Zim watched the duo on the monitor exploring the maze become frustrated from navigating it. Understandable; the Crypto Castle was full of twists and turns.
However, if they wanted to conduct an infiltration, they should've gotten a layout of the place. The girl seemed to be making a bit of noise as well. They would get noticed with all her racket.
Well, not that it mattered.
"These two infiltrators… who are they?"
"Those are the Rebels, Bow and Glimmer," Octavia answered, "an archer and the Princess of… Bright Moon."
At this, Zim turned his head to Octavia, "Bright Moon?... Angella's daughter?"
Octavia grimly nodded. Now that Zim knew this, he took his time examining the young girl's features. She somewhat took on her mother's complexion, but from her face Zim could see that the girl looked a lot like… Micah.
Slowly, Zim rubbed a hand on his knuckles of his other hand, then proceeded to do the same vice versa. He was rubbing on the marks (tattoos) on his knuckles.
Entrapta noticed this and couldn't help but ask as she pointed at Zim's knuckles, "What are those marks on your hands?"
The aforementioned marks were in fact tattoos, much like the ones on his forearms. On his right hand, the marks were XII and on his left, XIX.
Before Zim could answer, Entrapta rapidly fired more questions to him, "Do they glow like the ones on your forearms when you use magic?"
"Uh, no," Zim answered, and at the inventor Princess' face telling him she wanted an explanation but wasn't sure how to ask, he added, "Different types of inks."
"Ink? That's ink in your arms right now?" The room watched as Entrapta typed something on her computer, "Ink… Fascinating!"
When she was done, Entrapta asked another question, "Do they have significant value to you like the marks on your forearms?"
Returning his eyes to the monitor displaying the intruders, Zim crossed his arms, "...Before I joined the Horde, I served in another… group (military). I was part of an elite task force. These tat- marks are a symbol of that task force… It is also the motto of said task force, if you know how to decipher the meaning."
"Decipher? Like a code? Ooohhh, I wanna know the code! What's the cipher used to decipher the code? Please tell me!"
Zim found the inventor's energy refreshing. He didn't know why some people would shoot her down for her… demeanor, but she seemed competent in her craft for others to at least be able to overlook it.
However, he decided that the story behind the tattoos was one he'd rather keep to himself.
"It is not that type of code and Princess Entrapta, perhaps we should focus on the problem in hand." When Entrapta looked at him confused, Zim pointed out, "The intruders."
"Ah, yes, I see! Well, I'll leave you to it then. Bye!"
And with that, the Princess of Dryl took off to her lab to continue her research, while Zim returned to the monitor showing the two infiltrators.
"What abilities does the Princess of Bright Moon possess?" If this Glimmer was the daughter of the bitch and the trog, she could've been bestowed powers from the Moonstone and possess some skill in sorcery.
"She can teleport," Scorpia answered this time, "and she can also shoot these pretty light projectiles. Oh boy, let me tell you they may look pretty but they hurt a lot."
Octavia facepalmed at the Scorpioni's answer but Zim paid no mind, merely taking in the information on the girl.
"Hm, very well then. What about the boy, this Bow?"
"As I've said," Octavia answered again, giving a stern look towards Scorpia, who nervously chuckles, "he is an archer, as you can tell by his weapon of choice. He also seems to be an inventor of sorts, as some of the arrows he uses seem to possess some type of strange gadgetry in them."
Zim was taking in this information on this Bow as well when Entrapta, who returned out of nowhere surprising everyone but Zim, jumped into the conversation.
"His inventions aren't just limited to his arrows. He is a skilled coder and tech-master of the Rebellion! Also, has anyone seen my six-sided hex driver?"
Zim then looked with little to no surprise at the reappearance of the quirky and bubbly inventor. He glanced at the inventor's tool and passed it to her,"High praise, coming from you, Princess Entrapta."
"Oh… why, yes, Commander Zim, a fair assessment, indeed!" Entrapta took the hex driver from Zim. She then immediately pulled out a recorder and whispered into it, though everyone in the room could hear her.
