Hey, I'm back again!

I am so sorry for the delay on this! Thank you all for your lovely reviews while I was gone. They really helped me out! I'm still doing exams right now, so the next update may also be a while away, but I thought that you guys deserved this!

RECAP (lol I don't even remember):
- The bounty hunters + pirates are planning with Vash how to get to Nyma and free their friends
- Lovino and Feliciano are still chilling in Bibesti
- Gilbert, Tori, Roderich and Feliks are STILL prisoners
- Young Dana Milevski has been framed by the spy in the resistance. Yao's leadership, as well as his loyalty, is beginning to be questioned.
- Lukas was an awkward child who saw someone who was upset and said 'lol nope' (sounds like me honestly)

WARNINGS:
language (what a surprise)

Please review! It gives me llllllllliiiiiiiiiffffffffffeeeeee!

Szwicza District,
Bibesti, Rela,
17th Maarch

Lovino was woken by a very loud, and very happy, scream. He sat bolt upright, so fast that he almost brained himself on the rafters of the bunk bed above his. Looking around wildly, he barely had time to process the fact that it was still dark outside, when Feliciano had thrown himself on top of his brother, effectively knocking all of the air out of him. Struggling for a moment, Lovino barely managed to wheeze out.

"What's happening?" Feliciano sat back a little, bouncing up and down on Lovino's leg's, careful to avoid the wooden frame of the bed above, a manic grin stretched across his face. Blinking in shock, Lovino leaned back, eager to avoid whatever freaky shit his brother seemed so happy about.

"Happy Birthday!" Feliciano exclaimed, clapping his hands together in delight. Lovino sagged against the mattress, groaning when the words registered. His eyes darted over to the clock.

"Did you seriously wake me at 4am just to tell me that?" he grumbled. Feliciano giggled.

"Sorry Lovi, I just couldn't wait any longer!" He said cheerily. Lovino grunted in reply, shoving Feliciano (gently) off his legs when he felt pins and needles start to course up them. Feliciano shuffled backwards on the mattress, still smiling happily despite the early hour as he let his brother sit up. Knowing that Feliciano was unlikely to let him fall asleep now, he sat up properly, rubbing his eyes and pushing his hair back from his face. Noting the grin on Feliciano's face, he sighed.

"Oh, what is it?"

Feliciano smiled, before gracefully stretching upwards to grab something from his bunk, handing three small packages to Lovino. He blinked in surprise. Normally, on their birthdays, they didn't really get each other gifts. The truth was, they were never really able to afford it. From this, cooking had arisen as a substitute. Lovino usually would pick up a few extra shifts at whatever odd job he was working, so that he could afford ingredients. Normally, he made Feliciano's favourite foods, along with some sort of cake or sweet pastry if he had the money to spare. He had never been bothered if Feliciano wasn't able to get him something.

He distinctly remembered one birthday of his where Feliciano had taught himself how to make a cinnamon cake to give to Lovino. Unfortunately, though, Feli had fallen asleep while the cake was in the oven, and it had emerged resembling charcoal. Lovino had simply laughed, thanked Feliciano for his effort, and treated them both to junk food.

Lovino turned the packages over in his hands. "Feli, you really didn't have to get me anything." He said, feeling guilty over his brother spending so much money on him. Feliciano simply shook his head stubbornly.

"Nope. This birthday is special, so no give-backs!" he declared. Lovino was stumped for a moment, before he remembered.

Several birthdays on Syhvva were considered significant. Obviously, a person's first birthday was special, as was their tenth, since it symbolised the first decade of their life. 14 was another significant year, as it marked the average start of adolescence. Though the age to drink on Syhvva, as well as drive, was 16, the age of maturity and independence was considered 20. Often in the past, 20 was the age at which new monarchs were coronated. In the past few decades, the age seemed to move a little later, to about 22 or 23, but it was still a significant milestone. But how had Feliciano known that?

Responding the inquisitive look on Lovino's face, Feliciano grinned, looking quite proud of himself. "I was reading about birth and age customs, and I found out how important 20 is. so, I decided that I had to get something." Lovino sighed again, but couldn't quite manage to suppress the grin taking over his face as he picked up the first of the three packages. All three were wrapped simply in what Lovino could now see were recycled pages from old newspapers, and tied with string. Smiling at the extravagant bows and knots Feliciano had tied them shut with, Lovino slowly began to unwrap the first of the three.

