//------------------------------//
// Ch. 8: A Grand Day Out 
// Story: A Party Went Off In Liberty City 
// by KingDaddyDiscord 
//------------------------------//

        Pinkie woke up in the same bed she had woken up in the morning before. Yawning, she stretched out before standing up, a little shakily at first, but that was to be expected. I mean, when you spend most of your life walking on four legs, being bipedal is a bit of a change.
        She stomped out of her room and into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Yawning again, she looked at her reflection, only to see an odd sight. Her hair, which was usually a curly mess, was as straight as a knife.
        “That’s weird…” She muttered to herself, twirling it in her fingers. “I wonder why…” Images began flooding back of the day before. Gunfire. A man… a monster? The man collapsed, and she remembered what had happened as the image of him lying in a pool of blood burned itself into her eyes. He wasn’t the monster. She was.
        She collapsed against the wall in shock as all this information was sent back into her brain, and she shook uncontrollably until a knock sounded on the door.
        “Um, Pinkie?” Niko’s voice rang out through her consciousness. “I heard a crash, are you alright?”
        “Yeah, yeah!” She said, faking as much enthusiasm as she could. “I just dropped something.”
        “If you say so. I have breakfast out on the table for whenever you want it.” The Yugoslavian’s footsteps faded out as he walked away, and Pinkie sighed in relief. Getting up off the floor, she looked at herself in the mirror. Remembering that she had to do it to save Niko had brought a little more life to her hair, enough so that she felt better about it. Smiling softly, she exited the bathroom to find Niko whistling.
        “That’s a new song.” Pinkie commented as she pulled up a chair. “I’ve never heard it before.”
        “You wouldn’t have for two reasons.” Niko answered. “One, you’ve only been here a little more than a week. Two, it’s a song from my home country.”
        “What’s it about?”
        “Well, the basic story of it is a man and his wife were walking, and a grizzly bear attacked the woman. The man killed the grizzly bear, and noticed how skinny it was. Realizing that it was only attacking for food, he drove himself insane and wandered off into the forest. When his wife came to from the attack, she couldn’t find him anywhere.”
        “That’s sad.” Pinkie muttered as she ate her toast.
        “Well, there’s another part.” Niko continued. “Years later, the man wandered into a town, only to find his wife. She said she forgave him for killing the bear, and understood that he had to do it for her. Then they lived happily ever after.”
        The girl sat and thought about that for a moment. “Niko, do you forgive me for killing Donivan?”
        “Forgive you? I thank you!” Niko said, shocked. “Pinkie, he was a terrible man. He was weak, but terrible. He tried to have Kate killed, and might have done it again if we let him live. You did the right thing.” Pinkie sniffed and reached over to hug the large man.
        “Thank you, Niko.”

        They ate their breakfast in silence, and when they were done, Niko clapped his hands loudly.
        “Now, Roman and Packie are working their best on finding this ‘Nicky’ Trifficante character, so you and I shall have a grand day out on Liberty City!”
        “Yay!” Pinkie cheered. Then she frowned, and asked, “What are we going to do?”
        “I’m going to show you a tour of the city! The highlights of the crown of all shi---” Niko caught himself, and finished.
        “Cities. Crown of all cities, that’s what I meant.” Pinkie nodded, and the two walked down the hall to the elevator, and from there to Niko’s car.
        “Hey, is there anyone that we could maybe go with? Like, a friend of yours?”
        “I’m not so sure about it.” Niko said, strangely defensively. “I was thinking, since Roman and Packie need a break from our adventure, maybe we could do this as just you and I?” The Eastern-European watched the young girl’s face, until it suddenly broke into a grin.
        “Let’s get to it!”
        The burly man nodded as Pinkie hummed herself down to the elevator, but as they got in, he noticed something peculiar.
        “Pinkie, what’s up with your hair?”
        “Hm?” She looked at him with a perplexed look.
        “When you came out this morning, your hair was straighter than usual. Now it’s fluffy again. What’s with that?”
        “Oh.” She looked down. “My pony friends say that when I’m sad or depressed or something, my hair goes flat. As compared to when I’m my usual, bubbly self, which makes it the poof you see now.”
        “Oh. That’s, um…”
        “Weird?”
        “Definitely different, but in a good way.” Niko chuckled. Pinkie sighed in relief.
        “Good. A few ponies say it’s weird, and don’t really talk to me anymore, so I’m glad you’re not like that. I don’t want to stop talking to you.”
        “Pinkie, don’t worry. That will never happen.”
        “Are you sure? What about when I go back to my world? What then?”

