The clanging of metal wakes me up and I open my eyes to the same cold, dark, cell. Same rock walls, same dusty, dirty floor. Same faint mechanical humming and chatter in the distance. Same plate of terrible food thrown by the same terrible Blue guard, laughing at me as he walks away. It's a wonder why they still keep me alive, probably just for their own amusement. Taking a rock, I scrape another tally into the wall as usual. How long have I been here at this point?

The answer: Way too long. But what choice do I have?

The slop in my mouth makes me want to puke, but at least it takes my mind off what could've happened to my friends. Corey, Andrew, Thomas… I hope they're all okay. That's really all I can do, hope. Well, that and choke down this horrible slop.

Another Blue comes in from the right. He's obviously hiding something in his hands, but I only get to what's in his left since that's what he decides to toss at me. There's a damp sensation as it hits my forehead before I look down to see what it is. A used napkin. Ewww. The Blue turns his head slightly towards me and glares at me with his cyan eyes. That's new, I've never seen a Blue that looks like that. Normally their eyes are a pitch, evil black. Now that I think about it, isn't he a lot shorter than the others too? Just as quickly as he arrived, the Blue leaves.

Weird fella, but the indignity of being used like a wastebasket is just too much! I've had it with this place! It's time I finally do something against these monsters, and I know just what to do! I'll-! I'LL-!

Throw this disgusting napkin at the next Blue I see! Yeah. That's what I'll do! Picking it up, something small slips right out of it and clatters on the floor. Looks like the napkin's going to have to wait, because that doofus just slipped a key into my cell! Problem is I don't know if it'll work on my door's lock. Oh well, guess there's only one way to find out. A slip into the lock, a quick jiggle of my wrist, and the cell is open. Freedom's within my grasp, but I need to plan this carefully. One false move and the entire facility will be on me. I need to be slow, stealthy, and-

Aw, what am I saying? It's time to blow this popsicle stand!

Running out as fast as I can, I pass right by the other prisoners who are newly-Blued and trying to squeeze through the bars to get to me. A solid kick to the metal door pops it right open. But it also hurts my foot. Ow. The facility outside the dungeon area looks remarkably clean. Steel and concrete instead of rock and iron. It's much more well-lit too, I can see everything clearly for a change. It feels like I jumped into a whole new time period. But I don't have time to reflect on that, because there's another big difference from the prison area: This place is crawling with Blues.

Hiding behind a potted plant, I can watch them go in and out of rooms. Sometimes they're carrying stacks of paper, sometimes they're hauling supplies somewhere else, sometimes they're just chatting and wasting time. Looks like it's not going to be a straight shot out, but I should be able to make it out unnoticed if I play my cards right.

Activity lulls after a while, now's my chance. Lifting up the plant and carrying it with me, I lug it forward and set it down the moment I hear footsteps again. This is slow, but I don't feel ready to take on an entire building of Blues unarmed. Waiting some more yields results and I sneak my way into the nearest room. It's empty, so I close and lock the door behind me. Someone left the lights on, but it hardly matters since illumination from the little bulbs on servers and the large computer in the center brighten the room all on their own. Looks like I stumbled across a data center. Neat.

Pulling up a swivel chair, I sit down and start looking through the files. I could do some serious damage here, or better yet, get some information that would put their entire world domination plan in jeopardy! It's a longshot, but I have to try. Yet, something bothers me. All this technology looks advanced, how did the Blues manage to set this up? The few I've seen seem like good workers, in that way that bees are, but hardly computer scientists. They have to have some kind of tech whiz working for them. Clicking through a folder, I find something very interesting. A folder labeled 'slush defender plans'. Inside is a single text file that details the status of each Defender and their current location. The first one I look for is Corey. He's captured and being held in a place that I can only assume is far away, but it sounds like he's alive. Thank god. There's also something by his name about an "Aegis Project".

Before I can look up anyone else, the lights shut down. The computer's glow shines in my face, penetrating the sudden darkness. Then an alarm goes off and red emergency lights kick in. An alert appears on the computer:

"FACILITY-WIDE EMERGENCY: CELL #6 IS EMPTY. PRISONER 'BEN' HAS ESCAPED."

...Shoot. Knew I was forgetting something. All at once the sound of Blues running throughout the building looking for me fills the air. The footsteps sound like a heavy rainstorm. Good thing I brought the plant in here. Hopefully they won't come in here. And if they do, they won't check behind the plant.

