The Next Generation 16
Magicman: I'm back! So sorry for the delay, I work better when focussing on one fic at a time. Anyway, don't forget to r+r!
"Hello there."
The guard whirled, his sword raised. He relaxed when he saw who it was. "Good day lady Veers." He said. "What brings you to this part of the ship?
Sabrina smiled. "I'm here to get a look at these prisoners I've heard so much about. Is it true they tried to escape?"
The guard nodded. "Yes they did. That's why the general declared this section restricted to non authorised personnel."
"Of course. I have the proper papers right here."
Sabrina stepped forward, reaching into a pocket in her dress. Suddenly her foot caught in the fabric and she tumbled to the ground with a squeal.
"Lady Veers!" The guard rushed forward and knelt beside the fallen woman. "Are you alright?"
"Ow." she gasped. "My ankle. I think it's broken. Will you check please?" She pulled up her dress, revealing smooth white legs before the baffled eyes of the guard.
"Um." The guard tried and failed to not stare at what lay before him.
CRACK!
The now comatose guard slumped to the floor. Setto stood over him, wielding a club. "Well, that worked well."
Sabrina stood up, her 'broken' ankle magically repairing itself. "Do you honestly think that the same trick is going to work on thirty different guards?" She was blushing at the thought of her role.
"It worked for Millerna Aston, so it should work for us." Setto's logic, while often flawed, was always enthusiastic. Giving his partner no time to argue, he ducked back into the shadows.
Sabrina sighed and shook her head as she continued walking down the dark corridor.
***
"Well this isn't so bad." Said Dilandau. "We've gotten out of worse situations before."
"When?" grumbled Hitomi sourly.
At this, the pyro lord had to admit that he was stumped. It didn't get much worse than being chained to the ceiling of a dank, dingy dungeon while a bored guard threw nuts at you out of boredom. Add in the fact that they were scheduled for execution, and you had one bad situation.
Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Hitomi and Dilandau craned their necks to see as the guard got off his enormous behind and strolled over to it. "No one's allowed in." he growled.
A lilting, feminine voice responded. "My father has changed those orders." The Albatous looked at each other in confusion. What the heck was going on?
The guard, however, nearly killed himself opening the door. When he finally managed it, a young woman of about sixteen walked softly into the room. Bluish-black eyes scanned the room until they came to the prisoners. Examining the two people chained to the ceiling she said, "So these are the prisoners who've given the guard so much trouble?" Her eyes found Dilandau's and she almost flinched at the crazed rage she saw there. This lunatic was Setto's father?
"Yes ma'am. They is dangerous, they is."
The girl stepped forward, analysing them closer. The guard started looking nervous.
"Uh milady? You shouldn't be getting too close to them." The girl just laughed.
"And how are they going to hurt me when they're all chained up?"
Dilandau growled menacingly. "Let me down and I'll show you how I'm going to hurt you!"
Sabrina took a step back in surprise. She started to step forward again but she seemed to slip. Letting loose a small cry of alarm, she fell to the floor, landing heavily on her leg.
"Milady!" The guard rushed to her side.
"I.I think it's broken." The girl whispered faintly. "Please check it for me?" She slowly drew up her skirt.
Turning red, Dilandau turned away. Hitomi nearly laughed at her husband, when something caught her eye. The girl was smiling?
CRACK! The guard slumped to the floor.
A figure approached from the shadows. "That's thirty gold you owe me Sabrina!"
The girl, obviously Sabrina, got up with a scowl on her face. "Thirty trained guards and they're all taken out by the same trick? I have got to talk to father about this."
Hitomi immediately recognised the first voice and was stunned. "Setto?"
The younger Albatou stepped from the shadows, a grin on his face. "Hi mom, dad. How's it hanging?"
Sabrina just rolled her eyes at the bad joke and started fiddling with the lock-release mechanism.
After a few moments of nostalgia, Setto started filling his parents in on what had happened since Hitomi's prophecy. Dilandau shuddered when Setto said Kasar was a sorcerer. Not surprising when one considered his past experiences with them. He glared unpleasantly at Sabrina when Setto told them that she was Veers' daughter. He listened intently at the description of the shrine battle. He smirked at the repeatedly foiled assassination attempts. And he swore loudly when he heard of the Basramian troops converging on Asturia's border.
