It was strange to see the weapon-smith hiding. But it was stranger to see that he was alone.
I thought that Xavier, Oliver and Adonis either wouldn't have reached the Headquarters or they had escaped. But seeing Adonis made it clear that they had arrived. So where were Xavier and Oliver? Were they captured? If so, they should be present there with Amanda and Mark.
At that time, Adonis too noticed me and he controlled himself from jumping with joy. His shocked and terrified face turned back to joyous for a few seconds. Then he stopped. His eyes were wide open and he gestured me to turn around. I looked at Druk behind me. "Who is he? He looks like an old weak wizard." Druk said. I told him that I would explain later. I also signaled to Adonis that Druk was one of us.
Then my attention went back to the scene in front of us. A lot had happened. Mark and Amanda had been pushed forward towards one of the exits of the town. Luckily, it wasn't close to us and we could follow them safely. They tried breaking free of their bonds but in vain. The two muscular goat-like monsters behind them carried their weapons. One carried Amanda's sword Blizzard while the other carried Mark's Crossbow Porticallius and grappling hook Quester.
The ravens in the sky every once in a while would fly down and thrash my friends on the floor and the monsters would force them to get up again. All this cinematic drama was enough to rage my blood. I came out of my hiding place and walked straight towards them, almost jogging. As I was about to grab my battle-axe, I was pulled back into the bushes on the other side by Adonis.
We were lucky enough to barely avoid the glance of one the goat monsters that got suspicious and turned around. "What are you doing?! Let me go!" I whispered. Adonis kept hold of me and ordered, "You are not going anywhere. Look at your friends! All you'll do is mess up everything and make us prisoners as well."
I still wasn't convinced and peeped out of the bushes, trying to chase them. "You have come here just now. Do you know what your friends were saying before you showed up?" Adonis said. "I came here just as the fight got over. Your friends fought well but lost. But they didn't have the sorrow of losing or the fear of dying. When they got captured, do you know what they said? They believe in you and that you will destroy all the monsters and free them when the time is right. And now the time isn't right, Blaze!"
Druk who had crawled to the other side and made his way behind me said, "This wizard guy is right, kid. You cannot fight all those monsters now. You haven't healed up yet." Adonis looked at Druk and barked, "Excuse me! Who are you calling a wizard?"
I interrupted their cold war and declared, "Okay fine. We will plan out something in the Headquarters." By then, Amanda and Mark had gone out of sight. I wondered where they were being taken. That raised the question whether King Jalaar had awakened or were the orders to capture my friends Raptor's. Anyway, once totally out of danger and assured that the monsters had gone off, we decided to head to the Headquarters.
We entered Foster Plaza which was still half destroyed. The elevator took us to the top. "I hope Mark and Amanda are okay." I muttered. The worried look on Adonis said that he had been through a tough time. I still didn't know where Oliver and Xavier were. "I can't believe it!" Adonis exclaimed. Druk replied by saying, "Nor can I! How can Blaze care for a girl?! The boy is still fine."
Adonis scowled and shouted, "Not that, you weird looking creature! I am in shock that they were able to seize all the DELTAs except Blaze." My ears twitched. "What did you say? All the DELTAs? Are Oliver and Xavier captured as well?" I demanded. Adonis looked away from me. Maybe he didn't have the confidence to admit in my eyes. "They were captured in between our flight to here. The warship was attacked and both the warriors protected me and told me to flee as they distracted the monsters. I escaped, ran like a crazy man until I heard the roars of monster and saw in the horizon that they were arrested. I couldn't help them in the slightest. Forgive me." Adonis declared. I took a deep breath. All my friends were captured and I wasn't able to do a thing. I remembered King Jalaar's warning. You bring your friends in between; they'll die a miserable death before you, he had announced. I also recalled Rock Flames saying during his last breaths, The Worst Is Just Beginning!
The elevator doors slid open and we walked out. I took the lead as both Druk and Adonis were coming here for the first time. That's when it struck me that a person entering the Headquarters for the first time will go through a certain period of unconsciousness. I stopped at the entrance of the room and turned around. "Okay, this will be a little dizzying but you'll get over it." I went to the switchboard. As I turned the switch on, Druk giggled and said, "I am a tough guy, kid. Entering the Headquarters will be no probl–" The changing atmosphere absorbed whatever Druk wanted to say. Everything was going haywire and all I could hear was the screams of both the tough warriors.
I closed my eyes. I had become used to this feeling and the secret behind not going insane is to shut your eyes so that you don't experience the world going round. However, this trick is only applicable for second timers. When you first enter, you have to go insane. We teleported.
