Shining Armor watched the environment speed past them, as he, Iron Core and Skybreaker rode on the back of a prisoner transport.
The vehicle was a hover speeder, with a large cab at the front that the driver could safely ride in whilst the prisoners were forced to sit on the back with chains keeping them from escaping. Aside from the three, there were four other people chained to the transport. Each one was a different species, Shining glad that tiger guy from before wasn't with them.
The three Jedi were still dressed in their own clothing, which meant they still had the Force Suppression Crystal that was keeping them from using their abilities to escape.
As they drove along the volcanic landscape, Shining hoped Flash hadn't gotten into trouble.
"Here we are, ladies." They all looked ahead and saw a building that didn't look big enough to be a prison. But then they remembered what Wydorm, the leader of this planet, had told them.
They were being placed inside heat cells. Underground prisons that got so hot, it would be impossible to survive without regular access to water. And they weren't likely to get that any time soon.
The speeder arrived at the building and came to a stop, as a bunch of guards stepped out of the building. And as they moved over to them, Shining noticed another building in the distance. Some kind of round structure that looked like a stadium of some kind. One Shining hoped he wouldn't be spending time in.
The guards unlocked the chains and pulled the prisoners down off the transport, one of them refusing to move only to get zapped by an electric stick one was carrying.
"Move it!" They pushed the prisoners towards the building, the seven heading inside to find the place was a reception area with an elevator door inside. The prisoners were pushed into the elevator and once the guards were inside, the lift began to lower.
As it descended, Shining noticed the guards were wearing strange looking suits. And as they went lower, he realised what the suits were for.
"Augh!" One of the prisoners cried, as he leapt up. The elevator was growing hotter and the prisoners were starting to feel the heat through their shoes.
The Jedi's boots were well built, so they weren't feeling as much of the heat. But they still acted like they could so the guards didn't take them away. They all started jumping around, the guards laughing as the elevator came to a stop. And when the elevator opened, even more heat filled the room and the prisoners cried out.
They were pushed into a long corridor, with metal doors that didn't have handles.
Instead, the guards shoved the ends of their electro sticks into a hole and turned them. This unlocked the door and allowed them to push the doors open, followed by the prisoners being pushed into the stone cells.
The cells were like ovens and as the three Jedi were locked into their cells, the heat began to build and they could feel themselves beginning to sweat. Ten seconds down, a billion more seconds left.
The cell was dimly lit, with a single small light sticking out the ceiling that barely made any light. The place was dark, hot and practically sound proof. This wasn't going to be a fun time. "Flash," Shining whispered, "I hope you're working on a plan to get us out of here."
Flash Sentry and Soarin Skies were racing across the land, using the hoverboards Soarin had provided to get back to the city.
As they raced to the city, Flash opened his gauntlet and called Springer. "How's it going with Shining and the others?" After a few moments, the gauntlet beeped and Springer spoke back.
"It's just like you thought. Shining and the others were sent to the place you spotted. But as soon as they entered, I lost their signals."
Flash frowned, "probably got sent underground. We've gotta find a way to get them out of there without causing too much of a commotion."
"How do you intend to do that?" Soarin asked.
"I'm gonna need more info before I can come up with that idea." As they got closer to the city, they pulled their boards to a stop and got off. The boards retracted back into the disks and the two pocketed them inside their cloaks, both making sure to keep a low profile as they entered the city.
The place was once again full of different fire resistant aliens, who found joy in living on this molten planet.
As Flash and Soarin walked through the town, Flash spotted the inn where they had run into the tiger guy and started all this trouble. He knew it was best to stay away from that place, along with the library where his friends had been arrested. So where could they go?
Flash let his mind become open, knowing The Force would help him. If he needed to be somewhere, it would lead him to that place. That was his only hope. Trust in The Force.
And sure enough, he suddenly felt a tugging sensation. One that caused him to turn in one particular direction. "This way," Flash told Soarin. They headed in the opposite direction to the library and after an hour or so of following the pull through the city, they arrived at a tavern that they might be able to find some information in.
They stepped inside and were happy to find the place was rather lively, so nobody noticed them as they approached. They headed to the bar and sat down, as the bartender was cleaning a glass. "What can I get you two?"
"Something that'll keep us hydrated and alert," Flash replied. He nodded and a few moments later, the two found themselves being given a pair of glasses full of ice and nothing more.
"Give it a minute," the bartender announced as he walked over to another customer. The pair stared at the glasses and sure enough, the ice was beginning to melt due to how hot it was there. They drank down the water and were pleased to find it was still cool, the slowly melting eyes keeping them refreshed as they sat there.
