Part Two
"My father is angry." A quiet voice murmured, in the back of a wanderer's mind. Startled by the break in the 'silence', the wanderer turned and looked down at the twin-tailed cat beside him.
"What is he angry about, Kuromaru-kun?" the wanderer asked, as he rubbed the cat's ears gently with his calloused fingers. The cat shook his head.
"No idea. It just has something to do with his partner being hurt, but I can't tell what. He's too far away for me to ask him, directly." The cat replied, with a troubled sigh.
"I see…..I hope Shishou is all right…..The connection has become so weak." The wanderer murmured, worriedly; immediately distracted by the sound of a ship landing in the distance.
"Sounds like trouble, wouldn't you say?" Kuromaru stated, rhetorically, when he'd also noticed the smoke billowing from the stern of the odd-looking vessel.
"Aa. Let's go and see if we can be of any help." The wanderer said, as he jumped onto the cat's back, and the feline took off after it; not knowing that this move alone would soon reunite them with the two they had been worrying about.
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Emeraldas uttered a few colorful profanities, as she and her crew did what they could to evade capture.
"I sure as hell do not want to go through what Lady Emeraldas had gone through!" Emeraldas seethed, as she remembered what Tochiro Jr. had told her about that time when his mother had been captured and tortured by Gokai, and nearly jumped out of her skin when another alarm went off nearby.
"Captain, it seems someone on-planet is approaching." Rowena stated, calmly.
"Put them on the monitor." Emeraldas commanded; getting an immediate compliance from her crew. Moments later, her gaze was met by the unusual sight of a small, almost petite man sitting astride a huge, twin-tailed cat. They were flying alongside the Queen Emeraldas, looking concernedly at the smoking engines as they did so.
"What should we do, Captain? Shoot them down?" Rowena asked; seeming equally as confused as the young woman beside her.
"No…..Open the hatch and let them come aboard." Emeraldas commanded, her curiosity getting the better of her, since she wanted to know who they were and why they had been in the vicinity.
"And I want to know why that cat reminds me of the wolves, for some weird reason….." Emeraldas mused, as she watched the port side hatch open from her vantagepoint on the bridge, and as the pair outside cautiously entered the ship.
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The prison complex was finally silent, as one lone prisoner slowly returned to consciousness again. For hours on end, something had been bombarding the prison from above; the explosions just barely being heard by the prisoner's fever-fogged brain.
"Maybe this is finally it…..I can finally bid this rotten life a 'fond' farewell….." the prisoner mused, sanguinely, as he slowly lifted his head; wincing when the metal ring around his neck dug into the raw, burned flesh under it. For several weeks, now, he'd been tortured with the ring, his neck and wrists badly burnt by the electricity that had flowed through them until just a short while ago.
"Wonder if the yarou that had created this damn thing is a reincarnation of Shishio?" the prisoner wondered, yet breathed a pained sigh. As though he could do anything about it, now, captured as he was.
"Hope Hiko had managed to get away. He was pretty sick by the time Kagemaru had come to get him out…..I hope he's still alive." The prisoner again mused; sagging again in his chains at the thought of the proud swordmaster's suffering at the hands of Kichigai, before he'd finally managed to escape. He perked up slightly, when what sounded like voices came to his ears; since the prison itself was now empty save for him, and a few corpses, this was a strange development, to say the least.
"But what poor bastards have been unfortunate enough to end up here?" the prisoner wondered, hazily; dreading what was to come for the new 'inmates', and when they discovered for themselves how painful the rings were.
"You're gonna regret getting caught, and will wish for a quicker death, by the time all is said and done….." he silently warned, as he eyed the door of his cell, and wondered if he would be able to see the newcomers before death came to finally claim him.
…………………………………
The crew of the DeathShadow could only watch, as their captain led the way through the seemingly empty prison; none of them daring to say a word, when they saw his narrowed eyes and sensed the cold fury that now resided within him at the horrors he was seeing.
"Damn…..most of these poor bastards were killed by electrocution, and a few look as though their wounds had done them in." Tochiro muttered, with a shudder of revulsion at the pitiable sight of the bodies that still hung from their chains within their cells, "You still think there could be anyone still alive in this hellhole?"
