Hello. Its been quite some time, hasn't it?
I'm sorry I havent been uploading as frequently as I used to, all these complications and such have really been keeping me tied down.
You guys are important to me and I don't want to disappoint anyone.
Thank you for being patient with me.
Enjoy.
"What!? They were taken!?" Joe yelled out in shock.
Ria's head slumped, looking at the ground.
"We were just enjoying ourselves, when those horrible men came out of nowhere…." She said, tears welling in her eyes.
"And they took everyone else to a cave...Shit…" Joe despaired, looking at the ground himself.
"I'm so worried about them...They could be in big trouble right now…" Ria said, with a frightened tone.
Joe then stood up, and gripped the sheath of his sword.
"Stay here. I'm gonna go get them back."
"S-Shouldn't I come with you?' Ria asked, standing up as well.
Joe shook his head, and placed a hand on Ria's shoulder.
"You guys have already done enough. Now its my turn to help." He said.
Ria stared at Joe for a few moments, then slumped her head.
"Alright..."
Joe nodded. "I'll be right back. Be on the lookout for anyone else coming in."
Ria then nodded back, which prompted Joe to start out the door.
"J-Joe…" Ria asked.
Joe turned around, and looked at Ria.
"Be safe, alright?"
The young man then smiled, as he walked out of his front door.
Joe stood in front of his door, unsure of what to do.
"Ok, he said a cave to the north." He said to himself, as he started jogging around his home.
When he reached behind his house, he jogged further into the woods.
"Those guys were Dreu's men. Shit. I need to hurry. Who knows what they could be going through right now." Joe said to himself as he rushed through the forest.
He ran for what seemed like hours, as the sun was starting to set, until he saw a light in the distance.
He ran towards it and found that it was a line of torches.
"A trail…" He said to himself, as he continued along the path of torches.
He eventually came across a cavern, which was lined with torches.
"Why not put a sign saying where you are…" Joe said to himself, as he jumped into the cave.
The inside of the cave was dark, with only another trail of torches leading the way.
As he walked along the trail, he could hear hearty laughs. Presumably from the other members of the gang.
"Ok, play it quiet for now…" Joe said to himself, as he crouched down, and walked along the wall.
He kept stepping, until; there was an open passage, with a light shining from it.
"So, who are ya gonna play with first? The Snow-woman? Or one of the spiders?"
"I've got my eye on that Ender-girl. I want to know how she screams in pleasure!"
Joe was half-tempted to jump out and attack the group, but he cooled down just in time.
"Fucking bastards…" Joe said to himself.
"Come on, we haven't even touched either one of them! We should be getting some tail now!"
"Calm down, The Boss wants to go first and you know it."
"He won't even know!"
In that moment, there was a sound of a table rumbling and a few yells.
"Don't. Mess. With. The Boss."
Joe raised an eyebrow at this.
"Must be a tough motherfucker…" Joe said to himself. He figured it was time to go, as he quietly stepped past the passageway, making sure no one heard him.
He continued along the way, until he heard a few small screams.
"W-Why are you doing this!? What have we done!?"
"Seriously, what the hell!"
Joe recognized the voices, and grew a shocked look on his face.
"That was Andr and Nia!" He said to himself.
He walked along closer towards the voices, until he came across another passageway.
"J-Joe will get you for this, we know he will!"
"Yeah! He'll kick all your butts all the way to the Aether!"
Joe couldn't help but smile at this.
"Snowy, Lily, you guys give me too much credit." He said to himself.
"Shut up! You all are going to wait right here for The Boss. And your little champion can't help you at all. He's probably dead at his home while your skeleton friend is being ravaged beyond belief!"
"Shows you right, asshole." Joe said to himself, as he peeked through the corner.
He could see all the girls bound up and tied, grouped together.
He could also see a guard facing the opposite direction from Joe, looking towards the girls.
He waved his hand towards the girls to get their attention, making sure to stay quiet.
