The drive to Merton wasn't that long, but we took our time, avoiding anywhere that could possibly have an ambush, meaning that we took two hours on a one hour trip. But when you think about, you would prefer to be alive and late than early and dead.
Rapier pulled up outside the ruined building which was supposed to be where Voulge was, but we all knew that she would be more careful than to just let anyone come in.
The building itself isn't exactly imposing. It is a simple one storey building sitting on the gentle rise of the hill, overlooking the rest of the town. It had a tall steel fence surrounding it, with spear like spires protruding from the top. From our large amount of knowledge, we noticed multiple trip wires and laser fields on the lawns, as well as road spikes on the way up.
The entire house was hidden under the shade of three oak trees, which swayed gently in the breeze, appearing to be giant blocks in view, but when looked at closer, they appeared as a perfect blanket over the building, making it almost impossible for anyone to use airborne machines to attack the house.
The house, to put it simply, was built to withstand world war 3, much less five kids. But we weren't kids. Using nothing more than Raven's weapon, we scaled the fence one at a time and jumped down. We then did a series of flips and gymnastic feats across the lawn so as to avoid the alarms going off. We all made it to the other side, but as we turned towards the front porch we found Voulge's polearm aimed at head height.
Most people's reaction would be to try and push the weapon out of the way, but that just ends up with them dead and bleeding on the ground, if it hadn't been for the fact that Voulge was our friend, I would have jumped diagonally back, out of range of the staff, then started the duel on much fairer rules.
As it happened, Voulge recognized us and let us come through into her 'sanctuary as she apparently likes to call it. We sit down in a surprisingly grand room, trying to rake in all of it. The room spanned for the entire length of the house, with the side wall being floor to ceiling bulletproof glass. Nothing was getting in here without so serious force or wit.
"What do you people want, I have been trying to forget about you," Voulge's voice cuts me from my thoughts, turning me instead to the task at hand.
"Voulge, how can you say that? After all we have been through together, you just want to leave? I'm sorry if that's your perfect world, but it isn't mine." There was steel behind Rapier's tone. "Remember how we wanted a lovely life in a house just like this? Remember that? Well a group of agents from C.L.O.U.D. attacked us, taking us completely by surprise. I understand if you don't want to fight anymore, but fighting is the only way out of this,"
"How can you say that Rapier? Out of all the people in this room, you were the least likely candidate I thought I would have to say this too. My home is here, where else do I go? Not to wherever you guys have bunked. No, if I have to fight, then I will fight here." Her stubbornness was infuriating.
Both Raven and Sling rose at that. Walking past Rapier and myself so they were directly in front of Voulge.
"Listen here Voulge, I get that we aren't great friends, but damned if I am going to let you fight the entire government by yourself!! There is no way in hell I'm going to let any of us die by the hands of those creeps." Raven's words seemed to ring home, changing the expression on Voulge's face.
"I'm not one to say anything like this normally, but we need you. While most of the others are too immature to say it, your help is required in our group and frankly, we aren't able to properly function without your guidance. I hate the fact that I have to do this but here you go," from out of a concealed pocket, Sling pulled out a cloth with a whistle wrapped inside. "You promised me that we would be there for each other, no matter the consequences, you gave me your word for crying out loud, don't you dare forsake that for selfish wants."
That was enough to make Voulge break down. I had never seen someone cry before, my friends were never hurt and my enemies were killed before they had a chance to cry. Her tears rolled symmetrically down either side of her face, causing her to knock over a book pile in her hurry to grab a tissue. When she returned she looked like a completely different person, much more a woman than a girl now.
"Fine, don't expect me to leave just yet though, stay the night at the very least, the light will be gone before we even cross the border." Voulge remarks, pointing west where the sun did perfect light displays off of the clouds and shimmered on the town's lake. On the lake, boats sped across from one side to the other, appearing to be doing a strange relay between them.
Voulge picks up the saucers and carries them into the kitchen, where we all help out with cleaning the dishes, which appear to be expensive, adding to the mystery surrounding Voulge.
Our accommodation was separate rooms, each with soft mattresses and bookshelf, full of encyclopedias and crime fiction. I dropped my bag and quickly sent an encrypted message to the others say that we would be back tomorrow. Katana and Rapier came into my room and explained that the girls were doing their own thing, so they figured we should do something.
I pulled up an image of the house across the border, seeming so far away. The images I had taken with a digital camera, meaning that they were decent quality. I set about explaining my plans for the giant renovation project that would mean that we would be able to live a much more comfortable and convenient life. All that was required was money, which we could steal from Merton's bank on the way out tomorrow morning, hardware materials which could be picked up easily, and sheer will power.
The guys liked the idea, especially the fact that everyone got separate and personalized rooms, not to mention some great amounts of rooms which can become a communal area. They seemed really keen on the idea, which filled me with confidence, knowing that is I got two more people on my side, I would form a majority vote over anyone opposed to it.
Raven, Sling and Voulge came in, asking if they could do makeup on us, while the other two hated the idea, I bargained that they listen to my building plans first. All three also agreed and so in exchange I was made to look like a porcelain doll, which they did a pretty good job of. All in all the situation was a win win for all of us, with me being the scapegoat for Katana and Rapier, with me being a model for Voulge, Sling and Raven, and the rest of them agreeing with my ideas for renovation. We all went to sleep that night optimistic about the future, which was good, because it definitely lifted moral in the group.
