*On an unknown ship*
Hans woke again this time to a familiar voice.
"No! Let me go! I don't- Aaah!"
Two warriors appeared, carrying an unconscious body between them. They opened the door to Hans' cell and threw the person in, then turned and left. Hans waited until he couldn't hear their footsteps, then started trying to wake the person up. After a few minutes, he succeeded.
"...Hans?"
Hans nodded silently, relieved that Urala was okay. They knew each other quite well, as they had become good friends shortly after Hans had joined the crew of the Delphinus.
"...Where are we?"
"As far as I know, we're on a ship of some kind, obviously in a prison cell. Beyond that, I'm not sure."
Urala sighed, then wrapped her arms around the engineer and cried silently into his shoulder.
"What do these people want with us?"
"Apparently, they're going to use us to manipulate other people, but I don't know exactly how they're going to do that."
"...My crew?"
Hans bit his lip, not wanting to answer the question.
"I have to know..."
"If you must, then I'll tell you."
"Please..."
"Either they were taken captive at the same time as you..."
"Or?"
"...or they were killed."
Urala's embrace became tighter as sobs racked her body. Hans gently wrapped his arms around her, crying silent tears of his own.
*Gilder's lifeboat*
--That should be far enough south to successfully avoid Clara. Now, to head east-no- What the HELL?--
A ship that resembled the Hydra was floating right towards him, but the size wasn't what had him worried. It was the colors of the ship; black, dark red and gold, with a phoenix on the side of the ship.
--Oh, shit. Them again.--
Gilder spun the wheel until he faced south again, then set the small engine to full speed in attempt to get away.
*A nearby, orange ship*
The black-haired man on board looked up when he heard cannon fire, to see a ship similar to Galcian's 'flying fortress' firing at a red lifeboat with a black sail.
--Red hull, black sail? I've seen that somewhere before.--
One of the cannonballs grazed the lifeboat, knocking the sailor on it unconscious. The enormous ship began to float closer to the lifeboat.
--Looks like they're going to try to take that person on board against their will. I have to help them!--
The orange ship began to circle the large one, looking for an opening to sneak in through.
--Ah, perfect. Looks like it's right near the cells too. Now, to get in.--
The young man secured his ship in place, and slipped through the opening that he'd spotted.
*On an unknown ship*
"Same cell?"
--It's that annoying idiot again.--
"No you fool. He's well-known for his skill at breaking out of prison."
"But he doesn't have the dumb bird this time!"
"He's already done several birdless breakouts, you fool."
Two warriors went past the door to Hans and Urala's cell, carrying another person.
--Gilder! How did he get caught?--
He could hear Urala gasp beside him when she realized who it was. Hans was also surprised, but he knew that they would have a better chance of getting out of here once the blue rouge woke up.
"Hee hee hee! Enjoy your stay while you still can!"
Footsteps sounded farther down the corridor, slowly growing softer. He turned to his friend and asked, "Think we should try to wake Gilder up? He might be able to get us out of here."
"Um, not yet. The hallways are probably heavily patrolled, and we don't know our way around the ship. Also, how would we be able to wake Gilder up without making too much noise?"
"No need, I'm awake," came a voice from the next cell over. "And I agree with Urala. It pains me to say this, but we'll have to wait for rescue."
"Heh. That'd be where I come in, eh?"
The three prisoners turned to see who had spoken, but there were too many shadows near where they were standing. Taking care to remain in the shadows, the person picked the lock to Hans and Urala's cell. When he tried to do so for Gilder's, he inserted the wire, then dropped it, holding his hand and swearing vividly.
"Move back."
Their helper did so, and Gilder cast pyrulen on the lock, immediately followed by crystalen. Getting the message, their helper punched the cracked metal, shattering the lock.
Once the three of them were out of their cells, the person motioned for them to follow. He went through several corridors, then hoisted himself into a large air vent, turning around and extending a hand to help the next person up.
There were so many twists and turns that the three former prisoners were soon quite lost, but their guide seemed to know what he was doing. Eventually, they could see a light up ahead.
They emerged onto a bright orange ship, which was promptly set on a course for Horteka. Hans turned to thank the person, and his jaw dropped.
"DOMINGO?"
The treasure hunter gave him a thumbs-up while he continued to sail.
"I'm going to drop the three of you off at Horteka. Those dummies probably won't even realize that you're gone for a month, but even so, you'll want to avoid notice for a while.'
Gilder muttered something under his breath, and the three turned to him with questioning looks on their faces.
"I said, that's what Fina told me after I had a run-in with two of their assassins in Yafutoma."
Urala frowned. "So this isn't just a 'capture whoever' thing. This is serious. We should let Enrique and Moegi know what's going on."
Hans nodded in agreement. "Then we'll do so as soon as we get to Horteka."
