Pinkie Pie has to reform Niko Bellic, meaning she has to live with him in the Human world/GTA world. Chaos and craziness ensue.
Niko Bellic. He was a well-known criminal in the underworld of Liberty City, but after he killed his crime bosses, he seemed to disappear entirely, only popping up here and there for a car theft or gunfight. He was the best of the best, so you can imagine his surprise when a bomb went off, and he sank to the bottom of the ocean, apparently drowning. Or at least, he thought he had drowned. When Princess Luna and Princess Celestia decide that they want to reform Niko so that he helps the world, they chose none-other than the Element of Laughter, Pinkie Pie, to do the job. While Niko tries to continue his normal life with the addition of this new companion, Pinkie shows Niko that there is something more powerful than money, crime, and death. Something that even he can muster up inside of him and use against his foes. If he survives the pony herself, that is.
In a city in America, there was a man. This man might look like anyone in the streets. He might sound like any other immigrant from over seas who had come to Liberty City in hopes of a fresh life. But he was in no way ‘normal.’
It just so happened that this man was Niko Bellic, the Most Wanted man in the jungle of industry and skyscrapers. This man had killed up to 204 men and women (and counting), stolen thousands of dollars worth of possessions of other people, and had stolen who-knows-how-many cars.
The LCPD’s Most Wanted. He is the one that every gang fears at some point in their time on the good planet Earth. They’d heard of him all the way to Los Santos. He could successfully stow a multitude of weapons, and use them all with a deadly professionalism. Master of destruction, theft, and crime of all sorts. And yet nothing could prepare him for the upcoming event that would change his life forever.
Liberty City has a million stories. And this one is almost impossible to believe.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
“Hey! My car!” A voice rang out in the twilight hours of Liberty City. Cursing under his breath, Niko revved the engine of the Infernus, taking off to one of the other vast islands of the hopeless city. A few cops were already close behind him.
Crap. The Russian thought to himself when one member of the LCPD took a wild shot. It only skimmed the mirror on the side of the car, but it was enough to make Niko drive a little faster.
Broker Bridge came into view. Making a hard right, the ex-soldier drove at top speed for the pass from Broker to Algonquin. The police, however, were intent on catching him this time. Unbeknownst to Niko, they had set a trap for him in just such this occasion.
As the Infernus sped across the bridge, a bomb was triggered. It sent the silver car flying over the side, into the waters below. The sports car sank to the bottom.
Crap, crap, crap! The seatbelt had locked shut, and wasn’t letting the criminal out. The air in his lungs was being forced out of him, and one final thought flashed through Niko’s mind.
Kate, tell Roman I can’t go bowling with him tonight.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
“He is not to be given a second chance, sister!”
“Luna, he has a heaviness in his heart. The death of a loved one. A troubled past led him to where he is now.”
“But Tia---”
“That’s enough, Sister.” The elder white Alicorn said to her younger sister. Luna humphed in annoyance.
“Fine. I called her in, so she should be ready whenever you bring him here.”
“Good.”
“WHERE’S THE PARTY?!” A voice shrieked out across the throne room. Looking up, Luna and Celestia saw a pink pony bouncing across to them. Her curly mane and tail bounced with her.
“Pinkie Pie. I’m glad you could make it on such short notice.” Celestia dipped her head at the Earth-Pony.
“Oh Princess, if you need me, I’m there in the drop of a hat. Or a cake. Or a balloon. Wait, silly! Balloons don’t drop! I mean, maybe they would with sand, but then they wouldn’t float! Would they even be balloons than? I mean---”
“Pinkie.” The pony stopped in mid-sentence.
“Sorry! Um, yes, princess?”
“He is here.” Luna nodded to something behind the pony. Turning, Pinkie found a something lying on the ground. He looked sort of like a monkey, but taller and wearing clothes. Hair covered his head, forming a beard around his mouth and chin. He didn’t move.
“Princesses, is he---”
“GASP!” The something jerked up. Breathing deeply, his eyes were closed, and he didn’t see the ponies in front of him. Finally, he felt like he was fine again.
“Sons of pigs... I was sure they had killed me… where am I?” The man finally looked up to find his surroundings. Velvet carpets lay underneath him. Vast stained-glass windows covered the walls. The roof was a high arch above him. But the strangest bit was that there were three horses in front of Niko Bellic. Well, not exactly horses. Horses didn’t have wings, or horns, and horses weren’t pink or purple.
“Mother--- what are you three?” His accented voice said sharply. Without waiting for an answer, he whipped out his only weapon on him, a small but effective pistol. He fired several rounds at the creatures, but they somehow missed their mark every time. This seemed impossible, as Niko was an expert shot, but what was stranger and even more shocking was when the gun went flying out of his hand.
“Niko Bellic!” The dark-blue horse boomed. “Look at your life. All the death you have caused. All the theft you have committed. It causes more unbalance in your world than it can handle, and it must end.”
“What will you do, kill me? I think I’m dead already, so it doesn’t matter.” He said groggily, standing up.
“No. We are not going to kill you… we are going to help you. Pinkie, can you do it? Can you reform him?”
“Wait, WHAT?!” Pinkie and Niko said in unison. Luna nodded.
“Pinkie Pie, we wonder if you can help this man become more… friendly? Peaceful? Less criminal, if you can?”
“But she is a horse! Niet, this is not real!”
“Pony!” Pinkie said to him. Then she turned to Luna and Celestia.
“Where will he stay?”
“At his house. You will stay in his world. You will… change, but you will not be hurt.”
“And my friends?”
“Princess Twilight has been informed, and you will be returned here in a few weeks.” Luna answered before Celestia could.
“And… you really think I can do this?”
We have the utmost confidence in you, Element of Laughter.” The dark-purple alicorn said.
Niko watched the pink pony’s face carefully. She pondered everything she had just been told for a few minutes, then looked up with determination on her face and an energetic grin.
“I’ll do it!”
“Then you will want to be heading back shortly. Here,” Celestia floated a pile of fabric towards the Element of Harmony.
“These are garments, made to be similar to those worn in the world on the other side of the mirror Twilight went through.” Luna explained. “Also, your Element has been given emergency powers. In the most dire of times, you can use it, but it has a limit.”
“Okie Dokie Loki!” Pinkie replied cheerfully. The Eastern-European watched the exhange between the three in bewilderment.
What the… no, I promised Kate I would cut back on my language. What in the blazes is going on here? “Now, farewell, you two. Pinkie, we have faith in you.”
“Niko, are you ready for one heckuva’ ride?” The pink pony said with a grin.
“No, wait!” The criminal pleaded. “I’m a wanted man back in Liberty City!”
“The authorities have been cleared.” Celestia said reassuringly. With that, she and her sister closed their eyes, focusing their magic on the pair. Their horns glowed as they readied a spell.
“Wait, so who the heck are you?” Niko turned to the pony.
“Oh, silly me! Forgetting my manners!” The pink pony turned and bounced up and down. “My name is Pinkie Pie!”
