Part 10: Hostile Takeover
Several days of research in the WOOHP database (before they had wizened up and changed the passwords) had turned up a lot of new facts and puzzle pieces, but it didn't actually help them figure out who was responsible for it all. It turned out Jerry was just one of many officials who'd died over the last month or so, including the heads of the FBI, CIA, NASA, the military, and even most of the United States Senate. It had been covered up though, to keep either the public from panicking or the rest f the remaining officials. It looked like even the President didn't know about this, nobody noticed outside of their close circles of friends and family. It was too well hidden. That threw out Clover's theory that Richard had killed Jerry in order to take his job. Whatever was happening here it went far beyond an undeserved promotion. It looked like almost every important person in the country had met a mysterious death by disease, accident, or assassination by an underling. Everyone except the ones at the very top.
It was a pleasant discovery to Clover however that they found a file on Mandy, stating that she would be held prisoner for a minimum of twenty years for the crime of treason. She knew she should probably feel bad about dragging her into what really wasn't her problem in the first place, but she wanted Mandy locked up for squealing on her.
"Clover? Are you okay?" Clover looked up from the blank computer screen in front of her to see Tassara watching her with a worried expression on her face. This entire time Tassara had stayed by her side, urging her on to finding the information she needed, even after the WOOHP passwords had been changed and she was forcibly ejected from their network.
"I'm fine, thanks." Clover smiled lightly.
"You should rest. I don't think the connection is coming back." The queen told her. Clover sighed, knowing she was right. She'd gone as far as she could staying here in Lyrobia, the only way to make any more progress was to go back to America for more personal investigations.
"You're right, as you have been for the last week." Clover sighed, shaking her head. "I just wish I knew who was behind all this... I mean, was it the WOOHP director? The president? The fucking butler?"
"If we knew that, you would have no reason to be here." Tassara pointed out with that smile that could calm an entire country. Clover smiled back and pushed herself to her feet.
"Come, we should..." Tassara trailed off when one of the palace servants ran into the small military installation in the bottom of her palace. "What's going on?"
"Your highness. An aircraft bearing WOOHP markings has landed in the courtyard. We currently have it surrounded." The servant informed them quickly. Clover and Tassara exchanged a worried glance before the queen stepped forward.
"I should go meet our new guests." Tassara stated.
"I'll come too." Clover stepped up behind her. Tassara looked back as if to protest, but Clover raised a hand to silence her before realizing that she was basically telling a queen to shut up. "Um... sorry... but I brought them here by coming. If things turn bad, I want to be there to help you... your highness." Clover bowed quickly, to show that she was being sincere.
"Very well. Come on, but stay out of sight." Tassara marched out of the small command room and made her way up to ground level. Clover stopped just before they went through the archway to the courtyard. She peeked around the corner to see the moderately size WOOHP jet sitting in the middle of the courtyard, surrounded by Tassara's palace guards. The sun was already setting in the desert region.
"What is your business here?" Tassara demanded when she approached the jet. "I told you we don't have Clover here." She waited for a response until the door of the jet started to lower. Several guards clutched their guns nervously, but a wave of the queen's hand relaxed them again. The stairs touched the ground and a surprisingly familiar head poked out of the jet.
"Queen Tassara, it's me! Alex!" Alex stepped out of the jet in full WOOHP uniform, looking around nervously at the guards. Clover sank further back into the shadows. She'd come to look for her and take her back, she was sure of it. "I know Clover's here... I'm here to help her."
"I told you Clover isn't here." Tassara replied coolly. "It's good to see you again Alex, but I'm afraid you're mistaken."
"Really? Aw shoot..." Alex sighed in disappointment, leaning against the doorframe of the jet. Suddenly another figure marched out of the jet, stomping down the steps built into the door to reach the ground. The guards all raised their weapons toward her, but she didn't even seem to notice.
"Look, I know Clover's here, I saw her get on the plane. We're here to help her." Clover blinked when she recognized Mandy's voice, and looking closely, she could see that it was her wearing Clover's red WOOHP jumpsuit. "Now get her out here so she can tell you I'm her friend." Clover growled and clenched her fists, stepping out from the cover of the palace doorway.
"My friend!?" Clover growled loudly. All eyes turned toward her, including the stunned gazes of Mandy and Alex. "You called yourself my friend!? After you ratted me out to them in exchange for your own weasely little hide!?" Clover marched up to Mandy, grabbing the front of the red jumpsuit. "And what are you doing wearing MY uniform!?"
"Clover!" Alex rushed down the steps and jumped at her, wrapping her up in a massive hug. "I'm so glad we found you. I'm sure you didn't do it and-" She was cut off when Clover shoved her away.
"And you, hunting me down like a wild animal! How can you call yourself my friend!? You're worse than she is! She at least was never my real friend like you were!" Clover shouted in the younger girl's face. Alex stared at her in shock, her eyes growing moist and her lower lip quivering. "Oh are you going to cry now!? Ready to turn on me but not take a little yelling!?"
"That's enough Clover." Tassara put a gentle hand on her shoulder and pulled her away from the two new arrivals. "Calm down, they're guests here like you. If they had wanted to take you, they would have come in force or in secret." The queen reasoned. Clover glared at Alex and Mandy hatefully before finally turning away from them and crossing her arms over her chest. "Welcome to Lyrobia again, Alex."
"So what kind of country is this anyway?" Mandy asked. Clover looked back at her, sneering, but stopped when she noticed Tassara staring at her with wide eyes. Mandy noticed too, blinking in confusion. "Um... yeah I didn't mean to be rude or anything... your highness..."
"The dark eyes..." Tassara muttered, staring into Mandy's deep violet orbs. Mandy stared back in confusion while the gathered guards began to mutter and talk among themselves in hushed, almost worried tones. In a moment Tassara blushed softly and gave a small bow. "I apologize, it's an old Lyrobian legend. Please, come inside."