"Probably not…..but the least we can do is make sure, before we level it." Young Harlock replied, grimly, as he continued walking; gripping his Cosmo Dragoon tightly as he went. He certainly didn't want to repeat his mistakes and end up destroying any innocent lives! So wrapped up was he in his own thoughts, that Young Harlock almost didn't hear when a weak voice called out to him, from within one of the filthy cells on his right hand side.
"Hey…..get outta here…..while you still can…." The voice gasped, jolting the young pirate captain back to reality. In less than a heartbeat, he was looking into the cell and taking in the sight of the only survivor of the torture that had gone on throughout the prison; the man manacled to the wall looked to be about his own age, with shoulder-length, spiky brown hair and hazel eyes. Signs of his long imprisonment there were readily seen; his neck and wrists were badly burnt, and he appeared malnourished.
"Damn! He's on his last legs!" Young Harlock inwardly growled, as he shot the lock and forced his way into the cell.
"Harlock! What….?!" Tochiro yelped, from a bit further down the hall when he'd seen his friend rush into the cell.
"Tell sickbay to get ready, Tochiro, since there's at least one who's been lucky enough to survive this hell." Young Harlock replied, as he quickly shot the manacles off of the man's wrists, and caught him as he started to fall forward.
"Right!" Tochiro agreed, then started shouting into his comm-link a few seconds later.
"'Harlock'…..huh? Where've…..I heard that name…..before?" the man wondered, as he blearily looked up at the DeathShadow's captain, and then allowed himself to drift from consciousness; sagging limply on the younger man's shoulder when the final vestiges of strength abandoned him. He, therefore, didn't feel it when Harlock picked him up and hurriedly carried him out of the cell, nor hear it when the crew of the space pirate ship uttered yelps of shock at the sight of their captain carrying a dying man in his arms and when those same men snarled in rage at the sight of the metal ring around the prisoner's neck.
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Emeraldas watched as the small man and his cat cautiously traversed the halls of her ship; almost curiously looking in each room as they went. When they had stopped in front of her quarters, she made herself known to them.
"You should wipe your feet before going into a lady's bedroom, you know." Emeraldas stated, as she approached them; startling the man into turning around so quickly that he lost his balance and fell flat on his back
"Oro!" the man yelped, as he fell; the exclamation almost making her laugh softly, and the deadpan expression that appeared on the cat's face shortly afterwards made the situation even more priceless.
"What brings you two here?" Emeraldas asked, as she helped the man get back to his feet again.
"He just wanted to make sure you and this ship's crew were all right. You see, we've encountered your ship before…..but she was under a different captain, then." The cat stated, when he'd sensed that his companion was still a little too dizzy to respond.
"I see….So you've met Lady Emeraldas?" Emeraldas asked, sensing that she had very little to fear from the pair in front of her. The cat nodded.
"Almost thirty years ago…..When the earth was still at war with the green-faced men. She was a 'free trader' then, and not a pirate." The cat responded, coolly, then added, "I am Kuromaru, and this is my partner, Kenshin."
"Pleasure to meet you both. I am Emeraldas, the current captain of the Queen Emeraldas." Emeraldas said, introducing herself to the pair, and smiling when the red-haired man bowed politely.
"Good to meet you as well, Emeraldas-dono." Kenshin answered, his own smile warm and friendly…..even though, to her eyes, it also seemed tinged with some worry and weariness, as well. Yet she noticed right away when the robot beside her jerked to attention, and gave it a confused look when it spoke.
"Captain, we're receiving a message from the DeathShadow. Do you want it patched through?" the robot asked.
"Yes. Go ahead." Emeraldas replied, as she began running back towards the bridge again; not in the least bit surprised when Kenshin and Kuromaru followed her. They got there just as the image of the DeathShadow's captain appeared on the screen.
"We're picking up a distress signal from you, Emeraldas. You all right over there?" Young Harlock asked, concernedly.
"I'm fine, but the Queen Emeraldas has picked up some minor damage to her engines." Emeraldas replied, then noticed that there seemed to be blood on her friend's flightsuit, "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, though I'm not going to say the same for the prison we'd just demolished over here. There was only one survivor in the whole place….the rest of the prisoners there had been electrocuted with those damn rings." Young Harlock growled, angrily.
