Chapter 11: Alarms

Shaded by the gladiator stadium on an already dark Tandyar night, Hemato walked the road with stealth.

Hemato saw blue prints for the complex from his intel, not Rubay, but Rubay's friend. Gladiator stadium dwarfed the target, the Dire Straits Penitentiary. One slab of concrete with no windows on its marker covered surface. A place for crimson prisoners. Draconics fought in games, because they would not break from each hit, but a Crimson cracked from one blow. Hemato was sent to break out both, sign allies and bring them back for Queen Rubay. But first, get the crimson prisoners out.

Afterwards, he'd free a bunch of dires. Dires who King Talizarin used for thrills, and were used because they were not of the crimson race. He grinned.

"Moron king Talizarin won't know what's hit him."

He visualized the prison cell before popping in. A crimson jumped back.

Hemato glanced at the small prison cell, held together by magic metal - a mixture of earth and ice - two strongest, rigid manas. A single grate let in light.

"Who are you?" Mage asked, scrambling back on frozen steel, hands out. "Are you here to kill me for your peoples? Promise, won't do the scam again, swear to you."

Yeah, you're a piece of garbage who exploits the system for your own gain, so instead of leaving you to rot like you did my friends, just gonna kill you, Hemato thought. "No, no. I think the scam was genius and Queen Rubay requests you to come with us." Mage's brows raised. Hemato grinned not that it looked genuine.

Mage stared at him. "You have come to my rescue?" He stood up, and stared at the rusted grate.

"More like you and your friends, without the guards knowing."

Mage laughed. "I doubt that, as that would require constant teleportation, and you'd run out of mana."

Long distance teleportation was one thing, but continual teleportation was near impossible, due to the focus it needed, but Hemato thought back to the blue prints and steeled his nerves.

Hemato said, "Promise to help out the hyenas?"

A laugh and a shake of his head, Mage said, "You aren't going to-" Bright pink light filled the cell. Hemato sat outside with Mage.

Mage gasped, then looked himself over, then the land. Hemato broke him out. "You did it," Mage said.

Alarms blared, both going alert. Blood colored lights rented the skies.

"Better do it all quick," Mage said. "Alarms activate if anything disappears from the prison." Great, Hemato's sources forgot to bring that up.

Hemato took a deep breath, and cleared his mind. He concentrated on the next cell. Similar place, and held one more crimson. Before the crimson spoke, Hemato brought him so he was with Mage. "Keep talking to them."

Hemato memorized the entire layout beforehand. He popped in and out. With prisons, all rooms looked the same, so he didn't have to change his mind that much to do the mass teleportation.

Dozens of crimsons stared at him, wide-eyed. "You did it," Mage said as he stared at him. "You actually did it."

Faction Zero talked and shook hands. Group was back again.

Windows shattered as guards jumped down from grappling hooks and lightning arrows. One shouted, "Don't run. Or we'll shoot."

"Run!" Hemato said as if he had to.

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Swillow was silent for hours. Guards came to the door, escorts for Snofall and Citrus. Without noise, they led Snofall and Citrus out, but while Snofall looked back, Citrus slunk out with them. They'd load a ship, to leave the realm of Crimsons once and for all.

Soon as the door shut, Swillow shouted, "Her!? Why!?"

Wasting took a breath, said, "Swillow, calm down. Guess Citrus just didn't trust you."

"Weird, since I've done all the work for her for, let me count it... Fourteen years! I have grinded, and she still has no respect I suspect." Swillow jumped on a table, and put a paw to her chest. "Who needs foes when you have faux friends, right?"

Wasting mumbled, and turned his head away.

With a slight growl, "What did you say?" Wasting mumbled again. "What. Did. You. Say?" Swillow's voice came with a clear edge to it.

"How about you stop talking about yourself for once?" Wasting said.

Swillow snarled and held back urges to bite him.