His efforts rendered a book written in Syhvvanian. Turning it over, Lovino grinned when he noted the title; An Inclusive Summary of the Syhvvanian Rigelo.

"How the hell did you manage to find this?" he asked, sounding awed as he flipped through the pages, detailing both scientific and historical instances of the gifts possessed by the Vargas family. He felt his smile widen when he skimmed over the title on one page, 'Maritia the Inferni'. He had heard plenty about that particular ancestor of theirs. He made eye contact with Feliciano again, who looked delighted that Lovino liked it.

"Well, it was hard," he said, sounding rather proud of himself, "I had to travel all over Bibesti to even find somewhere with Syhvvanian texts before I found a small shop which was willing to sell them. They're so hard to find, honestly, the owner even threatened me about not telling people." Feliciano frowned. "Now that I think about it, I think I went shopping in the black market." Lovino laughed.

"Well thank you," he said sincerely, "I'll have to read it. Who knows? Maybe it'll help me teach you to use your gifts." Feliciano beamed at the very suggestion, picking up another package before Lovino could even look at them, handing it to him while he turned the third over in his own hands.

Raising an eyebrow, Lovino began to unwrap the second, smile returning to his face in full force when he pulled a wool cap and fingerless grey gloves from inside.

"You mentioned that you needed them, so…" Feliciano blurted out, trailing off awkwardly. Lovino laughed at the slightly worried expression on his face, and waved dismissively.

"I certainly did, thanks." He said, grinning as he tried on the gloves. They were soft, and definitely of a far higher quality than his poor, degenerate ass was used to. He raised an eyebrow. "Though I could have lived with less expensive ones. God, Feli, how much did they cost?" Feliciano shook his head.

"Nope! Not telling!" he declared. Lovino sighed in defeat, setting them beside him with his new book. He noted that Feliciano had suddenly gone a little quiet. He was turning the package in his hands around, biting his lip before he finally handed it to Lovino, avoiding eye contact. He accepted it, unwrapping it a little more slowly than the last two.

A small, black box fell into his hands. Blinking in surprise, Lovino scooped it into his hands and opened it, eyes widening to the size of saucers when he saw what was inside. Feliciano began stammering out an explanation.

"I, I read that it was tradition to get one from your family on your tenth birthday, but since you didn't have yours on Syhvva, you never got one, so I guessed that…you might like one now?" he almost winced. "Is it okay?"

Lovino was almost speechless as he pulled the pendant from the box. It had a rather long chain, to the point that the pendant on the end would rest just above his belly button. The pendant itself was an oval shape, about the size of a date fruit. It was flat and smooth on one side, and the other was warped to curve outwards slightly. The surface of the curved side shimmered almost like water. The whole thing was made of rose gold, the metal used traditionally as a ceremonial and decorative symbol on Syhvva. He stared at it, silently placing it around his own neck and running his fingers over the cold surface for a moment before he very nearly crushed Feliciano in a tight hug. His younger brother let out a small squeak of surprise, but reciprocated the hug within seconds.

"So…you like it?" Feliciano asked uncertainly.

"Yes, I like it." Lovino murmured, ignoring how his voice cracked in the middle of the sentence. Feliciano's arms tightened around him, indicating that he had heard it. They stayed like that for a moment before reluctantly drawing away from each other's warmth. Feliciano grinned, kissing his older brother on either cheek. Lovino let out a grunting noise and wrinkled his nose at him.

"What was that for?" he demanded. Feliciano grinned.

"Good luck?" he teased. Lovino rolled his eyes, but smiled nonetheless as he dragged himself out of bed, stretching as Feliciano followed his example.

"Well, I guess I won't be able to properly sleep now, will I?" he groaned, slumping a little as he rubbed his eyes. Feliciano grinned, not looking even a little bit guilty. Lovino smiled. "Now, are you up for Takedi's for breakfast?" Feliciano stood a little straighter, looking at his brother blearily.

"But Takedi's is all the way over in the Calmas District." He complained. "Not to mention that it's all deep-fried junk food." Lovino shot him a look.

"My birthday, my rules. Besides, you were the one who decided to wake me up at 4am. If I had been allowed to sleep a little longer, I might be more reasonable in my dining choices. Come on, get some proper clothes on." Feliciano rolled his eyes, but grinned as he complied.

