Suddenly, loud sirens echoed throughout The Sacred Forest. From the depths, trees rustled in an order, and small, winged monsters screeched and flew into the sky.
Loud bangs were heard, and the monsters fell from the sky.
Sabre sternly stared towards the depths of forest. "It's them," he muttered.
The Exalted One, taken aback and alarmed, groaned in frustration and clenched his teeth. He raised his fist and demanded to know, "How did they find us? Why won't they let us do what we want?"
Hafen raised an eyebrow.
"Was that sound a monster," Matteo questioned.
Hafen noticed the concern in The Exalted One. "You seem to know. What is it," he asked him.
The Exalted One, serious, looked down towards him. "It's the bad guys. Could you hold them off," he requested.
"Huh? Us? Sabre is stronger than us. Can't he do it," Matteo interrogated.
"Just buy my brother and I some time. Please," The Exalted One, in a stern voice, urged.
Hafen looked at Sabre.
Sabre faced the depths with fury. He prepared to fight.
The Exalted One turned towards him and ordered, "Sabre, don't! Let's hide for now!"
Sabre, reluctant, complied, and he scoffed with disdain towards the bad guys.
"Don't fall for their tricks. They'll try to manipulate you," The Exalted One forewarned.
Matteo, Stark, and Hafen relented and nodded.
The Exalted One and Sabre walked onto the porch.
Stark tried to stand up.
Hafen supported him.
"Are you alright, Stark," Matteo inquired.
"I'm fine," Stark, ready and determined, replied. He stared at the two guests, who were about to enter the house.
Matteo glanced and queried, "Do you guys think Sabre is more powerful than Pepe?"
"I felt a strange sensation from Sabre," Stark revealed. He harshly coughed and asserted, "Somehow, he shielded my punch from hitting his arm. It felt like it connected, but it didn't at all. Instead, I was the one who ended up with a bloody hand."
Hafen narrowed his eyes and alleged, "Sabre was ordered around. I'm willing to wager that The Exalted One is even more powerful than both Sabre and Pepe."
Stark and Matteo looked at Hafen with their eyes wide.
The sirens grew louder.
Hafen handed Stark to Matteo. He turned around and looked at the source of the sirens.
Matteo helped Stark. "Can you still fight," he asked with a worried look.
Stark smirked and reassured, "I'm fine.", and he continued, "There are more people stronger than us. I'm excited!" He stood on his own.
"I feel the same way," Matteo responded and smiled.
Hafen pointed. "First, we should protect our home from those things," he interrupted.
Matteo and Stark turned around and saw three fast moving vehicles heading towards their home.
Stark worryingly asked, "What are those things? Are monsters the bad guys?"
Confounded, Matteo noticed and exclaimed, "Ah! It eats people! They're trapped inside!" He covered his mouth and gulped.
"They're fast. They have to be more powerful than our guests. Brace yourselves," Hafen implored and readied.
A while ago, a military squad chased The Exalted One and Sabre.
"Stop fleeing, criminals," a soldier demanded on a speaker.
The Exalted One and Sabre out sped them, and they sprinted into The Sacred Forest.
Later, a military helicopter flew over The Sacred Forest and barely located the duo's whereabouts as they entered a house in a farm. They returned to report their findings.
Soon, three fast moving vehicles zoomed through The Sacred Forest's paths. Their sirens blared.
The girl of the depths hid behind a tree and looked at them pass by. "Why is the military here," she wondered. "Wait! They're heading straight towards The Fisher Family," she remarked. She ran towards The Orphanage.
Two vehicles got closer and closer. On their radios, they received a message from their leader.
"We must not let these two escape at all costs! Recapture is necessary for the survival of humanity! Do you understand," the squad leader explained. He was a little chubby and bald. He also had a thick beard. He rode on the third vehicle, behind the other two.
"Yes, sir," two soldiers, from the two other vehicles, affirmed.
"According to our reports, there also seems to be special individuals sighted here. Be wary of them! There's a reason why we don't meddle with The Sacred Forest," the squad leader informed and sighed.
Now, the three military vehicles arrived and stopped in front of the house.
"Let's detain these kids," the squad leader demanded on his radio.
The doors of the vehicles opened.
The people, trapped inside, stepped out and pulled out weapons. They aimed their weapons at the kids. Simultaneously, they pleaded, "Put your hands up and surrender!"
In disbelief, Matteo gasped and obeyed. He reached for the sky and blinked in confusion. He slowly lowered his arm and scratched the back of his head. "Um, why," he wanted to know.
The soldiers scowled with frustration.
"They don't look nice. Who are you, people," Hafen questioned.
Stark, annoyed, queried, "What are you doing at our farm? We don't know you, and you're trespassing! Leave at once!"
"No! Surrender! Now," the soldiers refused and pleaded.
Matteo narrowed his eyes. "It seems like the monsters and the people it ate are now working together," he assumed and frowned.
