Hey everyone, I hope everyone is having a great Winter Break. I also want to again thank you for all the great reviews.
Jack's POV
"…I would end Jack in a heartbeat," I heard Spyro say as I stood right outside the door of his room. When I heard my name pop up as I passed his room I decided to eavesdrop on their conservation. Was it moral? No, but is it also moral for Spyro to betray me. Right now I don't have time to care about Spyro's honor because I have to go to take care of my supposedly best friend's.
I walked down stairs into the living room and I grabbed the remote. I turned on the large flat screen television not caring what channel it was on. I sat down on the couch that is backed up against the wall. I opened up my laptop that I had brought with me from my home and I opened up a program that Dakota made for me. Dakota made a program that would allow me to hack into and control the computers of the members of Eagle Force. It's a bit intrusive, but I never had to use unless I had to. The program would tell me if the computer is on or not and if the computer is in active use. If the computer is in active use, then that means someone has to be using it. I had tried calling, texting, emailing, and almost every other form of communication to reach Dylan, but he has been dodging my every attempt. I wasn't gonna wait any longer.
I began to scroll down the list of names, which conveniently doesn't include Dakota's name, and found Dylan Garter. Next to his name was his computer's status. It said "Active – In Use." I double clicked his name and a few seconds my computer screen went black and Dylan's screen came up. I could tell it was his because the background on his computer was a picture of him and his family on the beach. One of the few times he could say he lived a normal life, even if it was just for a few days. Dylan had a few pictures open. One of them looked like a satellite image of a large residency, in the outskirts of London and a few more were pictures of a tall, well-built man in a suit. A few documents were opened with what looked like battle plans.
I was done screwing around with his files and I went back to his desktop and clicked on the Skype icon. The program opened up, and I saw my name on the list of contacts he had. I pressed my name and I saw the messages that me and him sent back and forth a few weeks ago. I clicked on video call and Dylan's webcam activated. When I saw him pop up on the computer screen he had a confused and perplexed look on his face. I exited the program I was using to hack into Dylan's computer and I went back to my own desktop. On the screen it gave me a notification that Dylan was calling, even though it was me. I answered the video call and the light on my webcam lit up telling me it was on.
"Remember me you dick," I said when first saw Dylan. I was filled with fury and hate for him. I don't like to be lied to or betrayed, people who do betray me usually don't live for too long.
"Jack, what the hell?!" he shouted at me for hacking into his computer.
"I thought since you have been dodging all my calls and texts, this seemed like a good way to contact you. We have to talk Dylan."
"Talk about what?" he said innocently.
"Don't play dumb with me Dylan! Amber told me that you're going to London with half of my team," I yelled at him. Dylan closed eyes and sighed because of the fact that I knew what he was doing.
"Look Jack, yes I'm going to London, but you're no better for disappearing off to New Mexico with giving no one any notice."
"That's different."
"How is that any different? I get a call from you telling me that you took a job finding a stolen meteorite, and then I see on the news that the Dultra's caused a highly coordinated robbery in Santa Fe. It doesn't take a genius to realize you had something to do with that."
"Yes, Dylan congratulations I was involved with that," I said very sarcastically. "I offered my services to help protect people of that city, but I didn't take half of Eagle Force to assassinate some MI-6 agent."
"So what you're saying the rules don't apply to you."
"That's exactly what I'm saying!" I shouted. I always thought that they shouldn't apply to me since I'm the one to govern Eagle Force. I'm the one decides who is allowed to join Eagle Force, I'm the one who decides where our finances go, and I'm the one who has to take the blame if someone dies. Being the commander of this team isn't easy. If I have to break the rules, then so be it.
"Screw you Jack."
"You too, asshole." I could care less about the disrespect he just gave me; he's already disrespected me by going behind my back. We stared at each other for a few minutes, not doing anything except glaring at each other's eyes with anger and hate. It's hard for me to believe that we're friends. Before Screeching Falcon, the plan that ruined my life, we were just regular kids, we hung out, played video games, and other things. But after it, we never got along like we used to. Like my brother Aiden, arguments progressed and our friendship deteriorated. The only thing that kept it together was that we worked together, whenever we're on a mission we could both trust each other not to put a bullet in the other's back.
"So you want me to cancel the mission in London?" Dylan asked after a long while.
"I already get enough crap from our government; I don't need any from the UK's." The unfortunate thing is that the mission is already plan. If I make them pull out, it'll only hurt the image of Eagle Force and we'll have repercussions from the UK.
"I guess that is the okay then."
"Yeah it is Dylan, but if ANYTHING happens it's on your ass, not mine. Understand?" I sternly said.
"Yes Jack."
"One more thing."
"What?"
"Don't ever go behind my back again!" I slammed my computer shut, thus ending the conservation with Dylan. I was furious and irate at him. He never even gave a reason for his betrayal. I'm worried that my best friend could become my worst nightmare.
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Spyro's POV
I saw Jack slam his computer shut. I've been watching on him from the staircase. Jack noticed me and I came down into the living room. "What was that about?" I asked. Jack looked at me; his eyes were filled with anger and frustration.