"This maniac is trying to conquer all of Gaea!"
Sabrina stopped what she was doing and glared at Dilandau. "My father is not a maniac!"
Dilandau sneered. "What would you call a man who's planning to attack a neighbouring country?"
Brave men had quailed before Dilandau's sneer. Sabrina held her ground. "Can you prove that those troops are an invasion force?"
Hitomi interrupted before her husband could start screaming. "Can we fight later? For now I'd like to get out of this hell hole."
Sabrina shrugged. "Fair enough." She continued working on the locking mechanisms for a few more seconds before a sharp 'click' echoed through the room. "Got it!"
The manacles around the two prisoners opened suddenly and they plummeted down, landing unceremoniously on their faces. "Oops".
Picking himself up, Dilandau nearly went for Sabrina's throat. Hitomi lay a hand on his arm, calming him. "Do you two have a plan for escape?" she asked.
Setto gestured to Sabrina. "She does. I just planned on getting here."
Self-conscious at being put on the spot, Sabrina related her plan of escape. "It shouldn't be too hard, I know this ship like the back of my hand. If we take level four the engines will probably drown out any sound we make, and it's the least secure part of the ship. From there we can go up the crawl space three levels to the hangar bay. You'll be able to steal a ship and escape.
Hitomi frowned. "'You'? You're not coming with us?"
Sabrina shook her head. "I love my father."
Dilandau snorted. He eyed her distastefully. "Why don't we just go to these hangars without all the running and crawling?"
Sabrina waved a hand airily. "If you want to be picked up on security cameras and jumped by Serpents then be my guest. If you want off this ship then you'll listen to me!"
"You know dad" Setto spoke up, "She knows what she's doing. She's the one who really got us down here."
Dilandau seemed on the verge of having an attack of sort when Hitomi elbowed him in the ribs, her signal to get a grip on his temper. Allowed, she said, "Seemingly we can trust you or we'd still be chained up. We'll go with you." Dilandau grumbled to himself but kept his mouth shut.
Setto looked relieved. "Now that that messy business is done" he said cheerfully, "I believe these belong to you."
He handed Hitomi's pendant and sword to her and Dilandau's sword to him. "I found them off a guard. Now let's scat."
***
"This is the engineering section!" Sabrina yelled. Her companions could barely hear her over the humming of the Destiny's engines. "It won't be too long before we reach the crawl space!"
Setto had long ago given up trying to hear what people were saying and tried to focus on not getting lost. The ship was a honeycomb of passages, not all of which had a destination. Some simply stopped at a dead end. Others joined together to form junctions. But they were all insanely confusing.
They'd passed several guards who seemed to be in a state of deafness. So far they hadn't had to fight, but you never knew when that could change.
Hitomi was feeling more confident now that she had her sword back. 'This is a big ship' she rationalised. 'The odds of us running into some guards must be pretty slim.'
As they turned the corner they ran straight into three green clad men, throwing the thoughts of odds out the window. The two groups stared at each other for a few moments. Then two lunged forward, swords drawn. The third one had the presence of mind to slam his palm down on a button attached to the wall. As an alarm screamed through the hallway, he turned and ran, probably to get reinforcements because the other two didn't last long.
Wiping his blade, Dilandau glared at Sabrina. "You said this place wasn't guarded!"
"I said this place wasn't heavily guarded!"
"Both of you shut up and run!" yelled Hitomi as she matched words with actions.
The mad dash for the hangar bay began. They scuttled up the crawl space and onto the next level. They didn't stop running until they reached the hangar.
Along the way Sabrina's face took on a worried look. Setto saw this. "What's wrong? We seem to be alive so far."
"That's the problem. This place is a fortress and we barely ran across any security!"
Setto shrugged. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth."
Before Sabrina could answer, they raced into the hangar bay. Then the whole group skidded to a halt.
