"Ugh… What the heck…?" Gavin slowly stirred awake, lying on a cold, steel floor, on his stomach. "Where are we?"
"Oh man… my head…" Maxwell sat up, rubbing his head. "Are we in some sort of cell…?"
Maxwell and Gavin found themselves to be the only ones conscious. The rest were passed out on the floor of a cold room, where the floor and walls were made of steel, and the roof made of stone. There wasn't any window, and simply one light, which flickered on and off. It was over-all, a very uncomfortable situation. Gavin and Maxwell moved to each of their still unconscious comrades, and woke them up. Each of their heads or necks was pounding. It was obvious that they were knocked out and thrown into this cell by the very people that called them there.
"Perfect." Chelle grumbled. "First Gavin acts like a nut, and then this. Simply perfect."
"A nut?" Gavin shot at her. "Well I'm sorry, but my family was in jeopardy!"
"That's no reason to go and possibly get all of Nasr into trouble with Vulua!" Chelle shot back.
"You don't get it!" Gavin responded.
"No, you don't get it!" Chelle shouted back.
"Shut up! Just shut up!" Taylor yelled. "My head's pounding! Shut up!"
"I'm sorry…" Gavin sighed. "It's just… with Nola and my mother, I have a responsibility. I'm the man of the house, you could say… My father's been dead for years, they have nobody else to look out for them..."
Chelle couldn't respond.
"… I suppose you ought to know, my father died in a terrible accident." Gavin said. "I saw it with my own eyes, a Moonstone fell from the sky… Nailed em'. What were the odds? He was crushed, right in front of our home. Of course, the Nasultan was more concerned for the Moonstone, to use for fuel."
"Oh… Gavin, I'm sorry." Lia said, sitting on her knees on the floor.
"Save it, there's nothing that could've been done." Gavin responded sternly. "That's why now, when I go out and search for this treasure… I make sure they get some of the money that it sells for, so they can live. My mother doesn't own a suitable business, or have a job… and Nola couldn't possibly keep one for a week, so they rely on me."
"Well… All that could sell for thousands." Maxwell said.
"Yeah, how come they aren't rich?" Taylor added.
"My mother's too modest, she wouldn't accept any more than what she needed." Gavin responded. "But, the fact is, without my father around, I took responsibility for them. I couldn't let anything happen to them… But this happened so fast. I kind of lost all my rational thought, and went a little crazy."
"Yeah, at least you noticed that much." Taylor said.
"Now look where we are." Gavin said, standing up and walking aimlessly about the room. "We're in a cold cell, with headaches the size of North Ocean. I suppose all I can say is… Well… I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault, Gavin." Chelle spoke up, leaning against the wall now. "I never knew that much about your family. I guess I never bothered to ask. It's alright if you went a little nuts, we can forgive you."
"Yeah…" Gavin nodded. "But still, look what happened."
"Ah, there's only one thing to do then!" Maxwell proclaimed as he stood up and walked to the door, resting his hands on it and feeling it as he put his ear to it.
"What's that?" Taylor asked.
"I think I know what." Lia grinned. "We bust outta here, right?"
"Naturally." Maxwell looked back with a chuckle. "Air Pirates need to know how to get out of these kinds of situations. We'll bust out of here, find Nola and Serene, get our cube back, and get out of here."
"Of course, we'll be kicking butt on the way, right?" Lia asked.
"That's a given." Gavin answered.
"And we'll leave with a bang?" Chelle chimed in.
"I wouldn't have it any other way." Maxwell chuckled.
"Well then, get out of the way, Max. I've got our key to freedom." Chelle said.
Maxwell stepped out of the way and Chelle moved over to the door. Taking off her tri-corner hat and reached under her bandana. In a moment, she pulled out a hairpin. Everyone's face lit up as she straightened it out and began to pick the lock on the large, metal door. The lock made some light clicking noises before a loud click sounded the unlocking of the door. Chelle was about to open it, but Gavin pulled her aside. She was confused but when the door began to open on its own, she understood what was going on. A guard opened the door to see if it had unlocked. She had only opened it a bit before Maxwell and Lia grabbed the door and hauled it open. The guard tripped in. She was wearing a black spandex suit that fit her like a second skin, and steel grieves that went to her knees. She wore a modified breastplate that covered her front and back, leaving her stomach, shoulders, and lower back bare. Her hair was short enough to be hidden in the helmet she wore, which had a full-face visor that hid her facial features, as it was tinted. Gavin grabbed her in a hurry and forced her to the floor, climbing on top of her to pin her down.
