124
Hushed whispers and the occasional nervous laugh were the only sounds in the room as everyone donned the police armor, tasers, and copies of Amber's map. Cole couldn't help but glance around the room, reminiscing. Back when he was a ninja under Master Wu, he and his team would prepare just like this—suiting up in new gear, testing out new mechs (which they generally then destroyed in the mission.) He couldn't help but smile a little, and Jay caught his eye as the retired blue ninja walked past.
"Brings up old memories, huh?" Jay pointed out. "Weird how adrenaline and dread can feel nostalgic."
"Gotta love preparing for impending doom," Kai added, bringing over a large bullet-proof vest. "Here, Cole—there aren't quite enough for everyone, but we were thinking the people going into the building will need it the most."
Cole glanced at the armor. "I think I'll be fine."
"I think that you don't really have a choice," his wife cut in, accepting the vest from Kai as she turned to her husband. "We don't know what to expect, Cole. We need to be prepared in whatever ways we can."
He wanted to press further, but at seeing the expression on Keyda's face, he sighed and accepted the vest. She nodded her approval before heading over to the remaining armor, no doubt to find herself something to wear. Cole pulled on the vest and sighed. It felt more restraining than protective, but he didn't complain as he accepted the taser that Kai was holding out.
"I guess the age of katanas and nun chucks is over, huh?" he mused as he strapped the taser to his hip. "They never were super effective against the nindroids of our day...let alone whatever newfangled machines this Zerek person has put together."
"Just be sure you know how to use that," Jay pointed out. "I learned the hard way that electricity and I no longer mix."
The old group of friends chuckled softly. "So May and Ash have the elements now," Cole remembered, glancing over at where Ashley and the twins were hunched over one of the maps. "It's been a while since we came to visit. It seems a lot has changed."
"The elements finally moved on," Kai agreed, but Cole didn't miss the sad light in his eye. Cole understood the feeling—he wasn't sure it would ever feel right, not having the comforting element of earth sitting inside.
"Yours did too, didn't it?" Jay pointed out. "I heard a rumor that's where that earthquake that hit Ninjago City a few weeks back came from."
Cole didn't answer, looking over at where Theo was talking with Amber in a corner of the room. He hadn't seen his daughter get back from her trip to the hospital, but if she was back, he knew they would be leaving soon.
"It's crazy, the stuff the elements do in transition," Jay continued. "May short-circuits our house every other week."
"Luckily, Ashley has her own place now, but Will mentioned a few mishaps with the stove when the powers were first transferring," Kai added.
"Are you having to do a lot of earthquake cleanup in the Oni realm?" Jay asked. Cole frowned, still looking at where his children were talking.
"Theo mentioned the earthquake that happened...but I haven't really noticed anything since then."
"Maybe he is just better at controlling it because he already carries oni power." Zane had come over to join them, smiling softly. "Sorry to interrupt, but I heard your discussion and could not help but join."
"Join away," Jay offered, but his expression flickered as he studied their Nindroid friend. "Speaking of transferring powers...how exactly did this Zerek dude get the powers out of you, Zane?"
"I...am not sure," the Nindroid admitted, his own expression clouding. "Nor do I think it is a good sign that he is collecting elements."
"Reminds me of Chen," Kai pointed out with a shudder. "Maybe he's using some kind of super-evil scepter, like Chen did."
"Or maybe he has some other diabolical way of extracting elemental power," Jay pointed out, glancing over at Cole. "I know Theo doesn't want us to go to the fortress with the rest of you guys...but be on your toes, all right?"
"It does feel strange to not be heading into the danger all together," Zane agreed. "But I agree with Theodynn's decision to split up."
"It was an impressive plan," Kai agreed. "Reminds me of the crazy stuff we would come up with, back in the day."
"It must be all his king-training," Jay pointed out, elbowing Cole good-naturedly. "It makes sense that he'd be good at all this planning stuff since you guys have probably been training him to take over an entire realm since he was little."
Cole sighed. "I...guess. Um...excuse me." He left his friends talking as he headed across the room. Amber and Theo seemed deep in discussion, though he only heard a little snippet of it at the end.
"I'm fine, Amber. Just trying to keep everything together, okay?" Theo snapped. Amber looked like she wanted to press more, but they both trailed off when they saw Cole approaching. He gave them a tight smile, glancing between them before his gaze settled on Theo.
"Can we talk?" he asked. Amber chewed her lip, no doubt picking up on the tenseness of the situation before turning to leave them alone. Theo met his father's eye, but he looked as guarded as ever.
"What do you want to talk about?" Theo asked, his tone far too light to be genuine.
"It's...about your plan."
"I know it's not ideal, but it's all we have to work with," Theo pointed out, and Cole didn't miss the defensive tone in his voice. "It may not be as good as what you and your team cooked up in the day, but—"
"No...it's a good plan," Cole assured. Theo's expression flickered.
"It is?"
"You've covered all the bases. I think it is our best option for success." He hesitated, and Theo raised an eyebrow.
"But?" he supplied, and Cole sighed.
"You're doing a lot of the heavy lifting. In your plan, I mean. You have to transport three times in order to get all of us in, and then you're planning on busting down doors and walls..."
"Do you have a better idea?" Theo asked.
"I just don't want you to wear yourself out before the fight's even begun, Theo."
"If all goes well, there won't be much of a fight." Theo broke eye contact, and his father reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Trust me when I say, there always ends up being a fight," he tried with a small smile. "Look, maybe your mom and I can transport in ourselves and then you just have to take Tolan, Myrah, and Hershel."
Theo's expression crumpled. "But we don't even know if Mom can transport to Amber, Dad. I can. Usually it's just places, but we realized that the two of us can transport to each other."
"I'm sure she'd be able to figure it out—"
"There's no time to figure it out!" Theo snapped. Cole hesitated, and shame flashed across Theo's face as he turned away and sighed. "I hear what you're saying, but this is only going to work if we stick to the plan as closely as possible. If you and Mom ended up back in the first realm, or Grandpa's house, instead of Estyeer...it could throw everything off."
Cole wanted to press harder, but in his peripheries, he could already see that everyone had basically finished getting dressed. The ex-master of Earth finally turned back to his son and released Theo's shoulder. "Okay," he agreed. "I've never had oni power, so I guess you would know better than me what you're capable of handling. But I do know the earth element, Theo. Just be careful."
Theo's expression clouded. "What do you mean?"
"Earth just has a way of getting...broken. It's a whole thing." Cole waved a hand vaguely before sighing. "I wish I had the time to really talk you through it. Honestly, it's something I should have been training you for long before now, when you're going to have to use it—"
"It's okay, Dad." Theo met his eye again and offered a little smile. "None of us could have seen this coming. I'll...I'll be fine, okay?"
Cole studied his son's face and finally nodded. "Okay. But after all of this is over, we're going to finally do some of that long-overdue training."
Theo's smile faded, and Cole was surprised at how sad he suddenly looked. "Sure," Theo murmured. "I'll plan on that." He turned and walked away before Cole could say anything else, turning to the others in the room before raising his voice. "Is everybody ready?"
The others in the room turned and gave various thumbs ups and nods, with Tobias adding a shout of "Huzzah!" for good measure. Cole watched as Theo took a deep breath, his fists clenching.
"Then I think it's time to go."
Amber had a lot of fears about taking on this mission—not the least of which was that she wouldn't even be able to transport to the right place to begin with. She may not have the largest part of the plan, but that didn't mean she didn't play a pivotal role. If she couldn't even get to Estyeer, then the rest of the plan would fall apart before it even started.
The Xinta was practically bouncing with anticipation as the first group headed out. The Walkers and Smiths had to first get to the checkpoints leading to Estyeer and cause enough trouble to draw Zerek's attention before she and the others could transport. It wasn't a long drive from Bembay to the first checkpoint, but the time ticking by felt like an eternity. In one part of the room, Tolan was sharpening his katanas while Hershel and Myrah spoke in hushed tones, and on the other, Tobias was having an animated conversation with Amber's parents. From what she could overhear, it sounded like the ambassador was trying to sneak in some dragon-destruction into the plan after all, but it seemed like her parents were able to curb him from that decision.
"Are you all right, Amber?"
She turned to see Zane smiling at her, and she tried to return the favor. She knew her smile probably looked more like a grimace, but she also knew the gentle nindroid probably didn't care. "I guess I'm just eager to get started," she admitted.
"I too am ready to begin the mission," Zane offered, and Amber watched as he glanced over at where P.I.X.A.L was sitting. She had been quiet during the last few hours, and there was a distant look in her eye.
"Is P.I.X. okay?" Amber asked? Zane sighed.
"In order to download a virus into the mainframe, she had to download the virus into herself," Zane offered slowly. "That is why she is a little...out of it."
