GENEVA

The last day.

Today marked the end of our quest. We would either succeed in our mission or fail completely, causing the end of the world.

And Kai and Rose were nowhere to be seen.

We had lost them yesterday when the two chased down some loot-stealing monkeys before proceeding to vanish for the rest of the day. Meanwhile, we'd been roaming around Bologna and the areas surrounding in an attempt to find them but to no avail.

The remaining group and I were downstairs in the training ground, all of us trying to cope with our worries in some sort of way. Oman was taking a nap in his cabin, having parked the ship in a small body of water to get some rest.

I was beating up a punching bag while Amethyst was pacing back and forth across the room. Alexander was playing some weird game on Amethyst's phone dejectedly - which he took without her permission, but she was too preoccupied pacing across the room to notice - and Timmy was just sitting on the couch, staring off in the distance and fiddling with his fingers.

I delivered a roundhouse kick to the dummy, taking my anger and frustration out on it. I just couldn't believe that on the last day of our quest, Rose and Kai had to go suddenly missing with no trace whatsoever. We were wasting time looking for them and if we didn't find them soon... well that was something I didn't want to think about.

Too late. Thoughts about losing Kai and Rose to Erebos raced through my head. I tried to clear my head, alternating between kicking and punching the boxing bag at a faster rate but still not being able to put the notions aside. I couldn't stop worrying about Kai and Rose's whereabouts and that brought me to worrying about Arthur. It was infuriating that they wouldn't get out of my head. Why did they have to chase after those stupid monkeys? Why did they have to leave me just like Arthur?

I flinched as the sound of the punching bag falling down echoed through the silent training room we were all in. I had gotten so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't realized just how hard I was hitting the punching bag.

Timmy and Alexander seemed unfazed while Amethyst looked at me, startled. She turned her attention to the punching bag for a brief moment before walking over to help me put it back on its stand.

"Are you okay?" Amethyst asked quietly as we got the punching bag back in place.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just got a little... Frustrated."

"It's fine," Amethyst said quickly, retreating back to the wall and continuing her pacing around the room.

Alexander glanced at me, looking away from his game. "Wow, you really beat the crap out of the punching bag."

I heaved a sigh, not bothering to answer.

Just as I was about to return to boxing, I noticed that Amethyst had stopped her pacing, her attention now on Alexander.

"Alexander, is that my phone?" Amethyst asked, her eyes locked with his.

Alexander gulped nervously. "Uh, what? No, no Amethyst, this is Kai's phone! I mean, I'd never steal someone's phone. Couldn't be me! Gah! Is that what you really think of me? That I could stoop so low to steal my friend's phone? 'Cause that's just-"

Amethyst grabbed the phone out of Alexander's hands, stopping him mid-sentence. She marched away, leaving Alexander distraught and with nothing to do.

"Ah, man. I just wanted to play Flappy Bird. I was so close to level twenty-five!" Alexander groaned.

"Well maybe you should've asked me for permission to use my phone instead of stealing it!" she said aggressively.

Alexander shrugged. "I mean, that takes all of the fun out of it. Plus, I just borrowed it. Without your permission. I don't see anything wrong with that."

Amethyst shook her head and closed out the app. She swiped her phone screen a couple times before her face lit up.

"Wait guys, I have a voicemail. It was sent yesterday."

Our heads perked up as she pressed play on the voicemail, sound emitting from the phone.

"Hey guys," Kai said from the voicemail. "Kind of locked up in a cell. You know, the usual. Right now, we're in a GHOST facility in Venice, so, uh, feel free to swing by. Y'know, before both Rose and I die at the hands of Erebos. No rush though. See ya whenever."

We all looked at each other, Amethyst looking at me and saying hurriedly, "Wake up Oman. We're heading to Venice."

-------------------------------------------

The plane slowly descended from the air as we took the long way around to Venice, not wanting to be spotted by the GHOSTs who were most definitely expecting our arrival. The coast of Venice came into view as we readied ourselves for what was ahead.

We were at a bit of a disadvantage since we didn't have any of our weapons, so we would have to make do by utilizing our powers and some spare tools we had to save Rose and Kai. Amethyst was equipped with a wooden bow and a sparse amount of arrows and Timmy had his potions, but Alexander and I were unarmed and would have to rely on other things in combat.

It wasn't the best situation but we couldn't leave Kai and Rose hanging, especially on the final day of the quest.

We landed in a small field of vegetation. It was hidden by a batch of trees, so we could be shielded by any surrounding GHOST members on the lookout. We gave a quick farewell to Oman, who handed us a walkie-talkie in case we needed help, before setting out.

