After the failed assault on the High Ruler's fortress, and the death of Katara, his plans for total conquest are closer than ever. With the newly forged X-blade, he has spread his control to the various worlds of the Resistance, now with a stronger army. Meanwhile, a mysterious group of renegades known as the Phantom Thieves has appeared...
Fortress
The High Ruler was admiring his X-blade as the Arbiter watched. The Arbiter said, "All the planning and set up, and the plan finally came to fruition."
The High Ruler replied, "It's beautiful. Such power is not given. It must be taken. We have taken it."
"What now?"
The High Ruler said, "Now we initiate phase 2. I want Shockwave devoting all resources to the construction."
As they were talking, an orc soldier came forth and said, "Master. I regret to inform you that I am resigning. I cannot be apart of such bloodshed anymore."
The High Ruler looked at him questioningly and asked, "Where...did this come from? You just woke up today, and changed your mind?"
The orc said, "That's exactly what happened! I'm sorry, master, but ..."
He was cut off by a gunshot as the High Ruler, with a Desert Eagle aimed at him, had put a bullet in his head.
The orc fell dead. The High Ruler said, "That was...odd. I'd screen the other orcs, see what happened to this one."
The Arbiter said, "I'll get someone on that right away, sir."
Mordor
On a high tower overlooking Mordor, Azula rose. She gasped for air as if she was suffocating, springing up to a standing position. She looked down at herself, healed from her death. The ring still remained on her finger with blue elvish lettering on it. She looked to her right to find Celebrimbor sitting on the edge of the tower, glowing and ghostly. She said, "We're alive? How? Is this your doing?"
Celebrimbor smirked and said, "Yes. As long as that ring binds us, death will never see your face. This tower acts as a returning point from darkness. Wherever we die, these towers will be where we return."
Azula looked at the ring and smiled. She said, "The High Ruler has taken this world and many others as his own. Why not forge an army? Dismantle his hold on Middle Earth from within. Then, when the time comes, take back what rightfully belongs to us."
Celebrimbor said, "Yes. Let us begin."
Celebrimbor and Azula fused again. Azula leapt off the tower, landing weightlessly on the ground.
Fortress
The Arbiter was talking to groups of orcs writing down information given on a holopad. When the High Ruler arrived, X-blade in hand, the Arbiter began explaining the situation. He said, "I've gathered some...interesting information. Their's been a reported fifteen missing orcs that. That one from earlier was the only one brave enough to go talk to you."
The High Ruler slowly turned to the Arbiter and said, "Fifteen? Did you find anything that matched them? Were they friends?" The Arbiter said, "No. They aren't even in the same battalion. The only thing that relates them is that they work at the camps, and this was found in their quarters. It's written in a language I haven't read."
The Arbiter procured a red card. The High Ruler took it and looked at it. There was a symbol of a top hat with a flaming masquerade mask underneath it. Written next to it was Japanese text. The High Ruler said, "It's Japanese. It says... "
The atrocities committed by you will not go unpunished. We will take the distorted desires of you and your master. We are justice. We are truth.
We are the Phantom Thieves.
The Arbiter said, "Phantom thieves? Another rebel group?"
The High Ruler dryly replied, "Yeah, rebel groups are kind of like Starbucks around here. 'Take distorted desires' must mean they perform some sort of magic that removes evil from any choice target. This leaves too many questions like, 'Who are they?', 'How do they do this?', and 'Why do they leave these cards?'. Send a message to the other camps. The moment they receive a card like this, let me know. I will find them."
The Arbiter said, "I'll send it out now."
Resistance Base
The Resistance was recovering from their assault on the fortress, bandaging cuts and bruises. Aang sat in a corner to himself, almost catatonic.
Sokka slammed his fist on the computer, yelling, "What are we even doing here?! We have to go back! We can't just sit here while he's over there laughing at us!"
Garnet said, "Sokka. I know she was your sister. Your anger is justified. But we can't let emotion cloud our rationality. We can't just attack again. Especially in the state that we're in. I'm sorry, but we have to wait."
X yelled, "Son of a bitch! We had him! We were so close! That bastard was a step ahead of us the whole time! Screw it. BT, with me. We're going after him."
