Magnus was looking at the cameras inside the air vents of the hospital. He really would have prefered not having to do this.
But with all of his actions, and with what knowledge Sonny now had,there was no way he could make him listen to reason.
Sonny was normally a very strategic and rational man, but his dealings now involved his son,the galactik kids, his future team, and Mei and Micro Ice.
Sonny would not let that pass in silence. Magnus sighed.
He had a silent hope to be able to convince the pirates that was loyal to Sonny, to join his cause, making the pirates a stronger organization.
Sonny too would be welcome to join, but he would then have to accept him as the leader. And that,he knew Sonny would not stand silent and accept.
So, to persuade them, he needed Sonny out of the way.
He did not want him killed, so he had hacked the robots in the Technoid operated hospital, and given them an order, to have Sonny Blackbones arrested, but dont harm him if possible.
Now, according to the timelimits the pirates operated on, Sonny should be attempting to make his way out right now.
Magnus swept through the cameras, till he finally caught glimpse of him. Sector 7, level 3.
Magnus then initiated the close down of the hatches, and activated the cameras in the areas Sonny was seen, then,to assure success, he cut all communication lines on the level.
Time to have Technoid hone in on the pirate chief...
"Someone just cut all communication lines to the hospital. I cant see Sonny, or reach his communicator. We have also lost all visual contact with him. Someone has hacked the system" Artie yelled.
The panic in his voice did not go unnoticed.
"We have to get him out of there" said Corso, who franticly tried to establish contact with Sonny.
"It is a trap, someone is remotely closing off all escape routes. He needs to go upwards, using the cables of the elevators, instead of down, that may give him a chance to get out" said Bennett.
The three pirates were stressed out as they could not reach Sonny.
"We need to find a way to communicate with him. Sonny cant keep doing this for too long. If this is a trap, I want to know who set him up, and for what purpose" Corso said.
He was tense as he looked at screens on videocameras, all appearing to follow Sonny.
But the problem was, he could not access them, or find a way to get a signal to Sonnys transmitter.
As it looked now, the pirates had to find a way in, where they could help their leader escape. And so far, they were drawing blanks.
Corso had a feeling of who was behind it.
"Magnus Blade, if this is your doing and Sonny is taken prisoner by Technoid, I will skin you alive" he said.
He managed to pull up the map of the hospital, and started looking for possible emergency exits...
Something was not right here. Sonny checked his transmitter. No signal. That was odd, as a hospital this size was dependent on signal for their equipment.
It was also strange how the escape routes he had planned to make use of, seemed to be mysteriously closed off.
Like someone was deliberately forcing him in a spesific direction.
This had all hallmarks of a trap, but since there was no other choice, he had follow the direction he was given.
Sonny checked what was available in his jacket and on his personal armour. All pirates carried concealed weapons, and other gadgets.
Being their leader, Sonny was made to carry more than one of these hidden kits, A safety measure Corso had put in place after a near mishap.
The magnets that they used to stop droids could be reversed, that could come in handy.
Well, if he was walking into a trap, wich looked more and more likely, he would not surrender without a fight...
Corso and Stevens had made it to the hospital with a four man team.
And by now it was obvious that Sonny had been detected, and that they tried to cut off any possibility he had of escape.
The Technoid police cars spoke volumes.
Stevens had, through the help of his wife, managed to find an authentic map of the section of the building Sonny was trapped in, and showed them a few possible routes, that would not be affected by the automated systems.
Now, if they could only find a way to communicate with him... Corso had noticed how the signal on their transmitters were jammed.
There was no doubt now.
This was a trap, set to capture Sonny, and by the looks of it, unless they got to him in time, Technoid would succeed in capturing him this time.
Corso and Stevens made their way to this emergency exit, and crawled in. Now, the time was ticking, and not in their favour...
The snow kids had reached the shadows planet.
Sinedd had spent a lot of time on their way there, speaking with his sister Sunja, to distract his thoughts from the ongoing turmoil within.
This was his former team mates, he used to be their captain. How would they greet him now? With hate and resentment?
The shadows were a team that believed in emotions of any kind being a sign of weakness. And that was not him anymore, not after he found his parents.
As he ended the call, he saw D'Jok approach him.
"Are you feeling ready for this Sinedd?" he asked, with a hand to his shoulder.
