Part 14: Broken Hearts Unite
Clover laid back on the bed in her hotel room, staring at the TV perched past the foot of hr bed. The images of the 'Lyorbian War' were playing again and again on every news channel. Calling it a war seemed like a joke. The Lyrobian military had no leader, and compared to the American forces had no equipment either. It was a slaughter was what it was, slaughter in the name of vengeance for a crime President Chambers himself had committed.
Her gaze shifted slightly to the bathroom as Tassara emerged, turning off the light behind her. It was almost eleven in the evening, but Clover couldn't sleep with the images burning into her mind. What was worse though, was that she knew Tassara was affected by this more than she, Mandy, and Alex combined. When she watched the TV screen, she was hearing the death tolls of her own people. The people who'd relied on her for guidance and leadership. And she was stuck here, hiding while they fought and died.
Clover turned off the TV, watching Tassara approach the lone queen size bed and climb onto it. "I'm sorry Tassara..." Clover said, watching Tassara's face turn toward her in surprise. It was illuminated only by the flood of moonlight filtering through the window, covering with frost as Winter began to approach. "I should never have dragged you away from Lyrobia... your people."
Tassara sat beside her, leaning against the headboard with her knees up in front of her. The thin silk nightgown she'd worn during their escape from her palace glinted silver in the pale moonlight. "Don't worry yourself Clover... you did what you thought was best for all involved."
"God... I feel like such a heel." Clover grunted and put her forehead in one palm, closing her eyes. "I dragged you down with me... if I hadn't gone to you in the first place, Lyrobia would have never even caught their attention."
"If you hadn't come to me, they would have gone to another country first, but it would be inevitable for Lyrobia to be a target someday." Tassara pointed out, staring at the window. Clover watched her wistfully, watching the moonlight illuminate her features like a well-crafted statue. "And you might not have made it this far."
"Like it matters whether I made it or not." Clover sighed. "We lost, Tassara... President Chambers has the entire government wrapped around his little finger. He can do whatever he wants." She felt Tassara's arm wrap around her shoulders, pulling her into a gently comforting half-hug. "I just... I just wish I could put you back where you belong..."
"Is where we want to be always where we belong?" Tassara asked, staring into Clover's eyes. Clover stared back, drawn into the wisdom and kindness that echoed from the depths of her eyes. "I believe I must be here for a purpose, Clover... just like you."
"A purpose?" Clover smirked. "To do what? Be miserable because almost everyone I know turned on me?"
"If I knew that, I wouldn't be human anymore." She smiled, squeezing Clover's shoulder lightly. There was also a keen sadness in her eyes, a helplessness that Clover knew might never be extinguished. Her country was indeed falling, no matter how much she tried not to blame Clover for it. She remembered what Tassara had said about the Lyrobian prophecy of Mandy's dark eyes. Maybe there was something to that. Mandy had helped break much lately. Including her heart...
Clover gulped as she wrapped her arms around Tassara, eagerly drawing on the comfort she was offering. One of the queen's hands reached up to brush against Clover's cheek, running her fingers through her disgustingly short hair. Clover stared up at her, searching for what she should be feeling at this moment. She wasn't sure, a flood of emotions were surging through her mind every instant until finally one took hold.
She leaned forward and pressed her lips against the queen's. She expected the queen to pull away, she half wanted to full away herself, but to her surprise Tassara returned the kiss, her eyes staring into Clover's gently. It wasn't about sexual attraction really, neither of them was into other women, it was more about filling the void that having their lives torn apart had left in their broken hearts.
Clover leaned into her, wrapping her arms around her torso and deepening the kiss, drinking in the warmth that Tassara was willing to give her. She felt Tassara push her back onto the bed, running one hand through her hair as if brushing away the stains of bad experiences. It felt pure, for the first time since Jerry's death Clover felt alive again... she wasn't a prisoner to circumstances struggling to free herself. She was free.
She knew this could not last long. She knew this was a temporary happiness, the feeling of helping Tassara forget her country, damned by Clover's fleeing to her for aid. She forgot Sam, who'd completely forsaken her, or Mandy who'd played at being her friend, then turned against her when it looked like a good idea. She even forgot Alex, who had remained her friend, but only after looking at the options. Tassara had been with her from the moment Clover told her what was happening, despite the risks and despite how things had gone downhill. Tassara was the truest friend she'd ever had it seemed.