"You know, I've always like a girl in spandex." Gavin grinned before hitting her in the back of the head, knocking her out.
Gavin left with the group then, coming into a slightly larger, empty room, with their weapons on a lone table at the right side of the room. Other than that, there was only an elevator on the apposing side of the cubical-spaced area. It seemed that whomever was keeping them hostage wasn't planning on any other visitors. Excited, they called the elevator, and waited. There they stood, quietly, as the small dial over the elevator doors turned, indicating what floor it was on. There were several floors, counting seven in all. Taylor yawned a big, fake yawn. Waiting for the elevator certainly wasn't exciting. It wasn't until it came to the floor just before where they stood that Lia came across a thought. If the elevator was the only elevator going to every floor, it certainly must have meant something. When the elevator got to the bottom floor, they were relieved. But when it opened to reveal three guards dressed in black spandex with steel grieves and breastplates, they were startled. With little time to react, both the Air Pirates and the guards struggled to take out their weapons.
Maxwell and Gavin, who were in the front of the group, stumbled back. In turn, this made Lia and Chelle stumble and trip backwards, pushing poor Taylor back. The guards fumbled and accidentally hit one another taking out their weapons, still standing in the elevator. They forced their way out, standing at Gavin and Maxwell's legs. Gavin and Maxwell hurried back to stand up, and the guards pushed in. At this point, the elevator closed, and there was barely enough room in the tiny space to even breathe. The group squirmed about, pressed tightly against one another. They tried to raise their weapons, but couldn't move their arms. There were lots of pushing, and grunts of frustration and annoyance at the lack of movement. Soon, Gavin shouted up above everyone.
"Hey, settle down!" He shouted. "Let's sort this out like civilized people!"
"You're prisoners!" One of the guards responded. "We don't have to sort anything out with dogs like you!"
"Well, the next batch to come down here looking for you two won't even be able to get out of the elevator." Gavin grunted. "So why don't you two turn around and call it, and give us all some room!"
"I can't breathe!" Taylor wailed.
"That's my foot!" Chelle shouted out.
"Alright, alright!" One of the guards said, struggling to turn around. "Settle down, all of you!"
The guard turned around to call the elevator, which was when Gavin swiftly knocked both of them out. Their unconscious bodies took up less room in the tiny room; it was the only real alternative. Gavin let the two guards fall to the floor, and waited for the elevator, having a good laugh over what had happened. When the elevator arrived, they all piled in, again being squished together. This posed for various uncomfortable touching and breathing in one another's faces, making it an over-all bad experience. But they only went one floor up before the elevator opened and they all tumbled out again. Getting up, they appeared to be in a narrow corridor, with several doors on either side. It was then that it became apparent that it was best that they figured out where they were, and how to get out, to avoid such situations ever again.
Keeping Taylor in the back, they searched each room. It seemed that each room was responsible for some kind of power. Each was guarded, but the guards proved little work for the Air Pirates. One room held power to the corridors and storerooms; another contained the main power generator for the facility, and another controlled simply the heat. Some were only storerooms. None seemed overly useful. The storerooms contained simple items, such as Curia and Sacares Crystals, and Magic Drops, which Maxwell helped himself to. There was no reason just to leave perfectly good items such as those behind. They were useful medicines, after all. It wasn't until turning to leave one of the storerooms that they found something useful.
A map was hanging beside the door, taped securely to the wall with a strong kind of gray tape. Chelle ripped it off the wall and looked at it. Each floor was briefly laid-out on the map. The bottom floor, the seventh, was called "the tiny room." Above it was the power control/storerooms. The fifth floor was prisoner cells, and fourth was the mess hall. Third was the hangar, and second was the soldier barracks. Lastly, first was the meeting room. The group studied the map, and decided their checkpoints. They needed to find Serene and Nola, and then find the cube, thereafter they would escape on Gavin's ship. The plan seemed simple enough.
