//------------------------------//
// Ch4: Moonlight Nightmare 
// Story: Lost Kingdom 
// by Riku006 
//------------------------------//

“Skye, I don’t understand,” Dustin stated as the three of them stood in the dark room. “Who are ‘they’?” Due to his confinement, Dustin was unable to see out the window as Skye and Claire had. The agent ignored him for a moment, and as she stared off into space Dustin swore her saw her eyes glow slightly. But the sight went as quickly as it came, and the special agent turned back to face him.

“There were men down there approaching the building.” She said, her gaze stern and her tone serious and uncompromising. “They are here to steal the shield, and kill anyone who attempts to stop them.”

“What?” Claire nearly screamed before Skye clamped a hand over her mouth, fixing the young lady with an intimidating glare.

“Do not give away our position.”

“What do we do?” Dustin asked, turning to Skye. “How many were there?”

“Give me a moment.” 

Skye stepped back, closed her eyes and straightened her arms slightly, hands out and palms facing forward. As she stood there the light from the moon increased outside, meaning it must have escaped from the clouds. Dustin shook his head as he thought he saw another trick his eyes played; small spots of light seemed to start glimmering in Skye’s hair. After a few seconds, the light dimmed once more and Skye released her pose, returning to her normal appearance.

“There were five men in the group we witnessed, though they were joined by a sixth at the door,” Skye explained, pulling out her phone for a moment. “There are another four entering from the other side of the building.”

“How’d you know-” Dustin asked, but stopped as he too was fixed with a glare.

“That does not matter. Reinforcements from the D.S.I will have noticed their arrival and are sure to be on their way, but until then we must make sure the shield is safe. I need the two of you to take it and hide; the teacher’s lounge should suffice. Once I restore the power, you need to make your way to the car park. I will meet you there.”

The two teenagers looked at each other before Claire turned back to argue, but Skye was no longer there, the only trace that she had been a key on the corner of a nearby bench.

“This is fucking crazy,” Claire swore.

“I know,” Dustin replied, barely keeping his own fears in check, “But right now we’ve got to move.” Claire didn’t need to be told twice, scooping up the key and rushing over to the case and unlocking it, gently passing the shield to Dustin before grabbing hold of the wheelchair handles and quickly pushing him out of the room.

They took a left turn once out of the room, passing other lab rooms as they headed for the door at the end of the corridor. With the lights off, Dustin looked around at the seemingly alien building they found themselves in. The shadows clung tightly to every corner and crevice, unfortunately reminding him of a few horror games he’d seen. After rushing through the door, Claire swiftly closed it and slid the lock into place before moving them near the small kitchen bench.