We left the field, the batch of trees disappearing behind us as the tall GHOST tower came into view. It was an old building made out of stone and had the GHOST symbol plastered at the top of the tower. The structure was a midnight black, with the rooftops of the tower being a bright gold. I couldn't see much else from where I was standing, but I had seen enough to be even more antsy and on edge than I was previously.

We ventured onward, getting closer and closer towards Venice. We were careful as we progressed, trying to avoid any security we could. As we got closer to the tower, we got a broader view of Venice, a sight that none of us expected.

The city from where we were looked completely trashed, as if no one had been here in centuries. Trash covered the streets of the city and graffiti was present on almost every single building. It was dead quiet and there was a pungent smell that almost made me gag.

"This is Venice?" I asked, a shocked expression on my face.

Amethyst shook her head, her eyes wide with disbelief. "I've studied Venice so many times, it's not supposed to be like this!"

"You're right, it's not," Timmy said, gazing at a graffitied building. "This part of Venice used to be grouped in with the main part of the city but when the GHOSTs came and inhabited it, they scared off the residents and didn't bother taking care of the area."

"Definitely a GHOST thing to do," Alexander said with disgust, waving away the smell with his hand.

We turned our attention away from the city and continued our trail toward the tower. Amethyst stopped moving and raised her hand up. "Hold up. I hear people."

She motioned for us to hide behind a blockade of trash cans in an alleyway as two GHOST guards walked past us.

"So, anyways, I just started blasting," one of the guards said, as if he were telling an anecdote.

"Really? In front of all those people?"

"Hell yeah, bro! You think I'm scared of some mortals? They can't see crap!"

"Well, the Mist is broken," the other guard said worriedly. "So, they actually can see."

The two guards stopped moving, looking each other in the eyes.

"Wait, you being for real?"

"Nah man, I was just messing with you. C'mon, the bagel place opens up in ten minutes, and you have to try their new mash-cheese-in-face deluxe! It's like, 90% cheese and 10% bread!"

Their voices faded off into the distance as they got further away from us.

"Aww man, I wanted to get some bagels!" Alexander whined. "The mash-cheese-in-face deluxe sounds so good right now."

"That was a close call," I muttered.

"Well, what do we do now?" Amethyst asked. "The security here is far worse than I anticipated."

Timmy sighed. "I was afraid of this. We're going to have to use the underground passageways to get into the tower."

"Underground passageways?" I questioned.

"Surrounding the tower are secret tunnels that lead straight into the tower. When the GHOSTs first occupied this area of Venice, they discovered the underground tunnels and began using them as secret entryways to dodge public sight. The area was very populated, so they needed to maintain anonymity. Over the last couple of years, the tunnels have become obsolete routes as the GHOSTs don't have to worry about anyone getting suspicious of their activities."

Amethyst considered for a moment. "It seems like the tunnels are our only option, so we're going to have to go with it. Where is the nearest passageway into the tower?"

"The nearest one is an abandoned subway not too far from here, maybe a three minute walk. However, we're gonna have to take the long way to get there through the alleyways, as around this time of day, GHOST security is tight."

"Alright," Alexander said. "Sounds like a plan. So, what sandwiches are you guys getting?"

"Not that kind of Subway, Alexander," Amethyst said exasperatingly.

"I know," he replied, his voice full of disappointment.

I turned right and left, checking both directions to see if any guards were around us. There were GHOSTs changing shifts to the west of us, each guarding a certain entrance or building and some parked in alleyways. To the east, there were four sentries surveying the area, with scouts perched atop the roofs of the city, using binoculars and even sniper rifles to keep watch. We were blocked off from the north since we were in an alleyway that led to a dead end.

"Well your observation on the amount of guards was definitely correct, Timmy," I said. "I'm guessing the guards will only increase as it gets darker, so we should probably get going. Timmy, lead the way."

He nodded and motioned his hand, gesturing for us to follow him. He led us deeper into the alleyway, moving at a slow pace and making sure to look in all directions before proceeding. We were surrounded by a blockade of buildings to the right and left of us, the structures creating a shadow above us. The alleyway led us into two different directions, one leading west and another leading east.

Timmy paused, narrowing his eyes as he contemplated which direction to go, eyeing both directions.

Timmy then muttered, "Which direction was I supposed to go again?"

"Well, right is always right," Alexander said, "So let's go left."

Timmy shrugged and slowly approached the western direction. After checking to see that our surroundings were clear, we journeyed down the route, the alleyway getting narrower and narrower.

We were completely in the shadows, as the buildings only grew taller and blocked the Sun's rays. I could feel the hairs on my back tingle as I got a strange feeling from the alleyway. Maybe it was because it had gotten narrower and that naturally presented feelings of anxiety, or that there was now an increased amount of shadows and darkness above us, or maybe a mixture of both, but in any case, I felt the need to be ready.