With that, the spell was launched, and Niko Bellic blacked out.
Niko gasped as he jerked upwards. Looking around in confusion, he realized that he was in his bed in the Middle Park East penthouse. Groaning, he pushed the covers away and stumbled into the kitchen. He then proceeded to make himself a cup of coffee. When it was done, he sighed and leaned against the counter as he sipped from the steaming mug.
“Whatcha’ doin’?” A voice asked out of the silence, nearly causing Niko to have a heart attack, and causing him to spill his coffee. Spinning around in anger, Niko was taken aback by what he saw.
Before him was a girl, no older than eighteen, probably. Her eyes were nearly an ice blue, and her skin a creamy pale. Her hair was unnaturally curly and pink, and it seemed to bounce with every step she took. Her smile was pearly white, and wider than any other smile the Russian had seen.
She was wearing a hot pink sleeveless shirt, and a pair of jeans. A scarf was artfully slung around her neck, giving her a unique look that reminded Niko of some college kids he had seen once on a job near a college. One her right shoulder was a tattoo of three balloons, one being yellow and two being baby blue.
“Who----”
“Am I?” The girl finished with a giggle. “You must have a really bad memory. Then again, your head is kinda’ small, so I suppose you wouldn’t be able to fit as much in there. Remember yesterday? My name is Pinkie!”
“Wait…. no! No, no, no, no! That HAD to have been a dream!” The criminal banged his head on the counter. “How am I going to explain a girl with naturally pink hair to my friends? I can already imagine what Roman will say…”
“Oh, who’s Roman? Is he a friend? I’d love to meet him, because I make everyone my friend if possible!”
“Roman is a friend of sorts, I suppose… but that’s not important! What’s going on? What are you here for?”
“Oh!” The girl - Pinkie, fittingly enough - said, settling down to tell her story. “You see, in MY world, called Equestria (Niko rolled his eyes at that), I’m one of six ponies who have extremely powerful necklaces called the Elements of Harmony. I’m the Element of Laughter!” She said that last part with pride. Suddenly, she dug around in her pocket and brought out a necklace on a golden chain. The gem was a sapphire in the shape of a balloon.
“It changed when I came here! Anyway, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, who are our rulers, saw that you were a big meanie-greenie, which was bad, but I mean, how nice can you be when you went on a LOOOOOOOOOOOONG boat ride, and then had to save your cousin, and make sure that no one ever hurt him, and then you do a LOT of work for bad men, and then your girlfriend died---”
The Eastern-European slammed his hand onto the marble countertop, causing Pinkie to squeak. She realized her mistake, and apologized over and over until Niko told her to continue.
“Right. Anyway, so Princess Luna and Princess Celestia saw you were being a big meanie, so when you went into the ocean, they called you to Equestria before you drowned, and then they called me to Canterlot, and now I’m going to reform you!”
Niko stared blankly at the girl as his brain comprehended everything that had just been told.
“So you’re telling me… that you’re going to stay with me… in Liberty City… until I’m ‘reformed?’”
“Well, of course! I’ll probably sleep on your couch, if that’s alright. Unless you had something else in mind?”
“What?!” Niko blushed. “No! I mean, it’s okay, but… the guest room would be nicer.”
“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie said with a grin, leaving Niko to his blushing self as she checked out her accommodations. The Eastern-European was silent for a few moments, until he finally spoke to the air.
“I need to figure out what to tell Roman.”
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Niko made Pinkie a cup of coffee as well, and they sat across from the counter. The girl had told Niko her story, and he had told her his. Now it came down to a cover-up story.
“So you’re telling me your real name is Pinkamena Diane Pie?”
“Yes indeedy!” She said with a grin. Niko sighed. He had been hoping that “Pinkie” had only been a nickname. Turns out it was, but there wasn’t anything to go on for a “real world” name.
“Well, I have to run some errands. A few days back, my sunglasses broke, and the sun on the cars here is unforgiving. It seems America thinks everything must be chrome-plated.” He got up and slid into his leather jacket. He looked back at Pinkie as he opened the door.
“Well, I don’t have all day. Come on.” It didn’t take another word. It seemed like she instantly was by his side.
“Ready and raring to go, Nicky!”
“Swear you will never call me ‘Nicky’ again.” He said through gritted teeth. The pair walked down the stairs towards the elevator that would take them to the lobby of the apartment complex.
“Now Pinkie,” Niko said with increasing ease. “There may be some bad people around the city, so be careful.”
“How bad?” She asked innocently. Images of Kate being gunned down in front of him flashed through the man’s head.
“You don’t want to know.” He replied darkly. The elevator ‘dinged’ as they reached the first floor, and the pair walked out of the elevator and through the lobby. Actually, it was more of Niko walking and Pinkie bouncing, an ability she retained despite having lost two legs.
“So what are we walking to?” She asked in her energy-filled voice.
“My car is parked just outside.” Niko replied. As they exited the building, a car came into view.
“This is my car.” The man said with pride. “I spent several hundred dollars on it.” This was a lie, as he had stolen recently. He opened the driver’s door, and then motioned for the young girl to climb into the passenger seat, which she excitedly did.
“So where are we going first, Niko? Is it a store, or a house, or something else entirely?” Her words came spilling out like a stream of barely comprehensible talk.
“I think I’ll simply pick up some new clothes at a nearby store, then we’ll head to the Burger Shot for lunch. Sound good?” He couldn’t believe he was asking for the opinion of a girl who was actually a pony from another world who had been sent to reform him.
“Sounds good to me!” She agreed. Shrugging, Niko revved the engine of his Bravado Banshee and drove away.
Usually, he wouldn’t watch his speed like he was doing now, but with this girl sitting beside him, and his past of car crashes…
“Niko, what is this thing?” Pinkie finally asked.
“I suppose in a world of horses---”
“Ponies.” The girl corrected.
“Right…” Niko rolled his eyes. “Anyway, I suppose you wouldn’t have cars. They’re made of metal, run on gasoline, and are used by people to get around.”
“And do they usually have red stains on the fronts of them?” She asked just as innocently as she had earlier. The man froze, realizing he had forgotten to go to the Pay N’ Spray to get a fresh coat and a good wash.
“Um… no. I had an… accident! Accident, yes. Someone got in the way, and I accidently hit him.”
“Gosh! She’s okay, right?” She asked in worry. The criminal thought back to the event. The paramedics had shown up, but come to think of it, she didn’t look like she was breathing.
“Um… yes. Yes, she is fine.” Niko lied again.
“Mhmm…” She squinted at the man with a frown before bursting into another grin. He found himself sweating the rest of the drive to the clothing store a few blocks from his comfortable penthouse.
“I’ll only be a second.” He said to the girl. Even with this being mentioned, she insisted on coming inside. To experience the human world, she said. Shrugging and nodding, the two went into the store.
“Welcome to Theresa’s Threads!” The clerk said with a fake grin. Ignoring her, Niko looked around, and Pinkie followed suit. While he picked out a few shirts and pairs of jeans, she payed unusually close attention to the stitchwork on the dresses and shirts around the store.