Amber turned back to him in alarm. "Will it hurt her? Is that really the best idea? Can't we just—"
"It is not a malignant virus—merely something that will hopefully jam up the mainframe and make it more difficult for Zerek to communicate to the various systems he has in place," Zane explained.
"But then it's jamming up P.I.X.A.L as well, isn't it?"
Zane's expression flickered, and Amber glanced back over at the female nindroid.
"Should we really be leaving her by herself once we get to the fortress?"
"P.I.X.A.L will be able to handle herself," Zerek assured, turning to Amber to smile. "We did not use a virus that would inhibit her ability to protect herself. Our biggest worry is that the virus won't truly do much against Zerek in the long run."
"It will be better than nothing," Amber tried, though she couldn't stop the worry that was eating at her as she studied P.I.X.A.L's distant expression.
Mia still wasn't necessarily happy about being sidelined, but as they approached the first checkpoint, she couldn't help but admit that maybe it was good she wasn't one of the ones charging into the fortress itself. She had no training in martial arts or weaponry, and she was wondering if she should have taken her parents up on their offer to teach her both when she was younger. Too bad we can't just text Zerek to death, or I would be well prepared, she thought as their car reached the first checkpoint. There wasn't a whole lot of security at this point—just the booth with the bar blocking them from driving any further, and from what Mia could see, two guards stationed inside with sunglasses on.
"The sunglassed ones are androids—that's what Amber said," May pointed out. The air around her was crackling with static.
"Okay, kids...time to get the attention of the monster who took your brother. Any ideas?" Nya pointed out as Jay pulled the car to a stop a few yards from the checkpoint booth.
"I've got a few ideas," Mia growled, the thought of Colby being experimented on making her see red. It had been hard enough curbing her fury the last day after finding out what exactly had happened to her brother. Now that it was finally go time, she didn't see a need to suppress it any longer.
The guards in the booth both looked up as Mia launched from the car with a war cry, ignoring the calls from her family behind her. The fury-charged Walker didn't wait for her family to catch up as she went flying to the booth.
"Identification, please," one of the men droned as he stuck his head out the window.
"Identify this!" Mia whipped the taser out of her pocket, fumbling for only a moment before she got the button on the side pressed down. The guard in the booth didn't have time to react before she was tazing him in the neck, and his further questioning became stuttered and digitized as sparks flew out from various joints. Mia felt a flash of victory as she watched the android drop, his vocals repeating itself like a machine trying to reboot. The other guard immediately pulled some kind of alarm before calmly moving to leave the booth, and Mia swallowed in anticipation.
"Well, that's one way to do it," Jay pointed out. He, Nya, and May had reached Mia at last, and Nay shook her head.
"There's nothing like a blaring alarm to catch someone's attention right?"
"Drones!" May called, pointing up to the air. Mia glanced up and noticed the specs in the distance that were flying toward them.
"All right, girls...maybe leave the fighting stuff to your father and I," Nya pointed out as she went back to the car. Mia wasn't sure what she was going to get, and she blinked in surprise as her mother pulled a spear out of the trunk.
"Do you just carry that around with you?" she demanded. Her mother shrugged.
"I never know if I'm going to need it!"
"Man, way to make me feel unprepared," Jay pointed out, pulling his own taser out. "I don't necessarily keep a pair of nun-chuks in my pocket." The other security goon had reached the family, and Jay leaped forward to attack with the taser.
Nya frowned as she studied the drones on the horizon that were getting closer. "I told you to keep a pair in the seventy-two-hour kit!"
"I did! The seventy-two-hour kit is at home," Jay argued, and Mia watched as her father engaged in battle with the security guard. The guard had pulled out a bully stick, and it was strange to see her own dad dodging and striking like some hero from an action movie. Though, Dad technically IS a hero that's been featured in action movies, she reminded herself. It's just hard to believe when I've never seen him in action.
"Why is it at home? You're supposed to keep a seventy-two-hour kit in your car in case of emergency!"
"Can we have this discussion later?" Jay snapped, barely managing to dodge the guard's next strike. Luckily, the greying ex-ninja managed to recover quickly enough to get the man in the knee with the taser, but there didn't seem to be as much of a reaction as when Mia had tazed the other in the neck.
"You've got to look for bare skin," she offered from her place watching, and Jay grunted as the bully stick finally struck.
"Thanks for the advice!" he called sarcastically.
"Jay, duck!" Nya yelled, and her husband dropped. A moment later, Nya's spear struck the robot in the middle. The android staggered back as the spear bounced off, and Mia heard her mother groan. "I knew I should have sharpened it."
"The drones are getting closer!" May pointed out with a waver. Her parents glanced over from where they were both battling the android, and Nya gestured to the booth.
"Girls, get inside!"
"We did not come along so we could just sit on the sidelines and watch," Mia huffed, even though she realized that's exactly what she and May had both been doing the last few minutes.
"It's safer inside, and besides, the Smiths are here." Nya pointed briefly at an approaching car before blocking the security android with her spear. "If you can get the bar up that's blocking the road, they can go cause havoc at the next security station."
Mia still hesitated, but May immediately bolted for the booth. Mia kept her grip on the taser as she watched her sister frantically push various dials and buttons until the bar finally moved up. Ashley waved briefly as the Smith's car roared past, leaving a trail of dust. Mia saluted in return before turning back to where May was. However, the twin's heart jumped in her throat as she realized that the android she had tazed in the booth was getting to his feet behind where May was watching out the booth window.
"May, look out!" Mia warned, and her sister whirled right as the android reached for her. The older twin let out a shriek, and suddenly, a blast of electricity shot out. All at once, the whole booth was sparking and flashing, and the bar began shooting up and down like it was trying to karate chop the intruders. The android who had been reaching for May crumpled at the blast of electricity, and Mia sagged in relief.
"Mia, don't just stand there!" Nya snapped as she landed a few more hits against the security bot she and Jay were battling. "See what you can do about those drones!"
"Right." Mia turned to the approaching sky-army, but as she realized how many drones there were, she was beginning to wonder if she was maybe out of her league after all.
The cell was as deadly quiet as it had been when Amber had been locked there, and the silence made her skin crawl as she, P.I.X., and Zane stumbled forward. She looked around the room, not sure whether to feel relieved that the transport had worked, or terrified now that she knew their plan had started. No doubt Zerek knew they were here now, if he hadn't already planned on them doing this exact thing—
Calm down, she ordered herself. You can't go into this thinking that Zerek's already won. You can't let him get into your head. It's time to take him down for everything he's done.
"Can you download the virus?" Zane asked, turning to P.I.X.A.L.
"I am able to sense the network," she offered, her expression clouded. "But the connection is weak. It will take time to hack into the mainframe."
"Then it's best to get started now," Zane pointed out. Amber went to add her agreement, but a flash and a pop cut her off. She looked over as Theo appeared with her parents. Theo met her eye and sagged in relief.
"It worked," he pointed out, but then winds were whipping around him and he was vanishing once again. Amber watched him go before turning back to her parents.
"Welcome to Estyeer," she offered weakly. They smiled tightly in return, but all at once, a voice was crackling over the intercom system, making Amber's blood run cold.
"Velcome indeed."
Ashley ducked behind the security booth to avoid the bullets heading her way, and she wondered if it really was the best decision to send all the bullet-proof gear with the infiltration team after all.
"Stand down," the drones ordered once again in their monotone voices, and Ashley took a deep breath. She turned to get another look at the situation, and she was surprised to see a few drones spiraling out of control. She scanned the area and realized that her mother was stationed behind their car, loading a crossbow before taking aim at the approaching drones.
"Wow, Mom," she called out as another drone was hit. "Taking it old school."
"It's not old school if it's still effective," Skylor pointed out, loading another metal bolt into her surprisingly high-tech crossbow. She aimed and fired in a rapid procession, smirking slightly as each of her victims sparked and beeped in distress.
"You're pretty scary with that thing," Ashley pointed out, turning to count how many other drones they would have to take out. "Remind me to stay on your good side."
"Well, some of us had to get used to protecting ourselves without elemental power earlier than others," Skylor pointed out, glancing over at where Kai was flipping around, trying to hit the flying drones with his taser before using a shield to block the androids' return attacks.
"That feels like it was targeted at me," Kai pointed out as he swiped toward another drone.
"It was." Another few bolts sunk into a drone, causing it to spin out of control and careen into another robot. Skylor loaded her weapon again. "You keep trying to use your powers, Kai—don't think I haven't noticed."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Kai did another flip, and he grinned as his taser finally came in contact with a drone, causing it to spark and drop the last few feet to the ground.
"You're doing all the elemental-power-poses..."
"I am not!"
"Then you're just making those ridiculous poses for fun?"
"I'm dodging bullets," Kai argued, doing just that as another round began to fire at him from the approaching drones.
Ashley dodged back as a bullet buried itself into the wooden frame next to her face, and she blinked in surprise as she got a better look at what was being fired from the drones.
