ML C9, P4- "Mission Of Mercy"

"Mission Of Mercy" is the fourth Part of "Miracula Luxia" 's ninth Chapter- "King Of Hearts". It was released on 22.04.2020.
== Plot ==
Everything seems calm after Farrar left the city of Formello alone... for now.
However, a new problem occurs when a few Formellian soldiers become trapped in a cave and get wounded by traps, unable to get out safely.
The five men desperately beg our heroes to find them and help them out, so Jared, Barin and Aimee decide to be the ones to perform this necessary task.
Unfortunately, things will not turn out the way they want them to be.
== Story ==
Jared sits in the office, lost in thought.
"Poor Sam."- He says to himself- "I should have left Annie with him before I left. At least he would have been protected by her. He wouldn't have been alone."
"But now... now he is gone. And it's entirely my fault."
He hits himself on the head to prove it.
"Why was I so foolish to go help other people when there were still people here that I had to help? Dear god, so many lost their lives in those battles."
"Forgive me, brothers and sisters. I will... I will try to be a better person. Starting from... "
"Now."
Just as he says the last word in his mind, the makeshift phone in the mayor's office rings.
Commander Jones picks it up, nods and looks at Jared.
"It's for you."- He says.
Jared raises his eyebrow.
"Alright."- He says- "Let me see."
He picks up the phone from the commander's hand.
"Jared Kaos here. How may I serve you?"
"Mr. Kaos, thank goodness!"- A troubled voice rings from the other side of the call- "It's me, one of the soldiers you sent to the Blueleaf cave not long ago."
Jared nods.
"Yes. I remember. What happened? Did you find the cave?"
"We did."- The voice responds- "However, we are now trapped inside."
Jared gasps.
"But, h-how? The cave is supposed to be safe!"
"Well sir, it looks like Farrar's thugs have managed to set up a trap for us just before we reached the cave. And we fell right for it."
Jared shakes his head.
"Tsk."- He says- "And what happened to the rest of your crew?"
"There were eight of us at the start of the journey. Two died to humanoids. Another one of us died from his wounds when we became trapped. Poor dude's leg was bleeding at alarming rates right until his last breath."
"So, this means... "
"Yes, sir. There... there's only five of us left. And I'm the only one who was lucky enough to not get injured."
"The rest of my crew is seriously wounded. They might die soon."
"I... I might be the only one who will survive this if we're not helped."
At that moment, Jared hears the agonized moans of the wounded soldiers. Tears roll down from his eyes. His frown quickly turns to a cry.
"I'm coming, soldier."- He says, tears still falling down from his eyes- "Stay right there! I will come and save you personally!"
"Just... please, don't move! I beg you! Whatever you do, please... stay there!"
"We don't have any choice, sir. We will await your arrival."- The voice says and closes the call.
Jared puts the phone back to its place and wipes the tears from his eyes.
"Is something wrong, Jared?"- Commander Jones asks him- "Are the boys alright?"
Jared shakes his head and tears fall from his eyes once again.
"I shouldn't have sent them, sir."- He says tearfully- "I-I sent them to their doom just to explore some cave."
"It's my fault."
Commander Jones shakes his head.
"No, Jared."- He says- "It ain't your fault. You wanted to test their abilities. And it seems like they weren't capable enough to handle those traps."
"Or the humanoids."
Jared shakes his head.
"I still want to save them, though!"- He says.
Commander Jones raises his eyebrow.
"Alone?"- He asks him.
Jared nods.
"This is madness, Jared! Pure suicide! What if you're attacked on the way there? Or inside? You're going to die if you're not careful!"
"But... "- He adds- "I don't have much of a choice when it comes to sending you help. John and Annie are busy working on the walls. Your grandpa is very tired. So, who could... ?"
That's when the door dramatically opens.
The ones who opened it are revealed to be Barin and Aimee.
"We heard that Mr. Kaos needs help to save innocent people!"- Barin says.
"And we're here to help!"- Aimee adds.
Commander Jones shakes his head.
"No, you two!"- He tells them- "You still have work to do, remember?"
Jared shakes his head and looks coldly at the commander.
"Listen, sir."- He says- "You wanted me to not go alone, right?"
Commander Jones nods.
"And you wanted me to be protected. That is also right, I assume?"
The commander nods again.
"Well, then let them come. Barin is a loyal and competent fighter. Aimee is a sweet, skilled priest. We can do this, I promise!"
Commander Jones sighs and stares at them.
"You better bring those unfortunate souls back here, okay?!"- He tells Barin and Aimee.
The brother and sister nod simultaneously.
"Very well."
He turns to Jared.
"Good luck, young hero. May the light of the Gods protect you from harm!"
Jared nods and smiles.