“My friend Rarity could do better, or even Fluttershy…” She muttered. Hoping the clerk hadn’t heard that, Niko brought his merchandise to the cashier.
“That’ll be thirty dollars.” She said, her grin gone now that they were paying for the clothes.
“I only have twenty-five… let me put these pants back.” He asked apologetically, walking away to put the pants back on the shelf. As he was lifting them upwards, he heard the lady mutter something.
“Stupid Russians, never able to understand our concepts…”
“Hey!” He spun around. “For the record, I’m not a Russian! I’m Yugoslavian, I was even in the God-forsaken war!” He walked up to the counter and stabbed a knife into the wood.
“And for another thing, I think for compensation of your rudeness, I shall be taking these clothes for a heavy discount, of about… 100% off.” He picked up the outfits and opened the door.
“Hey, you can’t do that! My superiors will kill me!” She pleaded.
“You should have thought about that BEFORE you insulted my country or origin.” He said darkly, pushing out into the Liberty City air.
“That wasn’t very nice.” Pinkie said sternly to Niko as they got in the car.
“Well neither was she.” He replied. “Besides, there’s apparently a policy at these American stores where you have to be ‘nice’ to the customers. Unfortunately, nobody in this mudhole of a city seems to know manners.”
“I noticed that, actually.” Pinkie looked over at Niko as he began the drive to Burger Shot. “Everyone on the roads seemed to use bad words against everyone else, but I haven’t heard you swear once. Why’s that?”
Niko exhaled softly and looked at Pinkie. The girl noticed an instant change in his eyes. It almost seemed as if the anger had been entirely swept away and been replaced with… sadness? Pain? Loss?
“A few months ago, around six, I’d say, I was dating a girl… You know about her. Kate was her name, Kate McReary. How she hated when I’d swear. If I’d get in a fight or swear at someone, she would refuse to talk with me or go out with me for weeks…” He regained a bit of his composure.
“Anyway, when she… died, I decided to keep my promise, and I swear as little as possible. For her.” Looking over, he found Pinkie crying, but with a grin on her face. Not a goofy grin, but a smile that showed approval in it.
“You’re probably the nicest person I’ve ever met.” She sniffed. “Actually, you’re the first person I’ve ever met, but still. I know lots of stallions in my world who wouldn’t dream of doing that for anypony.”
“Thanks, I think.” He smiled softly, then put on a grin. “Now, off to Burger Shot. Sometime, I’ll make you a TRUE meal, but this place is decent enough… for American food.”
The ride continued for a while, as Niko wanted to drive through Broker, but they finally pulled up to the Burger Shot.
“I’ll treat you to a Bleeder.” He offered. As they got into the store, however, Niko instantly regretted ever going out with Pinkie in the first place.
“Cousin! I was not expecting you to be here of all days!”
Niko groaned as Roman pulled him into a hug. Usually, he would be happy to see his only remaining family (apart from his father and uncle, but he never wished to see them again without a bullet in their heads) randomly like this, but not today. Of all days, they ran into each other TODAY.
“Cousin, what are you doing in Broker? I know you have an apartment here, but wouldn’t you rather stay at your pent house?”
“Yes, Roman, but I’m showing my friend here around.” Niko sighed and moved so that Pinkie could see Roman face-to-face. Pinkie drew in a huge breath.
“So you’re Roman? Niko’s told me all about you! How you bought him an apartment, and helped him climb up the ladder of power, and how you got married, and everything!”
“Niko, I see this one is a bit of a chatterbox! What’s her name?”
“Oh, I’m---!” Niko covered her mouth with his large hand, searching his mind for a name that sounded more normal.
My full name is Pinkamena Diane Pie… “Diane! Her name is Diane!” He said finally, removing his hand.
“What? My name’s Pinkie!” She exclaimed. Roman looked at Niko with a confused face.
“Nickname. Because, you know…” He gestured to her hair.
“Oh! Well, a pleasure to meet you, Diane… or Pinkie, whichever suits you.”
“Call me Pinkie!” The girl shook Roman’s hand heartily. Laughing, the Serbian man looked over at his cousin and friend.
“I’m just surprised, Niko. Finding another girl, so soon after Kate…” When the fist connected with his face, Roman’s surprise was so sudden and so obvious that Niko could almost hear his mind wondering what had hit him.
Looking over, he saw it was Pinkie’s fist.
“Listen here, Mister Roman,” She looked down on him, reaching out for his hand. “Niko is your cousin, and you should be nicer to him by not saying things like that to him.” Roman looked bewildered at how this girl was acting.
“And another thing,” She frowned harder. “I am not his girlfriend! He’s trying to be faithful to Kate, not find someone else to fill her place. I find that very respectable, and you should feel the same way. Do we see eye to eye on this?” She had thrust her face into his, and he simply nodded, still confused. She frowned for a minute before grinning again.
“Glad to see we have an agreement!” She hummed to herself as she found an open table. The Serbian looked at his Yugoslavian cousin.
“She’s a bit of a crazy one, but I think she has a good heart.” He said simply. Shakily, Roman stood up and sat down at the table across from Pinkie, who acted as if the previous moment had never happened. Everyone stared at her nervously, as if she was a ticking time bomb.
“So, Pinkie… do you like to go bowling?”
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
“Strike!” Pinkie shouted again. Roman cursed under his breath, comparing Pinkie’s so-far perfect score to his, the latter being riddled with spares, gutterballs, and splits.
“I see you have finally met your match, Roman.” Niko chuckled, whistling as Pinkie got yet another strike, winning her third game.
“I’m getting sick of bowling. Hey Niko, you want to go to the mall or something?”
“Since when do you want to go to the mall?” The Yugoslavian asked his cousin.
“Since when do I invite someone to go bowling and lose to a perfect score?” He shot back.
“Aw, it wasn’t perfect!” Pinkie bounced up. “I mean, I did get a score of 300, but I think I might have gotten a foul somewhere along the line. Oh wait, isn’t that machine telling us if we got a foul or not? Never mind, it was perfect! But it was so much fun, we HAVE to do this again!”
Roman grumbled and led them all out to Niko’s car, in which they had driven to the bowling alley in Broker.
“So Cousin, what is it about her? I’ve never met someone with so much energy, especially here in the city. And on the way here, when we spoke a bit in Serbian, she replied to us perfectly. I doubt someone from the Old Country would feel so upbeat. Even when we’re happy, it’s weird…”
“We are survivors, Roman.” Niko pulled his cousin closer as they watched Pinkie in the back seat. “When we smile, we help our memories of the countries now torn by war. When we cry, we are regretting everything we did to ruin it’s image. Unlike our fathers, we care for our home. That is what makes us the people we are.”
“I… I like that, Cousin.” Roman laughed a bit before running to the car and getting into the passenger seat, signaling for Niko to drive them to a new destination. Smiling, the ex-soldier obliged.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
“That was a fun day!” Pinkie breathed, flopping onto the couch with her eyes closed. Niko chuckled and sat in a chair nearby.
