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"It is better to stand and fight. If you run, you'll only die tired."
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Running inside, he held a bloodied sword, blood staining his clothes with tears in the fabric here and there. He slowed to a stop, but immediately running to the nearest pillar, hiding. The room was big, an entrance with pillars on the sides of the room, big windows and portraits. He slipped around the pillars, trying his best to stay out of the sight of the enemy. He slipped through a pair of double doors, running down the hallway. The more he ran, the more worried he became as he saw dead bodies of both allies and enemies littering the ground. He went around a corner till he stopped seeing enemies trying to break down a door, he stared at them, he picked up a sword from a corpse, duel-wielding. This letting them see him at the end of the hallway.

"General Probst!" One shouted.

"Kill him!" One of them shouted. Jason blocked the first attacker's sword and swiped his other sword up underneath them, killing them, he advanced forward, sustaining a few cuts and hits along the way but was able to come out the other side still on his feet. He dropped the sword he got from the corpse and pushed against the door, opening it but jolted backward when an arrow struck the door where his head would have been. He stared at the arrow for a second before looking at the archer whose eyes were wide as soon as they saw it was Jason.

"G-General Probst!" They said.

"Thanks for the heartattack!" Jason responded walking in and closing the door behind him. Royal guards were near the door, servants in the back of the room protecting a little girl who was clinging to one of them. Jason looked at her, recognizing her. "Where are the King, Queen, and Princes?" Jason looked at one of the guards. No one says anything making Jason look back at the little girl with softening eyes. He bit his bottom lip back. "I'll take her out of here."

"But there are squids everywhere! How are you gonna get out of here?" One asked. One of the guards looked at the little girl and spoke up.

"I'll go with him, it won't be easy to get out without help." They said. Jason nods, looking at the guard.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"Rob, Rob Wolfe," Rob said. The servants take the girl to Jason, Jason crouched down in front of her. She was about fourteen years old and looked terrified. Jason gives her a soft smile.

"Hi, Princess. Remember me? I worked with your father a lot." He said. The Princess looked at Jason, staring at him for a few moments before speaking. She points at the crest on Jason's jacket.

"Y-You're Sky Army..." She said. Jason nods.

"Yeah, Rob and I are gonna take you out of Saneria for a while," Jason said. She kept clung to the servant, moving away from Jason. Jason saw the servant about to speak but Jason rested his knees on the floor, looking at her. "You gonna trust me...okay? I promise that I'll bring you back home when this blows over." She gripped the servant's pants, staring at Jason.

"You promise?" She mumbled. Jason nods at her.

"I promise." He said.

Jason woke up feeling better but still in pain, it was nighttime, the fire was out and the others were sleeping. Jason bit his bottom lip back, staring at the ground, thinking to himself. 'I...It's been a long time since I thought about the Saneria Battle...' He thought. Jason gripped his shirt as images ran through his head, most of the dream making him grit his teeth together. 'How could I have done things differently so it wouldn't have ended up like this? How...' He thought to himself. His eyes looked over at the horses, he gripped his side. 'I can't go back...I have to talk to them, get Mitch back.' He thought before he pushed himself to slowly stand on his feet. He looked over at where Michael was sleeping. 'He has to have a portaling device on him that I can take...'

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| *Few hours Later* |
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Sonja was woken up by Jordan, who looked distressed. She looked at him before he went over to Michael, waking him up.

"The General is gone," Jordan said. Sonja sat up looking over at the tree, not seeing him, her eyes soften. 'General, why...' She thought before she heard Michael groan.

"He stole my portaling device." Michael groaned. Jordan glanced at Michael and looked at the horses, seeing all three of them still there.

"He must have used a portal, he didn't take one of the horses," Jordan spoke. Michael looked around at the ground, looking for tracks that lead away from the campsite but couldn't find any. Michael nods, agreeing with Jordan.

"Yeah, I'm finding no tracks," Michael said.

"But why would he leave?" Sonja asked them both. Michael looked at Jordan, waiting for an answer as well. Jordan bit his bottom lip, he shook his head slightly.

"He's always been one to want to take care of things himself, he must feel like he has to do this by himself," Jordan said.

"But he's injured--" Michael chuckled softly.

"His injuries are not going to stop him. Injuries don't stop the Commander and the Generals. They don't care how hurt they are if there are things that need to get done...injuries mean nothing." Michael said. Sonja looked at Jordan, going closer to him.

"What do we do?" She asked. Jordan paused, thinking. He looked at Michael.

"Do you know where the Iron Crew hideout is?" Jordan asked. Michael shrugged his shoulders.

