Titan

[K-NiGhT]

CHAPTER15: MANAFEST

Several months had passed following Jack Martin's disappearance, and life at the training compound continued as normal. Walker had taken a special interest in the abilities that Marshal and Jack had exhibited at the training match before Jack's fake death, and he asked Marshal to help him research it.

"How did you figure out that you had this ability?" Walker asked Marshal one day during specialization training.

"I don't really remember," Marshal admitted as he used a wooden sword to beat up a practice dummy. "I just saw Jack do some strange teleporting trick and I wanted to do something similar, so I did."

"Interesting," Walker noted. "Did you notice anything strange happen while you were used this ability?"

"I guess I did feel kind of weird," Marshal remembered, thinking back to the training match. "Like there was some kind of energy around me that slowed everything else down."

"I see," Walker mused, taking notes at this point. "I think I've figured out what you experienced."

"What would that be?" Marshal asked.

"You'll find out soon," Walker told him. "I have to finalize my research first. Within a few days, I'll be holding a seminar on my findings. Anyway, I think you've assaulted the poor training dummy enough. Let's call it a day."

"Alright," Marshal conceded. He put down the training sword and headed back to his squad's apartment for the night.

*          *          *

"So, that's all you know?" said a shadowy figure.
   
"Yeah," Jack snapped. "I've told you a thousand times, man, they have no idea where this thing is."
   
"What about the girl?" the figure asked. "How do they know she's a Catalyst?"
   
"She's got this weird mark on her arm," Jack explained. "That's about all they know. They're not sure how she does her thing, either."
   
"Interesting," the figure mused. "You're dismissed." Jack turned and left.

*          *          *

A few days later, Walker pulled everyone out of their specialization classes for a special meeting. Nobody seemed to have a clue what it was about besides Marshal.

"Good afternoon, everyone," Walker began, giving the task force the usual smile. "I'm going to start this seminar off with a question. How many of you remember the training match between Squads Three and Four a few months back?" Everyone raised their hands, thinking it impossible to forget such a dramatic showdown with a fiery conclusion.

"Good," Walker continued. "Now, how many of you remember the strange abilities that Mr. North and his opponent displayed?" Again, hands shot up, though not quite as many as before. "I see. Well, over the past several months, I have done some research on our dear friend from Squad Four and have reached a conclusion. Marshal North and Jack Martin, while possibly unbeknownst to the both of them, displayed knowledge of the concept of mana during that match."

"Mana?" Tristan repeated. "As in, 'the stuff that lets you do spells in video games' mana?"

"Essentially, yes," Walker confirmed. "Though I'm not sure they've ever been used in such ways as what Marshal and Jack showed, there are many theories surrounding this concept. Most all of them point to mana being a force of nature or power. It is also believed in some cultures that mana is present in every living being; in some cultures it is also referred to as aura. I believe that we can use this discovery to our advantage. If the theories are to be believed, each of you has mana inside of you waiting to be manifested as an ability. We just need to figure out how to make it appear. We'll start tomorrow, replacing the morning briefing with mana training."

"Yes, sir!" everyone shouted.

Walker sighed. "I guess that'll never stop. Dismissed!" Everyone shuffled out of the training dome for the night, mentally preparing for the next day's events.

*          *          *

A few weeks later, almost everyone in the task force had gotten the concept of mana, which had been renamed Manafest, down to a science. Marshal perfected his ability to slow down time, Vlad's vision improved even further, Mia learned how to make a field of mana that would camouflage anyone inside it, Aurora had discovered a knack for telekinesis, and Adelia had even learned how to heal most injuries using only her mana. Even the twins had managed to hone their telepathic connection to a fine art, and Tristan had learned to find out everything about a piece of technology just by touching it. Only Chris and Serena had yet to discover any abilities.

"Man, I don't get what I'm doing wrong!" Chris muttered, slightly upset. "I know that my mana is there, but it just doesn't do anything. It's like I just haven't unlocked it yet."

"I know what you mean," Serena agreed. "I can feel my mana as well, but it feels like there's something missing for me. Like I need something to make my ability work."

"I'm sure it will come to you guys in time," Marshal said, trying to lift their spirits.

"Besides," Aurora added, "I thought Walker said that Serena's abilities only worked with the Titan Orb."

"Well that makes me useful any other time, doesn't it?" Serena wondered sarcastically.

"At least you know what your problem is," Chris grumbled.

"Well, complaining sure isn't going to help you out!" Serena scolded. Their spat was interrupted by an incoming transmission from Walker.

"I need you all in my office immediately," he said, completely expressionless. He cut off the transmission quickly without even checking for acknowledgement.

"That was...weird," Marshal said after a moment of confusion. "Let's go, I guess." Squad Four quickly left the training room to head for Walker's office.

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter16: Interference
   
Aurora landed the plane in the helipad, and Squad Four raced for Walker's office. When they got there, he looked almost surprised to see them.
   
"Ah, Marshal!" he said. "Back so soon from your holiday?"
   
"You called us here," Marshal reminded him.
   
"No I didn't," Walker protested. "Why on Earth would I do that? You guys are on vacation, after all."
   
"I figured it was something important," Marshal said.
   
"Well, I wasn't the one who called you," Walker assured him. "Since you're here, though, I do need your help with something. All of Squad Three has gone missing."
   
"The entire squad?" Tristan squeaked.
   
"Yes," Walker confirmed. "Apparently, people that were around them before they disappeared said that I had sent them on a mission. Obviously, there was no way I would've given them a mission without being there to give it to them in person. Something very weird is going on, and I want you all to get to the bottom of it."
   
"Okay," Marshal nodded. "We'll do it."
   
"Perfect," Walker praised. "I knew I could count on you. According to our communications satellite, their HUDs went offline somewhere in the area of New Orleans, Louisiana. That's where you'll be traveling tomorrow. Be well equipped before you go. We don't know what we're dealing with here."
   
"Yes, sir!" the squad shouted.
   
"You're dismissed," he said, waving his hand. The squad retired to their apartment for the night to prepare for the next day's mission.

*   *   *
   
Later the next day, Squad Four had arrived in New Orleans. They got out of the helicopter and looked around. It was very festive all around the city. Jazz bands were still playing swing versions of Christmas carols, and people danced wildly to them in the street. The air was filled with cigarette smoke and a few other unknown scents.
   
"Ooooh!" Mia cried, her brown eyes twinkling with excitement. "There's a party going on down here in New Orleans!"
   
"Let's go check it out!" Aurora suggested.
   
"We're here on a very important mission!" Marshal reminded them. "Squad Three could be in serious danger!"
   
"Come on, Marshal," Adelia giggled. "Don't be such a stick in the mud. Squad Three can wait for a little bit while we check out what New Orleans has to offer."
   
"Fine," Marshal grunted, "but be on the lookout for anything suspicious." The squad wasn't listening to Marshal's orders, though. They were already down the street, dancing to the jazz band's music with the other people in the crowd.

*   *   *
   
"There's some more of these kids," said a scout on the roof of a building near where Squad Four was busy dancing. He looked down at the squad through a pair of binoculars. "What should we do, boss?"
   
"I think I'm going to greet the newcomers," said a shadowy figure behind him. It seemed to have the body shape of a man. Suddenly, the man seemed to change shape right before the eyes of the scout. Suddenly, the man wasn't a man anymore, but a young girl.
   
"I'll be back soon," the girl said. "Keep watching them."
   
"Yes, sir," the scout said. "I mean, uh, yes ma'am?"
   
The girl groaned as she walked away from her incompetent scout.

*   *   *
   
Marshal and the others had finally finished with their sightseeing and decided to finally search for Squad Three. They searched for any clues that they possibly could, but nobody seemed to know anything on the whereabouts of their friends. Finally, one woman in a small bookstore finally seemed to have their answer.
   
"Yeah, I saw some kids like that," she told them. "They came around lookin' for some weird ball thing. I guess they wanted to play a game or something."
   
"Do you know where they went?" Aurora asked.
   
"I don't," she whined apologetically. "I'm real sorry about that."
   
"That's okay," Aurora told her. "Thank you for your help." They turned and left the bookstore. As soon as they got out into the street, they heard a faint voice coming from the alleyway behind them.
   
"Help," the voice coughed. "Please help me."
   
"That voice sounds familiar," Vlad observed. "Let's go check it out." They dashed into the alleyway to reveal a young girl around Mia's age, with short blonde hair.
   
"Hey, that's one of the members of Squad Three!" Tristan exclaimed. "Let's help her!" They ran up to the girl and got her on her feet.
   
"Squad Four?" the girl said quizzically. "I didn't think I rated that much of a rescue. Thanks for your help."
   
"No problem," Marshal assured her. "Where's the rest of your team?"
   
"A bunch of strange looking guys with bright yellow outfits came and beat us all up," the girl explained. "They left me here and took everyone else with them."
   
"Did you happen to catch where they were headed?" Marshal asked.
   
"Yeah," the girl answered. "I can try to take you there." Vlad bent over to pick up the girl and she led them around town. Suddenly, the entire city of New Orleans seemed much too quiet. The streets somehow emptied, and all the shops seemed to be closed.
   
"This is getting weird," Serena said, shivering.
   
"I agree," Chris said. "Something's definitely wrong here."
   
"It's just up ahead here," the girl insisted. "Please help us!"
   
"We're almost there," Vlad assured her. They finally got to the place that the girl had told them to go. It was an abandoned warehouse, which looked like it hadn't been used in almost a hundred years. The walls were rusted and falling apart, and there were large holes in the roof. It looked like the perfect place for someone to store kidnapped people.
   
"Here it is," the girl said. "This is where they said they were taking my teammates."
   
"Let's go in quietly," Marshal said. "Vlad, stay outside and provide a little overwatch. Mia, get us in there.
   
"Yes, sir!" they both said. Vlad handed the girl off to Chris, who hefted her on his back. Vlad took off to find a vantage point while Mia used her camouflaging power to make the rest of the squad disappear. They went in the door silently and saw all nine members of Squad Three sitting there huddled in the corner, tied up with ropes.
   
"Wait a minute," Serena whispered, "there's only nine members of Squad Three. If they're all sitting right there, then who do we have here?"
   
The girl smirked and kicked Chris in the back of the leg. Chris yelped in pain and fell down. The girl ran out of Mia's camouflage field and turned to face them.
   
"Here they are, boys!" she said in an uncharacteristically deep voice. Right before their very eyes, the girl that they had carried to the warehouse changed into a strange looking man with sunglasses and a bright yellow jumpsuit. "Let's get 'em!" Suddenly, some men wearing similar bright yellow jumpsuits matching the girl's description jumped out of the storage crates around the warehouse, weapons at the ready.
   
"Get to cover!" Marshal barked. Mia broke the camouflage field and they all scrambled to find cover behind some of the storage crates. They got behind some crates just before the entire force opened fire on them.
   
"Marshal!" Vlad cried through the 12HUDs communicator. "What's going on in there?"
   
"We've got contact!" he shouted. "We're pinned down. Give us some support!"
   
"I would love to," Vlad said, "but there's no good vantage point to see inside the building!"
   
"Then use thermal vision, for god's sake!" Marshal screamed as a bullet whizzed by his head. "We're all behind cover on the floor nearest the entrance!"
   
"Understood," Vlad acknowledged. He pressed a button on the scope of his rifle, and the view switched so he could see heat signatures. He shot a few rounds into the wall of the building, which pierced through the rusted metal and into the head of one of the enemies. Seeing their comrade go down caused the men to stop firing and look at the body for a moment, completely dumbfounded. In that instant, Vlad fired three more shots, taking down even more of the enemies. In the confusion, Marshal managed to get out of cover and find the strange shape shifting man that had led them into this trap. He throttled the man by the neck and slammed him into a nearby storage crate. He quickly unsheathed the Emerald Flash and pointed the tip straight at the man's neck.
   
"Who are you?" Marshal interrogated. "What are you doing with our friends?"
   
The man just stood there for a moment, then laughed hysterically. "All in due time, my friend!" he told him. "All in due time." He suddenly melted into a puddle of water and trickled away down a storm drain outside. Marshal turned to the squad.
   