In truth, between the gift-giving and the half-hour it took a sleepy Lovino to find something to wear out other than his pyjama pants, they left their apartment closer to 5am. The city had begun to stir by this point, and they made sure to walk clear of any alleys where they could still potentially be jumped. Lovino's eyes danced around the streets as he saw early-morning vendors begin to set up their market stalls, their various wares appearing on the tabletops. They slowed when they saw this, approaching the weary vendors cautiously.

Feliciano insisted on using some spare coins he found in his pockets to buy them both cinnamon pastries, though Lovino made sure he didn't eat it before they got to their location. The pair joked and chatted while they walked, with Feliciano grinning in relief when the boundaries of the Szwicza District came into view. Calmas was similarly disparaged, but slightly cleaner, and Feliciano gasped in delight when he saw the front of Takedi's, empty for once but undeniably open.

The small café smelled of crumbed meat and strong coffee (as it normally did). A roughly dressed but clean Garvich lazily greeted them from behind the counter. Seeing as they actually had a significant amount of money to spare, they went (by their standards) verifiably wild, ordering most of their favourite small dishes, as well as several to take with them. Feliciano made the suggestion of taking some to Vash and the clientele he was dealing with currently, and Lovino agreed begrudgingly. He was happy enough to buy food for Vash, though he knew very little of the group buying out his services right now, and wasn't sure if he wanted to or not. All he knew about them was that there were two among their ranks who got thrown out of Vash's apartment fairly regularly. At least, Lovino reflected, they would be leaving soon, if Vash was to be believed.

Feliciano clapped his hands in delight as their food arrived, almost diving onto it in his joy. Lovino grinned at his brother, trying to turn his attention from Vash's clients. He had just about succeeded, and was engaging his brother in a conversation about the theoretical possibility of them getting a cat (which was low, admittedly), when his Cell vibrated. Frowning, he pulled it from his jacket pocket. A glimpse at the screen showed that it was an update from the Index, not a message, which had alerted him. He stiffened. He only had notifications set for two profiles in the whole Index; Feliciano's and his own.

Feli noticed the sudden tension in his shoulders and expression, and the smile slipped from his face as he leant forward, frowning.

"What is it?" he muttered as Lovino tapped the screen to see the new updates, almost dropping the device when his profile showed up. He swallowed thickly. Since the last time he had checked, the Union had obviously added a lot more details.

FULL NAME:
Lovino Daniele Mattia Vargas

BIRTHDATE:
17TH Maarch, 4492CC

AGE:
20

GENDER:
Male

ETHNICITY:
Syhvvanian

HEIGHT:
Between 5'7'' and 5'10'' (genetic estimation only)

PHYSICAL TRAITS:
Ethnically consistent red hair believed to be of a generally dark hue. Eyes reportedly lighter in colour, golden or brown. Ethnically consistent olive toned skin.

PLANET OF ORIGIN:
Syhhva

STATUS:
Crown Prince of Syhvva. Presumed to be alive. Last sightings believed to be on Incanda. Likely travelling with younger brother, Feliciano Vargas.

MONETARY BOND:
60,000,000,000 |MK| (60 Billion Standard Marks*)

NOTES:
Wanted for reasons of involvement with terrorist cells and incitement of rebellion in the Saijani Republic of Syhhva. Height is projected, based on genetic estimation, and thus may be inaccurate. The photos provided are; first, an official photograph from 4498CC, at which point the subject was 6 years of age, and second, a computer-generated image derived from DNA analysis, and is thus only a suggestion as to the subject's appearance.
Monetary bond/'bounty' is current as of the 16th of Maarch, 4512CC

*Amount may vary depending on current exchange rates

Below that was what he presumed was the computer-generated image. It…was close. Frighteningly so. Not so close that someone would look from the image to him and immediately connect the two, but it was much more accurate than their estimations had been in the past. His stomach dropped, and he silently offered the cell to Feliciano, whose read over it silently, eyes widening in horror. He gripped his older brother's arm.

"Lovi, I don't know if you noticed, but…the bounty." Lovino frowned, looking up. He had been so absorbed in the photo thing, and the fact that they had already updated his age, that his eyes had skimmed right over the bounty section. Feliciano turned the screen toward him silently. His gaze honed in on the number, and he felt his hands begin to shake. It had risen by another 10 billion marks. 60 billion…God, as if he wasn't sought after enough already.