"These aren't bullets," she pointed out. "They're darts...probably tranquilizer darts." She glanced back at the robots, her stomach churning. "He's trying to take us alive so he can get the element of fire."
"Speaking of, a little fire power would come in handy right about now," Kai pointed out as he just barely managed to get his shield up to block another onslaught from the drones. "What do you say, Ash?"
Ashley swallowed hard, glancing down at her hands. "Um...I don't know. Fire's really not that effective against machines, especially if they've been, you know, fireproofed."
"It couldn't hurt," Skylor pointed out, forced to duck down behind the car. The sound of metal hitting metal filled the air as the tranq darts hit the side of the sports-car, and Kai shook his head angrily.
"How dare you ruin my paint job!" he roared, launching himself up to swipe at a few more drones.
"I think you guys are holding your own pretty well," Ashley pointed out, pulling out her cell phone. "Maybe I should check in with the others."
"There's no time!" Kai yelled, looking over. "Ash, there are too many of them. If we don't want to become pincushions, you've got to do something!"
"Your father isn't as young as he used to be—you can't expect him to keep flipping through the air like that for long," Skylor pointed out.
Kai scowled. "I'm conflicted on how to respond to that," he muttered before glancing over at his daughter. He must have realized how unsure she looked, because his expression softened. "I thought you told me that you could control it, Ash."
She bristled slightly. "I can—at least, enough to make it so I can use my gas stove again."
"That's not control," Kai pointed out. "That's just suppression—haven't you tried using it at all?"
"Where exactly is a good place to practice throwing fire, Dad?" Ashley snapped defensively, angry at herself for feeling so useless.
"Lots of places," Kai reasoned, almost nostalgically.
"I'm sure Lloyd would have worked with you at the temple," Skylor added.
"Okay, I get it—I should have spent more time learning how to use this...skill," Ashley said, looking back down at her hands. "I just didn't want anything to go wrong. It wouldn't look good on a burgeoning lawyer's reputation to have burned houses down in 'fire experimentation.'"
"Look out!" Skylor called, and Ashley flinched back. The call was actually for Kai, however, and Skylor barely managed to take out a droid swooping down toward the distracted man in red. Kai shot his wife an appreciative look before flipping over to where Ashley was hunching. As he came to a stop next to her, he smiled at her while still keeping his shield lifted to protect himself.
"Well, kiddo, there's no time like the present," he pointed out. "What if I give you a few pointers?"
Ashley glanced over at the approaching drones, which still seemed to outnumber the ones her parents had managed to scrap. "All right," she finally agreed, glancing down at her hands. "I guess this is as good a time as any to play with fire."
"Put it on, Tol!" Theo snapped, glowering at his bodyguard. Tolan looked down at the mask and sighed.
"I see better without this bulky thing covering half my face. I can't fight at my peak if I can't see my surroundings perfectly."
"And if Zerek gasses you, then you won't be able to fight either. Put it on, or I'm transporting back without you," Theo snapped.
Tolan narrowed his eyes, but he finally pulled the mask on, covering the bottom half of his face. Theo sagged in relief, before turning to the other Oni.
"Hold on to me," he instructed before making the phone call. Tobias answered quickly, and Theo only stayed on the line long enough to say, "We're heading in, Tobias. You can start heading toward the fortress."
"Understood," Tobias said before Theo hung up and slid the phone back into his pocket. He was still a little dizzy from the last transport, but he ignored it as he readied himself. With Tolan, Myrah, and Hershel hanging on, Theo took a deep breath and thought about Amber. Aura winds whipped around them, and they flashed out of the conference room and back into the cell in Estyeer.
The others already in the room turned to look at him as they appeared, the masks they were all wearing making it hard to really see their expressions. However, Theo was able to see enough to realize that the group seemed concerned.
"What's happened?"
"He knows we're here," Amber started. "Tay—"
"Of course he knows we're here," Theo pointed out, though his heart was pounding from fear and from exhaustion from the latest transport. He tried not to let his fatigue show as he headed directly for the door. "He's an android—he was always going to know we were here. That's why we've got to do as much as we can as fast as we can...all right?"
He didn't wait for an answer, though he could feel everyone's eyes on him as he powered up his arm. The door to the cell flew off its hinges before crashing into the opposite wall in the hallway, and Theo glanced at the others. For a moment, he caught sight of their expressions, and he felt an overwhelming sense of fear at what was going to come next. However, he also knew what was at stake if they did nothing.
"You know where you're headed," he pointed out. "Let's move out!"
Mia rummaged through the trunk of the car in a fearful rush, trying to find anything that could be used against the drones. Why had they thought that tasers would be enough against flying robots? They couldn't even reach the blasted things!
"There aren't any weapons in here!" she pointed out frantically.
"I knew I should have been bringing more around with me," Nya griped as she launched her spear once again. Unfortunately, as good as the spear did in close contact with the now-dismantled android guard, it did not have the same success against the airborne drones.
"I think this is a shield," Mia pointed out. "Unless it's just a hubcap?"
"Throw it to me, and get into the car," Nya ordered. Mia frowned.
"I don't want to just wait in the car..."
"Mia, watch out!" the call came from her sister. May turned to see that a few drones had circled around and were now aiming their guns at where she was crouching in the trunk of the car. Mia barely managed to grab the hatch-backed trunk of the car and lower it before bullets were pinging off the glass of the back windshield. Is our car bullet proof? Shouldn't bullets be breaking the glass?
Another wave of electric power washed over the area, and Mia sighed in relief as the attacking drones dropped from the sky.
"Thanks, May," she offered, turning to where her sister was standing, her hands raised. May offered a tired smile, but then she was turning back to the approaching hoards.
"That shield would be nice right about now!" Nya called, and Mia allowed the hatchback to pop back open so she could get the shield to her mother. She used both arms to heave it frisbee-style out of the car, and Nya did an impressive roll in order to retrieve it from where it hit the ground.
"Hey, Mia!" Jay called, and she turned to where her other parent was using a chunk of siding from the security booth to protect himself. He met her eye and grimaced. "I think it's time for us to call in some of that police backup. We've done what we can to get Zerek's attention...and now I think we need the extra manpower."
"Right." Mia pulled out her phone, relieved to finally be doing something useful.
There were men waiting for them as they left the small room, and Myrah stiffened in anger as she caught sight of the people blocking their path. With a roar, she and the others headed for them. The men were not equipped with swords to counter her own, but she also found that her blade did not sink into their bodies. It seemed Theodynn had been correct—this army appeared to be made of metal, despite the fact that they looked like flesh and blood. A few times, her sword was able to pierce through their hard exteriors, but it took a lot of power and specific angles.
Nearby, flashes of power were sending more metal-men flying, and there was further sounds of metal-on-metal as Tolan, Hershel, and even Cole and Keyda used weapons to battle back the opposing forces. At last, they managed to create a hole in the opponent's forces, and Myrah resisted the urge to continue fighting the men waiting for them as she followed the others as they bolted down the strange hallway. Eventually, she could see a wall up ahead—It was clear, like glass, with a large door in the middle. Theo moved out ahead of the rest of the crowd, and Myrah watched as the young man's arms lit up orange. With a battle cry, he punched through the door, causing it to shatter. Myrah glanced over at Hershel, and based on his expression, she knew he was just as surprised. They had heard stories of the elemental strength that Cole had carried, but it was another thing to see it in action, and coming from Theo of all people.
"Zane, Amber, Hershel, and Myrah...hurry through," Theo instructed. "Mom and Dad, I think this other door heads to the village." He headed over to a door on another wall, and Myrah couldn't help but watch as he managed to blow that door off its hinges as well. However, she also didn't miss the way he sagged right afterward, leaning on the doorframe for support.
"Theo—" Keyda started, but the young man had already straightened.
"No time. Those androids back there were just to spook us—Zerek didn't even make them fight back. We don't have time to hesitate—we've got to get started before the real attacks begin." He turned and headed back the way they had come, and Tolan followed suit. Myrah only hesitated another moment before Hershel was grabbing her arm.
"We've got to go," he reminded, and she nodded as they headed through the hallway after Amber and the strange metal man.
P.I.X.A.L tried not to focus on the sounds of battle as she positioned herself in the cell. While they had waited for Theo to carry out the second transport, Zane had disabled the security camera in the cell, and now the female nindroid pushed herself up against the wall next to the small metal toilet so she would not be easily seen from the doorway. It was not a great defensive position, considering that their opponent was an android as well, but it was all she could do. She pulled out the taser she had been trusted with as well as a few shurikens for good measure so she could defend her position if necessary, and then began the mental task of trying to hack into the network.
Almost immediately, barriers sprung up to protect the mainframe, and P.I.X.A.L tried to focus as she worked to combat them. At her most alert, she could have hacked into the mainframe faster, but she could feel the virus slowing her efforts. They had tried to figure out a way to infect Zerek's mainframe without infecting her as well, but considering that P.I.X.A.L doubted her ability to connect to the mainframe long enough to truly download anything before getting booted, she was going to have to rely on infection by contact alone.