"So we rescue Serene and Nola…" Lia recapped.
"Then find our cube." Maxwell added.
"And then we escape on the Moneymaker." Gavin finished.
"The what?" Lia blinked at Gavin.
"The Moneymaker." Gavin said. "Didn't I ever tell you? That's the name of my ship."
"No… No you didn't." Maxwell answered.
"Ah, well…" Gavin shrugged. "Let's go then."
The group left the small room then, heading down the hall and back to the elevator. With reluctant sighs, they all piled in once again. Body-to-body, they went up to the floor above them, the fifth floor - the prisoner cells. When the elevator door opened, they fell out, landing on one another with poor Taylor on the bottom of the pile. The guards stationed in the cellblocks would have to have been blind and deaf not to be aware of the Air Pirates' presence. There were three; all dressed the same, in black jumpsuits with red stripes down their sides, a heavy steel breastplate, and a steel helmet that hid their faces. The Air Pirates got up in a hurry, actually able to fight this time, drawing their weapons. Taylor was pushed aside then as the three guards – two male, one female – rushed in to attack them.
Chelle was quick to draw her pistol. It was a very drag looking gun, simple yet effective. The flints she used were made of red Moonstone. She had several, since they were so small and made with very little of the material. Due to the red Moonstone's fire element, the flints were able to pierce through the steel of the guard's armor. She aimed carefully, and fired at the one female guard, who was holding a small spear-like weapon. The bullet whistled through the air and pierced through the guard's armor, hitting her shoulder. This made her lose balance and fall back to one knee, while the other two guards kept running straight ahead. Gavin and Maxwell were ready for them, and simultaneously clashed swords with the male guards, stopping them in their tracks. Gavin easily threw the one aside and a little off balance and Maxwell had to kick the other back before trying to attack again. The attack was blocked once again though, while Gavin managed to cut the other across their side. They grunted in pain, backing off, and the female guard was back up, running at Gavin. She took a swipe, but Gavin was able to step aside just in time to only have a light gash across his shoulder as a result.
Chelle reloaded her pistol quickly, and from between Gavin and Maxwell, a little behind them; she shot at the female guard again. This time, she was hit in the leg, and fell to the floor. She dropped her weapon, sitting up quickly to move aside and out of the fray. The other male guard rushed Gavin again, but this time Gavin simply kneed him in the gut, making him coil in pain, and then slammed the hilt of his sword against the guard's neck, knocking him out. The final guard was frightened, and burst into a frantic run past the group. Lia, who was protecting Taylor, was quick to act, lashing out her whip. It wrapped around the guard's ankle and tripped him. He simply lay there after that. Whether he was unconscious or just simply gave up was unknown to the Air Pirates. With relieved and cocky grins, they put their weapons away and walked along the cells. There weren't many, only three on either side of the hall. It was only when they reached the last two that they saw Gavin's family.
"Gavin!" Serene called out.
"Mom! Nola!" Gavin responded by moving up to the bars and grabbing them, but he felt a sudden electric shock make his body jump, and he let go of the bars in a hurry.
"What the hell?" He blinked.
"Looks like there's electricity running through the bars." Serene said.
"Get us outta here!" Nola shouted.
"Shhh!" Gavin hushed them. "We'll get you out… If it's electricity, it must be powered…"
"And we passed the power maintenance room." Chelle said.
"So all we have to do is turn it off!" Lia ended the idea with an enthusiastic observation.
"Yeah but there must be another station." Gavin pointed out. "They'll notice if the power goes out, and it'll come back on in a hurry if they have a back-up supply. Someone should stay here, so when we cut the power they can get Mom and Nola out quick. Then, they'll get back to the Moneymaker, and the rest of us will meet them there once we get the cube."
"Sounds like a plan." Maxwell said.
"Chelle, you and the kid stay here." Gavin said, looking to Chelle. "I can rely on you, and we can keep the kid out of trouble if he stays with you and gets to the ship."
"You can count on me, Gavin." Chelle winked. "I'm the most reliable woman in the world! I always keep my word."
