Shutting off the shields was easy enough. They were already struggling thanks to the interference, so I barely had to do anything. After I shut all the computers down, the three of us headed outside.

I held my hand out as we stepped past the parking lot’s sliding gate and let out a sigh of relief when I reached the street without bumping into a transparent blue dome. We had successfully turned the shields off. Now it was up to our friends to liberate the camps. It was also up to us to join that fight.

“One moment please,” I said to my friends as I shut my eyes.

As long as the interference remained, I couldn’t use my suit’s communicator. I had to use other means.

“Tera?” I thought as I reentered the Knowledge Stream. “How are things going up there? What’s the battlefield look like?”

“Bad…for Margaret,” came Tera’s reply. “Those locations you saw are all being assaulted by our numbers. Multiple Megas and Gigas are storming each one. The rest of your team is struggling at a single location. I suppose you’re here because you want to know which one.”

I chuckled. “You got me.”

I felt and heard the Tera’s sigh. “I’m looking at it, so just glance through my eyes. Don’t take as long as you did last time.”

No promises. I’m not too used to hopping into robot brains yet.

Following Tera’s instructions, I glanced at the grid. My friends were at a camp near the Scarlet Plaza. These insane people had built one of those inhumane places next to the mall? They must have really thought they were doing something good here. I thanked Tera and left the Stream before I could irritate her anymore.

“I found them,” I said as I slipped back into my body. “Now we just have to get to where they are.”

“I hope you don’t expect us to walk.” Nessa motioned to her legs. “My suit is still recovering from the battle.”

Of course I didn’t expect that. They’d be done by the time we arrived if we walked there. I scanned the road and spotted a few unoccupied cruisers. I could have hacked any cruiser I wanted, but I specifically searched for those with open doors. They had clearly been abandoned in the panic.

I ushered my friends into a white cruiser and willed it to start up. With my destination in mind, I stomped on the pedal and headed toward the Scarlet Plaza. It had been a while since I’d seen that place. I’d caused a blackout there once even though I hadn’t known it at the time. Why hadn’t I tried that since? It might have been useful a few times.

The Red City commotion had died down. There were no more screams, but the distant explosions remained. I shuddered to think about how many Dwarfs had been successful in their mission. How would we free that many people? Defeating one White Dwarf didn’t eliminate all the others as well. Black Dwarfs could operate without orders. I had to find a way to shut down the whole operation.

I looked up at the ships still occupying the sky. Still no First Ship. Frost didn’t even know that her most valuable soldier had been…dealt with. The odds were stacked in our favor now.

I looked straight ahead and saw the huge red building that I knew so well. Then I spotted the sign that spelled out its name. The block letters above the entrance spelled out the exact same words: Scarlet Plaza. Once all this was over, my team and I could stop by for a snack. We could hang out in the food court and talk like normal teenagers.

A blue archway tore my attention away from the Scarlet Plaza. It was just like the one at the other camp. This one was unguarded, though. I looked past the archway and saw all the little buildings that housed imprisoned ruabrum.

Explosions decorated those buildings as Megas advanced on a horde of Black Dwarfs. FD soldiers ran away from javelin-carrying ruabrum. Laura flung fireballs at people in black and purple space suits. Things were going so much better than they had on the previous day.

“Things seem under control here.” Nessa smirked as if a devious idea had crossed her mind. “That doesn’t mean we can’t join them.”

“Seconded.” Anderson grinned as he cracked his knuckles. “Who would say ‘no’ to reinforcements?”

“You two are the most violent people I know.” I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t deny wanting to join in myself. “Let me park before you jump out like maniacs.”

I shut off the stolen cruiser and climbed out. This was the only battlefield I didn’t mind being on because every AI blast meant we were that much closer to liberating all the ruabrum.

Laura and Kaela were fighting a Black Dwarf to our right. Kaela was delivering the final blow while Laura caught her breath.

“I’ve never felt so alive!” Kaela switched her rifle into its staff form and slammed one end of it into the ground. “Who else wants some?”

“Girl, do you know how long it took us to take on that last Dwarf?” Laura asked between huffs. “Take it down a notch. I can only throw so many fireballs.”

I patted Laura’s shoulder, startling her. “Wait till you reach my level, little Hybrid. Then you can shoot all the fire you want. Unless the Dwarfs become fireproof too. Anyway, are all the ruabrum out of the camp?”

“You’ve got a stupid way of saying ‘Hey guys, I didn’t die.’” Laura hugged me and then backed away as if it hadn’t happened. She motioned to the buildings populating the field. “Dwarfs and FD soldiers swarmed the place up until you brought the shield down. We’re currently working on getting them all out. Shouldn’t take much longer now. It’d be over sooner if some of us weren’t on break!”

“Do you know how many shields I’ve cast today?” Dylan asked from a few feet away. Sweat beaded down his forehead. “I deserve a second or two to recover. Tell her, Alpha.”

How hadn’t I noticed Dylan, Surge, and Beth just standing beside us? I approached Beth, only to have her smack me with her elbow. It was a gentle tap rather than a forceful blow, but that wasn’t the worst part. The look on her face was. She gazed up at me as if I were a ghost. What was up with her?

“For the rest of this mission, I’m sticking by your side,” she said. “I don’t know what it was, but leaving you behind didn’t feel right.”

“You saying you want to protect me?”

“Not after you put it like that.” She folded her arms. “Just know that I’ve got your back. Just like the rest of your friends.”

Something about being in a warzone was bringing the wholesome out in Beth. I wasn’t complaining. It was about time she stopped acting like she hated me.

“How do you think the rest of the troops are doing with their camps?” Laura asked. “Should we swing by to help?”

“I could take a look…through like forty different sets of Gigas,” I said. “Hmm. Maybe I’ll just peek at one of them. Either way, we should—”

A missile rained down from the clouds. It soared straight into the Scarlet Plaza, where it erupted into a blinding explosion. I covered my eyes, but that did nothing to silence the deafening boom. When I opened my eyes, all I saw was smoke, dust, and debris where a mall had once stood. My stomach squirmed as my mind failed to understand what had just happened.

“Is everyone all right?” Surge asked as he brushed dust off his suit.

“Someone just blew up the damn mall!” Anderson pushed himself up. The explosion must have knocked him over. “It doesn’t matter how ‘all right’ we are. Who did that?”

An odd noise filled the air. It sounded like a landing ship. I looked at the sky and saw something black descending below all the other ships. It was far larger than any of them. I knew exactly what ship that was. It was one of the first ships I’d ever set foot in. Ironic, considering its name.