Jack's POV
We're traveling back to Los Angeles in my car, which is more cramped than usual. After waiting for more than a couple of hours for Cynder to arrive back at the hanger, we decided to leave for home and bring Spyro with us. I sat in the driver's seat while Amber's to my right. Dakota and Domino sat next to the windows with Spyro stuck between the two of them. I don't know why, but it took some convincing to get him to come back with us. I saw the look in Domino's eyes saying that he might know why Spyro was acting suspicious; I need to talk to either of them in private soon.
"It has been one long ass day, hasn't it?" said Amber. I looked out to the road in front and saw the sun is only about hour away from setting.
"It ain't over yet," I said. It has been an exhausting day; the heist has been a full-load of effort on everyone's part, and we've only did this for one of the Skylanders. Right now, I just want to get home and take a break.
For another half hour, we traveled along the road to Los Angeles. We reached the security gate which separated Rachael's neighborhood from the rest of the city. I punched in the code and drove the rest of the way to her house and I parked the car in the driveway. Amber and I got out of the car, and once everyone else was out, we slammed the doors shut. Everyone started walking to the house. Everyone, except for Dakota and me, entered into the house. Dakota was about to walk through the door until I grabbed ahold of her arm.
"What?" she scowled. I let go of her arm as everyone else started to split off. Domino and Spyro walked up the stairs while Amber walked into the kitchen.
"Hey listen, if you want to go home, I won't stop you. I know I kind of dropped all of this on to you, and you've already done more than I could've asked of you. I don't want to drag you into fight that isn't yours," I asked to Dakota.
"Jack… I don't know to be honest. I'm still kind of reacting to all of this, but I've already kind of been dragged into this fight. If it's not this deal with meteorites, it's your feud with Dylan. Whether or not, I'm involved," said Dakota. She walked through the door and walked upstairs.
I looked down at the ground and grunted in frustration. I feel guilty for getting everyone here involved. I thought about how Dakota had said that no matter what, she's a part of this, but what she doesn't know that it extends to just more than her, Amber, Domino, and me. It extends to everyone I know. More than just everyone else involved with the coup attempt, but also everyone else in Eagle Force. Even worse than that, my family just has to be a target in all of this. I remember Marcus King showing the files the Dultras have on my family when we met at a café. But just as I told him back at the Dultra base, I'm already in too deep. My best hope is to finish this business I have with the Skylanders as quickly as we can, and hope that we protect them from any harm.
I walked through the threshold and threw the door shut. I started to climb the staircase to the third floor. "Hey Cynder, are you here?" shouted Spyro.
"Why would she be here?" I asked as I entered into the living room. It looked as if Spyro had a look worry and paranoia on his face. Domino looked as confused as I am.
"I don't know, I kind of had a hunch I guess," he said.
"Kind of weird, don't you think?"
"No, I just thought she would be here. Why are you pressing me on this?" spat Spyro.
"I wasn't. I was asking you a question. Don't get so defensive over it," I said as I sat down on the couch. The anxious look on Spyro's face hasn't faded.
I watched Amber reach the top of the staircase and she sat down next to me. "So what's gonna be our next move?" asked Dakota.
"Probably start looking for another one of the meteorites," I said.
"No breaks for us?"
"Once one job is done, we move onto another."
I picked up my computer from the coffee table and opened it up. "So how many of the meteorites are there?" asked Dakota as my computer booted up.
"32, including the ones we've collected," answered Domino.
"And how many do we have?"
"Technically none since all the ones we've collected have turned into full-grown Skylanders," said Spyro.
"Okay, how many Skylanders have we found?" asked Dakota in an annoyed tone.
"8."
"Well, we do have a lot of work to do."
I clicked on the web browser on my computer and went to the website that had the map of where the Skylanders landed. I zoomed into the area of Los Angeles and looked over the options we have left here. Amber looked over on to my computer. One of the pictures caught my eye, and I clicked on it. The picture of what looks like a shark on two legs with its hands wrapped into fists. Orange spots were dotted randomly over its back.
"Who's that?" I asked Spyro. He looked over to my screen and scrutinized the enlarged image.
