Chapter 25: Behind Enemy Smiles
“Mistress Elysia Starnova, Jaden’s crew is on our tails. They’re attempting to board my ship. The package will be delayed.”
“How long Mason?”
“Can’t say. If they managed to retrieve Jaden, probably forever.”
“Do you need assistance?”
“Nah, don’t worry. I can handle this. You go tell your sweet daddy about this alright? Just in case.”
“I will. Be careful Mason.”
“Hey, I’m a male siren. What’s the worst that could happen to me?”
Blake Mason cuts off the transmission after a reassuring nod. Elysia rushed out of the communications room and ran through the hallway leading to her father’s chamber. Along the way, she barked out orders to nearby cultists, telling them to prepare for a possible reinforcing operation for Mason. The echoes of her voice jumping through the cave hideout helped in letting other nearby cultists take note. Eventually, she reached her father’s chambers, opening the automatic door before rushing in.
Inside, she saw Dark Viper, kneeling on the floor on one leg, his katana pierced onto the ground and his head resting on the sword’s hilt. All other lightings were turned off except for a single light source on top of him, making it seemed like he was meditating. Along with that, his katana was glowing bright red, illuminating the rest of the room with a slight hint of red.
Elysia approached her father and spoke, “Dad, I got bad news. Jaden’s crew managed to find Mason and they’ve caught up with his ship. They will probably attempt to take Jaden away from Mason, from us.”
Dark Viper barely reacted, only silence followed.
“Um…dad…are you busy?”
Seconds later, he replied, “No…I’m just…trying to forget things…”
“If this is a bad time, I will take temporary command of the cultists for you.”
“No, that won’t be necessary Elysia. Tell me, how dire is Mason’s situation?”
“It’s not really dire. Mason just wanted to warn us that Jaden’s crew is trying to get aboard his ship. Still, I have a bad feeling about this.”
“Wise to trust your feelings Elysia. Mason, on the other hand, relies too much on his siren heritage. I’m guessing he refused help because he believes his invincibility will ensure Jaden won’t be rescued.”
“Well, he is a male siren. Practically nothing can kill him.”
“Perhaps, but Jaden’s no ordinary human. Mason clearly underestimated Jaden and her crew. Her pain resistance is abnormal and she’s crafty when she’s helpless…just like her mother.”
“You sound pretty certain that Jaden will be rescued.”
“I’m not certain. I know she will be…but not by her crew members.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll see. But for now, I need you to do something. Call off any attempt to reinforce Mason and tell those kids to initiate Operation SB. And, tell Agent X that Operation SB will be initiated. Don’t want him to be killing those kids.”
“Yes dad.”
“And Elysia…tell me…what is Iblisan doing right now?”
“The last scout’s report says that he was back at Isla Muerta, complaining about the Liberator Alliance and about your…well…he called them your “blackouts”…whatever that means.”
“Hmph. That Angel has one hell of a temper. Makes me glad I’m not Ariel.”
“I somehow notice that every single time Iblisan is near you, you get a bit more aggressive. Heck, out of complete honesty, I feel sorry for Jaden. In those aggressive states, you took away a lot from her.”
“Not everything. She’ll come to realize that pretty soon. Besides, Iblisan’s not called the Angel of Temptations for nothing. Still, I’m glad to see you at least have a heart for your enemy.”
“Well, the last time I fought her, I tried to use her losses to demoralize her. It backfired though, made her angrier and aggressive.”
“Hmph…just like her dad…”
* * *
“Remind me again why is that bitch Kida still with us when she’s the reason why Jaden’s captured by Blake Mason.” Tareshah demanded.
“Um…because she wants to help?” Reed answered.
“Oh? Like how she helped Jaden?”
“Tareshah, I don’t care if you trust me or not. I made a mistake and I want to see this through. Besides, bounty hunters are not a joke. You’re going to need all the help you can get.” Kida reassured Tareshah.
