Lloyd's POV

L O C A T I O N : U N D E R G R O U N D
8 : 3 9 P M

"Psst...Lloyd...wake up."

"Huh..." I stir, and sit up, rubbing my eyes to see Jay hovering over me. He smiled, "Your watch, buddy."

"Got it." Letting out a yawn, I shuffle over to the front, and take a seat. I was so tired. I spot Pixal's backpack resting beside her. Carefully, I reach into the pouch and bring out a pack of coffee powder and a water bottle. Unscrewing the lid, I tip the powder in, before closing the bottle and shaking it up so it mixed. The beverage didn't taste the best, but at least it did its job.

Leaning back, I stare at the wall aimlessly, folding my arms. I just had to stay awake for two hours, and wake someone else up. Easy...right?

Turns out staying up is a lot harder than it seems. The coffee didn't seem to help either.

I suddenly heard large echoing thuds. Not from where we were, but far back. Frowning, I reach for the Holo and stand up shakily, making my way out of the hole in the wall. I felt my armour soaking up with water, and the Holo's beeps.

There it was again. That thud. Only this time, it sounded more close. It seemed to have woken everyone up now. I could hear Flintlocke behind me, "What is that?"

I heard a shuffle, and then Jay, "We gotta go. We gotta get outta here now."

"Keep your voice down!" Morro hissed.

I realise what the source of noise was, "Mutts. They released mutts! Zane, Pixal, what's the fastest way out?"

"Come on, go, go!" Dilara ordered, as everyone ran out.

Skylor went to the front, and shot an arrow from her crossbow, shedding a bit of light. We start to head towards it, until we reach a corner. Skylor slowly peeked her head out, shooting out another arrow, setting it alight. We could see more clearly now; just water. We shine our torches throughout as we keep walking. I could feel my breath hitch with nervousness. There was a small hole through the wall, and Zane climbed through. I see him check the place, before sending us a thumbs-up. Sighing in relief, we crawl through, getting on the other side.

3rd Person POV

Dilara shines her torch ahead, to find it empty. She turns to face us, "Let's go." She turned around, only to see mutts jumping at her. Wasting no time, Flintlocke fired his gun, taking the group out...but there were more.

"GO! GO! GO! It's mutts!" Seliel yells, stabbing one in the arm.

"Zane, get us outta here!" Nya yelled as they all ran, the mutts right behind them.

Suddenly a group of mutts ambushed the group from front, dragging Flintlocke.

"NO! FLINTLOCKE!" Kai yelled, fighting off a mutt, piercing it through the chest. Pixal started firing her gun, and Zane murmured to Nya.

"There's a special latch on your trident, i-it works like an inferno. Press that button and it releases gasoline vapours, then this adds a spark and sets the gasoline alight." Nya nodded as she fought off a mutt, slamming it into the wall.

"Move! Move! Move! They're right behind us!" Cole shouted.

"I'm out of ammo!" Pixal dropped her gun.

"Pixal! Take mine!" Nya threw her gun at the nindroid, before grasping her trident in both hands.

These mutts were inhumane. As they ran through the sewers, they shot their bullets out at the things. One bullet didn't seem to stop them; you had to shoot them a good few times for them to go down...or a deep stab in the heart. That worked too.

"Lloyd! Come on, move!" Seliel yelled, and Lloyd followed after the group. Taking turns left and right, they finally reached the ladder they came down from, and everyone started to ascend. Nya pressed the buttons on her trident, sending out the gas. Pressing the second button, a large blast shot out, sending some mutts flying.

Lloyd slashed his sword around, killing the mutts. One jumped onto him, pinning him to the wall. Its hands wrapped around the blonde's neck, until someone from behind tackled the mutt to the ground, stabbing it. Lloyd looked up to see Cole, "Move!" he yelled, stabbing another.

Dilara swung her axe, slicing one right in the heart, before getting pulled underwater by another.

Wasting no time, Morro jumped into the water, using his aeroblades to stab the mutts. He grabbed Dilara and the two jumped onto the platform. Lloyd was suddenly cornered by a mutt, before the head of a trident speared it through the middle. Nya grabbed Lloyd's arm and pulled him onto the platform, killing another mutt in the process.

The two climbed up the ladder, followed by Cole, until a mutt suddenly grabbed his leg, dragging him back.

"COLE!" Seliel screamed, as she was held back by Jay. Cole's head whacked against the metal platform, before the mutts dragged him underwater.

"COLE!" Seliel was sobbing now, trying to wriggle free of Jay's grasp.

"THE HOLO! NIGHTLOCKE!" Cole bellowed, "DO IT! SELIEL! I LOVE YOU!"

Shakily, Lloyd took out the Holo, "Nightlocke...nightlocke...nightlocke." He dropped it, and it exploded, killing the last of the mutts...and Cole.

Kai pulled his arm, "Come on, we gotta move."