As their bodies moved together, and their hearts beat as one under the cover of the night and the bed sheets, all boundaries melted away. They came from different cultures, they came from different classes of society, they even came from different decades. But all of the lines faded in this moment of passion, comfort, and warmth. Their bodies intertwined, their hearts mended, and their souls blended together. Clover suddenly realized this wasn't simple comfort... this was love.
Finally the passion came to a head and exploded, vanishing into the darkness of the night... but the warmth never faded. Clover lay against Tassara's body, her head lying on her shoulder with one arm draped lazily across her breasts. Tassara stared down at her eyes, one hand running across her bare back in a lazy circle.
"Tassara..." Clover mumbled, staring up at her with a gentle gaze. Tassara smiled down at her and put one finger over her lips to silence her.
"Sleep, Clover." She said softly, moving her hand away from her mouth to run it through her hair. "We have to leave tomorrow... it's too dangerous to stay here now." Clover nodded and closed her eyes, lying against her soft skin and trying to get some sleep.
Finally she did drift into dreamland in Tassara's arms, dreaming of a time when she was back home in Beverly Hills with her best friends, and Jerry would send them suddenly into life-or-death situations. They would all go shopping, save the world, then show up to a dance as their typical day's events. Compared to this, that seemed like Heaven.
Her eyes snapped open suddenly when she heard a muffled thud through the far wall that they shared with Alex and Mandy's room. She blinked and looked at the clock, which read '2:15' in bright red letters. Carefully Clover pulled herself away from Tassara, moving away from the bed to approach the wall. Something slammed into it hard, causing the entire wall to quake.
"What...!?" Tassara sat up suddenly, looking around the room sleepily. Clover gestured for her to be quiet and listened for more movement against the wall, but none came. Looking back at the door, Clover saw a pair of feet cast shadows underneath it. Clover crept up to the door, watched closely by Tassara, who climbed off the bed with her.
Clover watched the doorknob wiggle, with the sound of a lockpick scraping inside of it. Clover dropped to a crouch, putting her right foot behind her with her left bent underneath her. Finally the lock was sprung and the doorknob turned, allowing the door to be pushed open.
Clover sprang when the door was halfway open, kicking the door aside with her right leg before jumping onto it and slamming her left heel into the intruder's face. Her eyes went wide in surprise when she got a good look at Brittany, holding her nose painfully and leaning against the far wall with blood spilling between her fingers.
"Brittany!? What are you doing here!?" Clover demanded.
"I know what you did Clover... you're coming back to WOOHP with us." Brittany replied coldly. Us?
Clover leaned back when a green-gloved fist came at her face, narrowing missing her chin. Sam let out a feral howl and pressed the assault, her fists expertly flying like a series of lightning strikes. Clover weaved away from her, deflecting the strikes with quick precise movements. Tassara scrambled to get out of the way of the lightning fast battle.
A stray strike shattered the lamp beside the bed as Clover jumped onto the mattress with a backflip, walking on her hands to the other side where she flipped back to her feet. Sam pulled her hand out of the broken lamp, her fist bleeding from the glass shards that had bitten into it. She paid it no mind, leaping over the bed and extending her leg.
Clover jumped to the side, slamming her fist into Sam's thigh as it passed. Sam yelped as she was thrown off balance, slamming into the floor on her back with a heavy thud. Just as quickly she rolled backward, lifting her legs to slam them both into Clover's chest. The blond slammed into the wall hard, barely regaining her senses in time to duck Sam's next punch.
Sam yelped in pain as her already bleeding knuckles slammed into the wall. Clover quickly grabbed her hand and slammed it into the bedpost as hard as she could. Sam screamed in pain and collapsed to her knees, tears flowing down her cheeks. Clover twisted her wrist with both hands, driving her face into the floor with another strangled scream.
Clover panted, gripping Sam's wounded hand tightly. "Okay Sam... listen to me. I didn't kill Jerry."
Sam growled painfully, her free hand clutching at the carpet. "I couldn't believe it at first... I still had my doubts..." She grunted. "But after what you did to the president..."
"We didn't do that either!" Clover exclaimed.
"Tell that to the girl who saw you kill her father!" Sam yelled back. Clover fell silent, seeing how hopeless this was. Sam was convinced she was the killer... she wouldn't listen to reason. Clover looked over at Tassara, who was standing against the far wall, watching. She looked back down at Sam, squeezing her wounded hand tighter.
