Allies and Enemies

Chapter Nineteen: Mission

It was of the utmost importance that we had Shahanda back. Within an hour, I rounded up a small group of our best warriors, with Katooni, Ginny, Della, Biana, Reyna, Zoya, and Kaelith.

"So, here's the plan," I said. "Not only can we have Shahanda back, but we can also get a layout of their base. Biana, go with Kaelith, Ginny, and Reyna to find Shahanda. I don't think she would be happy to see me, but hopefully, Kaelith can help a bit. Zoya, Della, and Katooni, you're with me. We'll scout around the base to get a full layout of it."

"How would they not see us?" Zoya asked. "We'll be sitting ducks."

"Biana and Della are helping with that. You've been working on your vanishing transfer, right?" I asked them. They both nodded.

"We can only do it in small groups though," Biana said.

"Good. That's all we need," I said. "We'll rendezvous in half an hour after we get there. I can teleport us off after that. Any questions?"

"How are we going to get Shahanda to come with us?" Reyna asked.

"I'll stun her as soon as we find her," Ginny said. "If she's surrounded by people, though, I'll have to use the Imperius Curse." She sighed. "I suppose there's no Ministry to stop me."

"Alright," I said. "Let's get to it."

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The eight of us came up on the cliff.

"Let's hope this works," Biana sighed. She grasped hands with Kaelith, Ginny, and Reyna and concentrated. After a few seconds, the four of them disappeared.

"Are we good?" an invisible Ginny asked.

"Yup," I replied. I grasped Della's hand, and she linked Zoya and Katooni together. We vanished within a second.

"Let's go," I said. "Whatever you do, do not let go. May the Force be with you."

"And with you," Kaelith replied. Della, Katooni, Zoya, and I moved down the slope in sync. I carefully guided them around the area, tensing up when I saw a Death Eater. I stopped slowly, so we wouldn't bump into each other. I held my breath as he came within ten feet of us, then passed by. I exhaled, then continued. We took a quick tour of the outside, noting everything in the area. We stopped in front of a huge, dark building made of obsidian like the landscape around. The door opened, and I could barely hold back a cry of surprise. It was Ahsoka. She looked exactly the same as before. You wouldn't be able to tell if she was evil or not. Before the door closed, the four of us slipped in. We took a tour of the building, which was kind of like our base, because it was made of obsidian. Since it was made to house evil, however, it was much more sinister. We didn't speak and did our best not to make the slightest bit of noise.

Suddenly, I could hear clashing. I led the group as I snuck up to the sound and peeked into the room it was coming from. Target ranges and dueling areas spanned the entire room. Clones, Elves, wizards, demigods, and Jedi filled the room. There was enough noise that the warriors didn't hear our gasp. I recognized so many people in that room, but searched for a particular person. I spotted her tossing throwing stars at a target. Sophie. It took all my willpower not to run and hug her. Katooni, at the other end of the line, gently tugged us away. I realized the same thing she knew. Our rendezvous time was coming up. We walked quickly through the hallways, taking mental notes of the facility. Finally we made it to the exit. I was so relieved that I didn't notice that we had come to a halt. Katooni had accidentally bumped into someone, and when I looked up, I was so surprised that I let out an accidental gasp. Anakin. He was like Ahsoka, with no difference to him, except he seemed like the most serious person in the world, which wasn't like him. His head snapped up after he heard me. We waited a few seconds. Finally, he relaxed and walked right by... until his metal hand shot out and grabbed me on the shoulder. I yelped in surprise, and, to my instant regret, let go of Zoya's hand in front of me. I instantly appeared, and Anakin lurched slightly back in a bit of surprise, then his eyes narrowed and he tightened his grip on my shoulder. I twisted out of his grasp, and, in the most uncharacteristic way, ran for my life. The others got the message and started running, breaking the chain and revealing themselves. We ran and ran until we burst out of the camp... and were surrounded by soldiers. Katooni and I ignited our lightsabers, Zoya whipped up wind, and Della vanished again, presumably preparing to fight as well.

"You were my friends," I said, trying to sound fierce. "I don't want to hurt you." There was a slight commotion behind us, and Ginny, Reyna, Biana, and Kaelith sprinted out of the building, dragging an unconscious Shahanda behind them, decidedly not caring if Shahanda bumped her head on the obsidian or not. They slowly realized the situation.

"So," Reyna said. "I assume you ran into someone?"

"Quite literally," Zoya replied, whirling her hands together and creating quite the funnel of wind. "Can I use this, please?"

"Yup, but just don't kill anyone," I said.

"Gladly," Zoya grinned, then controlled the wind to shoot at the small force surrounding us at the moment, blowing them off their feet and giving them a good knock on the head against the obsidian ground.

"Hurry, come on!" Ginny exclaimed, already sprinting out. I realized that a lot of people were replacing the force that we had knocked out. A lot of people. We ran alongside her.

"So, I assume the mission was successful?" I inquired between slight puffs of breath.

"Uh-huh," Reyna replied. "She was surrounded, so we had to go with plan B. That magic is amazing." I looked to my right, and saw Ginny blushing slightly.

"Beginner's luck," she replied. "It was my first time performing the spell."

"We're coming up on the cliff," I warned, looking behind me. A small team of wizards were coming up on us. "Hurry!" We all linked hands and I quickly jumped off the cliff, bringing them down with me. I heard a blast, and Kaelith was screaming in pain. Likely the Cruciatus Curse. I quickly teleported us into the void, and into the base. We were obviously out of range of the wizards, so the curse stopped. Kaelith was shaking.

"Are you all right?" Rowan asked Kaelith, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder and helping her to stand.

"Y-y-y-yeah," Kaelith replied shakily. "I'll be okay."

"Did you succeed?" Rowan asked urgently. I nodded.

"We have enough information to complete the plans for Obsidia, and we got Shahanda, though it was close," I replied. "We nearly got captured, but thanks to Zoya's abilities, we thankfully escaped."

"My abilities have a limit, though," Zoya warned. "I might not be able to do that with a larger force, especially an army."

"We have you to thank, though," Kaelith said. "We have a good chance, now. We can beat them." I nodded.

"We have hope."