will be back safe and sound. No matter what happens, we will find her."


"You know what to do right," Adrian leaned in close to a group of guards who nodded their heads. "Good, do whatever is necessary. But remember, don't go too far. I only want you all to break the prisoner's will until he begs for death and nothing more."

"We understand sir."

"Good," Adrian wore a most sinister smile. "Do this, and your promotions within the organization will be secured."

"Adrian!"

The old man turned around to see Aria waving him over. He motioned for the guards to leave and he followed after her. She walked down the prison section to the cell holding their esteemed guest, the ex-freelancer soldier. From a fair bit of distance, the two could hear the sounds of fists beating against bare skin. Adrian scoffed in irritation. "It seems that someone is already busy working on her."

"I will bet its Kai," Aria smirked finally reaching the cell. By the wall to the very back, she noticed the orange haired woman with her hands tied against the wall in chains. Everything but her underwear was off. Bruises were evident all over her body from Kai's beatings. Aria turned back to Adrian with a wide smile. "What I tell you?"

Aria walked inside with every general standing up to salute her. As Kai was about to deliver another punch, Aria stopped him upon seeing her spit up blood. "Alright tiger, that's enough, time to bring it down several notches."

Kai nearly jumped out of his shoes as he heard Aria's voice behind him. He stood up haphazardly and saluted her much to the amusement of Kabira. He shot her a glare furthering her enjoyment. "I- I'm sorry. I didn't hear you coming in."

"I bet you didn't," Aria walked around Kai and bent down towards Carolina. "Not when you decided to go to town on her. Kai, I still need her, you do realize that right?"

"Ah, yeah, my bad."

"Then learn to control that impatience and brashness of yours," Aria stood back up and stared at her colleague. "You always end up going too far."

Kai backed away to join in line with the other generals. Aria bent back down and lifted Carolina's head. She studied the ex-freelancer's well built body riddled with scars and injuries. She must have seen some good action in her life. Aria motioned Carolina's head from one side to the other. Her bruises weren't so bad. But it was clear that Carolina struggled hard against the forces of others. "Listen, I will only ask this once. Tell me everything you know about the ATSG."

A spit of red came smashing against Aria's left cheek. She closed her eyes as small bouts of anger spiked. Aria looked back to her generals and stood up with a heavy sigh. "Get out, all of you."

Against Aria's orders, only Adrian chose to remain. She gave him a demanding look. "I told everyone to leave."

"And I'm staying, you can't make me leave. It is important that I be here."

"Important you say," she laughed at the suggestion. "Fine, do as you please."

Aria walked over to a table of tools on one side of the cell. Carolina looked at the serious look on Aria's face as she studied the various devices. Her vision blurred from the damage, but she struggled to hold on. Little did she know that it would have simply been better for her to pass out. Aria held up a knife with a most vile look in her eyes. Slowly she inched closer, and jerked up Carolina's chin with the pointed end of the knife. "So is the little rabbit going to talk?"

She bent down beside Carolina's right hand and aimed the knife at her trigger finger. "Come on hun, one last chance. It's not really a bad deal. You talk, and the torture goes away."

Carolina sealed her lips tightly. She gritted her teeth ready for the inevitable pain. Aria understood her determination, and as a sign of sincerity she delivered on her threat. She stabbed the knife through the skin, the muscles and eventually the cracking bones. For the last bit of connection left to her hand, Aria sliced through the finger painting the small portion of her hand in red. Carolina's now dead finger fell to the floor, completely lifeless. She stared in horror having completely lost the feeling in her right hand. She gritted her teeth moaning in pain, nearly to the point of shedding tears. Aria stood up taking the finger and waving it around spilling blood on the floor. "I will ask again, tell me what you know!"

Carolina remained quiet. Aria threw the finger away at the wall and gritted her teeth. She looked down at the smooth skin on Carolina's arms. "You are making this so much more difficult than it needs to be my little prisoner."