"I-I have a general idea. I don't know for sure." Michael said making Jordan look away from him, thinking. He looked at both of them.

"Pack up, guys. We'll follow Michael's lead for now."

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"How do we get in?" Ant asked Alex. Elise couldn't help but smile a little.

"That's the fun part," Elise said before she stepped forward, feeling the floor leave her feet, floating up towards the ceiling. Ant's eyes widen.

"W-What--"

"The Fyre Brothers built this tower. They are some of the best wizards builders to ever live." Alex explained to Ant before stepping forward, floating up. Ant stepped forward as well, floating up, he had a hard time finding his balance, but once he did, he was amazed. 'Wow...someone has a lot of spare time.' He thought to himself before floating up to the first floor. Alex grabbed Ant's wrist, pulling him forward and letting his feet hit the wooden flooring. The three made it up to the floating islands, going to the Fyre Tower.

"Where are they?" Elise asked not seeing anyone.

"Elise?" A voice asked. Elise jumped and turned around, looking at an opening, seeing a figure stood there. She smiled.

"Master Firez." She said. He closed the book in his hand, walking towards the three.

"What brings you three here?" He asked. Ant looked at the wizard.

"Who are you?" Ant asked.

"This is Master Matthew Firez, he is perhaps one of the strongest fire mages ever," Elise said to Ant. Alex looked at Matthew.

"Do you know where Master Thomas is? Or Master Phillip is? We need them as well." Alex said.

"Phil is in his shop, Tom is around here somewhere," Matthew said. Matthew led the three up the tower as Elise explained everything that was going on with Ty, leaving Seto out for now. They went into a room, the room wasn't small, but it wasn't big either. It had the looks of a woodshop and metal shop, tools were scattered everywhere with books as well. "Alex, Captain Venom, and Elise are here."

"Elise?" A voice questioned before turning from the table and project in front of them. They sat in their chair, pulling the goggles from their eyes to hang around their neck loosely. Elise smiled, looking at Ant.

"This is Master Phillip Southam. He's an elemental earth mage and invents a lot of magical tools that are used today. He famous for the magical tools and weapons he's invented and is an elitist mage like Harvey is." Elise told him. Phil looked at Ant, he crossed his arms.

"We've met before, Elise. Of course, it wasn't on good terms." Phil said. Ant rolls his eyes, looking away. Phil smiled, he stood up, dusting himself off while ignoring the smudges on his skin and face. He stepped towards the four. "Have you heard from Harvey?" Elise loses her smile.

"I-I think that news is best broken when all of you are here. But I need help with Ty, he's--"

"General Tyler Ellis?" Phil questioned. Elise nods making Phil look away from her. "Elise, if we helped the Sky Army, then we would be--" Elise's hands loosely balled his fists for a moment before softening.

"Whatever Ty has, it made Harvey disappear. If we can figure out what he has, we might be able to figure out why Harvey got to where he is today. We could figure out what happened to him." Elise said. Phil hesitated.

"Tom is here already," Phil said. Elise looked around.

"Where?" She asked before she spotted a figure with their feet up on a table, passed out with their hood up. Elise went over to Thomas. Phil's golden eyes looked at Ant.

"Is Harvey okay?" He asked.

"Define okay." Ant said to him before Thomas jumped and fell out of his chair and hit the floor making Elise laugh. Ant smiled a bit. "Who is that?" 

"Master Thomas Beer. He specializes in lightning magic--"

"Like General Azdel?" Ant questioned. Alex shakes his head at Ant.

"Well yes but no. Master Tom's and Master Azdel's magic are completely different since Master Azdel's is elemental while Master Tom's is mana created." Alex explained. When they were all together, Elise explained everything to the three brothers about what was going on with Ty and with Seto. To say they are stunned when she talks about Seto is an understatement, they look disgusted and angry. Phil's hands balled into fists.

"That's why the Magic Council is freaking out. Somehow, they know what happened to Harvey...And they sent James straight into it without telling us anything..." Phil said. Elise nods.

"Look, I want to save Harvey...but Ty is--" Phil looked at Thomas.

"Think you can look at him?" Phil asked. Thomas nods.

"Yes, in order to figure out what is going on, I need to examine him, I need to see his symptoms and see the rash," Thomas said. Elise nods.

"Alright, then, let's go," Thomas said before bells chiming filled the air outside, making them look out the window.

"What does that mean?" Ant asked when he saw the darken looked across Phil's face.

"It means there is a magic attack going on. Either in Laenadur or elsewhere. I have to go because they'll want me to help. So you all go ahead and help General Ellis. I'll update you all on what is going on, for now, you all go to the General." Phil said before he walked out.