They were so close to freedom. All that stood in their way were twenty men. Twenty men in silver armour who blocked their path. Twenty men with crossbows pointed at their hearts.
A laugh sounded and a tall figure stepped from behind a guymelef. "Did you actually think you could escape?" laughed General Veers.
"Veers" Hitomi growled. "How did you-"
"Know where you were going? It was very simple. This hangar is the only way to get off this ship. It was only a matter of time before you came here."
Hitomi and Setto started swearing at the man but he just shrugged off their insults. "Swear at me if you must, but rest assured that you will go back to the dungeon." Veers frowned. "If you don't come peacefully I will have to do something that I may regret. That is your son I believe? Yes, the resemblance is there. Drop your weapons or he will be killed."
"No he won't." grated a voice. "Not unless your daughter goes with him!"
All eyes turned to Dilandau. The pyro had grabbed Sabrina's hair in an unbreakable grip. His other hand held a dagger that rested lightly on the skin of her neck. He smiled cruelly at the look on Veers' face.
"Sabrina!"
"Father!" the girl cried out as Dilandau yanked on her hair. "Shut up!" he hissed.
When he next spoke, the general's voice carried more threat than a thousand Alseides guymelefs. "Give my daughter back to me!"
Dilandau sneered. "I don't think so!"
"What are you doing?!" Hitomi whispered furiously.
"I'm getting us out of here alive." Aloud he said, "If you don't call off your buddies then I'll cut her throat!"
Veers' fists clenched as he weighed his options. "Release my daughter and I promise that you three may leave my ship unharmed. I swear this on my wife's name."
Dilandau shook his head firmly. "I don't trust people who take me and my wife hostage. Call it a personality flaw." He smirked. "I have a better idea anyway. Have your friends drop their weapons and move away from the leva barge. We'll get on and leave. And just to make sure that there's no double dealing the girl here will join us for the ride."
"WHAT?! You can't!"
Dilandau shrugged breezily. "Okay. But I can't stand here forever you know. Eventually my hand will get tired and slip." The blade of the dagger dug ever so slightly into Sabrina's skin, drawing a whimper.
For an instant the general's eyes blazed with fury. Then they went out and his shoulders sagged in defeat. "Do it."
"But sir!" one of the men objected. Veers rounded on him.
"DO IT!"
As one the elite guard of Basram dropped their crossbows and backed away from the ship they were guarding. Slowly, with the dagger still pointed at Sabrina's throat, Dilandau moved forward, eyes never leaving Veers' face. Hitomi shook her head in frustration and followed, dragging along Setto who was too stunned to move.
The trip seemed a slow march through Hell. The few seconds were an eternity. At last they made it to the ship. Hitomi dragged Setto over to the pilot's chair and activated the engines.
Dilandau stood at the entrance ramp, still glaring unmercifully at Veers. The girl suddenly came awake to what was happening and started thrashing. "Let me go!" she screamed. "Father, help!" Dilandau struck her on the head, knocking her out.
Veers' upper lip curled in a vicious snarl. "If you hurt her Albatou" he said, "I swear that I will personally destroy everything you know and love."
Dilandau merely turned his back scornfully, and then the ship was lifting off. It sped forward and swept through the open hangar doors.
General Krannek Veers watched without expression as the ship bearing his daughter vanished over the horizon. Then he turned to the captain of his guard. "Put into motion plan Domin 8."
The captain stared. "But sir, we are not fully in position-"
The general's hand shot forward and closed about the throat of his subordinate. Lifting him clear off the ground, Veers carried him to the edge of the open hangar doors. Ignoring the wild struggles, he looked into the terrified eyes for an instant and let go.
Turning away from the fast fading screams, he gestured to a soldier. "What is your name and rank?" he asked when the man came to him.
"Corporal Borman sir".
Veers glared coldly at the man. He would do. "Order the Serpants into position and prepare to initiate plan Domin 8. You are in command now Captain Borman."
"Yes sir." The new captain snapped a salute and turned about to obey his superior.
Veers simply turned back to the horizon and kept watching.
Magicman: Was that a good chapter? Please tell me. I work better with the opinions of my readers.