"Get Squad Three out of those restraints," he ordered. "We've got quite the report to send to Walker."

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter17: A Group of Savages

"So let me see if I've got the gist of your report," Walker said to Marshal, leaning back in his office chair. "You were led by this weird shape shifting man into an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of New Orleans, then proceeded to get ambushed by some hostile forces?"
   
"That's about it," Marshal confirmed.
   
"What did these hostile soldiers look like?" Walker asked him. "Were they wearing anything that struck you as odd?"
   
"Yeah," Marshal answered. "They were all wearing these ugly bright yellow jumpsuits."
   
Walker's eyes suddenly widened. "Did you say, 'bright yellow jumpsuits'?"
   
"Yeah," Marshal said. "They were really ugly, and they had these gray stripes on them, kind of similar to how our suits are designed, only the stripes showed up for us."
   
"Yes, I know exactly what you're talking about," Walker said, visibly shaking at this point. "This is really, really bad."
   
"What's wrong?" Marshal asked. "We took care of them, so there's no reason to worry."
   
"Oh, there's reason to worry, all right," Walker assured him. "We've stumbled upon my biggest business rival. And by the looks of things, he doesn't want to play nice."

*   *   *
   
"I'm sorry, sir," the shape shifting man said, saluting to the back of a tall office chair. "We were unable to bring those kids back to the base as you requested."
   
"That's really too bad, Forrest," the man said, not turning his chair around. "I'm afraid I'll have to punish you."
   
"Please, sir!" Forrest pleaded. "Please don't throw me in the Pit again!"
   
"I'm afraid you've exhausted all my options, Mr. Albinson," the man behind the chair said. He pushed a button on the arm of his chair, and the floor opened up underneath Forrest Albinson, sending him screaming down to the bottom of a long, dark tunnel.
   
"I'm terribly sorry about that, Mr. Martin," the man said, still refusing to turn his chair. "We'll send someone a little more competent to retrieve your squad next time."
   
"Don't worry about it," Jack said, walking into the room. "There's no way they would willingly come here, anyway. The more pressing issue is the fact that Breckinridge knows about you now. What will you do about that?"
   
"Simple," the man said, grinning evilly behind his chair. "If it's a fight that young Walker wants, then it's a fight he shall get. We start our search for the Titan Orb tomorrow. My workforce is at your disposal."
   
"Understood," Jack said. "I won't let you down, Mr. Savage."
   
"See to it that you don't," the man said, "unless you want to end up like Mr. Albinson down there." Jack shuddered as he could still hear Forrest Albinson's screams from the Pit down below.

*   *   *
   
"Thomas Savage," Walker began, "is the owner of the Savage Corporation. He's a corrupt and sinister man who will use whatever means necessary to get what he wants. I can't even count the number of times he's sent someone to assassinate me."
   
"He sounds charming," Marshal said sarcastically.
   
"That's not all," Walker told him. "He's also been charged with hundreds of felonies throughout his career, ranging from money laundering to murder. He's never been found guilty, though, because the evidence always manages to disappear somehow."
   
"Money talks," Marshal commented.
   
"That's exactly right," Walker agreed. "Now that he's found out about us, he'll probably dig a little deeper. If he figures out about the Titan Orb, we could be looking at having a full-blown war on our hands."
   
"That's crazy," Marshal said, feeling a chill run down his spine.
   
"That's not even the worst part," Walker said. "The Savage Corporation has the largest workforce of any company in the world today, which means that he has workers to spare. I had to ask for a bunch of teenagers to volunteer to risk their lives searching for something that I wasn't sure even existed. I'm not able to expend any more of my workers than I already have. I need every single one of them to keep my company's day-to-day operations running. We're severely outnumbered, here."
   
"What do you want us to do?" Marshal asked him.
   
"As of right now, your top priority needs to be finding any and all information that you can on the Titan Orb," Walker said. "If we can find it before Savage finds out about it, we may prevent some serious bloodshed."
   
"Understood," Marshal said.
   
"You are dismissed," Walker told him. "Be sure to relay this information to your squad as soon as you can. I'll let everyone else know when I can." Marshal saluted and left Walker's office, uncertain about what the future held for him and his friends. If a war broke out, he would have to do whatever it took to keep his team together, but at what cost? What if he had to let one of his friends die? What if he died? More and more doubts were filling his head as he shuffled slowly back to his apartment. When he got through the door, everyone was waiting for him in the common area.
   
"What's the deal?" Chris asked him. "What did Walker say about those guys we ran into?"
   
"From the looks of things, they're soldiers belonging to one of his business rivals," Marshal explained. "Walker's worried that since they've found out about us, they'll find out about the Titan Orb, which could mean war."
   
"Crap," Serena muttered under her breath.
   
"We're severely outnumbered, by Walker's estimations," Marshal told them. "This guy has a lot of his workforce at his disposal, whereas Walker only has the few of us that volunteered. If we ended up going to war, we wouldn't have a chance."
   
"What do we do, then?" Aurora asked, getting nervous.
   
"As of now, our best bet is to continue searching for the Titan Orb as best we can," Marshal said. "If we can find it before this Savage guy knows we're after it, we might get away scot-free." Once he was done explaining what had happened, the TV turned on and Walker showed up on the screen.
   
"Hello, Squad Four," he began. "I trust that Marshal has relayed the news about the Savage Corporation to you. This is a great issue, so we need to complete our objective as quickly as possible. Now, after Marshal left my office, I received some intel on someone who may have important information regarding the Titan Orb. He apparently resides in Tokyo, Japan, so that's where your next mission will be taking you. Find the man, get any information you can from him, and come back. You will leave tomorrow morning. That is all." Walker pressed a button on his desk, and the TV shut off once again.
   
"Alright, guys," Marshal said. "You heard the man. Let's get geared up for another mission. We're going to Tokyo." The squad cheered as they took off to their rooms to prepare for their next mission.

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter18: Muramasa, the Demon Blade

Squad Four's helicopter quickly touched down in a small airport on the outskirts of Tokyo, Japan. They all got off the copter and strategized.
   
"Our intel suggests that there's someone in the Tokyo area that knows about the Titan Orb," Marshal reminded everyone. "We should split up and search the city. I think groups of two would be safest."
   
"Yes, sir!" the squad agreed. They got into their pairs and headed out. This time, Marshal was paired with Adelia, which he was okay with. They hadn't had much time together since they had left Silver Springs. This was a great chance to have a date, even if it entailed collecting top-secret intelligence on a mythical artifact that no one seemed to know about. A date was a date, after all.
   
"What are we looking for?" Adelia asked. "Would there be a specific place this guy may be at?"
   
"If he knows about the Titan orb, he is probably interested in archeology and ancient history," Marshal deduced. "Let's search for museums around the city." They took a quick look on their HUDs' menus and searched for local museum.
   
"Ah!" Adelia cried. "The Tokyo National Museum! Let's go there." They shut off their HUDs and hailed a taxi to take them to the museum.

*   *   *
   
"This guy has to be pretty well-read," Chris suggested to Serena, "Why don't we check out the library?"
   
Serena laughed. "'Check out' the library?"
   
"Yeah," Chris said, straight faced. "Let's go check it out." Serena busted a gut as they searched for the library.

*   *   *
   
"What do you suggest, Mia?" Vlad asked.
   
"I was kinda hoping you'd have an idea," Mia admitted.
   
Vlad sighed. "I honestly don't know what to do. Let's just look around, I guess." The two of them wandered aimlessly around Tokyo, trying to figure out where to go.

*   *   *
   
Aurora and Tristan had met up with the twins, and they decided to go together. They had stopped at a nearby McDonald's per Aurora's request.
   
"This is daily American food, right?" she asked the, taking a bite out of a fake, greasy hamburger.
   
"That depends," Tristan scoffed. "Are tea and crumpets typical British food?"
   
"What about fish and chips?" Ryder asked, sporting an over the top British accent. "Or bangers and mash, perhaps?"
   
"Shut up," Aurora muttered, taking another bite of her hamburger. The boys laughed.

*   *   *
   
After paying an exorbantly high amount of yen on a cab ride, Marshal and Adelia had arrived at the Tokyo National Museum. They walked into the huge stone building and saw an enormous amount of displays, ranging from dinosaur bones to the recently obsolete iPhone 4. While they were admiring the vast amounts of exhibits, a man in a suit came up to them and began quickly rattling something off in Japanese.
   
"I'm sorry," Adelia interrupted. "We don't speak Japanese."
   
"Oh!" the man exclaimed. "You must be some American tourists."
   
"You could say that," Marshal lied.
   
The man pushed up his square glasses and slicked back his dirty blonde ponytail. "My apologies. Well, I welcome you to the Tokyo National Museum! My name is Ryutaro Tanaka, and I am the museum's curator. If you have any questions, please ask me!"
   
"Oh, you must be the person we're looking for," Adelia guessed. "We're looking for some information on the Titan Orb."
   
Tanaka cried something in Japanese. "What do you want to know about that for?"
   
"We want to find it," Marshal explained.
   
Tanaka looked around nervously and noticed Marshal's katana. "Tell you what," he whispered. "Follow me on a tour and I'll let you know what I know." He walked into one of the rooms and pretended to show Marshal and Adelia an exhibit on ancient Japan.
   
"The Titan Orb has many appearances in ancient cultures all across the world, with many different interpretations, most of them all leading to the existence of 'gods,'" Tanaka told them.
   
"So, it's something that ancient gods used?" Marshal guessed.
   
"Yes, according to legends," Tanaka confirmed, "but here's the weird part. Ownership of the orb is actually able to be traced back throughout history to actual people."
   
"Wait a minute," Adelia said, piecing things together. "If people owned the orb, but it was proven to be owned by real people, then that means that many of the ancient world's religious deities..."
   
"Are false," Tanaka finished for her. "That's exactly right. The people who owned the orb were often thought of by ancient people as gods. Interestingly enough, the similarities between religions of distant regions like Greece and Egypt indicate that these people were able to travel great distances."
   
"So who owns it now?" Adelia asked.
   
"Nobody knows," Tanaka said. "The orb has been lost for hundreds, if not thousands of years."
   
"How was it able to be traced, then?" Adelia wondered, confused.
   
"There are many ways of tracing such powerful artifacts," Tanaka explained. "Unfortunately, my knowledge on this subject is limited to what I've told you. If you want, I have a contact in Italy that knows more about it."
   
"Thank you very much," Adelia said. "Let's go, Marshal." She turned to face Marshal, but he was across the room, staring at an old sword in a display case.
   
"This sword," he mumbled. As he stared at it, it seemed to radiate a strange purplish-black aura.
   
"Ah," Tanaka said. "I see you have found Muramasa."
   
"Mura-what?" Adelia sputtered.
   
"Muramasa," Tanaka repeated, "the Demon Blade. It's the very last blade of its kind in existence. It was made by the famous swordsmith Muramasa Sengo during the Muromachi period. It's called the Demon Blade because it is said that its maker's soul lives on inside of it. Muramasa was a very unstable man, almost what some would consider psychotic, so the Japanese government eventually decided to stop buying his swords. Of course, this made him very angry, and it is said that he went on a murderous rampage with this very blade. Now, the legends say that if someone draws this blade, they cannot sheathe it again until blood is shed. Some people have gone insane holding the sword, even going so far as to wound or even kill themselves!"
   
Marshal was trying to listen to everything that Tanaka was saying, but for some reason, he felt that the sword was calling to him. What he speaks of me is true, it said. Those men didn't have the will that it takes to wield me. But you're different. You seem to be very strong. Take me with you.
   
"I can't," Marshal said aloud, looking at the blade. Adelia and Tanaka looked over at Marshal like he was crazy.
   
Nonsense, the blade urged. You are free to do whatever you like. After all, I have chosen you.
   
"How would they know that?" Marshal asked him.
   
That man, Tanaka, has known that someone would come by one day to receive me, the sword assured him. That someone is you, and that day is today.
   
"Are you okay, Marshal?" Adelia asked.
   
