AN: I'm sorry about the late update! Very late! Sorry! Don't kill me!
I'm dealing with this huge mess at school. My math class is messy because of this pre-calc algebra 2 nonsense, and science class is also all screwed up. I'll probably have to walk at least three times to the high school to take classes...and that sucks because high school gives more homework...yeah. My schedule has been changed 7 times now. -.-
Trying to catch up on homework and running on about three hours of sleep...yup.
So...after this chapter, I'm working on one more, and then I might have to go on haitus, or AWOL for a month, maybe even two. Too much to handle. I think this fic might reach around a total of between 60 and 80 thousand words. Like four to six more chapters?
It was months of the entire drill over and over again.
Get up, play the fame game.
Concerts, shows, they even went on tour. The due date of Words Unspoken and Dark Truth's weddings were arriving soon.
Months of blankness and blandness. The same routine over and over again.
Each of the pairs of soulmates found themselves getting used to the other's presence and habits.
Misty's foot healed as she seemed accept Ash's worrying and mothering.
Instead of just groaning and moaning about it, she smiled and laughed at his cheesy jokes more.
May and Drew had a strange, but good relationship. They made each other smile and happy just as much as they fought.
May reluctantly began to care for the green haired boy, and Drew in turn became defensive and caring about his fiance.
Jimmy allowed Marina to be her creative self without ever putting boundaries on anything. He allowed her to write on the walls of his bedroom, let her redecorate the entire area, and never complained when her stuff started appearing in his room.
Marina sheepishly, and secretly enjoyed the freedom. Her friends often loved and cared about her, but not the same way her fiance did.
Leaf still rolled her eyes more than she smiled at Gary's stupid pick up lines, but he softened her up slowly. She allowed him to take her and romantic, cliche dates, if only so she could reprimand him about etiquette and manners.
Dawn still continued to feel left out and out of place. She smiled and faked a laugh when she was supposed to, played guitar and sang like she was supposed to. But in those hours alone, she practice her fighting skills, improving her aim and strategy. While her friends were out on dates and interviews about their new relationships, Dawn found herself immersed in training.
She barely noticed when the quiet, purple-haired boy started joining her. She just calmly accepted it.
And it became their thing. When their friends ditched them for other people, they found themselves at the training center below Dolphin Recording Studios.
Paul just continued being his cold, harsh self. But even he found himself smiling when the group shared a joke, He found himself not as irritated anymore when one of the girls did something he usually didn't tolerate.
May's morning routine didn't bother him as much, and he made sure be back to the house before 6:30 so he wouldn't be yelled at by Leaf.
Marina and Dawn's tendency to drag them all out didn't make as grumpy as it did before.
He had already admitted to himself that the bluenette was pretty, but he found that the talkative girl loosened his tongue the same way a couple drinks did. As they trained, he found himself actually talking to her, and sharing the news he had heard from the grapevine.
And in return, he filled his life with chatter and brightness that hadn't been there before.
Things were slowly moving and they were all adjusting to the sudden shift in their lives.
Things were beginning to change.
Just like they had to adjust when they started living with their bandmates, they were adjusting to this new life they were living in.
They moved silently, and for the first time, Dawn actually felt good being paired up with the cold, silent boy.
This was relieving. Running. Being on a mission.
Taking down OrderGuards and Inner Sons and all those bastards. Dawn took a deep breath, hovering over the junction between the door and hallway.
He nodded from across the hallway, his face betraying nothing.
She slipped forwards, her feet barely dancing across the ground, never leaving a sound.
He followed, just as silent.
Dawn raced through the corridors, barely pausing to look at signs, darting through shadows and lights, Paul on her heels.
"No! I was promised the spot! I WAS PROMISED!"
"Well I guess the spots mine then," another man said churlishly. "I don't care if it was yours."
She winced at the thundering voice. A splatter of blood was heard a second later.
"No! You can't kill him!"
A threatening growl ripped through the room, and the first man fell silent.
But another thud, and Dawn peeked around the corner, hoping that the dye in her hair would conceal any signs of her. Hoping that she would blend well enough into the shadows.
There were two men on the floor, their throats sliced open as another man cleaned his dagger with a satisfied expression.
"That spot is mine. And neither of you greedy pigs are going to get it," the last man snarled.