A few seconds later, they come in. They check behind the plant. So much for my stealth strategy. Guess we're going loud. Jumping out, I kick the intruders over and fling the pot at the doorway, bowling over a few incoming mooks. Out into the hallway, I push and shove through a crowd of Blues. They try to hit and grab me, but I'm too volatile and smack them away. A few of them try to form a blockade, but without missing a beat I slide right under it. Getting back up, the door to another room is within reach. Lunging out, I grab the handle and whisk myself to the other side, slamming the door behind me and throwing the lock. Then I hear a click.

There have been times where I have had lapses in judgement. I would consider this to be one of them. Behind me is the sound of a legion of Blues slamming on the other side of the door. In front of me is a full squadron all showing me the barrels of their shiny new submachine guns. Probably should've expected there would be people waiting for me on the other side. Regardless, all I can do is raise my arms in surrender.

The Blues waste no time in relishing their victory. My face hits the floor, thrown away like trash by a disgruntled operative. Before I can get up, a circle of armed Blues surrounds me. One kicks me in the head and tells me to get up. Staggering to my feet, I watch the Blues raise their weapons as they get ready to open fire on me. My eyes close and I brace myself for the end, but then I hear bickering behind me. Turning around, a few Blues are scolding a seemingly empty-handed member of their own ranks. Getting a closer look, I realize something else peculiar about this Blue:

He's got cyan eyes.

"Dude, what are you doing?!" An armed trooper yells, "Get your gun already!"

"I already have a weapon," the cyan-eyed man responds.

"Oh really?" He scoffs, "Well where is it?"

"Right here." He opens his right hand and down drops a small, blue circle..

"…Is that a yo-yo?"

Then all of a sudden the yo-yo wielder smacks him in the face with it! I don't know what that toy's made of, but it's gotta be tough because it knocks him right out! The other troops descend on him, turning their attention away from me. Yet, he handles whoever comes close in the same way. He even flings out the yo-yo and wraps up someone with its string before pulling them in to knock them out with a quick elbow. The Blues wise up and open fire on him, but my new ally just jumps into the air, avoiding their bullets and rapidly nailing his assailants in the air with his yo-yo like he's firing a gun of his own. Deciding to take advantage of the confusion, I take a dropped gun and fire at the remaining Blues. They're too distracted to notice me until it's too late. One remains, but he's quickly knocked out with a decisive yo-yo thrust. The sound of his skull cracking is still in my ears when he hits the ground. The yo-yo returns to its wielder, neither of them even have a scratch on them.

Click. Now it's his turn to throw his arms up as I aim my gun at him.

"WHOA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" He shouts at me, taken completely off-guard.

"I'm sorry, but ally or not, you're still a Blue, and with a weapon as dangerous as that, I don't want to take any chances," I explain, almost as frightened as he is. "Look, I don't want to do this. Please prove to me that I can trust you."

Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, he explains everything to me. "Relax, don't worry. If I wanted to hurt you, I would've done so already. I'm just here to help, honest. And believe it or not, I'm not even a Blue."

My eyebrows raise and my gun lowers. "Really?" I ask.

"Yep. And just to prove it…" He drops his yo-yo and backs away from it. "Go ahead, touch my skin." Hesitantly I move forward and, when I get close enough, poke him with a single finger. To my surprise, I feel skin. As in, not paint. Without another word, I lower the submachine gun to the ground and let him recover his weapon.

"I'm sorry about that," I apologize with a hung head.

"Don't worry, I get it. You're scared, don't know who you can trust. Believe me, this isn't the first time it's happened." Loosening up, he started playing with his yo-yo the way a normal child would. "So, you're a Slush Defender, right?"

"Yup. My name's Ben," I say and hold my hand out. He shakes it earnestly with his free hand.

"Perfect. You can just call me Yoyo," he tells me. Before we can get acquainted further, more Blues barge in from behind him. "Uh oh- Ben, listen to me! Find whatever you need to and get out of here!" He orders.

"But what about you?" I question as he starts to hold off the Blues by himself, "How am I going to repay you for saving my life?"

"You can repay me by getting out of here and living to fight the Blues another day!" Yoyo tells me. "Besides, I'm exactly where I want to be." He grabs the string and starts flailing his yo-yo around like a whip. It starts to glow a brighter blue which, combined with Yoyo's words, acts as a cue for me to leave. I open a third door and charge through it as fast as I can. Not stopping no matter what, I tackle any Blue in my way like it's football practice. An explosion from behind shoots me forward and I tumble to a stop shortly after. As I get up, dazed and tired, I feel something burning graze my arm.

Crying out in pain I lurch back and my vision corrects itself. In front of me are three Blues… and each of them are holding a sticksaber?! That was my weapon! It was one of a kind! Oh well, no time to dwell on that. At least I have an advantage. It's my weapon, which means I know its weaknesses.