"Did you hear?" Someone suddenly announced. "Wydorm sent a bunch of guys to the heat cells." Flash picked his ears up, hoping this had something to do with his friends.
"Poor saps," another man stated. "What did they do to deserve that?"
"Apparently, they trashed the library with Khanax."
"Khanax? That overgrown hairball has been nothing but trouble since he got here. Did he get sent to the cells as well?"
"I don't think so. I didn't see him on the transport. They're probably gonna send him somewhere worse. He's had it coming for a long time." Everyone else nodded, Khanax clearly not having many friends in this tavern. "But I also heard, those guys were being followed by Rimarun before the library fight. You think Wydorm knew they were gonna cause problems?"
"Probably. That man has eyes and ears all over the place. Maybe even in this place. Rimarun could be here right now, waiting for us to say something that'll get us thrown in a heat cell of our own."
"I'd hate for that to happen," a new alien spoke up. "I heard of a guy that got caught trying to steal a rare mineral from someone under Wydorm's employ. When he got caught, the poor sap spent a night in a heat cell with no food or water. It was so hot in there, when they let him out he looked like a crinkle bluk fruit."
"What happened to the mineral?" The other guy asked.
"Apparently, Wydorm put it in his special safe. That's where everything belonging to prisoners ends up." Flash and Soarin stared at one another. Flash suddenly knew why The Force had brought him to this tavern.
"We need to get into that safe." Flash was sure that his friend's stuff was in there. The Lightsabers and whatever else they might have found in the library.
Soarin nodded in agreement and as the light of the setting sun flowed into the window, the pair got up to leave. But before they could, someone at the bar happened to glance around and spot something. "Hey!" He pointed at Flash, "what's that?" Everyone looked around and saw what he was pointing to. The weapon that was currently hanging from Flash's waist.
"It's one of those shine-swords," another called out. "The kind that Jedi use!" At the mention of that word, everyone in the room looked at Flash as if he had just taken candy from a baby.
Soarin looked worried, but Flash smirked. "Yeah, it's a Jedi weapon." He leaned against the bar. "Took it from a Jedi myself." He knew there was little chance they would believe him, but he had to try. "You should have heard him squeal. Don't know why the Galaxy is so afraid of them. I just snuck up on the guy and..." Flash drew his finger against his throat.
The people in the bar looked amazed by this, but one didn't look so convinced.
"How do we know you really killed the Jedi? You could just be a Jedi pretending to have killed one."
"True. But why would a Jedi come here, where he knows being found would get him killed? I don't think anyone's that stupid." He took out his Lightsaber and held it up. "Besides, this thing's not even a real one. At least, I don't think it is. Look." He hit the button and nothing happened, Flash glad he removed the power cell before coming here. "So. Just a piece of junk. I just keep it because I heard this place hates Jedi. Thought having one of these might nab me some street cred."
"Heck yeah, it does." One of the aliens cheered. "You gotta tell us what it was like. I've always wanted to see a Jedi die. I heard when they die, they burst into flames and only their clothes are left behind."
Flash's brain went into overtime, as he tried to think of a story that would convince these people he was really a Jedi killer. "Well, there I was on Shikoya. I had just gotten some repairs done to a droid in this little shop..." He kept spouting his story off, hoping he didn't say anything that would contradict what he had already said.
The people in the bar really ate up the story, as they continued to drink. Flash and Soarin kept drinking the melting ice and as the people drank, their tongues got a lot looser and they started answering any question Flash and Soarin gave them. By the time the two moons were high in the sky, Flash and Soarin knew everything they needed to know about Wydorm and his mansion.
Back in the underground Shining, Iron and Skybreaker were all feeling the heat.
It was so hot in the cell, that breathing was rather difficult. Their airways were beginning to narrow and every time they breathed in, they could feel their lungs getting close to burning. They had used what little energy they had to look around the cells and try to find a way to escape. But the cells were locked up tight and the only way to escape, would be to use The Force to unlock the doors.
Alas, even if they wanted to do that, Skybreaker still had the Force Suppression Crystal. And since he was in the middle cell, Shining and Iron were still within the crystal's range of effect. "Maybe I should have left this thing on the ship," Skybreaker groaned out. His mouth felt dryer than sandpaper.
Sweat was continuing to pour off his forehead and his robotic wing was starting to get uncomfortably hot.
They were all exhausted, but they couldn't lay or sit down. Whilst their boots were heat resistant, the rest of their clothing wasn't. If they tried to lay down, the cloth would likely catch fire or melt into their skin. So all they could do was stand there, moving around to try and keep their boots from also getting too hot.
