Gunshots continued to go off as Durbe and Shark raced throughout the field. Thankfully, they were unseen by enemy soldiers. Alit and Gilag were the ones that were risking their lives being out in the open, shooting blindly at anything that moved in the bushes.

They just hoped one of their blind shots wouldn't hit them in the process.

"Do you think we're getting close?" Durbe asked, his rifle still clutched in his good hand. Shark nodded.

"Yeah. We're getting close."

"Good. The quicker we sneak in there, the faster we can save Mahpari."

Shark was about to say something, but was silenced instantly. Both soldiers froze in the spots they stood in, and their eyes glued to the figure that raced from the enemy base.

But what really caught their attention was the figure the other was holding. Durbe nearly screamed when he recognized the second figure. How could he have been so blind?

That was Mahpari over there!

"What do we do now?" Shark hissed, a glare overtaking his facial features. "We can't just storm in on them. There could be soldiers on any corner of this field that we may not know about."

"Then we need to figure out a plan quickly. One of us should distract him, and the other can grab Mahpari while he isn't paying attention. Sound good?"

"It sounds perfect to me, and I know just the way to distract him."

Before Durbe could even ask, Shark had fired his rifle. The bullet went flying right past the figure that had Mahpari in his grasp, making him freeze in his tracks.

"Bullseye! C'mon, let's get him!" Shark yelled, charging forward. Durbe let out a startled yelp sound and followed his comrade, gripping his rifle rather tightly.

A scream came from Mahpari when Shark tackled the man that had her in his grasp. She hit the ground with a thud, crying out when she felt something snake around her. Her smokey-gray eyes stared up, meeting with insane violet ones.

"Let me go!" Mahpari yelled, struggling to get free. She could hear the man that had her cackle, and she screamed when she was hoisted high into the air.

Now, Durbe looked up, his smokey-gray eyes staring around wildly until they settled on Mahpari and the man that had her. He gasped, knowing exactly who it was that had his little sister in his clutches.

Vector.

"Put her down, Vector!"

All eyes were on Shark and the man that he had in his grasp. His sky-blue eyes were staring intently at Vector, a glare forming on his face. Shark and Durbe raised an eyebrow, confused about all of this. Geez, just what had happened while Mahpari had been captured?

"Hold on. You wanna help?" Shark asked, staring at the man that was in his grip.

"Yes, I do. Mahpari and I have a lot in common."

They were running out of time to argue with each other. Mahpari's scream filled their ears, and she began to struggle against Vector again. "Nii-san! Kite!" she yelled, attempting to kick Vector so she could scamper away.

"It's no use!" Vector yelled, letting a wild cackle escape his lips as he held Mahpari higher. The girl screeched as she felt her hands get tied behind her back, the rope digging into her already sliced wrists and drawing more blood. Pain went shooting throughout her arms as Mahpari was thrown to the ground, unable to free herself.

"Mahpari!" Durbe hollered, rushing toward his little sister. He made the mistake of not paying attention to his surroundings, therefor tripping over a rock and falling on the ground himself.

And on top of that, he landed on his bad side.

A pained yell came from Durbe, making Mahpari sit up a bit. "Nii-san!" she screamed, attempting to stand without the aid of her hands. What had happened to her brother, she was not sure. All she knew was it was causing him pain, and it was hurting her too.

"Silence, child," Vector growled, knocking her back down by kneeing her in the chest. He watched as Mahpari hit the ground, her head hitting a sharp rock and a wail coming from her. Now her chest ached, and she could hardly see anything. Something wet began to drip down her head, drooling down to her cheek and continuing on to pour into the grass. It didn't take a genius to know what it was.

Blood. And it refused to stop.

Mahpari groaned, dizzily sitting up again. She looked around. Everything was in doubles, but she could still see where everyone was. Durbe was laying on the ground, unconscious. Behind him stood Kite and Shark. Vector loomed over her, a sinister look in his violet eyes.

That image managed to stay glued to the inside of her eyelids as Mahpari blinked. She fought it the best she could, but there was nothing she could actually do that would stop this.

Before she could think, she, too, had lost all consciousness.

"No! Mahpari!" Kite yelled, breaking free from Shark's strong grip and running over to Mahpari's side. She was still breathing, but only barely. Vector let another laugh come from himself just as Alit and Gilag came running up the hill. Their eyes went wide when they saw the insanity that was in the scene.

"What the huh just happened here!?" Alit demanded, preparing his shotgun in case he needed to shoot Vector with it. Whatever had happened, he knew it was because of the insane enemy leader.

It was always because of Vector.

No answer came Alit's way. At least, not in the form of words. His green eyes soon landed on where Mahpari lay, and he simply stared at her and Kite for the longest time.

Silence swept over the area. Gunshots were no longer going off in the background, and it was killing them with the suspense of which side had won the battle. The only thing anyone heard was the small ticking sound that was close to them.

Wait. Ticking?

Oh, no.

It was too late. By the time they had realized just what the thing they were hearing was, the explosion occurred, sending every single one of them flying into different directions. There was a yell from Vector, followed by a crash sound. When Alit hit the ground, he was sure the madman was down permanently. A smile crossed his lips as he chuckled, forcing himself to his hands and knees and simply staying in that position.

Gilag landed clear on the other end of the field, the wind being knocked out of him for some time. About five feet away, Shark landed hard on a blunt object, fracturing a few ribs and forcing a cry to come from him.

Landing very close to his base was Kite, who hit one of the barrels that contained ammo. Some of the little bullets went flying out from the crushed object, and sharp fragments from the barrel pierced the blond and teal-haired man's body. A pained groan came from him, but he managed to force himself into a standing position anyway. Smoke was still rising from the explosion, though, so it was impossible to see anything that was far away. He had no trouble spotting Mahpari, who was laying right beside him. Whimpers came from her as Kite lifted her.

Without wasting one more second, he scooped her up, then rushed away, trying to get her from the mess that was about to expose itself to the world.

The next to come crashing down from the air was Durbe. He had awoken to the loud BANG! from the explosion, and had hoped he wouldn't land on his bad arm again. Thankfully, he landed on his back, and even though it was still painful, it was nothing compared to the numbness and stinging pain from when he had landed on his broken right side the first time. The gray-haired soldier chocked on the smoke for a moment, then forced his eyes to open. There was a slight stinging pain from his left leg. Durbe looked down, then scowled.

A piece of glass from his glasses had become wedged in his leg.

Great.

The smoke finally began to clear away. Alit looked around, taking in the scenery. Everyone was scattered. He couldn't see Gilag or Shark, but he could see Durbe. The gray-haired soldier was clutching his right arm, panting heavily. It appeared that everyone was there somewhere, for Alit could hear Shark and Gilag's whining from somewhere else in the area. They were there, just not seen.

There was one problem, though.

Kite was nowhere to be found. And neither was Mahpari.