The leader bent down and slowly sliced into her skin. Carolina's lips quivered at the sharp sting, the burning skin that felt like ten spears went through her body. Aria slowly shifted the knife's direction from vertical to horizontal. She increased the speed which she dismembered the flesh at. Blood dripped out from the open wound. Aria ripped the skin away with her bare hand and flapped it around in front of Carolina. "See this? This is because you are weak and pathetic!"

Aria stood up and paced back and forth. She threw the flap of dead skin at Carolina's face. "To be caught like this would make your father very disappointed I'm sure. Not that you were worth much to him to begin with I'm sure. For all the reports of the 'badass' freelancers we got, you are nothing special."

Aria gripped Carolina's hair tightly and smashed the back of her skull against the wall. "You are no badass. You are just a little girl prancing around in a suit of armor, still angry at her mother's disappearance."

Carolina looked up in surprise. Aria was not one to miss this expression. "Oh yes my little prisoner, we did our research into you. I must admit, there were some very interesting things we found out in the process."

Aria played with the knife almost as if indirectly threatening Carolina. "So tell me one thing, I have been very curious to find out. My brother has never had the physical attributes, or the mental determination to join something like the ATSG. Did you seduce him, or perhaps you are that mentor he spoke of?"

Aria hit Carolina's head with the hilt when she noticed Carolina's eyes slowly closing. "Pay fucking attention! My brother would never have taken another person's life so easily. Did you train him to be an assassin?! He was always raised in a sheltered environment, like he was our parent's favorite."

Aria glared towards Carolina with the tilt of her head. "But the only way he could have become a killer, and one to disobey me no less is if a hussy like you or some other bitch seduced him into power perhaps."

Aria's eyebrows raised in curiosity. She bent down and wiped some hair away from Carolina's face. "Now that I think about it, we do look somewhat similar. I wonder if you used that against him."

Carolina flicked Aria's hand away with the jerk of her head. Aria could not help but smile at the still feisty attitude. Carolina gritted her teeth trying to work her words through the pain. "I haven't done anything. Maybe you just don't realize what the reality is."

Angered by her words, Aria swiftly cut off another piece of flesh from Carolina. The woman jerked in pain, finally letting out a loud scream to echo through the halls. She moved in for another, but Adrian quickly restrained her. "Stop, going any further right now would be extremely dangerous. We need her alive!"

Aria stopped fighting against his strength and threw the knife away and slapped Carolina on the cheek. "Count your lucky stars bitch."

She stood up and walked towards the exit door. "Before I go, let me impart these words. Think carefully about what you may want to say to me the next time we come to talk. Until then, enjoy your stay."


Four guards approached Alex's cell. One of them motioned for the guard outside to open the door. "What's going on?"

"Can't say pal," one of them responded. "We have strict orders from the leader."

The guard looked at the bunch with suspicion. They were quick to put on the pressure on this one man faced with many others. "Come on, just open the door. I don't think you would like explaining to her why the task wasn't completed on time any more than we would."

"I have strict orders to not anyone else but the leader through," the guard replied with the four growing impatient at the negotiations. One approached the guard and patted him on his arm. "Look bud, check with Adrian. He will vouch for us. In fact, I'm sure he will question why you even bothered checking in the first place and waste everyone's time."

Frightened by the thought of what Adrian may do to him, he submitted. "Fine, wait here."

The guards all laughed it off together telling him that he made a wise choice. The prison guard reached for his keys, and swiped them by the card reader to the side of the prison bars. Alex who heard the commotion noticed the four guards enter and surround him as his back hit the wall. Alex looked from one guard to the next as they clenched their fists, and tightened their poses. "Don't hold this against us."

One swung his arm, Alex bent down and uppercut the man. Another swung their leg hitting the young assassin on his torso. Alex's back hit against the wall with a loud thud, he felt his legs shake from the impact as he slowly stood back up. Another guard did a tight hook carrying much power. The impact swung Alex's jaw followed by his face to the left. Alex blocked the next low blow and elbowed the attacking guard. He quickly recovered and extended both his fists to his sides hitting two guards in the nose. They stumbled back with hiding the pain behind their teeth.

