//------------------------------//
// Chapter VIII: Baltimare Bay 
// Story: The Sons of Discord 
// by Gapeagle 
//------------------------------//

The prison was much bigger than I had expected. I mean, I had never been to a prison before, so who could blame me? It was just like in the pictures I had seen. It was just much, much larger. As we drove up to it, I could not help but feel that our plan would go horribly awry. We were about to break into a prison to get one cracker! I didn't care how valuable she was, my life was on the line here. I very much deserved to be in that prison, but that didn't mean I wanted to end up in there.

Vinyl bobbed her head as we went down a hill towards it. We were not in the stupid van, but a patrol car. One again, I was ignorant about how the two Erebus guys stole it, but it was probably the same way they acquired the uniforms she and I wore. Whoever "Patty Rosebud" was that was on my ID, well, rest in peace you magnificent nobody.

"Are you sure we'll get close?" I asked Vinyl. "I mean, they'll know that we're impostors."

"Of course they will," Vinyl rolled her eyes. "Neon and the Erebus guys are by the generator that's way over there. Once we get somewhat close, it'll be an abuse. All we need to do is hack into gate after killing the guards and close it before anyone really notices."

"They have cameras..."

"I'll take care of them. You hack the guards and their communications."

I took up one of the silenced rifles that was behind us in the backseat. I put the magazine in and put one in the chamber. Yeah, this was about to be turned into a cop-slayer. This made me gulp. It wasn't the gun's fault in the slightest. All blame belonged to who pulled the trigger. That made me gulp again.

"Do...Do I have to kill the guards?"

"I can't have all the fun," she laughed. "If ya don't fire, they'll kill ya. If ya fire, they'll be too dead to kill ya. We'll try to kill only the ones in our way. If any surrender, we'll let them surrender. We aren't coldblooded murderers."

"You make no sense..."

"And that's exactly why I'm great at what I do."

With a roll of my eyes, I placed a wireless headset on my head and adjusted it so that it would fit comfortably. The mic part was also adjustable and I messed with it until it was at a good angle to the right of my lips. 

"Testing?" I said.

"We hear ya," Neon said from somewhere else. "You about there?"

"Yes," I answered. "Give us maybe two minutes.

"Aye."

"Lock and load my gun too, will ya?" Vinyl asked. 

I did it without saying anything. She was still driving, but she was preparing just like I had been. I wasn't comfortable with that as she was already a bad driver when she was entirely focused. I didn't say anything and let her do it. I actually wouldn't have mind if we crashed right then and there.

However, we didn't. As much as I hoped and prayed, we kept getting closer to the prison. In a way, I felt like I was heading straight to where I belonged. Of course I didn't want to go there in the slightest. However, if I stayed there, I felt like I'd probably accept it as what I deserved. Where was my innocence in all this? Yeah, just as dead as the Brotherhood alright.

We crossed the field and were entering the danger zone. Everyone knew where we were now. We were so close that I could see the faces on the guards that watched us from their towers. They didn't seem suspicious of us yet, but they would soon. Some, if not most of these faces I saw were not going to see their families again. 

Vinyl began to whistle to the tune that played on that damn radio. She was so calm and collected. It made me disgusted. She'd been doing stuff like this for hundreds of years. I doubt she cared anymore. Just fight the Templar and please Discord. Yup, what a sad life, I must say.

The patrol car slowed down as we stopped at the first checkpoint. If everything was going to plan, Neon and the Erebus duo would be at a power station ready to cut all energy off from the prison. This was it. There was no conceivable way we could get beyond this point without being straight up caught or being shrouded in substantial amounts of suspicion. 

"We can't make a move until Neon shuts the power off," Vinyl whispered to me. 

"They are not going to let us through," I told her.

"Not willingly," she chuckled. "How good are ya drive by shooting skills?"

"You're only asking me that now?" I growled.

"Well, look at the place. It's got wide spaces with those sniper towers. We picked a patrol car for a reason."

"Oh no..."

"Oh yes," she grinned.

