The smell of smoke lingered through the forest, as dust engulfed the trees and every form of life within them, a man within it stood tall, unfazed by what surrounded him.
"Well, that's dealt with."
Cogito leaped down from the tree branch unscathed from the explosion he had just caused. He wore glasses, allowing him to see through the dust and protect his eyes.
Within the cloud of dust, a figure rose from the crater left by the explosion, and all of the leaves and smoke began to spiral around them.
A tornado formed around the figure, causing everything around to orbit it.
"You know what I hate."
Flugel emerged from the tornado with his wings steadily nurturing the winds they danced around him; he controlled them with elegance.
"I hate sinners, especially weak ones. People who catch someone off guard like that and use cheap tricks to best their opponent are the scum of the earth."
Cogito looked up at the tornado; his face was plastered with the same smile as usual. His footing seemed to be concrete; he wasn't being moved by the steadily forming tornado.
He scratched his head.
"Well, uh, you're still alive."
Flugel raised the hand that was still intact into the air beside him. He looked up into the sky at the sun.
"It seems to be setting. I'll finish you quickly, for Sol calls upon me soon."
As Flugel looked back down to where Cogito was, all he saw was dirt.
"COWARD!"
The tornado grew with Flugel's rage, the nearby trees being ripped from their roots and cast up into the air, spiraling with the winds around Flugel.
In the distance, Cogito descended from the ground on a dirt platform nearby. The ground closed above him.
In the reflection of the metal surrounding him, he saw his reflection; his expression was hollow, his eyes empty.
Seeing this, he looked down to the floor below him, still descending.
He smiled.
The platform came to a halt, and the door slowly slid vertically open, revealing another lab below the forest.
This lab was barren; there were only test tubes with nothing in them lined up on the walls. There was a metal operating table with a small, tall desk beside it, with a dish that held various medical tools on it.
Near the back of the lab was a giant screen.
In the middle of the floor lay Jericho in a pool of blood, still covered in scratches, with his spine poking out from the open gash in his back.
Next to him was Cypher; he was unconscious, but he hadn't sustained any major injuries.
Cogito glanced over at the giant monitor that was mounted on the back wall of the laboratory.
It wasn't just Flugel that came here to take Jericho; there were even more throughout the entire village. Just where the hell did they come from, and how did they get past Jelleil's security?
A Typhoon was forming in the giant lake near the village, fire spread through the east side of the village, and Flugel's tornado was still ripping apart the uninhabited forest.
"Ok, so Tsuki's with Bulford, Cypher's with me, well then, where is Etsy?"
Cogito flicked his hand and signaled to one of his electronics machines; a keyboard sprouted from the floor.
He played back the footage from every camera, looking for where Etsy was last.
"Ah."
Playing back the tape from when Etsy was first in her house, he watched as Tsuki darted out of the house and headed toward the chief's building, shortly after Etsy barged out too.
But she mistook some footprints for Tsuki's and followed the wrong path, leading to outside of the camera's view.
The nearby lake resting right outside of the village was the only explanation for her disappearance, which would explain the typhoon.
"So, she's already here too; this will be trouble."
Looking back at Jericho's dismembered body, Cogito thought to himself.
If they were going to have any chance of winning, they'd need Jericho to tap into his roots; there was no time for any more training.
"We're going to cheat the system a little bit, my friend."
The sun was beginning to set as darkness prepared to cast its shadowy blanket upon the world.
Near the chief house, both Bulford and Tsuki stood outside the door, attentively listening to the conversation behind it.
Faint whispers tickled their ears; it was hard to make out what the Head Chief and Second in command lieutenant were saying--
The whispers grew into loud banter, then deafening shouting.
Within the building, a bulky man towered over a smaller yet also built woman. They were both wearing similar attire: black military uniforms with various badges and cords hanging from their shoulders and pockets, with black nightcaps resting upon their hair.
The man had a golden crest embedded on the right side of his chest; the woman had a similar one in the same spot, but instead of gold, it was made from platinum.