Mandy and Alex exchanged a glance, then moved toward the palace. Clover watched them with a scowl on her lips, but Tassara grabbed her shoulder and pulled her along gently as she followed her new guests into the large building. They made their way to the throne room, where Tassara walked up to her throne and sat down. Clover stopped short of the steps, but the queen gestured for her to come up and stand beside the throne. Clover moved to stand beside her, turning to watch Alex and Mandy.
"We apologize for just showing up like this, but we just escaped from WOOHP headquarters, and we wanted to come set things right with Clover." Alex said, getting down on one knee. Mandy saw this and quickly followed suit, bowing as low as she could without slamming her face into the floor.
"Of course, if you wish to help us we would be more than happy to have your assistance." Queen Tassara replied. "There is a large force at work here, something that's taking control of the American government from the bottom up." Alex looked up at her in surprise, though she stayed on one knee. "Obviously, the idea of the American government being run by an extremist or dangerous power is... unsettling for the entire world."
"So what can we do about it?" Alex asked. "We're fugitives as much as Clover is by now."
"We're going to have to spend the night evaluating our options. But for now, why don't you get some rest? By tomorrow, we should have a plan worked out." Tassara replied.
"Okay." Alex nodded and climbed to her feet, with Mandy getting up beside her. Mandy turned to follow her, but stopped short of the door and looked back at them.
"What were you saying about a legend before?" Mandy asked. Alex stopped and looked back, while the queen studied her face with a sharp eye. Clover watched the exchange with keen interest.
"It's an old Lyrobian legend, about a dark-eyed temptress whose power would change civilization as we know it... perhaps to bring about a dark age, or perhaps an age of peace and prosperity." She smiled slightly. "But I don't believe in it. This is an age of facts and peace, not gloomy legends and superstition."
"Alright..." Mandy replied softly. "I'll see you in the morning... uh... your highness." She bowed clumsily and turned to follow Alex out of the room. Clover watched them go, then looked down at Queen Tassara still sitting on the throne.
"Do you hate them, Clover?" She asked simply.
"Well..." Clover hesitated, not sure how she should answer. In truth, she wasn't sure if she hated them or not. But the pain of their betrayals had stung deep. "I don't know really. But I am angry at them... they turned on me in seconds when it suited their best interests..."
"Yet here they are now." Tassara stated simply. Clover watched her stand up from her throne, turning to give her a smile and take her hands in her strong, sun-toughened palms. "It's what we do in the end that determines who we are Clover... not what we do in the beginning when our minds are still struggling to grasp what is happening. Remember that." With that she let Clover's hands slide out of her grip and turned to leave.
"Do you think I can trust them, Tassara?" Clover called after her. The Lyrobian Queen looked back at her with a sly smile.
"I don't know whether you can trust them Clover. That's something you'll have to decide for yourself." She turned to leave again, leaving Clover alone standing beside the large throne.
With a sigh Clover left as well, making her way through the winding halls toward the bedrooms in the east side of the palace where guests were put. She pushed open the door to the guest chambers, to find Alex and Mandy sitting on two of the beds set against the wall. They saw her enter and both looked down at the floor.
Clover ignored them, walking toward the bed she'd taken as her own on the far side of the room. As she passed Alex looked up at her. "For what it's worth Clover, I never thought you were guilty." She stated. "I saw you in the shed in Beverly Hills." Clover stopped, listening. "And I saw you in the airport." Clover looked over at her.
Alex's eyes were glistening with tears as she pushed herself up from the bed, staring at Clover. "I swear I never thought you were guilty... I have faith in you Clover, I don't think you would ever do something like that..." She stated, staring at Clover with tears of desperation running down her cheeks. "Please believe me..."
"Oh Alex..." Clover threw herself forward and wrapped Alex up in a tight hug. "I'm sorry I yelled at you..." Alex hugged her back just as tightly, burying her face in her shoulder. "I thought everyone I knew had turned against me..."
"No Clover, I'd never do that to you... but Sam... it's like she's gone crazy." Alex pulled back, sniffling and wiping her cheeks with the back of her gloved hand. "All she talks about is finding you and accomplishing justice... honestly it got to the point where it was just plain scary."
"Don't worry... with Tassara's help we can find out what's going on and fix everything. You'll see... it'll all be fine." Clover smiled comfortingly, staring into her best friend's eyes. Alex smiled and nodded back, sniffling back her tears. "Now get some sleep. We're probably going to be doing something tomorrow. I don't know what... but we can't just stay here."
"Right... yeah, okay." Alex nodded and wiped the tears from her cheeks as she turned to climb back into bed. Clover turned to head back to her own bed, stopping at Mandy's to stare down at her.
"Do you have any explanations for how they knew to call Queen Tassara and warn them about me?" Clover asked.
"No... I don't." Mandy shook her head. "I'm sorry... but I just told them what I knew. I was being selfish... I wasn't thinking about what it meant for you. They said I would be free if I told, but that was a lie."
Clover smirked and shook her head. "I thought so." She walked past the bed, ignoring the violet-eyed girl who watched her climb under the covers and close her eyes. Sleep was long in coming, but finally it did indeed claim her, carrying her through the night. When she awakened seemingly moments later the orange sunrise was shining through the windows.
She sat up and stretched, looking around the bedroom. Mandy was curled up in a fetal position under her blanket, while Alex was sprawled out across her blankets, her limbs splayed in positions that almost made her appear dead. Clover stood and turned to leave the room, but she stopped when she saw something poking out of one of the pockets in Alex's WOOHP uniform. Something pink.
Clover rushed over to her and jammed her hand in the offending pocket. Alex jerked awake and gave a startled cry of protest. "Hey, Clover! What do you think you're doing!?" Finally Clover yanked out the object of her fears... Alex's compowder.
"You brought your compowder!?" Clover demanded.
"Of course, I take it with me everywhere I go." Alex replied.
"Alex, these things have tracking devices in them! WOOHP knows exactly where you are!" Clover slammed the compowder down on the stone floor, smashing it beneath her heel. Alex blushed and rubbed the back of her neck demurely.