"I'm fine," Marshal muttered. "Muramasa says it wants me to take it with me."
   
"So the day has finally arrived," Tanaka mused. "Fine. You may take Muramasa with you, but remember to use it carefully. Overusing the great power of this sword can be very harmful."
   
"I understand that," Marshal said. "Can we hurry? It's starting to grow impatient."
   
"Of course," Tanaka said, seemingly depressed. He opened Muramasa's display case, took the sword and its sheath out, and tried to sheathe the sword. Somehow, the scabbard seemed to repel the blade somehow, almost by magnetism.
   
"Uh-oh," Adelia uttered. "We may have a slight problem."
   
"No matter," Tanaka said, putting the blade up to his arm. "This is easily solved." He took the cursed blade and cut his wrist, letting blood spew from the gash and put a single drop on the blade. After cleaning it off with his sleeve, he slid the sword quickly into its scabbard, where it finally locked in place.
   
"Are you okay?" Marshal cried, gaping at the giant gash in Tanaka's wrist.
   
"Of course," Tanaka said, grabbing a bandage out of his pocket. "It's just a flesh wound, after all. Now, don't forget to only use that blade for emergencies when you must shed a little blood. If you don't control yourself with it, you may end up hurting the ones you love." He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a piece of paper. Taking a ballpoint pen off the top of his ear, he scribbled something down in some barely legible English handwriting and handed it to Adelia. "Here is the address of my contact in Venice," he said. "I hope your search for the Titan Orb goes well!"
   
"Thank you very much, Mr. Tanaka!" Adelia said, bowing slightly to show respect for the man's culture.
   
"Anytime, young ones," Tanaka replied, bowing as well.

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter19: Tokyo Panic

Marshal and Adelia left the Tokyo National Museum, with an address to their next destination and a brand new weapon. Marshal admired the blade, which was still tucked safely away inside its scabbard.
   
"It looks almost brand new," he noted. "You would never be able to know that it's almost five hundred years old."
   
"Be careful," Adelia reminded him. "That thing's dangerous."
   
"Nah," Marshal said, waving his hand at her. "It'll be okay. I can handle it."
   
"I hope so," Adelia said. "For your sake."
   
"You worry too much!" Marshal told her. "I'm telling you, it'll be fine." As soon as he said that, everything went from fine to not fine.

*   *   *
   
Vlad and Mia had still been wandering around the city when they noticed some men wearing bright yellow jumpsuits just like the ones they had seen in New Orleans. Vlad saw that each of them held a weapon of some type, and they seemed to be walking directly towards them.
   
He turned his back to Mia and crouched down. "Mia, get on my back and cloak us."
   
"Right," Mia nodded. She clambered up onto his back and used her ability to make them disappear from view. Confused, Savage's men looked around for the two people they had just seen, not realizing they were still directly in front of them.
   
"Man," Mia whispered. "For a bunch of dangerous soldiers, these guys are kind of dumb."
   
"There is a certain strength in numbers," Vlad quietly reminded her. "Let's get back to Marshal as soon as we can."

*   *   *
   
Chris and Serena left the library, having found nothing useful. Their hour long search for any information on the Titan Orb only resulted in the librarian trying to peddle random books onto them because she didn't speak any English.
   
"Man, that lady was no help at all!" Chris shouted, annoyed.
   
"Give her a break," Serena pleaded. "She didn't speak any English."
   
"Whatever," Chris muttered under his breath. "Can we just go, now?"
   
Serena was about to open her mouth to say yes, but stopped herself because she saw a familiar flash of yellow out of the corner of her eye.
   
"Contact," she mumbled to Chris. "Get into blend formation 2B." The two of them looked for the largest crowd of people near them and shoved their way into it. Before Savage's men knew what had happened, Chris and Serena were already gone.

*   *   *
   
Marshal and Adelia were immediately surrounded by at least twenty of Savage's forces. There was seemingly no way out of the circle of soldiers. Adelia drew her pistol, and Marshal unsheathed Emerald Flash.
   
"It's time for a new formation," he said to her. "Attack formation 2M is about to be engaged."
   
"What on earth is that?" Adelia asked him.
   
"All you need to do is duck," Marshal said. Without warning, he unsheathed Muramasa and charged directly at the enemy in front of him.

*   *   *
   
"I think we're clear," Vlad said. "You can drop the camouflage now, Mia." With a slight shimmer, Vlad and Mia materialized back into plain view. They looked around and noticed Chris and Serena attempting to blend in with a crowd of people, which was easily spotted by their trained eyes. Vlad ran over to the two of them and yanked them out of the crowd. Mia pulled them back under a veil of energy and they disappeared once more.
   
"Don't ever do that again," Chris warned. "You scared the crap out of me."
   
"Maybe you shouldn't be such a coward," Vlad said in jest. Chris looked like he was about to punch Vlad square in the face, but he quickly decided against it because he remembered who he was mentally threatening.
   
"We need to contact the others," Mia said. "There are too many hostiles in the area."
   
"Maybe you could look beside you," Travis's small voice came from just outside the camouflage field. All four of them screamed in surprise as Tristan, Aurora, and the twins entered the field.

*   *   *
   
Before Adelia had even had time to process what had just happened in front of her, Marshal was already sheathing his two swords. The guards around him seemed completely unscathed.
   
"I think you missed," she whispered.
   
"No, no," he insisted. "Give it a second."
   
"Really, Marshal, they're going to shoot us!" she said with a little more urgency.
   
"Hold on," Marshal told her. He finally got the two swords to click back into their sheaths. As soon as he did, the guards all literally fell to pieces at his feet.
   
"What just happened?" Adelia wondered, attempting to restart her heart.
   
"Muramasa happened," Marshal told her, winking. "Man, that felt awesome!"
   
"Like I said," Adelia reminded him, "please be careful."
   
"Of course," Marshal said, ignoring what Adelia was saying. "I'll do that." Adelia just sighed as the other members of Squad Four appeared behind her.
   
"We need to leave," Aurora told them.
   
"We got what we needed, so we were going to find you guys anyway," Adelia said nonchalantly.
   
"You found the guy?" Chris asked.
   
"Yeah," Marshal told him. "He gave the address of some guy in Venice that's apparently an expert on the Titan Orb. We're going to bring this to Walker."
   
"What are we waiting for, then?" Tristan asked them. "Let's go home!" Squad Four raced off for the airport and left Tokyo as quickly as they could.

*   *   *
   
"I don't think your workers are really fit for this kind of work, Mr. Savage," Jack suggested. "They're not the brightest light bulbs in the box."
   
"Yes, I suppose you're right," Savage said, frowning. "Get Mr. Albinson out of the Pit. We have much to discuss."
   
"Yes, sir," Jack said, somewhat terrified of what awaited him down in the Pit where Forrest Albinson was still screaming.

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter20: Mad Mia

Squad Four went to Walker's office as soon as they got back the next morning and gave him their report. They told him about Tanaka at the museum, and about the soldiers who had attacked them. Marshal conveniently left out how he had kind of brutally murdered at least twenty of them with a cursed samurai sword.
   
"Interesting," Walker said, writing down notes. "May I have the address of this Italian fellow?"
   
"Sure," Adelia said, handing him the piece of paper.
   
"Excellent," Walker said. "I will send Squad One on this assignment immediately. You all have the day off tomorrow. Be sure to rest and recover for whatever lies ahead."
   
"Yes, Commander Walker!" the squad acknowledged. They saluted and left. Before Mia was out the door, Walker stopped her.
   
"Mia, while Squad Seven was on assignment in Chicago, they reported that someone was looking for you," he said, worried. "They thought it might be your parents. Do you want to call them?"
   
Mia suddenly fell into some sort of rage. "No!" she shouted. "They'll just try to rip me away from my friends again, just like they always do!" She stormed out of Walker's office and ran past her squad straight for her room. When she got there, she slammed the door, buried her head in her pillow, and screamed.

*   *   *
   
"It looks like your old friends from Breckinridge's task force are going to be quite the problem, Jack," Savage said, leaning back in his chair after reviewing the footage of Marshal taking down twenty of his men. "Shall we attack them at the source?"
   
"We can't," Jack told him. "The base is hidden, and I teleported so far away from it that I'm not really sure where it is anymore."
   
"Well, that's too bad," Savage sighed. "What do you think, Forrest?"
   
"Yes, sir," Forrest Albinson said, huddled in the fetal position in the corner of the room. "Whatever you say, sir. Always happy to assist you, sir."
   
"Good," Savage said, smiling. "Now, Jack, it appears that our enemies have located an information source in Venice. I want you to track them there and see if you can find out anything."
   
"I'll get right on that," Jack told him. He left the room without another word, trying to take extra care not to look at or listen to Forrest huddled in the corner.

*   *   *
   
Adelia knocked on her door for the umpteenth time, trying to get Mia to let her in. "Mia, please!" she yelled inside. "You've been in there for almost the entire day now! Can you please let me in and tell me what the deal is?"
   
It was silent for a moment, but finally the door opened just a crack, and Mia stuck her head out. Her eyes were still wet with tears.
   
"I'm sorry," she muttered. "I got so upset and I fell asleep. Come in, quick." She opened the door just wide enough for Adelia to slip in and closed it behind her. Adelia sat down on Mia's bed and patted the mattress on her right. Mia took the hint and sat down next to her.
   
"What happened earlier?" Adelia asked, crossing her legs and waiting for a response.
   
"Walker called me back after we finished our report," Mia told her. "He said that while one of the squads was on assignment, they found some people that were looking for me. They suspected that they might have been my parents."
   
"Don't they know you're here?" Adelia asked.
   
"I'm sure they do," Mia said. "They just didn't know that I was leaving. When Walker came to my school, I was immediately convinced. When he said that I would have my college paid for, I totally jumped at the chance to help him. When I got home, though, my parents told me that there was no way I was going off on some wild treasure hunt with any 'crazy businessmen'. They weren't even concerned about my future! They didn't care that this was the only way I would probably be able to get a college education and make something out of my life. They just wanted to do what they always did and keep me away from anything and everything!"
   
"Mia, they do that because they want to protect you," Adelia assured her. "I'm sure the thought of you going off on some dangerous mission to find a legendary artifact that might not even exist terrified them. What if you got hurt, or worse?"
   
"It's not just that!" Mia protested. "Any time I would try to make friends, they always drove them away from me somehow. It didn't matter how nice or how mean they were, as soon as my mom or dad found out about them, we were pretty much through."
   
"That sounds awful," Adelia whimpered. "Your parents were really that controlling of your life?"
   
"Absolutely," Mia said. "Nothing that I've ever done has ever been my choice. My parents never even let me be a normal girl and do fun girl things with friends. Coming here was the only thing I've ever done where I could say that I made a decision for myself. That's why I never want to go back. I don't want my parents to rip me away from you all." She started sobbing again, so Adelia awkwardly wrapped her arm around her shoulder  and held her.
   
"There, there," she said, stroking Mia's short black hair. "We won't let you get taken away. It's alright."
   
"Thanks, Adelia," Mia blubbered, burying her face in Adelia's sleeve. "You're such a great friend. I'm so glad I got to meet you. I'm glad I got to meet Marshal, and Vlad, and Aurora, and everyone else."
   
"No problem," Adelia said, smiling. "Anytime you need anything, you just let me know!"
   
"You mean it?" Mia asked, looking up at Adelia.
   
"Of course," Adelia said, laughing. "By the way, you said your parents never let you do normal girl things, right?"
   
"Yeah," Mia said, sniffling.
   
"Well, I tell you what," Adelia said, a huge grin forming on her face. "When this is all over, I'm gonna take you, Aurora and Serena and we're all going to have a girl's night out! Just the four of us! We'll get our nails done and we'll go shopping and we'll have a sleepover and talk about the boys that we like!"
   
"Are you really into that stuff?" Mia asked, skeptical.
   
"Of course not!" Adelia shouted. "I hate doing girly things. But if it's with my friends, I'll do it!"
   