        Niko froze. He knew that this was coming, but he hadn’t wanted to think about it yet. It was then that he noticed that he genuinely was enjoying Pinkie’s company. The presence of someone who didn’t want anything from her, and who didn’t have the urge to kill, or use drugs, or drink… it was refreshing. Very few people in the world were like that nowadays.
        “We’ll… cross that bridge when we get to it.” He sighed.
        And hopefully we never will. He silently said in a half-hearted hope. Pinkie nodded, and bounded out as the elevator doors opened.
        Niko smiled before following the girl to the car. This was going to be a wild day.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

        “Woah! You can totally see EVERYTHING from up here!” Pinkie gasped, staring out across the world from the top of the Rotterdam Tower. Niko put his hand on her shoulder and gestured out to the city of Liberty City.
        “When my cousin tricked me, saying that there were treasures to be had, women to be wooed, and paradise to be populated, I jumped here. Then when I got here, I was disappointed and angry. And then…” He paused, looking out at the city. The sunlight bounced off the skyscrapers, giving everything a soft glow.
        “Then I came up here with Kate one day, on a date. I realized something.”
        “What?” The teen asked.
        “With a good girl at your side, close friends, and loving family, this city wasn’t that bad.” The girl nodded and looked back over the city. What about her friends? Without them here, would the city try to eat her up?
        No. She thought, looking over at Niko. I have a friend. He’s here. He’ll keep me safe. Just then, Niko motioned to something in the distance.

        “Do you see that, out there?”
        “Hm…” She squinted to make out a large statue. “It looks like a green woman. A giant green woman.”
        “Exactly! Come with me, and I’ll take you there!” He held out his hand, and she took it gladly.
        “Let’s do it!” She grinned. The Yugoslavian grinned back and led her to the elevators of the tower, hitting “Floor One.” He had something in mind to help getting to the statue. Defenitely, he did.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

        “HEY! COME BACK HERE WITH THAT!” The police officer that was tasked with guarding the Police Annihilator shouted, his pudgy body jiggling as he tried to chase them. He fell over in a heap after a few feet, and the Annihilator lifted off the landing platform.
        “Wow. Why are we stealing this helicopter?” Pinkie asked, her voice coming through the headset Niko wore.
        “Because those police can’t stop us, and it’s the fastest way to the tower.” He replied. Pinkie nodded, and looked out the window before asking something else.
        “Why are the cops so fat?”
        “Because…” The large man then realized that he didn’t know why. He simply shrugged and kept flying.

        The chopper flew gently across the city. Niko relished the fact that there wasn’t a single helicopter or police car following them, meaning that they had broken free.
        “There!” Pinkie shouted, pointing ahead. About a mile out was the statue they were targeting. Putting on a serious face, the hijacker tilted forward to speed up the trip. After a moment, they were over the large courtyard of Happiness Island. Civilians screamed and ran away, hopping into boats and escaping.
        “What are those people doing, Niko?” Pinkie asked, her face pressed up against the glass of the cockpit as she watched them.
        “I don’t know, Pinkie. People in this country are weird.” Niko shrugged as he descended down upon the plaza. Once the rotors had stopped their endless rotations, the Yugoslavian unlocked the doors, and he and Pinkie exited the vehicle.

