Chapter 22

Interlude

"Sir, we have reports that another Outbreak has occurred in the Alliance sector at Chomada." Reported a young woman. Her uniform was spotless, not a wrinkle to be found on the material.

She stood in a large oval office with windows on three sides. From the windows, the sky and the various moons of Nykara were visible. There were holograms everywhere, but they seemed to be more for decoration than for any concrete purpose. The few pieces of furniture, which ranged from ultra-modern to antique, were polished to a high shine. Not a single speck of dust was to be discovered. In the center of the room was a large table, with various switches and displays, and behind it a magnificent chair.

"They have formed a separate unit to fight the Akuryuma." She reported further.

"So Pearce wants to break away from us." Said the person in the chair, whose back was turned to the woman, indifferently.

"Furthermore, they must have encountered an Evolved." She reported further.

"They are spreading..." the voice seemed to consider. "How did the collision go?" Inquired the voice.

"They defeated the Evolved, there were wounded but no casualties."

The person in the chair waved his hand in the air and a holographic list of the members of the Anti-Aku unit appeared.

"How should we proceed?" Inquired the woman as the voice wiped through the list.

"We continue as always, the situation remains the same." The chair turned to her.

A man sat in it. His long blond hair hung low on his face. The white uniform he wore resembled the woman's but it was more elaborately decorated. Over it he wore a long coat with a sash leading over it.

"No matter what they do, it makes no difference." Rising up, the man walked to the window and looked out over the city, which spread out before his eye far beyond the horizon.

"As you wish OVERSEER." Bowed the woman.

> Chapter 22

241231

ARLINGTON II

> Outskirt City of New Comound

"Zane, the MP has already gone in." Zane heard Nathan's voice over the communicator. A hologram of Nathan floated in front of Zane, who was running through the city.

"What?! Those idiots." Zane cursed.

"They didn't want to wait anymore." Explained Nathan. "They said they didn't need a task force for this."

"Tell them I'll be right there!" Zane jumped over a truck that was just crossing the street. In the distance, he could already see the barrier as sirens blared toward him.

"Are you from the Special Forces?" One of the police officers intercepted Zane.

They were standing in front of a shopping mall. Blue lights were everywhere, and holographic alerts were in the air. The police were represented by some heavily armored units and even Exo-armor, and onlookers who didn't know what was going on were standing behind the perimeter with some distance.

"Exactly. Seranis from the Special Forces." Zane showed the policeman his ID, which appeared in the air holographically.

"Sir." Turned the cop to his superior.

"Why are we disconnected?" Roared the supervisor at one of the cops. "What?" He turned to the cop and Zane. "How did you even get through the perimeter?" He walked up to Zane.

"Seranis Zane." He showed his ID to the supervisor. "From the Special Forces."

"From Special Forces..." the supervisor eyed Zane. "You're hardly older than 20." He looked at Zane skeptically. But the ID seemed sufficient for him. "I thought there were three of you?"

"Um... the other two are joining us soon." Zane scratched his head sheepishly. "What's the situation?" He cleared his throat.

The supervisor looked at Zane again, scrutinizing, as he began to report. "About 30 minutes ago, an emergency call came in that there was a panic in the passageway. Apparently, there were deaths and injured. Just before we went in, we were told you guys from the Special Forces were coming." The supervisor looked to the passage. "A couple of my men didn't want to wait, though...and rushed in. Two minutes ago, we lost contact."

"I see..." nodded Zane. "I'll see what I can do." Said Zane as a transporter appeared in the air behind him.

"We're jumping off here." Reported Nathan to the pilot.

"Roger that, staying on standby." Confirmed the pilot as Nathan and 736 jumped out of the open door nearly ten meters down on a rope.

"There's the rest." The supervisor looked to the transporter.

"We're from the Special Forces." Nathan introduced himself, who had rushed to Zane and the supervisor.

"Is that a Siegfried?" Whispered some of the officers when they saw 736.

"Your colleague has already informed me that you'll be late." The supervisor greeted Nathan.

