Chapter 4: Cover Blown: The Plan

After receiving a tingling sensation from the top of his head, Roger looks up to the ceiling. The lights start flickering and eventually turn off completely. Alarmed, the two swiftly got off of the bed and ran out of Warren's room. They make their way through dark narrow halls and rush to the main room, where they eventually find the others who have gathered in fear of the unknown occurrences.

Within the crowd, people are slowly starting to panic. Children are starting to whimper while the adults are asking around to get a better idea of what's happening. The main room is filled with the sounds of feet shuffling and loud movement above the surface. From the right side of the main room, a bright white light shines from the corner. It is the village chief using a level one artifact, a Light Sphere, a large orb that follows the holder and grants vision through the darkness.

"Everyone, calm down. Any louder and they'll hear us." The village chief quietly calms them down and dims his Light Sphere. The villagers stood in silence, trying to listen to the sounds coming from the surface. The noise of heavy machinery on top coming to an abrupt stop is followed by the sound of marching. The villagers grow anxious while Roger and Warren try to conjure up a plan.

Roger closes his eyes and relaxes his body. Seeing that Roger was in a state of total concentration, Warren asked him, "How many people are you detecting up there?" With his eyes still closed, he answers Warren with the number 57.

Warren firmly places his hand on Roger's shoulder, getting his attention instantly. Roger opens his eyes and looks at Warren as he says, "I got a plan."

Seeing the questionable look in his eye, Warren pulls out the Teleporter Orb and quickly explains the plan to Roger.

"This Teleporter Orb, it can teleport the holder anywhere the holder and the orb has traveled to. I need you to use your power and tell me the location of the soldiers. If none of them are in the forest, I will teleport there and distract them."

"Distract them?" Roger intervened. "You deceived them once they're not going to fall for it again. Maybe a couple of soldiers will follow you, but they wouldn't care enough to send everyone this time."

After Roger's remarks, Warren quickly proposed an idea. "They would if I did something." Puzzled, Roger questioned Warren's statement. Warren continued to elaborate on his open statement.

"They would all target me if I posed myself as a threat."

Scared and nervous for Warren, Roger told him that it wasn't a good idea and claimed they still had enough time to think of another, more appropriate, plan. Shortly after Roger opposed Warren's plan, the sound of heavy vehicles and marching soldiers grew closer and closer. Within this moment, Roger quickly activated his ability and claimed that almost half of their forces were directly above them. Upon hearing this information, Warren swiftly took action without a second thought. He tucked the Teleporter Orb in his right pocket, rushed towards the village chief, and took the Light Sphere.

"Warren, stop! You don't know what you're doing!" Roger warns Warren as he rushes after him.

Seconds later, Warren's Teleporter Orb starts to glow brighter from his pocket and he teleports, leaving behind a trail of blue particles.

Warren has just teleported to the branch above the forest, the location in which he hid from the soldiers before. From here, he was able to get a great view of the village and the Kannon. Without a second to waste, he adjusted the Light Sphere's light to its maximal brightness. A piercing white light shined through the darkness from the top of the forest, immediately attracting the soldier's attention.

"Sir, what is that?" A soldier asked his superior while gesturing towards the bright white light.

Their commander, Commander Vision, took a glance at the light and quickly commanded a quarter of his men towards the forest.

"Sir, is that all? Shouldn't we bring more men?"

"It's just the brat that took your Teleporter Orb with a level one artifact. No need for any more men." Commander Vision retorted.

As a group of soldiers ran off and into the forest, the commander refocused his attention on the underground bunker. With intuition and supervision, he was able to spot the usage of an underground hideout as soon as he arrived on the scene. He immediately commenced a search for the entrance. Minutes after the bright light pierced from the forest, a soldier reports back to Commander Vision.

"Sir, we can't find the entrance to their underground bunker."

Disappointed in their lack of intelligence and intuition, the commander looks around and notices the water well. Suspicious, he points at the water well and commands his men to investigate it. The order is loud enough for Roger and the villagers to hear from underneath, they then start to panic.

Roger pulls out his level four artifact, a violet ring, and puts it on his ring finger. Prepared for the worst, he squeezes through the villagers and into the front near the entrance. He anxiously waits as the villagers grow quiet and his ring starts glowing violet.

Seconds felt like minutes while the villagers waited in fear until suddenly, all the ruckus on the surface got quieter. Worried, Roger slowly makes his way to the entrance, which is the bottom of the well. He then peeks his head under to see if anyone was on their way down. No one was visible from his point of view, but what he heard next concerned him.

He had overheard the soldiers shouting at each other and claiming that there was a threat in the forest that they needed to prioritize first.

"Damn, what did that kid do now?" Roger frustratedly grumbles. He commands the villagers to remain still as he climbs up the water well. When he reached the top, he saw a swarm of soldiers rushing into the forest and chasing a bright white light. He runs towards the Kannon's vehicles in search of weapons and artifacts.

"I shouldn't be doing this but it's too late. The Kannon has always been our enemy, I see no reason why intimidating them is such a bad thing." Roger talks to himself as he rummages through their inventory.

"Our enemy?" A mysterious voice from the shadows alerts Roger. "Who is 'our'?"

Startled, Roger steadily stands tall and strong, patiently waiting for the stranger to come forward. The stranger takes one step forward and Roger notices the golden earrings dangling on his left ear. It was at this moment that Roger's ring started to glow as grew uneasy, for he had known the stranger.

"I wasn't expecting a commander to show up. Don't you have better things to do, Commander Vision?"