"Are these people riding the monsters the bad guys, too, then," Hafen asked. He raised a brow.
A soldier angrily exclaimed, "We're not monsters nor bad guys! You have no idea who you're protecting! Stand out of the way!"
"They're so calm under aim of a gun," the squad leader noted and furrowed his brows.
Matteo crossed his arms and surveyed, "Why are you after The Exalted One and Sabre?"
"Those two are responsible for the destruction of many cities," a soldier revealed.
"They're wanted terrorists," another soldier claimed.
Matteo gasped, and he believed them for a second.
"Hmph. We've been warned of your manipulative tactics. We refuse to believe such nefarious claims," Hafen retorted.
Matteo glanced at him and agreed in realization. "Our guests could not be villains," he insisted.
Bruised up, Stark paced towards the soldiers and their vehicles.
"Stop right there," a soldier threatened and trembled. He aimed his gun at Stark.
Stark, unfazed, clenched his fists and readied his stance. "Let's see what you got," he instigated.
Matteo and Hafen approached next to him and stared down the soldiers.
Stark, Hafen, and Matteo now stood defiantly and prepared to fight. They were convinced.
"The soldiers and the monsters are working together. They are the bad guys," Hafen reiterated.
"How dare you... The sheer audacity of you kids. Stand down," a soldier, running out of patience, urged.
"We'll open fire! It'll kill you," another soldier pressured.
In the next moment, Stark glared and rushed towards the soldiers and vehicles.
Matteo did the same.
However, Hafen stayed behind.
The eyes of the soldiers widened, and they hesitated to shoot.
Matteo threw a rapid flying kick through the window of an opened door.
The glass shattered.
Matteo managed to hit the soldier behind the door. Then, he landed on the ground.
Suddenly, the other soldiers shot him, repeatedly.
"Ah," Matteo, injured, yelled in agony and shook with each shot. He collapsed to the ground, and blood poured out from every limb in his body.
"No," Stark shouted in fury and launched a punch towards the nearest soldier.
The soldier was sent flying, and his gun fell on the ground.
Another soldier aimed his gun at Stark.
Stark punched the soldier in the face and snatched his gun. He broke it apart and huffed with anger.
In an instant, a soldier, nearby, aimed at him and fired.
Stark, however, deflected the bullet with his arm, only leaving a bruise. His glare pierced next to his arm.
"He just stopped a bullet," the soldier stammered. His mouth fell open, and he cowered back.
At the same time, Matteo, breathing heavily and bleeding, laid on the ground. He crawled and grunted in pain.
A soldier panicked. "You're alive! Stay down! Please," he begged.
Matteo struggled to get up. "I can't let you hurt anyone else," he mumbled to himself. He got up with multiple holes in his body and groaned loudly. He stumbled back down as pain took control of his body.
The soldier he had kicked earlier laid face up, on the ground, and in front of him.
Matteo glanced at him. As a spectacle, his wounds quickly recovered. He menacingly limped towards the soldier. His dislocated jaw hung from his head and healed.
"You're a monster," the soldier shrieked and crawled away. "Don't come closer," he demanded and sweated profusely.
Another soldier shot Matteo in the back.
Matteo fell forward and onto the ground. He, still alive, flipped over and gazed at the sky. He barely refuted, "You, people, are the ones working with monsters. You are evildoers."
A soldier walked towards him. He pointed his gun at him and begrudgingly shot him.
Over the canopy of The Sacred Forest, the sun began to set.
At the same time, Stark, fueled with rage, lifted and carried one of the vehicles. The shadow of the vehicle completely covered him. He horrifyingly paced towards the soldiers.
One of the soldiers pleaded to him, "No! No! No, kid! Stay back!"
Stark grunted and threw the vehicle over them and into a tree behind them.
"I didn't sign up for this," a soldier screamed and ran away.
"You'll be punished for desertion," the squad leader asserted and frowned.
The other soldiers realized their futile efforts. They stumbled back.
Hafen observed and analyzed, "Those weapons that the bad guys carry are dangerous. With them, they're able to aim and shoot out incredibly fast and small projectiles. I need to disarm them."
As a feat, the soldiers' guns flew out of their hands. They floated in the air.
The soldiers, bewildered, sought to know, "What is going on?"
The guns turned around mid-air and aimed at the bad guys.
Frightened, the soldiers placed their hands up like they were trying to touch the sky.
"I'm sorry! Don't shoot," a soldier implored, and tears fell down his cheeks. "I want to go home," he sobbed for his life.
Little did anyone know, the long-ago invited guest, Pepe, had arrived. He stood behind a tree and leered at what was happening. He recalled the girl's warning.
"Be careful," the girl cautioned with a concerned look.
Were the soldiers telling the truth? Were The Exalted One and Sabre wanted fugitives? What were they doing inside the house? Were the three brothers wrong about the soldiers and their guests? Who were the bad guys?