• Published 17th Jun 2014
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Resident Chaos - Code: Chrysalis - ConteAmarula



Valentine and her team go out for a simple search and rescue, none of them realizing the chaos they were about to fall into.

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Is Anypony Home?

Chapter 2

Is Anypony Home?

July 24, 1998

Red Field groaned, his head was throbbing with pain and the strange angle he had fallen down on was not helping matters. Though extremely uncomfortable, the contorted position his body had landed in was not enough motivation for Red Field to move; quite content to deal with the disagreeable situation for a bit if it meant he could rest a few moments longer. Just as he was starting to consider thinking about getting up, two strong hooves grabbed him by his tactical vest and hoisted him to an upright, if slightly wobbly, standing position. One of the hooves that lifted him then clapped him on the back forcing him to stagger forward a bit.

“You doing okay Red?” his slightly brutish comrade asked.

“y-ya...just fine. Thanks, Berry. Augh, my head is killing me.” he said as he gently rubbed the troubled area with a hoof.

“The door frame didn’t do much better.” Berry said with a laugh, making to clap Red on the back again but deciding against it. Instead she opted to reach into one of her pouches and pull out a cooling patch. Bending it back and forth to release the chemicals that would cause the cooling sensation before moving Red’s hoof and placing the patch on what was a rather large lump. “Hold it there, Red.” He nooded and walked backwards till his flank bumped into the door. He let himself lean against the wooden surface while he gingerly held the cooling patch in place, sighing with relief as it took effect.

While Red Field enjoyed the soothing properties of the patch, Berry bussied herself trying to hail someone with her radio. After only a few attempts she gave up, realising that even if there was no storm there was no way a simple radio signal was going to reach HQ with all the mountains in the way. They would need the signal booster in their cart to communicate with Raccoon city.

“Report!”

With Red slightly out of it and Valentine still laying on the floor panting, Berry took it upon herself to answer her commanding officers order. “Including you and myself there is four of Alpha team members present. Both Scootaloo and Brown Sugar are M.I.A, Red is beat up slightly and Valentine is seriously out of breath.” Berry finished her report but a blank, yet somehow telling, look from Silent Shade forced her to add, “And I’m okay too. Nothing broken, lungs feel like they’re about to leap out of my chest and knock me up side the head for running that hard.” With a shrug Berry busied herself getting Valentine on her hooves.

Content with Berry’s report Silent Shade began walking around the foyer of the mansion they had just entered, clearly scanning the area for threats. Red, now feeling considerably better, took the time to take in the area himself. The size of the house from the outside suggested there was at least three floors but the sweeping double staircase that took up a majority of the room only went as high as the second. The landing, which wrapped three-quarters around the room, the stairs led to as well as the stairs themselves were supported by highly ornate white marble pillars. The floor beneath his hooves was also made of tiled marbled, though black with specs of white and gold. The walls were lined with a deep velvet-red, ornate, victorian wall paper, and upon the walls themselves hung various paintings that looked rather old. Not counting the front door there were six other doors in the area, three on the ground floor and three on the top. All six, as far as Red could tell, where made of solid wood and featured intricate carvings and a glass door knob. The grandness of the foyer was top off with a large and complicated chandelier that hung down from the ceiling, the hundreds of carefully cut crystals reflecting the light coming off an enchanted glow orb.

Red Field guessed a millionaire lived here at first, however -despite lacking knowledge of such expensive decor- he doubted even a millionaire could afford to decorate an entire mansion like this. So either only the foyer looked this good, or the owner of this house was one of the richest ponies in the world.

Though large it didn't take long for Silent Shade to personally inspect the whole area and return to his team. “The immediate area looks secure. Should be safe enough to rest here a little longer. Only entrances in at through doors so if anyone tries to enter we will hear the door and be able to react. Mr. Red Field are you feeling well enough to have a look at Miss Valentine?” cold and to the point as always Silent Shade indicated the pony in question who was still on the ground take in deep breaths.

Red Field slipped the cooling patch into a pocket and walked over to his comrade and layed down beside her. He tried several times to speak with her but when she wouldn’t respond he got to work looking her over. He checked to see if she had any wounds, specifically ones to the chest, as well as any signs of trauma that might impair respiratory systems. Satisfied that there were none to speak of Red reached into a pocket and pulled out a flashlight, gripping it firmly with his teeth. Using two hooves he held one of Valentines eyes open wide and shined the light right into it, it immediately dilated to reduce the light entering her eye, however she herself didn't seem to react. “I think shes in some state of shock. Given what just happened followed up by pushing ourselves so hard we’re lucky all of us are not like this.”