Bit by bit, she mentally hacked through the various stonewalls in her way, trying not to be distracted by the sounds echoing from the hallway.
Zerek studied the various figures flashing across the multiple viewpoints he was downloaded into, smiling softly as they began splitting up.
Amber scanned the various labs they passed, but she knew that Zane was doing the same and would have more of a chance of catching sight of his son. She had never really been on this side of Estyeer, and she found the bright lights and clinical laboratories unnerving.
"Amber!"
The Xinta whirled at the Nindroid's warning, and as she turned, she caught sight of him jumping in the way between her and something that bounced off his metal frame. Amber swallowed hard as she caught sight of the object fired as it spun across the cold tile floor—it was some kind of dart. She glanced back up to see that the hallway had more of the sunglassed staff members. She could see Myrah and Hershel running past them, but the staff members barely paid any attention to the oni as they marched closer to the xinta and nindroid.
"Thanks," Amber managed, and Zane smiled tightly.
"No worries. It seems we have been deemed high priority."
"That's okay," Amber offered, surprised that she didn't feel more afraid of that verdict. As she stared at the staff members, her fists lit up with power. "I have about a week's worth of complaints to work out with these goons, anyway."
Zane's smile grew a little, and Amber watched in surprise as a compartment in his arms suddenly opened, and within seconds, the nindroid was armed with some kind of high-tech weaponry.
"Woah," Amber offered, and Zane's blue eyes seemed to twinkle.
"I've been meaning to test out these prototypes," he said simply, and in the next moment, he and Amber both launched into battle.
Wind whipped at Keyda's clothing as she and Cole raced across the open area in the center of the fortress. Her stomach clenched as she caught sight of the tents set up in the dirt. This really did look like an oni village, and she found that the fact that it looked authentic made her that much angrier.
She and Cole didn't even slow as they hit the tents, heading for the center of the fabricated village. "Everyone, get out of your tents!" she yelled. She caught sight of a few Oni milling about, and they gave her a mix of reactions. However, she knew the majority of people were probably inside, and she ripped open tent door after tent door. "Everybody, out!" she yelled. "Get to the center of the village!"
"Who are you?" a voice demanded, and she turned to see a man frowning at her as he held his nose up in the air.
"I am Keyda, Ruler of the Oni," she pointed out. "Do you not recognize me?"
Shocked whispers erupted from the Oni who had started creeping from their structures, and the man's expression flickered.
"Well...I am Ferril, Leader of the Village of Estyeer," he sniffed. "And I don't appreciate you running around creating—"
"We're kinda here to rescue you, so let's skip the bit where you tell us off and jump to where we've got everyone in one place, ready to get you out of here," Cole cut in as he stepped forward, next to Keyda. More whispers, and as Keyda looked around, she knew that the villagers recognized them. Not every Oni in their realm had seen the Ruler and her husband in person, she knew, but she also knew that she and Cole would be easy to recognize, even from description.
"Why should we do what you say?" Ferril cut in, speaking over the murmurs as he shot irritated looks at the other oni in the village. "We have no way of knowing that you are actually the Rulers from our home realm, and not some twisted trick from the Asahkar who brought us here."
"This is no joke," Cole offered. "Pretty soon, there's going to be a dragon arriving to—"
"A dragon?" The man laughed cruelly. "We have dragons already. What good is another?"
"You have dragons?" Keyda asked, glancing over at Cole. That information had never gotten shared at the meeting. "Here?"
"We do not need your help," Ferril sniffed, his voice patronizing. "We have lived peaceful lives here in Estyeer, left alone by the grey-eyed Asahkar as long as we do as we are told."
"This isn't a negotiation," Keyda snapped. "You all are leaving this place, and the faster we can get everyone gathered, the better. We don't have time to waste!"
"This is a test!" Ferril turned to the other oni in the village, holding up his hands in warning. "The Asahkar has sent these people here to test our loyalty. If we try to escape, we will be sorely punished!"
"What?" Cole snapped, but the threat seemed to hit home for the rest of the Oni. Fear immediately became clear in their expressions, and they began to withdraw. "No! This isn't a test—we're here to take you back to our realm, far away from Zerek."
"Like the Rulers of the realm would come all this way just to free our village," Ferril sneered.
"How could this be a trick?" Keyda snapped.
"We have seen many unbelievable things in this world. The grey-eyed Asahkar cannot trick us with another mere illusion. We have grown too wise."
More Oni were retreating to their tents, and Keyda turned to her husband in disbelief. "What are we going to do?" she finally asked. Her husband furrowed his brow, stepping closer to those who were withdrawing.
"Look, we don't have much time. You guys have to trust us..."
"Do not trust the illusions!" Ferril shouted, and Keyda's eyes flashed with anger. As much as Theo had stressed the importance of getting all of the oni out alive, she was barely able to curb the desire to blast the so-called village leader across the field of dirt.
"We aren't illusions," Keyda urged, exasperated. "We truly are the Rulers of the First Realm, and we are here to take you back. If you hide, then we cannot guarantee your safety!"
"We have no way to know that you are the true Rulers," Ferril sneered before shooing them with his hands. "Back to where you came, illusions!"
"Wait!"
Another voice called out in the crowd, and Ferril, Cole, and Keyda all turned as another Oni stepped forward. She was a young teenager, though her expression was hard. She met Keyda's eye before turning to the rest of the oni in the village.
"These really are the Rulers. They came to my village once, years ago, before the traders took my sister and I. I would recognize them anywhere."
Further murmurs erupted, and Ferril stiffened in annoyance. Keyda sagged in relief, about to thank the young woman for her testimony on their behalf, but when the girl turned again, her expression was cold and angry.
"You sure took your sweet time in finding us, though. Where have you been?"
Keyda was taken aback by the accusation in the young woman's voice, and as the Ruler's gaze flicked to the other Oni in the village, she realized everyone seemed to be waiting for an answer. All at once, Keyda couldn't think of anything to say. Her daughter had only been gone a week and had suffered countless horrors at Zerek's hands. How long had these Oni been here? What had Zerek done to them in the months or years they had been held captive?
"We're sorry we were not able to find you all earlier," Cole offered, his expression grim as he addressed the Oni. "But we are here now, and we are trying to take you home. Our window of opportunity to do so is closing—we have to get gathered so we can best know how to get you all back to your home realm.
"This is our home now." Another man called out from the outskirts of the crowd. "It may not be ideal, but back in your kingdom, we were forgotten. We were ignored and eventually taken, and you did nothing to stop it. Here, we may not be free...but we are not abused like we were under your jurisdiction."
"But if you stay here, who knows what Zerek will do to you," Cole stressed.
"He hasn't done anything to us yet! But if we go back with you, we'll only be hurt and forgotten all over again!" another voice called, sounding like they were on the verge of tears.
Keyda stared at the oni, who were once again gathering. She had come into this thinking that she and Cole coming would bring them hope, but all she could see in their expressions was anger and accusation.
This is not going to plan.
125
"How many drones does this Zerek guy have?" Kai demanded before gesturing to another flock of them. "There, Ash—if you can angle a blast just right..."
Ashley understood what her father was saying, and she bit her lip as she tried to pull it off. The fire spurted from her hands once, before roaring to life in a way she could barely control. Her father ducked down out of the way, barely able to keep his hair from catching fire as the inferno engulfed the drones coming for them. He glanced up at the drones blaring overheating warnings, patting his hair down as if to make sure it was still there.
"That's...another way you could do it," he stammered.
"I'm sorry, okay? I told you, I don't have a lot of practice!"
"Just focus on your breathing," her father offered, using his taser to fully cripple one of the roasted robots. "In through your nose, out through your mouth. That's what Master Wu had me do to help control the fire sometimes."
"K, but was that for your element, or for your temper?" Skylor called out.
"Element, for sure!" Kai called back.
"If you say so."
"Look, Ash...don't get too worked up about it. What you're doing is enough—if we can keep making enough commotion with these drones, then maybe Zerek isn't being able to focus on the others. We just have to—"
"Cars!" Skylor called, and Ashley and Kai turned to see the woman gazing grimly at the horizon beyond the checkpoint. With a sinking heart, Ash turned to see the windowless vans roaring down out of the mountain's forest toward them.
"I think we made enough commotion," she pointed out. "Zerek's sending reinforcements."
The androids still weren't really fighting back, and Theo swallowed hard as he and Tolan battled their way back to the cells. Tolan followed closely behind as Theo ran, and occasionally, there was a thump as tranq darts fired at them buried into their bullet-proof vests.
