Trixie awoke in a small concrete brick room. It was dimly lit by a lamp hanging by a chord over the old wooden table in front of her. The chair she was sitting in was also wood that had interesting red splotches across the back. She sighed full well knowing what they were. There were two windows in the room: one directly in front of her that was half the size of the wall, and the other which was the same size but behind her. Maybe I can just cut the bindings on my- she stopped the thought short when she realized she had been stripped of her suit and left to her bare essentials; a tight tank top and a loose-fitting gray camouflage pants. Her tank top was stained red. God help me. She prayed.


Tim kept running. The Dark Soldiers were right behind him and gaining fast. No fair that they have the hovercycles. The teen muttered to himself. "Sooo gay." He hopped a fence into a ditch and flicked the camo switch. It fizzled. "Must have been damaged when they blasted me with the EMP wave. There is only one thing to do at a time like this." he retrieved two small proximity mines from his utility pouch and threw them behind him. "Duck and cover!" he yelled to himself as a joke.

The explosion was powerful and deafening.


"Hello there, Pretty." It was a coarse elegant voice that jarred Trixie from her meditation. She looked into the face of an old man in a large red robe. She recognized him as the one who had sent the electric wave through her body only... what time was it? How long ago was that? The helmet had displayed the time, but now it was gone. "Aren't you gonna say something?" he asked with mock care.

Trixie frowned.

"Tough, poppet aren't you?" He crouched down and looked her in the eyes. "Beautiful eyes, girl. It would be a pity for them to loose their spark so young." his bony finger traced her face and she cringed. "T-03, come in here!"

A Dark Soldier with an energy baton entered the holding cell. "Boss?"

"You are to guard Miss Tang for the remainder of her 'visit.'"

T-03 didn't even look at her. Not that Trixie wanted him to. To this day she still harbored a fear of the pupil-less green glowing eyes of a Dark Soldier's mask. He just nodded and stood still as his leader exited the chamber. There was a his as the door closed then another as the secondary door to the entire floor closed.

The Dark Solder sighed and relaxed from his attention stance. "It is a pain to do that for the old prune..." he muttered as he pulled up a chair for himself. "So, how are you?" he removed his mask and his gray eyes smiled at her.

Trixie scowled and searched for the right thing to say. She recalled that Tim had told her some good retorts from the other world. "Yo Mamma." she muttered.

The Dark Soldier arched his eyebrow. "That's a first. Let's try again. Hi, my name is T-03, but you can call my Tommy." then he leaned in close and whispered. "I know that we Dark Soldiers are supposed to not have last names, but after research, I discovered it so my full name is-" he leaned back and spoke at a normal tone. "Thomas 'Tommy' Instinct Turner. What is yours?"

Turner?! Trixie's eyes went wide.


Tim was lucky, the blast had incinerated both hovercycles that had been chasing him, but it had also shot him into the air and great velocity. But he was able to land in a conveniently placed pond with minimal damage. "Ow I think I broke something..." he groaned as he waddled out of the water onto dry land and set off his S.O.S beacon.


"Finally found you, you loner!" Cassidy pulled Tim into his craft and zoomed back to base. "I got 'im." he reported as he stepped out of his craft followed by Tim. They were at the base an hour later.

Veronika saw that Tim was holding his arm and instantly rushed to his side barking out medical orders and rushing him to a med room.

In all the excitement, Tim didn't see Trixie, but assumed she was back.

After his arm was evaluated he was told by Veronika that his arm just suffered a minor sprain and that he'd be good to go within hours. "Thanks." Tim said to her. "Where's Trixie?"

Veronika gave him a blank stare. "You two are always together, I thought she was right behind you."

"You mean she isn't here?" Tim bolted out from his bed and ran from the room.

"Tim! Wait!" Veronika chased after him. "You're not ready to exert such stress on your body!"

"Please tell me Trixie is here?"

Sanjay shook his head and checked his palm top. "Nope, there is no one who has put in a log that she came back." He turned to a computer and jacked his palm top in. "Computer. Access the video records of Kristen Tang's helmet."