Silent Shade noded and asked, “Anything you can do for her right now? We are going to need everyone.”

Red Field nodded his head as he put his flashlight away, immediately fishing something out of another pocket. He pulled out a small bottle and carefully removed the lid, his eyes crossing slightly as he got a whiff of the contents. He then held the open bottle just under Valentines nose for a few seconds, the short time of smelling the liquid inside all it taking to snap Valentine back to reality. She immediately shot straight up and backed away, rubbing at her nose furiously with a hoof. “Gah! What the hay was that? It smells awful!”

Red chuckled. “Smelling salts, you were a bit out of it and needed a bit of a ‘kick’ so to speak, to get you up. Glad to see you’re okay,” he said, putting the small bottle away.

“Glad to be okay...where are we?” The question was not directed at anyone in particular as Valentine busied herself gazing around the room.

“I’m not sure,” Silent Shade responded. “I don’t recall there ever being a mansion in the Arklay Mountains. At least none on record.”

“Well…” Red started to say as he reapplied the cold patch to the bulge on his head. “It looks well taken care of. Even if the owners aren't home theres got to be some staff or a groundskeeper around who can lend a hoof.”

Silent Shade nodded. “My thoughts exactly. We should split up a-”

Shade was interrupted by Red FIeld. “Sorry sir. But before we do any splitting up we need to look each other over for bites or other wounds while we have the chance. Its highly likely those hounds were rabid. If thats true we need to know now if any of us have been given rabies.”

Understanding their medics request they began looking eachother over. Berry and Valentine looked one another over, and Red Field and Silent Shade did the same for each other. Satisfied they were all in acceptable condition, Shade resumed what he was saying before. “We should split up and search the grounds for somepony, or at the very least see if the house is stocked with sending scrolls so we can send for help.” Valentine made an annoyed noise at that last part. “Something wrong Miss Valentine?”

“We are supposed to be an elite squad of the best trained ponies in Equestria. And on our first mission our entire team is take out by bad weather and some dogs…” There was a brief silence as her companions realised how true her words were. Silent Shade appeared to be deep in thought, though Red knew his Captain was not concerned with how his team would look to the public, if Princess Luna decided the S.T.A.R.S unit was a mistake he would be out of the job and would have failed the ponies under his charge. Silent Shade would not take that level of failure very well. Even Berry Punch was shockingly quiet at that moment. Red Field looked at her and wished she’d crack some kind of joke.

“The night is still young. We have not failed just yet. Miss Valentine!” Valentine responded to her Captains call by standing up straight and saluting. “What happened after we parted ways?”

Valentine's expression saddened a bit but she stayed standing straight and answered with a clear, if slightly unsteady voice.“ After you left we all got into position. I heard a noise come from the woods and saw what looked to be a pony wandering around. I called to them but they didn't respond, so I approached. The pony was in bad shape and attacked me. I cant be sure but she appeared to be in a delirious state and...maybe rabid based on the animalistic way she attacked. After that w-” Valentines voice cracked slightly and she went silent a moment. Red could see she was fighting back tears as she finished her report.” W-we were attacked by the rapid animals just as you were. Brown Sugar was attacked by several and after releasing his harness was dragged away. In a panic Scootaloo took off with the cart in tow, managing to lift of the ground and fly away.”Part of Silent Shade’s left eyebrow appeared above the rim of his glasses as he raised it in a questioning manner. Catching on to his confusion Valentine quickly responded, “Yes sir, she flew away. I have no idea how she was able to pull that whole cart by herself...but she manage it somehow…”

Silent nodded. “She is a tough one, which is part of the reason I accepted her over the other candidates.” He said with a touch of respect in his voice.

Red noticed Berry give a bit of a scowl at Silent Shades compliment towards Scootaloo. He wanted to address it but his commander quickly got to business and Red was forced to leave the matter alone for the time being.

“Scootaloo is not the type to stay afraid of something for long. I think its safe to say her fear wore off after the first minute and she either dropped the carriage and headed back to the city to get help or turned around and is looking for us. We are in a tight spot but it is nothing we can’t handle. Now, we need to operate under the assumption that Scootaloo is not a factor, which means finding a way to communicate with HQ.” Everyone nodded in agreement, Red Field being the first to add to their captain’s plan.