"You can count on me, sir!"
He turns to his two new companions.
"Well team, what are we waiting for? Those soldiers are in a desperate need of our help an we need to provide it, A.S.A.P!"
"So, are you ready for this new adventure?"
Barin and Aimee cheer.
Jared nods and smiles.
"Then it's time to be heroes! Come with me!"
The three of them leave the city hall and head towards the gates of Formello.
Commander Jones smiles and lays his head on his desk.
"Ah, they all grow up so fast."- He says to himself- "Not too long ago, Jared was just a junior hero, helped by his father, unable to make his own decisions without his motivation. But now? Now he is an entirely different person. Such a brave warrior and tactician. Such a smart brain that is always able to make the right decisions."
"Yes, I can see it now. Jared is very close to being a true hero. His brilliant brain will soon lead him there."
Meanwhile, the trio is close to the gates, but are intercepted by John before they get out.
"Hey!"- He says- "Where do you three think you're going without me."
Jared, Barin and Aimee whisper to each other for a few moments. Finally, they decide what to tell him.
"We're on a secret mission."- Jared says.
"Secret mission? Without me?"- John says- "Oh, come on!"
"Hey, Annie! Come over here!"
Annie leaves the bricks she was about to lay and joins the four of them.
"Those three are going on a secret mission without us! Can you believe it?!"
Annie shakes her head.
"You can't go anywhere without us, Jared."- She says- "We're here to protect you, whether you want it or not."
"No, Annie."- He says- "This is my first mission as the leader of a small group and it needs to happen without any people that I know a lot."
Annie shakes her head.
"No way am I letting you go on a mission without me, let alone with them!"
She stares coldly at Barin and Aimee.
Barin looks down in shame. Aimee's eyes look elsewhere, not daring to meet the angry girl's gaze.
Jared turns to them.
"It's okay, friends."- He says- "She gets very angry when she's not with me, sometimes."
"Don't worry, she won't hurt you."
Barin and Aimee nod and look up, although still unconvinced by what their friend just told them.
He turns back to Annie.
"Listen here."- He says- "You're not my mother. You're not my babysitter. And you're not anything that is my biological family!"
"I can make my own decisions, train my own team and have my own future. I only took you with me, because I really care about you and don't want you to get hurt. You have to stay here and protect the place in my absence. And don't move anywhere outside the walls unless you're forced to. Understand?"
Annie nods sadly.
"As you wish, m'... m'lord."- She says and looks down.
John does the same when Jared looks at him.
"The same goes for you, old friend."- He says stoically.
"This is it. You are free to go."
The trio leave without another word, leaving a dazed John and a terrified Annie to work on the walls and protect the city.
Annie turns to John and sighs.
"He's changed so much."- She says.
John nods.
"Absolutely."- He responds- "He's not the same, indecisive kid that he was when I met him and he will never be anymore. Now, he is the hero that everyone needs."
"And I will respect his decisions, even though they might separate us sometimes. My loyalty will not waver."
Having said that, John returns to work on the walls. Annie does the same.
Meanwhile, the adventure of our heroes turns out to be very uneventful, with only a few humanoids attacking them on the road.
The three of them are now at the entrance of the cave where the soldiers are trapped.
Jared turns to his companions.
"Are you ready?"- He asks them.
Barin and Aimee nod.
"Whenever you are, brother."- Barin says.
Jared nods and goes forward.
"Stay behind me."- He warns them- "Don't go too far away or you might get lost. This cave is not as small as it seems."
Barin and Aimee nod and approach the cave with Jared.
At some point within, Aimee decides to say something.
"I feel bad about poor Annie."- She says- "She... she just wanted to help us out. Maybe we should have taken her with us?"
Jared shakes his head.
"No. I chose to go on this mission with the two of you and I don't plan to take them along and unnecessarily risk their lives along with ours. It is a mission for three and I want to keep it that way."
Aimee nods and doesn't say another word, seemigly agreeing with what Jared said.
A little further into the cave, the trio notice that there are traps. On closer inspection, however, they don't seem to be working.
Either they're not active at all. Or someone deactivated them.
Either way, it's a sliver of good luck for our heroes. They bypass the traps and enter the next part of the cave.
Step by step, our heroes manage to reach the end of the cave without triggering any traps.
There, they see the five soldiers. The men wave for them.
"Over here, sir!"- A soldier yells- "Help us!"
Barin, seeing that his allies are wounded, runs forward to help them.
It is at this moment when Jared realizes that things might not be entirely alright here.
"Barin!"- He yells at his friend- "Stop! It's a trap!"
Barin manages to stop, but it is too late as a few bandits jump out of the shadows, surrounding him.
"We've got to help him!"- Aimee says.
