Chapter 4:
Ken and the others walked into the headquarters and found it already burning in blue and purple flames by Stolas' magic.
"Damn he's pissed." Kugo said.
Thane noticed a stairway and headed toward it.
"I will go down, the rest of you go elsewhere. We can cover more ground if we split up." Thane said as he headed down.
"You heard him, we need to spread out." Ken said.
Everyone went off in a different direction and meanwhile, Thane made it to the prison cells.
"Octavia, are you here?" Thane loudly whispered.
"Thane, Thane it's a trap!" Octavia shouted from in the room.
Vern leaped out and aimed her pistol at Thane shooting at him.
Thane got shot twice in the chest but he kept on fighting with a bash of his elbow into Vern's face knocking her back.
Vern licked her bloody lip and aimed her gun again while Thane aimed his at the same time and their bullets collided and immediately after they went into a fist to fist combat.
"Thane, the device that's glowing! I'm next to it! Shatter it quickly!" Octavia shouted.
Thane noticed the device and Octavia in the far jail cell.
"You won't dare!" Vern shouted.
Vern opened her mouth and sent out a supersonic boom that knocked Thane back into the wall behind him.
Thane immediately aimed his rifle at Vern but then turned and aimed it at the device shooting it making it disable it's neuro ability.
Octavia's magic abilities came back to her and she bent the iron bars and broke them off and threw them toward Vern who leaned back away from them and they spiked into the wall beside her.
While Vern had her attention on Octavia, Thane took this moment and shot Vern's shoulder which was powerful enough to blow her right arm off.
"Damn you, Drell!" Vern shouted at Thane.
"Damn you!" Octavia yelled running at her.
Octavia pushed herself on Vern knocking Vern's head into the two barks that spiked into the wall, killing her.
Octavia took a deep breath and walked over to Thane.
Thane was sitting on the floor clutching his chest.
"Thane, I'm sorry." Octavia said.
"It's fine, you need to hurry upstairs and find your father." Thane said grunting.
"I'm staying here to help you." Octavia said.
Octavia waved her hand over his chest and created a healing magic to slowly repair his wounds while using her other hand to pull the bullets out with her wind magic.
"Mom is..." Octavia said and teared up.
"I know, I'm sorry." Thane said.
"I can't believe this has happened so quickly. My father and mother fighting, divorce, invasion, she died. I don't know why all of this is happening." Octavia said wiping her eyes with her arm.
"Octavia, life can be difficult. Trust me, I know. I haven't spoken to my son for five years." Thane said.
"You have a son?" Octavia asked.
"Yes, he and I never seen eye to eye on things, and one day I shouted words that I didn't mean and walked away. I tried to contact him but he never responded." Thane said.
"What happened between you two that was so heated?" Octavia asked.
Thane sighed.
"I used to work for the Shadow Exchange." Thane said.
Octavia was surprised.
"My son told me how I was nothing but a killer like the rest of them. The reason I tried to contact him was that he was right. I was thinking about myself in the need of money instead of the wrong that I thought was right." Thane said.
"Is that how you was able to help everyone come here?" Octavia asked.
"I gave them as much information as I could but, I didn't want them to think I was a bad man." Thane said.
"But you aren't a bad man. You're our friend." Octavia said with a smile.
Thane nodded with a smile back.
Octavia helped Thane to his feet and he reloaded his rifle.
"We need to find Valentino, the leader of the Shadow Exchange." Thane said.
Thane checked a bag.
"I brought some thermal detonators to blow that thick vault door that leads to his secure room." Thane said.
"Or we use a security card to get in?" Octavia said.
Octavia brought out a security card from Vern's body.
"But I want to blow something up?" Thane said.
"How about we blow this building sky-high after we kill the bastard." Octavia said.
Hide ran down the stairs.
"Oh thank god you're okay." Hide said.
Octavia gave him a smile.
"You two stay behind me okay? I will take front." Thane said and lead on with his rifle aimed.
Upstairs on the second floor, Scourge was trying to open the vault door with his lightsaber but it wasn't cutting through.
"That's a cortosis door, no way are we getting in that way." Kugo said.
"How about you keep your opinions to yourself." Scourge growled.
"Or maybe you should step aside!" Noi shouted behind them.
Kugo turned around and frowned holding up his claymore while Scourge held out his lightsaber.
"Oh? Wanting to look menacing huh?" Noi said sarcastically with a wide grin.
"Cocky bastard aren't yah?" Kugo said.
Scourge used the force to force pull Noi but Noi clapped his hands together creating a surge of wind to blast him back and he opened his mouth letting out a blaze of fire that scorched the floor in front of them.
Kugo brought up his claymore and used it as a shield to block the incoming flames while Scourge knelt down behind Kugo as the two slowly walked toward Noi who was continuing his dragon-like breath of fire.
Noi noticed it wasn't working and closed his mouth before clapping his hands again making a surge of wind to knock both of them back.
"You two are annoying little buggers aren't you!" Noi said licking his lips.
Scourge ran at him and swung his lightsaber toward him but Noi grabbed Scourge's wrist and punched him in the jaw.
However, Noi immediately yelled in pain as his knuckles was broken by Scourge's strong jaw.
Scourge just grinned and grabbed his neck while Kugo walked up spinning his claymore and turning around slicing off Noi's head.
Scourge threw the body down and looked at Kugo with a nod.
"So you must be a thick head after all." Kugo said with a grin.
Scourge sized him up making Kugo quickly anxious and Scourge went back to trying to open the door.
"Need help?" Hide asked.
"No, I do not!" Scourge shouted.
Thane walked up putting the security card in front of the scanner and the vault began to open up.
Scourge gave Thane a very mean serious look as if his pride was wiped out in a blink of an eye.
"We can discuss strength versus intelligence later, for now, we have someone to kill." Thane said.
"Where's Ken, Karura, Eto, and dad?" Octavia asked.
"I have no idea." Scourge said.
They entered the office but no one was there.
"Uh oh." Hide said.