They didn't know how long they would be able to stand being in this place. But they had to be strong. They knew Flash was still out there and hopefully, he would find a way to get them out of there.
The streets were empty, many people having retreated to their air conditioned homes in order to get a good night's sleep.
Two people were still away and sneaking through the street. Flash and Soarin had gotten everything they needed to know, the two making their way towards the mansion in order to find what they were searching for. As they arrived at the street with the large building, they spotted a bunch of guards keeping the place secure.
They frowned, trying to find an opening in the security. And as they looked around, Flash spotted some barrels piled up together a short distance away.
He reached out with The Force and pulled one of the lower barrels, causing it to slide out and make the whole pile fall.
Luckily, the commotion it made was loud enough to catch the attention of the guards and nobody else. The guards ran over to the pile, allowing the two to rush over to the gate. They grabbed their hoverboards and used them to fly over the gate, getting onto the other side and leaping into the shadows of the wall. They had dressed in their darkest clothing and covered their faces with wraps of black scarves, allowing them to blend into the darkness.
They waited for the guards to look away from their general direction before running for the door.
As soon as they reached it, Flash used The Force to unlock it and allow them to sneak inside. Moments after they did, the guards happened to look back in their direction.
The two found themselves in the large manner house and as they made their way through the building, they were careful not to make too much noise. Soarin was surprisingly stealthy, the teen light on his feet as they headed in the direction they had been told the safe was in.
But as they turned a corner, they suddenly came face to face with a servant who was clearly doing some night duties.
The man stared at them in shock and was about to scream, but Flash spoke up. "We're meant to be here."
"You're meant to be here." The man began to relax.
"We're the night watchmen. Hiding in the shadows to sneak up on unsuspecting crooks."
"You're the night watchmen. Hiding in the shadows to sneak up on unsuspecting crooks." Soarin looked surprised by this, as Flash waved his hand at the servant.
"You're going to take us to Wydorm's safe, to make sure it's secure and won't be broken into."
"I'm going to take you to Wydorm's safe, to make sure it's secure and won't be broken into." He turned away from them and started to walk off, Flash and Soarin following him through the manner. Luckily, they didn't run into anyone else and soon arrived at the door. "This is the room where Wydorm's safe is located."
"Excellent." Flash found it was unlocked and turned to the servant. "You will go to your bed and sleep. You've got a busy day tomorrow."
"I will go to bed and sleep. I've got a busy day tomorrow." He walked off, the two waiting for him to leave before they entered the room.
"That was just freaky," Soarin told him. "How do I know you didn't use that same trick on me to make me stay?"
"That trick doesn't work over coms," Flash replied as he looked around the room and found a large metal door sitting there. "Besides, it only works on the weak minded. You're way too smart to let me manipulate you."
"Damn right."
"Now go guard the door and make sure nobody's coming."
"Why do I have to guard the door? Why can't I try and open the safe?"
"Fine, then open the safe. Just be careful not to trigger any of the traps. Something like this has probably got a bunch of defences. Might zap you with a million volts."
Soarin turned towards the safe and seemed to realise something. "Oh, I get it. You told me to guard the door because you knew I'd want to open the safe. You wanted me to open the safe and make sure it's not booby trapped. Using one of your Jedi mind tricks."
"What?" Flash smirked, "no."
"Well nice try, but it didn't work." He pointed at Flash. "You open and safe and I'll guard the door." He moved to the door, whilst Flash shrugged and turned towards the safe. As he approached it, he held out a hand to see if he could feel any kind of electrical field. And whilst he could feel power running through it, it wasn't going through the outer layer of the safe. Just the controls.
"Okay." He touched the safe and didn't get zapped. He saw an electronic keypad, the Jedi taking out his Lightsaber and replacing the energy cell. Once it was working, he turned the weapon on.
"You're not gonna cut through the safe, are you? I thought we were trying to be stealthy."
"We are." Flash held the flat of the blade up to the keypad, causing four buttons to be revealed as smudged. "I'm checking for fingerprints. Two, three, five and eight. The code's a combo of those four numbers."
"What'll happen if we input the wrong code?"
"Probably nothing the first two or three times. But if we get the code wrong too many times, we'll probably set off an alarm." Flash took a deep breath and carefully pressed one of the numbers. "Two, three, five, eight." He pressed enter and the keypad beeped read before turning back to green. "Alright. Five, three, eight, two." It beeped red again. Flash had a feeling this would be their last shot. "Get ready to run."
