I thought it was impossible, but I somehow was able to surpass Chapter 41's length. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Domino's POV

20 Minutes Earlier

"Are you going to be okay?" I asked to Amber as we walked away from the car. I noticed Jack turning the car around, and he started to drive down the block.

"I'm just nervous, I guess," she said. Wrapped around her shoulder is a long strand of thick rope she and Dakota will use to cross over to Jack's building.

"Who knows, maybe nothing will happen tonight," I said trying to calm her nerves.

"You know something will," she stated.

I assessed the large amount of weapons I'm holding. Sheathed on my back is my SR-25 sniper rifle with its night vision scope attached, down in my hands is a MP5 submachine gun, and holstered at my side is the Glock 17 I usually bring with me. When Jack ordered me to bring an extra weapon, I thought it was excessive, but as we approached the buildings, I started to wonder if I brought enough ammo.

After a minute of walking, we split off at the conveniently placed roadblock. Dakota and Amber went toward the left, and Spyro and I went to the right. I looked up to the building I'm going to. There appears to be seven floors to it. From what I read on the signs posted outside, this is a hotel. I looked around and noticed that the building had been closed down. I glanced to the other buildings on this block; they all appeared to be closed as well, definitely not a coincidence. I took a closer look at the building; there aren't any balconies, just windows that could hopefully be opened and closed.

"Spyro, keep an eye on my back," I said.

"That's why I'm here," he said.

I walked over to the revolving door and gave it a push, but the door wouldn't budge. I walked over to the other doors and attempted to open it, but it's locked as well. "Spyro, I'm going to have to pick the lock on the door," I said. Spyro nodded his head and kept a lookout on the street. I grabbed ahold of my MP5's sling and laid it down on the pavement and pulled out my lock-pick kit. It took me about two minutes to pick through the lock. I pulled the door open and let Spyro enter in. I took one last quick scan of the street before I entered into the building.

"I'm wishing I brought a flashlight," I said to myself as I noticed the darkness of the room.

"Well stay close," stated Spyro. A large staircase in the middle of the room takes up most of the space. To my left is a receptionist desk and to the right is a small lobby. "The fifth floor will probably have a good vantage point," I said.

"Alright, let me lead," said Spyro.

Spyro climbed up the grand staircase first while I followed closely behind. I kept my gun aimed carefully in front of me in case of a possible attack. When we reached the top of the staircase, I scanned the entire layout of the floor for any Dultras.

"Do you want to take the elevator or stairs?" I asked Spyro.

"Whichever is the one that gets us there faster."

We walked over to the hallway that has three elevators; we pressed the button for us to go up to the fifth floor. The middle elevator's doors opened up, and we went inside. The doors slid to a close, and we started to go to the fifth floor. When the doors opened up, I noticed that this floor was brightly lit. I looked over to the archway to the hall and saw three armed Dultras standing there with their weapons aimed right at us.

"GET BACK!" I screamed as I hid to the side of the doors. Spyro narrowly avoided the shotgun beads as he went to cover behind me. I pointed my weapon out of cover and started to blind fire in an attempt to keep the Dultras back. I slammed the door-close button on the control panel, but the elevator wouldn't close. "Shit!" I stated to myself. I leaned over and aimed my weapon out of cover to quickly assess the situation. Three Dultras are attacking us, each of them appear to be carrying Saiga-12k shotguns. They're taking cover behind the archway to the hallway.

One of them leaned out of cover, but I quickly diverted my aim over to him and fired three rounds. The bullets missed, but he was forced back into cover. Another Dultra from the other side went out over and aimed his weapon toward me. I didn't have enough time to switch my aim over to him, and I had to duck back behind the elevators before he sent another blast over to me. I heard the Dultra I had just been shooting at start to fire at me once again. Two lines of fire are keeping me suppressed, but there are three Dultras.

Spyro immediately went out of cover and blew a wall of fire. "SPYRO!" I shouted. I saw the purple dragon dash behind the fire. The fire briefly blinded himself from the Dultras. He dove through the fast moving wall and impaled his horns into the chest of the Dultra who attempted to rush me. The firing from the other two Dultras stopped, and I immediately brought my upper body out of cover. I aimed my gun at the Dultra on the left side of the archway. He aimed his gun at Spyro, but I pierced four rounds through his forehead. The other Dultra, though, had his gun pointed at Spyro. As fast as I could, I switched my aim over to him, but when I pulled the trigger, I realized the clip was empty.

Spyro attempted to dodge the incoming shotgun blast, but his body didn't move fast enough. The beads from the shotgun shell collided into the side of his body. I dropped the MP5 and let it dangle from its sling wrapped around my neck. I pulled out my handgun from its holster and ran out into the open. As I exited my cover, I rapidly lunged to my right as another shotgun blast struck the wall behind me. I landed hard on the ground and sent three rounds into the bulletproof vest of the Dultra. The Dultra, in shock, crashed onto the floor. I quickly crawled over to Spyro, and threw his body over my shoulder. I got up off the ground and dashed back over to the elevators. I smashed my fist on the button that's supposed to call an elevator to take me down, but the button didn't light up. The power to the elevators had been cut.

