CHAPTER 113: PREPARATIONS FOR THE IMPOSSIBLE

Marcus woke up in Valdris with his mind still processing the emotional breakthrough with Irene, but those thoughts quickly shifted to the massive challenge ahead. Tom wasn't at the house when he woke, so he picked up Palwin and headed to the store. Today was the day they would attempt the impossible mission to infiltrate Malachar's facility.

Marcus started packing his bag with the rifle and the crude mind protector device connected to its giant battery. The weight of the equipment felt substantial, but not as heavy as the responsibility he carried. While mentally preparing himself for that night's raid, he gave himself a peptalk about courage and necessity.

"This is it," he whispered to himself. "Everything we've worked for comes down to tonight."

Just as he was steeling his resolve, Aldric and Tom came walking up with wooden carts rattling behind them. Sara followed, her face showing a mixture of determination and barely contained excitement.

"Good morning, Marcus. Good morning, Palwin," Tom called out cheerfully, as if they weren't about to attempt something that could get them all killed.

Marcus looked at the carts with confusion. "What are those?"

Sara stepped forward with obvious pride. "You didn't think we'd send you on a death mission alone and without help, did you?"

"No, I need to go alone. I can't risk you. What are those, Sara?" Marcus protested, though part of him felt relieved at not facing this alone.

Aldric moved to remove the clothes covering the cart contents. "Explosivos, bombardos. I don't remember what exactly you said before." He revealed two carts full of hand grenades and nail bombs, each one carefully crafted and deadly looking.

Marcus stared in shock. "Sara! What the hell!"

Tom grinned at his cousin's reaction. "Language, brother."

Marcus turned to Sara, unable to form coherent questions. "Sara, why, how, why?" He couldn't even complete a proper sentence.

Sara's expression became serious and determined. "What do you mean why? Starting from those thug brothers, everything we have been through has increased at an unimaginable rate. We're not playing games anymore."

"But we promised to keep it hidden from the world," Marcus reminded her, thinking about the dangerous precedent of introducing explosives to medieval warfare.

Aldric stepped in with practical logic. "We will keep it hidden until our enemies are on our level. Malachar has advantages we can't match."

Sara crossed her arms defiantly. "I won't say sorry. You and the city need these. And I won't keep it hidden when lives are at stake."

Tom nodded approvingly. "Yeah, you said you made a weapon. Aldric can use these and I'll defend you guys."

Marcus felt his carefully planned solo mission expanding beyond his control. "What do you mean?"

"At the place where we steal things," Tom explained matter of factly.

"What? No, I will go alone," Marcus insisted, though his protests were starting to sound weak even to himself.

Sara looked at him like he was being ridiculous. "Don't be ridiculous. Of course you won't go alone. If the city wasn't surrounded, I would have come too, but I have ideas for the rangers."

"Guys..." Marcus started.

"And girls," Sara corrected with a slight smile.

Aldric nodded confidently. "Me and Sara have been working on this alone for weeks. I know how to use them properly. Well I know how not to explode myself."

Marcus sighed, recognizing that his team had made their decision. The solo infiltration mission was becoming a group effort whether he liked it or not.

Tom put his hand forward with obvious enthusiasm. "Come on, guys, put your hands in."

Palwin immediately put her hand above Tom's, followed by Sara and Aldric. Marcus looked at their expectant faces and reluctantly placed his hand on top.

"One, two, three, go!" they all shouted together.

They waited until nightfall, spending the day in final preparations. Sara worked with gunpowder, creating additional charges and ensuring everything was properly prepared for the siege defense they might need if the mission failed. Marcus and Tom focused on helping Palwin practice opening portals to the power plant.

Tom held both of Palwin's hands and locked eyes with her. "Palwin, I know you can do this. I don't want to push you too hard. Let me tell you a story. When I was at the Academy, I was having a hard time with transmutation. In one of the lectures, Master Thymon was watching. After the class, he came up to me and said it was okay that I couldn't do it, but I should imagine that I did it. Think about what I could do, how it could help my friends and family, rather than thinking about failing."

Palwin looked like she was about to cry from the pressure. Tom hugged her gently. "You don't have to do it. But if you do it, we can be together for a long time. I promise."

While they were hugging, magical energy overflowed from both of Palwin's hands. The portal magic responded to her emotional state and Tom's presence.

"Please come back to me, Tom. You are the only one that can understand me in this world," Palwin said, crying softly.

"I promise, Palwin, on my life," Tom replied with absolute sincerity.

The portal opened in front of them, a swirling window of liquid black electricity leading to an unknown destination. But Marcus could see it was already trying to close, getting visibly smaller each second.

"Okay, now jump!" Marcus called out as they rushed toward the portal.

As they prepared to step through, Sara called out urgently. "Marcus, bring my Aldric back in one piece, please!"

Marcus paused at the unexpected possessive reference. "Your Aldric?" he asked with surprise.

But there was no time for explanations as they plunged through the portal into whatever awaited them on the other side.

The transition through Palwin's portal felt like being turned inside out and compressed through a tube simultaneously. Marcus emerged on the other side disoriented but functional, immediately taking in their surroundings with trained observation.

Marcus thought on how far they'd all come from their early days as refugees struggling to survive in Drakmoor. Now they were conducting operations that could change the course of cosmic history.

The real test was about to begin, but Marcus had never felt more confident in his team's ability to succeed against impossible odds.

The infiltration of Malachar's most secure facility was underway.