Story Hub: [link]
\\~~~\\
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!”
\\~~~\\
II //~~~//
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.
\\~~~\\
III //~~~//
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.
\\~~~\\
IV //~~~//
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, 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.’
\\~~~\\
V //~~~//
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…
>>>~~~~<<<
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.
