#annabel charity

[i-must-feel]

Hello, I'm from Gaza City because of the war,my house was destroyed. We lost everything,my family and I did not have anything left. We left our homes in search of a safe place and we were displaced three  times to different places to survive, but unfortunately there's no safe place in Gaza. My mother is very sick and she's a kidney failure patient in need of treatment outside. She suffers from LS. Help me and my family to survive. Please, your small donation can make a huge difference. A friend outside Gaza has come in to help me run the donation program so that my mother can be evacuated

Please please help donate please help please

[drawing-way-outside-the-lines]

tag the oc that commits random acts of kindness

[misseviehyde]

De-Mentor

Sarah couldn’t be prouder of her younger sister Annabelle. She was definitely following in her big sister’s footsteps and living up to the family expectations. Head of the student council, a committed feminist and a straight A student, she had cultivated a happy and positive lifestyle just like Sarah. Just like her big sister she was also a vegan and she was deeply into politics.

Annabelle would often tell Sarah that she was her inspiration.  As a staffer for a local left-wing political organisation, Sarah had graduated top of her class and was now a rising star. She was making a difference. Annabelle looked up to her sister and wanted to be just like her once she graduated. She already had plans to become an environmental activist and work in the charity sector, something their rich but radical parents fully supported.  She first needed to complete her journalism degree, but once that was done she was ready to do her part to help the world.

The only thing Annabelle worried about was that she was sometimes getting stuck in an echo-chamber.  That was why she had tracked down her older sisters high-school bully Melody and as part of her dissertation was now interviewing her. She wanted to understand why Melody had bullied her sister and also what drove an evil bitch like her.

Melody was gorgeous and pretty. Her parents were super rich and she had been athletically talented.  Why would someone who had everything be so cruel?  Annabelle thought there had to be some deep reason, something she could discover and write about. Perhaps Melody was unhappy with her own life, perhaps she had changed since school? Maybe she would even want to apologise to Sarah and make up for all the bad, evil things she had done or said.

Sarah had told Annabelle horror stories about the rich, bratty, cheerleader and her clique. How Melody had taunted, teased and manipulated the school. Everyone had been afraid of her.  Annabelle wasn’t sure what to expect once she began interviewing the bully, but she had to try.

***

“Regrets?  No I don’t have any regrets. I fucking LOVED bullying your pathetic sister and making her my little bitch. Highschool was such fun, I could do whatever the fuck I wanted, and no one could stop me. Mmmmmh, it still makes me wet just thinking about it.”

Annabelle was listening back to her recordings from todays interview. She could barely believe it as she listened to the evil poison dripping out of Melody’s bitchy mouth. She couldn’t believe how open and honest the other woman was being, but it made her feel physically sick to listen to.

And yet…

Melody’s voice was aptly melodic. Soft and seductive, full of wicked intonation and glee.  The recorder seemed to greedily suck it up.  Annabelle knew she would end up listening to it again just to hear that voice… that damn pretty voice.

“You should be glad you weren’t at school when I was. I would have bullied you too. I mean, you’re so fucking pathetic - you dress like Sarah, ape her mannerisms, you even sound like that dumb bitch. Aren’t you embarrassed that you basically are your sisters mini-me?  Wouldn’t you rather be your own person?”

In the recording, Annabelle stuttered some more questions, but Melody was only interested in talking about what she wanted to talk about.

“You know, you have a decent bone structure and you’re prettier than your sister. You could be hot if you wore more makeup - dressed a little sluttier. You should try it. You should try acting more like ME and seeing if you like it.  You should live a little, eat some red meat… be a bad girl. It wouldn’t hurt for you to be more of a bitch.”

Annabelle re-wound the recording and listened again… then again… then again.

There was something about Melody’s voice. The poision in those words was soooo fucking hot somehow. Just listening to another girl admit she enjoyed being an evil bitch, that she revelled in her bratty bullying nature made Annabelle think strange thoughts.

You should try acting like a bitch.  You should eat more red meat, you should dress like a slut.

Again and again Annabelle listened to the words. They made her body tingle and made her think things she had never thought before.  Was she just a boring clone of her sister? Was she just a pathetic copy of Sarah, too afraid to think independently and be herself?

You should try acting more like ME.  Eat more red meat…

Annabelle felt her mouth salivate suddenly at the thought of a juicy burger. She hadn’t eaten meat in six years, she had decided it was immoral to eat meat. Eat more red meat. Grabbing her keys and her purse from the counter she snuck out of the front door, Melody’s voice still echoing in her mind.

****

The queue in Five Guys wasn’t very long and Annabelle’s hands trembled as she lifted the hamburger to her salivating mouth. She’d watched them fry the thick patty, the meat sizzling and juices running and now she greedily bit down and moaned, actually making an orgasmic gasp of pleasure, as she tasted the meat.

Fuck… yes…

Mmmmmmmh, Annabelle chewed - a damn seeming to burst inside her and a wicked smile growing on her face as she took another delicious bite. She could do whatever the fuck she wanted. She was all that mattered. If she wanted meat, she’d have meat.  Not too much of course, she had to look after her figure… but even now she could feel the protein filling her up, causing her body to react.

Sarah was short, underdeveloped, anaemic… well Annabelle wasn’t going to fall into the same trap. She was a meat eater now and she loved it. Breaking the taboo, doing something she knew was wrong… evil in fact… just made her feel so fucking… yummy. 

Suddenly she felt guilt. What the fuck was wrong with her? One meeting with Melody and she ready to turn her back on five years of being a vegan. No… this was just a one off, she instantly regretted this and wouldn’t be doing it again.

But deep inside Annabelle knew she didn’t regret it. She was hungry now. Hungry for more.

*******

Annabelle sat on the bus, the recording of Melody’s perfect voice oozing evil into her ears. She’d missed her stop ages ago, now the bus was heading into town - but that was okay. Annabelle wanted to go shopping.

“The first step to being a bitch has always been to look the part. It’s important that you work out, eat healthy, tone up your body. Join a gym, make sure your ass is perfect. You need to show off your body and be proud of it. Clothing is next. You can never dress down, every outfit has to be carefully chosen. You have to look hot all the time. Makeup, nails, hair, full outfit - focus on getting those right and you’ll start to be seen as popular and hot. Personality wise you need to be fake friendly to other girls, but make it clear you’re the bitch… the boss. Bully them if you have to, pick on the weaker ones and make them yours - then bring down the leaders until you’re the dominant Alpha. That’s how I ruled school when your pathetic Mom attended.”

Annabelle’s eyes rolled back in her head as strange visions burned through her mind. Visions that made her feel very good indeed. Smiling, she looked back down at her phone and began to cancel all of her charity subscriptions.  Annabelle had plenty of money, she was a careful saver and she donated most of it to charity.  Now though she had a better use for the money. For herself.

Join a gym, make sure your ass is perfect… every outift has to be carefully chosen.

Annabelle’s mouth repeated Melody’s words without even realising it as she stepped off the bus and walked into the gym.

Make sure your ass is perfect…

***

Annabelle admired her new reflection in the mirror as Melody’s droning voice continued to blare out of the speakers behind her.  She’d thrown out most of her old clothes and adapted now to the short skirts, tight dresses, knee stockings and heavy makeup that she had come to prefer. She no longer looked innocent. She looked like a teasing bitch. 

She looked like Belle.

Annabelle had started to go by Belle a few days ago when she’d decided she needed a hotter name to go with her hotter look.  Her gym membership was starting to pay off - she’d really toned up already. Maybe the diet of meat and protein shakes was paying off too. Even her boobs looked slightly bigger.

She practically salivated as she regarded herself narcissistically in the mirror. “Fuck yes. I'm so much hotter than I used to be. I feel like I'm finally becoming my own person. I’m finally breaking free of my dumb sister.”

Belle's waste paper bin was piled full of books and jotters. She’d needed more room for her makeup and this dumb crap was just in the way. She'd torn down her greenpeace posters and torn her signed photo of Greta Thurnburg in half. She couldn't give a shit about that stuff anymore.

She was rearranging her life. Plastic bags lined the wall, ready to be ditched. They were full of the fugly outfits she used to wear. A lot of them were Sarah's hand-me-downs. Belle wouldn't be seen dead in something that dumb bitch used to wear.

Melody's voice droned on repeat, filling Belle with the delicious thoughts she'd come to enjoy so much. She had an audio file of Melody's greatest sayings. She loved listening to her.

Your sister was always such a fucking loser, but you seem different. Have you done something with your hair? You look fucking hot babe. Those clothes look really good on you too. You know, I'm kinda rich. How about I support you in getting a new wardrobe, a new look? Start dressing like a popular girl and things will happen. You do wanna be popular right? It's more important than being nice. Popularity is ALL that matters.

Belle applied more lip gloss and repeated her new mentors words. Yes… popularity was all that mattered. She couldn't believe she hadn't seen it until now. She couldn't believe she had spent so many years trying to be a Sarah, when she should have been a Melody.

But she was so far behind. She was eighteen and had never been popular before. All those years wasted. All that time she could have been positioning herself to be the hottest girl at school.

She had another session with Melody tomorrow. She couldn't wait. She wanted to learn more.

***

Belle should have felt nervous. But she was just excited. The fact that Jason already had a girlfriend just made this even hotter.

Melody had told her it would feel this way. Her desire to get fucked was both physical and mental. A hunger inside her she needed to fulfil.

She had cummed night after night, rubbing her tight pussy and squirting to the sound of Melody's voice - but she needed the real thing. To truly become Belle she needed to experience cock. She needed to get railed like a bitch.

“Annabelle… ohhh shit we shouldn't be doing this. I didn't know you were like this…”

Belle squeezed his cock, digging her sharp new acrylic fingernails in slightly and making him moan. “I told you… don't call me that. I'm Belle now… and we both know you don't want me to stop right?”

Belle was pumping Jason's big cock slowly up and down, her tiny hand somehow managing to wrap round the magnificent girth. His cock felt great in her hands. 

They had met at his house, everyone was out and Jason’s girlfriend Carlie was hanging out with her friends. 

Belle had chosen Jason because he was fit, sexually experienced, and the most popular boy at college.

“I want you to take my virginity Jason. I want you to fuck me.”

“You're a virgin? I… are you sure you want to do this? I mean we don't have to…”

“Mmmmmh. Does it look like I'm messing around here?” purred Belle as she sank to her knees and slid her hot wet mouth around his cock.

“Holy shit… I thought you were a good girl, a prude.”

Belle giggled. “Not anymore. I'm a dirty fucking slut now baby, and my tight virgin holes need pounding. I wanna learn everything about being a slut. Use my body and fuck my holes as deep as you like till I tell you to stop…”

Jason moaned as Belle resumed her sucking and he knew he was in for a great night…

***

At the dinner table, Sarah watched her sister in barely disguised horror. What the hell had happened to Annabelle?

The girl was eating meat. She had somehow convinced their parents to start eating meat again too, and now the three of them were sat eating juicy steaks whilst Sarah picked at her quinoa salad.

“Mmmmmh dont you fucking love how good this tastes Mom and Dad. You know - I thought vegans were meant to be thin, so it’s kind of mad that Sarah is so fucking fat even though she eats that plant based shit.”

Neither parent said anything, they just looked embarassed. What Sarah didn't know of course was that Belle had evidence their Dad was embezzling money from his company and their Mom was having an affair with the pastor. Their hypocrisy had given her total control of the house and Melody had taught Belle exactly how to leverage this to her advantage.

Sarah just couldn’t believe it. Her once smart, kind, feminist, vegan, sister was now a selfish, bratty bitch and a bully. She almost reminded Sarah of someone else, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

“Do you want some steak too Sarah?” giggled Belle as she deliberately tossed a piece onto her sisters plate and watched maliciously for a reaction.

Standing up Sarah pushed her chair under the table and glared at Belle. “What the hell has happened to you Annabelle? You're my sister but you're acting like a total bitch. Im not hungry right now, enjoy your meat.”

Storming off to Belle's laughter Sarah decided she had to act. Something had changed a few months ago to start Belle down this path, but what?

She let herself into her sisters room. It was unrecognisable. Designer clothes hung from racks, a sex toy lay discarded next to the bed… white stains on the bed sheet evidence of where Belle had orgasmed that morning. 

Makeup and perfume covered every available surface, lingerie was stuffed into drawers. How could she afford all this stuff?

Next to the bed was a pair of Bluetooth headphones. They were still connected to Belle's phone. Sarah slipped them on and pressed play.

You're a fucking bitch now Belle and it feels good. You exist now to bully girls like Sarah. You're my little mini-me and you love it. Keep cumming as you listen to my voice and imagine yourself become more evil and bratty. You don't care about anything but yourself anymore. You have become a perfect bitch.

Sarah ripped the headphones off with a gasp. That voice… that evil fucking voice. It was Melody. Her old bully Melody.

“So now you know the truth, sis” giggled a voice behind her and she spun to see Belle standing in the door. 

“Look at you. So fucking pathetic. I can't believe there was ever a time I wanted to be like you. Melody helped open my eyes and show me who I really am.”

Belle advanced into the room with a wicked grin. “Look at me Sarah. I'm so much better than you now. My pussy is tighter, my ass rounder, my boobs bigger. You're a fucking nobody. In a few months I'll have found a rich man to satisfy my needs… just like Melody did.”

“No Annabelle. She's brainwashed you. She always was persuasive, but somehow she's turned you into her puppet. You have to fight this, you have to resist. Can't you see what she is doing?”

Belle just giggled, “Get out of my room loser. I have Jason coming round and then I'm seeing Melody again. Nothing you can say can stop what I'm becoming. Nothing.”

Sarah walked out, tears in her eyes as Belle laughed again. 

Then she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror. She gasped at how evil and wanton she looked. She looked just like… just like Melody.

She's turned you into a puppet.

Belle gripped her temples. Had she just exchanged one role-model for another? Was she being played by Melody?

No one plays you. You're in control. You get to choose who you want to be.

“But this… this isn't who I wanted to be is it?”

The mirror seemed to shimmer and Bella saw herself as she used to be. Sweet, innocent, a little Sarah copy.

We can go back. Go back to how we were. 

Belle hesitated. 

She looked down at her sexy hands and ran them over her toned body. She remembered the taste of cock in her mouth, the feeling of getting fucked. She shivered as she recalled how good it felt to bully other people and get what she wanted.

No. There is no going back. I fucking LOVE being Belle. 

She laughed as she imagined Annabelle being destroyed, consumed and turned into her. She imagined innocent little Annabelle moaning in pleasure as Belle replaced her.  Yesss that’s right loser. You fucking love being me.  You fucking love being a bitch,

“Mmmmh, fuck Sarah AND fuck Melody. The only person who matters is me. I'm the only one who counts. I’m a fucking bitch and I want what Melody has. The power to make others do everything I want. I need that power and I’m going to get it.”

Laughing she opened her phone and messaged Jason.

She had a plan…

***

Belle moaned as Jason mounted her, his hands in her hair and his cock buried deep in her tight pussy.

“Yessss fuck me harder. Tell me how much better I am than everyone else. Tell me what a slut I am.”

Thwap thwap thwap. Sweat dripped down, Belle's sexy boob's bounced and wet smacks filled the air as Jason pounded Belle's incredible body.

She loved the feeling of him sliding in and out. She squeezed her fussy tight, feeling it grip his cock and make him moan. She threw her hips back so he could go even deeper.

In the last few weeks she’d gone from virgin to pornstar.

Jason didnt even bother to fuck his own girlfriend anymore. Life was brilliant. 

But something Sarah had said bothered Belle. That bit about being a puppet. Had Melody just turned her into an extension of her will? Was she still not really her own person?

“Fuck Belle. You're so much better than anyone else. I'd do anything for you. Anything.”

“Anything…?”

Belle's mind was full of ideas. She had a theory, she just needed to test it.

***

Slipping the headphones over Sarah's ears, Belle grinned as her sisters eyes flickered open. Jason was ready though.

He pinned Sarah down and stopped her from struggling as the specially edited tape Belle had made began to play. Melody's hypnotic voice flowed into Sarah's brain.

“You are worthless… pathetic… beta… loser… nothing… subservient… weak…”

Belle watched as her sister tried to fight, and then as her struggles began to slow and her eyes rolled up into her head, she tossed her the sex toy.

“I’m a dumb cunt that serves Belle. A dumb cunt that serves Belle. My little sister is better than me…”

As Sarah began to repeat the words Belle felt herself get wet. Soon there wouldn't be anything left of who Sarah had been. Melody's voice was the key and Sarah had hours of recordings.

She could make Melody pretty much say anything now…

***

Melody didn't remember much after drinking the juice that Belle had fetched for her. By the time she'd realised the little bitch had set her up it was too late.

Melody felt the gag in her mouth and the headphones jammed on her head. Her own voice was telling her things… things she couldn't resist.

She was telling herself that Belle was best. She was the Mistress that Melody needed to serve. Melody existed to serve Belle. She could no longer use her voice except to serve Belle. She could no longer use her voice against Belle. She was the puppet now and Belle was the Mistress. 

No… that wasn't right. Belle was the puppet Melody had created to torment and destroy her old victim Sarah. She wasn't the Mistress. Melody was. 

Only she wasn't. Melody's own voice was telling her that Belle was the Mistress now and Melody's voice was irresistible. She had worked hard to develop her natural powers and learn the mind conditioning techniques that allowed her to make others do what she wanted. She had loved the power.

In hindsight maybe it had been careless to let the girl take so many recordings. Now the power was hers.

No… not the girl.

Her Mistress…

Belle was the Mistress now and Melody was eager to serve her.

***

Belle cleared her throat and laughed with glee as whispered her corrupting words into her lovers ear. He groaned, his loyalty to his wife now totally destroyed as he fucked her deeper and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

“Yessss fuck me deeper Daddy… fuck me like a slut.”

She felt him respond, felt his mouth on her nipples… his thick powerful cock pistoning in and out of her responsive body.  She had cum on his cock twice already and could feel a third time approaching.

It was all so fucking intoxicating.

She had the power now and her voice was sexier and deeper. It had taken Melody very little time to teach her the techniques- she was a gifted student after all. 

And once she was sure she had fully mastered the power - that she could drip corruption into another person and shape them to her whims… her first victim had been Melody. She’d brainwashed her completely until her former mentors voice was entirely stripped of its power. Melody could no longer brainwash people.

Only Belle had that power now.

She could make people do whatever she wanted. Make boys suck dick, girls become bullies or losers… even change Sarah from her kind, loving sister into a cold hearted MAGA supporter - which she had done just for fun.

Her once socially liberal and kind sister was now a regressive cruel bitch just like Belle had wanted.  As for Jason - Belle had gotten bored of him at last. His reward for helping her had been to be programmed into a cocksucking sissy boy for her amusement whilst she began fucking his hunky Dad instead.

That was who was now deep inside her - his loyalty to his son and his wife replaced by an uncontrollable lust for Belle.

Perhaps one day she’d get bored of him too.  After all Belle was a bitch and she was the only one who mattered.

The student had become the teacher and no one was ever going to be better at it than Belle.

THE END

[dusty-daydreams]

I saw someone suggest the idea that the Ushers all represent a deadly sin - here is which I think they are and why

Prospero - Lust

Camille - wrath

Leo - gluttony

Vic - sloth

Tamerlane - pride

Fred - envy

The Twins (Roderick and Madeline) - greed

Prospero is Lust, not only because of his hedonism but his unabashed Lust for power - he is filming his anonymous orgy so he can blackmail powerful people and dies in the midst of his orgy - but I could also see him as sloth (wouldn’t come up with a proper business proposal, didn’t bother to check that the tanks held water not acid)

Camille is Wrath, she approaches everything - her siblings, her job, her assistants/lovers and verna in the end with rage - and she gets killed by an angry animal

Leo is Gluttony - he indulges himself in abundant drugs and abundant sexual partners, despite having a relatively good situation - he has a successful career that doesn’t put him directly under his fathers control, he has a committed caring partner but still he gluts himself on everything that comes his way, he dies chasing a cat that hunts far more than it needs too

Victorine is Sloth - she doesn’t want to put in the work needed too make her device work, she just takes shortcuts to make it seem like it is working, she kills her partner in part because her partner who is actually the skilled surgeon doesn’t want to do the work anymore (admittedly this one I’m not as sure on - she might be pride, refusing to admit her device doesn’t work out of fear of failure)

Tamerlane is Pride - Of all her siblings she is the most proud of being an usher, and the most obsessed with her own image, obsessed with beauty, obsessed with being a success, she will not take anyone’s advice not even her husbands, she is proud and controlling in her relationship forcing her husband to go along with her voyeuristic kink when he doesn’t want too. This is a double-edged sword as she is also deeply insecure, outsourcing intimacy and dying as a result of smashing mirrors attempting to prevent Verna taking her place (alternatively she could be envy - envious of Verna etc.)

Fred is Envy - he is envious of his father and his effortless command presence and his fathers success, and he is envious of his wife, punishing her horrifically purely because he believes she cheated on him, (even though she didn’t, all she did was think about it and go to a party where she was alone) he is so envious that he even makes an attempted coup against his father. (He could also be gluttony - his drugs, and dying because putting more and more nightshade in his coke)

Finally the Twins - Roderick and Madeline are Greed - They set everything in motion because they both always wanted more, more money, more recognition, more power, even immortality - through AI in Madeline’s case and in the creation of a bloodline legacy in Roderick’s

I also have one thing to add I think that Lenore (and Annabel Lee and Juno and Morella - Lenore’s mom) represent the seven capital virtues: these are chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness and humility.

