Guess who's back?! Hello! I'm sorry I've been away for so long, but I've been hard at work with University. I've got plenty of this story written to satisfy you for the next few weeks and I'm still working on the rest of the story. Just because I've taken a long break doesn't mean I've stopped writing it! That will never happen... until the end of course. ANYWAY! I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 27: Breakout

Early Age 795 – Planet Haken, Dark Blade Castle

There were many prisoners in their cells, shouting out for freedom. Begging for food and water, and there were even screams when some touched the electrified bars. But in one part of the prison three prisoners were all sitting in silence, but in close proximity. Talia was in her own cell, but just across from her was another cell, inside were Guida and Niku. She didn't know their names and they didn't know hers, but what was to come of this trio?

A couple of prison guards came by and threw in plates of food at the prisoners and that was all they would get for the day. Talia took the food without questioning the look of it or even turning her nose up at it. She had once lived on the streets, so she could eat anything. Guida and Niku were still unhappy about it, but they did their best to force it down.

Once finished, Niku and Guida made sure to look around them and got down to plotting some sort of escape plan. They hadn't known one another long, but they already had a common enemy and if they work together then maybe they could get what they want. Talia happened to overhear something and decided to focus a little more.

"When they come around for the next feeding if one of us acts like we're injured maybe they'll come near the cell…" Guida said, looking over his shoulder, seeing that Talia had her back to them and the guards weren't around. "We can grab one of them and pull them into the cell wall… they'll get electrocuted and we'll be able to grab their weapon."

"You really think that will work? What if we get affected by the electricity?" Niku questioned.

"We'll have to deal with it, but you want to get out of here, right?" Guida responded with his own question, and it's not one that Niku would say no to.

"Of course, I do…" Niku replied.

"And you want to get revenge on Niha?" Guida followed up. Niku nodded and this was when Talia's ears picked up and she found herself wanting to turn around and say something. She didn't, but if they were going after Niha… "We both want him dead… and we will kill him."

Guida stated and this actually made Talia chuckle a little and it grabbed the attention of the two men.

"What's so funny?"

Guida stood up and moved towards the cell bars, looking towards the girl whom still had her back to him. She looked over her shoulder and slowly stood up.

"Well, I heard you plan to kill Yamo Niha… and…" Talia then stopped, not knowing what Niha had did to these men and whether or not she was somehow involved. "Well, by reputation… I've heard he's pretty tough."

"I'll take my chances… I have my reasons for wanting him dead," Guida followed up, glaring at Talia. The girl just smirked and sat back down. Guida clenched his fist, but sat down next to Niku again and tried to hold his silence. Niku gave him an inquiring look. "We'll bide our time… we'll get out of here."

Talia turned around completely and pretended to go to sleep, but really, she was thinking about what could happen if these men did manage to break out. This could be her chance to get away from the Dark Blades for good and find a way to live her life. Either way, she had to agree with Guida… they needed to bide their time. And that was exactly what the trio seemed to do, but in their own ways. Talia would work out, wanting to ensure she kept fit and strong for whenever an attack would happen. She was familiar enough with these Prison Guards and knew they wouldn't pay any attention to their prisoners unless they got violent, plus they didn't really want to pick a fight with Talia after knowing who her master had been.

Guida and Niku spent most of their time watching the routine of the guards and anyone else that came through. Everything seemed to have some sort of schedule so this made things rather easy to understand. Doesn't mean it made things any easier. The plan would still be very difficult to pull off, but at least they would have an idea of how many people would be around at any one time.

One night, Guida and Niku were asleep in their cells and some Dark Blades came walking through the Prison late at night. Guida heard the movement and it brought him awake, but it was rather dark and he couldn't quite see what was going on, but they were opening Talia's cell. He didn't move, but tried his best to look over and hear what was going on.

"You, girl. You are to be brought before the remaining Masters," One of the cloaked figures said. Talia moved and stood up. She walked towards them and they pushed her out of the cell and along the hall a bit. She looked down at Guida and noticed he was awake. She then looked forward and around her. The two cloaked figures that were guiding her didn't seem to be that strong. She looked to the wall and noticed some controls. She only assumed what they would do.

With a swift movement Talia took the initiative and dropped to the ground, kicking out at one of the cloaks. He fell to the ground and as he did Talia leapt up and kicked the other one down to the ground. She then charged to the control panel and hit it. Suddenly, the lights came up and all of the prison cells opened. It took a second for the prisoners to realise what had happened, but they were one step towards freedom. They started to gingerly walk out of their cells as the two Dark Blades stood up and the Prison Guards took out their weapons.