"You are always on about you, you, you." Wasting stood as he faced her. "Like, it's not that you're not good. And if you haven't noticed, she didn't just leave you, she left us all."

Swillow blinked, "And that gets to you not? Your own girlfriend has left you."

Wasting said, "Okay, well, we're stuck with the losers." He waved his paws at the fellow losers, and said, "And whining is doing nothing."

"Loser is a harsh word," Loser Queen Khrystol said as she stood and stretched. Fayldspar smacked her rear end to return the favor, and Khrystol growled at him, causing him to recede in the dark.

Swillow asked Wasting then, "Would you think Citrus and I are friends?"

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Wasting rolled his eyes, said, "She has your back, making her a friend. You fight, but it's more just a rough bit. Don't think too hard about these things, okay?"

Swillow placed her head on the couch? "Do you think we're friends?"

Wasting's face went slack as he gave a few seconds reprieve. "Yeah. We clash heads sometimes, okay. But, after all we've been through, how could we not be friends?"

"And you are a friend of Citrus Snow?"

"More than just a friend," Wasting said. With a whistle, "Way more."

Swillow winced. "But why did she refuse to plan with us?"

"Just part of who she is," Wasting said, going over to Swillow. "She's the smartest of us for certain, okay. You know, it makes it hard to trust others. When you're smart enough you lift your whole team with you, well, it makes it hard to trust us, alright. When Citrus comes again-"

"What if she won't come? What if her plan is to have left the two weak links behind and move on? She might think I've been keeping her anchored and maybe she left?"

"Why?" Wasting shook his head. "Why do you think we're all after you? Or we're all trying to screw you?"

Swillow said, "Don't make me sound mad."

"In the temple you struck Snofall because you thought we had a grand plan against you."

"Are you still on about that?"

"It was a week ago, Swill," Wasting said. Swillow felt a small twinge at the name "Swill". There was a feeling of closeness to it. "It's not like I'm getting at you for something fourteen years-" Swillow's mouth opened in a small diamond shape as Wasting said, "I didn't mean that. Just slipped out."

"Truth always slips out," Swillow said, "not lies."

Wasting stared away. Swillow rolled onto her back. Nothing to do but wait. "You think she'll come back?"

"I'm her boyfriend."

"Soon-to-be-former."

"Not trying to one up you, but what's with the lights?" Fayldspar asked.

"Hm?" Wasting asked.

An explosion occurred from the wall facing the window. Blast knocked them back, Swillow falling off the table. Smoke and debris filled their lungs, forcing hacking. The smoke wisped out to reveal a hole in the wall.

More explosions sounded off. The group of five shifted around. Outside the hole they saw crimson guards and prisoners in a fight with arrows and bows. One crimson threw bombs around.

"Please come down now!" came a familiar voice, which sounded like a hyena Swillow and Wasting were all too familiar with.

Looking over, they saw Hemato staring up. With the Mage.

Mage lobbed a bomb Hemato had with him. Blasts with fire and smoke came from the sides of the building. As more parts blew up, more dires stared out.

Khrystol made a wall of crystal to get down, and the other four jumped on with.

Hemato growled and knew he was about to face a beating from the pack, unless... "The Slaughterhound is a guard!"

Wolves rushed in to fight Swillow.

Swillow conjured a circle of fire to surround her friends.

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An oak craft vessel greeted the winners. A turbine linked to the engines in the lower levels of the ship, blew on large sails. Snofall and Citrus walked on the planks of a narrow bridge, wind blowing on them, trying to knock them off. But they managed to get to the top deck, before being led down into the lowest part.

As they got down the final wood step, they came to a small room. Just a box, with Talizarin sat on sofa. He grinned, and said, "Too bad neither of you will join us. But your friend Swillow will be perfect for our games." He laughed. "And Khrystol is one I will not forget about."

Citrus rolled her eyes and sat next to a window. Lights flashed, and Citrus glanced out. Snofall hopped up to sit next to Citrus, not that Citrus focused on that.