Jared nods and attacks the bandits as they try to kill the surrounded Barin.
The three of them fight valiantly against the bandits, killing one after the other in quick succession, without taking a single moment of break to rest.
However, even their combined struggles against the bandits prove to be futile as more and more bandits jump out of the shadows to replace their fallen allies.
Soon, both the five soldiers and our three heroes are surrounded by the small army of mischievous bandits.
One of them laughs.
"Ha! We got 'im where we we want 'im!"- He says- "The mighty Jared Kaos. Surrounded at all sides by enemies like a helpless gazelle."
He points his wicked dagger at Jared's throat.
"You're gonna pay for almost killing our leader, kiddo!"
Jared smirks.
"Kill me, do whatever you want! But my friends, my trusted allies will win this war and slay that worthless worm who calls himself a "Warlord". Mark my words, you scum!"
He turns to his friends.
"My friends."- He says- "Run! Push your way through! I will distract them!"
Aimee shakes her head.
"We're not going anywhere without you, Jared. We can't leave you here!"
"We won't!"
The bandits laugh after seeing how uncooperative Jared's allies are and slowly approach them.
"There's no other choice!"- The young hero yells- "If you remain, all of us will die!"
"Now go! Run and take those poor souls to safety! I'll try to reach you later."
Barin nods.
"As you wish, sir."- He says and forcefully takes both Aimee's hand and escorts the rest of the soldiers to the exit of the cave.
After pushing their way past numerous bandits, they finally succeed in making it out alive.
They watch sadly as Jared smiles at them, flashes them a peace sign and gets lost in the endless army of bandits.
Everything seems lost for him. The rest of our heroes hear his agonized yells of resistance, not willing to cease until his last breath.
However, those yells soon cease and the bandits laugh.
"It's over."- Barin says and wipes a tear from his eye.- "Mr. Kaos is... he is... "
Aimee breaks down and cries for her lost friend.
"He didn't deserve this!"- She yells- "He. Didn't. Deserve. This!"
Our heroes have lost hope. They sigh and decide to escort the living soldiers to safety.
However, just when they're about to leave, an enraged John enters the cave and pushes them away.
"John?"- Barin says as he recognizes his friend.
All of them watch as John draws goes towards the army of bandits alone.
"John, no!"- Aimee says.
However, John doesn't react. He knows that his friend is in trouble and that there's no time to lose.
"I won't let you down, best buddy!"- He says as he stands on a higher point of the cave and coldly stares at the remaining bandits.
"Hey! Scum!"- He yells at them.
They turn around, see him alone and without any weapons and laugh.
"Oh, look!"- A bandit says- "Another fool's joined the party!"
"This guy's got a death wish!"- A second one adds.
"Get outta' here, weirdo!"- A third finishes.
"Do you know how much I hate you? How I will slay every single one of you without breaking a sweat?"
The bandits laugh.
"Hah! I'd like to see you try!"- The first bandit yells at the young hero.
However, John's bravery does not waver.
Instead, he decides to insult them even further.
"You're complete trash! A bunch of incompetents! You know that, right?!"
"Hah! Sure!"- A bandit says.
"We're proud of it!"- Another adds.
John smiles and decides to repeat.
"I'll repeat it to those few of you who are beaming with pride and patheticness!"
"You... "
"Are... "
"TRASH!"
He literally spits out the last word, causing a seismic shockwave to hit the cave and bring many of the bandits to the ground.
The rest of them watch as John turns to Barin and Aimee.
"My friends."- He says- "Lead them out. I'll join you as soon as I'm done cleaning the trash."
Barin and Aimee nod and lead the soldiers out of the cave.
John surprises the bandits by drawing out a huge broadsword from his back.
Not a normal, iron or steel broadsword, though. A broadsword made of pure energy, capable of cutting even the hardest of surfaces with ease.
He jumps down onto a staring bandit, bashing his skull in with his foot in the process.
He smiles.
"Well?"- He says- "Where's your endless ego now, you bags of trash?"
Instead of charging at them, John readies his sword, waiting for the enemy to make their first move.
Of course, the bandits are foolish enough to do so and attack as soon as he gets ready.
With a few swift slashes, John spins around and slays at least 20 of them.
Then, he charges forward, stabbing at least 8 of them in the chest.
The rest try to foolishly jump towards him. This makes them prime targets for John's aerial attack.
Just as the first few jump, he jumps as well and starts to swing the huge blade of energy around him, easily slaying every single one of them without breaking a sweat.
Such beauty!
Such power!
Such dedication!
The rest see that this battle is futile and, in a desperate attempt, try to run away from the cave.
However, this proves to be a horrible mistake as John charges at them. Slowly at first, then much faster, our hero manages to reach them with ease.
