//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: See You At the Safehouse // Story: Dazzle Robs a Bank // by Eyeswirl the Weirded //------------------------------// Sunset awoke amid sounds of electrical humming and the heavy Bweeooooo of a machine powering down. Everything was dark, save for a green, spherical, translucent surface in front of her. She heard a loud hiss that made her think of an air-lock in a science fiction movie as the door to her pod slid open. Stepping out and stretching a little, she found herself in the lab she'd entered earlier today. It looked as much like a Hollywood mad scientist's kind of place as when she went in. There were big, thick wires that someone was probably going to trip over running all around the floor, big, chrome spheres crackling with electricity at the top of shiny rods, flickering lights Sunset wasn't sure were there for more than decoration, the works. She liked it. Stepping out of metallic pods similar to hers were the Dazzlings, who looked similarly groggy, most of all Aria. She probably wasn't a morning person. The four of them heard a synthetic, female voice over the intercom. "Thank you for taking part in the development of the Dis-Corp state-of-the-art Reality Reconfiguration Receptacles. Your time and effort are a vital part of the research process. As promised, you may collect your payment on the way out, and we hope to hear from you all again soon." Slowly swinging her arms in a circle to shake the stiffness off, Aria chuckled. "More V.R.? I could do that." Sonata gave her an amused grin. "You have fun shooting those coppers, Star?" Aria ignored the nickname and took up a proud, hands-on-hips pose. "Forty-three kills, even got a Hunter on the way out." She grinned cockily to the others. "How many'd you guys get?" Adagio shrugged. "I only cared about the objective, casualties weren't even an afterthought. More-so when all of our hostages perished." Seeing Sunset flinch and turn away in shame made her wish she'd worded that a little differently. "Tch, figures." She turned to Sonata. "How about you?" There was only a shrug, which made Aria look almost pleadingly at Sunset. "Uhh...?" Smiling apologetically, Sunset shook her head. With an exasperated groan, Aria pulled at her own pigtails. "None of you even kept count?! How am I supposed to brag if I've got nothing to compare it to?!" Adagio gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Let's just say you probably killed the most imaginary people and go get paid, alright?" As they headed out to the lobby, Sonata gave Aria a smug look. "Toldja I'd be fine without a melee weapon!" Aria just rolled her eyes, looking at Sunset. "Speakin' of, great job with the hammer in there." Crossing her arms, she gave what might have been a semi-admiring smirk. "May not have stopped the big guy, but damned if you didn't look like a raging badass trying." Scratching her head, Sunset actually blushed. "Eh, thanks?" "Yea," giggled Sonata, "you know you're a little scary with that thing?" Sunset could only stare back at her, lost for words. Waiting for them on a table in the lobby were four handbags, looking exactly like miniature, purse-sized versions of the duffel bags they took the loot in during the simulation. Adagio didn't even have to snap her fingers for Sonata to jog over, open a bag, and look inside. She smiled at the others, holding up a wad of bills. "We're in the money!" Smirking with satisfaction, Adagio stood with a hand on her hip. "One of those bags is yours, Sunset Shimmer, as per our deal." Sunset smiled for two reasons. "Speaking of which..." "Ugh," complained Aria with crossed arms as she looked at Adagio, "do we have to?" Adagio nodded. "A deal's a deal." She looked at Sunset. "You helped us when we came to you with the job offer for the four of us to test the equipment here, so we'll attend school for the full day for a week." Glancing at Aria again, her smile vanished. She spoke loudly enough that she was sure Aria and Sonata could hear. "However, as we agreed, if we go there and find nothing but grief, we're gone. No revenge on our harassers, but no excuses to stick around, either." Sunset smiled, her tone reassuring. "There won't be a problem, I promise." Adagio didn't look sold. She nodded to Aria and Sonata, who picked up the bags, threw one to Sunset, and headed for the door. "I intend to find out for myself, but what makes you so certain?" "I talked to just