Hans woke again this time to a familiar voice.
"No! Let me go! I don't- Aaah!"
Two warriors appeared, carrying an unconscious body between them. They opened the door to Hans' cell and threw the person in, then turned and left. Hans waited until he couldn't hear their footsteps, then started trying to wake the person up. After a few minutes, he succeeded.
"...Hans?"
Hans nodded silently, relieved that Urala was okay. They knew each other quite well, as they had become good friends shortly after Hans had joined the crew of the Delphinus.
"...Where are we?"
"As far as I know, we're on a ship of some kind, obviously in a prison cell. Beyond that, I'm not sure."
Urala sighed, then wrapped her arms around the engineer and cried silently into his shoulder.
"What do these people want with us?"
"Apparently, they're going to use us to manipulate other people, but I don't know exactly how they're going to do that."
"...My crew?"
Hans bit his lip, not wanting to answer the question.
"I have to know..."
"If you must, then I'll tell you."
"Please..."
"Either they were taken captive at the same time as you..."
"Or?"
"...or they were killed."
Urala's embrace became tighter as sobs racked her body. Hans gently wrapped his arms around her, crying silent tears of his own.
*Gilder's lifeboat*
--That should be far enough south to successfully avoid Clara. Now, to head east-no- What the HELL?--
A ship that resembled the Hydra was floating right towards him, but the size wasn't what had him worried. It was the colors of the ship; black, dark red and gold, with a phoenix on the side of the ship.
--Oh, shit. Them again.--
Gilder spun the wheel until he faced south again, then set the small engine to full speed in attempt to get away.
*A nearby, orange ship*
The black-haired man on board looked up when he heard cannon fire, to see a ship similar to Galcian's 'flying fortress' firing at a red lifeboat with a black sail.
--Red hull, black sail? I've seen that somewhere before.--
One of the cannonballs grazed the lifeboat, knocking the sailor on it unconscious. The enormous ship began to float closer to the lifeboat.
--Looks like they're going to try to take that person on board against their will. I have to help them!--
The orange ship began to circle the large one, looking for an opening to sneak in through.
--Ah, perfect. Looks like it's right near the cells too. Now, to get in.--
The young man secured his ship in place, and slipped through the opening that he'd spotted.
*On an unknown ship*
"Same cell?"
--It's that annoying idiot again.--
"No you fool. He's well-known for his skill at breaking out of prison."
"But he doesn't have the dumb bird this time!"
"He's already done several birdless breakouts, you fool."
Two warriors went past the door to Hans and Urala's cell, carrying another person.
--Gilder! How did he get caught?--
He could hear Urala gasp beside him when she realized who it was. Hans was also surprised, but he knew that they would have a better chance of getting out of here once the blue rouge woke up.
"Hee hee hee! Enjoy your stay while you still can!"
Footsteps sounded farther down the corridor, slowly growing softer. He turned to his friend and asked, "Think we should try to wake Gilder up? He might be able to get us out of here."
"Um, not yet. The hallways are probably heavily patrolled, and we don't know our way around the ship. Also, how would we be able to wake Gilder up without making too much noise?"
"No need, I'm awake," came a voice from the next cell over. "And I agree with Urala. It pains me to say this, but we'll have to wait for rescue."
"Heh. That'd be where I come in, eh?"
The three prisoners turned to see who had spoken, but there were too many shadows near where they were standing. Taking care to remain in the shadows, the person picked the lock to Hans and Urala's cell. When he tried to do so for Gilder's, he inserted the wire, then dropped it, holding his hand and swearing vividly.
"Move back."
Their helper did so, and Gilder cast pyrulen on the lock, immediately followed by crystalen. Getting the message, their helper punched the cracked metal, shattering the lock.
Once the three of them were out of their cells, the person motioned for them to follow. He went through several corridors, then hoisted himself into a large air vent, turning around and extending a hand to help the next person up.
There were so many twists and turns that the three former prisoners were soon quite lost, but their guide seemed to know what he was doing. Eventually, they could see a light up ahead.
They emerged onto a bright orange ship, which was promptly set on a course for Horteka. Hans turned to thank the person, and his jaw dropped.
"DOMINGO?"
The treasure hunter gave him a thumbs-up while he continued to sail.
"I'm going to drop the three of you off at Horteka. Those dummies probably won't even realize that you're gone for a month, but even so, you'll want to avoid notice for a while.'
Gilder muttered something under his breath, and the three turned to him with questioning looks on their faces.
"I said, that's what Fina told me after I had a run-in with two of their assassins in Yafutoma."
Urala frowned. "So this isn't just a 'capture whoever' thing. This is serious. We should let Enrique and Moegi know what's going on."
Hans nodded in agreement. "Then we'll do so as soon as we get to Horteka."