"Where are Alex and Mandy? What did you do to them?" Clover asked.
"Clover!" Tassara yelled suddenly. Clover looked up in surprise, seeing Brittany standing with a tissue over her nose and a weapon in her other hand, pointing it straight at her. Clover narrowed her eyes, watching the blue-gloved finger tightening around the trigger.
"Brittany... you don't believe me either." Clover stated, not bothering to make it a question.
"Why should I believe a murderer?" Brittany asked coldly.
"Fine... shoot." Clover taunted. Brittany frowned and pulled the trigger, sending a wave of electrical energy surging toward her. Clover yanked Sam's arm back, pulling her off the floor into the path of the beam. Sam screamed as the energy flooded through her, but Clover shoved her back and leapt over the bed in one swift motion, flying through the air.
Her foot slammed into Brittany's chest, sending her stumbling into the wall again. She rushed forward and grabbed the weapon, trying to pull it out of Brittany's grip. Brittany fought back, slamming her elbow hard into Clover's chin and sending her stumbling back.
"Enough Clover!" Brittany raised her weapon, but Tassara tackled her from the side, sending the blast soaring into the dresser beside the bed. The dresser shattered under the intensity of the blast as the two women grappled for the gun. For a moment it looked like Brittany would reclaim it, but Clover jumped into the fray and grabbed her from behind.
Tassara ripped the gun away from her and pressed it into her stomach, pulling the trigger. Brittany screamed and twitched as the electricity ran through her body before going limp and falling to the floor. Clover stood over her, panting and looking up at Tassara. The queen dropped the weapon to the floor and turned her gaze to Clover.
"We should get dressed, get Mandy and Alex, and get out of here before they wake up." The queen recommended. Clover nodded silently, and they both hurriedly dressed in their street clothes before heading out into the hall. They hurried to the next room over where Mandy and Alex had been staying, pushing the door open.
They both gasped when they saw a small girl standing in the middle of the room. Madison looked over at them in surprise when the door opened, then raised a weapon of her own. She was wearing a small purple version of the standard WOOHP agent jumpsuit, shaking with wide eyes as she trained the weapon on them. They'd let Madison become a WOOHP agent? What was Sam thinking?
"Freeze!" Madison ordered. Clover and Tassara both raised their hands, staring down at the pre-teen girl. They could see Mandy and Alex lying unconscious on the floor, apparently electrified with the weapon Brittany had been trying to use on them. "Where's Sam?"
"She's in the next room." Clover replied. "Madison... put the gun down. You don't want to shoot us."
"Shut up!" Madison yelled. "Don't tell me what to do, murderer!" Her face twisted with hatred, a far cry from the grateful smiling girl she'd last seen at the end of her visit to the White House.
"Madison, listen to me... we didn't kill your dad." Clover said firmly. "We had nothing to do with that. We were there to save him... but we were too late."
"Liar!" Madison shouted.
"Madison..." Mandy muttered from the floor, twitching as her eyes pried themselves open. Madison moved away from her, pointing the weapon down at her. "It's true... I wanted to save him..."
"You hated him!" Madison shouted again, her finger twitching on the trigger. Clover wasn't sure how much voltage the high-power stun gun put out, but two blasts in such a short time couldn't be good for one's health.
"I did... but he was still my dad." Mandy looked up, her violet eyes beginning to water as she stared up at her little sister. "Even though I hated him... I still loved him for that." She pushed herself up onto her elbows, shaking and biting her lip in pain.
"Mandy... stop lying to me! I heard what he said... I've been listening... Sam said you all turned bad!" Madison's hands shook.
Mandy pushed herself up to her knees, grunting with the effort as her strained muscles ached in protest. "Sam doesn't know what's been happening... she doesn't know the truth." Mandy stared at the little girl, her arms hanging limply at her sides. "Someone else did all this Madison... we're trying to stop them. I tried to save dad... but... but we couldn't..." Mandy's eyes watered, tears flowing down her cheeks.
Madison was crying as well, the gun shaking in her fragile grip. Mandy stared at her, opening her arms wide. "Madison, don't do this... I love you... little sister." Mandy waited with her arms open wide, staring into her little sister's eyes intently.
Madison slowly lowered the gun, letting it fall to the floor as she rushed forward and flung her arms around Mandy's neck. Mandy hugged her back, leaning her head against her sister's cheek and closing her eyes. Clover and Tassara both sighed in relief and lowered their arms.