Talia looked around over them all and knew that things would be potentially very dangerous, but this was necessary for her escape. A few more guards rushed in and Talia grabbed a sword from the wall. And started fighting. Guida and Niku looked to each other and nodded. They rushed the guards and fought them for their weapons. This was also what the rest of the prisoners were doing. Things were getting rough. Blood was being shed. Guards were dying. Prisoners were dying. Guida, Niku and Talia were all fighting.

Talia tried her best to fight the guards off at the entrance. She knew that was her best route out and she would need to fight through them as quickly as she could. Guida and Niku were doing their best to stay together and move through these guards. They also needed to find a way out, and they needed to get to some form of transport. Guida motioned for Niku to follow him as he moved towards the exit that Talia was close to.

The proper Dark Blades that had come to take Talia away were up and had their weapons drawn. They were ready to stop Talia from leaving. The two of them stepped forward with their blades out and Talia held her blade forward. She started to move forward, willing to go all out, but Guida and Niku came in, throwing weapons towards these Dark Blades. Talia was distracted and was glad she didn't have to show off her skills as a former Dark Blade. Guida rushed off and Niku turned back to face Talia.

"Come with us," He suggested, but Talia ran past Niku and off in a different direction to where Guida and Niku went. They were going towards the exit, but she was going somewhere else first. She kept the sword by her side and swiped at any guards or warriors that came in her way. She was doing her best to avoid using her energy right now. She hadn't been eating properly so her strength was a bit low. She knew where she was headed… she needed her own swords and cloak.

She jumped into a new hallway and rolled past a Dark Blade, swiping at his leg in the process. He collapsed as Talia leapt up and dropped her sword into his back. She pulled it out and charged towards another oncoming enemy. They tried to slash at her with the sword, but she jumped up and over, swinging around her sword and cutting off their head. She continued to run off up the hallway. She came to a larger room and had nowhere to go. There were three prison guards and one normal Dark Blade in this room and there on the table to the left were her swords and cloak.

Talia glanced over to them and then stared at the four enemies ahead of her. They drew their weapons and walked towards her. She gripped the sword and began channelling her energy. She would need to call upon just a little bit of it for this fight. The enemies came towards her some more and Talia closed her eyes. She tracked their energies and once they were in the best positions, she reacted. Her eyes opened and she went on the attack.

First, she leapt at one of the guards, planting the blade squarely through their face and grabbing that guards blade. She then launched that blade at another guard, hitting him in the shoulder and she then jumped towards the last of the guards and swiped across his chest and drove the sword up through his head. Two of the guards were dead already, but the one with the sword in his shoulder and the Dark Blade warrior were still in this fight. Talia threw her sword at the other guard and that one went through his chest. He wasn't in a good way.

This left the Dark Blade warrior. Talia stood strong and let her Ki flow. A white energy started to grow around her and her eyes were shining gold. The Dark Blade was unsure of what this was, but he wasn't going to back down. Talia started sprinting towards them and on her way, she grabbed both swords from that other guard's body and she was ready to use both in this fight.

The Dark Blade swiped down at her and she parried with the blade in her left hand and followed up by jabbing with the one in her right. The warrior managed to move back and avoid the jab and he slashed down towards Talia. The girl dove to the left and rolled away, but misjudged it and slipped when trying to get up. This gave the warrior an advantage. He moved in on her and Talia growled in anger, jumping up and throwing both swords towards the warrior. He knocked one of them away, but the second one struck his foot and kept it stuck to the ground. He couldn't move it without taking the blade out of his foot.

He was about to take it out, but Talia dropped in, grabbed the man around his neck and pulled him back, this caused the blade to slash through his foot and rip out through the front. He let out a pained scream as Talia grabbed his own blade and drove it through his open mouth. She jumped up, grabbed her two swords, sheathed them on her back and threw her cloak over them. She now needed to get out this castle and off of this planet.

While Talia made her way towards the outside, Guida and Niku had already found themselves out on a platform with the rest of the prisoners. They were still fighting off some warriors and guards while looking for some form of transport. Something to get them off of the planet. Something suitable for long distance, but there was nothing around. They continued to fight while looking around for something. A group of Dark Blade warriors started striking down the prisoners and were making their way towards Guida and Niku.

"This doesn't look good," Niku said, keeping the sword he had stolen held up. Guida was looking around desperately and getting a little panicked about it all. He had no idea what to do in this scenario. He finally looked around and noticed that this castle was huge, isolated and built into a mountain. There were platforms, but no ships around. The surviving prisoners found themselves being backed towards the edge of the platform with Guida and Niku.