"Data Log #679: The Commander, also known as Zim, continues to show no ill will or prejudice towards my… inquisitive nature. He is truly perhaps the best test subject for my social experiment. More on this later."
Octavia donned a tic mark on her forehead at the inventor's continued blatant disrespect towards her Commander. Scorpia just frequently nodded at the assessment, though not really following what Entrapta was talking about. Even the grunt soldiers in the room seemed to find Entrapta's recording… awkward.
Zim, however, merely took a quick glance towards Entrapta, gave a short smile, and went on to analyze with cold reserve the two infiltrators on the monitor.
"So who is he?"
When Zim noticed the confusion from the Force Captains and the Princess, he then elaborated, "What are his origins? Who are his parents? Is he a Prince or some noble's son?"
At this, the three were stumped. Scorpia answered shyly, "We, uh, actually don't know who his parents are. All we know is that he's a capable warrior for the Rebels and that he is a good friend to both Glimmer and She-Ra."
"That is all we have in him?"
The three who were answering questions simply nodded. Zim didn't like that. Information was key in planning for war, and knowing your enemy was an important factor in that. Still, Zim could make do with what information he did have.
However, one thing seemed out of place to the Commander.
"Where are the rest of their squadron?"
"Oh, um, it's usually the two of them, plus She-Ra, or other Princesses, that handles this sort of thing," Scorpia said, "All of their fighting forces are devoted to protecting their territories or fighting at the frontlines."
Zim raised an eyebrow at this, "Only these two, you say?" Scorpia nodded once for affirmation. That was a bit… arrogant on their part, to say the least. Sure, one of them was a Princess, Bright Moon's Princess to be exact, but there was a fine line between confidence and delusion and they had far crossed that line.
'The hell they think they are, the United States Navy Seals?' Zim likened the two infiltrators' boldness to the revered warriors of America, and while that was high praise, there the comparisons end. The differences were far too obvious. One was perhaps the most elite fighting force on Earth that Zim had the pleasure to fight alongside with, and unfortunately, the honor to fight against; the other, while one wielded powerful magic, were mere children in Zim's eyes.
With this in mind, along with the fact it may possibly be just the two of them, Zim decided to alter the strategy a bit.
"Change of plans; we are not going to use Attack Pattern Gamma. Let's put what you've been training the last month to the test."
At this, the Force Captains and the soldiers at hand stood at attention and waited for the new strategy.
"Here is what we are going to do."
"Do you see any sign of Entrapta in the castle," Bow asked.
"Nothing, and as usual, this place is impossible to navigate," Glimmer answered in frustration.
The two had spent at least half an hour looking for some signs of the inventor princess, and so far, they had found nothing.
Or anyone, for that matter. Sure, they were sneaking around, but they should've seen some guards scanning the perimeter by now.
Bow didn't like the feeling he was getting.
Glimmer, however, grunted and growled letting her frustration get the better of her, "Ughh, this is taking forever! Where is she?"
At this, Bow whispered harshly, "Glimmer, keep your voice down! If you don't, we're going to get found out."
"Well, you can not be found out if we already knew you were here."
At the sound of the new voice, Bow and Glimmer turned behind them and immediately adopted fighting stances at the sight before them.
It was the man they had seen outside, staring at them. Upon closer inspection, they could see he was quite… hairy. Bow and Glimmer, however, thought the most unique thing about were the marks on his arms.
They didn't get the chance to properly examine said marks as mere seconds later, the lights turned off and a second later they were back on, revealing that the marked man was gone.
"Where did he go," Bow asked, on high alert, "Do you think he can teleport like you?"
"No way," Glimmer refuted, "I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who can do that."
"Well, you'd be wrong on that part; I know many people who can teleport," the man's voice spoke again and like before, the duo immediately turned to the direction it came from.
And there the marked man was.
But unlike before, the man was standing with a dozen Horde soldiers at his back, ready for a fight.
"Loose," the marked man simply said, and the Horde soldiers threw laser fire at the duo.
Bow and Glimmer immediately took cover behind a corner and waited for a gap in the suppressive fire.
When it did, Glimmer lit up her hands with light projectiles and hurled them at the man and the soldiers.
