Kaizu sliced through the hinges on the main-front entrance in an impressive display of dexterity. Her training had been paying off, and she was starting to handle her chained-daggers masterfully. Jaid and Tize each kicked down one of the large doors, and then she quickly retreated behind his shield.
As expected, there was a party waiting to ambush them. A hail of bullets came their way, the shooters hiding behind cover down the hall. Chorus joined Tize up at the front, summoning their impenetrable wardrobe to serve as a second shield. The pair pushed forward with the others trailing close behind. Once in range, Roque stole their weapons, and then he, along with Tize and Chorus, started laying down suppressing fire.
Jaid dashed forward into the middle of the group of mercs and slammed down her sword, repeating a move she’d used against Nachi in their fight. After hoisting herself up off the ground, the floor around her swirled with static, shocking everyone nearby. Most were taken down by the electricity alone, but Jaid started bashing the heads of those that didn’t with the broad side of her sword.
The others caught up, helping her finish off those that remained, and then Chorus bound them all. From there, Kaizu split up from the group, starting to drag the restrained mercenaries back to the front. It was really against Jaid’s better judgment to leave her alone with them. There would almost certainly be evil among them. To have a serial-killer be the one securing them, who specifically targeted such people, was borderline idiotic.
However, it made the most sense for the composition of the team. Kaizu didn’t really have a role in their upcoming formation, and claimed that she was exceedingly experienced with moving bodies delicately. It had to be true if she disposed of so many corpses without ever getting caught, so the task was reluctantly left to her. She’d also be slithering around in the meantime, making sure no Wukadai slipped through the cracks.
The other four went room-by-room, clearing them out one at a time. It always started with Tize bashing the door in with his shield to make sure they were sufficiently protected from any more ambushes. After that, Tize would slide his shield slightly to allow just enough of a crack for Jaid to slot in her sword.
In such an enclosed space, her shower of static would encompass the entire room, swallowing up any inside regardless of how they tried to hide or defend themselves. Jaid was thankful that she’d restocked on ammo for her railgun before this mission. Her private training and fight with Nachi had left her low. She’d been greeted by a slightly smug smile when she went back to Nathym’s workshop to restock.
They were using her static discharge in every room of this place to be safe, even if there were no Wukadai in plain sight. It was surprising how craftily the little rascals could hide. One was even up in a chandelier. No one had spotted them and Jaid had admittedly jumped a little when her limp body thumped to the floor.
Roque would also steal any weapons while this was happening. While his Curse could work through walls or behind corners, it didn’t work if he didn’t know the weapon existed. So, he’d have to be made aware of it first before he could tuck them away in his contract.
Chorus would then perform their duty of wrapping them up like a lovely Boon Day present and placing them in a convenient spot for Kaizu to retrieve. Their team composition really was incredibly effective.
Nachi had done an impeccable job picking them out for this mission. Every person complimented the rest, and there was something to say for their mentalities as well. Some of the younger, more inexperienced members may have not been able to handle the stress and meticulousness required for this mission. At the very least, there probably would have been a lot more collateral.
There was a debate forming in Jaid’s mind about whether it’d make more sense for Nachi to be the one in charge of the organization instead of Drim, if this was how she’d continue to handle things and lead. She could even go toe-to-toe with him in a fight. However, as the major counter-argument, Drim had done something to impress someone as capable as Nachi, someone whose loyalty couldn’t be so easily won. That alone spoke volumes.
Jaid put it out of her mind as they carried on with the mission. Clearing rooms was taking them almost no time at all, so it wouldn’t be long before the job was done. They received the most resistance in the barracks, but even that had been trivial. Some had hid up on their bunk beds, but the metal bed frames had just made it that much easier for them to be subdued.
As they walked the halls, they’d bumped into the occasional lone member—eerily confused as to what was going on. This is where the copied uniforms really came in handy. It lowered their guards while they took a moment to process who everyone was or even reassured them enough that they'd approach of their own free will. A glimmer of familiarity amidst chaos really was an effective way to prey on their minds.
In the kitchen, a Wukadai had set up a trap for knives to swing down as soon as the door was opened, but they bounced pitifully off of Tize’s shield. The mercenary who set the trap surrendered after that, but Jaid still zapped the room, finding another merc lying in wait if they’d taken the bait.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
The smell of burnt food flooded the air after that. However, one delicious smell of fruit cut through it. Jaid tracked it down to a pie that was entirely black on the outside. However, the inside was perfectly warm and fresh. The three Fiends partook as a snack break, but Tize remained vigilant.
Nothing of note happened for the rest of the clear. When the group had circled back to the entrance, they counted 60 captured mercenaries—all somewhat surprisingly still alive. It was well within the estimated amount, but they decided to do another sweep. Plus, Kaizu wasn’t around so they needed to find her as well.