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The pain made things hard for Jason to maneuver, but the portaling device made things easier for him. While he did not remember the exact coordinates, he has a pretty good guess. He was only a few minutes away from where the Iron Crew set up shop, he pulled his hood up, shadowing his face as he went through the town, going to a house and opening it. The house, on the outside, looks abandoned, but that's only the outside, the inside is a different story. Once inside, Jason stopped right beside a doorway before a sword stuck out in front of him. He looked at it.

"Where is she?" Jason asked making the sword lower down, a figure coming to the doorway, looking at Jason.

"Jason, are you--" Jason's eyes looked at the figure.

"Where's Simone?" Jason asked through his gritted teeth.

"Downstairs." They said. Jason went down the hallway, he heard his name get called again.

"You're back, Jason." A voice spoke. Jason ignored the group that was sat at the table, playing cards and went downstairs to the basement. Upon going down, he heard voices. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs, his eyes widening a bit seeing Mitch tied up. Jason walked up to Mitch, looking at Zek who stood beside him twirling a dagger in his hand. Zek looked at Jason, shocked for a second but recovered.

"Ahh, look at who has returned," Zek said before Jason's eyes narrowed at Zek.

"Cut him free now, John." Jason snapped as Mitch picked his head up upon hearing Jason's voice. The corner of Zek's lips curved upwards into a small smirk.

"I would but you ain't in charge. You seem to forget that a lot." Zek said to him. Jason's expression darkens at Zek.

"Do you r-really want to bring that u-up now?" Jason snapped coldly. Zek stared at Jason before he sighed and turned to Mitch, starting to cut his bonds. Jason looked past Zek, seeing a woman, a teenager really. She was average in height, dressed in dark colors with a map in her hands, her back facing the three. Jason's hands balled into fists for a moment before relaxing, he went past Zek and Mitch, going up to her. "Mind explaining to m-me what you are doing?" The teen picked her head up for a moment before turning around, looking at Jason. She gasped and threw her arms around Jason's neck, Jason stepped back, regaining his balance before she let go of him, her hand staying on his shoulder.

"Well, you were right. Lieutenant General Stapleton's stronghold is--" She was cut off by Jason grabbing the map from her hand making her look at him.

"Simone, don't change the subject." Jason snapped at her as he put the map back on the table with the others. Simone looked at him, her eyes softening at him, noticing how pale he was. 'He's getting weaker and weaker. I know he says he's fine, but I know he isn't.' She thought to herself.

"U-Um...how about you go rest and we can--" Jason whacked her hand away, turning fully to her as he motioned to Mitch.

"Trust me, I got plenty of rest! But what t-the hell is this?! You promised me that w-we wouldn't interact negativity towards t-the Sky Army!" Jason shouted at her. "Y-You are better than this! You k-kidnapped him on a b-baseless assumption--"

"It was not baseless!" Simone shouted back. Simone shakes her head at him. "You're not well and you refusing treatment only made your condition worse."

"I wasn't t-that bad--"

"You've passed out twice already and are getting weaker as time goes on! When you told me you were going to Ideroris, I was strongly against it because you weren't at your best...so when you didn't come back when you said you would...I thought something happened to you. Is that baseless? You've always taken great care of me and I hate that you neglect to take care of yourself--"

"W-What made you think the Sky Army would harm me?" Jason asked her cutting her off. Simone stared at Jason, trying to come up with an answer. Jason bit down on his bottom lip. "Sid...I know I worried you but t-the Sky Army a-aren't the type of people you w-want to make enemies of...and you have done exactly that once you k-kidnapped Mitch." Sid stared at him, her eyes looked at the floor, not looking at Jason. Jason sighed, leaning against the table for balance. "I am g-glad to see you're okay..." She smiled a little before Mitch spoke up from his spot where he stood a few feet away.

"What is going on here?" Mitch asked confused. Jason looked at Mitch, his eyes looked at Sid.

"Apologize." Sid looked at him.

"What, why?! The Sky Army started it! Why should I apologize?!" She questioned before Jason crossed his arms.

"Apologize, now." Jason snapped at her. Simone turned to Mitch, looking at him. Her eyes soften, while against apologizing, once she saw the hell that they put the innocent General through, she wasn't against it anymore.

"This was a misunderstanding. I'm sorry, Lieutenant General Hughes. I just...get protective when it comes to Jason." Simone said before Jason pulled a chair over beside her, sitting down, letting out a groan.

