Chapter 5: Risky Business

As we continued on our journey, Jason shared his idea for the diversion. "We could use a Shadow Guard uniform to create a distraction,"

"A Shadow Guard uniform? How would that help?" Carter asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

Jason explained, "If we can get our hands on a uniform, we could use it to create a fake attack on the Shadow Guard checkpoints. That would draw the guards away from the real checkpoint, giving us a chance to slip through undetected."

Diageo nodded, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "That's a great idea. But where are we going to get a Shadow Guard uniform?"

"We could try to steal one," Sophia suggested, her voice eager. "We can sneak into a Shadow Guard outpost and grab one."

"That's a risky move," Ava said, her voice cautious. "We could get caught and end up in even more trouble."

Maya spoke up, her voice calm and measured. "We need to take risks if we want to complete our mission. If stealing a uniform is what it takes to get through the checkpoints, then we have to it"

Carter nodded in agreement. "Maya's right. We have to take risks if we want to succeed. But we need to be careful. We can't afford to be seen again."

We spent the next few hours planning our mission. Finally, we started to move. We slipped past the guards and made our way into the outpost. We searched through the barracks, looking for a uniform that would fit each of us.

As we searched through the barracks, Ava grew increasingly frustrated. "This is ridiculous," she muttered under her breath. "I can't believe I can't find a uniform that fits me."

"We need to find a uniform that fits Ava," Jason said, searching through the piles of uniforms in the barracks.

Diageo chuckled. "Good luck with that. She's too big to fit into any of those."

Sophia shot him a glare. "That's not funny, Diageo. We need to find a solution."

Carter nodded in agreement. "We can't leave anyone behind. We need to figure out a way to get Ava a uniform."

Maya started to search through the piles of clothing. "What about this?", holding up a pair of black pants and a dark shirt with a blue hat. "It's not a uniform, but it looks close enough."

Sophia nodded. "It's better than nothing. I can't afford to be picky."

Ava sighed, but reluctantly agreed. "Fine. Let's just grab what we can and get out of here."

"We need to move quickly," Maya said,With her voice low. "We don't have much time the longer we stay the easier we'll be caught."

We nodded in agreement and made our way towards the platform. But as we got closer, we saw that the Shadow Guard had already set up to the door.

"We need to find a way past them," Sophia whispered, her eyes scanning the area for any potential escape routes.

Jason nodded. "I have an idea. We can use the distraction to get past them."

"What distraction?" Ava asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.

Jason explained, "If we can create a diversion, it will draw the Shadow Guard away from the door. That will give us a chance to slip past them undetected."

Carter nodded in agreement. "What do you have in mind?"

Jason grinned smugly, his eyes alight with mischief. "I have a few tricks up my sleeve," he boasted, his voice barely above a whisper.

Diego rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed. "Yeah, right. Like what, a rabbit out of a hat?"

But before Diego could say another word, Jason had already sprung into action. With a mischievous glint in his eye, he created a sudden, ear-splitting noise that echoed through the checkpoint. The Shadow Guard spun around, their weapons at the ready, scanning the area for any sign of danger.

Diego couldn't help but grin as he looked back at Jason, who was now standing there with a triumphant smirk on his face.

"Nice one, magician," Diego teased, unable to resist taking a jab at Jason's over-the-top theatrics. "Maybe next time you can pull a whole circus out of that sleeve of yours."

As we made our way through the door and out of danger, Carter and Maya couldn't help but chuckle at Jason's antics.

"Nice one, Jason," Carter said with a grin. "I didn't know you had it in you."

Maya nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you really had us going there for a minute. I thought for sure we were done for."

Jason beamed at the praise, clearly pleased with himself. "Thanks, guys. I always knew my talents would come in handy."

Carter laughed. "Well, let's hope we don't have to rely on your trickery too often. I prefer to keep things a little more straightforward."

Maya chimed in, still smiling. "Agreed. But it's good to know we have a magician on our side, just in case."

As we entered the room where the mana cores were to be kept, I couldn't help but be struck by the uniqueness of the space. The room was circular, with walls made entirely of glass. The ceiling was domed, allowing the sunlight to pour in and bathe the room in a warm glow.

In the center of the room stood a pedestal, on which the mana cores would be placed. The pedestal was made of a shimmering, iridescent material that seemed to shift and change colors depending on the angle from which it was viewed.

I couldn't help but feel a sense of awe as I looked around the room. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. It was clear that whoever had designed this space had put a great deal of thought and care into every detail.

Maya spoke up, her voice filled with reverence. "This mana cores are a source of great power, and we must treat them with the utmost respect."

I nodded in agreement. "Of course. These cores are the key to our success. We can't afford to let anything happen to them."

As we carefully placed the mana cores on the pedestal, I felt a sense of relief wash over me. We had accomplished what we had set out to do. We had secured the cores and brought them back to our base.