She shot a dubious look towards Paul, who tilted his head thoughtfully. Then he nodded, his own dyed black hair framing his dark eyes.
Dawn slipped into the room, careful to keep out of sight. She heard a soft nick as Paul followed her.
A few seconds later, the future Inner Circle member was dead.
She would've smiled, but Paul was already gliding over to the papers the dead men had. He was careful not to leave fingerprints as he read them over quickly. Dawn guessed that they were important as he pocketed them instead of putting them back.
Dawn moved through the room, checking for anything else that may help them the rebels, and ended up with a stack of names and files. Of course most of them were fake, but the fingerprints and pictures were useful. They could run face match-ups She turned towards Paul's questioning gaze.
She nodded her head slightly, careful to leave the rest of the useless papers as undisturbed as possible. If they came to investigate, perhaps they wouldn't notice the few papers that they took too fast.
Then with another nod, they were slipping back through the halls, making their way out of the Inner Sons stronghold.
It was only the large blaring alarm that halted them.
The red bulbs began flashing as a cold woman's voice repeated over and over again, "Intruders."
Dawn shared another look with Paul. He raced down the hallway without a second look, and Dawn skidded after him.
They both tried to be silent, but when shouting voices and pounding footsteps followed them, they abandoned all sense of procedures, and simply sprinted down the halls with fueled desperation.
Escape doors loomed ahead, but a small group of Inner Sons appeared, their masks impeccable.
But the pair whirled through them, leaving a spray of blood and a pile of bodies behind as they continued on their way, pushing through the doors into broad daylight.
May, Marina, Gary, and Jimmy were waiting in a blue car, and when they two got in, they peeled off onto the main streets, hoping to blend in as quick as possible with the surroundings.
They had switched the license plate, so that the one on the front and the one on the back didn't match, which would hopefully throw off any cameras.
Gary barely registered the wailing sound of OrderGuard cars and Inner Son cars chasing after them before he pressed the gas pedal, his face lined with concentration.
"Take the next left," Paul rasped. "They're gaining too fast. We won't make it to the rendezvous point without them catching us. We need to throw them off a bit. Marina, May you two remember Ty's place? We'll drop you guys off and can you tell him that it's Code Burn? He'll buy us time. Then meet us out back on Elm Street. Are we all clear?"
They all nodded, wisely choosing not to contradict Paul in this.
Gary slammed down on the brakes as May and Marina tumbled out of the car, running towards the front of the store.
The others didn't wait to see them safely inside before they were shooting down the street and swinging by the turns.
May and Marina sprinted into the store, and Ty, a brown-haired man stared at them calculatingly before asking, "Another Code?"
The store was dingy at best, and the food shelves were in disarray, but the Ty was staring beadily at them from behind the counter. The old-fashioned cashier station was dirty and grimy, which caused Marina to grimace at it. The refrigerators in the back hummed as it leaked water onto the chipped tiles.
May took all of this in, her blue eyes darting around as she nodded. She gasped softly, "Code Burn."
Ty's eyes widened incrementally, but he nodded. "Yes ma'am. Head on out back."
He pointed towards the old metal door towards the back, the glass in it shattered and fractured.
Marina tugged on May's hand as they saw the familiar blue getaway car pulling up, Gary's frantic gestures urging them on.
The two girls slid into the car as the loud sirens filled the air once more.
Ty left the store through the front door, and even though May was curious what he was doing, she knew that getting away was more important than to sate her own curiosity.
"Safe?" Dawn asked softly, clutching the armrest tightly.
"Not yet," Gary growled as another OrderGuard car veered onto the street in front of them, heading straight for them.
Paul cursed colorfully.
"Pedal! And swerve when it's about ten feet!" May called, her own hand holding onto Marina's.
The turquoise eyed girl stared at everything nervously. "But the speed and the force...there'll be a collision!"
"Shoot 'em, shoot 'em!" Dawn called, nudging Paul.
Paul's dark eyes lit up in recognition as he pulled out a couple guns that he had on because of the mission.
A few well aimed shots only had them careening towards sure collision.
"Thirty-five feet!" Marina cried out, shutting her eyes in panic.
Paul gritted his teeth as the large van bolted straight towards them.
"Come on Paul! Don't miss!" Dawn said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. She had full confidence in him.
Paul breathed deeply as they neared.
"Twenty-five feet," May warned.
And then Paul fired the bullet.