"You can't just jump out of the van." Chided 736 Zane.

The three were in the arcade.

The stores in the multi-story arcade had all been automatically closed. There was trash and overturned furniture everywhere. Holographic evacuation messages floated all around the arcade. 736 had his rifle at the ready, while Zane had pulled his pistol from its holster.

"One hundred yards to go. Second floor." Said Nathan, who had the cops' last position on his screen. "736 is right Zane." Nathan said casually.

"Sorry." Zane's head hung low. "What do the sensors say?" Inquired Zane.

"An increased concentration but nothing out of the ordinary." Reported the operator back as they walked deeper and deeper into the passageway.

The three continued walking as they arrived at the center of the mall. To their left, a man was leaning back against a wall. Immediately, Zane ran to him.

"Zane wait!" Nathan yelled before he and 736 followed him.

Zane bent down to the man covered in blood. It was one of the missing police officers. Zane looked at the wall behind him. A large bloodstain was visible on it, smearing away downward to where the policeman lay.

Immediately, Zane looked up in the opposite direction at the galleries. On the second floor, another policeman was hanging over the porch, blood dripping down from him. On the gallery above, another man sat on the porch railing looking down at Zane and the others.

Immediately, 736 pointed his gun at the man and Zane and Nathan readied themselves as well.

"So you guys are the Special Forces I heard about." Said the man casually.

"What happened here?" Zane asked him.

"Oh them, they were in my way." Laughed the latter.

"You son of a bitch!" Summoned Zane an ice pillar under him, which shot him upward at high speed. Zane jumped off and within seconds he was level with the man, who seemed to be watching him calmly.

"Zane look out!" Nathan yelled upward.

Suddenly the man grinned and Zane saw a paw heading towards him. Zane crossed his arms and created a small sheet of ice. Shortly thereafter, the paw reached Zane and hurled him back onto the second-floor balcony.

736 fired a grenade from his rifle at the man's position whereupon the third-floor porch burst into flames. A shadow landed on the first floor; it was the man who had almost casually dodged. Shortly after, the origin of the paw landed next to the man.

"A New Blood!?" Shuddered Nathan. He can control it? He wondered and recoiled briefly.

"What do we do?" Asked 736, as Zane came leaping off the porch, eyes filled with rage.

Zane flew straight at the New Blood and the man, who seemed to be hiding behind the former. Zane lunged to kick with his heel and unleashed another ice spell. The New Blood blocked the attack with his arms, but part of them froze as ice spikes scattered across the floor.

The man made another leap to avoid the resulting spikes and aimed his hand at Zane whereupon a magic circle was formed.

"Not so fast!" Nathans generated a spell of his own, and a torrent of water shot out from the nearby fountain towards the man.

"He's fast..." said the man, directing his spell at the waterspout, which exploded moments later. The water fell down like rain in the passage as 736 opened fire on the man again. The man jumped back and 736's bullets bounced off his shield.

At the same time, Zane had moved away from the beast again and was preparing another attack with the water Nathan had spread.

Zane brought his hands, in which two magic circles glowed, forward, and as they flew across the wet ground, the water began to move and a massive ice wave headed toward the New Blood. Zane's previous attack had created a massive wall of ice in which the New Blood's hands were locked in. But just as Zane's second attack was heading toward the ice wall, the beast broke free and kicked the ice wall, causing a massive chunk of the ice wall to break loose and fly toward 736 and Nathan.

736 saw the chunks of ice flying toward him and Nathan. He ceased fire and rushed in front of Nathan, shielding him with his large outline as the ice chunks bounced off his armor.

"Thank you, Three Six!" Nathan prepared his next attack.

For Zane, the ice wave surged forward, forming a massive blade that simply sliced through the rest of the ice wall, but missed the beast by moments.

The latter rushed back to the man, who catapulted back to the second level with a leap.

"Crap!" Zane jumped back to Nathan and 736.

"Backup is on the way." Reported the operator over the communicator.

