Discaimer: I no own breath of fire.
Paths of the Heart:
Chapter VIII: The rescue part 1
The door creaked ominously as Ryu carefully slid it open,
He was in, that was step one completed, just about ninety-nine left.
"Nina…" he whispered, head turning left and right, she was obviously not here. He proceeded cautiously though the room, it was not a nice room, the white wallpaper was peeling off the walls the gray carpet was ripped in various places; it gave the feeling of an abandoned warehouse.
Ryu opened another door, and then closed it quickly, there was a guard, but this was the only door- he'd have to sneak past or fight him, Ryu chose option number one.
He looked round hoping for another door to magically appear, but alas such things do not happen, not even for a cool dragon dude named Ryu.
Instead he saw an air vent,
"Perfect…" he hissed, Ryu took out his sword and jammed it into the air vent causing the grating to fall off, he smiled and climbed into the vent, or rather he would have if he was not interrupted.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Ryu turned round and groaned, he had been so busy with the air vent, he hadn't' seen a rather scrawny looking woman with glasses come though the door.
"Ugh…" Ryu said at loss of words to say, looks like he would have to fight after all, though this woman was so wimpy-looking, he didn't think it would take long.
"Um… can I… help you?" She said, eyes flicking to the grating on the floor to the air vent, to Ryu.
"Well…" Ryu said trying to make an excuse, but then gave up remembering the last. "… I'm here to rescue someone." He ended lamely.
"Oh… they haven't kidnapped someone again have they… they do that a lot." She said placing her hands behind her back and looking to the ground.
"They do?" Ryu said getting a little more relaxed, this woman did not look like the type to jump in front of you with a machine gun.
"Yes… that's why I'm here." She said quietly obviously upset about something.
"How come? Who are you anyway?" Ryu asked confused.
"My… my name is Erma, they kidnapped my brother two years ago, in exchange for him back I have to work here for ten years… I still haven't got him back; I don't know what they wanted him for, probably an experiment…"
"Oh… my name's Ryu…" Ryu had now gathered that this 'Erma' was not dangerous at all and so he decided to ask her. "Um… have you seen a woman… well a girl really with wings?" he asked.
"A girl with wings… yes, they brought her in yesterday." Erma said nervously in a low squeaky voice.
"They… haven't done anything to her have they?" Ryu asked.
"No… I don't think so, they haven't had time, but you better be quick or…" She left her words hanging.
"… I'll tell you what Erma, I'll help rescue your brother as well if you keep quiet about this…" Ryu said, 'why not rescue two instead of one, its no biggy.' He thought.
Erma practically jumped down with happiness, "Oh thank you, thank you!" she said.
"All right then lets go, before someone else comes." Ryu said thoughtfully.
"Right, let's do it." Erma nodded.
Ryu using his sword lifted himself into the open vent, and grabbed Erma by her frail arm and lifted her up as well.
"Thank you…" Erma muttered.
They carefully crawled though the vent, trying to make as little noise as possible.
"Do you know where your brother or my friend is?" Ryu whispered to Erma.
She shook her head.
"I haven't seen your friend since yesterday when they moved her, and I don't know where my brother is either." Erma said quietly, Ryu frowned; this would make things a bit harder.
Voices floated up to the vent, and Ryu sensing the noise moved forward to another grill with Erma following him, they both lent over to catch the voices.
"This is so… boring, I've got to watch that guy who keeps trying to escape, why does the boss even bother to keep him, I mean we aren't even using him for an experiment, what's the point of watching this 'Steve' guy?" Erma gasped.
"I dunno, I heard that the boss made an agreement with his sister, or something…"
"Well bye, see ya at lunch."
The two men who were speaking split up in different directions, leaving the corridor empty.
"Hey Ryu, Steve is my brother, we have to follow him!" Erma said eagerly, Ryu nodded as they climbed down from the vent into the empty corridor, and went though the door the man talking about guard duty had gone though.
"We have to hurry or we'll lose him…" Ryu said in hushed whisper.
"OK…" Erma said hurrying after Ryu though the next corridor, Ryu then stopped.
"What's the matter?" she asked.
"I can't remember where he went…" Ryu said though clenched teeth, slightly angry with himself for losing him, in front of him there were two corridors.
"That way." said Erma pointed to the right, and dirtier corridor.
Ryu looked puzzled.
"How do you know?" said Ryu even more confused than before 'is she just guessing' thought he.
"I have a good sense of smell; it smells of donuts down there, the guards here are really lazy." She said tapping her nose and smiling, Ryu raised his eyebrow but ran down the corridor anyway, with Erma in the lead.
Past many doors they went,
Doors,
Doors,
Doors,
But none were the one they wanted, still they carried on, getting slightly more tired with each, but then Erma stopped.
"Look!" she whispered excitedly pointing to the door straight in front of them, it was open and the guard they saw talking earlier was sat in a rather hard looking chair munching donuts and staring, or rather drooling at a picture of a naked woman in a magazine.
Erma rolled her eyes "Men…" she whispered quietly, but apparently not quietly enough. His eyes immediately flicked from the magazine to Erma then Ryu.
"What the hell do you think you're doing here, this is a restricted area!" He said picking up a machine gun.
"Oh crud…" Erma said, Ryu glared at her for giving them away, she winced, it looked like he would have to fight after all, he grabbed the hilt of his sword and swung it in front of him, eyes full of concentration.
The man laughed "You think that you can get past me with THAT thing?"
"Is that a rhetorical question?" Ryu said, eyes narrowed, as he jumped forward, sword in front of him.
SMASH
"Ohhhhh…" the man said as he collided with the concrete wall, "My stomach…" The man got up glaring at Ryu.
"That's it punk, time to burn!" he snarled ramming forward towards Ryu,
He just side-stepped to the left and let the man crash into the bars of the cage in which Erma's brother appeared to kept, wedging his head between the bars.
"Yeow! Ah my heads stuck Ahhh! Someone's going to pay!" he cried.
But then another voice spoke up, one on the other side of the bars, a man's voice.
"Well, I hope its not going to be me, I'm afraid my good sir I don't have any cash with me at this precise moment in time."
"Steve!" Erma cried in joy.
"Why, Erma you are looking absolutely smashing today, speaking of smashing…" Steve took out a brick from the side of the cage and smashed the man over the head with it, knocking him out, and un-wedging him from the bars.
"Oh Steve! I thought I would never see you again!" Erma Said with glee running to the bars to greet her brother.
Steve chuckled adjusting his glasses "now why would you think that Erma, anyway who is that fine fellow you have with you?" he said his gaze lingering on Ryu.
"Oh, Steve this is Ryu he's here to rescue his friend too, he said he'd help me." Erma said bringing Ryu over to shake his hand.
"Well hello, my good chap how corking to meet you!" Ryu raised his eyebrows but shook Steve's hand anyway.
"Uh hi, Erma's told me… all about you." Ryu said studying Steve, he certainly looked like Erma's sister they both had round glasses and brown hair though of course Erma's was longer and she had green eyes while Steve had blue.
"Oh yes we have to rescue your friend now too, don't we Ryu, what's her name anyway?" said Erma.
"She's called Nina." Ryu said sheathing his sword again.
"Uh, you might want to draw your sword again Ryu…" said Steve, and indeed Ryu felt someone breathing down his neck; he gulped, turning around slowly.
"Ready to die, punk?" said the man from before pointing his gun at Ryu's forehead,
Ryu gulped.