*On the Primrose*
"Oh, I can't believe that he was in Nasrad! And he was at the bazaar at the same time I was! How could he have possibly have escaped my grasp?"
"Um, Captain?"
"Nooo! Gilder, why did you have to leave?"
"Captain, Belle, Lilly and I have figured out where Gilder is headed."
"Gild- Nara? What did you just say?"
"Belle, Lilly and and I have figured out where Gilder is headed."
"You must tell me! Please!"
"He's going to either Horteka or Yafutoma."
"If only I had a Yafutoman engine... Oh well. Set a course for Yafutoma!"
"Yes, Captain Clara!"
"Gilder, my soulmate, I'm coming!"
*Gilder's Lifeboat*
"Squawk! Hello! Squawk!"
"Willy! What are you doing here?"
Willy extended his leg, and Gilder saw that there was a note tied to it. Without hesitation, he took it from the parrot and unrolled it.
_Dear Gilder,
We hope that you are enjoying your time off. We are spending our time scanning the desert near the temple of pyrynn to see if there are any more ruins that have treasure in them. Unfortunately, we have yet to find any. Be warned; the Primrose is headed for Yafutoma. Just thought that you'd want to know. Keep enjoying yourself!
Signed, the Claudia_
--Heh. My men never get depressed by anything.--
"Willy, tell my men that I'm having a great time, and thank them for the Primrose warning."
"Squawk! Will do! Will do! Squawk!"
Willy took off, heading back to the Claudia.
--If Clara's going to Yafutoma, then I'll want to stay out of her path, but I need to stop somewhere soon to replenish my supplies. I'll head south, then go east-northeast to Horteka.--
The air pirate spun his wheel, taking the course that he had just thought of.
*On an unknown ship*
--My head... Where am I?--
Hans slowly opened his eyes, seeing nothing but complete darkness. He thought that he'd gone blind for a moment, but his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, allowing him to see his surroundings.
--A prison cell? What happened? One moment, I was working on one of Enrique's ships, and the next, I wake up here? I must have been knocked unconscious and brought aboard, but... Where is 'here'?--
An annoying, somewhat high-pitched voice rang through the corridor.
"Hee hee hee. Our little 'guest' is awake! The fun that we will have with him!"
"Not yet. We need him to remain unharmed for the time being. If they refuse, well, too bad for him," spoke a second voice, deeper and calmer than the first.
"What do you want with me?"
The annoying one responded, "Making demands, are we? Hee hee hee! That will get you punished!"
Now the calmer one spoke. "It isn't what we want from you. It's how we can manipulate others to our needs by having you as our prisoner."
A third voice sounded, seemingly muffled, as if this person was wearing a helmet of some sort. "Sir, a small Yafutoman ship has been spotted straight ahead."
Annoying responded. "Hee hee hee! Take everyone on board prisoner! We'll have more people to use to manipulate others!"
Hans could hear the footsteps of two people leaving the corridor before the deeper voice spoke again. "Don't bother asking why we're doing this. We're not about to tell a prisoner what our master plan is." The person who the voice belonged to then left the corridor.
Hans gritted his teeth, one thought running through his mind.
--I have to get out of here.--
*Enrique's palace*
"Enrique! Someone's got an urgent message for you!"
The emperor looked up from the documents that he had been reading, surprised.
--Odd. There hasn't been an urgent message for months.--
"Send the person in, Marco."
The young redhead nodded, and ran off to get the messenger. Enrique put the papers that he had been reading on top of a stack at the corner of his desk, and waited for the messenger to arrive at his office.
Two minutes later, the door opened to reveal a young man dressed entirely in black, with a dark red Phoenix on his chest. When the messenger spoke, his voice was cold, resembling Ramirez's. "I bring a message from my captain."
Enrique motioned for the young man to continue. "We have captured one of your engineers. I believe that his name is Hans. To free him, have Moegi go to the port at midnight any time this month, alone." Without waiting for a response, the young man left the Emperor's office.
Enrique slumped in his chair.
--Why Hans, why Moegi? We're not going to agree to those terms, but he never said what would happen to Hans if Moegi didn't go to the port... Who could be doing this?--
The emperor left his office to find his wife, and tell her what had happened.