"We should get out of here before Sam and Brittany wake up." Clover walked over to Alex and knelt down to make sure she was okay. She was still breathing and her pulse was okay. She was just stunned from the high voltage. "Tassara, get her bag. We're probably going to need the gadgets."
Mandy pushed herself painfully to her feet, grunting as her muscles strained. Madison grabbed her hands, staring up at her worriedly. "Are you okay Mandy?"
"I'll be fine... but she's right, we need to move." Mandy smiled down at her little sister and ruffled her hair. "Do you want to come with us? I would like to have you around..."
"Mandy, no." Tassara said quickly.
"What?" Mandy demanded.
"We're in grave danger no matter what we do now. We're fugitives, and we're probably being hunted by the entire United States government. We don't have anywhere to go where we would be entirely safe. She would be far safer remaining with Sam and Brittany." Tassara pointed out. Mandy looked down at Madison, who was clinging to her hand tightly.
Mandy finally sighed. "She's right Madison... you have to stay here."
"No, I want to help you Mandy... I want to help you find who killed dad." Madison complained.
"Maybe you can." Clover took the backpack of gadgets from Tassara and approached Madison, pulling it open. She dug around inside of it, stopping when she saw a gadget she couldn't recognize for a moment. Finally she smirked and pulled it out.
"A tube of lipstick?" Mandy asked curiously.
"Lip Stalk... a tracking device. This must be how they found us. I completely forgot about it." She dropped it to the floor, shaking her head. She dug around again for a few moments, then pulled out another gadget. "Here we are... a Two-Way Communicator Earring... don't worry, it's a clip-on." Clover brushed Madison's purple hair out of the way to clip it onto her earlobe. It was a small hoop with a pretty colored, but flat, butterfly design.
"What do I do with this?" Madison asked curiously.
"Well, I'll wear the other Communicator Earring." Clover pulled out the earring's partner and clipped it onto her own ear. "If you see or hear anything that you think we should know, press the button on the back of your earring to contact us. Press it twice to turn it off, so that you don't expose what it really is."
"Okay." Madison nodded. "I'll keep an ear out for you." Clover smiled and ruffled her hair companionably.
"Are you sure about this Clover?" Mandy asked worriedly. "If anyone finds out about the earring she could get in serious trouble..."
"Who would suspect her?" Clover asked. "As far as anyone knows, she hates us more than Sam does." She looked in Madison's eyes seriously. "But you still have to be careful. You can't let anyone know you know the truth, or about the communicator. Okay?"
"I understand." Madison nodded.
"Alright. Let's get out of here girls." Clover stood up and moved to pick up Alex. Tassara pulled the backpack over her shoulder while Mandy looked down at Madison again. She knelt down in front of her little sister and pulled her into a firm hug.
"Be careful Madison..." Mandy kissed her lightly on the cheek. "I want to have a little sister to take care of when I get back."
"I will." Madison nodded, hugging her back until she pulled away and stood up. She watched with teary eyes as her big sister turned to follow Clover and Tassara out of the hotel rooms, heading down the hall toward the main lobby. When they emerged into the moonlit street Clover looked over at Tassara.
"Where should we go from here?" Clover asked.
"We should warn the other countries of the world about the new president's actions before he moves beyond Lyrobia into attacking other nations." Tassara replied.
"So who should we go to first? Who'd be most likely to believe us? France?" Mandy asked.
"Probably. But nobody would believe them if we DID convince them." Clover replied thoughtfully.
"The only nation that would make a real impact by turning against the United States would be Britain. America and Britain are such great allies, it would show the world we're serious if we can convince them." Tassara pointed out. Clover nodded.
"Now, how do we get there?" Clover asked. This stumped both Tassara and Mandy. They had abandoned the WOOHP jet a ways outside of the city, but it was likely that WOOHP had found it by now. Besides, it hadn't had enough fuel left to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
"The only option is to cross by boat." Tassara said at last. Clover and Mandy exchanged a glance. That would take forever, even if they could find a captain willing to ferry them across the ocean. America would doubtlessly be done with Lyrobia by the time they were across...
"I guess we have no choice." Clover said grimly as she turned to head down the sidewalk. They needed transportation to get to the coast, but for now a destination was okay. They would just have to do their best to reach Britain before America became too powerful for all of the combined nations of the world to stand against...