Mia suddenly burst out laughing. When she laughed, she made a hilarious squeaking noise when she breathed in, much like a guinea pig. Adelia heard this for the first time and broke into equally hilarious laughter. The two of them sat there for the longest time, just laughing. They would've kept going well into the night, but Marshal knocked on the door.
   
"Go to sleep!" he yelled. "We've got some stuff to do tomorrow!"
   
Adelia jumped off of Mia's bed and onto her own. On her way over, she managed to swing off the ceiling fan's long cord that controlled the light. It switched off as she fell onto her mattress with a thud.
   
"Good night, Mia."
   
"Good night, Adelia.

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter21: Gearing Up
   
The next day was fairly uneventful until Squad One came back from their mission to Venice. They went into Walker's office quickly and gave their report. They all looked extremely nervous, like they were about to tell Walker that the world was about to come to an end. Even the leader, Daniel Layton, who was supposed to be the best out of all one hundred recruits, looked like he was about to wet himself. After they had finished their report, Walker was immediately on all forms of communication with his task force.
   
"Everyone respond to the cafeteria immediately," he said sternly. "That is an order."
   
Marshal was a little worried by Walker's unnaturally dark tone. What could that mean for them? What happened to Squad One while they were on their mission? He quickly found out when he arrived at the cafeteria to find Walker standing on a podium in the middle of the room with all the recruits standing around him.
   
"Alright, everyone," he began. "I've got good news, and I've got bad news. The good news is that Squad One found our contact in Venice and have discovered a key ingredient in our search for the Titan Orb. According to our source, the orb is locked in a mystical vault that will be opened with a special key. This special key is actually an Ancient Egyptian ankh, appropriately named the Titan's Ankh, which rests in the recently uncovered tomb of an ancient physician named Shepseskaf'ankh."
   
"Bless you," said one of the Squad Eight members.
   
"Thank you," Walker said sarcastically, glaring at the boy. "Now, the bad news is that our new enemies have found out about the tomb as well, and are more than likely going to get there as soon as they possibly can. We need to get to the tomb and get the ankh before they do."
   
"How will we do that, Walker?" Marshal asked.
   
"Mr. North does bring up a good point," Walker said. As we are right now, we don't have the time nor the equipment to get to Egypt and stand a chance against Savage's forces. Luckily for us, though, I had a contingency plan in motion just in case an event like this should arise. If you all would please follow me, I will show you what I'm talking about." He led them all downstairs to the first floor, into the lobby where they had all first met. Suddenly, he took a remote out of his pocket and pressed a button. The floor of the lobby began to sink down into the ground, almost like an elevator. Above them, a covering slid across the floor to keep anybody else from falling down the large pit. After sinking for a minute or two, the floor finally stopped. Some dim lights flickered on, and they found that they were in a strange room resembling a laboratory.
   
"This is my research and development room," Walker told them. "This is my pride and joy! So many things in this room are experimental, and I've been working on them while you all have been training for the past several months. So far, there are only two things that are ready for me to present to you, but I believe they could be our biggest assets in the battles to come. First, we have the first ever automobile designed by Breckinridge Industries, the Breckinridge Industries Series One Technical. This vehicle comes standard with a driver's seat, a passenger seat with a standard grade catapult, and a rear bay able to hold up to eight people. You can transport your entire squad with one single vehicle! The best feature of this vehicle, though, is that it can be compacted into a small, capsule-like unit that can fit in your pocket!" He pressed a button on the dashboard of the large, truck-like vehicle and it shrunk down into a small capsule.
   
The soldiers marveled at these amazing vehicles. Most of them were rendered completely speechless by this amazing feat of Walker Breckinridge's technology. Smirking a little bit, Walker pressed a button on the top of the capsule, threw it out, and the truck instantly grew back to its normal size. Everyone cheered loudly for Walker's amazing new vehicle.
   
"Thank you, thank you," Walker said, bowing a little bit for show. "That's not all I have for you today, however. How many of you have ever played a video game called Halo?" A few hands went up in the crowd. Walker smiled. "Good. Well, if you know anything about the Halo universe, you'll know that it takes place over five hundred years from the present day. In this time period, humans have become so technologically advanced that they have managed to create extremely powerful Artificial Intelligence units, or A.I. for short. These are not like the artificial intelligence that we are used to here. They're fully modeled, holographic characters that are sometimes even more intelligent than their own creators. But I digress. Today I'm here to tell you that those works of fiction are now a reality!" A few gasps came from the crowd as ten short, cylindrical objects rose up from the ground behind Walker. He pressed another button on his remote, and ten holographic images resembling people materialized on top of the cylinders. Cheers erupted from the crowd.
   
"Ladies and gentlemen," Walker said, trying to be a good showman over the roar of the crowd. "I give you your very own Artificial Intelligence units! Say hello to Xenon, Phaidros, Araqiel, Vígi, Tydenn, Seisyll, Siward, Alkippe, Nephthys, and Kalmiya! The crowd continued to cheer and applaud as the small holographic images waved at all of them.
   
"Each squad will receive an A.I.," Walker said. "The A.I.s are all stored on these tiny data chips that can be inserted and uploaded onto any existing Breckinridge Industries product, including your weapons. If that is not portable enough for you, your 12HUDs also have an attachment that allows the A.I.'s data to be uploaded wirelessly onto it, allowing for access to it from anywhere at any time, but this will require the assistance of your team's hacker. Are there any questions?" Nobody said anything because they were in awe of the amazing technological feats that had been displayed for them. "Hearing none, we will head back up to the cafeteria to discuss the next mission. Please grab your Technical and your A.I. units at this time!" Vlad went to capsulize the Technical while Marshal went up to pick up his A.I. unit. He found the cylinder that was marked with a number four and looked at his A.I. for the first time. It was quite an amazing sight. The image was only shown in shades of emerald green, which pleased Marshal. This was the A.I. that Walker introduced as Vígi, to the best of his recollection. He looked fairly similar to Marshal as far as facial structure was concerned. He was wearing a long scarf that looked as if the wind was whipping it around. His hair was spiked up to a point, and he wore the signature suit of a Breckinridge Task Force soldier.
   
"Hello, Marshal North," the A.I. said. "My name is Vígi, and I will be your assistant from now on."
   
"Hello, Vígi," Marshal said, returning the greeting. "I'm glad to have you with us." He pulled Vígi's data chip from the cylinder and walked back over to meet with the rest of his squad. Once everyone had pulled their A.I.s and capsulized their Technicals, Walker took them back up to the lobby and herded them all back to the cafeteria. Once everyone had gotten seated again, he continued his presentation.
   
"Now that that's taken care of, we can discuss the matters at hand," he said. "This next mission requires all of you to work together. You will all be heading to the tomb of Shepseskaf'ankh, where you will search for the Titan's Ankh. Of course, this will require teamwork between all of the squads simultaneously, so I ask that all the squad leaders meet in my office immediately following this briefing for a quick strategy discussion. Now, that is all I have for you. We leave tomorrow morning, extremely early. Be ready!" With that, Walker turned and left the room, with the squad leaders following suit.

*   *   *
   
"So," Thomas Savage said, looking at Jack. "What did you find out?"
   
"Breckinridge has discovered the location of an Ancient Egyptian ankh that is said to open the way to the Titan Orb," Jack reported. "It's apparently located in the tomb of Shepseskaf'ankh."
   
"Interesting," Savage said, leaning back in his chair and stroking his slicked back black hair. "What else can you tell me?"
   
"That's all I've got," Jack told him. "I assume they will be going after it tomorrow."
   
"Then we must strike first," Savage said. "When they get there, we'll be waiting with the Ankh in our hands and ammunition in our weapons, ready to kill. I've taken the liberty of putting together a small task force similar to dear old Walker's for you. Unfortunately, you don't have your own squad yet. That will come when Mr. Albinson finally manages to capture your old one."
   
"It's no problem," Jack said. "I can get by. How many people are in this task force?"
   
"As of now, we only have eighty, not including you," Savage estimated. "Once you get your own squad to join us, we'll be even with Breckinridge."
   
"Sounds like a plan," Jack said. "What are we waiting for?"
   
"We're waiting for your new claws to be ready," Savage told him. "I think you'll enjoy them. We studied the sword of your old friend Marshal North and made your claws similar to it. We're calling them the Golden Talons. You'll get them tomorrow."

"Thank you, sir." Jack turned and left the office.

*   *   *

Vlad's alarm clock buzzed throughout the apartment extremely early the next morning. The entire squad got up, energized for the day's mission. Vlad had made Russian waffles, just like he did the morning they had all met.

"This is it, everyone," Marshal said, taking a huge bite of his waffle. "This mission has a lot riding on it. If we pull it off, we may finally be done."

"What does that mean, then?" Mia wondered. "What happens next?"

"I'd assume we all go back home," Vlad said.

Mia's eyes began to water. "After all we've been through? Could this really be it?"

"Of course not!" Adelia exclaimed. "We'll all be friends forever!"

"Wishful thinking, Adelia," Ryder said. "We all live so far apart that it'd be almost impossible for us to meet again."

"Not necessarily," Serena argued. "We have these HUDs that are able to communicate across the world if they need. It'd be simple for us to at least keep in contact."

"Don't you think Walker will want these back, though?" Chris wondered.

"That's pretty unlikely, considering they've been implanted onto our brains," Adelia reminded him.

"Anyway," Marshal said, "our mission is simple. Get to the tomb, find the ankh, get out, and get home."

"Pretty simple, indeed," Vlad agreed. They all finished their waffles as quickly as possible, then got dressed and headed out to the helipad. They were one of the last squads to arrive there.

"You're late, Four!" the Squad One leader, Daniel Layton, shouted at them.

"Bite me, Layton," Marshal grunted. He didn't really care much for Squad One's leader. He was a lot like Jack, thinking that he was better than anyone else that was beneath him, which was everyone. He even looked the part, too, looking like he was the star quarterback of his high school football team. While Marshal doubted that he had ever sliced up twenty guys at one time, he still had quite a bit of respect for Layton's leadership skills.

"Whatever," Daniel said. "Let's just get ready to go." The squads all piled into their helicopters and took off for Egypt.

*   *   *

After an extremely long helicopter ride, the task force finally landed in the Egyptian desert. Aurora capsulized the helicopter with the new button placed in the cockpit, and Vlad uncapped the new Technical. He got in the driver's seat with Marshal taking the passenger seat and the rest of the squad taking the rear bed. Vlad set the waypoint to the tomb that Daniel Layton had sent to everyone and they took off. On the way there, they noticed nine helicopters slightly similar to theirs making a landing a ways ahead of them, most likely in front of the tomb.

"That has to be Savage," Layton assumed through the HUDs communicator.

"Maybe it's just somebody friendly!" Squad Five's leader Luvenia Davison hoped.

"Doubtful," said Squad Six leader Cyrus Turnball. The communication channel went quiet again as they finally got to the tomb. They drove by the helicopters, which were already empty, as they found the door.

"We're here," Marshal said, jumping out of the Technical. "Let's get moving." Everyone jumped out and walked into the tomb. Stretching out in front of them was a huge labyrinth that seemed to span a huge distance. There were ten paths, one for each squad to go through.

"Crap," Ryder muttered.

"Let's fan out," Daniel said. "Once somebody finds the ankh, let us know so we can get out of here before we have any big problems."

"Yes, sir!" the rest of the task force acknowledged quietly. Each squad took the paths from left to right corresponding to their number. Squad Four walked along their path for a while until Marshal suddenly stopped them.

"Wait," he whispered. "Do you hear that?" They all stopped and listened ahead of them. They heard some people talking loudly ahead of them.

"Man, this place is boring!" a voice shouted. "It's been nothing but dark hallways and dead ends!"

"Shut up," a female voice whispered. "There's a chance that those Breckinridge guys are here. We need to be quiet."

"Aw, man!" the first voice shouted louder. "This place is just a dead end again!"

Vígi finally decided to speak up. "They said it was a dead end. Maybe we should just turn around?"

Marshal nodded at the rest of his squad and they ran in the direction of the voices. They reached the source of the voices rather quickly, weapons drawn. They stopped in a dead end room, where ten enemy soldiers were waiting for them with their own weapons at the ready.