The four of them split into two pairs so they could cover more ground. Chorus had gone with Jaid and Tize with Roque to ensure that both pairs had someone who could hold a defense in an emergency. In the fortress’ library, Jaid and Chorus found things looking a little off compared to the last time they’d been in the room, so they poked around.
It didn’t take them long to find a bookshelf where all the other books had been knocked off except one: ‘The Fools Guide to Hidden Passages’. They really had been fools to be subverted by something so cliche. After a quick tug, the bookshelf slid away revealing a staircase heading down.
A quick peek inside and they couldn’t see the bottom of the stairway. However, an unmistakable sound echoed up from down below: frantic hurried steps racing down the stairs. “Jaid,” a quick whisper from Chorus to her side affirmed what she needed to do.
“On it,” Jaid sheathed her sword since it would only be an encumbrance as she tried to maneuver down the narrow stairs. A blitz of Jaids spawned down the spiral staircase, one step at a time. She had to stop around what she assumed was halfway since the experience was making her absurdly dizzy. The footsteps had stopped, though, so she couldn’t rest for long.
When she made it down the bottom, she found herself blocked by a metal-barred door that led out onto a dock. There she saw a Wukadai desperately trying to start a speedboat. This explained at least how they’d been able to come and go without being caught by the country, besides the alleged hole in a fence.
The boat’s engine finally revved, prompting Jaid to rush. She shoved a hand through the bars and created a clone on the other side. After taking it over, Jaid rushed to the end of the dock. The boat hadn’t gotten far, but it was still out of reach. It didn’t matter how fast Jaid made her clones, they’d still sink to the bottom of the sea in an instant.
She unsheathed and aimed her sword to fire a railgun shot for a moment but quickly reconsidered. While there was a good chance the boat would just sink if she hit the framework, she couldn’t risk blowing up the whole damn thing. Instead, Jaid shifted the sword back to normal and winded back her shoulder as far as it would go. She only had one shot.
The sword soared through the air like an expertly thrown javelin. It pierced directly into the engine of the back of the boat. A few sparks flew, but thankfully there were no explosions, and the boat came to a dead standstill in the water. While the immediate urgency had subsided, the task still wasn’t complete.
Jaid still had to make it over to the boat and bring the mercenary back to shore. Swimming was out of the question with how choppy the water was. She briefly considered making a step-ladder of clones to wade across, but didn’t know how deep the water was since she couldn’t see the bottom. And if one clone drowned, they all drowned.
More inspiration came back from Jaid’s fight with Nachi: how she’d use clones to get up and above her to kick her to the ground. First, Jaid made four more clones around herself to create a solid base. Then, one sprouted up on her shoulders, then another on that one’s shoulders.
However, instead of straight up, they spawned in at an angle, forming a great, muscle-straining arch all the way over to what was now floating scrap. Jaid had to act fast the moment she touched down into the back of the boat. The Wukadai mercenary had pulled out a paddle to resume their fleeting attempt at fleeing. Now that they’d been boarded, they’d switched tactics and swung the paddle at Jaid.
In a feat of brute strength, Jaid punched straight through the wooden oar, smashing the paddle and sending splintering fragments in every direction. Her punch didn’t stop there, carrying straight through to the merc, downing him in a single shot to the side of his face.
After retrieving her sword from the still slightly sparking engine, Jaid began to consider how to return to shore. There was no way it’d start back up now, not that she’d even want to take the risk to try, and it seemed she’d ruined the only paddle on-board.
Her tactic to get there seemed the most logical, so why not go with what worked? It just required a slight change in tactic. Instead of becoming the clone who landed on the dock, Jaid had that clone take a few steps forward to reel in the line of clones and the boat with it. Once the next clone had firm footing, the first vanished, and this repeated until the boat was safely back to shore.
“Close one. Wasn’t it, Jaid?” A voice caused Jaid to whirl around as she hoisted the collapsed body back to shore. Fortunately, she recognized the voice, or she would’ve had to drop the body and ready her sword again. Xard was lounging on some nearby rocks just a few feet away from the docks. Given how relaxed and settled-in he looked, he’d likely been there for some time.
Sensing her surprise, he explained, “I noticed this place when I was scouting the area. Figured it was the place you all would most likely miss. So, I’ve been hanging around ready to clean up the mess if need be. But fortunately, you managed to catch the bastard before I had to step in. Good work.”
“And let me guess…” Jaid was more annoyed than reassured. “You didn’t tell us about it since it would fall on us to find it if we were on our own.”
“Yup,” Xard didn’t mince words. “You’re learning. Since you’ve got this area secured, I’ll go scout around again.” He then blasted off without offering so much as a helping hand to carry the merc back up all those Cosdamned stairs.