Project Infinite: The Legacy

✅

Project Infinite: The Legacy is the final installment of the Project: Infinite trilogy. In this story, Rogue is met with a challenge as the Infinitists set up their final attack. The strongest and the most powerful one yet. Will they all survive? Or will the EPF be reduced to ashes?

Prologue: Silence
Jet stared at the dimly glowing screen of his spy shone. Maybe he'll charge it later, but right now is not the right time. He stared at the coordinates that were sent to him. Now, he was flying over the residential area of the Island, looking for Benny-knows what. He passed by Zipline, Alpine, and Sleet and keeps on going north. Now he's in Altitude, and his phone beeps. He's in the right place. He switches on his GPS that gives him an instruction.

"Veer right by 36.5 degrees."

Rogue kicked open the door to her igloo, carrying a pink handbag in one flipper, and supporting Natalia's knees in the other. Rogue kneeled down, and Natalia ran to the puffle's area. The agonizing grip on the neck and the weight leaning partially on her slim and petite frame disappeared in a split second.

"Momma look!" Natalia pointed towards the trick Tackler was doing. Rogue looked at Tackler who was playing with a cloud.

"Now would you look at that." Rogue said and approached Tackler, who finally twisted the cloud to the shape of a puffle. "He sure made a good one. Good boy."

Tackler beamed. Rogue must be pleased. And maybe in a good mood.

While Natalia took out her assignments that Terrence will be helping her with, Rogue heard a knock on the door. She dashed to get it and opened it. Before her was a red penguin wearing a suit and a jet pack.

"Tvarkov." Jet's serious voice said.

"Oswell." Rogue's ice cold voice replied.

Jet quickly placed his flippers up in defense. "Stand down, Tvarkov. I'm not here to take your little girl." He noticed the twitch of her eyebrow. "We need you in EPF HQ. We need everyone alert after the last two hackings."

Rogue looked at him idly. "Why? Is a hacking taking place?"

"No... not at all. It's just that after that past events, we need all generals on high alert AND in EPF HQ." Jet explained.

"But aren't we supposed to be away from each other? Besides, they want me, not you guys. I need to be out of the war zone if I'm the target." Rogue's ice cold voice continued.

"It's the Director's orders. And besides, you can bring along your little apprentice with you." he said.

"She's not my apprentice!" Rogue snapped. "She's the reason I'm still in this fight. My reminder, and my friend. She's- she's my Catherine."

Jet shifted leg. Rogue's good friend and comrade Agent Catherine Tvariench died in her arms, and left an orphaned child with her as well. The two go along like bread and butter, which always leaves every agent she meets and knows what happened in both Catherine's deathbed and funeral.

"Well, shall we?" Jet asked.

Rogue turned towards Natalia, who was still doing her homework. "Natalia." Rogue said. "We need to go to HQ."

Rogue stared hard at the Anti-Terrorism Main Office's computer hub. It's been twelve minutes, and yet she still couldn't figure out the message. It was in an alphabet she couldn't understand. She used her decryption techniques, her foreign languages, and even her counterfeiting techniques she learned in The Academy.



Rogue turned her head to the side a bit. "Piri! Piri Tania!" she called out.

The Finipino zoomed towards her general. "Yes general?" Piri asked.

"Remind me again your idea on breaking this code?" Rogue mumbled.

"Yes! Thank you for finally opening up to me!" Piri said and opened the book she was holding to a certain page.

Meanwhile, Rogue chuckled. "I've always have."

Finally, Piri found her page. "When I was studying in my Social Studies lessons, I remember my cousin talking about alibata." she said with glee.

Rogue stared at the ancient alphabet, then at the screen, and finally at Piri.

"Is something wrong, dear general?" Piri asked when she noticed the twitch of Rogue's left eye.

"Meine Feder. Gib mir meinen Stift. (My pen. Give me my pen.)" Rogue said.

Piri tried not to squeak. Something would be wrong if Rogue suddenly speaks in German. Though, she did give Rogue her favorite black pen, and Rogue wrote something on her flipper, then showed what she wrote in print.

NATALIA

Rogue and Piri made a run for Rogue's office.

"Why did you leave her alone?!" Piri yelled at the speeding Russian.

"I didn't! Adrian, Penelope, Bridgett AND Gary is there with her!" Rogue slightly strained voice said.

When the two finally got to Rogue's office, all four agents were down and wounded. Rogue's things were either torn of disheveled. The place looked like it was hit by a tornado. She ran to Adrian, who was stirring awake.

"Where. Is. My. Natalia." Rogue's dark tone said. Adrian slowly shook his head before going unconscious, so she set him down. She looked around, eliminating possible hiding places from the not-so possible ones.

"Hey Rogue?" Piri called out.

"What?" Rogue looked up from her desk.

"Don't you have hiding places, trap doors, and false walls?" Piri asked.

"Thanks!" Rogue yelled and dashed to the couch. She pushed it and found hiding place #1. She opened it, but no-one was there. She ran to her closet, and pressed in a code. The wall beside it opened, but still nobody was there. Finally, Rogue ran to her desk, crouched down and jabbed a knife into the floor. She dragged it left, then right, then right again. She made a somehow rectangular hole. She chucked it away and saw a light-brown head peeping up at her.

"Is the shooting over?" Natalia's slightly high-pitched voice asked.

Rogue immediately carried Natalia out of the hole and straightened some of the wrinkles on her dress. Rogue can see from the corner of her eye Heather's agents placing the four fallen agents into gurneys. Piri was chatting with Heather, whose flippers were deep in the pockets of her red jacket-vest.

"You found her!" Piri's voice said at the sight of the light brown haired girl's face.

"Big sister Piri!" Natalia said and ran to her.

"Um... I'm not your sister or your relative..." Piri confusedly said.

"In Finipines, what she's saying is 'ate.'" Rogue deadpanned.

"Oh..." Piri realized.

"So uh... hey what time's break time?" Heather asked.

Piri looked at her spy phone while Rogue looked at the wall clock.

"5 minutes." Piri said.

"5 minutes and a half, to be more precise." Rogue corrected.

All girls looked at each other, nodded professionally to each other, and walked out the door, chatting to each other what could have happened. '''ANTI-TERRORISM MAIN OFFICE, CLUB PENGUIN ISLE. 21.04'''

Rogue stared at the flurry of agents running about. Agents here ran to give reports or dossiers to agents, while others were busy tracking down the next threat.

"Ms. Tvarkov!" Adrian's cheerful voice cried.

Rogue turned to look at the running Antarctican, and took a big step back as he doubled over, panting as hard as he can. Rogue raised an eyebrow.

"What is it, Adrian Hepson?" Rogue's ice cold voice asked. "Kids these days..." Rogue added in a low murmur.

"She... needs... you... a... gain...." Adrian panted.

Rogue's eyebrows knitted together in an instant. Agent Cory Millers wants her in the office. She gave Adrian a pat in the back.

"I'll go to her as soon as I can." Rogue said.

"Not so fast, Tvarkov."

Everyone in the room turned to look at Agent Cory Millers.

"Don't try escaping. I disabled your teleportation, secret exits, and even managed to lock away your little apprentice." Agent Cory Millers said.

"She's not my apprentice!" Rogue snapped.

"Tut tut tut." Cory said. "Follow, or your little apprentice stays locked up... or maybe sent to the orphanage."

Rogue tried to think of the Ski Village, but couldn't get an image of it. Then she ran straight into Cory's office and shut the door behind her, concentrating.

A knock came from the door. "Tvarkov. I have the key. I'm giving you ten counts. 10..."

Rogue looked up and saw the air vent.

"Don't even think about going through the air vents. They're rigged to let any drop to the ground if climbed up." Cory added.

Rogue grumbled, and slowly opened the door, peeping out only to look right at Cory.

"You still have that habit of peeping out the door, yes? Well, let me in!" Cory exclaimed.

Rogue at first hesitated, then opened the door slowly. Cory stepped in, Roue took a step back. Cory closes the door.

"Take a seat, Tvarkov." Cory said as she herself took a seat.

"I prefer not." Rogue's ice cold tone said.

Cory observed her. "Good posture, correct stance, relaxed demeanor, Slightly built. Alert..." she noted and paused. "And, she has the eyes of her father."

Rogue gruff voice grunted. "You know my father?"

"Of course!" Cory exclaimed. "I am good friends with him."

Rogue raised an eyebrow.

"Oh. Well, is there anything you would like to discuss?" Cory said, returning to her serious mode.

"I do not need a councillor." Rogue deadpanned.

"Tvarkov, release all those emotions. You were kidnapped by the TTNM, chloroform and timoxeline barbebutenol'd TWICE, watched Catherine die, AND now you're being waited for patiently by terrorists, assassins, and Infinitists!" Cory paused when she noticed Rogue's unreadable emotion. "This is too much for a fifteen year old, especially if her sweet sixteen is coming up."

"I am fine." Rogue's sharp tone said.