“Judging from how well kept everything appears I think its safe to say that if there isn’t ponies here who can help, there is some manner in which anyone here could communicate with the city.”


Silent Shade nodded in agreement. “That is sound logic. Now, because time is a factor I think we should split up and search the whole house. Two on the bottom floor and two on the top. We will have twenty minutes to search, and then we will all meet back here. I am sure that between the four of us we can find something to lend aid. Before we do however we should establish what we know so far.” Shade looked at his team expectantly.

“I think its clear that a large pack of dogs has been infected with rabies.” Berry said, stepping forward. “It doesn't take a genius to figure out what’s been going on. That pack of dogs has obviously been attacking ponies, either killing them or infecting them as well. What happened with Valentine and the rapid pony I think proves that. The pack has clearly been roving the forest killing anything in its path or just making more rapid animals of the creatures and ponies they don’t manage to kill. I think thats why the deaths and disappearances have been growing. The number of rabid animals in the forest is growing freakishly quickly.”

Silent Shade nodded, but didn’t seem totally convinced by Berry’s opinion. Not that it was easy to tell what he was thinking. “While there is some logic behind what you’re saying I don’t think we can wholly rely on that theory. We narrowed out a rabid animal originally due to the scattering of bodies found and the frequency of deaths. All the best experts on animals insisted it would take dozens of animals to kill so many ponies and other animals, and that something like that has rarely -if ever- happened.” Berry rolled her eyes.

“Got a better theory, Shades?” She asked in a rather cocky manor.

Silent Shade sighed, clearly annoyed at Berry’s use of her nickname for him. “At the moment, no. I was not shooting down your theory only stating we shouldn’t act like its the truth till we have more information. If you create theories without proper evidence you inevitably begin to twist any ideas you do have to fit your theory. I am not ruling out your pack of rabid pack of dogs, as it does have some merit.”

"What ever Sherclop, shall I fetch your violin? The proof is in the pudding, Shades. A pack of dogs, who were clearly rabid, by the way, tried to bite our faces off. What more do you need?" There was a long pause between Berry’s comment and their Captain’s response. A rather awkward moment that almost, almost, made Red Field wish he was still running from the dogs instead of being in such an uncomfortable situation. Slowly the Captain turned his head away from the pink mare and addressed his other two officers, doing his best to ignore the thirds existence.

“Something else to keep an eye out for while we search is for any signs of Bravo team. With this house in such close proximity to the crash sight it’s not impossible the surviving members made their way here. Silent Shades use of ‘surviving members’ did not get past Valentine who immediately put a hoof to her mouth and gasped.

“...you mean?” she tentatively asked.

Berry placed a hoof on Valentines shoulder in a comforting fashion. Red looked to Silent Shade to give a briefing, when he didn’t make any attempts to Red Field took the liberty. “Both Jazz and Red Cherry were still in their carriage harnesses and… well if they didn’t die in the crash…” he sighed “The dogs got to them and I just pray to Celestia that they died in the crash… anyway… we also found Harvest Gold’s body not too far from there, she had been mauled to death. But there was a good number of wolves all around her, she at least put up a good fight.” Valentine slowly nodded and looked as though she was about to cry. Berry looked to be in the same position and Red could feel himself about to break down too. Things had been so chaotic none of them had gotten a chance to really absorb what had happened. Now that things had calmed down a bit the news hit them like a train. Berry pulled Red and Valentine into a hug, the two of them happily joining in. A second or two passed and Red Field felt a slight weight on his back as the fourth member of their party joined in on the hug, even the cold hearted Silent Shade needing a moment to mourn the loss of friends and comrades.

A brief moment was all they spared to grieve, the groups Captian being the first to break the hug and take action. “Valentine, you and Red Field search this floor while myself and Berry search the second floor. Stay on your floor if you can help it. We meet back here in twenty minutes, but keep up radio contact.” Salutes were given and ponies ran off. Berry and Shade disappeared behind doors on the second floor, and Valentine went through her own after giving Red a little wave.

