At The End Of The Tunnel

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At The End Of The Tunnel

Co-Written By Harley Quinn hyenaholic and Froggy22651

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Harley: Geez, Chapter Eleven! Finally! It’s not that it wasn’t written, it’s just that I couldn’t be bothered to put it up. Now, let’s get with the stabbing of backs!

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Chapter Eleven: Assassination

They weren’t walking this time, much to James’ relief. Robotnik had supplied them with a hover bike. Unfortunately, Breech was driving, and she had the benefit of handlebars. All he had the benefit of was handfuls of Breech. Nothing in his training had prepared him for this, whereas Breech was obviously used to it, and moreover, slightly irritated by his nervousness.

“I’m not a china doll, you know,” she admonished him, “Hold on with your knees.”

“Um,” said James.

“Whatever. Just hang tight!”

~~~

About an hour of hard riding later (the normal sort, not the NC-17 sort) they had to slow down to drive between the trees in the Great Forest. Breech was trying to follow a map with more than its fair share of green, and drive at the same time. Finally she gave up and handed it to James.

“You’re the bloody Royal Guard, just tell me where they ran off to!” she snarled.

“Only if I can drive,” said James firmly.

Breech sighed and slowed to a halt, “Okay, the man can drive,” she sighed.

James breathed a sigh of relief, and drove them through the final ten miles of forest. To the city born-and-bred Breech, it all looked the same.

As they pulled up at the gates of Refugee Camp Knothole, he knew he was going to have to put on the performance of his life. He was going to have to get Breech and himself into the village without killing her or encouraging her to kill him.

“NOW!” somebody shouted, and about ten Secret Service agents jumped out of hiding. James watched in shock as one agent ripped her weapons from her hands, and her hands were cuffed firmly behind her back by another.

“You mother-fucking double-crossing bastard, Prower!” Breech screamed at him as she was dragged away from him.

Geoffrey St. John stepped up to him, “Thanks, James, we’d never have caught that treacherous bitch if you hadn’t tricked her into coming back here.”

“Huh?”

“Max wants to see you, now.”

~~~

James was escorted into Max's hut, where the king was waiting for him.

Max looked at James sternly, "James...what the hell just happened?" he asked the Royal Guard, "How did Robotnik find Knothole, and where did you go?"

James straightened up, "It's my fault, sire. The bounty hunter, Breech, escaped the prison and I failed to stop her. She defeated me and gave away the location of the village. But there is a bright side to this situation, my lord. Through her, I've managed to infiltrate Julian's operation as a bounty hunter and now have a chance at striking him from within."

Max’s expression was disbelieving, "She... helped you? I find that highly unlikely."

James nodded, "It’s the truth. She spared my life and has aided me in infiltrating Robotnik’s base. I guess I made some kind of impression on her."

Max just glared, "Or she is just using you for her own purposes, whatever those may be. James, while your infiltration is welcome news, it does not change how dire this situation is. Knothole is in ruins. This refugee camp is only a temporary measure. We need time to complete the construction of New Knothole, and we won't have it with Robotnik’s mercenaries harassing us. What do you propose we do with her when we move again? Bring her with us and incarcerate her in a new jail? Tie her to a tree until she gets too tired to kick away the wolves?"

"What? I just told you that she has helped me, Max. She gave us time to get away before it was too late; she risked her own life in the process… She is not loyal to Julian. She serves him out of fear... of both him and us. She could prove to be invaluable, if we can persuade her to leave him and join us. And I’m sure that we can.”

“There is a saying, James…” said Max wearily, “They who betray their friends will surely betray their enemies.”

“Yes, but there’s another saying,” James insisted, “Fear can hold us prisoner, but hope will set us free. Please, sire..."

James stopped, realising that he was actually pleading for Breech’s life.

"James, I know you mean well,” Max sighed, “But we can't allow Loader a chance to cause more damage then she already has. That mistake has been made with Julian, and it must not be repeated. Now you may not have noticed, but chains don’t seem to restrain this woman. She knows too much for us to risk her escaping again. She must be executed with all due speed.”