"But, tell me." Cory paused and crossed her arms across her chest. "What're your plans for your sweet sixteen? What happened in Catherine's deathbed and funeral?"

Rogue only looked at her dimly. "My plans are to work, get Natalia, sleep."

"And would you like to tell me what happened in Catherine's deathbed and funeral?" Cory asked.

"I'd rather not." Rogue turned towards the door, feeling the knob and turning towards Cory. "I am a trained individual. A five-star general, for Benny's sake. I'll be fine."

Rogue opens and shuts the door, leaving a very disappointed Cory Millers.

Chapter 1:Hackings
Rogue was only walking back when the paling face of Adrian came to view.

"Hacking." Adrian said.

"What, now?" Rogue asked.

"We can't get into the EPF OS, the mainframe, or the Anti-Terrorism server." he panicked.

Rogue placed a flipper on her forehead and massaged it.

"This is worse than I thought."

Rogue walked up to her post at the Anti-Terrorism Main Office.

"What is it now, Arda?" Rogue asked her Major, Alex Arda.

"It's eating up our data!" Alex cried.

"Do we have a backup?" she asked.

"Yes... but I'm afraid that it will take a while. It's in a 265-bit encryption computer." he sighed, "Plus, it has three passwords, retinal scan, and keystroke identification."

"Wait, you mean my computer-wall?"

"Yeah..." he drifted off; the general was already running.

Rogue got to her computer-wall and quickly jabbed her ID into a slot. She quickly copy-pasted all the files into her ID. Then, she took out her jade pendant and jabbed it in a slot as well. She copy-pasted files again and removed it. She wore the two objects and walked to the Anti-Terrorism Main Office.

Tech and Communications agents were within the area when she came.

"Gary. How's the hacking?" Rogue asked.

"Well, we're tracking if it's an insider or an outsider." Gary said.

"We've got an outsider, sir!" an agent yelled.

"Where? Get us a line, people!" Rogue yelled.

There was a commotion of clicking keys on the keyboards until the computer hub of the Anti-Terrorism Main Office was illuminated by the smirking face of Joshua Helixon.

"You!" Bridgett cried.

Joshua chuckled. "Yes, I'm back. Miss me, Tvarkov? Well, I'm back!" he said.

"What do you want now?" Rogue hissed.

"My... final attack. Too bad I couldn't get your little Catherine Tvariench II, or should I say, Natalia?"

"Don't you dare lay a feather on her!" Rogue yelled, her stare a fiery and fierce one. "If you dare to lay a feather on her, I will ENSURE that you never walk again!" Adrian stepped back.

Commander was never like this.

"I don't think that'll be necessary. I'll make sure that'll not happen, for I might keep you busy.Besides, I've prepared us a new chess game." Jason stepped away to show a beautiful chess board. There was something different about the chess pieces; it was wooden models of the different agents and personnel involved in the hectic mission.

"It's..." Rogue drifted off.

"Magnificent, isn't it? Save the best for last, no?" he asked.

"Mhm." Rogue murmured.

Oh no. Adrian thought. ''She's not like this. I need Agent Millers!''

"Well, now how should I say it? Hasta le vista?" he asked, but then the screen went black. The transmission stopped, as well as the hacking.

"Alright everyone, back to work." she paused. "And don't think about getting Millers, Hepson."

Chapter 2:Threat
'''GENERAL ROGUE TVARKOV'S OFFICE, CP ISLE. 09.47'''

Rogue was deep at work. It was still mid-morning, no one would be going to her yet, or ask her to sign and view this and that. Rogue looked up, suddenly smelling tension in the air. The intern beside her door shrunk back, the Russian was starting to scare her.

"H-Hello, General T-T-Tvarkov." The intern stammered. She was at the least, a high school undergraduate, with round glasses, hazel colored hair, a pink sweater, jeans and some sneakers.

"Hello. You're the newbie, right?" Rogue pointed her pen towards the intern. She was aware of the Director's new intern, an undergraduate in high school.

"Y-Y-Yes. My name is Josephine Cambridge." Josephine said.

"Ah. Miss Cambridge. Welcome to the Elite Penguin Force. Now, what is it that you want to tell me?" Rogue asked, "Oh yes, and come in. I don't bite... hard  . And please don't stammer. I'm not evil, am I?"

Josephine took a step forward until she was an inch away from Rogue's table. She squeezed the clear plastic folder she had.

"The Director wants to speak to you." she said.

"What is it about?" Rogue asked.

Josephine shivered, "I believe that you'd want to hear it from the Director themselves."

Rogue looked at her confusedly, "Television or personal?" Rogue asked.

"Um... personal." Josephine guessed.

"That's all I need to know." Rogue said and stood up from the table and dismissed the intern. She walked towards the Director's office.

The Director was pacing the office when Rogue came in.

"Arctic." Rogue said to signal her presence.

"Tvarkov." Director Arctic replied, glad to have the Anti-Terrorism general present.

"You needed me?" Rogue asked.

The Director's face suddenly dropped. "Yes, yes I do."

Rogue noticed the sudden change of the room's aura. "Мадам... Мадам is something wrong?"

"No... there isn't." Arctic murmured.

"Мадам, I know when you are lying." Rogue informed her.

"I've got three threat from the past two days. Oh wait, five. Five threats." The Director said, "One written, three digital, one physical."

"Physical?" Rogue asked.

"Some guy broke into my house and trashed it." The Director said quickly.

"But how did he break in? I mean, your place is crawling with traps and security devices! Don't you have CCTV footage?" Rogue asked.

The Director shook her head. "Unfortunately, the CCTVs were disabled long enough for him to trash it."

Rogue scowled, "And what about those written and digital threats?"

"The digital ones, I printed. The letter, still with me." they gave Rogue a four pieces of paper.

"Thanks, Director." Rogue said, peering through the papers.

"You're welcome, Everest. Dismissed." they said.

Rogue stared hard at the holographic circles she placed above and below each letter of the massage. Carefully, she lifted the circles up with her flipper towards the holographic hub which has sample writings of many criminals.

"Um..." Rogue hummed as she flicked through multiple handwritings. Some would've qualified if it weren't for the strokes or the fact that they're dead.

"General Tvarkov."

Rogue looked up from her little investigation lab to look at her young, newly graduated from high school intern named Cyrilla Chase.

"Ah, Cyrilla. What is it?" Rogue asked.

"The Director is calling in a general's meeting right now." she said.

"Oh really now?" Rogue asked, "What is it about?"

"I think it's a Level 12 thing. And you know all too well that I'm just a Level 3." Cyrilla sighed.

Rogue stood up, dismissed her intern, and went on her way to the meeting area.

"Tvarkov." Gary welcomed the young general.

"Hello, G." Rogue replied.

"So you know..." Jason said.

"Yes." Rogue deadpanned.

"Attention agents!"

Everyone turned to look at the Director's screen.

"I am in danger. I have been receiving threats that General Tvarkov is analyzing right now." they turned towards Rogue.

"Uh... I was analyzing it when you called us in." Rogue said.

"Oh. Sad." The Director said.

"So, what now?" Gary asked.

"I have no bloody idea."

Chapter 3: Tight Security
Rogue was looking at a recent report of tightened security in Sleet Street and in the Club Penguin Times office.

"What am I looking at?" Rogue asked.

"You're looking at a report." Jet said casually.

"No. I mean what? Tactical and Special Forces agents stationed? What are we, some kind of witness protection program?" Rogue asked.

"We are guarding the Director. She is one of the most important officers of the EPF." Jet reasoned.

"No," Rogue said and stood up, dropping the file."There are errors in what you've just done. First, it'll give the citizens the wrong impression. Like we're a mafia or something. Second, heck if I were the enemy, I'd infiltrate that! It could give us a scam! Third and lastly, the citizens' curiosity. They'd wonder who we are guarding, and might think of Aunt Arctic. Then they'd wonder why her then here we go again. Rookie will go explain and all. Also, how would you feel when agents are in front of your neighborhood, with armored cars and high caliber weapons?"

"Like something's wrong." He said.

"Exactly!" Rogue said. He took the file from her.

"Good job, Tvarkov. I'll present this in the meeting later." He said and walked towards the door, "Oh yes, did I tell you that our next meeting is in Muscovgrad?"

"Muscovgrad?" Rogue asked and walked forward a bit, "What?"

Too late, Jet was out of the door.

"The heck am I looking at?"

Rogue blinked twice. Terry was looking at her piteously.

"What?" Terry asked.

"General Jason Antonio T. Laurensib had been reported to have went into enemy lines without direct orders from the EPF." Rogue growled.

"Oh?" Terry said.

"It says he's gone... MIA..." Rogue drifted off then slammed the file down, "How dare he!"

"Oh, boy..." Terry mumbled.

"Going against EPF orders? That's insane! He knows better!" Rogue yelled as she toppled the table with her flippers. Terry gulped a lump down her throat. The Tvarkov serum has strengthen Rogue, and it was beginning to scare her.