TO BE CONTINUED
Clover laid back on the bed in her hotel room, staring at the TV perched past the foot of hr bed. The images of the 'Lyorbian War' were playing again and again on every news channel. Calling it a war seemed like a joke. The Lyrobian military had no leader, and compared to the American forces had no equipment either. It was a slaughter was what it was, slaughter in the name of vengeance for a crime President Chambers himself had committed.
Her gaze shifted slightly to the bathroom as Tassara emerged, turning off the light behind her. It was almost eleven in the evening, but Clover couldn't sleep with the images burning into her mind. What was worse though, was that she knew Tassara was affected by this more than she, Mandy, and Alex combined. When she watched the TV screen, she was hearing the death tolls of her own people. The people who'd relied on her for guidance and leadership. And she was stuck here, hiding while they fought and died.
Clover turned off the TV, watching Tassara approach the lone queen size bed and climb onto it. "I'm sorry Tassara..." Clover said, watching Tassara's face turn toward her in surprise. It was illuminated only by the flood of moonlight filtering through the window, covering with frost as Winter began to approach. "I should never have dragged you away from Lyrobia... your people."
Tassara sat beside her, leaning against the headboard with her knees up in front of her. The thin silk nightgown she'd worn during their escape from her palace glinted silver in the pale moonlight. "Don't worry yourself Clover... you did what you thought was best for all involved."
"God... I feel like such a heel." Clover grunted and put her forehead in one palm, closing her eyes. "I dragged you down with me... if I hadn't gone to you in the first place, Lyrobia would have never even caught their attention."
"If you hadn't come to me, they would have gone to another country first, but it would be inevitable for Lyrobia to be a target someday." Tassara pointed out, staring at the window. Clover watched her wistfully, watching the moonlight illuminate her features like a well-crafted statue. "And you might not have made it this far."
"Like it matters whether I made it or not." Clover sighed. "We lost, Tassara... President Chambers has the entire government wrapped around his little finger. He can do whatever he wants." She felt Tassara's arm wrap around her shoulders, pulling her into a gently comforting half-hug. "I just... I just wish I could put you back where you belong..."
"Is where we want to be always where we belong?" Tassara asked, staring into Clover's eyes. Clover stared back, drawn into the wisdom and kindness that echoed from the depths of her eyes. "I believe I must be here for a purpose, Clover... just like you."
"A purpose?" Clover smirked. "To do what? Be miserable because almost everyone I know turned on me?"
"If I knew that, I wouldn't be human anymore." She smiled, squeezing Clover's shoulder lightly. There was also a keen sadness in her eyes, a helplessness that Clover knew might never be extinguished. Her country was indeed falling, no matter how much she tried not to blame Clover for it. She remembered what Tassara had said about the Lyrobian prophecy of Mandy's dark eyes. Maybe there was something to that. Mandy had helped break much lately. Including her heart...
Clover gulped as she wrapped her arms around Tassara, eagerly drawing on the comfort she was offering. One of the queen's hands reached up to brush against Clover's cheek, running her fingers through her disgustingly short hair. Clover stared up at her, searching for what she should be feeling at this moment. She wasn't sure, a flood of emotions were surging through her mind every instant until finally one took hold.
She leaned forward and pressed her lips against the queen's. She expected the queen to pull away, she half wanted to full away herself, but to her surprise Tassara returned the kiss, her eyes staring into Clover's gently. It wasn't about sexual attraction really, neither of them was into other women, it was more about filling the void that having their lives torn apart had left in their broken hearts.
Clover leaned into her, wrapping her arms around her torso and deepening the kiss, drinking in the warmth that Tassara was willing to give her. She felt Tassara push her back onto the bed, running one hand through her hair as if brushing away the stains of bad experiences. It felt pure, for the first time since Jerry's death Clover felt alive again... she wasn't a prisoner to circumstances struggling to free herself. She was free.
She knew this could not last long. She knew this was a temporary happiness, the feeling of helping Tassara forget her country, damned by Clover's fleeing to her for aid. She forgot Sam, who'd completely forsaken her, or Mandy who'd played at being her friend, then turned against her when it looked like a good idea. She even forgot Alex, who had remained her friend, but only after looking at the options. Tassara had been with her from the moment Clover told her what was happening, despite the risks and despite how things had gone downhill. Tassara was the truest friend she'd ever had it seemed.
