A/N: First of all, I'd like to thank everyone that reviewed and for their kind words of encouragement. I was truly moved by how much you all cared. And even if you didn't review, just reading the chapter was enough to make me happy that I've come back.

This time the wait wasn't at all long, and I'm so glad that I managed to write this much after so long with struggling. Long may this trend continue.

Thank you for reading. Reviews will be most welcome. For they are my mince pies (wow that felt nostalgic). Love Rosa xx

It was mid morning when Demyx finally caught the carrier pigeon that had landed in their crow's nest, having carefully carried it down the rigging in the cage brought up specially for it. The tired bird was taken in by Zexion, who had now locked himself up in Leon's cabin so that he could decode the message in peace. Cloud wasn't sure how the crew seemed to be so calm despite word spreading about the warning Balamb's governor had left for would-be raiders. He also had to wonder why Terra seemed to be so secretive all of a sudden; the ship's doctor was making a point of not getting into direct contact or indeed speaking about the events of this morning.

Leon was glaring out in the direction of Balamb. For him, this was a waiting game. "...Cloud," Leon finally muttered.

"Yes?"

"If things go awry... there isn't any doubt in my mind that they'll at least spare you."

"I wouldn't be so sure... I could just as easily be found guilty of aiding pirates." He knew that the aiding and abetting of piracy was usually met with death. "My status as a noble would at least assure a trial. Fair or not would be up for debate."

"Even so... you'd have a higher chance of survival." Leon sighed. "...Terra's always had a special sort of medication ready in case we're going into a raid that's high risk. The crew will be given a dosage of it to consume... if the worst should happen."

It had been that very last sentence that had illuminated just what the purpose of that 'medicine' was. "A... a poison...?"

"Fast acting and painless," Leon murmured. "And it doesn't give the bastards the satisfaction of trying to humiliate anyone who is captured. I meant it when I said no one is going to hang if we could help it." Cloud had hoped that maybe it would be possible for everyone to live... but he supposed that was wishful thinking. At least Leon had given his crew a chance to keep their dignity in death. "...that's why I wanted to ask if you wanted it."

"Me? Why?"

"I have a feeling that, regardless the outcome, if this fails, you'd only be back in the hands of your tormentors. Having that medication on your person gives you another option."

"I won't take it," Cloud answered. This was rewarded by a surprised sideways glance from the pirate king. "Even if this all ends in failure, suicide would only be a coward's way out for me." He looked over to Leon. "I can't kill myself knowing my siblings could still be in danger. And I get the feeling that you'd rather risk execution if there was a way to get to Ellone."

Leon smiled quietly. "Well said." He then chuckled to himself. "You saw right through me then."

"You don't strike me as the type to take your own life even if it did look hopeless."

"Seems I greatly underestimated you." Leon turned just as they both heard the cabin door open. "Hopefully this will be good news from Zexion."

The small navigator walked up to them, his face grave but there was clear spark of determination in his eyes. "Not the best news, but manageable," he reported. He leaned against the railing, looking at the pair. "The Queen Anne's Revenge and the Black Pearl had raided Balamb recently." He nodded over to the rock with the grisly warning. "Which explains where those three came from. My reckoning is that they may have thought you sent them ahead to soften them up a bit."

"Hector and Jack really have a wonderful sense of timing don't they..." Leon growled, wishing they had spoken to them all that time ago when Barbossa's ship was spotted. "No doubt Jack put him up to it with talk of treasure."

"Most likely. Sparrow is well known for his silver tongue." Zexion then continued, "In all the commotion, nearly every agent and informant working within Balamb was found. There are a few who managed to escape... not the one we really wanted words with sadly. It sounds like she's languishing in the fort's gaol."

"So we don't have support..."

"On the contrary, the chief handler has struck up a bargain with us." Zexion smiled. "If we can spring the birds out of their cages in the fort, they'll assist us in disarming the fort so that the Ragnarok won't be under such heavy fire. Any captured pirates that are still in the fort and awaiting execution will be an asset to us as well, especially once they realise the Rex Pirata is there."

"I see... we have an untapped resource ready to use."

"They've also been keeping an eye on the situation with her Imperial Highness. It still appears that no one has seen her, but likewise it seems that the raiders never managed to get into the fort nor get as far as the Governor's house. That seems to suggest that Ellone is unharmed."

Leon nodded his head, letting that sink in. Cloud could only imagine what was going through his mind.

"There is one other thing. They want us to take the agents to a safe dock since they've been compromised," Zexion added. "That will mean Destiny Islands. I'm sure the agents can find their own way back to the Radiant City from there."

"Given that they're helping us get Ellone back, its a fair enough deal," Leon agreed. He gestured for the pair to follow him back to the cabin. "Zexion, I'm going to write a response. You'll see to it that it's encrypted and sent off."

"Goes without saying Leon," Zexion responded. "I must say though, it really is serendipitous. This information has given Cloud's plan of action a good foundation to work on."

"You could say that we're getting a much needed round of good luck," Leon said, looking over his shoulder. "And if Cloud's involved in it, then I'd say its a good omen. It did save me from a jaguar after all."

