"We are all fighting for something, but victory demands something in return"
They swam to the second flag with the letter T written on it. Second felt a little nervous because Fifth was the only guy they could be with while getting the flags. She hoped the other members would be safe and sound.
"Here we are," Aeith pointed to the beautiful coral reefs.
They were inside a small cave with coral reefs of different colors and sizes. It looked refreshing and captivating. She hoped she could always see wonderful scenery such as this.
Author mentioned that several coral reefs were a sign of an enemy's base. Besides that, her two eyes could clearly see the two small shining golden flags stuck in the sand with coral reefs surrounding them. Those were the two flags worth 30 points each. So, those were the flags they should grab to win. Wait, where was their biggest flag worth 70 points? Aeith motioned Fifth and Sixth to swim down and bring Seventh back to where First was.
"We're missing the other one," she stated as they searched for it.
"Yeah," Fifth realized. "We're not yet done here."
"How's that? Do we find it first?" Fourth asked.
"Where is it? Geez, this is so annoying!" Aeith was getting impatient.
She must have been so excited that they'd seen the gold team's base, but they couldn't find the big one. They all wanted to complete the flags to have perfect points, but were faced with another challenge.
Even though it was a bit dark inside the cave they entered, they saw their flag at once, even though it was poorly lit and far away, because the gold-colored flag was glowing.
"Ah, finally!" Fifth got the two small flags stuck in the sand. They decided to let him keep them until they finished the task. But where was the big one?
"Let's find the other one. Better if we split up," Sixth suggested, which they complied with.
Second swam to the left side of the cave. She could only see more coral reefs over there. It took them a couple of minutes to search for it, but it seemed not to be there.
"'Argh!" someone wailed.
She heard an alarming voice. It was Fourth. She swam back and was surprised at what she saw.
The whole members of the gold team... they were here at their own base. Why were they here in their own base instead of theirs? Her gaze turned upwards when Fourth and Aeith swam up because their glass bubbles had burst just like what happened to Seventh's!
How did that happen to them?
She observed their surroundings and looked out for octopuses because there might be another sea creature attack, but there was none, and there was no octopus ink released that burst Seventh's glass bubble.
So, how did it happen to Fourth and Aeith?
"What are you guys doing here?" Fifth interrogated them authoritatively while holding the two small golden flags.
"Why? Is it bad to hang out at our base?" Sectwen replied with a sarcastic tone.
Did they have business here at their base? But Author did not mention anything about it.
"Isn't this your base, and you should be targeting ours?" Sixth questioned them—the same question that formed in her head.
"Ah, is that so? We actually got the big one. Here," Fifzen showed them the big silver flag he was carrying. "Can you just tell us where the little ones are?" he added, and he smirked.
They also got their silver flag, but where were their two small silver flags? Wait a minute, were they asking where to find their two small silver flags when they already had their one big silver flag? Weren't they supposed to look for it where they found the two small ones? Why would they bother coming to their base if it was supposed to be in the silver team's base?
"We don't know what you're saying. We're just here to snatch the flags." Fifth replied in a serious tone.
"Really?" Sectwen seemed doubtful. "You'll tell us, or we'll blow those bubbles on your head?" She threatened them.
What did this mean?
Second turned back at Thirtwen and Sixzen, but they just avoided her eyes and stood still. She turned to Ninezen. She stared at him with a confused look. He also averted his eyes from her.
What was going on with them?
"What do you mean?" she sought clarification, trying to brace herself. They had seen the ink from the octopus that popped Seventh's glass bubble, but she did not know how it happened to Fourth and Aeith.
"Author gave it to us," Sectwen answered, showing them a long, sharp needle. "Didn't I ask earlier how we can play when there are only six of us and nine of you? His answer was, 'In this game, there is nothing unfair,' so he gave it to us to make the fight fair. This thing shatters the bubble, and that's why we're here!"
So, that was what Author was referring to. It gave the gold team an advantage—the needle, since they were shorthanded. To make everything a fair fight between the two teams, this was the solution Author came up with. She agreed that it was unfair to have a nine versus six match. But she did not know if she was in favor of the use of a needle or if it was now causing them a big disadvantage. Sectwen must have used the needle to burst Fourth's and Aeith's bubbles. One wrong move, and she could easily destroy the thing keeping them alive underwater. They needed to be more careful. She noticed Sectwen was getting bolder, wasn't she? It seemed like she was progressing into her character.
"That's ours," Fifzen and Sixzen warned Fifth to return the small golden flags they had gotten.
They ambushed them, asking where their two small silver flags were, but at the same time seizing the two small golden flags they had. If they couldn't claim their two small silver flags, they'd just steal the flags they had taken to secure their win. What a smart move.
What were they going to do?
They really had them. Their chance of resisting was low because of the needle Sectwen was holding. Getting their glass bubbles pierced was life-threatening if they couldn't grasp air above the sea surface.
They had swum far and quite deep. Fifth handed the flags over halfheartedly as they all agreed. They couldn't risk their bubbles over the flags, but either decision resulted in consequences. Was it right to give up their flags?
She staggered when Fifzen and Sixzen snatched her and held her with force to stay still. Fifzen took the needle from Sectwen and faced it in front of her glass bubble.
"All right," Fifzen composed himself. "Will you tell us where your flags are, or will I blow this out of Second's head?" Fifzen threatened them.
It saddened her, not because she was captured, but because their friends were being like this. They couldn't find the big gold flag, and the gold team couldn't find their two small silver flags either. Did Author hide it purposely as part of the game? They knew nothing about this. They were getting more confused!
"O-Oh, all right, all right. Where's our base?" Fifth was also confused.
They also didn't know where the flags were hidden at their base. The only goal of the game was to find the opponent's base and take the flags in it, so they didn't know where their base was. They were just surprised that the gold team was here at their base.
"You should've known," Fifzen replied.
Second saw something flashing that caught her eye on the right side of the cave. She squinted her eyes to see it clearly. If she was correct, it was gold in color.
Gold treasure? Gold pieces of jewelry underwater? Another sea creature? Or?
"Me, I know where the two flags are!" Second's courageous answer made the gold team's heads turn to her.
"You knew?" Sectwen sought clarity, and she nodded. "Keep watching Second with a needle while swimming," she commanded Fifzen and Thirtwen. "You two, just keep an eye on our base," she ordered Sixzen and Aeizen. "Ninezen, come with us."
Fifth and Sixth frowned at her, so she just winked at them. They must be baffled at what she was doing.
She paused as they passed on the right side out of the small cave, where she saw the flashing object. She stared at it as she glanced alternately at Fifth to catch his guard. In a matter of seconds, he got what she meant.