As the chaos ensued in the city, Gabriel sped off for his mission. He quickly geared up and grabbed his bow and mask before heading to the meeting point. If this went well then the war could very well turn in their favor, but that was a very big maybe. Gabriel double-checked he had what he needed then rushed down the corridor to meet with Logan, a wizard that was in charge of getting Gabriel in and moving messages between Lorcán and the special team of spies. Gabriel rounded a corner and saw the wizard pacing.

"Hey! Let's go now." Gabriel yelled out as he ran the length of the corridor.

The wizard nodded and reached out for Gabriel's hand. As soon as Gabriel firmly gripped the wizard's hand, they vanished. Within a blink of an eye, they stood in the middle of a dark city. Gabriel soon regained his bearings and realized they were standing in Liadain. The city looked mostly desolate but Gabriel knew this could be a trap to catch intruders or draft dodgers.

"Follow me," Logan whispered. He headed off into the darkness and Gabriel soon followed after.

They weaved between buildings trying to stay off any main roads traveled. Gabriel tried remembering their path, but it was difficult in the dark, and not able to see any points to take notice of. So he gave up and just continued after the wizard. Soon enough they came close to a group of people. Gabriel stopped in his tracks but the wizard kept moving. He was a few feet away before he realized that Gabriel had stopped.

"What are you doing?"

Gabriel motioned for the group ahead. "You're heading straight for them."

The wizard turned to see what Gabriel was pointing at. It took him a minute to adjust to the darkness, but then his shoulders relaxed the smallest amount. "That's your crew."

"Oh."

"You must be Gabriel?" The man held his hand out.

"Yeah, I am," Gabriel answered, shaking the man's hand.

He gave a sharp nod and motioned for the rest of the group to step forward. "Well, I'm Nathan. This is Julia, Thomas, and that is Max. We're going to be your crew getting you into the vault." Nathan then turned to the wizard that brought Gabriel. "Nice to see you again Logan, but we've got it from here."

Logan nodded and vanished right from the spot.

Gabriel turned back to Nathan waiting for instruction but when none was given, he spoke up. "So what's the plan?"

"We're taking it slow alright. We'll go over the plan but that castle is guarded by some of those vile mages" Nathan answered as he started walking down a dark path along with the others. "I'm sure you're tired. Heard Lorcàn called for preparations to begin."

Gabriel jogged to catch up. "Yeah, I just left there. That's why I assumed this was going down tonight. I mean time is of the essence."

"Look we're working as fast as possible but we've been informed of possible security tightening and we need to make sure it's not anything serious before we go busting the doors down."

Gabriel groaned internally. He didn't like that they were waiting but he had no control over this and had to follow orders. Nathan took them to a house that was on the outskirts of the gates blocking passage from the outside to the palace.

There wasn't much to the place. It was just a safe house for the most part and tonight it was being used to host a sleepover of wizard spies and a highly skilled assassin.

"We have some extra blankets in the closet if you need another one. It tends to get cold here at night." Julia said as she gave Gabriel a blanket. He smiled and thanked her.

The three spies said their goodnights and headed to bed for the night, but Gabriel was anything but tired and decided to wrap up in the blanket he was given and sit outside for the time being. It was a quiet still night here. The stars above winked a thousand times and the moon beamed her lovely smile as she watched over her heavenly children. Gabriel looked up and hoped by tomorrow he would be able to feel the presence of the moon again.

"I'm not much of a sleeper either." A voice said behind Gabriel. He turned around and saw Nathan leaning against the door frame.

"Yeah, well it's hard to sleep when nerves are through the roof," Gabriel answered as he turned back around to stare at the night sky again.

Nathan walked over and sat down. "I understand that." Gabriel didn't say anything.

"I'm always a bundle of nerves before a mission," Nathan stated. "Was the first time I was here and when Lorcán had me placed back here."

Gabriel looked over. "What was the first mission?"

"The rebellion you lead to take down Erebus."

A pause as Gabriel slowly processed what he said. There was no way. "You're human though," Gabriel pointed out.

Nathan gave a tired chuckle. "Lorcán pulled some strings with Arjan," Gabriel remembered the codex. "She thought I was deserving of eternal life because of the sacrifice I made." He paused for a second looking up. "Eternity is a bitch though." Gabriel looked at Nathan wondering what he was talking about. Nathan seemed to catch on pretty quickly.

