There were few words to describe the torrent of emotions hurling around inside the Homs man. Rage vibrated through him, quickly overtaken by a tidal wave of misery, followed by a blanket of shame. How could he have let this happen? Cheeks burning, Dunban calmly walked away from the others into the next room, muscles tightening with each step. Over and over the scene repeated in his head; Fiora kneeling, the whip falling, the blood dripping. He clapped his hands over his ears, trying to drive out the sounds of her cries. But they refused to disappear. Each one cracked his heart; a constant reminder of how he failed to protect his sister.
And then there was that smile. The full-toothed one Camar had plastered on his face as he watched Fiora beaten without cause, save for her race. Anger bubbled in his gut, threatening to reach its boiling point. Dunban's mind raced to the shuttle crash that had also nearly taken Fiora's life. The Homs Entia had been behind that attack as well; he had said it with pride. Fiora was his victim twice, and Dunban had let her down her twice. His hands clenched into fists; he could no longer contain the fire that burned inside, the violence that seeped into his veins. Red flashed in front of his eyes. Dunban lashed out, punching his fist into the nearest wall. Pain pulsed through his hand as he slowly retracted it, but the man ignored the throbbing in his knuckles from the impact. It was no greater than the anger and grief that overwhelmed him. The fury that threatened to take over, and drive him to march into the Great Hall and murder Camar with his bare hands. Regardless of the consequences.
"We have to rescue her. We have to get to her." He heard Shulk say from the other room.
Watching his sister be whipped...something inside Dunban had broke. It was unclear what. But it was intricately tied with the shame that hummed underneath the other emotions. He had broken his promise to always protect her.
Again.
He would never forgive himself.
"Stop!" Tyrea demanded from the other room.
Dunban knew he needed to return to the group, and figure out what the next move was. The only way to prevent Fiora from becoming a target once again was to rescue her. He knew that much. Time was of the essence and the man needed to move fast. There was no telling what Camar had planned now. And his instincts told him that Melia would be the next victim.
Melia.
A new set of worries clouded his thoughts. Camar would want to make Melia suffer. But Dunban knew that it had to be much more than what the villain had done to Fiora. And that scared him.
Straightening his back, Dunban took a deep breath. He needed to be clearheaded. Rationality would guide him in claiming his objective. It would be the only way. He filled his lungs with air and exhaled, feeling his shoulders fall in relief. As the stress left his body, the man pushed down the emotions hurling around in his soul. There would be time to parse through them later.
Ready, Dunban stepped back into the other room just as Shulk made for the door.
"We can't just let Camar get away with that. We have to rescue Fiora! And Melia!"
"Don't you think I know that?" Tyrea's eyes blazed as she pulled Shulk back. "But we can't charge in. We'll get killed. And how will that help them? It won't."
Dunban turned his cold gaze on Miriall, crossing his arms over his chest. "Where are Kiefer and the others?"
So far, the ex-cabinet member had proved worthless. He didn't hold much stock that the tides would turn now.
But to his surprise, she whispered, "He's holding them in the Whitewing Palace." The High Entia squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm so sorry, Lord Dunban. I had no knowledge of any of this."
The man ignored her sentiment, his heart closed to apologies, or any emotion at all. "Let's go."
"We can't leave her. She'll tell Camar our plan." Tyrea pointed out.
"No, no. I swear I won't!"
"Why should we believe you?"
"You've been sabotaging Melia this whole time." Shulk agreed.
"I didn't know! I didn't know what Camar had planned. He said he was just trying to change the Empress' mind..."
"About what? Peace or genocide? Wake up, Miriall. You aided a psychopath and now we're all paying the price." Tyrea hissed. "Melia and Fiora more so."
"Just tie her up." Dunban interceded. He did not want to waste anymore time than necessary.
Glowering, Tyrea proceeded to bind the High Entia's arms and feet together. Dunban turned away, looking out the windows into the street. They would have to sneak back towards the Great Hall as the High Entia would be leaving the Great Hall, presumably returning to their homes or duties. Tyrea would need to lead them back, undetected.