"That's Terrafin. He used to live in the Dirt Seas before he became a Skylander."
"Your world's weird," stated Dakota.
"I feel like I can say the same thing about yours," said Spyro, "To try and make things simple for you guys; he's a dirt shark. Instead of swimming in oceans, he swims in land."
"I've stopped trying to put logic to your world for a long time," I said. I closed the picture and looked at the location of where Terrafin fell.
"It looks like he landed in a neighborhood in South Los Angeles."
"Can you get an exact location?" asked Dakota.
"No, but from what I can see in the background of the picture, he landed in someone's backyard. At worst, we can probably go door-to-door and ask people if they have it."
"Hey, I hate to ask this, but we should probably go and check to see if Cynder ever made it back to the airstrip," said Spyro. I looked over to him with curiosity.
"Why? I'm pretty sure she made it back there by now."
"Because I care about my friend and I'm worried she didn't make it there," stated Spyro as if he was annoyed by my question. Something told me that there was something else going on. "I could probably just fly up there tomorrow while you guys search for Terrafin," suggested Spyro.
"No… just have one of us drive up there with you tomorrow," interrupted Domino. I narrowed my gaze at him. I could tell that he's suspicious of Spyro right now. Frankly, I have the same view right now.
"How about Dakota and Amber drive up to the hanger with Spyro tomorrow while Domino and I go search for the meteorite? It shouldn't take too long to search the neighborhoods for some leads," I said. No one seemed opposed to my idea.
"That's fine with me if you guys don't mind driving," said Spyro to Amber and Dakota.
"I'm good with that if Dakota's okay with it," said Amber. Dakota nodded her head in agreement.
"So what else do we have to do tonight?"
"Nothing, it looks like we can have the rest of the day to ourselves," I said.
"It's not like we don't deserve it," said Domino.
I looked over to Spyro and saw that he still has the look of paranoia on his face. I could tell that he wants to go and check on her now. I do know that he likes Cynder as more than a friend, but I also know that he realizes that she can take of herself. She knows the direction, and she has flown with Spyro from there to the mansion before. There has to be something else going one, and if it makes the dragon nervous, then it must be something serious.
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Marcus King's POV
I looked down at the pictures of the meteorite that we captured and lost a few weeks back. The creature on top of the meteorite looks exactly like the dragon. I haven't seen the dragon for a couple of hours. I know where she's being kept, but the dragon is always being guarded. It won't be easy to get a few minutes of privacy, but I do need to talk to her. Luckily for me, it's my turn to watch over her.
I folded the picture of the meteorite and put it in my pocket. I exited my office and walked over to the elevator. The floor that the dragon is being kept on is the one of the upper floors of the building. The floor is usually only inhabited for people who already know about the existence of the creature. The only people who don't know about the dragon and are on this floor are just the grunts who are only up here for only a few minutes. I rode the elevator to the floor and walked over to a room that's directly in the center of this level of the building.
The door to the room is locked by a fingerprint scanner. Only a select amount of people are allowed to even enter. Thankfully, I'm one of them. If the door, though, remains open for than a few seconds, an alarm will be tripped. That way it wouldn't be easy to try and let someone else in. Someone is always in the room, so they'll always see who entered in. Plus the scanner keeps a log of who enters and leaves. Luckily, there isn't much more security for this room. The more this room looks ordinary, the less people will find it suspicious.
I pressed my thumb to the scanner and a few seconds later a light on the scanner lit up green. I was granted access to the room, and I opened up the door. As I entered into the room, I let the door close itself behind me.
"How's the dragon doing?" I said to the Dultra, Werner, watching over the dragon.
"It's just sitting there. They tried interrogating her an hour ago, but she's tenacious. She hasn't given any answer."
"I know that she might have information, but even so, I don't like the idea of having a prisoner. Especially with the way we're keeping her," I said.
"I get what you mean, and I kinda agree, but Octavio scares me more than she does."
"Yeah, I guess. It's still kind of weird, you know. Holding someone up at gunpoint is a lot different than keeping someone hostage."