Soarin took out both blasters, as Flash typed the code in.
He hit the enter button and flinched, only for it to ding and the door to open. "Yes!" Flash swung the door open and looked inside, seeing a whole bunch of different objects in the room. Weapons, pieces of metal Flash assumed were rare, old droid parts and so much more.
Flash spotted a pair of cases in the middle of the room, along with a bag Flash recognised as Shining's.
He carefully stepped forward and opened the cases up, searching for the compartments that had the Lightsabers inside. He also opened up Shining's bag, but there was nothing in it. However, he could sense something. Shining's presence. Similar to a human scent, a presence could stain an object a strong Force User touched.
He turned towards the presence and spotted a book, laying on the table looking rather old.
Flash picked the book up and flicked through the symbols, the Padawan slowly realising what they were. "These are...from that temple." He had stared at the images of them long enough to recognise and realised Shining must have found it in the library before he was arrested.
"Hurry up," Soarin told him.
Flash frowned, knowing that this book going missing might cause a problem. But he couldn't risk them not getting it. As such, he stuffed the book into Shining's bag and put it on. Once it and the Lightsabers were stored away, Flash ran out of the safe and quickly closed it.
Looking at it, he smirked at an idea and hit the reset button. He typed in the old code and then typed in a new code. Hopefully, getting this thing unlocked would distract the guy in charge and give Flash the chance to help his friends.
"Let's go." Soarin nodded and they began to make their way out of the house, not running into anyone on the way out.
They were able to get out after causing another distraction, they flew over the wall and disappeared into the night. But what they didn't realise is they had been seen, by the shadowy figure that had arrested Flash's friends before.
As the sun began to rise the next day, Shining, Iron and Skybreaker were all a wreck.
Having been roasting in the heat cell overnight, unable to sleep or even lay down, they were exhausted, dehydrated and suffering from a splitting headache. It took all their will not to collapse, knowing that would likely end in their deaths if they weren't careful.
Then, the heat cells finally opened and the guards let them out. They staggered out of the cells and were pulled into the elevator, the heat from the underground lava channel slowly growing less and less as they moved upwards. The guards laughed at their terrible state, one holding out a bottle of water to them.
But instead of offering it to them, he poured it onto the floor and they all laughed as they watched it steam up once it hit the metal.
They finally reached the top and were pushed out of the elevator, gasping as they felt the air conditioned air touch their faces. They were dragged over to a computer at one side of the building. And when it switched on, Wydorm glared back at them. "So, how are our guests?"
"Great," Iron told him. "Thanks. I needed to lose a few pounds and your cells probably helped me sweat it away." The other two nodded, as Wydorm frowned.
"Well, I have something interesting to tell you. Whilst you were locked up, somebody broke into my home last night. They stole the book you tried to take from us." That surprised them, Shining imagining Flash having the book. Hopefully, he would be smart and take it back to Canterlot. "Any comments?"
"Well it wasn't us," Skybreaker stated. "We've been in your lovely care all night."
"I know there was another person with you. And that you came here on a ship with another pilot. Tell me where they are or I'll put you back in those cells and throw away the key."
Shining shrugged. "Couldn't tell you if we wanted to."
"I think you know where it is," Wydorm stated. "And you will tell me." The three simply stared at him, showing he wasn't going to get any information from them. "Fine. If you want to die, you might as well do it entertaining the people." He turned to the guards. "Send them to the coliseum." The guards nodded and the computer switched off, whilst the guards pulled the three to their feet.
Back at the Wonderbolt, Flash was looking through the book he had liberated.
He had no idea what the words in the book meant, but he knew Twilight or someone else would be able to figure out what at least some of it meant. And once they translated that, they might be able to translate the rest of it.
He closed the book and placed it on the table, as Soarin was busy doing some more repairs to the ship. All the while, Springer was continuing to try and figure out a way to save the others. And as he did, he suddenly noticed Shining's signal reappear. "Guys. The others are back on the map."
Flash and Soarin moved over to the computer, Pixel appearing along with it. "Any idea why they've been brought back above ground?"
"No idea," Springer sighed. "But I doubt they're letting them go." It was then that the dot began to move, leaving the building. "They're heading somewhere else." All they could do was watch, as the dot slowly moved away from the last building and towards the coliseum.
"That can't be good," Flash gulped before the dot suddenly disappeared. "No, no, no!" He turned to Springer, "what happened?"
"I don't know," Springer replied. "The signal just gave out. Whatever those heat cells they were in are, they must have done something to screw up the gauntlet's systems."