"I'll knock the doors in, and you check for prisoners," Theo instructed as they reached the first cell door. Wanting to get as many cells opened before the robots caught up, Theodynn wasted no time in knocking the first door in. The cell was empty as far as he could see, and he immediately moved down to the next one. He could hear Tolan quickly entering the rooms as they went to check, and Theo tried to ignore how heavy his limbs were starting to feel. He hoped Tolan couldn't hear him panting for air through the mask he was wearing, steeling himself for each time he used his father's power to blow another door off its hinges. He didn't have very much practice with using the element of earth, and he was irritated with how much it was taxing him.
"Anyone yet?" he called.
"They've all been empty," Tolan called back. Theo furrowed his brow. They passed Amber's cell and continued on, not even going into it so as not to draw attention to the fact that P.I.X was still inside.
Theo took a deep breath and aimed his fist for the next door, forcing his arm to remain lit with power. The door flew open like any other, but this time, Theo realized that he could see someone lying inside on the bed.
Amber had heard so many stories about her father and his ninja team, but she had never thought she'd get the chance to see any of them in action. She watched in stunned silence as Zane used his homemade weapons to launch attack after attack with deadly accuracy. She added aura blasts where she could, and between the two of the them, they were able to clear the hallway.
"This next room is the hospital room!" Amber offered, and Zane nodded. Unlike the laboratories, there was no giant window allowing them to peer inside. The Xinta made eye contact with the Nindroid at her side, and he nodded. Taking a deep breath, Amber tried the door, but it was locked. Stepping back, she mustered a large blast of aura to attack the door. When it didn't blast open, Zane aimed his own weapon at the door, and the explosive had the desired effect.
"Colby?" Amber called as she and Zane pushed into the room, but the smoke from the explosive made it hard to see. She moved to go further in, but then Zane was pushing himself in front of her again.
"The room is full of androids," he warned, his eyes gleaming in the smoke as he scanned the room. "They are carrying weapons, and..." he trailed off, and Amber swallowed hard.
"And what?" she prompted, but another voice answered.
"It is nice to see you again, Amber and Zane. I had hoped you vould both return to Estyeer."
"Zerek..." Bile rose in Amber's mouth. This is where he was stationed? In the hospital wing, guarding Colby? In front of her, Zane was trembling slightly.
"What have you done to my son?" the nindroid asked, his voice colder than Amber had ever heard before.
With the smoke more or less cleared at last, Amber ducked around Zane's frame so she could see what was happening. She froze as she caught sight of the figures in the room. She couldn't see Zerek anywhere, but there were four or five androids positioned throughout the room with guns pointed at them. There was a still figure lying on a hospital bed nearby—from what Amber could see, she was pretty sure that it was Colby, and she prayed he was only sleeping.
The most unnerving sight in the room was the young man sitting on another bed at the back of the room. Amber recognized that it was Julien, and she could feel the fear wafting off of him in droves as he struggled against a hand clamped around his throat. The strange thing was, the hand seemed to be his own, though it looked different than the last Amber had seen him. Her stomach twisted as she realized that his whole right arm looked like it was now made of metal.
"I improved him." There was Zerek's voice again, but Amber realized that it seemed to be coming from the android standing right next to Julien. Perhaps the deranged lead scientist himself was not in the hospital wing after all, but given the situation, it was almost worse that he wasn't. Wherever Zerek was truly stationed, he was still able to control everything, without them being able to land any hits on him in return. Zerek continued, his tone conversational. "Julien lost his arm as a direct consequence of your heedless experimenting. Zat is vie I have given him a new von."
"What are you talking about?"
"You do not remember your true last visit to Estyeer, but you vorked closely with Julien to discover a way to extract elemental power. Unfortunately, zough successful in your attempt, you vere not careful in regard to your son. If it vere not for me...he vould have perished."
"Get out of here!" Julien spoke at last, his voice breaking as he called out to them.
"Release my son," Zane ordered, taking a step closer as he lifted his weapon. The android speaking with Zerek's voice did not react, but Julien gasped as the hand tightened around his throat. His non-robotic hand flew up to rip at the metal one positioned around his neck, but his movements were sluggish. It was clear even from here that Julien was not at peak health, though Amber wasn't sure whether he was drugged or sick.
"Zerek's controlling the arm," Amber pointed out, grabbing onto Zane before the nindroid would do anything to cause a more drastic action on Zerek's part.
"I know vie you are here," Zerek offered through his puppet. "I knew zat you vould come to reclaim vat I have taken." The android gestured to the figure lying still in bed. "You are velcome to take Mr. Valker vith you, as I no longer have need for him. But I am afraid zat I vill not release Julien so easily. He has proven himself instrumental in assisting vith my research."
"I am not leaving without Julien," Zane murmured, his gaze frigid as he continued to maintain eye-contact with Zerek's puppet.
The android smiled slowly, Zerek's voice unapologetic as he spoke from the sunglassed robot's frame. "He is only useful to me alive if I can retain him. If you try to reclaim your 'son', I vill kill him."
"There's someone in this one!"
Tolan blasted back the last of the strange opponents before turning at Theo's call. The bodyguard rushed to the cell in question, following Theo in. The young man turned to face Tolan as the bodyguard entered, his expression grim.
"It's Teag," Theo offered softly. "And he doesn't look like he's in good shape."
Tolan froze, his gaze going to the figure curled up on the bed. The prisoner's back was to Tolan, but he would recognize the dirty, string-wrapped dreadlocks anywhere.
"I'll get him," Tolan said at last. "You get the rest of the cells opened so we can get out of here."
Theo nodded and headed back out of the cell. Tolan approached the boy on the bed, raising his voice.
"Hot stuff? Can you hear me?" He reached out to roll the boy over, but as he caught sight of Teag's face, Tolan couldn't help but take a step back. All at once, an image came to mind of Pippa, years ago, when the parasite had been draining her. Her face had been grey and gaunt, with dark circles ringing her eyes. Teag's face looked the same, and he was far too still.
"Hot stuff?" Tolan repeated louder, forcing his unease away as he reached down to shake the boy's frail form. Tolan clenched his jaw as he noticed the bruises on Teag's face and the raw skin circling both his wrists. "What did they do to you?"
A sound from behind caught his attention, and Tolan turned just as another assailant came into the cell. Feeling a new wave of fury toward the enemy, Tolan pulled a katana free from its sheath and wasted no time in driving it through the metal man in the doorway.
More men came, and Tolan's vision was violet as she fought through them. They continued to swarm, more and more of them forcing their steel bodies into the room, trying to corner him. Tolan delivered blow after blow, but his katanas couldn't keep up. Strikes that would be deadly to a real man barely seemed to slow these ones. He used another blast of power, which finally worked to drive the forces back.
"Now, zis is unexpected." A voice cut into the sound of battle, and Tolan tried to catch his breath in the restrictive mask gripping his face as he tried to find the speaker. However, as the voice continued, he realized that it sounded like it was coming from all the men at the same time. "A powered Oni zat I did not anticipate on joining us here in Estyeer...but it is a velcome surprise, I must admit."
Goosebumps crawled up Tolan's arms as he withdrew his second katana, attacking once again.
Hershel's heart was pounding as they ran through the fortress. They had come into contact with another barrier, blocking them from entering the hallway with the office that supposedly contained their son. Myrah had tried to pick the lock to no avail, but as another wave of sunglassed warriors came through the door, the oni finally had the opportunity to get by. It was unnerving, the way that none of the metal warriors seemed to care about Hershel or Myrah. Theo had pointed out that this might be the case, and Hershel hoped it would continue to be the case after they reached Raiyn.
"Here," Myrah pointed out as they reached the right door at last. There were unfamiliar symbols in gold on the door that looked similar to those in the Oni language, but not similar enough that Hershel could make it out. Myrah whipped out her lock-picks, and Hershel kept an eye down either side of the hallway as he tried to look for danger.
"When did you learn to pick locks, again?" he murmured as she worked.
"As an advisor," Myrah admitted. "You never knew when a jealous rival or unscrupulous leader was going to try and lock you up or do you in. Bula trained us to be prepared for anything."
Hershel's expression darkened at the mention of Bula's name, and he glanced down the hall once again. "Well, I'm glad that woman did one good thing in her lifetime, I suppose, after all the grief she caused our family."
Myrah froze. "What do you mean?"
Hershel glanced back. "She's the one who turned me in to the Healing Order. She's the one who started all the madness that led me to the Island."
"Right."
Hershel could tell that something he had said unnerved his wife, but he didn't have long to dwell on it. The lock clicked open at last, and Myrah stood quickly and twisted the handle. The door swung open without a sound, but the silence didn't last long.
"Mama! Daddy!"
Hershel's heart jumped to his throat as he and Myrah bolted into the room. There wasn't any light in this room, unlike in the rest of the fortress, and Hershel stumbled through the dim lighting.
"Raiyn?" he called.
"Tent man NO!"
The blow came out of seemingly nowhere, and Hershel gasped as he hit the ground. Whatever had hit him was blunt, bruising his side rather than sinking into it.