At this, the marked man shouted, "Shield Wall!"
The marked man had summoned a shield from his gauntlet as did eight of the Horde soldiers with him, forming a line of shields overlapping the other, covered from wall to wall.
An ancient tactic used on his home planet by Danish warriors of a bygone era; a tactic that was tried and true even in the 22nd Century. (I really like The Last Kingdom).
The Shield Wall.
The blast came in contact with the shield wall and while the soldiers felt the overwhelming force behind it, they made sure the wall stood its ground.
"Huh, that's a new one," Bow said, all the while Glimmer was charging another pair of light bursts and hurled them again. This time, Bow joined in by volleying his signature trick arrows.
"Brace," the marked man commanded, and the wall held the oncoming onslaught of light blasts and exploding trick arrows.
When the Rebel duo took a reprieve, Zim saw this and yelled, "Open!"
The inner shields of the wall gave way and the remaining four soldiers from behind the wall opened laser fire at the Rebels, forcing the two to take cover once more, allowing the wall to take one step forward.
Back and forth this went until after a few minutes of fighting, Bow realized that was all the Hordesmen were just doing; they were just fighting them.
'Why haven't they pushed forward anymore,' Bow wondered, as his eyebrow creased at the confusion.
The answer came to him when he heard light pants coming from beside him.
He turned to Glimmer who, while not overly fatigued, was starting to tire. That was when the realization hit Bow like a splash of cold water.
They were trying to exhaust Glimmer's magic.
"Glimmer, stop! They're trying to tire you out," Bow shouted, and as Glimmer heard the cry, the realization hit the Princess hard as she now felt tired. Glimmer scowled at her incompetence for not noticing that she was getting tired sooner.
"Come on, we need to go. Let's double back to where we came from," Bow insisted, as he fired a smokescreen arrow.
"But what about Entrapta?"
"We have no choice," Bow said, "we'll need to regroup and come up with a new plan."
"Right," Glimmer replied, as she put a hand on Bow's shoulder to teleport, but stopped when the archer removed her hand.
"Save your energy; we'll need it when we're outside."
Glimmer nodded, and followed Bow back where they entered the maze from.
However, they were met with another force, like the one the marked man led, blocking their escape.
Upon closer inspection, Bow could see that Scorpia was leading this group and he could also see the trio of Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio were also among them.
Glimmer and Bow's blood ran cold as to their horror, citizens of Dryl also stood with the Horde.
They stood against them.
Once again, a wall of shields was formed and laser fire descended upon Glimmer and Bow.
"Come on, this way," Bow shouted, firing another smokescreen arrow to cover their escape.
When the smoke cleared, Zim's group reconnected and Scorpia's, watching the two infiltrators go down a path opposite them.
The path Zim wanted them to take.
"Wow… we actually pushed them back…," Scorpia said with disbelief, but then roared with new found confidence, "We pushed a super-powered Elemental Princess back!"
The soldiers were swayed by their own Princess' confidence, joining in her roar of victory. Everyone shouted cheers and congratulated one another at their accomplishment of working together.
Everyone, but Zim.
He kept his cold reserve as he stared at the hall the two Rebels ran down.
"Sir? Are you okay," Scorpia asked, worried that something was wrong, and that it was her fault, "W-we pushed them back… together, didn't we?"
"...Hrmn, yes we did. War of attrition, strength in numbers and faith in one another; that is how we win battles. Never forget that," Zim said, never taking his eyes away from the hall. He then turned to Scorpia, "But it's not over yet. Contact Octavia and the other squadrons to make sure the Rebels head toward the designated killzone. Follow them, but do not engage unless they force your hand."
Zim then looked at Scorpia up and down and went on to correct himself, "Or your pincer."
Scorpia gave Zim a small grateful smile and happily saluted him, "Sir."
Zim reached out to the Scorpioni saluting hand and gently put it down and gave a firm, reminding look, to which Scorpia scratched the back of her head. Zim then nodded and commanded, "Remember, I want the Princess alive; the boy is of no consequence. Go now."
With that, the Scorpioni took her troops, as well as Zim's troops, and pursued Bow and Glimmer.