"It's because I'm twenty now, likely." He murmured. "Now I can legally be king." Feliciano continued to tap away at the screen, freezing after a moment.

"That might be it, but…" Feliciano showed him the screen again, this time displaying the profile of the Crown Prince of Fynkn. Lovino frowned, bending his neck down to read.

FULL NAME:
Lukas Aleksandr Bondevik

BIRTHDATE:
17th Maii, 4493CC

AGE:
18

GENDER:
Male

ETHNICITY:
Fynknian

HEIGHT:
Between 5'6'' and 5'11'' (genetic estimation only)

PHYSICAL TRAITS:
White blond/silvery hair, as is genetically consistent. Fair skin, dark blue eyes. Left eye reportedly contains a small imperfection. This is uncited and unconfirmed.

PLANET OF ORIGIN:
Fynkn

STATUS:
Crown Prince of Fynkn. Presumed to be alive. Last sightings believed to be in Duvar, Pyndaph, in late 4505CC.

MONETARY BOND:
55,000,000,000 |MK| (55 Billion Standard Marks*)

NOTES:
Monetary bond/'bounty' is current as of the 16th of Maarch, 4512CC. Wanted for reasons of involvement with terrorist cells and incitement of rebellion in the Saijani Republic of Fynkn. Height is projected, based on genetic estimation, and thus may be inaccurate. The photo provided was taken in 4501CC, at which point the subject was 8 years of age.

*Amount may vary depending on current exchange rates

There was no computer-generated image for the lucky Bondevik, but Lovino quickly realised what Feliciano was trying to draw his attention to. Monetary bond…55 billion marks?

Admittedly, Lovino had not paid quite so much attention to the profiles of the other three AWOL royals as he had to their own. That was not to say that he had not looked at them at all; he had, if only to look at the picture of the 8-year-old prince and remember the days they'd been delegated outside while their parents had conducted political talks. They'd been good friends when they were younger, and spending time exploring with the eldest Bondevik remained some of Lovino's clearest childhood memories. He had looked over his profile enough to know that the bounty for his Fynknian counterpart was 45 billion marks, not 55.

An odd, clenching feeling arose in his stomach as he exited the profile and sought out Feliciano's own. His worst suspicions were confirmed when he noted the 40 billion bounty, rather than the pre-existing 30 billion. The same, 10-billion mark increase also applied to Princess Emilia, and the Daernic queen. All of their bounties had been increased by 10 billion marks each. Just like him, the increase had only been tendered yesterday. He abruptly felt very nauseous, and shut off the Cell, plunging it back into his jacket pockets, wishing that he had just ignored the notification. Feliciano's face was drawn and worried, though he, like Lovino, managed to neutralise his expression by the time they paid, took their takeaway food and made their way back toward the Szwicza District.

"Lovino…" Feliciano seemed to lose his courage to broach the subject, and hung his head instead. His head was buzzing. He didn't understand at all. Why? Their bounties had been the same for years, and now they chose to change them? His lips tightened, and he drummed the fingers of his free hand on his leg nervously.

In all honestly, it wasn't the bounty which got to him, or even the CGI photos which now graced his profile. No, it was another, smaller detail he had noted when reading through, one which he didn't think Feliciano had noticed.

One of the notes in his "Status" section had stated that the last reported sightings, or suspected sightings, were on Incanda, where they had been just in Janwir. It shouldn't have rattled him so much, but it did. Because, whoever had 'spotted' them couldn't have been lying. That information was recent, and the last time they had been on Incanda had also been the first time they were ever on the planet. Someone had seen them, and someone had recognised them. Recently, too.

"We are not going to mention it to Vash, okay?" he managed to say as they approached the entrance to their apartment building. Feliciano nodded wordlessly, and the brothers exchanged one more tense, concerned glance before walking inside.

Matthias was awoken by an insistent beeping coming from somewhere to his right. He groaned, turning his head away from the noise, trying to bury his head further into the comfortable warmth under his head. That warmth, upon further investigation, turned out to be Francis' stomach, and Matthias briefly debated whether he valued his friend's love of personal space, or his own beauty sleep more. After begrudgingly accepting that it was the former, he hauled himself up into a sitting position, in turn knocking Yael's leg off his shoulder. Looking around, he was amazed he hadn't managed to set off a domino effect.

