Several hours later, the helicopter flew over the mountains, well away from their destination in order to avoid detection by the enemy. Slowly, it descended into the snow beneath them, and the group of four dropped onto the snow-covered ledge, ready to face the dangers that lie ahead.
Tacky was a slightly slim figure with pale skin, white hair, red eyes, and goggles. He wore a brown tunic with a jean jacket on top, and possessed the power of alchemy, along with a large broadsword on his back.
Kathy was a female with blonde hair and green eyes, who wore a white shirt, a black leather jacket, and jeans. As a weapon, she wielded a fire staff.
Cave, another female, had brown hair, gray eyes, and emerald earrings. She wore a black hoodie, skinny ripped jeans, and leather boots. Her weapon was a foldable bow.
Once the helicopter flew off, Xeta made contact with Mossy.
"This is Xeta. We're in."
"Excellent," Mossy replied. "Enemy territory is a few miles away, so you'll have to walk from here on out. As Blue explained, once in, make further contact with me. I'll send him in."
"Roger," Xeta replied, ending the transmission.
The four walked through the mountains for twenty minutes, until the facility was in sight.
But Xeta noticed something: this wasn't merely a research facility. It was a compound of many facilities, which seemed to include hangars for tanks and helicopters.
They scanned the area for several minutes, and once the guards on outside patrol left their post to switch positions, they made for the base.
They got no further than ten feet, however, when they heard a shout from the surrounding snow-covered rocks:
"Freeze!"
Suddenly, roughly fifteen soldiers obviously working for the terrorists emerged, pointing their weapons at the crew of four.
"Dang," Xeta muttered. "It's like they knew we were coming..."
"Drop your weapons," one of the enemies said, "and we may spare your lives."
They reached for their weapons, ready to drop them into the snow. However, once Xeta laid hand on the hilt of his katana, he drew at lightning speed and stabbed the nearest guard. He fell to the ground, the snow beneath him growing ominously dark red.
After the initial strike, the other three drew their weapons and began to attack. Xeta and Tacky rapidly hacked and slashed the enemy wih their swords, while Cave fired shots from her bow, while Kathy used her staff to light the shots as they flew. They easily killed ten of their fifteen attackers, and the five that remained started to worry that they couldn't stop the intruders.
However, others must have heard the commotion, and reinforcements came rushing onto the scene.
"Well, screw stealth, looks like we're gonna have to fight our way through from here on out," Tacky said, irritated.
"Don't stop fighting," Xeta muttered, out of the guards' range of hearing. "Even if we die or get taken hostage, Mossy will know once our comms are deactivated. Then Blue, and if it comes down to it, Kacer, will come in and take care of things."
They continued killing the guards and appeared to be winning, until Tacky was shot in the arm by a hidden sniper.
"What the-" Xeta shouted, and was cut off by another round that took him in the leg. He fell to the ground, unable to walk due to the extreme pain.
The guards took advantage of the incapacitated swordsmen and rushed on Cave and Kathy. Kathy then used her staff and engulfed a group of them in flames, followed by screams of agony and the smell of scorching flesh.
The invisible sniper then took Kathy in the foot, and Cave in the right shoulder.
The obvious leader of the platoon then walked into the site of the carnage, examining the wounded intruders. He then grabbed the near-unconscious figure of Xeta by the neck, saying:
"You fought well, but I'm afraid it's over now."
Afterwards, he threw Xeta off the nearby cliff and watched him plummet to his demise.
"Good riddance," he muttered as he watched the dark figure disappear into the fog below.
Once this was over, he bound the three incapacitated figures and tossed them into the back of a cargo truck he had called in, and drove them back to the facility compound.
"No..." Mossy whispered, silently bursting into tears. "It's all wrong."
"What is it?" Blue asked, walking towards her.
"Tacky, Cave, and Kathy went unconscious, each after surges of pain."
"And Xeta?"
Mossy shook her head. "His life reading went silent, after a similar pain spike and period of unconsciousness."
"Xeta..." Blue muttered, closing his eyes.
The codecs used were able to detect life force readings and nervous conditions of the user. Mossy knew they were in trouble once everybody started fighting and watched the readings surge. And of course, if someone died: things would go silent.