"Please show IDs!"

I expected a guard to be there with his hand up, but instead it was a speaker at the left of the closed gate. The voice sounded a bit computerized and it made me think there wasn't a guy actually speaking to us. I was pulling out my badge, but stopped when I say Vinyl just sitting there. Her lips were moving, but nothing was leaving them. I could read her lips and she was counting down. 

"Please show-" the speaker was shut off.

Vinyl nudged me. "We're ready."

"Wait, that's it?" I panicked. We aren't even inside!" I gestured at the closed gate before us.

"Not yet. The entire prison is probably going crazy at the moment. It'll take a little bit and then this gate will swing right open for us."

"I thought we were just shutting off the power?"

"Naw, we need more advantage than that. I mean, did ya really think we were gonna march right in here and blast 200-something guards up by ourselves? That's be fun and all, but tedious. We're hackers, we don't turn things off for good, just turn them to our side."

When she finished this, the gate slowly started to move to the side. The inside of the walls was in disarray. Teams were being mobilized to certain parts of the prison. It was at this moment I realized why we were in police uniforms. All this Chaos was happening. No one cared about Vinyl and me strutting our stuff through the prison! 

"Let them have it, baby," Neon's voice sounded through the speaker.

Vinyl calmly drove into the prison and we sort of just watched the guards go about. I trusted Vinyl to lead me to a possible route to Starlight's cell. Vinyl suddenly stopped the car and looked at my rifle, I presumed making sure it was ready for immediate combat.

"Get out, I'm leaving this here for quick access," she explained.

We both exited the patrol car with our rifles in hand. Now, if one took time to notice us, they'd probably be wondering about the silencers on our rifles. From what I saw, the guards were using riot shields or shotguns. 

"Why are they panicking like that?" I asked.

"Neon was supposed to release the male inmates," Vinyl said. "The prison is one side female and one side male. We need the men to take all the attention."

That had to be some party. Vinyl and I made our way to the women's side of the prison, entering through a small exit door that was unlocked by Neon. I raised my rifle and swiftly moved through the prison. Every security door was being opened right before we reached it and soon we were deep enough to start seeing cells. 

"Any clue where Starlight is?" I asked in my headset's microphone.

"In Cell Block C apparently," was the answer from Double Diamond. 

"Woo, that's helpful since I don't even know where I am!" I barked.

"If ya paid attention ya jackass, you would know!" Vinyl scolded me.

"If you didn't have the most boring plan meetings, I wouldn't have dozed off!" I shot back.

"Get ya ass moving before I put a round in it!"

"Fine!"

We somehow found the control room for this particular cell block we were in. From the signs, I gathered this was Cell Block A. In the control room were three men who were desperately trying to regain power. Well, one was actually trying to do something, the other two were simply yelling at each other.

"Are we really gonna have to use the land lines?" one shouted angrily.

"If you didn't spill your coffee, it would still work!" another yelled.

"My coffee didn't break the computers, you moron! That's just a joke in the movies!" the third one snarled.

"Put 'em down," Vinyl whispered to me.

I took a deep breath and kicked open the control room's door. They did not even have a time to react before I pulled the trigger three times. Tink! Tink! Tink! Their bodies fell across the control panel before falling to the carpeted floor. Vinyl lowered her weapon and jogged over to the large computer. 

"Neon, let us in," she said in the coms.

The computer then turned on, revealing everything about the cell block. With a few clicks of the keyboard, she brought up the security cameras in the men's side of the penitentiary. Needless to say, all Tartarus was let lose. full riot teams were blocking the hallways and inmates were being beaten down in every way possible. 

"How long will that last?" I asked.

"Twenty minutes I bet," Neon said. "Ya better hurry."

"Let's go, Akay," Vinyl moved past me. 

I followed her tightly. While my hand was placed on her shoulder, I trailed her through the prison. She most definitely knew where to go, so I kept silent and just did my duty. 

"I'm not sure which exact cell holds her yet,"Party Favor said. "It looks like you two will come across some resistance."

