I had written almost an entire chapter and then realised that there was SUCH an easier way for them to do it, so I had to rewrite it all (;-;) hence the late update.

As the night sets upon the Capital, eight Sky Army recruits and two Squid warriors creep through the city, slipping from shadow to shadow until they come upon the paver that marked the end of the tunnel from the Capital's dungeons.

"Are you sure about this?" one of the recruits whispers to the Squid warriors.

They both nod. "With this armour, we look the exact same as an actual warrior," Julia says, making the strap on her iron helmet just a bit tighter.

"Give us a ten-minute head-start before you go into the tunnel," Ryan whispers, also wearing the Squid warrior armour. "Eric, Philip, you've got the keys?"

The two named recruits hold up the cell keys they had stolen from the same Squid warriors who's armour Julia and Ryan are now wearing. At least, they hope that it is the key to the cells.

"You two remember the way to the dungeon?" Eliza asks. When Julia and Ryan nod, she jerks her head in the direction of the castle and mutters "Better get going then. We'll need all the time we can get."

Without another word, the two disguised recruits walk confidently out into the open, strolling down the dimly lit main street to the centre of the Capital, the castle. Both of their hearts thump rapidly but they appear calm and unflustered as they make their way through to the back of the castle, passing few warriors on their way. Their boots click rhythmically on the stairs as they descend the wide staircase, finally reaching the large room from which the cell passages branch out. They wait but they can't hear the screams of the torture recruits. Either the Squids are taking a break or they are too far away to be heard.

"Where to now?" Ryan mutters, looking around for something that would indicate the way to the cameras.

"In there?" Julia asks, gesturing to a solid door to their left, beside the stairs.

With a shrug, they both go up to the door and open it purposefully. The small room inside holds a single desk, on which sits an array of computer screens, each showing several black-and-white camera feeds of a cell. The two guards inside cut off their conversation, spinning around in their chairs and slowly standing, their hands drifting to the swords resting on the wall behind them.

"Hey," one of them says casually. "What business have you here?"

Julia's mind goes blank but Ryan, always quick to react, is already speaking, jerking a thumb over his shoulder as he does so.

"The commanding officer wants to see you both, no idea what about," he says, a country-like accent very pronounced. "'E sent us two to take over, and 'e wasn't in a good mood."

Both the men instantly jumped into action, buckling on their swords and leaving the room, saying a quick thanks to the two recruits for taking over their post. Ryan closes the door behind them, silently amazed that that worked while Julia takes a seat, her eyes flicking quickly over each of the screens. Several of the feeds show empty cells but most of them seem to be filled. In the top left section of the screens, Julia recognises the Commanders and the General.

"Looks like we were just in time," Ryan says, joining her and pointing to a screen showing an empty cell. Except now, a piece of wood screwed into the wall is forced from its place, falling to the ground as four figures climb out.

Matthias comes out of the tunnel first, quickly going up to the bars and looking out. He can't see any guards, not that there would be any but it doesn't hurt to make sure. Eric is second, going up to the door and feeling around for the lock, the key in his hand. Kara, another recruit, joins Matthias at the door, energy running through her and making her want to jump up and down.

"Got it," Eric whispers, a soft click coming from the door as it swings open.

"I'll go with Philip," Kara says. "Matthias, are you okay to direct everyone up?"

Matthias nods. "You and Philip start on another passage, Eric and I can do this one."

They split up, the caged recruits stirring and jumping up as the two jog past the cells. Eric instantly starts unlocking the doors, whispering instructions to the recruits inside. As the door swings open, the recruits dart out, Matthias directing them into the dark tunnel. One by one, they crawl through, the line slowly growing as more and more cells are unlocked.

Hidden in the dark street, Eliza waits until the paver moves slightly before she pulls it open, ushering the recruits out in groups of ten while the others waited in the darkness of the tunnel. The three remaining original recruits sneak them through the city to the three nearest hatches that lead to the caverns before coming back to take the next lot.