"Hershel!" Myrah gasped, but then there was another voice speaking from the darkness.
"So, zis vas your intended target. I vondered how ze two of you fit into ze plan."
Hershel looked up to see a figure standing a few feet away. It was another one of the metal warriors with long white coats and eye-coverings, but the voice sounded unlike the others they had passed.
"Stop! TENT MAN STOP!"
"Tent man?" Hershel murmured, his mind trying to process as he stared up at his attacker.
"Get away from him!" Myrah launched at the metal warrior with the small, hand-held weapon that the Asahkars had given them. The light from the tip of the weapon was easy to see as it crackled and popped, and the man finally moved back to avoid the attacks.
"You are ze mutant's parents, it seems, based on his greeting," the metal warrior pointed out as he blocked Myrah's attacks with a blunted pole. "I vondered vie such random oni were included in zis infiltration attempt...but it seems you have a personal connection after all.
Hershel finally shook off his surprise enough to get to his feet. While Myrah took on the warrior, he moved to the cage in the corner where his son's voice was coming from. His heart clenched as he caught sight of his son's wide-eyed face through the metal mesh.
"Daddy..." the child whimpered, and Hershel turned his attention to the lock. Unfortunately, with Myrah attacking the warrior, she couldn't pick the lock. He moved to pull a dagger out of his pocket and immediately began hacking at the lock with it, but he didn't make much progress.
"How intriguing," the warrior continued from across the room. "As mozer of ze mutant, I vas expecting you to at least have ze power structure...but based on ze scans I am getting, you do not. Just anozer powerless, unimportant Oni. Ze fazer, on ze ozer hand..."
Myrah roared in anger, and Hershel couldn't help but turn. He watched as his wife tried to finally land an attack on the man, but at the last minute, the warrior twisted out of reach, grabbed Myrah's arm, and forced her own weapon onto her side. Her scream pierced the room, and Hershel stumbled to his feet.
"Myrah!"
The warrior released the woman, and Hershel watched in dismay as Myrah dropped to the ground. It was unclear whether she was wounded, dazed, or unconscious, but the warrior was now coming toward Hershel, forcing him to keep his focus on the enemy rather than his wife.
"Ze readings I am getting from you are puzzling, to say ze least," the warrior offered, pointing the pole he was holding at Hershel. Hershel glared, using his dagger to smack the weapon away. The warrior didn't seem to care as the voice continued, and it was uncanny how it came out of the man without his mouth even moving. "Based on my knowledge of oni power and structure...you should not even exist."
Hershel began a more aggressive assault, trying to land a blow on the warrior. He finally did, but the dagger merely bounced off the man's arm, and before he could dodge, Hershel was being thrown up against the wall. He barely managed to catch his breath before the man was using one of his impossibly strong arms to pin Hershel in place, reaching up with the other hand toward his face.
"Ze female I do not need, as she has nozing interesting to offer. But I suppose it vill not hurt to include you in my continuing research of Oni power...I must say it vill be insightful to study your impossible, puzzling structure up close."
Hershel tried to wrench out of the warrior's grip, but the expressionless man was already grabbing at the mask on his face. Hershel struggled as panic seized his mind, and with a painful jerk, the mask came free. The man continued keeping Hershel pinned in place, his voice echoing from the metal frame as a hissing sound began to echo within the room.
"Just relax, and take a deep breath."
"I know you've all been through so much...but if you don't listen to us now, then there's no way we can help!" Keyda's voice echoed through the village. "Please, the dragon will be here any minute..."
"Keyds."
Cole's voice had a tone of warning, and she glanced over at him. He pointed up at the sky, and Keyda looked up to see a figure in the distance. The other oni looked up as well and exclaimed in surprise and even fear as they caught sight of the large dragon.
"Why isn't Tobias bringing it closer?" Keyda demanded.
"Look at the things flying around it—drones. I don't know if he's going to be able to get the dragon through them all."
"Those are so much smaller—the dragon could take them out easily!"
"Based on the way Tobias is flying, the drones are shooting at them," Cole pointed out grimly. "He can't help if the dragon gets shot out of the sky. Either Zerek had way too many drones, or he didn't send as many to attack the Smiths and Walkers as we had hoped."
"Tobias just needs to fly more aggressively," Keyda tried, but Cole shook his head.
"We need a back-up plan," he argued, turning back to the villagers. "You said you had dragons. Where are they? We're going to need to use them to get out of here."
"You can't use them!" one of the villagers warned. "They only listen to the grey-eyed Asahkar. They will not respond to you."
"We have to try! If we can't get you all out now, there's no telling what Zerek could do to you after we leave," Cole snapped. "Where are they?"
"This plan is dangerous and should definitely be ignored," Ferril snapped, but another oni had stepped forward. Cole's heart hurt as he realized it was a child—he had seen quite a lot of children among the villagers, and he wondered how many of them were orphans that the traders had taken when there was no one else left to worry about them.
"The dragons are this way," the young boy offered timidly, pointing a finger. Cole moved to follow, turning to his wife.
"Check the tents, and let them know that we're leaving in the next few minutes."
Keyda nodded, and Cole headed off after the child. It wasn't long until they reached a strange building on one side of the fortress. It looked like a giant metal box, but as Cole approached, he could hear scuffling and roars from inside.
"He keeps them all crammed in there?" he asked in horror.
"They only pull them out for the transports," the young boy agreed softly, coming to a stop a good hundred feet from the structure. Cole turned to frown, and the boy broke eye contact. "Bad things happen to people who try to get too close to the den while the dragons are in there," he whispered.
"I've dealt with dragons before," Cole offered.
"It's not the dragons that will hurt you," the boy said, glancing up at the walls in fear before retreating back toward the village. Cole frowned as he watched the boy leave and then turned and began stepping closer to the structure. He was only a few yards away when the sound of a gunshot rang out, and Cole yelled in surprise as something struck him in the chest. The force was enough to throw him off his feet. As he looked down at himself, however, he realized that the bullet hadn't been able to make it through the vest he was wearing.
Keyda is never going to let me hear the end of it, he thought as he grimaced, pushing himself up to his feet as he rubbed at his bruised ribs. He looked at the walls again, and he finally caught sight of the weapons sticking out of the wall. He wasn't sure if someone was actually manning the guns, or if they were merely automated to fire if someone drew too close to the structure. Considering that they were not still firing at him, he had to guess the latter.
"All right, Cole...you've got twenty feet to the door, and things that are sure to fire at you. If there was a time for you to remember your ninja training...it's now."
He took a deep breath, looking back up at where Tobias was still weaving through the air. After determining that the ambassador hadn't made up any more ground, Cole turned back to the structure and started to run.
Each door left him more exhausted than the last. With only two left, Theo was forced to stop and catch his breath, leaning on the wall for support. In the moment of rest, he found himself worrying about every area of the plan. Had Tobias arrived for extraction yet? Had P.I.X.A.L hacked into and infected the mainframe? Were Amber, Colby, and Zane already safe? It hadn't been that long since they had arrived, but he found himself hoping that everyone had already gotten to safety. The plan he had constructed wasn't without its risks, and he began dreading any unplanned outcome. If someone got hurt because of him...
He closed his eyes, forcing the thought from his mind. He couldn't allow fear of failure to cripple him while he was still in the moment. However, it was hard not to feel a little hopeless, given that he had broken into nearly every cell and there was still no sign of a young blonde scientist or a fierce oni with rust-colored eyes. Taking a few more seconds to collect himself, Theo finally opened his eyes and pushed off of the wall. He moved to the second to last door, powering up one arm and delivering a sound blow. The door didn't quite fly off it's hinges, but it did open as the lock was broken. A quick scan made Theo's heart fall as he realized the cell was empty, and he forced himself to move onto the last one.
Theo stumbled slightly as he managed to get the last door open, but he ignored how drained he was as he pushed his way into the cell. There was no prisoner inside...but this cell was different than the others he had invaded. Instead of a bed up against the wall, there was just a little table sitting in the middle of the room. Theo furrowed his brow as he caught sight of something sitting on the table, and he moved closer in spite of himself.
As he reached the table, he realized the object was a simple chess piece, the kind that would belong to any generic chess set. Theo felt a heavy weight of resignation as he reached out and picked up the lone black rook. He studied it for a moment before glancing up at the camera on the wall.
"Message delivered."
126
P.I.X.A.L wished she could check in with Zane. She continued to run algorithms to hack back into the server she had once been forced to join, but it felt strange doing all this completely on her own. She and Zane had long since equipped themselves with ways to communicate with each other, no matter how far apart they were. However, considering that the virus's main function was to gum up communication wavelengths, she was left without the ability to contact Zane.
Please, let this all go to plan, she thought to herself as she continued her attempts to hack. Please let someone find Julien.
Remember. No negotiations.