And the OrderGuard driver slumped over. The OrderGuard car turned sharply to the right, crashing onto the sidewalk and into some street.
The entire car let out a sigh of relief.
Gary continued on, speeding past the intersection the OrderGuard van had come from, racing back toward the rendezvous point.
They pulled up to the large gray building under a large tarp.
They ran for the door, joining the large flow of people.
A couple minutes later, they were underground, mixing in with the rest of the people fluidly. They were lost in the crowd, and none of them could see where the others were, but they communicated through comms.
"I'm in," Dawn said lowly, sidling up to a young girl and smiling at her.
"Can't see any of you," May agreed. "Car sixteen?"
"No," Paul intervened, "They're onto sixteen. Listen. Fourteen then take two."
The loud yelling voices washed over the quiet buzz of the subway station.
"Move out of our way! Government business!"
"Shit," Gary groaned. "Get a move on guys."
"Yeah yeah," May sighed.
"I'm in," Marina whispered.
"Me too," Paul agreed.
"Damn, I can't find it!" Dawn hissed, spinning in a slow circle as she tried to locate the subway car.
"To your right, Dawn," May offered helpfully, slipping in to the correct car herself. "I'm in."
"Ah, gotcha May." Dawn made her way quickly towards the subway car as more OrderGuards swarmed the area.
"I think I'm in the wrong car," Gary said with a panicked edge.
"So get outta there!" Marina said sharply. Gary shook himself out of his scattered stupor and moved.
Gary's comm was static as he raced to make it before the door closed.
He skidded out onto the main street again, and quickly located subway fourteen. He ran towards it, trying to avoid the OrderGuard in the mean time. The doors started to close, and Gary cursed loud enough for everyone else to hear clearly.
"Almost there!" Dawn encouraged as she pulled him in, the doors slamming shut behind him.
The subway took off and they all breathed a sigh of relief.
"Any OrderGuards get in?" Paul asked urgently.
They all scanned the subway car for any sign of the law enforcers.
"None that I can see," May said hesitantly.
"Shit! I can," Dawn mumbled. "He's in the car in front of us and sweeping through the entire area. He...as inter...s t... He's jam...ours."
"I...him," Marina said.
Within moments he was dead on the ground.
"Got him," Marina confirmed, her voice much clearer.
The other passengers gasped and murmured uneasily, but no one could tell who had thrown the knife at the OrderGuard's throat. Soon enough they simply went back to what they were doing, but everyone was on edge. This was a brutal world they lived in.
If you couldn't afford security, you had be on guard for robberies and other attacks at all times anyways.
Suddenly, their comms exploded in static.
Maxie and Archie looked at each other with goofy grins.
"We caught them in the act." Archie announced.
"We did," Maxie agreed, his own eyes filled with joyful greed.
"How much information do you think we can torture out of them?"
"I dunno. A good amount. We can't publicly persecute them. We'll have to keep them on lockdown, and watch their every move until we can move."
The two Inner Circle leaders stared at each other gleefully.
"So how're we going to do this?" Maxie said, growing serious.
Archie gave a slight shake of his head. "We can't screw this up. They're influential. And they have power. We have to tread very very carefully here. Perhaps...I dunno. Torture them, release them, watch them, wait for them to make a mistake."
"Ah...so we'll have to plan carefully."
"There'll be a rescue, for sure, correct?" Archie said lowly.
Maxie nodded. "For sure. We'll just let them go. But...we'll have a few things in there to help things along."
The two leaders smiled at each other again.
"We've got this," Maxie nodded.
"We just have to be careful," Archie murmured. "Never get too boastful."
"True, but confidence isn't bad. We'll have the entire region...well really country, in the palm of our hands soon." Maxie took a large swig of whisky, his eyes bright with anticipation.
"Don't plan for things that might not happen," Archie reminded.
Maxie tossed his head back with a laugh. "That's why we're such good partners Archie. You keep me in line, I get you excited for the future."
Archie nodded sagely. "Yes. We mustn't forget our goal, but we also shouldn't let our successes get to our heads. Though we are quiet close to victory. Quelling the rebels once and for all with this crushing defeat. Especially since those kids just recently found their timers. Won't they have to get married soon?"
"They have a while," Maxie said thoughtfully. "But we'll have to act quick. And we should always keep an eye on the rebels too. See if they follow up with any moves."