"Well," Blue said, with a newly-formed determination in his voice and glare, "Looks like it's my turn. I'll go share the news and prepare everyone for an assault. In fact, I might as well call Kacer after the launch. We'll be needing him."
"One thing," Mossy said.
"Yes?"
"Xeta has been sent on several stealth missions of this caliber in the past. Things shouldn't have ended this way."
"You're right. It's not like him to simply fail like this... Unless we've been had, and this mission is more than it's cracked up to be."
"Given the situation, you might as well brace for that possibility," Mossy said quietly.
Blue walked into the open, calling Hylian, Wish, and Mia.
"The stealth mission has failed," he said to the three of them. "Tacky, Cave, and Kathy were presumably taken hostage, and from what we know... Xeta was killed."
The finality in those last three words shocked everyone, even Blue.
"But... How?" Mia asked, her face pale.
Blue shook his head and inhaled. "I wish we knew," he said, sounding mildly torn.
Hylian closed his eyes and sighed. "He seemed like he knew what he was doing... It's not like him to just die out like that. Maybe his codec was lost or broken?"
"That may be the case... But apparently, the other three still have theirs, so it's safe to assume he's dead. Whatever the situation, we apparently have to launch an assault. After we take off, I'll call Kacer. We'll need as much force as we can get."
The four boarded a nearby helicopter that had been waiting for hours, and lifted off into the late afternoon sun...
Slowly, Xeta regained consciousness, opening his eyes to find himself in an unfamiliar place. He was lying on a bed in one out of a small system of caves, furnished similarly to a home. Instantly, this reminded him of his own living quarters.
But he wasn't alone. Sitting and apparently studying a book in the same room was a girl who appeared almost his age, and somewhat shorter. Her hair was medium-length, singed black with blue at the tips. She wore a striped long-sleeve shirt and shorts, with a necklace bearing a purple spade.
However, she wasn't completely human. Her skin appeared somewhat reptilian, and she had retractible claws, wings, a tail, pointed ears, and amber eyes. Nonetheless, her expression seemed overall friendly.
"Oh... You're awake now," she said, standing up. "Tell me, what is your name?"
"I don't know for sure," Xeta said, carefully swinging his legs over the bedside. "But everyone calls me Xeta."
"Nice name," she said. "I'm Miz."
Xeta nodded, and slowly tried standing, only to feel sharp pain in his left leg. He grunted, and looked down at his thigh. There was a large blood stain in his jeans, and he felt bandaging underneath.
"Oh, you took a nasty hit in your leg. Walking may be difficult."
"So I've noticed," Xeta replied.
"Don't worry, I applied some medicine to the wound. The pain should greatly decrease within the next few hours."
"Good to know," Xeta said, grinning. "Also, I'm assuming you saved my life back there?"
"Yes," Miz said. "Within the past few weeks, I had found out about this nearby base, apparently being operated by terrorists... Or something. Anyway, I've been spying on their operations from the outside for some time now, but today, some of the soldiers were engaged in battle with four intruders, one of which was you. I watched as all of you were gunned down by a sniper, and when you were thrown off the cliff, I flew beneath the fog and caught you before you landed. But you had fallen unconscious during the fall, so I brought you back here and treated the wound in your thigh."
"I see... Well, thank you. Also, the three that were with me... Do you know what happened to them?"
"I don't know, but I'd assume they were taken back to base and imprisoned."
Out of habit, Xeta tried to use his codec to contact Mossy, but realized it was missing.
"Well... There is a bright side to this."
"And what would that be?"
"Our codecs detect our life signals, and since I apparently lost mine, everyone probably thinks I'm dead, due to the absence of a signal... Giving me an advantage."
Miz slowly nodded. "And if everyone thinks you were killed, they'll never see you coming."
"Meaning this time, I'll actually be able to infiltrate."
"I've studied their base, I can help," Miz said, almost excitedly.
"Fine by me," Xeta said in approval. "After all, if it weren't for you, I'd be dead. I owe you."
"Okay then! We'll set out in an hour or so, once the pain in your leg decreases."
After the truck had returned, the three prisoners were dragged to the detention facility, where they were each unbound and locked in small solitary confinement cells, all adjacent to one another in a narrow hall.
As for their weapons, they had been taken after the fight and placed in a locker somewhere in the detention block until it was decided what was to be done with them.