And with that they waited, the sounds of gunfire erupting throughout the quiet building.


~~~


As the door to the teachers’ lounge clicked shut, the sparkling indigo smoke swiftly dropped from the ceiling and rocketed across the floor, squeezing beneath the emergency stairwell door. Once on the other side, the smoke swirled and condensed until the form of Skye Regal was visible once more. Her delay in waiting for Dustin and Claire to move may have given the enemy some time to close in, but she couldn’t just leave them and hope they were okay. They were still young after all, especially by Skye’s standards.

Although quiet, the sound of footsteps on the stairs below reached Skye’s ears. Glancing down through the small gap in the centre of the stairwell as much as she dared, she could see shadows cautiously ascending, weapons pointed upwards. She stepped back carefully and took in a deep, reassuring breath. It had been at least four years since she had last seen combat. She only hoped her skills were as adequate as they were in the past, for Dustin and Claire’s sakes.

Focusing, Skye stretched out her arm and closed her eyes in concentration, creating the image of a dark orb in her mind. Within moments her hand became engulfed in a dark blue aura, and the envisioned orb began fading into existence. Skye opened her eyes and, once satisfied, undid the two buttons of her suit jacket and pulled out her pistol, magically attaching a silencer onto the end.

And then she lowered her arm, causing the orb to drop like a cinder block. The second her magical grip was released, Skye quickly moved to the railing and jumped over, adrenaline taking control.

As she jumped, time seemed to slow to the point of stopping, and in those few moments of eternity Skye took in as much detail as she could. The group of intruders were halfway to reaching the second floor, their attention now turning to the rapidly falling sphere. All but the one furthest up the stairs were armed with combat rifles; with the Silence Field outside blocking all sight and sound from within, they were free to create as much noise as possible.

As Skye’s perception of time began accelerating once more, two dark blue lines of light sprung to life on her back. From those lines two pristine wings silently unfurled, their feathers dyed a navy blue. She opened her wings as far as she could in the confined gap she fell though, though she did notice a slight decrease in her falling speed.

The men armed with weapons quickly fired on the orb, though any bullets that managed to strike it were simply absorbed, never to be seen again. This was exactly what Skye had hoped for, and as she fell, she fired upon them. She quickly past all of them and the ground floor rapidly approached her, yet no amount of fear ever entered her mind. The orb, now resting on the ground, burst into a small grey cloud below her. Skye landed on the cloud with enough force to break through it, but the resistance it and her wings offered were enough to lessen the impact as she landed with a muted thud. As Skye stood up her wings quickly retracted into her body, and she turned to look back up at her handiwork.

Four of the five gunmen were dead; Skye’s bullets finding their mark in either their necks or the top of their heads while the fifth was hissing in pain, clutching a now bleeding shoulder. That left the man standing at the second floor, and although Skye could not see his face she definitely could see him holding the railing with a white-knuckle grip, his body trembling. He turned to continue climbing but a blue glow enveloped his shins, tripping him to land face first on the concrete floor. 

With that threat dealt with Skye reloaded her pistol, turned to the door and again inhaled deeply before fading into smoke once more and sliding under the door. The sparkling cloud raced along the floors heading towards the lobby, where she remembered seeing the switchboard. Upon reaching her destination, the smoke that was Skye shot to a shadowed corner of the roof. The other four intruders had gathered in the room and were holding their position; weapons pointed at the entrance, the elevator and the door which she had entered from.

This shall be troublesome, Skye thought as she let her wispy form sink back to the floor slowly before spreading herself on the ground as thin as possible. Checking with her magic to make sure the moon would not naturally emerge from the clouds, Skye began creeping along the floor towards the two closest soldiers.

Once she was placed right in-front of their feet, Skye sent forth the tiniest strand of her smoke like form, allowing it to snake up their body un-noticed. The strain of using this much magic at once was starting to make itself known as a dull ache, but it was still a minor issue that wouldn’t affect her. Once the strands had reached below their eyes, Skye reached back into her memory for a form she never particularly liked using, unless it was for scaring young ones. For the soldiers, they felt nothing but a slight chill where the strand was; something which was blocked out by military training. But when the strand flashed in-front of their eyes, their hearts leapt into their throats as Skye projected an image into their minds.

In that brief flash, they saw the image of a large equine; its blue armour and standing out against its midnight black coat, which was marked with lavender splotches and a crescent moon on its flank. Its horn was sharpened to a point, and the wings it had were spread with intent to intimidate. The mane sparkled like the night sky and flowed despite the lack of wind, and its piercing, draconic teal eyes and mouth of razor sharp teeth completed the terrifying visage. The two barely had enough time to yell in surprise and fear and fire in retaliation before they were shot through the throat from below. One of the surviving two looked around, quickly spotting the feminine hand holding a silenced gun materialising from sparkling smoke.

“Fall back!” He yelled, his voice that of a young man as he opened fire on the smoke. The hand and gun quickly disintegrated as the bullets whizzed through the smoke, seemingly without consequence. The young soldier backed up to a nearby table and flipped it over, using it as a barricade while his cohort also fired at the apparition.

Skye quickly faded from sight, taking human form behind the reception desk. She was panting slightly, as she hadn’t expected to be seen especially given the lighting of her surroundings. With two soldiers having a fairly good estimation as to where she was hiding, this skirmish had suddenly tilted out of her favour.

Focus, you have bested foes far greater than they, Skye mentally reminded herself. Taking a calming breath and praying the soldiers didn’t approach her, she closed her eyes and concentrated once more, palms outstretched. Again the moon emerged from the cover of clouds, and in her mind’s eye Skye saw all its pale light fell upon. Through the glass doors she saw the soldier who spotted her was still crouched behind the table, but his companion was leaning against the wall, his weapon trained at her hiding place.

Turning her magical gaze to outside the building, Skye searched for something worth throwing before deciding on a rock buried deep within a small garden nearby. With a quiet exhale she released her hold on the moon’s light, allowing it to once more dive underneath the cover of the now heavy clouds. Skye took note of them; they could prove useful very soon. Ignoring the growing headache and focusing her magic, she crafted another illusion that lay within the boundaries of the enemy’s Silence Field and levitated the rock over to it.

Within moments, the sound of breaking glass filled the air as the rock sailed into the room through the glass door. The enemy leaning against the wall looked behind him to see Skye standing defiantly outside; a sly, confident grin adorning her face.

“Eat this witch!” He shouted, unloading a payload of bullets at her. But despite his aim being true, each and every bullet zoomed through her as if she wasn’t there. Before his sheltered comrade could warn him, Skye swiftly rose from cover and planted a bullet in the back of the soldiers’ head. He fell, dead before he hit the ground, which left her only one adversary to deal with.

“Shit!” The young man swore, bringing a hand to the communication piece in his ear. “Team one, abort the mission. I repeat, abort the mission.” With that, he rose from cover, forcing Skye to hide again as he opened fire while falling back through the door.

Skye grabbed the desk she hid behind with her azure aura and rammed it into the doorway, blocking the entrance. And just in case her young foe tried to attack her while her back was turned, she concentrated harder and began clenching her open hand. As she did this, the density of the table increased to the point that when she was finished, the table had six times the mass it did before, yet had not physically changed.

Although the table blocked out a substantial amount of light from outside, Skye could still see well enough to make her way to the switchboard near where she had hidden. She took another deep breath, her blue iris’ beginning to glow as she could feel magically generated electricity surging through her hand.

“Let us hope this works.” She muttered to herself.


