Elites Chapter III: New Empire Rising

VII

The Himalayas

11:30 am Chinese time

In the mountains, a small jet was flying through the rigorous terrain. Aboard the jet, the Elites were preparing for the fight of their lives. Inside, Jayson was giving a briefing to his teammates. "Given the location of this hidden base, it will likely be heavily guarded. Meaning, we have to be ready for anything." Jay said "For any extreme obstacles in the way, Rob will use his rock manipulation ability to shift anything over. Any questions?" There was nothing but silence. Nic then said "Sam, stay here and keep watch over Kaiser. The rest of us will infiltrate the facility, get Wade, and put an end to the Endgame." A few minutes later, they began their descent into the mountains of Siberia.

Siberia, Russia

1:17 pm Novosibirsk Time

The mountains were covered with snow and ice. Ruby was struggling to keep the small plane steady in the strong winds. The jet was getting tossed left and right. Bismuth just stared out the window in awe. She had never left the country before, let alone seen such large mountains. Slowly and steadily, their jet continued to glide closer and closer to its destination. After a few minutes, the Elites were on the ground. The ground was very rough and uneven. The four of them stepped out and walked towards the side of the mountain. Before stepping into the cold, Bluestone grabbed a futuristic looking rifle. "There's nothing here. It's exactly how we left it." Amber said. Bluestone then stepped closer to the rugged wall, wearing an odd pair of glasses, wired to a bag. "I don't know. Last time we didn't have well developed tech." He said. "I'm picking up metal reinforcement here. There's an air current." Ruby interrupted and said "It's a secret door." Amber then began to devise a plan. "If we wait until dark, we could climb up. Or wait for a cloud. Or maybe even..." "I can get us in." Stone said. "I do all the heavy lifting around here don't I?" Stone then walked to the edge, and clenched his fists. Almost immediately, the mountain began to move. Rocks began to crumble and shift off to the side, forming a tunnel into the mountain. They all began to walk into the opening. Ruby then gave her sister a pat on the back, saying "It's been a while kid." They all continued into the mountain.

As soon as they were all inside, the opening in the mountain sealed itself. Ruby and Amber then formed flames around their hands to act as torches. Right in front of them was a large wall. "Can you move it?" Bluestone asked. Before he could even get the words out of his mouth, the wall was slowly shifting upward into the ceiling. It was clear that Stone was struggling to keep the rocks raised. He rarely had to lift objects that large. As Stone held the wall up, everyone else walked underneath it before it fell shut. As they kept going, the tem bumped into another wall. "We've got another one." Ruby said. Amber then walked to Stone and said "Let me help." She put her hand on Stone's shoulder and together, they raised the second wall. "God this is exhausting!" Amber exclaimed. Bluestone replied "They get heavier as they go because there are electromagnetic locks embedded in each rock specifically so that it has to be unlocked. They didn't factor in that we have two heavy lifters." After a few moments, the wall was raised high enough that they could slide underneath. The Elites continued to walk until they reached another wall. "Hold on!" Stone yelled. "I'm sensing metal reinforcement. There's an air current... we're underneath it." Stone and Amber then forced the ground beneath them to rise from the surface. As it began to rise to the ceiling of the cavern, Amber forged her orange shield and covered everyone from the falling rock as they rose higher and higher into the mountain.

As they moved further into the mountain, the Elites began to feel hesitant. "I'm not feeling so good about this." Ruby said. Bluestone replied "This isn't sitting well with me either. But we're too far to turn back." While they were giving their input on the mission, Amber was freakishly calm about it. "How can you be so calm about this?" Stone asked. Amber replied "You've never had a protective bubble." Suddenly, everything began to tremble and shake. "You sure you can do this?" Amber asked Stone. "I can, if you all would stop moving and shut up." Suddenly, the shaking stopped and Stone stopped to rest. "We're about a foot below the fortress. Who wants to knock?"