EPILOGUE TIME!

…

Panting, Oliver stopped running outside the gate to ARCHANGEL's base. Georgia stopped beside him, looking up at the gate. "We made it," she panted. "But you remember that the punishment for getting captured is execution?"

"Didn't Kirk say that that was only if we were captured and had to be rescued?" Oliver asked. "Surely the fact that we managed to rescue ourselves will turn in our favour."

Georgia made a face. "We're treading on thin ice there, and you know it."

Oliver nodded. "I know, but what other choice do we have? Portia's obviously been recaptured and we definitely can't go back to OWCA so we have to go through with this."

Georgia nervously took Oliver's hand. The ocelot squeezed her paw reassuringly. "We'll be fine. Ready?"

Georgia nodded, and the two animals knocked on the metal gate together. Immediately, they noticed four security cameras turn towards them. They held still, and then the gate opened. They went inside the base and were immediately found by Leslie the Lemur, who had been one of the few who had been driven off in the last battle. "Georgia, Oliver, you're back!"

She hugged both of them in turn. "Where's Portia?"

"Still captured," Oliver replied. "She must have been in interrogation when we left."

Georgia snuck an uneasy glance at Oliver, but Leslie seemed to be taken in by the lie. "Then you'll want to see Kirk, yes?"

She suddenly covered her mouth with her paws. "But…the punishment's execution!"

Before anyone could say anything else, a booming voice echoed throughout the hall: "Oliver and Georgia!"

Leslie flinched. "Well, it was nice knowing you." With that, she scuttled off, leaving Georgia and Oliver alone in the middle of the room.

Kirk Kennedy strode down the stairs from the balcony above the hall. "So you're back," he said. "But you were captured."

"Yes, but we escaped on our own!" Oliver quickly offered. "You didn't have to rescue us!"

"But you still got captured in the first place," Kirk said, holding the dagger in his hands.

Georgia clutched Oliver's arm in fear. The ocelot, undeterred, said, "Yes, but you didn't need to waste time or resources rescuing us. We got out on our own."

"That isn't the point," Kirk said. He was now just a few meters away from the two animals. "I always tell you that if you get captured, you get executed upon release or escape. We never spend time or resources rescuing Taskers who are not skilled enough to evade capture."

Georgia whimpered. Oliver angled himself in front of her to protect her. "Please, it was my fault. It was my fault we got captured. Punish me, not Georgia. Please, it wasn't her fault."

Kirk raised an eyebrow. Then, quick as lightning, he grabbed Oliver and slammed him into the wall, holding him there by his neck. Georgia screamed and held her hands to her face in fear. Kirk twirled the dagger in his free hand. "This is hard for me to do, Oliver, because you've been a good and loyal Tasker for ten years."

Oliver struggled but not as hard as he could have done. He didn't want to make things worse by trying to bite or scratch Kirk. Georgia was watching in horror. "No, please!" she screamed, running up to Kirk and pulling on his trouser leg. "Leave him alone!"

"Shut up," Kirk snarled, kicking Georgia hard in the stomach. The golden retriever fell backwards with a whimper of pain.

"Don't hurt her!" Oliver croaked. "Please!"

"How noble of you," sneered Kirk. "But I'm afraid I must punish any and all Taskers who are not up to scratch. That includes you and Georgia."

The hand holding the knife moved like a flash.

Oliver's tortured scream echoed throughout the entire base.

…

*le gasp* OLIVER!

*another le gasp* this is the epilogue! It's all over! I have some things to say:

A lot of this story was inspired by Nightflame203's series Three Platypi And An Evil Organisation and Rotten To The Core. I highly recommend reading them and any other stories she posts because they are AWESOME! You'll see many similarities between her stories and mine because we get ideas from each other (mostly me getting ideas from her) XD

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the sequel: Stronger Than You, coming soon :)