"Don't count on lucky shots on my part," Cloud deadpanned. Though it did seem luck was on their side after being separated from the Shera. I just hope it holds out.

Roxas had been allowed up top deck though it was to help out with preparations. With them being this close to Balamb and in a safe inlet away from the prying eyes of Hollow Bastion, the Brandts saw this as their biggest opportunity to make sure the Ragnarok and her crew were ready for an attack. Although he initially had thought that the crew would be wary of him, clearly they had collectively decided that he was a minor concern in the grand scheme of things. Besides, although Axel had forbade the younger crew members to look, Roxas could tell from the grim countenances of all the older members that something terrible had been spotted. Word was soon out about the three hanging pirates and the threat that was with them.

"Roxas!" Axel's voice rang out, causing him to nearly jump out of his thoughts and turn towards the first mate. He and Kairi were at the captain's cabin door. "Leon wants you in this meeting! Demyx, take that powder keg out of his hands!"

"Aye Axel," Demyx's voice replied, and within moments Roxas felt someone land on the top deck to the side of him. Clearly the heathen had been up among the sails checking that the ropes were in good shape. He beamed at Roxas as he took the keg out of the youngster's hold. "Don't worry. You go," he offered in Bastionite. It was still pretty bad.

"Thanks Demyx," Roxas nodded, and soon he was hurrying over to the Brandts, looking between them. "Oh yeah... did you see Sora this morning Kairi?" he asked.

"He's not out of the woods yet, but he's definitely going to be causing more trouble sooner rather than later," she smiled. Clearly she was relieved. "Though that idiot is going to get a serious lecture from me once he's recovered."

The door was pushed open at this point by Axel and the three of them stepped in -Kairi first, with Axel bringing up the rear. Leon, Cloud, Zexion and Terra were all there, with the navigator at the window and only now just releasing the pigeon from that morning with a new message. Leon glanced up from his spot at his desk. "I'm glad you're all here."

"What's this got to do with Roxas?" Cloud asked from his position, leaning heavily against the wall. "He should be hidden onboard the Ragnarok during all this."

"Ordinarily I'd have to agree with you, but Terra's confirmed that our professional thief is still out of action," Leon replied. His gaze was firmly on Roxas. "That's where our resident escape artist comes in."

"Me?" Roxas queried, pointing at himself and looking confused.

"What are you getting at Leon?" Axel growled. Roxas realised that the redhead had shuffled over a little closer to him.

"We've struck a bargain with Zexion's contact. This is not only a mock-hostage exchange, it's also a break out." Leon's face was the picture of impassivity. "Zexion can get inside the fort, but he needs someone to pick a lock since he can't do that and keep an eye out for guards."

"And by lock, he means several," Zexion corrected. "Let's not forget that we've confiscated what looked like rudimentary lock picks from Roxas' belongings before. And he's had a few escapes." He smiled crookedly. "I'm sure a few cell doors in a fort will be like picking daisies for him."

"He's not going," Axel said lowly. He had shifted even closer in a protective stance. Axel's response had earned him a surprised but grateful look of approval from Cloud. "Take someone else, but not-"

"Is this something only I can do?" Roxas cut across. While he'd never picked a lock that belonged to a cell, he felt sure the mechanics wouldn't be that dissimilar to what he was used to. Just heavier. This was met with an appreciative look from Zexion.

"You may have a bad habit of getting caught, but so long as I'm with you, I can make sure that never comes to pass. I can't infiltrate the fort on my own nor do I have the option of taking a big group with me. With your help, we can free the prisoners and disarm the fort with their assistance."

Roxas pursed his lips. He'd always been escaping... he'd never actually broke into a place. But he could help. Help those who were in need, who'd help him in return. "He is not doing it. If it was Sora I wouldn't mind so much, but Roxas hasn't been under that kind of pressure before. You're asking him to be a lynch pin in your plans," Axel protested.

"And I'm not willing to put Roxas in danger. Don't you have someone else that could pick a lock or go with Zexion? If things go awry, Roxas has to-" Cloud never finished his sentence.

"I'll do it," Roxas stated, his voice firm. Although he was nervous about this, he wanted to do something to help for once. Besides... if this helped the crew, and by proxy if it helped Axel, then he'd do it. The first mate looked at him as if he had grown an extra head.

"Attaboy Roxas!" Kairi grinned, slinging her arm around his neck. "You go do Sora and the Ragnarok proud~!"

"Roxas-!" Cloud started.

"I want to do it Cloud," Roxas interrupted, looking at Cloud with a stern expression. "I might not understand why we're doing this, but I can definitely understand that that fort is going to tear the Ragnarok apart if it gets half a chance. I'd be in danger anyway if I stayed aboard." He could tell Cloud was not happy with this arrangement.

"Fine," Axel grumbled. "Guess I'm going with you then."

"Excuse me?!" Zexion exclaimed. "You are literally the least inconspicuous person I know!"

"Fine by me," Leon smiled. "You could do with some brawn in your group anyway." Zexion was a flustered sputtering mess about this turn of events, while Axel looked rather pleased, a catlike grin on his face. "Terra and Kairi, I want you both to remain on the Ragnarok and act as artillery support if things do go south."