“I haven’t had that much fun since Kate…” He struggled. “Since Kate…”
“Passed away?” Pinkie finished for him. He nodded, and took a deep breath.
“Tell me to stop if I get too annoying for you.” He looked up. “Kate made me a better person. When I was around her, I did everything in my power not to slip into my old habits. When she passed away, I sort of slipped back a ways. That’s what got me killed, and got you into this mess.”
“Yes-in-deedy!” She said with energy gushing from her voice. “Man, you’ve done a lot of bad things, from what I understand, but the princesses wouldn’t tell me any of your crimes. Could you tell me some? Like, the top five that you repeat?”
Niko was taken aback. You don’t usually tell another person what crimes you had committed. Finally seeing no harm in telling the girl, he listed them off.
“Let’s see. I stole cars. A lot. Sometimes I would steal dozens in a day.”
And I still do, sometimes. He thought to himself.
“Anyways, I also would rob stores, get some money. Maybe 20 or 30 dollars. Once I robbed a bank with Kate’s brothers, but that’s another story entirely.” He briefly thought about the death of Michael before returning to Pinkie.
“I killed people. Lots of people. It’s one of the things I regret, there are just so many people in this city, most of them don’t deserve to die.”
“And what about the authorities? What about them?” Pinkie asked. Niko leaned back, racking his brain for a way to explain this.
“You see,” he began, “The police here are not very good. They’re cruel, preferring to shoot everything rather than handle them in a cool, collected manner. I’ve seen innocent people taken to prison for nothing whatsoever.” Pinkie gasped.
“I can’t believe it! Those guys need to be taught a lesson in manners!” She suddenly covered her mouth.
“Sorry, that was so unlike me.” She apologized. “They do sound like big meanies, though.”
“You are not wrong, and I believe I’ve done just such a thing to most of them.” Niko sighed.
“You did? How?” The girl’s white face stood out dramatically against her vibrant, hot-pink hair, making her stare stick out all-the-more. The Yugoslavian suddenly realized that he was sweating.
“N-Nothing too serious. They were sent to the hospital, but I’m certain they lived. Positive.”
Why does this girl scare me so much? She seems so… unpredictable. Like she could flip personalities on the flip of a dime. “Okie dokie lokie, then!” She stood up and yawned. “Well, it’s late, I’m going to bed. G’night, Niko!” She skipped to the guest room and shut her door after her. Niko sighed and walked over to his own bedroom.
That night, for the oddest reason, all he could think of was the girl sleeping in the other room, worried for the oddest reason as to what she was capable of doing.
Niko awoke after a troubled sleep. In his dreams, every turn somehow put him face to face with the girl’s glare, a look which sent shivers down the Yugoslavian’s spine. But when he awoke, he realized it was only a dream.
There is no way that she would hurt me somehow. Right? He shook his thoughts away as he smelled… bacon? And eggs, and something else, something that reminded him of staying with Roman and Mallorie for a night. Could it be…?
“Niko! Come and get your pancakes!” Pinkie called. The man scrambled out of bed like when he was a boy, running into the kitchen and dining room area. Pinkie Pie herself was scrambling eggs, making bacon, and flipping the fluffy circles of breakfasty goodness.
“How did you do this without me knowing?” He asked. “In fact, how did you know where everything was?”
“Oh, it’s easy! I found a bit of powder on the cupboard door with the pancake batter, eggs in the fridge, and this ‘bacon’ of yours. I don’t know what it is, but it smells delicious!” She sniffed the air wafting from the sizzling pieces of meat. Sighing with a grin on her face, she flipped the pancakes and pieces of bacon onto two plates, then scraped even amounts of egg on the side.
“Eat up!” She said gleefully, before whipping a piece of bacon into her mouth before Niko could stop her. His face twitched as she pondered the flavor. A smile burst on her face that was so wide and bright, Niko was blinded for a moment.
“Mmmmmm!!!” She licked her lips. “Oh my Celestia, this is the best thing I’ve ever tasted! What’s it made out of?” Niko was about to tell her (hesitantly, of course) the answer before she hushed him.
“Never mind, it’s not important. All I need to know is if I can get more of it somewhere!” Niko nodded and explained supermarkets to her.
She doesn’t need to know where they came from. Considering she was pink and a pony, I wouldn’t be surprised if she ate bacon, but just in case pigs are sapient as well… Niko ate in silence while Pinkie shoveled food into her mouth and talked. Any other person would have been annoyed to no end, but compared to some of the slobs of soldiers the Yugoslavian had met in the war, this was nothing.
Just as they had finished washing off their plates, Niko’s cellphone rang. Excusing himself, the man answered.
“Hello?”
“Niko, cousin!” Roman’s voice came through the speaker. “Mallorie and Kate and I wanted to go to the park today, and we were wondering if you and Diane would like to come?”
“You can call her Pinkie, and I will see if she wants to. If she does, we’ll meet you there.”
“Excellent, excellent!” Roman laughed merrily. “We will be at Meadows Parks, be there at 3!” With that, the Serbian hung up.
“What was that about?” Pinkie asked, nearly scaring Niko out of his skin. He briefly wondered how she was able to sneak up like that, before explaining.
“Well, Roman invited us to spend the afternoon with his family. Do you want to go?”
“WHAT?” The girl gasped. “He has a FAMILY? Of course I want to go!” Niko laughed before looking at the time. It was around 11:30 AM.
“Well, we have a few hours, I think I’ll go on the internet for a bit. Maybe I can find a job or two.” He walked over to his laptop and logged on to Craplist, simply browsing through the jobs list.
“What’s the internet?” Pinkie asked after a while. He looked up.
“The internet is… well, it’s a bunch of signals shooting through the air, carrying data that can be shown on computers like these.” He gestured to his laptop. “People use it daily, now. You can post job requests, sell things, contact people, and much more.”
“Oh! So it’s like newspapers that travel through the air?” The girl asked, causing Niko to laugh a bit.
“Yes, you could look at it like that.” Without a word, she grabbed the laptop from his hands, pressing her face against it like she was a child next to a shop window.
“Derpy! Are you in there?” She called. Obviously, the laptop made no response. Pinkie looked the device all over before setting it down with a pouting face. The look took Niko by surprise, compared to how she was usually so perky… that, or being downright intimidating.
“Who is this… Derpy?”
“Oh, Derpy was our mailmare in Ponyville.” She sighed at the memory.
“So… you are homesick?” Niko guessed, to which Pinkie nodded. Sighing, he awkwardly pulled her into a hug. He wasn’t good at comforting people, but he decided to do his best, if he could.
“Don’t worry, Pinkie. I’m sure that they miss you as well, and will throw you a party or something when you go home.” She sniffed and looked back at him with a smile. Smiling back, Niko looked at the clock. The time made him jerk from the hug.
“Crap! We have to go!” He dashed out of the penthouse, with Pinkie close behind. The pair ran out of the building and jumped into the Banshee out front, buckling and speeding away. As the whizzed through the streets of Liberty City, Niko glanced at the girl who wore a grin on her face, sticking her head out the window. Her energy seemed to be getting to him, and he put on a smile as well.