"Go!" Marshal barked. Squad Four opened fire on the enemies, taking out eight of them quickly. Marshal slashed a ninth with Emerald Flash. The last soldier, clearly freaked out, shot a single bullet from his small pistol that landed square in Serena's stomach. Serena fell to the ground, clutching her stomach in pain.

"Serena!" Chris screamed.

"Adelia, get her out of here!" Marshal ordered. "Mia, give her some cover!" Adelia quickly grabbed Serena and ran out of the room as fast as she could, with Mia running behind them putting up a camouflage field.

"Serves you right!" the enemy said. His voice matched the one that was yelling earlier. "Now, I'll just take down the rest of you idiots!" He raised his pistol to fire again, but was immediately stopped when Chris slammed into him and tackled him to the ground.

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter22: The Berserker Awakens

Chris wailed on the enemy soldier for an extremely excessive amount of time with a flurry of punches. He never once stopped to rest his fists. After a while, the poor man was nothing more than a bloody pulp at Chris's feet.
   
"Chris?" Marshal called slowly, backing away from his best friend. "Are you okay?"
   
Chris stood up and turned around to face Marshal. He was quite a sight to behold. His sleeves were splattered with blood, and his eyes had changed from their natural brown to a shade of red similar to the blood on him. He appeared to be in a daze.
   
"Marshal?" he grunted weakly. "What happened?"
   
"You kind of went crazy," Marshal told him. "Are you sure you're okay? Your eyes are a little red."
   
"I'm fine," Chris said, shaking his head to wake himself up. He suddenly remembered what was going on and gasped. "Serena! Is she okay?"
   
"She's resting in the Technical," Mia reported. "She'll be healed up in no time."
   
"Oh, thank God," Chris sighed, clutching his chest with his hands. "I don't know what I would do if I lost her."
   
"It looks like you've done quite enough already," Vlad said, motioning to the puddle on the floor that used to be human-shaped.
   
"I told you we should have turned around," Vígi said.
   
"That doesn't matter now," Marshal said, glaring at Vlad while also muting Vígi's voice. "What matters is that we find what we came here to find."
   
"Right," Tristan agreed. "The ankh should be in this maze somewhere." The remaining eight of them turned around and ran back to the tomb's entrance.

*   *   *
   
Serena woke up in Squad Four's Technical. She sat up and winced in pain, clutching her stomach. Adelia noticed her and gently pushed her back down onto the bed of the Technical.
   
"You shouldn't move yet," Adelia suggested. "The wound isn't completely healed yet. Give it a few more minutes."
   
Serena grunted and laid back onto the floor, where she immediately passed out.

*   *   *
   
Marshal and the others were wandering around the labyrinth of the tomb when the whole tomb began to quake. After the quake stopped, a deafening screech and a bloodcurdling scream rang throughout the whole area. Almost immediately, the entire squad's HUDs were hit with an emergency transmission.
   
"This is Squad Ten leader Karly Garret," the voice said. "We have the ankh, but there was a trap. All squads are advised to evacuate ASAP! The tomb is going to collapse!" Another screech traveled through the air and in Karly's transmission just before it cut off.
   
"Let's move, people!" Marshal barked. The squad immediately turned around and ran as quickly as they could out of the tomb. On their way, they ran into most of the other squads, all scrambling wildly to find the exit of the strange tomb. In the panic, some of the soldiers were knocked down and left behind. Finally, nine of the ten squads made it out of the cave and jumped in their respective Technicals. Vlad started up Squad Four's engine and they were one of the last ones out of the gate. Karly was just getting out of the cavern with the rest of her squad just behind her. As soon as they reached their Technical, a huge monster crashed out of the cave, busting a huge hole in the entrance. The monster had the head and wings of a hawk, but it was blended with the muscular torso and razor sharp claws of a large, feral feline. The monster towered over the ten members of Squad Ten.
   
"Let's go!" Karly shouted to her squad, hopping in the squad's pink Technical. "We can get away if we go now!"
   
"Sorry, ma'am," one of her squad mates, the boy who had finished last, said. "We can't do that. You go. We'll hold it off as long as we can."
   
"Absolutely not!" Karly screamed. "We leave now!"
   
"No time to argue!" another girl from the squad. "Go, now!" She quickly turned on the menu of her HUD and flipped a few things. Without warning, the squad's Technical started up and took off without Karly doing anything.
   
"Sorry, Karly," the A.I. Kalmiya said, popping up on the Technical's dashboard. "The rest of your squad gave me an unquestionable order to keep you safe at all costs."

"I am the leader of this squad, and I override that order!" Karly shouted.

"Unfortunately," Kalmiya said, playing with the cat ears that popped up out of the top of her head, "you do not have the majority in this situation. Please respect the wishes of your squad this time." Karly screamed as the Technical sped off into the distance, leaving her squad behind. She watched helplessly as Savage's men managed to make it out of the tomb before it caved in on them, grabbed Squad Ten, and evacuated before the monster could do anything about it. Unfazed, the monster simply shifted its attention to the ten vehicles speeding away from it on the ground. It leaped into the air and shot towards them, using its powerful wings to generate a ridiculous amount of speed.

Vlad stomped on the gas pedal as hard as he could, causing the emerald green Technical to shoot over a sand dune and go airborne. Marshal turned to face the rear bed of the Technical.

"What is that thing?" he wondered, terrified of the huge, imposing monster that was rocketing toward them.

"It looks like it's an Axex," Vígi observed, turning his own voice communications back on. "They're the Ancient Egyptian equivalent to the griffon. They were known as spirits that guarded the tombs of great and powerful Egyptians."

"Great," Marshal muttered. "Another thing that wants to kill us. Fire at it!"
   
"Yes, sir!" the squad shouted, drawing their weapons. They all sent a barrage of bullets at the Axex, but it dodged all of them handily.
   
"That won't be enough!" Daniel said over the communication channel. "All units, fire at that thing!" All ten Technicals fired every available weapon they had at the winged monster, but it still dodged every single bit of ammunition that was thrown at it.
   
"No way!" Squad Two leader Andrés Juarez shouted. "It dodged everything we sent at it!"
   
Marshal looked at his squad, and quickly focused on Chris. He noticed that his eyes hadn't changed from their red color.
   
"Chris," Marshal said. "Are you sure you're alright?"
   
Chris stared at him for a moment, then back at the Axex still speeding towards them. "I have an idea," he said. "You're going to have to trust me on it."
   
"What is it?" Marshal asked.
   
"I want you to shoot me off of the catapult and onto the Axex," Chris told him.
   
"What?!" Serena shouted. "Don't you dare do that! That's insane!"
   
"Trust me!" Chris shouted back. "I know I can do this!"
   
Marshal looked at Chris for a moment, and then sighed. "Alright. You'd better know what you're doing."
   
Chris clambered up onto the Technical's catapult and got into position. "I'm ready when you are, Marshal!"
   
"Vlad, switch me spots!" Marshal ordered. "You should take this shot."
   
"Absolutely," Vlad said, smirking with confidence. The two of them jumped onto the hood of the Technical and leaped into the opposite seats. Marshal quickly put his foot down on the gas pedal and they regained their momentum quickly. Vlad lined up Chris so he would have a perfect shot at the Axex, and pulled the lever on the catapult. Chris shot up into the air at an incredible velocity, headed straight for the Axex. Instead of getting out his shotgun, though, he simply raised his fist.
   
"What is he doing?!" Adelia shrieked. "He's going to get himself killed!"
   
"Wait a minute," Vígi said, materializing on the dashboard of the Technical. "There's something going on with Chris. I've read about this somewhere before."
   
"What are you talking about?" Serena asked her.
   
"I've only heard about people like him in stories," Vígi mused. "The red eyes, the seemingly infinite rage, the crazy physical power, he's got to be one of them!"
   
"One of what?" Tristan shouted over the roar of the engine.
   
"Chris is a legendary Berserker!" Vígi shouted.
   
Up in the air, Chris smirked as he raised his fist to meet the Axex. He suddenly let out a terrifying war cry as he met with the Axex, landing his fist square into the creature's torso. Both he and the Axex began to fall to the ground while he kept his fist planted firmly down. The two of them met the ground, and a huge explosion rocked the entire desert.

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter23: The War Officially Begins

Marshal whipped the Technical around and sped toward where Chris had landed. When they got there, they found that he had made a huge crater just with his fist. The Axex had a huge hole in its torso where Chris's fist had made contact. They found Chris standing there, staring at his right fist. Marshal brought the Technical up to him.

"Nice job," he praised. "Get in and we'll go home." Chris smiled and hopped in the back of the Technical, where Serena proceeded to punch him in the stomach.

"Ow!" he cried. "What the hell was that for?"

"That was for scaring me half to death!" Serena yelled. She raised her fist, poised to punch Chris again. Chris closed his eyes and cringed, expecting another punch. Serena quickly put her arms around Chris and gave him a kiss. "That one was for saving us." Chris blushed.

"Take it easy, lovebirds," Aurora said, averting her eyes. "We're going to have to ask you to get a room, soon." Everyone laughed as they raced back to catch up to the other squads.

"This is Squad Four leader Marshal North," Marshal said into the HUD communicator. "Target has been neutralized. Do we still have the ankh?"

"Negative," Karly said, her voice breaking. "My squad has been captured by Savage's forces, and one of them had the ankh. We've lost this one." She forgot to turn off her communicator, and everyone was able to hear her sobbing while Kalmiya piloted the Technical for her.

"So, what do we do now, then?" a Squad Six member asked.

"The only thing we can do now is go back to headquarters," Daniel said. "The loss of Squad Ten is a crushing blow, but we must see what Breckinridge wants us to do next."

"Agreed," Marshal said. "Let's get our birds in the air and head for headquarters." The Technicals all stopped. Everyone capped their Technicals, quickly uncapped their helicopters, and took back off for headquarters.

*   *   *

"This isn't my squad," Jack told Forrest, looking at the camera footage of a holding cell containing Squad Ten. "This is Squad Ten."

"Well, you're gonna have to deal with it!" Forrest shouted at him. "They had the ankh and we managed to grab them. They've agreed to work with us, something that I'm willing to bet your old squad would be unwilling to do."

"Fine," Jack muttered, clearly unimpressed. "So we have the Titan's Ankh. Now what?"

"Now, we figure out where it goes," Savage said, coming out of his office to greet Jack and Forrest. "Once we do that, the Titan Orb will finally be mine. From there, I will have the power to finally be able to realize my goal."

"Wait just a minute, Savage," Jack stopped him. "You still owe me some answers. Where is my family? How do you know about them?"

"Not until we find the Titan Orb," Savage warned him. "Then I will tell you the truth about your family." He turned back into his office and shut the door behind him, leaving Jack hopelessly confused.

"What do you want to know about your family for?" Forrest asked Jack. "What happened to them?"

"It's a long story," Jack told him. "One for another time. Let's go."

"Where are we going?" Forrest asked, keeping up his string of incessant questions.

"If you don't stop asking so many annoying questions, you'll be going to the Pit," Jack warned him. Forrest shuddered as the two of them walked down the hallway.

*   *   *

"The loss of Squad Ten will not be taken lightly," Walker assured the group. "We will strike Savage back with everything we can. This is not a simple treasure hunt anymore. This is war. If it's a fight Thomas Savage wants, then he will be getting one hell of a fight. As of now, according to the general report, the enemy is currently in possession of the Titan's Ankh. Our objective is simple. We find out as much about Savage's forces as we can, find out where they're keeping the ankh, steal it, and go on our way. I don't care who
Thomas Savage has on his side, it doesn't compare to my task force." Everyone cheered. Walker continued, visibly angry. "He can do whatever he wants to me and my company, but attacking my precious volunteers is crossing the line. Let's get prepared for war."

"Yes, Commander Walker!" everyone shouted.

"No!" Walker shouted. "The time for pleasantries has passed. You will all hereby address me as, 'sir' or, 'Commander Breckinridge'. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir!" everyone shouted louder.

"What was that?" Walker shouted at them.