BT said, "Your heart rate and stress levels are dangerously high. This could impair your combat effectiveness by fifty-six percent. That's even discounting the damage you sustained in the assault. I'd highly advise against further combat until you're properly healed and calmed down."
After clenching her fist, X finally sighed and said, "Alright. Are you still tapped into his system?"
After a quick moment, BT said, "Negative. It seems he has shut me out after the assault."
X said, "Damn it. Alright everyone. Our backs are really against the wall here. We need to be extremely cautious from now on. He's not holding anything back, and until we've weakened his grip, we're on high alert. No leaving without clearing it with the rest of us, and if you're in a combat situation, and things turn against you, don't be a hero. Retreat."
There were scattered "Got it"s and "Understood"s across the Resistance members.
Camp 9
In the camp, tons of humans were sleeping in tents, living off scraps provided by elites and orcs watching over. One of the orcs was laughing with an elite not knowing they were being watched by a person in a cloak. He threw a red card at the orc, then ran away. When the orc saw it he picked it up and said, "Oi! This is one of 'em Phantom Thief cards! Call the High Ruler." The elite contacted the High Ruler and said, "We've received a card. The Phantom Thieves."
Only minutes later, the High Ruler materialized from a cloud of black smoke. He said, "Where did it come from?"
The orc said, "No idea. It just flew from over there."
The High Ruler looked to the direction the orc pointed, then pulled up a holomap projected from the chest piece on his armor. He clicked a symbol that read 'Camp 9 cameras'. He sifted through the camera footage, and stopped when he noticed the hooded figure. He began switching cameras to continue following where he went, finally finding a trail he can search. He closed the map and began running the direction the figure went.
After about an hour of searching, the High Ruler came across shredded cloth. He searched through the cloth, then found a single strand of hair. He laughed then said, "One little scan by Shockwave and there will be no place for you to hide."
Camp 13
The hooded figure had prepared another card, and was going to send it to another orc, but he heard a voice behind him. It said, "Found you, Phantom Thief." The hooded figure turned and saw the High Ruler's fist just as he blacked out.
Fortress
Several hours later the hooded figure, now without a hood, is revealed to be a young boy with black hair, a white turtleneck, and plaid pants. He was tied up in the High Ruler's interrogation room. The door opened and the High Ruler walked inside.
He said, "Yuuki Mishima. Age 16. Do you know why you're here?"
Mishima said nothing.
The High Ruler continued, "You're here because you've been suspected of being a Phantom Thief. Care to elaborate?"
Mishima remained silent.
The High Ruler said, "You know that there are a hundred ways I could get the truth out of you. By remaining silent you're only choosing my favorite option."
The High Ruler raised his hand and slowly began clenching it. Mishima began coughing, then screaming as his chest felt like it was collapsing in on itself. His screams continued as the High Ruler yelled, "So you do have a voice?!"
The High Ruler released his grip as Mishima gasped for air. The High Ruler said, "What are the Phantom Thieves? How are they breaking the wills of my men?! Are you one of them?"
Mishima finally said, "No. I'm not one of them."
The High Ruler said, "You're not. Interesting. So you deliver those cards to a soldier, then not long after their minds are changed on serving me. Who are the Phantom Thieves?"
Mishima replied, "I'm not selling them out."
"How noble. Makes it more fun for me."
Using his telekinesis, the High Ruler untied Mishima from the chair, then threw him against the wall. A sound of a fractured rib echoed in the room. Mishima began spitting up blood. The High Ruler said, "Tell me who they are."
Mishima said, "Never! You're gonna have to kill me!"
The High Ruler said, "Death is too quick for you."
The High Ruler charged an electrical charge in his hands then grabbed Mishima by the head, sending electrical charges through his body. He screamed in pain for a solid 30 seconds, until the High Ruler released his hands.
Mishima breathed heavily and said, "They'll come for you. They find out I'm here, they'll come for you."
The High Ruler chuckled and said, "Yes, but how far will they go on their mission, if it's a friends life on the line? You're all the same. No matter what I do, no matter how much damage I cause, your friendship will always stop you from finishing the job."