~~~


Dustin sat in silence, listening to any sounds that would make themselves known. The gunfire had cut off suddenly only to pick up again a few minutes later, though it was somewhat more muffled than before. 

As he sat there, so many questions were running circles in Dustin’s mind. What the hell was going on, why was this happening, and what role did Skye and the shield resting against the side of his chair play in it? And then there were the questions surrounding their situation. Was she alright? Did she make it to the switchboard outside, or was she... Dustin shook those thoughts out of his head. Skye would pull through. She had to. Hearing another sound, Dustin looked to his right, seeing the silhouette of Claire sitting on the floor next to him. She had her knees brought up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them, her face hidden as she looked down. He sighed before slowly placing a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look back at him.

“It’ll be okay,” he told her, though he didn’t fully believe the words himself. “Skye said she’d get us out of here.”

“But...” Claire stuttered, proving she was close to losing it. “But what if she isn’t able to? What if she’s dead? What then?” Dustin didn’t answer, just hoping his presence was enough to help calm her down. Claire looked forward to the drawers of the kitchen, her voice now a whisper. “Why the hell is this happening Dusty? What’s going on?”

For a moment, Dustin remained silent, thinking hard on that very question. No clear reasons came to mind, but his eyes gained some resolve when he looked back at her.

“I don’t know. But once Skye gets us out of here, we’ll make her tell us everything.”

The two friends held each other’s gaze for a moment before the power came back on. Claire stood immediately as both of them looked up at the neon lights with hopeful smiles on their faces.

“She did it.” Claire said, almost as if she didn’t believe it.

“Told you she would. Now come on, we’ve got to get out of here.” Nodding, Claire moved past him and unlocked the door as Dustin slowly caught up, balancing the shield on his lap. But as he reached the door and Claire opened it, the two friends saw someone they weren’t expecting to see. Standing near the door of their lab was Mr. Bunt, his face mirroring the shock and confusion his students wore minus the small cut and the bruise surrounding it on his cheek.

“Claire? Dustin?” He asked, his face becoming a mixture of worry and frustration as he quickly closing the distance between them. “What are you two still doing here?”