Magicman: I'm back! So sorry for the delay, I work better when focussing on one fic at a time. Anyway, don't forget to r+r!
"Hello there."
The guard whirled, his sword raised. He relaxed when he saw who it was. "Good day lady Veers." He said. "What brings you to this part of the ship?
Sabrina smiled. "I'm here to get a look at these prisoners I've heard so much about. Is it true they tried to escape?"
The guard nodded. "Yes they did. That's why the general declared this section restricted to non authorised personnel."
"Of course. I have the proper papers right here."
Sabrina stepped forward, reaching into a pocket in her dress. Suddenly her foot caught in the fabric and she tumbled to the ground with a squeal.
"Lady Veers!" The guard rushed forward and knelt beside the fallen woman. "Are you alright?"
"Ow." she gasped. "My ankle. I think it's broken. Will you check please?" She pulled up her dress, revealing smooth white legs before the baffled eyes of the guard.
"Um." The guard tried and failed to not stare at what lay before him.
CRACK!
The now comatose guard slumped to the floor. Setto stood over him, wielding a club. "Well, that worked well."
Sabrina stood up, her 'broken' ankle magically repairing itself. "Do you honestly think that the same trick is going to work on thirty different guards?" She was blushing at the thought of her role.
"It worked for Millerna Aston, so it should work for us." Setto's logic, while often flawed, was always enthusiastic. Giving his partner no time to argue, he ducked back into the shadows.
Sabrina sighed and shook her head as she continued walking down the dark corridor.
***
"Well this isn't so bad." Said Dilandau. "We've gotten out of worse situations before."
"When?" grumbled Hitomi sourly.
At this, the pyro lord had to admit that he was stumped. It didn't get much worse than being chained to the ceiling of a dank, dingy dungeon while a bored guard threw nuts at you out of boredom. Add in the fact that they were scheduled for execution, and you had one bad situation.
Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Hitomi and Dilandau craned their necks to see as the guard got off his enormous behind and strolled over to it. "No one's allowed in." he growled.
A lilting, feminine voice responded. "My father has changed those orders." The Albatous looked at each other in confusion. What the heck was going on?
The guard, however, nearly killed himself opening the door. When he finally managed it, a young woman of about sixteen walked softly into the room. Bluish-black eyes scanned the room until they came to the prisoners. Examining the two people chained to the ceiling she said, "So these are the prisoners who've given the guard so much trouble?" Her eyes found Dilandau's and she almost flinched at the crazed rage she saw there. This lunatic was Setto's father?
"Yes ma'am. They is dangerous, they is."
The girl stepped forward, analysing them closer. The guard started looking nervous.
"Uh milady? You shouldn't be getting too close to them." The girl just laughed.
"And how are they going to hurt me when they're all chained up?"
Dilandau growled menacingly. "Let me down and I'll show you how I'm going to hurt you!"
Sabrina took a step back in surprise. She started to step forward again but she seemed to slip. Letting loose a small cry of alarm, she fell to the floor, landing heavily on her leg.
"Milady!" The guard rushed to her side.
"I.I think it's broken." The girl whispered faintly. "Please check it for me?" She slowly drew up her skirt.
Turning red, Dilandau turned away. Hitomi nearly laughed at her husband, when something caught her eye. The girl was smiling?
CRACK! The guard slumped to the floor.
A figure approached from the shadows. "That's thirty gold you owe me Sabrina!"
The girl, obviously Sabrina, got up with a scowl on her face. "Thirty trained guards and they're all taken out by the same trick? I have got to talk to father about this."
Hitomi immediately recognised the first voice and was stunned. "Setto?"
The younger Albatou stepped from the shadows, a grin on his face. "Hi mom, dad. How's it hanging?"
Sabrina just rolled her eyes at the bad joke and started fiddling with the lock-release mechanism.
After a few moments of nostalgia, Setto started filling his parents in on what had happened since Hitomi's prophecy. Dilandau shuddered when Setto said Kasar was a sorcerer. Not surprising when one considered his past experiences with them. He glared unpleasantly at Sabrina when Setto told them that she was Veers' daughter. He listened intently at the description of the shrine battle. He smirked at the repeatedly foiled assassination attempts. And he swore loudly when he heard of the Basramian troops converging on Asturia's border.
