A total military communication and network blackout was ordered. All devices lost signal to their corresponding networks and even Internet providers were disallowed from providing services.
The Australian military started raiding homes and offices of any Pangean-born citizens. Anyone who had a record of staying on any of the Pangean nations for more than six months was also detained.
Several deaths were already being made. Unresponsive citizens were shot on the legs while others who retaliated were killed on spot. All Pangean-owned business was raided and checked.
All except Olax Industries. A small explosion occurred which tore this building down.
The fires in Olax Industries was so great that it was starting to burn the neighboring buildings and homes. The explosion damaged the very foundation of the main warehouse and the building collapsed.
The fire department could not keep up with the number of fires that the city experienced that night. And so, like many other residential and commercial buildings that caught fire that night, the unimportant businesses and residential places that caught fire were ignored.
But buried deep under the rubble and burning stones of the fallen Olax building was a large metal door on the ground. It would take hours to excavate the buildings in order to reach or see this door. This door led to an underground path, which continued deeper until it reached large rooms with a lot of computers, weapons, and soldiers.
This was the headquarters of the Heroes Army.
"Sir, the communication blackout has been sanctioned." A young teen reported to a young teen who stood in the center of the room.
"By the looks of things, they seem to be suspicious of an army. Looks like my lies were ineffective." Lowengren frowned.
Three media channels were enabled two of which were privately owned and one which was owned by the government.
A news reporter stood wearing a grave expression.
"A Severe-Level command to have been issued by the G.P.A. If you are of Pangean blood or have stayed in any Pangean nation for more than six months, please proceed at the New Birth Fort Entrance Gate 3. Citizens are warned that non-compliance to this command gives authorization for the military or police to shoot offenders. The military will also check all residential and commercial buildings owned by Pangean natives.."
The broadcast announcement continued to be reiterated even as the news of fires and other criminal activities filled the news channels.
"Shoot on sight? Isn't that too harsh?" Cliff wondered.
"Not really. Considering Australia was once on its last leg. All citizens and even tourist are made aware of the military level commands. Severe-level allows military officers to kill anyone at any given time."
"But it feels a little too discriminating."
"Discriminating? What are you? From the Post-Modern Era?"
"You really should listen more in school, Cliff." Charles laughed.
"I'm a Regular! And one of the most notorious in school!" Cliff complained.
"True. But who'd expect that a Regular like you would be Unlocked? Whatever made you want to help Seeker in the first place? He didn't threaten you, did he?"
"Of course he did!" Cliff sighed.
Charles and Alean laughed.
Cliff waited for the laughter to die down.
"But I think ever since I met Seeker, I felt curious. What made him strong? I guess that's what made me stay. I've never amounted to anything. I've always felt useless. But not anymore. Not when I can save this world." Cliff gave a light smile.
"It's kind of difficult to respect or believe you when you're stepping down on that Aragarian." Alean laughed.
Cliff was standing with his foot pressed down on an Aragarian's face pining him to the ground. The Aragarian was tied up and gagged.
"Hmm…" The Aragarian whimpered slowly. Tears kept falling down his face.
"Oh come on. I just said I would shoot your leg if you made another sound." Cliff immediately shot the leg of the Aragarian.
"HMMMM! HMMM!" The Aragarian screamed in pain and was struggling.
"Don't shout or I'll hurt you more. Isn't that what you kept asking that lady when you were electrifying her to death?" Cliff answered in anger.
"Why are they like this?" Cliff asked the other two.
"They came here to rule over us. It's only natural that they see us as playthings. Creatures for their fun and pleasure." Alean moved closer and stepped on the gunshot wound.
"HMMM! HMMM!" The Aragarian's shouted louder.
"Too bad he's out of urine. I wanted to see him in a pool of his own making." Charles spoke in distaste.
"This looks fun." An emotionless response echoed at the back.
"Arthur!"
Arthur was entering with a group of soldiers. The soldiers with the trio started greeting the new arrivals.
"I believe Lowengren ordered you to infiltrate this building to rescue the Jews. However, you decided to massacre everyone in this building." Arthur gazed at the tortured Aragarian that Cliff was stepping on.
"Well, it all worked out, didn't it? When I appeared at their doors and asked for help to hide me while the arrest was being made, this Aragarian's got hungry and immediately called me to his room." Charles asked in a boastful tone.
"I see. So Lowengren asked you to be a tempting bait to get you to the boss's room. You destroyed the internal comm system from the inside and massacred everyone."
"Oh stop. You make it sound like I'm a heartless and cruel person. I have always been known for my love of people. That's what made me a National Treasure of Pangea. Everything I do, I do for the benefit of mankind!" Charles complained. He then turned towards the Aragarian.
BANG!
Charles shot another round at the palm of the Aragarian.
"Sorry. Couldn't help it. I just don't like the idea of them using this entire commotion as an excuse for my disappearance. If I weren't Unlocked I'd probably ended up as one of their torture or sex toys." Charles spoke angrily.
"Truly, you exhibit the traits of showing love towards people." Arthur mocked sarcastically.
"Yeah. Well, you know what they would do to me if I allowed them to take me."
"I doubt they'd allow others to torture you. You're too good of a material to waste. Unless of course, these clients would be willing to pay top dollar for torturing a national treasure. That is quite stimulating to think about." Arthur casually remarked.