“Fine but if we all end up in chains, don’t say I didn’t warn you all. And don’t get any funny ideas Kida. You still owe me big for turning me into this dreaded child state.” Tareshah retorted.
“I actually like you as a child better. You’re cute even when you’re angry.”
“Don’t test me you bloody Warlock.”
“Alright girls, this isn’t the time to quarrel. We need to figure out a way to get into Mason’s ship.” Gavin intervened.
“Hey Gavin, I doubt you can handle yourself with that wound on your feet. You ought to stay out of this little rescue operation.” Reed suggested.
“No. Jaden never backed down when she tried to open my eyes back at Mannihilate. I won’t back down now that she needs us.”
“Reed makes a valid point. Your combat effectiveness will not be at a hundred percent as long as that damage to your hardware remains. Chances of survival will be drastically reduced and it is unlikely that you can catch up to our average speed.” Vader said.
“And you know what they say: Robots can’t lie.” Reed remarked.
“Look Gavin, we can’t have you running in and gunning. If you still want to get involved, how about you stay and guard this ship while the rest of us rescue Jaden.” Tareshah suggested.
“Fine. That’s better than nothing.”
“Good, that’s decided. Moving on, how the hell are we going to get into that frigate? It is slowly accelerating and this big girl can barely catch up. How is this fair?” Reed retorted.
Suddenly, a loud noise resembling cannon fire was heard coming from the outside, along with a slight vibration. A pair of laser cannons, coming from under the ship, flew towards Mason’s ship, missing it but barely hitting it. Several more laser cannons followed and though most of them missed, one pair hit the ship, slowing it down.
Seconds later, a familiar voice was heard from the cockpit speakers. “Enjoying the fireworks guys?”
“Jaina? Is that you?” Reed queried.
“Yup. Currently enjoying this shooting range.” Several more lasers were shot, damaging the ship and effectively disabling it.
“How the heck…since when does transport ships have guns?”
“I thought you’re the pilot of this ship. Aren’t pilots supposed to know everything about his ship? Anyway, as it turns out, the Crimson Spinner is unique not only by name and paintjob but also for a huge laser gun installed underneath it. Vader knew about it and told me to keep it under maintenance.”
“Say what now? You knew about this Vader?”
“Yes Reed. The guns were installed prior to my initial meeting with you and Jaden. It is logical to install this hijacked transport ship with weaponry as a self-defense mechanism against all possible threats. Without guns, the possibility of me succeeding in my mission will drastically reduce.”
“Ok Jaina. You had your fun but don’t destroy the ship! Remember, Jaden’s inside that ship! We don’t want to kill her!” Gavin exclaimed.
“Relax Gavin. I was aiming for the main engine and the drive core. I was just trying to disable the ship.”
“How’d you know where the main engine and drive core was?” Tareshah queried.
“We Snow Mannihilators once salvaged a ship similar to the one Mason’s using. It was old and rusted but still functional so, we took it apart and studied it. I was amongst the Mannihilators taking it apart.”
“Well, good to have you here with us. Now, we just have to board that ship and pull Jaden out of it.” Kida said.
“We’re going in!” Reed exclaimed as he accelerated the Crimson Spinner towards Mason’s frigate, eventually slowing down as he neared it. He then observed the massive frigate, trying to find a way to get in. Eventually, he saw what seemed to be a hangar, protected by an anti-vacuum force field. Moving in closer, he realized that the hangar has enough space to land the Crimson Spinner in it.
Knowing that anti-vacuum force fields would not block physical objects, Reed flew the Crimson Spinner through it. Several bounty hunters, previously unseen due to the illuminating force field, opened fire at the Crimson Spinner. While none of the bullets penetrated the ship, the crew took cover nonetheless. Reed landed the ship successfully and the crew, except for Gavin, immediately rushed out of the Crimson Spinner to stop the bounty hunters from damaging it.
