Realm of Realms

Chapter 30: Drop Zone

As everyone came back to Amelia and Tidus' airship, the explosions continued beneath the Citadel.

The Agents of Onyx have launched missiles after missiles against their defenses. Both Zak and Jordan assisted the workers onto the other airships from the rooftop, and as the last one left, they knelt to the ground, exhausted.

"I believe that was the last airship, mate," Zak panted. He raised himself off the ground with his sword.

Jordan chuckled as he watched the airships soar away.

The Paladin pulled his friend up and patted him on the back.

"We're not finished yet," he explained.

Zak nodded as he heard footsteps on the stairs.

When they saw Finn, Plank, Plank's Cadet, Carla, Randy, and Skye emerge from the stairwell, the two swiftly eased their guard.

"We have to get going!" Skye screamed at them.

Jordan and Zak both nodded and assisted them to the airship.

Tidus was ready to take the controls, as did Amelia, who sat in the weapons station.

As everyone packed into the airship, the couple noticed Emma and Roger were missing.

"Where have they gone?" Amelia enquired.

Skye suddenly remembered where they were.

"They're on the bottom floor," she replied, "and the last time I saw them, they were surrounded by Onyx Agents."

Amelia looked through a stationary telescope and saw Emma, along with Roger, being hauled off into another airship.

"Hold on tight; we're going to get my daughter back," Tidus remarked.

Amelia placed a hand on his shoulder.

"She's our daughter," she said.

Tidus' heart warmed as he kissed Amelia on the cheek.

He clenched his teeth and took off, chasing them down.

The captain of the Onyx Agent airship noticed Tidus' ship following them.

"Captain! Zee is catching up to us!" a man said over the intercom.

The captain was unfazed as he proceeded to fly towards the clouds.

Unfortunately for them, Amelia had sped up their airship's thrusters to boost speed.

She yanked on a big lever, directing additional power to their reactors and propelling them forward.

Skye pushed a button as they sailed above the airship, opening the hangar door beneath themselves.

Air began to flow through their airship, gradually dragging things outward.

"So, who's going to jump?" Finn wondered.

The cadet of Plank's guard,  Ace, took a step forward, reloaded his pistol, and placed it into his holster.

Jordan, Skye, and Randy stood next to him.

Carla hugged them both and said, "Good luck, lads."

Plank stood up to wish Ace well, but he gripped the wound in his stomach.

"Go get 'em, kid," he instructed.

Ace nodded and grabbed a grapple launcher, which he fired on the airship's deck.

They swung down to the Onyx's airship one by one.

Ace discovered and opened the entrance hatch when they landed.

Jordan was the first to enter the area, which was absolutely deserted.

Tidus' airship flew away in the background.

They traveled slowly through the airship's corridors until they came to a door.

Ace looked out the window and saw numerous agents moving about.

He noticed Emma and Roger chained up in the background.

He carefully opened up the door, but it squeaked.

"Ah shit," Ace exclaimed.

When the agents turned their attention on them, a fight erupted.

Jordan set fire to his sword and slashed through two agents, burning them to a crisp.

Skye and Randy fought alongside each other against the invading agents.

Ace shot one of the agents in the face and flung his body aside.

He then grabbed the blade of the next agent and countered the strike, impaling him with his own sword.

A huge and muscular man emerged immediately in front of him as he approached Emma and Roger.

"Well, shit," he thought to himself. The towering man flung his fists at Ace, who easily dodged them until the final strike sent him flying back.

Jordan noticed this and came to his rescue.

He then conjured up a fireball with his palms and hurled it at the large man. The fire was burning a hole in his chest.

"Thanks," Ace said.

The gang went to the bridge after releasing Emma and Roger from their chains, but to their astonishment, the only person standing there was the captain.

All of his men appeared to have been shot dead near him.

"What did you do?" Skye asked.

Her question was met with a chuckle from the captain. He killed himself by holding the gun to his head and fired.

As his body plunged to the floor, they discovered that he had compromised the control system, causing the airship to fall in a nosedive.

Suddenly, the airship began to plummet to the land.

As it began to fall, everyone held onto anything.

"Man, this sucks!" Randy said as he grasped a railing.

Jordan had a brief flashback as the airship began to plummet, one that a  friend had taught him.

He got to his feet and dashed to the window.

Confused, Skye screamed, "Jordan! What in the world are you doing?!"

"Just hold onto something!" Jordan answered, looking back.

Skype and the others took a grip of anything solid on the ship while they listened to him.

"I hope you're watching, Zhangshen," he continued.

Jordan then returned his attention to the window, punched through it, and jumped out.