Smoke, and flames washed over the air. Gladiator arena got assaulted by a crimson who threw bombs, tossing bricks. Crimson guards wrestled bows and arrows from dires, while spells got thrown back and forth. Talizarin stared straight ahead from the windows. Escape time now.

Staff went to lock up both, and carried down cuffs, fit for ankles. With a growl, Citrus figured they'd try to lock them up in a hunter's pose. Guards pulled down on the links of iron, lengthening out the steel ropes.

Did Snofall know thief code, and if so, would Snofall recognize it? With a few taps of the cuffs, Citrus said, "Escape." Then an answer came back.

"Plan?"

A grin came on Citrus' face. Then, Citrus tapped back, "Lights kill. Lock king. Freeze guards."

Light around them turned to a jelly like substance because of Citrus' powers, and Citrus would shatter the light.

Snofall shot a blast of cold air at Talizarin, but Talizarin got his staff out to swirl away the air.

"You think I don't know what you all said?" Talizarin asked. Enough light came from outside so all could see, but then a flash came from the fights. King Talizarin stared back, long enough for Citrus and Snofall to tackle him.

Other guards came out to fight, but a flash of lights caused them to seize.

King Talizarin kept his eyes closed, but Citrus threw him up for a Matrix Shift. As she got her legs up, Talizarin raised his lower body and dropped onto his shoulders instead. He bound away.

Citrus said, "Follow my scent." They rushed out.

Snofall peered over guard rails from the ship. "Citrus, Swillow's getting beaten down, hard."

Swillow rushed at a crowd, and bit down on a crimson's neck, then drained. She kept running towards the Mage, but new threats kept coming in the way.

Wasting sat behind the wall of flames, and used water from a gutter to ring around. Falydspar next to him.

Some dires slashed at Swillow's neck and face, but Swillow smacked them away.

"Her power is the Bitter End," Citrus said. "She drains someone's life out, then adds it to her own. That's why she can slaughter others."

Swillow rampaged as a train towards the crowd, and flung dires away. Crimson guards shot arrows to neutralize each foe. But as they aimed on Swillow, Swillow went and ripped throats out.

"We need to take this ship, and rescue them," Citrus said as she ran toward the wheel. As guards came, the Snow threw them over the side. Met the ground with splats and thuds. Snofall sent out rays of ice to delay progression of some.

All hands went on deck, no one to steer. And Citrus ran over to the wheel, and said, "Snofall, freeze your feet."

Snofall paused, but froze her own feet to the floor while Citrus swung the wheel. Ship went over as a roller coaster would. Guards fell over as none had touched something bolted to the ground.

Guards from the prison went to save the guards that fell. Citrus swung the ship back into proper order. "And now we know how to swing a ship around."

Khrystol looked at her coyote guard, the other still being with Wasting. No need to fight. A pink shard of crystal shot up and hit Swillow in the head, knocking her down.

"Swillow!" Wasting shouted.

Mage burst out laughing.

Hemato said, "Quick, all Faction Zero, come now!" Mage doubled the order.

Hemato took a deep breath, and summoned a pink circle which spread. As it touched someone, it gave them a pink aura, as it did with Mage. Portal to Rubay, and Hemato raised a paw up.

Flames still burned hot, but Wasting leaped out at the Mage. Flame wisps danced on him, but he tackled Mage to the ground. Falydspar jumped at Wasting, as did Poinsiet and Khrystol.

Hemato's foot came down. "Now!" Spell cast, and all of them went away. Swillow paused as she saw a vacuum of space where her brother and the other foes had gone.

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"Disillusioned" - Citrus Snow's Theme

I never have

A day of peace

Without fighting for it

Some children get

A chance of youth

Then lose their innocence

I had no luck

I had no hope

Until he took me in

You wonder why I am

This disillusioned now?

Revolution

Evolution

Snow bathed in red

Conclusion - let us fight instead