25: Rescue

We all hide behind a tree to get cover away from the goblin's constant attacks.

"Malnio… This can't be happening!" Jack says, his voice full of anger.

"Damnit, Jack! We trusted you! You promised us you had it covered!" Mari says, her voice full of frustration.

"Clearly none of us were prepared because Sachi didn't even see them coming!" Jack says as it's clear he's trying to shift the blame.

"Seriously Jack? You're going to throw me under the bus like that? It was your suggestion to bring the kid in the first place!" Sachi says as she raises her voice in anger.

"I just think it's unfair to put all of the blame on me!" Jack says.

"Jack you can't say you're going to take responsibility for something and not follow through!" Mari snaps back.

"ENOUGH! All of you just shut it for two seconds!" I say as I point to the side of us and notice that the goblins are climbing down ladders from the trees.

"Ah, that's it. Their hideout is above in the trees, it's almost like a giant treehouse." Sachi says as she observes the structure of the hideout.

"Listen up! We don't have time for this crap! Jack messed up, Mari messed up, Sachi messed up, and I messed up too! When one of us fails all of us do! Who's to blame is irrelevant at his point! When it comes down to it we have to keep moving forward and get the job done. What is rule number three again?" I ask as everyone gets really quiet.

"Think quickly on the field, allow your mind to be as adaptable as possible." Everyone else says in unison.

"That's right! Our original plan didn't work out the way that we wanted it to, but that doesn't mean we can't adjust. For one, we know where they're hiding now." I say as Sachi nods her head in agreement.

"He's right, if we get up there then they lost the element of surprise." Sachi says.

"Even still, we don't have any clue how many are really up there." Mari says, her voice full of worry.

"What about Malnio? We're going to get him right?" Jack asks as he's starting to get worked up again.

"Of course we will just calm down man! We have to get this right! Sachi, what do you think the best plan of action is moving forward." I ask as Sachi starts thinking hard.

"First things first, we need to get an idea of the structure of this hideout. Crow, do you think you can get me up there in your flight mode? The more information we have the better." Sachi says.

"Of course, hang on to me tight! My flight control is still a little sloppy. Scavian Art: Flight of the Crow!" I say, as my black wings sprout from my back.

"Let's go!" Sachi says as she clutches my body as tight as she can.

Sachi and I fly high above the forest and try to get an idea of how the hideout is structured.

"Fly a little bit lower, I think I'm starting to see something." Sachi says.

"Gotcha!" I say, as we fly lower and start to see goblins moving around a bunch of long bridges.

"It seems the goblins have been at this hideout for a long time I've already counted at least 400 of them. This is crazy… " Sachi says, her voice full of astonishment.

"Huh? Is that Malnio!" I ask as I noticed he's tied up on a wooden chair towards the middle of their hideout.

"This isn't good, if we do this wrong then… " Sachi says, her eyes full of worry.

"We won't let that happen! We know the structure, now let's strategize." I say as I fly us back down to Mari and Jack.

"Well, what's it looks like up there?" Mari asks.

"Not good. First off, there are at least 400 of them up there and that's just an estimate." Sachi replies.

"Did you see Malnio?" Jack asks.

"Yeah… They got him tied up in the middle of the base. Thankfully it doesn't seem like they want to take him out, at least not yet!" I say.

"Crap, this really is my fault. He could die because of me!" Jack says as he holds his head down in despair.

Out of nowhere, Mari slaps the crap out of Jack!

"Stop it, stop pitying yourself like your the victim! You messed up, there's no getting around that, but what are you going to do about it?" Mari asks as Jack holds his face in pain.

"Wow, I guess I needed that after all. I'm going to put my trust into all of you and get Malnio outta here!" Jack says, his voice full of confidence.

"Glad to have you back! Now continue Sachi!" Mari says.

"The hideout is structured almost like a square. At each major point, there are huts full of goblins. The one exception is the middle where they have Malnio. That seems to be some weird sacrificial area." Sachi says.

"That makes things pretty difficult for us, if they spot us they might threaten Malnio's life and use him as a hostage." Mari says confidently.

"We've gotta be fast and take them all out in one go if possible." Jack says.

"Woah, that's the smartest thing you've said all day Jack!" Sachi says as it's obvious she just had a eureka moment.

"Damn, am I really that stupid?" Jack asks.

"Yes!" We all say in unison.