Clearly, instead of leaving Vash's apartment at a semi-reasonable time last night, they had stayed up planning for too long and ended up falling asleep. Matthias couldn't help but grin at this. Vash himself wasn't among those sprawled across the floor, and upon turning around, he spotted him standing by the kitchen island, mug of pure black coffee in his hands, watching them all with a vague expression of disinterest. Matthias stretched, wincing as he heard a joint in his back click and pop, before stepping carefully over his friends. His cell was beeping insistently, and he muttered a few unflattering things about it as he opened it up, silencing it. It was just an update from the Index, in any case. He would check it later.

He nodded briefly to Vash, folding his arms as he felt his stomach growl with hunger. Vash didn't let them eat any of his food, regrettably, so Matthias knew he would have to wait until the others woke up to get proper food.

It took less time than he thought, as they gradually began to pick themselves up from the mass of maps, photos and sheets of notes which had cushioned them. Vash's coffee machine wasn't out of bounds, so Matthias occupied himself by figuring out how it worked and making himself a cup. Vash seemed to think that having sugar and milk in coffee should be a punishable offence, so Matthias had it black. He screwed his face up at the first few mouthfuls, but relaxed a little when he got used to it. He didn't understand why Vash loved black coffee so much. As a lover of all things sweet, Matthias found it shocking.

He was shaken from his musings by the door opening with a loud banging noise. Vash's eyes widened, and he straightened up, setting his cup on the bench. He had taken no more than two steps forward, however, when a young, rather attractive man appeared from the hallway, running a hand carelessly through his hair. He paused, raising an eyebrow at those of Matthias's friends still draped all over the floor, and Matthias took the opportunity to get a proper look at him.

As he had thought before, he was very attractive, with rich black hair and smooth olive skin worth getting jealous over. His hair was a little messy, but it only added to his appeal. His eyes were a vibrant shade of amber, and he had the sorts of eyelashes – long, full and dark – which some people would kill for. He didn't look like he spent much time on his appearance, which only made it more irritating that he was as attractive as he was. He had a simple, white shirt thrown on, dark pants and worn boots, a loose grey jacket thrown over the top. Vash didn't seem delighted to see him, however.

"What are you–" his sentence was cut off mid-way as the young man threw a bag at him. Vash caught it, of course, looking surprised. The man explained.

"We stopped by Takedi's for breakfast." God, even his voice was attractive. Not to make any assumptions, but Matthias honestly thought he looked like he should be in the brothel across the road. It was only when Vash levelled a death glare at him, and the young man blinked in surprise, that he realised he'd spoken his opinion out loud. Vash placed the bag down, looking very ready to hit Matthias, when the other shook his head.

"Don't bother. Plus, I'll take it as a compliment. It means he thinks I'm pretty enough to work there." The young man said, looking more amused than anything. Vash paused, shooting Matthias one last harsh look before he backed down a little, opening the bag and pulling out several boxes of food. "We thought we might be generous and get some for your friends as well." The young man said, fearlessly opening Vash's fridge and pulling out a bottle of cream. Matthias blinked. Clearly, whoever this guy was, he was on enough of Vash's good side to be given allowances like that.

"You're welcome." This was directed to Matthias. He blinked, straightening up and thanking him before he could make an even worse impression. He watched the dark-haired man pull a spiced barley cake from one of the containers and add cream to it, before he forced his attention away.

The rest of his friends woke within the next ten minutes or so, all sending curious looks at the young man now perched on the kitchen counter – which the rest of them were not allowed to even touch. They all seemed, at least, to notice how attractive he was, though in far less offensive ways than Matthias had. Antonio looked like he'd been clubbed over the head when he first caught sight of his face, which Matthias very nearly snorted at.

With his breakfast settling in his stomach, and his friends all in varying states of consciousness, Matthias finally turned to examine what his Cell had received an alert about. Arthur was just beginning to berate Francis over taking so much food, when he spotted it.

"Holy fucking shit!" he exclaimed, eyes widening. The others all spun around to look at him, confused and curious. He was aware that his mouth was hanging open, and he barely managed to shut it when Alfred asked what he was freaking out about. Matthias looked up, feeling shell-shocked. "You know how we were planning to start searching for those Free Court royals before the others got kidnapped?" the others nodded, and Matthias took that as a sign to continue. "Well, their value has gone up. By about 10 billion marks each."