"Ahh...that feels better," Jason mumbled holding his side where the pain was the worse. He let out a shaky breath and looked at Mitch. "L-Looking for Jerome?" Mitch's eyes lit up and nods his head. "Have you checked the jungle?" Mitch shakes his head.

"No, the jungle is dangerous. If you don't know where you want to go, you will lose your way easily. And you know how bad I am with directions." He admitted. Simone turned to the table, shuffling through the papers and maps. The table had papers, maps, two books, and a few daggers on it, in no particular order, but the maps had writing and markings on them. Mitch walked up to the table, looking at it, reading some of it. He stopped at one map. "Wait...You're spying on the Magic Council." Mitch looked at Jason. "Do you have a death wish?" Mitch went out in front of Jason so he could see him. "The Magic Council aren't people you should mess with--" Jason's eyes flickered up at him.

"Correct...after all, they are the one getting rid of their own Elite Mages," Jason said confusing Mitch. Jason sighed. "Sid, can you? T-Talking hurts." Simone nods and looks at Mitch.

"Did you know that General Azdel's disappearance gained no attention from the Magic Council? The only ones who actively look were the Fyre Brothers and a few of the General's friends. The Magic Council was not willing to put resources in to look for him. And now...Master Waglington, another elite wizard like General Azdel, was sent on an assignment by the Magic Council and has not returned. And they aren't the only ones, four out of the seven Light Mage Elitist wizards are either dead or missing." Simone said shocking Mitch.

"W-Wait! Four?! But I was only aware that two have--"

"General Azdel was the first to go missing...followed by Master Noami Wendick who was the second to go missing. Master Luca Ioamizi was found dead at the Jezora Spire outside of Kura Kingdom...and no one has heard from Master Waglington in days, he missed two of his proof of life signals already. That only leaves Master Phillip Southam, Master Kaylen Hart, and Master Isaac Watcher as the only remaining elites still left standing. Master Phil and Master Isaac are good friends of General Azdel, plus Master Phil is one of the Fyre Brothers, so he already suspects that something is going on. But Master Kaylen is clueless as to what is happening." Simone explained to Mitch. Mitch paused for a moment, taking it in, thinking it over to himself. 'I had no idea that the magic community was in such disarray...something is clearly going on.' He thought before he went back to the maps.

"So then...what does this have to do with the Timeless Isle? Adam and the Magic Council declared these islands as restricted lands because of the curse that hangs over the islands." Mitch said. Simone nodded.

"Pirates don't go near them...but Light mage, Dark mages, Squids, and Zacanain troops have been seen docking there." Simone said. Mitch gripped the map in his hands for a second, he gritted his teeth together before looking at the two.

"Why doesn't Ian know any of this?! Why did you keep this information to yourselves?!" Mitch shouted at them. Simone hesitated, she looked at Jason, troubled. Jason shakes his head at her. Simone looked at Mitch but before she spoke, Jason cut her off.

"Sid, Zek, upstairs now." Jason said not looking at her. Simone hesitated while Zek looked at Jason.

"Just when it was about to get entertaining too." Zek said before he turned and went up the stairs. Simone followed him up. Mitch looked at Jason, confused. Jason sighed softly, swallowing down his pain so he could speak for a few minutes without it bothering him.

"People who fight while lacking fear are terrifying." Jason said.

"What?" Mitch questioned.

"The squids...at the Saneria battle...they fought without fear. They didn't hesitated, nor did they hide. They did just about everything that someone who knows more than their enemy does..." Jason said before he forced himself to stand up, he turned to the table, resting his hands on it. "Forget the elite wizards for a second..." Jason's eyes flickered over to Mitch. "I'm guessing you don't like thinking about that battle." Mitch shakes his head looking down at the table.

"I prefer not to remember it at all." Mitch mumbled before a question popped into his head. "What happened to you after the battle?"

"I got hurt protecting Sid and Rob, a palace guard, while escaping the kingdom. Rob patched me up best he could at the time...We were going to go to the base but when we saw it being attacked, we ran instead. Found Captain Ross, Zek, Tyler, Sub, and Seth and...formed this little gang of ours with Simone in charge." Jason said making Mitch look at him.

"So that is the Princess...I had a feeling. But isn't she like...fourteen--"

"Sixteen..." Jason said. Jason took his hands off the table, looking at the pieces of parchment on the table. "I know, she's just teenager...but I can't lead. If I had a leadership position...it would draw unwanted attention." Mitch paused for a moment, confused.

"Wait...unwanted attention? Who are you running from?" Mitch questioned. Jason's eyes shifted to Mitch.