The guard outside looked inside at the rowdy noises. "What's going on in here?!"

He rushed inside to help the young man, but was tripped by one of the guards and found his own comrades turning on him. One removed his helmet and another punched him hard on the back of his skull until he passed out. Alex raised his fists jumping from side to side. One of the guards cracked their neck with an adrenalin pumped grin. "I see you are having fun."

"I can do this all day long pal," said Alex wiping some sweat. The other guards agreed that he probably could, and that they required an advantage. All of them pulled out a baton, activated a switch and electrified the tips. Oh great, Alex dodged one swing, then the next and the next. He rolled away from the group to the one farthest away from them. He swept the floor with a hard kick and knocked the guard down. Alex was quick to knock the guard unconscious. He reached for the baton and fought off the three remaining guards. Alex slithered between two guards who swung wide. Just before the batons made contact, he ducked and watched the two guards get electrocuted. But before he could focus his attention on the remaining guards, he found himself on the receiving end of the shocking treatment.

Alex fell to his knees breathing erratically. The guard that presided over him slapped his torso again with the baton, sending more shocks throughout the young man's body. Alex fell to the floor in a fury of jolts. The two guards who had electrocuted one another stood up and held their head to subside the pain. They both rushed towards Alex and each landed a firm kick to his back. Alex groaned in pain as he went tumbling down to the floor. Without any hesitation or remorse, the guards proceeded to beat him senseless. So hard that his skin eventually bruised, and swelled. His vision was becoming a blur, and his mind was going blank. The only thing his eyes could comprehend was a blindingly white light that began to be consumed by a surrounding darkness.

All air had escaped him, his breaths became erratic and desperate. The guards didn't stop upon hearing the struggling breathing. The darkness neared the center of his vision, leaving only a small dot of light. But that to with time was gone. His eyes closed and his mouth remained open. His body went completely limb and his mind laid dormant. The guards stopped in worry. One bent down to check his vitals. "Phew, still alive."

"Hah, that would have been fucked up if we killed him," another guard joked. The third guard agreed. "Yeah, I'm sure she would have probably cut off our hands if she heard her valued prisoner died."

"That's not funny man," the one checking the vital stood up to go for the other two guards on the floor. He checked his friend who was still breathing, and so was the one guarding the prison cell. "Alright, let's call it in. I want to get in on that promotion as soon as possible. Someone take him to the infirmary."

One guard picked up their comrade and left for the infirmary. The other two left Alex and the prison guard on the floor. The one who helped break Alex's defenses stretched his neck. "Let's just hope Bob is able to forgive us for knocking him out like that. Maybe a bribe will be enough to help keep his mouth shut."


Around the large holographic table in the ATSG base's dimly lit main room, there stood the entire crew ready for a briefing. Siris stood by the table controls and pressed a few buttons to bring up a display of the main headquarters of their enemies. "You may all have heard rumors of our current development with Ken. What you have heard is true. His capture, as well as Carolina's is something of big priority for us. We need to get them back."

Chloe looked around at the soldiers, eager to head out on the mission and rescue their comrade. Siris pointed to a small building and said. "This building is the main headquarters for Cradle of Hope, at least the American branch. They run a front of an insurance company to help keep any curious eyes away. But under the cover of the night and in more secluded areas of the building they would no doubt be planning, preparing and indoctrinating their new initiates."

"Siris," Chloe called out upon noticing the red blinking suddenly disappear. The man looked at her with a quizzical look. She pointed to the main computer screen. His mouth nearly dropped wide open. He rushed over to the keyboard and inserted several commands to try and restore the signal. "It's dead…they must have found out about Carolina's transmitter."

"Shit, what do we do now?!"

"Relax Chloe," Siris held up a hand of authority as he took a moment to think. "We know their last known location. The best thing to do right now would be to recon the area the signal disappeared in. Fortunately it's right in the enemy's main base."