Leon, who had been drinking a mug of coffee when he proclaimed this, promptly inhaled some of it, choking for a moment before he managed to clear his windpipe. "That's...a lot of money."

Matthias nodded in agreement. "Yeah," he said, investigating the profile of the Syhvvanian heir, "that makes Prince Lovino Vargas of Syhvva worth….60 billion marks now." He said, gazing at the number in shock. Leon looked stunned, as though it had not occurred to him that one person could be worth so much. The young man seated up on the counter seemed unperturbed by the news.

"I heard that, yeah. Any clue why they've hiked it up?" he asked curiously. Matthias shook his head.

"Not a clue." He said regretfully. His gaze remained glued to that beautiful, 11-digit number. He heard Francis call his name, and looked up.

"As lovely a prize as 60 billion marks would be, we need to focus on our main priority, which, right now, is getting our friends back." As happy as he would be to have that amount of money handed to him, he knew Francis was right. They left tomorrow, and they needed to be completely prepared. He nodded, shutting off the Cell. The young man on Vash's counter stretched, before gracefully sliding to the ground.

"Well, I'll be off. You owe me one for the breakfast, Vash." He chided the blonde. Vash sighed, nodding reluctantly as the other vanished out the door again, moving to examine their map of Nyma again as he heard Antonio begin to enquire after the attractive visitor.

Resistance Headquarters,
Draak-Zafi Forra, Nyma,
18th Maarch

Tori couldn't but giggle as she watched Gilbert try to wake his cousin up. It was only early in the morning, but as all of them but Roderich had been awoken by loud noises from outside, Gilbert saw fit to try and wake his cousin up to join them in their collective misery. Eventually, when poking and prodding served to be useless, Gilbert just pinched Roderich's nose shut with his hands, making sure his mouth was closed. Only a few moments later, the dark-haired man was awake, thrashing in surprise and confusion. He quickly seemed to gather who had woken him from Gilbert's raucous laughter, and lost no time in punching him solidly between the ribs. Gilbert wheezed, clutching his side, but grinning regardless as Roderich rolled his eyes and huffed in irritation. The two only continued to jibe at one another, culminating in a minature poking battle.

Feliks frowned abruptly, turning his head toward the door. Instantly on guard from his behaviour, Tori strained her ears, understanding his wariness when she heard the sharp, clipped noise of footsteps on the stone ground. She relaxed a little. It was probably just Matthew, come to give them an update on any and everything of interest. Though they weren't really friends with any rebels, considering their current arrangement as prisoners, Matthew was as close as they would likely get. He was kind, and intelligent, and above all, he seemed trustworthy.

Tori knew that at least part of her trust in him was due to his being Alfred's doppelganger, but she couldn't help it. Despite their many similarities, he appeared different enough to his brother– both physically and in personality – but still managed to arouse some sense of comfort in her. Everything felt less overwhelming when he was leaning casually on the bars of their cell, talking about the weather or the latest inter-galactic celebrity scandal. Of course, Feliks and Gilbert had explained that Alfred did have an older brother who he lost during raids in his hometown when he was young, and Matthew was undoubtedly that same older sibling. Really though, none of them had directly confronted him about it yet. Perhaps they should do so soon. If their friends did come to rescue them, it might save him a lot of bemusement.

That thought was dashed from her mind, however, when she saw the rebel approaching their cell. It was not Matthew, as expected. Instead it was a young man with longish brown hair who poked his head through the bars to look at them. He blinked, observing them for a moment before speaking.

"Um, hello? You…prisoners? That sounds kinda mean, though." The last sentence he almost muttered to himself, frowning. Tori exchanged a look with Feliks. The man, whoever he was, seemed to overcome his little internal struggle, and managed a smile. Despite his bizarre musings, he seemed friendly. "Sorry, I've never been sent to deal with prisoners before. I dunno if I'm supposed to call you 'maggots' or something." He shook his head. "Anyway, food."

This cheered them all a little, and they took the proffered trays happily. They had all long since stopped thinking that they were going to be poisoned or otherwise drugged. And the food was good, so they no longer hesitated to eat it. The man frowned, looking troubled, sighing before voicing what was on his mind.