The first one to notice was Andr, who made the most happiest face when she saw his face.
She nudged the other girls, who all looked to joe, and all had the same looks.
He held a finger to his mouth, signaling silence, in which the girls nodded.
He then took his hands, and imitated closing his eyes, in which the girls nodded again.
They all tightly shut their eyes, as Joe went into action.
He then took his hand, and slapped it across the wall, making a loud noise.
"The devil was that?" The guard asked himself, as he looked towards Joe's direction.
He then walked towards the noise, and when he was close enough, Joe grabbed the man, and covered his mouth.
He then unsheathed his blade, and stabbed the guard through the heart through his back, killing him instantly.
When the coast was clear, Joe took the body and hid it in the darkness, and lightly jogged towards the girls.
"Ok, coast's clear." Joe whispered, prompting the girls to open their eyes.
"W-We can't believe your he-"
"Shhh!" joe interrupted Snowy by covering her mouth. "He's not the only one you know."
Snowy then nodded, as Joe released his hand and started cutting through the binds with his sword.
As soon as the girls were free, all but Nia tackled him, sending him to the ground.
"We are so glad you're safe!" Andr quietly said, as she dug her face in Joe's chest.
Joe chuckled, and rubbed Andr's head. "Don't worry, I promised you all I'd be back."
"Man, those ropes were uncomfortable…" Lilly said, rubbing her arms.
"I can imagine." Joe laughed, then looked towards Nia. "What, you didn't miss me?"
Nia went red at this, as an angry face came across hers.
"I-I did, but only because these bastards would have taken advantage of us!"
"C-Calm down, you need to stay quiet!" Joe said, waving his arms downwards.
Nia then covered her mouth, as Joe stood up and sat on his knees at her.
"No need for the pride act, I know you were scared." Joe said, as he wrapped his arms around the spider-girl.
Nia was offended at this at first, but she then accepted his and hugged Joe back.
As he did this, he noticed something was missing.
"Where's Cupa?" He asked as he let go of Nia.
The girls all then looked down.
"S-She was taken by the leader. He said she was his favorite-looking…" Andr said.
"Son of a…" Joe started. "Ok, I'll go look for her. You guys just get back to the house."
"We can't leave you here!" Lily said, looking annoyed.
"Yeah, we want to help!" Snowy added.
Joe sighed.
"Look, I know you want to help her, but this is too dangerous. They could kill us if we slip up." Joe said.
"So you're saying we would only slow you down." Nia blankly said.
"No no, not that at all." Joe said, as he gripped Nia's shoulders.
"I wouldn't forgive myself if any of you got hurt."
Nia went a tad pink at this, as her expression seemed to lighten up.
"D-Don't go saying that kind of stuff out of nowhere…" Nia said, looking away.
Joe smiled, as he looked to the other girls.
"Now, I want you all to get home now. This is too dangerous for you. These guys know me, so it won't be pretty." Joe explained.
"What do you mean they know you?" Andr asked.
"It was while I was in the Nether. I'll explain it when I get Cupa, just get out of here." He said, as he stood up and walked towards the door.
The girls then followed after him, but went into the opposite direction when they walked back into the darkness.
At that moment, Joe felt something grab him..
He looked back, and saw Andr tugging at his clothes.
"Come back to us with Cupa-chan safe, please…" She weakly said.
Joe smiled at this, as he tightly embraced her.
"I promise."
Andr then returned the hug, and then let go, letting Joe along his way.
He walked along his way, listening to the girls running away.
"Alright, time to go." He said to himself, as he ran down the cavern hall.
He ran until he reached a large set of doors.
"Bastard must be in here." Joe said as he planted his hands on the door.
"Don't worry Cupa, I'm coming."
Man this took a while. I'm sorry for the wait, but here it is.
I promise within the next week the next chapter will be up, I swear on my name of an author.
Thank you all for your patience, I will see you all in the next chapter.