"Yes, sir, Commander Breckinridge, sir!" everyone shouted as loud as they could.

"Good!" Walker said, pleased. "You're dismissed. We'll resume activity tomorrow. Karly, please come see me in my office immediately." Everyone scattered back to their rooms, pumped up but nervous about what awaited them in the very near future.

*   *   *

Jack had taken Forrest to his living room in the apartment that Savage had set aside for him when he arrived at Savage's doorstep a few months ago. He jumped onto the couch and kicked his feet up. Forrest sat on the floor in front of him, crossing his legs.

"So," Forrest said. "Are you gonna tell me what your story is?"

"Just shut up and listen," Jack said. "For the longest time, now, I've been alone. My family disappeared without a trace when I was just three years old. My mom, my dad, and even my sister Molly were suddenly taken away from me. Since then, I've been moved from foster home to foster home all around the United States. Finally, once one of my foster parents finally told me why I was part of a new family almost every month, I ran away on my own. I snuck into a high school in some small town out in the middle of nowhere and assimilated into normal culture. One day, Walker Breckinridge showed up and gave us the offer to go with him and search around the world for the Titan Orb. So I took him up on his offer, and the rest is history."

"I don't get it," Forrest said. "Why did you think that would help you find your family?"

"Because I would be able to search for them while searching around the world for the Titan Orb, idiot," Jack said. "But Walker's missions were too structured for me. Finally, I found a way out when I fought Marshal North. Soon after I left, Savage called me and told me he knew about my parents. Now, here I am."

"Wow," Forrest said, staring awkwardly at Jack. "That's quite the story."

"Yeah," Jack said, dismissing him. "Now get out of my apartment, you freak." Forrest stood up and dashed out of Jack's apartment.

*   *   *

"So, Vígi," Marshal said, looking at Vígi's projection on the coffee table in between the couches. "When Chris launched off of the catapult on the last mission to attack the Axex, you called him something. What was it again?"

"I think Chris is a Berserker," Vígi told him. "Of course, to be completely sure, there's one more thing I need to know. Chris, is your family of Norse descent?"

"As far as I know," Chris answered. "Why?"

"Then everything makes perfect sense," Vígi concluded, pleased. "You see, Berserkers were Norse warriors that were said to have fought in a wild and reckless manner. They almost appeared to be in some sort of trance-like fury. This condition would not only appear in battle, but also in laborious work. Men who underwent this process of berserkergang were reported to be able to perform tasks that otherwise seemed completely impossible for a normal human to finish. Once they had undergone the process, they went insane, mowing down everything in their path, not even bothering to distinguish between friend and foe. When their rage subsided, many of these men were found to have dulling of the mind and weakness, which could last from one day to even the rest of their life."

"So I'm one of these?" Chris asked the A.I.

"It looks that way," Vígi answered. "Typically, most people of Norse heritage don't inherit such traits from their ancestors, but you appear to be a rare case. While it's quite an interesting power, it's very dangerous. You should be very careful when you use it."

*   *   *

Karly Garret walked into Walker's office, where he waited for her there along with Squad Three. "You wanted to see me, sir?" she said.

"Yes," Walker said. "I wanted to extend my condolences on the loss of your team. That had to be a hard loss to take."

"Yes, it was," Karly admitted. "Thank you for your concern."

"Well, I've called you here to give you your new assignment," Walker told her. "From now on, you will be the acting leader of Squad Three."

Karly gasped. "You mean it?"

"Of course," Walker said. "You will be immediately relocated to Squad Three's apartment. However, this does mean that one of the two A.I.s under Squad Three's control will have to be given to me."

One of Squad Three's original members turned to Karly. "You can keep your A.I.," she said. "Araqiel reminds us too much of Jack."

"Thank you," Karly said, grinning. The Squad Three member took Araqiel's chip out of her pocket and handed it over to Walker.

"Great," Walker said. "You're all dismissed. Your assignment for the night is to get to know your new teammate, or in Karly's case, teammates."

"Yes, sir!" the reinvigorated Squad Three shouted. They all left to go back to their apartment. After they had left, Walker picked up the telephone on his desk and dialed a number.

*   *   *

Savage was sitting in his office filling out a report on the previous mission when the phone on his desk began to ring. He picked it up with a sinister smile. "Hello, Walker."

"Listen here, you son of a-"

"Now, now, Walker," Savage said calmly. "There's no reason to be rude."

"You abducted nine of my volunteers," Walker reminded him. "I have plenty of reason to be rude."

"If you're so upset about it, why don't you do something about it?" Savage asked him.

"Oh, don't worry," Walker said. "I plan to."

"Is that a threat?" Savage asked.

"No," Walker told him. "That's a promise." With that, Walker Breckinridge hung up the phone on Thomas Savage, officially starting the event that would be forever known throughout history as the Titan War.

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter 24: Battleground NYC
   
The next day came sooner than anyone had anticipated. Everyone was still extremely worried about the impending war between Breckinridge and Savage. Everyone shuffled out to the lobby of the training dome for Walker's morning briefing.
   
"Good morning, everyone," Walker said, uncharacteristically plain for once. "I'd just like to let you know that our primary objective has officially changed. As of last night, we are now officially at war with the Savage Corporation. His heinous acts against our forces will not be taken lightly. Are we ready to begin?"
   
"Yes, sir!" everyone shouted, still trying to get used to calling Walker sir.
   
"Good," Walker said. "Our first objective takes us to New York City, where one of your fellow soldiers, Travis Urban, has recently been sent on a reconnaissance mission. He's reported that Savage and his forces are rumored to be staying there. We will hit them hard and show them that we aren't going to mess around. If you all understand, then get going!" He marched back to his office, his usual smile completely wiped off of his face.
   
"Something's off about Walker," Marshal said. "He almost seems angry somehow."
   
"Well, he did just start a war with one of his business rivals," Adelia reminded him. "He could be stressed out about that."
   
"That may be," Marshal admitted, "but no matter how angry Walker's gotten, he's never managed to get through an entire one of his speeches without cracking at least the tiniest of smiles. There has to be something more going on that we don't know."
   
"Well, if Walker wanted us to know what was going on, he'd probably say something," Vlad said, changing the conversation. "Either way, we need to get moving."
   
"Right," Ryder agreed. "Let's move. Travis is already there, and we need to give him some support." The squad dashed off to find their helicopter, and they immediately took off for New York City.

*   *   *
   
Forrest Albinson walked into Savage's office with a few men holding a prisoner in their arms. "Sir," he said, "we've located one of Breckinridge's reconnaissance units."
   
Savage turned around in his chair to face the boy. "Ah, this is a member of Squad Four! One of the Urban twins, if I'm not mistaken. Which one are you?" He waited for a reply from the twin, which never came. "Ah, you must be Travis. You're the quiet one, so I've heard. Yes, I've heard all about your squad from your old friend Jack Martin. Isn't that right, Jack?"
   
"Sure is," Jack grinned, stepping out of the shadows of Savage's office. "So, what exactly are you doing in this neck of the woods, Urban?"
   
Travis remained silent.
   
Jack glared at Forrest. "Next time you capture a reconnaissance soldier, make sure it's one that actually talks, you complete moron!"
   
"I'm sorry!" Forrest cried. "He was the only one I could find!"
   
"It's no matter," Savage said, calming the two of them down. "Now that we have one of the Urban twins, he'll surely be sending a distress signal to his other twin. Breckinridge's forces should be arriving any time today. We'll be ready for an all-out attack."
   
"Yes, sir!" the two of them shouted. They left Savage's office with Travis still in tow.

*   *   *
   
The task force had almost made it to New York City when Ryder decided that that moment was the perfect time to have a panic attack.
   
"Guys!" he cried. "They've captured Travis!"
   
"What?!" everyone cried in disbelief.
   
"He just told me that they know we're coming and they're preparing for a huge attack!" Ryder squeaked. "What do we do?"
   
"Well, we can't very well turn back now," Daniel Layton said over the communicator. "We'll go in and get your brother back, Urban."
   
"How are you planning on doing that while minimizing casualties?" Marshal asked, skeptical of Layton's claim.
   
"I'll think of something," Daniel lied. "Let's just get there first." After a few minutes, all nine squads landed in a quiet location just off of Long Island. They all quickly switched from their helicopters to the Technicals and drove along the streets of New York City in a line.
   
"Ryder, did Travis say anything about a location?" Marshal asked him.
   
"Apparently, Savage's New York City office is on the 35th floor of the Empire State Building," Ryder reported. "It spans the whole floor, and they seem to even have similar facilities to our headquarters in there."
   
"Did you get all that, Layton?" Marshal asked.
   
"Yes, I did," Daniel assured him. "Let's move, people! We're taking a trip to the Empire State Building."
   
"Yes, sir!" everyone shouted. They drove a little faster, trying to cut the time it took to get to the Empire State Building as much as possible.

*   *   *
   
"They're on their way," one of the former Squad Ten members told Jack, who was waiting about a block away from the Empire State Building for them.
   
"Excellent," Jack said. "Thank you for not being completely useless. I may have underestimated you, Squad Ten."
   
"Whatever," the squad member shrugged. "We're not Squad Ten anymore. Here, we're Squad One."
   
"You're damn right, you are," Jack smirked. "Now get ready for a fight." He put his brand new Golden Talons on and waited for the task force to arrive.

*   *   *
   
"Contacts lighting up on multiple channels," Vígi told Marshal. "We've got quite a bit of company headed our way."
   
"Then we'll just have to improvise," Marshal said. "Layton, set us an alternate course taking us away from these contacts!"
   
"You don't order me around," Daniel huffed. He still did as Marshal had asked and made a sharp left into one of the narrower streets. Behind Squad Nine's Technical, everyone could see a few vehicles looking similar to big, black vans speeding along the street they had just left.
   
"Dodged a bullet on that one, didn't we, Danny boy?" Marshal asked him sarcastically.
   
"Stuff it, North," Daniel grouched. "I still outrank you."
   
"Look how far that's gotten you," Marshal remarked. They continued on to the Empire State Building in silence.

*   *   *
   
Jack's cell phone began to ring. He picked up quickly. "What is it?"
   
"We've lost them!" a soldier on the other line shouted. "They're taking another route!"
   
"Can't you idiots do anything right?!" Jack screamed. He teleported in a flash and was immediately at the top of the building. He scoured the block around him and saw nine identical vehicles speeding towards the Empire State Building at an extremely conspicuous pace.
   
"You're mine now, Marshal North," Jack said, smiling evilly.

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter25: Round Two

"We're almost there!" Daniel assured them all. "It's just at the end of this alley!" Suddenly, he gasped. "Shit!" He slammed on the brakes of his Technical, causing everyone else to follow suit. Everyone managed to stop without incident.
   
"What's going on?" Squad Seven's leader Kelsey Noir asked, stuck near the back of the line. "I can't see!"
   
"It's Jack!" Andrés shouted. "He's back!"
   
Just by hearing the name of his former rival, Marshal sprang out of the Technical as if he had just been hit by a bolt of lightning. He ran over the top of the three Technicals in front of him, drawing Emerald Flash as he moved. He jumped off the top of Squad One's Technical and brought the blade down on Jack Martin, who had his new claws at the ready to block the attack.
   
"Long time, no see," Jack said as if the two of them were old friends that were getting reacquainted.
   
"Same to you," Marshal replied, still trying to force his sword down through Jack's claws. "Are you ready for me to beat the shit out of you a second time?"
   
"As I recall," Jack said, "you were lying on the arena floor, almost bleeding to death."
   
"Well, if you'd remember a few seconds before that," Marshal retorted, "you'd remember that you had passed out on the ground after I hit you with the butt of my sword."
   
Jack growled. "Marshal!"
   
"Jack!" Marshal cried. The two of them exploded into battle.
   
"Now would be a good time to get going, Layton!" Karly shouted.
   
"Right!" Layton agreed. "Let's move, everyone!" The nine Technicals rode past Marshal and Jack, who were locked in one of the most important fights of their lives.

*   *   *
   
As the rest of the task force raced towards the Empire State Building, Karly was the first to notice nine familiar faces standing at the front door.
   
