Story Hub: [link]
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I //~~~//
Maia 29th 758
Serena, Caenia, Orion, Anax, Carus, and the three princesses were led to a small side office crammed into the corner of the catwalks. They were separated from the other workers who were taken in the opposite direction. Serena desperately looked for an out to this situation. However, between the dozen identical cloaked figures moving in unison, the lanky woman commanding them, the stupidly fast, short guy, their leader, and that guy hiding above them with a sniper rifle, no such opportunity presented itself.
Once the prisoners were secured inside the office, the identical goons wasted no time binding Serena’s and her ally’s wrists and ankles with polyester rope. The only one spared was Atlanta, who just had her wrists locked in handcuffs. With that done, they stripped them of their phones and communicators, shoving them into a small sack the leader held onto. Serena was disturbed by the cloaked figures’ synchronicity. It didn’t seem rehearsed but eerily natural.
‘Whoever these thugs are, they’re not wearing cloaks for anonymity,’ Serena realized. ‘They’re following the orders of that woman commanding them too fluidly. It’s unnatural...’ Before Serena could continue this thought, the leader of the group seized Atlanta by the arm and dragged her to the far side of the office, much to Orion’s fury. Meanwhile, the lanky woman shook down Anax and yanked what looked like a bulky phone hidden in his back pocket.
“Fatso thought he was being clever,” the lanky woman handed the phone over to her leader.
“Excellent, now we can proceed as planned,” the leader smiled as he held up the phone. “A lock code? What is it?” He snapped at the administrator.
“Uh,” Anax sweated.
“The man asked you a question,” the short figure suddenly appeared beside Anax, brandishing a short blade.
“123456!” Anax blurted out. Carus shook his head in embarrassment.
“You must think we’re really stupid if you ever expected a ruse like that to-!” The short man threatened.
“It worked,” the leader huffed. “Whatever, it makes our lives easier.” He scrolled through the phone until he found what he needed. “Ah, you have Lady Aphros herself in your contacts? Good, that makes this that much quicker. Puppeteer, gag the peanut gallery, I need to make a phone call.” The lanky woman, Puppeteer, snapped her fingers, and the horde of identical goons wrapped their hands around the imprisoned group’s mouths. Serena shivered as they grabbed her. Whoever this person was, they had no body heat. They weren’t cold, just lifeless. And even through her assailant’s gloves, she could tell their fingers were unusually stiff.
‘Well, that answers one question,’ Serena commented as she struggled against her captor. Meanwhile, the leader made his call, putting it on speakerphone. It rang a few times before someone answered.
“Hello? Anax? Calling already? I thought the tour just started,” Lady Aphros’s voice came from the other side.
“Apologies, Lady Aphros, but the tour is being suspended indefinitely,” the leader replied. “Unless you’re willing to hear out our demands?”
“Who in the Lord’s name are you?” Aphros’s response was deathly serious. More so than Serena had ever heard before.
“Ah yes, we were never formally introduced,” the leader smiled, “my name’s Jasper Rosso Jr., and I’ve taken your precious princesses hostage. If you ever want to see them in one piece again, you’ll fulfill our demands. If not, then I can’t promise their safety. Isn’t that right, Your Highness?” He squeezed Atlanta’s arm and pulled her closer to the phone.
“Release me, you louse,” Atlanta said curtly.
“Atlanta? Then this guy isn’t just blowing smoke… Don’t worry, Atlanta, I’ll get all of you out of there safely, trust me,” Aphros declared. Orion struggled against his captor as he saw the princess being manhandled, but Caenia shook her head and urged him to stay down.
“The only way she’s leaving is if you answer my demands,” Jasper asserted. “We want twenty azure stone weapons, at least five swords, three hammers, two axes, and seven spears. Then, hand over five large canisters of the multiversal energy. Lastly, we want an escape vehicle, the biggest and fastest you have in your stores, but we don’t want to be followed and no trackers. Deliver all that to the power station within six hours. We’ll inspect your gifts, and if we like them, we’ll release your princesses, and if we don’t, or you take too long or try anything clever,” Jasper leaned directly over the phone, “Boom! No more power station, and no more princesses.” He hung up the phone.