That gesture, and D'Joks obvious concern, made him snap out of his self pity.
"I am fine D'Jok. just a little concerned with how hard I will be tackled by them today.
After deserting them for the snow kids, they are bound to hold some resentment towards me" Sinedd stated.
D'Jok nodded.
"Team Paradisia treated me the same way after I left them. And that is not even real human beings, but Cyborgs.
Technology has come a long way when it can produce machines like that. And we will meet them later in the competition too" D'Jok reminded him.
Sinedd nodded.
"It makes you wonder, just what kind of technology this Magnus Blade really has available doesnt it? It seems very advanced to me" he said,
D'Jok agreed with him.
"I just hope Dad and the pirates can take him down. I know they have upgraded a lot since the abduction.
What is going down now, it is making Dad seeth with anger. Good thing Corso is there to help him keep a cool head.
I for one would have lost it by now" he admitted.
Sinedd nodded.
"Lets get ready to beat the shadows"...
The match proved tougher than he had expected. The Shadows sent him glares from the moment they set foot on the pitch.
Well, he had expected that from them. Total hostility.
And as he crashed into one of them in a block tackle..if looks could kill...Sinedd knew they felt betrayed by him.
And maybe they were well within their rights too. Sinedd struggled not to let the anger overtake him.
He could see Aliya who played defence in Meis place, use the breath of Akillian. That was an amazing sight.
How had the pirates learned to use the breath like this, and still separate their own flux, the seed of shiloh, from being used?
He realised that the pirates had to have a very special training manual.
And since he still struggled, especially when angry, with his former flux, maybe the pirates could help him control it and if possible, block it from manifesting in him again?
Sinedd decided to focus on the game for now, and ask Sonny Blackbones for help later on...
Corso and Stevens had crawled into the old ventilation ducts, in an effort to reach Sonny, whom seemed to have been boxed in, inside the ducts.
The ducts here was far more narrow than the ones Sonny was in, making progress slow, but Corso did not let that stop him.
He had to get Sonny safely out of there.
On the other side of the wall, they could hear footsteps."Techno droids, we are close then" Corso stated.
Stevens nodded.
"Can your eye pierce the wall? If this corridor runs parallel to the duct Sonny is in, we may be able to help him get out" Stevens said.
Corso nodded and ushered Stevens to a safe distance to blast the wall.
The blast from Corsos cybernetic was strong, and it would be unwise to challenge him. Now, he blasted the wall at full force. But they were in for a surprise.
"Not even a scratch!That cant be"Corso exclaimed, more than normally baffled.
Stevens checked the wall.
"It has been reinforced Corso, with an unknown metal" he said.
Corso also checked it.
"The same alloy Magnus used to reinforce his strong hold. It seems he built the perfect trap, and if I cant blast it open, there is no way to get Sonny out.
If Technoid find we have no weapons to deal with this, They are sure to make a prison for him out of this, one we cant free him from.
If we cant free him, Technoid will finally have him right where they want him. And who knows what they will do to him then" Corso said.
Stevens was more optimistic.
"Lets keep looking for a weak spot Corso, and hope Sonny has the stamina to keep running from them for a little longer"...
The match was over. An aggressive Shadows team had made this match end in a draw, 2 to 2.
It was not bad, but the snow kids, more out of old habit than anything else, wished that they could have won the match.
They hurried up to get out of there, sinedd did not feel like drawing out his stay.
They hurried on board, and as soon as they were ready, they made their way home.
Aliya was exhausted from the match. Zack had been in the substitute position, and now he took seat next to her.
"So, how was it like to play with the snow kids?" he asked.
"It was childs play compared to our trainings. Sonny comes across as drill instructor in comparison" she chuckled.
"So, feeling like switching teams then?" Zack teased.
"Nope, Im a pirate, and that is the team that will win this years tournament, you can bet on it. I cant wait to see the Electras Pirates match next week.
It will be our very first flux match. I bet Sonny will expect us to play all out and win.
He knew we could not before, but things are different now." she said, full of confidence.
Zack nodded.
"I agree, The pirates will be a real shocker this year. Stronger than ever, thanks to Magnus Blade.
I believe Sonny found a way to keep us from being tracked as well. He still has a lot to study about this flux though.