"Maybe if she'll give us the answers we want, maybe we can let her go."
"You don't actually think that, do you?"
"No."
A cold chill went down my spine. He's right. Even if we do manage to get some information out of the dragon, I don't think we'll just let her go.
"Well, it's my turn to watch over the thing," I said.
"It's time already?" he said in surprise. He looked at his watch and checked the time. "Well, I guess it is," he said as he got up from his chair. As Werner walked to the door, he handed me the remote to activate the creature's shock collar. "Gun's on the table, just in case," he advised as he opened the door.
"Thanks…," I said as he left and closed the door. "I pray I don't have to use it, and that I know what I'm doing."
The table's mashed up next to the wall with a one-way mirror. The glass is over two inches thick and next to the window is a door that leads into another room where we have Cynder captive. I picked up the gun off the table and entered into the other room. A few feet from the wall behind me are large metal bars that stretch from floor to ceiling. In case if the dragon tried to claw out through the walls, they're reinforced with rebar and other dense metals. Even if the dragon did manage to escape, she still has her wings chained to her body and the shock collar around her neck. Escape won't be easy for her.
I closed the door behind me and the beast looked up and glared at me with anger in her eyes. "Are you gonna try to torture information out of me like the rest of you people?" she spat.
"No, I'm not, but I'm hoping to still get something from you voluntarily," I said with sympathy.
"Are you going to use that thing so I 'voluntarily' help you?" she argued as she glared at the weapon in my hand.
"No, I won't use it as a means of persuasion."
"Then why do you have it with you?"
"Because word is floating around that you're the one who's been behind the mysterious deaths of some of the Dultras. I didn't exactly want to go unprotected."
"I can tell you that it wasn't me, but either way that thing wouldn't exactly protect you if I was free."
"You're really not helping me here."
"Yeah, and why should I? What makes you so different from the other Dultras?"
"Because, unlike most of the other Dultras here, I actually want to see you go free," I stated. That seemed to peak Cynder's interest. She raked over my face with a puzzled glare.
"What exactly would you have to gain by freeing me?"
"Nothing."
"From what I've learned about you people is that you don't do something unless you get something in return."
"Well maybe some of us aren't with them," I declared as I inadvertently gave away my cover. I noticed the dragoness's eyes widen.
"Is your name Marcus King?" asked the dragon. I immediately went into panic mode and involuntarily searched the immediate area. My eyes widen as my breathing picked up speed a little bit. I opened up the door behind me and quickly scanned the room. Luckily for me, no one was there. The dragon took my distress as its own answer.
"Okay, I'll answer some of your questions," said Cynder as she nodded her head in understanding.
I knelt down and took out the picture of the suspiciously familiar looking meteorite of her and showed it to the dragoness. She scrutinized the picture for a few seconds and then looked back to me. "Wait a minute, I remember you," she declared. My gaze emitted a look of confusion. I've never met her prior to this meeting.
"I think I would remember meeting a creature a like you."
"You're the man who took me from that safe when I was still frozen. Your face was concealed at the time, but I remember your voice," she stated. I tried to remember what she was talking about, but nothing came to my mind until a memory popped up in my head. She has to be talking about the job I was ordered by Octavio to do, but that would mean…
"Wait, you're saying this meteorite is you?!"
"Well, more like 'was.'"
I ran this over in my head and things started to make sense. This must be a reason to why Ashburn and Octavio are trying to collect these things. They're not trying to find these things because of their rarity or oddity, but the power these creatures must have.
"How exactly did you become one of these things?" I asked as I put the picture away.
"I'm not completely sure, but from what I know I was frozen down to that size as I travelling through space before I crashed into your planet," she answered. That caught my attention; she's not from our world. Although at this point, I'm willing to believe anything.
"Why are you here on my world?"
"To make a long story short, my friends and I were forcibly exiled from our planet."
"Why?"
"Like I said, it's a long story. Right now, we're trying to get back home."
My mind keeps trying to comprehend the multitude of challenges she had to go through. Forced away from her home, have the rest of her friends stuck in a form like she was in, and now being forced captive by the Dultras; I didn't exactly help her any.
