In the depths of Rim, far below the battle being waged on the surface, a figure moved stealthily amongst the shadows. He did his best to remain unseen and undetected. Each step brought him closer to his destination and closer to potential demise. One wrong misstep and it would all be over before it began.
Red had to force himself not to mutter under his breath. Everything about the plan seemed reckless. They were going after something that wasn't necessary for the plan to succeed. In fact, it could very likely be the reason their plan failed in the first place. Instead of doing the smart thing and leading the gearborn away, they were headed straight for them.
Despite knowing this, there was a part of him that still needed to reach the pedestal. Red wasn't sure why or what he would encounter there, but it wanted him to get there for some odd reason. Whatever the case, he feared that it would doom them all.
He briefly wondered how Silas was holding up on the beach far above. They had prepared as much as they could for the Pirate King's eventual return. Red knew he would return; the man was too cocky not to. However, they hadn't really had much time to fully come up with ways of killing the man instantly.
That was the only way to kill him. If they failed, he would simply teleport away.
That was the other reason they had chosen to split up and not stay together. If the fight had ended like the first one, then the Pirate King would have run when it got too dangerous. Over time, they would have slowly been whittled down and lost resources, eventually leading to their demise. Red had been forced to make an immensely risky plan.
He never expected that would lead him towards this random pedestal in a cavern at the bottom of the island.
Moving as stealthily as Derrin had taught him, Red began closing the distance on the outskirts of the cavern. The gearborn were clicking and muttering amongst themselves, and none seemed to have noticed him yet. Derrin would soon arrive and ensure that was never the case.
Each time he had to dart between stalagmites, he cringed. All it would take was one stray glance his way for it to all be over. Of course that was part of the reason this was even doable in the first place. The gearborn thought themselves too powerful to need to bother with simple sentries and lookouts this far into their turf.
After all, only a madman would walk into a horde of robots just to touch a damn pedestal.
Red leaned against a nearby stalagmite and breathed heavily. He had made it most of the way to the pedestal, but now there were gearborn everywhere. Any moves could now attract their attention. His gaze flicked across the room to where Zara currently sat in her cell.
When they had first investigated the chamber from above, it had appeared as if there were no pirates present. However, one man was slumped against the cave wall beside her cell. Red nearly let out a sigh of relief before catching himself. Without a pirate, they would have no way to trap the Pirate King once Zara was rescued and the Gearborn dealt with.
"If we make it that far," Red thought, "I never knew that I could be this pessimistic."
He glanced back across the cage and froze. His gaze met Zara's, and they both just stared at each other for a moment. Bewilderment crossed her face, then panic when she must have realized it was him. Her eyes certainly were incredible to be able to see him this far away and in the shadows.
He gave her his slyest grin, winked, and then ducked back into the shadows. Best to make her think they had it all under control. Red wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. The stress was starting to kick in, even overriding his heart's attempts to stabilize it. It made sense; he was in the lion's den after all… robot's den… he wasn't sure.
A voice suddenly boomed across the cavern. Red sagged slightly against the rock behind him in relief. Red was beginning to hate the old distraction plan, but it had been their only chance here. There were simply too many robots to draw them away with an explosion. Besides, there was clearly a very powerful one based on what Iris said.
"Which of you is the strongest? Step forward, so I can challenge you," Derrin's voice resounded with all the command and strength he could muster.
Red cringed at the words because that was the exact sort of thing he would have expected Derrin to say had he not been acting. It sounded so natural with how much he had been talking about bloody damn honour.
The entire horde seemed to turn towards Derrin as one. A lull fell as none of them seemed to know what to do with the sudden appearance of a human man in their midst. Finally, the gearborn that had been standing nearest the pedestal strode to the forefront.
"And who might you be?"
"I am the mightiest warrior this island has to offer. As such, it is my duty to challenge you to a duel." Derrin drew his blade.
Red took the opportunity to close the distance to the pedestal. All the Gearborn's attention was on Derrin and not him. The leader glanced to the side as if he could perceive Red through the stone between them. Red tensed, wondering if their plan had been blown.
He suddenly felt a flare of mist from Derrin. All eyes, including his own, turned to the other arrival. A massive glowing purple eye flared above Derrin as if casting judgement on the entire chamber. Iris glowed with such intensity and ferocity that Red feared she'd burn out.
Without waiting another moment, Red practically sprinted the remaining distance. The gearborn were all intently focused on the massive outpouring of mist. Iris's arrival had been a part of their plan, of course.
It didn't matter how skilled Red had become at sneaking; he still couldn't hide his mist. That was a far more advanced skill that few learned before completing their first challenge. It was simply too difficult, and there hadn't been nearly enough time for him to try to learn it.
The gearborn would have naturally been able to sense his mist, so they had used Iris as cover. She was connected to Zara and, as such, had far more potent mist than any of them. Usually she kept it well hidden because she was meant for scouting. In this instance, though, her purple eye blazed across the chamber.
Red dashed behind the momentarily distracted group of gearborn. He reached the pedestal in a few short moments, his breathing heavy. Without a moment's consideration, he slammed his palm face down on the top of the pedestal. That's where it had been calling him. Some part of him just knew that it was what he needed to do.
Pulling back, Red waited for a blast of power.
Something.
Anything.
Nothing happened.