Eagle sat crosslegged in a pile of hay inside his improvised cell. What appeared to have once been a holding cell for sacrificial animals now served as a confinement chamber for him. 

The larger room around the cell was almost pitch black with the darkness of the early morning. Only the dim beams from the helmets of his guards provided any illumination. Four Innutukian men paced across the room, stealing glances into Eagle's holding chamber constantly. A pair of Kemarian men had insisted on having the honor of standing guard alongside them, but now, sleep had overtaken them. They slumped over large burlap bags of grain. 

Eagle looked up as one of the Innutukians broke off from his pacing and grasped one of the bars. "You'd better go to sleep in there, idiot." 

"I'm finding it difficult with your lights swinging to and fro." Eagle retorted. 

"Lies!" the man growled, "They're designed not to interfere with the sleep cycle. Furthermore, you're the one sitting up, looking at them. Lay down and face the other way!" 

'I'm quite fine, thank you." the swordsman muttered sarcastically. 

"Stop giving me lip!" the Innutukian snapped. "Or I'll make you regret it!" 

"You're normally in bed at this time, aren't you?" 

"Yeah, long before now! What's that have to do with anything?" 

Eagle smirked. "I guess your animalistic irritability can be attributed to that." 

"Shut your mouth, or I'll cut it permanently open." 

"Ah, what a shameful attempt at a threat. Surely you could've done better than that." 

"Oh yeah?" the soldier challenged, nearly foaming at the mouth, "Well, how about I cave in that empty skull of yours?" 

Eagle leapt to his feet in the cell and rolled his shoulders, a mischievous grin smeared across his face. "My father said that often." He sighed. "Perhaps a joust will stir your brain juices—get your two brain cells to smack together." 

The Innutukian roared and groped in his pocket for a keychain. His comrades rushed in and yanked him back. 

"Stop it!" one of them shouted, "He's only toying with you! He's trying to get you in there to fulfill some vile machination of his!" 

"There's no reasoning with him." Eagle said, "The senseless bull's seeing red." 

"Let me at 'im!" the enraged soldier hollered, "I'll be seeing red, alright. It'll be comin' outta you!" 

The bearded swordsman sighed deeply. "Nice try...? But that was low-class. Much like your mother, I'm afraid." 

The three Innutukians struggled to contain their comrade, practically sitting on him to that end. One of them glared at Eagle for a moment. "Shut up!" 

"He's not gonna listen to you!" the soldier said as he leapt to his feet. 

He dashed at the door and shoved a key into the lock. His companions immediately hurried to draw him back, but while they struggled with him, Eagle chuckled to himself and grabbed the man's wrist. He twisted his hand the rest of the way, and a little farther. He kicked the door open on all four of them. 

With a concerted effort, he yanked the cell door off its hinges. Before any of the Innutukians could rise, he hurled the heavy hunk of metal down onto them. 

None of them are rising anytime soon. he told himself. 

Eagle crouched behind a pile of crates when he heard footsteps outside the door. Another quartet of Innutukians raced into the room, frantically glancing about with flashlights sweeping the area. Once they'd passed him, he slipped out the door and into the courtyard of the temple. 

******************** 

Baird stood on a balcony and smiled down at his phone. He'd been texting Abigail for the past few hours, and time had flown. She'd just said she was getting sleepy and would go down, but their "goodnight" had transformed into an emoji battle. 

He chuckled when the words "Ok you win" popped onto the screen. After sending a last message of his own, he glanced at the clock in the corner and widened his eyes. Two a.m.? No way! 

With a sigh, he pocketed his phone, slid the door open, and stepped back inside. He immediately heard footsteps to his right, so he turned. In the minimal lighting of the moon peeking through the windows, he caught a glimpse of Eagle running his way, twin swords in the sheaths on his back. 

Baird gritted his teeth and unsheathed his own sword. At the press of a button, his blade erupted into a light show of dancing electric sparks. Eagle slid to a halt and rolled his eyes. 