"Uh... hehe... oops..." Alex muttered. Clover growled and whirled to run out of the bedroom. "Hey, where are you going!?" Clover ignored Alex's cry and continued down the hall, running as fast as she could. Her heart was pounding as hard as her feet against the stone foundations of the palace as she rounded a corner and charged past the pair of guards outside the queen's room.
"Queen Tassara!" Clover ran up to the huge bed in the middle of the room, leaping onto it. The impact awakened the queen from a deep sleep, staring up at her with a tired, surprised gaze. "Tassara, we have to get out of here! WOOHP is probably on its way right now!"
"What!?" Tassara sat up quickly, letting the luxurious silk sheets fall from her body. Their heads snapped toward the window when they heard the beating of helicopter blades sending sand flying through the open window. They both jumped off the bed, with Tassara grabbing Clover's hand. "Come on, you have to get down to the intelligence room!"
The queen pulled Clover out of the room, charging down the hall in her thin silk nightgown. They passed by Alex and Mandy halfway there. "Come on, follow us!" Clover shouted more to Alex than Mandy. Still both girls turned to follow them down the hall to the steel-coated intelligence room. They could hear the muffled sound of helicopter beats and now the high-pitched squeal of jet engines.
They reached the intelligence room, where Tassara locked the door and marched up to one of the computers, tapping a few buttons. A view of the front courtyard appeared on the monitor as one of the WOOHP jets landed vertically on the ground with its engines turned downward. The door opened, allowing a WOOHP officer carrying a thick shotgun over his shoulder to emerge and approach the Lyrobian guards.
"What is the meaning of this?" One of the guards stepped forward. The WOOHP officer simply lowered his shotgun and fired one shot, throwing the guard back against the palace wall in a shower of blood. Everyone around them stood too shocked by the sudden move to act against him.
"Lyrobia has officially been declared a terrorist nation by the United States of America." The WOOHP officer declared. "Anyone who resists this search of the premises will be considered a terrorist and treated as such." To illustrate his point he cocked his shotgun, sending the spent shell hurtling to the sand at his feet. "If you want this to be over quickly, hand over the fugitives you're hiding."
Alex turned to the queen, clasping her hands in front of her. "I'm so sorry your highness, I completely forgot my compowder could lead them here..."
"Why are they so desperate to get to US? Don't they have better things to do than hunt a bunch of fugitive teenage girls?" Mandy asked.
"It's because they know Clover could blow open what's really happening." Tassara looked over at them. "She's innocent, and they know it. If anyone else ever found out, it could jeopardize their entire takeover of the American government. In order to take complete control, they have to shut up anyone with that knowledge."
"Which includes you..." Clover realized, staring up at the bronze-skinned queen. Tassara smiled gently and nodded.
"Which includes me." Tassara confirmed. They all fell silent when they heard stomping against the roof over their heads as thick-booted American soldiers swarmed the first floor.
"Great, we know they're out to kill us." Mandy stated. "Now let's figure out how to keep that from happening!"
"The plane you two arrived in is outside the palace walls, if you can reach it you might be able to get away." Tassara stated.
"Whoa whoa, 'you'?" Clover demanded. "Nuh-uh, you're not sacrificing yourself here Tassara. You're coming with us."
"I can't abandon my people!" Tassara replied quickly.
"Then I'm sorry!" Clover wound up and punched her in the face hard enough to knock her unconscious. Alex and Mandy both gaped in surprise as she knelt down to lift the unconscious queen onto her shoulders. "Come on girls, we're getting out of here!" Clover ran out of the room, hearing Mandy and Alex following close behind her.
They slid up to a turn in the hallway, listening to the heavy booted stride of several WOOHP soldiers. "Here, hold her." Clover slid Tassara off her shoulders and handed her to Mandy, motioning for Alex to move up beside her. "On three..." She listened to the approaching footsteps. "One... two... three!" The two girls leapt out from around the corner, lunging forward with furious battle cries.
Clover slammed her foot into one soldier's stomach, whirling to kick another in the face before continuing the circle to slam into the first guard, knocking them both unconscious. She looked over to see Alex standing over three unconscious guards, grinning and flashing her an enthusiastic peace sign. "Showoff..." Clover muttered.
"AGH! Run!" Mandy darted around the corner toward them as gunfire erupted from further down the other hallway. Clover whirled and ran after her, pulling them through the winding hallways of the Lyrobian palace until the sound of boots and gunfire faded behind them. They skidded to a stop with surprised yells when more soldiers appeared in front of them.
"I got 'em!" Alex reached into her backpack and whipped out an umbrella, pointing it at the agents in front of them. A burst of brilliant laser light flooded the hallway, sweeping them to the floor several feet back to the floor where they lay limp.
"We have to get to the first floor!" Mandy advised quickly.
"Leave it to me!" Alex turned the High-Power Umbrella Laser up to the ceiling above her, blasting a hole straight through the solid stone. She jumped up and pulled herself up before turning to help the other three up through the hole in the ceiling. Clover leaned against the wall and looked around, seeing a window high up on the outer wall.
"We have to get out of here before they catch us." Mandy panted, leaning against the wall.
"Quick, window!" Clover jumped against the wall, planting her foot against the stone and using it to go high enough to grab the high windowsill. She pulled herself up, looking back down at the other girls. "Give me Queen Tassara, I'll take her from here." Mandy walked to the wall and, with Alex's help, held her up for Clover to pull up.
Clover jumped to the sand outside the palace wall, rolling with her arms wrapped tightly around the unconscious queen. She rolled to a stop on top of her, looking down at her face to make sure she was alright. A small bruise was forming where Clover had struck her, and sand was clinging to her hair, but she appeared fine otherwise. Clover brushed some sand off her cheek, then picked her up again, cradling her in her arms as she climbed to her feet.
Mandy and Alex fell to the sand behind her as she ran away from the palace. Her gaze swept the desert around them, going wide when she saw the sea of black armored vehicles floating over the Lyrobian palace. Large jets and helicopters hovered over the roof, while swarms of agents milled about in the courtyard and through the palace itself like an ant army.