"Nothing, a friend of mine went behind my back and did something that I didn't want him to do. It seems like that a lot of people right now are going to stab me in the back," he said in strange tone.
"What do you mean?" I questioned.
"Does 'I would end Jack in a heartbeat,' ring any bells?" he said sarcastically. I felt goosebumps rise all over my body. Jack must've heard me when I was talking to Drobot.
"Jack it's not what you think."
"Oh really, because it sounded pretty clear you would kill me if you had to."
"You didn't hear the whole conversation, Drobot came in and asked me what I would pick if I had to choose between you and my planet," I said. Jack just stared at me with an embittered grimace on his face. "Oh come on Jack, if you were asked the same question I guarantee you would choose Earth over me any time of the day. So don't complain about me when you would clearly do the same thing," I bellowed. I don't want to ever have to betray him, but if I had to choose a side to be loyal to it would have to be my home. Jack has done a lot for me and I can't forget that. If I had to let one live and another die I would have to let Jack die in order to save my planet. My job is to make sure my world is safe, unfortunately it isn't. Odds are I'll never be in a position to make that choice between saving him or my planet.
Jack let out a sigh. "Alright, it's not like need that anyways. I'm already worried about my friend trying to cause a civil war within Eagle Force. I don't need to look over my shoulder to make sure a dragon isn't going to stab me in the back," he said.
"So are we okay?" I asked.
"We're good I suppose."
I noticed Drobot walking down the stairs and he came toward us. He's been very untrusting of Jack, but I can't blame. Being asked to trust someone he barely knows, being told that he has to wait until he can go home. It hasn't been easy for me either, but what Jack has done for me is enough to earn my trust.
"What was all that shouting about?" Drobot asked as he entered the room.
"It's complicated," Jack answered.
"Well okay then. I just came down with a question."
"What?" I asked. Drobot turned his head to Jack.
"Jack, how were you able to free the both of us? It has been boggling my mind that you were able to free the both of us, but the rest of the Skylanders are trapped as toys."
"Again, I don't know it was probably just a coincidence and for all we know more of your friends are free. They might be in hiding."
"That's highly improbable. When I was trapped in there was some kind of magical force that kept me from moving that wasn't broken until we met. Plus you were the only one who I could communicate with when I was frozen, and I would assume it would've been the same situation with Spyro. So either way it has something to do with you," said Drobot. I agree with Drobot, Jack does have something to do with the Skylanders although I wish I knew what he did.
"Well even if I was the reason you both are free, I don't know what I did. Let's just worry about it another time; we still have to deal with situation about getting you both back to your world."
"I agree, the longer we spend here, the longer Kaos has control of our home. I'm pretty sure all of the Skylanders will understand if they have to wait a while before we could get them," I said. All of the Skylanders know that they have to put the safety of our world before their own.
"That sounds good and all, but we're still missing the plan that involves getting the portal to work," said Jack.
"I've been thinking about that. I have a few theories, but I would have to see the Portal of Power in person to confirm any of them," said Drobot. Jack had a discouraged look on his face.
"That's impossible. It was difficult to just get Spyro into the museum; I can't risk trying to send the both of you in," he said.
"Jack I know it sounds dangerous, but it's not like we're getting anything accomplished by staying here," I stated.
"Yeah, but we would also not get anything accomplished by exposing you the both of you to the public," countered Jack.
"Drobot and I are the aliens, not you. So you wouldn't be the one taking the risk, we would be taking it," I challenged.
"No I would be taking the risk. Do you really think nobody will care that I'm harboring aliens. I'm pretty sure if you got exposed a lot of 'nice, friendly people' in suits will be paying me a few visits," jeered Jack.
"Why don't we just take it? It's not like it would be considered stealing since it doesn't even belong to them," interrupted Drobot. The thought never crossed my mind about taking; it seems like a dangerous idea though.
"Because I don't want to be arrested for trying to steal a 2,000 pound rock."
"Do you guys have any better ideas?" asked Drobot. Jack and I stood dead silent for a few minutes. We don't know what to do, an incredibly risky idea. If we pull it off we would have complete access to it, and not have to worry as much about being exposed to the rest of the world if we accomplish the heist. But there are so many hazards; if we fail we would lose our only way home.
"Actually that doesn't sound like a bad idea," said Jack after our long period of silence.
"Really?" I said in shock.
"Yeah, but there are a couple of problems with the idea. Firstly, if we do pull it off we have nowhere to put the portal. We would have to keep it in an unpopulated, deserted area. Using a storage unit wouldn't be a smart idea. Second, transporting this thing won't be easy. I would have to work on finding some large vehicle that can haul that sort of weight. Lastly, that thing is heavy, which could be solved using heavy machinery, but it's loud and noisy. It'll draw a lot of attention. Now if I have some time I can handle the first two problems, but, unless you two look strong than you look, you'll have to figure out a solution to the last."