They reached the top, only to be ambushed by bullets from the Anacondrai Warriors from both sides. Taking cover, Nya sent off another inferno bomb, killing all the Warriors on one side. As they ran, they shot bullets towards the Warriors. Sudden beams appeared, and Lloyd knew exactly what they were. If you weren't careful and ran under the beam, you would be ash. Literal ash. Dodging the beams, they broke into a sprint. The floor started crumbling behind them, following rapidly, and the squad sped up, finally jumping over a gap. The floor stopped crumbling. They were safe. For now at least.

Seliel broke down into sobs, and Nya hugged her tightly, "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry."

"I never got to tell him..." she mumbled, her voice muffled. Skylor looked confused, "Tell him what?"

Pixal's eyes widened when she realised, "Oh, Seliel!"

"How am I supposed to live with the fact that this kid's gonna grow up without a dad?" she screamed, sobbing bitterly.

"He died a hero, sis. I'm so so sorry." Jay whispered, hugging his twin tightly.

Dilara looked around, and she gasped, "I know where we are! Follow me, up those stairs!"

Seliel brushed her tears away, and picked up her knives and gun. They all followed Dilara up the stairs, out onto the streets. "Keep going!" she urged.

Along the way, they saw several 'WANTED' posters for all of them. They arrived in front of a dress shop, and Dilara banged on the door.

"Someone's coming," Zane whispered. The door opened, revealing a large lady. Immediately they ran in, "Shut the door!" Morro yelped. The woman shut and locked the door as soon as they were all in. The place looked luxurious, and cosy too, but so expensive.

Dilara approached the lady, "Dogshank, do you remember me? I'm with the Rebels underground. We need your help."

Dogshank stared at Lloyd, "The Dragon..." she whispered, before gesturing for them to follow her. They went to the back of the shop, and Dogshank bent down, removing the rug off the ground, revealing a trapdoor. She opened it, and one by one they descended down the stairs. Lloyd stared at her, "I know you. You were a stylist for Chen."

She nodded, "Until he decided I wasn't pretty enough anymore."

"I'm here to kill him."

A smile lifted on her face.

The downstairs of the shop revealed to be a large storeroom. Dogshank didn't come down however; she simply shut the door behind them.

Seliel simply crouched in the corner, silent tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Kai's gonna need stitches," Pixal murmured.

"I made it up," Lloyd whispered. All eyes were on him. Zane looked confused, "Huh?"

"All of it. There's no special mission from Yang. There's only my plan. Everyone that's dead is dead because of me. I lied."

"We know. We all knew." Skylor murmured.

"Nadakhan and Dilara? Flintlocke?"

"I caught on after a while." Dilara revealed, "There wasn't any point getting the Holo back, we were already in deep. Do you really believe I thought you had orders from Yang? I trust Nadakhan, and he clearly wanted you to go on."

"I never meant for this to happen." Lloyd sighed softly, "I failed. I...I killed them. I killed Cole. I'm sorry, Seliel. I'm so sorry."

"What do we do now?" Nya asked, her eyes wandering throughout the room.

"Let's...rest up. Heal. Then we'll work from there." Dilara took out a first aid box and went to Kai.

Everyone took a seat, or tended to the wounds they'd received. Lloyd saw Nya staring aimlessly at her armour, "You okay?" he asked.

"Y-Yeah. The armour's just...not so bulletproof anymore, that's all." she responded.

Suddenly we heard rumbles from above. Pixal looked up, "Warriors must be shellin' the rebels outside the city."

Zane shook his head, "That's not outside the city." 

Jay and Morro came back down, "Sun's coming up. There's some small-arms fire. Rebels are close."

"This is it." Dilara mumbled. The small TV lit up, and showed Chen. "To all Capitol citizens more than a half mile outside the City Circle, I am announcing a mandatory evacuation. Come to the mansion. I am promising you shelter and sanctuary. All refugees, come to my home. There you will be provided with food, medicine, safety for your children, and you will have my solemn oath to protect you until my dying breath."

"Wish he'd hurry up with that last part," Skylor mumbled, and Kai laughed.

"Our enemy is not like us. They do not share our values. They have never known our comfort and our sophistication and they despise us for it. Make no mistake. They are not coming to liberate us. They are coming to destroy our way of life. They are coming to bury us."

"Is he still in the mansion?" Jay asked, "Skylor?"

"Yeah. I recognise the room."

"Where's that?"

"About five blocks away," Lloyd responded, turning to face the auburn, who was laying out a map. He squatted, "We're right here. Off the Avenues. Mansion's here."

"What about the pods?" Seliel asked.

"Well they'll probably deactivate the pods around here for the residents' safety." Nya stated.

"That could work. I could get close enough." Lloyd said. Kai shook his head, "Every Anacondrai Warrior's gonna be waiting."

"Next to our faces on every billboard." Morro added.

"Chen's offering shelter to all the refugees." Dilara looked up at Lloyd, finally understanding where he was heading.

L O C A T I O N : D O G S H A N K ' S   S H O P
5 : 4 2 A M

"There's gonna be thousands of refugees. Just get into that stream and don't look up." Dilara told Kai and Lloyd. The blonde looked over at Kai, who was staring at his reflection, "We've got one shot."

Both of them had been decked out in fancy jackets.

Kai hummed in agreement, "Let's make it count."