"He cares for you, Rogue. He wants to get intel on the enemy, just so that they wouldn't hurt you." Terry reasoned.

Rogue gave her a cold stare.

Joshua Helixon kept a secret. A deadly secret. It was about the little Russian, Rogue Tvarkov. He had a liking for her at first, before and until now. He remembered looking through the files he took from his dad when he was 13. His father was after all, the chief-of-staff of the Eastshield branch of the EPF. He remembers looking at the files of Jet Pack Guy, Dot the Disguise Gal, Agent Rookie, yet he loved Rogue's file the most. Her biography wad rather colorful, rich with pain, coldness, and sadness. Lost het parents at a young age, was often bullied and teased in the Academy, was badly shocked by electricity at one point that it lead her to a two-week induced coma, and many things. He knows what she likes about politics, what she hates about penguins, and how long she can endure what. For all he knows, she can endure torture long enough for rescue to arrive. He knows that she loves being scratched behind the neck. He knows that she loves sitting out near the bonfire, surrounded by nature and silence. Heck, he memorized her whole file. He fell for her, he loves her. This is why he wants to get near her a much as he can. He wants to feel what she feels, and it was granted. Because of the serum, he was somehow connected to Rogue Tvarkov, a hidden connection between them. He can feel her emotions, she can feel his. They were like twins, but never knew they were. For now, he can feel her anger, her sympathy over Jason, her fear. He chuckles.

"Well, it seems that the girl cares." He said as he turned to Jason, who was chained to the wall, "Let's hope you'll talk. Because, we wouldn't want her hurt, no?"

"I will never talk!" Jason yelled, trying to break free from the chains. Joshua can only guess how deep the wounds on his wrists would be after all that pulling Jason was doing.

"I don't think that'll remain a no." Joshua said, "Remember, I am like Rogue."

Jason wanted to scream. Torture awaits him.

"What's the meeting all about?"

Rogue looked the Director. They were looking at her, studying her. The Director said in reply.

"We need to take action, again. Against Project Infinite, that is." The Director paused, "You do know that Jason's MIA, right?"

"Yes. Yes I have been informed." Rogue said.

"So, what do we have planned?" Jet asked.

"N... Nothing." Rogue said, but quickly added at the sight of their surprised faces, "We do have plans. ATD plans. These have special clearances."

Dot scowled. It was rare if a file was given special clearance.

"The file has been digitalized. You just need to find the right USB." Rogue said and smirked. She had roughly 59 USBs, which one had the file?

"You read my mind, didn't you?" Dot asked.

Rogue nodded casually.

"So, anyway. Do we have any backup plans?" Gary asked.

"We can always send in an IED. Or if you want, we can send someone in to infiltrate. But then again, that's a suicide mission." Jet said casually.

"We are not sending in Rogue, Jet. For one, she is way too valuable." Gary said.

"Who said I was going?" Rogue said, eyes widened with alarm.

"Well, Jet looked at you while saying it." Gary said and looked towards Jet, "Didn't you?"

"Did you even see her grades in the Academy?" Jet asked, confirming the suspicion.

"I admit, she is a great agent. But really, look at Jason. He's over there, tolerating torture and terrible food." Gary said.

"Stop reminding me." Rogue deadpanned.

"That is enough for today. Dismissed." The Director said and walked out.

Chapter 4: Poisonings
Cyrilla was approached by her fellow intern: Josephine Cambridge.

"Hello Josephine." She greeted warmly, a smile in her features.

"Yeah hi. Please give this to Rogue. Now." Josephine said with a warning tone.

"What is this?" Cyrilla asked, looking at the clear plastic folder. She noticed a few Russian characters, and shook her head. Neither Cyrilla or Josephine understood it.

"Something from the NRR." Josephine mumbled. "At least that's what I think."

"Thanks." Cyrilla said and hurried off to give Rogue the files.

"You have a file." Cyrilla said.

Rogue walked to her and took it, "Thanks."

Once Cyrilla was gone, she took out a lighter and a rectangular platter. She burned the contents of the folder in the platter and threw its ashes on some paper she got fresh from the FAX machine. After shaking off the remains and reading the hidden message imprinted on the paper, she burned it as well and threw the ashes into the garbage. She walked out of her office, ignoring Cyrilla's question.

Rogue approached the desk. She wore a purple top and white leggings. She also wore a colorful hat that complimented her light blue eyes.

"Hello. How may I help you?" The nurse at the front desk asked.

"Hello, I'm looking for three EPF agents. I'm with the CPT." She said, presenting an ID the Director sent her. The nurse looked at it and nodded.

"And may I have a name, Madame?" The nurse asked.

"It's Carey. Carey G. Middleson." She said and flashed a grin.

The nurse nodded and picked up the phone. She mumbled a few sentences Rogue didn't catch before she placed the phone down.

"Please proceed to the third floor, Room 37." The nurse said before flashing a smile, "Have a great day."

Agents Clinton and Mike were stationed in front of Room 37 when Rogue arrived.

"Halt! Who are you?" Clinton said, quickly taking out a gun.

"Hey! How come you guys can bring guns?" she squeaked in surprise.

"We have clearance, ma'am. Now please, move along." Mike calmly said.

Rogue Sighed, and tilted away her glasses. She did just so that they can see her green eyes flash for a second. Clinton's eyes widened.

"I thought we were supposed to be meeting a Carey G. Middleson of the CPT!" he exclaimed quietly.

"That's just a cover. Now, let me in, boys." she said.

They nodded, and Mike said.

"Now come along, Ms. Middleson."

"Agents," Rogue began.

"Who are you?" one of them asked.

"Agent Leonid. Wonderful question." Rogue said and removed her glasses. She immediately changed back to her normal, office outfit.

"General Tvarkov!" they said, and weakly saluted her. She saluted them back.

"As I was saying, I came as soon as I can. How were you poisoned?" she asked. She just ran from the Ski Village to Deep Freeze avenue, which was in the southmost part of the island.

"We just ate some lunch that we bought from Sleet, ma'am. Some time after, the world became blurry and we fainted." an agent named Gutierrez said.

"So you've been food poisoned?" she said, then mumbled, "Not what I expected..."

They nodded, and she sighed.

"The food is with Tech. They are requesting for you to analyze it." Leonid added quickly.

"Why me?" she asked, confused.

"Because the poison, my dear General, has been identified as a Tvarkov-made poison." Gutierrez said.

"Is Edward Tvarkov a familiar name to you, dear General?" an agent named Halls asked.

"Very familiar." Rogue murmured.

"Well, he invented this poison." Halls said.

"Alright." Rogue nodded, mentally noting to look it up in Rusca.

"Goodbye, General." the three said as one.

Rogue nodded, took her glasses, morphed herself back into her disguise, and disappeared.

Rogue sat in front of three books. Behind her, the soft glow of the fireplace lit up the three books she was reading.

"The cure... cure... cure... cure..." she mumbled as she flicked through pages of one of the books. Its title was The Tvarkov Dynasty.

''The Frida-06 is a recently found poison. It can leave a person paralyzed for-''

"Nope. Not it." Rogue quickly flicked through the next few pages.

''The Red Stallin-208 is an old, revised version of the Marcus-72. It can kill-''

"Not this one." Rogue mumbled as she turned to another book. Its title was Tvarkov Poisons.

''The Mamba-09 is a highly deadly poison. It has been known to kill its own creator, Edward Tvarkov, who had accidentally swallowed the-''

"Nope." she shivered at the thought of Edward Tvarkov convulsing on the ground with foam escaping his mouth.

She flicked through the final book.

''Cobra-20 has been widely used by Ruscan law enforcement for a long time. It has been known to have placed its victims in the hospital for-''

"That's it!" Rogue cried as she immediately read the cure potion at the bottom. At the sight of it, she quickly paled, and looked at the knife with her.

"Oh, great."

Rogue now walked through the hallways of her family home, rubbing the bandage on her arm. She had drawn blood from herself, as it was one of the ingredients in order to heal the three agents.

"How?" she asked as she reached one of the laboratories.

"How what?" her uncle, Alverich Tvarkov, turned to her.

"How did a bunch of terrorists get their hands on a Tvarkov-made serum?" she asked.

"Remember, we were ransacked last time." Alverich said, "They must've took a flask of it."

"How can they identify Cobra-20 from any other flask?" she raised an eyebrow.

"There was some scotch tape on the flask." he sighed.

Rogue just sighed, and shook her head.

"Just... be careful. I don't want my agents to be hurt because of me." she sighed.

Chapter 5: Disappearances
"Ms. Tvarkov?" Cyrilla said as she knocked on Rogue's door.

Rogue looked up, and stared at Cyrilla, warm eyes now fierce.

"What is it?" she asked.

"The Director is calling in a general assembly." Cyrilla said.

Rogue stood up, and walked past her, "Thank you."

"Greetings agents. We are so terribly sorry for calling you all in such short notice."