After a second there was a harsh buzz and the word 'No' flashed on the screen. Sanjay frown and Tim's heart rate sped up. "Audio Records?"

The playback began -"Go!"- It was Tim's muffled voice as he fought off the Dark Solders. His order to her to keep going. there were clicks and whirs as she loaded the data disk then a voice -*cackling laugh*- then silence.

Sanjay turned to his teammate. "We don't have a clue what that was?"

Tim couldn't talk. He knew that laugh and before he left Tootie, she warned him about Crocker. It can't be...

"Finally!" Veronika had caught up to Tim. "These heels are killing me! You, sir, are returning to the med room."

"No! I have to go back and Trixie. I can't leave her!"

Veronika smirked and punched his hurt arm. "Ouch."

"I'm sure you do, tough guy. But in the shape you are in, you could be killed. I'm sorry, but you need rest."

"You can't make me!" Tim hissed.

Veronika shook her head and a smile played on her red lips. "Actually I can." she raised a needle, but he kicked it away.

"See, I'm fine."

"You're right, go." Tim turned to leave, but his held his arm. "But before you go, I just want you to know this; I always liked you like a brother, but please, just one kiss for reassurance that you won't die?" she put on her best pouting face.

Girls are falling for me left and right! I love this universe! "Sure." he leaned in and kissed her, but didn't see the sly smile she wore as their lips met. "Now go, hero. Save the girl you love."

Tim ran for the exit.

Sanjay put his hands on his hips and gasped. "I can't believe that you let him go and kissed him! I thought you and Ned were..."

What? A couple? Just 'cause we had one date doesn't mean we are together."

"I've gone on missions and you never kissed me good-bye." Sanjay puckered up.

"Okay big boy, if you insist, just wait a second." she turned and Tim was nearly to the door. "three...two...one. Stop."

Tim fell to the ground. Veronika sighed. "Knock out powder-strips are on my lips for the ones who refuse conventional means of anesthetics. Now about that longed-for kiss..."

But Sanjay was huddled over his computer.


Mr. Blue had led the two kids all the way to the outskirts of Blightsdale, the town two days from Vicksdale, the ultimate destination.

Throughout the entire trip, the part of three had stolen, hopped on and off of trains and killed animals. The two teens had also put up with Mr. Blue's mysterious sayings and ways.

Chloe reached for her her backpack of belongings and made her way to the edge of the train where Shane and Mr. Blue were waiting. "Okay, let's get a rundown of this jump. Cuz it is from such a high height that if you land wrong we WILL break something we will no doubt need later. Like, oh I dunno, our necks!"

"Hey, you're the emo one who wants to commit suicide every so often, why are you complaining?"

"Because, dofus-brain, I now see i am so close to Chester. I can wait to die." Chloe sighed dreamily.

Shane rolled his eyes and turned to Mr. Blue. "Ready yet?"

"No. Good things come to those who wait."

"Awww a moral reference. Cute." Shane looked at the ground flashing beneath the train.

The train was suspended on wires. Instead of a track, these wires ran through the top of the train not the bottom. But jumping from the height was deadly. They were at least five stories up and the ground below was rocky with patches of snow as Holiday 5 approached.

Holiday 5 was a holiday that ushered in the end of the year and prepared people for Holiday 1, the first day of the new year. On Holiday 5 people exchanged gifts and money and were free from work for one week. (Yes it is christmas).

"Okay, get ready." Mr. Blue instructed. "Be careful when you jump, if you hit the energy beams that support the train, you'll be killed."

Shane sighed. "Lovely."

"And.... Jump!" the three jumped at that moment and plummeted to the ground.

"This feels like the jump our first jump!" Chloe yelled the Shane.

Shane couldn't reply. He was concentrating with his eyes closed. He managed to steal a glance at Mr. Blue. He was calm and his tattoos were... glowing? Cool. Shane closed his eyes once more.


"Okay so what are you suggesting?" Veronkia asked as she administered Gary's daily pain medicine then turned to A. J. and Sanjay. "I should return to active duty? You know I cant do that!"

"Why?" A. J. asked.

"I'm your best doctor, that's why!" Veronika answered.