"Oh, I can't believe that he was in Nasrad! And he was at the bazaar at the same time I was! How could he have possibly have escaped my grasp?"
"Um, Captain?"
"Nooo! Gilder, why did you have to leave?"
"Captain, Belle, Lilly and I have figured out where Gilder is headed."
"Gild- Nara? What did you just say?"
"Belle, Lilly and and I have figured out where Gilder is headed."
"You must tell me! Please!"
"He's going to either Horteka or Yafutoma."
"If only I had a Yafutoman engine... Oh well. Set a course for Yafutoma!"
"Yes, Captain Clara!"
"Gilder, my soulmate, I'm coming!"
*Gilder's Lifeboat*
"Squawk! Hello! Squawk!"
"Willy! What are you doing here?"
Willy extended his leg, and Gilder saw that there was a note tied to it. Without hesitation, he took it from the parrot and unrolled it.
_Dear Gilder,
We hope that you are enjoying your time off. We are spending our time scanning the desert near the temple of pyrynn to see if there are any more ruins that have treasure in them. Unfortunately, we have yet to find any. Be warned; the Primrose is headed for Yafutoma. Just thought that you'd want to know. Keep enjoying yourself!
Signed, the Claudia_
--Heh. My men never get depressed by anything.--
"Willy, tell my men that I'm having a great time, and thank them for the Primrose warning."
"Squawk! Will do! Will do! Squawk!"
Willy took off, heading back to the Claudia.
--If Clara's going to Yafutoma, then I'll want to stay out of her path, but I need to stop somewhere soon to replenish my supplies. I'll head south, then go east-northeast to Horteka.--
The air pirate spun his wheel, taking the course that he had just thought of.
*On an unknown ship*
--My head... Where am I?--
Hans slowly opened his eyes, seeing nothing but complete darkness. He thought that he'd gone blind for a moment, but his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, allowing him to see his surroundings.
--A prison cell? What happened? One moment, I was working on one of Enrique's ships, and the next, I wake up here? I must have been knocked unconscious and brought aboard, but... Where is 'here'?--
An annoying, somewhat high-pitched voice rang through the corridor.
"Hee hee hee. Our little 'guest' is awake! The fun that we will have with him!"
"Not yet. We need him to remain unharmed for the time being. If they refuse, well, too bad for him," spoke a second voice, deeper and calmer than the first.
"What do you want with me?"
The annoying one responded, "Making demands, are we? Hee hee hee! That will get you punished!"
Now the calmer one spoke. "It isn't what we want from you. It's how we can manipulate others to our needs by having you as our prisoner."
A third voice sounded, seemingly muffled, as if this person was wearing a helmet of some sort. "Sir, a small Yafutoman ship has been spotted straight ahead."
Annoying responded. "Hee hee hee! Take everyone on board prisoner! We'll have more people to use to manipulate others!"
Hans could hear the footsteps of two people leaving the corridor before the deeper voice spoke again. "Don't bother asking why we're doing this. We're not about to tell a prisoner what our master plan is." The person who the voice belonged to then left the corridor.
Hans gritted his teeth, one thought running through his mind.
--I have to get out of here.--
*Enrique's palace*
"Enrique! Someone's got an urgent message for you!"
The emperor looked up from the documents that he had been reading, surprised.
--Odd. There hasn't been an urgent message for months.--
"Send the person in, Marco."
The young redhead nodded, and ran off to get the messenger. Enrique put the papers that he had been reading on top of a stack at the corner of his desk, and waited for the messenger to arrive at his office.
Two minutes later, the door opened to reveal a young man dressed entirely in black, with a dark red Phoenix on his chest. When the messenger spoke, his voice was cold, resembling Ramirez's. "I bring a message from my captain."
Enrique motioned for the young man to continue. "We have captured one of your engineers. I believe that his name is Hans. To free him, have Moegi go to the port at midnight any time this month, alone." Without waiting for a response, the young man left the Emperor's office.
Enrique slumped in his chair.
--Why Hans, why Moegi? We're not going to agree to those terms, but he never said what would happen to Hans if Moegi didn't go to the port... Who could be doing this?--
The emperor left his office to find his wife, and tell her what had happened.