Groomer flinched from her place at the computer a few days later as she was spying on the Rovers. One's a sobbing baby, one's a complete coward, one is just plain nuts, and the other three can't shut up! When we kill them we'll be doing Mother Nature a big favor! she thought to herself. Parvo and Strom came up behind her.
"General, Shepard is still having suspicians about us. I've just discovered that the Rovers will be staying the next few nights at Headquarters."
"Well done!" Parvo said, slapping Groomer on the back. "This will just make it easier for us to carry out our plans."
Groomer smiled. "Thanks."
Storm spoke up then. "Parvo, the other Rover Clones are all finished."
"All four of them?"
"Yep, ready and waiting in the Clone Room."
"Excellent. This will make it all the more easier to..." just then he was interrupted by yet another coughing fit. "Lozenge!" He cried. Immidiately Groomer took the little pocket launcher out and fired a cherry lozenge into his mouth. "Ahh...much better. Now, as I was saying, it'll be so much easier to carry out the plan now that we know where they live. We won't even have to stage a fake emergency. Just find out a way to sneak into the Headquarters.."
"Way ahead of ya, General," Groomer said, tapping at the keyboard. When she was done, she stepped back so Parvo and Groomer could see. There was a perfectly detailed map of how to sneak into Road Rover Headquarters perfectly unnoticed by anyone or any kind of security. Storm whistled.
"Amazing what technology can do!"
"Indeed," Parvo agreed. "This will make it even EASIER to sneak into the Headquarters and find a place to execute the massacre.."
"Execute the massacre, General?" Groomer said suddenly, turning around.
"Yes," Parvo said. "Using a brand new silencer that Storm himself has created, we will sneak into the Headquarters when they are all in together, without their precious Master, grab em, take em here, shoot them one by one, very quickly, in a battle fire Storm has shown me, they all fall down, then we replace them with the Clones! Once our friends see this, they'll have to give us our money."
"Oh..but General, suppose it doesn't work?"
"WHAT doesn't work?!" Parvo screamed.
"Your plan!" Groomer said. "What if the Clones AREN'T that convincing? No one would know that better than Shepard, he'll REALLY think something's up! I think I have a better plan that might just work.."
"A BETTER plan! NO plans are better than mine, you of all people should know THAT, Groomer."
"But, just listen for a minute! This plan is foolproof! See, what happens is we should kill the Rovers and replace them one at a time! That way if the Clone's aren't that convincing, we'll know right away and we can call the one back and fix it while we're killing the next Rover! In a way, it's also the ultimate challenge, seeing as how we'll have to keep sneaking in, and I know how much you LOVE a challenge, Sir! Believe me, this plan can't fail!"
"We can't do it that way," Parvo said matter-of-factly. "We have to do it MY way! Storm already has the silencer."
"Well, we can still use it, just use it on my plan!"
He shook his head. "No way! My plan can't fail, the Clones are too good, we're much better getting rid of all at once."
"But that really is risky, Sir! My way there are no risks because it's just nice and simple: in, shoot, replace, go!"
"Exactly the same as my own! Only all at once, and we do it HERE, less to clean up that way."
"But that way some Rovers could turn around and escape! My way there would be only one Rover seeing us at a time and it would be too late then!"
"No. I already told Storm we'd do it his way!"
"Why are you all of a sudden so eager to listen to Storm, now? I thought you were going to listen to me from now on!"
"I AM, but you don't have enough money as Strom does!"
"Oh here we go again, it's always money with you, it's never actually listening when someone MIGHT have something better!" Groomer stood up then and put her hands on her hips, crestfallen. She and Parvo were supposed to be equal partners in this. They were usually equal partners in everything! So why now was he being to stubborn? Why was he suddenly catering to Storm? Why was a knot of tension building in her stomach? She knew she had only argued with Parvo just once before, and that had ended in disaster. She had resolved to not let it happen again. On the other hand, this was HER plan, it was absolutely foolproof, and she had her heart set on carrying it out.
"Parvo, you have to understand," she began, "I've really been thinking over this plan. I've been researching it from every angle, I can't really find one flaw in it. I'm telling you, this is foolproof. Just let me prove it to you, let me carry out the first part!"
Parvo looked at her thoughtfully. "But in order to carry out a plan, you need to either build suppiles or buy them and what do we NEED to get them? Money!"
Groomer nodded. "So?"
"So, money is what Storm has, and which our friends have! We need to carry out his plan because he can buy what we need! I have no doubt your plan MIGHT work, but MINE WILL NO QUESTIONS ASKED!"
Groomer felt anger knaw at her stomach. There he went again. "Ya know, Parvo, THE ENTIRE WORLD IS NOT MADE UP OF MONEY!! Besides, what if Shepard discovers his pets are different? What if they malfunction? At least if it's one at a time only one or two will notice and we can reprogram it in time. But if it's done all at once, Shepard might notice, and we won't have time to reprogram them! We get one to reprogram, he'll examine the others. My way, if he does notice one is different, the others will be normal, we can sneak the clone out, and reprogram him, make up an excuse, and no one will be the wiser."
Parvo shook his head. "This is MY show!" He said. Groomer could detect a hint of menace in his voice. " The plot involves all the Rovers being taken over and killed at once. There are no rewrites." Groomer turned from him and stared out the window to compose herself.
"Please think about it," she begged in a small voice. "We don't have to decide right now."
Parvo shook his head. "We're not deciding right now," he said. "The decision was made as soon as the plan was thought up. We're doing it MY way!"
"All right," Groomer said with a shrug. Parvo stared at her, as if he was surprised she had given in so suddenly. Groomer sighed and stared at the full moon. She hated going against Parvo's wishes, she remembered what had happened the last time she had done that. But she wasn't ready to give up her dream, not by a longshot.