As their bodies moved together, and their hearts beat as one under the cover of the night and the bed sheets, all boundaries melted away. They came from different cultures, they came from different classes of society, they even came from different decades. But all of the lines faded in this moment of passion, comfort, and warmth. Their bodies intertwined, their hearts mended, and their souls blended together. Clover suddenly realized this wasn't simple comfort... this was love.
Finally the passion came to a head and exploded, vanishing into the darkness of the night... but the warmth never faded. Clover lay against Tassara's body, her head lying on her shoulder with one arm draped lazily across her breasts. Tassara stared down at her eyes, one hand running across her bare back in a lazy circle.
"Tassara..." Clover mumbled, staring up at her with a gentle gaze. Tassara smiled down at her and put one finger over her lips to silence her.
"Sleep, Clover." She said softly, moving her hand away from her mouth to run it through her hair. "We have to leave tomorrow... it's too dangerous to stay here now." Clover nodded and closed her eyes, lying against her soft skin and trying to get some sleep.
Finally she did drift into dreamland in Tassara's arms, dreaming of a time when she was back home in Beverly Hills with her best friends, and Jerry would send them suddenly into life-or-death situations. They would all go shopping, save the world, then show up to a dance as their typical day's events. Compared to this, that seemed like Heaven.
Her eyes snapped open suddenly when she heard a muffled thud through the far wall that they shared with Alex and Mandy's room. She blinked and looked at the clock, which read '2:15' in bright red letters. Carefully Clover pulled herself away from Tassara, moving away from the bed to approach the wall. Something slammed into it hard, causing the entire wall to quake.
"What...!?" Tassara sat up suddenly, looking around the room sleepily. Clover gestured for her to be quiet and listened for more movement against the wall, but none came. Looking back at the door, Clover saw a pair of feet cast shadows underneath it. Clover crept up to the door, watched closely by Tassara, who climbed off the bed with her.
Clover watched the doorknob wiggle, with the sound of a lockpick scraping inside of it. Clover dropped to a crouch, putting her right foot behind her with her left bent underneath her. Finally the lock was sprung and the doorknob turned, allowing the door to be pushed open.
Clover sprang when the door was halfway open, kicking the door aside with her right leg before jumping onto it and slamming her left heel into the intruder's face. Her eyes went wide in surprise when she got a good look at Brittany, holding her nose painfully and leaning against the far wall with blood spilling between her fingers.
"Brittany!? What are you doing here!?" Clover demanded.
"I know what you did Clover... you're coming back to WOOHP with us." Brittany replied coldly. Us?
Clover leaned back when a green-gloved fist came at her face, narrowing missing her chin. Sam let out a feral howl and pressed the assault, her fists expertly flying like a series of lightning strikes. Clover weaved away from her, deflecting the strikes with quick precise movements. Tassara scrambled to get out of the way of the lightning fast battle.
A stray strike shattered the lamp beside the bed as Clover jumped onto the mattress with a backflip, walking on her hands to the other side where she flipped back to her feet. Sam pulled her hand out of the broken lamp, her fist bleeding from the glass shards that had bitten into it. She paid it no mind, leaping over the bed and extending her leg.
Clover jumped to the side, slamming her fist into Sam's thigh as it passed. Sam yelped as she was thrown off balance, slamming into the floor on her back with a heavy thud. Just as quickly she rolled backward, lifting her legs to slam them both into Clover's chest. The blond slammed into the wall hard, barely regaining her senses in time to duck Sam's next punch.
Sam yelped in pain as her already bleeding knuckles slammed into the wall. Clover quickly grabbed her hand and slammed it into the bedpost as hard as she could. Sam screamed in pain and collapsed to her knees, tears flowing down her cheeks. Clover twisted her wrist with both hands, driving her face into the floor with another strangled scream.
Clover panted, gripping Sam's wounded hand tightly. "Okay Sam... listen to me. I didn't kill Jerry."
Sam growled painfully, her free hand clutching at the carpet. "I couldn't believe it at first... I still had my doubts..." She grunted. "But after what you did to the president..."
"We didn't do that either!" Clover exclaimed.
"Tell that to the girl who saw you kill her father!" Sam yelled back. Clover fell silent, seeing how hopeless this was. Sam was convinced she was the killer... she wouldn't listen to reason. Clover looked over at Tassara, who was standing against the far wall, watching. She looked back down at Sam, squeezing her wounded hand tighter.
