Shadow Slave

The APC was a little cramped, but the four Masters were able to make themselves comfortable. They were sitting on empty ammunition crates, enjoying some of the snacks Kai had presented them with. The mood in the interior of the armored vehicle was surprisingly relaxed, and the Awakened crew under the archer's command were respectfully giving them some space.

Effie was talking: "...wait, wait, wait. What? That is hilarious!" The conversation had taken a random turn, leading to Kai sharing the details of how he and Sunny first met. At the time, one of them had been imprisoned in a deep well, while the other had gone more than a little feral after living alone in the Dark City.

The huntress knew what had happened in broad strokes, but this was her first time hearing the full story. She couldn't stop laughing. "I can just imagine it..." Effie wiped her eyes, then glanced at Jet and asked with curiosity: "What about you, Colonel? How did you become Sunny's fairy godmother?"

Soul Reaper smiled, leaning back with a can of a refreshing beverage in her hand. "...What's a fairy grandmother? Is it some kind of Nightmare Creature?" Effie stared at her for a few moments, then shook her head despondently. "What's a fairy go... damn. They really are two peas in the same pod..."

Jet chuckled. "I guess not. Well, there's not much of a story. I've been assigned to hold vigil over an Aspirant, and that Aspirant turned out to be Sunny. It's rare for us kids from the outskirts to survive the First Nightmare, so I kept in touch."

Sunny let out a relieved sigh when he realized that she wasn't going to describe the exact moment he had woken up... and what transpired right after. There was no need to give Effie more ammunition! If Jet spilled the beans, he would never hear the end of it...

He opened his mouth to change the topic, but at that moment, the sound of an urgent message resounded in the interior of the APC. Sunny did not like that sound at all. Looking up at the communication terminal, he frowned. Almost at the same time, his own comm vibrated, receiving a message as well.

As Kai rose to access the terminal, the other three checked their comms. The messages Sunny and Jet had received were probably a little different, since the Special Reconnaissance Unit was privy to more information... but the gist of it was the same. "Damnation."

Sunny glanced at his friends, reading the same somber tension on their faces. The Chain of Nightmares... had just gone into another period of rapid escalation. Dozens of Gates had opened across East Antarctica at the same time, and the initial readings showed that most, if not all of them, were of the Third Category.

Much worse, it had already been confirmed that several titans had emerged, ready to wreak havoc across the continent. Even though the three Saints had slain several such creatures in the past months, the situation was still eerily similar to what had happened in the Antarctic Center. Would the entirety of the Evacuation Army be able to handle the sudden crisis? Sunny was not sure.

Their chances were much higher than what the Antarctic Center contingent's had been, but still... Things had just gone from bad to worse.

Jet sighed. "More titans, huh... I wonder if any of them are Corrupted."

Effie continued to munch on her snack, seemingly unbothered by the dire news. She simply shrugged. "We'll find out soon enough. There is no point in worrying about it now, is there?"

Soul Reaper grinned. "True. Well... unless one of those titans happened to appear right between us and the siege capital." The huntress suddenly stopped chewing, which was very abnormal behavior in her case, and glared at Jet silently.

"Colonel Jet... you just had to go and say it, didn't you?"

At that moment, Kai returned from the terminal with a troubled face. He looked at them for a few moments, then sighed. "There has been a change of plans. The path we were supposed to take back is no longer available, so... Army Command sent orders to reroute the expedition force. We will be retreating to a different city, to be stationed there until further notice."

Effie sighed and shook her head despondently. "See..."

Sunny and Jet glanced at each other. They had not received new orders, so the SRU still expected them to accompany the two companies. That was a relief.

Kai turned to them and forced out a smile. "Sunny, Ascended Jet... we will have to trouble you with helping us navigate the wilderness, as well as provide help to our scouts. I hope you don't mind. If everything goes well, we'll be behind walls in three days."

Sunny looked around. "Why would we mind? This is like a luxury hotel... I haven't been fed this much delicious stuff in a while." A small smile appeared on his face. Kai nodded. "Great! Then, please excuse me. I'll go arrange for the column to change course."

He went back to the communication terminal, leaving the three of them alone. Sunny sighed, the smile disappearing from his face. 'This is it, then. A perfect moment...'

Two days passed in a tense, but manageable atmosphere. The expedition force was persisting in its march, traversing the great plains of East Antarctica with acceptable speed. The skirmishes they fought increased in frequency and ferocity, but with Sunny's shadows scouting out the way, they were able to escape major battles.

The rest of the continent was not doing as well. East Antarctica was in turmoil, with the assaults on the siege capitals growing more dreadful every day. The Evacuation Army was holding, for now, but the future seemed grim. At the same time, the Saints had united to face the rampaging titans. Their battle had lasted for several ruinous hours, and ended in a bitter draw.

Two of the titans perished, but the Transcendents had to retreat, each sustaining heavy wounds. Several more creatures remained, including one confirmed Corrupted Titan. For now, none of them was actively moving toward the siege capitals. But it was only a matter of time.

'Bad... this smells really bad.' Sunny was at the back of Kai's APC, sitting on a crate with his eyes closed. His shadows were out scouting, and Jet was sleeping on a neighboring crate, using a military coat as a blanket.

Suddenly, her communicator produced a melodic sound. Since it was not a notification from Army Command, Sunny paid it no attention. Soul Reaper, however, sat up, yawned, and glanced at the message with a sullen expression. She remained silent for a few moments, then grimaced and showed him the screen of the communicator.

Sunny opened his eyes and read the title of a government propaganda article attached to the message. His eyes turned a little darker. The title read: "The Great Legacy Clans announce full support for the Southern Quadrant evacuation effort! In humanity's hour of need, its greatest warriors are rising against the forces of the Nightmare Spell. The best of Bastion and Ravenheart are already en route to reinforce the valiant soldiers of the Evacuation Army..."