Chasity - Lenore dies before she ever has a relationship, she is in gothic story terms a chaste innocent

Temperance - Lenore seems disgusted by her dad having done drugs (also Juno is Temperance, her wisdom in coming to her own conclusion to wean herself off Ligodine)

Charity - As Verna says the charity her mom starts is a result of Lenore saving her mom (also Juno and Morella donating to charity)

Diligence - Lenore sticks to what is right even when it’s hard, giving a statement to the police about her dad, caring for her grandfather, searching for treatment options for her mom (also Juno diligently weaning herself of drugs, Morella’s charity work, Annabel Lee caring for her children)

Patience - Lenore patiently encourages her family to do better and be better

Kindness - Lenore saves her mother, and creates a ripple effect that saves millions of lives (Annabel Lee being kind to everyone)

Humility - Lenore thinks that losing their fortune and company could be a good thing that leads to a moral good for her family

[medievalandfantasymelee]

👑🌹The Queen of Love and Beauty🌹👑

Round 1 (3 of 6)

The Queen of Love and Beauty shall hold the honour of presenting unto the winner of the Tournament his Champion's Coronet.

Vote for the lady who, to you, best exemplifies feminine dignity, grace and loveliness

The six contenders with the most votes will advance.

Row 1 - Lucrezia Borgia [Holliday Grainger], The Borgias (2011-2013) - Giulia Farnese [Lotte Verbeek], The Borgias (2011-2013) - Elizabeth de Burgh [Florence Pugh], Outlaw King (2018)

Row 2 - Contessina de Bardi [Annabel Scholey], Medici (2016-2019) - Elizabeth Woodville [Rebecca Ferguson], The White Queen (2013) - Mary Boleyn [Charity Wakefield], Wolf Hall (2015-2024)

Row 3 - Anne Neville [Phoebe Fox], The Hollow Crown (2012-2016) - Kate Percy [Michelle Dockery], The Hollow Crown (2012-2016) - Margaret of Anjou [Sophie Okonedo], The Hollow Crown (2012-2016)

Row 4 - Eleanore of Aquitane [Katharine Hepburn], The Lion in Winter (1968) - Isabella of Valois [Emma Hamilton], RSC’s Richard II (2013) - Anne Boleyn [Genevieve Bujold], Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)

[raven-nerd4life]

Lenore in jail

thaddeus: . . . What?

Lenore: oh God forbid women have hobbies

Lenore: It's not all bad in here my friend and annabel are here too

Thaddeus: annabels here!? Why is she here?

Lenore: she strangled a man with her gold chain at her father's charity gala

thaddeus: and your friends!?

Lenore: well Bernice started a bar fight and broke a pool table

Thaddeus: oh my God

Lenore: and eulalie stole neighborhood pets and was housing illegal animals

Lenore: ada is here cause she chopped of her ex's head

Thaddeus: JESUS!!

Lenore: and finally morella-

Thaddeus: MORELLA'S HERE WHY?? She's so passive

Lenore: It's seems you took her passive- ness as an inability to cause harm

Thaddeus: so what did she do?

Lenore: she broke into the white house to force the president to fix America

Thaddeus: *sigh and what did you do?

Lenore: ✨️arson✨️

[tessa-liam]

Life Goes On

Marabelle Series

Chapter 15 – Part 2

Choices – The Royal Romance, AU – (cross-over with Rules of Engagement)

Series Premise – An American teenager from New York City is introduced to the world of a small European country and its society of royalty, nobility, and commoners. How will her life story be transformed? Will this new adventure bring her happiness...or regret?

Marabelle Series Masterlist, My Complete Masterlist

Main Pairing – Crown Prince Liam Rys x F!OC Lady Sophia (Sophie) Taylor

Other Pairings – Maxwell Beaumont x M!OC Daniel (from NYC), Drake Walker x F!OC Melanie Smithson

Most characters belong to Choices/Pixelberry Studios

Series Rating – M*🔞Warnings: this series will have NSFW material, drinking, crude language & innuendo, gun violence

Many thanks to @selina012 for pre-reading.

Category – Alternate universe/on-going series/angst/fluff/cross-over with Choices Rules of Engagement

Chapter Summary – Liam returns home to Cordonia to find Sophie and to address his nation about the university terror attack.

Music & Title Inspiration: Life Goes On, Ed Sheeran, Luke Combs; Run To You, Lucy Thomas

A/N1: Bethany Beaumont, Maxwell’s mother, is originally from the U.S. and is Barthelemy Beaumont’s second wife. Annabelle Beaumont (deceased) is Bertrand’s mother.

A/N2: ‘Social Season’ in this AU series refers to a traditional period in the spring/summer for royalty and members of the court to take part in Balls, dinner parties and charity events.

A/N3: Heartfelt thanks to @Selina012 for joining me in writing ideas and with dialogue/content for this chapter and series.

Aboard the Royal jet, Rashad peered outside the window and took in the white sands of Cordonia's shores passing by. Suddenly his ears popped, and the pilot spoke over the intercom, announcing the estimated arrival time was in 5 minutes. He felt nervous and helpless and could not help but repeat his fears in his mind: ‘There hasn't been any good news’.

Drake watched Liam walk away from his seat, his hand curled around a glass tumbler filled with an expensive scotch. He wondered if they would hear news before they landed. Remembering his best friend's emotional spiral downward after the past assassination attempt three years ago at the palace; this had the makings of that same pattern. This time though, Drake was not going to leave Liam alone.

The dire problem of not having any clues where Sophie was at the moment was suffocating.

As they waited to land, the minutes seemed to draw out. There was not much he or any of Liam's guards could do but wait and prepare to offer the crown prince their full support.

Liam finished off his scotch, the fiery liquid barely registering, and tried to review the notes for his upcoming address to his nation in his head while stepping into his private suite onboard.

There had still been no update on his beloved Sophie's whereabouts or circumstances.

He took a deep, long breath and turned to Bastien walking next to him with unmistakable determination. "Bastien, contact the security team back home immediately. I need all the current details on the scene and an update on the rescue operations."

Bastien sprang into action, calling the security team leader and putting him on speakerphone so that Liam could hear the conversation in real time. Captain Sean Wilson answered the call.

"Captain, this is Crown Prince Liam Rys, requesting an update on the incident at the University of Cordonia." Liam's voice came through the phone speaker, clear and strong.

"Your Highness, the situation at the scene is complicated and we have deployed additional rescue teams to help facilitate the speedy rescue and recovery process.”

The captain’s voice was tired but remained professional. "We have confirmation that multiple students have been injured in the shooting. We have increased security three-fold around the campus and are working diligently to track down the suspects."

Liam's fists clenched involuntarily, but he remained stoic as he continued. "I need a complete list of all the known casualties. I want to know about each and every one."

"Your Highness, we have established a comprehensive emergency response mechanism. At present, we are compiling the information and rescue teams are working at full ability. The list of casualties is being urgently collated, and I will send it to you via encrypted channels as soon as it is completed."

Liam nodded, and though he could not be seen, there was an unmistakable insistence in his tone: "I need this completed as soon as possible. In addition, please continue to strengthen the search and rescue efforts to ensure the safety of all students. At the same time, increase the manpower to hunt down the suspects and I demand that they be brought to justice in the shortest possible time."

Shortly after hanging up, the sound of an encrypted email rang on Liam's tablet, which he quickly clicked on; and displayed a list of known casualties on the screen as asked. There were fourteen people in the column of the dead, and dozens of names in the column of the injured. Liam took a deep breath and began to go through the list of names, one by one, each name like a sharp blade, stabbing at his heart. He searched carefully, afraid to miss any possible detail. But until the end, he did not find Sophie's name.

Liam clenched his fists, his eyes shining with unshakeable determination. "Bastien, as soon as the jet lands, we will go to the scene and assess the situation personally.”

Bastien, at once responded: "Yes, Your Highness. I will ensure that everything is in place."

Liam turned his head to stare out the window at the clouds; his heart was in turmoil. Although Sophie's name did not appear on the list of casualties, his fears did not diminish. He knew that the lack of news did not mean that Sophie was necessarily safe. That she might still be struggling, or that for some reason she might not be able to communicate with the outside world. He had to ensure that Sophie was safe personally.

Thinking of this, he took out his phone and touched Sophie’s number with trembling fingers. But all he heard on the other end of the line was a cold, robotic voice: 'Sorry, the number you are trying to reach is unavailable.'

Sending a text, he carefully tapped every letter, as he expressed his worries and thoughts.

'Love, please call me as soon as you get this message. I'm worried about you.'

___

'Where are you? Are you safe? Why can't I reach you?'

___

'I'm already on my way back to Cordonia. Please wait for me. Please.'

As the minutes ticked by, the 'unread' message on the screen was an ironic and cruel reminder of the futility of all his efforts.

Frustrated, he then tried to call Sophie's aunt and then sent a text message to Maxwell. 'Max, are you okay? Where are you? Have you heard from Sophie?'

Shortly after, his phone vibrated and Liam checked the text immediately .... only to see Maxwell reply,

"Liam, me and Daniel are at the Malic Hotel now, we're all right. But Sophie got separated in the confusion!!!!😢 I have been trying to reach her without success. I'm really worried about her.'

Receiving this update, Liam, although still anxious, was also relieved that Maxwell felt safe. He immediately replied: "Max, good to hear you're okay. Please keep in touch, I'll be back as soon as I can, and we'll find Sophie together."

Liam then picked up his phone again and sent a text message to Sophie's Aunt Bethany:

'Duchess Bethany, this is Liam. How are you? Have you heard from Sophie? I am very concerned for her safety.'

A few minutes later, Bethany replied to his message: 'Your Highness, I'm fine, but Sophie hasn't been heard from since the ceremony. I am also anxiously awaiting her contact. Please try to not worry, I'm sure she will be all right'

Liam's heart sank to rock bottom as he closed his eyes, silently praying that she would be found safe and unharmed. At the same time, he also felt a deep sorrow for all the innocent victims of the attack. He understood as crown prince, he had the responsibility and obligation, along with his father, to ensure the security of the country and its people. This attack was an acute test of his leadership.

University of Cordonia, Capital

As Sophie wandered aimlessly through the maze of people, her eyes welled up. The adrenaline of an earlier escape from the auditorium faded and she felt more sadness, fear and heartache than she had ever felt before. For a moment, she could not control her emotions and tears ran down her cheeks. How she wished it all had been a bad dream, that she would wake up and find that it had all been a false alarm.

An hour later, Sophie and other surviving students and guests were evacuated in an orderly manner to a hotel outside of the campus, the Malic Hotel. The hotel was temporarily requisitioned as an emergency shelter and was surrounded by police and security personnel to ensure internal safety and order. But even so, there was an indescribable tension and unease still in the air.

Sophie had been assigned to room 302. The moment she stepped into her hotel room; Sophie could finally catch her breath. She sat wearily on the edge of the bed, looking out of the window with empty eyes, but her mood could not be calmed. She was eager to know more about what happened at the graduation, especially the mysterious men in black masks, their identity, purpose and why they were there; all of these became lingering questions in her mind.

She instinctively wanted to turn on her phone, hoping to find some clue or news report that would at least give her a sense of what had happened. But reality threw icy water at her - her phone screen was broken and riddled with cracks. She quickly pressed the power button, but the screen only flickered a few times, and then no longer responded. Sophie's eyes flashed with despair, as her contact with the outside world was completely cut off.

Thoughts came like a flood. She missed her Aunt Bethany, who supported her no matter what she was going through, who gave her endless warmth and encouragement, and who always made her feel at home in Cordonia. At the same time, she missed her horse, Marabelle. Every time she mounted Marabelle's back and galloped across the wide fields of Ramsford, all her troubles seemed to go away with the wind. Marabelle's eyes were always full of trust and loyalty, and there was a tacit understanding between them without words. How she wished now that she could feel the freedom and joy of running with Marabelle again.

But most of all, she missed Liam. In this unknown and dangerous moment, how she wished he could be with her, give her support and comfort. Liam, the man she was in love with, who gave her strength. She had never been so impatient to see him, to feel safe in his arms.

Now, however, she could only face all this alone; tears in her eyes had slipped down once again. In addition to missing Liam, Sophie's mind was filled with anxiety about the attack. She did not know how many people had been injured or even killed in the attack; whether Candy and Tom would get better, or what was going on with Maxwell and Daniel. They were her friends and family, and their safety stuck with her. She prayed silently that they would be safe.

Amidst this anxiety, there was so many questions. Who were those men in black at the graduation? Why would they target innocent students? What is the purpose behind this attack?

What puzzled her even more was the emblem of the earth and the baby. What does it mean? What has it got to do with the attack?

Her mind was full of confusion and uneasiness, questions swirled with no answers in sight, leaving her breathless. She tried to piece together every detail of the night in her mind, hoping to remember a clue or an answer. But the images were fragmented, leaving her unable to grasp and put together any useful information.

"Liam ..." Sophia muttered under her breath. She recalled what Liam had said about what he had experienced as a young prince and the memories of an assassination attempt that had fear cutting through his heart like a sharp blade.

Exhaustion came flooding in, overwhelming all her thoughts and feelings. Sophie lay in bed, breathing smoothly and deeply, and her body relaxed, as if all her worries and pain had been temporarily released at that moment. She drifted off to sleep with all her doubts, uneasiness, sadness, and longing for Liam.

The Royal Palace, Cordonia

The press was relentless. Inside the throne room, King Constantine stood stoically, as members of the press core demanded answers about the campus attack. Constantine cleared his throat and addressed the press directly and with the assurance of his years of reign and released a statement:

“At this dark hour, I stand before you with profound grief and pain in my heart. Like many of you, I am mourning the lives lost today, and we pray for the wounded to make a full recovery.

While we grieve the senseless violence that struck our country, we are also furious with the loss and sorrow brought on by those responsible for this evil act. We cannot and will not tolerate the murder and harming of innocent lives simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Those who commit such unspeakable acts will be held accountable and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the crown.”

Stepping down from the dais, Constantine was at once escorted by his royal guard out of the throne room. He looked visibly shaken and gripped his cane, trying to stand straight and upright.

Constantine's face was pale, and his eyes were filled with deep sorrow, his elderly face looked worn. But he refused to shed tears, still maintaining his dignified manner, while in public.

Lawrence, his personal guard, moved quickly to his side, “Your Majesty, the Royal jet has just landed with your son.”

Malic Motor Hotel, temporary safe house, University of Cordonia

The second group of surviving students were transported to the Malic hotel in orderly batches by the police in the pre-dawn night. The bright lights in the lobby could not hide the tension and in these in the air. Police officers, security personnel and medical staff were busy shuttling through the hallways to ensure that every student was properly accommodated.

The noise of footsteps and a murmur of conversation broke the sounds of the night. Sophie woke up, opened her eyes slightly, and through a gap in the half-closed curtains. She saw several figures hurrying along the corridor, as if new survivors had been brought in. She got up and dressed. Soon the door was gently opened, and a figure slowly entered the room. It was a girl about Sophie's age, a little wobbly in her step, visibly shaken by the night's horror and still reeling from the shock.

"Hey, um ... excuse me. I was assigned to this room. Is it okay if I come in?" The girl's voice was small and trembling, and her eyes were slightly timid.

Sophie at once stood up and smiled back, "Hello, come on in." The girl came closer, and Sophie could see her face. She had an East Asian face, long deep brown hair, and large black eyes full of fear and confusion, as if she had just woken up from a nightmare.

The girl said softly, "thank you, my name is Hana. What happened tonight was terrible ..."

Sophie took Hana's hand and sat her down on the edge of the bed. "Hi Hana, my name is Sophie. I know we have been through the same horror. But it is all right now. We can talk together and maybe it will make you feel better." Sophie tried to sound calm and friendly, hoping to bring some comfort to the girl.

Hana gave Sophie a grateful look, and took a deep breath. She began with great determination to recount her own experience at the graduation.

"I was with friends and all of a sudden the lights went out and they were gunshots ... I tried to run away, but there were screams and chaos all around me. I really don't know how I got out. I was taken to the stadium with some people and stayed there almost overnight until we were brought here. But I never saw my friends again. I got separated from them, I do not know what became of them..." Hana wiped tears from her eyes.

Sophie listened quietly, with a surge of sympathy and understanding. She thought of her friends Candy and Tom, and her cousin Maxwell and Daniel, and a pang of worry filled her heart.

"Hana, I've had my own friends injured and go missing too. Candy's arm was hit by shrapnel, Tom was shot in the shoulder, and they are both in the hospital; and Maxwell and Daniel got separated from me when they escaped. I am really worried about them. But I'm sure they will be all right. Your friends must have gotten out safely, too. You must believe that."

Hana's eyes flashed with emotion and trust as she listened to Sophie's words. "Sophie, you are such a strong person. If only I could be as brave as you."

Sophie patted Hana's arm gently and smiled wryly.

"Hana, it's normal to be afraid in this situation. In fact, I am also afraid, and all the people who have been through this attack."

Then Sophie's tone became a little heavier, and she decided to tell Hana what she had seen. With that, Sophie picked up the paper and pen on the table in the room and drew the sign from memory. Hana's face turned pale when she saw Sophie's drawing; her eyes widened, and she repeated in disbelief, "you saw this sign?"

Sophie nodded, her words unmistakable, "Yes, I'm sure. It was a very strange sign. I saw it clearly. They acted quickly and in an orderly manner. They were not ordinary thugs."

Hana held Sophie's hand tightly, her voice shaking slightly. "This sign, I have seen on the news, but with what specific event, I can't remember. However, it is definitely unusual and must be the hallmark of an organisation or group."

Sophie's eyes sharpened, and she frowned in thought. "This is no coincidence. The men in black were clearly prepared, and their attack may well have been targeted. We must tell the police about this as soon as possible.”

Hana shuddered, her voice filled with fear and worry. "But... will that put us in danger? If they are really that powerful, will they retaliate?"

Sophie's heartrate quickened. Of course she was afraid. The scene of Candy and Tom being shot and wounded replayed again before her eyes. The blood staining their shirts, the pain and helplessness weaving in their desperate eyes. These were images that she could never forget.

Then, in her mind, the panic of people running away, their faces showing fear and helplessness. Screams, cries, and pleas for help made up the most tragic symphony of the night. Fires were burning, the smoke was billowing, and the whole evening was enveloped in despair and confusion.

But thinking of the students who had been victimized, of Maxwell and Daniel who were still missing, and of Candy and Tom who were still in the hospital ... Sophie took a deep breath and quieted her heart. She could not let her fear consume her. She knew that her friends needed her. ... 'If you do not step up, Sophie, this kind of tragedy will happen again.'

Sophie stiffened her resolve, her voice was soft, yet powerful: "No, Hana, we cannot stay quiet. Candy, Tom, and your friends are just some of the many people who were hurt tonight. If we stay silent because we are afraid, more people will be hurt in the future. We can't let this continue to happen."

Hana's fear was replaced by a kind of courage as she listened to Sophie's words. "You're right, Sophie. I won't back down," She nodded firmly.

"Sophie, I'm so happy to meet you." Hana looked sheepishly at Sophie, blushing.

"If it wasn't for you, I don't know what I would have done."

She touched Hana's arm and smiled, "I know you have determination, too, Hana." Sophie was genuinely happy ... happy to be friends with Hana.

Sophie hesitated for a moment, then whispered to Hana, "Hana,can you show me the news? My phone broke during the attack." She pulled out her cracked cell phone.

Hana nodded, and picked up her phone from the nightstand to open the news app. Together, they stared at the small screen, searching for news related to last night's university shooting.

On the screen, several shocking reports soon came into view. The mass shooting at the University of Cordonia had attracted widespread attention from the national and international community. The report detailed the chaos and bloodshed of the night, but also said that the police were fully investigating the incident and promised to bring the perpetrators to justice as soon as possible. As she read, she felt mixed feelings.

Sophie continued browsing. Suddenly, a marked headline hit her eyes and made her heart beat faster. --

"Crown Prince Liam Rys urgently ends his visit to Italy and returns home to respond to the shooting incident at Cordonia University."

She tapped eagerly; the live broadcast of the news began automatically.

On the screen, Liam stood in the doorway of the familiar white, shadowy auditorium, behind which the smoke had not fully cleared and live images of ambulances and police cars could be seen. Liam's figure stood unwavering behind press microphones.. He wore a black suit, his eyes were slightly solemn, but his face was more resolute and decided, that could not be ignored.

Sophie stared intently at the screen, every subtle expression of Liam tugging at her heartstrings. His voice came clearly over the phone, calm and strong.

Sophie's eyes were red and brimmed with tears. Her heart was racing, as she felt Liam's deep emotion coming through the screen. And then Liam's words turned to unquestioning determination:

Sophie stared at the screen, her tears spilling onto her cheeks. The moment she heard him say the words, 'Our Cordonian family', her heart swelling with indescribable excitement and pride; she wanted to run to his side and face all of this with him. However, this emotion was quickly overcome by reason, knowing that she could not expose her relationship with Liam, especially when there were other people around watching. She gently turned down the volume on the phone for fear that Hana would notice her emotional reactions. She clutched the phone tightly, as if she could feel Liam's presence and power in her hand.

"Sophie, what's wrong?"

Hana's voice sounded softly, interrupting her thoughts. Sophie suddenly came back to herself with a disguised smile, trying to sound natural. "Oh, nothing, I just didn't expect Prince Liam to be back so soon, it's only been a few hours since the shooting."

There was a subtle tremor in Sophie's words, afraid that her mind would be read by Hana and cause unnecessary trouble for Liam. She knew that at this particular moment she had to be careful not to reveal her relationship with Liam.

"Hana, could I possibly use your phone again? I want to send a text to my family and tell them about my situation."

Hana heard her words, a flicker of concern in her eyes. She seemed aware of Sophie's inner struggle and longing, but out of respect and trust, she did not ask any more questions, just smiled and nodded, "Of course, Sophie." You can use it whenever you need."