The Dark Blade warriors had stopped attacking, but everyone was scared of them. Guida and Niku looked to each other again and were both rather worried. How were they getting out of this one? How were they going to survive now? It was almost impossible. Guida dropped his sword and didn't know what to do. He was really at a loss. Niku looked to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Remember why we're doing this… remember that it's for your family," Niku said, trying to reassure the former Patrolman. Guida looked up at Niku and was about to say something, but there was an explosion from within the castle. The two allies and all of the prisoners currently alive focussed their attentions towards the Castle, as did the Dark Blades that had ganged up on them. From out of the front doors came a small vehicle, like a hover-bike. Riding it was Talia. She found a vehicle. It wouldn't get her off of the planet, but it would certainly get her away from the castle.

She flew towards the edge of the platform and the group that had been fighting. She drew one of her swords and prepared to attack anyone that got in her way. She swiped the sword as best she could while keeping the bike straight and heading for her target. She was fine defending her right side, but her left remained rather open and undefended. Talia headed straight into the group and many of the Dark Blades had to jump out of the way, but the ones on her left found their chance.

One of them slashed at her and the teenage warrior had to quickly adjust to try and defend, but didn't manage it well enough. Her leg got caught slightly and Talia leaned too much to one side that the controls mixed up and the bike turned. She was flung from the bike and hit the floor in the centre of the group, but the bike continued.

Guida and Niku watched this and the smaller of the two, Guida, turned to Niku. "Cover me, I'm going for the bike. It may be our way out of here," The former patrolman commanded as he rushed for the bike. Thanks to the commotion caused by Talia's entrance… or exit, the group were all fighting one another again and Guida managed to go unnoticed as he went for the bike.

Niku moved along with Guida, making sure to knock any opponents out of the way and give Guida the clearest route to the bike. The former patrolman made it and leapt on the moving vehicle and turned to get close to Niku.

"Hop on!" He yelled to his new companion and made sure to move in such a way that Niku could jump on the back. He did, and the two were in the clear to get off of the platform and get away from this castle. They had no idea where they would go. Talia looked up from her place on the ground and noticed this. She wasn't about to lose her best route away from this place.

The girl jumped up took one of her swords in hand and rushed through the group, slashing at anyone that got in her way. Whether they be a Dark Blade, or a prisoner, Talia would get them out of her way. She rushed towards the bike as it got to the end and knew she wouldn't make it unless she could access her energy. She focussed as best she could and managed to move slightly faster and jumped for the edge of the platform just as the bike left.

She was very close to grabbing the back of it, but couldn't quite reach. Talia was going to miss, she was going to fall… presumably to her death. This wasn't going to be good, but… she was saved. Someone grabbed her wrist and she instantly looked up to see the yellow-skinned alien that was on the back of the bike.

"Easy does it," Niku said to her as he hoisted her up. Guida looked back and grunted.

"Why did you save her? Now we're likely to be caught…" Guida said, sounding rather annoyed about this, "She will slow us down."

"No. I won't," Talia said, confidently and with an offended tone. "I know where we need to go to get a ship, so you're only gonna get off this planet because of me."

Guida grunted again and looked forward as he continued to take the bike straight as it slowly, but surely, descended to the ground. "Where are we going then?"

"Head to the east slightly and we'll hit a city in about 45 minutes," Talia explained, "Once there we'll be able to find transport."

"How do you know this?" Guida asked. Talia was about to answer, but remembered she was keeping her former allegiance to the Dark Blades a secret. She didn't want to be found out.

"I lived in the city… that's all," Talia answered, trying to end it there. "Just go as fast as possible, so we can get off of this planet."

Guida didn't say anything more and just kept the bike going forward. Niku remained quiet too, as Talia gripped onto him to make sure she stayed on the bike. She glanced back at the castle and wondered whether or not they would send any Dark Blades after them. She hoped to finally be away from them, but that was never going to happen. Not as long as they still associated her with him…

About 45 minutes passed and the trio were finally entering the city. It really felt like it had been situated right in the middle of nowhere, but it was a large city. Talia continued to give Guida directions as they made their way through the city. They were headed for the space-port and they would do their absolute best to commandeer and ship there, and perhaps some supplies to last them.

They left the bike about 3 miles away from the space-port and walked the rest of the way. It wasn't worth the risk of being tracked to the port and found out. Talia was still injured and her leg was bleeding, but there was no way she would let these two know. She didn't want to give them any excuse to leave her behind. When they arrived at the space-port they noticed it was very busy. Full of different people and aliens heading off to new locations or just getting in to this one.

Talia did her best to scout a ship and saw one that would be fast and spacious. She was about to suggest it, but Niku appeared behind her.

"Not that one, they just got here and they aren't unloading much," Niku explained, "That means their supplies will be low."