"Look, Vero, we all know the real reason you don't want to return to combat; the friendly fire. But we know that incident was just an accident!" Sanjay sat next to her. "It is in the past. You were scared."

"That's just it! I shouldn't have been! I had been in combat situations before!"

"But not alone! Shut up! The fact remains that you were scared and opened fire, just as we are trained."

"Yeah, killing Sam." Veronika heaved a sigh. "Look, just wait for Tim to recover and he can get her out."

Gary turned to the conversation. "Why? Where is Trixie?"

"She's captured in the Castle." Sanjay replied."And Veronika refuses to break in again."

Gary bolted up fro his bed, banging his head against the head board. "What? You have to get her out of there as soon as possible!" he shouted.

"Okay, okay, we know. Just calm down." Veronika restrained him.

"NO! You-but you don't understand. They will break her!"

Sanjay looked at the still weak boy. "What do you mean 'they?'" he asked slowly.

"He means the Dark Soldier, duh!" A. J. responded.

Gary shook his head. "Not Dark Soldiers, the Elite. The kind of soldier I was training to be before I broke free of the mind control."

"What, there are more kinds of soldiers than Ninjas and Dark Soldiers?"

"Of course! You didn't think it was that easy, did you?" Gary sat up now that he was sure they would listen. "You see, those are two of the classes of soldiers Victoria has in her army."

"So that means there could be...more?"

"Nope. There ARE more. I was being trained to be an Elite Dark Soldier, but I escaped. My brother, however,-"

"Tim." A. J. interjected with a know-it-all air.

"No, no, not Tim, Tom."

"Tom?" Sanjay asked. "Damn, how many brothers do you have?"

"Jus' two."

"Phew."

"But I have a sister." He received blank stares from everyone so he continued. "My bro, Tommy, is the top interrogator. He isn't a front line man, but with play mental games with his enemy. I've seen him lull prisoners into a false sense of security then... pounce!"

A. J. gasped. "We have to get her out. Where's Tim?"

"He's sleeping in his room. Why? He can't possibly go to face what ever army is hidden in that building." Veronika warned.

"Do we have a choice?" Sanjay asked.

Gary turned to him. "Why don't you ever go?"

Sanjay paused. "Well, I'm the brains of this outfit."

A. J. coughed.

"Okay. One of the brains."

Gary shook his head. "You are nothing like your father."

Sanjay didn't respond vocally, but his face showed all. He was surprised and hurt.

"Look, I'll go." Gary volunteered.

"Ha ha ha, no." Veronika gently pushed the teen back into his bed. "You're not going near that place until we are certain that you are no spy."

Gary's jaw dropped. "I just spilled a great secret and you still don't believe I want to help the cause? I don't believe you people!"


"Very interesting. And you are certain that no Dark Soldiers guard that platform?"

Lawrence shrugged. "Why guard a place meant only for Dark Soldiers? Besides, even they don't use it!"

Shade shook his head. "That's too bad. But that breech of security is just what we need to get around their radar and take the tower. Outfit it with whatever you see necessary to defend it against an attack in case the Dark Soldiers actually catch wind of our plan."

Lawrence nodded then smartly saluted his dark leader. The back doors hissed as the hydrolic pumps pulled the door apart. He squinted as light filtered into his eyes. The briefing room had been dark for that meeting. Darker than usual as if Shade was outside the place he normaly broadcasted from.

Molly grabbed his arm just as his eyes adjust. "Molly! What's wrong?"

Molly smiled. "Mario's gonna tell some of us a story of his adventures as an elite Dark Soldier."

Lawrence frowned. "And you are smiling because?"

"Aren't you excited? I am. He's gonna tell us a story of his exploits behind the mask of the Dark Soldier! The documentaries we see on holoscreens never give us the true story-"

"Because the true story is disgusting!" Lawrence exclaimed.

Molly stopped.

"Have you ever stopped to think what the do? The kill people. Innocent people. They do this to enforce Victoria's law! Why would you want ot hear his story?"

Molly didn't answer, but she blushed and looked at her feet.