"Just step aside, please." Eagle said, "Neither of us have anything to gain from a confrontation." 

"Oh yes you do." Baird replied with narrowed eyes. "Freedom. Now, drop your weapons and get on your knees." 

"I think not." 

"Brant won fair and square, and you would have him to forfeit his prize?" 

Eagle shrugged. "Yeah." 

Baird said nothing more, but only watched as the bearded man unsheathed his swords. 

"I ask you once more to step aside." Eagle commanded, "If not, I'll slay you without slightest remorse." 

"Try me." 

"You asked." Eagle remarked as he took a quick step forward. 

With two jerky movements of his blade, Baird warded off each of his opponent's sword strikes, one at a time. He kicked Eagle back and lunged in with a stab while he was still recovering. The swordsman wasn't slow to defend. He sent his own attack back. 

Baird hissed when the sword's blade bit into his shoulder. The cut wasn't deep, but it didn't seem that it was supposed to be. Eagle clearly intended it to be an annoyance, not a fatality. 

Eagle stepped closer to his opponent, twirling his swords in a blur. Baird's eyes widened and darted about, struggling to catch the movement. He felt thrown off balance just by looking at the spinning blades. When Eagle stepped closer, he stepped out of range. With stumbling steps, he retreated and waited for the god to break up the pattern. 

The god broke out with two simultaneous attacks. A diagonal slash for Baird's shoulder and a horizontal swing at his belly. Baird gasped. With a swift sidestep, he dodged the first blade, leaving himself free to block the second and thrust again. 

Eagle leapt back. Running at the wall, he leapt off of it and rained two mighty blows down on his opponent. Baird managed to defend himself, but the momentum slammed him into the railing. He shoved Eagle back with his shoulder, gingerly rubbing his spine with the other hand. 

The two men underwent several more engagements, but continually came away unharmed. With twin swords at his disposal and a full bag of theatrics, Eagle held the advantage. Baird, however, had a grit that wouldn't allow him to accept defeat, and his adeptness in single-bladed combat rendered him still a worthy challenger. 

Eagle growled and engaged Baird again. Ignoring the sharp pain in his shoulder, Baird blocked the blow. When their swords connected, he used the force to knock the weapon from Eagle's hand. It clattered to the courtyard below. 

With only one sword each, the odds appeared more even. Baird drove Eagle back with a series of swings, thrusts, and uppercuts. He easily defended, but often at the expense of attacking back. 

Finally, Baird kicked Eagle in the chest. He flew back into a balcony door and shattered the glass. As the shards sliced into his back, he cried out. 

Baird gave him no time to recover, advancing again with more attacks. Eagle ducked to evade. While crouched, he slashed into Baird's thigh. He grunted and stumbled away. 

They exchanged another round of blows. Baird's footwork became sloppier as his wound screamed at him at the slightest movement. Eagle, however, drew strength from the anger his pain caused him. His moves were as swift as they were powerful. 

Eagle raised a heavy blow over his head, one Baird saw coming from the moment he begun moving his arms. He eyed his opponent's exposed belly. But he was out of range for his shorter saber's blade to make contact, and he knew his legs wouldn't move fast enough to make a lunge or dodge. So he did the only thing he could. 

Baird blocked. Though safe from the god's sharp blade, the force of his swing still remained, and through the connection of weapons, the shockwave rushed into Baird's body. He toppled onto his back. 

Eagle leapt down and threw a barrage of attacks on Baird. Even laying on the ground, he managed to keep his defense impeccable, warding every blow away and preparing to bat the next away in one continuous, flowing movement. A plan formulated in the back of his mind. He studied Eagle's sword in greater detail and nodded. 

Once Baird had stayed defensive long enough to convince Eagle of a sure victory, he swung a sideways blow at the weapon. It clattered out of reach. Baird rolled to his feet and implemented his plan. 