"Well they're heat cells," Soarin pointed out. "Maybe they're cells that are really hot? How much heat can your gauntlets withstand?"
"They can be in temperatures of over six hundred degrees without any serious damage," Springer replied. "The Jedi wouldn't even feel them get hot. But prolonged exposure to intense heat, even below six hundred degrees, must have caused a small circuit to burn out."
"So what do we do?" Soarin asked, turning to Flash.
The Padawan stared at the coliseum, nodding as he realised there was only one thing they could do. "We find a way to save them." Soarin nodded, Springer agree. However, someone else wasn't in agreement.
"Oh, you won't be saving anyone." They all spun around, but saw nobody there. "But you'll get to join your friends again, when you're fighting with them in the arena." Before anyone could say anything, a black tendril shot out of a nearby shadow and wrapped itself around Soarin's neck.
He gasped, as he was pulled towards that shadow and his head was slammed into the metal.
He flinched, as he struggled to pry off the tendril. Meanwhile, Flash ignited his Lightsaber and charged forward. He prepared to try and slice the tendril off of Soarin's neck, but realised one quickly move by the tendril could have Soarin become his new target.
"Do something!" Soarin gasped, as the shadow tightened around him. But Flash had no idea how to get it off of him.
But then, a laser shot past and struck the tendril before anyone realised what was happening. The tendril snapped and Soarin gasped, as the shadow around his neck faded away. When the tendril snapped, a cry of pain filled the air and Flash turned to see Springer with his nose blaster out.
"Nice shot." He turned to Soarin and helped him back to his feet, Soarin rubbing his neck as he panted.
The pair then stood back to back, Flash holding his saber at the ready whilst Soarin took out his blasters. "Show yourself!" Soarin cried, "come out so I can blast you to pieces."
"I'd rather not," the voice replied. "Why don't you put your weapons down and accept your fate. I'm sure your friends will be happy to see you, when you're all sent to the coliseum to face justice."
"Justice?" Flash asked. "What did they do to make them worthy of being sent to fight to the death? Defend themselves from a psychopath?"
"Falsifying their reasons for coming here. And based on those weapons you stole last night, being Jedi. That profession is quite illegal in this part of the galaxy."
"Why is it a crime to be a Jedi here?" Springer asked. "What did the Jedi ever do to make them hated here?"
"What didn't you do?" The voice replied. "Walking around, like you're better than everyone else. Thinking everything you do is what needs to be done. Using your freaky mind powers to always get your way. I saw what you did to that servant. Bending his mind to your will. What gives you the right to do something like that?"
Flash frowned. He didn't want to do that to the man, but he also didn't want to get caught. "What about you? Locking our friends in ovens, just because they won't tell you anything. The rest of the galaxy realised that kind of punishment was wrong a long time ago."
"I'm not taking ethical advice from a Jedi!" A tendril shot out of the shadows and almost grabbed Flash's Lightsaber, but he dodged it and slashed the blade down. "GYAH!" He pulled his sliced tendril back, as Soarin fired at where it retreated to.
"He could be anywhere!" The pilot cried, as they looked around. "In any shadow."
"Any shadow?" Springer slowly let that sink in before an idea popped into his head. "That's it!" He turned to the computer. "Pixel. Turn the light up as brightly as you can. So bright that they fill every nook and cranny!" Pixel replied before the lights grew brighter, Flash and Soarin flinching at it.
As they grew brighter, the shadows in the ship began to disappear.
Only one shadow remained, being a puddle of shadows on the floor. "Augh!" The puddle cried, clearly not enjoying being in the light.
Soarin quickly started blasting at the shadow, but it began to run away. It moved along the ground, zigzagging to prevent Soarin from hitting it. It then moved up the wall and into one of the ventilation shafts. "He's on the run!" Soarin cheered, as Pixel told him something. "Seriously?"
"What did she say?" Flash asked.
"The ship can't maintain this level of brightness," Springer told him. "If we keep them this bright, they'll eventually drain the power cells and we won't be able to take off."
Flash frowned, "we need to catch that guy before the power runs out."
"No problem," Springer told him. "Pixel. Shut all but one of the ventilation exits. Then blast some cooling solution through the system and force him out of that one exit. We'll be waiting to blast him." Pixel then told him something. "Seriously?"
"What?" Flash really wished he could understand that computer.
"She said the vents don't close. That system broke two years ago." Flash turned to Soarin, who frowned.