"Who will go?" asked one of the soldiers. Siris looked around the room and said. "All of us will go."

"All?" asked another soldier not sure about this idea. "Shouldn't we have some or at least one stay behind to protect the base?"

"Don't worry," Siris reassured the whole gang. "When I say all, I mean most. We can't afford having our bases compromised."

Everyone agreed with a loud and confident reply. Chloe thanked everyone in her mind for agreeing to this mission so willfully. Siris held up a finger over his lips. "But remember to keep your mouths shut about this from any external authorities or people. We will move in pairs to ensure no one else gets so easily captured."

"We get a better idea of their base operations and architecture that way, right?"

"Yes," Siris replied to one of his colleagues. "Remember guys, with this we have a plan of action and the determination. We will rescue our comrades."

"When does the mission start?" Chloe asked impatiently. "I'm ready to go right now."

"We will commence the mission in two days time."

"Two days?!"

"We need time to prepare certain resources Chloe," Siris reminded her hoping for her to realize her own impatience and begin acting like a professional again. "Without these resources, we will never be able to succeed."

Understandably Chloe backed down and nodded her head. The group dispersed and Siris was left to take care of certain logistics, and report manipulation to ensure nothing seemed out of the ordinary to the government.


Soldiers saluted their leader as she rushed through the hallways with loud footsteps. She ran and turned a corner to the hospital area. She stopped by the door to the hospital ward earning a sharp stare from the doctor. He held his finger up to his mouth. She apologized but hurried over to Alex's bedside. She nearly choked at the sight. His face was somewhat swollen, bruised and his body looked completely beaten. She rested the back of her right hand on his left cheek, and gently smothered it down to his chin. Whoever did this to you, they will pay.

She turned her attention to the awakening guard. Aria held the bars to the sides of his bed and leaned over to notice his eyes slowly open. He instantly awakened upon seeing her face and nearly fell out of bed.

"Easy there."

"I- I'm sorry ma'am."

Aria sat down by his bedside and leaned closer. "Who did this to you two?"

The guard rested his head back trying to remember the faces through the pain. "It was four guards."

"Do you remember their names?"

"Yes."

"Tell me," Aria leaned even closer with an intense stare. He bit his lower lip, jogging his memory with pain. "Y- You won't mention my name to them will you ma'am?"

"You have my word. The identity of my informant will be a secret, and you will be protected alongside him," Aria motioned to her brother. Confident in her words, he leaned closer to her ear and whispered their names. Aria nodded and sat back. "Thank you. I will see to it that they are dealt with adequately."

She stood up and thanked the doctor for his work. She left to cross check the names she received, the ranks of the soldiers and their faces. Out in the hallway she asked around for the four soldiers and eventually found them all together conversing amongst themselves. She slowly approached the group who immediately tensed up upon notice. They stood in a straight line and saluted her.

"At ease men."

The four guards looked at one another from the sides of their eyes. They all wondered equally why she was there to talk to them. Aria marched back and forth from one end of the line to the other. "So I saw my prisoner, and the prison guard lying in the hospital ward. Would any of you like to explain that?"

"We do-"

"'Don't know what you are talking about', right?" Aria sent several shivers down their spines with a dangerous smile. "I know that it was you four who sent them to the hospital room. Now tell me why you did it."

The guards remained quiet forcing Aria to give the order to a nearby soldier. "Send these four to the prison cells, and prepare them for execution."

"Wait!" one shouted jumping out from the line. He got back in once he noticed the deadly stare of Aria. She walked closer gripping her hands tighter behind her back. "Do you have something useful to contribute?"

"Um, we did it because we were told that you carry too much baggage."

"Told that I carry too much 'baggage'?"

The guard immediately cursed himself. Shit, I slipped up. The others gritted their teeth. The four went quiet prompting Aria to grip one of the guards by his neck. "What do you mean?!"