Tareshah jumped out of the loading ramp and shot her massive assault rifle at the bounty hunters, killing one of them. Kida summoned her demon minion, A’trus Hathgrave, and threw a barrage of shadow bolts at the enemy while Hathgrave ran in to strike. Reed and Vader then walked out to provide cover fire while Jaina, still garrisoning the installed gun, shot smaller laser cannons at the bounty hunters. Eventually, the bounty hunters in the hangar were eliminated.
Jaina, realizing that the area was clear, left the gun and exited the Crimson Spinner, helping a limping Gavin along the way.
“You’ve been kind to me Jaina. You’d make a fine Templar in the future. Once this is all over, Mistress Sierra will know of your contribution to this cause.”
“Aww come now Gavin. I’m just helping out. Besides, you were the Lord of the tropical Mannihilators. It wouldn’t feel right if I refuse to help the man who could’ve been my leader if things were different.”
“What do you mean by ‘if things were different’?”
“My mother was a Mannihilator from Omega City. She came to the snowy side of Mannihilate in an attempt to find a rare herb which grows only in cold climates. I don’t really know for what though. She succumbed to the cold and was found by one of us Snow Mannihilators, who would eventually be her husband and my dad.”
“She stayed with the Snow Mannihilators and never returned?”
“Well, she did talk a lot about Omega City and sometimes wished to return. She ‘s fine with Machina Bunker but misses her home nonetheless.”
“How is she now?”
“She passed away. A bad disease claimed her life. And my dad? He was out hunting when an angry bear killed him.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Well, that’s life. People come and people go. Still…I do miss them.”
“So, if she actually returned to Omega City…”
“I’d probably have a different dad, an actual hair and eye color, a different life and a proud citizen of Omega City.”
“Probably. I’m just glad it turns out the way it is now.”
“Yup. You can’t unmake how things end up.”
Eventually, Jaina and Gavin reached the rest of the crew, who were discussing on how they were going to handle the rescue operation.
“Ah good. Jaina and Gavin are here. We can start now.” Tareshah said.
“Alright, we are now in this massive piece of shit. Jaden’s in there somewhere and she could be anywhere in this big ship.” Reed started.
“Are you proposing we split up?” Kida asked.
“That would probably be a good idea but then again, bounty hunters are everywhere and if we’re outnumbered, we’d probably get killed. We’re dealing with trained killers here.”
“Reed has a point. If we split up, we are less effective in dealing with any opposition we face. And besides, this child body can’t run for long while carrying a big gun.”
“But walking together would mean that we would take a much longer time to reach Jaden. Who knows what Mason’s doing to her now? I’m now the guiltiest girl in this hangar.”
“You won’t take too long.” A voice said, coming from the doorway leading to the rest of the ship. The party turned to the voice and saw two young men, one dressed in a black robe and unarmed while the other was clad in leathery armor with a greatsword in hand. The duo has the same facial feature, aside from their hairstyle, implying that they were related. Suspecting that they may be bounty hunters, the party raised their weapons and aimed at the duo while Hathgrave made threatening grunts.
“Who are you two?” Reed queried.
“We’re not bounty hunters…not really at least.”
“Well then, what are your names?”
The armored one replied, “My name’s Lucas. Lucas Highland. And this is my triplet brother, Markus Highland.”
Upon hearing their names, Reed felt something ring in his head.
“Lucas? Markus? Highland? Wait…you two are Jaden’s triplet brothers?”
“I knew their faces looked familiar!” Kida exclaimed.
* * *
“Commander Mason, the enemy has infiltrated our ship. They’re in the hangar.”
“Stop them. Make sure they don’t reach the cockpit.”
“Yes Commander.”
Mason ended the transmission and turned to Jaden, realizing that she had been staring at him with a confounded look on her face.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Commander Mason…I heard that before…”
“You speak as if you knew of me.”
“Wait, I remember now! My mother used to tell stories about my dad. He was close friends with a Commander Mason. That can’t be you, can it?”
“Huh? Wait, who are your parents?”