Zim merely stared at the Scorpioni leading with such confidence and assuredness and the Commander absentmindedly muttered, "Your daughter is something else, Stingnar... Pincerid."
And with that, Zim opened a nearby hatch which showed pipes and vents of the Crypto Castle. He then started climbing the vents to where he needed to go.
It was pretty spacious up here, Zim thought. It was also guaranteed that the vents would allow him to circumnavigate the two Rebels quite easily. Perhaps Entrapta was on to something here.
Zim, however, pushed that thought aside as he had Rebels to hunt. Or to be more specific, a Princess to capture.
Zim may have worn a golden cross to express a faith, but the faith was never really his own. He enjoyed the stories from its holy book though, but Zim only wore the broach in memory of his beloved brother.
However, he did find a certain verse from that faith's holy book and, while he twisted it to suit him, it echoed the want in Zim's heart. It was also the motto of the unit Zim served with.
XII: XIX ~ Romans 12:19
(In Samoan) "Vengeance is mine; I will repay."
Zim had waited 17 years for his vengeance. He was going to make sure Angella knew his pain.
Starting with her daughter.
Glimmer and Bow were trying to catch their breath now that they've gotten a reprieve from being chased by the Horde. This was not how this was supposed to go.
The Horde was different today. They didn't charge at them full force like they usually do. Instead, they took their time with them. Glimmer and Bow didn't expect that 'She-eeld Whall' or whatever from the Horde. In fact, that was not a tactic they had ever seen before.
At the corner of his eye, Bow could see that using her magic was taking a toll on Glimmer. She also had a look of frustration on her face.
That was not good.
"You need to be more careful. You're getting fatigued and getting frustrated isn't going to help," Bow said, concerned for his friend.
"I know that. It's just… who was that guy? He's unlike anyone we've ever faced before; he didn't even lay a hand on us! And what the heck was that She-eeld Whall?"
Glimmer's mood then turned sad, "And those were Dryl citizens standing with the Horde…. standing against us… Why?"
That was what hurt Glimmer the most. The people she was trying to save, the people she was fighting this war for… they were fighting her. Why? She wanted to say they were controlled by magic, but that didn't seem to be the case. They wholeheartedly seemed willing to attack them.
Bow watched as Glimmer's gaze fell to the ground and sadness seemed to permeate the atmosphere. He didn't like seeing her sad.
Realizing that something had to be done, he stood up straight walked in front of her.
"I don't know why the Drylists were fighting us and I don't know who that guy from earlier was, but I do know this. We are going to win, and we're going to do that," Bow answered with a smile as he offered a hand, "together."
Glimmer saw Bow's optimistic smile and she smiled back as she took his hand. She could always count on her best friend to be the guiding hand in her darkest hour.
However, at the turn of the corner farthest to them, Scorpia's forces lie in wait and Octavia's on the other side.
Lonnie steadily had a laser rifle trained on the two's location, waiting for her orders.
'Ok, shoot to startle or wound, but not kill; should be easy enough,' Lonnie thought anxiously.
Anxiously because of a certain Scorpioni breathing down her neck.
"Remember," Scorpia whispered, "we're supposed to capture them alive, so don't aim at their heads. Or their hearts… or their lungs. Actually, don't aim in the general torso area, maybe the arm or a finger if you can but definitely don't kill them. That would be bad."
Lonnie gave a deadpan stare to the giant Princess and Scorpia immediately apologized and let her set up her shot.
"You got this, Lonnie," Kyle offered kindly and immediately Lonnie felt a heat but brushed it aside.
'What is with me,' the dark skinned girl wondered.
This was a question for later as she had a task to complete. She puts pressure on the trigger and a laser bolt finds its mark in front of Bow's feet, scuffing his boots.
"Oh, come on!"
Bow fires a trick arrow and just like so far, the explosion collides with a quickly formed Shield Wall. He then fired another smokescreen arrow and ran in the direction Glimmer had yelled out.
They were rounded off by Octavia and her squadron who had waited for them if they turned to this corner. Again, the same song and dance was performed; Shield Wall, laser fire, take cover.