Niku turned around and started to look through a little better and found one that may just suit their needs. It wasn't too big, but it could certainly house three of them, and had enough storage space. Niku pointed and got the attentions of Guida and Talia.

"That one. They're about to leave, but there aren't any pilots around. We can get in there quick and get out of here," Niku said as he prepared to step forward. Guida grabbed his arm.

"I've never flown a ship like that, will it be ok?" He asked, Niku smirked.

"Don't worry, I flew plenty of these ships when I was in the Empire," He informed the duo. Talia glanced at him, receiving absolute confirmation that his armour wasn't just for show. He was in the Cold Empire. She bit her lip and looked around, noticing a group of loud alien men coming their way. They were unnoticed, but they may own this ship.

"We better go quick," Talia said as she walked past the two of them and headed up the ramp into the ship. Niku and Guida quickly followed, closing the ramp behind them. The three of them rushed into the control room and noticed something they weren't expecting; the ship was already taking off and flying out the port. Before long, they were blasting up into the atmosphere. Niku rushed forward to the main control computer and noticed a robot sitting.

"Do not worry, dear Masters, we will reach the rendezvous point in no time," The robot said, in what was presumably a male voice. It turned to Niku and then stared right at him. Niku stared down, no idea what to say back. "You are not one of my Masters."

The robots head turned around to face backwards and saw Talia and Guida.

"Neither are you…" The robot said. It stood up and both its arms turned into weapons. "I must ask you to identify yourselves."

The Robot's two large glowing blue eyes turned red, as did the light bar that served as a mouth. Niku held his hands up and Talia put her hands on the handles of her blades.

"We are not here to hurt you… we just need this ship," Niku explained, the robot didn't move or say anything, but kept the weapons aimed on the intruders. "You already left the planet so… we may as well be allies…"

The robot returned to its neutral mode and sat back down. "That is fair. Please state your names and tell me where we must go. I am AIR dash THREE EN."

Niku looked at the robot's arm and saw AIR-3N. He chuckled. "I'm Niku. And do you mind if we call you Airen. It's just easier."

The robot turned and stared at Niku for a bit. "That seems entirely fair."

Talia and Guida let the robot know who they were, but they didn't have any suggestions on where to head next. Niku said they would like to avoid anything Cold Empire and Dark Blades related. Airen told them of a planet that would help them restock and perhaps find some work to try and earn credits. Airen also went ahead and informed them that he didn't care much for his previous Masters who had apparently been gang members and smugglers, so he erased any trace of them from the ship and changed the codes and tracking details so that no one could find them.

He even purged their accounts and downloaded all their credits into his own databanks, meaning that this trio didn't need to find any work just yet and would have enough money to resupply the ship when it would need it and even find some weapons, if needed. Turns out the cargo for the next trip were weapons anyway. Things were looking up for this unlikely alliance… but, there were secrets still to be revealed. Those would come in due time.

On a Planet far from Haken, days later

An armoured being sits in a large room overlooking a city. He is leaning against the glass of the window and looking outside. Another being enters the room, wearing something similar to a Cold Empire armour, but heavily customised. He is light purple skinned with a very dark purple Mohawk for his hair style. He stood with his arms crossed, confidently, but seemed to harbour some unfortunate news.

"You wanted to see me?" The purple alien enquired. The armoured being turned around, we may as well confirm this as Yamo Niha now. He walked over to the alien.

"I have just received news of a mass breakout on Haken, from my castle… and a ship taken from the port in the nearest city," Niha explained to this unknown ally. "Thanks to some informants I have still working for the Dark Blades, I know that amongst the escapees are a Cold Empire soldier I failed to kill, an old ally of mine… and… your brother."

The purple-skinned being seemed very shocked by this. "He's… he's still alive?" The alien asked, as if he was worried about this news.

"Yes, and I want you to track all three of them down. Kill the soldier, and your brother… but the girl… bring her back to me," Niha turned around and looked out of the mirror, "I need her. You got that, Shirken?"

Shirken looked to the ground and sighed, but he looked up and nodded to Niha. "I'll do it, sir."

Shirken left the room and rushed off to gather his crew. Meanwhile, Niha remained in the room and removed his helmet, dropping it to the ground. He rested his head against the window and looked down. "I trained you well… and I need you… Talia."

Hope there was something in that chapter for you all to enjoy. Leave a review if you want to. I'd love to hear what you have to say and if you missed me, you have to tell me. It's the law.

Also, if you want to talk to me about this story or anything else Dragon Ball related, such as Dragon Ball Super, you can hit me up on here through the Private Messaging, or on Twitter ConnorJN_AG15.

Next Time... Chapter 28: Unlikely Team