Moments ago, Tom and Ethan found themselves on the receiving end of an ambush. Their assailant was a thin woman with pale skin and black hair, wielding twin crescent-shaped swords. Tom psychically commanded his suit to perform a scan on their attacker, but the HUD read different tachyonic signatures.

“Whoever she is, she’s definitely connected to the breach and that crystal,” said Tom.

“Oh really, you think?” asked Ethan.

“Shut up.” Tom held the Flameblade in a defensive stance, turning his attention to the threat. “Who are you and what do you want?”

“I am Sylva, current bearer of the title Shadowblade,” she said.

“Okay Sylva, this here’s the Flameblade,” said Tom, gesturing to his flaming sword. “Last time I checked, shadows don’t hold up so well against light. So you might want to put the weapons down and have a conversation with us. No need for any further violence.”

“You’re gonna regret wasting time like this…” muttered Ethan. “She doesn’t strike me as the diplomatic type.”

Sylva lowered her arms to her sides, though she still held the crescent blades. She began to lower herself to one knee.

“See? Not everyone’s out to destroy the world, Green,” said Tom.

Something in Sylva’s eyes disturbed Ethan, though. He summoned the Aquatrident and held it at the ready. Sure enough, his suspicions quickly justified themselves. Rather than getting down on the ground, Sylva’s arms moved up in a dramatic arc. The twin blades flew from her hands, spinning like buzz-saws and cut through the air.

Ethan’s caution paid off. The blade was fast, but thanks to his quick-thinking, he could deflect it. Tom didn’t prove so lucky—the second blade caught him by surprise and he had no time to deflect. An attempt to evade the blade wasn’t enough, and it cut across his shoulder, sending sparks flying.

Tom recoiled, pulling back the shoulder. His HUD blared a warning for an incoming projectile from the rear. Spinning on his heel, Tom saw the blade had reversed course and came at him for another strike. It then split off into half a dozen duplicates. Tom’s eyes widened behind his visor and he tried to deflect all six of the flying blades with his sword.

He managed to strike a little more than half, but the last two still hit their mark—one cutting across his torso and the other his arm.

All six blades converged back on their mistress, and she reached up and grabbed one. The other five vanished, dissolving into black smoke. She waved her free hand and the blade Ethan had deflected flew back into her waiting palm.

Sylva struck the butt of each hilt together. They merged into one, transforming into a double-bladed sword.

“Is it a violation of protocol to tell the leader ‘I told you so’?” asked Ethan.

“Fuck off,” said Tom, grunting as he got back to his feet. He patched into the Quantum Group’s communication network. “Control, Red Knight transmitting. We’ve encountered some unexpected resistance down here, might be in need of some back-up.”

“Ahh yes, the Omega dog calls to his master,” said Sylva. “I wonder, what did the Quantum Group promise you for your servitude and silence? Riches? Accolades? Women?”

“Definitely not the last one, I’ll tell you that much,” said Tom.

“How does she know about the Quantum Group? Isn’t that supposed to be a secret?” asked Ethan. “And I thought these monsters were all mindless creatures?”

“Perhaps there’s much your masters don’t tell you, puppy,” said Sylva.

“Okay, then how about a deal?” asked Tom. “We all put down our weapons and you educate us on what we don’t know?”

“I imagine that would require more time and energy than I’m willing to spare,” said Sylva.

Ethan gave a chuckle. “I think she just called you stupid, Red.”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“That’s pretty rude of her. Maybe I should do something about that.”

Tom brought his legs together and held the sword right in front of him, the blade pointing towards the sky. His muscles tensed and he lowered his head, focusing all his energy on the Flameblade. The metal absorbed the flames surrounding it and it turned bright yellow, glowing with the heat building up inside. Tom leaped into the air and spun, swinging the sword down towards Sylva. He held it in a reverse-grip and descended like a meteor. The blade didn’t strike Sylva, but it hit the spot right in front of her, generating a massive explosion.

Ethan recoiled, instinctively holding his hands up to defend himself. A deafening sound punctuated the explosion. As the smoke cleared, Ethan saw Tom kneeling in the center of a newly formed crater. The sword had cooled, the blade embedded in the ground. Tom’s hands were wrapped around the hilt.

No trace of Sylva.

Tom leaned on the sword to pull himself up. He drew it from the ground and shook the dirt loose from it. Ethan went to the edge of the crater and looked in.

“Holy shit, what was that?”

“We can channel our powers in pretty extreme ways. Though the bigger the attack, the longer the cooldown.” Tom glanced around. “You see where she went?”