Theo's voice ran through Amber's head as she stared at the android standing next to Julien. Somehow or another, they had stumbled right into the very thing her brother had told her to avoid, and she had already learned the hard way what would happen if they went along with Zerek's promises.
"Get Colby out of here!" Julien begged, his voice hoarse as his metal hand was still clutching his throat. "If Zerek will let you take him, then take him and leave!"
Amber's mind raced to think of something they could do, and her heart fell as she realized that Zane was standing down in front of her. If her Nindroid Uncle couldn't think of anything to do...it may be that there wasn't any way to truly go against Zerek.
There has to be a way! Amber's eyes stung as time seemed to slow. They had risked so much and come too far to leave with only some of the people they had come to save. Think, Amber. You defeated Evynn...you helped defeat Matilda. Every villain has a weakness...even Zerek. You got away from him before...
Amber blinked, an idea coming to mind. Her stomach twisted painfully at the thought, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that it may be the only way to get both Colby and Julien out of Estyeer. She had learned in her last escape that the only way to defeat Zerek was to do something that robot would never think her capable of. She had only managed to get M out because she had been willing to leave others behind—something Zerek hadn't thought she would do. He thinks he has us all figured out—that our affection would keep us from going certain routes and taking certain risks. The only way to outsmart him is to prove him wrong.
"Let Julien go," Zane asked softly, meeting the android's gaze. "There is no reason to go this route."
"You vish to remove him from Estyeer, and I have already determined zat it is not a possible outcome," Zerek countered, and the android speaking with his voice turned so he was staring at Amber. "Zane may take Colby, but Julien vill remain vith me...as vill you, Amber. I vould advise you to comply." Zerek's threat hit home, especially when Julien's struggled to gasp as the grip around his neck tightened again.
"Don't hurt him! We surrender!" Amber cut in, grabbing Zane's arm. The Nindroid turned to her in surprise, but she kept her gaze fixed on Zerek's puppet android. She was still half-hiding behind Zane's frame, and she tried to shrink back even further behind him—partly in hopes that Zerek would buy into her fearful plea, and partly because she didn't want him to notice her pulling the taser from her side. Mia and May had almost not even given her one, considering her aura powers, but Amber was grateful that they had in the end.
"We surrender," she repeated plaintively, staring at Zerek's puppet. The android didn't respond, but she did notice that the metal hand on Julien's throat loosened enough for the young man to inhale shakily. Amber's heart pounded with fear as she forced herself to sound defeated. "Just promise that—"
She transported in the middle of her sentence, begging her powers to work the way she envisioned. She had never tried to transport such a short distance before—but with the space behind Julien locked in her mind, she desperately made the attempt.
All at once, she was standing on the completely opposite side of the room, her stomach flipping now that she was staring at Zane rather than hiding behind him. She knew that he was wondering what on earth she was doing, and she prayed her gamble wouldn't doom Julien after all.
The second she appeared, Amber whipped the taser through the air. The android puppet lurched away, but she hadn't been aiming for him. Julien screamed as the electricity came into contact with his metal arm, and Amber shut her eyes as guilt and horror ate at her. She didn't keep the taser on target for long, and as she pulled away, the chrome arm slumped, releasing Julien's throat completely. Amber felt a small flash of victory, but then Julien's whole body was slumping, and she reached out quickly to catch him.
"You—"
Whatever Zerek's puppet was going to say was lost as a bullet from Zane's weapon hit him in the chest and exploded, causing the machine to drop to the ground. Amber flinched as the small explosion sent pieces of metal flying. In moments, Zane had crossed the room to where the Xinta was trying to hold Julien up.
"I'm sorry," Amber managed as he reached them, horror eating at her as she studied Julien's lax expression. "As long as Zerek had control of that arm..."
"I know why you did it," Zane offered softly, but he barely glanced at her as he scanned his son, blue light radiating from his eyes. Amber opened her mouth to defend herself more, but the sound of gunfire caused her to flinch back.
Zane whirled, using his weapons to quickly dispatch of the other androids in the room who were shooting at them, and Amber stiffened as a few of the tranq darts became embedded in the protective vest she was wearing.
"Zerek will send more," she pointed out as the final android crumpled, moving away from the bed. "We have to get out of here now!"
Zane didn't answer as he tenderly scooped Julien into his arms, holding him close. Amber glanced over at the unconscious scientist, guilt eating at her once again.
"Is he okay?"
"He needs medical attention—as soon as possible." Zane's expression was distant as he looked down at the unconscious boy in his arms, and Amber wished she was able to read nindroid emotions. Was it fear or nostalgia that was making Zane look like that?
"Bring him over here by Colby, and I'll transport us all out," Amber ordered, making a dash for the unconscious Walker. Now that she could see him up close, her heart flipped. It was clear he hadn't been able to shave, just like M and Julien. But what was more, he looked pale and gaunt. Had Zerek been starving him too?
"Are you sure you'll have the energy to transport all four of us?" Zane glanced up at her at last, and she realized with a start that he was probably scanning her. "You were already low on energy before you transported across this room, and now—"
"There's no other way," Amber urged. The sound of footsteps caught her attention, and she turned to the hall. "Zerek is sending his reinforcements, and as good as we are, the two of us can't battle through an army of robots while getting Colby and Julien out of here unconscious." She glanced back over to meet his eye. "I can do this, Uncle Zane."
Zane didn't look like he believed her, but then his gaze flicked down to the limp figure in his arms. "All right."
Amber relaxed as the nindroid came to join her, and she took a deep breath to clear her mind as she grabbed Colby and Zanes' arms. The next wave of robots swarmed into the room right as her aura whipped around to make the transport, and Amber gasped as a stinging feeling hit her thigh right before they disappeared in a flash of light.
If you stabbed a man hard enough—even if he was made of metal—it was clear it still did damage. Tolan managed to fight back the last of the people entering the room, and as he watched the metal man crumple, he realized how tired he was. He sheathed his katana, his back drenched in sweat as he turned back to where Teag was. There was a fear eating at him that they had come too late—was the teen even alive? It was hard to tell if he was breathing.
Tolan clenched his jaw, debating. If his gut feeling was right, then somehow, whatever the madman had been experimenting with had taken Teag's power from him—something that Tolan knew was deadly. He thought back on all the times he had seen this happen before—with Pip and the parasite, or with Theodynn on the Island. Even when Pippa had shown up at the fortress a week or so ago after transporting one too many times, when Hershel had made him do the aura transfer to even help her wake up...
The idea came to mind, and Tolan reached down as he tried to remember what Hershel had told him. A hand on his head, and his chest...and then what? Just power up his hands? Was there some other special step he was forgetting? He felt frustration twist inside. Why couldn't he remember the steps to magic processes as easily as the steps in a well-executed attack?
"Tol."
Tolan turned to see that Theo had reappeared. Tolan frowned, keeping his hands powered as he tried to conduct the aura transfer while touching bases with the exhausted-looking young man in the doorway.
"Did you find anyone else?"
"No." Theo's expression flickered, and he glanced down the hallway. "Look, take Teag to the village. There's no way Mom and Dad could have gotten all the Oni out this fast. Catch a ride out with them, okay?"
The power around Tolan's hands faded as a bad feeling crept in. "What are you talking about?"
"I have to go."
"Go where?" Tolan pushed himself to his feet, and Theo held out a hand.
"Tol, just listen to me—"
"You're trying to go off on your own, and that was not the plan we agreed on."
"You just have to trust me. It's something that I have to do. You—"
"I'm coming with you."
"You have to get Teag to safety!" Theo snapped. "He needs you more than I do, Tolan. Get him out of here, before more robots show up."
"Theo—"
"Now." Theo started to run, and Tolan moved to follow. Deep down, he had wondered if Theo would try to pull something like this, and he couldn't help but feel angry.
"Tolan?"
The bodyguard froze in the doorway at the mumbled word, and he glanced back at the teen on the bed. Teag had managed to turn his head, his eyes open as he studied Tolan wearily. Teag continued softly, his voice creaking.
"Is it...is it really you, or just..."
"Hang on, Hot Stuff," Tolan ordered, feeling relieved that Teag had at least woken up. "We're getting you out of here, I just have to..." he trailed off as he reached the hallway and realized that Theo was nowhere in sight. There were more metal warriors coming toward them, however, and Tolan found himself frozen in rare indecision. He battled with the options he had, and he finally cursed as he turned back to where Teag was lying.
"Can you get up?" Tolan demanded. Teag's expression flickered with pain.
"The man...he's got Raiyn somewhere. You have to go find out what he did with Raiyn, because if he does to him what he did to me..." Teag's voice broke, and Tolan clenched his jaw as he caught sight of the tears in Teag's eyes.
"Hershel's getting Raiyn. Can you get up?"
"Hershel's here?"