"Y-yes, my lord..." James nodded and left the king’s hut. Max’s resolve was firm, and it seemed that all he could do for Breech was kill her quickly and cleanly.

~~~

Geoffrey walked into the prison, gesturing for the guards to leave, and walked up to Breech's cell, “Well, well, it seems that you have gotten yourself into a lot of trouble, Miss Loranski, what with betraying the kingdom and all," he sneered at her.

Breech bridled, "Hey, that was years ago, skunk. Quit living in the past."

Geoffrey shook his head, "That sort of thing doesn't go away with time. You have a lot to pay for."

"Put it on my tab,” snarled Breech. She was starting to get angry. She knew what was going to happen, but what sort of person taunted someone just before they were about to kill them?

Geoffrey smirked, "Don't mind if I do. You probably know why I'm here, so let's not waste time with speeches." He took out a crossbow bolt and loaded it into his wrist-crossbow.

Breech looked nervous, "Don't you have something faster than a crossbow bolt?" she asked him.

Geoffrey sneered, "Traitors that work with Overlanders don't deserve fast." He aimed the crossbow at her, "Any last words?"

Breech shook her head, "I should have killed Prower when I had the chance..."

Suddenly the door slammed open, "Hey, what's going on here?" James marched towards Geoffrey, who hesitated for a moment, then replied.

"I’m doing your job. Just walk away if you are too squeamish for it, guardsman."

Breech looked from one to the other, "Um... so which one of you guys is going to kill me?" she asked.

Geoffrey glanced at her, "Me, of course. Prower has had several chances to, but he hasn't. I'm surprised he hasn't been brought up on insubordination charges. But then, Max is a little too soft for that, either."

Breech stared at James, "He doesn't seem too soft to have me knocked off on the sly..."

James looked from her to Geoffrey, "...So you are just going to shoot her while she's helpless in a prison cell? Where's the honour in that, Geoffrey?"

"I didn't know Royal Guards knew about honour..." Breech muttered.

Geoffrey sneered again, "The secret service isn't bound by your stupid honour code. We just do what we have to."

James sighed, "The king gave me this task to perform, and I will go through with it."

Geoffrey stared back at him, disbelieving, "Max doesn’t have much faith in your abilities any more, James. You don’t have the guts for one-to-one execution."

"Watch me."

Breech curled up in a tiny ball, baring her neck for easy sword access, convinced that she was about to die.

James stepped forward, drew his sword, and placed the blade against Breech's neck, while Geoffrey stood back and watched, "I'm sorry..." he muttered.

"No you're not," Breech replied bitterly.

James suddenly slammed his elbow back into Geoffrey's head, which rebounded off the wall behind him. The skunk slumped to the ground, unconcious, "...for the headache."

Breech blinked slowly, realising that she wasn’t dead, "Huh?"

James sheathed his sword, took the keys off a nearby desk, and unlocked her cell, "Come on; we have a king to talk with."

Breech looked genuinely surprised, "What... you're not gonna kill me? You're a Royal Guard! They're all either sick perverts or brainwashed morons!"

"Apparently not. I'm not a murderer like this prick." James kicked Geoffrey, "Let's go. Max isn't telling me something, and I need to know what it is, and why."

Breech followed James, twitching nervously as he gestured for her to stay back while he ordered the guards to leave. Once they were gone, they both entered Max's hut.

Max was sitting in a chair near the fireplace, reading a book, "Max, we need to talk."

Max looked up from the book at James, "What is it? Have you… oh…" He narrowed his eyes at Breech, "What is the meaning of this?"

James’ face became dark and serious, "You have never ordered me to kill anyone so fast in my life, and I think there is something you are not telling me. I need to know the truth, Max. You've been my friend for many years. I need you to level with me now."

Breech stepped forward, "Tell him, Max. Tell him the truth about Dulagg Prison, about Fort Ironcrow, Kesisaun, Blackwell... Tell him the goddamn TRUTH!"

Max put down the book and rose to his feet, glaring at Breech, "Are you actually listening to this traitorous wench, James? What has possessed you to trust her over me?"

James looked straight at Max, "I was trained by the best to detect liars, and she isn't lying. I'm not so sure about you, though."

Max drew on his righteous outrage, “Are you accusing me of lying? Are you saying I’m guilty of torturing innocent people?”

Breech shook her head, no; “I said nothing about torture to you. I think you just admitted your guilt of your own accord, Your Majesty.”