"True," Archie agreed. "If they try and contact each other, that's a sure way for us to get information. Can we keep them at gunpoint?"
"I suppose," Maxie sighed. "We'll have to overpower the rescue mission and make a deal with Words Unspoken and the Dark Truth.
"Why?" Archie asked with slanted eyes. "Can't we just let them go and watch them from afar?"
"How will we force information from them then?" Maxie said quickly.
"No, having a forced release is better. We can offer them something they can't refuse," Maxie continued.
"What?" Archie sat forwards with eager eyes. "What do you have in mind?"
Maxie just grinned. "You'll see Archie."
"Shit. Why do we always get the bad news?" Drew sighed, rubbing at his forehead tiredly.
"What do you mean?" Jimmy asked, sitting down next to his friend. He patted Drew's back awkwardly as Drew clasped Jimmy's hand with his own.
"Apparently the rest of them got caught. By the Inner Circle. They're gone if they're not returned by a few weeks. Or...you know what that means."
Jimmy swallowed hard.
"We have to rescue them!" Ash said quickly, his warm brown eyes flashing. He was practically daring any of them to challenge his decision.
None of them did.
"So how are we doing this?" Leaf asked softly. "We can't do it ourselves. I trust the rebels have a way to take down the OrderGuards and all the other security they'll have set up?"
"Of course they do," Misty scoffed. "They piss me off sometimes. How do they even allow this to happen? Half the citizens are rebel sympathizers, and if they aren't, it's because they're too scared of the Inner Circle. We just have to show them it's worth it."
"Well not everyone's intelligent," Drew muttered. "People have known too much loss to risk it."
"Well they should be smart! And loss? You want to talk about loss, Andrew Hayden?" Misty snapped.
Drew groaned and rubbed his eyes. "Now you sound like May. God. Let's just get them back safely, okay?"
"Yeah, I second that," Ash nodded, his eyes trained on Misty. "I'd hate it if Mist was the one gone."
"Oh we know, lover boy," Leaf teased, her green eyes filled with worry.
"We'll get them back. We'll get them all back," Jimmy reassured her, as he stood up.
Drew got up as well, twirling the keys. "So who wants to drop by the studio with me?"
None of them answered, but they all filed out orderly with grim looks. If things went well, they'd have their friends, fiances and fiancees back soon.
If not...
Well. None of them wanted to know what would happen if they didn't have get them back.
"You all realize what this entitles, don't you?" Bella said grimly. "You know how much support and soldiers we'll loose?"
Charlie nodded along with her, his eyes dark and sad. "Theoretically, and statistically? Its not worth it. We'd loose too much, only too gain too little. In fact, you never know, the government can't publicly criticize anybody who works in the music industry. They're just that popular. They'll most likely be allowed to return, but they will be watched like hawks. The government is already suspicious of some singers. You guys aren't the only ones on the rebel side. We could just stand around and do nothing."
"That's my fiancee you're talking about," Jimmy said quietly. "I'm not abandoning her."
"Neither am I," Drew agreed cuttingly. "If you won't help, we'll do it ourselves."
Both boys had their fists clenched as their protectiveness came out a bit more.
But it was Leaf who took a deep breath and inserted herself in to the conversation.
"What if I managed to make this look like campaign. The Inner Circle knows how many fans we have, and knows that they don't want to mess with us when it comes to that. Correct?" Leaf was calm and collected, but her hands moved back and forth quickly.
Charlie and Bella shared a look. Bella nodded. "Of course."
"So we could make it look like a morality thing, and maybe play it off as a fake arrest, or that they were wrongly accused. It'll anger the fans and not everyone here just wants money."
"You forget how poor most of your fans are," Charlie reminded her.
Leaf nodded, "I know. But think about it, they can't kill everyone. They still need the mass labor force. Are we still going to attack them? That's the problem here. If you guys attack them, they'll know it was the rebels and can righteously accuse them of their crimes, but if we manage to get them out...all by ourselves? Wouldn't that work in our favor?"
Bella frowned.
"It would work...theoretically," she admitted.
"The thing is, it would be extremely dangerous for you guys. And if you also get captured, it'll be horrendous. We'll be forced to try and extract you, and then we're back to our first problem," Bella pondered.
"Could we just demand for their release?" Drew asked. "They don't have anything to go off, and if they claim that they're working with the rebels..."