Gabriel looked away from Nathan. He had heard the story over and over and couldn't find the strength to look Nathan in the eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You had no clue what was going to happen that night. We all went knowing that we could die at any moment." Nathan said. His expression softened. "You were a great leader that night."

Gabriel smiled a bit. "I just hope I can do it again."

Nathan patted Gabriel on the back. "You will and we'll get you back." Gabriel nodded. Nathan stood and stretched. "Don't stay out too late. Get some sleep alright." And he headed back in leaving Gabriel alone again with his thoughts.

~~~*~~~

The group spent the next week going over every little detail of the plan. Nothing could go wrong here. The lead on security was correct. There were more mages placed around the palace since it was left vulnerable.

"Alright, so it's pretty simple and straightforward. We go in, hit the vault and get out. Be on the lookout for mages. I don't need any of you hit," Nathan explained. He paused to make sure no one had any questions before continuing. "We're all going in as a team. When we make it to the entry point for the vault Max and Thomas are staying to keep guard at the top and Julia and I are escorting you down. We've got to get the vault door open as it's protected by a pretty complicated charm."

Gabriel gave him an unsure look.

"No worries about that. Several members have been working on a slew of counterspells to break the charm." Nathan looked around. "Alright so there's teams placed around in spots looking out for any odd movement and we'll be messaged if things do change. Other than that, if there are no questions let's get going."

Everyone agreed and geared up. For the most part, it was Gabriel carrying his bow and arrows. He had his gear on just in case something was to happen. Everyone started towards the palace. Gabriel took a deep breath and let it go. He placed his mask over his face and followed closely behind. The fun thing about wizards is they don't have to worry about getting around gates. In this case, Gabriel grabbed onto Nathan and everyone vanished from the entrance of the gates and appeared in a small room inside the castle. Thomas poked his head out to make sure the coast was clear and when he gave the all-clear they soon started their way toward the target.

Rounding a corner, they ran into a guard who immediately pulled his sword. Gabriel shot him as quickly as lightning and he dropped. The arrow finds its target in the guard's throat. He gargled on his own blood as he clasped his hands around his bleeding throat. No one stayed long enough to see the light leave the poor soul's eyes. Nathan gave an admiring glance back but nothing more. Soon enough they were at the staircase that led to the vault.

"Alright, you ready..." A loud explosion shook the ground underneath the group. The smoke cleared and there stood a figure about twenty feet from them holding the head of the guard Gabriel had killed.

"You really think Erebus would leave his kingdom completely abandoned of all magic forces?" The figure smiled menacingly. They tossed the head forward. "And to think I have more of a heart to put this poor soul out of his misery." The figure lit a fireball in their hands and launched towards the group.

"MOVE!" Nathan yelled as he grabbed Julia and dove out of the way. Gabriel was knocked off his feet into a wall. The breath was pushed from his lungs but he was still alive.

"Get up you filthy cowards!" The figure growled.

Gabriel tried finding where the figure had gone but it was hard through the smoke. Soon enough though a blinding light of electricity shot from down the corridor hitting the figure. Gabriel shot to his feet and helped Max and Thomas who were a few feet away from him.

He looked around and saw Nathan standing looking for the figure. "Mage?"

"Definitely a mage."

"Not the first time I've fought these bitches." Gabriel said. He placed his mask on and pulled out an arrow and placed it in his bow. Silence ensued then an almost inhuman growl from his left. He turned quickly and shot. The mage dove and he missed her by an inch. She tackled him to the ground and started choking him.

"This is for my sisters." He could feel her hand start to heat up with a fireball but soon enough she was launched back by a surge of power.

Gabriel was lifted up by his arms by Julia and Nathan. "You good?"

"Yeah yeah. Where did she go?"

"I don't know but we need to get down to the vault now!" Nathan exclaimed. Gabriel nodded and they started finding their way through the smoke to the staircase.

Yelling of orders could be heard as the footsteps of other spies grew closer. They ran into Max who had blood running down his face as he rolled up his sleeves getting ready to go into the fight. "We've got it up here." Nathan nodded and headed onward.

After several panicked minutes, they found the stairway, but it was now partially blocked by rubble. "Well, shit," Julia said before looking at the others. "Just stay back alright." While Julia prepared to try and remove the rubble, Nathan and Gabriel gave her some space while keeping a ready guard for a potential attack. Gabriel could see a glow out of the corner of his eyes and a loud crumbling of debris. "Got it!"

