The trees seemed to tighten around her hiding spot. They felt like a prison despite her overwhelming vantage point. From here, she could see the entirety of the pirate camp. Each and every one of the blasted bastards wandering the location that held her friends and companions. Today was supposed to be the day when they were saved, but it wasn't to be.
Zara knew things were going to end up like this. She was a soldier, and nothing ever went to plan. She should have shut down Red's plan before even letting it get off the ground. Foolish hopefulness had led her to believe that they had a chance, however slim, to save the captured people.
She was a fool. She could see it all clearly now. Derrin's bombs had gone off without a hitch. He was reliable like that, and Zara hadn't doubted him. She never expected that her bomb would be the one to be found. She had confirmed it herself after it didn't blow up.
Despite her immense knowledge of the island, the pirates still managed to find the hidden weapon. It was truly terrible luck, but she should have accounted for it. Her sniper felt heavy in her hands. The smart thing to do would have been to retreat back to the fort. The plan was a wash. It had failed, and there was nothing she could do about it.
Remaining here was foolish. However, she had already made quite a number of foolish decisions regarding this mission. One more foolhardy chance wouldn't hurt. Perhaps the pirates would spread out enough, and she'd be able to get a jump on them. It wouldn't happen, but she still allowed herself to hope.
Turning back to the camp, Zara activated her vision. The glowing heat signatures of the pirates illuminated in the distance. It was why she made such a good sniper. Her powers weren't flashy, and she had never wanted them to be. They were hidden, subtle, something that no one would ever really expect.
Her eyes were her power. They let her see in the dark and detect heat signatures. They could do many more things as well, and that was only from the power of Valencia. She still had two other seas that she could lean on when necessary.
Using one such power, she called on Iris. It was a dumb name she knew, but she had only been a kid when she first unlocked its power. Granted, that was only a few years ago, but still. Besides, Iris liked the name. A thin purple glow appeared in front of her. It would be nearly invisible to the naked eye.
Zara felt her sea heart empty at a rapid speed as the summon manifested before her. Iris glowed with minute purple light. She couldn't help, but smiled at the strange thing. Most people got normal things, like animals or maybe weapons. Of course, she couldn't get anything like that.
Her summons was an eye. A big purple eye with bat wings. It had to be one of the ugliest things she had ever seen, and yet she loved it all the same. It was a part of her after all. A manifestation of her own sea heart. Iris flapped her bat-like wings in excitement at her summoning. The wings seemed to fade into the background behind the eyeball. If not for her enhanced vision, she would have likely glanced right over the summon without noticing.
"Can you give me an update on Derrin?"
Iris blinked. When Zara first received the summons, she had been disappointed by Iris's inability to speak. However, that did not make her dumb. On the contrary, Iris was one of the smartest people she knew. Smarter than she herself felt most of the time.
In order to overcome the problem of Iris not having a mouth, Zara had taught her Morse code. The flying eye could talk by blinking. A combination of blinks and the speed of the blinks created the entire alphabet. Iris seemed to cock to the side slightly as if thinking.
"Derrin? You wish to know if he has returned to the fort yet?" Iris blinked.
"Yes, if he has, then I'm safe to do anything. If not, chaos will ensue, and he could get caught in the crossfire. I am not going to endanger anyone else."
"But, you'll endanger yourself? Don't you do anything foolish while I am gone," Iris flew off into the distance.
Zara sighed and turned back to the distant camp. Even Iris knew attacking the camp now was stupid. It would be better if she simply returned to the fort. They had tried at least. It may not have worked, and the prisoners would likely pay for it, but it was better than simply giving up.
A few moments later, Zara felt a vision appear in her mind. She connected with Iris's eye and was now seeing through her own eyes, and that of her summon. It was a strange connection. Being able to see from her own eyes and another one that was far away.
Iris had reached the fort and flew through it quickly. The vision that she showed was slightly distorted and had a hint of purple. Zara was long used to it by now. Iris flew across the fort, but it was empty. Her eyes narrowed slightly. Where were Red and Vizim? Iris made another round, this time looking into each building as she passed.
Iris couldn't interact directly with the environment, nor could she pass through physical objects. She found Vizim studiously working in one of the buildings. However, Red was nowhere to be found. Zara let out a curse. She could already guess where he had run off to.
The bomb had failed, and he wanted to make it right. He would go and try to set another one. That was going to get him killed.
Zara rose.
She needed to get back there and stop him from dying. The prisoners were already going to pay. She didn't need someone else dying on her account.
The entire jungle rocked.
Zara froze. The explosion echoed across the entire island. She had grabbed hold of the tree to steady herself. Iris's vision fluttered as she was buffeted by the sudden air current. The vision blinked several times.
"What was that?" Iris asked.
In response, Zara blinked her own eyes, "The fool kid did it. Iris, I need you to check the massive grotto. I don't know what he did, but I will not let him get himself killed."
Iris's response was slow in coming. Eventually, the eye said, "You should go for it?"
Zara hesitated. Iris was right. This was her chance. Even if Red was in danger, she couldn't get there fast enough to do anything. Iris couldn't help him either. From here, there was only one thing she could do. The biggest and most heavily defended pirate camp, save their ship, was before her. It was time to attack the pirates' central camp.