Loqi tried to bring his breathing under control. Tried to keep himself quiet. He was pressed into a corner in the vents, next to wheezing with the effort he'd put into frantically crawling away from his pursuer. He was pretty sure he'd lost them now. He just had to wait. Had to not give himself away.

There was rumbling in the vents a ways away from him. Not close, but still too close for comfort.

Loqi squinted, trying to make out something. Anything. It was so dark. The only thing that wasn't pitch black were the scarcest traces of white light let in by slants in the vent panels that lead to other lit rooms, and those weren't a lot to go on.

Loqi froze even further, fully holding his breath for a few moments as he picked up on some muffled yelling. He couldn't make out what was being said, but his pursuer yelled something back before the rumbling started moving further away from him.

A rush of air left Loqi's mouth.

Okay so, they'd given up on catching him again this way. He was in the clear for the time being.

Now he needed a plan.

Simply escaping and leaving the others to go get back-up was not an option. He had no idea where they were or how to get back to the city, and, even if he did, he'd never make it through the wilds to either city without any supplies or weapons. And even if he had all that, the others might be dead or moved by the time he returned.

His best bet was to find out as much information about their location as possible and then use the abductors' transmitter to contact Fleuret.

And maybe nab himself a weapon somewhere. That last one would be very nice.

Actually, a rather tempting alternative plan was to just make getting a weapon the main priority and then start picking off the abductors one by one, but that was far more risky.

Whatever the case, Loqi needed out of these vents before anything else.

He pushed away from the wall a bit, turning onto his stomach so he could slide over the smooth metal surface more quietly.

Steady. Quiet. But quick.

The clock was ticking.

And it felt as though it were clicking entirely too quickly.

Every second he wasted in this hot box of metal with sweat dripping down his neck was another second–

Loqi flinched, definitely making a decent amount of noise as his elbow mashed into the vent. But that noise wouldn't matter. There was no way someone could have heard him over the gunshot that had just gone off.

…Oh, Six, no…

Fita.

Had they…?


As much as Cor detested still being tied up and useless, he did get the highlight of watching Fita give the kidnappers hell. Honorably discharged from the city guard she might have been, but she'd held onto her skill, and her stubbornness was commendable.

Having realized that she wasn't going to be able to get Cor untied in time, she'd abandoned the task in favor of lunging at the first enemy that had entered the room. That man now had a broken nose and one less tooth. And another Cor was pretty sure had ended up with a cracked rib by the time the rest of them had managed to pen her down.

So, Loqi was their one hope, then. Those weren't terrible odds. He'd had a decent head start on the woman that had entered the vents after him, and if Cor had to make a bet, he'd place his money on Loqi in that fight if she did catch up to him.

Cortez, however, didn't look entirely confident in the odds on his end. As his men wrestled Fita back into her chair, he paced part of the room.

From the table below the vent to Loqi's empty chair…

Back and forth…

Back and forth…

And he looked more pissed off every time he turned around.

And he was muttering like a man on the cusp of sanity.

"You couldn't just comply… You couldn't sit tight… We wouldn't have hurt you. We just wanted the best leadership for our children." He scratched the back of his head with the barrel of his loaded gun as he kept muttering.

This did not bode well. These were the signs of someone primed to make irrational choices. Although rational and someone who was xenophobic hardly went hand in hand in the first place.

"Verna!" Cortez bellowed into the vent after a while. "Give it up and get back here!"

Good. That was one piece of positive news. Loqi's initial escape was a success. Now he just needed to keep himself out of trouble so he wouldn't be captured again.

Cor wouldn't have classified staying out of trouble to be one of Loqi's strong suits, but the man was fortunately a lot more competent now than he had been years ago when he'd been under the Empire's lead.

Cor had faith that the former Imperial could manage this solo mission. No, Cor was more concerned for his comrades still in the room with him.

Cortez and his men had warned them what attempting to escape would lead to. But would they follow through with it?

Verna slid backwards out of the vent, her feet landing on the table before she turned and just jumped back to floor level.

"Quick bastard," she hissed.

Cortez swung his gun at the door. "Tyrell, Marquez, Marion, Verna – start searching the rest of the base! He'll have to come out of the vents at some point, and he's not stupid enough to try and foot it to another city."

"Right."

The four of them gave nods and headed off, Tyrell clutching his side as he trudged behind the others. That just left Cortez and his man Fermont, who currently had his gun level at Fita's head even though she was tied back up already.

Cortez seethed in silent rage for a moment, staring Cor down. Cor kept his expression cautiously neutral.

"We warned you," he growled eventually.

Cor took a breath and spoke slowly. Calmly. "Your goal is to provide the cities with their best chance of survival. That is the same goal as us. Who is to blame for the world's state and what now dead nation we once served are far less important matters than keeping those who live today alive–"

"Oh, shut up!" Cortez snapped, jabbing his gun at Cor's head. "You expect me to believe your loyalties to your kingdom are dead when you still go around preaching about how your King will return and save the world?"

"The King's return is assured by the prophecy," Cor said gently. "It is not merely Lucians trying to set themselves up as the saviors of Eos."

Cortez snorted. "So sure of that, are you? The Prophecy. A Prophecy told by ancient Lucians."

"Have you forgotten that the royal family you hold in such high esteem swore an oath–"

"Because they were deceived! Your Prophecy means nothing! Then kindness of the Fleuret forefathers was their undoing for many years, but no longer! Humanity will die while you wait for your King, but Tenebrae will endure!"

This was pointless. This man was so deprived of hope that he was finding his own theories and altering history to fit his own narrative. He couldn't be reasoned with.

Cortez took a shaky breath. "You lot really don't seem to be getting the message, so I suppose I'll have to make it clear."

Dammit.

"Fermont," Cortez barked. "Kill the woman."

"Oi – don't you dare!" Petra jerked against his bonds, finally speaking up. "She's got people waitin' on her! You wanna kill someone as an example then make it me!"

"No!" Fita protested. "Shut up, Petra!"

"You and your 'usband just found each other again!"

Cor stared Cortez down. "If you lay a hand on either of them, know this: you will find out firsthand why I have the reputation that I do."

Cortez smirked. "Like I said – I don't believe in Lucian propaganda."

Fita sucked in an audibly shaky breath. "Petra, you tell Egisens that I love him, okay?"

"No! Don't you 'urt her you bastard!" Petra snarled.

"Sir?" Fermont asked.

"The woman," Cortex confirmed. "She's been more of a nuisance."

"Fita–"

Cor could stop himself from flinching as the gun went off so close to him.

He didn't let his grief show. He never had to an enemy before and he wouldn't now. While Petra screamed and swore and bellowed, Cor made sure Cortex felt the glare on his back until he was out of sight.

They didn't even have the decency to move Fita's body. They left her tied in her chair – head slumped with a bullet in it.

This had just been made personal. Very personal.

There would be no prisoners taken once they escaped from this place.

All of this would end with Cor's blade through that deluded madman's heart, scarce population be damned.