Sophie gave Hana a grateful look, and a warm wave came through her heart. She quickly opened the text messages on the phone, her fingers jumping over the keyboard, as she sent two messages. The first one to Aunt Bethany and the second one to Maxwell. In the text messages, Sophie told them that she was doing well and that they should not worry. She expressed concern for Maxwell and Daniel and hoped they were safe.

After sending the two texts, Sophie took a deep breath and began her text to Liam. She edited the text carefully ...

"Hi, Li, this is Sophie.

I'm all right. I am in Room 302 at the Malic Hotel at the university.

There was a shooting at the graduation, and I was lucky to escape. My phone is broken, and now I'm texting you on my roommate, Hana's phone.

I know you must be terribly busy and worried at the moment, but please believe me, I am fine and safe.

Don't worry about me. Just focus on what's needed right in front of you. I love you and look forward to seeing you soon."

The message didn't mention Liam's real name, and Sophie was confident that he would get her message. After pressing the send button, the words "Delivered" appeared on the screen. Suppressing her feelings, she quickly removed the text message, making sure it left no trace.

It didn’t take long for Sophie to hear back from Maxwell and Aunt Bethany.

Maxwell:

“Sophie, it’s so good to hear from you! Daniel and I are at the Malic Hotel too, and we are doing fine. We were looking for you, too. Just relieved to hear you are okay. We’ll talk more when we meet up.”

Aunt Bethany:

“Dear Sophie, I’m so happy to hear from you! Thank God you are okay. We are all so worried about you, but now we can relax. Be safe and we will see each other soon.”

After receiving notifications of incoming messages, the corners of her mouth cannot help but raise in a happy smile, a big stone in her heart finally fell to the ground. Sophie held the phone and re-read their loving words, feeling the warmth and support from her family.

A ray of sunlight penetrated a gap in the curtain and gently spilled into the hotel room, shining on Sophie's face. She gently closed her eyes, quietly feeling the warmth of the sun, the soft light made her very at ease, like a pair of warm hands, smoothing her fear and anxiety away. She was relieved that Maxwell and Daniel had escaped safely and that she could tell Aunt Bethany about herself.

And Liam will know that she's safe. Sophie found a trace of comfort and strength in reaching out to him.

"Thank you, Hana." Sophie smiled and handed the phone back to her new friend.

Hana took the phone and put it away, quietly watching it all, with a warm glow in her eyes. She may not know the story between Sophie and Liam, but she could sense that there was a deep emotion and connection with him in Sophie's heart. In this time of uncertainty, they were supporting each other and facing life's challenges together.

Cordonia International Airport

The Royal motorcade was situated on the tarmac in wait to take Liam and his men to the university.

Liam strode quickly and confidently to his SUV after his security detail had provided Liam with a report of all the victims and fatalities. Sophie's name was not listed, and Liam's heart remained uncertain, until he saw her with his own eyes.

His duty of keeping alert and informed for his country allowed Liam to control his fears of the possibility of seeing his beloved injured or worse. He fought against every fiber of his being to not burst through the chaos, with full disregard, to search for Sophie among the evacuated students. Liam, surrounded by his royal guard, Drake and Rashad, he walked onto the university grounds.

Drake, on the other hand, was not worried about propriety and cared for none of it. He rushed in and did not pay attention to anything but finding Sophie and Maxwell. He broke past some of the law enforcement and was met by a swarm of flashing cameras and press microphones.

"Back away!" He snapped, having to put his forearm up, and not relent. The flashing bulbs, whirring of camera lenses and questions being thrown at him was enough to drive any sane person mad.

"Don't you have decency? What type of scoundrels and fiends are you?"

An officer who recognized Drake, yelled, "settle down, everyone, he's an American friend of the prince's, stand down and don't crowd him."

On the campus of the University of Cordonia, even after several hours had passed, the chaos in the auditorium had not abated by a minute. Several police cars and ambulances, flashing their warning lights, stood by the side of the road at the ready. Police officers and ambulance workers were busy moving around the scene, serious and focused, although physically and mentally exhausted, but still stuck to their posts, to deal with the incident.

A police cordon has been placed around the scene to seal off the auditorium from the outside world. Liam saw the chaos and destruction ... and the despair of his people.

Liam took a deep breath, adjusted his emotions, and walked resolutely into the crowd and up onto the raised dais. The crowd grew quiet, and all eyes turned to the crown prince.

" Last night, our university campus has experienced an unprecedented trauma. On behalf of the royal family of Cordonia, I extend my sincere comfort and deepest condolences to all those who have been hurt and who have been affected by this tragedy. Your pain is the pain of all Cordonia. We will do everything possible to provide the necessary support and needed assistance to make sure everyone gets through this."

At this point, Liam's eyes flashed a subtle tenderness, that is his endless miss and love for Sophie.

But Liam took a deep breath and condensed his emotions and anger into a powerful determination.

"We will not sit idly by and let go of any of these terrorists. I promise that the Crown will use all resources in its power to track down the attackers and punish those responsible for this tragedy. We will bring justice to the victims, and to our people, to our Cordonian family."

***

The sky in the east gradually lightened as the night slowly faded; like the tide falling, as if in response to his words. A ray of dawn pierced the darkness, and the sun rose at last. The golden light slowly and gently spread over the campus, silently dispelling the darkness and cold; to bring a touch of warmth to the morning. There was renewed trust and hope in the eyes of the crowd. At this moment, they are silently praying, their hearts are full of deep hope: may such a tragedy never be repeated, so that the dead can rest in peace, and so that the living can find the strength to move forward; In the hope that the murderer will be punished, and there will be no hiding places of any crimes and evils.

As the Royal guard escorted Liam from the stage, Bastien approached with Liam’s mobile phone in hand.

“Sir, Lady Sophia has left you a message.”

Thanks for reading ❣️

@choicesficwriterscreations

@selina012

📌tags in the comments, please let me know if you want to be added or removed.

[pupsmailbox]

LOVECORE ID PACK

NAMES ⌇　adelaide. admirer. adora. adoraten. adore. ai. aiko. amadeus. amara. amor. amora. amore. amorette. amorie. amour. amoure. amourette. amy. angel. annabelle. aphrodite. arrow. atuf. bambi. bastet. bear. beau. bes. bliss. blossom. bow. bunny. caleb. candy. carwyn. ceri. charity. chelsea. cherie. cherria. cherrill. cherry. cheryshe. claire. clarissa. claudia. connell. connor. cordelia. crimson. cupid. dahlia. dante. david. delphine. desiree. desyre. dhalia. doll. dove. dylan. eldad. eros. esme. esme.cara. euphor. flower. freya. frill. garden. harp. hart. heart. heartstring. heretic. honey. honeybee. hubert. hugh. ingrid. iris. julia. julie. juliet. juliette. june. kalei. kara. kevin. kiss. koramor. lennon. lev. love. lovebird. lover. loverboy. lucinda. luvbelle. luvia. lynn. mabel. mabel.mila. mai. mars. may. maya. melody. milo. milos. mona. obi. ophelia. paramour. paris. passerine. passion. pearl. phillip. pippa. pippi. raymond. red. reed. reese. ren. rhett. rhys. roma. romanciel. romeo. rosalyn. rose. rosetta. rosette. rumor. sky. sugar. tahlia. teddy. thalia. theo. tyas. val. valen. valentina. valentine. valentino. valerie. vanessa. venus. vera. vincent. violet. vivian. vivianna. vivianne. yua. ásta. éowyn.

PRONOUNS ⌇　<3/<3. ado/adore. adore/adore. ae/aer. am/amour. bli/bliss. bouquet/bouquet. bow/bow. bud/bud. charm/charm. che/cher. cher/cherish. choco/chocolate. chu/chu. co/cora. coo/coo. cu/cupid. cu/cute. cupid/cupid. cute/cute. dar/darling. date/date. de/dear. de/devote. dear/dear. desi/desire. doe/doe. doe/dove. er/ero. ero/ero. eternity/eternitie. euphor/euphoria. fle/fleur. flower/flower. fri/frill. friend/friend. gift/gift. he/heart. he/hymn. hea/heart. heal/heal. heart/heart. hon/honey. hope/hope. hug/hug. hx/hxm. hy/hymn. h♡/h♡m. kie/kiss. kiss/kiss. kyuu/kyuu. lae/lace. lav/lavender. lo/love. love/bug. love/love. love/lovely. love/lover. lu/luv. lust/lust. luv/luv. myst/mystic. pass/passion. pink/pink. plu/plush. pray/pray. prince/prince. re/red. red/red. ri/ribbon. ro/rose. rose/rose. royal/royal. sacri/sacrifice. shx/hxr. shy/hyr. sh♡/h♡r. smitten/smitten. soft/soft. sweet/sweet. tear/tear. ted/teddy. thxy/thxm. th♡y/th♡m. tu/lip.| val/val. val/valen. val/valentine. valentine/valentine. ve/venus. vei/veil. veil/veil. vir/virtue. xo/xo. xoxo/xoxo. ye/yearn. yearn/yearn. ❤️ . 🌹 . 🍓 . 🍫 . 🍯 . 🍰 . 🎀 . 🏩 . 👑 . 💋 . 💍 . 💌 . 💐 . 💒 . 💓 . 💘 . 💝 . 💞 . 🤍 . 🦢 .

[saturniasxenos]

Aphrodite Themed NPT ID Pack

Hello my lovelies, inside this pack you'll find pronouns, titles, names and genders that have a connection / relation to Lady Aphrodite, love, roses, doves, beauty, the sea, and all alike.

Lady Aphrodite is the most beautiful goddess. 🩷

Us humans, nonhumans, therians, and alike are all beautiful as well. 🩷

Pronouns:

Am/Ambro/Ambrosia/Ambrosias/Ambrosiaself

Aq/Aqu/Aqua/Aquas/Aquaself

Aqua/Aquama/Aquamarine/Aquamarines/Aquamarineself

Ap/Appl/Apple/Apples/Appleself

Bea/Beaut/Beauty/Beautys/Beautyself

Co/Cora/Coral/Corals/Coralself

Cha/Char/Charm/Charms/Charmself

Do/Dov/Dove/Doves/Doveself

Fo/Foa/Foam/Foams/Foamself

Gra/Grac/Grace/Graces/Graceself

Gra/Grace/Graceful/Gracefuls/Gracefulself

Gar/Garde/Garden/Gardens/Gardenself

Hea/Hear/Heart/Hearts/Heartself

Ja/Jasmi/Jasmine/Jasmineself

Lo/Lov/Love/Loves/Loveself

Myr/Myrt/Myrtle/Myrtles/Myrtleself

Mi/Mirr/Mirror/Mirrors/Mirrorself

Moon/Moonsto/Moonstone/Moonstones/Moonstoneself

Pea/Pear/Pearl/Pearls/Pearlself

Po/Pop/Poppy/Poppys/Poppyself

Pi/Pin/Pink/Pinks/Pinkself

Pur/Purp/Purple/Purples/Purpleself

Qua/Quart/Quartz/Quartzs/Quartzself

Rose/Rosequa/Rosequartz/Rosequartzs/Rosequartzself

Ro/Ros/Rose/Roses/Roseself

Rho/Rhodon/Rhodonite/Rhodonites/Rhodoniteself

Re/Red/Reds/Reds/Redself

She/Shell/Shells/Shells/Shellself

Sea/Seashe/Seashell/Seashells/Seashellself

Se/Sea/Seas/Seas/Seaself

Spa/Sparr/Sparrow/Sparrows/Sparrowself

Swa/Swan/Swans/Swans/Swanself

Swa/Swall/Swallow/Swallows/Swallowself

Va/Vani/Vanilla/Vanillas/Vanillaself

Ve/Venu/Venus/Venuss/Venusself

🫀/🫀's

🩷/🩷's

🩵/🩵's

❤/❤'s

💚/💚's

💜/💜's

💗/💗's

❣️/❣️'s

💕/💕's

💞/💞's

🐬/🐬's

🦢/🦢's

🕊/🕊's

🌹/🌹's

🍎/🍎's

Titles:

(X) Who Is Beautiful

Devotee of Aphrodite

Rosebud

(X) Who Loves

Child of Aphrodite

Lover of Doves

Lover of Swans

Lover of The Sea

Collector of Shells

(X) Who Nurtures

Risen From The Sea

Dancing In The Rose Field

Call of The Sparrow

Call of The Dove

Protector of Swans

Protector of The Sea

Protector of Sparrows

(X) Who Loves Doves

Names:

Fem: Aziza, Ahava, Adrianna, Asherah, Amy, Amandine, Amanda, Adora, Adoration, Amorra, Amarissa, Amadea, Amara, Amy, Adelpha, Annabelle, Aimee, Brooks, Charity, Coral, Cara, Carys, Cher, Cerys, Cordelia, Darya, Elska, Eri, Esha, Esme, Freya, Halia, Ines, Ivy, Ife, Juliet, Kasumi, Kailani, Kerensa, Laguna, Libi, Love, Mila, Mai, Milena, Minna, Marina, Moana, Mabel, Mia, Nereida, Pippa, Rain, Rose, Rosie, Rosa, Suki, Sandy, Talia, Valentina, Venus, Yang,

Masc: Alon, Adrian, Agapito, Agapius, Amor, Amantius, Amato, Amias, Aziz, Adonis, Beck, Beau, Conor, Connor, Cordian, Caspian, Connelly, Corwin, Caleb, Dilan, Dewey, Desiderio, David, Dariel, Deniz, Darrell, Erasmus, Erazem, Erastus, Eros, Fenmore, Firth, Finn, Hudson, Hart, Jed, Kevan, Kevin, Kordian, Kiefer, Kaito, Liev, Lev, Leif, Lennon, Liam, Leofric, Manju, Milos, Obi, Pacificus, Philip, Romeo, Rasmus, Rhys, Rudo, Sajan, Triton, Taddai, Taddeo, Thaddeus, Valentino, Valentine,

Neu: Aroon, Arrow, Adair, Amadeus, Aire, Aiko, Amoris, Anbu, Cariad, Caro, Ceri, Caron, Glyndwr, Ingrid, Jorah, Kealoha, Keris, Kerensa, Kama, Kamaka, Ler, Maite, Mirren, Muir, Navy, Ocean, Paris, Sailor, Shui, Siran, Tutku, Vale, Vashti, Yaretzi,

Genders:

Lovememory - It could be related to having memories of love ; memories of love being a part of your identity ; memories of love from / in ones past life ; and etcetera.

Idolovea - a gender related to idols & love! Being an idol of love , a love idol , an idol who spreads love , an idol who loves , etc!

Puramour -a gender where your only purpose is to find love .

Amoncitte - A gender Related to Ones hand Intwirled on Anothers , Feather light Kisses , Gentle care , Love letters , Sweet Nothings , Cherishment , && Pure Love.

Redstringic - a gender related to the concept of the red string of fate. this gender is related to love, the concepts of soulmates ( of any type of love ), && feeling complete.

Agapelic - a gender that embodies agape: godly love, also known as the highest form of love, unconditional and boundless. this gender feels intense and may be connected to divinity, or a godly being that represents agape.

Loverlexic - a lexic gender related / connected to the word ''lover''. this gender may or may not be related to romance, that's up for the user to decide!

Loveincarnic - a gender connected to loving love and loving being a lover.

Rosweetphrasic - A gender related to the phrase "A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet."

[revnah1406]

Operation Kingslayer: 3/?

OCs:

Hannah "Sparrow" Clayton - @revnah1406

Alyssa "Aly" Martinez - @alypink

Mandy Macfie - @alidravana

Charlotte "Jade" le Jardin - @sleepyconfusedpotato

Captain Arjun Dhingra - @welldonekhushi

Annabelle "Gremlin" Pham - @applbottmjeens

Damien Whitlock - @kaitaiga

Captain Lachlan Jones - @kaitaiga

(so many OCs! 👀 I would thank specially to all my mutuals and people who participate in this fic to help me with the writing and their ocs! thank you so much guys. I love you so much <3)

Spotify playlist!

Warning!: This chapter contains specific violence, and a detailed description of torture methods. Non-accurate medical procedures.

(All locations and places that appear in this Fic are fictitious and based on the Ghost Recon Wildlands video game)

NOTE!: The events of Op Kingslayer take place before MW3, so there are no Spoilers. This chapter was written before the Call of Duty MW3 campaign was released. Despite the little relevance it has, you may find differences between the fic and the campaign.

<- previous chapter

The bullets flew like an intense rain of fire. The team could barely hold the position. Arjun was shot in the leg and little by little his vision began to blur due to blood loss.

"Mandy! Where the fuck are you?! We need an emergency evac now!" Aly exclaimed over the comms.

"I'm trying to! But I'm taking heavy fire! I can't get close!" Mandy responded over the radio, from her tone of voice she seemed to have problems too.

"Shit. We have to get away from here as soon as possible"

How had they ended up in a situation like this? Well the story is a bit long, but long story short, the team finally found El Yayo. He seemed to be a reasonable man and someone who could be negotiated with. After all, he was just an old coca grower trying to survive under the feet of an empire. Rodolfo Yana didn’t like the idea that his grandson Gonzalo was on his way to a federal prison in the United States. But in the end he came to his senses knowing that it was the safest place for him, away from El Sueño. He also didn’t overlook the fact that his grandson had been tortured. Jade did a great fucking job, despite the torture, Gonzalo Yana was still alive and even though he was missing some nails there would be no permanent physical damage.

Bowman managed to negotiate with El Yayo, assuring him immunity and protection from the CIA, if he collaborated with them, of course. And this is how they managed to end the first pillar: Production. Now it's the next one's turn: Influence.

El Yayo didn’t seem to have great friendships with the rest of the leaders of the Santa Blanca Cartel. But he managed to give information about the head of the pillar of Influence.

His name was Gustavo Serrano, better known as El Cardenal (The Cardinal) . He was the preacher of the Santa Blanca Cartel, the greatest devotee of La Santa Muerte. He was also one of El Sueño's closest advisors. Gustavo Serrano was in charge of the propaganda and philanthropy strategy of El Sueño, and he is the one who gives the sermons on the radio and in the churches of Santa Blanca. As responsible for its public image, he encouraged El Sueño to participate in charitable events and develop educational and humanitarian activities for NGOs.

And if they managed to catch El Cardenall and make him talk. Maybe they got a direct pass to El Sueño. The interesting thing about El Cardenall is that deep down he was a good guy. He tried to do charity work to help Bolivians, build schools and churches, but neither the church nor the politicians were going to help him. He was aware of the damage caused by the cartel, but he believed that all the good he could do would outweigh the bad...

In summary, El Cardenal wasn’t really a cocaine drug trafficker, just someone who wanted to spread the word of God and La Santa Muerte. And in a way, maybe the team underestimated him a little bit.

How did they find it? Well, that was a masterpiece on Aly's part. Thanks to the information Sparrow got from that cocaine lab. Aly found a large network of trafficking in people and especially children, which extended throughout South America. Aly made this information public on social networks, using fake profiles. Staining the history of the Santa Blanca cartel.

All this scandal forced El Cardenal to come out of hiding and hold a mass in the Church of Santa Blanca in the Malca region. To explain to the people that child trafficking was pure lies and false rumors.

The team thought they had El Cardenal by the balls. That they could capture that bastard before he said mass but everything went wrong too quickly. In the blink of an eye the church and the entire city of Malca had been filled with Narcos armed to the teeth ready to shoot down anyone who looked suspicious. El Cardenl was nowhere to be found and their chances of making it out alive were significantly reduced.

"Shit Aly! Keep your head down!" Sparrow forced Aly to lower her head. Before a burst of gunfire could hit her. Alyssa was too busy looking for possible escape routes and getting to the extraction point without being gunned down.

Sparrow didn’t hesitate to counterattack by shooting in that direction. The entire team was behind a barricade of ruins and debris caused by the explosions and grenades. Jade and Sparrow held the position, shooting any mercenary or narco who got too close or dared to stick their head out for more than two seconds.

Arjun gave orders while putting pressure on the leg. The captain grunted as he tried to get up but fell back to the ground. His leg didn't respond.

"Sir, you should stop moving. You will bleed to death if you continue like this!" Sparrow looked away for a moment to look at his captain.

"Keep your eyes on the firefight, Sergeant." Arjun ordered groaning. He was in a terrible mood at that moment. He had his reasons, he was about to captureEl Cardenal, he was a few meters away, everything seemed to be going perfectly, until a sniper bullet pierced his leg. And that's when the chaos began.

Aly hurriedly approached Arjun to try to make a tourniquet around Arjun's leg.

"Shit! They're surrounding us!" Jade exclaimed when she saw more armed vehicles appearing behind them. "Fuck!"

"Jade! Take care of those vehicles. Sparrow hold position!" Arjun ordered grabbing a grenade from his vest and throwing it right under one of the cars.

"Shit..." Hannah turned away for a moment. All that was chaos. It was practically impossible for them to come out alive. At least all of them.

Adrenaline coursed through his veins, his pupils dilated taking in everything that was happening. Jade shooting at any enemy that moved, sweat sticking her red locks to her forehead. It was clear that she was exhausted. They had been like this for hours, and since they arrived in Bolivia they didn’t have a single day of rest. Aly seemed to be on the edge. On the verge of collapsing, no matter how much she searched on her mobile device and maps for escape routes, she couldn't find anything. She tried to contact Mandy but there was no response. And if that was enough, she also had to help Arjun with that injury. Damn, Arjun. He was bleeding to death. The blood coming from his leg was beginning to create a worryingly large puddle.

Hannah had to do something. If She didn't do anything…they would all die.

"Fuck..." Sparrow closed her eyes trying to think.

"Hey sergeant." Arjun called her after a few minutes of silence. "Can I ask you something?"