“That should be good for now,” Jasper seemed pleased with himself. “I’ll them sweat it out a bit before I call back. Until then, let’s diversify our assets in case someone tries to be a hero. Puppeteer, Ninja, you’re with me. Leave the rest to watch the other princesses and the help. Even if they escape, I’m sure Sniper will deal with them swiftly.” He took a firm hold of Atlanta and dragged her out of the room. Again, Orion tried to protest, but Caenia elbowed him to keep him down. With that, Jasper, Atlanta, Puppeteer, and Ninja left the room, leaving the rest of Serena’s group alone with the dozen cloaked goons, who finally released their grasp on their prisoners. After that, the next couple minutes passed slowly as their captors reoriented themselves. Amid this shuffle, once Jasper and his cronies were assuredly gone, Caenia stood up.
“I thought he’d never leave,” she broke free from her bonds as if they were made of paper. The anonymous thugs turned to face her simultaneously as if they shared a brain. Caenia didn’t even flinch at this and started swinging. She clobbered the nearest figure with a right hook before elbowing another to her left and then kicking a third. The three she hit fell to the ground with a hollow thud, while three more moved to contain her. The remaining six attempted to secure the other hostages but failed to consider they would also be rowdy.
“Show off,” Serena muttered as she headbutted the figure who tried to restrain her and then tackled one who attempted to grab Irene.
“Get behind me, Princess,” Orion shoulder-checked the goon going after him before moving to defend the second princess from another, having slipped from his bindings like an escape artist. Anax began to panic as the remaining two thugs lunged at him and Carus. Lucky for him, Carus intercepted one of them and shoved them into their partner.
“And a one, two, three,” Caenia eliminated her three assailants with three swift strikes. “Careful, they’re armed!” She glanced back at the one Orion was confronting. The figure drew a wrist-mounted blade previously hidden under their long cloak. “It’s not human, don’t hold back!” Caenia urged.
“Huh?” Orion heard this. He bit his lip and nodded quickly as the inhuman goon stabbed at him. “Back with you,” the butler declared as he gathered magical energy into his hands and released it into a burst of force that blew his foe apart. However, rather than a gory mess, it revealed their captors were made of wood and gears.
“Figured as much,” Serena commented as she used her magic to burn through her bindings. “They’re just giant puppets…freaky.” Now freed, she finished off the two puppets she had already knocked down.
“Not the most original gimmick,” Caenia rolled her eyes as she quickly dismantled the two puppets Carus had knocked over.
“We need to go after them, Princess Atlanta is in danger!” Orion declared as he smashed the last one near him.
“Slow down, Orion,” Serena urged, “we need a plan, and before that, we need to contact the palace to get help.”
“That’s a no to both of you,” Caenia shook her head as she ensured the remaining puppets were destroyed. “If you haven’t noticed, our gracious guest Jasper took all our means of communication,” she pointed out. “And you,” she turned to Orion, “I’m not trusting you to handle a hostage situation while you’re this agitated.”
“There has to be some way to communicate around here,” Serena argued.
“Nope,” Carus chimed in, “most of our phones on site are for the internal line. We only have a few that go to the outside world because they need special shielding to function properly inside the factory. There’s a lot of interference from the energy we’re harvesting. And that Jasper guy took one of the shielded phones with him. The only other ones are locked in my office and Anax’s longu…I mean the master control room, which he took the keys to.”
“You heard him,” Caenia looked at her younger peers, “this situation just got serious, and I’m sure you’re aware mister mastermind isn’t bluffing about the explosion. I’ll handle this on my own.”
“Do you think we’re not good enough to help?” Serena challenged.
“Are you willing to bet all our lives on the chance you’re not?” Caenia countered, and Serena went silent. “I’m glad you understand. Stay here and watch the princesses. Escape if the opportunity presents itself, and you’re 100% certain you won’t get caught.” The older maid turned on her heel and left the room.
“Damn it, I hate that she’s talking sense,” Serena muttered.
“Serena, I don’t feel comfortable letting Caenia go by herself, what if…” Orion trailed off.
“Orion, we know Caenia is more capable than the both of us put together. Atlanta is in the best hands possible,” Serena admitted. “Besides, we have four people to protect, not exactly a one-person job.”
“Um…Four?” Carus asked.
“No,” a chill went up Serena’s spine, and she flipped around to do a headcount. The second princess was sitting silently in the corner, having not moved since being forced to the ground. Anax was blubbering in the corner, and Irene… “Princess Irene, why now of all times!”