"The person who really killed Adam." Jason said.

"The Squid King--" Jason shakes his head.

"I'm not afraid of the Squid King, and yes, he injured Adam, but his wounds weren't life-threatening...A dark mage killed Adam, a very strong and powerful dark mage. The same mage that cursed Ty." Jason said shocking Mitch. Mitch looked away from him, thinking to himself. 'A dark mage? But Adam is strong, wait! Adam could have survived the battle...' Mitch thought to himself before he spoke as memories flashed through his head of the battle.

"He was injured, Ty and some recruits went back for him..." Mitch said. His hands balled into fists. "So basically, you're saying that if I went with Ty instead of letting him go alone...Adam would still be alive." Mitch looked at Jason. "I knew I should have gone with him--" Jason's eyes soften.

"Mitch, this dark mage knocked Seto out cold and gravely injured him in a matter of seconds according to the recruits I've talked too. No other mage has ever beaten Seto before, I bet that once the recruits saw that Seto was taken out easily was when things started to fall apart for us." Jason said making Mitch look away from him. 'So that's what happened to Seto...that's scary. If this mage can take Seto out without any effort...what chance do the rest of us have?' Mitch thought to himself before his eyes looked at Jason. He studied Jason for a moment, seeing that Jason was hitting wall after wall in whatever he was looking into.

"Where is Harvey?" Mitch asked. Jason paused, he sighed.

"Timeless Isle." Jason answered shocking Mitch.

"W-What?! What is he thinking?! And--" Jason pushed a piece of parchment in front of Mitch. Mitch looked at it, reading it to himself and once he was done. He was stunned. "That traitor--"

"Harvey didn't betray us." Jason said making Mitch look at him.

"It seems like he has! He's helping the mage that killed Adam!" Mitch shouted

"Not by choice!" Jason shouted back making his chest flare up in pain and cough, touching his chest. He looked at the floor as he leaned against the table. Mitch calmed him, he turned the chair around, making Jason sit down in it. He went around the chair, going back to the table.

"Then why is he helping that dark mage?" Mitch asked. Jason paused, collecting himself before he spoke.

"Obedience Shackles...remember those?" Jason asked. Mitch nods at him. He remembers seeing those on a mage before, and once Seto saw those cuffs on the mage...Mitch has never seen Seto so angry over something before.

"Those cuffs that Seto hates?" Mitch questioned. Jason nods.

"They are magical tools, ones that carry a very dark and cruel history. They were used against both dark and light mages by humans during the Mages Wars as a way to control the mages...to enslave them. They are banned...banning them was one of the things that both dark and light mages both agreed on. They worked together to free all the enslaved mages and destroy any trace of them...and they are on Seto right now." Jason said.

"H-How?" Mitch asked. Jason shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, but right now, Seto has no choice but to follow the orders he is given. The shackles let the owner project their conscious into the mind of the victim wearing them. So whoever put those shackles on Seto will know what Seto is doing twenty-four seven...and if he doesn't do what he is told..." Jason trailed off not looking at Mitch. Mitch stared horrified at Jason.

"H-How long has he been trapped and we had no idea?" Mitch asked.

"Two years so far. I've been trying to figure out how to free him...but I'm hitting dead ends and no mage believes that Harvey has those cuffs on because of how strong he is. They believe that Harvey is untouchable..." Jason said. Mitch shakes his head.

"Clearly the mages need a reality check. What methods have you looked into so far? Maybe we could take them off him at a blacksmith's place? It's a pair of shackles, they should come off." Mitch asked. Jason shakes his head instantly at Mitch.

"No, Mitch. The shackles have direct access to Seto's mana lines because of the metal that pierces into his arm from the shackles themselves. You take those shackles off like that...and you'll unintentionally permanently damage. You'll inflict massive damage on his mana lines if you take them off like that, you'll reduce Seto from the strength of an top elitist to a novice apprentice permanently." Jason said making Mitch stare at him, he nodded a bit.

"Yeah...let's not destroy Seto's magic. Any other ideas?" Mitch asked. Jason shakes his head.

"No, I've been hitting dead ends." Jason said. He paused, feeling his pain worsen making him groan and shift uncomfortably. "L-Look, I'll explain more later...I need to lay down. I still haven't fully recovered from Alister's surgery."

"You had surgery?" Mitch questioned. Jason nodded.

"Yeah...we'll head to Ian's with this information after I rest for a bit. Feel free to look at anything. I-I'm going to lay down." Jason said before getting himself up and leaving, going upstairs. Mitch looked at the table, interested. 'Let's see what else I've missed...'