In the blink of an eye, GHOST members jumped out the windows of the nearby buildings and jumped us, loaded with weapons and armors. Two GHOST members charged at me with spears, trying to attack me from both sides.

The one to my left extended his spear to jab at me, but I was able to dodge and roll out of the way. As quickly as I could, I grabbed a nearby box and threw it at the GHOST member, causing them to get knocked to the ground. The other one jumped into action. He went for an overhead strike with his spear, which I sidestepped. I then roundhouse kicked the attacker in the face, the GHOST member falling on the ground hard, their heavy, clunky armor working against them as they hit the ground with a pained groan.

Now that I had defeated the GHOST members that came to attack me, I went to see if any of my friends needed help.

They didn't. Amethyst had made light work of a duo of guards while Alexander and Timmy had just defeated all four GHOST members that they had fought against.

"Alright, was that all of them?" I asked.

"I think so," Amethyst said, putting up her bow.

Just as she said that, a volley of arrows came raining down upon us, coming from the roofs of the buildings. Four archers were situated on the ceiling, bows in hand and quivers filled to the brim with arrows.

We quickly took shelter behind dumpsters, the arrows marginally missing us and clattering against the dumpsters. As much as I wanted to stay here and hide, I knew we couldn't since the archers weren't going to run out of arrows anytime soon. And even if they did, they could just attack us from the ground, time that we couldn't waste as the sun was beginning to set.

An idea came to my mind. "Stay here guys, I got a plan."

I ran out from behind the dumpsters and transformed into a squirrel, the archers not taking notice as they continued their entourage of arrows.

I scurried toward the building they were standing on, running up the stairs of the buildings. From there, I jumped onto the brick wall of the structure and crawled all the way up to the roof. I ran behind them and transformed into my normal state, jumping the group of four archers.

I kicked one of the archers off the building, the GHOST member landing in a pile of trash. The rest of the group turned around in surprise. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see my friends run out from their hiding spot down below as the fleet of arrows ceased.

One of the archers swung at my head, using their bow as a close-range weapon. I ducked beneath their bow and kicked them in the side, causing them to fall onto the ground. The other two went into action, lunging at me.

One of them went in for a front kick, aiming at my torso. I grabbed their leg mid-kick and threw them onto their side, their head slamming against the hard rooftop cement. The other one tried coming in from the side, but before he could do anything, I kicked him in the stomach and caused him to stumble forward. He held his hands against his stomach before collapsing to the ground in agony.

I transformed back into a squirrel and ran back down the building. When I reached the floor of the alleyway, I returned to my human form and met up with my friends.

"Good job, Geneva!" Amethyst complimented.

I took a deep breath to stabilize myself. "Thanks, Amethyst."

"Yeah, well done," Timmy said.

"We should probably get a move on," he added after two seconds' silence. "We don't want to get ambushed by another group of GHOST members."

With that said, we hurried away from the scene and followed Timmy as he guided us through several pathways and entrances. After a few minutes of walking, we reached a stone building that had a set of stairs leading down. We darted down the staircase, leading us into the subway that Timmy was talking about.

The subway had a large train track in the middle, two long stone ledges to the sides of the track making up sidewalks. It was extremely dark since there was no light or electricity in the tunnel. There was a train sitting on the tracks, but it clearly wasn't moving anytime soon considering the conditions of the subway. The convoy was a jet black color that stretched out further than we could see. It had a large yellow stripe in the middle that ran down the top and had multiple double-doored entrances. It was extremely rusty, and I made the presumption that this thing hadn't been furnished in years. The visible metal parts of the train had dulled to a golden-brown and the seats inside from what I could see through the entrances were dusty, and had mold growing on them.

"Where do we go from here?" Amethyst asked.

Timmy observed our surroundings. "Well, we go through that door."

We turned toward the door that Timmy was talking about, which was right behind us. The door was hard to see since it was camouflaged along with the walls of the subway, a stone gray. If Timmy hadn't pointed it out to us, then I probably would've never noticed it.

"Man, that's well hidden," Alexander commented.

Timmy opened up the door as we all walked in.

In front of us was a large stone covered room, with several GHOST members sitting at tables or standing around the room talking with each other. They were sipping down small cups and howling like apes. A minibar was positioned against the wall, a fair-skinned girl sliding beverages across the counter to customers. A metallic door was at the end of the room, presumably the exit. Everyone seemed to be preoccupied with what they were doing, just having a good time.

Then, the moment we entered the room, all eyes turned on us, one message being sent loud and clear.

Take another step and you're dead meat.