Charlie shook his head sadly. "Wouldn't work. I'd bet they're torturing right now to get information. We'd never get through the legalities and all that other shit in time for them to leave unscathed."
"So what are we supposed to do?" Marina said, frustration clear in her voice.
"We'll have to do it ourselves. Risk it."
They all looked over with surprise at Ash. His eyes were filled with determination, but when they all stared, he blushed and shrugged sheepishly. "What?"
"Never thought I'd see the day where Ash would be the mature one," Drew laughed, bumping his shoulder with his friend.
Ash looked confused for a second before grinning as well.
"You'll help with supplies?"
Charlie nodded. "Of course. Now let's talk about entrance plans."
Leaf tugged her black mask lower, her eyes wide with anxiousness. The others followed suit, making sure that they were unrecognizable.
She tightened her grip on her gun. She checked the silencer on the gun. They didn't want to raise suspicion this early on.
They were going to rush them. She couldn't mess this up.
She shared a knowing glance with Ash.
The raven-haired boy nodded slightly.
Misty exploded out of her hiding place with Drew and Jimmy on her heels. Gunshots rang out as bullets ricocheted off the small, enclosed space.
Leaf followed quickly, ducking around the two boys.
But Misty just moved on confidently, shooting down OrderGuard after OrderGuard as she tried to avoid getting shot.
They broke their original formation when there were no more opponents. Time to watch each others backs as they broke their friends out.
Leaf was right behind her as Ash and Drew flanked them. Jimmy caught the rear as they quickly disposed of a couple dozen OrderGuards, and moved towards the holding cells.
But it was almost as if they were prepared for them. More OrderGuards just kept coming, and Misty cussed heavily beside Leaf.
When they reached the prison doorway, Misty stopped and hovered at the door.
"Get to the cells. Leaf, get them out with weapons. Jimmy, Drew, cover her. Ash, with me," Misty ordered quickly, standing in front of them as Ash stepped up next to her.
The other three quickly ran to do their jobs.
Within minutes they had found their friends' doors.
"Come on, quick! Where's the bolt cutter?" Jimmy mumbled as he tried to wrench open May's door.
Drew tossed him the tool, and got one out himself.
Another few minutes later, everyone was out and they had joined Misty and Ash at the doorway.
As a unit, they started to move towards the door.
May, Drew, Marina, Misty, and Gary would punch a hole through the horde of OrderGuard as Dawn, Paul, Jimmy, Ash and Leaf faced the other way, forming a rough oval.
Once there was an opening, they all rushed through it as the OrderGuards which had been in between the door and their unit, was now behind them.
And just like that, they continued moving through the entire Inner Circle prison.
She was a sight to behold.
Daggers flashing, blood spraying, hair flying...Paul thought she looked beautiful. And then he dived back into the fray.
Dawn shot him a wild, feral grin as she tore through more OrderGuards. She waved once as she slashed a throat open. Paul found himself waving back as he continued killing.
With a tilt of her head, she was gone, back amongst the writhing bodies in the hallway.
Something stirred inside. Something protective. The urge to charge towards her and keep her behind him at all times was suddenly huge.
Paul shook his head. Get everyone out safely before worrying about his own feelings.
Drew ducked as an OrderGuard kicked towards his head, and May shot him in the head.
They worked together flawlessly as Misty and Marina joined them, all four of them back to back.
The entire point was to get everyone out alive.
So far, so good.
But knock on wood.
An brown-haired OrderGuard came at May with cunning brown eyes.
Marina shot him down. Drew nodded in satisfaction. They could do this.
Everyone could get out safely.
He hoped.
He didn't feel guilt. It wasn't the time.
But he sure as hell was pissed at the Inner Circle. They fucking made them wear jumpsuits, like the rest of the poor victims they imprisoned. They had not been fed and given water in the last 48 hours.
Drew was pissed.
And he took it out on the OrderGuards.
Marina could only feel numbness as she crawled into Jimmy's bed.
They were all safe. Safe and unhurt.
A miracle.
She fell asleep with a warm body against her back.
Safe and warm. Unlike the past few days in that dark, cold prison cell.
Marina let out a sigh of contentment. She was going to be okay.
And she was going to make the Inner Circle pay.
AN: Welp. so...what do ya'll think? ;) Again...don't hate me for the late update...please?
-Ange