"Keep watch over the prisoners while I go give a status report," the aforementioned platoon leader said to one of the guards. "We'll interrogate them once given orders. For now, just make sure they don't try to pull any stunts."
The guard saluted, and once the officer walked away, muttered under his breath, "Not that they actually could do anything..."
After leaving the cells, he made his way through corridors between facilities to reach the central command room. Upon entry, he saluted the commander and began to give the status report.
The leader of the terrorists was a young man named Exter, who wore a a tattered red scarf and eclectic pieces of battered armor, gathered from dead warriors who had dared oppose him. He had brown hair, a scarred face, and wore a patch over his left eye. He wore two pistols on his thighs, along with a heavy blade strapped to his back. He turned to face the officer upon his entry.
"Sir, three of the intruders have been taken into captivity."
"Yeah?" Exter replied densely. "What about the fourth one? There WERE four, weren't there?"
"Yes, reports say it was Xeta, and that he was leading them."
"I don't care who this kid was. All I want to know is what happened to him."
"He's dead, sir. By my own hand. I personally threw him off a cliff."
"And you witnessed his death wih your own eyes?"
"No, sir. He fell below the fog, I couldn't see-"
"Well then, he could still be alive for all I know!"
"But sir, let's be reasonable. There's no way he could've survived the fall."
"Not that I expect someone of your class to understand this, but warriors like us don't die so easily. Despite the fact that we WERE able to ambush them, it'll take more to kill him. I won't believe your claims until you bring me his corpse."
"Yes, sir. I'll bring a search party with me, and we'll scour the crevice."
"Lord Exter!" another voice cut in. "Helicopter on radar, and they don't seem focused on stealth."
"So," Exter said softly with a menacing grin, "they must be stupid if they're doing this again, considering what happened last time. Send in five helicopters to attack them! And while you're at it, ready my Black Wolf! If these pilots aren't competent enough to take them out, then I'll just have to finish them myself."
"Yes sir," the soldier replied, and rushed off to deliver the orders.
Exter returned his gaze to the aforementioned officer.
"Well? Go find him! I want proof that he's dead!"
He quickly saluted and hurried off.
Please note: this chapter isn't meant to be anything offensive to Exter, I just thought he'd make a neat villain character.
Finally, the compound entered the sight of the second party. Each member had set out with a fiery determination: to rescue the hostages and avenge their dead friend.
Not even a minute after entering enemy airspace, the squad of helicopters was dispatched to repel the intruders.
"Oh great," Hylian said, rolling his eyes. "That's eight of them, versus us - which would be one."
"Well," Blue replied, "Theirs seem to be slightly weaker models. We just have to outmaneuver them and strike whenever possible."
"We'll make it, we have to..." Wish muttered. "Everyone else depends on it."
"Kacer shouldn't be that far behind us," Mia cut in. "He'll flipping crush them, I know it!"
"Here they come!" Hylian shouted.
The eight enemy craft all formed up and opened rapid fire on the intruders. Quickly, their target pulled up and countered their fire with several missiles, downing two of them. After the initial strike, the lone craft sprayed bullets at a single enemy, blowing it out of the sky.
"Three down already?" Hylian said, obviously surprised. "Dang, Pike trains his pilots well."
"Indeed he does," Blue added in approval. "Hopefully we'll be able to outlast the other five."
The remaining five craft formed up again, but this time, simultaneously fired missiles, desperate to destroy the intruders.
"Uh oh," Blue exclained in shock at the sudden turn of events. But their pilot was indeed very skillful, and opened fire whilst circling the missiles, exploding them. Once the threat was disabled, he launched three missiles, each hitting their respective targets.
Determined to complete their mission, the last two flew side by side and fired everything they had. Once again, the skillful pilot evaded most of their rounds with a series of maneuvers, taking minimal damage. He then ended the battle with two final missiles.
The entire crew was then swept up in wild relief, amazed that they were still flying. However, Blue began to feel very uneasy, anticipating the fact that things were about to become much harder.
Upon reaching the compound, Xeta and Miz watched the eight helicopters take off after a lone intruding helicopter.
"Oh great, that's probably Blue and the others..." Xeta muttered.
"Eight helicopters against them?" Miz asked, surprised. "I don't think they'll make it..."