"Oh, no," she groaned. "Don't tell me they're in on this, too!"
   
"It looks that way," Daniel said. "We may have to take them out. Are you prepared to do that, Karly?"
   
"Can we do a nonlethal takedown?" she asked.
   
"It may be difficult to do on all nine of them, but we'll attempt," Daniel told her.
   
"Thank you," Karly sighed. They pulled up to the Empire State Building, where the former Squad Ten was waiting for them.
   
"Well, look who it is!" one of the boys shouted. "It's Gullible and company!"
   
"Did you manage to find the Titan Orb for us to take out of your hands, too?" another boy sneered.
   
"What are you talking about?" Karly interrogated them.
   
"Oh, please!" one girl said, glaring at Karly. "At least make it sound like you had managed to piece together the information with that slow brain of yours. Or is that massive forehead of yours just for show?" Suddenly, the girl dropped to the ground due to a single bullet shot right in between her eyes from Karly's pistol. Karly blew the smoke off the tip of the barrel and put the weapon back on its holding spot on her leg.
   
"Daniel," she said, "I've changed my mind on that whole, 'nonlethal' thing."
   
"Awesome," Daniel said, grinning. "Let's show these guys what we do to deserters." The former members of Squad Ten were riddled with bullets from all the remaining members of the task force. Worried that someone might have seen them all murder nine people, Adelia glanced around the block for any witnesses, but she found no one.
   
"I wonder where all the people are," she wondered. "Isn't this supposed to be the city that never sleeps?"
   
"I was beginning to think the same thing," Serena told her. "Even when we were driving here, there didn't seem to be nearly as many people as there are on TV."
   
"Call it a lucky break," Vlad told them. "It's just convenient that we don't have to worry about hiding bodies."
   
"Agreed," Chris said.

*   *   *
   
Marshal and Jack's battle was going about as swimmingly for Marshal as it always did, which was equivalent to swimming in molasses. Jack was still easily parrying Marshal's strikes, then coming back at him with a claw swipe to the stomach. Marshal wasn't sure how many more times he would be able to dodge a hit from Jack before he got cut again.
   
"I see you got some shiny new toys," he said, trying to distract Jack.
   
"You like?" Jack asked. "Savage actually cares about me, unlike Walker."
   
"Walker cared about you!" Marshal reminded him. "He cares about all of us!"
   
"You're so misguided, Marshal!" Jack shouted. "You'll never change!" He lunged at Marshal, claws outstretched. Marshal simply did like he had when the two of them had previously fought and circled behind him at an incredible speed. Jack kept soaring through the air and crashed into the ground.
   
"How can you judge how misguided I am when you can't even decide what side you want to be on?" Marshal asked, getting angry with Jack.
   
"I'm not on anybody's side!" Jack screamed. "I don't care about the stupid Titan Orb! I just want my family back!" He made another lunge at Marshal, which was dodged yet again.
   
"Sorry to break it to you," Marshal said, "but this isn't going to solve anything!"
   
"You don't understand!" Jack yelled at him. "You don't get why I'm doing this!"
   
"No, I don't!" Marshal agreed. "So show me!"
   
Jack uttered a primordial shout as he ran at Marshal as fast as he could. Suddenly, he disappeared in a flash of light, and reappeared in front of Marshal. Or at least, where Marshal used to be. Before Jack even realized what had happened, Marshal was behind him, sheathing the Emerald Flash and drawing the cursed Muramasa blade.
   
"Teleportation is pretty neat," he said. "Unfortunately, it doesn't hold a candle to being able to stop time."
   
"When did you figure out how to do that?" Jack asked in disbelief.
   
"That's not the question you should be asking," Marshal told him. "You should be asking yourself when you thought I didn't know how to do it." Before Jack could even move, Marshal closed his eyes and concentrated. Suddenly, everything around him stopped. The wind that was moving through the city suddenly stopped, all noise ceased to sound, even birds simply hung suspended in the air. Marshal casually strolled by Jack, stabbed him through the gut with Muramasa, and sheathed the sword while on his way to meet back up with his friends. Jack wouldn't realize the blade had impaled him until Marshal started time again, nearly five minutes later.

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter26: Face-to-Shadow
   
The task force entered the Empire State Building and were immediately greeted by a whole battalion of Savage Corporation employees, weapons ready to strike. Daniel Layton stopped the group, and they all immediately drew their weapons and forced a quick stalemate.
   
"Nobody move," Layton ordered quietly. "Wait for the right moment to strike. As soon as one of them drops their guard, we take them all out." They all stood facing the enemies, weapons ready to take them all out, when Marshal suddenly popped into the middle of both groups.
   
"What's up, everyone?" he asked completely nonchalantly. Adelia noticed that he held the Muramasa in his hand.
   
"Oh, no," she groaned.
   
Marshal just grinned and closed his eyes as he slowly put the cursed sword back in its sheath. Just like back in Tokyo, the entire group of enemies fell into neatly sliced up chunks as soon as the guard of Muramasa clicked back into its sheath. Marshal opened his eyes to find the entire task force gaping at him with their jaws on the floor.
   
"What's wrong, guys?" he asked them. "You all look like you've seen a dashingly handsome man pop out of nowhere and kill a bunch of guys."
   
"Yeah," Adelia scoffed, unamused. "What a crazy notion."
   
"Lead on, Layton!" Marshal said, completely oblivious to Adelia's comment.
   
"Don't tell me what to do," Layton grumbled. "We need to get up there and find Savage and the Titan's Ankh. If we can kill him and also manage to get the ankh, we might have a chance at stopping this war before it gets any farther than it needs to be."
   
"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Vlad grunted. "Now, if you'll just shut up and get us where we need to go, that'd be nice."
   
"Is being annoying your entire squad's favorite activity?" Layton asked.
   
"We have a club with T-Shirts!" Chris said, grinning sarcastically.
   
"We meet on Saturdays and Sundays, if you're interested!" Marshal said with the same goofy grin.

*   *   *
   
"They're in," Forrest said to Savage. "They took out all of the men stationed in the lobby."
   
"How unfortunate," Savage said, not showing any concern for the workers he had just lost. "Well, I would send in our specially trained task force, but it's a shame they aren't here right now."
   
"They're at the base in the Loess Hills in Iowa, aren't they?" Forrest asked him. "They're guarding that weird key that those Breckinridge deserters found."
   
"Mr. Albinson," Savage said, standing up. "Why on Earth would you divulge that information in front of the enemy soldier you captured that can communicate telepathically with his twin that you didn't capture?"
   
"Oh, no!" Forrest cried. "Forgive me, sir! It was a mistake, honestly!"
   
"No matter," Savage said, reaching for a button on the arm of his chair. "You'll have plenty of time to think of your foolish mistake in the Pit." He pressed the button again and the floor swallowed up Forrest Albinson once again, sending him into the mysteriously frightening depths of the Pit. Travis didn't pay any attention, as he was busy sending information to his brother.

*   *   *
   
Daniel Layton led the task force up the small stairwell of the Empire State Building to the 35th floor. Oddly enough, they met no resistance on the way up.
   
"They must not have planned on us making it past the lobby," Vígi observed.
   
"Where's the vote of confidence, Vígi?" Serena asked the squad's A.I.
   
"To be quite honest," Vígi said, "I wasn't sure you would make it either. That stand-off in the lobby would not have ended in the task force's favor had Marshal not shown up when he did."
   
"What can I say?" Marshal asked smugly. "I guess I've just got super amazing timing."
   
"I think you're getting too overconfident in your abilities," Vígi scoffed.
   
"Nobody asked you, Vígi," Marshal mumbled.
   
"Shut up, Four!" Daniel shouted back at Marshal's squad. "We're here." They stood at a surprisingly plain steel door with a number 35 painted on it. Squad One breached the door and went in, weapons at the ready. Oddly enough, though, they had no resistance waiting for them on the other side yet again.
   
"Something is definitely wrong," one of the Squad One members said quietly, looking around for signs of life anywhere and finding none.
   
"Agreed," Daniel said. "Let's search the floor. Savage has to be around here somewhere. There's no way he could've escaped that quickly without us noticing."

*   *   *
   
On the other side of the floor, Savage sat in his office with Travis still handcuffed to the wall. He merely laughed when he saw the task force enter the floor through the security feed.
   
"This is precious," he admitted. "Your message must not have gotten to your brother in time. It's true, you know. The ankh is in a secret base in Iowa's Loess Hills, along with my own task force. They're guarding it with their lives as we speak, training hard for the sole purpose of eliminating the lot of you. They may not be ready yet, but I assure you they will be by the time you all get your sorry butts there."
   
Travis seemed flustered. He wondered why the message hadn't reached Ryder yet. He'd never had this kind of problem before. He tried once more, attempting to warn his brother about the trap Savage had laid for them.

*   *   *
   
The task force scoured the entire floor, looking for something to finally show up, but nothing ever came.

"This is ridiculous!" cried a member of Squad Eight. "Nobody's here!"
   
"Quiet!" His leader, Kimiko Nakahara, scolded.
   
"Something's coming up on the motion sensors," Daniel observed. "Let's check it out." Everyone snuck quietly over to where the blips on the radar were coming from. They were led to a simple wooden door, seemingly leading into an office of some sort. The door had a large window leading through to see inside the room, but it was blocked by a curtain. Marshal looked and found that he could see two silhouettes standing in the room. He could faintly make one shadow out as Travis Urban, but the other one was entirely obscured from his view. Just then, another figure appeared in the room from out of thin air.
   
"Something's happening!" Marshal whispered to the others. "I can't hear what they're saying, though."

*   *   *

"You're an absolute mess, Jack," Savage chuckled. "What happened?"

"It's fine, sir," Jack said, waving his hand in an attempt to show nonchalance. "This is nothing but a mere flesh wound. Nothing a little rest won't fix up."

"Can you at least get us to the Loess Hills?" Savage asked. "We have some work to do."

"Of course," Jack said.

Savage turned to Travis. "Farewell, young Travis Urban," he smirked. "It's been quite a pleasure." He raised a pistol and shot Travis in the torso before teleporting out of the office.

*   *   *

The gunshot reverberated throughout the hallway. The entire task force gasped.

"We've got to get in there!" Ryder screamed.

"Leave it to me!" Chris shouted. He let out a primordial scream and gave the sturdy wooden door an explosive knuckle sandwich. The door went flying across the room and smashed into quite a few pieces on the opposite wall. Squad Four rushed inside to see Travis bleeding from his abdomen.

"We've got wounded!" Marshal barked. "We've got to get out of here, now!"

Daniel nodded, acknowledging Marshal's sense of urgency. "You heard the man!" he shouted. "Let's get the hell out of here!"

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter27: Tensions Rise

All nine helicopters touched down behind the compound. Everyone scrambled out and ran to the door, with Squad Four leading the charge. Vlad carried Travis Urban up to the infirmary on the top floor. He took the wounded boy to a room near the end of the hallway. Adelia rushed to the unconscious Travis' side and examined him closely.

"Single gunshot wound," she noted, taking off the top part of Travis' combat suit. "Lower abdomen; looks like it missed all vital spots."

"Is he gonna be okay?" Ryder asked nervously, holding back tears.

"I think he'll be fine," Adelia said reassuringly. "Why don't you all go get some supper? I'll stay and do what I can."

"I'll bring you some food," Marshal said solemnly.

"Good," Adelia said sternly. "I need to talk to you alone."

Marshal gulped as he left the infirmary. Adelia's tone left him extremely worried.

*   *   *

Vlad sat down at a table and began eating his supper: a huge steak and French fries. He was so hungry, he didn't even notice when Anastasia sat down across from him.

"I see your appetite is as big as ever," she said, chuckling.

Vlad jumped in surprise and looked up at Anastasia. "Oh, hey," he mumbled, looking back down and continuing his feast.

"That's all you have to say?" Anastasia asked. "It's been so long since we've seen each other."

"It feels like just yesterday," Vlad said with a mouth full of steak.

"You haven't been to a class since before Christmas," Anastasia reminded him.