"You guys aren't bad at all." Said the man, appearing to move away.

"You're running away?!" Zane looked up angrily.

"I'm not so stupid as to wait for your reinforcements. Besides, I got what I came for." He played around with some small crystals in his hand. "I'll say goodbye."

"Not so fast!"

Immediately, Zane and Nathan fired off their spells and a hose of water with an ice spike raced toward the man. The attack hit the top floor and a huge explosion of water followed, freezing instantly.

"Did we get him?" Zane looked up.

"I don't think so..."

"Confirm. He made a run for it." Explained 736.

"Let's go after him!" Zane started to run.

"Zane wait!" The operator, who appeared in front of Zane via a hologram, stopped him. "It's too dangerous, he has a New Blood and there are probably civilians there too..."

"Damn it!" Cursed Zane. "Who was that anyway?"

"A mage... I couldn't determine the rank, though." Nathan looked up to the third level thoughtfully.

"I'll run the records through the database. Maybe I'll find something. Return for now, the cleanup crew is already here."

⬢

"Well are you all ready?" Tyler asked Zero over the communicator.

"All set." Zero reported back seriously. A list of his team hovered next to him.

"Ready!"

"In position."

His students reported back, who, along with police officers, had spread out nearby. Some had positioned themselves on the corner of a house, others stood on the roof of a house, and still others stood in an alley. The rest were right by Zero.

"Take it easy Zero." Said Tyler, whose image hovered next to the list. "You guys are just support, they'll be fine. If things go well, you guys won't notice a thing." Tyler tried to take the tension off Zero.

Zero didn't answer and looked around. They were in the industrial area of Comound II, one of the two outsourced neighborhoods that closely bordered New Comound. The area consisted almost entirely of warehouses that supplied the adjacent factories or transport bays. Zero stood in one of these warehouses with a couple of trucks and the command vehicle. Otherwise, there were a few Exo-armor present who, like Zero and his class, were assigned as reinforcements.

"You don't think they can handle it?" Tyler asked.

"That's not the point..."

"That's the path they've chosen. Sooner or later they're going to fight. You can't train them forever." Said Tyler knowing that Zero never wanted to know anything about fighting.

"I know, but practice and theory are two different things. I guess I'm just not cut out for it...", Zero scratched his head.

"The assignment will do them good. Trust me." Said Tyler.

"OK guys, deployment starts in T-10 minutes! Everyone take your positions." Sounded the mission commander's voice on all channels.

Immediately everyone got ready, the pilots got into their Exo-armor, which hydraulically locked around them. The soldiers and Zero's students armed their weapons while Zero grabbed his sword and pinned it to his back. He had built a special device that looked more like a vise than a sword scabbard, but his sword cut through most of the materials he had tried before.

"Everyone ready?" He asked his students.

""Ready!"" They replied.

"OK! When this is over, I'll invite you out." He announced and joyful chatter echoed through the channel. "So don't get cocky!"

"This is Team One, keep advancing." Reported the leader of the first response police team.

The heavily armed special operations team ran through one of the supply tunnels deep in the city's plains between the underground warehouses. The tunnel was as wide as a street and lighting made the passageway almost daylight. In the distance, they could see a parking lot for trucks as they stopped in front of a slightly dented gate leading to one of the loading bays.

"Unit One in position. Register movement in the warehouse."

"Unit Two in position. Door has been barricaded. Attaching explosive devices."

"Unit Three in position. Awaiting instructions."

Reports reached the incident commander in the command vehicle.

"Roger that." He turned to one of the operators sitting at a large screen.

"Lockdown possible at any time." He reported.

"OK. Access! Access!" He ordered the strike teams.

Immediately, the task force stormed the warehouse. An explosion went off at the door of Unit Two, blowing a hole in the door. At the same time, fire gates closed throughout the sector.

"Go go go!" Unit One stormed over the gate into the warehouse and secured the room, their weapons at the ready. The room was full of crates and containers, many larger than a human.

