The mountainous area was difficult to navigate, with vast forests and endless greenery. Pip was the only viable tracker available to them, as the Pirates continued their retrieval mission of Olga and Madison's dad. As the forest grew more dense though, they lost sight of Kaizo, forcing Pip to track him down as well whilst they continued to trek deeper into the undergrowth.
"I smell them up ahead," Pip said, bouncing forwards in his fox form and leading the others towards a dangerous clearing. Sunlight glared down upon the only open space, revealing a highly secured facility that was bordered on all sides by mountains and deadly cliffs. Falling out of a nearby window would easily seal one's fate with death, as only a few areas had semi-safe landing areas.
"Alright, so basically, no jumping out of windows." Elez said, peeking over the side of one of the cliffs, and looking down at the hundred foot fall. The others nodded in agreement and stared forwards at the large stone walls, noticing that many cages had been scattered around the entrance, each one filled with rare creatures, discolored Dragons and many creatures that they have never even seen before.
"Welp, time to burn this place to the ground." Madison said, cracking her knuckles and preparing for a battle. As the pirates approached the building though, a loud ominous noise rang out all around them.
"Oh gods," Zero sighed, slapping his forehead and recognizing the sound. The others soon caught on, realising that someone had activated an alarm.
"Do they have tripwires, maybe?" Elez suggested, turning towards the others with a questioning stare. The Star Pirates shook their heads though, before pointing up at the oddly-shaped Kaizo-sized hole in the side of the wall.
"I guess he's our distraction now," Zenith smiled, drawing his sword and sneaking in quietly through the back, as the other Nightshade Pirates trailed behind him. Naturally, the Star Pirates soon followed, but their pursuit was suddenly halted by a woman standing idly in the hallway. She had long wavy white hair, a tight red bandana fastened over her forehead, and loose pirate cloaks hanging lightly from her slim figure.
"I'll take this one," Zero smiled, drawing his swords and stepping out to face his opponent.
"All yours dude," Elez nodded, rushing past and leaving Zero to fight alone. The others followed quickly, while the clashing sounds of metal echoed behind them.
"Dog thing, do you smell our dog?" Lezlie asked, looking down at Pip with a questioning stare.
"I'm not a dog; I'm a fox." He whined, looking up at her with a sad pout.
"Get it right," Zenith hissed, placing the young boy down as he transformed into his fox form and continued his hunt for Olga. After only a few minutes of searching though, they turned a final corner and spotted Kaizo ripping open a few cages, setting both Olga and Madison's dad free.
"You're not so stupid after all," Elez chuckled, walking over towards Kaizo and helping Madison's dad stumble dizzily out of his cage. Meanwhile, Pip bounded forwards and tackled Olga to the ground, lifting up his tiny paws and lightly tapping his nose.
"I told you that you smelt funny!" He said, looking down at him with a pout and a furiously adorable voice.
"I guess you did," Olga chuckled, sitting back up and gently ruffling his fur.
"Time to get out of here," Kuana said, helping Olga up whilst Elez ran back to check on Zero. Unfortunately, the fighting had stopped, and as Elez turned the corner to check on him, Zero was knocked out on the ground with a needle buried deep in his neck. He had been beaten, and as a consequence, Zero's swords had been taken from him.
"Dammit," Elez groaned, picking him up and slinging him effortlessly over his shoulder as he ran back to the others. "We've gotta leave now," he said.
"I'm not leaving," Madison replied, opening up other cages and setting the captives free. "We're freeing every creature in here. They won't live the life I did." She muttered.
"You won't get very far," A voice called out, as a homogenous fireblast barrelled down the hallway beside them, blasting Madison immediately out of the window nearby.
"Dammit," Elez groaned, looking around for the attacker whilst Zenith and Kaizo ran to follow her. They looked out through the shattered window, only to stare down at the cliff that was positioned directly outside. Thankfully, Madison was able to fly, as she landed down in a clearing near the edge, holding her thumb up as a signal that she was ok. The rest of the Star Pirates continued to hold their ground, whilst Pip hugged Olga's arm in fear and silently cowered behind him.
"Madison, do you need help?" Kaizo asked, glaring around for the owner of the mysterious voice. Slowly, Madison looked up from where she had landed and gently brushed herself off.
"I'm good, keep freeing the animals!" she smiled confidently, watching as a figure blasted towards her from the rooftop of the facility.
"Alright," Kaizo nodded, running off with the others close behind him, but leaving Zenith to stand and watch from the window. The swordsman looked down upon the man who slowly approached his Captain, unable to join the fight without a safer exit point. Madison was confident though, and glanced up at the tall crimson-haired man as he adjusted his red leather jacket and dark black sunglasses.
"Let's dance," Madison grinned, raising her fists and preparing for a fight. After waiting for only a short moment though, she drew her sword and sliced it directly towards him, propelling a wave of electricity along the horizon.
"Is that all?" He asked, quickly thrusting his palm towards it and blasting a wave of powerful fire that negated her electricity. Immediately, she leapt back to avoid the burns, contemplating her options for future attacks. After a single moment of thinking though, she threw her sword directly towards him, aiming to hit his chest whilst she transformed and flew to the sky.
The Poacher simply yawned and stepped to the side, holding his hand out as he caught the sword mid-air, swinging it around with ease and comfort. He looked up towards Madison, smiling at her attempts to fly away. Unfortunately for him, she wasn't running at all.
"You should never disarm yourself," he stated boldly. "Don't underestimate me, I am the great Poacher known as Valor! I've killed hundreds of Dragons just like you. You can't escape me," he grinned, raising up her sword and preparing to toss it over the cliff, just as he raised it up though, the cursed blade grew incredibly heavy, causing Valor to drop it down atop his foot.
"Ouch! Dammit! You sly trickster!" He yelled, kicking the sword in a fit of rage, only to slam his foot into a dangerously immovable object. He groaned in pain and stepped away, crouching down and holding his leg, and allowing Madison to swoop down and smack him with her tail, spinning mid air as she growled at him in her dragon form.
"Don't you dare kick my sword!" She snapped, as Valor slammed back into the wall of the facility nearby.
"Damn Dragons," he hissed, looking around for a cheap way to attack whilst hovering so close to the cliff's edge. Then, his eyes fell to Zenith in the window. Valor's smile grew wide and dark, as a large and powerful fire blast grew within the palms of his hands.
"Come at me," Madison smiled, transforming back into her human form as she spoke. Valor's gaze turned back towards Zenith though, as he turned within a moment and blasted his magic towards the wall of the building. It exploded in an instant, surrounded by wisps of flames as the rubble crumbled and toppled over the cliff face. Madison couldn't see through the smoke, but she could only assume that Zenith had been injured.
Smoke filled the clearing, causing her eyes to water from the fumes, as rubble crumbled and collapsed ahead of them. She tried to call out and plead for a response from Zenith, but before she could even speak, Valor blasted forwards and slammed a punch straight into her chest.
Air was knocked immediately from Madison's lungs, as she skidded back across the ground and coughed hopelessly in the smoke filled air. It all seems so pointless, if Zenith was so easily beaten, how could she ever hope to compare.
Her eyes glanced up towards her target, as Valor stepped forwards with a joyful grin. Just when all seemed lost though, loud booms of thunder silenced Madison's doubts, as a flurry of rainbow colored lightning struck the ground all around her. Out from the dusty sky, and down through the thunderous clouds, a figure descended to the battlefield, whilst a valiant spotlight shone down upon Madison's figure.