"Where's Hina?"
"Did he send her on a solo mission?"
"There's a note here. It says to meet him in his office."
"I have a bad feeling about this."
The four remaining members of Pastel*Palettes went to his office. They were all very concerned. No one really knew what to think of the turn of events.
"Hello, girls. I see you've returned." He greeted them blandly.
"Where's Hina?" Chisato questioned.
"In the jail. You see, we figured it out quite easily. She was in charge of their escape. So we will be killing her." He stated.
"Then why are we free?"
"Because she's the reason you stood back. With her out of the way, I see no reason why you won't continue to do as asked."
No one knew what to say. They were at least lucky that it wasn't assumed they also fully supported the escape. But, there was barely anything they could do for Hina. There was no way anyone could save her. No one ever got out of that jail alive.
The organization had a ton of security in the jail that housed traitors from inside the organization itself. They couldn't let them leave alive with how much information they had. No one ever succeeded in getting out. And many had indeed tried. All had been killed.
"Is that all, sir?" Aya asked, a hint of nervousness in her voice.
He nodded, "Yes. You may return to your room now."
The four of them left feeling uneasy. Would they be safe? What if he changed his mind about them? They could be in a lot of danger soon.
DIVIDER--
Hina's execution was announced everywhere. They wanted to make an example of her. With that happening, it was no surprise it made its way to Roselia.
"Sayo, it's suicide. You'll be killed in seconds if you go there."
Sayo was planning to try and save her. The others were trying to talk her out of it. Everyone knew how secure that place was. It was common knowledge. But that didn't matter to Sayo. She couldn't just sit back when Hina was supposed to be killed.
"After everything she's done you're fine just letting her die?" Sayo shot back.
"No. But there is no way we can break her out. We have nothing we can do." Yukina stated.
"I can't just not do anything."
"You will die, Sayo. No one's ever made it out of there alive."
"I think there may be one way to save her." Rinko hesitantly said, "But... it's still very risky."
"What is it?"
"In the past... they've taken an hour to let anyone who wants to see the one going to be executed. To mock them. They let them do anything as long as you don't kill them. So... if they do that for her, it might give enough of a chance to break her out." Rinko explained.
"Won't it be heavily guarded still?" Lisa questioned.
"Oh. I see what you're getting at." Chu2 stated.
Everyone was involved in this conversation. The rest had just stayed silent.
"Then what are you getting at?" Yukina asked.
"They allow only a certain amount of demons in the room at a time. If enough of us can go and not be recognized, we'd have the entire room with allies. And they only have five guards last I checked." Chu2 stated.
"That may work. But how can we blend in when they know what most of us look like?" Yukina asked everyone.
"Hats? And a change of clothing style?" Lisa suggested.
"Will we have enough time to get all of that ready?"
"I... don't know..."
They did not have a lot of time to work with. It would take them a good part of the day just to reach the site. They had to get there early to even stand a chance of getting into the place. That really gave them about a day to work with.
"Do we know how many we need to bring?" Tomoe asked.
"It varies. There isn't a single number they go by." Chu2 stated, "Just depends on what they feel like handling."
"The highest was ten. At least that I've heard of. Least is five." Rinko added.
"That's a lot of disguises to make in that short amount of time."
"There's no other way?"
"Nothing anyone has tried has ever worked. This is our best shot."
"This should be interesting."
DIVIDER--
Hina was pretty much resigned to her fate. She was willing to die. There was no point in fighting it at this point. And maybe it was better than living? She would be free from this place. She wouldn't have to suffer under them any longer.
Someone entered the jail. It was Aya. She was frowning.
"Hina..."
"It's alright, Aya. I've accepted this is my fate." Hina replied, "Worry more about yourselves. He may still come after you. You have a chance to escape. I don't."
"There has to be a way."
"We can't discuss that here. They could easily hear us and get you as well." Hina stated.
"What about Sayo? Don't you think she'll come for you?" Aya questioned.
Hina shook her head, "With how dangerous it is, she probably won't. She just has to accept I'm going to die."
"You don't have any faith that someone will rescue you?"
"Aya... how can anyone save me? This place is too secure."
"Maybe... it'll be right before they kill you." Aya offered.