"Damnit... they're not playing around." Finally she spied the sun's glint off of a WOOHP jet's tail over a nearby sand dune. "Come on!" Clover ran toward it, flanked by the other two teenage girls.
"Hey, stop them!" A voice shouted. Suddenly gunfire erupted around the girls, spurring them onward to the top of the sand dune. Clover ran down the other side, sprinting for the WOOHP jet. She reached it in short order and looked up at the door.
"Mandy, get the damn thing open!" Clover shouted, staring up at the door with Tassara in her arms. Mandy tried to climb up toward the door while Clover looked back. Alex was standing a ways away from the plane, facing back toward the pursuing WOOHP agents. "Alex, what are you doing!? Get over here!" Clover shouted.
Alex flexed her fingers like a gunslinger, watching the WOOHP agents approach with their weapons drawn. She reached into her backpack again and pulled out an extending steel rod, which she pointed toward the smoke screen. A pink energy bubble spread out from the All-Weather Umbrella, engulfing her before the bullets began to strike it with small showers of sparks.
She whipped a small tube of Laser Lipstick out of her pocket and opened fire around the pink shield, sending blue lasers searing into the sand at the agents' feet. This held them back while the shield kept them from hitting her at a distance. The sound of gunfire was deafening in the desert, combined with the sparks on her shield and the fire of her laser to create a rather interesting effect.
"Get moving girls!" Alex shouted over her shoulder, slowly backing toward the WOOHP jet and making sure to keep herself between the agents and her friends. She looked up in horror as a massive helicopter rose up over the dune, its weapons gearing up to fire straight at her.
"Alex! Be careful!" Clover screamed. Alex knelt down, curling her entire body up behind the All-Weather Umbrella as the minigun opened fire. A sheet of bullets slammed into the pink shield with enough force to send Alex to her back on the sand. She clutched the umbrella with the bullets showering her in a hail of sparks. The WOOHP agents had stopped their advance to avoid being skewered by the helicopter.
Slowly Alex managed to climb to her knees, clutching the umbrella tightly as her other hand dug into the backpack on her back again. It emerged with a Butterfly Barrette Bomb clutching between her fingers, already beeping as it was activated. She wound up and hurled it over her shield like a Frisbee.
It slammed into the helicopter's hull and detonated, sending the massive machine hurtling off course. It fell toward the ground, right on top of a throng of screaming WOOHP agents who scrambled to get out of the way. The sound of smashing steel and breaking glass dominated the air, as the WOOHP agents looked back at the mess in a daze, for the moment leaving the girls alone.
"I got it!" Mandy jumped to the ground as the door finally lowered, allowing Clover and Mandy to climb up the steps into the ship. Alex sprinted backwards toward the jet, keeping the bubble between her and the agents just in case. Finally she backed into the jet and Mandy pressed the button to close the door. Alex darted to the cockpit to lift them off the ground.
The lurching aircraft sent Clover stumbling to her knees, holding Tassara close to her chest to keep her from sliding away. Mandy lurched into the front to help Alex while Clover stared down at the bronze-skinned queen, brushing some sand out of her hair with her fingers.
"Uhn..." Tassara's eyes fluttered open slowly. She reached up to touch the bruise forming on her cheek. "Ow... Clover..." She stared up at the blond girl, a mixture of pain and betrayal in her eyes.
"I'm sorry your highness... I couldn't let you stay there with them." Clover lowered her head and closed her eyes. "I didn't want to see them do to you what they did to that guard because of me. You risked everything for me... I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."
Tassara stared up at her for a few moments, then sighed lightly and nodded. One hand reached up to brush over Clover's cheek. "You're a good woman Clover... you have a strong heart." Clover opened her eyes, staring down at the kind queen. "And remember... call me Tassara." She smiled slightly. Clover smiled back, but their touching moment was cut short when the plane shuddered and lurched to the side.
Clover and Tassara rolled over each other until they slammed into the side of the plane, holding onto each other tightly. "Gah! Alex I know you're not the best driver but keep us in the air at least!" Clover shouted.
"I'll get back to you once we lose these goons!" Alex shouted back. The plane lurched again to the other side, sending Clover and Tassara sliding along the steel plates to slam into the opposite side of the plane. They both screamed as the plane tilted vertically, sending them falling toward the back of the jet. Clover's back hit the rear wall with a loud thud and a grunt, with the queen falling on top of her.
"Ow... okay, next time, we get a WOOHP jet with more than two seats." Clover groaned. She and Tassara wrapped their arms around each other again as the plane tilted, this time doing a backflip in the air. The two women slid to the roof, then along the roof to the front wall, to eventually wind up sliding against the floor again.
At last the plane leveled out. Clover and Tassara lay on the floor, clinging to each other in case they went sliding again. "Is it over...?" Clover asked fearfully.
"It seems to be..." Tassara replied. They both sighed in relief when Alex's voice echoed back to them as if over an intercom.
"Attention passengers, the turbulence you just experienced has been shot down. Please note the barf bags in the corner should you need to make use of them." Alex stated. Tassara sat up, moving off of Clover and rubbing her head. Clover sat up beside her, staring at the bruise on her face.
"You gonna be okay?" Clover asked.
"I'll be fine..." Tassara smiled. Clover smiled back, loving the look in those light brown eyes. "But we should really look for a place to go now that my homeland has been taken over by America..."
"There's only one place to go really." Clover pointed out. "There's only one target left that they'd need to replace... and he's in Washington D.C." Tassara nodded.
"Then we should go there..." Tassara replied nervously. "But... I have never been outside Lyrobia. I'm afraid I may not blend in."
"Don't worry your highness... Tassara." Clover smiled and took the queen's hands in hers, squeezing them gently. "I'll help you blend in." Tassara smiled back gratefully with that same smile that seemed to have been making Clover go weak-kneed for the last week or so. She was very grateful to the queen for everything she'd done for her, and she would help her as much as she could... but could there be more than that in the call of those light brown eyes? No way...