"It's been on my to-do list." He held up his blasters. "We'll have to do this the old fashioned way." Flash nodded back and they headed out of the cockpit, the three having their weapons at the ready in cast it attacked again.
First, they checked the engine room. The last thing they wanted, was this guy ruining the engines.
They headed into the room, Flash pointing in different directions to tell them which way to go. The other two nodded and they all headed in that direction, each ready to attack if the shadow guy attacked. The room was just as bright as the others and with nothing disconnected from the floor, there was nothing to hide under.
Springer was the first to arrive at the vents, his eyes unleashing a light that scanned the exit. "No sight of bio-matter on the vent. So if that guy did come through her, he's the kind of guy that doesn't leave a trace."
"He's gotta be somewhere," Flash replied. He then extinguished his Lightsaber and held out a hand, focusing on trying to locate the individual throughout the ship. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't locate a life sign other than him and Soarin. "Where are you..."
"Right behind you." Flash's eyes went wide and he spun around, only to suddenly get hit by a long black tendril.
The whip slammed into him and he was knocked backwards, crashing into the wall and letting out a moan as he dropped his Lightsaber. And as he slid to the ground, the shadowy figure took a relatively human shape. "HE'S HERE!"
Soarin and Springer made their way towards him, as the figure exploded into a dark cloud.
That cloud shot towards them and slammed into the pair, knocking them back. But as they were thrown back, the two fired their blasters. They hit the shadow and made the being inside cry out, forcing him back as Soarin and Springer hit the ground.
Flash pushed himself up and summoned his Lightsaber, charging at the figure as he ignited it. He swung it towards the opponent, but the shadowy cloud dodged the attack and Flash had to be careful not to hit anything. This allowed the shadow to form behind him and swing his whip-like arm into Flash's back.
"Gaaah!" He was thrown forwards and crashed into the ground, his sword once again falling from his grasp. And before he could recover, the shadow grabbed his leg and started pulling him across the ground. Flash yelled, as he was dragged through the engine room.
Soarin and Springer had recovered and attempted to blast the shadow, but the figure managed to avoid their attacks and swung Flash around. He slammed into the wall and cried out before being pulled out of the room, moaning as he was pulled through the corridor and smashed into the wall.
Flash moaned, feeling like a pinata as he was bashed around. He needed to escape.
And then, he was pulled past the spot he had left Iron and Skybreaker's weapons. The Lightsabers caught his attention and he quickly called upon one, though found it difficult due to being swung around so much.
But one eventually came flying towards him and flew into his hand, Flash igniting Iron's weapon before swinging it back at the shadow. "GYAAAH!" He released Flash and staggered forward, allowing Flash to stagger back and get to his feet.
The shadow swerved around and leaned against the wall, as Soarin and Springer arrived on the scene. Soarin handed Flash his Lightsaber and they all turned their glare on the injured figure, who suddenly exploded into a large cloud that filled up the entire corridor.
The three were quickly overwhelmed and all screamed out, Soarin and Springer firing at random whilst Flash swung his blade around. But they didn't hit a thing and eventually, the three found themselves getting slammed by a large tendril.
They all cried out, smashing into the walls with Flash even hitting the doors to a closet.
As Flash fell to the ground, the door opened and Flash found himself staring at a bunch of dusty cleaning supplies. Clearly, Soarin wasn't much of a cleaner either. And as he caught sight of something that gave him an idea, he heard Soarin and Springer cry out.
Both had the tendrils around their necks, Soarin gasping for air whilst Springer's neck threatened to break off his body. Soarin had lost both his blasters and Springer's blaster was pointed away from anything worth shooting. And as the pair struggled against the hold, Flash felt a tendril beginning to wrap around his body.
He flinched at the tight hold, as he reached out to grab what he had seen. He knew it was a long shot, but he had to try.
As the tendrils squeezed his legs tightly, he managed to grab the hose and slam the end into the tendril. He reached for the button, but it was out of reach. Luckily, he was able to use the force to activate it and the machine burst into life. A loud sucking sound filled the air, as the shadowy tendril was sucked into the hose.
"What?" The shadow cried, as more of his body soon followed, "No! Stop!" Bit by bit, he was sucked into the ship's vacuum and he screamed in fear and pain. Springer and Soarin were eventually released, as he clawed against the ground.
Flash moved the vacuum closer to his main body, allowing more and more of him to be sucked inside. "It's time you cleaned up your act. Let's see how you like being imprisoned against your will!"
"You!" He growled, as his grip on the floor slackened. "You...SUUUUUUUUUUCK!" With that, his entire form was hovered up into the hose and he completely disappeared. And once he was gone, Flash cut the vacuum's power and removed the dirt holster from the rest of the machine.
