For those of you who like listening to epic battle music, you can listen to the song above. It starts fairly quiet, so you might need to turn up your sound. There was also something else I wanted to say before we got on to the story, but I can't remember it.

Enjoy!

The appointed time had come for him to leave and return to his home. He gave the Key to the vault of his hidden warriors which glowed with an inner light to a group of twelve friends, Guardians, entrusting them with the task of protecting it and his warriors from the world. He taught them many things in the time he had on this world and then he left, never to return. The friends banded together, making an oath to protect the Key with their lives and souls...

A warrior standing atop of the wall yawns and rubs his eyes, trying to wake himself. He hadn't gotten a good night's sleep for a while and it was showing, but if he is found sleeping on watching, the consequences are not pleasant. He yawns again and stamps his feet a few times, getting the blood flowing. The hand which holds his spear aches and he leans the spear against the wall in front of him and stretched his fingers a few times.

His tired eyes scan the dark surroundings. The moon is yet to rise and so the area in front of him will remain dark for quite some time. He hates being on the early night watch as he always felt that there was something sinister moving around out on the plain, although he has to admit that seeing the moon rise is quite spectacular.

He rubs his eyes again and squints at the plain then opens his eyes wide, trying to see more. In the darkness, it almost seems like the ground is moving, a slow stream moving either towards the Capital or away from it, he can't tell. There is also a low rumbling sort of sound and he sees that the wave is indeed coming closer. It nears the base of the Capital wall and he leans over, finally realising what the wave is.

"Attack!" he yells as loud as he can, but all that comes out is a loud, strangled scream as something sharp pierces his throat and he collapses over the Capital wall, his own spear tumbling after him and impaling through his back.

Mitch nocks another arrow to his bow, his eyes searching the wall. The other guards are now realising that something is up but the Stars are almost at the base of the wall, dozens of long ladders rising and clacking against it, warriors instantly swarming up. Mitch raises his bow, his aim swinging as he fires at a guard running to a ladder, probably intending to push it off. His arrow pierces the man's arm while another slams into his throat and the man falls out of sight.

"Stop stealing my shots, Duncan!" Mitch yells at someone behind him. Duncan smiles and shifts his aim further down the wall. The Benja General is very protective of his targets.

The twang of the Benja bows fills the air along with the clattering of the ladders and the sharp cries of the Squid warriors, quickly cut off. The Dead Army, the first ones to climb the ladders, are absolutely silent as they quickly establish a hold on the wall, sword out and attacking the few guards the Benjas haven't taken care of.

Mitch hears Ian's voice, startlingly loud in the night, yell "Let's get this party started!" just before a loud, low boom echoes and the gates of the Capital shake. It happens again after a few seconds as the battering ram hits the bolted gates a second time, just over a dozen Doods swinging it by ropes bolted into the surface. The rest of them stand behind the ram, their swords out and shields held over their heads to protect themselves from any stray arrows the Squid warriors might send.

The Benjas, of course, are too skilled for stray arrows.

Something small with fire coming out of the end flies above Mitch and he watches it as it disappears over the Capital walls. Barely a second later, a loud explosion is heard and the ground shakes, smoke flying up into the air. Something else small also flies up but explodes in midair in a flash of bright green. The Squids are well aware of the attack now and hundreds of them are spilling onto the wall and lining up on the streets behind the gate.

General Azubi knows instantly that it is too late to stop the attacking armies from entering the Capital so he decides to merely wait until they do come. He orders the Squid warriors armed with bows to shoot at the Dead warriors standing atop the wall and as their arrows fly, several attackers keel over, most falling where they were standing while others toppled back over the wall to the Stars holding the ladders below. General Azubi may not know exactly who these invaders are, but he has a pretty good guess.

And his guesses are rarely wrong.

Mitch turns to tell his Benjas to start moving up the ladders. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees a Sorcerer's arm go back and then forward, throwing something high into the air and over the Capital wall, resulting in another explosion. Down below in the dungeons under the Capital, the low boom echoes through the ground and small dust particles drift down from the ceiling. All of the Commanders are standing and looking nervously up.

