Hey everybody, this chapter shouldn't have taken this long, but I've been on vacation for about a week and there weren't many opportunities that I could write. Anyway, I hope this chapter was worth the wait.
Domino's POV
I looked down at my body trying to examine all of my wounds. All of them felt completely healed. I took off all makeshift bandages Dakota had put on me earlier and saw that my skin is completely normal. I looked over to my left arm and took off my bandaged gunshot wound from a while ago. I noticed that the wound has scarred, but it's not nearly as bad as it was. The area is now a lot smaller and pink.
"Weird," I awed.
"So how do you feel?" asked Jack as he approached me.
"Good," I answered.
I continued to check my body to see if any of my wounds were still there, and I couldn't find a single one. "None of your injuries should still be there," advised Whirlwind.
"How were you able to heal me?" I asked.
"Magic, that's pretty much all I can say. One of my powers is that I can immediately heal people. Although, there are limitations," she said.
"What do you mean by that?"
"The injuries have to be recent for me to heal them completely. If the injuries have been with someone for a while, my powers won't do much for them," stated Whirlwind.
"How long is a 'while'?" asked Jack.
"I don't really know; it kind of depends on the person. Luckily your friend's wounds happened recently."
"Is there a limit on how many times you can use our powers?" I asked.
"No, but I still wouldn't recommend to try and purposefully and hurt yourself."
"I'm not exactly sure if I can take that request," I said. Whirlwind gave me an askew look. "Go and talk to Spyro and he should fill you in on what's been going," I said.
"Alright," she said as she walked over to meet the rest of her friends.
Jack walked over to me and examined my body. "So you have none of your injuries?" he asked.
"No, I'm kind of shocked as well. So what are going to do now?" I said.
"I say we wait until Cynder arrives and then we can head out. There's not much else we can do here anyway," said Jack.
"What're we gonna do about the jewelry we stole?"
"Probably just leave it here. If we dump it anywhere else and someone comes across it, there's going to be some suspicion as to why the meteorite wasn't with it. Since Amber and I asked about it when we asked it, we might inadvertently draw attention to ourselves."
"You think that you're the only one who's asked about that?"
"Let's try to avoid the risks that we can."
"I'm going to remember you saying that phrase."
"What kind of jewelry did you take?" asked Drobot as he came up from behind me.
"I don't know. Bracelets, necklaces, and other stuff I guess. I didn't really pay attention. Why?" I asked.
"I didn't mean the kinds of jewelry. I meant the gemstones that were on it. They might be able to help me on that communications array you want me to build," said Drobot.
"You still haven't finished that?" argued Jack.
"I thought I had all of the materials it would require, but I don't. Those jewels might be able to help me on it and finish it."
"Alright, you can have it. It's of no use to us anyway. I'll go get the bag for you," said Jack. He walked back over to the truck and grabbed the duffel bag from the flatbed. Jack paced over back to us and opened up the bag and showed it to Drobot. He reached it into the bag with his paws and grabbed a bracelet. The gold bracelet is encrusted with diamonds that circle all the way around it. Drobot brought the bracelet close to his eyes and examined it closely. "Yeah, this will help me out perfectly," said Drobot.
"Nice to know that the thousands of dollars' worth of jewelry I stole won't go to waste," I said.
"Good thing you had to steal it and not me," said Drobot as he scrutinized the jewelry. I rolled my eyes at that statement.
I walked away from them and went toward Jack's car. I opened up the door and grabbed my phone from the back. For the duration of the heist, everyone had to keep their cell phones here at the hanger. I was going to play on my phone for a while, but I saw Spyro sitting by himself at the sitting area. He's been acting oddly strange lately. I put my phone in my pocket and paced my way over to him. He noticed me as I closed the distance between the two of us.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey," I said.
"So what's going on?"
"Not much, we're waiting on Cynder to come back and then we'll head back to the mansion."
"Yeah I'm not exactly sure if she'll show up," Spyro slipped out. I became confused to why he said that.
"Why do you say that?" I asked.
"Oh, uhh, never mind," said Spyro trying to draw me away from what he said.
"No, tell me what you were going to say," I said. I remember when Spyro said that he was going to stay here and let Cynder help us. He stated that he wanted to take a break from the search. For some reason, I never bought that excuse.
"It was nothing."
"I'm not going to drop this until you tell me what you were going to say."
"Okay, fine. I was going to say that she probably went back to the house," spat Spyro.
"Well why didn't she tell us or why didn't she answer Jack when he tried to communicate with her over his earpiece?"
"Does it look I would know? Maybe she accidently turned her headset off. Besides, she's always been kind of mysterious," said Spyro.
"Kind of like you are?"
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"All I'm saying is that you've been acting kind of strange ever since we were searching Flameslinger. It just seems strange that it looks like you're hiding something. Have we ever given you a reason to lie to us?" I directed to him. At first, I thought he would've been insulted by the question, but his expression hasn't changed.
"I happen to remember you acting all mysterious around Jack when you came back from your hometown," said Spyro referring to the time I withheld information about the coup attempt from Jack. I narrowed my eyes down at him. I'm not sure if he's trying to provoke a reaction from me.