The Director began their lengthy speech about the Infinitists, which Rogue barely listened to. She stood with the other Generals, forcing her chest to swell with authoritativeness. In truth, she wasn't really confident, with everything going on.

"...and so, we must prepare ourselves for the onslaught that may occur."

Rogue's head snapped to the screen of the Director.

"What's going on?" she asked, barely paying attention.

A clamor of voices followed her, all agreeing to what she said.

"Agent," The Director began, "I will summarize it to one question: Do you see Gary the Gadget Guy with us right now?"

Rogue looked around, and at the line of Generals she was in.

"G." Rogue said, "Has anyone seen G?"

"Exactly." The Director said, "Gary the Gadget Guy has gone MIA."

"MIA?" Jet raised an eyebrow, "If he's gone... that means..."

"... we don't have a Chief General." Dot said, "This is Blackout all over again."

"No... please no..." Rogue said, slightly whimpering.

"You are right." The Director said, "I am here to tell you all that I am not appointing General Rogue Alyssa Tvarkov of the ATD as your new Chief General, otherwise known as the Agent-in-Charge."

"W-What?" Rogue turned to the Director. She ignored the clamor of voices in front of her.

"Agent Tvarkov, you are capable of leading this agency once more, yes?" the Director asked.

"Y-Yes." she said, "Of course."

"Then I hope you will lead them well." the Director said, "Agents, we are not in a Red Alert phase. Director, out!"

As the screen disappeared, all eyes were on Rogue.

"Red Alert..." Rogue mumbled as she turned to the crowd of agents before her.

The notice board in the Command Room was cleared out, and only showed two orders: To look out for Infinitists, and to look for Generals Gary the Gadget Guy and Jason Laurenson. Now, Rogue Tvarkov was in her office when Jet Pack Guy walked in.

"How long do you think will it take to find the missing Generals?" Jet asked.

Rogue looked up from her paperwork, and dropped her pen, "Depends."

She stood up and started pacing the room. She was worried.

"How does it depend?" he asked, watching the Tvarkov pace.

"Either we find them," she said, before stopping to look at him. Her eyes were hazel, "Or, they find us."

"How dark," Jet said, in mock terror, "How scary."

"We've got our work cut out for us, no?" Rogue said.

"Apparently." Jet hummed.

They stood there in silence, trying to think up a plan, when Heather popped out of nowhere.

"You guys!" she said, "Want to have some lunch?"

The two Generals looked at each other, shrugged, and walked out with Heather.

White the three Generals decided to go out for lunch, Dot was making some disguises.

"A few brown leaves here... a few green ones there... and... voila!" Dot said to no one in particular.

"Two down, twenty more to go." her assistant, Annette, said, bored.

There was a knock on the door as the two looked. There stood ATD Lieutenant General Adrian Hepson.

"Dot. Have you seen Rogue?" he asked. He looked a bit pale.

"No, I haven't." Dot said.

"I have." Annette said, "She's having lunch with Jet and Heather. Why?"

"Nothing." Adrian said quickly before disappearing.

Rogue was just having pasta when her phone rang. A waiter came to her, looking very worried. Rogue placed up a flipper.

"Hold it, Ramonez." Rogue said as she answered the phone, "Everest."

"We have a Code Black, ma'am." Adrian said.

Rogue nearly choked on her pasta as she hissed, "What?"

"Agents Halls and Gutierrez were found traumatized, and Leonid is out cold." he said.

Rogue stood up, her movements dropping her fork on the ground. "I'm on it."

She stormed into the room, eyes looking around widely. There was blood everywhere, and all three agents looked traumatized. They quivered and looked pale.

"They're in a state of mental shock. We're planning to send some therapists." Mike said sternly as he watched them.

"Infinitists." she growled as she watched two nurses sedate the three. All three went back to sleep.

"What do you plan, then?" Mike asked as she stormed out of the room.

"I plan to attack. Not now, but soon."

Chapter 6: Burn
'''EPF ANTI-TERRORISM MAIN OFFICE, CP ISLE. 0200.'''

"You seem like you need it."

Rogue turned around from her seat in one of the many chairs to see Adrian Hepson, holding two styrofoam cups of coffee.

"I need another dose." she sighed as she gratefully took it, downing it with a few gulps.

"What's up?" he said as he sat down beside her.

"The clock." she groaned, pointing towards the clock not far from where she sat. "Who else are awake?"

"Hunter, Perez... and I think Ramonez are still up, as well at the other night shift agents." Adrian said, stirring his coffee.

"Mm..." she sighed, looking at the large screen mounted on the wall with wan eyes, "I think I'm being delusional. Is that Rookie running around wearing a catsuit?"

"Have you gotten any sleep?" Adrian countered, becoming concerned for the female general.

"I'm fine." she said as she yawned, "I didn't get much sleep, but eh."

"Alright." he said as he leant back on his seat. "Rogue?"

"Yeah?" she glanced at him.

"Hang on tight."

Rogue chuckled, and leant back on her own seat. She took her now empty cup and raised it in the air.

"To the Island's safety."

"The Island's safety." he said.

Agent Ramonez lounged in the Tactical Main Office. He smiled to himself, praising himself for managing to go the six hours without any caffeine in his systems. His mood was easily spoiled by a red flashing in his far right. He groaned, sat up, and looked at the red flashing light on Jet's table. He wondered if he should press it, at first, knowing that the General might be pissed or something. He sighed, stood, took a deep breath, begged that he wouldn't be transferred somewhere remote, and walked towards Jet's table. He pressed a key in the keyboard, and the large screen lit up.

"Oh my..." Ramonez gasped as he saw a red dot coming towards them.

"50... 35... 15... oh shoot!" he screamed as he saw everything go up in flames.

Rogue placed down her third cup of coffee, only to see the table vibrating.

"Huh?" Adrian said as he sat up, "What on earth...?"

BOOM!!!

The ceiling crumbled as Rogue and Adrian stood, frozen with shock. Rogue was the first one to recover.

"Protocol Two-Oh-Five Alpha!" Rogue screamed as she pushed Adrian out of the way. Debris fell on her as he gasped.

His General just saved his life.

Agents Perez and Hunter were only in the snack room when it happened. At first it was a jolt, which they easily dismissed as one of the many experiments that blew up back in Technological. Then, more tremors occurred, alerting the two agents.

"Get under the table now!" Katy Hunter yelled as she pushed the younger agent down.

The explosion occurred as both agents held onto the legs of the table. After a few minutes, once everything calmed down, they stood up with shaky legs.

"Protocol Two-Oh-Five Alpha." Piri Perez said with an air of finality.

The two nodded to each other, took out their weapons, and went out.

By now, Ramonez had already ran to the Command Room, and shot down a team of Infinitists.

"This is Ramonez! I need backup, repeat, backup!" he said into his earpiece.

Around him, red lights blinked, sounding off the red alert alarm.

"Perez? Hunter? Tvarkov? Hepson? Someone, anyone, do you copy?' he said.

Piri and Katy were on their way to the Command Room, hearing Ramonez's pleads of help. They weren't looking when they collided with someone. Piri screeched, scrambling to grab her weapon and aim it at the possible assailant.

"It's just me!" Adrian squeaked.

"Oh." Piri placed his gun down, "Uh... where's Rogue?"

"What are you doing?" Katy hissed, "You scared the living daylight out of us!"

"I was guarding the entrances to the Command Room." Adrian said simply, "Rogue... well, the General is under the rubble."

"Is she alive?" Piri said.

"Of course she is alive, you twit!" Katy said, slapping her upside the head, "The bloody woman can't die."

"Why do I detect Jason's spy phone..." Piri mumbled while looking at her spy phone.

"But he's MIA..." Katy said.

"... said to be captured by..." Adrian wondered off.

"... Joshua." Piri said.

She turned around, and both Katy and Adrian were already running back to the Anti-Terrorism Main Office.

"Guys? Guys wait!" Piri yelled, beginning to run.

Rogue heaved herself out of the rubble, coughing up a storm. Her throat felt dry due to the contaminated air around her. She couldn't see well, so staggered back. She pressed her back against something warm and soft...

...in return, it held her elbows.

Rogue gasped, turning around and fanning away the dusty air. Before was Joshua Helixon, who grinned a toothy grin.

"Well aren't you jumpy today, General Tvarkov?" he raised an eyebrow.

"What do you want?" she said, walking backwards.

"Five major agents are underground. One is trapped, and four are around. Who will be the last one to be found?" he said in a sing-song voice, "We all know who it'll be, my dear."

"Hey!" Adrian yelled, followed by other footsteps.

"We'll collide again soon." he said to her before he disappeared.

"You okay." Adrian said as he looked her over.

"I'm fine." she said, brushing off some dust from her shoulders. In return, Piri sneezed.

"Still, let's get you checked." Katy said. The Generals had a meeting. Rogue sat there in one of the chairs of the conference room, left cheek gauzed.

"This was deliberate." Rookie said.

"Wow. I never noticed." Rogue said sarcastically.