“Well… guess that just leaves two choices for me,” he said to himself. Not wanting to waste time Red Field picked a door at random and headed through into a new area of the house. He found himself in a long hallway with an equal level of decor as the foyer. Along the right side of the hall ran several large windows, through them he could see the area in front of the house. The little light that escaped through the windows of the mansions showed that the dogs were still around. It was hard to tell in the rain and dark but it looked like there was fewer of them. Red Field hoped that was because most of them had given up on their pray and not because they were circling the house trying to find a way in.

With that thought being a possibility, Red Field quickly checked over his gun while he had the chance; making sure it hadn’t taken any damage in the fight. Checking the slide’s movement, that the hammer and trigger still functioned, and that the safety was still doing what it was meant to. Satisfied the gun would still do what it was designed for Red Field loaded in a fresh clip and cocked the gun before flicking his wrist and sending it back to its holstered position.

The hall eventually turned right and led to three new doors. Once again Red picked on at random and headed through to find himself in a large dining hall. The room was probably sixty-feet long and had an ornate wooden table that stretched a majority of the length. Above was a balcony that followed around the whole room and would give someone a view of the room from above. Redfield also noticed there was bit of missing railing from the balcony. “Well that’s a safety hazard…” he commented to no one in particular. On the other end of the room was a fireplace and another door. Red Field began to make his way to the new door but stopped part way there after noticing there was the sound of more than just his own hoof steps.

A quick glance around him showed there was no one behind him or under the long table. There was also no where in the room someone could easily hide with exception of, “The balcony…” he whispered to himself. Flicking his gun into place he turned his gaze upward to the balcony opposite to him while backing up to the wall, so no one could get the drop on him from the part of the balcony he was standing near. He waited and listened, his eyes scanning for any movement on the upper part of the room. “Hello? Is anyone there? This is Officer Red Field of the Raccoon Special Tactics And Rescue Squad! If there is anyone there me and my fellow officers are in need of assistance.” No reply greeted him other than the continued silence in the room. “This is Officer Red Field of the Spe-gah!” he began to say but was cut off by a loud noise that sent him into the air in shock and caused his ears to ring. In a panic Red Field backed away from the noise which had originated from directly behind him. He quickly turned around, gun at the ready, and found himself facing a grandfather clock. Another loud toll of the bell sounding to inform anyone listening it was ten-o’clock.

“Red! Red Field! Is everything okay?!” Valentine's worried voice cracked through the radio. Red groaned as he realised he had also shrieked in surprise, and that it had clearly been loud enough for Valentine to hear.

“Y-yeah Val… everything is super. Grandfather clock went off and scared the fur off my backside is all.”

“Copy.” was the only reply he got back. Thankful that Berry hadn’t also heard he started to head towards the door near the fireplace. Only to stop in his tracks and groan once again as Berry’s hearty laugh came through the radio.

“Of course… we’re all on the same channel…” the embarrassed stallion reminded himself.

His radio crackled again,“Oh by Luna’s wings that’s hilarious. Bit too busy right now, but I am so making fun of you for that later. I can squeeze a lot of ridicule out of this.” Choosing to ignore Berry’s comments Red Field pressed on and went through the door.

On the other side was another, if smaller, hall, though less decorative and ornate as the previous parts of the house he had seen. This part of the mansion was probably for serving staff to get around easier behind the scenes. There was also two doors near by and Red Field decided to check those out before exploring further. The first door was locked, but the second one wasn’t and led to a small bedroom.

The bedroom was lightly furnished with just a closet, low desk, and a simple bed. While it appeared to be lived in there was no personal effects or touches around the room. While its possible it was just a guest bedroom its position in the home would suggest it was for a servant to sleep in so they were near the dining hall if they were needed. The lack of any personal aspects in the room combined with the lack of ponies around in general, gave Red Field the impression that this was probably a secondary home. Perhaps some rich nobles cottage, or get-away-from-it-all place. That thought made Red frown as it meant the chances of finding someone here to help was slim; at most there might be a very small staff or a groundskeeper around to keep things tidy.

Red radioed the rest of his team about his discovery and how he didn’t think there was anyone likely around. The others expressed they had found similar lived in rooms and had come to the same conclusion.

Just to be sure there wasn’t anything in the room that could help, Red gave it a quick search. The only things of interest he found was a lab coat hanging in the closet and a file folder on the desk. The file appeared to be a security report about someone who was staying in the mansion and had apparently been causing problems for the owner. Red skimmed the report till he found an entry that mentioned some names.