"Understood," Terra replied, finally breaking his silence. "I'll distribute the emergency medication to your group and Zexion's beforehand."

"You can count on me to have the old girl ready for battle." That same grin on her brother's face was plastered on Kairi's. "La Coeur is going to be taught a lesson in dignity by the time we're through with him."

"Good. Cloud and I will take our best fighters onto land and meet with the Governor for the trade. Considering that we're acting pirate here, it's safe to assume that La Coeur will be prepared for us to become turncoats at a moment's notice so he's going to have an armed guard with him with backup waiting in the sidelines." Leon looked over to Zexion. "You, Axel and Roxas are going to sneak ashore from the Ragnarok. When our group goes out, yours will split off quietly. Don't have any lanterns on you." Leon beckoned for the group to come over. As Roxas approached the desk, he realised that there was a crudely drawn map of Balamb on the table, with all sorts of marks on it.

"My group will infiltrate through the fort's supply deck over here," Zexion told them, circling a spot that was out of sight from the main docks and the town. More crucially, it was out of sight of the fort's cannons. "I suppose with the inclusion of Axel we can get rid of any lingering guards much more quickly, though it needs to be fast and quiet."

"I can do quiet," Axel frowned. Zexion just waved him off dismissively.

"Once inside, we will need to locate the gaol cells as fast as possible and release the agents and any prisoner that can be of help to us. The agents will definitely know the layout of the fort better than we will so they'll assist us in arming our by-then much larger group and disarming the cannons." Zexion then looked over to Leon. "We may have a fight on our hands there as well, but at least cannon fire will be the least of your worries."

"Let's hope so," Leon said. "If all goes well, we'll be able to launch a retreat back to the Ragnarok with her guns firing at the ships docked at the town and the fort to give us some cover. Zexion, as soon as your group is able to, you need to commandeer a ship. We won't have time to board everyone onto the Ragnarok while we're under fire so we need to sail out of the bay with all speed. They'll probably try to follow us as fast as they can in their ships – or at least, whatever ships that survived the barrage from our side." He passed Zexion a tightly wound up roll. "Make sure this is flying so we know which ship not to fire at."

"Right." Zexion took hold of it.

"Good. Also, keep an eye out for the Shera in case she makes a last-minute appearance. She's definitely got more firepower than we do so that can only help us." Leon looked around the entire room. "This may not have been what I had originally planned... and this one definitely has a lot more risks than I'm happy with but... this is a gamble that is worth putting it all on. We either get Ellone back or die trying."

"Aye!" everyone -save for Cloud and Roxas- chorused. All Roxas did was smile and nod his head, but he looked over to Cloud. He was obviously worried.

"Zexion, keep a sharp eye out for the pigeon to come back to see if your associates agree to the plan," Leon ordered. "They're our eyes and ears in Balamb right now."

"Understood."

As they all piled out of the cabin, Cloud at this point reached out for Roxas' shoulder, stopping him from going to far. "Can we talk?" he asked.

Roxas looked over his shoulder. "Well... I'm still helping out with preparations..." Axel must've overheard them because he had turned around a little towards the brothers.

"You go on and have a chat," Axel told him. "There is a lot for the pair of you to take in." He then turned back and waved to them, barely looking at them. "Just come join us when you're done." Cloud noted that Axel had gone back to his own sister, both of them starting to speak to each other in rapid Gardenian. Obviously they themselves had much to discuss as well.

"How he can be so calm in the face of danger and knowing that his only remaining family member is doing the same I'll never know..."

"I don't think he's that calm," Roxas murmured. "They both have to put a strong front for the crew after all."

Cloud looked over to Roxas. He gestured with a jerk of his head for his younger brother to follow him, up onto the castle of the ship and looking out to the sea. Cloud didn't want to look at their former country at this time. Both leaned heavily against the railings. "...I didn't want you to get involved," Cloud finally stated after a long silence.

"Trust me, I got that loud and clear," Roxas chuckled weakly. "But... I can't just sit idly knowing that everyone is putting their lives on the line." He glanced over to Cloud. "Besides, it'll be interesting trying to break into something rather than trying to break out."

"This is no time to be joking," Cloud snapped.

"I'm not..." Roxas looked back out to sea. "You know... this is the first time we got a chance to talk ever since you left Destiny Islands. We didn't even get a chance to speak after me and Sora got caught."

"...that is a point. Why did you stow away?" Cloud stood up a little straighter. "You knew that there was a chance I wasn't going to come back... but at least you would all live. So why... why risk it?"

"...guess I made my choice."

"What?" Cloud gazed at Roxas with a quizzical expression. What did he mean by that? Surely Roxas wasn't implying that...

"Initially I did it because I was so angry with Axel for just deciding to go off on this when he knew this could be a fool's errand. I mean, in such a short space of time I went from being angry at him for daring to effectively be my prison guard to being angry at him because I felt like I was going to lose a friend so soon after meeting them." Roxas sighed, leaning his cheek into a hand. "Well... not that I can talk. Axel's still a bit angry at me since I broke our promise about me staying put on Destiny Islands, not that he's come out and said it." It did make Cloud feel glad that Axel had been putting Roxas' safety first, though he was still annoyed with that flame haired git for not fighting harder in favour of Roxas staying put on the Ragnarok. "But... during that time Sora and I were hidden... and definitely after the storm... I realised that I didn't want to be left behind."