"Always…?" Gavin raised an eyebrow with a grin.
"Don't push your luck." Chelle stuck her tongue out, hands on her hips.
"There's the Gavin we know." Maxwell grinned.
"Oh brother." Lia shook her head, crossing her arms.
With that, Chelle and Taylor stayed behind as Maxwell, Lia and Gavin ran off towards the elevator. It was much simpler with just three people, all filing into the elevator in an orderly fashion, and going back down to the previous floor. It was a simple task, going back to the power station, but it wasn't so easy figuring out how to work the various knobs and buttons. Gavin, being the most knowledgeable, tried his hardest to work the apparatus, but even he found it rather difficult. In order to work the thing, it was obvious to him that someone would have to be trained specifically to do so. It was all rather frustrating. After a short while, Maxwell told Gavin to move aside. He then stepped up, drew his sword, and cut through the control panel in one clean swipe. The controls spit electricity in several directions until power ceased to run to the machine, in turn causing the entire base to shut down. With a slight cheer, they turned to go to the elevator again. It was out, so they waited.
Chelle did the same, waiting for the power to come back on so she could harbor Gavin's family, and Taylor, back to the ship. It only took a short while until the power came back on, allowing Chelle to call the elevator. Gavin had done the same, and they both waited. It came to Chelle first, allowing her, Taylor, Serene, and Nola to get inside and travel down to the hangar. It stopped at Gavin's floor, but nobody got in – the damn thing was too crowded. Chelle stuck her tongue out at Gavin as the doors closed and the elevator resumed its trip to the hangar. When it came back to Gavin, it was empty again. He, Maxwell and Lia filed in and looked at the buttons, trying to decide what floor to go to. Considering that nothing was found in the storeroom, Maxwell pushed the button to go to the upper-most floor, the meeting room. It seemed like the wisest alternative, seeing as the other was the barracks.
When the doors opened, it revealed quite a large room. The room had four pillars, possibly two feet from each corner, made of white marble. Though, the walls were simply brown, old rock that was obviously dug out in the shape of the room. The floor was covered completely in what looked to be a red carpet, lined with gold thread several inches from the perimeter. In the center of the room, there was a large table, rectangular in shape. Only a few chars lined both sides and the head of the table. Across from the head of the table, nearest to the Air Pirates, was Lawrence. His back was turned to them, and he seemed to be looking at something he held within his hand.
"Lawrence!" Maxwell shouted, taking a step into the room.
"So you made it out of your little room, hm?" Lawrence's cold voice came back, speaking awkwardly calmly, if not a little annoyed. "That explains the brief power failure… I'll guess that you freed the prisoners too."
"Yeah, we did." Maxwell answered when Lawrence turned around.
"And now you want this." Lawrence held up the small cube that they had found in the pyramid back in Nasr. "You don't even know what this is, do you?"
"Not really." Maxwell answered. Gavin and Lia looked equally as questionable on it. "Don't you?"
"Not at all." Lawrence said. "But my employer wants this part and the others. He paid me, so I have to get them."
"Other parts?" Maxwell asked.
"…" Lawrence didn't respond. He had said enough as it was.
"What other parts?" Lia chimed in. "What do you know?"
"Give it up." Gavin shook his head. "Lawrence is a mercenary. He doesn't ask why he has to do anything, or tell anyone what he's doing. He already screwed up."
"It's no big deal." Lawrence said as he placed the cube carefully onto the table. He then reached to his scabbard, drawing his short sword. "I'll dispose of you myself."
"Bring it on!" Gavin shouted, drawing his own sword from its sheathe on his back. "You're going to pay for laying a hand on my family!"