"We can only hope..."
The two of them watched the intense air battle, amazed at how their pilot was able to down all eight enemies while hardly taking a scratch.
"That initial strike should have them distracted," Xeta pointed out. "Come on, let's use the time they bought us to infiltrate."
Many of the soldiers were rushing onto the field, taking positions in case a ground strike was imminent. Which meant that the hangar was apparently vacant.
They both rushed into the hangar, scanning the area to make sure that no guards were present.
"Looks good," Xeta muttered. "Now, we just have to find an entry poi-"
His voice was cut off as the door to the hangar opened and two figures walked in, apparently in the middle of conversation.
"Hurry, get down!" Xeta whispered, and the two of them ducked behind several large crates.
Peeking out of their cover, Xeta was able to get a view on the interlopers. The first was the aforementioned terrorist leader, Exter, and the second was a calm figure in a white cloak, complete with a hood shading the face. Across his back was a large sniper rifle. The two stopped in front of a large, black helicopter, and turned to face each other.
"Exter..." Xeta said quietly. "I had a feeling he was behind this."
"And who's that other person?" Miz asked.
"I'll bet he hired a sniper to take out any intruders. He's the one who incapacitated me and my squad."
"Considering the wound he gave you, that must be a nasty rifle."
"Yeah. Maybe I can pick up bits of their conversation."
"You did well taking out the intruders," Exter said to the sniper. "It's hard to find good, disciplined warriors-for-hire like you nowadays."
"It's always up to me to back up the inferiors," the quiet sniper replied.
"Now, I'm not stupid. I know there's a trick behind this assault. They're creating a diversion to allow a stealthy infiltration, I know it. So, it's up to you to keep out any pests while we handle this."
"I'm on it," the sniper said, nodding. He then turned and exited the hangar to patrol the outskirts of the compound.
Exter then hopped into the cockpit of the large black helicopter, and took off, ready to crush the intruders.
"Chances are, the corridors inside the door will be guarded," Xeta said. "In that case, we'll just have to find another entry."
"But Xeta," Miz retorted, "your friends are about to be blown out of the sky. There's no way they'll survive the attack!"
"I don't like it either, but Blue is doing his part of the mission. And besides, we have powerful allies ready to assist us, and chances are, Blue already called them in. Once here, they'll pound these scumbags into the ground."
"If you say so..."
Xeta then searched the hangar and found an open vent
"Classic entry point. Let's go."
The two then crawled into the cold, dark depths of the ventilation shaft, anticipating the dangers ahead.
Blue realized his suspicions were correct as he watched the large black helicopter approach.
"It's not over yet..." Hylian muttered. "And chances are, we won't make it through."
"Where's Kacer when you need him?!" Blue groaned.
Suddenly, a familiar voice cut in on their speakers:
"Hello, insects. The pest control is here to put you out of your misery! I'll enjoy watching you crash and burn to the ground."
"Exter!" Hylian snapped.
"Wait, you know who this person is?" Blue asked, intrigued.
"Indeed," Hylian returned. "A while back, Xeta and I hunted down and fought him, though he managed to escape. He's a former general in Pike's army, having gone rogue."
Suddenly, the voice cut back in:
"Starting to feel scared? Good. Now DIE!"
The enemy helicopter then opened fire, sending a merciless stream of bullets at the intruders, which they just barely managed to dodge. In the process, they were grazed by the fire, rattling the craft.
"HOLY FLIP-that thing hits HARD!" Mia shouted in shock.
Blue quickly opened contact with Kacer via contact:
"Kacer!"
"Blue, I'm almost there. Can't you just be patient for a little longer?"
"There's no time to be patient! Exter is attacking us with that monster he calls a helicopter!"
"Exter, huh? I'll take care of that kid, no worries. I'm almost to your location, just try to hold out a little longer!" Kacer said, ending the transmission.
"Taste THIS!" Exter shouted, and fired eight missiles at his target.
Their pilot circled and fired at the missiles, and was able to take out six. But the last two escaped his fire and hit their helicopter with a vicious explosion.
"Dang..." Blue murmured in shock. "Looks like we may not make it after all..."
"Well, see y'all in the next life," Hylian said as he opened the door and climbed on top of the smoking craft.
"Hylian! Are you insane?!" Blue shouted.