"I'm getting really annoyed by this stupid 'She-eeld Whall,' Glimmer said as she hurled a blast of to hit Octavia's face only to be hit the Wall. The Princess grimaced when the one-eyed Cephalon shot laser fire back at her with a snarl.
Bow noticed that Glimmer was getting really tired. She had been using her magic to fight too much now. They needed to catch a break.
Suddenly, Bow saw a narrow path close to them. It could easily be missed if one was confused enough in this maze. Heck, even he was confused with all the twists and turns he and Glimmer had taken. Bow was banking on that to make their escape.
The archer pulled out one more smokescreen arrow and slammed it into the ground. When the smoke covered them, Bow immediately took Glimmer's hand and ran into the narrow path.
Glimmer was stunned at what happened, "Wha-."
"Shhh," Bow silenced her with a hand over her mouth, "stay quiet."
When they saw the smoke clear, they waited to see if anyone would find the narrow path. After a moment, no one had followed them in. Bow then removed his hand and pointed downwards to go further into the narrow path.
Glimmer nodded and silently followed her best friend down the narrowing path.
Unbeknownst to them, however, they had done exactly what the Horde squadrons wanted them to do yet again.
A few moments passed, a grunt soldier looked down the narrow path and saw that the tripwire they had set up earlier had been broken.
"Force Captains," the grunt reported, "it's confirmed; the Rebels have entered the final leg before the killzone."
"Good," Octavia said aloud, "all that's left is for them to enter the dead end."
"Wait, I thought we were trying to get them into the designated killzone," Scorpia said, confused.
Octavia sighed a low growl, "The dead end is the killzone."
"Gotcha. Sorry," Scorpia said as she sheepishly scratched the back of her head. She then asked a legitimate question, "But what happens if they don't turn into the dead end?"
"Commander Zim will see to it himself," the one-eyed Force Captain answered.
"Ohhh….. Wait, alone? Lonnie, Kyle, Rogelio, Wiki, Mago; with me. We got to give Commander Zim backup!"
Scorpia really liked Commander Zim. He was a good leader, and he was always really kind to her; she didn't want anything bad to happen to him.
The Horde Trio had already stepped forward to follow Scorpia, worried about their Commander for the same reasons as Scorpia did. They knew he was formidable, but this wasn't a platoon on forest Rangers. This was a Princess, Bright Moon's Princess to be exact. They didn't know if he could handle her by himself.
Just as Scorpia and her team were about to enter the narrow path, Octavia put a hand in front of the Scorpioni.
"No," Octavia answered firmly, "we will just get in the way."
She then pulled out her communication pad and telegraphed, "All units, proceed to the killzone; we will wait for the Commander and the Rebels there."
At this, Scorpia, along with the Trio, scowled at her. The Horde Princess then pressed harder, harder than she's done before, "But he's facing a Princess, alone. We have to help him."
Octavia then looked at Scorpia with her good eye. This was the most adamant she had seen of the clumsy Scorpioni. It… suited her. She could understand why she was being so adamant though; Zim was that kind of leader, despite him never wanting to lead.
The Cephalon started slowly but firmly, "I know you want to help him and I understand why you feel that way… but believe me when I say that Commander Zim can handle it."
Scorpia was about to refute this, but Octavia raised a hand and continued.
"He faces a Princess, I know, but you don't know him like I do. Because if you did, you would know that even if he was fighting a hundred Princesses," it was then Octavia made sure she had the Horde's own Princess, "I'd still bet on Commander Zim to find a way to win."
Scorpia, and by proxy the Hordesmen surrounding them, was shocked at the claim that Octavia had made. It was far-fetched and downright absurd… so why didn't it feel that way?
Octavia then turned on her heel and looked over her shoulder, "Now, come on. Let's head to the killzone."
Slowly, the Scorpioni looked at the narrow path for a good while before following her fellow Force Captain. The soldiers with them then followed suit.
As Scorpia caught up to Octavia, she couldn't help but fidget and give glances behind her, to the direction of the narrow path. The following conversation every soldier behind them unintentionally listened to.