“Glacier Highland and Blaze Hazard.”
“What? So, you’re Glacier’s daughter?”
“So you are the Commander Mason my mother kept talking about! I can’t believe this! You betrayed the Salvagers alongside Dark Viper!”
“Wait, hold on! Glacier told me that her daughter died at birth! How can it be that you, Jaden Highland, be her daughter?”
“I never died! I was born along with my triplet brothers, Markus and Lucas!”
“Markus and Lucas were her only surviving children! She never told me about you!”
“Hey, I lived with my family ever since I was born! There is absolutely no way that I am lying about my heritage!”
“But why would Glacier lie to me? She’s a sweet and honest woman.”
“Looking at what you are doing, I’m not surprised. You’re helping the man that killed her husband! You turned against us all!”
“Your dad isn’t…”
“And thanks to you, she’s dead!”
Jaden’s words silenced Mason. He froze with awe with his jaw dropped, shock to discover the fate of a woman which he seemed to know and care about. His hands trembled lightly and he slowly let out a heavy sigh.
“She’s…she’s dead? Glacier Highland…the sweetest girl I ever met…dead?”
As Jaden listened, she could not help but assume that Mason cared for her now deceased mother. She then managed a reply, “Yes Mason…she’s dead. Viper killed her.”
“Why would he?”
“He’s a monster Mason! Looking at everything he and Iblisan did, I thought you would’ve seen that by now!”
Mason reached out for the cockpit desk, struggling to stand up and appearing very distraught. He rubbed his forehead while his body was restless.
“And you’re her daughter?” Mason managed as he turned to look at Jaden.
“Yes Mason and I mean it. I am not lying.”
He continued staring at Jaden, seemingly unsure whether or not to believe her. Eventually he made up his mind.
He stood up and began walking out of the cockpit. “I don’t believe this shit. I’m not listening to any more crap from you.”
“What? Mason, I am not lying!”
“I don’t believe you!” Mason shouted as he turned to Jaden. “Glacier is not dead! Viper did not kill her! And you are not her daughter! I refuse to believe all this!”
“I am not lying!” Jaden exclaimed as she struggled against her binds. Before she could say anymore, Mason closed the door, leaving her tied up and alone.
“God damn it!” Jaden cursed, infuriated that Commander Mason, a man which was mentioned several times by her mother in her stories, had fallen so far from grace. She was also angry that Mason refused to believe her, even though she knew no one else as her parents and was there to see Viper stabbing Glacier and ending her life. In fact, she remembered the traumatizing memory so well; she began losing control of herself, shouting loudly while still struggling against her restraints.
As her anger poured out, she began to feel exhausted. Realizing that her emotions are getting out of hand, she closed her eyes and entered a meditative trance, unwilling to suffer the effects of Magical Overflow. Thus, she calmed down and met up with her Light and Dark Magical Energies.
* * *
“So I see Jaden’s been talking about us.” Lucas said.
“Yeah and she said you two were as dead as dead can be.” Reed retorted.
“We too thought that she was dead, until news began to spread about how she bested Dark Viper in a duel. Who would’ve guessed that?” Markus replied.
“And, why are you two in a bounty hunter frigate?” Tareshah queried.
“We went into hiding after Viper destroyed our home. We thought that hiding amongst trained killers would be a good idea. So, we offered to join them and here we are.” Lucas answered.
“You have no qualms about Mason taking your sister hostage?” Reed asked.
“We didn’t know about it until Mason made the announcement himself. Heck, Lucas and I barely paid any attention to those wanted posters. When we heard she was caught, we decided to follow Mason and wait for the right time.”
“The right time to free your sister?”
“Yup. We’ve never liked these locos. And since you all are here, I say we help you out” Lucas added.
“Well alright then. How exactly are you two going to help?” Reed questioned.
“We know where Mason keeps Jaden. She’s at the bridge, inside the cockpit. We know how to get there so if you all can follow our lead, we’ll take you to her.” Lucas explained.