"Of course I am!" Hylian yelled. "What else did you think I was?"
"The afterlife welcomes you all!" Exter shouted, firing one last missile at the burning helicopter to finish it.
But Hylian had a plan of his own. Once the missile was close enough, he jumped off the top of the helicopter and onto the missile, steering it away. He then guided it back around towards Exter and jumped off, sending the missile into the black beast of a helicopter.
The missile then exploded, stuttering the craft.
Unghh... How cunning of you," Exter grunted. "But your sacrifice is in vain! Prepare to meet your fate!"
Suddenly, a large black and red helicopter, similar to Exter's, approached the fray. The skull and cross-bones symbol on the craft instantly identified it as Kacer. Behind him was seen a squad of sixteen smaller helicopters, and on the ground, twenty tanks rolled in, led by a larger tank with a similar red and black paint job.
Alyx, Kacer's assistant and apparent leader of the tank squad, then contacted Blue via codec:
"Did you miss us?"
"Alyx! I'm so glad you're here."
"Your friend Hylian is safe. We were able to save him from the fall."
"Thanks. We owe you guys big time."
Exter was shocked by Kacer's appearance.
"Do what you can to save these puny insects, Kacer!" he shouted. "They're mine!"
"Not on my watch, boy," Kacer returned, and opened fire on Exter's vehicle.
Blue's codec beeped yet again; this time, Kacer was contacting him.
"Blue! I've got Exter, it's best you land safely."
"Got it."
Their pilot then proceeded to land the vehicle, taking care to land behind the squad of tanks for the sake of cover.
"It's not over yet!" Exter shouted, and fired a missile at the helicopter as it landed.
"Quick, jump for it!" Blue shouted, as the crew escaped the burning craft, just before the explosion.
"That was tense," Wish muttered under her breath.
"Now, let's group with Alyx and the others," Blue said.
"So, Miz?" Xeta asked. "Any idea where the detention complex is located?"
"Yeah," Miz replied. "Once we pass through here, there's a joint corridor that leads there. But I've also heard of some sort of underground passage, perhaps that would be safer?"
"Yeah. But even with the diversion, I'm sure some of their soldiers were assigned specifically to guard duties. Don't get careless."
They continued to crawl through the ventilation shaft until reaching a dead end, with a vent cover to the side. Xeta opened it, and quickly scanned the room for guards.
"All clear," he whispered. "Let's go."
They crawled out of the vent, and made their way down the hallway. Once at the end, Xeta peered around the corner, and nodded as no guards were in sight.
Apparently, they had just entered the barracks, though they appeared vacant due to the current assault. However, as they proceeded through the hall, a lone guard happened to be on patrol and caught sight of them. Quickly, he drew his weapon and aimed it at the intruders.
"Freeze!" he shouted.
Xeta drew his katana at lightning speed, startling the guard. Quickly, he lunged, stabbing the blade through his stomach.
The guard fell to the ground with a shriek of pain, with blood slowly staining the floor.
Unfortunately, several other guards heard the commotion and rushed onto the scene.
"You!" one of them shouted. "Drop your weapon, and we'll take you in alive."
To Miz's surprise, Xeta slowly set his blade on the floor. But he was only faking his surrender; he knew Miz was armed with a hidden weapon: retractible claws.
He slowly backed away, and whispered in Miz's ear: "Strike with your claws."
She nodded in understanding, and waited for the guards to approach them. Once close enough, she quickly stabbed one of them with her claws, causing him to fall to the floor with a scream.
Xeta took advantage of the distraction and grabbed his blade, then quickly slashed the nearest guard across the torso. Spinning around, he pulled out a throwing knife and sent it spinning into another guard's chest. Meanwhile, Miz grabbed another guard by the neck and choked him, then tossed him onto the ground and finished him with her claws.
"Nice work," Xeta said, panting. "Now, we'd better hide the bodies. I'd rather we not raise any alarms."
"And the blood?"
"Well, there's nothing we can do about that... But it wouldn't be nearly as obvious."
They dragged the bodies and hit them in nearby lockers, then made their towards the joint corridor.
"So," Miz began, "if we were to take the corridor, it would lead us to the armory, which is probably under heavy surveillance. But if we head down this flight of stairs, we'll enter a passage that cuts directly to the detention cells."