Since it was a glass container, they were able to see the dark cloud currently floating inside of it. They could even hear his voice, though it was muffled and quiet. They all smirked at it, though they feared he would find a way to break free.
"Give me a second. I know how to keep him in there." Soarin ran off and returned with a roll of the most useful product in the galaxy. Duct tape.
They quickly got to work, wrapping the tape around the container until it was completely covered, There was no way he was getting out of there. "Pixel," Springer called out, "you can turn off the lights." The light lowered and they headed towards the cockpit, where they were once again faced with a problem.
"How the heck do we get in there?" Soarin asked, staring at the coliseum.
"I have no idea," Flash replied. "But there's gotta be a way to free them before they're sent in to fight to the death." But he wasn't sure how, meaning they only had one option. "I'm gonna head over there. Get the lay of the land until we can figure out a way to rescue them. You stay here and make sure smokey doesn't find a way to escape. I'll call you if I need any help."
Soarin nodded, as he threw his cloak on and took out a hoverboard. Once outside the ship, he flew up the side of the canyon and headed towards the coliseum. It would take him a while to get there. But hopefully, he would find a way to free his teammates before it was too late.
Shining, Iron and Skybreaker were still exhausted. On the transport, they found themselves unable to stay awake and drifted off.
They didn't sleep long, since they were shocked awake as soon as they arrived. Luckily, years of training had allowed them to get by on very little sleep. As they climbed out of the transport, they looked up to see the building they had arrived at.
The structure was a giant coliseum, with walls forty meters higher. The structure was located on a round slab or rock, with a mote surrounding it that was twenty feet deep. Said mote actually went under the coliseum, as a section of the rock it was on was suspended in the air. From what they could guess, only a single strong pillar was holding the whole thing up.
They walked towards the coliseum, as a bridge was extended towards it. They carefully made their way over the bridge and once they were on the other side, the bridge retracted back to prevent anyone from getting across.
The trio were led inside the building, down into a lower area where they would remain until their time to fight.
There was a single large cell, which they were all thrown inside. Once the doors were locked, they could finally talk. "Great," Iron growled, "so this is how it ends. Fighting to the death, in some nutcase's arena. Not how I wanted to go."
"We're not dead yet," Shining replied. "Flash is still out there and by the sounds of it, he's working to free us."
"How? He stole a book. How is that gonna free us?"
"He didn't just steal a book," Skybreaker pointed out. "Hopefully, he got our weapons back as well. Now he just needs to figure out how to get us out of here and we can escape."
"Easier said than done," Iron replied. "I'm not trying to be negative or anything, but how are we supposed to get out of this when everyone on this planet wants to see us dead?" The other two tried to answer, but they had no idea. Hopefully, Flash would be able to find a way out of this for them.
Flash had been racing towards the coliseum as fast as he could, making sure to keep an eye out for anyone that might try and stop him.
He soon arrived at the location and as he did, he jumped off his board and ran to the top of a hill. He jumped down and stared at the building, using his gauntlet to get a better picture of the place and zoom in. "You guys seeing this?"
"Yeah," Soarin replied, "we see it. Any idea how you're gonna get in there?" Flash did not have any idea how he would get in there. He needed to find a way to get close, without drawing attention to himself. But how?
He then spotted someone walking around outside the building. A guard in a suit that covered them from head to toe, an electro staff in their possession.
He let out a hum and realised that was his opening. He had never manipulated someone from such a distance before. He wasn't even sure it was possible. But he had to try.
He reached out and focused on the man, whilst remaining close to the ground and out of sight. He used all the control he could muster, so much so that he was already feeling himself get a headache. But as he focused on the man, he gave a single simple command. "Come here. Walk over and don't notice me."
The man remained where he was and Flash groaned, pushing himself to his limits as he repeated the command. And this time, the man actually turned towards him.
He took a single step, then another, followed by a few more. Flash smiled, but this caused him to lose focus for a moment and the man stopped. Flash refocused and the man was once again moving towards the hill, slowly making his way closer and closer.
Eventually, he arrived around the hill and Flash was able to relax. But as he did, the man started to come around. "What the?" He looked around. "What am I doing here?" Before he could see anything, Flash rushed over and chopped him on the back of the neck.
He gasped, as he was knocked unconscious and fell to the ground. Flash quickly grabbed him and dragged the man around the hill, whilst beginning to take off his suit. A few moments later, the man was in his underwear whilst Flash was dressed in his suit.