Max’s mouth opened and closed a few times, and finally he looked James in the eye, frowning, "You want to know the truth, Captain? Fine. I did order the torture of prisoners. There was evidence of an Overlander plot against the kingdom, and I needed to know the truth fast, so I went with Julian's suggestions and ordered a few guardsmen to carry out the interrogations."

James’ eyes widened in shock, "You ordered the men under my command to torture citizens of this kingdom, the kingdom which we both swore to serve? Were you out of your mind?!"

Max’s expression contorted in anger, "You..." he pointed a finger at James, "You are way out of line, Guardsman Prower! Are you listening to this deranged feline? Her obvious goal is to destroy the Freedom Fighters from the inside out!"

James bristled, "Out of line? You sank to the level of our enemy! You trusted Julian twice over me! Am I nothing more to you than just your hired muscle?"

Max shook his head, "No... you are like a second son to me, James. This traitor that is putting you under her spell was a convicted murderer before she entered my prisons. She deserved what she got, and it was for the greater good of the kingdom."

Breech growled, "I was not convicted! I was accused!"

Max ignored her, "This ridiculous façade has gone on long enough. If you are loyal to the kingdom of Acorn, as you claim, you will draw your sword this instant, and you will end her life."

James reached for his sword and drew it from its sheath, staring at his eyes reflected back at him.

Max grew impatient, "Strike her down!"

James looked back and forth between Max and Breech. Then he lifted his sword and tossed it at Max's feet, "I'm not going to clean your mess up, Max. You handle it."

“Fine!” Max snapped, “You’re a traitor to the kingdom, Prower, and when I’ve dealt with her, I’ll see you court-martialled and dishonourably discharged!”

Max bent to retrieve the sword, enraged. But before he could lift it, Breech flowed forward and grabbed his neck, digging in her claws.

“No!” James gasped.

Max stared into Breech's cold eyes, fear on his face, as he struggled to bring the sword into a position to strike her.

It was at that moment, that Breech's phone rang, and Nack's voice comes from it, shaky and nervous.

"Breech, I got news... uh... there was an accident up at a SWATbot processing plant... Robotnik's been reported dead."

Breech blinked, "Oh... that's awful...” she said, not sounding very convincing, “Do you think this month's cheque will clear?"

Nack’s voice came again, "I'm shrugging over here."

The phone hung up.

James swallowed, "Breech... please... just let him go, ok? You don't have to do this! Didn’t you hear Nack? Robotnik is dead!"

Breech shook her head, "You don't understand, Prower... I'm not doing this because I have to... I'm doing this because I want to!"

Breech brought her claws together, cutting through Max's trachea and jugular swiftly.

Max tried to scream, but only blood came out of his mouth. He stared at James accusingly as he died. It was painful, but quick.

"NO!!" shouted James.

"Yes..." Breech hissed.

James rushed forward to the fallen form of Max, but it was already too late. With shaking hands, James took the sword out of Max's paws and looked at the king's blood on it, "Oh gods, what have I done?" he murmured.

"You did nothing James. The honour-" Breech spat the word, "Of wasting that monster was all mine."

James got to his feet and sheathed his sword. He looked around frantically with wide eyes, "We've got to get out of here... we've got to go..."

Breech was grinning almost insanely, "Now you really are a member of the big, friendly Robotnik family, James," she chuckled, "Some fun, huh?"

James barely looked at her, "Shut up! Let's just get out here fast..." He turned and headed for the door.

"No, no, James..." Breech took his shoulder, "Lets get out of here nice and slow. Otherwise someone might get suspicious."

James nodded, forcing himself to be calm, "Nice and slow…" he repeated.

Breech appeared to consider something, "You shouldn't have to come. You could stay. If I knock you out, you can make up a good story and you could stay... with your son. But I gotta go back to Robotropolis and pick up my stuff."

James shook his head, "I can't stay here... I'm going with you."

Breech looked at James curiously, and shrugged, "Okay... if you're sure..."

They stepped slowly out of the Royal Hut, and James escorted Breech to the hover bike.

Suddenly, Geoffrey ran out of the Prison. The first thing he saw was Breech climbing onto the hover bike, “Stop her!” the skunk yelled, “She’s supposed to die!”

“Don’t you bastards ever give up?!” Breech shouted at him, revving the engine.

Then Geoffrey realised that James was climbing on the bike with her, “Prower…” he muttered, furiously loading his crossbow.

But it was too late, because Breech had already slammed her foot on the accelerator. They were away.

James knew he was crying as they drove away from his home, his king, his son… but he didn’t care.

He wasn’t sure if Breech cared either… but she did.

~~~

Harley: Now get your asses over to Chapter Twelve now!