The first one charges at me, holding his saber off to the side. To counter him, I sidestep the charge and grab his wrist, twisting it until he drops the weapon. Picking it up, I spin around to parry the second Blue, knocking his weapon away too before slicing into him. Then suddenly, the light blade on my saber dies! The third Blue jeers and tries to throw his saber at me. He misses completely. I don't even have to dodge. I kick the second Blue's saber up and toss it at the third, hitting dead on the mark.

A scream comes from out of nowhere. Oops, looks like I never let go of the first Blue's wrist. Reading his face, he looks like he's in unbearable pain. Now, I'm not the sadistic type, but maybe I can get some use out of this.

"You!" I bark, "Where'd you get those weapons?"

"Armory in the next hall… third door to the right…" he grunts. Knowing what I need, I let go of his wrist and follow his directions, hoping he didn't feed me bad information. A few more Blues stand between me and my destination, but I'm not playing around anymore and barrel right through them. Third door on the right, with a twist of the knob the door flies open, the lights turn on, and…

Holy moly there's a whole pile of these things! It'll take me ages to find mine! Before I can even start looking through the pile, Blues rush in and pick up sabers. Normally being in a room where the Blues can arm themselves so easily would be worrying, but not now. It doesn't matter how many sabers they have, this was decided the moment I stepped in. See, they're all just pupils.

And I'm the master.

Grabbing two sabers, I jump into the fray. Parrying with one, slicing with the other. Two Blues fall down, a third approaches. There's someone behind me. Ducking down to avoid his swing, I spin around and catch them both in the legs. When I come back up, I block two attacks at once. But then my blades go dead.

Quickly I kick my opponents away and get two more. They make short work of those attackers and I swing around to block another sneak attack. One arm in front, one behind me, I duel from both sides at once, head going back and forth between the two. Streaks of light dance in the poorly lit room. The blade in front sinks into its target's skin and I donkey kick the one behind me. When I try to finish him off, the sabers lose power again and he hits me in the-

OW!

His face meets my knee for that and I try to re-arm myself. My new weapons are on for two seconds before they deactivate. Meanwhile the stream of Blues coming in isn't stopping. Cheap knockoffs! All of these! Where's my sticksaber?

Wait, of course! Why would they keep mine here? If I was mass-producing a weapon that's supposed to be one of a kind, I'd store the original somewhere more important! There's a vent in the back of the room, it looks just big enough. If I'm lucky, I can do some searching in there without twenty Blues coming after me. Like they are now.

Activating as many sabers as I can, I grab an armful and throw them all at once. The Blues that aren't right in the way run away screaming. That should buy me some time. Using a bootleg saber, I reach up and cut part of the vent cover off. Then I jump up and grab onto the edge. Phys Ed classes, don't fail me now! Pulling myself up, I get one arm into the vent. Then the other. Then my head. Then something grabs my leg.

They yank, I lurch down. Trying to pull myself back up, I shake my leg as hard as I can. No good, he puts his other hand on it. Then I feel the first hand grip above the second. Is he trying to climb me?! Desperately I swing my leg toward the back wall and slam my attacker against it. That does the trick and I hear him fall off with a thud. With him gone the rest of my body feels much lighter and I'm able to hoist myself up with ease.

The vents are dirty and disgusting, but it's better than being attacked and gives me some time to recover from that… dirty blow. Making sure I move slowly so I don't make too much noise, I look around the place and peer through the other vent covers to search for my saber. Storage room, no saber. Cafeteria, no saber. Dormitory, no saber. Computer room, yeah right. Eventually I come across what seems to be a lab. Finally! Something like this is what I've been looking for! Peering through the grille, I get my hopes up and… Yes! There it is! Over to the right in a glass case, my sticksaber! With a metal sheen more radiant than any shoddy replica, I'd know my beauty from anywhere! Unfortunately, there's also a few scientists and they're on high alert like everyone else. If I want my saber back, I'm gonna need to be very careful about this…

Aw what the heck, they already know I'm here. BANZAI!

Crash! The moment I hit the floor I go straight for the case. Smash! The glass leaves a few cuts on my arm but I don't mind. As I take back my sticksaber, I see those three magic letters carved in its metal handle: Ben.

"Stop!" I hear from behind. The scientists. "Stay right where you are! If you take another step, we'll shoot!" With no choice, I slowly raise my arms.

"Alright. I won't take another step." Technically I'm telling the truth, my feet don't move an inch as I fling my sticksaber behind me and catch it again after hearing it chop through the scientists.

And to think I was once the scared kid with the baseball bat.

