The Real Enemy Arrives
'Now that those five have all left, I'm free to do what I came here for.' Mage thought while watching the last one stride confidently away from the door by himself. 'Now all I have to worry about is my own imagination.' he joked in a vain attempt to calm himself as he dropped down from his perch, alighting expertly on the ground below, and reached out to open the front door and begin the task he'd set out to complete. 'Eh, this is stupid.' he scolded himself upon noticing his hand shaking violently. 'I don't get nervous. This is a simple retrieval mission, nothing more; I've done this many times before and never felt nervous. I didn't even have this kind of problem before my last mission and now a ghost has me shaking? I need to get a hold of myself; I'm the only 'ghost' around here.'
Once inside, Mage moved slowly within the many shadows as he figured out the layout and the possible location of Alexander and Mino. The cliché idea of them being trapped in the basement crossed his mind, but he figured their captors were too smart to do something so obvious and expected. Nevertheless, after a minute of deliberation and seeing no guards patrolling the building, Mage decided that the fights wouldn't be that short and that he had time to investigate the obvious places first. So, he moved swiftly down a nearby staircase, reaching the very bottom of the building in nearly no time at all due to not crossing any guards. Even in the middle of such a large and hectic battle, Mage expected some kind of resistance to be left behind in the tower for defensive purposes, but that was obviously not the case.
'They may as well have given me a roadmap.' Mage sneered upon seeing two guards posted at a door on the bottom floor. They were leisurely playing cards while discussing the ongoing war, but to Mage there may as well have been a huge sign announcing 'Prisoners Kept Here'. Still, though, when one of the guards threw his hands up in surrender after losing another round, Mage saw an opportunity and immediately activated his powers and went in for the kill.
Standing between the two now dead bodies, Mage debated whether to openly rescue the pair or do it from the shadows. Once he'd decided, he moved into the room unseen and proceeded to free both Alexander and Mino from their binds. Noticing, that each of them looked far worse for wear, but could still move, albeit only slowly, he decided to leave them on their own as he departed back outside. 'Now, to wait.'
"I hope that was easy enough for you." a smooth voice said quietly from the very top of the Central Tower. Standing tall up there was the green-eyed man that had Mage so riled up.
[Flashback]
A couple of days ago, after the crew had settled into their temporary hiding place, Bo had called Mage off to the side to speak privately while Rose organized and rechecked her medical supplies, Leon wandered through the caves, marking his route on the wall with the sheath of Akuma-õ no Kiba, and Shaad was off doing...whatever Shaad does. "I don't want you participating in this upcoming battle; got it." Bo stated, waiting for Mage to nod affirmatively before continuing. "If this enemy is as strong as you believe, we may not be able to wait till after the fighting is over to get Alexander and Mino. So someone needs to go free them while the enemy is occupied with the rebellion. I can't do it because I personally promised Andreas my assistance, we'll need Leon's strength, and he wouldn't be right for this anyway, and Shaad simply refuses to help out the crew in any significant way other than to possibly save our lives; so that leaves you."
Mage understood perfectly. In all reality, he didn't care about the particulars of why Bo had chosen him, he would've done it anyway. As far as he knew, Bo could have been getting him to do all these solitary tasks as tests to see if he could be trusted. While Bo may have at times seemed open and inviting, Mage realized by now that he was more cunning than he let on, always watching and scheming, trusting no one completely other than those he'd known for years (and Rose, who was too innocent and naive to betray or backstab him). He was obviously used to living in an uneasy peace and making tough but necessary choices. Ignoring all of that, though, Mage simply accepted in a stoic tone, "Fine, but what if you or the crew are in need of assistance?"
"No matter what, I don't want you to be seen during this war. After you free Alexander and Mino, return to watching the battles. Leon's still injured from his fight with that cannibal. He suffered some cuts, bruises, and punctures to go along with the internal damage, but his mobility hasn't been lessened by much. He's going to be on the front lines, and if things go south, they're going to go to hell in a hand basket real fast and Leon will be at the center of it. In that scenario, let Leon finish his fight, but be ready with your poison as soon as his opponent's done for."
"Why take such precautions; don't you trust your friend?" Mage questioned, sincerely wondering about the circumstances that would bring about these orders.
"You'll understand if it reaches that point." Bo replied, his face expressionless as he dismissed Mage.
Mage didn't care to question further anyways, but he had to move quickly since Andreas was approaching.
[Present Time]
Mage returned to the area where the battles were being held at top speed, still making sure nobody saw him, and sparing a quick glance back to the Central Tower when he thought he felt someone watching him, but of course no one was there. He probably could've stayed back and helped Alexander and Mino get safely out of the city, but he was highly intrigued by why he might be forced to stop Leon, and he figured they were smart enough to escape on their own.