I rapidly turned around and dashed toward the archway. The Dultra who had just been shot in his armor is clutching his chest in pain. I turned to the right and dashed right past him. I kept running until I found an emergency exit to the staircase. I slammed my body into the crash bar, but the door didn't budge open. I pushed harder on the door, but it still wouldn't open. I turned around and ran back down the hall.

I immediately stopped when I saw four Dultras round the corner of the hall. I fired wildly at them with little regard to my aiming as I went over to an entryway to one of the hotel rooms. None of my bullets appeared to have hit them. I laid Spyro's body down on the floor behind my cover, and for the first time I was able to get a look at him. The shotgun beads that had hit him didn't go through his body, nor did they leave any kind of mark except bruises. The Dultras were firing non-lethal beanbag rounds. I heard Spyro let out a low moan.

I need to get to safety before I think out my next move. I pushed down on the lever doorknob to the room and slammed my body against the door, but its lock kept it shut. I pressed my back against the wall as I holstered my handgun and reloaded my MP5. I leaned out of cover and fired at the four Dultras who had gone to cover behind their own entryways.

"Spyro, are you still awake?" I shouted as I got back into cover.

"Yeah, my side hurts like crazy," he stated as he got up off the ground.

"Well I'm going to need your help," I said as I leaned my body out of cover once again. I shot three rounds at a Dultra who attempted to aim at me. I switched my aim over to the other entryway and fired another four rounds.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Open up the door to the room while I keep these guys suppressed," I commanded.

"I don't exactly know how to pick locks."

"I don't care, Spyro, figure something out," I stated. I fired another six rounds at the Dultras in an attempt to keep them back. Spyro began to bash his horns at the edge of the door. I heard the loud crash resonate throughout the walls. The keycard lock started to break apart. The dragon rubbed is head before he launched his body at the door once again, this time with a greater magnitude. The force finally was able to break the lock and swing the door open. I fired the rest of the ammo I had in my gun's magazine as I directed Spyro to go into the room. I followed him close behind.

I slammed the broken door shut and locked the door with its chain lock. I pushed with the full weight of my body against the door to make sure the Dultras couldn't barge their way in here. "Domino, I need your help," said Spyro as I saw him try to push a dresser from the middle of the room over to the door. I left the door and ran over to him. A television on top of the dresser helped weigh it down. I yanked its cord out of the electrical outlet and pushed the television off the dresser.

The dresser felt like it weighed a ton; it took a lot of strength to move it just an inch. I heard a loud crash on the door. The only thing stopping the door from bursting open was the small chain I locked the door with. A small opening, though, was on the door. I pulled out my pistol and targeted the opening. While the two of us are pushing the heavy piece of furniture, I unloaded my clip at the door to keep the Dultras from barging in. Our momentum started to increase and the dresser began to move faster. We got closer to the door; we're only a few feet away. A Dultra stuck his hand through the small opening in the door and tried to get the latch off. I pointed my gun at his hand and fired. The bullet dug into his hand, and the Dultra immediately retrieved his hand through the small opening. Spyro and I arrived at the door and pushed the dresser up against it. A few hundred pounds of solid mass kept the Dultras from crashing through the door.

I heard sounds of inaudible shouting from behind the now sealed off door. My breathing remained at a heavy pace. At least we're safe for the moment. I walked back into the room and reloaded my handgun and my MP5.

"What're we going to do?" asked Spyro. I looked over to the window in the back of the hotel room. I was thankful to see that I can open up these windows.

"We need to get the hell out of here and stop Jack from going to that meeting. You can get out through the window, but I'll still have a lack of an exit," I said.

"I'm not going to leave you here by yourself, not with the Dultras," stated Spyro.

"Thanks for the sentiment, but I don't think they're trying to kill us."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because they were firing beanbag rounds at us. That's why you survived when that Dultra shot you. There only meant to incapacitate people, not kill."

"But why, though?"

"I don't know."

All of the sudden, large explosions came from both sides of the walls. I jumped down to the ground as shrapnel of dry wall rained down onto me. In a complete state of fear, I pointed my MP5 at one of the newly formed holes in the wall and fired. Someone from the wall behind me tossed something through its hole. I saw it drop on the floor and before I could process what the object is, a deafening, loud bang resonated throughout my body. My vision immediately went blank. Not long after I felt something painful hit my right shoulder. I didn't hear myself scream a shriek of pain as I dropped my weapon onto my chest.

It didn't take too long for my vision to come back. The hole where the stun grenades had been thrown from has quadrupled in size. It's now big enough for a fully grown adult to fit through. I looked to my left and saw someone start to wrap chains around Spyro's wings. I reached to my side and pulled out my handgun. As I aimed at the man, someone fired a beanbag round at my forearm. "AAHHH!" I shrieked as the gun fell out of my hand. I looked over to my right to see another man who had his Saiga-12k trained at my forehead. With my non-injured left arm, I gripped single-handedly my MP5 and attempted to aim at him. Another Dultra came over and bashed the stock of his gun into the side of my face.