Ethan shook his head. “I think you might’ve vaporized her, man.”

Tom sighed. Some of what Sylva had said sparked his curiosity. He wished he could have learned more about her story. But he supposed he could choose no other path.

The same cackle from before returned. Tom looked around, using his suit’s sensors to try to pick up something. A shimmer of light and Sylva appeared at the edge of the crater, just behind Ethan.

“Green, look o—” Tom had tried to warn.

Sylva’s actions were faster than his words. She sliced across Ethan’s back with her double-bladed sword. Ethan’s back arched forward, the momentum from Sylva’s blow sending him into the crater beside Tom.

Ethan hit the ground and Tom examined the wounds. The armor had defended Ethan well enough and the nanites had already begun repairing the surface damage.

“I’m sorry, was that pathetic display of power the best you could muster?” asked Sylva with a laugh.

“Control, this is Red Knight once again requesting back-up,” said Tom. “I think we might be looking at a Level 2 at least.”

“We read you, Red. There’s a bit of a situation we’re also dealing with at the moment, so we’re going to need you to hang in for a little longer,” came Marcus’s voice over the comm.

“What sort of situation is that?” asked Tom.

“Blue Knight has been incapacitated. We’ll dispatch Yellow and Purple as soon as possible but until then, you and Green will have to do this on your own.”

Tom felt shock at Marcus’s story. How the hell did Rachel end up incapacitated?

“What’s the word?” asked Ethan.

“Just us for a little longer,” said Tom. “You up for it?”

Ethan held his trident in both hands and glanced up at Sylva, then back to Tom before nodding. The two Knights leapt from the crater, flipping over Sylva’s head and landing behind her. She kept her back to them both and separated her double-bladed sword, returning to the twin crescent blade configuration.

“Come on, give me a real fight,” she said, still facing in the opposite direction.

Ethan rushed forward, thrusting the Aquatrident at Sylva’s back. She dodged to the left, moving so fast with an image trail left in her wake. Sylva swung her blade, hooking it between the trident’s tines. She used her strength to force the trident onto the ground.

With his grip on the trident, Ethan bent in the same direction. He tried to raise it up, but Sylva was definitely stronger than she looked. Sylva then executed a perfect axe kick, throwing Ethan’s head back. He lost his grip and fell, the trident clattering to the ground.

Sylva sheathed her crescent blades and kicked the trident. It flew into her waiting hands. Before Ethan could get off the ground, Sylva put a booted foot on his chest and forced him down. She held the trident poised over his helmet and tapped the visor.

“Are you prepared to answer for the Quantum Group’s crimes?” she asked.

“Lady, I have no clue what the hell you’re talking about!” said Ethan. “I just got this job.”

“A pity then. Nothing but a lamb your masters have thrown to the slaughter.” Sylva raised the trident up. “No matter.”

Tom attacked Sylva from behind, slashing at her back. She lurched forward and rolled on the ground, dropping the Aquatrident. Tom offered a hand to Ethan, who accepted it and stood. Ethan grabbed his weapon and brought it back to bear.

“Doesn’t feel so good when someone hits you from behind, does it?” asked Tom.

Sylva jumped to her feet and drew her crescent blades. She slid one leg forward and bent the other, holding the swords in an attack stance. Before she could launch her next attack, the ground started to violently quake. She stumbled and struggled to maintain her footing.

Tom smiled beneath his helmet. “I’m guessing that’s the cavalry calling.”

Flashes of purple and yellow came out of nowhere. and Sylva realized that two more Knights had joined the fray. Alexa drew the Zephyrwhip and threw it forward, the cable wrapping endlessly around Sylva’s body.

When Alexa pulled it taut, Sylva’s arms pinned to her sides. And that allowed Olivia to come in next, slamming the butt of her Terrastaff right against Sylva’s head. The staff channeled seismic vibrations into Sylva’s skull. The warrior fell to the ground, unconscious. And the team stood over her fallen form, looking amongst themselves.

“So what now?” asked Ethan. “Do we kill her?”

“I’m not killing anyone,” said Olivia.

“You didn’t say that about the giant bees,” said Alexa.

“That was different,” said Olivia.

“Don’t worry, we’re not killing her—not yet, anyway,” said Tom. “We’re taking her back with us.”

“Why waste time?” asked Alexa.

Tom tapped his helmet. “Check your scanners. She’s giving off the same type of bizarro readings that we got from the crystal shard. Either that’s a hell of a coincidence, or she’s connected. And I want to know how.”