“And bounty hunters we meet along the way?” Tareshah retorted.
“Kill them. And don’t worry. We won’t hesitate to kill them too.” Markus answered.
“Alright then. Gavin, you stay by the ship. Keep the bounty hunters away from my baby.” Reed ordered.
“Reed, I want to stay with Gavin.” Jaina requested.
“You sure?”
“Yes. He can’t defend the ship alone, not with an injured leg.”
“Alright. You two Mannihilators look after the ship. Radio us if you’re in trouble. Don’t get too close you two…we have security cameras”
“Come on. Let’s go. Anticipate ambushes ahead since they know you’re here.” Lucas said before running into the hallway with Markus and the crew in tow.
Reed and party followed the Highland brothers, running past maze-like hallways and turning corners constantly. Considering the large number of doors along the hallways, Reed assumed that the hallways were the crew quarters. Eventually, they came upon steps and the party climbed up after Lucas and Markus.
Once up, the group encountered a few bounty hunters, entrenched in a large room and taking cover behind overturned tables. Initially, they appeared docile when seeing Lucas and Markus but as Reed reached the top, they opened fired, shocking Reed and caused him to lose balance. He leaned backwards while waving his arms trying to regain balance. He would have fallen, however, if it were not for Vader, pushing Reed back into balance.
“I guess I owe you one you bloody tin can.”
“I am not bloody Reed. I am a…”
“Alright! Synthetics are bloodless. I get it. Now let’s get to the fighting.”
Despite giving the element of surprise, the bounty hunters themselves were surprised to see Lucas, charging at them threateningly with his massive sword in hands while Markus began charging his hands with electrical Dark Energies. Before they could attack their former allies, the Highland brothers quickly wiped them out.
The noise, however, attracted more bounty hunters to the scene. “Get ready fellas! We’re going to be doing a bit of fighting here!” Lucas shouted to the crew. As he turned to one of the hallways, a bounty hunter charged at him with a mace in hand. Smirking with pride, Lucas raised his greatsword above his head and, with the full might of his strength, slammed the massive blade onto the metallic floor, creating a shockwave which erupted towards the bounty hunter. The force tossed the unlucky main into the ceiling, hard enough to kill him.
“This ought to be fun…”
* * *
Jaden continued to meditate, unwilling to open her eyes even though the ship was beginning to get noisy with all the gunfire and occasional tremors. Regardless, due to the revelation of Mason’s identity, Jaden dreamt of when her mother told her the stories of Commander Mason and his heroic acts. She recalled how proud Glacier was of Commander Mason and how it would seem that she would never believe what Mason has become. A tear almost left her eyes; sad to see a great man now siding with a murderer.
“Commander Mason! Commander Mason, do you copy?”
A voice from the intercom awoke Jaden.
“Commander! Are you there? It’s the two new recruits! They’ve turned against us!”
Suddenly, the door opened and Mason rushed in. He approached the intercom and replied, “Repeat. What’s the situation?”
“It’s the two recruits! They’re tearing us apart!”
“What? Why? Weren’t they supposed to…”
“Commander, I think…we’ve just been double-crossed.”
“Damn that bastard!”
While Mason was talking, Jaden shook her arms slightly, attempting to feel how thick her binds were. Realizing that the wire used to tie her up was not as thick as conventional ropes, she placed her fingers on the wire and closed her eyes. Slowly, her fingers began to glow blue and eventually, blue flames erupted from her them. The flames, powered by her Light Energies, began to intensify to the point that the entire wire burned to ash in an instant. Fortunately, being the caster, Jaden was spared the same fate.
As Mason continued to order and advise him men, Jaden stood up and silently approached him.
“Listen; try to keep them at bay. I’ll get my arms and support you.” Mason said, ending the transmission. He turned around and was shocked to see Jaden standing free in front of him. She raised her fist and punched him hard in the face. While he could not feel pain, the force knocked him back.