"I did that because we needed him to stay focus on the search for your friend," I stated.
"Yeah, and if I was hiding something, don't you think I would be doing it for the same reason?" he spat. I wasn't sure or not if this was a confession.
I noticed down by his side that it looked as if shadows were leaking out of him. The effect that only lasted for a fraction of a second, but I know I saw it. Spyro seized it up and pretended as if nothing happened.
"Whatever you say, Spyro. Just to let you know, we're trying to save your friends and being honest right now isn't a choice; it's a requirement."
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
Marcus King's POV
I continued to read the news article on my computer about the robbery in Hidden Hills that happened earlier today. I sat in my desk in my new office. My new place has a pretty good view of San Diego. Tessa, one of the Dultras, had been able to get Octavio to give me a pretty nice place. After the destruction of our old base, we had to move into a new one in San Diego. Since then, we've been going about our regular business. I've been researching new places for the Dultras to rob and been looking at new opportunities to make large amounts of money. Octavio, for no apparent reason, has told me to prioritize finding the current locations of the meteorites that fell to the Earth a few weeks ago. Other than that, everything has been going pretty easy.
Gorelli, one of my 'friends,' walked through the door of my office with a loaded shotgun in one of his hands. His attire is one if we are going into battle.
"Hey, what's going on?" he asked so nonchalantly. He acted as if we were out just getting coffee.
"Not much, just taking a break," I said as he walked over to my computer.
"Hey, weren't we planning to raid that place?"
"Yeah, we were in the final stages of preparation, but obviously that didn't happen," I said. The only reason why the Dultras were even planning on robbing the place was because one of the meteorites that was there.
The whole robbery seems very odd. Out of the probably few million dollars' worth of jewelry there, only about $22,000 worth was stolen. There were only two people seen in the attack. A very small amount of people for a large job, but the way they did it seems very brazen. They used military grade weaponry. I don't understand why they attacked such a large target for such a small amount of reward.
I looked down at an image from the security camera that's displayed on the computer. One is pointing their weapon at the security guard while the other is about to toss a smoke grenade. One of them is wearing a helmet and the other is just covering their face with a bandanna and sunglasses. I scrutinized the two of them. From what I can tell, they look pretty young. I can only think of a few people who can fit that profile.
"Yeah, well anyway Octavio told me get you down to the parking garage. He wants you to get fully armored and have a weapon ready," said Gorelli.
"Why? Just get one of the grunts to do it."
"Octavio specifically asked for you and some more of the higher ups. Besides, it doesn't look like you're busy anyway."
"Fine, give me a few minutes," I said as I got up from up my desk and Gorelli exited my office. I walked up to a closet that contained the supplies I need. I opened it up and grabbed my vest. I pulled it over my head and loaded the pockets with ammunition and flash grenades. I put on the rest of my equipment on and reached into the closet over to the weapon safe. I entered in the combination and opened the safe. In it lied many guns that I've been given from the Dultras. I grabbed a Saiga-12 shotgun and closed the safe.
I don't know what Octavio wants me to do; he's never asked me to do anything like this. He's been mysterious and has avoided answers at times, but even still, this doesn't make much sense. The only reason I can think is that he wants to watch over some precious cargo, but then what would that cargo be? Even then, I don't get why he would still have me do it. It would have to be something that he'd be worried about getting out. Although I still don't understand the need for heavy weapons.
I walked out of the room and followed Gorelli over to the elevators. "Octavio ordered that no one, except us, use elevators for the next hour," said Gorelli.
"Why?"
"Do you really think I asked any questions? My only guess is he doesn't anyone walking in on us."
"Don't you think it's strange that he only wants higher ups to do this?"
"I don't get paid to ask questions, I get paid to do as he asks. If he only wants us to do this, then we'll do as he asks."
The elevator doors opened up, and the both of us got. I punched the button to the third floor. The elevator doors slid to a close and we started to descend. I checked my weapon to make sure that it's loaded. I looked over to Gorelli. He seemed completely calm about this ordeal. Everything about this just seems very weird. I don't know we're going to see, but I have a feeling that this won't be good.
We finally reached the parking garage. Royce and I walked out and the doors closed behind us. The two of us were greeted by an armed guard that blocked our path. He scanned our faces with his eyes and permitted us to walk through. "Hey, do you know what exactly we're doing?" I asked to the guard.
"All I know is that he asked me to stand and watch the elevators and have the others stand and watch our guard. Other than that, nothing," he said. I nodded my head and walked over to the small group of Dultras forming in the middle of the garage. Some of them didn't look like they had a clue as to what's going on, the others seemed to know, but weren't letting out any information.
A few minutes later a lone car started driving up the incline that we're near. I heard a bunch of banging coming from the trunk. Could this be a hostage? I do know that the Dultras aren't above kidnapping, but even so, why would we need this much security and why would we need to keep this a secret? The only person I can think of who it would be is Jack Ashburn. The last time I saw him was back at the café. It also might be one of the people on his team. That would make sense as to why we would the extra security, but it wouldn't answer why only a few people would be allowed to know about this.
