Jack blinked, the blinding light settling, all eyes cast to the source of the flash as the music subsided.
Immediately Jack's blood ran cold, his face going blank beneath his mask as he eyed an all too familiar woman on the band’s stage wearing a Jester’s outfit with a smiling white mask adorning her head.
“What? What's wrong?” Ada asked as Sahaqiel disappeared.
“Do you remember what Selfia was wearing?”
“Hm? Y-yes. What's-” Ada let out before tracking Jack's eyes that were focused on the insignia of a pawn on the Jester's mask. “Fuck.”
“Go find her. Now.”
“Ok,” Ada nodded and took off, melting into the crowd to find the Queen as all of the guests focused on the performer who had enraptured them with her entrance.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” The Jester said, bowing, her slender white gloved hands moving in an exaggerated manner. “It is my pleasure to put on a killer performance.”
Jack frowned, tensing up, the woman waving her hands and summoning a crystal violin in one hand whilst her other held an ornate rapier-like blade with a string fixed to either end.
How the hell did they get in here? This place is supposed to be guarded. Jack looked around, eyeing the numerous guests that hung around the ballroom but seeing none of his gold-armored cousins.
The hell?
Alarm bells rang under Jack's skin, the enormity of what was about to happen making him catch his breath as he debated on what to do.
According to the dossier, the Jester worked with a partner, so if the Jester was here, that meant the Man Maid was too, an explosives expert that with one attack could turn this entire palace full of people into a bonfire.
“Fuck,” Jack muttered under his breath. Obviously, a statement was being made. And now Jack was here with no support, no back up, a hundred hostages that made up the bulk of Selfia's powerbase in her empire. “Where the fuck is everyone?”
Suddenly, the Jester began to strum her violin, a sharp crescendo stabbing at Jack's ears in a way that annoyed his Awakened senses but captured the attention of the entire audience.
The Jester played her violin, harmonic sounds echoing through the hall as the red eyes beneath her white mask affixed on Jack, almost as if she knew… no. She did. Despite his disguise, she knew who he was immediately, her gaze focused on him.
Music flooded the ballroom, despite the lack of a band, an orchestra sounded, a symphony of music that Jack admittedly would have enjoyed if not for the pretense of how he was hearing it.
[You have Resisted the Maestro’s Music]
Jack blinked, the notification touching his senses as the guests around him became entranced and began to move in tune with the music.
All around Jack, the guests had fallen sway to the Pawn’s performance, the crowd turned into an ocean of moving bodies that danced under the spell of the Jester.
Jack was a lone island, the only one unmoving, the only one staring at the woman who's music began to grow in tempo as mana caressed Jack's skin.
Suddenly the ballroom lost all light, the chandelier above shutting off and casting the room in darkness.
All around Jack, the sounds of dancing and music continued to flood the room, not a single soul reacting to the loss of vision.
“JACK!”
Jack spun, leaning left, avoiding a spectral blue blade as it stabbed at him from behind.
Giggling echoed through the darkness, followed by dozens of magical sigils pulsing in tune with the music.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Jack casted fira, his palm peeling awy the darkness as bodies continued to dance around him.
Immediately Jack put his gaze towards the stage, yet the Jester was no longer there and activating angel eyes blinded him due to the mana that coated the room.
“I'm afraid that won't work,” A giggling voice sounded, confirming Jack's fears that they had made a countermeasure to his eyes.
“Fuck…” Jack let out as dozens of magical sigils casted their spells.
*****
“Kamila!” Ada let out, bursting into the kitchen where the woman coated in flour looked up in alarm.
Suddenly the power gave out, casting the kitchen darkness as a headache touched her mind.
[You have Resisted the Maestro’s Music]
Ada winced, clutching her head as a snarl sounded out.
Without warning, Ada was abruptly being accosted, a pair of hands grappling at her, tearing at her dress in an attempt to pull her down.
Yet she was an awakened, the feeble hands of normal people no match against her strength.
Ada shoved the pair back before casting her skill guiding light, the bolt of mana illuminating, to her horror, Jena and Yun rabid, the two charged at her again as Kamila screamed, yelling at Tyrah to get off of her.