Medy, Jace, Penelo, and the other workers were taken along with the rest of the plant’s meager onsite staff to a warehouse on the backside of the facility. No one was eager to play hero, as their captor’s numbers seemed to swell every time they tried to count them. That and two of the guys with rifles were leading their group of hostages, so any attempts at resistance would be terribly short-lived.
Once they had been herded into the warehouse, Medy finally took a proper headcount. There were about twenty servants from the palace, including herself, Jace, and Penelo, plus about a dozen people from the Multiversal Power Stationtm and about thirty terrorists/extremists or whatever these guys were. Which was weird since it seemed like there were roughly that many when they were first surrounded before the groups split. Where were the extra numbers coming from?
“You got everything secure here, Port?” One of the armed thugs asked the other.
“Yeah, I’ve got it, Starboard. Go ahead and secure your position,” the thug, Port, nodded. Starboard scanned the warehouse with his eyes (and rifle) one last time before exiting on his own, his presence replaced by three more of the cloaked thugs.
“Alright, people, no sudden movements, and I won’t have to use this,” Port waved his rifle around. “Play along now, and you just might make it out of today with all your parts intact,” he gestured to his goons, holding ropes and gags.
‘Kinky freak,’ Medy rolled her eyes as the creepy thugs began to bind all the hostages. “Jace, are you going to let this guy push us around?”
“He has a gun, Medy,” Jace whispered back, “and we’re outnumbered.”
“Come on, he can’t get all of us,” Medy insisted.
“I’m not going to be your meat shield,” Jace refused. “I say we just lay low, and hope for the palace to come save us. I’m not going to be the guy who convinces their boss to blow the joint with all of us in it. So, forget about-”
“Waaaggh!!!” Penelo roared and charged Port. He pulled his gun up in her direction, but never expected her to be so fast. She tackled him to the ground and smashed up his rifle and then his face. The room went silent except for Port’s wails of pain. Even the creepy thugs paused as if processing this sudden turn of events like a network of overworked computers.
“Everybody, riot!” Medy exclaimed as she jumped on the nearest thug and beat on them until she realized they were just a giant animate puppet. “They’re not human!”
Emboldened, all the other workers from the palace rose up against their leaderless captors and attacked. It was not a pretty sight, but with Penelo on their side, the battle went in the worker’s favor. They won without casualty, but not without injuries.
“Yeah!” Penelo ripped one of the puppets in half while screaming in victory. Medy and Jace watching from nearby.
“I like her,” Medy commented.
“She’s insane. She’s an idiot who could have gotten herself killed,” Jace pointed out.
“But she didn’t,” Medy shrugged, “besides, she’s a useful idiot, it seems.” Medy grinned widely.
“You’ve got that insidious look again. I don’t like it,” Jace turned away to observe the rest of the workers. A lot of them got beaten up or suffered deep cuts from the puppet’s weapons. Among the other seventeen palace workers, at least eight weren’t going anywhere. They weren’t about to die, but they wouldn’t be fighting or even running. “I still say we should lay low and not get involved. We, uh, got injured, so we should stay here and help them. You got medical training, right Medy?”
“I would, but Penelo just ran out the door,” Medy gestured to the exit, which had a Penelo-shaped hole in it now. “Wouldn’t want her to get us all in trouble now, right? Alert the big bad and get us blown sky high?”
“Medy,” Jace growled. He didn’t like where this was going.
“And while we’re over there,” Medy rubbed her hands as she walked towards the door, “we can save the day right out from under those Dianes’ noses.” She cackled as she ran outside, snatching a handful of cloaks on her way out.
“Medy, wait, you remember what happened last time!” Jace ran after her. The other workers were too busy tending to their injuries and disabling the remaining puppets to notice the three left.
Giles had been stuck in his hiding place for at least half an hour. The last thing of note he saw was a brief glimpse of those evildoers leading a massive group of new hostages away, and carrying off the unconscious staff members he had already seen. With no phone reception and nowhere to go, Giles concluded he had screwed up way more than usual. Normally, staying in position and waiting out this disaster would be the safest course of action. However, his legs were starting to cramp from his awkward hiding place, so Giles figured acting now was better than waiting for his legs to give out.
There was only one of those goons hanging around now. He had just entered the door a few moments ago, replacing his cloaked compatriot, and was now watching the area. However, he was facing away from Giles’s hiding place because it was a dead end. Sensing an opportunity, Giles searched for something that would aid him.