"Is this an earthquake or something?" Jordan asks, the worry in his voice carefully concealed.

"It's too irregular for an earthquake," Cassandra says. "It's more like... massive trees falling."

"It's explosions," Jack informs. "I've heard them before when my squad and I were following the Nicene River's branches. The explosions are very destructive."

Adam frowns, trying to figure out why the Squids would be setting off the explosions. It wouldn't make sense for them to be destroying their own city, but Adam also doesn't remember them having access to any of these explosives. Out of nowhere, a memory hits him and he grins.

"The Sorcerers are inventors," he says. "They've brought the explosives. They're attacking the Capital."

"By themselves?" Kali asks. "Or are the Benjas helping them?"

"I don't know," Adam mumbles. "Maybe the whole Pack is helping to get us out."

Below the rest of the Capital, the explosions echo in the caverns, instantly silencing the huddled recruits. As one large mass, they slowly rise from their crouch, every head turned to the shaking ceiling. For the past several days, they had stayed in almost absolute silence as the Squids tore apart the city above, never once thinking that the recruits were hidden underneath their very noses.

"What do you think it is?" Eliza whispers to Ryan as another explosion makes dust fall from the ceiling.

"I don't know, but I'm going to check it out," he whispers back. "Everyone else stay here."

He runs around the packed main cavern, his footsteps barely audible even in the silence. He dashes down one of the tunnels that head towards the front gate of the Capital, thankful that he had paid attention during one of Julia's tours. Dust drifts down from the ceiling and he brushes it out of his hair. The tunnel slopes up and he slows to a walk as he nears the end, pushing up the hatch the tiniest bit to get a glance of the world outside.

His position from the hatch gives him a perfect view of the gate and the wall above but he can't quite understand what's going on with all the chaos that is reigning. He sees warriors clad in deep black armour fighting atop the wall, arrows flying over their heads to smash into the Squid warriors lining up on the castle side of the gate, fighting against another group of warriors who are trying to force their way in. Ryan doesn't recognise their carved iron armour or their General who is leading the charge, but he does recognise one thing: the round, bright green gem bound in iron on the front of the curved shield that the General holds on his left arm.

In a flash, Ryan sprints back into the room, not caring to keep his voice low. "The Guardians are here, they're attacking the Capital!"

"Are you sure?" someone calls back above the sudden chatter that has broken out.

"I saw the Piece that one army guards, it's them!"

The chatter gets louder and Eric has to yell to be heard by those gathered. "Everyone quiet! Split up into groups of 20 and wait in this room. We'll make our way in a controlled manner to the hatches near the gate of the Capital and then we'll join the Guardians."

"But the Commanders and the General!" Eliza says to Eric as the commotion dies down and people start getting organised. "We have to get them!"

"Kara, Ryan, Matthias and I can get them," Eric tells her. "And Philip too, he still has the key to the cells."

Eliza nods and Eric quickly runs to gather his team. In the chaos spreading through the Capital above, it's a simple task for the five of them to run into the castle unnoticed and down to the cells below. Ryan takes them down the passage where the Commanders are held and motions for them to hide against the wall while he peeks out to see if the Squid guards are still there.

"All clear," he whispers and they sprint down the passage, not caring how loud their footsteps are.

After only several footsteps, they slid to a halt and Kara grabs the bars of the cell closest to her. "Commander Cassandra!"

The Commander stands up rapidly, her eyes wide as she sees the five recruits grinning at her. "What... How... How did you guys get out?"

"We got out over a week ago," Philip quickly explains as he unlocks the cell. "We got the rest of the recruits out too but we couldn't reach you guys cause you were guarded."

"What's happening?" Jordan asks from a few cells down.

"The recruits got out of their cells," Cassandra says, as Philip also unlocks her cuffs. "That's why we haven't been hearing any screams for a while, the Squids didn't have them."