"Unit One. Room secured." Reported the team leader. "Keep moving forward."

Suddenly, shouting was heard in the command vehicle.

"Unit Two, what's going on?" Asked the operator frantically. The bodycams recorded only blurry, frantic images.

"Arghhh!"

"Unit One, Unit Three. Unit Two needs support!" Ordered the mission commander.

Unit One ran through the warehouse area to the nearest door, behind which Unit Two was supposed to be. A holographic map showed them the layout of the warehouse. Unit Two's yelling had died down by now as Unit One arrived at the door and yanked it open.

"Damn!" Said the operator, who recognized a person covered in blood on one of Unit Two's bodycams.

"Unit One!" The mission commander yelled, but it was already too late as they opened the door.

A picture of horror opened in front of them - the whole room was covered with corpses. Not only those of Unit Two, but clearly more. The number could not be determined directly, as many of the bodies had been torn to shreds. Blood dripped from the walls and ceiling and a large pool of blood had formed on the floor.

In the midst of this carnage stood a single person who appeared to have an arm in his hand.

"Shit!" Shouted one of the policemen and they all pointed their guns at the person, but as soon as they caught sight of him, the person jumped towards them.

Again, yelling and screaming resounded through the command vehicle.

"Unit Three report!" Ordered the mission leader frantically. "Call in the Tactical Mages now! We have a vampire!" He turned to one of the operators as they heard rifle fire in the background.

"Units Four through Six have found no one. The camp is empty." Reported another operator.

"Tell the second team we need support here!"

"Two trucks just started moving!" Reported another operator.

"What?!" Shuddered the mission commander. "The blast doors were supposed to be locked!"

"What's going on down there?" Zero asked, overhearing the bustle of the police officers.

Suddenly, one of the doors to a warehouse opened in the distance. A wounded man trudged out, immediately the cops and Exo-armor pointed their weapons at him.

"Help me!" The man stretched his bloodied hands in the air and ran towards the policemen.

"Freeze!" Shouted one of the policemen at the man.

"Please! They're coming!" He slowed down and looked back at the door in panic.

"Multiple signals detected!" Shouted one of the policemen suddenly, as in the next moment several people came running out of the warehouse.

"They're vampires!" Shouted one of the policemen.

"Open fire!" Ordered another, and a hail of bullets descended on the vampires.

"Get ready!" Shouted Zero in a panic.

The man jumped past the policemen into cover as the vampires scattered across the area. Some vampires fell when hit by the bullets, but many dodged and fell upon the policemen. Within moments, the reinforcement unit was engaged in a chaotic battle.

Zero looked around frantically, searching for his students, when he saw something approaching him in the corner of his eye. Immediately, Zero turned and blocked a vampire that was about to bite him with the flat side of his sword, keeping it at a distance.

Sounds of engines rang out in the distance as two trucks shot out of the entrance to the lower levels moments later. The trucks sped through the crowd, hitting several vampires and police officers.

The cops opened fire on the trucks, which continued to speed through the crowd unimpeded before making a sharp right turn to enter the main street.

Zero continued to keep the vampire at bay, who haphazardly tried to bite at him when he spotted one of his students in the street. She had her magic circle aimed at some charging vampires and was standing in the middle of the path of the trucks.

Zero pushed the vampire off him and jumped to his student. At the last moment, Zero reached her, took her in his arms and brought her out of the path of the truck that shot past them.

"Zero?!" She looked at him, startled.

"Are you all right?" He asked her anxiously.

"Thanks." She nodded with a slightly red face.

"Two trucks have broken out!" Reported a police officer, while the sounds of fighting already seemed to subside.

"This is unit two. We're handling it." Reported Tyler to the policeman, who flew overhead with his unit.

"How many wounded?" Asked a police officer into the group.

There were vampire corpses everywhere, many of the cops had been wounded, and the pain-distorted voices of the injured could be heard everywhere.

"Is everyone unharmed?" Zero asked his students who had gathered around him.