..we are not sure where Grand Terrace is hiding in the mansion. However we are 100% confident he has not be able to leave the grounds. All security staff is on full alert until we find him. He is more than likely hiding in an area he did not include in the original floor plans. Please inform Sir Spice that Mr. Terrace is not a problem he has to concern himself with.

Captain Night Watch

Red Field finished reading and scratched his head, the name Grand Terrace was extremely familiar to him. Clicking on his radio he decided to ask his team, “Does the name ‘Grand Terrace’ sound familiar to anyone?” There was a short pause before Silent Shade responded.

“He was a famous architect responsible for many of the buildings in Raccoon city and had a reputation for slipping secret rooms into those buildings. He went missing many years ago after telling the press he would be busy with a personal project. Why do you ask?”

“Just found a file that mentions him working for Sir Spice. I think this place was that personal project he was talking about.”

“Sir Spice? You mean the founder of Umbrella Corp?” Valentine questioned, her voice slightly distorted through the radio.

“The file wasn’t very detailed. But there is only one Sir Spice I know of that would be so close to Raccoon city. I think it’s safe to assume Grand Terrace built this place for Sir Spice.”

“In that case be extra careful everyone.” Silent Shade sounded genuinely worried. “Mr. Terrace was also known to include booby traps in some of his buildings. Add that to the fact that Mr.Spice was well known to have been a rather paranoid individual, I think it’s safe to say we may run into some traps.”

“Copy. Over and out.” With that Red Field ended the call, feeling even more on edge than before. With the dog’s outside, having to also worry about being attacked by the house itself was not an encouraging thought.

Returning to the service hall the S.T.A.R.S member continued his search. Heading to the left brought him to a rather narrow set of stairs that led up. Wanting to leave the second floor for Silent Shade and Berry, Red Field headed off down towards the other end of the hall. This led him into a rather large kitchen, shockingly large in fact -even taking into consideration of size the house. There was at least two large frying vats, several stoves and ovens, and in the center sat a large stainless steel table. The kitchen looked like it was equipped to feed an entire office building of people as opposed to a mansion.

“Oh sweet Celestia! What is that!?” Red Field exclaimed as he covered his nose with a hoof. Whoever lived here just up and left the kitchen while in the middle of preparing for a meal of some kind. There was numerous pots on the stoves filled with food, and the table in the middle was covered in dozens of servings of food; all of it rotten. There were what must have been thousands of maggots swimming in the liquefying remains of the meals, and hundreds of flies buzzing in the air all through the massive kitchen.

Not wanting to leave an area unsearched Red Field exited the kitchen a moment to take a deep breath, before heading back in and quickly searching. He didn’t get very far before he saw a large bloody streak along the floor. Acting quickly, Red Field followed the streak across the kitchen to a corner. Laying limp and bloodied in the corner was Riches from the Bravo team. He was covered in bites and blood, and he was missing large chunks of flesh. Clutched in one of his hooves was an unopened first aid kit. Not wasting any time Red grabbed the first aid kit in his mouth and took hold of Riches vest with a hoof. Doing his best to avoid the rotting remains that spilled onto the ground Red Field pulled his comrade out of the kitchen.

Not wasting any time Red put Riches on his back and starting checking for vitals. Between the wounds and the blood, and the fact that the wounds were already festering, one might have thought it pointless to look for vitals. But Red Field just had to confirm it for himself, and after checking several times it was clear Riches was not only dead, but had been for several hours. With a sad sigh he cleaned his hooves off and clicked on his radio. “...” He was unable to find the words.

“Hello? Is someone trying to communicate?” Valentine’s voice came through the radio the moment Red let go of the switch.

“Y-yeah...its me again.”

Silent Shade responded this time, “Mr.Field, you seem to be fairly productive. What have you found now?”

“Well sir… I found Riches from Bravo team…” From the lack of excitement in his voice everyone picked up on the situation immediately.

“Collect his dog tags and if you’re able, try and find a nice place for him to stay until we can come back and get him. Don’t lose spirits everyone. If Riches made it here then I’m sure others from Bravo team did too. On another note it’s almost been twenty-minutes. Start heading back to the foyer everyone. Over and out.” After the Captain ended the call Red got to work collecting Riches’ dog tags and then wrapping him in a blanket; placing the deceased S.T.A.R.S memeber on the bed in the room he found the file folder in.