"Where are Alex and Mandy? What did you do to them?" Clover asked.
"Clover!" Tassara yelled suddenly. Clover looked up in surprise, seeing Brittany standing with a tissue over her nose and a weapon in her other hand, pointing it straight at her. Clover narrowed her eyes, watching the blue-gloved finger tightening around the trigger.
"Brittany... you don't believe me either." Clover stated, not bothering to make it a question.
"Why should I believe a murderer?" Brittany asked coldly.
"Fine... shoot." Clover taunted. Brittany frowned and pulled the trigger, sending a wave of electrical energy surging toward her. Clover yanked Sam's arm back, pulling her off the floor into the path of the beam. Sam screamed as the energy flooded through her, but Clover shoved her back and leapt over the bed in one swift motion, flying through the air.
Her foot slammed into Brittany's chest, sending her stumbling into the wall again. She rushed forward and grabbed the weapon, trying to pull it out of Brittany's grip. Brittany fought back, slamming her elbow hard into Clover's chin and sending her stumbling back.
"Enough Clover!" Brittany raised her weapon, but Tassara tackled her from the side, sending the blast soaring into the dresser beside the bed. The dresser shattered under the intensity of the blast as the two women grappled for the gun. For a moment it looked like Brittany would reclaim it, but Clover jumped into the fray and grabbed her from behind.
Tassara ripped the gun away from her and pressed it into her stomach, pulling the trigger. Brittany screamed and twitched as the electricity ran through her body before going limp and falling to the floor. Clover stood over her, panting and looking up at Tassara. The queen dropped the weapon to the floor and turned her gaze to Clover.
"We should get dressed, get Mandy and Alex, and get out of here before they wake up." The queen recommended. Clover nodded silently, and they both hurriedly dressed in their street clothes before heading out into the hall. They hurried to the next room over where Mandy and Alex had been staying, pushing the door open.
They both gasped when they saw a small girl standing in the middle of the room. Madison looked over at them in surprise when the door opened, then raised a weapon of her own. She was wearing a small purple version of the standard WOOHP agent jumpsuit, shaking with wide eyes as she trained the weapon on them. They'd let Madison become a WOOHP agent? What was Sam thinking?
"Freeze!" Madison ordered. Clover and Tassara both raised their hands, staring down at the pre-teen girl. They could see Mandy and Alex lying unconscious on the floor, apparently electrified with the weapon Brittany had been trying to use on them. "Where's Sam?"
"She's in the next room." Clover replied. "Madison... put the gun down. You don't want to shoot us."
"Shut up!" Madison yelled. "Don't tell me what to do, murderer!" Her face twisted with hatred, a far cry from the grateful smiling girl she'd last seen at the end of her visit to the White House.
"Madison, listen to me... we didn't kill your dad." Clover said firmly. "We had nothing to do with that. We were there to save him... but we were too late."
"Liar!" Madison shouted.
"Madison..." Mandy muttered from the floor, twitching as her eyes pried themselves open. Madison moved away from her, pointing the weapon down at her. "It's true... I wanted to save him..."
"You hated him!" Madison shouted again, her finger twitching on the trigger. Clover wasn't sure how much voltage the high-power stun gun put out, but two blasts in such a short time couldn't be good for one's health.
"I did... but he was still my dad." Mandy looked up, her violet eyes beginning to water as she stared up at her little sister. "Even though I hated him... I still loved him for that." She pushed herself up onto her elbows, shaking and biting her lip in pain.
"Mandy... stop lying to me! I heard what he said... I've been listening... Sam said you all turned bad!" Madison's hands shook.
Mandy pushed herself up to her knees, grunting with the effort as her strained muscles ached in protest. "Sam doesn't know what's been happening... she doesn't know the truth." Mandy stared at the little girl, her arms hanging limply at her sides. "Someone else did all this Madison... we're trying to stop them. I tried to save dad... but... but we couldn't..." Mandy's eyes watered, tears flowing down her cheeks.
Madison was crying as well, the gun shaking in her fragile grip. Mandy stared at her, opening her arms wide. "Madison, don't do this... I love you... little sister." Mandy waited with her arms open wide, staring into her little sister's eyes intently.
Madison slowly lowered the gun, letting it fall to the floor as she rushed forward and flung her arms around Mandy's neck. Mandy hugged her back, leaning her head against her sister's cheek and closing her eyes. Clover and Tassara both sighed in relief and lowered their arms.