"We're fine." Replied one of the girls with two braids.

"Then we're fine." Said Zero with relief. "Check on the wounded but stay alert!" He gave the next order.

"We need a medic here!" Shouted a policeman.

"Here! I'm coming!" Zero ran to the voice.

"Wow, Zero had you in his arms? I'm so jealous!" Zero heard one of the girls say as he rushed to the injured man.

"What about the trucks?" Asked a police officer.

"The ATBS are taking care of it." Said the mission commander. "What's the situation at the warehouse?" He asked an operator.

"The mages have arrived, Unit One and the res..." he reported, when he was interrupted by an explosion sound.

"What was that?" The policeman wondered who was being treated by Zero as they saw light in the distance and smoke rising into the night sky.

"That's where Main Street is..." another one remarked.

"Report. The trucks were a distraction. They blew themselves up." Reported one of the ATBS pilots to the mission commander. "They're remote-controlled."

"More trucks have started moving!" Reported an operator frantically as the next truck was already blowing up in the distance.

"Everyone take cover!" Yelled the operator from his truck as more trucks were already moving up from the supply corridors.

"Mark them!" Ordered the squad leader and immediately some of the policemen shot at the trucks. "How many are there?" He turned back to the operator.

"Here there are three, in Unit Four there were six... In total there are 15 trucks, they are spreading out."

"Tackle the ones we couldn't tag!" Ordered the mission commander, and immediately the operators set about relaying the orders.

Suddenly, there was a rumble.

"What's going on now?"

"Did another truck explode?" Asked another policeman, who seemed to have already gotten used to the explosions of the detained trucks.

"It's in the warehouse!" Said one of the operators.

"Multiple explosions detected inside the warehouses." Reported another.

"What the...?!" Resonated the sound of bending metal and in the next moment a fountain of blood shot out of the ground.

"Take cover!" Zero immediately ordered his students, who hid.

Blood splattered down everywhere on the street, but some of the blood seemed to float in the air and began to coil around a figure on a rooftop.

"The vampire got away from them!" Reported the operator who was in contact with the mages.

"We'll see for ourselves!" Shouted a policeman who overheard.

"I need more!" The vampire stared down at the cops, blood seeming to soak into the wounds he must have gotten from fighting the mages just before he took a leap down.

"Look out!" Yelled a policeman, as the vampire was already rushing towards them.

"Evacuate the injured!" Zero shouted, grabbing his sword, which he had placed on the ground earlier.

The policemen shot at the vampire, but he fended off the bullets with a wall of blood that seemed to follow him.

"Look out!" Shouted one of the policemen in the Exo-armor and fired a bullet from his enormous rifle. The bullet impacted the wall of blood again and pierced it. But it only grazed the vampire, as he made a leap upward and changed course toward the shooter.

"Look out!" Yelled a police officer as the Exo tried to point his gun upward at the vampire.

He's too close! Cursed the pilot as a black wall suddenly appeared between him and the vampire's paw.

Zero had placed himself between the Exo and the vampire and smashed the side of his sword against the latter. The force of Zero's blow hurled the vampire several feet away, whereupon the policemen opened fire again.

The vampire dodged the rifle fire and jumped over the rooftops, around the policemen.

"Where are the mages?" Asked an officer.

"Why didn't you cut him up?!" Asked a policeman Zero sourly.

"I..." hesitated Zero.

"Zero watch out!" Shouted the pigtailed student as the vampire leapt towards Zero.

Zero lunged for the block as a spell flew at the vampire. The vampire seemed to have sensed it and deflected it with his blood shield. The shield exploded and atomized into small particles of blood before the vampire leapt back onto a rooftop.

"The mages are here!" A policeman rejoiced and Zero's students seemed relieved and happy as well.

"About time!" Groused the officer.

"We've got him now!" Shouted the Exo-pilot euphorically.

The vampire was boxed in. In front of him were Zero and the police officers, behind him were the Tactical Mages.