It was an unusually sunny day in the park. The Mayor had finally fulfilled his promise of getting a clean-up team to all the parks in the city, so there was very little trash on the grass. The fountain was working perfectly, and the Monoglobe stood proudly in the center of the pond, despite it being rebuilt recently after an Asian gang destroyed it.
Niko chuckled to himself at Pinkie’s awe at the giant structure. As the two walked closer, the Eastern-European saw his cousin, sister-in-law, and niece, the latter playing around the water. At least, he felt like they were his sister-in-law and niece, due to Roman being like a brother to him.
“Hey Roman, how are you doing?” Mallorie said as she pulled the Yugoslavian into a hug. Then she noticed the girl standing nearby, with stars in her eyes at the sight of the globe.
“And who’s your friend?” She asked in curiosity. Niko grimaced at having to explain Pinkie again.
“Mal, this is…”
“I’m Pinkie Pie! Well, Niko say’s my name is Diane, but you can call me Pinkie!” The girl herself interrupted. Looking over, Niko found her kneeling and speaking to none-other than Little Kate.
Kate was Roman’s and Mallorie’s daughter. Shortly after killing Jimmy Pegorino, Niko had been called by Roman, saying that his Puerto-Rican wife was pregnant, and promised that if it was a girl, she would be named Kate. True enough, they had been given a daughter, and she had become more like Kate every day since she had been born.
The girl’s eyes lit up at Pinkie’s hair, and she unexpectedly hugged the teen, who returned the favor.
“It seems your friend and Kate are already friends!” Roman laughed. Mallorie smiled as well, and, well, Niko couldn’t help but smile with them. Kate was looking more like Mallorie every day, but her personality was reminiscent of Niko’s late girlfriend. She always seemed to have a positive outlook on everything, even for a six-year-old.
“I think she likes me!” Pinkie giggled, scooping up the girl in her arms, which elicited a squeal of delight from the girl.
The group sent the rest of the afternoon there, enjoying the summer light. In the 80s and 90s, Liberty City often had been full of rain. Nowadays, however, sunshine and clear skies were much more common. None of them noticed the black car that watched them.
“Is that her?”
“Yeah, her description matches the one the boss gave us.”
“So she’s got to get whacked. It’s a real shame, she’s so young.”
“Keep it down, numbskull, we don’t want her to hear us.”
After a few hours, the group decided to call it a night. As they walked to their individual cars, Roman walked closer to his cousin.
“Ah, Niko. Today was nice. We never would have been able to do this with Pegorino alive. I guess I’m trying to say thank you.”
“I didn’t do it for the good of the city, Roman.” Niko said with a sigh. “I did it for Kate. But you can’t thank me, because if it hadn’t been for you, I would never have been able to catch up to him.”
“Still, it is nice, not having to worry about any piece of crap trying to shoot us at every opportune moment.”
Suddenly, a black Buffalo roared up, and the window rolled down to reveal the barrel of an assault rifle.
“Oh no…” Niko muttered, before whipping around and covering Kate. Roman got in front of Pinkie and Mallorie just before the bullets ripped from the muzzle. In an instant, the vehicle was gone again.
“You јебачи!” Roman yelled angrily. “Ја ћу те убити и пошаљите ваше крваве остатке вашим породицама!”
“Cousin! This is not the time, I think something’s wrong with Kate!” Niko shouted. The color drained from Roman’s and Mallorie’s faces, and they rushed to the Yugoslavian’s side. Kate’s breathing was shallow and raspy, and her eyes were completely out of focus.
“We need to call an ambulance! NOW!” Roman roared. Niko pulled out his cellphone, dialing and waiting for the receptionist to pick up. Every second seemed like an instant, until the woman on the other end finally picked up.
“Liberty City Emergncy Services, state your business.”
“There is a little girl here in Meadows Park, and she might be injured! We need a paramedic over here now!” Niko shouted angrily, taking the woman by surprise.
“R-Right away, sir. An ambulance is being dispatched to your current location!” The call ended, and the man rushed to his niece’s side.
“Stay with us Kate! Please, don’t leave! Not again…”
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
The doctor entered the waiting room, causing Niko, Roman, Mallorie, and Pinkie to all stand up at the same time. Niko had noticed that Pinkie’s hair was flatter now, almost straight.
“How is she?” Roman asked worriedly.
“She is fine, Mister Bellic. For a drive-by shooting, she was lucky not to be hit.” The doctor folded his glasses and put them in his pocket.
“No, she is only suffering from shock. It’s temporary, and she’ll be fine by the end of the week.
“Good, good! My baby girl should never be put through something like that!” Mallorie seethed.
“Actually, only one person in your group was hit at all. Miss, may I see your arm?” The doctor reached out for Pinkie’s arm, who reluctantly gave it to him. There was a wound in the flesh, nothing to deep, but still bleeding a deal.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Niko asked. She looked like she was about to cry.
“Kate needed help more than me! It doesn’t even hurt!” She sniffed, wincing as she realized the doctor was wrapping gauze around the wound.
“Keep that bandage clean, and you should be fine around the same time Kate will be. But it would seem, if only you got hit, that they may have been targeting you.” The man’s clear eyes seemed to bore into the girl.
“What? Why me?” She asked in shock.
“I don’t know, miss, but I do know that in this city, if anyone targets you, you had better know how to take care of yourself.”
“I will protect you, Pinkie. Trust me, I’ll find out who’s after you.” Niko said reassuringly. Pinkie nodded. Satisfied, the doctor led them all to Kate’s room.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
“Well? Is she dead?”
“No, boss. It was in an instant, but when we saw who she was with… oh God…. it was that Niko Bellic guy, the one who took out Pegorino. We had to get out of there, and fast.”
“Interesting.” Teal eyes flashed. “It seems that our target has made a powerful friend. I believe that the playing board just got a little more interesting…”
As Niko and Pinkie got in the car, he immediately noticed that her hair had miraculously gone back to it’s standard poofiness. Seeing that Kate was alright seemed to cheer her up a deal, as she was back to grinning.
“Where to, then? The house?”
“Actually, no. I think there’s somewhere we need to go first.” Niko felt his pocket. His pistol was still there. He always carried it around with him, even if he didn’t intend to cause any trouble.
“Where…?”
“You’ll see.” With that, they drove away.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
“Where are we?” Pinkie asked in curiosity. He couldn’t blame her, this part of the subway wasn’t very well known.
“This is an abandoned section of the subways. I found it when I was exploring one day.”
“Should we be here?”
“...No.”
“Oh, good!” Her attitude was strange for someone who had just found out that they were illegally in the subway, but Niko brushed it off. In the few days he had known her, he realized that Pinkie was a bit… different, to say the least.
He pulled out his pistol and showed it to Pinkie, who looked confused.
“What’s that?”