I heard it is very old, and with a violent history. Hopefully, Sonny can make it out so we have that piece of our story restored." he said.
Ailya smiled.
"Until then, we just keep fighting" she said...
Sonny stopped for a second to catch his breath. They had been chasing him around for a good two hours now. And still no signal.
This was a trap, a real good one. He never figured Technoid to pull anything like this. It was not their style. But if not Technoid, then who?
The answer came to his mind faster than he expected. Magnus off course.
This was his revenge, and it seemed he was going to hand him over to Technoid. That made him grit teeth. Why?
Magnus knew as well as he did, the wheeling and dealings of the cursed company. Once, he himself stole from them, hell,he still stole from them.
That much they had in common. And now, Magnus had his own agenda, and this agenda, whatever it was, it seemed he was an obstacle to.
It dawned on Sonny why. The position as leader of the pirates, off course. Magnus was too chicken to take him on in battle it seemed.
Or was there more to it than he knew? The sound of the droids approaching made Sonny realise he had no more time to think this over.
He had to keep moving. These droids seemed to pick up his trail faster than normal. Someone was guiding them directly to him.
A quick look up made Sonny realise the entire area was rigged with cameras. Ok, so that was how they did it.
Well, he could even the score some with that, by taking them out.
Sonny raised his vapour laser and took aim.
"If You want me, you are going to have to work to get me, I wont lie down easily. And cameras is cheating" he said as he shot out the cameras...
Magnus noticed how at least 4 cameras stopped working after Sonny shot them out.
Well, by doing this, he gave his location to Technoid as well as him.
"Sorry Sonny, but it is in the pirates as an organizations best interest that you are taken by Technoid. They wont harm you.
I know you will escape soon enough, they dont have what it takes to keep you locked up.
But the pirates need a leader for the future, and that leader is not going to be you"...
Corso and Stevens decided to make another attempt, this time, the wall seemed older, maybe they could make a hole for Sonny to escape through here.
Corso blasted the wall as hard as he could.
Maybe it was the fear for his friend involved, or maybe the blast was harder than intended, but it made a small hole in the wall.
Unfortunately, not big enough to let a human escape through. Corso could see Sonny make his way out of one of the tunnels.
"Sonny! Over here"he yelled. Sonny approached the wall, and Corso could hear he was short on breath.
"Stand back, I will try to widen this hole, how far are the Techno droids?"Corso asked in a slight panic.
Sonny checked, still holding his vapour laser ready.
"They are getting closer, but there is still time, I will hold them off, work on getting the hole big enough for me to pass through it.
We got plenty of work to do after we get out of here" Sonny said.
As Sonny stood back, taking cover from the approaching droids, Corso got to work.
He blasted the wall with all he had, and nothing happened. Not even a scratch.
Stevens realised they had just found a tiny weak spot in the meta alloy, and it was nowhere near big enough for Sonny to get through and to safety.
"Sonny...Its not working, my blast isnt strong enough to penetrate the metal" Corso said, feeling defeated.
Sonny approached them again, having shot a blast that misled the droids for now, however it would not last long before they were back on his trail.
Sonny knew what this meant. He had to make a decision that would be hard on everyone, but for now, there was no other way.
"Corso, you wont like this one bit, but we are out of options. All exits are sealed off.
Someone has hacked the system of the hospital,someone that wants me out of the way, I will let you guess as to whom that might be" Sonny said, as he kept a close ear out for the droids that would soon approach.
"We are not leaving you here Sonny, forget it, we will get you out" Corso said desperately.
"You have to abandon mission Corso, there is no time to penetrate the wall in time, nor do we have the time. Technoid finally succeeded in capturing me this time" he said.
Corso could not believe what he heard.
"I will blast this wall Sonny, I just need a little more time..Technoid wont get you today" he started.
Sonny cut him off.
"Corso,One life is worth sacrificing to keep the pirates safe. I will be fine. Technoid wants me alive, find the plans Sinedd shared, and work it from there.
When you two exit, you will take my place until I can get out of this Corso." Sonny said.
Corso looked at him,trying to find the words that would persuade Sonny from going forth with this plan, but then, he noticed how close the droids was getting to them.
"There is no time Corso. I cant keep running much longer." Sonny said. Corsos eye widened in shock when he realised what Sonny was about to do.