Sparrow opened her eyes. She realized that she was sitting on the edge of a cliff near the safe house. It was night, the full moon was shining in all its splendor high in the sky. Everything was silent except for the crickets and insects around. Sparrow looked down at the abyss that the cliff provided, a drop of several dozen meters, full of rocks, stones and dirt.

They had returned from detonating a cocaine warehouse and now they had to rest, at least a couple of hours. But Sparrow couldn't sleep and decided to go out for some air. Apparently the captain soon noticed her absence and went in search of her. When he found her, they were both sitting there, looking at the moon and having deep conversations, about their dreams, ideals or simply things from the past.

"What is it about sir?" Sparrow asked, confused.

Arjun looked at his sergeant for a few seconds.

"What do you think is the hardest decision you've ever made?" He asked with his eyes fixed on the landscape.

Sparrow thought for a bit and then smiled sadly.

"Cut the rope."

Arjun looked at her without understanding what she was talking about.

"Cut the rope?"

Sparrow nodded. "It's the hardest decision for any climber." She sighed as she swung her boots that were hanging from the cliff. "When you have to climb, it’s better to do it with someone. If something happens to you, your partner can help you and save your life. Normally when climbing, both have to be connected with a rope. If one of them slips and falls, the other will be able to hold it. But…” She paused and looked at the moon. "Imagine that when your partner falls, he hits his head on the ice or rock and is unconscious and very badly injured. His body is hanging from the rope that you are holding and you aren’t able to lift him up. If your partner were conscious and in good shape you could both do it. But being alone? No, impossible. Then you stay there, with your half-dead partner hanging from a rope that you are holding. You won't be able to hold it forever, you will end up getting tired and you will both die, both of you falling. into the void or dead from the cold. So the decision is... Will you cut the rope? Would you cut it to save yourself? You know that if you don't cut it you will both die. But if you cut it you will kill your partner."

Arjun thought for a few moments and nodded. He seemed to understand the situation. Being alone up there, with your friend's life and yours in your hands.

"Did you cut the rope?" Arjun asked.

Hannah pursed her lips and looked at her boots. She unconsciously stroked the scars on her face.

"On K2... Before the avalanche hit me and my brother. I cut the rope. If the avalanche was going to hit me, I didn't want my brother to be swept away too. I didn't think about it much. I cut the rope to sacrifice myself and save my brother. Let's say that... I was the injured companion and my brother was the one holding the rope. And I made the decision for him. I accepted my fate and decided to die alone on that mountain."

"I understand."

There was another long silence.

"Sir," Sparrow looked at her captain this time decisively, "if it’s necessary. For the good of the entire team. Don’t hesitate, and cut the rope."

Arjun didn't know what to answer. He was very capable of giving his life for the team, but… sacrificing one member of the team to save the rest? He didn't know if he was capable of giving an order like that.

Sparrow opened her eyes decisively. She knew what she had to do. She took out her sniper rifle and handed it to Aly, who was clearly very confused.

"Hannah what...?"

"Jade, I need you to do me a favor!"

Just then, the redhead took cover behind the wall while reloading.

"What is it about?!" She asked, shooting again.

"I have to get to that armored truck!" she pointed to a vehicle that had a turret attached to the roof of the truck. "I need you to cover my back. I'll use the turret to divert their attention!"

"Hannah…what are you talking about?!" Jade asked worriedly. What was she up to? Whatever it was, it was suicide.

"Aly. Have you found an escape route?"

Aly checked the maps once again "huh… yes, from the south-east we can reach the forest and lose them off among the trees." She said pointing to a road on the map, not sure if that was the most appropriate route, but there was no time to confirm it.

Arjun sat up leaning his back against the wall.

"Sergeant. What are you up to…?" Arjun didn't like what Sparrow was trying to do.

"I'm going to cause a distraction. I'll use the turret to take out most of the enemies and–"

"No." Arjun interrupted her. He had a dead serious expression. "And leave you behind? Have you gone crazy?!"

"Sir, it's the only way for you to get out of here alive."

"There has to be another one. Hannah, we can't leave you here alone. They'll kill you!" Aly grabbed Sparrow's shoulder as she shook her head repeatedly.

It broke Hannah's heart to see her friend like this. But that wasn't going to make her back down, she was willing to do whatever was necessary to move them forward.

"I can't let you die here Aly…" Sparrow put his hand on Alyssa's.

"Sparrow." 

Arjun grabbed Sparrow by one of the straps of her vest and pulled it until Sparrow looked him in the eyes.

"Listen to me soldier, open those fucking ears because I'm not going to repeat it again." The tone of voice Arjun used and his piercing eyes were able to make Sparrow break out in a sweat. Oh, the captain was pissed. "Follow my fucking orders. Hold your position and don't even think about doing anything crazy of yours." Arjun couldn't believe that Sparrow would take such a drastic decision. "Can't you trust your fucking team?! Are you that selfish?!"

"Fuck the orders!" Sparrow couldn't bear to watch his captain bleeding out on that floor for another minute.

Sparrow swallowed and grabbed Arjun's wrist, which was holding her tightly by her vest. She showed determination and hid the nervousness caused by her angry superior. "It's not about selfishness or distrust. I trust this team can get out of here alive without me, I trust you can kill that bald son of a bitch."

She tightened her grip making Arjun divert his attention to Hannah's hand.

"Captain…"

Arjun looked his sergeant in the eyes again.

"You have to cut the rope."

Arjun gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, the mere thought of leaving Sparrow behind made his chest ache. "No. I'm not going to do that."

"You have to do it. We have to sacrifice something to save something even greater."

"Hannah..." Jade interjected. She had a worried and serious expression. What her friend was saying was completely crazy. Jade shook her head.

Sparrow rested his hand on the former MI6 agent's shoulder, "I need you to cover my back so I can reach that vehicle."

Jade frowned and shook her head determinedly, "I'm not going to send you to the gates of hell, Han."

"You have to do it. I'm not going to die, not today. I won't give those sons of bitches that pleasure. I'll just be a little late."

Jade sighed and looked away. She knew Sparrow was a tough nut to crack.

"Don't even think about dying halfway, Sparrow."

"With you covering my back? I doubt it."

Both women shook hands, like two Spartans ready for war. Jade nodded determinedly.

Aly took out a small locator from one of her vest pockets and placed it inside Sparrow's vest. She hit Hannah's chest with her fist and took a deep breath.

"I'm going to find you."

"I know you will, you always do."

Sparrow looked at her captain determinedly.

"I await orders sir."

Arjun looked at his team. Even though he didn't say it out loud, he was proud of that team. He looked at Sparrow, she had that determined look, ready for anything. Arjun understood, he had to cut the rope. But he no longer feared for his sergeant.

"If you die I'm going to go down to hell and drag you here. And I won't be merciful."

Sparrow chuckled and patted Arjun's shoulder.

"You'll have to get out of here alive first, sir."

"Do you think I'm that weak, Sergeant?"

Sparrow laughed and shook her head.

"Negative, sir."

Arjun sighed and nodded.

"Jade, get ready. Aly, help me up. Sparrow, on my signal."

Jade and Sparrow nodded. Aly helped Arjun up while he grabbed his rifle.

Everyone was in position. Ready and waiting for the captain's signal. Arjun threw a flashbang grenade and waited for it to detonate.

"NOW!"

Sparrow jumped over the barricade with agility, Jade hurried to take cover and shoot any enemy that had not been affected by the flashbang.

Hannah ran with all her might, shooting anyone who got in her way. Jade's bullets flew near her, but never hit her. The narcos fell on Sparrow's feet.

The sergeant reached the armored vehicle, jumped on the hood and then onto the roof of the truck. She stood behind the turret.

"In position! Come on, get out of here!"

Sparrow used the turret against the enemies. Shooting at anyone in sight, no one was able to get close to where the team was.

"Let's go!" Jade exclaimed, giving the signal to Aly to help Arjun get up and run away from there.

The plan worked. The Narcos turned their attention to Sparrow. She devastated anyone who got in her way.

The team managed to flee and move away to a safe distance, eventually entering the forest. Between Jade and Aly they managed to carry Arjun.

"I have your visual!" Mandy's voice sounded over the communicator while the noise of a helicopter was heard nearby.

"Macfie! Are you okay?! What's your status?" Aly responded worriedly.

"The helicopter has received some damage but will hold up for extraction. Sparrow may have to take a look at the engine."

A silence fell on the team. Jade and Aly looked at each other, Arjun simply closed his eyes in frustration and tried to bear the pain in his leg.

"There is a clearing about a kilometer to the east of our position." Arjun spoke over the communications, "Wait for us there."

"Roger."

Jade suddenly stopped, causing the rest of the team to do so as well. She looked back, her eyes lost as the wind swayed her red locks.

"What happened?" Aly asked.

"There aren’t more gunshots..."

____________

"Shit." Arjun exclaimed through gritted teeth as Mandy finished removing the bullet from his leg.

"You've been very lucky, sir. You're going to limp for a few days but it won't be a big problem. I'll bring the painkillers from the medicine cabinet." Mandy reported after stitching up the wound.

"It's not the first time I've been shot. I'll be fine." Arjun sat on the side of the helicopter.

The team was trying to recover in the clearing where they had agreed to meet. The helicopter had suffered serious damage but appeared to still be able to fly. Mandy knew how to pilot gracefully through all that hell.

Jade had gone out to explore the surroundings, to make sure they hadn't been followed. While Aly tried to use the computer to locate Sparrow.

"Mierda. There's no signal..." Aly cursed after trying several times. "We need to move places. I can't find Sparrow here."

"She'll be fine. She can handle herself well." Mandy commented.

Arjun was still deep in thought, debating whether they could have found a better solution.

"You guys made quite a mess back there huh?" An unknown voice appeared.

Without thinking twice the team raised their weapons in the direction of that voice.

The unknown man raised his hands.

"If I were you I wouldn't pull the trigger."

Suddenly a bunch of Bolivian guerrillas came out of the bushes. Surrounding the helicopter, aiming their rifles at them.

"If you know how to count... you will know that you are at a clear disadvantage." The man lowered his hands.

Aly frowned.

"Eres Pac Katari ¿verdad?" (You're Pac Katari, right?)

Aly recognized the man Laswell mentioned at the bar and then Bowman at the first briefing. Aly had found little information about him. He knew how to hide his tracks very well.

"Veo que has hecho tu trabajo, chica.." (I see you've done your job, kid) The man began to walk towards them. "Then you'll know we're on the same side."

Suddenly all the guerrillas turned around, upset, looking towards the tree line. Pointing in all directions, shouting orders but not really knowing where to aim.

A red dot appeared on Pac Katari's back. There was a sniper, somewhere hidden in the trees, aiming for the heart of the leader of the rebel forces.

"I decide if we are on the same side." Arjun spoke seriously.

Pac Katari turned to see the red dot that was now pointed at his chest. He laughed lightly.

"If your sniper shoots, my men will kill you all"

"If my sniper shoots. We'll cut off the head of a snake." Arjun corrected him with a stone attitude. He wasn’t going to let himself be trampled on by an amateur guerrilla fighter.

"That snake can be a very good ally if you let it live"

"What can a snake offer but bites and poison?"

"It can offer information. Valuable."

Arjun pondered for a moment. He couldn't trust that man, not even a little bit. But as much as it angered him to admit it, they needed help, the team was at a dead end.

"What is it about?"

"First order your sniper to stop aiming."

"No." Arjun responded quickly and firmly.

Pac Katari sighed in defeat.

"It’s hard for you to trust huh? And I respect that. Bowman already told me about you." He slowly put his hand in his pocket, which upset the entire team who adjusted their grip on their weapons. "It's okay. I'm just going to take out my cell phone." The man reported.

Pac Katari took out a cell phone and showed a photo. Because of the distance they couldn't see very well what it was about. Arjun looked at Aly for a second and nodded.

Aly approached slowly, lowering her gun but still holding it. When she arrived next to the guerrilla, she looked at the photo he showed her. Aly frowned, feeling a whirlwind of emotions rise from the pit of her stomach.

"What is it about Alyssa?" Arjun asked, when he saw how his partner's expression changed drastically.

"It's about Sparrow." Aly didn't look away from the photograph.

"Your Sergeant is alive." Pac Katari informed, looking at Arjun with a serious expression.

The photograph showed Sparrow kneeling, with her hands raised. Surrounded by drug traffickers who pointed their weapons at her. But that wasn’t the most worrying thing.

"She has been captured by El Cardenall and… El Sueño." Aly couldn't believe it. The man they were looking for, the man they had to put a bullet in his head... they had him so close... And now that piece of shit had Sparrow hostage, pointing at her head with a gun. El Cardenal seemed to have a victorious smile on his lips.

"Vishta..." (shit...) Arjun cursed in Marathi.

"I propose a deal, Captain." Pac Katari spoke again "We both have the same goal: End the Santa Blanca cartel. We can help each other."

The captain thought for a moment. Weighing the options, the pros and cons, the risks and benefits.

"You have the strength and the skills. I have the knowledge and the necessary men." Pac Katari continued.

"We have to go after her, sir." Mandy spoke.

"I know."

"What do we do?"

"We need a plan. And more soldiers..." Arjun's mood only worsened. He tried to handle the situation as best he could, take care of his subordinates and achieve the objective. "We have to contact 141."

Arjun sighed and with the help of Mandy got up.

"I'll tell you what we'll do." Arjun spoke in an authoritative tone. Straightening his back and lifting his chin. Showing who was in charge. "You will have our services. We will help you in your fight against the cartel. In exchange we want resources, ammunition, radios, vehicles, information and protection." Arjun approached Pac Katari, imposing his height. "If you show me even the slightest suspicion of treason. I'll have my sniper pull the trigger while you sleep." Arjun threatened in a chilling tone.

"In exchange for El Sueño’s head? I can offer you much more." Paco Katari offered his hand.

Arjun looked at the hand for a few seconds and then looked towards the tree line. But not in the direction where the sniper's red dot came from, but in the direction of one of the guerrillas' flanks.

"That's enough! You can stop aiming."

Noises were heard in the bushes, a dark figure emerged from the trees. The frightened guerrillas turned towards the silhouette.

Jade came out of the trees still carrying the sniper. And with a look that was capable of making any guerrilla who was nearby retreat.

"Do you have more than one sniper?" Pac Katari asked

Arjun looked over his shoulder at him, "no."

That's right, Jade used the laser sight of her weapon as a decoy to make them believe she was hiding behind them. But she was really aiming from one of the flanks. Waiting for Arjun's signal to open fire if the situation got complicated. The guerrillas wouldn’t know where they would be attacked.

The snake had fallen into the jaws of the lion without knowing it.

Jade approached Aly and Mandy. She nodded to both of them in greeting.

"The perimeter is secured too. How are things going around here?"

"It seems they are negotiating the terms of a deal." Aly mentioned.

"Arjun’s angry." Mandy added.

"We all are." Jade sighed.

Arjun spoke for a few more minutes, with the leader of the rebel forces. Until he decided to return to his team.

"And?" Mandy asked.

"We have a deal."

___________

"Be careful with that! Can't you see that the blades are delicate?!" Mandy was trying to keep an eye on the guerrillas who were in charge of fixing the damage to the helicopter. "Jesus Christ... Sparrow would have fixed the helo in half the time..." Mandy murmured, placing both hands on her hips.

She sighed and looked around. The place where they were was incredible. She would never think that a place like that could be the base of operations for the rebel forces.

It was like a small town inside a mountain. A huge cave that had no roof, a huge hole where there were supposed to be huge rocks. It was like a hollow mountain with a huge hole through which sunlight came in, allowing vegetation and trees to grow inside. There were small wooden houses and cabins on the stones, walkways and bridges that connected them to each other. A stream crossed the cave and came out like a waterfall that fell who knows where.

It was the perfect lair.

Mandy still remembered how bad it was to get the helicopter down there. The hole was big but if a helicopter blade hit the rock, it could be fatal. But Mandy was too good to make a mistake like that.

She heard footsteps. She turned and saw Arjun approaching.

"How's your leg?" Mandy asked as she saw him limp towards her.

"It hurts like hell. But I can walk."

"It's an unusual place isn't it?" Mandy commented as the captain reached her side.

"It is. Although it’s a very good place to hide, I have to admit. There are families here, everyone helps each other. They are better organized than I thought." Arjun sighed.

"Mhm..." Mandy nodded. "How are things going there?"

"You don't want to know... Alyssa is angry."

Mandy raised her eyebrows "then I was right to stay out here."

"You're right…"

While inside one of the largest cabins, the one that was used to organize the operations of the rebel forces. Aly walked from one side to the other, nervous, furious.

"Aly, love. I understand your situation but–" Price tried to stay calm.

"But what, John?!" Aly put both her hands on her hips looking at the screen where the video call was running.

Price pursed his lips and shook his head, pacing the briefing room. When his wife got like that it was difficult to reason with her.

"It was her decision. She assumed the consequences, she knew she was going to be alone in this." Price was beginning to lose patience. He had been arguing with his wife for a long time, he wasn’t able to make her understand his situation. Price had water up to his neck, flooded with shit. He already had enough problems, and now Aly added one more.

 "Are you really telling me this?!" Aly approached the computer, placing both hands on the table, she was about to tear off a piece of the furniture with just her nails.

"I can't be in two places at once."

"Sparrow is your sergeant. She is part of the 141." Aly emphasized the last word.

Price sighed and looked away. He knew where that speech was going to go.

On the other hand, Jade was behind Aly, with her arms crossed listening to the conversation. She shared a look with Ghost who was in the same situation with Price. Listening and observing.

Jade showed a small smile of compassion towards Ghost. It was an awkward moment for both of them. Jade didn't even know when the atmosphere had gotten so heated. Simon nodded slightly without moving from his spot, also not really knowing what to do. But intervening was the last option. They both knew their difference of opinions. Ghost was in favor of Price, the 141 had too many problems currently. Hannah wasn't an idiot, she knew what she had gotten herself into and what the consequences were. But Jade thought differently, she wasn't going to abandon her friend. They were going to find her, no matter what, with or without Price's help.

"Jonathan Price! Look at me when I talk to you!" Aly caught his attention again.

Price pursed his lips and took a deep breath. Reconnecting his gaze with Aly.

"I know you didn't choose Sparrow personally. She's not as close to you as Soap, Gaz or Ghost. But she's still your sergeant, she's still one of your subordinates." Aly continued talking, trying to control her anger. She still couldn't believe that Price had refused to help. That really made her angry and disappointed. "You were able to do all that for Laswell. When you found out that Kate had been kidnapped you were able to burn the entire world to save her."

"Aly..." Price sighed.

"Don't start John. You know damn well I'm right." Aly struggled to maintain her composure, a lump beginning to form in her throat. Anger had turned into helplessness. For having to crawl like that and ask for help because she felt like she wasn't capable of protecting her team. That she couldn't protect her friend. "You were able to do all that for Laswell and now you're going to stand by while they slowly kill Sparrow in a chair?"

Price listened to Aly's voice gradually break. And that broke his soul. He knew that both women were very close, they had been through a lot of shit together. Hell, Sparrow had helped Aly with the pregnancy, and even when Price was on mission, Sparrow had stayed with Aly to help raise Lily. Even when Hannah was still recovering from injuries from her accident in the mountains and couldn't go with the 141, she was there, helping Alyssa take care of her daughter.

"My hands are tied, Aly…" Price had a tired, even helpless expression. John wanted to do something, if it were up to him they would already be on their way to Bolivia. But the situation was different from when Laswell was kidnapped, very different.

Aly could see it, she knew that what Price was going through was also hard, very hard. But Aly had to try anything to save Hannah. She wouldn't forgive him if he didn't do anything about it. She shared a look with Jade. Charlotte had a look of concern for her friend. Aly looked mentally exhausted. Jade was too, but she had to stay strong. For Aly, for the team.

"If your hands are tied then find someone who has their hands free." Aly looked back at the screen.

Price knew who she was talking about.

"They are a bit far away. It will take them a while to get to Bolivia."

"You're old friends right? He'll listen to you."

He finally sighed.

"I'll make a call." Price nodded, not very convinced. That was a big favor to ask without warning.

"Good. We'll keep in touch, over." Aly hung up the call without even saying goodbye.

The room fell silent. Price sighed. He was cornered, Makarov, Shepherd, Sparrow… Every time he felt like he had less hair on his head. He felt Ghost's silent gaze on his back. He knew Ghost would support him in this, he wasn't so sure about the rest.

"I need a fucking smoke." Price murmured, patting Ghost's shoulder and ready to leave the base.

When the fresh air from outside hit his face he felt like he could breathe again. He hated arguing with Aly, he always had. He would probably have to sleep on the couch for a while.

He took out a cigar and placed it between his lips, lit it and took a long drag. Feeling the nicotine run through his veins. He watched the place, how the world revolved around him, ignoring what was happening.

"I sense that the conversation hasn't gone very well." Laswell's voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"You sense well."

"You told her no." Kate stated.

"With the bloody mess we have here… I think it would be worse for them if we go there. We can't risk their mission anymore, we can't bring our shit to them."

"You haven't told her then."

"I didn't want to worry her anymore. She's had enough with Sparrow." Price responded by taking another drag of the cigar.

Laswell sighed, took out a cigarette, and Price offered her the lighter. She nodded in thanks, taking a drag as well.

"I got her into this." Laswell shook the cigarette lightly to knock the ash onto the floor.

"You didn't force her. It was her decision." Price justified. "Sparrow is all grown up."

"Now you defend her? A month ago you flatly refused to give up Sparrow for this operation." Laswell raised an eyebrow.

"Well..." Price smoked a little more "You know how Sparrow is, she would have gone even if I forbade him."

"That's true."

There was silence. Finally Price grunted and threw the cigar to the ground.

"What are you going to do?" Laswell asked.

"Place a call to Australia. You take care of calling Sergeant Pham."