The very next night, Hunter and Colleen were having a late night picnic near the beach. They were laying by the heat of a nearby fire, snuggled up tightly in one another's arms. Colleen breathed deeply in the brisk night air.
Ever since she had gone back to London, she had fufilled her promise to Hunter. Every night, at eight o'clock Headquarter's time, they would meet in their Cano-Sapien forms on the beach where they would talk and walk and just be together. Lately, though, the Master had asked them to spend the night at Headquarters. he was still suspicious as to why people would rob the blood banks and wanted the Rovers nearby just in case he needed them. This was perfectly ok with Colleen,and she knew it was for Hunter too.
Hunter kissed Colleen gently on the top of her head and looked at her lovingly. "This whole night is just so perfect, Colleen."
Colleen nodded. "That picnic was wonderful, Huntie."
Hunter shook his head. 'No, YOU'RE wonderful," he said, kissing her tenderly. He reached into his pocket. 'I have a present for you."
"For me?" Hunter nodded and pulled out a small silver object. Colleen stared. It was a ring. A small, silver ring made up of two tiny hands clasped together over a pearl heart. Just above the heart was a small crown. "It's beautiful," she whispered.
"We have rings like these in America," Hunter explained. "It's a Claddagh ring. The crown represents loyalty, the heart represents true love, and the hands represent friendship, the things that make up love. You wear it with the heart turned toward you. It means you belong to somebody," he pulled out a gold chain he wore underneath is collar. A ring, exactly like Colleen's was on it, with the heart turned toward him. "Like this."
Colleen's heart melted. "ME! HE BELONGS TO ME!" She gentily took the ring. "Doesn't a ring like this mean you're going steady?"
"It can," Hunter said. 'if you want to."
Colleen smiled. "I want to, really I do," she fastened the ring to her collar, with the heart turning toward her. "It's so beautiful. I'm never, ever gonna take it off."
Hunter smiled. 'Looks like it was made just for you."
Colleen kissed Hunter tenderly. "Oh, Huntie, I love you so much!"
Groomer paced across the room, nine strieds each way. She had been pacing for over an hour now, by now she knew those steps inside out! "What happened to Parvo?" Groomer gasped. "Where is he?" She hadn't seen him or Storm since early that afternoon. They had said they were going out, she had the feeling they were still a bit mad at her. But they hadn't said where they were or when they'd be back! Obviously they had chosen to spy on the Rovers on their own!
She balled her fist and pounded it against her palm. She and Parvo were partners! Parvo had no right to suddenly abandon her! Suddenly she stopped in midpace, almost falling from the momentum.. She folded her arms. "He doesn't think I'm up to it!" she whispered. "After all I've done to try to prove myself, he STILL won't listen to me, even though I OBVIOUSLY have the better plan!" She went to her room and gazed at her mirror. They were supposed to be equal partners, he was NOT supposed to just dump her for another!!
Her plan WAS foolproof, it could NOT fail. She quickly grabbed the small computer Parvo gave her to control the clones and summon them whenever she wanted. I'll show Parvo! She thought. I'll show Storm, too! I'll show them all! I'm going to make the ultimate move, and I'm gonna do it tonight! She stared into the mirror. Goodbye, Hunter! she thought. Hello, Road Rover Clone!
Later that night Hunter made his way back to his room to turn in. He felt like the luckiest dog on the face of this earth. Sure, maybe she was his very first girlfriend, maybe he didn't have enough experience yet, but one this was for sure, there was no dog exactly like Colleen. She was truly one of a kind, a complete original. That was one of the reasons he loved her so much.
Suddenly a noise attracted his attention. he jumped and turned around, but he saw nothing. He laughed, it was probably just his imagination. He quickly made his way to his room. Slipping in, he reached in the darkness to turn on the light and then stopped, hearing that noise again. He sniffed the air, something didn't smell quite right. He switched on the light in his room, temporarily blinded by the sudden brightness of his surroundings. He rubbed his eyes, but the smell got stronger, It enveloped him, surrounded him, almost suffocated him.
He opened his eyes and stared at the shadows the light made on his far wall. He ran to the window and opened it up. Sticking his head through, he gasped and gulped big breaths of air. Once he felt better, he turned back into the room and gasped. One of the shadows on his wall was moving!
The shadow began to close in upon Hunter as his footsteps echoed along his room. Colleen could see it clearly from where she was. She tried to call out to him, tried to reach out to him, but she seemed frozen to the spot. Suddenly, to her horror, all of the shadows began to move closer and closer to Hunter. His own shadow in fact seemed to move closest of all.
As her frightened eyes watched, Hunter's shadow came right out of the wall and began to change into him! But this Hunter was staring straight ahead, almost in a trance. This Hunter had cold, unfeeling eyes that stared straight ahead with no emotion at all. A Hunter who basically WAS a shadow! One by one each shadow around Hunter began to change into him! One shadow grew bigger and towered over the others. This Hunter pulled off his face to reveal Groomer!
With a wave of her hand, all of the phony Hunters pulled out pistols and waved them triumphantly over the real one. Hunter was pressed, surrounded on all sides. Turning, he looked straight at Colleen, his eyes filled with fear. "Help me, Colleen!" he cried. "I need you! Help me!" But she was rooted to the spot. She reached over, trying to help him, but she couldn't. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't move! Suddenly, to her horror, the entire room exploded in front of her in a huge fireball of bright orange...
Colleen tossed and turned in her bed, sweat pouring down her face. She grasped her bedsheets as hard as she could, trying, willing herself to wake up from this horrid nightmare, but she couldn't! No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't wake up! This was the worst one yet! her heart beat as loud as it ever did and Hunter's voice kept echoing in her head, Help me, Colleen! Help me, I need you! But she couldn't wake up.