"Sonny, no, dont do it. We have no idea what they will do to you" he tired. Sonny understood his friend, but they were out of time.
The best he could do, was spare his friend the sight of this arrest.
"I will find somewhere else to start shooting at them.I dont want you to see the arrest go down Corso, and I dont want you or Stevens seen.
Till we meet again, you lead the pirates in my place, tell D'Jok not to worry, I'll be fine. We will deal with Magnus soon enough" Sonny said.
Then he rose, preparing to make a new run. "Sonny...please.. dont do this..." Corso was desperate.
Sonny turned to look at him. "It is not an ask Corso. Its an order. Now,go! Get out of here" he said.
Corso knew Sonny was right. But he felt hesitant to follow the order given. Stevens nudged him.
"You heard him Corso, we need to get out of has a plan, be sure of that. He needs us on the outside to execute it." he said.
Corso nodded. But he had a bad feeling about what was about to happen.
"Be careful Sonny, whatever you are planning. The pirates cant afford to loose you"...
The mood aboard the snow kids shuttle was easy, as the snow kids did not pout over a draw for long.
And Aliya, their borrowed player was given plenty of praise.
The snow kids loved her inventive way of using The breath of Akilian on the pitch and had plenty of questions regarding the training they all had with their main team.
Aliya and Zack both laughed and told them how Sonny and Corso would litterally have them all trying to catch their breath during practice, only to have to take it a notch higher.
"For once, I am happy we got Rocket as our coach. I like Sonny, but he sounds like he is one of the toughest coaches in the galaxy" said Thran.
"I could handle it, as long as he lets me sleep in the net" said Ahito.
"That I doubt anyone would be allowed. I went with them on a mission. Sonny is not the kind of person to let you slack of, that is for sure" Tia laughed.
Mei smirked.
"Maybe he needs more women onboard, the effect we have on men, maybe they would learn to relax" Mei suggested.
That made Aliya and Zack laugh heartfelt.
"Corso suggested Sonny should get himself a maid or girlfriend on board once. I thought Sonny would choke on his dinner.
I am not sure Corso would have been punished for that comment or not, but Sonny had Corso do house cleaning on board as a result.
I think he felt Corso went too far" laughed Zack.
"It sounds like Dad really runs a tight ship, all work and no play" D'Jok laughed.
"That may be, but no one has ever been in power for as long as he has among the pirates.
It used to be a very dangerous place I have heard, at least, until Sonny was elected leader.
He has made it more safe, if one can ever say that life as a pirate could be deemed safe." Zack said with a smirk.
"I am curious to learn the past of our recently discovered flux. The file recovered was gigantic.
I cant believe it has been stuck in the system, and none of us managed to find it.
Guess Magnus did not do a good enough job at covering his tracks with what he deleted.
And as soon as Sonny knows all the details, he will really be making head way with our new flux.
It really pays off to have the one that invented and then deconstructed a synthetic flux among us" Aliya said.
They were interrupted by a call to Zacks transmitter. He got up and went away from the others to respond to the call.
When he returned, Zack appeared pale.
"Aliya,D'Jok, Clamp..may I speak to the three of you, in private?" he asked.
D'Jok and Aliya nodded, and got up, as Clamp came with them. The other snow kids could sense something was very wrong.
Something had happened, and whatever that was, it had scared Zack.
"Maybe there is something about this on Arcadia news?" suggested Mei, and took the remote control.
As soon as the holo tv turned on,Mei was proven right. Callie Mystic appeared, gravely serious.
There had been an intrusion in a Technoid operated hospital,no one knew who had been the intended target, but the pirate leader, Sonny Blackbones had tried to flee the premises.
Security cameras had caught him, after a maintenance check, and the pirate had been pushed into a corner by Technoid secuirty staff.
The pirate had not surrendered without a fight despite several warnings, and he had been wounded.
He was now in Technoids care, and would be made to stand trail as soon as he had recovered from his injury.
Until further notice, Sonny Blackbones was held in captivity on an undisclosed destination by Technoid...
yes, it finally happened. Sonny is imprisoned by Technoid. And Corso has to take the lead in having his best friend freed. How will DJok handle this, and how will this affect the story. Keep reading, you are in for a surprise or more.