Chapter 17 is now up for reads and such. I haven't posted any new chapters in a while due to recent deaths, family and family friends alike, so it was a real toll on all of us. :(

This one may be short. I'll do my best!

"Darkness. All I see is nothing but darkness. Where am I anyway?" I stirred about, only to find myself inside a dark room. Unable to see my surroundings, I decided then that I would have to feel my way around in order to find out where I was.

One thing that was for certain was that I was no longer in that dungeon, and from what I can tell, Marie and Elise are nowhere to be found either. I patted on the surface below me, only to find that it was very soft and comfortable. Way too comfortable. I felt around blindly some more, now feeling the warm material of a blanket.. and near my head, some pillows. Then it dawned upon me where I was now.

'Oh, hell no! I'm in Swackhammer's room! Wait, that means... He plans to..!'

"..." I couldn't form any words and my mind froze at the actual intention this creep had in store for me. What I couldn't finish in thought was his plan of revenge against me in the most foul way: rape. I honestly didn't want to stick around to find out if that was his intentional goal, nor do I plan to take any role in it.

I listened carefully and heard only my shallow breathing in the dark room. "Guess he ain't here. This is my chance!"

I didn't feel any restraints on any of my ligaments, so I got up freely and carefully to try and find a way out. I was able to make out distinct shapes and shadows of certain objects, which really wasn't that difficult. Making my way over to a nearby desk, I carefully pulled the drawers open to see what I could find in there. As soon as I pulled out the second drawer, I was lucky enough to find a flashlight in there, along with some spare batteries. I took the flashlight and switched it on, then pocketed the batteries.

I glanced around the room further and investigated it thoroughly, hoping to find any other useful objects, hopefully weapons, that can come in handy. Without any luck, I sighed with bitter disappointment and started illuminating the light around, hoping to find something that would serve as an exit before Swackhammer returns, only to do who knows what to me.

The light gently illuminated parts of the wall, showing no signs of any doors or windows. Just as I was about to give up hope, I caught sight of an odd bump underneath the rug. Removing the rug and rolling it aside, it revealed to be hiding a trap door.

I hesitated, but then snapped into attention as I heard Swackhammer's familiar roars and yells from down the hall. Taking no chance of getting caught, I lifted the door up and jumped into the floor below, closing the trap door securely above me. There was a sliding lock on it, so I locked it up, giving no opportunity for Swackhammer to chase me down.

Gathering my bearings, I turned the light towards the direction of a long corridor, and the only corridor available for me to travel down anyways. There was no turning back now; I gathered up my courage and decided to make my way through this place.

After what seemed like hours of walking through the passage, making turns here and there and rising up a couple stairways along the way, I felt like I was getting nowhere. I stopped my ongoing trek and closed my eyes momentarily, placing my hand above where my heart was.

"Hale.. Nawt... where are you? If you guys can hear me, please... show me the way where I can find something of use! Something that I can use to get out of here and that will help defeat Swackhammer."

I opened my eyes and just like the many times I've had my pleas answered, a bright pink illuminating light glowed from up ahead. I gasped slightly, but took this as a response to my cry for help and followed it. I ran as fast as I could, despite I was worn out and near exhaustion.

The light whizzed and made a path for me to follow. Being the sharp person I was, I wasted no time in following the little bright pink ball.

After a couple moments of goose chasing, the light came to a stop and hovered high above in the air, right above my head.

Feeling the sudden urge, along with the intuitive instinct that's resonating from my heart, I reached up to touch the little ball. The light then started to grow brighter and brighter, practically blinding me with it's radiance.

I cracked my eyes open and right before me, a sword was there in my hands. It was a pinkish silver blade with roses engraved near the blunt side of the blade. The hilt had a satin red fabric wrapped tightly around it, with a chain extending from the end of the hilt, with a crystal rose charm dangling at the end of it. The blade was probably half my full size, but for some reason, it didn't feel that heavy.

'Whoa.. A sword with roses.. talk about some funky deja vu.. Now let's see if I can get out... of.. here?'

I Looked up and about to see that I have also been transported to another location within the fortress. It looked like a gorge of some sort. All I know was that I was outside of the fortress, but still within it's boundaries.

The flashlight that was in my hand was also gone, along with the spare batteries. "So I'm just left with a sword. Well, can't beat anyone up with a stick of light, huh?"

Hearing and feeling a loud rumbling noise, I turned around to see that I was all of a sudden surrounded by hundreds of robots, dressed in armor and had weapons in their metallic claws.

To be honest, I was scared out of my wits. Without a doubt, I was completely surrounded on all sides. Taking a look down at the beautiful sword in my right hand's hold, I closed my eyes shut. My heart felt a lot different, like it was lighter and my soul felt like it gained a new height in willpower. I opened my eyes and faced my thousand opponents with bravado.

"Well, guess I have no other option if I want to see my friends again. Hale, Nawt.. you guys are with me, right?" I clutched my left hand to my heart, and nodded. "You guys are all with me. Now.. time to do this!"

I gripped the hilt with both hands and made a daring start towards the hue sea of heavily armed robots. I leaped up and took the first swing. The first robot that was in front of me went down with ease. I was amazed at the force and strength this sword actually had. The robots, however, kept coming at me with violent blows of their own. I smirked, knowing this was going to take a while. "One down, hundreds more to go!"