"For someone who says she wants to live," Frieda said and Niko could hear the frustration thick in her voice, "you sure are moving slowly."

"Well, excuse me but I'm claustrophobic." Nora was standing at the bottom of the ladder and Frieda and Niko were waiting at the top for her.

"You'd think that would make you climb the ladder faster."

"Okay, boss." It was the first time Niko had called Frieda 'boss' but he realized early on that when Princess Sparkles said it it calmed her somehow. Maybe she just liked having her authority validated. "Our new friend here is kinda going through a bit of a rough time, wanna lay off a little?" Niko was watching the black van that had pulled up to the cabin. Meera's husband was speaking with an MEC agent on the road while the old woman watched from their porch. "Do you think they'll be okay?"

"Meera and Elias may be old but they're tough. They can handle themselves." Frieda was lifting Nora up through the trap door.

"It's just that things don't look like their going well over--" Niko was cut off by the sound of an echoing gun blast. He watched Elias fall, luckily Meera's screams matched Nora's or their location would have been given away. Frieda clapped a hand over Nora's mouth before the second gunshot and Niko watched in horror as Meera fell over the handrail of the porch.

"We need to go." Frieda said but Nora seemed frozen. "For god's sake, get over it and move." Frieda lifted the woman over her shoulder and started running.

"Frieda, you said I wouldn't have to run!"

"Yeah, well, we both know you're good at escaping in bare feet."

Niko rolled his eyes and took off one of the heels. "Not again," he said with a groan.

Frieda stopped and turned back to Niko with anger burning in her eyes. "Are you serious with this? Two of the best people this republic has ever created just died and you're complaining about running for your life? I know they both would have given all they had for that chance."

Niko wanted to apologize but Frieda had frozen the words in his throat. Nora still didn't say anything, draped over Frieda's shoulder she was still sobbing quietly. Niko didn't hesitate to follow Frieda as she took off through the forest again.

"How did they know when we'd be there?" Niko asked as he ran.

"Maybe they didn't." Frieda responded, even running with the extra weight of a whole person she didn't sound strained with the effort. Again Niko felt his admiration growing. "It could just be a coincidence."

Niko didn't push the subject, even though he was pretty sure Frieda didn't believe that was the case. They ran for a long time on their way back to Princess and his truck, Niko was pleased to realize that his training was paying off. He felt faster and stronger than ever before.

"Wait." Frieda held out her free arm and Niko nearly ran into it. She put Nora down on the ground and urged Niko to crouch down beside her.

"What? We're so close."

There was a blast of gunfire and then the forest went silent for a split second. "Frieda D. Viants!" A male voice broke the silence. "We have your partner, it's time to give yourself up."

"Don't do it, boss!" Princess called out but then Niko heard the sound of an MEC agent punching their friend.

"Come out and bring the deviant with you or I'll have to hurt this guy even worse."

Frieda looked worried, Niko didn't even know she could worry. "Okay, look," she whispered to Niko and Nora. "I'm gonna go out there and Nora's coming with me."

"No, I can't." Nora's face was dripping and flushed. She was shaking on the cold ground.

"You can't make her go, look, she's terrified."

"I don't think they know you're here with me, that means we have an edge." She glanced through a bush and said, "I can see Princess, one of the agents has a gun on him. I think I'm counting three more agents, Niko, what do you see?"

Niko glanced towards the truck and shrugged. "I guess that seems right, I don't know, it's not easy to see."

"Look, you stay here. We'll go out there and when I give the signal, I want you to take out the ones with the truck. I'll handle the one who's got Princess."

"No, no I can't do it." Nora was shaking as she gabbed hold of Frieda and Niko. "I want both of you with me, I'll be safer!"

"With all due respect, Nora." Frieda's worry faded from her face and it was replaced with annoyance and anger. "Shut the hell up, okay? Let me and Niko handle this." She grabbed hold of the woman's arm and yanked her to her feet.