"Left behind...?"

"Yeah... Axel means a lot to me." It was at this point he noticed that his brother's cheeks were going a little pink. "If something happened to him and I couldn't do anything to stop it... Hyne... I don't know what I'd do." His head thunked against the railing. "I can't be like Ven who can stay behind and just wait for us all to come back knowing that we might not. I can't be like Naminé either. If I can do anything that can help Axel and everyone else even just a little... then I'll do it."

"Even if it kills you?!" Cloud demanded.

Roxas turned and smiled. "Funny isn't it what you'd do for those you care about?" Those words struck a chord in Cloud. He quickly turned away, his hands gripping the railing tightly, his eyes gone wide. Obviously the reaction had startled Roxas. "Cloud...?"

It really was funny what a person was capable of doing all for the sake of loved ones... Cloud knew that all too well. Calm down... stop thinking about it... it's in the past now... It was all coming back to him... all those times he'd be forced to go through only for him to try and lock it away in the deepest recesses of his mind. Vanitas' threats for if he ever tried to fight back... "Yes... yes you're right. It is funny." His eyes were stinging and his chest felt tight. Stop thinking about it... stop thinking about it... stop it... stop it...!

"Cloud...? Are you...?"

Don't ask me about it!

Cloud made a surprised sound as he suddenly felt a hand clamp over his eyes. A hand he had become familiar with. That came with a warmth and a form that he was also becoming overly familiar with. And a scent. And a voice. "You get back to helping the others Roxas. Cloud and I need to have a little chat as well." Leon... why...? He bit down on his lip, trying not to let it all come gushing out.

"But-!"

"It's alright Roxas. I've got him." Cloud felt himself being pulled a little closer... or was it Leon coming closer to him? "You just focus on what's important right now."

"Oh... oh right." Roxas' footsteps, light and barely causing the deck to creak, scuttled back down to the top-deck, leaving Cloud alone with the pirate king. He was still gritting his teeth, knowing that it was coming but not wanting to let loose all the thoughts and feelings he had about his past.

"Hey..." Leon's voice whispered into his ear. "If you need to, do it. I won't let anyone see."

"...I won't cry about something I can't change..." Cloud muttered.

"True that you can't change it, but you shouldn't carry it all alone." A heavy sigh. "Honestly, did nothing I say to you last night get through your thick skull? You helped me with my burdens, so let me help you with yours."

Cloud could feel his control shaking. He would not break down here. He would not let his past get the better of him right when he was teetering on an edge between salvation and enslavement. He had to be strong... needed to be strong.

He felt the first traitorous tear well up in his left eye.

"It's alright Cloud... just let it go." Leon wouldn't remove his hand from where it was, giving Cloud a barrier from the world so that it couldn't see him cry. "Those sapphires you've got in your head were getting too cloudy anyway. They'll brighten up once you've let everything you've held back go."

He tried to squeeze his eyes tightly to stop the onslaught, but it was hopeless. He just let the tears flow... and in that moment he was grateful that Leon had covered his eyes from the world, and said nothing. Just when did I become so weak...

Night was starting to fall when the Ragnarok, fully prepared for the night ahead and with a deathly silent crew, cut through the sea from it's inlet base. Kairi was at the wheel, guiding the ship carefully as they hugged the cliff coastline to the mouth of Balamb bay, gesturing silently with hand signals to men with flags; with her every gesture, they flicked the flags to different positions, instructing the crew on what she wanted being done. Roxas couldn't help but be amazed at how effective it was; he supposed though this was a borrowed technique from the navy since he supposed they'd use this method to communicate to other ships. Now though wasn't the time to think about flags though. He looked down at his pack, making sure that everything he would need was in there. Zexion and Sora had very kindly amalgamated their lock picks together and given it to him, so all he would need to do was to be careful not to snap them while picking. There was also a vial of a clear liquid that Terra had given him, the infamous 'medication' as it was referred to. Hard to believe that such a tiny vial held instant death should he feel that there was no hope for him... he just hoped he'd never have to use it. Or indeed anyone else; Axel and Zexion had been given theirs at the same time as him. Axel had secreted it into the pouch of tobacco that he always had on hand for his pipe. Zexion had tied a cord around the neck of the vial and hung it from his neck like a pendant, hidden under his tunic.

Also in his pack was a small knife that Axel had given to him as a means of protection, smoke bombs that Zexion had given to him as a means of creating a distraction if necessary, and there was also a few medical supplies from Terra – for any injuries that would need bandaging up immediately, from blistered fingers to wounded sides. Roxas wondered if they would even have time to deal with that kind of issue. He looked over to Axel; the first mate was sharpening the points of his chakrams, smoke billowing out of his pipe as he puffed on it at intervals. The young blond couldn't help but think that Axel looked surprisingly calm compared to how he did earlier. He was grateful that he was coming along with him and Zexion; although he couldn't speak for Zexion, he definitely knew that he'd struggle in a fight on his own. Especially if outnumbered.

