An alarm sounds in Capital City as they draw out the Wasteland guards and Clicks. The air fills with shouts and the clatter of weapons clashing. Callie turns around from where she's sitting in shotgun, and mouths, "So this is where the map comes in?" I nod in response. Rex tenses at my feet, shifting from paw to paw in anticipation. Every noise the Slash makes as it creeps closer to Capital City sounds as if it's playing through a megaphone. Jay unbuckles his seatbelt and climbs out the door. Mia hesitates for a moment before Gary gives her a nudge, and she hops out of the Slash. My brother waves impatiently. He's getting antsy. No kidding!

Capital City looms before us as we creep through the trees alongside the open field where the Carrot and Dandelion groups battle the Wasteland guards and Clicks. Vladimir and Sasha and so many others are in that group... No. Stay focused. You have to stay focused. You have to believe they'll make it out alive. Remember Adrien's words: you will win. He said we'd win, so we will. We'll win for him. Jay sets a quick pace through the trees, and I have to speed up to a jog in order to keep up. My sword slaps against my legs.

"There it is," Jay whispers as he stops and turns around, making a T with his hands. "When we go inside, be silent. No sound. We want to get in, find and kill Guthrie Harper, and get out as fast as possible."

"Assassins." Gary murmurs.

"Yes. Let's go. No time to waste." Jay is all business as he whirls around, stalking towards Capital City with silent steps. I take up the rear as we creep inside. The floors are a dark, smooth stone, and the walls are decorated with square, velvet lamps. Tassels hang from them. All the doors are wooden. The lighting is horrible. It's like a haunted mansion in here. Who would want to live here? It's so creepy. Emphasis on so. I feel like I'm going to stumble across a ghost or a vampire! I twist a star in my fingers, listening for any sign of an enemy, but it's deathly silent, like the world is holding its breath.

Rex growls softly in the back of his throat. A warning. I realize a moment later. Six Wasteland guards appear from around the corner, and their trailed by a Click 2.0. Is this one completely gone? Their head hangs, and their eyes are lifeless. They lack the fight and the spark the Click 2.0 in my cell had. They're just a shell. Mia takes one of the Wasteland guards in a flash, Blending herself into a black mamba and delivering a quick bite to his left ankle. He screeches as he stumbles back a few steps. His left leg buckles, and he tumbles to the ground. How long until he dies? Fifteen, twe-? "Get the snake!" One of the remaining Wasteland guards shouts. I hurl several stars his way as Callie gets locked into combat with another one of Guthrie Harper's minions. "Get him, Rex," I say as I draw my sword. He springs forwards with a vicious snarl, and slams into his foe. I fend off the Wasteland guard by parrying his attack with my sword and slicing at his neck, but he deflects the blow. He swings his sword, and I jump out of range, my back hitting the wall, forcing me to duck down to avoid getting hit. I slice a gash across his shins, and the Wasteland guard falls with a cry. It's only another moment until he's dead.

The Click 2.0, who had been standing relatively still and hunched over, shrieks, stumbling to the side as their face contorts in agony. They shake their head, as if in an attempt to clear their mind. My heart sinks a bit when I see that their eyes have been taken over my the blood orange colour. The Click 2.0 straightens up, their wings pulsing as they throw back their head and roar. Gary pulls the drawstring back on his bow, and an arrow whistles through the air to land in the Click 2.0's shoulder. Scarlet stains their green scales as they howl in pain. I curse. It didn't land in their heart. Their not dead, just in an awful lot of pain. We gotta end them quickly. Their gonna get more metal implants- more pain and more torture. Gary is trembling uncontrollably as he stands motionless with his hand loosely gripping his bow. I yank him into motion. "Snap out of it. You help Jay and the others kill the Wasteland guards. I'm going to take out the Click 2.0 as fast as I can." Gary nods, steeling himself as he nocks another arrow. I flip a star in my hand. Wish me luck, Adrien.