Aly was right. Hannah was his soldier, he had known her since Task Force 141 was formed years ago, and she may not have been one of his chosen ones but they went through hell and back on more than one occasion. So he wasn't going to sit idly by and do nothing. If his hands were tied, he'd find someone with his hands free who could break that bastard of El Sueños' nose. That was personal.

"I don't think Anna is up to it John."

"It's Sparrow who's tied to a damn chair. She'll accept it."

______________

The curtains were drawn. There was almost no sunlight coming in. It was noon and she still hadn't gotten out of bed. So that? She didn't want to face the world, and the world wasn't going to care one bit about what she was going through. The world could go on fucking spinning without her. Fuck the world. She could also roll over in bed. Trying not to let her thoughts flood her with another existential crisis, she spent the day sleeping so she didn't have to think and even then, she found herself terribly tired.

The overwhelming silence of her room was interrupted by the buzzing vibration of her phone. Damn she thought she had turned it off. She lifted her face from the pillow and checked who the hell was calling her.

Her eyes tried to adjust to the brightness of the screen when she could finally read the name that appeared.

"What?" She was confused, why was she calling her? In the end she picked up the call and put the cell phone to her ear. "Yeah?"

"Anna?" Laswell's voice came over the phone's small speaker.

"That's me..." Annabelle sighed and rolled over on the bed, staying in the middle looking at the ceiling.

She didn't seem to want to talk much. Where was her endless energy? That pyromaniac gremlin attitude. Where was it? Probably under all that mountain of dirty and used tissues.

"It's urgent. I need you to get equipped and prepare. I'll send you the plane ticket and the exact coordinates." Laswell began to explain.

"Wait wait. Just a moment" Anna frowned and pinched the bridge of her nose. "What are you talking about?"

A sigh was heard from Laswell. She seemed tired, was it something very serious?

"It's about Sparrow."

"Birdie? But wasn't she on a super secret mission in Bolivia with Jade and the rest?"

There was a pause.

"She has been kidnapped. The team lost contact with her more than 24 hours ago."

"What?!" Anna sat up suddenly. "Are you sure about that?!"

Suddenly a feeling of worry washed over her. One of her closest friends was in danger, and she was there. Rolling around in bed non-stop.

"We have visual evidence. She has been seen as a hostage." Laswell explained.

"Shit, biride..." Anna rubbed her face with her free hand.

"I know. But there's no time to waste. The team needs reinforcements, and the 141 is up to their necks in shit, so you're joining the 2nd Commando Regiment, as soon as possible."

"With the Aussies?" Anna asked, "Has Price called his old friend again?"

"He's in it. You know it's hard for him to ask that man for favors. They're like brothers."

Anna nodded as if Laswell could see her. Then she sighed.

"Alright, I'll do it."

"Great. I'll send you the details and exact coordinates. I'll also keep you informed about the team and reinforcements."

The conversation lasted a little longer. Anna asked about the task force. Especially for Gaz, his brother of another blood. She really missed them but her situation was complicated.

In the end she said goodbye to Laswell and hung up the call, remaining silent in that dark room. Then she looked to the side. Towards one of the corners of the room. The luggage bag, with all her gear and clothes completely disorganized and lying around.

Anna groaned and got out of bed.

"Fuck, Hannah..."

_________

Laughter filled his ears. His two daughters were playing and prancing in the park. Enjoying that weekend with his father. Not every weekend they could spend it with him.

Ava, the eldest daughter, about thirteen years old, was chasing Mia, her eight-year-old little sister. It wasn’t cold that afternoon in Perth, the sun warmed the grass and there were no clouds in the sky.

Even the stoic Captain Lachlan Jones smiled as he watched his daughters play and laugh. Those small moments are what he treasured most, those moments of calm. It was like entering a paradise inside a bubble, to recharge his batteries and return to hell later. But Lachlan didn't want to think about that. He was sitting on a bench enjoying the sun while supervising his girls.

When they were tired of playing he would buy them each an ice cream. And maybe for him too.

"Oi! Come on dad! Come play with us!" Ava called to her father, waving her hand in the air.

Lachlan's smile widened a little more and he raised his hand, signaling that he'd better stay on the bench.

Mia complained when she saw that her father wasn’t paying attention to them.

"Don't be a grumpy old fart! Come on! Come play with us!" Ava insisted even more.

Lachlan sighed and stood up. He couldn't say no to his daughters. Both girls laughed excitedly and happily, but just as Lachlan stood up his phone started ringing.

Ava's smile faded a little as she watched her Father pick up the call and start talking to someone.

"Who's calling Dad?" Mia asked.

"Dunno..." Ava frowned trying to listen to the conversation but her father was too far away to hear.

She saw Lachlan shake his head several times, sigh, pinch the bridge of his nose, and frown. Ava didn't like where this was going.

Lachlan's expression showed discontent. But after a long conversation and arguing he ended up agreeing. He had given in to something and neither Mia nor Ava had any idea what it was. But they wouldn’t like it. 

He approached his daughters with a serious expression.

"What's up, dad?" Ava asked worriedly.

Lachlan thought for a moment what to say.

"Dad’s got work." He said it in the softest tone possible.

Suddenly the expression of both girls changed to one of disappointment.

"But how come? you promised we'd spend the weekend together!" Ava complained.

Lachlan pursed his lips and nodded. He knelt in front of his daughters so he could be at their height.

"I know love... and I'm so sorry." Lachlan tucked one of her locks of hair behind Ava's ear. "I promise to make it up to you when I get back."

Both girls were insisting to their father for a long time. But Lachlan could no longer change his mind. He had accepted. He couldn't turn back anymore.

Lachlan ended up taking his two daughters to his ex-wife's house. Both girls complained non-stop about their father's work and the little time he spent with them.

Lachlan sighed as he drove. His head was starting to hurt. His daughters had a lot of perseverance and too much energy.

"If you keep quiet I'll convince your mother to buy you ice cream when you get home."

"Chocolate ice cream?" Ava asked.

"Yes…"

Mia and Ava looked at each other for a few seconds, silently discussing whether it was a good offer.

"Deal."

They ended up arriving at Lachlan's ex-wife's house.

An incredibly beautiful woman answered the door, tall, with long blonde hair. With a lioness gaze on her face.

The woman looked at the girls and then at Lachlan.

"Has something happened?" She asked, confused.

Both girls went inside the house.

"Ask dad!"

The woman looked at her daughters and then at Lachlan. She tried to understand what was happening but soon discovered it in her ex-husband's eyes. She sighed and closed her eyes.

"You’ve been called in, yeah?"

Lachlan nodded slightly.

"Sorry. It's an emergency that—"

The blonde woman raised a hand stopping the captain's excuses.

"You don't have to tell me anything. It's not my heart you’re breaking, it’s theirs." The woman had a stoic attitude like her ex-partner.

Lachlan glanced at his daughters who were already sitting on the living room couch with long faces. He snorted a little sadly, but didn't show it.

"I know…" Lachlan replied. "Breaks mine too."

They both looked at each other for a few long seconds. Without saying anything. Expressions that said nothing but that hid deeply buried feelings, and that for the good of both of them, should remain that way.

Damn, that was the most beautiful woman Lachlan had ever seen. No matter how hard he tried, that look always managed to awaken his stone heart. He still loved her, that was clear. But he didn't want to complicate things more for her.

So he put on his cap and cleared his throat a little.

"I'd better go."

"Yes. You have work to do. As always."

Lachlan pursed his lips and hid his gaze behind his cap. He turned to leave, but his ex-wife's voice stopped him.

"Just…" she hesitated for a moment whether to say it or not, "be careful. And… come back in one piece."

Lachlan didn't know what to say. He was mesmerized by her eyes.

"Our daughters need a father. I can't do all the work alone." The woman looked away.

Lachlan gave a small smile and nodded.

"Yeah, ‘course."

The woman nodded, and also smiled slightly. Almost imperceptible, but Lachlan knew it was there.

In the end Lachlan left. Leaving his family behind once again, so he could do his duty. For a few seconds his heart sank, it always hurt him to leave everything, to stop being a father and become the captain from B Company of the 2nd Commando Regiment again.

But as soon as he got into his car, his stoic personality returned. He grabbed his phone and called someone.

A phone rang on the other side of Australia.

A young man was fixing the engine of one of the farm's tractors. It seemed to make strange noises. He had his hands inside the engine when he heard his phone ringing somewhere in the garage.

"Fuuuck me, the fuck is it?" Damien growled morosely. The tractor was giving him problems.

He got out of the tractor and walked to the work table, where his cell phone was. He kicked some tools that were laying on the floor while he wiped the motor oil from his hands with a dirty rag. He slung the rag over his shoulder and answered the phone.

"Yeah? What?"

"Whitlock." His captain's voice was heard on the other end of the line.

"Boss?" Damien asked, confused. Lachlan didn't usually call unless it was extremely important.

"Listen, I know we just got back from a mission but…" Lachlan began to tell his sergeant the situation.

Damien walked out of the garage listening to what Lachlan had to say, breathing in fresh air, looking out over the farm and the fields. The sun was beginning to set on the horizon. A chicken that had probably escaped from the coop was pacing and pecking around Damien's boots.

Then Damien frowned.

"Hey? Didya just say that Hannah has been kidnapped? Sparrow? The Sparrow we know? Our bird? From 141?"

"Deadset."

"Fuck me dead…." Damien massaged his forehead. "She always ends up gettin’ into trouble like this, her and her reckless decisions."

"Well, reminds me of a certain someone, ay..?" Lachlan responded wryly. Knowing perfectly well that Damien was just like Sparrow or even worse.

Damien chuckled. "Bugger off! You're exaggeratin’, sir."

Then he sighed and his expression became serious again. He looked at the ground, at the chicken that was walking around without a care in the world. Damien and Sparrow were close friends, damn, almost like siblings. Since what happened to his best friend Daniel, Sparrow has been the closest thing to a best friend that he had, Alyssa was too, but Sparrow was the one who followed him in all his craziness. Aly was there to scold them every time. 

He touched his shoulder where he had the gunshot wound. An old scar from a couple of years ago. That afternoon in Afghanistan, the ambush, the sniper. Daniel died in front of him, trying to heal Damien's wound. And he could do nothing but be dragged away from him. It was incredible how quickly your life slipped through your fingers. One second you're alive and the next you have a bullet inside your brain.

Damien remembered how much the death of his best friend hurt. Damn he still hadn't even recovered yet, despite the years. And to think that the same thing could happen with Sparrow made him sick to his stomach. Hell, maybe he wouldn't be able to get back up from a second hit.

Damien clicked his tongue. He had returned home just less than a week ago. And now he had to return to the battlefield. But for Sparrow he would go to hell and back. She would do the same for him.

"When we headin’ off?" Damien asked.

"Now. Grab your shit, we're goin’ ‘gainst the clock."

"Rog.".

_______________

"Anna." Lachlan called her. "Your turn."

The woman nodded and stood in front of the armored door. She placed the explosive charge and activated it.

"We're going to blow up this fucking building." Anna murmured with a smile on her face.

"Oi, this is gonna upset all the fucking drug dealers in the building and for miles around." Damien whispered, looking down the dark hallway they had come down.

"I didn't think you were a coward Damo." Anna raised an eyebrow and smiled as she finished preparing the explosive charge.

"I’d like to get back to the HQ in one piece." Damien counterattacked, narrowing his eyes.

"And you will! You just have to trust me. And this beauty right here." Anna finished off the explosive.

"They’re gonna catch us with our pants down and they’re gonna leave us like strainers if you lot don't shut up." Lachlan scolded them both. Damien and Anna had been arguing like siblings since they started the mission. And both the sergeants were starting to get on Lachlan's nerves.

Arjun sighed, trying to stay calm. This whole situation tenses his muscles and stresses him out too much. Arjun could swear he was starting to lose his hair because of the stress. He just wanted to get Sparrow out of there alive. Hell, he didn't even know if Sparrow was still alive. But he would soon find out.

The team had infiltrated what appeared to be a military base of operations for the Santa Blanca Cartel. A huge base located in a valley between mountains. It was literally the devil’s cave.

After the call with Price, Aly managed to find Sparrow's locator. The coordinates indicated a fixed location. It seemed like they had Sparrow held somewhere. Thanks to the help of the Bolivian rebel forces, they found the place. It looked like a damn impregnable fortress. Only someone with suicidal instincts would want to go in there. But luckily, reinforcements arrived a few days later. Lachlan, along with Damien and Anna, joined the team.

They managed to enter with the help of the guerrillas. They created a distraction by causing an explosion close enough to the base for the narcos to direct their gaze there. Giving the team the perfect opportunity to sneak inside the base. Arjun, Lachlan and Damien were in charge of eliminating the Narcos and guards inside the base in a stealthy manner. Checking all the floors, room by room, looking for Sparrow. Anna had the same job as the rest, but she was also in charge of placing explosive charges at key points in the building's structure, so that when the time came for extraction they could demolish the building and hit the Santa Blanca cartel right in the balls. Show those bastards what happens when you mess with the wrong team.

Finally they reached the underground levels. Aly reported that there was a shielded room without cameras. The team wasted no more time, suspecting that they might be holding Sparrow there.

"Alright. Everything is ready." Anna announced, proud of her work.

"Right. Sort yourselves out!" Lachlan announced, placing himself with his back to the wall next to the door. "Damien, you make first entrance."

"Bet your fucking arse I will." 

The team stood on both sides, with their backs against the wall.

"On my signal, Pham." Lachlan ordered. There were a few seconds of tension. Lachlan assured that everyone was ready. He glanced at Arjun who nodded. "Now!'

Anna pressed the detonator. A strong wave of heat hit everyone but not enough to hurt them. Damien wasted no time, with his rifle raised he entered, pointing in all directions. Arjun followed him and then Anna and Lachlan.

They checked the entire room and realized that no one was there. The room looked like a dark warehouse lit by a single, sad light bulb hanging from the ceiling.

"Clear." Damien muttered.

"Where are you Han…?" Anna murmured.

"Well… She's definitely been here." Lachlan kicked a corpse, turning it over. He had severe bruises, a broken nose and a broken glass stuck in his neck.

"There are three more," Anna announced, looking around the room.

Arjun turned over another dead body of a narco. He had a broken arm and neck.

"It was Sparrow's job." Arjun recognized his sergeant's fighting pattern.

"Damn... did our bird do that?" Damien looked at the other bodies.

"We call her Sparrow but she charges like a fucking bull..." Anna muttered.

Arjun was starting to get impatient, finding those corpses was a good sign. Sparrow was alive and had the strength to fight, but it also meant that she was moving, and they had to get to her before someone more dangerous did it first.

"Arjun." Lachlan called him.

The captain approached the other captain.

"What is it?" Arjun asked.

"Have a gander at that." Lachlan pointed his chin at a work table full of torture tools, some of which were bloody. There was a battery with cables and clips and a cattle prod.

"Fuckin’ hell…" Damien approached the table.

"Mh?" Arjun turned to Damien with a raised eyebrow.

"That's a cattle prod. It's an electric wand. Some farmers use it to push cattle and make cows move forward. Not me of course. If that thing is used on a person you can cause significant damage." Damien muttered with a frown. He touched the object carefully. "It's still hot..."

"They used it recently. Sons of bitches..." Lachlan growled.

Arjun tightened his grip on the rifle. The knuckles turned pale and the veins on his arms began to stand out more than usual.

"She has been tortured here. There is no doubt about that." Arjun muttered.

"I don't see the chair." Anna asked, looking around.

"They didn't use a chair." Arjun pointed to some chains hanging from the ceiling. Blood was dripping from them. "They hung her like a fucking animal ready to be skinned."

Lachlan looked around.

"Look at the size of those chains. How did she get free of those?" Anna approached, amazed.

"Those corpses are still bleeding. She shouldn’t be far." Lachlan reported.

Arjun was still immersed in his own thoughts when suddenly something lying in a corner caught his attention. He approached and crouched in front.

"What is that?" Anna approached curiously.

Arjun was holding Sparrow's bulletproof vest, now bloody and with empty pockets. It had the locator still attached. Arjun took a deep breath trying to stay calm. He tore off the patch and stared at it. That patch with the skull of a king and a sword piercing the skull, the word "Kingslayer" was embroidered at the bottom. The patch was stained with blood of course. That sight of his sergeant's patch covered in blood only altered his calm and professionalism. At that moment Arjun was like a ticking bomb. If he found El Sueño right now...

Arjun grabbed the radio button and contacted Aly and Jade.

While the rest of the team had checked the entire building, Aly and Jade went up to the upper floors, looking for the control room. Where Aly could have full access to the cameras and electrical systems. Jade escorted Aly there, stealthily finishing off whoever crossed their path.

"Alyssa. We have news." Arjun's voice was heard over the Comms.

"Go ahead captain." Aly replied. It was difficult for her to hide her nervousness. She just wanted to find Sparrow and get out there.

"We have found the torture room but there is no sign of Sparrow. The guards are dead, and judging by the wounds Sparrow has recently escaped."

Aly sighed. Sparrow was alive, that was a huge relief.

"We will notify the rebels to establish a search perimeter."

Jade spread a map on the table. They both looked at it for a few moments. And they agreed where the perimeter should be established. Jade nodded.

Aly looked at the map, Sparrow could be anywhere. She sighed in defeat, it was like finding a needle in a haystack. Suddenly a hand landed on her shoulder. Aly looked up to see Jade giving her a comforting smile.

"We'll find Hannah. Don't worry."

Aly tried to smile and nodded.

"Thank you Jade."

The redhead nodded.

"I will inform the rebel forces." Jade announced, and quickly contacted Pac Katari.

Aly nodded, and looked back at the cameras.

"¿Dónde chingados estás Han?" (Where the fuck are you Han) Aly murmured worriedly.

After chatting with Pac Katari, Jade returned to Aly.

"The rebels report that the Narcos have heard the explosion and are on high alert. They are clearing the entire building."

"Understood. We will meet you as soon as possible." Arjun announced. "Alyssa, it's time to turn off the lights again. We'll take care of those bastards."

"I'm working on it" Aly was in charge of turning off all the electrical systems, thus the alarms and communication antennas of the drug traffickers were completely unusable. They couldn't call in reinforcements. "All systems disabled."

"Roger that Aly." Arjun replied. "Keep us informed of your situation at all times. Understood?"

Suddenly she heard something. It was almost imperceptible, it came from outside, on the other side of the door. It was as if…

"Alyssa?" Arjun asked Aly again after not receiving a response. Aly seemed to ignore him.

Aly frowned and looked at Jade.

"Have you heard that?"

Jade looked at her confused.

"Hear what?"

They both remained silent, listening. It was heard again, it was a sharp, fast, melodic sound.

"I think it comes from outside, from the forest." Jade tried to guess.

"No, no..." Aly paid more attention. Closing her eyes and listening as much as she could.

She waited a little and then heard it again for the third time.

"It's like…" Jade frowned.

"Like a..." then Aly's eyes widened. "a whistle."

As soon as Aly discovered it, she didn't hesitate to run to the door and throw it open.

"ah?! H-hey! Aly wait!" Jade tried to stop her. 

It was too dangerous to start running through the hallways! The building was full of guards! What was happening to her now?!

Jade followed her trying to catch up.

"Aly!" Jade tried to follow her, making sure no one was following them.

Oh my God. Had she perhaps gone crazy?

A group of three drug traffickers appeared from another hallway. Jade growled and pointed her gun. She shot all three between the eyes.

Screw discretion.

Aly stopped at an intersection of hallways, listened again.

"Come on, come on..." she murmured, panting.

"Aly, my god, what's going on?!" Jade finally caught up to her.

"It has to be around here." Aly looked in all directions.

Jade heard the voices of the drug traffickers who began to get closer and closer. Judging by the sound of the boots, there were many of them.

"¡Vamos cabrones! ¡Tienen que estar por aquí cerca!"

"We have to get out of here. We can't hold them off for long. I'm low on ammunition too." Jade stood in front of Aly, with an expression of complete concern for her friend. "Aly, what are you looking for?"

"I just need a little more time, I just..."

"We have the narcos breathing down our necks. We have to get out of here and return with the rest of the team."

Another whistle was heard.

Aly turned her head towards the sound as if she was an owl. And without saying anything else she started running again.

"Aly!" Jade followed her again.

They both walked through the hallways. Shots could be heard coming from the lower floors. The team had come into contact with the enemy. Over the radio, Arjun and Lachlan could be heard shouting orders between gunshots. But shots could also be heard coming from further ahead, right where they were heading and that worried Jade.

Aly opened an emergency door that led to a narrower, darker hallway. It was illuminated by red emergency lights. Jade reached her.

"We have to lock the door, now." Jade grabbed the ax and emergency fire hose on a nearby wall and managed to bar the door. "We have an army of Narcos on the other side. And if we don't hurry they're going to—..." Jade's words were interrupted by pained moans coming from the dark hallway.

Aly and Jade stared into the complete darkness, dimly illuminated by the red emergency bulb. Listening to someone dying of pain. That situation seemed like it had become a horror movie. Jade pulled out the gun slowly, Aly did the same, loading the gun trying not to make too much noise.

Suddenly they saw something moving on the ground. Something was crawling in the distance. It didn't have a specific shape. Until he got close enough to the red light and they realized he was a drug trafficker who was crawling because his legs didn't work. He was bleeding to death, but still he was fighting with all his might to run away from something.

"Perra asquerosa, maldita zorra…¡El Sueño te encontrará y va a hacerse un abrigo de piel contigo!" (You filthy bitch, you fucking slut...El Sueño will find you and make a fur coat out of you!) The drug trafficker cursed whoever he was fleeing from.

Suddenly a whistle was heard, which sounded much darker thanks to the echo generated by the narrow hallway.