"Wait," Niko said, "what's the signal?"

"I'm sure you'll know it when you see it."

Nora was crying louder now. "No, please! I don't wanna go!"

"Shut up." Frieda pushed her forward and Niko could see the agent who had Princess at gunpoint was pleased.

"Ah, Frieda the bearded woman, nice to finally meet you. There are so many stories, I was beginning to think you were a myth."

"Nice to know I'm famous." She continued to urge Nora forward but the woman seemed too stubborn for her own good.

"She's not alone!" Nora screamed and Niko noticed the fear was gone from her voice. "There's another deviant! It's Nikolai Sirminov!"

"What are you doing?" Frieda asked. "Oh my god, you're one of them." She slipped out a shot gun and pulled Nora around to be a human shield.

"The other one is waiting to fire! He's in the trees!"

Before Niko could react, he saw the agent in charge fire his gun. A spray of blood splattered the ground from Princess' head and he fell to his knees. "NO!" Frieda screamed. She ran forward, still using Nora as a shield. Niko popped up and fired but the bullet sailed harmlessly through the trees. He stared down at his bare feet and sighed before slipping them into his heels. When he looked back up he saw the agent in the center of the ambush fire and his shot took Nora in the shoulder. Frieda mustered her strength and launched the woman through the air. She slammed into the MEC agent and they both tumbled to the ground. Frieda fired her shot gun at the agents guarding the truck and the shower of shrapnel took out another agent. Once confidently positioned in his heels, Niko fired his own gun and the last two agents fell as Frieda walked closer to Nora and the agent who had shot Princess. Niko was quick to restrain Nora, even though it looked like her pain was preventing her from moving very quickly anyway.

"Please," she said to Niko, "I'm not one of them, I was just scared, I needed to do whatever I could to stay safe."

"If that's true," Niko responded, "I think you made the wrong choice."

Frieda was standing over the last MEC agent. She was burning with rage and her shot gun was pressed against the man's face. "You killed Princess."

"So that's what that sick deviant called himself? Just one more disgusting reason to execute him."

Frieda fired her gun and Niko watched the agents face blow apart and splatter the ground. When Frieda turned around Niko could see she'd been hit with a gush of blood that stained her white coat and painted her face. "Let her go, Niko, and move aside."

"She said she's not with them, she was just scared."

"You can't believe her, the MEC lies, they all do."

"Please." Nora was crying. Her blood and tears were dripping over Niko as she hid behind him for shelter from Frieda's gun. "Help me."

"Frieda, I don't know--" Niko was cut off as he felt a knife press against his back. Nora wrapped an arm around Niko's neck as her blade cut into his skin.

"Stay back you deviant killer!" She screamed. "I have him, I have the man who tried to kill the proxy and you're gonna let me take him."

"You MEC trash, I'd kill him before I let you take him."

"Really?" Niko asked.

The fact that Niko felt he had a say in his own life or death situation only seemed to enrage Frieda more "Shut up," she said.

"Why are those your two favorite words? Other people have valid things to say too!"

"Is now the time for this argument?" Frieda asked. "You should have--"

"Would both of you shut up?" Nora cut Frieda off as she backed away, pulling Niko with her. "You're so annoy--"

Niko felt Nora's grip loosen. The knife fell from his back and he stepped away from her. She fell to her knees, then her face landed against the ground and Niko saw a knife sticking out of her neck.

"I just figured, if you two were gonna distract her with a stupid argument I should take my chance." Niko looked down and saw that Princess had dragged himself towards the truck. He was sitting with his back against one of the large tires, blood pouring down his face and chest from the bullet hole in the side of his head. He looked like he was about to say something else when his eyes fluttered closed and he fell over sideways. Lost in the shock of the moment, Niko stared down at his fallen friend with wide eyes. All he could think as he tried to process what had happened was how badly Princess' blood clashed with the pink velvet.