"Fucking little bastard doesn't know when to quit," said the Dultra. He and another Dultra each grabbed one of my arms and picked me up off the ground. They each took my weapons from me, and one of them handcuffed my hands behind my back. I saw the Dultra finish wrapping the chains around Spyro's wings, and he locked them tight. I looked around and saw that five Dultras are standing in the room. I saw more Dultras through the holes into the other rooms. A couple of them held sledgehammers in their hands. The smell of singed wood and drywall reeked throughout the room.

"Why haven't you killed me?" I asked with anger.

"What?" asked the Dultra as his attention turned to me.

"You were firing beanbag rounds at us, you used stun grenades instead of frags, and you had perfect opportunity to kill me, so why am I still alive?" I demanded.

"Because we were ordered to capture you alive, you little shit. Believe me, nothing would make me feel better than putting a bullet in your head, but we need to keep you breathing for now," he stated.

"Why? What am I worth to you alive?"

"Leverage, and that's about it," stated the other Dultra, "Now, shut the hell up."

"Fuck the both of you," I insulted. The Dultra gripped hard on my injured forearm. I gritted my teeth and let out a painful moan.

"I might not be able to kill you, but I don't mind breaking every bone in your body," threatened the Dultra.

I looked over to Spyro; he looked around as if he were assessing some way to attack, but he seemed too hesitant to try anything. Probably because my hands are handcuffed, and the Dultras have their weapons trained on me. He doesn't want to take a risk that could get me killed.

I tried to think of what the Dultra meant by using us as leverage. Of what possible use could we be? Then the thought occurred to me. Jack. He would be the only person the Dultras could gain anything from with us. With us captured, they could force him to do anything. I looked over to the other building through the window. I saw Jack slowly walk over to the building. He kept checking his phone as he inserted the key into the lock. "Don't go in," I mumbled to myself. He turned the key and slowly entered into the building; not knowing the hell he's about to face.

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Amber's POV

"Amber, hurry up. Jack's already in the meeting," said Dakota. I had been looking down at one end of the rope I had brought; making sure that the grappling hook attached to it is tied securely. The both of us are going to have to zip-line from our building to Jack's. This building is only one level taller than the other one, so we should have a smooth descent; although, things usually don't tend to go smoothly for us.

"Shit, alright, let's go," I said. I checked the time on my phone: it is 9:01 P.M.

It took us a while to get up here. Many doors were locked, and the eerie sense of being watched slowed down our progress. I continued to climb up the stairs with Dakota. My M4A1 was always pointed up to the top of the staircase. After about another minute of climbing up the stairs, we reached the very top of the building. A small angled ladder led up to a roof hatch. "You first," said Dakota. I sheathed my assault rifle on my back and grabbed ahold of the ladder. I climbed up each rung of the ladder, and then grabbed ahold of the handle on the hatch. I twisted it until I could fully open the hatch. I pushed it up and gently swung the thing until it held itself opened.

I grasped the sides of the opening and began to pull myself up to the roof. "Don't move," ordered a fully armed Dultra. My body tensed up as I stared at the end of his shotgun. I cautiously moved my eyes and saw three Dultras covering every possible angle of me. I looked down and saw two more Dultras aiming at Dakota. It seemed as if she wanted to try and shoot them, but they had got the jump on her. Those two must've been following us.

"Get up here slowly," commanded a Dultra to me. I carefully pulled myself onto the roof. Dakota had to stay down on the stairs. Probably about to follow the same instructions that these Dultras are going to give me. "Put your weapons on the ground. If you think you can try anything, we'll end you before it can happen," stated the Dultra. I gave a very quick glance around the roof; it's just a wide expanse of concrete and gravel. No cover within sight. Even if there was something, the Dultras have me surrounded.

I grabbed ahold of the barrel of my assault rifle and slowly pulled it off of my back. Each of the Dultras intently watched me and kept their fingers tightly wrapped around their triggers. I gently placed the gun on the ground. "Other one, and the rope as well," commanded the Dultra. I reached to my side and cautiously pulled out my handgun and placed it on the ground. I slid the rope off of my shoulder and let it drop onto the roof. One of the Dultras lowered his weapon and walked over to pick up my guns and rope.

"Get back down there," he ordered as he pointed to the hatch. All of the Dultras had their guns trained at me as I climbed back down the ladder. When I reached the bottom, I noticed the two Dultras had Dakota's weapons as well. One of the Dultras kept an eye on me as the three on the roof came down here. "Start moving," stated the Dultra. Dakota and I reluctantly followed his command.

We started to slowly climb down the staircase. The three Dultras behind us kept their aim on us; they remained eerily calm. The two others stayed in front of us, leading our way to our possible deaths. I tried to wait and see if there was any opportunity to make a possible attack, but I can't try anything without coordinating with Dakota unless I want to get her killed.

They made us stop at a door that's a couple of floors from the roof. One of two Dultras in front of us opened the door. "Can I ask where we're going?" I said breaking the ominous silence.

"Get moving," stated a Dultra from behind as he pushed me with the side of his shotgun into the hallway. We continued walking until we came upon another door in the middle of the hallway. A Dultra opened it up and turned on the light. I had to close my eyes as the sudden flash of bright light on an intensely white wall blinded me for a second. The two Dultras entered in first and set our weapons down on a white foldout table.