"Brilliant," Jack says, his hands loped around the bars of his cell door casually. "Would you happen to be the ones causing the explosions as well, or is it the Sorcerers like Adam guessed?"

"No, that's the Guardians," Ryan says. "I only saw one Guardian's army but I wouldn't be surprised if the Sorcerers are here too. They're all attacking the Capital."

"Is the General here as well?" Eric asks, hopping slightly from foot to foot as Philip continues unlocking cells.

"No," Jordan says darkly. "Some Squid warriors came and took him away only a few minutes ago. We don't know where he's gone."

While the rest of the Commanders are freed and they sprint their way out of the underground dungeons, the Squid warriors push open the large door that separates the central hall of the castle from the rest of the Capital. They push Adam in before them, their hands still clenched around his arms and his hands still cuffed behind him.

There are several warriors standing against the back wall, most of them displaying the badges worn by Commanders and other high ranking army officials. There is also a large amount of warriors in the room, all lined up against the walls, motionless except for their eyes that watch Adam as he is pushed towards the throne at the front, on which sits a relaxed General Azubi.

The Sky Army General keeps his head tall as he is forced towards the General. His eyes flick between both sides of warriors, questioning why they are not participating in the battle that is almost certainly happening outside. His eyes also scan the room and become focused on the object that hangs on the wall above General Azubi's throne: a circle made of bronze with a hole in the middle, the grey stone showing.

Most of the circle is showing the bronze back but some of it is covered by gems. Adam quickly counts them; deep red; light pink, grey; beige; orange; deep blue. From the colour of the Squid's banner that Adam sees hanging from the walls, the deep blue gem is their original Piece. Six in total. Not all of them, but much more than he had hoped.

The Squid warriors put pressure on Adam's arms and he grunts as they force him to the ground, kneeling in front of the Squid General, one of them pressing a sword against the back of his neck. Almost instantly, Adam shifts his legs so that he is seated, staring up at the General with a challenge in his eyes. His small act of defiance seems to amuse the General.

"I assume that you have guessed that there is an attack in the Capital, General Sky?" General Azubi says smoothly.

"The explosions kind of give it away," Adam replies.

General Azubi grins for a moment before it fades and he gives Adam a hard glare. "I will give you one last chance to tell me where the Amulet and the Piece inside it are," he says coldly. "If you tell me, I will let you go free to your allies who are attacking. My warriors have been given orders not to attack you if they see you, so you will be safe."

"What about my recruits?" Adam asks instantly.

"They have disappeared in the past week," General Azubi says, waving a hand vaguely in the air. "Despite the best attempts of my warriors," - here he glances accusingly at the warriors who line the sides of the hall - "they have remained unlocated."

Adam lowers his head to the ground so that the General can't see the triumphant smile on his face. So the recruits somehow made it out to the caverns.

"Who are the attacking armies?" he asks once he has controlled his expression.

"The Benjas," General Azubi says, leaning back in his throne. "The Sorcerers and their little toys and a few others."

The Sky Army General can easily guess who these 'others' are from the fact that the Squid General doesn't describe them and he is very tempted to smile. General Azubi, however, is not in a smiling mood.

"Tell me where the Piece is, General Sky, and you will go free."

Adam is very conscious that the eyes of everyone in the room are on him, so he raises his head and says in a clear voice "You'll have to kill me before I'll tell you where that Piece is."

"That can be arranged," the Squid General says with the barest twitch of a finger.

Adam sees the bloodied blade sprouting from his chest before he feels the pain, erupting from his chest and then coursing everywhere else. He gives a strangled cry as black dots block out his view of the Squid General sitting on his throne and he topples over, his eyes drifting closed as a smile drifts across his face.

General Azubi stands up from his throne. "The Capital has fallen," he says clearly. "Evacuate all troops back to home base." He gives the body lying on the floor one last glance as those gathered launch into action.