Gunned | SatoSere

Chapter 23 - Together as Family

Night falls when they arrive on the outskirts of the forest. The cars park at a rendezvous point in a small clearing, with just enough canopy overhead to conceal their position. There's a large humvee unit already waiting for them and when Serena exits the car, two women dressed in black combat gear hop out of the vehicle to greet her.

"Oh! So this is who Ash is absolutely smitten with. She's gorgeous," one of them of long, dark purple hair voices out, taking a bite out of her burger. "Although, it's about time you arrived. Don't tell me you let Cilan drive the whole way here. I'd say you could've been at least a half hour early if you let Gary take you."

Cilan sighs at her side and before Serena can protest the notion, the woman beside her with a red bandanna wrapped around her brown hair, speaks up.

"Mind your manners, Iris, and share that with me!" She says in a hushed tone, grabbing her wrist, and moving the burger to her mouth to take a bite before Iris can even pout about it.

"Hey, setting up bombs on the entire perimeter is exhausting, alright?" Iris groans, tucking her hands into her pockets.

"Iris, May," Cilan greets with a nod and it clicks in Serena's brain who these women are.

"Stiff as ever, I see," Iris says with a laugh.

"Well, it's good to see you both safe," May replies more politely. "We just finished with our preparations, as planned."

There's a muffled groan from behind them and Serena's gaze pans over to the tree where a bunch of guards were piled up, passed out, save for the one that was starting to wake from his pained haze. Before he could even blink into consciousness, Iris struts over with her hands still in her pockets and whirls a kick right into the side of his head, knocking him out cold once again.

Serena huffs an impressed laugh and her eyes shift between Iris and May, fully taking in the sheer amount of guards that are there, and no doubt because of them. May's kind smile holds and the new leader wonders just how much these two women are capable of.

"Does those preparations include taking out every guard in the forest?" Serena asks.

From her pocket, May procures a security camera, or rather the remains of one. "That, and with a little help from Clemont, we were able to hack the entire security system from the outside. From the Ketchums end, there's nothing, but nature to look at."

"Nice work, May. I see you're as technical as ever," a voice calls from behind Serena and she notices that it makes the woman's jaw clench.

"Will you quiet down, Gary? You'll give away our position before we even get close to the base," May replies, exasperatedly.

"Oh, I'll wake up this entire base, alright," he says cockily, shouldering his gun.

Brock interjects with a low whistle as he spots the pile of guards. "Looks like you got most of them anyway. I'm assuming you still have explosive surprises set out, just in case?"

May huffs and Iris pats her back in comfort as she shares fist bumps with the two other men, much to May's irritation. It's not long before the others join their side, their separate squads on standby.

Serena turns to Miette who's armed to the teeth in her favorite firearms. "How far is the base from here?"

Miette nudges her chin in the direction of the forest ahead. "Not much further. Misty and I will go on ahead and make sure there aren't any stragglers. Once we're in position and secure our first line, we'll signal you to follow."

"Be careful out there," Serena says, then adds teasingly. "Careful where you shoot. I don't want to be hit in the crossfire."

Miette spares her a small laugh at the memory and hip checks her before walking off with other operatives following suit. Serena spots Misty then who's speaking to Dawn with two canines by his sides that are ready to scout. She wants to say something, now that she knows more and her feet carry her across the way. The women turn to her and Misty offers her a curious look while Dawn offers her a kind one.

"Hey, Misty," she says in a tone that's softer than she's used to and it makes her raise her brow. Serena takes a deep breath before speaking which seems to baffle Misty even more. Serena was never like this. "I want to apologize for the trouble I caused you and your family, but I'm going to pay them back for everything."

Misty's eyes widen for a moment and fade to the smallest of smiles when she finally understands. Dawn speaks up, plucking the thoughts of Misty's silence and putting them into words.

"You know, we're family, Serena. We'll pay them back together."

In her true fashion, Serena smiles and walks up to them for a loving group hug to which they wholeheartedly return. It's a beautiful moment, regardless of how little it may seem, due to the world they're living in. It lasts for a moment until they pull back.

"Now, that's enough of this mushy mess. Get going, both of you. Ash is waiting for us, so I'll see you on the other side."

Dawn gives her a thumbs up and a quick high-five while Misty nods as they both walk on, her disappearing into the forest with the dogs trailing behind while Dawn joins Gary and the others to divide and conquer with their squads. Serena feels Cilan at her side as she stares off into the heart of the forest. Ash is somewhere close and it makes her anxious, nearly ready to sprint off into the darkness to find his light.

She waits, and waits, then moments later, Miette's voice filters into her ear piece.

"Ready when you are. The line is locked down."

Serena makes eye contact with the leaders of the other squads and stalks forward to the forest line. She holds her hand up to the ear piece, communicating to the entirety of their group.

"Let's get started."