Drobot and I pondered over this idea for a while. I don't think Drobot could build anything that could silently lift huge items with the materials we have access to. The thought occurred to me that a Skylander could be able to pick up something that large, but it would forever to find another one. I also remember how difficult it was to get Drobot. But portals are incredibly heavy; it would take a great machine to pick one up.
"Bash," said Drobot.
"What?" asked Jack.
"Bash isn't a thing; he's a Skylander like me and Drobot. He's a brown, wingless dragon. He's an Earth dragon, and he would definitely be strong enough to pick up the portal, but we don't know how long it would take to find him," I said.
"Well I did find the green dragon within a day."
"Yeah because you got lucky that he was right next door."
"All I'm saying, if we're gonna do this, we're gonna need someone we can trust that can lift something that large quickly and quietly. We can't risk going in there again, the renovation is probably complete and so it would open for business for the public. We also can't risk going for a peak at night since they amped up the security. So Spyro we probably shouldn't take stealing it off the table."
"But you just said we can't go in there at night, and you also said it's also too dangerous to go in there during the day."
"Okay let me rephrase, I might be able for us to get in there one time at the dead of night. It won't be easy, and it might only buy a few minutes. But it should be enough to get the portal out before people come."
"I don't know, it's still a big risk. I don't think we should be gambling on our only way home," I said in fear. If we lose the portal, we lose our only hope. Drobot, me, and the rest of the Skylanders we'll be trapped on this planet forever.
"Don't worry Spyro," Jack began to say, "This time we will be ready."
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Jack's POV
A few has passed, all of us have completely bored with very little to do. I keep finding myself walking around the perimeter of the house, and other times I find myself constantly cleaning the guns that I still had ammunition for. I've also scouting the internet for the Skylander called Bash. So far the search hasn't been easy. So far it hasn't been easy finding him. Unlike Drobot, there isn't much to go on. I used the website that helped me get a location on Drobot, and I did learn that Bash fell somewhere near Ohio, but other than that not much else. I had a location, but I had no other helpful information. Plus we don't have the time to drive another 1500 miles for a guess at where the figurine is. I don't want to pass on this job to Eagle Force again. It's already been a hectic time trying to keep leadership in check.
I walked to the front door and checked the pistol that I had kept next to the door for safe measure. I checked its ammunition and reloaded it. I put the gun back in the basket that was on the table next to the door and I went back into the living room. I turned on the television and I sank back into the couch to have a few moments of relaxation. It's not something that I get to have that often. I was try to allow myself to have few seconds of not having to worry a bullet will come piercing through my skull. I picked up the fine, American cuisine of fast food and took a few bites of it. Spyro and Drobot hate the food I get, but when you're on a limited budget and not many options, you take what you can get.
My cell phone began to vibrate and I picked it up off the coffee table. Amber texted me "Just arrived in NM. I'll be there in a few hours." I got up off the couch and put the food back onto the coffee table. I went up to the second floor to go warn Spyro and Drobot that Amber would arrive here soon and they would need to stay up on the second floor for a while. I opened up the door to Spyro's room, and caught him sleeping on the bed. He's still trying to regain the energy that he had drained from bringing down the helicopters in Santa Fe and for flying around the entire city. "Spyro," I shouted. He jolted awake and quickly began scanning the room for any danger. When his eyes met mine he slumped back onto the bed and closed his eyes. "What Jack?" he grudgingly said.
"I just wanted to say that you need to stay up here in your room for a while; I have a friend coming over for a supply drop."
"Do I have to do anything else?"
"No."
"Fine, and get out."
I rolled my eyes as Spyro began to fall asleep. I closed the door and walked down the hall to Drobot's room. I opened his door and saw him tinkering with some of the electronics in the room. He saw me in the corner of his, he signaled me to come in. "Can I help you?" he angrily said. Spyro had told me about Drobot's distrust of me. I won't penalize him for it. I can understand having to trust people you barely know, it isn't easy. "Yeah, just have to say that you're gonna have to stay up here for the next few hours. A friend of mine will arrive soon," I said. Drobot let out a low, daunting growl. He walked away from his makeshift workshop. "Of course," he exasperated.
"What?"
"You already took away most of my freedom; you might as well lock me in a prison cell."
"Last time I checked I gave you your freedom. And if this was a prison, it would be the nicest prison in the world. This is only for a few hours Drobot, so stop complaining."
"This isn't freedom, this is a prison. We walk around trapped in a home that isn't ours, have 3 square meals a day, and if we're lucky we get to go out onto the yard for an hour. I don't know how you convinced Spyro to trust you, but don't think that I do," he pestered.
"You're better off than what you were a few days ago, and do I have to remind about how many times I nearly died just to get you out of the bank. You're also better than your other friends. So please just stay up here for a while and continue doing whatever you're doing," I objected. Drobot looked at me with an annoyed face. I began to close the door when another thought occurred in my mind. "Drobot, the reason that Spyro trusts me is because I'm his best hope for returning to your world."
Thanks for reading. The chapter would've been longer, but I will soon be going on a vacation for a little while and I won't be able to upload. I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas. If you like the chapter, please give it a review.