"I've been busy," Vlad said, taking a swig of his drink.

"I know," Anastasia said, "but I feel like you're brushing me off.

Vlad looked up from his plate and swallowed his huge bite of food. "I'm sorry," he said, clearing his throat. "There's been so many things happening, I've hardly even had time for myself."

"I understand," Anastasia told him, "but I still miss you. The least you could do is take me on a mission sometime. I could be a big help."

"Maybe next time, then," Vlad said, getting up and grabbing his empty plate. "I've got to go, now. I'm going to check on a teammate in the infirmary." He leaned over to give Anastasia a peck on the cheek before heading out of the cafeteria.

*   *   *

Marshal tiptoed into Travis' room. He had a tray of food in his hands. "Hey," he said sheepishly to Adelia, who was standing over Travis' bedside.

"Set the food down over there," Adelia said bluntly, pointing to a table near the bed without even looking up. Marshal set the tray down gingerly and sat in a chair next to Adelia.

"How's he doing?" Marshal asked.

"Fine," Adelia said, still not looking up. "Marshal, I need to talk to you."

"About what?" Marshal asked. He felt his heart rate increase, and every muscle in his body tensed up.

"I can't go on like this," she said. "Ever since we got here, you haven't been the same. You've turned into a monster, Marshal. You kill people."

"They're our enemies," Marshal reminded her. "Every time I've done it, it's been to protect you and everyone else."

"That's not the point," Adelia argued. "You don't just do it to save us; you do it because you enjoy it. You could just leave it at a simple stab in the head or the heart, but you literally make people fall to pieces. It's disturbing, and what's worse is that you don't even seem to care!"

"I don't have any control over that!" Marshal cried. "It's this stupid cursed sword!"

"You're so full of it!" Adelia shouted. "I can't believe you!"

"You don't hear the things that I hear!" Marshal yelled, his face turning red. "All I hear anymore while we fight is, 'Kill! Draw me! I need bloodshed!' It's driving me insane!"

"You know what?" Adelia asked, finally turning to face Marshal. "I don't care! You're just a homicidal psychopath! We're done! Get out of here and leave me alone!"

"Fine!" Marshal screamed. He stormed out the door and slammed it behind him. Adelia sat down in the chair, buried her face in her hands, and cried.

"He does have a point," Mia said, appearing in the room.

Adelia jumped in surprise and looked at Mia. "How much of that did you hear?"

"All of it."

"And?"

"I think Marshal's telling the truth," Mia told her. "No matter how you look at it, that new sword of his is seriously freaky."

"I just don't know anymore," Adelia sighed, putting her face back in her hands.

*   *   *

Marshal stormed down the stairs and out of the compound when he got a message on his HUD. He opened it and Daniel Layton showed up in the display.

"We have a leader's meeting in Walker's office right now," the message said to Marshal. "Be there as soon as possible."

Marshal just grunted as the transmission closed.

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter28: Clash of Egos
   
Marshal sauntered into Walker's office, where the rest of the squad leaders sat at a boardroom table waiting for him.
   
"Late again, North," Daniel said, glaring at him with murderous intent.
   
Marshal responded by turning around, bending over, and pointing to his buttocks. "Kiss it," he offered, shaking his rumpus around.
   
"That's it!" the Squad One leader shouted to the heavens. "You're dead, you annoying little shit!" he jumped out of his chair and throttled Marshal into the wall behind him.
   
"Enough!" Walker's voice boomed throughout the office. "Sit down, you two. We have many things to discuss." Daniel released his grip on Marshal and stomped back into his chair fuming. Marshal chuckled lightly and slipped quickly into his chair.
   
"So what are we here to discuss?" Karly asked once the two boys had settled in.
   
"We need a plan," Walker said. "If we're gonna get through this war, we're going to need to strategize, especially considering how poorly the last mission went."
   
"If we get the Titan's Ankh, we'll effectively win the war," Karly pondered. "They have no idea where we are, so we could search for the orb virtually unopposed."
   
"We don't know where the ankh is, though," Kelsey sighed.
   
Just as Kelsey sighed, Squad Four's A.I., Vígi, showed up on the holographic tabletop. "I may be able to assist with that," he said. "I've been reviewing the HUD data of the injured Travis Urban and I've managed to pull up an interesting audio clip."
   
"Play it, Vígi," Marshal ordered.
   
"Right away," Vígi confirmed. He blinked out of the table and was replaced by a music note icon. After a second of loading, Savage's voice could be heard over a layer of static.
   
"It's true...know," Savage's voice garbled. "The ankh...compound...Loess...Iowa." With that, the music note disappeared and Vígi showed back up on the table.
   
"We were barely in Travis' range, so this was all I could gather," Vígi said.
   
"Thank you, Vígi," Marshal said, smirking.
   
"So how did that help us at all?" Daniel asked, glaring at Marshal. "All that was was a bad audio recording that may or may not have even been Thomas Savage."
   
"That's definitely Savage," Walker confirmed. "I'd know that annoyingly persuasive tone anywhere."
   
"Also," Squad Nine leader Bleu Travers added, "We can draw conclusions based on what could be heard from the clip."
   
"What do you gather, Travers?" Daniel asked.
   
"From the recording, I distinctly heard the words 'ankh', 'compound', and 'Loess.' Assuming that Loess is used to denote the Loess Hills in Iowa, we've just discovered that the Titan's Ankh is located in a compound somewhere in the Loess Hills." As he explained this, Bleu furiously wrote something down in a notebook.
   
"It could very well be a trap," Daniel argued. "Savage isn't that stupid. He had to know that Urban would have some sort of recording device on him."
   
"There's only one way to find out," Marshal muttered cryptically.
   
Daniel stared at Marshal quizzically, but opened his eyes wide once he figured out what Marshal was getting at. "You can't be serious."
   
"I'm completely serious," Marshal replied. "The only way to know for sure is to go look for ourselves."
   
"That's a suicide mission!" Daniel shouted.
   
"If the ankh isn't there, then it shouldn't be a problem," Marshal smirked.
   
Daniel growled in rage. "Fine! If you're so sure, then I'll go! If only to shut you up!"
   
Marshal leaned back in his chair. "It's up to you."
   
Daniel scowled and turned to Walker. "I'll be mobilizing my squad immediately." He stormed out of the room, leaving the other leaders in a stunned silence.
   
"I suppose that's everything, then," Walker said, standing up. "You're all dismissed."

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter29: A Valiant Sacrifice
   
Squad One gathered around their helicopter, where Daniel Layton was already waiting for them.
   
"Let's move," he said to them as they walked up. "We've got a compound to infiltrate." The other nine squad members nodded quietly and boarded the copter. Daniel started the aircraft and it soared up into the sky.

*   *   *
   
"So what's our next move?" Chris asked.
   
"For now, we wait," Marshal answered. "Squad One is en route right now to locate and infiltrate the compound."
   
"That shouldn't be too hard," Tristan said optimistically. "There aren't a whole lot of things out in the Loess Hills."
   
"That's not the hard part," Mia said. "The hard part will be getting in and finding the ankh."
   
"What if they fail?" Aurora wondered.
   
"They won't fail," Marshal said firmly. "Daniel Layton may be one extremely annoying pain in the ass, but he knows what he's doing."

*   *   *
   
"I have no idea what I'm doing," Daniel said. "I can't find this compound anywhere. These hills all look the same!"
   
"Something's showing up on motion sensors," the co-pilot said. "It appears to be about five miles due south of us."
   
"Thermals are picking something up at that same location," a sniper in the back said through the headset. "There's a lot of activity; there's no way that's just a simple farmhouse."
   
"Roger that," Daniel said. "Get switched on, people! We're going in." He turned the helicopter due south and pushed toward the compound.

*   *   *
   
"So how is Travis doing?" Ryder asked Adelia, who still hovered over her teammate's bedside.
   
"His condition isn't improving, but it's not getting any worse," Adelia explained. "Right now, there's too much tissue damage for me to fully heal him."
   
"What does that mean?" Ryder asked nervously.
   
"It means he has to heal himself naturally for a little bit before I can finish the job," Adelia told him. "If I healed Travis right now, some of the deeper tissues wouldn't heal correctly, and that could present problems for him later down the road. I'll probably be able to fix him within the next day or so."
   
"Oh, thank goodness," Ryder sighed, relieved that his sibling would hopefully be just fine. "How's the rest of the team faring? Is Marshal okay?"
   
"Why should I care?" Adelia wondered. "That monster can go get himself killed for all I care."

*   *   *
   
Squad One's helicopter touched down just far enough away from the eerie-looking compound so that they wouldn't be easily detected. Daniel jumped out and ushered the rest of his squad out.
   
"All right, we all know what to do," he reminded his squad mates. "Let's get the job done and be back home in time for breakfast tomorrow."
   
"Yes, sir!" The squad answered back rigidly. Squad One was very formal. As the ten most elite soldiers on the task force, they were expected to maintain a certain degree of professionalism. This also served to make them seem rather pretentious and condescending in the eyes of their peers, but it wasn't of their concern at this point. The squad's snipers took two separate positions around the compound, providing the team with maximum coverage. The other eight took off for the compound quietly, avoiding detection.
   
Daniel fired off a few quick hand signals to his team behind him, and everyone stopped where they were. Daniel put a finger to his lips, then motioned forward slowly, so everyone else began sneaking along the plain at a painfully slow clip.
   
One of the squad's snipers came through the communication channel with an urgent message. "Sir, they've spotted me! They're going to raise the alarm!"
   
"Son of a bitch!" Daniel swore. "Everyone, pull out now!" But Daniel's cries came too late. An alarm buzzed through the chilly Iowan night, and guards poured out of the large compound in a flash.'
   
"Find them!" one of the guards barked. "We can't let them get to the ankh!"
   
Hearing the word, "ankh," sparked something in Daniel Layton. Out of time and out of options, he committed his final act as the leader of Squad One.

"Xenon," he said, calling to the A.I. unit in his HUD, "I need you to pull out and send a message for me."
   
"Certainly, sir," Xenon's calm, robotic voice said back.
   
"Tell Commander Breckinridge that we found the ankh, but this was the end of the road for us," Daniel instructed. "Tell him that our mission was a failure, and we're terribly sorry."
   
"I understand," Xenon confirmed. "It has been a pleasure working with you, Daniel Layton." With that, Xenon disappeared from Squad One's HUDs to send the message to Walker.
   
"Okay, everybody, this is where we make our final stand," Daniel said, closing his eyes and drawing his assault rifle off of his back. "When I say, 'go,' I want you all to-"

*   *   *
   
Walker woke up in a cold sweat. Something was wrong. He rushed out of his bed and raced to his office, where Xenon stood on top of the desk.
   
"I have a message for you, Commander Breckinridge," Xenon announced. Walker could faintly detect a hint of sadness in the A.I's voice and features, which was thought to be impossible for an inanimate program like Xenon.
   
"Go ahead," Walker whispered, starting to choke up.

*   *   *
   
Daniel's orders were cut short with a quick stab in the gut. He opened his eyes out of shock and darted his gaze around in order to take in his surroundings. The rest of his squad rested on the ground, dead, and his wound was caused by an infuriatingly familiar pair of claws. Daniel looked straight forward to see a smugly confident Jack Martin staring at him.
   
"Damn you, Jack," Daniel grunted through the pain. "You always were a pain in the ass."
   
Jack laughed. "Sorry, boss, just doing my job."
   
"I'm not your boss anymore," Daniel reminded him. "I will be kind, though, and give you a warning. Commander Breckinridge knows that the Ankh is here. They'll be coming full force within the next day. If you're smart, you'll get out of here before North shows up."
   
Jack laughed even harder. "If you think that I, Jack Martin, am scared of Marshal North, then you're delusional! Just die!" He finished Daniel Layton off by quickly removing his Golden talon from Layton's abdomen. The leader of Squad One chuckled weakly as he fell to the ground.
   
"Wow," said Forrest Albinson, who had been watching from a distance. "I thought that these guys were supposed to be tough!"
   
"They were," Jack grunted. "They just weren't ready for us."