TO BE CONTINUED
Several days of research in the WOOHP database (before they had wizened up and changed the passwords) had turned up a lot of new facts and puzzle pieces, but it didn't actually help them figure out who was responsible for it all. It turned out Jerry was just one of many officials who'd died over the last month or so, including the heads of the FBI, CIA, NASA, the military, and even most of the United States Senate. It had been covered up though, to keep either the public from panicking or the rest f the remaining officials. It looked like even the President didn't know about this, nobody noticed outside of their close circles of friends and family. It was too well hidden. That threw out Clover's theory that Richard had killed Jerry in order to take his job. Whatever was happening here it went far beyond an undeserved promotion. It looked like almost every important person in the country had met a mysterious death by disease, accident, or assassination by an underling. Everyone except the ones at the very top.
It was a pleasant discovery to Clover however that they found a file on Mandy, stating that she would be held prisoner for a minimum of twenty years for the crime of treason. She knew she should probably feel bad about dragging her into what really wasn't her problem in the first place, but she wanted Mandy locked up for squealing on her.
"Clover? Are you okay?" Clover looked up from the blank computer screen in front of her to see Tassara watching her with a worried expression on her face. This entire time Tassara had stayed by her side, urging her on to finding the information she needed, even after the WOOHP passwords had been changed and she was forcibly ejected from their network.
"I'm fine, thanks." Clover smiled lightly.
"You should rest. I don't think the connection is coming back." The queen told her. Clover sighed, knowing she was right. She'd gone as far as she could staying here in Lyrobia, the only way to make any more progress was to go back to America for more personal investigations.
"You're right, as you have been for the last week." Clover sighed, shaking her head. "I just wish I knew who was behind all this... I mean, was it the WOOHP director? The president? The fucking butler?"
"If we knew that, you would have no reason to be here." Tassara pointed out with that smile that could calm an entire country. Clover smiled back and pushed herself to her feet.
"Come, we should..." Tassara trailed off when one of the palace servants ran into the small military installation in the bottom of her palace. "What's going on?"
"Your highness. An aircraft bearing WOOHP markings has landed in the courtyard. We currently have it surrounded." The servant informed them quickly. Clover and Tassara exchanged a worried glance before the queen stepped forward.
"I should go meet our new guests." Tassara stated.
"I'll come too." Clover stepped up behind her. Tassara looked back as if to protest, but Clover raised a hand to silence her before realizing that she was basically telling a queen to shut up. "Um... sorry... but I brought them here by coming. If things turn bad, I want to be there to help you... your highness." Clover bowed quickly, to show that she was being sincere.
"Very well. Come on, but stay out of sight." Tassara marched out of the small command room and made her way up to ground level. Clover stopped just before they went through the archway to the courtyard. She peeked around the corner to see the moderately size WOOHP jet sitting in the middle of the courtyard, surrounded by Tassara's palace guards. The sun was already setting in the desert region.
"What is your business here?" Tassara demanded when she approached the jet. "I told you we don't have Clover here." She waited for a response until the door of the jet started to lower. Several guards clutched their guns nervously, but a wave of the queen's hand relaxed them again. The stairs touched the ground and a surprisingly familiar head poked out of the jet.
"Queen Tassara, it's me! Alex!" Alex stepped out of the jet in full WOOHP uniform, looking around nervously at the guards. Clover sank further back into the shadows. She'd come to look for her and take her back, she was sure of it. "I know Clover's here... I'm here to help her."
"I told you Clover isn't here." Tassara replied coolly. "It's good to see you again Alex, but I'm afraid you're mistaken."
"Really? Aw shoot..." Alex sighed in disappointment, leaning against the doorframe of the jet. Suddenly another figure marched out of the jet, stomping down the steps built into the door to reach the ground. The guards all raised their weapons toward her, but she didn't even seem to notice.
"Look, I know Clover's here, I saw her get on the plane. We're here to help her." Clover blinked when she recognized Mandy's voice, and looking closely, she could see that it was her wearing Clover's red WOOHP jumpsuit. "Now get her out here so she can tell you I'm her friend." Clover growled and clenched her fists, stepping out from the cover of the palace doorway.
"My friend!?" Clover growled loudly. All eyes turned toward her, including the stunned gazes of Mandy and Alex. "You called yourself my friend!? After you ratted me out to them in exchange for your own weasely little hide!?" Clover marched up to Mandy, grabbing the front of the red jumpsuit. "And what are you doing wearing MY uniform!?"
"Clover!" Alex rushed down the steps and jumped at her, wrapping her up in a massive hug. "I'm so glad we found you. I'm sure you didn't do it and-" She was cut off when Clover shoved her away.
"And you, hunting me down like a wild animal! How can you call yourself my friend!? You're worse than she is! She at least was never my real friend like you were!" Clover shouted in the younger girl's face. Alex stared at her in shock, her eyes growing moist and her lower lip quivering. "Oh are you going to cry now!? Ready to turn on me but not take a little yelling!?"
"That's enough Clover." Tassara put a gentle hand on her shoulder and pulled her away from the two new arrivals. "Calm down, they're guests here like you. If they had wanted to take you, they would have come in force or in secret." The queen reasoned. Clover glared at Alex and Mandy hatefully before finally turning away from them and crossing her arms over her chest. "Welcome to Lyrobia again, Alex."
"So what kind of country is this anyway?" Mandy asked. Clover looked back at her, sneering, but stopped when she noticed Tassara staring at her with wide eyes. Mandy noticed too, blinking in confusion. "Um... yeah I didn't mean to be rude or anything... your highness..."
"The dark eyes..." Tassara muttered, staring into Mandy's deep violet orbs. Mandy stared back in confusion while the gathered guards began to mutter and talk among themselves in hushed, almost worried tones. In a moment Tassara blushed softly and gave a small bow. "I apologize, it's an old Lyrobian legend. Please, come inside."