Just as they turn around, he crushes the front one's skull with his foot.
He quickly cleans the blood off his boot.
The rest of the bandits see that it is futile to escape and decide to die fighting. They scream and charge.
*SWISH*
*SWOOSH*
*thunk* *thunk*
*umph!*
*aargh!*
WIth those last blows, John completely destroyed the remaining bandits and completely cleared out the cvern of them.
He looks around and analyzes all the damage that he has done.
He nods.
"70 of them."- He says- "I've slain 70."
"I did it."
He notices an unconscious Jared standing in the middle of the corpses and quickly drags him up.
"Jared, my friend!"- He says- "Are you there? Please answer me! Don't make all the work that I have done for you futile! Don't! Please!"
"Jared!"
After a few seconds, Jared finally opens his eyes.
He smiles.
"John. I... I knew it."- He says.
John nods and smiles.
"That's right. I'm here. I would never let you go alone. I'm here to protect you, my friend."
He hears a loud rumbling coming from the ceiling of the cave and sees how stalactites start falling down from there.
"There's no time to explain what I did for you now."- He says to Jared- "For now, what matters the most is for the two of us to escape this place alive."
Jared nods and joins John in trying to get out of the cave before it collapses on them.
They keep looking for an exit desperately, checking every single corner, every single niche of the cave.
However, it turns out that the main passage is already blocked by rocks.
"What do we do now?"- John wonders.
Jared thinks about this quickly. He sees a mote of light not far ahead.
"There!"- He points at the light- "Salvation! Grab it while you still can!"
The two of them run towards the light with tremendous speed that they have never achieved before, desperately racing against the clock with all their might.
The rocks behind them keep falling, but the heroes don't stop. They keep pushing forward bravely, ready to take even the slightest of chances to join their allies outside.
A rock in front of them falls and almost trips John.
"Don't fall behind, John!"- Jared tells him.
John smiles.
"I'm okay, I'm okay. I won't leave you alone."- He says.
"Good."- Jared responds- "Then keep your pace and don't stop, whatever happens next."
John nods and the two of them keep running.
Soon, they see the caves of Avernum outside.
"We're here!"- Jared yells- "Come on John!"
"I'm right behind you, buddy!"- John responds.
The rocks get closer and closer, not wanting to let them go safely.
However, our heroes don't give up. With a last ounce of strength, an extremely tired Jared jumps out of the cave and onto the surface, John coming right behind him.
Barin and Aimee see their friends come from the other entrance and run towards them.
"Thank the Gods!"- Aimee says- "You made it!"
Jared and John smile.
"Of course we would! Did you doubt our abilites to escape?"
Aimee smiles warmly.
"I would never doubt the abilities of two true heroes."
John looks back at the cave and sees that it has been completely blocked.
"Well, that's done."- He mutters.
"What happened to the soldiers?"- Jared asks Barin, concerned about their well-being.
Barin shakes his head.
"Two of them died from their wounds. The other two are still alive, but barely breathing."
"I think that we have to put them down and leave only the healthy one alive."
John nods.
"We can all agree to that. Let's go."
The four of them arrive at the spot where the two gravely wounded soldiers are located.
The two men stare at Jared, barely able to say anything, let alone move any of their body parts.
"Sir... "- One of them mumbles- "Please... tell... my family... that I... I love them. And... remind them to... to not forget...m-me... "
Jared nods tearfully and smiles warmly.
"Your family will never forget you, brave soldier! Rest in peace!"
The soldier smiles and closes his eyes, finally letting himself be taken away by the cold embrace of death.
Meanwhile, the other soldier passes away as well.
Jared puts both of them out of their misery by stabbing them in the head, saving them from a fate worse than death.
"We put down the rest, sir."- Barin says sadly- "The remaining soldier returned to Formello to report for duty."
Jared nods and smiles.
"Good job, Barin!"- He says- "Good job, everyone! We made it out alive!"
"Now let's tell the mayor what happened back there!"
The three of them nod and walk back into the city of Formello, receiving a warm welcome by the guards and congratulations for their success.
After successfully reporting to the Commander, Jared walks back to his house at night.
"It was pretty dangerous today, wasn't it?"- John says.
Jared nods.
"It was indeed. But it wasn't anything that we couldn't handle together."
"Yes."- John responds- "Your brains and my brawns will defeat anything and anyone that stands in our path! Farrar won't have a chance against us!"
Jared smiles.
"Good night, John. Sleep well, because tomorrow is another day of struggles and endless pain."
John nods.
"I will. Goodnight, my friend."
Jared enters the house and lays on his bed.
Without thinking twice, he closes his tired eyes eagerly ang begins to dream about her.