Quicker than you expected, eh? :)

That's what I thought.

Okay, so the main problem (for me) I see with major battles in other fics is that they get a tad bit confusing. So I will try to not make this hard to follow. But for the first time (other than to Ian) I will be switching points of view in these next couple of chapters.

And this is where it starts to get intense.

Without further ado…Let the battle begin…

Vest?

Check.

Silencer pistol?

Check.

Map?

Check.

Prepared?

Ch-

Yeah, right.

I took a deep breath, attempting to calm my nerves. I felt a hand being placed over mine. I looked up and met a pair of amber eyes. Ian nodded and no words were needed between us. Dan pressed against my side. He had gotten his old self back with the help of Hamilton, who he was joking with at the moment even if it was halfheartedly.

"Remember," Fiske started. "We will try to stay undetected for the longest we can possibly manage. The less Vespers, the better. Also, we need to do this as quickly as possible for they will be moving the shield in…"

"About three hours," Ned put in.

"-to an unknown location, so it's now or never."

The six of us nodded. The other six were in the van trailing slightly behind us. I looked around at all of us clothed in our black mission clothes, various weapons and items strapped to our backs and determination on our faces. One thing was for sure…

This was not going to be easy.

The plan was that we were split into three groups: the Brain, the Body, and the Eyes.

The Brains were Ned, Alistair, Ted, and Natalie. Their job is to infiltrate the control room and reprogram all security cameras, crack passwords, and get into the main control system.

The Body group is made up of Ian, Dan, Madison, and yours truly. Our mission was to get the shield, replace it with an identical replica, and get out.

The Eyes were Jonah, Reagan, Sinead, and Hamilton. They would watch over the whole mission and if anyone poised as a threat, well…they weren't going to be a threat anymore.

Ian had put up a good argument about not being with Natalie in the same group, but Fiske insisted that she was needed to crack codes and when he proposed that he could join that group. Fiske told him that his skills were needed elsewhere. Eventually, Ian had given up but was not happy about it. I don't blame him, though. I couldn't think of not being with Dan.

Suddenly, we hit a dirt road and Fiske slowly came to a stop. He turned off the van's lights and the other car followed suit. I stepped put into the crisp, night air. A dense forest seemed to be closing in all around us and the scent of pine was overwhelming. Pretty quickly, the thirteen of us all reported as here.

"I know you know the plan," Fiske told us, and we nodded. "So now all I can do is wish you luck."

I wrapped my arms around him. "See you soon," I whispered.

"I hope, my dear. I hope…"

I looked into his misty, grey eyes and gave him one last hug. Dan did the same, and I wiped my damp eyes.

"Well, Jonah, Amy, you know what to do," Fiske said, giving me one last look.

He would be staying behind with the cars, waiting for us to return. Hopefully, we will be returning.

Jonah and I nodded to each other and began to morph. When the process was complete, I could barely tell it was nighttime. Every detail stood out as if it was right in front of me.

You ready for this? Jonah's voice rang through my mind.

Not really. I answered, and started to trot.

We lead the rest of the family through the woods thanks to our keen senses. I heard them following behind us. Well, who couldn't? They sounded like a herd of elephants back there. Let's hope they didn't sound like that to human ears.

Or Vesper ears.

Finally, we reached the edge of the massive forest. I unmorphed and looked up at the Vesper stronghold that loomed over us. I almost laughed out loud. This place was humongous. Way to keep it on the down low…

"All right," Ian said, spreading out a larger map of the base. "Brains…you go through here." He traced the route with his finger.

I was glad that he was in my group. He knew the map better than anyone.

"Well, we better get going," Hamilton said, glancing back at the Vesper base.

Many of us gulped. This could be it.

Natalie ran over to Ian, and he swept her up in his arms. The same thing happened between the Holts and the Starlings. Dan just clung onto my arm and we started an eye conversation.

It's now or never. I said.

I know…let's hope for the best. He said.

I smiled and pulled him in for a hug.

Suddenly, Fiske's voice filled our ears through the tiny microphones. "You have three hours."

And our countdown began.

We looked at each other and nodded. It was time to get going. We slowly snuck onto the Vesper property, dodging guards and spot lights. The Eyes shot some of the guards who got to close for comfort. We all snuck behind a large cement area. This is where we would go down our separate paths.

"Remember, we will be up there," Sinead said and pointed to the tallest point in sight. "If you need help, you know the signal."

The flare. I potted my pocket to make sure it was still there.

"Well, this is it," Jonah said, trying to joke.

I managed to crack a smile. We parted ways with a few more hugs goodbye.

Before long, I found myself squatting behind a tree with binoculars pressing into my face.

"Do you see them?" Ian whispered with his own set of binoculars.