"Take the vests off," commanded the Dultra. With their weapons still aimed at us, we followed their order once again. One of the Dultras walked over, picked them up, and placed them on the table. "Search them," ordered the leader to two of the other Dultras. The Dultras began searching whatever contents we might have. They found my cell phone and Dakota's lock pit kit.

"Sit down in those chairs," ordered the Dultra.

"Are you going to kill us?" I asked.

"We can if you want us to," he answered with annoyance in his voice. Dakota and I walked over to two wooden chairs. The both of us hesitantly sat down in the chairs. One of the Dultras came over with four pairs of handcuffs. He handcuffed each of our wrists to the arms of the chairs.

"Nice phone you have," said the head Dultra as he picked up my cell phone, "Would you kindly unlock it for me? I need to send someone a message."

"What happens to me if I refuse?"

"You know what'll happen."

I stared at him with anger in my eyes as he showed me the screen of my phone. I typed in the passcode to my phone and it when to its menu. I thought about trying to send Jack a message, but this Dultra is keeping a close eye on me. I had to resist the urge to bash my head into his face. The Dultra stepped back and took a picture of me and Dakota.

"Who are you sending the message to?"

"Your friend, Ashburn, might want to know that he doesn't have backup coming for him," he stated as he sent the text to Jack. I clenched my hands tightly around the armrests.

"What the hell is happening to him?" I demanded.

"I don't know exactly, but I do know that it's happening right now," he answered as he put away my cell phone. I yanked my handcuffs up as I tried to break out of them. The Dultra let out a small laugh to himself as he watched me. "Kasich, stay here and watch over them. Everyone else, take their weapons and gear," he ordered. I watched as the four Dultras picked up our guns, bulletproof vests, and the rope with the grappling hook on it.

I saw they had left Dakota's lock pit kit. I tried to remain calm as the four Dultras slowly left the room. "Almost forgot," said the head Dultra as he walked backed into the room. He picked up the lock pit kit and glanced at me with a smug grin on his face. He went back out the door and closed it. The Dultra left to watch us leaned back against the wall and watched me and Dakota. I looked over to Dakota; she looked as if she's assessing the situation we're in. Since the Dultra is in the room watching us, Dakota and I can't coordinate any plan.

I need to figure a way to get us out of this. Jack's in danger and I don't know what the state of Domino or Spyro is. Whatever it is, it certainly can't be good. Especially since they've decided to keep us alive, instead of killing us back on the roof. They sent a picture of us to Jack. He's probably trying to figure out some way to save us from his end. Maybe he'll try to make some deal with the Dultras, or attempt to slaughter them all as he makes his way toward us. Either way, I'm doubtful that I'll survive the next hour.

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Domino's POV

"We have the other two in custody," stated a Dultra over a radio. Shit, they've captured Dakota and Amber. At least that means they're alive. "You can bring the other one over here, but leave the reptile there."

"Copy that," said the Dultra into the radio. The Dultras had forced me and Spyro into different rooms, but, from the sounds of it, they don't even want us in the same building.

"Get up," ordered the Dultra.

"What have you done with my friends?" I demanded. The Dultra grabbed me by my injured arm and threw me out of the chair. "Argh, screw you, asshole," I declared as I hit the wall.

"Will the two of you escort this shit over to the building? If I have to hear any more of this brat's mouth, I'm going to have to put a bullet in him," said the Dultra as he looked to the two others in the room. They nodded their heads and walked over to me. I noticed that one of them had my SR-25 sniper rifle slinged over his shoulder, and the other had my MP5 submachine gun and Glock 17 handgun with him. It's just another reason they have to make sure I don't try anything.

The Dultra with my MP5 grabbed ahold of my arm and started walking me toward the door. The other Dultra stayed behind us, watching my back. They walked me over to the elevator, and we went down to the first floor. "Is the road clear?" asked a Dultra into his radio.

"You're good, you can bring the kid over here," said the Dultra over the radio. The Dultra had a tight grip on my shoulder. I can't wriggle my way out of his hold. We exited the building and crossed over the street. I looked over to the massive hole as we passed by it. A part of me was tempted to try and shove the Dultra down into the pit, but with my hands bound behind me and with the other Dultra watching my back, it would be suicide.

We entered into the building that Amber and Dakota were in. We walked over to a stairway access, and the Dultra opened up its door. The Dultras must've cut the power to the elevators here as well. They forced me to walk up each of the steps; the Dultra still kept his grasp on my shoulder.

After a few minutes of climbing up the staircase, we suddenly heard gunfire from above. The Dultras and I looked up in complete shock. For a fraction of a second, the Dultras forgot about me. The Dultra behind me had tripped and fell backward down the staircase. Taking the opportunity, I used the full weight of my body and slammed my head and shoulders against the Dultra holding me. His body collided against the wall, he tried to push me off, but I smashed my foot into the side of his knee. He let out a scream of pain and bashed his face on the platform above this flight of stairs.

As fast as I could, I brought my cuffed hands to the floor and stepped over them so they could be at the front of my body. I reached down to the Dultra next to me and took my handgun from him. The Dultra from behind started to get up, and he saw me with my gun. He ran as fast as he could toward me. With the gun gripped in both of my hands, I fired three times at the Dultra. Two bullets shredded through his head, and one through his neck. The Dultra next to me grabbed ahold of my leg and tried to pull me down. I quickly aimed down at his hand and fired. The bullet sliced through his head.