about everyone on your enemy list that goes to CHS, and-" "W-wait, when did you see the enemy list?" "Rarity's birthday, while we were looking for you. My friends were the first place they checked and I joined in from there." "Oh." Sunset giggled. "It's actually not as wide as you guys might think, the list of people that really don't like you? I've gone around and talked to people over the past few weeks, almost everybody's moved on, and even those that haven't aren't going to start trouble." Adagio nodded a little, glancing around to find just herself and Sunset in the lobby of the Dis-Corp-owned building. Just the same, she kept her voice down. "Nobody particularly likes being cornered by a hostile crowd, Aria in particular. If everyone we saw were to give us hostile looks, there'd be nothing I could do to keep her from bailing." "It won't be a problem." A thought occurred. "And, why is she afraid? I thought she beat up a bunch of kids by herself a while back." "Yes, while wearing the star uniform." Blink. "Or, so the story goes..." "Right. So shouldn't it be easier for her to fight back without it weighing her down, if she needed to?" "Maybe, if she had hypothetically been using the suit as padding to protect herself instead of a full-body weapon." "...How." Adagio averted her eyes. "I'm sure I can't say, I wasn't there. Besides, it was only a rumor, right?" Not wanting to think too hard about Siren logic, Sunset shook her head. "Right, well, anyway, I don't think anyone'll bug you guys too much, and if they do, just tell me. Okay?" Crossing her arms, Adagio raised an eyebrow. "Come to think of it, are you really any less subject to ill will than the three of us?" Sunset smiled somewhat ruefully. "Well... no." Then the rueful part vanished. "But that's all the more reason people'll be more willing to forgive you guys, comparatively speaking! I mean, you three only did what you did for a few days and then vanished for a while, and it's a lot harder to hold a grudge for something like that than a three-year reign." She still looks worried about something. Should I say it helps that they're all really pretty girls, or would that make it sound like they'd get harassed for different reasons? Would they like that kind of atten- Sighing quietly, Adagio nodded. "I guess that'll do." She glanced at the bag in Sunset's hand. "Any plans for the money, or is that just a bonus to you?" "Umm..." Sunset opened the bag, finding more than she'd expected. "Oh, wow!!" She heard Adagio giggling at her. "It's proportional to the amount we got away with, and as we escaped with about thirty-three percent more than was necessary, we got a little more each. The man in charge of this place mentioned something about it helping immersion in his first message to us, how it's arguably the whole point of virtual reality." "Maybe, but I can't believe we're getting paid half this much to play a game!" "Well," Adagio poked her in the stomach, "did it feel like just a game to you?" The pained grimace as Sunset remembered her virtual injury said the shotgun blast had felt pretty real. "That's what they're really paying for, the reason we had to sign those papers on the way in." She stepped back, folding her arms behind her back and giving Sunset a somewhat guilty expression. "Well, that, and the possibility of going temporarily insane, like testers before us..." Adagio offered a sheepish smile. "So, on that note, how are you feeling?" Sunset smirked a little, lightly knocking on her own head. "Still got all my marbles, don't worry." It mildly worried Sunset herself that Adagio looked legitimately relieved. How real was the danger in there? The two of them walked out of the lobby together, continuing on the same path down the street. "So, I noticed you seem to bicker with those two a little less, how's it been going?" Adagio turned to look at her as though not sure how to answer, thinking for a moment. "W-well..." She shrugged, a tiny smile making Sunset hopeful. "I took your advice, kind of." "Kind of?" "To make them less afraid of me. I didn't want to just wait for them to work out on their own that I'm not trying to intimidate them anymore and saying it outright would only make things worse, so I shared a secret..." --- The sirens stood in the living room of their small house, Adagio having asked that Aria and Sonata meet her there to discuss something important. For the first minute, nobody said a word, the air