Mishima laughed and said, "You don't know how they work do you?"
The High Ruler said, "No. Why do you think I'm trying to get that information out of you?!"
Mishima started laughing hysterically, occasionally coughing on his blood.
The High Ruler began telekinetically choking him. He threw him against the wall again, knocking him out. The Arbiter entered the room and asked, "Is everything all right sir?"
The High Ruler yelled, "Mobilize all men! Get me every single person in those camps! I will find these terrorists, and salt the earth with their blood while the world watches!"
The Arbiter said, "Sir, your emotions are spiraling out of control. It'd be wise to wait until..."
The High Ruler suddenly rushed forward, grabbing the Arbiter by the throat. He said, "You and I have come too close for some ignorant group of renegades to take away everything we've worked for. We can't afford to wait. You either do as I have said, or you throw away everything we've done."
He dropped the Arbiter who, after several moments of coughing, said, "I'm sorry. I was out of line. I'll round up everyone in the nearby camps. Anything else you need?"
"Yes. Prepare a wide broadcast. If the Phantom Thieves are anywhere, even outside of a camp they'll see it.
Unknown Location
A group of teenagers were sitting together. There were 7 of them, 3 boys and 4 girls. One of the girls had long red hair and glasses, another had short peach hair, another had short brown hair, and another had blonde hair in two pigtails. One of the boys had blond hair, another had mid length blue hair, and another had black hair with glasses.
The blonde haired boy said, "Ugh...what's taking him so long?"
The brown haired girl said, "This is a farther camp, Ryuji. And the High Ruler's forces are on alert."
The pigtails girl said, "Makoto's right. He'll be here!"
The redhead girl said, "But waiting around is soooooooooo boring, Ann."
The blue haired boy said, "I've found ways to entertain myself, Futaba. I've been analyzing the environment for my next piece."
Futaba said, "How typical of you, Inari!"
The blue haired boy said, "It's Yusuke. We've been over this."
Ann asked, "Haru. Do you see him anywhere?"
The peach haired girl, named Haru, said, "No. Nothing yet."
Yusuke said, "I must admit, even for a farther camp, this amount of time we've waited is rather peculiar."
Futaba said, "Do you think something happened?"
The black haired boy with glasses said, "Something happened."
Haru said, "Akira? How do you know?"
Akira showed them his smart phone. On it was a video fo the High Ruler, filming himself with an unconscious Mishima. Ann asked, "Is that Mishima?"
Haru said, "Oh no."
Futaba asked, "How did he even know your phone number? This must be a broadcast."
On the video, the High Ruler said, "This a broadcast for the Phantom Thieves. I know you're out there. I know you're watching. This is a friend of yours, yes? I found him passing your calling cards to my men. Turn yourselves in. I already have men gathering everyone. If by chance we miss you, I know you can't stand by while innocents die, right? You have 1 week, before the killing starts. Don't keep me waiting!" The camera turned off.
Makoto said, "Mishima! We have to do something!"
Akira said, "We're going to. We have a week. Our only chance is to find out who the High Ruler is."
Ryuji said, "Yeah, I was thinking about that. That last orc was talking about how nobody knows who he is. Not even his second in command."
Makoto asked, "What's your point?"
Ryuji said, "What if we just entered 'High Ruler' into the Nav? We didn't try that, remember?"
Yusuke said, "That sounds like it wouldn't work. At all."
Ryuji said, "Come on! It's worth a shot, at least."
Akira sighed and pulled out his phone. He pressed the red eye app on his phone. Two words were entered. One was 'Fortress' and the other was 'Asylum'.
Akira said, "It's good that we managed to figure out the distortion. Let's see."
There was one empty space in front of both words. Akira entered 'High Ruler' in the space. The phone said, in a female voice, "Destination found".
A strange pulse echoed around them.
Ann, eyes widened, said, "It...worked!"
Ryuji said, "Holy shit! I didn't think it'd actually work!"
Yusuke said, "That could've saved us 2 weeks of diving into Mementos."
Akira said, "Are you ready, guys? We have one week to get this done."
They all nodded. Akira pressed navigate as a pulsating wave washed over them. They then disappeared.