"Easy on the girl, Rookie." Jet said, "She's usually cranky after things like this."

"I know." Rookie shrugged.

"So, what do we do?" Dot asked.

"Hm..." Gary looked at his spy phone, "The Director is calling you to their office, Rogue."

"Really now?" Rogue said as she stood up, "Eh. I'll go."

With that, Rogue walked off.

Chapter 7: Risking It All
Rogue finds herself in the Club Penguin Times's Office at the Town. The Director paced before her.

"I'm sending you in." The Director finally said.

"Sending me to?" Rogue asked.

"I'm sending you after Laurenson." they said, "We need him back ASAP. We are planning an attack against Helixon, and we are in dire need of him."

"You're risking my life as well, Director." she deadpanned.

"I know that." the Director said, "That's why I'm sending you in. You can teleport, you can fight, heck, you can even heal yourself."

"I know." Rogue sighed, "I just... why me?"

"It's because you, my dear, can save us all." the Director said, "We got a letter sent in. It said that if we send in Everest, we might be able to save the Island."

"That's crap!" Rogue cried as she stood from her seat, "Crap, I tell you! They tell you that and then you know what happens? They-"

"I am fully aware of the consequences, Tvarkov." the Director said sternly, "I am very well aware of it."

"Then why send me in, hm?" Rogue asked, "Why the Tvarkov?"

"Because," The Director heaved, "Because... Gary had a theory. This all started because Joshua was looking for someone. Gary would hear him murmur about cold nights and a girl with red hair when he was a kid."

"What makes you think I am that girl?" Rogue asked.

"Rogue," The Director said, "Joshua's biological parents cannot be identified. He was adopted by the Helixon family at the age of 6."

"Oh." Rogue's frown faded, "Oh."

"Quite." The Director said, "Now, you will need to set out by nightfall. Do you want to say your goodbyes?"

"No." Rogue said, shaking her head, "No. I'll be fine."

Rogue ran quickly through the forest paths, feet pumping. She brought nothing with her but a gun and three more magazines.

"I'm almost there." Rogue breathed into the headset.

"Copy that, Redline." Adrian said in the other line.

Rogue nodded and continued running through the path.

"ETA uh... 5 minutes? Yeah, 5 minutes." Rogue said.

"Copy."

Rogue was now before a computer somewhere in the depths of Joshua's cave lair. Behind her, two bodies were sprawled on the floor.

"C'mon, computer. Hurry up." Rogue murmured.

"Hello, Tvarkov."

Rogue spun around, "Helixon."

"I expected the damage to be... worse." Joshua said as he nudged one of the bodies.

"I'm not here to kill anyone." Rogue said sternly.

"Really?" Joshua raised an eyebrow, "Then what are you planning, hm?"

"None of your business." Rogue hissed.

"It will be in 3," he said as he took out a knife.

"2." Rogue said as she held onto her gun.

"1." he said as he started walking to her.

"Missed." Rogue said as she dodged him.

He growled and tried to stab her once more. She counteracted by gripping his flipper and steering the knife to his neck.

"Aren't you idiotic?" he said.

"Why?" Rogue raised an eyebrow, tilting her head mockingly.

"Where is my left hand?" he asked.

Soon, Rogue felt pain on her lower part. She looked down, and saw a knife. She gasped and dropped to the ground. Joshua laughed as he took the knife out of her.

"Fool." Rogue coughed up blood.

"Who's the fool?" he asked, "The blade was simply dipped in poison."

"You... You..." Rogue felt woozy, as she slowly placed her head down, "You..."

Before long, Rogue was out cold.

"We lost contact." Dot said as she looked up to the Director, she herself behind Dot.

"Run the software again." The Director said, "Surely there was an error."

Dot nodded, and proceeded in working on the software. After a few minutes, she frowned and turned towards the Director.

"Nothing." Dot said plainly.

"Oh dear." The Director said as she squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, "Oh... dear oh dear..."

Rogue's eyelids twitched first as she registered a thought.

Where am I?

"You're in my lair, beautiful." a voice said.

She snapped her head around, "Who are you?"

"Joshua Helixon. Hello, pet." he grinned at her.

Her eyes flew open, alert and with determination, "Why am I here?"

"I should ask you myself, dearie." he leaned down to look at her, "Why are you here?"

"That's classified." Rogue frowned.

Joshua laughed, turning around and walking, "Ah, you agents and your classified jargon. It's pleasing to see."

"Pleasing?" Rogue scoffed, "Oh please."

"Anyways," he looked at her and smiled, "I must say, I am intrigued with your work. It's all just so... marvelous."

"How did you know about my work?" Rogue frowned.

"Simple." he smirked, "I read."

"Read?" Rogue's heart skipped a beat, "Read what?"

"Oh, don't play stupid with me, Tvarkov." he ran a flipper through her beak.

"I'd like to hear you speak of it." she said quickly.

"What, a little taste of yours?" he said as she rolled her eyes, "I've read your files, every bit of it. The reports, the comments of the people. I read about all the blood you spilled, all the helpless penguins who decided to cross your path. It didn't matter if they were innocent or not, civilian or not. You just had to kill them, didn't you?"

She closed her eyes and tried to block him out as memories threatened to make their presence seen. She shivered as he felt a flipper on her shoulder.

"C'mon, don't tell me that it was all a farce. Confirm it." he said.

She kept her eyes shut as he squeezed his flipper down on her windpipe, "Confirm it."

"Y-yes!" she cried out as she felt the air slip away from her, "Yes, yes I killed a lot of penguins!"

She gasped as oxygen welcomed her once more. She coughed once, twice as she recovered her composure. He looked on, pleased to see how a simple action can leave her to confess so easily. Pathetic.

He stood taller, prouder at the thought and walked back a bit. He looked at the guard by the door, who held a water bottle. There was little water in it, but maybe enough to drive her mad. He quickly took it from the guard's grasp and tossed it at the fallen agent, who scrambled to grab the water and consume the water.

"I didn't expect the drug to have such an effect on her." the guard mumbled to no one in particular as Joshua smirked and turned on his way.

"I like it." he said as he turned into a corner and disappeared.

The situation at the EPF was chaotic. Adrian was pulled out of bed to report immediately.

"What's going on?" the Lieutenant General frowned, scratching his bedraggled head.

"Rogue went MIA." Dot said, shoving papers into his flippers.

"So?" he yawned.

"Listen here, mate." she said as she gripped his shoulders, "Your general is out there, probably bleeding and half dead. If she doesn't make it out breathing, guess who's the next ATD General?"

That shook him awake. He hastily looked at the papers in his flippers and looked back at the girl, "What do we do?"

"She left something." she said as she turned to him briefly before turning back to the hallway, walking quickly towards Rogue's office. "Tech's telling us that it was sent seconds before we lost her."

"And what is it?" he said as they entered the general's office. It was still immaculate, exactly how she left it.

"That's where you come in." Dot said, "We're assuming that you have access to these files, for none of us so far was able to get in it."

He nodded and turned towards the glass computer mounted on the wall. On it were words he thought he'd never see, and hopefully never will ever again.

PROTOCOL 26.3  ENTER PASSCODE

Jason woke up in a room, wherever he was, and looked at the papers surrounding him. He finds Rogue's paper, which looks like the first page of her file. There was a red stamp on her picture, a clear indication that something happened.

"You're awake." he looks to his right to see Joshua sitting there, drinking something from a mug.

"Why is there a stamp on her picture?" Jason said as he scanned the other pages to see the same thing, "Why are there stamps on all of these pictures?"

Joshua chuckled, stood, took Rogue's page, and sat in front of Jason. He showed the page to him.

"This, my friend, are files I took from my adoptive father." Joshua said, "These red stamps are my markers of who I have imprisoned, or killed, or whatever."

Jason paled, "Rogue's...?"

"Alive, no worries." Joshua laughed, setting down the paper and standing up, "You should've seen your face, Laurenson. Do you care for her that much?"

Before Jason could answer, Joshua has already slammed the door and locked it. Jason sighed, looking at the barred window in the ceiling, seeing the moonlight gleam to the spot mere inches away from him. He sighs and slouches on the wall, wondering how the others are.

A much more younger Rogue runs through the snow, wearing a thick coat. She giggles and collides into her twin brother, a boy named Nikita. She giggles and hugs him, hard as he presses a kiss on her forehead.

"Hello, Rogue."

"Hello, Nikita."

Rogue suddenly wakes up, finding herself in the same cell. The moonlight falls down on her as she slowly processed what she dreamed of.

Leni looks like Joshua.

Joshua's an orphan.

Is Joshua her twin brother, Nikita?

The computers were going on overdrive, Adrian noted.

He continued pacing the ATMO, glancing occasionally at the huge computer that was scanning desperately for his general's location. He looks at the few personal belongs they were able to obtain from her office. There was an old PSA phone that was obviously just a keepsake and not functioning, a set of keys, the old PSA handbook, her cap, and her toothbrush.