"No," I responded, searching for the sign.

C'mon, Brains. We need you to be quick. I thought, hoping that they hadn't been caught or worse.

"This is useless," Madison grumbled. "I don't see why we can't just barge in there, take the shield, and get out."

"And we get demolished?" Dan added.

"No! We would just-"

Ian cut Madison off. "Look, as much as I love to hear you guys argue we need to be completely focused or we could miss the signal."

That shut them up.

Suddenly, I saw something in the window that I had been staring at for the past half hour.

A green strip of paper…

"It's go time," I said quickly, and we took off.

"Two hours and fifteen minutes."

I grimaced. We were fifteen minutes behind schedule.

"We have to make this as stealthy as possible," Ian whispered, as he eyed a guard, flashed his hand, and the guard collapsed. "Thank you, Eyes."

We snuck over to the guard who was stone dead on the ground. I took the dart out of his heart and dragged him behind a tree. Ian quickly took the access card and replaced it with a fake one, just in case someone found the guard. I did a tuck and roll and ended up with Ian, Dan, and Madison who were crouching behind the door.

Ian slowly raised the card and held it in front of the scanner. The slight beep made me cringe and I looked around to see if anyone had heard. I refocused on the door, and we watched as the light blinked red.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

And then it turned green. I smiled.

We were in.

~The perfect halo of gold hair and lightning~

Group: The Eyes

Agent: Jonah

Time until the shield will be moved: 2 hours and fifteen minutes

I watched as Amy, Ian, Dan, and Madison snuck towards the east door. Ian put up is hand for a quick second, and I noticed the guard that was coming towards them. I zoomed in on the guard and pulled the silent trigger. The guard collapsed.

"Nice job," Reagan complimented.

I flashed a smile. "Thanks, dude."

So far the mission was going smoothly. Hopefully, it would stay like that. I wouldn't want it to get too messy.

"We got another one coming up on our right," Sinead reported.

"You want him?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Sorry, I don't want to be labeled as a murderer."

"So, you're calling me a murderer?" I retorted.

"Exactly."

"Alright, if you don't want him…Hamilton?" I asked.

"Sure thing."

When we turned our attention back to the landscape, the guard had disappeared.

"Where'd he go?" Sinead exclaimed.

"I can't see him anywhere!" Reagan chimed in.

"Well, this isn't good," Hamilton said. "Do you think he saw us?"

"Not likely, we chose this location for a reason," Sinead said.

I tuned into the Brain's frequency. "Yo, Brains, anything suspicious?"

"Nothing really, we've tapped into the main computer and security cameras. We sent the signal to the Body. They've entered hallway fifteen." Ned said.

"Alright, well look out for a guard about 5'9, black hair. He's a rough looking guy," Sinead told him, who was apparently in our conversation also. "We've lost sight of him."

"Will do."

"Be careful," I heard Sinead whisper.

"You too, Sis."

She slumped back in her seat, and I placed a hand on her shoulder.

"He'll be okay," I comforted.

"I hope," she said, sadly while meeting my eyes.

I was stuck in my spot. Yes, I am ashamed. The great Jonah Wizard was speechless from the presence of a girl.

"Uh, we got another one," Hamilton interrupted, clearly uncomfortable by our exchange.

"You can take him," I suggested. "I have to get into contact with the Body."

As I heard the click of the trigger and the sight of the guard crumbling to the ground, my hand was intertwined with another. I looked down at Sinead's hand and back up at her, slightly caught off balance.

"All we can do is hope," she muttered.

"Yeah, and shoot some guards," I said, attempting a joke.

She rolled her eyes and punched me in the arm.

"Aw, no more holding hands?" I teased, rubbing my arm.

"Shut up and get in touch with the body," she snapped.

A slight smile tugged at my lips as I tuned into the Body's frequency.

"Any difficulties?"

"Can you possibly speak any louder? I swear, the Vespers can hear you," Ian's crisp voice criticized.

"I think I will now that you said that."

"Fantastic…and no, not really. Luckily, we have not crossed any paths of anyone challenging."

"Congratulations?" I said, unsure of how to reply. "How much longer?"

"Well, if you stop running your mouth, maybe we will get their before they change locations."

I laughed just to make him annoyed.

Author's Note: Alright! It was longer than the last one! I hope you enjoyed it so far. I hope no one was too out of character. Hmm…well if anything is confusing so far, let me know and I'll be happy to clear any problems up!

If you didn't pick it up, that last part was in Jonah's point of view. I do hope you picked that up. Hmm…well next chapter will start off with Amy's point of view again. Get back with the Body group. Sorry about the weird group names but I thought they fit pretty well!

Well, that's about it. Until next time…

~Nataliya