"Aha," Lawrence held her head up. "Look, Molly, I'm just warning you that you might hear somethings you don't want to hear and if he doesn't describe certain situations clearly, that means he doesn't want to remember them so don't push for them. And if he mentions Yuki only once, don't ask about her. Okay?"

Molly nodded. "Let's go."


"Dinner time, princess." Tommy pushed a plate across the table to Trixie.

Trixie slowly lifted her head and laughed.

"What is the matter?" Tommy asked. "Not hungery?"

"Starved, but it is hard to eat with your hands tied." Trixie replied sarcastically.

"Too true." Tommy replied, "Too true. We'll have to fix that." He unsheathed a dagger from his chest and cut one of her hand's binds.

Trixie looked at him, shocked. "Are you gonna cut the other one?"

"Yes."

"Why? Aren't you afraid I might try to escape?"

"Naw, man. I trust you." Tommy replied casually.

"You met me yesterday and I spat in your face. Yet you trust me?"

"Yeah."

Maybe he's not so bad after all. I mean, he is Tim's bro. Trixie waited as he cut the other bind. "Thanks, I suppose." she rubbed her aching rists then began to eat.

Tommy ate across from her, occasionally looking up at her. I think he thinks this is a date! Trixie felt outraged and intrigued at the same time. THe thought of falling in love with her captor, her soon-to-be boyfriend's brother, bore some sort of taboo that attracted her.

"So..." Tommy looked at a stack of cards in his gloved hand for awhile then tossed them aside. "I hate this."

"What were those cards?"

"Interrogation questions, but I abhor interrogations."

"Why?"

Tommy's mouth turned south. "They can get quite nasty. 'Who do you work for?' Bang! "'I said, who do you work for?' Bang!' It's like that until the person is dead or they give info."

Trixie shifted in her seat. "Who do you work for?"

"Jeez, I wish I knew." he replied. "When I first signed on for the Dark Soldier corpes, I didn't think we would go down this way. I thought I'd be protecting the innocent, the people. Boy was I wrong."

"What makes you say that?" Trixie was eager for the inside scoop. If she ever escaped this cell, the info she would give would be invaluable; priceless. She had the young soldier in the palm of her hand.

"I remember my first kill. It wasn't a group of rebels like you or a former enemy country's pilot flying in the skys. Hell, it wasn't even a riot. It was a child. A small and unsuspecting child. He was crying because his parents being taken in for questioning. My senior officer told me to silence him, permanently. He said it would be a demonstration to the family. I did as I was told and without thinking bashed his head in with the butt end of my rifle then held the barrel to his shattered temple and pulled the trigger now he's dead." Tommy closed his eyes but tears still flowed. "I can't make it go away. I'm not proud of what I have done or what monster I've become."

Trixie stared at the floor. "Hot damn."


"I see that you brought some friends." Mario bit his inner cheek as he stared into the probing eyes focused solely on him. Each attendee had come with their own motive. Dwight came to scorn him and show reason to be angry with him. Edgar, a rebel who ended up being his bunk-mate attended for moral support. Ben, the guard he had disarmed his first day at base, was attending hoping to learn some of new fighting moves. Zaz attended to record the story for Shade. Albert attended just for the entertainment aspect. Molly attended because she... well, she liked him. Heck, he'd say that she loved him. It was obvious, he was just waiting for her to admit it. Lawrence came because Molly had dragged him along for the ride. "Here we go...


(This next segment is in the past. Chronicles Mario's first out-of-base assignment to the city of Sku-land; today's Auckland. It is from Mario's POV so it will be first person. every section break the story will switch between this narrative and the story. i.e. break one; the narrative. break two; Lawrence interjects and speaks)

It is two thirty-six in the morning and we are wide awake. Me and my team arm ourselves with the latest in stealthy force tech and make our way the the pier where our assault boat floats. With no sound, we make our way into the boat and strap ourselves in.