increasingly tense as her former underlings (it felt disingenuous to say they worked for her anymore) traded worried glances. "Aria Blaze," began Adagio in a level tone, "Sonata Dusk. I need to talk to you two." She knew full well that those words were fantastic for making people more afraid, in addition to use of full names, but the sharp contrast to what was coming would only help her. Trying to pretend Sonata's knees weren't shaking, Aria kept her voice as steady as possible. "Y-yea, what?" "There's something both of you should know. In all the time we've known each other, I've been letting you believe a lie, something that made controlling you easier for me. I've had more than enough time to think it over, and I wanted to come clean." She took a deep breath, her face solemn. "Aria? Sonata? I don't actually just know when you're lying to me." "WHAT?!" "FOR REALZIES?!" Adagio just looked back at them, heart thudding in her chest as she waited for further exclamations of shock, scornful judgement, enraged shouting, whatever they'd throw at her for this. Aria was the first to speak coherently, shaking her head. "No, bullcrap, is this some kinda loyalty test? I know you've got some sneaky trick for getting into our heads, there's no way you've always just-" "There's no trick." "Then how-" "Logical deduction, obvious tells from Sonata, and the occasional lucky guess." Sonata flinched, both at the accusation, and Aria's sudden glare that felt like 'You little snitch!' "B-but, but, h-how, that time at the zoo, you just totally-" Adagio shook her head, her face still calm and passive. "The peanut boy told me just before you two came around the corner." Aria clenched her fists. "That little snitch!!" Huh, thought Sonata, called it. "So, anyway," Adagio continued, "I shouldn't have manipulated the two of you that way for so long, that was wrong of me," she folded her hands in front of her, looking down to the point they couldn't see her face, "and I'm sorry." There was a short silence. "Yea, well," mumbled Aria, "I, totally knew it all along." Adagio looked up. The statement had been delivered without much conviction, but Aria was still looking at her as though hoping for a sign she was in her head that very instant. Adagio offered only a sheepish little smile and a shrug back. "That one sounds like a lie. Is it?" Blinking twice, Aria crossed her arms and turned away, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. "Maybe. Not tellin'." Before Adagio could comment on that rather weighted tell, Sonata got right up in her face, which made her draw back with a start. The blue girl's stare was wide-eyed, but passive, showing no trace of any emotion. "Hey, Dagi. I forgot to put on underwear this morning." Glancing at Aria, Adagio couldn't even get a hint as to how she was expected to respond, so she made a guess. "Erm... T-true...?" Sonata beamed. "Nope!!" Then she went back to her very forced, but nigh-impenetrable poker face. "Sometimes I watch you in your sleep." Please be false. "True?" Beaming again, Sonata snorted. "Nope! I knew you'd think I'd say something you thought had to be true the second time!" She giggled madly, leaving Adagio a few seconds to look to Aria, who was just facepalming with a little smile. Adagio hesitantly grinned herself, actually feeling pretty good about this so far. "Hey, Dagi! Sometimes I like to make funny faces in mirrors." "Sonata, I know that one is true because I've caught you doing it a few times." "Oh, yea..." Sonata scratched her head before smiling. "My record for jump-rope is six hundred and forty-three skips!" Shrugging a little, Adagio regained her wavering, uncertain smile. "Ehm, false?" Blue brows furrowed. "Hey, I thought you said-" "Deduction that time, one specific number against a few thousand possibilities, so I opted to err on the side of caution." Aria started snickering, but Sonata paid her no mind. Grinning, she put her hands on her hips. "Alright, Miss Smarty-Pants, how about this one..." --- "I-I spent the next few days scared, after that," Adagio muttered, "I was sure they'd get back at me somehow, use the knowledge that I could be fooled against me. I didn't know how, and for a while, that was the worst part. I figured their smiles were just a ruse to lull me into a false sense of security before I'd get a tin of hot sauce to the face, or electrified thumbtacks in my chair, or even just a sign that says 'Rape Me' stuck to my