It takes almost an hour - even with the two keys unlocking cells and some Capital-based recruits helping the others into the cavers - until almost all the recruits are out of the dungeons. In the security room, Ryan and Julia fret nervously, knowing that the warrior guards could come back at any minute.

"Let's just move now," Julia says to Ryan.

"But if the warriors come back and everyone isn't out, it'll give the game away," Ryan says.

Julia snaps her fingers as an idea comes to her and she goes around the back of the table. The screens have leads disappearing into the wall but an unexplained switch sits beside them. As soon as the switch is flicked, the camera screens instantly go dark.

"Why didn't we just do that when we came?" Ryan asks.

"Because that would have been too soon?" Julia suggests. "Come on, let's go."

They leave the room and dash down an empty corridor, glancing inside each of the cells as they pass. Most of the recruits were out by now, but the Commanders and the General were being held somewhere else. Julia turns a corner and instantly turns back, pressing her back against the wall and feverishly gesturing for Ryan to do the same.

"What is it?" he whispers as he stands against the wall next to her.

"Guards," she whispers back. She peeps around the corner. "Six of them. Fully armed."

"The Commanders have got to be down there. Is there a back way in?"

"Umm..." Julia peeps around again. "No, it ends in a stone wall."

"What if we just walked up to them? I mean, we are wearing Squid warrior armour."

"No Squid warrior has a reason to be walking down to see the Commanders," Julia hisses. "We'd be killed!"

"So what do we do?"

Philip and Kara appear around the corner behind them and Julia quickly gestures for them to be silent. Kara silently pads up to them while Philip follows a little slower, his hand holding the cell key.

"What is it?" Kara asks.

"Guards," Julia says. "Probably watching over the Commanders."

"So we can't get to them?"

"We don't have to."

The three turn to Philip, confusing on their faces. Philip shrugs. "The Squid's weapon against them and the General was us recruits. They were torturing us to get the location of the Piece. But with no recruits-"

"They'll have no power over the General!" Kara hisses in excitement.

"But they can still hurt the Commanders," Ryan points out.

This gives them pause but Kara shakes it off.

"We can't do anything about it now and we've already spent too much time here. Let's go."

The next morning, several poor Squid warriors report the mysterious disappearance of the recruits to General Azubi, who appears calm and unworried as they tell their news but as soon as they are finished talking, his eyes glare and he stands suddenly from his throne-like seat.

"I want every building, alley, corner and basement in the entire Capital searched," he orders in a loud voice. "I want every single Sky Army recruit found and chained to the dungeon walls. No one is to stop looking until all of them are found. And if any warrior is found to be hiding a recruit, they are to be burned." His eyes scan over those gathered. "Who was in charge of the prisoners?"

A warrior nervously raises his hand, swallowing as his General's furious gaze finds him and his finger levels at him.

"Take him to the room and give him 50 lashes."

The warrior's pleas fall on deaf ears as he is dragged out of the Capital and down to the dungeons. General Azubi's eyes flick around the room at the stock still warriors. "What are you waiting for? GO! Find them!"

Everyone jumps and runs out of the room, the command going out among the Capital. The General turns back to his seat, his eyes momentarily resting on the perfect circle mounted on the wall in the place of honour.

WOAH OKAY I DID NOT REALISE I WAS UP TO THIS BIT ALREADY, THINGS ARE HEATING UP NOW.

Anyway, here's a quick update on my plan for the next month or two with my books and writing and so on, since lately I haven't been able to update both of my main books in the same week:

1. Finish Rising to Fall and System Failure (both conveniently have about 6 chapters left)

2. Start writing my new book (title to be revealed :3) and stop writing two books at once cause that is really not working for me

3. Finish and publish Challenging Fate and Destiny (both are short stories)

4. Somehow fit homework and actual work into that.

5. Sleep

6. cATcH uP oN tHOsE fREaKiNG bOoKS, yOu kNOw wHO yOu aRE aNd i"M sORrY I"m NoT rEAdInG tHEm

Don't forget to vote and feel sorry for that one Squid warrior who's now going to be tortured for something that's not his fault.