Blend the Light

Finale Part 1

 An alarm sounds in Capital City as they draw out the Wasteland guards and Clicks. The air fills with shouts and the clatter of weapons clashing. Callie turns around from where she's sitting in shotgun, and mouths, "So this is where the map comes in?" I nod in response. Rex tenses at my feet, shifting from paw to paw in anticipation. Every noise the Slash makes as it creeps closer to Capital City sounds as if it's playing through a megaphone. Jay unbuckles his seatbelt and climbs out the door. Mia hesitates for a moment before Gary gives her a nudge, and she hops out of the Slash. My brother waves impatiently. He's getting antsy. No kidding!

Capital City looms before us as we creep through the trees alongside the open field where the Carrot and Dandelion groups battle the Wasteland guards and Clicks. Vladimir and Sasha and so many others are in that group... No. Stay focused. You have to stay focused. You have to believe they'll make it out alive. Remember Adrien's words: you will win. He said we'd win, so we will. We'll win for him. Jay sets a quick pace through the trees, and I have to speed up to a jog in order to keep up. My sword slaps against my legs.

"There it is," Jay whispers as he stops and turns around, making a T with his hands. "When we go inside, be silent. No sound. We want to get in, find and kill Guthrie Harper, and get out as fast as possible."

"Assassins." Gary murmurs.

"Yes. Let's go. No time to waste." Jay is all business as he whirls around, stalking towards Capital City with silent steps. I take up the rear as we creep inside. The floors are a dark, smooth stone, and the walls are decorated with square, velvet lamps. Tassels hang from them. All the doors are wooden. The lighting is horrible. It's like a haunted mansion in here. Who would want to live here? It's so creepy. Emphasis on so. I feel like I'm going to stumble across a ghost or a vampire! I twist a star in my fingers, listening for any sign of an enemy, but it's deathly silent, like the world is holding its breath.

Rex growls softly in the back of his throat. A warning. I realize a moment later. Six Wasteland guards appear from around the corner, and their trailed by a Click 2.0. Is this one completely gone? Their head hangs, and their eyes are lifeless. They lack the fight and the spark the Click 2.0 in my cell had. They're just a shell. Mia takes one of the Wasteland guards in a flash, Blending herself into a black mamba and delivering a quick bite to his left ankle. He screeches as he stumbles back a few steps. His left leg buckles, and he tumbles to the ground. How long until he dies? Fifteen, twe-? "Get the snake!" One of the remaining Wasteland guards shouts. I hurl several stars his way as Callie gets locked into combat with another one of Guthrie Harper's minions. "Get him, Rex," I say as I draw my sword. He springs forwards with a vicious snarl, and slams into his foe. I fend off the Wasteland guard by parrying his attack with my sword and slicing at his neck, but he deflects the blow. He swings his sword, and I jump out of range, my back hitting the wall, forcing me to duck down to avoid getting hit. I slice a gash across his shins, and the Wasteland guard falls with a cry. It's only another moment until he's dead.

The Click 2.0, who had been standing relatively still and hunched over, shrieks, stumbling to the side as their face contorts in agony. They shake their head, as if in an attempt to clear their mind. My heart sinks a bit when I see that their eyes have been taken over my the blood orange colour. The Click 2.0 straightens up, their wings pulsing as they throw back their head and roar. Gary pulls the drawstring back on his bow, and an arrow whistles through the air to land in the Click 2.0's shoulder. Scarlet stains their green scales as they howl in pain. I curse. It didn't land in their heart. Their not dead, just in an awful lot of pain. We gotta end them quickly. Their gonna get more metal implants- more pain and more torture. Gary is trembling uncontrollably as he stands motionless with his hand loosely gripping his bow. I yank him into motion. "Snap out of it. You help Jay and the others kill the Wasteland guards. I'm going to take out the Click 2.0 as fast as I can." Gary nods, steeling himself as he nocks another arrow. I flip a star in my hand. Wish me luck, Adrien.