Gavin ran at Lawrence without any hesitation, or any rational thought. Lawrence didn't get worked up over this. He was calm, confident – he knew exactly what he was doing. Gavin slashed at him, swinging his sword with wild abandon. In contrast, Lawrence calmly stepped aside, avoiding the blow swiftly, allowing Gavin's blade to be caught in the thick, fine-wood table. Maxwell ran in to help Gavin, while Lia did her share from a distance, lashing her whip out at the mercenary. Quickly judging the speeds of these attacks, Lawrence lifted his arm. Lia's whip was caught and coiled around Lawrence's hand, allowing him to grasp it firmly, keeping the young Air Pirate from pulling it back. Maxwell took this as a two-sided advantage, slashing his sword towards Lawrence. But, again, Lawrence raised his sword in one hand as a parry, catching the attack on his blade. In a quick series of movements, he then pulled Lia's whip towards him forcefully, bringing the tightly gripping girl off balance and to the floor, and then he stepped forwards, driving a hard kick into Maxwell's gut. The air was driven from the young man's diaphragm, making him collapse onto the floor with gasping breaths.
Gavin forcefully tugged his sword from the ground, and Lia rose back to her feet, giving an unexpected tug on her whip. Lawrence was nearly brought off-balance, though quickly recovered and jerked his arm back, nearly bringing Lia off-balance instead. He did this just as Gavin rushed at him, hopping over Maxwell and slashing at Lawrence. The combined movements resulted in Gavin's blade cutting through Lia's whip. The reduction of tension in the whip caused Lia to fall forwards again, and it gave Lawrence's arm freedom of movement once again. Taking the unexpected advantage, he threw a quick kick to Gavin's defenseless side, sending him falling onto Lia, who was also defenseless on the ground. Maxwell was up again at this point, but when he went to engage Lawrence in another exchange of attacks, Lawrence simply avoided the attack again, grabbing Maxwell's sword arm and bashing it in the elbow with the hilt of his small sword. Maxwell shouted out in pain before Lawrence spun him around once, taking his feet off the floor in the movement, and throwing him on top of his friends. Maxwell, Gavin and Lia were piled on the floor, trying to get off one another.
"You're crushing me!" Lia whined at the bottom of the pile.
"Jeez, what's with this guy?" Gavin grunted, getting up quickly. Maxwell fell off Gavin's back and onto the ground.
"Are you done yet? That was barely a warm up." Lawrence said in his usual cold tone of voice.
"Not a chance." Maxwell shot back as he and Lia stood up again.
"You don't have a chance." Lawrence retorted. "Get out of my sight."
Lawrence readied his sword and ran full-force at Maxwell. Gavin and Lia were quick to act, stepping forwards and dropping down to the floor. Then with their legs, they caught both of Lawrence's, making the mercenary trip. As Lawrence fell forwards, Maxwell backed up a step, jumping over him as he crashed onto the ground. Gavin and Lia both hastily got up, standing on either side of Maxwell. Lawrence got up in a hurry, turning to face the Air Pirates once again. With his free hand, he wiped his thumb across his nose to check for bleeding, glancing coldly at the three.
"You're all more organized than I thought." Lawrence stated. "But that'll get you nowhere."
"Hey! I'm here!" A voice, muffled by the steel elevator doors, rang out.
Suddenly, the elevator doors sprung open, and two men in ragged clothing ran out. Without stopping they ran over the perplexed Lawrence, pushing him to the ground and stepping all over him. They stood at either side of the door as a familiar person stepped out from the elevator. He walked in a confident stride, with a big, dopey grin, broad shoulders, and firm chest, dressed like a Black Pirate… And Lia gained a disgusted sort of expression. It was the same Black Pirate that she and Maxwell had encountered a few days before. He was oblivious to what was happening as he marched in. Gavin took this as a good opportunity to grab the cube while nobody was looking.
"You guys HAVE to do something about that elevator! Man, it's crowded!" Vigoro proclaimed as he strutted on through. He didn't even notice what was going on until he stepped on Lawrence again. He looked at the mercenary, then at the Air Pirates, and did a double take before he even asked.
"What's going on here!"
As if they were all thinking alike, the three Air Pirates burst forth, leaving Vigoro and his crew utterly confused. They trampled over Lawrence once more, and Vigoro, to get to the elevator. Piling in, they pushed the hangar floor button over and over to try and get the doors to close faster. Before Vigoro or Lawrence could do anything, the steel doors closed, and the Air Pirates were gone.
"What's going on?" Vigoro asked in his burly voice as he sat up.
"Ugh…" Lawrence slowly stood up, brushing himself off and picking his sword up.