Charles gripped his fist in anger. But then he released it and gave a deep sigh.
"Oh well. I'm glad I rescued more Jews. I just wished we arrived earlier to save more. I don't know what you plan to do with this one but I'm glad I walked the higher road and didn't murder him." Charles gave another sigh as he casually shot the toe of the whimpering Aragarian.
"Hey. We told you to keep quiet. Another peep from you and I'll shoot another toe." Charles ordered.
"Why do we need this guy alive anyway?"
"It's best that you don't know the details of the upcoming mission."
"Sorry, I'm late!" A fast blur could only be seen and Meryl suddenly appeared next to Arthur.
"Alright, now that we're all here, down to business."
Arthur took out a small device and placed it on the ground. A light and hazy hologram started to appear revealing the map of the city.
"Alean and Charles, you are to separately attack the buildings here and here. I'll send a message to indicate when you can start attacking. The military will be too busy to check on these places so just kill everyone inside and get the Jews out quickly."
"Finally, a straightforward command to kill these monsters." Charles grinned.
"As for us, we will be entering the Fort through the Third Gate."
"We're going to attack the base?" Meryl almost shouted in surprise.
"No. We just need to get past the gates."
"How do we get in?" Cliff asked excitedly. He recalled Lowengren's precise and complex solutions to break through military blockades.
Charles awaited Arthur's plan with a held breath. He just had witnessed their complex strategies on how he rescued Alean and Cliff.
Alean expected a simple yet cruel plan. Having noted that a group of normal soldiers did the impossible and killed the entire platoon of the Hero of Helion's Tragedy. What daring and grand plan does Arthur have to break through the military gate?
"Do we use remote-controlled rockets as a distraction?" Cliff asked.
"Do we blow up more commercial buildings?" Alean waited in expectation.
"No. Meryl and I just need to walk right in."
The group remained silent. Everyone gave Arthur a puzzled look.
"Alright. Let's move."
"Wait! That's it?"
"Lieutenant Golderon, you're with our team. Lieutenants, divide your platoon's and follow Alean and Charles." Arthur ordered, ignoring Alean's puzzled expression.
The lieutenants hesitated and looked at each other a bit before finally following Arthur's orders.
The groups started to move their separate ways with Alean and Charles cursing at the vague orders of Arthur.
Arthur's group boarded a military truck which looked like what the Australian's used. Using this disguise, they managed to get through various blockades and approached the Fort.
A large number of people were walking towards the entrance of the gate as military personnel was busy checking and going through security measures. The Pangean natives were held right inside the large open field beyond the walls of the gate.
Arthur and Meryl walked towards the entrance of the gate. Cliff and the other soldiers held their breath as they watched the two enter the gates through their binoculars.
"Name?" A soldier asked.
"Arthur Humphrey."
"It's Arthur from the Covenant!" A soldier cried in surprise.
The soldier had a confused look until some of his companions whispered something in his ear and another soldier took over the questioning.
"Arthur Humphrey! Such an honor. And this must be the new member! Casual Carlean's manager and friend, Meryl Mikado! Big fan of the Covenant! Where are your other companions?"
"We lost them. In fact, we are not sure if they're alive. We've come here as ordered by the government hoping that our friends are here." Arthur gave a cold and impatient response.
"I don't think any members of the Covenant came in. But don't worry. I'm sure they'll be here soon." The soldier immediately comforted.
"Can we finish this? I am in a hurry to look for my friends and other acquaintances who may be inside." Arthur demanded.
The soldier immediately nodded and made the two go inside without further questioning or additional security checks.
"That's it?" Meryl asked.
"What's it?"
"The plan to get in here. I didn't expect it to be this dull. I thought when you said we would walk right in, it would be between the corpses of Australian soldiers burning from the fires of our weapons."
"You're disappointed?"
"Kind of. I was expecting a grand plan."
"And that's why we succeeded. Of all the things that our enemies didn't expect, is that we would be able to walk through these gates without any resistance. We have a legitimate reason for being in this country and an even more legitimate reason to get inside the base. Sometimes the grandest of plans are those covered in simplicity."
"I guess your right. We got in thanks to the grandeur of simplicity." Meryl giggled.
"What now?"
"We wait. There are still too few people in this place. We need a larger crowd so we can easily move around and start our mission."
"Right! Since we've got the time... Why is it that the Aragarians have been targeting the Jews?"
"It's a long story."
"We've got time, Arty."
Arthur gave a curious look at Meryl.
Meryl laughed.
"Sorry. Seeker liked calling you that. I thought I'd just give it a shot."
Arthur remained silent and finally sighed.
"No. I guess you should start calling me things you like. It would be weird for a couple to be on a first-name basis. The early I get used to this the better."
Meryl was surprised at Arthur's sneak attack and blushed to the extremes. She avoided Arthur's gaze and started looking for soldiers who could be a threat to two Unbecoming beings.
"The Aragarians plan to obliterate any forms of hope that the future could give birth to. Doing so will preserve the ideology of this era."
Meryl initially had a confused expression on her face but she remained silent and attentive.
"On the other hand, Seeker's plan is to change the ideology of this world."