Their Mission

Suspecting the mist woman’s betrayal, Marco, Felix, Winfry and Isa dashed top speed towards the hollow. Once inside, the AssMachenstani men could look all they wanted— they’d never find them. “Don’t stop!” cried Isa, jumping nimbly over a fallen tree trunk as she sprinted. “We don’t know how long this spell will last.”

A laser beam grazed the tree Winfry was running towards. “Everybody down!” came Marco’s cry. They dropped to the ground, scrambling for cover on all fours.

“Damnit!” muttered Winfry, “We’re so close!”

Isa swiped her hand over the sparse grass, weeds and fallen leaves. A burst of blue erupted from the ground. “We’re close enough,” she said. “Marco, take cover, and try and target the enemy. The rest of us—charge up.”

More beams shot their way. The pounding footsteps of AssMachenstani soldiers grew louder by the second. Marco stood up, facing away from the enemy behind a thick tree trunk, looking around desperately, searching for the best shooting point. Then he looked up. In an instant he whipped out his pair of daggers, stabbed the tree, hoisted himself up, stabbed again, until he had deftly made his way up to the top of the tree.

As Marco climbed, Felix, Isa and Winfry were hugging the floor, rubbing in as much magic from the earth as they could get. Already they could feel its inebriating power coursing through their veins, as laser beams soared above their heads.

Winfry closed his eyes, apparently in prayer. Isa and Felix continued collecting magic, awaiting his signal. A second later, gunshot rang from above. Marco had made his move, and a soldier had fallen. Winfry opened his eyes. “I know where they are. I’ll guide you” he said.

Felix held Isa’s hand, Isa held Winfry’s hand, and the moment she did, the location of every AssMachenstani soldier flooded her mind as well as Felix’s.

Isa turned to Felix, “Alright. You freeze, I burst.” Felix nodded. “OK. NOW!” Together, Isa, Winfry and Felix rose to their feet, facing the troop of about ten AssMachenstanis storming their way.

Felix focused his power on the soldier nearest them. The soldier raised his laser gun, shot, and just before the laser beam smashed straight through Felix’s face, Felix opened his hands and released his magic, sending the laser beam magically backwards in time and soaring straight into the soldier’s gun. The gun exploded, killing the man on the spot.

From above, Marco’s gun continued to ring. Three down. Four down. Felix focused on suspending the numerous laser beams in midair, Isa spread her hands forward and burst the soldiers, one by one, into nothingness, while Winfry focused on teleporting the remaining soldiers high into the air, then letting them drop to their deaths.

A moment later, Marco, Felix, Winfry and Isa stood victorious in the forest silence. “Come on,” said Isa, “To the hollow.”

The moment they entered the magical grove, the identity spell faded. Winfry became Estonia. Felix became Latvia. And Isa became Lithuania. “Good job girls,” Lithuania said to her sisters. “And you, Marco.”

Marco nodded. “We owe everything to Winfry,” he said. “That was some pretty quick thinking he did, switching everyone’s identities with the librem…”

“They took our place,” said Latvia, clearly uncomfortable at the thought. “I was dying to say something—“

Lithuania shook her head, remembering what Winfry had once told her. “It was their mission. Winfry and Isa told me so themselves. They said they were supposed to help me. Help us. I think this is what they were talking about.”

“But what’s going to happen to them?” said Estonia. “I mean—once that mist woman finds out—”

“She won’t kill them as long as she thinks they’re us,” said Lithuania. “And if the spell fades, Isa, Winfry and Felix will be too valuable to her information-wise for her to kill. She’ll need them to get to us.”

“So we need to rescue them,” said Latvia.

“They’ve still got their librem. And a quilaire,” said Marco. Lithuania knew perfectly well what he meant.

“You don’t mean—” said Estonia, shocked. “You don’t mean to say we’re going to let them fend for themselves, do you?”

“I’m wondering whether we have a choice,” was Marco’s reply. “They came to Lithuania with one mission: help her. And that’s what they’re doing. They’re buying us time. The enemy thinks they have you three. This could be your best moment.”

“We could finish pinpointing the location of the AssMachenstani base here in LusciousLocks,” said Lithuania. “Then return to Econometric Elation and inform Foggistan. Those AssMachenstani emissaries won’t be hunting for us back home anymore, now that they think they’ve got us.”

Latvia couldn’t believe her ears. Estonia crossed her arms, unconvinced. “OK, God knows I’m not the brave one here,” she said, “And God knows I’d love to leave this place. But even I feel uncomfortable just leaving them behind. You saw what that woman did to Timoteo!”

Estonia had struck a chord. Lithuania’s stomach flipped uncomfortably at the thought of Timoteo’s severed head. The mist woman was indeed ruthless. “But we have to inform Foggistan about what’s going on here,” she said. “I mean—to them, LusciousLocks is still a clouded-over country where all their soldiers have gone missing. They don’t know it’s an AssMachenstani outpost. They’re still focusing on Styx.”

Estonia bit her lip. Then Latvia said, “I think we know what we’ve got to do then. We’ve got to split.”

Lithuania nodded. “Yes. I would much rather you two were out of the warzone, I mean—you’re not trained like Marco and I—”

“Oh no Lithuania, we didn’t come all this way just to leave you behind,” Latvia laughed. “You’re going home.”

“You’re both nuts,” snapped Estonia. “We’re supposed to stick together. We’re stronger that way.”

“Well if we split, I sure as hell am not leaving!” Lithuania said. “I’m not just gonna let Felix have his head lopped off—”

“Don’t forget Isa and Winfry,” Marco chimed in.

“—while I’m at home reporting. No. No. You two go home,” said Lithuania finally.

“Alright!” Latvia barked. “No one is going home. We reconnoiter, locate the AssMachenstani base, assess the situation, evaluate which powers, or abilities,” she said, with a nod to Marco, “are most appropriate for the rescue, and go from there. OK?”

A brief silence ensued. “But we’ll have to move quick,” said Marco.

Lithuania nodded. “We have to move now.”