"Alright, listen up, you rookies!" Director Pete Vanhorn's harsh voice breaks the reverent silence. "This is your first mission outside of the safe playground you call 'base.' This is man's world. Where you show no emotion but show justice. Most likely they taught you to aproach any sitiation with an open mind and think about all your options in academy. Well guess what? You can just toss that shit out the window along with pre-action training and fear. The common folk can smell fear. As soon as you show mercy or flinch when they toss a pebble your way, your appearance of invulnerability is shed and they see any other action you do as a facade. Out here you survive on instict, luck, and hard core skills. Not skills you've learned, but your natural skills that you were born with.

The rookie on my right speaks. "So this means I wont be a frontline man? After all that is what I signed up for."

"No, You signed up to be a Dark Soldier. We choose what best suits you. Look at you, you're a human toothpick. You're a spy. The closest you'll get to fighting is a scout...maybe." Director Vanhorn walks up and down the aisle looking at us, muttering derogatory names at us as he inspects us. Then he gets to the girl across from me. "Stand up, girl."

She does so.

"What is your name?"

"Dark Soldier 1290." She replies. Her voice is beautiful and sweet like honey. There is an edginess in there though. The academy taught her well.

The Director smiles at her. "She has everything in order." He says again letting his eyes roam her body. She is lightly armored, obviously dressed to be a scout. Various pouches of ammunition, food, explosives and the like line her abdomen and thighs. Her mask is two colors, Light gray on top, dark gray on the bottom. "See this?" Director Vanhorn points at her. "This is the proper way a Dark Soldier behaves! Outside of the base, your name is your I.D. number!" He turns back to the girl. "Take off your mask, 1290."

She does so tentatively. "Ye-yes, sir." Her blond hair flows down her back, resting just above the beginning of her belt. Her green eyes are unnaturally bright, like a feline with a passion to kill. There is a scar above her left eyebrow and a small mole on her chin. I like her.

So does the Director and this is obvious from his smile. I like her, but I don't like that smile. Then the Director turns to me. he motions for me to stand and I stand, saluting him with my right fist across my chest on my left breast, legs together. "At ease, soldier."

"Sir," I respond. "My name is Dark Soldier 1984."

The Director intakes a sharp breath. "Ah I know about you 80's. You're a December Elite, right?" He smiles.

I don't like to brag and I tell him this.

"Nonsense!" He turns to the others in the belly of the belly of the boat an tells the story of my training legion. He starts with my full designation. "This is Dark Soldier 1984 December Elite of the Z-B Clan." From there he launches into the story that has grown old to my ears. After all, I was the leader of that defense force. At the end he turns to me. "So you have already experience in a real fight?"

I nod my head.

"I see you have your outfit to be a spy. Good choice. I like you, 1984."

"Thank you, sir." I sit and look at the girl 1290. She smiles at me. I smile back, but realize she has no idea for my mask is still on.

"Augh, boy. No one likes a suck up!" The Director was chewing out 78, the Dark Soldier next to me. I shake my head as we hit a bump on land. We are at the destination point. "Kick ass!" The Director says as we march out.

We stealthily make our way to the rendezvous point that our Director agreed our heavy artillery support would be. As we go, I feel a presence near me. It is the girl. She taps me twice quickly then once after a brief pause; the signal that she wants to switch to a private channel. This is illegal to do during a mission, but what won't a guy do for the girl, right? "What is on your mind, 1290?" I ask.

"Please," She responds, "Call me Yuki."

"Okay, Yuki. What's on your mind?"

"First, I want to know your name." She laughs.

"Mario."

"Second, all that jazz about defending your wing of the training center against the rebels, true?"

"Not completely. He left out the part where I got a blasted point blank by an Ion Cannon."

She stops walking.

"It's true, cross my heart, swear to die."

"S'cool. It's just not everyday I meet a guy that lives through a war before we are officially dispatched for action." Her hand brushes against mine as my team begins to sweep the RZ area. She does this purposefully. I look at her and I swear she is smiling flirtatiously. Fate, I curse, My life has just gotten WAY more interesting. After I think this, a laser whizzes over my head and kills the man in front of me. From an emotional war to a physical one. Wonderful.

Okay, quick author's note: Yay i m back! Okay the next chap is about planning to spring trixie from jail and you'll get more of Mario's tale. Plus, tensions rise after the story between Dwight and Mario. OOOOOOOO!