"Ready." She said, her dark eyes filled with an emotion he could not discern. Briefly, he wondered how Tyrea felt with Melia imprisoned. Did she worry about her step-sister? Or was it tied up into the desire to pay the debt Tyrea felt was between them?
But Dunban dismissed the thoughts. "Let's go."
They stepped back out into the alley. Far away voices reached their ears.
"They're out of the Assembly room. We'll have to go through the sewers." Tyrea gestured to a sewer cap at the edge of the street. The two men nodded, neither seeing a reason to complain. Not ideal, but frankly Dunban didn't care how they got back to the Great Hall, just as long as it was quick journey.
Together, Shulk and Dunban pooled their strength and lifted the sewer cap off of the hole in the ground. Without hesitation, Tyrea began the climb downward into the darkness. Shulk followed, and Dunban was the last, pulling the cap back over the hole, throwing them into darkness.
As he reached the bottom of the ladder, and his shoes hit water, a burst of light appeared, cutting through the blackness. Tyrea held up a small flame in the palm of her hand. Dunban recognized the use of ether, as a faint ring of green light surrounded the red and orange fire. He was not surprised to see the High Entia's use of ether; he knew they were heavily attuned to it. But it had been a long while since he had seen its use. Not in the past month and a half had he seen any ether spells by any High Entia. Not even Melia. At that thought, he realized how strange this revelation was.
But this thought quickly receded to the back of his mind. Seeing both of the Homs ready, Tyrea turned and led the way through the sewer wordlessly.
None spoke as they made their way through the drain pipes. Echoes of boots sloshing in the black water reverberated on each side of the trio. Dunban could feel his mind wandering, going towards memories and emotions that threatened to drive him off course. But he wouldn't let them. He pushed all thoughts aside, focusing on putting one step in front of the other.
What seemed like an hour later, Tyrea stopped at the foot of another ladder. Dunban ascended first, grunting as he pushed the cap off of the top. As he emerged, the man took a deep breath, filling his lungs with fresh air. He held out a hand, helping Shulk out first, then Tyrea.
He had to hand it to the High Entia: she knew how to navigate through the expansive city undetected. It must be from her years in the Bionite Order.
"Where are we?" Shulk asked as he swung his gaze around the room. It was filled with boxes of various sizes, piles of rubbish growing in corners. An incinerator was built into the right wall.
"Trash room." Tyrea said dismissively and led them out and down a corridor. Turning around, she stopped in her tracks and wrinkled her nose.
"The smell alone will give us away." Dunban agreed. "We need to change clothes."
As they neared the exit, they heard the sounds of conversation. The High Entia motioned for the two Homs to stay put. Quietly, she crept around the corner. In the shadows, Dunban could see Tyrea's form sneaking up on two forms. Slowly, she raised her arms high and brought them down on their heads. The Homs heard the clang of metal crashing to the floor. The woman peeked around the corner and waved to them. Dunban and Shulk rounded the bend, eyeing two unconscious High Entia splayed on the floor.
"Take their clothes and armor. It will disguise you."
Without a word, Dunban and Shulk began to undress. Tyrea turned her back and walked down the hallway, keeping watch for any enemies. Minutes later, Dunban and Shulk were outfitted like High Entian soldiers.
"What about helmets?" Shulk asked. "They'll still see we're Homs."
"We'll just have to chance it." Tyrea said.
They ascended from the utility floor to the ground floor of the Great Hall, light filling their vision. Dunban's hand gripped the hilt of his sword, waiting for a possible attack to come barreling down the spiral staircase as they continued to ascend. Finally, they reached a platform with a teleporter on it.
"Be ready." Tyrea murmured.
She stepped into it, her body disappearing into thin air. With a nod to Shulk, Dunban followed Tyrea, walking onto the circle of green fluorescent light. In the blink of an eye, he was transported to the ground floor of the Great Hall. Slowly, the three snuck along the edge of the wall, alert at all moments. When they neared the center, they saw a cluster of High Entia walking in from the entrance.