        Pinkie stared up at the statue in awe as the sunlight bounced off the old copper. Chuckling, Niko walked over to a nearby railing. Leaning on the cool metal, he looked out upon the ocean. After a few moments, another presence made itself obvious. Looking over, he saw the young girl in the same position. Her eyes were closed as she allowed the sea to lightly spray over her face.
        “This is nice.” She said softly. “It’s hard to believe that this is the same place I… I killed someone at.” He noticed a slight tremble in her hands as she said “killed.” Reaching over, he put his hand on hers.
        “This is just like any world. There is the good, and the bad. You simply have to learn to take them both at the same time.” She nodded and turned back to the chopper.
        “I’m tired, Niko. Can we go home?”
        He chuckled and nodded, walking towards the pilot’s seat.

        In the thirty-some years of his life, Niko Bellic had seen and experienced many things. The war had been the worst part, though he didn’t know whether it was the war with the Serbians or the war against Jimmy Pegorino. He had found solitude in family, and he had found happiness in love. But for the first time in, well, ever, he had experienced something better than either of those things. Friendship.
        It was an odd feeling. It was a mix of the calmness he experienced when with family members, and the warmth he had felt with Kate. He could tell this odd girl from a magical pony world anything about himself, but he didn’t feel the urge to pour his entire soul out for her. She was there for him, but knew when to stay back.
        His smile didn’t leave his face as he got into the chopper, locking the doors behind Pinkie. That is, it didn’t until his phone began ringing. Looking down at the screen as he pulled it out, he carefully read the title of the caller ID.

        Unknown Caller.

        Carefully, he hit the answer button and held the phone to his ear.
        “Hello?”
        “Insolent pig.” The voice on the other end spat. It was warped, obviously the doing of an electronic program. It was eerie, it was powerful, and it was mysterious. It send shivers down the large man’s spine.
        “Who is this?”
        “That is none of your concern at the moment.” The voice replied again. “What concerns you at the moment is the offer I am about to make to you. You of course remember the attack on you, your cousin and his wife, your friend, and your cousin’s daughter?”
        “...Yes.” Niko ground his teeth.
        “It was a shame, and it shouldn’t have happened. I personally dealt with the people who nearly harmed your… niece, shall we say? In fact, it was only fair that you killed one of my men, though you could have chosen one that was less important.”
        “It was our pleasure.” The Yugoslavian rumbled.
        “Quiet. Now, the real target of that attack was, in fact, your friend. Pink hair, balloon tattoo, really hyper and bubbly and downright annoying. Pinkie Pie.” The name sounded like it was forced out of the caller’s mouth, difficult to say and evil to the tongue. Niko stiffened and glared, even though he couldn’t see whoever was calling him.
        “What do you want with her?”
        “That’s for me to know and you to never find out.” The voice retorted. “What matters now is my offer. You hand over your friend to me, and you and your family can go off with your happy lives. Or, you can keep her and face the consequences.”
        The man thought for a moment. If he gave up Pinkie, then Kate would be safe. So would Roman and Mallorie. But, on the other hand, he would be losing one of his friends. A good friend. Looking over, he saw Pinkie looking up at him with her big, ice-blue eyes, not knowing anything about what he was considering. He knew his answer.

        “I’ll be keeping her, thanks.” The voice sighed.
        “Pity. Oh well, looks like you chose the hard way. Goodbye, Niko Bellic. Looks like you’ll both be going out with a bang.” The phone clicked as whoever it was hung up, and a boom sounded. Looking up, Pinkie and Niko saw a rocket speeding towards them. Niko knew exactly what it was.
        “Pinkie! Get out, NOW!” He yelled, unlocking the door. Pinkie nodded with a scared look on her face, and leapt out of the helicopter, running for cover. Niko struggled to undo his seatbelt as the rocket shot closer and closer. Just as he got it undone, and had opened the door, and explosion sounded. Heat rushed around his body, and he blacked out into the great unknown.