Around midnight I got up, finding it impossible to sleep, and went for a wander around the house, not exactly sure where I was going or when I would be back to bed, but I continued to wander until I found Voulge and Rapier sitting together, watching the lake sparkle in the moonlight. I'm not normally an eavesdropper, but I couldn't miss this.
"... never doubt yourself Voulge, just because someone says something, doesn't necessarily mean that it's true." Rapier's voice was a whisper, but it was easy enough to pick up.
"I know," came the reply, then she straightened and continued with "Knife, either join us or leave us, pick or I choose. She reached slowly to her weapon.
I had to excuse myself somehow. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I prefer birds to be free to do whatever they want, especially love birds." I didn't look back until I was in my room, but I could tell that neither were very impressed by my act.
The next morning we all woke up and helped Voulge move all her stuff to the truck, but then came the distant cry of sirens, specific sirens only used by C.L.O.U.D.
Our first priority was the truck, which is our only transportation, so we quickly disabled the road spikes and moved the truck into the driveway. Voulge then took out remote detonators and spread them in various places across the road. We hid in the hedge row on the other side of the fence, waiting for the cars to come past, which they did, but they were smart, smarter than we expected. The first thing they did was remotely detonate their own mine, which just so happened to be just where Voulge was crouched. The explosion sent us all flying, but I still had enough strength to detonate the road and blow up the convoy which had counted on a small bomb to stop the most wanted criminals in the country.
Rapier and the others were already by Voulge's side, apparently she was still alive, evident by the rising and falling of her chest.
We got her into the truck and drove, stopping off at the chemist for pain killers, which weren't that hard to get, and the bank, which held over two million dollars and yet only had a lock and key method to keep it all safe, which we relieved them of 1.5 million before heading on our way.
Voulge had apparently gotten better, but every time there was a bump in the road, she would be thrown uncomfortably in any which way.
At one point, her hand grazed a coat hanger, which had a serrated tip. It cut her, and she started bleeding black blood, which was stopped quickly but still left me with a sense of shock realizing that this was the first time any of us had been hurt, but less injured, and by the look of it, Voulge was going to need a prosthetic lower leg, meaning that her days in the field were done.
Rapier carried her with the help of the rest of us into our home, which had changed since we last saw it. Glaive had started doing the renovation idea that I had sent him with what he had lying around, which was a surprisingly large amount of things. The lawn outside had been replaced with a vegetable garden and and small fruit trees growing, all in all they had made the house as effective as it could be. They had even somehow made bullet proof glass and make a foot thick chassis of metal to act as a shield against bombs.
I parked the truck in the driveway and followed after them. The three of them had somehow expanded our camp yet again into four new rooms, each renovated to it's entirety, while finishing off the other two. The blood had been cleared away, as had the bodies. Carpet had been laid out, colour coded to the room.
Our first room became a makeshift infirmary and while Guisarme and Loch helped nurse Voulge, the rest of us worked tirelessly on renovating every room as much as we could, and when we needed something, we took some money and went and grabbed it.
I took the liberty of going and buying the property, using a false ID to pretend I was 19, but as everyone says, I'm tall and mature for my age, so I got away with it. The price would have been $150,000 had it not been that the real estate didn't see any opportunity in the building and sold it to me as an empty block of land.
I returned back to our home to find that the rooms had been finished, minus personalization in each room. Our merry group capped it all off with white wash exterior walls and hand making a white picket fence, only to really annoy our new neighbors.
We transferred Voulge to her room, where she told us how she wanted her room to look. After that we spent the rest of the time personalizing our rooms, doing whatever we wanted with it.
For myself, I placed my king single in the corner, with The Storm's symbol above the headboard. I then put a wardrobe next to it, with a bedside table separating them. For the rest of the room I put book shelves, avoiding the window and desk, which I put able to look out the window and get a stunning view of the local countryside, which was lovely just to gaze at.
After I was finished, I wandered downstairs in a recently installed leather couch with a beautiful fireplace to gaze at, even if it wasn't on.
The others trickled down and eventually everyone except for Voulge was present. We debated what to do next, some of us saying that we needed to attack now and strike fast and hard, while others said just wait for them to come and attack us, and others saying leave it for a couple of days, then attack. All this time I was simply designing a working fake leg for Voulge that she wouldn't be hindered by. Her leg had been amputated just a little bit earlier from the fact that all the muscles had been ruptured, there was no point trying to rearrange them as it would simply put more stress for little reward.
After I had finished I excused myself and went to the shed where I made my design. I then snuck upstairs and laid it next to Voulge, hoping that she wouldn't get too much of a fright from it when she woke up.
I went back downstairs, where they were still arguing, and bluntly said to them that we had other priorities than worrying about an attack that might not even happen. Everyone agreed with downcast eyes while I schooled them on their lack of self discipline, and how they should be ashamed of themselves when their leader is upstairs seriously sick. As I finished we heard movement on the floor above, and so went to investigate.