"Wh-What! You! You're here!" Vigoro was startled by Lawrence, and sprang to his feet. "C'mon, don't hurt me again!"
"Shut up you idiot!" Lawrence shot at him. "Just get those three!"
It would do them no good. The base wasn't very organized. Before Vigoro could do anything, the elevator was at the hangar. Chelle had seen Maxwell, Lia, and Gavin as they hurried out towards the Moneymaker. She frantically got the ship started, and since the docks in the hangar were elevated to the ship's deck-level, Maxwell, Lia, and Gavin were able to jump on and immediately head for the bridge. Working quickly, Gavin hurried to the wheel, putting the ship in full reverse. By the time Vigoro got down to the hangar, the Moneymaker was already a spec in the distance. Though, the Black Pirate didn't tread any water about it, he was far too confused to know what a loss their escape could have been.
When they were a safe distance away, they all let out a sigh of relief. Serene and Nola smiled brightly, overjoyed as they hurried to give their thanks. Hearing this, Gavin turned around and held his arms out. His mother met him first with a tight hug, which he returned happily, closing his eyes. After a few short moments, he opened his eyes again. Still hugging his mother, he wondered just where his sister went. Wasn't she going to thank him too? He looked around, his gaze sweeping the bridge before he caught sight of her. She was showing Maxwell mad affection, which the young male Air Pirate was trying to get out of.
"Thank you Gavin, thank you so much." Serene said in a calm, relieved manner.
"I knew you'd come!" Nola cried out happily as she kept Maxwell locked in her arms, nuzzling into his chest. "I knew you'd rescue me, Max!"
"Max!" Gavin nearly dropped his mother. "Max didn't do a thing! It was my idea!"
"You're my knight in shining armor…" Nola said dreamily as she gazed into Maxwell's eyes.
"I… can't breathe…!" Maxwell groaned breathlessly as he tried to squirm out of Nola's grasp.
"Listen to me, you little twerp!" Gavin shouted at Nola.
"Cut it out you little cling-on." Lia glared at Nola, walking over to her and prying her from Maxwell. "You're going to make me sick!"
"I think I'm sick already." Taylor immaturely joked as he faked a gag.
"I think it's pretty cute." Chelle giggled. "They make a good couple!"
"Eh?" Maxwell looked bewildered towards Chelle. "Don't say stuff like that!"
"Aw cheer up." Chelle winked, planting her hands firmly upon her hips. "You should be happy we're out of there, and we got Gavin's family back!"
"Yeah." Gavin nodded. "We're home-free for now. I suppose all I can say is thanks to all of you, for putting up with all that crap I pulled."
"Speaking of the crap you pulled…" Chelle said. "… A Nasr ship in Vulua airspace?"
"What?" Serene was shocked, turning to Gavin. "Gavin, we must leave immediately."
"Yeah, we've got our cube thing." Lia said. "Get going!"
"Yeah, I'm going!" Gavin turned back to the wheel, but suddenly, a loud thud was heard on deck, making everyone pause.
"Oh, what now?" Maxwell asked. "What else could possibly go wrong?"
"I think we'd better check it out." Gavin said as he powered down the engines. "Mom, Nola, stay here."
"Don't worry about us." Serene and Nola responded in unison.
"Right… Just stay here, okay?" Gavin rolled his eyes and quickly hurried out to the deck with Maxwell, Lia, and Chelle.
Hurrying out onto the deck, Maxwell came to a sudden stop, causing the rest to stop as well. There, standing on the deck, arms crossed, was the very same man he had helped in his hometown, and they very same man who helped them in the desert. It was the man with the long silver hair, wearing the same green, long-backed vest, the same black pants, the same gold plated boots, the same silver chain necklace, and the same silver katars that he always seemed to have. He stared with a cold, raw emotion at Maxwell, his left eye not visible past his bangs, which had grown over it. The man uncrossed his arms, a large scar revealed on his bare, pale chest.
"I believe you have something that doesn't belong to you." The man said. "I demand you give it to me, immediately."
"What…? Who are…?" Maxwell tried to find a question to ask in the surprise situation.
"If you won't give it to me…" The man said, readying his katars in a combative stance. "… I will take it by force."