Mino wasn't sure exactly what was going on and Alexander was equally confused. They hadn't seen anyone enter the room, just the door open and a bit of strange colored smoke. Next thing they knew, the ropes binding Alexander to the chair he was seated in were inexplicably cut and the handcuffs that had been forced on his wrists were taken off as well. Shortly afterwards, Alexander heard the loud clang created by the chains holding Mino up being cut and the thud of her none too gentle butt first landing on the concrete ground below. Her legs were still weak from not having been used the last five days.
As Alexander and Mino both recovered from the disorientation caused by their confinement, and she shook off the loose chains still on her wrists, all the commotion and the still open door had drawn an unwanted visitor, an armed guard, into the open doorway. He stood there, spear at the ready, waiting to pounce on the weakened targets. Though, Alexander and Mino could each easily have taken care of him under normal circumstances, they were both currently unarmed and exhausted, completely at his mercy... well almost completely at his mercy. Unbeknownst to the guard, a rather long and thin snake had slithered up behind him and was now poised with its head raised high, ready to attack. Just as the guard stepped forward to strike, he felt numerous sharp pains in his lower leg. Turning around to check the source, he finally noticed the snake still behind him, the front third of its body lifted off the floor in a threatening manner. The guard flipped the spear in his hands and tried to use it to kill the snake, but he missed badly since he was seeing two snakes by this time. After a third consecutive miss, he could no longer keep a firm hold on his weapon because of the large amount of sweat pouring from his hands. Shortly after that, he fell to his knees, using his arms to hold himself up as he'd lost the ability to stand. A few seconds later, the guard was completely sprawled out on the floor, still conscious but dying and unable to move from the snake's potent venom.
The ten foot long snake then turned its attention to the other two in the room, but just as they had done with the guard before, they stood their ground… In fact, Mino bent down and reached her arm out towards the snake as it slowly approached, flicking its tongue in and out to get a feel for its surroundings. Once it got close enough to Mino's outstretched arm, the snake reached out and began crawling up Mino's arm until it was wrapped around her neck and arm. With a content smile, Mino stood back up and prepared to leave with Alexander. She was gently stroking the top of the snake's slender head when a question crossed her mind. "My Prince, was that Bo who freed us?"
"I doubt it; it does not seem like his style. But, I also cannot think of anyone on the crew who could do what whoever it was did back there. I mean to turn invisible or move so fast that you are unseen; but it matters not who it was. Right now, our only priority is escape. I will go get my rapier from wherever they are holding it and I will meet you out front." Alexander stated, standing as tall as he could with his many new injuries.
Mino could see how weak Alexander was right now. They're tormentors had particularly enjoyed the idea of torturing 'some haughty pretty boy noble know-nothing', though the mysterious green eyed gentleman had kept them from going too far. The soldiers and guards seemed to fear him almost as much as she did, if not more. He was also the one who held them off when they tried to turn their attention onto her. She didn't like admitting it, but she was actually thankful to him to an extent, even for the large burn mark she now sported between her shoulder blades. For some reason, he insisted on getting rid of the mark that had been branded onto her upper back, and while she was grateful to no end for what Alexander had done for her, his family's crest, that marked her as a slave, as less than human, brought back painful memories of her lost family and the harsh treatment she received before Alexander claimed her as his own. Now, though, she wanted to do nothing more than rush to Alexander's side and help him stand and walk, but, knowing how prideful he was, she knew better than to do that and instead settled for asking, "My Prince, please allow me to accompany you. You are not at 100% and Mamba can be quite useful in combat until we retrieve your sword." she said, referring to the snake that was currently hissing from her shoulder.
Alexander didn't want anyone to see him in the vulnerable position he was in now, especially Mino, but he also knew that everything she said was true. In fact, if he were to try and search the entire building by himself, he understood he'd likely be physically unable to. So, he said she could come along in such a way, and with a proud, nearly pompous, tone, so as to maintain his dignity. "Fine, I will allow it, but hurry. We do not know how much time we have."
Mino followed after him, but he stopped just outside the doorway as he spotted the two dead bodies. When Mino instinctively asked if anything was wrong, he replied, "No. I was just waiting." and resumed walking, noting that the two guards there had been killed the exact same way as the Elites, from the entrance tower back on his island, had.