"That's what we were told by Adrian," the others answered trying to save their friend. Adrian? Aria released the soldier as he fell back against the wall holding his neck. "Why would he give that order?"

"He was hoping that if we beat him enough, then he would beg for death on his own or perhaps take his own life."

That sadistic bastard, she clenched her fists by her sides. You have a lot to answer for Adrian. Aria looked around for him. He must be somewhere else. She looked back at the four guards and scoffed. "As a sign of my kindness, I will let you four live."

"Th-"

"But, this breach of my orders, and following Adrian's orders for something I explicitly warned against has cost you all your reputation here," Aria looked at the terrified faces. "Instead, you four will be sent out to fight on the front lines."

"What?" one nearly fell to the ground drowning with fear. The front lines effectively were an indirect execution. "But ma'am-"

"Would you rather I have you all executed?"

They all quietened. She huffed and walked away. "That's what I thought."


Adrian looked at the camera feed secretly hooked up to his computer for the entire base. He looked in the hospital room with contempt for Alex. So he survived. I was hoping he would have begged for death while they were beating him. If you want something done, you have to do it yourself. He heard the door slide open and turned to see who intruded him in his humble abode. Adrian stood up upon noticing Aria and offered her the seat. He quickly turned to turn off the computer monitor. Aria took quick notice of his action. "That is quite the snuff film setup you have there."

Adrian stood up with a confused expression. "What do you mean?"

"Please Adrian," Aria walked closer and rested a hand on his shoulder. She tightened her grip eventually inflicting minor pain. "Did you think I would not find out about your political agenda? You are playing a very dangerous game here Adrian."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Quiet," she tossed him up against the wall and held him by his collar. "Your hired goons told me all about it. I don't know what your agenda is exactly, but know this that there are very few things I compromise on and family is not one of them."

He held up his hands trying to get a word in, but before he could speak, he was interrupted. "No one messes with my family Adrian, no one!"

"J- Just listen to me Aria," he took in a deep breath swallowing his own saliva and pride in the process. "Try to understand that I did it to help you."

"I never asked for this type of help."

"You didn't know you needed it," he felt his knees shake as she raised him into the air. She grinned noticing his old body tremble with the realization that there was no escaping this. "I didn't realize that you could start making decisions for me all of a sudden. Would you like to run the organization while you are at it, perhaps you would like a cup of tea to go along with the job?"

"Your brother is a liability!"

BAM!

Aria watched the old man squirm in pain as he held his injured, and red knee on the ground. He rolled from left to right squealing in pain. His knee bled heavily from the bullet wound. Aria bent down and rested the gun's barrel against his head. "No one talks about my family like that."

"Then die from your own emotional weaknesses you failure," said Adrian gasping for air. "This will be your downfall…how I wished for the world to change, and I hope that one day I may be able to see it perhaps, in the next life or the one after that."

She pulled the trigger, and planted three shots to his skull bursting it wide open. Aria stored the gun away and called for two guards. They nearly stumbled down to the floor at the gory sight. She motioned for them to approach the body. "Dump him outside in the garbage that is headed for the incinerator."

As the body is dragged away, she looked on with a satisfied smile. Good riddance, now there will be no one to hold me back or question my leadership. Aria left the room to take care of yet another task, one she was stopped from doing so before. She must have had enough time to rest now. Aria walked into the prison area and towards the cell that contained the orange haired beauty. Aria knocked on the bars and motioned for the guard to open the cell. "So, how have you been?"


Carolina remained quiet. Aria could already determine that this was going to be difficult. She looked back to the guard. "You, leave us."

Carolina's head was jerked up forcibly. Her blurry vision didn't help. It left her feeling completely defenceless against Aria's will. "If only you would have talked, then we would not have had to get so rough with that pretty face of yours. Then again, I suppose I can't speak for my generals."

Aria inched towards the table housing the tools of torture. She reached for a nail, and a hammer. "We are going to be starting our session again, and this time there will be no one to stop me. So I suggest you wise up hun."