"Damn…..How is that one survivor doing?" Emeraldas asked, when she'd noticed that Kenshin had paled dramatically at the news, and was bracing himself on Kuromaru's shoulder.
"Not good. He's got some bad infections in his neck and wrists…..I may have to transfer him to Zero's ship, since I'm not sure we can handle this." Young Harlock gravely replied, then added, "I'll send Tochiro your way, so he can get your engines back online. Meet me at the Pirate Islands once that has been done."
"Okay. See you then." Emeraldas agreed, before the connection was cut, and she looked over at Kenshin again. Almost immediately, she felt a wave of pity fall over her, when she saw how the man was taking the bad news; he now looked extremely weak and frail, and 'worried' did not begin to describe the look that had taken up residence in his amethyst eyes.
"There's nothing I can really say that would make this any easier for him, at this point. He must have known one of the prisoners in that prison……" Emeraldas mused, then gently reached out and placed a soothing hand on Kenshin's shoulder.
"There's an extra room set up just down the hall. Go and get some rest, you look like you need it." Emeraldas said, kindly; her heart aching when she saw what could have been tears in his eyes, before he blinked them back and nodded.
"A-arigato, Emeraldas-dono." Kenshin whispered, before he wandered out of the bridge. For a few moments, Kuromaru lingered; giving her a feline version of a polite bow, before following his friend.
…………………….
It was quite some time before he regained consciousness, yet already he could tell that he was no longer in the prison. For one thing, he could hear what sounded like medical machines nearby…..And, for another, the ring was finally gone.
"A sickbay…..Then what happened earlier was real….I'm still alive…." The former prisoner mused; wincing as every breath seared his throat, but making doubly sure that he didn't let anyone know he was feeling it.
"I don't know what kind of people have picked me up…..It could be those damned mechanized men, for all I know." He inwardly growled; not anticipating what happened next.
"You're about half right, on that." A voice said, from beside the bed. Startled into opening his eyes, he painfully turned his head to look and see who had spoken, and was even further surprised to see that a black-furred, blue-eyed wolf now sat beside his bed.
"What…..do you….mean?" the ex-prisoner managed, grimacing with every word spoken.
"You're on a ship that is manned by a crew that is half mechanized. Have you ever heard of a vessel known as the Karyu?" the wolf asked, quietly. It took a few moments for the wounded man to reply, but, when he did, he nodded.
"Yeah…..Captain Zero's ship…..Served aboard her during the Mech War……Guess this means I'm back aboard her now….." the wounded man murmured, softly.
"Yes. This was the only ship my master knew of, that could possibly save you. Your wounds are still very serious." The wolf stated; seemingly surprised when the man shrugged slightly, and gave him a vague smirk.
"Been through….worse. One such occasion….was in a prison...by a yarou known as 'Gokai'….." the man stated; noticing when the wolf beside him froze, and gave him a disbelieving look, "What?"
"You were held prisoner by a man named 'Gokai'? How long ago was this?" the wolf asked, anxiously.
"Almost sixteen years ago…..Why?" the man in turn questioned, curiously; looking up when several men walked into the sickbay, and seeing that at least two of them he thought he recognized. At this, the wolf appeared to smile.
"You don't recognize this young pirate standing behind me, do you?" the wolf asked, even as some quizzical looks were directed at him. For a brief moment, the wounded man had a blank look on his face, then carefully scrutinized the younger man's face….His own eyes widening when realization set in.
"You're that kid…..that covered my back….on the day of that jailbreak! Well I'll be damned…..You survived to make your own way….What about that lady pirate? Did she survive her ordeal?" the man asked, concernedly. Young Harlock nodded.
"I'm still trying to figure out how you'd pulled off making those laser cannons blow up without explosives. Gotta admit that I'm still baffled by that one." Young Harlock admitted, and got a grin from the wounded man for that admittance.
"I'll explain…..later…..For now…..I'd better introduce myself….." the man said, then held out a hand in greeting, "Sagara Sanosuke…..Renegade for Hire…..at your service."
Author's Note!
Even though it is much shorter than the first part, here's Part Two! (Hope it was all right, and that it made sense!)
Gemini14