"Listen, are you all…being treated well?" he asked, eyes trained on their faces for any sign of their emotions. Tori blinked in surprise. The last few days had been a little dull, yes, as Matthew hadn't been around in a while, but they hadn't been treated badly. Now that she thought of it, those who came around to feed them the last few days had been silent, and almost hostile to them. It wasn't like she was expecting any sort of luxury or preferential treatment, but after the relatively kind others who had come before, it was a little odd. She didn't voice this opinion, though. Feliks answered for them.

"Yes, as well as prisoners of our calibre deserve, I suppose." He said dismissively as he turned his attention back to the bowl of beef stew in front of him. The man looked ready to enquire further, but shut his mouth, watching them silently. Tori was about to ask why he was so worried about how they were being treated, when another rebel appeared behind him and entered the cell. Her mind went blank, and she felt the muscles of her body locking up in shock. Distantly, vaguely, she could still hear the conversation taking place.

"Come on, Vlad, what's taking so long?" the newcomer said, adjusting a dark woollen cap on his head as his sharp, calculating gaze swept over all of them. Tori abruptly became very aware of the fact that her hair was no longer dyed. The rebels had made them use a soap on their hair which removed all types of dye, save halkar, and most of the rebels had been suitably surprised to find she was Daernic herself. The brunette man started a little, grinning at the other in a friendly, jovial manner as he dragged himself upwards from the floor.

"Ah, right, were we going over pipe bombs or incendiaries?" Vlad said cheerfully, dusting himself off. The other shrugged.

"Incendiaries, I believe." Tori could see them turning to leave, could feel the words which her lips were aching to spit out. A surge of desperation filled her as she saw Vlad go to close the barred door.

"Wait! I…I know you." The two men paused, and Vlad turned, frowning.

"What?" he said, looking appropriately baffled.

"Not you." she murmured, eyes glued to the other, who met her gaze, eyes slightly narrowed. "You, I know you somehow." He raised an eyebrow as Vlad looked at him.

"Do…do you know her? Lukas?" the pale man, Lukas, observed her for a moment.

"I think you're mistaken." He said simply, looking unimpressed by her admission.

"I'm not," she demanded, "I know I'm not. I know you somehow. You're…familiar." Lukas watched her in silence for a moment.

"You knew me?" he said, looking less doubtful now, but, oddly, a little harsher, too, "How do you know?"

Tori blinked. "I don't….I'm not really sure, I just know for a fact that I know you, or" she squinted at him a little, "I knew you, in any case." Lukas considered her for a moment.

"Where are you from, anyway? I can see that you're Daernic, but is that where you've grown up?"

She shook her head. "For the first few years of my life I lived on Daerna. I managed to get out when the expansion happened. Since then, I lived on Aralos."

"And somehow then came to join a band of bounty hunters?" he inquired, glancing at Feliks and Gilbert. She nodded slowly. He stared at her for a moment, as if he were trying to stare into her very soul.

"Is it…" she trailed off before regaining her courage, "is it possible that you lived on Daerna at some point? That might explain it." He raised an eyebrow, and in a swift motion pulled the cap from his head. Her stomach lurched. His hair was fair, fairer than she might have ever seen before; white blond, so pale it could have passed as plain white or even silver. She blinked, looking down with a single, disparaged, "oh…"

He cocked his head to the side as he pulled the cap back onto his head.

"I have been to Daerna before, but not for any long period of time." He said, still watching her with that disquieting stare. "If you really met me during that time, and remembered…." He smiled ruefully, "Well, it doesn't seem really possible, does it? At the very least, quite unlikely."

She couldn't argue with that, really. She barely remembered her own life on Daerna. It was very unlikely then, that she would remember someone if she met them only very briefly. The Fynknian, Lukas, turned away.

"I believe that you are mistaken."

She shook her head vehemently. No, that wasn't it. She said as much.

"No, I know you. I'm certain. Absolutely certain." Tori wasn't sure where this resolve came from exactly, but it filled her to her very bones.

"Really." Lukas murmured, looking at her again. "You poor thing."

And, without a further word, or even a look backwards, he swung the barred door shut and disappeared from sight. She could feel the others' eyes on her, but she shook her head, burying her face into her arms, a clear indicator that she didn't want to talk at that moment. She felt the others drop their gaze, and Tori looked up only when she felt an arm around her shoulder; one she knew belonged to Feliks. He didn't ask a single question, just comforting her with his warmth as her mind swirled and stormed with doubts and half-recalled memories.