"Watch out, this is not one of the stupid Bitten Ones, this is a real vampire!" Warned one of the mages the group as suddenly the ground began to shake.

"What the...?!" Shuddered a policeman.

"Explosion in the warehouse below us!" Reported an operator.

"Everyone take cover!" Sounded the squad leader's order through the channels. "Did they mine the whole warehouse?"

That's when the vampire jumped toward Zero again, who like everyone else was distracted by the commotion.

"Look out!" Yelled one of the students.

Zero turned to face the vampire when suddenly the ground gave way. The sound of metal bending and explosions spread out as the ground collapsed, taking Zero the vampire and several others with it.

"Zero!" Shouted the student with the braids, as one of the policemen held her back. Shaking and explosions could still be heard.

Everyone held on as the tremors stopped after a few moments.

"Is it over?" One of the students looked around worriedly.

"Zero!" Snapped the student, looking down into the depths.

"How many levels are affected?" Asked the mission commander, who was holding onto the truck.

"Probably down to the third level."

"We're looking for the fallen!" Reported the leader of the Tactical Mages, jumping down with his team. "Watch out, the vampire is still down there!" He swore to his team as they jumped into the depths.

Did I pass out? Zero looked around. It was dark, the lighting on the lower levels flickering. Smoke was everywhere from the fire that must have still been burning in the corridors. The corridors' alarm system resounded through the rubble in the middle of which Zero lay. One of the above-ground warehouses had partially collapsed.

As Zero tried to sit up, he felt a painful twinge in his shoulder.

"Ouch!" His shoulder ached and blood ran down. He also felt his body groaning in other ways. Zero looked down at himself and examined his body.

"Just a few bruises, thankfully." He said with relief.

"Urgh!" Zero heard a voice in the darkness.

"Hang on I'm coming." He rushed in the direction of the voice and found a policeman who had fallen down with him. His leg was pinned.

"It's nothing serious." He assured the policeman, who was conscious when he saw his sword in the corner of his eye and carefully pulled it out from among the debris. It was flawless. Not a single scratch was visible on its smooth surface. Immediately he used it as a lever to free the policeman from under the rubble so he could pull himself out.

The pilot is here, too. Zero saw the Exo-armor in the distance. "Are you all right?" Zero rushed to him, the cop in tow.

"I'm fine." The pilot waved back as Zero saw a shadow in front of him.

A person stood there.

"The vampire!" He turned to him.

"Argh!" Moaned the person in front of him, holding his head and writhing in pain.

Zero bumped his leg against something and it fell into the depths. Immediately the person looked at Zero, who readied himself.

"Crap!" He held his blade in front of him.

But against his expectation, the vampire suddenly jumped away. Only his scream echoed through the depths.

"Hey, everything okay down there?" Zero heard the voice of a mage.

"We're here!" Zero waved up into the air where he recognized the outline.

"So that should do it for now." Zero told the policeman.

"Thanks Doc."

"You're welcome." Zero nodded and stood back up, looking around for more injured.

"Are you alright?" The Tactical Mage who had stayed behind asked Zero.

From above, police officers were already starting to come down to pick up Zero and the other officers, as well as to look at the damage and search for possible hiding places.

"It's just bruises. Don't worry." Zero tried to allay the mage's worries.

"The wound on the shoulder looks nasty, though." Studied the mage Zero's wound with a flashlight. "Did he bite you?"

"I don't know...", Zero looked at the wound more closely.

"Have it checked out when we get back upstairs."

"I will..."

By now, the policemen were all over the collapsed supply tunnels. The situation upstairs seemed to have eased. Searchlights illuminated the crater and cops everywhere were looking for missing persons and clues when Zero saw something glowing green in the distance.

"What is that?"

Zero leapt over the rubble toward the light when he spotted a door half broken open behind a broken panel.

"What do you have there?" A police officer and the Tactical Mage came over to Zero.

"A hidden camp?" Asked the mage.

"Seems so." Agreed Zero.