‘Oh, that’s a weighty piece of pipe…I hope,’ Giles spotted a rusty pipe forgotten in the corner with him. It seemed this corner was a small dumping ground for miscellaneous junk. ‘This is such a stupid idea, but hey, I either die now on my own terms, or I die in ten minutes when I accidentally sneeze.’ The reporter snuck up behind his target. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s had to use stealth around dangerous characters, but this was the first one with a rifle.
“Stupid radio, I think the knob is jammed,” the thug muttered to himself as he fiddled with the device. Oblivious to Giles’s presence.
‘Here goes nothing,’ Giles brought the pipe down on the other man’s head and connected with a loud thump.
“Ow! The hell?” The thug screamed. “Port, this is not the time to be roughhousing!”
‘Ah crap,’ Giles swung again, cracking the thug in the back.
“Gah, the heck is wrong with…? Hey, wait, are you even-?” The thug turned.
“Crap,” Giles locked eyes with the thug for a split second. A look of realization spread through the latter’s face. “To hell with it,” Giles cracked the man in the face with the pipe. Finally, he went down like a sack of bricks. “Where do they get these guys from?” Giles exclaimed.
With the nearest threat eliminated, Giles’s next thought was, ‘Now what?’ It’s not like he could run deeper into the facility and hope to miraculously save the day. He could escape and phone the authorities, but something told him running around outside might get him shot. For all he knew, there was a police barricade surrounding the station by now. Giles did notice the thug’s radio, which might prove some use to him.
“Come on, work with me,” he fiddled with the device to receive whatever messages he could.
“The First is still secured, moving to the peak to continue negotiations,” a voice crackled from the device.
“I’m about to plant the fifth package, armed in 100 seconds,” another voice replied. “Once done, I’ll proceed with phase four.”
“Acknowledged, Ninja,” the first voice responded.
‘Oh great, five things that are armed,’ Giles did not like how this was going, and what was the about the First being secured? Before he could dwell on that thought, he heard movement from outside the nearby door. ‘Should have figured,’ Giles tried to move the unconscious thug to cover his track, but the bastard was too heavy. ‘Screw it, I’ll just knock out the next one and hope he’s alone,’ Giles jumped back into his hiding place.
“Just slow down!” The door swung open, but the one opening it wasn’t speaking. It was a young man’s voice from behind them.
“Nope, not gonna wait for nothing,” the one who opened the door replied. They were wearing a cloak, and Giles swung at them instinctively.
‘Please don’t have guns,’ Giles struck true, and the pipe snapped like a twig. The person he hit turned towards him like a rotating concrete pillar.
“We’re under attack!” The figure grabbed Giles’s throat and hefted him into the air, which was really impressive, considering they were so much shorter than him.
“Penelo, wait, that’s not one of the crazy guys,” another cloaked figure, a young lady this time, rushed forward. “It’s just…some guy.”
“Oh,” the first figure dropped Giles, who had realized whoever was holding him up sounded like a prepubescent girl.
“Wait, you’re not with those terrorists/extremists/whatever?” Giles looked up.
“Hardly,” the young lady pulled down the hood of her cloak to reveal she was a brunette with a ponytail. “We’re the ones who are going to save the day,” she proclaimed.
“Medy, please stop saying that,” the young man sighed.
Serena spun around and scanned the room. It had been far too long since she took her attention off the princess, and that little girl could be halfway to Mars by now. Her heart sank when she spotted the child through a window galivanting on the steel beams connecting the network of catwalks just outside the office. It didn’t help matters that they were technically on the second floor. Irene was dancing on narrow paths almost one story above the solid concrete floor.
“Princess Irene, you get back here this instant,” the maid commanded as she ran for the door.
“But Serena, what about Caenia’s orders?” Orion tried to stop her.
“I am following her orders, I’m going to keep Irene safe,” Serena countered. “Just take the others to safety, Orion. Escape while you can. Lord knows Irene is about to make a lot of noise.” She raced out the door and after her ward.
“This is not good,” Orion murmured.
“How did she even get out of here?” Anax pointed out. The administrator watched the cartoonish spectacle of Serena chasing Irene between the catwalks with a mix of awe and confusion. “And what did she mean about making noise?”
“Well, Her Highness tends to…” Orion trailed off, not wanting to incriminate the princess. “Serena is right. We should escape,” he changed the subject. “Are there any good routes from here to the outside?” He turned to Carus
“Only to locked doors that we no longer have the keys to since Jasper took them just now,” the engineer answered. “There should be spares, but I don’t think we can safely access them considering the situation.”