“We call it a pistol. It’s a gun, like the one that tried to… to shoot you.” He answered, holding it out. “I use it for self-defense. If a gang member tries to kill me, I kill him first. It’s the way of life here.” Pinkie’s hair deflated a tiny bit again at that. He sighed, and crouched in front of her (She was sitting on a box).
“Listen, Pinkie. This city is not very friendly. Neither are the people who live in it. I need you to please try to listen to me, for your own good.” She nodded, and he smiled.
“With any luck, you won’t have to use this information in the near future.
Niko showed the girl how to click the safety on and off. How to load the gun. How to check the ammunition. How to cock it back. Finally, he was teaching her the proper way to shoot a gun.
“Hold it out like this.” He positioned her arms so that she was holding out the gun, pointing at a bottle that the Yugoslavian had gotten from one of the many hobos who lived in the subways. She was trembling at the feeling of the cold metal.
“Breath in. Breath out. Let the weapon become part of yourself.” She nodded tensely, breathing in and out, releasing some of that pent-up stress. She clicked the safety off, readying the gun to fire.
“See the gun?” She nodded. “That’s your target. Focus on nothing but the target. Do you have it?” She nodded again, and he removed his hands from her arms.
“Now fire.”
“What?”
“Fire!” Without a word, Pinkie let out a single bullet, dropping the weapon immediately after the bang had sounded through the subway tunnels and the bullet had been ripped loose from the barrel.
Niko had expected a nick, maybe. The bullet more likely would have sailed through the subway tunnels until it hit a wall. When he looked, the bottle that he had placed for a target was completely shattered. His mouth hung open in awe.
“Did I do good?” She asked worriedly, shaking the man from his stupefied state.
“Um… yes.” He chuckled. “Yes, you did fine, Pinkie. Come on, let’s do it again.”
They fired the gun multiple times. Pinkie’s hair was regaining it’s inflation, and she soon became deadly accurate with the weapon. He felt proud for some reason. Which was odd, as he had only known the girl for a few days now.
“So…” She panted. “Am I ready?” Niko looked at her with a hard stare, then broke into a huge grin that rivalled her own.
“Pinkie, I believe you’ll make it here in the city!” He clapped her on the back, and they trekked back to the station they had parked their car by.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
“So, what do we do now?”
“Well, I believe it is about time we begin tracking down your attackers.” Niko answered with a sour face. Pinkie nodded knowingly. Shifting into gear, they began driving to an old friend of the Yugoslavian’s.
Pinkie watched the street signs. Many of them said “Airport,” until they finally reached a large building. A sign said “Francis International Airport.”
“What’s this place?” The girl asked, squeaking as a roar sounded. Turning around to face the beast, Niko pointed to the sky. Looking up, a great metal bird soared into the blue above.
“What the heck is that?” She asked.
“That was an airplane. A jumbo jet. This is an airport, where people get into those airplanes and fly around the world.”
“And anyone is allowed to fly in this world?” She asked curiously.
“Well, mostly anyone. Unless you have the police on your tail, but most people don’t. It’s… usually just me.” He frowned for a second before brightening. “But we aren’t here for the police! We’re meeting an old friend of mine, who is returning to Liberty City!” They exited the car and walked into the massive building. People bustled around the structure, carrying bags and suitcases.
“Where is he… there!” Niko pointed to a lone man with a suitcase that stood across the main room. The Yugoslavian ran towards him, and nearly tackled him. The man laughed and pulled the ex-criminal into a hug.
“Packie McReary! How has Los Santos been treating you, my friend?” Niko laughed as they pulled apart.
“Ah, same old crap, y’know how it goes. I found a few guys who would hire me for a job now and again, but I can tell you about them later.” He looked around the man at Pinkie.
“I, uh… see you have a friend.”
“Oh! Packie, this is Pinkie. Pinkie, this is Patrick McReary. He… was Kate’s brother. He introduced us.”
“Pleasure to meet you!” Pinkie extended a hand, which Patrick took and shook warmly. The trio then exited the airport and entered Niko’s car, with Pinkie in the back and Patrick beside Niko.
“So how’ve you been, Niko?” The Irish man asked as they drove away.
“I’ve been better. Roman and Mallorie had their girl, Kate. It was an honorable tribute to your sister.”
“Ah… um, remind me to thank them next time I see them.” The newcomer fell silent for a few moments before twisting around in his seat.
“So… Pinkie. Interesting name.”
“I’m apparently an interesting person!” She beamed, making Packie smile a bit.
“I believe it. This numbskull ain’t been giving you a hard time?”
“Nah, Nicky’s been nice enough to let me stay at his house!” A guffaw of laughter erupted from the Irish man’s mouth, much to Niko’s annoyance.
“I thought we agreed never to call me that again.” He said through gritted teeth to his companion.
“Sorry!” Pinkie apologized, though she was laughing too. Patrick tried to regain his composure.
“Lighten up, will ya’? It’s kind of cute… that she… calls you…. Nicky!” He burst into laughter all over again, and Niko contemplated how scarred Pinkie would be if he shoved Packie out of the car as they crossed Broker Bridge.
“Ooh! Niko! We’re back!” Pinkie’s voice broke Niko out of his thoughts as they pulled up to Niko’s penthouse. The Eastern-European pounded his forehead with his fist.
“Sorry, Packie! I forgot, you wanted me to drop you off in Dukes!”
“Nah, man! I can call a taxi from here.” Patrick got out of the passenger seat, and looked back at his friend.
“Niko. It was great seeing you, man. There were some real weirdos in Los Santos, and it’s good to be back!” He then ran off down the street, whooping about being home. Niko smiled at his friend.
“Is he always that crazy?” Pinkie asked.
“Crazy? Nah. Energetic? That’s Packie McReary for you.” He unbuckled and got out of the car, followed by Pinkie Pie. Together, they walked back into the apartment.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
“Pick up, pick up.” Niko muttered. Finally, a voice came through.
“Cousin!” Roman growled. “It’s 1 A.M. What could be as important as sleep?”
“Patrick’s back in Liberty City.”
“Packie? Packie McReary? Why didn’t he come visit me?”
“He’s visiting his family, Roman. Give him time to adjust to Liberty City again. In the mean time, contact some of your usual people. We need to find who’s targeting Pinkie. Not for her sake alone, but for Kate’s.”
“Your determination and will is honorable, Cousin.” Roman sighed. “She’s getting better, and should be out of the hospital tomorrow. But we can’t let this maniac hurt her, for real this time. We must catch whoever it is.”
“And we will, Roman.” Niko hung up. “And we will…”
Niko awoke the next morning to find that after the call he had made to Roman, he had passed out on his couch. Yawning, he got up and found that Pinkie was still asleep, which was odd for a girl like her at 10 AM. “Pinkie?” He gently shook the snoring girl. “Pinkie, what do you want for breakfast?” “Mmmm… no…” Her face twisted in her sleep, and Pinkie began to mutter. Niko shook her again, and she lunged at him, holding the gun he had left with her against his head.