"Get behind me." She whispered.
Dunban and Shulk positioned themselves on the opposite side of Tyrea, their profiles facing the teleporter up to the throne room. Silently, Dunban thanked god that Tyrea's wings were large enough to provide adequate coverage of their Homs faces. Quickly, the group moved across the Great Hall, towards the opposite wing.
"You!" One of the High Entia called out.
"Shit." Tyrea whispered and turned to face the caller, her back facing Dunban and Shulk. Dunban felt his pulse quicken. "Yes?"
"Where are you headed?" The High Entia took a step closer.
"Whitewing. Check on the prisoners."
"Darren and Katerina are already up there."
His heart skipped a beat; discovery was imminent.
"Camar asked me to check on them."
"Oh, did he? What is your name?" The skepticism was evident in his question.
"Miriall."
Dunban watched as Tyrea slowly reached behind her and grasped the hilt of her dagger. The Homs followed her action, his nerves on edge.
"Ah. You're the healer?"
"Yes. I am to make sure the prisoners are prepared for their next punishment." She said, her voice filled with scorn.
"Good. I want those traitors to suffer as much as possible. Be on your way."
Tyrea nodded and began walking toward their destination, Shulk and Dunban careful to stay in line with her. "You are quite the actress," Dunban whispered to her. She returned his comment with a smirk as they passed out of sight of the High Entia group. Without speaking, one by one, they each stepped onto the teleporter up to the Whitewing Palace.
As Dunban stepped through the portal, he came face to face with a fist flying towards his nose. His instincts took over; dodging right, he slid the sword from its sheath and slashed horizontally across the body in front of him. A yelp emitted from his attacker, and the Entia stumbled backward. The Homs brought his right leg up and delivered a kick to his opponent's stomach, causing him to stumble backward.
Seeing the enemy hurling her direction, Tyrea crouched and swung her leg out in a circular motion, kicking the guard's leg out from under him. The High Entia crashed to the ground, unconscious.
A shout rang out and Dunban whipped around to see Shulk crashing swords against another High Entia guard. Swiftly, the Homs rushed to help his friend, attacking from the opposite side. Dunban shoved into the High Entia, throwing the woman forward to the ground. Her sword skidded away, and she crawled towards it, but not before Shulk pinned her arms behind her back.
Dunban looked back towards Tyrea, who sheathed her sword, stepping away from another opponent she had put down. There was a grin on her lips. Dunban looked away, his eyes roaming the rest of the room and stopped. Relief flooded through him. At the far end, he saw the prisoners: Kiefer, Shalen, Songya, James, and Elrich. All chained together.
Digging through the pockets' of the guards, Dunban found a ring of keys and strode over to his friends. Quickly, he began to unlock their restraints.
"Are you alright?" Dunban asked as the locks clicked open on Kiefer's bonds.
"Fine." Kiefer responded; his tone conveying more than his word. The Homs did not press. Instead, he moved to Songya and unlocked her chains. The process was repeated over and over, each prisoner giving their thanks upon regaining freedom. Or in Elrich's case, a grunt.
"What's the plan?" James asked, rubbing his wrists as he stood.
"We find Fiora and Melia." Dunban said, crossing his arms over his chest. Now that they were a greater number, a direct attack was more plausible, though he still was uncertain of the amount of men Camar had recruited to his evil cause.
"But how?" Shalen asked. "Do you know where they are?"
"No. We were hoping you may."
"We don't know." James shook his head, his face furrowed in concern.
"Then we have to confront Camar."
"They don't have any weapons." Tyrea argued.
He hated ot admit it, another obstacle in their path, but she was right. "Fine. We need to hide somewhere until we come up with a plan."
"Melia's secret apartment is the easiest. Camar has no reason to monitor it."
"Then let us not stay here any longer."