"I really hope that Commander Zim will be careful with the Rebels," Scorpia said worriedly.
Octavia took a side glance at the Horde's Princess then turned her gaze forward once more.
"You don't have to worry about that. If there's one thing our Commander is, it's being very careful."
It was a simple statement but everyone could feel there was weight behind it. Letting her curiosity get the best of her, Scorpia couldn't help but ask, "Really?"
"Yeah, terrifyingly so," Octavia then turned to Scorpia with a look of assuredness but it was also one that no one present would expect from the Cephalon. It was almost a look of pity... pity for their enemies.
"The Rebels are going to learn that truth firsthand."
Glimmer and Bow kept following the narrow path as best they could. This wasn't hard as there was only one path to take. This was the first time that the duo encountered no twists and turns for quite a while.
It was refreshing, to say the least.
Bow turned to his best friend, "How're you holding up?"
I'm good now; I really needed this break," Glimmer replied, "but I don't think I have much magic left in the tank."
"That's okay; we just need to find a way out and teleport away from there. In the meantime, let's just catch our breath while we find a way out," Bow gave assuringly.
"Yeah, gotcha. I just… I just wish we could've found Entrapta…. do you really think she's still alive?"
"I'm positive she is. Lately, the Horde has been incorporating First Ones Tech in their machines, and only Entrapta was close enough to do so… Just imagine the torture she's being put through to comply to the Horde's whims."
"Don't have to… I've felt it firsthand," the Princess muttered but quickly pepped up, "and that's all the more reason to rescue her from the Horde."
Bow smiled at Glimmer's determination to save her friend. It was why he knew that she would make a great Queen one day, and he and Adora would be right by her side.
The Best Friends Squad Forever.
It was a nice thought, but then an unpleasant thought came to his mind. Or rather, an unpleasant someone.
"Hey… who do you think that guy was?"
Bow's question seemed open-ended, but Glimmer knew who he was talking about.
"I don't know, but whoever he is, he's bad news," Glimmer answered grimly, "I think he's responsible for that She-eeld Whall that the Horde was using. That was frustrating."
The archer couldn't help but agree, "Yeah, I think you're right. I've never seen the Horde fight like that before, or anyone else for that matter. It was a pretty effective tactic, though. Think our forces could give it a try?"
"Yeah, I'd like to pay back the frustration they put on us, even if it is a Horde tactic," Glimmer smirked.
"Guess that's something to look up after we get- Look out!"
Out of the shadows, the marked man charged from behind them and swung at the Princess with a weirdly shaped blade (Kukri).
Glimmer dodged it and watched as the blade passed her face a hair's length away, and beside her Bow drew an arrow to shoot at their attacker.
Bow was stunned when the man drew another weapon, a shorter version of a battle axe (tomahawk), and struck his bow toward the wall. He didn't even get to fire off his shot.
The Rebels were thrown in for a loop at the speed the marked man was displaying.
Well, to them he was fast. To Zim, he was just playing to his surroundings. Sure, he was quicker than most, but the reason he caught the archer's shot off-center was because his draw was slowed down by the narrow space.
This environment didn't allow much space to move freely. It was why Zim opted to not use his SAM-04 and he didn't want to use his Glock 99 as he couldn't risk accidentally shooting the Princess.
He wanted her alive for Angella.
All things in its own time and the Horde's Commander returned his attention to the archer in front of him.
'He's probably never fought in close quarters before. Makes sense; he is an archer,' Zim analyzed, 'still though, he should just put aside his bow and draw two arrows to use as piercing weapons. He should carry a knife for situations like these. Well, my advantage, anyhow.'
His attention was then diverted to behind the archer as a bright light reverberated behind him. The Princess was charging up a light burst.
Zim saw this and simply lifted the archer and swept his feet, putting Bow on his back. This gave way for the Commander to close the gap between him and the Princess.
Just as the Princess was about to fire off her shot, Zim used the top of his tomahawk to push her hands upward, disrupting her focus and dissipating her energy ball.
Rather seamlessly, the marked warrior then weaved his short axe between Glimmer's arms that were still held up and used the beard to latch behind her neck.