“I can take care of that,” Orion assured, “but how to do it stealthily with four people?” He pondered for a moment until he noticed the second princess come into his vision. The quiet girl raised her hand as if she had an idea.
\\~~~\\ //~~~//
Serena raced after Irene, attempting to make as little noise as possible to avoid alerting their enemies, which was a fool’s errand on the metal catwalks. Irene was treating the excursion just like any other of their chases through the palace, the threat on their lives from mere minutes ago all but forgotten. Serena struggled to keep up with the princess while avoiding the patrolling puppets. Thankfully, it seemed they didn’t react to sound and were more proximity-based.
“Irene,” Serena half-yelled as she realized she and the princess were on a collision course with a trio of puppets.
“Whassup?” Irene turned around and stuck her tongue out, allowing Serena to run up and grab the child and pull them both into a crevice below the catwalks. The patrolling puppets glided right past them, prompting Serena to let out a muted sigh of relief.
“Princess Irene, we need to-” Serena turned to scold her ward, but the princess was already gone. “How? I was holding you!”
“This way!” Irene bounced across the catwalks.
“Princess, please, this is not the time. We need to get as far away from here as possible,” Serena pleaded. “If we don’t, we’ll-” a chill went up her spine, as her danger sense went into high alert. It was a disturbingly familiar feeling that the maid knew by heart. She was being watched. Unfortunately for Serena,[1] she could immediately tell when a sniper had their sights trained on her, and she knew that there was a sniper in the building.
‘Damn, damn, damn,’ Serena doubled-timed it after Irene. She had no idea where this guy was and wasn’t about to give him time to get a clear shot. However, she also knew if this Sniper was anything like the other two freaks, that wouldn’t be enough to save her from a bullet.
\\~~~\\ //~~~//
Caenia deftly ascended the catwalks of the Multiversal Power Stationtm. The puppets proved to be nothing more than a nuisance for her, although avoiding them and the Sniper’s perception was quite the pain. Luckily for Caenia, Jasper had to use the catwalks and staircases to transport Atlanta upstairs, allowing her to catch up. The fact he was now lacking his entourage seemed to be a pleasant surprise on the surface, but Caenia knew better.
‘I’d love to just pounce him right now, grab her royal pain-in-the-ass and run,’ Caenia mused, ‘but then eagle eye would see it and try to put in a bullet in me. I don’t know what kind of rifle he’s packing, and I don’t feel like finding out the hard way.’ The maid watched as Jasper dragged Atlanta into a moderate-sized office overlooking the entire station interior. It was box-shaped and had windows on all sides, likely the master control room Carus was talking about.
‘I bet he thinks he’s invincible as long as he’s hiding in there. Makes my job easier,’ Caenia grinned as she ascended to the top layer of catwalks and approached the room. She spotted eight of the patrolling puppets, in pairs of two, move to cover each of the control room’s four entrances. If one were careless in eliminating those threats, the windows would give Jasper a clear view of anyone approaching. ‘How cute, he’s covering all his bases,’ the maid scoffed as she considered the best angle of attack. However, a distinct sensation traveled through her body, making all her hair stand on end. Someone was watching her, and it wasn’t the Sniper.
‘Strange, it’s not eagle eye, and it doesn’t feel like the shorty or little miss Muffet either,’ Caenia commented. ‘Well, seems like we have a serious contender here today. Better save the damsel in distress before I have to deal with him, or this could get ugly.’
While they got off to a rocky start, Giles quickly tried to become acquainted with the trio of Jace, Medy, and Penelo. Mostly because Penelo scared the ever-living heck out of him, and he didn’t want to remain on her bad side.
“Please, let’s start over. I’m Giles, a reporter for the Velvet Chamber,” he introduced himself.
“How did you even get into the facility?” Jace eyed him with suspicion.
“An unlocked gate and an unlocked door,” Giles answered. “I assume the extremists opened them on their way in, and I had the misfortune of following in their wake.”
“And why were you sneaking into the facility?” Jace raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, so he is a bad guy?” Penelo looked ready to continue her attack, which made Giles flinch.
“He’s obviously looking for a scoop, like all the other ‘intrepid reports’ out there,” Medy chuckled. “Well, here’s your story, ‘trio of everyday workers save all three princesses while the Diane family flounders.”