"If you don't mind me asking, how did the Dultras capture you? It seems someone like you should've easily been able to get away," I asked. A look of shame and embarrassment appeared on Cynder's face.
"I was flying back toward our base when out of nowhere someone fired net from a top of a building. I was hit and blindsided by the net and I started spiraling toward the ground. I impacted to the side of a street, hard, and I blacked out for a few minutes. During that time, someone had wrapped this chain around my wings and locked it. When I woke up, I tried using my powers, but something blocked them, so I began clawing and kicking at the people attacking me. Eventually, I was forced to give in," she said.
"What were you doing prior to your capture?" I inquired. The dragoness looked at me with suspicion. It took her a few seconds to judge if I deserved an answer.
"I was help guiding a couple of people out of the city."
"What city?"
"Someplace called Los Angeles."
"Why?"
"They were trying to outrun people going after them. I was in the air warning them whenever the people got close."
"Who was going chasing you guys?" I asked. The dragon looked as if she was about to spill a secret.
"The… police."
The only time the cops were ever chasing someone in a large scale was during the jewelry store robbery in Los Angeles, the same store that contained the meteorite. If they were after the meteorite, it would make sense for Cynder to be involved in that. If that were the case, then that would mean the Dultras would have to have known about the robbery prior to the actual attempt.
"So do you think you can break me out of this?" asked the dragon as she gestured toward her collar and chains.
"Come here; let me get a look at them."
The dragon walked up to the metal bars. I reached in through one of the small gaps and grab ahold of the collar. I examined the collar around her neck and noticed the extra security measures. "Son of a bitch," I said to myself. The shock collar has behind modified to only be open by an electronic key. A lock like this can't be broken through easily. Even worse, the collar has tracker embedded into it. If the dragon ever managed to escape and still had this on her, we would find her easily.
I turned my attention to the chains wrapped around her wings. The chains themselves look cut-resistant; they appear to be made of a very high grade. In theory, if someone had the right supplies and enough time, they could cut through the chains. Unfortunately, I don't have either. Even if I could get the right supplies up here, it could take hours to cut through the chain. Someone would walk in here and catch sight of me trying to release her by then. Plus I'm not sure if the dragon could handle it. I looked over to the lock on the chains. The padlock on her looks like it's made of the same stuff the chains are made of, but the lock on it is traditional. Someone could probably pick it, but still, she's not going anywhere with that tracker.
"Listen, I know you're working with someone named Jack Ashburn. I can't break you out your restraints without drawing too much suspicion. If you can give me of the location on where they're staying, I can pass information on to them and, hopefully, they will be able to do something."
"If I had my powers, I could make quick work of these restraints and get out of here easily," she stated as she avoided my question.
"That would be preferable, but I don't know what is blocking them. Trust me; I would destroy what was obstructing them if I could."
"Yeah, very few things can bar my powers, and none of them are on this planet."
"I'll keep a lookout for something like that, but if you want to get out of here, I need a location of the people your with," I said. She contemplated on giving me an answer. I could tell that she doesn't fully trust me.
"I can't help you if don't give me more information," I declared. She took another second to come up with an answer.
"I don't know the address of where the others are staying, but I remember Jack mentioning to me that the place of where they're staying is called Beverly Hills," she answered.
Beverly Hills is a city in Los Angeles; it's also a place where a part of Jack's family lives. It would make sense for them to be staying there. It's also one of the locations that I've kept to myself and diverted the attention of some of the Dultras if they started looking for a location on him. None of the photos we have on his family are ones at their home.
"Yeah, I have an idea on where they're staying. I'll try and get to them tomorrow. Think you can hold out for a few days."
"I'm a lot stronger than I look, but this shock collar is killing me."
"Yeah, I'll see if I can get them to tone down the intensity of your interrogations."
"That would be appreciated."
I got up from the ground and headed toward the door. I guess I'm about to be dragged into the mess that Ashburn made. I'm probably about to make the biggest mistake of my life, one that'll probably end it, but it's one that I'll gladly make.