She bent down by the right hand and aimed the sharp instrument in between the nail and the pinkie finger. With perfect precision, she pierced the area in between sending sharp pain like an electric shock throughout Carolina's body. Her whole body tensed, her back arched and her eyes jolted shut. She bit her lip to survive the pain, but the pain was winning. Aria was not blind to the suffering. In fact she took pleasure n it. I suppose Adrian wasn't the only sadist around here. She gently inserted the nail even further and heard the cracking of her nail. "Talk."

Aria stopped digging the nail in any further, and granted her victim the opportunity to catch their breath. But this kindness as it would seem to her fell on the wrong head. Carolina glared up towards Aria in a bout of anger. She reached out in an attempt to bite off Aria's ear. The torturer backed away with a playful laugh. "Oh hoh, still got some fight left in you. I like that. I really like that about my victims when they put up such a tough front."

Aria took out the nail prompting Carolina to squeal and bend far down as much as the chains would allow her. She inserted the nail in the right hand ring finger this time, but used the hammer this time to apply pressure, gently at first. Carolina shouted watching the blood splatter out. Aria increased the strength at which she hammered the nail at. Carolina's screams only increased until her nail came off. By then her mind had already gone numb, her heart raced on the verge of beating itself to death. Aria held up the bloody nail forcing Carolina's sight to it. "That probably didn't feel too good now did it? My offer still stands. Talk and make it easy on yourself. You will be treated for your wounds without delay and left comfortably, you would be getting more than most of our prisoners."

"Go…fuck yourself!"

Aria sat back and laughed at her idiocracy. But Carolina wasn't done speaking, she glared up at what seemed to her was a miserable and a mentally unstable woman. "I pity your brother for having such a deranged and psychotic older sister."

The smile that once radiated from Aria's face turned upside down into a frown. Deranged and psychotic? She raised the nail and felt her breaths deepen. She moved instantly for Carolina's right hand, stabbed the nail through it and hammered it against the wall!

"So you pity him for having a sister like me huh?!" Aria took another nail and stabbed it into Carolina's left thigh. "Maybe I should make it so everyone else fucking pities you!"

She hammered the nail in deep until it broke through the orange haired woman's bone. "Now talk you fucking bitch!"

Aria hammered the nail even deeper, cracking through Carolina's bone and sending a painful sensation through her body. Her eyes became red upon stress. She bit her lips and felt some blood pour out. Aria slapped Carolina from one side to the other. Carolina felt her strength slowly leave her. Her eyes became dead, her head leaned downwards and she felt her body turn numb. Aria threw the hammer away and brushed her hair back. "Okay, you want to play it tough again."

She stood up walking over to the table and reached for a pair of silver pliers. "Then I can do tough as well."

Aria bent down by Carolina's right hand and slowly retrieved the nail. With every sticky, mucky sound, Carolina could feel the pain slowly spread from her hand to her arm, and then to her body. Aria looked at the blood on the nail with a sinister smile. Carolina's dead eyes awakened ever so slightly with worry. What are you planning?

The guard outside looked inside with worry. He himself knew that this may not end well. Out of concern for not only his leader's well being, but also the prisoner's he rushed out from the prison section towards those who he knew could rely on. Aria held Carolina's jaw and opened her mouth. She reached inside keeping her teeth from closing, and her struggle from increasing. She slithered her fingers inside upon one of the inhabitants that housed her sense of taste. She pulled out her tongue, and with great accuracy she placed the pliers firmly holding onto the tongue. Carolina's eyes widened. She understood what was to come, and Aria reveled in her victim's realization. "If you don't ever intend on talking about the important things, about the things I tell you to then what is the point in letting you keep your tongue? You may as well get rid of it."

"Mmmph!"

"I will make you a cripple, you hear me? It will be so that you can never again fight in your life time, and you will be left to live the rest of your life in a never ending pain cycle," she laughed just imagining the picture. "Imagine that, having someone else to wipe your shit off you because you will never be able to do it yourself again."

