CHAPTER 28

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"Remind me again why we got sent to the Jungle?" Griffin complained as he batted away plants, "Did they forget that speed and nature don't mix very well?"

"Because this is meant to be us striking back without thought," Nya reminded him, "And our tribes are the closest ones to the Nature Tribe."

"Yes, but Lady Skylar here lives all the way down past the Time Tribe, and she's here!" Griffin pointed to the leader of their pack, "And it just, you know, seems a bit off."

"I'm closer to your territories than I am to the Smoke and Metal Tribes," Skylar called back to him, "Now stop complaining and keep moving."

Skylar stood at the front of a medium sized procession of troops. Beside her walked Alacr, Ray and Dorian. Behind her were Nya and Griffin. Of the original 100 from the three squads, there had been only closer to 60 when all was said and done. Thus, Skylar now had all of the users from the Water, Speed, Nature and Time Tribe. With herself, her three friends, the two leaders and the others, they had approximately twenty people. From the way she had them marching straight through the jungle, it was made to look more like some sort of hunting party rather than a calculated effort.

"Alacr, you saying that you're not hot at all?" Griffin asked, "This is nothing like our home!"

"I have spent many years traveling," Alacr smirked and looked back to his cousin, "And that means I am rather used to being in hot, unnatural places. You wouldn't last a day in the Fire Tribe territory if this is enough to make you sweat."

"That's why we don't go to the Fire Tribe," Griffin muttered, "That place is one giant lava field, I don't know how anybody lives there."

"Is it not unbecoming of our people to speak with such complaints?" Alacr replied back, "We are the Speed Tribe! We will survive, no matter the heat or environment."

Griffin Turner tensed up, looking to Alacr, who was barely hiding a smirk on his face. Ray looked between the two and then rolled his eyes.

"I've been to the Speed Tribe," Ray sighed, "Big white cities, lots of open space... I would say the close quarters of the Jungle is likely the opposite of your people."

"Our cities are built as though they lightly rest on the hills, just as our feet barely touched the ground," Alacr corrected Ray, "We float above the ground in all ways without leaving it."

"But... the Lightning Tribe lives in literal rocks floating in the sky," Dorian mumbled, "I think it has something to do with the metal rocks they built their homes on? We uhm, couldn't get the wagons up there because of that. And, all those home just kinda drift around this big wasteland of, lightning and, all that."

"Focus on the other tribes when we go to deal with them," Skylar turned towards her friends, "Right now we're in this hot miserable jungle, let's just get done with it and let that be that."

"So you do find it miserable!" Griffin protested. Nya just sighed and resisted the urge to retort.

Alacr and Ray both gave Skylar a long look, but did as she asked. Both of them could see behind her large smile, Skylar wasn't thinking about anything other than this mission. Both of them also understood why. They hadn't fought Machia directly, but she'd torn through their squad like a leaf in the breeze. With Vermillion that had previously just been pushover Raiders once now evolving, Machia had taken them down to almost nothing. Very few of their original squad was able to be dispersed to the three temporary ones.

"Lady Skylar," Nya called out, "I would like to ask if you recall the plan."

"First off, I'm not a Lady. I just look tall," Skylar threw back, "And you know the plan. We march out here, find the Vermillion, then we go after them to find their leader," Skylar stated firmly, "And we take them out."

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