"This maniac is trying to conquer all of Gaea!"
Sabrina stopped what she was doing and glared at Dilandau. "My father is not a maniac!"
Dilandau sneered. "What would you call a man who's planning to attack a neighbouring country?"
Brave men had quailed before Dilandau's sneer. Sabrina held her ground. "Can you prove that those troops are an invasion force?"
Hitomi interrupted before her husband could start screaming. "Can we fight later? For now I'd like to get out of this hell hole."
Sabrina shrugged. "Fair enough." She continued working on the locking mechanisms for a few more seconds before a sharp 'click' echoed through the room. "Got it!"
The manacles around the two prisoners opened suddenly and they plummeted down, landing unceremoniously on their faces. "Oops".
Picking himself up, Dilandau nearly went for Sabrina's throat. Hitomi lay a hand on his arm, calming him. "Do you two have a plan for escape?" she asked.
Setto gestured to Sabrina. "She does. I just planned on getting here."
Self-conscious at being put on the spot, Sabrina related her plan of escape. "It shouldn't be too hard, I know this ship like the back of my hand. If we take level four the engines will probably drown out any sound we make, and it's the least secure part of the ship. From there we can go up the crawl space three levels to the hangar bay. You'll be able to steal a ship and escape.
Hitomi frowned. "'You'? You're not coming with us?"
Sabrina shook her head. "I love my father."
Dilandau snorted. He eyed her distastefully. "Why don't we just go to these hangars without all the running and crawling?"
Sabrina waved a hand airily. "If you want to be picked up on security cameras and jumped by Serpents then be my guest. If you want off this ship then you'll listen to me!"
"You know dad" Setto spoke up, "She knows what she's doing. She's the one who really got us down here."
Dilandau seemed on the verge of having an attack of sort when Hitomi elbowed him in the ribs, her signal to get a grip on his temper. Allowed, she said, "Seemingly we can trust you or we'd still be chained up. We'll go with you." Dilandau grumbled to himself but kept his mouth shut.
Setto looked relieved. "Now that that messy business is done" he said cheerfully, "I believe these belong to you."
He handed Hitomi's pendant and sword to her and Dilandau's sword to him. "I found them off a guard. Now let's scat."
***
"This is the engineering section!" Sabrina yelled. Her companions could barely hear her over the humming of the Destiny's engines. "It won't be too long before we reach the crawl space!"
Setto had long ago given up trying to hear what people were saying and tried to focus on not getting lost. The ship was a honeycomb of passages, not all of which had a destination. Some simply stopped at a dead end. Others joined together to form junctions. But they were all insanely confusing.
They'd passed several guards who seemed to be in a state of deafness. So far they hadn't had to fight, but you never knew when that could change.
Hitomi was feeling more confident now that she had her sword back. 'This is a big ship' she rationalised. 'The odds of us running into some guards must be pretty slim.'
As they turned the corner they ran straight into three green clad men, throwing the thoughts of odds out the window. The two groups stared at each other for a few moments. Then two lunged forward, swords drawn. The third one had the presence of mind to slam his palm down on a button attached to the wall. As an alarm screamed through the hallway, he turned and ran, probably to get reinforcements because the other two didn't last long.
Wiping his blade, Dilandau glared at Sabrina. "You said this place wasn't guarded!"
"I said this place wasn't heavily guarded!"
"Both of you shut up and run!" yelled Hitomi as she matched words with actions.
The mad dash for the hangar bay began. They scuttled up the crawl space and onto the next level. They didn't stop running until they reached the hangar.
Along the way Sabrina's face took on a worried look. Setto saw this. "What's wrong? We seem to be alive so far."
"That's the problem. This place is a fortress and we barely ran across any security!"
Setto shrugged. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth."
Before Sabrina could answer, they raced into the hangar bay. Then the whole group skidded to a halt.
