War

The helicopter arrived at the base , Tally ran to greet her sisters.

“You’re here, you’re really here” Tally cried hugging both Raelle and Abigail in the same time.

“Yeah, we are here Craven” Abigail said returning the embrace.

“You’re young!” the blonde exclaimed laughing which made Tally and Abigail laugh.

The unit was soon interrupted by Anacostia “I’m glad to see you’re still alive”

“me too” answered Raelle as Abigail said in the same time "Thank you, Sargent".

“Alder wants to hear your reports then I would like for us to talk” Anacostia told them as she walked her three former students to the General’s office.

Abigail and Raelle explained what happened to the general but Alder didn’t believe them, she was sure that the two cadet didn’t told her everything.

“That’s what happened! I was stab in the heart, Bellweather tried to heal me, she failed and there was an explosion!” yelled Raelle annoyed by the General.

“I second that general” Abigail added calmly trying to deescalate the way the conversation was going.

“Alright” Alder said unconvinced.

“That’s it? Alright?” the blonde was pissed.

“Raelle!” the high Atlantic tried to shush her.

“No! I won’t calm down Abi! She sent us in a fucking mission and left us to die even though we were going to graduate top of our class, she biddified Tal, and she still doesn’t even trust our report.”

“Do not forget your place, Private Collar” the general said in a firm voice which caused a long and uncomfortable silence the general continued “I took your unit because it was the only one Kalidha trusted to save her people. Now, since you’re back you will integrate war college Bellweather as a blaster and Collar as a medic, Craven will knower. … You may live” she added before going behind her desk to sit.

Abigail was forced to drag Raelle out of the room as she was holding her position to stare at the older woman.

MEANWHILE AT THE SAFE HOUSE

“Why did Anacostia let you go?” Willa asked before punching.

“I don’t know” she answered with a bleeding nose.

“How did you get close to Raelle?”

“You don’t get to say her name, you left her!” Scylla started to get angry at the woman, it was one thing to torture her, but it is something else to talk about the woman she love.

Willa punched her in the face again and again which cause Scylla to spit the blood that was in her mouth at Willa’s face.

Willa cleaned her face with a towel “I don’t know how my daughter could have any feelings for you, you’re just a waste of time.” She took a taser and electrocuted Scylla until she passed out. “I’m gonna finish this later”

The two cadets walked back to their dorm to find Tally in her bunk and Sergeant Quartermaine sitting at the desk.

“What’s going on?” asked Abigail surprised to see her former supervisor here.

“I really need to talk to you” she mostly looked at Raelle but everyone was concerned. Anacostia waited for Tally who was climbing down her bed.

But before she could say anything, Raelle was right in front of Anacostia, “Is she still here?”

The Sergeant walked away from Raelle to the middle of the room “That’s why I wanted to talk to you-“

“Scylla escaped” Tally cut Anacostia.

“thank you for the participation Craven but that’s not it. I helped her escape” Anacostia admitted.

The three cadets were shocked to hear that their strict Sergeant helped a terrorist to escape.

“What? Why?” let out Abigail as Raelle whispered to herself “so she’s still alive, she’s not dead” relieve could be heard from this whisper.

“As Collar said, she’s not all bad, she lived things that guide her to do what she did and even if she believe in her cause, she still feels regret for killing humans.”

“Why are you telling us this” Raelle asked unsure of what is going on.

“When I let her free and followed her to a spree hide house but since then, nothing, it’s like she disappeared which is weird. Me and …, We’re planning to raid in the house but we need help, and the only one I trust is you” Anacostia explained.

“Who’s ‘we’?” asked Tally totally lost at the new revelations.

“I can’t tell you that now.”

“You won’t tell us we’re not in” Abigail said but before Raelle could protest she added “if you want us to be a team, you’ll have to share the names”

“It’s Izadora” Anacostia admitted

“Scylla’s teacher? I don’t trust her she was the one who told me that Scylla died at the wedding”

“She was just following orders, now she wants to help. So who’s in?”

“I am” Raelle said stepping toward the sergeant.

“We’re a unit if she goes I go” Abigail spoke stepping in to.

Tally followed the two, she got walked next to Abigail and Raelle “I’m not letting you two out of my sight again”

Anacostia smiled as she realised how far this unit came, she remembered how Collar and Bellweather fought in practice not even a week after they arrived and now they trust each other with their lives. They make her proud.

“Alright, I’m coming to get you when the sun get down, then we’ll go storm the house”.

The sun went down and the three cadet got ready combat gear, salva, scourges and knives.

Anacostia lead them out of the base toward a car “come on climb in” she whispered

“Where did you get this car? It's a beautiful one.” Tally whispered loudly.

"I stole it" Anacostia said with a dead serious face.

"We can't steal a car!!!" Tally whispered very loudly.