Four Dultras exited the car; each of them looked tired and exhausted. One of them had scratches and burn marks all over his body. His name is Hesston. "What the hell happened to you?" I asked as he slammed the door shut. He ignored my question and walked over to the back of the vehicle. Hesston directed two of the Dultras near us to come over to the trunk. "Keep your weapons trained on our target, but do not fire on her," directed the beat up Dultra. I wondered what he meant by 'her.' I do know that Ashburn has been working with a girl recently. I think her name's Amber Miller. Although I still don't understand the need for the extra security.
The elevator opened up from behind us. I turned my head and saw Octavio walked out with another Dultra, Werner, who had something in one of his hands. "Sir, I really don't recommend that you should be out here," said Hesston. The two of them walked closer to me. I noticed what Werner has in his hands is a shock collar.
"Don't worry, Hesston, I'll be more than fine," he said calm and coolly. Octavio handed me the controller to the shock collar. "Hexner, use this whenever you deem it to be appropriate," he directed. I looked down at it and noticed that it's set to one of the highest settings. "What exactly is in the trunk?" I asked.
"You'll find out soon enough."
One of the Dultras opened up the trunk. Almost immediately shouts and intimidating threats came from the trunk of the car. I tried to look into the trunk, but I can't get a view from this angle. Werner walked over to the trunk. Hesston pointed his shotgun down into the trunk. I could tell from the look in his eyes that he wanted to pull the trigger. Werner hesitated with each step he took toward the car. I checked my weapon one last time as he took his last step.
"If you make one fucking move, I will," threatened Hesston as he pointed the weapon into the trunk.
Werner slowly unhooked the shock collar and reached into the trunk. I heard him snap the collar shut, and then he quickly got out of the trunk. "Jump out of the trunk, and do nothing else," demanded Hesston.
"Bite me, you animal!" spat the person from the trunk.
Octavio looked over to me and to the remote. "Do it," he demanded. I gulped with some nervousness in my throat. I pressed the button on the remote. Less than a fraction of a second later, I heard a scream of pain and agony come from the trunk. The shock only lasted about a second, but I could tell it's going to leave a permanent mark. "You either come out voluntarily or unconscious. I don't really care which option you choose," said Octavio.
"Fine," said the person in the trunk.
She began to climb out from the trunk, but the first sight of her forced me to rub my eyes. "What in God's name…," I gaped as I watched something that wasn't human climb out the back and hop to the ground on its four legs. The creature looked reptilian in nature and its skin was the color of violet. I noticed that the thing had wings tucked and chained closely to its body. Was this beast a dragon?
The sight of this monster was familiar. I remember the same creature sculpted on top of one of the meteorites that Octavio told me to find. Are the beast and meteorite connected somehow? And for the matter of fact, Jack and his friends have been after those strange meteorites as well. Could there be a link between this… this thing and him. I need to talk to this creature in private.
"What's your name?" Octavio asked the dragoness. The violet dragoness just stared at Octavio as it got in to what looks like a battle stance. She let out a low, audible growl. Octavio looked over to me once again and nodded his head. Reluctantly, I pressed the button on the remote once again. The beast stumbled over and screamed out in pain. She tried claw off the collar with her front paws, but it didn't work with any avail. After a few seconds, I released my hold on the button and her torture stopped. She got back onto her feet and breathed heavily while she stared down at the floor.
"Either way, I will get answers to my questions. You can easily make your pain stop, so I'll ask you again. What's your name?" demanded Octavio.
"Cynder," said the dragoness breathing heavily.
"Good. Was that so hard?"
She looked up from the ground and glared at him with fury in her eyes. The dragon looked around the parking garage as if she was trying to find a way out. I bet Octavio would've wanted me to use the shock collar on her again if she weren't powerless. At this moment, I wanted to turn my gun onto Octavio, but with all the Dultras around me, it wouldn't be a smart idea. Plus I don't know how this creature would react.
"Follow my men to the elevator, and do exactly as they say. Deviate from this… well, I think you know what happen," ordered Octavio.
Cynder reluctantly and begrudgingly followed his command. A team of four Dultras started escorting her to the elevator. One of them stopped next to me and took the remote to the shock collar from my hand. I watched them slowly make their way to the elevators. The dragon kept looking around and hoping to make a move, but no such opportunity presented itself. If she had her wings free and the shock collar wasn't around her neck, then she'd probably have a chance of escaping. But unfortunately she's now stuck as our prisoner.
"Sir, what exactly is that thing?" I asked Octavio as the elevator doors slid open and the dragon and her escorts walked through.
"Hexner, you're a smart man. I'm pretty sure deduced it by now," said Octavio as he watched the doors of the elevator close with our new captive.
"Even if she is a beast of nature, I still don't see what interest we have in it."
"Well it might not be her specifically, but whatever her kind is might be responsible for the mysterious deaths of our friends. Also, if we can get to cooperate and answer our questions, we can probably get a location on Ashburn and the property he stole from us."