"Red told us to leave them alone and all... but does anyone have any idea about what they'll be talking about?" Scar muttered. "I do feel bad getting left out, but I think it's worse than the two of them could handle. And also, Red is still a bit injured so shouldn't we watch out for them? Blond might attack him out of impulse again."
"I also want to know what it's about... and at the same time, I think we're not ready to hear about it. Let's wait for them. They'll tell us in time." Curl calmly said as she looked back.
"I don't know if it's just me but they give off a different feeling compared to before. Do you think they already remember everything from their past?" This time, it was Freckle's turn to raise suspicions.
Gadge, who was a few steps ahead of Freckles, turned around. "Highly doubt that. If they did, they would be screaming about it. Those two never kept anything to themselves so let's just trust them and wait."
As per Red's instructions, the rest of the group returned to their 'safe house' since Blond wanted to talk to him alone.
However, Blond didn't know that Red overheard everything the humanoid whispered at him. That's why he anticipated that Blond would come to him first. "So, what did you want to talk about? Was it about that server humanoid?"
"Just tell me one thing, Red." Blond leaned on a concrete pillar as he sighed. "You're on our side, right? You weren't lying when you told us that we'll get out of here, right?"
"Ah-haha!" Red let out a hearty laugh. It was rather uncharacteristically strange that Blond would speak that way. "And when exactly did I say that I'm on your side? As far as I know, there could be traitors amongst you. I was never on anyone's side. If you're an ally, then follow me, if you're not, then I don't mind what else you do as long as you don't mess with my plans. I only have one conclusion in mind and that is to get out of here. If you decided to tag along, then I won't stop you. As you may have noticed, every single one of us here have uncanny abilities and I need to utilize all of them in order for my plans to come to fruition. So, it may not be entirely wrong to say that we'll all get out of here alive if you follow me."
"I knew you'd say that. I was just making sure if you're still the same Red and not a traitor who assumed your identity." Blond finally relaxed. He wasn't really shaken up by the mysterious woman's opinion but still, he had to confirm if Red was still the same person or not. He had decided to trust Red right from the start so there was no need to reconfirm it again.
"That's it? You sure you don't have anything else to say?" Red asked as he gave him a snarky look.
"Not really, I want to tell you my thoughts on the others." Blond continued as he finally stopped leaning and decided to sit down on the ground. "Isn't it weird that no one argued with Jarxen about fighting humanoids? At first glance, it may seem that everyone recognized you as their leader... but isn't it weird? If you were a sane teenager, you would've done everything you could to escape the place but everyone seemed to have consented to their fate."
Red wore a grin on his face before he could reply to Blond. That's when Blond realized that he shouldn't have asked such an obvious question. "Stop it... whatever it is... I don't want to hear it again from you."
"Just as I said... " Red began.
"Stop... " Blond grinned after interrupting him.
"... you're all not ready to... " Red continued.
"STOP!" Blond raised his voice a little bit.
"... hear it yet." Red had the last laugh.
Blond couldn't help but sigh once again. Of course, if they were ready, Red would've told them about it a long time ago.
....
"You're back." Curl coquettishly chimed as Red and Blond entered their base. It was approximately way past midnight so the group determined that sleep was not needed. Well, the mock battle was only twenty-four hours in duration and every second is of the essence.
Before Red and Blond came back, they had decided on the schedule for the next couple of hours before the Elite Conquest ends. The plan included a mixture of raids, flag-hunting, stealing flags and resources, and also getting rid of potential threats by incapacitation. After their welcome, Red, and Blond gathered the rest on a circle for a meeting of the round table.
Except, there wasn't any round table.
"Same group? So I'm stuck with musclehead and smartypants again?" Freckles jokingly complained.
"A pleasure," Blond responded.
"Once again, leave the defense to me!" Scar confidently swung his arms around.
"Yes, and the rest is the same. Cat would scout, and our group would continue with our flag hunting and stealing flags. We'll rendezvous every hour so we could formulate a plan of attack to the other blocks that Cat will scout for us. And also, this would serve as a sign if anyone needs help. If anyone of us here did not arrive on time, it is safe to assume that they encountered trouble." Red explained.
"How about calling for help? How do we do that? " Scar asked. "We don't have the means to pinpoint anyone's current location so how could we help someone in trouble?"
Curl jerked a thumb at Gadge. "Leave it to our master tactician he... "
"You mean, technician? " Freckles corrected her.
"Whatever it is, just leave it to him. He had been working on a positioning system or something? He said it would help us know each and everyone's location." Curl continued, still brimming with confidence. However, it was just a front since she felt rather embarrassed messing up her words.
And as if to stoke the flames of her embarrassment, Red patted her teasingly on the head. "I think that's enough explanation for now. We need to head out as soon as we get something to eat."
"It's done." Freckles announced as she laid out a few platefuls of corned beef, again.
*knock* *knock*
The knocks were followed by a series of thumps, making the chains that held the doors in place rattle loudly. Red signaled everyone to step back and remain quiet as he carefully approached the doors. Blond saw that as a sign to hand him the keys which Red gratefully accepted. "To think that they had the courage to interrupt our dinner. They're really asking for trouble." Red muttered as his stomach started grumbling.
The rattling of the chains continued as Red slotted the key into the padlock. With a click, the padlock opened and Red shoved the doors out of the way. Red wasn't surprised when a worker was hurled away by the door.
Red put his guard up, expecting combat to ensue; but what hit him was something no one in his group expected.
*bzzt* *bzzt!*
Four tasers, clumped together to increase the electrical intensity by four hundred percent, speared towards Red's stomach before he could even react. Red fell in a useless heap, much to everyone's disbelief. Following that, the redhead had a few spasms as the electricity coursed through his body.
"REEEED!!!" Curl shouted. She tried rushing towards Red but Blond abruptly stopped her.
"You'd just cause unnecessary trouble if you go near them," Blond advised. He then turned towards the group of 'thugs' that attacked them by surprise. "Let's keep this short, What do you want from us?"
The attackers consisted of middle-aged men who were at least in their thirties. They had plenty of humanoids in tow so it was safe to say that they're part of a Testing Block as well. "Give us your resources and flags, then we'd be on our way."
"Hic~ Uhh... " Red painfully moaned as he lay over his back and grabbed a bottled water from his pocket. "Don't c-come... near." Red mouthed towards Blond's direction.
Red! I knew you wouldn't die that quickly. You're a cockroach after all. Blond heaved a sigh of relief. By the glint in Red's eyes, Blond could tell that Red was planning something.
"Okay! We'll consent. We have a total of five flags and a few canned goods. You can take them with you." Blond maintained his composure while negotiating. All this time, he was watching Red, curious as to what his plan would be.
That's when Red fell to unconsciousness once again. The only thing he managed to do was open the bottled water.
As the waters flowed everywhere, Red was already completely knocked out.
"RED!!!" Blond pretended to lose his wits as he rushed towards Red. He then picked him up from the ground. "Wake up! Red!!!"
Red weakly opened his eyes and let out a laugh that sounded both celebratorily and evilly.
One by one, the attackers fell unconscious as if by some miracle. The teenagers were shocked after witnessing such a scene.
"Who's the prey now?" Red feebly voiced out before he completely lost consciousness. This time, it wasn't an act.