I looked up to the ceiling as I heard more gunshots fire off. Did Amber and Dakota free themselves? I need to get up there as fast as I can. I knelt down next to the Dultra, placed the gun down, and searched him to find something to break the lock on the handcuffs. The Dultras took my lock pick kit, and these Dultras don't have it with them. It didn't take me long to find a handcuff key. I unlocked the handcuffs and tossed them down the staircase. I picked up my MP5 from the dead Dultra. I checked its mag; the Dultras never reloaded it. It only has about 20 shots left in it. I put the MP5's sling around my neck and stuffed the handgun at my side. I walked down to the other Dultra and grabbed my sniper rifle off his back. The scope had been ruined from the fall. I looked down at the bent sight and saw that it isn't zeroed in.

I started my way up to the staircase and came upon the door from where I had heard the gunfire. I looked down at my weapons. I don't have a whole lot of ammo to deal with the Dultras: 20 shots in my MP5, 12 shots in my handgun, and 20 bullets in my sniper rifle. I'm going to have to be careful; I'm not even sure how many Dultras are even here.

I'm not sure about a lot of things. I have no idea if Amber and Dakota are okay, I have no idea if Spyro's okay, and I have no idea if Jack's okay. The Dultras knew we were going to be here. I'm not surprised, but I can't believe that even when they had us captured, they didn't kill us then and there. Something more diabolical has to be at play.

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Amber's POV

Another round of gunfire came from out of the door. The Dultra watching seemed apprehensive and nervous. He kept looking at the door as if he were waiting for something to come. Although, I'm not sure what it would be. I had heard the Dultra over a radio state that Domino and Spyro had been captured, and they were bringing Domino over here. I wondered if he was able to get free. But, there seems to be too much gunfire for just one guy.

"Are you going to do anything about that?" I directly asked to the Dultra.

"Shut up," he stated.

"It sounds like a lot of your friends are dying out there," I continued.

"I told you to shut up," he ordered as he pointed his gun at me.

"Oh yes, kill the people who pose no threat to you. It doesn't exactly solve your problem now, does it?"

His eyes peered over to the door. Sounds of more gunfire rang out throughout this floor of the building. He walked over to it and listened intently as the sounds of gunfire died down. "If I see you try anything, death will be the least of your worries," he stated. The Dultra walked out of the door, and closed it behind him. It doesn't look like the door has a lock, but we still have to worry about the ones wrapped around our wrists.

"Amber, there's a hairpin in my hair," said Dakota, "I can pick the lock on the cuffs if you can get it."

"My hands aren't exactly free."

"I can't reach it, but you can get it if I lean my head over to you."

The chairs aren't bolted to the floor. I scooted the chair to her as close as I could. She leaned her head down to me. I lifted my hand up, but the handcuffs yanked on my wrist to keep it from going to high. I stood up with my body bending awkwardly to bring the chair with me. My index and middle fingers gripped onto the hairpin and slid it out of her hair.

I dropped back down into my seat and passed the hairpin over to her. Using only one hand, she bent the hairpin into a different shape and stuck it into a keyhole on the cuff locked to the armrest. After spending a few moments maneuvering the lock, the cuffs started to click open. She slid the cuff off the armrest and immediately went over to her other hand. It took her another few moments to get the handcuffs off of her other hand. She stood up from her chair as she unlocked the handcuff dangling from her wrist, letting them fall to the floor.

At that moment, we heard the door start to open. Dakota picked up her chair and ran over to the door as the Dultra saw her. His gun went off in one direction as she bashed the side of the chair over his head. The beads from the shotgun missed her completely. The Dultra fell to the ground, but still had one hand on his Saiga-12k. Dakota smashed her foot into his wrist, and the Dultra let go of his gun. She picked it up before the Dultra could retaliate.

"You want to die?" she asked as she aimed the gun at his bloodied head.

"Fuck you, you stupid brat," he spat.

"Tell me what you have done with my friends."

"They're all probably burning in hell."

"I am not in the mood, you piece of shit," stated Dakota as she pressed the barrel of the gun against his head. His hand moved slowly toward his side. "DAKOTA!" I shouted as I saw the Dultra about to stab a knife through her leg. She pulled the trigger on the gun before the blade met her skin.

"Damn it," she said to herself. She walked over to me and started to unlock my handcuffs. "We need to get to Jack, fast," she stated as she unlocked the cuff attached to my right hand.

"Domino and Spyro aren't in a good situation either, but we're not going to get far with just one shotgun and a knife," I stated as she unlocked the last handcuff.

"You're right, but we don't have time to search for our gear the Dultras took."

"How much ammo do we have with the shotgun?"

"About 9 shells in the magazine; buckshot rounds from the looks of it," she said as she looked at the Dultra's corpse. I couldn't spot any extra magazines on the Dultra. "It's your call on what we're going to do," she said.

"We're not going to get far without our weapons, but, even so, we don't have a whole lot of time. Let's keep it quiet and try to get to Domino and Spyro. When we have them, then we can go after Jack."