"Six guards on bottom level. You two are on second floor. You'll have a nice view of 'em," Neon informed us.

We opened a door and entered Cell Block B. Vinyl signaled for me to go to the left while she went straight ahead. Inmates in their still closed cells watched us with confusion. One woman was leaning on her cell door with an eyebrow raised at me.

"What's goin' on?" she asked me.

"None of your business," I snapped back and aimed my rifle at the guards below us. 

"Wait a second, you don't work here, do you?" she pestered.

"How observant of ya," I sarcastically replied. 

I looked over and saw Vinyl give me the signal to fire. I aimed and fired at the unsuspecting guards below. My first shot knocked one guard straight to the ground. Vinyl took two out before I could even take my next shot. I would say we shot about ten rounds in total in less than a few seconds. In that tiny amount of time, they were all downed.

"It's a break-in!" the women gasped and they leaned on their doors to look at us.

"We're only here for one," I said. "Don't get ya hopes up."

"Sorry to tell ya this, lasses, but I think they know they've been hacked into," I heard Neon's voice in my ear. "They've deployed two helicopters from the nearby airbase." 

"Are you serious?" I asked him.

"Oh yeah. DD and Favor are packing up. We can't get caught in the open like this. This power station has no hidin' places. I'm unlocking all doors. Ya going on blind, lass."

"Damn!" I heard Vinyl yell and gestured at me. "Let's move!"

Together, we rushed onward. The prisoners continued to watch us and yell questions at us, but we ignored them entirely. No more sneaking, no more acting, just run and gun. Since we knew Starlight was in Cell Block C, we made no stops until we ran all the way there.

Upon entering Cell Block C, we found a couple more guards to gun down. I was having mixed emotions still even though my adrenaline was spiking. So far, there had not been as many cop killing as I had expected, but my number was reaching ten guards slain. One was too much and I had bypassed that number ten freakin' times.

"Wait, if Neon unlocked all the doors-?"

Vinyl cut off my questions with a violent hush. "Don't let them hear you."

Vinyl made a sudden stop. She looked at the prisoners and then moved on. It was obvious she was checking every cell individually for our special little cracker. I tried to help, but I was not sure how Starlight looked. I knew she had purple hair, but then again, so did a lot of the inmates.

"Starlight!" Starlight?" Vinyl started to yell. "Where are ya?"

"Starlight Glimmer, it's the Sons!" I shouted in the attempt to help.

"Shut ya pipe!" Vinyl snapped at me. 

"Hello, girls!" I heard a confident voice utter from a level above us.

"That's her," Vinyl told me. "Let's get up there."

Since most normal people would take the stairs, we instead stood on the railing of the cell level and jumped to the level above us. I was a bit rusty in my climbing skills, so it was harder for me then it should have been. However, we both made it cleanly and were now standing in front of the cracker's cell.

"Wow, see you got fresh meat," the inmate smiled at me.

Starlight was a few inches shorter than me and much, much skinnier. Her purple hair with a few green highlights were tied back in one long ponytail. Her orange outfit's sleeves were rolled up, revealing a tattoo sleeve for each arm. The sleeves did not end until they reached her knuckles. She had an angled face like a fox and conniving eyes. Another with common sense would avoid this person out of safety concerns alone. Of course, the Sons had no common sense or any sense, so she was worth rescuing in our idiotic eyes.

"Here, let me get ya out," Vinyl acted like she unlocked the cell door, but in reality simply slid it open. 

"Finally!" Starlight beamed. "I was starting to think this'll never happen."

"Well, we need ya," Vinyl chuckled.

Starlight frowned. "So this wasn't because you liked me?"

"Not really..." Vinyl gave a dry laugh.

"Hehe, thanks anyway!"

"Ya not out yet, cracker," Vinyl handed her a pistol. "In case the exit is harder than the entry."

"Oh! Perfect!" Starlight took the gun.