They both knew where Alexander's sword was being held since they overheard some guards discussing putting his weapons in the 'Weapons Holding Room' on the top floor when they were first thrown into that dungeon. It took some work going up the many stairs with their injuries, and Mino even had to go so far as pretending she needed help up the stairs in order to get Alexander to reach his arm around her so she could help him through his obvious struggles that she'd pretended not too notice in order to protect his ego and pride. After some time, they finally made it to the top and recovered his rapier, which he immediately checked for any scratches or damage of any kind, before heading back to the front door and exiting the building. They hadn't come across any more guards so far, and now that they were on level ground, Alexander could move forward on his own for the most part, although a bit sluggishly. While they may have made it outside safely, the real danger was just beginning... for the city had now become the site of five dynamic battles guaranteed to shake the city to its very core.
[Moments Earlier]
Leon stood in the spot of his last kill, waiting for a stronger opponent. Many of the surviving rebels behind him argued to push forward while the enemy was on their heels, but Leon made it clear, "I ain't here for yer escape or yer freedom; I'm only here for da fighting." Kayden tried to keep everyone calm, but a group of the rebels threatened to move forward on their own. Leon didn't much care and would let them do as they pleased, though he did spare the words, "You're welcome to go on without me, but there are stronger opponents headed this way that you'll have to beat if you go on ahead. That slowed down the small band of people, and after another minute or two, a smirk appeared on Leon's face as he gripped Akuma-õ no Kiba tightly in anticipation. "Now, da fun begins." Leon muttered earning curious and fearful stares from those nearby. Before Leon moved an inch, someone ran by and attacked Kayden. Leon only saw a blur and felt the wind rush past him before hearing a ping sound reminiscent of steel bouncing off of stone.
"Oooh, you really are tough." a voice sounded from behind Leon, talking about Kayden. "But, can you survive this?" he questioned, not a second before something extremely large fell from the sky and landed directly on Kayden, driving the rock hard powerhouse into the ground and creating a massive dust cloud in the wake of the devastating impact.
Bo stayed on guard alongside Andreas in front of the rest of the troops of their regiment as the ones with any medical knowledge applied emergency first aid to those in need. At that moment, Andreas was the picture of strength, standing tall over the battlefield, every inch of him exuding manliness and vigor; the image he presented was a true cutout of intimidation embodied. Bo was similarly determined and ready to fight, but his smaller physique compared to Andreas next to him took away from the full ferocity.
A serious mood had settled in the area, and Bo was surprised when Andreas spoke out in a low tone to keep his words between the two of them. "This war is progressing better than I could've imagined. This wouldn't be possible without your assistance; thank you."
"Don't thank me yet; this war isn't over." Bo replied with a stern expression.
"I know that better than anyone. You have no idea the strength of the people we'll face next. I just wanted to say thank you before it's too late."
Bo wanted to ask for details on the strength of the remaining enemies- all he knew was that they were five in number-, but before he could open his mouth, he sensed two enemies approaching. The sound of two blades scratching against each other could then be heard, drawing everyone's attention, followed by the appearance of two men. Upon first sight of them, even Andreas took an instinctive step back as a look of worry flashed across his face.
"There's no time for that." Shaad said to Rose, who was busy running around tending to the injured. "The ten minutes is almost up; we need to move. Get back in the Rhino."
"You're only here to protect me and Kaleb, and I'm going to help these people." she countered defiantly, tears in her eyes as she tried to stitch closed a gaping wound on the stomach of a dying man. All of her medical knowledge told her it was no use, but she'd sat and watched, helpless, as far too many people died right in front of her eyes. Even knowing 'death is inevitable in battle' from her time as a Marine, seeing it up close, while she could do nothing to prevent it, made her feel so powerless. She was determined to save as many people as she could now that she had the opportunity, but Shaad was insistent that they not stay idle too long.
Many of the other soldiers agreed with Shaad, and since they felt neither her nor Kaleb should have been there from the beginning, they, led by the thirteen White Knights that stood out to Shaad due to their battle expertise, were preparing to go on ahead once the ten minutes was up.
As the allotted ten minutes expired, many of the rebels started to move forward while the ShadowKnight soldiers who had backed off earlier debated amongst themselves whether too simply allow the invaders to pass unimpeded or to engage and destroy since they still had greater numbers and they weren't sure whether Shaad would interfere. Much of the ShadowKnight forces took a step back when Shaad sent them a deadly glare, more aggravated by the fact that Rose was interfering with his schedule than anything else. "When I make plans to do something, I try to keep them." he complained. "Timeliness is-" Shaad abruptly stopped talking and turned his attention to the ShadowKnight soldiers as a dark cloud engulfed all of them except for one in front who stared at Shaad with palpable disgust despite shaking like a leaf.
The dark cloud then reformed into a man, standing behind the lone defiant one, showing every other ShadowKnight soldier dead on the ground with cuts across their bodies. As the last remnants of his clothing reformed he walked up to the lone soldier, who was still unaware of what had happened behind him, and placed a hand on his shoulder, whispering to him, "Yesss, that's the way you take care of business."