Another round of gunfire roared from outside the room. It seemed to be a bit closer than the last time. "Maybe they're closer than we think," said Dakota. I picked up the knife that's wrapped around the Dultra's hand. The two of us walked over to the door.

"I don't think I have to tell you to take point," I said. She gave me a quick glance as she grabbed ahold of the door knob. Dakota turned the knob and slowly pulled the door open. She peered around the door. "The coast's clear," she said.

The two of us quietly exited the room, going in the direction of the gunfire. From what I remember of the layout of this level of the building, there are three hallways running perpendicular to this one and another hallway on the other side of the building running parallel to the one we're currently in.

We reached the corridor in the middle of the building. We hugged the corner of the wall as the sounds of gunshots came closer and closer. Dakota peered around the wall; she gave me a signal to move with her. As we cornered the wall, I saw one door open in the middle of the hallway. I stayed closely behind her. We reached the wall next to the door. Dakota looked into the room, but the Dultra inside grabbed ahold of the barrel of her gun. Catching her by surprise, he slammed Dakota's arm and back against the wall. It didn't look like he knew I was here. I ran over to him and stabbed my knife in his neck. His body immediately went limb, and I kicked him off of her. His eyes peered over to me, and he tried to raise his gun. I immediately kicked him as hard as I could in the side of his head. The blow caused the Dultra to go unconscious for the remaining few minutes of his life.

Dakota immediately looked into the room with her gun to see if any of the other Dultras are there. I crouched down and found the Dultra's gun in his hand. I looked down at his shoulder and noticed two large slash marks that bled profusely. Someone had attacked him before I did. The wounds looked serious; he was going to die regardless if I was the one who attacked him.

"The room's clear. I couldn't see what he was shooting at," said Dakota. I looked closer at the Dultra's face and noticed that he was the one who took my phone. I found it hidden in his bulletproof vest. "If only the rest of our gear was here," I said to myself. I looked through my phone. The Dultra hadn't done anything to it except send Jack the text message. I deleted the picture and message from my phone. I slid the clip out of the gun. It only has three shots left, better than nothing.

"We need to get moving," said Dakota.

"Yeah," I said. I heard more gunshots coming from another hallway, but it's lasting a lot longer than the other times. Actually, it sounds like an exchange of gunfire. There are the sounds of at least three guns. I nodded my head to Dakota to start going in that direction.

We reached the end of the hallway and cornered our way to another corridor. I peered around the wall and saw a gunfight between three people. One person was using a room on the right side of the hall for cover and the other two were using a room on the left. I saw the person on the right side peer around their cover and fire two rounds at the other room. "That guy has to be Domino," I said as I saw one of the Dultras fire from the doorway. The room's about fifteen yards away.

"Dakota, can you cover me? I'll go up to the room and clear it out," I said.

"Are you sure? You don't have a lot on you."

"I'll be fine; keep them suppressed, and I'll do the rest. After I go in, get to Domino as fast as you can," I ordered. The Dultras and Domino continued to exchange gunfire. Domino only fired one or two shots at a time.

"Alright, keep your head low and stay out of my line of fire," said Dakota.

Dakota went out of cover and moved to the right. She aimed the shotgun at the door to the room with the Dultras. I kept my head and body low to the ground as I started to the room. Dakota started to fire the gun thus alerting the Dultras to our presence. I kept the handgun tightly gripped in my right hand and kept the knife in my left. She kept her shots slow and precise to conserve her very limited ammo. The Dultras stayed down back in their cover.

I reached the doorway, and Dakota briefly stopped firing. I ran into the room and immediately fired my gun to the right. The round shredded through the leg of the Dultra who hid next to the threshold. He screamed out in pain and bashed his head into the ground. The other Dultra was right next to the one I had just shot. He dove out of the way just as I shot a bullet toward his head. I jumped to the left as he blasted his shotgun at me. I landed on the ground and immediately aimed my gun at him again. In the corner of my eye, I saw the Dultra I had shot raise his gun toward me. I rolled to the left as he clumsily aimed and fired at me; his body clearly still in pain. I darted my gun toward his head and fired another round. It pierced through his forehead, and his head fell lifeless to the ground.

I switched my aim to the other Dultra who had gotten up off the ground. It appeared as if he had bashed his head hard on the floor. He had one hand on his head as he tried to assess his surroundings. I pointed my weapon at him and squeezed the trigger, but no bullets came flying out. "Shit," I whispered to myself. His vision started to clear as he began to raise his weapon to me. I gripped the knife in my hand as I attempted to get up off the ground as fast as I could. I lunged the knife toward him, but he bashed me hard in the stomach with his weapon. I fell back onto the ground, his gun aimed right toward my head.

Right before he pulled the trigger on the gun, his arm immediately reacted to an abrupt shift of enormous pain. I saw Stealth Elf suddenly appear on his back. She drove one of her dragonfang daggers straight into his shoulder. The man's screams bellowed throughout the entire building. She bashed the other fang straight into the back of his skull. She jumped off his back as his body landed with a loud sounding thud on the floor.

"Good timing," I said.

"Are you alright?" asked Stealth Elf.

"I'm fine," I said. Domino and Dakota came running into the room. I breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Thank God, you're okay. I overheard the Dultras say that you and Dakota got captured," said Domino as he helped me off the ground.

