Nebula

Twenty Two

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The plan was simple. Or at least, Tessa hoped it was. If it wasn't...well, that just made one more thing to worry about as she and her friends meandered through the Labyrinth.

The pavement of the tunnel began to shift, turning dustier and darker and covered in cobwebs. It felt like they were walking through a maintenance tunnel, and with a quick glance at Lukas and Eli, whose faces were now etched with a sort of grave understanding, she knew.

They'd arrived.

Tessa tightened her grip on Tempest as they continued to walk, each footstep an echo of her racing heartbeat. Whether she was ready or not, it was time for action.

And so the plan was initiated.

According to Eli and Lukas, the Labyrinth entrance into the Regiment's base was guarded by four soldiers at all times; two on the outside and two on the inside. After a heated debacle over who would do what, Tessa and Sophia were able to deviate a plan. Kaden and Lukas, being two of the best swordsmen of the group, would disable the guards on the outside, and when the door was opened and the guards on the inside of the base looked over, Reese would fire at them.

Then that's where things got a little complicated. The team would break off into two groups of five: one to lead the central fight until they found Orion, and the other to go and rescue the hostages. Tessa, Kaden, Lukas, Reese, and Amelie would head off into the pulpit while Eli, having made his way through the base for reasons such as this, would lead Madi, Orpheus, Sophia, and Flynn on the rescue mission.

"We're here," Eli whispered, shaking Tessa out of her reverie. His piercing blue eyes scanned the hallway ahead of them, that made a single right turn that held the exit past the corner.

Tessa nodded and glanced back to Amelie, who had already begun to work. She flicked her hand and a ribbon of smoke materialized around it, before spreading through the air. Before Tessa knew it, she was shrouded in the Mist; their disguise until they were safely behind enemy lines. She turned back to the front of the group, where Kaden and Lukas were already awaiting her command.

With a single nod, the group continued on, and that's when all hell broke loose. Kaden and Lukas broke off from the group, swinging their swords towards the guards by the door. The Regiment soldiers were too stunned to even fight back, and they crumbled to the ground like discarded scraps of paper. The boys lowered their golden swords, and Lukas pressed his free hand to the glowing blue delta on the door. It hissed open, and as soon as the two other guards peered into the Labyrinth, they were knocked unconscious by Reese's arrows.

Part One: Done. But they still had an entire army to fight.

The demigods hurried through the doorway, and as soon as they had emerged into the Regiment's base, Tessa could see just how complicated things were about to get.

They were in a sort of entrance hall, with various abandoned stands dotting the dusty floors. Doorways into different rooms and sectors of the convention center lined the walls, and an escalator sat nearby, leading up and up, deeper into the base of their enemy.

"Where is everyone?" Madi sniffed, glancing around the abandoned entrance hall.

Eli stepped forward, looking around. "This part of the base is normally off-limits to Regiment soldiers. Only a few of the elite are able to have access, in case they're on sentry duty or assigned to missions." He explained. "The further we go into the center, the more soldiers we'll find."