“We were about to pack up when the lights went off,” Dustin replied, showing him the shield. “Miss Regal told us to hide with the relic until she got the power back on.”

“Sorry about staying back too late.” Claire added, but Bunt quickly waved it off.

“Now’s not the time for that. The important thing is that both of you and the shield are safe. Come on; let’s get out of here before something else goes wrong.” Claire nodded and began pushing Dustin as they followed their lecturer back to the elevator.  As they got in however, something was sounding alarms in Dustin’s mind. It seemed almost too convenient that when he and Claire were in danger, along comes Mr. Bunt from out of nowhere to lead them to safety. And what about the intruders? How did Bunt get past them? These thoughts circled faster and faster around Dustin’s mind, and it took a great deal of self-control not to let it show on his face.

As the elevator began descending, Dustin couldn’t stand it any longer. “If you don’t mind me asking sir, why’d you come back?”

“Well... I’d forgotten some folders in my office and saw a group of men breaking in. I was afraid they were trying to steal the shield. I was able to sneak past them to get upstairs and that’s when I found you two.”

“Then what happened to your face?” Claire asked, catching on to Dustin’s line of questioning.

“Well, I was panicking and I slipped as I climbed the stairs. But I’ll be fine.”

As Bunt didn’t look away from the elevator doors during his brief explanation, Claire shot him a disbelieving look while Dustin went back to his thoughts. Bunt’s reasons did little to calm the storm of questions and theories running around his head, and he also noticed Bunt’s index finger tapping against his leg; a habit of his when nervous.

Before Dustin could ask more questions, the doors opened to a wrecked lobby. Bullet holes were spread around the walls, a table had been flipped on its side and the glass doorway had been obliterated, as if someone had driven a truck through it and littered the surrounding floor with sharp glass fragments in the process. Lying prone on the floor were three of the men Skye had described. They all wore balaclavas and the same dark combat fatigues, which seemed familiar to Dustin for reasons he couldn’t focus on right now. But there was one thing about them that was getting a lot of his attention, while also making his blood run cold.

Every single one of them was dead, lying in a small pool of their own blood.

Claire’s hand shot to her mouth in shock while Bunt visibly paled before stopping the elevator doors from closing again. The sound of more gunfire from outside snapped the two friends from their shocked state as Bunt led them to the door, carefully avoiding the bodies strewn around. Dustin shivered a little as a light breeze blew past and found that, apart from the reception desk laying a few metres from the entrance, everything outside remained the same. The lights from the city centre lit up the underside of heavy clouds that now firmly locked away the moonlight and although it wasn’t raining just yet Dustin could smell the moisture in the air.

Quickly moving from around the corner of the building was Skye, her suit jacket undone and a gun in her hand. The instant she saw Dustin and Claire unharmed her face lit up with joy, but that moment died once she laid eyes on Bunt. Before anyone could object, Skye raised her arms, both hands clasped around the pistol as she aimed it at the lecturer.

“Skye, what are you-” Claire was interrupted as she felt an arm encircle her neck and something cool and metallic rest against her temple.

“Don’t move.” Bunt told her, his words dripping with malice as he glared daggers at Skye.

“Mr. Bunt, what the hell-” Dustin argued before Bunt lightly shoved him away with his foot. He rolled a small distance, dropping the shield to his side, before stopping himself and grabbing the wheels to turn around. But Bunt’s glare made his demands clear; move and Claire would be shot.

“You cold-hearted monster” Skye growled, her eyebrows furrowed in anger. This only produced an arrogant smile from Bunt.

“I could say the same for you, witch.” He replied as the low rumble of thunder sounded off far above them. “Now, unless we’d like to give Claire a new hole to breathe out of, you’ll let the two of us leave with the shield.”

“You asshole!” Dustin shouted. “How could you?”

“How could I? You really think I don’t hear the insults? ‘There goes Mr. Cunt. Mr. Cunt this, Mr. Cunt that.’ I know for a fact you all think of me like some bumbling old fool, so doing this is as easy as breathing.” 