"Same here, how'd you get out?"

"I got lucky: very, very lucky."

"Was all of the gunfire you?" I asked to him.

"No, that was me," said Stealth Elf. "There were too many of these guys. I had to thin the herd enough so I could try to save you and Dakota, but it seems like I didn't have to."

I looked around the room and started to notice something. Stealth Elf was supposed to be protecting Jack. My train of thought went from relief to fear.

"Is Jack alive?" I asked with terror hanging in my tone.

"Yes, he is. For now, at least," she said. Her answer didn't sway any of my worry.

"Why are you here? You were supposed to be watching over him," I said.

"I was, but, as we thought, he was walking into a trap, but we underestimated how enormous it was."

"What happened?" I demanded.

"A lot, he'll explain it later, but what you need to know is that a sniper from the building across the street has his sights on him. If Jack moves, the sniper will kill him. That's why I couldn't do anything to help him. Jack received a message that showed the two of you captured, and he signaled me to go and free you. I didn't know what the state of Spyro and Domino was at the time."

"Where was the sniper?" asked Domino.

"Directly across from him in the building you were at. He's on the third floor."

"Alright, I should be able to get a shot on him," said Domino.

"Don't do it now. Give me about five minutes to get back to your friend, then take him out," said Stealth.

"I'm going with you," I stated.

"No, I need you and Dakota to go and save Spyro. Besides, I'm faster if I move alone," she said. I wanted to retaliate, but I held my tongue. It'll probably take more than one person to reach Spyro.

"We're not going to get far without our weapons," said Dakota.

"I think I saw them in the room at the far end of the hallway," she said, "I need to get going. Domino, are you sure you can hit him?"

"My scope's bent and out of sight, but, yeah, I should be able to."

"Alright, just give me the time I need, and then take the shot," said Stealth Elf. She nodded her head to us, and started to run down the hallway.

Dakota and I parted our ways with Domino. He went to go find a vantage point to hunt down Jack's sniper while Dakota and I went to retrieve our weapons. A part of me wanted to stay there with him though, but we still have a lot more to do. I'm hoping that our luck will pull through with us one more time.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
Jack's POV

I felt my arm start to ache; I gripped my other hand to the gun as I aimed at the sniper in the other building. Getting a shot on him is my only chance right now. Even with the other Dultra watching over me. He's just standing there in the far end of the room with one hand behind his back. Occasionally he taunts me, and I hurl an insult at him demanding him to shut up.

"So I guess you're never going to tell me exactly why I'm still alive," I said.

"I've already told you; you're more useful alive," he stated in his usual sinister tone.

"You don't exactly say that to people your holding a gun to."

"Don't worry, you're value is about to come to an end."

"And of what value am I to a Dultra?"

"Did I once ever say I was a Dultra?" he asked. I quickly turned my head over to him. There's only one person who this guy could be. The one person Marcus King had warned me about very early this morning, the one person who has the answer to every question I've been asking, and the one person who might end up killing me: Taurus Alhberg. I didn't dare speak his name in fear of accidently burning King.

The whole reason why I even pushed to go through with this tonight was to get answers to the questions that he has been throwing at me. This might be my only chance to get any scrap of tangible information even though I might be dead before I could get to use any of it.

"Mind if I ask you a question?" I asked with determination in my voice.

"If you can trust the integrity of my answer," he replied. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Tell me whether or not if these events are connected in some fashion: me conveniently finding three of the meteorites in one place, the Dultras kidnapping one of the Skylanders, the somehow near-perfect opportunity to rescue said Skylander, and me standing where I am right now. I have a pretty good feeling that these aren't just coincidences, and that you are in the center of all these," I stated. I saw Alhberg's eye briefly twitch, but he didn't seemed scathed.

"You'd be right," he said. Even though I had a feeling I was, it feels almost like a victory to finally get confirmation.

"Then why did you let so many of your own men die when I rescued Cynder? You sent them into a death trap."

"I'm surprised that you would even have sympathy for the people who held your friend hostage."

"I don't, but it's pretty fucking rare to find people who volunteer for death."

"I never ordered their deaths, but you're right again. I did send them into a flawed convoy, but I knew they'd never be willing to die without a fight."

"But you did know they were going to die."

"You're acting as if I held a gun to each of their heads, but I didn't. You and your friends were the ones who killed them."

"Stop dodging the question."

"If you can't see why by now, then you never will."

"Just fucking tell me," I commanded. He let out a small laugh.

"I had to see how far you were willing to go to save one of those things, how much of your own life you were willing to stake on someone you've only known for a short period of time," he stated. He never wanted Cynder for anything. The complete reason was only just to see if I'd be willing to risk my life for a Skylander, but why? He wouldn't have to ask far to know how many of the Dultras I've killed just to rescue one of the Skylanders. Maybe it was because she was actually freed and not just some meteorite; he wanted to know how far my devotion to the Skylanders went.

"So why did you let me take three meteorites?"

"Originally, I wanted to learn how naïve you could be, but I learned so much about you during that," he stated with vigor in his voice.

"Naïve? What do you mean?"

"How you survived this long is truly a mystery to me."

"Get on with it."