back, but they never really went past poking fun at me." She gave Sunset a curious look. "Is that odd?" Judging by the way Sunset's jaw hung open, maybe she should have expected something. The former bully struggled to form words. Even at her worst, she'd never tried any of those things. There'd never been a reason to do something so extreme and even schadenfreude only went so far. I'm not a monster anymore. "They... do those things?" Adagio shrugged a little. "Well, those are some of the more extreme examples of the pranks I've seen them pull on each other when tensions were high, but they haven't really done anything like that in a while. Being afraid of me was one of the reasons I attributed to never having been involved with their game at all, so I was expecting... Are you listening?" Sunset was still staring in shock. "Couldn't they get, you know, seriously hurt doing stuff like that?" Nodding casually, Adagio glanced down at her own waist only to remember that she wasn't carrying the first-aid kit in this world. Oh. Immersion successful? She silently hoped Sunset hadn't noticed her doing that. "Yes, hence my predilection toward playing the medic." She chuckled. "Those idiots have gotten hurt in more ways than I care to name since we got to this realm, who do you think patched them up over the years? Sonata is especially accident-prone, as you may recall." Sunset smiled. Dr. Dazzle to the rescue, huh? That's so sweet! Oh, that reminds me! "Hey, uh..." She glanced away, feeling just a little contrite for what might have been a friendship failure on her part, in that she had assumed the worst in Adagio's intentions. "Speaking of Sonata getting hurt, a-and me too, I guess, everyone but you was downed while we were in the simulation." Adagio sighed. "Yes, yes, 'I was being careful' does sound like 'I'm a massive coward,' feel free to rub it in. I'm sorry I hid behind the counter and let you three take care of it, alright?" "W-what? No, no, that isn't what I mean." Adagio was looking at her in genuine surprise. Was she as sensitive about her weaker moments as she was about her hair? On some level, Sunset could relate, drawing a little smile. "Don't worry about what happened with the Tank. Heck, you still tried to help out, remember?" "Yes," she answered with slightly slumped shoulders, "right before ducking back and praying one of you had a plan." She tinted red, looking away as she muttered. "In hindsight, I should have said to get out of his sight and run to the van. SWAT teams around the bank would have been easier to deal with and he probably couldn't have chased us far." Giggling, Sunset patted her on the shoulder. "Then that's what we'll do in the next one. If we see a Tank, I mean." She got a little smile back, but there was still her initial question to deal with. "So, uh, yea... When Sonata and I got taken down, you just got us up as quick as you could, but when Aria fell..." Tilting her head, Adagio looked earnestly confused. "What?" Sunset shrugged, getting the feeling she shouldn't have asked, but in too deep to back out. "I mean, I figured you might have got Sonata the first time she was kicked by a Smoker, but you didn't taunt or tease me at all, not even a little snarking under your breath about my weight when you were dragging my ass out of there." Adagio blinked slowly. "I... No, I didn't. Why would-Oh!" She smiled somewhat apologetically. "Because the three of you laughed at my ridiculous code-name?" Sunset nodded a little, still looking lost. Adagio smiled and lightly shook her head. "I wasn't trying to get even this time. You told me to 'ease up,' remember?" "Then why did you force Aria to say sorry?" "Eh, w-well, uh..." Her smile turned sheepish, as though she was expecting to be chastised. "Sonata said it right after, so I didn't need to get her at all, things were a little too frantic when I might have been able to get one out of you, but Aria's case gave me plenty of time and I wasn't likely to hear it from her otherwise." Looking just a little rueful, her lips formed the tiniest pout. "I know it was petty, but I still wanted an apology. Is that wrong?" Oh. It wasn't revenge, not like it would have been before, Adagio was just looking for a band-aid for her bruised ego (not that band-aids were much good for bruises), and possibly some hurt feelings. Pinkie Pie had explained the difference between laughing with someone and laughing at them, and the response to 'Fluffy' was firmly in the latter category. That in mind, Sunset stepped closer to wrap Adagio in a hug, the two of them stopping where they stood on the sidewalk. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "I should have said it when Sonata did. You're doing fine, don't worry about a thing." They remained that way for the better part of a minute, Adagio not moving a muscle or saying a word. Then she huffed. "D-don't hug me in public," she said while trying to wriggle free, "people will think I'm in your group now or something!" Giggling, Sunset stepped back, smirking when she noticed how red Adagio had gotten. "Aww, is someone getting friendship cooties?" Scowling, Adagio stood with her arms folded. "There's no such thing." "Ohh, yes there is," said Sunset through barely-contained laughter, "how do you think they converted me?" The look on Adagio's face as she went pale was priceless. "It starts with warm, fuzzy feelings..." "Stop it." "Then they get you to hold hands..." Adagio closed her eyes, holding her hands over where Sunset assumed her ears were. "Stop." "Before you know it, you're singing with people you used to hate!" "Quit it!" She tip-toed closer. "And then, once the infection takes hold..." "Sunset Shim-" "They hug you!" Giggling madly, she enforced the notion directly, blushing a little herself as she threw her arms around a squirmy, fidgety Adagio. After about fifteen seconds of sputtering and complaints from her captive, Sunset managed to hold her still. "I really am sorry. Okay?" There was a short silence before Adagio again huffed quietly, but it sounded like she was smiling. "Yes, well..." Lightly pushing Sunset away, she smirked. "Considering how long it took, I might just get you anyway, in time..." She put one hand on her hip while pointing a finger of the opposite hand at Sunset. "So stay on guard, Sunset Shimmer!" It was then that Sunset noticed Adagio was pointing slightly to her side, her head tilted as though looking at something just behind Sunset. Whipping around and expecting to see Aria, Sonata, or both with water balloons or something, she instead saw something that made her feel like an even bigger sucker; nothing at all. Quickly turning back, Adagio was gone. "How did-" Sunset felt a sudden gust of air blown straight into her ear. "-gah!" She turned to see Adagio, snickering and covering her mouth with one hand. "Gotcha!" Lightly brushing the weird feeling from her ear, Sunset smirked a little. "Verrry funny. That wasn't 'it,' was it?" Immediately turning away from Sunset, it looked like Adagio was folding her arms behind her back. Hard to tell through the hair. "No, that was it, apology accepted." As it sounded like she was smiling, Sunset didn't believe it for a minute. "I should head home now, but I'll see you in school, Sunset Shimmer." The possibility of Adagio's revenge aside, Sunset couldn't help a tiny smile as she watched her walk away. Yea, see you in school... And with that, she ran home to write a message to Twilight! --- Elsewhere in the city, in a circular office with no particular decoration scheme, and all of them at once, a madman sat behind his gold-and-peppermint desk. It was a different combination of precious metal and tasty snack every week, but he'd only mixed them up once so far. So what if he chipped a tooth? Now it looked like he was half-vampire! He chortled to himself over the results of his latest enterprise. And also the digital cops n' robbers thing, that was pretty groovy. Sure, there was no official reason to have all of the testers be (according to his sources) formerly magical world-dominating monster girls, but why not? After all, he thought, looking to his favorite motivational poster of a clown with his shoes on backwards water-skiing on quicksand with a squirrel firing a light machine gun and screaming into a pine cone while riding on the clown's head, what fun is there in making sense? --- Late that night, Fluttershy awoke to the sound of her phone ringing. Worried she'd kept someone waiting on the other end, she quickly snatched it up and answered. "H-hello?" "Hey, it's me." "Sunset? Is something wrong?" "...K-kind of... I'm sorry, did I wake you?" Fluttershy smiled warmly, hoping it was detectable through the phone. "Please, don't worry about it. Why are you calling in the middle of the night?" "I, uh, w-well..." The pause only made Fluttershy worry more. "I-I, uh, kind of have a little f-favor to ask..."