Mandy and Alex exchanged a glance, then moved toward the palace. Clover watched them with a scowl on her lips, but Tassara grabbed her shoulder and pulled her along gently as she followed her new guests into the large building. They made their way to the throne room, where Tassara walked up to her throne and sat down. Clover stopped short of the steps, but the queen gestured for her to come up and stand beside the throne. Clover moved to stand beside her, turning to watch Alex and Mandy.
"We apologize for just showing up like this, but we just escaped from WOOHP headquarters, and we wanted to come set things right with Clover." Alex said, getting down on one knee. Mandy saw this and quickly followed suit, bowing as low as she could without slamming her face into the floor.
"Of course, if you wish to help us we would be more than happy to have your assistance." Queen Tassara replied. "There is a large force at work here, something that's taking control of the American government from the bottom up." Alex looked up at her in surprise, though she stayed on one knee. "Obviously, the idea of the American government being run by an extremist or dangerous power is... unsettling for the entire world."
"So what can we do about it?" Alex asked. "We're fugitives as much as Clover is by now."
"We're going to have to spend the night evaluating our options. But for now, why don't you get some rest? By tomorrow, we should have a plan worked out." Tassara replied.
"Okay." Alex nodded and climbed to her feet, with Mandy getting up beside her. Mandy turned to follow her, but stopped short of the door and looked back at them.
"What were you saying about a legend before?" Mandy asked. Alex stopped and looked back, while the queen studied her face with a sharp eye. Clover watched the exchange with keen interest.
"It's an old Lyrobian legend, about a dark-eyed temptress whose power would change civilization as we know it... perhaps to bring about a dark age, or perhaps an age of peace and prosperity." She smiled slightly. "But I don't believe in it. This is an age of facts and peace, not gloomy legends and superstition."
"Alright..." Mandy replied softly. "I'll see you in the morning... uh... your highness." She bowed clumsily and turned to follow Alex out of the room. Clover watched them go, then looked down at Queen Tassara still sitting on the throne.
"Do you hate them, Clover?" She asked simply.
"Well..." Clover hesitated, not sure how she should answer. In truth, she wasn't sure if she hated them or not. But the pain of their betrayals had stung deep. "I don't know really. But I am angry at them... they turned on me in seconds when it suited their best interests..."
"Yet here they are now." Tassara stated simply. Clover watched her stand up from her throne, turning to give her a smile and take her hands in her strong, sun-toughened palms. "It's what we do in the end that determines who we are Clover... not what we do in the beginning when our minds are still struggling to grasp what is happening. Remember that." With that she let Clover's hands slide out of her grip and turned to leave.
"Do you think I can trust them, Tassara?" Clover called after her. The Lyrobian Queen looked back at her with a sly smile.
"I don't know whether you can trust them Clover. That's something you'll have to decide for yourself." She turned to leave again, leaving Clover alone standing beside the large throne.
With a sigh Clover left as well, making her way through the winding halls toward the bedrooms in the east side of the palace where guests were put. She pushed open the door to the guest chambers, to find Alex and Mandy sitting on two of the beds set against the wall. They saw her enter and both looked down at the floor.
Clover ignored them, walking toward the bed she'd taken as her own on the far side of the room. As she passed Alex looked up at her. "For what it's worth Clover, I never thought you were guilty." She stated. "I saw you in the shed in Beverly Hills." Clover stopped, listening. "And I saw you in the airport." Clover looked over at her.
Alex's eyes were glistening with tears as she pushed herself up from the bed, staring at Clover. "I swear I never thought you were guilty... I have faith in you Clover, I don't think you would ever do something like that..." She stated, staring at Clover with tears of desperation running down her cheeks. "Please believe me..."
"Oh Alex..." Clover threw herself forward and wrapped Alex up in a tight hug. "I'm sorry I yelled at you..." Alex hugged her back just as tightly, burying her face in her shoulder. "I thought everyone I knew had turned against me..."
"No Clover, I'd never do that to you... but Sam... it's like she's gone crazy." Alex pulled back, sniffling and wiping her cheeks with the back of her gloved hand. "All she talks about is finding you and accomplishing justice... honestly it got to the point where it was just plain scary."
"Don't worry... with Tassara's help we can find out what's going on and fix everything. You'll see... it'll all be fine." Clover smiled comfortingly, staring into her best friend's eyes. Alex smiled and nodded back, sniffling back her tears. "Now get some sleep. We're probably going to be doing something tomorrow. I don't know what... but we can't just stay here."
"Right... yeah, okay." Alex nodded and wiped the tears from her cheeks as she turned to climb back into bed. Clover turned to head back to her own bed, stopping at Mandy's to stare down at her.
"Do you have any explanations for how they knew to call Queen Tassara and warn them about me?" Clover asked.
"No... I don't." Mandy shook her head. "I'm sorry... but I just told them what I knew. I was being selfish... I wasn't thinking about what it meant for you. They said I would be free if I told, but that was a lie."
Clover smirked and shook her head. "I thought so." She walked past the bed, ignoring the violet-eyed girl who watched her climb under the covers and close her eyes. Sleep was long in coming, but finally it did indeed claim her, carrying her through the night. When she awakened seemingly moments later the orange sunrise was shining through the windows.
She sat up and stretched, looking around the bedroom. Mandy was curled up in a fetal position under her blanket, while Alex was sprawled out across her blankets, her limbs splayed in positions that almost made her appear dead. Clover stood and turned to leave the room, but she stopped when she saw something poking out of one of the pockets in Alex's WOOHP uniform. Something pink.
Clover rushed over to her and jammed her hand in the offending pocket. Alex jerked awake and gave a startled cry of protest. "Hey, Clover! What do you think you're doing!?" Finally Clover yanked out the object of her fears... Alex's compowder.
"You brought your compowder!?" Clover demanded.
"Of course, I take it with me everywhere I go." Alex replied.
"Alex, these things have tracking devices in them! WOOHP knows exactly where you are!" Clover slammed the compowder down on the stone floor, smashing it beneath her heel. Alex blushed and rubbed the back of her neck demurely.