He wondered if that had been what had crossed Axel's mind when he made the snap decision to go with them. "Hey... Axel, do you think we can do it?"

Axel glanced up from his work. "Having second thoughts?"

"Not really. I still want to do this." He couldn't get the image of Cloud's earlier reaction out of his head though. It was almost like Cloud doubted that they could do it... that he could do his part in the plan. "It's just, I worry that even if there is three of us that it won't be enough... I mean... you and Zexion have done this for longer."

Roxas made a small surprised sound when his forehead was flicked out of nowhere by Axel. "Don't be such a wuss," Axel scolded lightly. "If Leon and Zexion didn't think you were capable then they wouldn't have asked you to take part."

"I know but... it's such a huge responsibility put on us." Roxas pursed his lips. "What if... what if we can't do it...?"

"I wouldn't worry," Axel sighed, putting down his pipe and chakrams. Roxas felt his cheeks colour as his hands were taken up by Axel's. "Even though there's a plan, it's best to have flexible thinking. You can adapt a lot more quickly if you take that stance. Besides, I think it'll work out anyway." He then grinned broadly. "Positive thinking helps too you know! Don't take any notice of anyone that tells you that being realistic is the way to go!"

"My... is that a small dig at me," Zexion glowered as he approached the pair. He had a cloak around him, something that Roxas wasn't really sure was needed but he supposed Zexion knew better. "How are your preparations coming along?"

"Got what I need all here," Axel answered, pointing to his weapons. "We also got our lock picker and escapologist extraordinaire ready."

"Good." Zexion looked between them. "We have a lot of doors to pick and a lot of guards to avoid if possible. I'd also say that we may have to consider 'borrowing' a uniform or two if it helps us get to the gaol cells."

"Just point me in the right direction and I'll smash a few heads in." Axel's cheerful grin had turned close to demonic. Roxas reminded himself to never be on the receiving end of one of those.

"If you could smash them in with minimum amount of blood on the uniforms then I'd be much obliged," Zexion sighed. He looked ready to take laudanum to prevent a migraine coming on. "I'd like to discuss how best to disarm the fort."

"Easy surely? Set off a few of their own explosives around the cannons." Roxas started to realise that the man he had come to care about really did seem to be the least stealthy as Zexion had complained.

"Must you be so vulgar..." Zexion groaned. "Though... an explosion did cross my mind... though it will be dangerous..."

"Hmmm? If I didn't know any better Zexy, I'd say I was starting to rub off on ya."

"Trust me, it irks me that I'm thinking along the same lines as you. I actually find it deplorable that I even thought of it." He glanced between them with his one indigo eye. "However... a fort with as much artillery as it does must have a powder storage."

"Oh ho, I definitely like where this is going," Axel purred. "Can't fire at anyone for very long if they don't have the powder to sustain them."

"Exactly. Also, with any luck, it'll also offer us an escape route with the prisoners. It's in the lap of the gods whether the explosion is strong enough or not." His eye glanced over to Roxas. "Like I said though, it's a dangerous task if not done properly. We could lose a man if he's not fast enough to get out of the blast radius."

"And if our explosion doesn't bust an exit out?" Roxas asked curiously.

"Leave through the front door," Axel shrugged. "It'd have to do since it's the quickest way back to the docks, even if it makes us easier targets to hit."

"As much as I hate to admit it, Axel's right on that one as well. Unless we heavily outnumber the troops inside the fort after we've released the agents and the prisoners, we won't have time to figure out another exit for us to use. And we certainly won't be able to use the way we came since we'd be asking the prisoners to swim for their lives," Zexion explained.

"So its explode our way out or bust." Roxas nodded his head. Made sense he supposed.

"Once we're out of the fort, it's just a case of commandeering a ship. I'll leave piloting to you Axel, so do me a favour and don't get yourself killed before then."

"Heh, don't plan on dying today Zexy," Axel scoffed. "We'll just pick an easy one. We only need to outrun them, not fight back after all." Roxas guessed that Axel was suggesting that they take a ship that wasn't really built for extended combat periods, but for speed. "Another schooner like the old girl would be perfect."

"Well, here's hoping there is one and that it isn't heavily guarded."

Roxas watched as Axel and Zexion thrashed ideas out between them for a while longer, smiling a little to himself. It was odd seeing them talk almost civilly like this since Roxas had had the feeling that the pair didn't really get on. He guessed times like this always did call for temporary truces. He glanced over to Axel... You won't die. I won't let you.

In the blackness of night, the Ragnarok, posing as the merchant ship Palamecia like it had done all that time ago, glided into the bay. They had another stroke of luck in that it was moonless tonight, which meant that they could actually send Zexion's group earlier in one of the dinghies, with no light to herald them to the enemy as planned. After the dinghy was far away enough did Leon's group depart from the schooner, their small fleet of five dinghies illuminated as they bobbed over to the main town. The Ragnarok kept a safe distance behind but Kairi subtly angled her so that their supposedly lifeless cannons were facing the fort.

