*Two days later outside of the prison, the members of Shadow Eye were approaching the front gate. The three guards who were stationed there quickly stopped the group*
(Guard #1): Hold it. Who goes there?
(Morgan): At ease men, we’re today’s entertainment on behalf of the warden. Here, see for yourself.
*Morgan pulls out a letter from his coat and presents it to the guard who takes it. The guard examines the letter and recognizes the handwriting of the warden as well as the official stamp*
(Guard #1): Everything seems to be in order. You may enter.
*The guard gives the others the signal to open the gate and the group passes through. When the group finally makes their way inside of the prison, they’re greeted by Guzco, Byron, and six guards*
(Byron): Welcome one and all. G.T., good to see you again.
(Morgan): And you as well Mr. Warden.
*Morgan and Byron shake hands*
(Morgan): Thank you again for inviting us here to perform.
(Byron): Thank you for agreeing to come.
*Byron focuses his attention to Dust*
(Byron): You must be Dr. Leonard Bronson. A pleasure to meet you. I am the warden of this fine prison. Byron Dexter, at your service.
*Byron shakes hands Dust*
(Dust): Nice to meet you as well. Allow me to introduce you to my team. Our drummer, Reiko Kaze. The cello player, Arthur Cleveland. Lastly, our vocalist Deona Valkyrie.
*As soon as Byron feasted his eyes on Zia he was immediately smitten by her. He had never seen such a beautiful elf before in his life. When he went to shake her hand he immediately kissed it*
(Byron): Pardon me madam. It is such a pleasure to meet you. I have been hearing people talk so much about an amazing singer in our town. They failed to mention that you had the beauty of a goddess as well. I’m looking forward to your performance.
(Zia): *Chuckles* You flatter me warden.
*Byron then turns his attention to the others*
(Byron): Might I ask why they’re here?
(Ryuuji): We are simply performing our duties as mercenaries. We go where they go.
(Byron): While I understand and respect the job you were hired to do your services will not be required here. I assure you, as long as you’re in my prison no harm will come to you. The prisoners are beneath us in secured cells. My guards patrol the floors around the clock and all doors to reach the next floor require a code which changes every day. Escaping is impossible here. Not to mention in our conversation yesterday, I said only band members would be granted entrance into the prison.
(Morgan): True. That was what we discussed. Still, one can’t be too careful.
(Guzco): Come on Byron, let them stay. They won’t cause any trouble. You can’t blame them for wanting extra protection. Especially with the people who are hanging around here.
(Byron): *Sigh* Very well. But the same rules that apply to the band applies to you. The guards here will escort you to the dressing room and stage area.
*The six guards escort the group through some doors and takes them to the dressing room. Dust, Amarti, Zia, and Alita enter the dressing room. Two guards stand post outside the door. The remaining four guards escort the remainder of the team to the stage area. When the group arrived at the stage area they recognized it as a cafeteria rearranged to look like a stage. The group quickly got to work setting up the stage for the show. While everyone was busy setting up the stage, Jin and Hibana were busy setting up the sound equipment. The guards were focusing on the stage area and helping the group setup.
(Jin): How’s it looking down there, Hibana?
(Hibana): Almost ready, just stay on the look out while I work my magic.
*On the surface, it looked like Hibana was setting up the equipment on her computer. But in truth she was actually getting ready to hack into their network*
(Hibana): Hmm~ interesting. Looks like they’ve got two networks. One for the upper level and one for the prison levels.
(Jin): Is that a problem?
(Hibana): For an average hacker, yes. Good thing I’m beyond average. Trying to hack both will take too long so I’ll just focus on the upper floor. Which is going to take some time to crack so we need to keep everyone distracted with the performance.
*As everyone continued to set up, in walked Brant along with two other members of Blood Sword. One was a female with curled twin tailed blonde hair and red eyes. The other was a tall dark-skinned man with green eyes, tattoos on his arm and black dreadlocks. He also seemed to have a clothed weapon strapped to his back*
(Brant): Wow, this place actually looks presentable.
(Guard #2): What are you doing here? I thought you and the others were sleeping after your shift.
(Brant): As if. I heard from a little birdy there was going to be a performance today. It sounded interesting, so I invited the others to join me as well
*As if on cue, more members of Blood Sword entered the room and began to take seats*
(Brant): Despite how we look. Some of us are big fans of music and are excited for the performance. Don’t worry. We’ll be on our best behavior. For now at least.
*The members of Blood Sword didn’t go unnoticed by the members of Shadow Eye. They could all sense the danger emitting from Brant as he surveyed the room. His focus immediately turned to Jin and Hibana in the sound booth. Both of them felt his gaze on them. Brant walked over to the sound booth*
(Brant): How’s it going over here?