Sneaking their way through the Great Hall was a great deal easier than it had been to get inside. They teleported down into the Great Hall, and immediately passed through another teleporter, winding through a secret door. Tyrea was right. As they made their way through the secret passages of the Great Hall, and finally arrived at Melia's apartment, there was no guard in sight. They hurried inside and shut the door. As the group settled their nerves, Tyrea disappeared into Melia's bedroom, presumably to change clothes.
"We have to strike soon. Where can we get weapons?" Dunban said. The coldness he had previously used as a shield gave way to anticipation. To urgency.
"The armory." Elrich spoke.
"It will be guarded." Kiefer replied.
"Anywhere else?" Dunban asked.
"There is a stash of weapons in the Villa." James said. "In the event of an attack on the Royal Family, we keep a small store that is easily accessible."
Going to the Villa would take more time, more time than they had. Dunban felt himself rise with irritation, but he tempered it. Weapons were necessary. They were a group of seven. Not exactly a large bunch, but he had fought with only one other in his party before. Depending on how many had joined Camar's cause, the battle could be well matched or challenging.
"Are there any others? Other dissenters we can rally?" Dunban asked.
"Maybe, but they weren't imprisoned with us." James said.
If they were to split up, one group to go retrieve the weapons and another to find the others, it would certainly better prepare them.
"It will only be a matter of time until they realize you're all gone." Tyrea interceded as she waltzed back into the room in a pair of black slacks and a white blouse. "I don't know how she wears this everyday. It's so restricting." The woman pulled at the collar, annoyed.
Before anyone could reply, the door creaked; the handle jiggled. Dunban put his hand on his hilt and crept forward. Who could it be? One of Camar's lackeys? Adrenaline shot through his chest, electrifying his heart. He gave Tyrea a side glance and she nodded, planting herself on the wall next to the door.
Slowly, the door creaked open.
Tyrea's arm whipped out into the space, dagger in hand. There was a gasp.
The door pulled away to reveal Serenity, trembling, holding her bloodied hand. Dunban's eyes widened as they focused on the mangled limb; there were two fingers missing. The Homs ground his teeth; no doubt more suffering left in the wake of Camar's grab for power.
"Serenity!" Tyrea exclaimed. She grabbed the girl and shut the door behind her. Looking down at Serenity's crippled hand, Tyrea whispered, "What happened to you?"
"That's not important right now. You have to go rescue the Empress."
Dunban could hear the haggardness in her tone and pulled a chair over, sitting her down. "Where is she?" Dunban asked; a trace of desperation crawled into his voice.
"The staff wing. She's in one of the abandoned storage rooms. I can take you there—"
"No. You need a healer." Tyrea cut her off. "I'll take you to Miriall."
"You need to find her." Serenity shook her head.
"Don't argue with me." Tyrea narrowed her eyes. "Melia would have my head if anything happened to you."
"And the Empress told me to find you and Dunban." Serenity shot back.
"I can take her." Shalen piped up. "I know where Miriall lives."
"A good idea. This way you can go with Dunban to rescue the Empress."
Tyrea did not respond, moving her gaze away from Serenity to an interesting vase in the corner.
"Shulk. Go with them." Dunban ordered.
The Homs nodded.
"We'll go too. Shulk will need cover when returning." Kiefer said.
"Besides, I'd like to have a word with our fellow cabinet member." Songya glowered.
All the talk was making him restless. Impatient. Every second that passed was one more that Camar had the chance to remove Melia from the storage room, leaving them with no leads.
"It's decided then. James and Elrich, come with us. We will make our way to the Villa after finding Melia. Then we'll meet back here."
Murmurs of affirmation rippled through the group, all eyes on him.
"Stay out of sight as best you can. The element of surprise is all we have on our side now." Dunban warned.
Minutes later, Tyrea led the way as their group rushed down the passageways towards the staff wing. As they ran, Dunban could feel his heart pound with each step. His mind filled with memories of the High Entia woman who had captured his attention and warmed his heart. He had to find her. He would find Melia.
Because the alternative was to lose her. And that he would not do.