“P-Pinkie! It’s me! Niko! Your friend!” He said urgently. The fire in Pinkie’s ice-blue eyes faded, and she trembled as she realized what she was doing. She threw the gun onto her bed, and sat and cried. Niko instantly was at her side, his arm around her shoulders.
“What’s wrong?” He asked gently, though he knew the answer. He knew it too well. Pinkie sniffed and looked at him with her innocent eyes.
“Ever since those guys tried to shoot us… I’ve been having nightmares… they keep getting worse…” She began to cry again, and Niko gently hugged her. He didn’t rush her. He simply let her get through this on her own time.
“Each night, I dream that I’m being chased by those men. And I’m always defenseless… but after yesterday, when you taught me how to use a gun, I was able to dream one up, and… I don’t want to kill anyone, Niko. I just want to go home. I mean, I love staying with you, and you’re a really nice guy and a good friend, but this world is all too… dark? Depressing?”
“...15 men, Pinkie. That was the people in my unit. Twelve of them died. The only survivors were me, and two men. Florian Cravic and Darko Brevic. Darko betrayed my unit to the enemy, and for nothing more than a few hundred dollars. I witnessed more atrocities than I can count, and it’s made me the bitter man I am today. And the worst part? I couldn’t even pull the trigger to shoot him!” He kicked the bed, shaking it, and making Pinkie Pie jump. Then he sighed.
“I am who I am because of the war. Without it, I wouldn’t have been able to protect Roman on several occasions. I wouldn’t have been able to survive.” When the man looked down, he saw the girl was no longer crying. The look in her eyes was full of pride.
“That’s really inspirational, Nicky. Thank you.” She hugged him without warning before getting up and leading the way to the kitchen. Without a word, she began gathering the things to make pancakes. Again.
“So what are we going to do about those guys?” She asked as she poured the powder into a large bowl.
“I’m going to call a few people I know. Maybe there is some information in the underworld.”
“So like Tartarus?” She asked again. Niko simply gave up and nodded.
“Oh! Well, then I know just what to do. Don’t worry about me, we just need to find those guys and make sure they don’t try anything. They could have hurt Kate really badly!”
The two ate their breakfast in silence. Niko kept replaying the scene from before in his head. Pinkie had been so smooth with the weapon… had she had any experience with something like that before?
Impossible. I saw their world, there is no way they had the intentions or resources to create such weapons. He scoffed. But still…
“Niko?”
“Hm?” He looked up and realized she had asked him something.
“Can we bring some guys along?”
“Oh, sure. My other friend Little Jacob is in Vice City, visiting his great uncle. I suppose we’ll get Roman and Packie, then.”
“I’ll clean up, tell them to be waiting for us!” She hummed to herself as she put away the pots and pans and pancake mix. Going into the living room, Niko dialed up his cousin.
“This is Roman Bellic! Who’s on the line?”
“It’s me, Cousin.”
“Niko! What’s going on?” The Serbian said with a voice of mirth.
“Pinkie and I are going to investigate those shooters. Are you interested in joining us?”
“Of course I am. Those guys could have killed Mallorie or Kate. I don’t want that happening again. Pick me up in an hour or so.” The phone clicked, and Niko though about how protective his cousin was over family. It was quite admirable.
Next, the Yugoslavian called Patrick. The Irishman picked up immediately.
“Hey Nicky! What’s shaking?” There was a burst of laughter on the other end, which made Niko roll his eyes.
“Packie, Pinkie and Roman and I are going to investigate a few shooters who nearly shot us. They tried a drive by the other day, and nearly shot us. They grazed Pinkie, and gave Kate a bad case of shock…”
“I’m in. I won’t stand for another Kate to die a death like that. Get me whenever. We have to get to the bottom of this.” The Irish hung up, and Niko closed his phone.
“That’s settled.” He said to the teen behind him. “Roman and Packie said to grab them whenever was possible.”
“Well, I’m all cleaned up, so why don’t we leave now?” She wiped her hands on her jeans and they walked all the way to the car together. They got in the car, and the Eastern-European revved the engine to drive into the streets.
Roman was a bit difficult to pick up. He had decided to grab a quick game of bowling while he still could, and had neglected to tell his cousin.
“Hey, who said we wouldn’t have time for a game before looking for the shooter?”
Patrick, however, was much easier to find. Pinkie asked her friends why.
“He’s either with his mother in Dukes, or visiting his brother in Alderney State Correctional Facility.”
He was at the latter. The trio found him walking down the sidewalk from the facility. It was raining hard when they pulled up next to him. The man looked over at the car.
“Hey Patrick, ready to go?”
“Hey, I’m always ready. Let’s roll!” He climbed into the back seat of the car and slammed the door.
“How’s Gerry doing?” Niko asked his friend. Patrick merely shrugged.
“He’s a bit upset at me for not visiting for a few years.”
“Understandable.” Roman interjected.
“Um… guys?” Pinkie asked. They all faced forward.
“Yes, Pinkie?”
“Isn’t that the car that those guys were in?” The four directed their attention to the car Pinkie was talking about. Sure enough, it was the same one. The driver seemed to have noticed them as well, and he started to drive off.
“Don’t let that dog escape, Niko! Step on it!” Roman shouted. Without a word, Niko hit the pedal, and the chase was on.
“Niko, you maniac! You’re going to get us killed!”
“Nonsense, Roman. I have complete control.”
“Says the man who spends thousands of dollars at the hospital every week!” The Serbian retorted. The car carrying the four people was speeding down the street in hot pursuit of the black car that had shot at them in the recent past.
“I’m calling the cops. Sorry, Niko, I know you aren’t exactly best of friends with them, but I’m going to try to keep a cleaner record now than before.” Patrick said quickly, pulling out his cellphone.
“You do that, maybe they can cut these guys off.” Niko growled through gritted teeth. The three men had blocked out Pinkie’s voice, as all she was doing was shouting obscene things and trying to direct them (Right! No, no! Left, LEFT! YOU MEANIES!).
“Damnaigh!” Packie cursed in Irish. “The cops claimed they were ‘busy,’ though I’m pretty sure I heard mentions of doughnut breaks in the background.”
“Ugh.” Niko groaned. “Typical Americans.”
“They aren’t bad, I have to admit---DRIVE! WATCH IT!” Roman screamed. The car swerved as Niko narrowly avoided hitting a cop car. Without a moment’s notice, the sirens began to blare, and the lights were flashing as the car and two more joined the pursuit.
“Well, looks like the cops did join us!” Pinkie exclaimed, her light-blue eyes bright with the thrill of the chase.
“Not… helping!” Packie hissed.
Pinkie Pie’s POV ~~~
Oh my word! The thrill of the chase! The smell of the gasoline! It’s all so… energizing! I’ve been to quite a few parties in my life time, but this makes those pale in comparison! Even the one with Cheese! But anyway, we were chasing the black car, I think it said a Sentinel on the back, but whatever!
“Hey! Watch the road, idiot!” Packie shouted. I really like him, even if he is a bit mean sometimes, but you can tell he doesn’t always mean it.