He picked up his electro staff and headed around the hill, making his way to the coliseum.
He arrived at the edge of the mote, as someone on the other side spotted him. "Hey! Why'd you go behind that hill?" Flash panicked for a moment, but kept his cool and came up with a reason. "I thought I spotted something behind it. But there was nothing there."
"You were behind it for a while," the other guy pointed out.
"Wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything. But it was nothing." He looked up at the building, then spotted one of the extendable bridges. "Mind if we switch places. I really need the bathroom."
"I told you not to drink the jumbo," the other told him before Flash extended the bridge. Once the other guy was across, Flash headed over and the bridge quickly retracted. If Flash was caught now, there was no way he could escape from this place. Either they all got out, or Flash would be joining his friends.
Walking into the building, he looked around but couldn't see any sign that might tell him where the prisoners were.
He made his way through the arena, checking every room and section for any sign that might help him find his friends. But every room looked the same. "Why build something so big, when you're just gonna leave it empty?" He got his answer, when he stepped through another door and found himself back outside.
He was inside the main area of the arena, where hundreds if not thousands of seats surrounded a large battlefield.
Said battlefield was a pretty big place, being egg shaped with a stone floor. Said floor had several holes within it. In the centre, there was a long trench that led from one end of the battlefield to the other. Stairs could be seen on either side of the trench, allowing the fighters to climb in and out of it with ease. The walls of the trench also had holes in the side of it, which Flash guessed led to the other holes scattered around the battlefield. The place wasn't just about two people fighting it out. The combatants could use these tunnels and trenches to get the drop on their opponents.
Flash stared at the battlefield and realised if he couldn't find a way to get the others out, they would have to step into that arena and get themselves killed.
"Come on," Flash groaned. "There's gotta be a way to get them out." He was in a guard's uniform, so there was a chance he could just sneak in and liberate them before anyone caught on. But he still needed to find where they were.
As Flash stepped around the outskirts of the arena, he arrived at the centre of one side. And located there was a special box, most likely for VIPs who were watching the fight. And as he got closer, he heard a voice. "Any sign of Rimarun?" He quickly pressed himself to the side of the box, as the voice continued to speak.
"No sign of him," another voice replied. "We've searched everywhere for him, but he's nowhere in sight. We haven't seen him since last night."
"When the book went missing," the first voice replied. "Is it possible that he went after the thieves. Why didn't he tell anyone where he was going?"
"You know Rimarun. He prefers to do things on his own. He was probably worried if he told us, we'd ruin whatever plan he had. Can't say it hasn't happened before."
"True. Hopefully, he tracked the criminals back to their ship. If that's the case, he may be returning with a bounty of captives. But if he hasn't returned yet, he's either miles away or..."
"Or?"
"Doesn't matter. For now, we focus on the captives we have. They'll be in for a serious fight tomorrow. We're gonna make a fortune, selling tickets to their gruesome death. If they somehow manage to survive to the end, we'll simply fill the stadium with lava and watch them all burn to death."
"What if someone tries to free them?"
"Impossible. There are guards stationed everywhere. There's no way they're getting away from here. I'd rather destroy this arena, then let them escape."
"Destroy the arena?"
"I placed explosives on the main support of this entire island. If anyone tries to get away, I'll simply blow it and the arena will crash into the mote. And when that happens, the ground beneath the mote will break apart and it'll fall into the lava stream below."
"You would kill everyone here, even yourself, just to keep the prisoners from escaping?"
"Of course not. There will be ships to quickly evacuate anyone, should they need to be evacuated. And the first area to be dunked into the lava will be the battlefield. If the prisoners are in there, they won't survive ten seconds. Once they're dealt with, I'll have the rest of the stadium lifted out of the lava."
"And if a ship arrives to try and airlift the prisoners to safety?"
"The coliseum has built in anti-aircraft cannons. Any ship not registered to their systems will be blown out of the sky. I've taken every precaution. There'll even be a shield above the stadium, so they won't be able to fly out. With a simple flick of a switch, the shield will lower until they're pinned to the ground. Those fools are not going to escape."
"If you say so." Flash listened to them, as they both turned to leave the place. He tried to listen to the rest of their conversation, but they were too far away.
He stood there, letting what he had just learned sink in. Getting his friends out, might be more difficult than he had thought. But as he let all the info he had just gotten sink in, a plan started forming in his head. It was an insane plan, but it might just be his only way to save his friends. If it didn't work, they would all end up dead. But Flash couldn't let his fears get the better of him. He would save his friends and they would all get off this infernal planet. No matter what it took.