The door was hidden behind pipes and other disguises, the explosion had probably exposed it by mistake. A faint light shone out through the partially bent open door, through which Zero peered in.

"What did you see?" Asked the mage as he saw Zero suddenly appear to use his sword as a crowbar.

"Wait, you can't just break that open!" Complained the policeman.

"There's someone in there!" He broke down the door.

Zero, the mage and the policeman went in with their weapons drawn. The room was dimly lit, which they compensated for with the flashlights they had with them. The room was so narrow that they could barely walk side by side and Zero had to strap his sword to his back. Instead, he used the pistol he was given. Slowly they advanced, ever vigilant in case the vampire or someone else attacked them. All over the floor were vials that must have fallen during the explosions. One of the three bumped into one of the ampoules, which rolled away and bumped into something, causing a metallic sound to echo through the room.

"Argh!" Shuddered the policeman, at the sudden sound.

"This is a slave camp." Said the mage, sliding his gaze around the room.

On either side of the room were cages, with several humans and other races crammed inside. Many of them appeared to be wounded. They had wounds on their hands and feet from the chains they wore. Others had bruises on their faces or bruises, some all over their bodies.

"Then the information was correct!" Said the policeman and began to make a report.

"Are they dead?" Asked the magician in amazement.

"No." Kneeling on the ground, Zero looked at one of the vials with his flashlight. "Just stunned."

"I guess they wanted them to be quiet while we investigated everything." Said the policeman.

"Not only that." Zero continued to look around. "These are drugs..." he held another vial under his flashlight and showed it to the mage.

"I'll call for backup." Said the policeman and hurried back.

"All right. I'll stay here and check on the injured." Nodded Zero before the policeman disappeared.

"I'll see if I can get some more light here." The mage began to look around, since one of the light sources had disappeared since the policeman left.

That's when Zero noticed again the light that had first drawn his attention to the door. The three flashlights had outshone the slight glimmer. Zero followed the light to the end of the room, where three large tanks were placed in an alcove. They were large enough to hold a human and the workmanship suggested that they were of high quality. Two of the three tanks were empty. In the third, from which the green light was coming, held a liquid from which bubbles were rising.

Zero approached the tank when he saw something inside.

"A mermaid?!" He looked into the sleeping face of a Mytic.

She was wearing a gas mask, probably to immobilize her. She was chained in other ways, too. Her tail was fixed to the floor and her hands were tied behind her back. Several straps seemed to hold her in place and a collar he had seen on Ariane and Ethan had been put on her too.

Suddenly, her eyes snapped open. Immediately she panicked. She turned and seemed to be trying to free herself. A message popped up on the screen next to the tank.

Calming process begins...

She became even more panicked when Zero pressed his hand against the glass.

"I'm getting you out of there!" He told her, unsure if she could hear him, but her gaze was suddenly fixed on him.

Immediately Zero turned to the console and tried to cancel the process when it asked for a password.

"Damn it!" Zero punched the console with his prosthetic. He grabbed one of the containers that was standing around and smashed it against the tank. However, it ricocheted off the glass and nearly took Zero with it.

"I should have seen that coming..." cursed Zero as the mage came up to him.

"What's going on here? A mermaid?" He saw the tank in front of Zero. "What are you doing?" He cringed as he saw Zero reaching for his sword.

"I'm getting her out of there." Zero stretched his sword.

The mermaid closed her eyes in panic as the next moment the glass shattered, and water shot out of the tank. Zero's cut had shattered not only the glass, but also the chains and straps that held the mermaid in place, who was now washed out with the water.

"Gotcha!" Zero grabbed the mermaid before she hit the ground. "Are you okay?" He asked her as the water drained out.

She looked at him anxiously as her fins twitched. The gas mask was still stuck in the tank and most of the other straps were torn off as well.

"Hey, are you okay?" The mage came closer.

"Yeah, we're good." Nodded Zero and set down the mermaid, who was trying to hide as she was locked inside the tank completely naked. Immediately Zero took off his vest and put it over her shoulders. "I'm going to untie you now, OK?" He looked at the frightened mermaid.

