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The last few weeks for Anthony had been, well hell to say the least. The second a stray Blue had stumbled upon their camp and recognized their description of Izzy, he had gone into full reconnaissance mode. Pandora occasionally had to stop him from absorbing so much time and effort into locating the facility in which the kid had escaped from. She had been his anchor when he lost Maggie, without her no telling what dark place his mind might've wandered.
"Tony, you're tired. I just think you need to rest a bit, some of the others-". He slammed his fist into the wooden desk, the action causing her to flinch ever so slightly. He pinched the bridge of his nose letting out a labored sigh before giving her a weak glance. While the idea of relaxing and spending time with the others sounded pleasing, it felt wrong. He couldn't relax when he knew those three were locked up going through god knows what. "I-I'm sorry. We're just so close, I can't stop now." The sound of laughter flooded through the door and he lifted up the corner of his mouth in what he hoped was a smile. "Go have fun, I'll be fine. I promise". She slipped out without another word and he returned to scribbling on the (not-so-accurate) map of the facility. With help from Rose, they were able to get a general sense of the guard patterns, layout, and feel for the prison.
With the help from the boy's memories they were able to scramble up enough information and form a plan that, probably wouldn't get them all killed. On the outside it seemed simple enough.
xxxxx- Scale the giant ass concrete wall.
xxxxx- Pandora short circuits the electrical fences allowing them to climb over easily.
xxxxx- Tony and Meera start a huge firework show diversion.
xxxxx- Pandora and Rose sneak their way into the blue and yellow buildings while the guards are all dealing xxxxxwith Tony and Meera.
xxxxx-Quin or the man behind the screen gets them all past codes, guards, and doors.
xxxxx-Tony slips off and gets Maggie.
xxxxx-
The last step had thousands of scribbles and eraser marks through it. He had spent countless hours going through the plan and blanked on the actual escaping part. By the time they had the others no doubt the entire fleet of guards would be there armed with guns and white noise. There was no guarantee that he was getting everyone out of there alive. As a last resort, Tony would ultimately stay behind and hold off the guards enough for everyone else to get out. Of course, he hadn't told anyone about that part of the plan yet, but he still had a small amount of hope that it wouldn't have to come to that. In the end it'd be worth it.
It had been years since the incident at the RV. The thought of it still made him sick to his stomach. The group devoted everything to finding them after that day, but it started to seem hopeless. Tony could barely sleep with the idea that Grayson, Izzy, and Maggie believed they had given up looking.
Maggie. The thought of her being locked up in some concentration camp made him sleepless. It's your fault. It should've been you. You could've stopped it. It's all he could think after the incident. It drove him insane. He would've given anything just to switch places with her, just to see her again. He would always have a reoccurring nightmare, a few weeks after. They'd be sitting on the steps of that RV, laughing, and they'd lean in for a kiss and she was gone. Ripped from his fingers. Each night he'd wake up abruptly, panicked and terrified, burning holes through the bed sheets.
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"Tony?" The quiet knock came from Kaity. A 12 year old Blue they had found huddled in an abandoned supermarket. He was shoving various things inside a battered jansport backpack that he had still had from his childhood. "Pandora told me to come get you. They're ready". Tony let out the quietest shaky breath, and nodded his head adding in a small friendly smile to mask his fear. "Thanks Kait". She gave him a beaming smile and skipped out the doorway, leaving him alone. He missed feeling so innocent, not having a care about the world. These days it felt as if the world was on his shoulders.
He fumbled to shove the small piece of notebook paper that contained the "plan", an idea very well could get them killed. His right hand was uncontrollably shaking, a red tick, that he couldn't stop. "Damnit" He muttered, trying several more times before giving up and shoving the paper in the small, open pocket of the backpack. He slung the strap over his shoulder and headed outside, where the group endured the most quiet car ride of their life.
They parked about a mile from the giant facility, stashing the car behind some bushes. Nobody dared speak a word on their quiet descent to the looming concrete wall. Tony wasn't sure if it was the fact that there was a possibility none of them would walk out of here alive, or they didn't want to alert any of the guards nearby. As they finally came to the edge of the forest Tony stopped and turned back towards the group, an unreadable expression on his face. "Well, this is probably one of the riskiest things we've ever done, and I can't guarantee anything. If things go south I'll try to hold them off as long as I can but you all need to use that to get the hell out. You have to promise that none of you will stay behind, I can't have any of you get taken, not again." This would probably be noted as one of the most depressing pep talks in history, but Tony didn't have any hope left to give. This was their last chance to save their friends.
He went over the plans once more, and another just for precaution. If one thing went wrong it could have a catastrophic domino effect. He turned to Pandora first, giving her a curt nod, and a reassuring squeeze of her shoulder. "After we get over that wall, you're first up Sparky. I don't know how much time we have before we set of some kind off alarm so you're going to have to work fast, are you ready?" Even though his eyes were focused on Pandora he meant the last bit for everyone.