After taking a deep breath, I throw the star, hoping it will land in their eye. But I'm not that lucky. The blood orange in their eye flashes, and they jerk their head up, causing the star to embed itself in their cheek, just below their eye. Come on. Really, Guthrie Harper? I draw my sword, running at the partially robotic dragon with a sigh. The Click 2.0's eyes fixate on me. Strength flows through my veins as I near the dragon, and leap onto their back. I try to drive my sword through their spine and sever it, but the Click 2.0 whirls their head around, their teeth flashing as they snap at me. My fingers wrap around the metal horn sticking out from their neck, right below the base of their skull, and grip it tight enough to make a dent. I could snap their neck. That's one option. Which one would be faster: snapping their neck or slitting their throat? Snapping their neck means they're dead immediately; slitting their throat means they're choking on their blood as they bleed out. Get back to fighting!

I tighten my grip on the Click 2.0's horn as they strain to break free. "KILL HIM!" The Wasteland guard bellows, violently jabbing a finger at me. The Click 2.0 whimpers in pain, but not from me. I can only imagine what Guthrie Harper is doing to them in their mind. Let's see if we can make this quick. But before I can do anything, the Click 2.0 takes a few steps back and shakes, twisting their neck and flailing their wings in an attempt to throw me off their back. One of the claws on their wings slices a shallow gash through my arm, and my grip weakens for a moment. Come on, Hawk. Make it quick. The Click 2.0 continues to twist. Their claws slash at my shins, and blood drips from my feet. I curse as pain lances up my legs. When I get thrown from the dragon, I lock my fingers around their horn, but my grip fails. My shoulder slams into the ground, the pain causing me to lay there for a moment, stunned. Well, that's gonna leave a bruise. "Hawk! Are you ok?" Jay's by my side in an instant.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Shoo. I need to kill the Click 2.0." I wave him off, but he stays put.

"Lemme help."

"No. I've got it. Go help the others finish off the Wasteland guards."

"They sent me to help you."

"I'm fine. I've got it." I start to make my way back to the Click 2.0, but Jay's hand on my wrist stops me.

"Hawk, you can't to everything on my own." I can't control the outcome unless I take the Click 2.0 out on my own. If Jay gets in there with me, then his actions change it. If it's just me, the only variable is the Click 2.0. Hawk, accept his help. You'll regret it if you don't; the Click 2.0 is a monster when under the control of Guthrie Harper. Don't call them a monster! They're broken creatures forced into submission by a cruel and insane man. Guthrie Harper is the monster, not the Click 2.0's. I didn't mean it like that. Get back to the fight. Jay's looking at you weird. "Look out!" Jay shoves me, tapping into his speed as the Click 2.0 lunges and swipes at us.

"Thanks. I spaced out for a second there."

"Are you alright? You've never done that."

"Yeah. I'm fine." I brush dirt off my pants as I stand. Pain shoots up my leg, but I ignore it. The last of the Wasteland guards falls with a cry, and the Spinach group surrounds the Click 2.0.

I feel a pang of guilt as the robotic dragon starts to tremble, their sides quivering with short and shallow breaths. Then their body locks up as they screech and stagger to the side. The blood orange color grows brighter, and the flashing red light seems to glow. They gasp for breath, hunching over. I can't look away. I'm frozen to the spot. "We've gotta do something," Mia murmurs in horror. The Click 2.0 roars in agony as they struggle for breath. They're barely moving. It's like they're not really fighting back. They're so terrified of Guthrie Harper that they will never to anything- they'll just accept it. Rex moves first. He leaps into motion, crossing the ground in a few short strides, and jumping up to sink his teeth into the Click 2.0's neck. Blood stains his chocolatey fur, and spills from the dragon's mouth. His claws dig in as he tries to bring the dragon to the ground. The Click 2.0's nostrils flare, and their lips curl, but their sides don't move. "They're choking..." Callie breaths. Indeed. Her spear slips from between her fingertips.

"It's not fast enough," I growl. I'm so sorry. I hope you'll end up somewhere better. I flip a star in my hand, wishing it the best of luck, and throw it with all my might. 