But I knew that our work was far from over. We had to find a way to harness the power of the mana cores and use it to defeat the Eldrith once and for all. And with the fate of our world hanging in the balance, we couldn't afford to make any mistakes.

Carter nodded. "Let's grab them and get out of here."

As we moved towards the crate, we heard a sound from the other end of the train.

"What was that?" Ava whispered, her voice barely above a whisper.

Diageo chuckled nervously. "Relax, it's probably just a rat or something."

But before Diageo could finish his sentence, a group of Shadow Guard soldiers burst into the train car, their weapons raised.

"Freeze!" one of them shouted, his voice echoing through the train.

But then, something unexpected happened. Diago stepped forward, a smug grin on his face.

"Hey, guys," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "What's the matter? Can't a group of rebels catch a ride on a train without getting hassled by the you guys?"

The soldiers looked at him in confusion, clearly taken aback by his boldness.

"What are you talking about?" one of them demanded.

Diageo shrugged. "Oh, nothing. Just thought we could all have a good laugh about how you guys can't catch a bunch of rebels on a moving train."

The soldiers hesitated for a moment, clearly unsure of what to do.

"You're a funny guy, you know that?" one of them said, his voice friendly.

Diageo grinned. "Thanks. I try."

As the soldiers raised their weapons, Ava sprang into action. She lunged forward, her fists flying as she took down one of the soldiers with a swift punch to the face.

The other soldiers seemed taken aback by her sudden attack, but they quickly recovered, raising their weapons and firing at her.

Ava dodged and weaved, her movements fluid and graceful as she evaded their attacks. She countered with a series of kicks and punches, taking down another soldier with a well-placed blow to the stomach.

Sophia stepped forward, her own weapons drawn as she joined the fight. She deftly parried an attack from one of the soldiers, her sword flashing in the dim light of the train.

Carter and Maya quickly followed suit, their own weapons at the ready as they engaged the soldiers in battle.

As the fight raged on, I found myself caught up in the heat of the moment. I had always been more of a strategist than a fighter, but there was something exhilarating about the rush of battle.

As we caught our breath and collected ourselves, Ava couldn't help but let out a frustrated sigh.

"I'm so sick of this uniform," she grumbled, tugging at the fabric once again. "I swear, I'm going to burn it as soon as we get back to base."

Sophia chuckled. "I know how you feel. But hey, it got the job done, right?"

Ava nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But still, I can't wait to get back to my regular clothes."

We quickly grabbed the mana core and made our way towards the door, keeping our weapons at the ready in case of any further attacks.

As we made our way through the train, Diago couldn't resist making a joke about the ease of the mission.

"Well, that was a piece of cake,I don't know why you guys were worried about."

James let out a hearty laugh. "Hey, Diageo, did you forget that you almost got killed earlier? Or are you just that good at playing dead?"

"Hey, I may have been killed today, but at least I'm still looking good."

James rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but grin at Diageo's joke. "Yeah, yeah, you're a real fashion icon."

"Whould you guys stop it already, We need to move quickly," Maya said, her voice urgent. "We can't afford to be caught."

We picked up the pace, moving quickly towards the exit. But just as we were about to reach the door, we heard a voice calling out to us.

"Hey, you there! Stop!"

We turned to see a group of Shadow Guard soldiers approaching from the other end of the train car.

Carter raised his weapon, his eyes scanning the area for any potential escape routes. "We need to find a way out of here,"

Diageo chuckled. "Well, this is a fine mess we've gotten ourselves into."

James rolled his eyes. "Thanks for the observation, Diageo. Now, does anyone have any ideas?"

As the soldiers closed in on us, Maya suddenly spoke up. "I have an idea. Follow me."

"What kind of idea" i said while asking nervously.

"You Just have to follow me you will see it when we get there"

We quickly followed her down a narrow hallway, keeping our weapons at the ready in case of any further attacks.

As we made our way towards the end of the hallway, we saw a window at the end that led to the outside of the train. Without hesitation, Maya kicked the window open and jumped out, landing gracefully on the ground below.

"These is not a plan, Lloyd. How in the world is this a plan.

Maya shrugged nonchalantly. "Hey, sometimes you just gotta wing it. It keeps things interesting, you know?"

"Sigh"

We followed her, jumping out of the window one by one and landing on the ground below. As we ran towards the safety of the nearby forest, I couldn't help but feel a sense of relief wash over me. We had completed the mission.

As we ran through the forest, Ava couldn't resist making a joke at Diageo's expense. "So much for that easy mission, huh?" she teased, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

Diageo chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up, Ava. You know I'm just trying to keep things light."

James shook his head, clearly amused by the banter. "Well, at least we made it out alive. That's something, right?"

We all nodded in agreement, relieved to have completed the mission successfully.