He stabbed his sparking blade deep into the flesh of Eagle's thigh. Blood trickled from the wound as electricity hopped over his body. He collapsed against the balcony railing, convulsing violently and roaring in agony. While he spasmed, Baird stooped down and snatched up the god's sword. 

Baird inhaled and raised the weapon over his shoulder. Eagle could do nothing but watch. Baird brought it down with a powerful swing, and the sharp cutting blade did the rest of the work. Entering just below his rib cage on his right, it made a diagonal cut clean through to the other side of Eagle's body. Blood splattered on Baird and also formed a deep pool under the fresh corpse. 

Eagle's torso splashed down into its own spillage while his legs remained standing. They continued twitching under the influence of Baird's blade still buried in the thigh. Finally, with a sigh, he wiped blood from his mouth, tossed the reddened sword aside, and retrieved his own from the dead god's leg. Weakened by his own wounds, he stumbled into the wall behind. 

General Trackenkaken and Ace stumbled through the broken glass with bewildered eyes, followed by two Innutukian soldiers. 

"What...happened?" Track asked. His eyes darted between the crimson pool and Baird's eyes. 

"He was trying to escape." Baird rasped. Spittle sizzled between his tongue and teeth as he clutched his bleeding leg. 

A growl rumbled in the general's throat. He turned to one of his men. "Awake Captain Kreibanhagan! I instructed him to post his best men, and yet...this!" 

The Innutukian saluted. "Yes sir!" 

As he spun on his heel to exit, another of his countrymen squeezed through the doorway. This man's eyes were widened and his skin was pale as he eyed the general. 

"What is it?" Track asked. 

"An encrypted transmission was sent from our communication console, General! We're suspecting it was the escaped prisoner." 

"Do you remember the contact code?" 

The man shook his head. "No, sir, but the numbering format was Alcontean." 

Baird met the general's gaze as he allowed Ace to shoulder some of his weight. "That can't be good, whatever it is." 

Track displayed his teeth in a grimace. "Brant kept saying it was suspicious how easily he gave in. This is what he wanted! Even in death, he's already accomplished his goal!" 

Baird gasped, both from pain and realization. "He only came here to scope us out! With that information, they have all they need to wipe out what's left of us." 

Ace groaned. "We're doomed."

******************** 

A/N: Well well well...it looks like our beloved heroes are being played yet again! If you thought Eagle was being suspiciously fair...well, you were right. 

(But maybe you could not play me and give me a vote and some comments, assuming you enjoyed this chapter? I always appreciate it. 😂) 

This was a fun one to write, with that breakout scene of Eagle that reminded me a bit of Loki from the first Avengers film, and then a sword fight between our boy Baird and the "god" of blades. It's always good to see the original MC of this series get a moment like that to shine. 

Anyway, now that we've had a good few of the gods explored at least in part, (Dove, Eagle, Buzzard, Kookaburra, etc.), who would you say is your favorite? (Whether by that you mean "love to hate" or legitimately just "love", that's up to you.) 

(I usually don't answer my own story-related questions, but I'm feeling generous this morning. 😝  I personally find Dove the most...intellectually intriguing, even if rather angering. The same way I love hating Thanos. Eagle, on the other hand, I legitimately enjoy his personality, and if not for his villainy, he might be a character I enjoy wholeheartedly. And then Kookaburra is pure entertainment. I'll go with Dove as my final answer, but Eagle's a close second.) 

And now for a random question: What's a project you're thinking about taking up soon? 

(For me, I'm gonna dust off an old guitar book I bought a while ago and actually start going through the lessons. I know a crap ton of chords and can play a zillion songs' chord progressions, but I can't play a melody to save my life. And as a saxophonist, that's humiliating, even if it's another instrument. So there.) 

I hope you have an amazing day and and equally rewarding week! Lord willing, I'll see you soon in next Saturday's update. Until then, stay safe and happy! 😁