//------------------------------//
// 23 - Rescue 
// Story: Chasing Treasures 
// by Yukito 
//------------------------------//

Chrysalis led the way through the bunker as Blueblood followed her, panting and begging her to slow down the further they went in. Eventually, Chrysalis was forced to run slower to allow her less-able colleague to keep up.

Reloading her gun, Chrysalis peered around a corner and found a small blockade of troops awaiting her. She reached for a grenade and threw it, hearing many panicked-voices before the explosion. She then rounded the corner and fired at the two remaining troops left standing.

"We must be getting close," she told herself, rounding two more corners and finding herself in a large room. In the centre of that room, Cadance and Gilda lay unconscious on the floor, their hands tied and their mouths gagged. "… So this is a trap."

Blueblood, leaning against a wall as he caught his breath, nodded his agreement. "Y-You go… I'll… cover…"

Chrysalis sighed, and cautiously made her way towards the bodies. As she neared, she felt a hostile presence and looked around warily. A flash of light caught her eye, and she ducked to avoid the magical attack aimed at her head.

"Awww! I missed!"

A woman entered from the far door. She was tall and thin, dressed in filthy overalls and with long, orange hair topped with a pink bow. "Told ya you should've practiced more, Draggle!"

"Ahhh, shaddup!" Another woman emerged, this one much shorter, and also larger. She wore a red-and-orange dress and a frying pan atop her black hair, tied into twin pigtails. "They fell for the trap, just like I said, Reeka!"

"What?! The trap was my plan!" Reeka argued.

"No, it was my plan!" Draggle replied. She held a wand in her hand and pressed it to Reeka's chin. "Don't try to steal my thunder again, sister!"

"Why you! I'll show you not to-" Reeka gasped, and swung her own wand, creating a barrier just before a gunshot rang out. The barrier shimmered as the bullet collided with it, and the sisters cast fiery glares at Chrysalis. "Hey! We were talking here!"

Chrysalis fired another shot, but the barrier held. "We're with the FBI. You are under arrest," she said. "Surrender now and we'll go easy on you."

The sisters simply laughed, pointing at Chrysalis tauntingly. "Surrender?!" Draggle shouted. "Puh-lease! We hold the cards here!"

"Yeah!" Reeka added. "We have magic! We're the daughters of the great witch Hydia! What do you have?!"

Chrysalis reached for a flashbang and threw it at the barrier. The sisters looked at it inquisitively for a moment, and then it went off. They screamed and covered their eyes as they were blinded. Two more shots rang out, and their wands were knocked out of their hands.

When they could finally see again, they found Chrysalis holding two pistols, one on each of them, and Blueblood behind her waking the hostages, now freed from their bonds.

Reeka moved to swing her wand, but realised that she no longer held it. "Hey! No fair!"

"Now that you no longer have your magic," Chrysalis began, "Perhaps you'd like to reconsider my offer?"

Blueblood managed to awaken Cadance and Gilda, and the two rose to their feet, woozy and groggy. "We have to get them out," Blueblood said. "They're not strong enough to defend themselves."

Chrysalis nodded. "Last chance."

"J-Just hold on," Reeka said, taking a step back as she held her hands in the air. "There must be some mistake?"

"The only mistake is you not taking me up on my offer…" Chrysalis looked down at Reeka's feet, and gasped. Beneath her right foot, the floor sunk slightly. She fired a shot, but it deflected off of… something.

"Hah!" Draggle shouted. "Too bad! We're behind this invisible barrier now! No stopping us this time!" Draggle left the room, returning moments later with a cauldron. Inside the cauldron was a bubbling, purple substance.

Chrysalis had heard from Shining Armor about the creature that Hydia had summoned, and the description of the cauldron he gave matched this one. She saw Reeka pull out a vial labelled 'Phlume', and gasped. "RUN!" she shouted.

As Reeka poured the contents of the vial into the cauldron, Chrysalis and Blueblood fled the room, covering Cadance and Gilda as they tried to keep up. As they left, Chrysalis heard a song starting up from the direction of the cauldron.