"Aya, just let it go. Don't come here again. It'll make it harder. Just let me die."
"But you can't die!"
"We don't get a choice anymore."
"But... but... Eve... she needs you..."
"I'm sure she'll be fine." Hina replied.
"You don't get it! She loves you, idiot!"
Hina didn't have a response to that. Eve... loved her? Was there ever a sign of that? Hina thought about it. Was the fact that Eve was the first one to always be looking out for her a sign she liked her?
"Eve likes me?"
"Yes. She's completely destroyed by this now. She always tried to keep you safe because she didn't want to lose you and now... now she can't save you."
"I'm sorry... I wish things could be different. But, at least it's only me right now. You guys have to continue where I stopped. Take them down. Help Roselia." Hina said.
"But-"
"If you see them again, tell Sayo I love her. And that I'm sorry about everything."
"Hey. Boss said you can't be down here!"
One of the demons sent to guard Hina arrived. Aya gulped.
"I was... confronting her about what she did. About how she used us." Aya quickly lied, "I just needed to get it out of me and yell at her. I'll go now."
"See that you do. Your anger isn't unwarranted but please get permission next time."
"I will."
DIVIDER--
"Okay, I got four done..."
"That's not enough. We're so screwed."
"I'm going alone." Sayo declared, "I'll save her myself. No one is stopping me."
"At least have one other go with you." Yukina said, "In case something goes wrong."
Sayo sighed, "Fine. Who wants to go with me?"
"I'll go. I... think I can help." Rinko stated.
"Very well."
"You... you will come back, right?" Ako asked, already starting to get upset.
"I'll return, Ako. I promise." Rinko nodded.
It wasn't that strange for her to question that. It would be a good time to leave. But, she would come back. She had a reason to remain. A reason no one could know about.
"We shall go now. If that's fine with you." Sayo said.
"Let's go." Rinko nodded.
They headed out. It would be a long journey for them, but they had to. Sayo wasn't going to rest until Hina was safe again.
They flew into the air. It was the fastest way to travel.
"So, what's your reason for coming with me?" Sayo asked.
"I have an idea." Rinko replied, "I just need to see the place to confirm if it would work."
"May I know what it is?"
"Smokescreen."
"Oh. That actually is a good idea. But, how?"
"It depends on the location. If there's water I can do it."
"Do you think this is wise? I know this is very dangerous."
"It's not. But, I can understand." Rinko replied, "I don't blame you for wanting to try."
"Do you think we can do it?"
"I don't know."
DIVIDER--
Hina had been transported to the execution place. The others had no way to see her now. They couldn't go to the place. It would be too hard for them. They could only hope someone would save her.
Hina was still emotionless. She didn't care. Well, she did a little bit. Now that she knew about Eve, it did hurt a little. She was leaving her without anything. Should she have told Aya to give her an answer? Would that have just made it harder for Eve?
Hina was locked up in a very small cell. Three guards were with her. She watched them with dull eyes.
"How long until it's time?" Hina questioned. She wanted to know. It was pretty important for her.
"When the sun sets we will begin." One replied, "About four hours."
"Okay."
Four hours was a long time to be waiting. Especially now that she was in this place. It was way more boring than the old cell. There was nothing entertaining to look at.
DIVIDER--
Sayo and Rinko arrived an hour later. They surveyed the area. As of now, it was only workers for the organization. No regular demons were there yet. That would be a while still.
"Well?" Sayo asked.
"It isn't going to work here." Rinko sighed.
"What else could we do?"
They both studied the area more. What exactly was here that might be able to benefit them? There wasn't a whole lot.
"Those towers will have demons with guns." Rinko stated, "They'll shoot the moment we attack."
"Let's find the place she's being held in. Maybe there's something there that we can work with?" Sayo suggested.
"Sure. I think it's over this way."
It didn't take much to find the cell. It was heavily guarded. There were the three inside and then about five demons outside. There was no way they could get any closer.
"What do we do? This isn't looking good for us." Sayo was starting to panic. There was no opportunity to strike as far as they could tell.
Rinko pondered the question for a while. She wasn't coming up with anything. Both of them were at a loss.
"Perhaps I can help." A voice spoke from above.