Their entire plan hinged on Zexion, Axel and Roxas successfully releasing the prisoners and disabling the full power of the fort. After that, it was just about who could outwit the other; Leon knew that better than anyone, having spent most of his career as a pirate outsmarting the authorities, the pirate hunters and upstart pirates. He wasn't Rex Pirata for nothing after all. He glanced over to Cloud though... and hoped that the eldest Strife in their midst was up to the task. Was he wrong to wiggle the truth out of Cloud last night? He had recovered from his earlier emotional exhaustion, but Leon worried that Cloud was still in a fragile state and trying to push himself. But he couldn't tell Cloud to stay put... no, La Coeur would smell a rat if there wasn't at least one Strife there at the exchange. It was going to be hard enough trying to explain to him why he only had one Strife and no triplets to speak of.

"Leon," Cloud whispered to him. Leon nodded his head to let the other know that he heard him. "This won't turn into a full pirate raid, right?"

"The men haven't got a reason to raid," Leon murmured back. "Besides, Balamb's just too big for one schooner to raid. That's why Sparrow and Barbossa teamed up when they came here." Mentioning their names reminded him to try and strangle one or both of them as soon as he got the chance. Preferably Jack since that raid just reeked of him. Captain Hector Barbossa was definitely the more ruthless pirate – the most archetypal pirate in fact – but it was Jack Sparrow that was the manic, mad brains behind every simply implausible raid and every outrageous escapade that he'd heard of. He still couldn't believe that Sparrow was the mastermind of a particularly outlandish robbery that had included nearly destroying an entire bank just to get to a safe... with Sparrow and that settlement's governor's wife inside! He calmed his thoughts. Focus. This is about getting Ellone out of here.

The lights of Balamb's docks were getting closer, and Leon noted that, as expected, the governor had sent a little welcoming party. No sign of Ellone though, but she could be held at a different location. However... he just couldn't shake off an unsettling feeling in his stomach. Like something was off.

Their dinghy was bobbing about useless from the jetty, but they knew that they had to abandon it here. The fort was quiet, Zexion having spotted the tops of heads and bayonets with his telescope as they rowed a little closer to the supply deck tucked away in a dark spot. It was relatively unguarded, but Zexion still gestured for them to stay quiet. You could never know what was around the corner...

Roxas held his breath as he carefully moved the pick into the sweet spot, feeling the lock resist as he slowly twisted it. Iron doors were definitely harder to pick – he had been expecting the locks to be heavy but he hadn't realised how heavy they were. He was glad that there sturdier lock picks in his pack; his normal dainty ones would have snapped in two from the pressure. For a moment he just stared at the door, taking a breather while his hands shook from the pressure of keeping his place. He then gave one last push, smiling as he heard a satisfying thunk of the door being unlocked. He felt Axel's hand pat his back lightly in approval.

The door opened with a squeak, causing them all to wince a little and pause, listening out for anyone who might come to inspect. Roxas wondered if Hyne really was blessing them with good fortune because there wasn't even a shuffle of feet. Zexion was the first to step in, pulling his hood up over his head as he took cautious steps. Roxas glanced over to Axel; he had tied his hair back as much as possible with his bandanna but he obviously didn't see the point in trying to hide his face. Roxas took a deep breath and then pulled the large scarf that had been given to him earlier up over the lower half of his face. It would at least lessen the chance of being recognised immediately. As the three silently padded through, Zexion raised a hand up to halt them suddenly.

It had been a short distance to the main courtyard of the fort. Roxas swallowed hard when he clapped eyes on the unoccupied gallows in the centre, noose waving in the wind tauntingly. He worried that they might have been too late...

"At least they haven't declared a state of emergency... they would have constructed a bigger gallows." That was Zexion's voice muttering in Gardenian. They had agreed ahead of time that they would try to speak in as much Gardenian as possible so to avoid being understood.

"Still not good though," Axel pointed out. "They might have been hanging pirates all day for all we know." That chilling thought suggested that Governor La Coeur was getting rid of pirates as fast as he could to make room in his gaol cells. "Or agents."

"Doubt it would be agents. Too valuable." Zexion pursed his lips tightly under the hood. "The informants would be the most likely as they'd be seen as traitors."

Roxas found it a little unnerving how casual they were talking about it, but he kept telling himself that this was just a way of life for them. Well, he guessed that this talk of agents and informants was unusual for them both. He didn't know the details, but he assumed Leon probably had a few contacts in the Gardenian Empire's intelligence network so that he was a few steps ahead of most people.

"Come on," Zexion hissed, leading the way as they stayed hidden in the walkways, keeping to the shadows.

Cloud could only watch and let himself be dragged around by the time the dinghies had made it to the dock, every man piling out of the boats. Two big burly man hitched him by his tied up arms and placed him firmly on the dock, standing on either side of him as Leon stood in the front. These men had a weapon for Cloud's use once he untied himself. He just hoped he had practised enough to get out in time when it was absolutely crucial.