(Jin): Oh. . it’s going good. How about you?
(Brant): Doing fine. Need any assistance?
(Jin): No. We’re good. We’re almost done here, right Jenna?
(Hibana): Oh yeah. Thanks for asking though.
(Brant): Okay. Hard to believe it’s just you two in charge of the sound team.
(Jin): Yes, well, we’re pretty good at our job.
(Brant): You must have quite the impressive set up. Mind if I take a look there, red?
*Brant was about to walk up the steps. If he saw Hibana’s laptop he would know something was up and blow the whole operation. As Brant put one foot on the steps he was immediately distracted*
(Dust): I’d be careful going up there if I were you. The last time someone fiddled around with the equipment it delayed the show for an hour. I don’t think the warden would be happy about that.
*Brant turned sideways and saw Dust along with Zia, Amarti, and Alita*
(Brant): I take it you’re today’s entertainment?
(Dust): Indeed. Dr. Leonard Bronson. You must be Brant Alexander the Blood Flame. I’ve heard the rumors about you.
*Brant steps away from the sound booth and turns his attention to Dust*
(Brant): Really? Hopefully those rumors were good.
(Dust): Unfortunately no. The ones I’ve heard have been extremely bad, but I’ve always believed that rumors are only true 10% of the time. If you want to confirm the truth you should see it with your own eyes.
(Brant): Interesting. So how do the rumors stack up to the real thing?
(Dust): Well for starters I’m not seeing you covered in blood, so that’s one rumor false and you’re not 10 feet tall. You certainly have a mean streak, and you give off a very dangerous aura. I’d say the rumors so far are 50/50 at best.
(Brant): I’ll accept that. Would you say I’m more dangerous and terrifying than the rumors make me out to be?
(Dust): That remains to be seen.
*Brant chuckles at the comment and immediately draws his sword. He swings it at Dust’s neck prepared to chop it off but it gets blocked by Sanada’s sword*
(Sanada): I ask that you reframe from attacking my client.
(Brant): Relax, it’s the backside of the sword. Just a simple joke.
*Brant pulls his sword back and sheathes it*
(Brant): Looking forward to your performance doctor. I’m sure it’ll be a good one.
*Brant walks away to join the other members of Blood Sword but looks back at Dust before looking down at his sword and noticing a chip on the backside*
***
*After that the cafeteria quickly filled up with guards excited for the performance. Shortly after everyone had taken their seats the concert began with Dust doing a piano solo before the everyone else started to come out on stage one at a time. The first one out was Zia who began to sang. This quickly got everyone’s attention who enamored by her beauty and voice. No one more than Byron who was practically kissing her with his eyes. Amarti then joined followed by Alita who actually did a drum solo that got some applause from the audience before the band brought it back to square one and performed together in their jam session. Even though the members of Shadow Eye were on a mission and surrounded by enemies where the slightest mistake could endanger their lives, they all had to admit that they were impressed by the performance of their elf members. It really drove home just how close knit Dust, Amarti, and Zia were. Adding Alita to the mix only enhanced their performance and the fact that she was able to keep up with them was even more impressive. Just goes to show how in tune she had become with them thanks to their training. After their opening number the hits just kept on coming as Dust performed a song, followed by Zia and the two doing a duet. The last two songs were the ones that got everyone to stand on their feet. Zia performed a slow jazz song about a man falling in love with a singer but the singer letting them know that their love could never be. The last song was Zia singing how she is a star that shines bright in the sky for all to see. The melody and Zia’s voice were amazing. Along with the lighting and visual effects that went along with the performance everybody got their money’s worth. Even if it was the warden who used their pay to fund the performance. Even Brant had a smile on his face throughout the concert*
***
*After the concert, the group packed up and headed back to the tea house without any trouble. As some of the guards were working to rearrange the cafeteria, Brant along with members of Blood Sword with walking down*
(Human Male Blood Sword member): Man, that was quite the performance.
(Human Female Blood Sword member): Indeed. The performance was lovely. That pianist and cello player were excellent. I honestly wish I could take them back to the capital with me. *Blushes* I’m sure their screams of agony and cries for mercy sound lovely.
*Two members of a Blood Sword, a weasel demihuman with black hair that had a white streak within it and yellow eyes; a female dark elf with brown hair and green eyes got frightened looks on their faces and moved away from the human female. While she was laughing menacingly, the human male noticed Brant walking quietly*
(Human Male Blood Sword member): Something on your mind, boss? You’re being awfully quiet.
(Brant): Just very engrossed by the performance and how good it was. Hard to believe a group that good can carry such blood lust within them. Aliyah.