“I’m doing the best that I can!” Niko shouted, dodging a bullet that shot through the car. I was getting a bit scared, but I had a feeling that we’d come out fine. My Pinkie Sense said so, and it doesn’t lie!
“Pinkie, take this and shoot out their tires.” Niko punched the roof, revealing a crudely made sunroof, which he opened. I stood up cautiously, careful to avoid gunfire. Once certain I was safe, I stood up and turned to face the police.
“Hey, does that girl have pink hair?”
“I’m not shooting a girl that young! Bernard, you do it!”
“Nah, man. She looks too much like someone in a show I watch.”
I laugh as they bicker, and then remember my mission. I level out my pistol, aiming at the tires.
“Holy ****, she’s got a gun!” One of the cops yells, swerving his car to the side. I let two bullets loose, tearing through his front tires. As he swerves off and crashes, I send another one to the opposite side of the road. The last cop takes on look at me and stops dead in the road. I blow on the barrel of the gun and jump into the car again.
“Did you get them?” Roman asks.
“Yesiree! Those meanies won’t be bothering us anymore.” I salute.
“Good for you. Now, we just have to---” Niko is interrupted as the car we are tailing takes a sharp right into a warehouse. We narrowly avoid tumbling over as we swerve, and Niko puts on the brakes.
“Let’s go say hello.” He says grimly. We all raise our weapons in perparation, and I get ready for the most action-packed event of my life.
Back to Narrative view ~~~ ~~~
The four people get out of the car, and look after the tire tracks. They all begin to follow Niko’s lead, but he stops Pinkie.
“What is it, Nicky?” She asks. The Yugoslav sighs.
“Pinkie, you have been unbelievably helpful today. You have shown me so many things, and I in turn have shown you much as well. But there are some things that you shouldn’t experience in your life ever. When you carry that gun, I pray that you only use it in the most dire of times, and I hope this is not one of them. Do you understand?”
Pinkie nodded, and they turned back to the warehouse.
“Let’s get these курвини синови.” Roman says darkly in Serbian. The four enter the warehouse, cautious of the dark lights. Finally, a voice is heard.
“You should not have followed us here, you fools. It’s only the girl we want, nothing else.”
“You want Pinkie?”
“Yes.” The voice continued. “She is of some concern to our employer. Hand her over, and you can all live.”
“You’ll have to get through us first, pigs.” Packie growls, raising his AK-47.
“We shall.” The voice finishes. With one clean move, Niko motions for the group to find cover. Not a second too soon, as the entire room burst into gunfire from dozens of gunmen in the dark.
“The rafters!” Packie shouts from some crates. Niko nods and pinpoints the sources of gunfire. Eight shooters were directly on the other side of the room from the group. Four more were on either side of the room, and there were three on the ground underneath the eight.
“I count nineteen!” Niko shouts to his comrades.
“Nineteen? Childs play.” Roman growls, letting a spurt of gunfire loose from his SMG. A cry sounded, followed by a thud as one of the men fell from the catwalk.
Pinkie followed one shooter as he attempted to go around and sneak up behind Patrick.
“Packie! Behind you!” The Irishman spun around and shot the attempted-assassin in the chest, killing him.
Niko’s sniper rifle picked off three men before one bullet grazed his arm.
“Argh! I need to be more careful.” He hissed, quickly bandaging the wound. Pinkie squeaked when she realized that the wound had been made.
“No, no. I’ve had worse happen to me, trust me.” The man pulled his rifle up again, and shot several more men. He glanced over to see Roman cowering behind a forklift.
“Provide a distraction so Roman can get to safety!” The Yugoslav shouted. Pinkie nodded and snuck to the edge of the warehouse, drawing away the fire on Roman.
“Cousin, get your fat American body over here!” Niko shouted. Roman ran as fast as he could to Niko’s cover before Niko signaled for Pinkie to return.
After a few more minutes, the three ground shooters are all that remain of the force. These men have taken refuge from the group who had so easily killed all of the shooters in the catwalks.
“Let’s storm them.” Packie growls, reloading his AK-47 and running at the crates the men were hiding behind. Rolling his eyes, Niko follows with Roman and Pinkie. When they reach the crates, the three men pop up. Packie easily dispatches the two guards as Niko grabs the main man.
“Who the heck are you?” Niko rumbles.
“D-Donivan…” The man quivers. Niko slams Donivan onto the ground, and Roman and Packie point their weapons at his head.
“So, Donivan. Can I call you Donnie?” The man nods dumbly as Niko continues with an aura of light-heartedness.
“So, Donnie. Why did you do it?”
“I don’t follow…” Niko stomped an inch from Donivan’s hand.
“Oh, I think you do. You may not remember, but you tried to kill me, my friend, my cousin and his wife, and my little niece.”
“Oh, that…”
“See? I can get the memory flowing.” Niko stomped closer. “Now, who’s your employer? Answer me.”
“She’d kill me if I told you.”
“I’ll kill you if you don’t. So I ask again,” Niko stomps on Donivan’s hand, causing him to scream in pain. “Who. Is. Your. Employer?”
“N-Nicky!” Donivan manages to get out. “Nicky Trifficante. He’s your man.” Niko removed his foot, causing the man to gasp in relief.
“See? The wasn’t too hard…”
“I’ll get you out of the way for him!” Donivan lunged at Niko, causing the Yugoslavian criminal to crumple to the ground, fighting off the knife. Roman and Packie both attempted to fire, only to find their weapons are out of ammo and jammed, respectively. Pinkie was paralyzed at the sight in front of her.
“Somebody is going to die today!” Donivan cackles in a possessed manner, inching the knife towards Niko’s face.
“Yeah, that’s you!” Pinkie screamed, whipping out her pistol and releasing her lone bullet into Donivan’s heart. The bullet whizzed an inch over Niko’s head.
Donivan looked down at his chest, watching the blood pool on his shirt. Wordlessly, he collapsed backwards onto the ground.
“Sorry, boss… I failed…” He said, his last words before taking a final breath.
“No… no…” Pinkie repeats, dropping the pistol to the ground. “No…” Tears trickle down her face as she realizes that she has just killed someone. She has taken a living person’s life, and while it was necessary, it felt morally wrong many times over.
“Pinkie… thank you…”
“I killed him…” Pinkie said aimlessly. “He’s dead.”
“Shh, it’s okay. It was him or me, and from my perspective, you did the right thing.” Pinkie didn’t say a word as she collapsed in Niko’s arms, sobbing. Niko looks at her with eyes full of sadness, remembering his first kill, all the way back in the war.
They sat there, in an empty warehouse, surrounded by bloody corpses, just a lonely man and a scared little girl, letting out their feelings.
Finally, Pinkie was asleep after all her crying. Niko looks up at Roman and Patrick, who were also tearing up.
“Take us back to my place. We’re done for the night.” With a nod, Roman goes to get the car. Lifting her up gingerly, Niko carried the young girl out to the car, hoping she never had to do that again. Somehow, though, he knew that because of him, she would have to.
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.