"I AM ZANDOFF THE GREAT! I WILL NOT ALLOW FOR MY TERRITORY TO BE TRAMPLED BY INSIGNIFICANT LUNATICS!"
His black, slicked-back hair began to unravel and become unruly; veins began to pop from his neck.
"YOU FUCKING IDIOT, THINK WITH THAT SMALL ASS BRAIN OF YOURS AND NOT YOUR CHISELED BUSTY PECS! WE CAN JUST RUN IN THERE OURSELVES. OUR TROOPS ARE CURRENTLY DOING THEIR BEST TO FEND OFF THESE HERETICS! SO JUST SIT DOWN AND BE A GOOD BOY AND LET OUR GOD DAMN ARMY COME AND DO THE WORK!"
The woman's snow-white hair was slicked back into a ponytail, and slowly it also began to become unruly, akin to Zandoff's.
"GRAAHHH!!!"
Frustrated Zandoff plopped into his red armchair. It was huge, but that was needed for a man of his size.
Coming from behind the chair, the white-haired woman rested her hands on Zandoff's chest, massaging them back and forth in an attempt to soothe him.
"You could probably destroy every insignificant ant out there, but we need to conserve your strength for future endeavors. I'm sure that this will be the first attack of many, and remember, we still have business in the East.
Finally calm, Zandoff continued to look to his side, puffing out his cheek as his face turned red.
"Hmph, I guess you're right or whatever."
The woman moved from behind the chair to the window right by the door, and she gestured a finger gun motion towards the fire in the distance, then the tornado within the forest, and finally the small typhoon coming from the lake.
"I shall deal with this myself, my dear."
Zandoff looked up at her, crossing his arms and pouting as soon as she announced her leave.
"If you're gone for too long, I'll come out there myself."
She scoffed and snickered while strutting towards the door. As she reached for the handle, she looked back.
Her pitch black eyes were captivating yet frightening, as if they were oceans dressed in the black of the night sky. It was extremely easy to get caught in them; they also complemented her pale ivory skin.
She flashed him her watch and tapped on it, setting a timer for a certain amount of time.
"20 minutes is all I need, Chief Zandoff."
"I'll be waiting then, Lieutenant Angelus."
Taking her leave, Angelus opened the door as she did a giant brute tumbled onto the floor below her, followed by a short albino tigress.
The room grew silent.
"WHO THE HELL DO YOU BOTH THINK YOU ARE! PEEPING IN ON THOSE IN COMMAND, THIS COULD BE CLASSIFIED AS TREASON!"
Quickly picking themselves off the floor, Tsuki and Bulford got on their knees and put their hands up to Angelus, begging for forgiveness.
"We came to tell you about the invasion, I swear, and Etsy, Jericho, Cipher, and Cogito have gone missing!"
Zandoff got from his seat and picked up Bulford by his collar; his grey skin only made his face even scarier, not to mention his piercing red eyes. Zandoff was no short of a demon.
"GO OUT A FIGHT LIKE A MAN! YOU AND TSUKI WILL GO TO THE LAKE WHERE THAT TYPHOON IS AND DEAL WITH IT! IF YOU ARE BOTH NOT BACK HERE WITHIN 20 FUCKING MINUTES, I WILL CHOP BOTH OF YOUR HEADS OFF AND PUT THEM ON A WOODEN PIKE RIGHT OUTSIDE OF MY FUCKING BUILDING AS A WARNING TO OTHERS TO NOT FUCKING FUCK WITH THE GREAT ZANDOFF!"
Zander threw Bulford with great ease as if his brutish size was that of a pillow, sending him rolling down the steps leading up to the Chief's building.
Tsuki chased after the rolling boulder of a man, almost tripping and tumbling off the hill's steps with every frantic step she made.
Looking down upon them from outside the Chief's house door stood Angelus; she patiently waited for Tsuki and Bulford to get up and tread towards the lake.
Looking over at the fire in the distance, she sighed, then looked down at her watch, tapping the side of it.
The timer had now begun.