"That was a depressing name!" I rebutted, "you could have given yourself an actual name, rather than something your comrades called you,"
"I love being called defected. It makes me feel unique," Defect answered, "don't question it,"
Even though I wasn't going to ask another question, I wouldn't question his strange decision even if I had the chance to do so. I was eager to hear his plan. He seemed to be trained under advanced military.
"Here's my plan-"
---
I really hope this works. I have a handful of barrier poles in my arm as I rushed forward to the entrance of the research. The coast was clear, it looked as if the rebels had gone elsewhere searching. Perfect! I reached for the wrench in my pocket as I carried Defect's heavy military backpack. Maybe this was how he got those robust reactions. I started working on my first barrier, planting each pole as far as I can, but close enough for them to connect. I flipped the switch on, the blue hologram glowed in the dark and as tough as a metal wall, it worked.
Now I have to repeat the same steps three more times, creating a hallway to connects the open air and the entrance to the laboratory. Finally, the last step of the plan, I placed a single landmine in the middle of the barrier hallway. I began wondering if Defect's plan would fail. Let's face it, the landmine was right in the open and the other rebels are not stupid enough to notice, right?!
It was Defect's part in the plan. I hid behind one of the dark tall trees as I watched him walking up to his comrades and waited for the conversation to begin.
"WHERE HAD YOU BEEN?!" the lead of the rebels shouted at him, "we were looking for you!"
"Sorry, sire," Defect boldly responded without flinching, "I was a bit lost from hunting those two down,"
"WELL DON'T GET LOST LIKE THAT! YOU SCARED THE SHIT OUT OF US!" the rebel beside the leader shouted.
"Again, I am sorry," Defect repeated, "which is why I am here to tell you I had found another person, they seemed to help the two boys who were shot down,"
"YOU DID?!" another rebel yelled from the back, "WHERE?!"
Seriously! Do these rebels have a habit of screaming at the top of the lungs, even when they are only meters away from the person they are talking to?! Do they always talk to each other like that?
"I found them in the Seraph Research," Defect replied as the leader nodded towards his comrades.
"Looks like we found them boys!" he announced, "they might not be dead yet! That means someone else might be here too! We shoot them down and that artifact is ours!"
I watched as they ran towards the entrance of Seraph Research, where a hallway of barriers was neatly placed. Now that Defect played his part, it was time for Bobo to shine. He came out of the corner of the room in the research with his light blue visor replaced by a maroon plaided hat. How is he buying every single hat cosmetic in Galf's shop?! He stood in front of the entrance in the open where the rebels could see him before proceeding to speak out in the manliest voice possible.
"It was you turds who shot those two kids!" he mimicked, putting on a somewhat serious face, "if you want to win this round, you've got to shoot me down first!"
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! GET HIM!" the leader yelled as the comrades rushed towards the entrance, raising and aiming their guns at Bobo.
They opened fire at their bait, Bobo immediately backed into a corner as bullets came crashing through the window and glass flew everywhere. The pack squeezed into the small barrier hallway that I had created. Before I know it, I heard a loud click when they reached the entrance.
KABOOM.
One of the rebels must have stepped on the landmine. A small mushroom shaped cloud appeared between the barriers as they immediately turned off, dead from the lack of power and sustainability. Once the exploding cloud slowly drifted away, I walked away from my hiding spot to investigate the mess we had made. The rebels were lying on the floor, unconscious and tangled up. Some had foam coming from their mouth, shocked by the unexpected bomb assault.
The clock reached zero as a pedestal raised from its hibernation. On top of it, revealed a green sword stuck into the stone. With no hesitation, I pulled it out. Although there was some decent amount of energy coming out of it, it wasn't glowing as well as the orange neon shades. It was like someone got an ordinary sword and painted it bright green. Like Galf said, an artifact is an artifact.
"Thank you so much, Defect," I said looking back as I put the sword into my backpack, "I couldn't have done it without you!"
"Ahem!"
"And you too, Bobo!"
Defect only stood silently over his almost dead comrades. It must had been a dark moment for him. He planned this trap against his friends just so that we could steal the artifact. He betrayed his friends just for us. He unwraps the red ribbon from his arms.
"Hey guys, if you are still alive, I am sorry," Defect sliced the silence, "but I have to move on my own. I don't need you guys anymore. I quit,"
He then drops the red piece of material above the rebel pile. The piece of clothing drifted into the wind before landing on the edge of the pile, being caught onto the sharp rock. He sighed before turning around to Bobo and me, leaving his former friends the mess.
"Let's go back to Galf's shop," he said.
Hang on. He knows where we are going next?! Does he know Galf?
"Sure!" Bobo cheered with pure enthusiasm as he tugged my shoulder.
I put the radar near my lips.
"Galf, we are coming back!"
Seconds later, the portal opens towards the formal dimension. Galf, as always, waited in front like if he was looking on a mirror. Bobo and Defect walked in first before the portal closed behind me. Galf was surprised to see Defect's arrival.
"Look who we have here!" Galf said with joy, "how are you going, Defect Rebel?"
"I am going fine," Defect answered as he looked around his shop.
Maybe those two do know each other. Possibly even longer than when I came along.
Defect grabbed his ribbonless arm as he took a glance at Galf's clean blue piece of cloth and nice old fashioned sewing machine. He looked at it for a few minutes before turning to Galf.
"Hey Galf, I will pay you 40 points to buy that blue cloth and the use of the sewing machine,"