Starlight casually walked in front of the cell next to her and happily raised the pistol, pointing it right at a scared inmate. Then she simply fired the pistol two times, killing the inmate right then and there. No hesitation, no second thoughts. I felt my mouth hang open in shock and it hung there when she giggled at the sight of the now dead woman on the floor. Even Vinyl was a bit taken off guard.

"She was an awful neighbor," Starlight shrugged. "Had a bit of a snoring problem too."

"Whatever," Vinyl huffed, "let's just get the hell outta here."

"Helicopter heading your way," Scoots said. "Gonna see you two soon!"


"We have Starlight, Scoots," I told her. "I didn't know she was so trigger-happy."

"You gave that bitch a gun?" Scoots sighed. 

"Vinyl did it!" I defended myself.

"Well, good luck then. I doubt ya biggest worry is being killed by the guards now..."

"Enough talk! "We need to leave now!" Vinyl barked. 

"I think you two are forgetting to give me something," Starlight said as she ran with us.

"Akay, give Starlight your phone," Vinyl ordered.

"But it's mine!" I protested.

"She'll put it to better use than you can. Just do it!"

I rolled my eyes and tossed my phone to her. She caught it with absolute glee. The craziness in her smile was off the charts. As we made our back through the she had her eyes glued to the electronic screen.

"Who unlocked all the cell doors, yet forgot to open them?" she asked us with a cackle. "Such laziness!"

"Star! Don't ya dare open them up!" Vinyl told her.

"But that'll give every inmate the equal opportunity to escape this place!" Starlight argued. "It's unfair just to let me be free."

"Ya jus' gonna have to live with it," Vinyl looked back at her. "In fact, ya should just lock the doors before they find out!"

"Quiet, Vinyl!" I harshly whispered.

It was too late. The inmates heard us and now swung their doors wide open. They didn't immediately attack us as they knew we were in some way on their side. However, I kept my rifle up and ready as they poured out of their cells, creating congestion in the hallways and delaying us from escaping.

"Out of the way or ya will be shot!" I warned them harshly.

Suddenly, an inmate grabbed my gun and tried to pry it from my hands. I could not even see her face clearly before I shot her. I dug the barrel into her chest and fired. Blood sprayed out and onto my uniform. As the inmate plopped to the ground, the other inmates decidedly to give us more room. 

From one cell block to another we tried to go as fast as we could. I was leading us three with Vinyl right over my shoulder and the giggling Starlight a foot or two behind her. We kept pushing and shoving inmates out of our way, threatening the lot of them that we'll shoot them without hesitation. Without the rifles, we probably would never have been able to escape them.

The final hallway to the exit was not nearly as congested as inmates who saw freedom rushed out through the door at full speed. It sounded like a true battlefield outside. When I ran out of the door and into the bright daylight, I saw that it was, indeed, a battlefield. Inmates of both sexes were on the concrete crying about their new wounds. Some inmates didn't move, so I presumed them dead. Riot squads and snipers in the towers were pinning the escapees expertly. The three of us took cover behind a vehicle to gather our thoughts.

"Scoots, where ya at?" Vinyl asked the coms.

"Be right with you!" Scoots answered.

"Where's the damn helicopter?"

"If ya outside, you should be hearing it right about now."

And we did hear it. The loud engines of the helicopter could barely be heard of the gunfire around us. I had no idea what Scoots was doing, but from Vinyl's angry expression, something was going wrong. 

"How about we wait until they run out of ammunition?" I suggested to the other two.

"That may take too long," Vinyl remarked. "We need to leave before Scoots gets here. That helicopter will-"

"Don't worry, I got the helicopter," Starlight said confidently. "All I need is ten seconds to take it down for good."

"Ugh, we still have to get to the patrol car!" Vinyl grunted.

"Alright, I'll take out the snipers, you and Starlight try to head towards the car," I told them.

"How can we-"

Vinyl didn't answer as I took off down the row of parked vehicles. I set up on a hood and aimed at sniper. He was distracted by the other inmates, so he had no idea I was his biggest threat. With one shot, he was down. I then moved on to another sniper and neutralized him in the same way. 