"Anyways, we all should use our strengths to make this rescue and extermination as efficient as possible! Here's the plan! Crow, Mari, and I will all climb up to three of the major points on the hideout in which we'll attack the goblins from up there. However, we also need to save Malnio and get him to safety! Crow, your wings make you the fastest person here, so you'll be in charge of saving the kid!" Sachi says.

"You can count on me!" I reply confidently.

"Once Crow saves the kid, that's where you come in Jack! Before we attack I'm going to mark all four major points of the hideout. While they're busying dealing with us you can help us from below! Once we use our squad signal, you need to chop down the four trees and that should take most of them out all in one go!" Sachi says.

"That might actually work! I'll follow through this time!" Jack says reluctantly, as you can still tell his confidence has been shaken.

"Please do this time, we can't afford to mess this up! Alright, once I mark all of the trees, it's showtime!" Sachi says.

"Understood!" We all say in unison.

All of us are now in place for our plan. We can't afford any more screw-ups today, we have to prove that we can do this without Kira! I hope Jack can keep it together this time. I believe in him though, he may not be good at reading a room, but he always has our backs!

Out of nowhere, I see Sachi shoot her flare arrow above the trees. Its time!

"Scavian Art: Flight of the Crow!" I yell as my wings reappear on my back.

"Maridan Art: Adora Flare!" Mari says as she shoots a huge blue fireball at one of the goblin huts.

"Windian Art: Destruction Arrows!" Sachi says as she shoots three giant green arrows at another goblin hut.

The goblins all scatter throughout the hideout like roaches as it's clear our surprise attack is working! I fly towards Malnio at blinding speeds as we both exchange eye contact.

Suddenly, two goblins run over to Malnio and hold shivs towards his neck.

"Damnit! They caught on to our plan guys! Could use some help here!" I say as I'm only 10 feet away from Malnio.

"Little preoccupied!" Mari says as she's shooting off magic attacks at the stampede of goblins.

"I can't get a good shot right now Crow! Sorry!" Sachi says as she's trying to keep the goblin horde at bay.

"RAAH!" One of the goblins yells at me, as I can tell he's telling me to put my weapon down.

He's got me good, there's no way at my skill level that I could be fast enough to stop them in time! Come on Crow! Think! Think! Oh wait, I almost forgot!

"Ahh, you want me to put my weapon down do you? Sure thing, no problem!" I say, as I carefully put my weapon down.

"BRAA!" One of the goblins says as it starts approaching me with a flaming arrow drawn.

"Sheesh, all of you should invest in a dental plan! MALNIO CLOSE YOUR EYES!" I say as I throw a flash bomb and blind all of the goblins.

"URAHHH!" The pack of goblins says as they hold their eyes in pain.

"That was courtesy of Layla of Umbra! See ya guys later!" I say, as I fly over and grab Malnio.

"Crow! You guys came back for me!" Malnio says as he holds onto me tightly.

"We wouldn't dream of leaving you kid, now don't let go! We're getting out of here!" I reply.

"No way, he did it! ADORA JACK!" Sachi yells.

"Hear ya loud and clear! Bracadier Art: Lumberjack Mode!" Jack says as his muscles grow in size and Taqa starts unleashing from his body.

Out of nowhere, Sachi is being cornered by the pack of goblins!

"There's too many! I can't get to a ladder!" Sachi says, her eyes full of desperation.

"Mardian Art: Neko Summon!" Mari says as the summon starts ravaging all of the goblins near her.

I have to help Sachi, but my hands are full dealing with Malnio! Come on, there has to be something she can use! Oh over there!

"Sachi use one of those ropes! They're all around you!" I say as Sachi looks behind her.

"Good looking out Crow! I'm out of here!" Sachi says, as she grabs a rope and descends back towards the ground.

"Uh, I'm a little stuck guys! They burned down all of the ladders and ropes near me!" Mari says as the summon is still destroying the goblins.

"Should I stop cutting?" Jack says as he's running through the forest chopping down the trees that are supporting the base.

"No, keep going! I'll try to figure something out!" Mari says as she looks very nervous.

"I got you, Mari! Windian Art: Zipline Arrow!" Sachi says as she shoots a green zipline arrow.

"This better work! AHHHH!" Mari says, as she puts her staff over the zipline and descends towards the grown.

"Now Jack! Finish it off!" Sachi commands.

"BRACADIER ART: FINAL SWING!" Jack says as he launches a yellow magic slash at all of the trees, and the whole hideout collapses.

"WOOO! Let's go!" I say as I can't help but feel hyped.