Path of the Hunters [PART 3]

He looked up at Sunny then, biting his lip, started to go. It was so dark, but the phone screen provided enough light that he wasn't running blindly. "Do you think Mom'll be okay?" he whispered.

Her eye twitched, but she turned the volume back down, though her voice held an extremely annoyed edge to it, "Nova, I've been here since the phone rang. Demanding information. The most I can get from you two's side of the conversation is that something happened over a Starshine, something that involves Star, who I can pretty much assume is kidnapped for obvious reasons, Sunny, who is hurt badly and/or dying or already dead, and Trip, who is running away. While I assume that this is the gist of what's going on, I'd appreciate it if you people kept the only person around here who currently has the capacity of providing assistance in the loop, aka me."

"Lemme finish! Damn! A computer, and still actin' li--" He held his tongue on that comment. He did not need to be in a mess of trouble, right now, and he could already feel Crescent's piecing gaze... "I'm not gonna go there! Anyway, like I was sayin', just keep 'em on standby. We're gonna get a new extraction point for the kid."

"Your mom's gonna be okay," Cross said. "They won't hurt her. They need her... to get to me."

She grit her teeth before sighing. "Alright, I'll call in another stealth model pelican and a few stealth model hornets and have them standing by for his location."

"Then... are... are you gonna be okay?"

*

Aurélie looked resigned. "'Onestly... I'm starting to be tempted to just turn myself in..."

"I'll tranq you if you try. We all know what'll happen if you do that..." Stated Katherine.

"Thanks. We'll let you know." Nova sighed. Damn PMSin' computer...

"I'll try. I'm not gonna lie to you, it's been tough staying alive."

*

"I have to agree," Mani said. "It's not just you they want, anymore. They'll keep hunting, until all of us are dead."

"You will not believe just how much I want to shove a SHIVA up their asses right now..." Muttered Katherine. "These people remind me of ONI far too damn much..."

Trip frowned. "Okay..."

*

Aurélie didn't bother to ask what she was talking about. "I said 'almost.' I could never abandon Nova or these two." She sighed, gazing at her children. "I need to think of 'ow to end these orders..."

"I'd suggest just laying low for the moment. Shit's hit the fan in so many ways today that even I am having trouble keeping up with things. Just relax for the moment and try to enjoy what little peace you have right now, 'cause there's not much you can do."

She began twirling the Tuefel blade, frowning, gazing at it. What could she do? "When will they all get 'ere?"

"Within the next couple of hours. Why don't you two go take a walk on the beach or something? This is a tropical island." She replied with chuckle.

"It would be nice if we had swimsuits," Mani mused.

*

"How are you doing in the tunnel?"

"I could probably call in a few for you two then have one of our female marines pick them up."

"It's creepy... And I think it's really long..."

*

The dog didn't hear, watching the blade. It was going quicker and quicker...

"At least you're safe, down there."

*

"Aurélie!" Mani called out to her.

He wiped tears from his eyes. "Yeah... Where are you?"

*

It kept going, her breath quickening. So much blood. So much pain. He killed them. How could he? It was his sister, his family! Revenge... Revenge... He'd get them. He'd get them back. As Aurélie stared, the blade seemed to spill blood, scatter it. It dripped, then poured onto the floor.

MAKE IT STOP. MAKE THEM STOP.

And then everything went still and she slipped to the floor in a dead faint.

"Oh...well that ain't good..." She muttered, blinking in surprise.

"I'm flying right now. I don't really know where I am, either."

*

Mani knelt to the dog's side, grabbed the blade out of her hand. "This blade... is cursed..." She felt the dog's pulse, setting the blade safely aside. "Just unconscious."

"Now normally I'd call bullshit, but I've been on this planet far too long to think such things. Though I hope she wakes up soon, I don't think Nova will appreciate arriving here and find out that this blade knocked out his wife..."

Trip frowned, looking around. He put Cross on speaker-phone in order to hold it out and look around. As he walked, his lips twitched slightly. Sunny was writing things on the walls from where she was, letting him know how much further from that point.

"Flying where?"

*

Aurélie's hand shot out, grabbed Mani's wrist and held her in place. Her eyes sprang open, the usually blue irises a piercing, deadly gold. "Das ist die letzte Chance. Letzte Chance," she repeated. Her grip relaxed, her eyes went back to normal. "Qu'est-ce que c'est...? Mani." She dropped her hand entirely, looked over to the blade. "Damn. It 'appened again..."

"O...k...that was kinda creepy, even by my standards..."

"To a safe place. When we find you, you'll come here, too."

*

"German," Mani noted, looking at the dog. "...Tuefel was originally German, right?"

"Okay," he whispered and heard a beep. He looked at the phone's face. "Cross, the battery thing is beeping..."

*

"Oui. Why? What 'appened? What did I say?"

"Darn. Trip, the phone is dying. Turn the phone off. When you get there, call me back, and tell me what you see."

*

"It was in German. 'This is the last Chance,' I believe it translated to."