The drug dealer raised his head and looked back. That was his fatal mistake, as a deafening gunshot was heard and a bullet flew down the hallway until it pierced the man's skull. The corpse remained motionless, staining the floor.

Jade and Aly's breathing was heavy. They didn't expect something like that. Footsteps were heard, a pair of heavy boots approaching them.

"Do you think..." Jade finally understood, but she still remained alert, holding the gun.

"She's here." Aly smiled. Her hands were shaking, from the adrenaline, from the tension, from fatigue. Everything had accumulated at that moment.

She put her fingers to her lips, took a breath, and whistled too. She whistled, creating a short little melody, just two notes, but it was enough to make the footsteps stop for a second.

Aly stood expectantly, waiting, waiting for an answer.

The silence became endless until finally, from the depths of that dark hallway, the song of a sparrow was heard. Incredibly sharp and fast.

Aly covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes filling with tears. Her lower lip was trembling and her heart was pumping rapidly.

At last.

A dark silhouette appeared, tall and large. That person had one hand supported, they seemed to be limping. The silhouette whistled again, another sparrow.

Aly couldn't stand it anymore, and started running towards that silhouette. She ran and ran until her body collided with the other, she didn't care. She hugged them tightly, hiding her face in the other person's chest. Aly ended up collapsing, tears streaming down her cheeks as a pair of arms wrapped around them lovingly. A heavy hand rested on her hair and stroked it lightly.

"I told you I would find you." Aly murmured, resting her forehead on her chest.

The chest vibrated with a light laugh. Aly looked up, seeing a smiling Sparrow.

"And I never doubted you" Hannah widened her smile.

Aly smiled too and wiped away her tears.

"You are an idiot." Aly joked between sobs.

"Well someone has to be." Sparrow responded with a chuckle.

They hugged for a few more seconds until it was time to separate. Sparrow watched Jade slowly approach.

"Hannah…" 

Sparrow smiled.

"I'm glad to see you well Jade."

"Oh, shut up." Jade hugged her too, tightly. "You made us very worried. We thought we had lost you."

"I'm sorry I kept you waiting." Sparrow reciprocated the hug.

"Don't say that."

They both separated.

"Jesus, Sparrow, you don't look good." Jade commented worriedly. "My God, you're bleeding."

Despite Sparrow's tired smile, her body was covered in bruises and she limped on one leg.

Aly lifted Hannah's shirt and opened her eyes in horror.

"You have been shot."

"Yeah, one of the guards managed to catch me when I tried to run away."

She had a gunshot wound to her lower abdomen, and it was spitting out dark blood, slowly but constantly. On the sides of her torso there were burns, small and surrounded by reddened skin. Surely from when the torturers used the cattle prod.

Jade took one of Sparrow's hands. The wrists were mangled, covered in bruises, marks and dried blood.

"How many nails have they pulled out?" Jade asked, looking at Sparrow's hands in terror.

"Four... It wasn't enough to make me talk." Sparrow looked exhausted, swaying from side to side, it was as if she would collapse at any moment.

"We have to get out of here. Now." Jade ordered.

Aly had Sparrow put one of her arms over her shoulders.

"Let's get you out of here Han."

"I'll inform the rest." Jade pressed the button on her radio. "Captain. We have found Sparrow. I repeat, we have found Sparrow."

"What?! Are you serious?" Lachlan replied. Although his voice sounded distorted by the gunshots. They seemed to be in quite a bind. "Take her out of the building and we will meet at the extraction point."

"And leave you alone with that army of Narcos?!" Jade exclaimed.

"It's an order. Getting Sparrow to safety is a priority. Dami—..." Interference cut off Lachlan's words.

Jade was going to answer but suddenly knocks and gunshots were heard on the other side of the door. Someone was trying to open it.

"Get ready." Jade ordered, taking out her karambit and gun. "That door isn't going to hold up much longer. Aly." Jade called to her partner.

"I know." Aly pulled out her gun with one hand and held Sparrow with the other.

"Let me help." Sparrow took a step forward but Aly stopped her.

"Are you crazy? Have you even seen yourself?! You've been tortured for days Hannah, you're bleeding to death and you can barely stand."

"I can still fight, I didn't get here by pure luck. Let me do it."

"Aly is right." Jade answered, she had returned to her serious attitude, ready to murder whoever came her way. "You're in no condition to engage in combat. Besides... We already trusted you once, now it's your turn to trust us."

Sparrow tried to reproach again but Jade's look was enough to silence her. Sparrow sighed.

"Then kick those sons of bitches' arses for me."

Jade smiled and nodded.

"Aly?" 

"ready.."

Jade leaned her back against the wall of the door. She adjusted her grip on the gun and knife. Aly did the same and pointed towards the door.

They waited, the gunshots and screams continued until suddenly everything was silent. The three looked at each other. The atmosphere was tense again. A heavy silence that squeezed everyone's lungs. Suddenly there were loud, heavy knocks on the door. Someone was trying to knock the door down.

Everyone was on alert until the door finally gave way and burst open. Jade didn’t hesitate to stick the barrel of her gun into the temple of the person who had just burst in. She was about to pull the trigger when she suddenly recognized the blonde mullet.

"Whitlock?!" Jade asked, confused.

"Fuckin' hell, Jade!" Damien exclaimed.

"Damien!" Aly sighed in relief and lowered the gun. "Shouldn't you be with the rest of the team?"

"Yeah, well, the captains sent me to look for you as soon as you didn't respond to Arjun."

"Damien fucking Whitlock… What in the bloody hell are you doing here?!" Sparrow exclaimed with a frown. Then she looked at Aly. "Seriously?!"

"We couldn't rescue you alone. We needed reinforcements." Aly shrugged.

"And of all people... it had to be him?!" Sparrow pointed at Damien.

"Oi! Drop that shitty attitude and show some appreciation that I even bothered to show up!" Damien took a step forward, clearly pissed.

Sparrow removed her arm from Aly's shoulders and straightened her back so that she was level with Damien. Holding her abdomen because of the wound.

"Appreciation? I don't owe you anything! I didn't ask you to come! I could get out of here all by myself!" Sparrow took another step forward.

They were like two dogs ready to fight and tear each other's throats out.

“Guys please…” Aly sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Clearly tired of both of their attitudes.

Jade simply watched the two of them as if she were watching a tennis match. What was happening here?

"You know, I was so comfortable back home, enjoying my days off when suddenly I get a fucking call that a certain little bird needs to be rescued on the other fucking side of the world."

"And they really thought you were the best one? You're always getting in the way of people with your huge butt!"

"And you can barely even walk with those huge duck feet!"

They spent a few tense seconds looking into each other's eyes, being only a few centimeters away. But in the end they both couldn't help it and a smile escaped their lips.

"C’mon, come ‘ere..."

They hugged each other tightly and patted each other on the back. The two chuckled.

"Don't scare me like that again..." Damien murmured, patting Hannah's head.

Sparrow snorted, trying to hold back a smile. She was really happy to have Damien there, she was able to trust him with her life without even thinking about it. She just liked to annoy him, and he liked to do that too.

"Sorry Damo." She rested her forehead on her friend's shoulder.

Aly sighed in relief and smiled. They always behave like this. Like two siblings who hate and love each other at the same time.

"What has happened?" Jade asked.

"Eventually you get used to it." Aly shrugged.

Damien and Sparrow chuckled. But suddenly Hannah's expression changed completely, she had turned completely pale and seemed dizzy again.

"Oh bloody hell…"

"Hannah!" Aly tried to reach her before she collapsed but Damien was faster and reached her first.

"Sparrow, what's wrong with you?!" Damien held Sparrow as best he could.

Hannah was slowly losing consciousness.

"She's losing too much blood. We need to get her out of here and have Mandy take a look at her." Jade ordered.

Suddenly interference was heard on the radio again.

"We have a visual of El Cardenal!" Lachlan's voice came over the radio amidst the gunshots and noises of the gunfight. "He's running away! Third floor! Right next to the east windows! We can't reach him with the mess here. You're going to have to take care of it!"

"Third floor? That's two floors down, we won't reach it. Much less carrying Sparrow."

"You go... I'll stay..." Sparrow muttered barely.

"I would rather die than leave you here." Damien answered with a completely serious look.

Jade was thoughtful the whole time.

"Take care of Hannah. I'll take care of El Cardenal." She put the gun back in its holster.

"You won't have time, there are too many stairs." Damien shook his head.

"I'm not going down the stairs." Jade answered determinedly, checking the harness that surrounded her thighs and hips. She took down a rappel rope from across her chest and tied one end to the harness and the other to a pair of carabiners.

Hannah looked up and chuckled weakly as she understood.

"Sometimes I think you're crazier than me..." Sparrow replied. "Just make sure the knots are tight."

Jade smiled and rested her hand on Sparrow's shoulder.

"You worry about staying alive, Han."

"I'll try not to disappoint you." Hannah laughed weakly.

Jade snorted, trying not to laugh in a situation like that, and looked at Alyssa and Damien.

"I leave her in your charge."

"Good luck, Jade." Aly nodded.

Jade nodded back and left. She started running down the hallways they had come through before. In one hand she held the gun and in the other the rappelling rope. She encountered several enemies who didn’t even have time to raise their weapons. Jade didn’t hesitate to shoot them in the head the moment they appeared in her field of vision. A very big guy stood in her way, trying to stop her. But with a quick pirouette she managed to throw him to the ground, rested her knee on his neck and shot him point-blank in the temple. Evidently the shooting had attracted more drug traffickers, so Jade hurried and ran.

She ended up reaching the end of the hallway, which opened onto some huge windows. Jade listened to the Narcos hot on her heels. She slid nimbly along the floor until she reached one of the concrete columns that supported the ceiling. She had arrived at the right place. She wrapped the rope around the column and secured it with the carabiner. As best she could, she measured the rope and did the calculations in her head. Was it a suicide? Yes. But there was no time to think about it. If she thought twice, El Cardenal would escape from under her nose.

The drug traffickers arrived, the bullets began to fly near her, threatening to pierce her body at any moment. Jade didn't waste any more time, she got up and ran towards the windows, without stopping for a second. She covered her face with her forearms and hit the glass. It went through the window, breaking the entire glass. The small pieces flew through the air, they remained suspended in the air, like Jade, for a few milliseconds, as if everything were in slow motion. But gravity soon did its work, the weight of the world hitting the pit of her stomach as she began to fall. She descended until the rope was completely taut, and like a pendulum the rope made Jade go from falling in the air to about to hit the windows two floors below.

Jade frowned as soon as she saw El Cardeanl near the windows. With her boots first, she burst into the building again, breaking the windows and taking El Cardenal with her. The sole of her boot impacted his cheek.

They both rolled on the ground. Jade got up as best she could, shook her head trying to get rid of the dizziness. From the corner of her eye she saw Gustavo Serrano, El Cardenal himself, who had already managed to recover from the kick that Charlotte had given him in the face. Jade pulled out the gun as soon as she realized it. But El Cardenal pulled out another gun and also pointed it at Jade.

"Mr. Serrano. Drop the weapon." Jade ordered firmly. "If you don't I will be forced to pull the trigger."

The man didn't say anything, he lowered the gun but instead of letting it go, he raised it higher.

"Sir." Jade threatened again.

Now the barrel of his gun rested on his own temple.

"Santa Muerte will come for all of us sooner or later." El Cardenal spoke in a sinister tone. "We are all sinners. Responsible for our actions. Only La Santa Muerte can bring us before the Lord."

"Drop the gun. You don't want to do this." Jade shifted her weight from one leg to the other nervously. They needed El Cardinal alive. And that son of a bitch was willing to take his own life without even blinking.

Where did she have to aim? To the leg? No, even if she fired, that wouldn't stop him from pulling the trigger. To the hand? It was too close to the head.

Shit…!

"Sacrifices must be made for the common good. To preserve what is good and what is pure."

The Cardinal closed his eyes and looked at the ceiling. And he pulled the trigger.

"¡NO!" 

But the bullet never went through Gustavo Serrano's head. In fact, a punch hit El Cardenal directly on the cheek, causing the bullet to deflect and hit a wall. Gustavo Serrano rolled on the ground from the impact.

Jade looked at the newcomer. Arjun shook his hand trying to relax his fingers.

"Captain…"

Jade realized that Arjun's eyes radiated anger, contempt and even madness.

Arjun had had enough of that fucking game. Could that man really take his own life after what he did to his sergeant? No, he did not deserve such a merciful fate. He deserved to suffer, just as he had made Sparrow suffer.

El Cardenal rubbed his sore jaw from the blow. He grunted and tried to get to his feet. But Arjun didn't let him. He kicked him in the mouth with his boot, causing him to fall to the ground again.

"Santa Muerte is not interested in you yet.Motherfucker." Arjun growled. "Do you think you can torture one of my soldiers for days and not suffer the consequences?"

"Sacrifices are necessary to—..."

Arjun hit him again.

"Sacrifices?! You are fucking genocidal. You bring hell to the innocent. You cheat, steal and kill for your own benefit without giving a shit. And you want to talk to me about sacrifice?!"

Arjun hit him again and again. Leaving the gloves soaked in blood. He didn't care about anything anymore. The chains, the torture tools, the cattle prod, Sparrow's Operation Kingslayer patch so stained with blood that the colors could no longer be distinguished. Just imagining that they had used all this on his sergeant made his blood boil. Arjun only saw red. Blood was splashing on his face, he didn't hear anything, his ears were ringing.

"Arjun!" Jade untied the rope still tied to her harness. "It's enough!"

Jade tried to grab Arjun by the shoulders but she didn't have enough strength to push him away.

"We need him alive!" Jade tried again. "Come on!" Jade's blood ran cold as she saw El Cardenal's disfigured face, all swollen and full of blood. He had to hurry or Arjun would beat him to death.

Suddenly another pair of larger, stronger arms appeared and between the two of them they pushed Arjun away from Gustavo Serrano.

"Arjun! Calm down, mate!" Lachlan pulled Arjun along while Jade went to inspect El Cardenal's condition.

"Let me go Jones! This bastard has to pay!" Arjun exclaimed terribly angrily.

Lachlan placed his body between Gustavo Serrano and the other captain, and put his hand on Arjun's chest.

"I understand your pain, Dhingra. But right now we need him alive. He is the right hand of El Sueño. We cannot waste this opportunity." Lachlan spoke calmly while still looking Arjun in the eyes.

"You've seen the torture room. What he's done to Sparrow…" Arjun closed his eyes and took a deep breath. No… he already lost a very close friend, and he still blamed himself for it. He had to be a better leader, he had to protect his people. It had to be better.

"I would have done the same in your situation. I am capable of burning the entire world for my own people. But you know perfectly well that this is not what Sparrow wants."

Arjun sighed and shook his head. He should have been the one to sacrifice himself for the team. Unconsciously he held his leg with that bullet wound, it hurt like hell but he could walk. He just had to ignore it. A punishment for his actions.

"What is the status of Serrano?" Arjun asked.

Jade checked El Cardenal’s pulse and pupils.

"He's unconscious. He's barely breathing but he's still alive."

"Okay, I'll deal with him later." Arjun came closer. "And Sparrow?"

Jade looked at Arjun with a worried expression.

"She is alive but needs immediate medical attention. She has been shot in the stomach and some of the wounds appear serious." Jade reported standing up and holstering her gun. "Damien and Aly are with her."

"Good. They have to go immediately to the extraction point."

The burden on his shoulders eased a little. Still, Arjun couldn't relax until the entire team was safe and sound at the base.

Hurried footsteps were heard and Anna appeared.

"The explosive charges are already placed and activated." Anna reported. "Fuck me! That's El Cardinal?! What the hell happened to him?!"

"Divine justice." Arjun replied seriously without looking at her.

"Alright guys. Time to go" Lachlan informed. "I’ll carry Gustavo Serrano."

Jade nodded.

"Aly. Sparrow needs to be moved to the extraction point as soon as possible. The charges are already placed and active." Jade reported over the radio.

"Understood. We're on our way. Damien is holding Sparrow. She doesn't seem very happy." Aly answered.

Anna laughed.

"Typical Sparrow."

"Come on guys, time moves on. We have to move." Lachlan ordered, carrying Gustavo Serrano's unconscious body on his shoulders.

The team made their way through the different floors of the base. Shooting all the guards and drug traffickers who stood in his way. And finally they managed to leave the building.

"To the truck! I'm driving!" Arjun ordered, after killing the drug dealer who was driving the said vehicle.

They all went up. They left El Cardenal lying in the back seats of the truck next to Lachlan. Jade took over as co-pilot and Anna jumped into the bed truck that had a turret attached.

"Oh fuck...!" Anna cursed as she saw more Santa Blanca Cartel vehicles approaching along the roads. "More reinforcements are coming!"

"Shit!" Lachlan stuck his head out of the truck window. "We have to hurry! The explosive charges will soon explode! Pham! How much time do we have left?!"

"A minute at most!" Anna responded.

El Cardenal raised his head in confusion. It seemed that he was beginning to come to his senses. Lachlan noticed and with the butt of his rifle hit him in the back of the head again.

"Sweet dreams you piece of shit." Lachlan groaned "Where the fuck is the rest?!"

"I think I see them! Shit they have a fucking army behind them..."

"Use the turret!" Arjun ordered, starting the car.

"A pleasure!" Anna grabbed the turret with both hands and began shooting at any Narco that threatened those who were just arriving.

Damien ran out of the building carrying an unconscious Sparrow fireman's lift style, Aly ran next to him, protecting Damien as best she could.

Anna motioned for them to run in that direction.

They both jumped into the bed truck. Damien left Sparrow on the floor of the truck and joined in the firefight. Aly put pressure on Sparrow's wound. Hannah complained weakly but barely had the strength to speak.

Anna made sure everyone was in the truck. She hit the rear windshield of the truck to warn Arjun.

Arjun didn’t hesitate to step on the accelerator and speed away from there. Just then there was a series of explosions inside the building, the entire area had been filled with dust and dirt. And shortly after in one last explosion the building collapsed, like a titan that had been defeated.

Mesmerized, Anna watched the building fall. That always left a strange feeling.

"Anna, help me with this!" Aly asked, breaking Anna out of her thoughts.

Anna knelt down along with Aly.

"Sparrow doesn't look very good." Anna mentioned, worried, seeing her friend's state.

"The wound must be packed. We have to reduce the bleeding as soon as possible."

Sparrow opened her eyes and realized that Anna was there.

"I've been calling you for several days…" Hannah murmured weakly. "You didn't answer."

Anna smiled sadly, and cupped Sparrow's cheek.

"I didn't want to bore you with my dramas, birdie."

"Looks like I'll have to do this more often so I can talk to you." Sparrow smiled and closed her eyes.

Anna chuckled and shook her head.

"Don't even think about doing this again, idiot."

Aly smiled listening to the conversation between both women, but then returned her gaze to the wound.

"Anna keep Sparrow awake, don't let her fall asleep for a second." Aly ordered, ripping off a sleeve of her shirt and then tore it into strips.

"Hey hey. Hannah! wake up!" Anna lightly patted Sparrow's face. But she didn't respond. "Shit she’s not opening her eyes."

"Hit her harder."

"What? Really?"

"You heard me. Slap her like some asshole grabbed your ass without permission. Hannah's a big girl. She can take it.”

Anna smirked. 

"Very well. You asked for it."

Anna raised her hand and slapped Hannah's cheek with all her might.

"Fucking hell!" Hannah's eyes snapped open.

"That's my girl! Now keep your eyes open Sparrow!" Anna exclaimed, patting Hannah's chest.

Aly began to insert the pieces of cloth into the bullet wound as a plug to reduce the bleeding. Hannah complained again.

"Guys…" Damien interrupted them. He grabbed the switch on his radio. "We got visitors. Enemy vehicles approaching. There’s heaps of ‘em."

Several armed cars appeared behind the truck, chasing them at full speed.

"Roger. Let's try to throw them off." Arjun responded over the radio.

He turned the wheel and drove down a road that wound through a very narrow valley. A dangerous road that was on the edge of a cliff between two mountains that looked like giants that wanted to pounce on them.

"Okay guys. Get ready to engage!" Lachlan ordered as he pulled his body out the car window and pointed his gun.

Jade did the same.

"Pham to the turret. Now." The Australian captain indicated.

"Rog!" She looked at Aly. "Can I leave her in your care?"

"I'll keep her awake as long as I can. Go." Aly nodded at the turret.

Anna nodded and moved right behind the turret.

"Let's teach those pieces of shit when to fucking give up!"

"Fuck yeah!" Damien responded, placing one knee on the floor of the truck and aiming his rifle.

The first enemy trucks appeared on the road. Chasing the truck at full speed.

"Contact!" Jade screamed as the drug traffickers began shooting from their vehicles.

The team soon responded with fire and heavy artillery. Making sure to keep the narcos at bay and that they won't get too close. The road was already dangerous enough without now adding a shootout.

One of the trucks from the Santa Blanca cartel came too close, becoming parallel to the team's vehicle. Arjun looked towards the window realizing that a narco was pointing a gun at him.

"Back off Captain!" Jade exclaimed.

Arjun obeyed and leaned his body back giving Jade room to shoot the driver and co-driver of the truck. Arjun swerved to the side and pushed the other truck over the cliff, causing it to fall into the void.

"They're called traffic laws for a reason, idiots!" Arjun groaned as he watched the truck crash into the bottom of the valley.

Suddenly his attention shifted to his ears. The engine of a helicopter could be heard approaching from a distance.

"Is it Mandy?!" Jade asked, trying to make her voice heard over the gunshots.

A second helicopter was heard approaching and suddenly a rocket hit the road a few meters ahead. Arjun had to make an effort to prevent the truck from overturning.

"I do not think so!" Arjun replied.

"Shit...! Anna! Grab the RPG!" Jade screamed, sticking her head out of the window.