The response shocked Dustin. Mr. Bunt mentally snapping was something he and Vince would sometimes joke about, but he never imagined it would actually happen. In Bunt’s grasp, Claire visibly paled, her blue eyes scanning everything in an attempt to find a path to freedom, though they often returned to Dustin.

“Now then,” Bunt went on, focussing back to Skye. “Drop your weapon and stand back.” 

Skye just stared at him, wishing with all her might her reinforcements would hurry up and arrive. But looking at Claire’s panicked expression, she realised she had to comply. Releasing a large sigh, Skye knelt down and carefully placed the pistol on the ground and stood up, taking a few steps back as she raised her hands. She closed her eyes, expecting Bunt to ramble on some more about his superiority.

What she didn’t expect was that Bunt would extend his arm and fire, hitting her square in the chest.

“NO!” Dustin yelled while Claire looked on in horror as Skye fell to the ground now as limp as a doll, the thunder roaring much louder now as the first few drops of rain began falling. Dustin turned to face Bunt only to see the murderer now facing him, gun once more pointed at Claire’s skull.

“The shield, Dustin.” He stated in an emotionless voice. “Now.”

Dustin glared at him before seeing Claire, her eyes now glistening with tears of fear. As much as he hated it, he had no choice. Looking down, he found the shield on the ground barely a foot away. It took a little manoeuvring, but he eventually picked up the shield. Damn it, he mentally lamented. I need to do something. But what? If it wasn’t for this stupid chair- Bunt’s sudden roar of pain snapped Dustin out of his internal fretting, and the sight shocked him more than anything else ever had and time seemed to slow down.

Bunt released his arm from around Claire’s neck, as he now reached for the bloody stump that once was his shoulder. His right arm had been completely severed, the hand’s grip on his gun now fading. But the most shocking thing was Skye. Not only was she still alive, but at that moment she looked like an avenging angel. Her right arm was pointed down as four blades had extended from her suit sleeve, almost resembling a wing as they were coated in Bunt’s blood. Even though minutes seemed to pass like hours for Dustin, Skye still moved with graceful speed as she quickly grabbed Bunt’s gun and shot him through the head.

As another thunderclap sounded and Bunt fell to the ground, Dustin’s perception of time returned to normal, though the shock travelling through his system rendered him immobile for a few moments. Even as Claire hurriedly embraced him, Dustin still felt numb as he looked at Bunt’s corpse and replayed his execution in his mind.

“I am sorry for forcing you to witness that.” A voice said, snapping Dustin out of his stunned state. Both teenagers looked at the special agent, standing before them seemingly unharmed. The only evidence she had been shot was the hole in her shirt, though un-ruptured skin was all that could be seen through it. “Are the two of you alright? You are not hurt are you?” Both of them shook their heads as Claire released Dustin and stepped forward, looking the government agent in the eye.

“T-Thank you,” she stammered as she smiled weakly at Skye, who replied in kind.

“You are welcome.”

As Dustin smiled, something inside the building caught his eye; a shadow leaning against a wall, with something raised in Skye’s general direction.

“Watch out!” Dustin shouted, pushing Skye out of the way before something slammed hard into his right shoulder, which erupted in a fire of pain inside his body as he toppled out of his wheelchair.

“DUSTY!” Claire screamed, grabbing hold of him as Dustin’s senses were being overridden by the explosion of pain in his shoulder. Shock robbed him of his voice, only allowing him haggard breaths as he and Claire kept pressure on the wound. Despite their efforts though, Dustin could feel his grip on consciousness fading away. Everything around him seemed slowed and muffled. In the now pouring rain his eyes caught sight of Skye, her features contorted into a mask of rage, as with one hand extended she miraculously caught a bolt of lightning and channelled it through her body, frying the enemy within the building.

But it was Claire’s tears streaked face that held Dustin’s gaze as darkness consumed his vision. Seeing the fear in her eyes, he slowly raised his hand from his shoulder until it found its mark resting against her cheek. She froze for a moment before shaking it away and guiding Dustin’s hand back over his wound. Dustin tried to say something, but his body was too heavy, too unresponsive.

Then his vision of this nightmarish night faded away, unconsciousness claiming him.