The pair of bodyguards charged Ada, both attempting to bring her down which she easily avoided, the two crashing into various kitchen appliances. For a moment, her heart nearly stopped, thinking the two were corrupted, yet her brain immediately connected their actions with the notification she had received earlier.
That Pawn! It casted a skill on them! Ada frowned before immediately pivoting on her feet and grabbing the pair of humans by their throat, the pair scratching and clawing that ceased as she activated Soothe.
As if a switch had been hit, the two guards began to sputter, cough, before Ada let them go.
“What… the fuck?” Jena let out, the sarcastic soldier glaring up at Ada.
“Ow my heeead,” Yun cried.
“What the hell?” From across the room, Tyrah shook her head, Kamila also casting sooth, breaking the spell that held the other bodyguard. “Whats happening? Why is the power out?”
“We’re under attack!” Ada said quickly, gathering the attention of all those within the kitchen. “There's a pawn in the ballroom and I can’t find Selfia!”
Yun and the others quickly straightened up, untucking their shirts and pulling out guns, the trio going to work pulling out crates from under appliances and cabinets that they opened to reveal weaponry and armor.
“Where are all the other guards?” Kamila asked, shaking, the timid girl frowning as Tyrah put a bulletproof vest over her.
“Dead most likely, no one is picking up on the comms,” Jena replied, scowling as Yun shook her head.
“Communications blackout. EMP too, everything not locked in a faraday is fried and their signal jammer is blocking our signals from getting out,” Yun reported, racking the bolt on her FCS7-Fletchgun. “Do you think something happened to Captain Jin?”
“Doubtful. But if the awakened aren’t responding…” Jena shook her head, the woman now fully equipped in black armor that covered her from head to toe. “We need to get the power back on and get the calvary. Yun, stay with Lady Kamila and Ada, Tyrah and I will get the power back on.”
“Wait, hold up, you want us to stay here?” Ada asked, flabbergasted at the notion. “What about your Queen?”
“We have our orders and we’re trained for the scenario. If the awakened guards are all dead, it means they were targeted due to their mana signatures, thats why we’re here. Since we don’t have any mana, we have the element of surprise. No offense, but taking a pregnant lady and a timid medical officer into battle isn’t on my vision board,” Jena replied as she opened the door that lit up the kitchen with light. “Just as I thought, for now, we’re going to go into the basement and turn the power back on. From the looks of it, they tapped into the grid and are using it to jam our communications, but if we hit the emergency, we can broadcast a stronger signal to break their jammer.”
Orders? Ada cocked her head to the side, wondering what they meant. From the looks of it, it almost seemed as though this was all planned.
“You have command. On you,” Tyrah replied, donning her helmet, the black visor giving off a slight red glow in the darkness.
“How… can you tell that?” Ada asked.
“Because this palace operates on three different power grids in case of an attack so that the rest of the palace can be used as an evacuation shelter,” Tyrah explained before cocking her head to the side “I’m seeing alot of Xs here Jena.”
“I know…turn ours off,” Jena replied, her robotic voice coming through her helmet unable to hide her concern. “Yun, turn off your IFF.”
“Kay,” Yun replied.
“Xs?” Kamila asked, hugging Ada.
“Dead allies. All of the guards patrolling outside have IFFs that link up with friendly HUDs. Every single one of them are dead. Meaning they control the walls,” Jena reported, drawing a frightened look from Kamila. “Bastards using our own equipment against us.”
“Ready?” Tyrah asked, peeking out of the kitchen and down the hall of the well-lit hallway.
Jena nodded.
“Wait!” Ada called out, stopping the pair as they were about to leave. “I’m coming with you.”
“Absolutely not,” Jena spat, but Ada shook her head.
“I’m not giving you a choice. I may be pregnant but I’m no damn push over, and I’ll be damned if I sit here like a damsel in fucking distress while my man is fighting!” Ada yelled, shoving past the two and into the hallway. “Lets go. If you get injured or fall under a spell again, you’ll need a healer anyway.”