She is even more insane than before. Carolina struggled against the grip of the pliers. But with every moment, she found her tongue squished even more. Aria shook her head and gently pulled on the ex-Freelancer's tongue. "You really are a stubborn little cat. I wonder if I can cook your tongue and feed it to the dogs later, they will probably like it."

Carolina began fighting back. She moved her head back and forth. Even the relentless pull from the pliers didn't stop her from putting up a battle. Aria felt the threshold of her patience soon run out. She retrieved the pliers and raised them air. "For crying out loud."

She swung it down hard against Carolina's skull. Her vision went dark for a moment. She felt her head become heavy with pain, blood dripped from the side and pain coursed through her whole body. Her mind became dizzy and a mess. Carolina tried to get a grip on her reality, but saw three Arias much to her shock. The hit made her mind go round and round like a child on a merry go round with their eyes wide open. "Just shut the fuck up and do as I say! If I tell you to talk then you should talk! I'm trying to help the world. You people are laughable at how hard you try to protect a decadent society. Humans, not only do they harm other planets for their own self gain in the name of survival, when it is really for capitalism, but they also hurt one another through wars, famine, corruption, greed and a broken fucking justice system! We are trying to change all that so that humans can finally mature a little. But you people continue to stand in our way. You label us terrorists when what we do will benefit the people in the long run. Society needs saving, it needs to be rebuilt from the very foundations!"

Carolina lowered her head tired of the words, the abuse and simply being awake. Aria leaned in closer with a louder voice. "Well, why don't you have any of your self-righteous bullshit to say now?!"

Carolina closed her eyes. Aria raised the pliers once again. "Fine, if you don't intend to talk and understand us, then the only solution for people like you is death, at least then you won't get in my way."


The generals rushed into the cell and just before Aria could deliver a killing blow to her skull, Dallas restrained her. Kabira bent down to check Carolina's condition. She sure did a number on her, even worse than what Kai would have ever done. She turned to Kai and said. "Go call for the paramedics. They will need to treat her wounds immediately, it's an emergency."

Dallas dragged Aria outside the cell and away from the others. "What do you think you were doing? This type of behavior is unbecoming of a leader. If anyone else saw this, no one would be willing to follow you into battle. No one would put their life into the hands of someone unstable and unhinged. To them you would seem like a psychotic woman, not the valiant, brave and intelligent leader they have all come to believe."

"Watch what you say Dallas," Aria warned holding up a finger to his chest. "I don't care about what others think of me as long as this wretched world changes. You can think I'm an idiot for all I care, but as long as the plan is executed successfully, I could care less if even you start calling me crazy."

"Is that really how you feel?" Dallas inquired shocked at the hollowness behind her voice. "We have known one another for a long time. We have relied on one another when we needed help as friends. So was all of that simply a waste for you?"

Aria looked away from the bearded general and turned around. He held her arm tightly. "Don't you run away from this Aria."

She flicked his hand off and rubbed her arm. "Continue the interrogation once she is in talking condition again. I want whatever knowledge she has about the ATSG. If we break her will, we can gain access to the very information that will help us destroy the ATSG. They are our biggest threat right now, at least for the United States."

Without another word spoken, she walked away leaving Dallas in the shadows to worry. He crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall. That ex-freelancer isn't the only one who needs to talk. Maybe you need to seek help Aria…


A/N: Whew, that was a long chapter. It was much longer than any before, and filled to the brim with a whole lot of torture. Poor Ken, and poor Carolina. Just imagine what she would be feeling like during her time of captivity. Of course this will play an integral role into the development of Carolina leading to the ending of this trilogy, so this wasn't just for giggles. Let me know what you all thought about the chapter. Too much or was it bearable?

I suppose my experience with writing torture scenes from working on the dark remake of Hansel and Gretel series came in handy (they can be found over on fiction press under the same pen name "Monty Mason").

Constructive feedback is always welcomed!

Thank you for reading and supporting! :)

~ Monty