The third sniper noticed me. I took cover as a large round went over my head and blew a small hole in the concrete. I kept low and walked to another vehicle, hoping he could not see my movements. I peeked over the side on one car and yes, he knew exactly where I was. Another round whizzed by me, striking a side mirror completely off. I sat down then and kept my head as safe as possible.

"There's got to something to help me..." I said as I searched through my gear.

I always tried to prepare like an Assassin. I had an extra magazine, some loose rounds, two throwing knives, and some smoke pellets. I sighed in relief as my preparation paid off. I took the smoke pellets out and threw them at the ground, creating a large cloud of black smoke. I then ran back the way I came and set up immediately, aiming right at him. The sniper was looking around where the smoke cloud was, completely oblivious to my current location. That was his last mistake when I shot him.

"C'mon, Akay! Let's go!" Vinyl yelled at me.

I ran over to her and we all sprinted across the open area. The inmates were severely losing the battle, so we were easily spotted by the riot squad. We were so close now. I was scared more than ever. I just wanted to be in that patrol that instant. Every step felt like a mean trick. I just knew weren't going to actually make it. That was false hope. We were going to get caught and maybe killed, or spend the rest of our lives in this prison.

Well, the riot squad did not react fast enough to us, so we did reach the patrol car. Since we were so well-armed, they did not come for us with the zeal they had for the unarmed inmates. However. they did press towards us. They shouted at us madly. When I reached for my door's handle, I saw the armed guards rush behind the riot shields. It was going to be another gunfight, but this time we were severely outnumbered.

Then I heard the helicopter's engines as the large flying vehicle flew over us. The heavy gunfire that came with the helicopter was not pointed at us, but another familiar individual. The fiery swords of Scoots came into view as she rushed wildly at the riot squad. Shotguns sounded off in pure panic as her flaming blades sliced through the hard plastic shields with ease. Heads, arms, and entire torsos soon flew into the air. The terrible smell of burnt flesh followed almost immediately.

"Scoots! Get in with us!" Vinyl shouted.

"Busy!" she shouted back.

I said something not even I knew and went into the car. Starlight did the same as me, her face glued to the phone screen. Vinyl cursed and got into the driver seat. She stomped on the acceleration, driving us straight into the mob of guards. Blood and smoke was still rising from the mob in startling and disgusting amounts. Shotguns were sliced in half, riot shields were diced up, and the guards were mutilated. 

When Vinyl reached Scoots, she stomped on the brakes, making it swerve crazily. Scoots reacted just in time and hopped on the side of the car, hanging for dear life. As soon as she was on, Vinyl sped up again and we headed out of the prison. Starlight rolled down the window for Scoots, allowing her to climb in after sheathing her swords. We had one main obstacle left. That was the helicopter.

"Couple more seconds," Starlight told us.

Dirt and concrete spat up around us as the helicopter brought its fire down. We were reaching speeds well over a 100. I wanted to lean out and take some shots at the helicopter myself, but the speed and aggression of my driver pinned me to my seat. 

"Star! Get 'em down!" Vinyl yelled.

"Bingo!" the cracker grinned.

It was almost instantaneous. The helicopter's back rotor stopped spinning, sending the whole thing out of control. I watched it fall from the car's side mirror. It spun out and fell so fast. When it met the ground, it began to violently tumble with its momentum. It probably rolled four or five times before stopping. 

"Woo! It's so good being back!" Starlight laughed.

Vinyl high-fived and the three of them celebrated with laughs and cheers as we left the prison in the dust and fire. I was surprised we got away with it. The guards were not even pursuing us. I think I knew the reason for this. I doubted that they had enough living guards to even send after us.

We were an unstoppable army, and we could all fit inside a dumb old van. We were quality over quantity in its finest form. Finest? Heh, I'll reword that. We were quality over quantity in its most terrifying form. If we could barge in a prison and escape with this amount of ease, what couldn't we do?


*.*