"Uh... hehe... oops..." Alex muttered. Clover growled and whirled to run out of the bedroom. "Hey, where are you going!?" Clover ignored Alex's cry and continued down the hall, running as fast as she could. Her heart was pounding as hard as her feet against the stone foundations of the palace as she rounded a corner and charged past the pair of guards outside the queen's room.
"Queen Tassara!" Clover ran up to the huge bed in the middle of the room, leaping onto it. The impact awakened the queen from a deep sleep, staring up at her with a tired, surprised gaze. "Tassara, we have to get out of here! WOOHP is probably on its way right now!"
"What!?" Tassara sat up quickly, letting the luxurious silk sheets fall from her body. Their heads snapped toward the window when they heard the beating of helicopter blades sending sand flying through the open window. They both jumped off the bed, with Tassara grabbing Clover's hand. "Come on, you have to get down to the intelligence room!"
The queen pulled Clover out of the room, charging down the hall in her thin silk nightgown. They passed by Alex and Mandy halfway there. "Come on, follow us!" Clover shouted more to Alex than Mandy. Still both girls turned to follow them down the hall to the steel-coated intelligence room. They could hear the muffled sound of helicopter beats and now the high-pitched squeal of jet engines.
They reached the intelligence room, where Tassara locked the door and marched up to one of the computers, tapping a few buttons. A view of the front courtyard appeared on the monitor as one of the WOOHP jets landed vertically on the ground with its engines turned downward. The door opened, allowing a WOOHP officer carrying a thick shotgun over his shoulder to emerge and approach the Lyrobian guards.
"What is the meaning of this?" One of the guards stepped forward. The WOOHP officer simply lowered his shotgun and fired one shot, throwing the guard back against the palace wall in a shower of blood. Everyone around them stood too shocked by the sudden move to act against him.
"Lyrobia has officially been declared a terrorist nation by the United States of America." The WOOHP officer declared. "Anyone who resists this search of the premises will be considered a terrorist and treated as such." To illustrate his point he cocked his shotgun, sending the spent shell hurtling to the sand at his feet. "If you want this to be over quickly, hand over the fugitives you're hiding."
Alex turned to the queen, clasping her hands in front of her. "I'm so sorry your highness, I completely forgot my compowder could lead them here..."
"Why are they so desperate to get to US? Don't they have better things to do than hunt a bunch of fugitive teenage girls?" Mandy asked.
"It's because they know Clover could blow open what's really happening." Tassara looked over at them. "She's innocent, and they know it. If anyone else ever found out, it could jeopardize their entire takeover of the American government. In order to take complete control, they have to shut up anyone with that knowledge."
"Which includes you..." Clover realized, staring up at the bronze-skinned queen. Tassara smiled gently and nodded.
"Which includes me." Tassara confirmed. They all fell silent when they heard stomping against the roof over their heads as thick-booted American soldiers swarmed the first floor.
"Great, we know they're out to kill us." Mandy stated. "Now let's figure out how to keep that from happening!"
"The plane you two arrived in is outside the palace walls, if you can reach it you might be able to get away." Tassara stated.
"Whoa whoa, 'you'?" Clover demanded. "Nuh-uh, you're not sacrificing yourself here Tassara. You're coming with us."
"I can't abandon my people!" Tassara replied quickly.
"Then I'm sorry!" Clover wound up and punched her in the face hard enough to knock her unconscious. Alex and Mandy both gaped in surprise as she knelt down to lift the unconscious queen onto her shoulders. "Come on girls, we're getting out of here!" Clover ran out of the room, hearing Mandy and Alex following close behind her.
They slid up to a turn in the hallway, listening to the heavy booted stride of several WOOHP soldiers. "Here, hold her." Clover slid Tassara off her shoulders and handed her to Mandy, motioning for Alex to move up beside her. "On three..." She listened to the approaching footsteps. "One... two... three!" The two girls leapt out from around the corner, lunging forward with furious battle cries.
Clover slammed her foot into one soldier's stomach, whirling to kick another in the face before continuing the circle to slam into the first guard, knocking them both unconscious. She looked over to see Alex standing over three unconscious guards, grinning and flashing her an enthusiastic peace sign. "Showoff..." Clover muttered.
"AGH! Run!" Mandy darted around the corner toward them as gunfire erupted from further down the other hallway. Clover whirled and ran after her, pulling them through the winding hallways of the Lyrobian palace until the sound of boots and gunfire faded behind them. They skidded to a stop with surprised yells when more soldiers appeared in front of them.
"I got 'em!" Alex reached into her backpack and whipped out an umbrella, pointing it at the agents in front of them. A burst of brilliant laser light flooded the hallway, sweeping them to the floor several feet back to the floor where they lay limp.
"We have to get to the first floor!" Mandy advised quickly.
"Leave it to me!" Alex turned the High-Power Umbrella Laser up to the ceiling above her, blasting a hole straight through the solid stone. She jumped up and pulled herself up before turning to help the other three up through the hole in the ceiling. Clover leaned against the wall and looked around, seeing a window high up on the outer wall.
"We have to get out of here before they catch us." Mandy panted, leaning against the wall.
"Quick, window!" Clover jumped against the wall, planting her foot against the stone and using it to go high enough to grab the high windowsill. She pulled herself up, looking back down at the other girls. "Give me Queen Tassara, I'll take her from here." Mandy walked to the wall and, with Alex's help, held her up for Clover to pull up.
Clover jumped to the sand outside the palace wall, rolling with her arms wrapped tightly around the unconscious queen. She rolled to a stop on top of her, looking down at her face to make sure she was alright. A small bruise was forming where Clover had struck her, and sand was clinging to her hair, but she appeared fine otherwise. Clover brushed some sand off her cheek, then picked her up again, cradling her in her arms as she climbed to her feet.
Mandy and Alex fell to the sand behind her as she ran away from the palace. Her gaze swept the desert around them, going wide when she saw the sea of black armored vehicles floating over the Lyrobian palace. Large jets and helicopters hovered over the roof, while swarms of agents milled about in the courtyard and through the palace itself like an ant army.