They were facing a small group of men in red uniforms, with a man in black leading them. Cloud realised that this had been the man Leon had described when they had discussed about the conditions of the trade agreement. Blue hair and a scar that cross his face like a large 'x'. It really could not have been anyone else. Cloud's body tensed a little. This is not a man that the Bastionite military would so easily accept into their ranks... he looks more at home among thieves. His sapphire-hued eyes glanced over to Leon's back; it was the form of a man who was resolute in getting this exchange over and done with. He could only guess Leon had an expression to match.

"...Where's the princess?" Leon demanded.

"Not even a 'hello', pirate?"

Leon folded his arms, his back going rigid. "Don't test me..."

"Fine," the man replied. He glanced over to Cloud. The 'captive' tried to keep a calm face that betrayed nothing. "...why is there only one?"

"...I regret to inform you that the Ifrit had a mutiny. Pirates had managed to be accepted as crew members. Even the infamous Captain John Silver was among their number. As a result, we were moments too late to save the three younger ones. He is the only survivor." Cloud wondered if Leon's mouth had quirked into a supercilious smile when he then said, "Might I suggest you have much more thorough checks of who goes in and out of your port? I'm sure your Governor has had a rather rough time of it given which House they were from."

The man just grunted, but he seemed to accept that as an answer. "The intention was to stop some upstart crow getting ahead of himself. Perhaps the return of only one of his siblings will teach him humility."

Yeah right, Cloud thought. Vanitas probably wouldn't even care about the fact he lost three siblings, he'd care more about the fact that he'd lost potential influence.

"The princess?" Leon questioned again, sounding bored of having to ask.

"We have kept her in the fort," the man smirked.

WHAT?! Roxas is in there! Cloud struggled at this point, which surprised the two men loosely holding him. One of them tugged tightly as if to remind him to stay calm. Leon did not turn around, but Cloud was sure he had heard him struggle. We can't go in there! If we go in there, then we're trapped!

"...I see... and why couldn't you bring her here?" Leon asked carefully.

"It wouldn't do if the townspeople saw this happening. Especially if any one of them recognised her..." And Cloud knew what he meant by that... an ordinary person would never know what the Imperial Princess of Radiant Garden looked like, but a member of her country's intelligence network would. Leon kept a long silence, his stance firm despite the fact that he could be staring at death in the face. He must have been weighing up his choices. "If you would like... I could arrange for proof to be given to you... perhaps a finger? Or maybe a hand if you need more than that?"

Cloud started struggling again. "You'd hurt her even though you got what you want?!"

"Cloud, shut up," Leon cautioned. "Fine... we'll go to the fort, but not inside."

"What makes you think you're in any position to making conditions?" the man queried.

"Because if anything happens to the Imperial Princess, I know for a fact that it will be treated as a declaration of war against the Radiant Garden Empire," Leon pointed out. "The Imperial Household has been taking this deadly seriously and are more than prepared to invade Hollow Bastion in retaliation, regardless of whether they are aware war has been declared or not." Cloud could hear the cruel smirk in Leon's voice. "Your Governor made a very serious lapse in judgement when he attacked my island and kidnapped the Imperial Princess. And for what? Just to teach some ambitious young noble his place?"

Leon's words clearly had the desired effect because the man's countenance had gone from smugly confident to alarmed within seconds. Cloud supposed that the Governor of Balamb had grossly miscalculated the Gardenian's Empire need to prevent an international crisis from developing. Then again, they had tried to resolve it peacefully even if it had meant a hostage exchange. "It appears that you have good grounds for making demands... very well." The man lifted his hand, gesturing with it to the guards behind him. "You will walk ahead of us."

Two men had been exchanging chewing tobacco as they took a cheeky break from their guard duty, visibly relaxed. "So, what do you think about this?"

"Seems like Hollow Bastion will be celebrating for a while. To think we might actually capture the Rex Pirata after all these years of him avoiding the noose."

"No more terrorising the coastline for him, and no doubt a big warning to his ilk about what happens to pirates. You think they'll hang him here?"

"Nah. I bet they'll take him to the Royal Citadel. He's a VIP in that respect, and no doubt the King will want to personally see the Rex Pirata executed. Not to mention they'd get a bigger crowd."

"Ah true. The execution of the king of pirates would be prime entertainment for the masses wouldn't it? No one's really met him in the flesh after all."

"What do you think he looks like? Peg legs, eye patches and all?"

"Well, he's been pirating for as long as I can remember. Even my grandfather knew the name as a boy."

"...that would suggest he's ancient!"

"Stranger things have happened." The man spat out his chew, it having lost the flavour. His companion offered another, which he gratefully accepted. "Still though, it'd be interesting. I hope I get leave to go see it."

"So would every other guard in this fort. Even those odd ones that that new Governor brought in."

"True enough... so I guess we'll have to make do with his crew instead."

"Mind if I have one of those chews?" a new voice interjected behind them. If the guards had been a little more vigilant, they would have realised that there was a tinge of Gardenian in the voice.

"Ah sure." The man with the chews lifted his pouch up. "Here you-" He suddenly gargled as a knife sliced his jugular in a clean movement. His companion gasped and tried to turn but he was met with a chakram spike to the belly as he gazed in horror into the bright green eyes of their assailant.