Glimmer froze at the sudden contact of cold steel at the back of her neck. The sensation didn't last long as she was yanked hard forward and the marked warrior threw a solid knee to her midsection. Bile found its way out of her mouth.
Bow, now recovered from earlier, had learned his lesson of spatial awareness from earlier and tried to strike the Hordesman with a boxing glove arrow.
Zim merely swatted it away with his weirdly shaped curved blade with an indifferent but focused look. He then threw Bow over his frame when the archer swung, barehanded, too wide. Zim made sure he landed right in front of the Princess. To his credit, Zim gave Bow props for adapting to the environment, even if his striking form was amateur at best.
Zim decided he should reward the archer for trying with a boot to the stomach.
Glimmer, on one knee, had recovered quick enough to throw a light burst at the Hordesman's head, albeit a weak one. Their enemy merely, though quickly, turned his body to let the blast pass, but his eyes never left sight of the two downed Rebels.
They were the eyes of a predator staring down his prey.
But rather than move towards them, the Hordesman slowly walked backwards, his eyesight never leaving theirs, until he disappeared into the shadows of the dimly lit narrow hall.
The Rebels immediately regained their footing, unsure of how to proceed. They were tired, bruised, and battered and they didn't land a single hit on the Hordesman.
This left them confused as he had the advantage. So why did he walk away?
Suddenly, the two felt a strong heat come from behind them. When they turned, this is what Bow and Glimmer saw.
An ocean of blazing fire lit up the dim narrow hall. The best friends couldn't see how far the fire stretched. If they had to guess, it probably went all the way back to where the path started.
"That's why he didn't rush to attack us," the realization dawned on Bow, "he knew we couldn't turn back." However, a strange feeling jabbed inside Bow, "But it doesn't explain why he'd just walk away, though."
"He probably thought he was at a disadvantage, with there being two of us and one of him," Glimmer offered, but then grimaced when she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, all the while muttering, "even if we couldn't do so much as land a scratch on him."
Having somewhat recovered from the skirmish with the marked Hordesman, Glimmer straightened herself, "Jokes on him; I'll just teleport us out of here."
"No," Bow said, dismissing his best friend's plan, "you're too drained of your magic to teleport the both of us, even more so now. Plus, you know you can't teleport without knowing what's on the other side. We don't even know how far exactly this fire goes. Look at it; it probably goes all the way back to the start. Speaking of the fire-."
"Uggghh, fine," Glimmer relented, not really liking the only option they had left, but neither her nor Bow didn't dare voice it.
There was no other choice but to go forward.
"Come on," Glimmer said as she moved forward, "let's get out of here. And we better watch out for that guy again."
"Yeah, but this time we'll be ready," Bow says solemnly. It was clear to the both of them that this man, whoever he was, was a serious force to be reckoned with.
The pathway was dark now. Glimmer then summoned a low magic light ball to light the way.
The Princess then turns to her best friend and furrows her brow, "Ready?"
Bow draws a trick arrow and nods firmly in return, "Ready."
Slowly but steadily, the two Rebels press forward. They were constantly on high alert. Glimmer focused on the path in front of her, while Bow questioned internally when the marked Hordesman would attack them again.
However, there was another he had, but he had forgotten all about it. A moment ago, before Glimmer interrupted him, he had thoughts and questions about the fire. There weren't any vents on the walls, ceiling, or ground that he could see of the sort or any other way back there for the fire to come through. So if that were the case…..
Where did the fire come from?
End of Chapter 5
On to Guest Reviews
To holymuffinssauce (a pretty cool name), the update schedule I had in mind was one chapter every week or every 10 or so days. But it had snuck up on me that a month has passed since I posted the last chapter. The reason for that is because my English is really in need of sharpening (this saying works better in my native tongue) and it has been a very busy month for me. But I wanted to make sure that I posted something today for today is the day my niece, Barbara "Bara" Fetuilelagi (whom the story is written in honor of) passed away. Starting now, however, I will try even harder to make the 7-10 days deadline.
With that, I hope you all have a good day