“Medy, seriously, I also want to get one over those three, but now is not the time,” Jace urged.
“Puh-leeze,” Medy rolled her eyes, “I’m opportunistic, not stupid. I won’t attack them just to get the credit, I’m not you.”
“First off, I learned my lesson after last time,” Jace snapped, “second off, that was your idea in the first place!”
“I don’t dwell on the past,” Medy brushed him off, much to Jace’s exasperation.
‘Oh great, I’ve really got my work cut out for me,’ Giles looked at the trio like the lunatics they were. “Listen, I’ve got the extremist’s radio right here. We can listen in on their communications.”
“Well, that’s the best news I’ve heard all day,” Medy beamed as she looked down at the radio still attached to Starboard. “Jace, tie this guy up, won’t you?” Medy ordered as she pried the radio off the thug.
“Do this, Jace, do that,” the blonde muttered as he repurposed some spare rope Starboard kept on his person to bind the man.
“So, what have you heard already?” Medy fiddled with the radio.
“Something about securing the First, and a fifth package being armed,” Giles answered.
“Sounds like they’ve taken a special interest in Princess Atlanta,” Medy murmured, “oh, and those packages must be the explosives.”
“Explosives?” Giles shuddered.
“Yep, they threatened to blow up the whole facility if we fought back, so we’ll just have to take that advantage away,” Medy declared. “But first, let’s see what else they’re up to.” The four of them listened in on the radio, picking up bits and pieces about where the bombs were and the movements of their enemies. Then Jasper got on the radio…
\\~~~\\ //~~~//
Jasper shoved Atlanta to the corner of the master control room. It was oddly luxurious and personalized for what should be the brain of a major power station. Jasper knocked all the personal effects (which contained a suspicious number of pictures of Anax fishing) off the main desk before pointing a pistol in the princess’s direction.
“Get in your corner, Your Highness, and no sudden moves,” the extremist threatened. “I’m not afraid to return you as damaged goods.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Atlanta sat down with a huff, not the least bit intimidated by a gun being pointed in her direction. “I know the drill. This isn’t my first kidnapping,” the young woman dropped her usual faux politeness.
“Royalty,” Jasper shook his head and turned his attention to his radio. “Idiot, are you in position?”
“Umm, Yes?” The Idiot answered.
“Where are you?” Jasper snapped.
“By the main reactor…I think?” The Idiot mumbled back.
“You moron, you’re supposed to be at the second-floor security station!” Jasper exclaimed. In his fury, he unconsciously turned towards Atlanta, exposing his back to the windows on the side he had entered from. Thus, he failed to notice Caenia swiftly eliminating the two puppets guarding that door. A detail Atlanta did not miss.
“No way, there’s a bomb over there,” the Idiot refused.
“Idiot! You know we have a code for a reason. Don’t go spouting out all the locations,” Jasper yelled.
“It’s not like anyone can listen in,” the Idiot brushed him off.
“We don’t know that for a fact, so zip it and get into position,” Jasper ordered. “I only let you in on this operation as a favor to your brother. Remember that.”
“Sure thing, boss,” the Idiot replied meekly.
“That’s what I get for doing people favors,” Jasper grumbled, “Port, Starboard, what’s your status?...Port...? Starboard…? Answer me, damn it!”
‘Cool, this guy might set the record for quickest kidnapping fumble in New Celene history,’ Atlanta thought as she watched Caenia remove the other puppets surrounding the master control room.
\\~~~\\ //~~~//
“…Port…? Starboard…? Answer me damn it!” Jasper’s voice crackled out of the radio, leaving Medy, Jace, and Giles wondering what they should do (Penelo was there, too, but she was staring off into space).
“Great, our cover’s blown already. Let’s get out of here before he blows the joint,” Jace exclaimed
“No, we can’t quit already,” Medy refused.
“I have an idea,” Giles announced, kicking the radio under a nearby wooden pallet. ‘Please let this ruse work,’ Giles hoped as he reached through the pallet to enable the radio. “Sorry, Boss, dropped the radio into something, still trying to reach it,” the reporter did his best (read: terrible) impression of Starboard.
“I told you to secure that thing properly,” Jasper scolded, “but nobody listens to…wait, what’s with your voice?”
“Stupid thing must not be workin’ right. It looks cracked,” Giles lied.