Once down the stairs, they found themselves in a large tunnel, seemingly free of surveillance, with another flight of stairs at the end.
As they began to walk, Miz broke the silence.
"You know, you really seem like you know what you're doing."
"Well, I've been hired to go on several missions like this in the past."
"Hired?"
"Yeah. But I don't care much for the reward. I simply want to rid the world of these scumbags who try to gain power by threats."
"Who exactly are you, anyway?"
"I wish I knew... I have no idea where I came from, or who I even am. But it doesn't matter much to me."
As they continued along, Xeta suddenly acted out of reflex.
"Get down!" he shouted, and pushed Miz aside, taking a sniper round to his side.
"Go..." he groaned, and sank to the floor in agony.
The familiar sniper then emerged from his hiding place, followed by several guards.
"Exter was a fool to leave this place unguarded," he said as he walked down the tunnel towards Miz. "But, even the best of us make mistakes."
Once he was close enough, she quickly lunged at him with her claws; but he dodged and grabbed her by the wrists. One of the guards then came and bound her.
Xeta watched in pain and horror as Miz was bound and dragged towards the end of the tunnel, while he lay on the ground clutching his side, until he lost consciousness shortly afterwards.
Blue and the others ran to the lead tank and met up with Alyx. They were relieved to find Hylian alive and well; however, they were shocked upon seeing a familiar character in the corner of the small cabin inside the tank: a ninja in a dark cloth suit with a long black sword on his back.
"You..." Blue began. "I remember you!"
The ninja stepped forward and removed his mask, revealing his identity: he was Mono, the shopkeeper they had met up with on their recent errand.
"Pleasure meeting you here, Blue," Mono said, shaking his hand.
Beside him stood a figure with a dark gray jacket, a dark red shirt, and gray sports pants. On the back of his jacket was a black diamond-shaped emblem with a red cat's eye in the center. He had brown hair and swamp-green eyes.
"Might I ask who you are?" Blue said to the unfamiliar figure.
"You can call me Glow," he said, shaking Blue's hand.
"These are two freelance warriors we recently recruited," Alyx explained. "Now, we're about to come ripping right through their ranks. Everyone ready?"
She was met with a chorus of agreement, and then sent the signal for all tanks in the squad to attack.
Meanwhile, in the sky, Kacer was slowly tearing Exter's Black Wolf apart, while hardly taking any damage himself. Finally, he sent a missile that landed a critical blow to the craft, sending it crashing downward. After watching the craft explode, he sent a message to the entire tank squad:
"Exter's craft is down! Everyone, smash through their defenses!"
His message was met with cries of fiery determination as the tanks charged the enemy. Shortly, heavy gunfire and explosions ensued. Some of Alyx's tank jockeys were even daring enough to crush the enemy tanks by ramming into them; this tactic was met with surprising success. Though they were fewer than their opponents, their tanks were superior models. It was almost certain they'd make it, but not without some carnage.
After several minutes, Kacer flew onto the scene and launched several missiles, destroying a few tanks. He then sprayed gunfire at a single target, lighting it on fire.
Inside the main tank, Alyx began to explain the infiltration process.
"Their base is essentially a large compound," she said. "Most facilities are connected to one another with sets of corridors. Be warned, however, that the interior is most likely on high alert. I can almost guarantee you'll make contact with the enemy. Mono and Glow have already volunteered, anyone else?"
After brief discussion among Blue, Hylian, Wish, and Mia, it was decided who would be sent in.
"Hylian and I will go in," Blue said. "Wish and Mia have decided to remain here."
Wish, due to her much more docile personality, would rather not get involved in large amounts of violence. Mia, being Wish's close friend, was reluctant to part with her. That, plus the fact that she naturally made a better sniper than warrior.
Within five minutes afterwards, the enemy's defenses had been broken. Glow, Mono, Blue, and Hylian seized the opportunity and entered the enemy compound within the midst of the chaos.
Xeta's slowly opened his eyes and observed his surroundings, groaning in pain. He appeared to be lying on the floor inside a small, dark cell, with a small window on the door.
He began to get up, but abruptly stopped upon receiving a pain spike in his side. The would had been treated and bandaged to prevent fatality. They must want me alive for some reason, he thought to himself.