They looked up to see a hooded demon in the tree. They jumped down and stood before them.
"Who are you?" Sayo questioned, "You're the one who led us to the injured demons."
"You can call me Misaki." The demon took down their hood.
"What could you do to help?" Rinko asked.
"Well, they'd want you dead too, correct? What if we turned you in, but snuck a weapon with you?" Misaki suggested.
"There's way too many guards."
"There's a way out from inside."
"There is?"
Misaki nodded, "Yes. The bars on the back door are very loose. One good kick can take them down. And they don't guard the back."
"I still don't see it working." Sayo stated.
"The shift change is in twenty minutes. You'll have five minutes to escape before they get back."
"And what if we fail to get out in time?"
"No matter what way you try, there's that risk."
"I don't know."
"You don't have much time. You have to know soon."
Sayo was conflicted. This was probably their best chance at saving Hina. But if it went wrong they'd both be executed.
"Fine. We'll try it." Sayo agreed.
Misaki held out a knife, "Here. You'll definitely want this."
"But they have chains." Rinko said.
"For Hina, yes. They'll use rope for her. The knife can pick the lock on the chains too." Misaki replied.
"Alright..."
"Ready?"
Sayo hid the knife as best she could and nodded. Misaki pulled her hood back up and grabbed Sayo. She pretended to roughly drag her up to the guards.
"Hey, look who I got." Misaki stated.
"Ah, the sister is here now. Throw her in. They'll handle the rest."
Misaki nodded and drug Sayo into the cell. Hina's eyes widened in fear as she saw them.
"Looks like someone was trying to get her out." One guard taunted.
Misaki handed her over to them. They tied her arms behind her back. One guard glanced at Misaki. Misaki subtly nodded to him. Only Hina caught it. She was confused, but knew better than to say anything.
Sayo was tossed into the cell. Misaki watched her for a moment, before exiting the building.
"Onee-chan..." Hina whispered.
"It's okay, Hina... it's okay."
They sat in silence for a while. Sayo slowly worked away at her ropes. She hoped they wouldn't notice.
Soon enough, they left to change shifts. Sayo quickly finished cutting off her ropes. She started frantically picking at the lock on Hina's chains.
"Onee-chan?"
"She's on our side. This was the plan all along." Sayo whispered.
The chains fell off. Sayo pulled Hina up and then started attacking the back door. It easily crumbled, but was very loud. Sayo grabbed Hina's hand and quickly started running away. The demons would've easily heard the noise.
Rinko was waiting for them and motioned them toward her. Once they met up, they fled into a small tunnel. It was probably once home to a bear before they went extinct.
"You guys alright?" Rinko asked.
"I'm fine. Are you okay, Hina?" Sayo worriedly checked her wrists to see if they were bruised.
"I'm alright... just... shaken."
"Should we go now or wait for a bit?" Sayo questioned.
"Misaki said she'd distract them. If you aren't hurt let's go now." Rinko replied.
So the three of them took off. They ran until they felt it was safe to fly again. Sayo carried Hina.
They kept going until they made it home. Everyone was anxiously waiting for them. They were surprised they were back so soon.
"That seems like it was way easier than we thought." Yukina commented.
"We had some help." Sayo replied, "That hooded demon found us and had a good plan."
"I wonder why they help us but don't join us."
"She seems to like being alone."
"Anyway, come sit and rest. That still must've been hard for you guys."
"Do you need anything?" Lisa asked.
Sayo looked at Hina. She definitely didn't look very healthy right now.
"I'll get you some food and a drink." Lisa seemed to see that as well.
Hina rested against Sayo and curled against her. Sayo pulled her close. She was relieved to have Hina back. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to go on if Hina was dead.
"Hina, do you know what is going on with the others is your group?" Yukina asked.
Hina shook her head, "No. They're not being labeled as traitors yet but that may change. They accused me on manipulating them into helping me. They may change that now that I'm free."
"I see."
"Will you... help them? If that does happen?"
"We will try to." Yukina promised, "You've all helped us. It's only fair we try and repay that."
Lisa returned and handed Hina a bowl and a glass of water. Hina thanked her and slowly nibbled away at her food.
She was safe now. She just hoped the others would remain safe as well.