"Adrian?" Bridgett said, walking up to him, "It's been an hour. We haven't tracked her phone."

Adrian sighed as he looked at the computer screen once more, "The EPF phone can be tracked to any point-"

"-unless it is at high places, where the signals cannot get to them." Bridgett finished, "Would you like us to send some teams?"

Adrian shook his head, now looking at the toothbrush on the desk. It was a rich shade of purple, with black bristles. He smiles slightly and picked it up.

"I don't think so." Adrian said, turning to her while holding up the toothbrush, "Though, do we have anything that can track DNA?"

Rogue was now very conflicted with feelings. Is she glad that she found her twin brother? Is she surprised that her enemy is family? Is she scared of what the EPF would do? She has yet to know, but right now, she is sure that she's scared of what the future holds.

The door swings open, and Rogue immediately looks at it to see Joshua. He raised an eyebrow at the confused look on her face, and walked forward.

"What's with the face, doll?" Joshua asked, grabbing her beak and pulling her face to look at him.

He noticed that her ponytail was now pulled aside, probably from all the tossing and turning she was doing earlier, and that some bits of her hair has now fallen from the said ponytail. She suddenly looked familiar, not to mention younger. He tried to find the memory, but failed to do so.

"I uh..." she paused slightly as she frowned, realizing that he had the same confused face. "I was thinking."

Joshua nodded and let her go, watching some more of the locks fall down, "About what?"

She frowned as she asked herself. Why was he feeling chatty? And why does he seem... friendlier?

"Nothing, it was just a dream." Rogue sighed, shaking her head. He watched the ponytail sink further down and more hair go down.

He hums as he continues searching his memory for something, anything that will answer the annoying question. Why is she suddenly so familiar? What is it about her hair that reminded him so much of a dream?

Chapter 8: Truth in a Dream
Later that night, Joshua closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep.

He dreams of a much younger him, playing with a young girl with black hair and eyes, running through the forest. He smacks into her by accident, dislodging her ponytail and watching it hang loosely on her head. She hugs him, kisses his forehead as he laughs and pulls the ponytail off. They exchange greetings that he can't remember as her hair flowed down gently. They sat down and watched the snow fall down on them.

Then he opens his eyes.

Joshua sits up, looking at the door in front of him. He accesses what he just dreamt of. It was similar to the one he had years ago, when he was younger.

The question is, was it really a dream?

It was 1 in the morning, Adrian observed.

Teams of agents were still scanning the mountainous areas of Club Penguin for even a tiny bit of Rogue's DNA with some gadgets Gary had. He slumped into a chair and listened to the radio reports as he flicked through the PSA handbook.

"I honestly don't get how even the Director doesn't know her location." Adrian said to no one in particular, "Must've been Rogue's instincts that found Helixon. Sad how she didn't tell where she was."

He continued flicking through, reading about the rules and guidelines when suddenly, a transmission came in.

"I think we have a lead on her." Calhoun said as Adrian sits up and grabs the walkie-talkie.

"Where are you?" he said as he taps the table in front of Bridgett, who bolts awake.

"North, not too far from the Tallest Mountain." Calhoun said as some static was heard, "Look, Adrian. Signal's weak over here. We need to get back or else we'll freeze our feathers here."

"Alright, fine." Adrian said as he turned to Bridgett, "Send in the return signal. We have a lead."

Bridgett nodded and summoned a holographic keyboard, pressing in a few commands before slouching back into her seat and slowly falling asleep.

Rogue looks up and at the window above her, and attempts to remove the bothersome ponytail.

She sighs and rests her back on the wall once more. Maybe she should go to sleep, maybe she should just close her eyes and dream once more. Maybe...

She sits up straighter as the door flew open. Joshua stood there, looking very wide awake. He walked over to her and sat next to her. She scooted a bit to give them some space.

"Rough night." he sighed, taking out a bottle of Cream Soda from his jacket and popping it open. He takes a sip before handing it to her, "Want some?"

She frowned, eyeing the drink, then nodding and taking it from him. She takes a quick sip from it and hands it back. He looked at her as she appeared unfazed.

"I thought this type of Cream Soda was a bit too strong for your taste." he said as he took another drink.

"Well, you thought wrong." she said, coughing slightly from the quick and sudden intake.

He nods and hands her the bottle, but she shakes her head and slumps slightly. She sighs and eyes him slightly.

"Why are you here?"

"I thought that we could both think about a dream." he said, taking another sip, "But wait, are you sure you don't want another drink? I'll finish this if you really don't."

She nodded as she closed her eyes briefly, "Sure thing."

He nods and finishes the rest of the bottle in one swig and sets it down, burping slightly. She smiles a bit and opens her eyes once more.

"Comedic."

"Says the serious general." Joshua quips.

Rogue eyes him carefully, "Is it customary for you to offer Cream Soda to your captives and then chat with them in the late hours of the night?"

Joshua snickers and eyes the bottle, "How about we start with you?"

Rogue frowned, "You're acting off."

Joshua raised an eyebrow at her before sighing and grabbing the bottle. She watched him and was ready to inch away when he threw it at the wall across from them. She flinched as the bottle turned into shards of glass.

"It was just a dream." he sighed, "Just a silly little dream."

"Doubt it." Rogue said as she looked closely, "It's making you edgy."

"Way to state the obvious." he said after a moment of silence.

She looked away as she thought of her dream, drifting back to her Nikita - Joshua theory. She sighed as she tapped her foot.

"What's it about?"

Joshua raised an eyebrow, "Why would you want to know?"

"I tend to be curious." she shrugged casually.

There was silence. Rogue shifted a bit as it slowly became more and more awkward.

"I can tell." Joshua sighs.

The two look away and try to concentrate on something — anything — other than the other penguin. Suddenly, Rogue feels pain under her left eye.

"Ow." Rogue winces and closes her eyes.

Joshua winces as well and rubs his right hand, trying to get rid of the sudden pain as well. He wonders if this is the cream soda at it, he doesn't know. Whatever this is, he doesn't like it. The two tend to their pain for some time until the pain disappears.

"What was that about?" Joshua mutters lowly, then perks up when he hears her groan.

"No idea." Rogue replied.

Both look at each other and frown.

Adrian Hepson wondered how he was supposed to approach the Director regarding the news he has received.

He didn't even know why they ran the test, anyway. One of the Anti-Terrorism agents under the case decided to pull up a comparison of the DNA samples of both Rogue and Joshua. When he had noticed that they looked rather similar, he had approached Adrian before Adrian himself ordered a DNA test with any available DNA they had on either.

It was a surprise to everyone when they found that the DNA was 90% alike.

"Hepson." The modified voice of the Director was heard as he turned to stare at the screen. "You requested for a direct line to me?"

"Indeed." He said and shuffled on his feet, holding a tablet in his hands. "We have reason to believe that Joshua Helixon and Rogue Tvarkov are... related."

Uncomfortable silence follows his remark. He shifted a bit on his feet and cleared his throat, "Would you like me to send the file to you?"

Adrian watched as the Director shuffled a bit, before appearing to nod. He turned to Bridgett, who was standing next to him, and nodded. She immediately turned to scurry to her laptop, ready to send the files to the Director.

"Change the orders, Hepson." The Director said, and Adrian tried to brace himself for the next words. "I want you to bring Helixon in, alive."

"Yes, Director." He nodded, and watched as the screen faded to black. He sighed and turned around, beginning to bark orders.

Chapter 9: Raiding Party
In her cell, Rogue was mulling over the events last night. Why was Joshua being so nice last night? Could he possibly be her twin? The questions spun in her head in a slow circle, dizzying and blurring into one. She closed her eyes and sighed, trying to find a reason behind all of this.

"Tvarkov." She opened her eyes and looked to see Joshua standing there, leaning on the entrance. "Is there any chance that the EPF would be storming its way into my lair?"

She blinked a bit to process what he said before shrugging, "Most likely, why?"

He shook his head and turned, disappearing down the hallway. She frowned at his retreating form and huffed, leaning back on the wall.

"Ramonez, what's the situation?"

"We're fifteen minutes out, General Hepson. Approaching location."

"Excellent. Report back ASAP." Adrian said and sat back down on his chair, sighing. He rubbed his temples with both flippers, feeling a headache starting to form. Was this what Rogue was like on a daily basis? He considered visiting Agent Millers regarding this.

"Adrian, the signal's holding well." Bridgett said, turning towards him as she looked up from her laptop. "I guess Gary's new gadget is working."

"Of course it is, it's Gary's." Adrian mumbled to himself before nodding, speaking louder. "Would it hold once they get to the location?"

"I don't know. We'll have to see." Bridgett shrugged, going back to clicking through feeds on her laptop.

He watched her a bit before sighing, looking back towards the huge monitors that dominate the wall of the Anti-Terrorism Main Office. He wondered if his general was still alive, and if he can find the others who are lost.

Jason was picking at his locks when he heard feet thundering against the ground. He looked up to see Infinitists running about, weapons held up with orders being shouted.