One of the armed helicopters launched another rocket that hit the mountain wall, causing huge rocks to start falling onto the road. Arjun could dodge them with difficulty.

"Hurry up Gremlin! We have to shoot down those helicopters." Jade exclaimed watching the rocks fall dangerously close to the vehicle. Some rocks crushed the drug traffickers' trucks that were still chasing them.

Anna grabbed the RPG, dug her knee into the ground.

And she placed the rocket launcher on her shoulder.

"I only have one shot!" Anna grunted in annoyance.

"Then make sure you don't miss. And take one of those helicopters to fucking hell." Damien said as he shot at one last enemy truck.

"Fuck it." Anna pulled the trigger and the rocket was launched at full speed, hitting the tail of one of the helicopters, causing it to lose control and crash into the mountain wall in a large explosion.

"Way to go Grem!" Damien shook Anna's shoulder euphorically.

"I wouldn't celebrate victory this early, Damien. There's another helicopter to shoot down." Lachlan spoke on the radio.

"We'll use the turret." Damien grabbed the weapon with both hands and pointed it at the cockpit of the remaining helicopter. "If we hit the pilot—..."

But a rocket appeared out of nowhere, flying through the sky at high speed that collided with the remaining helicopter.

"What the fuck?!"

Some interference was heard over the Comms.

"Sorry I'm late guys." Mandy's voice appeared.

A third helicopter appeared flying between the valley walls. This one had the Operation Kingslayer symbol painted on the front.

"Mandy! You don't know how happy I am to hear your voice!" Jade exclaimed in relief over the radio.

"I'm sorry for the delay, these bastards haven't left me alone for a single moment." Mandy answered.

"How's your new toy treating you?" Arjun asked.

The helicopter that Mandy previously used had received too much damage in the last few missions. And now with the new additions to the team they needed something bigger and more armed. Luckily Pac Katari got a new helicopter for Mandy.

"Wonderful, sir. I think I'm growing fond of it." Mandy joked.

For the first time in days Arjun chuckled lightly.

"Good to know Macfie" then returned to his serious demeanor. "Proceed to extraction point B. Sparrow needs immediate medical attention."

"Roger that captain." 

Finally the team managed to escape from the cartel and those facilities. As soon as they reached the extraction point, Arjun and Damien took Sparrow to the helicopter while the rest boarded.

"Aly I need you here with me. We have to find a safe route to return to the base." Mandy asked as she sat back down in the pilot's seat.

"Hannah needs help." Aly informed.

"I know."

"You're the team medic Mandy." Aly responded worriedly.

"I have to pilot the helicopter too, I will give instructions so that you can treat Sparrow's injuries or at least hold on until we get to the base." Mandy justified, understanding her friend's anxiety and concern.

"Alyssa." Arjun called her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Sparrow is going to be fine. We will do everything in our power to save her."

Aly looked at Sparrow, who was lying on the floor of the helicopter while the rest of the team tried to tend to her. She then returned her gaze to Arjun.

"Take care of finding a safe route so we can all get home." Arjun spoke softly and understandingly. "Clayton will be fine."

Aly sighed and nodded. She sat next to Mandy and with the help of the maps and her laptop she began to search for routes in the satellite images.

"I have a route."

"Good. Let's take off." Mandy answered using the controls to lift the helicopter into the air again and fly in the direction Aly was pointing.

While in the back of the Helicopter they tried to make sure Sparrow was still alive.

"Jade, I need you to put pressure here." Lachlan was giving orders. "Damien, get the first aid kit."

Both attended and obeyed orders.

Arjun knelt next to Lachlan.

"Macfie. We need instructions on how to remove the bullet." Arjun said.

"The bullet is quite close to the liver. You have to be very careful. The blood is red at the moment. That's a good sign, it means it hasn't damaged the liver yet." Mandy explained. "But if the blood comes out black. Sparrow's countdown will have slowed down significantly."

"Why?" Damien asked worriedly.

Mandy was silent for a while, thinking about how to explain it.

"The liver is in a way responsible for purifying the blood, as are the kidneys. But the liver extracts toxins and residual substances from the blood. If the liver is affected, these toxins may go into the bloodstream again in high quantities and poison her own blood." Mandy explained. "We don't know how close the bullet is to the liver, but what we do know for sure is that if Sparrow keeps moving and the wound gets bigger, it will eventually hit the organ."

"We have to remove the bullet as soon as possible." Arjun summarized.

"But if we do, we run the risk of Sparrow bleeding to death." Aly added.

"That's why we need to have a blood transfusion ready in case things get complicated. Jade, Sparrow and you share a blood group. O negative is quite unusual, you're the only one who can give her blood."

"Understood." Jade nodded.

"We have to make two groups. One will be in charge of the blood transfusion and the other will be in charge of removing the bullet and cauterization."

"The sergeants and Jade will handle the transfusion. Me and Captain Jones will handle the extraction. Understood?" Arjun ordered and everyone nodded.

Without wasting any more time, following Mandy's instructions while she piloted. One group was tasked with preparing the intravenous lines and injecting serum into Sparrow's veins. While the other group was in charge of preparing the scalpel and forceps to extract the bullet.

Meanwhile, Sparrow was barely unconscious. Blood stained the floor of the helicopter. Her vision was blurry and sounds sounded like she was underwater. For a moment she locked eyes with Aly, who was unable to look away. She had a terrified and worried expression. Sparrow wanted to raise her hand, tell her that everything was okay, and that she would get through this, like she always had. But she didn't have the strength to do it.

"Starting with the incision." Lachlan reported after lifting Sparrow's shirt enough to show the gunshot wound. It didn't look good...

He brought the scalpel closer and made a cut along the wound. Sparrow grunted and shook hard in pain.

"Hold her!" Arjun exclaimed, grabbing Sparrow by the shoulders and pinning her to the ground.

Damien did the same, pinning her legs.

"I proceed to remove the bullet."

The moment Lachlan pushed the forceps into the wound, Sparrow began to thrash about in pain again, grunting, screaming, and trying to twist her body.

"Fuck Sparrow!" Damien exclaimed, trying to keep the sergeant still.

"The head! Hold her head!" Arjun exclaimed as he saw Sparrow unconsciously hitting her head on the floor of the helicopter.

Anna quickly knelt in front of Hannah and held her head with both hands preventing her from hitting the ground once again.

"Shhh everything's going to be fine Han, it's almost out. Hold on, just a little longer." Anna tried to calm Sparrow by caressing her cheeks with her thumbs even though her hands were shaking and she was having trouble hiding her fear.

Sparrow's life was slipping through her fingers and she could only tell her that everything would be okay.

"Shit, the bullet slips too much." Lachlan was having trouble removing the bullet.

"There is too much blood." Jade murmured worriedly.

"HANNAH!" Aly jumped out of the seat and tried to get closer, she was on the verge of hysteria as she heard Sparrow's screams and grunts of pain.

"Aly no!" Damien quickly stood up and stopped her by grabbing her torso.

"Damo! She—!"

"She's not going to die!" Damien looked Aly in the eyes. He was just as scared as she was. The hands holding Aly were shaking. The thought of losing another friend in front of his eyes terrified him. It made his legs fail and he didn't know how to respond. But he had to stay strong.

Sparrow screamed as Lachlan pushed the forceps deeper into the wound.

Anna closed her eyes tightly fighting not to let the tears fall and rested her forehead against Sparrow's.

"I'm sorry birdie... I'm so sorry"

Aly tried to go to Sparrow but Damien stopped her again. Alyssa could only collapse in the sergeant's arms as she watched her friend suffer.

"The bullet is out!" Lachlan reported as soon as the bullet came out.

"We have to stop the bleeding and cauterize the wound. Now!" Mandy ordered from the pilot's seat.

"Shit she's bleeding to death."

"Hannah, don't fall asleep!"

"Jade the blood transfusion!"

"We're losing her!"

________________

The intermittent but constant beep was the first thing she heard, followed by the light passing through her eyelids. A feeling of dizziness and nausea hit her like a wave. The last thing to wake up were the pain receptors, absolutely her entire body hurt.

For a moment she thought she had returned to K2.

She opened her eyes with an enormous effort. The light bothered her terribly, she had to blink and keep her eyes squinted for a while. The first thing she saw was her body covered in bandages and lying on a medical bed.

She made another effort and looked around. It looked like a field hospital, a huge tent with several medical beds. There were other wounded people, nurses and doctors walking around. People she didn't know.

Where the fuck was she?

She looked to the side. There was a small table, on the furniture there was a glass of water and a couple of pills, there was also a patch. Her patch. It had been washed, no longer completely stained with blood, the colors could now be distinguished, but there were still traces of red in certain areas.

Her ears became accustomed to the noise, she could hear more and more things. It was even starting to get overwhelming. She heard a breathing, deep, calm. She looked the other way and found Jade, she was sleeping, her arms and head resting on Sparrow's lap.

Hannah didn't know how she couldn't notice Jade's weight on her. Maybe her body, despite the pain, was still numb.

As best she could, she stretched out her arm towards Jade, her hand trembling exaggeratedly. It seemed as if Jade had stayed there, for hours, waiting.

"I wouldn't wake her up if I were you." A familiar voice was heard. "More than half a liter of her blood runs through your veins, she’s absolutely buggered."

Hannah finally looked up and realized she had a visitor.

"Damo...?" Sparrow's voice sounded dry. Her throat hurt, she even coughed a little.

"Hey hey." Damien stood up from the chair he was sitting in and carefully brought the glass to her. "Drink up, c’mon."

Hannah obeyed and drank some water as best she could. She felt that her body absorbed that water like a sponge. How long had she gone without drinking water? And without eating?

"That's it. Slowly. It has cost us a lot to keep you alive, we don't want you to die now from choking on some water." Damien joked lightly.

Hannah nodded when she had drunk enough water. Damien put the glass away and sat back down.

"What the hell happened?" Hannah asked, resting her head on the pillow again.

"Well... I asked a mutual friend to have a little chat with the devil and tell him that your time hasn't come yet." Damien smiled.

Hannah tried to smile too.

"Did you tell Daniel to kick me out of hell?"

"I reckon Dan would’ve dragged me into hell if he realized I let you die." Damien answered.

Hannah chuckled but it made her ribs hurt more.

"I have to admit, using the defibrillator was fun but scary at the same time," a female voice said.

"Gremlin." Sparrow stretched out a hand and Anna didn't hesitate to grab it.

"Hey birdie." Anna smiled sadly.

"It's nice to see you again." Hannah replied weakly, "I wish circumstances were different."

"Shut up." Anna rolled her eyes and ended up hugging Sparrow without much force.

They separated and looked each other in the eyes. They knew each other well, they had been through many missions together, Las Almas was no exception. And Hannah could still see in Anna's eyes that what happened there still affected her deeply. There were cracks in those cheerful eyes. And although Hannah couldn't quite figure out what it was, she knew something was broken.

Anna sat in a chair next to Damien.

"You look like shit." Anna joked.

"If you ask me, I reckon she even looks better than before." Damien answered.

They both laughed and bumped fists. Hannah just rolled her eyes.

"How nice it is to have you as friends..." she said ironically.

"The best you will find." Anna smiled.

Sparrow shook his head and looked back at Jade. She was still fast asleep. Sparrow took one of her red locks and tucked it behind Jade's ear. And to think that she had only been saved because she and Jade coincidentally shared a blood type...

Death really liked to play with her.

She would have to treat Jade to breakfast or something as a thank you for saving her life. She would have to ask Ghost what food she likes.

"How long has it been?"

"Since you came back to life? About ten hours." Anna checked her watch.

"You had a good nap." Damien crossed his arms and leaned his back against the back of the chair.

"I think we all need a good nap after this." Anna stretched her arms and yawned. "Or a fucking coma. Sleeping for a few days wouldn't be bad."

"I vote for an alcohol coma." Damien answered.

Anna laughed.

"Amen brother."

Hannah watched them in silence. Happy to see them there. They were able to cross half the world just for her. She had a lot to thank them for.

She noticed that they were both wearing Operation Kingslayer patches on their vests as well.

"So you've joined the crew." Hannah pointed to the patches.

"Well considering the fucking disaster we've encountered we couldn't let you do it yourselves." Anna shrugged.

"Lachlan has spoken to Arjun. The Regiment will stay in Bolivia for a while." Damien rested both hands on the straps of his vest.

"Just you two?"

"That's all ya need." Damien smiled confidently.

"And Arjun?" Hannah asked, looking around. Wondering where her captain was.

"Taking care of El Cardenal." Damien answered. "He hasn't woken up yet."

"Woken up?"

"Oh yes. When Arjun finally saw Gustavo Serrano, he gave him the beating of his life in your honor." Damien explained.

"He looked so hot." Anna bit her lower lip.

"Annabelle Katherine Delgado Pham what in the actual fuck is wrong with you?" Damien raised an eyebrow. 

"What? It's true. And you can't deny it." Anna crossed her arms.

Hannah laughed but said nothing. She just watched them talk and argue. She had really missed them.

Footsteps were heard approaching. The three looked up. Mandy and Aly walked over.

"It seems that sleeping beauty has woken up." Mandy joked.

Sparrow smiled.

"How many beers do I owe you for saving my ass again Mandy?" Sparrow asked.

"Well, enough already." Mandy walked over and quickly hugged Sparrow. "I'm glad you woke up. How are you feeling?"

"Like hammered shit." 

"You look like one too." Mandy laughed.

"Ha! told ya." Damien added and earned a furtive glance from Sparrow.

Mandy rolled her eyes and returned her attention to Sparrow. "You're going to stay in bed for a few days. You're out of danger but you're still pretty weak. It'll take you a few weeks to recover. But you'll get out of it."

"Under your care I have no doubt that I will recover Doc." Hannah smiled.

Mandy did the same and patted Sparrow's shoulder.

"Rest for now. I'll inform the captains and the 141 that you've woken up."

Hannah nodded and Mandy walked out of the tent.

Sparrow turned his head and saw Aly.

"Hey…o-oh–! Wow! Haha! ouch!" Sparrow was surprised when Aly rushed into her arms. "Aly, you're going to wake Jade up. Hahaha."

Aly ignored her and hugged her tighter. Sparrow sighed smiling and returned the hug as well. Not caring about the pain that the hug caused her.

"If you scare me like this again, I'm going to tie you to a chair." Aly muttered.

Sparrow chuckled.

"Sorry."

Aly pulled away from Hannah, she had a sad smile on her face. Dark circles rested under her red, puffy eyes. Hannah felt bad for scaring her so much.

"It would have been too hard to tell Lily that she would never see her favorite aunt again."

"Hang on!" Damien intervened. "I thought I was her favorite uncle!"

"Know your place Damo." Sparrow gave him the middle finger.

Damien did the same.

Anna just laughed and shook her head. Knowing perfectly well that she was the favorite. Or maybe they all were? Lily would never confess.

Aly laughed. Their expressions seemed more relaxed than before. At least everyone had returned safely, and that eased her heart.

"Can I have a moment alone with Sparrow?"

Everyone turned their heads towards where that deep, masculine voice came from.

Arjun came closer with his hands inside his pockets. He seemed serious and not in a very good mood.

Everyone looked at each other debating what to do. In the end they got up and left except Jade, who was still sleeping peacefully, she had donated more blood to Sparrow than was allowed and that had left her completely exhausted, not to mention everything she had gone through during the mission.

"I'll come back to check on you later." Aly said goodbye, kissing Sparrow's head. "Now I have to go talk to John."

"Is Price in trouble?" Hannah raised an eyebrow.

Aly sighed, she didn't seem very happy with her husband.

"I'll tell you later."

Aly left with the rest, leaving Arjun, Jade and Sparrow alone.

"Hasn't she woken up yet?" Arjun asked, looking at Jade.

"No." 

Arjun took a jacket from a chair and placed it on Jade's shoulders.

"She's been up all night with you. She wanted to make sure you were okay and the rest of the team was rested. So she stood guard." Arjun sighed and grabbed a chair and sat next to the medical bed. "She cares too much about the team and not about herself."

Sparrow nodded.

"They told me that you beat up El Cardenal for me." Sparrow tried to joke, trying to relax the atmosphere between the two of them.

"I did what had to be done Sergeant." Arjun replied, "I wasn't going to let someone else die for me. At least… not again."

Sparrow tried to decipher Arjun's eyes, there was something hidden, a story that had never been told. A deep pain that had not yet been released. But Sparrow didn't ask, it wasn't her place, at least not for now.

"I wasn't able..." Arjun had his eyes fixed on some point. "I wasn't able to cut the rope. I couldn't leave you there, pretend everything was fine and continue with the mission."

Sparrow thought for a bit about what to say.

"It was crazy, maybe one of the craziest things that I ever did." Sparrow nodded a few times. "That's why I'm glad you didn't cut the rope."

Arjun looked into her eyes for a few seconds.

"It took us too long to rescue you."

"You did what you had to do sir."

"As captain it is my duty to protect my team."

"And you have done it. We are all here, we are all alive and we have achieved our objective. We have El Cardenal and valuable information."

"I doubt Gustavo Serrano wants to talk." Arjun shook his head.

"No, El Cardenal won’t speak."

"We're still going to try. My way this time." Arjun leaned forward, resting both his elbows on his legs. "You mentioned that we have obtained valuable information. Do you have anything?"

Sparrow was slow to respond but nodded.

"Did you see him? El Sueño?" Arjun raised his head.

Sparrow nodded again.

"He spoke to you?"

"Yes but he didn't say anything important. Just threats and attempts to buy my loyalty."

"He didn't get it."

"Of course not. He can shove his money up his ass. But I learned to listen, to pretend I was unconscious at the right time."

"Did you get another name?"

"That's right."

Arjun thought a little. They hadn’t yet lost track ofEl Sueño. They still had a chance to hunt him down, and now that they had the Bolivian rebel forces they could hit harder. But for now, they had to rest and keep a low profile. At least until things calmed down a bit.

"This war isn’t over yet." Arjun stood up and patted Sparrow's shoulder. "But for now rest. We'll take care of the rest."

Arjun left, he left the tent, once again finding the base of the Bolivian rebel forces. In the distance he saw Lachlan talking to Pac Katari. Lachlan realized that Arjun had left the tent, and raised a hand indicating Paco Katari to wait a moment and walked until he reached Arjun.

"How's your sergeant?"

"She's awake, she'll be fine." Arjun replied. "Do we have any news?

"Gustavo Serrano has woken up."

Arjun sighed and cracked his neck.

"Good. There's work to do."

___________

EXTRA!

drawing made by the beautiful @alypink. I'm crying so much!! I'm in love with this drawing!! T^T <333

[wushigod]

The Harry Potter actor pays tribute to his “favourite human”, who died on 24 March, saying: “I miss her hugs.” “Her passing has left a huge hole in our lives as a family,” he added. Mrs Davis was also an actor, appearing alongside her husband in the final Harry Potter film in 2010, in which she played a goblin. The couple, who lived near Peterborough, met on the set of the film Willow in 1988, before marrying three years later. The Star Wars star described Sammy, as he called her, as his “most trusted confidante and an ardent supporter of everything I did in my career”. She was a unique character, always seeing the sunny side of life she had a wicked sense of humour and always laughed at my bad jokes,” he said. Davis said that with his wife by his side, he felt sure he could achieve anything, adding: “It was like having a super-power.” “Without Sammy, there would have been no Tenable quiz show, no Willow series. No Idiot Abroad Series 3.” He added it had been his wife who persuaded comedian Ricky Gervais to send him with Karl Pilkington for the travel series. The couple’s children, Harrison and Annabelle, joined their father in paying tribute, saying “her love and happiness carried us through our whole lives”. “Mum is our best friend and we’re honoured to have received a love like hers,” they added. Davis played both Professor Flitwick and the goblin Griphook in all eight films in the Harry Potter franchise. He also played several characters in the Star Wars film series, and starred in both the Willow film and the 2022 sequel. His wife’s other acting credits include the children’s series Through the Dragon’s Eye (1989). Outside of acting, Samantha Davis and her husband founded the charity Little People UK in 2012 to help individuals with dwarfism and their families. “She was passionate about helping people, without judgement. She had time for everyone and a genuine listening ear,” the Tenable host said. Davis said in recent years his wife’s mobility had become impaired but she was “determined that it would not impact her quality of life”. Disney, the network the Willow series was on, said Samantha was “beloved member of the UK film and TV community”, adding: “Our thoughts are with the Davis family during this difficult time”.

[tapedsleeves]

(primer anon) Thank you so much!! <3 <3 I write at a snail's pace so no clue when I'll actually output anything but I loved reading your post 😭 if it's not too much trouble I'd love to hear a little more on keegs and adin since they're on your ships list and I don't know much about them (also maybe nic roy since I just found out he's quebecois?? For some reason I thought marchy was the only frenchy)

Or if you can point me in a direction I can go do my own digging and give your inbox a break 😭 I'd love to know if there's any go-to articles/video series/beat reporter or something, or a good blog/tag to dig through. the official social accounts post so much it's hard to find anything when idk what to search for

I always forget that Nic Roy is quebecois until he talks! There's actually another French guy, who probably will sign somewhere else this summer, William Carrier. Nic Roy is very very quiet. But he's got a cat and put that cat in the cup. Nic is is very chill and low key. Lots of guys on VGK are. Not a lot of them are like. Super flashy guys.

Will Carrier, also french, is SO SO SO square. He helped build his own house and while they were in the montreal series in 20-21, someone peed on his front door. He watched it on the security camera.

He often helps people fix things - he's very handy. But otherwise, he's very chill and low key.