"Shouldn't we wait until the police get here?" Asked the mage as Zero grabbed his sword.

Zero looked at the remaining chains and followed the one that had led to her tail. But now it was hanging by one leg. Astonished, Zero looked at her. Her tail fin was gone and so were the other fins she had on her hip.

Zero set about freeing the mermaid from the remaining chains.

"Are you sure about this sword?" Asked the mage, unsure that Zero wanted to remove the chains with his huge blade. "Wouldn't you rather like I use magic to open them?"

"Don't worry. I can handle it." He tried to reassure the mermaid and the mage. "Besides, we don't know if there's a magic fuse in it after all."

Carefully, Zero guided his sword towards the handcuffs she still wore on her leg before his blade made short work of them. Zero only had to press the cuffs lightly against the blade of his sword and cut through them like a hot knife through butter. Even the collar didn't stand a chance.

"What kind of sword is that?" Wondered the mage, while the mermaid rubbed the previously chained places.

Shortly after, the policeman already came back to Zero and the mage with reinforcements and the officer in charge.

"What's going on here? What is this woman doing here?" Asked the mission commander, puzzled why only she was liberated.

"She's a Mytic, Sir." The mage explained to him.

"I see. OK, get these people out of here." The officer in charge ordered.

Immediately, two policemen rushed to the mermaid and took care of her, while Zero, along with the policemen, other medics and experts, set about freeing the other prisoners. The mermaid looked steadfastly at Zero as they did so, before being taken out of the warehouse.

"Zero!" Rejoiced the student with the pigtails, and everyone else was also happy that Zero was okay. However, the latter was immediately led to the ambulance to have his wounds checked.

"Hey Zero." Tyler came running.

"Hey."

"That was something huh..." He scratched his head.

"Simple deployment my ass... Ouch!" Said Zero as the Medic put the bandage on him.

"Sorry. Couldn't have guessed." He shrugged.

Zero watched in the distance as they took the bodies away. "How did it go for you guys?"

"Almost all of the trucks were rigged with explosives. I guess they knew we were coming." Explained Tyler.

"What about the vampire?" Zero continued to ask as the Medic was finishing up.

"I don't know. He disappeared but we got the rest." He looked around. Cloths had been placed all over the remains of the Bitten.

"People!" Demanded the task force leader everyone's attention. "Today we lost good men...let's remember their sacrifice." Began the leader quietly. A moment of silence followed. "We dealt the merchants a delicate blow today. That was good work!" He announced.

Zero's group was ready to leave, a van should be picking them up any moment.

"See you later Zero." Tyler waved at him, surrounded by his students.

"See you later." Greeted Zero as well, as he saw the former slaves in the distance being tended to by more doctors. "I'll be right back." Said Zero to his students and left.

The mermaid sat by one of the ambulances wrapped in a blanket. Uncertain and afraid, she looked around. People were running around everywhere; everything was very hectic.

"Are you all right?" Someone suddenly spoke to her. She turned to the voice, saw Zero standing in front of her and was startled.

"Oh sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

She shook her head.

"Is everything OK?" He asked again.

She began to look around uncertainly.

"Don't worry, you're safe here." He explained to her as he heard the voice of one of his students in the distance, trying to get his attention to the van. "I'm sorry, I have to go. Take care." He said goodbye.

She nodded sheepishly.

Zero grew more distant as she opened her mouth.

"Thanks..."

Zero turned to her and nodded before disappearing completely.

"...Zero..." She whispered.

"Thank you." Zero took the sword from one of his students, who had held it for him. He heard a few of the girls whispering, especially the one with the two braids.

"Who is she?" She asked.

"That's one of the slaves, isn't she?"

"I'm sure she's grateful to him. He saved her, after all!" Argued another.

"Maybe she likes Zero too?!"

"Zero's charm strikes again." Laughed a third.

Zero shook his head. "Stand still!" He gave the command and immediately they all lined up as the transporter was landing.