"I'd get ready if I were you," Asel told them as he lifted his blade up. "The janitors are here to clean up." He ran out of the room, sounds of metal clashing and gunshots filled the room.
Frogo quickly got her gun out and followed behind, "Come on!" She told them before going out, firing at the enemies from across the room. One of them noticed and went straight for her, blade pointed to her chest. She reacted a little too late, only moving away when they were inches away.
"Oh no you don't!"
Don broke the doorframe and grabbed the enemy's neck, lifting him with one of his arms before slamming him down on the ground. A bunch of them saw this as an opportunity, jumping straight for his undefended back.
Whoosh!
Multiple darts flew by, all of them piercing through their skulls and settling deep inside. They all fall down, failing to show any signs of resistance.
"Here comes the cavalry!" Wheel shouted out, quickly filling his fingers with more darts. He began to throw them to those who got too close, taking only one throw to eliminate them.
The room once filled with fragile and delicate objects was now filled with flying shards of glass and dead bodies as chaos erupted from the fight. It felt endless, with more and more people entering to fill in for those who died.
"How many of them are there?" Frogo shouted out. They had managed to hold out for now, but eventually the team's ammunition would run out.
She looked around, trying to find anything that could help until her eyes landed on a backdoor exit. "Don!" She shouted out, grabbing his attention.
Her eyes pointed at the door, prompting him to make a decision. In the middle of the chaos, it took only a second for him to decide.
"Everyone, follow me!" He shouted before running towards the exit, ramming it open with full force. They all followed closely behind him, passing by a familiar figure.
"Thank God I stayed behind." Wing told them as he looked at their state, throwing a grenade inside before slamming the door shut. Watching him, they quickly jumped away and shut their ears before the shop exploded from inside.
They quickly picked themselves up, still alert of their surroundings. "Anything useful came from your detour?" Wheel asked him sarcastically.
Wing smiled back at him, "Confirmation, we're dealing with a higher up from The Ember Pact." He held his hand out, helping the others get back to their feet.
"Yeah, good job, as if it wasn't obvious enough." He responded, picking up the shards of glass that looked just right for him to use. "Narrow it down from everyone to the people most likely to be the culprit."
"Better safe than sorry," Asel clarified. "Wouldn't want to be chasing after an innocent man." He clarified, trying to commend Wing's efforts. Wheel looked at him with confused eyes however, "What happened to equal treatment?"
Don stood up, "Asel's right. One thing we need right now is to know who our target is. Until then, we'll be having to deal with situations like these." He pointed at the shop, smoke still came out from the inside.
"It's about time we move out," Frogo cut the conversation short. "It'll be troublesome if we meet more people who want us dead."
They agreed to her suggestion, quickly moving across the narrow alleys. After carefully navigating through and covering their tracks, they found themselves back at the front of their hideout.
"Looks like you guys dealt with enough for them to give up chasing us." Wing commented. "That wasn't just a lot, it was like dealing with a swarm of flies!" Wheel told Wing, quickly jumping to his side.
"Just look at what I had to resort to!" He shouted, showing Wing the shards of glasses he had between his fingers. "Sorry Wing, but you'll have to be on the lookout for the day." Don told him, "We all got battered from that ambush."
Wing nodded, usually they would decide by a game of chance but he was the only one who could do the job.
"Don't worry, they can't sneak in without me seeing them." Wing reassured him, getting the keys out to open the door. Before he could find the right key however, the group was flooded with spotlights shining at them.
"You won't need to," A voice came from the blinding lights. "We weren't planning to hide from you after all." The door that Wing was next to then flew open, with countless people spewing out from it.
The group readied themselves, watching as they quickly surrounded them. "The situation looks pretty bad," Wheel told the group. "Weren't we just seconds away from a good rest a while ago?"
"I'm here to help you with that," The mysterious voice commented. "If you're going to rest, why not make it eternal?" A figure slowly walked closer to them, a hooded man with a crescent blade. His attire was worn out, riddled with holes yet still fulfilled its role of hiding the identity of the wearer.
"This should be the fifth team this week I had to deal with," he recalled. "As usual, make sure no one escapes." The man commanded the soldiers, making them reinforce their positions.
"We're compromised," Asel told them. "They knew where our temporary hideout was and sent an assassin, there was a leak." Wheel looked at him surprised, "Are you saying that one of us is a traitor?"
"No, it's not just us who knows about this operation." Don explained, "There's also those who commissioned us. It wouldn't be a stretch to say an insider leaked from there."
"That's how it usually goes," the mysterious man added. "You'd be surprised by how much of you people we had to clean up."
He waved his blade, pointing it at the group. "Time to say your goodbyes." And as if on cue, a melody from a piano played. The sound captivated all of them, it seemingly came from all around. It made Don feel drowsy, but his years of experience kept him wide awake.
He looked to the others, they were clearly affected as well. Out of all of them, Wheel was the one who was struggling to stay awake. "You think this is enough to take us down?" Wheel asked him challengingly before stabbing himself, waking him wide awake.
"The song's just a lullaby," He explained to them. "A song for your departure to the afterlife." His blade began to glow blue, with a fog bursting forth from where he stood.
They watched as it grew thicker and thicker, his figure slowly disappearing from sight. The fog grew so thick that only the glow of the blade was visible for them.
They were trapped, their safe haven now turned to a trap that kept them from ever escaping. Now in the middle of the enemy, they could only lie on each other's backs for defense.