“How’d you like that you son of a…”
“I’m a male siren remember? As in, invincible.”
“So you don’t know pain? I’ll teach you pain.”
Jaden attempted a high kick but Mason grabbed her leg shoved it away. He threw in a jab which Jaden was able dodge. She countered by punching him in the face three times but it seemed to not affect him at all as he merely rubbed his face and smiled back.
“I’m immune to pain Jaden. Don’t waste your energy. By the way, how’d you free yourself?”
“You’d be surprised by how fast I learn a new spell through meditation. By the way, are you immune to betrayals?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I overheard parts of your conversation. I’m guessing Dark Viper double-crossed you.”
“Maybe he did, but regardless, nothing can kill me, not even Viper himself.”
“But why side with him in the first place? He already betrayed the Salvagers, my people. Why disgrace the good name you made for yourself?”
“It is not that simple you simpleton. I can’t betray my friend.”
“Like how he just betrayed you? Like how you betrayed my mother? You were hiding in that warehouse, paranoid to no end while Viper trudged into my home and murdered everyone but me.”
“I didn’t betray Glacier!”
Furious, Mason jabbed Jaden square in her head, knocking her back.
“And you are not her daughter! Her daughter is dead!”
He kicked Jaden on her abdomen and clubbed her onto the floor.
“I am not lying!”
Jaden brought her hands up and began to electrocute Mason with Dark Energies. It did not affect him in any way but the surprise attack forced him back. As Jaden stood up, the electricity intensified and the glow on her eyes were so bright, it penetrated her blindfold.
“I’ve been trying to tell you this whole time! My name is Jaden Highland! I am the daughter of Glacier Highland and Blaze Hazard! I am the only survivor of my family and I formed the Liberator Alliance to wreak vengeance upon Dark Viper and Iblisan for their crimes! I have not come this far to argue with you and I have no reason to sacrifice my honor by hiding behind a lie!”
She then ceased her casting while breathing heavily, exhausted by her exertions.
“My mother told me a lot about you. She spoke with so much pride, so much compassion and she tends to smile talking about you, something which rarely happens. She called you a friend, a brother-in-arms, an honorable soldier, a hero. She even expressed how jealous my dad was since she always talked about you! And now, she’s dead because you were not there to protect her! Some hero you are! She would’ve been depressed to see you in this state!”
Mason merely stood and listened, not knowing how to react.
“Heck, for a moment, I actually liked listening to her talking about you. It is through those stories that I learned a few terms related to ships. It is through those stories that I realized that my father wasn’t the only extraordinary man of his time. No one can deny that you’ve defeated a battalion of invading elves, the Sunriders, and lived to tell about it. Although, of course, no one knew you were a male siren. What happened to that Mason? I may have actually admired you!”
“I see…only someone like Glacier would know of that…”
“And if I have to repeat myself, I will. She’s…”
“Your mother…I can see that now. I guess…I was misinformed. You’re truly her daughter and not dead.”
Jaden and Mason merely stood and stared at each other, the former satisfied that the latter finally believed her while the latter no longer wish to fight the former. Calmed down, Jaden’s eye glow began to dim.
Moments later, a voice sounded on the intercom, “Commander, they’re reaching the cockpit! They’re heading your way!”
“Men, stand down. I don’t want any more of you killed.”
“What? Are you sure Commander?”
“Yes. Stand down.”
Jaden, surprised by his words, queried, “Stand down? You’re surrendering?”
Mason looked back at Jaden with sad pair of eyes and replied, “I made a vow. I don’t intend on breaking it now.”
The door behind Jaden opened and a pair of men ran in with a large crew behind them. Jaden turned and jumped into a fighting stance, not willing to fall unprepared. However, her fists lowered as she realized something familiar about the two men.
“Lucas? Markus? Is that you?”
“Jaden…you’re alright…” Lucas replied.
“Dammit Jaden you had us worried.” Markus added.
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