Tolan ignored the question, knowing that this back and forth was only wasting time. His mind raced, trying to figure out how to get the teen on his feet—there was no way he was going to be able to carry him and fight through the warriors blocking their way. He needs more energy, Tolan realized, and he immediately got into position for another aura transfer.
"What are you doing?" Teag asked tiredly as Tolan put a hand on his chest and a hand on the back of his head.
"We've got to leave, and you've got to be able to walk," Tolan pointed out grimly as his hands lit up with aura. He willed it to go into the frail teen, hoping that Teag would be able to quickly gain the necessary strength. "Just hold tight while I..."
"Look out!"
Teag's expression went from dazed to terrified in a moment, and his warning was half choked as he sluggishly lurched back. Tolan immediately responded to the warning, whipping around to see that the warriors with the eye coverings were back.
"How intriguing," they all said at once, staring at Tolan with their emotionless expressions. "So, zere is a way to transfer aura from Oni to oni. The more I learn, ze more fascinating your aura structures become."
Tolan grimaced, realizing that he was going to have to fight off the four metallic men now before he could even do the aura transfer. He drew both katanas, launching into the fight. He fought fervently, trying earnestly to finish the battle. The sooner he killed these foes, the sooner he could help Teag. The sooner he could get Teag to safety, the sooner he could track down Theodynn before he did something foolish.
His katanas bounced off the metal men again and again, and Tolan growled in annoyance as he realized that he wasn't hitting them right. For their part, they didn't even try to stop him from slashing at their arms, legs, and necks. They continued to walk forward, reaching out with their hands as they began backing him into a corner.
"Run!" Teag urged, and Tolan glanced over to see the teen had managed to push himself upright.
"You run," Tolan ordered. "Get out of here, Hot Stuff. Head down the hall, and..."'
His instructions were cut off as one of the metal men managed to get a hold on Tolan's katana. Tolan's eyes widened as he watched the man grab the sharpened end of the weapon. A real foe would have never been able to do so without lacerating their hand, but this warrior didn't even seem to register pain as he clamped down hard and wrenched the weapon out of Tolan's hand. The bodyguard's heart pounded as he grabbed his remaining katana with both hands to add strength to his blows. He managed to defeat one of the men, but then the others were there, pushing against him, grabbing at his weapon. Tolan cursed as his back hit the wall, his mind starting to freeze with denial. Never in his life had he faced a group so small and ended up at the worse end of it, but these people weren't really people. There was no way to defeat them all...no way to escape...
A rare panic seized Tolan's mind, and suddenly, his other katana was ripped free. His hands powered up with aura, and he blasted the metal warriors back again and again. However, his efforts were wasted—he was running out of energy, but the relentless attackers didn't even seem scathed.
"Tolan!"
"Go now, Teag!" he ordered, not even looking to see where Teag was as he stared down the metal warriors. One of the men had managed to grab Tolan's arm, and he wrenched and fought. Another was coming forward, carrying some kind of metal box with wires.
"I shouldn't vaste such a prize opportunity to collect Oni power," the men all mused in unison in the same voice. "It vill surely come in handy in ze coming hours..."
Tolan stiffened, staring at the metal box without knowing what to expect. The warriors restraining him forced his hands forward, and others picked up the wires that were hanging off the box, bringing them closer to Tolan's exposed wrists. He roared in anger, his eyes and fists flaring with aura, but it did no good against the senseless monsters holding him. The wires were within inches now, and Tolan inhaled sharply as he tried to prepare for whatever was about to happen.
"NO!"
Tolan tried to register the sight of two hands shooting out in the way of the wires as Teag tried to intervene. The men holding the wires lurched forward, but rather than grabbing Tolan, they latched onto the scrawny wrists of the boy who had forced his way in front of him. Tolan wasn't prepared for the scream that followed, and he jerked backward as Teag began to thrash and shriek in front of him.
"All Oni power must be vithdrawn at some point," the men chanted. "Perhaps it is best to drain ze emptier vessel before moving on."
Tolan's mind finally caught up with him. Though he didn't understand everything that was going on, it was clear that the metal box connected to Teag was causing immense pain, and a swell of fury overtook the bodyguard's mind.
The aura blast was larger than the others he had desperately tried to summon, probably since he was intentionally using the rage burning inside to power the attack. The metallic men were sent flying, dragging Teag along with them as they maintained their iron grip on his wrists. Teag's screams were dying out, his thrashing weaker. Finally able to move from the place he had been cornered, Tolan kicked out, aiming for the metal box that had tumbled to the ground. With two well placed kicks, the wires were ripped off of their connecting points.
Tolan didn't wait around to see how the men would respond to his attack on their box of doom. He dropped to the ground, grabbing Teag by the shoulders.
"Hot Stuff, get up," he ordered. There was no reply, and Tolan cursed.
"Ze young Oni has been fully drained. Repair ze machine, and drain ze ozer quickly, vile he is conscious and before he can escape." The voice echoed around the room, and Tolan's blood ran cold.
The guard rolled Teag over, but the teen was limp, his expression lax. Tolan swallowed, moving quickly to lift Teag off of the ground. He struggled to his feet as two of the metal men pushed themselves up, the third working to reattach the wires to the metal box. Though there weren't many of them, Tolan had no weapons and aura attacks only seemed to buffer them, rather than defeat them. Aura winds continued to swirl around the cell as Tolan tried send a few blasts to no avail. He had fought in enough battles to know how this one was going to turn out, and his stomach twisted. At this point, he would only manage to escape if he left Teag behind, but rather than put the teen down, Tolan's grip tightened around Teag's frail form.
The one warrior completed his repair of the wires, and the three men began approaching again. Tolan had never really pictured the end like this—if he had to go down in battle, he had always hoped it would be against an entire army of foes, not just three dented-up, metal Asahkar.
For a moment, he squeezed his eyes shut. Would Theo tell his family what had happened, or was the idiot off getting himself killed as well? Tolan felt heavy as he thought about all the different ways he had failed.
A hand grabbed his arm, and Tolan lurched backward, ripping himself out of the enemy's grip as the winds around him swirled faster and faster. His back hit the wall, and his eyes flew open to see the metal warriors reaching for him with the wires once again. The desperation to escape reached a peak as Tolan gripped the unresponsive oni close to himself. I'm sorry, Syn, he thought, and all at once, he was overcome with the desire to be at home with his wife and daughter, far away from all the madness this realm had thrown at him.
"Engage now!" the voice shouted, and Tolan closed his eyes again as the men lurched forward. Seconds passed, and all at once, Tolan felt like the world was spinning. He lost his footing, and his eyes flew open as he and Teag crashed into the ground. The smell of sand filled his nose, and he froze. What happened? Is this the Departed Realm?
"Dad?"
Tolan flinched at the word, not understanding why it sounded like Pip. He moved to push himself up, but his stomach turned over violently as he finally righted himself.
"Tolan?" It was definitely Syn's voice, and he looked up in disbelief to see both of them standing a few feet away. Tolan stared, not comprehending what had just happened and how he had ended up in his own tent, a realm away from the dangers he had just been facing.
"Ancient's alive, Dad!" Pippa said, coming over with wide-eyes. "Did you just transport? You finally figured out how to do it!"
"I..." Tolan's words died in his throat, but Syn had already dropped down to the ground.
"Is this Teag? Tolan...what on earth..."
"I had to get him out," he managed numbly, looking down at the form he had landed on top of when he had lost his footing. "They were doing something to him..."
"Move," Syn instructed, recovering from her surprise faster than Tolan. He obeyed quickly, and the woman rolled Teag onto his back, her expression tight with concern as she began checking his vitals.
"Where did you find him? What did they do to him? Where's Raiyn, and Uncle Hershel, and—"
"Not now, Pip," Tolan urged, his stomach twisting. He wasn't sure if the nausea was from the transport he had apparently just completed or the fact that the blood was draining from Syn's face. He glanced back at the teen, moving forward. "I had to do a transfer before," he pointed out. "Let me try that."
"Tol...I think he's—"
"Just let me try." Tolan reached out, his hands trembling slightly from the exertion of the transport that he still hadn't fully recovered from. He put a hand on the back of Teag's head, and another on his chest. With the little energy he had left, he willed his hands to blaze, but they only lasted a moment before they sputtered and Tolan's vision swam. He pitched forward, and Syn managed to catch him. For a moment, they sat in silence, with Syn clinging to him as Tolan stared at Teag's grey face. He realized he could feel his wife shaking, and the guard exhaled shakily. "He was fine, just a few minutes ago, before they...whatever it was that they..." his thoughts refused to connect, exhaustion making everything feel cloudy.
"I'm sorry, Tol." Syn's voice broke as she held him. "But he isn't breathing...and I couldn't find a heartbeat."
"Wait," Pippa's voice cut in sharply, her voice full of horror. "Teag's dead?"
Tolan found he couldn't keep the nausea at bay any longer. With his family watching in shock nearby, he turned and vomited.