They turned back around to see that most of the obstruction was gone. Julia went first followed by Gabriel and Nathan taking up the rear. Loud sounds of fighting would echo everyone and again but they couldn't go back now. As they hit the bottom floor, they were welcomed by a large room with a door on the other end. The room was filled with all sorts of items. Gabriel took a look around while the other two investigated the door as they had done so many times before.

"It's going to take us some time to break this charm on the door. Just keep a lookout." Nathan explained to Gabriel. Gabriel nodded and turned back to glance over the different items.

Each item Gabriel found was from a different time period. He saw everything from weapons to jewelry laid perfectly to show off. Gabriel went to pick up an item when he heard a shuffle come from the entrance. He quickly loaded his bow waiting for an attack. Then she appeared. Another mage this time. Blood covered her face as she continued to bleed heavily.

"My master isn't going to be happy when he hears that you three are trying to steal from his collection." She tilted her head to catch a better glimpse of Gabriel. "Only a coward hides behind a mask."

"Only an evil bitch kills children for fun." And Gabriel shot his arrow. It grazed her arm. She let out a frustrated groan and vanished.

Gabriel ran over to Julia and Nathan as they continued their work. The mage appeared close to Julia but Gabriel was ready and tried stabbing her with an arrow. The mage vanished again and appeared on the opposite side of the room. "You really think it's that easy to kill me?" Gabriel was ready though and shot his arrow again. This time it found its target and sunk into her leg.

"YOU BASTARD!" The mage screamed and a dagger appeared in her hand. "You'll pay for that." Gabriel moved away from the other two as she threw the dagger his way. He wasn't quite fast enough however and the dagger cut deep into his upper right arm. Gabriel grabbed his arm feeling the nasty sting of the dagger. He looked up and saw the mage had vanished again.

"Please tell me you almost have that door open!"

"Just hold her off for a few more minutes," Julia yelled back.

Gabriel groaned and wiped the blood on his hand on his pants. He looked around the room but she wasn't there. He walked away from the wall he had found himself pinned to and her a shuffle behind him. He turned in time to see the mage had another dagger aimed at his throat. He moved out of the way. In one motion he dropped his bow and pulled out his own dagger stabbing the mage in the back as she lunged forward. This allowed him to take her to the floor. He pulled the dagger out and flipped her over with ease. She was losing blood fast and weakening every second that went by. He straddled her, shoving the blade of his dagger to her throat ready to end it.

"At least let me see the face of my executioner." The mage whispered. Gabriel pulled his mask off and the mage's eyes went wide. "Ahmes." He slit her throat before she could say another word and watched the light leave her eyes. He lowered his mask again and cleaned off his dagger and stood up.

"We're in." The door opened as they pushed it in. In the center of the room was a pedestal with a glowing silver orb illuminating everything around it. "You think that's it?" Nathan asked.

Gabriel stepped between the two. "If it's not then God knows what else it is." He stepped closer and could feel the power radiating off of the orb. He turned back to the other two and then back. This was it. He holstered his dagger and grabbed the orb. Nothing happened at first and a small bit of doubt ran through his mind, but then he heard a faint voice echo that only he could hear.

How I've missed you, old friend.

The orb started to glow brighter and absorb into Gabriel's chest. He felt warmth enter his body and the cut on his arm disappeared. Suddenly the world around him vanished and he was in a memory. He lay on a cold floor and saw standing above him a circle of mages. Gabriel didn't know where he was or how he got there. Everything echoed around him like he was in a dream. The mages started to chant and that glowing orb he had minutes ago picked up was starting to form above him. Gabriel was confused why he saw it again and reached out for it. As soon as he touched the orb everything came crashing down around him and he was back in the vault.

He remembered everything. All the memories came rushing back in a tidal wave, and so did his powers. He felt it course through his veins and something inside him was no longer broken.

"Ahmes?"

He turned and saw Nathan and Julia standing there, having watched the entire thing unfold. "Yeah. It's me." Nathan smiled in triumph. They had done it and now it was time to win a fucking war.

"We need to get you to the frontlines," Nathan added.

Gabriel nodded but something stopped him in his tracks. "Before we go though, let's get rid of some mages." He smiled under his mask.

Nathan smiled back and headed out of the room along with Julia. Gabriel caught his reflection in a mirror that was hanging in the room, his eyes were glowing a brilliant silver.

This is for all of you that died that night. Ahmes thought to himself. With one last glimpse, he rushed out to meet the other upstairs to finish off the last of the mages.