"If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. If sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected."

~The Art of War.

Jade

Scepter helped a limping Cily out of the facility. A couple of wide eyed doctors scrambled away as soon as they set eyes on the disheveled pair.

"Where to?" Scepter asked softly.

"Rod's. The chip... It's in my PortaZone."

"You need to heal up."

"The healing salve is already beginning to work. I don't feel pain anymore."

Scepter knew that the salve needed at least two hours to start working, and it was barely ten minutes since she applied them to Cily's wounds. It wasn't magic. But she remained silent.

They stumbled through the Underground. They were halfway to Rod's, making slow work, when Scepter felt a light touch on her back. She turned around, and there was a short man behind her. He smiled, taking the other side of Cily, helping them to walk. Then another man joined to help. Then a woman. Then a little girl, who strained in order to help supporting the women. But they all did it with smiles. Genuine ones.

Scepter was touched. These people were willing to help them without hesitation.

"Thank you," she managed. "Thank you so much."

"No problem, Scepter-Jade," the little girl said. "You're our sister. Our companion. You're Scepter of the Underground."

°°°°°°°°

"How ya doin, lassies? How can I help ye?"

"Drop it, Ronald. No time for pleasantries. We need your help."

"Of course. No one comes to check up on old Ronald. They just want information. Well, I guess I had it coming. Please, come in."

He shut the door behind them, plunging the room into a dim light once more.

Scepter helped Cily into a chair.

"I need to check on Perl," Cily whispered.

"I'm sure she's fine. Right now, you need rest."

Scepter held her hand out. The blonde immediately understood, pulling the chip out of her PortaZone and handing it over to Scepter.

Standing up straight, she locked eyes with Ronald.

"Keith's research. As promised."

"Ah, I knew you wouldn't disappoint!"

Ronald held out his hand, but Scepter shook her head. He tilted his head, retracting his hand, and sneered, exposing the toothless gums.

"I see. What do you want?"

"Tell me something I don't know, Rod. Something you're hiding. A secret."

"That wasn't part of the agreement," he hissed.

"It is now."

Ronald scowled. For a second, Scepter thought he wouldn't comply, take the chip by force. In her current exhausted state, she wasn't sure she could fight off a toddler.

"Fine. Reeve came over and... Pushed me to spy on you, report your every movement. Lucky for you, he doesn't know you're here. Yet. Now, the chip."

"Not yet."

Rod raised his hands to the ceiling, like why? Why me?

"What? You want me to open up? This isn't a therapy session, for crying out loud."

Discreetly, Scepter tapped the chip to her PortaZone, copying all the files.

"Tell me something else. Another secret."

"No. The chip."

"I'll break it."

"I know you won't," he huffed. "Just honor your word and hand it over. Come on."

Scepter raised her eyebrows, placing the small chip between her finger and thumb. She squeezed lightly.

"S-stop that! Just hand it over!"

Scepter pressed harder, and it began to bend under her fingers. A tiny bit of extra force and it would snap.

"Alright, alright, stop!" he yelped. She loosened her grip, and he sighed in relief.

"I'll tell you a secret. The Glass Dragons have information about the rebellion. They plan to attack soon."

"When?"

"I-I don't know."

Scepter squeezed on the chip again, and she could feel it giving way under her touch.

"I DON'T KNOW, I DONT KNOW! I SWEAR!"

She tossed the chip over to Rod, who yelped again and caught it in the air.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Rod. Now, I'm going to leave. You'd better take care of Cily. If you harm a single hair... I'll harm you for good. Understand?"

"I - you can't - I won't... Fine. Just don't be long."

She smiled, mostly to herself. A grim smile that somehow combined pure determination and utter despair.

"I won't."

°°°°°°°°

The metal men stepped aside as she strode towards Reeve's study. They did, however, circle around her and follow her closely, blocking her escape route. If she needed to use it.

Now these, these were War Robots. Towering over her, taller than Apollo, obviously equipped with all sorts of nasty weapons and tools. Fighting those was definitely out of the question.

'Definitely. I don't think we can hack these lads' voice boxes.'

'I figured.'

She pushed the door open, stepping into the study.

His face was buried into a couple of tablets, as usual. Reeve looked up when she entered, eyebrows raised in innocent surprise.

"Scepter, I'm so sorry! I heard about you fainting, and I wanted to come as soon as possible -"

"That's why you sent a robot to terminate us?"

"What are you even talking about?"

"'Terminade Jade and Ruby'. As a password. Ring any bells?"

His face darkened, and Scepter knew she got him.

"Guess he failed. No point in hiding that now."

"Definitely not. What do you have against us?"

"You're getting in the way of my command. The risk of you going rogue, maybe even joining the enemy, became too great for me to take."

"So you decided to... Terminate us? Instead of telling us what we were doing wrong?"

He stood up suddenly, the chair crashing backwards.

"YOU KNEW WHAT YOU WERE DOING," he roared. "DON'T PLAY INNOCENT WITH ME, GIRL!"

Scepter was getting pretty heated herself. She forced herself to calm down.

"You know, that's ironic coming from you. You played innocent and harmless all this time. Does this 'council' of yours know you don't actually care about their decisions?"

"I should have you terminated this very moment," he took a shaky breath, steadying himself. "In fact, I'll -"

The floor rumbled beneath them for a moment. A few tablets slid off the table, crashing into the floor and shattering there.

"ZEUS, SEND AFTER FAITH THE RUNNER! I WANT TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THAT WAS!"

One of the robots behind her clanged off, terrifyingly fast. His feet barely touched the floor as he sped through the hall and disappeared around a corner.

"YOU, HERACLES, TELL MARCUS TO INITIATE PROJECT ZED'S DEFENSIVE MEASURES. NOW!"

The other robot clanged off, disappearing like his brother.

"M-maybe it's an earthquake?"

Reeve turned on her, eyes wild with fury.

"THERE ARE NO EARTHQUAKES HERE, GIRL! DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?

The Glass Dragons invasion has begun."

°°°°°°°°

Scepter hurried out of the study, sprinting through the hall. She had to get to Cily, get to Perl, make sure they're both safe. If Lapis was leading this attack... He would be specifically looking for them.

She had just gotten out of the building, low like all other sprawling buildings of the Underground, and she froze.

"No," she murmured.

Sure enough, it was him. The man who scared her the most.

Metal arms and legs, messy hair.

Keith.

They stared at each other for a few moments.

"Hello, Jade."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hmph. The invasion has begun. So much is going to happen at the same time, and this is the event I've been preparing for since I began Cilyber.

I've been pushing forwards just to reach this next chapter. And it's finally here.

As much I had spent time brainstorming ideas for this invasion I'm going to have to spend making sure it works the way I want it to.

Thanks a lot for being part of the Cilyberverse. What? I like that name. Cilyberverse.

We're nearing the end. It's been a hell of a journey.

Thanks to all those who are voting and commenting. Your support means the world to me.

As always, have a good day/evening. And I'll be seeing you next week.

P. S. Updated on Friday because I am unable tomorrow.

#CilyberSaturday