Keegan Kolesar:

Danced with Mat Barzal at Ethan Bear's wedding. butt slaps and handshakes with Jack eichel. keegan is just. A really laid back, funny, sweet guy. His biological is absent, and his step (orr adopted) dad died of COVID complications in september of 2020, so he takes his mom on the dad's trips. It's VERY sweet that he does, and everyone makes her feel really really welcome. Annabelle is our Make A Wish signing and they had quite the fight :)) Here's his POV about it. Actually if there's kids, he's going. He goes to all the charity hockey / ball tournaments and ball hockey events that VGK does in the community. Every one has Keegan in there. did post game press with a chicken ceasar wrap (misattributed to a burrito)

why i ship him wiht Jack: after Keegan's goal against the Jets on 4/22/23, Jack did this, which looked like engagement photos to me

also very important to me: him holding the drunkest karly on stage at the parade. he was SO grabby. it was LOVELY.

I think they kissed on the mouth

Here he is kissing teddy blueger

Keegan kissing Nic Hague.

I'm pretty sure he's an affectionate drunk.

Adin Hill

Adin Hill is just very sweet and loves coffee. He makes his own.

Here he is laughing at Karly saying that his hamstring was "not chillin"

he was very drunk at the parade and referenced talladega nights

they did marchy SO dirty. They sent hilly & nic hague. the two tallest guys.

wore a UNLV basketball jersey to the parade, inspiring love from vegas

also took it off

gets fighty here's another shot

absolutely beautiful ok?

His kicky feets

HE'S SO FUNNY

why i ship him with paul cotter

it has less to do with adin and more to do with Paul himself. He's a goalie appreciator.

adin and tommy are REALLY CUTE tho

despite having the same listed height, adin is taller

their hugs are soo so so so tender. I love goalie.

As far as beat reporters: Gary Lawless is our insider guy, Jesse Granger is our beat reporter for the athletic, and Ashali Vise is one of our on-air broadcasters. All of them are pretty good sources of info. All of them I've referenced for stuff. But really I know most of this just because I like. Have been around. I pay attention. You'll note that some of this is sourced from my own blog, so like. Go nuts there too if you want. If you want older stuff, @himbeaux-on-ice has a bunch of good stuff. @vgkmarc also has some really good stuff, along with @golden-knights-of-the-realm , @at-empty-tables & @sevennone . @reneserseya is really good for Jack Eichel content with some Alec Martinez thrown in for fun & @goldenmisfits is as well. @lovethygoalie knows a lot about Nic Roy iirc.

Also I will say, Dave Goucher & Shane Hnidy are a fun follow, even if they're not exactly reporters - they're super involved and also very cute.

[lostjonscaves]

annabelle would LOVE that hilltop road is now a charity shop. you know shes getting her vintage fits from there. and she can get creepy artefacts at the same place! multitasking!

[forest-enchantress]

Hi,

I make period drama style gifs. If you use gif packs, please like and reblog them. Most of my projects are already ready, but every day I post no more than 190 gifs. Because that was the reason why my previous account was blocked.

I tried to make gif packs in a format more familiar to you with a link to a separate page. However, unfortunately, I did not succeed because of the large format of high-quality gifs.

I want to explain about color processing. Usually, I improve the contrast, brightness and saturation, but leave the naturalness of the film. I don't make the contours too sharp because I like the aesthetic of it looking like a natural image.

Actors in alphabetical order: part 1(A-D), part 2, part 3

Navigation

The arrangement of names may not be alphabetical

▶Page 1

Anne Hathaway Anya Taylor-Joy Asia Argento Astrid Berges-Frisbey Boran Kuzum Camille Rutherford

▶Page 2

Carla Juri César Domboy Callum Turner Cate Blanchett Charity Wakefield Charlie Rowe Chiara Mastroianni Christian Bale Christoph Waltz

▶Page 3

Dagmara Dominczyk Dan Stevens Ella Purnell Emily Blunt Ezra Miller Raffey Cassidy Rebecca Emilie Sattrup Rose Byrne Roxane Duran

▶Page 4

Frances O'Connor Gemma Arterton Hannah Taylor-Gordon Hattie Morahan Hugh Dancy Isabelle Adjani

▶Page 5

Izzy Meikle-Small James Norton Jane Birkin Joanne Whalley Lucy Boynton Jim Caviezel Monica Keena Nicolas Duvauchelle Sally Hawkins

▶Page 6

Adriana Tarábková Dakota Fanning Elle Fanning Gaia Weiss Gwyneth Paltrow Kirsten Dunst Léa Seydoux Pia Degermark Roxane Mesquida Rosamund Pike Samantha Gates Sophia Myles Nell Tiger Free

▶Page 7

Annabelle Wallis Austin Butler Carey Mulligan Guy Pearce James Frain Katie Parker Kate Siegel Olivia Cooke Rachel Hurd-Wood Soko Sujaya Dasgupta Tom Cruise

▶Page 8

Adèle Exarchopoulos Anna Maxwell Martin Charles Dance Emma Williams Gillian Anderson Ian Somerhalder Imogen Poots Matthew Rhys Natalie Press Nina Dobrev Paul Wesley Tamzin Merchant

▶Page 9

Anna Friel Catherine Mouchet Déborah François Dominic West Frédéric Noaille Joséphine Japy Kevin Kline María Valverde Paz Vega

▶Page 10

Ben Whishaw Clémence Poésy Elliot Grihault Emilia Fox Joseph Morgan Lambert Wilson Michelle Dockery Phoebe Fox Sophie Okonedo Tom Hiddleston Tom Hughes Tom Sturridge

▶Page 11

Calista Flockhart Charlotte Gainsbourg Christina Giannelli David Strathairn Felicity Jones Fu'ad Aït Aattou Greta Scacchi Helena Bonham Carter Holliday Grainger Michelle Pfeiffer Rupert Friend Sophie Marceau

▶Page 12

Angela Bassett Brooke Carter Cillian Murphy Danylo Kolomiiets Katie McGrath Keeley Hawes Maria Bonnevie Marta Gastini Miriam Giovanelli Olivia Hussey Oscar Isaac Peter Plaugborg

▶Page 13

Ben Barnes Ben Chaplin Bill Skarsgård Iben Akerlie Jakob Oftebro Jo Woodcock Lily-Rose Depp Reese Witherspoon Ruth Wilson Samantha Soule Tess Frazer Virginie Ledoyen

▶Page 14

Cary Elwes Colin Firth Daniel Day-Lewis Emilia Verginelli Hannah James Jonah Hauer-King Loli Bahia Lorenzo Balducci Rebecca Hall Robin Wright Rupert Everett Willa Fitzgerald

▶Page 15

Annes Elwy Claire Danes Eliza Scanlen Freddie Fox Hugh Jackman Kathryn Newton Louis Partridge Maya Hawke Romola Garai Samantha Mathis Trini Alvarado Winona Ryder

▶Page 16

Douglas Smith Eric Bana Gizem Karaca Jessica Brown Findlay Kenneth Branagh Kit Harington Millie Brady Natalie Dormer Poppy Delevingne Rachel Weisz Rosy McEwen Sam Claflin

▶Page 17

Aubri Ibrag Christina Hendricks Connie Jenkins-Greig Guy Remmers Henry Cavill Imogen Waterhouse Josie Totah Mia Threapleton Olivia Hallinan

▶Page 18

Alex Fitzalan Emma Connell Essie Davis Fahriye Evcen Justine Waddell Natalia Sánchez Monica Bellucci Penelope Cruz Piper Perabo

▶Page 19

Alicia Vikander Alida Baldari Calabria Christopher Abbott Emma Stone Jasmine Blackborow Kim Rossi Stuart Lili Reinhart Louis Cunningham Margaret Qualley Marine Vacth Mark Ruffalo Mélanie Thierry Ramy Youssef Scarlett Johansson Sydney Sweeney

▶Page 20

Antonia Clarke Cameron Monaghan Heather Graham Isolda Dychauk Laoise Murray Madelaine Petsch Olivia Colman Sophie Turner Vanessa Redgrave

▶Page 21

Claire Holt Emily Mortimer Jennifer Beals Kelly Macdonald Lena Headey Perdita Weeks Ruta Gedmintas Sarah Bolger Sting

▶Page 22

Berrak Tuzunatac Burcu Ozberk Cansu Dere Deniz Cakir Melisa Sozen Merve Bolugur Saadet Aksoy Yasemin Allen

▶Page 23

Alesya Romanova Alina Kovalenko Anastasiya Ostreinova Anna Sagaydachnaya Dorota Delag Konstantin Temlyak Kseniya Mishina Marianna Januszewicz Oleksii Yarovenko Olena Lavrenyuk Taras Tsimbalyuk Veronika Shostak

▶Page 24

Amelia Warner Bruce Robinson Cristiana Capotondi Christiane Filangieri David Rott Francesca Annis Golshifteh Farahani Helen McCrory Maisie Williams Nadia Parkes Pierre Niney Uma Thurman

▶Page 25

To do list:

Christopher Gorham under development (The Other Side of Heaven 2001) Harry Melling - The Pale Blue Eye 2022 Nora Arnezeder - Angélique 2013 Isabella Heathcote - Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Eleanor Worthington-Cox in Gwen (2018) Julie Delpy - La passion Béatrice 1987,  Frankenstein 2004, Trois couleurs: Blanc 1994, The Three Musketeers 1993 Nastassja Kinski - Revolution (1985), Tess 1979 Julia Ormond - Young Catherine 1991, First Knight 1995, Legends of the Fall 1994 Laura Donnelly - Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands, Britannia, Outlander Morena Baccarin in Stargate Isabella Celani - A Room with a View 1985 Neve McIntosh - Gormenghast 2000 Kate Beckinsale - Much Ado About Nothing 1993 Sarah Felberbaum as Maddalena in Medici Rocco Gottlieb - The Book of Vision 2020

Volker Bohnet — Ludwig 1973 Romy Schneider — Ludwig 1973, Sissi 1955 Helmut Berger — Ludwig 1973

✦Ethan Erickson

Dorian 2003— under development

All of these gifs were made from scratch by me for roleplaying purposes. Feel free to use them as sidebars and reaction gifs. PLEASE DON’T CLAIM THEM AS YOUR OWN.

[sunskate]

the Browns skating James Brown was my favorite performance of the day - really good, really fun ❤️‍🔥 they do the splits on the ice together - the deep curves they’re drawing on the ice the whole time too🔥 they always had skating skills, but they’re skating bigger and with a bit more power. they might have scored higher if they skated later. Pate/Bye got higher PCS then them 👀

there are a lot of Saturday Night Fevers, Car Wash, James Brown. two teams doing Rich Man’s Frug from Sweet Charity - it’s so in Lauriault/LeGac’s wheelhouse that it feels perfect for them

Flores/Desyatov: the Twist, Jungle Boogie, and Great Balls of Fire - one from each decade, i guess? they feel so chaotic lol sometimes it works, like the way they go into the lift - and other times it feels disorganized?

Browns: James Brown Get Up Offa That Thing. awesome- they wore older costumes, as did other teams

Pate/Bye: Le Freak, Car Wash, Shake Your Groove Thing

Neset/Markelov: ABBA - Waterloo, Fernando, Gimme Gimme Gimme

Fabbri/Ayer: Elvis - Jailhouse Rock, Suspicious Minds, Blue Suede Shoes - looking good - they always feel like a broader strokes team to me, primary colors - it’s not what i gravitate to personally, but they skated well

Annabelle Morozov/Jeffrey Chen: also James Brown Get Up Offa That Thing, I Feel Good - they’ve gelled much faster than he did with his previous partners. they had the tough luck of skating just after the Browns, and this program isn’t good by comparison. idk about MIDA choreo 😬

Bashynska/Beaumont: after seeing more of the RDs for this season, it feels like this isn’t doing them any favors

Tkachenko/Kiliakov: Adriano Celentano - Svalutation, Amore no - nobody can say they’re not unique. i’d never heard of this artist, but i guess he was a huge deal and sold 150 million records. it has a different sound from everyone else, and she’s wearing a dress that looks like Mondrian

Larson/Kapran: the other Rich Man’s Frug - this program was fun and had a lot of character, but i’m surprised it scored as high as it did

Lily/Nathan: both songs by The Commodores - Brick House and oof i’m blanking on the other one. i feel like they were underscored a bit - they’re performing bigger, looking good- maybe the song choices aren’t distinctive enough? Pham/Spiridonov: Dirty Dancing - Do You Love Me, Crying, Wipe Out - tailor made to show what they can do while disguising what they don’t do well yet. probably ranked higher than they really skated

Dozzi/Papetti: Tequila and Jump in Line - i loveeee this - what could be a novelty program is an adorable dance program- they calibrated this so well - the choreo, the costumes, and these two 😘

Nosovitskys: Saturday Night Fever - their coach is an ISU tech specialist and they often look kind of frantic because they seem to propel themselves with short choppy strokes. idgi

Fournier/Zhu: Back Street City Lights, Kung Fu Fighting

Alyssa Robinson/Jacob Portz: Saturday Night Fever - they were a tiny bit late for their warmup - came hurrying in with Madi and Adrian - don’t know what happened- they really get into character with this dance style- they, especially him have a sense of cheekiness about it- she had a fall in the MiSt today unfortunately

Roberts/Alis: Rolling Stones - Miss You, Satisfaction - they’ve grown a lot since moving to IAMO

Shilling/Baeten: James Brown - I Feel Good, Super Bad - hello new IAMO team, I wasn’t familiar with them from before- looking forward to more

Ritter/Brykalov: Boney M - Daddy Cool. Fever- good to have them back♥️

[medievalandfantasymelee]

Candidates for the title of

🌹Queen of Love & Beauty🌹

Candidates were given priority based on the number of submissions they received (in brackets behind their names and credentials). After all candidates with multiple submissions were entered, single submission candidates were admitted in order of submission.

Guinevere [Angel Coulby], BBC’s Merlin (2008-2012) [17]

Morgana Pendragon [Katie McGrath], BBC’s Merlin (2008-2012) [11]

Lady Éowyn of Rohan [Miranda Otto], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) [10]

Lady Marian Fitzwalter [Olivia de Havilland], The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) [9]

Isabeau of Anjou [Michelle Pfeiffer], Ladyhawke (1985) [8]

Arwen Undomiel [Liv Tyler], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) [7]

Galadriel of Lothlórien [Cate Blanchett], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) [7]

Princess Buttercup [Robin Wright], The Princess Bride (1987) [6]

Lucrezia Borgia [Holliday Grainger], The Borgias (2011-2013) [6]

Princess Isabella Maria Lucia Elizabetta of Valencia [Karen David], Galavant (2015-2016) [5]

Lagertha [Katheryn Winnick], Vikings (2013-2020) [5]

Sorsha [Joanne Whalley], Willow (1988) [5]

Lady Æthelflæd of Mercia [Millie Brady], The Last Kingdom (2015-2022) [4]

Princess Gwendolyn [Angela Lansbury], The Court Jester (1955) [4]

Maid Jean [Glynis Johns], The Court Jester (1955) [4]

Lady Marion of Leaford [Judi Trott], Robin of Sherwood (1984-1986) [4]

Rebecca of York [Olivia Hussey], Ivanhoe (1982) [4]

Alicent Hightower [Olivia Cooke], House of the Dragon (2022-) [3]

Aliena [Hayley Atwell], The Pillars of the Earth (2010) [3]

Queen Cersei Lannister [Lena Headey], Game of Thrones (2011-2019) [3]

Princess Daenerys Targaryen [Emilia Clarke], Game of Thrones (2011-2019) [3]

Danielle de Barbarac [Drew Barrymore], Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998) [3]

Devasena [Anushka Shetty], Baahubali (2017) [3]

Elizabeth de Burgh [Florence Pugh], Outlaw King (2018) [3]

Queen Guinevere [Vanessa Redgrave], Camelot (1967) [3]

Hürrem Sultan [Meryem Uzleri], Magnificent Century {Muhteşem Yüzyıl} (2011-2014) [3]

Lady Jocelyn [Shannyn Sossamon], A Knight’s Tale (2001) [3]

Princess Lili [Mia Sara], Legend (1985) [3]

Lady Margaery Tyrell [Natalie Dormer], Game of Thrones (2011-2019) [3]

Marian of Knighton [Lucy Griffiths], BBC’s Robin Hood (2006-2009) [3]

Lady Sansa Stark [Sophie Turner], Game of Thrones (2011-2019) [3]

Sheng Minglan [Zhang Liying], The Story of Minglan (2018) [3]

Queen Susan the Gentle [Sophie Winkleman], The Chronicles of Narnia (2005-2010) [3]

Lady Anne Neville [Claire Bloom], Richard III (1955) [2]

Lady Anne Neville [Phoebe Fox], The Hollow Crown (2012-2016) [2]

Brienne of Tarth [Gwendoline Christie], Game of Thrones (2011-2019) [2]

Bronwyn [Nazanin Bonialdi], The Rings of Power (2022-) [2]

Queen Catherine of Aragon [Maria Doyle Kennedy], The Tudors (2007-2010) [2]

Contessina de Bardi [Annabel Scholey], Medici (2016-2019) [2]

Egwene Al’Vere [Madeleine Madden], The Wheel of Time (2021-) [2]

Queen Eleanore of Aquitane [Katharine Hepburn], The Lion in Winter (1968) [2]

Queen Elizabeth Woodville [Rebecca Ferguson], The White Queen (2013) [2]

Donna Giulia Farnese [Lotte Verbeek], The Borgias (2011-2013) [2]

Queen Guinevere [Cheri Lunghi], Excalibur (1981) [2]

Jadis, the White Witch [Tilda Swinton], The Chronicles of Narnia (2005-2010) [2]

Jeanne d’Arc [Renee Falconetti], The Passion of Joan of Arc {La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc} (1928) [2]

Joan of Arc [Milla Jovovich], The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999) [2]

Kate [Laura Fraser], A Knight’s Tale (2001) [2]

Lady Kate Percy [Michelle Dockery], The Hollow Crown (2012-2016) [2]

Queen Lucy the Valiant [Rachael Henley] [2]

Queen Madelena [Mallory Jansen], Galavant (2015-2016) [2]

Queen Margaret of Anjou [Sophie Okonedo], The Hollow Crown (2012-2016) [2]

Lady Mary Boleyn [Charity Wakefield], Wolf Hall (2015-2024) [2]

Moiraine Damodred [Rosamund Pike], The Wheel of Time (2021-) [2]

Morgana Pendragon [Eva Green], Camelot (2011) [2]

Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen [Emma D’Arcy], House of the Dragon (2022-) [2]

Queen Sibylla of Jerusalem [Eva Green], Kingdom of Heaven (2005) [2]

Eliška Pomořanská [Jana Brejchová], A Night at Karlstein {Noc na Karlštejně} (1973) [1]

Lady Marian [Audrey Hepburn], Robin & Marian (1976) [1]

Ophelia [Jean Simmons], Hamlet (1948) [1]

Aykız Hatun [Hande Subaşı], Diriliş: Ertuğrul (2014-2019) [1]

Roberta Steingas [Clare Foster], Galavant (2015-2016) [1]

Tamina [Gemma Arterton], Prince of Persia (2010) [1]

Princess Isabelle [Sophie Marceau], Braveheart (1995) [1]

Alexandra [Geraldine Viswanathan], Miracle Workers: The Dark Ages (2020) [1]

Isabella of Valois [Emma Hamilton], RSC’s Richard II (2013) [1]

Jade Claymore [Erin Kellyman], Willow (2022) [1]

Anne Boleyn [Genevieve Bujold], Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) [1]

Mu Nihuang [Liu Tao], Nirvana in Fire (2015-2018) [1]

Padmavati [Deepika Padukone], Padmaavat (2018) [1]

Queen Isabella [Tilda Swinton], Edward II (1991) [1]

Djaq [Anjali Jay], BBC’s Robin Hood (2006-2009) [1]

Below is a list of Honorable Mentions...

Anne Boleyn [Natalie Portman], The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)

Aslaug [Alyssa Sutherland], Vikings (2013-2020)

Aviendha [Ayoola Smart], The Wheel of Time (2021-)

Catherine of Aragon [Charlotte Hope], The Spanish Princess (2019-2020)

Cecilia Algotsdotter [Sofia Helin], Arn: The Knight Templar (2007)

Doric [Sophia Lillis], Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves (2023)

Queen Elizabeth of York [Jodie Comer], The White Princess (2017)

Jiang Yanli [Xuan Lu], The Untamed (2019)

Guinevere [Julia Ormond], First Knight (1995)

Hafsa Sultan [Nebahat Çehre], Magnificent Century {Muhteşem Yüzyıl} (2011-2014)

Hatice Sultan [Selma Ergeç], Magnificent Century {Muhteşem Yüzyıl} (2011-2014)

Queen Isabella of Castile [Michelle Jenner], Isabel (2011-2014)

Isolde [Sophia Myles], Tristan + Isolde (2006)

Joan of Arc [Ingrid Bergman], Joan of Arc (1948)

Kira [Lisa Maxwell, Kathryn Mullen], The Dark Crystal (1982)

Queen Mab [Miranda Richardson], Merlin (1998)

Maleficent [Angelina Jolie], Maleficent (2014)

Lady Margaret Tudor [Georgie Henley], The Spanish Princess (2019-2020)

Marian Dubois [Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio], Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)

Lady Mary Tudor [Sai Bennett], The Spanish Princess (2019-2020)

Empress Maude [Alison Pill], The Pillars of the Earth (2010)

Morgaine [Julianna Marguiles], The Mists of Avalon (2001)

Queen Ravenna [Charlize Theron], Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

Rebecca of York [Elizabeth Taylor], Ivanhoe (1952)

Rosie Cotton [Sarah MacLeod], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

Sharako Lohar [Abigail Thorn], House of the Dragon (2022-)

Tár-Miriel [Cynthia Addai-Robinson], The Rings of Power (2022-)

Ygritte [Rose Leslie], Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

Yara Greyjoy [Gemma Whelan], Game of Thrones (2011-2019)