To Rescue a Villain

Chapter 41

The pair of soldiers patrolling the halls looked identical in their red and black armored suits but on the inside, they couldn't be more different.

"I'm telling you," the first guy said enthusiastically, waving his gun back and forth. "If you just give Hareon music a chance you'll come to love it. The idols are talented and the music is great—"

"But they don't speak Manican," the other defended angrily, determined to stand his ground. "Plus, the music is weird."

"No weirder than Manican music."

"Manican music is normal. Hareon is not. It's so...dramatic."

"You're dramatic!" he countered, a comeback he'd probably spent months preparing. "And you're a hypocrite. You listen to 'Classy Man' and that's a Hareon song."

"But "Classy Man' has Manican words in it."

"But..." The soldier shook in frustration. "All Hareon songs have Manican words in them!"

Before the stubborn soldier could respond, both of them were knocked off their feet and dragged into a nearby closet where we were waiting. Jala knocked the anti-Hareon one out immediately but didn't with the other one, the butt of her gun poised to smack his head.

He stared back at her, breathing heavily. He wasn't sure why she was hesitating but it was making him even more nervous.

Jala waited a few more seconds, studying him curiously, before she lowered her gun and told Ace to tie him up. After he had done that, she leaned toward the frightened guard.

"Keep up the good work," she whispered with a smile before all five of us, plus the robot Joe, leapt out of the closet and shut the door behind us, leaving it unlocked so the two could eventually get out.

I shot Ace a questioning look as we ran, trying to figure out why Jala had left the second guy alone. Ace was the only one who would know the answer since he and Jala had been dating for so long.

"She's a fan of Hareon music too," he whispered with a chuckle before adjusting the gun in his hands and focusing on our mission. "She plays it constantly when we're alone." He sounded so defeated that I couldn't help but laugh.

We kept running through the station, ducking into small rooms whenever guards walked past, but we were still no closer to finding Derek's office. Everything looked so different and it felt more like a maze than anything.

"I wish they'd put a map on the walls or something," Odette commented as she peeked around a corner. "I've never been good with directions."

I was just starting to believe we were going in circles when a small, soulless voice echoed through our earpieces, using a channel that was supposed to be private.

"Have you come to kill him?" the female voice whispered, her tone hollow and echoey, as though whoever it was had been trapped inside a small room. She sounded so sad. So lonely. She sounded like...

"Is that Polly?" I whispered, glancing at Odette. The woman shrugged before pulling us into another room, watching our backs so we could talk to the mysterious voice.

"Who is this?" Jala asked, not ruling out the possibility that it was a trap. I was the one who didn't agree. I knew this voice. It was Polly. The same Polly I had seen on the show.

"It doesn't matter who I am," the girl whispered. "All that matters is that I help you find Dark."

"And how exactly do you plan to do that?" the leader asked mockingly.

"I control everything in this ship. I know where you are and I know that you won't be able to reach Dark without my help."

"Try me," Jala challenged.

"Jala!" I placed a hand on her shoulder and shook my head. "Trust her. She knows what she's talking about." Polly was the one who powered the entire station and kept it from crashing into the moon, with the help of the little alien sphere, of course.

Jala shot me a questioning look but didn't talk back. "...Fine. Tell us what you know?"

"Dark's office is guarded by the strongest guards and thickest doors in the entire station. He's the only one who lets anyone in or out. If you want to reach him, you need to lure him out."

"And how do we do that?" Ace asked.

"After he kills you he plans to use the moon's power source to dominate Manica. If you threaten the power source, he'll send men to defend it but if you destroy it, he'll be angry enough to come on his own."

"That stupid ball we found on the moon?" Jala asked, gritting her teeth. "That thing has been nothing but trouble ever since we found it."

"Where is the artifact?" Ace questioned, growing concerned about their situation.

"It's with me."

My heart started to race. This was exactly what had happened last time.

"I need you to find me, destroy the artifact, and kill Dark so I can be free to do whatever I please. I'm tired of working for him. He's too depressed to take care of now."

"But we won't need to hurt you in order to destroy it, right?" I asked desperately.

There was a moment of hesitation, then came a quick, "No."

"Okay." I sighed, feeling air rush out of my chest. "Thank goodness." Things had changed. She wasn't reliant on the stone in this reality. That took a load off my mind.

"I'll give you directions," the voice continued, "But you need to come right now!"

I raised an eyebrow. She really hated Derek...Dark now, just like in the show. He must have locked her up against her will.

"What's the rush?" Jala asked, glancing at Odette who was still guarding the closet door.

"Zora and her soldiers just arrived," the mysterious helper explained quickly. "And they know you're here. You need to hurry."

"You don't need to tell me twice," I whispered and opened the door.

A/N The argument between the two soldiers in the beginning of the chapter is an actual argument I had with someone in real life. (Just more loud and dramatic).
Also, the picture above is of Ace and Jala again. >.<