"What's going on?" he asked to the guard who was in his cell, sitting up a bit as he did.

"Why would you want to know?" He replied coldly, his grip on his gun tightening as he spoke.

Someone bursted into the room and turned towards the guard, "Get him up! We're moving the hostages to the entrance."

"Why?" The guard frowned, setting his gun down as he did.

"The Elites are coming!" He replied and shoved the guard towards Jason, who squirmed back to avoid getting stepped on. He watched as the guard unshackled him and quickly placed him in handcuffs, all the while keeping a vice-like grip on his wrists.

"Let's go." he said simply and urged him on, the tip of his gun cold against his back.

He only nodded and huffed, letting himself be pushed up as he did.

Rogue looked up as Joshua stepped into her cell.

"We need to move." He said simply as he grabbed her shackles, pulling them off her in one go. She rubbed her wrists and followed him, frowning with questions in her head.

"Where are we going?" She asked, looking around and watching the Infinitists scurry about. She watched as some of them set files on fire and destroy computers with their guns.

"The gig is up. EPF has been spotted making their way towards the lair." Joshua said and turned to her, pausing in the middle of the hallway. Infinitists scurried past them as they stood, not batting an eye or giving them a look. Rogue frowned as she watched her twin shift on his feet uneasily, looking around as he did.

"You have to come with me." She finally said, watching as his expression morphed to surprise and he looked at her.

"And why would you risk yourself for that, Tvarkov?" he asked, looking at her incredulously.

"I have a hunch." she said and started walking, gripping her dirty shirt as she did. "Where are my friends?"

"They're all being brought to the entrance, to buy us some time." he said and walked faster to catch up with her. "Is there something wrong?"

"I don't understand why you're running." She said simply, turning to him as they walked. She paused at an intersection and gave him a look, making him nod and lead her to the path at the right.

"The main reason why I've been doing this is to challenge you, and the EPF. Everyone thinks that the EPF is their protector, but what would happen once the protector is attacked?" He said and shrugged, waving his flippers about as he spoke. "I had no plan for the endgame, and now that we are at the endgame, I'm afraid I have to surrender."

"You do realize that the EPF will kill you, right?" She said and stopped, turning to him fully. The hallway seemed to be quiet, as if the chaos was far from them. "Or they'll bring you in. Either way, I am not letting that happen to you."

He looked at her curiously, and Rogue starts to wonder if that's the same look she has whenever she was confused. "Why?"

"Because we stick together." She said and gripped his shoulder. "Family sticks together."

"Breach!" Ramonez yelled, and pressed down on the button.

The metal doors exploded without that much of a hitch, and the agents ran in with their guns ablaze. Ramonez immediately scrambled towards Gary and Jason, who were both sitting down and coughing from the smoke of the bomb.

"Get me a medic! I want to make sure these two are okay." Ramonez yelled towards his back and turned back to the two, immediately grabbing Jason's wrists to unlock his shackles. "Laurenson, where's our favorite Ruscan?"

"I don't know." Jason said as he was freed, rubbing his wrists as he did. Ramonez turned and made quick work with Gary's shackles. "I haven't seen her."

"You know who else is missing, agent?" Gary asked Jason as he rubbed his wrists, turning as he spoke.

"Who?" Ramonez raised an eyebrow as Gary and Jason shared a look. Jason's eyes widened as he stood, almost losing his balance as he did.

"Crap, Helixon has Rogue!" he yelled.

"So what's the plan?" Joshua asked as they started running down the slope, gripping each other's wrists as they ran.

"We go back to my house, I make you some fake documents, and you hightail it out of here." she said and looked at their back, satisfied to find that no one was following them. "Go to Rusca. I'll tell Papa that I found you."

"And what about you? They'll be looking for you." He said and turned to her, wondering why on earth she was helping him.

"I'll tell them that I escaped, and I have no idea where you were." she said and looked to him, smiling a bit. "What's wrong?"

"You know you can possibly be charged for harboring a fugitive." He said, huffing a bit at her growing smirk.

"I'm related to Amigopen. It wouldn't be the first time." She said and laughed, before yelling when a bullet narrowly missed his shoulder.

They both turned to see Ramonez, who set down his sniper rifle. Both of them shared a look before Joshua grabbed an ice pistol in his pocket. He turned and pressed the end of it to Rogue's neck, slowing down as they looked at Ramonez.

"Try again!" Joshua yelled, watching as Ramonez slowed down. They started walking backwards before turning to run again, avoiding the bullets that began to fire behind them.

"I have a plan." Rogue said, ignoring the cold metal of the pistol on the back of her neck.

"Is it a good one?" Joshua asked, huffing a bit as they ran.

"Of course it is, but you wouldn't like it."

"ATMO, this is Ramonez. I'm in pursuit of Helixon, he appears to be using Tvarkov as a bargaining chip."

"The Director wants him alive, Ramonez." Adrian said, frowning as he watched Ramonez's pixelated feed. "I need both of them alive. Am I understood?"

"Of course, General Hepson." Ramonez said. Adrian watched as the feed began getting blurrier, as if Ramonez was running faster.

He sighed and slouched on his seat, turning towards the clock.

It's only struck him now, half past midnight, that it was Rogue's birthday.

"Stop in the name of the law!" Ramonez yelled as he pointed his gun at the two, finally getting them to a cliff.

Rogue looked back, and swallowed a lump down her throat. Behind her were sharp rocks and an icy river, and she considered if she was willing to surrender her twin for this.

Except, Joshua had other plans.

He pointed his gun at Rogue, who froze and looked at Ramonez. She considered pushing back the gun and shooting him then and there, except she was too weak and it was too cold.

"One step and I will shoot her dead." Joshua warned, narrowing his eyes at Ramonez.

The two men stood across each other, Ramonez having his gun trained at Joshua and Joshua having his gun trained to Rogue.

Ramonez glanced at Rogue, who appeared frozen in shock. He wondered what Rogue had gone through, why the general wasn't making a move to save herself. Did something traumatizing happen to her? He frowned, and set his gun down a bit.

"General Tvarkov! Are you alright?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her unreadable expression. She only nodded slowly and glanced away, rubbing her neck.

"Back away, agent. Leave us in peace." Joshua said, narrowing his eyes as he spoke.

"You and I both know that the game's over, Helixon. For acts of terrorism, kidnapping, murder and robbery, you are under arrest by the laws that govern Club Penguin." Ramonez said, voice booming as he did. "Surrender yourself and the general."

Joshua looked between him and Rogue, before shrugging and yelling back at Ramonez. "Over my dead body!"

He then shot Rogue on the shoulder, watching her cry out and stumble back. Ramonez yelled as he lunged forward, as if it would help the injured general as she fell off the cliff. He looked towards Joshua in fury, and raised his gun.

"I'm so sorry, boy. I guess I need to go. Bye!" Joshua grinned and proceeded to disappear, much like Rogue would. Ramonez cursed as he scurried to the cliff, looking for any signs of the missing Tvarkov.

"ATMO, do you copy? I need a rescue team to search for General Tvarkov's body, stat!" Ramonez yelled as he pressed his flipper against his earpiece.

"Ramonez, we copy. Sending a team to your location." Bridgett's calm voice replied, causing Ramonez to frown as he looked around.

"Castillo, where is Adrian?" He asked slowly, his heart thundering against his chest as he spoke.

"I don't trust myself to know, Ramonez. I'm sorry." She said quietly, and he could do nothing but nod as he sat down on the edge of the cliff and stared down below.

He doesn't want to think of the body that could possibly be submerged in its rocky bottom.

Chapter 10: Unexplained Circumstances
'''EPF ANTI-TERRORISM MAIN OFFICE, CP ISLE. 1210'''

Adrian looked around the office, trying to make sense out of the scene around him. The portrait of Rogue that hung on the side has turned into a memorial corner, with a table covered in flowers and candles. Nearly all the agents he can see had a black band on their sleeves, and they spoke quietly amongst each other. He knows that if he ventured deep into the corridors, towards her office, he would find more flowers and candles.

As Adrian stared at the beautiful snapdragons that guarded the sides of Rogue's portrait, he didn't notice Bridgett stand next to him.

"They're beautiful, aren't they?" He almost jumps when she speaks, and turns to see a sad smile on her face. "I heard the Director sent the snapdragons. They look so beautiful."

Adrian only nodded and stared at the flowers, looking at its beautiful purple petals. He could feel tears prickle the back of his eyes, but he willed it away. "Why would they send snapdragons, though?"

Bridgett's laugh sounded forceful, and Adrian tried not to shiver at it. "I don't quite know. Perhaps it has a meaning?"

He only shrugged and continued looking at them. "I don't know. I'll ask Cyrilla to look it up for me."

The two remained standing there, watching the fire flicker in front of their fallen leader. Next to him, he can Bridgett sniffle and wipe a tear away from her eye.

"How's Laurenson holding up?" He asked quietly, turning to Bridgett a bit.