Taking only a moment to say a small prayer to the Princess’ Red Field started backtracking and making his way to the foyer. Quickly making his way back to the long hall with windows. As he walked down the hall he noticed something odd, just about every window had a several series of cracks along their bottoms. Red Field was confident they weren't like that before, though was willing to accept he might have mistook the cracks for some sort of pattern originally. Airing on the safe side he moved closer to the opposite wall and flicked his gun into place. Moving along the wall he kept a close eye on the windows, only glancing away now and again to make sure he wasn't about to walk into something.

Red Field jumped a little as he heard a dull thud against one of the windows back the way he came. He wanted to ignore it and just get to the foyer but the paranoid part of his mind suggested to him that maybe the thud was a Bravo team member banging on the glass for help. Against his better judgement Red Field quickly made his way to the windows he just past and peered out. Unfortunately with the darkness outside and the light from inside he couldn't actually see anything that might be close to the windows. A quick glance showed him that several dogs were still roaming outside the front door. Using the shaft of his gun Red tapped the glass, mindful not to break it but still doing his best to make it loud enough anyone nearby might here. “… Guess the rain must have blown something at the window…” he reasoned to himself aloud.

Red Field quickly made his way back to the opposite walls and headed towards the door to foyer. Before he got even four steps, two dogs smashed through the glass in front of him and blocked his path. Smashing through the glass had ripped their flesh to shreds; for one of the dogs their belly was sliced open and some of their guts were spilling out onto the ground. Despite the severe level of damage neither dog seemed to notice and charged Red. The S.T.A.R.S member wasted no time in firing off two quick shots, hitting both of the dogs in the head. Their bodies flew back a few feet and went limp, leaving a trail of blood and guts across the floor. Red quickly flicked on his radio “Two shots fired by me. careful on the first floor near windows. Those dogs are able to smash through.” Everyone expressed their understanding. Suddenly three more dogs smashed their way into the mansion, all three being sliced up by the glass as well, and all three landing directly in front of Red Field. With no time to take proper aim Red quickly flicked his gun away, turned, and ran the opposite direction. He heard the claws on the marble floor take chase after him, followed up by more glass smashing as more dogs entered the house. Not risking a glance back Red Field just ran as fast as he could back the way he came, opening and going through the first door he came to. A second after he closed the door three heavy weights smacked into it, followed up by growling and the sound of claws digging into wood. Panting, Red moved away from the door and dropped to the ground, once again clicking on his radio “W-we got a problem… more dogs got in. Couldn't kill them all, had to book it.”

Silent Shade was the first to answer back. “Are you injured Red Field?”

“No s-sir… just out of breath slightly. Not gonna lie, that scared the tail off me. A bunch of them just… smashed their way in.”


“Understood Red Field. Are you able to make it to the foyer? We can wait,” offered Silent Shade.

“Uh… nah. It’s okay sir. I can get back but it might take me a while. I saw some stairs before leading up. I can get to the second floor and make my way to the foyer from there. I’ll radio you all when I make it there, you can keep searching in the mean time.”

“Understood Red Field. Over and ou-”

“Be careful Red!” Valentine cut the captain off. She and the captain must have made it to the foyer because it sounded like her voice had a bit of an echo to it when she spoke.

“Will do Valentine, will do. And I’ll see you in a bit Berry. That is of course on less you found this places’ liquor cabinet.”

“Hey! I am on the job thank you very much. I am more then capable of making it through a mission without a glass of wine you smarmy faced little parasprite,” the scorned mare yelled back at him through the radio. Red Field chuckled.

“Glass? I was thinking more like bottle.” The only response he got back was an angry wave of insults.

“All right you two, knock it off. We have a job to do.” Surprisingly Valentine was the first to break up the squabble before Silent Shade.

“Sorry Valentine. Sorry Berry. See you guys later. Over and out.” Red said, quick to make himself seem the better pony - just to bug Berry even more. He figured if she was going to make fun of him later about the grandfather clock surprise he should at least take a few swings at her when he could.

“He started it!” Berry retorted.

“And I’m finishing it. Get back to work Berry Punch. We don’t have time to fool around.” This time Silent Shade handled it.

“...” an aggravated sound came through the radio, followed by a, “Yes, Sir” After that, communication stopped and Red Field took a moment to look around where he was.

“… ah… horse feathers…” he said aloud, realizing in his haste he had gone through a totally different door than before. He had no idea where he was and the continued scratching at the door told him back the way he came was still not an option.