Time seems to move in slow motion. Jay said that's what happened when he used his speed, but now it's as if I'm seeing it. I can see the star spinning in circles. I can see the reflection of light off of the shiny surface. And now I can see the flicker of fear in the Click 2.0's eye, right before the star hit them. They cry out, blood spilling down their cheek in scarlet tears. "Rex! Get off!" I shout, and he drops down a few moments before the Click 2.0's legs give out and they slump to the ground. Their flank stills a second later. Again with the peaceful look despite the wounds.

"We should be going. Come on, Hawk." Jay tugs on my arm. I tear my gaze away from the robotic dragon's body before following the group.

"So wh-."

"Shush. We need to be far more quiet!" Jay cuts Mia off.

"We lost the element of surprise when the Carrot and Dandelions attacked. Guthrie Harper knows we're here," I point out.

"Not where we are in Capital City." My brother frowns.

Guthrie Harper, come out, come out wherever you are. We've been searching for a good forty five minutes or so. Even with Adrien's map being memorized by all of us, we cannot seem to locate our arch nemesis. There is door after door after door, but all of them lead to an empty room. We cover more and more ground in Capital City. Lamps still dimly light the hallways, covered in a dark velvet, and the walls clash against the sparse paintings hanging from them. "Who has this many doors and this bad of a fashion sense? It's like a haunted house." Gary shudders.

"Precisely what I thought." I chuckle, though it's a bit forced.

xxxx

A dirt bike coasting towards me snaps me out of my thoughts. I'd gone into autopilot, making my way through Capital City and felling any Wasteland guards that get in my way. I turn around to see, like I'd guessed, Lily and Remy pulling up to a smooth stop. Remy is seated on the back with a bow and arrow in his hands. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" I hiss.

"Isn't that Jay's thing to do?" Lily asks with a smile.

"Why are you riding a dirt bike inside? It's a stupid idea."

"Vladimir said to go between the groups, so we did." Remy shrugs.

"Is there any news?"

"A bunch of deaths for both sides."

"How many?" Callie's voice is tight, but it betrays just a hint of her fear.

"I don't know. It's too many to count, though."

"Let's hope the number isn't too high for us," Gary murmurs.

"What about Guthrie Harper? Has he sent out a fresh wave?" Jay demands.

"He set his Clicks loose just as we came to find you. That was about ten minutes ago or so."

"We gotta find him quick. Come on." I wave the group into motion.
"Tell them we're close to finding Guthrie Harper. Good luck, Lily and Remy."

"See you soon! Bye, Rex!" Remy smiles, his grip tightening on his bow. My Blended form gives him a yip. Lily revs the engine, and they speed off the way they came.

"So we're close to finding Guthrie Harper?" Callie questions.

"We are now." I shrug.

"Why'd you say that? We've no idea. I hate to say it, but I have absolutely no idea where Guthrie Harper is!" Jay yanks at his hair as he turns around.

"We're close. I can feel it."

"We've been searching for an awful long time. What if we don't find Guthrie Harper? What if we lose?" Mia looks at her feet.

"No. We're going to find him, and we're going to win. Adrien said we would. When has he ever been wrong? We're not giving up- I won't let you." How can they be losing hope? Adrien said we'd win, and he's always right. We're going to win. We have to. The fate of Raydowne, the Gladiators, and all Blenders are resting on the outcome of this battle. Guthrie Harper will fall.
"We can do it. Let's go." Jay starts off again, leading the way.

We duck down a different hallway. It's a bit narrower. The stone floors have been replaced by carpet that's the same maroon color as the velvet lamps. The red footprints I'd been leaving behind disappear. Rex stops, standing a little taller as he sniffs the air. "It's so quiet," Callie whispers.

"Shh." Jay Blends himself, and his ears prick.

Thank you for reading this chapter! If you enjoyed it, please vote and comment your thoughts! Don't forget to check out my next book, The King's Remorse, which I will be starting immediately following the end of this one!

What will the outcome of the battle be?

Will Hawk and the rest of the Spinach group be able to kill Guthrie Harper?

Will the Carrot and Dandelion groups be able to hold off the Wasteland guards and Clicks?

What have Rex and Jay noticed?

Is it just Wasteland guards, or is it something more serious?

-Werewolf14-