"We should get out of here before Sam and Brittany wake up." Clover walked over to Alex and knelt down to make sure she was okay. She was still breathing and her pulse was okay. She was just stunned from the high voltage. "Tassara, get her bag. We're probably going to need the gadgets."
Mandy pushed herself painfully to her feet, grunting as her muscles strained. Madison grabbed her hands, staring up at her worriedly. "Are you okay Mandy?"
"I'll be fine... but she's right, we need to move." Mandy smiled down at her little sister and ruffled her hair. "Do you want to come with us? I would like to have you around..."
"Mandy, no." Tassara said quickly.
"What?" Mandy demanded.
"We're in grave danger no matter what we do now. We're fugitives, and we're probably being hunted by the entire United States government. We don't have anywhere to go where we would be entirely safe. She would be far safer remaining with Sam and Brittany." Tassara pointed out. Mandy looked down at Madison, who was clinging to her hand tightly.
Mandy finally sighed. "She's right Madison... you have to stay here."
"No, I want to help you Mandy... I want to help you find who killed dad." Madison complained.
"Maybe you can." Clover took the backpack of gadgets from Tassara and approached Madison, pulling it open. She dug around inside of it, stopping when she saw a gadget she couldn't recognize for a moment. Finally she smirked and pulled it out.
"A tube of lipstick?" Mandy asked curiously.
"Lip Stalk... a tracking device. This must be how they found us. I completely forgot about it." She dropped it to the floor, shaking her head. She dug around again for a few moments, then pulled out another gadget. "Here we are... a Two-Way Communicator Earring... don't worry, it's a clip-on." Clover brushed Madison's purple hair out of the way to clip it onto her earlobe. It was a small hoop with a pretty colored, but flat, butterfly design.
"What do I do with this?" Madison asked curiously.
"Well, I'll wear the other Communicator Earring." Clover pulled out the earring's partner and clipped it onto her own ear. "If you see or hear anything that you think we should know, press the button on the back of your earring to contact us. Press it twice to turn it off, so that you don't expose what it really is."
"Okay." Madison nodded. "I'll keep an ear out for you." Clover smiled and ruffled her hair companionably.
"Are you sure about this Clover?" Mandy asked worriedly. "If anyone finds out about the earring she could get in serious trouble..."
"Who would suspect her?" Clover asked. "As far as anyone knows, she hates us more than Sam does." She looked in Madison's eyes seriously. "But you still have to be careful. You can't let anyone know you know the truth, or about the communicator. Okay?"
"I understand." Madison nodded.
"Alright. Let's get out of here girls." Clover stood up and moved to pick up Alex. Tassara pulled the backpack over her shoulder while Mandy looked down at Madison again. She knelt down in front of her little sister and pulled her into a firm hug.
"Be careful Madison..." Mandy kissed her lightly on the cheek. "I want to have a little sister to take care of when I get back."
"I will." Madison nodded, hugging her back until she pulled away and stood up. She watched with teary eyes as her big sister turned to follow Clover and Tassara out of the hotel rooms, heading down the hall toward the main lobby. When they emerged into the moonlit street Clover looked over at Tassara.
"Where should we go from here?" Clover asked.
"We should warn the other countries of the world about the new president's actions before he moves beyond Lyrobia into attacking other nations." Tassara replied.
"So who should we go to first? Who'd be most likely to believe us? France?" Mandy asked.
"Probably. But nobody would believe them if we DID convince them." Clover replied thoughtfully.
"The only nation that would make a real impact by turning against the United States would be Britain. America and Britain are such great allies, it would show the world we're serious if we can convince them." Tassara pointed out. Clover nodded.
"Now, how do we get there?" Clover asked. This stumped both Tassara and Mandy. They had abandoned the WOOHP jet a ways outside of the city, but it was likely that WOOHP had found it by now. Besides, it hadn't had enough fuel left to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
"The only option is to cross by boat." Tassara said at last. Clover and Mandy exchanged a glance. That would take forever, even if they could find a captain willing to ferry them across the ocean. America would doubtlessly be done with Lyrobia by the time they were across...
"I guess we have no choice." Clover said grimly as she turned to head down the sidewalk. They needed transportation to get to the coast, but for now a destination was okay. They would just have to do their best to reach Britain before America became too powerful for all of the combined nations of the world to stand against...
TO BE CONTINUED