I opened my eyes to watch Wade standing in front of me. He had a worried look. "Two questions." Wade informed. "Where are the other DELTAs? And who the heck is this other guy on top of Adonis?" I looked down beside me and found Adonis unconscious with Druk on top of him. Wade was very curious and if not given a satisfying answer, I was afraid he would burn me to death.
"Calm down." I told him. Some people came and shifted Druk and Adonis to a better place to sleep. Meanwhile, I narrated everything that had happened. "You mean to say that there are mini worlds called Realms?!" Wade exclaimed. His astonishment though obvious felt a little strange with us standing in the DELTA Headquarters which was completely separate from the real world. It was almost a Realm in itself.
"You were lucky to be in that other Realm otherwise the enemies would have tracked you down too." Wade remarked. We walked towards the main hall and then entered the practice zone. "But what about the DELTAs? What do you feel? Are they being taken to the Abandoned Palace and will they be killed?" I asked nervously. Wade went near one of the machines and started adjusting it. It had somehow been damaged during the practice. "I do not know how Xorains think, Blaze. But if I am correct, they will keep your friends prisoners so that you show up. It's a trap which you'll be forced to enter." Wade explained.
He finished his work and came back to me to continue roaming. "It's I who is responsible for this. If that means I'll have to face an army, so be it." I declared bravely, though I was not sure how long my bravery would last in front of the Xorain troop. "I expected that from you. And I won't stop you." Wade laughed.
"Where's Colloseus? Get in touch with the dragon quickly. We'll need him. We are entering the stage which will lead towards the final war." I ordered. Wade nodded. "You're correct. The war is rising! We'll need every possible help we can get. Master Polwern and his disciples and ready for the fight. Let's get the arms ready and march towards the Abandoned Palace." Wade advised.
I raised my hand with denial. "I feel that is not wise. As far as I know, the King has not yet awakened. We also have not learnt whether the DELTAs are even there. We will fail in fighting a massive army along with releasing our warriors. If they get alerted about our arrival, they'll threaten us about killing the DELTAs. The time hasn't come. I'll go on a rescue mission alone to the Abandoned Palace to check out if they are being kept there or not. You can follow me when I tell you so." My plan seemed understandable to Wade and he gave a small nod.
"Till then, keep training and inform Master Polwern about this too." I instructed. After planning a little more, Wade bid farewell and went away. I sat on the bench near me and recollected many incidents we had been through. Hours were spent just like that. Evening evolved into night and I was still deep in thoughts when Wade called. I came out to find Master Polwern and all his students present in the hall.
He showed his teeth with a large smile on his face. He patted me on my back said, "I wish you best of luck for your next journey, Blaze! May you succeed and bring back your friends. Then together, we can avenge the death of our dear ones." Master Polwern broke a little while saying the last sentence. I assured him that everything will be fine. He even offered to send three of his brave students with me. But I couldn't risk their lives before the war like I had with Lily. I disagreed sternly and decided to go alone.
We sat in the hall and discussed for a few minutes. After a little while, one of the workers came running. "The two newly arrived warriors are awake!" The man announced. Wade and I got up. The man showed us the room in which they were kept. It wasn't a normal residential room. It was more of a store room. I saw the bewildered faces of Druk and Adonis.
They looked at me for explanation. I narrated them everything what had happened after our arrival including the plan. "Mr. Adonis, you will help in making weapons for our troops. And Druk, you can assist him in his work." I tasked both of them.
Druk looked unwilling to agree. "That's not gonna happen, kid. I promised to be with you and help in any way possible till the war ends. I will join you in your journey." He announced. I tried to protest but Druk wasn't someone who would listen. So it was finalized that the next day, Druk and I would head to the Abandoned Palace.
We had our lunch together. Everyone was silent after hearing the news of the DELTAs captured. After finishing the meal, they slowly started dispersing into their respected rooms. Druk and Adonis were shown their allotted rooms. Wade looked at me, "I'm going too. I've been doing a whole lot of work." He told with his right hand on his head. "What about you? Resting?" He asked. Somehow I didn't feel like relaxing anymore. I knew that it was time for me to be more active now. The days were gone when I could sleep for the whole day even with Raptor on the loose. Now I couldn't take any chances. "Nope. I will be training in the practice zone. Haven't practiced combat in a while. Good night." Saying so, I headed to the practice zone. The machines, though inanimate, looked as if they were challenging me. I gladly agreed and took out my battle-axe.