Before leaving, I snag an orb from a pile. It's about the size of a shot put ball and wrapped in labeled paper that I read on my way out. "Toaster Mk II ammo," it says. No clue what that is, but getting this back to the others might prove useful. Now there's just one thing left to do before I get out of here.

Ducking into a room, I lay silent and listen carefully. The sound of rapid whacks followed by a blast hits my ears. There's my man. Immediately I follow the noises. Oddly, the Blues seem to have thinned out. On the way to my destination I only run into a few scattered troops, and all of them would rather run than fight me and my weapon without their strength in numbers. When I peek into the room where the sounds are coming from, I see why. Just as I thought, Yoyo's in there and the Blues seem to have directed all their attention towards him. He's holding his own, but more just keep coming in and it looks like he's starting to get overwhelmed. His attention is on the forces in front of him, the ones coming in from behind are completely unnoticed. Guess that's my cue.

Jumping in, I slice his back attackers before throwing my saber again. It travels in an arc and clears out the Blues in front before returning to my hand like a boomerang. Yoyo turns and looks at me with awe. All I can do is shrug.

"Couldn't leave without paying you back," I explain. He gives me a nod and the two of us fight back-to-back. As my mind switches to autopilot against the Blues, I can't help but feel he reminds me of a certain pink person…

As I veer to the side, I catch it in the corner of my eye: A gunner aiming right for my chest. I left myself wide open, I won't be able to deflect his shot. It looks like it's all over. Then that signature toy breaks through and knocks the weapon away before taking the Blue himself out.

"Watch yourself," Yoyo warns me, "That would've hit you if you were alone- Hey wait, what's that?" He asks, pointing to the ball in my grip while his other hand clocks a few Blues.

"Oh, this? The label says it's Toaster ammo, whatever that is," I tell him as I deflect a bullet spread. His eyes go wide.

"Those are explosives! Quick, is there any more?"

"Yeah, a whole bunch that way!" I point to the door I came from. It's blocked off by Blues, but Yoyo grabs the ball out of my hand and tosses it in their direction. He hits it mid-air with his charged yo-yo and it creates a huge explosion, knocking away anybody in its wake. Then he grabs me and pulls us into the hallway.

Leading the way, I go forward holding my saber in front of me while Yoyo covers our back. We make our way back into the research lab, and not a moment too soon. Every Blue still in the building must be after us by now, but something tells me that won't matter in a few seconds.

"This is perfect!" Yoyo exclaims when he sees the stack of ammunition. "Now quick, carve us an exit!" I stick my saber into the wall and start to carve out a square passageway. A stray bullet enters my back. Then another. It feels like I'm on fire, but I can't stop now. With my remaining strength I push on the wall, opening up our new exit and Yoyo shoves us out. Once we hit the ground he whips around his yo-yo some more, letting it charge up energy, before letting it fly at the pile of ammo.

BOOM!

The force of the blast knocks us away, but luckily we're unharmed. The Blues' facility, on the other hand, isn't so lucky. The entire place has gone up in flames. The danger is over, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief… and feel the bullets in my back. Ow.

Yoyo's right beside me, sprawled out on the ground and panting as well. Upon opening one of his eyes to see me, he gives me a weak smile and raises his free arm in victory. Funny guy.

The sun's gone down and our departure from the ruined base has led us to some rolling hills. I'm tired of the silence, time to strike up a conversation with this guy.

"So, I couldn't help but notice you've heard of the Slush Defenders," I say. Yoyo nods his head.

"Yeah, it's good to see what you guys are doing out there, fighting back against the Blues even after the whole Slusher incident," he tells me while dropping and catching his yo-yo.

I raise my eyebrows. "Wait, after? You mean my friends are still alive? And they're still out there?!"

"A few of 'em anyway," he explains, "But the only one I've been able to find is you, and even that was pure luck."

I smile at him. "Well, looks like we both got very lucky then. After this, I need to go find my friends. Want to come with? After seeing what you can do, I'm sure everyone would be happy to let you join!"

Yoyo only chuckles and puts his palm up. "Sorry, I can't. I'm too young to be a Defender and I, uh, have someone else I'm looking for. In fact, I should probably get going now," he tells me and stops walking.

"Well alright, guess this is goodbye then?" I ask, stopping beside him.

"Hopefully not forever. But, in case we don't see each other again, I just want you to know that there's scattered people just like me all over who aren't going to sit back and let the Blues take over. You and your team aren't alone in this fight. Never forget that, alright?"

I'm taken aback by his words, but manage to say something back. "Thanks, Yoyo. I promise, we'll stop these maniacs yet!"

We share one last firm handshake and Yoyo bounds away, disappearing over a hill. I don't think I'll ever forget him as long as I live. As for me, well…

It's time to find my friends.

The End.