"Damnit... they're not playing around." Finally she spied the sun's glint off of a WOOHP jet's tail over a nearby sand dune. "Come on!" Clover ran toward it, flanked by the other two teenage girls.
"Hey, stop them!" A voice shouted. Suddenly gunfire erupted around the girls, spurring them onward to the top of the sand dune. Clover ran down the other side, sprinting for the WOOHP jet. She reached it in short order and looked up at the door.
"Mandy, get the damn thing open!" Clover shouted, staring up at the door with Tassara in her arms. Mandy tried to climb up toward the door while Clover looked back. Alex was standing a ways away from the plane, facing back toward the pursuing WOOHP agents. "Alex, what are you doing!? Get over here!" Clover shouted.
Alex flexed her fingers like a gunslinger, watching the WOOHP agents approach with their weapons drawn. She reached into her backpack again and pulled out an extending steel rod, which she pointed toward the smoke screen. A pink energy bubble spread out from the All-Weather Umbrella, engulfing her before the bullets began to strike it with small showers of sparks.
She whipped a small tube of Laser Lipstick out of her pocket and opened fire around the pink shield, sending blue lasers searing into the sand at the agents' feet. This held them back while the shield kept them from hitting her at a distance. The sound of gunfire was deafening in the desert, combined with the sparks on her shield and the fire of her laser to create a rather interesting effect.
"Get moving girls!" Alex shouted over her shoulder, slowly backing toward the WOOHP jet and making sure to keep herself between the agents and her friends. She looked up in horror as a massive helicopter rose up over the dune, its weapons gearing up to fire straight at her.
"Alex! Be careful!" Clover screamed. Alex knelt down, curling her entire body up behind the All-Weather Umbrella as the minigun opened fire. A sheet of bullets slammed into the pink shield with enough force to send Alex to her back on the sand. She clutched the umbrella with the bullets showering her in a hail of sparks. The WOOHP agents had stopped their advance to avoid being skewered by the helicopter.
Slowly Alex managed to climb to her knees, clutching the umbrella tightly as her other hand dug into the backpack on her back again. It emerged with a Butterfly Barrette Bomb clutching between her fingers, already beeping as it was activated. She wound up and hurled it over her shield like a Frisbee.
It slammed into the helicopter's hull and detonated, sending the massive machine hurtling off course. It fell toward the ground, right on top of a throng of screaming WOOHP agents who scrambled to get out of the way. The sound of smashing steel and breaking glass dominated the air, as the WOOHP agents looked back at the mess in a daze, for the moment leaving the girls alone.
"I got it!" Mandy jumped to the ground as the door finally lowered, allowing Clover and Mandy to climb up the steps into the ship. Alex sprinted backwards toward the jet, keeping the bubble between her and the agents just in case. Finally she backed into the jet and Mandy pressed the button to close the door. Alex darted to the cockpit to lift them off the ground.
The lurching aircraft sent Clover stumbling to her knees, holding Tassara close to her chest to keep her from sliding away. Mandy lurched into the front to help Alex while Clover stared down at the bronze-skinned queen, brushing some sand out of her hair with her fingers.
"Uhn..." Tassara's eyes fluttered open slowly. She reached up to touch the bruise forming on her cheek. "Ow... Clover..." She stared up at the blond girl, a mixture of pain and betrayal in her eyes.
"I'm sorry your highness... I couldn't let you stay there with them." Clover lowered her head and closed her eyes. "I didn't want to see them do to you what they did to that guard because of me. You risked everything for me... I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."
Tassara stared up at her for a few moments, then sighed lightly and nodded. One hand reached up to brush over Clover's cheek. "You're a good woman Clover... you have a strong heart." Clover opened her eyes, staring down at the kind queen. "And remember... call me Tassara." She smiled slightly. Clover smiled back, but their touching moment was cut short when the plane shuddered and lurched to the side.
Clover and Tassara rolled over each other until they slammed into the side of the plane, holding onto each other tightly. "Gah! Alex I know you're not the best driver but keep us in the air at least!" Clover shouted.
"I'll get back to you once we lose these goons!" Alex shouted back. The plane lurched again to the other side, sending Clover and Tassara sliding along the steel plates to slam into the opposite side of the plane. They both screamed as the plane tilted vertically, sending them falling toward the back of the jet. Clover's back hit the rear wall with a loud thud and a grunt, with the queen falling on top of her.
"Ow... okay, next time, we get a WOOHP jet with more than two seats." Clover groaned. She and Tassara wrapped their arms around each other again as the plane tilted, this time doing a backflip in the air. The two women slid to the roof, then along the roof to the front wall, to eventually wind up sliding against the floor again.
At last the plane leveled out. Clover and Tassara lay on the floor, clinging to each other in case they went sliding again. "Is it over...?" Clover asked fearfully.
"It seems to be..." Tassara replied. They both sighed in relief when Alex's voice echoed back to them as if over an intercom.
"Attention passengers, the turbulence you just experienced has been shot down. Please note the barf bags in the corner should you need to make use of them." Alex stated. Tassara sat up, moving off of Clover and rubbing her head. Clover sat up beside her, staring at the bruise on her face.
"You gonna be okay?" Clover asked.
"I'll be fine..." Tassara smiled. Clover smiled back, loving the look in those light brown eyes. "But we should really look for a place to go now that my homeland has been taken over by America..."
"There's only one place to go really." Clover pointed out. "There's only one target left that they'd need to replace... and he's in Washington D.C." Tassara nodded.
"Then we should go there..." Tassara replied nervously. "But... I have never been outside Lyrobia. I'm afraid I may not blend in."
"Don't worry your highness... Tassara." Clover smiled and took the queen's hands in hers, squeezing them gently. "I'll help you blend in." Tassara smiled back gratefully with that same smile that seemed to have been making Clover go weak-kneed for the last week or so. She was very grateful to the queen for everything she'd done for her, and she would help her as much as she could... but could there be more than that in the call of those light brown eyes? No way...
TO BE CONTINUED