*Brant turns his attention to the female dark elf*
(Brant): You’re from Elfan territory. Have you heard any mention of this group?
(Aliyah): No. Not a single word of them in the areas I’ve been too.
(Brant): I see. The good doctor also did his best to hide his blood lust.
*Brant remembered the moment he swung his sword at Dust and how Sanada blocked it*
(Brant): If that mercenary had been one second late, the doctor would have been forced to protect himself and expose his true identity.
(Human Female Blood Sword member): And what is his true identity?
(Brant): Don’t know. One thing is for sure. There’s more to this group than they let on.
(Human Male Blood Sword member): Shall me and a few others have a private word with them.
(Brant): Don’t think that’ll be necessary just yet, Barbosa. This whole mission has been very boring. Let’s see if these folks can end the boredom.
*Brant smiles mischievously as he heads down the hall with the others following behind him*
***
*Back at the tea house, the others had just arrived back. Zia was carrying a bouquet of roses that were given to her by Byron and it was a letter asking to have dinner with him back in his office in the next day or two*
(Ryuuji): *Chuckles* The warden certainly isn’t hiding his feelings and motives when it comes to you Zia.
(Zia): Hmph, disgusting. A man like him doesn’t come close to master Amarti’s level. He might as well be on the same level as a fly. Annoyingly buzzing around yet so insignificant. Swatting at him isn’t worth my time.
(Morgan): I would still suggest holding onto it. We may be able to use this to our advantage.
(Gael): So Hibana, were you able to do your thing?
*Hibana sits at a table and opens her laptop. After pressing a few tabs on her keyboard, live camera feed from videos could be seen playing on the screen*
(Hibana): We’ve got eyes in the prison.
(Jade): Alright! So where’s our doctor?
(Hibana): Give me a second.
*Hibana begins to tap on her keyboard*
(Gael): Geez, a whole lot of numbers and typing. I thought hacking would be cooler.
(Hibana): You watch way too many movies. Hacking is an art form.
(Jin): And just to clarify, we’re safe right? They’re not gonna like track it back to here?
(Hibana): Doubt it. If I’ve gotten this far into their system and they haven’t noticed me yet then it’s all over for them. Compared to Brister’s security this is a cake walk. I could do this one hand while drunk. Even if they did find me, my drones are sending out a signal that gives them 50 locations on where I could possibly be.
(Jin): Cool. I don’t get it, but cool.
(Hibana): And bingo! We’re in. Our doctor is-shit!
(Jin): Shit? That’s never good. What’s shit?
(Dust): What’s wrong? You can’t find him?
(Hibana): No. I found him, but look where he’s at.
*Everyone gets in close to see Hibana’s screen. Howard’s mugshots pop along with his profile and level 5 as his prison location*
(Members of Shadow Eye): Shit~.
(Jade): Seriously, level 5?
(Hibana): To make matters worse, the cells in level 5 can only be unlocked by the master key which is in the warden’s office.
(Amarti): That’s just great. This just makes the escape even harder. Not only do we need to get that key, but getting down to level 5 will be an issue and getting back up will be a war.
(Alita): Perhaps we’re viewing this all wrong. Instead, of trying to go back up, we should find an alternate escape route.
(Zia): Normally, I would agree with you Alita, but there are no alternative routes. The only way to escape is up.
(Morgan): No wait. Maybe she’s onto something. All this time we’ve been thinking of trying to escape the way we came in. We all assumed he’d be on level 2 or 3, not 5. However, this new information changes everything. Instead of trying to fight our way back up, what if we just create a new exit by-
(Gael): Digging a hole that leads to the outside just like in the movies!
*Everyone stayed silent for a moment*
(Morgan): By DeMarcus, you two may have just hacked the breakout.
(Hibana): Yeah! The prison floors and walls on that level are made out of metal that’s easy to burn through and I’m sure our blacksmith can provide us with the perfect tools to dig through the dirt. And I’ve come up with the perfect distraction to keep the warden and his guards busy while also keeping the members of Blood Sword out of the way. But in order to do it, I need to get access to the warden’s office. His computer runs on a separate private network.
(Amarti): Zia.
*Amarti kisses Zia on the cheek to make her blush*
(Amarti): Please entertain our fly for the sake of the mission.
(Zia): Of course. Master Amarti.
(Raika): Looks like we’ve got a plan in place. That just leaves one final thing to take care of.
(Dust): Yep. Rookie, bring out the bag.
*Jin goes to a locker and pulls out a black duffle bag. He puts the bag on the table and opens it to reveal masks each with their own design.*
(Dust): Time to pick our mask and codename.