"Cheers for the information boys... and the chews," the man with the green, feline eyes taunted. He then plunged the knife in his other hand into the guard's neck and kicked him off his chakram point.

"Was that wholly necessary?" Zexion asked as he stepped out of his hiding spot, grimacing at the sight. Though he did prod one of the bodies with a toe to make sure they truly were out of commission. Axel was bent down over the body that had the tobacco chews, pocketing the pouch before ripping the knife from the other body's neck.

"No witnesses, right?" Axel emphasized. He looked over his shoulder to see Roxas peeking out of his own hiding spot. "All clear, but looks like our fears about this being a trap came true."

"Which is precisely why we need to find the gaol and quickly. It sounds like La Coeur had used this as a ruse to get rid of the Rex Pirata."

"Damn... that bastard thinks he's outplayed us."

"For now, let's let him continue to think that." Zexion motioned to them both. "This way."

"Are you coming Axel?" Roxas asked, noticing that Axel seemed to be lagging behind.

"I'll catch up. I'm just gonna make sure these guys don't get found out." Axel gave Roxas a reassuring grin. "Nothing a little bit of creative body manipulation can't fix."

"Just... just be careful." Roxas quickly dashed off to catch up with Zexion... though it surprised him how he had managed to keep his nerve after seeing Axel kill two people as if it was nothing.

Axel smiled a little to himself. He definitely could get used to having someone worry about him like that. He then caught himself and smacked his face with his hands, ignoring the fact that he got a bit of blood on his right cheek. "Ah get it together Axel. This is not the time to start getting sentimental." He hoisted one corpse up and pulled it along to the wall, returning to the other to do the same. After that he started moving the bodies a bit, hiding the fatal wounds as best as he could while making it look like they were sleeping on the job. Once that was done, he reached into his ill-gotten gains and popped a chew into his mouth. He spat it out almost immediately. "Eugh, nasty cheap stuff that. And here I was all excited that I could basically smoke on the job without getting caught." He sighed, taking the pouch and dropping it into the lap of the corpse that had been the owner of it. "Mate, if I could have let you live, I'd have let you smoke some of my good stuff. You'd never go back to that shit again."

Their steps were quiet as they finally found the stairs that would take them down into the gaol, both glad that they have so far managed to avoid being detected. Zexion stopped suddenly as they were only a few steps away from entering the gaol, reaching under his cloak to take out one of the knives he had been secreting. Roxas kept quiet, keeping an ear out behind them as Zexion peered around.

Faster than Roxas could register, Zexion launched out of his hiding spot, the sounds of surprised gasping followed by the sounds of pain echoing in his ears. He peeked around, seeing that Zexion had taken out two guards on his own. Roxas never would have thought that the small man had it in him.

"Too close for comfort that," Zexion muttered. "But looks like we're alone down here." Roxas nodded his head as he stepped in, noting that the men, some women, were starting to stir. Zexion approached the cells, keeping his hood up. "Is there a woman called Larxene among you?"

"Over here!" a woman's voice replied further down. Zexion started walking down to where the voice had come from. Roxas was about to go and pick the locks but a stern, "Not yet", from Zexion stopped him in his tracks. So instead he followed the navigator. He had now stopped in front of a cell, looking at a woman with slicked back blonde hair and acidic green eyes. She had her hands clutched around the bars. "About time the calvary turned up. What took you all so long?"

"I've been out at sea and only found out about your situation this morning," Zexion answered. He gestured for Roxas to come over to pick the lock. She gave a slight grateful expression. "You know what I'm going to ask, don't you?"

"About Her Highness, correct?"

Roxas struggled a little with this lock. It was stiff and heavy, but he just had to be careful with how much pressure he put into it.

"Any information you have could help. We already overheard some guards talking. They seemed to be implying that this is a trap."

"It is a trap Zexy." Roxas looked up to see that Zexion's lips had curled into distaste from being called by that name. "She isn't here."

"Not in the fort?"

"Not in Balamb at all. She's gone."

Roxas nearly jumped when Zexion's hands suddenly grasped the bars. "What do you mean she's gone?!"

"A lot of the agents and pirates here saw her being taken during the pirate raid a while ago. Not against her will might I add, which suggests that she took the initiative and sprung herself out of captivity." Larxene's voice was dripping with annoyance to the fact... yet at the same admiration was there too. "I'm guessing the Imperial Crown's pet pirate must've taught her how to negotiate with pirates."

"...the Code..." Zexion breathed. He then chuckled darkly. "Of course. Which means she's with the Pearl most likely if she thought Barbossa wouldn't make good on his word."

"Sorry that you came all this way for nothing."

"No, we're still getting you all out of here, though it rather sends the plan we had off course." Zexion looked at Larxene. "The Rex Pirata is down in Balamb right now."

"Ah, that could be tricky." Larxene tilted her head a little. "Want to fill me in on this plan of yours?"

"How do you feel about getting your own back on these men?" Zexion asked her.

Roxas muttered a "gotcha" at this point as the lock gave out a satisfying thunk. He opened the door. Larxene was grinning maliciously, her eyes glittering with excitement. "Do you know what Zexy, that sounds like the best idea I've heard all day."