Please Don't Cry; Third Book in the Sky Army's Defeat Series

Chapter Eleven

Jason and Quentin sat in their small cell that the squids had put them in, quietly whispering about their discoveries of their dear friend.

"I saw it with my own eyes, guys. Ty's completely under whatever voodoo these squids are up to," Jason muttered, "and on my way over here I saw Jerome suiting up in a squid army uniform. Whatever they've got planned for us, it seems to be working, and it scares the shit out of me."

Quentin sighed. "Jason I wish you were wrong or imagining all of this, but dammit I don't think there's any escape from this. They've got a powerful sorcerer on their side, and god knows what else they could be hiding up their sleeves. I mean, how many of our recruits are under their control? All of them?!"

"No, sadly my all mighty king couldn't reach all of your recruits at once. Not enough potion ingredients. But he does have a small group of us, General," a familiar voice sneered, and upon a quick glance Jason recognized the girl as Hydrangea, further known as Hydra among her new allies, "And they're going to assist in taking down Adam."

Jason stood up quickly. "Hydrangea, not again. You can't seriously be listening to the squids again."

Hydra laughed. "Oh, hun," she smirked, eyes darkening in color, "I serve them with everything I am."

The general was quickly hit with a wave of confusion upon looking into her eyes, stumbling back as if he had been punched in the face. The girl outside the cell appeared where Quentin had once been, and an overwhelming urge to take her down came over him.

Acting on this feeling Jason quickly tackled the mudkip hybrid to the ground, restraining him with inhuman strength and agility. Quentin struggled with all the strength he could muster, but there was no resisting Jason's newfound strength.

"What did you do to my friend?!" The hybrid roared through another fit of struggling. Hydra only answered him with a laugh before motioning Jason to follow.

The general, now trapped in the illusion of Hydra's world, forced his mudkip friend to his feet and pushed him after the illusionist. In his mind, he'd caught Hydra and was taking her to a cell in their own castle.

Hydra led the two boys down a long hallway of cells where metamorphosing recruits were being held, some groaning in agony as they tried to fight the influence of magic on their bodies, others staring at the two generals with deadly, blue eyes glares. She smirked at the sight of them, enjoying the fact her king would have more soldiers soon. Little to her knowledge there was a spy amongst the group, watching them, waiting for just the right moment to strike.

Hydra turned a corner that would lead Jason and Quentin to her king before coming face to, well, shadow, with said spy.

The identity of this spy, including gender, was hidden well under a black cloak that was shaped just like Seto's. The spy's only revealed features were their pale fingertips through their fingerless gloves, and those were slightly hidden behind their back as they gripped the hilt of a knife.

Hydra stopped in her tracks, glaring at the spy. "Who the hell are you?"

The spy merely shrugged their shoulders before lunging forward with unnatural speed and punching the corrupt recruit in the forehead, knocking her out cold. When Hydra's body hit the floor, Jason was quick to release Quentin and stumble back, his eyes wide in confusion. "The hell just happened?"

The spy quickly held a finger to Jason's lips to shush him before their scenery quickly changed to the castle both generals knew as home, a passed out Seto appearing behind them as well.

Once the spy knew the coast was clear, they removed their hood and gazed upon the three men with crimson eyes, her black hair falling over her shoulders as it fell out of the hood. She untied the cloak and took it off, revealing her ruby necklace underneath.

Jason stared at her in shock. "Who are you? Are you on our side?"

The spy nodded. "I'm Shadow. One of Seto's secret spies. My job is to save Seto and any of his friends when they're in danger without being seen. Seto made himself forget about us so if he was ever caught, corrupted, or what have you, he wouldn't endanger any of us."

Quentin frowned. "How many are there of you?"

Shadow grunted. "That's classified. I'm not even supposed to let you two know about me, but I had no way of preventing it. Now, you two prepare for Adam's arrival. He's heading back with allies to bring your friends back. I have to go before Seto wakes up." The spy quickly grabbed her cloak and put it back on. "You two, try not to become like your recruits." She warned before disappearing.

Jason and Quentin looked at each other before shrugging and going to prepare their base for their friend's arrival.

Word Count: 842