“Must be really bad because it sounds like you have a terrible accent, or you’re cutting out like mad,” Jasper replied, “I’m starting to think-” Giles’s heart dropped as he thought the jig was up.
“Jasper, I have two in my sights,” the Sniper came on the radio, “it seems we have some runaways.” The whole group breathed a sigh of relief as their cover wasn’t blown, then they thought for a moment and realized that someone else’s cover was.
“All five packages are still secure, but I just checked and it seems at least several of my puppets have been destroyed,” the Puppeteer added. “I’m currently deducing which ones.”
“No need, I see who’s responsible,” the Ninja declared.
“We’re doomed,” Jace went pale, “one of them sees us!”
“Wait, she said several, not dozens,” Medy noticed, “does that mean those Diane nitwits are already up to something?”
“No fair, they’re stealing all the fun,” Penelo huffed.
“That’s not important,” Medy shook her head, “that means we can still save the day from under their nose. Let’s find those bombs!”
\\~~~\\
VI //~~~//
Serena rushed to grab Irene, her danger sense at full blast. She tackled the young princess into a hiding spot behind a pillar right as the sound of a gunshot ripped through the catwalks. The maid looked back to see a vicious hole torn in the metal mesh of the catwalk directly behind them. Had she been a second later…
“I was hoping I would never be back in this situation,” Serena commented as she clutched Irene to her chest. The little girl had frozen in Serena’s arms, finally aware of how close the danger had come. “Princess, please stay with me. We can’t be carelessly moving around.”
“Serena,” Irene looked up at her caretaker, “he’s moving.”
“What?” Serena felt that deathly chill come over her again. Her body started moving before her mind had fully processed the situation. Which worked to her advantage, as another bullet struck right where she had just been.
\\~~~\\ //~~~//
Caenia stood atop the master control room, ready to dive in, take out Jasper, and save Atlanta in one fell swoop. However, before she could find her point of entry, her danger sense went off, and she sidestepped the slashing arc of a short blade. The maid turned to face her assailant, seeing the Ninja sheathing his sword but remaining in a fighting stance.
“Oh, it’s you, Speedy,” Caenia cracked her knuckles. “Don’t get your hopes up just because you blitzed the kid earlier. I’m in a different league.”
“I’m well aware of the infamous Caenia,” the Ninja replied. “I’m eager to defeat a prodigy such as yourself.”
“A fan, huh?” Caenia chuckled, “I’m flattered, but that won’t save you from the beating of a lifetime.”
“Your arrogance shall be your downfall, child of Po-” the Ninja began, but he was interrupted by a full-speed strike from Caenia. He deftly dodged the blow, but not without her fist grazing his cheek.
“Don’t ever say that name in front of me,” Caenia gave him a look that could kill, “and don’t you ever relate me to her if you ever want to walk again.”
‘Looks like I struck a nerve,’ the Ninja noted as he prepared his counterattack.
\\~~~\\ //~~~//
At first, Giles felt like things were looking up. Three warriors from the palace who had disguised themselves as regular servants had come right to him. With their help, he didn’t have to worry about getting the scoop of a lifetime. He was about to save the day. Medy’s insistence on “saving it from under those Diane servant’s noses” certainly gave him pause, but who was he to get between the rivalries of worker families. However, now the extremists were on high alert, and so were their thugs.
“Those things again!” Jace stated as a group of cloaked figures attacked the group.
“They’re just puppets. We can go wild fighting them,” Medy commented.
“My opponents being inhuman does not make me feel better,” Jace countered.
“Let’s get ‘em!” Penelo shouted as she charged the puppets.
‘If I survive this, I’m apologizing to Theo,’ Giles promised himself as the puppets grew exponentially in number.
To be Continued…
[1] Or fortunately, depending on your perspective. But Serena is not a fan of the fact she keeps being shot at.
>>>~~~~<<<
As a situation spirals out of control it may seem impossible to contain and you may want to panic. But never fear, management is on your side and as long as you maintain your good senses and follow directions everything will work out.
Author's Note: Another step forward in this story, the characters are in position and the battles will now begin. Now we're onto the crux of the action for this...let's call it a 'battle arc.' These chapters move back to the storytelling and tone of the first arc, intrigue, conspiracy, danger and an action climax. As much fun as I was having with the lighter tone of the last volume, I needed to move the story forward and get the characters out of the palace again. I'll say more as we get deeper into the story, after all, there's still someone we've seen who is unaccounted for right now.
Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy.
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