"He's with Cory at the moment. For grief therapy, I think." She muttered, coughing into her flipper. He nodded and sighed.

"Any news from the search parties?"

"Negative. They say the water's too cold to swim through or something."

"Then send in a camera." He replied, clear annoyance in his tone. Bridgett considered stepping back. "I don't care. I need to present a body to the Tvarkov family soon."

Bridgett was quiet after that, and she looked at him a bit before nodding. "I'll ask Gary."

"Good." he said firmly, and turned back to stare at the memorial.

"Has anyone seen Ezra?" Jason asked as he stepped into the snack room.

"She's been inconsolable." Ramonez said simply, standing up and adjusting his jacket. Jason looked away from the black band on his arm. "Couldn't really stop crying."

"But where is she?" Jason said, looking around the snack room. Few agents looked up from their laptops and shrugged, and some refused to say a word.

"Probably in Rogue's office. I heard her talking about packing the place up." Ramonez replied and shrugged.

Jason nodded and turned towards the direction of the Anti-Terrorism Main Office, and Ramonez sighed as he watched him go.

Adrian looked up from his paperwork to see Ezra standing in front of him. With her red rimmed eyes and slightly read beak, it was too easy to say that she wasn't handling Rogue's demise so well.

"What is it, Ms. Tvarkov?" Adrian asked, setting down his pen as he spoke.

She looked down at her flippers and handed him a hat, Rogue's hat to be exact. Adrian frowned as he inspected the peaked cap in all angles, staring at its black visor and the white body. The golden insignia of the division and its laurel leaves shone under the lights, as if it held a secret.

"Why?" He asked simply as he looked up to her, eyeing her set jaw.

"Your induction is soon, isn't it?" she said, gripping her shirt as she did. "I'm sure she would've loved it if you wore that."

He looked at the peaked cap once more, the insignia staring back at him. He looked up to Ezra and swallowed. "I-I don't even know if it fits."

"You can wear it now if you want." She replied, looking away and clearing her throat. "I'll ask someone to fix it to your size."

He shook his head and looked away, "I'll wear it as it is."

She nodded and remained silent, standing before him as she did. He looked down and cleared his throat, coughing a bit and looking up. "Is there... anything else you need?"

"I just miss her." She said sadly, eyes trained on the peaked cap that was on Adrian's desk.

"I miss her too." Adrian replied quietly, looking down at the cap as well.

"Have we tried tracking her spy phone?"

"Prisma, believe me when I say that we've tried everything." Adrian said, exasperated as he leaned on his chair. "There is no way that we can locate–"

"Adrian!" Bridgett bursted into the room, breathless as she leaned on the doorway. "There's something you'll want to see."

"Did you locate Rogue's body?" Adrian asked, standing as he did. Mike Prisma followed after, raising an eyebrow at the two.

"More than that." She said as she took out her tablet, tapping on it a few times before handing it to Adrian.

Lieutenant General Adrian Hepson:

'We are glad to inform you that your general, GENERAL ROGUE ALYSSA TVARKOV, is alive and well. She is currently recovering from a bullet to the shoulder in Rusca, and will be flown back to Club Penguin Island once she considers herself fully capable of resuming work. We apologize for not informing you any sooner, as we were unsure at first whether she would wake up or not.'

- Director Irina Trotsky-Tvarkov, NRR

"The absolute madwoman." Adrian mumbled to himself as he looked up, looking at Prisma's confused face and Bridgett's gleeful one.

Epilogue
'''EPF HANGAR 5, CP ISLE. 0817'''

Rogue stepped out of the plane with a backpack on her uninjured shoulder, and raised a brow at the small group that crowded the bottom of the staircase.

"Welcome back!" everyone cheered, immediately bursting out to clapping and cheering. Other workers in the hangar paused to look at the seemingly resurrected general, some nodding or clapping as well.

She nodded at them and walked down the staircase, taking slow steps as she did. She finally descended and accepted a hug from Piri, and a clap in the back from Mike Prisma.

"You have some explaining to do, young lady." Prisma chuckled as he looked at her, grinning as he did before giving her a small hug. "And not just to me, but to the Director and everyone else."

"But first, you need to be medically and psychologically cleared." Adrian said, stepping into view and grinning toothily. "General Tvarkov."

"Hepson." She said and smiled, "Did you hold down the fort while I was gone?"

"You scared the living daylights out of us." he chuckled and sighed. "There was talk of giving you the Force Star."

"I'll have to decline." She laughed and looked around, frowning. "Where's Crash?"

"Jason?" Bridgett raised a brow and looked around. "Oh right, he's back at HQ. Would you like to see him?"

She nodded, "Very much so."

"General Tvarkov." The Director said as the screen came alive. "Glad to see that you're back with us."

Rogue leaned back on her chair and smiled a bit, "I can say the same thing Director."

"I trust the flight went well? I hope the jetlag isn't too terrible." They said.

She shrugged and smiled. "A bit of turbulence doesn't hurt."

"Indeed." The Director said. They remained quiet for some time before they spoke again. "Tvarkov, do you know the location of Joshua Helixon?"

"I actually do." Rogue said as she sat up, raising both eyebrows. "He's currently under the custody of my family. You see, teleportation isn't really his strong suit."

If the Director raised both of their eyebrows, Rogue couldn't tell. "Well, I request that you turn him over as soon as possible."

Rogue clicked her tongue and tapped the arms of her chair. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I can't do that."

"And why not?" The Director's tone was icy. Rogue tried not to let a shiver run down her spine.

She leaned forward and rested her weight on her elbows, staring down at the camera connected to the monitor. "You and I both know what he is to me, ma'am."

"It was an interesting discovery, at that. There were rumors flying about during the project that he looked a lot like you." They mused. Rogue did not let the smile on her face stay long.

"If I am going to send him in, I am doing it under my conditions and solely my conditions." she said, frowning as she did. "I am not going to lose him again."

There was silence, and Rogue wondered if she went too far. She watched as the Director seemingly fidgeted before she heard the next words.

"What will they be?"

"You're crazy, you know that? Standing up to the Director like that."

Rogue smiled as she set her cup of coffee down, looking across the table and to Jason. "The things I do for family."

He nodded and smiled, turning to watch Natalia play with Rogue's puffles. He sighed and turned back to her. "You know, I was wondering where she would have went if you really did die."

"She would go to Ezra. I know she can take care of her." Rogue said and watched Natalia as well, smiling a bit. "But I try my best not to get too injured. She's been through a lot."

"Are you ever going to tell me what happened back at the lair with Catherine?" Jason asked, raising a brow.

"Next time." She said simply and sighed, "I don't think I want to, yet."

"Have you checked in with Millers?" He asked, taking a sip from his hot cocoa.

"Not yet."

"You probably should."

"I probably should." she echoed and watched Natalia, taking a sip from her cup of coffee and sighing.

"You appear lax." Cory said as she leaned back on her chair, watching Rogue as she did.

"The weather in Rusca is great at this time of the year." Rogue said and smiled sweetly, looking at Cory.

"You've passed psychiatric evaluation, but I have a question for you." Cory said.

"Let's hear it." Rogue said and leaned back on her chair.

"Where did you go?" She asked, raising a brow at the girl.

She shrugged and smiled, rubbing the back of her neck. "I went home."

Cory eyed Rogue for a while before shaking her head, signing off on the paperwork and handing it to Rogue. She watched as she took it and stood, nodding at Cory before turning.

"Rogue?" She watched as the younger woman pause and turn. "Belated happy birthday."

"Thank you." Rogue said simply and smiled, before leaving the room.

Rogue was doing paperwork when she felt a gust of wind, and looked up to see Joshua standing there.

"I really advise not to do this while I'm at work." Rogue huffed as she strode to her door, shutting the door as she did. "Or well, until I bring you in."

"How did your meeting with the Director go?" Joshua asked, raising an eyebrow as he did.

"They agreed to my proposal." she said and looked to him. "We'll be fine."

"That's comforting to know." He said and looked around, eyeing the two vases of flowers. "Nice flowers. Who gave them?"

"The Director did. They were on my memorial." she said and smiled, "I always liked snapdragons."

He looked towards her and sighed, "We kind of missed our birthday, didn't we?"

"No we didn't." she frowned and turned to him. "We celebrated after waking up."

"I'll make it up to you." He said simply and looked back towards the flowers, admiring their colors.

She watched him for a bit before sighing, turning towards her cabinet. She opened it and grabbed a bottle of Cream Soda, turning to him and smiling. "How about we try again?"

He nodded and took the bottle, opening it and taking a long swig. She took it back from him and took a sip before setting it down. He sat down on her couch and asked, "Do you know how to sing 'Happy Birthday' in Russian?"

"Of course I do." Rogue scoffed and rolled her eyes. She grabbed two glasses and set them down with the Cream Soda. "Why wouldn't I know?"

"Could you teach me then?" he asked, smiling a bit as he did.

She nodded and sat down next to him, taking the Cream Soda and pouring herself a cup.

THE END