Shike, Belle, and Boo's Mission

--Shike's Perspective--

"Lily? What is it?" I asked. I saw Lily as a friend, mainly because of her white hair like mine, but also because she was friends with Lia, and she seemed cool.

"It's bad! Charlie and Alex were taken to someplace! They're hostage, and the two people know about Sky!" She shouted out.

"This situation... sounds intense... is that bad? We don't really know the rules here," Belle suggested. Lily understood our confusion and explained it in a simple way.

"Well, you know how Quake wanted Sky? Now more people want him! If they spread us too thin, those people will be able to strike from our backside while Sky is distracted with Quake!" Lily shouted out.

Belle, Alexia, Boo, and I were all sitting around the fire, but as soon as Lily explained, we stood up and looked at each other.

"Alexia, go tell Sky, we'll try and track down Charlie and Alex. Boo, can you use your speed to get to them?" I asked her while moving toward the gate.

"The last thing we need is spreading ourselves thinner!" Boo shouted out.

Dammit... she made a good point.

We aren't qualified enough to make calls like this!

"What would Sky do? Can we go get him?!" I shouted out, but he was already coming up on our position.

"Sky! Listen, Charlie and Alex have been taken by two people. I followed them to understand their general direction, but it looked like they were hostage, being taken to a place far away from here... they talked about a Queen..." Lily muttered. It was too much information, but when Sky and Ruby grouped around us to listen to the conversation, Ruby seemed to have a deeper understanding than the rest of us.

"Queen...? Queen Ultima..." She muttered.

More people joined the fray as Umbra came over, and Dani and Carl sat in the group with us as well.

"What's going on?" They all asked, but Ruby was trapped in that important thought.

"Queen Ultima is looking for you, Sky? Oh, shit... oh shit..." Ruby muttered.

"Come on, you can't leave me like that, what's going on?" Sky asked, but even Umbra understood.

"I can't even damage Ultima... you're telling me that now she's an enemy?" Umbra added.

"Guys, what's going on? This feels hopeless," I asked. I'd never thought I'd see impressive people like Umbra and Ruby worrying about somebody.

"It's just... Ultima has never taken damage from anybody. I know, we're talking about The Sky Asterio, but it's still unsettling to hear that we're on her radar," Ruby commented.

Sky turned the opposite way toward Dani. I wasn't sure what they were talking about, but Dani nodded, and Sky turned back around.

"Shike, Belle, Alexia, Boo, I'm sorry... may I depend on you guys?" He asked us. Of course, we all nodded immediately.

"Anything you can do... I know, it's vague, but I just need you to stall. Let me handle Quake, and I'll be on her doorstep seconds after I'm finished to help you all out. I just need time... time to deal with everything and to get there to fight that Queen. I don't care how powerful she is, if she's never taken damage, or if Umbra can't even land a hit. She will give everybody back to me willingly, or she will loosen her grip after I kill her. Shike, can I depend on you guys to do this for me?" Sky asked me.

"Is that even a question?! That's the least we owe you! Of course, we'll do it... but, for the threat that is Quake... you should keep Alexia here with you, she can create domes and protect the city from any damage... and I don't want her in danger there," I offered.

Just by looking at me, Alexia could tell that it wasn't worth arguing over, and she quickly agreed to my terms.

"Ruby, is that okay? I know, my friends are under your lead, but if we can postpone this siege on me from Ultima, we could save the entire city. What do you think?" Sky asked Ruby.

"No, you're making the right call. I approve of this, whatever keeps my people out of danger. However, if you're going to The Tower, take this radio," Ruby threw me a radio and I quickly holstered it on my hip, paying attention to her instructions.

"That radio I gave you, has two buttons on it. The first button is contact, and the other, you must push four times to send an SOS. As soon as you push that button, either Sky or I will come rushing over. Until then, do what you can to gather as much information as possible. Another thing... Strands won't work in her city," Ruby told us.

"What? What do you mean strands don't work in her city? Only hers?" Boo asked, surprised out of most of us.

"That's for me, isn't it?" Sky returned with another question, and both Umbra and Ruby nodded.

"That makes the most sense. Nobody benefits from Strands like Sky does... and if Ultima wants to hunt him, that's what she would do. That's far too threatening to conquer right now," Umbra stated.

"It doesn't matter. We'll do it. We won't need strands, we'll blend in as best as we can. We'll contact you and give you whatever we can," I told Sky and Ruby.

Sky rose his hand and interlocked into a handshake with me.

"This is tough, I won't lie. Thank you, for doing this. I won't ever forget it, and I will come to your aid whenever you need me. If there's anything you need, please let us know," Sky told me.

"I'm going with them. They could use the extra hand, and I'm good at sneaking around," Lily said out loud. I nodded, telling Sky that I would take care of her as if she was my own sister.

"Sky... what will you do?" I asked him, tightening a backpack strap around my shoulder.

"I'll be training with Umbra, keeping this city safe. Shike, Belle, Boo, and Lily, I don't want you to worry. You guys are plenty strong, but Zealous will be safe with the rest of us here. Now, go after Charlie and Alex. Charlie won't get either of them killed, and Alex will be able to fight his way out. With the smarts and strength of the two of them, they'll be okay for a while, but nothing lasts forever. Look for them first, and keep us updated. Thank you guys again," Sky said, nodding his head.

"Umbra, we have some training to do," Sky said, turning around and walking toward a field with his sword unsheathed.