Melody wiped her forehead, shoved the blankets off her and sat up on the couch. She looked around Sophia's neat living room. She was starting to get sick of the view of it. She was going stir crazy.
Sophia stepped into the living room. "Feeling better?"
Melody's eyes slowly shifted to look at her. "Yeah. I think I'm ready to fight." She didn't know if that was entirely true. Although, she did feel like she could stand and hold a weapon. That was good enough for her.
Sophia sighed. "I can't force you not to, but don't be surprised if you find that you're still weak."
"I've been laying here, unconscious for a month. On top of me staying here and resting for days. I need to help them."
Sophia handed Melody some more medicine. "Take this." Melody quickly took the medicine.
"They need all the people they can get," Melody added in, hoping to convince Sophia it was a good idea.
"I know that! I know that they need more people, I'm not stopping you." She held her hands up in defence. Melody could tell Sophia was worried. She had taken care of her and wanted to see her get better.
Melody nodded."Thank you," She stood up and turned back just before she left. "For everything."
Sophia smiled and nodded as she watched Melody make her way into the street. The townspeople were once again training. They had paired up and Kieran, Wyatt, Jack, Julianne, and Forest were observing. They gave suggestions and helped out when needed.
Forest was talking to a pair that was fighting. It seemed like he was giving pointers on their footing. Forest turned and smiled once he noticed Melody approach him.
She smiled as well and put her hand on his shoulder. He turned back towards the people he was coaching. "Just Keep working on it." The person nodded and went back to fighting their partner.
Forest gave his attention back to Melody. "You must be better, you're standing on two feet now."
Melody let out a small chuckle. "Yeah." Her smile then fell a little.
Forest's face deepened with concern. "What's wrong?"
"I need an axe and an opponent. I'm ready to fight," Melody said very blatantly. She knew what she wanted.
Forest opened his mouth, then rethought his response. "Are you sure?"
Melody looked at him in determination. "Yes I'm sure." She didn't like being cooped up.
There was no way Forest would be able to talk Melody out of her decision. Once she made her mind up, that was it. He nodded. "Alright."
He turned and nodded at one of the townspeople. They quickly grabbed an axe and handed it to Forest. He turned towards Melody, his face serious. She took the axe in her hands and nodded in determination.
"Just be careful, alright!" Forest called after her.
"I will!" She waved away his concerns and marched through the crowd.
A loud noise rippled above their heads. Everyone stopped in their tracks and looked into the bright blue sky. Forest put a hand above his brow to shield his eyes. The sky was littered with fluffy white clouds. Among those clouds was a large grey airship. As they stood looking up into the sky, they were all completely clueless. Forest had gathered with Kieran, and Melody had made her way over to them.
"What do you think that is?" Forest asked Kieran and Melody.
Kieran shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."
Melody tore her eyes from the sky and looked back at the two. "Should we wave or something?"
"No, it might be the Silver Blades," Kieran replied.
"But, I've never seen them with an airship before." Forest's mind went deep in thought with possibilities.
"They could've easily stolen one," Kieran suggested.
Murmurs of speculations and anxiety began to ripple through the crowd.
Something then popped into Forest's mind. "What if it's the Proelia ship?"
"Maybe we should sit here and wait. Who knows what would happen if we acted," Melody stated. Her hopes began to rise, but she had to keep her mind open to all possibilities.
They decided not to act. They stayed there and observed the ship. It was large and gray and had a curve to the top of it. It grew closer and closer to them. The townspeople huddled into a tightly knit group. They made room for the airship to land. It slowly descended, creating a loud noise as it did so. It gently landed on the ground. The air steadied around them. Everyone held their breath, awaiting what laid behind its metal walls. Anxiety filled the air with the thought of endless possibilities. Stillness swept over the townspeople.
There was a figure that sat behind the only window on the vessel. It looked like the control room laid behind the glass.
The airship's heavy metal door opened. To their relief, Mr. Marcus emerged from within the ship. It was like all their worrying was all for nothing. All their fears had been swept away just as fast as they had came.
Mr. Marcus was followed by Herb and a middle aged man with red hair.
Melody's eyes widened as she ran over towards the man. Her eyes sparkled with hope. "Dad!" She cried. Melody hadn't seen her dad in forever. Relief washed over her now that she knew he was alright.
The man smiled wide and held his arms out. Melody crashed into him and they fell into a hug. Forest and the others beamed as they approached the new arrivals.
"Didn't think you guys would ever find us," Forest said, a smile spread across his lips. Although, this was true. They all had accepted the fact that they wouldn't be getting Proelia's help with this, but they were gladly mistaken.
Mr. Marcus stifled a laugh. Kieran stepped forwards. "Sorry to interrupt, but the Silver Blades are going to be attacking the HQ and City hall soon. Does this mean we're going to be getting more people?"
"That depends, we'll just have to bring you to them and let them decide. " Marcus's face looked as wise as ever.
Forest nodded in determination. "I guess I'll just have to convince them to help us."
Wyatt climbed up the metal stairs to make himself taller. "People of Auxilium!" Everyone's attention shifted to him. "Come with us to Proelia's safe house. There we'll be able to recruit more people, so who's with us?!"
The townspeople raised their fists and cheered. Some even yelled, "We're in all the way!" And, "Let's take back our town!" Melody could tell that Forest felt a sense of pride. He had people that trusted him and his decisions. These people were strong and determined to be free of the Silver Blades, and they respected them because of that.
Wyatt nodded, his smile large. Shawn, Melody's father, went back inside the ship to prepare. The townspeople people piled inside, followed by Forest and the others.
Forest strapped himself into the chair. They felt the airship slowly ascend. There were no windows, and so none of them had any idea where they were, but Forest's smile didn't falter. They had a chance to expand their army.
Soon Forest's stomach dropped as they quickly descended once more. As they emerged from the airship, green engulfed the entirety of their vision. It seemed unusually unnatural, the season was changing after all. Tall trees and bushes surrounded the sunken metal building. There was a large square entrance the led into the building. The concrete that showed through the ground seemed to be the roof of the safe house.
As they entered the building, the ground sloped downwards. The entrance was dark, everyone looked like black shadows. He could barely make out the walls. The hall took a sharp turn. There was a bright light at the end of the hallway. It shone through large open metal doors.The hall opened up into a massive room. Sleeping bags and blankets were sprawled along the concrete floor. Students were dotted around the large room. Marcus pushed his way through to stand before the students. Forest followed closely behind.
The students gave him their attention. "When are we leaving?" One of the students yelled. Others joined in.
"I assure you, we'll be leaving very soon." Everyone hushed and Forest stepped forwards.
"I know you all must be very tired from staying here for so long," The students muttered their agreements. "The Silver Blades are the reason you're here. They've taken over Ferrum!" They erupted into yells of anger. "You want to get out of here?! Leave?! Then come with us and aid us in our fight against the Silver Blades!" They erupted into passionate roars. Forest smiled at the students before him. They surely had more than enough people to take down the Silver Blades now. "We're Guardians after all, it's what we do."
He stepped back towards Marcus. He spoke in a hushed voice, "Alright, so we'll need to split everyone into two groups. Can you handle that and transportation?"
"I'm sure I'm more than capable. In the meantime, you guys should stay here."
"What about Auxilium?" Forest's brow slightly creased. Over the time they had spent in Auxilium they had grown slightly attached to the people.
"They've managed without you before, I'm sure they can again. Plus I don't think there's that many people left in the town anyways. You'll be safer here." Mr. Marcus slightly nodded in assurance.
Forest nodded in agreement. The Silver Blades were going to attack again and they were going to be there to stop them.