"Tonight would've been a complete waste of time if I didn't learn one thing about you."

"What?"

"I wanted to know if you were willing to voluntarily fall into a trap. You must've known something was oddly suspicious when you saw those three meteorites. Low security, no obvious threat of death, a large part of you must've thought something was amiss, but yet you went in anyway with little regard to the risk," said Alhberg. I glared at him; I'm not sure if he understood the urgency that went in to rescuing those Skylanders, but, even so, we should've known more about the place before we went in.

"What else did you learn about me?"

"I learned that you will always choose to put yourself in the most dangerous parts of missions and relegate your friends to the safer segments. However, when it seems like you can't handle the danger, your friends don't leave you behind and run away, but yet they will always come to your aid. Your friend, Amber Miller, seemed particularly keen to stay with you."

"When you've been shedding blood together for as long as we have, it's hard to even fathom them leaving me behind."

"But I learned something more about you."

"What?"

"You have very little regard to your friends' safety," he stated.

"Fuck you," I said with vigor.

"Why so hostile? I'm only telling you what I saw."

"Prove it then, asshole."

"Your friend, Amber, seemed steadfast in helping you halfway through that escapade of yours. You could've told her no, and she would've listened to you. You knew the extra risks of bringing a second person into that cabin, but instead you let her come in," said Alhberg. I gritted my teeth together.

"Tell me why you decided to keep her and Dakota alive then. If you knew that they would do anything for me, why didn't you just execute them the second you had them?"

"I said you had little regard for their safety, but I didn't say you didn't care for them. If we just went ahead and killed them, then nothing would've held you back from shooting me."

"Are you going to let them live once all of this is over?"

"Maybe, maybe not."

"Then what's stopping me from killing you right now."

"The possibility that we won't kill them."

I turned my head back to the window. I watched the sniper continue to keep his aim on me. He hasn't moved an inch during the start of this whole mess, and neither have I. I took a deep breath as I tried to better my aim at him, although it won't likely work out for me in the end. I stared at the Dultra, and I saw the Dultra fall over to the left. It only took me a second to process what happened.

I immediately swung my arm over to Alhberg. As I pulled the trigger on the gun, he grabbed ahold of my forearm. The gun went off as he slammed me against the wall next to the window. His massive size and strength kept me pinned against the wall. His left hand had ahold on my arm and his other hand grabbed ahold of my throat. He increased pressure against my throat; I felt my throat gargle as I tried to gasp for air. With my one free arm, I latched onto the hand wrapped around my throat and tried to wrestle it off.

I heard fast footsteps running throughout the apartment. My eyes drifted to the archway to the room. Stealth Elf came blitzing into the room. She jumped up and impaled both of her dragonfang daggers into Alhberg's back. The attack didn't seem to faze Alhberg as he rammed her backward to the wall. I heard a loud crash as Stealth and Alhberg slammed into the wall. I fell to the ground and placed my hand against my throat. Stealth Elf pulled out her daggers embedded in Alhberg's back. She attempted to stab him once again, but he grabbed ahold of her and threw her off of him. While his attention was on her, I aimed the gun at him and fired twice. The bullets shredded through his ankle and leg, but for some reason the injuries seemed to have no effect on him.

Alhberg looked over to the right of the room and glanced at something on the ground. I shot one more round into his shoulder. Alhberg briefly glanced at me before he started to dash out of the room. I rapidly got up off the ground and chased after him. I ran into the room and saw Alhberg run toward a window. I fired three more rounds at him; one of the bullets grazed the side of his head. Alhberg dove through the window. I chased after him almost forgetting the three story drop that lie below. I stopped at the window and saw Alhberg tumble rolling on the ground. I aimed my gun at him and fired every last bullet I had at him as he ran down the street.

"Fuck!" I screamed as the gun ran out of ammunition. Alhberg continued to sprint down the road; none of the bullets appeared to have hit him.

How did Alhberg survive all of that? No one has that high of a pain tolerance. The fall alone should've killed him, and that's not counting the multitude of gunshots and stab wounds he sustained. Alhberg is more mysterious than I could've imagined.

"Jack," said Stealth as she came out of the den.

"Dakota, Amber, are they―?" I began to say.

"They're fine, so is Domino. Spyro was captured, so I had them go and rescue him," she interrupted. Even though I watched Alhberg escape, my body exhaled a large sigh of relief.

"But there's something you need to see," she said as she directed me back over to the room I nearly died in. I walked into the room, and Stealth gestured to an object lying on the ground in the right side of the room. I remember that Alhberg had been holding something behind his back, but a part of me thought it was a weapon that he didn't use for some reason, but this isn't a weapon. I picked up the crystal off the ground; the same kind of crystal that had been used to bar Cynder's and Spyro's powers, but the crystal had a red color instead of an orange, and it has a very scarce luminosity to it.

I thought if we could survive this night, we would finally be a step ahead of the Dultras. But the answers and revelations I was given only seems to lead me to more questions.

I hope everyone enjoyed Amber's POV. When I started writing, I only intended to use Jack's, Domino's, Spyro's, and Marcus King's, but I really wanted to write with her in this chapter. I'm not sure if I'll continue to use her perspective, but either way I still hope it worked to everyone's satisfaction.