“Calm down Craven It’s mine" The Sergeant laughed "Now stop wasting time and go”

The sergeant drove in the forest near the necro building to pick up Izadora, then she went straight toward the Spree safe house. The ride was anything but quiet, Izadora and Anacostia reviewed their plan a thousand time and the three student were forced to hear that over and over again.

“We understand” finally said Raelle bored of the two ranked women.

“One last time” Izadora said before repeating the plan “we burst in, Bellweather and Quartermaine go upstairs, Collar, Craven and I stay clear downstairs, if there is a basement, we go per two or more but never alone. Every person we cross path in this house, we neutralise them, even if they look like Ramshorn-“

“Because they can change faces. We know” Raelle couldn’t stop herself saying as she rolled her eyes “but if we burst in, they won’t have time to change”

“but we better be careful Collar, we don’t know what they can do” warned Izadora.

“We’re here” Anacostia stopped the car looking at her right toward a big house. “All lights are down expect the one of the kitchen, someone must be still up.” She turned to the passenger in the back “everyone’s ready?” the cadets nod at the sergeant “Alright, be careful girls” she finished getting out of the car just like the others.

They all ran to the front door, Raelle and tally first, they took two women down as Anacostia and Abigail stormed upstairs scourges out ready for battle. Anacostia dodged a windstruck thrown by James as Abigail hit him with her scourge.

The man fell on the ground yelling in pain as he hit his head against furniture. Anacostia took the opportunity to put a silencer collar around his neck as Abigail handcuffed him. As James finally regained some strength he tried to fight but he knew he couldn’t do anything so he yelled “we are the spree and you can’t stop us!”

Downstairs, Tally and Izadora just finished tying the women and Raelle was looking around to see if there was anyone else but no one was in sight so she looked at her friends “it’s clear”.

Abigail and Anacostia went down “there’s no traces of Scylla upstairs.”

Raelle turned and saw light underneath a door, she got near to it and opened it to find stairs. “There’s a basement” she yelled rushing down the stair so she could find the one she loves.

The rest of her unit ran after her when they realised that she was acting recklessly again but they weren’t fast enough, Raelle arrived at the bottom of the stairs and opened the only door, to find a woman back to her beating Scylla up.

It enraged Raelle, she saw red at a point that she took her scourge and started to charge at the woman. When the was on the ground she continued but was stopped by Abigail and Tally who tried to hold her back.

Even Scylla tried to make her stop by yelling “Raelle, stop! It’s your mother!”

At those word, Raelle stopped in her track, Willa started to get in a sitting position near Scylla.

“No, it’s not possible. You-you’re dead” exclaimed Raelle a little lost.

“Hello, Raelle.” Willa said a bit shaken up by her daughter attack.

“That’s all you have to say to me, after all this time?” Yelled Raelle at her mother.

“You’re my daughter and I love you, and I want you to join me and my fight.” Willa declared opening her arms to offer a hug to Raelle.

“Raelle, she only wants-“ Scylla couldn’t finish her sentence as Willa punched her in the face.

Raelle immediately tried to go save the brunette but was hold back by her unit.

“You bitch!” exclaimed Scylla with blood all over her face.

“Get away from her” Raelle said.

“Or what, you’re going to hurt your own mother? Come on Raelle, I know you, I raised you”

“What are you doing?” said Anacostia as she walked up to the cadets “why isn’t she handcuffed?” she asked looking at Willa.

“I’m Willa Collar, you must be the one who let Scylla out”

“Oh shit” let out the Sergeant, her recruit looked at her surprised to see her curse but Quartermaine gathered herself fast enough to yell order to the cadets “Bellweather put a silencer around her neck and Craven handcuff her feet, Collar go help Ramshorn”

“Raelle don’t do that, she betrayed you, she’s not good enough for you. Raelle! I’m your mother, listen to me. I know what’s good for you.” Willa pleaded

“You don’t get to say who’s good enough for me because you abandoned me and killed people like dad” Raelle yelled crying as she get closer and closer to Scylla.

“She killed way more people than me!” interjected Willa.

“Perhaps but at least, Scylla has regrets about what she's done, you don't seem to have a heart anymore.” Scylla welcomed her in a comfortable hug.

“I missed you” Scylla cried too happy to find that Raelle was here with her.

“Me too, I’m sorry for everything I said” Raelle opened Scylla’s cuffs to let her free.

Scylla took the opportunity to be in charge of her movement to take Raelle fully in her arms to spin her and finally kiss. “Oh sorry, I’m a little gross, I put some blood on your clothes”

“It’s okay, live a little” Raelle smiled as she quoted the phrase Scylla told her on the day they met. Scylla did caught the reference and giggle as she went back to kiss Raelle.

Behind them, Anacostia cleared her throat “we need help with Scylla’s abductors if both of you could give us a hand it will be nice”

Raelle and Scylla laughed going up the basement stairs to help the rest of their teammates.