They were so close to freedom. All that stood in their way were twenty men. Twenty men in silver armour who blocked their path. Twenty men with crossbows pointed at their hearts.
A laugh sounded and a tall figure stepped from behind a guymelef. "Did you actually think you could escape?" laughed General Veers.
"Veers" Hitomi growled. "How did you-"
"Know where you were going? It was very simple. This hangar is the only way to get off this ship. It was only a matter of time before you came here."
Hitomi and Setto started swearing at the man but he just shrugged off their insults. "Swear at me if you must, but rest assured that you will go back to the dungeon." Veers frowned. "If you don't come peacefully I will have to do something that I may regret. That is your son I believe? Yes, the resemblance is there. Drop your weapons or he will be killed."
"No he won't." grated a voice. "Not unless your daughter goes with him!"
All eyes turned to Dilandau. The pyro had grabbed Sabrina's hair in an unbreakable grip. His other hand held a dagger that rested lightly on the skin of her neck. He smiled cruelly at the look on Veers' face.
"Sabrina!"
"Father!" the girl cried out as Dilandau yanked on her hair. "Shut up!" he hissed.
When he next spoke, the general's voice carried more threat than a thousand Alseides guymelefs. "Give my daughter back to me!"
Dilandau sneered. "I don't think so!"
"What are you doing?!" Hitomi whispered furiously.
"I'm getting us out of here alive." Aloud he said, "If you don't call off your buddies then I'll cut her throat!"
Veers' fists clenched as he weighed his options. "Release my daughter and I promise that you three may leave my ship unharmed. I swear this on my wife's name."
Dilandau shook his head firmly. "I don't trust people who take me and my wife hostage. Call it a personality flaw." He smirked. "I have a better idea anyway. Have your friends drop their weapons and move away from the leva barge. We'll get on and leave. And just to make sure that there's no double dealing the girl here will join us for the ride."
"WHAT?! You can't!"
Dilandau shrugged breezily. "Okay. But I can't stand here forever you know. Eventually my hand will get tired and slip." The blade of the dagger dug ever so slightly into Sabrina's skin, drawing a whimper.
For an instant the general's eyes blazed with fury. Then they went out and his shoulders sagged in defeat. "Do it."
"But sir!" one of the men objected. Veers rounded on him.
"DO IT!"
As one the elite guard of Basram dropped their crossbows and backed away from the ship they were guarding. Slowly, with the dagger still pointed at Sabrina's throat, Dilandau moved forward, eyes never leaving Veers' face. Hitomi shook her head in frustration and followed, dragging along Setto who was too stunned to move.
The trip seemed a slow march through Hell. The few seconds were an eternity. At last they made it to the ship. Hitomi dragged Setto over to the pilot's chair and activated the engines.
Dilandau stood at the entrance ramp, still glaring unmercifully at Veers. The girl suddenly came awake to what was happening and started thrashing. "Let me go!" she screamed. "Father, help!" Dilandau struck her on the head, knocking her out.
Veers' upper lip curled in a vicious snarl. "If you hurt her Albatou" he said, "I swear that I will personally destroy everything you know and love."
Dilandau merely turned his back scornfully, and then the ship was lifting off. It sped forward and swept through the open hangar doors.
General Krannek Veers watched without expression as the ship bearing his daughter vanished over the horizon. Then he turned to the captain of his guard. "Put into motion plan Domin 8."
The captain stared. "But sir, we are not fully in position-"
The general's hand shot forward and closed about the throat of his subordinate. Lifting him clear off the ground, Veers carried him to the edge of the open hangar doors. Ignoring the wild struggles, he looked into the terrified eyes for an instant and let go.
Turning away from the fast fading screams, he gestured to a soldier. "What is your name and rank?" he asked when the man came to him.
"Corporal Borman sir".
Veers glared coldly at the man. He would do. "Order the Serpants into position and prepare to initiate plan Domin 8. You are in command now Captain Borman."
"Yes sir." The new captain snapped a salute and turned about to obey his superior.
Veers simply turned back to the horizon and kept watching.
Magicman: Was that a good chapter? Please tell me. I work better with the opinions of my readers.
