'Alex, Melodi, can you guys hear me?' said Cypher. He was, thanks to his mental energy, transmitting his thoughts directly to the two of them from his hiding place. This part had been iffy, but he was thankful the barrier didn’t prevent such a tactic. If his mental waves had been unable to penetrate the barrier he would have altered his plans accordingly. Thankfully, such tactics were unneeded.

'Don't panic, and don't let them realize I'm speaking to you. Just think your words and I'll hear them.'

'Cypher?!? Is that really you?' returned Alex, obviously confused, but also a little suspicious. 'Tell me something only Cypher would know!' he continued.

Cypher sighed and said, 'Look we don't have time for this! I have a plan to get you guys out of here but we have to hurry! Listen up!'

Alex scoffed and asked again, 'Tell me something only Cypher would know, or we're not having this conversation.'

Annoyed, Cypher quickly thought of something, 'Remember when I visited you in the medical ward at the Academy? I tried to leave without saying anything and you threw a tomato at my head,' replied Cypher impatiently. To be fair, Alex was right to question him.

This could all just be an illusion the Order had set up to fool him. Equally though, Alex could be an Order illusion, and so Cypher also had to know if this was the real Alex. That's why he said tomato instead of apple.

'Hah! I knew it! You aren't Cypher at all, it was an apple, not a tomato!' replied Alex.

'Good, so it really is you, Alex. I had to be sure that you were you as well! Of course, I know it was an apple! How could I forget, it really hurt from that high up!' said Cypher.

'Wait, what? Well if you had to test me while I was testing you how can I know that you're still the real Cypher? You said tomato when it was obviously an apple. What if you're just lying to try and trick me?' replied Alex.

'Hmm, that's a good point," said Cypher falling into thought.

'Oh my god, seriously?' added Melodi, but the two of them were already discussing how to prove they were really each other.

'Alright well, what about Finn's Deep? The Order couldn't possibly have been there or Louis would have killed them too! Tell me something about that!' said Alex.

'You're right, that's a good idea! Okay umm... Argh, wait, what if they already broke into your mind or got you to tell them about that incident?' replied Cypher.

'Oh shit, that's a good point too. Wait, but couldn't that be applied to literally anything I could tell you?' continued Alex.

'Fuck, then how are we going to settle this?' asked Cypher.

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'Maybe we could-' began Alex.

'Oh for fuck's sake, stop it you two!' thought Melodi. Her annoyance seeped into their minds and pressed heavily on them. 'Now isn't the time for this you absolute morons! You're both who you say you are, so shut the fuck up and listen! Cypher, please for the love of the gods, what is your plan?’

Cypher quickly nodded, Melodi was right, they were wasting time. Of course, the exchange had only lasted a few seconds, but Melodi had quickly grown tired of their stupidity. Still, she was right this was no time for this.

It only took a few moments for him to lay out the entire plan, and when he was finished, Alex was skeptical but Melodi wholeheartedly believed it would work. As soon as they were ready, Cypher set his plan into motion.

He spent a few moments staring at the barrier around his two friends. He watched as its flow of energy waxed and waned. Through that, he was able to realize how dense it was, what it was designed to do, and how it did it. Elaine was, after all, a master of barrier magicks and she had schooled him on the core principles of such defensive spells.

Her lessons had been extremely in-depth, but Cypher had taken to them with an amazing amount of talent. Thanks to those lessons, Cypher could learn all he needed about a barrier just by looking at it. Still, he was nervous as he took a running start toward the barrier.

He quickly chanted a counterspell designed to disrupt the laws that made up that particular barrier, while also severing its connection to the one who had constructed it. He dove headfirst through its transparent outer layer just as it lost all of its structural integrity.

As the last of the barrier faded, he was already down on one knee casting his Duality Shield. A half-second passed and it had formed around them just in time to stop an incoming ball of ice. As he had expected, Order acolytes came running out from behind and within the many crates with their weapons drawn and spells upon their lips.

"Cypher?!? What are you doing here man?" began Alex.

"Cypher no, you shouldn't have come! It’s a trap!" continued Melodi.

"Look we don't have much time, we have to get out of here!" returned Cypher as a slew of elemental bullets slammed against his barrier. Fireballs followed shortly after, and even a wave of water that turned into icy daggers tried to penetrate the powerful shield.

"Don't you get it Cyph', this was all a big scheme to kill you! Now we're all going to die!" roared Alex in a panicked tone.

"Don't you think I knew that? I risked everything just to get in here! So man up and get ready to fight! This isn't the Academy anymore, this is real life with real consequences! So it's either fight here or die!" replied Cypher.

Melodi only stared in wonder at the barrier around them, "Cypher this is... When did you manage to learn this?! It can't really be..." Melodi Trailed off as wonder spread across her face.

"It's exactly what you think it is! But I don't have time to explain right now." Cypher said. At this point, the Order acolytes began to hesitate. They wondered what his next move would be after hearing that conversation. Some even backed off a little and lowered their guard.

Cypher smiled. His plan was rolling out perfectly, Alex and Melodi were playing their parts well, and it was his turn to push forward in the plan. "Now!" he roared, throwing his hands up to touch the walls of his Duality Shield. Now, those inside the dome could attack, while the barrier itself would prevent entry. But his motions also served to signal Elaine who was no doubt observing through the seer's stone in his pocket.

"Solo, Verse two, Inferno Ring!" shouted Alex, and a broad ring of fire appeared and squeezed around two of the hesitating acolytes. They screamed as their robes caught fire and their skin began to burn. Alex couldn't help but cringe at that sight.

"Solo, Verse three, Airstream lattice!" a torrent of wind blades rushed through the room, slicing several acolytes into little cubes. Others nearby could only barely dodge the oncoming attack. A shower of blood sloshed against the barrier and Cypher could see the disgust in Melodi's eyes as she killed without holding back.