But his concerns rapidly shifted to a much more important matter. What happened to Miz? Last he remembered, she was being dragged off...
Suddenly, he was overcome with horror as he came to a shocking realization.
She's not fully human... who knows what kind of sick tests and experiments they'll perform with her?
He slowly hung his head, defeated, and buried his face, sobbing silently for several minutes.
I've failed you all... whatever happened to Ara, I wasn't able to prevent it. And I was almost too late to save Wish. Now Miz is in the hands of deranged terrorists, and there's nothing I can do.
Suddenly he heard a strangely familiar and eerily calm voice in his head, one that sounded almost like his own.
I know you're better than this. You've made it through worse yourself; you're perfectly capable of the situation at hand. I know that your confidence is shaken because the lives of friends are at stake, but don't let it cloud your judgement. Think this through clearly, and you'll find a way to escape and save her. There's still time... don't give up hope.
"Who..." Xeta muttered as he lifted his head and glanced around the small room. In any case, he decided, it wasn't important. He knew what he needed to do.
Now, how to get out of here?
A guard was his only was out of the cell. In his current wounded state, trying to fight any guards was out of the question. In that case, he'd have to outwit the guards. He examined the door, and noticed that there was a small area beside it out of the window's view. That was it! If he could remain there while a guard came to check the cell, he could escape and lock the door behind him.
He then heard a guard approaching in the hall and realized his opportunity had come. He hid beside the door and waited for the guard to glance in. An almost comical grunt of surprise was heard as he found the room to be vacant, and he opened the door and walked in, glancing around the room.
Almost instantly, Xeta darted through the open door and closed it shut behind him; he also took the precaution of sealing the window shut. Now, he just had to find Miz. The ventilation shaft went most places in the detention block, making it the best method of travel. He opened the vent cover in the hall and climbed in.
Once in, the overall tension seemed to decrease. More soldiers than expected were required on the field, due to the unexpected power of Kacer's strike force. This was no reason, however, for anyone to let their guard down; it would be a fatal error for the enemy to leave their territory unguarded.
"Now, hopefully, we can find the detention block with little interferance," Blue said to the others.
"Careful with your words, Blue," Mono replied. "You never know what might set them off."
"And if we are ambushed, we'll be ready," Blue added, reassuringly. "Now, Hylian, I'm assuming you'll look after those in need of medical care?"
"Absolutely," Hylian returned, waving casually.
They continued on through the fortress, and surprisingly, received no contact from the enemy. However, upon reaching the entrance to the detention block, the door suddenly locked, and a shout was heard behind them:
"Freeze!"
Turning around, a stern white-cloaked figure was stood in front of a squad of elite guards.
"You have done well by making it this far," he said in an almost eerie tone, "but I'm afraid your mission has come to an end."
"Who are you?" Glow inquired, in an equally calm tone.
"That, my friend, is none of your concern. Now, I'd love to stay and chat, but I have a new prisoner to attend to. This one proves to be an interesting specimen..."
"It can't be..." Hylian muttered in a surprised tone.
"Now then, finish them off!" he ordered, walking away. The guards then raised their guns and prepared to open fire.
Before this happened, however, Hylian reached for the ice staff on his back and lunged forward, impaling the nearest guard with the frozen blade. Mono followed the initial attack by drawing his black blade and slashing another guard across the torso.
Blue activated the plasma staff he carried and fired several shots at the enemy, surprised with the ease of use the weapon provided.
Recovering from the shock of the initial attack, the enemy began opening fire on the intruders. Glow suddenly dashed forwards with dual blades drawn and rapidly parried the shots. He then sheathed one of his swords and pulled out an unfamiliar crystal-like object. Suddenly, his sword ignited, and he leapt towards the enemy, tearing through them all with his fiery blade.
"Pathetic," Glow said with mild contempt, gazing down at the scattered, burning corpses.
"That was some show of force," Blue said in awe, clearly shaken by the sheer skill and ferocity displayed by this mysterious warrior.
"Now then," Hylian interrupted, "shall we get going? We don't have forever."
"Since when were you in charge?" Blue shot back.
"Rank really means nothing," Hylian returned. "Ultimately, it's up to the people who are actually willing to push forward."
"Okay then, cut the sass already," Blue replied, sounding exasperated.
